I dread of Vila that night, which... wasn't unsurprising.
It started innocently, her laughter echoing in my ear as she tugged on my robes, pulling down to her, her lekku brushing across my neck... That kind of... sweet things. But the dream shifted rather quickly, heating up in ways I would never have thought about before... Her hands road around with confidence, teasing, tracing lines across my skin that left trembling... Then... Her lips pressed against mine again and again, insistent, leaving no room for hesitation, wanting to have more...
I knew it wasn’t real. And yet it felt... so alive, so much so that the Force around us seed to hum and flow through us more strongly than ever before. She drew in until all I could feel was her, all I could hear was the pounding of our hearts, and all I could see was the flash of her eyes...
Then...
My eyes snapped open at the best mont, and I couldn't tell whether I was angry... Or was I... disappointed? Probably both. The only reason I felt satisfied was that she was there with . Not just in a dream, but physically, sprawled across my chest, one arm looped around , her lekku draped lazily over my shoulders. Her cheek was pressed to my neck, her breath tickling ... It was... once again, pure bliss.
Then, as my drowsiness vanished, a type of heat flooded my face, the kind that could have powered the ship’s hyperdrive if I could connect to it. Hauh... Calm down, Kael... Despite saying that... the truth was that I didn’t want to move. She fit against too well, like she belonged there. Thinking about it, the Force rippled faintly between us, the bond that I felt back on the Rakatan world strengthening, almost as if it were a physical thread, connecting us.
Eventually, I pried myself free with care, as I had to, or I may do sothing... unsavory. I don't want to ruin what is between us. She grumbled faintly, clutching my pillow in my absence, but luckily, she didn’t wake up while I slipped out of the cabin. The galley slled differently, now that my nose was no longer sniffing her; instead, it was picking up faintly on old tal and rublicant oil... Probably HK. Ugh... I should have stayed in bed. Anyway, a cup of hot caf would do it, so I poured a mug, savoring the warmth in my hands as I took a deeper whiff of it.
“Pour one too.”
I spun at the sound while Vila stood in the doorway, yawning, her lekku trailing loose behind her, wearing nothing but one of my shirts. Yet, under the tired gaze, her eyes looked radiant in the way of soone who had truly slept well. She padded barefoot across the deck, plucked the mug from my hand, and took a sip without waiting for permission. Oh well... I can make a new one.
“Mmm.” Her eyes remained closed in bliss, “You know, Kael, I could get used to this. Good sleep, good caf, good mornings. I like it.”
“You’re already addicted,” I muttered, half to hide the redness creeping up my neck, and her grin told I wasn’t wrong.
When I finished brewing the second mug, this ti for myself, we just sat together; the silence between us was neither awkward nor uncomfortable, but normal. We didn't need to say anything. For a few minutes, there were no issues at all.
[Interruption: Sentintality logged. Statent: Ti to wake up, atbags. Copulation is officially postponed. We are approaching real-space coordinates for Mandalore.]
"What?!" HK’s tallic voice shattered the calmness in , and I nearly spilled my drink, listening to him. On the other hand, Vila only sighed, setting her mug aside.
“Well, there goes the mood.”
"Haaah..." I rose, brushing past HK, “Let's get dressed and see what we are dealing with...”
...
....
......
The mont we ca out of hyperspace... I knew I wasn't exactly expecting the right thing. The stars stretched again and then snapped back into place... And there it was, the Mandalore system, in its full glory, and what a glory it was...
It wasn’t the broken husk the archives had prepared for, oh no... This was sothing much more alive and vibrant. On our scanners, stations dotted the void everywhere. There were massive platforms bristling with guns, not the Golans like in Christopsis, but a local design, looking robust and impregnable. Between them, smaller outposts were anchoring convoys, probably conducting surveys and checks, while orbital yards were repairing or building ships. Farther out, defensive ships, around corvette-sized, patrolled the system's edge, flying in a spearhead formation. Even the asteroid belt, around the outermost part of the system, wasn’t still as its rocks glowed with mining torches, hundreds of small, droid-piloted crafts extracting every usable ore from them.
The entire system was abuzz, as if we had just arrived at Coruscant or sothing... and then my eyes fell to Mandalore itself.
I expected a sowhat barren planet from what I knew... Instead, the entire globe almost glowed with life. From our position, there were verdant continents, blue oceans, and massive rivers cutting through the land... I watched as storm clouds rolled across one of the shores of the northern continent, while down south, pockets of city-light burned on the night side. They were not the sprawling hives like on Nar Shaddaa, but still, pretty big clusters, probably ho to a few hundred million people.
Everything looked… rejuvenated.
The Mandalore I had read about in the archives was a land of strip mines for their beskar and the land of nothing but poisoned soil. What was beneath us now was sothing else entirely. Not even close to the records, so much so that when I leaned closer to the viewport, I almost forgot to breathe.
[Observation: Residual energy signatures detected.] HK’s voice cut through, but even he sounded faintly intrigued. [Assessnt: Unknown terraforming thods. Active. Non-Mandalorian origin.]
"Huh..." Vila folded her arms, frowning, “So sobody fixed Mandalore. And not just fixed it... They remade it. Was it our Unifier?”
"Most likely," I nodded as I stared down at the reborn world.
Whoever their Mand’alor really was, I think I know how they managed to do this... And there would be no hiding from it. Flipping through the sensory readings, I adjusted a few dials and told HK to rerun the tests. When he was finished, I leaned back, crossing my arms...
"What is it?" Vila asked, seeing my seriousness.
"They used Vong technology for terraforming. Or... at least part of it..."
"Vongforming?" Vila perked up at once.
[Question: What is that?]
"I forgot you were most likely offline at that ti..." I chuckled, "Look it up in the ship's database, it is a way to turn even the barren planets into a living one... but... Ugh. Anyway, this is not exactly vongforming... There is sothing else in it. A lot of... Oh... I see... There are Ithorian energy signatures left on the poles..."
"Who?" Vila asked, unfamiliar with their species, it seems.
"The Gardeners of the Galaxy..." I murmured, "If you are into terraforming, you go to the Ithorians... They are a peaceful species, and many of them are also force-sensitive." I was about to explain more, but our cruiser bucked lightly as we dropped entirely into the new formation of our escort. Looking, they tightened around us, corralling us toward Mandalore as though we were prize ga brought in from a hunt... Tsk. Good thing I wasn't taking this as an insult.
[Statent: Done reading. I missed the best part of history. Conclusion: Unacceptable.]
Instead of answering, I just ignored him and watched as a flotilla of frigates ca close to us in formation, peeling away from their original spot and reforming around us. They weren't pirate ships nor models from so defeated army... they were, as far as my ship-design knowledge went, Mandalorian-built vessels.
[Observation: Production efficiency exceeds Outer Rim averages by 74%. Comntary: For savages, they are very industrious.]
“Careful, HK,” Vila looked at him, leaning back in the copilot's chair, “They might decide you’d look better as scrap... They are clearly not savages.”
[Counterpoint: I would be too valuable to lt. Suggestion: They would display as art.]
"Probably true..." I agreed while my eyes stayed on the orbital lanes we were passing by. There were hundreds of ships moving through the system, but not just warships. I spotted freighters trailing in long convoys, barges lumbering with raw ore from the belt, and sleek-looking civilian shuttles slipping between stations. Everything was moving perfectly and in order...
“This isn’t just a fortress world,” I murmured, honestly feeling amazed, “It’s a capital of an erging, new empire. I don't know how the others will feel about...”
"Maybe the sa way as Christopsis did." Vila tilted her head, following my gaze, “They’ve turned the whole system into an armory and a market all at once. So won't like that! Maybe Christopsis was just the ddling of soone from the New Republic? The Imperials? Both?”
"Or the Hutts?" I added it as a guess.
[Analysis: Maybe all three. Energy readings indicate exchange hubs on at least two moons in the system. Projection: Mandalore has beco economically self-sufficient and a regional power. Addendum: A dangerous combination considering their past. Personal Opinion: Good. Mandalorian atbags are fun.]
"You sound like you know them." Vila giggled, and to my surprise, HK beca silent for a mont.
[Confused Query: Did I serve alongside them, or dismber them? Statent: My mory matrix cannot decide. Both options feel… correct.]
"Oh?" We both turned to look at him, seeing his optics whirr like crazy, his orange eyes flickering.
[Fragnted Recall: There was one… Ordo. Always shouting, always drinking. Claid he would rebuild Mandalore from the ashes. Annoyingly, he may have succeeded. Unfortunate.]
"Do you know that na?" Vila asked, whispering, but I just shook my head. Never heard of it.
[Glitched Statent: Mandalore. Preserver. Ordo. Laughed too much. I miss that laugh. Correction: I missed shooting at that laugh. Firm Statent: Blocking mory fragnts. Too much corrupted data.]
"HK?" I asked, probing, and it took a mont for him to look at .
[Query: What?]
"You good?"
[Annoyed Statent: Of course I am.]
"If you say so..." Vila chuckled, but we exchanged a glance, feeling that there was more in this old, rusting bucket than we initially thought. Those first asurents... Was he really... thousands of years old?
I didn't have much ti to keep thinking about it, as the convoy shepherding us broke formation at last. Two cruisers surged ahead, of us next, their engines burning bright, while another pair fell in close behind, making sure we weren't deviating from the destination. We were locked into their vector, our ship dragged along like a fish on a hook.
“Looks like they don’t trust us to wander,” Vila murmured, eyes narrowing as she leaned against the viewport, pursing her lips.
“Would you?” I asked quietly.
"Haaahh..." She gave a crooked smile, looking back at over her bare shoulders, “Fair.”
"..." Next, the comm crackled, a pretty harsh voice slipping through the static, “Jedi vessel, follow assigned coordinates. Clearance granted for descent. Do not deviate. Do not stall. Any attempt to alter course will be treated as a hostile action, and you will be fired upon.”
“Friendly bunch,” I muttered, sending an acknowledgnt ping. "Copy that."
By now, the planet had filled our full view, growing larger with every passing second. According to the data, we were heading straight down towards one of the largest cities on the surface, built near the equator.
[Analysis: Terraforming residue still active in the upper atmosphere. Energy patterns are still unfamiliar. Correction: Ithorian signals are indeed present. Confirmation for atbag Kael's theory. Conclusion: External intervention stabilized the biosphere.]
As we broke atmosphere, the ship rattled lightly, the heat glowing against our shields. Below us, the capital city ca into view, still enjoying the night sky. We could see a mixture of dod arenas, noticeable, extensive military complexes, and open squares that could double as parade grounds or mustering yards. In the middle, a single towering citadel dominated the heart of it all, probably a palace of so kind.
"Well, Kael… We are heading straight at that tower... looks like we’re about to et the king of the hornet’s nest.”
"I will try not to fly into it." I joked just as another, less angry voice contacted us.
“Jedi vessels, proceed to landing zone Aurek-Seven. Remain powered down upon touchdown and await instructions.”
I sent another acknowledgnt, guiding the cruiser along the final vector. The escorts peeled off at the edges, leaving only a pair of fighters to trail us down... Haaah... I do hope they are better at diplomacy by now than in the old tales.
Reviews
All reviews (0)