"I hope and I trust that you can, indeed, convince your people," he said, "and we will help also, if help is needed. If Marcus is right that the New Mandalorians need to be assured that we mean them no harm, I can give them this assurance. If your invitation to Kalevala is still open, Vod Valeria, and if it will help there to be understanding between our people, I would consider it my honor, and my duty, to accept it." Hopefully, the combined efforts of Fenn and Valeria in spreading Ordo's message would, indeed, convince Mr. Cratwright and the others in Kalevala's government to set aside their personal biases, as Jabo'a did for example, in the interest of compromise. Hopefully. Cratwright's new constitution had taken away much of Valeria's power, except for her power to convince her people.

And if she could convince the New Mandalorians as she had convinced Fenn and the others, then she was powerful indeed.

"Isez Baird raises another good point," Fenn added, gesturing to the man and using his full name to introduce him to the others in the room who had not met him before, "If you can do something about this, Duchess, it would be appreciated. However, I think we must also understand that if this false armor is not made on Kalevala, it will be made and probably is made somewhere else. We cannot stop it everywhere, nor should we bother. As long as the galaxy knows our principles, what we stand for, what we do and do not do, these pretenders will be seen for what they are."

Still, it was one of many things that Kalevala had done recently that True Mandalorians found offensive, and which Fenn wished to discuss with Valeria eventually. He was pragmatic, however, and knew that the most important priority, first, would be to establish trust between Mandalore and Kalevala. The false armor, the ban on Mandalorian armor, the foreign armies and corporations, and all of these things, as far as Fenn was concerned, would have to wait. "We will discuss the Remnant in a moment," Fenn said, "but first, are there any more words on Kalevala? Everyone, please, speak freely. We are all brothers and sisters here." He nodded, in particular, to Valeria as he spoke these last words.

The Duchess watched him with a confused expression, not because she didn't understand him, but a particular word he said. "Fetish?" she blurted out, as if it was the most obserred thing she'd ever heard. Her slender brows knitted forward, and her eyes slanted exotically as she thought about it. Her lips then parted, followed by a surprised 'Oh!" Her face could not have been more flushed, or her eyes bright with revelation. "Oh oh oh!" she continued, followed by soft nervous laughter. Aside from her natural beauty and elegance; she also had an aura of childlike innocence. "I'm sorry" she mumbled, embarrassed for not realizing it sooner. "Yes" she would then confirm, "I can and will do something about it."

She redirected her gaze to Fenn, who addressed her next. "Kalevala's invitation still stands, and I hope there are others willing to join you?" she asked, while her dark eyes flickered across the room. "I love Kalevala, and her people. She is all I have, and I spoke the truth when I said...for her I will sacrifice. I will not deny my fear in coming here, but if there is something I've learned, it is the opposite of fear" she paused then, allowing the glimpse of a smile. "Love" she said finally, whispering as if she were sharing a secret. "To call the opposite of fear fearlessness is to say nothing. I replaced it with something nobler, pure and infallible."

The conflicted and reluctant Orcades. A poet, very deep and profound. Behind the Duchess's seraphic face, there was an old soul inside a young heart. "Kalevala understands my devotion to her, and I'm confident that my people will see...what I see in you" her confidence remained steadfast and undiminished. As Jabo'a spoke next, she was both surprised and grateful. "I don't think I've ever had visitors" not including the Minister, guards and those employed at the palace. "Those who wish to help, are welcome to escort me home. You will be provided with your own private quarters."

"I took a chance coming here, and I'm going to take another by inviting you to my home. I'm trusting my guests won't try to kill me while I sleep?"

There was a silence in the room after he finished, as it undoubtedly occurred to most that hearing this opinion for the first time from Zuthus Bralor the man, rather than Zuthus Bralor the Manda'lor, laid bare what it truly was—a minority opinion. It was a principled opinion, but a minority one. If even Jabo'a Mereel could be persuaded to compromise with Kalevala, it was safe to assume that most now favored compromise also. Fenn admired Bralor's passion, but he also disagreed with him. He would not challenge him, however; he was in the man's home and, in any case, the matter had been settled. "I'm pleased that all voices have been heard on this," Fenn began, "And I thank you also, Duchess, for the invitation. I will be pleased to accompany you as, I think, will a good number of us."

"Vod Bralor believes what he says and says what he believes, and I commend him for this," he said, turning to Bralor's comments, "However, I still believe and, indeed, I agree with Vod Ordo that an agreement with Kalevala will remedy all of the problems that you mention, Zuthus. Once the Sector stands in solidarity, the Republic will have no business telling us what to do even if it desired to. And Lady Valeria can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe Kalevala means to force any terms or agreements on Mandalore. They have no right to do so, and nor do we."

"As for whether Kalevala is 'worthy' of its independence, I don't know that and I can't know that. That is for Kad Ha'rangir to decide, not for us."

"A government for the sector is something worth considering," he went on, responding briefly to Bralor's other points, "and something I will discuss with the New Mandalorians during my visit. This Neimoidian presence in our Sector, also, is something I have some thoughts on, but I agree that we should discuss this along with the Imperial question. If we are moving on to that subject, I wonder if I could ask the Duchess to excuse herself, please, while we discuss this very personal, True Mandalorian matter. Perhaps you and I can discuss Kalevala more in the other room once this meeting has finished?"

"Kalevala has no intentions of forcing any terms upon Mandalore" she said suddenly, hoping to put behind her frustrations, that throbbed after Zuthus made his opinions clear. "I'll be outside" she said softly, excusing herself with a curt bow before departing the room. Fresh air was much needed, she was starting to feel claustrophobic wearing the armor. While she waited, she took the time to contact her 'uncle.'

[Holo to Mr. Cratwright: "This may or may not surprise you, but I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Actually, I'm sitting outside Zuthus Bralor's home on Mandalore. No need to worry, I'm making peace and friends...I think. Anyway, I'll be back soon and was wondering if you could make a few arrangements...for my guests. Oh, and some weapon and armor permits would be great! Kay thanks bye."]

Fenn spoke next. He did not disagree with Bralor—indeed, he had discussed much of this plan with him in advance—although he did cast doubt on the threat posed by the Neimoidians. With the crisis with Kalevala over thanks to the understanding of the Duchess and her government and, moreover, with the treaty that Kalevala had signed establishing the Mandalorian Protectors as the guarantors of security and stability in the Sector, the Protectors now had the justification and the authority to demand that the Neimoidians leave.

The Mand'alor was eager to turn his attention to the Empire, however. The Neimoidians may have been a nuisance, Fenn explained, but the Empire was the enemy. He explained to the assembled leaders his belief that continuing Zuthus Bralor's reforms and fighting the Empire should be the highest priorities of the Mando'ade, and also that these could both be accomplished at the same time. Fenn admitted, frankly, that without the Republic they could no longer go to war with the Remnant. That is, not war in the traditional sense. But he had a plan—the first part of it involved covert operations against the Empire, the destruction of its infrastructure, and the assassination of its officials. This could be accomplished without causing the Imperials to retaliate with an invasion of the Sector, which Fenn hoped to avoid; he had seen the Empire bring devastation to Mandalore, its people and its children in the past, and he would not see it happen again.

The other part of the plan was more involved. Mandalorians had always had an independent streak to them—many of them were bounty hunters and mercenaries, or "slaves to the credit" as Bralor had once said, famously. Bralor had tried, with some, limited success, to be rid of this mercenary mentality. Fenn, however, was pragmatic and knew that this mentality could be used to the advantage of the Mando'ade. During the war of independence, for example, Fenn had hired out the Mandalorian Protectors as mercenaries in order to bring much needed credits into the resistance effort. Today, he saw a similar opportunity both to fight the Empire and spread Mandalore's influence.

The Mandalorian Protectors, he explained, could be "hired" by planets that resisted against the Empire. Not in exchange for money, mind you, but in exchange for property, for farms, for academies for the Mando'ade. A Mandalorian should be able to live on the land he defends, Fenn explained, and his plan would help to accomplish that. All the while, by "working for" these planets, the Mandalorian Protectors could continue to fight the Imperials without, as he mentioned, provoking the Imperials to retaliate. It would be an act of business, not an act of war in a formal sense. It was a small difference, but an important one.

He would speak with the various leaders personally, he said, to explain how each of them can help.

The Manda'lor then concluded his remarks with a brief word on why the New Republic was still an important ally to the Mando'ade, even if it had lost its will to fight. One, good relations with the Republic were important to Mandalore's economy; the smiths of Ordo, the farmers of Concord Dawn, and all of the Mando'ade needed a place to sell their goods and services. Second, returning to the Empire, Fenn explained that the Imperials would be more reluctant to invade the Mandalore Sector if, in fact, Mandalore continued to enjoy good relations with the Republic—an attack on a friend of the Republic would be seen as an attack on the Republic itself. That would mean doom for the Empire. "The Imperial," Fenn explained, "will be doomed if he does and doomed if he doesn't."

Shysa had given them all much to talk about, but the hour had gotten late and it was agreed that the meeting should adjourn. One thing they did not discuss was Death Watch, because Fenn knew that sympathy for their traditionalist ways ran deep, and there were probably spies in the meeting. He had a plan for them too, however. Not long after the meeting had ended and the leaders left, Fenn Shysa paid a clandestine visit to Concord Dawn. Then, it was off to Coruscant and, finally, back to Kalevala for the celebration of the peace.

"Peace" is a word he would think about quite a lot during these travels. To him, it meant peace in his Sector and peace for his people. It did not mean peace for Death Watch or the Empire. Indeed, Fenn decided, they would not know peace until they were defeated, once and for all, and made impotent to wage war ever again.