AN: I know too much history and track politics, y'all not going to have to worry about feeling bad for the Watch or the Nandos for long.
KEYnote: As much as I love this version of Jango and other authors versions, and somewhat assume that canonic Jango was mind f-ed b the Dark Side; this doesn't mean in this story, the older vode are so accepting. Perhaps they have forgiven, but they have not forgotten.
P.S. These chapters keep getting longer, and the action is getting spaced out. Apologies, but when Palpatine's melt-down does happen it will be glorious.
Chapter 30 - The Brewing Storm
Ponds felt both more nervous and more excited the further away from their buire they got.
Lady Yané was kind and Captain Panaka seemed to be very excited that the General had left the Order.
Apparently, General Jinn was much beloved, the Order as a whole, not so much.
They hadn't sent as much help as Naboo had needed.
As much help as the Generals had needed.
"I was the one who made Master Kenobi's armour," Lady Yané said mildly.
"But I thought that was Wad'e," Cody protested.
Ponds glared at him.
"Wad'e and I have been friends for many years. He helped teach me how best to weave mesh and reinforced thread. He gave me the measurements for the blacks and under armour. I did know at the time it was for Master Kenobi."
"That's incredible," Cody said.
"And expensive," Captain Panaka said. "But then I suppose your father being the most renowned bounty hunter in the galaxy has it's benefits."
Ponds looked away at that.
Things were still tense with the Prime. The only reason Ponds trusted him at all was because the General trusted him and seemed happier around the Prime.
Of course, sometimes he looked like he would kill him too so…
Well, they were adults and Ponds didn't really understand all that went into marriage. Boba, who had some of the galaxy seemed to be of the opinion that they owned each other now.
But Ponds wasn't certain that was the right or good definition.
"May I ask what you are thinking of, Ponds?" Lady Yané asked.
He looked up at her and gestured to the landscape, "It's very sunny here."
She smiled at him, "Indeed it is. Though we do have a monsoon season."
Cody shrugged, "It's basically always a monsoon season on our homeworld."
"Do you mean Stewjon?" Captain Panaka asked. "I heard some of the news crew chatting about it."
Ponds glared at Cody and Ponds covered with a half lie, "Yeah, Gen— Obi'buir is Stewjoni. It's an agricultural planet in the Mandalore sector."
Calling the General Obi'buir, father or no, felt fundamentally wrong.
He was Buir or General as Jango Fett was their Prime and Mand'alor, Buir was only occasionally said to his face or when talking to Boba.
The Mandalorian nicknames for their parents felt… Dismissive of their importance to the vode.
The Captain arched a brow, "I didn't know the Mandalore system did much farming, much less have a dedicated planet to the profession."
"Jan'buir," Cody said, unable to completely hide his wince. "Was a farmer before he was adopted by Mand'alor Jaster Mereel."
"Interesting," the Captain said as he led them to the hangar.
Here the Captain was really in his element, showing them everything on the floor and how it worked.
Everything, even the fighters, were beautiful, though Ponds himself was not overly fond of Nubian ships.
Lady Yané squeezed Ponds' hand, "What's on your mind, little one?"
Ponds looked up at her, "Do you have any ships more functional?"
"All these ships are of the finest make and their flying capabilities are at the highest standards," Captain Panaka said.
Yeah, but the Prime to do standard.
Ponds shook his head, and said aloud, "I mean ships that aren't meant for appearance but fighting function."
The Captain crossed his arms, "Are your fathers looking for a new ship?"
"There aren't enough rooms for us," Ponds said. "And there hasn't been time to replace it."
"How many rooms would you need?" Lady Yané asked.
Ponds had already done this math.
Appo and Gregor would want their own room.
Boba and Omega were inseparable, though Helix and Fives followed them around even as they did their own thing.
Ponds would room with Cody and Alpha, which meant they needed, "Eight bunks, one full room for our buire, a kitchen, a store room, shields, and lots of weapons."
"Our buire can pay for it," Cody added.
Lady Yané smiled at him, "Aye, they are busy men. And I always do enjoy shopping."
Captain Panaka snorted, "Especially when it's other people's money."
Yané winked at Cody and Ponds, "Especially, when it has to do with defence."
Ponds grinned, exchanging a pleased look with his twin.
So what if their buire didn't let them fight, there were still things they could do for their family.
For their aliit.
oOo
They were almost late for dinner.
Padmé watched as Yané brought Obi-Wan's children to the table. Thehad their own seats but the twins werey had their own chairs, but the two newly weds each scooped up a twin into their laps.
They were deep in discussion with the Regent of Education who was quite enamoured with the Mandalorians, and a Jedi who was now part of society in a tangible and approachable manor.
Yané stood at Padmé's shoulder and spoke under her breath, "The Fett Clan is larger than we suspect."
Padmé raised a cup to her lips, "And you think this is a problem?"
"No, I think whatever they are withholding, they are withholding from the public, not us. The boys are very sweet, and it is clear that their parents will never allow them to see warfare."
Unlike with young Anakin, went unsaid.
Laughter sounded through the hall and they looked to see Master Kenobi practically glowing with warmth and joy.
Considering the last time she had seen him, swallowing tears to show a brave face to his new charge, it was a balm on her heart to see the person he had become.
"They are our allies," Padmé said before she lowered her cup.
"Yes," Yané agreed fervently.
Padmé smiled, once her term was up as Queen, she knew where Yané's future would lie.
oOo
That night Cody, the Prime and the General kept up their happy moods from the afternoon.
Cody hesitated in the doorway with Ponds. They had changed into just the Jetiiese robes which were super soft.
They had their own room, but the rooms were so big and they wouldn't be able to hear if their buire called for him.
The General caught Cody's gaze and waved him over, "Come, ner ad'ike, we will stay together tonight."
Relief flooded Cody at not being turned away. He and Ponds moved as one to the bed.
The General gathered them close in his arms and Cody clung to him.
"You both did so well today, ner verd'ike," the General said, true pride in his tone.
Cody flushed but smiled.
The Prime slid into bed beside them and placed a hand on the General's chest which brought Cody into a semi-embrace.
Ponds's eyes widened a bit as Cody fought not to tense. They all had been sleeping in large piles on the ship with the Prime, but that was out of necessity, not because the Prime liked them.
The way the General smiled up at the Prime relaxed Cody a bit.
Cody didn't fully trust the Prime, but he did trust the General.
"Yes, indeed. I'm glad you both take after Obi-Wan," the Prime said, making even Ponds brighten a bit.
"How was being the Mand'alor's ad, ner riduur?" the General asked.
The Prime huffed a laugh, "I was feral when my buir first brought me to anything close to something political. Inter-clan conflicts were avoided only because no one took me seriously."
That gave Cody pause, "Really?"
The Prime ruffled his hair, "You and your vode are well ahead of me in competency and intelligence."
Ponds frowned, "But we—"
The General rubbed Ponds's shoulder, "Ones' potential is not restricted by their origins, but I myriad of circumstances."
"You will all do better than me," the Prime said without hesitation.
"Why would you say that?" Ponds asked.
"Because, it is the honour of every buir to see their ade rise above them," the Prime said.
Cody turned to look up at the man.
The Prime lowered his forehead to his and said, "I always cared, ner ad'ika, I just didn't know how to save any of you without losing all of you."
Cody touched his cheek, of this man who he would one day grow to be.
The Prime's face was Cody's face, was his vode's face, and they would never be the same, never share the same life experiences.
But the Prime wasn't just his template, his origin, he was also his guardian.
"I don't trust you," Cody said honestly.
Some of the softness left his buir's face, but he didn't pull away.
Cody spoke before he could respond, "But I want to."
The Prime touched Cody's hand, holding his touch against his cheek, "And, Code'ika, that is more than I deserve."
Ponds answered, "Trust is earned, not unattainable."
It was a bit awkward to settle after that, but it was hard to feel unsafe being in the arms of two of the most deadly beings in the galaxy.
The buire fell asleep first. Ponds and Cody curled over their General's chest, and the Prime laid on his side, arm over all of them, his back to the door.
Cody found himself curling back into the protective warmth of the Prime.
As much as he loved the General, the Prime was more settled of light. Despite both his buire feeling like warm contentedness in the Force, the General felt like a brewing storm while the Prime felt like a foundation they could —if they dared— build hope upon.
Ponds caught Cody's hand, reminding him that he wasn't alone to try to navigate this tremulous future that was coming for them.
oOo
The next day was somewhat chaotic as word of the Calling got out. The gathering on the Naboo plans turned from three hundred ships to five hundred with another two hundred waiting for Nubian clearance.
That clearance was a major boon because not everyone showing up had an invitation. Obi-Wan didn't know the clans well enough yet to know who and who not to trust.
They were currently having a small meeting on Walon Vau's ship with their fledgling council, Kal Skirata, Rav Bralor, B'arin Apma, Wad'e Tay'haai, Vhonte Tervho, Jango, and himself.
The eight of them made the leading clans of the war effort. With their medic, Mij Gilamar, the deciding vote if they ever got deadlocked in debates, though Obi-Wan as Riduur'alor, was still the top ranked General, and Jango as Mand'alor, was king enough to override almost everything.
Almost.
The clans Vau, Skirata, Bralor, Apma, Tay'haai, Tervho, Gilamar, Mereel, and Koon, were those who had been formalised under House Fett, though any of the vode, no matter their buire, had the right to claim to be of House Fett.
Rael Aveross and Plo Koon were also present in the meeting, though they had no 'vote' so no one could complain that there was too much Jetiiese influence.
They would still complain, of course, but they wouldn't be taken seriously by the people who mattered.
Rael stood to Obi-Wan's right as Obi-Wan stood to Jango's right.
This had been meant to be a productive discussion; so far, they were just talking in circles.
Obi-Wan was in a light meditation with Plo as they shared emotions and half-memories of their vode being adorable.
Rael, a man of action and too much the Shadow to pull off serene-paying-attention-but-really-chilling-in-the-Force, leaned into Obi-Wan to whisper, "Where's Master Fay?"
Obi-Wan gave his uncle an amused look, and responded lightly, "She avoided Coruscant for a thousand years, do you really think she would show up to something like this?"
Jango, who was frustrated, "How are you so calm?"
Obi-Wan shrugged, "I sat on the High Council in a galactic civil war for three years."
"And most meetings are like this," Plo agreed on the other side of Rael.
The thing that had set them all off was Jango's opening proposal of the hopeful timeline of war that was likely to last for at least two years against the Watch and the Nandos.
"Kryze will rely on the Republic," Kal said. "We do not yet have the resources to go to war with the Republic."
Finally, an opening. Obi-Wan stepped forward, "Kal, Satine has a temper, and the Republic reacts at a snail's space. We have time to let her make the first move."
Bralor asked, "Then why not—"
"Let her play defence?" Obi-Wan asked her. "Because she's one of the most violent people I know. The New Mandalorians didn't win the war by farting roses. They won by framing Death Watch."
There was a pause, and everyone except Plo stared at him in confusion.
"Wait, what?" Bralor asked him. "The Watch doesn't need to be framed."
"I didn't fully realize the extent of this until years later," Obi-Wan began to explain. "However, everyone knows that Death Watch hits civilian targets. The New Mandalorians decided to do the same but covertly. In retrospect, it's easy to tell who did what attacks."
Jango shook his head, "Obi-Wan, what are you saying?"
Obi-Wan sighed, "The Watch is barbaric, they hit hospitals and store supplies. They purposely targeted families, killed the adults and took their ade into their cult to renew their population."
"We know this," Kal snarled.
Obi-Wan shook his head, and set the holotable to the historical map he had pre-set of the Clan Wars from nearly a decade ago.
All the attacks on civilians were marked on the official maps. Turning a button, Obi-Wan highlighted the targets that the retroactive investigation had revealed.
"Midway through the war, the New Mandalorians began to increase their fear-mongering. This could have —and certainly did— have consequences. Many people will follow power over morality if that's what one paints the New Mandalorians as but they were ultimately successful because no matter what clan you are from ade are always valued if not loved. They are the heart of Mandalorian culture."
"Tell us something we don't know," Vau snapped, his impatience growing as Obi-Wan continued to lead them through their own history.
But Rael and Wad'e were tense, and looking at the targets.
Which was when it clicked for Jango.
Jango's growl was inhuman as he seethed, "I'll kill her."
Obi-Wan spoke before it escalated, "I was with Satine through the war, she didn't do this and she certainly didn't know this. There is a reason my Master sent her and me away from the main conflict when he became suspicious. The Senate prevented my Master from bringing the Duke's reputation. It's why a young Satine was able to idolize her father who pulled a miracle in winning the support of Mandalore while advocating for non-violence. She didn't know what he was capable of and he died a martyr."
"Are you defending her?" Jango asked, outraged.
Obi-Wan shook his head, "No. Satine definitely knows this now and if she doesn't, then it is criminal negligence. No, I defend only my own actions and awareness of the Clan Wars while I was on Mandalore. I was not a part of these terrorist actions. The Jedi would immediately have pulled support for them had we known. Satine and I were on the run and picking off Death Watch assassins, spies, and brutes. It was the Dukes, Adonai and Adyn Kyrze who did this."
"Who did what?" Apma demanded.
But Kal was studying the map and had figured it out, "Dar'manda."
Obi-Wan nodded, pulling up the lists, "Death Watch during the Clan Wars targeted hospitals, buire, and supply chains in order to kidnap children and make the populace so desperate for relief to bow to their dictatorship to survive.
"The New Mandalorians targeted schools, archives, and children's centres and blamed the attacks on the Watch. In doing so, they created tens of thousands of parents and families that would never forgive nor submit to the Watch. They were also destroying not only the newer generations but erasing local histories and regional ties."
The silence was all consuming.
Plo broke the horrified silence, "There is more than one way to kill a people. Destroying one's culture, their language, scattering their families, and places of identity. The late Duke was ruthless and without morality."
Obi-Wan picked up the summary, "The scope of the Clan Wars boils down to the two extremist fractions, Death and New nearly killed off the population and our culture. They were only able to rise after the fall of the True Mandalorians "
"Thanks to the Jedi," Kal snarled.
"The Jedi killed one clan, Kal," Obi-Wan said. "But you and your vode are testaments that the True Mandalorians were not eradicated as well as enemies would like."
Kal bared his teeth, "The Jetiiese should have stayed out of our business."
"You think Mandalorians have stayed out of ours?" Obi-Wan challenged. "My Jedi brother was killed passing through the Mandalore System. Him and the three younglings he had with him."
Kal sneered, "More Death Watch. More of your people."
Obi-Wan's smile was bitter. "No, it was an incident that preceded that of Galidraan."
Jango went to speak, but Obi-Wan raised a hand, "There is no justification for the Order's lack of investigation into the Governor's claims. However, three years before that catastrophe, there was one that shook the Temple to its foundation. When a Master Jedi Feemor and his three charges —including an infant— were sent a ship on passive outpilot to Coruscant with them sawed into bloody pieces."
"The Watch—"
Obi-Wan pulled back, meeting Kal's gaze over the holotable. "My apologies, I was under the impression, Commando Montross was a True Mandalorian, Jaster Mereel's second."
"He was a traitor," Kal spat, though his eyes were wide with shock.
Jango remained tense beside Obi-Wan, but his Riduur had meditated —brooded— on the issue of his people's deaths for far too long to be shaken by the mention of it.
"But how was the Order to understand that when it was far from the only attack on Jedi and our Padawans? Our younglings. The Death of the Seeker was a story told to generations of Jedi. Taught us to fear Mandalorians. A tangible threat as the Sith has not been."
"More ignorance," Kal said, though with less heat. They all knew they were as any people, represented by their best as well as their worst.
Obi-Wan spoke dryly, knowing he had already won the discussion. "The Jedi are not pacifists. Though they sided with the faction that promised peace with the Order, what option were they to consider? I might agree they should have stayed out of it altogether. But it would appear that centuries of Jedi hunting for sport has proved to be a historically bad decision."
"Are you saying the Mereel clan had it coming?" Kal questioned.
Obi-Wan leaned over the table, "I have seen both the Jedi and the Mandalorians hunted into extinction; our culture, our people, our ade, and anyone who dares be sympathetic to our plights. So you can either learn from our pasts and understand how we were pitted against each other and how our own conceit and tolerance for dishonourable conduct karked us. Or, you can dismiss yourself and enjoy following orders without input."
Kal wisely, shut up.
Jango cleared his throat, "You think Satine would target our ade?"
"I think she is capable of it. I think Bo-Katan and Korkie Kryze are capable of it, in time. I think if Death Watch and the New Mandalorians work together they will both be capable of it. They will be desperate. The Haat'Mando'ade Codex is traditional enough to appeal to any traditionalist, and if we show restraint in the coming conflict, those who fear endless war will perhaps see the advantage in reclaiming their heritage without being forced to arms against their neighbours or seeing their ade forced to take a warrior's path."
"Restraint just means letting your enemies have time to rally against us," Vau said.
"No," Obi-Wan argued. "Restraint and patience are how we manoeuvre our enemies into crippling themselves.
"Satine Kryze won her Duchy through her alliance with the Republic and strategic passion for pyrotechnics."
"Aw," Wad'e jested, trying to lift the mood. "To think all this time and I might have liked her after all."
Obi-Wan smiled, "Precisely. If we attack, her ever-shifting code of conduct will allow for self-defence and it will be bloody. Sundari will burn before she willingly hands it over to us."
"But burning Sundari would put us in the same position," Vau said. "How do we fight our own people without being seen as just more dar'mand'ade?"
"Which is why we won't attack first," Obi-Wan answered.
"So what's the alternative?" Bralor asked.
"Wait her out," Obi-Wan said. "Her weakness is her temper, her pride, and most importantly, her hypocrisy. Let her begin the violence, because she will turn to violence. If she goes too far, if a civil war is sparked, we reveal what Adonai and Adyn Kryze did to cease power.
"It will reignite everyone's memory of the Clan Wars and what the Watch and the New Mandalorians put them through. But until it reaches that point, we insult her publicly, at every turn."
"Not a hardship," Wad'e said.
Obi-Wan tipped his head in his direction, "We rebrand her. If we control the dialogue, we will own Mandalore. We give them a scandal. We get the Republic talking and we delegitimize her rule in every conceivable way. And if we do a good enough job of it we can annul Mandalore's subjection to the Senate."
"You think gossip can do all that?" Jango asked.
"If we get creative enough about it," Obi-Wan said. "Harsh words have power over those who favour inaction. The Seat Warmer, the Place Holder, while the True Mand'alor avenges himself and the dishonour done to his clan by slaughtering slavers and hunting down the Watch in their little hiding holes throughout the galaxy.
"Mandalore remains conflict free, at peace, while the Haat'Mando'ade rain down justice and declare to the galaxy at large exactly what a Mandalorian is and should be. The Jetiiese were the peacekeepers of the Republic but the Mandalorians were the champions of their own empire."
They all stared at him, though not in horror this time.
Bralor shook her head, "You want to bring us back to the days of the Manda Empire?"
"No," Obi-Wan said. "Any one who tries conquering the Outer Rim is doomed to fail, but the hyperlanes are ours to police. The Jetiiese won't be a problem because they aren't trading in anything but raw resources of great need but negligible market value. Such as food and medicine, not weaponry that could be used against us."
"What if they are trafficking?" Kal asked. "Jetiiese aren't perfect."
Rael stepped forward, "If you catch a Jetii trafficking then they aren't Jetii they are Dar'Jetii and so long as you have some record of the event the Jetii—"
"Council itself will thank you for beheading them," Plo concluded without sympathy.
"So you want us to be a militarized guild?" Kal asked for clarification.
Obi-Wan nodded, "In the interim, it gives us the freedom to act without pissing off too many local governments. Most will wash their hands of us, if we make enough of a liability to go against us. Even the Hutts will refuse business to the Watch giving them fewer places to hide."
"What about the Watch that hide in the Republic?" Jango asked.
"More difficult but not impossible," Obi-Wan said. "Jaster's Codex has a wide readership, we begin recruiting and we don't demand people uproot from their homes immediately and our numbers will quadruple overnight. Rael as a Jedi Shadow can help lead groups undercover to assassinate the cowards hiding behind the Senate skirts."
There was a pause as everyone mulled this over.
"So," Wad'e began. "What are we going to tell the Duchess?"
Obi-Wan smiled.
oOo
AN: Thoughts, magpies, or feedback pretty please?