God Save the Queen: Book 2 Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Soldier. Poet. Queen

Reoccuring Characters

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Neron In’vess—Admiral of the Naboo First Fleet. Old salt, and a deft hand at carrier battle.

Satine Kyrze—Duchess of Mandalore, elder sister of Bo-Katan and avowed pacifist

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Chapter 6: Friends Close and Enemies Far

Naboo Fleet Command

“They had the ringleaders drawn and quartered on Tatooine.”

Neron glanced up from his dataslate. Across the conference table, the frowning holo projection of Rear Admiral Tritani Laeon flickered. In monochrome, the woman was even more severe.

In’vess and Laeon were the defacto leaders of the Naboo Royal Navy, but whereas Neron had been an admiral before the battle of Naboo, Rear Admiral Laeon rose after by positioning herself as a counter to Queen Amidala. Only her relatively short service kept her from full admiralty.

Usually, though, she had the good sense not to libel the queen in front of a less than receptive audience.

“The Ringleaders.” Neron stroked his mustache. “Of course.”

Neron hardly considered himself a royalist, but he’d worked with Amidala for her entire military career. He’d be a fool not to recognize a soft spot for the aggressive captain.

“Would that they’d skewered the damn slug instead.” Laeon’s projection leaned forward. “Instead, the Hutt slaughtered half a dozen human captains to appease the Queen.”

Neron set down the data pad. “Slavers.” He dismissed the humanist nonsense with the wave of his hand. After Amidala had turned over the pirates to their erstwhile employer, the pirates were as dead as if Neron had blown their ships apart himself. Such was the reality of war.

“It says much about our new ‘allies,’ none of it good.”

He raised an eyebrow, turning his eyes back to his data slate. “I would have thought you would be in favor of stabilizing our nearby trade routes.”

She scoffed. “Not by working with a Hutt. It taints the fleet by association, and I want no part in it.”

Neron stroked his mustache. He’d never been the type to fall back on ‘you will go where ordered’. That type of rhetoric might work in the army, but the Navy was a more refined institution. From those whom much was expected, certain liberties would also be given.

Instead, he tapped his data slate. “Soon, Third Fleet will be ready for a shakedown voyage. There will be enough duties for Naboo without protecting smugglers in the outer rim.”

Laeon’s eyes flashed with interest. Aloud, she sighed. “If you do not see the problem, I suppose there is no helping it.”

He chuffed. “So quick to concede the point? That’s unlike you, Tritani.”

She folded her arms. “I know to pick and choose my battles. Nothing I can do with you and the monarchy in lockstep.”

“True enough.” He tapped the data slate. “I assume you’re more interested in Third Fleet.” He gave a wry smile. “And the rear admiralty that comes with it.”

Good captains, like good officers, needed time to be developed. Neron himself predated the most recent drawdown of the Naboo Navy, which is why he’d made admiral despite a distinct lack of ships to command.

Five years on, Naboo still struggled to fill out its fleet with adequate numbers of XOs, wing leaders, and captains. The list for promotion to admiral was very short, and mostly undeserved by conventional wisdom.

“I should think a full admiral would be placed in command of Third Fleet,” Laeon said. “A conventional fleet would serve as a counterbalance to the current doctrine.”

Neron huffed, leaning back in his chair. “Come now. I know you dislike the makeup of the navy, but surely you’ve reviewed the recordings of Llanic orbital.”

She sniffed. “Using your flagship as a massive target for the enemy fleet was…inspired, but crude.”

He chuckled. “Oh?”

“It lacks the grace of a properly constructed engagement, parting the enemy with precise placement of your ships and superior maneuver.” She turned her head to the side. “Fighters are adequate for handling pirates, but even there, fighter strike wings have the same finesse as a swarm of bees bearing down on a bantha.”

He hummed. “Hardly an original criticism. Besides,” he pointed with a finger, “our carriers have not yet suffered a reverse.”

Neron understood the unease surrounding a new, untested school of engagement, but he found he had a soft spot for carrier tactics as well. Not the least of which because it proved an old dog could learn a few new tricks of his own.

“We shall see how well they fare against competent opponents.”

“I think I should fare well enough,” Neron replied. “Regardless of your thoughts on the fleet needing a counterbalance, placing a new admiral in charge of Third Fleet would jump over you in the order of promotion.”

“It needn’t”

Neron paused at and leaned back in his chair.

“You want to be placed in command of Third Fleet,” he said. “And a promotion as well.”

“I believe I’m more suited for it.” A pained expression flicked across the holo projection’s face. “Not the least of which because I’ve always favored a more conventional approach.”

Neron chuckled. Rear Admiral Laeon had barely served long enough to have an approach she favored. “Of course it would be easier to command; that is why we wished to stand up a new admiral to command the new fleet.”

Left unsaid was that an untested admiral in charge of Second Fleet could blunder into a massive defeat. The loss of even a single Lucrehulks was one Naboo could ill afford to replace. All of the massive ships they’d seized from the Federation after the battle of Naboo were now either in use, or had been sold in order to fund Naboo’s military build up over the last five years.

“If you are so sure of your carrier doctrine,” Laeon said, “surely we should be able to find a capable admiral to execute it.”

Neron gave her a harsh look. “I’ll not have you set up a new admiral for failure so easily. Third Fleet’s entire purpose is to serve as a training fleet for new officers.”

“Which is why a more experienced admiral should take charge of that fleet.”

“And to serve as a counterbalance to Queen Amidala?” Neron asked.

Laeon sidestepped that point breezily. “The Royal Navy enacts the will of Naboo. I hope as well as you that such will always be the case.”

Neron huffed and resettled his bulk in the chair. “And on top of this, do you already have your own replacement in mind for Second Fleet?” A wry smile peeked out from beneath his mustache. “Do you think it will go unremarked to promote one of your own so quickly, especially given your remarks on carrier doctrine?”

Laeon’s projection shrugged. “As you’ve said, I’ve made my disdain for it rather apparent. It would be poor form to suggest a potential rear admiral myself.”

Neron grunted. If nothing else, the woman had her own code. “What do you suggest then, should I give you command of the Third Fleet?”

She smiled sharply. “Perhaps a simple compromise? If I am promoted to the admiral of the Third Fleet, I shall back any candidate for Second Fleet you put forth. Does that not seem like a fair trade?”

Neron stroked his mustache. For several minutes, he contemplated silently and Laeon left him to it.

“I’ll want another captain transferred over from third fleet,” Neron said. “Someone with experience.”

“We could hardly deprive a new rear admiral of that. Who do you have in mind.”

Neron glanced over to his screen. “Captain Ciqella, of the Thunderclap.”

Tritani smiled like satisfied cat. “I’m certain he can be spared.

Neron sighed into his hand. Some things were easier when Naboo didn’t have a fleet. “The Shakedown Voyage will be in three to six months.”

“I shall await your answer in that time.”

Three to Six Months Later

Tracking current events out of Naboo had become a guilty pleasure for Satine.

Perhaps pleasure was the wrong word.

She found herself torn between disdain and admiration of Queen Amidala. Satine would never demand to impose her beliefs on another individual let alone a sovereign system, but she still found enjoyment watching the Naboo Navy ran down pirates by the score and make the Rim a safer place for all.

But every time she saw a flash of Mandalorian Beskar’gam armor on the news holo, her stomach twisted into knots.

All of those feelings grew even more complicated in their very real impacts on Mandalore. Many agitators and malcontents simply left for Naboo. At the same time, more clans that had been thought scattered to the winds returned to the fold, pushed by current events to declare their allegiance. Even if that allegiance was not always to Satine.

This newest report, however, had her rubbing her brow in a vain attempt to calm a growing migraine. “This must be some type of ill-advised joke.” She looked over to her advisor.

The young man shook his head. “They’ve thrown all protocol and decorum away.” He shuffled. “I wish I had more to offer, Duchess, but truly I’m at a loss.”

Satine fought off the unseemly urge to run her hand down her face. At times like these she missed Vizla’s keen eye. The thought sent another lance of pain through her at the memory of his betrayal.

She took a deep breath. “They made that woman an admiral.”

Her advisor swallowed. “She technically has five years of service, your majesty.”

“Oh yes of course.” Satine threw the data pad aside. “That alone is reason enough to appoint a twenty-year-old an admiral. Were it any other system, I would have no doubt that this was a purely political appointment.”

“According to her record, Queen Amidala is…one of the better captains from Naboo,” he replied. “A system known for excellent pilots.”

“You need not remind me.” Satine returned her fingers to her brow. “A carrier admiral no less, that obstinately aggressive woman.” With a deep sigh, Satine gathered herself. “If there was nothing else.”

Yes, the Queen of Naboo continued to be a thorn in her side, but the woman was half a galaxy away. All of this, keeping tabs on her was simply a poor habit Satine had developed. Instead, she should focus on her own system. What Padme Amidala did was of minor consequence at most.

Even if she was made an rear admiral and given a fleet of her own.

“Actually, Duchess, there is something else.” The advisor glanced down at his own pad. “As her first act as admiral, she intends to make a goodwill tour of systems in the Rim.” He looked up at Satine. “Naboo has asked if her majesty, Padme Amidala, may make a pilgrimage to the ancestral home of the Mandalorian people.”

Satine swore. “Osik.”

Mandalorian Translations

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Beskar’gam—Mandalorian armor (lit. iron skin)

“Osik”—Shit

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