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Phase 5 : The Naboo Affair

=RK=

Part 7

Audience Chamber

Royal Palace

Theed

Naboo

The reception my party received was a mixed bag. Queen Neeyutnee and her court were quite happy to see me. Their emotions surged in waves of relief and gratitude mixed with fear for their people and weariness. Many of the guests on the other hand radiated distrust, greed and despair. They saw an opportunity in my arrival, a threat too. The more patriotic ones were terrified for their worlds though I couldn't judge if it was merely the fear of an invasion or the knowledge that right now the Separatists had a free rein in their homes. Others felt much more tangible and understandable fear – that for their very lives with Confed forces fighting within the city.

The audience chamber was a delicious head-spinning cauldron of emotions that by itself would be enough to make me drunk with power if I let it. Beside me, Tarkin felt a tingle of apprehension – he knew precisely what hinged on this meeting and wasn't confident we could get away with making any useful deal. I shared his sentiments. Diplomacy was usually a very sensitive and time-consuming process. A single first meeting – that was nothing but a way to judge the other side. If left in the hands of the diplomats, it would usually be between low level functionaries and the only outcome would be deciding the avenue of a real meeting and if lucky hammering the most relevant details to make a proper summit possible.

There were other, more direct ways to execute diplomacy. It usually meant one side held significantly more power and wasn't afraid to utilise it. I was familiar with that kind. Used it in the past to great effect. Technically that was the case today too. Military speaking, Naboo and everyone in the region were kriffed without Republic aid. Yet, we were cut from our military logistics network, which meant that sooner than later our ships might turn into useless slabs of metal drifting through space. We needed raw resources, ammo, replacement parts, fuel... the list went on and on.

Even combined, the politicians gathered in this room couldn't give us what we needed to continue operating in this region of space with more than a fraction of the fleets gathered above Naboo. With many of their worlds occupied or contested, the situation was even worse. We were going to be in impasse – I knew that while Tigellinus was halfway through his summary of the situation. The politicians would want me to liberate and secure their worlds. They would demand it and if I refused at least some of them would seek alternative arrangements and the only alternative was the enemy.

The issue was as things stood I simply couldn't do what they needed. At best we could kick the Separatists from their worlds but by that by itself would simply put my fleet in untenable position while even shorter on supplies. Once the Confederacy rallied they would be able to defeat us in detail. That was the reality of the situation. At least few other people in the room knew it, yet they needed me to pull off another miracle otherwise whatever support they still had for the Republic would evaporate.

Why the kriff did I have to end in this bloody future?!

None of my musings showed on my face – I kept a blank mask on and when I came in front of the throne where the Queen sat, I respectfully bowed.

"Queen Neeyutnee, it's an honour to meet you again, your majesty. I'm relieved to find Naboo still holding." I spoke in a relieved tone, playing for the public.

"The honour is ours, general Veil. You're always welcome on Naboo after the services you did to our people." The Queen spoke in a regal tone. The small smile she flashed me appeared to be genuine. "We're relieved to see the rumours of your dead at Kamino are wrong. Yet, duty demands we request answers, dear general. What happened at Kamino?"

The crowd, which had been whispered furiously from the moment I entered was suddenly deadly silent. Everyone was closely scrutinizing me and straining to hear what explanation I was going to give. It was a very good thing I had a cover story crafted and rehearsed with everyone who survived Kamino. The only dissenter was Shaak Ti, who fumed in the recesses of my mind.

It was time to play for the public. I cast down my eyes and placed a picture of deep, heart-wrenching regret on my face. My shoulders slumped a bit and I began speaking in an emotional voice:

"Treason most foul, your majesty." I let a bit of anger enter my voice. "We were betrayed at Kamino. When I arrived, the world was on the verge of falling. Jedi strike teams spearheaded the Separatist invasion of Tipoka city. The few loyalists Jedi attempted to stop the tide but failed. When I led a counter-attack, Masters Rancisis and Shaak Ti attempted to assassinate me."

Murmurs of confusion, disbelief and even hatred erupted all around me.

"While I survived the encounter, the battle was time consuming and exhausting. There simply weren't enough ground forces with the task force I led to Kamino to stem the tide. By the time I defeated the traitors, Tipoka was on the verge of being overran." I sighed. "Giving the order to abandon the city and evacuate everyone who could reach a transport was one of the hardest things I've done in my life." I spoke and thanks to the Force my voice rang with the truth.

I ignored the increasingly louder murmurs and the odd shout of denial. The atmosphere in the chamber became thick with anticipation and building anger.

"The evacuation was still in progress when I returned to my Flagship and ordered area denial strikes against vital infrastructure that had to be denied to the Separatist. They couldn't be allowed to capture intact Kamino's cloning facilities or data-banks with strategic Republic intelligence. While the fleet positioned to execute said order, I used my ability of Battle Meditation to coordinate my forces and help not only more people to evacuate but hold the orbitals for as long as possible because by that point our defensive lines in space were collapsing." I let another sight and let my face wrench with real pain as I recalled experiencing the death of billions. "That was a mistake." I ground out showing the anger I felt - at feeling Bo die just before my arrival at Kamino. I paused to gather my thoughts or so it seemed. It was mostly for effect so the tension could build up even higher.

"What happened, general?" Queen Neeyutnee asked gently.

"The Jedi assaulting Kamino had a counter-measure prepared for my Battle Meditation." I admitted in a pain-wrenched voice. "Less than a minute after I utilized my ability, just after the surgical strikes at vital infrastructure commenced, the Jedi traitors unleashed it." I closed my eyes and put an agonized mask on my face. "It nearly drove me insane along with everyone I was influencing through my Battle Meditation. All my soldiers could do was roughly follow the last orders they got. I felt everyone dying on Kamino, the people connected to me did the same and then the bombardment hit. By the time I could regain a semblance of control Kamino was a dead world suffering shot after shot from gunners who could do nothing but press the trigger while their minds were flayed. The fleet was in tatters and the only thing we could do was flee while the Separatists pressed their advantage. It took us weeks to escape pursuit and mentally recover enough to risk another engagement. That's when we made our way to Eriadu for resupply and repairs." I finished my tale.

The chamber exploded in angry shouts, stunned exclamations and cries for justice. Some wanted my head on a pike, others were horrified and supportive. There were opportunists seeing a golden chance, people who were infuriated at another act of treason by the Jedi and most notably – a sheen of fear and disgust at what happened to us at Kamino.

I had to fight not to show the mirth I was experiencing. Putting a believable story in people's minds for Kamino was one my most important goals here and that at least seemed to be successful enough.

"I can confirm that every word general Veil just told you is the truth." Tarkin spoke in a haunted voice. "We all felt everyone on Kamino die. Every death of our comrades in space as the Separatist tore into our fleets while we were incapacitated. I don't know what exactly the Jedi did but one moment we were doing our best to stop the enemy, then..." Wilhuff trailed off. "Something tore open in our minds. We could feel everyone dying. If it wasn't for the general I have know for sure we all would have gone insane."

"Dear general, you have our condolences and support." Queen Neeyutnee spoke from her heart. "Whatever Naboo could do for you and your people, consider it done."

"You have my sincere thanks, your majesty." I made sure that my voice hitched with emotion. "Your kindness and that of your people won't be forgotten."

Now it was time for the hard part. How the kriff was I supposed to ensure that these people would continue supporting the Republic for the time being? Or perhaps I should make sure that they didn't. For all I knew the Republic was a lame duck. I had no faith in the Senate doing what had to be done to win without Palpatine keeping a tight rein on them. What should I do then? For the time being not only I but my people back on Mandalore needed the Republic.

This was going to suck.

=RK=

Part 8

Audience chamber

Royal Palace

Theed

Naboo

My palms tingled in anticipation when I imagined frying every single politician surrounding me. Their screams would be delicious and I would show no mercy. The Dark Side edged me on with promises of power and never again dealing with such pathetic excuses of sentient beings.

It was bloody tempting to unleash my power and turn the whole chamber into a tomb. Paint the walls red too while I was at it. It would do wonders for my fraying nerves.

Instead, I continued to keep my expression carefully blank.

"It's mighty convenient is all am saying." Representative Zurch, who was chosen to speak for those who managed to escape from Alassa Major shrugged and gave me an oily smile. Through the Force the man felt like a bit of oozing slime. He reminded me of one of Baras' more irritating minions. "Only a Jedi might be able to confirm what the general told us about Kamino, however all Jedi present there either died or turned traitor. It's suspicious, not to mention convenient."

"We all got the transmission from Coruscant about the Jedi Treason!" Someone shouted from the back of the crowd filling up the chamber.

"A GAR officer no one has heard of. We haven't received a single transmission from the Senate or the new Chancellor – if Palpatine is indeed dead." Zurch continued to stir trouble. "Surely by now the Senate must have elected a new chancellor. Their silence is foreboding."

I mentally debated the merits of chocking the life out of him in front of everyone. Back in the day doing so would have been expected, necessary even to show I hadn't gone suddenly soft. Here and now? I had to talk with the worm. It was utterly frustrating.

"That's correct, representative." Instead, of murdering the kriff out of him, I gave him something that might be mistaken for a genuine smile. "Thank you for reminding us all that we're currently cut off from the Republic."

My words caused a lot of dark grumbling.

"What are you going to do about it, general?" Prime Minister Sloan from Ryndellia demanded.

He was one of those who seemingly bought my story, yet were antagonistic anyway. His actions were opportunistic, cowardly yet my read on him told me the man was a patriot. Ryndellia lacked the forces to keep the Separatist out of their world if they came knocking so he pulled out as much of their small army along with the navy and came here, to "make a difference". There was a reason why Tigellinus confided he had placed those forces in such positions that they could be easily taken apart if they turned on the Republic. Sloan wanted to have his cake and eat it too – a commendable attitude, however in the current situation it wasn't likely to work.

"A very good question, Prime Minister!" I graced the man with my best smile. "I'll be honest with you all. Before arriving at Naboo my plans were to gather as many of the surviving Republic forces here as practical and continue making my way to the Core. At best if there was a significant friendly presence still holding out, I might have reinforcing it before going on my way with the bulk of the fleet."

My words were met with a few seconds of silence before the chamber erupted in indignant screams. Accusations of cowardice, treason and cries cursing the Republic did their best to deafen me. Beside me, Tarkin groaned. I had the feeling that he was ready to face-palm at my blunt admission.

Almost all the leaders and ambassadors were infuriated by my words. There were just a handful of people who while angry took a moment or two to think about why I chose such course of action. The Queen had a frown on her painted face but kept her temper in check. Apparently in her book I earned the benefit of the doubt when I brought back the key ingredient for the Blue Shadow cure.

I fought the temptation to use the Force to silence the chaos but thought better of it. I couldn't afford to antagonize those people too much if I wanted to achieve something constructive in here. I kept telling myself that the option to abandon this bunch and had for the Core was still very much on the table and damn the long term consequences. I wondered if those fools would force my hand anyway.

"That's enough!" Neeyutnee's voice snapped like a whip. "We will have you behave as the adult sentients you are!" Her voice thundered around the chamber no doubt made louder by equipment built in her throne.

The Queen earned herself more than a few glares and some unflattering muttering, yet her guests began quieting down.

"Good." Neeyutnee nodded in satisfaction once the noise was down to tolerable level. "General Veil, please explain your reasoning."

"I'll be blunt, your majesty. I'm no diplomat accustomed to fencing with words." I turned around to look over the gathered people and pointed at them. "I'll tell you a truth. One you all know, though it's not pretty, nor diplomatic. As long as we're cut off from the industry and manpower in the Core, your worlds and people are of little consequence for the outcome of the war. The Republic ships that admiral Tigellinus managed to amass above Naboo, the magnificent defence of this system he carried over the course of the last month – they won't be relevant for long. Those ships that kept the Separatist for harming Naboo even worse, the same ships and crews who fought and died to keep the enemy's attention away from your worlds, they need supplies. Ammunition, parts and fuel. Replacement crews for the casualties suffered in defence of Chomel and the surrounding sectors."

"It is a hard cold universe we live in." Tarkin stepped beside me. "Some of you know me. I've warned the people of Eriadu and our neighbours that a storm was coming. Most refused to listen. All the preparations we did, all the ships and defences we managed to built, they helped true. However, if it wasn't for general Veil fighting his way through hundreds of enemy ships to come relieve us, Eriadu would have fallen. If it wasn't for him, I would have died at Kamino along with the fleet that just broke the siege of Naboo. Even as I wear this uniform..." Tarkin rapped his knuckles over his heart just below the ribbons signifying his rank and notable medals, "I can't help it but feel resentful towards the Republic. If it wasn't for Republic ships and crews fighting and dying at Eriadu, my home would be occupied. If it wasn't for them fighting like demons at Kamino, I would have died there. Yet, the very fact those sacrifices were necessary and that many more must be done before we could enjoy peace once again, proves that there's something terribly wrong with the Republic."

I nodded in an obvious agreement while my mind spun. We didn't have any time to plan how to handle this mess. We really couldn't because we were flying mostly blind, yet time was against us. Today I needed to know if something could be done about these people and their worlds or should I be preparing to abandon Naboo. The Separatists would recover soon. Unless we overestimated their numbers in the region, they could still concentrate potentially overwhelming force against us. Win or lose fighting it would confine me to this part of the galaxy because after that I doubted I would have enough ships left to reach friendly space to the galactic east.

Still, the question remained. What was Tarkin thinking? This wasn't the place to openly criticise the Republic... or was it? Many of those people justifiably felt abandoned. The Republic couldn't protect them and the navy simply left instead of fighting for most of their words. Oh, it was the right military decision, there was no doubt about it. Even if they believed in that fact, I knew they would find it hard to care, especially those whose home-worlds were under Separatist occupation.

"The Republic abandoned us!" The Hegemon, what's-his-name, snapped. "What's the use of the Republic when during the first war it finds itself in living memory it abandons us?! I don't care if you have good reasons for it! They might be good for the Core, for the Republic as a whole, but they certainly aren't good enough for my people who are suffering while we waste time talking!"

That was surprising. For all intents and purposes the man was supposed to be a dictator if I interpreted Tigellinus words about him right. However, he was an autocrat who actually appeared to care about his people – I could feel it in the way he spoke. He wasn't pissed off because his seat of power was taken from him. He was afraid about his subjects. While not exactly uncommon, most dictators I've dealt with in the past seldom cared about the bulk of their people though the majority of the successful ones could fake it very well in public.

"It did. We knew what would happen. We knew that those we left without protection to the dubious mercy of the Separatists would hate us for it and would give kriff all about our reasons." I admitted. That gained me even more nasty looks and curses. "We at GAR High Command at the time knew all of that, knew we would take the blame but did it anyway. It wasn't because we enjoy failing in our duty. We simply couldn't do anything else."

"Do remember that the Grand Army was created as a response to Separatist aggression. The army and navy aren't to blame for the situation we are all in. They're the ones fighting and dying to keep us all safe." Tarkin said emphatically. There was something in the way he spoke that garnered everyone's attention. The man never struck me as a charismatic, yet right now he had everyone focusing on him with no effort at all. Damn, the man was a gem. I couldn't believe my luck that he was at Kamino so I could bind him to me.

"All we hear are excuses!" A guild-master from Heth snapped.

"You know, you're right." Tarkin agreed. "All I can give you are excuses for people who aren't here. Many of them I haven't even met. You want someone to blame? You need not look farther than Coruscant. The Senate created this mess. Chancellor Palpatine did his best to fix as many of the problems the Republic has as he could yet... Sheev Palpatine was one of the few men who earned my deepest respect. However, he was just a man just you and me. He couldn't produce enough miracles to fix centuries worth of problems. I can poetically wax to you how the Republic could do no wrong but we on the Mid Rim know better. You'll know such lies for what they are. May I ask you something, Prime Minster, Hegemon, why not all of you?" Tarkin looked earnestly at the crowd. "What would you have us do to protect your words? Can you change the way the galaxy works? Can you give us enough supplies so once we've secured your systems our ships would be able to resist a separatist counter-attack?"

"You know they can't!" Zurch sneered.

"You know that how?" I asked mildly. "I don't know if they can or can't do it. Do you know better than those who actually world the words in this region of space?" My voice was pleasant and friendly but for some reason Zurch became the colour of puke. Who the hell chose him as a representative and why? Was he a distraction?

"As loath I am to admit it, he's right." The ambassador from Rintone spoke for the first time. Until now she simply kept quiet and observed the show. "Even together we would be unable to keep supplying admiral Tigellinus' fleet to the extent we've been doing it so far for much longer. You brought a whole armada with you, general. We simply lack the assets to supply you too. Admiral Tarkin, do you have a suggestion? I'm familiar with you enough to know you wouldn't point out the obvious without some kind of solution or was just that in hope someone here knew something you didn't?"

"A bit of both, madam ambassador." Tarkin bowed politely. "I can't say I have a solution. Nor a plan. However, I do have the beginning of an idea. Are you willing to hear me?"

"What's the use? You're going to run to the Core the first chance you get." Zurch sneered.

"You're right. Unless we find some kind of solution for our supply situation I would have no choice but plan my immediate departure for the Core along with most of the Republic ships in this system. Admiral Tarkin, can you give me an acceptable alternative? Can any of you?" I asked. "If not... I'm in the same boat as you. Mandalore depends on the Republic. The fleet under my command might make enough of a difference if I manage to bring it back to the Core."

There was a lot of muttering, again. This time some of it was surprising. Apparently some people forgot that I was Mandalore, not just another Republic general.

What was Tarkin cooking up in that crooked mind of his?