716 FNM (22BBY)
Month 1
Mandalorian Sector, Ratio
Tanya Kryze
'Happy birthday to me, I guess.' I thought, as I read over the recent news. It is my 18th birthday and theoretically I should be heading off to a party or some sort. After all, once I hit 18 that would mean that I am officially considered an adult in most cultures. Granted, I had been considered an adult since I was 13, but that was according to Mandalorian culture and some sort of celebration is expected due to my station nonetheless. I am a politician and a politician's life sometimes takes precedence over your own wants.
Precedence like having an all-expenses-paid trip around the Mandalorian sector to meet various diplomats and civilizations across it, it is almost like a vacation. Officially, I am to make a quick trip across the sector to gather status reports, perform in-person checks to keep the various governments honest on the progress for building their respective Mandalorian Self-Defense Forces. Unofficially, I am to inquire about anyone meeting with Count Dooku or having any run-ins with the Separatists, things of that nature.
Even more unofficially, I am going to enjoy my break from the Senate as well as take the time to get my new handmaiden up to speed. There aren't a lot of things I expected to happen, but getting a handmaiden thrown at me by my brother was not on the list of possible things to happen. Let alone having the handmaiden be the same person as the Morson princess I saved on Gargon that Keldabe kissed me, while I was disguised as White Silver.
I have been looking for any opportunity to try and back out of the whole arrangement but when I finally officially met Khae Morson as Tanya, I realized that it is kind of hard to deny my brother's request. For one, she has the right hair color and eyes to pass off as me without needing to constantly don a disguise, which meant she could easily switch out for me as a body double in an emergency. For another, she is very competent in a fight. In fact, I met her officially in the Royal Guard gym as Morson made the gym her primary residence. She is getting training from the veterans; even as I watch she is holding her own, even against Captain Struc.
According to Bo, the reason Morson got caught by Gerr's goons in the first place was because her opponent is just a better fighter. The victor of that battle now works as Bo's assistant and bodyguard in Gargon. She got Aunt Bo's attention by being the best fighter out of those that signed up to be Gargon Rangers. Apparently she was an independent mercenary that joined Black Iron for the very generous pay, when Gerr needed more bodies for his Rebellion. Once Gerr was dethroned, she was very willing to seek employment as a Ranger instead, before catching Aunt Bo's attention and becoming her assistant.
Anyay, back to Morson. Given that I was present at the fateful events on Gargon that set Morson and my paths intersecting, I have enough context to piece things together rather quickly. She is a Mandalorian after all, possibly a True Mandalorian based on demographics, and most likely felt rather insulted that her father had sent her away to somewhere safe. Thus she is trying to get as much training as possible to show up to her father. Mandalorian teen confidence, if you could bottle it up, you could probably conquer the galaxy. It's possible that had been attempted before, considering the amount of times that Mandalore had gone on with the war path to try and conquer the Galaxy. I wouldn't be surprised if there were quite a few Mandalor's of the ancient past who had started out as teenagers on a warpath.
I kept these thoughts to myself and focused on keeping our current relationship professional. I made sure to keep an eye on where Morson was and only discuss matters of Silver importance when I was sure she would not be around. It's a bit of a hassle but what could you do? Having an extra handmaiden with the ability to fight also meant I had a little bit more security so it is not all bad. I would have to try and avoid any moment where she might realize who I am and hopefully that would never happen. Morson even admitted that she and the White Silver touched helmets, which could imply she was interested in that kind of relationship. I had plenty of rumors about my personal life already and I did not need another rumor possibly coming apparent. My personal life would be doomed if Morson were to confirm my suspicions; worse, if she tried to advance a relationship with my public persona like a certain someone.
Hopefully, that was just overthinking it though. Either way, I'll be doing my best to keep her out of the whole Silver business I occasionally got drawn into. On the plus side, if I ever needed to make appearances while pretending to be White Silver and I needed Vai's aid, I would have someone to count on to pretend to be me.
But the best part of having an extra handmaiden is that I can now prevent any more of Tabi & Vai's romantic nonsense when Vai is impersonating me by pairing Tabi with Morson. As I already stated I knew what way she swung, or at least had a guess of it, so his efforts to flirt with Morson would probably fail. Nevertheless, if he did try that, may the gods of Mandalore have mercy on his soul because I don't think Vai will.
So far, I've been back to Ordo again and observed their armories that they got back up and running producing weapons for the Self-Defense Force mainly in the form of the SHUKUR blaster rifle designed by Vesti Engineering. The patriarch of Clan Ordo was so overjoyed by the recent rule change resulting in a drop in unemployment due to the massive contract for the new blasters for the various MSDFs that Vesti sold the license to produce it to vetted factories on Ordo that he'd even offered to give me a recently created weapon, one based on an old design. That particular design is apparently from the Mandalorian Wars if his statements are to be believed. The weapon, a Gatling blaster, is ridiculous. I will admit I was sorely tempted to accept the gift, simply to own something that ridiculous. It wasn't even designed to be shouldered, instead it required two hands to carry while it is fired from the hip. It was made to be sprayed and prayed.
The temptation to take it had been quashed by the realization that something of that design did not have a stun mode. This weapon is meant for killing and I simply said it would be improper for me to take such a weapon of war. I hoped I hadn't insulted the man but apparently I had not, as he simply nodded sagely before saying that he'd find something in the archives that is more fitting. I agreed that if he could find a weapon that is more oriented towards stunning an enemy than killing it, I would not mind taking it up and hanging it up above a fireplace somewhere to be a decoration for most times and sometimes in an emergency.
Once I had left Ordo, I moved on to the next planet, Harswee. It's technically my first visit to Harswee, though since Vai previously performed my official introduction ceremony on the planet while disguised as me. A few months back I had heard reports that there was a bit of a kerfuffle between the city clan that Tabi was from and the more rural clans that followed more ancient customs to this world. At first, I had assumed the conflict had abated, as I didn't see mass explosions and gunfire during my visit. Instead, when I had shown up to the installation where the MSSDF were being housed, I quickly discovered that the forces present exceeded the 4000 quota that we had set on Mandalore. In fact it looks like there was double that number and they seem to be in two separate groups.
Instead of open conflict, it looked like there was a bit of competition between the two groups. Each group was trying to look more impressive than the other as they stood at attention. With one side having a myriad of colors possibly representing different clans they were from with unifying yet intricate red markings, while the other side had only blue and gold markings on their armor and looked like they had more standardized equipment. In fact, I think I saw myself reflected in a few of the helmet's sides to the point that it was almost a perfect mirror sheen, which implies that they were being rather tiptop in their cleaning efforts.
It was quite apparent that though the conflict was over and the two had moved on to a new phase of the conflict. Where they were just trying to be better than each other at being the better Mandalorian Self-Defense Force for this planet.
That being said, I simply told the Duke of Harswee that he had quite an impressive Self-Defense Force and left it at that. Hoping that by feigning ignorance to the growing rivalry between both factions it wouldn't be my job to fix it, I have enough on my plate as it is. Untangling this mess is going to take a lot more effort than I could afford with the upcoming Galactic Civil War down the line.
The rest of the trip to that planet had basically been Vai dragging me and Morson to various shopping areas and the acquiring of a couple new dresses for myself and a bunch of new dresses for Morson who I pity and sympathize with each dressing room we visit. It is rather obvious she is not a fan of dresses, at one point I took her aside and gently explained to her that in private she could wear casual attire, but in other contexts, dresses were often a part of the social expectations.
After we left Ordo, we visited Draboon. It is a tropical world with lush jungles and plenty of pests that Draboon's populace mostly live in higher elevations away from the forests which are infested with venom-mites which have been known to kill people. Their culture is somewhat similar to Gargon as there are 2 distinct demographics on the planet. A city group that lived in the hills and mountains away from the forests and a rural population that lived in the river deltas. The hill dwellers provide wool from sheep, gemstones and regular stone from the mines, and steel from the steel mill while the river dwellers provide wood from their lumber yards and fish from their fisheries that they bring upstream on river barges.
Chief Chaka Bose is a savvy and diplomatic ruler who supports Satine's pacifist and neutral stance. In fact, Prince Chala, Chief Chaka's son, is a friend of Aunt Satine who had saved her and Jedi Kenobi from mercenaries during the Clan War. Once Satine entered into power, the two stayed in contact and Satine provided economic investment to Draboon in the form of schools and modern mining equipment to mine Lapis safely as opposed to mining it by hand.
I greeted the local rulership and we talked for a bit about the future of Mandalore. I listened to Chief Chaka's concerns, which is basically a worry about trade being cut off from the Republic due to Mandalore's somewhat militarized state. I put him at ease by pointing out that there is a current ongoing crisis in the form of the Separatists that's distracting them from such things.
The visit culminated with a showcase of the Draboon SDF. The ranks consisted mostly of those from a Hunter's background. They are clad in a colored vest appropriate for their environment that can be inserted with a beskar plate reminiscent of modern military armor in my first life while the arms and legs were left bare. I am guessing that this is to improve their mobility as they won't get tired as quickly as those wearing full beskar armor. For armaments they are armed with a carbine variant of the SHUKUR blaster, a blaster pistol sidearm, and a melee weapon of the Hunter's choice, signifying them to be a close quarters type of unit that can act as scouts with their camouflage uniform. Lastly, they are provided with grappling hook gauntlets for increased maneuverability where jetpacks are ill advised, like in the forests or in a stealth/reconnaissance mission. If attached to a larger formation, I can see them act as a screening force to protect the larger formation, sent out ahead to recon an enemy position, or have them infiltrate a position and sabotage it from within before a major attack.
After Draboon we visited Hrthging, the total opposite of Draboon and the farthest planet from Mandalore. Hrthging is a fairly cold tundra planet with plenty of glaciers and mountain ranges. Their culture does remind me a bit of stereotypical Vikings with fur coats, wooden homes, and a strong fishing culture where they get the majority of their food from while greenhouses and hunting filled the rest. Their main exports are metals and Firegems from the various mountains with a minor export of crude oil from off-shore drilling platforms that survived the Excision and were previously abandoned.
Jarl Himmin is a jolly fellow and an ardent supporter of the New Mandalorians, mostly because they actually helped improve the standard of living on Hrthging. After the Clan War ended, the New Mandalorians under Satine's rule launched an initiative to repair and improve the various planets that swore fealty to her. From constructing schools and workshops, investments to get the aforementioned oil rigs operational with an oil refinery to process it, and many more. All this is thanks to the New Mandalorian reconstruction effort to turn a rural backwater of a planet into a thriving economy with a fairly high standard of living.
Hrthging's Self-Defense Force is the only SDFs to train Marksmen to augment their Light Infantry. The regulars are clad in full armor, armed with standard issue blasters, and skis for traversing over deep snow, something she are familiar with from your second life facing Legadonia during the winter months before your troops finally defeat them. The marksmen wear similar gear except they use a Longrifle variant of the SHUKUR. If attached to a larger formation, they could be attached to squads as designated marksmen to deal with long range threats or have sniper teams provide support by overwatch and spotting for artillery.
I've managed to get off both planets rather easily though, the leadership of Draboon had given me a box full of lapis because apparently Aunt Satine had ordered it for something. The same thing happened on Hrthging as I've been given a crate full of fire gems, also apparently ordered by Aunt Satine. I wonder why she's spending a bit of Mandalore's budget on something like this. Both materials are rather expensive with the Firegems being particularly dangerous if put next to a Hyperdrive, but it is not my place to look too deep into it. I ensured both crates were stowed away inside the Ratio and scheduled them to be delivered to Mandalore at some point after our trip to Jakelia.
Maybe I should buy some Firegems, both as White Silver and as Tanya Kryze. White Silver could use this to destroy any ship she boarded by sticking a Firegem to the Hyperdrive, set the Hyperdrive to go somewhere else on a timer, and then evacuate. Several boarding teams could destroy entire capital ships, even the Trade Federation's Lucrehulks without the need for nuclear weapons of a fleet of our own. Of course, getting the boarding team in there, past the fleet of escorts, fight their way to the Hyperdrive and bridge, and then escaping are their own set of problems but it is an option if we don't have a fleet and an enemy fleet does.
For Tanya Kryze, in the event that I am kidnapped, I could drop this next to my kidnapper's hyperdrive just as I was making an escape to make sure that they won't be a problem anymore. Many people don't know about Fire gem's properties, even I had to look it up because it isn't something I am familiar with. I could pass it off as mundane jewelry from my own sector, something I choose to wear because I liked the look of it. It is also very likely that I would never have the opportunity to actually use it the way I intended, but as the old adage goes, better to have and not need it.
I considered visiting Gargon and Concord Dawn but I ultimately decided against both. Gargon's political future is still uncertain and most people would agree the planet is controlled by a dangerous and criminal underworld. No, a visit to Gargon would create an unnecessary opportunity for kidnappers, opportunities to target valuable diplomatic representatives. Korkie had finished negotiations and it was up to the planetary leaders to take the next steps, I didn't need to get involved and cause a potential mess. Not to mention there is the whole probability that if I did show up on Gargon the other leaders of the Triumvirate would probably call upon White Silver to meet the princess of Mandalore. Yeah, I would need to arrange things a lot better and have Vai already posing on me on the planet if I ever did that trip.
As for Concord Dawn, well, the governor of the planet is known to be not exactly the most ethical leader elected to his position. In fact, they had a series of belligerent governors like this, and the recent refusal to create a Mandalorian Self-Defense Force is more of the same. Instead of participating in self-defense, Concord Dawn is openly investing more money in their own Journeyman Protectors. This is setting off many red flags in my mind, they might be preparing to expand their bellicosity into open conflict or piracy. I would keep an eye on the situation and I'm sure every other Mandalorian in the sector would too.
I have had several other invites. Vorpa'ya's leadership had also invited me but their proximity to a minor Hyperlane with Concord Dawn is a bit of a concern, so I had informed their leadership I would take that under advisory and perhaps would visit another time once their current situation had calmed down.
The frontier council of Cheravh and Zanbar had both offered invites as well but there is a reality as to how much time I could actually spend traveling around. There is a vote for the Military Creation Act coming up and I wanted to be there to at least offer my support to those voting against it. Sure, I didn't actually need to be present, but it's the symbolism of the act that mattered.
Interestingly enough, Krownest had heard that all these planets were competing to have me come by just to pay a visit and preemptively declined a visit. They sent me a message saying they weren't open to visitors right now. I hadn't even thought about going there nor had I even considered it. Krownest is under the ownership of the Wrens after all and the Wrens had been involved in the whole mess on Gargon two years ago. Why they'd gotten involved is still a mystery to me but I hadn't had any opportunities to try and find out. The fact that they said that they weren't interested in having me visit as Tanya could be a hint to their intentions.
Krownest had always been a planet that stayed out of the current Mandalorian rule under the New Mandalorians and it would seem that that tradition is still going strong. Considering the planet is for all intents and purposes a fortress; many of its mountains were hollowed out to host large armories and barracks for armies larger than the current population of the planet, it would be very likely that they had built up over the years and had their own larger force that could support open rebellion if they wanted to. They probably just didn't want me visiting and finding that out, because, well, that would draw a lot of notice to them. Right now, the Krownest have the flexibility to declare independence if needed, while still enjoying the representation of Mandalore in the Republic, for now. Krownest is on my list of potential Separatist hotspots, the planet is prime real estate for a troublemaker like Count Dooku. Unfortunately, like lots of other places, Krownest is merely one major planet amongst the many major planets of the sector and that there were even more minor planets I didn't even mention.
Besides that, there is Phindar who I didn't even consider arranging a visit. If Gargon is a trouble to visit because of its criminal ties, Phindar is a nightmare considering it is literally run by criminals on every level. Also they just didn't want to even be involved in the Mandalore sector. Enough that if a representative shows up, it is very likely that they would kidnap them and hold them hostage to make demands of the Republic. I could easily imagine the situation turning into a major international incident that would be so bad that it could start a war.
Granted, I think the entire sector would be better off if Phindar did leave the sector. Unfortunately, the Republic is the one that made the borders, so that is what the borders of sectors are as far as I'm concerned. They should really be complaining to the Republic.
Which really only left Jakelia, which is an interesting planet to say the least. Right now, the Ratio is en route to Jakelia, the last place on my list before I headed back to Coruscant. Most Mandalorian planets had a Mandalorian population of humans, in Jakelia there are mixes of other species but the majority are humans. This could be because of ancient genocides or it could just be humans were a rather common species, I did hear theories that a lot of species were actually variants of humans so it's possible that over time just as many species mixed together. You didn't get new hybrids, you just got humans either way. Jakelia are not human or at least have enough deviation from humans that their entire population is still Jakelian.
Back when Mandalore was out conquesting, Jakelia had surrendered as soon as the Mandalore showed up and it declared themselves a vassal to the Mandalorian Empire and they'd been there basically this entire time. One of the prime examples for why Mandalore was not always out there genociding, they did actually just conquer planets and leave local populations alone if they stayed loyal. In fact, while the Taungs were still the majority, the Jakelian had joined the Mandalorian Crusades themselves at some points. As a result, the local culture and Mandalorian culture had intermixed into their own distinct subculture of Jakelian Mandalorian.
Jakelia is not a major economy compared to Kalevala and their shipyards as their primary export is forestry. Their most productive resource are their monolithic trees, the most valuable of which is Jakelian Tuft Oak. Their population lived in a rather feudal state, granted there weren't actual serfs, but the aristocracy remained powerful. So I suppose they are better off than I expected, but there were plenty of Lords and Ladies and lots of decorum between the classes. Privately, I suspected my warm welcome and generous reception is due more to my Royal status and the status of the Clan Kryze more than anything else.
As for the Jakelian themselves, they looked nearly human so they probably were related to humans, either as an offshoot, or some kind of precursor. The only major external differences in Jakelians I'd noticed besides surface pigmentation were these distinctive dark green and pointed ears, the shape reminded me of Tolkien's elves. However, I noticed a pattern amongst the hair and eye colors. While black and red hair seemed more common and eye colors varied, this pattern is broken by the aristocracy. Instead, there is a separate profile much more prevalent amongst members of the Jakelian aristocracy — blonde hair and yellow eyes.
Is there something deeper to that? I don't know. There is no official research on their customs marked anywhere in Mandalore's records. It's not something that was really kept track of by any administration. One explanation might be that the nobility acquired this level of genetic closeness the same way that it occurred in Europe's aristocracy, inbreeding. Or worse, a secret Eugenics program. However, that is leaping to conclusions, there are many benign explanations which might rationally explain things. I am not an authority figure in Jakelian biology and I didn't really have any understanding of Jakelian physiology. Lacking evidence, just suspicions really, and with no visible harm in sight, I decided I didn't need to know.
In order to maintain my sanity and pursue a happier life, well, some mysteries were better left unsolved.
Anyways, I arrived yesterday and went to visit a few places of importance across the planet's ancient castles, large prehistoric monuments, standing stones, and other culturally relevant items before I was allowed to relax and rest.
Today's adventure had taken me to where they were training up their Self-Defense Force. Jakelia had eagerly instituted a Self-Defense Force and I am somewhat impressed with their progress. They had stepped close to the mark on 4,000 soldiers exactly, but where they went a little bit overboard is the armor. Instead of jetpack soldiers every other SDF fielded, they went with the older style, heavy armor soldiers. Full plate with what looked like chainmail underneath it. Their T-visors were altered slightly, having two more vertical lines going down at the ends of the T giving it a look like they had a claw mark down their face. Their armor looked like it had been painted solid bronze indicating based on how much their society had seen that these people were related to the nobility. Their weapon is a bit interesting as well, as it looked to be a combination staff weapon like the royal guard but with a blaster at the bottom, sort of a blaster Pike really. Looks long and unwieldy but with the blade at one end they could definitely take on a Cavalry charge.
Normally, I would question why would someone want to build something to fight against the cavalry charge but I am much more familiar recently with the exploits of the Sun Guard mercenary company that would use the formation not too dissimilar to this. Apparently the Sun Guard had used their Pike and Shot formations to prevent Mandalorian mercenary companies from winning several important battles over the last couple hundred years. Perhaps one of those mercenary companies had come back to this planet and come up with an idea to counter that by taking the Pike and Shot formation and simply turn it into rifle bayonet formation with a heavy armor.
If so then good on him. Personally, I would have called in an artillery barrage or an airstrike on such a target rich environment. Now I wondered how they afforded the beskar in those armor though I guess it could be slightly diluted beskar. I believe I'd heard Zum once say that up to about 50% beskar could still be a functional armor. And really you only need it around 80% for the armor around your chest and vital regions.
I am somewhat entranced in the thought of figuring out how they were able to afford this when King Buirka'ra of the Jakelians nodded and said, "Impressive are they not? 4,000 of our best trained soldiers I think we've ever produced."
I nodded my head in agreement saying, "Most impressive. I've seen several formations on my trip across the Mandalore sector but no one has gone full heavy armor like you have."
He nodded his yellow eyes, seeming to gleam with superiority as he said, "The ancient ways have almost been forgotten but the people of Jakelia have not forgotten the Neo-Crusaders or the heavy armor that nearly won the war against the Republic."
I nodded my head before saying, "Although it is true that it almost won against the Republic 4,000 years ago. However, wasn't it their mobility that prevented us from winning which is why we ended up adopting their jetpacks?"
King Buirka'ra nodded his head before saying, "Of course, but just because I put together a heavy armor formation doesn't mean I don't understand the purpose of these Self-Defense Force's. In times of emergency, we will each pledge these forces to fight on a planet against enemies of Mandalore. If every SDF is composed of light and fast units, there'll be no heavier forces to hold the enemy in position for those fast moving troops, thus why I contribute this."
I gave an expression of understanding, seeing the logic but knowing it wasn't exactly the optimal decision. The monolithic and predictable unit compositions of other SDF's is mainly to take advantage of their home planet's terrain. The MSDF is not large enough to be a conventional military and use a combined arms doctrine that can cover every weakness, so specializing the troops so that they make the most of their home planet's advantages lets them win against much larger invaders who might have a harder time operating at ground level. It might be a liability down the road, but the extra mobility provided by Light Infantry is one of the most important aspects of warfare. The best army in the galaxy is useless if it can't get to where they are most needed. If you could get around the enemy, you could flank them and strike where they are at their most vulnerable. Sure being able to take shots is useful, that's why Gerr had designed a literal floating bunker but a light force could work just as well as a holding force as a heavy force if provided with the right equipment.
The king seemed to not share my concern and is already talking about something else, "That being said, I cannot wait for this Self-Defense Force to be expanded. I have other ideas for formations that could be contributed and plenty of lower nobility who would love the chance to take up arms for the sector. There's several calvary-based formations already on the planet for various Self-Defense Forces to keep the occasional bandits in line. You know that type."
I nodded wondering what these Calvary forces were about. Were they ancient jousters or are they actually dragoons? I had a feeling it would be even worse and it would be knights. He seems rather stuck in the past though I guess if you update the weapons to work in the future it could still technically work. That being said, Buirka'ra had already moved on to the next subject. Seeming to not care whether I responded or not.
"I'm so excited for the possibilities of this new era in Mandalorian Defense. While I whole-heartedly support pacifism, as I don't want my subjects to die, it does get rather dull after the first 10 years." I blinked as he started to walk away from the castle turret where we've been over watching the 4000 Self-Defense Force soldiers. I guess I am supposed to follow and looking at my handmaidens I simply shrugged in confusion. They did the same and followed.
"So many ancient traditions around warfare will be lost if we go fully pacifist. This new method brought in by Satine will be a better through line for our history."
"Yes," I said, "I guess it will be. Although where exactly are we going?"
"Ah, my apologies. Let me give some context." King Buirka'ra slapped the top of his head as if he just realized he'd forgotten to say what the hell is going on. "You've seen the 4,000 members of the Self-Defense Force and I thought you would like to see an example of our Jakelian Calvary Force. I keep a Royal unit of this type of Calvary on hand just in case we are ever invaded by pirates or some other group trying to overthrow the rightful government."
I nodded my head, "I follow so far." I said still trying to understand where we were going but we quickly passed through a bit of a structural turret before coming out at the other corner of the castle revealing another training area as well. On the other side of the wall, it became obvious what he wanted to show me.
It was 2,000 soldiers and I'd estimate that 1,000 men were currently practicing with lances while riding speeder bikes. The impressive part isn't apparent until one of the men actually drove by a metal target and hit it with a lance. The lance appears to have a Vibro tip as it easily shears through the thick metal in a flash of sparks. Absolute insanity but it's apparently successful as the rider continued cruising past. I noted the armor they were wearing is a bit lighter than the heavy armor formation from before, though there is definitely a heavier chain mesh underneath it, probably to catch any sparks or shrapnel from anything they hit with their lance.
"That looks fairly dangerous." I am reminded of my first life's World War 2, where there was propaganda of Polish cavalry charging at German tanks. Thankfully that never actually happened and it was more like both sides simply ran into each other in the fog of war by accident. If a similar situation were to happen, where the Germans are Separatists and the Polish cavalry are Jakelian instead, I can see the Jakelians doing considerable damage to the Trade Federation army instead of merely passing them by.
"Oh, quite dangerous indeed. To be a Jakelian Lancer, recruits must come from some of the top nobles and trained since they're 13th year to even nearly be considered to join. They're our pride and joy, to be able to produce soldiers of such fine quality."
I pretended not to notice that it would imply that these men were in training well before the Self-Defense Force was even considered. Mainly because this planet is a supporter of Satine, I am not going to rock the boat over how truthful that support had been.
The other formation is wearing the lightest of armor I'd seen on this planet. Colored bronze like everyone else and their helmets bore similar visor markings that probably represented this planet in some way, for once they seem to be actually reasonable. They had jetpacks, blasters on their side, and they almost passed for something you see on any other planets. Except they were riding what looks like Komodo dragons the size of horses. Well, Komodo dragons might be a little bit too nice, as there is a little bit of crocodile in their facial structure so I would simply settle for a reptilian.
"May I present to you, the Mythosaur Riders." My eyebrow raised at that as I immediately got what the implication was. Back during the Conquest of Mandalore by the Taung, there had been a species known as the mythosaur and its skull was often featured on many Mandalorian objects as it was something that the first species had to conquer to make Mandalore livable.
They were harkening back to these creatures with the animals calling them mythosaurs. I know how much of a harken back it was, a bit of a curiosity to me. I had recently read the report on the Mandalorian gator or crocodile that lived on Breshig. Thus it's not impossible to me that this might be another creature that had been imported off of Mandalore perhaps the distinct cousin of the mythosaur? I don't know.
"Quite impressive," I said out loud before asking, "however, wouldn't these Mythosaur Riders have a limited range compared to the Lancers?"
King Buirka'ra shook his head before saying, "On the contrary, if anything they have a longer strategic range than the Lancers. They're not as fast as the Lancers, but they can range much further in front of our formations. Both, riders and they're beasts, can be fed in the wild simply by hunting local prey animals thus don't require plasma as fuel like the speeder bike would."
I nodded before asking, "What about in worlds like Mandalore where there are very few prey animals?"
"In that scenario, the more conventional Lancers would be at the forefront, while the Mythosaurs would patrol near the base so that they can be properly fed." Came the immediate reply.
"How about transporting them? They seem to be rather dangerous creatures to be moving about on a ship don't you think."
Buirka'ra shook his head before saying, "That is very unlikely to happen, as each mount is absolutely loyal to their riders. Years of bonding have grown between the riders and the creatures resulting in well trained mounts. We start pairing the riders at age 13 and a rider is given an egg that they hatch on their own. The creature will immediately pair with the first thing it sees as its parent."
I nodded as King Buirka'ra started to walk again heading towards what looked like a doorway down to the training area. Shaking my head, I just followed along as it is obvious that he just is used to people falling along as he talked. Perhaps a conceit of royalty that I did not have to deal with with Satine. Have to keep that in mind in the future if I run into any other official royalties. As we walked down a set of stairs he continued talking, "The creatures will take about 3 years to grow to full maturity and then they will live often close to 100 to 200 years old. The last king claimed that his personal mythosaur mount had been used by his grandfather so there is a potential for these creatures to live up to 400 years if well cared for."
Wait a moment, if they could live up to 200 years that meant they definitely were outliving their riders in some cases. So I spoke up, "About that, it would seem that there would be a surplus of these creatures when they're rider mustered out."
"Well, of course we need to train the kids on something. Mythosaurs can be a little bit finicky at first with new riders; they get used to humans over time."
As we took the final steps out into the courtyard, we skirted into what appeared to be a stable. Several of the creatures were in their rather large quarters, as well as what I guess are their partners, were tending to them using scrubbing brushes to clean and groom them.
As we walked by one stall, one of the Mythosaurs had its eyes closed and its mouth open as its partner used a brush to scrub behind his ear looking to be content. If it wasn't for the rows of sharp man-eating teeth pointing in my direction as it did that, I'd say it almost looks cute.
The king stopped and signaled the rider to come over as he spoke, "I see you have some doubts about the use of these steeds. Thus, I think I can convince you otherwise if you are willing to entertain my attempts."
Smiling, I said, "While I do admit I'm a bit concerned about such a creature, I am willing to hear what your majesty has to say."
"Excellent." Buirka'ra gestured to the rider.
Dismounting and pulling off a helmet, the rider revealed a hair color similar to my own and more importantly, to the king's. A detail which made sense considering their next statement.
"Hello father." he said, giving a bow.
"Prince Ruusaarka'ar, this is Tanya Kryze of Mandalore and our representative in the Republic. I would like you to take her on a hunting expedition tomorrow to show her how to ride our Mythosaurs and demonstrate to her just how effective of a hunting animal they are."
I had not expected that and immediately headed off the possibility by saying, "I'm afraid I don't have a set of armor on this trip. I don't think I could ride such a mount in one of my dresses."
My concern is immediately cut short as Prince Ruusaarka'ar shook their head and said, "My twin sister loves to ride her Mythosaur all the time. Kyr'vehtka'aris is rather innovative, she created a style or riding that is compatible with a dress and can ride with them. She's even quite skilled in shooting whilst riding."
"I'm sure you can handle yourself." He winked at this last statement. "I'm certain I can convince Princess Kyr'vehtka'ar to come along, introduce you to some mythosaurs and teach you."
Great, I thought. "I don't know about that, these seem a little dangerous."
"Be not concerned, we will pull out old Henry. He's an older beast and quite lovable to any human who comes around. In fact, he is actually the one I trained on."
'Oh' I thought, 'this is going to happen.' A hunting trip, at least if I go out there, I wouldn't be going alone. "How much of a party is allowed?" If I'm going, I'm going to make sure that Vai and maybe even more than her were along for the ride. If I could I'd bring the entire Royal guard. I doubted they'd allow so many, but I would bring the maximum I could.
"You can bring two other people. I'll be bringing two as well. Maybe my sister would like to join us. I will take you across the plains and we'll hunt some beasts together." Prince Ruusaarka'arsaid with a rather assured smile.
"Sounds wonderful." I said, internally screaming about the possibility of being eaten by a Komodo dragon on steroids. At least I would have a blaster rifle in case it tried that.
Unfortunately that would prove useless as well, as the prince asked, "Are you familiar with the use of an energy bow?"
I blinked before answering in the negative. Taking this in stride, he responded, "Well, I'll have to teach you. It's always good to have those ancient skills remembered and passed down."
It's at this point I am certainly suspicious, this is some sort of plot. Perhaps a sneaky method to build closer relations between the current ruling House of Mandalore and the House of Jakelia. Send your prince off with a princess to go hunting, arrange for them to stay in close physical proximity to each other in order to learn how to use a bow. Very suspicious in my opinion.
Perhaps it's nothing, but I should keep my guard up. Perhaps I would bring Ordo along instead of Vai just to be safe.
Concordia, Governor's Castle, Underground
Bo-Katan Kryze
Of all the planets I thought I'd have to go to for a meeting, Concordia had been on the bottom of my list. Sure, I had a residence on the planet for several years off and on again but currently my life is on Mandalore or Gargon. Coming back to Concordia is sort of a downgrade, though I will admit to missing the fresh forest air.
Of course, I wasn't here for a vacation to enjoy the fresh air. I was summoned by Pre Vizsla or should I refer to him by his title, 'Secret Mandalore'. This summons is about Death Watch affairs, which I found somewhat surprising. I thought Pre would have written me off, considering it's obvious that I am growing closer to Satine's camp in the last few years. I know if the roles were reversed, I would have made sure to 'forget' to send summons to a disloyal member, especially to whatever speech he planned on giving tonight.
Then again, considering that my stakes amongst the Death Watch had risen to around 45% and I was possibly a contender for taking his rank of 'Secret Mandalore', perhaps he didn't want to risk insulting my supporters by not inviting me. I guess it's possible, I'm not one for politics. I'm a woman of action and I only really got into Death Watch's clan politics to keep an eye on them in case they ever tried to pull a rebellion against my sister. Getting a 30% margin had been due to luck, the fact people correctly assume I'm not a conniving person, and that some people trusted my family name a bit more than the Vizsla name.
My membership in Death Watch served two simple goals. Keep my family alive and watch out for unexpected consequences. Though I don't think I needed to check in as much as I once did, I might as well keep an eye on Death Watch if they were going to let me keep an eye on them.
I was in the system anyways, one of my monthly trips to Mandalore in the middle of nowhere to beat Satine into shape. As much as Satine thought she was rusty, she really wasn't. Oh sure, Satine is not as quick now as she used to be when we were younger, but just like riding a speeder bike, her muscle memory is still there. Even with the new training armor that Satine had bought from Zum, she was still able to keep up with me and my old red armor.
Of course, I'd rather be fighting her in her new armor but she was still being a bit cagey about that. From what I understood, it existed, some of the base was done, but it was still being worked on by Zum who was keeping his lips tight about it as well.
The secrecy was kind of annoying, but also kind of made me want to see it even more. I was half-expecting it to be some gaudy showpiece when it's finally revealed, hopefully it would be at least somewhat practical. It's not like I didn't know what colors it would be, probably green and blue with a little splash of purple here and there. Those were her general favored attributes of the color theory even if Satine claimed she never used it. Peace, reliability, and luck have been hallmarks of her rule.
Overall, her training was going well. When she'll finally get her armor, I pity anyone who'll try to dethrone her. Not only because she would be able to defend herself, but they'd have to go through her Royal Guard and the new Mandalore Self-Defense Force. I was not involved in training the SDF, but I was proud to see them excel and was looking forward to their introduction ceremony.
Speaking of the SDF, their current size on each planet is around 4,000 strong from what I had observed. There is a bill in the government slowly working its way up to expand the size to twice that number. Although Tanya had sent a note about this, attached for the Royal family's eyes only, to cancel the standard notification memo for Harswee in particular. Odd, but not really my problem. Personally, I thought that Mandalore the planet's SDF had some of the finest Mandalorian armor outside the Royal Guard. The armor had a coloration that generally matched Satine's outfit and dress. Which is a good way to say they were a peaceful force and not a military force.
I would say the new blasters they are carrying were pretty militarized, however there is a big switch on them that allows the blaster to switch from stun mode to kill mode. They were designed to function in stun mode first, but it's an impressive weapon nonetheless. Vesti Engineering, is a company that hadn't had any government contracts before, it's most likely why they won the contract. Satine is still rather hesitant in dealing with the old families that had helped run Mandalore's military industry before the rise of the New Mandalorians. Working with a bunch of fresh-faced engineers seemed rather more her style. The fact that the weapon blew the competition out of the water certainly silenced any criticisms of favoritism.
When Satine sent out specifications for the MSDF Blaster Trials for a standard issue blaster, the main points are that it has a stun setting, be able to work in every environment, and still be reliable after a decent amount of abuse. Since Vesti only ever made WESTAR knock-offs, X4 asked me to be a consultant and 'subject matter expert'. Their initial prototype performed like garbage. It could shoot a powerful bolt that can drop someone in beskar armor, have a rather long range, and is fairly reliable. It's also really long which makes it feel front heavy, it can't interface with modern helmets, and has a very heavy recoil which are major problems. When used in full auto it makes the gun jump all over the place, making it a big detriment in the field and something Satine would have issue with if a civilian died due to a stray shot. It's basically a Mandalorian War era repeating blaster with a stunner tacked on under the barrel.
After going back to the drawing board and going through multiple prototypes later, Vesti managed to iron out all of the kinks and added a few quality of life features I recommended to them. Now it has a modern barrel which integrates the stunner and blaster components into a single package as well as making it shorter being only about slightly longer than a GALAAR. It uses modern lightweight alloys to make it lighter while still being able to take a beating. And can still shoot after it's dunked in water, sand, and mud or frozen solid and dropped from a 2 story building. Thanks to their experience with making WESTAR blasters that already have this feature, they just had to convert the technology to be used on their blaster rifle.
Those are the noticeable changes, but there are also some minor additions that I had to add in, it's now ambi-dexterous with switches on both sides, a mag strip on the top and butt to attach all types of scopes and stocks, and an innovative selective fire system that I claim partial credit for its creation. The really interesting part of the selective fire also adjusts the Tibana pressure of the blaster. Allowing the blaster to output more Tibana into a shot to reach the high power and range of the initial prototype in single-fire for long range engagements. While in semi-auto mode, the blaster lowers the pressure to around a similar output to a GALAAR carbine reducing its power and range but makes its recoil much more manageable, useful in close quarters like in cities. They got the idea for an adjustable select fire when I asked if it was possible to keep the high damage of the prototype blaster but the recoil of a GALAAR. They dismissed the idea as impossible before one of them stopped moving for a minute and then he bolted to the lab. A few hours later he came back with a plan for the new dual mode select fire system.
Overall it handles like most good quality blasters on the market, at least the ones I've been able to get my hands on. It is not as sleek and precise as the GALAAR but it does have a rugged charm more reminiscent of Mandalorian War era blasters or those made by Blastech that is more common in the wider galaxy. It is a workhorse weapon, meant to do its job and do it well. An alternative to a GALAAR at a much lower cost while being easy to maintain, can withstand a few knocks, and work in any environment while still being an excellent weapon.
I don't know how X4 managed to price the SHUKUR so low that plenty of middle class Mandalorians are able to afford it. Since all of the economic stuff flew over my head, I'll leave that to people like Tanya or Satine. The fact that the gun's body is stamped and welded probably helped with that.
I remember how quickly the celebration turned to panic when eggheads realized that they now had to produce 4,000 blasters per Mandalorian planet in the sector as well as that Satine would send a few Royal Guards to inspect their operation. The fact that they were just 8 nerds in a warehouse when X4 found them was reason enough for them to worry that the Guards would report to Satine that Vesti couldn't fulfill the contract and disqualify them.
Luckily for them, X4 had bought a large arms factory that was on sale under Vesti's name on Ordo and they just put their entire inventory of blasters they have in stock at that point in various states of completion all over the place as well as have several dozen droids act as hired labor for the schrade. When the Guard arrived and inspected the factory, they asked where the rest of the workers were at. One of them said that 'They are out for lunch.' and I had to struggle to keep a straight face. After the Guards were happy with the inspection, everyone went out for lunch too and I'll never forget how the Guard straight up told us that, 'This is merely a formality, we just want to make sure you aren't just 3 guys in a warehouse.' The nervous laughter amongst the eggheads is funny enough for me to join in.
By the time orders start coming in, X4 has everything ready to fulfill the orders. He already hired a bunch of engineers and droids to work in the Ordo factory as well as license out extra production of the SHUKUR blaster to Mandal Hypernautics where their larger factories were already tooled to manufacture the new blasters and have Mandal Logistics deliver them to their respective SDFs. It's honestly a little impressive and uncanny how competent he is.
Anyway, one of Satine's mandatory requirements for the new blasters to have a stunner was an interesting addition. A most notable feature of the SHUKUR is a stronger than normal stun mode, to the point that even someone in Mandalorian armor might be knocked down to the ground. Which would be useful if my Death Watch "comrades" around me ever decided to go full rebellion.
Almost every major party in Death Watch is here, from Clan Saxon and Clan Kast to Clan Wren and Clan Priest. A group of hardline militarists that came from across the sector to unseat my sister, or at least see the return of the ancient ways in some form. The last few years had not been good for Death Watch, though when it came to that large portions had either switched to my side. My newfound support was mostly based on the popular misconception that I had been successful at influencing Satine's policies and credited me with Satine's recent reforms. This led to my following to grow even bigger amongst the Death Watch supporters. In addition, there also has been large portions of clans abandoning the whole notion of rebellion after Satine's reforms gave them what they wanted. Many clans only wanted to keep militarism alive, their armor still being produced, and to keep their culture somewhat intact. Now that Satine has given them what they want, they don't have a reason to rebel.
Of the other clan leaders, there were several dozen who were of importance that were called to meetings like this. Either the more influential of the groups representing the planets under their control or those clans with large and ancient families that they would have some sort of hold over other clans.
There also seems to be a general trend in the armor coloration recently, last time we met everyone had their own clan colors. I wondered how tight a hold some of the smaller clan families put on their families armor, it seemed everyone was slowly switching to blues and dark blues. I probably would have refreshed my armor as well if I had been paying attention but I've been off doing other things. Like dealing with Gargon and the Rangers there, as well as helping with the creation of Tanya's newest project, a mercenary company. They would help Mandalorians blow off their need to get some fighting now and again as well as being an additional source of income and experience.
Maybe I should also start up my own little band of warriors that would fight along with me, that way Satine and Tanya wouldn't raise that big of a fuss when I go out and get some action. My group would need a pretty good name though, something to think about after the meeting. Hopefully no one would make a fuss about my armor when the meeting finally started; it wasn't like I was wearing Satine's colors.
"Bo-Katan." My thoughts were interrupted as a female Mandalorian stepped up to me.
"Yes?" I said, wondering why she's wearing her helmet indoors. The answer came quickly as a fist headed straight to my face. She was hiding who she was, to not let me know she was going to attack me.
Unfortunately for her I wasn't a New Mandalorian. I quickly caught the arm by the wrist and sent a straight kick into her gut to push her back a few steps. The bitch came at me again trying to hit me with a left hook. I grabbed her arm and threw her over my shoulder into a nearby column. She bounced off of it and stood back up to have another go at me. Taking another swing only for it to end badly as I ducked under her swing while I delivered a palm strike to her gut to bend her forward before I grabbed her helmet and held it in place so I could slam my knee into it.
She took a couple steps back away from me and I took a couple steps away from her while relaxing my fighting stance as I don't consider her to be dangerous enough for me to go all out. While I could just end the fight now by showing no mercy and just stab my hidden blade in my gauntlet into her neck, it is not worth the effort of a blood feud later down the line, if she had any family to avenge her. Plus I wanted to try out a few more non-lethal moves Satine taught me when she inflicted them on me, see what it's like on the other side.
I couldn't ask why she was doing this since you don't ask why someone's fighting you in Death Watch. You just either win or you lose, and assume they had some good reason for their stupidity to start a fight in the first place. A crowd of people began to surround us to watch with passive interest. None of them were going to try and stop this. It was obvious that whoever started the fight needed to end the fight. That's just how things worked in Death Watch.
My attacker stood back up, retook a fighting stance, and began moving forward towards me slowly and steadily. Only at the last moment, she rushed forward drawing a blade. I caught her arm and twisted her entire arm behind her back till the blade was dropped. A kick to her knees and pushing her arm forward, forced her to the ground.
I noticed a lot of the same flaws that Vai had early in her training, this particular combatant didn't seem nearly as well trained, but none of that is my problem. I focused on pinning her down by putting my knee on her back and putting pressure on her shoulder, slowly hyperextending the shoulder joint further and further. "Guess someone needs to be taught their place." I muttered as I heard her hiss in pain inside the helmet as I pushed her arm forward like a lever.
I was not planning on dislocating her shoulder or anything but I need to make it clear that I would not tolerate an assault. The woman finally screamed in pain before I heard Pre Vizsla say, "I think you've taught her a lesson Bo-Katan, you can let her up now."
Looking up, I saw him and his full armor. Apparently he had it pulled out of whatever hiding hole he kept it in. As I had suspected, the armor was painted in blacks, blues, and dark blues. Freeing the woman's arm, I stood up and said, "I hope so. I have no idea why she did that."
"Well, it's quite clear to me why she did that. Her daughter, Vai-Viktis, apparently has developed a deep friendship with your niece. You probably heard about the news a year ago."
I blinked as I realized who I was beating up and then started laughing, "Abi Vizla? Did you really just try and beat me up because you're upset your daughter chose Tanya over being a spy for you? I mean what were you expecting? They practically grew up together and Tanya doesn't have her mother. Did you really think they wouldn't develop a friendship?"
Abi Vizsla got up, still nursing her arm, took off her helmet to reveal her ruined makeup and messy hair from the fight. "Your niece is a Coriscanti wretch, she didn't become friends with Vai! She brainwashed and seduced my daughter! Turned her into a slut! My husband was so embarrassed by what she did he divorced me." Frankly, I don't think Vai's the reason you got a divorce.
"I trained Tanya in fighting and Mandalorian ways, you know. Vai too, since she was there and Tanya's handmaiden. I've spent a lot of time with both of them, they're good kids. And whatever Tanya has passed on to Vai is an improvement, I think."
"I'll kill you." Abi came at me again. I easily stepped out of the way of her charge whilst tripping her as she charged pass. The sidestep caused her to even go further than she expected, crashing into the crowd.
"You can try, but as you've obviously proven, you can't. Maybe you should take a long hard look at yourself and how much pressure you were putting on your family to be exactly what you wanted them to be."
Abi got up and tried to come at me again, but Pre Vizsla motioned his hand and two of the Death Watch guards around her grabbed her arms.
"Please take Abi Vizla upstairs so she can have a moment to rest."
The two guards nodded in the affirmative, holding Abi tight. They pulled her towards the near door, past me on the way out; Abi was practically frothing, spewing angry insults and other hateful things in my general direction while I merely smiled and waved at her. Last thing I could make out was her calling me a perverted slut like the rest of my family, before the door closed in her face.
Pre Vizsla shook his head, before saying, "I'm sorry about that. A few years ago I thought Abi Vizla was reliable. As it turns out it only took a little upset to push her over the edge. Her husband was never much of a supporter of Death Watch in the first place. Thus when her daughter rebuffed her attempts to spill Tanya's secrets, he took that as a sign that it was time to pursue other venues."
"Understandable, it's a miracle that Vai turned out so normal, considering what kind of mother she had."
"Old armor still suiting you?" Pre Vizsla commented.
Turning back to look at Pre, I said, "Still works fine. On that topic, I'm noticing a lot of new colors around here, what's going on my Mand'alor? Should I send my armor off to my armorer to get it painted too?"
"War is on the horizon, but with war comes opportunity. We need to have a conversation about recent developments with the New Mandalorians as well but feel free to paint your own armor however you like. Although, I would appreciate it if all of us wear the same color to signify a united cause."
"Right," I agreed, nodding my head, "well I can't wait to hear this. I don't think Death Watch's doctrine was really put together to deal with New Mandalorians actually militarizing somewhat."
He shook his head in the negative "No, it was not. But this is why we have a leader who can dictate what the new doctrine will be. We shall not be stagnant in times such as these. Best you find a seat, this is going to be a long speech. Thank you for coming, Bo-Katan, I know you have been rekindling your relationship with your sister recently. I'm glad to know that you still respect your vows to the Death Watch... even now."
"Even now?" I said with an eyebrow firmly raised and he simply smiled his more charming smile before stepping over to the stage and taking his place at a podium.
"Gather around, the sons and daughters of Mandalore, gather round we must have a talk about the Death Watch and its future.
Before us there are two paths: our current path, or one that will lead to a better, stronger Mandalore. The question is which path do we choose? Do we stay the current path or do we try something new, something that will transform the current political landscape of the sector?"
"What's the current path?" looking to the right, I saw Gar Saxon as well as some of his relatives speak up. "I know you kept everything as tight as possible for the last 10 years but if we're going to make a decision we need to be informed, we have to know everything."
"Very true," Pre Vizsla agreed, "the current path is to stay with a plan put together by Prince Tal Merrik, Senator to the Republic. Prince Merrik contacted me several years ago about the possibility of an uprising in the coming years. The Republic's mistreatment of the Outer Rim territories can not be tolerated forever, it is becoming apparent that the Outer Rim is going to separate from the Republic. What happens after that is unknown, but Prince Tal Merrik has worked out a deal, one that presents us another path from the current one. The deal is that we could join the Outer Rim planets in leaving the Republic and join the Separatists. If the Mandalore sector left the Republic, we will be aided by the Separatists in our efforts."
There were several conversations talking at that point, and that was to be expected. I was a bit gobsmacked by this information, I was under the impression that Merrik was one of Satine's most loyal allies. Even if I didn't like the guy, because he had been a bit skeevy to me over the years. The failed attempts at courting me had given me a very bad impression. One of the reasons I've been so in favor of training Tanya was my slight concern that he might do the same to Tanya; I want her to be able to kick his ass if he pulled anything.
Rook Kast standing near Gar Saxon spoke up, "So how would that have gone down if we went with this path?"
"Most likely we will stage some sort of operation to remove Republic forces from this sector. The Republic will take that badly and send Republic forces here. Satine will try to delay and stall, likely using the excuse that it's an internal matter. With tensions the way they are in the Senate, we can be sure events will be cast in the most unfavorable light possible, with Mandalorians taking the blame. If this scenario does come to pass, then the Separatists will come to our aid in the conflict, and afterwards we will have our independence."
Rook Kast was already shaking their head in open disagreement of this plan, plainly waiting to speak. "Merrick's plan might have worked before, but now, with Satine's reforms and the Self-Defense Forces? Now it won't work."
"What's the alternative then?" Wren asked from behind me, taking me a bit by surprise. I didn't expect her to question Pre, she has always been one of Vizsla's strongest supporters.
"We take into account the fact that the New Mandalorian's the first wave of total pacifism is gone. The New Mandalorians that exist now are the second wave, they accept and tolerate armor, weapons, even look favorably on self-defense. The Silver Codices have completely upset what we understand as New Mandalorian. What came before and what exists today are completely distinct ideologies."
He sighed before quoting, "'Satine is weak-minded like a child, with a child's faith and goodness and rationality.' Tor Vizsla wrote those words after the fall of the Mandalorian government, just before his death at unknown hands. At the time, it made sense, after all Satine was a child. She was looking for a disarmament program that would see Mandalore left weak, things have changed greatly as she is now re-arming Mandalore and slowly building its strength back up. The reason we call her the Anti-Mandalore is no longer relevant. Satine is no longer disarming the people, she is no longer attacking our culture, she is, even though she denies the title, the Mand'alor of the Mandalore sector. And because she's the Mand'alor of the Mandalore sector, we need to handle things differently."
"Oh yeah? How does this change anything?" Saxon asked.
"I could call myself the 'Secret Mandalore' previously because we have no respect for the Anti-Mandalore. I could plot to overthrow her because Satine was not the proper Mand'alor. But the moment Satine became the proper Mand'alor, then our ambitions to replace her are doomed. Our government will be seen as illegitimate and met with hostility, we will not look like returning heroes, but as foreign rebels unseating the rightful authority."
"I know." Wren had stepped forward and nodded her head in agreement at that and several other clan heads across the room had also come to that understanding it seemed.
Someone from Clan Priest spoke up saying, "If she is the Mand'alor, then challenge her to a duel, as the ancient ones would."
"I doubt Satine would accept and the people will not side with me if I go up there and slay our current ruler, even if I did win fairly." Pre sighed, "The proper way to deal with this is the way we had been doing things amongst the clans for the last thousand years, by beating a person at their own game."
"What do you mean by that?", I asked, rather interested in where this was going.
Pre answered, "The Mand'alor's goal and the rule of the game is simple, protect the people of Mandalore from the conflict. To maintain neutrality, Satine will abandon those Mando'a outside of the sector on their own and ancient allies will be trampled by the Republic or Separatists factions in the conflict. We must step in to ensure that every Mando'a is defended if necessary. If either side decides to violate Satine's neutrality we need to be able to come to rescue or shore up defenses, as they will no doubt be lacking due to Satine's wishful thinking regarding void defense. If we prove we are more capable at protecting Mando'ade from the coming conflict, to the point the people ask for say my leadership to be put in place instead of Satine's, well that would beat her at her own game become the official Mand'alor."
"No mention of the Silver Mandalorians?" Saxon asked.
"These Silver Mandalorians are ultimately a distraction. The Silver Codices are ultimately a reactionary work, they proclaim no new or great Mandalorian society. It draws lines around the prettier and more useful parts of Mandalorian culture and calls it Mandalore. Except we aren't fools or children - we all know Mandalore is more than just the useful or pretty parts of history. It's all of it and it includes the necessary things we do to protect Mandalore.
Satine is doomed in the long run, both by her own actions and ideology. The New Mandalorian government has no answer for this war. These 'Self-Defense Forces' are children playing with toys. We focus on the task before us, prepare supplies for the conflict and advance our plans for rapid deployment when conflict begins. Unlike the New Mandolorians or Silver Mandalorians, Death Watch knows war and we will be ready."
Conversations sprang up as Pre stepped back from the podium. I was a little isolated, so I eavesdropped instead. Clan Priest members were closest, but as usual, they were silent.
"Gargon? What are you doing there?" Interesting. Clan Saxon was loudest, as usual, and apparently not all one mind about the Silver Mandalorians. "Hydian Way..."
Pre returned, apparently after getting a drink of water. "I know this is going to be a hard decision and it'll probably take several months to get an official tally, we have time to make up our own minds on this subject. Perhaps we will simply come to discover a third option, a 'play both sides of the coin' perspective.
What I can say is this. The Republic and Separatists will go to war. Mandalore will be drawn into the conflict. This is inevitable, what we need to focus on are preparations to take advantage of the situation. When the war comes, we need to have positioned ourselves such that the people choose us to protect them and guide them into the future instead of the New Mandalorians. Our goals are not to conquer or make new claims outside the sector, we seek a restoration of our old ways, defense of our people, and to restore Mandalore's honor."
As a flurry of conversations resumed again, before Wren spoke up and asked, "What about this 'White Silver' isn't she another Mand'alor in the making, should we be worried about her?"
Pre nodded in agreement, "She has the possibility, yes. So far she's made it clear that she supports Satine's rule and has no interest in ruling herself, but beyond her interest in Gargon, she does not seem to be very active. Perhaps this will change when the war starts. I will be curious to see what she protects and identify her true values and motivations. If White Silver does act, it will change our calculations on what our plans will be possible."
Wren nodded before taking a few steps back to talk to several other clans members. I saw many groups trying to form up as conversations went around. Pre paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before he stepped down from the podium and nodded to me.
"Again, thank you for coming, Bo. Feel free to talk to the others. I think I know which direction you are going to vote in the coming decision." He said before walking on leaving me there the blink for a moment as I realized that I was being played.
He knew that I was here to make sure that my sister was safe from any attempted rebellions. I had conversations with him in the past about the matter, so most likely he'd had me brought into this particular conversation because he was favoring the path of fighting a Mand'alor at their own game. After all, if he defeated my sister by protecting the Mandalore sector and getting himself elected as the new Mandalore, my sister wouldn't even need to be exiled from the government or the Mandalore sector.
I was impressed, but then again Pre had always been rather good at it. With so many different clans gathered together when most of them still hated each other from the Clan Wars and the Civil War for nearly 20 years. If things had kept going the way they had before the codex they probably would have ended up being at each other's throats in 20 years.
Shaking my head, I thought the politics through before deciding which conversations to attempt to join. Although Pre appeared to be using me for his own needs, his needs still met my own goals for now, so I had no problem with that. Making sure my family is protected is the only reason I am here. So with that decided, I moved over towards Wren's group and their hushed conversation. I would need to see how the winds of politics were blowing and try to push things in a general direction that would support Pre's more moderate ambitions.
Sure, some would be displeased by my political connection to the New Mandalorians and ignore me all together. But a good percentage of clans do listen to me, especially now that I had been threatening Pre's leadership. If I threw my support behind his action, I'm sure I could probably support Pre for now, to keep his ambitions focused on peaceful elections rather than armed insurrection.
Of course, there will probably be some clans that would never go for it and I wondered if they would stay loyal. That's the problem with big tent politics, after all, if the radicals are in the party and then you invite everyone in and then it slowly gets more moderate, the radicals might leave to go do something else.
Coruscant, Mandalorian Tower
Tanya Kryze
Alas, all good things come to an end and my little trip around the Mandalore Sector was no different. Though I will admit I was quite thankful to be off the Jakelia.
The prince never took advantage of an opening and wasn't as foolhardy as Baltan Carid, the creep who proposed to me back in Sundari, but I could tell he was definitely trying to lay some moves on me, slowly and steadily. Perhaps it was nothing, perhaps it had just been the way of their people but having someone with the outward appearance of an elf stand close to you to teach you how to shoot a bow while wearing obvious cologne told you that they're probably was something going on.
Thankfully, he never made any obvious move and if he had I was sure Ordo could have taken the guy on. Fight for my honor and all that. But the most important part is I had gotten off the world without another marriage proposal. The king offered me an egg of a Mythosaur to raise on my own and I managed to avoid that fate by pointing out that there was not enough room in the tower I lived at on Coruscant.
Not that I was against having one of those creatures. After riding one it was not as terrifying an experience as I imagined when I first saw them. But I really just did not have the capabilities to take care of such a creature and sending it along to Mandalore to be raised there would not exactly fulfill the implicit contract between rider and beast of raising such a creature.
Although, it seemed Morson seemed to have enjoyed the hunt much more than I did. As her Nomadic upbringing made her a competent rider, even if she never ridden a Mythosaur before. Once she got the hang of it, Morson and the princess went off ahead and competed against one another to see who can get the most kills whilst chasing down Jakelian bison across the plains, which ended in a tie. The two became fast friends after that, judging by the smiles between the two of them. I also think the prince might be interested in Morson too from the frequent looks he's sending her way, but that is none of my business. If he wants to pursue a relationship with my handmaiden, more power to him, it means I have less complications like romance to deal with.
Besides that misadventure, I've been able to get back aboard Ratio and start my return to Coruscant. But first a rather quick diversion to Mandalore to pick up a dispatch for Senator Merrik and drop off the gifts from the two mining worlds I'd stopped off at. I haven't even had time to speak to Aunt Satine as she's been in some sort of meeting when I arrived.
I had been able to keep up to date and read the dispatches on the way back to Coruscant. I had not missed out on any major events in the Senate, according to Padme. It is apparent that most of the Mandalorian system is in favor of staying out of the conflict but is more than willing to help build up a Self-Defense Force for the sector.
Even the Mandalorian Patrol is participating in talks with the official government of the sector about possibly integrating its services into a New Mandalorian Self-Defense Fleet which would be handy to say the least from what I was reading. Most of their fleet are made up of Dreadnoughts and other ships of various makes and models. Nothing too massive, but a cruiser fleet is a cruiser fleet. It could use some smaller ships to screen it but it would definitely do well in protecting the sector as long as none of those battleships the Trade Federation calls cargo ships pulled into the sector. Those things were so large that their size was a quality of its own, even a cruiser fleet would have difficulty fighting them.
Really rather impressive that we were managing to get all our ducks in order for the inevitable conflict that was going to happen at this rate. I had to return this week due to the first round of voting on the Military Creation Act. The legislation is probably going to fail but it was happening this week and the Representatives needed to be here to support the sides they preferred. Granted, I was no better than a coffee gofer but what could you do? You needed to start at the lower ranks to work your way up anywhere.
Stretching out my back, I got up from my seat where I'd been overlooking the latest dispatches and went over to a window to look out at the skyline. As I pondered, I played around with the desk ornament and looked out over the city.
On the subject of coffee, that reminded me of the best damn coffee I think I've ever had. Since I finally turned 18, whatever nonsense had prevented me from partaking in caffeine was finally lifted. Before I left Mandalore I had heard about a nice little coffee shop in Keldabe, the original capital of Mandalore. It had taken some work but I had managed to get there without too many people noticing and tried a cup of this mythical coffee that was supposedly the best in the entire Mandalore sector.
To be honest, it does live up to the legend, as it was the second best coffee I had ever drunk. Probably the best I've ever drank in this life, that's for sure, as I spent several minutes just soaking in the flavor that Vai had to poke me to check if I was still alive. Then again I only had a few sneaking drinks here and there when I got the chance and most of those have been rather bland coffees.
Once I finished the coffee, I immediately got as much information as I could out of the staff of the coffee shop. I was able to get into contact with their supplier and requisitioned the ingredients they used in their coffee and had it stored on my ship.
It had to have to be unloaded but when it was, I enjoyed preparing some of the best coffee from Mandalore here in the tower. This is useful, not only for when my burgeoning caffeine addiction's return but more importantly serving that kind of coffee to visitors would definitely spark interest. Ideally, interest in Mandalorian trade and Mandalorian coffee goods, interest could bring in investors and investors could help the economy of Mandalore grow. It's a general hope at the very least, but any chance to help Mandalore grow its economy and become a peaceful, but willing to fight nation, is a step in the right direction as far as I was concerned.
Tossing the box up into the air, its gray colored glass and silver lining catching the light before catching it, I smile at the possibilities of increasing the economy of Mandalore. There will be plenty of opportunities to improve my sector in the coming years. The more I dug into the sector, the more it became apparent that not only are there plenty of assets that had never even been used because they were not military ventures by previous generations, but were not even being used by the current administration because they weren't really considering the possibility of them. Which made some degree of sense when you look into where the New Mandalorians came from. Their greatest asset is the production of wine from Kalevala. They knew how to make wine, but one type of luxury doesn't make a strong economy. Because they only knew about how to develop one luxury good, they weren't really looking into the other luxury goods in the sector that could be produced.
Of course, there were plenty of military assets that could be used to help in the coming years. But we need to also work on our non-military assets, or we're doomed to repeat a cycle that would see people die for little gain. Mandalore had a history of being considered a military threat and if we could soften our image, get people to overlook the bad things we had been involved in, and focus on the good things Mandalorians had done, that would be for the best in my opinion.
Granted there was no way we'd ever stop being somewhat connected to our martial tradition, that is just the realities of this culture. I was born into it but I think I am on the way to reshaping it to be more a bit like Japan when it comes to its consideration of its military past. Ideally Mandalore would look upon its military as an important tradition and less of something they need to return to.
Well that is my hope. Of course this war could spin completely out of control, as wars rarely go the way the people in charge think they'll go. Then perhaps we would need to rely on our military heritage to defend ourselves from invasion from both sides, but that is something I hope didn't happen. No matter how thorough of a training you give a soldier, fighting the entire galaxy can only end badly. There were plenty of books about the history of this galaxy citing that as well as many more examples I could name myself. Sure the Empire versus the rest of the world was not exactly completely the same, but there's enough similarities that I'd like not to see that happen again.
My thoughts were interrupted as there was someone pounding on my door. Drawing my attention towards it as a voice called, "Tanya! Tanya, you gotta come see this!"
Turning, I walked across my office room and pressed the button on my door to open it. Standing in the doorway is Vai who looked absolutely in a rush as she grabbed my wrist and started pulling me towards the main area.
"What's going on?" I asked, a bit annoyed that she is being this demanding. As she pulled me along but as we entered the main area of the suite, I saw exactly what was going on.
At the far end of the wall was a holo viewscreen, and on the screen is a burning wreck of a ship as firefighter crafts attempted to put it out. Firefighters are spraying liberal use of fire retardant foam to save the wreck though the wreck was obviously unsalvageable. It was quite obvious that something had hit it, not in the sense that "Oh another car had crashed into it", but as in "someone had used an anti-aircraft missile to destroy it".
Now all that is bad enough but I recognize the craft. I recognized the fighters around it, that was the Naboo delegation's transport ship and someone had just blown it up.
"Someone's killed Padme." Vai said, saying what I was thinking. The question is who would want to do that? Padme is one of the politicians leading the pacifist faction. Thus the most likely candidate in my mind would be whoever benefited, in this case, some faction in favor of the military being created. Possibly the same person who assassinated Senator Jheramahd Greyshade.
Immediately my suspicions returned to the Senatorial Guard. Would this be another moment like what had happened a few months ago? Someone is trying to push for war and they are trying to prevent any and all attempts to get to a peaceful resolution. Killing the biggest anti-war politician not only guaranteed that the Military Creation Act would be passed but would galvanize the Outer Rim systems. More Outer Rim systems would abandon negotiating the military creation act in the Senate and be pushed towards the Separatists as well.
If I didn't know better I'd say Being X was back for round two and screwing with me. But no, while he'd been a bastard to me my second life, his actions had always had some kernel of sense to their insanity. He would often appear to me to have conversations before pushing a chess piece in the general direction of "screw Tanya". If it's not Being X, then it's more likely than not that there is another force in this galaxy, another schemer that had nothing to do with me, but led by someone who wanted a war. Why would someone want a war?
That is a question to be figured out later. For now I said, "Turn up the volume." and Vai immediately did so and we were greeted by the greatest words I think I could ever hear.
"There's been an attempt on Padme Amidala's life but it appears that it has failed, as she was not on board the vessel when it exploded. Investigations are ongoing into what has caused the destruction of said vessel. Rumors abound online from bounty hunters to engine problems but we will leave that to the experts to figure out."
I tuned that out as I confirmed that information mentally by taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh with all my stress that had nearly been building up there. Turning to Vai I said, "Get my guards up. I need to pay a visit to the Tower for Naboo and see if Padme is alright."
"Are you sure it's safe to go see her right now? Someone just tried to kill her."
I smiled and said, "The safest place she probably could be is in a room with a Mandalorian. At this point, if explosions fail to kill her, then the next attempt will probably be more up close and personal. Besides that, we need more information about what's going on."
She nodded and said, "I'll get to work." As I turned back to the viewscreen, I scrutinized the images of the destroyed craft. Who could be responsible for this? How will this affect Mandalore?