Not original

717 FNM (21 BBY)

Month 3

Coruscant, 500 Republica Ballroom

Tanya Kryze

"Enjoy the party, Senator Pamlo." I smiled and waved farewell to the Senator of Taris. Tonight is my birthday party yet rather than celebrating I am mingling and networking. These are skills I have cultivated in all three of my lives, from a salaryman to a military officer to a sector representative. While the party itself might have been delayed by a couple of months, it did give me more time to study the various delegates and influential members of the CNS so that I could create a plan to network with as many of them as possible. So far, I have managed to pique the interest of various members of the CNS to employ Mandalorian services as a possible solution to their problem.

The party is in one of the many ballrooms of 500 Republica Tower that I had X4 rent for me. The tower's ballroom, while it is respectfully spacious, is about a third of the size of the Arkanian Estate's ballroom. The music is provided by the Republica's own in-house band that came with hiring the ballroom for an event. They are playing Classic Coruscanti that is similar to the Classical European music I heard in my second life. Finally, the food is handled by an Alderaanian catering company rather than the Republica's catering to save cost as well as allow us to customize the menu to be more CNS themed instead of Coruscanti themed. They did a fairly good job of catering the party with various dishes from Mandalore and planets from the Neutral System using equivalent ingredients from the Core to cut costs yet still maintain their quality. I approve of their initiative, and I might hire them again in the future.

I took another sip of my glass of Alderaanian brandy as I looked out the Ballroom window.

After my latest round of networking, I secluded myself next to the windows of the ballroom to rest and reminisce.

The Malevolence had finally been tracked down and fully destroyed. Its fate had definitely echoed that of the Bismarck. Whoever had been put in charge of the Malevolence obviously was too overconfident at the capabilities of the ship and assumed that they were unstoppable. Then again, history about military affairs are a bit lopsided towards ground combat from what I had seen. Oh sure, there were mentions of naval combat here and there, but the galaxy didn't seem to keep very good records from before the Ruusan Reformation.

In other news, the new Sundari-class cargo ship has finally been completed and is currently operating up and down the Hydian Way. It's amazing how crowded and cramped the galaxy has become since the Sith Wars. The refitted Sundari-class cargo ship design is based on the more ancient Keldabe-class battleship that Gerr found the plans for. It was made for a different era, for a large and unexplored galaxy, without the super-efficient hyperlanes. This meant that the ship had much larger storage space for food, supplies, and onboard fabrication facilities for parts.

Space travel outside mapped hyperlanes meant lots of time in sub-light and navi-computers for safe yet slow, calculated system jumps. Much of the expertise for space exploration had been lost with the rise of hyperlanes. Similarly, once the wars with the Sith had ended, hundreds of years of theoretical combat situations had simply ceased to be interesting to a generation. Resulting in basically every generation past them having to relearn what they had learned for the last 3,000 to 4,000 years.

It's no wonder that the Republic needed to resort to a secret clone army trained by Mandalorians. If they hadn't, there would have probably been more butchery, most likely with penal legions being sent into the waiting arms of the droids.

I'd be more disturbed about the whole thing, except, well, this turned out to be a benefit for the Mandalore sector. Actually, it was more of a direct benefit to me, but that's beside the point. Many of Jango's original trainers had moved back to Mandalore after the completion of their mission. The army was ready, delivered, and they didn't need to be there. From what I heard, there are still one or two hanging around to try and help the army, but most have gone home.

This means the Grand Army of the Republic is in need of military trainers. From what I had heard, they had planned to bring in a few bounty hunters to serve in that role. But when they remembered that Mandalorians had served alongside the Jedi on Geonosis and that they are mercenaries as well, it seems that is a deciding factor for the Republic to hire Mandalorian mercenaries instead.

The Silver Steel Security company, copyright pending, is now supplying quite a few veteran mercenaries to fill in the lost holes of those who moved on to the Mandalore sector. Some are serving as simple trainers on Kamino, though I did hear some of them have gone to the field and served as non-commissioned officers amongst the clone troopers, trying to teach them how to fight with on the job training as it were.

There's always the constant worry in the back of my mind that this could somehow jeopardize the neutrality we were trying to control. So far it's working, mainly because there had apparently been a rise of a counter group, the Mandalorian Protectors, on the CIS's side around the northwest of the Mandalore sector. They are not in the Mandalore sector, thankfully enough, but they definitely have some sort of connection and support from a faction within the Mandalore sector. This support included droids that I suspiciously noted, from the images that had been shown to me, have the red stripes of the communist.

Were they a tool of Anteevy? Possibly. It's also possible that they were being supplied by Anteevy or traded for droids in exchange for something else. Perhaps the CIS are using Anteevy to produce droids to agitate Mandalore and surrounding neutral sectors. It made logistical sense, proximity is key; the less space covered to transport supplies to the frontline, the more efficient the operation. So logistically, these Mandalorian Protectors are on Anteevy's doorstep. Meanwhile, Anteevy could claim neutrality, like every other system in Mandalore, and this status wouldn't be contested while all factions benefited from Mandalorian neutrality.

However, there are other issues that I need to focus on, like how the Hydian Way has been mined in an attempt to slow the Malevolence down. One of the most profitable trade routes in the entire galaxy, leading from one edge of the galaxy in the north to the other edge in the south, is now inoperable to a certain point simply because of the Malevolence's attack. Trade is going to slow down by a significant margin as freighters need to find new routes that avoid conflict zones as well as find new suppliers along their new route. One benefit to this is that prices are going up across the board. Any goods transported from the Outer Rim to the Core are going to be quite profitable as the prices go up. The downside that is really worrying everyone in the Mandalore sector, is that we are heading to a food shortage.

It isn't terrible yet, but food that usually flowed through the Core is now being directed back to other Core systems, and food that would have come from the Rim is also staying put in the Rim. All this because they simply didn't want to bother going through all the checkpoints they needed to avoid the mines.

Of course, there are ways around the minefields, but they are a lot slower than the usual route and that is the problem. The old adage of 'Time is Money' applies, as slower transport means that there is less food being sold overall, resulting in lowered profits. And the time it took to go around the mines could have been used to haul a different shipment elsewhere. With food imports taking twice as long to get past the mines and avoid contested planets meant that there are half as much food arriving in Mandalore. A solution would be to increase the amount of food deliveries to compensate for the delays. Unfortunately, everyone is having trouble finding planets to buy food from. The fact that a fair number of Agri Worlds are turned to battlefields also hurts the total galactic food production, and the worlds that are still producing food are having trouble meeting the increasing demand. Thus, food prices have inflated to a concerning degree.

Thankfully, Mandalore is able to weather the supply shock, thanks to the Ithorian terraforming projects, Mandal Logistics' efficient trade network, and the sector's lower than average population. Planets like Breshig and Mandalore have started to produce their own food in bulk. It's not at the level where they are self-sufficient yet, but it is at the level where we are importing less and less food to feed everyone in the sector. Mandal Logistics' contributions are more straightforward with the Kiltirin, Crusader, and the new Sundari freighters equipped with freezers going to various worlds to buy food for the Mandalore sector.

Of course, this is not limited to just the Mandalore sector, this is happening across the Mid Rim. So far, none of the planets of the CNS had implemented any food rationing, but they have raised concerns that it is getting to that point. Taris is particularly vulnerable because they have a large population with no arable farmland. A proposed solution is to have one of Ithor's floating cities travel to Taris and just park itself there. Those floating cities have acres of land that could be used to farm crops, which would help alleviate the food shortage.

However, the CNS is more concerned about our immediate safety after the events on Garos IV. While we were busy assigning various planets to act as Refugee planets for the Refugee Relief Movement, Garos IV is one of those CNS aligned refugee planets, yet it got invaded by the CIS before we could finalize the agreement. That shitshow had finally lit a fire under the Neutral Systems and forced us to come together now before more planets got invaded, even if they are on the other side of the galaxy. There needed to be some sort of viable way for the CNS to defend themselves, even if they didn't want to take part in the war.

But the signing of the CNS, like my 19th birthday party, had to be postponed because of the Coruscant Insurrection, which is a terrible name for an invasion. You'd think the safest place in the galaxy would be the capital planet of the entire galactic government, but no. Apparently, it wasn't that hard to smuggle droids into the planet so they could attack areas of importance. Granted, some of the attacks had apparently been perpetrated by gangs from the lower levels who had been paid off, but that didn't matter. It had destabilized a lot of stuff on Coruscant for a month and a half, and I had to reschedule my birthday party from the first month of the year to the third.

It had been a mess, one that saw quite a lot of confusion and fear in the streets for several weeks. This led to a new vote being passed in the Senate, primarily for the creation of the War Council Advisory Panel, who then immediately approved the use of military police on the planet of Coruscant to restore order.

Even from up here, I could see soldiers in white and red moving around in the lower streets. The Coruscant Shock Troopers are patrolling with the police, making it look more like a military occupation than an actual stable government.

I wasn't sure what the senators were thinking. All they're going to do is make the government look weaker. But considering the rebellion that had sprung out from under their noses, perhaps the Republic really is weaker than they appear. Which is not a good look for the Republic. In essence, my war analysis depended on the assumption that Coruscant and the Core would never really be invaded or lost. But if the people of the planet rose up and overthrew the Republic in a coup, of course that would be horrendous to the Republic's chances of winning the war.

I stopped my musing when I saw Anakin and some Togruta girl wearing a very revealing outfit next to him walking into the party. If I hadn't recognized him, I might have called the police for public indecency. But I guess the Jedi are very loose with their dress code. And who is she anyway? Maybe Anakin is merely looking after a Jedi Master's padawan as a favor? If so, why is he taking her to my birthday party? Shaking my head, I put the now empty drink down on a nearby table and started to walk towards them, sidestepping the guests as I did.

While this is my birthday party, there are quite a lot of people here I wasn't really familiar with on a personal level. A lot of them are Neutral System's delegates, a few friends from the Pacifist Bloc like Padme and Bail, and the rest are those who had simply been invited to keep them thinking good things about Mandalore. Putting on a good party can do wonders for my reputation which in turn helps me make better connections, even if I can't possibly interact with everyone who is invited. Though, I do try to talk to as many of them as I can. I did my best to memorize their names, faces, and the positions they were thinking on the current conflict. Granted, this is a biased group, the sentiment is generally along the line of "we want to stay out of the war" so it was an easy conversation to get through.

Dodging a rather rotund gentleman, I came through the crowd and saw Anakin and Padme appeared to be having some sort of conversation with the Tortuga girl off to the side. Looking at the pair curiously, they seemed to be having some sort of argument or deep conversation, it was hard to say. Once I got close enough, I coughed into my hand and said, "Anakin, Padme, welcome to the party. Nice to see you two again."

The pair turned and looked at me before breaking off whatever argument they were having. "Hey Tanya, happy birthday." Anakin said with a smile, while Padme gave me a curtsy as a greeting. "Representative Kryze, I wish you a happy birthday as well."

Smiling, I approached the pair and said, "Thank you kindly. It has been a while since we could meet up again. It has been, what, six months since the start of the war?"

"Six months…?" Anakin asked, looking distant for a moment, before he nodded with a sigh before adding, "I guess it had been six months. It felt like Geonosis had only been a couple of months ago. Anyway, how are you doing, Tanya?"

"I'm doing fine, usually boring representative stuff, trying to do as much as possible to bring peace. You know how it is."

"Yeah, I get that," he said with a nod, "Padme and I were just talking about that. But I'm not sure if it's even possible that we can come to a peace agreement."

I nodded in understanding before saying, "I will admit that the CIS military is doing a wonderful job implying that such a peace will never be an option, but I wouldn't write off the civilian government just yet. If given the chance, they might surprise you."

Padme nodded her approval while Anakin shook his head, "Maybe. They seem like they don't give a damn."

"Count Dooku definitely needs to be removed from the command structure of CIS." Padme said before continuing, "But there are good people on the other side that could be spoken to about this matter. We simply need to find a way to actually talk to them."

Suddenly,the unknown, unnamed, orange teenage girl, who seemed to be around 13 or 14 years old I would guess but I could be mistaken, said. "I mean, from what I've seen over the last few months, the Separatists don't even care about the people they conquered at all. They have even gone out of their way to cause more harm to the people they are supposedly protecting than anyone else."

"Military command structures rarely care about the civilians of another nation. They're more worried about what those civilians will do to their supply lines than how they're going to take care of them." I said matter-of-factly. "Though I will admit their military seems to have gone too far the other way on multiple occasions to be considered negligence, especially from the reports coming out of some of the fronts."

Anakin nodded before he realized that he had yet to introduce the new individual. Clearing his throat, he said, "Right, almost forgot. Tanya, this is my apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka, this is Tanya Kryze, Representative of Mandalore."

I shook her hand before stopping and blinking. I took a closer look at the Togruta girl, taking in her stern frown and familiar stance, and then blinked again. "When did you have the time to get an apprentice? You're being sent to the front lines every other week, from what I've heard." I asked, looking to Padme for some explanation.

"She was sent to the front lines with me." Anakin replied. I rolled my eyes and chuffed in exasperation, as if that explained anything.

"Of course she does." I said hollowly. Magical child soldiers, again. I shook my head in disgust. I guess I should just count my stars that there hadn't actually been a galactic civil war 7 years earlier where neutrality failed immediately, and I wasn't in a trench somewhere like my last life.

Shaking my head, I said, "It is a shame that the Jedi have to send even their Padawans into battle. War is not a place for children, not only is war incredibly traumatizing and scarring to a developing mind, there is also a very high chance for them to die in battle. It's an unfortunate, terrible situation that this was even deemed as necessary. What prompted you to adopt an apprentice, Anakin?" I asked searchingly, wondering if I could file some sort of complaint to someone.

Anakin sheepishly chuckled and said, "Master Yoda thought that a padawan would help temper my emotions a bit."

I blinked, barely managing not to roll my eyes as I furrowed my brow in concern. "There must be better ways to accomplish that without getting children involved in this war. Didn't the Jedi train their padawans in peaceful environments in the past? What prompted the change to training children on the battlefield?" In hindsight, many of my decisions in my previous lifetime in the Empire's military were mistakes fueled by an addiction to combat. It's disturbing to watch the Jedi Order seem to make a similar mistake, en masse.

"There's more to war than brute force tactics. Your strength in the Force, not your physical stature, decides more about the fight. And some fights can be resolved without combat." Ahsoka retorted.

"I'm sure you're correct and I do not doubt your abilities, Padawan. But someone so young is on the front lines of such a conflict? How many years of training do you have? Three?" I questioned, trying to guesstimate how long she'd been in official training.

"Eleven, thank you very much." Ahsoka said, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. I wonder how much of that is actual martial training rather than general education. Judging how the Jedi are mostly peacekeepers, it's likely that the only military lessons at the Temple are lumped in with historical lessons rather than how to actually manage and command an army.

"Wait, Anakin, don't you have ten years of training?" I asked.

He cleared his throat before looking to the side and replied, "Yeah…" I suppose that made Ashoka his senpai.

The Jedi Order was completely insane. A person who was junior by years is the senior as a master simply because they were old enough. Maybe you would think there'd be more to it than that, but oh, that just gave me a headache.

Hiding my growing headache well, I simply said, "Even with eleven years of training, how many of those are actually related to military matters? I wonder what Master Yoda is thinking, assigning you to someone who is not even a master yet. The Jedi should be doing more to protect the next generation from this war, especially with the losses they took at Geonosis."

Anakin nodded before saying, "The conflict is kind of dividing the Jedi at the moment. Half of us don't think we should be involved or only be involved in certain aspects of the conflict. The other half of us thinks we should do everything we can to minimize the suffering caused by the war. Everyone's given a choice, but right now it's an all hands on deck situation."

"Hmm, that is understandable. Jedi are the peacekeepers of the Republic, how far that job entails is subjective to each Jedi." I said with a nod before letting out a sigh and adding, "But this is a party, so we should be talking about less dour subjects. Like what have you two been up to while I was in Mandalore?"

The glance they shared between each other is enough for me to know that there's still something going on between those two. I wondered if I should push or leave it for now. Being that there's an unneeded third party present in the form of Ahsoka, I guessed I would leave it for now and listen as the two awkwardly try to come up with a cover story.

Mandalore, Sundari

Korkie Kryze

As the Coronet landed at the Sundari Spaceport, a part of me couldn't help but worry about my upcoming conversation with auntie. While another part of me is still trying to puzzle out if what happened on Anteevy had actually happened. Looking over at Natalya, all I feel is a sense of dread and shame. When I was on Anteevy, everything seemed fine. But now that I am back home, I am starting to question exactly what had been running through my head and what part of me had been tempted so willingly by a little bit of flesh.

I knew it wasn't wrong to visit Anteevy, but I also knew I should have informed Aunt Satine about it first. On the other hand, it's my duty to talk to our fellow Mandalorians and gain their perspective, even if they aren't loyal to Aunt Satine.

Breathing out a deep sigh, I tried not to vent out my thoughts to the world. During our time on Anteevy everything has been so insightful and optimistic that I haven't really been thinking too deeply about it. But now that I'm actually free of that environment, I am left with only awkwardness and unease. Across from me, Natalya and Soniee are chatting with each other as if they have been friends for decades. The two of them had gotten along great, and I could say they are probably going to have a very long and fruitful friendship, if I kept my mouth shut about what had happened.

I did not want to hurt Soniee with the knowledge that her newest friend had seduced me, let alone the knowledge that I had fallen so easily. All I felt at that thought is a black pit of nausea in my gut.

This is why I have not really talked much over the trip back, and hopefully I could keep my mouth shut for a bit longer. As the Coronet docked itself to the private dock reserved for the Royal Family, I stepped out as soon as the doors opened. One of the Royal hover cars is already waiting for us at the end of the walkway meant to get us from the secure port to the Royal Palace. Heavily, I sat down in the car as the two other girls followed suit, sitting next to each other.

"What's wrong, Korkie?" asked Soniee, looking worried.

"My aunt and I need to talk. To be frank, I worry that it will end badly." I confess as I close my eyes.

"Yet she's your aunt. It doesn't seem to me like she would harm you, even if she's angry. So what do you fear?" Natalya said, I can hear the smile in her tone as if the situation wasn't so bad.

I open my eyes and I do see that smile of hers. It was the same as that night, a beautiful but disgusting thing, and despite myself, I snapped.

"I fear that I will lose my Auntie's trust! How can I be heir of our House if she can't trust me? How can I call myself a decent man if I am not loyal and honest with the closest thing I have to a mother?! Or does the glorious Liliya's teachings include dishonesty to their family as well?"

I didn't understand where that anger, that vitriol, came from. My head is beating like a drum and that outburst is not even close to appeasing it.

Natalya flushed, looking like she would slap me before she calmed down, looking sullen.

"Did I miss something?" asked Soniee, looking confused. "You're not looking good Korkie, is something wrong?"

A part of me wanted to tell the truth, to the void with consequences for myself, but Natalya intervened.

"Ideological differences, it seems like our dear prince has taken a dislike to comrade Liliya, and that he may have taken one too many drinks last night. You couldn't imagine how many cases of people with mood swings due to excessive alcohol consumption we had to deal with." The thought seemed to make her laugh. "I remember when some of the old folks from the revolution told me of how they would spend days knocked out with awful headaches after taking the alcohol reserves of the clans." She then gave me a bottle of water with some sort of black powder in it, before taking another and drinking, "Here, for your headache, although I am afraid it will send you to the toilets."

After I drank, the liquid appeasing my headache, she looked at me cautiously, "I do hope this dislike does not extend to all of Anteevy Korkie."

I still didn't know her angle, not fully, but I had to explain.

"I have not 'taken a dislike', I simply do not believe that Liliya is as good as she appears." I explained to Natalya and Soniee diplomatically, "What she is doing…" I sighed, hoping to avoid a fully fledged confrontation.

"I don't know whether she's nothing but another warlord or someone who genuinely believes she's doing good. If there's one thing I learned from the last few years of my Aunt's rule, it's that heads of states always have opponents within their government. A sovereign whose opponents have been made to stay quiet is one who keeps their vassals in line. Someone whose power comes from the people, however? A leader not through blood, but because they managed to convince enough that they are the finest servant of the state? Using that power to keep the public in line, well, that's a whole other matter."

Natalya snorted dismissively, but Soniee furrowed her brows at her.

"Isn't it the same as your aunt?" Natalya said. "She was chosen by the Houses, and her faction won the civil war. She is still loved and while they may disagree, all factions, New, Old, and Silver alike, seem like they accept your aunt. The difference between her and comrade Liliya is the scale of the conflict, Anteevy's people have fewer enemies to concern themselves with, along with the fact that the conflict was only on one planet."

I could see her point, however there is a difference I couldn't overlook. "Aunt Satine is a monarch, while Liliya is the head of a...

Socialist Republic, if I understand correctly? While both might have been elected, monarchs are the living incarnations of their states and they are within their right to crush dissidents. Yet Liliya is elected to her position for a period of time; she is only a head of the people. Every form of government will have critics, the fact that Anteevy doesn't have any feels surreal to me."

"And haven't you told me that the Silvers' loyalty to my Aunt is false? As for the New Mandalorians, many are still publicly opposing my Aunt mostly because she allowed a return of armor, and my own sister was attacked!" Just thinking of it horrified me, making her words sound false.

She opened her mouth, probably intending to justify herself, but I went on.

"And before you say anything, that was by New Mandalorians, people who either spat on the Old ways and joined the New for the sake of Mandalore, or people who were born or who spent most of their formative years under my Aunt's rule, pacifists! The New Mandalorian Ideology loath the worship of warfare, meanwhile Liliya's teachings talk of war against not only these beliefs, but against all noble Houses, against the Galactic Senate, against the Corporations, even against the Jedi Order, and that one simply due to a misunderstanding of what the title of Master actually mean in their Order!"

"Why do you bring this up?" she asked, looking frustrated.

"Because I want to know if you really want to make me think that a generation spoon-fed on such messages, who's parents and grandparents fought for it, wouldn't hate Liliya for what she is doing? Reforging ties with the Kryze Monarchy, trade with groups like the Trade Federation, that the manifesto pushed to destroy even before they invaded Naboo!".

She tried to talk once more, but I cut her off.

"Most of Anteevy support Liliya, I've seen it so I believe it, but how come there are no groups of decent size that disagrees with her opinion when the government is led by a party instead of a Monarch? Not only that, but you heard the songs that the children were singing! They were talking of communism, sure, but most importantly they talked of Liliya specifically. Why would she need to teach children how they must obey her, because that's what it basically said, if she really cares for the people's well-being over her own? I didn't decide to give a chance to Anteevy only to find myself surrounded with another kind of hypocrite! What is going on?"

She scowled before taking a deep breath.

"The truth is, Secretary General Liliya is as vain as she's hardworking, and she had to make hard choices, just like what your Aunt did for years. You can judge her all you like, and if we are to be frank, I understand you. However, unlike so many who claimed to be New Mandalorians, all those on Anteevy who swore themselves to the Party are genuine. So are you really going to judge us all for the actions of our head of state!? I don't judge you because of your Aunt, don't I!?"

I felt my temper rising, but also shame. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry." I sighed, hoping that I wouldn't say something too extreme.

"Regardless of my misgivings about her," I started, "I have no intent to criticize the rest of Anteevy. I may not share the ideology, but I have no real ill will toward your people. She's not your sovereign after all, only the person who happens to lead your planet politically. Right?" I ask hesitantly.

The question seemed to confuse her, and she took a few seconds to think about it. "Indeed, she's merely the General Secretary, not the state, regardless of what it may seem." she declared in a monotone voice with no emotions showing on her face.

This seemed somewhat forced, but I knew the topic couldn't continue for now.

"I mean…" said Soniee "it's not like Liliya is truly the worst we had to deal with, right? Mandalore is forming an alliance with the Arkanians, comparing Liliya with the Arkanians seem like comparing a petty thief to a group of serial killers. If we only worked with people who didn't deserve to get shot, Mandalore would be even weaker and at risk from our enemies."

On this grim note, we stopped talking for the rest of the trip, and we finally arrived at the Royal palace.

When we left the car, I was surprised to see Aunt Satine waiting for us, her expression neutral beside a polite smile.

"Korkie, Soniee, I am glad to see you back safe." She embraced Soniee and me before looking at Natalya, "And I am pleased to finally meet you, Miss Volkova."

She looked almost genuine in her greeting to me.

"Now young ladies, I'm afraid I have to talk with my nephew, in private."

"Duchess. See you tomorrow at school, Korkie." Soniee bowed at Aunt Satine before leaving, while Natalya took a few seconds before imitating her, going alongside her to wherever they wanted to be.

"Korkie," Auntie said stiffly, "follow me."

We walked through the palace, passing by guards, servants and government officials before arriving at her office. There she sat on a large chair, and I knew I was still in trouble.

However, instead of talking, she took a datapad, activated something on it and gave it to me.

Curious, I looked at the video, which appeared to be propaganda from Anteevy, with the focus on how I was 'a friend of the communist movement'.

Bemused, I looked once again at Auntie. "Well, I can't say they aren't interesting, even if it was quite tasteless of them to not tell me about it." I joked.

She narrowed her eyes before taking a deep breath. She looked ready to scream her lungs out at me, "Do you have any idea of what your actions could have caused?" She said softly yet with a sharpness I rarely heard from her. "What do you think would happen if the Clans discovered that my Heir is tied to a group that hates them and everything they value? These thugs tried to kill Tanya, regardless of what this Hutt in human skin that's leading them claimed."

I was ready to be criticized, but her words still infuriated me.

"Haven't you been doing the same by publicly wearing armor during the cultural festival? How am I worse for that than you were?! And by clans, I suppose you refer to the Old ones, right? The same clans who wanted your head?! Or do you talk of those who 'merely kept their martial traditions', whose allegiance to the New Mandalorian movement is so shallow they ditched it once you listened to the Silvers? These scums only waited for the slightest opportunity to rearm. Do you think I would have listened to Natalya or Liliya if you hadn't listened to these clans' wishes so often!?"

"They are Mandalorian Houses, some whose history has lasted for thousands of years. And in that time, they have cemented themselves into Mandalorian society to the degree that they wield an incredible amount of power and influence. I have built and enforced a status quo that maintains peace and order, with the power of loyalist clans. However, should the clans become dissatisfied and organize themselves, they have a multitude of ways to cause problems, like supporting another for leadership of the Mandalore sector. All the way up to open defiance and civil war. I fear another Civil War and I fear what the person who would succeed me reap if it's not you, Korkie. What would become of Mandalore afterwards? I may not like or trust most of the clans, but they are necessary to the peace we are enjoying right now by every person across Mandalorian space."

"Anteevy is necessary too." I snapped, "You intend to work with the same people who — not even ten years ago — would have had you killed if they could replace you with someone they like? Fine, but they are no better, or they're even worse than Anteevy. Liliya may be power hungry and ruthless, but she's not the whole system, unlike what you are supposed to be for the New Mandalorians."

The shock on her face was replaced by a look of worry, before she clicked on a button on her remote, "Can you explain to me what you mean by power hungry? What's going on in Anteevy?"

Sighing, I explained what I gathered from my confrontation with Natalya before arriving at the palace, as well as the disturbing things that were on Anteevy in retrospect before the Royal Guards showed up. From the children singing songs about Liliya, the lack of critics to her rule, to the fact that they are making B1s and giving a portion to the CIS and other policies that should have infuriated them.

"That… That is worrying." She started, taking a long sip from a drink she had with her, "Tell me then, why do you insist on trusting these people and think we should continue to work with Liliya?"

I took a deep breath, "Soniee mentioned that we currently have to work with bad people for the good of Mandalore since we are surrounded by powers that could destroy us very easily. Powers who could, even with how many troops are tied down in their war, crush the whole CNS as it is now."

I paused, expecting her to object, but she gave me a sign to continue.

"I... when I interacted with her, she acted warmly, she gave me all the signals that she was worthy of trust. But I now realize that she has as much genuine warmth as White Silver, or Tanya when she talked to people she disliked but needed. In retrospect, I feel that I, very well, may be as safe with her as when I had to fight those swamp beasts."

I don't understand why I didn't notice it earlier.

"However, the people? They may love Liliya far too much for lies and manipulation to not be involved, but they love their way of life. Anteevans are free in ways we are not. They loathe the old clans, the same factions that Death Watch worshiped the old ways of, while White Silver wants to make fat with wealth." I snarled when thinking of them.

This caused Auntie to grimace.

"They are Mandalorians just like ourselves, people who looked at the old clans with scorn, who were called clanless like so many of the New Mandalorians. By culture and part of the ideology, they're our brothers and sisters! Tanya can curse me, you may hate me, but for all I may doubt Liliya's trustworthiness, I will not apologize for having met with and talked to them as friends. I will not hate them for their beliefs, not while my sister and Bo parade with their Silver friends and corrupt the New Way!"

Auntie looked shocked, before looking sadly at me, "You really don't trust my sister and yours, do you. I hoped it wouldn't reach that level."

Satine's face is the picture of sadness and I felt my anger melt to be replaced with remorse. I looked away as I couldn't bear to look at her expression after I admitted that I don't trust my own family and how that admission hurt her.

"I think that I do not trust Aunt Bo-Katan, but I know that she loves you dearly, in her own way. As for Tanya? I love her, for all she may infuriate me, I trust her to have Mandalore's best interest in mind, to respect us — unlike Bo or all the clans that swore loyalty out of convenience instead of genuine loyalty. But I don't trust Tanya's opinions. Tanya's a Silver Mandalorian, and I don't agree with their ideology. To be honest, I'm concerned for the two of you. Ever since she adopted White Silver's ideas, Bo and Tanya had more and more success in changing Mandalore to fit, if not the Old Ways, then White Silver's vision, not our own. So yeah, in a fight, I trust Tanya with my life, but I don't see a place for me in her Mandalore. She's my little sister, and I love her, but not her ideas! And I won't ever confuse the two." I declared.

This didn't have the intended effect, she laughed, not a short one or relatively quiet one, but a long and loud one, causing her breath to be short.

"Thank the Force you haven't forgotten that you're family, I swear the both of you will give me gray hairs." She said as she calmed down. "Tanya constantly warns me of the communists, while you warn me of the silvers. And both of you are too stubborn to just talk to each other like the adults you supposedly are or understand each other's perspectives, although I wasn't that much better for a long time." She grinned bitterly, as if she was reminiscing about the past.

"I understand your anger, Korkie. Truth be told, I still have my… reservations about the Mandalorians that follow the Old ways. But I was wrong to go to such an extent to destroy their culture, and I should have admitted it to you the day I revoked their banishment. However, I have not forgotten what I am." She declared, a new strength rising in her voice.

"Do not worry, I am as much a Silver Mandalorian as you are a communist, I was a New Mandalorian before your father and mine died and I do not intend to cease to be one now. Although we both saw how propaganda, regardless of the source, loves to exaggerate that and can even convince people who should know better."

The smile she gave me made me blush in shame. "Although in my case, I must admit that I should have been more open with you." she said, looking me in the eyes, "For that I'm sorry."

"I…Auntie, I'm sorry too." I manage to say, feeling more like when I was a little boy than anything.

She stood up, looking me in the eyes, but still giving me a tired smile.

"Now if I were to be honest, unlike you, I distrust all of these communists, what you told me of Anteevy is quite worrying, but I will accept not to pressure you to cut ties if you truly trust some of them, so can you promise me to not defy me publicly on matters about the Silver Mandalorians and to always be wary? To be frank, I do not mind if Tanya gets contested in her beliefs, she's a bright young woman, but she can be too stubborn about what she believes in, just like the rest of us." Satine smiled softly at that.

"Alright Auntie." I said, both disappointed and relieved. Then she hugged me, leaving me glad that it ended relatively well.

"Oh, and Korkie?" she said again as I headed toward the door, this time using her Duchess smile. "I already have Tanya causing me problems with her antics, so from now on, I will need you to have at least two royal guards with you whenever you intend to leave Mandalore. They will inform me and ask my permission to allow you to travel outside to the worlds I deem safe enough. If you do get to go, you should bring more than one loyal and trustworthy friend with you, if you refuse, you will be unable to leave Sundari until this nonsensical war between the Republic and the CIS is over, do I make myself clear?" she says coolly.

I gulped despite myself and nodded, "Yes, Auntie." I said before leaving.

Hopefully, all will end well.

Coruscant, Mandalore Tower

X4

After two months of waiting, Mistress's new ship has finally arrived! My circuits are running wild with what I can now easily identify as excitement matrices! It had taken longer than normal to build, but the engineers at Mandal Hypernautics have really pulled through. Now there are plans to produce more of this ship's class as a new line of fast civilian-focused transports.

Yes, redesigning the Crusader into this new class did put a dent in our finances. Yes, we had to contact Duchess Satine for additional funding a couple of times before the design was finalized, as well as when the ship was being built. But with the recent need for blockade runners, those costs would be mitigated in the future.

As I entered Mistress's living room to invite her to see the new ship, I see Ms. Khae, Ms. Vai, and Mistress sitting on a couch, about to playback a recording of a holonet news show "Daily Ordo." Vai has made a bowl of popcorn, Khae is a bit nervous, while Mistress has a completely neutral expression on her face.

"Just start it already, Khae. They made several programs about me in the past, so it's nothing new." Mistress said with a tired sigh.

"I know. I have seen clips of it on holonet. This time it is not only about you, though." answered Khae with a hesitant voice.

"At least they are entertaining." Vai chimed in, slowly leaning over to Khae's side with an outstretched hand. "Ha! Got it!" Her hand grabbing a remote shot up towards the ceiling. A finger on a play button. In the next moment, a holonet recording sprang to life.

"Hello, Apex Jidoss here, freedom fighter, warrior, and everyman survivalist. Welcome to the Daily Ordo. Here with me is my brother, we bring news the entire sector needs, yes, that's right, the sector. We finally got a contract to broadcast throughout the sector and beyond, no longer just a local planetary television station. Anyway, Juup, say hello to folks."

"Good evening and welcome to the Daily Ordo." The older Jidoss sounded tired. "I am Juup Jir Jidoss from the newspaper, Ordo Journal. I would like to note that my newspaper has had distribution rights outside the sector for several years now and is seen on five hundred other worlds. So getting distribution rights on your show, it's not that big of an accomplishment."

"Yeah, well, that's your opinion, brother. Mine is we're going to get more news out faster. After all, your newspaper can take up to a week to reach some places. This could get all the way to the Core in an afternoon."

Mistress spoke up, asking, "How old is this episode exactly?"

"I think it's a week old, so he's off by four days when it comes to how long it takes." Khae said.

"Huh, did we start getting copies of the Ordo Journal's newspaper a week ago?" Vai asked.

Mistress Tanya snickered as she looked at the screen, and it's not hard to figure out why the older brother is looking like they were thinking deeply on something. Obviously, he put together how quickly they could get their newspaper to the Core and did it just to make the point to his brother.

The younger brother picked up a datapad as they looked at the screen, saying, "Well, now that we have reached across the sector, I guess we need to talk about sector politics, or at least things going on outside the sector. Let's start with the Mandalorian Protectors. These guys are pretty tough and are giving the Clone Troopers a run for their money. From what I've heard, they use the classic Hammer and Anvil strategy of attacking with large hordes of droids to distract and pin the clones in place, the aforementioned Anvil. Then the Protectors attack a vulnerable weak spot in their defense to deliver a killing blow, the Hammer. They've used this strategy to great effect across multiple battles but the Clones are adapting and fighting back."

The older brother scoffed before saying, "Of course they're causing problems. They're terrorists; that's what they do."

"They're not terrorists. They're fighting under contract to the CIS. I don't even think they're considered mercenaries since they have a stated goal." the younger brother countered.

"It doesn't matter what we think they are. The Republic will probably declare them terrorists by the end of the year, just so they can put them in their maximum security prisons."

"Have you been paying attention to the war, brother? Most conflicts end in a 'fight till you die' situation, especially when the CIS is involved."

"Well, good. Then we don't need a war in the Mandalorian sector. These guys want to go out there and get themselves killed fighting for some damn fools' errand of an independent Mandalorian sector. Go for it, but they're forgetting who actually holds the power here. It's not the Republic; it's Duchess Satine, and those loyal to her. If they think that once the war is over, they're just going to move in and take over, that ain't happening."

"Yeah, I've been looking at their rhetoric, and I'm not a big fan of the declaration that their leader, one Spar Fett, is their Mand'alor. As much as I support their right to fight for what they believe in, if they try to unseat the current government, I'm going to go against him on that. We're getting exactly what we want out of Duchess Satine, and I do not feel like changing it." The younger brother said.

He looked at his datapad again before saying, "Next up on our list is a local matter here on Ordo. Might as well talk about this real quick. Peacemaker, the Death Watch hunter, is finally being released. Official paperwork came through, and he'll be escorted off Ordo. What happens after that? Well, considering that Death Watch is possibly back after the recent reports of a few attacks, I guess he'll go hunting Death Watch. Good for him as we don't need those hooligans, especially considering most of them are criminals."

"For once, brother, we agree." the older brother said with a nod. "We do not need nor want any more Death Watch in our sector. They're linked to criminals and mass murder. Not to mention, they'll probably try and take over the government like the Mandalorian Protectors. But hey, maybe he'll decide to go after the Mandalorian Protectors as well. I wouldn't mind Peacemaker doing that."

"I thought you were against vigilantism." the younger brother said.

"I am, but if it's going to be criminals fighting criminals, we might as well let them fight." the older brother replied.

The younger brother shook his head before looking back at the screen. "Alright, what's next?" The man tapped at a button and looked off-screen, likely to some kind of prompter.

"With the success of the Mandalorian cultural festival, it has been officially declared that we will be taking part in the mid-year festival in roughly three months. Gargon Girls and another group will be performing as well as various expositions on our Mandalorian culture to check out and enjoy. I don't have much thought on spreading our culture to the capital of the doomed and evil."

"Hah, the best outcome out there if you think about it. One of the reasons that we get problems from the Core is that the Core doesn't really understand us. We can make them understand us without having to come to blows. Maybe when they do, they'll lay off us for a while." The older man said with a shake of his head.

"Maybe. But I'm proud that at least Mandalore is waking up to the realities of the galaxy. As Duchess Satine's recent armor reveal shows that we are not abandoning our culture, which has always been a concern about the folks I interact with over on the New Mandalorian side." the younger brother replied.

The older brother sighed before saying, "We were never abandoning the culture. We're just taking a step back, trying to find what our culture could be without the military being the cornerstone and be all of it all."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. That's what they said, but the way they acted told us otherwise." The younger brother retorted.

The older brother then took control of the show, "Moving on, let's get into our favorite topic. Let's start with the one and only, the vigilante White Silver. Apparently, she's opened up her own mercenary group that's supposed to equal out the Mandalorian Protectors. It's a pretty safe bet that she'll be working for the Republic."

"Not the biggest fan of that." The younger brother said with a shake of his head. "Working for the Republic has never really worked out for us Mandalorians. If you go back far enough, you'll see that we've done it, but we always get betrayed in the end."

"Our unstable government switches to a radical moron who gets us in trouble with the Republic. That's what happens." The older man said with a shake of his head.

"That's what you want to believe. I think our government's quite stable for the Outer Rim territories." The younger brother argued.

"We've literally had one or two Mand'alors who got into office because of Sith shenanigans, getting rid of better candidates in the process. The Mand'alor, a title passed down through conquest, is not the most stable title in the universe. That's why it's important that Satine Kryze has established that the dukedom will go to her niece or nephew, either Tanya or Korkie, upon her retirement or death. We need to codify this new system of inheritance. It is a much more stable form of transferring power rather than the Clan Vote system. Every time a new leader needs to be selected, we have practically open war as different clans start making alliances and raiding each other. It's an embarrassment." The older brother explained.

"That's a thought, but I say no. While everyone loves Tanya's antics, and she is an assertive representative for Mandalore, we can't just give power to a Coruscanti party girl, no matter how amusing it would be. Nor should we be handing it over to a kid whose first fight was hiding while the Royal Guard fought Death Watch." The younger brother said.

"That's not his first fight. Look into the record. He fought a damn alligator creature on Breshig and killed it with a shotgun. Good shit." The older brother said.

"No shit, I didn't know that. I guess I need to pay closer attention to what he's up to." The younger brother conceded.

"He also recently went to Anteevy with no guards. Sources says wanted to inspect the place. First time any Mandalorian official has visited the place since the massacre. The ice ballers even rolled out the red carpet for him." The older brother said.

"By the Manda. Okay, Korkie just got a big boost in my approval, assuming he came back alive."

"Yep, not a big fan of his style of diplomacy normally, but I will admit, actually going and talking to the weirdos says something about his diplomatic skills."

"Well, that's better than the party girl, at least. How many people does she have in her harem now? I lost count after she seduced that good Ordo boy."

"Just publicly denounced the pink-haired one for all intents and purposes, so technically she's only dating the Ordo Boy, and I can confirm that, with this video." He snapped his fingers, and an image of Mistress and Ordo on their most recent date, beating the hell out of gangsters, appeared.

"She got involved in another fight, another one, because I've confirmed the last one, and this time it was just her and Ordo."

"Huh… well, good on him then. Maybe he'll tame her enough and drive out the Coruscanti leaning she has. Well, maybe not hang out with that damn corrupt politician who runs the damn Republic. What was his name again? Shivy?"

"Palpatine. Sheev Palpatine, and there's no evidence that he's a corrupt politician, at least none that I've ever seen."

"Boy, you don't become a Chancellor without being corrupt. Everyone in the corps is crooked. That's why I'm sure that Miss Tanya there is going to be a corrupt politician in time."

"Yeah, and right now she's not. In fact, she's done the most work possible for the Mandalore sector, even better than Korkie in a few places. Probably would make a better Duchess too than him as a Duke."

"A monster fighter is a better choice than someone who fought a couple of gangsters and acted like a party girl. Brother, you're insane."

"Well, it looks like White Silver disagrees with you, considering that she has shown interest in Tanya. She even seems to be trying to draw in a few of Tanya's handmaidens into some sort of an entanglement from the reports I have seen out of Geonosis."

"Ah, I doubt that Silver is trying to seduce Tanya. They may have a few things they're working towards that happen to be moving in the same direction, but they are not on the same team."

"And you are in need of a good fist in the face to knock some sense into you. Tanya was literally splashed with paint because of her perceived support for the White Silver."

The younger brother smashed the desk in front of them over his chest, saying, "Bring it, then."

As the two figures on the holoscreen began to charge at one another with their fists raised, the recording stopped. The room was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was Mistress' heavy breathing. She got up and slowly walked up to the holonet projector, pressing the button to shut it off.

"Think that's enough for today." she said, sounding extremely annoyed. "I'm going to plan a long conversation with Korkie about who he interacts with when I see him in the future."

"Mistress Tanya?" I had deliberated over how to present the information of Korkie's indiscretions to Tanya without violating the orders from Mistress Satine. Ultimately, I had decided on telling Miss Vai openly that she should not watch this episode of the Ordo show, and she should absolutely not let Tanya see it. She had acted predictably.

"Yes, X4? Whatever it is, I think I could use a distraction." Mistress replied. Meanwhile, I noticed that Khae and Vai were slowly making their way out of the room. All in all Tanya was taking it very well, from her tone, expression, heart rate and the tone of her cheeks she was only deeply infuriated and not at risk of entering a berserk state.

"I believe I have something that can improve your mood. Could you please follow me to the hangar?"

"Lead the way. Anything to take my mind off of that disaster." With that, she turned around and headed off towards the turbolift. "It better be good." I heard her mutter under her breath before the doors closed, and we started to descend into the spacecraft and speeder park of Mandalore Tower.

It only took five minutes to get down to the level below, and I worried that perhaps taking Mistress to see her new ship when she is in such a bad mood is probably not a good idea, but standing here with an awestruck and speechless Mistress is well worth it.

"Whose ship is it again?" Mistress asked, finally overcoming her speechlessness.

"It is yours, my Mistress. As per your request, I have delivered a new personal ship just for you." After several seconds of silence, I started wondering if I should provide some details.

"This is the new Courier-class corvette. Its length is 220 meters. It is equipped with a class 1 hyperdrive and a class 12 as a backup. Point-defense systems: two laser cannon turrets mounted at the front, as well as one laser cannon turret on the center top and one on the center bottom of the ship, for a total of 4 laser cannons. Defenses: this craft has no shields-"

"Wait! It has no shields?!" I was interrupted by my Mistress.

"It does not need shields. The hull has reinforced plating made of around 75% beskar, 20% durasteel, and 5% chromium alloy. It can withstand common laser fire and low yield concussion missile weaponry without any serious damage, apart from chipping and burning the paint job, of course. While it can withstand several Turbo laser impacts, it is recommended to avoid prolonged exposure to it. Speaking of, the colors have been chosen to complement your armor."

"Are you sure the absence of shields will not be a problem?"

"Of course. I have been involved with the design and testing stages. It will not be a problem. If anything, it will be a boon. The reactor on board this ship is the same as those on a Crusader-class corvette. However, the energy that would normally go to shields can now be diverted to either weapons, life-support, or the engines."

"But doesn't this ship have a fraction of the weaponry of a normal Crusader-class?"

"Indeed. The power that would normally be dedicated to the now-absent broadside-mounted complement of laser cannons has been rerouted to the engines and life-support as well."

"How fast can it fly then, and won't g-forces kill everyone on board?" My Mistress asked, dumbfounded.

"That is what life-support is there for, and why it took so long to build. Life-support systems coordinate artificial gravity generation with ship acceleration. As a result, it can dump the g-forces almost completely. It has also made this ship extremely comfortable to travel in, according to the test pilots."

"Doesn't the Crusader need a crew of eighty to fly this ship? How many are needed for the Courier?"

"Eighty percent of the crew requirement is necessary to operate the turrets and shielding systems, Mistress. Without the turrets and with some design alterations, this ship can be flown by a skeleton crew of sixteen."

"And what did you do with all the extra space?"

"New and improved crew cabins, a much larger cargo hold, a training area, state-of-the-art communication arrays, an entertainment area, and a relaxation spa zone." I counted off all the quality-of-life improvements made in the design that would be interesting to my Mistress. I will enumerate all the improvements, including the charging stations for droids as well as a small self-repair shop and oil baths, in the written report later.

"Just how many weapons did this thing have in the first place?" asked my Mistress, astonished.

"A lot, my Mistress, a lot. Speaking of weapons." I said the last sentence in a more deadpan tone than usual, activating a release of that weapon on the ship.

"Hello again, Young Rider!" Boomed a boastful sound from a voice box of that droid turned starfighter, as it descended from the special cargo hold.

"He insisted on staying in close proximity to your location, Mistress." I used my most monotone tone whenever the subject was about that weapon.

"I see." My Mistress was pinching the bridge of her nose, clearly as annoyed as I was when dealing with this oversized blaster. Seeing that my Mistress's mood had changed for the worst, I elected to change the subject.

"On another note, after seeing the end result of this project, the CEO of Mandal Hypernautics has proposed marketing it to the wider civilian market, with shield generators replacing all the beskar in the hull, and with various customizable interiors, of course."

"Sounds good. You have my go-ahead. But here is one final question I have about this ship: what is her name?" Mistress asked, looking rather tired. No doubt that brute has ruined her mood.

"The Diplomat."

Coruscant, Mandalore Tower, Tanya's Office

Tanya Kryze

"What the hell was Korkie doing on Anteevy?" I struggled to keep my tone even as I entered a direct holo communication with Satine.

"You found out." She let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. "He said he was going to visit Harswee. I found out the next day that he never arrived. It took looking at the spaceport's logs to find which ship he boarded and where it came from to find where he actually went."

"Why did he not have any guards to stop him?"

"Because you are the wild one, Tanya. Korkie has always behaved himself until now." Satine answered. "Besides, giving you guards worked out fantastically in getting you to behave yourself, didn't it." Satine continued in a dry tone that made me blink and held up my hands.

"I don't know-"

"You turned them to your cause, Tanya, don't pretend otherwise. It is impressive and a reflection of your capabilities, but it makes it difficult to keep you away from trouble." Satine said pointedly, something I had to concede.

"The important issue at the moment is Korkie." I quickly redirected the conversation.

"Yes, you're right. I never saw this coming. I had always hoped that Korkie would finish his schooling as a normal boy by making friends without worrying about politics, before I would have him serve under me directly to learn about his duties. The diplomatic trips he went on were meant to be minor enough to not be overly disruptive to his education."

"You took a very different track with me." I pointed out.

"Tanya." Satine said with a sigh. "You are just not normal, in a good way. Sending you to the Sundari Academy would have been overly constraining for you."

"Well, Korkie's education needs to be accelerated and his freedom greatly restricted. This sort of thing cannot happen again."

"Agreed. That is something I have already arranged, and it won't be happening again. Korkie knows he won't get away with it again and has agreed to some reasonable restrictions on his movement. Since you know about Korkie's visit I can run this by you." She tapped a few buttons

and sent a data packet through the communicator, waiting patiently as I checked it over.

"Anteevy wants to expand trade with the rest of the Mandalorian sector." I said softly. "Are these the extent of the goods being exchanged?" Satine nodded and I kept reading. "I don't see anything too problematic at first glance." I said, scrolling through the agreement that my brother had apparently negotiated. It was pretty good, actually, annoyingly good. Either Korkie is a much better negotiator than he looked, or Anteevy was giving him an easy ride.

Wait, was I reading this right?

"Hyperwave transceivers?" I double-checked the treaty. "How does Anteevy have thousands of Hyperwave transceivers to sell?"

"That was my addition to the agreement. Anteevy apparently has access to them from the galactic second party." Ah, Satine was talking about the CIS.

"You want to create an independent holonet for Mandalore." I said slowly.

"Eventually for the entire Council of Neutral Systems." Satine said. "Do you approve?"

"I certainly would if you could source the transceivers from literally anyone else since relying upon the good graces of the Republic for our networking is bound to bite us sooner or later." I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Every single transceiver would need to be checked over."

"I have already spoken to our Communications Ministry head and he said that doing that would delay our independent network by over a year, Tanya." Satine argued.

"Then it will have to be delayed by a year. The damn commies or the CIS will very likely sneak malicious software or hardware onto the transceivers if they can, having a compromised network would be worse than useless to us if they used our secrets to hurt us."

"Very well. I will trust your judgment here." Satine said with a soft smile.

"Thank you Aunt Satine."

"It is nice to hear from you, Tanya. It's a shame it's over work. Stay safe and out of trouble."

"I will." I said, feeling oddly relaxed at her words and trust in me.

"Speak to you again soon." She said, and with that the holo-communication ended.