Ah. Home.
It had been far too long since Matko Ko'Vic had been back to his homeworld. More years then he cared to recount.
Life was strange that way, but as the saying went, there is no place like home.

When he had left so many years ago, he'd been naught but an eager young Bothan with the drive and determination to succeed in the New Republic. A young officer still wet behind the ears who had relied strongly on his heritage and species. He was never too slow to remind others of the looses his people had endured to provide the Rebellion with the Death Star plans. Nor was he slow to pay homage to the many others who had died in that initial opposition of the Empire. Bothans and non-Bothans alike.
And now he returns. With glorious title and rank and the wish to bring the Republic back into the light. To unite the worlds that once held the banner of the Old Republic high.

So, as Grand Admiral of the New Republic, he finds himself setting foot on the terra firma of Bothawui for the first time in a lifetime. Here, on his homeworld.
He has come with a goal and with the support of the Bothan people behind him. He has returned to welcome Bothawui back into leading seats on the Republic Council. Something that the Bothan populous has long missed and dreamed of.
Yet there were those who would oppose him. Those who saw his arrival here as preferential treatment towards Bothawui over the many other species of the galaxy... and he had to admit that they were at least partially correct.
But like so many soothsayers, they would see only what they wanted to and they'd tell others the same.
It was not fully true.
Yes. He was a Bothan of some reputation, but more then that, he was a capable and worthy leader. He was bright enough to see that his seat as Grand Admiral would bring Bothawui swiftly into the union of the Republic. His name and species alone was enough to discourage those who would wish for independence. Consider it a trump card.
Sure, he could be elsewhere pressing the concerns of the Republic, and indeed many places called for attention more then Bothawui did. But to deny this gem was to be willfully ignorant of the truth and fact of things.
He was Bothan. He was Grand Admiral of the Republic and he would bring Bothawui into the commonwealth with minimal opposition... furthering the dream of an old republic.
It was also important for him to keep in mind that he was not alone in his wish to expand the Republic once again. Only ego would ruin that, and it was something Matko had control over... unlike so many other Bothans.
Admirals, Diplomats, Tacticians and Politicians all. They supported the Republic and would do as Ko'Vic said was best for the Republic. Which, in this case, demanded many of his top officials make plans throughout the galaxy. It demanded what he had done, to dispatch his top officials to key planets within the Republic scope to confront the issues arising in the galaxy. And if he faltered in this, so would the Republic.
Thus, Grand Admiral Matko Ko'Vic found himself standing before an assembly of the leaders of Bothawui.
Clad in the style of the military, he wore his Admiral bars and a tight fitting clean white uniform. His fur, black tipped in silver, was groomed and kept and ears pressed back to the sides of his head. The picture of a speaker of the Republic and a Bothan Leader.

Then clearing his throat, he began.

"Men. Women. My fellow Bothans..."

I stand before you, ladies, gentlemen and otherwise... As a man not of the Republic, but for the Republic.
A Bothan yes, but a Republican as well. As we should all be!
I see, gathered before me, a change and chance at prosperity and growth. Bothan men and women, all brought together under the same banner and the same goals. But I warn you... I am not a creature to let such a thing as this flounder.
As such, I come before you to usher in a new era of greatness and well being. It is time the name of the Republic was again revered across the galaxy.
In the name of this goal I bring a course of action that shall build our sway and strength in the galaxy that others may be brought into lives of such splendor and success as we are bound to enjoy.
We cannot allow the galaxy to suffer at the hands of tyrants and dictators who would wish only their advancement and not that of the Republic as a whole.
To attain such a goal I am enacting a campaign of expansion for the good of the galaxy. It is time that those planets who lived so fruitfully under the Republic to again enjoy such gifts as the past.
I would ask that each and every one of you strive for the expansion of the Republic. And our first guest to be invited into our commonwealth, shall be the planet Bothawui.
A world that has had longstanding support from and for the Republic and the Rebellion.
Not one of us here can forget the losses we endured under the reign of non-human hating Imperials. Not one of us can forget our sacrifices in the doom of the Emperors Death Star.
It would be an act of ignorance and it would disgrace those who died to bring us the freedom we now have.
No! I say we cannot forget this call to duty and call to arms, to do so would be to willfully consign the Republic to troubles and doom.
What would it say of our proud world and people if a Bothan were to lead the Republic into a new era of prosperity without the support of his own people?
I beg you consider the state of the Republic as it now sits.
I would ask you forget the anti-alien sentiments so many humans did harbor and instead forgive them for their weakness. Look at me, Grand Admiral of the Republic Military and a Bothan. This is the face of the new age. A face not of pale pink flesh, but of acceptance and tolerance.
This will not be a place where non-humans have to play second to humans. This will be a Republic where all species, Bothans included, will be as one for the common goal of unification.
Yes. Mon Mothma was a human, and female at that... As was her successor, Lea Organa Solo. They were able to see past the flesh of their own kind and give their lives for all as one. Had it not been for the steps these heroes set, Bothans like Borsk Fey'la would never have been able to lay a safe foundation for kindness.
Please, my people, I beg you forget the past that once plagued us and look to the future.
Look to the future of Bothawui and the Republic.
Look to our future!


(1163)

Drev'starn - Capitol of Bothawui

So where do we stand. On the brink of a new age.
An era of peace and harmony within the Republic, a time of new growth and fresh ideas.
How often has the galaxy at large been allowed to fall through the cracks and crumble into disarray.
It was this very thing that brought the Republic to its' knees not just once, but twice in these centuries. Stagnation and decay had been free to run rampant within the boundaries of the Republic and seek sympathy from similar sources that had never fully come into the light of the Republic freedom.
Freedom. Yes...
A liberty too many count as a right, not a privilege. A view that I, Matko Ko'Vic do not share.
I have bled on the battlefield and sent men to their death in the name of the Republic and in the name of peace. How ironic it seems to me now. That men should die in the name of peace.
Sadly, however, it is the way of things.
And as such, I plan to usher the Republic into not just an era of prosper, but also change and lasting futures. No longer will we sit back and wait to be stricken before falling on those who would jeopardize those within our Union.
The New Order, for example.
Once, the Republic was slated by simply having an accord of truce with that Imperial Remnant... And this was a mistake.
Look to the examples set by Lea Organa, Admiral Ackbar, Luke Skywalker and so many others.
They saw their freedom in jeopardy of utter destruction, but did they sit back and try to wait it out?
No!
They struck out at the Empire, at Palpatine and indeed the Dark Force. With ruthless agile they did what needed to be done to ensure the good of the many over the good of the one.
And so shall we. We will not simply sit back and let our enemies grow in numbers and strength. We will strike out at those with the arrow from the tartars' bow.

The speaker, a lean Bothan male, leaned back in his high nerf-hide chair and steepled his hands over his chest. He has a look of smug satisfaction, but also driven determination.

The council he addressed was made up of the most eleet Bothans throughout the galaxy. Bothans who controlled information and sway in many corners beyond Bothawui.

Shadows filled the small conference room in which they sat and obscured any clear identification of those in the room. Each had an aide standing behind his or her chair.

One spoke, but the sheer atmosphere of the room did a very sound job of making a voice match near impossible, and so the sound simply drifted across the table.

Your words are brave, Admiral Ko'Vic, and indeed they will stir the hearts of many planets and rally them to your cause...
But I wonder if in fact you mean what you say.
Many have come before you, and each seemed to think and speak the same as you, though perhaps in a less aggressive tone. But the idea was still the same.
Before you answer, Matko, as kin, I ask you let me finish.
Each of us here believes in your cause and not one of us here doubts your skill or prowess. We have all been informed of your upcoming career and indeed watched you from a very early age... But I am sure you expected this.
However, tantamount to all this is your rank and title in the New Republic. An impressive title indeed.
It is not as though the Bothan community has even been at a loss for equal say in the senate... Ex-Chief of State Borsk Fey'la for example.
And, despite the overtones of Imperialism in your rank, we all here know you a competent and worthy soul.
There are concerns, that each of us harbors... Though nothing that will not pass with time.
Do not fret yourself Admiral, we are with you. As is Bothawui.

Then, in the long silence between the next words, Admiral Ko'Vic was given to thought...
In so far as could be said for the Shadow Eleet, Bothawui would join with the Republic. But, they each had their own plots and designs. As much was to be expected of a Bothan.
And Matko would deal with each in time. But for now the game was to call worlds under the Republic banner by whatever means mandatory.
And so, Matko would play their game... or seem to. And all would work out in the favor of the Republic in the end.
After all, greed was one of the enemies to the Republic of which he had spoken. All of those devious images and emotions that could cripple the Republic again. Enemies that would fall under the foot of Grand Admiral Ko'Vic.

Understood and noted. I thank the council for their time and consideration.

First to leave the room, Admiral Ko'Vic strode down the halls of the Advisory Council Headquarters.
They would discuss and argue over the matter until late in the night, but the conclusion was already made. Bothawui would join with the Republic and be welcomed with wide arms... All the remained was to make a few official speeches, hammer out some treaties and look to the future.



(2019)

The Bothan SpyNet.
There was not an organization in the galaxy as worthwhile in the galaxy. Not in the eyes of anyone who brokered in information. And, it was where Matko Ko'Vic had gotten his earliest training.
For a time he even considered sole dedication to the SpyNet over his options in the New Republic Royal Defense Force.
Early on the Bothan people had developed a taste for data. Information was like gold to humans. It drew the Bothan taste, reveled in its' duplicity. The complexity of it would have made even top non-Bothan agents crumble.
Its' very nature remained in the shadows, but somehow managed to roll in its own gratification.
Grand Admiral Ko'Vic had stood at its' nexus. A place so guarded and hidden, even the Admiral himself had been brought here in secrecy.
Around him the constant blips and pings of various monitors, plus the sounds of the analytical engineers that watched them, filled the room with a subtle covert ambience. To his left stood a Bothan whom had long been Ko'Vic's mentor.
An elder among the society, he had lived his entire life devoted to the SpyNet. First and foremost among his passions. It was the work that drove him.
Unfortunately, his years were growing thin. And it showed.
From the way he stood slightly humped but proud and fighting the pain..The way his uniform hung just too loose on his gaunt form. Or most sad of all, the way the glow of light in his eyes slowly faded into dim ambiguity.

"I've a few years left," he began some time earlier, "But I know of your wishes here Mr. Ko'Vic."
'Mr. Ko'Vic', the name he had called Matko from their first meeting near twenty years prior. Where it had once grated on his nerves, it now seemed a phrase of praise. If such was possible.
Ko'Vic had nodded at that, as it was indeed true that his mentor did indeed have a few years left. Though what saddened Matko was that he would not live them out in retirement, not willingly. Chancellor Ka'frey was a Bothan who would would work himself into the ground before stopping for air.
Ka'frey had seemed to pick up on Ko'Vic's thoughts and so commented. "I want you to come back."
Simple words with heartfelt meaning. Ka'frey said more then he spoke in words. He had opened up to Matko, his former student, that he could not do this on his own. Not any longer.
"My place is with the Republic.Surely..." But Ka'frey had cut him off in midsentance. Something that was very unusual for Ka'frey, a man who had been the epitome of calm.
"I know. Do both."
Another thought Ko'Vic had considered. Though, in his estimation, it was impossible.
Their last words together, Matko had departed shortly after for a conference with the leaders of Bothan commerce.

He stood now in private chambers high in a tower that rose like a spike from the capital city's apex. Watching the sun of Both set slowly on the horizon, his mood was downcast.
With arms clutched behind his back he gazed distantly into the possibilities of the future.
It is on these things he thinks as he drifts absently into thought and memory...
Clutched tightly in his hand he holds the notification of demise. The passing of Chancellor Ka'frey... His mentor and teacher. But deeper then that, his father.












Rain poured from the sky like the tears Ko'Vic could not weep. It soaked his fur and drenched his uniform and seeped through to his flesh. It permeated.
And it always did on days like this. The days when the dead are laid to rest and their families feel the deep pain of loss.
Ko'Vic would not allow himself such a thing.
It was contemptible to think of contaminating the name of his father such. His father who had changed the name of his son and moved him into the hands of a false family... all to save Matko from those who would have had reason to harm his father. Master of the Bothan SpyNet.
So, his father had gone to the grave without a formal relationship with his son, not the sort a father should with his offspring.....



(2705)

"A stationary defense force?" Ko'Vic looked utterly dismayed at the one who had spoke the question... A fellow Bothan and so called 'negotiator'.

The sheer stammering gluttony of those who had no real power but dreamed they did.

A stationary defense force. How, by the light, did they expect Ko'Vic to conjur up a thing like that so early on. The small fleet of ships and military supplies that the Republic now had was hardly enough to support or protect them. In fact, Bothawui had all that was available at this time.

"Surely you jest? The Republic hasn't even the means to defend herself yet. Why do you think I am here making these pleas?"

"Surely not, Admiral Ko'Vic. Considering your stirring speach against the factions of 'evil," the negotiaor steepled his fingers over the conferance table and gave the weary Ko'Vic a pressing stare.

With a sigh, Matko nodded and conceeded the fact, "Yes. It is true that our enemies may strike out... But I beg you consider what will happen to Bothawui should you remain independant."

"What," the other sneered, "we would last as we always have."

It was sad to break such a dilluded bubble. Especially considering this ones place on the podium. "No, sadly not. Had I not moved swiftly and first on Bothawui and encouraged the Republic to do the same... Were I not here asking and offering what I am, then another faction would already be dominating this world as we speak."

With that Ko'Vic slid a small datachip across the table to the negotiator. "You'll find all the proof you need on that."

"This changes nothing..." The Bothan looked outraged at the idea. Just as Ko'Vic had predicted he would.

"Just sign the treaty, make it official, and we can go to our seperate homes." Ko'Vic sighed at the annoyance of it, "Those who control your interests have already agreed, now stop flauting the power of a figure head and sign the treaty."

------------------------

It was a risky move, but this was a time for risk in action.
The Republic was weak, like a lone nerf in a gundark pit. But even a nerf had its defenses... and they came in numbers. And, with any luck Ko'Vic could muster enough strength to set the Republic back on its' own feet and then step down and let a real leader take over.

Military tactics and descisive action had their time, but they could by no means sustain a Republic. For that they'd need a senate and those who could speak for the poplus. Though, that was just a dream for now. For now.

The conflict was in the fact that it had worked. He'd strong armed what he needed out of those who had it to give. He'd done just like those he had spoken against... and pulled it off.

He gazed down at the documentation spread before him, the slow political acceptance of a world. Physically, pulling Bothawui into the Republic would take time.

The slow road to a union.

He could imagine how it must have been on those who had come before him. Great leaders who had been able to build a Republic for the people, but not able to maintain it. The sort who could bring together the people who could uphold a thing like this, and conversely, could destroy it.

Such a quandry was very difficult to over come, even for a logical thinker like Ko'Vic. How to seperate the good from the evil and keep them clearly defined...

Wait.

There was a way. There had always been a way and Matko had completely overlooked it these past many days.

The Jedi.

They were the nature of good, the sovereing protectors of the Republic. Not the property of the Republic, as so many had seemed to think. Through them the Republic had found balance and the path to the light. Without them, it floundered and died.

Reaching for his commlink and opening a channel to a his aide in the SpyNet he ordered up whatever information he could on the status of the Jedi in the galaxy today.

He had to get through to someone. And soon.

(3381)

How strenuous the past few days had been. From his first arrival on Bothawui he'd felt ill prepared for the coming future. Perhaps due to the impending demise of his father. Or maybe it was just the stress of what would be required in the coming future.

No matter the cause, the affect was still the same. He felt rung out and strung along. Nothing that a good nights rest would not fix. Alas, he had not the time for sleep and relaxation... Not yet.

Meetings and conferences of immeasurable magnitude still loomed ahead of him. But fortunate enough these struggles were coming to an end. Soon, very soon, Bothawui would be a part of the Republic, and one of her founding members. She would be their planet of construction and a base of machinery for the Republic until such time as another world so fit for construction yards was brought into the union. For now, it would ease the Bothan mind to know they had sway in the Republic. Regardless of the fact that it was hollow sway.

So many endurance yet stood before Ko'Vic on the road to Republic growth. So many obstacles that could unhinge this fledgling alliance. And of course, their weaknesses.

Their biggest drawback, as he saw it, was their utter lack of any substantial fleet. As a navy man of the title Grand Admiral he felt naked without a fleet of sturdy ships at his command. It was like a warrior without sword or armor. A Jedi without the force. Something that would soon need to be remedied.

And there was also the massive forces of darkness that stood poised to strike the young Republic should Ko'Vic walk beyond the boundaries of the New Republic. So many enemies lay in wait, just hoping for the chance to fall upon the Republic and grind them to dust.

It seemed as though the Galaxy had betrayed the ideals of goodness, not one soul strong enough to support the right. Everyone had succumbed to weakness and darkness. The roles had been switched... Where goodness the Darkside was once considered evil, it seemed to be in the majority these days. And goodness was getting trampled under foot.

Indeed, perhaps it was hopeless... But Matko Ko'Vic was never one to abandon his ideals or the ideals of a good and righteous galaxy. He would die before giving up the dream of a New Republic. He would die a thousand deaths before he would let the galaxy again fall to the terror of the Imperials, or the Sith. It simply would not happen.

Not so long as Matko Ko'Vic, Grand Admiral of the Republic, was able to stand and resist it.

So surge on he would. Fight the good fight and face the Darkside naked and alone if such were demanded.

By the void, there would be a strong Republic once again. There would be freedom... And after ferocity, there would be peace.

This was the dream of those who had come before him and it was the dream of Grand Admiral Ko'Vic now.


(3985)