Speculation-1

Mandalore is a rather inhospitable world. Anakin was able to see this firsthand when he went to get food in the woods. Eating a "smuggler's lunch" when the ship is in the woods and you can get your own food, like the primitive Mandalorians? Nonsense, nonsense, provocation.

Anakin, this time without taking his rifle, equipped himself with swords, left the droid to guard the ship, and went into the woods. No sooner had he walked a couple hundred yards to the small undergrowth where he saw mushrooms, than Skywalker's gut told him that he would be attacked. He had developed his instincts well enough during his wanderings through the forest to anticipate an attack and try to evade a confrontation. No such luck this time - the beast clearly sensed Skywalker and knew where to go. Deciding that this time he would encounter something as peaceful as a bear-pig, Anakin drew his sword and prepared to fight. But this time the situation was not in his favor-the beast was cunning and dangerous. Only with the power anticipation was Anakin able to evade the trajectory of the throw. In a high leap, Skywalker activated his sword, and swung away from his attacker. This time nature delighted Skywalker with variety - the attacking beast was a reptile, but a monstrously fast reptile. There was no way for Anakin to hit it. The beast, which looked like a varan, only with sharp fangs and claws, lurched on the ground and seemed to be asleep.

Anakin, immediately rushed to the side and upward - and just in time - the beast that had rushed at him easily reversed its direction of impact.

Anakin wondered how the reptile could so easily change the direction of its strike.

The green darting eyes glinted under the light of Mandalore's star. The moons of the morning were already lost in the sky.

Anakin stood in front of the beast and thought, as fast and as hard as he had ever thought before-he was not afraid of death, just not thinking about it, but the awareness of his opponent's power clearly made it clear that Skywalker could not run for long.

The reptile lunged at Skywalker once more, only this time Anakin took a big leap backwards - the beast would have caught him any other way to escape.

Looking at the paws of the beast that had landed after the swift jump, Skywalker thought that the movements had something to do with the structure of its limbs. Thick paws, covered in green scales and with large dagger claws. Not only were the paws thick, but they were also long.

In the next jump, the raptor unwittingly demonstrated how it acts - grouping itself with its whole body and shooting itself forward, helping to accelerate with its hind paws. And then it accelerates even more, throwing its front paw forward.

Skywalker thought that his abilities in strength were not yet at a level that would fight the beast - organic was much harder to lift than inorganic matter.

Anakin froze in place. The decision came to him almost instantly - he could at least try to speed up his movements with force. Skywalker felt a current of force in himself, in his arms, legs, the rest of his body, and mentally, as with hyperdrive metal, increased the flow of force in almost his entire body. It was a tugging sensation that was unpleasant, though. And then - then the reptile attacked again - no sooner had Anakin thought he was dead, than the beast jumped a few meters closer. Unlike the first attacks, Skywalker now saw the attack coming. He regrouped, just as the beast did, and with a pulse of force through his entire body, he leaped at the reptile. The ground hurt his feet and the next moment a swift sword stroke sliced the predator almost in half near its back. Anakin had wanted to rejoice, but he didn't know how to slow down, so he flew a few meters, plowing through the ground with his belly. He would have stayed there, but the blood pounding in his ears, mixed with the adrenaline, would not let him lie on the ground. Skywalker got to his feet and looked at his fallen foe - being dead, he wasn't that frightening. Deciding that the adventure was over, Anakin decided to take the beast's rather pretty skin with him - it was emerald under the sun, though darker, more of a malachite-green color.

Skywalker peeled off the hide and stuffed it into the duffel bag he'd taken for mushrooms and ran back at a trot.

When he arrived, he immediately turned to Erdwah:

- Prepare the ship for departure.

The droid squeaked positively and departed, and Anakin, finally finally coming to his senses after the battle, tossed his duffel bag with the rest of the stuff in the cargo bay. Reptile skins were not as demanding to handle as mammalian coats.

Ten minutes later, the ship was ready for departure. Skywalker didn't pilot it himself this time, just tossed his weapons into the cabinets and sat in the pilot's seat, resting while he led the Erdva.

The droid only specified the route.

- Find out who owns the land where we found the metal.

- Treasury land. Belongs to the Ritz family and its leader, Count Rice Ritz.

- Wow, it's like a Rolls-Royce of some kind," Anakin smiled. - Where is this Count?

- Most likely in the capital. His home is there, and his job in the government... he's a high-ranking official," the droid replied, though it took him a full minute to write it all down.

- Then let's go to the capital. I'm sick of running around the woods like Robinson," Skywalker frowned.

The droid steered the ship in the direction of the capital. Remembering the time it had taken him to get from Enzeri to the deposits, Skywalker left the cabin immediately, even though the view from the cabin was wonderful.

Anakin, without thinking long, went to the shower, and from there to sleep.

The short nap took only a few hours - just enough time to pass the time on the trip, and even more time to look up the local laws on the holonet and the local network.

There were indeed many laws, but Anakin, already accustomed to reading such texts, easily pored over them one by one. According to the law, he could buy land - if he were a Mandalorian, it would be difficult, because of the clear parameters of adulthood established for citizens of the planet. But the matter changed when the galactic laws came into play - the sale of land to non-citizens of Mandalore is carried out in the order established by the Republic, and the Republican laws bypassed such a term as majority at all. That is, de-jure citizens of the Republic were only minors on their planet, according to local laws, and the laws of the Republic as a whole did not limit the reasonable by age. Even a four year old child could buy land, if he had the brains to form his thoughts into the right words, and money, of course...

Skywalker put down the datapad and got up from the bed; such lazy behavior could not lead to anything good. The ship was still flying when he stepped onto the bridge. If the room could be called such a big word, more like a cockpit or a cabin.

- What is it, Erdva? How much farther are we?

- Thirty kilometers. Where do we land?

- And where does the count live? - Skywalker asked.

- What are the exact coordinates?

- Land close to his house. I'll find him myself.

- Yes," the droid answered and returned to control the ship.

G9 flew over the outskirts of Keldabe, the capital city of Mandalore. The city was not that big by galactic standards, only a couple of million inhabitants, and its architecture resembled something outrageous: classic wooden houses, brick and stone... In general, it was an interesting city. The only thing that stood out against these buildings was a huge skyscraper-tower. Anakin already knew that it belonged to Mandalmotors, the local machine-building company.

Erdva led the ship to a large spaceport. Relatively large, but still, not like the industrial worlds. The field, combined with the parking lot, was standard on almost all the planets in the galaxy, only on Tatooine were the hangars covered, as the hulls of the ships heated up in the sun and the ships turned into a kind of frying pans. The only exception was Padme's ship, whose hull was chrome-plated and reflected almost all of the radiation.

Anakin landed the ship in manual mode, giving the spaceport his call signs and arrival destination. This procedure was familiar to him because of his past unofficial occupation. He also had to pay for a couple of days of parking. Finally, having resolved all official matters, Skywalker, taking his speedbike, took to the streets of the city. It took him a few seconds before he got his bearings-the city was disorienting. People were hurrying about their business, land speeders were scurrying down the street, and their high-rise gatherings were flying high above the heads of passersby. The architecture of the city was disorienting, or rather, that there was none at all - the houses were built without any plan. And the advertising on the streets added to the confusion. Skywalker, who had seen many cities in the galaxy, was naturally suspended in the saddle of his bike. Not for long, though, as Erdva flew up behind him. The droid knew how to show up on time-it's a characteristic of him to always help in time. Skywalker turned around at the droid's squeak:

- The street we need is closer to the center of the city. Fly further along this street, there to the right... however, I'll show you," the droid unfolded an illusory monitor in front of him and a three-dimensional map projection of the city appeared on it. Anakin, who knew his way around the place, quickly understood where to go and went to the right place. Erdva kept up with Anakin, as Skywalker walked at the maximum speed of the droid's repulsors.

After half an hour the unusual procession of Anakin and Erdva arrived at the right house. However, the owner was in no hurry to welcome them with open arms. The house was a four-story mansion, surrounded by a small fence. Skywalker parked his bike by the curb and went in search of the man he was looking for.

Rice Ritz, Count of Mandalore and owner of the land where the deposits were located, served in the Mandalore government. Not in the highest position, but he was happy with his position as head of one of the departments, so he was content in his own way with life. In his old age, he could bear the antics of a young ruler and looked at life philosophically. When he had finished his work in the office, he went home.

Rice arrived home, as he always did, at eight o'clock in the evening. The Earl's daughters were already married, and his wife rarely showed her face in public, preferring a secluded life. The Count entered his house. Normally he was greeted by a butler - as soon as he arrived. Now the servant was a few seconds late. Earl threw off his shoes and went inside, but the butler immediately rushed to tell him the news:

- Count, you have a visitor.

- What visitor? - Ritza did not understand.

- A young man. He arrived in the afternoon, he wanted to talk to you personally. Your wife invited him into the house and they spent time talking.

- Conversation? - The Count raised an eyebrow. - Is he patient enough to listen to my wife?

- More than that," the butler nodded, "but you will see for yourself. They are in the small drawing-room.

- Fine," the Count nodded and went to his visitor, though usually it was the other way round. If it was business, the visitor would be sent to him, and if it was something unimportant they would not let him in. If the visitor had been sitting for hours, it meant that something important had happened...

Entering the living room with a quick step, the Count wanted to take the visitor by surprise, but he did not succeed.

There was a man sitting in a chair, a teenager. Not that he was anything like a Mandalorian, but he wasn't used to the comforts of home - stout and utilitarian clothes, a phaser on his belt, a lazy but judgmental look... Rice would have called him a typical fortune hunter - a smuggler or other greedy bounty hunter, if not for his age. There was a lot that didn't add up. Rice's wife was sitting across from the young man.

Anakin stood up when he saw her host arrive, but he did not speak first, not according to etiquette. The woman, noticing her husband's arrival, stood up and immediately introduced her guest:

- Rice, this is Anakin Skywalker. Ani, this is my husband, Rice," she said. Anakin bowed briefly, as did Rice himself. Skywalker knew little of Mandalore's etiquette, but he thought it best not to barge in shouting, "Who's the Count?" but to come and talk, since he had attended his ethics lessons faithfully. Rice, as the host, spoke first:

- I wonder, young man, what brings you to me?

- Business, Count, only business," Skywalker smiled no more than he should have, "I recently came to Mandalore and decided to buy some land away from civilization...

- Honestly, why didn't you appeal to the appropriate organs of the government?

- There are a couple of points, Count. One, my age. And I'd also like to settle down somewhere far away from civilization. They recommended the town of Enzeri. The scenery there is indeed magnificent. I was there recently, and I found a beautiful place...

- Ah, I see," the Count nodded, "I have land there," the Count did not understand why the young man had addressed him specifically, but was not against continuing the conversation - Skywalker's manners made a positive impression.

- Exactly. And I thought, why not? - Skywalker smiled modestly.

From the Count's side it looked unequivocal. But, feeling sorry for the young man, he decided to caution him:

- My ancestors used to hunt pitchforks there, but the hunting grounds have long since been abandoned... I suppose there are vampires there now. They're dangerous beasts, aren't they?" He shook his head and sat down in a deep armchair. - So think carefully, young man. It's nearly impossible to get rid of vaspens.

- That's all right," Skywalker replied thoughtfully, "I don't think there's anything that can't be dealt with.

- That's up to you," the Count shrugged, mentally thanking fate - he didn't know what to do with a completely useless scrap of land in the middle of nowhere. And he did not particularly tormented about it. The Countess leaned over her husband's ear while Anakin quietly took a glass of juice from the table and sipped it while the husband and wife were talking. His tactic in this matter was to win a woman's heart first, and then she herself would have the right influence on her husband. The earl was a man of honor; another would not have warned of dangerous predators. The bear-pig, though quite tasty, was also dangerous--the Mandalore seemed to exclude herbivores entirely from its inhabitants and left only carnivores.

After a few minutes, the Count and the Countess, who had already stepped aside, had talked and decided. To be more exact the countess decided - being not a master, but nevertheless not a bad hypocrite, Anakin managed to please a woman - is it too much to ask? Manners, a tired look, an accent on age, and that was it, her heart melted. Skywalker wasn't fooling himself, though-the aristocrats of Mandalore were just as scheming and hypocritical, so they could easily fool him. But Skywalker hoped that even if his trick didn't work, he could simply negotiate.

The trick worked--a dozen minutes later, the Count came back and sat down in his chair:

- I've made up my mind. If you're not afraid of danger, I'll cede the land to you, young man... For a certain sum.

- Of course, Count. Not too much, I hope? Students are not wealthy people..." Skywalker smiled again with the corners of his lips.

The Count was interested:

- "Are you a student?

- Alderaan University. State Administration. - Anakin answered. The Earl's eyes sparkled:

- So you are my future colleague? Interesting, interesting..." the Count squinted, "eight hundred thousand. - The count cut off, hoping to bargain on five hundred. After all, land was quite a valuable commodity.

- Alright. - Skywalker nodded. Count was alarmed by this statement - there was no doubt that though Anakin studied in an elite institution, which with diligent study practically guaranteed good connections and a well-fed life, he did not look like a "golden youth". The Count took another close look at Anakin's face, and he had a distinct feeling that somewhere he had been cheated. Only he could not understand where. The conversation was talk, but there was no turning back anymore - both understood that Graf could not, but wanted to refuse the deal. Alas, acting against the albeit very vague, but the law of honor, would affect the reputation of the old conservative in the most unpleasant way.

The contract was drawn up and sealed by a summoned official.

Anakin, handing over most of the remaining money, left Count Ritz's house and headed for the spaceport. Erdva, who had been patiently waiting for him, followed Anakin.

- How did it go? - the droid asked.

- Very well, my friend, very well. Though I was sweating profusely through the negotiations," Skywalker grumbled. He was really worried. All he had to do was for Graf to get upset, and Skywalker's plans would have been blown to hell. But no, he was lucky. Or rather, Skywalker handled the Count's wife correctly, and in the end the scale tipped in his favor.

The teenager rode his bike back to the spaceport, back to his ship.

- Where are we going? - Asked the droid, standing in the corridor, which led the way to the cabin and the rest of the ship.

- Flying? - Anakin wondered. - We need a mining company. And preferably with honest leadership.

- Yes," the droid took Skywalker's words as an order and went into the holonet to look for information. Anakin, while Erdva was holonet-surfing, went to his quarters, hoping to meditate for a while. He failed - just as Skywalker plunged his consciousness into a state of meditation, Erdva moved into the room and addressed the chief:

- "Found a few options.

- Show me," Skywalker answered grudgingly. Despite the fact that he had long ago grown in strength and it was time to lay out his new knowledge and skills, Anakin considered his first task to be work.

First on the list Erdva showed him was the Corellian Machine Corporation.

- I don't get it, why do we need shipbuilders?

- They make the best ships in the galaxy. According to them. Interested in high quality metals, including beskar. Subsidiary firms are searching for new mining sites and extracting metals. One of the largest consumers of particularly valuable metals in the galaxy," the droid muttered. Anakin thought he sounded disappointed.

- So be it. Who else?

- Blas-tech, Kuat's shipyards..." the droid continued.

- Understood," Anakin had no choice but to think of a way to get a bescar. Since the land already belonged to him, there was no problem with extraction. There was a problem with those who would mine. Who to go to? How to negotiate? How to avoid being a fool?

- Let's go to Corellia," Anakin waved his hand, "and we'll see where, what, and how.

The droid left his quarters, and in five minutes Anakin himself stepped onto the "bridge," as the ship began to prepare for departure.