"Good evening, Mr. Cliegg. Ms. Shmi."
"Ah—good evening!" The Lars couple were pleasantly surprised to see who it was. "Lord Vizsla—so it's you! Please, come in, come in!"
Max shook hands with them as he exchanged greetings. "I just got back from the Jedi Temple. I came to update the two of you on how things are going."
"Oh, you're far too kind—far too kind." The Lars couple laughed modestly, but their anticipation still showed. "You've come a long way—must've been exhausting. Come inside and have something warm, get some heat back in your hands."
"Sounds great. Thank you." Max accepted gladly.
"That over there…?" Shmi Skywalker pointed toward the Kom'rk-class starfighter nearby, its lights still on.
"Yes." Max nodded. "There's also a pilot traveling with me. We have discipline—during an assignment, the pilot can't leave the cockpit. So he can't come down to greet you properly."
"Then I'll bring him a cup of hot blue milk in a bit. That won't violate your rules, will it?" Shmi Skywalker asked.
"You're a gracious, kind hostess. Let me thank you on Sane's behalf." Max dipped his head in gratitude.
"Oh, you really don't need to be so polite." Shmi Skywalker waved it off quickly. "It's the least we can do."
Once they were in the living room and Max had been settled in, Shmi Skywalker headed to the kitchen to warm bantha milk. Cliegg Lars stayed with Max and chatted first.
"Nearly two months in Corellia now—are the two of you settling in alright?"
"We are, we are." Cliegg Lars rubbed his hands, a little stiff with formality. "Everything here is good. The soil's rich, the climate's mild—whatever you plant, whatever you raise, it grows fast. Even the bantha milk yield here is almost more than triple what we had on Tatooine. Sometimes… the two of us feel like it's almost too good—so good it doesn't feel real. Like we're dreaming."
Could this peaceful, comfortable life really last? Between his own plans and the Corellian Diktat's ambitions, Max felt the odds of this Corellia getting pulled into conflict—into war—were much higher than in the original timeline.
Keeping the Lars couple in Corellia was no longer as safe a choice. But if he moved them… where could he even move them to?
"And the neighbors are all very friendly, too." Cliegg Lars went on. "They treat us like the old neighbors back on Tatooine. Back there, you always had to worry about hostile locals like the Tusken Raiders. Here, everyone's friendly."
"Oh—right." Cliegg Lars suddenly remembered something and stood, heading toward the kitchen. "Yesterday, Mrs. Hamna next door brought over some Shuura fruit grown in her greenhouse. I'll wash some and bring it out for you."
"Oh, I can wash it—go keep Lord Vizsla company." Shmi Skywalker chided him gently.
"Heh—no, it's fine, it's fine. Washing fruit doesn't take long."
Listening to their quiet back-and-forth, an idea clicked in Max's mind.
What if he sent the two of them to Dagobah (star chart coordinates: M-19) to live in seclusion? [2]
"Lord Vizsla—try some." / "Your hot blue milk." The two of them came out of the kitchen together.
"Thank you." Max stood to acknowledge them.
"Lord Vizsla, you sit—please." Shmi Skywalker spoke as she headed back out again. "I'm going to bring Mr. Sane a cup of hot blue milk. I'll be right back."
"Sane," Max called into his comm, "drop the ramp. Ms. Shmi's bringing you something to drink."
When Shmi Skywalker returned and sat down, Max began his "report."
"The Jedi Temple is beautiful. The facilities are excellent. The food is nutritious and genuinely good. Anakin is doing very well there—and compared to when he left you, he's grown quite a bit taller."
"Lord Vizsla—when you went to the Jedi Temple this time, did you see Ani?" Shmi Skywalker's eyes lit up instantly.
Max smiled as he answered, "I spoke with Anakin's Master—Obi-Wan Kenobi—for a while. (But we didn't talk about Anakin.)"
"Taller is good—taller is good! If he could grow as tall as you, that would be even better!" [1]
A mother worries when her child is far away. Hearing how Anakin was doing, Shmi Skywalker visibly relaxed. But Max, watching her, only shook his head inwardly. In his view, some of the Jedi Order's systems and policies weren't merely "unfeeling"—they were, in a very real sense, inhuman. [1]
Let it burn down. Let it burn down—if it doesn't break, it can't be rebuilt. Max once again hardened his resolve to sit back and let Order 66 happen, and let the Jedi Order fall.
Then Max continued, "As for your other two children… they're not having quite as comfortable a time."
"Ah!" Shmi Skywalker cried out, and Cliegg Lars's face tightened with worry as well.
"They're being put through 'inhuman torment' every day," Max said with a grin. "Mandalorian training intensity—speaking frankly—goes a bit beyond what Owen and Beru can comfortably endure. If they can't hold out, they can come over here and farm with you before long. If they can hold out, then at New Year, the instructors will grant them home leave to visit family."
"Lord Vizsla—they'll hold out," Shmi Skywalker said with certainty. "I believe in them."
(Then that's even better. My Tatooine… will be in their hands, then.)
While Max was calculating this and that, he had no idea someone else was calculating him as well.
"Yes—he hasn't joined the Galactic Republic at all. It's just some corporation's domain." Ziro the Hutt spread his arms wide, as if embracing the sun itself. "Take Bespin, seize its rich tibanna gas deposits—wouldn't that be glorious?"
"Hm." In the holoprojection, a lump of flesh even larger than Ziro spoke. "Ziro—what do you want?"
"Supreme Master, listen to you," Ziro said, rubbing his fingers together in feigned modesty. "What do I want? I'm a Hutt, too. I simply wish to contribute to the revival of the great Hutt Empire. Of course…" He pressed his fingertips together again. "Once Bespin is taken, if you could grant me exclusive operating rights for tibanna gas in a few sectors, that would be even better."
"Enough with the coy act. I'm asking what support you want!"
That mountain of flesh carried a truly oppressive presence. Ziro was immediately cowed into submission. He bowed deeply and spoke with sober seriousness:
"Supreme Master—Ziro Desilijic Tiure requests the support of the Hutt fleet."
PS: Dagobah is a temperate, humid, habitable world. Like Kamino, it is a planet whose existence was deliberately erased from records. However, unlike Kamino, Dagobah passed through the galaxy's turbulent era undisturbed.
After Order 66, Master Yoda exiled himself to Dagobah and lived there in seclusion. Dagobah's next visitor was Luke Skywalker, who came in 3 ABY to seek training.
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🛡️🔥🌌 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF MANDALORE 🌌🔥🛡️
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The clans are stirring.
The armor remembers.
And Mandalore will rise again.
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⚔️ Mandalorian warriors🔥 Clan warfare🚀 Galactic conflict🌌 Star Wars worldbuilding👑 Power & leadership💥 Massive battles🛡️ The resurgence of Mandalore
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🔥 A people forged in war can rise from the ashes.
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