Anabeth: New Beginnings

Chapter 4 - Leaving For Mandalore

Upon completing her visit to the Senate to explain the situation to Organa, Ana had headed over to Satine's apartment for dinner. They all enjoyed their final evening together before Satine and Grace were to move back to Mandalore in the morning and Obi-Wan and her would be accompanying them.

Afterwards, Ana had one final quick meeting with Master Windu to go over the assignment once more and pick up the list of delegates the Republic and the Confederacy had submitted. She was happy to find out Windu had already run background checks on all the aides and pilots, giving her the opportunity to actually catch some sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter.

The next morning, Ana woke up early to head to the Coronet with Mace. Obi-Wan, Satine and Grace were already awaiting them together with Bo. However before they joined them, Windu pulled Ana aside one final time.

"You know the drill, right?" he asked one more time. "You're neutral in these negotiations and you're only there to assist the Mandalorians."
"I got this, don't worry. I'm on this mission because of my good ties to Mandalore after all" Ana assured him.
"Alright then. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."
"Of course, Master," Ana promised with a smile.

Windu smiled back at her. "Off you go then. May the force be with you."
"And with you. I'll call you soon," Ana added, already heading towards the boarding ramp.

They all stepped inside quickly and began departure procedures. When they were finally in hyperspace and everyone was settled in, they sat down together to discuss security and procedures for the arrival of the delegations and the peace talks.

Through this, Ana also found out that the Prime Minister had organized a parade for the return of Satine. While she could appreciate the gesture behind it and knew how important this kind of public service was for people like Satine, Ana still couldn't help but feel less than excited about the idea. She had hoped for a more quiet arrival on the planet that posed less of a security threat.

Nevertheless, she tried to keep her spirits high as they finished their discussions and began their approach on the planet shortly after. Once they had gotten the all clear from on sight security, they once again lowered the boarding ramp of the Coronet and stepped outside.

Obi-Wan and Satine, who had Grace in her arms, went first, followed by Bo and Ana. Bo's men trailed behind them. Upon setting foot on the platform, some palace guards immediately took up position around Satine, just like when Ana had first visited the planet. She couldn't help but smile at the sense of nostalgia the sight gave her.

While Bo went to stand to the side, the rest of them went to approach a smartly dressed man surrounded by his own set of guards. Ana assumed him to be the Prime Minister. He smiled warmly at them as they reached him, Obi-Wan and Satine moving to make some space so Ana could stand beside them.

"Welcome back to Mandalore, Duchess," the man greeted Satine.
"Thank you, it's good to be back" the woman smiled politely. "May I introduce, Master Kenobi and Master Velar of the Jedi Order."
The two Jedi bowed respectfully.

"Ah yes, I've heard a lot about you," the man greeted them warmly. "We'd not be standing here today if it wasn't for the efforts of the two of you."
"Just doing our job, Prime Minister," Ana respectfully replied.

"And congratulations to you on the birth of your daughter as well," he went on to address Satine and Obi-Wan. "I'm a father myself. My daughter, Sabine, is about to turn two and we have our second child on the way."
"Thank you, Prime Minister. Perhaps our children will all be playing together when they're a bit older one day," Satine replied with a smile.

"By all means, all of you, call me Alrich," the man offered. "We might be colleagues now, but that doesn't mean we can't also be friends."
"Indeed it doesn't. And it's always a pleasure to make new friends," Satine agreed.

"Very well. Shall we move to the palace then now that introductions are done?" Alrich suggested. "The people seemed quiet eager to welcome you back."
"Yes, let's not keep them waiting any longer," Satine agreed.

They quickly moved to the speeder that had been prepared and took off towards the tunnel that connected them docks to the city. On the other side, people were stood along the speeder lane, cheering as they came into sight. Satine waved to them with a friendly smile as they passed them.

Meanwhile, Ana was in awe at everything. Despite their recent history with a planetary occupation and siege, the people still welcomes them warmly. Almost like the months under Maul's rule never actually happened. And moreover, Ana still remembered what the city had looked like when she had come to interrogate Maul. The rebuilding effort was most impressive with there being very little buildings that hadn't been restored yet.

Before long, they reached the palace though. Guards were holding back the people that had gathered, preventing them from entering the premises as they watched all of them head inside.

While Satine went to settle in and put Grace down for a nap, Obi-Wan and Ana went with Bo and the Prime Minister. They got a brief tour of the parts of the palace that were going to be used to host their visitors and the talks, and were introduced to the staff they'd be working with.

Afterwards, Satine joined them again for one final extensive strategy briefing concerning the next few days. When they were finally done with that, they still had a little over an hour until dinner, so Ana used the time to quickly settle into her room before heading to the library.

She still remembered spending a lot of time there on her first visit. The archives back at the Temple had a lot more reading material of course, but she still felt like the palace library had more of a warm and cozy feel to it. Plus, it offered window seats where one was able to take in the view of the city while studying.

"I had a feeling I might find you here," an all too familiar voice ripped Ana out of her thoughts.
"Korkie!" she spun around excitedly to spot her friend standing in the door.
"I heard congratulations are in order, Master Velar," he congratulated her on being knighted

"Thank you," Ana smiled at him. "It's so good to see you again. How have you been? What have you been up to? All Satine told me was that you were with Bo while Maul was around."

"Indeed. Staying on Mandalore wasn't really possible with him around, so I went into hiding with Bo. It was a little weird at first, but alright once we got to know each other more. She taught me how to fight and shoot a blaster, and I think I'm at least decent at them now. But I still can't use a jetpack for the life of me," Korkie recalled.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Ana assured him. "So, now that you're back out of hiding, what do you have planned?"
"Well, since I had to leave right before my Academy exams I'm preparing to take them this year instead. And then once I graduate next month, I'll probably apply for an internship with a relief organization so I can go out and see the galaxy and do some good," Korkie explained.

"What happened to studying off planet? You said you wanted to do that the last time we met," Ana recalled.
"Well, that was before Grace came around. Now that I'm not in line to inherit the throne anymore, I was thinking I could maybe hold off studying politics and instead do some actual good in the galaxy," Korkie replied.

"Don't get me wrong, I think interning at a relief organization is a great thing to do. But if I were you, I wouldn't write off that throne just yet."
"What do you mean?" Korkie seemed a little confused.
"Grace is force sensitive. She'll be trained by the Jedi long before she could ever ascend the throne. And when the day inevitably does come where she will have to chose between the Jedi and the Mandalorian throne, I'd put my money on the Jedi," Ana replied.

Korkie looked at her a little unsurely.
"But that won't be happeing for a very long time," Ana added to reassure him. "Until then, enjoy your non profit work as much as you like. Just maybe think about what I said and don't give up on politics entirely."
"I won't," he promised. "Now, tell me what you have been up to. I heard about everything on the holonet, but I have a feeling they made everything sound only half as cool as it actually was."