On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter XXVIII

"I can't believe this," Ahsoka commented as she looked at the statistics that had been sent to them.

"Be more specific, do you mean the amount of security, the isolation of the base, how hard it's going to be to get in, or the fact they're asking for our opinion and not our help?" Luna asked.

"The fact the Rebellion is this daring."

"Yeah.... There's that too." Luna shook her head. It was a daring plan, only less daring than the entire Scarif incident by the tiniest degree, mainly because it wasn't a team that was partly defecting from the Rebellion to do the mission. "Do we even know who they're sending?"

"They didn't give us that information."

"When?"

"No clue."

Luna let out an exasperated sigh. "Then why are they even sending it to us?"

"Because you have an uncanny knack of predicting the reactions of different Imperials."

"That isn't good enough," Luna said, shaking her head. "I've been inside of this base, it'll take a talented team to get in undetected, even with a distraction going on. And unless they want to lose just about the whole team, it's got to be some of the best fighters. Even then.... What's so important that they are willing to do this?"

"I have no clue," Ahsoka responded. "I wish I knew...."

"Well, I'll make contact and see what I can get from them."

~*~

"We're here," Han announced as he, Chewie, and Luke walked into the briefing room. Leia nodded as they came in while Mon Mothma only glanced from the control council she was looking at.

"Just in time," Admiral Ackbar commented. Moments later, a hologram of two wings connected by a diamond appeared. Luke's eyes widened in shock before he shared a look with Han. It was Valkyrie's symbol, that was who they were being briefed by. Everyone in the fleet had heard about the newest addition to the "front lines" of the Rebellion, but only High Command had had any sort of serious contact with her. The Fulcrum Valkyrie worked with usually briefed everyone else considering Valkyrie dealt more with strategy—but that said, Valkyrie's Fulcrum didn't talk to just anyone, only Rebel Intelligence.

What kind of mission were they being sent on? How dangerous was it to involve getting intel directly from Valkyrie?

"This is Valkyrie," a filtered female voice stated over the comm.

"Valkyrie, Fulcrum has briefed you, correct?" Mon asked.

"Yes, Senator. It is a very risky mission and could very easily turn into another Scarif, minus the successful stealing of intel. I hope you know the risks."

"I am aware, but we need this."

"I see...." Valkyrie said, going silent for a moment. "What in particular are you after? The base is set up in an unusual fashion specifically to prevent such break-ins. I can nearly guarantee the team you send in will get lost before they could even hope to locate the correct terminals. You'll need a good team as well, just getting in won't be easy, even if you have a planned distraction."

"Which is why you are being fully briefed with the team," Ackbar said, stepping forward, further surprising Luke with the fact that even Valkyrie didn't exactly know what was going on. The holotable changed to an image of the extremely high security Imperial base that had practically been created to store Imperial secrets with Valkyrie's symbol being shrunk down and moved to the side. "There is a rumor of a second Death Star's construction, not to mention a second army of Sith Hands. We need intel on the research bases and to find out if there is actually a second Death Star."

"A second Death Star? You've got to be joking!" Han said.

"Unfortunately General Solo, I can confirm the existence of such a weapon," Valkyrie said after a long pause, startling everyone in the room with both the fact she knew Han's name and the fact there actually was a second Death Star. "The last I heard, it had a while before it became operational. As for the location, I never learned of it, but I would suggest checking the Endor System if you wish to look. That would leave the intel for the Sith Hand's bases, which could possibly be found elsewhere. I would highly encourage choosing another base to gather this intel from."

"We don't have time to find another one," Mon replied. "Now Valkyrie, are you going to help us or not?"

"Who else is part of this team, besides General Solo?"

"I fail to see why this would be important."

"I cannot find a way to create a plan unless I know who I'm working with."

"Princess Leia and Commander Skywalker will also be part of the infiltration team."

"I see...." Valkyrie muttered. "Would you like me and Fulcrum to meet up with the team at the base before you infiltrate it? Getting in will be extremely difficult, and if I'm there, I may be able to hack into the Imperial Network and get your foot through the door. Besides, the two of us have plenty of experience that could be helpful once inside."

"No," Mon said, "it will be hard enough getting one ship in, we don't need to worry about two."

"Very well...."