[First days of 16 BBY]
[New Mandalorian Headquarters, Sundari City, Mandalore, Mandalore System, Mandalore Sector, Outer Rim Territories]
Santine Kyrze stood on the balcony of the New Mandalorian's headquarters, looking out at the city bustling with life and energy once more. Also bustling with danger and conspiracy now, even if Mandalore was more united now than it had in decades. Strangely it had allowed her, and her people, greater peace than she'd have believed as the Death Watch…
It was almost funny, in a twisted, bitter, way, that the Death Watch had bitten off more than could chew, and they were paying for that on the frontlines as Vizla's allied clans paid the price. All while Jedi had fled here, and these bizarre witches from Dathomir had followed the madman Maul and his brother as he and Vizla vied for control of the Death Watch allied clans. It was ironic really, in that both the wannabe Sith and the leader of Clan Vizla had gotten the war they wanted…and now it was focusing all their attention on. Because if they broke off then the Confederacy would destroy them all….and that was why Satine had been forced to play ball with them in the end.
Democratically they had won, in free and fair elections, so Satine had no choice but to agree to supporting their actions. Terrible and misguided as those actions might be. After all the galaxy had gone mad, and the now the Republic had acknowledge they had lost the war…so they could their own, brutal, civil war. Everything she'd held dear had fallen apart, and now all she had left was Mandalore. The Jedi arrivals had brought back memories of Obi-wan to the surface, and a wish he had fled here too…but he was making his stand, just as she was, and Satine…
She could not begrudge him that. Even now.
Satine turned and smiled as footsteps, familiar ones, came into her office. Her nephew was in armour now…and that disappointed her a little, but she understood the need, and that Korkie had stayed loyal through it all. Even with his other, smirking, aunt, coming in at his side, tired smile on her face. For the moment Satine ignored her, smiling at her nephew "Korkie, welcome back….and Bo, you're here too"
"Hey Sis!" came back cheekily "Been busy fight a war, how have you been…doing paperwork?"
"Make sure you've blasters and food if you must know. Armour repair too. Unless you think such things appear as if by magic" Satine pointed out, though Bo was less grating of late than usual. Her sister made an unhappy noise, nodding, helmet held in her hand against waist. Her sister's voice was a little tired too, and not as bitterly willing to cross her as it had once been…in what seemed like a different galaxy. They were House Kyrze once more, even if they had made different choices, taken different paths…
"I'd loved if they did. Should find some of those space wizards showing up and see if they'll do that?" Bo-Katan huffed back, then sighed as she'd stopped "Speaking of…"
Satine sighed "What?"
"Minor trouble" Bo murmured "Skirata warned Maul to ah…well, you'd not like the exact language, but lets say Clan Skirata are intent on Jedi and Clone babies in the proper Mandalorian style. By that the Supercommando Codex style I think, based on what's been said"
Satine took in a breath "Korkie?"
"I don't know Auntie, but I have heard similar" her nephew replied "I think the problem is that one of the witches turned up and sought out a marriage alliance"
"Lots of witches have turned up of late"
Her nephew shrugged helplessly "Oh, I know. It is hard to miss them. But this one…sought out Skirata. Maul took offense to it. You'll have to step in"
"Do I?" Satine murmured then emitted a bone-weary sigh "I suppose I will have to"
That, disturbingly, had become her role in these dark times on Mandalore. The role of the New Mandalorians, and more importantly, the Protectors she led. Most of them actively disliked Death Watch, but protecting Mandalore was now of vital importance as the Confederates continued to attack in greater force, with only the limited hyperlanes serving to slow them. Well, that and the aggressive 'defence' by the Protectors, the Death Watch, the various allied clans, the criminal gangs turned legal, and even the Jedi and Witches that had fled to Mandalore for safety. All with the active support of the Republic out of Alsakan, which had eagerly allowed them supplies of vital war materials.
Unfortunately, that role she had come into now involved…negotiating with the ranting lunatic that was Maul, though he was gradual getting more and more coherent with each month of war. Satine suspect the Dathomiri's mother at work, because 'Mother' Talzin was increasingly growing her influence within the allied systems of the 'Mandalorian Dominion'. Which, in truth, meant Satine would need to go talk to that woman to talk to her 'Sith' son and get him to avoid a Clan war with the lunatics in Clan Skirata…
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[First days of 16 BBY]
[Upper House of the Senate, formerly security services facility former Eriadu Limieball, New Senate District, Eriadu, Eriadu System, Seswenna Sector, Outer Rim Territories]
'The Force is clearly fucking with me' I thought as I moved through the heavily renovated former arena facility, though why a tournament sport arena had such an extensive security building beside it I wasn't quite sure I wanted to know about. Right now though…it was a moderately impressive artifice for a multi-planetary government, even if nothing on the level of Coruscant. One that an impressive security setup even for Coruscant, mostly because assassins and saboteurs were a constant. Palpatine at work there I expected, as even my bases on Solem had seen similar problems over recent months, though we'd been expecting such, just like the Tarkins clearly were. The days of the easy security of the early war Galactic Republic were long gone now.
'Palpatine's own fault there. He made us all brutally Darwinian in our security' I mused to myself, trying to get my mind off the Force clearly fucking with us all. Probably. I could understand the underlying political calculus at work, but it still…befuddled me. Then again it was also likely aimed to be a very subtle jab aimed at the Chancellor over on Kuat that we didn't recognise as Chancellor anymore. I doubted it'd do anything more than be petty and annoy the Sith Lord…but seemed to be what Tarkin was going for as I, and Asajj, stood security as much as being representatives here today. We were nobility now after all, and representatives to the House of Lords type thing he'd created.
Rahm Kota was here too, across the stadium-arena-whatever turned Senate in a similar manner, each section separated by almost invisible blast screens. There weren't any off the hover-buggy-things they'd used in Coruscant, but a simpler work-bench arrangement, with earpiece translator and a few other tools for note taking and reviewing documents on the floor. Overall, it was a practical arrangement, and I could approve on that, as I used said tools myself right now for this inaugural event. While we were also secret security, we also got to see the conversation of the Republic to an Empire on this day – for today was the day the Galactic Republic was, officially, no more. Today was the sum of all my failures and limited successes come home to roost amidst this sea of Senators and Nobles from the Outer and Mid Rims.
Currently….it was a whole spiel of boring stuff, that I'd already read, several times, in advance of this event anyway. Still, I listened, as the basic outlines of the various new structures and instructions were laid out, along with people like me, military officers, were elevated to nobility…voting nobility. It was the same as the hundreds of Outer Rim systems who had feudal systems, or biological caste systems, getting representatives here where they hadn't on Coruscant. Oh, there was the reverse where 'traitorous' systems were losing out on representatives, but, overall, this was a shift towards significant representation being created for Tarkin's Outer and Mid Rim powerbase. Legitimacy in that manner I could tell, or at least a route to establish it given time.
My presence….our presence…was visible, what with my armour and Asajj's, and that was deliberate too, just like the other Moffs present either in physical body, or by holo-avatar. There were two separate 'bodies' here in the 'Upper' and 'Lower' Senate, with two separate heads to each, though I wasn't surprised to see Garoche Tarkin as Speaker for the House of Nobles. Temporarily anyway, just like the current Chancellor and Vice Chancellor's appointments were temporary as well…for the three years it would take to establish free and fair re-elections of course. I'd snort at that, but I kept a poker face instead. It was all about ensuring Law and Order was restored first and foremost, because that would heavily influence any elections to the 'Lower House' of the new Senate.
"…vote confirms election of Senator Binks of Naboo to the Office of Chancellor, and Senator Tevv of Sullust to the position of Vice Chancellor…"
Still. The Force was clearly fucking with me despite all that as I watched said gungan and said sullustan stood at the head of the 'Senate' alongside the 'former' Chancellor that had proposed them. Sian Tevv represented Sullust, though not Surosuub, and was too young to take up the mantle of Chancellor…despite that likely being the original plan. Or it was too obvious and they wanted a 'neutral' candidate that could be foisted on the Senate, one that'd not cause a fuss, and generally be listed too…
'Somehow that's Jar Jar fucking Binks. Hero of Naboo' I thought again, projecting it at Asajj {This is somehow aimed to annoy Kuat and Corellia}
She ignored me, or more so gave me an amused glance at my complaining, giving a shrug as I observed the fancy ceremony drawn from some pre-Ruusan version of the swearing in process. I was weirded out by this, and we'd managed to get to this point…all while being watchful for any hint of attack. Over a dozen assassins, or, well, would be assassins, had already been caught or killed in recent days after all, though tort…interrogation…had gotten them to give up everything they knew apparently. I was distrustful of that, but one could only hope security was enough for all this pomp.
But, in the end, it was in regards the real event…
The Coronation of our New Emperor.
By Popular Acclaim even as we all voted for him to take the position!
"You have heard my words before" Tarkin got up, without a fancy crown, though he had a throne, and his voice carried as he stood in his military uniform. The well-earned military uniform in truth "Freedom with Order, Liberty with Security, and the Ideals of the Republic without the Madness and Corruption. That is the New Order we will bring to the galaxy. We have enough of airy and graceful words, of long-winded speeches that achieve nothing, and often bring worse than nothing in the times afterwards. No, today I take up this mantle of your Emperor because of the failures of Coruscant, of the failures of the Core, of the treason of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. You, here, are the true heirs to the Galactic Republic, and though we must do what we must to survive and carry that torch into the future…we will make that sacrifice! We will cross that divide and we shall be victorious! Today I announce the birth of the United Federal Empire. There will be much work to be done. So let us begin…"
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