Chapter 131: Preludes

Chapter 131: Preludes

– Coruscant – 22.3 BBY –

“I have to say, I hadn’t expected it would be you, Senator Amidala, that brought my home into this discussion. Not that I don’t agree with you, indeed I praise your foresight for doing so, but this crisis does seem to be making strange bedfellows all around.”

Padmé let her lips twitch just a bit, to signal humor, at Senator Seitaron’s comment. The senator from Carida, Padmé had been surprised he hadn’t already been in meetings such as this one, and had brought him to the table as a gesture of good faith. The top supporters of the Military Creation Act had enthusiastically embraced his presence, her bringing the man along easing her own tentative acceptance by the group. After all, Cardia was the home of one of the premier military academies in the Republic. The only other that might be considered comparable was the War College of Anaxes.

“I don’t blame you for the surprise, Senator. However, I believe my reasons are obvious. After all, one of my primary concerns with the sanity of the Military Creation Act is something that your planet is, perhaps, the best suited in the galaxy to address.”

It was Onaconda Farr of Rodia, not Seitaron, who replied to that.

“Quite right. I am certain I speak for many of us in saying I am a bit embarrassed not to have considered some of the issues you’ve brought forward, Senator Amidala. We focused too much on bringing forth the military hardware, and forgot that training a suitable cadre of officers for a new military will be an even more critical affair. We can hardly leave it in the hands of droids, like the Separatists are doing.”

Another Senator, this one from Eriadu if Padmé wasn’t mistaken, nodded firmly at that.

“Perfectly correct. Not to mention that bringing it up brought attention to other issues we hadn’t considered. Such as the number of our fellow Senators who were unhappy with the thought conscription might be on the table. Word is that Bel Iblis nearly withdrew Corellia from the Republic using some ancient law, before you started insisting on inserting careful controls about voluntary service. Given the size of the Republic and the benefits we can bake into the law, we should never need to conscript. Writing it into the law that we can’t do so without a super majority vote had eased tensions we weren’t even properly aware of.”

Nodding acknowledgment of that, Padmé took the offered opening. One she was fairly certain had been offered quite intentionally.

“Precisely. The one thing the Republic doesn’t lack for is manpower. Many Core worlds have millions of poorer individuals who would take such an opportunity to raise their lot in life, so long as we establish proper benefits for them. Doing so would even ease crime and population issues for some worlds. Of course, paying for them to be properly trained is going to add an element to the fight that wasn’t present before. Yet, I think if we look to…”

Discussion began in earnest, as Padmé fought for something she, at her core, actively hated. Yet, with the knowledge she was privy to, that a war was inevitable and no one had much in the way of a chance to stop it? Making sure that said war was fought by those who volunteered for service, were properly trained, and were properly rewarded was paramount. Doubly so as that training could be made to include deescalation methods and urban fighting tactics that might prevent crimes against sentient kind.

She’d seen how having a highly trained, professional military had helped the League of Free Stars keep civilian casualties down. If a war she didn’t want was coming anyway, the least she could do was make certain it was fought cleanly, while creating as little additional friction within the Republic as possible…

… … …

– The Miruko: Orbit of Abrion Major – 22.2 BBY –

“Oof!”

The air exploded out of Aayla’s lungs as she thumped down hard on the sparring mat, having been thrown in such a fashion that even her flexibility was unable to compensate. Normally, she would have pushed through it anyway, but this was the fourth such fall she’d taken, if not all in the same way. Giving in, she let herself flop there and gasp for breath, even as Izuku moved to make sure she was okay. As she managed to haul air back into her lungs properly, she scowled up at her lover who, assured she was fine now, was grinning down at her.

“Y-you are an unfair existence, Izu! Seriously, it took me months of hard training to get the basics of Matukai training down! How the kriff have you done the same in just a few weeks? You haven’t even had that much time for training, with all the political chaff going on!”

Izuku’s grin only grew wider, even as he reached down to pull her to her feet, using a telekinetic pull to bring her a ‘recovery’ drink at the same time. The drink itself was a creation of his own, apparently a recreation of something from his world that wasn’t an idea she’d encountered before. Since he’d first explained it, she’d looked into the idea and discovered that there were plenty of equivalents out there, but they were all very species specific and tended to be aimed at professional athletes. Given the Force could be used for recovery, she’d quickly realized why she hadn’t encountered the idea before.

“Aayla, love, I don’t think you’ve quite thought this through. Remember what I told you about my first serious mentor. You know, the one that really taught me how to fight, whom this ship is named after, and a variant of whose recovery methods you’re currently sipping on? Albeit thankfully not the carrot flavored version.”

Aayla paused said sipping, thought that through…and groaned. Izuku’s eyes were dancing as he voiced her thoughts.

“Exactly, love. Miruko trained me to use my abilities specifically through intense marital arts. Up to and including moving meditation. I might as well have been doing the exact precursor training required for Matukai methods, from before I even knew what the Force was. The moment you explained their techniques, I realized I’d outright already been using a crude version of some of it by instinct. The only thing I really needed to add was the inward-focused Force component, which…”

Aayla slumped as she completed his thought.

“…was always going to be easy for you, because of the whole ‘you essentially are a midi-chlorian’ thing.”

Izuku nodded, reaching out to pat her head with a playful smirk. Aayla considered batting it aside, but…headpats were nice. No point in ruining them just because she was mildly irked at the realization.

“Exactly. Don’t worry, I’m going to need to put in just as much of an effort for the advanced uses as you currently are. It’s just that the basics of physical enhancement and the ‘flow state’ that gives the Matukai even greater body control than a Jedi? Those were always going to come easy for me. There’s a reason I’ve always been able to somewhat physically match Zavra, despite her augmentations.”

Aayla groaned at having missed that. She, herself, had previously been able to keep up with Zavra’s speed. But that was only because speed was the entire focus of Aayla’s fighting style and she’d been sparring with Izuku for years. Their Sith lover’s physical strength, endurance, and durability had been something Aayla couldn’t keep up with until very recently. Specifically, she’d needed the intense training she’d done with the Matukai on Tython to get in shouting distance of the advantages Zavra’s cybernetics and bioware had given her.

Izuku, on the other hand, had always been able to come much closer to Zavra’s strength and endurance, with his own fighting style meaning durability was nearly a non-issue. All while still being able to keep up with both Aayla and Zavra’s speed. Now that it had been pointed out to her, she felt particularly dense for not connecting the dots.

She supposed she should be grateful for it, given it meant Izuku was able to get a significant boost from the Matukai training despite all his other time commitments. She’d just really wanted to be able to beat him up a little bit for a while after all her effort! Oh well, at least once he got the endurance techniques down to the point of being automatic, it would translate to other fun things. Liking seeing if he could fully wear both her and Zavra out in the bedroom…

… … …

Esu Rotsino spun a stylus through her fingers in mild agitation, using it as a focus for her whirling thoughts as she stared down on her homeworld from an observation bubble aboard the Miruko. It was a habit she’d never have allowed herself to indulge in if anyone could see her, but the observation bubble was in the VIP section of what was, currently at least, the League of Free Star’s flagship. Said VIP section was, aside from her own retinue, almost scarcely populated for the time being. Unlike most warships, battleships had internal cubage to spare, and the VIP section had enough suites and conference rooms to handle hundreds of people.

Currently, there were less than forty people using it. Supported mostly by droid staff and a few critical aides.

The reason for that was the same reason the meetings she’d been taking part in for the last week were being held about the Miruko in the first place, rather than down in her capital. Secrecy was absolutely paramount, given that what they were discussing could be…no would be...considered treason by many in the Republic. She herself couldn’t bring herself to see it that way, nor could the others involved if she had even a half-decent read on them. But they were all aware how certain elements of the Republic would react to their...contingency planning.

With every passing week, the Separatist Crisis/Debate within the Republic Senate was growing more and more vociferous. Which presented a rather serious problem for the Abrion Major sector, as well as some of their neighbors. As little as a decade ago, her sector would have been inclined to side with the Separatists. Not out of trust, that was never an option when one of the leading powers was the same Trade Federation that had caused many of their issues in the first place, but out of need.

Like many of the Outer and Mid Rim worlds that were breaking away in increasing numbers, the Abrion Sector had been suffering from the Core suppressing their growth and draining them dry. They’d been stuck, with limited options, and the Separatist movement would have looked like a way out. Just as it was looking for the numerous systems clamoring to join the new Confederation of Independent Systems. Esu was self-honest enough to recognized she’d have even been leading the charge, more likely than not.

Today, that simply wasn’t the case any longer. Not for their sector.

The heavy investments of one Izuku Midoriya, then only a businessman and ‘Master of Tythe,’ had dramatically altered the course of their entire region of space. The infusion of not just credits, but resources and technical expertise, had allowed Abrion Major and several of the other critical worlds of her sector to turn the corner. Her own homeworld now had its own modest and still growing shipyard, a solid system defense force, and enough industrial capacity to have nearly completely removed their reliance on technology shipments from the Core.

One hundred percent local production of all of their critical agricultural equipment needs had been achieved last year, and they even had some solid light industry. Industry that was producing the sorts of household goods and consumer electronics needs that had been a major import they’d been price gouged on previously. There was even a small domestic droid production line that had finally got up and running just last month.

The same was true for another dozen major worlds in her sector alone, and more worlds in the surrounding sectors besides.

Better yet, what each of those worlds was producing had been planned, again with help from Master Midoriya. That planning meant that they weren’t doubling up on each other’s production more than necessary. Meaning they could now trade between themselves to cover still more of the needs for items that would have required import from the Core Worlds before.

Ukio had discovered and was exploiting several critical metals for shipbuilding on their moon, selling much of the resulting material to the Abrion Major shipyard. Galpos had always known one of their gas giants had Tibanna gas, but had never been able to get anyone to fork over the high costs to begin mining and processing it. Funding one of Izuku’s companies had provided, with Galpos now getting increasingly rich off gas extraction and sales.

Gibad, Hefi, Intuci, Pastil, Varristad, and more. The stories were similar for most of the critical worlds in the Abrion sector, and even those that hadn’t seen direct investment by Izuku and his holdings were still benefiting massively. After all, they were now able to buy from their neighbors, at reasonable prices, much of what they’d needed to order all the way from the Core previously. The fact that worlds like Galpos and Abrion Major, which were growing in wealth, were also smartly spreading investment to yet more worlds only farther increased the spread.

The Abrion Sector was doing well, for the first time in…millennia, probably. Possibly ever, in point of fact.

More to the point, everyone knew who was responsible for that rising affluence. Even more so after the League had come into existence and now-Sovereign Midoriya had come back through and struck dozens of major trade agreements between worlds in her sector and the League. They had new markets, ones that meant they didn’t have to sell to the Core any longer, even if many of them still did so…just at a fairer prices that make the Core unhappy with them.

As one of her colleagues from Varristad had crudely put it, ‘The Republic has done Jack and Shit for us, but the Sovereign and the League are a different matter entirely.’

Which is why several critical leaders from worlds within the sector were among the thirty-seven people currently using the VIP suites aboard the Miruko. With it looking more and more like war was on the horizon, certain contingencies and positions were in need of discussing. Ones that would most certainly not have been looked upon favorably by the Republic. For that matter, they likely wouldn’t be looked upon favorably by the Separatists either. Even knowing that, as Esu looked down on her world from orbit, she could feel in her bones that she was making the right call for her people.

She just hoped, when it came right down to it, her people agreed. Giving the suffering it had potential to bring even if she was right, she wasn’t at all sure how history would see her…

… … …

– Corellia – 22.1 BBY –

“We’ve been able to confirm some of the data provided, then?”

The question, tired and frustrated sounding, had come from Shyla Merricope, current Diktat of Corellia. The two men in the room with her both grimaced, with the second most powerful man on Corellia, Garm Bel Iblis, waved for the other to field the question. Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon, a representative of the Green Jedi, readily did so.

“In a word? Yes. While the Green Jedi don’t have a lot of official reach outside the Corellian Sector, we do have quite a few…personal contacts…we were able to subtly tap. Between us and elements of CorSec, we were able to confirm at least some of the buildups on both sides. Worse, while the Green don’t get along with many of the Coruscanti Jedi, some of the ones that sourced the original information are among those we get along with and respect. In particular, Master Tholme. As far as we can tell, the information provided is one hundred percent genuine.”

The Diktat looked troubled as she asked the all-important follow up question.

“And the Sith?”

Master Halcyon visibly sagged.

“Confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt. A Darkside Cult working for one of them was captured and we have damning proof of a full chain of at least four. Darth Plagueis, who is believed to be dead. Darth Sidious who is believed to be the current Master. Darth Tyrannus who is suspected to be Count Dooku, but absolute confirmation has not been gained just yet. Then, of course, there is the one that was killed on Naboo, who they finally got a name for, Darth Maul. The Sith are active and behind at least the Separatists. They may also be behind the general war buildup on both sides.”

Shyla slumped and Garm growled. The Senator finally spoke a moment later.

“That’s it then. If the Sith are involved, we can’t just stay out of it the way we wanted to. Corellia had felt their sting before, and just turtling up and hoping they don’t come for a founding world of the Republic would be beyond cowardice and fully into rank stupidity if they are in play.”

Master Halcyon nodded unhappily, and his Diktat sighed.

“Even so, and even with the changes being pushed on the Military Creation Act, the fact the Sith might be behind both buildups concerns me. I believe the proposal of our Alderanian counterparts have made may be our best choice here. Lean into forcing some specific provisions for the Creation Act, while quietly building up our own fleet assets entirely outside its framework. The Mothball Fleet has plenty of ships that can be reactivated, doubly so with Alderaan pouring money into our shipyards to get builds of ships for themselves. That money can be spent to pull larger vessels out of mothballs and modernize them. As well as reactivating older yard capacity.”

Garm nodded at that, even if the Jedi Master looked clueless. Which was fair. The Jedi weren’t involved in running Corellia, after all. Which meant that he wouldn’t be aware of just how much industrial capacity was sitting underutilized in the Corellian system at any one time. The Five Brothers were an anomaly among anomalies. A virtually-impossible occurrence of five habitable worlds in a single star system, with three separate sentient species having all developed on one of those worlds. When people quoted ‘Corellia’ as being one of the Big Five economies in the Republic, they were really talking about the planet.

Which means that almost everyone horrifically underestimated just how much industrial might was in the rest of the star system.

The last thousand years of peace actually hadn’t been all that great for their system. In fact, it had honestly been fairly awful as the megacorps elsewhere did their best to strangle Corellia’s trade options. In previous eras of the Republic no one would have dared try that, as the Corellian military had always been a major forced to be reckoned with. With that military crippled by the Ruusan Reformation, and the New Sith Wars having seen Corellia heavily invested in a now-useless military-industrial complex, a slow slide into economic problems had begun.

Less than twenty percent of the system’s industrial might was running at this point.

Which didn’t mean it had ceased to exist.

A long line of Diktat’s had made sure that the industrial capacity in question was mothballed in a way it could be brought back online in a hurry if needed, so long as the credits and resources were there to do so. Alderaan had both credits and resources, the planet having soared high through the peace in a way Corellia hadn’t, and having quite a few resource-rich colony worlds to supply them. With money and resources flowing from Alderaan, they could bring up a lot more capacity quickly. Not all of it, not without far more money that just Alderaan’s investment. But enough to make a serious go at restoring and upgrading a lot of the older ships also carefully kept in mothballs.

“Very well. Garm, you are hereby officially ordered to activate Operation Phoenix. Master Halcyon, I would very much like to know what the Green Jedi intend to do about the upcoming conflict. I don’t need an answer now, but I would like one soon.”

The Jedi Master nodded.

“Yes, your Grace. The Council are already debating the matter, I will make sure to prod them not to take too long about it.”

Shyla smirked at the dry tone he said that in, but didn’t bother to respond. It was time to get to work, not make jokes. While she had fairly broad authority as the formal head-of-state and Governor-General of the entire Sector, it wasn’t absolute. She at least partially answered to the Board of Directors, which included the oldest and most powerful of the corporations that made the sector home. Thankfully, the single most influential was CEC, who were going to be delighted with the massive ship orders and infusion of credits about to be headed their way…

... ... ... ... ...

A/N 1: A few hints here, both about how Aayla and Izuku are personally getting stronger...and some political points that will be important later! Corellia and Abrion taking some different stances only being the start of how differently the dominos will fall...