Komari did not see the time pass. Already, the competition of the initiates had begun.

  In truth, she wasn't in the least worried about her classmates' performance. True, they still had some shortcomings on the Force sidebut those weaknesses were disappearing thanks to the careful support of Plo Koon.

  They had become much better swordsmen, or at least much more determined than at the beginning of their joint training. And when she couldn't supervise them herself, Plo Koon took over, sometimes relying on his unorthodox methods that he found "interesting" and even wanted to go deeper.

  The presence of Padawan Koon, renowned for his wisdom as well as for his skill with the sword, was greeted with enthusiasm by the other masters as well as by the young initiates.

  Unfortunately, Komari would not be able to attend the competition.

  His overloaded schedule did not allow it. Just as the first battles began in the Temple Arena, she was locked in a sober but imposing study room in the Organa family's main palace on Coruscant.

  Sitting next to Plo Koon, she struggled to unravel the hellish intricacies of galactic tax law—especially the taxes and trade route taxes imposed by the Republic since Rushan's reforms.

  Even with her near-perfect memory, she was beginning to feel the limits of her mind. The subject was a real maze, a dizzying accumulation of laws, counter-laws, exceptions, exemptions, and reverse taxes...

  Bail, slumped at his side, had already given up for a long time. His face glued to the tablet, he drooled softly in a comatose half-sleep.

  "I don't know if I'll be able to last another hour..." He muttered, his voice pasty.

  "One hour, you're optimistic. We still have nine chapters left of the first book. And there are five of them, in total. She remarked, pointing to the pile of documents.

  He let out a groan of mental pain, before slowly straightening up, as if moved by a sudden idea.

  "No. No no no. We're not going to do that. He said, turning to her, his eyes lit up with a suspicious spark.

  "I feel like you have a bad idea. But I want to remind you that if the Order lets me take classes here, it's only because your family is supposed to educate me in certain areas. ?

  "yes, it mostly allows you to get away from the Temple, which you find too heavy."

  She nodded with a simple nod. There was some of that, yes.

  Bail rubbed his hands, a conspiratorial smile on his lips. The kind of smile that rarely announced anything wise.

  "Listen... To make it easier for us to get around, my mother provided me with a high-level diplomatic pass. He took out of his pocket a small cylinder with a sober but sophisticated design. "However, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go... visit, say, the military docks in Area 28. ?

  His smile widened as he saw the sparkle of interest pass through Komari's eyes.

  "You know, the military docks. Where there are plenty of big warships that you love so much. ?

  Komari frowned and stared at him, fingers absentmindedly tapping his tablet.

  "And you'll take responsibility for everything if we ever get yelled at? I remind you that I am a poor little child of nine, innocent and impressionable. ?

  Bail nodded very solemnly.

  "Of course. I will take care of my dear little Komari. He rubbed her hair affectionately... then moved his hand back with a quick gesture, meeting his dark eyes.

  "And then, between us, it's far from being the worst thing I've been yelled at for."

  It was aboard a luxurious shuttle with a sleek design that they made the journey to the military docks of Area 28. Komari, comfortably seated next to Bail, did not miss a beat.

  She devoured the interior finishes, the shiny controls, and the engines that purred with an almost aristocratic fluidity.

  "Bail, let me fly on the way back, please," she said with a big smile, her eyes sparkling with envy.

  Bail burst out laughing, falsely shocked.

  "What do you want? That I leave the controls to you ? No, but you're dreaming! Have you seen this wonder? It's a limited edition, barely a thousand copies in the whole galaxy. And would you like me to entrust it to you???

  "Come on... I've driven before, you can trust me.??

  "Komari, what you drove were antique T-16s stolen from the Temple's training hangars. Nothing that has such sensitive controls as this beauty. And then, frankly, I'm not even sure you're touching the pedals.??

  He wasn't completely wrong. Komari was still far too small to see properly through the windshield without awkwardly pulling herself up in her seat.

  "I'm sure that with a little tinkering we could adapt the pedals... A little ingenuity, and it's settled.?She raised a defiant eyebrow, hoping to get him to give in.

  Their good-natured little argument continued all the way, punctuated by teasing and mocking retorts, until the atmosphere changed.

  On the horizon, the military docks of Area 28 finally rose, imposing, metallic, and of a formidable austerity.

  As they approached, huge ships were revealed to their eyes, lined up on a fortified spaceport. Komari held his breath. She immediately recognized some familiar silhouettes: the iconic C-80 Hammerhead corvettes and the CR-20 consular cruisers painted in the colors of the Republic's judicial fleet.

  But what dominated the landscape, what attracted all eyes, were the three huge heavy Dreadnought-class cruisers, proudly moored in line.

  Komari, who had recently taken an interest in the various galactic fleets, knew their technical specifications almost by heart. These ships, although aging, remained among the most versatile and reliable ever produced.

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  Their conception dates back to the time after the Ruusan reforms, when the Republic, after consolidating its power, decided to no longer invest heavily in the maintenance of an offensive fleet.

  There were newer, more powerful, but rare ships. In times of prolonged peace, no one felt the need to produce better. Why modernize, when there was no threat on the horizon?

  Bail guided the shuttle to a reserved platform, presented his diplomatic card at the entrance, and after a quick biometric check, they were allowed to enter the military compound.

  "They're damn beasts," Bail hissed, watching one of the Dreadnoughts loom to their right.

  Komari nodded slowly, almost bewitched. Seeing these metal giants so close up aroused a mixture of excitement and respect in her.

  From where they were, the belly artillery, the swivel turrets, the torpedo launchers, and the thick ribbed armor that covered the ship's hull could be clearly distinguished.

  Komari had already taken a look at the large cargo ships on Nar Shadda, but none with the profile or size of the military ships that stood in front of her.

  They got off the shuttle to get closer, fascinated.

  "Impressive, huh? It is the flagship of the 11th Wing. His name is the Chancellor," a voice said behind them.

  A man approached, straight in his captain's uniform, his gait assured.

  "Captain Ronald, to serve you. I was informed that a diplomatic card had been used at the entrance to the base. I came to find out.??

  Bail raised his hand, all smiles, with his usual aplomb.

  "It was me, captain. I represent my mother, the Queen of Alderaan. I am here as part of my diplomatic education, to learn more about the Republic and... on his navy.??

  The captain shoefully rolled his eyes, a quick, almost imperceptible gesture that only Komari noticed. She had no trouble guessing what he was thinking: another little prince of the Senate to manage. But he immediately recovered, regaining his professional mask.

  "The term 'marine' is unfortunately inappropriate, as you probably know. Since Ruusan's reforms, the Republic has officially abolished its armed forces. What we have today are peacekeeping units.?He had said these words with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

  Komari understood what this entailed. Politically, the Republic no longer had an offensive military fleet. Only judicial fleets remained, which were supposed to secure space routes and mediate minor disputes.

  Their room for action was narrow, limited by legal constraints. Each member world now had to defend itself, and the judicial fleets intervened only as a last resort, at the junction of territories.

  Since the Republic had extended its hegemony to the entire galaxy, no major war threatened the established order. The Senate, reassured by this lasting peace, had no interest in financing a deterrent fleet.

  Yet, as Komari knew, the galactic vastness was never truly free of danger. And if the judicial fleet remained a respectable force, it was dramatically undersized to cover the entire republican space.

  "It's a magnificent ship, captain. Is it yours??She asked with stars in her eyes.

  At his sincere enthusiasm, the officer smiled and nodded.

  "Yes, I received the Chancellor's command recently. He is no longer young, but he is holding on. Want to visit it???

  Bail and Komari exchanged a knowing look, their smiles responding immediately. It was a golden opportunity.

  The Dreadnought was a heavy cruiser, designed for long campaigns. Nearly 600 meters long, powered by six hyperdrives, it carried an impressive firepower: twenty heavy turbolasers, ten medium, about twenty light.

  It required a minimum crew of nine thousand and could carry up to fifteen thousand tons of equipment.

  Usable in squadrons as well as on solo missions, its versatility had long been its strength. But its ageing technology and its cost of personnel made it a dead weight for a Republic that refused to reinvest in modernisation.

  Komari saw a sleeping giant, ready to roar again if given the chance.

  "Here is the gangway, from here we manage the whole building, from communications to cannon. In the event of a problem, the system is redundant in the secondary gangway, located in the heart of the ship. Roland introduced. Bail sneered as she saw Komari with starry eyes as she looked down the gangways of the warship. There was a real innocence and joy in the Padawan's eyes as she enjoyed the building.

  "I heard that the Republic has ordered a brand new fleet?" asked Bail of the captain, whose face lit up at the mention of this information.

  "Yes, after years of lean cows, the republic has finally invested in the fleet," he smiles.

  Repeated pressure from the navy, the rim worlds, and the merchant companies that fell victim to the stiff pirates had succeeded in getting the Senate to give in to funds to provide the fleet with new ships.

  The Katana fleet is a huge project, the result of the crises of the republic.

  Not an ambitious program supported by the Senate but an emergency project in spite of them.

  The republic's naval security forces were in crisis, lacking modern buildings to protect trade routes.

  Pirates were becoming more and more endemic, possessing fleets capable of threatening many systems.

  For the naval security forces, 200 cruiser modernization was a huge ramp-up that quadrupled the tonnage of its heavy cruiser fleet.

  Only Komari, through his visions, knew the raw truth behind appearances. It was not just the Senate's inertia or lack of interest in the fleet that was a problem.

  It was a slow agony orchestrated by indifference... and plagued by corruption. As appropriations were diverted, as budget items disappeared under layers of bureaucracy, the entire backbone of the judicial fleet collapsed.

  In his dreams, or rather his lucid nightmares, Komari saw what others refused to believe.

  The brutal collapse of the system, the engulfment of thousands of lives in galactic indifference. It was no longer a question of political balance, but of human tragedy.

  Thousands of marines were going to die. Not in a heroic confrontation or a last stand, but in an icy silence, abandoned.

  She knew that a single modernized ship, equipped to operate with two thousand men, would see every member of her crew perish.

  And that would be just the beginning. Nearly five hundred thousand sailors, technicians, officers and non-commissioned officers were to disappear with the fleet... Not to mention the maintenance teams, the civilian experts who came to test the on-board systems, or the young cadets fresh out of the naval academies.

  And with them, the last embers of military support for the Republic would be extinguished. An already fragile hope, shared by a disillusioned population.

  Komari saw it too, this despair was about to find a way out. Many of these survivors, when they could, would join the Separatist fleets. Others, disgusted to the core, would become the supporters of the New Order. Some even, among the most brilliant, the most lucid... would eventually pledge allegiance to the Empire.

  Because what no one saw yet was that a whole generation of officers and admirals was on the benches of the prestigious academies of the Republic.

  At the Naval War College, the Judicial Academy, or in orbital tactical centers. These young minds, trained in republican doctrines, would be the first witnesses of the disaster to come, the disaster of the Katana fleet, the humiliation of the abandoned squadrons, the inability of the Senate to react.

  Komari knew that all this was approaching. But she was powerless.

  Talk about your visions... it was dangerous. Too dangerous. Even within the Jedi Order, she doubted that she would be listened to. Some would call her a liar. Others of manipulation. And at best, he would be forced to keep quiet, under the pretext of not disturbing the balance.

  She knew. But knowledge, sometimes, was just a silent curse.

  "My parents also bought Dreadnoughts, 2 in total at the Rendili StarDrive, but they are not as modernized as the ones in the Katana fleet or the same hull color," Bail remarked, casting a curious glance at one of the black dreadnought models that adorned one of the walls of the bridge.

  "Your navy must be struggling to manage the need for crews," commented Captain Ronald before continuing, "those of the Katana fleet are black instead of white because the ships are a subclass inside the standard ship modification and because the hull armor had coating problems."

  "Are you going to serve on the new fleet?" asked Komari as he escorted them out of the ship.

  "I'm hopeful, but I love that old Chancellor," he said, tapping affectionately on the walls of the Dreadnought, "it's nearly 150 years old, I've spent my whole career there, I'm not going to give it up for a young cruiser."