Empty green fields rolled across the landscape below us. Placed upon the bright green grass was a large dome building, the roof of the dome was completely made of glass and there were several smaller domes surrounding the large one. The large dome was home to a city, according to Bo-Katan.
The tension had been thick when we first took off from Nevarro, but the air had since been cleared after some time. I have to remember that it wasn't Bo-Katan's fault that the armorer asked her to take her helmet off and bend the rules of the creed entirely.
"There they are." Bo-Katan said as a massive imperial ship appeared on the screen. The ship that had once belonged to Moff Gideon, where Grogu had been taken captive. There were smaller ships scattered around beside the large ship, they had a lot of fire power.
"That's quite a fleet." Din said
"It took a long time to assemble it. Most of it was captured from the Empire." Bo-Katan replied
"I knew they looked familiar. Could come in real handy taking back Mandalore." Din said
"Axes Woves is their leader now. It's going to take some convincing to get them to join us." Bo-Katan said
"I wonder what they're here for?" Din asked
"This planet isn't on the New Republic registry, so I'd guess it's an independent world that hired them for protection." Bo replied
"Can't imagine Woves will be happy to see you." Din stated
"Yeah. I'll land outside the fleet's perimeter. It's probably best if we go in on foot." Bo-Katan said. Just as the worlds left her mouth, upbeat music began to play over the comms. My brows furrowed in confusion at the sound.
"Welcome to Plazir-15. The Outer Rim's only remaining direct democracy. You've been assigned a docking slip. You will be guided on the assigned path. Engaging automated guidance." A woman said over the comms. The ship beeped as it was taken over by Plazir-15. We were then redirected and heading straight towards the large glass dome.
"That's not good." I mused
"What happened?" Din asked in confusion
"They've taken control of the ship. I guess we're going for a ride." Bo-Katan said as she lent back in her chair. The controls were moving on their own as we were taken in.
The ship automatically lowered itself down and landed on one of the many bright white landing pads. Once the ship had touched down, the four of us got up and began to descend the ramp. At the bottom of the ramp there were two imperial droids standing still, seemingly waiting for us to approach them.
"This is interesting." Din drawed out as we slowly walked towards the two droids.
"Welcome to Plazir-15. Please proceed to your hyperloop pod." The tall droid said as he gestured for us to walk over to a compartment. The astromech backed up to let us through.
"Why do they have Imperial droids on an independent world?" Din asked us
"It's the outer rim. Your guess is as good as mine." Bo-Katan replied as we walked up a set of stairs that led to the small glass compartment. Bo had to duck her head as she entered the pod first. Din and I went in behind her and the doors whooshed shut behind us. I took a seat beside Din as Grogu's pram hovered over the seat across from me beside Bo.
"Bring us to the bay closest to the Mandalorian fleet." Bo-Katan spoke clearly
"As per article nine of the Coruscant accords, permission must be granted from High Senate for access to self-Defense forces in the peacekeeping zone. Do you grant permission to scan your chain code?" The automated voice informed us. Bo-Katan held out her arm so it could scan her chain code.
Din then held out his wrist and allowed his chain code to be scanned. Once the machine had scanned his, I held my own arm out and waited as the machine beeped.
"Din Djarin, Celeste Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze. Your presence has been requested by the leadership of the planetary democracy..." the automated voice stated
"I'm afraid we have more pressing matters. Perhaps at a later time." Bo-Katan interrupted
"Please do not attempt to leave the vehicle. This is not a request." after the automated voice spoke, the pod fired up and we went speeding down the tracks. My body jolted forward from the intense speed but Din held his arm out so I wouldn't fall off my seat.
"I thought she said we were requested." I stated with slight annoyance
"Seems they changed their minds." Din mused.
The pod went through a dark tunnel that was lit up by strips of blue lights before coming back out into the light again. I looked out the window and realised that we were now inside the massive dome.
"I've never been here before. Have you?" Bo-Katan asked
"I haven't even heard of it. Do you think we're gonna have to blast our way out of here?" Din asked
"We'll find out." Bo-Katan said.
The pod then gently slowed to a stop, a stark contrast from the harshness at the beginning of our journey. The door to my right hissed open to indicate for us to get out. I climbed out of the pod and looked up at the large white and gold building that we had stopped in front of.
Din stood closely by my side as we began to walk into the large building. As we walked through the first hallway, I could hear classical music coming from the next room. The next set of doors opened for us and nothing could have prepared me for what was on the other side.
In the center of the room there was a long white table, people were gathered around and seemed to be having some sort of feast. There was laughing and talking as the people enjoyed each other's company. Large potted plants lined the sides of the room and strange birds flew overhead. The man who sat at the head of the table suddenly stood up and held his arm out towards us.
"Join us! Come! It's a party. Come! Everyone, special guests. Mandalorians, and a Jedi!" The man said happily. Din, Bo and I shared a look between ourselves at the strangeness of this place.
"I hope you like secretions. Take a little sip-sip. Come, please." The man added joyfully
The four of us cautiously made our way into the room towards the large table. My eyes were farting around and the other people as we made our way towards the empty seats. Bo-Katan sat down beside the overly joyous man and I sat down beside her. Din took the chair beside me and Grogu parked his pram in between us.
"Let's address the bantha in the room. I was once a facilities planning officer during the war. And thanks to the New Republic Amnesty program, I was able to rebuild Plazir-15." The man said
"You were Imperial?" Din asked
The man's wife placed her hand on his shoulder. "He was. Plazir suffered greatly under Imperial rule. My husband came here as part of his rehabilitation. He oversaw the rebuilding of this planet on which my family served as nobility since it was originally settled, and...we fell in love." The couple burst into giggles.
"We fell in love. We did fall in love." The man said happily
Grogu cooed and caught the couple's attention. "Could I perhaps hold the baby? Please?" The woman asked
"He doesn't take kindly to strangers." Din lied through his teeth, almost causing me to laugh.
The lads held up a piece of food and began calling on Grogu by making a light clicking sound with her mouth. Grogu cooed happily and leapt up into the air, allowing the woman to catch him. Everybody gasped and laughed at the sight of him.
"You are so fast, yes." The woman said happily as she held Grogu. Din sighed heavily from beside me and I placed my hand over his in a small attempt at comfort. Din turned his hand over and linked his fingers with mine.
"You see, it was time for our planet to move Into a new age. We held direct democratic elections for the first time in our history." The woman said as she fed Grogu small pieces of food.
"We are both royals and elected leaders." The man said proudly
"And the Mandalorian privateer warships docked in your fields?" Din questioned
"Oh, we hire them for protection. Our charter forbids us from having a military because of my husband's Imperial past." The woman explained as she rubbed Grogu's head affectionately.
"But because of this, all of our resources go to growth and the people." The man stated
"I'd like to speak to these privateers." Bo-Katan said
The couple looked at each other with a smile.
"That can be arranged. There is just one condition." The man said
"What?" Bo asked
"You really must see the view." The man said, I furrowed my brows at the change in topic before I realised he must want to talk to us in private.
"Right this way. We'll just be a moment.
Enjoy your meal, don't get up." He said to his guests as he stood up.
"Let's show our guests the view." The man said to his wife.
Din, Bo and I stood up from our seats and began to follow the couple towards a large set of windows that led out to a balcony.
"We have a problem." The woman said in a hushed tone
"Yes?" Bo questioned
"A droid problem." The man replied
"What kind of droid problem?" Din questioned tensely.
"Malfunction." The woman said
"A coordinated malfunction." The man added
"We think." The lady stated
"What makes you think that?" Din asked as we walked across what seemed to be a game pitch.
"The planet's imperial droids were reprogrammed for peace." The woman said
"I personally oversaw the problem." The man added. "I can assure you they were completely rehabilitated for peaceful purposes. Exclusively."
"We thought." The woman said
"They were, my love, I personally oversaw the program." The man said
"What kind of Malfunction?" Din asked, interrupting their brief lovers quarrel
"I mean, nothing too serious at first. Unexpected power cycles. Deleted task stacks." The man said
"Then it got worse." The duchess said
"Traffic accidents. Heavy equipment failures leading to injury." The man stated
"Assault." The duchess added in an upset tone
"Assault?" Din asked, causing the duchess to nod at him
"Respectfully, what does this have to do with us?" Bo-Katan asked
"Our Constance's are Ill equipped to confront battle droids." The duchess said
"Battle droids?" Din asked, I could hear the shock in his voice so I gently took his hand again. Din and battle droids don't have a pleasant history in the slightest.
"Uh-uh-uh-uh. Former battle droids. They've been rehabilitated for civic duty." The man said
"We thought." The duchess interrupted
"They were." The man argued
"Obviously not." The duchess argued back
"The Mandalorian garrison outside your city walls can make quick work of your battle droids." Bo-Katan sighed
"That's just it." The duchess said with a frustrated tone
"What?" Bo-Katan asked in confusion
"Our charter forbids any standing army from entering our city. Our constables aren't even allowed to carry blasters." The duchess explained
"But you allowed us to be armed." Din stated
"Exactly. The people have voted that we are a pluralistic society. You are Mandalorians. Weaponry and armor are intrinsic to your culture, are they not? And you are a Jedi, your lightsabers are a part of your culture and religion." The man stated enthusiastically
"They are." Din agreed
"You see where we're going here?" The man said
"You found a loophole." I stated
"You want us to eliminate your droid problem." Bo-Katan stated
"Exactly." The man said happily
"I knew you would help us." the duchess said happily
"Hold on there, your Majesty. We didn't agree to help you."
"Please, Princess Kryze. Your Grace. This is not intended to be a work of charity." The man pleaded with her
"Unlike my brethren outside your city walls, I am not a mercenary." Bo-Katan explained
"Apologies if that is the impression I gave. What I intended to convey is that I would hope that this excursion would be viewed as an act of diplomacy between our two planets. In fact, Plazir-15 would formally recognise Mandalore as a sovereign system and petition the New Republic to recognise it as such." The man explained. I glanced between Bo and Din as he spoke, that seemed to be a good deal. Beneficial for both parties.
"The mercenary captain, Axe Woves, indicated that he split from you because you had designs on ruling Mandalore once again." The duchess explained
"Those plans have been abandoned." Bo-Katan said
"The offer stands nonetheless." The man said
"What do you think?" Bo-Katan suddenly asked Din
"You had me at battle droids." Din stated, causing me to laugh lightly at his bluntness. I guess we were going to be hunting down rogue battle droids then. Not that I have any issue with destroying them all with my blades.