Chapter 7– Transition
The following day we had a ceremony for Ms. Taline Rana, which took place right below the palace steps. I wanted to give her the respect and honor she deserved. I watched from the balcony behind glass while the family and friends were down below paying their respects. A tear came to my eyes, and I was thankful no one could see me from this high up, because I had to look strong for my people. I had to act as if the attempt on my life didn't phase me at all and I was still as strong of a leader as ever.
I watched the family weep down below on the courtyard and suddenly a hate came over me for the man who killed her. Earlier this morning I had called for a council meeting to talk about ways to improve the coming conflict to our city. More fights had broken out around Mandalore and two sides were clearly already forming. I had felt this coming doom, but I didn't realize it was this close, and I certainly didn't know I would be the one leading. But the war was here and I was Duchess so I called my first official council meeting for today.
The ceremony didn't last long, and when it was over, I went straight to the meeting room. I had already mourned for Ms. Taline Rana the night before, so now I was ready to try and make sure her death was not in vain.
I was the first one in the room, but soon the other council members filed in, including Mal Rotta. He came over, gave his condolences and sat down. Seems like there are too many condolences. Once everyone had entered the room, their eyes turned to me, and then I realized that I should probably begin the meeting since I was the one who called it.
"Good afternoon fellow council members and thank you all for joining me here today. I have called us together to discuss the recent events that took place in our city and to figure out what our next steps need to be." Several of the members nodded but one named Narcata spoke up.
"Duchess Satine with all due respect there is not much to discuss. Someone attempted an attack on your life and we took care of it. We will ensure it doesn't happen again." I was a little taken aback, but I came back with a quick response.
"I appreciate the precautions already taken, but I don't think it will be enough. Our own citizens are starting to fight against us, and it seems as if it will only get worse. Also, I would hate for any more citizens to die on my account." Before Narcata had the time to respond, Mal Rotta spoke up.
"I agree with the Duchess. We cannot simply look past what has happened and we must make sure it is not taken lightly. I think The Duchess is too shy to speak up about it, so I will speak on her behalf. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the midst of a Civil War." That's when the chaos ensued. But I see why Mal Rotta said that. He wanted to get the people thinking and to make sure they knew the seriousness of what we were dealing with. I sat still and maintained composure the best I could. Another member spoke up,
"Mal Rotta, that is a serious statement. If war has come upon us, then we must do what we can to protect the people and hold our ground. We cannot condone the violence but we will need to defend ourselves and the people. If they are trying to attack us and the Duchess, then we must do something about it." I glanced over at Narcata and he didn't say anything. I nodded my head in agreement.
"Then what do you suppose we do?" said another member, "If war has come upon us then we must make preparations.
"Before we do anything, we need to get more protection for The Duchess," said Mal Rotta, "I do not mean to alarm anyone, but I must state the facts. If there was one attempt on the Duchess' life, there will most likely be more. From the information we received from the killer, he made it sound like he was not the only one." This made sense as there were other attacks around Mandalore, but the thought of me still being in danger and how I might be putting others in danger made my stomach turn and my head spin.
"We have been recruiting soldiers for months and we still don't have enough to cover all the places in Mandalore that are needed as well as guard the Duchess at all times. I turn and look back at Shada Rakali who was standing right behind me. He nodded at me.
"Could we enlist help from other systems? Mandalore has connections all over the galaxy, surely we can get help from Coruscant or Alderan?" Everyone paused and stayed in thought for a moment.
"What if…" started Mal Rotta, "What if we found some powerful people who could protect Satine and the people in the palace? That way we could spare some other soldiers for different parts of Mandalore."
Narcata spoke up, "Who could replace eight or more Mandalorian guards?"
"Jedi," answered Mal Rotta. Narcata blinked, and everyone was a little taken aback by what Mal Rotta said.
"Mandalore has had trouble with the Jedi for decades," said another member. "We cannot risk bringing their kind onto our planet."
"We haven't had troubles with them for years, and we would only enlist a couple to help protect Duchess Satine and nothing more," said Mal Rotta. I could see some other council members starting to think about the option. I started to think about it too. Could I trust a Jedi with my life?
"Personally," started a council member who didn't speak much. I think her name was Paella Juello, "It would make me feel better to have a Jedi protection for Duchess Satine. In my time down below I have heard several rumors about the Duchess and not all of them were good." Now I remember, this was Paella Juello who went down as a spy in the lower parts of Mandalore. Not everyone in the council agreed with her ways, but her ways were effective and they helped us gather lots of our information.
"I too have had terrible feelings about what is to come," another member said. On the bright side… I wasn't the only one with a sense of dread.
"Shall we put it to a vote?" Mal Rotta asked, "All in favor of enlisting the Jedi's help during this war to protect Duchess Satine raise your hand." All but two raised their hands and one of those was Narcata. I expected more people to be against the idea of Jedi coming to our planet, but I suppose this is a unique scenario. I raise my hand.
"Then it is settled. I will contact the Jedi Council and see what they can do to help. In the meantime, let's talk about how we can make the schools a safer environment."
We spend the rest of the meeting talking about schools and lockdown procedures and other ways to protect the Mandalorian people. I wonder if the other systems will accept our cry for help.
Over the next several days while we were awaiting the other systems, I started going through my father's Holodesk. Shada Rakali stood tall at the door while I sorted through father's various files and holograms. My eyes grew heavy as I watched message after message given to my father over the years. I had to disassociate my feelings about my father's death while I went through his stuff, because if I let how I felt take over, I wouldn't get anything done.
"Duchess Satine?" Shada Rakali said quietly. I jerked my head up. I had dozed off.
"I apologize Shada Rakali. Thank you for waking me." I said embarrassed.
"No need to apologize, Duchess. May I help you with anything? Also, you may call me Shada," his voice was soothing.
"Some company would be appreciated," I said hoping it wasn't inappropriate of me to ask.
"Whatever you need milady." Shada Rakali took his seat beside me while I continued going through the Holodesk.
"Did you hear about the Jedi coming to the palace?" I asked.
"I did," said Shada, "There is not much that goes on in this palace that I am not aware of."
"Does it frighten you?" I asked.
"Not at all," he said this with a dismissive tone, "Jedi don't frighten me and I don't believe their tricks are all everyone makes them out to be."
"Well I would feel better if at least one of them were in the palace. I have always heard they can feel if something bad is about to happen."
"Don't you feel better with me here?" My heart jumped. I looked at Shada Rakali and my face must've said it all because I could see immediate regret on his face. "I apologize, Duchess Satine. I did not mean to overstep any bounds. I was merely trying to make sure you feel protected."
"It's alright Shada. I appreciate you protecting me." I could tell Shada was starting to want to get closer to me. Which I didn't necessarily see this as a problem. In fact, since I was Duchess, I could be with anyone I wanted, and who better to be with than one of my personal guards. And I liked Shada. But something still didn't feel right. Maybe we needed more time.