Here's my first Old Republic fanfiction, so please enjoy. What this is: it's a montage of the story and romance between the swindling smuggler, the Voidhound, and the Mandalorian woman, Akaavi of Clan Spar. For this reason, the gender of the smuggler will be male and there is no description of what the smuggler looks like or what species he is, so some of you can be in his shoes when you read this one-shot.
Disclaimer: Some of this article has, especially the early biography portion, has been copy and paste from Wookiepedia, all characters belong to Lucasfilm, I am making no money off of this, and no copywriting infringement is intended.
Rating: Rated Teen for some sexual innuendos. Nothing more.
Spoilers: Some spoilers for the Smuggler storyline in STAR WARS: The Old Republic videogame, though it is very minimal
Akaavi Spar was a Mandalorian, who like many of them, worked for the Sith Empire. Ever since the strings of their puppet were pulled by Imperial agents against Manda'lor the Lesser, most Mandalorians have been working as bounty hunters against the Republic and the Jedi.
Born a member of the respected Mandalorian Clan Spar, Akaavi Spar was a female Zabrak. At the age of three, Spar left her mother to begin her Mandalorian training under her father; this was tradition in the Mandalorian culture, though Spar began several standard years prior to the more typically accepted age of eight years old. Trained in the use of a blaster and jetpack from youth, Spar possessed few if any friends during her childhood, but quickly became one of her clan's best warriors. When she was only eight years old, Spar killed an abusive Abyssin mercenary with an improvised flamethrower, earning her the nickname of "Firehand" among her clan mates. At the age of thirteen, Spar completed her Mandalorian right of passage known as the verd'goten, ascending into adulthood.
As an adult, Akaavi Spar met and fell in love with fellow Mandalorian warrior, Zadik Lone, and left Clan Spar to join Clan Lone.
She worked whole-heartedly for the Sith, seeing their expansion of their Empire as an honorable vindication. After all, the Mandalorian way-of-life was the belief that the strong overcame the weak, and if the Republic lost so much to the Sacking of Coruscant, yet still remained powerful. It was only natural for Mandalorians to see the warrior ways of the Sith as honorable fighters, on the more powerful, winning side.
But with great power came great arrogance, and the Sith betrayed Clan Spar. Clan Spar was destroyed by the Sith Empire on false charges of treason. When Spar learned of this, she called upon her lover's clan for assistance in rallying support for Clan Spar, but the members of Clan Lone refused to provide help, despite the culture's traditional expectation to offer aid to any other Mandalorian in need. Disgusted by their inaction, Spar ended her relationship with Zadik and abandoned Clan Lone in order to seek out vengeance against those within the Empire who were responsible for her clan's demise.
Eventually, Akaavi and another survivor of her clan became mercenaries employed by the Empire. They were stationed in Balmorra during the battle that raged there, between Empire and the Balmorran Resistance, the latter directly supported by the Galactic Republic. Akaavi and an Imperial troop contingent encountered the Smuggler later known as 'Voidhound' during his infiltration in the Okara Droid Factory. She refused to accept the Imperials' order to attack the smuggler, joining forces with Voidhound instead, slaying the entire trooper squad. She then asked the Smuggler to giver her access to Moff Tyrak, since she wanted to know why the Moff was working with the Resistance and against Imperial interests.
Akaavi joined forces with the Smuggler once again to infiltrate Camp Vigil so the Smuggler would help her rescuing her fellow Mandalorian, a captive of the Empire after her betrayal. However, when they arrived in the cell block the Mandalorian had already been executed. With this turn of events, Akaavi, now the sole survivor of Clan Spar, unleashed her anger at the Imperial forces by destroying the entire base with the Smuggler's support.
Akaavi later assisted the smuggler at the Balmorran Arms Factory during an Imperial ambush. Once all the attackers were dispatched, Akaavi confronted Tyrak over the execution of her clan. However, to her surprise, the man standing before her was not the sadistic Moff she had imagined. Tyrak explained he had only ordered Clan Spar's destruction because he was just given an execution order and he signed it without knowing if her clan was guilty or not. Though Akaavi wanted to kill the Moff still, the Smuggler encouraged her to give Tyrak to the Republic so his information can be used against the Empire. Akaavi accepted the Voidhound's reasoning and mentioned that without a clan, she suggested that she join the Smuggler's crew as an extra gun.
But to Akaavi, she saw her relationship with the smuggler as temporary. Nothing but a brief partnership... He was handsome, but so were many more men. Why should he be any different? "I will not be with you long. Do not begin to think I am yours. This is a convenient arrangement; that is all."
The Smuggler wasn't so easily distraught at not being able to see the fiery woman on a daily basis. "Let's try that again. Hello! Just humor me. It's two syllables: 'Hell-oh'. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it."
"'Hell-oh.'" Akaavi muttered stoically, scowling at him
"See, I bet if you really worked at it, you can even smile."
Akaavi bared her fists. "My clan is dead, they're all dead, and I have not avenged them. What would make me smile?"
The Smuggler gulped, realizing his charm may not work a warrior of her caliber. "Me?"
"I'll travel with you as long as our interests coincide."
'Let's just hope that interest is in me.' The Smuggler thought to himself
Corso Riggs showed Akaavi to her bunk, Risha Drayen gave a run-down on how many missions they already participated in. Bowdaar prepared the new recruit a drink, in which the Mandalorian refused. "Intoxication or drunkenness would let my mind go unprepared." The Zabrak told the Wookie...
When she was alone with the Smuggler, she revealed her confusion. "Your crew has welcomed me. I did not expect that."
The Smuggler smiled to himself... They just entered the Hoth system, trying to keep an experimental cloaking device from getting into Rogun's or the Voidwolf's hands. "What's the usual protocol of Mandalorians turning against the Empire and joining a shiftless spacer's crew?"
The Mandalorian didn't laugh at his joke. "I would call no part of that 'usual'." She then decided to explain why she had a rough encounter with him when they first met. "It was not a coincidence that I came to you on Balmorra. You're name was famous among bounty hunters for the price Skavak and Rogun put on you. I wanted to see who was worth so many credits."
"I'm underrated." He complimented himself before flexing his biceps in front of her. "Can you put a credit value on this. I always thought I was priceless."
Akaavi was not enticed by the physical build that he had. Either that, or she was hiding it. "Every man and woman has someone who would pay to see them dead. Usually, the married ones... Most just don't see it through... Do not worry." She placed a welcoming hand on his shoulder (probably to keep warmth). "I would not give this up for a bounty."
"You are not what I expected, Captain." Akaavi stroked her chin with bemusement. "I've seen you in battle. I know you can fight... But I've been killing Jedi and Republic troopers since my childhood, and you are nothing like them."
"You mean you never met a Republic man so ruggedly handsome, startling brave, and dazzling clever?"
The Mandalorian decided to just ignore his comment. "They fought with valor and discipline. You fight with words and tricks. My father would not have thought you an honorable opponent. But I have seen your victories. I do believe you are a worthy foe."
The Smuggler kept trying to size her up and compliment in his own unique fashion. "And what do Mandalorian women do with a worthy foe. Rrargh!"
"Usually they kill him." She said without emotion.
The Smuggler just stood expressionless, realizing his flirt backfired.
Akaavi continued to speak how Mandalorians fight. "A warrior can only challenge themselves against enemies of honor and courage. There is no honor in attacking those beneath you. A worthy foe is a gift, and defeating them, we hone ourselves to the best we can be and bring honor to the name 'Mandalorian'..." But she had some doubts in Mandalorian lifestyle. "Or so I was taught."
After the encounter with the Voidwolf (via a holotransmitter) on Quesh, Akaavi was beginning to realize that she may not want to leave and find another clan, as she was hoping to do before... Instead, she was beginning to enjoy the time spent with the Smuggler.
"I did not expect our travels to linger so long, Captain. I've kept thinking I would leave for the next port, but I appreciate the trust you have shown me. And more often than not, I admire your decisions. You can be far more ruthless than your reputation suggests."
He scoffed, carrying the weight of his massive ego. "I should have guessed you like it rough." He starred into Akaavi's eyes, before sizing up her body again.
"When you look at me like that, are you interested in me as a woman?" Akaavi questioned, trying to keep herself from stuttering. "Is this your way of pursuing a relationship."
He shrugged. "I didn't know that I just had to put in an order."
Akaavi ignored his flirt. Ever since she was with the Smuggler, she recalled her days with Zadik Lone. "Five years ago, my lover refused to come to my clan's aide. I left him. I have not known a man since."
The Smuggler didn't know how to continue off from there, so he decided to try and act tough. "We all get over the biggest catastrophes in life. From the way I see it, you will too."
"I-I..." Akaavi didn't know how to answer to that. "I never expected to hear wise words out of you. You are more than what your charm shows."
The Smuggler decided not to answer that. He didn't like showing his soft spot for girls; always appear in control. But it was impossible to control a Mandalorian woman.
"Are there things you regret, Captain?" Akaavi asked with reverence due to both of them. "It was not an emotion I was raised to feel. We act and we face the consequences with courage. But it is far easier to discipline my body than my mind."
"How about you work on your mind and leave the body to me."
Akaavi just ignored that coy comment on her physical looks. "I should have been with my clan when the Empire came to them. I would like to join another clan, to follow a lover." That snapped up the Smuggler's attention. "At the moment they were betrayed, I knew nothing."
"I don't imagine anyone can just walk up and arrest a bunch of Mandalorians." He said, cutting off the flirtations.
"The Empire could not have succeeded without treachery. I know that they must have used some time-released poison, and then arrested them as they lay unconscious. When I called to my lover's clan to defend them, the cowards refused. They were not true Mandalorians."
That's it? "I thought that story would end, 'And so I tore their bodies limb to limb and used their corpses as jet fuel.'" He referenced her serious persona.
"Their cowardice didn't kill my clan. Let them live with their guilt. It is the Empire that must pay."
"So you hate the Republic and the Empire."
"I don't hate the Republic for being a worthy foe. The Empire, on the other hand, is just a foe. Together, I hope to avenge my clan."
"And the Reps are still on your bad page?" He asked.
"I've grown up hating them. The shadow of my past still persists, but it's nothing compared to my newfound hatred of the Empire."
On Belsavis, the team just got the partnership with Ivory, a Rattataki who once was the right-hand-man of Rogun the Butcher... And during all that time, Akaavi has been studying leads of why Moff Tyrak said he was ordered to wipe out Clan Spar. "I have a name."
The Smuggler was perplexed. "'Akaavi'?"
"Not me. I know whose order Moff Tyrak signed. To execute my clan. It was sent by Imperial Major Stanwu. I've heard of him. He is a liaison between the Empire and hired bounty hunters..." She bared her hands into a fist. "I will kill him."
He nodded with fake nonchalant. "Yep, I figured you weren't going to stop with a scolding."
Once again, she ignored his comment. Trying her best to ignore his charm. "The Major is hiring some of the best bounty hunters on Nar Shaddaa. I will go there and present myself as one of them. Once I secure a meeting with Major Stanwu, all that is left is to pull the trigger."
Both of them knew it wouldn't be as easy as Akaavi made it out to be. "There's another step after that. Get the blazes off Nar Shaddaa before the Empire catches you."
She scowled. "This is not my first execution. I always leave myself an exit. If we do not see each other again," She switched to Mando'a. "Ret'urcye mhi."
Once Akaavi returned from her vengeance, she appeared no happier than the way she was before she left. "Made it back alive. I assume that Imperial wasn't so lucky."
"That sniveling worm wasn't so much the architect of destruction as Moff Tyrak was. I left him alive. Wallowing in his disgrace." She then turned to speak of what she did find. "Major Stanwu ordered the execution out of lies told by another Mandalorian, Tayari Rook. The true crime rests with him."
"That must have been one whopper of lie to get your whole clan wiped out."
She nodded. "Rook presented Major Stanwu with evidence that Clan Spar reneged on a contract. My people were hired to destroy transport ships full of Jedi, but the Empire targets survived. If Clan Spar accepted the contract, I would be dead. Rook framed us." She spoke of her clan.
"What does he stand to gain against your clan's destruction?" The Smuggler continued to question.
"His motives don't matter. They can't save him. I have already begun my hunt for Tayari Rook. I shall settle his debt to Clan Spar." With his death.
After they were given a mission to go to Voss, Akaavi was beginning to wonder the relationship she had with the Smuggler, and what relationship he had with everyone else.
"Why am I here, Captain. I have been clear about my reasons for joining you, but I never understood what you want from me. Am I a hired gun? Or is there something more?"
"You know what I want." The Smuggler winked. "I just didn't think you were ready to talk about it."
"How do you know if you don't ask?" She flirted back to him, but then immediately went back to queries, purposefully before he could question the flirt. "Why did you assemble this crew? It is too momentous of a decision to make on impulse. Do your loyalties truly rely on the Republic?"
Once again, the Smuggler shrugged. "The Republic is a big pool of self-righteous pieces of money, and I got swimming privileges."
Akaavi finally decided to vent her vehement feelings about the Galactic Republic. "The Republic worships their own weakness. They waste their warriors on defending those who can't defend for themselves. They call for loyalty towards a government full of strangers instead of family towards a clan... You can do better."
The Smuggler was speechless on how to answer her.
Still Akaavi was flabbergasted at the Smuggler's attention towards her. Though with what, she did not know. Being around him made her insides melt. "What are you looking for in me, Captain? You have expressed interests in me for a relationship, and yet you continue to eye others every time we land. Am I crew member? A friend? Are we to be lovers?"
The Smuggler wanted to veer away from speaking of all the other women he's flirted with on missions. "All of those... I want you, Akaavi."
Akaavi was starting to end the tension inside. "I never thought to make such a commitment to any man. But why? Do you see so much in me? Do you think I would follow you blindly and never question your choices? If you want me to share your life, what would that life be?" She had to test the Smuggler, to see if he could crack... Seeing the motives he may have.
"It's going to take a tight ring to keep my business in order." He, for a millisecond, kissed the air to emphasize.
Akaavi shook her head... She knew he was a man of the Republic and not her... Somehow, somewhere, there had to be a spot in between the Republic and the Empire. Away from the obvious warfare that plagued the galaxy.
"I do not think of myself as a criminal. But in Republic Space, that is what I am. I like how you use Republic assignments to call profit and followers for yourself. Perhaps that is a future I could be persuaded to share."
Akaavi wanted to find a way to get a soft spot out of the Smuggler. After all, she's been trained since birth to spot weaknesses out of people and exploit them if necessary. "I've considered thinking up some coy comment to greet you with... But that's not me. I see the games of flirtation you take, but I cannot take part."
Once again, the Smuggler shrugged. "You could start with a joke. I'd love to hear you laugh, Akaavi."
Akaavi had a perfect one. One that can allow her to stay in character, being a warrior at heart. "A Mandalorian woman goes to a Hutt arms dealer and says, 'I want to buy a blaster. It's for my husband.' The Hutt says, 'What kind does he prefer? Carbine? Rifle?' 'What does he care.' The woman says. 'He doesn't know I'm going to kill him.'"
The Smuggler bursted out in fits of laughter, surprised at how easy it was for such a warrior to make him smile.
"Ha, ha! I didn't know Mandalorians told such wicked jokes."
Although it was hard to see on her face, the Zabrak was blushing at how she got him to laugh. Though she hid it well.
"Usually, Mandalorians don't see the humor in them... I cannot put a name on our relationship. Among Mandalorians, there is two types of unions a woman seeks with a man. A casual one, pursued for mutual enjoyment, or a serious one, intended to make more children for the clan."
"You left off 'love'." The Smuggler frowned. "Is that not a reason?"
"Ni car'tayl dar garasuum." She said those words absently. "That is the closest thing we say to 'love'. It means: 'I'll know you forever.' It implies you'll risk your own death so you're never left without them. I've only heard it in stories." She said candidly. "No man or woman I knew ever said it."
After the encounter with Rogun on Tatooine, a huge deception was revealed. They were only able to get out of it through unorthodox maneuvers.
"There is a method to your madness." Akaavi admitted. "When we met, I thought your fighting was driven by impulse, with no strategy or plan. But in the end, to see a pattern in all the chaos."
The Smuggler smirked. "Maybe we can have a few practice sessions. Teach you some dirty tricks."
Akaavi rolled her eyes playfully. "I believe I've learned those tricks already, Captain." She placed an arm on her hip and gave a mocking scowl. "And speaking of how you fight, there is more to learn from you than I thought. It would surely bring me the edge of surprise, should I be around Mandalorians again."
"I've learned more about the scum who has betrayed my clan." She spoke of Rook, the dishonorable Mandalorian. "Tayari Rook claims he has earned the title 'Mandalorian'. But I have heard nothing of him passing the trial of strength and courage required to join a clan."
The Smuggler was still confused of Mandalorian traditions. "What does it take to be adopted as a Mandalorian."
"It is up to each clan. We do not care much for central authority. But no one would accept a new brother who has not shown his worth. I've called myself Mandalorian since I left my mother's side at age three to begin training. It is not easy to put that behind me."
The Smuggler wondered if this was the 'goodbye' she was referring to since the beginning. "You want to go back. Live as a Mandalorian again?"
"My father's training will always be a part of me. I had a jetpack and blaster before I ever had a friend. Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. Train your sons to be strong, but your daughters to be stronger." It was a maxim she learned at an early age.
They were on their way to Corellia to deal with traitors that had decieved him... It was a dark moment for the Smuggler.
But for Akaavi, she saw this as an oppurtunity to turn on the light. "It's not easy to get time alone with you, Captain. Maybe, we should make up an 'urgent mission' for Corso and everyone. Somewhere at least an hour away."
He scoffed at the time. "An hour?! I think I'm insulted. We'll need the whole night."
"I took the liberty of booking them a room planetside. You'll be the first outsider to get this close to me without my armor."
"They've been missing out." He complimented.
Then, suddenly, the Smuggler lashed out, grabbed her waist, and gave one wet kiss, probably the first invigorating kiss a Mandalorian could ever receive.
Then the two hid inside the storage bins underneath the floorboards to enjoy themselves.
"I had no idea that all those smuggling compartments were meant for more than just cargo... But that explains the holorecorders in them."
The Smuggler winced. "Don't look at those. The other girls meant nothing to me."
"I would not judge you on your past. Do not judge me on mine. We will have a new beginning..., together." And with that, Akaavi knew she wasn't going to leave him any time soon.
During the manhunt in Corellia, Akaavi was studying ways to get back at Rook. What she found was something that disgusted her. "Tayari Rook claims to lead his own clan! He destroyed my clan with his slander and dared to raise up his mishmash of slavers in order to call them 'Clan Rook'... And no one has challenged them."
"Didn't the other Mandalorian clans get word of this? Shouldn't they be angry too?"
Akaavi frowned. "Rook is careful. Anyone who could speak against him is dead or dishonored. This isn't even the worst of it. The man I was with when my people fell; his clan lost all honor after I left... They joined Clan Rook. My old lover dishonors the name 'Mandalorian'." She now knew what she had to do. "That coward dies with the rest of Rook's filth."
The Smuggler saw this as a potential chance to have destroy a would-be competitor. "First he turned his back on you, then he ended up with the man who betrayed you. I think he deserves whatever he gets."
"I often wonder if you listen when I speak about my people." She spoke slowly, with gladness. "Now I know... Rook's clan is on Nal Hutta, bowing and scrapping for the Cartel. The scum have no discipline. Destroying their camp will be easy. When I'm finished..., it will be like Clan Rook never existed. I leave for Nal Hutta immediately."
When she returned, Akaavi appeared a little better, but still not fully satisfied. The Smuggler walked in, "You look..., well, not exactly happy. At least not as angry as usual."
She shook her head out of spite. "It's over... The filth who destroyed my clan and dishonored it's name is dead."
"So, you have no enemies. Where do you expect to go to now?"
"You seem to still have a large bounty. I welcome more worthy foes." To her, that was a compliment on the Smuggler's reputation. "Before he died, Rook confessed his crime. He destroyed my clan because the lie gave him a favorable contract with the Empire. He killed my people for profit. Nothing less. The galaxy is no poorer without him."
He nodded. "It's good to see that this matter can be put to rest."
For one of the first times in her life, Akaavi shrugged. "It's a big galaxy out there. There is no such thing as a warrior under peace."
The Smuggler smiled, grasping that all of Akaavi's personal foes have been dealt with "Sure, that's still great, but you can only kill your enemies once. What now? You have another reason to live, or should you spend yourself right now?"
"I did what honor demanded. I still have this ship..., and you... I could not have avenged my clan without the resources and opportunities you provided. I will repay that debt, Captain."
The Smuggler only chuckled. "Stick with me, Dynamite..., and you don't have to repay anything."
With less and less conflict brewing since the Smuggler took control of the Underworld, Akaavi felt alone. In way, she saw her only option to fill that void was to be around him. "When I accepted your kiss, I did not expect you to come away with my heart. I've started thinking of you as more than a lover... I want to share every moment with you." She admitted. She felt both weak and powerful inside.
"I love you, Akaavi..." The Smuggler bluntly said those words, but saying it that way showed a rigid personality that Akaavi adored.
Akaavi fought to keep tears of joy from her eyes, which wasn't so hard to do for a woman as tough as her. "I-I-I... Ni car'tayl dar garasuum..." She walked up to kiss his cheek, before stepping back. "I did not expect to ever say that to a man."
"For any Mandalorian, family is most important. That is instilled from birth. Whether you join a clan by blood or adoption, every Mandalorian seeks to one day have children to pass our traditions down to. When I left, I assumed that was over. What did I have that was worth passing on..."
The Smuggler bit his lip, finding a lump in his throat for one of the first times he's ever been with a woman. "I am your family. This ship and it's crew can be your new clan... I want you to be my wife."
Akaavi acted as if those words had little weight, but it meant so much coming from a man like him. "Ni vore gar riduurok. Gar riduur. Those are the words of our marriage ceremony. They declare a bond of trust and affection between partners." Akaavi held his hands, no longer afraid to appear weak in front of him.
The Smuggler tried to repeat those Mando'a words, causing her to blush even further, "Ni..., vo-re..., gar..., rid-uu-rok... Gar..., rid-uur... For as long as we both shall live." He beamed.
She reached to the side to reveal the thing she wore when they first met. At the beginning, she was just a faceless warrior... Now, she meant so much more. "This was my father's helmet... I recovered it after he was taken by the Empire. I want you to have it... I do not need it with me any longer to mourn the family I have lost... I have a family now."
They leaned together to kiss, in a rather unusual wedding ceremony. It didn't matter. Nothing about her relationship with him could count as 'usual'.
"I was wrong..." Akaavi bluntly said.
"You're judgment is perfect... After all, you chose me." He pointed to himself in teasing emphasis.
Akaavi just smiled ear-to-ear. Leaning in to give her husband a wet kiss, still smiling. When she parted, she just looked mesmerizingly into his eyes. "You changed me... When I joined you, I thought you would be a moment's distraction. I swore never to give loyalty to another man again... And I was wrong... There is nothing in my lifetime that could make me leave your side."
She shut off her smile, with some happy tears in her eyes. "I do not often allow myself to relax or feel at peace - what we call 'udesiir'. Lately, that has changed. There is a time every night after you fall asleep when the anger that has kept me alive fades..., and I experience a moment of calm... Do not be alarmed. I have already taken steps to correct this weakness. When we lower our guards, foes grow bold. Our enemies will never find me unprepared... Though when it means being with you, my body is weak..., and I don't mind... Like I just said, you changed me... For the better."
When they first met, Akaavi had a bounty on the Smuggler, dressed in irrevocable beskar'gam. Now, she wore a lovely auburn vest, with a card in her breast pocket that read, 'Ni car'tayl gar darasuum. I know what it means now. It belongs to my husband, Ruler of the Underworld, the Voidhound... The man who smuggled away my heart.'
Review if you enjoyed and everyone remember Akaavi Spar as a warrior who wanted a family. We all need a family, one way, shape or form.
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