In the months following Yoda's passing, the Skyforged Vanguard not only persevered but thrived. All of our groups, including the naval-focused 3rd Group, were tirelessly engaged in various missions against the Empire, slavers, pirates, and raiders. We continued to seize every opportunity, securing supplies, starfighters, freighters, a handful of, and several frigates.

  The starfighters and some of the freighters were sent away to our various Outer Rim sales yards, as well as being listed on our holonet stores. The merchants we had hired were doing a considerable job selling our merchandise, including a lot of what we stole from Jabba, enough that we were making a larger profit from them than anticipated. Now they were eagerly selling Sith and Old Republic artifacts and weapons, which we had gathered from the Harrower pirate base. It took to clean that location out, and by the time we were done, our merchant experts predicted that we had gathered twenty million credits in antiques and ancient collectibles.

  The rest of the capital ships, save one, were sold to the Rebellion, racking up another fifteen million credits, while putting the Rebellion even further into debt. Collectively, they owed us thirty-three million credits, but that number was only going to continue to rise, as the Rebellion seemed to be even more desperate for ships than usual.

  The one ship we did keep from our string of thefts was an Imperial Lancer-Class, taken from a repair yard just before it was finished. At the cost of some light repairs to the hull and engines, we got a free ship, which we eagerly refurbished and added to 3rd Group, now renamed the . It was joined by the returning Venator, finally home from the work on Mon Calamari.

  The Venator was riddled with upgrades and updates, lowering the required crew significantly while also improving various aspects of the ship's thrust and weapons. It wasn't a total overhaul, but rather a few changes to the starship's multiple systems using more modern parts. Perhaps the most visually impressive upgrade it received was the shifting of the bridge. Rather than leaving it on top of its tower, beside the now-empty starfighter control tower, the bridge was sunk down between the two towers, with the forward viewports just poking out. It had cost a good chunk of credits to get done, but now the bridge was significantly better reinforced and wasn't nearly as exposed as before.

  After a long bout of discussion, it was decided that the Venator would be called technically named before the The change in the naming convention for the 3rd group from blacksmith-related things to positive emotions was intentional, as the was to become the anchor for what we treated as a subdivision within 3rd Group.

  Essentially, the and the along with any ships we added, would often be split from the , , and the with both sent on separate missions with various groups to reinforce their potential striking power. Together, the 3rd Group was too large to send on most missions, so creating a smaller, more manageable subgroup made it easier to split them off. I foresaw continuing to add to 3rd Group in this manner, as it allowed for continuous growth and easy division, so that portions of the group could be sent out with other groups.

  There would still be plenty of opportunities for the group to function together, especially against the Imperials, but the key to staying afloat was making sure to spend the right resources for the right job. This ensured we were making the most money we could for each asset, while still protecting our people.

  On top of being joined by the he was filled with two squadrons of our modified A-wings, as well as the two squadrons of the refurbished version of our Heavy ARCs. Technically, they weren't the real deal, as our first squadron of entirely custom-made Heavy ARCs were fresh off the line and delivered to the of 2nd Group, but they did the job just as well. The only real difference between them was the lack of an ion cannon added to the back gunner's arsenal.

  Of course, the four squadrons barely even took up a third of the hangar space, especially considering the infrastructure for stacking the squadrons was in place and ready should it be needed.

  The 3rd group was not the only one that received more ships. The 1st Group finally got its Pelta, now called the . The starship underwent a significant upgrade, becoming both a heavy assault ship and a landing craft for a small droid army. 4th Group likewise finally got its DP-20, the gunship fitting nicely with the group dynamic.

  On top of that, we bought two CROC-Gozantis, now called the and the We immediately put them through the same upgrades as the . Unlike the , however, their hangars would not hold starfighters, but rather droids and tanks, giving the second group a small, deployable army of its own, as well as two ships that could punch considerably far above their weight class. The two ships were assigned to the 2nd group, giving them a much-needed boost in firepower and flexibility.

  Thankfully, all of this happened over several months, giving us time to expand Vercopa and make room for more people. Our city was growing quickly, but luckily, we were making enough money that we could afford to grow our already serious infrastructure. Our fuel generation doubled in three months, and our farm plots, which were starting to bear fruit and actually feed our people, grew substantially. Total independence was still far off, but we managed to maintain a very low need dependency on foreign goods.

  We also added three new additions to the City Defence Array, as the merchants were able to snag up three. Just one of them was a crazy find for a group like ours, since they were obviously controlled tech. Snagging three of them for reasonable prices earned the merchants a sizable bonus.

  Each cannon was easy to install, apparently by design, but I was determined to up their survivability and durability by building each a custom facility, rather than just drilling a hole in the ground and dropping it into place. Each cannon facility was defended by anti-starfighter weapons, had its own salvaged starship shield system in place, as well as an additional power source. In total, each weapon emplacement cost just over a million credits, but together they brought the CDA from a vague discouragement against attackers, to a threat capable of holding off a whole fleet. It was unfortunate that we couldn't purchase these types of things commercially, but I already had the merchants paying close attention to any other sort of planetary defense systems.

  Meanwhile, as our home was upgraded, missions continued as our various groups were updated and expanded. For the most part, our adherence to a specific protocol, mostly only picking fights that we knew we could win, kept us casualty-free, there were a few exceptions. A pirate raid performed by 2nd Group resulted in two deaths when poor maintenance on a recovered starfighter led to an explosion. Not long after that, a pair of pilots from 4th Group were killed when a TIE fighter slammed into a Heavy ARC. The impact proved that our reinforced frame and improved shields were worth the price, as one of the pilots actually survived the collision. Unfortunately, before we could even consider pulling them back to the , another TIE fighter finished them off.

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  That particular Imperial pilot did not survive for long after that.

  1st fleet managed to avoid any real casualties, but we did lose a considerable number of the ground forces we kept in the , as we were forced to leave them behind as we retreated. A pair of Imperial cruisers suddenly appeared in the middle of a raid, forcing us to grab what we could and run, with the droid forces covering us as we went. As we retreated, making our way to our ships, the ambushing pair opened fire, battering our fleet. Thankfully, our ships only took minor damage as we rushed inside and escaped, but we were forced to leave our robot troops behind.

  It was unfortunate, especially since our robot forces were a finite resource for now, but that's why we had them on board. They were brainless disposable assets, and I would spend them all just to save a single crew member.

  It wasn't until about halfway through the fourth month after Yoda's death that I finally got a message I had been waiting for for a while. Clan Galti was ready to start taking some major bites out of the Empire as payback for treating them like a testing ground and almost wiping out their whole clan. As a show of trust and friendship, my team and I traveled to their temporary home with just the , with the rest of the group, as well as 3rd Group on standby.

  We arrived after a few days in hyperspace, landing on the outskirts of the mostly abandoned town. At first glance, as we flew over it, the place still looked pretty abandoned, save for the ships that were landed along the outskirts. The squadron of A-wings I had left initially had long since returned home, as the clan had secured around seventeen starships of various sizes and makeups. That was more than enough to pick up and move the clan all at once, including their supplies, as well as fight off any small pirate raid.

  As we entered the town on foot, though, it became more evident that people were living there. Children ran around playing, mainly staying in covered areas, but occasionally darting across streets and through alleyways. People went about their business, and while they did so quickly, it was not as tense as one would expect.

  We arrived at the central communications building, the converted holonet tower now serving as the clan's central meeting space. Now that they were more settled, and mostly recovered from the trauma of being driven from their homes, the feeling inside the building was considerably calmer than it had been the last time we visited. Vi Galti, the clan leader herself, greeted us as Tatnia, Ahsoka, Corvak, and I arrived at the building.

  "It is good to see you," the older woman said as we shook hands. "It has been a while since we last spoke."

  "I assumed you had been busy. Judging by the ships around the outskirts, I was right," I responded, Vi nodding in confirmation. "I am glad you have been doing well."

  "We have been hard at work stabilizing our new existence," she explained, gesturing to a table at the center of a busy room, where several Mandalorians, some in armor and some in civilian clothes, sat around, waiting for the meeting. "Come, sit. Share a drink, and I will share what Clan Galti has been doing."

  We quickly claimed our seats, and a few drinks were poured. Corvak took one look at the drink and smiled.

  "?" he asked, letting out a chuckle when Vi nodded. "It's been a long time since I've had this. My clan didn't escape Mandalore with anyone who could make it. We tried several times, but after it nearly killed one of my warriors, we put an end to it."

  "We have a few traditional brewers," Clan Galti admitted with a smirk. "Though we only have a limited supply for now, until they can get the brewery open again."

  After watching Corvak take another sip, I copied his movements, surprised to find the beverage was a relatively sweet ale, though it was thick, almost like a liqueur. It was good, though, and I made a note to see if we could barter for some, or set up a large-scale brewery if Clan Galti joined up.

  Once we had all been served and sampled the drink, Vi leaned back in her chair, letting out a long breath. I caught her eye and nodded.

  "You said you've been busy," I started. "What have you been up to?"

  "We needed supplies, credits, ships, and perhaps most importantly, revenge," She explained, prompting me to raise my eyebrow. "We may have mentioned that the Empire found us due to one of our contacts betraying us? Well, after some digging, we discovered it was one of the supply companies we worked with."

  "They sold you out?" Tatnia asked, a wince on her face. "Why would they do that?"

  "Recently, we disagreed about the quality of a delivery and refused to accept the supplies. They were damaged and potentially unsafe to eat, not worth the packing material they came in," the Mandalorian leader explained, shaking her head. "Rather than simply cut us off or refuse to work with us, the owner of the company sold our location to the Imperials. As you can imagine, once we learned this, we were eager to show our displeasure. We have been whittling down his company, stealing his shipments and starships. What we needed we kept, what we didn't we sold cheaply to our brothers and sisters."

  I frowned, realizing that, while the company's owner might have been a scumbag, quite a few, if not most of the pilots and crew members, would have been innocent. I must have been a bit more transparent than I intended, because Vi shook her head with a chuckle.

  "I know that expression, I have seen it enough when we were pretending to be pacifists," she said with a smirk. "We did not slaughter our way through the innocent, though we defended ourselves if shot at. Stun bolts were used when possible, and ships were captured rather than wasted. Such blatant killing is bad for business, even when the business is payback."

  "That's good to hear," I responded. "I apologize for assuming the worst."

  "If the circumstances had been different, you might have been correct," she responded with a shrug. "Either way, we have reached the end of his business. He was taught the error of his ways, and in the process, we have become considerably more stable and prepared. We've already started the initial process of finding a new home, though we haven't made much progress so far. Besides, we have yet more justice to serve, this time against the Empire."

  "That is fair, and the Skyforged is happy to join you in any venture that hurts the Empire, especially one that we can mutually profit from," I pointed out. "Do you have any plans?"

  "We do, several in fact, a path we hope to engage to punish those who wanted to use our people as a test for their weapons," She explained. "However, first we must equip ourselves properly. During our preliminary… investigations, we have discovered a deep space storage facility, a secret station that we believe contains stolen Mandalorian weapons and ships. And we want them back."

  My eyes went wide as she described what they had discovered. If that were true, that could be an incredible find. Palpy loved to collect and hide things all over the galaxy, as the bastard was the worst kind of combination between a kleptomaniac, pack rat, and a doomsday prepper. The idea that he had a deep space storage facility was absolutely something I could see him doing. Hell, I bet there were dozens of them.

  "You managed to find the coordinates for a secret imperial storage facility?" Tatnia asked, sounding skeptical. "Did you just stumble into it or…?"

  "No, we did not find the coordinates," She explained, shaking her head. "We discovered that it existed, and the general quadrant of the galaxy it is supposed to be in, as well as one of the ships that stays with it as protection. We also managed to find an image of the ship, before it was assigned to that role. According to the magic you showed off before, all you need to find something is an image, correct, Deacon?"

  Vi Galti pulled out a datapad from her hip before sliding it across the table to me. When I picked it up, an image of a Victory-class Star Destroyer, labeled as the filled the screenI studied the image for a moment before holding up my hand and casting Clairvoyance. Instantly, the spell connected, the arrow spinning to point up and to the left.

  "Well… we can find the ship if nothing else," I admitted with a smirk. "What's next?”