Clone troopers along with the townspeople started to clean up the town. Under the gaze of the four AT-TEs brought to the battle that now surrounded Italica guarding the main highways and fields, troopers helped the civilians clear rubble, take care of the wounded, and collect the dead. Out of the now known 2000 bandits who took part in the attack, less than 200 survived. Despite the victory, Pina still felt uneasy at their supposed enemy helping them restore order to the town.
"We are victorious, Princess." Said Hamilton, "Why do you look unhappy?"
"This victory isn't ours, Hamilton." Pina replied, "This victory belongs to the Priestess of Emloy, Rory Mercury, and to the Grand Army of the Republic. We own nothing here."
"We still played a part in the bandits' defeat." Hamilton continued.
"Can't you see what's wrong, Hamilton? In our—my haste to defend Italica, I've invited an even more terrifying force. Imagine if the iron beasts and magics of the Republic were turned against us? Looking at it right now, one of the Empire's most important hubs is now in the hands of the enemy and the people welcomed them with open arms."
"That's not true, Princess! The people—"
Pina shook her head, "Can you be so sure the people still regard the Empire with veneration? Remember who the bandits used to serve? They saved the town. If they demanded our surrender since you are a part of the Imperial military and I am the royalty of the Empire, I'd fall to my knees and ask for mercy."
Fortunately for Pina, the Republic didn't ask for grovelling as negotiations took place back at the Formal mansion. While Hamilton listed the provisions of a new treaty between the Republic and Italica, Myui who was also with them openly declared her intention,
"Give them anything they want."
Both Hamilton and Pina were dumbfounded. Pina tried to speak Myui out of simply handing everything over, "C—Countess Formal, we shouldn't just gi—"
"I don't care, they saved the town my family has worked so hard to build over countless generations. They deserve our respect. You may be acting as my regent, Princess, but you should likewise heed my opinion." She sternly stated.
Myui's fortitude surprised Pina and made Pina somewhat embarrassed and regretful that she was never like this with her father when she was young. Reluctantly accepting Myui's declaration, she directed Hamilton to agree on any provision the Republic wanted. Upon its conclusion, Grey approached an exhausted Pina and questioned how the negotiations went.
"Fine, I guess. Even though, Myui wanted to hand them everything." Pina said, "They will take some of the prisoners, asked us to handle any of the diplomatic delegation's security and expenses, and they're to be exempted from all taxes in Italica."
"What about a military occupation?" Grey asked.
"One of the soldiers, Fordo, I believe his name was, did seem interested in having one for the purposes of 'security' until the town got its defensive forces back up. But his General, Eila Deova, refused. I didn't understand the reasons behind her decision since they talked about it in their language and the mage didn't translate the conversation."
"So there won't be an occupation. Hmm. For a victor, these conditions they've asked for are extremely light. They've hardly gained anything even with Countess Formal consenting to any demand they make. Surprising they didn't take advantage of it."
Pina quietly pondered on why the Republic was being so easy on them. Unfortunately, she would reason this is a ploy by them to seem humble and then when everything falls into place for them, they'll take the Empire for fools. She resolved in protecting the Empire at all cost.
Soon enough, all the troopers who arrived to help in the battle for Italica, boarded their LAATs or AT-TEs to be brought back to Alnus. With them, they took prisoners like the mage who served the bandits. Eila would smile at the sight of the people of the town happily waving to their saviors goodbye before going with Lelei, Tuka, and Rory to a buyer. As the troopers left, Fordo and his men waited for the girls to sell the dragon scales they came to Italica for in the first place. Once their transaction was done and Eila had taken some notes on how business was done in the Empire, Fordo ordered everyone to return to base.
They wouldn't get very far from Italica as they would spot a dust cloud heading for them. Assuming it was more bandits, the troopers dismounted their speeders and took defensive positions using the speeders as improvised cover. Using her macrobinoculars, Eila noticed that the approaching riders were women wearing armor similar to the Princess Pina and carrying flags with a rose on it. Noting that the Princess mentioned about her knights heading for Italica during the treaty negotiations, Eila ordered Fordo and his men to stand down, not wanting to violate the treaty. Getting back on their speeders, they decided to wait for the riders to pass and even give information to them if they asked. As the riders approached, one of the light haired knights' demanded to know where Eila, Fordo, and his men came from.
Fordo answered to them, "We're returning from Italica."
"Going to?" The knight asked having grown suspicious.
"Back to Alnus."
The situation immediately fell apart as the knights drew their swords and readied their spears. Eila ordered the men to stand down as some readied to grab their blasters. A blonde 'drill' haired knight approached Fordo and questioned if he was the enemy from the other world. Staying silent, Fordo would be relieved as Eila spoke on his behalf as she approached the knights having left her speeder.
"Yes we are. We are from the other world."
"You admit your crime! Surrender!" The blonde knight demanded.
"Please, remain calm. If you'll let me ex—"
Before Eila could even finish, the blonde knight punched her. Falling to the ground, Eila heard her men call to her but despite being surprised at the sudden act by the knight, she continued to order her men to stand down. As she got up, Eila again tried to explain but would instead receive a slap from the same knight. Finally fed up with getting smacked around, Eila used the Force to yank all of the weapons and shields the knights were carrying and flung them away to the surrounding fields. Some even fell off their horses as they tried to tighten their grip on their weapon that had seemed to have grown a mind of its own. Shocked at the display of power, the knights would be unnerved further when Eila would ignite her lightsaber and used the Force to drag the blonde knight close to her that the lightsaber almost burned the knight's hair.
In manner that was unusual to come from a Jedi from the perspective of the clones, Eila said to the blonde knight in a seething tone, "You're coming to Italica with us."
Explaining herself to Pina at the Formal mansion, the blonde knight would be surprised when Pina threw her drink at her. The goblet struck the blonde knight in the head causing some bleeding.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Bozes!" Pina cried.
"P—Princess! What did we do wrong?" Another knight said as she put a handkerchief to Bozes' head wound.
"Can't you see!?" Pina shouted as she turned to see Eila being handed a cold pack to place on her cheek by Ramius. "To violate the treaty on the day it was signed, what an embarrassment!"
Pina ordered the maids to take both parties to their respective rooms and take care of them as her face fell into her hands at the violation of the treaty so quickly. Grey approached Pina and explained a serious consequence to the violation of the treaty.
"What a complete disaster. They could use this as a justification to start a war." Grey said.
"And if that happens, we're finished." Pina mumbled.
"Still, there were only minor injuries to one person."
"Minor? Those injuries were inflicted on the most important person to the Republic!" Pina began shouting.
"I meant no disrespect, Princess. But wouldn't it be easier to simply apologize to General Deova and her men?"
"You want me to bow to them?"
"No, not really. But, would you rather face them in battle?"
Pina grimaced at the possibility of trying to fight the Republic. While Pina languished with that possibility, the maids tended to Eila, the clones, and their guests. Since she only suffered a bruised cheek, Eila refused any extravagant treatment from the maids but some of the clones like Hoot and Ray certainly enjoyed the extra attention. Hoot was even getting a little flirty with one of the maids until he saw Fick shaking his head in disapproval. Lelei, Tuka, and Rory would remain indifferent when the maids handled their requests. After calling Wrench that they would be delayed getting back home, the snake haired maid would get rather close to Eila noting that she smelled like the former Count but would be smacked by the human maid for being rude. Fordo would approach Eila wanting to know something about the incident from earlier.
"General?"
"Yes, Fordo?"
"I'm no expert on Jedi but, is it normal for you guys to use the Force and get angry like that?"
The room fell silent as the other clones and Lelei, Tuka, and Rory were also interested in an answer for that.
Fordo continued, "I only ask since Jedi apparently keep a lid on their emotions."
"We certainly do, we try to keep our emotions in check." Eila said, "But we're still like any other living being, we can't get rid of our emotions. What happened today, that was—that was a personal mistake by me. I'm sorry." Eila then seemed to trail off as she mumbled about feeling a loss of control because of war. She also realized that the rest of the troopers were surprised by her actions since they weren't assigned to her when her Master was still leading. Those were darker days.
Fordo, who was close enough to hear her mumbling stayed silent as he wondered if 'war' meant the one here or the Clone Wars. Fordo would likewise remember when General Ki-Adi-Mundi almost put the mission at risk because of his emotions when he rescued the Jedi from General Grievous on Hypori.
Meanwhile, Pina held a conference with Bozes and the other knight involved in the incident, Panache. Not wanting to personally bow down, Pina would try a different method with the two of them instead.
"Bozes, Panache. You attacked the envoys of the Republic after we signed a treaty with them that ensured their safety. The fact that you, Bozes, assaulted the General of the Grand Army of the Republic makes your actions a serious treaty violation. They have the power to defeat a fire dragon and wipe out conventional armies in seconds. If they use this incident to start a war, the Empire will suffer as a consequence." Pina explained to her two knights.
"Y—Yes." Bozes meekly answered.
"To ensure that this incident is forgotten, you need to offer your body to them." Pina said, directing her intent at Bozes.
"P—Princess?"
"Yes?"
"The General of the Republic is a woman, how could I—"
Pina raised her hand to stop her, "The General may be interested in women. You never know. But even if she isn't, she has her men with her. It's a shame to hand you over to them but this must be done."
Trying to find some courage in herself, Bozes declared, "I shall offer myself to them for the sake of you and the Empire!"
Panache would quietly give a sigh of relief that she didn't have to do anything as drastic as what Bozes had been asked to do. Pina sighed as well and hoped that this would placate the Republic from attacking the Empire as she dismissed the two knights.
After changing to her nightgown, Bozes prepared herself before entering the room with the Republic delegates inside. She had never laid with anyone before and was hoping that the General or her men would be gentle with her. Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors to see the clone soldiers having casual chats with the maids and seeing Eila still tending to her cheek as she sat on the bed.
Eila took notice to their visitor, "Oh! Ms. Knight! Or I think I heard the Princess call you, Bozes. What brings you here?"
Bozes jumped at the call of her name but sheepishly approached Eila. She had assumed that they wouldn't have noticed her with all of them chatting. The other clones and maids stopped talking and turned their attention on her causing Bozes to feel very uneasy at all of them staring at her.
Bozes tried to talk, "I—I—"
"Yes?" Eila said.
Bozes decided to just yell out her intention, "I—I—I'm here to offer my body to you! Please be gentle with me!"
"Huh?" This reaction wasn't just limited to Eila but also the clones.
"I—I, Bozes Co Palesti, the second d—daughter of the House of Palesti, offer myself over to you as your servant! As recompense for my attack on you!" She proclaimed as she knelt before Eila with her head down.
Minutes of silence passed as Bozes waited for an answer. She was starting to feel insulted that the people of the Republic weren't snappier with their decisions as she imagined that a person from the Empire would have gladly accepted her. Before she could make her complaint about them not being more decisive, Eila finally spoke.
"We don't do that here."
"Huh?" Bozes reacting the same as everyone before.
"We—I, can't accept your offer." Eila said
Bozes now felt discouraged, "I—I understand. You think I'm worthless."
"No, no, no! It's just, I'm a Jedi. I'm not allowed to have intimate relationships."
"Then for your men! I can still be—"
"Sorry, it's the same for them too. As long as they're in the Army, they can't have such relationships either. It's the rules our society has. Besides, slavery is illegal in the Republic."
"Then it's over." Bozes said as tears began to fall from her eyes, "By rejecting me, you'll destroy the Empire as your just reward."
"What?"
"Isn't that what this is? Why the Princess sent me? I know how the game is played! If you accepted me, the Empire would be safe but since you don't want me, the Empire is doomed." Bozes began to openly cry into Eila's lap.
Eila began stroking Bozes' head to comfort her and said, "Obviously, both you and the Princess don't understand the game we're playing. We want to negotiate with the Empire, not destroy it. We just want our people back."
After stroking her head for a few minutes, Eila noticed that Bozes had actually fallen asleep on her lap although was still sniffling a bit. Feeling tired herself, Eila suggested that they all get some sleep. It had already been a lengthy two days of staying awake.
In the morning, Pina was puzzled that the people from the Republic had refused Bozes. In Pina's view, for them to refuse Bozes meant that they wanted war but Eila came to explain why the Republic was in the Special Region in the first place. Even with Lelei's help in translation, Pina still thought that even though they were their to negotiate the release of the people taken during the incident on Coruscant, she still felt they needed to be placated by some other means.
"Why don't you stay for breakfast?" Pina insisted.
"Sorry, but we need to leave as soon as possible." Eila said.
"W—Why?"
"I've been recalled. I've been asked to report to the Senate about recent incidents here. In fact, Captain Fordo and his team have also been asked to report to the Senate as well."
Fordo and his men would be surprised that they were also being asked to come.
Pina panicked as she called out, "Your Senate!?"
She realized to her horror that anything negative that they could report might bring down the wrath of the Republic onto the Empire. Even if Eila carried good intentions, in her view, politicians are not as forgiving. She then thought of one way to save the Empire.
"W—Wait! Please take me with you. I wish to apologize to your political leaders and top military leaders for violating the treaty. I'm sure that will be acceptable, General?" Pina proposed.
Eila noticed the determination in Pina's eyes to preserve the Empire even though she already made it clear they weren't there to destroy it. She wondered if Lelei was getting the translation wrong or if the people from the Empire were just paranoid that they couldn't just trust the words of a General but she would accept Pina's offer. Before leaving, Eila would inform Wrench of their visitors and to tell the Jedi Order and Senate about them.
As they prepared to leave on speeders and Pina and Bozes approached Eila and the team, Hoot would notice something about the two.
"What a dorky looking pair of outfits!" Hoot snickered looking at Pina and Bozes clothing as they entered into Ramius' speeder. Fordo remained silent while the others groaned at Hoot. Once they were aboard, the team made its way back to Alnus.
During the ride, both Pina and Bozes noted how smooth and fast their ride was and both would be surprised when it didn't take very long to reach Alnus. What should had been days of continuous travel was achieved in a few short hours.
Upon approaching Alnus, LAATs would fly overhead which both fascinated and terrified Pina and Bozes. Getting closer, they would see clone troopers practicing their aim with their iron rods. They also saw some of the clone troopers practicing close combat without those rods. Once she observed the rods, Pina would ask Lelei about them as she was in the enclosure with them.
"Their weapons. Are all of the Republic's clone soldiers mages?"
"No." Lelei answered, "It is not magic. Those weapons are called blasters."
"Blasters?"
"I am still unsure of the finer mechanics behind it but from what I was told, blasters harness an energy-rich gas that is converted and fired as a bolt of plasma energy that penetrates and melts through metals and other materials. The clone soldiers have been trained to fight with blasters. The superior range and power of blasters is what gives the Republic soldiers their strength." Lelei explained.
"Plasma energy? If that's not magic from the gods then what is it?"
"Science. And it is because of that science the Empire lost."
Before Pina could answer, she and Bozes would be shocked at the sight of AT-TEs walking around and firing at targets in a training field with the those tanks being backed up by LAATs that were also practicing their aim.
"Iron Pegasus' and iron elephants!" Bozes called out.
"Yes and with the tactics and support of the clone troopers, the Republic has mastered something called 'combined arms' warfare." Lelei explained.
"Why? Why is an army like this attacking us?" Pina said.
"The Empire plundered their homes and citizens during its expedition through the Gate. They would naturally want justice."
Pina would become embarrassed at asking a stupid question. The Empire would likewise retaliate if someone launched an unprovoked attack against them. As she continued to stare at the vehicles and the men training, she eventually came to a realization of how the Republic handles war noting how they helped the people of Coda Village and remembering the head maid back in Italica, "We can conquer a country by force, but we can't never truly win the people." She lamented.
Upon entering to the Republic base, Fordo would be pestered by Ramius to have his head checked having suffered two strikes to the head in a short amount of time. Consenting to his advice just so Ramius wouldn't bother him anymore, he waited for Pina and Bozes since it was standard procedure to have new visitors checked by a doctor first. Pina continued to try to convince Eila not to report anything negative about the Empire, but she would be turned away as Eila would mention that she needed to handle some paperwork before they would all leave for the Gate. Eila would instead direct Pina to their medical facilities first to make sure no diseases were being transmitted between worlds adhering to the procedure and once she was done in medical, she could bother Fordo instead. Sadly leaving with Fordo to the medical bay, Eila gave a sigh of relief as she entered her office to handle the paperwork but would see that Wrench was there.
"Wrench."
"General."
"Pretty interesting sights when we came back here."
"Well, when I informed the Senate of our guests, the Chancellor wanted to give them a show."
"I felt their fear. The Chancellor might be getting confused about our role here."
"I don't believe so. Giving them a show of force will easily convince this Princess to take negotiations seriously."
"I hope so. Once the negotiations are done, we can just guard the Gate on our side if everything pans out."
Eila began shuffling through the paperwork and remembered, "Oh, give Fordo the reasons why he and his team are being called. I forgot to tell him. Have him ask Lelei, Tuka, and Rory to join too as representatives of the Special Region. Tell them we're staying there for two days."
"What about the Princess and her aide?"
"Same deal for them too."
Later that night, Pina and Bozes discussed the possibility of the Republic attacking the Empire, using what happened at Italica as an excuse.
"I don't believe so anymore." Pina said, "If they did plan on attacking, why would they agree to our presence and treat us so well? We even got invited to see their world."
"Then the negotiations..." Bozes said.
"I don't know. From what you and the General told me, they're not after our territory but their people. For them to care so much about their people...our cultures are just so different." Pina began to remember that there were quite a few skirmishes years ago where the Empire used to compete with its neighbors and willingly sacrificed its citizens just to protect a few pieces, of what turned out to be, useless land. She shook her head at the differences in philosophy.
The next morning, Fordo and his men were ready to depart along with Rory, Tuka, and Lelei as an airspeeder transport waited. Fordo would be back in his Coruscant Guard colors while the others ditched the green markings for pure white armor. Fick would question the wisdom of bringing Rory.
"Is it alright to bring her?" Fick asked.
"The General approved it. I'm guessing the General just doesn't want Rory to be left alone here. Probably not wanting some sort of unfortunate incident to happen. Besides, when I mentioned to Tuka about going to Coruscant, Rory jumped at the chance to join before I could tell her she was already invited." Fordo said.
Soon enough, the group would be joined by Eila alongside Wrench, Pina, and Bozes. After greeting them, Fordo would ask about Pina and Bozes.
"We're bringing them along too, General?"
"The Princess is our go-between for the Empire. There's nothing wrong with showing them our world."
Seeing that Wrench was also coming along, Fordo would question who was to be left in command of the base to which Eila said that Captain Koll was being left in charge. Eventually, Eila signaled the operator for the blast doors to the Gate and Rory, Tuka, Lelei, Pina, and Bozes watched in awe as the blast doors revealed the large marble Gate.
Pina would mutter under her breath, "Beyond this gate, lies the Republic!"
Author's Note: Just a short aftermath chapter that was easy to push out.
Just gonna say sorry in that its taken so long for me to start making changes that are different from canon. Please bear with me.
I did mention in an earlier chapter's Author's Note that this is Fordo from Star Wars: Clone Wars.
As for if Palpatine's going to get into a fight, I don't really know if I can make and justify a situation where he will. Remember that this is the guy who didn't care about the Ewoks on Endor, 20 years after the Clone Wars. Why would he care about the equally primitive Empire now if they don't really pose a personal and direct threat to him?
Pina meeting Yoda? I haven't really thought of a situation like this since I don't know what they would say to each other that wouldn't be addressed by the politicians Pina will meet.