Mirdala Ad'Goran

“And how do you plan to go about ‘cutting off the revenue stream to the Sith’?” Mirdala asked incredulously as she crossed her arms and inclined her head. "The Gambit must be removed from play," Seraph said. "Crippling or destroying her is the only certain way to do that." He tilted his head slightly. "Don't worry, we're not going to murder her patrons. There will be ample chance for them to disembark." Mirdala looked toward Kandor for a moment before addressing their host. “It would no doubt get Quietus’s attention,” she admitted. “But taking down the Sith’s cred bantha won’t be easy. What help do you want from us, specifically?” While Seraph’s plan might bring their target to battlefield she and Kandor had some degree of shaping, there was something about the ship’s destruction being on the table that hinted at a potential for recklessness the two of them would have to weigh against the benefits of joining him. “And what do you get out of depriving the Sith of their cash flow?”

“Safer to assume he’s at least as dangerous as Ab’ki, Fieyr, or Judyc,” she said grimly, accepting the data pad from him. “I don’t think he would have reached out if he didn’t have a back up plan of some sort if we didn’t show or refuse whatever he has to offer. Better to stay cautious.” She synced up the data to her helmet’s read out as she continued to glance through it. Something wasn’t sitting right with her, but she realized it could completely be unrelated to the present situation and more connected to the last few months of being hunted and fighting back against the shadows of her childhood. In hindsight, she’d taken far too much for granted - from blithely trusting Fieyr simply because he was like TeVerd and Carid as a teenager to assuming safety in Coronet City only to be led by a child into the captivity and torture that awaited her at the hands of her father-in-law and even the unrealistic certainty that TeVerd would always be with her once they’d been reunited. It had been a harsh realization to come to, but one lesson that she would take to heart. “It was something Buir would constantly drill into my head. There’s every possibility he’s not that dangerous, but I’m not willing to take that chance.” She handed back the data pad to her husband and checked the readout from the peep-hole camera to resume her watch on the door, checking the chrono in her HUD as she did so. It was 22:58, but there was no sign of approach from either direction. Switching to her newly incorporated penetrating radar, she turned her attention to the suite, noting that, where there had been no one before, there were now three wireframed figures wandering about the interior, and any one of them could be Seraph. “I’m showing three figures in the room. Did you happen to see their approach?”

Mirdala offered him a shrug and placed her palm against the door, closing her eyes. Her focus first turned inward, then breathing deeply she reached out with the Force picturing the data card within the compartment. Her breathing slowed as she tried to bring the card from the slot, doing her best to remember what she’d learned during her training with Kirlocca. For several long minutes, nothing seemed to be happening. Nothing was happening. Frustrated, she placed her other palm against the door and tried again. She could almost see the data card rattling within the compartment, but it didn’t seem apt to budge much further. She let out a discouraged growl and stepped back from the door. Why isn’t this working? she wondered, face hidden beneath her buy’ce. Kandor picked up on her frustration. "It's okay," he said. "There's no rush." “I don’t understand,” she admitted. “I can sense the Force, so there’s no ysalamiri blocking me. I can see the card, but I can’t get it to respond.” She took another breath and paced a bit in front of the door. “I’ve done it before…” "Usually in the middle of battle," he pointed out. She sighed and nodded, realizing that her Force capabilities would need a lot more practice unless she kept relegating them to battle-use. What good was a tool that could only be used under fire? “I’ll keep trying, then.” Once more, she stepped up to the door and did her best to clear her mind of everything but her goal, mixing some of what the late Wookiee Grandmaster had taught her of the Force and what she’d learned about isolating in the empathic stream from TeVerd. This time she opened her awareness further at first, sensing the other beings going about their day further up and down the hall from Seraph’s rented suite. Hotel staff and other guests danced at the edge of her consciousness, but the stillness remained within the suite they were targeting. Slowly and deliberately, Mirdala tightened her focus and maintained her steady breathing as she honed in on the compartment and the data card within. Gently, she began to pull the compartment door open and coaxed the data card back up what appeared to be the room’s mail slot. It fell to the floor as her focus broke for just an instant before she redoubled her efforts and managed to move it toward their door bit by bit. A little less than a minute later and there was a satisfying clunk sound within their own mail slot. Her immediate work done, she sat down on the edge of the room’s bed, momentarily drained from the effort.

“Flirt, is there a vacant room nearby that we could use as a stakeout?” Mirdala asked, already donning her kit. “The room across the hallway and a door down is available,” the positronic droid chirruped in response. “I've just marked it as occupied and transferred access to the two of you.” Mirdala paused as she was rummaging through her go-bag, “Good. That’ll give us a chance to get down there and set up before our meeting. I should be able to get a better read on things once I'm closer to this ‘Seraph.’” --- Several minutes later found the two of them in full gear and in the room Flirt had secured for them. For the moment, it was essentially a stakeout, but instead of establishing direct line of sight which would provide others with the opportunity to observe them in return, they made use of other means. Rooms in this part of the Gambit had small exterior-facing cameras on the doors. High-tech peepholes, they had a small display which would allow occupants to see who was at the door. In addition to this, the two Mando'ade had access to penetrating radar within their buy'cese which would allow them to image the interior of Seraph's room. The system wasn't tuned to provide details which would obscure their vision through their HUDs during combat, but it would at least tell them if anyone was in the room and give them basic structural layouts. For the moment, Seraph was absent as anticipated so Mirdala turned her attention to the room’s set up instead. Initially, there was nothing in particular that drew her attention, but her gut told her there was something there. “Flirt, pull up the schematics for these rooms and patch them through to my display,” she ordered, dialing up the detail on her new penetrating radar. A moment later, and her display lit up with the requested data. “Kandor,” she breathed sharing her read out with him,”Do you see it? There's something odd with that back wall, almost like it's movable or something.” She turned off the penetrating display and reached out with the Force, carefully and probed subtly. “I don't sense any Sith, but they could also be ramped down or hiding in other ways…”

Mirdala closed her eyes for a moment as she thought aloud. “Former CoreSec or maybe someone higher up in the command structure?” She opened her eyes though they were unfocused as though she were trying to see her way through the new information. “Though maybe not. They know about me, but it seems like someone still with the organization with enough autonomy to self-assign would know your current status with the organization. Could we be dealing with a potentially rogue agent?” She shrugged. “I don’t suppose it matters. Either way, I don’t sense any ill intent. At least not directed at us. You know I’ve got your back either way.”

"You don't have to tell me twice," she laughed. "I'm starving." ---- Several days later she was finishing up some work on the Justice with 2277 when he interrupted her. <<”That is the third time in as many days that man has come near the ship. He doesn’t check out as dock crew. Do you suppose he wants something?”>> Mirdala looked up from her data and met the droid’s photoreceptors briefly before looking past him to the monitor where, sure enough, there was a human male of about average height and build not so subtly eyeing the ship as though slightly hesitant to approach it. “Scan him,” she ordered, grabbing her holdout blaster. <<”Already done as soon as he approached,>> Twenty-two remarked. <<He doesn’t appear to be armed and has yet to attempt anything with the ship.”>> Mirdala nodded once to the droid and moved toward the boarding ramp. “We’ve got a visitor,” she relayed to her husband via their encrypted implant channel as she activated the door. “Think I’ll go see what he wants.” She received his acknowledgment as she linked him into the conversation via her implant channel. “Can I help you with something?” she asked with her hand poised with deceptive casualness over the sidearm in its holster at her hip. The man took a step back, apparently not expecting to encounter someone other than the ship’s registered owner. “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong ship,” he began to turn and walk away. “You were looking for the Justice, were you not?” she called after him. “It’s rather an unmistakable vessel being of Mandalorian make and all. Not the person you expected to run into, is that it?” Part of the discussion between her and Kandor the last few days had led to the decision that neither of them was going to go to any great lengths to keep their association hidden. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t been shy about greeting their guest. Slowly he turned and seemed to be weighing something in his mind as he sized her up, but said nothing as he approached the ramp, apparently making up his mind. “You work for ShadowFett?” He reached into slowly his coat pocket, not missing how Mirdala’s right hand went immediately to her blaster. “If you have something for him, I’ll see that he gets it,” she promised, holding out her left hand. Twenty-Two had already scanned the man, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t potentially be carrying something dangerous that wouldn’t show up on a scan. “I was told to give it to him only.” Something was clenched in the man’s fist now. “I’m on his ship. I’m still breathing,” Mirdala responded. “Also, you’ve been here the last three days and have done little more than skulk about the ship. You are hoping not to run into him.” Once more he seemed to be weighing his options. Finally, he came forward a bit before holding his hand open to reveal a data chip. “You’ll see that he gets this then?” “You have my word he’ll get it,” she confirmed snatching the chip and heading back up the ramp before he could change his mind. They watched each other as the ramp closed, encasing her within the ship once more. --- “It’s encrypted to you,” Mirdala remarked, handing Kandor the data chip as she shucked her jacket upon her return to their hotel room. “Figured that it would be easier to bring it here than waste time on hacking it. It’s not like we have secrets from one another." She leaned forward to kiss him. "How did you sleep?”

"Su'cuy Cyar'ika," she responded via the same channel, hiding her amusement at his observation by picking up a trinket from a table and looking it over before putting it back where she'd found it. "We got on long enough to get her plugged into a portal in our room. She's making new friends with the various ship's systems as we speak. How about you? Scare up anything interesting?"

After securing a room in one of the more modestly priced hotels on the Gambit, Mirdala had found a place to plug Flirt in and rearranged the chair in the room slightly to hide the droid further. The front desk had originally balked at the idea of Vi’ika staying but backed off when Mirdala pointed out the vest and flashed her old military ID that still bore her old alias, that only Fett and his incredibly detailed networks had been able to link to her - Ca’tra Dar’manda. Vi’ika began to pace the room as though checking it out for her liking before she settled at the foot of the bed and watched as Mirdala unpacked the cases that she’d brought from the Justice. One held her own suit of beskar’gam the others held civilian clothing for herself and Kandor and she’d brought the empty case for his, though she doubted he’d be out of it much. Securing the datapad that provided an uplink to the Justice’s systems and 2277’s databanks, she stretched her neck from where she’d been reading through what data 2277 had on the Gambit while she waited for the two hours to nearly lapse before her meeting with Kandor. So far she had most of the immediate area’s layout committed to memory and would continue to look through the construction and engineering data for clues as to their target’s location. There was something here, she could sense it in her gut. What it is and where it might lead them, she could only guess. With a brief, shrill whistle, she rose and headed for the door, Vi’ika close at her heels. Mirdala only paused long enough to toggle the “Do not disturb” indicator on the door before leaving their hotel and heading for the mid-level marketing area. They were almost to the elevator that would take them there when a voice called out, “Excuse me, ma’am? You’ll need to leash your animal for safety.” Mirdala turned to face the crewman, likely security from the looks of the uniform and the loadout at his waist. “Of course, how silly of me,” she shook her head as she reached into the satchel at her hip and took out the leash she’d gotten when Vi’ika had first been given to her but had never actually used it with the sandhound. “Can you tell me Mr…” “Rhyden. Officer Rhyden.” “Officer Rhyden,” she corrected sweetly as she scratched Vi’ika adoringly along the scruff of her neck. “Could you please tell me where this elevator would take me? I’ve only just arrived and it’s such a large ship. So easy to get lost especially by myself.” He looked at her then at Vi’ika and sighed, apparently quite used to having to play tour guide. “These go directly to the mid-decks where you can find most of the shopping, restaurants, and a variety of gaming establishments.” “Any you’d recommend? Who’s got the best odds?” She studied him, though the manner she employed was more akin to flirtation and appraisal rather than taking stock of what likely constituted a typical load out of the security staff, on this level at least. He gave a short laugh and scratched the back of his head. “Depends on the game, ma’am. As far as eateries go, I hear there’s a nice Mandalorian place or something that recently opened up. Seems to be popular these days.” Mirdala wrinkled her nose. “Tried that once...far too spicy for my tastes.” “Then I’d recommend Planetoid Buffet. Can’t really go wrong with their variety and they tend to mark the spicy stuff.” “Think you could show me the way?” She offered coyly. “Afraid I’m not able to leave my post ma’am,” he responded politely. “However if you take these elevators up and turn left down the main walkway, you’ll eventually run into it. Have a good evening.” Mirdala nodded, having expected as much regarding his ability to accompany her. Not that she really needed it, she had access to Kandor, 2277, and Flirt, so she could easily find her way back if she got lost for some strange reason. “Come on, girl,” she called to Vi’ika, “Let’s see what fun we can find in the upper levels.”

Several minutes later, Mirdala emerged from the Justice dressed in some of the raiment worthy of the upper class of some Core World or another, courtesy of the wardrobe that Daren had left them during their stay at the resort on Borleias. She'd selected an outfit that allowed her to wear her discrete beskar plates beneath the fabric. Vi'ika was at her side, wearing a service harness, though this time with all of the ammo packs and other battle gear removed. Flirt was clipped into a pouch at her hip since Mirdala's mission was less direct than her husband's. All she needed was a place to hide the droid and a socket to plug in the quirky slicer to be left alone to her work. The Mandalorian woman had already had to threaten the droid once when it had mentioned the little girl Mirdala and Kandor had nearly adopted on Borleias, so things were off to their typical working arrangement. Flirt offering her unsolicited advice and Mirdala offering the usual reprogramming. It hadn't been hard to disappear into the crowds once she stepped into the more common decks of the ship. Immediately she felt a degree of disorientation from all of the smells, sights, and sounds contained within the ship. Sure she'd lived on Coruscant for a while, but at least all of those things had somewhere to go, here they were trapped within their pleasant guided shell of a ship. The good news is that so many people coming and going would make it easier to keep her activities unnoticed. Definately bigger than where you took me on Borleias, she relayed through their shared implant channel. I'm going to check in to one of the more modest rooms in the lower decks, which should give us a secure rally point and a place for Flirt to continue to work, undisturbed. Meet you in two hours in the shopping area mid-ship?

“So he’s not quite as predictable as the other dar’jetiise we’ve encountered together.” She frowned weighing their options. Not being able to gauge how a target would react made it difficult to move in anticipation of them to close the trap. “I’ve still got those discrete plates, so I wouldn’t be wholly unprotected. I still think keeping a low profile initially to give Flirt some time to work would be prudent. We might lose our edge if we go in full beskar’gam as we set up shop. Maybe even take it in rotations?” He could tell from her tone that she was thinking out loud, now as almost immediately she dismissed the idea. “You’re still largely believed to work solo, right? Two Mandos showing up in the same time frame on the Gambit might lead to suspicion...or it might not considering our people’s reputations. I’m not nearly as known by my armor as you are. Interestingly enough it’s my face most would recognize.” She glanced back at him as Vi’ika gave a short bark from where she was lying near the corridor to the cabins. “You’ll not get left behind again, though I don’t know if the Gambit’s policies prohibit animals or not.” Then an idea struck her. “You don’t think my status as Constable might get us anywhere on this mission, would it?” Now Fett frowned. "What do you have in mind?" “This place is supposed to be mostly legit, right? As in most people don’t know that it’s owned by a Sith Master. Maybe I could canvas as a constable and potentially get some of the crew to cooperate, or at least get in with them. Might make things easier. We’ve got a description of him, right?” He shrugged. "If you can find someone that recognizes the authority of the Journeyman Protectors," he said. "Outside of the Sector and certain other worlds I wouldn't expect much. Might be worth a shot though." Mirdala laughed. “I’ve found if you flash an official-enough looking badge and project authority, it usually takes people a bit longer to catch on. Besides, it’s a casino ship, no telling what leads and connections we might find.” Fett nodded. "Reasonable plan. Get in, poke around for leads and see what happens. The usual beroya bit." “And hope we don’t knock over the red jacket’s nest in the process,” she countered before heading into the cockpit.

This thing is certainly built for destruction, Mirdala mused as she fussed with some of the connections feeding into her datapad where she was reviewing the droid’s actions during the Battle of Keldabe. “There’s certainly enough here to work with, though I don’t think I’d want to completely overwrite his initial personality matrix. Maybe box it in a bit so it’s dormant. Could come a time when we want to unleash a one-droid demolition squad. Ahzinger knows his weaponry, I’ll give him that.” She disconnected the datapad and considered the tangential information her husband relayed to her. Was she actually ready to go Sith-hunting again? There was no personal connection this time like there had been with Ariyan when he’d given into his darker impulses as Darth Ares. She certainly felt like she was on more solid ground emotionally than she’d been in the quicksand of events following her ordeal with the slavers and all that had followed. The fact that he was even offering an alternate option made her feel more at ease about the whole thing. The image of Ab’ki pouring lightening into Kandor in the crystal caves of Shogun flashed through her mind before she could brush it aside. From practically the onset if their marriage they’d been fighting against some great evil or another. They hadn’t even been able to escape it on Borleias. Granted, it was a large part of who they both were, but did that mean it was wise to barrel headlong into the next great enemy so soon? She needed more information. “What else is there? Take a contract? Red Dawn holds no appeal for me. I’m free to move about with my Constable commission since I’m not officially attached to any particular JP jurisdiction. I didn’t figure you’d want to go back to CoreSec anyway.”

Rhys had already left for the spaceport and to head home to his own family having fulfilled his elder brother responsibility to ensure that she was doing as okay as she claimed. There was something of an adjustment to be had when across the galaxy a family that had been fighting a shadow war for a good deal of their lives suddenly found themselves without that enemy. That wasn't to say that things were entirely safe, for various reasons they'd remain hidden and living much as they had been, accepting work across the worlds and leading their own lives. It was time for Mirdala to find her own footing and do the same. Mirdala raised her eyebrow at the droid as it approached with Kandor. "Taking in strays?" She rose and circled the droid, finally taking the time to get a close look at its makeup and buildout. "Could be useful enough I guess. We really do need to find you some friends other than droids though," she teased, as she donned her helmet and nodded her head toward the door. "Think we can head out of here? Anything that we need to attend to from ops?"

Mirdala removed her helmet and knelt down to meet Vi’ika as the massive black furred sandhound trotted out to meet her. She could feel all three of them probing her - Rhys, Vy’ika, and Vi’ika - through their shared empathic bond. The hound licked her face happily, as glad to be reunited with Mirdala as the Mandalorian woman was to have her other hunt-partner back. “I’m sorry we couldn’t take you.” Mirdala pulled Vi’ika’s head close to hers and rested her forehead there for a moment before she rose to her feet. “Hopefully you didn’t give them too much trouble.” “Only the headaches, Vod’ika.” Vy’ika accented the remark by holding his hand to his forehead. “Haven’t you two learned how to take a break and keep a low profile yet? Doesn’t usually involve shooting up places. You should try it some time.” “That’s not fair and you know it, Vy’ika,” Mirdala cut back as she rose and faced her older brother, crossing her arms across her chest as the other familiar face stepped out from the interior of the tapcaf. “Hey, Rhys.” “Hey,” Vy’ika countered. “You didn’t have to get involved.” “You’ve met Kandor, right?” She raised her eyebrow at him. “Not even together a minute and already you two have started in on each other,” Rhys lamented, though with a smile on his face. “Come on in and we can fill you in over some skraan.” Fett moved into the Oyu’baat, clapping Vy’ika on the shoulder. “Remember Iridonia? These last guys on Borleias deserved it just as much.” The Omicron laughed and returned the gesture, and Mirdala could tell from the way he glanced over his shoulder at her and Vi’ika that he was remembering how she’d damn near single-handedly handled the patronage of some dive when one of them had gotten too handsy with her. “I think we’d worry more if there wasn’t something exploding or getting shot at in your wake, vod. Didn’t manage to get yourself exiled from this one did you?” “It’ll have to wait until next time we’re there,” he retorted as they found a table. Mirdala rolled her eyes. “We only get exiled from the places we don’t have any inclination to ever return to. I’m still working on Tatooine, but due to lack of cohesive government...and other factors...I seriously doubt I’ll ever get that wish.” She looked up at Kandor, apologetically for a moment, not having meant to nearly reveal the planet where the powers of Moon Knight resided. He looked thoroughly unconcerned at the near slip. “The Clade’s arrangement with TeVerd hasn’t ended just because he’s passed,” Rhys countered, misinterpreting what he’d sensed within their empathic bond. “It’s up to you if you want to walk that road, but I do worry about you spreading yourself too thin.” Mirdala shrugged and sat back as their food found its way to the table. “I’m fine or at least getting there. I’m glad that Kandor convinced me it was a good idea to take a break away from the sector for a bit.” Vy’ika snorted, “You shouldn’t need reminding or convincing.” “And just what is that supposed to mean, Verdeyuii?” Mirdala asked cooly, putting down her fork and resting her chin in her hand. There was no mistaking the narrowing of her eyes. Beside her, Rhys settled back and exchanged glances with Kandor, who crossed his arms. “Nothing. Simply what I said,” he shrugged. Mirdala could feel him at the edges of her consciousness, probing her empathically. “You do realize that one of the main reasons I’m not a broken mess right now is because he’s been there to help me through all of this osik, right? Get protective all you want Verdeyuii. I’m a grown woman and an Mando’ad at that. I don’t have to answer to you.” Vy’ika’s dark eyes shifted from her to Kandor. “I’d listen to her, vod,” Fett said flatly. “Not a battle worth fighting.” Vy’ika said nothing, but drained his glass and left the table without further retort, Cinva on his heels. Mirdala rose, but Rhys placed a hand on her shoulder as the white sandhound disappeared around the corner. “Let him go.” Mirdala shook her head. “He’s not taking things well, is he? I mean sure he usually needles, but he seemed to genuinely be wanting a fight.” Rhys sighed. “Not really. I don’t think he expected you to be as even keel after buir died. Not that it’s a bad thing, Mird’ika.” He cast a grateful glance Kandor’s way. “He’s lost and hasn’t really handled loss all that well since his wife passed. And you know what TeVerd meant to him. He just needs time.” Mirdala nodded, opting to change the subject. “So how have things been in the sector? The city seems to be on the road to recovery.”

As the Justice re-entered the Mandalore System from hyperspace, Mirdala emerged from the back of the ship and joined her husband in the cockpit as he reconfigured their trajectory to land them in Keldabe. “Vy’ika said that he and Rhys would be meeting us at the Oyu’baat with Vi’ika. Apparently, she’s been giving him fits,” she remarked as she looked back at Kandor, the soul-weariness not quite having lifted. For most of the last few hours, she'd been in other parts of the ship going over ship's stocks and systems since it'd been a bit since they'd resupplied between their more recent trips. For the minutes it took the ship to travel the distance to the planet below, Mirdala closed her eyes as she reached out to reassure her empathically bonded hunt-partner that she was okay or was at least still healing. Making progress, at least, she mused. There was still the vast unknown that lay before her now that Ab’ki’s threat against her family and her home had been neutralized. As much as that unsettled her as she looked out over the assembled Mandalorian fleet, all it took was a sideways glance to her left to know that things would find their way. The Tra’kad-class vessel set down on the dusty surface of the rebuilding Keldabe spaceport with its usual clunk-hiss as the struts made contact with the planet’s surface. The Mandalorian people had come a long way in the two weeks that Kandor and Mirdala had been off-world, a testament to the resilience and (as some would argue) inherent stubbornness of their people. Rising from her seat, she reached over and carefully undid the seal on his buy’ce and sat it on the seat that she’d just vacated. Before he could rise to join her, Mirdala took advantage of the fact he wouldn’t have to bend down to meet her lips and kissed him deeply. Drawing back after several moments, she rested her forehead on his just grateful that the war hadn’t claimed his life as it had so many others. “We’ll figure all of this out at some point. I’m just glad you’re with me while I do. It makes it...easier somehow. Even though you don’t always understand, you try and I thank you for that.” Her lips brushed his again briefly and she grabbed her own helmet and tucked it under her arm. “Now let’s go see find out how the rest of the family is faring.”

Another twist of the knife in her heart. Mirdala didn’t immediately reach for the stuffed toy as her husband held it out to her, pain and emotion that she’d just managed to shut away springing unexpectedly from their neat little containers in the corner of her mind where they’d been kicked. Part of her wanted to leave the ronto behind as much as she wanted to leave behind the piece of herself that was struggling to let go of the little girl who’d so wonderfully and unexpectedly disrupted their lives for a few days. Some of that part of her was still angry about the situation and she nearly asked what the point was and even thought of merely taking the toy only to toss it onto the couch behind him and leave it for the next guest or to languish in a lost and found somewhere. She wished she could turn herself off as easily as her husband seemed to and put some distance between all of the pain for even a little while. Kandor’s mindset was one of forward movement and he was extraordinarily good at compartmentalizing. However, his offering Aerri’s toy only highlighted that there was some sort of departure from his usually logical nature that indicted the little girl had left a deeper mark on him than even his words had expressed earlier. Mirdala remembered that she had been another one of those departures for him. As little sense as it made to her to keep the toy, she knew she wanted to even if it became another scar she bore. They’d all managed to adjust and even had just seemed to be finding a sense of what their version of normal could look like before the call that took Aerri from them. The ronto was an indication that adoption could work for her and Kandor; they now had a better picture of what their lives would look like and what they’d need to prepare for the next time they took that step for real. All of this ran through her nimble mind in mere seconds, before she extended her hand and accepted the ronto as a kind of unspoken promise between the two of them. They would make this work. It might not be soon, but they would be buire one day. She stepped closer to him and rested her helmet against his with the stuffed ronto tucked under one arm and felt peace settle into her heart.

“Let’s try that one again,” Mirdala called, using the Force to roll the dummy grenade back toward Kandor when none of the other patrons appeared to be looking. “I think I’m starting to get it calibrated in.” By now most of the novelty of two Mandalorians showing up in full battle kit had worn off among the sparsely populated range staff and patrons. They’d already sighted in and calibrated the various blasters and rifles they’d brought with them, getting in several rounds of marksmanship practice despite Mirdala occasionally shooting his target playfully instead of hers. All that was left was testing the new and repaired gear on their respective kits. Her goal was to get both wrist repulsor calibrated so she could adequately and predictably control their deflection as much as she could control it with the Force. The whole purpose of integrating the tech into her right gauntlet was so that she could still have some measure of what the Force made her capable of while she could also operate inside a Force-less bubble. Ab’ki’s fight had taught her the value of being able to have as many tricks as possible against a Sith because she never knew which one could be the one that saved her life or the life of someone she loved. One of the trickier things about hunting a Sith was keeping her own Force abilities as under wraps as possible as an unexpected ace up her sleeve. Luckily her empathic abilities made that relatively easy since she was able to slip in and out of the general background of the Force more or less at will, or even flaring just enough to attract attention if she wanted it and even full-on static disruption against a target when she needed it. Her husband nodded and threw the grenade at his wife again, this time she was able to amp up the power and tighten the beam enough to “toss” it nearly all the way back to him. ”A few more like that, and I think we’ll be good,” she transmitted via their comm channels.

“Sounds good to me. This whole thing has left me feeling restless again,” she admitted, heading for the bedroom where her new vac-sealed suit had been tucked away in the closet the night before. “Even if we don’t leave Borleias yet, I’d rather stay on the Justice. No sense in getting too comfortable here.” It didn’t take too much longer than usual to get everything on, though the extra weight at her wrists would take some getting used to as would the penetrating radar that had been installed. Figuring there was no time like the present to start adjusting things, Mirdala encased herself within her beskar’gam and began running through a few stances to check how everything moved with the new improvements. Behind the mask of her buy’ce, Mirdala found solace in the weight and strength of the armor. The tears that she’d been fighting since Aerri’s had had parted from hers, flowed freely, hidden beneath the crimson, black, and grey of her buy’ce. Letting the little girl go had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, Seeker trials and TeVerd’s death included. It’s stupid, she chided herself, unconvincingly as she switched to a different fighting stance and continued her movements. Kandor had been the one to even warm her to the idea of being buire, then Judyc had stolen the possibility from them even as she’d finally embraced the idea of creating a family with Kandor. Unexpectedly a little girl had fallen into their laps, but Kandor’s moral compass had proved correct and, though they’d gotten a few brief days to see what being buire would be like, Aerri had ultimately been returned to her family as promised. Throwing punches at thin air was becoming increasingly unsatisfying, so she halted the movement and returned to the suite’s living area. “Moves okay,” the slight quaver to her voice mostly masked by the voice amp’s projection. “Find a place?”

Mirdala headed straight for the balcony as soon as they entered their suite, not even bothering to shut the sliding door behind her. She’d tried to find some level of calmness amid the emotions that swept through her, but even resting against her husband the entire ride back didn’t provide the usual grounding effect. She was tired of losing, and she was still kicking herself for not letting go of hope with Aerri. << What will become of you if your nightmares come true? If the galaxy starts to cave in around you?>> Kirlocca’s warning and wisdom came flooding back to her amid the turbulence of her own thoughts and feelings. <> But what am I supposed to do when every time I find a measure of serenity, some greater force decides to change the game on me? She sighed, gripping the safety railing and looked out over the rest of the city toward the direction of the precinct, allowing the sounds of the metropolis to fill in the auditory absence left by the child they’d invited into their lives for a short while. Tentatively, she reached out to the Force looking to connect and find some measure of center and grounding. She could sense the good and the healing that her and Kandor’s actions had begun as those involved in 39 connected cases started to find their own measures of peace in the closure of those case files. They had that potential to continue to bring more peace to the galaxy and right many of the wrongs beings did to one another through the organization Kandor wanted to found. The only way that could happen was if they could get enough credits together to found it. Keep moving forward. Finally, she broke her silence as she turned and strode back into the suite, saying the first words to Kandor since she’d asked for clarification about the use of “politically sensitive” regarding Aerri’s new guardians. “I’m going to get everything on and double check the calibration. Think we can find a place to run a few field tests and recalibrate the new gear?”

“Ad’ike are certainly an adjustment,” Mirdala admitted, still projecting a confident acceptance of the situation that she didn’t feel. “Could we have a moment to say goodbye to her? I feel we’ve all gotten to be close friends over the last few days.” Elias looked at Trissa, apparently eager to be on his way, but ultimately nodded and escorted his wife a short distance away, leaving Aerri with the 9E-series droid. “Come here, Aerr’ika,” Mirdala began as she knelt down and held her arms open for the girl. “I know it can be scary without your mommy or daddy. It was for me and I was much older than you when my parents went marching far away. I had family that took me in, just like you do now.” She hugged the little girl close, before taking the child’s hands and resting her forehead against hers. “Your aunt and uncle love you and will take good care of you just like your mommy and daddy did. I’m not saying you won’t have to get used to one another. You are strong and brave and you got used to two people who are very different from you in just a short while. You are safe. Remember that.” Aerri nodded against her forehead and repeated. “I am safe and they love me just like mommy and daddy do. I have Nan-e-e to keep me safe too.” Kandor knelt beside them and tousled Aerri’s braids. “You’ll be okay, ad’ika,” he reinforced. “Nan-e-e will keep you safe from the bad guys like we did.” The little girl pulled her hands from Mirdala’s and threw her arms around Kandor’s neck, hugging him back before dashing back to her nanny droid. The pair made their way over to Aerri’s new guardians and the four of them disappeared down the hallway. Mirdala, however, did not watch them go, having turned slightly away as she continued to battle her emotions against her need to project a calm and professional demeanor. ”I don’t like this. I really don’t,” she transmitted to her husband. ”I’m still not sure we’re doing the right thing.”

Mirdala was searching through Aerri’s “nest” that she’d made in the back of the closet with some of the spare blankets and pillows when she finally located the maglock calibrator she’d been looking for. Shaking her head, she began to fold the remnants of their earlier game, placing the items back on the appropriate shelves when her com chirped. Expecting a check-in from Rhys, she answered without looking, “Su’cuy, Ori’vod,” ”Sorry Constable, I don’t speak your language,” Mr. Saresar’s voice responded. Mirdala’s heart sank for a moment before she responded. “Forgive me, I was expecting a call from someone else. Things are going well with Aerri. I don’t think we forgot about any check-ins, did we?” ”No. You both have more than upheld your end of things. I’m actually calling to report that we’ve found Aerri’s rightful guardians.” She walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, grateful that she’d shut the door when she’d started looking for the tool in their weapon’s cases. “‘Rightful guardians’?” she echoed in a measured voice. “So her parents are dead then? You’re certain?” ”Yes, Constable. I can provide you more details when you bring her to the station. They’ll be here in the morning. Please see to it she’s ready.” Mirdala didn’t even bother acknowledging him before she shut off the connection. For several minutes she sat staring at the wall. She’d always known this was the most likely outcome of the arrangement they’d made with the local officials. Even if someone hadn’t turned up for her, a permanent foster placement position would have opened up and they would have had to give up Aerri then. Still, she hadn’t expected it to be so soon, or so abrupt. She’d wanted more time to prove to Kandor that this could work and hopefully he’d come around to adopting the girl. In an instant, with a single comm call, the sliver of hope she’d clung to evaporated. Not one to break a promise, she sighed and rose from the bed, just as an audible clunk followed by a giggle came from the other room. “I found it,” she quietly announced, as she watched Aerri bounce around the room. Her jaw clenched slightly, before she added, “I see you decided to let her try on a bucket.” Somehow seeing Aerri running around their hotel suite in her buy’ce made the news she was about to deliver that much harder. “Boo shay! Boo shay!” Aerri repeated the word over and over as though it were a new and exciting game. Mirdala looked over at Kandor, an eyebrow raised. Kandor hadn’t looked up from the gauntlet. “Have to start her early if she’s going--” he began absently before he caught himself. He looked up at her. “Something wrong?” “Yes...and no,” she began, switching to Mando’a as she sat next to Kandor on the sofa. “They’ve tracked down her ‘rightful guardians’,” she changed the pronunciation on the last two words to closely mimic the social worker’s tonality and speech cadence, though the words remained Mando’a. “Her real parents are dead, Kandor.” She wanted to add that they would have been right in adopting her nearly a week ago. She wanted to say they should fight for her. She wanted to pretend the last five minutes hadn’t happened. Instead, she remained quiet as Aerri bounced off of another wall and took off the helmet, giggling. The little girl had picked up on the shift in her mood and was now bringing Mirdala’s helmet back to her. “I didn’t break it! It’s strong! See?” Mirdala offered the girl a sad smile, placing the offered helmet on the floor and holding her arms out for Aerri. The child eagerly crawled into Mirdala’s lap as the woman announced, “I think it’ll take more than a few run-ins with the furniture and some walls to break it, cyar’ika.” “Are you okay?” Aerri asked, looking at Kandor for reassurance, as Mirdala held her closely. Fett smiled at the girl. “We found your family,” he answered, utterly unsure how he might explain that her parents wouldn’t be among them. “My mommy and daddy?!” Mirdala took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “Not quite I’m afraid. I-,” she broke off. “Do you remember how we talked about the bad men that took you?” Aerri’s posture changed slightly and she began to hold on to Mirdala just as tightly. She nodded. “The bad men took you from your parents, but we saved you and you’re safe here with us,” Mirdala gently reminded the girl in her arms as she rubbed her back soothingly like she had the last few nights when Aerri had woken them both with her nightmares. Rhys had suggested talking with Aerri through the nightmares and going over things as many times as the girl brought it up in order to help her make sense of the feelings and always reassuring her that she was safe. It had helped console the girl when nothing else would and Mirdala was grateful for his insight. She should remain here safe with us, Mirdala thought even as the girl repeated the last few words. “Mommy and daddy...weren’t safe?” the girl asked. “We don’t know,” Mirdala answered honestly. “We’ll find out tomorrow though.” Aerri’s face scrunched up and she wriggled from Mirdala’s lap and ran for her stuffed Ronto. “He’s going to find his mommy and daddy,” she announced loudly and ran into the bedroom. Mirdala leaned forward, resting her head in her hands, “Well that went well…”

Mirdala shook her head and helped him with some of the printouts, “Not at all, I can’t blame you for being curious. The fact he had to describe himself over the comms in the middle of a firefight so he wouldn’t get shot is pretty telling.” She smiled, surprised that she was okay with opening up like this. Then again, Izak had been a former team member, her second, in fact. Even if she’d learned through her missions with her brothers that you didn’t always have to trust a teammate beyond their ability to act professionally, it didn’t mean it would hurt to continue some friendships, especially the ones in CoreSec...or the GA… It made her head spin. “I’ve got a question for you. Is it CoreSec? GA? What now?” Izak laughed. “I don’t think we’ve gotten the memo on that. Most of us just still go with CoreSec, though there’s been a few others tossed about - Galactic Alliance Law Enforcement, Galactipol, Allied Law Enforcement - you know whatever fun acronyms or quippy-sounding names the bureaucrats come up with.” “Yeah, I know what you mean. That’s why I went back to the Journeyman Protectors. Less bureaucracy and more getting things done.” “I’m sorry about the delay,” he began, loading up the last box. “We wouldn’t have gone in if it wasn’t something we could have handled ourselves. The two of us usually find a way. After taking down a Sith-led invasion force, a bunch of ill-prepared goons was hardly that much trouble.” “I wouldn’t expect so,” Izak intoned. “Thank you for your help, let me know if you piece together anything else that we can use to build a case. I’ll keep pulling at the thread from my end and see what unravels. Tell your husband I said ‘hi’ and that it was nice to finally meet him face to face.” Mirdala offered a wave as she ducked out of the room, “Will do!” ---------- It didn’t take her long to traverse the few blocks to the park on foot. The warm afternoon air was pleasant as a slight breeze blew toward her, carrying with it the scents and sounds of the park as she rounded the corner. It was something she’d missed the last few days since she and Kandor hadn’t been out for the run that had become part of their daily routine. She and Kandor would have to devise a way to take Aerri out on their morning runs or alternative forms of exercise that they could include her in. It was odd to suddenly remember that they were caring for a child and would have to continually make accommodations for her well-being. Still, if they were to be buire one day, it would have to be something to consider and plan for. Kandor wasn’t hard to spot seated on a bench as far as he possibly could be from a rather sour-looking woman, or maybe she was just horribly bored, Mirdala couldn’t be sure. “Hey, cyar’ika, everything okay? Twenty-two mentioned some unwanted attention earlier?” she asked in Mando’a with a meaningful glance toward the woman who’d turned to appraise her. Switching back to Basic, “May I help you with something?” The woman looked taken aback. “I’d just assumed you’d made the whole thing up to keep from talking to me.” Mirdala raised her eyebrow as the woman gathered her bag and scurried off, red-faced. “Sounds like you had an eventful day,” she remarked with a quick kiss on his cheek before she took the seat next to him and turned her gaze toward Aerri. “Has she done okay?”

“So...you and the Captian, huh?” Izak remarked casually as he and Mirdala were sifting through data pads. “Yup,” she answered without looking up from the credit trail she was chasing amidst all of the severely disorganized files. “You know, for once it’d be nice if the criminals actually kept decent records.” “So he’s got a face, a wife, and a name…” The GA Sargent shook his head in disbelief, not taking the hint to drop the subject. “I don’t think any of us ever expected that development.” “Which one?” Mirdala remarked, putting down the datapad and looking him in the eye. “He’s no different from you or I. We’re a bit more guarded, perhaps, but no different than any other couple and he’s no different than any other man.” That wasn’t entirely accurate - only one man was Moon Knight and only one man possessed Kandor’s drive and skill set, but that was a nuance that had little place in the conversation. “I was sorry to hear about the war in your home sector.” “It happens from time to time. We bounce back.” He shifted another stack of data pads from some of the other unsolved cases they were trying to link to this trafficking ring before asking, “What brought you two to Borleias?” “Did you call me in to assist with data sifting or to interrogate me, Sargent?” Mirdala asked sweetly enough, but the GA lawman had worked with her enough to know not to take it at face value. He held up his hands in mock surrender, “Just making small talk, Constable.” “And I’m just trying to concentrate,” she responded calmly and shifted her attention to the data slate she’d been using for her notes. <<If I could be of some assistance, Mistress Ad’Goran?>> 2277 transmitted via her implant channel. The sudden voice in her head that wasn’t Kandor’s made her jump. “Damn creepy droid,” she muttered under her breath. Was he always monitoring them? “You alright over there?” Izak looked back up at her obviously having seen the start. Mirdala waved him off. “Nothing, just a resource chattering in my ear unexpectedly.” <<I did not mean to startle you.>> ”It’s fine, Twenty-Two. If you want to sift through this with me, I’m not going to stop you,” She transmitted back. <<Your read-through speed would be less efficient than simply parsing and cross-marking my copy of the data.>> Of course Kandor snagged his own copy, Mirdala thought to herself. “By all means. Keep me informed,” she said aloud, touching her hand to her ear as though she had an ear comm in. <<This task will have my full focus while Master Fett attempts to fend off unwanted attention of his own.>> “What do you mean by that?” She sat down the datapad wondering what trouble Kandor might have found himself in with Aerri. <<It would seem the disproportionate species female to male ratio in the park is gaining him some notoriety among the females.>> “So nothing he can’t handle, then?” Mirdala didn’t bother to stop the spread of the mischievous smile across her face as she turned back to her notes.

Holy cow guys! This is brilliant! I could actually see something like this for the other factions as well especially if we get an influx of new RPers. Well done!

“I’m from Shogun,” Mirdala clarified, “but I’m a Mandalorian because I’m from the same sector as Kandor and we share the same culture,” Mirdala answered, bringing in some buttered toast and fruit jam for Aerri. ”I’ve got another idea Kandor.” She held out her hand for Aerri as she made her way to the balcony and sat the plate on the table as the little girl scrambled up onto the chair. “Tell me more about your home. What did it look like? Was it high up like we are here? Or was there lots of room to run and play outside?” “Both,” the girl managed between bites. “It’s fun to hide in the flowers. Nan-e-e always finds me though.” “What about your parents?” Kandor asked as he came over to join them. “Do they play with you and come find you?” “Sometimes. Mirdala misses her parents. Do you miss yours?” She sure knew how to ask the tough questions. Kandor scratched the back of his neck. “My father was a bad guy,” he simplified. “His name was Judyc. Do you remember your parents’ names?” Aerri nodded, then stuffed her mouth full of bread and jam. “Slow down, ad’ika,” Mirdala admonished, worried that the girl was going to choke herself. “Small bites.” The girl nodded again as she chewed her food, then proceeded to take the smallest bite possible. Mirdala didn’t seem to notice, however, and asked the question again. “What did everyone else call your mommy and daddy?” “My-Lord and My-Lady.” Aerri had likely been a play at a ransom of some sort by the traffickers or whoever else they’d gotten mixed up with, Mirdala realized. That meant that it was it was only a matter of time before the GA tracked down the girl’s parents or someone came forward to claim her. Strangely, the thought did little to set her mind at ease. Probably has more to do with my experience with the Sivaaras than anything else, she reasoned. “Well, at least we have a few more pieces, however vague they are,” she replied to Kandor in Mando’a. Before he could reply her comm beeped. “It’s Izak,” she remarked, rising to take the call back inside the suite.

Aerri hadn’t eaten much of the fish or vegetables but had eaten most of the flatbread Mirdala had made to go with the meal and his wife had been more than content to let the girl eat her fill of whatever she chose. Indeed, the child fell asleep with some of the bread still in her hand, beyond tired from whatever she’d been put through. Mirdala rose and scooped the sound asleep girl up in her arms and carried her toward the bedroom. The cot was already set up so she tucked in the girl alongside the stuffed ronto someone at the station had given the child. Aerri stirred slightly but then settled deeper beneath the blanket. Mirdala smiled down at the little girl, then rose and closed the door partially behind her. “I’m not sure what I’ve gotten us into, Kandor,” she admitted, with a glance back toward the bedroom door as she started in on the dinner dishes. He joined her. “It’s a big change, isn’t it? We’re doing the right thing, watching over her for a few days, but if we can’t find her parents...” There was an uncertainty in his voice that she rarely heard. “As much as I don’t want to voice this...are we the best possibility for her?” Mirdala answered. “Outside of hunting a Sith Master, we don’t exactly have much of a plan and we can’t exactly take her with us on that hunt, so we’d be abandoning her again.” He was silent for a few seconds while he gathered up the rest of the dishes. “We could make it work,” he said. “Between the two of us, your aliit, even Twenty-Two. Home could be the Justice or the Enigma or Concord Dawn... but it’s going to be very difficult for us to be with her all the time in our line of work.” She grew silent once again, her exhaustion seeming to catch up with her all at once. “About the guard…might as well get that out of the way...” He put a hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing I can tell you that Kirlocca didn’t already. I can’t tell you how to draw on the Force, cyar’ika, and you know your limits better than I do. But every time you do something like that there’s some part of me that just worries that I might not get you back.” “That’s just it,” she began, “in that moment...I’m not sure I did. All I could think about was Lura and how he was just like him. They got quicker deaths than they deserved. I wanted to make this one suffer for all the ones I found in his mind that couldn’t.” She closed her eyes and stepped away for a moment before turning back to face her husband. “I don’t think I can go through another mission like that again. Force-capable or not.” Kandor studied her for a moment. “Okay,” he finally said. “I won’t ever ask you to.” Mirdala nodded, understanding that there were no guarantees there wouldn’t be a next time. “I think we both could use some sleep. It’s been a long day and there’s no telling when she’ll be up.”