The Hapes Cluster

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

“There now,” Sharia Mode intoned as she stepped back to examine her handiwork. “You may look child. It wasn’t so bad as you thought it would be, yes?”

 

Mirdala’s retort was cut short as she turned to look in the mirror. The person in the mirror as she turned didn’t look like her, though, she admitted to herself, it wasn’t exactly that far off. Despite their earlier interaction, Mode had been willing to work with her on the wardrobe issue and had modified the dress she’d chosen slightly to accommodate for Mirdala’s operational needs as well as (what Mode had deemed) her aesthetic ones.

 

The crimson of the gown off-set her eyes and skin tone perfectly. More importantly to Mirdala though, the dress still allowed for free movement and had fine mesh panels with inset stones in intricate patterns covering her back and right arm. When they’d looked at it earlier that morning, the dress had been backless and sleeveless, but apparently working for the Countess gave Mode pull with the dress shops in the area and they’d had the alterations rushed.

 

She moved her arms to test the movement of the additions to the dress, pleased when she found the fabric stretched well enough that she had her full range of movement. Not that she would have thought twice about ripping the dress if needs came to it and she found herself in a fight, but it was still nice to know.

 

The woman had also done up her hair and make up, not in the vampish style Mirdala had learned from Deren, but in an elegant way that only brought out more of Mirdala’s natural beauty. Her hair was still partially braided, but it was done in a half-up and down manner that brought her mid-back length hair over her right shoulder, skillfully hiding the brand at the base of her neck.

 

“I take it your people don’t put much stock in appearances do they, Kida?” Mode inferred as she watched Mirdala’s reaction in the mirror. The younger woman’s posture had changed and she seemed to look more regal.

 

“It’s not practical,” Mirdala responded civilly. “You have to understand that most of us are warriors, pioneers, farmers. We don’t have many cities or much in the way of the hierarchy you have here.”

 

The elder woman looked over from the case she was digging through and made a face. “But how does anyone know their place? Forgive me, but it sounds a miserable existence. I can’t imagine living in a world without beauty.”

 

Mirdala didn’t bother to stifle her short laugh, remembering her conversation earlier that week with Kandor about how she chose to see the galaxy. She and Mode had more in common than she thought, though she’d never admit that to the woman. They just went about it in very different ways.

 

“Care to enlighten me on what’s so amusing?” Mode inquired as she slung a necklace of intricate wirework and stones around Mirdala’s neck.

 

“I never said we didn’t have beauty, we just…see it differently. Beauty in a job well done, a well-crafted suit of beskar’gam, the song of a bes’bev, a home-brewed glass of netre’gal, a well-cooked meal. Going to all of this trouble for a single evening…” she gestured to the dress and her hair (which Mode was now adorning with jeweled hair pins), "it’s just not something we’d do."

 

“We also make our own way in the galaxy. Choose our own paths, lives, and careers. I didn’t become a soldier, just because I was born to that particular class. I became one because I chose to be."

 

The elder woman stiffened and shook her head. “Sounds utterly dreadful. No mind though, you’ll pass for one of us well enough tonight so long as you don’t do much speaking, or we pass you off as a foreign visitor. One thing is for certain though,” Mode stepped back before adding, “thanks to my handiwork, no one will mark you as being part of Her Excellency’s security forces."

[Moon Knight]

Kandor approached the venue, which was the sort of place that he would associate with wedding ceremonies for rich aruetiise. There was a spacious lobby where guests would hobnob and snack on appetizers before dinner started, then form into parties and be escorted in for the main meal, a rather lavish affair the proceeds of which would go to charity. There would be a speaker on the tail end of the meal, talking about whatever the point of the whole event was -- something about orphans from a war on another planet in the Consortium. If everyone managed to make it through the talk, a silent auction would be held, again the profits going towards the cause. Or some of them would, probably. Kandor had little faith such charities, due in part of some of the things Isolder had seen.

 

But he wasn't there to rat out some questionable "non-profit" organization. There was a galaxy full of battles that might be worth fighting for a variety of people, but he would have to choose his carefully.

 

He'd arrived early to try and scope the building out, but there was a strict guest list so he wouldn't be able to let himself in unless he broke in, which was risky. Instead he walked the perimeter and called up the public map of the building to try and get a feel for where everything was. Before long, he found a couple of back doors that weren't too obtrusive and decided to pick one and wait things out until Mirdala and Ghet arrived. Her implant and his earpiece would let them communicate in private, but the most secure settings were short range.

 

Meanwhile he booted his program, which would start searching the frequencies the GenoHaradan would be using for recognizable encrypted packets.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala did her best to keep to the middle of the entourage arriving with the Countess, not really wanting to have another moment in the spotlight. She highly doubted that coverage of a local charity gala would find its way into the hands of whoever was hunting her, but she really didn’t want to make any chances. Her eyes were on the lookout for Kandor, wondering if he’d already found his way in. She was also on the watch for either the Zeltron or the tall dark man that had eluded them since that second night.

 

Trusting that he would be in the area, she opened one of their private and highly secured channels. We’re here. What’s your status? Because the implant was integrated within her, she only had to think the words and they were transmitted.

[Moon Knight]

"I'm around back," Fett replied, speaking into a microphone hidden in his suit lapel. There were times that he considered getting the implant installed like Mirdala had during their Augury days. At the time he'd been too paranoid to get anything put into his body that could be used to keep tabs on him, instead opting to get the device installed into his buy'ce. Until recently, he was so seldom separated from his bucket that it had never been a disadvantage, but if plainclothes operations were going to become frequent, he might have to rethink the decision.

 

"There's a back door in a service corridor between the kitchen and the auditorium," he explained. "If you get a chance could you swing by?"

 

Meanwhile he continued to scan GenoHaradan frequencies, but so far there was nothing. The problem was that a lack of activity didn't necessarily mean the program didn't work. There was no telling if their employer was using them for any purpose at this event, and Fett was not expecting an assassination attempt here, in public, surrounded by so many bystanders. They could also be there and not transmitting privately yet. Ultimately, testing the comm slicing code couldn't be his primary objective.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Understood. I’ll make some excuse to slip away as soon as I reasonably can. As you might have guessed, she has me on ambient support.

 

The entourage made it’s way into the lavishly decorated lobby where various servers stood waiting with trays of food and drink. Taking her cues from her employer, Mirdala understood that she was to mingle about with the rest of the crowd looking for any eyes paying too much attention towards the Countess. The security briefing before they’d left for the event had indicated that the team felt the lack of a repeat attempt was low, especially in such public settings. Still they didn’t want to take any chances with the Countess, so, thankfully, Mirdala wasn’t being kept on a short leash that evening.

 

It was relatively easy to slip away from the rest of the crowd and make it to the door way Kandor had indicated. She indicated she was in position and waited to get his confirmation before she keyed the door open, allowing him entrance to the building.

 

She had to admit, he looked quite good in his Hapan formal attire, though she was also happy to see him again before their evening got underway. Mirdala opened her mouth, just about to say something, when she heard someone approaching from the kitchen. Thinking quickly she pulled him towards her, kissing him as she did so; leaving the two of them looking for all the world like a couple stealing away for a tryst.

 

A few moments later Mirdala checked that whoever had passed was gone. “I’d say sorry about that,” she smiled, drawing back from him,” but we both know that I’m not."

[Moon Knight]

Kandor sold the kiss and grinned at her afterwards, then made a show of looking her up and down while he adjusted his suit. "You look great," he said. He tugged at his collar. "Fit the part perfectly, and I daresay you're more comfortable than I am."

 

He paused and looked like he was focusing on something else for a moment. "One of the GenoHaradan frequencies just went active," he explained. "They're here. You should probably get back out there, I'll follow in a minute. Hopefully the program will decrypt it and we'll get some details."

 

Their presence was mixed news. It added an element of danger to the event -- Fett had fought one of the assassins at their cabin. Although he'd been in his beskar'gam, the fact that one of them had visited the apartment and likely found their armor meant they could make the link between ShadowFett and Theron Alenka, and it was possible they'd recognize him. There was also the possibility they were there to make an assassination attempt, which was incredibly bold, but the alternative was that they were there on guard duty, and that didn't seem like the kind of work you brought GenoHaradan in to perform. Plus, a tall dark skinned man and a Zeltron had a way of standing out in a crowd like this.

 

But it also meant the program could get a test run, and if it worked they might be able to thwart any attempt before it happened. Plus, if Fett or Mirdala could ID one of the assassins, it could give them an edge for their next encounter, give them a better idea as to how many agents were on Hapes.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

She smiled at him, though a redness crept into her cheeks despite the light dusting of rouge Mode had tastefully applied. Pulling up the hem of her dress she revealed some rather impractical shoes that also elevated her a few inches. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Though on one hand I wonder if they could double as weapons..."

 

When he announced that one of the frequencies had gone active, she quieted, then nodding with his assessment. "Koya'ci, cyar'ika," she intoned, giving him one last quick kiss. "At least no one in the Countess's retinue has ever met my 'husband', so you should be more than safe to move about. Hukaat'kama." She gave a smile and a wink with the last statement then disappeared back down the corridor and blended back into the gathering crowd.

[Moon Knight]

"You bet," he answered, his eyes tracing her figure as she walked away.

 

The one nice thing about his formal jacket, he reflected as he waited sixty seconds before following her, was that there was enough space to conceal a holdout blaster in his armpit. The GenoHaradan commspeak was still coming through garbled, which meant that the program was not particularly fast and furthermore he remained oblivious as to what the secretive organization was doing in the area. Coming in the back door like this meant he didn't have to subject himself to a security checkpoint, so if something happened and he needed the weapon, it was there.

 

Entering the main lobby, he saw that most of the guests had already arrived. He scanned the area visually, registering the various clusters of individuals based on their political affiliations. Ghet and Ravencrest were in regalia that looked so uncomfortable he knew Mirdala would rather take another blaster bolt than put it on. A moment later, he spotted Ranos Thane and found himself clenching his teeth. So far he'd been on world actively attempting to thwart Thane, recalling everything the man had done in his colored past. But although he had mentally labeled him a villain, seeing him in the flesh brought back the Isolder memories more clearly.

 

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

 

17 years ago --

 

Isolder walked through the rubble left at the site of the bomb detonation, accompanied by the police commissioner, two other officers, and three of his own people. He'd seen bodies before, but it didn't make this any less unpleasant. There were men and women on the ground, their bodies littered with cuts and contusions, some missing limbs, clothing charred and blackened. Anger coursed through him at the boldness of this attack -- the bombing of a campaign office was both overkill and showed how unafraid the perpetrator was of the law. The law that Isolder can come to represent in this district due to his harsh stance on criminal activity.

 

A reporter rushed over to him holding a microphone and tailed by her camera droid. "Prince Isolder! Your Highness, what do you have to say about this attack?"

 

Isolder's countenance betrayed his anger. "There is nothing that is acceptable about this situation. The investigation is underway to determine the perpetrator and swift justice will be dealt, on my honor."

 

"Your Highness, how does this reflect on the state of politics in the Hamat system? Much of the populace might begin to feel that entering the political arena is now too dangerous, despite your hard stance on attacks of this kind."

 

He glowered at her. "Now more than ever we need to stand firm and show we will not be scared into silence. Dynasties will fall by my hand if that's what it takes to clean out the rot infesting Hamat's oligarchy."

 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw another speeder arriving, and out of it stepped Ranos Thane and his escort. Isolder approached them at nearly a run. "You! How dare you show your face here!"

 

Thane held up his hands and his men moved to block Isolder's path even as the police commissioner stepped in close as well and put a hand on the prince's shoulder. "Of course I came as soon as I heard about the attack, I feel responsible for this city and will do everything I can to help her."

 

"You did this!" Isolder exclaimed.

 

Thane remained calm. "Don't make a fool of yourself, Princeling. That temper of yours is going to get you into trouble someday. On Hamat, you make an accusation with proof or not at all."

 

"Mark my words," Isolder growled. "It's only a matter of time before you slip. And when you do, I'll put you away forever and no one will ever miss you."

 

"Please," Thane replied. "Your little crusade is just a fad. Men like me are exactly what the Consortium needs."

 

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

 

Present --

 

Putting Thane away had been one of the best moments of young Isolder's career. Now the man walked free again, looking to increase his power by gaining this new, significant post. It was enough to drive a man who believed in justice to anger or despair.

 

The Mando'ad picked up a drink from a tray and walked over towards Thane's posse, intent on getting a closer look.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala tried to do her best to look like she was enjoying herself amongst the local population of red-jackets. She also wished she had some signifier that she was supposed to be "married", as several of the men present began to swarm her, attempting to make polite conversation in rapid-fire Hapan. She'd improved translation program in her implant somewhat, but had loaded its linguistic matrix with a more "operational centric" vocabulary, so it was having trouble sussing out some of the more nuanced phrases and words. Somehow she didn't think the current candidate had meant to ask her whether or not she wanted to bathe with his garden, at least, she sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

 

Glancing around as she pretended to take a sip of her drink, Mirdala spotted Kandor over near where Thane's cadre had gathered. Then she felt it.

 

The slight buzzing in the back of her head. It was subtle, so subtle, she almost missed it. I'd say our friend is most definitely here, cyar'ika. I can feel him. It's faint, but there.

 

Excusing herself, she shifted her way through the crowd getting nearer to Ghet, her eyes scanning for any sign of the red-skinned Zeltron Kandor had encountered at the cabin. She saw no sign of him. He would surely stand out in a crowd such as this where none of the guests appeared to be alien off-worlders, which meant he had to be using the same degree of disguise that her father, TeVerd, had used while posing as ConSec Security Inspector Rale Sendak. She relayed the additional context of the disgust to Kandor silently via her implant.

 

Ghet smiled at her arrival, but paid her no other attention, suspecting that the young woman's appearance just meant she was checking-in with her. Mirdala didn't particularly care what the Countess thought. She was being paid to protect her and protect her she would do, regardless of not being able to prove a concrete threat against the woman beyond a simple feeling though senses she didn't feel like explaining to her paymaster.

[Moon Knight]

Fett paused and turned slightly so he wasn't facing Thane. "Understood. Let me know if it gets stronger."He scanned the room again as he meandered the remaining distance towards Thane. There was just no way the two agents they'd encountered were here unless they were exceptional at disguise. It was possible of course that they weren't in the room, but were in some adjacent area preparing to make their move. He couldn't just go searching them though, not posing as a guest.

 

Presently he came within an earshot of Thane, who was talking to a small group of other dignitaries whom Fett could not identify.

 

"I admire your resolve to make it back here," one of them was saying. "Incredible how you could go from making parole to running for Earl of Ostia in such a short time."

 

Thane looked at her warily. "You're not a reporter, are you? I'm sure I've told the story a thousand times and you've all heard it."

 

"Forgive me," the woman replied. "But the story you tell the press is that your jail time reformed you. I've never heard people accuse Hapan prisons of being so startlingly efficient, and I was hoping there was something more to the story."

 

"No program they can put a man through will change who he is," Thane said. "Only the man can do that. Any power I had before prison was illicit and dried up the moment Vegeta Isolder brought everything to light. I looked back at my life and realized it was undone, and my daughter had been left without a father to watch over her. In that moment, I was nothing -- what can a man do in that situation but remake himself? When our good justice system recognized that I had changed, they let me out and I became determined to start putting right all that I had done."

 

Fett raised an eyebrow at the mention of Isolder's name, but it wasn't out of place. The rest of the explanation seemed very well put together, and he was beginning to see why these aruetiise might buy it. While he knew for certain that a man could change for the right reasons, this was a man who had preyed on the innocent and ordered the deaths of hundreds of people. Even a dar'jetii could posture himself for a time to appear reformed, and the evidence he and Mirdala had turned up so far made it seem like the rot in Thane's soul permeated just as deeply as the dark side did.

 

"You don't seem to believe me," Thane said, gesturing at Fett who was standing somewhat unobtrusively behind the other three guests.

 

His mouth formed a thin line as they turned to look at him. "My family was personally affected by an attack that was later linked to you, Mr. Thane," he lied.

 

The candidate approached him and reached out as though to put a hand on Fett's shoulder, but thought better of it. "I deeply regret it," he said. "There's not a day when I don't wish I could make it right."

 

Kandor turned and walked away, feigning being a bit upset and in truth a little frustrated that he'd inadvertently called attention to himself. He liked the beskar'gam way of doing things better.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

The appointed dinner hour was approaching as Mirdala stole away early to sweep the dining area for any sort of device hidden to cause havoc among the gathered parties. Dining room sweep came up empty, she relayed in Basic on both her and Fett’s channel as well as the security operational channels for Ghet’s team. Clicking back over to the solely private channel she shared with her partner she added back in Mando’a, “We have another problem though, it’s assigned seating and we both know you weren’t on the guest list. You’ll have to either hide out during dinner or find another way.

 

It wasn’t long before the doors to the dinning area were opened by the staff of the hotel and the rest of the guests came in to find their seats.

[Moon Knight]

He'd thought that might happen, but getting around it was tricky. He looked around the room and found a waiter that was about his size standing near a door to what was, according to the schematics he'd seen, an unused room. Fett quickly approached the man, grabbed his arm and led him towards the door. "Hey, do you think I could having something special brought out for my lady friend?" he asked.

 

The man did a double take as the door approached, thoroughly caught off guard. "Uh, I'm sorry sir, but I don't think we--"

 

Fett pushed him through the door, closed it behind him, pulled his blaster and promptly shot the man with a stun bolt, grabbing his tray first so it didn't crash to the floor.

 

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

 

A minute later, Kandor emerged from the doorway straightening his new staff uniform and hurried into the kitchen as dinner was starting.

 

"Thought you could just sneak in late, did you?" he heard a sophisticated female voice call towards him as he slipped into the line the rest of the servers had formed.

 

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he answered, thankful for his practiced Hapan accent. "One of the guests detained me."

 

The woman approached him. "Did I ask for an excuse? This is your last night working here... Marcos," she said, reading his name tag.

 

Fett fidgeted. "Yes ma'am," he said.

 

"You'll have table 17," she said. "I trust your remaining service will be more punctual."

 

"Of course, ma'am," he said, secretly thinking how ridiculous this whole exchange was but feeling slightly sorry for the real Marcos. "Excuse me, ma'am, I should check on their drinks."

 

"Good idea," she said dismissively, moving away to harass someone else.

 

Kandor grabbed a pitcher of water and made his way across the floor. Table 17 was about two thirds of the way across, and he was amused to see that Mirdala was among the guests seated there, in a table adjacent to Ghet's. He was about halfway there when he realized he was passing a table where Thane was seated, and he quickly turned his face away as though something had caught his attention as he walked past so he wouldn't be recognized. Somehow he made it to the table without incident and started refilling any empty or half-empty glasses. "I'm Marcos. Please let me know if there's anything I can get for you," he said to the guests, briefly catching Mirdala's eye but keeping his face a mask of polite professionalism, not daring to betray their connection even slightly.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

For her part, Mirdala matched his professional glance with one of her own and a very subtle flit of of her eyes downward acknowledging him as he filled the glass of the Hapan woman across from her. Her eyes glanced across the room as a movement caught her attention from the section where Ravencrest was seated.

 

“You ignorant cur!” the Marchioness spat at the poor attendant at her table. “This is not one of my cups. You were supplied them for a reason. I will not drink from this!” The woman rose and dumped the glass of liquid all over the server for her table, who quickly mumbled an apology and skittered away to comply with the woman’s demands.

 

Mirdala wasn’t able to make out the rest as the rest of the conversation picked up around her, but if her lip reading was half-way decent, it was something along the lines of “good help being hard to find.” It took Kandor setting her glass in front of her to make her realize she was borderline glaring at the Marchioness. She dipped her head in thanks, but didn’t take her eyes off of the other woman for several moments.

 

Her neighbor, another or Ghet’s entourage tasked with helping Mirdala blend in, leaned in as Kandor left to continue his duties and whispered for her benefit, “The Marchioness Ravencrest has some known, ah, ‘quirks’, shall we say,” she whispered scandalously. “The chief-most of which is only eating or drinking from her supplied sundries. Down right shameful if you ask me, which, by the way, you didn’t.”

 

Mirdala nodded her understanding. At least I don’t have to deal with my birth-family on top of all of this...

[Moon Knight]

Fett continued to improvise his way through his first ever job waiting on tables, but thankfully the kitchen was well organized and the only challenging part was making sure Thane didn't see him in his uniform every time he walked past. When the guests were most of the way through their meal the speaker for the evening came out and started their drawn-out appeal for donations. The servers meanwhile were instructed to stand by their tables in case anything was requested.

 

He used the time to again survey the guests. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of the GenoHaradan, and the program still wasn't decrypting their sporadic comm chatter. He would have to hope nothing otherwise preventable would happen here and dig back into the code before the next event, bringing Mirdala's expertise into it.

 

In lieu of the GenoHaradan, however, he did notice another face he had been trying to find -- the woman from the hotel. She was sitting just a couple tables over, which possibly meant that she was connected to Ghet but didn't guarantee it. The Mando'ad made a mental note to keep an eye on her for the rest of the evening and try to keep track of her.

 

Topping off his table's drinks again, he was headed back to the kitchen to refill his pitcher when suddenly a woman screamed. He put down the pitcher and hurried back into the event hall, where general chaos had broken loose and people were on their feet. He started to try and push through the crowd and got a sinking feeling when he realized he was headed right towards Ravencrest's table....

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala had been watching Ravencrest’s table on and off throughout the evening and had happened to be glancing that way when the woman collapsed, eliciting screams from members of her retinue. No one had been around the woman previous to her collapse, in fact, the last thing she’d done was take a sip out of the special glass she’d shrilly demanded earlier that evening. A glass, Mirdala surmised, had been filled from the same pitcher the rest of the table had been served from.

 

Instinct overrode Mirdala’s need to honor her mandate to protect Ghet and she surged forward only to be shoved back by Ravencrest’s people. She managed to get close enough to see the woman’s reaction, the way her lips and cheeks were beginning to swell, the rash that had developed at her neck, the way her skin flushed; Mirdala knew those signs.

 

She’d seen her cousin Aluir have a slightly more mild form of the reaction during their first “hide & seek” match with Assiri pepper oil “tingler” rounds when she was four. It was how her aunt and uncle had discovered the allergy. Luckily her mother, the village medic, always kept anti-histemic sharps handy. For Ravencrest’s sake, Mirdala hoped this hotel had invested in decent medkits.

 

“Move!” she growled in Basic with more than a little authority as tried to shove past them again. “I have medical training. If you want her to live, you’ll let me by!” There was hesitation within the party, but finally a woman identifying as Ravencrest’s sister nodded assent and Mirdala was allowed to pass.

 

Kneeling by the woman, Mirdala pointed to one of the waitstaff and shouted, “You! Get me a medical kit, make sure it’s one that has an anti-histemic sharp in it. You!” she pointed at one of the people apparently guarding Ravencrest, “Comm the local medics, tell them it appears to be a severe allergic reaction.” Finally to the one who’d admitted her passage to get to Ravencrest in the first place, she asked, “Do you know what she’s allergic to?"

 

The woman scoffed and looked around as though embarrassed. “Surely not! As though we’d ever discuss such things with an obvious outsider,” she hissed quietly to Mirdala.

 

Mirdala was about to retort that now was not the time when the waiter she’d sent along for the medkit returned. She held her hand out and caught it deftly as he tossed it to her, tearing into the kit with almost the same motion. Unceremoniously dumping the contents on the ground she shifted things until she found was she was looking for, and jabbed the sharp forcefully into the woman’s thigh and activated the med release.

 

Ravencrest’s body suddenly began to tremble, and there were shouts as someone grabbed Mirdala from behind to pull her back, accusations of trying to finish whatever had been started flying.

[Moon Knight]

Kandor was finally pushing his way close to the incident when he heard Mirdala start shouting out orders and taking charge of the situation. He started to move to give her a hand and try to keep people from crowding her, getting a glance at Ravencrest and narrowing his eyes at what he saw. Some kind of allergic reaction... or poison? he thought. Either way, he knew there was little chance that this was an accident.

 

He looked around the room again, trying desperately to get a glimpse of anything unusual that might give away the assassins' presence. Instead he spotted the woman from the hotel again -- instead of being a part of the crowd, however, she was quietly making her way out through the side door. He glanced at Mirdala as she received the medkit, realized his partner didn't need him to stabilize the politician, and pushed his way back out of the crowd in pursuit.

 

Moving quickly to the door, he reached for his blaster. It led to a hallway, at the end of which was an emergency exit that was even now slamming shut. He took off at a run, throwing off his server's jacket so he could move if he needed to, and threw open the door with his shoulder, finding an alleyway. The woman hadn't gotten far, he saw, noting that she was trying to run in extremely impractical shoes, one of which was practically coming apart from what she was putting it through moving as fast as she was. "Stop!" he commanded.

 

The Hapan woman froze, putting her hands out to her sides and slowly turning. When she saw the gun she flinched. "Oh gods, you're one of them aren't you?" She seemed to half collapse, leaning against one of the alley walls.

 

Kandor approached slowly, carefully considering what angle he could play to get results. "What do you know about us?" he said, his voice scoffing.

 

"You-you're some kind of off-world gr-group of mercenaries, assassins," she stammered. She was practically on the edge of a complete breakdown. "P-please don't kill me."

 

"First you're going to come clean," he said. If he had to guess, the woman thought he was one of the GenoHaradan.

 

"L-look, I didn't want anyone to get hurt. It w-was just little pieces of information at first, times and places," she continued.

 

"Who? Who were you passing it to?" he asked.

 

The woman hesitated. "Thane's people. They said they were just trying to get dirt on Ghet, not trying to kill her! As soon as I heard about the attempt, I broke off contact."

 

Obviously the woman did indeed work for Ghet. The timeline with that information worked just barely. The same night he'd seen her at the hotel was the night Mirdala had been shot foiling the assassin, so the woman could be telling the truth. Kandor narrowed his eyes. "Just who do you think the we're working for?"

 

The Hapan hesitated again, realizing her assumptions didn't really work and her fear had clouded her judgment. She slowly stood up. "If you work for Thane, why would you be here to kill me? Ghet's the one that would be angry if she knew, and I think I would have found out if she had brought them in." She tilted her head, clearly thinking clearly now. "You're not actually one of them, are you? You're someone else entirely."

 

Fett gave her an impatient look. "Why were you even sneaking out the back door in the first place?"

 

She at first looked defiantly at him, but then glanced again at the pistol he was still pointing at her. "I was heading to meet someone. For payment, if you must know."

 

Kandor shot her with a stun bolt and winced when she hit the ground, then headed around the outside of the building and commed Mirdala through their private link. "Mirdala. Me'vaar ti gar?"

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Busy, she relayed, irritation apparent in her “voice”. She was currently pressed against the floor by a couple of local law enforcement that had been on site for the event. These idiots can’t seem to understand I’m trying to save Ravencrest, not kill her. The shot made her spasm, so they thought I was making her worse. Where are you?

 

Around her the chaos seemed to be settling out as she was hauled to her feet, none too gently, and began moving her away from the crowd. I don’t think dealings with Hapan law enforcement were in our lessons. Any advice outside of just explaining I was trying to save her life?

 

The sounds of approaching sirens could be heard piercing the night, signaling the arrival of the medical personnel.

[Moon Knight]

"They have the right to detain you as a suspected accomplice," Kandor answered, continuing his walk around the building. "But as long as you didn't inadvertently make things worse, once the paramedics arrive they'll be able to prove you were acting in good faith and you'll be released. Best thing you can do is try to get them to keep you on the premise until that can happen." Otherwise it was difficult to tell how long they would stall releasing her from wherever they ended up holding her.

 

He paused. "As for me, I locked myself out again but got a few answers about the hotel rendezvous. We'll talk once they let you go."

 

For now he continued to walk the perimeter of the venue, trying to catch anyone else leaving. It seemed like the GenoHaradan wouldn't need to sneak away from a crime scene like this, but he didn't have enough information to predict their movements yet and he knew it.

 

The good news was that the ambulance speeders were pulling up even now, meaning Mirdala didn't have long to wait.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

The grim-faced officers were leading her back out towards the lobby as Kandor spoke, but had to step aside to allow the emergency medical response team to pass. Mirdala took that opportunity to see if she couldn't talk her way in to keeping them from shunting her off to some precinct hole somewhere, especially since Kandor hadn't exactly given her the impression the Hapan officers were the merciful sort, especially when it came to someone who could easily be a foreign scapegoat.

 

The evidence they'd been gathering on the three women brought to trial smacked of a setup to Mirdala, but since the Hapans had found people they could readily place the blame on, the wheels of justice marched on to the next issue before the court. It was one machine she didn't want to get caught up in. While these women might have been her counterparts with the Protectors, things were so culturally different she couldn't bring herself to truly trust them.

 

"I respectfully request to stay here to prove I was only trying to help," she kept her tone firm, but as polite as she could manage, before being shoved roughly forward again.

 

"You're in no position to 'respectfully request' anything." The taller, red haired woman spat back. "You can hardly argue since we found you practically standing over the Marchioness with an expended sharp in your hand."

 

Mirdala bit her tongue, holding back her initial, less-than-civil reply. "Please. Your medics are here. I'm only asking for them to have few minutes to prove I wasn't trying to end her life, but save it."

 

The shorter, blonde woman looked at her partner from over their suspect's head. "It wouldn't hurt to lock her in the transport for a bit to verify. We don't know who she's here with, exactly so of her story checks out we don't upset the wrong people by holding their guest."

 

The red-headed officer looked at her partner and frowned. "I guess she'll be secure enough in the back. Just until the medical team leaves, then."

 

The exchange was done in rapid-fire Hapan, and so low Mirdala's program wasn't able to catch but a few words. They are still taking me out of the building, but I don't know if they'll wait for the medical team or not.

 

She could suddenly feel the buzzing in the back of her mind again, which did little to alleviate the growing knot of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. And I can feel him again, Kandor. He's nearby...

[Moon Knight]

Kandor made his way back around the front of the building in time to see Mirdala get loaded into the police transport and he set his jaw. Getting turned over to the local authorities was high on his list of things he didn't want to happen while they were on Hapes. The bureaucracy was a nightmare to navigate, and he didn't know what the Hapan system could turn up on either of them if they did some digging. He especially didn't want an arrest to show up on the news with her face plastered on it.

 

He'd suspected coming in that this job could get complicated, as many things did relating to politics in the Consortium, but coming here at all was predicated on his confidence in their ability to keep a low profile during their investigation. There was no telling how resourceful the beroya Judyc Viba was.

 

Concealing his blaster again, Fett made his way over towards the transport and the officers standing just outside it, trying to think if there was a way he could stall them for a minute or two. Before he got there, though, someone came out of the building at a run. "Ma'am! We just found the unconscious body of one of the staff in one of the unused rooms!" the man called.

 

One of the officers watching Mirdala sighed. "What is going on in there today?" she muttered, then gestured for one of the others to follow her in to check it out.

 

Kandor stopped his forward progress and tried to look like normal street traffic. This was steadily becoming a less friendly place for him to be, but it bought them the time they needed.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

To Mirdala's relief the two officers did opt to wait for the medical team to finish with the Hapan noble, the red-head of going over to check with one of the medics assisting with loading the patient on the medical transport.

 

The officer came back shaking her head, and Mirdala felt her stomach lurch, certain that somehow they'd all been too late and Ravencrest had died. Her mind was suddenly racing with trying to come up with an escape plan, when the transport door swung open and the woman poked her head in. "It seems..." she paused, quite able to pick up the subtle panic on their "guests" face. Smiling she paused for just a moment further before concluding her sentence, "The Marchioness Ravencrest owes you a great favor. Due to your swift action, she'll survive. We still need to take you down to the station for questioning though."

 

Just like that, the knot that had begun to relax seized back up again. "Can I at least check in with my employer before I leave and call my husband so he doesn't worry?" She doubted the precinct visit was going to be quick or efficient. Mirdala also had the distinct feeling the auburn-haired woman, at least, didn't like her too much.

 

The woman nodded and moved aside so Mirdala could exit the vehicle. The three women walked back in to the event as the organizers were attempting to get things back on track. "Who is it you work for?" The blonde questioned.

 

"Her Excellency Countess Ghet. I am part of her security forces. I also have medical training, which is how I knew what was happening." Mirdala was feeling far more talkative now that they seemed to be interested in what she was actually saying.

 

"Wait here," the taller one said as she stepped back into the main event room and emerged a few moments later with Ghet's head of security.

 

"What trouble have you brought on this time Noran?" Cressida Sait sighed as she regarded the officer standing just behind Mirdala.

 

"Saving a life apparently merits a trip to your local center of police hospitality, I'm told, sir." Mirdala just couldn't help herself.

 

"We are still trying to confirm her story Sait, that's all," the red-haired officer explained.

 

Cressida nodded. "Kida Noran, she's one of mine," she sighed. "Apparently heroics are her thing. She's the one that took the bolt meant for Her Excellencey late last week. I'll have someone from the house staff meet you at the station to collect those jewels that were lent for the occasion. We'll discuss this tomorrow, Noran."

 

"Yes, sir." Mirdala acknowledged, before watching the other woman disappear back inside the event hall.

 

"May I call my husband now?" She asked as they headed back out of the hotel.

 

"On the way. You can use the comm in the car," the red-haired woman muttered as she undid the stun cuffs.

[Moon Knight]

Mirdala being taken in by the police was a frustrating development but one that had become pretty much inevitable as soon as she had acted in response to the assassination attempt. Still, the credentials Deren had created for Kida Noran were solid enough that they wouldn't link her to her real name, and the fact that she worked for Ghet gave her some measure of protection. He was worried at first that the Hapans had drawn the wrong conclusion and she was going to be incarcerated, but when she made a comm call and filled him in he realized that this was ultimately an inconvenience. Things would have been much more complicated if it had been him that was being run in, especially given that he was concealing a weapon and dressed in the clothes of the unconscious staff member.

 

Kandor knew it would be a couple hours before Mirdala was released, so he took the time to go back to the apartment and change, then grab some skraan since he'd been too busy serving dinner to eat any. He found himself taking his time eating, mentally reviewing the event in the process and organizing in his kovid all the facts and evidence that they had collected so far.

 

- There were at least two GenoHaradan agents involved, assassins from a shadowy organization based in the Tion Hegemony. They were a Zeltron and a tall dark-skinned human. Fett had fought one of them and they were behind at least one of the recent political assassinations, if not all of them. Their employer was unknown, but the other clues painted a picture.

 

- Both Ravencrest and Ghet had had assassination attempts made on their lives, both foiled by circumstance by Mirdala. The attempt on Ghet had been aided by someone from the inside, reporting according to her own confession to someone within Thane's organization. The woman had been willing to betray Ghet but had no knowledge of who employed the GenoHaradan.

 

- There had been a court trial that convicted three women of being conspirators in the successful assassination of one of the previous candidates for the political post -- one which the GenoHaradan were also tied to according to the datacards Fett had recovered in their hideout. Mirdala, 2277, and Fett had successfully if tenuously linked all three women to having been in personal or professional contact with Thane at some point.

 

- Ghet's attempted assassin had claimed to be sent from Thane. That seemed to be unreliable information given that an assassin from Ravencrest or anyone else would have reason to cast blame on Thane, but similarly it could be a double-bluff. The only good information there was that Ghet was at the very least not the only one sending assassins.

 

- Mirdala had detected the presence of the GenoHaradan during the assassination attempt on Ravencrest.

 

Overall, Kandor had to conclude that Thane or someone acting on his behalf was behind the GenoHaradan and the assassination attempts. Especially when combined with Isolder's memories, there was sufficient evidence that Thane needed to be taken down or at least discredited and returned to prison. His fingerprints were on every assassination attempt that had occurred thus far, and compared to his political opponents, he was the most likely to bring in offworlders of the GenoHaradans' reputation.

 

Finishing his meal, Fett headed to the precinct to retrieve Mirdala. It was time to start figuring out how to end Thane's bid for Earl of Ostia.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala didn’t bother to hide her smile when she saw him come up the stairs to the precinct’s main floor and walked quickly to greet him, relief finally flooding through her as she embraced him forcefully.

 

A small cough from off to the side behind her made her step back, remembering where she was. “Stay in the area, we may have some further questions for you.” It was the red-haired cop.

 

She slipped her hand into Kandors as she answered. “I still have my duties to the Countess. You can reach me through her people. Now, if there’s nothing else, I would like to go home with my husband. It’s been a rather long day as you can imagine.”

 

The other woman pursed her lips and nodded, permitting the two of them to leave.

[Moon Knight]

He had to admit he got a little bit of satisfaction seeing the disdainful looks the women officers gave him and the surreptitious raised eyebrows of the men when he and Mirdala embraced in the station then walked out hand in hand.

 

They caught a speeder for the short ride back to the apartment, then snuck out through the alleyway again after Mirdala changed clothes and returned to the T'ad Kebbur while Kandor brought her up to speed on what he'd learned that evening. The mountain of evidence that was stacking up against Thane was impossible to ignore, but the program he'd written to hack the GenoHaradan comm systems had failed and they needed to fix it before they could make another move. Kandor was ready to take the fight to Thane, but the Zeltron he'd fought had proved a capable combatant and getting a read on the assassins' whereabouts would boost the odds of any such operation considerably. Even if he liked his chances at beating one of them in a straight up fight in his beskar'gam, multiple of them on top of anything else Thane had available started to make the odds look long, even for ShadowFett. He wasn't one for taking needless risks.

 

Thankfully Mirdala offered to help get the program working once they got back to the ship. Kandor was a competent programmer but to him it was like data work -- necessary and useful, but not his favorite thing to do. Mirdala on the other hand seemed to be a natural at it and her mind just hit the problems from a different angle which proved so effective she seemed to find it relaxing.

 

Between her intuition and his prior experience with the GenoHaradan, it took them only about an hour to refactor the code he'd already written and refine his algorithm, locating in the process what seemed to be the flaw that had caused it to fail at the charity event.

 

At that point, they were pretty much out of leads to be researched and they took the rest of the evening off. The only thing left to do was watch and wait for an opportunity to make their move.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

She'd tossed and turned most of the night, never quite waking, as the ghosts visited her once more.

Mirdala wasn't sure what lesson they were trying to teach her, but the end result was not a restful night.

 

After breakfast the next morning, Mirdala had began to go back over the data from the cabin. What little her tired mind had pieced together, the Seeker ghosts seemed to indicate she was overlooking something they felt should have been perfectly obvious. It had left her uncharacteristically quiet and pensive and she found herself wishing TeVerd was there to help her make sense of their cryptic rhetoric.

 

Her alarm pinged on her wrist com, reminding her that she need to head to her day job with Ghet. Sighing she switched off the simulation and kissed Kandor good bye. "I promise I'll tell you as soon as I figure out," she waved her hands around and let her statement fade before kissing him again.

 

She headed back to their apartment to collect the dress before continuing on to Ghet's estate where she was met by the woman Kandor had elicited the confession from the night before. Despite feeling tired, Mirdala hid her recognition behind a neutral expression. "The Countess would like to see you regarding last night's events."

 

I bet she'd be interested to know your part as well... she thought, but merely nodded and followed the woman in to the estate.

[Moon Knight]

Kandor knew something was up when Mirdala started to look at the data before heading in to her job with Ghet, but apparently even she couldn't place what it was.

 

Once she'd left he spent a little time reviewing that data himself, hoping he could find whatever it was for which she had been searching. Everything was still there just like it had been before, however, and he quickly realized he wasn't getting anywhere. There was no hidden edge there he could gain in his inevitably approaching struggle against the GenoHaradan that he had not already exploited with the program that would slice their comms. The only thing there was left for him to do was figure out how and when this was going to go down.

 

The fact was, nothing they had was concrete enough to get Thane convicted and sent back to prison. They would need a tangible connection between him and the GenoHaradan to do that -- a credit trail or some other documentation. If they could provide that link, the datacards would be able to do the rest. Without that link, he would have to carry out his own justice. But Thane was no di'kut, and would know as Fett did, and thus be very careful to cover his tracks so that the assassins couldn't be traced back to him. He could have hired them through proxies, funded them with offworld bank accounts, and passed orders to them without ever meeting face to face with them.

 

Fett began to research any public information about Thane's residence and habits. He learned where the man liked to eat, the weekly appointments he kept, and the kinds of things that he made time for during his day.

 

Around midday the Mando'ad took a break to think things over while getting in a workout, then returned to his research while chewing on a ration pack for lunch. He soon turned his attention to Thane's personal assistants, who were much harder to track since their names didn't make the news like his did. If Fett could somehow get one of them alone, it was possible that he could get information out of them that would lead him to Thane's most private records, or even get them to confess to knowledge that he had brought the GenoHaradan in. Getting such a person to testify against such a dangerous man would be a challenge on its own, but first he had to get there....

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

"Kida my dear!" The Countess remarked warmly as she gestured to a chair opposite her ornate desk, indicating that the younger woman should sit. "You look positively exhausted after your ordeal last night." Mirdala could easily see the feigned concern for what it was, but she could hardly deny the assessment.

 

"I'm fit for duty Excellency," she replied neutrally as a middle-aged woman with greying hair she didn't recognize joined them. Ghet nodded and the woman closed the door behind her before taking her place in the chair beside Mirdala, leaving the three of them alone in the room together.

 

"I'm sure you are, my dear," the Countess continued, folding her hands on the desk before her. "It does please me, however that is not the reason I summoned you to my office. Your heroics seem to know no bounds, apparently." From her tone, Mirdala wasn't quite sure how to take the statement.

 

"I saw what was happening and had the knowledge to help. I apologize if offense was given."

 

"My dear girl," the other woman purred, placing a hand on Mirdala's knee. "You saved a life. That precludes any breach of protocol as far as my Mistress is concerned."

 

Mirdala looked from one to the other trying to grasp the situation she found herself in, not sure if it was a trap or something else. There was enough differences between Hapan culture and her own experiences that she was concerned with the latter more the former. She looked from Ghet to the other woman. “I’m not sure I’m following. Your Mistress?”

 

The other woman nodded as Ghet made her introduction, “This is Madame Damia Kolis, the Marchioness Ravencrest’s chief of staff."

 

Dawning was apparent on the young Mando’ad’s face. She would have preferred the trap. “A pleasure,” she managed. “I trust the Marchioness is on the road to recovery?”

 

“Thanks in no small part to you,” the woman bowed her head and Mirdala found she couldn’t quite shake the feeling she was caught as a womprat between a pair of tusk cats. On an instinct she blinked on her implant’s recorder.

 

“I’ve had good training that included medical situations. I did what anyone with such knowledge would have done,” she replied.

 

That caused Kolis to laugh with delight, clasping her hands together. “And so humble too! She does your Excellency credit."

 

Ghet merely smiled and Mirdala realized her mistake. Her actions would not have been typical amongst the crowd of noble Hapans where someone often stood to gain much from the death of another, not matter how that death came about. She wondered idly, what enemy or enemies she might have made that night, Thane chief amongst them in her mind.

 

It seemed as though Ghet had detected her thoughts when she added, “You’d think that thug would think to be more subtle now that the Earls seat is down to three candidates. Something really should be done about him, wouldn’t you agree Madame Kolis?"

 

The other woman looked squarely into Mirdala’s eyes and nodded. “I’m inclined to think milady would agree. Something should be done.”

 

Mirdala shifted, knowing she was being set up, though not quite sure to what depth the setup was going to go. “Surely there is enough to cast suspicion on him after an assassination attempt has been made on each of his rivals to the position?” she asked.

 

“This one is rather clever for a mercenary,” Kolis intoned to Ghet. “Alas, dear girl, coincidental evidence does not go far in Hapan Courts. Tell me, do you like the opera? Do they even have opera where you’re from?”

 

No doubt the distance such evidence goes is dependent on the rank and status of the person undergoing trial, she thought idly as she ignored the waspish tone of the second half of the woman’s statement. “We don’t, ma’am, so I can’t say if I like it or not.”

 

Kolis smiled smugly. “You haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed the artistry and theatre of a Hapan Opera! It’s decided then. You and a guest, if you choose, will be our guests for the performance tomorrow evening. It’s the Marchioness’s way of thanking you for your service to her.”

 

“That’s very generous, Madame Kolis, though wholly unnecessary. The Marchioness being alive to thank me is more than enough.” Mirdala could suspect what they were trying to get her to subtly agree to, and possibly take the fall for.

 

“The Marchioness will hardly take ‘no’ for an answer,” Kolis firmly insisted.

 

Mirdala was about to open her mouth to interject again when Ghet spoke up, “Kida thanks you for the offer and will graciously accept the Marchioness’s invitation. Thank you for coming all this way Madame Kolis.” The Countess rose, as did the other two woman as Ghet’s aid appeared at the door to see the other woman out.

 

“Kida, I will need you there regardless,” Ghet interjected quietly, holding Mirdala back. “You are still under my employ and as such are part of my protection at events such as these.”

 

“Forgive me Countess, but my ability to blend in with the rest of your people might have been compromised by my visible actions last night.”

 

Ghet patted her cheek with a cold hand, “Let me worry about that dear. Now go see Mode, she’ll see to it that you and your husband are properly attired for the evening ahead.”

 

Mirdala felt ice run down her spine as she left the office. Apparently, with the recent attempts on both their lives, the Marchioness and the Countess had decided it was time to strike back at their aggressor and had not so subtly implied that, as the hired mercenary, it fell to Mirdala to complete the job. She knew Kandor would have no issue with it, but why did she?

[Moon Knight]

In the early afternoon Kandor was a little surprised when he received a call from Mirdala. She quickly told him that they were both invited to an opera the next day and Ghet's people were going to take them clothes shopping, so he made his way back to the apartment from the T'ad Kebbur so he'd be where they expected him. She'd clearly been in the company of Ghet's people when she made the call, so she was not particularly candid, but he could tell from her voice that something had slightly unsettled her.

 

They had taken the time to establish a set of code phrases during some of their downtime so that they could pass secret messages in such situations and inform the other if they were in duress without tipping off anyone else who could hear them. Mirdala did not indicate using those phrases that she was in trouble, at any rate, so he at least knew things hadn't taken a dangerous turn, so for now he would play things casually.

 

Soon after he arrived at the apartment, so did Mirdala and Mode, the particularly aruetyc stylist he'd met the other day. She was still as dismissive of him as he'd come to expect from upper class Hapan women, but he still didn't let it get under his skin -- he merely kept to his cover identity, a man who was accustomed to such treatment and yet had married a woman who didn't do things the same way. They kept conversation fairly minimal as they went out and got fitted with more formal clothing.

 

Kandor had to admit he tired rather quickly of the fussing over his appearance that Mode did, and he understood why she'd put Mirdala at wit's end the other day. Thankfully, Mode did seem to understand that antagonizing them didn't make things run any smoother, so she made small accommodations that kept things from getting too bad, and she was now sensitive to the kind of clothes that Mirdala was comfortable with.

 

Eventually though the hours-long trip ended, and Kandor had a suit that was fitted and tailored so well that he could pass for the billionaire CEO of a huge Coruscanti bank. By the time they got back to the apartment, however, he was already longing to get out of it and all of its stiff, precise angles and tight collar.

 

Finally left alone, Kandor asked Mirdala what had happened that morning to put her on edge during her call, and she played for him the recording she'd taken in Ghet's office.

 

He furrowed his eyebrows when it finished. "Sounds like they've made the same conclusions that I have," he said. "But asking you to take care of Thane doesn't feel right. We're backing her because she's not the one putting marks on peoples' heads." He scratched his head absently, then shrugged. "Not sure it's going to come to that yet. We'll do what we came here to do, no matter who's asking."

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

As he'd watched the recording, she toyed with the crystal necklace she'd put on when she'd changed into more comfortable clothes, her mind still working over the problem and clues the Seekers had indicated to her in her dreams. Her hair was still down from the sanisteam she’d taken earlier to allow herself some time and peace to think. She nodded absently at Kandor’s assessment.

 

“Something doesn’t feel right about this. Then again, you know how I feel about being manipulated like this, so that may be it.”

 

She seemed much less agitated than she had that morning, still obviously trying to work out whatever message the Seekers had sought to pass along so cryptically, however there was a calm focus that seemed to emanate from her. “It would also help if the ghost would be a bit more explicit with their advice,” she sighed.

 

Honestly, she was getting weary of this investigation. She understood the reason for coming, had enjoyed her time with Kandor in peace away from her brothers and father, but she was starting to miss her family and was getting restless about not being able to do more to help with their larger fight. Truth be told, she was feeling more than a little homesick.

[Moon Knight]

He stepped close to her. "Thankfully we aren't beskar'ade set on any one course, and we have an ace up our sleeve in the program if it works," he said. "Ghet doesn't get to tell us what to do. We'll play it by ear and hopefully this place will end up better off than it would have been if we never came."

 

Kandor brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, then reached down and touched the necklace she'd put on, clearly getting a better look at it. He'd never known her to wear any sort of jewelry -- it didn't really have a place in Mandalorian culture -- so he knew it had to be significant somehow. He'd just never seen it before.

 

"What is this?" he asked. "Data crystal?"