And then there was thunder

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* Naboo, Tid, Tyber *

 In order not to arouse suspicion, I had to stay on Naboo for another month under false pretences.

 Throughout the month, I'd been getting discreetly close to Inga. Relatively imperceptibly, because the girl herself seemed to immediately write down any victory on the personal front on her account - she walked around so happy and satisfied, as if her childhood dream had come true. And maybe the truth came true, but on her account she recorded victories not in vain - for a few weeks, I was able to make sure that the customer was right - in the palace do not take even a servant neither dumb nor stupid - Inga was a rare erudite, beautiful, intelligent and most importantly, had a wonderful character.

 On the second day after the conversation with the customer on the credit card came fifty thousand for a gift, which were given at the wedding of Shmi Riekan, through a droid, which lacked a long-term memory module. So nothing other than "the biped asked me to pass it on" he couldn't say.

 And after that I had a month before work - I had a rest from work during the day, visited different interesting places, at the same time I was preparing to open my shop, because that was the customer's plan. To tell you the truth, it turned out even better - of course, dreams of fabulous wealth would have to be forgotten, but there would be stability and a decent place in life. Dates with Inga became regular - in the first days after the wedding we spent together quite a lot of time, and then she even offered to move in with her. And she was secretly so happy that it was visible to the naked eye.

 All this simple and uncomplicated life ended a month later, when I took the rings according to the Nabuan tradition and invited the girl to the best restaurant, which we had not been to yet. Not that I was a romantic, but if I was going to propose, I was going to propose in a way that I couldn't be faulted. When she caught serious notes in my voice, the girl got worried, but drove me out of the flat and started to pack. Quickly, an hour later she was already in her evening dress, she was wonderfully beautiful, but she was worried. It is understandable - I did not hide the fact that I was going to leave in a month - I always said that I would stay for a while. Inga was sad, and tried not to look me in the eye. I got into the speeder and arrived at the right place, where a table was already booked.

 Dinner passed in relative silence - usually Inga talks often and gets distracted from her food a lot, but this time she was sitting with a rather fake joyful look and picking at a local delicacy with her fork. Deciding to call it a day, I pulled the rings out of my pocket and turned the girl's gaze back to me:

 - Inga! Wake up!

 - Huh? I'm sorry, Ty, I'm sorry. What did you say?

 - Well, for starters, I just wanted to ask you why you're so sad today. Did something happen? - I didn't ask the most honest question.

 - No, no... - she shook her head, "What makes you say that?

 - No reason. - I shrugged my shoulders, I invited a girl here to talk to you, and you're so sad that you'd be more beautiful in a coffin.

 She was silent, and I smiled, took out the rings at last and watching the girl's reaction, clearly said:

 - Well... Well, I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that I'd rather not leave Naboo. And the first reason is that I want you to be my wife," I handed her the box with the ring, and watching the girl's emotions, I laughed at her directness. At first she didn't immediately understand what I was saying, then she didn't believe me, then she stared at the rings. And after a few seconds of staring at them. She threw herself around my neck, smiling happily. It seemed like only the presence of other people kept her from squealing with joy. Yes, sometimes it's nice to make people happy, especially girls. Especially the beautiful and smart ones.

 - Ty, are you staying? - She asked hopefully, pulling away when she was already shying away from the stares of the other visitors.

 - Sure. You still haven't answered my question," I scolded her.

 - I have to... - she started to say, but then she waved her hand and continued. - I agree," I put the ring on the girl's finger, who immediately began to admire it. I didn't skimp on the jeweller.

 And then... what happened next was crazy. Firstly, I had to work hard to keep the girl within the bounds of decency, then, after dinner, she quickly flew off somewhere. According to local tradition, you're not supposed to have sex before you get married. Although before the beginning of the official relationship - quite possible, but once you gave the ring, be kind to tolerate. So I was in for an unforgettable month of abstinence. Immediately, the day after I proposed, the whole palace knew about it, from the queen to the droids who cleaned the cobwebs in the basement. Inga wasn't shy about bragging about her achievement. And I was starting to have legal difficulties - not only did I have to get Nabuan documents, or rather surrender mine and report my intentions to the appropriate authorities, but I also had to start thinking about a business that would be my cover. Since I had some connections in the smuggling community, it wasn't hard to come up with an idea - I'd be supplying the locals with some little things from all over the galaxy.

 Since the Naboans were particularly sensitive to art, after a round of Tid's shops, it was decided that I would open a shop with artist's supplies. It wouldn't be hard to get a galaxy-wide supply of these supplies - just tell the smuggling community that I'm willing to buy some rare and obscure art supplies, and there'll be someone who's heard something, knows something, and can get some.

 * Anakin Skywalker, Alderaan Academy *

 At first I had to explain long and tediously to the teachers, and most of all to the curator, exactly what had happened and how exactly I was late. Not that the order was draconian, but I wrote my analogue of an explanatory note and gave it to the academy administration. After a short torture and an exam, the curator made sure that I knew the programme for the first half of this year. I was late, but I learnt so much from excitement and idleness, as well as with the help of meditation, that I could de facto stay away for a few more months. Although there will be punishment for this again, but the main thing here is to pass the exam, not to "sit out the vapours". I could pass the semester exam and, to be honest, I was a bit short. That's what the tutor told me:

 - Your knowledge is almost enough to pass the first half-year exam. Anakin, if you can learn at that speed, that's fine, many students, though mostly of non-human races can learn much faster, so you have the right to ask to take the exam at any time and go over a certain amount of study time. So I would advise you, if you are smart and hardworking enough to study during the holidays, to continue studying at your own pace and take the exam before anyone else. This way you will not only get more free time, but you will also be able to start the third year programme this year. Unless, of course, you give up your position...'' - said the tutor. The curator of my group was an elderly Alderaanian, a very pleasant-looking man, whose appearance spoke of several generations of blue-blooded ancestors.

 - Wouldn't that affect the possibility of further study? - I asked, thinking that one degree is good, but two is better.

 - No, of course, after graduation you are free to study anything you want, - the curator smiled. - So, are you going to try to pull yourself up?

 - Probably... - I hesitated, "What am I missing to pass the exam?

 - For the semi-annual one - you have passed the required level in history, galapolitics and management theory, but you have fallen short in languages, economics, finance and the theory of diplomatic relations. If you improve your level, I think you'll be able to pass the exam," the curator smiled. It is understandable, the success of students directly shows his management the quality of his work, and I have managed to jump over my classmates during my absence. It's understandable - three months of constant study with a super-intensive one in the last month. Plus, meditation is every student's dream. I learnt the material, and while it is in my memory, I neatly put it in the shelves of my mind, not forgetting to sign everything, group it by type and leave it for long-term storage. The student's dream is to get structured knowledge not by repeatedly pounding it in, but by reading and realising the material. And meditation.

 - I suppose I can do that," I smiled, "if I can ask the teachers some questions on the subject.

 - Of course, Mr Skywalker, of course," the curator smiled again, "don't forget that the droid is a good teacher, but very specific and not good at conveying a lot of information hidden 'between the lines'.

 - Yes, I remember," I nodded, "I'll be sure to get to the right level.

 - As long as you haven't passed the exam, the obligation to attend the academy has not been removed from you," the curator said sternly. - So don't be late again. I'll be waiting for your progress," he said, indicating that the audience was over. I left his office and immediately fell into the arms of Alessia, who was waiting for me under the door.

 - Ani! How was it?

 - Hm... - I stretched out meaningfully, - I offered to take an external exam.

 - How? - Ali was surprised. - How can you do that?

 - The chief said that for non-human races, who learn the material faster or slower, there are no strict limits at all, and when you're ready, then take the exam. That's what I figured.

 - Where did he... - Alessia started to say, but I quickly interrupted her:

 - I'm a human being, and in the meantime the rule applies to me too. To everyone, in general, but few people want to learn the programme within the deadline, not to mention to be ahead of it.

 Alessia realised that there might be ears, and she almost gave away my little secret. Not that I minded - it didn't bother me at all that I was a half-breed, because Mirlukes are genetically different from humans so slightly that there's no difference whether I'm a half-breed or a human. Though some features, like innate calmness and benevolence, often at war with my free-spirited nature, did distinguish me from humans. And also a more sensible and rational view of the world, based on cold reason, not emotions, that is what I inherited from the Miralukes, and also a unique ability of vision, which allows not only to see everything around, but also the very near future. All in all, it's a pretty good "bonus".

 - Then, I'm happy for you," Alessia hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, something I missed so much.... If I was a couple of years older, I'd definitely have a girl tonight, if not sex, then a night out with a girl. But as it was.

 I was twelve. Biologically, but still, at that age I noticed that I was already starting to grow up a lot. Children and teenagers themselves don't notice it - but I, already being an adult (okay, part of me), was used to my body being unchanging and even small noticed changes in my own carcass made me smirk. Now puberty was just beginning. People in the galaxy were not as degenerate as on earth, and at sixteen on most worlds they were already of age, and frequent meditation and communion with the force spurred development. Now I felt that puberty had begun - if at the moment of meeting Alessia I had seen her as a girl, now my thoughts were filled with something very un-childlike.... and I was spurred on by the experience of the other half of my soul, so the result was that there was a lot more in Alessia's kiss this time than the last.

 Miralukes mature before humans, firstly she's a girl, secondly she uses power all the time, just like me. The result of this is that Ali started puberty at about ten, and now under her clothes she had small, or rather distinct and neat breasts, a waist a little narrower than her human peers, and a figure....

 Ali couldn't see exactly where I was looking, but that didn't mean she didn't understand - when I was distracted from my thoughts and contemplation of beauty, her cheeks turned pink and she said:

 - Have you seen enough?

 - Honestly? No. But forgive me for being a fool, but for three months I've seen only forest beasts, Corellian bandits and ancient Sith droids. And of women, one skeleton of a lady who died three thousand years ago.... So...

 Alessia laughed and hugged me once more, this time kissing me hard on the lips. After five minutes we finally pulled away from each other to catch our breath and she replied:

 - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ani. You're my boyfriend, so you're kind of allowed.

 - Allowed to what? - I raised an eyebrow.

 - You're allowed to look. I'd have kicked the other guy so hard he wouldn't have made it to the infirmary," Ali grinned. - So...

 - So will you come to my place tonight? I missed you so much, I can't say the words.

 - Just dibs. without your... - Alie's turning pink again.

 - I don't have any biological need for it yet," I shrugged. - Though psychologically...

 - That's good, - Ali wrapped up a very sensitive topic. - Then let's go to classes. We'll be late, - and pulled me towards the office.

 The evening after classes was spent on a sit-down. I bought a decent dinner at a local restaurant, and Alessia and I relaxed, after which I began to tell in detail and in colour everything that had happened to me. From Mandalore, to the bear-pig I'd finished eating on Tatooine, to my arrival on Alderaan. Alessia was very interested in the cruiser I pulled out of the sands, so she asked me a lot about that thing. She was worried that I'd get in trouble for a warship, but I reassured her that if I wanted a real warship, I'd rather design and order a state-of-the-art cruiser than a museum-quality model of a good, but conceptually obsolete cruiser. After its production the wars were still going on for almost three millennia, so that military science had advanced and "forbidding" by its combat capabilities met only the requirements of pirates or Justiciars, but not such a militant guy like me.

 After dinner was over, we spread out my edited holoprojection of the cruiser and the two of us began discussing its structure and possible modifications. The local CAD systems were, thanks in some part to the droids, understandable to any technically savvy person. Sitting in the semi-dark room, in the light of the holoprojection of the cruiser, I admired Alessia - still I missed the girl. But there was a small and rather original problem - Alessia couldn't see the projection of the cruiser. Not at all. The beam of light didn't respond in force, so it was a blank space for Ali here. However, I, having closed my eyes saw the projection so clearly that even the resolution of ten-ten-ten, that is, ten thousand "pixels" in length, width and height, considered in the galaxy standard for service programmes, was grainy for me.

 I found a way out of the situation quickly, but I had to work hard to implement it, which Alessia didn't notice. The force, controlled by me, separated from me in a cloud and filled the projection. A second later, being a kind of ace of subtle manipulation, my subconscious bunched up the force so that it traced the lines drawn by the projection. Alessia's force vision now saw the projection clearly, more clearly than anything else. At first I supported the force and guided it with a cloud, but then I noticed that without realising it I was adjusting the projection of thousands of microscopic threads of force to the projection that Erdva had kindly made for us.

 As soon as the force filled the projection of the cruiser blueprint, Alessia exclaimed something indefinable and reached out with her hand.

 - Ani, how did you do that?

 - Duplicated the projection with lines of force. Can you see it?

 - Yes," she nodded, "very clearly. Unbelievable... - the girl seemed a little overwhelmed by my little idea.

 And we began to discuss the ship itself. After all, I didn't mind getting to grips with it myself without any stressors like a month's confinement or having to do repairs, in the warmth of home, so to speak. The first thing that caught my eye were the reactors. There were five of them, but only two were needed to function. From what I could see, none of the reactors were physically damaged - only time had taken its toll. Figuring I wouldn't need that much power, I removed the remaining three and kept two reactors.

 - Erdva, find me reactors for large ships, ten gigawatts or more. And sized to fit our bird.

 In a few seconds the search results - pictures of reactors - began to appear above the drawing. And almost all of them came from a subsidiary of Quat Drive.

 - Anything Corellian? - I asked hopefully.

 - Just the low-power ones. Corellia doesn't make large ships, and it's unprofitable for them to keep producing large reactors," the droid beeped. I'll have to buy a vocabulator for it, so I don't have to torture my hearing with a Chinese alarm clock.

 - Well, then. include these two in the blueprints," I poked at the images of a dozen gigawatt reactors. The ship, at the moment, needed five gigawatts of power to move through hyperspace with a modern first-class hyperdrive. The pictures were touch sensitive and recognised touch perfectly.

The blueprint changed immediately.

 - Excess power twenty gigawatts," Erdva immediately reported.

 - It's going to be a long time. Take off the anti-fighter stuff and replace them with modern multi-barrel rapid-fire systems.

 - But according to the law, it is forbidden to manufacture and sell them to private individuals. And if they are introduced into the armed forces, they must be registered with the justice authorities," Erdva squeaked.

 - What is he saying? - Alessia wondered.

 - That we can't buy normal guns! - I explained indignantly and looked at the droid's photosensor: "Since when did the Justice Department become so concerned about such a small thing?

 - Since the law on the reorganisation of the Justice Corps was passed," the droid squeaked. - You started this mess, now you have to deal with it," Erdva added.

 Yeah... that was a bit of a misstep. After the Chancellor realised that the Republic was close to collapse, he began to care not only about the corporate sector, but also about the outskirts of the galaxy. After all, it was the fringes that were the basis of instability. The plot is somewhat, even to a large extent familiar from the unrest in America after the death of Martin Luther King, when the Senate realised that blacks, if they didn't wear white collars, were still the basis of the economy and production, the army and the navy. A lot of water has passed since then, but many anti-racist laws were the result of the realisation that someone was too arrogant and didn't like other people's labour. And unlike the Middle Ages, you can't send an army of knights against tribes of barbarians - the colt has already made people equal and the weapons on the hands of the populace are an unimaginable amount. And in both the American crisis and the galactic crisis a separatist movement could arise - "black panthers" or "KNU" whatever you want to call it.

 The history of the Republic remembers about a dozen major crises that could lead to the collapse of the state, and about a thousand smaller ones that brought many problems. So the republic has had experience in this sphere, and we have studied this side of politics with special care, because the current crisis was classed as one of them, and it has lasted until now. After the biggest problems of the crisis, the Nabuan Affair and the Neimodian Affair, had ended badly for both sides, Neimodia and the Republic, the Chancellor suddenly became very concerned with the periphery of the galaxy, systematically convincing his allies from the central worlds that the outskirts, i.e. the worker-peasant planets, were the basis of their welfare. The meticulous investigation, which the Chancellor did not fear and insisted on, passed the attention of the general public, though there were still fools before the trial who thought it was all a hoax and there was no invasion army. And even the ships and battle droids abandoned on Naboo and Neimodia, as well as the word of the Queen of Naboo and the Chancellor, couldn't convince them. But media control was on the Republic's side, as was the basis of interest. And this is what is called realpolitik, realms where only force, power, and interests matter, not such nonsense as treaties, agreements, alliances, or even laws. A dirty game on the part of the Chancellor, but it took place, with mixed success - many saw it as the Chancellor's favouritism to certain worlds, but given that the "minority" included over seventy percent of the Senate... another endless argument, started by Finis Valorum. And in the background, and with the help of the Chancellor's allies, they announced a reorganisation of the judiciary. Something like this was also in America, to which I sometimes compare the galaxy - after Vietnam, from which they left with a pyrrhic victory, they began to rearm the army and police on the basis of experience and everything we saw in the Persian Gulf is the result of the bitter experience of Vietnam. And of course the sun-faced and godlike lights of democracy suddenly became very concerned about order in their country. Not that it was painless - both there and there, i.e. both in America and in the Republic, the process was rough. The news bulletins I read every morning regularly told me that a civil war had broken out somewhere, that pirates and bandits were so badass that they were taking over entire planets. The fact that the unrest is permanent and regular, does not know only a lazy man, so the demand for illegal weapons has increased many times over. The Justice Corps, which was reorganising, and according to the plan it would take at least ten years to recruit, train and build ships, immediately found a lot of work, and given the expanded powers and requirements, the work of the people became really hectic. By the end of my career as a smuggler, the new ships with advanced sensor systems made it necessary to carry contraband in secret compartments, which automatically reduced illegal traffic and revenue.

 But a real galactic war was a long way off. Even Justice, having received a kick in the teeth from the parody of warships, ordered a dozen large cruisers and several thousand heavily-armed "marauders", with whom no one had any desire to argue. By the way, this was partly the basis of my plan for beskar - the clever Corellians were ordered ships for justice, so the desired dream of every corporation - to suckle on the military order, for them was fulfilled. And beskar, even in the form of non-armour will help them to push their goods much more profitable and easier, because not every ship has such a rare metal in its construction. Even internal coating of blaster barrels with beskar coating will help to increase the queue length by one and a half times, and reactors... here you can almost anywhere to get an increase to TTC, without changing the size.

That's why I played rough and set my terms. They can't get away from the submarine, they've realised that it's a spoonful.

 - Why do you need armaments? - After thinking about my statement for a few minutes, Alessia asked.

 - Why? The situation now is such that I'm afraid to let go of my gun. And there are pirates, slave traders, and other stuff. It's better to have a last resort in case someone wants to bark.

 - I see. - stretched out Ali, - what will you do then?

 - I'll get some normal guns somehow. Or I'll remake the old ones, but it will take time.... - I was sad, but I went back to the drawing. I wanted to enlarge the hangar - I don't need a lot of fighters, but I might need a corvette a hundred metres long. Expansion of the hangar was impossible, as it was located in the middle of the hull, in the thinnest place, so only a new one could be made. And I can't do that - then I'd have to redo all the schematics. But I had a good time with the meditation and training rooms - it wasn't hard to free up the halls at the top of the ship - some of the changes I had already made, some of them we had made together with Alessia. The upper part of the ship was a large shell of armoured plates, which covered the vulnerable gut, and under them I placed the halls for meditation, training, including general military training, as well as the arsenal. The lower claw acquired three small micro-angars in which it was possible to put small fighters, not more than fifteen metres in length. And next to them were the evacuation modules that had come into use not so long ago.

 The remodelling, along with the arguments, took several hours, during which Erdva was almost incandescent with calculations and design on our sometimes bizarre ideas. To enlarge the crew cabins, combining three into one, it was still easy, but recalculation of strength characteristics due to the creation of the hall took a few minutes of puffing.

 At the end of this work, I also demanded a few dozen rooms with separate power conduits. In them I wanted to place laboratories for power research and creation of all sorts of goodies. The last free part of the cruiser's lower claw was used for spacious laboratories.

 The cargo hold at the very bottom was expanded by replacing the ancient gravigenerators with gravity wells. These are just the main areas of repair - there are countless details to be worked out, but I think the Corellians are capable of hiring engineers for the job. De jure, a found ship belongs to the finder if it hasn't been used in over a hundred years, so there were no problems with registration. Restoration was a rather... peculiar business. It was estimated that this ship would cost as much as two new ones - the work involved modernisation, not building from scratch on an already mastered technological base.

 At the end of the work Alessia, already tired from the thought processes, yawned and I voluntarily and compulsorily kissed her on the cheek and sent her to bed. The girl wrinkled her nose a little, but quickly gave in, seeing my uncompromising nature.

 When the door closed behind her, I turned to the droid:

 - This is just about what I've been missing, Erdva. A close friend, not bounty hunters, corporate officials, ghosts of ancient empires, and the rest of the galaxy.

 The droid squeaked something resentful.

 - I know, Erdva, but you're different. No offence, but still, we biological minds need companionship with others like you. Loneliness. depressing.

* * *

 A week later, my agent from Naboo got in touch.

 - A customer?

 - Yes, Tyber? - I was surprised, having forgotten all about his mission. - Is something wrong?

 - Nothing urgent. I proposed to Inge as we planned, and I've drawn up the paperwork. We're getting married in a week.

 - Congratulations, - I answered, not knowing what to say in such an unusual case, - I also promised to transfer money to you. I remember, I remember. Wait for it today.

 - Yes, customer," the holoprojection of Tyber nodded.

 - Have you decided what business you're going to cover for?

 - Selling art supplies. Paints, brushes, canvases, and whatever else the galaxy manages to use instead. I've got a chance to spread the word amongst the smugglers, and they're a diverse lot, they get in everywhere. I'm sure there'll be plenty of goods to go around.

 - You make a good point," I sat down on the couch in front of the droid. - How much money will it take to open a shop?

 - Thirty thousand will be enough, customer," Tyber replied.

 - What about Target?

 - She's gone to a local resort with her husband. I didn't dare to approach, as I might arouse suspicion.

 - That's right, your job is to watch, memorise, listen, pass it on to me. But not to spy.

 To this Tyber answered nothing. I, on the other hand, paused to think about Mum. She must be happy with her Riekan. I hope she doesn't forget me at all. Though, that's unlikely.

 - In that case, that's all I wanted to convey," Tyber's projection indicated a bow.

 - Be in touch in case of anything. Over and out," I finished with a traditional phrase from the space travellers' lexicon, and Erdva cut the connection.

 The time was morning.

 I sent the blueprints I had been working on for two more days to Corellia, and talked to the chief engineer. For a small fee he agreed not to touch the ship's armament, or rather to remove the unnecessary - I didn't plan any combat operations. And the attack of a squadron of less than five corvettes, the main forces of the pirates, can not be called hostilities, but even for such a case were saved powerful turbolasers. Considering that the pirates had not yet been seen in large raids and the action of more than one ship at a time, it was safe. Moreover, only an idiot would attack a military cruiser - their forces would not be enough to overcome the reinforced shields. And with the installation of powerful capacitors, the drop in shield power to zero will be parried in a few seconds, and even if they use up all the ammunition, it will be like a pellet to us.

 The blueprints went to Corellia, where, sighing, the engineers began to bring them up to speed. Not with my amateurish knowledge of shipbuilding to get involved in their diocese. The last thing we agreed on was designers.

 The design of cabins and all inhabited non-service space required professional input. Utilitarian military stuff might seem nice, but I got so bored with it in a month that I couldn't look at it. I had to shell out a lot of money for the design and finish, but they promised it would be better than the royal yachts. I only managed to put in my five kopecks about what I prefer and so on, and then they began to work out this issue themselves.

 For myself for accommodation I defined near the bridge a sector of ten cabins, which had all amenities, starting from a pool and a bath, and finishing with a working office and a conference room. And two bedrooms, in case I invited Alessia - I wouldn't send a girl with whom I had a close and warm relationship to the guest quarters... there were plenty of those, too.

 The work was done - in a way, it was distracting me from the main thing I had decided to do - working on my exams. After hours of thinking about the curator's proposal, I came to the conclusion that it was in my interest not to slow down with training - in some way it would save me time, although as before, there would be no time left at all for partying and racing, and socialising with our racers.

 But it's worth it - if I do the math, I'll be able to complete five courses in three years. I will have to train more than intensively, although I will still have some free time.

 I went to the lectures, and afterwards I studied at a very intensive pace. The meditations, which are only available to forsusers, helped me to put everything in order and quickly absorb the material. About the same speed as the Muuns, one of whom was in our stream.

 Learning at that pace took up all my time, so I could hardly find time to chat with Alessia and have tea in the evening.

 Time. its perception changes very much. During hours of meditation, with immersion in the force, the body doesn't age, yet the mind works as normal. I mean, the body doesn't age, but it doesn't stop its normal development - on the contrary, that union with the force, which protects the cells from damage during division, spurs development. Now I could have been fourteen years old by the standards of earthly teenagers. I didn't even notice that I had to go to the shop for new clothes that fit.

 Alessia didn't stop there either, but the height gap was beginning to form - I was a few centimetres taller.

 Time... When I'm in meditation, time, that hour, that day fly by the same way - I just don't notice and lose the sense of time, and the force perceives time differently. Any forsuser is a supporter of relativism, i.e. he feels with his skin that everything in the world is relative, both in physical and other planes. I feel it too.

 One day of that month that I spent on the ship was longer for me than a month of study - I simply fell out of reality in a continuous flow of information that I absorbed with great speed. The Force was an indispensable ally to me in this, a powerful ally that responded to the needs of my consciousness. A week after the beginning of my studies, the usual pre-session feeling of consciousness changed, and I suspected that the constant meditations with the same direction had somehow influenced my consciousness with the help of the Force. This is, of course, only a hypothesis, for I felt nothing of the kind in myself, except a readiness to memorise and learn quickly and much.

 If the process had been the same as in Earth universities, I would have been in the fourth year with such capabilities, but the speed of learning was limited by the inability to get comprehensive information from droids and books.

 By the way, paper books were sold in the galaxy. At a price of about a thousand credits apiece. Even though it was rare for a datapad to cost more than five hundred credits. But the rarity of such a form, plus the need to cut down valuable forests, limited the possibility of creating paper - if every reasonable person in the galaxy bought a book, it would require cutting down the forests of a dozen jungle planets. The scale of the galaxy was difficult for the uninitiated to comprehend.

 Paper is a rare and ancient material. But I did buy a couple of paper books. Fiction, from local classics, but there was almost no time to read them, and they were not included in the programme. Then.

 I didn't wake up from my studies until the end of the semester.

 It was marked by the problems that came with it - they sent money from Corellia, and it was a considerable sum of two hundred million credits. There was several trillion worth of beskar in the raw earth, but its extraction was hampered by the material itself - it was very difficult to smelt beskar from ore, not to mention other metals. I think it's called refractory. It would take several centuries to devastate the deposit, so it's too early to get excited.... We also sent a catalogue of yacht design from the same place, and the designers photographed the interior of the cruiser and overlaid their finishing on top of it. Out of a hundred and fifty variants of design had to choose only three - for the bridge, cabins and non-residential areas. I wanted to consult with Alessia, but I remembered that her eyesight didn't allow her to see such details. The miraluk's eyesight was entirely in her own way, but not in this direction. The modernisation work was promised to be finished soon, within six months.

The exams were coming up.

 I had to go to the curator and write an application to take my exam for the whole second year - I learnt it completely and even approached the middle of the third. The curator, happy about it, quickly got me permission to take the exams and in the general flow of those who passed the semi-annual exams, I was asked for the whole course. But I coped with the test - somewhere easily, somewhere with a stretch, I did not like some subjects ...

Hell ended with a message from Mandalore.

 I walked into my room after the exam. Alessia had already turned in everything that was required and was in her room, and I decided to rest in silence.

 My plans were not meant to happen.

 Just as I was about to relax, an interplanetary communication signal came in from Erdv. Someone was looking for me. I thought it was Tyber, but there was a certain tension in the force. It was hard to convey-it was as if the normal trill of the incoming signal had some disturbing note.

 - Erdva, connect quickly! - I ordered, jumping over to him.

 The image of a man appeared above the droid. A man I didn't recognise.

 - Yes? - I answered.

 - Are you Anakin Skywalker? - he asked.

 - Yes, I am. And you are...

 - Head of Maintenance for the Corellian Machine Corporation. Call me Claude.

 - All right, Claude, is something wrong? - I asked a quick question. The man hesitated for a split second to answer:

 - You could say that. There are some... problems with Mandalore about your contract.

 - Is the contract still in effect? - I asked. It was understandable, I had enough money now, even after paying for the ship's repairs, but I couldn't pass up such a source of income. And I needed the money not for my daily bread, but for further actions. I had some plans for this life and I didn't want to cancel them.

 - Of course you do," Claude pretended to be indignant. Very believable, good actor. Apparently a big official, not a small-time bureaucrat,

 - Trouble has arisen with the Mandalorian government. They've laid claim to our beskar mining. Their beskar.

 - I see. - I wondered, so they decided to jump the gun after all. I was hoping the pacifists wouldn't make a fuss.

 - The pacifists didn't. It was the mandalmotors board and the public, not the government, who were the root of the problem. They paid for a series of articles and news stories to discredit the government for 'squandering our wealth'," the man grimaced.

 - I understand," I nodded. - What's the situation?

 - We've launched a retaliatory information warfare campaign. We're used to it, but the Mandalorians are a very... specific people," Claude blurted out. - So we could be in serious trouble. Up to and including overthrowing the Mandalorian government and expelling us from the system.

 - And the Republic?

 - Since you own the mines, it's a de jure internal problem between you and the government. And while the law is on our side, their outrage is justified. And it's fuelled by the opposition," Claude replied. - So I'm going to ask you to go to Mandalore immediately. If we're late. ...I'm afraid it could be irreparable," Claude said, artificially thickening the colours. Have you forgotten what department I'm in? Diplomacy is one of my subjects.

 - I understand, I'll report immediately. Is that your requirement? - I asked. It was important-if this KMC wanted to deflect the Mandalorians' wrath, I'd have a lot to gain from them, though it was in my interest, too.

 - No, this is a personal request from the Duchess of Mandalore. Her position is shaken and she needs diplomatic victories to regain her confidence and show that her pacifism can protect the interests of the planet," Claude smiled.

 I gave him a meaningful hum.

 - Then I'll leave immediately for Keldabe," I said, walking to the wardrobe where my travelling clothes were hanging.

 As I hurried to pack, I thought about Claude's words. Something like that was to be expected, but I decided to give up and hope for Russian avos. "It didn't work - the situation escalated dramatically, and some people were able to take advantage of the fact that KMK was stealing ore from Mandalore from under their noses. It's logical to bite the enemy when he gives weakness. Politics is such a complicated thing, but I didn't like it, if only because of the people who did the politics. Greedy, mean, cruel, human and non-human.

 It took me fifteen minutes to pack - I quickly put everything in my bag and left the room. Deja vu came over me, six months ago I was leaving the room after exams the same way. Slapping myself on the forehead, I ran towards Alessia's room. Hopefully she'll forgive me, but I'll have to leave her again and get into Mandalore politics a bit.