Moon Knight

Rahg probably would be a problem without someone keeping an eye on him, Fett reflected. The Omicron had a strict shoot-first policy when it came for Force users of any kind, and seemed to be disgruntled at best even allowing Mirdala to continue breathing. But he would just have to k'atini and deal with it in this case. They had enough backstabbing to worry about from Ab'ki's agents to have more going on between those who actually shared a cause. "No problem," he told Aryian lightly. "The Augury may be years past, but it'd be a disservice to forget it." The bonds he had built with Mirdala and Kirlocca during those days had led to significant connections since then, and one or all of them would have been dead by now without them. Fett's relationship with Aryian had never been as strong, and at times the man was a riddle to him, but he wasn't ready to discard it. Even during his lone wolf days, contacts had been everything, and those days were past. He flipped over to the team channel with a look-and-blink command inside his buy'ce. "See that you do. We'll meet up later, Mirdala." -------------------- Over the next few hours Fett returned to the Oyu'baat and resumed his work building his command staff and starting to organize Sector defense. Some of the better-organized clans were already starting to report in with troop numbers, and a battle-ready force was beginning to take shape. But before he and the others could finalize assignments, he needed to have the right strategists in place. As a result he actually needed to do some recruiting based on tips he'd been given by others. Clan Buurenaar from Shogun hadn't made the meeting but was home to the tactician that had organized the Mandalorian action on Coruscant at the end of the war, for instance. Fett placed a call and the woman dutifully agreed to serve, and he moved on to the next contact on his list. Not every call was successful. Some Mando'ade had responsibilities at home or out in the galaxy that would force them to sit the battle out. This was expected -- the defense of the Sector would affect everyone, but it would be self-defeating if building the army came at the expense of clan welfare. The land and city utilities would need to be maintained, the children and infirm would need to be watched over, and other critical roles would need to be filled; sometimes that would take even talented verde off the battlefield. But Fett had to trust that whoever he could get would be sufficient for the defense. It didn't take long for him to start going stir-crazy, at any rate. Intent on changing things up, he asked 2277 to keep an eye on incoming calls while he toggled his comm over to the private channel he shared with his riduur. "Itching to get my blood moving," he said. "Want to meet up? I could use a spar."

ShadowFett stared silently at Aryian through his mask for a moment. It took a certain breed of crazy to get involved in someone else's war just for sport or out of boredom. Darkfire would be putting his life on the line with very little to gain, especially considering the Mando'ade hadn't asked for the help of a jetii. What's more, Darkfire was even worse for the wear than he had been when Fett had last fought beside him, and that did not bode well for him... but even at his lowest point Darkfire could fight with the best. It would be foolish not to accept the war veteran's offer in some capacity. Finally he nodded. "Very well," he answered, opening the cell again and heading out into the rustic hallway. "If you're set on it, I'll not turn you away. We can find a place for you in one of the clans defending Keldabe." He found one of the guards lingering nearby. "I know this man. Return his effects to him," he said, continuing to use Basic. "Aye, Mand'alor." The other Mando'ad nodded and opened a nearby footlocker, withdrawing the jetii'kade and other objects taken from Darkfire's person and handing them to the Jedi. Fett eyed Darkfire. "If you dress like that and try to wave lightsabers around on the battlefield when all this starts, you're likely to get shot by your own team," he said. He gestured at his black plates with his thumb. "I don't suppose I could convince you to wear a beskar'gam?" They would either need to find an extra set or requisition one from Ahzinger or one of the other armorsmiths. He didn't think it would be an issue, as long as Darkfire took the time to get used to it before the invasion started.

"Force users are unpopular among Mandalorians in the best of times," Fett answered, glancing at Mirdala. Darkfire had identified her Force sensitivity during their time in the Augury and had started to give her basic instruction, but she'd carefully concealed her powers for most of her upbringing, and even now that she had some real training from Kirlocca they were far from public knowledge. "But right now especially so. A mercenary and dark side cultist army put together by a Sith with a grudge is moving against the Mandalore Sector, and the clans are rallying to repel them when they arrive," he explained. "I know you're not associated with them, though, so I'll have you released. I recommend not sticking around. The Sector's not a good place for a Jedi to be." He approached his old associate, shut off his IV drip and began unfastening his restraints. Thankfully Aryian hadn't used the Force to escape on his own or this would have gotten a lot messier. Keldabe was too tense with everything that was happening to have a fugitive jetii on the loose, and things could easily have gotten lethal. Mirdala's silence told Fett that she was still a bit puzzled by the encounter and by Darkfire. Aryian himself was a mess as well, but he'd obviously had a few pints of ne'tral gal. This was not the friendly reunion they'd had with Kirlocca on Corellia.

Kandor rolled onto his back. The interruption was irritating, but it came with the territory. The nature of the comm, however, was unexpected. A suspected Force user with jetii'kade here on Manda'yaim, claiming to know him? He wondered if it had to do with Ab'ki or her people, but then Mirdala handed him the datapad with the feed to where the aruetii was being held and frowned at it. "Looks like osik, but that's Darkfire," he said to his wife. Despite Aryian's condition, Kandor was a little concerned that Mirdala didn't recognize him, even though he knew her experiences on Tatooine had left gaps in her memory. They'd been close allies during the late days of the war -- granted, Fett had been much closer to the Jedi Master and had worked with him on later occasions as well. Their last encounter had been the fateful battle with Faust on Kuat during which Fett had been exposed to trace amounts of RAGE. He had no idea whatsoever what would bring the jetii to Keldabe, but it could wait. He replied to the comm he'd received. "I know this man. Hold onto him for the night but treat him well, I'll come see him in the morning." For now he rolled over and hoped he could at least get a few hours of uninterrupted rest. ---------------------------- Early the next morning Fett rose and got a quick sanisteam. By the time he was out, his comm was blinking and it showed a recorded message from Ahzinger. It was long. He got about five sentences in and realized Vihk was abandoning his responsibilities with his clan out of shame for the previous day's spectacle, then shut it off. The rest of it didn't really matter, he had the information he needed. Piggybacked onto the message though was an encrypted attachment. He had 2277 open it for him and it was an offer from Ahzinger to send arms and armor from his shop to help the war effort. That seemed a much better use of the man's talents than leadership. He told 2277 to note the information so that they could send orders as needed over the coming days. By this time he'd finished putting on his beskar'gam and Mirdala indicated that she was ready as well, so they took the short walk down to where they'd been told Aryian was being kept. Entering the holding area, Fett found the man disheveled but conscious. "I see you're still alive, Darkfire," he said as he looked the grizzled Jedi over. He spoke Basic for the first time in a few days. "Picking fights with Mandalorians in bars your new hobby, or were you actually looking for me?"

"It'd be millions of names for potentially only a few defectors," Kandor said. "We need to make sure they're not in the command structure, but beyond that, we can't catch everyone. The clan leaders already know it's a risk, so hopefully they will use that knowledge well." He crossed his arms. "As for using your abilities more directly, well, I hope it doesn't become necessary, but we can't reject the idea offhand," he said. "Let's just exhaust our less-risky options first. If we can find some of Ab'ki's people here, maybe one of them will be in the know and we can make them talk. Shab, maybe her best people are already in Keldabe. "Until then, we have to assume she could attack any major city and spread our forces around to cover them. There will have to be some reacting once the fighting starts, but the Sector's not that big, so a few hours of scrambling to get everyone in the right place should be acceptable," he continued. "All our focus until then needs to be on getting everything in place, building and organizing the armies. Build a blaster-proof strategy and keep Ab'ki from hearing about it." That was about the long and short of what they could do this early. They didn't even know how large the army of verde they could muster would be. As the details came out over the next several days, they could refine the plan and react to circumstances as needed. Kandor didn't like not being able to plan way ahead, but it was the best they could do for now and he would have his hands full for the duration regardless.

While he had eventually been brought in on most of the aliit's various secrets, Kandor knew firsthand how close to the vest everything was played. He didn't know how much Tresha knew, but it did not surprise him that it seemed to be very little and that she had limited prior experience with the Omicrons. Even Mirdala hadn't known about the clones until she'd encountered them on Coruscant about a year ago. He moved to the middle of the room and used his implant to link his buy'ce's computer with the holoprojector on the table there, then opened his channel to his beskar'ad. "Twenty-two, give me what you've got so far," he said. Some charts, data, and lists of names and pictures started projecting in various organized infographics above the table. Fett turned to Tresha. "Assuming Vy'ika introduced you to everyone, we'll jump right in. This is more or less the team Mirdala and I have been working with for the last few months as we've been trying to piece together the puzzle that eventually pointed us to Ab'ki and this attack." He faced the rest of the team and indicated the hologram. "These are some of the people who have approached me so far," he explained. "Some of them fought under Ordo and Ahzinger during their misguided crusade, but they have practical experience we can tap." Mand'alor indicated one of the faces, and a rough Sector map came up with a number of orange beacons scattered about. "Clan Sintral put up a sensor net we can use to trace incoming and outgoing vessels. If Ab'ki's smart, she'll start moving her people in posing as Mando'ade returning to answer the call, but we'll at least know when the invasion begins by seeing her larger ships coming out of hyperspace." Even the dar'jetii couldn't get away with having proper capital ships with how the Galactic Alliance was regulating them. But the numbers did indicate that she had a few frigate-sized vessels and that there would need to be a space battle as a consequence. "I was also approached by a MandalMotors rep. I'll need to spend some time in their HQ to sort out the details, but they are able to lend a considerable number of ships out to aid in the defense." He gestured and the map drifted off to the side, then he called up a series of city layouts. Dawn, Keldabe, and the capital cities of other worlds such as Ordo were shown. "These are the cities Ab'ki will potentially be targeting according to Viba's data. She may change her invasion plan if she suspects we have this information, but I'll need experts on each of these to help coordinate their defenses. I'm hoping Taen will be aboard in some capacity for Dawn." He glanced at Tresha. Another swipe and the city layouts popped off to the side. 2277 had put together a considerable spread of data. "Thoughts?" He wasn't qualified to run this whole thing himself, not by a longshot.

Kandor couldn't help but smile at her usage of the phrase "frank and honest". He'd seen her butt heads with Taen before, especially when her emotions took priority over her operational sense, but she had more in common with her cousin than it at first appeared. He rather wished he could have been there for the spectacle of seeing her dress down Ahzinger, who was a foot and a half taller than her. She had a way of outgrowing her frame when she delivered that kind of barrage -- and he knew, as he had been on the receiving end before. "You did the right thing," he said. "I doubt Ab'ki even needed a bug to listen in today, which is why I pushed off the specific planning until later. Anyone could be a defector, but we really need to make sure none are on the command staff." He wrapped her up in his arms when she joined him on his chair. "Much better once they had something to focus on other than small talk," he answered her question. "We've got some people with command experience and others with pet projects that will help us defend the Sector. We'll have to be careful about who hears what, but along with the aliit I think we stand a decent chance at out-thinking Ab'ki and a better chance at out-fighting her. 2277's a pro at getting this stuff organized, so I should be able to fill you and the others in when they arrive." They lapsed into silence for a few minutes and Fett closed his eyes, trying to shut out unwanted stimulus so he could recharge for a bit. The skraan arrived a little later and they got up and ate together, and before long most of the hour had melted away. Soon there was another knock at the door and Mirdala let him know that it was Tresha even before answering it. Kandor got up to greet her. "Welcome, Tresha," he said. "Hopefully we can put all this business with Vihk behind us and figure out how to win this little war."

The corner of Kandor's mouth twitched under his buy'ce at the mention of Soresh's arrival. It had only been a little more than a two weeks since the two Mando'ade had had a brief altercation on Talus brought on by frustration and grief. He didn't hold it against the younger man now, however, and he suspected Soresh was also professional enough to put it behind them. In fact, to a point it had helped. He was still a good person for Fett to have on his side, especially if his plans for after all of this started to pan out. At any rate, he gladly followed Mirdala back upstairs to their room, feeling more tired than his wife looked but standing tall despite it, acknowledging Rhys and Rahg as they passed by. He wondered for a moment how the man managed to so adeptly convey menace at all times without needing to speak, but it honestly didn't bother him that much. He'd worked with people like Rahg before, particularly in Black Sun. As long as they got the job done and acted in the team's best interest, their temperament didn't overly concern him, and that didn't seem to be an issue with Rahg. A minute later, he was collapsing in a chair in their room and dropping his buy'ce on the end table. Rubbing his eyes, he looked over at Mirdala. "So, Ahzinger had his sisters tackled in public?" he asked. "Rhys checked in with me a few times, but I haven't heard a verdict. Were you able to establish a connection to Ab'ki?" He did want a break from thinking about all of this, but it was probably a good idea to get it out there so he could go into the team meeting informed. Plus, an hour gave him some comfortable padding, and they would have more time later to unwind.

The makings of a command staff were beginning to come together, but Fett continued weathering a steady stream of Mando'ade with their questions and offers throughout the afternoon. For the most part, the people were self-organizing and required virtually no oversight, but there were always edge cases. Most of the individuals who approached him provided information and insight or offered specialized services. There was one clan that had been installing sensor beacons along the major hyperlanes providing access to the Sector, for example, and their representative offered Fett the access codes so he could use them to watch for the arrival of Ab'ki's forces. This would be particularly helpful to gauge how many verde were returning to the Sector to heed the call, and additionally would give them the best advanced warning when the invasion actually started. Throughout the day, Rhys had been checking in with Kandor as well. Reportedly, Ahzinger's mission to root out a suspected conspirator had gone immediately bad when his approach had been to have the suspects tackled. The women that had been the subject of his suspicions had turned out to be his vode, and they'd been taken to the nearest Journeyman Protector station for questioning. Fett was disappointed in Ahzinger's lack of operational awareness and professionalism, but then, he had never found Vihk to be the exemplar of competence and reason that was often demanded of those who held his position. Thankfully Mirdala and the others had been nearby to sort matters out, but he knew one of them would have to keep an eye on Ahzinger if the man was going to lead his clan in the upcoming battle. It was just another thing to deal with. Fett couldn't be more thankful to have 2277 listening in on every conversation he had, compiling information and regurgitating it as necessary, and for that reason he wore his buy'ce for most of his interactions. The beskar'ad was exceptionally good at his job, and though it sounded odd to put it that way, Fett knew that the entire defense of the Sector depended partially on those organization skills. Only once they had the full picture could the command staff make the plans that would win this little war. Eventually the steam of warriors began to slow down as nearly everyone headed back to their homes for a busy few weeks of preparation, and Mirdala and Tresha returned to the Oyu'baat. But silent so far had been the Seekers and Fett's own aliit. It was TeVerd and the Omicrons that he wished to rely on the most for the level of planning that would be required, especially in the tactical sense. Though no one outside the aliit knew it, he had access to actual veterans of the Clone Wars. Though Fett was already weary from a day of talking, this was a meeting that he was fortunate to be able to have and he would place great value on what was said. He'd always said it -- execution was important, but preparation was where battles were truly won or lost.

The meeting had started to break up and a number of the clan leaders began to make their way back out in the Keldabe sun to return to their ships and their homes. There was a lot of work in front of everyone, especially given the short timelines. Although Fett was not going to leave Manda'yaim to recruit, his own work stretched like a long road before him. As clans began reporting in, he and his staff would have to organize them into cohesive forces with locations and objectives. He would have a role to play in getting word to more isolated clans that had not been represented. He would have to prioritize places to defend, predict Ab'ki's invasion plan as well as he could, second-guess the data that they'd stolen from Viba. And he would have to keep his eyes open for the traitors that were no doubt -- Vihk interrupted his line of thought with a very relevant bit of information. Even as he formulated a response, Tresha also came over and volunteered. "Vor'e. Vihk Ahzinger, Tresha Ad'Nort," he said by way of introduction, gesturing to each of the Mando'ade in turn. No doubt Tresha would know the name of the previous Mand'alor. He looked at Tresha. "Ask Mirdala to go with you as well. She should be able to help get to the bottom of things." Meanwhile there were a few people waiting to see Fett, so he excused himself from the two. The first man in line stepped up. "Mand'alor. I served at the top of a division under Joreel Ordo and was a military advisor for arue'tiise on Taanab a few years back..."

Fett inclined his head respectfully when the Seekers entered the room and TeVerd spoke. The group of tall verde were of a kind not often seen in these parts, nor professing their support of Mand'alor. But this was no longer their shadow war. Their appearance both lent credibility to the threat and demonstrated that, whatever path ShadowFett had once followed far away from the Sector, he had as of late been cultivating ties to his people. Presently Fett turned his attention to answer the new question. He recognized the beroya called Saberforce, whom he also knew as Tros Ardell, a former senator for Corellia, as had been revealed to him during a brief but private meeting with the man a few years prior. "The chaos on Concord Dawn does strongly suggest that it is one of Ab'ki's targets," he answered, "and I would expect heavy fighting there. However, the data we captured includes topographical maps of several other cities of interest, including Keldabe itself. "Ab'ki's exact invasion plans and timelines we do not know, and so we will need to defend all of our worlds," he said. In truth, there had been timelines and invasion strategies in Viba's data, but he didn't want Ab'ki to know he had them. In any case it would be difficult to plan a defense around them, since they were subject to change if the dar'jetii even suspected they'd been compromised. Mand'alor glanced around the Oyu'baat again. "If there are no further questions, return to your clans and organize yourselves. Report here with how many verde you will bring and you will receive further information and specific orders. "I will build a command staff comprised of those of you with talents for organizing such a defense, especially those with related experience. If you would like to serve in such a way or know of someone who may, contact me," he finished. An army of potentially millions would need strong leadership and strategic direction. Even if he as Mand'alor would be calling the shots, he would do it based on the informed counsel of the best experts the Sector -- and the Moon Knights -- could provide. Of course, he would have to be careful that one of Ab'ki's people didn't make it into that inner circle, and that was one more reason he would need to keep Mirdala close.

A little while later, it was time. He'd been playing meet and greet for long enough, and the hall was full of people waiting for him to speak. Putting his buy'ce back on, Mand'alor ShadowFett stood and walked to the center of the Oyu'baat where there was a holoprojector unit on a small dais. There he stood for about a minute while all conversation in the room faded away. Soon he had the attention of everyone in the room. "A dar'jetii named Ab'ki has declared war on the Mandalore Sector as fallout for the death of one of her Order on Concord Dawn a decade ago," he began concisely. "No doubt all of you are aware of the events transpiring on Concord Dawn and the troubles with sleeper agents within the Journeyman Protectors. Leads emerging from that incident and others led me and my team into a confrontation with a Kyr'tsad who was one of Ab'ki's ring leaders. Following the battle, we were able to recover information from his databanks outlining the formation of an army to march on the Sector." Fett hit the holoprojector and it started displaying a portion of the aggregated data they'd recovered from Viba's safehouse on Nubia. A murmer swept through the gathered clan leaders at the figures that were shown. "As you can see," Fett continued, "Ab'ki has financed, blackmailed, or unified an army nearly a million strong, comprised of everything from mercenaries and Kyr'tsad to dark side cultists. We believe her timetable leaves us only a few weeks to prepare." Raising an army fast enough to repel the incoming force was an impossible challenge anywhere else in the galaxy. Furthermore, they had no concrete data on where Ab'ki would attack, so they had to have a much larger force than the attackers in order to guard multiple potential objectives. But the clans were structured to make just such a feat feasible. "We will muster our forces across multiple worlds, repel the invasion of our homeworlds, and evict Ab'ki's agents from their place among us." He looked around the room full of beskar'gam-clad verde. Few times in recent history had there been such a concentration of skilled warriors in any one place. "Are there any questions?" he asked.

"Few weeks before we met back up on the Enigma," Fett responded to Mirdala subvocally. Truthfully not long enough. The Mando'ade didn't need him to be a public face, they needed him do what he was doing now, rallying them when there was a threat to the entire culture. The fact that it had been less than a year since the previous crisis was not typical of the last few centuries. He pulled off his buy'ce again as his skraan and caf arrived, nodding at Tresha and Mirdala as they headed off. It didn't take long before someone approached and sat at the bar next to him. A man in black and red beskar, maybe in his late forties, his hair streaked with gray. "Everyone's wondering who the girl is," the man said without preamble. "That's their right," Fett answered, taking another bite of his meal. The other Mando'ad studied him for a moment. "Didn't take you for a family man," he pressed. "Who is she? Meet her outside the Sector?" Mand'alor turned to face him, trying to get a read on him. "Kida Nor'an," he said. "From Concordia. Worked together in the field a while." He would expect Ab'ki's agents to already know who Mirdala was, but he wasn't going to risk painting a target on her back if he was wrong. "Think you'll ever put down roots in the Sector?" the man asked. "Nayc," Fett replied. "I'm here because our people are in danger." "Must be pretty big." "Briefing in a few hours."

Putting his hand on top of Mirdala's and wrapping his fingers gently around hers, Kandor nodded and stared at the ceiling. "Sure don't pull their punches," he said. "But I suppose I signed up for this. Last few have been cautionary tales from the past." He turned his head down a little to look at her. There was something existentially satisfying about waking up with her. Circumstances would change around them as events took place and they journeyed to different worlds, but she was a constant, as was the support she gave him. How the day would end was uncertain, and some of it was bound to be unpleasant, but in this peaceful morning hour he harbored no doubts or reservations. How many of his predecessors as Mand'alor had slept in this very room over the millennia, steeling themselves for what was ahead? Impressive verde, the best among their contemporaries. And though his appointment had been unconventional, Fett had earned his place among them. The galaxy needed reminding, it seemed, that the Mando'ade were not to be trifled with, and he would lead them. Repositioning to be more on his side, he ran a hand up the bare skin of Mirdala's back beneath the sheets, his fingertips passing over rows of raised scar tissue at irregular intervals. The riduur of Mand'alor, tough as he was. He leaned in and kissed her, his hand coming around her ribcage as he pulled himself away and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Gotta start early today," he said, finally standing and heading into the refresher for a sanisteam. "Maybe we can meet Tresha for some skraan." --------------- A little while later, clad again in their beskar'game, Fett and Mirdala returned to the large room that was the Oyu'baat's combined meeting hall and dining area. They quickly spotted Tresha at the bar and headed over to join her, Vi'ika tailing them closely. "Su'cuy," Fett greeted her. He supposed she was here representing the Ad'Norts, given Taen's situation. He looked across the bar and one of the staff approached him for his breakfast order. He chose something simple and another spiced caf. He was going to need it this morning.

Kandor's smile returned. "Won't happen," he said. "Not after all we've been through, what it took to get here. And whatever is coming, nothing can change that ni kar'tayli gar darasuum, Mird'ika." He kissed her again, savoring the moment. However confident he was that they had the skills and the support to pull this off, a battlefield was dangerous and unpredictable, and so were Ab'ki and Fieyr. Though it would never keep them from doing the right thing and facing these challenges, there was no guarantee that they were coming out of this in one piece or at all, and he could not be certain that this was not one of the last evenings they would have together like this. He realized Mirdala must have been thinking along the same lines as the kiss ended and their eyes met. He started backing towards the bed, drawing her gently after him, and she began to unbutton the shirt she'd borrowed from him after her shower a bit earlier. Sleep could wait a little longer, he decided, as he laid her down and their lips met again. -------------------------- Moon Knight walked slowly as he climbed towards the top of a hill covered in trampled yellowish grass. He was gripping his side tightly and felt his blood trickling out between his fingers. Every breath was agony and it felt like his ribs were cutting into his lungs. He looked down and regarded a deep puncture wound which had penetrating a set of durasteel and energy mesh brigadine which was emblazoned with a crescent moon over a blue and white standard. He almost lost his footing on the incline, and when he finally reached the summit he collapsed onto his knees. Before him was a vast battlefield littered with thousands or tens of thousands of bodies. Most of them bore his same blue standard sans Moon Knight heraldry. So many good men dead. The landscape was littered with the wrecks of transport and assault vehicles, crashed speeders still smoking, and weapons emplacements. This was the defeat at Bpfassh, an event over eleven thousand years prior. The active Moon Knight had not been a commander in this battle, merely a soldier that had found a cause he'd deemed worth fighting and even dying for. Now that he was actually dying, though, he wasn't entirely certain. There were so many people he wanted to see again, so many innocents he could still protect. He wasn't done, dammit! This wasn't supposed to turn out this way -- the forces of good were supposed to triumph in the end! He felt the butt of a force pike prod him in the back and slowly turned to face the man that had forced him to climb the hill. One who wore the same blue standard. "You'll burn in hell for this, Jasaat, you traitor," Moon Knight bit out, though it came as a wheeze through clenched teeth. A mix of blood and saliva escaped the corner of his mouth and added itself to that which already colored the grass. "Save a place for me," the man said, then flipped the pike around and drove it through Moon Knight's chest. -------------------------- Fett awoke with his hand clutched over his heart and he quickly turned his head to find Mirdala still asleep behind him, but was momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. He took a moment to recenter himself and recall that he was in the Oyu'baat. He glanced at the chrono. 0530. He shifted onto his back. Late enough that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, but he could at least doze and make sure he thought through the dream again to make sure he was getting the message.

Almost stunned by what he heard coming out of Mirdala's mouth, Kandor loosened his grasp on her waist to turn fully to face her, giving her his full attention. "You watched out for your team and brought a dangerous demogolka to justice. Everything Ab'ki and her associates have done since is on them alone," he said. Just as they had resolved between themselves that they were not guilty for what Judyc or Lura had done to her, neither was Mirdala in any way responsible for this. It was the only way to push on into a dangerous and uncertain future. "Since then, you have accomplished so much, saved so many lives," he continued, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Including mine, several times and in several ways." He glanced at the door before fixing his eyes back on her jade ones. "There's a lot to do and we're the ones to do it. Every turn so far, we've just managed to stay in this fight because we've relied on each other." A hint of passion crept into his voice. So much had happened since Abraxos, and somehow every step of the way had yielded the next lead. Even the bad things -- when Mirdala had fallen into the trap on Hoth, and Kirlocca had been called in to help her recover, it had created an opportunity for her to receive Force training that he believed would be critical in the future. When she'd fallen victim to Viba, they'd come away with the data that had now given the Mando'ade the information they needed to be ready for Ab'ki's assault, a significant edge that they would have otherwise been without. Even Fett's psychosis under the effect of RAGE had brought them back together on the Enigma. "Through the Moon Knights and my own experiences, I have an idea how to approach this," he said, "but this is never going to work without you. I need you to keep me honest and focused on our people rather than just beating the enemy. I need your administrative skills as we organize millions of verde. I need you to watch my back and root out Ab'ki's agents. I need you to talk to your buir, your aliit, and the Seekers -- they're going to be critical in ending this. And, when the time is right, I need you to find Ab'ki and Fieyr." He lowered his voice and put both hands on her waist, then smiled and kissed her. "In short, I need you to do what you do best and be my other half," he finished.

Kandor looked up at his wife with a hint of relief on his face. "Sounds like a great idea," he said. He rose and picked up his buy'ce from the table, then nodded at Vihk. "Excuse me." ----------------------- Up in their room, they shed their beskar'game and for a little while just managed to enjoy the relative quiet. The sound of the rain on the transparisteel pane was something Kandor had heard countless times in his life, but it reminded him now of a certain night on Hapes and he allowed himself to linger on the memory. It had been a challenging day during a challenging mission in the Consortium, but as it had wound down they had taken some time to themselves, talked about the past and their hopeful future, made dinner. Now he found the rain just as soothing as it had been then, but Mirdala stood wordlessly at the window, her hair down and her eyes on the storm, and he knew this wasn't just ordinary end-of-the-day fatigue. After watching her for a few minutes, Kandor got up from the chair where he'd been half-dozing and walked over to her, gently slipping an arm around her waist and looking out at the falling rain himself. "You're pretty locked down," he observed quietly. "I don't think I can manage this on my own, cyar'ika."

"Respectable work," Fett said levelly. As someone who had great respect for well-made gear and stacked his life upon it regularly, he thought that there were few professions among Mando'ade more critical to the race's tradition and ethos. The fact that Vihk had settled outside the Sector to do that work seemed like a natural consequence of how everything had transpired, and Fett didn't hold it against him. He had, after all, answered the call. He took a sip of the spiced caf he'd ordered. He wasn't a heavy caf drinker, but this particular blend was renowned even among aruetiise who were in the know. Fett was unusual among his culture in that he abstained from alcohol, including the local favorite, ne'tra gal. "Glad you were able to make it, Vihk. Full briefing will be tomorrow," he said.

Fett watched his riduur head up to their room, then looked down at Vi'ika and scratched her behind the ears with one of his gloved hands as if to indicate his appreciation for her sticking close. Even among his own people he didn't like playing meet and greet. Overall he wasn't worried about someone getting a crazy idea and carrying out an attack on Mirdala or himself here in the Oyu'baat -- it would be a suicide mission with the sheer number of weapons and verde at hand. But in many ways he would prefer a direct threat to the informants he suspected were lurking around, looking for the way to betray their people that would earn them the biggest sum of Ab'ki's credits. Shab, he'd take the direct threat to playing politics, however tame that was among Mando'ade. When Vihk Ahzinger showed up, he was mildly surprised to see that the man was still alive. Although he thought the towering human had done very poorly as his predecessor as Mand'alor, his actions causing significant damage to the clans, Vihk had expressed his contrition to Fett the last time they had met here in Keldabe. Whether or not Fett was convinced, Clan Ordo clearly still backed him, and that would be good enough. There was almost no chance Vihk was connected to Ab'ki, and Vi'ika didn't signal otherwise. "Ahzinger," Fett said when the big man greeted him. Even with his buy'ce on the table in front of him his face was unreadable. "You made good time. Were you in the Sector?" A basic attempt at small talk, as he had been doing for a few hours now. Fett was keeping the details of why he'd called for the clansmeet under wraps until enough clan leaders had arrived to present everything at once. He'd likely give it until early afternoon the next day, for those who had some travel to do or couldn't drop whatever they were doing at Mand'alor's whim.

Even despite the situation, places like the Oyu'baat had a calming effect on Kandor. The establishment, like the city in which it resided, practically oozed with Mandalorian tradition and their atin'la brand of pragmatism. According to popular folklore, the Oyu'baat had kept the same pot of stew simmering for centuries, adding new meat and vegetables daily to keep the contents fresh. The stories also said that the menu had been the same since the Mandalorian Wars. The jage and dalase that inhabited it were his people, just like the Ad'Norts, and whatever differences he had with any one of them, he knew that they were as reliable and honest as they were practical. Somehow even his upbringing and his long years away from the Sector had not divorced him from that sense of culture, and he firmly believed that it was ingrained in the hearts of all true Mando'ade. Mirdala, however, seemed a bit more on edge, and he had to admit that her outlook was appropriate. As tempting as it was to mischaracterize Ab'ki as a di'kut, he knew that the dar'jetii was nothing if not well-informed and meticulous. If she knew anything about Mandalorian culture, she'd have agents here in the Oyu'baat, some of which would be keeping an eye out specifically for Mirdala and her riduur. She would know that the clans were going to meet and organize a defense against her, and there was a substantial risk of her people listening in on all that was said and reporting back to her. It created a certain challenge with this whole process -- any of Ab'ki's uncovered plans he shared in the open would be subject to change. "Let's hang around for a little while while I try to look approachable for a change," he replied to her. "Let me know if your senses materialize any of these threats and we can figure out what to do about it." Which wasn't an easy prospect in itself. As he sat down next to Mirdala, Kandor removed his buy'ce and ordered some skraan. There was no reason to hide his face here anymore, even though he had maintained his privacy the last time he'd visited. It didn't take long for someone to pick up on it and sit down across from him. An aging, not-quite-human Mando'ad with exotic skin and heavily scarred armor. "I don't believe it," the man said gruffly in a local accent. "You're the spitting image of Jango Fett. And here I thought the name was incidental." Kandor regarded the man carefully. He'd suspected that not everyone in these parts would have forgotten the face of one of their previous Mand'alore. "Funny thing, isn't it?" he said mirthlessly. "But blood aside, I have no connection to the Fett clan and do not represent it." "'Lek," the man replied. "People say you're clanless. Pretty unlikely Mand'alor, if you ask me." "I'll not deny I was an odd choice," Fett admitted. "But your information's old. Suppose I fall under Skirata now." It was the clan Mirdala's buir Jorbe and his aliit had rolled up to. He certainly identified with it more than clan Viba or Fett. The other Mando'ad glanced at Mirdala then back at Fett. "Doesn't matter much to me either way. When you kicked the Kyr'tsad off planet you silenced a lot of the doubters," he said before standing up again. "I look forward to hearing your report, Mand'alor."

The Justice appeared out of hyperspace over Manda'yaim and its pilot reflected on his various visits to the Mandalorian homeworld. He'd been raised here by the man he'd known as Kelborn but had turned out to be Judyc Viba. He looked on those times with no fondness, though he had eventually learned to find solace in the world's untamed wilderness. When he'd left, he hadn't returned for many years, staying entirely away from the Sector that had once been his home, unconnected with the clans. It hadn't been until after he'd met Mirdala and become Mand'alor that he'd come back, and only then to receive the ship he still piloted now. The next time he'd come had been to kick Augustus and his Kyr'tsad instigators off the world. He'd stayed exactly as long as he'd needed to in order to make sure the job was done. He'd taken no pleasure in the grisly task he'd accomplished that day, but it gave him credibility he would need for this visit. The Death Watch threat had been immediate, something the Mando'ade could see. This time, Fett would be asking them to rally against a yet-invisible foe. He would need them to accept the data he carried as well as his judgment. The Justice set down and Kandor Fett disembarked in his customary black beskar'gam, his riduur with him. He headed straight for the Oyu'baat, an ancient cantina and the closest thing the Mando'ade had to a center of government. Within those walls sat the most informed and politics-savvy Mandalorians (something of a rare breed) among those that were just there for a buy'ce gal. These were the decision-makers, the individuals who would help him set into motion the course of action that the situation warranted. As he entered, one such person noticed. He was a tall man in a dull gray beskar'gam and no buy'ce lounging around at a nearby table. "Mand'alor," he said. "More bad news?" Fett regarded him for a moment, and the Oyu'baat quieted a bit. Some previous Mand'alore had perhaps come here to socialize. But ShadowFett was not one of them, and so his appearance meant something important was happening. "The Sector is in danger," he said without preamble. "Summon the clan leaders. I'll present what my team has uncovered and we'll get down to business."

Though he didn't say anything, Kandor had to appreciate TeVerd's caution. Mirdala was strong, but they didn't know enough about Ab'ki's and Fieyr's own strength to be certain that she would succeed. And if she failed for whatever reason, not only would they lose her and the important skills she would bring in the coming days, but it would be for nothing. Fett did not think her idea was completely off the table, but it was at this stage. There would be a battle in the Mandalore Sector. As Mirdala left he continued to look at the data for another minute. "Army wasn't going to march for another two months," he said, pointing at the timeline 2277 had compiled. "Mirdala's right that our dar'jetii friend will accelerate her timeline, but we should still have a few weeks to put together a welcoming party." It was an impossibly short timeline for raising almost any other army in the galaxy. Normally such a process would take several months to a year to even build an inexperienced force from scratch. But the Mando'ade were built and organized for this... at least in theory. Kandor had never put out a call like this nor answered one, so he couldn't really say just how fast everyone would come together. When he had rallied a force to evict the Kyr'tsad it had just been whoever was around Keldabe and ready to go. There would need to be a huge force from across several systems in the Sector to repel this invasion, and they would still need to be formed into a cohesive structure. Fett already felt like he was just standing around. He activated his implant. "Twenty-two, keep a copy of that data. There will be time to look at it in depth on the way to Manda'yaim," he said. "I have an appointment to keep at the Oyu'baat." Then he looked at the others gathered and simply nodded. They didn't need him to tell them what needed to be done, nor did he have any desire to do so. He headed out of the room and to his quarters to put on his beskar'gam and pack up, for now trying not to reflect on the billion logistics concerns that were forming in his kovid. For now he just had to act and find what counsel he could in his aliit and his team -- many of which had even fought in the Clone Wars. He was confident it would be enough. ---------------------------- Less than an hour later, he and Mirdala departed for the Mandalore Sector aboard the Justice.

Fett nodded at Mirdala. He doubted the Omicrons would be sending anything if it amounted to nothing, much less data of the volume that was now being received and rerouted via the Justice. They were about to get some answers, now about six months since he'd been brought onto the team. But though for him the data seemed a long time coming, for his wife this search had spanned nearly half her life, even if they hadn't even known the name "Ab'ki" until recently. Even now the data continued to pour in, and 2277 added his statistical analysis graphically to the holofeed they put up on the display in the center of the room. It was credit flows. Locations. Ships. People. A vast network of mercenaries, beroyase, corrupt cops and politicians. Analysis of the Mandalore Sector. Hyperspace routes. A topographical map of the area surrounding the city of Dawn. Another for Keldabe. More for other major cities. More and more credit flows -- all holding together the huge network of people. Then the data got more specific. Time frames. Command structure. Judyc Viba as some sort of General, part of the very top echelons of the chain of command. "I'll be damned," Taen said. "These are--" Kandor started. TeVerd finished, his voice deadly. "Invasion plans. Ab'ki is building an army to attack the Mandalore Sector." Fett continued to watch the data. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers for hire from across the galaxy. The credit flows continued to add up. Even for a dar'jetii, Ab'ki had to be mad to do all of this in response to one event almost a decade ago. But there was no mistaking that everything led up to this. It made sense of what was happening on Concord Dawn. Shab, it even helped explain why Viba had been so unwilling to walk away. There was a moment of silence in the room as the implications began to settle upon those gathered. Kandor felt the weight of his responsibility descend upon his shoulders, and he knew what he was going to have to do. "And I will rally the clans to repel them," Fett said, his voice harboring no uncertainty. "However this started, it's all of our fight now." He looked around the room, his eyes coming to settle on Mirdala. He was going to need all of their support, and hers especially. He couldn't be just the beroya or cop or vigilante anymore. Now he needed to be Mand'alor, to muster and lead an army. And not even all the experiences of the Moon Knights had prepared him to do that.

"Ab'ki's been planning this for over a decade, and she's proven to be methodical," Kandor said. "I don't have any doubt what is happening to you and your riduur is any less a part it than what she is doing to me and mine." He paused. "Mirdala recently experienced a short captivity at the hands of a Kyr'tsad beroya named Viba," he explained. "Took him down, grabbed a bunch of his data, and evidence suggests he was ranked high in Ab'ki's organization. Any hour or day now the team will break the encryption and with any luck we'll have that lead." Fett's implant came to life as it received an incoming call from 2277. "About that, Master," the beskar'ad said. "The relevant data is beginning to trickle in now to the Justice over the team's encrypted channel in small untraceable packets. The size of the transmission is indicated by the packet headers; it will be a few minutes before it concludes. I believe you will find that it is painting a clear picture, however." Kandor refocused on Taen, his eyes having drifted off to the landscape as he listened to 2277's words. "In fact the data's starting to come in now. Let's convene in Ops... and Reska might want to be a part of this," he said. He flipped his implant to connect to Mirdala's. "Mird'ika, Viba's data is coming in. Please find TeVerd and meet me in Ops." Manors didn't come with an Operations Center, exactly, but Kandor had quickly repurposed and enhanced an office connected to the building's small security center when he'd bought the place. It would be a good place to review the data, get on comms with the Omicrons, and figure out their next move. He was more than ready to start figuring out how to put an end to all of this.

Kandor shrugged at Taen's implication of Mirdala. There was no need to adopt pretenses here. "Don't worry, never really fit in with CoreSec myself," he said as they headed outside. "The regs and the oversight get in the way of doing actual good." Fett played around with his next few words in his head. "Which is why I'm primarily self-employed from here on out." He paused again. "Collected on some big-time bounties back in the day to provide the startup costs, and Mirdala and I inherited a very secure space station at the end of the war. "Thinking about going into business. Contacts, information trade, on-the-level bounties, and vigilantism," he explained. Might as well throw it out there. It was always difficult to know how someone would respond to the idea of vigilantism, given that it was simultaneously illegal in most jurisdictions and also one of the least restrictive ways to do what law enforcement was trying to accomplish. "Credits might not be too good at first, but I need partners I can trust with skills like yours. I have good ties to CoreSec -- both CoreSec as in Core Worlds Security and CorSec as in Corellian Security, as well as the JPs and the jetiise. But we'd have total autonomy." He still wasn't sure how it would all play out. He'd rather have a small group of individuals he could trust to bring value to all parts of the operation. But eventually the information trade would require a bunch of paid employees, which would lead to an organizational hierarchy. All things to deal with as they came, he supposed. He was no administrator -- he could lead, but he did so from the battlefield.