"Come on sister" said Princess Luna as she raised her lightsaber and dashed forward towards her sister Vaelora. They were currently inside of the training dome that was recently built as part of the renovation of old Hutt Palace which was being transformed into an Imperial Palace.
Vaelora, who was on the other side of the training grounds, smiled as she raised her lightsaber and prepared to defend herself.
Luna's first strike came fast and low, a diagonal slash aimed at Vaelora's left side that most opponents would have stepped back from. Instead, Vaelora stepped towards the attack, letting the blade pass within inches of her ribs, and then redirecting Luna's momentum with a palm strike to the forearm that sent her sister spinning half a step past her.
"You committed too much" Vaelora said.
Luna caught herself and turned around. "I was just testing your reaction time."
"You were testing whether I'd flinch. As you can see, I did not."
"You used to." replied Luna remembering the times when she would flinch at such a quick attack.
"Well, the war has taught me a lot." she replied.
Luna smiled and came at her again, this time with a sequence of three strikes that were designed not to land but to establish a rhythm, to get Vaelora's body to anticipate a pattern. On the fourth strike she broke the rhythm, dropping low and sweeping toward Vaelora's legs.
Vaelora jumped over the attack, then used the force to bring her body back to the ground in an instant and swung her blade in a counterattack that stopped an inch from Luna's throat.
"I'll give that one to you." Luna admitted.
"Father taught me that one." Vaelora lowered her blade and stepped back. "He said the problem with teaching people to defend against patterns is that they start expecting patterns even when there aren't any."
"He taught us differently, you know. The things he showed you weren't always the things he showed me."
"I know." Vaelora deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her side. "I think he tailors it. Teaches each of us according to what we were missing rather than what we already had."
Luna deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her side while the two of them continued talking as they sat down. Outside the sounds of ongoing renovations could be heard.
The old Hutt Palace had been many things over its long history. A monument to excess, a center of criminal enterprise, and a seat of power for beings who understood cruelty as a management philosophy. But now, this place would represent the center of Imperial power for the Outer Rim.
The transformation was visible in every corridor and chamber that had been touched by the renovation crews thus far. The Hutt aesthetic, which had favored bizarre decorations, massive halls and rooms designed to make visitors feel small, and the particular kind of lavish ugliness that showed wealth without any accompanying sense of taste, was being stripped back layer by layer. What remained beneath it was surprisingly workable architecture.
Whoever had originally built the structure of this place, before the Hutts had covered everything in gold plating and the preserved trophies of conquered enemies, had understood structural elegance even if their later occupants had not.
"Do you think about staying?" Luna asked.
Vaelora looked at her. "Here?"
"In the Outer Rim. Father gave us this responsibility, but it was always meant to be temporary. Something to manage until it was stable enough to hand to someone else." Luna looked out through the training dome's high windows toward the construction scaffolding that wrapped the palace's eastern wing. "But I've been here long enough that it doesn't feel temporary anymore."
"The layout of the old capital made no sense for how people actually moved and lived. Everything was oriented toward the Hutt compounds, toward making it easy to bring tribute in and hard to move anything else. So I started changing it."
Vaelora went quiet for a moment, thinking about what her sister said. Outside, a repulsorlift crane swung a section of a prefabricated wall into position along the eastern wing, guided by a crew of mixed species workers who were former slaves turned into functional workers of society.
"Father would say that's the answer to your question," Vaelora said after thinking for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know if you noticed this sister, but you stopped asking whether or not you were staying long ago and started building as if you were staying. The decision made itself while you were busy making other decisions." She looked at her sister. "I noticed the same thing happening to me about four months ago. I stopped thinking of the security arrangements as temporary measures and started thinking about what they needed to look like in twenty years."
Luna nodded at this. Now that she thought about it, Vaelora was spot on. "He knew this would happen, didn't he?"
"Almost certainly." replied Vaelora.
"Is that manipulation or wisdom?"
Vaelora was surprised by the question but did give it some thought. "I think with Father those two things are sometimes the same thing. He doesn't manipulate people toward outcomes they wouldn't choose if they understood the situation fully. He puts people in situations where they can discover what they actually want, which is different." She explained. "It's still a form of manipulation sure. Just a more honest one than most."
Luna nodded slowly. A few minutes later as they continued talking, a knock on the training dome's door got their attention.
"Princess's, the Hutt clan's have arrived. Should I let them in." asked one of the Empyrean Guards outside.
"Yes, let them in." replied Luna as the door opened and in came a five Hutts. These Hutts were the new clans that had risen under the new Imperial era.
From left to right were Vharruun Desilijic-thra Kaal'veth who held the title of Minister of Finance.
Kharzael Besadii'ra Vonn Kethra who held the title Minster of Labor.
Zyrrath Qunaalac'eth Vey'kora Syth who worked with the Intelligence Directorate to establish a strong subdivision within Hutt space.
Dravak Oruba'kai Drathul Vex who gained power by investing in the Arms industry, sparking his rise in wealth and power.
And finally, Sorynth Anjiliac'thora Velmira Qesh who came to power by helping the slaves integrate into society after the collapse of the Hutt power structure.
A/N: The Hutts going forward will only be referred to by their first names and then the families/clans by their last names.
While these Hutt's may appear powerful, in reality they were not. Their businesses were under constant inspection by Imperial inspectors and at any moment they could be executed for any reason.
These 5 Hutt lords that came to see Luna and Vaelora were chosen not because of what they had done, but because they could be controlled and used by the Imperium. The other Hutts saw this and largely disliked them because they could see that they were being used, but what could they do to change things.
"Princess Luna, Princess Vaelora, it's great to see you in good health." Said Vharruun as he bowed his head, not wanting to anger the Empyrean Guards behind him. The other followed suit and did the same.
"Give me a report on the progress of your current tasks." ordered Luna.
Vharruun was the first to go. "The ministry of finance has expanded the expansion of integrating the economy with that of the greater Imperium. The current active Dimensional Gates and Hyperspace Gates have made it easier, and eventually when more are built, the economy will increase by an unmeasurable amount. Pending anything that you want to add, that's all I have."
Luna looked at Vaelora to see if she had anything to add or request, but Vaelora shook her head. So, Luna looked at the next person.
"Princess, the Ministry of Labor has managed to increase the amount of laboror's and decrease unemployment for former slaves by 20% in the past year, leaving 12% still unemployed in total. But with the current way construction projects and the economy is developing, we will see that number decrease to less than 5% within the next year or two." reported Kharzael, the Minster of Labor.
Luna was satisfied with this sharp decrease in unemployment. Most of it was caused by uneducated slaves who still had to go through the basic educational programs that were established to help former slaves learn what the Imperium has established as the basics.
Next up was Zyrrath, who worked with the Intelligence Directorate. "Princess, the Intelligence Directorate has approved the funding needed to establish a new headquarters here which will be an extension of the Directorate itself. To be trusted with something like this is not something I expected considering the circumstances of my species, but I will work my hardest to not betray the trust you have put into me." explained Zyrrath.
"Good, the Emperor has given me permission to do what I want with the Hutt's. I believe your people can find other ways to benefit the Imperium without the need for slavery. However, keep in mind that I am more lenient than the Emperor. Any signs of betrayal or consolidation of power by the Hutt's will result in a pretty bad outcome, far greater than what happened in the war, so keep that in mind." Said Luna. While it may sound like she was trying to scare them, in reality she just subtly told them, 'Hey the next time the Emperor might kill you all'.
Next up was Dravak who was a rising clan in the Arms industrial sector. "Princess, just as you have instructed, I have begun to invest more money to produce weapons for the local security forces. As of now we are short on meeting certain production schedule, but I'm sure given more time, production will increase as we build up the industrial sector."
And last but not least was Sorynth. She was the one that Luna liked the most as she was different from most Hutts and she genuinely cared about people which was a complete opposite of how people saw Hutts. Among the billions of Hutts, there was bound to be a few people who weren't completely power hungry, and Sorynth was one of them.
"Princess, the integration of the former slaves is proceeding very strong. Of course, it will take a few decades or even a generation for things to take off. But generally, things are proceeding well for what we have done so far." explained Sorynth.
She didn't really have much to report because of most of the things she worked with Luna on.
"That's good. Is there anything that you need from me?" Luna asked.
Sorynth shook her head. "No Princess, I am fine. Though we have found more force sensitives and will be sending them to the Palace as instructed."
Luna nodded her head and turned towards Vaelora who actually had something to say. "Since we are all gathered here, I might as well let everybody know that the Emperor and Queen will be coming here within the next few weeks."
The 5 Hutt lords practically collapsed. They had never met the Emperor and had no idea what he would do or what he would think of them. They only have secondhand stories about how brutal the Emperor was in the war and that if he didn't like something he would get rid of it.
Luna was also a little surprised since this was her first time hearing about it. She threw a glance at her sister who already knew what she wanted to ask. "I only learned about this last night when I was talking to Mother. She said it wasn't anything that was decided on yet, but she wanted to come see us. And she said that she would drag father out of the palace for his own good."
Luna smiled hearing this. It was so like her mother doing something like this. She then turned her head and saw the 5 Hutt lords who looked to be turning grey at the news.
"I wouldn't worry too much about the visit. You 5 will probably just introduce yourselves to him and then that's it. Unless he is interested in learning more about you, then you might have a longer conversation with him. But either way, don't do anything foolish and you'll be fine." said Luna.
Vharruun looked to be the most composed of the five, though even he was a little shook up. "Of course, Princess. We will prepare accordingly." He bowed his head again, and the others followed. "Is there anything specific the Emperor prefers or dislikes that we should be made aware of?"
"Don't lie to him," Vaelora said. "About anything. Not even small things. He can tell when you're lying, and he finds dishonesty considerably more offensive than incompetence."
"And don't grovel excessively," Luna added. "He finds it irritating. Treat him with the respect you would show someone who has earned it, not the kind of performance you would put on for someone you're afraid of. Even if you are afraid of him, don't show it."
The 5 Hutt lords nodded, understanding the instructions. This was, by any measure, a more nuanced set of instructions than they had expected to receive about how to survive a meeting with the most powerful being in the known galaxy.