HP: Dance of the Veela

Ceremonial Square, Sundari, Mandalore...Three Days Later...

"In honour of those that lost their lives in the pursue of not only their own honour and glory that they might be remembered by our people forever, but that the galaxy would be free of the tyranny of the Empire. In this, they have succeeded and our people immortalise their names and their deeds." Haron said as he led the ceremony, surrounded by the nobility of the Mandalorians, important others in their culture along with warriors from every single clan and house.

Haron stood aside so they could all marvel at the monument to those that gave their lives for their people. It was a long list he thought with regret as many had died during this war but today, they were remembered by this fountain which ran with special fluid from the Living Waters of the planet itself.

Duke Ge'hark dying was a blow but it was how the old man had wanted to go, his sons had all agreed on that and he had attended the funeral before coming here. It was a solemn moment while the body was laid to rest followed by the most loud and energetic party possible as was the custom of their house, to be respectful to the dead and then to celebrate their life.

But with that solemn duty carried out, there was also the matter of honouring those that still lived for their own achievements.

"The Mandalorian Star, will the following people step forth." Haron said proudly as he held up the medal while calling out the names of those that would receive it. Given for showing true honour and the greatest dedication to duty.

When all those named had been given the medal, Haron turned to the next one.

"The Kad Ha'rangir Victory Medal. Please step forward as I call your names." Haron said with pride, giving the medal they awarded to those that had swayed the tide of battle with their actions.

"The Basiliskan Medallion, for those I name." Haron said holding up the medallion given to the warriors that displayed the greatest courage and valour in the face of overwhelming odds.

After giving out that medallion they began moving up the ranks to one of the most important awards that he could give out.

"The Cross of the Conqueror." Haron called out before calling forth those that were to receive it, given to those that led in battle and acquired new territory for the Mandalorians. A much short list than others but still highly important.

"And lastly but most certainly not least, to award those who have earned the highest decoration we can offer, the Star of Cassus." Haron said holding up the most coveted one of all. Awarded only to those that showed valour above and beyond the call of duty, exemplary leadership and the greatest achievements in war. Only a dozen or so had ever been awarded and he was giving out a half dozen today. Each one was called up individual and saluted the Mandalore who saluted back before placing the medal on them. The last one was a particularly important moment for him personally.

"Din Djarin." Haron called out, and his former ward and foundling stepped forward, Haron was extremely proud of him. He had managed to not only perform extremely well in battle and led their people to victory, hence why other medals already decorated his chest but more than that he had found them the critical break they needed to uncover the Empire's plans.

So, he pinned the medal to Din's chest with pride and though some might call it nepotism as for now they were keeping what they had discovered a secret so the Empire wouldn't realise that they knew about the Death Star…at least until they had found a way to stop it.

Din himself was nervous as he stood before him but controlled it with excellent resolve, Haron had never been prouder of him.

- x -

Kryze Palace, Mandalore…The Next Day…

Since the award ceremony had taken most of the day, the Dukes and Duchesses waited till the following day to meet and discuss the issue at hand but first they had some spare time to attend to some other business.

"It is with great pleasure that I award the colony of Ravara to you, Count Neville Longbottom." Haron said, awarding the new colony with extensive industrial facilities they had established on the edge of Wild Space to Neville as his holding. Neville he could feel and see was extremely pleased with this as it would ensure his sons had a future.

"And I will make it the finest you have ever seen." Neville told his long-time friend who nodded in agreement who proudly shook his hand.

"I have no doubt you will." Haron told him with a smile, none of them wearing helmets for this private gathering. Haron then turned to Din and made him an offer.

"Din, you might have saved the galaxy by capturing that Grand Admiral. While the danger is still very real, we at least have an idea of just what we need to do now. So, if any of our new holdings appeal to you, it is yours." Haron offered him with genuine gratitude, however dangerous the Death Star was thanks to Din they had time to stop it before it became operational so if he wanted something…he got it.

Din was instantly about to deny that he wanted anything but a world had in fact caught his eye, perhaps due to a sense of potential or maybe because it was a vulnerable world that he could protect it, either way he wanted to ask for it and so he did.

"Sorgan." Din said with a respectful nod, the relative backwater world that now lay within their territory which surprised most of those that were here and Haron raised an eyebrow as the planet was extremely low priority planet with little beyond a small agro colony there not to mention ongoing problems with raiders. It was hardly the sort of world that most would want even if you offered it to them.

"Are you sure?" Haron asked Din, wondering if his humility was making him ask for a smaller world than one that he might potentially want but Din didn't change his mind and repeated it.

"Sorgan, please." Din said and Haron slowly nodded hoping his former ward didn't come to regret this choice.

"If that is what you want…then Sorgan it is." Haron confirmed with a small smile which was returned by Din, Haron putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "Now we had best assemble the council…there is an important meeting to hold." Haron said with a slight grimace as he knew this was going to be difficult.

Slowly both councils assembled in the throne room of the palace where a long table had been arranged, no-one sat on the throne as this was far too important a meeting to bother with pointless power plays. Haron having been the one to call the meeting spoke first.

"Firstly, my gratitude to you all. Thanks to your efforts and the courage of our people, we have truly expanded our territory for the first time in thousands of years over the course of this war. Once we were one-thousand-star systems, large but smaller than some. Now…we stand at thirteen-hundred systems, one thousand and three hundred worlds now fly our banner and we have proven to not only the rest of the galaxy but more importantly to ourselves that we are the greatest warriors this galaxy has ever know." Haron said and a lot of smiles and cheers went around the table as their achievement was celebrated, it was an achievement for them. They hadn't really expanded much since the time of his own ancestor ruling them and even that had only been by a handful of systems, so an expansion on this scale was legendary.

His official title was Mandalore the Unifier after he had brought their people back together but he had been called the Builder by some given how much their people had grown and developed since he came to power but also Mandalore the Victorious which he liked the least as he knew no one won all the time.

Shaking himself from those thoughts he listened to all the reports and everything had gone as well as could be hoped for although he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would come from this. He disliked to think of this as a premonition as he was always doubtful of prophesy but at the same time it nagged at him.

With the reports done, then he dropped the most important thing that they had learned.

"With the capture of an Imperial Grand Admiral we have finally discovered why the Empire has been searching for large kyber crystals and the massive amount of construction materials have been going missing. They have been building a superweapon, a large moon sized vessel armed with a superlaser capable of destroying an entire planet. They call it the Death Star and they believe it will guarantee them domination over the entire galaxy." Haron told them with some reluctance.

The silence in the room at what he had said was awkward as they all absorbed what he had said, it didn't take long though before all of them started shouting and arguing, whatever they were saying was lost in the squabbling and Haron could feel his own rage building before he ended it with a blast of sound created by magic.

That finally brought silence to the room and he told them with a sharp and cold voice.

"However, we have learned something else, not only was this thing being built by the same idiots that built the Star Destroyer that is full of weak spots to exploit but also that the head scientist is Galen Erso. The man loves peace and the Empire killed his wife before forcing him to work for them. That man would help us if we can find him, but we will need someone he trusts to make contact. So, I want Mandalorian Intelligence looking for any sign of Galen and Jyn Erso. His daughter might be our best hope of getting him to co-operate with us. Until then we can do nothing. No panic and no surrender, when we have the pair then we will know what can be done and not before. So, no more word of this…from anyone." Haron told them coldly and they all quickly agreed, his aura in the force rising and scaring many of them with its intensity, even those that could not consciously feel the force.

Haron took a deep breath, he knew to keep an eye on them, even with this plan someone might get it in their head to betray them in hopes of being spared by the Empire so he would have to be careful for now. He hated this but he knew better than to rely on everyone to stay true to their cause in the face of such danger. Some would always give in to fear and he had to be ready for that as much as he trusted them. He just hoped he was right and Galen Erso could help them take it down.

The meeting carried on and they learned that the Separatist Alliance had recently discovered when they reclaimed Geonosis that the entire population had been wiped out apart from one survivor, a single drone with a queen egg but who knows if that would be enough to restore the species. According to the single surviving drone the Death Star might have been constructed over their planet and the Empire had actually wiped out the entire species just to leave no trace as to what they were up too.

That didn't help their mood but they had other business to attend to and Deera was quite happy to make a report of something more positive.

"Yesterday marked the first successful activation of the new Anti-proton reactor. We finally have an operational one and it is working far better than we hoped. It may work well in the Infinity Project." Deera suggested with a smirk knowing it would be perfect for the new super dreadnaught project.

"Indeed, with the Empire already working on super dreadnaughts it might not be a bad idea to have a super dreadnaught type ship of our own, even if it's just one." Duke N'Val jumped in with having been the one to start the project and was eager to take advantage of the new power source as it would solve many problems with the design they had and allow it to make the best use of all the advanced technology they had incorporated into the design.

"The Pasdisahah Imperium have a shipyard large enough for the project and they are willing to work with us on the ship, elements of it will be constructed in our own factories before being taken to the Imperium for assembly once the basic framework is in place." Ara told them and they nodded, some of them eager to see their super dreadnaught which while not as big as the fast-approaching Super Star Destroyers would be a highly formidable vessel. It lifted their spirits somewhat after the Death Star and then his youngest sister, Lelia proudly displayed her own work.

"Speaking of projects, while the Keldabe and Aden class ships have been and will I'm sure continue to be effective, the rising war means that I think a new frontline warship may be required. In conjunction with Duke N'Val I have for some time been working on a new design that not only takes the best of both classes but improves on it. Taking all the technology we have so far acquired and combining it to create a powerful warship for us. I am proud to present to you all, the Orar-class Dreadnaught."

A hologram of the ship appeared, it was similar in shape to the Aden with a long central main hull with drive units at the back and two flight pods connected from the centre but this new hull was more sleeker and aggressive looking bow section and improved armour plating. It had eight sublight drive units to the Aden's six and its flight pods had two flight decks aside, one on top of the other to aid in quick landings after a battle.

The all looked at it with intrigued looks as Lelia with an encouraging smile from her older brother and sister, not to mention Duke N'Val explained.

"At sixteen hundred metres long, it is just as big as a star destroyer. It has a greater degree of automation meaning it only needs a crew of 2500 to run efficiently, its longer flight pods and more launch tubes allow for a fighter complement of 180 depending on configurations and its improved armour and shields make it extremely tough in fight." Lelia said as she talked them through the various improvements before finally getting to the part that everyone was interested in the most.

"It has the same point defence system that is standard on all of our warships along with an array of flack guns for close range encounters with enemy ships not to mention 8 medium turbolaser cannons arranged along each of the flight pods, 10 Ion cannons, 10 missile tubes with variable payloads, the Iokath drones, 30 heavy Turbolaser batteries and finally twin heavy duty mass driver cannons mounted to the bow."

There was a silence in the room as they all absorbed all that information and it didn't take long for the grins despite the high production costs of this vessel. They could certainly build them but in far fewer numbers than the Aden or Keldabe, which were less resource intensive to build. The ship was a predator, as powerful as anything the Empire or any of the other powers had and yet more effective.

"A prototype will be constructed and tested before we consider putting them into service." Haron said with a smile, nodding proudly at his sister for her hard work which she returned with a beaming smile. Certainly, they might construct one for each of the Houses but that would depend on how effective the ship proved to be.

They continued talking for some time until Duke Takan, the head of their Intelligence Network brought up a rather thorny issue.

"Sabine Wren has been found."

There was a tense silence in the room as they all knew by now what the girl had done and the fact that she was from a well-respected clan and even more as she was Haron's niece made this a much more high-level issue than it otherwise would have been. Ara frowned as she didn't want her niece to face what was coming but knew she had little choice in it given the rules of their culture asked.

"Where is she?" Ara asked, wondering just where her niece had been hiding.

"Lothal, she's joined a rebel cell that is operating on the planet. A small one but they are fast and mobile, not to mention they have a Jedi among them. What are your orders?" Duke Takan asked patiently and Haron felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him, Ara's pleading with him not to do it but in this…he didn't have a choice he thought regretfully and wished his niece had been a little wiser so as to not get into this mess.

"Send Gundark Team to retrieve her, reinforce the team with Trilla Suduri. She will be more than a match for the Jedi. Bring her back…alive." Haron ordered sternly and Duke Takan nodded as did Neville who reluctantly nodded, knowing what the girl was facing if they brought her back. Haron turned to Din and told him. "Prepare for the trial, I want you to handle this one personally."

Din who himself had met Sabine nodded slowly, realising this was a dark day for them all, leaving the room with everyone else until it was only Haron and Ara in the room together. They stared at each other, Ara with disappointed eyes and Haron's filled with pained resignation. Even he wasn't above the law and they knew it but it was still Ara's niece and this was the one time she would have broken the rules.

She left the room and Haron sighed as she did so, knowing it would be a long time before she was willing to talk to him again.

Imperial Palace, Coruscant…

Palpatine despite the recent losses was actually pleased, his reasons for this apparent good mood…his powers were growing.

The two Nightwitches he had acquired had been extremely useful in learning their magic, it was similar in some ways to Sith Alchemy which he had been experimenting with over the years so it was nothing new to him.

As a demonstration of his new power, he levitated into the air and a green bubble formed around him, training droids fired at it but the bubble repelled all attempts to penetrate it but he was not done yet, a rotten toothy grin appeared on his face as he let loose a powerful beam of green coloured lightning at the same droids that were shooting at him, blasting them into pieces within seconds.

His smirk grew before he then concentrated and seemed to evaporate into green vapour before reforming on the other side of the room but reforming took longer than disappearing had. Palpatine's face became more serious as he managed to pull himself back together, realising even with his great power their teleportation was dangerous and until he was surer of himself, he would have to avoid using that power.

He fed on his own self assurance to restore his own confidence as he felt his power growing and more to the point, he had acquired a new useful servant. Silri, one of the Nightsisters he had acquired was fairly powerful and had an impressive survival instinct, great enough to realise she was better serving him than trying to escape or fight. She had even killed her last remaining sister Jessera at his insistence to prove her loyalty. Her building of a light whip which was an incredibly dangerous weapon if extremely difficult to use would make her a useful Dark Disciple and enforcer of his will.

- x -

Elsewhere in the Imperial Palace, Silri was studying the one holocron she had been so desperate to acquire. It had been brought to Palpatine years ago just as she had been about to acquire it and so she had sacrificed her clan's secrets and her last remaining sister's life to gain access.

It hinted of an army that one of the more powerful Sith Lords of the ancient past had hidden away in frozen carbonite. An army that would be hers to command once she had properly decoded the location and thanks to her position as a Dark Disciple, she would have enough freedom and resources to properly exploit it.

The old fool thought he would control her, but she would have the last laugh.

- x -

Some time later, Palpatine met with two individuals who promised to have solutions to their current 'Rebel' problem.

"The lack of firepower of star destroyers and the fact the rebels have capital ships of their own is a key reason the Empire has failed to strike fear into their hearts. To that end I have ordered the production of some new Allegiance class Heavy Star Destroyers. They are significantly larger with a greater weapons complement and forgo any landing bays to deter boarding operations. Also, Sienar Fleet Systems has created, the Mark 2 Tie Fighter which has substantial improvements while remaining expendable and deployable in vast numbers." Tarkin said proudly as he showed the holograms of the two ships in question.

Tarkin honestly was so predictable Palpatine thought with a smirk, he honestly believed that his large creations and disposable fighters would scare everyone so much that they wouldn't fight. The man was incapable of winning without a massive numerical advantage or overwhelming fire power. It was just as well he would shortly be meeting with someone who would be a far better leader for the Empire's military campaigns.

Turning to the other man that was trying to earn his favour, Palpatine knew the man would turn against him. His own arrogance and lust for power would see to that but he would get the most out of him before disposing of the arrogant fool he thought.

"The Force is obsolete." Doctor Cylo said with the lack of humility and total self-assurance Palpatine knew to expect of him and he had no way of knowing that calling the Force 'obsolete' was basically signing his own death sentence with Palpatine who swore to make him suffer for an eternity using the force to prove how wrong he was.

"My program of cybernetic soldiers will render any opponent and especially the Jedi helpless against their might. My plans are numerous as there are many potential avenues that can be exploited, I have a detailed presentation here for your approval." Cylo said and Palpatine smirked inwardly as there were some things here that might be useful in the long run so he would give the project his blessing, quickly dismissing the two men before turning to the one person who he was sure could bring them victory over their enemies other than himself of course.

"You see now the problems that the Empire is facing, the incompetence of many of our commanders has left us in a dangerous position and with the death of the fool Rufaan, a position among the twelve Grand Admirals has become available. I am naming you to that illustrious position and I expect that you deliver victory for this honour." Palpatine said with a warning in his voice and tone clear. The man in question nodded with a calm and cold smile on his face before answering.

"I understand your frustrations and already have prepared to remind the rebels that the Empire is far from beaten. If you will allow me to take my leave then I will rally the fleet and make that point quite clear." The man said with a cold certainty that even Palpatine found impressive.

"Do so…Grand Admiral Thrawn." Palpatine said with a nod and the Chiss in his crisp white uniform, dark hair, blue skin and red eyes took his leave. Palpatine despite not trusting him knew that if any commander at his disposal were to have a chance to defeat the rebels, it would be Thrawn.

Rebel Alliance Starship Morningstar, On Patrol…

The Thranta-class vessel Morningstar was on patrol near the recently liberated territories, it was referred to as a corvette sometimes but after its redesign and upgrades was more of a light cruiser. It was commanded by Joc Sah, a surviving Jedi who had emerged from hiding some time ago and now gave what military skills he had to the Alliance to aid their cause.

He looked out at the asteroid field they were charting, hoping it might a useful setting for a base when Joc felt something in the force coming from particularly large looking rock nearby. He turned to look at it and frowned, not sure just what he was sensing and turned to the science officer nearby.

"Analyse that asteroid. See if there is anything unusual about it." He told the Duro who looked at him confused as to why their commander would be so interested in a single piece of boring rock but frowned before accepting the order.

"Yes sir." He said and the rest of the bridge crew were as mystified by this as he was but didn't speak, assuming this was a weird Jedi thing that they wouldn't understand.

The ship's scanners took aim on the large rock and while at first glance it was just another lump of stone floating in space the ship's computer saw something that finally caught the eye of the Duro officer.

"Its surface is too symmetrical; this is not a natural surface but more like one designed rather than formed by nature. There are also indications of some kind of dock on one side." The Science Officer reported with confusion as to why someone would 'build' an asteroid. Joc turned and wondered briefly about that himself before telling the flight co-ordinator.

"Prepare a shuttle and search party. I want to check this out." Joc said, leaving the bridge to lead the away mission himself which again confused the crew but they did as they were told and allowed him to leave.

- x -

A short while later an Aegis-class Combat Shuttle approached the apparent docking port of whatever this was. A boarding party of Alliance soldiers joined Joc Sah all wearing breathing gear as there was no atmosphere and silently, they all made their way out of shuttle and into the strange structure. There was an air lock of sorts and as if sensing Joc's presence it opened, with a sense of fearful anticipation about what might be waiting for them inside they pressed on and the tech on the team spoke up when the air lock closed behind them and after a moment of pressurisation the inner door opened.

"There is an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere being generated inside, gravity and heat suitable for us." The young tech told them through the comm link.

"Keep your helmets on." Joc told them sternly as he wasn't entire convinced that this wasn't some kind of trap.

They all slowly made their way inside and saw lights start to come on, revealing long corridors ahead but spacious enough for them to move around in. With caution Joc led his team forward, alert to the possibility that this might be some kind of ambush but as they moved forward and arrived in an enormous open space filled with machinery it became apparent that no-one else was here.

"What is this?" The Marine Sergeant that accompanied the team asked and Joc could only marvel as he had no idea.

"I think we need to call in some experts. This is important." Joc said, wondering just what they had discovered.

- x -

Two Days Later…

Kagame, Padme, Mon Mothma, Anakin and Satele Shan all studied the large structure with its vast machinery that seemed impossibly advanced even to them. None of them had seen anything like it before but thankfully Satele recognised it from reports she had read during the Galactic War years ago.

"It is a Rakata Facility, they used to call it the Foundry." Satele said with an impressed stare as she knew her ancestor Revan had tried to use it to fight the Sith Empire before it had been taken over by them and then by Darth Malgus before it had been lost somehow. It was she knew now hyperspace capable so who ever had last controlled it must have hidden it here with the idea of using it again later but clearly that for some reason had never happened.

"What does it do? And who are the Rakata?" Padme asked with confusion, not knowing anything about this species as they had certainly not been covered in any of her lessons growing up.

"They were a species that once dominated the galaxy before they eventually destroyed themselves. But they built great wonders in their time." Kagame said having read the legends about them and was fully familiar with their achievements. However, of all their achievements this particular one seemed the least dangerous he thought wondering just how the Star Forge had ultimately destroyed them and how foolish they had been to use the force in such a way.

"The station is a massive automated factory, capable of producing large numbers of droids and other machines." Satele said remembering that much. "It cannot build anything bigger than a starfighter and maybe small freighters but that alone would be invaluable to the Rebellion. Parts and equipment even small craft can be constructed quickly without cost. That could make the Rebellion and do a great deal of good besides." Satele said knowing that the Foundry would not be just a military asset but a highly useful civilian one too if they used it right.

Padme nodded, eagerly seeing the great advantages this could bring which Kagame completely agreed with. Anakin who was much more a soldier saw the military applications first and while he did understand the immense value that this would be to the Alliance, there was a growing sense of unease in the force that he felt almost all the time and could only wonder what it meant.

The Salient Federation, Outer Rim Territories…

The long-time member of the Rift Alliance had been secure in that alliance for some time, the inhabited planets continued on their daily lives unaware of the horror that was awaiting them.

Their fleet was small compared to some of the other powers in the Rift Alliance but they made up for it with industrial facilities and a top tier weapons development lab.

They had no warning of the trouble to come until it was too late.

The Imperial Seventh Fleet appeared suddenly in system, over sixteen Star Destroyers with accompanying support vessels stormed into the system. The Salient Fleet was forced to engage but despite their commanders being experienced and intelligent people they were completely outmanoeuvred as the Imperial Fleet seemed to anticipate their every move and strategy, tearing them apart. Some units fled to the Separatist Alliance while any civilian ships that could fled too but soon the entire system surrendered to the Empire.

Thrawn watched the execution of the president and his council who had been captured alive, he soon received a message confirming that his promotion to the rank of Grand Admiral was now permanent and that the Emperor was most pleased with his efforts.

- x -

Sembla, Outer Rim Territories…

Grand Admiral Thrawn had not just contented himself with one target though, one of his commanders had been given charge of a small group of ships to attack the Rift Alliance world of Sembla and invade it.

The attack was supposed to happen at the same time as the strike on the Salient Federation so as to cause maximum chaos and shock not to mention leave no time for their allies to rally to their defence.

Sembla however would prove luckier, a random hyperdrive leak in the flagship slowed the deployment of their squadron and allowed a Mandalorian fleet to arrive in time to protect the system from occupation. They would remain on station for the meantime until they were more certain there wasn't another attack coming but the shock to the Rift Alliance would last a great deal longer and all question of pushing more against the Empire was stopped along with it.