Not original

717 FNM (21 BBY) Month 5

Mandalore, Beneath Sundari, The Living Waters

Taylor Palatine

"Quiet on set!" A producer yelled, hushing the nervous chatter from nearby staff.

Never in my life did I think my acting career would be this successful. From small plays and indie holos on Coruscant. Sure, my first big production didn't exactly go how I hoped... my parents almost stopped talking to me.

Now, the Silver Mandalorian was my ticket to cast my name in holo media history, and it was so much fun to do! The Mandalorians have taught me a lot, from how to fight and how to speak their language. Once I learned how to read Mando'a, I started to read the Silver Codex, to get a better idea on who the character I am portraying is like. And I found the Silver Codex fascinating, I was reading up on all sorts of interesting Mandalorian history in my free time. The more I read, the deeper I wanted to go, fascinated by these stories that actually happened. I wish more people would read the Silver Codex and pick up a book or an audio-holo to learn more of this.

The stories contained many Mandalorian heroes and villains that influenced the galaxy in their day, but I was surprised at how hostile my family and the Coruscanti often could be regarding Mandalorian culture. Mandalorian barbarians and warlords certainly threatened the galaxy once, but they have passed into history and their tales were still a good source of history and entertainment.

Such entertainment was being made with another scene for the latest episode: The Red Menace.

White Silver herself was here to watch me. I surreptitiously checked on her again, she was standing near Director Khip, with another male Silver Mandalorian as her shadow. The scene was written to show White Silver visiting the religious cults of Concordia during their pilgrimage to the Living Waters on Mandalore who she needed to recruit to aid her against the Red Communists of Anteevy.

However, the Concordians were skeptical of White Silver. She was accused of not being a real Mandalorian — never having taken the Creed nor bathed in the waters of the Old Mines beneath Sundari. So with Concordian locals as witnesses, I played the part of White Silver as she descended into the Living Waters to perform the ceremony.

In person, the Living Waters were as majestic and magical as I heard it would be. Since traveling to the Mandalorian Sector, I had seen many wondrous things, but nothing as captivating or otherworldly as the Living Waters. A local actor had shown me just how magical it was by taking a cup of the water and pouring it back in... The way the water was excited by the reunion — that mystical pulse of energy. It just felt so alive!

Once I was done reminiscing, I stretched a little bit to get ready for my part . We were outside the entrance to the Living Waters. A band of local Mandalorian actors were posing as the Cult of Mandalore, with their leader who is titled as "The Armorer" standing at the head of the tribe in her predetermined place. Dressed in a stylized gold Mandalorian helmet with embedded ivory going down the jawline, it made the wearer seem as if they were empowered with the tusks of a Mythosaur. The Armorer was also wearing a real beskar torso and armored kilt. To complete the look there was a toolbelt, strapped holding all kinds of forging tools. And as I learned in many of my sparring fights, in the right hands even tools can be incredibly dangerous.

"Cameras rolling! Standby!" The producer announced.

Here we go.

Director Khip raised one of his four arms, "Aaand… Action!"

"White Silver," The Armorer began, "although you have requested the aid of the tribes of Concordia in the fight against the Red Devils of Anteevy, 'one does not speak unless one knows'. We shall not hear your words, for you are an Apostate. Your words are a foreign wind we will not understand, for you have never taken the Creed, thus do not walk The Way. For you to take command of the Children of Mandalore, you must be redeemed."

"So, to be heard, to be redeemed in the eyes of your tribe, I must take the Creed?" I asked.

The Armorer nodded, "This is The Way."

"This is The Way!" The tribe behind her chanted.

I tilted my head, "How do I proceed?"

The Armorer stepped forward, passing by me, instead gesturing to the entrance of the mines. "Here lies the Living Waters of Mandalore. The songs of eons past tell of its time as a lair for mighty Mythosaur. Our first leader, Mandalore the Great, battled with the beast and defeated it before taming it. It is from these legends that the skull signet was adopted and became the symbol of our planet."

She turned to look at me, "You are to descend into the waters and recite the Creed. Only then may you be redeemed. Are you ready?"

I nodded, "I am ready."

"Then we may begin." The Armorer replied.

Tribal drums began to beat a beastly tune, hammering into my soul. A procession began to form, actors dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Cult tribe, carrying war banners with many different clan signets, with the Mythosaur-skulled Armorer leading them all. As we started to make our way through the tunnel, with me at the head, camera-drones followed us ahead and behind the parade to cover multiple angles. Reaching the chamber, I was to continue onward; carefully, I moved down the stone steps into the water. The Armorer stopped at the top, staying behind while the tribe spread out around the edges of the stone staircase into the water.

I continued down the steps until I was waist deep. Turning around, the drums stopped as the Armorer began speaking in a low tone.

"I swear on my name and the names of the Ancestors…" She recited.

With a little improvisation on my side, I respond back in Mando'a for the audience to experience it, "I swear on my name and the names of the ancestors..."

"That I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor..."

"That I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor..."

"And the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart."

"And the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart."

Stepping forward, the Armorer produced a bowl, scooping up some of the Living Waters. In one quick motion, she poured the contents over my helmet.

"This is The Way…" The Armorer recited.

And I responded, "This is The Way."

"This is The Way!" The tribe echoed in the background, almost a cheer.

I moved to step out of the Living Waters, to address the crowd of Mandalorians.

"The faithless Red Horde of communism, and their Separatist masters are poised to strike at the heart of all Mandalorians! Their heresy-filled clanless ideology would purge our histories, their parasitical leader salivates over the conquest of the sector! Over conquest of what it means to be Mandalorian! They preach pretty lies, promising peace and prosperity, but their actions reveal themselves. This includes repeated attempts to assassinate Princess Tanya Kryze, and their many efforts to corrupt the Prince with their poisonous words! Turning our own people against our rightful leader. Turning New Mandalorians into hypocritical communist!

Now rebuffed in deeds and words, the Reds plot to evade justice behind legal protections, dragging in the beskar'ad loving CIS into invading our home, our culture. We shall sally forth to meet them, to show them that the warm winds they sow will be rebuffed by the whirlwind of FOUR THOUSAND YEARS worth of strength. The Heretical traitors will know what being Mandalorian really is!"

The tribal background actors began clanging their beskar vambraces together in cheer.

Raising my fist, "For Mandalore."

"For Mandalore!" The crowded tribe members echoed the cry back, the acoustics in the old mine were heartracing.

"For Mandalore!" I repeated the cry again, in awe of the majesty of the sound of our voices across the Living Waters.

"FOR MANDALORE!" The wall of sound was almost a physical blow. The response of the tribe was less an echo and more the roar, as if from a majestic beast.

There was a pause, before, "CUT!" was announced. Suddenly, I was surprised at the amount of sweat working my way through my armored costume.

There was another pause before the Producer, sounding unsure of his own voice, "O-okay… that's a wrap, everybody." When the call echoed down the tunnel, I relaxed, pulling off my silver helm I brushed my hair a little. The ends were slightly damp, but I was quickly distracted as the actress playing the Armorer approached me with her helmet off as well, Ms. Mara Talik, I think her name was. When Khip asked the Armorsmith Guild for anyone who wanted to play the part of the Armorsmith, Ms. Mara volunteered. According to her, she runs an armor shop in Keldabe, here on Mandalore.

She grinned, and a strange light seemed to dance in her eyes, "Well done, kid." She offered a hand, which I accepted. I paused and tried to find words to capture the moment, looking for words to describe the emotions — I almost expected to visibly discern them in the air around me for a moment.

Ms. Talik's excitement spilled over my thoughts. "Dank farrik! That was incredible to watch up close, if that was not fictional, it would've gone into the history books for sure." She playfully punched my shoulder, "Still, something else might be recorded into history, if accidentally. Either way, congratulations kid, and let me be the first to welcome you. You're one of us, now." She smirked in a knowing way.

I hesitated, "What do you mean?"

She was interrupted in her reply when a background actor called her over, so she waved at me with a disarming smile and walked away. That was strange, but I decided to let it go, I figured I'd go talk to White Silver some more. It was fascinating to listen to her talk, to get a gleam inside her head so that I might reproduce it on holo. As I moved to go see the set crew, and more importantly, White Silver, the other Mandalorian actors came up to me. Some congratulated me, some shook my hand, others patted my shoulder, and some did all three.

Okay, that was weird. I know the scene I just did was awesome, but did it really need that kind of response? Then White Silver came into view, along with her second and Khip, who were reviewing the footage with pleased expressions, before noticing me and waved me over. White Silver was wearing a heavy brown poncho with a hood up. Her characteristic silver helm was hidden beneath, apparently she was wanted on Mandalore by some New Mandalorians that were not a fan of her, so she came disguised.

Khip grinned, "You've done me and my career proud, Taylor. That was a most exciting piece of footage, one of the best I have ever filmed! The ratings and credits will go through the roof after we release this."

"Thanks." I agreed, still too giddy with that strange and exciting energy to answer more eloquently., "It was... a thrill to do it." I swallowed and got my nerves under control. "How about you, Ms. Silver? Was it to your liking?"

She nodded, "Impressive, most impressive."

"Great... Hey, can I ask you a private question?" She tilted her helmet in, I guessed, curious confusion then gestured to follow her away from the film crew.

Once we were a distance away, she spoke, "Ask away, Ms. Palatine."

My tongue felt heavy, "After the scene ended, Ms. Talik said something strange. 'You're one of us, now.' Afterward, the other Mandalorians started congratulating me. I thought it was because of the scene, but maybe you could explain this Mandalorian behavior for me."

She chuckled. "I think it has something to do with the fact that this scene has now changed your life and public image forever."

I raised an eyebrow, still confused, "I don't understand."

"Although it was stage-managed and manufactured for an action show, the requirements of the ceremony were met. From here on, you are no longer only Taylor Palatine the actor, you are now Taylor Palatine the Mandalorian, truly and genuinely one of us."

My eyes bulged out once I comprehended her words, "Wait, what?! I thought it was just that; acting..."

She shook her head, "You bathed in the Living Waters and recited the creed. You were acting, but you were also sincere in intent. By all rights, in the eyes of the Manda, and in the eyes of the people, you are one of us now. You are Mandalorian. Credibility to the title is also aided by the fact that you know how to fight as a Mandalorian, how to speak our true tongue, and study our history.

There's a reason the Children of Mandalore say we are not a race. We are a creed, a culture. And now, that culture and history rightfully belongs to you, as it does to me, should you continue to accept it."

I was lost for any meaningful words, "O-oh — Wow, just… wow."

White Silver tilted her head, "Do you not want the title of being called Mandalorian?"

"N-no, just… I didn't think too hard about the implications of doing this scene, that I woke today as just an actress and will go to bed tonight a Mandalorian. But somehow... somehow, it just feels fitting. Like it was meant to be."

White Silver laughed softly, and her next words were sarcastic, "A Jedi would say, 'This is the will of the Force at work.'"

I laughed too, "Wait until my family hears about this, my siblings will not believe their sister is now a Mandalorian!"

We both shared another laugh, then White Silver spoke again, "Well, you can tell them that you are welcomed to Mandalore as your homeland. But perhaps we can take this a step further, and charge at this full speed." I looked at her curiously, unsure at what she meant. "In adherence to my Codex, no Mandalorian should be without their Beskar." My eyes started to enlarge again as I put together what she was saying.

"If you are truly committed to becoming a Mandalorian, then as a thank you for your contributions to the sector through your work, I will sponsor the creation of your own personal set of quality beskar armor. For you to wear in your day-to-day life, if you so choose it."

Before I could stop myself, I was giving the White Silver a tight hug.

"STARS! That would be so wizard! Thank you!" I repeated the praise a few times while holding her.

She seemed to be thrown off guard, as she patted me awkwardly.

"There are some conditions, though." She stated.

"Like what?"

"Are you familiar with Mandalorian color theory?"

I shrugged, "A little, only skimmed it to understand a part of a previous episode we made."

"Study it more closely tonight, then look at yourself and what you want out of life, so that we may customize your armor as such. The color choices are not a fashion choice, but a statement of how you live your life. Afterward, submit your choices to my droid, S4, and we may begin." She paused in thought again, "Oh, and what signet would you like to wear?"

I went a little red, moving one arm sheepishly and rubbed the back of my head, "Is it alright if I choose your emblem?" Pointing to the four-winged symbol emblazoned on my costume armor.

After a pause, she nodded gently, "I don't see why not."

21 BBY Month 6

Coruscant, Mandalore Tower

Tanya Kryze

Peace really was an illusion — even more so when it comes to Coruscant. Every day, news about the war would regularly come in, but Coruscant seemed frozen in perpetual peacetime, desperately presenting this false image as if it demonstrated strength, just chugging along like it had for centuries. There were few visible changes or reforms, despite that six months ago there had been a minor intrusion or invasion, depending on the way you look at it. It could even be considered an insurrection, a portion of the underworld population that keeps the city running sided with the droids, attacking installations across the planet.

I noticed all these problems, but otherwise tried to suppress my anxiety concerning Coruscant's fragility, this was beyond my concern. No, my concern was maintaining Mandalorian dominance when it comes to peaceful negotiations. And what dominance it had become! I had never realized it, but I had been fighting the political battles of the era with one hand behind my back as a representative. Previously, I had to run every proposal through Merrik and hoped that he would follow my advice. Now I'm the senator — I had essentially cut out the middle-man; I now hold sway over what Mandalore could vote on.

It was not like I could end the war with a snap of my fingers, as I was just one senator amongst many. However, the control I now had was ten times the control I had before. Before as a mere Representative, signing my name to a bill meant nothing on its own. Now as a Senator, my name and actions carried political weight and authority. Authority that I was more than eager to use for Mandalore's and my own benefit.

I wasn't trying to be the most corrupt individual in the entire galaxy — my own self-interest was also in the mutual interest of Mandalore. I also wasn't going to blatantly abuse my authority. I would never be foolish enough to sign off on something that would immediately see dividends sent directly to companies that worked closely with Mandel Hypernautics, like Mandal Logistics or Vesti Engineering Corporation. That's how you get caught, after all. No, I would simply go through the proper channels, maybe mention a company as a recommendation, but stick to soft influence and a strong image.

A major concern that had to be addressed was that of foodstuff. From a purely utilitarian standpoint, the supply of food was adequate to sustainably support the many more urbanized areas within Mandalorian space, but that was only a surface level understanding of the logistical quagmire that the war had foisted upon Mandalore and other Neutral Systems.

Food supplies were a requirement for the stability of any state, not only must a steady supply of food be provided to the citizenry to prevent starvation, but the quality of the food must be acceptable in terms of variety. The old adage of bread and games only goes so far, salts, sugars, spices, meat and other exotic foodstuffs must be provided to meet the needs of a modern civilian population to prevent unrest and criminality. Carbs alone don't cut it for populations with private blasters.

Such a wide assortment is nominally provided for by the free hand of the market. Simply put, where there is a demand, supply will arise. However, mass state actions, such as war, disrupts supply chains and there are times when a free market cannot reassert itself rapidly enough or at all. As distasteful as it was, some amount of central planning had to be undertaken, preferably from private citizens with the capital to rapidly shift to meet demands or from state actors responding to critical shortfalls.

However, before new supply lines could be established, effort must be made to stabilize any that had survived the disruptive wartime environment. Effort must be made to prevent price shocks that could cause cascade failures of other market sectors. Food was a requirement for survival, and if a food price shock hit an economic unit such as a family or a poor clan that could cause massive shortfalls in other 'less necessary' sectors such as electronics, clothing, transportation and entertainment sectors. Failures that would lead to even more symbiotic market sectors collapsing.

Concord Dawn had been the main issue that had caused food prices to skyrocket within the Mandalorian sector over the last few months. Not only did they seize control of over half the planet of Vorpa'ya, which put them in control of most of the agricultural products coming in and out of the sector, but it also looks like they are exporting food products that should have been used to feed the sector to both the Republic and CIS.

There were, of course, ways to work around this problem ethically. Other planets outside the Council of Neutral Systems could provide foodstuffs on both sides of the border near Mandalorian space.

However, the Republic was putting a lot of taxes on anything that we bought from them to feed their war effort, basically forcing us to in-directly participate through a necessity needed to cross the galaxy. I would like to say that this was a very clever idea. It would force us and other starving worlds to choose a side, especially if they were inclined to choose a side nonetheless. Except it became less clever after the CIS had lifted their embargo on the CNS.

Some magic Prime Minister Almec had pulled had gotten the CIS to lift their embargo, and Korkie was working as a representative to their Senate. Suddenly, we had quite an influx of food to cover our rising food shortages. Well, almost cover it. The CIS have their own people to feed as well, in addition to fighting the galactic war, so they can only sell any excess food at slightly above market price.

Frustratingly, most of the food that they sold us were products exported from Concord Dawn, at a slightly inflated price so that the merchants could turn in a profit. While it is annoying, that is how the free market operates and only an idiot would not take advantage of this golden opportunity for arbitrage, minting a vast profit with little risk. Of course, being the one footing the bill is never pleasant. The only course of action is to break this deadlock so that Vorpa'ya can resume food production, and we don't need to pay Concord Dawn for our food back. But that is easier said than done.

If it was just Mandalorians we were feeding, we probably would have been able to feed ourselves without issue. But the CNS was made up of more than just the Mandalorians. Adding to our list of issues, we had signed on to the Alderaan Refugee Conference. I had not been able to attend myself, but it had been quite a staggering, terrible affair, with another assassination attempt on Padmé Amidala. Maybe I should be more forceful and broach the idea of hiring a Mandalorian trainer for her guards to improve her security.

Thankfully, that had failed, but now we were responsible for a small part of the refugees being displaced by the widening conflict. These new demands on our resources meant we had to find ever more sources of food.

Personally, I support resettlement for refugees — find some temperate and spacious unoccupied world before we start dropping people and construction supplies down on it. The problem, of course, being that most Mandalorian worlds, worlds within the mainline sector and its neighboring cultural border, were not exactly habitable anymore. And that was before the Excision made it worse with sprinkling radioactive dust on most of them.

There was a reason Mandalorians were drawn to barbaric, toxic, and outright dangerous worlds with monsters to fight. We were drawn to adversity like moths to a flame. It's our culture and I respected it to some degree, simply because I'd gotten used to it. On the other hand, it makes taking in people who have been displaced by war much harder.

But it's not impossible. There were planets like Zanbar, Velmoth, and Cheravh, which were prime candidates for colonization. They actually have functioning ecosystems that weren't under constant danger of large predators to a great degree. They were within the Mandalorian sector and were not under threat of a massive conflict. Which was the reason I removed the idea of using Vorpa'ya as a potential candidate, I wouldn't just dump refugees in a potential warzone.

There are also planets in neighboring sectors that had a small population that could theoretically support refugees, but they had not signed on to the Neutrality Council yet, nor to any additional refugee commitments that Mandalore had. Thus, they would not be taking part, at least not yet. When they joined the CNS, I was totally plotting to use their unoccupied, habitable spaces on those worlds to resettle some of the population that was obviously going to be sent our way as the conflict went on.

But that was getting too deep into the future. I yawned, and lightly distracted myself, tapping my face to keep active and aware.

I should be preparing for the official ceremony for Tabi and Vai's wedding tomorrow, before we kick off the Mandalorian Expo on Coruscant. More than ever, we need the Expo to maintain and improve Mandalore's image for people here in the Core.

Unfortunately, I was called away from last minute wedding planner details by my senatorial duties. No longer was I the representative of Mandalore, but the senator of Kalevala and the entire sector of Mandalore. That meant Aunt Satine could use the currently empty title and position as Representative as a gift to a political ally.

I wasn't quite aware of how the politics had gone, but the Duchess had decided to give it to one of the most far-flung loyalist planets in the Mandalorian sector, Jakelia. They had then selected their representative and sent them on their way to Coruscant. Now they were due to arrive in the next half hour or so, I think.

I had to meet them, get to know them, and instruct them in their duties. Much more than what Merrik had provided for me, and give them warnings about issues they should avoid.

Yawning out loud once more, I wished for a cup of caf, only to be greeted by Engiz holding out a thermos for me. I looked at him, and he said, "Thought you might be running yourself a little bit ragged, so I had Vai whip you up some caf before we left the apartment."

I smiled eagerly at the thermos of caf, finally looking up to say, "Thank you." Taking the thermos, I popped it open, drinking some of the warm awakening elixir down; I let it settle as I closed it and handed it back for safe keeping.

He returned to his guard stance again while we waited for the new representative to arrive. We were notified that the new Representative was entering Coruscant's atmosphere a few minutes ago, so they should be here any second. I hadn't brought everyone out, as I didn't see the need to. Only Engiz and Captain Struc were present. The captain ignored Engiz, as he was occupied watching the area for snipers. We were all standing out here in the open, waiting to see if someone would try their luck and take the bait. It was a boring, but necessary excursion.

If there was anyone going to try and take a shot at me, now would be the best opportunity. There are only a few skyscrapers high enough to get a clear view of me, and I am glancing between all of them for a hint of a scope. If anyone did try to take a potshot, X4 did install some low-level shield emitters along the walkway for us to take cover behind; hopefully they would stop blaster bolts and projectiles.

"So, any idea which of the two they sent?" Engiz asked innocently.

I looked over my shoulder at Engiz and smiled, saying, "Probably the Princess." My voice was impressively calm and collected.

I hoped it would not be the prince, I repressed a burst of emotions, turning away slowly. I strategically hid my face from Engiz and looked away. The prince of Jakelia had kept it to himself, but he had definitely been making moves to try and see if I was interested in him. Obviously, he was trying to get a royal marriage. He had probably been put up to do it by his father, I would assume.

While his attempt had been nothing but failure, it had been something that Engiz had noticed. Halfway through that hunting trip we had gone on, the two of them had been peacocking at each other over who could do the most for me. I had not realized it at the time, not fully, but I was distressed to realize it was definitely what they were doing, now that I reviewed my memories.

So, as a result, I was rather hoping that the prince would not show up, simply to keep that behavior from continuing.

"I am also sure that he'll be too busy with his duties on Jakelia to be sent here." I kept my voice confident and bored. "He is the heir, and it's very rare to send your heirs off to a world like Coruscant if you have any alternative."

It was then that I was drawn from my thoughts, as a shuttle of an elegant build, perhaps from Naboo by its lines, came in low. The graceful vehicle finally came to a stop across from where I was standing on the platform.

There was a pause from all of us on the platform as the ship released heat and cooled down. Finally, the door started to open and down came a sleek, athletic woman with green skin, pointed ears, and blonde hair. "Princess Kyr'vehtka'ar, welcome to Coruscant." I greeted, giving a curtsy as she made her way down the ramp.

She smiled and made her way towards me, saying, "Princess Tanya, it is good to see you again." She ended her greeting with her own curtsy.

"Good to see you too, Princess Kyr'vehtka'ar." I said. I remembered our brief encounter on our last trip. She had been introduced during part of that little camping trip all those months ago. Suddenly, she was in front of me, leaning forward and surprising me with a kiss on my lips.

I blushed, flustered, as she backed off and said, "You don't need to call me that, Tanya. Representative Kyri will serve nicely, I think." Two BD-3000 droids came down the ramp from her ship, carrying a large supply of what looked like clothes boxes and suitcases.

I wondered if that was some sort of tradition that I was unaware of. She hadn't done that the last time we met, so I was suspicious. But perhaps the opportunity had never presented itself. If it's only something that you do when you're off-world, culture was a funny thing and had many different outlets. But this was a bit beyond what I would consider normal, and the fact that she wasn't acting like it was abnormal just made it even more confusing to me.

Adopting a mask of confidence, I said, "Well, if you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the room you'll be staying in."

She nodded before saying, "So, this is the fabled Mando Tower — where the future of our sector is decided. For some reason, I thought it would be taller."

She started to walk with me but stopped as she saw Engiz. "I recognize you, Engiz Ordo." And immediately leaned in, kissing the side of his helmet. When she pulled away, I spotted it left a dark red lipstick mark; that annoyed me.

I would check to make sure I didn't have such a mark on myself when I got up to my room, and remind Engiz to remove the one on his helmet as well. It was unbecoming of a Royal Guard, even he could see that. His eyes were wide with shock at her brazen attitude.

When I got the chance, I was going to have to lay some ground rules with the woman. To make sure she didn't get herself into too much trouble while here, as well as to keep her far, far away from Vai.

I sighed and led the way to the tower. "You'll be staying in one of the representative suites. It was my old residence when I was the representative."

"Oh, wonderful." Kyri said with a smile as the doors opened in front of us. "I hope it's prepared for me already. I'm quite eager to move in and see more of this city for myself."

I chuckled before saying, "You'll get a chance. Everyone's kind of busy right now, though. We're getting ready to hold a wedding ceremony, one of two, actually."

"Oh? Has someone claimed your heart already?"

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, finally shaking my head in disagreement. "No, it is not for me. We're holding Vai's marriage ceremony as a public demonstration of Mandalorian culture during the cultural expo tomorrow. There will be a separate private ceremony with family and relatives that will occur on Tabi's homeworld, Harswee, in a few months."

She looked understandably surprised to find out about the ceremonies.

"Cultural expo? That sounds fun. What exactly is being showcased?" She asked in an earnestly curious tone, it put me on guard; the elevator arrived, and we stepped inside.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Well, we don't want to get too violent. Mostly, it's just a concert with some talent I have brought in, some light shows, a poetry slam exhibit, as well as various stalls showcasing products that are usually sold in the Mandalore sector."

Kyri smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Well, that sounds fun. I can't wait to be a part of it. How can I help?"

Looking at her, I shrugged. "Anyway you want. It's a cultural festival. If you have something from your culture you want to show off, feel free to find a booth and display it. I'm sure everyone will be more than happy to see whatever you have."

"Hmm, all right. Sounds fun~."

The elevator quickly came to a stop as we arrived at the floor beneath my personal quarters, a room meant for the representatives. My royal guard still had some quarters on this floor. The door opened, and I stepped in, pointing towards the furthest back room. "As I explained earlier, you'll be getting my room. It's much further back and has the most security on this floor."

Kyri nodded her head and was about to say something, but Vai interrupted when she entered the main dining area from her room.

"Oh hey, the new girl." Vai called, giving a wave. Coming forward, she said, "We haven't met yet, but you can call me Vai. I'm Tanya's handmaiden."

"It's nice to meet you, Vai." Kyri said, extending her hand. They shook hands as she said, "I heard you're getting married and at such a wonderful time of life, too."

Vai rubbed the back of her head. "Thanks. I'm still trying to get used to the whole idea, but I'm ready for it. New battles, new stuff I have to deal with. But at least I have good friends." Her words were already trailing off, she left part way through, but glanced towards me on the way back out.

I shot her a smile and nodded back, happy to be supportive of my, I guess, childhood friend. At this point, we'd known each other for a long time now. Has it been a decade already?

But before I could get too deep into my thoughts, Morson came out from her room, saying, "Kyri? You're the new Rep girl?" She waved enthusiastically as she walked over. "Howdy, girl." She said, extending her hand to the green-skinned woman. Only for said representative to lean forward and give her a kiss on the lips, just like she had done to me. Which was very annoying.

"Nice to meet you again, Khae. I hope your time on Coruscant didn't dull your edge."

Morson seemed shocked, and her cheeks burned a bright red. After a moment, she stammered her reply. "I-I hope so too, we still have that rematch to settle."

I simply blinked, shaking my head, hoping that I could figure out what was causing her to be so overly friendly with certain individuals. She hadn't done that with Vai, so why is that?

I had a feeling I would find out soon enough and would be rather annoyed by it. Sighing, I said, "Anyway, let me show you your room."

Coruscant, Mandalorian Expo Square

Princess Kyr'vehtka'ar

Yesterday, I had fun messing with Tanya. Establishing dominance through ancient cultural displays was an old trick, but I hadn't expected for her to respond in kind with her own cultural display so quickly. I kept having to school my face and hide my amazement at the procession and pyrotechnics of the Mandalorian "wedding." While there's nothing unusual about having a little bit of extra flair for such circumstances, most Mandalorian weddings could be described as rather tame compared to this.

Understandable, that this was merely a show for the Coruscanti public. Tanya apparently researched all records of every wedding ever held in Mandalorian culture, synthesized and upscaled many of the elements into one larger harmonious procession, culminating in a concluding ceremony laden with symbolism. At the same time, each step of the wedding held something interesting for the public, the crowd's attention swinging in surprise to each new entertainer, then back to the couple. Likely it was also the closest any here had been to combat — at certain points blasts of fire and smoke, loud simulated explosions, were deployed in mock battles deceptively near the crowds. Behind and above, multiple Mandalorian bands debuted as part of the events; their first shows happening as part of the ceremonies on Coruscant today.

To be frank, having a couple in Mandalorian battle armor standing in front of a crowd as they say the words and commit to marriage while engaging in combat would probably not have been as interesting as this.

Anyway, I was standing off to one side, not one of the members of the family, just a visiting dignitary, so I didn't get a seat. But there weren't many seats, just members of Clan Visla and Clan Kregg separated by an aisle where the father of the bride was currently escorting her in that relatively beautiful dress down the aisle to where the rather short but well-cared man was standing.

You can tell he was from Harswee from a mile away, if he wasn't so short you couldn't see him from a mile away. Some may call that a mean joke; I'd say that's just a standard joke of my home sector. My home world of Jakelia, and Harswee have a long history of sniping at each other. It's just what we do.

Neither side really meant anything too mean by it; it was just an old tradition that had built up over generations. Honor duels do happen from time to time, but no one wants to have to deal with a blood feud, so death is minimized as much as possible. The only duels that warranted the other's death over the duel is a matter of leadership, like the Manda'lor.

I turned my attention back to the ceremony when the music signified the arrival of the bride. Today Vai was wearing a blue, white, and cyan beaded lace dress. Her extravagant dress is beaded with tiny blue gemstones along with several engraved beskar plates sewn to the sides of the skirt and bodice, with shoulder pauldrons engraved and highlighted in blue with Clan Visla's symbol.

I was a bit jealous of her dress, I will say that — it's a perfect combination of armor and fancy dresswork. I heard from Morson that her dress was made by the Dressmaker Blacksmith's Division on Gargon. While my dress is nothing to scoff at, it is subtler than what Vai is wearing. My green and bronze dress with a magenta waist cape relied on intricate embroidery that mimicked the Evergreen forests of Jakelia. The bronze acted like branches, the thicker layers of green were shaped like leaves, while the waist cape is there to provide a splash of color.

Tabi was wearing almost a full suit of commando armor. For some reason, it felt obvious that the only thing that was missing was a few blasters. His coloration was a little interesting, though. It was the classic set of daring colors, he'd gone for cyan, bronze, and magenta, A rather romantic set of colors, proclaiming he was nobility and passionately in love. It seemed zealous, especially with the pink cape coming off his shoulders.

I wondered what the Coruscanti people thought of this colorful armor. Then again, as I looked out to the left, I wasn't sure they really understood color theory. Most of the people who were viewing this, dignitaries or just rich and famous, wanted to see a Mandalorian wedding for the novelty of it. Many seemed to be awestruck by the pageantry and procession, but just many focused on the armor and colors in general.

Well, this was a hell of a show, I'll give Tanya that; she knew how to make it interesting. I watched the bride's father walk her down the aisle, wearing his own commando armor, not wearing a helmet, which was odd. I would have expected someone from Concordia to have been one of those very extreme religious types who never take the helmet off.

Guess I need to learn more about the inter-political nature of Concordia when I get the chance. That's probably something I won't need to worry too much about. My goals here on Coruscant were to represent my sector as a delegate to Mandalore's senatorial delegation and to battle for the heart of Tanya, I'd even settle for only half of it.

Anyway, I did notice he had his helmet hanging loosely from his belt, which had something interesting to say. The helmet had its distinctive T-visor, more boldly protruding outward from the helmet. It's an older design, prominently used by members of Death Watch during the last Civil War, interestingly enough. It makes sense, as most Death Watch supporters were exiled to Concordia after the Civil War. My thoughts were interrupted as I watched the groom approach the bride.

I watched with a smile as the third Prince of Harswee took his bride's hand and helped her onto the stage. Although I noted some interest from a woman near the front, looking extremely perturbed, being actively shushed near the Visla side of the wedding party. Some near family relation, I wondered. Checking on the bride again, now I noted some similarities between the two; was that Vai's mother? She looked particularly angry. Perhaps she didn't agree with her daughter's choice in men.

Either way, the ceremony was going forward without her permission. And it would appear that Clan Kryze was quite in favor of this marriage. Their clan armorer had apparently flown all the way from Mandalore to officiate it, which said a lot when she thought about it diplomatically. It tied Clan Visla to Clan Kregg, it also tied House Visla to the House of Harswee, and most importantly, it tied Harswee to Mandalore and House Kryze, since it was being officiated by them.

Another bold power play by the ruling family. My father was quite taken with Clan Kryze, ever since Tanya came on the scene. Over the last few years, he'd been watching the political machinations of the clan and approved their decisions quite a bit. That's why, when Tanya had visited our planet not so long ago, he had told both me and my twin brother to attempt to ingratiate ourselves into Clan Kryze.

We both tried quite thoroughly. Unfortunately, it had somewhat failed, at least for my brother, as it appeared Kryze was already circling Ordo for her next conquest. And it is easy to see why, seeing as Clan Ordo was a very old, powerful, and prestigious clan.

So, my brother's avenues of attack were closed, and he moved on to other possible routes of attaining power in this new CNS by joining the SDF, ascending up the military ranks.

However, as far as I was concerned, there was still a possibility that I could achieve victory. It was well known that Tanya and the bride-to-be had kissed, which would imply that Tanya was more on the open side of some relationships, at least when it came to women. Even if she were to attain a marriage with Ordo, there was a chance that I could successfully integrate myself into that little niche of openness that was available, ensuring security and safety for my own world.

A small chance, but I would take it, especially in such troubled times.

I sort of stopped paying attention to the wedding but paid more attention as we came to the end. The bride and the groom kissed, celebration was going on — clapping, party poppers, and such. Then Vai threw a bouquet, which wasn't really a Mandalorian thing, at least not by any Mandalorian cultures I was aware of. It probably came from the Core. Either way, the bouquet went up and hit Tanya in the face, even though she wasn't among the gathered Mandalorian women trying to reach for it.

I had to hold back smug laughter, as that was rather funny, and perhaps a sign of good fortune; proof that my path was the righteous one after all.

Coruscant, Mandalorian Expo Square

Ahsoka Tano

Coruscant's weather was unusually warm today. I noted, as the sun beat down on the structures in and around this cultural expo.

I had never been to one of these before and probably wouldn't have come any other time. But I had just gotten back from Geonosis, which was a horrifying experience considering the brain worms and the disaster it would have caused if it got loose. So, Barriss and I had been given a week of mandatory leave by the Jedi Council to recover from that traumatic event.

We weren't really sure what to do with ourselves, so Master Windu suggested going to this Mandalorian cultural expo, as it is the only notable event that is happening on Coruscant at the moment. He even contacted the Senator from Mandalore to get us a couple of VIP tickets to the concert after they had sold out, in hopes of putting our minds in a better place. I don't know if that will work, especially after what we had just been through. But we didn't really have anything better to do, so we might as well try it.

Barriss seemed particularly affected, as she seemed to be staring off into the distance fairly frequently. She is unsteady in the Force, and I tried to involve her in conversation to keep her mind off of it. I imagined her experience must have been more strenuous than mine, considering she had actually had one of those brain worms in her head.

So to continue to distract her, I looked around, and I said, "Hey, there are some of those vambraces that Mandalorians always wear. Want to take a look at them?"

"Sure." She said, sounding lethargic, to say the least. I was worried that she wasn't healing from the experience at all. I hoped I could find something to distract her as we walked over to the vambraces.

There was quite a lot of gear, though most of them appeared to be just decorative. However, a few of them had interesting technology like communicators or maps in them. "I wonder if I should get one of these for Master Anakin." I mused aloud, looking at a black set of vambraces, knowing that he preferred darker colors.

Barriss nodded, saying, "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a little bit of defense around our wrists when you're going up against people like Ventress every other month."

"That's a good point." I said, looking at the merchants, and asked, "Are any of these lightsaber resistant?"

The merchant, who had been busy talking to a young woman jerked, looked over at me, then looked at my lightsaber, and turned away to put away some tools. I browsed around while I waited, when she finally returned, she was clearly annoyed. "I'm afraid we don't have any lightsaber-resistant equipment here, honored Jedi." Odd, nearly every word of that sentence was a lie. It was unusual to be deceived so openly, knowing our identity.

"You are lying." I decided not to beat around the issue, especially as Barriss had been acting strangely all afternoon. She didn't even comment on the merchant until my accusation, finally seeming surprised, before slowly nodding at my assertion.

The woman appeared very nervous now, and hesitated. "I-it's not exactly like you can get beskar outside the Mandalorian sector easily."

"Who said anything about beskar?" Barriss picked up on the odd detail. I tried to recall what I knew of the Mandalorian-iron metal.

"Uhh, you are talking to a Mandalorian. The only material resistant to lightsabers that we use is beskar. I can sell you what I have, Jedi. It's very expensive though, as it has to be either mined or forged by one of their armorers who know the secret of forging Beskar. I can't order more either, which is also why the price is so high." She finished in a tumble of words.

Barriss sniffed loudly, clearly dismissing the merchant woman's explanation. I remained impassive, and polite; such hamfisted negotiation tactics were useless against us Jedi. "Unfortunate." I remarked simply, shaking my head, as Barriss looked at a green set of vambraces near a different merchant. Looking at her, I asked, "That's a nice color for you."

Still seeming distant, she said, "Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I've just been... I've been distracted; thinking about a lot."

"Thinking about what?" I said, trying to help as we stepped further away from the stall, giving us some privacy

"Lots of things, lots of things." She said vaguely, shaking her head. "Mostly it's the guilt of that clone I had to kill on the medical ship. I've never killed a person before."

"Well, to be fair, he wasn't exactly a person anymore or alive. He had probably already been taken over by the brain worm." I pointed out as I gave her my full attention. But she kind of shook her head in disagreement.

"Maybe he was beyond saving, but I was infected with one of those same brain worms and you managed to save me, could we not save him? What if I was too fast to resort to my lightsaber the way I did? I should have Force Pushed him away. He would have still been alive after you figured out a way to free them. This war is making us use our weapons too fast when we should be attempting to heal."

I nodded, understanding, but I didn't agree with her conclusions. "You weren't really given any other opportunity to do anything, Barriss. It was either use it or get infested with the worm. Then, with those choices, I think you made the best one. Otherwise, the situation would have gone a lot worse, a lot quicker."

"Yeah, does that not say something about the whole war? We keep getting put into situations where our choices are bad or worse, and we don't find a way out of it other than to take the bad. We are Jedi. We should be exploring for the path in between the bad and the worst that leads to a good outcome. And it feels like all we've managed to do is amplify the bad outcomes."

I nodded. "Well, it's a war. There's not much of a choice but to choose whatever we can do."

"So doing something is better than nothing? Our choices were correct because we had to do something? And deciding to join the war was us doing something? It definitely doesn't feel like that was the best option, having seen the consequences of the war so far."

"We're not that bad." I said. "I mean, the Separatists seem to be responsible for much more of the atrocities and conflict."

She nodded readily, in obvious agreement, "Yes. Most of them are, that's for sure. Usually." Barriss was doing and saying strange things again. My expression must have betrayed my confusion, because she replied. "I don't know. I'm just thinking back to that one particular Separatist I ran into on Null. He had a choice. He could have let his side commit war crimes, but he shot the people who were going to do it. We'd be dead if he hadn't stepped up."

"I've not heard that story before. But just because there's one good Separatist, it doesn't mean the majority are not making a massive mistake."

"But are we not making a massive mistake as well? Perhaps this whole war is just one massive mistake that both leaderships are making." She said, folding her arms across her chest as she shook her head.

"It is a massive mistake, either way you look at it, I guess. But it's not like anyone's going to stop it. The war has started, and the Separatists are invading systems that don't align with their goals. I guess if there could be some sort of peace conference, there might be something. But as far as I've seen, we're not at a stage where either side even wants to talk about a peace conference."

"That's probably a mistake of the Jedi." Barriss said with a shake of her head, saying, "We should be pushing for a ceasefire. Instead, we're out there fighting."

I wasn't really sure what to say to that. She made a good point, but well, there was nothing we could do. We were just Padawans. We couldn't exactly tell the Council to do something. Putting my hand on her shoulder, I said, "I'm sure the Council will try and bring peace sooner or later. We just have to stop Count Dooku and his machinations."

She let out a sigh and nodded. "I hope so. But perhaps we, as Jedi, should be taking more from Serifa Altunen and stepping away from conflict entirely, like the CNS we should step away too."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea, the Separatists seemed likely to draw CNS in conflict eventually but-" I hesitated, remembering I was in public. I looked around for anything suspicious, while trying to distract Barriss. "Anyway, we've got a whole day to spend at this expo. Where do you want to go next?"

Barriss accepted the change in subject easily enough, looking around the expo with fresh interest. "I guess we could go look at that section over there for fashion. I don't know, what do people normally do at something like this?"

"Force if I know, but looking at dresses sounds nice at least." I said, walking in that direction and shaking my head at some of the outfits I could see from this distance. "I don't know how anyone can perform any acrobatics in something as restrictive as some of the dresses over there."

Barriss shrugged before saying, "Master Luminara says a dress doesn't really restrict you if you train to fight inside of it. It can even make you more acrobatic in the long term."

"Oh, so that's why you... You're just putting on an extra layer of clothing for more training. That makes much more sense." I was usually too busy to do research on entirely new techniques.

"Not exactly... There are some cultural reasons as well." Barriss said, "But, yes. You should try it sometime. You would probably be less commented on if you wore something less revealing."

"What are you talking about?" I asked confusedly, trying to eliminate any trace of annoyance.

"Oh, someone mentioned it to someone, and it's gone around the Temple about how that one Republic ship commander, Captain Pellaeon, made a point of forcing you to wear an official uniform while on his ship."

"Oh, that guy." I said in relief, rubbing my forehead. "Nothing wrong with him, I would admit, but he did seem to have a problem with how loose the Jedi Order was on uniform standards. Quite a bit of the military structure was that way. Now that I think about it, he had been particularly annoyed with my outfit."

Now Barriss was giving me another strange look again.

"Let's not think about that guy." I said, shaking my head as I led the way to the dresses.

Coruscant, Mandalorian Expo Concert

Mace Windu

This was an interesting waste of time. I learned about the Mandalorian Expo a week ago. Some sort of cultural transfer event that the senator, at the time representative of Mandalore, arranged to show that Mandalore's culture was just as vibrant as any core world.

A noble goal, and as a result, a few Jedi who were on the planet had chosen to make an appearance. Master Coleman Trebor was doing everything he could to try and improve the public image of the Jedi ever since the little scandal a few years back, where a child we mistakenly believed to be an orphan entered the Order.

That whole fiasco was still brought up from time to time to hurt our public image. Thankfully, the mother of said child had proven to be distractible and showed herself to not really care for the child. At least, we believed she was the mother. Most, at least I did, wondered about that sometimes. There had never been a proper DNA test, and the fact that she seemed to have forgotten about the child the moment the media came around and gave her the time of day made me suspect that perhaps she was not the mother as we had believed, but some fraudster involved in some scheme.

Granted, I could be a bit pessimistic, but it had happened before. In the thousands of years the Jedi Order had existed, there were stories of situations like this happening. Usually, it didn't get as bad as that one had, but it happened nonetheless.

Now, Master Trebor was doing his best to try and improve the political situation and the public appearance of the Jedi, and that meant helping with this cultural expo. My only role here today was to attend, demonstrate solidarity; a bit of Jedi funding went into the whole thing. The idea was that if we showed that we were willing to learn about Mandalorian culture, perhaps they would be drawn away from negative influences. Hopefully, it would discourage them to heed Death Watch's and the Protector's Siren's call to join the CIS.

I leaned back in the chair overlooking the concert hall that had been selected for the Expo. The large population of local citizens were everywhere. Some were taking pictures, some were pointing, looking, laughing, and generally enjoying the sights.

"Drawn quite a crowd, the Mandalorians have." Came the familiar voice of Grandmaster Yoda as he floated in on a chair.

"Grandmaster." I acknowledged with a nod. "I was not aware you were going to be attending today."

The older Jedi smiled and floated into position beside me. "Not expecting too, I was. But persuaded me to come, a young friend did." The old Grandmaster returned a genuine smile and held out a small yellow band resting on his lap. "VIP access, I have. Refuse, how could I?"

I indicated towards the yellow band and device attached. "Do you speak of Senator Kryze?"

"Hmm, the wrong name, perhaps 'Kryze' is."

I made a huff of annoyance, his cryptic remarks in the past regarding Mandalore, at least, had proven accurate. I had put that region out of my mind lately, leaving such matters to Yoda's guidance. But now, Senator Kryze's parentage had gone from minor importance to the daughter of the Duchess and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was quite the disappointment. He had failed the codes as much as Qui-Gon Jinn. More troublesome, Obi-Wan was now a popular role model to many youthful Jedi, which could potentially cause trouble in the future.

However, in a special hearing, the Grandmaster and several other Masters had spoken on the matter, and it had been decided that he should not be punished for the mistakes of his youth. Their reasoning was that Obi-Wan was a committed member of the Order for decades, and just because he had made a mistake when he was a Padawan, should not be held against him. My counterargument that his errors had accumulated and would only lead further Jedi astray was acknowledged, but the other Masters felt every willing Jedi was needed. And one could not deny that his mistake had been somewhat beneficial to the Order, for now.

His daughter had made great inroads with the Mandalorian population for the Jedi. There was now a Jedi Temple in the Mandalorian sector, something that was never dreamed to be possible.

Letting out a sigh, I looked at Yoda before saying, "Master Yoda, how would you resolve the situation between Obi-Wan and Senator Kryze?"

"Resolve? Know the conclusion, I do not. Trust in the Force, I do." He said, looking out over the auditorium. Following his gaze, I saw he was actually looking at a set of boxes across the way, where I could see the Senator in question speaking with her entourage. In a softer voice, he added, "Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I shot Yoda a look of surprise at the admission. "Perhaps you're right on that. Are there any other clues you've had uncovered when it comes to Mandalorians over the last few years?"

Yoda chuckled good-naturedly, "A good question." He paused as if thinking over his words a bit more, "The darkness that is blocking the Jedi's foresight of the future also binds Mandalore just as tightly now. Yet this is a sign of hope, I believe. That their fate is now shared with the Republic. Whatever that fate may be."

"What occurred at Ilum with Master Unduli and her Padawan?" The Grandmaster had departed in a rush a few months ago and arrived back at Coruscant just as quickly. Now Padawan Barriss was here, but Yoda had yet to report despite the ample time.

"A glimpse beyond. Able, was I, then, to see. The darkness extends far, but not everywhere." Yoda nodded towards another group of Padawan's attending the Expo. "This conflict provides purpose. Keeps the Padawans focused, it does. Out there, in the uncharted space, temptations lurk. Barriss carries that now, a concern I have."

Letting out a deep breath, I looked out over the auditorium. "Well, Master Yoda, considering your last guidance has done so well, I hope it continues to do so. Something is clouding the Force the more this war goes on. The Dark Side hides from us the source of its emanation. "

The Grandmaster nodded and began his agreement before saying, "What the Dark Side clouds from the Light, the Light can cloud from the Dark Side. Served the Dark Side, the Mandalorians may have, in many wars across many generations. But served the Light, they have also, in many of those same generations. Neither wholly of the Dark nor wholly of the Light, they are. Of service in our efforts to find the Dark Side's source, they may be. Clouded like we are, they are not, nor held to the same measures as we. But the great purpose, we share."

"You believe that by working with Mandalorians, we might be able to uncover the Sith Lord behind this clouding of our sight?" I asked, trying to clarify. The more Yoda spoke, the less he was telling. It was a tactic I had observed enough times.

Yoda shook his head. "Not uncover on purpose, but perhaps stumbling about as they try to keep themselves out of the pitfalls that the war wants, will reveal something. Force their hand, I have no guarantees. That's what will happen, by throwing my support in with a person I consider a friend, I find them more likely to be of use to the Order than nothing at all."

I nodded, understanding the sentiments, before saying, "It's too bad we didn't have confirmation about her capabilities all those years ago. From what I've seen, she might have made a formidable Jedi."

Yoda shook his head and said, "Not certain, that is. Even if we had known, maybe. Perhaps it would have pushed them further away. Like repels like. From the way she thinks, not a good Jedi, she would have made. Too much of a politician, too much a warrior, she is. No, I sense the Force wanted her where she is. Trust in the Force, I do. But what plans the Force has for her, know not. But everything becomes more shrouded as the war goes on."

I nodded, saying, "Hopefully, we find some way to bring an end to this war and defeat the Dark Side." I shook my head, thinking back to Geonosis, feeling a pang of regret. It could have been much worse. If I had been able to see what was coming, I may have been able to better plan the operation. But I didn't, and as a result, so many good Jedi were dead. Friends, comrades, people I had known for decades. Their lives snuffed out. I did not mourn their passing, as that was not the Jedi way. They had returned to the living Force. But I regretted my mistake nonetheless. It is how one learns not to make them again.

Yoda seemed to sense the dark wanderings of my thoughts, but surprised me with his next words. "Have you heard the words of the Mandalorian Prince? 'Mutual peace only can be achieved through diplomacy?'"

"We cannot compromise with the Dark Side." I answered immediately.

"Strange." Yoda remarked. "Thought, did I, it was the Sith who dealt in absolutes."

I was tired of Yoda's endless tests of my patience, so did not rise to a response. After a few moments, he floated his chair slightly higher, in an obnoxious manner. One who did not know the Jedi Grandmaster might assume he was repositioning to get a better view.

"Wonder what song they're going to sing tonight, I do. Not listed anywhere, is it. A new single they've been working on." Grandmaster Yoda wondered aloud, tapping his cane against his chin.

"Well, I assume they will tell us as soon as they're on the stage. I would just assume it would be something very Mandalorian." I commented absentmindedly, thoughts elsewhere, and leaned back into my chair.

Yoda chuckled before saying, "The most Mandalorian thing I know for them to do is fighting Jedi. Perhaps it will be a song about fighting Jedi."