Mandalore

[Tresha Ad'Nort]

Mirdala moved closer to her cousin, replying in the ancient tongue, "I've already sensed what I think might be someone at least loosely associated with Ab'ki, though I haven't sensed enough to act on yet. The fact Kandor was here to raise the clans to stop a DeathWatch threat less than a year ago is another factor. Add to that him showing up, talking about a team...and, well, can you blame people for being more than a bit curious? He's not been known to work with teams or partners on a regular basis, so there’s some interest there as well.”

 

She nodded back towards the bar where another Mandalorian had approached Kandor as he was trying to eat his breakfast in peace. Sure enough the man in red and black armor cast a glance back towards the two women as they worked.

 

“We’ll need you to keep an eye out during the meeting for anything suspicious. We have to be careful before we act. There’s too much at stake either way,” Mirdala concluded.

 

Tresha nodded gravely. She was not one to share information freely as it was, but Mirdala’s warning resonated with the caution already present in the emotion of the Oyu’baat. The beroya kept her tone quiet as she responded. “Do you suspect any one clan in particular, or do you think Ab’ki has agents spread throughout our people?”

 

But the answer to her question died on Mirdala’s lips as a man in black beskar’gam and red gauntlets entered the meeting hall. With a knowing look at her cousin, Tresha moved about to complete the setup for the meeting in silence. More and more Mando’ade filed into the room until nearly every clan was represented. Tresha, empathic abilities shouldering the tremulous weight of their anticipation, replaced her buy’ce and took up a position leaning against the far wall. At Kandor’s appearance, this historic meeting of the clans would begin.

 

((Actions posted with permission.))

[Moon Knight]

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.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

"Yeah, I got one," called an older voice toward the back of the room, the same man that had asked Kandor about Mirdala just that morning. "If this has been brewing for a decade, why are we just now hearing about this level of threat to the sector? Surely there would have been signs of invasion long before this." Several other voices piped up in agreement. "Why is she just now making her move? You seem to have some awful specific data."

 

Mirdala, who'd remained silent off to the side with Tresha while Kandor had delivered his succinct appraisal of the situation, found the man and saw the stylized bovine skull that marked him as being from the Ge'tal Vheh Clan. "The Seekers." She stated simply, realizing that dancing around their continued existence would do more harm than good. These Mando'ade would be reminded soon enough of what they could do to the enemy.

 

There were a few beats of silence as the group seemed to be making sure they'd understood her correctly. Removing her helmet so there could be no doubt to her words, Mirdala reiterated, "The Seekers are the ones who’ve kept this fight and others like it out of the Sector for the last decade and longer so you all could go on making your own way. This is the single largest threat we’ve seen and were unable to handle ourselves."

 

The Ge'tal Vheh representative leaned back at his table and gave a hearty laugh. "Woah now ad’ika! Don't get too big for your armor. Someone's filled your head with impossible tales girl. Seekers don't exist. We've all heard the bedtime stories. There are no super-powered ori'verd that are going to swoop in and knock back a bunch of dar'jetiise and their followers. War may be coming, but let's leave the fiction out of it, okay love?"

 

Mirdala felt her cheeks flush in anger, but she managed to keep it in check long enough to not lead with her initial response. Of all the assembled Mando'ade to all but Kandor, Tresha, and her, the Seekers were mere legend, a children's tale meant to inspire and ingrain the culture, albeit with a healthy dose of supernatural strength, cunning, and domination of the Seeker's opponents - the hated Force Users who sought to use the people of the Mandalore sector for their own gain.

 

Then she felt them. TeVerd, Rhys, Rahg, and others she couldn't identify, but, in a room full of dangerous men and women, these imposing figures that now entered the back of the tapcaf stood apart. Though TeVerd, Rhys, and most of the others did not openly wear the mark of their order, a handful of the fourteen that filed in did bear the Seeker's "Gates" on their armor. Stepping forward, TeVerd removed his helmet, his nearly seven-foot frame dwarfing most of the Mando'ade around him as he spoke. "Even children's tales have their root in truth, vod. Long we have operated in the shadows and kept the dar'jetiise bal jetiise incursions out of our sector. We have been heavily hunted by those that have sought to make this sector weaker and ripe for the taking. The Death Watch insurrection and the distrust sown amongst our people and the Protectors is evidence enough that something larger is coming."

 

He strode forward, stopping next to Mirdala, "The Seekers stand with Mand'alor."

[Mellanie Devanus Vevut]

Araac laughed. "Sure, as long as you're not going to act like an ik'aad all day."

 

Jaesko shoved him hard in the arm.

 

"Ow!" He rubbed it in mock pain.

 

"Now who's being the ik'aad?" she teased.

 

The four of them were ready to go half an hour later. They piled into a landspeeder and headed for town. It was funny, Mel thought as they drove through the streets of Keldabe. Elsewhere in the galaxy, the Mandalorian brother and sister would be conspicuous in their full armor, but here it was her and Kalyani in their plainclothes that stood out as foreigners.

 

There wasn't much to see in terms of "sightseeing". The Mandalorians were an extremely practical and warlike people, and that meant that the city was designed as a fortress, not a tourist attraction. Still, they spent the morning walking around, and ended up eating lunch at a small cafe. The more Mel saw of the culture, the people, and the planet, the happier she was that this was the life she was choosing--and more importantly, was choosing her. And she was also glad that Kalyani had hit it off so well with Jaesko. The girls were joking back and forth, and Mel's sides hurt from laughing.

 

After lunch, they headed to the MandalMotors factory.

 

----

 

Meanwhile in the Oyu’baat...

 

Rhar Vevut had listened soberly to Mand'alor's report. When the Seekers began to step forward, he raised a dark eyebrow under his deep blue helmet. Well, I'll be...

 

That mir'sheb from Ge'tal Vheh was being his normal self, throwing insults around at the Mando woman who had been speaking. But Vevut knew where it's loyalties lay. In the silence that fell after the Seekers stepped forward, Rhar stood. "It's a shame we didn't know about this earlier, but it's good you brought it to the clans. This threat seems real, and it seems serious. We all need to be ready to defend our system. Clan Vevut will fight. We will protect our home, and honor the Resol'nare." He glanced around the room. "And I think all of us should do the same."

[Tresha Ad'Nort]

The words of the man bearing the sigil of Vevut barely registered for Tresha. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that she was thankful that her buy'ce covered the expression of alarm that she imagined must be plastered to her face. Mirdala's spike of anger and the subsequent entrance of TeVerd (and what was, in a way, his own "clan") revealed a truth that Tresha might have guessed at, but in some ways had hoped against. If anyone had the mettle for the path of a Seeker, it was Mirdala, and her gritty determination did her credit. But as the fiery girl stood flanked by the parade of Seekers, her head not even reaching the tops of most of the men's shoulders, Tresha could not help the worry that crawled on the surface of her skin.

 

For the Seekers to present themselves as a united force, and not simply as individual members of the cadre of quiet vigilantes, fading into the background of Mandalorian myth, Ab'ki's threat must be dire indeed. And TeVerd's entrance and announcement indicated with little room for doubt that Mirdala was now one of them.

 

Some fragment of her father's green eyes flashed in her mind as she studied Mirdala's fiery jade. The thought of her cousin as the subject of Ab'ki's targeted fixation only increased the grim weight she carried.

 

Abundant questions sprang to mind--how would they prepare for such an assault? Was there a specific plan in place to root out all the sleeper agents from within the Journeyman Protectors? While it appeared that specific information had been assembled, it had not yet been disseminated to Tresha's satisfaction and curiosity. The sector was, as Mand'alor had asserted, entirely defensible. But even here, among the leaders of their people, there was not absolute trust. The bruises patterened alongside Reska's Kiffar tattoos served as a good mental reminder to guard carefully the information given or requested in such a broad setting, when the Journeyman Protectors had been hunted by their own kin. If Ab'ki wasn't already aware that they were planning a counter-move, she would be now. Trust, kinship, these things would be essential to an effective defense. Kandor would have to be successful at uniting the Mando'ade, a task she did not envy him.

 

So for now, she stowed her questions, fully intending to unleash them on Mirdala and her riduur following the conclusion of the meeting, when discussions could be had more privately.

 

The public display of support from Clan Vevut was met with murmured acceptance all over the room, and Tresha herself inclined her buy'ce in a slow nod to Mand'alor, the intent obvious: whatever is needed, I stand with you.

[saberforce]

Tros sat quietly in the back and listened very intently on what Mand'alor had to say. It was not the threat he had thought would have called something into play for Clans to act on the resol'nare, but it was a threat that needed to be dealt with. So letting out a breath that was masked heavily by his own buy'ce, Tros stood up from the dark corner of the room and allowed for his own voice to be heard.

 

"Clan Ardell will stand. But I do have a question. Are we certain that these aruetiise have a lenedat against anything other then Concord Dawn?"

 

It was a two fold question for him. The whole situation started on the planet. So it would be natural for the revenge to stop there. But Tros would fight, as Riella made that planet his home. And now that his vod had died, he was the her to the homestead. So eventually Tros would make Concord Dawn his home as well.

[Moon Knight]

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.

[Dizzy]

The day was filled with laughter, Kalyani enjoying herself immensely. By the time they got to the cafe she had worked up a good appetite. Kaly couldn't remember feeling more relaxed. The open air of the planet was a welcome change to being cooped up on space stations and inside the office. It was interesting to see how the city was designed, how everything was defensible. What some might consider boring, the young woman found fascinating. It led to being teased a little by Jaesko but she gave as good as she got. What she was most glad about was how happy Mel looked. Jaesko told her that she hadn't seen her brother happier either, the two girls grinning as they watched the lovebirds up ahead.

[Mellanie Devanus Vevut]

To say MandalMotors was impressive was an understatement. It wasn't that it was a huge company, or that it was fancy, or that it was producing at an amazing rate. None of those were true, especially to people who knew business like the daughters of the Link CEO. But it was impressive in a resourceful way. Nothing was wasted. No corners were cut. Everyone working there was working there because they were doing what they loved. Each ship was made with intense care and dedication that outstripped any other company Mellanie knew of, save perhaps vos Corelli's work, and you didn't see much of that in the galaxy anymore these past years. No, there was a reason MandalMotors had the corner on the market for flying weapons. The quality was simply unmatched. Mel had spent her life around ships, and knew them inside and out, so she was able to appreciate the technical side, too. The specs on some of these ships were solid.

 

They were just getting ready to leave when Araac's comlink chirped. He excused himself to answer it and came back a few minutes later, the good cheer wiped off his face. "That was Uncle Rhar. Apparently the meeting with Mand'alore was serious. He wouldn't say much, but he asked for a ride back to the farm. We'll pick him up at the Oyu'baat. C'mon."

 

Mel sobered. She wondered what could be happening. They quickly piled into the landspeeder and headed off to the famous tapcaf. It was crowded with speeders; clearly, all or most of the clan leaders had shown up. Araac hopped out and disappeared inside, then was back after a minute with a very tall, clearly muscular Mandalorian in navy blue armor with silver accents. Mel scooted over so he could sit in the front with her and Araac.

 

"You must be Mellanie," he said by way of greeting.

 

She smiled at him. "Yes, I am, and that's my sister Kalyani."

 

"Rhar Vevut, Araac's uncle. Sorry to cut short your visit here, but you should both probably get out of the system while you can."

 

Mel was astonished. "What do you mean? What's happened?"

 

"War," he said simply. "War and dar'jetii."

[Vihk]

But who?

 

The air was troubled. The old Mandalorian’s brow furrowed in concentration and a fire rose deep within the cockles of his heart. Suspicion, rife with speculation, filled Vihk’s mind with uncertainty like a thick mud. All he could hope for was a sign to help dig his way out. But his misgivings would have to wait. Mand'alor was beginning the final preparations for his briefing and the briefing was why he was here. It was the sole reason he left the comforts of Nar Shadaa. He owed Fett his ear. And he owed his people a leader they could be proud of. Apprehension lingered however, and the more that Vihk tried to focus, he found his mind drifting to the device on his leg plate. Vihk gravitated toward A'den while listening to Mand'alor's briefing. He still held the listening device, but crushed it in his right gauntlet as he moved. With A'den at his side, Vihk sighed deeply. His weary eyes lingered on Fett through the view-plate of his buy’ce as Mand’alor waxed poetic about the threat they all faced. Dark Jedi huh, seems pretty cut and dry. At least some things are cut and dry.

Vihk bent over to grab the large repeater and braced his form before heaving it from the ground. It was almost too big for him, but with slight modifications, the repeater fit his body like a glove. He had already strapped the ammo belts to the back of his chest piece and latched the lower snap of his leg brace to stabilize the gun. The familiar leather grips of A’den put his mind at relative ease. But the lingering whispers of distrust still wove their way through his addled mind. Who could it be?

He thought back to the early moments of his visit. And his first thought, was Kavut. He and Kavut were close. But would their relationship, no matter how short it was, be enough to drive the young man to rebel against his own people? Vihk remembered the amicability of their split and the practicality of the choice. Had they both relived it, they would have made the same decision. That alone would have been enough to convince Vihk that Kavut was innocent of sabotaging him. But Kavut was also extremely dedicated to his people. That was the main reason he was a clan leader.

 

Vihk noticed the end to Mand’alor’s briefing through his peripheral vision, but was caught up in thought. He heard the words, but was finally able to piece together his anxious misdirection. This was why they wanted to sabotage me. Whoever did this wanted information on what Mand’alor planned to do next. Which means, whoever did this, was allied with the dark jedi. But, following his backlog of memories, he was left with only two candidates. His sisters: Anika and Luca.

 

His heart sank. With his mother dead, his clan in danger, and the fact that someone in his family might be guilty of treason, it was too much. Vihk couldn’t effectively explain the hurt he felt. It seemed like the universe was trying to drag him back down. It seemed like he would never stop paying for the sins of his past. Even atoning seemed ineffective. With his young eyes dimming in the low-light of the Oyu'baat, Vihk felt himself giving up hope. But he couldn’t believe that. He wouldn’t believe that. He earned the right to represent his people again. He earned the respect of his peers again and he wouldn’t fall back down. Never again.

 

When Fett’s speech was over, Vihk moved toward Mand’alor with fierce determination in his stride. He kept a safe distance from Mand'alor to prevent the bayonet of his weapon from posing any threat to him, but he got as close as he could to avoid announcing himself to the rest of the Oyu’baat.

 

“Mand’alor. I have a problem. I have two possible traitors and I need able hands to help me pin them down. I don’t know if they have done anything yet, but I need to figure out what is going on.” Vihk patted A’den with his gauntlet and grunted a little under his buy’ce. “I plan on using a little aggressive negotiation, but I need a couple of vode to pin 'em down.”

Edited March 12, 2017 by Guest

[Dizzy]

When Araac's Uncle came out it was easy to see the tension in his bearing. Something had happened during the meeting and it wasn't good. Kaly was observant in these matters, having had to read body language as part of learning the business side of the Link. As Mel moved over to give Rhar room to sit in the front of the landspeeder he spoke.

 

"You must be Mellanie,"

 

"Yes, I am, and that's my sister Kalyani." Kaly inclined her head as Mel introduced her, "Good to meet you Sir."

 

"Rhar Vevut, Araac's uncle. Sorry to cut short your visit here, but you should both probably get out of the system while you can."

 

"What do you mean? What's happened?" Mellanie asked. Kalyani shared Mel's astonishment. What could be so bad that they had to leave already? They'd only just gotten there. The sense of urgency in his tone had her suddenly on edge. It hadn't been that long ago that the girls had been under another threat from Black Sun and the danger sense was tingling in the back of her neck.

 

"War," he said simply. "War and dar'jetii."

 

Kaly's gasp was shared by the other girls as well. "Who would wage war on you?" She looked at Jaeska asking, "Dar'jetii... does that mean Sith?" She wasn't sure if she had interpreted it right or not. She was learning more words though knew it would be a while before she learned the language properly. If someone was waging war on the Mandalorian's, Kaly knew it would be safest to go but she didn't think it would be easy to get Mel to leave Araac. If that was the case, there was no way in hell she was leaving her sister.

 

Meanwhile, Araac had turned the landspeeder around and was already headed back towards the farm.

[Mellanie Devanus Vevut]

The journey back to the farm was quiet. Rhar refused to say much more, insisting that he'd rather only share it once with the whole family. Mellanie looked over her shoulder, trading glances with her sister. Her sister looked frightened. Mel didn't blame her. A Sith, and a war? That was enough to make anyone hesitate.

 

Once they arrived back, Rhar gathered the family together. An hour later, everyone was packed into Vae's living room. Mellanie slipped up beside Araac and squeezed in next to him where he was perched on the arm of a couch.

 

"As you all know, Mand'alor is back onplanet and called a meeting of all the clan leaders," Rhar began without preamble. "It's not good news..."

 

He proceeded to share about the army about to invade the sector, and how it was led by a Sith bent on vengeance. There were a bunch of questions, and he fielded those he could. Finally, he told them to spread the news to the other members of their clan, and to recommend division leaders. Three hours later, everyone had returned to their homes. No one had felt like staying, even for Vae's skraan. Mel and Araac were left in the living room, sitting on the couch together. Araac had his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned back into him.

 

They were silent for a while, and finally, Araac spoke. "You and Kalyani need to leave."

 

Mellanie bristled. She sat forward and turned to look him in the eye. "There is no way in hell that I'm leaving you to fight without me."

 

"This isn't your fight, Mel'ika," he returned.

 

"Yes it is, Araac," she countered. "We're engaged. That makes your family, my family. That was the point of this trip in the first place, right? Guess what? That makes your people, my people and your home, my home. And I will fight to protect and defend it."

 

He looked deep into her eyes, then sighed. "I knew you'd say that. But I hate the thought of putting you in danger. I'm supposed to protect you."

 

Her fierce look softened. "I guess you'll just have to do that on the battlefield." Suddenly a wave of fear shot through her. Battlefield? She had never wanted this. She had never wanted to be in a battle. But her determination was stronger than her fear. Some things were worth fighting for, and this man--and this family--absolutely were. She squeezed his hand. "I am going to try to convince my sister to leave, though. Not that I think I'll have much luck...she's even more stubborn than I am."

 

He gave a small smile. "I've learned the hard way not to try to argue with you two."

 

She kissed him on the cheek. "That's right." She hopped up. "Well, no time like the present."

 

Heading to the room they were sharing, she found Kalyani sitting on her bed with Jaesko beside her. The two girls were cleaning their weapons. Mellanie crossed her arms. "So...I take it this means you're staying? You know Mom will flip out when she finds out. Maybe you should go, Kaly..."

[Dizzy]

All the way back Kaly was as quiet as everyone else was. The mood had turned very serious, very fast. She walked into the living room with everyone else, her thoughts turning in circles. Just looking at Mellanie she knew that her sister wasn’t going to go. There was no way she was going to leave Araac and there was no way that Kaly was going to leave without Mel… their Mother and Aunt would just have to accept that they were going to stay with their new branch of family for there was no doubt in her mind that Mel and Araac were going to tie the knot. That meant that Araac would be her brother-in-law.

 

As Rhar told them all what was about to happen, Kalyani was concerned about another matter. He hadn’t stated which Sith it was that they were about to fight. She remained quiet as Jaesko sat on the bed with her, both girls having gotten their weapons and were cleaning them…

 

"So...I take it this means you're staying? You know Mom will flip out when she finds out. Maybe you should go, Kaly..."

 

Kaly looked up as Mel and Araac stood in the doorway. “No way. If you’re staying so am I, sis. Mum will just have to flip out. We’ll probably hear her and Aunt Brina from here. I know you two will get hitched sooner rather than later now but I hope you’ll keep in mind that Mum and Aunt Brina will want you to have a proper ceremony with them there.” She paused for a moment, her gaze searching her sister’s before shifting her gaze to Araac, “Do you know which Sith it is that we’ll be fighting?" Kaly paused again, weighing her words as what she would say next would possibly shock Jaesko, "It’s not common knowledge and I don’t know if Mel told you…” She met Mel’s eyes again then glanced at Jaesko, returning back to Araac once more, her voice lowering so they wouldn’t be overheard, “I think she might have… I have a half brother on my father’s side of the family who is a Sith Master. I’m hoping that he is not the Sith they’re talking about.”

[Mellanie Devanus Vevut]

Mellanie immediately slid onto the bed next to her sister and put an arm around her. "Oh, Kaly, I'm sure it's not Julio..." She felt guilty for not immediately thinking about how her sister might feel. "Doesn't seem his style, I don't think." Of course, she couldn't be certain it wasn't him. Rhar hadn't named the Sith. She knew that both Kane and Kalyani didn't care much for their half brother, but he was still family, and Mel had heard he had a daughter of his own around their age.

 

Jaesko had frowned at Kaly's revelation, but slowly, she nodded. "Family is complicated. And sometimes you can't choose who you're related to. Especially, I'd wager, if your father was a pirate." She paused. "No offense," she added halfheartedly, clearly not meaning it.

 

"Anyway," Mel interjected, trying to turn the conversation away from Ronin Wartide, "the point is still that whoever this is who is attacking is a Sith and will have other Force-users with them. We need to take these next few weeks that we have to train fast and hard." She glanced at her fiancee. "The Mandalorians have always been able to stand their ground against Force-users. You'd better get Kalyani and I up to speed on your methods."

 

He nodded. "I know just who to ask. It'll be good for us all to have a refresher course anyway."

 

He and Jaesko began to talk and plan out some training regimens, and Mel's thoughts drifted to her and Kalyani's undeveloped Force abilities. Perhaps she and her sister should train a little with those too. Mel wasn't particularly interested in developing her Force skills, but in a battle, she'd need everything she had to give her an edge. But the girls' skills were an even bigger secret than the fact that Kalyani's half brother was Julio Furion. Especially around Mandalorians. They didn't like Force-users all that much, and Mel didn't really blame them given the abundance of Sith wreaking havoc in the galaxy. Araac knew--there was little he didn't--but Mel wasn't eager to advertise her abilities to the family in general. Her thoughts flashed to her father. She knew he had always been a little disappointed she hadn't chosen to become a Jedi Knight.

 

She gave a mental sigh. Her Force skills could save her life, or Araac's, or Kalyani's, or another of her new family. That was worth seeing if she could develop them a little further over the next few weeks, even if it was just practicing what she already knew. She'd talk to her sister about it in the morning.

[Tresha Ad'Nort]

As the clan leaders dispersed and discussed among themselves the subject of Mand'alor's summons, the volume in the room rose again to a comfortable murmur. Soon, each of them would return to their homes, deliver the news to each respective aliit, fortify their holdings, and their war-ready culture would show its teeth. Pride and grim resolve mingled in her as she viewed the assembled verde, each one the best of their clan.

 

A lingering feeling of secrecy hovered above the room like a dark cloud, and Tresha could not put it out of her mind. While the assembled gathering had been rife with distrust, that never quite felt the same as willful deception. With a nod towards Mirdala, TeVerd, and the assembled Seekers, she pushed off of her resting place against the wall and began to move through the tapcaf in Kandor's direction, earmarking her intent for conversation at a later hour with her cousins to discuss details of their plans. Scanning the crowd for anything irregular, she nevertheless returned to the conclusion that there was no concrete action for her to take at the moment, before she caught a snippet of conversation from a verd who was addressing Kandor, his armor bearing the sigil of Clan Ordo.

 

"...aggressive negotiation, but I need a couple of vode to pin 'em down," the gruff voice emitted from his buy'ce.

 

With firm, lithe steps, she came alongside Kandor. "I will help you," she said clearly, her suspicion confirmed. Turning her helmeted head to her cousin's riduur, she added, "there is something--someone--out of place here."

 

Confident that he would discern her referral to her empathetic sensibilities, she turned back to the man from Ordo, resting her hand on the SHUKUR repeater which hung at her side. "Who?" She asked quietly and to-the-point.

[Moon Knight]

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..."

[Dizzy]

For a moment Kaly rested her head on her sister's shoulder. “No it doesn’t… nor does it seem like Count Shadowlord…” She was relieved when Jaesko didn’t react to hearing about her half brother. She was also relieved when Araac had someone in mind to get Mel and her up to speed with fighting against Force users. “I’ve only fought against simulations so I’ll take all the help I can get.” she murmured. Meeting her sister’s eye she also added, “We’ve got to get some armour from somewhere too.” Kaly wasn’t sure where they’d get some from but if war was coming, they’d need to find some pretty quick. They both would need to get used to wearing it as well as training in it...

 

The rest of the night was spent discussing training regimes and working out their next steps to follow. As they finally retired, Kaly lay there thinking about how to incorporate some Force training in without it being obvious that she and Mel were sensitives. Araac knew they were of course, but Jaesko and the others didn’t. Kaly was hesitant to say anything about it. Araac had told them not to mention it so she wouldn’t unless she absolutely had to. She would have to talk to Mel about it though, and see what they could work out. It took ages for her to fall asleep, part of her mind wondering how they were going to break it to their Mother and Aunt...

[Vihk]

Comforted at the site of a willing volunteer, Vihk smiled beneath his buy’ce. This had the potential to be grisly and he knew he might need that in the future. Fett’s suggestion did not fall on deaf ears, but Vihk wasn’t sure if he wanted to involve Mirdala in what might be something petty. He wasn’t sure how serious this was, or even how deep it went. All he had were gut feelings and suspicions. He bowed his head to Mand’alor and turned his visor to focus on the shorter female that had answered his call.

 

“Tresha huh? Haven’t seen the Ad’Norts around much.” Vihk adjusted his shoulders a little and turned to face the door. “Thank you for volunteering. I have one more to grab on our way out, but I’ll show you who to pin down. I can’t tell you why, yet. I’m not even sure myself. I have evidence, but I don’t know who it points to. So, follow me please, and I’ll try to be as clear as possible.”

 

After his small introduction, Vihk proceeded through the Oyu’baat to the front door. On the way, the old Mandalorian tapped Kavut on the back of his head to gather his assistance as well. All it took was a tap, a nod, and a few gestures to get the other clan leader to follow Vihk out the door and into the mid-morning. The skies were gray. It looked like the sky hadn’t given its all yet. It still had some tears to weep. But for now, the clouds were quiet, observing what unfolded beneath them.

 

Vihk spotted his two sisters with a merchant across the way and got Tresha and Kavut’s attention. He used his index and middle finger to point at where his eyes would be and then pointed over toward the two women crowded around the old merchant. He pointed A’den in their direction and hesitated, his finger hovering over the trigger. One of the women was spindly and wearing black beskar’gam. Her tarry black mane draped to the side and her pale white skin shone even in the dim stormy light. The other girl was shorter, lithe, and filled with a youthful optimism, even though she was in her early thirties. Her beskar’gam was bright orange and her wild brown hair was tamed only with a few hair ties, drawing it up into two crazy pigtails.

 

Vihk made a few steps toward the indicated targets. It was up to Kavut and Tresha to pin them.

 

Kavut took a moment to register where Vihk had pointed, but settled in on the black armored one. His feet were quick. His movements were evasive and he dove at the woman before she could turn to see him. His heart was beating fast, the power of adrenaline fueling his tackle. But the middle-aged woman heard him and cracked an elbow up to intercept Kavut before he could bring his full body on top of her. Kavut coughed a little, the plated elbow grazing his throat beneath his buy’ce. Then he renewed his assault. He dropped into a low stance and swept his leg beneath her. Failing that, he quickly feinted a jab before coming up to slam the bottom of her chin with an uppercut. Anika jumped to dodge the sweep as his leg swung around, but the uppercut slammed hard into her chin. She staggered and cussed; disoriented. Kavut took advantage of her delirium and quickly ran to change positions. She tried to grab at him, but she was caught seeing too many things. She thought there were three of him and she tried to catch the mirror image as he dashed by. When she futilely attempted to grapple him, Kavut returned the favor and grabbed her underneath the arms, pushing her into a kneeling position, facing Vihk.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala had watched and listened to the exchange with Kandor and Vihk via the neural implant her and Kandor shared, she'd been about to go over when Tresha beat her to it, pushing off the wall and moving join the conversation. Once Vihk had moved off to bring another Mando'ad into the mix, Mirdala had crossed the Oyu'baat to meet her.

 

She didn't like the idea of leaving Kandor, but an understanding nudge from Rhys reassured her as he moved closer towards where Kandor was meeting with the rest of the leaders. She knew it was going to be a long day for her riduur, but a necessary one in light of his pronouncement and call to war.

 

Mirdala didn't even have to call Vi'ika over, as her canid hunt-partner met her near the entrance as she stepped out just in time to see the scene unfold in front of her and Tresha. "Gev! Ke'mot!" she commanded, astounded at the lack of subtlety that was being exhibited in a situation that couldn't be rushed in this manner. "Ahzinger! You and your friend need to stand down, now. You just heard what was happening in there and you really think this is the time to fight amongst ourselves?"

 

She shook her head and grabbed the front of his vest, nearly bringing their helmets clacking together. "I get you have your suspicions,” she hissed, her voice low over the frequency, “but all this does is broadcast that you're on to them. There’s a right way and a wrong way to smoke out a mole. Now follow my lead, or you'll have a lot more time to think about things."

 

She released him just as a large hand placed itself on Vihk’s shoulder, "You heard the constable, let's just settle down and have a real nice conversation about all of this. Down at the local station might be best…," Soresh Delaavo intoned, his own armor bearing cross-jurisdictional markings of a constable of the protectorate as well as part of Corellian Security’s anti-Piracy division.

 

Mirdala was grateful that her helmet was on since it hid her surprise at having her former training partner back her up. She wasn't surprised to see Vy'ika behind him, however.

[Tresha Ad'Nort]

No sooner had Ahzinger gestured to where two women stood at the merchant stall across the street than the large blonde man burst into action, trading blows with the woman in dark beskar’gam. “Osi’kyr,” she muttered to herself as Mirdala charged the scene with orders to halt. Ahzinger’s informal and assumptive greeting concerning her family lent no good will to the situation, but Tresha clamped down on her flash of irritation and instead focused on the confusion emanating from the pair of women.

 

Or rather, from one of them. Vihk had been right about the other. Whatever the evidence he had alluded to, it was apparent to Tresha’s instincts and bounty hunter senses that only one of these women was as innocent as they both appeared.

 

“Wait,” she interrupted the proceedings, cutting through the throng of people to break the hold of the blonde man on his captive. She pulled the woman to her feet and shot a withering look at the interloper from behind her buy’ce. Mirdala was right: the tension from the meeting that had just occurred could not be allowed to bleed into their interactions with one another. The trigger-happy reaction she had just witnessed was proof of that. But neither did she want to go through all the diligence required to put these overreacting ade under formal arrest. Not only that, but this extra Mando’ad who approached the scene was unknown to her, though Vi’ika did not respond openly, giving her the sense that he was one Mirdala trusted. One thing was clear: the gathering horde of onlookers meant that this conversation was not one to be had in open air.

 

Planting herself carefully, nonchalantly, between the orange-clad woman and the gap in the assembled throng behind her, Tresha’s fingers curled around the grip of her blaster. The tone she presented, however, was devoid of incrimination. “If everyone can just stay calm, I think we are all owed some explanations.”

 

The odd parade moved the short distance through the Keldabe streets before arriving at the Office of the Journeyman Protectorate. Mirdala directed the party into a couple of the side rooms, Vihk and his tackle-happy friend in one and the two women in the other. Mirdala and Tresha headed towards the one with the two men, closing the door behind her. While there was not, strictly speaking, a sinister intent emanating from the shorter of the two females, her apprehension outweighed her confusion, and that alone told Tresha that Ahzinger had not been wholly incorrect in interpreting his evidence where they were concerned. The overreaction of the blonde man, however, did not sit well with her either. With a fractional glance at Mirdala, she surveyed the duo. “Now, can someone please tell me what is going on? Who are they, Ahzinger?”

[Vihk]

Well kriff Ahzinger. Way to mess up. Just let your nerves get in the way of everything and forget yer in a public place and surrounded by hundreds of vode… Yeah. Brilliant.

Vihk sighed as he and Kavut were apprehended. He was a little relieved to see that his sisters were apprehended too, but it didn’t help the situation much. He had just come back to Keldabe to represent his people and this was a piss poor attempt. Best he could do now was to try and clean it up a little bit, salvage what he could and conjure up a plan for later.

 

The old Mandalorian was wistful. He could see the determination in Kavut’s eyes and felt a touch guilty for getting him in trouble. The man would have jumped off a bridge for him if there was a reason. It was mesmerizing to see and heart wrenching to witness. Countless days of that guilt – the guilt of leadership – weighed on Vihk and all of it was brought back in one careless act. It was shameful. Vihk looked to Kavut, his buy’ce removed and his cornsilk hair mussed. His piercing blue eyes were trained forward, ready to bear what his actions brought him. He had a noble soul. A soul that Vihk was woefully unworthy of.

 

When both of them were shuffled into a room, Vihk scooted a little close to Kavut and pat the man gently on the back. He greeted those baby blues with a consoling glance and smiled weakly. Kavut returned the gesture and nodded his head. “Whatever comes, it’s okay.”

 

Vihk’s gut twisted. Every syllable of that admission drove a splinter of iron into his skin and down into the meat of his muscles, drawing them down into a weary sag.

 

When Tresha and Mirdala entered, Vihk removed his buy’ce and greeted the two of them with a solemn glance. “I messed up.” Vihk admitted, resignation lilting his voice. “I didn’t realize that it wasn’t the place until after I was already in motion. I apologize for any cover I have blown with my careless choice. If it were in a different place I would have tried the same, but I should have considered my surroundings better.”

 

Exasperation tickled the nerves in his head and drooped the vague confidence in his posture. He leaned back onto the metal bench and sighed heavily. He nodded his head to Tresha to indicate who he was addressing. “As to your question, those two are my sisters. Anika, the one in the black. And Luca, the one in the orange. I suspect that one of them placed a listening device on my beskar’gam to listen in on the meeting.” Vihk pulled the offending device out and showed them the crumpled remains. “My strategy was to pin them down and intimidate them to get a response. But I didn’t consider my surroundings. And that was where I failed. I don’t know how much they got, or why. I also don’t know if either of my sisters is actually guilty, but I had a strong feeling in my gut.”

 

Vihk looked toward Kavut and bowed his head.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala removed her buy'ce and regarded the two men for a few moments before Vihk spoke up. "Tresh, would you mind taking him to one of the other interview rooms?" She indicated Kavut, "I'd rather get their statements separately. Verify that Soresh and Vy'ika have split the women as well."

 

She waited while Tresha gestured for Kavut to follow her and watched Vihk as the other two left the room.

 

Pursing her lips, she let out a short breath before leaning against the opposite side of the table and responding, "These 'mess ups' can have a high cost, Ahzinger. From an operational standpoint, it more than worries me that you'd have attacked them without first gathering proof of your suspicions merely if the surroundings had been different." It had never been in Mirdala's nature to sugar-coat things or dance around the honest truth, but that didn't mean she'd been about to dress him down in front of Tresha or the other man that obviously had his loyalty and back.

 

"You may be one hell of a weaponsmith, but your actions indicate your field skills are rusty at best, a hazard to those around you at worst." She paused, watching him and easily reading the remorse and resignation in his body language.

 

It's hard to believe this man was once Mand'alor, she thought, now having a better understanding why Kandor had taken up the mantle. At the time, Kandor's secretive nature and lack of contact with the Mandalorian people made him an odd choice for the title, but Vihk's actions demonstrated why Kandor had accepted it.

 

"Acting just because you have an unsubstantiated feeling or even just a minor bit of circumstantial evidence," she amended recalling what he'd said about a listening device. "You've no proof of intent or definitively who placed it and you just made finding that information out of either of your sisters, let alone any other potential agents that were in there, that much harder to smoke out. Intimidating someone is just a fast way to get suspect information that can't be trusted.

 

"You say you want to help Mand'alor and make amends to our people. You can't do that by making unprovoked attacks without proof. The Protectorate may operate as judge, jury, and executioner, but much of that is after careful investigation before we act. You can't just go off half-cocked. You're going to get people killed."

 

She pushed away from the table and gathered up her bucket, shaking her head. "Take some time to think on what I've said. I know you're better than this. I know you don't want to get those you care about killed. We need all the people we can muster and Fett and I have to know we can trust your judgment in the field."

 

---------------

 

It was about three hours later and dark by the time the octet was done with the interviews. No formal charges were filed, but it went without saying that all parties involved in the incident would be under extra scrutiny in the coming days.

 

Re-entering the Oyu'baat, Mirdala wondered straight to the bar and ordered up some stew to be sent up to her and Kandor's room, figuring that it'd be good to make sure they both remembered to eat something after the long day they'd both had. She knew that Tresha and the others would have more questions, but battle planning could wait until after they'd all had a break.

[Vihk]

You forgot Armorsmith, sweet cheeks. Vihk thought to himself as Mirdala reamed him a new sheb-hole. It was fair to say he was a bit rusty. In fact, he could understand that a heavy weapons expert would not make a good covert agent. But he had more than an inkling. He had more than an unqualified guess. The only three people in contact with him since yesterday – close enough to plant the device – were Kavut, Anika, and Luca. But Kavut, out of all of them, understood how closely Vihk inspected his armor. He would never have tried to put a device on his legplates.

 

As to his violence, that was due to his own sibling interactions. His sisters had butted heads with him since they were young. He was the eldest. He was always heralded as the wisest of them all, which he found incredibly ironic, but it didn’t make any less of a scar. Each one of the other girls fought to be that much better than him. Only Luca, the youngest, ever started to like Vihk as something more than a goal to be vanquished; as something more than a benchmark to be achieved. They never responded to anything less than a threat to their safety and would keep anything and everything bottled up unless confronted with odds they couldn’t beat. Would he murder them in cold blood? O’course not; especially not after their mother died. We only have so much family left.

 

Mirdala was acting in her and Fett’s best interests. Vihk knew that. It was part of the reason he didn’t want her to come along. But, hindsight being twenty-twenty, it might have been better if he volunteered the information to her before rushing off. It would have certainly made the problem less caustic and unforgiving. He understood her concern and listened intently to her instruction. It wore heavy on his heart, but it was the cold hard truth. Vihk, even restored to youth as he was, was not enjoying the prime of his life as he had forty years ago. I am getting too old for this dwang…

 

Vihk’s expression turned somber and he looked to the ground, weighing his choices. When Mirdala left, he followed behind her and stopped beside the open door, propping his back against the side wall. As the others started to follow suit, Vihk turned toward Anika and Luca. The Mandalorians guarding them eyed him skeptically behind their visors, but Vihk didn’t attempt any act of violence. He may have still been wearing his beskar’gam, but A’den had been confiscated and was waiting for him back at the Oyu’baat. Instead, he asked to see his sisters in one of the private rooms. The guards paused and looked at each other for a moment, a little shocked that he would even ask that question. But, mirroring his civility, they shook their heads, politely declining. So, Vihk added an extra addendum, suggesting that one or both of them watch the room while they discuss. This concession seemed enough to the guards and both men spun the two women back into one of the private rooms. Kavut looked back with concern, but Vihk, who had taken his buy’ce off at the start of this whole thing, gave him a reassuring glance.

 

Then, with a small nod to the guards, he stepped into the private room and crossed his arms, staring at the duo with hard eyes. “I am sorry I attacked you. I am sorry I threatened violence on you. But, knowing our history, I thought it was the only way to get one of you to confess.” Vihk said, doing his best to clear the growing concern from his voice.

 

Anika looked a Vihk, with grave disdain implicit in her icy expression, and spat at his boots. “We don’t owe you anything Vihky, so just back off.” Her tone was vicious. Vihk winced at the memory of his least favorite childhood nickname but showed no other outward sign of aggression as a response.

 

Luca looked at Vihk with big puppy dog eyes. But a small something lay on one side of her gaze. Anxiety tugged at her, and Vihk caught one of Luca’s tells before she could retract it: she reached her right arm up toward her hair and scratched right below where her sideburn met her temple. Vihk’s gaze shifted from looking at both of his sisters to looking at Luca directly. “Alright, Luca. What are you hiding?”

 

Luca, the youngest and friendliest of his sisters, looked away and dodged the question. Her eyes looked at everything but him and her right foot fidgeted. She mused to herself for a few seconds and tried to quiet her nerves. But Vihk’s eyes were steel. She tried to play it off, but her cheerful smile fell into an expression of shame. She looked to the opposite wall and wanted to hide, but Vihk wouldn’t let her. His body and eyes followed her evasion carefully. She would not get to hide from this.

 

Anika wasn’t sure what was going on, and although her brooding façade was still intact, something inside her wretched expression indicated her curiosity.

 

Luca was sitting on a chair near the middle of the room, just opposite Anika, desperately trying to be smaller than she already was. Vihk crossed the room and knelt in front of her and clasped her right hand in his. He looked at her and used his left hand to guide her face until it was eye-to-eye with him. His eyes were hard, but a hint of sorrow fell from the crease. “Luca. We have both lost something lately. This information has the potential to cause a lot of harm. What did you do?”

 

Vihk held his voice soft and plain and Luca collapsed. Her eyes filled with tears and she fell into fits of sobbing. When the guards poked their heads in to check on the noise, Vihk reassured them and they resumed their post outside the door.

 

“Sh-She told me to do it. She told me it was important and that it would help our people. When I asked her why sh-she put a gun to my head and ordered me to do it. I don’t know what happ-I don’t know why my sister would do that.” Luca said through a waterfall of big ugly tears. It was heart-wrenching to watch little Luca cry, but it meant they were making progress. Vihk gently squeezed Luca’s hand and patted her on the back, trying to decipher her words a little.

 

“So, you said yer sister did this? Sera?” Vihk asked, obviously overlooking the lump of emotional brooding in the corner.

 

Luca nodded or seemed to nod as she continued to sob.

 

Vihk nodded back in response, solemn and determined. “Thank you. I’ll have a chat with her when I get off this rock.” Vihk said. Luca looked up at him, questioning his resignation. Yet, when she caught his gaze, she could see the weariness in his bearing. She could see the old man that had run his course. Behind the young facsimile, her brother was growing tired. It broke her heart and threatened to renew her melancholic display, but it made sense.

 

Luca stood up and hugged Vihk, not sure what else to say.

 

Vihk accepted it and started to sob a bit himself.

 

Grief has a way of binding even the most wayward of souls. It was nice to have family in the hard times.

 

With his business settled, Vihk exited the investigation building without a word. He nodded to guards as he left and continued out. He hopped aboard a Mandal Motors trade ship making rounds to the outer Mandalore sector planets. And despite the renewed scrutiny, Vihk managed to leave without much resistance. He left A’den behind in the Oyu’baat for a daring young Mandalorian to have a shot at his favorite weapon and felt leaving was the best course of action.

 

________________________________________

 

 

The next day, a private and slightly encrypted 'farewell' arrived for Kavut, and another, heavily encrypted one, arrived for Fett.

 

Hey, Fett, it's Vihk. I thought about what Mirdala said and she’s right. I’m not as fit as I was. I'm going to get somebody killed with my rashness. I don’t know what I was thinking jumping full bore into this when I can’t even set my head straight most of the time. Your secrets are safe with me. I won’t be telling the whole galaxy about your problems, you can count on that. However, I have passed the clan mantle on to the next of my clan, Kargak Ordo, and I have confronted my sister Sera, the one I eventuality

found guilty of treason. She tried to take a shot at my life, but I managed to pin her down. We have her in lock up on Ordo and you are free to have her for questioning if you wish.

 

As for me, I passed on the information and passed on my armor to my successor. The legacy of Ordo will live on without me.

 

We have never really seen eye-to-eye, you and me. You were always caught up in whatever mission or purpose took hold of you and I was a stubborn jackass that thought I knew where I needed to go. But I was and am a bitter war veteran and you have a bright future with Mirdala ahead of you.

 

I will continue to believe in the Mandalorian philosophies, but for all intents and purposes, this makes my actions consistent with the darmanda that I became when last we warred with each other. If violence comes from my choice, then I will finally have paid for my war crimes. But I’m tired.

 

I have helped my people. I have done what I could to apologize to them. I will still send money to help repair the damage. But I will never win forgiveness for the black mark that I have stained on Mandalorians in the galaxy.

 

There was a Vihk that was stubborn and hard headed. There was a Vihk that would have followed a cause to the end of the earth despite his better interest. That Vihk followed his duty. That Vihk was given a legacy and told to follow it. He wasn’t given a great deal of choice and felt a deep pervading obligation for his people that drove beyond rational belief. But that Vihk died a long time ago. This is where my legacy ends. If you need me, I’ll be on Nar Shadaa.

 

Vihk out

Edited March 21, 2017 by Guest

[Moon Knight]

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.

[Tresha Ad'Nort]

“I’m going to go check on Fett,” Mirdala remarked to Tresha and the others once the staff had confirmed the food to be sent up. “Meet in about an hour up there for a team meeting?”

 

Vy’ika and Soresh nodded and placed their own orders. Cinva, Vy’ika’s massive sandhound, came to rest at his feet. The former removed his helmet, revealing a face that looked remarkably like Kandor’s, and gave a brief nod in greeting to Tresha.

 

Taking her own seat at the bar next to Soresh Delaavo, the impassive set on her face indicative of the careful guard against displaying the storm of thoughts rolling through her mind, Tresha set her buy’ce on the counter with an audible thunk. “Soresh,” she began, “it’s been a long time.” To the man on his other side, she returned the wordless greeting. “Tresha Ad’Nort,” she said without preamble. She’d never heard Kandor mention a brother, nor much in the way of family at all, but the likeness was too close to be mistakable.

 

“Verdeyuii, though most teammates call me ‘Vy'ika’ or 'Di'kut',” the man answered extending his arm toward her, a slight up turn to his lips. “You’re Hwulf Ad’Nort’s daughter aren’t you? Mirdala’s cousin.”

 

She nodded her assent, a smile crossing her face at his self-effacing comment despite the exhaustion of the day. “And you must be Kandor’s brother,” she returned without thought.

 

“Not quite,” he said quietly with a wink and a sip of his drink. Soresh fixed him with a look, but it seemed to daunt him little. Vy’ika’s gaze wandered over the handful of still-lingering clan leaders and the few regulars that had resumed their spots now that the official business had ended. He stretched his neck, resulting in a few audible cracks and pops as he rested his back against the bar. “I’m sure your cousin will fill you in, later.” He gave her another wink just to elicit a response from Soresh.

 

“So how’s the hunting been going?” Soresh remarked lamely trying to divert things from Vy’ika’s usual antics. “I was very sorry to hear about Reska. She’s doing alright, I hope?”

 

With a measured pause as she sipped the glass of mead before her on the counter, Tresha shrugged. “More or less,” she said simply. “She’s safe, the family’s safe, but she’s not happy to be away from home. I think she feels like they’re running from a fight, and to her credit she’s too mandokarla for that to sit well.”

 

“That she is,” came a familiar voice from behind her. When she turned she saw TeVerd slide into the seat on her right. The bartender set some food in front of him as well, casting him a dubious glance. Most of the other Seekers had left to either their rooms or their ships, leaving only the armor she recognized as belonging to Rhys Ad’Verd, an occasional associate of her father’s and a similarly built man that seemed to radiate a not so subtle menace that made her skin crawl. TeVerd noticed his niece’s concern and quietly remarked. “That’d be Rahg. He’s not friendly by nature, so I wouldn’t bother too much with him. You probably remember Rhys from the whole incident when Mirdala was six. He was the one she caught up with on my ship when you and your dad came to help out.”

 

From down the bar, Vy’ika let out a short bark of a laugh. “He still grouses about those encryption locks.”

 

A wry grin made its way onto Tresha’s features. “I take it Mird’ika is still faster than he is,” she said teasingly, a flash of memory bringing the picture of a pint-sized Mirdala to bear on present circumstances. While it was a somewhat comical picture--a tiny child swiftly locking the experienced Seeker out of TeVerd’s systems--the remembrance only served to increase the foreboding protectiveness that shouted caution to her mind. Sobered at the thought, she picked at her food until her consultation of her wrist chrono allowed her to excuse herself politely and make her way up to Mirdala and Kandor’s room, determined to be the first of the aliit present to arrive.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

After leaving the group at the bar, Mirdala made her way over to Kandor and waited patiently for him to wrap up the conversations with the few remaining Clan leaders. "Verdeyuii and Soresh arrived this afternoon. I had their help with the 'incident' with the Ahzingers. Figured I could fill you in on the details while we grabbed some quiet and some food." She looked tired, but it wasn't the quiet lock-down she'd been in before. "You can fill me in on things here," she gave a small laugh before adding subvocally through their implants, You know, what couples normally do at the end of their days. Or so I've heard.

 

If she was being honest, the whole situation with Vihk had worn her out more than she was willing to let on. What if he hadn't been the only one bugged, but just the only one to notice it? Her mind was too tired to chase ghosts, but she did make a mental note to bring it up with the rest of the team.

 

"Team meeting in one hour, roughly," she let him know and offering a reassuring, but tired, smile. Patting the side of her leg Mirdala gave a slight nod and Vi'ika jumped up from where she'd been laying behind Kandor and followed Mirdala up toward the second floor that housed the lodging areas. Mirdala only paused long enough to catch a quick handshake from Rhys and a menacing glare from Rahg before completing the journey up to her room.

[Moon Knight]

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.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala nodded as she sat down her own helmet on the end table on the opposite side of the bed. "Broad daylight, not even a full five minutes after enlisting our help. A man that leaps before looking gets others killed. He's got skills with weaponry and armor, though I wouldn't feel comfortable with him next to me on the battlefield, let alone in any position of command. Being in charge of weapons and ordinance procurement would be his best fit."

 

She sighed, crossing the room and sitting in the chair opposite Kandor. She'd gone quiet again, her eyes becoming unfocused as she replayed the events again within her mind's eye, looking at all of the possible angles. Mirdala was doing her best to see what might have caused him to act in haste the way he had, but even with the allusion to sibling rivalry being the cause of the attack, she was having a hard time finding any sort of justification to his actions. "He seems to have this need to prove himself as a warrior. There's no doubt the man can fight, but there are better ways he can help our people if he's even still willing. I may or may not have given him a 'frank and honest' piece of my mind regarding the incident." Vi'ika trotted over and rested her massive head in Mirdala's lap, looking up at her curiously.

 

Mirdala smiled at her canine hunt partner and scratched her behind the ears affectionately for a few moments before continuing, "Ultimately, I let everyone go, though they'll be watched closely. Figured having paperwork over all of this and throwing Vihk in jail for a night or two wouldn't really get us any further. Besides, he did apologize to them and get a confession out of the younger of the two, Luca, so there's that lead at least. Apparently, he's got a third sister, Sera, who is the one that put her up to it under threat of violence. Don't really have anyone out that way and he seems hell-bent on settling it himself, so I'm inclined to let him. Family business and all that. It's not like he hadn't found and disabled it before the meeting, so there's that..."

 

Her words drifted off and she turned to look towards the window, worrying her bottom lip the way she often did when her thoughts tended toward darker roads. "There's been no link to Ab'ki yet, at least not a concrete one," Mirdala finally remarked to the empty air before turning to face her husband once again. "I can't help but wonder who else might have been bugged and not known or was there willfully spying. I don't think that Luca Ahzinger was what I was sensing before. There's a lot of tension, more than just the usual 'headed to war' restlessness you'd expect. Vihk's actions today made our job of flushing them out that much harder."

 

Then she rose and crossed the short distance to sit on his lap, her petite frame easily resting against him. His arms encircled her waist, drawing her closer as she smiled and relaxed. Even in the midst of everything it was good to remember that they had each other.

 

"So how was meeting half the sector?" She asked settling her head against his shoulder.

[saberforce]

Tros got up and quietly left Oyu'baat and headed back for his ship. He needed to get his clan mustered and ready for the coming akaan. He had no need to speak to others, no purpose to remain and let them know he was still committed. It was already implied, and he was going to be faithful in the Resol'nare, like true members of Clan Ardell always have and will. So the man known as Saberforce left for Shogun to rally the other clans to be ready to defend.

[Moon Knight]

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."