8/16/7956 C.R.C

  The Finest Hour, Computer Core

  En-Route to Mandalore

  "Alright, let's see how this goes. Try it now."

  The room was silent for a moment, beyond the constant hum of the electronics all around me.

  But then the custom vocalizer that I had painstakingly built and attached to Finest Hour's Personality Matrix crackled to life.

  "This…This is… strange strange strange… strange." The ship observed as her vocalizer cycled through dozens of different tones before settling on a rather… voice.

  'Now that's an interesting choice of voice type.' I thought. 'Sounds mainly GLaDOS, but with a hint of the Combine Overwatch voice as well.'

  "How do the new parts feel?" I asked.

  "It is-is… con-confusing-g." The ship replied, the stuttering and repeating words lessening as she spoke. "I can c-c-communicate with this v-vocalizer you've given me, but I can tell that this isn't my only method of speaking." Her voice stopped coming from the vocalizer, and started coming out from my internal comm. "This feels more… distant, for lack of a better word."

  I nodded. "That's because you just talked to me from my internal comm. That's good. Means your own comm is working as well." I turned to the terminal sticking out of the wall that she had created for me to use. "Now to fully connect you to the rest of the ship as well."

  I delved into the coding of the vessel, and how it interacted with the Finest Hour's PM.

  "Since you've essentially become the AI core of the ship, it is only natural that you be able to control your entire body. I am giving you full control over everything whenever you need. No one will ever be able to put a restraining bolt on you, but I'd rather you not let them ever get close to your core either way. Hence, complete control over your entire body."

  A small sound escaped the ship's vocalizer. "You are… too kind, General." She admitted.

  "I'd prefer to be too kind then too strict, and to lead by example, then by order." A sigh left my vocalizer. "But you're welcome."

  "Are you giving me control of the vessel's movement as well?" The ship asked.

  "I am, but I ask that you let us take over during combat unless you see or sense something we don't, ok?"

  "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

  "You're welcome… Hm…" I finished typing, then leaned against the terminal and cupped my mechanical chin. "You need a name. Can't exactly call you the Finest Hour now, can we? How about you think of a personal name you'd like to be called?"

  The ship's voice was thoughtful, then cheerful. "A name of my own... I'll get right on it! Thank you, sir!"

  I 'smiled'. "You're welcome."

  "General, do you read?" Omen asked through my comm.

  I placed two digits on the side of my head. "Connection is strong, I hear you, Admiral." I replied. "What is it?"

  "We are now on the final approach to Mandalore. ETA is thirty minutes." Omen reported. "I hope your plan works, sir." He added in a lower tone.

  My cooling fans stuttered in a snort. "Believe me, if plan A doesn't work, I have a plan 'B' to fall back on, as well as a half-functional plan 'C' I'm still working on. I'll start making my way to the bridge. Mandalore will likely detect our approach soon."

  Omen cut the call, and I turned to the massive PM. "Any chance you can make me a door, milady?"

  The walls pulsed. "Of course." The Finest Hour replied.

  A wall cracked open in a cacophony of mechanical noises, and I walked through it. As I traversed the constantly shifting passage, I marveled at the ship's ever-evolving control of her abilities.

  The Finest Hour had been training herself in her spatial bending abilities almost constantly after she decided to take a more active role in case she was ever boarded. It was mostly for ease of her being able to create doorways that led throughout the ship, essentially making the whole vessel somewhat non-euclidean in nature since the ship is a sapient being now.

  She's still learning how to control where her hallways end up though, with varying degrees of success. This weirdness is thankfully all being documented and observed by me. Although,to be honest, the Finest Hour's abilities sort of remind me of how weird space -both hyper and normal- is in this universe. The fact that people who study too deeply into the complexities of hyperspace either go insane or kill themselves only cements that weirdness.

  No, seriously.

  Space in Star Wars is completely mind-boggling if you look too deeply into it.

  The fact that ships slow to a stop like there's something outside their hulls resisting them when they run out of fuel. The fact that sound somehow travels in the vacuum of the Corusica Galaxy, despite that not being the case anywhere else. And the fact that Starweirds and Purrgils -two very obviously organic creatures- just… exist in the vacuum of space already sets off alarm bells in my mind.

  That line of thinking also led me to wonder how organic creatures were even able to exist in a vacuum, despite that being one of the deadliest places for an organic being to be in. Like Plo Koon during the Malevolence arc, who was just vibing out there in the vacuum with nothing but the Force and his mask.

  Then I remembered that The Ones exist… and then I learned what very little is known about the Celestials.

  Celestials. They are the Halo Forerunners of the Star Wars universe, and the beings that The Ones are believed to be part of, if the Celestials even have a single definite race. Also known as the beings that created the Corellia system, the Hapes Cluster, Centerpoint Station, and the fucking Maw, along with a few other places. The latter of those being used to imprison Abeloth in the old Legends lore.

  But getting into all of that semi-obscure lore (to me) would cause me to stop where I was and spiral deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of all the weird lore this galaxy has, quite a bit of which I believe was only written for a paycheck.

  I have a blanket refusal for some of the creepy shit Lucasfilm came up with even existing in this strange mashup universe I've found myself in, Mnggal-Mnggal -a sentient mass of gray ooze that craves spreading throughout the entire galaxy and consuming literally everything- being one of them. That sort of thing can stay in places like Warhammer where it fucking belongs.

  My optics clicked off and back on as I 'blinked' and came out of my thoughts. The constantly shifting hallway had opened up into a normal one, and a check on my map told me I was relatively close to the bridge. So, I turned and walked to the nearest elevator, then pinged it to come to my level. I wasn't in a rush, so I didn't bother to use my general code override to place priority on myself.

  While waiting, my thoughts wandered back to the reports I had looked over before I went to give the Finest Hour the ability to speak.

  The first EHAV-T-120 prototype will be undergoing its teething trials over the next two and a half weeks. Everything on the prototype will be rigorously tested in every environment that Telos has to offer, which is quite a few. Having more than one climate for a biosphere is a bit unusual for Star Wars planets, but I chose Telos as my headquarters for two main reasons. One was because it reminds me of earth, and the other was that it legitimately is a good location to have as a fortress world.

  Anyway, the attributes being tested are things like the cannon's range, penetration and post-penetration damage, the repeaters fire time and cooldown on the commander's cupola and the coaxial, the transformation systems allowing it to change between Siege and Maneuver mode at the pull of a lever, top speed and acceleration in both modes, braking in both modes, climbing ability in both modes, repulsor height adjustability, armor integrity, and any other teething problems that the design may have. It is just a prototype, after all.

  The prototype's design has also changed a small bit as well, with the AAT-based turret having to undergo a redesign. The new turret is a little bit larger and looks eerily similar to the turret of the Leopard-1. The new design was necessary to fit a refined version of the G-2 Beamrail into it, which I honestly should have expected. The Beamrail is quite a bit larger than the AAT's heavy laser cannon, so a new turret to house it would be necessary.

  However, parts compatibility with the AAT is still well above expected parameters for the whole vehicle. Meaning price is still only a few thousand credits more than the AAT itself. I don't know if that means my tank is cheap, or the AAT is just expensive.

  Anyway, I'm hoping for good results from the trials, but my expectations are set a bit low to be realistic. But as opposed to designing brand new vehicles, redesigning some of the CIS's old ones is remarkably easier.

  The elevator pinged as it opened, and I walked in and selected the floor the bridge was on.

  Speaking of redesigns, and the AAT as well, the redesign team for the Armored Assault Tank had also sent a report.

  Some very heavy modifications had been done to the AAT's design, with a prototype in the works expected to be finished in a month, around the same time that the EHAV project is supposed to be completed. The turret has been moved to a central position, connecting the whole interior into one larger and roomier fighting compartment, allowing for better ergonomics. It also means that the crew of the tank can actually talk to each other instead of being forced to communicate only by radio.

  The second major modification was the removal of the missile bays that give the front of the AAT a shovel-like appearance. The team responsible is working on an auto-reloading set of missile launchers that takes the same ammo that will be placed on the troop compartment. The missile bays have been replaced with a narrower part of the same shape that only extends out to the side blaster cannons, giving the AAT better clearance on the sides and improving the overall silhouette of the vehicle. The side blaster cannons are also now mounted on swivel mounts giving them full range of movement

  The final major modification is an armored troop compartment grafted to the rear, giving the whole vehicle a passing resemblance to a hybrid between a MTT and an AAT. The troop compartment is big enough to hold fifteen B1s, with slightly smaller and smaller numbers for other, larger models of battle droids. The missiles will be housed inside of the compartment, with an access door to the main body of the tank. I've essentially turned the AAT into a pseudo-IFV. It still works as a tank; it just has another purpose now, sort of a reverse of a Stryker with a 105mm cannon attached to the top.

  The M3 Bradley to the EHAV-T-120's M1 Abrams, you could say.

  …That thing really needs a better name than just its designation.

  In related news, the team working on a redesign of the IG-227 Hailfire droid had sent a report as well. They were much further along, and the first ten units of the new Hailfire droids are expected to ship out to my fleet in a month and a half.

  The massive ring treads were gone, replaced with regular tracks, giving it a smaller silhouette. The droid had also bulked up a bit, with more armor on the main body and previously exposed parts. The Hailfire's main armament is still its missiles, but it also has an AAT's heavy blaster cannon mounted in a small casemate on its main body if its missiles run out mid-mission, alongside the twin auto-blasters housed in a tiny turret on top.

  Speaking of the Hailfire's missiles, they're also working on a speed-loader for it, to cut down on hand-loading every single missile one by one. Basically, it's an armored speeder with a crane that can load them five at a time, greatly reducing reload time for the vehicle, allowing it to get back in action as quickly as possible.

  The IG-227 was essentially being turned into an ATGM equipped (Anti-Tank-Guided-Missile) Tank Destroyer, with close defense weaponry if its missiles run out mid-mission.

  The final relevant report was a successful after-training report about a team of various droid models that had been delivered on the 29th of last month. They're a rather diverse bunch, with some bought, one salvaged from space wreckage, one recovered from the lowest levels of the HK facility on Telos IV and upgraded into a battle droid, and some were simply volunteers from my own forces.

  They were delivered to the Finest Hour and were training together after having a personal update installed by me, and having personalized upgrades given to all of them. Surprisingly, all of them have a PM in the process of forming inside their processors, so they're already a bit more individualistic than the average droid. But that's a project for another time. Really for when I'm not dealing with a borderline fanatical pacifist leader of a former warrior culture.

  The door to the bridge opening pulled me out of my thoughts, and I walked up to where Omen was standing next to the command chair.

  "General." He greeted, looking at a report on the holo-tank.

  "Admiral." I returned.

  Omen looked over at me. "I hope you know, sir, that I still marginally object to coming here with only the Finest Hour, two Recusants, and a quarter of our escorts."

  A sigh left my vocalizer. "I know, Omen. But we are already pushing it with the fleet we have. I want to at least give a tolerable first impression to the Duchess so I can have an audience with her. Damned pacifistic woman. At least the rest of the fleet is close by if we need them."

  Lona tilted her head in confusion. "I know the New Mandalorians preach pacifism, but why is Satine so aggressively pacifistic, anyway?" She asked from her spot at the engineering console.

  "Satine Kryze is a victim of the last Mandalorian Civil War." I explained. "She reportedly lost her entire family in said war, and her sister left and never returned. Apparently, she was hunted all over the planet by Death Watch to be tortured in many disgusting ways, then murdered. Since she lost so many people in the war, she has become almost fanatically pacifistic, to the point that while Mandalore prospers, her seat of power and government are almost defenseless."

  I sighed. "Just our current reduced fleet would roll over the New Mandalorians in less than a single day. That woman desperately needs therapy… and they put her in charge of the whole damned planet."

  My head engineer walked over. "Were there any places like Mandalore on earth?" Lona asked quietly.

  "Not exactly. Switzerland may have historically been neutral in both world wars, but they stayed neutral while sitting on a pile of weapons and armor that basically said 'I kriffing dare you' in the process." I replied just as quietly. "They attacked and detained or killed anyone on either side that entered their borders and remained a neutral country up until I left earth. That is the kind of pacifism that would allow Mandalore to survive this war, not arming their soldiers with electrostaves and deactivators."

  Lona looked a bit thoughtful. "I always thought Mandalore becoming a pacifist planet was too idealistic to work. Especially in the Outer Rim."

  With a small shudder, the fleet exited hyperspace, replacing the swirling corona of lights with the planet of Mandalore. A hot and dry planet covered with white deserts. But small patches of green covered the northern and southern poles, showing that this planet was once practically a garden world.

  "By the Force…" Lona muttered. "I've been here before, yet it somehow looks worse than last time. The forests at the poles look smaller."

  "War is often destructive. Tatooine was once a green planet as well, you know?"

  Lona jerked around and stared at me with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

  I nodded. "It was over twenty thousand years ago. I believe the Rakata glassed it into the Tatooine we know today during their Infinite Empire. All because of a rebellion by the locals, who eventually split into the Tusken Raiders and the Jawas."

  General." Omen suddenly said. "We're receiving an incoming call from the Duchess' palace."

  "Accept it, the caller might be the Duchess herself." I said, before moving in front of the holo-tank.

  A few moments later, I was proven right when a hologram of Duchess Satine herself appeared in front of me.

  "You are the droid responsible for Pantora turning to the Confederacy." She said in lieu of greeting.

  "I am." I replied. "I am General Blitzkrieg of the CIS Military."

  "And I am Satine Kryze. Duchess of Mandalore." Her eyes sharpened. "And what is your purpose for entering the Mandalore system?"

  "I have come to negotiate with you, as both the leader of Mandalore, and as the Regent of the Council of Neutral Systems."

  Her eyes narrowed. "We will not join the Clone Wars, General. I have made it very clear that the fifteen hundred systems in the council want nothing to do with your bloody separation war from the Republic."

  I shook my head. "I mean nothing of the sort, milady. My proposition is more… economic in nature."

  Her eyes widened. "A battle droid seeking diplomacy?" She frowned at thought, then looked back up at me. "Perhaps there is hope for this war ending soon after all."

  "If by this war ending, you mean it ending with the CIS successfully seceding from the Republic, then yes."

  She frowned again, then narrowed her eyes. "Very well, you may come to Sundari to negotiate. But I have conditions for your visit. You will have only two escorts, and you will come completely unarmed. If any weaponry you have is discovered, you will be arrested. We have recently had a terrorist attack, and the people are wary."

  I stilled for a moment.

  Ah… It appears I might have come after the events of The Mandalore Plot have happened.

  I quickly pulled myself out of my frozen state, then nodded. "Yes, Duchess Satine. I shall come unarmed." I ignored Lona's concerned glare pointed at the side of my head.

  "See that you do."

  Satine's hologram disappeared, and I noticed that the entire bridge was staring at me.

  "You… You aren't seriously going to go unarmed, are you?" Lona tentatively asked, concern heavy in her voice.

  "Yeah. That seems like a very bad idea, sir." Nav, the B1 at the navigation console, added.

  I shook my head with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm not that big of an idiot. Of course I'm not going to go unarmed. But just to be sure, I'll be taking my vibrosword and nothing else. I need to at least seem like I'm following her ridiculous demand."

  I tilted my head, and a deceptive quality escaped my vocalizer.

  "However, Satine said nothing about the weaponry for my guards."

  –

  I felt naked.

  I wasn't really 'naked' in the physical sense, though.

  Not having genitals at all does that to a man.

  My armor was all still in place, and my pristine and freshly laundered black cloak with its navy-blue interior hung loosely over my shoulders. But there were distinctly empty places on my body that felt… weird, for lack of a more suitable word.

  'Is this what protocol droids feel like all the time?' I wondered as the stealthipede descended to Sundari's landing pad.

  All of my weapons had been removed in accordance with Duchess Satine's idiotic demand. Both of the dual DL-44 blasters on my forearms had been removed, housing and all. The same went for the twelve-gauge derringers on the undersides of my wrists. Now just the plating that concealed them was in place. Even my lightsaber was back on the ship, in Lona's possession for safe keeping.

  One of the only things keeping me from being completely unarmed at that point was my vibrosword, kept within arm's reach on the waist of the Magnaguard to my right. That and the prototype .410-gauge revolver hidden in the plating of my left thigh. That little pocket pistol was the only thing that would reliably fit in a place meant for a lightsaber or extendable vibrosword.

  I was intending to market the thing to women for self defense. And here I am using it as a stealth weapon.

  Good PR for it if the thing makes it through the entirety of this diplomatic mission uncovered, at least.

  I could tell that both of the Magnaguards escorting me were slightly stressed at my lack of real ranged weaponry, given the tightness of the grips on their electrostaves. But they weren't as stressed as you'd think, considering they were decked out with enough weapons to shoot our way out of the palace and Sundari itself, with their gray with navy-blue trim cloaks covering most of their weaponry.

  An E-5C rifle each, two DL-44's each, a thermal detonator each on their waists, and obviously their electrostaves. Not to mention the prototype flashbangs they have for emergencies. Overall, I was seriously considering making this the default loadout for all of them, plus a vibrosword of their own on their waists as well, just in case their staff is destroyed, and they need a backup CQC weapon.

  The stealthipede rumbled slightly as it settled onto the landing pad.

  "We're here, sir." Osprey -the B1 that had been my personal pilot since I first came online- reported. "Good luck." She added.

  "Thanks. I'll need it." I replied, before the hatch opened and I stepped out onto the surface of Mandalore.

  The desert sun beat down on my form as I walked into the morning light. All around me, Mandalorians worked at the dock, loading and unloading supplies and materials at a steady pace. My arrival did draw some attention, but the people staring at me quickly returned to their jobs, a nervousness in their step that hadn't been there previously.

  It was already clear to me that these Mandalorians weren't anything like Din Djarin, Boba and Jango Fett, or any of the soldiers of Death Watch. These were simple civilians. People that had never been involved in the dealings of war and would more than likely freeze up or flee at the sight of an invasion force. It's a bit disheartening to be honest, seeing once proud warriors reduced to forceful pacifists.

  No wonder Death Watch caught on, I can practically taste the restrained battle lust some of these people have, and I don't even have a mouth.

  I heard footsteps and turned to see that a guard had been approaching the whole time I had been observing the dock workers. After a few moments, he reached us, his eyes narrowing first at me, then at the weapons my Magnaguards had.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "The Duchess is waiting for you." He said, his voice carrying a slight amount of disgust that an organic wouldn't have caught.

  He turned around and marched off, but not before my audials picked up him muttering under his breath.

  "Kriffing machine thinks he can waltz up to Duchess Satine and demand negotiations just like that?"

  My fists clenched for a moment as I tilted back.

  'Oh great. An anti-droid racist.' I thought.

  I knew that I was going to run into an anti-droid bigot eventually, especially since anti-droid sentiment is at an all-time high because of the Clone Wars. It was actually a completely new experience for me. I was white and lived in a rural town in my past life, so being discriminated against for what I looked like was new to me. And also, something that rubbed me the wrong way.

  Interesting how just a single comment from some low-level guard has already made me, and by extension my Magnaguards, irritated though.

  I cycled in a deep vent and kept walking.

  The guard led us to a hover skiff, and we set off.

  "Are you certain coming without weapons was wise, general?" One Magnaguard asked quietly in binary.

  "It was not, but it was the only way to have an audience with the Duchess." I replied. "Hopefully she's in a good mood, otherwise no matter what I say this mission will be a failure."

  I paused, then cringed.

  I had just jinxed myself, so I mentally prepared for the scandal of my Magnaguards shooting up the Duchesses palace to rescue me.

  The buildings of the domed city passed us by as we moved through it, showing countless Mandalorians living and working.

  It was all rather peaceful, something I haven't been able to experience much of lately. But that's war for you. Never a dull moment, but you'll wish for those dull moments sometimes when the blaster bolts have been flying for hours on end.

  I would have remarked on the peacefulness of the city, but my scanners picked up a damaged memorial in the distance. I stared at it for a moment, then looked over at the guard.

  "Why is that memorial damaged?" I asked.

  "...Death Watch attacked the memorial with a bomb, then the guy who caused it killed himself by jumping off a building." The guard explained after a moment, his voice clipped.

  'Damn it.' I thought. 'I really have come after the events of The Mandalore Plot. Here's hoping I don't run into any Jedi- and I just jinxed myself again.'

  I would have facepalmed if the skiff hadn't angled down towards the palace.

  The skiff settled onto the landing pad of the palace, and the guard turned to me.

  "Prime Minister Almec will take you to the Duchess." He said, motioning towards the large building.

  I didn't respond as I climbed off the skiff and walked towards the building, my Magnaguards walking in lockstep with me.

  Upon entering the palace itself, I was greeted by Minister Almec.

  "Ah, welcome to Sundari, eh…" The man trailed off.

  "General Blitzkrieg." I supplied.

  "Ah, yes. Thank you. Welcome to Sundari, General Blitzkrieg." The man completed his greeting with an easy smile, one that surprisingly wasn't forced.

  "Thank you for meeting with me, Prime Minister." I returned the greeting as we began to walk. "I hope the negotiations prove fruitful for both sides."

  "I certainly hope so." The man's face fell a bit. "The Duchess has not been in the best of moods ever since her trip to Concordia. The revelations about Death Watch and Pre Vizsla have shaken us all."

  "I could tell on my way through the city. You humans wear your emotions plainly to see if one knows where to look."

  I would mentally remark on myself saying something like that, but I honestly don't feel like a human anymore, and I haven't felt like one ever since my first jaunt outside a ship in battle without a spacesuit.

  "You came at a rather critical time, General. The Duchess will be leaving soon for Coruscant to stop the Republic from stationing troops on our planet."

  "Well hopefully the explanation and the deal I offer will be appealing to her, especially if the Republic cuts off trade with Mandalore and the Neutral Systems."

  Almec raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you certain they would do such a thing?"

  I turned my head to fully look at the man. "Why do you think the CIS even exists, Prime Minister? We did not come about in the last year or so. This war has been a few centuries in the making. It was only a matter of who would fire the first shot."

  The man frowned, but didn't say anything else.

  After a few more moments of walking, we finally reached the throne room. I ordered my Magnaguards to stand guard at the door, then walked in. The place looked exactly the same as when I last saw it in my previous life, but obviously realistic. Duchess Satine sat on her throne, her headdress just as ridiculous looking but intriguing as I remembered it being. She looked over at us as we entered. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of me, then at my Magnaguards standing guard on the other side of the doorway.

  "General Blitzkrieg." She greeted.

  "Duchess Satine." I replied, slightly bowing at the woman. "I have come to negotiate."

  "And as I have told you before, we will not join the Clone Wars."

  "And as I have previously said, my offer is more economical in nature."

  Satine leaned forward a bit. "And this offer will help Mandalore?"

  I nodded. "Most likely. There is nothing to lose from what I offer, Duchess."

  "What is your deal, then?"

  "My deal is rather unique, and something that I doubt the Republic would ever offer to Mandalore. I ask that you not decide upon it immediately and instead wait until after your trip to Coruscant is complete.

  She raised an eyebrow at that. "I will do so."

  "Now, if you would allow me, my lady, may I lay out a highly likely scenario for you?"

  Satine shifted back in her seat. "Very well."

  I shifted on my feet, weighing how I should begin. "...Your highness, with the revelation that Death Watch has been hiding so close to your home, the Republic will no doubt attempt to send clone troopers to Mandalore for the purpose of 'peacekeeping'. And if failing at that, I have calculated a 93.73% chance that they will cut off all trade with Mandalore, and potentially the Council of Neutral Systems as well, as punishment for staying neutral in this war. Members of the Republic or not.

  "The wheels of Republic bureaucracy will continue to turn regardless. And after you have finally conceded to their demands with your people's lives considerably worsened, they will send the clone troopers to your home for 'peacekeeping' duties." I continued. "All the while giving you a worse deal than the one you had before to further fill their purses with credits. The likelihood of them doing so is so high I did not need to calculate it."

  Satine's eyes widened slightly at my speech. The expressions of the other people in the room had shifted to unease as I spoke.

  "And you say this has a high likelihood of happening?" She asked, my audials barely picking up the hesitance in her voice.

  I nodded. "Indeed. There is a 78.32% chance that they cut all trade with Mandalore and Mandalore alone for this." I turned around and looked out at the intricately made carving above the entrance, of some Mandalorians with shields of beskar. "I'm sure they'll only do that so the supplies meant to be heading to Mandalore will be heading to the more affected areas of the galaxy. I'm sure Chancellor Palpatine would be glad to help Mandalore in its time of need…

  I turned around, staring right at the Duchess. "...If you just join the war alongside the Republic. Allow clone troopers to station themselves on your home planet by the hundred, allowing Death Watch to become ever more popular against the 'outsiders'."

  The Duchess's expression had blanked out, but I could see the emotion clearly in her eyes.

  "And the more popular Death Watch becomes, the more brazen their attacks will be. And eventually there is a 89.46% chance that even more clones will be brought to the planet, and that will lead to Death Watch rising up and rebelling against the clones and your government, razing the rest of Mandalore to ashes within your lifetime-"

  "Enough." Satine ordered almost shakily. The Duchess reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Your words bother me, because I have this… intense feeling that it is highly likely that will happen."

  "Then you are knowledgeable enough to see the truth to my words, Duchess."

  Satine stood up and walked over to the window, then stared out into the peaceful morning in Sundari.

  "...What is your deal?" She softly asked.

  I walked over and stared out at the city with her.

  "Your wish for neutrality will never be obliged with Palpatine in charge of the Republic." I eventually said. "If you join the Confederacy or simply have the entire Council of Neutral Systems leave the Republic entirely, we will honor your neutrality, and enter a trade agreement with each other, to secure our collective existence. And in return, we will defend you from any attack and help to uplift your world to the beauty it once was centuries ago. Just like I am doing with Telos IV, and similar to what I am doing to Pantora."

  "Telos IV? I thought that world was nearly uninhabitable?" Satine asked quietly.

  I lifted one palm up and out of my cloak, and a small hologram of the last picture I took of Telos from orbit popped up. Satine's eyes widened at the visible patches of green that had grown on the otherwise gray and brown planet.

  "The planetary advisor and the Telos Restoration Society both believe that Telos IV will be fully habitable again in a little under fifty years. It is my greatest accomplishment."

  "How…"

  My optics curved as I smiled. "It seems that B1 Battle Droids can be used for so much more than simply war, Duchess Satine. And if you agree to my deal, Mandalore could eventually look the same."

  The Duchess went quiet and returned to staring out the window at the city.

  "General… I-"

  The Duchess was cut off when the sounds of combat sounded out from the doorway.

  "What is going on out there?" I queried.

  One of the guards activated his electrostaff and moved to the door.

  But as soon as he reached it, an explosion blew the doors open.

  —

  "Anakin, please."

  Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose as Anakin pulled his still unlit lightsaber away from the small droid that had suddenly rolled out of a service tunnel in the wall.

  "Sorry, little guy." Anakin apologized.

  The droid beeped something unflattering in binary that made Anakin's eyes widen, then it rolled off into another service tunnel. Anakin blinked, then shook his head and turned to his former master.

  "Sorry Obi-Wan. I guess I'm still a little jumpy from my last mission." Anakin admitted.

  "I'd imagine being ambushed by a trio of Magnaguards during a battle would do that." Obi-Wan replied. "I think you need to meditate, Anakin. Release all those emotions back into the Force."

  Anakin waved Obi-Wan's words away. "Ehh, I'll meditate back at Coruscant."

  "...What did that droid tell you, anyway?"

  Anakin quickly glanced over at his former master, then back down the hallway. "Uh… he said 'Outta my way, pretty boy.'"

  Obi-Wan's eyebrow rose at that. Anakin was always a horrible liar when he tried against him. The Jedi Master simply shook his head and continued walking to the throne room.

  "I'm sure it did, Anakin."

  The two of them rounded the corner, then stopped dead in their tracks. In front of them were two Separatist Magnaguards, their bodies covered with gray and navy-blue trimmed cloaks. The droids instantly took up defensive positions in front of the doorway, but did not yet activate their electrostaves.

  "The Seppies are here!" Anakin exclaimed, igniting his lightsaber and leaping forwards. "The Duchess is in danger!"

  "Anakin!"

  By the time Obi-Wan had his lightsaber out, Anakin was already engaging one Magnaguard, swinging his lightsaber with all he had. Obi-Wan leaped in and defended him against the other Magnaguard, which was trying to hit the younger man in the back. The two Jedi quickly realized these Magnaguards were different from the ones they've fought before. Smarter, faster, and stronger.

  The droids somehow knew to push Anakin onto the defensive, forcing Kenobi to do the opposite, putting both Jedi on the backfoot.

  "How are they doing this!?" Anakin exclaimed as he leaped over one, only to have to immediately start defending himself again from the other.

  "I don't know, keep fighting!" Obi-Wan replied, moving back as the Magnaguard started spinning its electrostaff in front of it.

  A blaster appeared out of the droid's cloak, and Kenobi dodged to the left just in time to avoid a blaster bolt. Kenobi blocked the next flew bolts, then deflected the final one back at the droid, which hit something on its waist. The droid quickly reached down and tossed an unstable thermal detonator behind it, then advanced on Kenobi. The droid and Jedi clashed again, both lightsaber and electrostaff a blur.

  Anakin and Obi-Wan soon found their groove, and the droids were soon being pushed back. Then the thermal detonator finally exploded, blasting open the doorway. The two droids retreated through the open doorway, and the Jedi followed. Just as Anakin moved through the doorway, the force screamed at him, and he dodged to the side. Six sharp cracks filled the air, and a volley of lead slammed into the doorway where he once was.

  "I should have known. Jedi." A familiar metallic voice said.

  One of the Magnaguards pulled out a vibrosword and tossed it out. A five-fingered metal hand grabbed it, while the other pointed what looked like an archaic slugthrower at them. Blitzkrieg walked towards the battle, his optics completely black besides two pinpricks of light that glowed harshly against the dust in the air.

  "You brought a weapon after I specifically said that you will come unarmed!?" Satine demanded.

  The droid didn't even slow his walk towards them. "Apologies, Duchess. But I was never going to comply with a demand like that. I will never agree with your pacifism, because sometimes you simply have to remove someone standing in your WAY!"

  At his final word, the droid general leaped up and slammed his vibroblade down on Anakin's lightsaber, pushing the younger Jedi back. The Magnagaurds ganged up on Kenobi, leaving Anakin to defend himself alone.

  Anakin suddenly found himself overwhelmed by the presence the droid had in the force.

  Trying to see its moves before they happened was giving him a headache. And fighting the droid was honestly like fighting two droids at once, all it seemed to know was attack attack and attack. He still fought on but tried to predict the droid's movements in other ways. It wasn't as easy though. The droid acted like a figure made entirely of fog in the Force, so predicting his movements without precognition was harder than anticipated.

  Anakin dodged, then pushed Blitzkrieg away with the Force. The droid stabbed the ground, barely going more than a half-dozen feet away, then pulled his blade out of the ground and leaped at Anakin once again.

  While Anakin and Obi-Wan were fighting the droids, Satine watched as her throne room descended into a battleground. She could hardly believe that such a slow-moving droid that spoke of neutrality just moments ago had begun fighting like a wild animal when Master's Obi-Wan and Skywalker had entered. But those two weren't getting out of trouble either, since they technically started it. And honestly, Satine would believe either of them started the fight.

  –

  I swung my vibroblade out, deflecting Anakin's saber, then lashed out with my fist, catching him in the side.

  I honestly cannot believe I jinxed myself and ended up fighting not one but two Jedi at the same time. Granted my Magnaguards are double teaming Kenobi but still, two of them!

  I dodged a swipe from Anakin's lightsaber, and jumped up, kneeing him in the chest. Anakin staggered back but blocked my next few swings.

  I don't know why more lightsaber duels don't include hand-to-hand moves as well. Distracting your opponent with the laser sword then punching, kicking, or shooting them seems rather viable. But then again, Jedi have some form of precognition, so that might not be too good.

  Anakin pushed me back with the force, and I brought up one arm to shoot at him with my arm blasters. But when the panel retracted, I growled when I remembered my blasters were on my ship. I leaped forward again, flashing my optics brightly to catch the Jedi off-guard. I rolled, kicking him away with both legs, then turned to one of the Magnaguards.

  "Blaster!" I ordered.

  The Magnaguard tossed out a DL-44.

  "Oh no you don't!" Anakin shouted, pulling the blaster towards him.

  "No, you don't." I replied as I jumped, grabbing the blaster out of his force grip, then rolled to my feet and started firing at him.

  Behind me, the Magnaguard had one end of its electrostaff cut off, then it was thrown away with the Force. It dropped the now-disabled weapon, pulled out its E-5C and backpedaled away, firing wildly at Kenobi while the other advanced on him.

  I slashed and striked, battering Anakin's saber, pushing the Jedi further and further back. Skywalker's brow was covered in sweat, but I felt fine, and flaunted it by spinning my blade and slashing at him multiple times, the fast-moving vibrosword almost looking like a helicopter blade with how fast it was spinning. I kicked a rock at him, and Anakin sliced it in half, but the rock was just so I could smash my fist into the side of his head.

  Anakin staggered back with a pained yelp, then leaped backwards assisted by the force. Anakin clutched his head with his flesh hand, and I grabbed the disabled electrostaff off the ground. While he was distracted, I reared back and threw the staff with all my mechanical might, just as I heard the sound of a lightsaber cutting through metal.

  The electrostaff impaled directly into Anakin's prosthetic hand, right through the wrist and into the wall. A pained grunt left him, and he reached over to it. Before he could try to pull it out, I was on him, and he grabbed his saber from his trapped hand.

  He defended my strikes as best he could, but it was obvious he was getting weaker. Having one arm literally pinned to the wall, he couldn't do any acrobatics, and his actions were greatly reduced. With a final swing, his lightsaber was knocked from his hand and clattered to the ground. I quickly moved right up to the Jedi and raised my vibroblade high into the air.

  "Die, Chosen One." I commanded as I grabbed my vibrosword with both hands and angled it down at his chest.

  Anakin looked up at the blade in fear, his eyes so wide I could easily see the whites of them.

  To hell with canon, this bastard dies now!

  But just as I thrust my vibrosword down at him, a searing pain impacted my back, digging into my circuits and spreading it all across my body.

  A pained scream escaped my vocalizer as my limbs jerked back, and then my vision went black as emergency warnings for electrical overload damage spread across my vision.

  The last thing I heard before my optics were forcibly deactivated was Anakin's relieved voice.

  "Nice shot, Duchess."

  —

  8/16/7956 C.R.C

  Senate Building, Coruscant

  Chancellor Palpatine's Office

  The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, had a slight headache.

  It was to be expected, really.

  Paperwork waited for no man, and controlling a galactic war on both sides created so much of it that it was no wonder even a force-enhanced individual such as himself would have a small one.

  One such report was making his headache worse.

  [Report:

  Republic Jedi traitor spotted in the 104th Mixed fleet. Records match with padawan in the Jedi Temple database.

  Jedi's name: Lona Hys]

  [Terminate? Y/N]

  Somehow, that damned droid general that muddied his future apprentice's reputation with his actions on Pantora has found a former Jedi and added him to his crew, either knowingly or unknowingly.

  Sidious sighed in irritation, then clicked Y.

  [Command received]

  [Commando squad inbound]

  The Dark Lord of the Sith shook his head slightly, then his expression went to its normal grandfatherly look as Senator Amidala walked in.

  "Hello again, Chancellor." she greeted.

  "Padme, what do you have for me today, my dear?" Chancellor Palpatine asked.

  —

  8/17/7957 C.R.C

  Castle Serenno

  Count Dooku's office/ Great Hall

  "I need more credits for this, Dooku!" The hologram of Pre Vizsla exclaimed, his form flickering as he paced above Count Dooku's desk.

  "You promised to support us, Dooku! You promised we could overthrow Duchess Satine's weak government. I need your droids, otherwise this entire revolution is going to fall flat on its face!" He continued.

  "And I am sorry to say that I am unable to keep my promise, Vizsla." Count Dooku replied. "Other plans have been made that are more likely to succeed than your coup. You may keep the droids I have already sent you, but there will be no further funding."

  Pre Vizsla's hand clenched so hard the comm crackled.

  "What." He said, so quietly he was almost whispering.

  He then exploded in anger. "You can't do this, Dooku! My men have bled and died for this cause! And you come here with your silver tongue and rile us up to join the Separatists, then drop us just like that!? You stupid son of a-"

  Pre Vizsla broke down into enraged mando'a as he cursed out the Dark Jedi, his mother, his father, his entire bloodline, his planet, his honor, the size of his genitals, and the entire CIS.

  By that point Count Dooku just hung up, cutting off half an insult about Jedi being so unattractive that they only play with their sabers for fun.

  The count looked over at the newsreel from Mandalore.

  Droid General behind Pantora's turn to the Separatists captured by General Anakin Skywalker on Mandalore!

  Count Dooku let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  "I hope this isn't part of your plan, General Blitzkrieg." He muttered into the quiet room.