Not original

717 FNM (21 BBY) Month 5

Ordo, Ordo Journal Studios

Juup Jir Jidoss

"Good evening and welcome to the Daily Ordo. I am Juup Jir Jidoss from the Newspaper, Ordo Journal. Here to bring you the news and nothing but the news." I gave a small wave to the studio audience as our recorded introduction played for them.

"And I am Aipex Jidoss, freedom fighter, warrior, and everyman survivalist." The pre-recorded holovid of my younger brother enthused.

Once the holovid camera light turned red, I arranged the paperwork in my hand, and looked down at them for a dramatic second, before saying, "Let's begin with the biggest news on today's itinerary. Currently, the government has found and is investigating a shocking conspiracy within the Mandalorian sector — specifically, a conspiracy inside the Mandalorian Secret Service itself. An agency that was meant to keep in check Death Watch and other organized criminal organizations which might conspire against Mandalore again, yet it appears that a significant portion of their organization was involved in a conspiracy themselves.

No one is exactly sure how this conspiracy began, but evidence points to lax oversight being the main cause. Inattentive and sluggish leadership allowed the service's professionalism to degrade, to the degree that few security checks were performed in hiring and operations in recent years. An unknown founding conspirator took advantage of this opening and spread their corruption throughout the Secret Service. Several hundred agents have been arrested on corruption, fraud, or bribery charges; many of them resulting in high speed chases — brought to an end through the use of jetpack wielding pursuers. This is potentially the largest political scandal we've seen since the surrender of the prior Mandalorian government.

My brother is on the scene right now, interviewing the task force leader investigating the Mandalorian Secret Service. He'll let us know exactly what has been going on."

The studio displays switched from displaying the bright and colorful newsroom of the Daily Ordo to somewhere on Sundari. Standing is a tall and bulky figure, a red-haired woman in blue Mandalorian armor. Next to her, Aipex Jidoss appeared diminutive from the lack of armor by comparison. He was holding a microphone and started speaking after a brief pause.

"Thank you brother. As Juup was saying, I'm here speaking to the leader of this task force, Duchess Satine's sister, Bo-Katan Kryze." Aipex Jidoss pushed the microphone in Bo-Katan's face. "Big fan of your work on Gargon, putting down troublemakers like Gerr, and raising up a proper and lawful government there."

"Um, thank you?" Bo-Katan seemed unsure about being on-screen, clearing her throat awkwardly. "I'm just doing what's necessary for my family-"

"And clan. As it should be." Aipex Jidoss cut in and interrupted. "So you've been put in charge of tracking down these varmints that have infested the Secret Service. What can you tell me about the conspiracy?"

Bo-Katan appeared to regain her balance, answering more confidently. "It's too early to be certain, but seized evidence suggests an organized corrupt force of agents, a conspiracy within the Secret Service. The conspirators started by slowly amassing influence and trading connections with several criminal organizations across the Mandalorian sector and even foreign agents beyond. I think we found ourselves lucky that we have found no links to the Hutts yet. Given enough time, these kinds of groups will grow and justify anything in the pursuit of their goals."

"Of course, of course." Aipex Jidoss nodded in agreement, "So how'd you smash them?"

The woman smiled before saying, "We smashed them in the good old-fashioned way. We captured one, took them in for interrogation. Then tracked down and caught the next one, pulling apart their conspiracy network, one conspirator at a time. Unfortunately, some of the higher-ups in their network appear to have escaped Mandalore before we could make a move."

"Damn, well, I'm sure you're going to pursue them, aren't you? After all, why else would Duchess Satine ask for the help of someone who has their own mercenary group?"

"I can't say much, but I can tell you that we'll be seeing them very soon." Bo-Katan agreed, which earned a nod of approval from Aipex Jidoss.

He turned to speak to the audience. "As you can see the situation is well in hand, the conspiracy will be defeated by good, common Mandalorian headbutting. Which reminds me, congratulations. I heard you recently married one of the most eligible bachelors across the sector, Pre Vizsla."

"Thank you." Bo-Katan said with a cold smile. She took a step towards Aipex Jidoss, somehow seeming to be looming over him. "But I haven't exactly announced that, though, so how'd you find that out?"

"As a member of the Daily Ordo it's my job to find out everything, anyway, back to you Juup Jir Jidoss." Aipex Jidoss said an unusually fast rush.

The red active light reappeared on studio holovid cameras, and I dramatically cleared my throat. The show must go on as it were. "Various space navigation authorities in the Mandalore sector report regular and distant sightings of Death Watch forces lately. The Mandalorian government has announced that they have expanded the search for the Maelstrom to outside the sector. It's believed that the Maelstrom is not within the Mandalorian sector nor within CNS space, as a thorough search of the sector has not found any trace of them. But where could it be if it isn't in the sector? That is still up in the air, as there are very few places a ship of that size could be refitted or resupplied. The location of the Maelstrom is one of the biggest mysteries and most hotly debated pieces of gossip lately.

In other news, Prince Korkie had left Mandalore on a diplomatic expedition to Raxus Secundus yesterday. Here is a replay of his statement on the purpose of this diplomatic mission for those that may have missed it." At the mention of Raxus, a hologram of Prince Korkie standing behind a podium was shown before the image expanded to cover the view of the studio changed to displaying Prince Korkie at the Royal Palace's Great Hall, addressing a press conference.

"The Council of Neutral Systems has appointed me with the critical task of re-opening dialogue with the Confederacy of Independent Systems." I suspected Prince Korkie had received much more effective media training than Bo-Katan, as he confidently explained his mission. "The Confederacy is nominally a democratic parliamentary system, and our diplomatic goals will be to find values and mutual interests that both of our peoples share. We know the Confederacy values their dignity, desires respect, and wishes to be treated with honorably by all other systems. Mandalore shares these values. We also want peace. Together, I believe we can all find a mutual outcome for peace in our time."

The red active light reappeared again, and I provided the summary for our viewers. "Our foreign policy analysts agree that the Mandalorian government's effort to reopen trade lanes from the CIS to the CNS would result in prices of various goods to be lowered to a more reasonable degree. More speculatively, successful peace talks could become the basis for mediation between the CIS and the Republic. It would be wonderful if Prince Korkie can find some way to improve relations between those two great powers. Hopefully this will be the first step into ending this war so that we can return to not having to pay double the credits to refuel a speeder. Good luck, Prince Korkie, you carry the hope of the Mandalorian people."

Mandalore, Sundari, Secret Service HQ

Almec

Letting out a huff, I turned off the holo-display. Bo-Katan with her lack of PR skills and the Ordonian so-called reporter is nothing but a jumped-up water-filtering salesman vanished from my sight, revealing the ancient meeting table underneath. This table, that I bought at an auction, was preserved Taung-timber from an unknown species of tree. Its origin explained its unusually large size, as it was not crafted for human proportions. But now, the routine progress report of the Secret Service has ended.

The other physically present agents stood, ready to depart from the secure conference room. These four individuals were compartmentalized away from the segment of Secret Service that handled our more illicit operations, like those in-charge of growing the Mandalorian Black Market. They were each in charge of monitoring factions that would endanger Mandalore's peace and prosperity to both provide early warning as well as ensuring my control. Even though they themselves might never fully grasp their importance in my plans. I raised a hand to halt their exit, and spoke simply. "Corruption. Conspiracy. Claims that we've become a threat to the stability of the Mandalore sector."

The group paused at my first words, and none of them breathed a word in response. The silence stretched for a long moment. "How exactly this happened is still unclear," I lied as naturally as I breathed, "but the important part is we need to find out who is responsible for this, no matter their position. Someone high in the government has been using the Secret Service for nefarious reasons and corrupt games. We know it must be someone who is still here on Mandalore because they were able to alert the three operatives controlling the organizations meant to monitor the interior of the Mandalore system, allowing them to flee."

Still, none of them reacted to my words. I slammed a fist on the meeting table in frustration. How could they not see, after all, the source of my problems was obvious! "It must be another member of the Duchess's Council or perhaps amongst the Royal Family itself. Only they could have warned those criminals to flee before they could be captured. That is why I've gathered you here today. We are going to examine all possible suspects. No one is off the table, and feel free to speak your mind."

There was silence again as the agents, each a head of an organization, thought for a moment. Agent Guardian, responsible for monitoring the Republic, took a more confident stance and spoke up first. "I've been investigating former Prince Tal Merrik. He seems to have been responsible for at least some part of this. His involvement in various levels of corruption is confirmed by the methods of his attack on Duchess Satine. My investigation teams have used this as a basis for seizing his assets, finding quite a bit of evidence that he was pocketing bribes and other assets for his own personal slush fund. A good portion of his accounts were already emptied before we discovered those slush funds."

I nodded. It was necessary to find a patsy to take the fall for my wrongdoings, but this one wouldn't exactly help me with my current predicament of maintaining my station within the government.

"But there was something else that sort of came up while I was looking into Merrik..." I nodded positively at Guardian and gestured for him to continue. Guardian is a plain-looking and forgettable-seeming middle-aged man in a beige suit. The others shifted, also hoping for similar recognition; at times like this, esprit de corps drives our investigative spirit more than any remuneration or reward we might hope to receive.

"...is it possible that Princess Tanya is corrupt as well?" Guardian spoke into the uncertain silence.

I blinked and looked at him, surprised. "Elaborate."

Guardian seemed to grow more confident as he explained. "The Royal family draws upon a stipend for their own wants and needs. This is not a problem. But Princess Tanya somehow turned a rather sizable profit somewhere along the line. She has access to at least two Lancer pursuit craft that were modified for personal use several years ago. We observed her use one when she went to Geonosis, which was shot down, and barely a week afterwards, she was seen using another Lancer on her return trip back to Coruscant."

Agent Paragon whistled, he was the dark-haired and sharply-dressed man who was responsible for monitoring the Death Watch. "Two Lancers? That's a lot of credits. Where did she even get those ships?"

"Lancers hmm..." Agent Legion said, thinking aloud. Grey hair and hard eyes, her face was set in a stern expression that only long or harsh experience made possible, betraying no thoughts. She was the most dependable out of all my agents, which is why she was in charge of the department monitoring Silver Mandalorians. "Doesn't White Silver also use a Lancer-class too? At least she did when she arrived at the outskirts of Gargon. One of the locals recognized her unique symbol from the public broadcast and mentioned that she arrived in a Lancer."

Paragon frowned as he listened. Then he started shaking his head in the negative, and finally spoke up at Legion's final statement. "It's a rather popular ship. I wouldn't think too hard about it. Bo-Katan got one not too long after she took part in the whole Gargon affair."

"Why were you watching Bo-Katan?" Agent Enduring asked sharply. She's the head of the most junior department, responsible for oversight of the CIS. The recently formed department's leader had been chosen for her successful black ops against Death Watch in the period after the Civil War. It was too bad she was too paranoid to work well with the others, preferring hierarchy.

Paragon shrugged. "There's always been suspicion that she's involved with Death Watch. We don't have any proof, but with her political leanings and Kryze family gossip — the way she had frequent arguments with her sister — it's my opinion that she was, if not a member of Death Watch, likely aiding them in some way. And hey, they did reveal themselves to the public when they took the Maelstrom, so she could be part of Death Watch for all I know."

I stood there, blinking several times. "Did Bo-Katan have the Lancer after, or did she have it before?"

The room went deadly silent before all four agents reached behind them and started pulling out datapads, conversations erupting at the idea.

Paragon stared at his datapad. "I can confirm that Bo-Katan had her Lancer after the Gargon incident. I cannot find when she got it. We need internal records from the Mandalorian Space Transportation Bureau."

Enduring spoke up next. "I got my hands on those records after they got checked for corruption. Yeah, here we go. Huh, it registers here that Bo-Katan was registered in a Lancer-class pursuit craft that left Concordia before the Gargon incident."

"Hold on, are we really suggesting here that Bo-Katan is the White Silver?" Legion spoke slowly and calmly, trying to hold everyone's attention. "My department keeps an eye on her because she's seen working for White, but I don't think she's actually White Silver. I've read that book, and from what I know about Bo-Katan, she's the 'punch first' and 'ask questions never' type."

Paragon nodded emphatically. "Agreed, but Bo-Katan also has deep ties to Gargon and that's worth considering. Evidence suggests that she worked as a mercenary for criminal organizations on that planet. She has connections with the new local government, which still has ties to crime families, despite Duchess Satine's official approval to adding the system to Mandalore."

"Yeah, but there are conflicting reports of Bo-Katan. Some reports place her fighting in the city streets, far away from White Silver at the time." Enduring said.

"Prince Korkie has noted that White Silver has at least one body-double. Likely taking advantage of the full body armor. It's well within the possibility that White Silver is just someone she hired, an actor no different than Taylor Hero, the one who plays the Silver Mandalorian on the holonet." Legion explained patiently.

"This would have been a very sophisticated operation, though." Guardian said, shaking his head. "I just can't see Bo-Katan being the mastermind behind this. It makes me more confused, not less." He complained.

"Perhaps she's not White Silver, then." I spoke clearly, locking eyes with each agent in the room, so they acknowledged me. "We got to this conversation point with a simple question: Where did Princess Tanya find the money for two Lancers?"

Enduring suddenly had a shocked expression, as if she had just figured out something very alarming. "Are the two of them playing White Silver together, or is Princess Tanya perhaps providing some sort of financial backing? Do you have any intel on that?"

"Bo-Katan did train Princess Tanya combat tactics at the urging of Duchess Satine when she was still a child." Paragon admitted slowly, folding his hands in front of him. "Perhaps she is inclined to support her aunt in this."

"Then..." But Enduring didn't finish her thought. Heads turned towards her, but she ignored them pointedly and focused on me. "Sir ...is Duchess Satine White Silver?" Enduring asked in alarm. Various sounds, shouts, and gestures were made all around me at that question.

"What makes you say that?" I stood my ground as I considered the idea seriously, giving voice to the mutual confusion for the room.

"Think about how White Silver's ideology came about around the same time Tanya started training with Bo-Katan, right? And immediately after Gerr, the False Silver appears, White Silver confronts him. But somehow before this confrontation, Bo-Katan acquires a Lancer-"

Legion interrupted Enduring's explanation. "And then White Silver shows up on Gargon also using a Lancer. Princess Tanya suddenly has Lancer's, as well."

I agreed, "It's likely not a coincidence. The simplest explanation is the most likely, and the Royal family received Lancers at the same time and from the same primary source as White Silver." I took great pleasure in turning the Princess's methods against her, after all, she deployed the same axiom often enough when influencing Satine.

Enduring was still focused on me and was nodding in agreement with my assessment. "It's not a coincidence. There are plenty of other light-military cruiser models available in Mandalore. If the Duchess is White Silver, then that explains both the Bo-Katan's and Tanya's possession of the Lancers, the Silver Codexes rapid acceptance, and it even explains events on Gargon. At the very least, it's worth considering." She finished in a torrent of words.

I nodded my head before saying, "I think you're going a little bit too far on that without evidence. Bo-Katan could be White Silver and Satine is merely aiding and abetting her out of sisterly foolishness, but this is something to consider here." I started arranging a number of the larger view screens in the room, one had numerous view screens on mobile stands. After delegating the rest of that task, I started creating profiles for our suspects. On each of the view screens, displayed a report of the suspect, showing a holo of their appearance and last known details. One for Lady Bo-Katan, Princess Tanya, and Duchess Satine, as well as a few less likely suspects, Ms. Tarri Crikey the Administrator of Breshig, and Jango Fett the notorious Bounty Hunter.

I pointed up towards the five viewscreens. "We cannot move on circumstantial evidence. We don't know the story behind all these situations, and they are rather interesting connections. What we do know is there is a definite connection between Bo-Katan and White Silver. Is this just a working relationship, or is this part of a larger conspiracy?" Turning to face them again, I said, "Find me all the evidence you can find. We need to determine how deep this corruption goes." Turnabout's fair play, I couldn't let the New Mandalorian dream die here, after everything so far.

Raxus Secundus, Raxus shopping center

Natalya Volkova

This place smelled of riches and the nobles who controlled them, but I kept that to myself. Even if I disliked my current objective, Liliya was the one in control of the fate of Anteevy. Unless I could find some way out of that situation, I have to stay true to her goals, even if I sometimes doubted our objectives.

Korkie had been sent from Mandalore to Raxus Secundus, the homeworld of the Separatist Parliament, in order to act as a representative. Liliya found that idea intriguing, but she also kept her oppressive watch over me. I received strong hints that keeping him on the righteous path to social equality would be hampered if I were to remain on Mandalore.

Obviously, I was meant to spy on Korkie and guide him in the right direction. After all, making one of the potential rulers of Mandalore in favor of communist ideals is of great importance to our mission. Plus, I couldn't exactly be his mistress, as Liliya put it, while physically separated by light-years for long periods of time.

But that was not my only objective here. Anteevy joined the Separatists for rational reasons. In chaos and uncertainty, our ideals could flourish and provide the foundation for our new order, one for the people instead of the elites. Already, wherever the Revolutionary Guard had been deployed across the northwest of the galaxy, our ideals and literature were brought along, spreading the message of the revolution to the galaxy.

The Separatist's conflict with the Republic was frequently creating fertile opportunities for spreading our ideals. Already, large sections of their society were just being turned into droid manufacturers for the war effort. And what would the droids be doing after the war? Well, besides protecting their homes, they would be working in farms, mines, and so forth. According to our ideals, the droids would free the people to pursue higher education and other ascended pursuits.

With enough time, the people would come to rely on droids for everything that the lower classes provided. And the classes would merge together to become a new, stronger people. In a single peaceful step, the class system would meet a beautiful death.

Our ideology required droids to be created and programmed for every possible task to fully replace the sentient labor pool. That was already the droids' role across the CIS, but poorly executed. Thus, our new ideas on how to better utilize the droids are fully compatible with traditional belief in droid subservience.

Our message and the spread of our droid labor found the most resonance with the lower and middle classes, as droid proliferation led to an economic boom and rush of new colonization for resources to fuel the Separatist's hungry war machine. The CIS was very stratified though, which meant the aristocratic and highest classes resisted any change from below, especially while times were still good for them.

Besides my mission to seduce Korkie, I was to spread the message amongst the youth and leadership of the Separatist Parliament. So far, I hadn't accomplished much, but it was something I was working on nonetheless when I wasn't hanging out with Korkie or Soniee. And I must say, "hanging out" was kind of the word that could best describe what I was doing right now.

"Maybe this dress?" Soniee said, bringing over an outfit from one of the rows of clothing.

"Thank you, Soniee. I'll try it on now." I said with a smile, taking the dress before making my way towards a back changing room.

In order to improve my mission's chance of success, I needed to be friends with Soniee. If both Soniee and Korkie were comfortable with me, then I would have more avenues to influence him.

Carefully, I slid into the dress, making sure it fit properly. Once I was sure I could move and breathe in it, I stepped out and saw Soniee exit her own booth in a similar style of dress.

"I really have to thank you for reaching out to us, Soniee." I said, pretending to check the back of the dress, keeping watch of her in the mirror.

"When I first volunteered to go with Korkie on this diplomatic mission, I was a bit hesitant. Since there would just be us and a few Royal Guards, but ever since you reached out to us, I felt a little bit better. Having someone we know, at least, is better than not having anyone we do."

I turned around to face her and adopted an understanding expression, "Yes, it's always best to have comrades nearby. I didn't know anyone when I arrived here, still don't really. So when I heard you were coming, I figured I should reach out to you, my good friends. We're both Mandalorian in our own way."

"New Mandalorian." Soniee corrected, brushing her hair back. "But yeah, we are probably the closest to each other here. Everyone here wants to go to war with the Republic or demand that we join their side. I've been to several meetings at this point. Korkie's just there, trying to figure out if the CIS are the good guys in all this or not."

"There are no good guys in this war." I didn't have to fake the somber and serious tone on this topic. "This is a galactic war between two factions that are rather corrupt. The Republic is no better than the CIS Executive Council. And the CIS Executive Council is mostly made up of corrupt corporations that are only interested in their bottom line and control the CIS by funding it with their money."

"And what's Anteevy's objective in all of this?" Soniee asked.

I smiled when I looked at Soniee and said, "We also want the independence that the CIS promises. When this war is over, the CIS will still be around, but there we will have so much more freedom than we would under the Republic. The right of autonomy over our own home regions without a bureaucratic monstrosity putting its noses in where it does not belong is something I believe every system should have. We will be able to choose for ourselves what we can do without the Republic's interference. Spreading communism to other planets near our homeworld is a moral imperative for us. We want our ideals to be our legacy to the galaxy."

"So you want to spread communism across the Mandalore sector?" Soniee asked as she looked in the mirror.

I nodded. "Of course. Will that be an issue? Making a state that is socially looking out for the common people sounds rather good to me. If we all come together, we can all make a better society, a better nation, a better sector. One that is beyond the squabbles of the Clans and the Great Houses that currently rule the cradle of our peoples."

Soniee shrugged before saying, "I'm not entirely sold on that idea yet. I've been doing a little research myself on the Gran, from the Kinyen system. Aren't they also kind of like your government, but they focus on making everyone into one big family?"

I looked at her, a bit surprised, raising an eyebrow before saying, "Yes, they are similar in mind, and they have been around much longer, I admit. But their people are different, alien. The governmental school says they developed from herd species, so their form of socialist welfare is more a continuation of that prey mentality."

"So, communism only works if we do it Liliya's way and with humans." Soniee concluded.

Was that what Liliya wanted? "I haven't considered that point of view before, mainly because there are only humans on Anteevy..." I trailed off, but it did seem a bit xenophobic. "Nothing I've come to understand suggests that Communism only applies to humanity." I clarified with a shrug.

Soniee nodded and thought for a few moments. "I have to wonder if there isn't something to the Communist ideals that I've read. But I just don't think the idea of removing every clan in Mandalore is the right solution. I think the Gran's version of expanding the family, creating a larger and larger family structure that looks after everyone, might be the way forward for Mandalore. I've been meaning to talk to Korkie about it, but I've just been having issues talking to him."

"Perhaps you're right about the family structure aspect. Anteevy has never had any studies done on the Gran specifically, and to be fair, the Clans that existed on Anteevy were nothing but gangs. Some of these gangs date back thousands of years, all criminals or children and grandchildren of criminals. In order to make a society that worked, we needed to break that up. But perhaps there's something to be said for a different point of view." Soniee smiled, seemed to take heart at my interest and her point of view. "Why are you having trouble talking to Korkie? I would assume that you two are rather comfortable with each other, considering how close you two are."

"He's just so passive with our relationship. I want to move forward, but he's just so slow to act. It took him four years to ask me out on a date, four years, and it's only been three or four dates since then. I think he lacks role models, Tanya's personal life is nearly as bad as Bo-Katan's was, and Duchess Satine hid her relationship from everyone. So yes, we've been on a few adventures together, but that's not really dating."

I nodded my head sagely, I said, "It seems that Korkie wants to be a prime example of a New Mandalorian, a pacifist. I think he does love you, from what I have seen of your interactions. Maybe you should make the moves, push, and push hard, and I'm sure he will appreciate everything you give him."

"You really think that'll work?" Soniee asked

"Trust me, if you go for it, he'll be yours." Did I say that out of misplaced guilt, or because it was the truth? I wasn't sure, myself.

She smiled and said, "Thanks for the advice, Natalya. Well, I better go and see about paying for this. After that, I'll demand that Korkie go out on a date with me, maybe something more afterward. Talk to you later."

With that, she stepped away, heading over to make her purchases. I smiled, knowing Liliya would disapprove of my actions, but that I was safe while following her expressed orders. The task to befriend Soniee required helping her relationship with Korkie, which created a bind for Liliya's and her efforts to undermine it. Those two did deserve a chance to be with each other, especially considering that, in my opinion, Korkie was quite the catch.

Perhaps I should find a few more books on the Gran to find out how their system works. Maybe I could send a few books back to some friends on Anteevy.

Raxus Secundus, Mandalore Diplomatic Residence

Korkie Kryze

My mind was deep in thought as I walked with Soniee back to her room. Most of the representatives and senators I have managed to meet were not interested in ending the war or de-escalation of the conflict. I'm starting to understand some of what my sister must have to deal with on Coruscant. As far as they were concerned, they had been attacked by the Republic, and the Republic had declared war. The delegates would consider a Republic cease-fire if one miraculously was offered, but until then they were justified in all actions taken in their defense.

The most concrete deal I've been able to have accepted was an establishment of a Separatist embassy at Mandalore. This would enable more high-level conversations with the CIS diplomats and the CNS, but it would take a long time to show any progress.

Which was something, but I would have liked something more tangible, something that was actually going to see an end to this conflict. Guess I was a little bit optimistic taking this job, but I would continue to try at it. I had at least codified that the blockade from the CIS end of the conflict would be lowered, since the CNS was a neutral party to be accepted by the CIS.

As far as the senators of the CIS were concerned, Mandalore was off the table for the conflict zone. What worried me was the Executive Separatist Council. I hadn't met them, and the way this system was functioning seemed rather confusing, to say the least. The Senate voted on what to do, they sent it to their Chancellor, Count Dooku, and he communicated with his Executive Separatist Council, who would actually put those policies into action.

That worried me because, for all intents and purposes, the military was under the command of corporations and not the people. Not that I had anything against private enterprises. I didn't fully believe everything the book that Natalya had given me was talking about. However, there just seemed to be something inherently wrong with this system.

Putting those thoughts away, though, I focused on Soniee as we made our way down the hallway. Tonight had been a rather nice night. She didn't invite me out on a date, but wore a rather nice dress, and we had enjoyed our time talking about non-political issues, reminiscing about our archaeology school adventures. I kind of wish we could go back to that now that I was here, but maybe that would be something I could do after my posting here was done.

Hopefully, that would be soon, and I could stop getting threatened by various Mandalorians who were not fans of the neutrality or pro-Republic stance of the Mandalore sector. From a representative of the Mandalorian Protectors calling me nothing but a puppet of the Jedi, to a Mandalorian giant in red armor named Chop'aa Notimo and his Gungan sidekick making disparaging remarks about all New Mandalorians, I had to deal with quite a bit of that over the last few days. And I wondered how many other Mandalorian groups besides Anteevy who sided with the CIS I would have to deal with, sending insults and threats my way.

Finally, we arrived at her room's door. Soniee opened the door, pushing it all the way open, before saying, "Here we are."

"Yep, here we are." I agreed, happy to have her safe and sound. Just as I was ready to go down the hall to my own room, Soniee bit her lip nervously. A second later, she lunged forward and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me down into a kiss, surprising me. I didn't even get a chance to try and determine what was going on before she pulled me into her room, shutting the door behind us.

Mandalore, Self-Defense Forces HQ

Jango Fett

Stay out of politics. That's what I've been told to do. That's what I planned to do. But I have never promised never aiding the Mandalorian government if they called me. And, well, the Mandalorian government is going to pay me a lot of credits to give them a little help. I was not going to turn that down.

That being said, what I had signed up for was best called a weekend gig. My plan to build farmland on Concord Dawn had been put on hold. I own the land, yes, but it looked like Concord Dawn was going to be invaded by the Mandalorian Self-Defense Force, so they could get the frak off Vorpa'ya. So, I'm not going to build anything there or move any of my people there to set up farmland until things calmed down.

Once whatever the hell the governor of Concord Dawn and his corrupt Journeyman Protectors were on was settled, maybe I'd do something with that land. For now, it was mostly just a loss held in trust until I had an opportunity to do something with it.

But that was a side story. Yes, I'm still a farmer. But today, I'm hired to be a military advisor. I had been called to Mandalore for a meeting in the upper district, the MSDF headquarters. Apparently, I would know it when I found it because it was stuffed between the CIS and Republic Embassy. The military general, the Self-Defense force Commander — I needed to look up the exact title when I got a chance — called me up to basically serve as a potential source of information. Being one of the few people who have fought a war in the last few decades, I guess I knew a little bit about fighting conflicts on a large scale.

I had to be getting closer to my destination, because I watched a group of clone troopers trading insults at a group of droids, separated by a couple of Mandalorian guards.

Apparently, someone thought it was a good idea to set up the Republic embassy and the CIS embassy one building away from each other and then stuff the building in between them full of Mandalorian guards just to keep an eye on it. I mean, it's not the worst idea, since any fight that breaks out would be contained in this portion of the city and the Guards are right there ready to stop the fight. But the insults they were trading said a lot about how well it was going to go.

Shaking my head, I kept on moving further away from the conflict of words until I found a very nondescript building with two Self-Defense Force Mandalorians standing in front of it.

Stepping up to them, I said, "Jango Fett. Is this the military headquarters of the Self-Defense Force? I was called to come here."

The two guards shared a look and probably spoke to someone over internal comms. A moment later, they stepped out of the way, one of them pressing a button to open the door.

I nodded and said, "Thanks." before stepping inside. I looked around, knowing that like many New Mandalorian buildings, there were a lot of windows. There were a few other military personnel wandering about, carrying paperwork, so most likely this was a pencil pusher location.

"Jango Fett?" came a voice, causing me to look and see something that surprised me. A white-skinned Twi'lek came forward, offering a hand. She was wearing a very distinct Mandalorian uniform which is a dull green long sleeved shirt with the New Mandalorians' tall hexagonal symbol sewn as a patch on the shirt's right sleeve at shoulder height, pants of the same dull green color, and a vest that has to be made of armorweave. The vest has what I assume are rank insignias on her left breast while a metal name tag is on her right breast and a large central pouch is empty, which I believe could be filled with a beskar plate if additional protection is necessary. I noted, probably something required by the pacifists from the upper echelons.

Taking her hand, I said, "You must be someone of importance, I would assume."

"Ikudtuvo Ordo. Supreme Commander of the Mandalorian Self-Defense Force, and somehow ended up with the job of being the overall military leader of the CNS after my showdown over Taris."

"Wrong place, right time?" I said, knowing how that goes.

She nodded and indicated to follow, saying, "I've been meaning to call you up ever since I heard you were on Mandalore. You're probably one of the few Mandalorians with a lot of battlefield experience, and if we're going to protect the CNS, we're going to need all the experience we can get, especially with what we're having to deal with."

I nodded, following behind her, before we entered what I assume to be her office. I noted there was a holo-projector on the wall showing the galactic situation zoomed up on the CNS's defense systems. Of course, the core of the region is the Mandalorian sector and its nearby sectors. But there were yellow dots scattered all over the place inside the fields of blue, which must represent the Republic. I quickly noted that the Mandalorian sector cut off the CIS from the Dentari Exclave, an area that was currently in rebellion against the Republic, which I could instantly see why there would be issues.

"Take a seat." She instructed as she sat down next to the board.

I did, before saying, "Not really sure how I can be much help. I mean, I fought quite a bit during the Civil War, but it's not really going to be of much use in a war this big."

Ikud nodded, her head tails bobbing as she did. "I would assume not either, though maybe you might know some nuggets of wisdom about some of the areas around here that can prove useful. But you also fought in actual combat before and we need military trainers, as many as we can get. The Republic and the CIS have managed to absorb a lot of mercenaries from the Mandalorian sectors before the CNS was officially declared, which means we are a little bit understaffed when it comes to experienced military personnel, especially with the situation on Vorpa'ya."

"Yeah, I heard about Vorpa'ya, is it a problem for you?" I acknowledged. I was glad I wasn't involved in that mess, I didn't much want to support the Journeyman Protectors, and the rest involved had too little to offer, not enough to make it profitable.

She shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Not sure. It could end up being a five-way war if things keep going the way they are. All we know is that it's one system in and out of Confederate Independent Systems into the CNS, with the Republic holding this area." She pointed to a northern campaign area and a southern campaign area marked on the map, separating the Republic from the CNS.

"The planet needs to stay under CNS control, so we can't let Anteevy get their hands on it because that'll just open us up to more unsecured transportation from CIS space into our own."

Looking at the map, I asked, "That is a lot of space to cover. How are you going to make sure that you can even monitor all that space?"

She shrugged before saying, "Currently we are issuing bounties on ships that bypass customs inspections in regions outside of our direct control, obviously this system is ripe for abuse. We are shifting away from that by purchasing ships from Gargon and Kalevala, while also reorganizing the Mandalorian Patrol as part of the Mandalorian Self-Defense Navy. With any luck, we will be able to string patrol ships along the border region and just prevent any ships from transiting it. Either that, or make it so hard that whatever makes it across can't be used to reinforce the CIS exclave. That could trigger the worst outcome — which would result in the Republic declaring us part of the CIS."

I nodded my head. "Well, if you're slowly bringing up your manpower and all that, I assume you just need me to take up training. So, where do you want to send me? Where are you getting your recruits?"

She let out a deep breath, "Arkania. They're supplying a large amount of what we can best guess are their lesser population groups into our military. They sent us fifty million recruits to help reinforce the various system garrisons. From what we can gather, these were what the Arkanians call Class Two Riot Response Conscripts. Apparently they were sent in after the Class One Riot Conscripts failed to quell a riot. Class Twos are trained to use lethal force only. From what I understand of the reports, they have never had a failed operation."

"Nasty work, policing riots on a city planet. Tunnel rats can get really vicious." The Arkanians must not be expecting any riots anytime soon if they were handing over so many of their problem solvers. Most ecumenopolis riots happened over food, water, or electricity rationing. Unless the Arkanians have some way of ensuring they had a stable food supply or some way of reducing the population, there would always be riots. Very strange, but ultimately not my problem. I doubted that Riot Response killers that were trained for a city planet would be able to adapt to fighting on all possible battlefields.

They would likely make good ship boarding forces, however. "Fifty million sounds like a lot." I chuckled. "Until you see just how many star systems need garrisons. What is that? A few hundred troopers per system?" Another issue, I am willing to bet that casualty rates for these Class Two Riot Response Conscripts would be high. That sort of thing was perfectly fine when there are a million bodies to replace the dead within spitting distance, but when the defenders of a star system numbered in the thousands, each life matters.

"Something like that." Ikud looked somewhat deflated. "A drop in the bucket. It's fine for Mandalorian systems, as local populations have the firepower and equipment to secure a star system by themselves."

"But our new allies are a military liability since they don't have any real military capacity." I concluded. "So you need to secure a navy first and foremost to protect the tiny amount of ground forces."

"Let me worry about that, you just have to deal with helping us as a trainer. Both Arkanian and otherwise. The Arkanians take orders well, but they don't have the Mandalorian fire, as it were. The other CNS member worlds are another matter entirely, most of them view being a soldier as some sort of jobs program, for the unemployed. We need some people to train that fire into them. We've already deployed several regiments of Arkanian clones to the fortress world of Krownest as well as here on Mandalore to be trained since we have the most facilities to house and train them. Some of the regiments were sent to my home world of Ordo and a few were sent to Jakalia and Harwee as they have the least amount of housing capacity. Thankfully all of those worlds have Mando trainers in abundance, so we don't have to supply those units with our own trainers. We just need to send trainers who're familiar with our training style to go to planets that don't have Mandalorians locals."

Looking at the map I noted several locations marked for larger military installations,"Well where are you sending me? Telereth is nice this time of year, apparently." I laughed. Getting the kid to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"No, we do plan to establish a garrison there soon, since they're building the main branch of the CNS Central Bank there. But that's not the planet we're going to be sending you." However, she pointed to an area I recognized, but nowhere near where I'd guessed..

"Taris. The Republic is deploying a garrison there to protect the Hydian Way, and we need to have our own garrison there. Some of them will be Mandalorians, some of them will be from Arkania, but most of the training units will be made up from local Tarisians. My understanding is that you have experience working with foreigners, which makes you the most useful asset for dealing with Taris."

I rubbed my chin, thinking. "I'm not exactly a fan of leaving the Mandalorian sector, I was told that I should not leave, even if the Council of Neutral Systems recognizes Taris as a member. There's a lot of space that's considered Republic between Mandalore and Taris." Not to mention that Taris itself was unique in terms of terrain. Only parts of it have been resettled in the thousands of years since its destruction, leaving most of the planet a ruin that extended higher than the tallest mountain on the planet and descended so far down that when the cooling systems failed, tunnels had melted. All of that was slowly covered over by voracious plant and animal life that had adapted to the ruined environment.

"It's still Republic space — for now." Ikud said with a soft smile. I blinked and looked at her. She continued, saying, "Denova and Vernqup have been in talks to possibly join the CNS. When that happens, we'll have a direct bridge that we can travel to Taris. If you're worried about your security, when that bridge is established, we expect a cascade effect, and small systems all along the Tarisian section of the Hydian Way will flip to the CNS, giving us de facto control of that section of the hyperlane route."

I huffed, that would no doubt drive the Republic mad, I grinned before saying, "I don't see why I should worry about my security. If I have to make one trip there, that's fine. I can do it. It's just that I would like to be able to come back once in a while, you know, be with my family. Which means I would have to come back every so often. Creating a system that someone could catch me in between Taris and Mandalore. As long as you're going to be able to work out some sort of deal to secure a direct route between Mandalore and Taris that will not be interfered with by the Republic, I'd be willing to take up this job."

She smiled and said, "Thank you. You have no idea how hard it has been trying to get these things set up."

"I imagine. I mean, I did fight a war against other Mandalorians in the past." Shaking my head, I said, "How are the plans for defense, anyways? Seems a bit scattered by this map. One large neighborhood of systems, with five distant surrounded enclaves, alone in an angry sea of blue and red."

"Currently, the plan is basic. Ord Mantell will cover Concord Dawn and Alzar. Mandalore's looking after the south and Vanqor. Gargon is basically protecting the route to Taris. Krownest watches the route to the Dentari CIS Exclave and Haruun Kal. We are deploying troops to protect the planets from their homeworld to Mandalore. Ithor can handle themselves. Taris, of course, you've got our plan. We're just going to put some garrisons there. Thespin, they pretty much defended themselves against an invasion from the Dentari Exclave and managed to free themselves of all droids. They've joined us mainly as a way of saying that they are not taking part in this war. Finally Arkania, well, we're deploying troops from some of our Mandalorian Self-Defense Forces to Arkania to train up their own armies to our standard. We're separated, yes, but we do not want war with the Republic. And if the CIS invades us, we can easily move troops to kick them out or at least stall them at Vorpa'ya, allowing us to be a third party in the war if necessary." Ikud cleared her throat as I considered her words. It was not a shock that Arkania was not too worried about a Republic invasion. City planets were near impossible to take if they could not be starved out and Arkania was a net exporter of reconstituted nutrient paste rations. It would not be pleasant, but the pale bastards could likely hold out indefinitely.

"A possible problem are the mercenaries hired by both sides possibly knowing routes in and out of Mandalorian space." Ikud continued.

"Yeah, I've heard. Null is proving to be a bit of an issue for the Republic, thanks to some Mandalorian Protectors, I think they're called." I mused.

She nodded, saying, "Yeah, your cousin is doing a good job. We think he's stationed out of the Dentari CIS exclave, but we also think he probably knows routes all across this region and can get to the CIS through the current defensive lines of the Republic."

"Almost makes me proud if he wasn't bringing a little bit too much attention to Mandalore."

She shrugged before saying, "It evens out. Silver Mandalorian mercs are apparently hot on their tail, trying to cause problems around Dentari space, possibly also taking part in the Belsmuth campaign. We know they're coming from Gargon, but what can we do about that? They're independent contractors, so they're not Mandalore's problem. From the reports we've got, they're acting with good honor, actually taking prisoners where they could, instead of just executions.

We also have a few Royal Guards who took a leave of absence to serve in the protection of Ryloth of all places. Apparently, they bought themselves their own little fleet of fighters from MandalMotors and have been causing hell for the CIS."

I chuckled before saying, "So as long as mercenaries serve for the Republic and the CIS, we could just say we're still neutral because it evens out." Shaking my head, I said, "True Mandalorian way, one way or another."

Surprisingly, the white-skinned Twi'lek laughed before saying, "You're not that far off. I know my homeworld is glad about that."

My raised eyebrow prompted her to continue, "Ordo was in favor of the True Mandalorian way over Death Watch's. Still is, even with Death Watch's recent propaganda victory with the Maelstrom. The True Mandalorians would have been able to work something out with the rising New Mandalorians if they had managed to win the war. Instead, you guys destroyed each other and, well, the past is past."

I nodded before saying, "I'd like to think you're right on that. I've been paying attention to what the New Mandalorians have been up to while I had my current work. From what I've seen, they've done a good job with Mandalore, even if I'm not a big fan of the disarmament. But it seems to be taking care of itself. Silver Mandalorians do a good job of putting some backbone in the New Mandalorians again."

"Ain't that the truth." Ikud said, shaking her head. "Just wish we knew who White Silver was. I have a suspicion that we're not being told the full story whenever I read her version of the Supercommando Codex."

"Oh, anything in particular you've noted? I've always kind of avoided it myself."

She looked up at me before saying, "Economy seems to be the focus of the manual, really. The culture, the ways of defense, they're in there, but the main focus is on the economy. Everything is built on making sure the economy hums along. I don't know, something about that just makes me wonder if White Silver is an economist or has a lot more stake in the economy of the Mandalore sector than we thought."

"Huh." I pondered in my head. "Not sure what it could be. Oh well, I always preferred to stay out of politics. After all, if people want to play Mand'alor, that's up to them. I've done that, and I'm onto something else. Training armies is what I can do. I trained the Clone Army. I can train some recruits on Taris, that's for sure. And who knows, maybe a little bit of Mandalorian would rub off on Taris and be good for it in the long term."

Raxus Secundus, Dooku's Palace

Sev'rance Tann

Carefully and slowly, I walked through my Master's Palace. Having to relearn how to walk with my new prosthetic legs was aggravating, but there was nothing else I could do. I would not submit to the maiming the Jedi had inflicted on me. I had to simply endure this humiliation that had been grafted onto my legs below the knees to replace what had been cut away until a better replacement can be created.

I just wished that I got something that actually looked humanoid. These claw-like things, that had been attached to me in the rush to save my life, looked very cheap and unintuitive to use. Yes, they would allow me to keep moving, but it was very inelegant, inadequate.

How far I had fallen. At the start of the war, I had been one of the most effective military commanders in the entire CIS army. I put the Republic on notice that this war would not be easy. And then some damn lucky Jedi decided to use the Dark side and cut my legs off.

He would have cut me down the middle and killed me if Dooku had not recently shown me some new tricks for directing myself while in midair. Some sort of Jedi technique that he had not been interested in teaching me until after Geonosis. Of course, he started teaching me new techniques after that. You would have to be blind not to notice that something changed after Geonosis.

I had suspected that Count Dooku had wanted this war, yet he may have had goals outside of actually winning it. Whatever that goal was, after Geonosis he started to take more care in his acolytes' training.

Even with that extra training, I nearly died fighting that damn Jedi. If it hadn't been for me getting in his head and making him realize he had used the Dark side to be able to pull that off, I would probably be dead. Instead, he assumed that I would bleed out on the ground and left with his mission accomplished and the Decimator already destroyed.

I managed to crawl into a hiding place so that the clones never found me and finished me off. The only one who found me was my love, Vandalor, and he helped me get off that Core world I was going to die on.

At that point, I had a choice. I could return to the war or I could not. After all, I was reported dead by the Jedi who took off my legs. It was a reasonable decision considering the planet we had been fighting on was rather volcanic, and if I didn't get aid sooner or later, I would have been rendered a smoldering husk or get found by a passing clone as there are not that many places to hide.

Ultimately, though, I decided to return. I required months of therapy before I could even function as a combat agent again. Until then, my role would be limited to commanding from the backline and formulating strategic plans.

Count Dooku hadn't explained to me what this meeting I had to attend would be about, but I would assume it would be for the next phase of the war. If he was actually taking it seriously, perhaps we would actually accomplish something instead of this back and forth stalemate.

Oh well, the destruction of the Jedi would come in due time, that I was sure of. I just needed to be in the proper place to make sure that I benefited from this in the long term.

I eventually reached my destination and waited for the two Magnaguards to open the door. I step in as soon as the door is opened where I am immediately assaulted by comments.

"Oh my, is that a Force ghost that just walked in?" came the voice of Dooku's number one assassin, Ventress. The Dathomiri gave me a look of contempt, I suspect it was because of my former title as Count Dooku's favored acolyte. From what I heard after my defeat, that title had been taken by a fallen Jedi who was leading a force of other fallen Jedi somewhere in the galaxy, but it probably did not matter to Ventress.

I had no interest in playing her cat game today. Normally, I might have indulged her, for after all, I enjoy a good contest of words as much as the next person, perhaps even more so. But this was my first return to military high command, so I could not afford to appear unstable.

"Rumors of my death have appeared to be exaggerated." I said dismissively as I took a seat . Looking around the room I try to determine exactly who had been called for this meeting. Whoever was here would probably hint on exactly what kind of meeting this was. For instance, if several of the notable military generals were here, then this was obviously a military only Darksiders were here, obviously this was a meeting about the Dark Order that Count Dooku planned to create.

Unfortunately, this was an odd mix of individuals. Ventress, of course, was here, myself included, which could indicate Darksiders. But then there was the monster of a creature in one corner, a giant in armor that bore the symbol of Mandalorians on its chest. This must be that Durge fellow I've heard about. From what I knew, he was just a mercenary, so why was he here? And what secrets from an ancient era did he still possess?

The final individual was a cyborg, a machine man that barely qualified as a cyborg, considering he was almost entirely machine. I had heard of this new officer in the CIS military, one General Grievous, I believed the name would be.

He had capes hiding most of his form, but the helmet displayed a skull-like design, and his visible feet made it clear what he was.

"Quite a diverse lineup of individuals." I mused, looking around.

"Quite indeed." The giant of a man, Durge, followed it with a low grinding, laughing noise. "Must be some sort of major shake-up, or maybe we are just the most loyal officers he's got available."

"Loyal? How are you considered loyal?" Asked Ventress, who was looking at him amused. "You're nothing but a mercenary, not even an acolyte of the Dark side."

"Hahaha, anything that lets me kill Mandalorians earns my loyalty. The money is just a bonus. Not to mention, Count Dooku has helped me acquire my old fortune, so I have more than a few reasons to be loyal to him."

Ventress did not look pleased, but I nodded in his direction. "If your loyalty is secured, then good. And from the reports I received, your tactics were just as legendary as your reputation in the defense of Muunilinst from the Republic. That lancer formation and charge was quite inspiring."

The mercenary looked at me, his thoughts hidden by his helmet, but he nodded, silently saying that it's nothing too inspired; it's simply an old technique that's not used in modern days. "So much of war seems to have been forgotten over the last thousand years."

"Yes, I've heard you're quite old." I said with an odd smile. "Perhaps you should look into taking a teaching position at whatever military academy is founded after this conflict. Your years and centuries of experience could be quite beneficial for the next generation of military commanders."

That got a general laugh from the man as he said, "Me, a teacher? Never! That's a funny thought, and I'm sure I'd make a good penny." he said, rubbing his fingers together. "But I enjoy the hunt, the fight of bounty hunting, more than sitting behind a desk. Maybe when the last Mandalorian lies smoldering in his grave, I'll consider that if the CIS is still around in a thousand years."

I raised an eyebrow, saying, "That confident in your survival?"

The creature looked at me with a tone in his voice that said he had all the confidence in the world. He said, "I have taken precautions, maybe I'll even tell you about some of them when you're half my age."

I nodded my head, about to ask another question to fill the time, when the doors behind me opened. Count Dooku and another individual stepped in, the elder Sith looking rather splendid in his brown cloak, followed by a short female individual dressed in white cloak, her face hidden in the shadows.

"Ah, everyone is here. Perfect, we can get started right away." Count Dooku said. "General Sev'rance Tann, it's good to see you back on your feet."

Whoever said Count Dooku does not have a sense of humor never met the man. He always found a way to slip in just a little bit of amusement to some situation.

Smiling, I replied, "It is good to be back, Count, even if these," I lifted one of the claw-like appendages and clicked it before lowering it again, "are not exactly what I would have chosen."

Dooku nodded his head before saying, "I will put in a message with the Techno Union about maybe getting you a replacement that more closely matches your original limbs. Unfortunately, most prosthesis production lines are being repurposed for droid production at the moment. Thus you'll have to make do with what you have for now."

I nodded as Dooku and the other individual moved further into the room.

Ventress asked, "Are the Dark Acolytes going to join us, or is this meeting just for us five?"

Dooku sighed before saying, "Master Bulq will not be joining us. He is needed in his position and he does not know everything yet. This meeting is for those I have chosen, those who are loyal, those I trust enough to keep secrets as well as stay the course for the CIS and our goals."

As I thought, this was some high-level operation that he was working on, something that he wanted only the best and most loyal officers for.

"General Grievous is here, as he recently returned from operations at the Battle of Bothawui. We've learned much about the Republic's response time and how they handle our various probing attacks. Using this information, we are preparing for a general offensive at the end of the year, thanks to those actions."

"Didn't he get his ship blown up again?" Durge asked, which caused Grievous to growl at him somewhat menacingly.

"An unfortunate miscalculation, I assure you it will not happen a third time." Grievous replied. I highly doubt that. He is an army general and is more familiar with army tactics than naval strategy and his performance speaks for itself.

Dooku continued, "Back to the topic at hand, before we can launch this attack, we need to stack the odds in our favor. We recently engaged in a raid on Kamino, the cloner's homeworld. As far as we can tell, though we were unsuccessful in our objectives, the fleet around Kamino has not been greatly increased. Instead, they've tried putting warning systems around their planet to let them know if we're coming. Grievous believes that he can silence them and get a fleet over Kamino to destroy the planet's main city and their cloning facilities before they can bring a fleet to respond. As such, I believe it would be best to have some of my best operatives on this mission."

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." Came the menacing voice of Grievous as he leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him.

"I imagine you will, good sir. I imagine you will." Dooku said. "You will be leading the charge. Your objective, of course, will be to cause as much destruction and mayhem as possible, something I believe you are quite capable of doing."

The menacing laugh was the answer to that. Turning to Ventress, Dooku said, "As for you, my assassin, we are engaging in another project to perhaps acquire our own clone army in the future, or at least damage their production of clones. Your mission would be to acquire their source gene material."

"It will be done, my master." Ventress said with a nod of her head. But I had a question, so I asked it.

"Would it not be better just to locate Jango Fett and capture him? After all, if you eliminate his contract with the Kaminoans, they can simply get a new source of genetic material from him."

Dooku nodded his head before saying, "It would but it would also create additional problems as well. Jango Fett has tied his hands to Mandalore officially, taking a role in their military from some of the reports I have heard on the matter. Meaning, he's neutral. Kamino may reach out to him to obtain new samples, but we will put political pressure on Mandalore, demanding that they do not allow him to provide them with those resources. If they ignore our wishes, it will create justification for an invasion by the CIS, and they will lose their pretense of neutrality."

The laugh of Durge told us everything we needed to know about what he wanted to say. The number of times he had expressed his desire to kill Mandalorians made it clear that if the Republic did that, he would volunteer to lead the assault into Mandalorian territory, probably with the goal of killing Jango Fett himself.

I simply nodded, taking in the information, and said, "I assume that my role will be as the fleet's admiral, providing naval support to those conducting the operation on the ground."

Dooku nodded his head. "Yes, that will be your role. You show promise as a lightsaber combatant, but until you have mastered control of your new legs, I feel it's best not to push you too far."

"Thank you, my Lord." I said with an odd thought. Though I disliked being pulled back like this, I know better than to fight while injured when I don't have to.

"When will the attack be allowed to go forward? I'm feeling the urge to test myself against the Jedi." Grievous asked.

"Don't test yourself too hard, Grievous. The Jedi are not someone to fool around with." I said, already having learned that lesson after pushing one a little too far.

Dooku noticed my sniping, but didn't say much. Instead, turning to Grievous, he said, "I believe two to three months from now. It'll take time to gather our assets for the assault. Once everything's in place, we will launch an attack on Kamino."

"I assume this is off the books, that the Senate doesn't need to know about it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be keeping this so close to your chest." Grievous remarked.

Dooku nodded, saying, "You are correct. With a representative of the CNS now speaking for peace here in CIS space, I believe it is best to keep this between us. We do not want the Republic to be forewarned of our impending assault, especially with this representative's sister being a Republic senator."

I nodded in understanding as Dooku turned away from Grievous to face the rest of the group, "Now that everyone understands the situation, you are now dismissed."

Grievous, Ventress, and I all nodded our heads and turned to leave. I started as well, but I could feel something in the Force telling me that I would not be allowed to leave yet. And I was proven right as Dooku said, "Sev'rance, a moment of your time. I have another issue to discuss with you."

I nodded as the three left the room. Dooku sat down behind his personal desk, indicating that the robed individual who had remained quiet this entire time should take a stance at one side of his desk.

"As you're aware, I am building a new Sith order here in the Outer Rim. And we are more willing to experiment with the Force than the Jedi are." Dooku began. I nodded my head.

Raising his hand, he indicated the white figure, saying, "I have acquired an apprentice. Unfortunately I cannot maintain a full-time apprentice like I could before, due to the needs of the state. You require time to recover from your injuries. Thus, while you do, she will serve well as your apprentice, a temporary intern if you will."

The term "acquired" was interesting, avoiding how exactly he obtained her. Did he ask the parents for permission first or was she kidnapped? The fact that she was not locked up would suggest that she was too young to remember her parents or had willingly joined their service. Seeing that she appeared to be around five feet tall, I would say she would have to be at least a teenager, so it was more likely she had willingly come into their service.

I thought for a brief moment about saying no. After all, I had no need for a student taking up my valuable time. Perhaps I was relegated to a mere general until he decided I am better than the new one. Perhaps this was a way to ingratiate myself back into his line of control.

Finally, I nodded in my head, saying, "I will take up this student for you, my Lord, and train her in our ways. What is her name?"

"Her name is Tan'Nya Zotho." As he said that, the hooded figure pulled back their hood, revealing that she was not what I would have expected. I wasn't too shocked as her last name was a giveaway that she was of Arkanian origin. So is the white skin, white hair, and pointed ears. However, the blue eyes seemed off. They appeared very dull and cold, not in the sense that she has low intelligence, but in the sense that she considers life itself as something beneath her notice, as if she had seen more than she should. Perhaps she had been taken by force after all, and this was the effect of her training required to bring them to the Dark side.

She said nothing, so I gave no statements to her. I simply said, "Is there anything else you would wish me to do?"

Dooku pondered for a moment before saying, "I've been having another issue that you may be able to help me with. The Mandalorian Protectors have been doing a good job in their offensive, but I believe they should be brought into the operation on Kamino."

I raised an eyebrow at that and asked, "Do you think it's safe to deploy them next to Durge?"

"I think they will serve their purpose, and Grievous will be too busy in his section of the city causing mayhem to do what's necessary. The leader of the Mandalorian Protectors is a former clone. Apparently, he escaped Kamino long ago and wants to free his brothers.

I doubt he will be very successful, but his part in this operation would be kidnapping the young cadets that are already in training, the ones who appear to be children. The only issue I'm having is that they're currently indisposed in their own little skirmish with the Silver Mandalorians, a core of Mandalorian volunteers, hired by the Republic. I need you to track down Spar Fett and remind him of his obligations to the CIS and get him on the mission."

I nodded my head, saying, "It will be done."

Mandalore, Royal Palaces, Ducal Stateroom

Satine Kryze

"If every Jedi acted like you, the war would be lost!" Anakin Skywalker argued with the recently arrived former Jedi, Serifa Altunen, elected Lord Protector of Arkania. "Say what you like about following your conscience, but if we divide our forces, the Trade Federation will win." Serifa, Anakin, Padme, and I were settled in comfortable chairs in one of the many staterooms rooms that dotted my palace.

"I don't see the value in winning this war." Serifa said softly, her face impassive, perfectly imperious, and perhaps a bit condescending.

"Why not?!" Anakin asked with genuine bafflement. "Look, if you think that the Republic has strayed from the path of benevolence and wisdom, that is one thing, but governance via battle droids is quite another."

"Would you force us into this war? Drive Mandalorians to battle with Dooku?" I asked.

"Of course not." Anakin waved a hand. "Mandalorians and Jedi are different."

"I have left the Order, I thought I made that clear." Serifa said with the slightest hint of frustration coloring her tone.

"Left the Order to become a Jedi Lord. I get that, but still a Jedi. You still have responsibilities to fight against the illegal war Dooku is conducting." Anakin said, his words slow and careful.

"I am not a Jedi Lord." Serifa protested. "I am just a lord who happens to be a Jedi. I have no desire to institute an outdated system like the Jedi Lords in my homeworld."

"But everyone is calling you a Jedi Lord." Padme pointed out.

"I can't be held responsible for the insipid accusations of the willfully ignorant." Serifa replied testily.

"I agree, the Republic Senate and media have openly called me Mand'alor several times even after I said otherwise. It is deeply offensive how the Republic misrepresents the rightful leaders of Neutral System worlds on purpose." I pointed out before taking a sip of my drink.

"Exactly, not to mention the gall of the Republic to vote on the invasion of the Neutral Systems solely upon the actions of Death Watch and a rogue Jedi!" Serifa snapped.

"Technically, it was a vote to invade Mandalore. Your planet just wanted to join the party." Anakin said.

"Another pointless and immoral vote. Another reason why I have rejected both the Republic and the Senate." Serifa continued. "I follow the Force, not the Council, and not the petty laws of the Republic. I serve the people, not the Senate, and I will make peace, not war." The Arkanian said with a conviction that gave me goosebumps.

"Here here!" I agreed cheerfully, holding up a fine glass of Arkanian sweet milk, a type of creamy mead that was rich and strong enough to put a blush on my cheeks. I watched with amusement as Padme joined Serifa and I in the toast, much to the annoyance of Anakin.

"We can't all afford to be idealists." Anakin grumbled.

"We cannot lose our ideals either." Serifa said softly, showing a crack in her armor for the first time.

"We could always have a battle droid blast everything we care about to bits." Anakin said in what I assume to be sarcasm as he drummed a cybernetic hand across a rather expensive table.

"Do you really care about winning this war?" Serifa asked.

"Of course." Anakin replied instantly.

"Why?"

Anakin threw up his hands. "What do you mean, why?!"

"Perhaps you should examine your path, commune with the Force to come up with a better answer to that question." Serifa said, earning a bewildered grunt from Anakin as he shook his head.

"You won't reconsider?" Anakin asked, his expression one of sour defeat.

"No." Serifa said as she stood up from her seat. I looked at her with growing melancholy at how this conversation is progressing, helpless to change its course. "I have considered the matter for a long time with great care."

"You swore an oath." Anakin said bitterly.

"Then I am forsworn." Serifa shrugged. "But I must say, I don't feel it much." With a smooth motion, she unclasped her fine cloak from her shoulders and folded it before passing it gently to Anakin, who took it with a sigh.

"Your lightsaber." He pressed. Even sitting down, I felt a pressure of command with his order.

"No." Came the reply as Serifa sat back down.

"You are not a Jedi!" He protested, his eyes turning wet.

"So you say. And yet, my people might yet need a lightsaber to defend them, one wielded by someone who has not forsaken the Force." Serifa dismissed him, her face set in cool marble.

Anakin pushed his chair back as he stood, turning away from Serifa and holding the cloak close to him. "I will have to tell Master Yoda that you are a lost cause." He said bitterly. "You are not to speak to my Padawan." With that, he stormed out of the room. Padme gave us both a pained look before excusing herself and quickly rushing after the clearly upset Jedi.

The room fell into silence as Serifa seemed to stare into nothingness for a moment, looking at the door that Anakin just stormed out of.

"That must have been difficult." I offered my sympathies.

"It had to be done." Serifa sounded resolved.

"We have to stand as an example." I began. "So that the entire galaxy can see that there is still peace to be found, to be cherished." Serifa nodded and took a long drink from her cup.

"Our imperfect people?" She laughed to herself. "Why did it have to be us?"

"Mandalorians know war." I said. "I know it better than most."

"And my people are a twisted lot." Serifa said to her glass.

"But we love them anyway." Serifa seemed to nod softly, turning to me and then away again.

"By the Force, politics drives me mad." Serifa said, blinking as I leaned over to refill her glass with the lovely Arkanian mead.

"You don't have to go it alone." I pointed out.

"I still don't know if we will manage this, you know. The Republic, the CIS, the entire galaxy seems to be falling for the madness of war. Letting it twist them into something terrible. Can our sinful people truly be what the galaxy needs of them?"

"Yes." I said, and her milky white eyes turned to my own at my swift answer. "If we have faith in them, if we lead them with dignity and honesty, if we never surrender our principles no matter how difficult the road becomes, I believe we will succeed." She nodded, her cheeks rosy from the mead. I refilled both of our glasses again.

"I just wish anyone had followed me." Serifa admitted softly.

"Leaving the Order is such a difficult thing." I said with sympathy, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "But who knows who we will inspire tomorrow." I noted how close the two of us suddenly were, but after taking another sip of the creamy mead, I found I did not mind that so much.

Coruscant, Jedi Temple

Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Is there no way to talk Master Altunen into coming back into the Order? No way at all?" I asked, trying to clarify it for record purposes.

Anakin shook his head, his form shimmering as the light blue holo-projector buffered, before saying, "I'm afraid not, Master. I did everything I could, but she is stubbornly against returning to the Order, stubbornly against joining the war, and stubbornly denies that she has turned her back on the Order. She also refuses to hand over her lightsaber, even though that is tradition among those who leave the Order."

I sighed, shaking my head before saying, "Well, I'm sure you did the best you could, Anakin. That's all we can ask in this situation. How about the reason you're there in the first place, the Mandalorian Self-Defense Force? Have you found anything of interest among them that the Council needs to know about?"

Anakin shrugged before saying, "Nothing too interesting as far as I can see. Most of the training that the Mandalorians are imparting on their army here is defensive in nature. Without a meaningfully large fleet with a large transport capacity, they don't pose any threat to the Republic. I did not find anything that contradicted the reports given by Tanya and Satine. So I can safely say that they aren't preparing to launch campaigns to nearby planets to force them to join them, like what the CIS are doing. It really looks like they're just preparing to fight a war of mutual defense. As I have said to the Council, I sense great wisdom from the Mandalorians in this matter."

I nodded my head, holding back a smile, Anakin had become rather protective of the Mandalorians after the Council had questioned their intentions. He was clearly picking his words carefully, so they would appeal to the Council. I thought for a moment longer before saying, "In one way, this is good, and in another, this is bad. If we were all united, we could probably end this war quicker. However, perhaps this will be good for preventing planets from joining one side or the other in the war. We could convince the Council of the value of funneling systems considering secession into the CNS to prevent them from falling under Dooku's control."

"It's the best we can do." Anakin said with a nod, before adding, "I have noted, though, that we Jedi aren't exactly welcomed among the Mandalorian trainers. I think a good portion of them remember the conflicts in the past and aren't exactly happy to have us around." I sensed some trepidation from Anakin, like he was hiding something, perhaps wanting to say more but thinking better of it.

I raised an eyebrow before saying, "What about the concerns the Council has that the MSDF has been infiltrated by Death Watch?" I sensed that Anakin was suddenly off center, sheepish and faintly guilty.

But he shook his head. "I do not believe there is any meaningful Death Watch presence in the MSDF. But I assume whoever becomes the permanent military observer will probably have to keep an eye on such possibilities."

I nodded, debating what I would put in my report. Then I said, "The Council will be happy to hear your estimates but unhappy with the possibilities." Truthfully, the Council had been rather worried about Satine's growing military capabilities, and Anakin's open praise of Satine's government only fed into the Council's fears. The Mandalorians were not democratic, they did not even want to be democratic and the elections they held were merely pageantry for the Republic. Despite my... feelings for Satine, even I knew that.

"Right," Anakin said before souring my mood, "I hope they won't go too hard on how they've taken the information about Tanya."

I do my best to hide my grimace. "They were… contemplative. Master Windu was perhaps my greatest critic, not undeservedly so. However, Yoda seemed to be more sympathetic and even amused the entire time. He might have already suspected; he is the wisest of us all." Shaking my head, I said, "Ultimately, they have decided to table the discussion of this matter until after the war. Though their current conclusion is that the way I've handled the situation is well within the Code. I have a family, but I have not let it cloud my judgment. Nor have I cultivated any attachment to them. Granted, I did not know I had a family until recently, which is why they've tabled it until the end of the war. The council has resolved to meditate upon the situation."

"Well, at least they're not kicking you out right now, and they're giving you a chance to make it right." Anakin mused.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Anakin, "Implying that if you can get away with it long enough and prove that you can get away with it, they'll let it pass, is not exactly the best way to deal with your own situation, Anakin."

"Seems to be working out so far." Anakin conceded with a grin that dismissed any hope I had that he was truly listening to me. "Though I do wonder if you've had a chance to speak to Tanya since you found out that you're her father."

My left eye twitched as I smiled. "I am not avoiding her." I lied matter-of-factly, before adding, "I did try to get in contact with her recently. Unfortunately, she had already left for the Mandalorian sector, and I was unable to speak with her last month."

Anakin inquired, "Have you tried since then?" raising an eyebrow, which got an annoyed grumble from me.

"No." I admitted. "We've been busy, and I will be shipped out in the next few days for another front. It is a war, after all, and I do not have the luxury to look into my family situation. There are planets at stake."

Anakin nodded, seeming to understand the gravity of my situation, "Well, that may be true, but there are still a few days in that time period. You could give it a try. "

I sighed, shaking my head, before saying, "Anakin, I don't feel like having this discussion tonight."

He smiled, indicating he knew he had won this one, but he simply said, "Alright, Master. Just don't forget your duties, and I will get back to mine. My time on Mandalore is ending soon, and I'll be returning to the front with Ashoka. As much as I have enjoyed the vacation, I feel like I should be out there with the 501st fighting the good fight."

I nodded before saying, "You'll have your chance to get back out there, and your Padawan will have to learn what it means to fight this war again."

Anakin mused, "Yeah, I think Yoda might have had something to his mad scheme there." Before I could say my farewells, Anakin added, "By the way, have you considered taking on another Padawan? I mean, I turned out alright, and taking on a Padawan may be a way to show that you are able to do your duties still, even with a family."

I replied, "That's an interesting idea. Though I have not thought too deeply on taking on another apprentice And I don't think I will for tonight. I need to get some sleep."

"Goodnight, Master."

"Good night, Anakin."