Time passed. The plan was working and so far hadn't misfired. The ISS, also known as the Inter-Species Space Station, went into operation in record time, which I hadn't expected myself. When everyone realized its value, construction was finished in mere days. It took another twenty-four hours to form the new Senate, and by the second day, sessions and the resolution of the most significant problems had already begun, one of which revolved around the Republic credit. Something had to be done about it, but what?
I decided to help the senators and destroyed what Damask hadn't reached, finally wrecking the Muuns on the political arena. Why are they poking into my garden with their money? No-no, not allowed; as Vessira would say: "Scratch under your tails!"
I myself requested a visit to Tarkin and strongly advised him to form his own Republic Bank. No, there was one already, but it was flawed, whereas we were talking about a proper, galactic one. Until that exists, something urgent needs to be done about inflation, because credits are devaluing at the speed of a falling comet. To hold the financial system and at least slow its collapse, I proposed distributing the load among other financial organizations for building the new bank. And precious materials like aurodium, focusing crystals, or beskar would act to strengthen the currency. Yes, I was generous with beskar and jacked up its price for the galaxy even higher, because regular supplies had long since ceased and beskar had become a unique commodity. And anyone who tried to take it by force would run into the barrel of a Mandalorian blaster rifle. The TF, who had already had a skirmish with us on this ground, decided not to tempt fate with such a serious ally and silently accepted the new terms.
Tarkin supported the idea and brought it up for the very first discussion. As a result, Mandalorian tergs broke through to the very top and stood on par with peggats. Meanwhile, Republic credits gained a foundation. Because excuse me, but twenty-five credits for a loaf of bread is ridiculous.
Though in the Inner Rim, things aren't so bad. Cash credits continue to be actively used at the bottom, but for large purchases, especially between giant corporations, without online transfers and proper accounting—it's all junk. The main thing is that this "junk" doesn't reach the bottom. If it reaches the bottom—then it'll be a total mess, and there will be nothing left to save, just as there'll be nothing to break.
On the other hand, this is beneficial for me too. I, like a true serpent-tempter, gave persistent advice to the chancellor, not shrinking from adding weight to my words with the Force. Advice was given regarding finances, and the Judicial Corps, and planets that had left the Republic, and the army... Jedi, why are you looking at me like that? I'm honestly striving to help! And anyway, catch the Sith, because another of your Jedi has gone missing without a trace. There.
By the way, regarding the Judicial Corps. The name remained the same, but inside, the judicial department had changed significantly. New departments appeared, the hierarchy changed, new vacancies opened. Yes, the Republic economy couldn't yet afford full-fledged armed forces even remotely similar to those maintained by Kuat, but a beginning had been made.
While the cauldron of the Core region was bubbling, its own movement was going on in the Outer Rim. Mandalorians provided humanitarian support to poor worlds and helped defend against pirates. And when tergs skyrocketed in price, it allowed us to take a tighter grip on the worlds surrounding Tatooine and Mandalore. Educational institutions were built, new employees were actively recruited into the police, and factories were opened. Entire worlds became dependent on us and, essentially, were in our hands. Everywhere, as is not hard to guess, it was our tergs that were used and promoted. And along the way, on these seemingly small but important worlds, invisible reforms were taking place for the future loyal acceptance of these worlds into the Hadian Empire of Terrans.
Those who were not impressed by our loyalty found themselves, to put it bluntly, in the ass. No, we didn't arrange a blockade, didn't threaten, and didn't even harass. I simply recalled my forces from that world, closed the funding, broke the protection contract with RAVEN, and as the icing on the cake—spread a rumor about the world's defenselessness. And that's it! All the scum that survived the sweep and was hiding in cracks immediately flocked to that planet like moths to a flame. Jabba, for one, perceived it as a command: "Do whatever you want with the planet" and used the wretches' position for his own purposes to the fullest. After two such examples, those who were raising concerns for some reason shut up quickly and literally flared with love for us. Fay, don't give me that judgmental look; you know it's for the greater good! Yes, yes.
Completely unnoticed, as a matter of course, new ships entered operation, one of which was the "Split" refitted into a strike corvette. Since the machine had an extremely small crew, their production was put on the line as one of the first. Also, ships like the "Fang 3" began to appear. A single dreadnought of the "Kandosii 4" model appeared, designed based on the original Mandalorian Kandosii and the Terran dreadnought "Candle" from time immemorial.
In the troops, tanks and walking combat machines like the "Asp" appeared. Weapons and armor were updated. On Mandalore, a uniform appeared naturally, the prototype for which was my RAVEN fighters. The black-and-white coloring and the symbol Beskaryc Ka'rta, or "Iron Heart," on the chest became something more than an element of decoration. Also, free Mandalorians adopted the tradition of my raven-kids to put various symbols on their shoulders. On the left shoulder, the clan symbol, and on the right—the organization or structure to which you belong. In my case, it's a black bird. Or a star for free pilots. Amusingly, lately, finding a Mandalorian engaged in work-for-hire can only be done as an exception.
To give my own people something to do, I offered our services to the Republic. Formally, we were hired as a PMC, but at a very low price, after which the selected ships and troops went to the Republic security organs. I won't say it was effective, as there were too few free ships and soldiers—everyone was busy—but when our ships began to appear in the company of Judicial Corps patrols on others' hyperlanes beyond our conditional borders, many got spooked. Seriously spooked. Moreover, the mere fact of our ship's appearance in a patrol practically guaranteed the safe flight of that patrol, because my raven-kids were feared more than fire. Well, why not? That same Split can alone calmly knock on the gate of some frigate like a Munificent and fly on about its business.
In the intervals between business, I took care of my children. All three of them. The future for Phobos, Deimos, and Ros was determined. Phobos would have to become the new ruler of the Hadian Empire, while Deimos would take up the management of the Terran Order. The latter were all for it, so they took an active part in both the upbringing and training of both children. Ros, meanwhile, like I once was, would be a shadow. That very shadow that would step into the light every time big problems appeared. And while I had come up with the task for Phobos and Deimos, Ros determined his calling himself.
At first, I feared for the clone. Who knows what the Sith had done to him? But with the passage of time, the anxieties vanished. The boy grew up like an ordinary child, not showing anything out of the ordinary in any way. Amusingly, he was a clone not only outwardly but internally too. The boy was fascinated by the Force and didn't seek others' attention. He was constantly in the twins' shadow, yet in plain sight. And this trio had to be constantly watched, especially when they turned five. Like me in my time, like Terra and Saros, these ones also poked their noses where they should and shouldn't.
And Ros earned his calling exactly at the moment when he came to the twins' aid. He covered for their blunders, or simply helped. Somehow it turned out that this triumvirate couldn't basically do without each other. Always together. Always the three of them. And there is support both beside you and behind your back in the person of Ros.
I, meanwhile, was supported by Talia. I thanked the Force dozens of times that such a useful specialist who loves messing with documents was beside me. The amount of bureaucratic junk that passed through her hands—horror. I would have definitely snapped and gone to twist the heads of all those bureaucrats.
Mom was luckier in this regard. She was engaged in her favorite business—twisting heads and inserting various objects into places not provided for by anatomy for her clients. In general, she held the largest criminal syndicates with an iron grip, letting them work in standard mode, and in places letting them slip so that neither the Republic nor the Jedi relaxed. We even organized a visible threat, pitting the Techno Union against the Corporate Sector in Malastare's orbit. The brawl that eventually happened thundered in the news to the whole galaxy as one of the largest in recent times. Arriving Republic troops together with the Mandalore fleet did bring order (after all, Malastare is not far from our borders), but the political consequences spun for another six months for sure. The poor Dugs at that moment sat like a hedgehog between two idiots who were deciding between themselves who would be pulling the needles out of the hedgehog. Such an opportunity couldn't be missed, and we quickly extended a hand of support to the wretches and included them in the "Union of Free Regions"—a temporary formation in our sector.
I laughed when I read the news summaries that the "Central Bank of the Republic" would be located on the ISS. The guys, without long thought, decided that one more egg in the basket wouldn't hurt if all the others were already collected. This would only further emphasize the importance of the facility and, as a result, its security. Until security became truly perfect, we quietly sneaked a neutron bomb into a place provided for by the design. Thanks to Terran techniques and their technology, hiding it even from the Jedi was no problem. Now one can sleep peacefully, knowing that if anything happens—the button is at hand.
Besides the bank, many other unnecessary but important things, in the opinion of the senators, appeared on the station. From an expensive space resort complex personally for them and for their wants, to an entertainment center. There was an attempt to shove in a shopping center and a casino, but here the Jedi intervened and, with the words "Are you out of your minds, spending state money?!" shut that shop down. Dooku said this and, despite his Jedi status, didn't hold back in his expressions. I, meanwhile, remained inactive for the reason that no corruption had been noticed here yet, and what was noticed—they handled it without me. Mostly, of course. But I had a good laugh, yes...
Completely suddenly, news reached me about problems with the Twi'leks. Trouble with them was expected, and laughably predictable. I must admit, I was even waiting for something like this, because the basis of the planet's economy lies in trading representatives of their own species into slavery to others. Also from Ryloth comes a flow of narcotic substances, albeit relatively small, especially against the background of Kessel, but not insignificant either, such as glitterryl, a substance gathered from glitterstim and ryll that is an exotic type of expensive spice. Pol Secura oversaw this business. Their type of spice is a rare nastiness, fit only for poisoning, and distinguishing it from other types of spice used in subsequent medical processing is quite hard. Not once or twice my people ran into the fact that this junk was brought to them under the guise of supplies of working medical spice, and then they shrugged. And even more times patrols let this junk pass them by because everything was "in order" with the documents. My fighters have been asking for permission to deal with this problem for a long time, but so far I've kept the guys on a leash.
Now the Twi'leks themselves have begun to stir the waters. Their slave supplies have decreased manifold due to our activity, and glitterryl supplies are dangerous for the smugglers themselves. If the guys are caught, they themselves will be pumped with the transported drug to the gills, so others won't be tempted. For this reason, the number of fools who would agree to such a dangerous job is becoming fewer and fewer. Some refuse, others run out.
And then there was an attempt to appeal to the Senate. This was the first time I had to speak in the Senate for the purpose of defending my interests, and from the position of Mandalore at that. Since the latter still belongs to the Republic, it has a special allocated place, unlike Tatooine.
Senator Lotarik from Ryloth prepared an entire speech. We were accused of not only interfering with honest trade but of blockading the planet altogether. To this, I asked one single question: "Since when has trading in slaves and glitterryl been considered a legal business in the Republic?"
I laughed when I heard the cry for evidence. This was the very case where nothing needed to be proven; everyone knew the truth anyway, but the laws demanded it. Actually, I provided it: protocol recordings of dozens of intercepted ships with cargo on board. Here another article came into play: evidence obtained illegally is not considered as such. And we had no right to stop ships, as formally, that space does not belong to us.
Here I yielded the floor to Talia, who had been expecting something like this. My beloved cleared her throat and began to consider each case in turn. Where it was captured, on whose territory, and so on. All the ships were flying through those worlds with which RAVEN had a protection contract, and consequently—they had every right to check suspicious vessels. Furthermore, she pointed out the Twi'lek's obvious lie that the planet was blockaded. There is no blockade; just occasionally passing patrols, including Judicial Corps ones, which also recorded this violation. (Though for some reason, when needed, we hadn't found a single one. I'll have to look into that!)
Unfortunately, this case could have dragged on for weeks, if not months, because the senator demanded a commission be gathered, an investigation conducted, and the involvement of an entire planet proven, rather than individuals. Here even Talia's arguments began to run short, and I had to release the Kraken. Fay didn't want to speak in the Senate until the last; she's already fed up with all this bureaucracy, but what can you do.
The Force adept, using her entire oratorical talent to the fullest, and think of it, for two hours without a break, preached to the whole hall, leaning on the evidence, calling for everyone to open their eyes, and also poking Senator Lotarik in his own words that we were interfering with honest trade, but the trade in question was only slaves and drugs and, consequently, he was defending exactly those directions.
In the end, when Tarkin joined her, without further demagoguery, a decision was made—the Special Operations Response Forces—to bring order to the Ryloth system and take it under control in view of the local government's inability to ensure order on its own planet.
Ooooh, how I had been waiting for this decision, if only you knew. No sooner had I stepped over the threshold of the senator's room allocated for the Mandalore representative than I gave the command "Fetch!". A small Mandalorian formation burst onto Ryloth with enormous enthusiasm and began to bring order to it, bringing freedom and democracy in its best manifestations. Secura was "accidentally" killed during the assault. The slave trade shop was shut down even faster, with a slug from orbit. Senator Lotarik found himself under arrest. Well, and the local ruler was offered a choice: either you work for us, or Ryloth will have a new ruler. Naturally, the Twi'lek chose the first option, and now we had a mass of free, though not yet trained, hands.
Yes, there was work to be done with the planet, primarily with the mentality. It had a rigid class system, but at least without slavery, which was surprising. Twi'leks actively sold their kin but didn't keep or use slaves themselves. Well, at most they raised them, but no more, and even then—there were five such "camps" on the whole planet. Used to be.
Those of the locals who disagreed with the policy we were conducting quickly ran out; the Mandalorians' conversation with the local nobility was short. For a sideways look—they hit them in the fa... I mean in the face, and for a word—they shot. What-what are you saying? Tyranny, atrocities? Not at all, we are merely fulfilling our official powers and carrying the will of the Republic into a troubled world. Yes, yes.
The most interesting thing was that when the decision was made in the Senate, everyone thought Ryloth would just change one roof for another, nothing more, so no one was worried. Everyone began to stir only after it dawned on them—the roof hadn't changed. it had been literally torn off, along with the whole house, and the shop was now closed. Completely. Only when the source of very expensive, world-famous, and incredibly valuable and prestigious slave girls disappeared from the market did the seriousness of the situation begin to dawn on many. Jabba, for one, looked at me with a gaze: "No, Shade, I understand everything, but you can't do that." But he only looked; he was afraid to utter a word, for he knew perfectly well my attitude toward slaves, and even more so toward those who make them such.
It finally dawned on the senators that we wouldn't be playing by their rules. We don't do democracy. We don't play politics unnecessarily. And we can't be reached by a bribe. At that moment, literally at the snap of fingers, our number of opponents increased manifold. Those same Hutts thought about joining forces and trying to get rid of such a threat next door, but for now they were only testing the ground. My people caught two or three assassins a week. They tried to blow me up, shoot me with a sniper shot, poison me... Pfft, amateurs. Now those who showed creativity were the guys who tried to kill Hadiya. I'll never forget that case with the bathtub and the salt water.
Tarkin, meanwhile, was on cloud nine. The adherent of dictatorship, striving to get rid of corruption, rejoiced in soul and heart, realizing that he hadn't made a mistake in appointing my guys to the anti-corruption department. Besides Tarkin himself, support came from his home world too. We were offered cooperation and profitable contracts for the supply of raw materials for factories.
Some neighbors also supported us, and openly, right in the Senate. The TF, to my surprise, also spoke on our side, but for other reasons. But whom I didn't expect to see at all in the list of supporters were the insectoids. Verpines, Vratix, Geonosians... These guys simply didn't understand how one could sell their own into slavery. Well, actually, what can you take from insects? They certainly don't value the life of one member of the hive, but they will never betray him, considering him part of themselves. Yes...
Speaking of insects. We developed good relations with them, nonetheless. Take those Geonosians. I mistakenly believed they were part of the Techno Union, but they only have a couple of their factories, nothing more. And since we are essentially in neighboring systems, a strong and reliable alliance arose with the insects. We supplied them with our goods cheaply, any kind, from medicine to quite expensive and valuable reactors, and they erected factories and churned, churned, churned everything else for us. From combat droids to toiletries. Essentially, the Geonosians became that very magic wand that allowed us to build a small but effective droid army in a few years. Also, after negotiations with me and familiarization with the idea, the bugs were not against joining the Hadian Empire. The rules suited them completely, and the conducted policy perfectly confirmed our goals and words.
With the Verpines, it was more difficult. Due to the unfortunate location of their home world, it was hard to communicate with the insects, but the insects themselves willingly conducted business with us. Well, why not? We don't deceive, we treat them not just loyally, but if anything—we are ready to support them with both military force and economic power. And most importantly—disinterestedly, which is almost never encountered in the current reality.
With whom there were no problems at all were the worlds of the distant region. There, among the stars, the Terrans also hadn't been sitting idle and found many allies. Some agreed voluntarily, others not very voluntarily, but, in any case, no problems arose there. One way or another, there, in places unexplored by the Republic, a reliable rear was being built. I even met the Chiss, who were one of the most powerful states of the distant frontier. The blue-skinned ones knew about the threat of some outsiders and even had skirmishes with them. They shared their developments with us, we, accordingly, responded in kind and even more—revealed part of our plans and shared our goal. After that, one look was enough for both me and the ambassador to realize—friendship was meant to be!
As I understood from the Terran summary, the Chiss are quite the machines in organic form. They keep their emotions under control and always strive to maintain a sound, sober mind unclouded by feelings. If they were given a serum that suppresses emotions, I fear the guys would take it without question. Their culture has a fairly rigid class system in which everyone knows their place. The guys themselves are very arrogant and consider their race above the rest, with rare exceptions.
The Terrans fell into this exception. When I learned that serving among the Terrans and getting onto the Spark was considered a great honor for them, I almost fell off my chair. It turns out they have known my wanderers for a long time, for the latter have visited the Chiss world more than once or twice, bringing technology and extending a helping hand in space exploration. A vivid example is the training of Force-sensitive Chiss in Force techniques for astronavigation. Given the difficult local conditions in moving between stars, the Chiss developed a separate class that handled navigation; these guys were called "sky-walkers." Essentially, nothing complicated, just very good seers capable of guiding a ship or even several ships through places impassable for others.
Despite the seriousness, rationalism, and haughtiness, there was kindness in the Chiss. They don't spit venom, don't show their arrogance to others except with a look, and don't try to assert their rights. If help is needed, they will help you silently. Without delays or any debates, they just up and did it, which appealed to me greatly.
At this point, I realized I was an idiot and really needed to finally familiarize myself with the Terran archives. Archives where there was more information than anywhere else. And if not for Radiy and the Chiss ambassador, who personally flew to me on Don's initiative, I wouldn't have known about it further. I see.
Learning a lesson from mistakes, I went to ask Radiy whom else they had attracted and with whom they had good relations. Unexpectedly, the Killiks surfaced. I was so stunned by this news that I left my affairs and personally dashed to the archives on the Spark to read about the insects. All because they were around even in the time of the Celestials. Revealing my interest to the Terrans about these insects, they immediately flew to them to learn the secrets of the past. Alas, the current Killiks, after being relocated from Alderaan, had lost their past; only drawings carved on stones remained, including those they had brought with them. So in the end, it turned out that not they to us, but we to them told the history and gathered the fragments of their past into a pile.
Thus time went on. In labor and affairs, it flew by completely unnoticed. But at some point, I simply realized it was time. That very day had come when it was necessary to announce the formation of the Hadian Empire of Terrans. We hadn't yet developed enough, we didn't have the army that could scare the Republic authorities, but at the same time, we had already grown strong enough to announce the formation of a new state, still part of the Republic for now.
And here a dilemma arose. Who would lead it? On one hand, I was the best candidate for this purpose, especially since I intended to pass the matter to my children. Again, it was I who bustled about and held political meetings with our future citizens. On the other hand, it was better for me to remain a kind assistant to the Republic authorities, giving advice when and to whom needed. Especially since I could fly freely to the station, and over the past years, I had entered Tarkin's place like my own. The man was not bad, though vain, but smart, and preferred dictatorship. Because of this, his clan... damn it, I mean family, had extremely strained relations with House Organa. Sometimes we helped; after all, Tarkin was truly useful and did much for both the Republic and us.
Since I couldn't decide on a choice, I convened a council where I brought up this problem. During the discussion, we collectively weighed the pros and cons and speculated who could temporarily take the place of the leader of the Hadian Empire. But one of the main problems lay exactly in this—we had no one who could replace me even for the sake of appearances in this post. This someone would have to communicate with both the Jedi and the senators. The Terrans couldn't take this position; they were in the shadow, and I didn't intend to change that state of affairs yet. Mandalorians? Well, technically we cooooould... but who? The only option was Duke Kryze's son. In his youth, the boy had been taught politics so that he would eventually take his father's place, but the Mandalorian's heart was in space. With the appearance of his younger sister, the boy bolted from the successor's chair like a bullet and went to study to be a fleet admiral. And he's no fool; he's doing well, and we need such as him. Waiting for the younger sister wasn't an option; she was too small. We could have chosen someone from the heads of other clans, but here there was a problem in the person of me. I am the damn Mandalore the Creator. This is an official title and status; I cannot pass it to just anyone. Moreover, after joint discussions, we concluded that with my departure, the title of Mandalore would pass to the head of the Hadian Empire of Terrans, because Mandalore is its core, support, and protection.
Therefore, no one among the Mandalorians, for all my desire, could take the place of leader. They are guards, protectors, and the state's weapon, but not its rulers. I led them to this myself, and the Mandalorians actively agreed. It was more familiar and beloved for them to punch an enemy in the face than to participate in political debates.
I thought about Aala, but realized the idea was even worse. She had been somehow strange lately, a bit depressed. Less and less often did I notice that raging flame in her. It felt as if the bonfire was gradually and slowly dying out, but she merely brushed off any questions. Well... I hope she's alright and just fed up with the collection of outcasts. After all, I had put her in a far from pleasant role. More and more often she left a deputy in her place and flew to us on Tatooine to play with the little ones.
But back to the problem. For lack of choice, taking a deep breath, I went to surrender to Fay. Appointing her as my assistant and voice in the Senate, because I had no intention of sitting in that viper's nest personally, we began to prepare.
First, we sent a form with notification to the Senate. (The main thing is formality! And when they consider it is another matter, heh-heh). Then we gathered the representatives under our control and simply loyal to us from planets near both Mandalorian space and Tatooine space. Besides the nearest planets, representatives came from Malastare, Naboo, the Chiss Ascendancy, Rodia, Ryloth, Eriadu, and the Tion Hegemony. With some, such as the Chiss, we built special relations, namely—they entered the Hadian Empire but with the rights of autonomy, without interference from our side in their personal affairs. Much the same happened with Eriadu, the Verpines, and the Tion Hegemony near Mandalorian space.
During the meeting, a document on the formation of the new state was signed and all misunderstandings between the parties were resolved. Less than twenty-four hours later, fireworks were thundering on our planets, and a wave of news about the formation of a new powerful state was running across the galaxy. To say that a howl rose in the upper echelons of the Republic would be a major understatement. So, putting off all celebrations, I, in the company of Talia and Fay, had to rush to the Senate and defend our rights to sovereignty there.
In the Senate, everything turned out far from as unambiguous as one might think. Realizing that if we annoyed everyone at once, we would definitely get hit, I tried to use "divide and conquer" tactics. Namely, while seizing the feeding troughs of some, we provided resources to others. After all, we remained in the Republic and continued to pay taxes. Since our sector had become calmer, it gave more profit, more taxes, and, accordingly—the incomes of some individuals had significantly increased. Furthermore, our money was gaining strength, which was also important. And as for the fact that others' incomes had dropped manifold, well, that didn't concern us, because now the former would defend our interests, expecting to get even more. The corporations, for example, reacted quite neutrally.
With the Jedi, it was more difficult. These ones looked at me as an enemy of the people (though not all) and were definitely already suspecting something, but couldn't prove it. Instead, I proved my point of view, explaining at the council that this was the voluntary choice of each people, and it wasn't for them to decide what others wanted. Moreover, I pulled out from under the table the materials accumulated on the Yuuzhan Vong, the outsiders from another galaxy, and finally proved the physical threat from the outsiders to the Jedi.
Yes, I proved it to the Jedi, but not to the Senate. It reached the point where Tarkin was removed from the post of chancellor, as his world had entered the Hadian Empire of Terrans, and the majority of senators were against us. Fortunately, it was extremely hard for the opponents to agree, as everyone pursued their own goals. Pure democracy in its raw form!
But never mind the Senate. There were problems with crime too. Because of us, Black Sun lost first place; another syndicate took its place. After the announcement of the formation of the HIT, the Hutts joined forces with the new syndicates and began to gather strength. The galaxy, which had been gradually calming down and returning to a peaceful course, began to bubble again. Raids on our facilities happened more and more often, and skirmishes between patrols and pirates occurred more frequently. Jabba, the slug, preferred to slip away with his accumulated treasures to a remote planet and sit it out.
Looking at the gathering storm, I had the impression that I had given birth to two sides of a conflict. Those who strive to maintain the old system, and those who are trying to remake it. The former are still the overwhelming majority, and if they gather, they will crush us. But! We have our own strength maturing in the rear, and this strength will be ready in a year or two. We just need to hold out—and we can be at peace. And then—we'll either negotiate, or there will be a short and victorious war. But not with the Republic, but with what stands behind it. With its essence.
***
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