As I am finishing this chapter I am currently running on 3 hours of sleep a 2 white monsters a coffee and a singular cold slice of pizza while feverish. I am ready to fight god or die trying. Give me comments and reviews or give me death.
I was dreaming about something stupid dino nuggies raining from the sky while I chased a white monster can through Coruscant traffic when the bed shook like someone had decided it was a trampoline.
Nani the fuck?
I jolted awake, heart hammering, half expecting pirates or ISB agents or the entire confederation to be standing over me.
Instead it was Atii.
Grinning like she had just won a bet.
"Up," she said. "Training time."
Up? Training time?
I blinked rapidly at her then glanced at the chrono on the wall. 0500. Exactly.
I groaned and flopped back onto the pillow. "How the hell did you get in here?"
She shrugged like it was obvious. "Window. Lock was cheap. You should fix that."
I stared at the cracked open window, then to her grinning face back to the window and back to her. "It is a window three stories up. With a sheer drop. And guards and multitude of semi-working cameras and sensors."
"Walls have handholds," she said. "Guards were looking the other way, and cameras and sensors can be avoided. Easy." I rubbed my face hard enough to leave marks. "You are terrifying."
She grinned wider. "Come on. Father says you need to learn how to fall before you learn how to fight."
"I fall just fine," I muttered. "Usually face-first but still."
Atii crossed her arms. "You promised you would think about it."
"I said I would think about it. I did. Thought: no, especially not at 5 in the morning after I fell asleep at midnight." I look at her with barley an emotion on my face.
She narrowed her eyes. "You are lazy."
"Why, yes I am. I am also exhausted," I corrected. "There is a difference. Now get out before Torv shoots you for breaking and entering." She snorted. "Torv likes me. He said I could wake you if I wanted."
This betrayal shall not be forgotten Torv. I'd like to see you try and request a new blaster you bastard.
I sat up. "He did not."
"He did. Said you sleep like a hibernating bantha and need motivation." I glared at the door.
Atii bounced on her toes. "Come on. Just one hour. I will go easy."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
She pouted and gave me puppy eyes. It was terrifyingly...
Ineffective, I am a man of the cult of the cat. The heathen mutt eyes do not work on me.
I pointed at the door. "Out. Now. I need at least thirty more minutes of sleep and a strong cup of caf before I even consider dealing with anything or anyone."
She sighed dramatically. "Fine. But you owe me a sparring session."
"Add it to the list," I muttered.
She slipped out the window like she had never been there. I heard the faint scrape of boots on stone and a muted exclaim from the guards, then nothing. I got up, locked the door (all three locks this time), set the alarm for 0530, and collapsed back into bed. I got twenty-eight minutes of sleep.
The chrono beeped at 0530. I cursed in three languages two from Earth, one from here, rolled out of bed, and stumbled through a sonic shower. The waterless buzz did nothing for the headache or the bone-deep tiredness.
What I would give for a hot shower instead of this sonic crap.
I dressed in the usual gray tunic and trousers, pinned the governor's insignia (still felt like a target), and headed to the small dining room.
They were already there. Jaster Mereel sat at the head of the table, armor on but helmet off, eating something that looked like protein paste with the focus of a man who had eaten worse in worse places. Atii sat next to him, legs swinging under the table, already halfway through a plate of native flatbread and spiced meat.
Elara was across from them, sipping caf, looking annoyingly awake, she was sitting beside captain Harlan, a rare sight these days the dark circles under his eyes telling me all I need to know.
The others like Lira and Mira were probably still asleep.
Torv the traitor stood by the door, arms crossed.
Rusty rolled in the corner, dome lights flickering like he was judging the food.
Jaster looked up when I entered. "Governor."
I nodded. "Jaster. Atii. Elara. Harlan.
"Atii grinned. "You look like bantha fodder."
"Wonder who's fault is that?" I muttered. "I feel like it." I dropped into a chair.
Someone (probably Harlan) had set out caf and a plate of whatever passed for breakfast here: flatbread, some kind of protein strips, fruit that tasted like it had been grown on a dare.
I took the caf first. Black. Strong. It burned going down and woke me up just enough to function.
Jaster watched me with that dark, tired look. "You did not sleep."
"Not much," I admitted. "Your daughter decided 0500 was training time." Atii grinned wider. Jaster's mouth twitched almost a smile."She is persistent," he said.
"She is a menace," I corrected. Atii laughed. Elara hid a smile behind her cup. I took a bite of flatbread. It was dry but edible. "So. You are here. Payment is done. Base is yours. What now?"
Jaster leaned forward. "Now we talk plans. We dont know if we have days or maybe weeks."
I nodded.
Breakfast continued in quiet atmosphere. Jaster ate methodically. Atii asked Elara about the plains storms and natives. Torv watched everything like he expected an assassin to jump out of the caf pot.
Harlan was eating and already working on a datapad. Honestly, if not for him I probably wouldn't even have the time to get out of my office. Bless you my man.
Rusty beeped occasionally, probably complaining about the food quality, even though he is not even tall enough to see what we are eating.
I finished the flatbread and the caf. Felt marginally human. I looked at Jaster. "War room?"
He nodded. "War room."
We stood. Atii bounced up. "Can I come?" Jaster looked at me. I sighed. "Sure. Why not. The more the merrier." She grinned like she had won a bet. I led the way, radioing in Captain Raza. Lieutenant Varn was already following me from behind.
Today was going to be long.
***
I dropped into my chair at the head of the war room table and took a long sip of caf. It burned going down. Good. I needed the burn to keep me awake throughout this meeting.
The holo-table glowed in the centre of the room, projecting the current system map: Elyria Prime, Elyria II, asteroid belts, trade lanes, and the red spiderweb of pirate confederation outposts Lira had pulled from the captured navicomputer.
Everyone was already seated or standing around it. Torv leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed like always. Lira finally awake sat to my left, datapad open, eyes flicking between screens. Elara leaned on the opposite wall, cloak pulled tight. Rusty rolled near the holo-controls, dome lights flickering like he was impatient.
Captain Reza sat to my right, Gozanti commander uniform crisp despite the early hour, Lieutenant Varn stood beside him, stormtrooper helmet on.
Jaster Mereel sat at the other end of the table, two of his lieutenants flanked him: a tall woman with a scarred cheek and a short, stocky man with a shaved head and a vibroblade scar across his jaw Both wore mostly beskar, both watched the room like they were memorizing every exit.
Atii sat next to her father, legs swinging under the table, looking annoyingly awake.
I tapped the holo-table. The map zoomed in on black sun system and planet
"Third black-market run. Bigger load. Higher risk. Higher reward. We need anti-air and anti-armor weapons before those cruisers show up. Top of the list: E-Web heavy repeating blasters for ground AA, quad laser cannons for ship-mounted defense, PLX-2M portable missile launchers and HH-12 rocket launchers for anti-armor strikes. If we can get disruptors like the Tenloss DXR-8 or salvaged ion cannons, even better. Anything that can shred fighters or punch through cruiser plating."
Reza leaned forward. "We can move two full loads this time. Duranium overage, herb bundles, timber, plus the remaining pirate loot. Gross should hit 60,000 credits if prices hold. Net after bribes and cuts: 45,000 to 50,000."
I nodded. "Good. But last time some people got suspicious about the skiffs. Rodian recognized the hull lines. We cannot risk that again."
Jaster spoke. "Send my warriors with the crews. Small squad per skiff. Four per ship. They stay hidden in the holds until needed. If pirates push, they handle it."
Atii grinned. "I can fly one of the Kom'rks. Shadow the run from high orbit. If they try anything, I can drop in fast."I looked at her. "You sure?" She shrugged. "I am bored. And I fly better than most of your pilots."
Jaster gave her a that Samuel L jackson look, which translates to: Absolutely fucking not.
She just grinned wider.
I exhaled. "Fine, Jester can pick who pilots it" Atii just pouted.
Lira tapped her datapad. "I can rig ECM pods on the skiffs. Short-range jamming. Makes them harder to scan. Should buy us time if pirates get nosy."
Agreed?" Nods from everyone.I tapped the table again. "Then we launch tomorrow night. 0200 local."
I looked at Torv. "Training next. Mandalorians are here. We need to use them." Torv nodded. "Stormtroopers are trained but not mandalorian trained, while militia are green as the grasslands. We start with basics: marksmanship, movement, zero-g boarding and hand to hand combat. Mandalorians style and standards."
Jaster spoke. "My people can train them. But it will take time and cost you extra each month of training, we teach what we know: close-quarters, jetpack assaults, boarding tactics. Your stormtroopers have discipline but are too ridgit. While your militia have heart and are eager so we train them up. We can make the stormtroopers more fluid while the militia will have a resemblance of being a fighter. But it is not possible to do it in days. Weeks at best to give them a somewhat fighting chance.
Lieutenant Varn crossed his arms. "Stormtroopers will resist at first. Pride. But they will follow orders. They will adapt.
"Sergeant Korran (the native militia leader) grunted. "My people are willing" He grunted out simply.
Elara added. "The people are eager. More volunteers every day signing up for either full time militia duties or light training courses."
I rubbed my temple. "Do it, willing mandalorians as instructors starting today afternoon. Torv coordinates with Jaster. Elara and Korran handles native side. I want numbers up. Morale up. Effectiveness up."
Jaster's scarred-cheek lieutenant (the tall woman) spoke up. "We can scout slaver outposts. Small hits free the slaves bring them here. They will be loyal and become workers or fighters."
More hands for militia, mines, farms and pilots while also being loyal.
I looked at her, her idea has merits but I dont want to piss of the Hutts or other big slaver syndicates, I mull it over for a few seconds before replying.
"It is risky. But useful. If we can pull it off quietly without Hutts or others being on our ass, make sure to target independent slavers or ones not affiliated with the big players."
Internally I chuckle knowing damn well that the empire uses slaves, but yet here I am considering to free slaves.
Jaster nodded. "We can. Small teams. Fast in, fast out. Slavers are soft targets plus the more ships we can acquire and man the more options we have of increasing our population and with bigger population we can increase manufacturing, farming and other industries."
It shows he's a leader, if I could I would gladly give up my governor title to him. Though, more workers. more people, more soldiers, more ship. More everything.
I looked around the table. "Training starts today later in the afternoon.
***
I tapped the table. The system map zoomed in on Elyria II's orbit. The Gozanti's usual patrol path blinked green. "We cannot fight three hundred head-on," I said. "Not with what we have. Gozanti is tough, but not invincible. TIEs are good for dogfights and swarming, not capital ship engagements and we only have few republic era bombers. Militia are brave but green. Stormtroopers are solid but cant be everywhere, and mandalorians would be outnumbered ten to one in a straight fight while they also have more bigger ships. We need a trap."
Jaster leaned in. "Bait them."
I nodded. "Exactly." I marked the Gozanti's position on the holo. "We make it look like the cruiser has a malfunction. Superficial explosion on the hull near the engines. Smoke. Sparks. Visible damage. We broadcast a distress beacon. Emergency maintenance, an easy juicy target."
Reza frowned. "They will scan for traps."
"We give them what they want to see," I said. "We pretend we sent one of the unarmed cargo haulers with a sizable escort of TIEs and a Mandalorian Kom'rk to buy supplies to fix it. Make it look desperate. No major defenses left on the cruiser."
Torv grunted. "They will bite, pirate scum love easy kills." I marked a crater on Elyria II's surface, slight distance from Durak's Hold. "The hauler is just a distraction its not going anywhere. It will be hidden and made into a inproptu rapid troop transport in case they land anywhere. Also we can attach some TIEs to its haul to make it a carrier. We will leave it in that crater. Engines cold. Signature masked, if we have the time and resources we should outfit the hauler with more weapons, even light ones."
I pause for a second "They will think the cruiser is crippled and alone and far away from any reinforcements. They will not see the trap waiting on the moon. They will try to strike the Gozanti hard and fast and then harass the system whenever they want with the Gozanti out of the picture."
Jaster's scarred-cheek lieutenant spoke. "How do you fake the explosion convincingly?"
"Lira," I said.
Lira looked up from her datapad. "I can rig it. A small shaped charge above the engine plating outside. Timed detonation, a lot of smoke canisters and if we have a spark generator. Scans will show hull breach, engine damage, power fluctuations. Enough to sell it without actually crippling the ship."
Varn crossed his arms. "Timing?"
"Detonate when we notice any of their scouts that are in range, if we dont see any we can just detonate it and hope they arrive quickly. The longer they take the more time we have to prepare, that remind me, add small ship weapons that we can buy from the black market that way we can outfit some of our non armed ships." I say.
"We let them watch. Let them report back. Let them commit." Reza added. "We can broadcast fake damage reports. 'Engine overload. Primary thrust offline. Requesting emergency assistance.' Make it sound like we are dead in space."
I nodded. "They will think the cruiser is helpless. They will send the strike group. Fighters first to clear any remaining escorts. Cruisers to finish or to shadow boarding party. The troop hauler to attack either the planet or the moon while they have total air dominance"
Jaster's voice was low. "Then we spring. "I marked the hidden positions on the holo. "The hauler and the ships will wait in the crater. Kom'rks and TIE fighters cold until they are close. Other TIEs on standby inside the Gozanti and in the landing pads what bombers we have are to be loaded at all times and crews near them. When the pirates are in range, we activate. Cruiser powers up. Hidden forces launch. We hit them hard."
The room stayed quiet. No one interrupted. I continued. "We focus on fighters first. Shred them with E-Webs and quad lasers if they get close to the cities. Mandalorians and TIEs take air superiority. Then we target the troop transport. Disable shuttles. Prevent boarding. If they land troops on the cruiser or moon, we deal with them on the ground."Jaster nodded slowly. "It can work. But it only works once. Pirates learn fast. Next time they will not fall for it."
"I know," I said. "This is our shot. We take it."
Jaster's scarred-cheek lieutenant spoke. "We can use the Kom'rks for strafing runs. Fast. Low. Target engines and weapon batteries on the cruisers disabling them. We could use more armed cruisers."
Torv grunted. "Boarding after that. Mandalorians lead decapitation strikes and open up breaches for the rest to follow. Mandalorians rush for the bridges secure command of the ships. Stormtroopers follow and support along with promising militia units."
I nodded. "If the troop transport refuses surrender and it still has most of the pirates inside, we end it quick. Mandalorians blow the bridge windows. Vacuum the crew. Board. Turn off life support and weapons. No survivors on that ship if they fight. The losses we would recieve by boarding a ship with so many people would not be worth it. Even if we are fighting pirates who are a shit aim and have worse equipment and training."
Elara shifted. "There may be some slaves aboard the transport. Captives. We cannot just vent them."
I looked at her. "IF. They are there, we will way the benefits and loses we cannot waste good men to save some slaves that might not be useful. Boarding teams may look for prisoner holds. Free who we can. But if the transport resists hard, we cannot hesitate. Hundreds of armed pirates on our soil is worse than collateral damage."
Jaster spoke quietly. "We will look. But we will not risk ourselves for some slaves. Priority is our people, and since you are paying and you let us have a base then it your people and the system are also our priority."
Elara did not argue. She just nodded a bit bitterly after being shut down.
Varn crossed his arms. "Assignments?"
I pulled up the roster icons on the holo.
"Jaster and his people on air support ;ead strafing runs. Target fighters and cruiser engines and lead boarding strikes." Jaster nodded. Atii grinned.
"Torv leads the bulk of the main boarding teams stormtroopers first wave, promising militia second wave. Secure and hold the breaches and clear decks after mandalorians rush in." Torv grunted approval.
"Reza on Gozanti bridge. Direct cruiser fire and overall all ship assets. Coordinate TIEs, bombers and Kom'rks. Keep as many of the ships alive." Reza saluted once.
"Lira, Mira and Rusty on ECM and hacking. Jam pirate comms. Spoof sensors. Hack what we can during boarding and then extract all intel from their droids and computers."
Lira tapped her pad. Rusty beeped affirmatively and Mira just nodded timidly.
"Elara coordinates native militia ground defence along with the remaining stormtroopers on both Elyria and Elyria II, if any troops land on the moon or planet, they hold choke points. Buy time for boarding teams and ships to finish in space and then push them back with the reinforcements and air superiority." Elara inclined her head. "We can do that."
I looked around the table. Reza added. "We need a fallback. If they bring more than expected, we pull back to the moon. Use craters for cover. Mandalorians and TIEs harass. Buy time to regroup." I nodded. "Fallback is moon defense. We cannot lose the Gozanti, it is the only ship we have that can go against their cruisers."
Plus, it is fucking expensive and I cant go throwing money around willy nilly for fuck sake! I grumble to myself.
***
Two or three hours had passed since we first started drilling into the trap plan.
The air was thicker with the smell of both hot and cold caf, and the faint metallic tang of beskar from Jaster and his lieutenants. The holo-table had been panned, zoomed, marked, unmarked, and marked again so many times the projection was starting to flicker from overuse.
Everyone was still in their seats.
We had spent the last stretch nailing down the fine details. Precise coordinates for the crater hideout. Exact timing windows for the fake explosion. Backup frequencies if comms jammed. Secondary fallback positions if the moon craters became too hot. How many TIEs per wave. How many boarding shuttles. Which militia squads were "promising" enough to go in the second wave. Which stormtrooper platoons would hold what. Which Mandalorians would lead which breach teams.
Lira had run simulations on her pad until the numbers blurred.
Reza had argued with Jaster over cruiser positioning for ten straight minutes.
Torv had growled through every boarding scenario like he was already in the fight.
Elara had quietly pointed out three different choke points on Prime that native militia could hold.
Varn had added kill zones.
Jaster's scarred-cheek lieutenant had suggested feints to draw off the fighters. The stocky lieutenant had countered with low-orbit strafing runs.
We had argued, we had compromised, we had locked it down mostly.
I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my eyes again. The 2rd cup of caf was long gone. My head felt like someone had replaced my brain with a mining drill.
I looked around the table one last time."We have it mostly." I said. "Coordinates set. Timing window locked. Fallbacks mapped. Assignments clear. Everyone knows their role. Everyone gets rest tonight. We launch the 3rd black run tomorrow night. The scum come when they come. We will be ready."
Nods from everyone, Jaster stood first Armor creaked faintly. "My people will prep the Kom'rks and fighters tonight. We will run one full simulation at 0400. We will be ready."
Atii bounced up beside him. "I will check the Kom'rk I am flying in. Make sure it is not going to fall apart mid-flight."Jaster gave her a look. "You are not flying unless I say so."
She grinned. "You already said yes."
He sighed. "Rest. Both of you."
Elara stood next. "I will brief the council while Korran will order the militia and talk to his captains."
Torv pushed off the wall. "I will drill the stormtroopers and militia boarding teams along with the mandalorians, it will be part of the training."
Reza rose. "Gozanti will be prepped. Crew on rotation. TIEs and bombers fueled and armed. We will be ready, I will see if I can scrape up some leftover ship weaponry and set it up on the cargo hauler."
Lira closed her datapad. "ECM pods and jamming rigs will be loaded on the skiffs and hauler. I will monitor from the palace with Mira."
Varn saluted. "Stormtroopers will be standing by. Ready."
They started to stand. Chairs scraped back. Datapads powered down. Helmets clicked into place. Jaster gave me a final nod gruff, approving before heading for the door with his lieutenants. Atii lingered a second longer, gave me a quick smirk. I did not like that smirk.
Torv was last. He stopped at the door. Looked back."You did good today," he said. "The plan is solid."I snorted softly. "We will see." He nodded once and left. The room slowly emptied. I stayed seated a moment longer, staring at the dim holo-table.
We had a plan.
I stood up. The chair creaked behind me.
Time to leave.
***
I needed sleep and food.
Something that was not caf or flatbread. I needed to not think about pirates for five fucking minutes.
I did not get the said five fucking minutes.
I made it halfway down the corridor toward my quarters when I heard quick footsteps behind me.
I turned to see Atii in full gear, braided hair, grinning like she had just found her favourite toy.
"Training time," she said.
I stared at her. Is this Deja Vu?
"We literally just finished a three-hour strategy meeting. I have not slept, if you do not remember, I have not eaten anything that qualifies as food, I am not training as I told you this morning."
She grabbed my wrist, strong grip, not painful but definitely not letting go.
"You promised you would think about it."
"I already told you that I did. No."
She started walking. Dragging me with her.
Should I scream for help that I am getting kidnapped? Is this the mandalorians ploy to have me hostage?
I could have resisted. Well I did but I might as well not have.
I was tired, spoilt little governorate kid who can barley make 2 pull ups, and she was Mandalorian, sixteen mind you but still one that is apparently made of durasteel mixed with beskar.
"Fine," I muttered. "Just stop dragging me around like a ragdoll"
She grinned wider. "We will see." She dragged me to one of the palace's lower training rooms. It was a converted storage space: padded mats on the floor, weapon racks (mostly empty), a few practice dummies that looked like they had seen better days. One wall was mirrored. The other had a viewport showing the mountains, there were some people here training.
She let go of my wrist. Stepped back. "First lesson: falling." I rubbed my wrist. "Yeah I know" I am having a strong sense of repetition with her.
She snorted. "Not that kind. Proper falling, you break your wrist or your neck trying to catch yourself. I will teach you how to roll, how to bleed momentum how to get up fast."
I sighed. "I am not wearing armour. Or padding or anything."
She shrugged. "You will learn faster then and the bruises will make for excellent motivation."
Is it too late to switch up what mandalorian clan I hired?
She stepped forward. Raised a hand. "Ready?"
"No."
She pushed.
Not hard but just enough. I stumbled back arms windmilling.
I tried to catch myself.
Bad idea.
My foot caught on a mat edge, I went down hard.
I hit the mat on my side air whooshed out of my lungs stars burst behind my eyes.
Atii laughed not mean just amused.
The others around tried and failed to hold in their snickering. I will remember this, I am your fucking boss your not allowed to laugh at me! I think.
"See? That is why you need to learn."
I groaned rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
"You owe me a new spine." She crouched beside me. "Stop being such a baby, come on get up. Again."
I pushed myself up, slowly.
My shoulder felt hurt my pride hurt more.
We did it again, and again, and again.
She pushed. I fell.
I tried to roll. I failed.
I fell harder. She laughed.
I cursed. She corrected my stance.
I tried again. I still fell.
I was sweating and breathing hard, most of my muscles hurt.
Atii stepped back. "Not bad, you almost rolled once."
I collapsed onto the mat, Elden Ring made rolling correctly seem so fucking easy. "I hate you."
She laughed again. "You will thank me when you do not break your neck in a real fight."A few more people had gathered at the door. Torv, A couple stormtroopers and some native militia. Even a few of Jaster's warriors, here probably to start training.
They were all snickering like the ones that have been here the entire time.
Even the stoic stormtroopers cracked smiles or laughed behind their helmets.
I glared at them all, especially the militia and stormtroopers. "Enjoying the show?"
One stormtrooper saluted. "Sir. Good form. Very… enthusiastic." More snickers.
"Well you wont be fucking laughing private when these." I point to the mandalorians "Will do the same to you, but you dont have the benefit of being a kid, the governor and the guy who pays them." The mandalorians look at the stromtroopers and militia and just grin evilly.
The stormtroopers and militia immediately deflate knowing their fate is sealed.
"Oh, since I am paying extra my dear Mandalorian teachers, make sure you teach them throughoutly and that their forms are 'very enthusiastic by the end', ok?" My grin now matching the mandalorians as 2 or 3 of them even cackle.
It was then that Elara appeared at the door, watched for a second, then walked out
I chuckled lightly and noticed she came back with some ointment, since backta would be too expensive to use on just bruises, she started moving towards me and handed me the ointment and crouched beside me. Gave me a once-over, then patted my back. Hard.
What is up with these fucking women and trying to make me fall god damn it!
I almost faceplanted again. She smiled. "Clan younglings could beat you with a stick even if you had a lightsaber." The room erupted in laughter. Mandalorians. Stormtroopers. Natives. Even Rusty beeped what sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
I laughed too sarcasticly. "Great," I wheezed. "Now I'm the galaxy's least athletic governor. At least I'm consistent."
Atii crouched beside me again and smiled like a normal girl and not a mandalorian warrior which was quite weird from her, she did it while offering a hand.
I took it, she easily pulled me up like I weighed nothing. "You did okay," she said. "For a first try." I rubbed my back where Elara had patted me. "I hate all of you."
More laughter. Elara smiled. "Rest. You earned it." I nodded, ;imped toward the door.
The room was still laughing behind me.I did not mind.Not really, for I know that at least 90% of them will be in the same if not worse pain than me.
See how you like being thrown around by mandalorians repeatedly assholes.