Authors Note
I originally wrote this story for the website .net under the name Mando-Man I'm also the author of Casualties of War and Out for Blood on that website as well. I have not stolen this story in any way, if you've read any of those stories on .net and believe that I have stolen another authors work, feel free to send me a PM on .net and I shall respond
With that said I present
Children of Mandalore: Honorable Discharge
Chapter One:
Kuat Housing district 997 ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war
"Ijaat, stay away from that akk hound." Tyran Numeck said to his five year old son.
The Yuuzhan Vong war had been the end of the line for Tyran as far a military life went, the rest of his unit had continued on under Galactic Alliance employment doing black ops or things of that nature. Tyran had moved on and completely turned his back on his Mandalorian heritage, loosing a father and a mother to the Vongese was enough to make him leave the only life he knew. His and his wife's armor and weapons were locked away in a storage compartment on Coruscant and only they had the passcards needed to gain entry.
Tyran had refused to stow away his fathers armor and instead displayed it in a clear plastoid cylinder in their bedroom. When his son asked him what the armor was all Tyran could say was; a memory. And that's all it was, just a memory of a great warrior and perfect father. Someday when Ijaat was old enough Tyran planned on telling him what kind of life his father and mother had led when they were younger. He didn't want his son to become a soldier, he didn't want his son becoming another casualty of a war.
"Tyr'ika time to come inside, dinners ready." Tyran's wife, Aru said.
The transition from warrior to civilian had been hard on Aru, she was a Catharian and the art war ran in her veins. But like a true Mandalorian she gritted her teeth and moved on with her life. She still found it hard to not look for secondary exits when entering a room and eyeing other occupants for weaponry in their clothing.
"Come on Ij'ika time to eat." Tyran said plucking his son up off the ground and placing him on his shoulders just as his father had done with him on their farmland on Mandalore.
Kuat was a nice place to raise a child and Tyran made a good living as a worker for Kuat Drive Yards, not as much as he had as a mercenary but still a good one. He placed his small son in a chair on the right of a durasteel table opposite of Aru and he took a seat at the head of the table. A chrome plated server droid hovered from the kitchen with several plates of nerf meat and glasses of fizzade.
The next few hours flew by as Aru and Tyran watched their son shovel the meat into his mouth and splattering the gravy all over his face. Aru laughed and wiped her sons face. Thirty minutes later Tyran was sitting in front of a monitor watching a pod race feed from Malastare. Aru approached him from behind with a weary expression on her face.
"Ijaat is asleep, in record time to." she said sitting down next to him.
Tyran grinned and resumed watching his race.
"Are you sure hiding his culture from him is a good thing." Aru asked.
Tyran sighed and looked up at the ceiling, this question was a more occurring one in the household these days.
"Yes I am, unless all you want to see your son lying in a pit with masses of other dead Mandalorians." Tyran said.
"He doesn't have to be a Mandalorian, just teach him how to be a soldier and how to defend himself and use a weapon. He doesn't need beskar'gam to be a great warrior."
"No Aru, I'm not teaching our son how to be a soldier and neither are you."
"You can't hide it from him forever Tyran, he needs to know and might as well be now." Aru said.
"Why are you bringing this up now, the past four years have been great and now you want me to train him. Why?"
"I got a job offer Tyran and not a KDY one, the kind of job that I have avoided for ten years. It took all I had to say no."
"Who made the offer."
"Jaya did and she really needed my help."
"If she needed help she could have gone to the BRC for it."
"The BRC is under GA command and they aren't going to take time out of their careers to help out Jaya."
"Well I'm not going to either, how long ago did you get the call?"
"A few weeks ago."
Tyran fixed his wife with a gaze that had made fully grown Gamorreans cry like a small child. After letting out a sigh he spoke.
"You know where I stand cyar'ika. If you want to take the job go ahead I wont stop you. You made a big sacrifice for me and I owe you for it."
"You don't owe me Tyran, I did it because I love you."
"Then call your sister and have her meet you on Coruscant. Get your armor and weapons and do what you do best."
"What about Ijaat?"
"I can handle the little runt for a while, if going off to fight for some crooked politician will help you vent some steam then go and do it, plus you'll get to spend quality time with your sister." Tyran said.
He got up and went over to a cabinet and grabbed a duraplast container and pulled a credit chip out of it.
"Here is a few hundred credits, get in touch with Jaya and get this over with. The sooner you leave the sooner you get back here with me and Ij'ika."
"You'll still be here when I get back right?" Aru asked heading up the staircase.
"Yes, I'm not a soldier anymore and this is the only home I have. Just promise me that after you do this we're done with the Mandalorians."
Aru didn't say anything she just nodded and walked up the stairs to pack. Tyran rested his head on the sofa cushion and stared at the ceiling and memories of battles with Yuuzhan Vong warriors, battles that would haunt him for the rest of his days. It wasn't the screams of dying men that bothered him, it was the quiet that fell over the battlefield long after it had ended and the stillness of the dead bodies. He woke up in a cold sweat most nights and would break down and cry until he couldn't breathe without feeling like his ribs would explode.
He never wanted his son to have to go through that and never wanted him to bear the burden of hundreds of dead people on his conscience. He closed his eyes and hoped that the visions wouldn't continue he was going to need some sleep for tomorrow.
Things didn't turn out like he'd hoped they would, flashes of dead comrades waved in front of his eyes, Saiijen, Alia, and Beluin all stared up at him with open unblinking eyes. Tyran reached down and to his surprise his hand was clad in the black and gold gauntlet that was part of his armor. His hand closed the eyes of his fallen comrades leaving trails of blood on their face.
Saiijen was just a kid no more than seventeen and could imitate any accent and talk himself in and out of any situation. Alia was just as young as Saiijen and had been a gifted data slicer, Tyran found himself staring at her young face that was unnaturally pale as if she was his own daughter. The next person on the durasteel slab was a Zabrak and had a black rag tied around his forehead. Beluin Ululat was one of the BRC members and had died towards the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war and had been a longtime friend of Tyran since childhood. As he walked away from the slab he felt resistance and looked down to see an armored hand on his preventing him from leaving.
"Tyran you sent us to our graves, you gave the order and like nerfs to the slaughter we obeyed." the disembodied voice of Beluin said.
"No I didn't know the Yuuzhan Vong were right over the ridge the Intel was bad it wasn't my fault."
"Bantha osik Tyran you can blame the men in Intel or claim that you didn't know but you did and you still sent us." Jaleen Saiijen's voice chimed in.
"No I didn't I swear to the gods that I didn't."
"You turned your back on the Mandalorians because you cant live with the guilt of making a bad decision that costs three of us our lives." Alia Aiaji said.
The next thing he knew he was surrounded by dead Mandalorians and Yuuzhan Vong bodies that were reaching out for him. Tyran woke up in a cold sweat staring into the face of his little boy who looked horrified.
"Daddy what s wrong, who's Beluin?"
Tyran looked around trying to figure out where he was, he was on the couch and it was daylight out.
"Just a dream Ijaat, just a dream." Tyran said getting up and ruffling his sons hair.
He walked into the refresher and splashed water on his face and looked into the mirror. The person looking back at him looked more like a ghost, a man weathered beyond his years and had seen and done way to much harm to others. He removed his shirt and through it in a bin near the door. His muscular midsection was disfigured by a long scar that started from just under his right pectoral muscle down to his left hip.
He hated having to lie about his various scars to his son saying they were injuries sustained during his work with KDY. Tyran had another son out there, Jaiden, who was still a Mandalorian soldier living on Mandalore. Jaiden had been adopted by Tyran not long after the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Mandalore, his real name was Kanis Yiyna and his parents had been killed in the battle. When Tyran and Aru decided to leave the Mandalorians Jaiden didn't want to go and stayed with Tyran's little brother Rixa, a member of the BRC, to finish his training as a soldier. Over the years Tyran had kept in touch with Jaiden but hadn't heard or spoken with him for two years now.
Ijaat walked into the 'fresher and stared at the scar across his fathers upper body. Tyran marveled at how human the boy appeared despite being half Catharian, the only resemblance to Aru, Ijaat had was his yellow eyes with a narrow slit down the middle and his sharp pointed nose. A grin spread across Tyran's face and for a moment he considered teaching his son the resol'nare, the six tenets of Mandalorian culture but thought better of it.
"Where has mom gone?" Ijaat asked.
"To go see an old friend on Coruscant, she'll be gone for a while so it's just me and you for now ad'ika."
Tyran didn't think teaching his son how to speak mando'a was a bad thing, it was a habit of Tyran to slip into speaking it by default so he felt his son should be able to speak it.
"Are we going to go to Coruscant someday as a family?"
This question caught Tyran off guard, Ijaat was prone to asking questions that went beyond his years.
"Someday son, but not now the galaxy isn't a safe place. Coruscant isn't a safe place what with the hostilities between them and Corellia."
"Is mom going to be alright then?"
"Oh she'll be fine Ij'ika don't you worry one little hair on your head about her." Tyran said squatting down to his sons eyelevel. "Trust me she'll be fine."
Tyran went upstairs and threw on a pair of green cargo pants and a matching T-shirt. He stood in front of his fathers armor for a few moments and contemplated removing the cylinder and putting the armor on just for kicks. He didn't miss the fighting and the other things that went with being a Mandalorian but he did miss the feel of the armor on his skin and the weight of the gear he had to carry. His father had always told him during his training that one mans burden is another mans paradise.
Indeed there were beings that loved the feel of killing and would look forward to getting a body count close to the one Tyran had massed over the years. But it was Tyran's burden to bare and his alone. After staring at the suit of armor for ten minutes Tyran left the bedroom and went downstairs. Immediately he sensed something was wrong, the front door was ajar and Ijaat would never go outside without one of his parents present. He defaulted to drill and pulled a sidearm, or so he thought, there was no holster strapped to his hip just an empty thigh pocket.
"Looking for your sidearm Tyran? If you are you're wasting your time."
Tyran wheeled his head around to see a man in green cargo pants, military issue boots and a jacket the same color as his pants. He was sitting on the sofa with Ijaat, who didn't seem scared at all.
"Who are you?" Tyran asked moving closer.
The man got up from the sofa and walked over to Tyran.
"You don't remember me do you? Not surprised it's been awhile." the man said.
He had short blonde hair and green eyes that seemed to be staring right through Tyran and into his soul.
"I haven't seen anyone from my past for a very, very long time." Tyran said "I don't really want to either."
"Not even your son?"
"My son is over there on the couch."
"Your adopted son."
"What's wrong with Jaiden?"
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"Then why bring him up?"
"Just wandering if you wanted to see me, that's all."
Revelation dawned on Tyran, he was looking at Jaiden but ten years had really changed him. He no longer looked like a child who needed help but more of a lethal warrior.
"Why are you here Jaiden I've turned away from the BRC."
"I'm not here on the BRC's behalf, I'm here because Rixa needs your help."
"Tell my little brother that if he needs my help tell him to come see me in person."
"That's the problem buir he cant, Rixa is being held captive by GA agents on Coruscant. They think that he's involved with some of the terrorist attacks on Galactic City."
"Is he?" Tyran asked.
"No and the BRC have been shut out of the Alliance network so they don't have any information on his current whereabouts and if he is alright."
"Run his name through the inmate rosters of maximum security prisons and see if you get a match."
"I already did that but it came up empty, Jaya went to go and find him and I think she might end up right along side him. From what I gathered she took Aru with her didn't she?"
Tyran ran a hand across his forehead and glanced at Ijaat.
"Ij'ika go upstairs for a little bit."
"Can I watch a holovid?"
"Yes, you can watch one of those old war documentaries in my room."
The little boy ran up the staircase to take advantage of a rare treat, it wasn't often he got to watch a war movie without his parents watching over him.
"Jaiden tell me what you want from me."
"I thought that would be obvious."
"It is obvious but I was hoping that it would be something else." Tyran said sitting on the sofa.
Jaiden sat across from his father. He stared at Tyran for a while.
"Are you going to help me find Rixa or not?"
"I…I don't do that kind of thing anymore Jaiden."
"He's your brother and he could be in mortal danger."
"He can deal with it himself then, the Yuuzhan Vong war all but broke my spirits."
"You think you're the only Mandalorian who has scars from the Yuuzhan Vong war, mental and physical? Look at me, I lost both my parents, my brother and my sister. Your only brother could be getting tortured for a crime he didn't commit he needs your help."
"I'm not a soldier anymore Jaiden. I gave it up, I don't want Ijaat to go through the things I did."
"You haven't started to train him yet?"
"He isn't thirteen, and even when he is I'm not going to teach him."
Jaiden dropped his head into his hands for a few moments and looked back up to Tyran. "Ijaat gar aliit, ijaat gar buir, ijaat gar vod bal ijaat ad or was that just a bunch of bantha fodder?"
Tyran had told Jaiden to honor his clan, father, brothers and sons that dreadful day on Mandalore a lifetime ago.
"Verd'ika it's not that I don't want to but I cant." Tyran said.
"I only have one more thing to say then." Jaiden said getting up and heading for the door. "Don't do it for me, Rixa or the BRC. Do it for Ijaat, or do you want to tell him his mother was killed in a bombing on Coruscant and have to lie to him everyday. Could you live with that?"
"Nayc."
"Didn't think so." Jaiden said stepping outside "I'll be at the Kuat spaceport for the next eight hours in hangar 82B if you change your mind."
With that final word Jaiden Numeck exited his adoptive fathers home contemplating his situation. Galactic Alliance Intelligence weren't the sharpest people in the galaxy but they weren't the dullest either. They could be very, very dangerous if they thought someone was a threat to them. No surprise they apprehended a Mandalorian for the kind of crimes committed against the Alliance. Tyran new that if Jaya and Aru crossed paths with them they would probably end up dead.
Tyran wandered upstairs to check on Ijaat, the kid was lying on his parents bed watching a holovid of the Yuuzhan Vong war completely captivated by what he saw. Men and women clad in green flight suits with domed helmets engaged Yuuzhan Vong warriors in close quarters combat. Tyran recognized a few of them as members of the BRC. The man narrating the film had begun elaborating on the then New Republic warriors.
"The men and women known as Mandalorians train from the early age of thirteen in the ways of warfare. It was mostly because of this that they were a key instrument in the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong invaders…"
"Daddy I'm going to be a Mandalorian someday, I'm going to be the toughest one ever, even tougher than Boba Fett."
"Ij'ika you're already tougher than Fett." Tyran said slapping his son on the back. "What would you do if I told you that you were a Mandalorian?"
Ijaat shrugged and went back to watching the holovid.
"Have you heard of a man called Ruima Numeck Ij'ika?"
"Only a little, he was a Mandalorian soldier wasn't he?"
"Elek Ij'ika not only a soldier, he was your grandfather."
Ijaat's eyes widened and he turned to look at his father.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm a Mandalorian, so is your mother or at least we were. We gave it up because we didn't want you to go through what we did. War is not an exciting event Ij'ika it's much worse than these documentaries portray."
"That suit of armor, is it yours?"
"No, it's your grandfather's my armor is locked up in a storage facility on Coruscant."
"Mom isn't going to see a friend is she?"
"No."
Ijaat looked down to the floor of the bedroom "am I going to be a soldier?"
"That is up to you, when you are thirteen we can begin your training if you still want to."
"Who was that man downstairs daddy?"
"Your brother Jaiden, well your stepbrother. I adopted him in the early days of the Yuuzhan Vong war."
"I have a big brother."
"Yes, and how would you like to take your first ride on a starship and meet some of my old buddies?"
"I'll start packing right now."
"That's good, you have a sense of adventure one of a Mandalorian soldiers better qualities."
The little boy ran happily down the hallway and into his room while Tyran pulled a comlink out of the dressers and dialed Jaiden's code.
"Verd'ika how soon can we get to Coruscant?"