Author's note:
This story is set in the same universe and time period as the other stories in the Reflections Arc. This story occurs during the events of Time Heals All Wounds, Behind Enemy Lines, and Redemption. All other stories can be found here: u/898927/Callista_Gseran
The Cataani people and all related information is the brainchild of Steffan Karrde. All characters used are used with permission of their originating writer.
Mando'a language © Karen Traviss and LFL
Star Wars © LFL
Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya
(Train your sons to be strong, but train your daughters to be stronger)
-Mandalorian Proverb
The night air was cool and damp against Marin's face as she crept away from the orphanage. The dilapidated building stood on the outer edge of Coronet, Corellia's capital city. She hated that place. She couldn't do anything... and she had to keep hiding her... talent, passing it off as accidents. With a muttered curse in Huttese that would make her fellow orphans snicker, she tripped over a pile of garbage in the dark alley.
Picking herself up, she continued on towards the spaceport. Maybe she'd get lucky, and could stow away on one of the many ships. Her growling stomach distracted her from that thought. With cautious steps, she slipped past the night guard, distracting him long enough so that she could slip inside the perimeter fence. The question now was, where to look for food?
The ship landed in the pad it was assigned to with relative ease. To the normal eye, the lines gave it the look of a vessel that no one would pay any attention to...or try to mess with if they knew the arsenal it contained.
With everything shut down and the boarding ramp lowered, the pilot walked down and looked around the bay. 'Place hasn't changed a bit,' he thought as he cricked his neck to the side and pulled up a holomap on his wrist computer, locating where he was supposed to meet his contact. 'Get this over with and get going,' he told himself, checking his blaster at his thigh and the shoto on his back as he started to walk out of the bay.
Marin heard the booted footsteps coming around the corner, and she froze, slipping into the shadows as she watched their owner, an armored figure, come out of the bay that she had been headed towards. 'Sithspawn...' she thought, that was too close. She watched him, waiting until he began to move away. Then she slipped into the bay. All she wanted was food, she didn't much care where it came from. With cautious steps, she moved towards the ship. It looked old and worn, with rust spots spread over the paint in some areas. Chewing her lip nervously, she approached the hatch, studying it carefully.
Your target moved to the Selonia area a few hours ago his contact told him in the cantina. The tracking beacon we were told about is no longer active.
"He is many things, but not stupid," the man said as he stood up and tossed a few coins down to pay for the contact's drink. "Traffic through there only happens through a few lanes. No problem tracking him down."
'Nice move, finding that beacon,' he thought to himself. 'He must be really paranoid...I planted it myself.'
Marin studied the hatch for several minutes, until she began tracing the circuitry in the Force. Several minutes later, with sweat dripping down her back, she was rewarded with the hatch swinging open. Allowing herself to breath again, she slipped inside the cool darkness, blinking owlishly as the lights in the area flickered on. Shaking herself, she moved quietly down the corridor, searching for the galley... or even just rations.
He kept down the alleyway from the cantina, fully aware that there were two following him. He made a few changes in his path through the markets and still they followed. With a sigh, he ducked into another alley, thankfully deserted.
His followers, seeing an opportunity, ducked in with weapons drawn now. The first was gunned down instantly. The second, before it even registered that their plan turned completely sour, was grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground. Before he could even get back up, he felt the sharp pain and cried out as the stranger drove his shoto into the man's shoulder. "And you were following me why?" he asked as he got nose to nose with his follower.
[Told to watch for a guy in armor the alien muttered the alien muttered through the pain. Told to make it look like an accident.]
"As if you could," he said as he withdrew the shoto and gave the alien a reward for telling him the truth...a swift death.
Meanwhile, Marin had finally found her goal - the galley. With a groan, she slid to the deck, her head spinning from hunger. She sat there for a few minutes, breathing slowly to quell the dizziness before she stood and began rummaging through the storage unit. The first thing she grabbed was a ration bar. Tearing the wrapper with her teeth, she bit into it as she stuffed more into her pocket.
With her pocket full, she began making her way back towards the hatch. It was then that the back of her neck prickled. She knew that feeling. Someone was coming. With a curse, she latched the storage unit, and made a mad dash for the hatch, hoping to either pull it closed or bolt.
He had felt the prickle at almost the same time as he reached the entrance to his hangar bay. 'There's someone here.' He left his weapons undrawn and started to walk towards the ship.
Cursing, Marin backpedalled, closing down her presence as much as she could, hoping it would disguise her presence. She ducked into a side passage, her left hand questing for the small folding knife she kept. She didn't have to use it often, but something about that man put her on edge. She crouched there, holding her breath and hoping that he wouldn't find her.
He reached the top of the ramp, looking down the corridor. He couldn't sense anyone at the moment, but that didn't mean that there wasn't anyone still onboard. 'You know how to hide well,' he thought as he looked and saw crumbs on the deck. It could only have been from one of his ration packs. He turned and closed the hatch, locking it down and placed a code on it. "I know you are onboard," he called out as he stayed there. "If you are here to try to kill me, you picked a very bad spot to try. And I do not take kindly to thieves either...so you better come out and come clean now."
'Sithspawn... just my luck...' Marin cursed silently, struggling slow her racing pulse. She'd never been caught before, and she knew this time she was stuck. She heard the hatch lock engage. Swallowing, she remained kneeling on the deck, slowing her breathing as much as she could. For a few long moments, she just knelt on the cool deckplates, not daring to move.
After a moment's thought, she rose to a crouch, dropping the remains of the ration bar by her feet as she palmed her knife and moved further down the corridor. Some part of her knew she was just delaying the inevitable, but she didn't much care at this point. At least being dead she wouldn't have to deal with the hell that Coronet had become for her.
He heard it...faint, but he knew he heard something hit the deck. Towards the direction of the galley. And that was the direction he took...not with loud steps, but with the silent movement he always used to stalk.
Marin moved carefully down the corridor, cursing silently. 'Why did I have to pick this ship...?' Mentally berating herself, she skidded around the corner, her pulse pounding in her ears as the adrenaline kicked in. She knew it was only a matter of time. Glancing wildly around the small room, she ducked around the corner, slipping into the small closet, and pulling the door closed as quietly as she could.
"You can't hide on this ship forever," he called again, feeling a sudden shift and he focused even more towards that part of the ship. "You can play this game as long as you want, but you are still going to lose. Only difference between ending it now and later is that later I'm not going to be in the mood to ask questions." He kept moving down the corridor quietly, still feeling for a trace of the intruder's presence.
Marin swallowed upon hearing that, and beads of cold sweat traced down her neck, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself. He sounded closer now... much closer. She tightened her grip on the small knife, knowing it wouldn't do much good against him. Silently, she rose on the balls of her feet, pushing out of the closet and bolting down the corridor to her left, and away from him.
The closeness surprised him when the panel fell away and seeing his 'intruder' running down the corridor. 'A child?' he thought. 'A child snuck onboard?' He immediately started after her and caught her by the arm not too far down the corridor. She spun in his grip and brought a small blade around as hard as she could, but the blade snapped when it hit the plate of his beskar'gam. He batted the broken handle out of her grip and pinned her down to the deck.
She was in tears now, and he took no action against her. "I will not hurt you," he told her, and meant it. It was against his personal code to hurt children. "But you will tell me who you are."
Marin was shaking now, and she looked wildly around... anywhere but him as she struggled in his grip. She shook her head violently at his question, squirming.
"I have already given you my word that no harm will come to you here," he said as he picked her up and brought her into the galley area and sat her down. He looked to see where she had gotten into the ration bars. He took a bottle of water out and tossed it to her. "They'll dry your mouth out after a while. Now...your name."
Marin fumbled the bottle in surprise, barely catching it before it fell to the deck. With shaking hands, she brought it to her lips and took a slow sip, her gaze locked on the visor of his helmet. After a moment, she spoke, though it wasn't much more than a scared whisper. "Marin..."
The fear was coming off of her in waves now. He couldn't have that, so he started to remove the helmet and show the bearded face underneath. "You need to calm down," he told her as he set the helmet down. "Your heart is going pound out of your chest if you don't."
Marin gulped, and then started coughing as she choked a bit on the water she'd been drinking. "I...I didn't mean anything by it! I'm sorry!" She was frantic again, hiccuping as she tried to calm herself down.
He sighed and walked over and placed his hand over her head, sending a wave of calm through her. It took a few moments, but it finally started to take affect and he knelt down and looked into the child's eyes. "Why come onto my ship?" he asked her quietly, but still firmly.
She shrugged, feeling her breathing slow a little. His touch was... oddly soothing, and seemed out of place. She looked at the deck for a moment, nervously twisting her fingers. "I...I was starving... and there wasn't any food at the orphanage..." She whispered the last word and looked away.
'An orphan,' he thought as he heard the answer. "How long have you been alone?"
Marin swallowed. "I...don't know... a year... maybe two?" She hiccupped again, but slowly lifted her head, fidgeting nervously as she brushed her dark hair from her face. Her face was pale, and somewhat thin, along with the rest of her frame. Her clothes were tattered and torn, though crude attempts at patching had been made, the stitches large and uneven.
"You have spirit," he told her as he stood up and started to assess her. "And you show a talent for making yourself unseen. How long have you been able to do that?"
Marin swallowed again, her eyes huge. "About the last year or so..." she said nervously, eyeing him warily, as if measuring her chances. "I don't usually get caught..." she muttered.
'There is potential here,' he told himself as he pondered the situation. He sighed and thought about it.
'They'd said it was about time I started training again,' he thought as he rubbed his jaw then looked over at the girl.
'She has talent...and a definite Force connection. I've never done any of that kind of training before. I'll have to trust my instincts on this one.'
"Marin," he said to her as he got up. "I will ask this and I want an honest answer from you. Did you feel a 'pull' to this ship?"
Marin blinked in surprise and flushed, scuffing her feet nervously on the decking before she nodded. "I did... even after almost running smack into you as you came out of the landing bay..." She finally lifted her head and looked at him fully, nervously chewing her lower lip.
"You have talents that make you unique," he told her. "More than you might imagine. I can take you off planet... perhaps show you just how unique you are and teach you. But, and I will warn you now, this will not be easy. Far from it. And if you accept, you are in this for a very long time." He stood up and started to walk to the corridor. "I'll wait at the boarding ramp for your decision. Take your time and decide carefully."
Marin looked at him, her eyes huge as his words sank in. She watched his retreating back for a long moment, before her gaze slid the the deck again. 'Is he... for real?' she wondered. She hadn't felt any ill will from him. She listened to his footsteps fade down the corridor, and frowned. 'What did he mean by a very long time...?' With a frustrated and confused sigh, she slid sloppily to the deck, tucking her feet under her as she tried to sort out her thoughts. There was something about him...almost a magnetic pull. She didn't know what it was.
For several minutes, she sat there, turning his words over in her mind. To a six-year old, it sounded great... almost too good to be true. What was the the catch...? She rose stiffly to her feet and decided to ask him. With quiet footsteps, she traced that path back to the hatch, appearing at his elbow. "It sounds... too simple. Whats the catch?" She was so used to people taking advantage of her young age and inexperience.
"No catch," he told her. "There is no such thing as a 'catch' along the Mando's path. Are you aware of what I'm talking about?"
Marin shook her head, craning her neck too look up at his face. "I... don't understand..." she finally admitted, frustration tinging her voice as she leaned against the inner edge of the hatch with a confused sigh, scuffing the toe of her boot on the worn decking.
"I've asked your name without giving mine," he said softly. "Where are my manners? My name is Jarius Durza. I am a Cataani by birth but I am of the Beviin Clan of the Mandalorians."
Marin blushed slightly. "Good to meet you, Jarius..." Her voice was soft, and a little timid. She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "I... don't know where the.. talent for hiding comes from. I've just been able to hide... and unlock ...things for about the last year." She looked nervously away from him for a moment.
"The abilities you talk about are like those of a person who has the ability to touch the Force," he told her. "Such as the Jedi..."
Marin blinked again, and looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I don't even remember my parents...all I remember is the orphanage, and ...stealing in order to eat every day..." She looked down and fidgeted with the ragged hem of her shirt. "I guess ... anything is better than here..."
"Then you answer is...?" Jarius asked her.
"It's... yes..." She said firmly as she pushed away from the bulkhead, hugging herself uncertainly.
"Very well," he said as he finished locking down the boarding hatch. "I have a contract to finish on Selonia, then we will leave the system and begin your training."
Marin nodded, her eyes wide as she fidgeted again. "What... should I do while you're finishing that...?" She looked up at him, her eyes studying his worn face. There were hard lines in it, but she had a good feeling about him.
"You're still hungry," he told her as he turned to the cockpit. "And you need a fresh set of clothes. Go back and finish up in the galley. After my contract is finished, we'll see about getting you the proper attire for your training."
"Yes, Jarius..." she said firmly, nodding as she turned away. His mention of food had set her stomach rumbling again. He seemed to know much about her, without her even telling him. Maybe he was a Jedi like he'd spoke of? She pondered that thought as she found herself in the galley again. Peeking in the cabinets, she found some dried fruit and cereal. That would do for now.
She ate in silence, until she couldn't take another bite. Clearing her bowl, she wandered down the left hand corridor, until she found a sleeping cabin. This one looked like it hadn't been used, so she slipped inside and flopped onto the mattress, asleep almost instantly.