Chapter 73: The Academy
Those who enforce the law must obey the law.
Recap: A world in crisis. The peaceful planet of Mandalore is being strangled by the grip of corruption. With shortages of every kind, citizens must turn to the black market in order to survive. Desperate to free her people, Duchess Satine has asked her friend Padmé Amidala to speak with the Jedi Council in hopes that they will send assistance to her struggling world.
A small shuttle was flying through space. Flying the shuttle was Anakin as Ashoka was seated next to her teacher. They were heading toward the planet of Mandalore as they were about to enter its orbit.
"The Jedi Council has given you a mission, Ashoka. It's your duty to see it through," said Anakin.
"Don't you think I'm just a little overqualified for this?" said the girl.
"According to Senator Amidala, Mandalore is a deeply corrupt world. If the cycle is to be broken, the future leaders at the Royal Academy of government must learn the evils of corruption. Yoda feels that only a young Padawan like you can get through to them." stated Anakin.
"Plus, you're not gonna be on your own, Ahsoka. Twilight's also going with you," said Storm as he and the princess were also in the shuttle as they appeared behind the pair. "Seeing how she always wanted to see Mandalore, I'd figured this is the perfect chance for her to satisfy her nerd side."
"Don't call me that!" shouted Twilight to her partner. The girl then gave a pouting face as Storm held a smug smile.
Their shuttle descended into Mandalore's atmosphere as they headed toward the capital. Awaiting the Jedi was Duchess Satine, accompanied by her royal guards and Prime Minister Almec.
"My lady, if I may, what do the Jedi know of our ways? Do we really want them meddling with our children's education?" said Prime Minister Almec as he was hesitant about this idea from the Duchess.
"Surely there is nothing to fear from exposing them to new ideas, Prime Minister. Besides, one of the Jedi arriving happens to be the pupil of Jedi Master Celestia. She's a princess of her own world but is also a studious scholar who is always open to learning about our culture. That alone is reason enough to trust her." said Satine.
The shuttle opened as out came our heroes who were walking toward the Duchess.
"Duchess Satine. Prime minister Almec," said Anakin as he greeted both and kissed the back of Satine's hand.
"Master Skywalker, so good to see you again. This is your padawan, I assume," said Satine as she saw the young girl next to the Jedi Knight.
"Yes, my lady. May I present Ahsoka Tano?"
"Duchess. Prime minister," said Ahsoka as she introduced herself to the two.
"And Storm, such a pleasure to see again. Given your last visit to Mandalore, I would assume you would've been hesitant about another visit," said Satine as she recalled their last adventure together.
"To be honest, I enjoyed it. One of the best adventures I've had in awhile," said Storm. "By the way, Satine. This here is my partner, Twilight Sparkle."
"It's an honor to be your presence, Duchess," said Twilight as she did a courtesy bow.
"The honor is all mine, Princess," said Satine as she returned the gesture to acknowledge another royal figure before her. "I am grateful that the Jedi Council could spare the four of you to help instruct our leaders And peacekeepers of tomorrow. Please thank Master Yoda for me."
"Four of us? Uh, about that," said Storm as he looked at Anakin as both Jedi Knights had a similar expression.
"Y-Yeah, uh... I'm afraid that due to our limited resources, both Storm and I must return to battle immediately," said Anakin as he informed Satine of what the Jedi Council told them.
"So you will not be staying, Master Skywalker?" said Prime Minister Almec.
"No, but I assure you, Padawan Tano is a highly capable Jedi and has the full confidence of the council."
"And Twilight here is the most educated and knowledge-hungry girl I've ever known. If there's anybody I trust to teach and educate people, it's her," stated Storm as he looked into Twilight's eyes when he said that. Twilight also did the same as both smiled, and the princess secretly slipped her hand into his. While neither Ashoka nor Anakin saw this, Satine saw the small hand-holding of the two teens as she smiled at the hidden meaning.
"Very well. Cadet Korkie, Amis, Lagos," stated Prime Minister Almec as some kids stepped forward. "These are some of the cadets that you both will be instructing, Padawan Tano and Jedi Knight Sparkle."
"Nice to meet all of you," said Ashoka.
"I look forward to being your temporary teacher," said Twilight as she was looking forward to teaching students who were a few years younger than her.
"That's a fine weapon. May I see it?" asked Korkie as he saw both girls' lightsabers.
"I'm afraid not. Because of Master Kenobi's recent visit and the trouble that followed, no Offworlders may carry weapons on Mandalore," said Prime Minister Almec as he informed the Jedi of their new rule.
"Master Obi-Wan caused trouble? That's a first," snickered Ashoka.
"Just give me the lightsaber," sighed Anakin to Ahsoka as he had his hand out.
The padawan grabbed her weapon and gave it to her teacher.
"Sparky," said Storm.
"I... I..."
"I'll take good care of it. I won't let anything happen to it. Besides, you're strong without it." said the boy.
Twilight let out a sigh as she grabbed her lightsaber from her side. She looked at it for a second before putting it in her partner's hand as their fingers touched each other.
"Thank you for respecting our ways, Master Jedi," said Satine.
"Hey, at least you're blaming Obi-wan for all this," stated Storm as he was glad Satine didn't associate him with the Jedi Master for all the trouble he caused that resulted in this new rule.
"Excuse the interruption, sirs, but it is time to depart. General Fisto and Celestia are expecting us," said Rex as the clone captain came to inform both males.
"If you'll excuse me," said Anakin as he turned to leave with Rex.
"Time for us to leave. Girls, good luck," said Storm.
"Thanks," said Ahsoka and Twilight to their friend as he walked back to the shuttle.
Soon, both girls were brought to the academy, where they began immediately teaching a class.
"Corruption is what happens when someone in power puts their interests of the people they represent," said Ahsoka.
"So it's a result of greed?" said a female student named Soniee.
"Yes. A leader sacrifices moral integrity for the sake of money or power. Entire star systems have collapsed into chaos or revolution because their greedy politicians got caught up in a cycle of bribery and blackmail while their people suffered." stated Twilight.
"Does that mean most government officials are corrupt?" asked Lagos.
"Well... no, but the point is that temptation is always there, and citizens must be vigilant so corruption can't take root. The deadliest enemies of a society dwell within its borders, and from these internal threats, the people need to be protected," answered Ahsoka.
"But if you don't trust your leaders, isn't that treason?" said Korkie.
"It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they're not. Take, for example, me; I'm a princess and heir to the throne of my world. As Queen, it'll be my responsibility to ensure that my decisions will be in the people's best interest. People will complain and riot if I make selfish decisions that only benefit me. And the same goes for my father; he thinks of his people in every decision he makes. Since it started, my bloodline has always thought about the people they represent and home. They've made choices that the people want because it was the people themselves that allowed my heritage to rule over them for countless moons."
"But... how do you do that?" said Amis.
"By exposing corrupt officials for what they are. Lasting change can only come from within," said Ahsoka as it got all the cadets to look at each other to ponder that thought.
It was nighttime as Korkie and his friends were in their dorm room.
"Be sure your assignments are prepared for tomorrow," said a hologram of Ahsoka as she sent out a reminder for all the students.
"Also, don't forget the 3-page essay that I asked for. It needs to be at least 3000 words long," said Twilight as it seemed the girl gave a rather extraneous assignment for the cadets based on the groans in class when she announced it.
"The school's out of rations again," said Soniee as she was on her laptop.
"I guess there'll be no late-night snacks tonight," said Amis as he was on the bunk bed above Soniee, looking at the ceiling.
"Listen, we've had a food shortage since the war began. Transport ships keep coming in, but there's strict rationing. Something is wrong on Mandalore." said Korkie.
"But these problems are bigger than us. Just let the authorities handle it," stated Lagos to her companion.
"We have to do something about it, like Ahsoka and Twilight said. Let's go down to the warehouse district and see if there really is a food shortage," said Korkie.
"Beats sitting around here listening to my stomach growl," said Amis to the two girls as they seemed to be onboard.
The four cadets took a transport as they arrived at the warehouse district. They got off and approached a sealed door.
"These doors are heavily secured by the government," said Korkie.
"It won't be secure for long," said Soniee as she put down her binoculars and opened up her laptop to hook up. After a few moments, the girl managed to hack into the door and bypass its security.
"Looks like the academy taught us well," said Korkie as he was impressed.
"Well, Ms. Twilight taught me some hacking skills of her own. She's very handy when it comes to technology," said Soniee as she stayed behind class to get some pointers from the bookworm princess.
"I have a bad feeling about this," said Lagos to Korkie as they all climbed up the door ledge and dropped to the other side. The four cadets walked a few meters when a sound was heard.
"It sounds like someone else is in here," said Lagos.
( Distant speech )
"Let's get out of here," stated Amis.
"No, come on," said Soniee as they crouched stealthily in the direction of the voice.
"It's a little late for a meeting, isn't it? Let's get a closer look," instructed Korkie as they noticed some figures, one with a robe over them, as they couldn't see their face.
"Are you crazy?" responded Lagos as they all climbed above the figures on top of some crates.
"Soniee, quick, use your holocam," instructed Korkie.
The girl pulled out her holocam and put down her binoculars as it began to record the figures.
"Those look like Mandalorian police, but they're unmarked," said Soniee as she was zooming in on her binoculars.
"Who's that? Who are those guys? What are Offworlders doing on a secure port?" asked Korkie as he pointed to each figure other than the police.
"I don't like this. I'm getting out of here," said Amis.
The boy turned, but Soniee's computer dropped and landed by the cloaked figure's feet. They heard and saw it as they looked up at where the kids were. They ran as the figure ordered his guards to chase after them. The cadets were approaching the door as the guards were behind them. They were about to escape until one of the guards grabbed ahold of Amis' leg. His friends pulled on his arms as they managed to get their friend back just as Soniee shut the doors. The figure picked up the laptop and looked at it.
The cadets made it back to the academy as they rushed to their dorm room.
"What are we going to do?" asked Soniee as they were out of breath.
"This is bigger than we thought. We're going to need help. We should speak to my Aunt Satine." said Korkie to his friends.
Korkie and his friends made their way to the palace in the morning. They arrived at her place as they walked to where Satine's room was and rang the doorbell. It opened as a guard was standing to see who it was.
"Aunt Satine, may we speak with you?"
"Of course, Korkie. Come in," said Satine as she turned to see her nephew and friends.
"We did some investigating. There's no food shortage. We found stores of food at the government port."
"How would you know this?" said Satine as she sat on a couch with the others around her.
"That doesn't matter right now," said Korkie to his aunt.
"I beg to differ."
"We made a recording of a secret meeting between what we know was a government official and a black marketeer," said Soniee as she had out her holocam.
"That's why everything costs so much, and so many people are starving," said Lagos.
"We need your help to find the one responsible."
"This is a serious matter, I agree, but the source of this evil may be more than you cadets can handle. People can be very deceiving. You don't want to get yourselves into trouble."
"But, Auntie, don't you see? You can't ignore this."
"I won't. Trust me. But for your own safety, you must let me take care of it. Now run along, all of you. Concentrate on your studies. There will be a time to save the world when you're a bit older." said Satine as she ushered her nephew and friends to the door.
"She refused to help us because she doesn't think we can handle it," said Lagos as they exited the palace and walked through the gardens.
"She just thinks we're a bunch of stupid kids," said Korkie as he was hoping his aunt would help.
"She acted like nothing was wrong," replied Soniee.
"We need to find someone else who believes us," stated Amis.
"Like who?" asked Lagos.
"Mandalore has two people in charge. Since my aunt won't help, we'll have to go to the Prime Minister," said Korkie to his pals.
"What makes you think he'll listen?" asked Lagos.
"I've known him my whole life. He's always told me to come to him if I'm ever in trouble, and I'd say we're all in big trouble."
The cadets were in their dorm room as they sat at a table. They talked with the Prime Minister as they informed him of what they saw.
"Allegations, my intrepid young cadets. You think Duchess Satine knows who the conspirator is?" asked the Prime Minister.
"She said she was going to handle it," said Korkie.
"Meet me in the Palace Plaza tonight. Bring the recording you took of the black market deal and all the cadets who know about it," said the Prime Minister as the kids all smiled.
It was now class time as Ahsoka and Twilight walked about the classroom. The Padawan noticed Korkie as he was staring off in the distance. The girl got Twilight's attention while helping a student with a question. She pointed to him and his pals.
"Korkie, you seem distracted today. What's going on?" asked Ahsoka.
"We did what you said. We found evidence of corruption," answered Korkie to his teachers.
"What do you mean?" said Twilight.
"Well, we were hungry, so we decided to go look for food," explained Lagos.
"Food?" said Ahsoka with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, down at the government warehouse," stated Amis.
"Someone just let you in to inspect the warehouse?" said Twilight.
"No, we broke in."
"Oh, great!" said Soniee as she facepalmed herself at how her friend chose to word his answer.
She wasn't the only one, as Twilight did the same.
"So you committed a crime," said Ahsoka.
"It sounds bad, I know, but then we saw a meeting and Offworlders..."
"And they chased us," said Lagos as she finished Korkie's sentence.
"Maybe they chased you because you broke into a government warehouse," replied the Padawan.
"No, it was a black market deal. I know it. My Aunt Satine told us to stay out of it, but we must do something."
"Do you at least have proof?" said Twilight as she was hoping that her students weren't fully committing a crime under her watch.
"We made a holo-recording. The Prime Minister is meeting us tonight to..."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" said Twilight as she cut off Soniee.
"But I thought you said it was the duty of every citizen to expose corrupt officials," said Amis to the teen princess.
"I'm only saying that you should take this slowly. Examine all the facts and the people involved before you act. If you jump to conclusions before you have everything figured out, you're gonna wind up in a lot of trouble." said the Jedi Knight.
"You sound more like my aunt than a Jedi Knight," stated Korkie to Twilight. The bell rang as class was dismissed, as the cadets had looks on their faces. Twilight and Ahsoka saw their students exit as they hoped their actions were the right decision.
It was nighttime on Mandalore as the cadets exited the academy and arrived at the plaza. They saw some figures waiting but couldn't see their faces.
"You Korkie?" said one of the guards.
"Prime minister, is that you?"
"Secret service. You're all under arrest for treason, corruption, and conspiracy. You will come with us." said the figure as he stepped into the light and revealed his face. The other guards around him appeared and surrounded the kids.
"These are the same guards we saw last night," said Korkie as he and his pals were surrounded. "We've done nothing wrong."
The cadets all had their backs to each other as they took a stance. They tried to defend themselves but were quickly outmuscled by the guards. At that moment, two figures were shown jumping down from the academy's roof. It was none other than Ahsoka and Twilight as the two followed the kids in case they ran into trouble. Which turned out to be right as they saw the kids getting tossed around. The pair began to engage the guards as they used their close combat skills and took down the men easily. Twilight put her hand out, attempting to use the Force, but instead, a small magic attack shot out and put the man to sleep.
"Huh? That's never happened before," said Twilight as she looked at her hand as it stopped glowing. The princess didn't know that she was slowly gaining some new abilities due to the magic her world now had, as a small part of it was manifesting inside her.
"Looks like the Prime Minister set you up," said Ahsoka.
"That's treason. He's the leader of our system. He couldn't possibly be a traitor, " said Korkie as he didn't believe a person he had known since he was little would do this, and one with tons of power.
"We need proof," said Lagos.
"We have the recording," stated Soniee, turning it one for all to see.
"That's no good. You can't see who it is," explained Korkie.
"I thought I taught you all better than that," said Twilight as it seemed her students forgot a lesson she taught them.
"Stop right there," said Ahsoka as the hologram showed the figure's front.
"Watch and learn, my students. Information retrieval. I need you to I.D. a hologram." smiled the princess as she pulled out a device to scan the hologram. It took a few moments before the hooded figure's face was revealed.
"That's him! You're right. That is the Prime Minister." said Soniee to the teens.
"We have to take this to my aunt and warn her. They know I talked to her," said Korkie as he realized that.
The group made it to the palace as they barged on and headed toward Satine's room. They noticed a guard on the floor as the door was open.
"We're too late," said Korkie.
"He's dead," said Ahsoka as she bent down to check on the guard.
"Korkie, wait. The intruders may still be inside," said Twilight as she put a hand on his shoulder to avoid rushing in blindly.
The girls took the lead as they entered first. They used their Force abilities to sense if there was a trap but got nothing. Just more dead guards that laid about.
"took her. This is all my fault," said Korkie as he fell to his knees and put his hands on his head.
"Don't blame yourself; there's no way you could have known," said Twilight as she bent down and comforted her student.
"Who knows what they've done to her? Now what?" asked the boy to the Jedi.
"How are we supposed to find her?" asked Amis.
"Who can we trust?" said Lagos.
"We need all of you to calm down and focus. We know the prime minister is behind this," said Ahsoka as she wanted the kids to not let their worries cloud their minds.
"After my aunt, he's the most powerful person on Mandalore," said Korkie.
"So let's go talk to him," said Ahsoka.
The Prime Minister was in his office going over some paperwork. His door soon opened as walking toward him were Ahsoka and Twilight.
"Master Jedi, this is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, Prime Minister, it's what we can do for you. I believe some of our students are involved in a conspiracy against you," said Ahsoka as she gestured behind them. Walking in were the cadets as they were in cuffs and being accompanied by the guards.
"Intriguing," smiled the Prime Minister.
They soon arrived at the prison, where the cadets were being escorted to their cells.
"You can't do this! We trusted you, Master Tano!" said Korkie as he looked at Ahsoka. "Princess, please!"
"Thank you for bringing the traitors to justice, Master Jedi," said Prime Minister Almec to both girls.
"They mentioned that Duchess Satine was their leader. We should arrest her too," replied the Padawan.
"Do not worry. We already have her in custody."
"Really? Where?" asked Twilight.
"That is none of your concern. Now, I must prepare a public statement about the duchess and her crimes," said the Prime Minister. He excused himself as he left to board a transport and return to his office to prep the documents.
Once they saw the Prime Minister's transport was out of sight, the girls turned to each other as they began to execute their plan. They approached one of the guards protecting the entrance.
"Officer, we need to interrogate the prisoners immediately," said Ahsoka as the guard nodded.
He opened the door and began to lead the Jedi to where the cadets were. The girls got on an elevator as they were being taken to the floor where the kids were. They got up and began to follow the guard. Along the way, they passed by some other prisoners, one of whom was the customs official bribed by the Moogans during the latest corruption. The girls had looked before continuing on.
The cadets were inside the cell, sitting around when the door opened. In came the girls as it closed behind them.
"Careful. We're being watched," said Ahsoka to the cadets.
"Did he buy it?" asked Lagos.
"Have you found my aunt?" said Korkie.
"Not exactly, but we know they have her in custody," said Twilight.
"Where?"
The Prime Minister wouldn't tell us," replied the Padawan.
"I knew this plan wouldn't work," said Amis.
"Have a little faith. We'll find her. We'll just modify the plan a bit." said Twilight.
"How are you going to do that?" asked Soniee.
"Don't worry. You'll know when to act when I give the signal," said Ahsoka.
"What's the signal?" asked Korkie.
"You'll know it when you see it," said Ahsoka before exiting the cell; she whispered something to Twilight as the princess nodded. The Padawan exited as she approached a guard.
"You will take me to Duchess Satine," said Ahsoka as she waved her hand in front of the guard.
"I will take you to Duchess Satine," said the guard as he was under control.
The guard began to walk as she followed behind. One of the guards from behind saw her and then looked inside the cell. Twilight had her back turned as she pretended to talk to the cadets, as the guard turned his attention back to Ahsoka. Before following her, he turned on his wrist com and walked.
Twilight saw out of the corner of her eye, saw the guard left as she let out a breath.
"Can't believe that worked," said Twilight as she had doubts about Ahsoka using the Jedi mind trick since she was still a Padawan and nowhere near her level of experience.
"Now what?" asked one of the kids.
"Simple. We wait. Now then, who can recite me the..." said Twilight as the cadets groaned at what their teacher asked them.
While Twilight was torturing the kids with her "lessons," Ahsoka followed the guard as he led her to a different part of the facility. They arrived as the Padawan saw the Duchess in a cell that extended upwards like a tower. Spotlights were on alert as they followed the girl walking toward the cell. She noticed the panel and was about to touch it.
"What are you doing?" said one of the guards.
"I must interrogate the duchess," said Ahsoka as she waved her hand again.
"You must interrogate the duchess," repeated the guard.
Ahsoka touched the panel as the cell containing Satine began to lower. It retracted, and the door opened with the Duchess falling to the ground as her hands were tied.
"I'm getting you out of here," said the girl as she bent down.
"Ahsoka, it's a trap," said Satine.
"I see you found the duchess, youngling. You may stop your playacting now, sergeant," said the Prime Minister as he emerged from the shadows. Turns out he didn't head back to his office but was instead waiting for the Jedi to attempt to free Satine.
"Prime minister, sir!" said the guards as they stood at attention.
Ahsoka looked at the guards as she realized she'd been tricked.
"Using a Jedi mind trick was a very poor decision. My guards have been trained to resist such archaic magic. And now you have revealed yourself as a conspirator." said the Prime Minister as more guards began to surround the Padawan. "Set for stun."
One of the spotlights turned to Ahsoka as the blasters on the side shot out tun rings. They hit the girl, who fell to her knees as, without her lightsaber, she was helpless to defend herself.
"You little fool," said the Prime Minister as Ahsoka grunted from the stun before firing a few more.
"Where is she?" said Lagos, as it had been some time since Ahsoka left.
"Stick to Ahsoka's plan," said Korkie.
"But how do we do that? It's falling apart," said Soniee.
"Ahsoka wants us to wait for a signal, and that's what we're going to do," said Korkie to his friend.
"Have patience, young one," said Twilight as she tried to get her students to calm down and not worry.
Meanwhile...
"Sign it. Sign the confession and admit to your treasonous ways," said the Prime Minister to Satine as he was in front of the kneeling Duchess. In his hands was a tablet and pen; on the tablet was a statement he made that would make it seem that Satine was part of the corruption.
There is only one traitor to Mandalore here, Prime Minister, And that's you. You control the black market. You have betrayed the public Trust and used your office to accumulate wealth and power. It's shameful." said Satine as she was defiant.
"Your idealism is inspiring, my dear, but hopelessly naive," laughed the Prime Minister, "I established the black market for the people."
"That's absurd!" shouted Ahsoka as she was being held and restrained by one of the guards.
"The war is disrupting trade across the galaxy. The profits from the black market are being used to purchase humanitarian supplies for Mandalore. Think of it as a new tax in the interest of national security." said the Prime Minister to both Ahsoka and Satine as he approached the panel.
"It's a tax for your benefit, Prime Minister. Where are these humanitarian supplies you speak of?" demanded Satine.
"Sergeant, put the shock collar on her," instructed the Prime Minister as one of the guards approached Satine and wrapped the device around her neck. "My patience has worn thin, Duchess. Maybe this will convince you."
The Prime Minister then pushed a button on the panel as it sent a signal. The shock collar around Satine's neck turned on as it sent an electric pulse that made the Duchess scream. Ahsoka could only watch in horror as one of her friends was helpless and tortured. The Prime Minister took his finger off the panel as it stopped the electricity; Satine fell to both her hands and knees as she panted.
"I would rather die than sign your confession," said Satine as she was being defiant to the end.
"That can be arranged," smiled the Prime Minister.
"You're wasting your time," shouted Ashoka.
"Bring me those traitorous cadets. And the Jedi princess," said the Prime Minister to one of the guards.
"No, you can't. They're just children," said Satine, who didn't want her nephew to be tortured. Not to mention that she didn't want Twilight to suffer and cause her homeworld to have pain.
"All right, let's move," said one of the guards as he got the attention of everyone.
They were soon placed in handcuffs as they were led to where the others were.
"I'm afraid your nephew will have to suffer needlessly. Put the shock collar on Cadet Korkie," said the Prime Minister to one of the guards.
Just as the guard approached the boy, Ahsoka made her move. She reeled her head back to make the guard holding her release her. She flipped forward to bring her hands in front of her. Twilight also got the signal as she waved her hands, and little magic freed her from her cuffs. The girl began to fight against the guards.
"Go!" shouted Korkie to his friends as they got the signal from the Jedi.
The Prime Minister saw the girls beating up his men as he approached the panel to shock Satine. Ahsoka quickly reacted as she used the Force to grab hold of him and fling him back. While tied up, the cadets could hold the guards down by simply jumping on them and laying on them. The turrent fired stun blasts at Ahsoka, who grabbed one of the guards' shields and blocked the blasts while fighting against the guards.
Twilight soon used the Force to sweep the rest of the guards away, allowing Ahsoka a chance to remove the collar from Satine. The Prime Minister was about to reach the panel when he was swept by the Padawan and put the collar on him.
"Got ya," said Ahsoka as she slammed the panel button. It sent the signal to the collar as it began to shock the Prime Minister.
The guards were starting to recover as they rushed toward the Jedi.
"Stop fighting!" said the Prime Minister as he was shocked. The guards obeyed as Ahsoka took her hands off the button and stopped the shock.
"Send for my personal guards," said Satine to Ahsoka as she stood up.
"And for the record," said Twilight as she waved her hand. The guards in front of the Prime Minister were now under the control of the princess; they soon punched each other and fell. "Ahsoka is weak."
"Gee, thanks for making me feel better, Twilight," said the Padawan as she didn't like that it was because she was still a beginner that the Jedi mind trick didn't work.
Sometime later, Satine's guards arrived and arrested the traitors. Prime Minister Almec was being put in the cell that previously held the Duchess. Satine pushed the button on the panel as the cell began to lift off the ground. She then turned to address both girls.
"You must know by now that I didn't bring you both here just to teach. I knew something was amiss, but I had no one to trust. I thought if I brought a Jedi, especially a friend of senator Amidala's, we could solve this mystery together." said Satine.
"We never doubted you, Duchess," said Ahsoka.
"Neither did we," said Korkie as he hugged his aunt, to which Satine smiled as she held her nephew.
It was now time to leave as a shuttle was shown arriving to pick up both girls.
"It was an honor to serve with a Jedi Knight," said Korkie as he stepped forward and bowed his head.
"It was my privilege to be your teacher," said Twilight as she said thanks on both her and Ahsoka's behalf.
Both girls looked at Satine as she nodded. They turned and saw the shuttle as Storm and Anakin walked down the ramp.
"I hope this assignment wasn't too boring for you girls," said Anakin.
"Ah, it had its moments," replied Ahsoka.
"Huh, like the one where you convinced untrained children to help you overthrow a corrupt government?" asked Anakin as he handed Ahsoka her lightsaber.
"That was a highlight," answered Ahsoka as she took back her weapon.
"It sounds pretty risky. You're lucky you didn't get hurt."
"Nothing you wouldn't have done," smiled the Padawan to her teacher.
"So, everything worked?" said Storm to Twilight as their friends boarded the shuttle.
"Of course, have faith in your partner," said the princess.
"I do," smiled the boy as he handed the girl her lightsaber. "Let's go home, Sparky."
Twilight nodded as she grabbed Storm's hand, and the two teens walked hand-in-hand as they got on the ship. The cadets and guards saluted as they watched the shuttle start its engines before taking off as they left Mandalore.
Author's Note: The lesson of corruption continues from the last chapter. The philosophy of corruption isn't something that many kids learn until later in their lives, but for Jedi, they're taught that a very young age because corruption is something they deal with on a regular basis and leads to the Dark Side of the Force. And in the case of Twilight, she comes from a long line of rulers, so the idea and philosophy of corruption is something that's been embedded into her mind since the moment she was born. I do enjoy the part where the girls tell the students that it's the citizens jobs to keep their leaders from falling into corruption and to challenge them should they start to put their needs over the needs of the people. Things like this are sometimes lost on today's society as I'm sure all of you reading can think of an example where things could be better if people just voice their opinions. Also a little thing if you noticed, it seems Twilight is discovering some hidden magic inside of her. As always, leave a review, commenting and expressing your thoughts.