Chapter 31: A Matter of Honor
September 6, 2227.
Iulius was tapping his index regularly and increasingly louder on the desk, staring immobile at the wall in front of him while the holograms of the Ruling Council spoke on his right. Even they could perceive the seething rage in his heart and seemed unable to defend the actions of their masters.
"You know what's the amusing part in all of this?" Iulius asked after the Ministers had finished speaking. "That these things you are telling me, I had to learn them from the HoloNet, via the rebel channels."
"Lord-Protector, whatever is your opinion on the matter, you can't deny that…"
"Shut. up." Iulius spelled with a cold fury that silenced the old politicians. "You listen to me, and you listen carefully: I am tired of you guys messing everything up. Not only you lost a vital ship-building world, you also allowed the enemy to cut the Mid Rim in two. Now the shipyards on Fondor will have to deliver their ships through a much longer and hazardous path, thanks to you. You are the ones who insisted that I threw away my men in another offensive that we were not prepared for, and now my forces are too exhausted to even think about retaking Sullust. Not to mention, my sources on Lothal and Garel report that the Federation is focusing back on our galaxy.
"So here it is what I will do: I will finish taking Ringo Vinda, then I will stop and dig in to prepare for whatever the enemy is preparing to do. If you try to give me another idiotic order, I swear that I will come to Coruscant and discuss this personally. Do I make myself clear?"
"Are you threatening us, Grand Admiral?"
"I'm just telling you to let me do my job before I lose patience." he replied coldly. "That will be all." he added before pushing the button to close the communication in their face.
As if Zann's new mobile super-weapon wasn't already a huge liability, now those idiots on Coruscant had to go and make the situation extremely precarious.
He leaned his head into his palm and sighed loudly. The loss of Sullust couldn't have come at a worse time: Veers and Krybos were busy trying to take over Christophsis, which was turning out to be an extremely tough nut to crack, one that was costing men and ships to the Mid Rim Forces. He had nothing to spare that could reinforce Eriadu.
And if that wasn't enough, it seemed likely that the Federation was coming back in full force, but there was no saying when a Coalition counterattack might start and how strong it would be.
He needed to finish the battle on Ringo Vinda and start to dig in as soon as possible. A breach in the line so close to Naboo was the last thing he needed.
The door bell rang, giving him a break from his fatalistic thoughts. "Come in."
The door opened and walked in a mandalorian in white armor, his helmet under his left arm. The man went to made a short bow in front of the Grand Admiral.
"Good to see you again, Count Kryze."
"The feeling is mutual, Lord Tanis." Korkie replied politely. "I suppose is quite urgent, if you didn't want to talk on the communicator."
"Yes. I need your advice."
Iulius then pushed a button on the desk that brought up the hologram of the Merciless, as comscan had detected that large Destroyer to be called.
"A couple rotations ago, we fought this ship. I was wondering if you would recognize it, since it has a clear mandalorian design."
Korkie at first seemed a little scared, he leaned closer to the blueprint and his face became more worried. "So they did it."
"What?"
Korkie straightened back. "I assume you are aware that, during the battle of Mandalore, we were told by the Jedi that someone infiltrated the Great Forge?"
Iulius hummed positively.
"Well, it turned out that the one project that was stolen, was this one. The project for the Krayt-class attack cruiser. It was designed specifically to take out Star Destroyers and other large ships with a single strike."
"And how come the Consortium knew exactly what to go for?"
"There were rumors that they had infiltrated our engineering corp, but I guess that's beyond doubt, at this point."
The Grand Admiral hummed and stood up, pacing around the desk. "Any suggestion on how we fight it?"
"I only know that, in order to mount its main weapons, the engineers had to sacrifice a lot of armor, so it was supposed to be used in conjunction with our bigger battleships. I don't know whether the Consortium managed to add some more."
"Judging by how easily we took out the ion cannon, perhaps not. All right, thanks, Korkie. Now, however, I need your opinion on another matter."
September 8, 2227.
"If you are willing to ratify the association treaty," Francesco explained to the Commune delegation in front of him. "we are ready to give you two temporary seats in the UACT Assembly, where you will have a voice to at least influence the decision-making of the Alliance's policies. We will also start the exchange of our technology with you, as long as you accept to maintain an embassy on a world of your choosing. Eventually, if you behave and the Assembly sees it fit, you may be offered a full membership into the UACT, should you so desire."
The delegation of the Commune nodded. It was made up of not only the President of Primigenia Hendry, but also of all the alien species and minor nations of the state, for a total of 33 members, plus Federico, who had accompanied them as the chief negotiator given his good relationship with the Emperor.
On Francesco's side there were the members of the Citadel Council and the ambassadors of the other UACT members, with the ones of the New Republic and of the Commonwealth certainly being the most influential ones, given the fact that they were the two larger contributors to the alliance.
"It's an opportunity." the ambassador of the Commonwealth, a Twi'lek female called Ralini, said. "To steer the future for the better. Not just for your planets, but for both the galaxies and maybe beyond."
"In return," said ambassador Emvri of the Republic. "we will expect a full defensive commitment against the threat posed by the Empire, just as we will assist you against any possible threat to your territory."
Federico looked toward the row on his left, then on his right. All the delegates nodded positively.
"The Terminus Commune of Free Nations is happy to join this community. We will respect the terms and obligations that this treaty implies, in the spirit of a full cooperation."
The members of the UACT were already smiling in relief, but then Francesco saw that Federico was clearly waiting for their attention to shift back to them. While his allies were certainly satisfied of this result, there was something on their mind.
"Is everything all right, gentlemen?" the Emperor asked, regaining the attention of his side.
"I apologize, brother. It's just that we received an alarming news just before this meeting. Something I believe will be of interest to you, as well."
"Let's hear it."
The President of Primigenia took the stage. "Our interposition fleet just reported that Doisac has descended into civil war." he lit his omni-tool and brought up a video. "They sent us this."
The images showed a fight erupting between the ships of the Tambaran, just before the Penumbra Apex emerged from FTL and started supporting one specific sides. The video ended shortly after, showing several of Balak's opponents retreating from the planet.
"Do we know what's going on?" Councilor Irissa asked.
"Not yet." said Federico. "But I was personally in contact with Atriox, as you know that I was trying to persuade him into negotiating with you. He recently said that there were several Tambaran who were disgruntled with the idea of peace talks."
"Knowing that Balak had such firepower to help, must have convinced them to take the lead." said Yorhan Vaz.
"Gentlemen, please, maintain your calm." Francesco invited with a soothing voice. "This is actually a golden opportunity for us."
Everyone looked at him, either with curiosity, question or, in case of his brother, a good amount of trust.
"Not only Balak finally revealed himself, giving us a chance to defeat him, but if we help Atriox return to his leadership position, he will be much more willing to agree to a ceasefire. Despite their warlike nature, the Tambaran know what gratitude is. It's our best chance not only to stop this war, but also to set up a base for peaceful coexistence with them."
The rest of the participants looked or mumbled at each other, but overall the frankness of the Emperor found many in agreement.
"A joint operation between our nations would be a great first step toward a full cooperation." said President Hendry.
"I'm glad to hear it." Francesco replied sincerely. "I'll immediately order the INS Sentinel to be prepared for battle. I'll also go with our fleet."
It seemed like the Councilor would have wanted to object to that, but they knew it would have been impossible to convince him otherwise.
"I'll contact the New Republic and see what we can afford to send your way." said the ambassador.
The other members of the UACT said that, too. After all, the imperial offensive in Andromeda had basically halted in its tracks for lack of supplies and there was only the theater of Ringo Vinda to watch. The members of the Galactic Alliance could afford to send their fleets for the first time ever into the Milky Way.
"Then how about we sign the treaty and then let our generals do their jobs?" Francesco proposed.
The ambassadors were in agreement and so the entire delegation left the private conference room to reach a much larger one, where journalists were already present and cameras were rolling. The ceremony of signature took three whole hours, but in the meantime the high commands of the UACT and of the Commune had been already notified to start preparations for the upcoming joint operation.
After all the formalities had been concluded, the two brothers had finally the chance to talk alone.
"Remember when they had us take lessons in diplomacy? The last thing I would have ever imagined was that we would be speaking for both sides at the same table." Federico joked.
They chuckled. "I'm more impressed that the Commune trusts you so much. I'm pretty sure a lot of people would think that one of us is doing the bidding of the other, since we're so close."
"I mean, it is one of the reasons why our family has been in charge for so long."
"Fair enough. I guess we should do the best use we can. How long do you think the Commune can mobilize a fleet?"
"They were already on high alert. Mobilizing our entire Navy won't be a problem, now that we are officially allies and we don't have to guard our borders so tightly. You can count on our full strength...even mine."
Francesco at first was pleased, but the last two words of the brother threw ice water on his head.
"You want to take part in the battle?"
"There are still many enslaved Protheans aboard the Apex. Destroying it with just the big guns will kill them too. And we have to be sure that Balak stops being a concern for the galaxy, this time. I'm sure you will convene that we need to board the dreadnought, and my powers will make the assault much easier."
"Are you sure about this? You never liked violence."
"I learned that violence is something that you must be ready to use, when necessary. Besides, Balak was spared once by John, and another time by our mother. I may not like our royal status, but he spat on her good will and thus our entire family. I will not stand by it." Federico said firmly, fending the air with his arm in a strong gesture of willingness.
That last point hit Francesco deeply. Indeed, John was very invested in the hunt for Balak since the Terra Nova incident, but during the Reaper War it was Benedetta who spared Balak even when he tried to assassinate her.
This entire plot was exactly what Federico described: an offense to their mother, something that couldn't go unanswered.
"Let's get that bitch."
September 12, 2227.
It seemed unbelievable that the battle was about to be over. The news of Sullust's liberation had been a boost to morale, but to finally leave the ring had been an even more welcomed news for the Jedi and the troopers of the Republic.
That said, getting out of there was easier said than done, with the imperials repeatedly sending incursions, even if not full-fledged attack. Perhaps even they were tired of dying by the hundreds.
"Master Bridger, there are only two transports left." a trooper reported to Ezra.
"Thanks, Corporal. We'll retreat to the last bastion when they leave."
The soldier made a quick salute and then headed back.
"I can't believe I'm saying this...but I'm glad we're getting out of here." Din commented.
The Jedi and their mandalorian allies had volunteered to stay in the rearguard. Since their arrival on the ring, and with the battle heating up, more and more volunteers had come from Atin to fight alongside their Duke and their brethren, and now they had a strength up to a little less than a company, all with the training and weaponry of their clans, which made them an extremely sturdy enemy in that restricted space.
Still, the sheer violence they had seen in just a few weeks had shaken even those battle-hardened warriors.
"I wonder what happens next." said Tristan. "We may have taken Sullust, but we still have to find the location of the new Death Star."
"Darvos and the others will find something." Jaral reassured. "First thing first, we go back to Lothal and take a deserved break."
Barely had she said that, a blaster bolt resonated and flew over their heads, over the barricade they were using as a shelter. They all jumped on their feet, weapons in hand, and rushed to their posts. The mandalorians opened fire as soon as they spotted a squad of stormtroopers, but Ezra and Jaral were more surprised to see their colors: that was Iulius' personal battalion.
"Jinx." said Ezra, but the AI didn't reply. "Jinx!"
The AI finally showed up its form, but it was stuttering and glitching around. "Y-Y-Y...Yes Ezra?"
The Jedi didn't have the strength to reply. Jinx's condition had significantly deteriorated in the last few days. No wonder he didn't detect the imperials.
"Send an alert that we're under attack." he said as the weapons carried on their concerto. He then focused on the battle, igniting his lightsaber and standing up to draw the enemy fire.
The stormtroopers stayed at a relatively safe distance and used debris as a cover before some of their comrades brought forward three of their new deflector shields, effectively making themselves invulnerable. They opened another huge salvo of blaster bolts that forced the defenders to get down, as they couldn't do anything else.
"I really hate those things." Paz grunted.
"I have a bad feeling, though." Jaral said. She then materialized her armor and stood up as she put up her directional shield, which gave her a very small time window to take a look at the situation.
"Karabast!" she exclaimed quickly and then ducked again. "Dark Troopers! get back!"
They all sprinted away, keeping a low stance to stay out of the line of fire of the imperials, but it didn't take long before the siblings felt a warning through the Force. They turned their heads and saw the first shots of the Soul-stealers about to get through the barricade.
As soon as the bolts went through, the siblings halted, quickly turned around and focused their thoughts on the gaseous bolts. Using a little foresight, they determined which were going to hit someone and attempted to push them away.
Luckily for them, it worked and the gaseous shots were deviated to end up safely on the floor or the ceiling, making them head toward space.
The siblings resumed their run and reached, alongside their allies, the first barricade manned by New Republic troopers, who had already been alerted. They took position behind it just before the imperials caught up with them and resumed firing.
And if all of that wasn't enough, Ezra and Jaral quickly spotted Starkiller and the Astartes emerging from the back of the stormtroopers.
"Forget that easy extraction." Jaral mumbled as the fight erupted all around.
"Guess they wanted to say goodbye." Ezra quipped.
"You are incorrigible." Jaral replied, nonetheless amused by the joke.
She turned toward Tristan and signaled that they were going out to meet the three warriors head-on. The Duke nodded and coordinated a strong salvo to give the Jedi enough to cover to allow them out of the barricade without many distractions.
The siblings materialized their armors and ignited their lightsabers, moving to intercept their three rivals along the way.
Only to realize that the imperials had already stopped firing, and the trio of saber wielders were just standing there in a combat position, but still too far away from the Jedi.
When the republicans also realized that their foes were not firing any longer, they stopped out of confusion and curiosity. They then noticed that even the Dark Troopers had marched to the front, but were keeping their weapons down, and even if the imperials were amassing more troops and heavy weapons in the rear, it didn't look like they were about to jump onto the defenders.
A strange feeling passed through the minds of the siblings, but all their questions were answered quite rapidly, for Iulius himself, clad in his combat armor and only his helmet off, emerged from the imperial formation.
There was a lull. Clearly, this was the last thing the republicans and the Jedi expected to happen. Iulius seemed to give them a moment to digest the reality and then spoke up.
"Jedi. Soldiers of the New Republic. You have fought with undeniable bravery, something that deserves to be remembered by history. But too much blood has been spilled on this forsaken ring, and I have no wish to continue this massacre. Therefore, I give you a choice: surrender now, and you'll be treated with all the regards that the Yavin Convention prescribes."
Ezra and Jaral looked at each other: something didn't add up: the Empire had not signed the Convention, so Iulius was clearly trying something. And another major hint came as he took the Darksaber from his belt and ignited it in the air for all to see.
"Or be overwhelmed right now."
Silence followed. The Jedi hesitated as they couldn't understand what was Iulius' intention. Perhaps he was taking time for something larger.
But someone else couldn't stand that challenge.
"Tanis!"
The Jedi turned around and saw Tristan flying over and past them with his jetpack. The Duke then removed his helmet. They couldn't see his face, but they could perceive a strong, yet strangely focused, anger.
"You dare to make such a proposition while you wield that?" Tristan accused. "Then you clearly are more clueless than you look."
Iulius clearly feigned to assess him, because there was no way he didn't know who he was talking to. "Tristan Wren. Duke of the House of Atin. It is an honor to meet you on the field of battle." he said solemnly.
Tristan didn't reply. It probably didn't sit well with him to make a compliment right after insulting him.
Then the Lord-Protector rose an arm, and all the imperials clearly lowered their weapons. Whatever that was, the Jedi and the republicans did the same, to avoid an escalation that nobody wanted, not when they were all so close to leave that dreaded place.
"Then how about you prove your worth as a chief?" Iulius said.
He then pointed the Darksaber at him. "Fight with me. If you win, you and your people can leave peacefully. If I win, I will take their lives anyway."
The siblings were stunned.
"What in the moons…?" Ezra thought down the bond. "Something is not right."
"Yeah, no kidding. But Iulius never goes back on his word, so…"
"Very well." Tristan said after considering the offer for just three seconds. He was clearly eyeing the Darksaber. "I accept."
"Then choose your weapon." the Lord-Protector invited.
Tristan turned around and walked in front of his brother-in-law. "Ezra...may I ask you?" he requested humbly.
Ezra looked at him with concern. "Tristan, I'm not sure it's a good idea."
"I know it's not. But it will give you time to come up with a plan. Besides, my honor as a leader demands that I reclaim that weapon, or die trying. So...please."
The determination in his eyes simply could not be broken. Ezra exchanged a glance with his sister, who was also skeptic but she was still comprehensive toward the young Duke. Ezra thus made up his mind and extended his lightsaber to Tristan.
"Be careful. I don't want to give Sabine any bad news." he simply said.
Tristan made a firm nod. "Thank you, brother."
The Duke then turned around and stepped back toward the empty space left between the two sides. Iulius also stepped forward to meet him on that improvised ground for their duel.
Ezra and Jaral delved into the Force, trying to find any possible warning on what was actually going on. Yet, the more they looked into it, the more it became apparent that there was no grand plan at work: the only two people who could avoid Force detection, the Astartes, were patiently waiting in plain sight. Outside the ring, the imperial fleet was standing still, and the Jedi could not feel any mass of troopers trying to flank them.
It seemed like Iulius, for whatever reason, had actually decided to provoke this duel.
The two contenders took their positions. Tristan ignited the lightsaber and took a ready stance. Since he participated regularly to the exchanges between the mandalorians and the Jedi, wielding a lightsaber wasn't that different from wielding a vibro-blade, to him.
Iulius, too, however, had been using the Darksaber for two years, and with Starkiller and the Astartes around, it was hard to imagine that he never took fencing lessons from them. Not to mention that he might already have a plan to win this fight.
For now, though, the Grand Admiral made a gesture of respect by lifting the saber in front of his face, and Tristan returned it. Then they retook their stance.
After facing each other for a few seconds, it was Tristan who dashed forward and thrust. Iulius saw it and quickly stepped aside on his right, deflecting the saber with his own.
Except that exposed himself to Tristan's left arm, where he had his little flamethrower on the wrist. The Duke extended his arm, pointing at the Lord-Protector's face, but he realized it and rolled away before the flame could burn his face. After that, Iulius jumped back on his feet with incredible speed and threw himself at Tristan, exploiting his precarious position. He managed to force him to parry a blow while he was knelt down, but rather than waiting for him to use his wrist weapons, Iulius pushed upward, making his blade slide but also throwing Tristan slightly off-guard. Iulius used that opportunity to deal a kick on his face.
Tristan felt that, but he still had enough strength and reaction left to punch Iulius' knee before he retracted the leg.
Both contenders drew their breaths. None of those hits had put them out of commission, but Tristan was clearly bleeding from the mouth, and Ezra knew from training that the Duke had one hell of a punch. In fact, Iulius clearly felt pain on his left knee, now.
Still, it took only a blink of the eye before the two went on the offensive at the same time. A furious furry of blows, dodges and parries followed up, but as the duel progressed, it became clear that the lifelong training was favoring Tristan.
The two exchanged cutting blows, thrusts and even old-fashioned punches, to the point where both faces had become bloody messes, yet none was desisting.
Until Tristan managed to make a push during a lock and the green blade reached Iulius' forearm.
The Lord-Protector grunted loudly and fell back, holding his burnt piece of armor that had clearly reached the skin, and in doing so, he lost his grip on the Darksaber.
Without hesitation, Tristan reached for the sacred weapon of his people and ignited it, too, pointing both blades toward the hated person who had destroyed his homeworld. His rage now became completely unbound.
"Tristan!" Jaral yelled with a begging tone.
The Duke halted in his tracks, he didn't turn around to look at her but he also didn't deal the fatal blow.
Iulius was breathing heavily, trying to put the pain under control, but he clearly the burn must still hurt like hell.
After getting a grip on his emotions, even if his own breath was still heavy, Tristan managed to restrain his killing instinct. Instead, just like the Lord-Protector had given his people an opportunity to leave Mandalore before destroying it, the Duke turned off the sabers and spared his life.
The two exchanged one last glance. Iulius found the strength to smirk and candidly say "I yield."
Tristan nodded, acknowledging his surrender. "Can we go, now?" he simply asked.
"Get off this bloody place." Iulius replied.
Tristan thus turned around and returned to his side. While everyone was amazed, his warriors immediately went and knelt in front of him.
At first, it seemed like Tristan was caught by surprise, still unbalanced by the rush of adrenaline and many emotions. But then he remembered what he had just conquered from his foe.
The Jedi walked forward. "It seems like you might become something more than a Duke." Ezra said.
His brother-in-law was still processing everything. He had just reclaimed the Darksaber in an honorable duel. By all means, he had the legitimacy to claim the title of Mand'alor.
And to reinforce that concept, even Paz and Din stepped forward, looked at him through their helmets for a moment, then knelt down themselves.
Iulius was quickly medicated and brought to the rear. The arm hurt, but it was nothing that bacta couldn't fix. The real issue were his bruises and cuts on the face.
"You took a lot of risk, this time." Qathora reprimanded him. "What if he gave in to his rage?"
"I bet on the fact that living among the Jedi would have softened him."
"Besides, there was no other way to give him the Darksaber legitimately." a stormtrooper said, before removing his helmet and revealing Korkie's face. "Although, I was honestly scared for you, for a moment."
"Well, it worked out, in the end."
"I still don't understand why you wanted to give him that sword." Cody said puzzled. "Didn't we just make him a more powerful threat? If he gathers all the mandalorians in the galaxy and goes against us…"
"Unfortunately, that's a risk, Commander." Iulius calmly replied. "But at this point, we can't hope to control all the events. We can only watch where the tide is turning and what we can do to limit the damage."
The clone seemed more confused than before, but he didn't ask further.
"Lord-Protector, it seems like the last rebels are leaving." Aiolin reported.
Iulius made a faint nod. "At least nobody else died, today." then he turned toward Yagler. "Inform the press: we have taken Ringo Vinda."