47 Chapter 47
AN: I know uploads are slow. The flow of ideas is slow. I will try to upload one chapter a week. #Brainfart *This message is for those asking whether I forgot about the fic*
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The discussion with the delegates carried on for more than a week. This week saw the largest lull in the fighting as both sides were clenching their metaphorical butts in anticipation of our decision.
You could consider it the fastest proper negotiations ever considering the situation. The conditions I pushed forward were agreed to by the majority of the senate. What happens when you have the majority of them by their balls.
The only interesting negotiation was with the old shrimp man. Well interesting as in how short it was.
(Flashback)
Palpatine was sitting in his office alone. Pondering on the meaning of life and why the galaxy is throwing so many curve-balls his way. That was when his communicator rang. He answered it. How do I know this? I have my means
"What can I do for the infamous Nomad or should I call you Mand'alor now," he asked with a smirk.
"You can do many things for me Sidious," I said with a chuckle "Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point. You should have already read our conditions. I want you to ratify it in the senate"
"And why would I do that?" asked Palpatine.
"For starters, there will be a non-aggression pact between us. Plus, I won't stop you from carrying out your grand plan to destroy the Jedi. I and my people have little love for either side of your age-old spat. And I don't think I need to further highlight your current need for trade between us. Especially military trade" I said. I kept it as vague as possible. But it was enough to get his gears turning. He knew I could destroy his plans if I wanted. Or most of it. But he doesn't need to know that.
Palpatine frowns while contemplating my statement. There is an eerie silence for a few minutes.
"I will pass the bill in Senate. You will have your neutrality and independence as long as I have your word that your faction will not interfere in my plans" said Palpatine with a firm voice. The Chiss are independent and isolationists. Even if they have relations with the Republic it's just on paper.
"You have my word as Mandalore. My Government won't interfere in your plans as long as you meet my conditions and don't pose a threat to us", I promised him.
"Good. Then it shall be done" he said before cutting the call. I am sure the old prune is buying time to destroy one enemy at a time. But that is what I needed as well, time.
When someone knows you have enough power to be at their present level negotiations and discussions become quite simple, especially if you can cut out all the needless blandishments.
(Flashback end)
The agreement was signed by both sides, stating that we are an independent and neutral faction recognized by both sides. They also recognized Straxon Corporations and its subsidiaries as a company under the Mandalorian Federation that deals in trade with the rest of the galaxy and no side shall make detrimental actions towards it. All trade shall go through this company. It also states that we will no partake in the current war.
All the hard work is slowly paying off and we can buy ourselves more than enough time.
I am currently back at home showing my kids how to maintain a blaster pistol properly and telling them the exploits of their father, the great Mand'alor.
"They are barely two years old. Should you really be teaching them this? It's not like they will remember" asked Bo Katan.
"It's just to build their interest in such things. Plus, with all the prevalent gene therapy their comprehension will be a bit higher for their age. Plus look at them they are growing up so fast. I will leave teaching them our culture to you" I said.
"Humph. Well don't blame me when these three rugrats start blowing up buildings" said Bo with her arms crossed. I could only laugh wryly.
"Well, I am not leaving any time soon. I will have others do the shadow work for now" I said. I can't actually go around the galaxy tearing stuff up as I am too high profile. And that would be a breach of the agreement.
"By the way. Is providing them with weapons such a good idea. Shouldn't we use this opportunity to weaken them?" she asked.
"No. I won't arm them to the teeth. But we still need to do it. We have to give them something at least in moderate amounts so that they don't immediately turn on us. Plus, we are just providing them with just infantry weapons, armor, and droids. No heavy hardware. Unless they negotiate further for them. They are all according to the specs of their respective factions as well. I won't hand out our tech no matter what" I said.
"If you say so. Now come up for dinner. You guys already spent more than enough time huddled in this man cave. SIGH. I wish I had a daughter instead" she said in an exasperated voice.
"We can work on that if you want," I said with a sly smile. She just stared at me through narrowed eyes.
(POV Ahsoka)
It's just been a day since our return. We spent more than a week there and were successful in forging a treaty with the Mandos. They seem more reasonable than the senate.
The simplified version being that we stay away from them and their turf, they stay away from ours. Plus, they will allow Jedi initiates to go to Illum for their crystals even if the system is under their control.
Some Jedi didn't like this. But the Grandmaster has the final say. They can do nothing about it as the governments of both the warring sides have acknowledged the territories they occupied as Mandalorian territory.
"So how did it go?" asked Anakin. He had just returned from his mission and came straight to us as we were relaxing after debriefing the Senate committee.
"It went smoothly. Neither side could make any wrong moves as the Mandos were there in force" I said.
"Yes, it went way smoother than the usual missions. They knew what they want and what concessions can be given. The negotiations were a minimum. It was basically going over the treaty and making sure even the fine prints were proper" said Padme.
"That's good to hear. It seems the new Mandalorian government is reasonable. Who was the new Mand'alor anyway?" asked Anakin.
"Well about that. Their administrative head is still Satine. But they now have a Mand'alor. And the funny part is we know him. Take a guess" I said with a smirk.
"Umm… There aren't that many Mandos we know. Wait a minute… Don't tell me it's who I think it is?" Anakin asked in shock.
"Yep. The one and only Nomad. The Ghost of Mandalore. His real name being Thrunn Straxon of house Eldar" said Padme.
"Well, Kriff. I knew that guy was up to something for a long time. But never in a million years would I have guessed it was this" said Anakin "So that's where he took my mother for safekeeping. I should have just let her stay there" he said with melancholy in his voice.
Padme sees this and tries to subtly comfort him.
We spent a few hours talking about and detailing almost everything we saw on our mission to the Mandalorians.
(POV Dooku)
"So, the outcome was as we predicted," I said as more of a statement.
"Yes. They have chosen to remain neutral. And as a bonus, they are willing to open trade. Even military hardware. But they will be of our design" stated Mina Bonteri.
"Yes. The outcome is most favorable. You have done an excellent Job Senator" I said.
"Don't mention it. Now that this task is done with and we don't have to fight another faction. All I can ask for is peace to return to this Galaxy" said the Senator.
"So do I. But I for one am sure the chancellor will not have it. This war is too important for him" I stated.
"How can you be sure?" she asked with a cold look.
"I have my ways. Plus, I know him and what his goals are. Now then you are excused. I have a few more meetings to get to" I said. Politely asking her to leave.
"Sigh. Very well" she said getting up from her seat. She soon leaves.
I have to make sure our side doesn't get run over. Especially with the republic now recruiting from the masses. I had to reorganize the entire military and make sure competent leaders take office.
Plus, with the upgraded droids provided by the Mandos and the now possible trade deal our forces can continue to fight on for a long time to come.
(POV Thrunn)
I am on my way to a specialized hangar accompanied by Janak, Asajj, Jango, and Boba. They wanted to head out and travel around the galaxy. I agreed on the condition they had to do missions I assign then now and then.
"Why did you ask us to come to meet you when we were prepared for departure?" asked Jango.
"Well, I had a little 'morut'yc oya'karir' gift made for you guys" I replied.
"Wait. The last time you said that to Subail when he went with Arla on a mission and you had an assassin droid squad follow them. If it's along those lines of gifts I don't want them. We are heading out to wet Boba's blades with blood. He needs to experience life on the edge to become a true warrior" said Jango with a firm voice.
"Nope. Nothing along those lines. Just follow me and you will see" I said rolling my eyes at him.
"Very well then," he said with a nod.
We walk for some time talking about different topics and them taking jabs at the fact that I can't leave our territory for a long time coming. But soon we arrive at a large hanger and stop at the door.
"Well, your gifts are in here," I said with a shit eating grin.
"Oh, the anticipation is killing me" drawled Asajj sarcasm dripping from her every word.
I just turn and walk into the hanger.
I hand Jango a datapad. "First up is Kuat system Friespray-31. It has been highly modified to undertake any and all bounty and smuggling missions. It has better armaments, drives, shields as well as armor. This baby is yours Jango" I said while standing in front of his new ride "So how do you like it?" I asked.
"I will admit it's impressive. I will call it Salve-1" he said with a nod.
"How original" I take a jab at him while walking to the next section.
"This ship is a modified lancer class patrol craft. Same Shtick as the Firespray. Better drives, stealth, armaments, shields so on and so forth. This will be Janak's and Asajj's ride" I said turning to look at Janak and Asajj. She tried to hide her excitement as well as she can. I just chuckled. "So, what are you naming it?" I asked.
Subail and Arla already had their own modified lancer which they take out now and then.
"The Sprite," said Janak.
"Kriff no! We are calling her the Banshee" said Asajj in a firm tone while staring Janak down. He just shrugged.
"Very well. You can do some slight modifications and color these babies to your liking if you want. But no changing any core modification already provided. I don't want our high-end military tech running around out there without contingencies" I said in a firm ordering voice while looking each of them in the eye "Well then I will leave you, shmucks, to it. Tell me before you leave" I just turn and walk away.
(General POV- GNN Broadcast)
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to the daily afternoon news. I am Gina Parker. We will start with the most important development in the past week. We have been granted authorization to finally release first-hand footage I was able to capture. I was given exclusive access by the Mandalorians to go onto their station and document the proceedings that happened this past week.
You might have already seen some of the live footage we already broadcast. But trust me that was just the tip of the Krayt Dragon.
We have with us, Professor Mari. She is an expert on Galactic politics and Galactic history. Welcome to broadcast Professor"-Gina
"Good to be here. Thanks for the invite. These are pivotal moments in galactic history that cause dramatic changes in the political environment. Especially with this war going on without an end in sight"-Prof. Mari
"With what I saw during my exclusive access calling it a pivotal moment would be an understatement. Let's play the prepared videos then we shall delve deeper into this event"- Gina.
*Video plays showing vast armadas and titanic stations. Legions of battle-ready Mandalorians. It showed different parts of the station and their battle readiness. There were interviews with different members of the delegation including the Jedi. Finally, the joint announcement of the signed treaty*
"Well, folks that were all the footage I can bring to you at present. And if you think the vids were awe-inspiring, to actually be there was both Awe-inspiring and fear-inducing. SO, professor what is your take on the images just shown now"- Gina
"Intriguing to say the least. The fact that the Mandalorians were to build up to such levels while hiding from the galactic eye is both fascinating and worrying. But since the treaty was signed, I could say the rest of the galaxy has very little to worry about"- Prof. Mari.
"What brought you to that conclusion? As history points out whenever a Mand'alor had risen they would always go on a crusade"-Gina.
"Although that being true in most past cases. If you look closely enough you will see that all such crusades were started due to outside influence. It could be either the Jedi or the infamous is Sith. But in most cases, it was attributed to Sith meddling. As the present Mandalorians have stated they have created this faction as a safe space to protect their people from the recurring wars between the Sith and the Jedi. And unlike previous iterations, the faction isn't entirely ruled by the Mand'alor. The mantle is mostly held by their civilian government. So, I could say with utmost certainty that they don't wish to start any wars"- Prof. Mari.
"That is reassuring. The galaxy can't handle another faction running around waging war"- Gina.
"Well, all we can do is wait and see what happens in the future"- Prof. Mari.
"After a short intermission, we will be answering a few questions from our viewers. So, stay tuned for more"- Gina.
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