Anabeth: New Beginnings

Chapter 5 - Preparations On Mandalore

Ana's talk with Organa had been one of the less pleasant ones, but thankfully, he had shown himself understanding and had offered his help if required.
The same night, Windu published the Jedi's official statement on the holonet and Bo her statement to her people.

Thankfully, Windu's statement served its' purpose and calmed the people of the Republic down and the harsh words of criticism quickly died down and were replaced with curiousity. Previous footage and photos of Anakin and Padmè together at official Republic functions were dug up, and the activity of trying to guess the babies' names became very popular.

In terms of Mandalore, even though they could follow what was happening in the Republic via the holonet, the local news were basicly only covering the case of Obi-Wan and Satine. They too dug up old footage of Obi-Wan's visits to the planet during the war, some of the pictures even showing Ana standing beside them, giving her an unwanted presence in the spotight as well.

In terms of reactios to the news, there were of course some Mandalorian traditionalists who disliked the idea of a half Jedi, half Mandalorian child, however the positive reactions far outweighed them. Many began to romantazise Obi-Wan and Satine's relationship, viewing them and their daughter as proof that after decades of war and being enemies, the Mandalorians and the Jedi had finally made peace with each other.

Plus, the people could barely wait to see their child for the first time when they came to Mandalore and find out her name. Ana only hoped the demand to see them during the parade would not cause a threat to security.

As for their impending departure, Ana and Talin spent the next day working on preliminary plans while Windu and Obi-Wan spent a lot of their time in Council meetings to discuss the current situation. Everyone had been surprised when it was Windu who came foreward with the motion to change the code, but few actually opposed the idea.

Master Kolar and Mundi had been very sceptical from the beginning, but the rest of them seemed to keep an open mind for the time being, Depa, Kit Fisto, and to Ana's surprise, even the newcomer Aayla, even supporting the idea. The whole process was running smoother than expected, which pleased everyone involved very much.

Early the next morning Ana got up and met Windu at breakfast, where he gave her some last bits of advice and well wishes for her first big mission on her own. Afterwards, Ana met up with Talin and headed to the landing platform. Bo was already awaiting them with her security staff.

Obi-Wan, Satine and Grace arrived only shortly after them and Ana would have sworn that even though the guards were on duty, they were all trying to have a look at Grace and cooing at her cuteness. "Let's go before we fall behind scedule" Bo instructed at which everyone made their way onto the ship.

They quickly took off, leaving the orbit of Coruscant and jumping into hyperspace as they made themselves comfotable in the lounge. Finally, Bo and a second woman moved in to join them. "Ursa, so good to see you again, it's been too long" Satine got up to greet her "Good to see you too" Ursa smiled, moving to hug Satine. "I'm guessing this is the kid everyone is making such a fuss about?" she asked, looking at Grace who was in Obi-Wan's arms. "Yes, this is Grace" Satine confirmed as all them sat back down.

"I believe we haven't officially met yet" the woman said, turning to Ana and Talin "I'm Ursa Wren, Bo's head of security". "It's a pleasure. This is Talin and I'm Ana" Ana introduced them. "I know, the holonet dug up some old pictures of you. Plus I heard of how you took a lightsaber to the stomach to safe Satine before. That was very courageous of you". "All part of the job" Ana assured her with a smile.

"That's good to know then, because to be honest with you, we don't know what exactly will be awaiting us during the peace talks. We're all hoping for just a few weeks of guard duty, but attempts to stop the ending of the war are still within the realm of possibilities" Ursa explained. "Then I guess we better get to work so we're prepared".

For the entire flight the six of them were talking about guard placements, security protocols and minimizing personel in order to ensure an atmosphere that was as safe as possible. Of course, no one could be sure an intruder wouldn't slip past them, but as Ana gave their final plan a last look, she was sure they would at least give such a person the hardest time possible.

As they began their descent on Mandalore, Ana sent a copy of their plan to Windu on a secure channel before getting ready to disembark with the rest. Bo gave Ana and Talin the quick instruction to stay with Ursa, while she'd stay with Obi-Wan, Satine and Grace until they all reached the palace.

When they had finally landed and stepped onto the landing platform, the amount of pleople gathered took Ana slightly by surprise. "No parade for when the others arrive in two days, right?" Ana confirmed with Ursa again. "Yeah, no parade for them, they're always a nightmare in the eyes of security".

As everyone boarded their speeders and they started heading towards the palace, Ana kept her senses on high alert the entire time, scared something unanticipated was going to happen. However, she couldn't help but also notice how kindly the Mandalorians were greeting them, in spite of all of their recent history.

Ana was beyond relieve when everyone was finally safely inside the palace. And as Bo and Satine went to discuss some protocols for the meetings, Ursa immedietly took Obi-Wan, Talin and her on a round through the castle to discuss the placements of guards in certain areas with them and to make sure they wouldn't get lost when it came down to it.

Eventually, they had finished their tour and met up with Satine and Bo again for dinner as Ursa went home. Bo's council was joining them as a formality to make sure the assignment for the peace talk was properly understood by everyone. The evening was mostly relaxing for Ana though, as small talk with politicians had basicly been her job for the last month. Even Obi-Wan seemed to be fairing well considering that he didn't like politics.

After the dinner, everyone went their separate ways, with Ana taking the time to call Windu to update him. He had been delighted to hear that everything had gone smoothly so far and gave his okay on the plans Ana had sent him earlier. She quickly bid him goodbye before collapsing into bed and drifting off to sleep.

The next day rolled around to be another stressful one. While Satine's and Bo's team was preparing the palace to be ready on the inside, the Jedi, Ursa and the rest of security were doing multiple rounds in and around the castle to make sure all safety precautions were in place and nothing out of the ordinary happening.

In the evening, both the Sepratists and the Republic had also sent in their final lists of Senators and staff which they would be bringing which added another hour of work to Ana's schedule for getting everyone into the system with the right clearance level.

When they were finally done, Ana was greeted with the first pleasant surprise of the day when Korkie was standing in the door. "It's been to long" she greeted her friend with a smile. "I agree. I heard congratulations are in order since you became a kinght". "Thanks, and to you as well. Bo told me you're part of the Minster of educations's staff now. I think the position suits you".

"Thank you". "Anything specific I can help you with?" Ana asked as she closed up her last files. "No, just wanted to spend som time with a friend. How does dinner sound?". "Lovely, I'm starving. Plus I could use a break before it's back to business tomorrow". "Great, come on then. I'm friends with the palace chef, so whatever you want, he'll make it for you" Korkie practically pulled her towards the kitchen.

A/n:
Another slightly shorter chapter, but I wanted to get this out before the end of the year so I had to hurry a little. Next chapter is when both parties will be arriving on Mandalore and the real action will start to begin, so stay tuned for that next week. Also, a new chapter of Anabeth Extra is also up and it's another Wrong Ana quotes so all of you can start into the new year with something funny. Now, before I get side tracked, see you guys in 2022!