Chapter 24

714 FNM (24 BBY)

Month 10

Mandalore, Sundari Palace, Council Chambers

Satine Kryze

'Today will not be a fun day.' I mused as I looked out at the gathered heads of state that worked underneath me to keep Mandalore running as a safe society. Events that happened had pushed me to take stances that I was just going to have to accept.

Sending my newest proposal to the Ruling Council was going to be a headache by itself and I could feel it growing already. But there was not much I could do on the matter, political realities had changed, granted it was technically my fault they had changed. I had encouraged Tanya to create the Silver Codex after all and helped propagate it as well. In my defense, when I did those things I never thought it would lead to someone attempting to overthrow the government I established.

But it happened, someone had attempted to overthrow my government. And due to the position of Gargon in the Mandalore sector, we had been practically powerless to do anything about it.

An argument I would probably have to face again while explaining the situation. Shaking my head I put those thoughts aside for now as the final member of the council entered the Council Chamber.

Pre Vizsla stepped into the room and nodded in my general direction before saying, "Apologies for my tardiness, Duchess. I was unprepared for this meeting and was attending to various matters on Concordia when I received the notice."

Smiling, I tilted my head in his direction before saying "No worries Governor, I had started planning this meeting yesterday and I knew it would be a bit of a hassle on such short notice, so I was more than willing to wait for your arrival. Please take a seat, this meeting will probably take a while."

Pre nodded and walked over to one of the prepared seats. Looking at the gathered ministers I took a breath before beginning. "It is time to discuss the recent trouble inGargon and how we are going to best deal with the aftermath. I have some thoughts on the matter but I would like to hear what the Council's thoughts are first before I give my own. Please feel free to speak candidly."

Prime Minister Almec looked up from where he had been sitting looking over various reports having already been given some leeway to do something about the matter.

Standing up he said, "I could speak to what I have already initiated. Officially we have condemned White Silver's actions as political terrorism and rampant vigilantism. However we're not taking any direct action against their followers at the moment, if they are honest about going into seclusion then it would be best not to give them a reason to come out of it. I've ordered the Mandalorian Secret Service to keep an eye on the followers of White Silver as they do with any Martial Traditionalists that still hang around on Mandalore."

Droxun, the Minister of Finance spoke up, "Why the Mandalorian Secret Service? Isn't that a job that can be handled by the Mandalorian Guard or even the Royal Guard?"

"The Royal Guard is for protecting the Duchess and can pursue anything she deems necessary for the continuation of Mandalore's survival. The Mandalorian Guard are used solely to keep the peace and are a police force. Due to the scale and sensitivity of the intelligence gathering activities we're expecting related to White Silver, the Secret Service is best suited for this task." Prime Minister Almec answered.

I noted to myself that I would need to warn Tanya to be a bit more careful with revealing her identity. As far as I knew, the Secret Service reported directly to Almec and while I trusted him to a great extent, he seemed to have gotten himself a new chew toy for his annoyance. There was a reason I was considered too harsh after the Clan Wars, half of it was because I had needed to prevent the wars from restarting, the other half was the result of Almec having a hardline approach to the matter of dealing with the Traditionalists after the war.

Deputy Minister Jarek, also the Governor of Kalevala, spoke up after Almec's statement, "Really now Almec don't you think that's a bit much? This White Silver has saved us from having to deal with Gargon and saved who knows how many lives from an interplanetary war by taking it into her personal hands. Not to mention she's made it quite clear she is no threat to the government, if she goes back on her word that would cause a severe hit to her reputation as someone who won't keep her word."

"A faceless warrior, most likely from Concordia, has declared herself Mandalore in all but name. For now they are saying that they are not interested in overthrowing Satine, how do we know that won't change in the future? I won't leave anything to chance." Almec said as he folded his arms across his chest.

Jerek shrugged before saying, "Fair enough, so you are doing the best you can to try and figure out what's going on, anything else you're doing that we should know about?"

Almec shook his head before taking his seat, "I've set things in motion that will protect Mandalore, that's all that matters."

Jarek shook his head before standing up and clearing his throat, "Though many on Kalevala are of a preference for no violence, the footage of White Silver has inspired a little bit more, what's the term I'm looking for… sympathy towards her. The fact that she handed over a criminal to the proper authorities, did the best she could to minimize deaths, to the point that she put her own life at a risk protecting people who were going to be wrongfully executed, and stopped the executioners while using the stun function on her blasters has given the Kalevalans a bit of a favorable opinion of White Silver.

There was a bit of a joke going around the local holonets that Kalevala Spacework's next star yachts will beat a discount price for customers who would promise to be as respectful of life as an Ithorian. Although, I know we must show a strong face and appear to be in full control of the situation. We have to at least admit she's saved us a bunch of trouble and might deserve a bit of leeway."

I did my best to prevent the smile from showing on my face at that statement. It's good to see that my homeworld saw the good in Tanya's alter ego though Almec looked rather annoyed by this statement if his narrowed eyes were any indication.

He simply shook his head and said, "We should not take anyone who could be a threat to the security of the Mandalorian sector lightly. In fact we should probably warn the Mandalorian Patrol to at least keep an eye out for them. See if they can persuade her to make good on her seclusion at the very least."

Governor Pre coughed to get our attention before saying, "The Mandalorian Patrol has contacted me about that in fact. Apparently a large number of the ships that were seized after the fall of False Silver were taken by the local clans and since they don't have a need for those ships have sold them at good prices to the Mandalorian Patrol. Some of the ships that were apparently given to White Silver were also sold directly to the Patrol."

"Their official statement on White Silver is that 'They are simply another faction of Mandalorians. As such also have the protection of the Mandalorian Patrol, as any other.' end quote"

"Damn them" Almec said, sounding fairly annoyed with this information, "We should have disbanded the Patrol the moment the Clan Wars were over. They were too close to Death Watch during the Civil War for my liking."

I shook my head and said, "Calm, Prime Minister, the Mandalorian Patrol has existed for almost a thousand years. It is one of the few safeguards in keeping the sector pirate-free. Just because they decided to stay out of politics does not mean we should view them as unfaithful.. Besides, every Mandalorian planet contributed something to the Patrol and if we had attempted to try and disband them they would have simply shrugged, tightened their belts, and continued to give the benefits of their protection to Ordo, Concord Dawn, and any Mandalorian planet that deemed them helpful. Not to mention that it would have removed us from having a seat at the table when they are having discussions about the defense of the sector."

It did amaze me sometimes that the Mandalorian Patrol was probably the oldest institution in the sector. With a collection of warships and various other assets that had been gathered over the thousand years they had somehow maintained political neutrality through almost all the conflicts that had assaulted the systems of the sector. While they had taken some great losses after the Siege of Mandalore as some of their more powerful warships had come to the call of Governor of Vrox; most had stayed out of the conflict and deemed it a situation where an internal conflict had spilled over to the point it called in external forces.

The Minister of the Interior, Armatan, spoke up then. He had been listening to the conversation with his eyes closed up to this point and if I didn't know him I might have thought he actually had fallen asleep. But I did know him and he was not as close an ally as Almec and Jerek. Though we shared many beliefs we'd have had several arguments regarding policy over the years as well.

"Now that we've completely covered the obvious points about this matter, let's go over the not so obvious points. It doesn't matter if this White Silver is real or that they took out False Silver. We got lucky, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that someone funded and armed Gerr to attempt this as well as gave him the impression that this was a reasonable act. He's been out on Gargon for nearly 20 years running a business and then all of a sudden he decides now is the time to strike as the Galaxy seems to be spinning out of control. No, this might be a taste of what's to come, factions within the Mandalorian sector turned against the government in order to divide us and start another civil war. So the matter is simple, how do we prepare for this next potential Civil War? Can the Mandalorian Guard, the Secret Service, or the Royal Guard deal with this?"

Almec shook his head, "There will be no civil war. My Secret Service will make sure of that and the Mandalorian Guard can and will defend the planet."

Armatan shook his head before he said, "That's not the question, I'm not talking about the planet, I'm talking about the sector. We can protect Mandalore all day long, but if the sector falls or blockaded we have no food coming in, we have no equipment coming in, no secure supply of resources, and then it won't matter that we protected the planet because the populace will rip us apart. So what are we doing to prevent that outcome, Prime Minister Almec?" Almec himself seemed a bit flustered as he tried to think of a response but I decided to speak up then.

"That's actually where my plan may come in handy." Armatan looked at me and nodded, wanting to hear what I had to say so I continued, "Last year a pirate invasion apparently took place on Vorpa'ya. The Journeyman Protectors were deployed by the Governor of Concord Dawn, and were able to settle the situation. During that time I also sent the Royal Guard to take part in the situation citing that the continued food coming out of Vorpa'ya for use on Mandalore was reason enough for the Royal Guard to be deployed in such a fashion.

This was in all respects a success. The Governor of Concord Dawn has been a little bit more lenient in the last few months about food supplies and all in all, the situation has improved diplomatically between our two worlds.

So what if we take that idea and expand on it? I have looked over White Silver's Codex a few times and one of their ideas which seemed rather relevant to our current situation was a Self-Defense Force. I brought it up once or twice to the Council before but never had an opportunity to really push for it. The idea would be a force on Mandalore whose sole purpose is to defend Mandalore and must be invited to help defend another planet within the Mandalorian sector."

Droxun, stood up in utter shock, "You want to build an army? Do you want to bring us back to the old days of offensive warfare?"

"Calm yourself Minister and please return to your seat so that I can finish." I waited until the Minister returned to his seat before I continued. "This will not be an army that can go out and conquer other planets, it is a purely defensive force to protect against invasive threats. They will not have access to any Hyperdrive capable ships so they can't even leave the star-system without outside support. Even if there are ships available to transport them, the SDF will start small with no more than four thousand combatants in total made up entirely of volunteers. They will be trained to the fullest extent possible so that they can be deployed to any combat environment in the Mandalorian sector that requested our aid."

Droxun sat there for a moment thinking before he finally said, "That is not too terrible, a four thousand man force with some of the best equipment we can get our hands on would be acceptable. The Royal Guard is only around five thousand souls in total. We shouldn't be sending them off world and to deal with situations that could turn bloody so having a force that is designed for that role and under a number of Royal Guards seems reasonable."

Jerek just sat there thinking for a bit before saying, "Does this Mandalorian Self-Defense Force have to be simply in Mandalore? If we're going for a small fighting force of say... one thousand or two thousand soldiers. Kalevala can afford a force like that and we could theoretically create our own version of the Mandalorian Patrol, an official Force that all members sign on to and supply a small portion of soldiers for. It would even make things clear as to what planets are meant to be defended or not. If a planet already has a Self-Defense Force that has signed on to this Sector SDF, we can deploy Planetary Self-Defense Forces to other planets from it.

Pre Vizsla shook his head at that, stating "It's an interesting idea but there are always going to be planets that can't meet an official standard for this Self-Defense Force and there will have to be a standard, you can't just have all things be equal. If there is a standard to have two thousand men, Kalevala and Mandalore are going to have a lot more heavily armored soldiers than someone from say, Concordia."

Almec nodded his agreement, "We don't need an SDF of that nature. We already have the Guard, every other planet and clan has their own warriors and sometimes full-on armies, they won't need or want to engage in this idea."

The Minister of the Interior shook his head before saying, "They have their own armies and militias sure, but having the ability to call upon some fully armored reinforcements in a bad situation is a desirable option to have in reserve. Not to mention, if we have a fighting force meant for fighting, they can be the center of a potential defensive army in case someone were ever to invade Mandalore. While it is as you said that every clan has their own militia tactics and styles of combat, are they going to be able to work together in an emergency? I think not. Having a standard that other clans can look to try and reach could be good for them. The Royal Guard is not that standard, they are well trained but they are not meant for a war zone. The Mandalorian Guard, as you've already stated, are a police force, so they aren't a proper standard either."

Almec did not look pleased as he muttered to himself before more openly grumbling, "I guess we should put it to a vote. We can make up our minds about what this Mandalorian Self-Defense Force will look like and what we'll do with it if we decide to even allow its existence."

Several ministers nodded before I spoke up, "Those in favor of creating a Self-Defense Force for the Mandalorian system with the possibility of expanding it to other willing Mandalorian planets, raise your hand."

I watched as people thought for a moment, Jarek was the first to put up his hand followed by Armatan. After a couple seconds Droxun put his hand up in agreement. Finally the last 3 ministers all also raised their hands leaving Prime Minister Almec to look annoyed and Governor Pre to shrug. As the hands went down Pre simply said, "I'm going to need a little extra funding to support such an organization. I'm afraid it's the only reason I'm voting against it."

I smiled and said, "No worries, I will see if we can't outline some sort of budget for expenditure in whatever contract we finally work out for this organization. Perhaps a small amount of money will be given to these organizations to help with formations on other planets to help them get to a standard that is acceptable with all the other members."

He nodded in agreement, "That might work."

Mandalore, Sundari Mall

Tanya Kryze

It had been a long time since I visited Soft Serve Mandalore 35, since I had left Mandalore, nearly a year before to be exact, and to my delight the quality had not degraded in the slightest.

After my return to the planet, I decided to visit this old shop to have a little frozen treat and I'd brought Vai and Ordo for my security, though it wasn't as if bodyguards were a requirement on Mandalore. I was pretty sure I'd seen Skota drive by in a speeder car, most likely keeping an eye on the situation.

Tabi and Kastel were currently with Struc on punishment duty for their screw up during the Harswee operation to give me an alibi. From what I had heard, they were being worked to the bone. Which was probably good for them considering Tabi really needed to work on his self-control. The only reason he wasn't fired was that, on further consideration, it resulted in people thinking I was out there dating instead of, well, freeing Gargon from an authoritarian madman which was a fine alibi as it were. I would just have to figure out some way to keep that alibi stable without making me look like some sort of socialite. Shouldn't be that hard to figure out given enough time.

Anyhow, I was enjoying a nice chocolate ice cream from Soft Serve Mandalore 35, which I had never had before but apparently was brought in with several other luxury goods thanks to some company called Mandal Logistics. That name has been popping up more often recently, they were doing good work trading products from Mandalore outside the sector and bringing in luxury goods to Mandalore. I wonder if they were an open company and I could invest in them? I'm sure that in the coming years they will do well. I'd have to ask X4 if there are enough credits in the budget to send a little investment their way the next time I talk to him.

Before I could continue with those thoughts though, two faces that looked very familiar entered the ice cream shop. Lagos Rook and Soniee Carid, Korkie's friends, were chatting amongst each other when they saw me and immediately started walking over.

"Tanya, long time no see." Lagos said sitting across from me not even bothering to ask if she had permission to do so. I mean for all she knew, there were other people with our group and those seats were taken; of course there weren't but still a bit thoughtless.

"Lagos, Soniee. Good to see you." I said with a smile, noting that the other girl sat down next to Vai without much noise, simply giving a nod to me and Vai.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked as I sat back in my seat, my spoon playing with the ice cream as I listened to whatever their story would be.

"We were just over at the arcade, catching up on old memories and such. We decided to get a bit of ice cream for ourselves, not much more to say." Soniee said with a shrug.

Looking next to me she finally said, "Oh sorry I'm Lagos and this is Soniee," holding out her hand to Ordo as she did.

"Nice to meet you," Ordo said, taking the hand and giving it a shake, saying "I'm Engiz Ordo." Before he went back to keeping an eye on the establishment, making sure we were safe.

Soniee turned to me and said, "So what are you guys doing here? I heard you were back in town from Korkie but he didn't say much about why you were back;though I have plenty of theories."

I raised an eyebrow at that, not sure what the theories could be, but I replied, "I'm simply back in town to rest and recuperate before going back to work for the Mandalore sector. Coruscant is a stressful place and I need to reconnect with my roots every once in a while.

Lagos raised a skeptical eyebrow before she showed a mischievous grin,"Uh-huh… and did those reconnecting roots involve a pink haired boy at least 2 years older than you? "

I heard Vai cough around the straw in her mouth, the comment having taken her by surprise as she was sipping on a milkshake. Alright, I hoped to avoid a conversation like this. I guess it's the law of all universes that girls talk. Well I would do my best to try and not to mess this up.

"Oh yes" I said, "it did for a time, it didn't work out." I said, stabbing my ice cream with my spoon to get a big scoop.

"Really? What happened?" Soniee said from across from Vai, looking surprised by the fact that I had apparently gone on a date with someone.

I shrugged before saying, "We decided we weren't each other's speeds, and he embarrassed the royal guard with his antics, which is a big no-no. It's in fact so bad that Ordo here had to beat Tabi and a public duel to win my honor back. Apparently it's some sort of tradition in the Royal Guard and I'm simply looking for a more reserved gentleman.

I didn't know if these two would believe it but that was the story I was planning to run with. Eventually if the truth got out then so be it; but if it didn't that worked too. Either way it would help me out with cleaning up the situation while also not implying we were on bad terms. If two people had dated and were on bad terms throwing them out of your official watch would be expected but if you'd parted on good terms then it was just a weekend fling that would be forgotten in time.

That and Ordo's status as the victor in that fight, which had been public for the Royal Guards, would serve as an obstacle against any who made attempts to date me which, I hoped, would discourage any future noble sons from trying to court me. If I ended up being in a situation where I was going to have to marry someone else, I was at least going to try and have some control over the speed of the relationship and the competence of my suitor and this would serve as a decent deterrent.

Also, in order to make sure that he was always in fighting shape to defend my honor, I was giving him extra training on the side, sparring and workouts together. He was getting the same treatment that I'd given Vai as he showed himself having a similar use. So far, he has room for improvement but I'll get him to my high standard eventually. At least that was my intent with the statement. Who knows what sordid fictions the imaginations of the two girls would come up with based on this story.

Lagos nodded, looked between me and Ordo before asking, "So how do you know Engiz?

I smiled and said, "We've known each other for roughly 6 years I think? We actually met over in the laser tag arena."

Lagos narrowed her eyes and looked at Ordo before she widened her eyes and said "You're the kid with the glasses, the one that was helping Tanya during the game all those years ago."

What Lagos said caused Soniee to look over at him for a moment before she too recognized him

Ordo took his left hand and rubbed the back of his head, letting out feigned chuckles as he said "Yeah that was me, that was the first time Tanya and I officially met. But we didn't really talk until a few years later."

I nodded saying, "We've been in contact for nearly 3 years. We share similar interests in history, research, and other things. Very good long time pen-pal."

"Ah," Lagos said, nodding her head before asking, "Pen-pal, where are you from Ordo?" As she said it, I saw the light go on behind her eyes as facepalmed herself as she realized she'd said the answer right there.

Ordo missed it though and simply said, "Where you would expect? I'm from Ordo."

"And what brings a member of Clan Ordo all the way to Mandalore?" Soniee asked probingly to continue the conversation as I simply enjoyed a bit more ice cream.

"I'm part of Tanya's Royal Guard detachment. It's my job to keep her safe."

"Does a good job of it too." I said affirming that, "He reliably follows orders and is good in a fight."

"Oh, was he in that fight video from a few months back." Soniee said, speaking up a little louder than she usually did.

I attempted to not show my displeasure at the mention of that video before saying, "Yes, he was there. I was trying to socialize with fellow Representatives that night and while returning home things just went wrong."

Soniee shrugged before saying, "Wouldn't count that as wrong, that video is one of the most watched videos on Mandalore right now. Second only to the whole White Silver anti-war speech video."

Again I tried to not show my displeasure about this information as I responded, "Yes, well I really did not want to get involved in a gang fight on my way home, it sort of just happened. I turned the corner and someone threw a punch at me. I was just lucky that I was able to block the first one. Ordo unfortunately got hit by some sort of prosthetic fist that sent him flying like 5 paces back up the stairway. I'm sure that's why he was not as prominent in the video."

"Uh-huh," Lagos made a noise that seemed to indicate she was putting something together in her head. I don't know what it was but I suspected I wouldn't like the implications of whatever she was thinking. If you had to think about something that usually meant you were coming up with your own understanding of a story. Which means whatever I was saying was being translated through some lens I didn't yet understand, which was annoying.

"Oh, would you look at that, I have a call." Ordo said, looking at his vambrace, looking like he was feeling a bit uncomfortable. "It's probably the commander wanting to check up on us. I'll be right outside." That was odd because I hadn't heard any calls. As he started to get up, I wondered why, before it finally clicked that this entire conversation had been about boys. I had basically been suffering through this entire time and he'd been suffering through it as well and he'd just figured out an excuse to get out of here.

I was of two minds on this one, one was calling him a traitor for leaving me behind because no doubt now that he was leaving that conversation would continue to be about boys and likely in more detail. On the other hand, I thought he was a genius for being able to create a way out as quickly as he had and I wished I had come up with one as well.

Since it wasn't possible for me to ask him to take me with him to get out of this situation, I simply said, "Alright, let him know everything's alright."

"Will do princess." He said before stepping away taking a few steps before he was outside. I watched him clearly to see what he would do and he did seem to press a few buttons on his vambrace and maybe started talking. He's facing away from us so I couldn't see for sure. Maybe there really was a call and I missed it or it was set to vibrate. If it's not, well he was a good actor at least, a good skill to grow in case we ever needed to go undercover again. Hopefully that would never happen though.

The moment he was outside Lagos looked directly at me and asked, "So who is your speed?"

I was mentally screaming wishing I had figured out some way to escape before I shook my head and said, "I don't have a speed worth talking about. Maybe we should talk about Vai. She has more interesting stories I'm sure."

"Sure," Soniee said, turning to Vai, "so who's Tanya's speed?" I smacked my forehead onto the table in utter annoyance of this. Is this really my life now? Am I always doomed to girl talks for as long as I live? The answer of course was yes since I was a girl…I was doomed to it. I just had to get used to this sort of stuff.

She rubbed her chin as she sat back before saying, "Well if I had to make a guess, someone who's intelligent, reliable, and follows orders."

"So she has a thing for someone like Ordo." Lagos said as she sat back in her chair, seeming very self assured in her determination. Oh how I wanted to escape this. Turning my head I looked out the window wondering if there was any way to get away, wishing I just went with Ordo. Yes, that might also imply exactly what they're thinking but at least I wouldn't have to hear about it.

Sighing, I simply said, "This is not really a conversation I will be answering any questions about."

"I think we hit a nerve," Soniee said before continuing, "well as options go it's not the worst one. At least he's got some broad shoulders on him."

The mention of shoulders reminded me of the Gargon incident with the Keldabe kiss and how they had blocked the view of our pursuer and how safe that it felt…

I shook my head and said, "I'm not talking about this, maybe we should talk about your relationship with Korkie instead?" Playing defensive was not working, time to go on the offense and Soniee had managed to stay out of this conversation up till now.

"What!? I don't have a relationship with Korkie." Soniee said, seeming a bit shocked by the statement.

"Really could have fooled me? You two are always hanging out together even when you're not part of the larger group, and you're always coming to his aid when he needs help with his studies" Soniee seemed to fall into deep thought as if trying to figure out if I was screwing with her or not. It didn't matter as that seemed to have done the job. I would have a few moments of peace to enjoy what was left of my ice cream before we could leave.

Mandalore, Sundari Palace

Bo Katan Kryze

"Well isn't that a pleasant view." I said looking out over the city of Sundari. I was leaning over a banister still wearing the rather plain civilian garb that Satine had got in for me, as much as I would love to wear my armor today, I could tell something was up. Things were changing and how they were going to change, I didn't yet know but I wasn't going to piss Satine off while she was in a more Mandalorian mindset. Okay well maybe I would but I would try not to make it about the Mandalorian stuff, sisters being sisters is as far as I would go today.

"Yes I quite love the view of the city at this time of day. It looks even more marvelous at night though I admit, so full of life and peace." Satine said standing next to me. She was leaning on the banister as well though not as heavily, she was wearing a fancy gown having just come from a meeting with the High Council.

"Anyways," Satine said, turning to face me, "I think we are due for a talk sister. We've been doing our own thing for the last 10 years or so and we need to have a conversation about, well..."

"The fact that your niece, or should we call her adopted daughter at this point, I saw that hug." Satine's face flushed a bit confirming my thoughts on the matter that at the very least Satine considers Tanya as her own daughter, even if she was just her niece. "The fact that she appears to be a political idealist who's willing to do whatever's necessary for her ideals."

"We can talk about that as well." Satine said, shaking her head, "It was something I had not expected to happen but yes I guess we should talk about that as well. And maybe you can explain why you were on Gargon? The report from the Royal GuardI sent specifically mentioned that you were there before they arrived."

I smiled and said "Oh that's easy, Tanya lied."

"Explain." Satine said with a raised eyebrow.

"She told me that you wanted me to check out Gargon and figured I had contacts that could get you that information that your Royal Guard's couldn't."

Satine shook her head at that before muttering, "I'm going to have a very long talk with that girl, if she's been implying that she's passing on royal decrees that is a capital offense even if she is a royal herself."

"Well, it was more like a favor from family but you're probably going to need to do that just to be safe," I agreed before continuing, "I'm not sure what she's been telling others. But I wouldn't really hold what she asked me to do against her. That speech she made, it was quite clear she detests the war aspect of Mandalorian culture but has no problem with some of the militaristic parts."

Satine paused to consider this, "I don't think I'll be too harsh on her although I do wonder if she would have put her life at risk like that if I had not let you change her. But then again if I had not let her train under you she probably would not have had the skills to survive the situations she's been in on Coruscant and Gargon. For that I have to thank you. I may have made a few mistakes over the years but I'm glad that I did not make a mistake on that."

I reached out and held her shoulder with my hand saying, "Are you alright? Do you have a fever?" I put the back of my palm to her forehead to check her temperature all while struggling to not grin. "Hmm, temperature is normal, are you light-headed? Maybe we should sit down."

Her deadpan stare was worth ruining the moment and finally my expression cracked to a grin before breaking into a laugh only siblings messing with one another could achieve.

While I laughed, Satine pouted, "I pour my heart out to thank my beloved sister and this is the thanks I get, repaid with the thought of being ill? What an ungrateful little sister, what would father say if he saw you like this?" Satine put the back of her hand to her forehead and leaned back like how those actors in those holo-dramas that we had liked to watch would over exaggerate despair, which got me cracking up even more.

She smiled and laughed along with me for a minute before we eventually calmed down. "When was the last time we laughed like this?" Satine asked rhetorically.

"We both know when that was, when the Clan Wars started and you were sent to Coruscant. When the sister that I admired changed into someone unrecognizable." My answer wiped the smiles off both of our faces. I know that before we could even repair the rift between us, this long talk was inevitable. Now might be the last chance to bury our differences and be sisters again.

Satine brought up her left hand to rest it on my own before she turned and said, "There's a couple benches over here. Thistalk is long overdue and we should probably have a seat for it."

Nodding, I followed her over to the benches where we sat. I took a moment to enjoy the excellent view of the city as we sat while Satine seemed to be figuring out how to start.

"It's been a while since we yelled politics at each other. Do we really want to settle things now and possibly ruin whatever is left of our relationship or should we ignore our differences on politics for another few years?"

I sat back giving it some thought, this was a hard question after all. The last time we had a conversation about politics, I'd been banished from the house. If it wasn't for Tanya's interest in the Old Ways, I would probably still be banished from the house, living out on the frontier or Concordia. Then again I had been more politically active in those days and may have given a speech that was rather unflattering about the New Mandalorians. I haven't done that in a while so this conversation wouldn't be too terrible and maybe confronting it head on would be beneficial. The family that fights together, lives together after all.

I leaned forward to rest my elbow on my knees before saying, "You know, when you returned from Coruscant, I was happy. The sister I admired was still alive and had returned home. But when I met her, I didn't even recognise who she was anymore. Someone who was wearing my sister's face but was doing everything she could to erase what made us Mandalorians. I'd learned to cope with it, that the sister I knew was dead and gone but I always hoped maybe I could get this stranger to at least not destroy the heritage that our ancestors and Father left us." All of this was said while I looked out over the city. I tried to shift my thoughts and remember the good times I had with my sister before the war, before she changed but those had been tinged for a long time.

"Is that why you reject it? Even though we both went through the Clan Wars and grew up in the Civil War? We lost our family during the conflict, is that why you never once considered trying the New Mandalorian way?" Satine placed her hand on my shoulder which I promptly ignored.

I stayed silent, not really sure how to go about saying this before finally settling on the most reasonable answer I could come up with. "Because I wasn't brainwashed by Coruscanti Osik, like the New Mandalorians did to you. They hit you with 'peace is the way' when you were at your most vulnerable, just after father died.

"My sister who went to Coruscant was a Mandalorian much like Tanya is, the girl who came back was a New Mandalorian both literally and metaphorically. And though you fought for your peaceful Mandalore, I'm just going to be honest here, a lot of the New Mandalorians were no better than the Traditionalists that used to run things, maybe even worse. They enforced their will on other Clans and destroyed generations worth of history. Do you realize how wealthy our family really is compared to most Mandalorians?"

"What does wealth have to do with this?" she said, sounding confused.

Shaking my head, I reached into my bag and pulled out my vambrace, pressing a few buttons I pulled up our family history on a holographic projector. "Our family goes back 30 generations, every single one is marked down, passing down the information of who the beskar came from and where. We have a computer core inside the old house that stores this information in case the armor is ever lost so that information itself is not lost. Most families don't have this sort of record keeping, some of them have little holographic cores like we have showing the information like this of where the armor came from. Those are the middle class, Mandalore doesn't have a big middle class. Giving up the beskar for some people is giving up their family history. That might be possible for some people, if they have places that they can store it. But most can't, because that armor is what they need to be able to find work or open doors. Their clans don't make enough money in peaceful works to let the beskar go unused and in some places asking them to do so is almost insulting. But in order for their families to live and work in this beautiful city they had to give it up.

That's the problem with a lot of New Mandalorians, they aren't aware of what exactly they're demanding of people. They tend to be from Kalevala which, compared to Mandalore and every other system, has done well for the last 700 years and has managed to stay out of the conflict. Now to be fair, some of this success was because they were developing the New Mandalorian way and because our family saw the benefits of working on the economy even 700 years ago. But Kalevala had more to begin with and having this wealth has blinded New Mandalorians to the realities of the average Mandalorian, many of whom live nomadic lifestyles and don't have technology to keep something like this working." I pointed to my vambrace hologram.

"So much effort is spent on survival and trying to secure access to the resources they know about that they can't afford the equipment needed to search for new resources or extract them in truly hostile areas. That's just one of the things I've learned after Dad died and I had to go out on my own and survive in the Clan Wars and wealth is only a part of the reason that beskar is important to the people."

Satine seemed to be deep in thought as she looked up at the dome before muttering, "Protecting history, it always comes back to that doesn't it…"

Finally she nodded before saying, "I know what you just said is right. I mean, I may have been a little bit overzealous trying to get the New Mandalorian way started when I successfully got myself installed as the ruler of Mandalore. I blame being 17 at the time, too young and stupid to think about the long-term consequences of my actions. I just wanted the war to be over, all war in fact and it looks like that was in vain."

"I wouldn't say that," I said, "Tanya might be onto something, she seems to take the best of your ideas and more traditional ideas to find a combination that would be best for Mandalore. As an adopted mother, I think you did a good job raising her."

Satine grabbed my free hand and squeezed, "I had help." She said with a smile before continuing, "Anyways, I think you're wrong in the whole brainwashing thing but I can see your points, points Tanya has made several times in fact. The New Mandalorian way is flawed, we looked down at all the fighting and deaths with a vision of a better world but we didn't actually look at the pressures that led to the fighting. We didn't see the need, or the need for identity. Not actually understanding, just seeing what we wanted to see."

I shrugged not going to push the brainwashing bit too much I thought before continuing, "That about sums it up. The New Mandalorians are too busy trying to abandon traditions to ask why those traditions are there in the first place. That's what upsets most people. Tanya's little ideal experiment does a good job of finding the middle ground that is needed. I think the question is, can both sides come to an agreement on it?"

Satine looked off in the city before saying, "We've already begun the process of ratifying a Mandalorian Self-Defense Force and the process of building a system to run this force is already underway. Most likely we'll be taking a few officers from the Royal Guard to run it."

"Wow, is the sky falling too?" that was really the only comment I could make on the matter. It was something I did not think was possible. Actually building up a military force, even one for self-defense, was something that was likely to make New Mandalorians scream their heads off.

"I think, given enough time, Tanya's idea can work. I kind of want to see the world that she'll create." Satine ignored what I said and continued on, "But I do worry that there could be a bit of backlash from the New Mandalorians on the matter. I've been championing a form of pacifism that promises no war will ever happen. Tanya's version simply promises that we will start no war. I wonder if that transition will be alright or if it will start some sort of conflict."

I shook my head saying, "You're overthinking it. They don't want a war. If they start a conflict over you wanting to have the ability to defend ourselves that just proves that they never really wanted to have no war, they just wanted to be the ones dictating the culture. They didn't want to be Mandalorian, they just wanted to be Coruscanti."

She smiled at that, "Like you believe they wanted to brainwash me?"

"I still think they did," I simply said, "I just think Tanya has done a great job on unbrainwashing you."

She chuckled at that, shaking her head before saying, "This is why you're not allowed at any of the parties."

"Didn't want to be at any of them anyways. They're too stuffy, formal, and very Coruscanti. I'd rather go to any of the other parties that my friends in the Nomadic Clans would throw."

Satine shook her head before finally saying, "So you stole my armor, let's talk about that for a moment."

"To be fair I stole my Mandalorian sister's armor who hasn't come back from Coruscant yet, I still miss her very much. Wonder if she'll ever come home." Satine elbowed my shoulder rather hard but I simply said, while feigning more pain than it really was, "It's like I can still feel the punches she used to give me."

Satine did not look entertained so I just continued, "Yeah I stole your armor, it was wasting away in the castle that we call home gathering dust and your adopted daughter seemed to need it. And I think it was a perfect choice considering what I've learned in the past week or so."

She rolled her eyes at me, I didn't think I had seen her do that in a decade. "While that may be true, I thought you would like to know that I am having new armor forged."

I immediately sat the shab up and looked at her. "Wh-what did you just say?"

"I said I'm having a set of armor forged to try and work on the idea of a defensive doctrine being right. The armor will have no weapons but it will have lots and lots of defenses."

This is a dream, it's too impossible for it to not be. I don't think I knew how to handle this at all but the idea that my sister was finally coming home was shocking in itself. The idea that she was getting a new suit of armor to come with her, that I really had no way of handling.

"I thought you would like to know that I used parts of Mother's and Father's armor, since I could actually find them. For this new set it'll be in my colors of course but that's the best I can do in the situation I'm in. I don't even know when I will debut this set, maybe when I'm sure that everyone is not going to call Tanya and the Silver Codex followers as terrorists."

"Someone's calling her a terrorist?" I asked.

"My Prime Minister is a little bit thorny on the whole Silver Mandalorian issue. I'm sure he'll come around to it eventually but it'll take time. However, that's not the important part of this conversation."

She seemed conflicted about continuing, unsure of what to say it seemed. So finally I asked, "What's the important part of this conversation?"

"It's been 18 years since I've worn armor. I can defend myself well enough, I have a stun blaster on me at all times but I don't think I'm as good in a fist fight as I once was."

My jaw was firmly dropped as I realized what she was asking. "Are- are you asking me to train you?"

Satine nodded before saying, "Yes that's exactly what I'm asking. I don't plan to get into any fights but if I'm going to be an example of a Mandalorian who is peaceful yet not seeking war, I need to be able to defend myself as effectively as everyone else, otherwise I'm no better than those who look on high at those below."

"Satine," I stopped myself unsure of what to say before finally just reaching out and grabbing her in a tight hug. "Welcome back sister."

She let out an annoyed side before saying, "I never left."

"Keep telling yourself that." as I squeezed her a bit tighter. "I'm just making sure this was real, and not some sort of dream." Finally, I let go and said, "I'm going to be busy with handling things on Gargon but I'm pretty sure I can see about helping to train you back up to fighting form."

"What exactly did you sign up for, on Gargon anyways? I don't think I've had an explanation for that."

I shrugged before saying, "Basically doing exactly what you want me to do for you. Tanya wanted me to help put together an organization to help keep the planet safe for people. Apparently the White Silver has plans for that world I guess." I joked

"She does?" Satine said, sounding very unamused at the comment.

"Not like that, no. Considering that's two members of our family that have unseated a government and put themselves in charge at age of 16, kind of feeling left out here." I joked before continuing, "She's trying to get the planet to minimize its criminal ways as a way to turn the planet into a test bed for some sort of cultural exchange thing. The planet's right on the main trade route running to Coruscant and the Corporate Sector so I think the idea is simply to attract less pirates and scum and more CEOs and rich families to bring in lots of clean money instead of, well you know, money from crime."

Satine paused and then said, "Huh, well that's a rather noble goal. I don't think it'll be very successful though, Gargon has been staunchly against any plans to peacefully unify the Mandalore sector for all of my reign."

"Probably because it's been under Gerr the whole time?" I pointed out

"True, I guess we'll see what happens. If she successfully brings Gargon into the fold, that would be a large step in convincing people that the Silver Mandalorians are not a major issue that people need to worry about."

"Let's hope that you're right on that. When do you want to start training and how far in the desert am I going to have to go to find a place for us to train?"

"Why not use your facilities on Concordia?" Satine asked which reminded me that she had actually got those facilities for me.

"Well you wanted to keep this a secret right? Best to do this on Mandalore. People will notice if you're leaving the planet often." I lied, I trusted Pre to some extent, but having the "False Mandalore" on his planet without guards was a step too far. I may not be willing to rise up and rebel now but he probably would immediately if he could have some criminals capture Satine.

Satine nodded before saying, "I'll do some research, there's plenty of empty space on this planet that we can find that no one would notice."

Mandalore, Sundari Palace Ballroom

Tanya Kryze

Diplomatic functions, no matter where in the Galaxy you are, they are all the same. At least they felt like they were all the same, getting dolled up, being forced to wear makeup, and having lovely chats about any subjects other than politics.

That was the reality I was in. I've come to understand it, I've come to even enjoy it, and sometimes I've even come to tolerate the dresses. I'm still not very fond of being forced to wear diplomatic dresses though. At least my hair was not at its normal length which is usually halfway down my back, which means I didn't have to worry about all the bows that seem to come with and be apparent in this style of clothing.

Anyways, I was inside the Royal Palace and we were holding some sort of political get together mainly focused on my return home and eventual return to Coruscant. It seems like every other clan had at least visited me and said "Hi how are you doing?" and such. Really they were all very inane conversations so much so that I almost felt like the gathering was a waste of time.

But I could not make that mistake, the reality of it was that this was a perfect opportunity to network with other powerful people and get a feeling for what people thought of the recent events. Maybe I would prefer to not know but I should probably learn what they're thinking and ingratiate myself with Clan Heads as much as possible.

They were the ones who had voted Satine into office 16 years ago, ultimately the power Satine wielded came from them. If they didn't feel like they were happy with the government, they might look elsewhere. That was something I preferred not to happen.

My thoughts were interrupted as the latest politician stepped my way. It's obvious they were coming in my direction considering I had taken up residence in a corner of the Hall that was rather empty. Satine was currently chatting with a few other politicians, likely the ministers of various fields and Korkie was talking with Soniee, they seemed to be deep in conversation.

As for the person coming to meet me, it was an old friend in a way. Stepping in front of me, Pre Vizsla said, "Princess Tanya or would you prefer representative Tanya? Either way it's good to see you."

"Either is fine," I said with a smile as I gave a bit of a curtsy before saying, "it's good to see you too. How are things on Concordia?"

He smiled and swished his glass a bit, whatever liquid inside seemed to catch his interest before saying, "Concordia is fine, the Jedi I have told me that they've almost completed the survey of the planet and they have agreed that the endangered species that put the planet on the list are not there. I have to say you've done good work, we'll be off that list and be able to finally start getting trade into the planet. Just thought I'd come over here and thank you for that, the people of Concordia will be able to prosper a little bit more from now on."

I shook my head and said, "No thanks is necessary, I'm supposed to work for the people of the Mandalore sector. If I can find some way to make their lives better I'm going to do it."

He smiled at that and nodded before saying, "Good outlook then. I've also recently heard from Satine that you were behind the initiative to get the Ithorians into our system to help rebuild the ecology on multiple worlds."

I smiled and said, "I wouldn't brag about that, I simply started the process. Most of the official paperwork has been filled out between Senator Merrik and the Ithorians."

"True true, but you started the process. How you managed that surprises me considering the bad blood we have between them and us over some of the conflicts during the Mandalorian Wars."

I simply smiled and said, "Politics is like military conflicts in a way, if you know your opponents you can find what you can use to get what you want out of them. The Ithorians have a deep connection to an idea of preserving life, they just dislike actions being taken that destroy life. Like how part of the Senate's money helped fund the ships that would later bombard Mandalore, it's little things like that you can use to get them to at least think of the idea of helping us."

"Hmm intriguing solution," Pre Vizsla said before sipping from his cup, "well then here's hoping that you continue to find little things like that for the betterment of Mandalore. The prospect of not only getting trade running through the sector again but green worlds will make people quite happy with the Duchess's reign, I think and keep that White Silver from trying to take over I suppose."

I know it was a bad idea to wonder if I should ask what he was talking about, though it seemed he was in the mood to talk anyways. "Tanya, what are your thoughts on this whole White Silver situation? How do you think it will be handled by the Republic if she continues to try and act as a vigilante within Mandalorian affairs?"

That lowered my eyebrow as I thought about it, it was a reasonable question after all. I know that Silver was at best a vigilante right now and just because I had promised not to reappear did not mean people would believe it. But I had to at least pretend that I didn't know that information and think about this for a moment.

"If a political faction were to attempt to take control of politics in the Mandalorian Sector with violence, the Republic for the most part would do what they always do, label it an internal affair and maybe drop a few blockade orders and embargoes. As long as that political faction isn't part of an external force that is." I said with a shrug

"External force?" Pre looking at me with interest.

I shrugged before explaining, "The whole secession crisis going on right now could very well end up going badly for the Galactic Republic as a whole. The Republic seems to be on its way towards a civil war. I don't know what's going to happen but I worry about the possibilities that we might be pulled into this war against our will."

"Huh are you worried that this White Silver might pull us into the war?" Pre asked.

I simply continued "No not necessarily her though. I wouldn't rule out the possibility but the concerning matter is just how easily they were able to assemble their force and that Gerr was able to raise a small army under everyone's noses. If they can do it, anyone can."

Pre nodded in understanding my point before saying, "Well worry not Representative Kryze, I'm sure the Council can make sure everything will run smoothly." He looked off towards the other end of the hall and seemed to notice something before saying, "Anyways I need to get going. It was nice talking to you Representative Kryze."

"It was nice talking to you too, Governor Vizsla." I said with a nod as he stepped away and started walking in the direction of whatever he'd seen.

Sighing, I went to take a drink from my glass someone had handed me nearly an hour ago and I'd been nursing the entire time. It's some sort of fruity drink, no alcohol though which was unfortunate but understandable. When someone said in a rather loud and boisterous voice, "Good evening Princess Kryze."

I avoided spilling my drink on me as I nearly jumped at the loud call. Looking up I saw a young man, no older than 17 I theorized. He was tan skinned and blonde, well those were minor things to note, the major thing was he was wearing a bright Mandalorian style purple suit with very sharp corners and such. Also it looks like he was wearing cowboy boots which was odd in the halls of the Royal Palace but not unheard of on Mandalore. Near some of the few good arable lands left, farmers built colossal structures to keep it from becoming toxic. The quality of his boots suggested he was one of their types.

"Good evening sir." I said unsure of who this was. He simply bowed and said, "Baltan Carid, heir of Clan Carid. It's an honor to meet you, your grace. My father was an avid supporter of the Duchess for many years and a friend to your mother."

I blinked at him a couple times unsure of where this was going before he said "Tanya Keldau?"

"I know who my mother is, yes I'm just trying to understand why you are here." I said.

"That's quite simple madam. I've been working hard for the last few years to revitalize local farmland in my area. Due to these efforts, that is how 10% of all food consumed on this planet is produced on Mandalore but I need more help with finances and support. Being that our families are so close with very ancient ties dating back to the Mandalorian Crusades, I come to you asking for your financial support."

I wanted to say something, I'm not even sure what to say because the moment my mouth opened he went down to one knee and pulled out a small box which he opened to reveal a regular ring.

"I also came to ask for your hand in marriage." This was not what I was expecting at all and I was very displeased to hear the audible gasps around us as people who had been having regular conversations happened to look over at the spectacle that this man was making this whole situation.

I tried to get a word in edgewise but he continued to talk.

"You see, your mother and my father had made a deal that we would unite our clans more closely if she ever had children. While my Father had already been married to Clan Nurr by then by his father, thus the two of them agreed for their children to be married. I simply wish to continue the tradition of my family and see that you are well taken care of as a proper Mandalorian wife."

How I wanted to ball up my fist and smash it into the eye of the boy in front of me, it's nothing personal but you don't just surprise someone with a marriage proposal in a public event without notifying the other party about it or at least give them time to build a bond first. The fact that he was a supporter of Satine told me that that was probably a bad idea and could result in Satine losing a powerful ally. If Satine had told me that there is an arranged marriage with Clan Carid and had arranged a meeting with him first I wouldn't have batted an eye and probably accepted the engagement. I am pissed and annoyed that this inconsiderate Jagyc didn't even give me the courtesy to tell me about it in private beforehand. "I'm sorry Baltan, but I'm afraid I don't even know you and I would never marry someone without even knowing them."

I hoped that would put an end to this. Instead he snapped the box closed, stood up, slid the box into an inner pocket before saying, "Of course, of course, you wish to be courted then that shall be what we will do. If you don't mind a trip to the southern hemisphere I would love to show you around the farmland. Let you see the land you could help grow and make Mandalore a better place."

'Well at least he wasn't proposing anymore, that was a step in the right direction. I'll try and let him down gently.' I thought. Heck all I needed to do was make sure that I didn't have a free schedule so that he wouldn't have the time to try this. Giving me the time to get off Mandalore and back to Coruscant. And the next time I go to a public event I'll make sure Ordo was around so he could keep this guy from trying this, it was his job now after all. He'd probably be doing it now if I didn't give him the night off for having to sit through Lagos's girl talk.

"I don't know, I'll have to see about my schedule." I tried to say, looking desperately for a way to get out of this situation. I did not need this kind of conversation going about in the political scene. Being the center of attention for something like this was rather disturbing on many levels.

"Okay then," the purple suited boy said, "I'm open to having these discussions whenever you are Miss Kryze." He held out his hand in front of me, "May I take your hand though to seal this agreement?"

Mandalore, Sundari Palace Ballroom, Several Minutes Earlier

Vai Viktis Vizla

"Hello mother." I said as my mother pushed her way through the crowd to me. I had not seen her in a few years. She seemed more than willing to let me act as her secret agent for her family but she had not even bothered to send a goodbye letter when I'd left nearly a year before, at least father had done that.

"Vai! Good to see you, let's catch up dear." she said, grabbing my arm and escorting me towards a quieter section of the hall by force. Her claw-like grip would not have let me go if I tried. I think if I really was in for a fight I might actually be able to win, at least I hope I would.

It didn't take too long before we were in a very quiet section of the hall in a small alcove that had an open window that was laying in cool air.

"How was your time on Coruscant with the princess?" She said, seeming annoyed.

"It's been fine," I said with a smile. "Life's never been better."

"Good, good... and she trusts you right?"

I bit my lip before saying "Yes, yes I think we've grown to trust each other quite a bit."

"That's good, that's very good." She tightened her hand on my wrist before saying, "So if I were to ask you if you knew anything about her that could be leaked to the public what would you say?"

Oh the day had finally come, the day she planned to try and use me to unseat Tanya in some way I guess. Well jokes on her I was done with this Osik before I was even forced into doing it.

"I would say I am a member of the Kryze household's staff and I know how to keep her secrets."

Mother shook her head before saying "Really dear? That New Mandalorian slut? Did you see the photos of her on Harswee fawning over that pink haired Sheb'urcyin? That girl is not a Mandalorian, she's a Coruscanti with Mandalorian makeup."

I don't know what hurts more at that moment, the fact that she couldn't tell her own daughter from Tanya or that she just called me a slut. Either way I wanted to punch the stuck-up bitch that I loathe to call a mother. Instead I bit my tongue and said "Mother, I know you don't care for people outside the house but Tanya is not like that, she's a good Mandalorian and my friend."

Mother laughed at that and said, "She's not your friend, she's a New Mandalorian who's using you because you look like her body double. Don't be taken in by a sweet face, whatever she's telling you about friendship or anything else is a lie to keep you from thinking about the fact that she's using you to take a blaster round for her if she ever gets in trouble."

"Like you're using me to spy on her." I said annoyed.

"I'm not using you dear, we are simply doing as a family must do to help the house." She said with an almost sickeningly sweet comment. "And right now the family needs you to tell me everything you know about Tanya's sordid affairs."

"Good evening." came the harsh voice of a man from behind us causing us to turn to look in his direction. Standing there with a rather annoyed glower was Governor Pre Vizsla, he finished his drink before laying it on a table next to him.

"Miss Vizla and Mrs. Vizla what have we got going on here?" Mother finally let go of my arm before giving a professional courtesy to Governor Vizsla.

"I'm sorry sir, simply have any conversation with my daughter that is all."

"Yes, how did you get in here Mrs. Vizla? I don't believe you were invited."

"My daughter's in here, as her mother I simply told the guards that and they let me in."

"Sounds like some guards need to be reminded of their duty.'' he muttered, taking me by surprise. I would have assumed he was behind this when in fact it was just mother being mother.

"Miss Vizla, I think it's time for you to go. We really do not need to have such meetings in a public location like this, do you understand?"

"Of course, I'm sorry my … house leader. I will simply say goodbye to my daughter and be on my way."

I had just about enough of this as I could take. I started walking through the crowd pushing my way towards Tanya. I hear mother call after me but I needed to make something extremely clear to her, something that would put an end to any more attempts to get her to try and make me betray Tanya. Mother was so set on me being a stooge of the False Mandalore that she was going to let him bully her around, just so she could bully me around. I would not be the end of this chain. I am cutting it off now.

Getting through the last of the crowd, I saw a rather strange sight as some boy in purple was talking to Tanya and she looked the most uncomfortable I think I'd ever seen her. Well maybe this would help both of us out, I thought as I walked up to her and said "Hey Tanya, I need your help."

Mandalore, Sundari Palace Ballroom

Tanya Kryze

He wanted my word that I would at least attempt to court him? Oh that's not happening and thankfully I saw my escape walking towards me. Vai pushed her way through the crowd, coming to stand by me and looking at the purple colored farm boy before turning to me and saying, "Hey Tanya. I need your help, do you mind?"

Looking for any excuse to get out of the situation I said, "I don't mind at all Vai. Whatever help you need, I'm there for you." As I said that last bit I noticed over her shoulder her mother pushing her way through the crowd. She seemed to be in a rush or something. I didn't even know we invited her and I'm sure it was-.

Whatever thought I was going to have was literally obliterated as Vai grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss. It was official, this is the weirdest day of this life. On one hand I wanted to push her away as this would not do well for my reputation, not well at all.

On the other hand my treacherous hormones and brain chemistry was telling me that this felt nice and the net benefit that this would most likely throw whatever plan the purple suited farm boy had out the window.

As the kiss broke I got another glance past me and saw Vai's mother on the edges of ripping her hair out. By looks of it telling me everything I needed to know. This was merely teenage rebellion. Why is a kiss the answer to teenage rebellion? I didn't know. I would have to question her later. There is no way I was not going to do that now.

Vai on the other hand, looks a little bit happier but also a bit worried most likely because what she just done could be considered sexual assault if I was in a bad mood. Frankly, I've been in a rather good mood by this whole thing, so I tried to smile and reassure her.

And on the last note, purple boy seems completely gobsmacked by the whole series of events which at least probably meant I wouldn't be getting many proposals in the future, which was probably the first of many to come. Sure I probably just took a hit in some form of reputation but it might have just saved me from the hassle of having to deal with more proposals so it might be worth it at the end of the day.