🛡️ This is the Way.
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║ ⚔️ MANDALORIAN CONTRACT BOARD ⚔️ ║
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║ Objective: Launch the story into hyperspace ║
║ Reward: Extra chapters for the crew ║
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║ Review Bounties: ║
║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║
║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║
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║ 2–3 lines is enough: ║
║ • "I loved ___ because…" ║
║ • "Best scene so far was…" ║
║ • "My theory is…" ║
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║ Thank you for backing Max Vizsla and the ║
║ rise of Mandalore. ║
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This is the Way.
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At 08:00 on July 11 of Galactic Standard Year 4, the five warships of the Mandalorian Armed Forces Navy First Fleet returned to their place of birth for the first time—Corellia.
Two detachments of Mandalorian warriors would disembark here, parting ways with their comrades in the First Fleet, and head to Coronet City, the Corellian capital, to carry out a special mission issued by the Intelligence Bureau.
In late April of this year, while declining Senator Leif Garamby's request to assassinate Lom Pyke, Max Vizsla recommended Beskar Steel Security's "Galactic Supreme Security Service Package" to the senator.
Max patted his chest and guaranteed to Leif Garamby:
"Whether or not we can find Mr. Jango Fett, and whether or not Mr. Jango Fett can ultimately complete your commission—so long as you have Beskar Steel Security's Galactic Supreme Security Service in place, the Pyke Syndicate won't be able to touch a single hair on you or your family!"
Just like last time on Cato Neimoidia, Max again insisted on providing the service for free. Unlike last time, Senator Garamby was equally bold—he said his security expenses were reimbursable anyway, and as long as the service was solid, even inflating the bill by several times was fine.
Max, of course, didn't take the senator's money. As for whether he'd file anything at year's end—and how much—he hadn't even bothered thinking about it yet.
What happened next, though, was completely outside Max's expectations.
What do Kamen Riders, armored heroes, and Mandalorian warriors have in common? They all wear armor, and they all look cool—and in kids' eyes, they're ultra-mega-super cool. With a three-Mandalorian fireteam escorting him to and from school, little Garamby instantly became the most eye-catching "popularity king" at his elite academy.
Kids' minds aren't fully developed, and their competitive streak is especially strong. Before long, they were whining and pestering their senator grandfathers and mayor fathers—they wanted armored warrior bodyguards too.
Very quickly, Beskar Steel Security's hotline was overwhelmed. When the news reached Max's desk, he was thrilled and worried at the same time—he even yanked out a fair bit of his own hair.
Being able to infiltrate manpower into Coronet City—and into the Corellian Republic's ruling class's immediate vicinity—so easily was obviously something that made the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces Intelligence Bureau (and Max) happy.
But the problem was the order volume was absurd—so absurd it exceeded Beskar Steel Security's service ceiling. The Intelligence Bureau simply didn't have that many warriors trained for intelligence work who could be deployed outward. Even if they postponed every infiltration plan aimed at the Corporate Alliance, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Commerce Guild, they still couldn't free up enough people.
The bureau's operational plan got smashed to pieces by Coronet City's sudden flood of orders. They could only do two things at once: delay infiltration in other directions and urgently reassign manpower, while rapidly opening crash training classes inside the Army and Navy to cultivate emergency personnel.
And there was another unavoidable concern: the Corellian Republic's upper echelon suddenly hiring Mandalorian bodyguards at scale—an abnormal event like that inside the galaxy's transportation hub and the Republic's most powerful member polity—was very likely to draw attention from Coruscant. Worst case, the Jedi Temple might even move.
"Across the entire Corellian Republic, our 'bodyguards' cannot exceed 100 personnel. On Corellia itself, no more than 60. How you allocate the slots is up to you." Max Vizsla instructed Intelligence Director Samuel Elda.
The First Fleet would remain in Corellian outer space for two days to rest and refit.
The original plan had been only one day, but after dropping out of hyperspace, Max decided on the fly to extend it by one more day—because he wanted to go to Coronet City and buy ships: two luxury star yachts.
Max wasn't buying luxury yachts for personal indulgence. In truth, the massive sense of achievement from "building the enterprise" had made him fairly indifferent to material pleasures. He wanted the yachts purely for Mandalorian Navy development.
Although the Vast Silence—Purr-pleat Whale–class light carrier-cruiser—immediately reminded Max of a pre-crossing "Vast Silence" Project 1143.5 carrier-cruiser from his old world, it wasn't until the First Fleet jumped out of hyperspace near the Corellian Trade Spine route and prepared to pause for resupply that he belatedly remembered the truly unsung ship that had sailed alongside it—the Xu Xiake.
(Rest… resupply… that's it! How did I forget an all-purpose support ship? If we had a support ship following the First Fleet, couldn't we bring along the command staff who are currently stuck in a "people waiting for ships" situation for the Second Fleet?)
(Then we could run two shifts—people rest, ships don't. When the First Fleet's command staff finish training, they rotate onto the support ship to recover, while the Second Fleet's command staff rotate onto the warships to train. That keeps new hull utilization high, enables multi-crewing per billet, and lays down a solid manpower base for the Second Fleet's rapid commissioning later.)
(Support ships are hard to buy. Luxury yachts, though? If you've got the credits, you can always buy those. Fine—buy two and make do.)
"Bro—buying ships but not buying people?" Lord Fyg grinned, eyebrows dancing. "Twi'lek dancers are the soul of a cruise ship. Without them, what's the difference between a yacht and a passenger freighter?"
"No, no. I still prefer humans." Max didn't explain further. He waved his hands repeatedly, politely declining.
Although the hardcore "player" Lord Fyg recommended several bigger, more extravagant models, Max ultimately chose—purely to reduce logistics strain—to acquire two more MPO-1400 Purr-pleat Whale–class star yachts: one secondhand in stock, and the other… eighthhand in stock.
At 12:00 on July 13 of Galactic Standard Year 4, Max's two newly purchased Purr-pleat Whale–class yachts departed Corellia, jumped into the Corellian Trade Spine hyperspace lane, and set course for Cloud City on Bespin to pick up the command staff of the Mandalorian Navy Second Fleet.
At the same time, the five warships of the Mandalorian Navy First Fleet jumped into the Corellian Run hyperspace corridor. Their next stop was the junction between the Corellian Run and the Triellus Trade Route—Tatooine.
PS: The Triellus Trade Route is a hyperspace lane that connects Hutt Space with parts of the Outer Rim.
PPS: I should be able to post two updates today—the next one will be after midnight…
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🛡 Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore
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The Rebirth of Harry Potter
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