The Galactic Republic Senate is a swamp of political intrigue, corruption, and hypocrisy, capable of sucking in and drowning even the most worthy representatives of the galaxy's sentient races. And every time, studying news reports or Senate meeting minutes, Revan was convinced of the truth of this statement. The information provided by Count Dooku was no exception this time.
The Trade Federation was rocking the boat more and more, almost openly gathering supporters for changes in Republic trade and taxation laws, while simultaneously trying to drown Naboo and Mandalore in lawsuits. However, the cunning Neimoidians broke their teeth on the Alderaanians, hardened in legal battles, who defended worlds that developed their own industry and supported free competition in the market. The Banking Clan was doing something strange, maintaining a supposedly neutral position, but at the same time not hesitating to play with interest rates for different sides of the emerging conflict, which only increased tension.
Palpatine, meanwhile, demonstrated his excellent oratorical, diplomatic, and acting skills at almost every session, delivering speeches that gave the impression that the entire democracy and justice in the Republic rested solely on him.
Revan did not inform his allies about Sidious's identity, so as not to spoil the Sith's game prematurely. However, Bail Organa, apparently out of sympathy for Amidala, was in no hurry to trust the Chancellor and did not join the loyalist party, representing a moderate opposition. Queen of Naboo herself had clearly become smarter since her last meeting with Revan. No doubt, communication with Dooku and other more experienced politicians and monarchs had spurred the girl's self-development and taught her not to blindly believe in the inviolability of laws and the justice of the Republic. However, perhaps it was Revan's merit, having opened the young queen's eyes a little during the liberation of her world from the Trade Federation's blockade.
In addition to inter-planetary and inter-system disputes, Revan found another "amusing" moment in the summary of the last Senate session. Kuat, or rather, a representative of "Kuat Drive Yards," demanded that a commission be sent to Sienar's enterprises, as, according to their information, the competitor was violating the law by ignoring restrictions on size, hyperdrive class, and total offensive armament power on its ships. And as proof of their accusations, they provided a holorecording... of an Interdictor-class heavy cruiser entering a repair dock. But Wright had assured that all modernization work would be carried out in secret. But, apparently, spies in the corporate environment could not be hidden anywhere. Sienar's company managed to fend off this attack by referring to official documents provided by Revan and Dooku. "Obsidian" is a diplomatic ship with accreditation from both Coruscant and Serenno, its design is outdated, its armament is dismantled, and it entered the dock under tow, barely holding itself together from stardust.
"And if Kuat has nothing better to do than monitor every ancient rust bucket that goes for repair at Sienar's shipyards, then perhaps their clients should consider contractors more focused on their main activities?" stated Wright's representative.
"Kuat" lost some of its ardor after such a statement, and after the "Judicial Forces," taking advantage of the moment, inquired about the delay in the delivery of new corvettes, it hastily closed the topic, withdrawing its demand.
Competition between shipbuilders resembled a real war. Each tried not only to deprive rivals of orders but also to cause maximum inconvenience by all available means. Everything was used, from espionage and blackmail to attacks on production facilities by mercenaries. The latter was rarely resorted to, but it happened.
In the confrontation with Kuat, Sienar was not in the best position. The competitor had more orders, more credits, and more capabilities due to planetary shipyards. However, Wright was in no hurry to give up, focusing on small and medium-class ships and skillfully using the advantage he couldn't lose – namely, his talent as an engineer and inventor. The ships designed by Sienar's company had excellent characteristics and often exceeded customer requirements. The company did not shy away from experimenting with new technologies and did not hesitate to borrow successful solutions from other shipbuilders, for which Sienar's Wright, according to rumors, was even wanted dead.
And with one example of the successful application of engineering talents, Revan was now preparing to depart from a trading post recently acquired by "Star Forge" in the Chommell sector. The "Claws" turned out to be very talented traders, who in just a year managed to turn a basically shell company, created solely for smuggling between the Core worlds and Hutt Space, into a transport giant... although no, "giant" is too strong a word. However, no matter what "Star Forge" was called, after merging with "Mandal Motors" and several other companies from Serenno, Naboo, and Alderaan, the company took control of almost a tenth of the transport between the Core and the Outer Rim and gradually pushed its way into the personal transport and consumer electronics markets. No one yet allowed the young company to the "high stakes" table, but it was only a matter of time. The right people had already realized that the "Bloody Claws" and their legal cover had strong patrons from the Senate and the Hutts, which significantly raised the young company's authority.
The flip side of fame was increased attention to "Forge" from pirates and mercenaries, who increasingly risked raiding the company's transport convoys. Fortunately, Revan's subordinates did not skimp on defense, almost legally turning escort ships into combat vehicles capable of competing with full-fledged military models.
And the ship that Sienar provided in response to Revan's request to borrow a transport capable of safe flights in the Unknown Regions, even at first glance at its characteristics, fit perfectly into the composition of the future fleet. The prototype with the index SRS-5503/749-P-I and the conditional designation "Marauder," kindly provided by Sienar on the condition of providing a detailed report on the new machine's behavior in flight and possible conflict, resembled a corvette in size, but in equipment and armament, it was more like a full-fledged cruiser. In fact, the ship had already passed all tests and was ready for mass production, but the Senate and the Judicial Corps could not sort out the issues of proper documentation and payment of part of the purchase from the Republic budget. The order had been pending for almost a year, but it had not moved from a dead point, bogged down in the swamp of Senate bureaucracy. However, here Wright suspected "help" from "Incom" or "Corellian Engineering Corporation."
Be that as it may, Sienar's company had not yet received an order for "Marauders," and therefore could not compensate for the considerable costs of developing and testing the new ship, so the head of the company was about to offer the corvette to the Corporate Sector, whose private armies always had a place for a good combat machine. But then Revan appeared, or rather, Vaner Shan, with his intriguing order to rebuild the "Interdictor" for a considerable sum, which slightly distracted Wright from negotiations with the Corporate Sector. Then Count Serenno began to show considerable interest in the products of "Republic Sienar Systems," which attracted new clients and investors. Things were going uphill.
Therefore, when Vaner contacted Sienar again, Wright made every effort to ensure that the promising "major client," who was clearly not short of funds and also moved in "respected circles," chose the "Marauder" for his needs.
Revan did not agree immediately. He disliked the fact that along with the prototype ship, he would have to take a crew trained to operate it, and therefore, people loyal to Sienar. Part of the problem was solved by droids, which could be taken from the "Obsidian" undergoing repairs, but the core crew had to remain, as only they could effectively operate some of the ship's systems.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that Sienar, according to Maul's information, was connected to Sidious and possibly his master. At least, the ship Maul traveled the galaxy on before meeting Revan was provided by Sienar and featured very interesting cloaking systems and engines. Taking technology and people from someone who works for a potential enemy would be rash, but in reality, things were not so bad.
As it turned out during direct negotiations with Raith, the shipbuilder was not enthusiastic about forced cooperation with the Sith and was doing everything he could to end it while keeping his head on his shoulders. Mol confirmed this information, providing the results of his investigation and search for traces of Darth Plagueis. Sienar was looking for someone to cover him from unwanted partners who limited his capabilities in trading new ships, as they wished to remain the exclusive owners of fast and stealthy starships. Revan could not yet compete with the Sith in terms of influence in the Galaxy, but he always knew how to persuade.
Raith Sienar's favor did not guarantee that the shipbuilder would not suddenly decide to betray his client, but it allowed for more room for negotiation. Thus, the mandatory crew from Sienar's company was reduced to twenty technicians, who were restricted in their movements around the ship, which was entrusted to the Mandalorians, led by Bo-Katan, by agreement with Revan. Raith did not object. The condition about providing him with data on the ship's operation remained in force... although R2 had already been tasked with removing or replacing any information about the ship's route from the reports. The astromech took on this task with all his zeal.
The rest of the crew was recruited from the "Blood Claws," who had already proven themselves during the defense of Mandalore. Thus, the pilot seats were filled by the Corellian Carrie Moro and the Alderaanian Joe-Seto Jeff, who until recently flew escort corvettes as part of the "Star Forge" caravans. Both proved to be excellent pilots during the repelling of pirate raids, and they also knew how to keep their mouths shut... Revan doubted the latter, as the pair on the bridge never stopped, engaging in verbal altercations at every opportunity, albeit without detriment to the tasks at hand.
The position of senior technician was taken by Morta Lokt, a Sullustan in Sienar's service. The tactical systems operator on the bridge was taken by the Mandalorian Sirsho Nomad, which was a wise choice, considering that the gunner positions went to his compatriots. As it turned out, the children of Mandalore were well acquainted with the H6 turbolasers from "Time & Bacta," of which the Marauder had 8 twin-mounted cannons.
"Almost everything is ready for departure, Commander. We are finishing loading additional supplies," Revan was greeted on the bridge by the newly minted captain of the "Marauder," Radek Dune.
Dune was one of those who helped "Obsidian" fend off ships from the Trade Federation and the Banking Clan in Mandalorian space. According to Ran Fevro, he served on a corvette in the patrol zone near his home planet for almost seven years and came to work for the "Claws" company at the invitation of Pana Dek, who took over as head of security for the then transport company "Obsidian." Now Dek was tidying up the "Star Forge" office on Coruscant and personally insisted that Radek be sent to help Revan and take command of the "Marauder."
The spacious bridge of the corvette, with niches recessed into the floor for the operators of various systems, evoked a sense of nostalgia in Revan. How many hundreds of hours had he spent in similar conditions, standing on the bridge of a warship... And he couldn't bring himself to call the "Marauder" civilian. A full-fledged corvette with decent defenses and very good armament could engage even a small cruiser and, more importantly,
even emerge victorious from it.
"We still don't have coordinates for the hyperspace jump, Commander," Dune reminded him, awaiting a response from his temporary commander.
Radek addressed Revan as nothing less than "Commander." It was a lingering habit from his army service. The former Jedi himself didn't mind, as such an address was also close to him.
"Our target is not on the publicly available Republic maps. So for now, take a course towards the border of unexplored territories. From there, I will pilot the ship myself," Revan instructed the captain.
"Are we flying to the Chiss?" Radek clarified with surprise.
"Commendable awareness," the former Jedi smiled, which the interlocutor behind the mask, of course, did not see.
"In the Alderaanian academy, 'astronavigation' and 'history' were my favorite subjects. Even though the territory of the 'Dominion' is not marked on public maps, the Republic maintains contact with them, albeit rarely. I didn't think I'd get to fly to those places, Commander," Dune explained.
"We will try to avoid contact precisely," Revan shook his head.
"Understood, Commander. We won't poke the bear."
"Exactly. How do you like the ship, Captain?"
"A good corvette with the capabilities of a light cruiser. Better than a Corellian seventy, in any case. But there are things that worry me, Commander."
"Don't you trust new machines? And even more so new crews," Revan guessed.
"You are right, Commander. A prototype ship always has problems. No matter how much the engineers praise it, no matter how much they test it – it has never been in real combat. And there are difficulties with the crew. A third of our crew are Mandalorians, another third are droids, and there are also Sienar technicians, who are being watched as if they were prisoners. The crew is not cohesive, not well-drilled. This setup is fine for chasing pirates, but if we encounter something more serious, I would think three times before engaging in battle," Dune explained his thoughts.
"Thank you for the honest assessment, Captain. I will take these remarks into account when planning our flight. It's a pity, but we don't have time for quality crew training."
"I understand, Commander. May I proceed? I need to complete the pre-flight check."
"You are dismissed, Captain," Revan nodded.
Radek saluted briefly and returned to his datapad.
The former Jedi walked around the bridge and stopped near the transparent transparisteel observation window, beyond which lay the endless blackness of space, dotted with myriads of stars. It was calming and allowed him to distract himself from the heavy thoughts about the upcoming flight. He didn't want to stick his head into a trap... but Revan couldn't refuse the opportunity to gain control of the "Star Forge."
Soon, the former Jedi's reflections were interrupted by the appearance of Tyra nearby. The Mandalorian literally radiated a sense of anxiety, which was clearly felt in the Force. Even Bastila's presence in Nomad's mind didn't help the young Chiss much. In addition, Tyra, who was somewhat accustomed to walking around the Eagle without a helmet, was forced to wear fully enclosed armor again to hide her origin. Even among her clanmates, few knew where the girl came from. Although the foundlings never asked about it. After all, she had already been accepted into the clan as a full-fledged Mandalorian. However, her Chiss upbringing still made itself known, making her ashamed of her past and forcing her to hide her face under a helmet.
"Nervous?" Revan asked his student with soothing notes in his voice.
"In the Dominion's space, I will be considered a criminal simply for the fact of my return. Moreover, all of you will be recognized as accomplices and sentenced in absentia," Tyra replied, her voice slightly ringing with tension.
"As far as I know, the Chiss are not so aggressive a race that they attack without further ado. Aggression among your military is not encouraged, is it?" Revan recalled his experience with the Empire's blue-skinned allies.
"The rules of combat established by the Defensive Hierarchy do indeed imply defensive actions, but the decision and responsibility lie with the ship commanders. And among them are those who do not share the Hierarchy's position."
"Do you mean someone specific?"
"No, I just know that such people exist. My named older brother, for example."
"Hmm, if we talk about meeting your relatives. If that happens, whose side will they take? Will they be able to turn a blind eye to your return, or will they act as your law dictates?" Revan inquired.
The Mandalorian thought for a few moments.
"I'm afraid they will choose the law. In the Dominion, discipline and loyalty come first," Tyra shook her head.
"Loyalty to whom? The Dominion or family?"
The question clearly stumped the girl. Nomad did not answer immediately.
"I haven't thought about it before. It all seemed obvious to me. The law is the law. Loyalty to the hierarchy and traditions comes above all... but what if I misunderstood everything? What if I remembered everything wrong, forced to constantly hide my origin and limit my circle of communication? For a Mandalorian, the clan is paramount... what if it's the same for the Chiss? Even when I was in the academy, I heard stories about how some families went against the Dominion's will... I didn't pay attention then, but now..." Nomad said quietly, staring at the stars through the transparisteel.
Revan wanted to add something to encourage his student, but she suddenly shook her head sharply and punched the transparent barrier with her fist.
"Hutt! Even if so, who will stand up for me? Neither in the Aru family nor in the Anude – I was never recognized! I am an outcast... I became an exile long before my mother and I were expelled from the Dominion. No, it's foolish to hope for anything," Tyra hissed through her teeth.
"Everything will be fine," Revan said, reassuringly.
"Only if we manage to avoid meeting the Chiss. Otherwise, there will be trouble. I am sure of it."
"Well, if you think so, we will try to avoid detection."
Tyra stood for another moment, nodded sharply, and headed for the exit from the bridge.
"I'll check on the Mandalorians. Sirsho might need my help," Nomad said, without looking back.
"Go," Revan replied briefly and nodded, returning to contemplating space.
The flight could turn out to be much more problematic than initially assumed. It remained to be hoped that Revan himself, as well as his team, would be ready for what lay ahead. Anxiety grew in his soul, as if Tyra had shared it with her mentor. But Revan knew that it wasn't about the bond between teacher and padawan... For the first time in a long time, he clearly felt the call of the "Star Forge" and the icy cold of the Darkness that surrounded the Rakata's creation.