Chapter 8: The New Order
March 29, 2227.
Darvos strolled into the command bridge of the Liberator with a happy smile.
"Everyone, I'd like your attention, please." he said loudly, and all the officers on the bridge turned around to look at him.
Darvos held his datapad in front of him for all to see, and glimpsed at it a couple times, but he already knew what to say. "I just received confirmation from Lianna that yesterday, the New Republic and all the signatories of the UACT have gathered on Yavin 4 and have signed a Convention. I will read the main points…"
Now he had to actually read the datapad to be sure he wasn't forgetting the words, for it was important to use the vocabulary of the document.
"Point One: The signatories of this Convention, having witnessed the brutalities of war and the suffering inflicted upon millions of civilians, have come to an agreement that an essential set of rules to assuage these sufferings must be established. All the signatories will, from this point forward, commit their energies and resources to this task.
"Point Two: To ensure that these rules will be respected and followed, the signatories recognize the Jedi Order and the Mandalorian Protectors as independent organizations. Their task will be to protect and provide for the victims of war and calamities; to ensure that the prisoners of war are treated decently; they will have the right to establish their own camps and hospitals for the victims of war, military or civilian, and any aggressive action against them is to be considered a capital crime."
"Wait, even the Mandos?" one of the officers asked surprised, expressing the sentiment of many others on the bridge.
"Duke Tristan Wren of House Atin was present at the summit, and he has assured that all the Mandalorians currently resident on Lothal have already strong ties with the Jedi, and wish to use their martial skills to make the galactic community safer." Darvos replied. "They will provide additional muscle to the operations of the Jedi, and protect civilians from any aggression that might come their way."
"I guess it's still better than having them against us." Captain Merryl commented.
"These are the two main points that define all the rest that is written in the treaty: from today onward, the Jedi Order is allowed to show up on any active front and set up their camps for refugees and wounded of all sides. We are expected to coordinate with them and help them move around in the limit of our possibilities. They will not have any authority over our forces, just as we will not have any over them. They are also authorized to inspect our prisons to make sure the prisoners are treated fairly, and so on. If you are interested, they published the entire text of the Convention on the HoloNet."
"That's great, sir, but are you telling us that the Empire signed this, too?" Prax asked skeptical.
Darvos, however, was not unprepared. "No, they didn't. The Jedi have simply repeated that they want Palpatine and Vader, but if the imperial soldiers will refrain from shooting them, they will not attack.
"In short, the Jedi and the Protectors are to be considered 'armed civilians'. Just don't do anything to make them angry, and they will not interfere."
The officer staff murmured positively. Most of them had fought alongside the Jedi since the start of the war and they knew how serious the Bridgers were in their promises.
"Good. Now, let's get back to work." Darvos said. "Has Red Squadron come back from the recon, yet?"
The Comm officer, Lieutenant Iolbren, replied. "They are still in hyperspace, sir. They should reach this system in twenty."
The system was Ajan Kloss, and the recon was a mission aimed at scouting the defenses of Ord Mantell. The 82nd fleet was simply waiting in orbit of the planet, waiting for the moment when they would jump into hyperspace and bring the fight to the enemy.
Twenty minutes, Darvos thought, would be enough to review all they knew until that point about the moves of the Empire. He reached the command console and brought up the updated map of the galaxy that the officers and droids of the ICO adjourned constantly.
What puzzled him the most was that Iulius had not pushed his advantage after the conquest of Llanic. Sure, it hadn't been easy, but he should've still have plenty of resources to take advantage of the situation, since the status of the Commonwealth's army was dire, to say the least.
Why did his brother stop? The answer was not actually that hard to reach: the imperial government had cut his supplies again, preferring to focus on another front. Were they, perhaps, preparing a counteroffensive to retake Mygeeto?
He waited until Red Squadron finally came back and Biggs had the time to land and reach Darvos' office to make his report.
"What's the situation on Ord Mantell, Captain?"
"What is left of the imperial forces in this region is still gathering there, General. I think they're preparing a last stand just like on Lantillies." was Biggs' assessment. "However, I need to point out a new type of ship." he added as he took out his portable projector.
"A new ship?"
The device showed the model of a ship with a thin line as the main hull and a hangar in the shape of an upside-down V at the rear. Only the middle section had an oval shape and was quite big. The General observed it for a while, trying to guess what it could be. The ship had a couple of turbolasers, definitely not something that could be used on the frontline. And the hangar was big, sure, but nothing bigger than the carriers the Empire already had.
"This has to be a support ship of some kind." he concluded. "But what does it do, specifically?"
"Can't really tell, sir. We found this one docked at a shipyard, getting refueled."
Darvos pondered for a moment, then he reached the only reasonable decision: they needed to capture one of those ships and study it.
"Thank you, Captain. You and your men get down to the base and rest, you earned it."
"Whenever you need us, sir." Biggs saluted at the end with a cordial smile and left the office.
Once he was left alone, Darvos called Rex into his office. As he waited the clone, the General took another glimpse at the video of the HoloNet that showed the debate in the Lianna's Senate between Jaral and Mordys. He couldn't have been prouder of his wife, but his eye also fell on the background, for he had spotted Ezra holding Samira in his arms.
Darvos' mood went a little gray. He had seen his daughter only a handful of weeks overall. She was already a year old and he had barely had a role in her life. His heart was genuinely grieving, and while he knew that he was doing something extremely important there, he would have given everything to see his daughter again.
The door buzzed and Darvos hastily closed the video, letting his Commander walk in. Rex walked and stood at ease like he always did. "What can I do for you, sir?" he asked with a relaxed attitude, since the two had by now developed a cordial friendship.
"Rex, prepare our Pathfinders, for we have to steal an imperial ship, just like old times."
April 5, 2227.
The talks on Yavin had been successful, but certainly stressing. For Ezra, staying in a huge room and listening to the politicians' speeches for hours on end was the most boring thin in existence. He knew they were important, for finally the Jedi Order had reached its goal of becoming an independent peace-keeping agency. There was still a lot of work to do, but it was a start.
And with that perspective, he was already contacting his mother on Lothal.
"Congratulations, Ezra. You and Jari must be very proud of what you did. Just as I am." Mira said with a tender voice.
Ezra smiled and chuckled. "Well, Jari did most of the persuading. Still, there is no time to waste: I need your help."
"Everything."
"We have gained the recognition as a humanitarian org, and I think we should start by focusing on getting medics. Dhara has set an example for the entire galaxy, do you think we can exploit it to recruit some volunteers?"
"Funny you'd ask. Because since Dhara's stunt on Llanic, I had heard many young med students who would like to do the same. Just give me the word, and I'll spread it around."
"Perfect. Tell anyone who's interested that the Order is seeking medics and volunteers to establish refugee camps. Of course, we and the Protectors grant them an armed escort just in case. On the other hand, we still have to solve logistics. Our freighters are too small to bring the tons of supplies needed."
Mira pondered for a moment before giving an answer. "I got it! Do you know the Red Cross of the Milky Way?"
Ezra opened his mouth and hummed lost. "Nope."
"The Earthlings have a long history of societies for mutual assistance, and the Red Cross is the biggest. They sent us a lot of medicines and medics when we first liberated Lothal and the hospital had almost no qualified personnel."
"Oh, that's great. You think they will help us?"
"I'll go to their local presidium at Camp Garibaldi and talk with their manager, but I think it's a safe bet." Mira replied with a certain enthusiasm.
Ezra couldn't hold back a relieved smile: the first problem was already solving itself. "Great. You're the best, mom."
The two chuckled, then a moment of silence followed and Mira decided to change topic, one that wasn't as joyous as that. "Hey, you heard anything from your father?"
"Oh, uh...the Princess reassured us that the Constantinople is still sending reports, but whatever Dad is doing is top secret...and me and Jaral just gave up our military ranks." Ezra replied, trying to sound confident while in reality, the matter was worrying him quite a lot.
"I see. Well, I'm sure he's doing fine." Mira said nonchalantly.
"I don't know. Someone taught us to dive into risk, and it certainly wasn't you." Ezra quipped.
"Sure. But I think that, if anything happened to him, you and Jari would feel it right away."
"Yeah...I guess." Ezra huffed. Then he looked at the clock and noticed that it he had to go. "Oh, better get moving. It's my turn to watch Samira."
Mira chuckled. "Yeah, I'm glad I have one less to care of, for a while."
"Don't get used to it." Ezra joked. "Bye Mom. I love you."
"I love you too."
The hologram disappeared and Ezra hurried to Jaral's cabin. There he found Sabine, reading a holo-novel while Samira was soundly sleeping inside her shell. Jaral right now was in the cargo hold, training Grogu with Cal and Kubari, so it was up to Ezra and Sabine to watch the little girl. The mandalorian turned her gaze as soon as she heard the door hiss and, realizing who was there, put the pad away and stood up with a smile.
Ezra could feel that she was nervous about something, and the way the intertwined her hands confirmed it.
"Hey." she whispered.
"Is everything good?" he asked, maintaining a smile.
"Yes, luckily she has slept most of the time." Sabine replied, then her head started bobbing a bit as she nervously rubbed her hands together.
"Ezra...there is something I wanted to tell you for a while."
The Jedi was a bit surprised: his wife usually had to be cracked open when she clearly had a problem. Nonetheless, this was a welcomed change of pace. "What is it?"
Sabine nervously turned her head and clearly looked at Samira, as if the sleeping one-year-old had the power to draw her words out. She then sighed softly and turned around again, looking Ezra straight in the eyes.
"Ezra, I would like for us to have a child." she eventually said with a hurried but clear tone.
She had spoken quickly enough that Ezra needed a moment to process, but then his eyes widened in surprise. His face made a spontaneous smile. "Yes, Sabine. Yes, I would love that."
Sabine at first seemed surprised, then she felt relieved. "Thank the manda. I...I was afraid you wouldn't want that."
"Why wouldn't I?" he replied unable to sound serious.
"It's just...you know...you have so many things to care about. Managing the Order, defeating the Sith, and now we are openly at war with a criminal syndicate. I thought, maybe, that you didn't want more responsibility, right now." she said as she slowly leaned her head against his chest.
"Are you kidding? That doesn't bother me at all. I just never brought it up because...you know...you will be the one spending nine demanding months. I thought it wasn't fair for me to bring this up."
Sabine chuckled in a mixture of frustration and amusement. "Of course you would be over-considerate. But I'm glad to hear that."
"When did it come to your mind?" Ezra asked curious.
"I'd say right after Sammy was born. Also, I learned just last week that Asha is one-month pregnant, so I decided I would ask you after this trip."
"Wait, Tristan is about…?"
They were interrupted when they both heard Samira speaking all of a sudden. "Edda!"
Ezra giggled as a reflex and hurried to the shell as Samira was autonomously grabbing the edges and trying to get out, not realizing that she was going to fall a whole meter down. He grabbed her in his arms and lifted her as he laughed. "Sammy. You slept well?"
Samira nodded and hummed positively. Then she tapped her mouth with a finger. "Snakky." she said.
"You're hungry? Well, that can't be allowed." Ezra said in a tone that was aimed at the hunger. "Let's get to the hall and see what they got."
"I'm coming with. I hadn't had my daily dose of niece since she has been sleeping the whole time!" Sabine added jokingly as she went to tickle Samira.
April 4, 2227.
As he read some more headlines, Jordan couldn't help but be simultaneously proud of his kids and ever more relaxed about the state of the Milky Way.
Elections would be held in eleven days, and while the MEJ of T'Quri had gained a significant boost in popularity after the Asari had participated in the Yavin Convention. In response, the SBC had started to slander their opponents, saying that they were seeking peace with the Empire. It wasn't a lie, per se, but everybody knew that the federal leadership was aligned exactly to the Jedi: they wanted somebody more reasonable on the imperial throne or for the Empire to be substituted by the nations of the UACT.
Certainly, the one thing that brought him more joy in the last week was to see again and again his daughter making that speech at the Senate of Lianna and humiliating that walking blister called Mordys.
Now, though, it was time to go back to work. He closed his personal datapad and put on his uniform's jacket before taking the elevator and reach Deck 2.
"Just in time, sir." Salazar greeted. "We're leaving hyperspace in a minute."
"Found anything interesting in the radio traffic?"
"It's intense...and heavily encrypted, sir. Whatever it is in this system, the Consortium is doing everything to make sure the rest of the galaxy doesn't know."
"Then we're on the right track." Jordan commented.
They had been at work for weeks trying to find a way to severely hit the operations of the Consortium. Chuchi had at first pointed them at some clandestine operations on Pantora, and from there it was about following trace after trace until they found and boarded an unregistered cargo that was traveling toward a system that wasn't on the official maps.
"Jinx, any luck finding intel about this place?" he then asked to the AI.
"Negative. Hypori seems to appear in some registers, but the most recent is 381 years old. The planet seems to be so insignificant that it has long been forgotten."
"And yet, the Consortium is using it to build something. I want your processors entirely focused on the scanners."
"Prioritizing scanning."
The Constantinople left hyperspace, finding herself into a system that was incredibly off from the main routes or from any other charted system.
At first glance, none of the planets seemed particularly hospitable, however Jinx quickly picked up a lot of ships' traffic in the orbit of the second one. Jordan quickly ordered Rut to get there and the visual confirmation came the moment they approached it, for there was a medium-sized space station of the Consortium protected by a fleet that included heavy cruisers.
Jinx eventually found a path that would allow them to slip behind said fleet without getting too close to them. Even if the cloaking device was engaged, it was always better to keep some distance from a hostile group. The Constantinople thus managed to approach the planet enough to make a scan of the surface. After finding a large concentration of smog and power output, the ship moved over that point and Jordan noticed what the Consortium was hiding there so attentively.
"Goddess…" Raniza muttered from her console.
"Indeed." Jordan added with the same level of discomfort.
On the surface there was a sprawling industrial settlement, sprinkled with several parks full of vehicles of the Zann Consortium, some of which, Jordan recognized, were in service with the Commonwealth's army. However, the bigger guns were most likely held back for the pirate's personal use. There were also lots of barracks and structures of a strange design that quickly turned out to be the foundries churning out the updated droidekas.
"Rut, save everything and send it to the strategic room, I'll go speak with the Colonel." Jordan ordered before turning around.
"Right away, Captain." the Salarian replied as his arms and hands danced around the holographic commands.
The Captain hurried to the strategic room, where Undir and his officers were already receiving the holographic model of the base. The Salarian had his fingers in front of his mouth and was observing the map scrupulously.
"It appears that we found the main factory of the Consortium." was his judgment at the end.
"I agree. But this place is way too fortified for us to take it on our own." Jordan assessed.
"This system is not out of reach of the Alliance Navy. We could ask Admiral Edrix for reinforcements, but to take such a large base, we will need at least a whole division." Captain Trebis pointed out.
Jordan nodded and hummed in positive. The model was becoming ever more detailed as Jinx's scanning reiterated and the scale of the pirate base became more evident. There were turbolaser turrets, bunkers, entire companies worth of tanks, walkers, at least two hangars of snub fighters. Then a hyper-velocity cannon, radars, fortifications of every kind and, finally, a large deflector shield covering it all.
It really gave a glimpse of the scale of power the Consortium was dealing with.
The Constantinople alone could simply not hope to cause any significant damage to the base, so Jordan was quick to decide the course of action. "Let's scan everything we can and then leave the system. I'll inform UACT command personally."
Jordan then returned to the Galaxy Map and spent the next two hours writing down a report for Command, updating it regularly as new details came out from the analysis. He would have to deliver it manually once they returned back to allied space, since he didn't want to risk being intercepted.
Then his attention was caught when Salazar informed him that an encrypted message had arrived on the Captain's private terminal.
Jordan stepped in front of the terminal and opened it. It had no sender, and the message only reported a few worlds.
*SANTA IS IN TOWN*
He smirked: that was the password that he had asked Hera to send once the base on Hoth, and the necessary logistical train, had been set up. It seemed like the long battle on Llanic had at least kept the eyes of the Empire diverted.
"Rut, set a course for the Hoth system. Let's go see what our allies have done."
"Yes, Captain."
April 10, 2227.
The news about the Yavin Convention had honestly left Iulius conflicted.
On one side, this summit clearly delineated that the Empire was fighting alone against the rest of the universe. It also meant that the Jedi were now free from any oversight and might be much more unpredictable in their moves.
On the other hand, the Order had publicly declared that they didn't intend to fight the Empire itself, once again proclaiming that they only wanted the Emperor and Lord Vader dead or alive, and that they would refrain from engaging battle unless provoked.
It was honestly a welcomed development. Having Force-users meddle in this war was a variable that Iulius always felt uncomfortable to have around. By now, it had been proven time and again that even Lord Vader was not that much stronger than the Bridgers, meaning that he was a powerful chess piece only when there weren't other Jedi around. Besides, all Force-users wielded a power that only they could comprehend, and the Lord-Protector hated the fact that he had no way to predict how that would influence a battle or a campaign.
If there was a chance to have the Jedi and the two Sith confined to a parallel war, outside the major dynamics of the conflict, Iulius would feel much more at ease.
Because, as things were, he already had enough problems dealings with the whims of the Emperor and his government and the fact that the New Republic and their allies were quickly closing the industrial gap between them and the Empire, largely thanks to the endless financing from the Federation. This was was becoming a slump and Iulius' analysis told that the Empire either would manage to win in two years or the Republic might be able to become strong enough to force even the Emperor to negotiate.
That was, unless he found a way to win before that happened.
He had used the week-long flight toward Carunoia to discuss with Thrawn about this theory and the Chiss was inclined to agree, though he seemed more concerned about the situation in the Ascendancy.
Luckily for the blue alien, it wouldn't take long before they would meet with the Ruling Families, for their escort cruiser was entering the orbit of Carunoia, so the two Grand Admirals and their bodyguards mounted on the shuttle that brought them down to Tora Iulia, the capital of the planet that had been named in honor of the man who had saved the Carunoans from extinction.
The shuttle reached Titan Base. Like last time, a picket of stormtroopers and one of Carunoan soldiers covered the sides of the exit while Daala, Kimby and Pryce waited in front of the ramp.
"Welcome back to Carunoia, Lixoriom." Kimby greeted.
"Thank you, General. Admiral. Governor." Iulius replied cordially.
The two women made a bow, then Daala spoke up. "The prototype is ready and is waiting on the testing ground. You mentioned that you'd like to see it immediately."
"Precisely. I'm on a tight schedule, right now." Iulius replied gently.
"We wouldn't like to waste your time, Lord-Protector." Pryce said and invited the delegation to follow her toward the transports. Though they only had to do a few hundred meters before reaching the testing grounds of the base.
There, they reached a very large room, overlooked by a long terrace. That was the room where the weapons were tested. In the middle of the room, Iulius saw the technicians working on the new Dark Trooper: it was a droid 190 cm tall; the body structure seemed quite thin, when seen from the front or the back, but getting closer it became clear that the limbs and the body were quite large, and the Grand Admiral guessed that nobody would like to be hit with those.
"Ah, Lord Tanis." the voice of an old man came from behind.
Iulius turned and saw Kimovir, walking with a cane and helped by a young assistant researcher. His face had more wrinkles than before and he looked emaciated.
"Doctor Kimovir." he greeted, unable to hide a hint of concern. "Are you all right?"
Kimovir sighed in a peacefully resigned tone. "Oh, just my time approaching." he joked. "But don't worry. I'd like to present you the new Dark Trooper."
Iulius had to admire the perseverance of the old man. He likely thought that he had nothing left to lose, so he was focusing all his time and energies he had left into the creation of something that would mark a significant change on the galaxy.
"As you can see, we've implanted a minor AI into this android." the doctor explained. "An AI previously possessed by one a 'Phase Zero' and has thus learned the movements, the tactics and the general knowledge of its previous owner."
Iulius remembered the day when the first squad of Dark Troopers were deployed on Felucia. On that occasion he had given them the first AIs built by the Empire following the blueprints of the federal ones that the Inferno squad had stolen.
Now, Iulius' decisions, and the tireless work of the Carunoan and Imperial scientists had brought forth this new mechanical creature.
"Please, follow us to the observation deck." Kimovir's assistant invited.
The officers did just that and Iulius was allowed to take the best spot to evaluate the droid's performance. One of the technicians approached him with a datapad, showing him how to give commands to the Dark Trooper.
"Unit X-1." he said loudly after the explanation. "Target the practice dummies in the shooting range."
The Dark Trooper moved out of the blue, its mechanical body whirring all over. It reached the ledge of the shooting range and grabbed a Soul-stealer, the weapon made specifically for the organic Dark Troopers. The droid quickly grabbed it and wielded it as if it was made of paper, while Iulius had used it only once and he remembered that it was as heavy as a rocket launcher.
The droid then started gunning the targets inside the range. Iulius was impressed by the accuracy, but wanted to see more. He ordered the make the target move around to test the ability of the machine to react, and the droid still had no problem scoring perfectly.
"An admirable work, Doctor." Iulius complimented at the end of the simulation.
"Thank you, Lord Tanis. But I suggest we wait until all tests are thorough." the scientist said, then nodded to his assistant, who in turn spoke into a comlink.
"Send him in."
One of the ray fields covering the doors of the lower level was deactivated and inside walked a mandalorian supercommando. He had his helmet on, so Iulius couldn't say if it was Korkie or not, but the man had a WESTAR rifle, one of the most powerful personal weapons in the galaxy.
"We will now test the durability of the unit's armor." the assistant announced.
The Dark Trooper put away his rifle and calmly went back to the center of the room, offering itself as a target.
"Whenever you are ready, Captain Soren." Kimby said loudly enough to be heard by the mando.
The mandalorian nodded and then assumed the firing posture. He then proceeded to fire two shots at full power against the Dark Trooper, which budged but its armor held on.
Soren kept firing, and only at the sixth shot did a plate of the droid finally fall, exposing its body. Three more shots were enough to finally causing the droid to suffer a critical malfunction and deactivate.
"Cease fire." Kimby ordered. "Star the countdown." he added to the assistant scientist.
"What countdown?" Iulius asked.
Kimby simply pointed at the droid. Iulius looked better at it and, in the general silence that had fallen in the room, he could hear a faint sizzling. Thirty seconds later, the Dark Trooper whirred again and stood up, to the marvel of the inspecting officers.
"What happened?" Qathora asked surprised.
"This android has been provided with a self-reparation module. When some vital component is damaged, the unit shuts down and the module tries to bring it back to an operational level." one of the technicians explained.
"If that happens, the AI's priority becomes returning to base as soon as possible. These machines are not easy to build, so, ideally, this solution will limit their losses." Kimovir added.
"I see." Iulius said admired.
"A most remarkable feature." Thrawn added with his cold tone. "So, how many can you build, let's say, in a month?" he asked then, as he had not missed what Kimovir had implied.
It was Pryce who replied. "It took us two months just to build this one. Now that we have a solid blueprint, we can start mass production, but there aren't many Carunoans who are skilled enough in robotics to work in the factory, and this droid is also quite complicated. Even with the best conditions, right now I don't think we can build more than eight units per month."
Iulius hummed. "All right, then. We will implement them in this way…"
April 15, 2227.
It was almost midnight. All the news networks in the Federation were talking about the final count of the elections, but to Francesco that all seemed secondary as his car rushed back to the palace.
Anastasia had called an hour before, informing that Marina's water had broken and she was undergoing labor in the infirmary. Unfortunately, Francesco was overseeing a reunion of the Monarchist Party and had to solve an issue before going away.
Not wanting to lose the birth of his second child, as soon as the car hit the brakes in the parking lot, Francesco frantically opened the door and ran out, with his guards and attendants barely managing to keep pace. He reached the infirmary of the palace, which was actually an entire clinic with different rooms, and outside one of them he spotted Anastasia and Marco seating in the waiting room.
His sister gestured him to hurry up and also banged on the door so the medical staff would open it the moment Francesco was in front of it.
"I'm here! I'm here!"
Marina was on the bed, legs spread and covered a bit by a blanket while the head doctor, Eva Callejon, was giving instructions to the Empress.
"Franci!" Marina said with a relieved tone among a face that was clearly fatigued.
"Push, now!" the Doctor ordered.
Marina closed her eyes, clenched her teeth and visibly gave another effort to finally get the baby out. Francesco clearly saw placenta being shot everywhere but also saw a body that ended right into the hands of the doctor and the nurse assisting her.
As Marina finally breathed in relief and other two nurses checked her status, Francesco held his breath as Callejon and the nurse quickly cleaned the baby and gave it a slap to make it cry.
Then the woman stood up, visibly smiling under her surgical mask, and showed the baby to the Emperor.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. It's a girl."
Francesco opened his mouth in an almost silly smile. His happiness was impossible to describe. Just like with Marco, the imperial couple had decided not to ask the gender of the child, which added the pleasure of the surprise once they were born.
However, in this case, the fact that it was a girl was incredibly poetic to the Emperor, because him and his wife had already agreed how to call her. The baby was cleaned, put into a blanket and then handed over to the Emperor, who in turn reached the side of his tired but happy consort.
"Look." he whispered. "She's beautiful. Just like her mother."
Marina chuckled and reached the face of the still crying baby with a finger to caress her. After a handful of minutes, the medical team had cleaned up the Empress-consort a bit and were preparing to transfer her to a private room, while the baby had to be taken away for further observation before handing her to the parents.
Full of joy, Francesco left the room and reached the waiting area, where other friends and collaborators had gathered around Anastasia and Marco, waiting for the news.
"It's a girl!" he yelled with all his lungs, causing an uproar of celebration among the presents, who went to hug him, clap or shake his hand. Only Marco limited himself to smile and to go in front of his father.
"I have a sister?!" he asked quite excited.
"Indeed you have, boy!" Francesco replied before quickly grabbing his son and lifting him in the air, making him spin around a little.
"Can I go see her?" the kid asked.
"Just a little patience, Marco. Your mother and your sister need to rest a little." he then turned toward the crowd and made the follow-up of the announcement. "Her name is Benedetta."
The crowd nodded, mostly. Pretty much all of them had speculated that this could be the case, in the last few months. After all, Marina was just a few months pregnant when the last Empress unfortunately died. In cases like these, it wasn't unusual for an Emperor to give the child the same name of the defunct parent, if the gender happened to coincide. It was a way to face the pain of the death with the positive note of a possible reincarnation.
One of his advisors then stepped forward and spoke gently and humbly. "Pardon me for intruding on such a joyous occasion, Your Majesty, but we just received an update on the elections."
Francesco was about to go, but then his personal feelings conflicted. The elections could clearly wait, and if he were to check on them, the result wouldn't change. Right now, all he wanted to do was to stay with his family.
"Don't worry." Anastasia intervened with her usual confidence. "I'll keep an eye on them and inform you once the scrutiny is over. You deserve some time alone."
Francesco chuckled. "You're the best, sis."
"I know." she joked and turned toward the advisor. "Come on, Fennerby. Show me what we have."
Francesco took his son and they headed to Marina's new room. The doctor kept them occupied for a couple of minutes by reporting that both the mother and the daughter were in perfect health and then they were allowed inside the room. There they found Marina holding Benedetta and Marco hastily reached the side of the bed.
"Marco! Say hello to your sister!" Marina happily said as she showed the baby to her firstborn.
Marco gazed at his sister at first with marvel, then with genuine joy. "Hello!" he said to her face.
Francesco also went next to the bed and leaned in a little. "You have been so brave, my love. I'm sorry I was late." he whispered.
"Don't even mention it." she replied gently. "You have duties that influence billions. I knew that when I accepted to marry you."
Nearly an hour-and-a-half later, midnight had passed and they were into April 16th. Marco had already fallen asleep, for this was not an hour when he was used to be awake. A bang on the door preceded the return of Anastasia, who entered with a cheerful tone.
"Hey there. How's my princess?"
"Very sleepy, at the moment." Marina replied, nodding toward the cradle where they had put Benedetta back. "Just like the little prince." she added.
"Any news?" Francesco asked.
"Yes, sir. And a good one: Roxa has got 43.8% of the votes. The MP is at 18% and the count is already at 97%. Put the two factions together, and you are about to get a very loyal and moderate government."
Francesco sighed of relief. The first hours of the evening had seen the two main factions getting the same number of votes, so there was no way to tell who would win. But the Emperor was happy to hear that his people had chosen peace over opening another war.
Benedetta then started crying, meaning that it was time for her to get fed for the first time. As Marine unbuttoned her shirt, the two siblings went on joking about a message that had just arrived from Claudio, sending his felicitations for the birth.
After a little banter, Francesco assumed a more composed tone. "Ani, I really want to thank you for everything."
"Everything like?" she chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Like staying with Marina when I was away. Oh...and what about negotiating an intergalactic treaty that won us the elections?" he joked.
"That's what family is for, right? And speaking of said treaty, it seems like the Red Cross has started a recruiting of volunteers for Andromeda, and the Ordo Quaeris has asked our permission to establish a sort of embassy on Lothal, so that they may cooperate with the Jedi."
Francesco was caught a bit by surprise by that. So far, these organizations had not requested the help of the government to go and open shop in Andromeda.
"Of course. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to go through the paperwork." Francesco concluded as he took another look at his family and thought how grateful he was for having it.
April 16, 2227.
After leaving Kimby to think of a solution for how he intended to integrate the few and precious Dark Troopers 'Phase One', Iulius now found himself aboard a Carunoan heavy cruiser which was navigating through the Utegetu Nebula.
The reason for that was that he and Thrawn were to meet the first representatives for the Chiss Ascendancy. And since this meeting was to be kept secret even from Coruscant, the nebula offered protection from imperial sensors and nobody would expect the Lord-Protector to move around on a warship belonging to a vassal-state.
"These are the coordinates?" Iulius asked to his mentor.
Thrawn checked once again his datapad, then made a slow nod. "It is. The hour of the meeting is supposed to be in three minutes."
"And do you think they will actually listen to us? You are an exile, and I may not be that important, to their eyes."
"The people we will meet now will most likely be members of the Expansionary Defense Fleet. They will not be the problem. And I have spent the last few months making sure that the Ascendancy knew of your position and the authority you wield, Lord Tanis."
"Then let's hope they still give some importance to your words, considering that you were supposed to never make contact with them ever again." Iulius commented.
"I'm convinced that they need every possible help." was Thrawn's simple answer.
Iulius hummed positively and then they waited in silence. Until, two minutes later, a ship of unknown design appeared on the scanners. She was more or less of the same dimensions as the Lalarak, but it was safe to assume that the weaponry would be on a completely different level.
It didn't take long before the other ship contacted them and spoke in Sy Bisti, the most used trade language of that area of the galaxy. Ever since the hypothesis of contacting the Ascendancy had started to form, more than a year ago, Iulius had studied that language whenever he found the time, and now he had mastered that enough to understand what they were saying.
"This is the cruiser Steadfast of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. Are you our contact?" a female voice, cold just as Thrawn's, hailed.
Iulius nodded to the Captain of the ship, who promptly stepped down from the chair and allowed the Lord-Protector to speak into the microphone.
"Greetings, Steadfast. You are speaking with the Lord-Protector of the Galactic Empire, Iulius Tanis." he then sighed and made a couple coughs to prepare himself to recite the password they had agreed in Cheunh, the native language of the Chiss, a language that was almost impossible for non-Chiss to speak entirely because there were sounds and syllables that only the Chiss were able to emit. "May yo' hand be firm, and yo'r resolve unwavring."
He knew he had butchered the grammar, but Thrawn gave him a smirk and nodded, as to say that it wasn't that bad, considering how he had been taught that phrase barely an hour before.
"Greetings, Lord-Protector Tanis. This is Admiral Ar'alani. Requesting permission to come aboard."
"Permission granted, Admiral. Take a shuttle and dock with our bridge directly."
Iulius silently observed the sensors showing a shuttle departing from the Chiss ship and heading to the rear of the Lalarak's bridge. He and Thrawn stepped in the middle of the room and looked toward the hatch, standing straight with their hands behind their back.
Shortly after, from the hatch stepped in a Chiss female wearing a white military uniform, she waltzed in with the same elegance usually sported by Thrawn. Her hair were also blue-black and reached her shoulders.
But the one who drew Iulius' attention the most was certainly the Human that was following her with a black uniform and a few plaques that indicated he was probably a mid-tier officer.
"Greetings, Lord Tanis." Ar'alani politely said.
"Admiral. It's a pleasure to meet you. Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo has told me about your past together."
"Right. For being an exile, he keeps reappearing quite constantly." Ar'alani said in a neutral tone, but after years of standing close to Thrawn, Iulius could read the Chiss enough to understand that she was both amused and grateful to see her old friend.
Thrawn didn't budge in front of the joking accusation. "Despite my exile, my loyalty to the Chiss will always bring me back."
Iulius decided to leave them be and instead turned toward the other Human among the officers.
"And you must be Eli Vanto." he greeted, stepping forward and presenting a hand. "I've heard stories about you, as well."
Vanto made a polite smile and shook the hand. "I hope so. After all, I'm all the way here because of him." he replied calmly as he looked at Thrawn.
"I see you have achieved the rank of Commander, again." the Chiss male commented as he looked at the plaques.
Vanto shrugged amused. "Had to happen, at some point." then he turned toward the other Grand Admiral in the room. "Even so far from the rest of the galaxy, voices about your exploits have arrived all the way here, Lord-Protector. I hope they are true, because we might use someone just as smart and crazy as the Grand Admiral over there."