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Mandalore Sector (Minor Worlds)


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Mandalore: Minor Worlds

 

Astrographical Information

Region: Outer Rim

Sector: Mandalore Sector

System: various

Orbital Position: various

Moons: various

Grid Coordinates: P-13

 

Physical Information

Class: Terrestrial

Atmosphere: Type 1 Breathable

Primary Terrain: various

Points of Interest: various

 

Societal Information

Indigenous Species: various

Immigrated Species: Mandalorians

Primary Language(s): Mando'a

Faction Affiliation: Mandalorian Protectors

 

Defense Rating:

 

JediRP Canon History:

 

This thread will cover minor worlds in the Mandalore Sector that are not deserving of their own threads, such as Vorpa'ya and Shogun.

 

Vorpa'ya

Vorpa'ya was a planet in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy, located within the Mandalore sector's Vorpa'ya system, and was nearby to the neighboring world of Concord Dawn. A terrestrial world with a breathable atmosphere, Vorpa'ya was conquered by the Mandalorians, and became part of Mandalorian space.

 

Blanketed in grass plains, Vorpa'ya became the home of numerous nerf farms. However, as time went by and the nerf owners allowed their livestock to overgraze, the land degraded. By 25 ABY, simply landing a starship on the plains of Vorpa'ya would kick up a large clouds of gritty dust.

 

 

Ordo

Ordo was the homeworld of the Mandalorian Clan Ordo. Mostly a barren desert planet, Ordo had some vegetation around its equator.

 

Old description in spoiler:

This thread will cover minor worlds in the Mandalore Sector that are not deserving of their own threads, such as Vorpa'ya and Shogun.

 

Vorpa'ya

 

Vorpa'ya was a planet in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy, located within the Mandalore sector's Vorpa'ya system, and was nearby to the neighboring world of Concord Dawn. A terrestrial world with a breathable atmosphere, Vorpa'ya was conquered by the Mandalorians, and became part of Mandalorian space.

 

Blanketed in grass plains, Vorpa'ya became the home of numerous nerf farms. However, as time went by and the nerf owners allowed their livestock to overgraze, the land degraded. By 25 ABY, simply landing a starship on the plains of Vorpa'ya would kick up a large clouds of gritty dust.

 

 

Ordo

 

Ordo was the homeworld of the Mandalorian Clan Ordo. Mostly a barren desert planet, Ordo had some vegetation around its equator.

 

 

((Summary compiled by Amidala Skywalker. Thank you!))

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Daennan Morveth, retired constable and long-time partner of Taen Ad'Nort, stared at the com console screen long after Taen’s transmission had ended. The Devaronian woman’s expression was grim, considering several of the implications of the conversation they’d just had.

 

In the months since his father had died, they’d spoken often and she could see that something had been slowly eating at him. It was today that he’d finally voiced his concerns and fears - that someone within his inner circle was potentially a mole and that there were likely others within their ranks as well.

 

Only a few would have known that Hwulf would have been going off planet, and not even Taen had known that his father had been leaving to go off hunting. He’d only told her that Hwulf had been going to meet up with an old friend on Drall.

 

That meant there had to be someone within that enclave that was compromised as well.

 

What worried her slightly less was how he was going to go about investigating this. He’d already put someone from the outside on things locally, but it wasn’t in his nature to sit idly by and especially not when he suspected those closest to him of setting his father up for an ambush. It was only a matter of time before he might start lashing out at his own friends and colleagues inadvertently and out of grief.

 

She knew he didn’t suspect her because, in many ways, she was family and he knew and trusted that they would never betray him or Hwulf. She decided it might be time to reach out and try some preemptive damage control before Taen truly alienated himself from those around him that still cared.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jurgen smiled as he answered the door for his old friend Daennan, “I was happy to get your call, what brings you by?”

 

“Oh, the usual. Boredom borne of retirement, come to show you pictures of the grandkids, reminisce on the 'good old days’ - take your pick.”

 

The dark-haired human laughed heartily as he invited his former partner and friend in.

 

The two of them talked for several hours as they cooked together and enjoyed a meal together before, Jurgen leveled Daennan with a knowing look. “Not that catching up the last while hasn’t been good, but I know you well enough to know you didn’t decide to drop by just because you were in the neighborhood. What’s on your mind?”

 

The Devaronian looked up at him with her golden-flecked brown eyes, “Damn you, you know me too well.” She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. “It’s about Taen."

 

He cocked his head to the side, curious what news Daennan might have about the Senior Protector. He forced himself to meet her eyes as his own mind began turning on the possibilities. “Spoken recently with him, I take it?” he began carefully.

 

“Yes, and as you can imagine, he’s still not handling his buir walking into an ambush on some Gods forsaken world too well. He’s beginning to have his own suspicions about those events."

 

Jurgen kept his face neutral, though his gut was wrenching, as he walked over to the counter and began to ready the caf pot, so he’d have something to keep his hands busy while he prepared himself for what he regrettably knew was coming. He’d known it was only a matter of time before Taen put the puzzle together.

 

So far, he’d been getting away with passing information along to his paymasters. Disclosing Hwulf’s whereabouts as being off-world and heading to Drall had earned him quite a stack of credits as a bonus considering it had lead to the deaths of not just one, but two of the Seekers plus three other Mandalorians. He felt no guilt about it, just like he wouldn’t feel guilty about what he was about to do. “Go on,” he said, hand reaching for one of the sharp knives near the caf machine.

 

Trusting in her former partner completely, Daennan sipped her tiffin as she sorted out how best to deliver the news with her back to him. “In his grief he may be seeing treachery where there is none. Very few knew Hwulf was going to be off planet and headed to Drall. He thinks that someone close to him is a traitor and I’m worried that he’s going to lash out needlessly at his friends.”

 

He’d just tucked the knife to his forearm when she turned to face him, her concern etched on her sharp features. It looked all the more pained due to the scarring from along the left side of her face. “So if he snaps or growls, be patient with him?"

 

She nodded. “The sad thing is that I’m worried he’s right. I’d hate to think of what he’d do when he finds out who -“ her voice was cut off as the knife slit her throat form behind and left her gasping for air. Her hands futilely clutching at the opening, she stared back at Jurgen in wide-open shock and fury as she fell to the floor, dead within minutes as Jurgen finished preparing his coffee and watched her until she flailed no more.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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Jurgen looked in his rear-view of his buy'ce as he rode long and hard into the night as fast and as far as possible, finally relaxing as his hidden spare ship came into view.

 

Wasting no time, he powered it up and was out of the system several hours before Daennan's husband missed her.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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An updated CEC HWK-290 freighter appeared out of hyperspace after the short jump from Concord Dawn.

 

Aboard, Kandor Fett was just finishing getting back into his customary black beskar'gam, slipping his buy'ce on and enjoying the familiarity of its heads-up display and array of sensors which among other things gave him all-around vision. The other suit was excellent craftsmanship on its own, and he would trust his life to it were he to need to enter battle wearing it, but when his reputation could be afforded he would always prefer to be in the set that he had spent his whole life designing and optimizing his combat techniques wearing.

 

He headed back up to the cockpit and joined Briia Silvar, who was formulating their approach vector and attempting to raise Zarek Morveth on the comm system.

 

Kandor briefly reviewed what he knew of Vorpa'ya. It wasn't much. The planet was little more than a dustball covered in herds of nerfs and other grazing livestock. He'd never had any reason to really even think of the planet before now. But it was under the protection of the Journeyman Protectors, and a murder of one of their retired members had occurred here, if the report was correct. The murderer -- whoever it might be -- was his lenedat.

 

He checked the charge on his assault rifle. With luck, Bialle wouldn't be too far ahead or would have left a trail. He just might need the weapon.

 

"Zarek Morveth, come in please," Briia was saying. "We're here to help, but we could sure use some details."

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A gruff voice growled back, “Keep your bucket on, kid. Just land where you can without crushing what’s left of the crops or livestock. I’ve got nothing to say over comms.”

 

Briia sighed, This isn’t going to be easy for any of us.

——————

Several minutes later, Briia and Kandor were walking up the path to the Morveth homestead. Dressed in her Journeyman Protector rig, Briia knocked on the door eliciting jubilant cries of “Ba’buir!” from several smaller voices inside. The Twi’lek’s jaw clenched as she looked briefly at Kandor as the door opened to reveal a very worn-out looking Shistavanen who was holding back a trio of what appeared to be young, Bothan-hybrid children. Zarek waved them back to where they were playing before. The one that appeared to be the eldest led the other two away from the adults, as the Shistavanen waved them towards the kitchen table.

 

“Taen said he’d be sending someone personally,” He snorted as they all sat down. Briia couldn’t be sure if it was out of derision or resignation to the unfolding events. “Never thought it’d be his own adjutant and Mand’alor. Shab, don’t tell me it’s that bad. I can understand not trusting the locals after what we think Jurgen pulled. Don’t know if they are in his pocket, or framed him. What the hell is wrong with people?!” He slammed his hand against the table.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett grimaced slightly under his buy'ce at being referred to him as Mand'alor. With the exception of the two times he had taken official action under the title by leading Mando'ade into combat, usually when someone called him by the title it meant they expected something particular from him for bearing it. It would be difficult to get a good first read on Zarek, though, since he was understandably agitated given what had happened. Not to mention Fett had extremely few dealings with Shistavanen and had trouble reading their expressions and body language.

 

Despite all this, his face was neutral when he pulled his helmet off -- but not before he started a recording of the conversation with a blink command. "We honestly don't know how bad it is," he answered. "But do you think Taen could have risked sending another informant on this hunt?"

 

He glanced around the homestead. As far as he knew Zarek was the murderer and wanted to draw Kandor away from Concord Dawn for some reason, but other than being observant he didn't really have any way to account for that possibility. "Catching up with Jurgen Bialle, whether he was the perpetrator or not, is probably our best chance at getting some of those answers. Fill us in on your side of things -- any details you have, exact times and places if possible."

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The Shistavanen shook his head. “I’ve never known Taen Ad'Nort to use anything but the upmost caution. Daennan can,” he paused, his eyes closing slightly as he corrected himself, “could handle herself fine. It was just nice to know she wasn’t partnered with someone who was willing to take unnecessary risks to get the job done.” The hunter seemed to still be coming to grips with the shock of his more than capable wife’s murder. The weight of it seemed to bow the otherwise proficient hunter.

 

As though summoned by the familiar name, the middle of the three children peeped around the corner and approached her ba’buir, “When is ba’buir coming home? She went to Jurgan’ba’vodu’s ages ago.”

 

Briia’s jaw clenched as she watched Zarek struggle to keep his face neutral for the sake of his granddaughter, “Hey! I know what! How about you introduce me to your brothers? Grown up talk is boring anyway."

 

The young girl, who couldn’t have been more than four standard years old, looked shyly up at Zarek who nodded as he cast a grateful look at Briia. Placated for the moment, the Bothan-hybrid girl took Briia’s outstretched hand, mesmerized by the blue color, and the two disappeared into another room, just as another knock was heard at the door.

 

Sighing heavily, Zarek rose from the table and went to see who else had decided to arrive on his doorstep at this evening hour.

 

There was a brief exchange at the door and soon he came back followed by another man dressed in Mandalorian armor that looked suspiciously like a re-painted Journeyman Protector’s rig. The man appeared to be about Kandor’s age and build with dark hair, but that was where the similarities ended.

 

As he entered the kitchen, he extended his hand in greeting, “Mica Selfort, Kandor Nor’an, I presume? Taen mentioned you’d likely beat me here.” He glanced towards the bucket on the table his eyes narrowing as he recalled their initial meeting a bit over nine months prior. “Though, when we met before, I don’t believe your partner saw fit to introduce us. I can’t say I blame her considering the circumstances of that meeting. Is she doing well?”

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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Selfort, Kandor thought. He remembered the name. Mica had been one of the pair of vode who had delivered Hwulf's and TeVerd's beskar to Mirdala at CoreSec HQ shortly after the slaver incident. At the time he hadn't even come close to realizing the significance of that event or the place the two Seekers had in Mirdala's aliit, something that time and discussion had at last remedied. Now he had context for what had been discussed back then and had even been to Abraxos where Hwulf and allegedly TeVerd had died. Little doubt Mica didn't know that TeVerd had in fact survived, even if he wouldn't have been able to locate a body at the crash site.

 

"She's more whole than she was then, but still looking for someone to answer for what caused our last meeting," he answered carefully, shaking the offered hand and trying to get a read on Mica. "Taen didn't mention that he'd be sending anyone else.

 

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm afraid we haven't much time for chat in any case," he continued. "If Bialle left a trail at all it's growing colder while we speak. I need to know where the incident happened and any ideas you might have about where Bialle might have gone afterward. He had a local residence, I take it?"

 

ShadowFett had been a bounty hunter for a long time before his path took another direction and he became Moon Knight. Even since then he'd been required to hunt individuals and follow trails of clues, not only finding criminals for CoreSec but also notably sniffing out the Thalassian slavers on Tatooine after chasing them halfway across the galaxy from where they'd abducted Mirdala on Triple Zero. He knew firsthand how difficult it could be to pinpoint someone's location in a galaxy that was full of places to hide -- ultimately, the only way to do it was with a series of correct deductions based on evidence. If Bialle had simply jumped in his ship, picked a random planet and jumped into hyperspace, there wasn't a chance in haran of finding him now. And any trail he might have left had an alarmingly low half-life, especially if it involved witnesses.

 

It was time to move fast and find answers.

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Mica nodded, “I think I was something of a last-minute call, considering how long it’s been since I was part of the Protectors. You’re welcome to verify. I wouldn’t blame you in the least, under the circumstances. However, I do agree that we should get to the scene as soon as possible. I know where Jurgen lives.”

 

“The locals have at least secured the scene and placed a stasis field over…” Zarek's voice broke for a moment before he regained his professional face. “the body. Mica can take you."

 

------

They borrowed a speeder from Zarek, with Mica driving. They hadn’t gone far when Briia finally spoke up. “Why the haran did you show up?"

 

“Simple, Silvar,” he answered brusquely, not quite able to keep the training sergeant edge from his voice. “He’s giving me a chance to balance the ledger and I’m taking it."

 

“Over what happened with Mirdala?” She asked curiously. “It wasn’t exactly your fault that she chose to leave with that bounty hunter.”

 

“It was my choice to assign her to the case involving the off-worlder, so some of the responsibility does lie with me. Taen had only meant to protect your friend as best as possible by keeping her within the system. I knew that when she was placed under my command. My actions ran counter to that mandate, and Taen rightly held me responsible. You’ll understand if you ever have a command of your own. It’s between myself and Taen, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter, especially since it has little to do with our present focus."

--------

They arrived at the modest farm and were greeted by one of the local Protectors who granted them admittance when presented with their authorization from Taen.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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Kandor paid attention to the dialogue between Mica and Briia, picking up a puzzle piece he hadn't known was missing. Although Tracyn had not been the healthiest partner for Mirdala, following him offworld had gotten her out of the Mandalore Sector which had led to good things like her involvement in the Augury and CoreSec. Although Taen and Mica clearly considered her departure an overall negative and Mica considered himself in debt to the Sector Protector because of it, Fett had a different perspective. There had been bad things along with the good while Mirdala had been out in the galaxy, but he suspected she was ultimately stronger for it, and he knew he personally would have never entered the picture if she'd remained here.

 

Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and concentrated on the case at hand.

 

When they arrived he quickly confirmed some of the basic details he'd been missing -- like, for example, that the murder had actually taken place at Jurgen Bialle's residence during a visit from the victim Daennan Morveth. The body was still present as Zarek had told them. The Devaronian woman's throat had clearly been slit with a knife which was still present, discarded by her assailant. There were no signs of a struggle or hostile intrusion, which heavily implied that she had been taken completely by surprise by the attack, which further implicated Bialle. Morveth's speeder was still parked outside, undisturbed. Jurgen's ship was interestingly still present, but his swoop was gone -- which didn't guarantee he was still on planet if he had hired a ship or had another one somewhere, but did leave that possibility open.

 

ShadowFett continued the investigation by checking the other rooms of the house. Bialle had taken time to pack before he left, given the half-empty drawers and closets and well as missing travel necessities. But he'd still been in a rush as he'd left those drawers in a state of disarray. Even more evidence that the shabuir was in fact the killer. All of this helped to paint a picture of what had transpired, but didn't give any clues as to where he had gone.

 

He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Bialle had his own comm system. Commlinks were fairly short range using their own transmitters -- on most well-populated worlds all comms were bounced through a system of relays to a set of publicly available long-range transmitters used for interstellar communications. That wasn't an option on Vorpa'ya, sparse as its inhabitants were and minimal as its government was, necessitating Jurgen having his own long-range system.

 

The system kept a log of calls placed and received. Fett checked and there one outgoing call placed right after the murder had occurred -- in his haste to depart it looked like Jurgen had made the mistake of not clearing the data. The recipient was labelled Judyc Viba. Kandor paused for a moment when he saw the name, trying to figure out why it seemed vaguely familiar. It was definitely a Mandalorian name, but beyond that he had no idea why he might have heard it before. Finally he shrugged and made a note of the comm number as a potential lead. If he could contact this Viba, it could be used to establish a connection trace if he could get him to pick up or send a response. There was no guarantee that Bialle and Viba would be together, or that Viba would respond to questioning, but it was his best lead so far.

 

Fett filled Briia and Mica in on what he'd found, but was determined to scour the rest of the residence for any other leads before acting on this one.

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Briia looked up from the forensic scanning droid she’d been operating, “Sounds as good a lead as any Kandor. Analysis of the knife indicates no other traces than that of Bialle,” her tone was grim. “So it’s really not looking good for him.”

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett nodded at her assessment of guilt. He would continue to keep an open mind, but for now he had to treat Bialle as hostile.

 

His scour of the rest of the home didn't turn up anything useful. He did manage to find where the suspect kept physical copies of some important documents including his ship title and registration, but it only accounted for the vessel that was still parked outside. If he'd made it offworld, as Fett assumed he had given that he'd placed an offworld comm before disappearing, he hadn't done it with a ship he'd owned -- or at least had taken pains to conceal that he owned it.

 

That didn't mean that he couldn't get any information about the ship, however. There were only a few spaceports on Vorpa'ya, and he made calls to the three closest ones, getting in touch with the Port Authority, who were happy to provide information to help a Protector case and did so routinely. He soon had a list of all space vessels which had departed the planet from any of those ports, complete with their make, model, transponder codes, and anything else they had on them. Traffic was relatively sparse, like the planet's population, a fact Fett found to be particularly fortuitous... this technique would have been woefully inadequate on Coruscant where he'd been doing most of his hunting for CoreSec. All said, there was a list of only about two dozen ships that actually had a substantial chance of carrying Bialle, assuming he wasn't flying a tanker, nerf transport vehicle, or registered corporate shuttle which the owning company would have a high chance of catching and reporting.

 

The information wasn't enough to know for certain which ship Bialle had been on, but the galaxy was a big place and there were a lot of different kinds of ships. If ShadowFett could get a destination planet, then cross-check that world's list of incoming vessels with what he had, there was a high chance of only have one exact match.

 

Now to get that planet name, he thought.

 

This was the tricky part. Fett went back to Briia and Mica. "Okay, so we need to get Bialle to answer a call," he said. "The information package Vannae installed on the T'ad Kebbur gives us some options -- it can spoof another number so we can call Bialle's commlink directly and make him think it's coming from someone else. Assuming he and Judyc Viba haven't already rendezvoused, he might take a call from Viba's number, which we have. But if they're together already, it'll tip him off. Also, if we call and establish the trace before he reaches his destination, all we get out of the trace is where he happened to be between hyperspace jumps. Plus it'll tip him off."

 

Comm calls couldn't be made or received in hyperspace, they were delivered between jumps. The trick was guessing how long they could afford to wait -- too early and they could destroy their only lead, but every hour they waited they fell further behind their lenedat. "Can we get him to take multiple calls, make at least one seem legitimate?" If he took the first call even from deep space while calculating his next hyperspace jump, it would give them at least a direction and they could make up some of the lost time before making their second call and getting an exact location. Hopefully they wouldn't need multiple repetitions.

 

Of course, if it were Fett, he probably wouldn't take any calls while trying to lay low unless they were from his employer giving him new instructions on where to go. Whether Viba filled that role was unclear, but even if he did, that was still only one call.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Without a reliable way to guarantee multiple calls would go through, Kandor decided it was best to make the call now, while the chances were still low that Bialle had met up with Viba. Better to get one trace too early than none.

 

Boarding the T'ad Kebbur, he familiarized himself with the information systems, wishing he was aboard the Justice instead, which was still back on the Enigma. Although he'd taken opportunities to link up with 2277 when he could guarantee security, he missed having the second set of eyes and the stream of advice that his beksar'ad provided when they were within the transmitter range of his buy'ce. It was in some ways like wearing the second beskar'gam -- he could manage, but it was an advantage he had conceded to the circumstances.

 

In any case, the system's interface was intuitive enough that he was able to set the spoofing system up with Viba's number in a matter of minutes. It would be able to establish a connection trace instantly off even a single subspace data packet, so he did not need to invent a conversation to have with Bialle, he only needed the man to pick up.

 

Without further prep, Kandor placed the call.

 

"Viba? What's going on, change of plans?" a voice came through the line.

 

ShadowFett flicked a switch that would simulate a bad signal, then cut the call off as a set of planetary coordinates blinked into existence on the machine's display. He turned to Mica and Briia. The good news was that they had their planet name. The bad news was it was notoriously difficult to actually find anyone there. "Nar Shaddaa," he said.

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  • 7 months later...

Shogun

 

Tros felt an almost immediate relief upon entering the space that occupied Shogun, and even more so as the planet grew larger within his viewport. There was a sense of danger within the back of his mind, but not one that left him unable to do anything. It was more like an understanding. Behind his buy'ce, Tros began to pilot his ship towards the surface and the old home he had not been to in years. As he set his ship down, there was a soft mist like rain falling in the humid air. The humidity next to an already rising heat from the summer months beginning, the beyora felt a need to take his buy'ce off and leave it in the ship. As he climbed out of the ship, he heard a familiar shout his direction.

 

"Wayii!"

 

Dropping to his feet, Tros turned around to see Raeshe Buhl. The woman had auburn hair, a slender frame, and a voice that held a heavy accent from Shogun. Her eyes held a deep brown and her beskar'gam held colors of green, purple, and blue over he black clothes. Tros gave her a return smile. But the smile disappeared very quickly.

 

"Save your surprise for later... I need to see the Clan leaders... "

 

Tros made sure his voice told her how serious he was and how quickly she needed to aid him.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Shogun

Almost two weeks later

 

Tros spent most of his time with Raeshe Buhl running around and preparing the clans on the surface for a defense against the darjetii that was on his way. By now they were in the small hut that Raeshe called yaim. She now had set up many holoprojector cameras across different fields and tree areas around potential landing zones and kyrbej. They had began to forge out beskar'gam for everyone who needed one and crafting weapons and finding supplies to keep food, water, and ammo in shelters to protect them against any form of damage that they could think of. The communication arrays were set up and ready to be broadcasted back to Manda'yaim. They were getting ready to send a test call, but first checked to make sure that the display would show the holoprojectors correctly before they made their call. Once they cycled through every possible angle, Tros called up Mand'alor to report in...

 

Tros quickly received word that he and the Clans on Shogun were to report back to Manda'yaim. He quickly mustered the and got them all to be mobile and hitting atmosphere within twenty minutes.

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  • 4 months later...

The Justice made landfall just before the Shogunite dawn broke across the brilliant green of the dense jungle that had been Mirdala’s childhood home. A hard sort of anger had settled into Mirdala’s gut once she and the others had narrowed the dar’jetii’s signature to the jungle world. In her mind, there was little likelihood of Ab’ki making landfall anywhere else but Mirdala's home village of Tikkel. Even when Rhys had checked Mirdala about Ab’ki playing her emotions, the Mandalorian woman stood firm as she felt the taunting Force phantoms at the edge of her consciousness.

 

Now, however, she sat in meditation with her legs folded under her, calling on both Manda and the Force to lend her and her family strength and guidance in the fight to come. If they fell here, it was likely the rest of the sector wouldn't be far behind. They'd risked much of the army's morale and faith when they abandoned the fight in the capital on Mandalore to track down Ab’ki on very little rest in the last 72 Galactic Standard hours.

 

Keeping up the mental walls she'd learned with Kirlocca and through her Seeker training, she reached out and lent her strength and the rejuvenating Force to her teammates, each in turn. She lingered as her mind brushed up against her husband’s, feeling the reassuring strength of his own mental fortifications alongside his calm confidence in the ability of the two of them to push through the challenges ahead and to make it out the other side.

 

He turned his head slightly to face her, by now beginning to recognize her touch in the Force. ”Appreciate it, but I’ll push through,” he said over their private channel.

 

Her eyes remaining closed, she gave a small laugh and shook her head as she completed the process of enfolding herself back within her own considerable layers of defense. Her breathing remained slow as she felt more than heard her two brothers as they made ready for battle.

 

Mirdala waited until their distinctive footsteps had retreated down the ramp before she opened her eyes and met Kandor’s visor through her own. “Remember when I said I planned on bringing you to see the spring caves near my home? This is not the way I wanted, but I'm glad you're here.” She reached up and pulled his bucket toward hers until they touched. “The ghosts are angry. I'm angry, but I'm not letting that be my driver. I can't, or she's won.”

 

“It ends tonight,” he answered. “No doubt she’s going to try to get in your kovid, and picking this place is part of it. After all this time, she must think she knows you pretty well.”

 

2277 announced from the cockpit that they were making their approach. “Show her what she doesn't know,” he said, then got up and gestured for them to head up front to get see what Ab’ki had waiting for them.

-----

 

The quartet made decent time through the jungle using Mirdala’s knowledge of the local game trails. She’d been surprised how little had changed in the years she’d been away from her fern forest home. The trees were taller and thicker in some places, but most everything had remained much as she remembered it. Ab’ki had made a grave error choosing to bring this fight to Mirdala’s literal home turf.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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It became clear even before the Justice found a place to set down that Ab'ki had come well-prepared for an attempt to disrupt her purposes here. There were several bands of ver'verde roaming the wilds surrounding the target site -- a cave system formed around a natural spring. Surrounded on all sides by thick jungle, the cave was situated in a ravine cut long ago by the water source, which now exited from the cave mouth.

 

The Justice put down a little bit outside Ab'ki's patrols and the four Mando'ade set out. Mirdala took point. Not only had she grown up in the area, but she'd had to survive in this jungle for two weeks following the murder of her buire by Judyc Viba and his team of fake ConSec agents, during which time she successfully evaded capture until the Ad'Norts had located and extracted her. Fett remained close behind her, carrying again his ysalamir which he expected would provide a substantial edge against Ab'ki. Verdeyuii and Rhys watched their flanks, the two Clone Wars veterans' empathic senses developed through Seeker training to enable them to sense and track Force users.

 

It was quite possible that Ab'ki had been expecting a larger force to oppose her designs for the site, given the patrol patterns and camps. Fett had thought at first that it had been chosen purely because of Mirdala's history with it, but it was becoming clear that this location was important to the Seekers somehow. In any case, Mirdala's intimate knowledge of the terrain and the small size of their traat'aliit enabled them to bypass patrols by slipping quietly down secret paths undetected. Their luck wouldn't hold out forever, though.

 

Perhaps ten minutes into their hike Ab'ki's forces became more concentrated as they approached the ravine itself, and soon they came across the first sentry squad they couldn't circumnavigate. Four individuals with nonuniform armor and weapons that came with a mercenary team. The Mando'ade paused only briefly, picked their targets, and executed their ambush. The firefight lasted less than three seconds, but it started a timer. If the Justice hadn't been spotted on approach or Ab'ki or Fieyr hadn't detected them through some other means, a dead patrol would certainly give away their presence.

 

Picking up the pace, the team pushed ahead through the underbrush until Mirdala indicated that the ravine was just ahead. There were mercenary squads on each side of it overlooking the cave mouth. From their concealed location, they paused to make a plan. There was simply no chance of getting inside without being noticed.

 

"I count four on the far side," Fett said.

 

"Five over here, maybe six," Rhys reported.

 

"Make that five on the far side," stated Vy'ika.

 

Moon Knight checked his satchel. He had a few concussion grenades, a thermal detonator and a variety of ammunition in addition to the jetii'kad and other tools he kept in there. "We'll have to go loud," he said. He gestured at Vy'ika. "Want to use that sen'tra?"

 

They quickly hatched a plan. ShadowFett drew his verpine shattergun and replaced his usual magazine of alternating cortosis and explosive rounds with one made up of explosive rounds exclusively. Scanning the far lip of the ravine, he painted his targets in his HUD. Surprise would be key. Once the team had signaled that they were ready, he opened fire. Magnetically-accelerated, a thermal well round whizzed out and struck its mark with a bright flash that disintegrated the man's chest plate and most of his rib cage.

 

The rest of the team sprung into action. Vy'ika, and experienced jump trooper, rocketed across the gap while launching a fragmentation grenade with a low thump that, a moment later, struck the ground between two of their targets and detonated, tossing one of them off the edge and down onto the rocks below. Mirdala and Rhys ambushed the near-side squad at the same time and the sound of blasterfire started echoing through the jungle. One of Fett's targets disappeared into the trees, but he switched to a second and a trigger pull later that one fell.

 

He switched back to his assault rifle and joined the hunt for the rest.

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Mirdala couldn’t help the wry grin that spread across her face as her prey opted to run from her in woods unfamiliar to them. Rhys followed her lead as the two of them worked in concert to herd their quarries toward a short but surprising drop in the terrain where the spring that flowed from the cave had worn away at the rock and soil each rainy season. The drop was well hidden by the ferns and greenery that covered the jungle floor, blending in with the forest just ahead. Years before, Mirdala had used this very area to evade those that had hunted her after her parents’ murder and the slight ridge had only grown steeper and deeper in the passing decade.

 

She fired a few shots just to the left of one that had decided to try to veer off the path she and Rhys had set them on and he quickly backpedaled and continued until the trio that had remained ran over the edge. Mirdala and her brother were on them in seconds, their quarries now easy targets as they tried to untangle themselves from one another. Bringing her rifle to bear alongside Rhys, Mirdala gave them quick deaths before she jumped down the ridge herself, boots splashing in the shallow spring flow and waved Rhys onward. “Faster if we follow the spring,” she said pinging Kandor and Vy’ika their location. “It’s not like they don’t know we’re here already.”

 

Rhys pulled her back into the cover of the jungle by the back of her flack jacket as movement upstream caught his eye. “Doesn’t mean you have to make it easy for them to pick you off. Just because this is your home turf, there’s no need to get too comfortable. They aren’t TeVerd and they certainly aren’t using pepper rounds.”

 

Mirdala shrugged him off but nodded as she sighted in toward the mouth of the cave that had been one of her favorite places as a child. “You don’t have to remind me, Ori’vod.

----

Nayal’ee looked up as she felt the presence of one of their own approaching the homestead where Ab’ki had ordered her to mind the hostages. The small farm was surprisingly defensible if one knew how to manage things properly and Nayal’ee had learned well at the knee of her Dark Mistress. The others eleven that made up the rest of her team were already on the alert and had their rifles up as the man came skittering to a halt before her. “Well?” she demanded coolly as she rose, drawing her ruby colored lightsaber.

 

The man hunched over, heaving for breath as he’d run full tilt from the ravine to call for reinforcements. “They...are...here...two squads...maybe?”

 

The platinum-haired woman cocked her head to the side and shrugged mockingly, weapon still in hand. “Maybe two squads? And I suppose you just decided to let your comrades down while you ran back here in hopes that your pitiful life would be spared for bringing such...detailed...news of our enemy. Idiot.” She swung her saber twice, severing the man’s right hand and the thumb and forefinger of his left.

 

“There are three of them,” she taunted in the moments of his shocked silence before his mind registered the pain and found the right nerve clusters to trigger his memory of how to scream. “Have you forgotten the talents your betters possess that you do not? Perhaps now you’ll better know how to count.” She kicked him as he curled in on himself and the pain.

 

The Sith Hound smiled to herself and took a deep breath of the humid jungle air as she consulted with her Mistress through the Force. Ab’ki’s pleasure was palpable and when combined with the pain she’d inflicted on the poor excuse for a mercenary, provided Nayal’ee with the heady sensation of pure battle-lust, one that her Twi’lek benefactor was more than happy to unleash.

 

“Half of you will remain here to see to the sweet children now that their parents have abandoned them for whatever darkness takes a Mandalorian in death,” She ordered, deactivating her lightsaber and replacing it on her belt. “The rest of you with me! Our job is to ensure that that Mandalorian whelp doesn’t escape her punishment for her crimes against Our Lady!”

 

Various cries of acknowledgment rose as one as the two groups split and Nayal’ee began her trek into the jungle to carry out her mistress’s wishes.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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"Lost track of at least one of them," Vy'ika reported to the rest of the traat'aliit as he appeared from the treeline across the gorge.

 

ShadowFett moved to the edge of the ravine, rifle raised as he scanned for additional threats. "Need to move fast," he said. Even if Ab'ki's mercenaries were entirely incompetent they'd be coming to flank them. Going into that cave without a backup plan was a sure way to make it a one-way trip. "2277, move the Justice to the ravine. Keep low and secure the cave mouth against hostile incursion."

 

The Justice, a MandalMotors Tra'kad, was already optimized for troop insertion and extraction. Armed with rotating blaster turrets with overlapping arcs of fire and plated with beskar, it would be more than up to the task unless the mercs were willing to launch ships against it. Even then it would additional time to mobilize the resources and the Justice under 2277's exacting control was more than a match for a few rag-tag mercenary transports.

 

Fett then dropped into the gorge and used his sen'tra to moderate his descent, Vy'ika doing the same from the far side while Rhys and Mirdala were forced to rely on liquid cable. Fett covered them until their cetare hit the dirt, and a moment later the shadow of the Justice fell over them, spanning the canyon as loose stones scattered and trees swayed under its repulsor cushion. On repulsorlifts only it was quiet and Fett could hear its turrets swiveling through his buy'ce's ambient sound boosting as he moved toward the cave.

 

Picking his way across the rocks he took point. The cave was nestled into the stone cliff face, flanked by small trees and wide enough that the stream would not impede their movement. Assuming at first that it would be dark, Fett toggled on his low-light vision, but as his eyes adjusted from coming out of the Shogun sun, he realized there was a bio-luminescence emanating from deeper within.

 

More pronounced than the light though was the seeming weight of the air. "Feels almost like the Temple of the Moon," he said to Mirdala, although here it was more forbidding. "You said the ghosts were angry. Is this place important to the Seekers somehow?"

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“I don’t know if it’s important to the Seekers,” she responded, her voice quiet even along the team channel as she brought in the others to their discussion, “but this is the spot I killed you in my dream with Ca’s lightsaber. I’ve been here many times, but always felt something like what you’re feeling now that kept me from venturing deeper in than the entrance.” She didn’t have to be able to hear the sound of the gently rushing water from the spring that she supposed lie deep within the cave systems.

 

“I doubt TeVerd would have let you get too far in either,” Rhys cut in, “Even with you, Seekers tend to be a bit territorial around our grave sites, especially those belonging to founding members of the Order.” At his shoulder, Vy’ika shifted uncomfortably as well. “Caves up ahead are very maze-like, and the glowing stuff tends to pattern in a way that is more than a little disorienting if you haven’t got at least one of the Ghosts on your side.”

 

As though summoned by his words, Mirdala swore she saw the familiar bony-protrusion of ancient armor as Tikkorel wore disappear around one of the junctures corners. “Lucky for us, I think we have a couple,” Mirdala grunted as she led the way into the narrow and winding passage moving as quickly and quietly as she could, sensing others deeper within the caverns.

 

A low, ghostly growl began to build within her hearing as a breeze seemed to come from nowhere, causing the vividly colored organisms to fade and merge from one hue to the next until the way was lit with an eerie purple-red combination. Vy’ika pinged her HUD with the stop signal since his rig was equipped with a similar penetrating radar to Kandor’s, and hers did not. “Six in the next opening, with one to the left of the tunnel where you’ll come out.”

 

She nodded once creeping silently toward the end of the tunnel. “I’ll take care of him then get out of the way.” Moving just enough to get beyond Kandor’s ysalamiri bubble, she continued along the path and sensing the movement ahead within the Force. Lightening fast, she emerged from the tunnel and utilized her wrist blade and swiftly ended the life of whatever mercenary or fanatic had thrown their lot in with the Sith’s.

 

As expected the other five opened fire as Mirdala spun away to use the body as a shield while the other three emerged from the tunnel and made quick work of the rest as Mirdala joined the fight once more. All around them dark chunks of crystalline rock formations began to dot the bioluminescent surface of the cave’s interior as the blaster bolts missed their intended marks or ricocheted off armor.

 

In the end, though, Mirdala and her team prevailed and moved on to the next set of tunnels and caverns only after ensuring that each opponent they left behind was down for good. The sound of faster-moving water came across Kandor’s pickup, and Rhys indicated they were likely nearing the source of the spring. The walls of the cavernous opening still had the glowing lifeforms clinging to the crystal-like outcroppings that continued to glow as though lit from within. The patches of the bright organism that had lit the rest of the caves was growing sparser now as though something was choking it out.

 

“Lightsaber crystals? A lot of trouble and a helluva long way to come when there’s other planets out there ripe for the picking...” Vy’ika asked as he swept his light across the formations.

 

“Not likely,” Mirdala answered, moving her rifle in an arc to check for any humanoid-shaped shadows among the formations when the ground beneath their feet vibrated with enough force to shake loose some of the smaller stalactites that hung from the ceiling about ten meters above their heads. “No Force signatures,” she explained before adding, “Guessing 22 is getting to have his fun as well.”

 

“If the droid doesn’t bring the whole thing down on us,” Rhys grumbled.

 

“I don’t suppose you’d rather be boxed in and completely outnum-” Mirdala broke off as she caught sight of a ghostly figure who was much bigger than her usual ghastly Seeker mentor, standing near one of the many tunnel entrances and swung her rifle up.

 

“What do you see?” Rhys prodded when his light turned to the same spot, but to him and the others, it appeared to be just another tunnel.

 

“Randavock,” Mirdala’s voice was a whisper as she felt the ghost’s eyes boring into her. “The Burner and Breaker. The first of us. If rumor among the legends holds true - Tikkorel’s riduur.” Had this been why Tikkorel had taken such a personal interest in her training? Because the long-dead Seeker had known that her husband’s resting place was in jeopardy all along? What would Ab’ki have to gain from sacking it?

 

She shook herself as the ghost turned to head back toward the tunnel he’d been standing in front of. “That’s our path ahead. I don’t know what she’ll gain, but it seems Ab’ki is at the very least doing her best to strip our heritage and legacy from us starting with the beginning.”

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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Although ShadowFett could not see Tikkorel or Randavock, Mirdala had told him enough that he recognized the names. They were ancient Seekers, the very first of their kind. Their ghosts being here spoke of the severity of Ab'ki's trespass. Fett knew that he himself was out of place here, venturing into these caves with three Seekers to hunt their enemy. But the spirits would just have to forgive him, for he was not turning back. While this conflict had perhaps once been about Ab'ki, the Seekers, and Mirdala, it had now embroiled the whole of the Sector, and he was Mand'alor.

 

There was another thump from outside the cave. "2277, report," he said over comms.

 

"Targets have achieved deadness," the beskar'ad replied dryly. "Area momentarily secure."

 

"Keep me informed." Fett turned a sharp corner in the cave and they came upon a place that was so narrow that he could barely fit through with his repulsor pack, and Vy'ika had even more trouble with his considerable stature. The floor was slowly transitioning from dirt and bedrock into shale, which was treacherous in sharp inclines and declines. Combined with the soft light they had to take things slow.

 

After another minute the cave widened again and they came to a branch in the tunnel in a room with a high ceiling. Mirdala indicated the path forward and Fett took point again, counting on his penetrating radar to warn them of ambushes as the twisting corridors eliminated conventional line-of-sight. As he neared the path forward, however, suddenly Mirdala shouted just as he heard a mechanical beep coming from high above in the cavern roof.

 

Mirdala charged him from behind even as he registered what was happening. Motion sensor, he thought. With a thunderous crack the explosive charge detonated and stone splintered, sending a rain of boulders showering down on their location. Once again her moment's precognition proved just sufficient that the two of them cleared the worst of the rock slide, their beskar taking a sharp pelting of jagged stone instead of them being instantly and permanently interred. They slid across the shale where they dove and Fett bounced up into a kneeling position, knocking his already-injured left elbow painfully against the cave wall as he did so.

 

"Vy'ika! Rhys!" he barked into his comm. The stone around them continued to scatter and the air was thick with dust. No answer. He winced. If one or both of them had been caught under the cave-in there was no getting them out, and this place would become their burial ground just as it had been that of their ancestors.

 

The comm came live again. "We're here," Rhys' voice cut through. "A little banged up but intact." Fett saw Mirdala visibly breathe out and he put a hand on her shoulder as they both got to their feet. He formed the hand signal for 'you okay?' to her.

 

"Looks like we're cut off," Vy'ika said. "You two?"

 

With the adrenaline fading Fett realized he'd taken a few hits and would have some bruises and lacerations to show for it, but he couldn't slow down now. "More or less whole," he reported.

 

"We'll head up this branch, hope the passages reconnect again further down," Vy'ika said.

 

If they didn't, the fighting ahead would get even worse. The trap might not have killed anyone immediately, but both squads were now at half strength.

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A cold and deadly determination took hold of Mirdala as her brothers checked in, seemingly no worse for the wear. That trap had meant to kill. Had it not been for the seemingly innocuous decision to hang a bit further behind, she would not have been outside the ysalamiri bubble and the flash of events the Force had shown her would have come too late for Kandor if it had come at all.

 

Her anger sharpened, and she moved calmly forward, focused on finally bringing an end to the threat to her family, her order, and her sector. The Huntress was now free once again, though instead of allowing her to ultimately take over, Mirdala walked beside her. Her footfalls became lighter and her movements more predatory as she walked ahead of Kandor (remaining just outside the ysalamiri bubble) and she continued to stalk the Force signature and the familiar feeling of her old adversary.

----

“Caelix’s little trick missed,” Fieyr observed, pausing from his examination of the massive ancient besk’ad that he’d removed from the resting place that belonged to the legendary Randavok. Mirdala Ad’Goran’s signature was one he knew intimately, considering he was acutely aware of the piece of her psyche that had managed to break off during their brief battle when she was barely a teenager. As he ran his thumb gently over the still razor-sharp blade, he took the memory out and savored the fear - her fear - both then and now. Finding her in the empathic stream wasn't hard. All he needed to do now was make her remember how weak she was.

 

--- Shogun roughly 12 years earlier, on the farmstead nearest the caverns ---

 

 

Mirdala was busy helping her father in his home workshop repair some of the farming equipment when she heard the ship approaching. She glanced up at Jorbe, curious since she didn’t think they were expecting any visitors. TeVerd was home, and her Uncle Hwulf had been better about comming ahead before just dropping in, either by himself or with various family members in tow.

 

Jorbe, up to his elbows in grease, jerked his head towards the door for the teenager to see who had landed. Mirdala wiped her hands off on one of the shop towels and strode out towards the back field that usually functioned as a makeshift landing zone for the various comings and goings on the sted.

 

Her face brightened when she saw the familiar ship touching down. “It’s Carid!” She called before dashing off to greet her “Uncle,” another Seeker like TeVerd and Hwulf.

 

By the time she’d jogged over to the ship, she could see his familiar tan armor appearing from within the ship’s interior into the late morning Shogun sun. “Welcome yaim!” she called hugging him as he stepped off the ramp. “It’s been a long time!”

 

He laughed bending down to scoop her up in a bear hug. “Kih’edeemi, you’ve managed to shoot up while we’ve been away!”

 

“Not by much though,” a deep voice teased as his boots clinked against the boarding ramp, before he shyly added, “Hey, Dika.”

 

She looked past her uncle to the man in the green and black armor and smiled. “Fieyr!” Carid set her down so she could greet him. “It’s been too long,” She was flaring happily at being reunited with her occasional training partner. She looked back at Carid, “How long will you two be staying?"

 

“A couple of days, at least. Depending on our next job, we might not be back this way for a while and wanted to see you before your verd’goten.”

 

“Great! I’ll go let buir know to set a few extra spots,” Then she dashed off before either of them could say anything further.

 

---

 

That night, after the family had eaten, Fieyr found himself seeking out TeVerd. Now that the girl was nearly an adult, her training under him was almost at an end. Now was the time to pursue getting better training for himself from a Seeker that was still very much active, not the semi-retired, stick-in-the-mud that Carid was. So far he felt he’d learned all the other man was willing to teach him and was beginning to get more and more frustrated that, when it came to some of the more Seeker-specific skills, Carid was holding out on him.

 

He caught the metallic sound of someone in the workshop and followed his connection with his kind, not surprised when it turned out to be the very man he’d been hoping to catch a word with privately. “How goes it?” He began politely as he stepped into the light of the workshop to see TeVerd’s legs sticking out from underneath the harvest droid Mirdala and Jorbe had been working on when they’d arrived.

 

"Greasy," TeVerd muttered, not stopping his work. "I thought this would work better than it did, and now I want to know what went wrong." He rustled around under the droid for a bit before pulling his hand back with a muttered curse as one of the pieces snapped back unexpectedly and pinched the side of his hand. "How went the hunt?" he asked after a moment of resuming his work.

 

Fieyr shrugged, “Target was turned in intact, so we got a bit of a bonus for that. Sometimes I feel these hunts don’t quite challenge my skills enough. I suppose I should be thankful for the work, though."

 

"That's what hunting is really about, you know. Taking scum out of circulation, and being able to feed your family all at the same time." The older Seeker remarked over the sound of a tool whirring. “Or you could always strike out on your own if you’re seeking a challenge. Chasing solo is a lot harder without a good partner at your side."

 

The younger ageless frowned at the comment. “I was hoping to learn more from you actually,” Fieyr started. “Of course after Mirdala goes through her verd’goten and chooses her own path. I’d like to be your hunt partner."

 

TeVerd gritted his jaw, sighed and slid out to face the young hybrid. “It doesn’t matter what path she chooses. I don’t train others to become Seekers. You’re Carid’s student, and if he’s opted not to teach you, then I’m not going behind his back. It demonstrates a lack of discipline and respect. Both of which only serves to point out that you don’t have the right mindset or what it takes to follow this path.” He wiped his hands on a towel, realizing that he wasn’t likely to get much more work done on the droid.

 

The young man bristled at his words but wisely suppressed his frustration. “You surely don’t think that she’ll be able to keep up with you. She isn’t one of our kind."

 

“I don’t take her on those hunts."

 

“And if she chooses that she wants to follow your path?"

 

“We'll deal with it if it ever comes to that,” TeVerd said simply, a strong part of him hoping that it never came to that. “What happens between myself and my hunt partner is none of your business, Verd'ika."

 

“Why then? Why won’t you share your skills with me?” He demanded.

 

“I’ve already answered that. If you want to learn that badly, then it’s Carid you need to prove it to.” He strode past the younger man, resting a hand on his shoulder before continuing to the house to go clean up before bed.

 

---

 

Fieyr avoided TeVerd the next day, opting to spend more time with Mirdala, challenging her to various puzzle games and, for all appearances, enjoying spending time with his training mate.

 

For her part, Mirdala was happy to get to spend time with him. He was the only Ageless-kin she’d ever met that was close to her age and wasn’t part of the family. She loved hearing about his hunt stories and hearing about the new skills he’d gained.

 

Watching the two of them that afternoon, Cyare elbowed her husband. “It’s about time Mirdala had her first crush.” She smiled.

 

Jorbe scowled. “What about Soresh?”

 

Mirdala’s mother shook her head. “I don’t think that she’s ever latched onto him the way he has to her. She assures me that they’re just friends. Besides, she’s never looked at Soresh the same way she’s looking at Fieyr now."

 

Jorbe crossed his arms. “I’m going to give Ciria a call and see if Soresh wants to visit for dinner.”

 

“You can’t control where her attentions go any more than she can, my love."

 

“I can sure as hell try."

 

 

---

 

"So, what's going on with you and your apprentice?" TeVerd asked Carid carefully. "Getting enough work, aren't you?"

 

Carid looked up from the bodysuit he was inspecting and gave his friend a curious look.

 

"Came to you with his boredom, huh? He wants to do Seeker stuff, no secret there. Thinks it's a birthright and all that osik. I'm still hoping he'll settle down a bit, grow up a little. Otherwise, I just can't see training him as a Seeker. He may make a great hunter the way he's going, but not a Seeker."

 

Carid set down the bodysuit with a sigh. "Truth be told, I think your hunt partner may be distracting him. He's always trying to learn more about her, like when she started training and all."

 

He held up his hands hurriedly. "I haven't told him anything, mind you, but I'm starting to think he may have an infatuation for the little one. I’m sure it’s just a harmless crush, he’s about the right age." Catching a glance at the set of TeVerd’s jaw, the other Seeker shrugged and decided it was best to go back to rechecking his gear.

 

---

Fieyr sat underneath one of the more prominent trees that afforded a bit of shade while he pretended to read his holonovel while watching Mirdala go about her regular chores, before deciding he’d likely have better luck getting what he was after if he helped her. He couldn’t help but smile to himself as she eagerly accepted his help with the dishes from the evening meal.

 

Watching Mirdala out of the corner of his eye, he dried the dishes she was washing and put them up where she’d indicated. “How about we head out to our old sparring area once we’re done with clean up? We can see what each other has learned these last few months.” He suggested and smiled when he felt her spark of excitement.

 

“You’re on! Buir said that Soresh is on his way over once he’s done with dinner at his house so we can all spar together. Won’t that be fun?” She began to pick up her pace a bit on the dishes. He’d never known her to turn down a good sparring match.

 

Soresh being there wasn’t quite what he had in mind, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it now other than match her pace and rush her to the glen before the other human brat could interfere. He wasn't all that worried, though. Mirdala was just a human with some slight empathic ability, and Soresh was only human.

 

The two of them reached the small clearing in the jungle quickly, and she began stretching in preparation for what she supposed to be a physical sparring match. For his part, Fieyr quietly reached out, feeling where she connected with his kind and began working his way in to see what she knew. He would be in and in control before she could do anything about it.

 

Fi’ika, what are you doing?” she glanced up at him, not quite sure what to make of his incessant buzzing.

 

“Nothing you need worry about Mird’ika,” he said sweetly as he moved closer to her practicing what he remembered from his conversation with Tremme, an older Ageless he'd encountered during a layover after one of his solo hunts.

 

She rose and began to try to move away from him, suddenly not entirely sure why her body wasn’t obeying her commands. A chill went through her and her, mind screamed at the familiarity of the feeling, though, she suspected, the source was different and more powerful than the demogolka’s had been.

 

Fieyr felt her spike of fear and used it against her to delve deeper into her frail, human mind as he crept closer making sure to cut off her ability to scream to TeVerd or Carid.

 

 

 

Soresh had rush straight over to the Ad’Goran’s stead as soon as his mother had cleared him. He’d arrived at the house only to find out from Jorbe that Mirdala and Fieyr had already headed to the glen where the three of them had trained together when the Carid’s apprentice was around.

 

Running to the edge of the clearing, he paused, slightly out of breath from running full speed. He grabbed a small tree for support before he realized that something felt wrong ahead of him in the glade.

 

At Soresh’s side, Mirdala's sandhound, Cabur, began snarling, his hackles raised as he advanced on Fieyr, determined to protect his partner.

 

Soresh shook his head, confused. He was feeling off balance at an animal level, and it made him uncertain what was going on. Shaking himself out of his funk, he started walking towards the trio, hands up in a warding gesture.

 

"Hey, Fieyr, whatever you're doing, you need to stop. You're ticking off Cabur and Mird'ika doesn't seem to like it either, vod."

 

 

 

The taller teen wheeled to look at the interloping human as Cabur launched himself at the Ageless-hybrid, knocking him off-balance and breaking his concentration from trying to bulldoze his way past the walls of resistance he’d unexpectedly encountered in the young girl.

 

“Stupid mutt.” He refocused his energy in lashing her bonded hound into submission, smiling wickedly as it seemed to jar her as well as she tried to muster her strength again to fight him.

 

Mirdala cried out as she felt him lash Cabur and the large hound whined as the other Ageless tried to block his bond with Mirdala. Tenacious as ever, she managed to tackle Fieyr to the ground despite the screaming through going her mind.

 

Spurred to action by her movement, Soresh rushed over and grabbed at Fieyr, trying to get an armlock on the other man.

 

He felt the small hairs on his neck prickle when a wicked growl cut through the trees.

 

Fieyr bolstered his strength and managed to throw off Soresh as he suddenly refocused all his energy on trying to do the most damage possible to Mirdala because he knew his time was short. He picked her up from the ground, his eyes glowing a bright orange as he slammed her roughly against a tree, hoping the physical blow, coupled with his earlier attempt had worn her down enough for him to prove his point.

 

Somehow she still found the will and strength to fight him, and she screamed in her own rage as she struggled against him as his hand closed around her throat, silencing her again.

 

He suddenly felt himself being flung backward and it took him a moment to register that this imposter had another secret. She wasn't just an interloper to his birthright. She was some kind of abomination. He snarled in disgust as he lunged at her again, knocking her to the ground physically and trying to mentally overpower her.

 

Soresh was up again and was trying to pull the denser being off of her, not sure why he couldn’t string his thoughts together, but instinct to protect his friend kept driving him.

 

Mirdala struggled against the Ageless-hybrid as he pinned her down. Fear started to grip her as she tried to keep him out of her mind. Suddenly, she felt the tension in her throat give a little as Fieyr suddenly flinched like he'd been hit. Tey was on his way to help; she just had to fight him long enough.

 

 

 

TeVerd wasn't aware of the forest passing. His secondary lenses had dropped in place, and everything was relayed to his brain in colors of heat and reflected light. All he could hear with his ears was growling. Mostly his own, but the slightly lower growl of Carid behind him, trying to keep pace.

 

On a deeper level, he could feel. He felt the menace projected by a much younger Ageless-kin, and he felt the terror and pain from his young trainee, Mirdala. He wasn't even really aware of the shock from slamming into Fieyr. All he could think of was grabbing him and rolling him away from Mirdala.

 

 

 

Soresh had caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and had disengaged with Fieyr just as TeVerd slammed into him. Acting on instinct, he grabbed Mirdala and drug her to the opposite side of the clearing before finally collapsing against one of the trees. He was vaguely aware of her balling up next to him. Neither of them was conscious for long, having worn themselves out from their own engagement.

 

 

 

Cabur felt Tey’s stronger pull and command and put himself squarely between the two humans and Ageless that were facing off against one another.

 

 

Fieyr wasn’t quite sure what had hit him until he recognized TeVerd’s glowing violet eyes in the tumble of limbs.

 

Suddenly the two of them rolled apart, and Fieyr squared off against TeVerd as he circled only to have Carid slam into him as well. “The haran were you trying, boy? I sure as osik didn’t teach it to you.” Carid growled at his soon-to-be ex-student as he smashed him into a nearby tree, severely cracking the trunk with the force of the impact.

 

 

 

Fieyr tried to shrug it off but was stunned and hurt. Taken by surprise, he knew he couldn't take on two natural born Ageless, especially not with all of the experience these two had. He squared off against his teacher, trying to focus on disrupting his concentration with an emotional probe.

 

But then his head exploded into pain and brightness. He went to his knees, holding his head with both hands, feeling like it was trying to pull apart.

 

"No, boy, that's how you use a lash." He heard TeVerd growl as a boot came in from the side to solidly connect with his abdomen.

 

"And you never assume that that's the only battle you need to be fighting," the Seeker growled as Fieyr tried to roll away.

 

TeVerd focused on the much younger man, putting all his will into a very precise emotional strike.

 

Fieyr slumped, breath ragged. “What makes…her worthy?” He managed to get out willfully.

 

 

 

Carid looked up from where he’d been shielding Mirdala and Soresh from any further connection with Fieyr, growling in disgust as he rounded on him. He lashed him as well, rendering the boy unconscious and suppressing the threat to the others for the moment, just as Jorbe caught up with them.

 

The blacksmith looked around, noting how Carid was positioned and where Mirdala was curled up. “What the hell did he do to them?” He touched his daughter’s back tenderly, only to have her scream and force push him back into Carid.

 

Jorbe staggered for a moment, dazed as the other Ageless steadied him back to his feet. Jorbe looked at Carid for an explanation, but the hunter’s face was a grim mask.

 

He turned back to his child as he cautiously approached her again, “Mird’ika, udesii, it’s buir. You’re safe now. We’ve got you."

 

TeVerd looked up from his examination of Fieyr's slumped form. "Let's make sure the kids are okay and leash this feral mongrel for the night away from everyone. Come morning, we're going to have to deal with him."

 

He cast a glance at Carid, nudging him along their empathic connection.

 

Carid nodded, understanding. TeVerd had taken the decision out of his hands.

 

 

---

 

Cyare was examining Soresh, having already seen to her daughter when TeVerd re-entered the house. “What happened? They both seem fine, physically, as far as I can tell, but I can’t know what else to look for without more information."

 

"If they're physically okay, then they'll recover," Tey said flatly. "They're mostly in shock from being attacked by someone they trusted." He paused. "Mirdala kept him at bay, but it exhausted her in the process."

 

“That still doesn’t tell me what happened.” She replied, crossing her arms.

 

“I don’t know what he did to her, sir,” Soresh interjected looking at TeVerd. “I just knew that she was trying to fight him off and Cabur seemed to get mad and attacked him. Then he backed down quickly for some reason. I guess Fieyr had a screamer or something on him that hurt Cabur’s ears. I don’t remember anything after I rushed him. Why would he hurt her like that?"

 

"Jealousy." Tey shrugged. "Hard to sum it up much beyond that, since we haven't questioned the hut'uun."

 

“Is she okay?” Soresh asked Cyare.

 

“She’s going to be okay, Sor'ika,” she said gently. “I think that TeVerd should see her first though. You rest up here.” She looked up at TeVerd, trusting him to handle the situation. She motioned for Tey to follow her out of earshot of Soresh.

 

“I’ll kill him myself if he sets foot on this farm again,” she said darkly. “You can still feel her in your bond? The way Soresh described Cabur behaving worried me that he’d somehow been able to shut off her ability, or at least her bond with her hound."

 

"She's still there," Tey assured her. "Just ragged and tattered. Tired."

 

He shrugged at the opening statement. "Carid and I will deal with little Fieyr. Mirdala won't have to see him again."

 

Cyare nodded, seemingly satisfied with his assessment and the fact he was handling the issue. “I’ll go start some caf. It looks like it’s going to be a long night for all of us. I’ll let Ciria know he’ll be staying here tonight.” She left him just outside Mirdala’s door.

 

He nodded, and then softly knocked on Mirdala's door frame before letting himself in.

 

"So, had enough excitement for a while," he asked, subtly and gently examining her in the empathic haze.

 

She was curled up in a ball on her bed, Jorbe not far from her side. She flinched slightly at the intrusion but managed to relax enough when she reminded herself that it was just Tey checking on her. Quick as a flash, though, she was across the room and crying into his shirt. “Why? Why did-he? I-I c-couldn’t. H-he, H-he…” She tried before giving up and just trying to regain her own stability within the bond that she shared with her brother.

 

Tey gently stroked her hair. "Udesii, Mird'ika, udesii. He can't get at you again. You held him off, and now he won't be able to try again."

 

He could feel her recoil from within their bond and feel how shattered she felt, almost the same way she’d felt when she’d stowed away and found herself face to face with the demagolka. He could sense that this hurt, anger, and confusion went much deeper considering how much she’d trusted the Ageless boy. “How could he?” she finally managed, barely above a whisper, her face etched with disbelief and pain. “Did I do something to make him do this to me? He was supposed to be my friend..."

 

Tey could see Jorbe’s jaw clench and noticed the other man’s knuckles were white as he was apparently working for the benefit of his daughter to contain his rage at the younger man. It was one of the few time TeVerd had ever seen the blacksmith lost for words and without a spark of his natural optimistic resilience he’d come to expect from the man.

 

Cabur looked up from his spot on Mirdala’s bed and whined, worried for his partner and embarrassed that he hadn’t been able to protect her from this unexpected threat.

 

"I think he's broken inside, Dika or he just doesn't understand what being a warrior and hunter really means. Or a Mando, actually." Tey said quietly. "So far as I can tell now, he became jealous of you."

 

“That’s no reason to force your way into someone’s mind,” she whispered.

 

"I think he's broken, inside, Dika, not a stable, whole, warrior at all," Tey repeated softly, gently nudging her reassuringly in their bond.

 

She stepped away from him sniffing. He could tell that he'd given her something to think about as Jorbe rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

Tey ruffled her hair. "At least you know your pal Soresh, and your other partner there, will fight for you and with you, no matter what the threat is."

 

She stroked Cabur's soft sand colored coat. "Fieyr didn't hurt Sor'ika did he?" She asked, suddenly worried about her best friend.

 

"He'll be okay. More confused than anything."

 

"Can I see him?" She looked from her father to Tey and back again.

 

Jorbe sighed. "Remember he doesn't know about your gifts, Mird'ika. He's not going to understand what he witnessed. The question is, would seeing you confuse the poor boy further?" He looked to Tey for guidance in these very uncharted circumstances. "My duty is to protect you, my most precious daughter, first and foremost."

 

"Let him rest, Mird'ika, and you get some, too. You both can congratulate yourselves on holding your own against a veteran Hunter at breakfast, okay? You know it's hard to process a battle when you're tired and sore."

 

He nodded at Jorbe. "And your buir is right. Soresh isn't going to understand what all was going on. He doesn't have a gift like you, so he didn't really feel it the way I could, okay?"

 

She looked like she was about to protest, but nodded to the two of them as she crawled back up into her bed. Cabur lept up next to her, placing himself lengthways alongside his partner and making it so anyone wanting to get to Mirdala would have to go directly through him.

 

--- Present ---

 

“But it did its job,” the crimson-skinned Twi’lek purred as she donned the old helmet, drawing Fieyr’s focus back toward the present. “She’s alone and cut off from the others. It’s a pity you’ll never truly understand the intricacies of the Force.” The ancient helmet was just large enough to adequately accommodate her head-tails. Victory was within her grasp, all she had to do is reach out and take it.

 

Fieyr gave a small snort and returned to acquainting himself with the spoils of their trek into the hidden caverns that it had taken him years and many Seekers to find. Finally, he had his birthright, or as close to it as the damn ghosts would let him get. He’d shown Carid who was the better of the two of them. He’d prove to TeVerd and whatever others the abomination had brought with her that he would claim what would not be given to him, one way or another.

 

Besides, Randavok’s weapon rested so comfortably in his hands. How fitting was it that Mirdala Ad’Goran would die by a weapon of the First Seeker?

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett followed his riduur, keeping just far enough back that she would not be within the ysalamir bubble. Although the lizard would provide an important tactical advantage against Ab'ki, it was a double-edged beskad, and the fact that none of them had noticed the ceiling trap made it better to rely on Mirdala's Force precognition to detect any subsequent ones.

 

They kept open comms with the other two Seekers off down their own branch of the tunnel. About a minute into their walk, Rhys reported enemy contact with a patrol, but after a moment the firefight had ended and they proceeded. Fett and Mirdala noted that their elevation was dropping while Vy'ika stated that their own was holding level, which did not speak well of their chances of meeting up again. If the Seeker ghosts were leading him and Mirdala to Ab'ki, they would have to face the dar'jetii without backup.

 

Fett forced himself to remain on high alert despite his weariness from the last few days with little sleep. Any moment they would be in the fight of their lives with no guarantee that they would walk away. Every fight was important -- Fett did not enter combat unless he was willing to give his life to achieve his objective. But the stakes were higher for this one, as they could impact the future of the Sector and the Mandalorian way of life for years. They could not fail, certainly not due to inattentiveness. He needed to be at his best for just a bit longer.

 

It wasn't that long. In his penetrating radar he spied two wireframes ahead around one final bend in the cave passage. One was approximately human but enormous, broad and maybe seven feet tall like TeVerd and even taller than Rhys and Vy'ika. The other was diminutive by comparison and slim. Fieyr and Ab'ki. They were waiting. Fett paused.

 

"Careful!" he transmitted over their implants when Mirdala continued blindly forward, not sensing the ambush. He darted forward just as she reached the bend and shoved her flat against the cave wall just as Fieyr's opportunistic volley of blaster fire erupted from his position, scattering chips of stone and bioluminescent flora across the passageway.

 

Fett responded to the assault with a grenade, ricocheting it around the corner. He watched the Fieyr wireframe dart for cover and surged around the bend, assault rifle up as he assessed the tactical situation. The chamber was large and tall. In the far corner and in a small winding path through the area was standing water from the natural spring. Numerous stalactites and stalagmites dotted the area, sometimes joining together to form stone columns. The center of the room bore a sort of stone table or perhaps an ancient sarcophagus, behind which stood who could only be Ab'ki. She wore the trappings of a Sith, but upon her head was an oversized buy'ce out of which her orange lekku dangled. To one side, now behind a pillar as the concussion grenade detonated, was Fieyr in a heavy green-and-black beskar'gam, carrying a rifle and an enormous beskad.

 

Ab'ki appeared for the moment unarmed, but as Fett and Mirdala moved into the room, she let loose a powerful blast of Sith lightning which flashed across the gap before dissipating harmlessly a meter before its target. Fett fired back, but she caught the nearest bolts on her outstretched palm, and then into her hand slapped the metallic hilt of a jetii'kad, its crimson blade sparking to life.

 

The adrenaline started pumping. It would last until victory or death.

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Mirdala hit the wall with a grunt, for a split second wondering what he’d been able to see that she’d missed with her Force and empathic senses when the rocks in the space she’d been in just a moment before began to shatter and chip from the momentary onslaught. Mentally she cursed, now recognizing the blind spot Fieyr had created using her senses against her.

 

It wasn’t hard to place it as the same technique TeVerd had used for years to prevent her burgeoning Force and empathic abilities from being detected while she was growing up. There was something perverse in how he’d twisted the same skill and technique he’d learned from her father and Carid to try and take her out. It had been short-sighted for her to think that the hybrid Ageless who’d seen fit to attack her, just for existing, wouldn’t also be quick to warp and twist the skills he’d learned beside her into something profane.

 

It also served as a reminder that, even with her Force and empathic abilities, there was no substitution for the right toolkit and Kandor’s had just saved her life. Extra senses can be fooled just like any other, she reminded herself and the Huntress as she patched into Kandor’s helmet systems via their implant link. She might not be able to share her other senses with him, but she’d be damned if they’d be used against them both again. Instruments were harder to fool as the last few moments had just proved.

 

As the layout of the cavern fed into her readouts, Mirdala felt her temper flare as she and Kandor entered the room and she caught sight of two of the beings in the galaxy that had sought to make her life a personal hell and make the sector burn for their pleasure. These two were at the heart of such destruction, so many Mandalorian deaths, including the innocent children that had died so brutally on Mandalore.

 

Ab’ki was here to desecrate Ragnavok’s resting place, but to Mirdala being forced to sacrifice children for the sake of a city was more infuriating. The Sith had left her gristly mark in the forced choices that she’d made the people of the Mandalore Sector accept -- all because of the death of one man. As hard as it was -- with all that she’d seen, all that had been done to her at the hands of Ab’ki’s agents, all that had been taken from her and her family, and all that the families of the Sector had and continued lose -- Mirdala knew that giving herself over to that anger would only lead to mistakes.

 

As the Sith woman unleashed her volley of lightning, Mirdala swung her rifle in Fieyr’s direction keeping him pinned down, though she knew that would hardly curtail him from the fight.

 

------ Ab'ki ------

Confused as much by whatever blocked her lightning assault as well as the additional presence of ShadowFett alongside Mirdala, Ab’ki was grateful that it was safely hidden from behind the ancient Mandalorian helmet. Her lover had died wearing his, by all accounts, so it was all the more fitting that Ad’Goran and ShadowFett should meet their ends while she wore one stolen from the grave of a Seeker.

 

The rounds fell harmlessly to the floor as she drew her saber, determined to return the favor of killing a lover for a lover, and advanced cautiously on ShadowFett, unleashing another volley of lightning which terminated at approximately the same point as the last round.

 

What abomination have they brought with them, she wondered in the back of her mind. It seemed the Force had no reach on this man or Mirdala as they hid like two cowards behind the invisible barrier, so she was left with little choice but to close the distance and deal with this annoyance.

 

------ Fieyr ------

 

Mirdala’s anger wasn’t hard to miss in the empathic connection that connected her to Fieyr. It wasn’t hard to keep digging, poking, and picking at the emotional scars and scabs he knew were there. Whatever was protecting her from Ab’ki’s fury, it wasn’t hampering his ability to pound against her empathic barriers as he lashed out again and again with the measured precision of a sledgehammer. It was only a matter of time before she’d yield to the onslaught and Ab’ki was closing on the pair.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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With her jetii'kad drawn and her Force lightning ineffective, Fett knew Ab'ki's next move would be to close into melee. Although his ysalamir would take away a lot of her edge in melee against him, it was never a safe bet to go toe-to-toe against a lightsaber. Even if his beskar could take a blow, it didn't protect his limbs or waist against a precise strike.

 

Determined to keep her from even getting to them and cut the fight short, he held his assault rifle for a moment in his left hand and with his right quick-drew his verpine shattergun from his hip holster. Fluttering his finger against the trigger, he sent four magnetically-accelerated rounds downrange towards Ab'ki, their only sound made when they easily broke the sound barrier. The dar'jetii was already in motion, making it a tough shot better executed while sniping from prone. The first round she caught on her crimson blade. The cortosis slug did its work and the lightsaber deactivated. The second round was explosive but missed by a hair and detonated against the cave wall beyond her with a small but bright flash, the third round just behind it. The final round stopped just short of Ab'ki as she somehow managed to snag it with telekinesis.

 

Immediately Fett was out of time as she leaped forward in the wake of the attack, her blade flashing to life again. Fett fell back a step and dropped his shattergun, opening fire with his assault rifle towards the Twi'lek's feet and legs to force her to keep her lightsaber low. She successfully deflected one of his blaster bolts back at him and it scorched along the side of his chestplate. Mirdala, twin beskar kukris drawn, suddenly attacked Ab'ki from the side, making a whirling series of attacks from the edge his ysalamir bubble. Due to their training, she was intimately familiar with the dimensions of the null Force zone and could weave in and out of it to give her the edge in melee.

 

Meanwhile Fieyr popped back out of cover and took a few pot shots, but with Ab'ki in close quarters he opted instead for the enormous stolen beskad. Fett dropped to one knee and sneaked a few blaster bolts past Ab'ki towards him, but he took two of them on his thick beskar plating and continued forward unchecked.

 

Fett dropped the assault rifle and opened up with his flamethrower, sweeping from Fieyr's position to Ab'ki's. The dar'jetii leaped clear over the attack and Mirdala both, but Fieyr somehow charged through it and brought his blade down on Fett, who just managed to divert it with his right gauntlet, the strength of the hit like a wookiee's as the impact reverberated down to his bones. He quickly countered, triggering an explosive dart from his left gauntlet to strike Fieyr's chestplate even as he drew his own beskad and brought it across Fieyr's waistline. He was pretty sure he found some purchase but the part-Ageless was too big and well-built for it to slow him down.

 

ShadowFett had worked hard to gain a physical advantage against most humans, but he couldn't compete outright against Fieyr blow for blow. He'd have to out-think this one. Suddenly Mirdala cut across Fieyr's side through the dispersing smoke to avoid ending up directly between him and Ab'ki, so Fett turned to catch an opportunistic lightsaber strike across his blade. If they could buy a few moments for them both to focus on one target, he was certain they could bring either one down, but neither could be ignored even for a second. Whoever faltered first in coordination or execution would lose.

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Even as Fieyr advanced on the couple while they engaged with Ab’ki, Mirdala had been fighting the mental onslaught. True to form, it was designed to batter her mental walls until they crumbled, and he could begin to pick her apart or dominate her. He'd done it when she was barely a teenager and again when they met in adulthood on the moon of Abraxos where he’d left her to die in the toxic atmosphere, broken and alone. She was stronger this time, but still worried about her ability to meet his assault.

 

Again and again, he slammed into her mental defenses, hammering her through the empathic stream. She could sense her brothers fighting elsewhere in the caves as well, their pain registering in the bond. Mirdala knew Fieyr could detect it too as he changed tactics and pressed against her mind, causing her physical movement as she continued to provide cover for her husband to falter slightly.

 

Just as she felt as though she couldn’t hold them any longer she caught the ghostly forms of Tikkorel and Randavok along side her as she stepped out of the protective bubble. An odd chill washed over her as Randavok’s presence enveloped hers, providing an additional barrier even as the ghost of his wife launched her own attack against Fieyr’s onslaught.

 

Randavok’s assistance afforded her to catch her breath just enough to recall her trials at the hands of the Seeker Ghosts in the northern glaciers of Concord Dawn. Whatever abilities, Fieyr had learned illicitly over the years; it was apparent from his reaction to Tikkorel’s attack that he’d never subjected himself to the judgment of his predecessors in his single-minded pursuit of something he supposedly considered to be his birthright.

 

With Fieyr momentarily distracted, Mirdala was able to launch into another series of attacks against Ab’ki, deflecting her blade away from Kandor as the three of them fought. As her eyes met the ancient helmet’s visor, Mirdala (likely spurred on by Randavok’s energy) drew one of her hands back and used the Force to pull the helmet off of the Sith’s head where it fell into the water with a splash as it bounced away.

 

Ab’ki responded with an act of telekinesis of her own, though with her rage and anger and years of practice it was a lot more significant than Mirdala’s use of the Force to deprive Ab’ki of the helmet’s protection.

 

The first clue that something was up was the low vibrations that Mirdala registered for a split second before the largest stalactite from the cavern’s ceiling came crashing down between her and Kandor.

 

As the dust settled, Mirdala looked up and realized that the stalactite that had fallen now stood between her and Kandor, Ab’ki, and Fieyr. Getting to her feet, Mirdala moved to dash around to get back to them only to stop cold as Ab’ki invaded her mind, as the Sith drew on the work Fieyr had been doing to widen the cracks in her defense.

 

Mirdala cried out as she was assailed with her own memories, weaponized against her.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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The stalactite was unexpected, and ShadowFett was astounded at the sheer power Ab'ki displayed in pulling it down. Meters across, it could easily have crushed both him and Mirdala if they hadn't been just quick enough to clear it. The result was not significantly better. Separated from his riduur even for a few seconds, he would need to defend himself against the combined onslaught from both of their enemies until she could get back.

 

There was no time to think about it. Giving himself over to training and instinct and leaning heavily on his Moon Knight memories, Fett simply acted.

 

Parrying a strike from the Twi'lek's jetii'kad, he ducked a head-level blow from Fieyr and felt his targeting rangefinder snap off his buy'ce as the blade dragged across the soft stone of the stalactite behind him. He spun and triggered his repulsor pack, propelling himself off the surface to slam shoulder-first into Fieyr, but the man barely staggered. Fett pivoted around him, trying to get the big man between him and the lightsaber, but Ab'ki spun the other way and met him there. He warded off the resulting attack with his right gauntlet again, using an adapted Teras Kasi arm block. The blade cleaved his wrist laser clean in half however.

 

Dropping back a step the other way, Fett attempted to move towards Mirdala, but Fieyr cut him off with a vertical blow that had all the finesse of a sledgehammer. Retaliating, Mand'alor swung for his kneecap while with his left hand he drew his sonic pistol from that hip and triggered a few blasts. Fieyr grunted but Ab'ki twisted away with her Force-enhanced reflexes before sweeping rocks and debris from the area and telekinetically using it to pummel him. Fett shielded himself as best as he could, but a large chunk clipped him on the left shoulder and slammed him back into the stalactite, jarring the ysalamir case magnetized to his repulsor pack out to one side. Fieyr was again right there before him, leveling his enormous beskad at Fett's chest diamond, intent on skewering him, plate or not.

 

Fett did the only thing he could. He pitched both his weapons, released the magnet on the beskar ysalamir case and whipped it around front, interposing it between the blade and his chest. The pointed tip immediately penetrated the first layer of metal, proceeded through it, skewered the lizard which gave an audible shriek, broke the far plane of the case, and punctured perhaps three millimeters deep into Fett's chest diamond before finally running out of momentum, again slamming him jarringly back into the stalactite hard enough that for an instant his vision blurred.

 

Too close. Moon Knight twisted the case and managed to rip the beskad from a surprised Fieyr's grasp, but as he did so he felt his left elbow, weakened by the speeder wreck and subsequent days of fighting, finally give out, and that wasn't the worst of it. Ab'ki immediately noticed the death of the ysalamir. Her now-visible orange and red eyes clouded with hate as she turned upon him. Fieyr stepped back next to the stream cutting through the chamber to draw another weapon and Ab'ki let loose another blast of Force lightning against which Fett now had no defense. Electricity coursed over his armor and played havoc on his buy'ce's computer systems as he felt his skin burn. He lost muscular control and the whole oyu'baat became pain.

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She could still feel their hands on her as she curled up against the cave wall and tried her best not to be sick from the combination of their scent that still persisted and the mixture of drugs that were continuously running through her system. Bile rose in her throat despite her best efforts, and she managed to make it to the far corner of her cell before what meager remains of her last meal - Manda knows how long ago now - wound up on the floor.

 

At least Sandy isn’t here to see me like this, Mirdala thought as a burning rage began to grow within her chest as she spat again, though it was hard to surrender the moisture when she was already so dehydrated. She still couldn’t believe they’d killed the girl just because Mirdala had refused to give up information on CoreSec or Kandor.

 

Kandor.

 

Something wasn’t right. He’d made it in time. Lura and his pitiful excuses for men were dead - and by her hand. Yet, in that moment, all that she could fathom was the presence of her tormentors.

 

No, no, no, her mind warred with itself as the lines of time and reality seemed to blur. Focus, she willed herself as the footsteps approached again and she could see the shadow of his boots in the small gap under the bulkhead door. You know what’s real. You know what happened, she fought back against the wrongness of what her body and mind were telling her.

 

The door slid aside to reveal Kandor, dressed in a black t-shirt and pants, the same way he’d looked the night she’d awoken from another visit from one of her nightmares about Ca. It had been early in the rekindling of their relationship, but his simple act of being there for her as she battled them had led to all of the nights since. His love and faith in her had brought her to this point, and she was damned if she was going to let him down now against Ab’ki.

 

Ab’ki. Ca.

 

So you want to play do you? Mirdala pushed back, finding that piece of Ab’ki that had gained a foothold within her mind and followed it back out, her mind becoming mercurial as she followed it back out. Ab’ki realized what was happening and tried to pull back out, but it was too late. She’d overreached, and now Mirdala was in her mind.

 

Suddenly Mirdala was in a clearing high in the mountains on the northern continent of Concord Dawn just as a crimson lightsaber tore past her flank. She was right where she wanted to be.

 

Rolling to the side, more out of instinct than any conscious use of the Force, she grabbed the besk’ad of one of the fallen rookies in her patrol. The momentum carried her forward where she squared off against the black-clad demagolka as he took another swing at the sixteen-year-old girl that dared defy him.

 

“You don’t have to be stupid about this, girl,” he snarled, bringing his guard up as she went on the offensive. Ab’ki could sense her lover’s interest in the Mandalorian whelp and his desire to bring her into his worship one way or the other.

 

His foot kicked out, and she was on her back with his lightsaber inches from her neck guard as she fought him back with a strength that could only have come from her latent Force abilities. Behind his black buy’ce he smiled in satisfaction. If only he could turn this one to his cause!

 

Mirdala had other plans, though, as she felt Taen and Reska getting closer through the other sense she possessed, one Ca had never truly understood. Even as he’d tried to invade the child’s mind the way he had the others, she had not fallen to his powers but had risen against him.

 

As Taen and Reska approached, she could feel Ca’s attempt to control her lessen as he had to step back to defend against the volley of blaster bolts that now came from the first reinforcements on the scene.

 

Pure instinct took over for Mirdala as she lunged at him, deflecting his lightsaber with her beskar gauntlet and finding an opening with the boot knife she’d drawn while he was distracted.

 

His lightsaber fell from his hands, deactivating as the girl continued to plunge her knife into his body until Taen had issued a command that was ultimately ignored until one of the other rookies had approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

Even as Ab’ki had renewed her assault on Kandor, Mirdala’s counter left her anger growing stronger. You want to play dirty, girl? You don’t know who you’re dealing with…

 

Mirdala staggered backward losing precious seconds to getting back to Kandor’s side.

 

A high pitched mewling scream broke what had been the tense silence as a new life was brought red-face and protesting into Kandor’s waiting arms.

 

The image quickly shifted to the hauntingly familiar armor of Judyc Viba as he plunged the knife into her, ripping the child from the vision she’d shared with Kandor from them even before the chance at his existence had been made possible.

 

Mirdala screamed in rage.

 

You couldn’t save your own child or the children of Mandalore…

 

Ab’ki pressed the attack assailing her with image after image of the carnage and fates of the children sacrificed for the ritual. All this innocent blood on your hands...you’ve never been strong enough…

 

Then Mirdala felt it. An undeniable tear in the very fiber of her being in the same instant she heard the crackling coming across her implant before the connection went dark and she was left deaf to all around her as her galaxy seemed to collapse inward around her.

 

Her father was dead. She could feel Fieyr’s very smugness as she sensed the genuine danger that she was close to losing her husband all in the same moment.

 

With a low growl that grew into a cry of defiance, Mirdala used her rage and pain to shatter through not just Ab’ki’s mental assault but to lash out at Fieyr as well, while defenses she wasn’t even aware of locking down into place as the Huntress took her over once again. What had seemed an eternity within the fluid grasp of time within their minds had only covered several seconds in the waking world.

 

As she rounded the corner of the ruined stalactite, her hand was already extended calling Kirlocca’s lightsaber to her and using it to deflect Ab’ki’s the lightning from Kandor to Fieyr. Everything was pure instinct as she pushed away the gaping hole she felt within her soul as she swore, Like haran I’ll let you take him from me, too!

 

Pure, deadly focus borne of the Huntress TeVerd had raised drove forward to close with the Sith that had stolen so much from her and her family over the years.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett dropped to his knees when the lightning finally subsided, his beskar'gam glowing red from the heat and his muscles still twitching. His buy'ce's systems were totally haywire and even his implant was shorted. Mirdala stood over him, Kirlocca's blue jetii'kad, pulled from its place within his satchel, blazing furiously in her hands. She had always sworn she would never draw a Jedi's weapon, even when Kirlocca himself had offered to instruct her in its use. But now it nonetheless stood ignited in his defense, and he knew it wouldn't stop there.

 

The fight wasn't over. Forcing his muscles to cooperate in a tremendous act of physical discipline, Fett grabbed one of the last functioning weapons he had in reach -- his disruptor carbine. The tendrils of lightning Ab'ki continued to pour onto Mirdala's blade were now reflecting off and spiking out in random directions, and Fieyr had caught a bolt or two, but he seemed to be staggered by something else, perhaps empathic. Whatever had happened, Mirdala was furious.

 

Still Fieyr was pushing forward against whatever force was opposing him. ShadowFett leaped and threw himself at the huge Ageless hybrid feet-first, connecting with a solid clack against his thick plates and landing on his back. Fieyr stumbled and so ended up ankle deep in the running water on the cave floor -- water which now was conducting freely the Sith lightning arcing between Mirdala and Ab'ki.

 

Finally Mand'alor brought his disruptor to bear and opened fire upon his paralyzed target, having to make the shot unsteadily with the carbine held in one hand. The energy blast struck waist-level and half of Fieyr's body was disintegrated instantly, what remained dropping as a heap of beskar and body parts into the water with a series of splashes, the stream running purplish red.

 

The lightning stopped as Ab'ki witnessed the death of her Kath hound. "Take her, Mird'ika," Fett urged his riduur.

 

He had one or two tricks left. His luma darts, which would have been tremendously effective normally, were inaccessible. He couldn't trust himself to make another one-handed shot with his disruptor, especially with Mirdala in melee and Ab'ki with access to the Force. But he did have a short cortosis blade which he now pulled, snapping it out to its 24-inch length. He looked upon the flashing lightsabers and waited for an opportunity.

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