The emerald king - Mandalore Tales (Patreon)

Aayla Secura, Frigate "Light of the Past" - in route to Mandalore System

Aayla had to admit it, the black cloaks were stylish bunch

"Tailored my lady, as our king orders" said Captain Andros, a human who, like all those who served Harold, had been a slave most of his life

Aayla admired his story, for years he was forced to fight to the death in the sands of Tatooine, until Harry destroyed the place and freed all the slaves

Andros included, who was waiting for death

Harold's offer? A second chance, a chance to make a difference and to help the monarch make a difference in the galaxy

And Andros knelt, for the first time in his life, out of his own conviction, for a cause in which he believed

For a ruler whom he admired

The Black cloaks were born a short time later, at first fighting with simple armor and rustic metal spears, although that did not make them less lethal

Now... sophisticated and powerful armor sheathed their bodies, made of an unknown alloy created by Harold, five times lighter than steel and ten times more powerful, equipped with thrusters to increase their mobility and personal energy runic shields, plasma cannons so powerful that they could pierce a droidekas with active shields, and beautiful plasma spears that could stop even a lightsaber

They were all disciplined and lethal, the best warriors in Harry's service

And the most loyal ones too, his personal guard, ready to serves and protects him

"Thank you, Andros," Aayla replied with a smile, while looking at herself in the mirror

When it was agreed that she would go to Mandalore to support Obi-Wan, Queen Padme wasted no time and quickly ordered that Aayla be provided with the best equipment Gaia Prime could afford

The result? A perfect armor, which made her look beautiful, elegant and above all dangerous

Her defined curves, the product of countless hours of training, were embraced by the strange metal, the green and black color contrasted with her beautiful skin and a black cape rested on her shoulders

But that was not all, the best was her new weapon

In her hands he had a gift from Harold, a slim plasma saber, similar to the spears of his soldiers, but made to measure and coupled with her fighting style

The weapon was elegant, beautiful and lethal

Like her, according to the words of her virile and handsome king, Aayla thought

The former Jedi was pulled out of her thoughts by Andros, who spoke again

“We will arrive to Concordia in seventy-two hours, how do you feel in your new combat skin?” asked the captain with respect and decorum

Aayla looked at him calmly and replied

"It's incredible, I feel the Force imbued in it, although in a rather subtle way, I'll have to ask my king about this wonder," Aayla said, caressing the incredible metal softly

Andros smiled and said

"It is, unlike General Price's troops, ther armor of the Black Cloaks is made by King Harold himself in the Marauder's Forge, there are only two hundred, one for each of us, his personal guard, well, now two hundred and one" said the human with amusement

Aayla stroked the armor, a gift from her beloved king that she would treasure all her life

“I want to review our information in depth, what do we have?” Aayla asked, walking towards the Holo table, at the same time that Andros began to place the information they have for her to see

"Mandalore is a close ally, possible future vassal of our king, General Price's brother, Duke Adonai, is the ruling regent, who has expressed his desire to leave the republic and join the growing coalition of planets ruled by Gaia Prime, in exchange for the complete terraforming of his planet."

Aayla nodded, looking at the devastated planet, the Mandalorians were forced to live in dome cities and underground complexes, it was a good deal, really better that all the sanction and no sense the republic demands of them

“However, a rebel faction, led by the Vizla clan and its leader Taurek Vizla and his son, gathered dissatisfied clans to stage an uprising against the Kryze clan, wishing to take control of Mandalore”

Aayla watched the recordings about this Vizla clan, they were skilled and good warriors, but they were cowards, they had attacked the Kryze warriors in an ambush, something that was frowned upon throughout Mandalore, Aayla understood why the whole planet saw them as simple terrorists, the Twi'lek watched with amusement as Andros seemed excited to face them

"The last we know is that a convoy of Kryze warriors escaped from Mandalore with the intention of escaping to Coruscant, escorting Princess Satine, however, the ship never arrived and the S.O.S. transmission of the princess indicates a possible capture," said the captain

Aayla nodded, the priority was to locate Satine, to ensure the duke's daughter would deny the rebels a prisoner by the time Harold came to besiege the planet

“Get everything ready, what about our new toys?” Aayla asked, really excited by the surprise that rested on the cruise

Andros smiled, emotion more than evident on his face and nodded

"Yes, the rebels will die of envy when the rain of steel falls on them," said the captain, with a smile, eager for the fight

Aayla nodded and excused herself, saying that she wanted to meditate, there was a disturbance in the Force, a kind of warning as soon as she thought about Concordia

And in order to figure out what it was, she needed concentration

"I'll be in my cabin, see you later captain,” said Aayla

Andros nodded and replied elegantly

"May the Lady's blessing be with you, my Lady."

And then, Aayla withdrew from the bridge, excited and worried about the impending incursion

Her first mission in the service of her beloved king and lover

She would not let him down, She will take the Potter Clan to great heights!

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Concordia, Mandalore System

Obi-Wan heard blaster shots, and the characteristic sound of a lightsaber deflecting them

“Cowards!” Siri's familiar voice shouted, she sounded furious, but Obi-Wan knew her well enough to detect the hidden concern

She was desperate

The Jedi arrived at a warehouse of sorts, several cargo ships were present, as were the wreckage of Siri and her master's crashed fighters, while several Mandalorians in silver armor with blue trim fired at a worried and increasingly exhausted Siri

"Ten points if you hit her in the arms" shouted a female voice, freezing Obi-Wan's blood... And making him feel something that was quite strange inside of him

Fury

For these... uncivilized beings, Siri's life, HIS Siri, was a joke, a simple game

Suddenly, a shot went through the thigh of the young Padawan, who gave a cry of pain and dropped her saber, leaving her defenseless, Obi-Wan did not know what to expect, however, when he saw the mercenary and the obvious leader approach with a cruel smile and, to Obi-Wan's horror, crush with his foot on Siri's wound,  making her scream in agony and, drawing a couple of treacherous tears from her cerulean eyes

And that was all Obi-Wan needed...

These... animals enjoyed instilling terror and pain in others, they were at least ten mercenaries, because Satine had shared the Mandalorian code with Obi-Wan, no honorable warrior would act so lowly against a defeated enemy

And, for the first time in his life, he felt it...

The dark side, seeing Siri suffer, filled him with anger and an uncontrollable desire to inflict the same pain on these animals

It would be so easy... subdue them, break their necks, treat them like the animals they imitated, but...

Obi-Wan inhaled hard, and subdued those thoughts, remembering Harry's words

He dominates the influence of the Force in his body, not the other way around, it was normal to feel passion, love or even hate, the important thing was to control our instincts and actions

And only then, would he find the true balance

Without hesitation and flooding his body with the Force, Obi-Wan intervened

"Ma’am, please stay away from the lady" said Obi-Wan with his characteristic politeness and elegance, Obi-Wan looked calm, but he was totally alert, his eyes analyzed each of his enemies, identifying strengths, weaknesses and chain of command, quickly deducing that the woman who was furthest away was the leader

The fake Mandalorians didn't respond, they simply pointed their guns at Obi-Wan and opened fire, with the coldness expected of wild beasts

The mercenaries expected a response similar to Siri's, and the Obi-Wan of the past would have responded that way

However... Obi-Wan was not the same as he was a year ago

The Teachings of King Harold's Personal Library Would Be Tested today, it seems

Obi-Wan raised his hand, summoning a powerful protego, and with total calm and control of the situation, began to run towards his attackers

The blaster shots bounced off without doing the slightest damage, and while still holding the shield, Obi-Wan kicked up a dense cloud of dust, completely blinding the Mandalorians, who were totally dependent on their helmets to see.

"Where the hell did he go? he couldn't have been... AHHHG” shouted the greatest of all, carrying a two-handed heavy machine gun and therefore, one of the most dangerous

“Claudicus!?” shouted the leader, running to where she had heard her partner's voice, only to find him lying on the ground, without moving

"AHHHG" shouted another, followed by a sharp blow, another warrior had been knocked down

And then another and another

Obi-Wan, hidden in the fog, could sense the desperation of the remaining warriors in the Force, until the leader simply screamed

"Quick, use your backpacks and look for high ground," and proceeded to fly out of the fog

Obi-Wan was able to intercept two more before they escaped, leaving him with half of the enemies standing

He was an apex predator, and this…things were his preys, nothing more

Taking a breath, the Jedi ran to where the injured Siri was, who looked at him with obvious relief and something else in her gaze

"You came Obi" it was evident that the Padawan was quite weak, who knows how long these animals played with her

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Obi-Wan promised as he heard the mercenaries shouting

“Open fire” before launching blasts of Blaster into the fog erratically

A desperate act, which Obi-Wan would take advantage of

Looking at Siri, the Jedi asked

"Where is Master Galia?"

Siri looked away, looking to the side of the warehouse, where a body was covered with a makeshift piece of cloth

Obi-Wan lowered his gaze and said a soft prayer in honor of the master, they were not close, but they both believed in the Force and to different extents, in the order

Placing his hand on Blaster's wound, Obi-Wan quickly closed the wound, eliciting a muffled grunt of pain from Siri

"I'll take care of the rest, I’ll be back," Obi-Wan promised and without waiting for an answer, he returned to the fight

The enemies had the high ground and the numerical advantage, so Obi-Wan needed to even the fight

 The mercenaries were fighting from the top of several old containers, under a couple of cranes, something that gave Obi-Wan an idea

He had never done this, but he had read about the fascinating technique in Harold's books

Animating Inert Objects

"Locomotor!" whispered Obi-Wan, concentrating his will

The Jedi felt the Force itself shudder, and his will shaped reality, a few seconds later, a blue light moved through the towering cranes, away from the desperate mercenaries

And in an instant, the huge, heavy crane arms came to life, attacking the Mandalorians from above, taking them by surprise

And allowing Obi-Wan to approach safely

Screams and blaster shots abounded in the place, as did the blows, his creations were wreaking havoc on the enemies and when Obi-Wan emerged from the dense smoke, which was beginning to dissipate, he found only three survivors

The obvious leader and two Mandalorians looked exhausted and furious, but also terrified

Terrified of Obi-Wan

“What the hell did you do Jedi?” The leader snapped, while pointing her blasters at him, her hands trembled with rage and her armor was damaged

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, simply took over his lightsaber and assumed a defensive position

"It would be smart for you to surrender" Obi-Wan said out of courtesy, although he didn't really want to give them a chance

And to his guilty pleasure, none of them responded, they only pointed at him and opened fire

“DIE JEDI!” shouted the leader, while unloading her weapons at Obi-Wan, who responded with a simple but powerful technique

Dodging a few shots, he readied his hand and cast what had quickly become his favorite spell to stop criminals

“Levioso!”

The mercenaries didn't stand a chance, the three of them levitated totally helpless against the Jedi knight

Obi-Wan simply began to walk towards them, with all the intention of arresting them and spoke

"In the name of the galactic republic, you are under arrest for..." however, Obi-Wan stopped as he felt the Force's warning, a single word

“Careful," he heard a feminine whisper, just as he saw how the bibs of the three of them had red lights that blinked rapidly

The woman, totally out of her mind and crazed eyes, looked at Obi-Wan fanatically and said

"FOR THE VIZLA CLAN AND FOR A FREE MANDALORE!" before exploding, immolating herself with her three remaining allies

Obi-Wan picked up a makeshift Protego, mitigating most of the damage, but being thrown to the ground, totally stunned and unable to stop his fall

Obi-Wan was preparing to take a heavy blow, however, his fall stopped in his tracks, he was only able to feel the Force around him

"Thank you dear," said the Jedi, before being slowly placed on the ground, at the same time that Siri walked with difficulty towards him, hugging him with all her strength

Obi-Wan responded in the same way

That had been... too intense, and the mission was just beginning, Aayla and reinforcements would arrive in forty-eight hours, while King Harold would arrive in five days

Something told Obi-Wan that it would be the longest week of his life

He was not wrong

Darth Plagueis, Coruscant

"It is…amazing, master," Darth Solthis said with total sincerity, looking at the amorphous mass of flesh covered with bony plates that acted as a kind of armor

Plagueis snorted and said

“He is a simple prototype, he is fast, strong and lethal, but he is still a simple beast, how is our distraction in Mandalore going?” asked the Sith Lord

Solthis, even looking at the tank, replied

"Harold Potter took the bait, the Marauder is heading towards Mandalore, diverting the attention of the emerald king from our assets in Hutt space, we are moving everything towards our base of operations more of the outer rim, by the time Gaia Prime finishes pacifying Mandalore, there will be nothing of our relationship with the Hutt- Solthis promised 

Plagueis nodded, staring obsessively at the tank, his brow furrowed

Harold Potter would be... A more complicated issue than he imagined 

His mastery of the Force was... simply magnificent, and if his spy drones were right, he possess the knowledge that Plagueis madly desired

The manipulation of midi-chlorians

Or at least, that's what his spy had confirmed, that Harold Potter had forced the Zygerrians into a genetic regression, returning them to the fucking stone age

Plagueis had no way of confirming that information, but it was true... he needed to gain that knowledge in one way or another

Therefore, he needed to measure the emerald king's power capabilities in a controlled environment

And such a motive led him to this, he would use this crude beast as the number one test subject, evaluate the king's response to this threat, and adapt his plans accordingly  

Who knew that Sidious's dirty blood would be useful for anything, Plagueis thought with pleasure

"Prepare a descent pod, use federation technology, we must stoke the animosity between Gaia Prime and the grubs, as the emerald king accurately refers to the Neomodians," Plagueis ordered

Solthis bowed his head and said

"As you order, master," said the Zeltron, without looking up

Plagueis didn't respond, he simply left the room, leaving Solthis with the logistics of sending the experiment to Mandalore

Without realizing that, hidden under her robe, Solthis recorded each of his conversations

"You are a brilliant master, a scholar who understands the Force at a deep level, but you lack the cunning that only the underworld can give you," Solthis thought to herself, before rushing to carry out the order

She was also curious about the performance of this beast in combat against the emerald king

Harold Potter... that name...

It was strangely familiar to her, for some reason

Solthis shook her head quickly, that didn't matter, she would send this abomination to Mandalore and tensions would rise between Gaia Prime and the Federation

The Clone project was advancing rapidly