Star Wars : Chapter 28: Life Day I

Flimsy was the Galaxy's word for paper, and was generally seen as an unbelievably expensive, but also disposable material. Almost any adult who could afford their own preferred to read or view images on a com-pad, where information was conveniently accessible and more efficiently stored than shelves full of weighty books or old magazines.

Particularly on Coruscant and the other ecumenopolises space saving was important, and flimsy was seen as an unaffordable luxury by many on top of being a low quality and unreliable way to store information.

There were two exceptions to this. One was picture books for children, which having something to turn and hold was seen as good stimulation for a growing mind, and the other was worlds off of the main hyperlanes. Hyperwave signals traveled down the same space lanes that ships did, and experienced the same interferences too. It was similar to Earth in a sense, the further you were out in the boonies the worse your signal was.

On worlds with a low population out at the edge of the galaxy or nestled deep in the backroads of the Outer Rim, flimsy was often preferred to unreliable com-pads. Some worlds didn't even have reliable sources of electricity, like the one Ky and Asajj had been stranded on, Rattak. Plenty of hard working people would trade a lot for a book that contained useful information or even just a good story, so a publishing industry did exist, just it was mostly focused in the Outer Rim.

There was actually a flimsy mill present on Serenno, owned and operated by an interplanetary publisher that focussed on selling pulpy adventure novels and lurid magazines to an audience of teenagers and men with poor tastes in literature. Tan'ya wholeheartedly approved. She was pleased to see that despite the truth of her initial assessments that Serenno's economy was largely resource based, there was actually a small but growing number of businesses and industries already diversifying into areas other than just timber.

It made sense though. Security was the foundation of any good economy. After nearly a decade under her father's firm and lawful, but somewhat disinterested, rule, people had begun to invest their earnings into a variety of new fields. Social mobility was gradually emerging, particularly for those who were already slightly above the destitute lumberjack class.

It also helped that the Count apparently had a very good relationship with much of the nobility of the Outer Rim. Without any announcements or public fanfare, he had managed to convince the rulers of a growing number of planets particularly in the Tion cluster to quietly begin trading with each other in nearly clandestine fashion.

As long as the merchant freighters and privateers played nice, they were largely being allowed to ignore the usual trade barriers. No one was moving any large cargo haulers yet, mostly just freighters that could be operated by a family sized crew, and were focused on moving loads of small but valuable cargo. For now the Republic's accountants hadn't caught on, the amount of goods being exchanged was probably absolutely trivial to them.

It was nice, but probably wouldn't last for long once the pirates started to catch on to what was happening. A small, comparatively slow and lightly armed freighter with valuable cargo was the easiest of pickings.

There was no way Serenno could trust its Trade Federation rent-a-navy to defend these ships either. If the corporations ever found out about their slightly clandestine arrangements they'd either shut it down through the Republic, or take the chance to muscle in and expand their corporate empire at the circle's expense.

Tan'ya thought this was exactly why they needed a navy. A good but small one that would just raise the barrier of entry beyond what the average pirate crew could afford, would bring much needed assurance to their little circle of friends and the small army of privateers that was operating in their name.

One day, Tan'ya promised herself. Eventually Father would have to listen to her.

...

( 34 BBY )

It had been decades since Ky Narec had been inside a palace. Even before his self imposed exile on Rattatak, he'd only seen the inside of a palace once on a diplomatic mission while he was padawan to Jedi Master Mana. And that particular one hadn't been owned by his boss, so he hadn't been nearly as nervous as he was now. Not only was Ky about to enter Dooku's home, but he would also be there at a time when Jedi Grand Master Yoda was going to be there as well.

What would he even say to Yoda? Would eight hundred years of accumulated wisdom see through Ky's flimsy lie about being stranded in the middle of nowhere? Ky's stomach almost felt like it was eating itself, he was so nervous.

Behind him, all the other New Temple Knights were dressed in their good formal robes, washed clean, and faces set in grimly determined lines. They were almost as nervous as he was, maybe some of them even had skeletons in the closet they wanted to hide from the Temple of Coruscant. Of course it wouldn't do for Ky to set a bad example, so he affected a calm, confident demeanor and carefully shielded his feelings in the force.

The only two he wasn't worried about were Padawan Asajj and Knight Prialla. The two of them sat near the front of the ship, chatting to each other like this was no big deal at all. Honestly, for a normal group of people Ky knew this wouldn't be a big deal, but for the kind of Knights that the New Temple tended to attract this whole thing was a cause of tension.

Honestly, it showed how little attention Master Dooku showed his own knights if he thought this group of weirdo misanthropes was ready to meet any kind of big shots.

This wasn't just a Life Day celebration. This was a Life Day celebration organized by the Count's wife, who was nobility in her own right. Ky suspected and warned the others to be on their best behavior, because there was definitely going to be plenty of Very Important Sentients there. Ky was sure he was going to be spending all night rescuing his Knights from conversations they weren't a little bit prepared for.

As the YT-1000 broke atmosphere over Serenno, beginning its descent towards the palace, Ky stood up and turned to face his quailing men. With his hand above his head to hold the cockpit's door frame he spoke to them in a loud, clear voice.

"We're landing in just three minutes! Remember, be on your best behavior! That means eye contact, but not too much eye contact! If someone asks to see your lightsaber, firmly but politely say no!" He paused before adding. "If you're in over your head, or feel like you're in trouble just call out to me in the force. I'll come save you."

His knights all looked at him with mixed responses. Some of them looked grateful, relieved to know he'd be there to help, while others looked vaguely offended by the idea that he would be so worried about them. Prialla just looked confused, while Asajj looked amused.

Fair enough, he supposed.

The loading ramp came down, and they all got their view of Count Dooku's spectacular palace. Ky knew the Count was rich, but the hundreds of meters of sumptuous, well groomed gardens and pebble pathways really made clear just how rich he really was. Just in view Ky could see maybe a dozen water features, and six fin shaped exterior buildings each of which were like a mansion unto themselves that were dwarfed by the segmented central tower.

The landing pad was so big it could probably take multiple cargo haulers! Currently there was a Consular Class light cruiser already parked in the bay, which Ky recognised as Dooku's, and now their own YT-1000.

Nervously, Ky led his force of Jedi up the main path towards the main building proper, hand occasionally fluttering towards his lightsaber but never quite touching it. A good example. He had to set a good example.

Asajj came up to stand by his shoulder and pointed towards one of the entrances. "Through here. The party's just down stairs, in the cliffside wing."

Ky knew she'd been to the Palace before, so he followed her directions. As they came down stairs, Asajj pulled ahead to be first through a large double door.

Following behind her, Ky found himself in a wide hall with two rows of a dozen tables. The air was filled with countless floating artificial lights, and it took him a moment to realize they were actually small hovering droids gently and thoughtlessly puttering about.

Over in one corner was what looked like a tiny Wroshyr tree, though he didn't know if it was a genuine sapling or artificially grown for purpose. Wrapped around the barrel of the tree was a soft silk sash in brilliant scarlet, and all along it were hanging boxed presents on small metal hooks waiting to be unwrapped.

In the middle of the room was a fountain of what Ky presumed was a non-alcoholic fruit punch due to there being several children present. The guests were all fancily dressed, and many of them bore the symbol of House Serenno, so he assumed they were the Count's extended family.

"Oh, you're all here!" A woman smiled and gently glided over to them. "I'm so happy you all accepted my invitation."

...

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