Present Day
Aurora's POV
"I want to go home." I sighed to Zara as we were watching the Holonet in my mother's Senate apartment.
"Well, we can't." Zara said with an eyeroll. "At least not yet."
"I could easily steal a Republic Shuttle and get out of here." I retorted. "Remember I have pull with the Jedi."
She sighed. "You may have pull with the Jedi, but I can still tell your mother."
I gave her a blank stare. "You're not wrong."
The reason why Zara and I were in my mother's apartment was because she didn't want us coming to the Senate to witness the vote. Originally, she wanted both Zara and I there, then with word from both her advisors and guards that came with us on this trip to Coruscant, everyone advised that both Zara and I stayed in the Senate, especially for our safety. So here we were, sitting in front of the holonet watching my mother debate the oldest fossil in the galaxy on her pacifist ideals…it was going to be a show from the books and quite frankly entertaining.
"Have I told you I hate Palpatine? I mean look him? He looks like he's at least a hundred-years standard." I explained as he came on the screen.
"Ro, don't start." Zara sighed.
"It grieves me to say it, but Death Watch is now a significant, deadly threat." Palpatine began.
"Mandalore is making great strides to find the leaders of this terrorist movement. They are not powerful enough to destabilize our government. We will resolve this without conflict. If the republic gets involved in our affairs, it will only lead to further violence. Thus, I shall reassert our position of neutrality." My mother countered.
Mas Amedda huffed. "Talk of an idealist."
"Oh, shut up you blue troll!" I shouted in annoyance; Zara just shook her head in disgust.
My mother shook her head. "No, those are the words of a pacifist and a people who have chosen nonviolent action."
"Except for one Aurora Kryze." Zara murmured and I elbowed her in the side.
"That may be so, duchess." Palpatine began. "However, this message was delivered to my staff just this morning. I think you shall find it most illuminating."
Just then a projection of Deputy Minister Jerec came up and projected throughout the Senate.
"This ought to be good." Zara and I both said at the same time.
"The actions by our government have taken us into a period of civil war. To acknowledge it would be to invite panic in the streets. It is more than mere possibility, more than eventuality. It is here." The video then ended.
"WHAT?" Zara and I both shout at the same time.
"That's impossible!" Zara shouted.
"Zara, don't start." I said in the same tone Zara used when she scolded me earlier.
"Shut up Ro." She countered and I smirked in amusement.
"Death watch is far stronger than we once thought. If we are to combat them effectively, we must have Republic assistance. Instead, this government acts out of pride and rejects the help of the Jedi." The video continued. The duchess Satine will ultimately cause our defeat. Make no mistake. Republic intervention Is necessary."
"Oh no." I murmured.
"This isn't right. Something here isn't right. I wish to speak to Jerec immediately." My mother explained.
"Sadly, deputy minister Jerec perished this morning in a Death Watch bombing on Kalevala. Let us ensure that his death was not in vain. Let us commit our military might to defending the Mandalorian people." Palpatine retorted.
"Defending? You mean to occupy our home. You would trample our right to self-determination." My mother questioned in anger.
"We mean to save your people." The Palpatine countered.
"You will turn our planet into a military target, which will bring the war to us. Mandalore must remain a neutral system." My mother protested.
"The vote shall commence next session." The chancellor said and the projection of the Senate meeting ended.
"That was intense." Zara explained as she leaned back on the couch.
I stood up and began to pace. Geenine let out a low moan making Zara sigh.
"I know." Zara agreed with a nod. "She's annoying."
"Both of you really like to put a damper on my self-confidence." I said in annoyance.
"It's our job." Zara replied and Geenine beeped back in agreement.
"I can't believe the Republic is going to potentially occupy Mandalore." I said in disbelief.
"I thought you wanted this?" Zara asked in confusion.
"I do, but not like this." I explained. "I told you when I would become Duchess this would occur, but not until then. Doing this by force doesn't seem right, it seems wrong."
Just then the coms on my wrist began to beep. But they didn't beep like normal, they beeped like a coded message was coming in.
"I have to go." I explained before rushing into my room to change.
"Where?" Zara questioned.
I glanced over my shoulder at her.
"Never mind." She said with an eyeroll. "Just don't come back with any bruises or scars, your mother will hate that."
I smirked before quickly changing into my normal black suit, when I would meet with the Jedi, before sneaking out of the apartment, and taking a shuttle to the Jedi Temple. Geenine didn't come with me as she could be cover for Zara if she needed to.
As soon as the shuttle reached the temple, I got off it and began to walk down corridors until I came to that stupid force tree with Anakin looking at it with his back turned to me.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked.
Anakin turned around. "I'm being assigned to occupy Mandalore. I wanted you to know."
I crossed my arms as I walked down the steps. "I'm not thrilled. Trust me, I may want a military presence and warrior way reestablished, but not by brute force. I wanted this to occur when I was crowned, but apparently this is happening sooner than I thought. I thought the vote was not till tomorrow morning?"
"They pushed the vote, your mother was attacked evidently, we leave tomorrow morning at sunrise." He explained. "I'm sorry."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "It's not like you could do anything about it."
I turned on my heel and began to walk back up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" He asked in confusion.
"Home." I practically snapped.
I heard footsteps behind me which I assumed were Anakin's as I began to walk down the corridors.
"Aurora! Wait!" He called after me making me stop in my tracts and turn around to look at him.
"Listen, you can protest this." He explained. "I am close with the Chancellor, perhaps he can…"
"Don't!" I snapped. "Let me tell you something for once, Palpatine only looks out for himself and only himself. I take everything that man says with a grain of salt. I have not and never will trust that man, and you can't change my mind!"
Just then both of our coms started to beep and as we activated both, a holographic image of my mother with the words 'Wanted for Murder' were below it.
"What the fuck?" I blurted out.
Anakin looked at me in shock. Probably because of my language, but at this point I was in such a state of shock, I didn't care. I looked over the wanted ad to see which level of Coruscant it occurred on and thankfully, it wasn't that low of a level, and I knew for a fact my mother couldn't stomach killing a man like I could.
"I've got to go." I said before breaking out into a run.
"Do you need backup?" He called after me.
"You know I can handle this myself!" I called back to him as I continued to run out of the temple, before hitching a ride on a Republic shuttle heading down to that level to investigate the crime. As I ran through the street portion of the level, I realized that I wasn't wearing my helmet, but I also realized that no one recognized me. My hair was pulled back, I was wearing something that a princess would never wear, plus I had weapons on me…for the first time in my life, I went out looking like myself, my true self, and no one recognized me…it was perfect. I decided to get a view overlooking the area so I could spot my mother and protect her from the rooftops of the buildings. I climbed to the roof of one building and began to overlook a plaza where my mother was sitting. I tilted my head to the side in confusion onto why she was just sitting there, plus her disguise was awful, she could've done so much better. That's when I noticed a figure in a dark brown cloak walking across the plaza and sitting down next to her.
I sighed. "Obi-Wan."
Just then, I heard clicking from across the roofs, I crouched down and peered across the plaza to see a Death Watch assassin getting ready to take out my mother. I recognized the symbol on the suit all too well, I knew exactly who it was underneath all that beskar, and I was pissed as hell.
I quickly began to run across the roofs heading towards the assassin, and as soon as they saw me, they began to run away from me. Serves them right, they should run, especially when I'm angry. We continued running down the set of roofs until we were out of earshot of the plaza, as that's when I called after them.
"GAR!" I yelled and the assassin stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned around and took off his helmet to reveal himself, and I was right, it was Gar. He looked just as mad as I did.
"What are you doing?" I asked in frustration.
"What do you think?" He snapped. "I'm doing something you could never do successfully, following orders."
"Why? Why are you doing this?" I hyperventilated.
"Death Watch was close to taking over Mandalore, but after your little stunt with the Jedi and abandoning us, we now are pushed back to our starting point again." He said with anger.
"I did the right thing, and deep down you know I did." I explained.
"You betrayed us!" He shouted. "You betrayed me! You betrayed your family!"
"You were never my family!" I shouted back. "You all betrayed me! Selling me off like some slave or pawn in your game! You all manipulated me into being the way I am! You turned me against my own mother! Working with the Jedi made me realize that I don't take pride in slaughtering innocent children and families and feeling some sense of clarity knowing that most of them are raped before they are killed! You don't have a right to tell me that I am in the wrong, when you know deep down that you are in the wrong!"
"Depends on where you're looking." He taunted back before firing a stun bullet from a small blaster he had. I unfortunately didn't act fast enough and was hit with the bullet allowing for the electricity to convey through my body.
I fell to the ground as I rode out the electrical pulse through my body…thankfully I didn't pass out. I was trained for something like this, and Gar of all people should know that, since he's the one who taught me how to quickly overcome being electrocuted. Once I was fully got control of myself once again, I quickly stood up just in time for an explosion to occur about 4 rooftops away. I quickly ran across the roofs and from a distance, I heard a lightsaber igniting, which meant Obi-Wan had it handled, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to observe. From my position on the roof, I could see Obi-Wan fighting Gar well…especially for a non-Mandalorian. That's when I realized why Gar was going after Obi-Wan…the tape that was played of Jerec in the Senate was edited…and Obi-Wan had the original recording. That's why my mother is accused of murdering a member of the Council of Neutral Systems.
I saw Obi-Wan through Gar off a ledge, but Gar successfully got away, which was rather unsurprising. My mother then started off in one direction and Obi-Wan went in another. That's when my com went off.
"Aurora." Obi-Wan's voice came through my wrist com. "Meet me at the Senate, you need to present information to clear your mother's name."
I rolled my eyes as I ran. "On it."
I then activated my coms again, but this time, to reach Zara.
"Zara, it's me, I need you to have Senate attire waiting for me when I get back…we are going to the Senate." I explained.
"Of course, we are." I heard her huff in annoyance.
I got back to my mother's apartment within 10 minutes and immediately took the fastest shower I'd ever taken. Thankfully, Zara was there and got my clothes ready, so they were prepped by the time I got out of the shower.
"I pulled a dark blue sleeveless beaded gown." She explained as I took the gown and started to change in the bathroom. "It's not that elaborate, it's like the dark green one you wore. As for your crown, it is the same one you always use."
I nodded as I walked out of the bathroom wearing the gown. Zara quickly pulled my hair back into a bun and placed the crown on my head. Geenine beeped and Zara and I shared a nod before the 3 of us got into a shuttle that would take us to the Senate.
As soon as we arrived at the Senate we were met by Obi-Wan as we all quickly walked (or in Geenine's case rolled) down the halls towards the designated pod.
"Your mother turned herself in, she wanted me to give you this." He explained as he handed me the hard drive of the 'real' recording of Jerec.
"Thank you." I said with a nod.
"Ro, do you know how to talk…" Zara began.
"In a diplomatic matter that isn't saying what I truly believe and speaking in favor of Mandalore's neutrality?" I questioned as we turned the corner and went into the pod.
"Yes." Both Zara and Obi-Wan replied.
I smirked making Zara put a palm to her head. She knew this look all too well. It was the 'I'm going to do something off the books and quite possibly get scolded for it' look.
"We're going to find out." I smiled as I stepped into the pod and activated the controls making the pod move forward, which made Obi-Wan and Zara both sit down.
"The occupation of Mandalore, will usher in a new level of security for the republic, and its fight against corruption. If there are no objections..." Palpatine began.
"Supreme Chancellor!" I interrupted. "There has been a development with Mandalore's neutrality."
"The Chancellor recognizes Her Royal Highness the Princess of Mandalore." Palpatine responded with a nod.
I held up the hard drive. "I think this should cast a new light on the so-called 'evidence' the Senate saw earlier."
I then plugged the hard drive into the pod and activated it, so it allowed for the entire projection of Jerec to be played in each of the individual pods, along with a large projection being in the middle of the Senate.
"The actions by our government have taken us into a period of civil war. To acknowledge it would be to invite panic in the streets. Death watch is far stronger than we once thought. But we have been training for this. We can stop them. But if we are to combat them effectively, we must have the temerity to stand strong in the name of peace. And if we are to do so, we must reject any republic assistance. Instead, this government will act. It acts not out of pride but for safety. Intervention by the republic will inflame the opposition. And therefore, our government rejects the help of the Jedi. We must listen to the Duchess Satine. If we do not, we will ultimately cause our defeat." The recording of Jerec explained as a smirk became plastered on my face.
I sighed before I began. "As you can see Chancellor, Prime Minister Jerec was always in support of my mother and was until the time of his death. The Mandalorian government stands behind my mother and all her actions and decisions. Mandalore's neutrality was created for the best of the system. If any of you were to step outside of our domed cities, you'd be faced with harsh climate, and an endless desert wasteland. It's not the fault of erosion of the environment, nor the fault of pollution by the Mandalorian people. It was the cause of war. War that was brought to our home world by the Mandalorians themselves. If you all truly think that occupying Mandalore with Republic forces is the best thing for our people and our planet, you are lying to yourself! And so, I ask you, Distinguished Senators, and Supreme Chancellor…if your planet was neutral, and thousands of years of war were able to be seen on the surface of the planet, and the Republic wanted to occupy it…how would you feel? How would your children or your family feel? Would you push forward with the Republic occupation, or would you wake up and realize, potentially inflicting more war onto a planet that has already lost so much, could possibly lead to the end of the civilization itself?"
Just as I ended speaking, the Senate erupted into an applause, leading me to be shocked. Every single Senator, Dignitary, Representative, and Monarch were out of their seats applauding the words that had just come out of my mouth. I turned around to look Zara in the eye and she had the biggest smile. I glanced to Obi-Wan who just mouthed:
"Well done."
I nodded back before activating the pod to return to its original position. Within minutes, the Chancellor relinquished his orders to arrest my mother and have her tried for murder, along with the fact that the overall occupation orders for Mandalore ended meaning that my mother's wishes were granted and saved.
As I walked out of the pod, Geenine beeped in enthusiasm.
"I know, I'm shocked too." I explained.
"So am I!" A voice from behind me said.
I smiled as I turned around to get immediately engulfed in a hug by Anakin.
"I can't believe you did that!" He said in shock as he held me by my shoulders. "I didn't think you had it in you! I thought you hate being diplomatic."
I nodded. "I do, still do, and most likely always will. I just didn't want to see my mother's idea of a perfect world crash and burn. I may not entirely support it but…this is unfortunately going to be my job in the next few years…I might as well get use to it."
"Still though, it was rather impressive." Obi-Wan explained. "Well done Aurora, you couldn't have done it any better."
"Agreed." Zara and Anakin both replied and Geenine also beeped with enthusiasm.
I smiled, and while I absolutely hate being a pacifist, I would do anything to help my mother. After all, she's the only 'real' blood relative I have ever known to the fullest extent, and that I will be forever grateful for.