December 1.
As news kept arriving about the disaster unfolding at Lantillies, with the imperial fleet rapidly reconquering systems along the Hydian Way and getting dangerously close to Ringo Vinda, Jaral couldn't hide some discomfort to herself.
Part of her was hoping that Lantillies would fall and decree the loss of the Mid Rim for the Empire. Though she knew she was probably overestimating the importance of the planet and underestimating the resilience of the Empire.
Nonetheless, if the planet had fallen at that moment, there was a chance to win the war by the end of the following year. Now, however, none could tell how long this was going to drag on.
What was worse, though, wasn't not the fact that the estimates said that the battle had caused around 3 millions losses (counting in both sides), but that the Protector had been destroyed and that Prince Claudio and Admiral Edrix, the leaders of the Federation in Andromeda, had been captured.
Just last night, she had woken up after a sinister vision that she had no problem interpreting: even though UACT Command hadn't said anything, she knew that Iulius was going to use those prisoners to free Thrawn.
She couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated. After all the work she had done at the beginning of the war to put him out of the picture, now the Chiss was going to be free again, and ready to lead the Imperial Navy alongside Iulius. The mere prospect had her shiver.
However, she needed to calm down. After she put away the mug she had just depleted and undid the table, she passed a hand on her belly.
Just as Jinx had said, she had started showing the pregnancy entirely. The egg had open and the embryo was now clearly visible.
Even more: a few days before, Mira had made another scan and revealed that Jaral was going to give birth to a girl! The sole thought brought a smile back on her face, and whenever she let her mind wander on the moment when she would come to the world, Jaral felt as if she was already forging a bond with her future daughter.
Finding enough solace to calm her mind, she focused on the new task waiting for her. The clock indicated the students were going to arrive in around twenty minutes, so there was no time to waste anymore. She assured that her lightsaber was clipped at her belt and headed outside of the house, finding herself in the morning breeze of the prairie and the warm sun of Lothal, even though it should have been the start of the cold season.
At the entrance of the good old tower now stood a tiled square with a small ledge where soon she was going to stand and talk. In the parking lot stood a trainer Z-95 gently offered by the New Republic after they dismissed the model permanently.
"Good morning, General." Wolffe greeted friendly as he was preparing the firing range with visible happiness.
"Good morning to you, Wolffe." she replied gently. "How are you doing?"
Wolffe placed the last sandbag then replied. "I never thought the day would come when I would have to train Jedi younglings."
Jaral chuckled. "Life is unpredictable. Come on, let me help you."
"All right, but don't strain yourself. Your mother will kill me." he joked.
Finishing the last preparations took just long enough for the transport, a hovering bus, to arrive at the gates of the complex. The driver then proceeded to open the doors and shortly after a stream of people of various races and of very young age started to dismount. Among them, two faces were familiar: Pipey and Alora, now children around 6 years old, who were the first to jump down and walk toward the square quite excited.
Jaral was already standing on the ledge, making sure that everybody could see her, with Wolffe standing right next to her, clearly visible as well. She started to feel a bit nervous herself, unsure whether everybody would listen to her, especially two students, a Human male and a Tolothian female, respectively 16 and 15 years old, might have seen their teacher as too young.
Nonetheless, Jaral waited patiently, sporting a gentle smile to reassure everybody. Pipey and Alora waved at her happily when they arrived under the ledge and she did the same. Then it was finally time to face all the other.
After the survey she did in the UACT nations, Jaral had found 20 young Force-sensitives. Aside from Pipey and Alora, the others were among refugees from the rest of the galaxy and poor people who were more than willing to give their children to the rebuilding Order, in the hope that being part of a government-sponsored program would ensure a better future for the kids.
But Jaral had gone further: with the support of a few Senators who had agreed in helping her task, she had transferred the families on Lothal or made sure that they could find a job in the New Republic, and visits to the families would not be prohibited. Jaral wanted to make sure that the students would eventually understand the importance of let attachments go when necessary, but believed that it was necessary that the students would learn to fight the urge themselves.
So, now there was a total of 12 students with an age between 6 and 12, most of them part of the refugees helped by Nimbus in the past year. The other 8 were all teens between 13 and 16. Most were humans, but there were also a few aliens like a young Rodian male and even a Kel-Dor female.
Once they finished gathering around, Jaral made a small internal breathing and finally spoke up.
"Greetings, everybody. Welcome to what we hope will become a new Jedi Academy in the galaxy." she started. The others seemed to be still listening, so the went on. "I am Jaral Bridger, Jedi Knight. I will be in charge of your basic education in honing your connections with the Force. As we speak, my collaborators are looking for possible Masters of the old Jedi Order, and anyway we already have Jedi who are much more experienced than me. They will be in charge of your training once they come back."
She then indicated the clone next to her. "This is Commander Wolffe. As part of your training here, he will introduce some of you to the use of firearms. Later down the line, my collaborators will teach you to fly..." she said pointing quickly at the Z-95. "emergency medical treatment, languages, diplomacy and everything you need to become accomplished Jedi. Any question before we start?"
A young teen, around 13 years old, raised his hand and Jaral pointed at him to give him the word.
"Don't Jedi fight with their lightsaber?" he asked a bit confused.
"Mostly, yes." Jaral replied calmly. "But there might come times where a lightsaber won't be the right tool to protect yourself or the innocents around you. That's why you will be prepared for any eventuality."
Then the oldest of them, the human male called Sellion, rose a hand.
"When will we get to fight the Empire?" he asked with a certain excitement.
She expected such an answer to come up from somebody, therefore she replied without concern. "When you will be ready. But remember: as Jedi, you're supposed to protect the peace that we are building as we chase the Empire away. Furthermore, our true enemy is not the Empire per se, but those who sit at the top of it. The Sith Lords."
"You called the Emperor that way during your speech, right?" the Tolothian girl asked with a hint of admiration. "What does that mean, though?"
"The Sith are the ancient enemies of the Jedi. They use the Force for their own gain, but it's actually a double-edged sword. The more one connects with the Dark Side, the more it twists and owns the mind of the owner. Eventually, the Sith become psychopaths interested in gaining power for themselves, and they don't know where to stop. It's very hard to reason with them, and for sure, Emperor Palpatine is beyond redemption."
That seemed to put the students in a less happy atmosphere. Even the younglings understood that she was being dead serious.
"That is why," she resumed after a few seconds. "those of you who are old enough to fight will start by making experience in a less dangerous, but not risk-free way."
"That would be?" the Tolothian asked.
"There are many pirates and criminals harassing the people of the UACT nations, as some of you already experienced. Since our goal is to preserve peace, while the New Republic handles the war on the frontline, we will make sure that the rule of law is reaffirmed and that people can live without fear."
"So we're basically cops?" one of the teens asked.
"More or less. We will have the authorities on our side, but remember that, in order to be a Jedi, we must use violence only when is absolutely necessary."
The students looked at each other. Some didn't seem enthusiasts, others were willing to accept those conditions, but nobody intended to back down.
"Now that we've clarified all of that..." Jaral said as she started the real lesson. "What do you know about the Force?"
---------------------------------
December 15.
"Grand Admiral, we just received instructions from the Emperor." the hologram of one of the Moffs said. "You are authorized to proceed with the negotiation for the release of Grand Admiral Thrawn and other imperial officers. On the condition that, when you're done, you will bring your colleague on Coruscant for an audience with His Majesty."
"Thank you, gentlemen. Reassure His Majesty that I will return with the Grand Admiral soon enough."
The three Moffs nodded before their holograms disappeared.
Iulius could finally sit down and breath a sigh of relief on the chair. The negotiation had already concluded a few hours before, after all, cause he wasn't going to wait for Coruscant to give him the formal acquiescence.
He knew that the war was far from over: Lantillies had been an undeniable victory, one that the imperial propaganda still hadn't stopped talking about, but it had been a costly one and the imperial forces had managed to recover only a handful of systems along the Perlimian Trade Route. Namely, Sloane had advanced all the way to Ringo Vinda, but covering such a distance in less than a week meant that her crews were exhausted and the planet was a major ship-building world, well-defended.
For now, the Empire was consolidating the reoccupied systems and trying to sort out how much had been lost in the last semester.
And so far, the statistics were not encouraging: the Empire had suffered around 2 million losses on the planet, though the military was made up mostly of the locals so, in the big picture, it wasn't much of a problem. In fact, it was simply gold for the HoloNet, which could use the impressive number of dead to instigate the war support among the rest of the populace.
The real issue was all the Star Destroyers lost by Vader's disastrous attack four cycles before. In doing that, the Outer Rim was definitely lost to the rebels, along with the countless resources that would've been necessary to rebuild those ships. The strategy could no longer revolve around an unmatched superiority in numbers and firepower.
Sure, the capture of the Protector was a major success, but the Federation was not centering its own strategy on that single weapon, as any serious military force should do, so overall the loss was a huge blow to the morale, but not to the operational capacity of the Federation.
Still, he couldn't let all of that darken his mood. To him, the greatest success of Lantillies was that he managed to secure the return of his mentor. With Thrawn's help, Iulius felt like a true chance to win the war would present itself. After all, the Chiss had spent more than a year on the homeworld of the Federation. Even behind bars, Iulius was sure that his colleague had studied the enemy, and with that knowledge, they would go forth and destroy the Coalition once and for all.
A little smile formed on his face as he stared mindlessly at the desk.
Then suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder, making him turn around with a jolt, but it was only Qathora who smirked before speaking up.
"You know, I bet 30 credits that, when you will meet again, Thrawn will put a hand like this," she shook his shoulder a bit. "and say...Iulius. I am proud of you." she said, making an impression of the cold voice of the Chiss.
Iulius shook the shoulder a bit while chuckling. "That might be the worst impression of anybody I've ever heard."
"Sorry if I'm not Starflare." she quipped back.
He took her hand and replied. "You're good enough as you are."
"Aww." moaned her. "That's the sweetest thing you ever said to me."
After bantering a couple times more, Iulius decided that he needed some fresh air and the two left the office, entering the corridors of the imperial HQ on Naboo.
The atmosphere around seemed peaceful. There were officers and functionaries walking up and down, saluting him cordially when they crossed, but overall doing their jobs just like any other day. Iulius stopped by to greet his mother and ask her to call him if anything important happened, then he, his guards and Qathora left the building, entering the streets of Theed's center.
A moment later, everything shook up. Iulius felt as if a boulder suddenly crashed on his back as he fell face-flat on the ground as his ears were overwhelmed by a deafening rumble. Everything became blurred, as he had most likely bashed his head on the floor.
...Admiral!!
The muffled, and somewhat familiar voice made him at least open his eyes, though the ears were still ringing madly and the back still hurt a little. But as he finally managed to regain his senses, Iulius saw the face of Qathora on his left, while on his right a woman with the uniform of the ISB was shaking him a little.
"Yagler?!" Iulius murmured confused. He tried to sit up, he felt like his head was exploding. He noticed that around him were DT-517 and 518 and two ISB operatives who had surely followed Yagler.
"Ma'am!" one of the operatives said loudly and pointed toward the road.
Iulius was too dazed to see that far, at the moment. The next second, the women grabbed one of his arms each so he could lean on their shoulders before dragging him back into the main base. The main gate had been destroyed and there were smoke, rubble and some bodies littering the floor. Blaster rifles started firing around him before he found himself regaining full control over his mind and body back inside the corridors of the main building.
"Agent...what is happening?" he asked as he recomposed himself.
"Remember our meeting on Coruscant? That I told you some people were after you?"
"Yes."
"Well, they planted a bomb on your office's floor and now there are mercenaries landing here. I guess they want to be sure they finish the job." Yagler explained quickly.
Iulius quickly went to take a look into one of the security feeds and he didn't take long to notice who was trying to breach the outer defenses, where stormtroopers and army troopers were trying to fend them off.
"Zann Consortium." Iulius said. "How did they get here?"
"Does it matter now?" Qathora said to him.
"No." the Grand Admiral replied and turned toward the group. "Qathora, go take my mother and make sure she is safe."
The Togruta nodded and ran away, leaving Iulius with the soldiers and the agents. "Yagler, tell me everything you know while we get to the armory." he ordered before walking in said direction.
"We had caught rumors and some evidence that a group of influential Moffs had been conspiring to bring you down for a while, Grand Admiral."
"That much was obvious." Iulius replied pretty much bored.
"Well, after your recent victory at Lantillies, a splendid work by the way, these slimos have become worried that the Emperor might soon promote you further and you'd become pretty much untouchable. So they accelerated their plans. It honestly surprised me how desperate they were. We have already arrested many of their agents who were planning to overthrow your collaborators in key systems of the Mid Rim, but we only found out about an all-out attack on Naboo just a few hours ago."
As she finished the explanation, Iulius was putting on his armor with the help of two soldiers. "And the pirates? Did the Moffs hire them?"
"That needs to be ascertained yet, sir, but I think it's likely. I understand the criminal Tyber Zann is not exactly fond of you, either."
"He hates the Empire. So I guess taking me out might be his way to show it. But if he thinks I'm going down without a fight, he will be sorely disappointed." he declared as he finally put on his helmet and the armorer handed him his E-22. The Grand Admiral thus started to walk out, signaling the group to follow him while he tried to call the Admonitor.
It soon became clear that the pirates on the ground were receiving help from a fleet of vessels in orbit that was now engaging the Admonitor and her escort. Ciena had already sent out a request for reinforcements, and they needed to hold out until then.
-----------------
Ezra opened his eyes on the observatory in front of him. Meditating in those secluded spots with a wide view on the infinite space seemed to always improve his concentration, but right now he was confused.
That vision again. One of two that were recurring lately. Incredibly similar, yet one seemed to lead to a bright future, the other into a grim darkness.
He stood up and walked into the room next to him, finding Luke exercising with Yoda. Specifically, Luke was making a handstand and trying to lift a bunch of props with the Force, all while Yoda was standing on his foot and guiding him with the voice.
As the props started levitating, Ezra halted just outside the perimeter they formed in order not to disturb them.
Yet, Master Yoda spoke to him. "What your mind burdens, young Bridger?"
It still amazed the young Knight just how so casually that green alien could sense the uneasiness into everybody around him. And how incredibly relaxed he seemed to approach life, despite his initial resistance in joining the Amerigo.
"I'm not sure, Master." Ezra calmly replied, walking a bit around the two. "I'm just pondering on these visions I'm having lately."
Yoda hummed as if surprised. "And what show you, these visions do?"
Ezra sighed. "If I could understand it, they wouldn't bother me so much. But they are a very similar chain of events, except the way they lead to ends up completely different."
"Ah...that's the future you see."
Meanwhile, Luke had gently put down the props and started to get down. Yoda jumped when he had the opportunity while Ezra walked in circle, pondering as he spoke. "Yes. It's not the first time I witness this. But I just can't decipher its meaning."
As if on cue, the voice of Kolt suddenly resonated in the room. "General Bridger, you're requested on the bridge."
"I'm on my way." Ezra replied. After giving a nod of understanding to Luke and Yoda, he left them to the training as he headed toward the bridge.
He entered the room, finding the officers of the ship, plus Rex and Sabine waiting around the holotable. And on top of that table was the hologram of Grand Marshall Ackbar.
"What's happening?"
"The Grand Marshall asked to summon you here. He asked us to break radio silence." Rex explained.
It was true. In order to elude the imperial squadron chasing them, they had been wandering in uncharted space at the edge of the galaxy for three weeks, by now, with complete radio silence.
Alarmed by the situation, Ezra quickly walked in front of the hologram. "How can we help, Grand Marshall?"
Ackbar looked a bit dejected, but replied with a firm tone. "General Bridger. I'm not sure if you heard the news already...but the UACT has been defeated at Lantillies. Our forces are in full retreat."
The news left everybody confused and preoccupied.
"What do you mean? How bad is it?"
"Very. Grand Admiral Tanis not only decimated our combined fleet...he also captured Prince Claudio and Admiral Edrix, along with the Protector."
Now that hit them like a magnetic wagon at full speed.
"You got to be kidding." Belisarius exclaimed.
The Calamari shook his head. "We managed to halt the imperials at Ringo Vinda, but that's not the point. The problem is that Tanis has already negotiated the release of Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Empress just told us the exchange will occur in four or five rotations."
Silence fell for a moment. Ezra felt frustrated a bit. After all they had gone through to make sure Thrawn would not participate in the war, now he was coming back.
Still, he remained calm as he asked for instructions. "Do you want us to come back?"
"Affirmative. You've already done a lot to weaken the Empire in the Trailing Sectors, General. Now we need you here."
"Sir, our objective was to find a possible base of operation for an attack on Sullust." he pointed out.
"Right now, it's impossible to even consider such an offensive, General. You and your squadron are to come back to allied space ASAP. I suggest you take the Triellus Trade Route. It should be the easiest path."
"Copy that. We'll make sure we lost our pursuers, then make way to Lothal."
Ackbar nodded. "Safe travel, Ezra Bridger. Command, out."
The hologram disappeared, leaving most people on the bridge discomforted. The federals were mostly appalled by the news that an imperial Prince had been captured, and that their flagship in Andromeda, thought to be invincible, had been defeated.
The rebels were discomforted about the prisoner exchange. They understood that the Federation could not refuse the offer of having back high-ranking officers like Edrix and Claudio, but it didn't made the idea of having Thrawn back with the Empire less frightening.
"Are we just...letting them do the exchange?" Sabine whispered to Ezra and Rex with a hesitant tone.
"Well, what do you suggest?" Rex replied with a shrug. "The Prince alone would've been enough leverage for an exchange, but Iulius got their top Admiral and who knows how many other prisoners."
"But if we let Thrawn back here and he joins Iulius..." she said worried.
Ezra shook his head. "It's useless. Thrawn is a federal prisoner, they can do whatever they want with him. And exchanging prisoners is a way to keep the intensity of their war from escalating."
The clone and the mandalorian looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?" Rex asked.
"We all noticed that the imperials tend to treat the federals with much more respect than us of the New Republic. To them, we are traitors, the federals are an invader, but an honorable one. Besides, I didn't miss on the talks between the federals aboard our fleet. I have a feeling many have come to respect the imperials. At least, Iulius and his men."
"And they want to avoid sour relations, if they can." Sabine understood.
"Yes. So we can't prevent the exchange from happening. We can only work to improve ourselves so that next time we will face those two together, we will be ready."
"Well...I'm happy you're still optimist, General." Rex sighed at the end.
With that settled, Ezra went to face Riccardi. "Captain, please open the intercom with the other frigates as well. I need to announce that we're leaving."
The captain nodded with no hesitation. "Sir."
While he opened the comm, Ezra leaned on the table, trying to come up with the words to explain the situation to the crew without making them too dejected.
-----------------
The first wave was finally forced to retreat when Starkiller and Cody arrived on the surface and helped stop them to allow the full mobilization of the imperial garrisons on Naboo, which were now converging on Theed. Even the Gungans were sending in their Kaadu Cavalry and a detachment of their Guard, though Iulius had asked them to ensure the safety of the civilians before joining the fight.
As they were fighting to retake the first line of defense outside the base, Iulius dashed to cover behind one of the barricades with Yagler and Qathora, before standing up and gunning down another of Zann's soldiers.
"Grand Admiral," Cody said. "Local security has signaled a tank coming our way."
"A tank? How did they bring it here?" Iulius exclaimed.
"I guess they probably smuggled it in pieces and then rebuilt it. It's a tactic used by the rebels in past years." Yagler pointed out.
"Cody, prepare the rockets." he ordered, then put two fingers on the side of his helmet. "Tanis to Admonitor, do you copy?"
Scrambles followed before the voice of Ciena made her way through the interference.
"---Admonitor. We read you, sir."
"How's the situation up there?"
"The 93rd squadron is arriving. We'll push them away." she replied confidently.
"Good work, keep it up." Iulius concluded and turned toward one of his officers. "Where's the armored battalion?"
"They're scrambling from their base, sir. ETA 6 minutes."
There were sounds of blasters coming from all the nearby districts, along with occasional screams of the civilians. Some fires had broken out, but right now Iulius knew that he needed to suppress the pirates if he wanted the emergency services to operate freely.
"Sir, look!" one of the stormtroopers said at the barricade, pointing toward the boulevard in front of the base.
On the horizon appeared a wall of men in armor. Iulius used the integrated binocular, though even without it he could discern quite well those patterns.
Mandalorian warriors. The colors reminded him of those of clan Kryze. But most frightening of all, they were opening the path for the tank that had just been signaled. A beast with two barrels on the turret and light cannons for close defense. Whatever metal it was made of, it gave the machine a golden-like color.
"Does anybody have some localized shield generators?" Iulius asked quickly.
"We got three left, sir." an engineer replied.
"Bring one down here, quick!"
The soldier didn't waste time and ran to put down the machinery between the three barriers that were protecting the entrance, activating the shield just in time to deflect the first salvo of the tank.
The cannons didn't fire blaster bolts, instead they were slug throwers, though imbued with some plasma that reminded Iulius of the Federation's weapons. While seeing it sparked a lot of questions in his mind, they would have to wait, as the mandalorians ran forward.
But instead of crossing the shield, which was so short that they would've been on top of the defenders almost immediately, the warriors stopped, leaving the imperials baffled.
Instead, one of them, with a white armor and some patterns of his clan stepped forward and stopped right in front of the shield.
"Iulius Tanis!" he said loudly and with a barely repressed anger.
The Grand Admiral could easily guess what this was about. He stood up from his cover and raised an arm to order his men to lower their weapons, which confused them even further. Then he climbed over the cover and put his rifle behind his back.
"Sir!" Yagler exclaimed, but Qathora put a hand on her shoulder to reassure that everything was under control.
Iulius halted a meter away from the energy bubble and calmly removed his helmet, putting it under his arm before speaking. "I am Grand Admiral Tanis of the Imperial Navy. Who am I talking to?"
The warrior removed his helmet as well, revealing the face of a man probably a dozen years older than Iulius, with short blond hair and blue eyes. He looked at the Grand Admiral with a deep frown.
"My name is Korkie Kryze." he declared. "I came to reclaim what you stole from my family and my people." he added, pointing clearly at the Darksaber attached on Iulius' belt.
Since he knew the history behind that weapon, the Lord-Protector was not that surprised. What confused him was why the mandalorians would ally with the Consortium to strike Naboo, considering that their fleet was already being routed? How did they plan to escape?
"Very well. Then how about a duel?"
Korkie seemed to stumble for a moment. He assumed that Iulius didn't know much about the importance of the Darksaber for the mandalorians. That said, Iulius knew that he could not refuse, as a duel was a safe way to show the universe who was the legitimate owner of the weapon.
In response, Kryze put his helmet back and took a beskar vibro-blade that was on his back.
Iulius put his helmet on again, put down his rifle and instead took the hilt of the saber in his right hand.
"Come and get it." he taunted. He wanted to draw him inside the shield, because if the mandalorians would not interfere in the duel, the Lord-Protector was sure that the mercenaries would not have the same regard, and sure thing there was a sniper hiding somewhere waiting for a clear shot.
The mandalorian decided to take on the challenge, walking inside the bubble shield. Behind Iulius, Cody and Qathora had already ordered the imperials to lower their weapons and to let the two fight, despite Yagler lamenting that her mission was to protect Iulius from those people.
But after taking their stances, the two armored warriors quickly came to blows. It was Korkie who made the first move, certainly aware that he only had a handful of minutes to finish the fight.
Kryze's blows were precise, but not fast enough. After enduring Marek's training, Iulius had reflexes fast enough to put up a good fight and defense. Using Korkie's rage, he let the mandalorian worn out, as he clearly wasn't used to fight a long duel. Until he finally saw an opportunity and attacked. But not with the blade of the saber: with the hilt.
Iulius violently smashed the hilt on the helmet of the mandalorian, who stumbled backward with his ears ringing, then the Lord-Protector kicked him right in the chest, sending him to to roll on his side on the ground.
When Kryze managed to to at least take the knee, he found the black blade pointing just in front of his nose, with Iulius asserting a complete dominance of the situation. It was clear who the winner was, so the mandalorian simply let his sword fall and grunted.
"I guess you're not that unworthy. Go on." and lowered his head, ready to accept his fate.
But that wouldn't be case. Iulius deactivated the Darksaber, once again confusing everybody around him.
"Is that it?" he said with a bit of disdain in his voice.
Korkie raised his head. "Uh?"
"Are you just going to lay down and let your people be slaughtered?"
"I..." the mandalorian mumbled, but didn't know what to say.
Iulius then turned around to face the mandalorians waiting outside.
"Listen up. I take no pride in what I've done on Mandalore, but this is the nature of war. You were the enemy, and I couldn't afford to risk another revolt from you. But may I remind you that I allowed millions of your brethren to escape so they could start anew?"
He turned his head again toward Korkie. "Your aunt Bo-Katan wanted your people to return to the ancient power, yet every time you mandos try to beat the entire galaxy, the galaxy just pushes back. How many times in your history you've been on the brink of extinction?"
"What do you know?" Korkie replied insulted, this time standing up but with no weapon in his hands.
"I know that you were loyal to your other aunt, Duchess Satine Kryze, who understood that your people cannot continue to fight the whole galaxy.
"And now look at you. Throwing yourself into a suicide mission just to retake this. How did you even think of leaving the planet?" the Grand Admiral said frustrated at the lack of vision of his foe.
The mandalorian warriors froze in place. They looked around only to start noticing that the Empire was retaking control of the city and that they were going to be surrounded.
Korkie as well realized that he had made a big mistake. He removed his helmet again, showing the grim realization on his face. That he had brought the last remnants of his clan to die just for a good tale that probably was going to be hidden by the imperial propaganda anyway. Shame quickly took over him as he lowered his gaze again.
Iulius decided it was time to push. "However...according to your tradition, the owner of the Darksaber is to be the ruler of Mandalore. No matter who, depending on how you see it. So I will offer you a choice."
The armored warriors' gazes were drawn to the Darksaber once Iulius reignited it and lifted it in the air.
"You can die here and now...or you can join me. There are enemies, far beyond the civilized space of our galaxy, that are a threat to all of us. If you fight with me, I will bring you so much glory and prosperity, that the entire galaxy will come to respect the mandalorians once again."
Tensions followed. The imperials were not sure what Iulius was saying, except for those few who had followed him to Carunoia. The mandalorians hesitated, then Korkie spoke up again.
"What are you exactly offering?"
"The chance to rebuild. To become an integral part of the Empire I'm trying to build. I'll find you a new home where you will be able to achieve the dream of your aunt.
"So...what is your answer?" Iulius concluded.
Perhaps because there was no other choice to save his brethren, perhaps because he was convinced by Iulius' tone, or perhaps a mix of the two, Korkie Kryze eventually knelt down in a show of submission to the wielder of the Darksaber.
Soon enough, the other mandalorians waiting outside of the shield did the same, leaving the imperials speechless.
Iulius then turned toward his men and ordered them to seize the weapons of the mandos, for the moment, and the latter accepted.
"You never cease to amaze me, kid." Cody said at the end, while the forces of the Zann Consortium were being rounded up by the imperial garrisons and their Gungan allies.
And while the Lord-Protector gave instructions to treat the mandalorians well and organized the first emergency services, he was approached by Yagler.
"Grand Admiral. When you have time, the Director would like to speak with you."