Orbital 2 (Patreon)

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Orbital
Chapter 2

-VB-

Qui Gon Jinn watched as Queen Amidala met with the Hive Mind Alliance’s representative, a man outfitted in combat armor from the top of his head to the tip of his toe. It was an armor set he was unfamiliar with, but then again, the galaxy was a big place with many different variants of everything.

The black and dark green armor invoked the same feeling as the rest of their ships did with their own black and dark green color schemes: of something unseen lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike a lethal blow.

The two of them met on Theed itself with pomp and ceremony befitting the victors of this brief conflict, and he and his padawan sat in on the meeting as mediator.

This was not counting any of the bodyguards each side had brought, but they were more accessory to the scene than actual participants.

And as a mediator, his job was to ensure that both sides left the negotiations tables if not happy then at least satisfied.

Except there was nothing to mediate.

“The contract shall stand as it is written,” Queen Amidala stated, ignoring the grumbling looks of her advisors.

The armored representative nodded, and Qui Gon felt that the man was very happy with how the negotiation (or lack thereof) was turning out to be.

“That is wonderful!” the synthesized baritone voice of the Representative Beta (it didn’t sound like a name) rung out with genuine approval and gratitude. “However, I have been thinking.”

‘Here it comes,’ Qui Gon thought as he prepared to affect the mind of the Representative Beta if the man asked for something too much.

“Naboo does not have a defense fleet, and in the aftermath of this kind of disastrous crisis, it must be building one, yes?”

“We are not.”

Quin Gon felt confusion leaking out of Beta.

“I’m sorry?”

“Naboo will not be building a fleet.”

“But why not?” the man sounded affronted on her behalf.

“Naboo is a pacifist people and nation. We wish that this trade war could have been resolved peacefully, but a lack of peaceful resolution does not mean that we are wrong to have sough our pacifist ways.”

Qui Gon didn’t say anything. While he applauded Naboo’s pacifism, even the Jedi Order prepared for the worst; each Jedi practiced the lightsaber arts for such a reason.

“...Well, I hoped to offer your people training and joint operations, but I guess it is not possible since there won’t be a Naboo fleet.” He leaned forward. “How would you feel about hiring us to patrol your space then?”

Ah, so he would actually be mediating this negotiation.

“And how do you wish to be paid with?”

Beta hummed. “Republic credit is worthless to us. Everything that they have, we can make on our own.”

“That is a bold claim,” Qui Gon couldn’t help but chip in. “The Galactic Republic is a wide and vast place.”

He shrugged. “And anything the republic has, I’m sure that we can buy from Naboo one way or another, yes?”

Queen Amidala didn’t say anything, still sternly waiting for the answer to her question.

“If we are discussing payment, then I must say on behalf of my alliance that we do desire compensation. Shall we say… one of Naboo’s moons, perhaps?”

Qui Gon quickly decided to interfere. “You-” he said as he raised his hands.

Abruptly, the HMA guards all raised their weapons and pointed at him.

“Careful, Jedi,” Beta warned playfully. “Using mind control on a negotiation table while you entered this place along with Queen Amidala might suggest something bad about Naboo itself.”

“Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn,” the queen spoke up quickly, obviously understanding what the man was implying and moving to eliminate the problem. “Please leave the room.”

He had acted too quickly against someone who knew a little more than

“Very well. I shall depart.”

He made a big mistake.

“Now, shall we talk?” he heard before the meeting room’s doors slid shut behind him.

-VB-

The Galactic Republic, despite its claims, did not control all of the “eastern” galaxy. For sure, they did not control the Wild Space and the Hutt Space. Definitely, they lacked control - never mind knowledge - of the Unknown Regions.

For that matter, there were plenty of stars within their own supposedly fully explored and claimed regions that they didn’t have a presence in or even knew the existence of.

A main sequence blue dwarf star seventeen lightyears from Naboo quickly became our main base of operation. Instead of only one space station like we had set up in the Naboo system with an Astrahaus class space station, we set up multiple space stations in the orbit of the star’s third planet (just outside of the Goldilocks Zone).

Already, our factories operated at full capacity to mass-produce ships and their modules as well as other necessities for space station life.

We also began the construction of the stargate linking our Naboo space station, “Hive Mind Alliance Headquarters” (a facade), to our hidden system.

It was from this place that we would fly out into the Star Wars galaxy. The Sith, Jedi, Hutts, and the Republic would all be irrelevant to us.

We would build ourselves a kingdom and nothing would stop us!

… But before we did that, we needed to think about how we were going to seduce Amidala before Anakin got his hands on her heart, because hot damn, that hot girl with her royal stubbornness and the stern noble glare made us all hot and bothersome.

We didn’t offer to protect her for no reason, ya know?!

However, we were wary about moving too quickly on her to the point of driving her off. That said, we could … try something literally jaw-dropping.

Galactic conquest could wait.

-VB-

Once Jedi Master left, Padme knew that she had to give a concession. After all, the Jedi Master came with her, and

“How about a few dates?”

Padme Amidala felt her eyebrows shoot up.

“I’m sorry?”

“You and me on a date?”

“Sir, we are discussing matters of planetary importance. We are right now at a negotiation table between the Naboo Kingdom and -”

“One person.”

“... Excuse me?”

“You are currently in the talks with a single person. A single mind in charge of a thousand more.”

She slowly straightened her back as her mind began to fit puzzles in. “You must explain yourself.”

“Beta is a title, Your Majesty,” he crooned. “It is a Beta body, one of a series of bodies mostly unaltered so as to serve as envoys and diplomats to others who are part of our gestalt consciousness.”

One of Beta’s bodyguards took off his helmet, showing her a man with dark brown hair, a sharp jawline, and smiling eyes.

“We are many.”

And the second bodyguard took off his helmet, and she nearly shot out of her seat. The same person was there.

“We are everywhere.”

Then the third bodyguard showed the same face.

“We are one.”

Finally, Beta took off his helmet. He grinned as his helmet came off. “And we think we’re in love with you. Would you like to go out on a date with us?”

Her jaw had dropped long ago and refused to come back up.