Chap. 32 - Power Game

Mirana and Icarus finally reached the entrance of the shelter. Near the entrance, they were greeted by Alpha along with the two droideka units with cheerful beeps. And through the metal door, you could hear the decontamination process at the entrance to the shelter. The metal door opened once the process was complete, revealing the white room with Delta and the rest of the Kestrel Nova crew: Doom, Titan, and little Tova, whose appearance had changed significantly after her first "bath" in a long time.

[Thanks for the photos to app.Leonardo.ai and a bit of retouching with Krita. Two good free programs for design and image creation. End of commercials. XD]

Tova: - Icarus! - The girl exclaimed excitedly when she saw him, but before she could approach and throw herself on the droid with a hug, she was intercepted by Mirana.

Mirana: - Oh! How cute. - She exclaimed as she gave her a big hug, taking the girl completely off guard. -

Tova: - Thank... you. - She said barely as she was being compressed by the strange woman.

Mirana: - What's your name, little one? -

Tova: - Tova. Tova-Adaz. - She said formally while the woman looked at her, but before she could react, Mirana gave her another hug, even stronger than the previous one.

Mirana: - You are quite a cutie. -

Tova: - Help... me. - She told to Icarus.

On the other hand, the droid had no idea what was going on. Between Tova's change in appearance, or the strange behavior that Mirana was having, he didn't know which of the two caused his the biggest circuit break. It should be noted that Mirana seemed to know nothing related to personal space, although her caring and motherly attitude was nothing like the calm and apathetic attitude she had just a few minutes ago.

Perhaps she simply had a greater affection for the children. Maybe something related to her past. Icarus tried to figure it out, but calculated that this place would be a good start for Tova, a free start from the wars. Perhaps Mirana could take her in, and even form friendly relations with Stela, who seemed her age, or with other inhabitants of the area. After all, a ship full of listless droids is not a good place for a small one to grow up properly, or so the droid's logic ran.

Mirana: - Poor little girl. Have you had a very difficult journey with all those droids? - She asked in a childish voice and puffing out her cheeks, making the little girl laugh, but confusing the droid even more.

Tova: - No. It's been a good trip. -

Mirana: - Hey. - She turned to Icarus, but with her usual sinister tone of voice and with an accusing look. - Why is this little girl with you? Did they kidnap her? - She asked them directly, causing Icarus to recoil intimidated while Fifi produced a series of annoying noises.

Tova: - No. No. They saved me. - The answer took Mirana by surprise, who saw Tova's huge eyes with a remarkable sadness. - Icarus, Wag Too, Fifi, Titan, Doom... They all took care of me. If it weren't for them, I would be alone... - The girl finished with a small tear welling up in her eyes.

Mirana looks at her condescendingly, and returned a sincere smile, managing to calm the little girl's heart a little. She wanted to know why she was alone when Icarus found her, but she immediately assumed it. She knew that she had lost her parents, and she assumed that the droid might know something about it. So she would take it upon herself to ask him later.

Mirana hugged Tova once more, this time gently. The little girl calmed down a bit, and Mirana did her best to turn her face towards Icarus, returning a grateful smile.

Mirana: - It's Ok. You will no longer be alone. -

A touching scene, to be sure, but not for the droid. Icarus's computer, and the rest of the droids present, was in chaos. First Mirana acts like a child in front of Tova, then she threatens them with her eyes, and finally she smiles at them. This series of events while making sense to an organic, would take a bit of time for a droid to process.

With everyone gathered, they made their way once more into the shelter. Seeing the immensity of the place, Tova almost gets dizzy from so many buildings and citizens moving from one place to another. The little girl had never been in a place like this, and she found it beautiful despite being in an underground shelter. To think what a surprise she would be if one day she saw the beauty of Naboo.

Finally they arrived at the town hall, where Miraj and Boil were waiting for them while they talked about some issues of the Oasis administration. It should be noted that the scene in the shelter was repeated once more, only now Miraj was the protagonist of such amazement when she saw Tova. Icarus even thought that this was a normal reaction among organics.

When Miraj set Tova "free," the young Stela came over to say hello. Stela was a bit older than Tova, perhaps a year or two, yet the young Nelvaan girl hid behind Icarus's feet to wave shyly. Another reaction that Icarus had to figure out was.

Miraj: - It's good that we're all here. But I think it's not necessary for all of us to take that boring tour of the place. - She said calling everyone's attention. - Boil, why don't you take the droids to the workshop, so they can give them some adjustments and maintenance while I show the commander the place? The medical droid informed us that his friend will wake up in a few hours, so we still have some time. -

Boil: - As ordered, my lady. -

Stela: - Can I show her the city? I know the best places in the Oasis. -

Mirana: - Don't ask me. -

Suddenly, all eyes fell on Icarus. The droid had no idea what to say, but he assumed the decision was up to him. He looked down and saw Tova behind his feet, with an expression confused between fear and wanting to go exploring. As if those huge black eyes were asking permission without saying a word.

Icarus: - I don't see why not. Just don't do anything stupid. - He told the little girl.

In a flash, Tova followed the droid's feet and accepted Stela's hand, who led her outside the town hall while she told her about the interesting places they could see in the city. On the other hand, Boil withdrew with the rest of the droids while Mirana and Miraj led Icarus on a quick tour of the Oasis facility.

After the brief tour, Ícaro was able to make notes of all the resources at his disposal and was even computing some plans to use them. The Oasis had a population of 130 thousand citizens. Of those, 13,000 were children and the elderly, for a total of 117,000 potential workers of all races and genders. Agriculture was basic, but made up for the cost of food and livestock feed. The industry was basic (for that age) and could meet the needs of the population. The biggest problem was power.

The Oasis produced energy with the help of two large geothermal generators thanks to the activity of the planet. It was enough to sustain the shelter, but not enough if they wanted to expand and become a future military power. Fortunately, Icarus already had plans to solve that problem.

When he asked about the other place where various life forms were concentrated on the surface, Mirana confirmed that it was a junkyard haven. They didn't bother anyone, but they liked to stay away. However, their establishment was in the remains of an old durasteel mine. So eventually something had to be done about it, because that material was too valuable.

The biggest problem was the surface of the planet. To achieve all their goals they would need available space, and underground was not feasible. Therefore, he had to find a solution to be able to build on the surface, but he could not risk the lives of the workers. Something had to be done about air pollution before starting any project.

But the priority right now was to recover the Munificent. With their mere presence, any activity could advance by leaps and bounds. Once Wag Too recovered and with the help of various Oasis technicians, they could diagnose whether or not the ship can be repaired. And once the tour was over, Mirana, Miraj and Icarus returned to the regent's room in the town hall, where Boil was waiting for them once he left the droids with the technicians.

Icarus: - Very good. What will our actions be from now on? -

Miraj: - What do you mean? -

Icarus: - I won't beat around the bush. As assigned, my mission was to defeat the Republic. But now that the Republic has become the Empire, I plan to take the war to them. -

Mirana: - And can I know how you plan to do such a thing? - She said mockingly, thinking that Icarus wouldn't have a plan about it, but to her surprise, that wasn't the case.

Icarus: - We don't have the strength or resources to openly confront the Empire. For such a hunt, we must create small rebel cells around the entire Galaxy. We must look for any force that is willing to confront. Support them so they grow in number, but keep them distant so they don't find out all of us. -

Miraj: - That's too ambitious a dream. -

Icarus: - It's not a dream. It is a conviction. - He told her directly.

Boil: - And how do you plan to do that? -

Ícaro: - At the moment we can't do much. Increase our forces and our production. Take advantage of Gwori's distance to set up a hidden operational base. Once we have enough strength. We will be able to expand our operations throughout the Galaxy. -

Miraj: - A new war. - She said after sighing while she had a lost look on the roof of the facilities, as if she was remembering the painful past. Mirana knew it, and she didn't want to say anything about it, but Icarus spoke up.

Icarus: - I refuse to think about the possibility, but currently we are the only ones who can oppose the Empire without attracting attention. If we do not act, the catastrophe will repeat. Mygeeto, Kamino... Zygerria. Miraj glanced at Mirana out of the corner of her eye, knowing that she had told her story to the droid. -

Miraj: - Very good. Commander Icarus. We will follow your plan. - She said something annoying. - I refuse to lead my people to war once more, but what you say is not without reason. Currently, we are the only ones who can do something about it. For this reason, from this moment on, all powers, military and administrative, are under your charge. -

The three Oasis members looked at each other and agreed. They knew that Icarus was more than capable of handling this task much better than they were, and they had faith in his strategies. However, the droid's response left them all in shock.

Icarus: - I'm sorry mayor. But I have no intention of taking over the Oasis. -