My "break" on Nirn lasted two days, during which Ahsoka and I traveled around the growing city, talking to potential diplomatic candidates. Amescoll thankfully had a few suggestions from those who had learned under him, as did Master K'kruhk. Even the Corvak had one of his people in mind, one of their oldest members who had worked alongside the political system before the collapse and Empire bombed their planet into the stone age.

  The only role we struggled to fill for our four-person representation was a clone. Almost all of them had literally been designed to be uninterested in politics. They were soldiers, not senators, after all.

  Still, we managed to find a few interested clones, mostly by pitching it as a way to keep their clone brothers relevant in a galaxy that was steadily abandoning them. One of the more interested candidates was actually a recruit, not from the mission to the Omega Station, but off the streets. A retired clone trooper, drummed out of Imperial service due to old age and an injury that led to him losing an arm. Rather than replace it, the Empire had simply abandoned him. Not long after that, one of our recruiting teams stumbled on him, recognized him, and offered a cure to the rapid aging and the removal of his loyalty chip. He now looked nearly a dozen years younger and was happily working as a laborer, building homes and more.

  When Ahsoka and I went to talk to him, we found that he went by Charms, a name he earned by being a solid negotiator and a mediator for the troops he was deployed with. He promised us he would think about our offer, though he admitted he liked the idea of working with the senators who used to order him and his brothers around.

  At the end of the second day, Ahsoka stayed behind to finish setting up the diplomatic group, while I hopped on board the Venator to make the handoff to the Mon Cala shipyard personnel. Riding with me were Vaz and Nal, who were acting as personal escorts and backup. Also on board were around seventy members of the Skyforgede, members who had agreed to work under and learn from the Mon Cala shipyard workers. Most of the seventy members were from the groups of freed slaves that the Hutts had been using to repair the ship, so they weren't clueless when it came to the Venator, but they did lack proper training. After the ship overhaul was done, they would form the backbone ship's repair crew, as well as a few other roles.

  I was a bit surprised that such a large percentage of the once slaves were eager to work on the ship they had been forced to repair, but apparently, they felt the ship had already been anointed with their blood, sweat, and tears, making it their responsibility.

  Of course, we also had other escorts. The ships of 1st Group, minus Corvaks and my own crew, were with us, as well as the , the latter of which we called back from Tatooine. The heavily modified C-Rocs would continue to travel with the Venator to the shipyards, while 1st Group would be our ride home. The could punch far above their weight, and carried a squadron of A-wings between them, making them a harsh surprise for anyone looking to pull a fast one. On top of the three ships, they also had an undisclosed, secret escort. Sabine, Ezra, and their team, meaning eight Mandalorians and six Jedi, had been spread through the seventy crew, working undercover as a final line of defense.

  It wasn't that I thought the Rebellion would betray us, but with just how much money we were putting into the project and how much money the Venator was worth, I could not just let it go unescorted. Thankfully, the Rebellion seemed to understand that and allowed the to accompany them to the shipyard.

  The handoff itself went relatively smoothly, with a pair of, as well as a group of smaller, more constructive-focused ships dropping out of hyperspace at the rendezvous point. They did a visual inspection of the starship, before finally transferring over around forty Rebel personnel to the Venator. The group leaned hard to Mon Calamari, but there were plenty of humans and other species as well. After shaking hands with the team I was putting in charge of our soon-to-be overhauled ship, everyone not staying on board for the overhaul boarded various ships from the 1st Group, which was our ride back home. Not long after that, the Venator and its new escorts jumped to hyperspace, leaving us behind until we jumped back home.

  Unfortunately, the peace and quiet wouldn't last as long as I hoped, as immediately after dropping out of hyperspace, I was contacted by Corvak, who all but begged me to come to the . Apparently, a large Mandalorian covert was in danger, and they had sent a message to Corvak. We quickly pulled together a meeting, though the amount of people who arrived was small. Both the 3rd and 2nd groups were occupied with Tatooine and escorting the Venator, leaving just the unfinished bones of 4th Group and a full-strength 1st Group.

  "What can you tell us, Corvak?" I asked as I sat down for the already prepared meeting.

  "Just a few hours ago, one of the coverts I was talking with, the remnants of Clan Galti, sent out a message to several other clans," he explained, bringing up the file on a holoprojector. "One of their contacts betrayed them to the Empire, and now they are trapped."

  The file displayed a planet, listing out bunches of information as well as the location of the coverts home, a set of deep caves set into the planet, big enough to land starfighters and even a small transport in. The clan was living in these caves, deep enough that the Empire was struggling to locate them despite having a general area. Of course, being so deep into these caves meant there was nowhere for them to escape.

  They were backed into a corner, and the enemy was getting closer and closer.

  Worse still, the amount of Imperial forces involved was not small. A, a pair of, and a quartet of light cruisers. It was a decent group of ships that would be certain death to all of our groups... unless the was brought as reinforcements. Even then, while its shields were superior by a wide margin, I still wasn't confident the old CIS ship would be able to take down the Star Destroyer on its own, not without taking significant damage.

  As if to add a final layer of difficulty, the Star Destroyer had already landed a sizable chunk of its ground forces on the planet in the general location of the Mandalorian covert. So, even if we destroyed the Imperial fleet, the timer would continue to run down.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  There was enough power in play here that, unless we executed a properly designed plan, we were likely looking at some considerable issues. Hell, there was a strong possibility that, even if we left right now, we would be too late.

  "Corvak… How many people are in this covert?" I asked, rubbing my face.

  "A hundred and thirty-two. Twenty-one younglings, seventy-eight civilians, and thirty-three Mandalorian warriors." He responded, causing me to jerk my head up in shock. "It was considered to be one of the more secure places, and Galti was a large clan. Two smaller clans joined with theirs once Clan Galti settled in."

  "Fuck… Okay, we need a plan, and we need it now," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not leaving that many people to die, not when we can do something about it. How long would it take to recall ships from other locations? Have the 4th group ships been staffed?"

  "Tatooine is too far away, same with Mon Cala," Tatnia responded, shaking her head. "Boss…"

  "I know, Tatnia, I know," I said, acknowledging that without something concrete, we would be putting ourselves in danger, for a cause that might have already died. "We need a plan."

  We spent precious time debating, spitballing, and discussing our options. We quickly came to the conclusion that, ultimately, the success of the fight came down to the fate of the Star Destroyer. If we could take it down and not get too damaged in the process, the remaining ships would not be able to stand up to the . Once the fleet was taken down or convinced to run, we could take our time destroying the ground forces with our starfighters and whatever other forces we could bring to bear.

  It all hinged around taking down Star Destroyer.

  Planning continued until, finally, we had something workable. It would be expensive and permanent, but would hopefully give us an edge in taking down the Imperial fleet.

  Once our plan was set, I rushed to the bridge of the Fury, a whirlwind of orders being sent to all available forces. I evacuated the production facilities and repair facilities of anyone who didn't want to participate in the battle, explaining that this was a rescue mission, so profits would likely be under what we were used to. Some people did leave, but most stayed, a good fraction helping to prepare our droid army for combat, loading the for ground deployment. The rest took cover in various rooms deep inside the ship, just in case they needed to help with repairs.

  When news spread down to the surface that we had a rescue mission, several Jedi, including a pair of masters and a few knights, quickly reached out, wanting to help. I sent a freighter down to pick them up, surprised to find that K'kruhk had joined them. I put them in charge of leading the droid army, giving the troops some much-needed organic support.

  Preparation continued, the ship a flurry of activity. Eventually, two hours after the preparation had started, four hours after I had returned, and six hours after Corvak first received the news, we jumped into lightspeed, prepared for a two-day trip. The stage two hyperdrive the had would make decent time, but we could all feel the minutes passing by.

  A day into the trip, I went looking for Corvak, which was only possible because all of 1st Group's ships were safely stashed in the belly of the . I ended up having to use Clairvoyance to find the Mandalorian clan leader, who had found a sort of forward viewing room, somewhere below the bridge. When I approached the open space, he turned slightly, nodding as if he had expected me to come along eventually. He turned back to the viewport, watching the dazzling display of hyperspace through a large viewport.

  "You know, for all your fancy words, when we first joined up here, I was constantly on watch," He admitted, still looking out into the void. "We had a night watch schedule, we kept our children close. We even tested the food. You were too good to be true, and your offer was too genuine. All we could do was wait for the catch."

  "After what that bastard Hutt did to you, I'm not exactly surprised," I admitted, taking a seat on a nearby bench, watching the Mandalorian. "I hope that's changed over time."

  "How could it not have?" He responded, shaking his head like he couldn't believe my question. "You saved us, opened your doors to us, gave us space at your table. And all you wanted was for us to work together to make something amazing."

  "I'm sure people weren't happy about what I had to say about your traditions and ancestors," I pointed out. "I don't blame them, as long as they don't stir up trouble."

  "Of course, and some of us were more upset than others," He admitted. "But like a razor, you cut to the heart of our issues and refused to hold back. Your words stuck with us, Deacon, because despite how much they hurt, it was impossible to deny that they were true. You offered us something different, and now we are stronger than we have been since the Night of a Thousand Tears. Did you know that one of our younglings is training to use the Force?"

  "What? No, I had no idea!" I asked, my eyes going wide. "How is that working out?"

  "Perfectly fine, they are thriving. The point is, Deacon, that your words haven't just changed us. They've changed the Jedi as well," He explained. "You held them to their mistakes, cut to their hearts just like you did ours, and now even the old ones are seeing things differently, welcoming a Mandalorian child to learn with them. Not demanding him, not taking him, not even asking that he stop learning to fight like a Mandalorian Warrior."

  "I could hardly take credit for all of that," I responded, shaking my head. "The trauma of the Clone Wars and Order 66 did most of the work for me."

  "And yet they change around your banner," He shot back. "They put you in control of them, asking you to guide them until they can guide themselves again. A man without the Force, leading the Jedi."

  "Yeah… that was a shock to me as well."

  For a moment, we were silent, before Corvak answered my previous question.

  "The boy's parents have asked that we keep his training a secret for now, at least until he is a bit older," He explained. "They don't want comparisons made to Tarre Vizsla before he is old enough to shrug them off himself."

  "Fair. Still, if they need any help, send them to me."

  He nodded, still looking out into space. For a long moment, he was silent, before eventually turning back to look at me.

  "Deacon, I would like to start recruiting Mandalorians more aggressively. I've been reaching out to my contacts, talking to people mostly through disconnected but secure channels, but it's not working," He explained. "At my current pace, I was months away from direct conversations with Clan Galti."

  "You're a slow, stubborn bunch, Corvak," I pointed out. "Could you imagine how you would have reacted if I had tried to push you into a decision? If I tried to rush you into joining up, even by offering benefits?"

  "Maybe, but you still got us to see the reality of our situation in only a few weeks," He pointed out. "If we had been a bit more proactive here… I want to go visit these coverts, reach out with more than just messages… and I would like you to come with me. We can use 1st Group as an example of what we can do."

  "I.. have no issue seeking out coverts to join, as long as you feel them out first," I explained. "No point in pestering those that follow The Way."

  "No, I agree. They would rather die than bend to any sort of change to their code," Corvack responded, shaking his head ruefully. "But groups like Clan Galti? They could be convinced with the right leader and the right words."

  He looked at me expectantly, and eventually, I nodded.

  "I would be happy to start making trips to coverts, as long as they don't try to shoot at us," I assure him with a smile. "For now, let's focus on getting Clan Galti out and somewhere safe. Then we can start officially reaching out to more clans. We still need to keep up with our other missions, but I don't mind going on a recruitment run occasionally."

  Covrak let out a breath and nodded, satisfied with my answer. Eventually, he sat down along his own bench, and we talked for a while longer before heading off to prepare for our mission.