Chapter 38: Base of Operations

Summary: In which Izuku realized he might not actually be the crazy one. Also, a brief cameo by a certain Queen...

Warning! Chapters 37-39 were all released back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss one (or more!)!

Chapter 38: Base of Operations

It was almost a month after the Karazak Guild raid that the majority of their 'command group,' such as it was, gathered together back on Ossus. In what amounted to the War Room. In truth, they didn't really have anything like a proper command structure, or a proper War Room. The latter fact something that was, as it happened, about to be brought up as they finished going over the results of the raid. As well as updates on several other smaller raiding operations the Shattered Shackles was running all on its own.

"Okay. So the last of the new recruits for the various programs have gotten where they need to go, and the one attempt at a jailbreak for the slavers was shut down hard by Alderaan Planetary security. That closes out old business, which brings us to next steps. I have some ideas, of course, but does anyone have anything specific?"

Surprisingly, Master Tholme lifted his hand at Izuku's question. The older Jedi was normally content to simply watch, unless they needed questions answered on the underworld. For all that he had been willing to help, he was technically only Aayla's Master, rather than having any sort of defined position among the group.

"I believe you need to get off Ossus. Preferably somewhere that IES-Alpha can help you establish a proper, visible, industrial foothold. If I understand things correctly, you'll have a number of those new corvettes available soon?"

Nikkila, who was acting on Mei's behalf for this particular meeting, nodded happily.

"Yep! Mei-Mei is super pleased with how her Defender II baby did! The fight with those corvettes was a perfect field test! She's already made a few minor changes, based on the combat data. But those are already done with and she'd got the next three under full production. They'll be done in a couple of weeks!"

Tholme nodded at that.

"And your latest round of graduations from the Shattered Shackles academy will provide more than enough crew for them. You've even got enough pilots that I believe one of the items on your agenda is more aggressively seeking a starfighter solution?"

Izuku frowned, nodding. That had been virtually on top of his own 'new business' list. It was a good reminder that Tholme was very adept at knowing what was going on, even if he rarely added his two credits.

"So, point one. Those corvettes aren't like anything else on the market. So far, you've been able to play shell games to hide all the ships you're producing at IES-Beta. Despite being based on an ancient design, however, those corvettes are going to start getting attention and you don't have a way to hide where they are coming from."

Tholme took a moment to wave around the room. At the room itself they realized, a moment later.

"Point two. Ossus is an extremely inconvenient location. It's well away from your operational area. At this point you're having to ship in materials for the IES here. And, to be blunt, the damage to the Force here is still great enough that leaving a Force Artifact like the Infinite Engine Seed here isn't a great idea. As a point three, a random prefab isn't a great place to organize something of this scale out of anymore, either. You need to move your main base. Preferably somewhere with a pre-existing industrial base you can take over and use to hide your continued production."

Aayla was looking at her master with a gimlet gaze. She'd already learned he was a meddler and manipulator, and it was clear to her he already had a plan he was leading them to.

"Out with it, Master. You've clearly got something in mind."

Tholme only smirked, giving her an overplayed injured expression that, for a moment, reminded her painfully of Master Quinlan. Perhaps her former Master had come by that expression from his own Master in turn…

"Well, it occurred to me that you've been accruing quite the fortune. Several billion credits, at least, if I had to guess. I don't exactly have access to your accounts."

Izuku's eyes were as narrow as Aayla's now. That was…not inaccurate. Despite all their investments and purchases, the fact was that IES-Zeta was essentially generating tens of millions of credits in trade goods daily out of completely free scrap. And their trade network had grown to the point they could actually offload it all without anyone being even remotely suspicious. Mixed with their completely legitimate trade along two major trade lanes, and several minor ones besides, the truth was that they'd been generating money faster than they could spend it. Their operations might be a drop in a vast ocean compared to, say, the Trade Federation. But still…they did have several billion burning a hole in dispersed accounts.

"And what, exactly, are you thinking we should do with that much money? Buy an entire space station? That wouldn't really cover the industry angle."

Tholme smirked and leaned forward to fiddle with the holoprojector at the center of their conference table. A moment later, the image of a slightly sickly-looking planet was projected over the table, spinning as the hologram displayed critical stats.

"No. I think you should buy a planet."

There was a stunned moment of silence at that idea. Izuku's mouth worked, but nothing came out, and Tholme breezily marched on before anyone else could manage to speak up.

"This is the planet Tythe. It was once a lush, gorgeous world to match Naboo, and contained a similar type of plasma. Unlike Naboo, it was gobbled up by a corporation instead of being colonized. LiMerge Power used the fact that the world isn't part of the Republic to abuse it. They strip-mined the plasma, to the point that the planet is on the verge of a total environmental collapse. The company has already bailed out, moving their headquarters elsewhere, and all signs point to them abandoning the world completely in the near future."

Aayla made a choked, incredulous sound, before finally managing to get actual words out while everyone else was still reeling.

"You want us to buy a dying planet? Why? I mean, if they are planning to pull out, they probably would let it go for a meagre few billion. But why would we want it?"

Tholme sat back and smiled at her. Infuriatingly, he simply gestured to the hologram and gave her an assignment.

"Well now, Padawan. That is the question, isn't it. Why do you tell me?"

She glowered at her Master, then huffed as she felt the spike of amusement at their interaction from Izuku, despite the fact he was still reeling from the idea of just buying a planet. After a few momments, Aayla gave in and leaned forward to manipulate the data. She first displayed its galactic position, which made her blink, then rapidly keyed through several queries, face slowly shifting to an expression of realization as she sifted through the data. Finally, others started coming back on balance. Tresten Agai'i, a Jedi Knight that represented the handful of displaced Almas Jedi, had leaned forward to read the information as Aayla pulled it up.

"Its location is certainly of interest. Not far south of Hutt Space, along the Triellus Trade Route. It's actually right in our greatest zone of interest. Not too far from the slaver heavy system we're targeting in the Outer Rim, while also relatively nearby to one end of your trade enterprises." The woman hummed and nodded a moment later. "Hell, it would actually add a useful leg to your trade routes, connecting almost straight down the Trellus to Naboo, and up to the junction with the Corellian Run at Arkanis to head back to New Cov. Or the other direction on the Run out to Ryloth, for that matter."

Aayla nodded, then shook herself, inserting back into the conversation with more points.

"Not just that, but it covers some of our needs nicely. LiMerge had quite a few industrial plants scattered all over the planet that would be easily converted…and they only seemed to give a bantha crap about the Plasma. Its other natural resources are largely untapped. Convert some of their industry over to regular mining and it would provide a lot of raw materials for IES-Alpha."

Izuku frowned, looking again at the sickly image of the world that had reappeared as Aayla stopped fiddling.

"Wouldn't that just accelerate the environmental collapse?"

Tholme finally reentered the conversation at that question, since Aayla only scrunched her nose, like she wasn't quite sure how to factor that in.

"It would. If, that is, you didn't use the IES to produce a few terraforming droids. I just so happen to have put out some feelers and found a few such droids that have been abandoned on various failed colony worlds. They are all old, but serviceable enough. Pick the one in the best shape, move IES-Alpha to Tythe, and have it turn out several dozen of them by cannibalizing one or two of the less useful industrial parks…"

Several people made noises of understanding, with Nikkila being the one to excitedly follow the train of thought aloud.

"If we do that, and have the IES system produce some clean-fusion reactors to run all the industry off of for good measure, we could easily reverse the damage done to the planet in time! It hasn't totally collapsed yet, so it wouldn't even take that long. A decade, maybe even less, to restore it to a lush, healthy world!"

Izuku nodded, leaning forward to type a query of his own. When he got the result back, he nodded again.

"And it has a population of a couple of million workers. Who I somehow doubt LiMerge was going to care much about when it pulled out. That gives us a workforce who will likely be eager for new employment, with better terms and on a planet that's improving rather than collapsing. A rescue operation for the people and the planet, all rolled into a useful strategic asset."

Sacha Swiftbird, a recruit the Atarian Rangers had pointed out to them and now a senior member of the Shattered Shackles, was quick to ask the important question.

"Can we actually hold it, though? I mean, we can put a few squads of Shackles on it, and if we actually get some more fighters for my people, we can even set it up as the training school for more fighter pilots. We've needed to make a dedicated facility for that for a while. And it would put a few fighter squadrons there at all times. But that's a mighty light picket for a planet. Doubly so if the people we start pissing off find out about it."

Izuku hummed, considering for a few moments, scratching his head as he ran numbers. Slowly, he nodded.

"If we're going to sell this as the source of the Defender II's, we might as well station some of them there permanently. Mei laid down hulls for a second set of four at the same time as she started finishing work for the additional three. This whole purchase will take a couple of months to arrange, and those four will be done by then."

He saw expressions of surprise on a couple of faces, and grinned.

"The IES shipyard isn't massive yet, but it's extremely fast due to the heavy automation. Add those four of Defenders to the picket and most pirates will think twice. Besides, Master Tholme has pointed out we're sitting on an awful lot of cash. I think we need to start using it more aggressively. Some planetary defense ion cannons. Maybe even a cruiser if we can convince someone to sell us one. I think we can make it into too tough a target for most to want to take a crack at it…"

Quiet settled over the room as they all considered the idea in full. One by one, they nodded, some of them looking more than a little disbelieving that they were doing so. Aayla finally shrugged and spoke what they were all thinking.

"Well. We all agree it's a good idea in theory, right?" After getting nods all around, she continued. "Then I suppose it's time to start looking at ways and means…"

... ...

Buying a planet isn't the sort of thing you just do in a couple of days. Nor is it something that belongs in the realm of amateurs. Sensibly, they'd turned to the closest thing they had to an expert, and promptly told him to find an actual expert. Borgan Trillian, the man they'd found to put in charge of their Trade Fleet, had been flabbergasted at the idea. But, as they'd explained the planet's location and advantages, he'd warmed up to the idea quickly. As Knight Agai'I had pointed out, the planet was extremely well suited to adding another leg to their trade lanes. That lane would be a bit riskier, as it moved through the Outer Rim, instead of the Mid Rim they'd otherwise stuck too. But Borgan was well aware that they tended to ride the line of how much their ships could legally carry in weaponry, so he wasn't too worried about it.

In the end, he'd gone along with it happily enough, promising to use his connections to hunt down a proper expert. As well as a suitable legal firm to cross all the t's and dot all the i's on something that big. Doing so would take time, however. Most likely at least a few months. Meanwhile, they had other shopping lists to complete. To Izuku and Aayla's chagrin, they'd had to simply let the Shattered Shackles and Almas Jedi loose on their next rounds of slaver targets. As much as they both wanted to be more hands on, for the time being they needed to leverage connections to fill in some gaps in their order of battle.

Tholme had separated from them once again, using his underworld connections to see if he could track down any capital ships on the black market. But that had left Izuku and Aayla to deal with their other issue. They needed access to a high-quality, manned, starfighter. Mei's Liberator series drones were great for what they were, but they'd already figured out that droid ships worked best as supplements to manned fighter squadrons.

Unless you were willing to just throw swarms of the things around like the Trade Federation, the best way to use droid ships was the same way they were using their commando droids. As force multipliers for sentient forces. Indeed, so far, their most successful tests had been using a droid ship to fly wingman to an actual pilot. The droids avoided any issues staying in formation the way two sentients often did in the chaos of battle. And in dire situations the droid fighter could suicide to take a hit for the living pilot. The tactical doctrine to use fighters that way was very much a work in progress…in part because they still lacked enough piloted starfighters to properly test it to exhaustion. But it was promising nonetheless.

Which is how Izuku and Aayla found themselves landing The Wandering Fate on Naboo.

"Well. There's no question it's a gorgeous planet. So I suppose this isn't a total loss."

Aayla grinned at Izuku's deadpan. Sure, she'd rather be removing surplus limbs and life expectancy from slavers via lightsaber. But this was important too. The fact that she got to 'dress down' for the mission was only a bonus. As was the way Izuku's eyes lingered on her curves as the ship's ramp lowered. Twi'lek's heightened skin sensitivity was enough of a known thing that even the Jedi Order rarely complained about modified outfits. Though Aayla's current belly-bearing top and tight pants might have had the more traditionalist Jedi clicking tongues in disapproval.

"Um, we seem to have a bit more of a welcome party than I'd expected?"

There was a tiny bit of alarm in Aayla's voice as she caught sight of that welcome, causing Izuku to frown and mentally prod her. Yes, they'd mostly expected Gungans, given their previous deal for their energy shields. But they'd also intended to meet with reps of the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, who actually owned the rights to the design they badly wanted to license. So why was the sight of a few humans setting alarm bells ringing strongly enough in Aayla's mind that he could feel them across their bond without trying?

"Izuku, that girl at the front of human group is a Handmaiden. All of them are body doubles and extremely capable bodyguards that the current Queen uses as her most trusted agents. Worse, she's known to the Jedi for a tendency to swap out for them at random."

Izuku blinked, even as a thunk of hurrying boots behind them announced their third party member and he had to bite back a groan.

"And we have Mei with us."

Aayla's worry increased at that, before he felt her focus and let the emotion go into the Force.

"What? I recognized that tone! I dressed! And showered! Why is me being with you bad?!"

Aayla snorted, even as Izuku swiveled, reaching back to lay a reassuring hand on Mei's shoulder.

"It's not a bad thing. We just need you to be Business Mei for a little bit. Okay?"

Mei blinked, then pouted and grumbled.

"But we're supposed to be talking starfighters!"

"I'm certain we will be. We just have some unexpectedly high-profile company. Maybe it shouldn't have been unexpected, I guess. It is the Palace Engineering Corp. Just…be polite until we can let you loose on the engineers, okay? It will make it more likely you actually get to talk to the engineers."

Mei scrunched her nose and then let out a gusty sigh.

"Fiiiinnneee. But these starfighters better be good!"

Aayla shook her head at the exchange, even if her lips quirked up at the corners.

"Come on, you two. Ramp is down and we don't want to be rude."

Izuku followed her head, stepping forward, then passed her by a step as she fell in slightly behind him. Annoying, since it made him the point man, but pre-planned. Aayla was wearing her lightsaber on this trip, which meant she couldn't act as a representative of the various private companies that were seeking to buy rights to the N-1 starfighter. Unfortunately, it also left Izuku unsure who he should angle towards. Technically, they had arranged this meeting through their Gungan trade partners. Which meant he should greet them first. But a direct representative of the Queen being here muddled the issue. Thankfully, the issue was settled for him by his first step onto the tarmac. A Gungan moved forward with a broad gesture of welcome.

"Biggen Boss Midoriya! Wesa welcome yousa ta Naboo! Wesa waitin' to meet yousa for a longo time!"

Thankfully, this was who he'd been expecting to meet. And he'd already been warned that the Gungan's had an odd dialect of basic. It took him a moment to parse it, but he smiled back as he did and reached out for a warrior's handclasp. The Gungan smiled broadly as he accepted the gesture, firmly grabbing Izuku's wrist in the short clasp.

"I'm glad I've finally gotten to visit, Roow Tursath. Our trade agreements so far have been of great help. Indeed, we just recently used the shields you provided in a raid against the Karazak Slavers Guild! The operation to free the slaves they had taken went much more smoothly with those shields than it would have otherwise."

The Gungan's eyes widened, and he made what Izuku thought was a huge smile.

"Thessa is muay good news! Bombad General will wanta haer alls about it!"

It was at that moment that the human group, which had begun moving forward as the Gungan's first greeting, reached them. It was the Handmaiden, who couldn't be more than eighteen at most, who spoke up.

"That is good news. What became of the slaves you rescued? Ah, and pardon my rudeness. I am one of the Queen's Handmaidens. She bid me to sit in on your discussion with our engineers to determine if we are willing to allow our design to be sold."

Izuku warily noted that she hadn't given an actual name. Taking her offered hand, a whisper from the Force told him to bow over it briefly instead of shaking it. Her eyes widened just a touch and only briefly as he did so, which he made a mental note of as he answered her opening question.

"A complicated answer, milady, even if only because they were taken from numerous places. The bulk of those rescued were Rylothian Twi'leks, but just over a fifth were from Hutt Space. Many of the Twi'leks were taken straight back to Ryloth. While others chose to take advantage of a number of programs my organization offers to freed slaves. The remainder, roughly a quarter of those from Hutt Space and a little over ten percent of the Twi'leks, were taken Coreward to an Alderaian charity called the Sentient Rights Relief Group. We partner with them to take care of those who need a bit more trauma counseling than we can provide."

The young woman, who he was growing increasingly certain was no Handmaiden, smiled in a way that showed genuine relief on behalf of people she'd never met. The expression turned her already beautiful face into something artists would murder their fellows for the chance to paint. If he hadn't felt his own abrupt appreciation of that fact echoed from his link to Aayla, he might have felt guilty.

"Oh no. She's hot. And that's definitely Queen Amidala. Their Defense Minister is here and he's deferring to her."

Izuku barely kept his expression from twitching as Aayla broadcast that to him. Thankfully, he'd at least expected that second half. Though that made him all the more uncertain about bringing Mei along. Still, there were niceties to be observed here. He waved at Aayla first, then Mei, introducing them in turn.

"May I introduce Padawan Secura, as well as my Chief Designer, Mei Hatsume."

Their Gungan contact all but confirmed for him that the 'Handmaiden' had actual precedence here, as he merely nodded a welcome to the two, while the disguised Queen spoke.

"Be welcome to Naboo, Padawan Secura, Miss Hatsume. I must admit, seeing that a Jedi was attached to this mission was one reason the Queen sent me. She might have otherwise rejected the offer outright, even with the Gungans speaking well of their new trade partner."

Aayla was quick to speak up, making sure to clarify her position.

"While I encourage you to hear Mr. Midoriya out, I'm obligated to inform you that the Jedi Order has no official position on his group or their operations. Several individual Jedi, including Master Tholme, who is my current Master, have been working with them as much as we are allowed. As individuals, I and Master Tholme, as well as several other Jedi, fully approve of both their anti-slavery operations and their impressive efforts to aid freed slaves into new lives. But that is the strongest statement I can make, as the Jedi Order as a whole is not involved."

The young Queen's expression turned wry at the political double-speak.

"I am somewhat familiar with the limits your Order works under, Master Jedi. Those who helped save our world from the Trade Federation could not do so officially, either. I will keep the limits of your recommendation in mind."

Aayla nodded, satisfied she'd covered her and Tholme's ass if this got back to the Order. Though she and Izuku were both aware that the statement had barely shifted the Queen's stance. She'd apparently expected it from the start. Then again, if what she said was accurate, she'd had an up-close look at how hamstrung by politics the modern Jedi Order was.

"Given what you are here about, we've arranged a conference room at the Palace to discuss matters. I'm afraid the Theed Palace Engineering Corps' facilities are undergoing expansion at the moment, and never had a particularly large amount of business space to begin with. As the Gungans are actually working with the Corps on new variants of the N-1 design anyway, it is the least the Palace could do to host this combined meeting. If you'll follow me, we have speeders waiting for us…"

Nodding and thanking her for making the arrangements, Izuku, Aayla and Mei followed as the entire group set off toward the Palace.

... ...

"Mister Midoriya, that your offer is generous there is no question about that. But Naboo is a peaceful planet. As I mentioned before, without Padawan Secura's presence, this meeting would have been rejected outright. Quite aside from the business offer itself, can you please explain to me why you believe you need our starfighters at all?"

Izuku and Aayla shared a glance. So far, the meeting had gone well. Mei was legitimately impressed with the N-1 design, labeling it 'head and shoulders' above the headhunter and a bit better than even the Fang Fighters they'd gotten from Mandal Motors. Likewise, going over the two offers they'd made had produced only surprise over the outright generosity of both versions. Though the Minister of Defense had shot down the idea of buying fighters from Naboo directly. He'd revealed that the expansion underway was intended to increase the number of fighters Naboo could make for itself. In reaction to the Trade Federation invasions of three years ago. That expansion would not be large enough to provide them for sale, however, and he outright refused foreign investment in their production on Naboo soil.

The disguised Queen, still pretending to be a Handmaiden, had remained largely quiet throughout. But her emotions had slowly tensed to their empathic senses throughout. Now, she'd come right out and put the reason for that building tension out there. Likely the entire reason she'd personally become involved at all. Izuku could even understand it. Aayla had relayed what she knew of the woman through their bond, and the Queen was largely a pacifist. A practical one who understood the need to defend herself and her people. But not someone who was likely to be happy about the idea of arming others. Most especially not what was technically a commercial interest, as Naboo had seen the cost of doing that firsthand.

Reaching out to the Force for any aid it could give, Izuku sighed as he got back a very firm feeling that honesty was called for here. That any other approach would result in failure. He leaned back slightly from the table and met Padme Amidala's eyes.

"I apologize for calling you on this, your majesty. But if I am to give you the answer you desire, it must me to you, not to the pretense that you are one of your Handmaidens."

The security people in the room tensed slightly, but the Queen herself seemed less than shocked. Slightly annoyed, but not shocked.

"I would wonder how you knew, but Jedi seem to be the one group that particular ruse never works properly on."

Izuku smirked and nodded.

"As you suppose, it was Aayla that clued me in. Before we even walked down the ramp of the Wandering Fate, in fact."

Not quite true. But close enough. And the Queen seemed to shrug it off after a moment.

"Very well, Mister Midoriya. You may make your explanation to me, with the understanding of my identity now out in the open. Though I wonder why you felt the need."

Nodding, Izuku readily explained.

"I felt the need, your Majesty, because the vast majority of the fighters we would be producing will end up in the hands of what amounts to a vigilante organization. That isn't entirely accurate. Said organization is in the process of legally purchasing a planet to operate out of, technically making them a defense force. They are also an entirely legal operation outside of that, fully registered as a mercenary company that specializes in anti-piracy and anti-slavery operations."

There were expressions of surprise around the table. Not of revelation, they'd all already known about his company's stance on slavery and that it 'supported' such operations. But blatantly outing the fact that said 'support' was more than just monetary was a departure from the double-speak in all the contracts.

"For all intents and purposes, I started my entire business empire for one reason and one reason only. Specifically, because I am an extremely firm believer in a very old saying. 'All that must happen for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.'"

Izuku let the conviction he'd put in that phrase settle into every mind there, before continuing.

"As I first began to travel this galaxy, I saw that there were many horrible things in it. And that all too few people were even trying to fix them. Not no one. The Jedi, the Refugee Relief Movement, the Sentient Rights Relief Group, and many more. There are people who try and I laud them for their efforts. But, as your own world can attest, the farther one gets from the Core, the less such groups are able or willing to do. Even the Republic's Judicial Forces are spread so thin by build downs that they can do little about things like the illegal slave trade. Or about massive overreach by corporate powers."

There were grim faces all around the conference table now as Izuku punched buttons that were entirely too close to home for comfort.

"The very first time I found myself unable to simply watch as something horrible happened, it turned out that it was an undercover Jedi who I helped. That Jedi," Izuku refused to draw attention to Aayla, "enlightened me on a great deal more. Explaining the many holes in the system that they wished they could patch. Through them, I eventually came into contact with both the Underground Hyperlane that helps slaves escape to freedom, and a group called the Antarian Rangers who have themselves tried to patch holes left by the Russan Reformation. Specifically, by providing specialists and commando support to Jedi that ask for it."

Several eyes widened at that, and the surprise that such a thing existed was tangible in their emotions, causing Izuku to chuckle mirthlessly.

"Yeah. That group isn't common knowledge, and they have only a loose official relationship with the Order. Much like my own building group, they work mostly with specific Jedi, rather than the Order as a whole. There also just aren't that many of them, as the funding to run them has to be raised privately and carefully to avoid tainting the organization."

Several people were looking at Aayla as much as him now, and she shrugged and put in her two credits.

"I've worked with the Rangers before, on a small number of occasions, as Master Tholme is one of the Jedi that has contact with them. They were founded around 600 years ago, when the downsides of disbanding the Army of the Light were starting to weigh heavily on the Jedi Order. A friend of the Jedi Order at the time created them, though they've remained a small group in the centuries since. Mostly, they are scouts and undercover operatives, with a handful of skilled commandos. Extremely well trained and very selective about their recruiting practices."

Izuku nodded as they all soaked that revelation in.

"I can't fix every problem in the galaxy, but slavery is one that I particularly detest. So, I decided to do something similar, but to come at the problem from the other end. I started on the business side, focusing on creating numerous programs whose purpose was to do more than just put a roof over the head and a meal in the belly of every freed slave. Instead, I set up programs to offer them the education and training they were all-to-often denied. I accept any former slave, offer them completely free training and education in a wide range of vocations they can choose from, and do my very best to set them up for success in life."

Izuku didn't just let that statement hang. He'd started manipulating the holo-table they were all seated at and it now split into a list of nearly two dozen different programs. From the academy at Allanteen VI to the pilot academies for their trade fleets, and a host of others besides. Many of those present leaned forward to skim the brief summary of one or another of the programs, and Izuku let them have a few minutes to do so. Then, before he could lose them, he brought things back around to the original point.

"The truth was, however, that I knew from the start this isn't enough. Slaves have to be freed before they can take advantage of any of this. So, from the very beginning, there was another part of the plan."

Izuku shifted half of the display to show footage of their recent rescue operation, while the other half remained showing details of his various programs.

"The Shattered Shackles mercenary company is just as careful at picking its members as the Rangers, but it has a much larger pool to pick from. Many of those who have been enslaved want nothing more than to help others that are suffering and all of my programs include psychological evaluations. I can and do carefully root out those that just want to make their old masters suffer, sending them to therapy. Instead, I recruit from those who express an interest in more, but also show the psychological stability for it. They get fed into the training programs for the Shattered Shackles, slowly but steadily giving us teams that can rescue more and more people from slavery. Then I feed those rescued people back into the systems in place to help them recover and live their best possible lives."

Izuku found the Queen's eyes again, returning to specifically addressing her original question.

"The reason I need those starfighters isn't to safeguard my business. It's to enable good men and women to say 'No, I will not do nothing.' It's to do something about the illegal slave trade. We can't save everyone, your majesty. But to hell if we won't give it our best try anyway."

The room was absolutely silent as he finished. And when the silence was broken, it wasn't by Padme Amidala. In was Roow Tursath, their Gungan contact, looking more serious and sober than Izuku even knew a Gungan could look.

"Mesiah has muay important questino for yousa. Does yousa recruit otthas that wasn't slaves?"

Izuku blinked in surprise, but gave him a serious answer after a moment to process.

"Of course. Indeed, we specifically look for leaders that weren't, since they are less likely to have an…unfortunate lapse…in a situation with abused slaves and captured slavers. Many of our commando team leaders have been recruited from law enforcement, or the more morally upright bounty groups with a solid history of keeping their targets to legitimate criminals."

The Gungan nodded, then surprised them all with his next comment.

"Mesiah just a merchant. But Mesiah people are warriors. Mesiah knows many Gungans whosa might wanta sign on to somthin' like thatsa. Mesiah haveta talk to da Biggen Bosses."

Izuku blinked again, jaw dislocating a bit.

"Um. We'd welcome those interested, of course. Assuming they're willing to go through our own vetting process and training, of course."

The Gungan just nodded, then looked over at the Queen. Amidala looked as surprised as anyone else about the Gungan's offer, but she recovered quickly.

"I…understand why you needed to explain that to me, not to an underling. In a way, if I agree to let this trade go through, it will be an act of support for your organization. One which might backlash on Naboo if enough powerful people become upset with your actions."

She frowned for a moment, then took a deep breath and committed.

"Many of Naboo decry any sort of violence beyond self-defense. But I, too, have had a chance to see the galaxy outside my home. And I, too, saw things that disturbed me. I find myself unwilling to be one of those who 'does nothing' as you put it. By the end of the day, you will have official approval from the government of Naboo to license the N-1 starfighter design, as well as to develop your own derivatives. The exact details of the purchase I will leave in the capable hands of my Minster for Trade."

The Queen accepted his quiet but sincere 'thank you,' before excusing herself from the meeting. It appeared that this visit would be quite productive after all…

... ...

It had taken a few days to iron out the details of the deal, of course. Mei had, in a reverse of the usual pattern, actually been effectively kidnapped by the enthusiastic designers of the Theed Engineering Corps. Apparently, the group that had produced the N-1 in the first place were almost as eccentric as Mei was, and gleefully conspired with her on variant designs. Mei had loved it, of course…but Izuku had also recognized something he hadn't seen in a while in his best friend.

Mei was caught in a loop and slowly unraveling.

It was a behavior he'd been totally unprepared for the first time his friend had gotten 'stuck in a loop.' Thankfully, at that time, Mei's older sister had still been around and had known what was going on. The short version was that Mei could get sort of drunk with her projects. That wasn't quite right, but it was the easiest way to describe it. Effectively, she would become progressively more manic with her focus to the point that she would caffeinate, build, collapse, and repeat. She'd start forgetting to eat or take care of herself in other ways, spiraling into a 'loop' that she was too obsessed and enthusiastic about to escape on her own.

In the years since his first experience with that loop, Izuku had helped Mei create methods to help herself. Her sister had tried the same thing, but simply hadn't been able to make it stick the way Izuku did. He'd started by refusing to let her work on his gear if she didn't take care of herself, then progressed the finding methods to distract her with to break the cycle. Over time, he'd gotten her to build timers and support tools for herself that would stop her if she started to loop. And, to be fair to her, she was still using them…sometimes.

She'd regressed somewhat by the time she reality jumped, but Master Fay had done such a good job on Mei with her own brand of mental judo that Izuku hadn't worried about it much. He'd made sure to give her plenty of attention and get her using her tools again for the first few months, but then he'd gotten so distracted by everything that he'd not been keeping as close an eye on her. Now, he was regretting that, as he'd realized Mei had lost a bit of weight and was displaying other characteristics that she hadn't quite succeeded in staying free of her manic loop state. Likely, he realized belatedly, because she'd been gleefully hiding the Defender II project from him until it was completed.

All of which explained why he'd kidnapped her away from her tools, along with an amused Aayla. Not that Aayla didn't agree with him, she was just extremely amused by Izuku's solution of 'puppy therapy.' She hadn't understood the phrase at first. But now that it was ongoing, she certainly got it. Izuku had found a pet store, bribed them with enough money to shut down for a few hours, and got them to release every super-friendly tooka, loth-cat, miniature kath hound, and other furry friend they had. The riot of fluff had buried a happily-giggling Mei in adorable chaos.

After watching for a few minutes, both Aayla and Izuku gave into the temptation to join in…

... ...

"Okay, so this stop didn't take anywhere near as long as we'd expected. We were prepared for up to a month of back-and-forth negotiations before bailing out if we couldn't make a deal in that time. We got everything done in five days."

Aayla nodded at Izuku's comment, as both of them looked over their agenda. Mei was humming happily, tinkering with something as she practically sat in Aayla's lap. Breaking her out of her loop had triggered a relapse of touch starvation. Izuku had warned his girlfriend it would, knowing that when Mei got stuck in a loop she ended up clingy for a bit after it broke. Honestly, Aayla just thought it was amazing as Mei was surprisingly awesome at cuddling. Hard and soft in equal measures, whereas Izuku was just all hard muscle. Beating back the cuddle distraction on her mind, she considered the agenda.

"We were going to meet up with Master Tholme in his search for a possible capital ship, since you'll have to be the buyer. But there's no way he'll have made any progress yet. Should we check in with Borgan? Or maybe help the raid teams?"

Izuku hummed in thought, considering both options. Surprisingly, however, it was actually Mei who broke the silence with a confident voice.

"Nope! We need to go to Nubia! For dealmaking!"

Izuku and Aayla both blinked and looked at Mei in confusion. Who seemed to be oblivious to her comment making no sense, simply continuing to tinker with…whatever part she was holding? Even Aayla wasn't really sure what it was. Finally, Izuku sighed.

"Mei. Help files enabled version please."

Aayla snickered as that got an immediate response from Mei, with her raising her head to blink confusedly at Izuku. Slowly, comprehension dawned as her brain engaged. It was a phrase Aayla had already realized Izuku used when he needed more details on something she'd said that she thought was obvious. And her reaction to it was always adorable as he'd somehow managed to half-program an auto-response to the phrase from Mei. One where she stopped and tried examine what she'd just said for reasons someone wouldn't understand.

"Ooooohhhh, right! You weren't there when I talked to MegaMilk and Triangles!"

Aayla tired hard to suppress her giggles at the nicknames. Mei nicknamed almost everyone, without any filter at all, and the expression on 'MegaMilk' had been utterly priceless when Mei had given it. Admittedly, the older engineer had been stacked up top to a degree that made even Mei look underwhelming. But apparently no one had ever called her out on it quite like that. Thankfully, the engineer ended up thinking it was hilarious after getting over her shock, and had practically adopted Mei for the rest of their stay.

"So! MegaMilk and Triangles were talking about the original N-1 series design. The one from before their team did all the tweaks to it! The design was originally made by Nubia Stardrive Incorporated, who partnered with the Theed Palace Engineering team to get everything perfect! They help make a lot of other custom ships for the Naboo, too. Like the Queen's yacht! Very good sublight engines and spaceframes! You should see some of the stuff they do with heat exchangers! It's really un…"

Okay, this was getting them somewhere, but not fast. Aayla sensed an incoming ramble and tried to focus it, poking Mei in the cheek and speaking.

"Focus. Why do we need to go there if we already have a deal for the N-1s?"

Mei blinked again, looked at her like she was silly, then sighed.

"Because they make other stuff! Triangles pointed out that one of the designs the Nubian designers made to try selling to Naboo was a total dud for Naboo, but would fit us really well! A bomber called the H-6! Great for ground attack and anti-capital ship stuff!"

Aayla and Izuku both blinked again as they processed that. The N-1 was possibly the premier dogfighter in the galaxy for the moment. Something else would overtake it eventually, but right now it was better than basically anything else on market. On the other hand, it was pretty much complete shit for ground support fire or anti-capital ship runs. Neither were super important to them right now, but it was something of a hole in their capability that would need to be patched eventually. Izuku was the quicker to process that fact and ask the obvious question.

"Why didn't the Naboo want it? Was there something wrong with it?"

"Nope! It was apparently a super good design, actually! But the Naboo are super non-violent! Bombers are really only useful if you're attacking someone else. So they didn't care about having them! Silly, really. It would have helped them against the Trade Federation if they'd had a few squadrons of them!"

Aayla nodded. That tracked. Naboo didn't even have a standing army. Not even now, after the invasion. The Gungans did, but the humans of Naboo were pacifistic for the most part. The King before Amidala had actually gotten some serious flack for even commissioning the N-1s. Noticing Mei's eyes wander back to her gizmo, Aayla put a stop to that by outright hugging her, just 'incidentally' trapping Mei's hands.

"So you think we should try to get this H-6 from them?"

Mei hummed in contentment for a moment at the hug, before seeming to process the question and perking back up.

"Yep! We should be able to get them on board super easy! Their prototype was stolen and, since the intended planet that they'd hoped would buy it fell through too, they didn't make any more!"

Izuku made a noise of understanding.

"Ah, so it's basically just a design sitting in their database. A failed sunk cost that they'd love to make their money back on."

Mei wiggled a hand free, incidentally tickling Aayla enough to giggle in the process, then shot Izuku a thumbs up.

"Yep! Better, Nubia is realllllllyyy good at sublight drives…but not so much at hyperdrives. Great spaceframes, great sublight drives, not so good with hyperdrives. They can design them fine, but can't make them. Worse, their spaceframes are very non-standard, so the drives have to be custom productions runs. Which costs them a fortune to get from any major manufacturer, but wouldn't be a problem at all for us! The IES doesn't care, so long as it has a blueprint. And they can provide that."

It was Aayla that worked through it first this time, having recovered from the unexpected fit of tickle-produced giggles.

"So we won't even have to pay a ton, probably. We can offer them a deal on Class 1 custom hyperdrives at the same price as non-custom work, in exchange for a design they aren't even using."

Mei reached back and patted Aayla's head.

"You got it, Blue! I think their design teams might be useful for another project too. Remember I wanted to build droid construction ships?"

They both nodded at that, though it was Izuku who spoke.

"Yeah. You were annoyed they don't seem to really exist outside some of the big shipyards with their own in-house designs. And you couldn't modify anything we have, since the spaceframe needs is to different." Izuku trailed off, nodding as he made the leap in logic. "If Nubia specializes in spaceframes, they could design what you need."

Mei beamed at Izuku for getting it.

"Yep! It'll take a while, but once we have them it will speed up anything we need to build in space! Expansion of the shipyards, orbital defenses for Tythe, everything!"

Izuku and Aayla looked at each other. Not even really needing their bond to communicate on this one, they both shrugged. Izuku spoke for both of them a moment later.

"Sounds like a good use of our time, Mei. Good work!"

Mei made happy humming noises, even as she returned to working on her gadget. Aayla didn't comment about her not leaving the hug. Honestly, it was sort of nice and she was content to bask in it for a while longer. Maybe she'd been touch starved too? Jedi weren't exactly the touchy-feely sort for the most part…

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

A/N: Mwhahaha? Tythe is something I always intended to happen as they grew. It's abandonment by LiMerge Power is canon, as are the reasons. Though little more is known about it.

A/N 2: So...the N-1! I decided to have them seek out that ship specifically for a couple of reasons. One is that it's simply a good ship. At the current point in the timeline, it's one of the Premier dogfighting starfighters in the galaxy. Costs a whole lot, but the results mean that a single squadron of them was able to wade through five or six times their number of Vultures. Even if it took Anakin's bit of Force-Luck to bring down the Droid Control Ship, the N-1 squadron was doing well against the actual fighters. And pretty much every other time we see them actually fight, they performed extremely well.

The other reason, honestly...is that I wanted them to meet Padme. Only in passing, for now. But they at least know each other exist. Given the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engieering Corps is actually behind the N-1, it was a good chance to have them at least encounter each other.