Beyond - Legends The Return of the Queen: The Next Generation 8

Title: The Return of the Queen
Author: Mira Grau
Timeframe: 73 ABY
Characters: Ulrika Grau, Elena Kyr, Mira Grau, Tia Vandel, Jacen Solo, Allana Solo
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Adventure
Summary: A year after the daring mission to Coruscant that changed the course of the Third Galactic Civil War the final phase of the war is rapidly approaching.

Prologue

…the year following the daring mission to Coruscant, that changed the history of the Galaxy forever, the war had taken a new, dramatic turn, where before the war had been dominated by slow movements, precise, carefully planned offensives and long periods of stagnation along the front lines, now the war once more entered into a fast and hectic phase, as the GA became engulfed in chaos. The sheer extend of the rebellions, desertions and protests that occurred in these twelve months can, if anything, only be compared to those following the battle of Endor almost seventy years prior. At first people protested, went to strikes, while soldiers deserted, but soon entire worlds would leave the GA. Zeltros being the first world to declare it`s independence and absolute political neutrality. Something the GA tried to stop by responding with brutal military force, to varying decrees of success, Zeltros`s position was reinforced quickly by Coalition forces, leading to the Party Planet joining the Qaelan Accords but other worlds were not so lucky. Caamas and Onderon where both recaptured by GA Forces, the uprisings put down and order enforced with cruel oppression. The fate of these worlds serving as a grim reminder that even as it lay dying the GA still had the capabilities to drag billions upon billions to the grave.

What kept considerable portions of the GA and it’s military behind Hett and his Sith supporters was the deep rooted corruption and support network he had build for two decades before his coup and only further reinforced ever since. On worlds like Kuat and Mon Calamari he had long since won over the heads of local industry and governance who feared the end of their privileged status quo in chase of a defeat in the war. Meanwhile on others like Kashyyyk the loyalty for the GA was very strong due to the presence of figure like Jacen Solo amongst the allied forces. The Wookiees had never forgiven Solo for burning their world and so they now remained with Hett (who also had heavily favored their world in their conflicts with the Trandoshans). And even beyond that there were many who argued that Hett might have been a Sith, but he had also ended the Hutt Space`s many millennia long reign of terror and as such was still more worthy of support than any Jedi. Yet other, especially towards the Galactic North where utterly afraid of the Empire, and what vengeance they might bring onto the GA from the unprovoked and brutal invasion they had suffered through in the last few years. And so, whether out of fear, greed or genuine loyality the GA had managed to retain control over a considerable portion of it’s territory, from Core to Rim.

Still the year saw the GA loosing their only real ally, the Mandalorians. Decimated by the Imperial Plague Mandalore and it’s surrounding worlds were in a desolate state, millions had died and any remnants of order and state control had collapsed, several clans had been almost whipped out completely, millions of children had lost their parents and older siblings, and ultimately only the Coalitions humanitarian mission had prevented Mandalorian society from completely falling apart. With the aid of Arkanian scientists the mission had been able to produce a cure for the nanovirus, ultimately managing to save whatever Mandalorian Warriors who had managed to survive until then. And it were these warriors who in turn prevented a Sith plot to capture the member of the mission to use them as hostages against the Coalition. It was Mandalore Mirta Gev herself who turned on her former ally and master to protect the people who where trying to save hers, and afterwards Gev willingly surrendered herself to the Coalition to stand trial for her crimes after the war, the mass slaughter of her people having left her a broken woman. In the ruins a new provisional Mandalorian government was formed around Sabine Wren, who also had lost most of her Clan to the Nanonvirus, but due to it’s desolate state Mandalore would play no further role for the rest of the war.

The Empire and the Coalition meanwhile had used the chaos in the GA to advance further into their territories, the Imperials, now backed by their Chiss allies retook the worlds lost in the intial GA invasion, then began their slow and stead advance south. As mentioned above the GA forces resisted the Imperial advance much more stubbornly and desperately than the Coalition, desertions and negotiations where far rarer, even if Emperor Davin Fel had given strict orders to his forces when it came to the punishment of war crimes. While the Emperor and also the Conducator both stressed the importance of sticking to the Yavin Conventions they couldn’t be everywhere at once and at times Imperial units would engage in looting, pillaging or even the executing of surrendering GA soldiers and in some cases civilians, not helped by the fact that Jagged Fel kept encouraging the Imperial Armies to make the GA pay. By the end of the year the Imperials had broken through the GA stronghold at Billbringi and a month later met with the Coalition forces for the first time at Borleais, where Admiral Myri Antilles of the Qaelan Accords and Empress Dowager Jaina Solo-Fel shook hands over the liberated planet. To the East the Imperials had reached the, still neutral, Dathomirian DMZ but heavy GA resistance along the Hydian way had slowed down their advance to a crawl with both sides taking heavy losses in the lengthy battles. The Empire`s final major ally the Tion Hegemony, still cut off and located deeply with GA territory, received a breath of fresh air this year as the GA redeployed many of their forces to other fronts, but the absolute hell the Tionese had gone through in the last two years meant they weren’t able to perform any offensives themselves, instead just used the time to rest and replenish their forces.


The Coalition on their side of the Galaxy had advanced further into the core, quickly sizing Duro just days after the mission on Coruscant, then advancing north. The long isolationist Neimoidia Sector signed as treaty with President Betsy Hiran, still remaining neutral in the war itself but declaring a “co belligerent” status and supporting the Coalitions advance logistically. This allowed the Coalition to advance on and take Commenor, then move further Northeast to protect Zeltros from the GA’s counterattack, with preparations being made for a further advance towards Onderon in the next year. But the major advances had happened further to the Galactic West in the Deep Core, as the Coalition, using smuggler routes and old star maps (some provided decades ago by Captain Jimbo Grau of the Eriadu Authority) to move through the region and seize Byss, then take Prakith before meeting major GA resistance in the battle of Empress Teta, the final hurdle to finally reach Coruscant. In this battle the combined Coalition, Khanate and Corellian Fleet (supported by Vice Admiral Garps Imperial detachment) faced three GA fleets in the largest naval engagement of the entire war, the battle shifting several times but in the end the allied forces proved victorious in large parts due to High Admiral Tobin Malek’s excellent leadership, who in that victory once and for all cemented himself in Eriaduan history as the second coming of his ancestor Arien Redan. Afterwards the GA completely retreated from the western parts of the Core, and formed the new Frontline around Brentaal and Aragau, allowing the Coalition to reach Coruscant before meeting their Imperial allies at Borleais.

Coruscant itself had suffered from several GA counterattacks throughout the year, and more than once had to endure bombardment and ground attacks, causing considerable casualties in the civilian population and the worlds defenders. But the combination of intelligent uses of planetary shields and ground to orbit canons, as well as a constant stream of deserting GA warships and battlegroups prevented the Sith from retaking the world during the ten months it took the Coalition to reach the Galactic capital and kept the losses far lower than many had estimated. Of course much of this will always be accredited to Colonel Valentina Calles and her Lost Sons mercenary group who not only ensured the rebels relatively smooth takeover of the world but also lead the defense during the coming months and in the coming years many on Coruscant would celebrate her as the woman who saved the world. But Calles wasn’t the only person who became a legend in these ten months. Almost as important as she, and in some ways even more revered was Jacen Solo. The former Sith, long been reported dead was in the chaos everywhere at once, healing the wounded, speaking to the people, helping those who needed his help and fighting on the frontlines whenever the GA tried to land on the world, and while he certainly didn’t convince everyone, his actions during the raid on the world and then in it’s defense still allowed him to restore at least some of his image to the Galactic Community.

Either way, the full liberation of Coruscant by the Coalitions Fleet marked a clear turning point in the war. When the mission to the world and the famous broadcast threw the GA into chaos, the liberation of the capital and not too long after the meeting of Imperial and Coalition forces at Borleais showed the Galaxy that the Allied Forces where on their way to victory and that the GA was nearing it`s end. But the war wasn’t over yet, and the Sith would still cause much suffering in many places, and one of these places was Hapes…

Officially ‘liberated’ by the GA three years prior early in the war, Hapes had been under occupation for three years now, and in these three years the GA had looted the wealthy of the Consortium to finance their war, a considerable portion of the nobility had been arrested and in some cases outright executed, with all their property sized. And yet, despite this Hapes was one of the more stable GA held territories, in some ways even more stable than outright GA worlds after the broadcast. Mostly because the GA had given the long oppressed Hapan males the rights of full citizens and had ended the reign of the cruel and corrupt nobility. In Hapes many common people still fully saw the GA as liberators and heroes to celebrate, not oppressors, even if these liberators began to press more and more money and resources out of the consortium as time went on. Still Hapes was still one of the more stable GA territories, and a large source of wealth and supplies for the Sith, at least until the fourth year of the war began and the leaders of the Allied Nations came together on Coruscant to discuss their plans for the post war Galaxy…

From The Third Galactic Civil War, by Princess Elliah

 

One

The two women stood, side by side in the empty meeting hall of the space station, silence filled the room as both of them gazed down through the transparitsteel window at the planet below. For this moment it was just the two of them, one woman with short black hair in the robes of a diplomate, the other with long blonde hair wearing a business suit. They had send their bodyguards, aides and adjutants away, had allowed themselves this one moment of peace and quiet, to step out of the chaos their lives had been in the last couple of decades for just this one moment.

“It is almost surreal, isn’t it?” The blonde woman spoke. “This is it, Coruscant, the cradle of humanity. The end of a ten thousand year long exile, can you imagine how many generations before us have dreamed of this day? How many parents instilled the thought of this day into their children? Billions upon billions of Faithful have been dreaming of this day, have prayed for it, worked for it, shed blood and tears for it, died for it.”

Ilona Malek crossed her arms beneath her chest as she looked at the President. “I grew up here, the daughter of the then Eriaduan senator, but this world has no personal meaning to me.” She made a pause, “Eriadu is my home, and it will remain my home, no matter what.” She asked herself for a moment if their old apartment still existed, in a building for senators. But, of course not, the Vong had long destroyed everything of that old Coruscant, especially everything on the surface levels. Ilona had heard there had been gangs and survivors in the lowest of levels who had no idea of the Vong Invasion, nor the Empire, or the Galactic Alliance, these people who had never seen the sun still believed themselves to be part of the Galactic Republic, if even that.

“And yet we are still here,” Betsy Hiran said. “We have done it Ilona, we have fulfilled the most ancient dream of our people. We have changed the Galaxy, tomorrow I will pray in the Chapel of our Lady Hope. There are cathedrals on this world who have been misused as museums, storage facilities and factories, now they can finally be consecrated again.”

The Chapel of our Lady Hope the oldest remaining Pius Dea shrine, on the surface level of Coruscant was considered the most holy place of the entire religion, and every faithful was expected to pilgrimage there once in their lives. On Eriadu the noble houses would even finance short pilgrimages for their workers, who would travel to the center of the Galaxy then take a quick Elevator Ride down to the surface to pray at the shrine. But nobles where expected to take a longer trip, the most faithful walked down level by level, through endless stairways and through all the different layers of Coruscant Underworld, Ilona had no doubt that Betsy had taken this complete pilgrimage at some point in her life, she herself had taken the worker variant instead, for her the ruins of the ancient church were little but a pile of stones, a relic of the past their faith had thankfully outgrown.

"Here we stand, at the extremity of our exertion, having cast behind us the idols of our fathers, to once again carry to our foe the penalties due their sacrilege. Come perdition or hard vacuum, the Republic expects that every citizen will do his duty." The dark-haired ambassador quoted. “Is it that what`s in your mind right now?”

Betsy looked up to her, “Contispex the first? His inauguration speech? You still remember that?” Of course, all Eriaduan children where expected to learn the most important parts of this speech in school, and if they wanted to ace their class they needed to know the entire thing, not just the first few sentences.

“I do,” Ilona said, “is it that what you want? To become a new Contispex? Start a new age of religious war? Turn the Galaxy into an even larger slaughterhouse than it already is?” She made a gesture towards the planet below them. “All those trillions of beings down there, maybe fifty percent are human, and at max one to two percent are faithful even if the numbers might have gone up at bit during the last year. But all these trillions, do you want to evict them from their homes? Or slap chains around their wrists and necks to work for their superiors? You spoke of the pain of our peoples exile to Eriadu; do you want Trillions upon Trillions to suffer that very same pain to cleanse the home of humanity? Want to become the next bloody tyrant in Galactic History?”

Ilona bit her lip, she had gone to far, like the majority of the Coalitions leadership she didn’t like their president one bit, but unlike most of them Ilona had always made a point to at least treat her politely, to not sink down on her level and just shower her with insults and sarcastic comments like Ulrika and Elena did. She wanted to follow Cameron’s example to treat Betsy like an actual human being, despite her distaste for her. But in this moment her frustrations had just boiled over, why… why couldn’t she be sharing this moment with Saul instead of Betsy? Why couldn’t she stand here with a President she actually trusted and admired, instead of this woman with whom she only associated because she had to? To her credit Hiran had continued most of Camerons policies, and during this first year of her reign so far not overstepped her position or authority a single time, in a way as if nothing had changed from the days Saul had lead them, but everything had, and Ilone a reminded herself that Betsy still had five years in office ahead of her, if not more due to the surges in popularity the successes of the last year.

“Contispex,” Hiran said quietly, “he certainly was a great man in his own way… but he made mistakes, the corruption that festered under his dynasty lead our people astray. Their legacy is best left in the pages of history where we can learn from their mistakes rather than repeat them.”

Ilona stared at the President, she had expected a lot, but not this. Betsy Hiran admitted a fault at the Contispex dynasty? That was insane. To this day most Eriaduans, especially nobles followed a sanitized version of the Pius Dea Crusades, certain warcrimes and mistakes where admitted, but usually blamed on individual commanders and leaders, as in general the era was considered as one of pride to many nobles, and the eventual defeat and exile an open wound festering in their minds. The Contispex family where considered great leader and visionaries with at most their final members being recognized as notoriously corrupt and even then mostly due to bad influences from outside on them. Of course there were various Houses who looked critically at these times, but Ilona had never expected to hear something like this from Betsy Hiran. It was almost surreal.

“And what lessons do you take from them?” Ilona asked, maybe this whole thing was just Hiran trying to butter her up again.

The President bit her lip and for a moment she was unable to return Ilona`s gaze, instead lowering her eyes and looking down on her feet. It took her a moment until she raised her head again and said, slowly, “well I think most of all…”

Before she could continue the loud sounds of a metal door opening filled the room and the two women turned away from the window and towards the interior of the hall. “They are here,” Hiran said, clearing her throat, sounding almost relieved that the group had arrived when they did.

Ilona straightened herself as well, and gave Hilda who was walking behind Valentina Calles a smile. Calles was escorted by a group of a her personal officers and supporters, including Alice, the Coalition spy who had first made contact with her, and Jacen Solo. A self-confident smiled played around the lips of the mercenary leader as she gave Hiran a salute.

“Madame President, Coruscant is secure and awaiting you.” She said and her grin grew an inch. She had continued ruling Coruscant for the last two months during which the Coalition had strengthened their hold in the region. And now, just a couple of days more than exact one year since the revolt on the capital the time had come to formally change the guard.

Hiran returned the salute, “at ease Colonel Calles, you have done well.” She gave Calles a smile.

“Because you paid me well,” Calles responded, not even trying to hide the primary reason for her changing sides. But Ilona had to admit that Valentina`s blunt honest was refreshing compared to the sweet lies diplomates usually told and heard. “The ORSF forces have by now taken over all strategic locations from the Lost Sons and the company has been demobilized. My boys and girls are ready for our retirement, and so am I.”

“Just don’t let the people of Coruscant know that,” Ilona said darkly. “Or they might look at their savior with different eyes.”

Calles shrugged, “nothing speaking against doing the universe a favor and getting paid handsomely at the same time.”

“And you will receive your payments,” Hiran said firmly. “The first monthly payout was sent over to your bank accounts about an hour ago. Do you want to head straight to your new villa at the beeches of Nantama? Or would you prefer one on Zeltros now that it is liberated as well?”

“Why not both?” Alice chuckled. “The money should be more than enough to buy the entirety of both worlds.”

That was an exaggeration, but not a big one Ilona knew, the sum Calles would receive was truly huge, not to mention Alice`s full pension for her role in this. But as much as she despised the idea of paying these cutthroats billions of credits it still had allowed them to take Coruscant without too much bloodshed, and most of all had allowed them to rescue the GA`s hostages without having to release Cameron`s killer. Valentina Calles had done the Galaxy a great service no doubt, even if she had mostly just done it for the payout, it was still a great deed, and she would now doubt live on in the Legends of Coruscant and possibly beyond for generations.

As the mercenaries left after a few more pleasantries where exchanged, Hilda and Jacen Solo remained with Betsy and Ilona. “The mercenaries offer didn’t extend to me I presume,” Jacen said with a weak smile. “And I am not the person to leave a job half finished, I played my role in the rise of Hett and I will support you as good as I can to see the end of his reign.”

“Then we are glad to have you,” Ilona said returning the smile. For a moment she thought back to her trip with Jaina to the capital of Maximillian Palpatines Empire so many years ago. Back then she had made a bad joke about Ulrika being Jaina`s lost twin, having forgotten Jaina had actually lost her twin. Maybe the fact that Jacen had been actually alive this whole time had been part of the reason Jaina hadn’t been particularly angered by the comment. “I hope you can support us in the coming negotiations?” After all if there were to meet the Emperor here in just a few days it probably wouldn’t hurt to have his uncle around.”

“I will do my best,” Jacen said quietly, “even if I barely know Davin, but your Colonel mentioned Jaina will be at the negotiations as well?”

“That was our last report,” Hilda said. “Speaking of the negotiations, madame President, we have so much ahead of us. You have an appointment with the provisional citizens council, then a meeting with several prominent citizens, followed by a meeting with the security board and…”

Hiran smiled and raised her hands, “I already understand, seems the work of a politician is truly never done…”

 

Two

Mira felt the next salvo shaking her Valkyrie and only barely managed to keep her shields up. Several of the controls in front of her were already glowing red, displaying various warnings about the extreme energy loss her fighter was going through, but Mira paid them no attention, currently her entire focus lay on navigating her machine in between the Asteroids in this scarlet dust cloud, already she had survived several almost crashes with only the force keeping her from finding a quick end against one of these rocks.

The Miy'til starfighter was still behind her, the force told her how it close in, how the pilot prepared for another salvo. Mira hastily swung her controls up to escape it, only for that maneuver to bring her close to an asteroid again, forcing her to execute an emergency stop of her engines to avoid a collision that would have been her end. As she slowly put energy on the engines she looked around, in the non-existent visibility of the dust cloud, she had lost sight of her squad, of the escort she had joined.

Everything had first gone so well, a couple of jumps from Zeltros and they had passed across the frontline and into GA controlled territory without anyone noticing. And so, they had continued their way further towards the Hapes Cluster and had reached it in time and without incident. Only now, only after they had entered the system they were traveling towards, just when Mira and the others had allowed themselves the thought that maybe their travel could succeed without any troubles, that maybe, just maybe things could just work out this one time, they had of course run straight into a patrol of the Hapan Republic and things had quickly escalated and in the confusion Mira had been separated from the rest of her squad.

Once more her Valkyrie was hit with a massive salvo from the Miy'til and this time the shields finally broke, the heavy armor plates of her fighter took the worst of it but Mira knew that she couldn’t survive much longer if things stayed as they were, she needed to finish this fight and return to the others, after all the squadron that had attacked them outnumbered the small convoy and so Yosh and the others needed her help. So she turned her Valkyrie around, using what little reserve energy she still had on the front facing shields and decided to face toe Miy`til head on. Meanwhile she closed her eyes and let the force guide her, after all her piloting skills weren’t great and the force was the only reason she had survived until now, had survived the previous space battles of her life. So in that moment Mira let go of her fears and fired her ships weapons completely based on instincts.

She almost grinned at the thought of dying in this fight, of the Goddess`s Blessed Maid dying alone and unnoticed in the most random skirmish of the war, killed by a Hapan pilot who had no idea who she even was. That was certainly not something to make another propaganda song about, which in Mira`s mind was a plus. It had been three years since her aunts had last allowed her to participate in the war directly, three years since she last had risked her life during the battle of Corellia, where she had saved Valin Horn`s life. And one year since the Lost Sons had freed Valin`s mother and sister at the Jedi temple, just hours after Corran Horn had died on the steps of that very same building. And in those three years Mira had done nothing but serve in the propaganda department, attend banquets and meetings while her friends fought in the war.

She felt the Miy'til exploding and opened her eyes again to see the last bits of the explosion ridding her of him and felt the guilt over his death, this pilot wasn’t her enemy, he was just someone fighting for his home nation, someone fighting to preserve the freedom and equality the GA had brought to Hapes. When she had touched his mind she had felt no malice, no cruelty, just determination and a loyalty to his people, to his comrades, the very same loyalty that had lead Mira here. She spoke a quick prayer to the goddess for his soul while she activated her ship’s navigation to lead her back to her squad, after all the battle wasn’t over yet.

Throughout these three years Mira had begged, demanded, protested to be send back into the fight, so she could be with her friends, not wanting to be left behind, but her aunts had been adamant that she was more useful as a propaganda tool behind the frontlines, and so she had remained there, until now, until she had finally been able to convince them to be send to Hapes. After all, now the Coalition had new heroes to celebrate and to tour the nation. The Saviors of Coruscant, Kinga and Cari first amongst them.

“Mira, are you okay?” Asajj asked over coms as Mira reached the convoy again.

The battle was already over and as Mira made a quick scan of their ships she noticed that none of them had taken much in terms of permanent damage, in contrast to her heavily battered Valkyrie. Did they defeat the rest of the enemies in the time you needed for that single one? Mira wondered, feeling useless compared to them.

“I am, it`s just my self-esteem,” she said, but most of all she was simply glad the others were alive, even if it truly meant she was probably the worst pilot amongst them. To switch the topic she asked, “how far is it still Nara?”

“We are almost there,” the Hapan pirate replied.

Nara had truly been on a journey of her own ever since she had been shot down during the battle of the Stega system, eight years ago. Captured by the Tof she had been sold as a slave to the Hutt Space, and there fought in the slave uprisings during Operation Freedom, had seen the liberation of the Hutt Space and then returned to the Coalition, only to leave with Calia and the others for Hapes when the Third Galactic Civil War had started and now she had returned briefly to the Coalition to serve as the groups guide back into the Hapes Cluster, so that the transporters with supplies reached the Hapan rebels.

As they touched down in the Hangar of Carina`s Rest, half an hour later Mira was tired out from the long journey, but very glad to be able to finally climb out of the cockpit of her Valkyrie and stand on solid ground again. Carina’s Rest was an enormous space station built inside of a large asteroid in the Transitory Mists of the Hapes cluster, the largest pirate base in the whole nation. Essentially a city inside of an asteroid more so than just a station. A place of exile and respite for those prosecuted by the Consortium across many generations. For it`s inhabitants, the Crimson Dragons, the war and rebellion had never ended, ever since they had been driven into exile after the death of their beloved queen Carina hundreds of years ago.

Climbing from her Valkyrie Mira was quickly joined by Yosh, Asajj and several other pilots, meanwhile the Crimson Dragon`s techs began unloading the transport ships, cheering over the finally delivered supplies. But Mira`s attention was currently all only the group of women waiting for them at the exit of the hangar.

“Mira!” Camilla Palpatine cheered as she run over to greet her friend. She at least hadn’t changed much in the last three years, still preferring simple black clothing and keeping her dirty brown hair raggedly short.

“Camy!” Mira pulled her friend into a hug. “So great seeing you again!”

Camilla stepped back, then with a grand gestured ushered Mira over towards the other women waiting for them. Beth was there as well, dressed in a outfit of a Hapan noblewoman accentuating her curves and giving Mira a big grin. But before the two lovers could properly greet each other Camilla introduced the others.

“Mira this is Jun’ko Zane, the leader of the Crimscon Dragons,” a black-haired woman in Hapan pilot clothing gave Mira a nod, “this is Trista Zel, leader of the Hapan government in Exile,” a fit, red haired woman in a tight black leather outfit offered Mira her hand. “And of course you know Beth and Caly.”

Calia Koan still wore the same Hapan Military uniform as always, but unlike her usual self she had a big smile on her face as she recognized Mira. Walking over to give her old friend a hug. Yet as she was just placing her arms around Mira`s shoulders her smile faded, and a second later Trista Zel sank onto one knee, muttering, “my queen”, meanwhile Commander Zane just stared.

Even dressed in a Coalition pilot suit, with her hair cut short and dyed pink, all three Hapan women easily recognized Allana Djo Solo, the said to be dead queen mother of Hapes.

 

Interesting start! Unlike a lot of folks, I've always been intrigued by the Hapan system, so having some of your story set there will be fun to read!

There is a LOT going on in the prologue -- I think I read it three times, and i'm still not sure I'll be able to keep it all straight!

 

Thanks, yeah these issues about Hapes have been a huge inspiration for this story in particular and Calia and Sonya as characters in general. This is the culmination of their part in the grander storyline of the Grauverse.
Yeah put those prologues in to give an overview over the current setting, if you want more detail on the events leading up to the Third Galactic Civil War and during the first two years, you should check out the previous next Generation stories!
Though there is also a growing TV Tropes Page for the Grauverse as a whole if you want more of a overview: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheGrauVerse



Five

They were gathered in one of the smaller conference rooms somewhere in the debts of Carina’s Rest, deep within the ancient asteroid home of the Crimson Dragons. Allana, Camilla, Sonya, Trista, Jun’ko and Calia. And yet despite the room being comfortably furnished and heated Lady Koan was shivering, unable to control her own body as a storm of feelings battled each other in her mind.

“You… you are serious about this?” Calia stared at Allana, stared at the woman she had hated more than any other being in the Galaxy, save maybe her brother, for many, many years, the years of her exile. The woman who had imprisoned her parents, who had banished her from the Consortium, who had sold out their people to the Empire.

Only after Allana had reportedly been killed Calia had even considered rethinking her, but even then she mostly still felt nothing but satisfaction at the deminse of her hated enemy. But now, just like her father before her, Allana Djo had returned from the dead.

“Allana, you can’t!” Trista Zel muttered.

Over the last three years she and Calia had become allies, even something like friends even, and it was mostly through her she had begun to even somewhat change her opinion on Allana, had at least acknowledged that the former Queen mother had died in battle fighting the Sith, had at least faced her end like a proper queen. Calia, Camilla, Nara and Sonya had discussed it several times afterwards had wondered what could have been if things had played out differently and had switched the target of their hatred from Allana to Zekk and his cronies. Or rather the puppet Presidents puppet master, Hett and his Sith, the ones destroying Hapes far more than Allana ever could.

“I can and I will,” Allana said softly, her gaze wandering from her cousin back to Calia. “I am not interested in reclaiming my throne, nor to even reveal to the peoples of Hapes that I am alive. I never wanted this crown, and…” she made a pause. “I think I am happier without it.” She her eyes directly faced Calia`s, “You have been fighting for Hapes in the last three years, and it`s you to which the people of the Consortium look up, well the women at least. I am not going to challenge your claim to the throne. All I want is aid you as good as I can in freeing the Hapan people.”

It was impossible, beyond impossible for Calia to hear these words from the woman she had hated for so long. She just couldn’t understand it, this had to be a trick, some kind of scheme to destroy Calia once and for all. She unable to even answer just focusing on controlling her breathing and not going insane. Was this a dream, nothing but a dream?

“Allana, but… you are our queen.” Trista said. “Me and several of the high ranking officers who knew about the switch have been waiting for you to return ever since. We have fought and bleed for you, does that mean nothing to you? What shall I say the girls fighting for you? Your memory?”

“That queen Allana is dead,” the now pink haired woman said. “My name is Amelia Solo, I am the daughter of Jacen Solo and the Witch Nyssa of the Singing Mountain Clan, with whom he had a brief afraid during his spirit seeking journey. I am Allana`s half-sister, and I came here to avenge her death. To continue the fight my mother gave her life for on Coruscant a year ago. That should explain to people why I physically resembled the deceased queen somewhat, most of the girls have never met Allana in person anyway unlike you so they won’t realize it either way.” She made a pause, then she added, “once Hapes is free, I will rejoin my father on Coruscant, to help him and what is left of the Jedi to rebuild the order, even if,” her eyes darted back to Calia, “I would be glad if could occasionally return to Hapes to visit my friends and extended family.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Camy said, a smile on her lips. “How could Caly and me prevent you from seeing your family.” She placed a hand on Calia`s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

Lady Calia Koan was still shaking, but the gesture and smile of her girlfriend helped her to find at least enough focus to utter a single word, “why?”

Allana was quiet for a moment, then she said. “I presume you want to ask why I think you should be queen? Or why I send you into exile? Or why you should work together with me?”

“All of it,” Calia`s mouth was dry as the deserts of Tatoine and every word came barely over her lips.

“I send you into exile because I recognized you were nothing but a pawn in your mother’s scheme, your brother pointed that out if you recall, said you were nothing but a dumb spoiled brat who posed no danger to me,” Allana said softly. “I didn’t want to torture you or hurt you with it. I wanted to give you a chance to become your own person, to lead a life outside from Hapes, away from your family. You and the other young women like Sonya Thane, you didn’t deserve to spend the rest of your lives in prison and pardoning you would have been impossible to swallow for the rest of the nobility, so I decided for a compromise and sent you into exile. I have to admit I actually had you and your fellow exiles monitored in the Coalition, I felt maybe one day you would understand and then I would have allowed you to return.” She made a brief pause before she continued, “did I expect you to become queen one day back then? No, of course not, but I felt sympathy for you, I wondered if, if things had gone just a little differently, we might have been close friends. I felt you deserved a second chance, that is something my dad taught me, I just hope you can give me one as well. Maybe we can still become friends, or at the very least allies.”

All eyes were fixated on Calia, everyone wanting to hear how she reacted, what she said. Slowly, still shaking Calia ordered her thoughts, swallowed hard. Then she said, “I… I have been thinking about that day and your decision myself for years now, I now understand that what you did was merciful, a gesture of good will, not an insult or a deliberately cruel fate.” She made a pause, her eyes flickering over at Sonya for a moment. “Sonya and I have debated these issues before, and I now understand that I was a pawn of my family, that if our plot had been successful we would have made Hapes worse, turned the clock back at least several decades and returned to repressive times. I understand that it was wrong to go against you solely for the crime of your parentage.” She took a deep breath, then she said, “so I accept your apology Allana, and I apologize for the role I played in the coup attempt against you. I don’t know what is ahead in the future, if I am truly the right person to sit the Hapan Throne, but either way I wish to end the feud between our families as well.”

“That applies for me as well,” Sonya added. “I have thought long and hard about these things to realize that I used to be on the wrong side of history, but I am confident now that I am on the right side. Both of us. Of course that doesn’t mean I still wouldn’t want to free the rest of my family from prison, that I don’t want to see my mom and dad again.”

“Of course not,” Jun’ko said. “And we will free them, in fact the main Hapan Prison, is one of our two key targets going forward. The number of VIP prisoners has only grown in the last three years as you can imagine, many nobles, leaders and officers are being held captive by the GA, we need to free them if we want to kickstart a rebellion on Hapes.” They had been discussing the plan before, and it had seemed like pure and utter suicide to Calia, but now that Mira and her squad, as well as Allana where here maybe there was a bit of a chance.

“And after what happened on Coruscant a year ago the hostages will be even stricter guarded and controlled,” Camilla added. “That prison might be one of the most heavily guarded places in the Galaxy nowadays, getting inside will require a miracle, and getting back out with the VIPs even more.”

“We will find a way,” Allana said confidently. “After all, that`s what my family always does. What is the second target?”

“That is a much different beast,” Calia said. “A mission words rather than weapons. While most Hapan pirate groups resist the GA forces, one of them, the Golden Dawn collaborates with the new people in power.”

“Golden Dawn, they are the men’s rights movement, aren’t they?” Allana asked. “They want to tear down the Matriarchy to replace it with a Patriarchy?”

“Some elements of them yeah,” Jun’ko said. “Others simply want equal rights for all genders. We Crimson Dragons have been their allies for a long time, but the current situation serves as a stain on that relationship. Yet if we want to truly liberate Hapes we need to win the Golden Dawn over, and by extension the Consortiums male population as a whole.”

 

Allana's rationale for sending Calia into exile was well-thought out, actually. Almost Vergere-like in the way executed and explained it -- and I mean that as a compliment.

This made me chuckle! Nothing wrong with a dose of Solo confidence.

 

Thanks!
Yeah I think in a sense you can compare it to Vegere, letting Calia find her own path and who she really is.



Six

A quiet ambient music filled the high class lounge area here in the upper reaches of the Galactic Senate building, underscored from the quiet voices of polite talking. Elena Kyr had been to events like this for all her life, and for the last several decades she had been involved with planning and securing dozens and dozens of them, one of her responsibilities as Deputy Ranger Chief. And yet this particular meeting bore event bore even greater risks than any previous ones, for the Rangers hadn’t just to protect leaders from the Coalition and one guest nation, but several of them, many of the Highest Members of the Allied Forces where assembled here, and with Hett`s previous track record Elena was just awaiting for the bomb to go off.

“You really need to relax a bit, Chief Kyr,” a seductive voice called her out of her thoughts and Elena stiffened for a moment, feeling caught red handed in her worries. “I have some of my folks watching out for our safety as well tonight. The Sith won’t be able to surprise us again.” The gorgeous green skinned woman said, her grin revealing rows of pearly white teeth. Even now, seven decades after her uncles death, Savan still looked like a young woman, her bare muscular arms and legs giving away that even after being released from her life of hard prison labor during the Vong War she still kept herself in peak physical shape. Yet Elena’s gaze was instantly drawn to her taught bare stomach, and the little chain of gemstones dangling from her navel, shimmering in the light of the lounge. For a brief moment Elena asked herself just how expensive this piercing alone was. “More than you can afford even with your salary.” The green skinned woman once more caught Elena in her thoughts.

“Have I become this easy to read?” Elena laughed and tried to relax a bit more.

“Well let me tell you a little secret,” Savan lowered her voice a bit, “you have always been easy to read Chief, you are too honest to lie convincingly and wouldn’t last a day in my line of work.”

“I might surprise you, after all I once specialized in infiltration” Elena replied. “But I will take it as a compliment.”

“It was intended as one,” Savan smiled, “we can’t all be leading Galaxy spanning crime syndicates, and for those of us who do, it is always helpful if the authority figures around us, are easy to read, or distracted.” She gave the blue haired woman a twinkle.

“So that`s the reason you are wearing next to nothing?” Elena shoot back, “I actually just wondered if you lacked the funds for proper clothing after you opened a jewelry store in your navel.”

“Awww don’t act all prudent now,” Savan laughed. “You have a thing for pierced girls. Might even wear some yourself.”

Smiling Elena briefly pulled up her shirt, revealing a piercing in her own navel, “guilty as charged.” Ulrika had gifted it to her years ago, an exact copy of hers, as their personal ‘wedding bands’. “But I recon you haven’t come here to contemplate navels with me, as fun as that topic is.”

“Well, isn’t that the exact reason for this gala tonight?” Savan raised an eyebrow. “To showcase ourselves to our allies, to make an impression. The real talks won’t start until tomorrow.”

“I guess,” Elena muttered, she knew Savan was right, and in part it was the reason she had tried to cancel this first event entirely, because it seemed pointless, and thus an unnecessary risk. “Then guess we should do the same. Even if the last two times I was at a gala with Imperials it caused an international incident.”

She still felt uncomfortable being in a room with Imperial VIPs again, bringing back memories to Jagged Fel`s maneuver and how she had almost died there. So much had happened since then, and yet Elena hadn’t forgotten. Yosh had told her that interrogations with Lady Pamela had uncovered that the Sith had been behind the attempt on her life, that they had brainwashed Prince Anakin into believing that the order came from his dad, and yet, she wasn’t sure if she could really believe it, especially given that the Empire hadn’t to this day publicly admitted that the Emperor`s wife and mother of the crown prince was a Sith herself.

The two women move through the room for a while, briefly engaging in small talk with gathered dignitaries, chatting about this or that. Elena mostly left the talking to Savan as she just felt too uncomfortable to truly relax right now. Most of the talk at this party was filled with talking about the last months of the war, boasting about victories and cursing the Sith, something Elena had already heard more than her share of at various events within the Coalition. If anything she was somewhat disturbed by hearing a group of Imperial VIPs openly praising the Chiss and their bio weapons, even speculating about other possible targets. Elena had to bit her tongue not to give them any rude replies, but it was another discussion a while later that she finally turned her full attention to and that made her forget her security worries as she listened in.

“What do you mean the leadership of the Hutt Cartel disappeared?” She heard the strict voice of Victor Laric. “The GA conquered the entire Hutt Space, there was an unconditional surrender.”

“And who signed the accord?” A woman, a ambassador of the still neutral Corporate Sector said. “Some minor Hutt nobody ever heard of before. And it goes further, didn’t the Hutt collapse awfully fast for a species that had been holding onto their region of space for twenty five thousand years? They withstood the Pius Dea Crusades for close to a thousand years, yet three years where enough for the GA to break them…”

“I think that only underlines that the Hutts were nothing but a Paper Rancor these days.” Another diplomate, Elena believed he was from the Tion Hegemony said. “I for one am not surprised at all at how little actual resistance they could muster in the end. This should have been done long ago, it is disgusting that it took the plots of a Sith to finally do.”

“The Vong also took the Hutt Space pretty quickly,” Elena remembered, stepping closer to the group. “I suppose the Hutt`s were still reeling from that and the large scale slave revolts around the Abeloth Crisis. And as for the Pius Dea Crusades, some of my own ancestors where leading Generals in these wars, and from their diaries I know that the Galactic Republic back then was a shadow of what the Republic was at it`s height, or even the Galactic Alliance, also the Crusaders had to fight on many other fronts while the GA could focus on the Hutts.”

“Still the Hutts bounced back awfully quickly after the Vong War as well,” the Corporate Ambassador said. “And it doesn’t answer where the Huttish leadership went.”

“I can tell you where they went,” The Tionese said, “Hett had them all massacred in secret I tell you. He just didn’t want to publicly boast about the massacre. Which to be honest I disagree with. In fact I say he should have gone even further, if there ever was a species that deserves to be stamped out that it is the Hutts. I think no one can deny that there are few worlds in this Galaxy who haven’t suffered under their actions one way or another. For twenty-five thousand years, not even the Sith come close to that.” He gave Elena a disgusted look, “but your government has other plans I hear?”

“You are talking about the standoff above Nar Shaddar?” Elena asked, “So you think we should just step away and let the Klatooinians wipe the Hutts out? Allow them commit genocide?”

“The Klatooinians have every right to hate their long term opressors,” General Laric said darkly. “Yet we cannot allow for vigilante justice nor wanton mass slaughter, not while we call ourselves civilized nations. I say we simply keep the blockade around the planet, let the Hutts rot in prison where they belong.”

After Operation Freedom the Galactic Alliance hadn’t just moved all the Hutts within their own borders and conquered territories forcibly to Nal Hutta, an initiative that the Empire and wider unity pact had joined leading to further deportations, as a punishment but also to protect them from the righteous wrath of their countless slave species, many of which had desired nothing short of toatl genocide of their former masters. For the last four years the GA had kept a constant blockade around the planet, ensure no one could leave or enter, and for much of the war the region had been declared a neutral zone by all belligerent parties, but now, just a couple days ago the GA had pulled back all their forces from the region, causing the fragile order created there after Operation Freedom to collapse near instantly. Only a warning from the Bothan`s and some quick fleet movements by the Coalition had allowed them to prevent a fleet from Klatonine from committing a full-on genocide. Ironically enough now Admiral Benett controlled the orbit over Nal Hutta, a former slaver guarding other former slavers.

“Sure let`s all lock them up in complete isolation from the rest of the Galaxy, that no doubt will teach them morals and empathy.” Elena spat back, she was already angry and frustrated over the troubles of this day and now she was finally boiling over at this talk of just genocide and collective punishment. “Shall I put you against the wall for the crimes of the Empire then General Laric? Or do you want to discuss the Tionese History ambassador? Do you really find it just that we throw people in a ghetto simply because for the crime of their birth, I struggled against this way of thinking for all my life on Eriadu so I don’t want to see it applied somewhere else now.”

“This is a completely different situation Chief Kyr,” Laric said. “If we could judge the Hutt`s by individual guilt I would prefer that myself, but I guess that is next to impossible. We could never properly determine who is guilty of what exactly, and most of them have done more than enough to warrant a dozen life sentences. You can’t deny that.”

“But shouldn’t the task of a prison be to reform and resocialize people? Our judicative system was specifically formed to stop the practices of revenge and retribution.” Elena replied, then with a grin she added, “Take Savan here, she spend nearly two decades in the slammer, and now she is a upstanding citizen of our Galaxy.”

Savan broke into laughter, “really bad example Chief Kyr, really bad example.”

Laric raised an eyebrow but said nothing, meanwhile the Tionese ambassador clearly wasn’t convinced. “Then what do suggest Chief? How should we reform the Hutt`s make them a part of the Galactic Community again?”

“Well first we need to offer humanitarian aid for them down there, sending medics and ambassadors to build up a relationship,” Elena said, she had discussed the idea before with Ulrika, she knew it was idealistic and probably wouldn’t stand in front of the Coalitions leadership, but she would fight for it, just like she had fought for other causes in the past. “The good news are that we are not the GA so the Hutt`s won’t hate us nearly as much. You are right in that keeping them away from their former slaves is probably for now important. But I think we use the coming months to survey their population, find the ones less guilty or more willing to work with us… Hutt`s are if nothing else amazing organizers and so we could employ a number of them in the coming years, after all we have an entire Galaxy to reorganize.”

“So that`s your idea?” The ambassador glared at her, “you don’t want to punish the Hutt`s but instead reward them? Allow them into positions of power again? Are you mad?”

“I don’t think Chief Kyr wants to give them this chance fully unconditional and without any oversight,” Savan said quietly. “But I think if they are put in mid to low level positions we could properly monitor them, maybe teach them that one can also earn quite a lot of money the legitimate way.” She gave Elena a twinkle.

The Co Ranger Chief wasn’t nearly naïve enough to believe the Black Sun these days made most of their money the legitimate way, but she still appreciated the support. “That is my idea. If this model succeeds we can allow more Hutt`s to do the same, and further build on those willing to work with us. In time we would help them build up a new identity for themselves in the Galaxy, they might not become as wealthy as they used to be but I am sure they have much to offer and in the end everyone would benefit.”

“I was told you are naïve Chief Kyr,” the ambassador shook his head, “but I never thought anyone could ever suggest something like this. “I suppose next you suggest us that they can keep their giant personal entourages so they never have to even brush their own teeth?”

“Well if these personal servants are well paid, get a proper pension and can leave whenever they want instead of being fed to a Rancor, I am not sure if our law would have a problem with it,” a new voice called over to them and Elena froze as she saw Betsy Hiran walked towards them, next to her Emperor Davin Fel. “Cause, if you have an objection to that then you would have to ban any kind of employment altogether.” She gave Elena a nod before she continued, “but I think the important thing here is that the Chief`s general idea has proven itself more than once in our recent history, we couldn’t have achieved this much without the support of former enemies, the Coalition has integrated the remnants of the Iron Alliance, the people of the Senex Juvex Sector even the Tof and Nightsisters so I honestly don’t see why it can’t integrate the Hutt`s as well if done properly.”

 

I'm not sure he's completely wrong -- they've been gangsters and slavers for a long time!

I like the political angle in this chapter -- it's a fun read.

 

Seven

“Are you trying to avoid me?” A voice called Beth out of her concentration, and caused her to turn away from her star fighter and towards the person walking up to her. Feeling both caught and guilty at the same time. The other woman had the same red hair, but wore it in a far more prim and proper way, the same pale ginger skin, covered with freckles than Beth, yet otherwise clearly gave the impression of being her opposite in every way.

“Oh, hey Freya, sorry we didn’t get to talk much last evening, but you know, I was busy reconnecting with my girlfriend, you know not having seen her in almost three years and all.” She tried to sound confident, suave and in control, not wanting to give away her true feelings in front of her big sister. Almost casually she run a hand through her red hair… remembering too late it was still covered in slick machine oil, which she now dispersed all over her head.

She had gotten up early this morning, mostly because Mira and Yosh had been called to a meeting with several other officers, and as much as Beth had desired to remain in bed the other two had ‘suggested’ to her to get up and do something useful, pestering her until she had gotten up. Beth still wished she could just sneak back into bed to get some more sleep, but… she hated to admit it, but in the last eight years she had grown into the role of an officer and while she now doubt still wasn’t as diligent as Calia or even Camilla, she still took her duties seriously, and that included keeping her equipment in top shape. To ease her burden somewhat she had thrown the rest of her pirates out of the bed as well, who where now all working on their respective Valkyries and Erlkings around her, most of them as happy about it as their leader was.

Freya couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and Beth joined her after a moment, glad to at least share this moment with her, and hoping to avoid any serious matters for as long as possible if not altogether. But her expression quickly turned serious again, “you say you haven’t seen her in three years, but when was the last time you`ve seen me and Cleo properly? Not counting a couple brief visits years ago, the last time we really got to talk was eight years ago, shortly after you became a ranger."

It had been a difficult talk, Beth remembered, they had just been driven from the Stega System, she and her pirates had been recruited into the Rangers in exchange for a pardon. And she had confronted her older sister about working with the Jedi to arrest her, about what she had perceived as an dirty betrayal by a family member, someone she had trusted. Yet Freya hadn’t even allowed Beth to finish her accusations, but instead gone on the offensive herself, ripping straight into her younger sister for her criminal career, for the danger she had put the entire family in, and the sorrow she had caused to the people who loved her. It had been a long, harsh scolding and Beth hadn’t been able to offer much to refute Freya`s words. Instead she had been almost glad being quickly called away with her pirates to the front, so she could put some distance between herself and her sister, get away from the disappointment in her eyes.

“Hardly my fault,” she shook her head, “I have risen quite a bit in the Galaxy Freya, being an officer now, I am defending our galaxy from the Sith.” She was bragging, trying to impress her sister with both her rank and service history, wanting to assure Freya, and herself, that she was now an important person in the Galaxy, important and respect, someone Freya could be proud of and Cleo could look up to.

Of course there was truth to this, she and her squad had followed Mira to exile, spend four years in the Unkown Regions, but Beth had secretly been glad it kept her away from having to face her sister and niece, she didn’t want to face Freya, and feared that if she got too close to Cleo she might decide to follow in her footsteps, would take her aunt as a bad example to follow. So she had been secretly quite glad the exile proved a handy excuse for staying away. In her heart of hearts she had known it was nothing but cowardly, had even scolded herself for it, told herself she needed to face the two of them eventually. But she had always found excuses to prolong their separation, and thus maintained contact with them mostly just through holonet messages and calls, where neither of the three had ever really talked about serious matters like Beth’s actions as a criminal, and their impact on her family.

“I see you are still mostly thinking about your kriffin reputation,” Freya crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Did all this time really change nothing? Cause currently you come off as just as irresponsible as you where eight years ago.”

“So irresponsible as I was when I protected you from your abusive boyfriend?” Beth shot back, getting heated at her sisters words. Mostly because she feared that they where actually nothing but true. But hers were as well, being the younger but more outgoing and confident sister she had been a protector of Freya and Cleo back in the day, up and including using her influence as a pirate queen to help them. “Was I just thinking with my reputation then? Or when I risked my life protecting the Stega System from the Tof?”

“You think I just sat around doing nothing in these years?” Freya retorted, “I worked my hard to rebuild Stega after the Tof war, ensured all the displaced people could return to their homes or find new ones. For it might interest you but I rose in the Coalition as well.” She straightened her robes, the robes of a diplomat. “Me and Cleo didn’t just came here to visit you, you know, we are here to support Mira as well.”

“Cleo is here?” Beth couldn’t believe it and started to shiver, “you brought a child to a war zone?”

“I am no longer a child,” a voice, Cleo`s voice made Beth spin around again, seeing her niece leaning against the side of her star fighter. Truly she couldn’t be called a child anymore, barely even still a teen, no she was a young adult now, she had grown up, left the girl ten year old girl behind she had been when the Tof War had begun and become a woman, an eighteen year old. Seeing her like this, it brought tears to Beth`s eyes, not just for seeing her again, but also because it reminded her of just how long she had been separated from her niece.

“How… how long have you been standing there?” She asked stumbling across her words.

“Long enough to see you two get into a petty squabble again.” She shook her head. “Seriously, is that how sisters are supposed to act who haven’t seen each other in years? Not even a few kind words.”

“Nah, don’t mind that,” Beth chuckled trying to blink away the tears in her eyes. “Of course I am glad to see you, both of you.” She walked over to Freya and pulled her into a tight hug, “good to see you again sis.”

It was always the same between the two of them, they fought, teased each other, where like oil and water, and yet, beneath all of it the two sister loved each other strongly and unconditionally, and always had. Beth knew that even as Freya had helped Mira arrest her, she had done it to try and stop her sister from her path of crime before it caused even more suffering or outright got her killed. Just like she herself had always looked out for her sister and niece, even when she had gone along with Mira into exile, and then a Galactic War, she had fought most of all so that people like her family could live free and in peace.

“Likewise,” Freya said as she returned it, tightening her arms around Beth for a moment. “Just promise me to never leave us behind for so long again.”

“I promise, I promise it,” Beth said, now being unable to hold back her tears, now that the dark words, the words that had hung between the two sisters unsaid for so long, her worries and fears had vanished and she scolded herself for not having had the strength to say them long ago. Scolded herself for the eight years it had cost her. Eight years during which the two people most important to her hadn’t been granted the places in her life they deserved. Something she knew she had to make up for now, and big time!

“Good to finally have you back auntie,” Cleo sobbed as she hugged Beth. “You have been gone for too long.”

“Yeah, I was so stupid, a stupid dumb crook, and a terrible aunt.” She muttered weakly.

“You had your reasons,” Cleo assured her, “you have been fighting the good fight. Trying to make the Galaxy a better place.” As she stepped back a smile appeared on her lips, “I can’t believe you have been running with Mira Grau and Calia Koan. The Maid of Corellia and the true queen of Hapes. I saw so much of them in the news over the last few years, and you where right there. This is why I decided to follow in your footsteps and become a Ranger myself.”

“You… are a Ranger?” Beth stared at her, the simple, practical clothes, the weapons belt slung across her hips.

“A trainee for now,” Cleo explained, “but if I even have half your potential I will probably bee ranger chief in ten years.”

“Eight, Cleo,” Freya said with a sad smile, “don’t underestimate yourself. Your sister here would be running the Rangers if she wasn’t just a troublemaker I am sure."

“Of course,” the confident smile returned to Beth’s lips, "But first, I have some people here who have been dying to meet you for a while.” A devious grin played around her lips as she called out: “Helena, Donna, Lindzy, Lisa, Cat, Kelly, Scarlet, all of you get your lazy butts over here.” Then as the various pirates walked over to the sisters and niece she added with a grin, “remember my dear sister Freya? She actually is the woman who ratted us out to the Coalition eight years ago! I think it`s only fair if we get some payback!”

She stuck out her tongue at her shrieking sister as Freya was quickly bombarded with dirty, oily rags, Helena even emptying an entire oil canister onto her expensive diplomat robes… before pulling her old friend into a tight hug. In the end Freya, and Cleo, where basically just as dirt covered as the pirates, and yet through that had become a part of the group again.

 

Eight

“Yes, Mirta Gev has been in our custody for the last year, since she surrendered to us. Though despite her being very cooperative we do intend to hold a trial for the primary war criminals once the war is won.” Betsy Hiran said, continuing her explanations. “Gev and several other high ranking GA officials who fell into our hands will face justice then. The way a civilized state dishes it out.” She put further emphasis on her last words, giving the Imperial leaders a defiant glare.

They had sat down around a round table in one of the meeting rooms of the Galactic Senate building. The Delegations of the Qaelan Accords on one half, the ones of the Unity Pact on the other. The first day of their negotiation that would shape the Galaxy for years and decades to come.

Ilona made a mark on her datapad, while preparing herself for the storm that was no doubt to come. Just shortly after Gev had surrendered herself to the Coalition, the Empire had demanded her extradition so she could be properly punished for her betrayal and slaughter of the Imperial High Command three years ago, which was a thinly veiled euphemism for the fact that Gev would probably be instantly executed once in Imperial hands. Something than in and off itself had made the prospect of extradition impossible, after all the Coalition had abolished the death penalty and wouldn’t hand over prisoners to a nation who practiced it.

“If you give them the platform of a trial, they will be able to sell themselves as the victims,” Davin Fel said firmly. “They will do what they can to turn the whole thing into a farce and gain sympathy. Especially as the Mandalorians are already seen as victims by large parts of the Galaxy.”

That certainly was true, especially amongst the GA worlds as well as several neutral nations who had all been horrified at the Chiss virus and the effective genocide it had meant against the Mandalorian people. Same thing in the Coalition, and even within the Empire there had been considerable protests over the use of the weapon.

“Yet just as many parts of the Galaxy believe they got just what was coming to them,” Korra Shy refuted. “And as a civilized states we certainly won’t continue this circle of lynching justice. Also, Gev has agreed to take full responsibility for her actions and cooperate at her trial, because we saved her people from this genocide.” She glared at the opposition across the table.

After having redeemed herself in the defense of Corellia against the GA aggression she had now become a respected figure and leader of the Corellian Republic, having alongside Alec managed to heal some of the rift that had torn the five worlds apart prior to the war. Ilona knew there were some still wanting to put her on trial as well for her collaboration with the Empire, but that certainly would undo most of the goodwill she and the Coalition had won on Corellia in the last three years, and thus Shy’s crimes would be utterly ignored at this proposed trial, something that discomforted no one more than the woman herself, who clearly was still riddled with guilt over her brief alliance with Jagged Fel.

“As long as she is punished, I see no reason to make this an issue,” the Conducator said quietly, yet everyone in the room clung to his lips as he spoke, a testament to the power her represented. “Matter of fact we hold a number of war criminals as well, I think it would be a sign of good faith to the entire Galaxy if we include them in this trial, to show our unity and shared commitment to punish those responsible for this terrible war.”

“The big question though,” Empress dowager Jaina Fel said. “Will Ben Skywalker be put on trial as well?”

“He will be,” Hiran said firmly. “From what we could gather over the last year he clearly has served Hett willingly and due to coercion. There are no justifications for his acts of cowardly murder and terrorism, and the list of his victims might be considerably longer than just the people he murdered on Eriadu, given how he served as Hett`s apprentice for at least six years and maybe even longer.” She made a pause, “but the most important part is that we need to show the Galaxy that no one stands above the law, that being the son of Luke Skywalker doesn’t make him exempt from having to face the consequences of his actions. Ben will receive no further special treatment in any kind for the rest of his life.”

“And yet you pardoned Jacen Solo, whose crimes are even worse than Ben’s,” the Tionese ambassador said, earning dark glares not just from Hiran but also from Jaina and Davin. “What makes Jacen’s crimes forgivable yet Ben’s not?”

“Primary that Jacen fought on our side during the war,” Ilona said. “He clearly risked his life multiple times to stop Hett and his tyranny. I think it`s safe to assume that he doesn’t pose a danger anymore to anymore else in the Galaxy. There is no reason to keep him imprisoned, he has been properly resocialized decades ago.” She gave Jaina a nod who returned the gesture, a small bridge built between the former enemies.

“I am not talking about whether he was resocialized but about punishment for his actions,” the ambassador clearly wasn’t convinced.

“We have moved past the idea that the law exists as a tool for vengeance,” Hiran said firmly. “We imprison people to protect society from them, and to reeducate and resocialize them, not because we want to see them suffer. Maybe one day if we deem him properly resocialized we might even release Ben Skywalker.”

“Would you do the same with Hett?” The Conducator raised an eyebrow, “in case you would be able to capture him alive? He and Skywalker are at the heart of this conspiracy, do you really believe there is a real chance anyone of them could be properly reformed?”

“Well, we can only hope Sir, and the examples such as Jacen and Asajj Ventress give me hope,” Hiran said. “I think they, as well as some other examples the Coalition has experienced, including with some leaders of the Iron Alliance, shows us that everyone can be redeemed, if they get the proper help and if they themselves are open to it.”

It was kind of insane hearing these things, that seemed far more probable to come out of her own or Saul Cameron’s mouth, coming from Hiran’s. It was almost as if the slain Presidents ghost was speaking from his successor, yet Ilona didn’t give too much on these words, after all Hiran was a master at the political game, and she had the sinking feeling that the explosion would come sooner rather than later.

“Well, the chances we actually capture Hett alive are pretty low all things considered,” Davin Fel said, clearly hoping to move the discussion forward. “My greatest worry currently is that, even in case of a GA defeat which seems more and more certain with every passing day, that Hett simply disappears, fades into the shadows and lays low for a couple of decades, only to rebuild his network in secret and return to plague the Galaxy once again. He still has the Dagger of Mortis, and if the things Jacen Solo told me about it`s abilities Hett could use it to become effectively a god. The Galaxy already faces one insane godlike force using being in Abeloth, things will only get worse if Hett ascends to similar levels of power.”

“Much worse than anyone here can even dream to imagine,” Callista nodded, “Abeloth will have already grown in power due to the war, with the entire Galaxy being focused on fighting each other. It is this kind of chaos that she thrives on. And she knows about the Dagger, she is searching for it at all times, for it is the only weapon that we know of that could actually kill her. If she gets her hands on it… she could destroy it and we would be largely powerless against her.”

“Are there any other ways she could be permanently killed?” Jaina asked, clear worries moving across her face.

“Possibly, I think a suitably strong force user could ensure she dies permanently,” Callista said. “Empatojayos Brand was able to prevent the emperor from ever returning by dragging his spirit with him into the force, where the spirits of other murdered Jedi helped him keep Palpatine from escaping. Or so the stories say…” she made a pause. “That said Abeloth is a being of different orders of magnitude when compared to the Emperor I don’t think there is a being alive today in the Galaxy that is strong enough to contain or even overpower Abeloth`s spirit. I myself managed to do it once, for a fraction of a second, while Abeloth was distracted by the destruction of Centerpoint Station, something monumental for her. To truly defeat her spirit someone as powerful, if not moreso than her would be needed. And that person would have to go with her to the netherworld.”

Silence fell over the table at these words, all the optimism and hope they had felt at the notion of their victory over Hett being now so close had faded away, and instead the sheer horror of what waited beyond their war with the Sith hung over the assembled leaders and diplomates. The notion that they might only succeed in saving the Galaxy from a cruel dictator, only to leave it ripe for a mad goddess.

“Still the Force works in mysterious ways,” Jaina said, trying to find some light in this dark prospect. “My twin brother was able to experience true oneness once before, at the end of the Vong War. In that moment he was effectively a god, at least as powerful, if not more so than Abeloth is, and who is to say that he, or others can’t tap into these powers again.” She laid a hand on her son’s shoulder.

Davin cleared his throat, briefly giving his mother a nod, then he said, “we are on the verge of defeating Hett, despite those odds also being stacked against us. The Force is with us, and as long as it is, there is still hope for the future.”

 

Nine

“So, you claim to be the rightful queen of Hapes?” The man sitting opposite to her tucked a lock of his golden hair behind one of his ears. “I have been dying to meet you one day Calia Koan, after all I have heard many stories about you over the last couple of years.”

“Well, I can say the same,” Calia said carefully, already she felt anger rising inside of her, at how disinterested her opponent seemed to be even in this conversation. Her annoyance adding to her already strong distaste for him and what he stood for. The rage over the betrayal he and his group represented. “You are said to be the golden child, the man destined to rule Hapes and lead all of us into a better future. That is at least what your followers claim.”

Unlike the ancient Crimson Dragons the Golden Dawn was a rather recent Hapan Rebel group that had been founded after the Consortium had opened itself to the rest of the Galaxy nearly seven decades ago. Seeing as to how in the rest of the Galaxy men could be leaders, officers, academics and even politicians had inspired many Hapan males to begin fighting for equal rights, trying to overthrow the misandrist matriachy that had oppressed them for so many generations since the days of the Lorell Raiders. Their movement had at first been peaceful, but after the Hapan government, especially the dowager queen at the time, had violently cracked down on them their protest had turned violent and the Golden Dawn had become a rebel group in the Consortium, eventually striking up an alliance with the Crimson Dragons as both of them sought to reform the Consortium into a more free nation, even if their methods and the finer details of their plans diverged from each other. Up and including that the members of the Golden Dawn where utterly convinced to have found the chosen rule of Hapes in form of a random orphaned boy that they believed was destined by faith to become the first King Father of the Cluster.

“Well,” the young man said with a smile, “is that claim really all that different from those made by people all across the Galaxy and in all ages? The Queen mothers believed women where inherently superior to men and nobles to commoners. The Jedi and the Sith believe that they, above all other groups and sects in the Universe know the truth about everything. Even your Eriaduan friends believe that their goddess has chosen humanity in general and them especially to lead the universe. So why can’t my claim be the true one as well, after all, I am a human.”

The original orphaned boy had died by now, of old age in one of the GDs bases, and his son and heir had been killed in a skirmish with the Hapan military over a decade ago, leaving his young grandson, Sebastien as the heir and now spiritual leader of the movement. Calia was unsure how much real power he actually held, from what her friends in the Crimson Dragons had told her, the chosen child was little more than a figurehead, not all that different from the fate that would have awaited Calia herself if her mothers coup attempt had succeeded.

“Maybe, but so are trillions and trillions of others,” Calia said carefully. “I have come to the believe that power is not something that should be inherited unconditionally. It needs to be earned.” She made a pause, they were sitting in the conference room again, she and her guest, some of her advisors and some of his. She needed to be careful, after all they needed to win this man’s support, and if her believes about the true power in the Golden Dawn where true, that of his advisors even more so. “And what better way is there to earn it, then to stand shoulder to shoulder in freeing our people. To drive out the Sith that are enslaving the Hapans just like the Lorell Raiders of old?”

“Enslave you say?” a man sitting the right of the youth said. “Strange enslavers are they, who freed us from the shackles of nobility, who gave men equal rights in front of the law. Who have brought us democracy and equality. If they are enslavers, then I don’t want to be free.”

Another shook his head, “My mother forced me to marry a woman in her sixties when I was barely a adult. For years I suffered by her hand until I finally escaped.” He run his hand down a scar on his cheek. “The Golden Dawn is made up of people like me, people who have suffered through hell for the crime of having been born male.”

“Or even worse, try to tell them you actually are a woman,” the only female member of the group said. She was a trans woman, and never having had the expensive treatment like someone such as Elena Kyr her male features where still very much noticeable. “The Golden Dawn Freed me from Prison, male prison I should add.”

Calia knew this was true, transpeople, both transwomen and transmen in different ways where treated horribly in Hapan society. But transwomen certainly even moreso, after all 'men trying to pass themselves off as women' as they called it was the greatest evil imaginable in their society. Calia herself had been quite weary of them when she had met Elena Kyr for the first time, something the co ranger chief had noticed. Over time Calia had begun to change her opinion and in time even talked at length with Elena about it, feeling ashamed for what she used to believe in.

“You can rest assured the Crimson Dawn want’s to bring the same change,” Jun’ko said. “After all one of the reasons queen Carina got in trouble with the Hapan nobility was because of her son was trans, yet she refused to disinherit, let alone punish him. She fought for these causes long ago and the Dragons have done so ever since.”

“I used to think differently,” Calia admitted. “I believed in many of these hateful ideas for much of my early life. Looking back these days I can say that I was a spoiled selfish shutta, who mistreated her male servants for the slightest of infractions or sometimes just to vent her frustrations. If the coup had succeeded all these years ago I would have been a horrible queen.”

“You honesty is if nothing else refreshing, especially for a noble,” Sebastien said. “And yet, why should someone who was so horrible, who embodied everything wrong with our nobility. A spoiled selfish shutta as you call yourself, have any right to the Hapan Throne? Why should you now be trusted with power over so many worlds and people?”

“Because she fights for them,” Trista Zel said, “because she never gave up on Hapes even in her exile, because she grew and matured as a person from that spoiled brat. Because she formed alliances and united the Hapan opposition since the Sith invasion.”

Calia gave Trista a thankful nod, their collaboration had been quite a struggle in the last couple of years, hearing these words from her mouth now. It gave Calia a validation and make her cheeks flush. “I see the throne as my duty, not as my privilege,” she said instead. “I want to become the queen of a free and liberal Hapes, be the queen it needs.” She made a pause. “That would include equal rights, everywhere, a reduction of noble power and influence, and the adoption of a more democratic government. With the queen as just the head of state, and a elected head of government.”

“Lofty promises,” the woman said. “Yet pretty much all of this and more have already been given to us by the GA, so why should we now risk a Hapan civil war, to get at best something identically, if not worse to their deal?”

“Well,” Calia said, slowly. “Despite your collaboration with the GA in the last four years you haven’t given up the Crimson Dragons, you knew where Carina’s Rest is located, the same for several other of their bases, you could have dealt them a near fatal blow if you had revealed these information to your friends in the GA. But you did not, you kept them save, kept a foot in both camps of this war. Maybe due to pragmatism, but I guess also because you clearly know that the Sith aren’t reliable allies, that in the end every deal you make with them is doomed to end in betrayal in the long run. So you collaborate, but keep your options open. Truth be told it is similar to what the Eriaduan nobility did during the reign of the Empire.” Mira had told her about it, even House Grau had sat on the fence, with Ulrika’s uncle Jimbo staying close to Sander Delvardus even after he had been exiled to the Deep Core, in parts due to their personal friendship, but also to ensure House Grau could remain on the winning side now matter who won the Galactic Civil War. “I think if you weren’t interested in switching over to our side, the winning side in this war, you wouldn’t have come here today.” Another brief pause as she eyed the members of the Golden Dawn. “So, you are now playing hard to get, but time is of the essence, so let us save the banter, tell me what you want.”

“As you wish,” Sebastien said, his eyes briefly checking with his advisors, who each gave him a nod. “We are willing to join you, help you become the Queen Mother of Hapes. But in return we ask for two things, a role in the government to come… and, your hand in marriage.” He made a pause, then he underlined his last words, “you will marry me, and I will be your King, and we will be equal in our rights and privileges, and our children will form the new royal line. Uniting not only the genders but nobles and commoners of Hapes together.”

 

Ten

“Why have you called us here?” Trilla Kestis asked as she looked around in the high chamber of the Jedi Council. Even now, slightly over one hundred years old she was a good looking woman, even with the wrinkles on her face and the grey streaks in her hair she looked like a woman about half her actual age. But Gaven wasn’t surprised, Force Users tended to age slower, and those living on Dathomir especially so.

“Because we are what`s left,” Gaven Seral said solemnly as he gazed out of the council chamber’s windows and across the sun setting above Coruscant. A view he had enjoyed for many years when he had served in Luke Skywalkers Jedi Council, before Hett`s coup. A view that had always been comforting and reassuring to him. “We are the ones to decide our future. The Jedi`s future.”

He was an old man now, had passed the seventy, and unlike Trilla and some others of his guests this evening his age had started to show. His hair and beard having turned grey years ago and now begun the transition to white.

“And yet, if this is a discussion about the Jedi,” the one person in the chamber looking even older than Gaven said, slowly. “Where is Mira Grau? She was a Master of the Order and member of the Council as well? The two of you being the last two survivors of Lukes Council, not counting Hett of course.” Darek Halcyon had by now turned completely blind yet his voice still gave away a certain strength and determination.

“That is not completely correct,” Empress Dowager Jaina Solo-Fel said. “I was part of the Council as well, and so was Zekk, even if I fear he will never be able to return to us. There is also Kyp Durron and his wife Adalia, but they assured me they are now retired and have little desire to return to the Order.”

“And Mira, she too has a destiny beyond the Jedi Order,” Callista Ming explained. “I offered to include her in this meeting, and Asajj Ventress as well, but they declined.”

“Still, we are no doubt interesting replacements, given how several of us aren’t Jedi nor ever have been,” Tia Vandel said, lounging in one of the chairs. “I for once started as an Inquisitor and the only brotherhood I joined later was my brothers.”

“I kinda feel we Inquisitors are somewhat overrepresented here,” Iskat Akaris chuckled, “even if I at least used to be a Jedi before that.”

“Trilla and me gave up on being Jedi long ago,” Cal Kestis said, stroking his orange beard. “I think we are closer to witches at this point. Or in my case warlocks I guess, or is the correct term witcher?”

“Technically witch is gender neutral,” Jysella Horn said, before sharing a glance with her brother. “Me and Val at least are true Jedi so there is that.”

She had been amongst the hostages rescued at the Jedi temple by Valentina Calles and the Lost sons, alongside her mother… sadly only after Corran Horn had died killing Goran Amedda. Still, both of his children were determined to step in his footsteps now.

“I am not even sure what I would call myself these days,” Jacen Solo said quietly. “Even if Luke did somewhat accept me back into the order you can hardly call that official in the slightest.”

“I think all these official or none officially things don’t get us anywhere,” Eryl Besa said. “I have lived my life as a Jedi, yet clearly outside the main order. In a way I have my own now.”

“Maybe the time of the Jedi is simply coming to an end,” Merrin Kestis said darkly. “I think the order might have run it`s course. Something else should replace it.”

“Only over my dead body,” Valin Horn said. “And I am not the only one, there are hundreds of knights and padawans who are looking for guidance right now. And whatever mistakes he made late in his life, not to mention the things Ben did, Luke Skywalkers last stand has once and for all cemented him as one of the greatest heroes in Galactic History. The people still look up to the Jedi and the Order needs to heed their calls and help wherever it can.” He made a pause, then he added, “ideally an Order lead by his blood, to reassure the people that his legacy lives on.” His gaze darted between Jacen and Jaina.

“Well, not me,” Jaina raised her hands. “I am willing to aid the Order rebuild, might even sit on the Council for a while if that is your wish. But I won’t lead, already hated being the Sword of the Jedi…” her eyes briefly met her brothers. “I am not interested in the title of Grandmaster.”

“And I even less,” Jacen said, “not to mention the controversy that would cause. I… think you will have to lead us Gaven. You are the last Master left.”

“Well,” Gaven said slowly, “I would actually propose we do away with the title of Grandmaster altogether. Don’t get me wrong, Yoda and Luke were amongst the greatest Jedi to have ever lived, both of them titans in their own right. But I feel both of their orders suffered heavily under being too fixated on them and them alone… Especially Lukes council becoming something of an echo chamber for him in his later years. I know because I was part of the problem.” He made a pause. “This is why I called you of all people here. Not because you probably are the strongest, most experienced Force Users on our side left in the Galaxy. That is just a bonus, but my idea was to form a diverse Council of varying interests and backgrounds. The Jedi have for too long acted like they were the sole authority when it comes to Force Users. I think some input from Witches, the Jedi service Corps, Inquisitors, Imperial Knights, Kay Vandels Brotherhood, the Altisian Jedi, the Rangers, even a former Sith Lord could help us.”

“It will at least make your meetings more interesting,” Callista said. “Though I doubt I can contribute much to the Council, for like Mira Grau my destiny lays elsewhere.”

“But the Jedi and the Khanate have a common enemy, we both desire to stop Abeloth,” Jacen said. “And even if you, and Mira Grau should she succeed, can rarely attend the meetings of the Council I would rather include you in it. And, you know there are long rage communicators allowing you to attend in holographic form.”

“You are really not letting me weasel out of this do you?” Callista chuckled. “Well, then I will do it. For Djinn, for the Order he wanted to build.”

“We also have our duties on Dathomir,” Kal Cestis said, but I think we should stop by the council now and then.”

“I would rather keep my little Order separate as well, at least for now.” Erly proposed. “We look at the Force much differently than the Jedi do, not to mention many of my recuits are members of the Pius Dea Faith and would rather die than become Jedi. Not that Mira Grau doesn’t mean it can’t be done. So I wouldn’t mind cooperating.”

“I would be interested in a long-term arrangement,” Iskat said, having lost her husband during the GA invasions of Courscant during the last year. “There are many things in the Jedi order I would change, that need to be changed.”

“Count us in for the permanent seats as well,” Jsyella said. “So that at least some of Lukes Order can live on as he intended.”

“Kay had many plans for a Order in the future,” Tia said, “and with him not being able to put them into practice myself I want to do it. For him, for his memory. Just have to convince Susanna to move with me to Courscant now.”

“It truly is a great irony,” Darek said, “I was send to the Agri Corps because I was deemed not good enough to become a ‘true Jedi’ and now I am offered a permanent seat on the Jedi Council. I feel I just have to accept it on that alone.” A smile played around his old lips.

“I am sure we can learn a lot from you.” Jacen said.

“I am an old man,” Darek said, “I will try to make the most of the brief time I have left.”

“Well with the war and all going on,” Gaven said, the weak smile on his face staring to fade again, “there is still the chance you could outlive all of us.” He cleared his throat. “I think before we can even begin to draft up plans for our new Jedi Order we need to consider the Rancor in the room. The terrible war engulfing our Galaxy, and how we can finally bring it to an end.”

 

Eleven

They had entered the prison disguised as Hapan soldiers and with fake documents provided to them by the Crimson Dragons. Everything had gone smoothly so far, they had checked in and with some force based ‘persuasion’ they had been able to bypass several guard checkpoints. Making their way towards the control center of the station.

The Sugarland Prison was the hardest of Hapes, and like other high security prisons around the Galaxy build as a space station, so that escapees had no place to go or leave even if they managed to break out of their restrains and cell blocks. With only limited shipping going in and out of the enclosed facility the chances of prisoners managing to smuggle themselves aboard a ship where close to zero. As far as Mira knew no one had ever managed to escape from this prison without outside help, and even then the number of successful escapes could be counted on one hand without having to use all of the fingers. And even in case of a prisoner revolt, being in space offered an easy solution, the prison decks could be vented into the vacuum, blowing all inmates into the void should they managed to overpower the guards, and the same was true should an outside force attempt to conquer the prison. What they were attempting here today was a whole new dimension, and would no doubt become history if they succeeded.

The plan was simple, don’t risk a fight at all, enter with fake documents and use them to quickly subdue the prison command staff and take over the command center of the facility. The Crimson Dragons had been working on this for three years now and the support of the Coalitions hacker collective had been essential in producing these documents, everything had gone very well, the second strike team, made up of Dragons and Rangers, lead by Allana had managed to secure the command center of the facility without any bloodshed, while Mira, Yosh and Beth’s pirates had headed towards the cell blocks to free the prisoners. And insanly enough both plans had gone through without any troubles, they had secured the prison decks and the command center without firing a single shot. By now they had disarmed all the prison guards and for now locked them inside the cells. Sugarland prison, Hapes most important military prison was theirs without any bloodshed. It was almost surreal just how well the plan had gone… Until a GA ship had suddenly appeared and opened com channels with them.

Still as good as things had been... "We can’t allow ourselves to get sloppy, just because so far it`s been fairly easy. Remember Rakhine…” Mira said looking back at her squad.

“Will you ever let us forget that battle?” Lindzy shook her head. “We are not battling the Chiss today mind you.”

“Wait, you fought the Chiss?” Yosh raised an eyebrow as he tried to move his arms in the new uniform which appeared to be a little too small for his muscular body. “Was that during your time in the Khanate?”

“Opps, guess I shouldn’t have mentioned that,” Helena muttered while Lindzy blushed.

“We did,” Mira said matter of fact, she hadn’t told Yosh about the battle before specifically because she was worried it could impact their relationship with their now allies in the Ascendancy, especially considering what the Chiss had done to the Mandalorians, but now that it was out it was probably best to control the damage as much as she could. “I can tell you more about that battle when we are done here, let’s just say it was the most dangerous battle I experienced so far, including the siege of Corellia.”

But instead of anger she saw a small smile play around Yosh’s lips, “you truly are full of surprises Mira."

“Seriously, can’t you keep your flirting to yourself,” Kelly rolled her eyes, then with a dramatic gestured she added, “think of our poor POWs. Will no one think of the trauma their innocent minds are put through having to listen to your talking? Or is this a strategy to try and get them to spill their secrets.”

“Well if they have any,” Donna said with a smile. “But I feel we know already more than enough… Hett is clearly trying to move all of his eggs into one basket.”

They had been quite surprised by the arrival of Galactic Alliance Guard forces, but not to risk everything had decided to play along, allowing them to dock at the prison and send a squad over to explain the situation. But instead of the prison leadership the GAG squad had instead been met by the Rangers and been quickly subdued.

Donna had been able to encrypt their datapads and found out about their orders, they had been send here for the same reason as the Rangers, to secure the prisoners. They were to pick up certain VIPs back to their cruiser to take them only goddess knew where. It had made Mira remember how her aunt had once infiltrated a Eriaduan prison ship to rescue Ilona, it had been the start of their friendship, so Mira had heard this story several times and it had given her an idea of her own.

“You think this will work?” Catherine asked, her eyes darting from one to another. “I mean won’t the GA know their own soldiers?”

“They do,” Yosh said, “so there is a risk, but we need to find out where Hett is hiding so it`s worth the risk. Thankfully the GAG uses these face concealing helmets, And we can use mind tricks to make them believe we belong to them.”

While several Rangers had taken the place of GAG soldiers, several Dragons had switched into prisoner overalls to pose as the VIPs, so that the two groups together could hopefully fool the GA long enough to get to Hett’s hiding place, or at least the place where the Sith Lord was collecting his remaining hostages. It was risky but should things fail the Dragons, Rangers, not to mention four experienced Force Users should certainly be able to overpower the ships crew and escape back to friendly territory so they had agreed to take it.

“Can’t we really come along?” Elke Vetter crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You could use us there!” By now Yosh’s squire had grown into a young woman and a fine Imperial Knight, initially Yosh had considered knighting her after the battles of Hapes, but now that would have to wait.

“Yeah, that’s unfair!” Cleo, Beth’s niece agreed.

“Just because you can’t comprehend the danger we are facing here,” Beth told her niece sternly. “This might very well be a suicide mission. You are too young to risks your necks in it.” She made a pause, “You were great today Cleo but this… this is something else.”

Mira had offered Beth that she didn’t have to come along, after all she was just beginning to reconnect with her family again… but Beth had insisted that she wouldn’t leave her squad behind. Nor Mira, ‘after all you are part of my family as well’ she had said, something that had deeply touched the heir to the Khanate.

“And there is a chance they lead us straight to Hett,” Allana said as she entered the room, Ventress was with her both of them dressed in prisoner uniforms, several Dragons dressed similarly followed them. “The four of us can take him down together I feel, but will we make it out afterwards? If we succeed with this, we can end this war here and now. We just need to find out where he is.”

They hoped they would pass off convincingly enough as the VIPs, and that the GA soldiers wouldn’t check them too much aboard the ship. At least not until back in hyperspace and moving towards wherever Hett had set up his headquarters. And if something happened Asajj and Allana could hopefully use the Force to fool the GAG soldiers long enough.

“Why can’t we just interrogate the captives to find out where the base is?” Kelly asked. “I mean seriously they are right here?”

“Well, there are dozens of laws in the Coalition stating that torturing or abusing prisoners is illegal.” Mira said. “This includes probing their minds with force powers… it can lead to brain damage.”

“But don’t the laws of war also prohibit dressing up as enemy soldiers?” Donna asked with a twinkle.

“Well if we have to break the law I prefer to break it in a way that doesn’t involve torturing people,” Allana said. “But if we captured them and stop the ship from returning to Hett he will know that something is up, and possibly move his position before we have time to catch up to him. If he truly is there though… this is our best shot at ending the war, saving possibly billions of lives. Not to mention, get the Dagger of Mortis.” She shared a glance with Mira.

“Indeed,” Mira nodded, “The battle for Hapes is important but… in the end Hett is the one who matters. Hopefully once we are closing in on his fortress we can inform our allies of where it is located to the cavalry can support us.”

 

Twelve

“You did what?” Camilla threw up both of her hands, rage pulsed through her body, as the gravity of what she had just learned began to settle in. Still, she clung to the belief that this was nothing but a joke. A bad unaccounted-for joke, but a joke, nonetheless. For it just couldn’t be true. She had expected much to go down at this meeting, as she had paced back and forth outside of the meeting room while Calia and the other leaders of the Resistance had negotiated with the leadership of the Golden Dawn, had feared the negotiations would fail, only make their difficult situation worse. Had worried that there was no way for the GD to join them in their fight, but now she would have gladly chosen that outcome over this.

Calia avoided her gaze for a moment, something she rarely did in their relationship, and it, in a way much more than any of her words told Camy that yes, this was no joke, this was real. “I have agreed to marry Sebastien after Hapes is liberated;” Calia said, now finally finding the strength to look her girlfriend in the eye again. “But you don’t need to worry about it. It is just a political marriage, I will never even sleep with him, our children can be sired via artificial insemination, he will never even touch me inappropriately.”

“Well, lucky you…” Camy said bitterly as she shook her head, her entire body was in pain and she was shivering. “But what does that mean for us, Caly?” She just couldn’t believe it. “You are just casting me aside like a pawn you have no use for going forward? You just leave me behind to marry that guy?” Tears were running down her cheeks. She had believed her relationship with Calia had meant something, and now being told to her face it didn’t… she could have never imagined this kind of pain.

“No,” Calia was still smiling. “I specifically negotiated for that. You will be my paramour Camy, we can stay together, and you will be my wife in all but name. And this won’t be a secret, the Hapan people will know that you are the one I love, that you are my better half. I made that condition very clear when agreeing to his demand. You won’t be cast aside.” She tried to give her girlfriend a hug.

But Camilla instantly moved back, “so you mean they will know I am your accessoire? That you made a deal that allows you to have your cake and eat it too? That you can have the husband who makes you queen and still get to be together me?” She whipped the tears from her eyes, almost breaking down to her knees as the pain of the situation struck like a dagger into her chest.

“Now you are getting unfair!” Calia replied, getting a bit heated. “You know it`s nothing like that. Many Hapan nobles have paramours, and they are often much closer to them than to their spouses. Nothing will change for us. We can still reform Hapes into…”

“You just always care about that stupid throne of yours,” Camilla yelled. “Seriously how do you expect our relationship to work when that kriffing chair is so much more important to you than I am.” As tears continued running down her cheeks she let the pain out, not just the pain of this revelation, but the pain that had grown during the last three years. The pain of often being excluded from important meetings of the Resistance, having to wait outside like a loyal dog for Calia to return. The pain of most of the Hapan treating her like some dumb foreigner, Calia's exotic companion. And now Calia, the woman she loved had just confirmed to her that exactly that would be her fate. Her worst nightmares had come true.

“Because this is more important than our relationship,” Calia countered, twisting the knife even further. “We are shaping the fate of billions of beings. This is about bringing freedom and a better life to countless suffering worlds. Camilla, as a queen I have a duty to my people.”

“And your duty to me? To us? That is just an optional thing ontop huh?” Camilla shook her head. “I am the kriffing heir to the Empire, and yet I always considered you the most important person in my life. Seems that was a mistake…” She took two steps back from her lover. “I thought all this time we spent together changed you, I thought that the wars we fought in, the four years of exile in the Unknown Regions helped make you a better person. But I guess that was just wishful thinking, and in the end you are still the same spoiled power hungry brat you were during your coup. Seriously I wish Allana would just have thrown you in prison back then, because then I never would have met you!” She knew she was unfair, had gone too far, felt sorry for what she had said almost instantly, but the pain and humiliation Calia had inflicted on her was controlling her right now, and she wasn’t able to think clearly anymore, she just wanted to strike back. Strike back against the woman who had caused all of this suffering.

“You have no idea what you are saying!” Calia replied, her voice now getting fiercer as well. Anger pulsing in it, the same anger she usually only reserved for Queen Allana. “I try to find a solution that benefits everyone, but apparently you spoiled brat always want everything for yourself. Want me to throw away everything so I am only there for you, huh? Let me tell you that there are always two people to a relationship, and in the end you have to accept compromises so that both of them can find happiness. But apparently you are too selfish to accept that. I honestly just wonder why you wanted this relationship in the first place, for I never made a secret about my duty. You have known this would happen for years, Camilla. Don’t blame me for all this time you have been lying to yourself.”

Through her tears Camilla could see how Calia bit her lip, how her girlfriend took a step towards her, a sad expression on her face.

“Don’t touch me!” Camilla yelled, giving Calia a fierce slap on her cheek. “Don’t you ever touch me again! If you kriffing throne are so important to you, then just take it, and be happy with that! Whatever was between us, it is over now! Just kriff it, I can’t believe I ever fell for you!”

With that she turned around on her heels and ran, ran away from the meeting room and through the corridors of the Crimson Dragons fortress. Tears running down her cheeks and blinding her. She could hear Calia call after her, but at that moment she just didn’t care. The pain was just too great, the pain of having lost the woman she loved to a kriffin chair. The pain and the realization that Calia would always value power over her.

In the end Camilla Palpatine, grand nice of the Emperor and granddaughter of the regent didn’t knew how she found her way towards Beth’s pirates, she didn’t know just how much alcohol she had drunken with that during that evening to drive the pain away even if it was for just a couple of hours. She didn’t know just how many insults she had hurled at Calia during these hours, she didn’t know just when she had started throwing Calia's belonings into one of the garbage furnaces of the station, she didn’t know just how much she had aggressively flirted with the pirate women, the only thing she knew was that she woke up the next morning in one of the lounges of the base, utterly disheveled and with the worst headache of her life, and that even with that, the pain of having lost Calia was still a thousand times worse.

 

Thirteen

“You must have something, anything!” Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest. Sweat was running down her neck, and into her uniform. She just couldn’t believe this there had do be something.

“I am sorry,” Savan said, looking up at Elena. “But where you really so naïve to think that Betsy Hiran would sloppily connect herself to crimes, and that in doing so, was so careless that I found out about it and could now leak these things to the public so you can publicly expose her as a bad gal like you did with Hett?” She shook her head. “Believe me, even for myself it would be next to impossible to find something, and the Hiran’s know this game very well, they have been playing it for a long time.”

They had excused themselves for a while from the negotiations, had gone upstairs to lounge around a bit in one of the private apartments and it had been here that Elena had confronted the Vice President of the Coalition about Hiran and the info she had on her.

“And before that it was our own family who played it I know,” Elena muttered. “The Hiran’s are a fairly recent cadet branch of House Kyr, not even three hundred years old.”

“Which makes accusing them of anything that the Militia did under the Kyr beforehand backfire,” Savan said solemnly. “Your reputation and that of your daughter would be damaged even more severely than Betsys, and that is if she even suffers from it at all. She could go for the narrative that the Hiran’s in truth broke off from the Kyr because they were disgusted by their parent branches crimes.”

“Maybe,” Elena admitted, “but we are talking about the present here, the recent decades. The Black Sun has been working with the Militia for decades now, ever since you became two of the big five of the Coalition.”

“We didn’t as much worked with the Militia as we worked with Eriaduan criminals,” Savan reminded her. “There is a distinction between them, in fact only very few of your worlds criminals are members of the Militia… they pay tribute to them. Usually disguised in form of donations, but they are not members themselves.” She made a pause, as if she was seeking for the right words. “Look at it this way, the Militia is not a crime Syndicate, they are the guys standing behind the criminals having drapped a nose around their necks. If the criminals behave and do as the Militia tells them to do everything is fine, but if they don’t pay up or do things the Militia doesn’t like… well then they end up dangling from a lamppost somewhere.”

“And if that happens the Eriaduan judges will chalk it up to a vigilante killing and only rarely will someone ever be punished.” Elena said. “That`s how things went for hundreds of years, what my family used to do. But now? The Militia has that concordat with the state and the lynchings where stopped.” Events like that only very rarely happened ever since, and none could be connected to the Militia. “But how do things go now? How does the Militia make their money?”

“The same way we on Falleen do,” Savan gave her a innocent smile. “Through legal enterprises and businesses. Through things no one can try and trouble us for. The same things you did after you reestablished your House. You invested your money into the Qaelan, the Southwest and the reconstruction, and it paid of big time, for you, for me, and for our dear Miss Hiran.”

“You say the Militia, then still lead by her father did…” in one moment she couldn’t believe it, then in the next she felt incredibly silly. “Well money is money, no matter where it`s made. I should have expected this, after all, we Kyr also had our shares of legal enterprises when we lead the Militia.”

“See?” Savan’s smile was sweet. “Same thing for me, I am a legitimate businesswoman now. Legitimate enough to become Vice President.”

That had been one of the other insane appointments by Betsy Hiran in the last year, she had personally appointed a non human as the first Vice President of the Coalition. Had once more broken with what everyone had expected. But then again, Savan was Hiran’s business partner, legally or otherwise, so maybe she was just another crony, maybe that was the reason she couldn’t provide Elena with any further information. Because she didn’t want to… felt obligated to Hiran or hoped to further benefit from her.

“Yes…” Elena said, slowly. It was time to take a risk. “But… I mean purely hypothetically speaking… if our dear President where to be found guilty of crimes, if she say where to spend the rest of her Presidency in prison… wouldn’t that make you…” She left the sentence unfinished, trying her best to hide the sweat running down her body, and the shaking of her spine. What she was doing here bordered on treason, maybe even already met the definition, if Savan recorded this conversation… then Elena’s career would be over, and that was probably only the start of her troubles.

"An intriguing possibility,” Savan said carefully as she leaned back on the couch. “Yet, the Coalition already has one former President in prison, haven’t they? Could it survive another scandal? Would the people keep their faith in their government? In their leaders, their heroes after something like this…” She lowered her voice a bit, “tell me Elena, here from woman to woman, from one head of a formerly criminal family to another. Did you ever consider the other route… a terrible mishap to befall our dear leader?”

Elena swallowed hard, her mouth was dry and her hands where shaking. “I… I,” she bit her lip, then she said. “We, we have considered the possibility, the last resort in chase Hiran would start abusing her powers, would set up insane laws, try to become a dictator, to cause atrocities. There people, and I won’t say any names,” though in truth Savan could probably easily guess the identities of at least some people involved, “have considered it. We love the Coalition, we spend so much blood, sweat and tears in building this nation, undoing many of the injustices of the systems it replaces. We saw how Eriadu, how the Southwest and further parts of the Galaxy stepped out of their darkness and into something better. And we have seen so many of our friends give their lives for this dream. So many brave heroes died, and now, in our hour of victory it is stolen by Betsy Hiran, a woman who stands for everything wrong with Eriadu’s past. A woman who is the antithesis to everything we stand for. And now she is one of the most powerful people in the Galaxy.”

“And yet she so far hasn’t done anything horrible,” Savan said, looking up at Elena. “Infact she has continued the work of Ilona and Saul Cameron. She has prevented a polarization of society and instead become a cautiously supported and celebrated President.”

“That`s the worst thing about it,” Elena said, and her anger pulsed up in her. “This dam waiting game, I wish I could just yell at her to finally stop pretending, to grab her, to shake her, to yell at her, to finally just force her to admit to her master plan. I… I just have become paranoid, for I can almost see the web she is spinning, I can almost feel the machine ticking, ticking down to all of our doom.” She walked back and forth through the apartment, unable to even stand still. “I… I just don’t know for how long I can take this anymore, for how long I can sit by and wait for her to destroy everything we build. How long I can still tolerate that weak smile of hers, her faked nice girl persona. I… I just think of the great monsters that our Galaxy suffered through in the last couple of decades. What if someone had done something to stop Dooku, Palpatine, Jacen Solo, or Hett? How many billions if not trillions of innocents would still be alive if someone had done something to stop it, before it was too late?” She had now fallen into a rage, revealing her feelings, feelings that had grown inside of her ever since Betsy Hiran had first become Vice President and then President. “I… we Kyrs are responsible for so much darkness in the Galaxy, so much suffering under the Pius Dea faith. And even though I tell myself I committed none of these crimes, they do haunt me. And now I see how we, well our cadet branch but effectively still us, are set for a repeat of this. That a Kyr will soon be once more the monster in Galactic History. I… I don’t want to do something like this, but, there is a voice inside of me that tells me that as a Kyr it is my responsibility to do something. Betsy needs to be stopped, for the sake of my friends, my wife, my daughter, for the sake of the Coalition, and that of the entire Galaxy!” Elena shouted, tears in her eyes.

She knew she had done a mistake, she shouldn’t have discussed these matters with Savan of all people. But the rant had been building inside of her over the last year, had grown step by step as Betsy had acted all nice and liberal. Had spread her honeyed lies further and further in their society, and the Galaxy as a whole. She had discussed it with her friends before, and she knew several of them shared the same rage. The same fears.

“Then,” a voice at the door made Elena freeze, make her heart almost stop, “are you intending to stop me by any means necessary?”

Turning around Elena Kyr could barely breathe as she saw Ilona Malek at the door, and next to her the President herself.

 

Fourteen

Ilona stared from one to the other, unable to properly think or react, she had heard enough of Elena’s words to know what her friend was talking about. Enough to understand the fears and anger her friend went through, for Ilona had felt the same, felt the same every single day in the last year, and in time her unease had only grown more and more, and with it the urge, the urge to step up and do something. To if necessary make a sacrifice to protect her nation from the darkness. And yet… it had only been thoughts.

“I asked you a question,” Hiran said softly, “do you intend on stopping me by… any means necessary? Do I have to count you amongst my enemies?” There was no anger in her voice, nor surprise, Hiran had known this, of course she had, she was a smart woman, she knew full well how her political allies felt about her.

“No…” Elena said, her voice was weak, but firm, tears were still running down her cheeks. “I wanted to shoot you once, when I was a teenager. Then only the weapon accidentally being set to stun saved your life, yours and Rebekhas. I almost became a murderer then, to protect Ulrika,” she blinked the tears from her eyes, whipped them off her cheeks with a shaking hand. “I won’t fall to the same low now.” She swallowed hard, “for if I did I would become just like you. Then I would betray everything the Coalition stands for.” She clenched her hands into fists. “You can fire me now if you want. That saves me having to write a resignation letter, Madame President.”

“Madame President,” Ilona said before Betsy had any chance to open her mouth again. “You have to forgive Chief Kyr, she has become heated up from all the stress she has been going through in the war and with this meeting. That can cause a person to loose control over their emotions, especially if they believe they are talking in a private environment. I am sure once she has calmed down she will apologize for her behavior right now. There is no need to punish her over this, after all she has served our nations dutifully for many years.” She said whatever came to her mind, trying whatever to prevent Elena from loosing her job, or possibly worse, because of that very same fear, the fear for her friend, her nation.

“We were speaking completely hypothetically,” Savan added. “Just a what if question between two women of similar backgrounds. I can assure you neither of us had any intention of plotting against you.” Her tone was confident, convincing, the way a skilled liar and manipulator managed to make everything they said sound like the truth. The very same skill Hiran was so good at.

The President said nothing for a short while, her face giving away no emotion or thoughts. Instead she slowly walked over to one of the empty couches and sat down on it. Clasping one hand inside another as she stared at her fingertips for a moment. Then finally she spoke, “if there is anyone here who needs to apologize it’s me.” She didn’t look at any of them, spoke as if she was speaking to herself and just herself. “Can I blame people for speaking the truth, just because I don’t like it? Our nation was formed on values of free thinking and free speech. Chief Kyr is very much in her right to express negative thoughts about…”

“Oh goddess, spare us with this reasonable authority figure crap!” Elena yelled. “Stop acting like you are our friend, just stop these lies. If you want to ruin everything we build then say it! If you have any shred of decency within you, any little bit of humanity please, please just fire me and be done with it. I… I can’t take this any longer.” She took hold of her collar, clasped her hand around her rank insignia and ripped it off her dress uniform, throwing it at Hiran’s feet. “You know what? I am done playing along in this charade. You don’t want to fire me? Well I quit, I am done being your puppet. Just know that once you finally drop that mask of yours and become the tyrant I know you are, that I will be there, me and Ulrika and all those other decent people you are trying to fool. And no matter what you try, we will fight you and we will win!” She looked up at the ambassador, “Ilona, can we leave? I am getting sick of this woman, this place, these lies.”

This time it was Hiran who spoke before Ilona had the chance to react, “you are right Chief, you are right. I am wearing a mask, I am pretending to be someone I am not.”

Elena spun around, while Ilona stepped a bit closer. Was this the moment? Had Elena’s rant been the breaking point. All four women in the room where unarmed, but goddess knew if Hiran didn’t have her security personal already underway.

“Then who are you?” Elena shook her head.

“I am a monster,” Hiran said, solemnly. “Yes I pretended to be a good person, you are right chief. But not because I want to destroy what you have build. I… I pretended to be a good girl because I wanted to believe I could be one of you. Because I dared to hope I could find redemption.”

“I am no longer listening to this crap,” Elena said. “You can shove your fake sob story somewhere else Betsy! Do you think I am that naïve? That I believe you off all people had a change of heart, that the leader of the militia secretly wishes herself to be a good person?”

“And now she is crying,” Savan giggled as if this was the greatest joke imaginable. “More bad gal, tell us why you are secretly a good person.” She looked at Hiran with vested interest, like a spectator of a comedy show.

“I was wrong…” Hiran muttered, once again speaking mostly to herself. “Goddess I was so wrong.”

“Ilona, let`s leave, I won’t waste my time with this crap.” Elena said shaking her head. “I am done with this.”

“Wait,” Ilona said, softly but firmly. There had been a time when she had been quick to judge other people, where she outright refused to accept people could change, when she had believed that everything in the Galaxy was black and white. And never in her life had she been more wrong than in those days. And it was this memory, and this memory alone, that made her stay. Made her ask, “on what were you wrong?”

“About everything,” Betsy said, quietly, tears running down her cheeks, as she raised her head to face Ilona’s gaze. “You think I am an idiot Elena? That alone is the one insult you brought forth I take issue with, and even then only somewhat.” She swallowed hard, then she said, “I did believe them for a long time, all those lies I was raised with,” she started to tell. “About how all the other species hate humanity, how even most humans have long since strayed from the path the goddess had set out for us. That integration can never, ever work and only Eriadu, and even on it only certain families still carried the torch of the true humanity. That we were all that`s left, and that it`s our destiny to reunite humanity under the faith and cleanse the Galaxy of the filth…I was a dumb child for believing this for so long, for letting it control my actions…” She made a pause, then after a while she continued. “Rebekha called me that when we broke up, she understood these things much, much earlier than I did. And on that day, when she broke off with me and left the Militia she told me what a spoiled, dumb little child I was, how I clung to these insane ideas of supposed superiority to make myself feel better, make myself feel important. She confronted me with all my mistakes before leaving me.”

“And we are supposed to believe that?” Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest. “One harsh speech from your ex and suddenly you changed your entire worldview?”

“Not at first,” Hiran said. “I went into denial, refused to accept a word she had said. I told myself that poor Rebekha had also been lead astray, that she had been corrupted away from the light like so many other humans, even on Eriadu. In a certain way I even doubled down on my believes, tried whatever it took to shove that small fear into the deepest darkest part of my mind. The fear that Rebekha might have been right.”

“I am supposed to believe a psychopath actually can have doubts?” Elena laughed dryly.

“This is just too funny,” Savan chuckled. “Have you been practicing this speech in front of your mirror Betsy.” Clearly she had lost any and all respect for the President.

“A psychopath would have had you and Ulrika killed for attacking her, for humiliating her.” Ilona said, unable to make sense of this insanity.

“So you want to give her a kriffin prize because she didn’t have two teenagers murdered?” Elena clearly wasn’t convinced. But then she turned her head towards Betsy. “Then, assuming you are saying the truth. What did convince you?”

“You did,” Betsy muttered, then a bit louder she continued, “you and Ulrika, and Ilona, Tobin… All of you.”

“How?” Ilona asked.

“You succeeded,” Hiran replied. “You lead Eriadu into a war against the Iron Alliance, you formed alliances, you created the Coalition. The people where doing better, they were happier. Eriadu finally seemed like it was rising, that our long exile at the edge of the Galaxy was turning into something better. We became a middle power, then over two decades a major power. Even the faith experienced a resurgence, with more and more people being converted, including non humans.” She chuckled weakly to herself. “How insane it drove my dad, he argued, he tried to make sense of it. Either claiming the goddess only set you up for us to overtake you, or that devils from the nine hells had risen to ensure the Coalition rose. It was insane, you, Ulrika, Tobin, Florianne, you achieved more for Eriadu and it’s people in a couple decades than all the faithful Houses did in over a thousand years. And you succeeded, how could I still hold onto the values I had been raised with, when I could see the living breathing proof they were wrong in front of me?”

”Many people live with that paradox,” Savan said, still chuckling but clearly not as amused as before, was she starting to believe this. “They usually go into deep denial, or cling to demagogues who they believe can help them. They let others think for them instead of facing the unwelcome truths.”

“So I did for a while,” Hiran said, “clinging to my dad despite knowing in my heart he was wrong. Then he died, and shortly afterwards the Greyshirts rioted on Eriadu… I saw with my own eyes the destruction they caused, the suffering. So I send the Militia to stop them, telling myself that it was what any Grand Magus would have done. After all it brought me into politics, made me vice President.” Again she made a pause, “I told myself it was just for pragmatic reasons, that I of course didn’t actually care about the nonhuman victims, why would I? After all they where all evil and conspiring to murder us humans.” She shook her head. “My walls of denial where falling apart, but I was afraid for what lay behind them. So I threw myself into my new position, tried to run from my issues by dealing with other peoples.”

“Your first big task was the drafting the peace treaty with the Tof wasn’t it?” Elena said, now she was finally not yelling anymore, but Ilona felt she still had her doubts. “I remember you were pretty generous with them. Even read into their religion.”

Ilona had heard the same reports, back then they had believed Hiran had only engaged with the Tof to manipulate them. And that certainly was the truth? Or was it?

“I did,” Hiran nodded, whipping away the tears from her eyes. “I was early on simply surprised the Tof followed a religion similar to ours, surprised and intrigued, if from a paternalistic point of view. I looked at how the Sith had manipulated them had driven them to war with us for their own ends, and quickly concluded that of course backwards, primitive species would fall for such obvious lies. That they were dumb, manipulated children, not monsters…” Again a bitter chuckle, “I am sure you can see the irony in this. And after mulling it over myself I saw it too. Of course us humans have fallen for similar lies, after all, Hett was just doing the same to the Galactic Alliance. Humans had fallen for the same lies just as readily as the Tof had. Just as people on Eriadu had in the past, just like… I had. In the end I pushed for generous terms with the Tof, because I saw myself in them, a being lead astray and turned into a monster, even if back then I didn’t have the stomach yet to admit it directly to myself. That came in the coming months, when I worked within the government, when I watched humans and non humans, people of different backgrounds and home worlds work together for a common goal when I saw the inner workings of the Coalition and realized there was now devilry involved, that it was just people, people working together instead of against one another. And, well something grew inside of me, the desire to take part, a desire to be like you, to be one of you. And so I did whatever Cameron and the others asked of me, and it felt good. Hells, when I finished that peace deal with the Tof, when their leader shook my hand and said the All Mother must have blessed us, the thankfulness I could see in his eyes. Nothing in my life felt like that, I know that I had done the right thing, after so long I had finally done something I could be proud of. And it continued, I visited the Tof’s worlds, helped with their entry towards the Coalition, I saw their guilt over the war, and I assured them that we would forgive them, that their species would find it`s redemption, just as I began to hope that I could find mine.”

“Well,” Elena walked towards the windows, her back turned to the others. “Assuming all of this is true. Assuming that you are indeed capable and willing to change as a person. Why in all nine hells didn’t you tell us? Why did it take you so long to open your mouth about it?”

Betsy looked up at her, “well, given how you just reacted, would you have believed me? Would anyone have believed me when I just said one day I had rethought my entire life?” She clapped her hands onto her knees. “And I was afraid, afraid to admit it. To admit that my life had been in service of a horrible cause, that my father, his father, all Hirans before us, as well as all the Kyr’s were wrong. Fundamentally wrong, so wrong there might be no redemption for us.”

“So you where afraid? Afraid to face your families dark truths?” Elena asked, turning around and fixating the President.

“I am not as strong as you are Elena,” Hiran admitted. “You are an infinitely better woman than I ever can hope to be. I… I had a hard time admitting it to myself already. But then Saul died.” Another pause. “It was at his coffin, after the ceremony, after Ulrika gave that speech about him, Creon and Florianne. I was alone, had asked for a moment of quiet time. I remembered what Ulrika had said, that they chose the Coalition, that it was our choice that created our state. And so, as I kneeled in front of their coffins I finally made my choice, that I would chose the route they had taken before me, that I wanted to be like them, like you, instead of what I had been. Cameron gave me this chance, he brought me into the government and opened my eyes, and so I vowed to do what I can to continue his legacy, to take up his mantle and be the President he wanted me to be. I know I can never lead the Coalition the way he could, the way you, Ilona, could, but goddess be my witness I would follow your footsteps and preserve your legacy. You may never forgive me for who I was, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself, but it’s a path I will follow anyway. Because I made my choice, and like you, I chose the Coalition.”

 

Fifteen

“Calia, it is so good to see you.” Her mother said with a smile as she entered Calia`s office. Her arms outstretched, she wanted to give her daughter a tight hug.

“Hey mom,” Calia replied, not even leaning into the hug as her mothers’ arms slung around her. There had been a time in her life when she had desired this moment more than anything else in the Galaxy, when, early on in her exile she had dreamed of returning to Hapes and freeing her mother from prison. But now…

“Caly, I missed you so much,” the former Baroness of Carlania muttered into her daughter’s ear. “You have been very brave.”

Caly… that was also what Camilla always called her, and just hearing it made the pain in Calia’s chest worse. What did it matter that they had rescued her parents? What did it matter that in a few days she might sit in the water palace? What did any of this matter compared to having lost Camilla?

“I… I am glad you are okay mom,” she finally managed to say. “I hope they didn’t mistreat you in prison.”

“Oh, you can bet they did!” Her mother said after breaking the hug. “I was forced to work six hours in the prison laundry, four days a week, can you imagine that? Me, a noble woman having to work in the laundry like a common servant? Worse I had to share a room with Sonya’s mom! They didn’t even give us nobles our own rooms to sleep in!”

“You had to work for six hours, four days a week?” Calia looked at her, she just couldn’t believe it. When she had imagined her mothers time in prison she had….

“Yes, can you imagine that?” Her mother threw up her arms in disgust. “I never expected even queen Allana to be so cruel, after all I am a fellow noble woman. Good thing for her she died in the war, I wouldn’t have been merciful on her, well now her family will have to pay for it!”

“Mom,” Calia said, just staring at her mother, “just how did you treat the prisoners in our prisons on Carlania. They had to work in the mines for ten hours, all days a week, with six people being cramped into each cell.” In the three years she had now spend amongst the Crimson Dragons Calia had met several people who had been imprisoned on Carlania before all of this, and who had given her a detailed idea on just how her family had treated their prisoners.

“They weren’t nobles,” her mother shrugged it off. “Of course, commoners deserve a different treatment. They are too dumb than to learn through anything other than long and hard labor. The males especially.”

“Didn’t you promise giving males equal rights after I would have become Queen?” Calia retorted, liking this discussion less and less with every word.

Her mother let out a chuckle, “a lofty promise I made to the Coalition to get their support. But do you think their politicians are all that different? Democracy or monarchy, leaders always give promises to the common rabble to get them to fall in line. You don’t have to give too much on that. A promise made to a commoner doesn’t matter.”

“So you wouldn’t have changed a thing when I had become queen?” They had said it, Allana, Sonya, Camilla, they all had told her this, and on some level Calia had begun to accept it herself, but hearing it like this was something else entirely.

“Oh I would have changed a lot,” her mother said. “I would have undone all the damage that whore of her queen and her foreign puppet master had caused. All this new laws like males being allowed to enter university, being able to file for divorce, having the right of a trial when accused of a crime. And that’s just the beginning, once you are queen, we will judge all the foreigners who came to Hapes in the last seventy years, put all those into irons who have been leeching of the hard work of our people, we will teach them what it means to work hard, in our mines and fields. You and me Calia, we will purge the rot from Hapan society and create a Consortium our people can be truly proud of.”

“Mom…” Calia was struggling to keep her voice straight. “Do you even listen to yourself? I mean you really want to…” her mouth was dry and her entire body begun to shiver.

“I want to go much further, all these men who have been lording over the women of Hapes in the last three years will be send to the gallows, as will the women who support this. But don’t worry, I haven't forgotten these ‘transpeople’ I know you want to rid our society off. I have never been more proud of you then when you publicly championed against them and the laws Allana had passed to protect these men who claim to be women.”

Calia felt sick, beyond sick, for she knew her mother was right, she had spoken publicly against the laws Allana had put in place to protect Trans people. She had condemned all of them greedy, vile men trying to usurp women. She hadn’t demanded them to be all executed but… she wanted to send them to prison, the prison of the sex they had been assigned at birth, to spend the rest of their days in hard labor for the ‘crime’ of being who they were.

For a moment she thought of Elena, and of the transpeople she had meet in the ranks of the Crimson Dragons and recently Golden Dawn. She had long since changed her opinion on them, but the guilt for how she had treated them before her exile, for what she had said back then caused her nothing but pain now.

“I won’t sign such a law,” the young noblewoman said. “In fact, I will sign a law that allows them to legally change their gender without the need for a professional assessment. And a further law to ensure they get all financial help they need for the state.” She defiantly looked at her mother. Her heart was racing faster than ever before in her life and she was unsure of how long she would be able to keep this up. But she was finally doing it, finally standing up to her mother.

“You… you what?” Her mother stared at her. Then a warm smile came over her lips. “Ah I see, the Coalition has manipulated you into believing these lies. I shouldn’t be surprised their methods are getting more and more insidious with every year. They have brainwashed you Caly, made you someone you weren’t, made you believe all these lies. Don’t you see they just want you too feel bad about who you are! All they want is to turn you docile, docile and supportive of their corrupt politicians. They want to turn you into their puppet queen, so they can rule Hapes from the shadows. But don’t worry, mommy is going to help you out of that. We will get this sorted out in now time.”

“If that`s brainwashing;” Calia said, slowly. “Then I don’t want to be returned to normal. But I think we both know who the really brainwashed one is here.” She looked at her mother. “How can you believe this? What did Transpeople ever do to you? Why do you hate people you don’t even know basic facts about?”

“You are upset, I understand that,” her mother said softly. “Is it because of that little friend from the Coalition? I heard she broke up with you. Don’t worry we will get her back,” she laid a hand on Calia`s shoulder. “As queen you are entitled to have a concubine, and if she refuses you we will have her punished…”

Calia starred at her mother, utterly in disbelieve at what she had just said. Then her hand slapped her mother in the face before Calia could even properly think about it. “How dare you to speak like that about the woman I love! I tried to tell myself in the last couple of years my mother wasn’t a monster despite everyone telling me. Well guess everyone else was right, and you are even worse than they could have ever imagined.” She gave her mother a strong push, sending the noblewoman to the floor. Then she ran out of the room, tears running down her cheeks.

 

Sixteen

For a long time all four of them sat together in silence. Then Betsy finally spoke, “if it is your wish, I will step down from my presidency later tonight, so I create no further troubles for you or our nation.”

“So now you want to run huh?” Elena shook her head. “If anything you`ve told us was true Betsy, you need to learn one thing. If you want to be like me, you don’t run away from your problems. Ulrika and I did that and you yourself know how that ended. Only when we faced them could we achieve something.” She made a pause, weighting her words, her decision, a choice her heart had already made for her, just like it had known she could never resort to murdering someone, no matter how evil. “Some of the people close to me have done worse things than you have, Francesco helped put down a slave uprising, he was involved in massacres, Asajj is complicit in several war crimes of the CIS, Xela was an active slave trader, Deacon betrayed the Jedi Order and openly worked with the Empire for decades, my father served as Delvardus Head of Government, Ulrika’s uncle Jimbo served as one of his closest commanders even during his time in the Deep Core.” She chuckled, “listing them like that makes it seems like I am dealing with monsters on a regular basis, and yet they all faced their demons, whether or not they overcame them is up for debate, but they tried, and much good was done because they did.”

“Besides, as I told Elena here a while ago,” Savan said. “The Coalition currently can’t allow itself another scandal, Cameron was murdered, Durran is in prison, if you now also step down. People will loose trust.”

“Seems like you already did,” Betsy mutter quietly.

“Somewhat,” Savan grinned, “but… in some ways I understand where you are coming from. I helped rebuild Falleen, I have seen the same thankfulness myself. And adding to that, a President who is an soft hearted girl scout is much easier to manipulate.” Her grin turned an inch wider.

“What about the Militia?” Hiran asked. “I have information on them that could help us shut them down. Expose a lot of their shady dealings.”

“Very tempting,” Ilona smiled. “But I see two problems with that. First is that if you release them, it will effect your standing as well, and thus hurt our state, double because we have a concordat with them, Florianne even renewed it after our election, so we would be complicit. The second problem is… well that has been done before, the Militia has been shut down, only for the same people to reform it under a slightly different name and branding. It`s a major for why Florianne and me decided to renew the concordat, we knew a crackdown wouldn’t really solve the problem.”

“And did you have an answer?” Elena asked.

“I am not sure,” Ilona admitted, “I am not sure if there is one. This is a deep rooted issue… but, if Betsy here can look at what’s happening in the Galaxy and come to the conclusion the Militia`s path is wrong, than others can do too. In fact numbers of the movement where dwindling for some time. Meanwhile splinters within it wanted to reform the organization into something better, cut away the bad parts while preserving the charity, the care for veterans.”

“Like our friend Jeremiah Corryn wanted?” The blue haired Chief raised an eyebrow. “He was manipulated by Hett into murdering my father.”

“True, but as we have just discussed at length, people can get manipulated all the time.” Savan rolled her eyes. “And besides, didn’t even Jacen Kyr, the founder of the group tried to steer them into a better direction in his later years? I remember he championed for integration and was eventually deposed after a non human woman gave him a kiss to the cheek.”

“You know about that?” Elena looked at her, surprised.

“It was a Falleen woman, and we have a long memory,” Savan said. “We remembered that incident as just another proof of human hypocrisy.”

“Whether or not Jacen Kyr was genuine, or just wanted to improve his standing in the Republic after the war, I think that is something we will never know,” Ilona said. “And even if he was I don’t think it excuses all the stuff the Militia did before or since… but, I can’t deny it has helped a lot of people as well, only faithful humans mind you but still, their charities and veterans support did do good in the Galaxy. And as much as we hate to admit it, without them… the Faith would have remained outlawed. I… I honestly don’t have the answer here. But I think in the end, the people will choose, maybe they think it`s time for the Militia to die, maybe it can face up it’s past and be reformed, like the Jedi, like the Black Sun, like the faith, like Eriadu itself.” She laid a hand on Savan’s shoulder and for a moment her gaze fell through the window and towards the Jedi temple in the distance. “I don’t think this decision is for any of us to make, nor could we really enforce it even if we wanted to.”



“So, do you believe her?” Ilona asked Elena as the two were standing together on the balcony of the apartment a while later. Hiran had returned to the negotiations and Savan had accompanied her.

“I do, hells I do,” Elena said, taking a deep breath from the cigar in her hand, she had started to smoke again. Sadly the stress she was currently going through had made her return to this vice of her. “Call me naïve, or dumb but… I have been in her place. I am not exactly like her, thank the goddess, but I could have been. If I hadn’t met Ulrika who knows where I would have ended up. And I had the luxury of my father being pretty much already half way there, even if he, like Betsy had troubles expressing it.” She blew out a small cloud of smoke. “It`s quite ironic to think of it, that Betsy managed what he failed at. I don’t know, maybe I want her to be genuine because I see my dad in her? What I wish my dad would have done? Or maybe I want it because now there is some hope for our future? That she isn’t going to ruin everything we build.”

“That is my hope as well,” Ilona agreed, “even if I will keep a close eye on her going forward. Just in case this is just a giant con to manipulate us. But,” she allowed herself a smile, “people can change through positive interactions, Adrian, well his mother in law on Dathomir kidnapped him during their first meeting and tried to sell him as a slave. Yet he still tried to reach out to her, to show her he was not her enemy. That the new ways he and her daughter were treading were the future, and in the end… they did, more and more of the tribe came around to them, and so his mother in law stepped down, made her daughter the clan leader and the tribe flourished, made peace with their local warlock tribe, became a strong and healthy community. And in the end, even the old chief embraced Adrian as part of her family. I had never expected to see the same from Betsy Hiran of all people but… maybe we truly are a good influence on people.”

“Just don’t let Ulrika hear that,” Elena laughed, “or her head would get even bigger. And either way doesn’t mean that I will go easy on old Betsy from now on either, if she wants to be one of us I will be extra strict on watching any of her actions. Still feel we should have put her prison, regret or not.”

“She would deserve that,” Ilona said. “And if she is genuine she would probably admit it herself. In a just Galaxy we should imprison her. But… Savan is right, it would currently cause only further trouble. And well, the Coalitions justice system is about reformation and safekeeping. If she is genuine about what she told us, then I think her own guilt will torment her far more than any prison ever could. And if it is true then she is no danger to anyone going forward, and at least on the road towards full reformation. And if she isn’t we can still put her in prison going forward, with the leverage she has given us.”

That had been Ilona’s idea, to actually have Betsy give both of them enough material about the Militia’s actions. Enough to get her in trouble if not prison for at least a while should it be released. A reassurance just in case.

“Yeah,” Elena chuckled, “must resist thinking of all the ways we can use that against her going forward.”

“Hehehehe,” Ilona giggled, “my brother still has some emberassing pictures of me, in Dathomirian hunting leathers he held over my head for years…especially during my presidency,” But then she turned serious again. “Still it eases my fears of the future. With Betsy on our leash, and our friend Rebekha as Chancellor, the Coalition truly can look towards a bright future.“

 

Seventeen

Calia wasn’t sure what time it was when she finally gotten herself presentable again and left her quarters. After the meeting with her mother, she had fled to her rooms, but alone being there had only made her pain worse for it had only underlined that Camilla was gone, that she couldn’t even find solace in her girlfriends’ arms. Within barely 48 hours her entire life had gone to hell, and it hurt Calia more than she had ever thought possible. So, she had lain on her bed, crying into the expensive silken sheets, curled up like a little girl, unable to cope with the hurt.

But eventually she had shed all her tears and even though this pain had become numb, she had slept for a while, then got up, taken a shower and got dressed properly again. Even this, keeping up the appearance as a noble now felt wrong to her, just another reminder of her mother, another reminder of the life she had left behind so long ago, and as she stared into the mirror Calia asked herself if any of this was truly worth it. If the throne that was now within her reach was really worth losing Camilla, what she was even doing here following her mothers dream rather than her own. But then she had composed herself, after all she was a noble, and as a noble she had a duty, now more than ever. She needed to become the queen to keep nobles like her mother away from politics, be a queen to ensure the people of Hapes had someone benevolent to look up to, someone who would protect them.

And so she had finally left her quarters and gone to search for Sonya Thane, with Camy having run away and Mira on a mission Calia knew Sonya was now the woman she needed to talk to, after all they had been best friends for many years, and Sonya had been the one to first create the doubts in Calia about her mothers motives, doubts that had now been confirmed in the worst way possible.

She found Sonya in the officer lounge that Calia and her squad had been using for the past three years, there she sat over a meal with a member of the Golden Dawn, chuckling at his remarks. Stepping close to the table Calia cleared her throat, usually she wasn’t this blunt but she needed to talk to Sonya and whatever her new friend wanted it had wait…

Calia`s blood froze as she recognized him, then just a second later it began to boil as she just stared at just who was sitting there with Sonya.

“Oh, hello sister,” Jesper Koan said, looking up at his older sibling. “Sonya here just told me about…” He didn’t even finish the sentence before his sisters fist hit him in the face, throwing him off his chair and onto the ground.

A second later Calia stood over him, her officer blade drawn, pointing the cold steel at her brother, at her betrayer. “Give me just one reason not to kill you here and now.” She knew that in Hapan customs, especially amongst the nobility kin slaying was considered the worst sin imaginable, but in this moment, she didn’t care, and after all he had betrayed his family and severed all bonds that might have once existed between them.

She still remembered the day like it was yesterday, they had been called to meet the queen, her entire family, she and her mother had worn their best dresses, believing their plot to take the throne was nearing completion. Sonya and her family had been there as well, but instead of being able to extent further pressure on Queen mother Allana they had instead been called traitors in front of the entire court, Allana had revealed each and every detail of their plot, made it clear she knew everything. Calia had nearly wet herself in fear, had stood side by side with Sonya, the two best friends holding hands for support. Of course they all had denied the accusations, had demanded Allana to prove her outrageous claims, and at these words, Jesper had stepped forth and had confirmed them.

“Calia!” Sonya called, a hand on her friends shoulder, “he is on our side!”

“He betrayed us!” Calia snorted back. “He deserves to die!”

That day Calia had almost forgotten her brother had even been there, after all males had to stay in the background and keep silent during audiences with the queen, unless they were called forth and given permission to speak. But when Allana had called for him all eyes and ears had been focused on Jesper as he gave his report, and even worse produced documents proving the treason of his family without any doubt. It had been the greatest humiliation of her life as she had panicked and begged queen Allana for mercy.

“I betrayed that wicked crone calling herself my mother,” Jesper said, his eyes defiantly as he looked at his sister. “And the horrible, spoiled brat that was my sister. If you want to kill me then do it. But if only half of what Sonya told me about you is true then you know I did the right thing.”

Of course she knew that, it was the worst part, the main reason she wanted to kill him in this moment. To kill him in a futile effort to deny what he had done had been the right thing, that he had been the honest and true soul in a family of monsters, that he had done what Calia herself should have done. It had taken her a long time to reach this conclusion, but last night as she had lain crying on her bed she had once and for all been forced to admit to herself that Jesper had held the moral high ground that day. Not to mention…

“He is the reason we where exiled,” Sonya said. “He convinced queen Allana to spare us having to go to prison. He convinced her to have mercy on us.”

The blade slipped from her hand and landed on the floor; tears were running over Calia’s cheeks as her conflicting feelings battled each other. Of course she knew that, she remembered how Jesper had called her and Sonya just two dumb spoiled brats used as pawns by their mothers, had argued that they should be shown clemency. Of course, back then and for many years afterwards Calia had considered this mercy as just further humiliation, as Allana’s last, cruel punishment for her. But if she was honest with herself, it was a mercy neither Calia nor her mother would have had with their enemies.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes Calia reached out to her brother, “yes, you where right. I would have been a horrible queen and our mother… our mother, she is a monster. She had to be stopped.”

Jesper took her hand, and she pulled him back to his feet. Without any other words he wrapped his arms around her, and Calia, still struggling with her emotions returned the hug, even leaned into it. Glad to have at least someone who would hold her in this moment, someone to assure her she wasn’t alone in this cruel galaxy.

She sobbed as she thought back to the good times, she had with Jesper, before her mother had begun to involve her in politics. Playing pirates and marines together, dancing to music from outside Hapes (her mother had grounded her for several days for that, and Jesper had been punished even worse), stealing sweets from the kitchen together, her brother admitting having a crush on Sonya… the memories she had supressed for so long, now returning to her like blaster bolts.

“Sonya told me you grew up during your exile,” Jesper said softly. “She told me that you are a heroine now. Glad to have you back sister.”

A while later the three of them sat around the table, talking about what they had through since that fateful day in Allana’s throne room. For betraying the plot Jesper had been made the new Duke of Carlania, and he had undone many of the evils his family had caused there, including implementing a much-needed prison reform to end the abuse. His pro male reforms had earned him the ire of many fellow nobles yet also the support of the Golden Dawn which he had eventually joined, going underground when the GA had invaded. Through all this her brother had never married nor even found a partner, was he still carrying a torch for Sonya? She clearly had been awfully quick to forgive him his betrayal now that all was said and done…

“Have you heard the news by the way?” Jesper asked after a while. “Zekk has fled Hapes, having been evacuated by the GA alongside several high-ranking collaborators. Our strike team found an nearly empty palace with just some servants remaining who told them the leadership fled.”

“That is news for me,” Calia said, raising an eyebrow. As part of their newformed alliance the Golden Dawn had agreed to send a team to arrest Zekk and other high ranking Hapan government officials, a decapitating strike before the various rebel groups would sweep in to take power. “Any idea what is going on there?”

“I have no clue,” her brother said. “If anything, than that they fear their position getting insecure? Maybe Hett can see the future… or he has still moles amongst the rebel groups.”

“Possible I guess,” Sonya said, but the look she gave Calia was worried, after all Hett had been a step ahead of his enemies so many times before and during the war, so who knew what new devilry was in the works awaiting them. And it only served to worsen Calia’s worries about Mira and the others.

“Seems you will have your throne in just a couple days sister,” Jesper said with a weak smile. “Just don’t forget the lessons you learned in your exile when you are finally queen.”

Calia looked at him, and in a way his affirmation was the final confirmation she needed, she had thought about this for a long time, and now she knew that she had made the right choice. “Well the Hapan throne will have to live without me, and so will Sebastien,” she took and deep breath and knew what she had to do, “I won’t take the throne, for the price for it is simply too great. But I think I have found a solution that we all can find acceptable.” And with that, and a final smile to the lovebirds she left the hall.

 

Eighteen

“I have given up on the throne,” the illusion of Calia said, but Camilla paid her no attention, she didn’t want to listen to these lies, didn’t want that beautiful dream she had, to steal even another moment of her time.

Instead, the young woman simply raised her cup and took another deep sip of the Corellian ale. It tasted as bad as Mira and Calia always had said it did, but she didn’t care, she just wanted to forget. Forget she ever knew Calia, and maybe Mira too after all she was the one who had introduced her to the Hapan exiles, had set her up on this path that only lead to pain and suffering, and she wouldn’t take any more of it. If Mira was a true friend she would understand.

“You where right Camy,” said the illusion, the fake Calia produced by all the alcohol in her blood, it wasn’t the first illusion of it`s kind, she had dreamed this would happen tonight, only then to wake up and find herself alone, disheveled and Calia still gone. Beth’s pirates had left her as well, they had a mission and Camilla was glad they hadn’t demanded her to come along. Just leaving her behind was the nicest thing they could have done in that situation and Camy was thankful for it. Was at leagues better than how Calia had treated her.

She took another deep sip and found the cup was empty, with delirious arms she reached over the table, tried to find the bottle to refill it. She could feel how Calia, the illusion of the woman she had loved, tried to stop her, and for an illusion she sure could hold tight, just like Calia had in the past. Camy had loved her for that, for her integrity and determination and for the standards she lived by. Before they had met Camilla Palpatine had been a drifter, a bit of a hedonist, had no clear goal in life no any intention of seeking one and she had been content with who she had been, but then she had met Calia, a woman who understood her but also challenged her, a woman who showed her there was so much more in life. Lies, nothing but lies.

“Go kriff yourself!” She yelled at the illusion. “You are not real, Calia is a selfish brat she will never come back to me.” Snot and tears run down her face mixing with the rest alcohol on her skin to a disgusting sauce.

That was the cruellest thing, that she still had hope, hope that her and Calia’s story could have a happy ending that they still could be together. Nothing was crueller than this, she wished she could just cut Calia and all thoughts of her from her life, to be rid of her once and for all. But of course she couldn’t, she still loved Calia, but in a way that made her, hate the Hapan even more at the same time, for it worsened the betrayal.

In the next moment a wave of cold water swept over her. Camilla screamed, then screeched as she tried to escape the water, wildly swinging her arms to drive it away as she returned to a higher form of consciousness, the shock alone driving away some of the dizziness from her mind. When the wave was over and she opened her eyes her face was washed clean again and so was her mind. Well, almost, the illusion of Calia was still here, a empty water bottle in her hands, the water bottle she had just emptied on her ex-girlfriends head.

Wait! Illusions shouldn’t be…

“Calia?” Camilla looked up at her, saw how the Hapan princess reached for another bottle. “No! No! I am here, I can see you!” Everything but another involuntary shover.

“Still keeping it,” Calia said with a weak smile, “just in case you doze off again.”

“How cruel you are…” Camilla muttered, and she felt how new tears formed in her eyes. “If you want your dresses back you are too late, I threw all of them into the crematorium of the station.” That had been the idea of one of the pirates and in the moment it certainly had felt good.

“Camy, I am sorry.” Calia said instead, not paying her confession any mind. “You were right. Stars you were right, I… I have given up on the crown and the marriage, as I should have done right away.”

“You… you did?” Was Calia an illusion after all? No, that couldn’t be! But could she really… “But Hapes, your dream of reforming the consortium, you… you have been fighting for it for so long.” This was just insane.

“True,” Calia admitted. “But in the end, you have always been a part of that dream, ever since we got together. I wanted us to reform the consortium, not do it myself and reduce you to a concubine. And besides, I can still do it, but Duchess of Caladrian, as Prime Minster of Hapes leading the Royal Council, we can still do it together, that is, if you can forgive me. If you want me back.”

Camilla wanted this more than anything else in the Galaxy, but she was still hesitant, “how? Did you convince Sebastien to step aside? I doubt that he was interested in that.”

“No…” Calia said. “But when I told him what you had said about arranged marriages, what they meant to the old Hapes, what message it will send to the people if we actually do the same thing in our new Hapes… and he agreed with me.”

“But… but the nobles will want to have one of them as queen? If you step down it will just lead to another noblewoman having to enter into an arranged marriage with Serbastien.”

“No, not quite,” Calia grinned, “in the end both the nobles and Golden Dawn want a member of their own on the throne. And well I have found a couple who would be perfect for that. Sebastien is okay with it too, he steps down as well.”

“And who are these perfect lovers? People I know?” Camilla was still hesitant to believe it. It sounded too good to be true.

“You know one very well, Sonya Thane, she will be a much better queen than me, for she saw through the noble indoctrination much earlier. Her husband will be Jesper Koan.” Calia said smiling softly.

Now Camilla was convinced Calia truly was just an illusion, though even for an illusion this sounded utterly insane. “Your… your brother… the one who betrayed you? He… he and Sonya are a thing?”

“Well when Sebastien and me returned from our talk to ask them for their opinion we found the two of them snogging in the officer lounge.” The grin returned to Calia`s lips. “Apparently, they have been in contact via the holonet for a while now… They were quite surprised at the request but instantly agreed. They will be wed tonight. It`s all very fast but we need them married as soon as possible so we can announce the match to the public.”

“But… you… you wanted to kill Jesper just yesterday…” Camilla muttered.

“I did, mostly because I didn’t want to admit that he had been right all along, I was running away from the truth, just like I did on so many other matters…” Calia sat down next to her former lover. “I am so sorry for how I treated you Camy, I hope you can at least forgive me.”

There was still something Camilla needed to know before she could answer that question, one issue that had always been there between her and Calia. Or rather the shadow of a person who had always been there, always hanging about Calia`s head, weak in her best moments but domineering in her worst.

“What about your mother? She must go insane over all of this. You… you…”

From what Calia had told her, her mother seemed to be a horrible person, an abusive guardian to her kids. A person whose indoctrination had always been there in her daughter.

“Oh she will go insane when she hears about it,” Calia said with a smile, “and even more insane when she learns she will go back to the laundry work.”

“You… you are making your mother a servant?” Camilla asked, giggling.

“I do, she will serve as a maid on Carlania once I return there. I… a part of me will always love my mother, but that doesn’t mean I will tolerate her bad behaviour any longer. Quite the opposite, I hope this can eventually open her eyes. In prison she sadly was locked up with other nobles so she remained in her mindset, on Carlania she will live amongst the servants and hopefully learn from them, realize what a horrible bitch she was. Maybe one day we can become a family again, but… until then she will find out what hard work really means.”

“Well, it worked for Xela’s mother, though it took almost thirty years” Camilla laughed, then she asked, “and what about your dad?”

“He is already filing for a divorce,” Calia said. “Their marriage was arranged as well… he wants to stay in contact with me and Jesper, but he won’t live on Carlania, I mean he basically has been a prisoner there all his adult life, too many bad memories.”

“Sorry to hear,” Camy said, laying an arm around Calia’s shoulders. “Can’t be easy for you.”

“Well, it never has been,” Calia said stoically. “I will manage, hopefully with you by my side, my love.” She looked at her girlfriend with pleading eyes.

“Oh, well I would be willing to give you another chance,” Camilla said, “but then I want to make this permanent. And not the hasty ceremony Jesper and Sonya are getting. I want a full on Hapan noble wedding, like two true princesses. I am sure that is within your power as sister to the King and Prime Minister of the Consortium.” She usually was very tomboyish, and yet unlike Mira she relished the opportunities when she could wear dresses and sometimes still daydreamed being a princess…

“Well of course,” Calia smiled as she leaned over and gave her lover a quick kiss on the lips. “Once Hapes is liberated and this war won we will have a decadent luxury wedding, with everything that entails.” The lovers kissed again, this time deeper, hungrier.

It took a while until they stopped kissing and cuddling, and Calia said, “now, we have to prepare for the wedding awaiting us tonight… you… you said you burned my dresses? All of them?” Her eyes widened.

“Yeah… sorry dear, I had to vent my frustrations somehow…” Camilla said. “Don’t worry, I will lend you one of my dresses.”

“Your… your dresses…” Calia sounded almost panicked. “The ones you wore when you and Mira went dancing in the Eriaduan lesbian bars?.”

“Well Mrs Duchess Prime Minister,” Camilla said with a playful smile, “you decided to marry me, either you wear one of my dresses or you attend the wedding naked. Pick an option.”

“Argh, well better a provocative dress than nothing I guess,” Calia said. “You win, but you really need to take a shower before you head to the wedding. You smell like alcohol.”

“You could use one two I believe,” Camilla’s smile turned seductive as she took Calia’s hand, leading her out of the mess hall. “It`s large enough for the two of us.”

 

Epilogue

“This is an important day, not just for the Qaelan Accords and the Unity Pact, but for the entire Galaxy.” Davin Fel said as he turned around and presented the cameras with a stoic, serious expression. Even here and now, on his historical occasion did the Emperor refuse to drop his stoic attitude, even here did he refuse to produce a smile for the people.

“A day that will go down in history, a new beginning, for all of us.” Betsy Hiran agreed as she offered the Emperor her hand, who took it wrist to wrist to the applause of the people watching.

“And so Liberty returned with thunderous applause…” Ulrika said sarcastically and leaned back in her comfortable seat, shaking her head at the ceremony they were observing from one of the balconies here in the audience hall of the Galactic Senate.

“Argh…” Elena grunted, “you know how much I hate that cheesy line? Like that could have been such a powerful artistic scene, yet the director had to treat his audience like babies and spell it out to them.” She shook her head. “Like to whom is Padme even explaining that? Does she think Bail Organa is too dumb to understand what's in front of him? The real Padme would have never done that.”

” Yeah… you mentioned your dislike…” Ulrika said giving her wife a twinkle, “maybe a million times ever since we saw that movie for the first time. But I had still doubts.” She stuck out her tongue at Elena.

“If you had been sitting there it would have made sense of Padme to explain it.” Elena shot back. “You are probably thinking that we are the Unity Pact right now.”

Ulrika rolled her eyes, “given the type of politics Betsy stood for and still stands for publicly it’s not a stretch.” She was still hesitant to believe what Elena had told her about the Coalitions president. It just sounded too good to be true and Ulrika worried the whole thing would still bite them one way or another. “But given I wasn’t on Coruscant for most of the negotiations, I wouldn’t mind hearing a summary of the treaty the high rollers down there just signed.”

“Too busy getting your butt kicked by that Chiss Vice Admiral?” Elena teased her wife.

Ulrika had been personal commanding forces during the Liberation of Arkanis, alongside the Chiss Vice Admiral Doll (that at least was the name she went by, her real name was utterly impossible to pronounce to any non Chiss), and now only arrived on Coruscant a couple hours ago. The collaboration with the Chiss Commander had certainly been filled with more than one kind of tension. And especially early on both women had insulted each other quite a bit, so much that Ulrika had feared the whole thing could turn into a Durran 2.0 situation and net her another arch enemy. In her youth she would have relished at the opportunity but now a, somewhat, more mature woman Ulrika had instead invited Doll to a sparring fight in the training cages to get their aggressions out.

“I let her win, took that beating in the name of diplomacy.” Ulrika replied.

In truth the Vice Admiral had won the tough fight fair and square, but during it the two women had developed enough respect for one another that they had agreed for another round, this time together against AI opponents and in their triumph over the toughest program the Chiss Simulator had to offer they had become friends. Enough of friends that Doll, after the liberation of the planet, had actually visit Ulrika on her fleet’s flagship, in casual clothes, with a bottle of wine and an offer for a different kind of ‘sparring’.

“But I hope that was the extend of your ‘diplomacy’?” Elena gave her wife an inquisitive look.

“Well, it went a bit further… ” Ulrika said teasingly. “But you don’t need to be jealous, we truly just spent the eve stargazing and kept our clothes on and lips seperated.”

For much of her life she would have ended up in bed with the Chiss, but in time she had learned how much her various affairs and one-night stands had hurt Elena and so she had turned Doll’s offer down and the two had instead spent the evening just sharing the wine while stargazing from the officer lounge of the ship. They had bonded over similar preferences when it came to casual clothing, and the fact that both of them still had troubles as former frontline commanders to adjust to directing battles from a command center instead of being out there in the fight with their soldiers. They had just talked and enjoyed the evening as friends and comrades, and that had been enough.

“Is that so? Well, if you were a good little chaste girl I think it’s only fair I help you out with the politics.” Ellie said smiling. “I think in some ways your ‘diplomacy’ is indicative of what our nations have agreed upon. The Unity Pact and Qaelan Accords normalized their relationship, we are no longer in a state of Cold War, the embargos have been dropped and numerous concessions have been established. We have become more casual with one another; you can call it friendship or at least camaraderie.”

“But just like me and Doll keeping our clothes,” Ulrika nodded slowly, “we didn’t become lovers, or even outright allies? We keep our little secrets from one another?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Elena nodded as well. “I mean much of this has informally been the case for the last three years, but through this treaty it has become official. It only underlines what has been the case for a while now. We are gazing at the Stars together, at the future, for now at least.”

”Well, the Vice Admiral and I shared a bottle of wine that evening,” the Ranger Chief continued her questions. “Did the Accords and Pact share the Galactic Alliance?”

“To some extent yes,” Elena said, and her voice turned a serious. “Saul Cameron actually had no annexation plans regarding the GA as you might remember, we fought this war for freedom, not annexations. And thankfully Betsy Hiran continues this mantra, yet of course several planets did join us by now, like Zeltros. This caused the Unity Pact to accuse us of annexing territory something they use as justification to do the same with GA worlds they have conquered. Worlds such as Billbringi and Borleais. And then there is the question of what is to happen with all the planets who freed themselves from GA rule, especially in the core. Many of them fear Imperial retribution and thus are seeking our protection.”

”So we could integrate a most of the GA into the Accords, directly into the Coalition or as allies?” Ulrika mused, chewing on her lip.

“That is indeed true,” Elena said, “though there are also many worlds who would rather continue the GA, remember the Accords don’t have the best reputation either.”

“Yeah, we are the Alliance of former Bad Guys,” Ulrika chuckled, “Doll mentioned that, so I guess even the Chiss fear us.”

“I am certain they do,” Elena nodded and for a brief moment her eyes flickered over to another balcony where they could see the Conducator amongst several of his military officers. Even now he stayed out of the limelight, had Davin Fel sign the treaty. He remained in the shadows, pulling the strings on his puppet. “One reason why we couldn’t have expanded the Coalition into the Core was to not antagonize the rest of the Galaxy. Well, that and that many in the Coalition are worried that we could become too Core heavy and have the original founders pushed into the background.”

”Guess that`s truly a concern,” Ulrika agreed. “Don’t want the Coalition to become like the Old Republic or the New One. But I guess if we leave the Core alone, they might once more start causing trouble for the Rim. So, what is the solution?”

“Well,” Elena said. “Both sides agreed to keep their expansion limited to largely the mid and outer Rim Territories. Meanwhile the Core will be turned into a decentralized Federation of individual planets. This Central Galactic Federation will be demilitarized to a certain extend, at least half their military industry is to be converted to civilian production and limits will be placed on their armed forces to ensure the Core won’t regain a military dominance over the Rim again.”

“And they are okay with that?” Ulrika raised an eyebrow.

“Most worlds are,” Elena said, “if it keeps them safe from Imperial Vengeance or Eriaduan Zealotry. It`s not an ideal solution but it is something. This Federation also will serve as a buffer zone between Accord and Pact.” She lowered her voice a bit, “in the long term we hope that the Federation will lean closer to us than the Imperials, being a democracy and all. It will be a different kind of war, but one where we would have the advantage.”

”Sounds promising,” Ulrika said, “what about Coruscant? Are we giving it up?”

“Not yet,” Elena said, “For now Coruscant will be administered by Pact and Accord jointly as many worry that it would otherwise easily dominate the Federation.”

“Makes sense I guess, what about the hardcore GA loyalists? Kashyyyk, Kuat, Tepasi or Dac?”

“They will come under military occupation,” Elena said, “similar to Qaelan back in the day. It hurts me but… the Sith truly took control over these worlds and their upper class, if we want peace, we need to dislodge them and their cronies completely. We will have to see what becomes of the worlds afterwards.”

“But you said some territories did change hands already?”

“Mostly in the ´Mid and Outer Rim yeah.” Elena nodded. “As I said before Zeltros joined the Coalition, so did Naboo, Mallastare and Denon, as well as several other worlds taken by our forces in the last three years. The Mandalorian Republic will also be a new Accords member, expanding our reach into the Galactic North. Hapes is to be neutral but with Calia in a leading position it`s also leaning towards our side.” She was silent for a moment, then she added. “The Coalition is becoming the big kid on the block. Even with all the concessions we had to make to the Pact, we are a superpower now.”

“Feels kind of insane to say, does it?” Ulrika grinned. “Just imagine if anyone had told that to us teenage selves and the two half-naked militia girls, we locked in a dog’s cage, where all this would lead us! I mean you were a good girl already back then, but us other three…” She chuckled.

“Ah, you always had it in you little Rika,” Elena said. “But it ain’t over yet. We are only done when we have Abeloth stopped.”

“Hah! Given our track record it can’t take longer than a couple months!” Ulrika laughed. “But now that we have a moment…” she laid an arm around Elena’s shoulders. “What do you say Mrs Kyr, did you bring your maid outfit to Coruscant.”

Elena laughed, “you know very well I did… maybe we should go and ‘stargaze’ a bit… maybe you could wear that Aayla Secura outfit you…”

Ulrika’s comlink beeped and she let out a groan as she activated it. “Yes Tobin? Anything important?”

Tobin’s holographic image looked up at the two, stoically as ever. “We have found him, Mira has confirmed Hett’s location, he is in the Kashyyyk system, she and a few others are moving in, but they need support. I have given orders to assemble the fleet, and the imperials are following suit. It is time to end this war.”