Chapter 6
After an hour of walking, Magdalene, Hera, Ezra, and Ahsoka arrived at a charred Imperial water treatment plant. "Let me guess, the Nite Owls did this?" Hera inquired. "That's right, we wiped out this installation of the Empire and took up residence," Magdalene responded. It was one of their many hideouts; staying in one place when fighting a guerilla war was suicide. Walking up to the door, she spoke calmly but assertively.
"This is Magdalene."
"What's the password?"
"Stars and moonlight, reflect from the owl's eyes, making everything bright"
Immediately, the burnt door was pulled away, and two white and blue armored Mandalorians appeared.
"Come in Magdalene, you and your guests have been expectied by Bo." They moved aside so the front could step in.
Once inside, they all walked past empty, giant, vats and pipes that once held water. The fire had been they'd started had been electrical. When the Imperials had tried to put it out by blasting the water pipes, it had only gotten bigger. The door they came in through was actually an emergency exit. Normally to get to the vats and pipes, you'd have to pass through hallways and doors in the front entrance. After walking for a while, they heard a voice from upabove.
"Welcome to my humble abode, weary travelers," Bo katan said sarcastically. Ezra looked up at the fearsome yet friendly women. She was in her 50's, though age had not weakened her in the slightest. Other Mandalorians, we're there besides her, but we're all helmeted.
"What's your name young man?" Bo Katan asked Ezra; her voice was calm but also demanding.
The Nite Owls leader jet packed down in front of the blue haired orphan so she should hear him clearly.
"My name is Ezra Bridger, son of Miriam and Ephraim Bridger, born on Lothal." Ezra was shy and nervous but swallowed it.
"I'm guessing you must be the interesting new information Ahsoka told me about" she said with a smile. "Yes he is Bo" Ahsoka spoke up.
"I met him 5 days ago Ms. Kryze," Hera interjected. "He shot dead an imperial officer and two stormtroopers who were harassing me. I asked him to join me after finding out he had no parents," she finished. The sister of Duchess Satine smiled proudly at the young Bridger. She always had respect for those who demonstrated strength, being a Social Darwinist and all.
"Very impressive, especially for a what looks to be seven year old boy. Not many adults can survive on the street, and you did it as a kid. How long were you on there for?"
"A year and six months, Miss Kryze."
Bo katan shook her head and said," You don't have to be formal with me my boy, just call me Bo katan, or Bo." Ezra nodded in agreement.
"What happened to your parents?"
Ezra face grew sad, and he started to lower his head, only for the Nite Owl leader to firmly, but gently, grip his chin and raise his head back up.
"Don't lower your head, or look away when your talking. Showing fear or sadness in front of strangers will be taken as a sign of weakness, especially to Mandalorians"
Ezra shook his head at Bo katan and responded with," Showing fear or sadness isn't weakness. Giving into it, allowing it to prevent you from acting is." The Mandolorian leader smiled at the boy's wisdom. She'd been testing him, and he passed.
" My parents secretly broadcast against the Empire, from a radio in their house. They knew that they might get caught, and disappear, like many imperial dissidents have. But they refused to accept Imperial oppression. Also, they never fell under the spell of Emperor Palpatine like so many Republic citizens had. They knew his good guy act was just that, an act." the boy explained.
"Your parents were very smart, and brave; it's a shame they didn't have the guts to fight with weapons against the Imperials," Satine's sister opined, not caring if she offended the boy.
"Everyone can't stomach violence, especially killing, Miss Kryze. My parents definitely weren't violent of murderous individuals," Ezra responded, in an unoffended tone. He understood the women's way of thinking, but wanted her to understand. She smiled, nodded, and said, " I told you to call me Bo Katan, or Bo. And you're right; not everyone is cut out to be warriors like us." Ezra was relieved that she wasn't unreasonable.
"How long did you wait for your parents to come back?" the Nite Owls leader continued her questioning. Ezra shouldn't have been suprised that she knew what he had done, but was, for some reason.
"I waited for 3 Days in my house for them to come back Bo,"he answered "Other people came to the door but I didn't answer only wanted to see my parents" The Mandalorian warrior nodded in understanding.
"Where did you live after that?" she kept asking questions. "
I found in abandoned Imperial Tower. It had a fridge so I could store perishables."
"Lucky for you," she said grinning.
"I didn't start off stealing when I became a street urchin," he explained.
"My parents taught me that was wrong, so instead I sold things."
"What kind of things?" Bo Katan Kryze genuinely inquired.
"Parts of myself. Firstly blood and one of my kidneys, specifically." Bo lost her composure, and along with all the other Mandalorians said "What?" in an incredulous tone. He repeated his answer. The sister of Satine kryze shouldn't have been surprised; people had to do desperate things on the streets to stay alive, but she simply was not prepared for this.
"After that I tested drugs, medical and recreational," Ezra went on. Despite being ruthless and bloodthirsty, Bo and the former Death Watch members we're disgusted that someone would allow a child to donate body parts, or test drugs. They ruthlessly killed people, including children, but abusing and using people, especially kids, was not their way of doing things. The young Bridger went on with his story, explaining to her how he had done freelance jobs like delivery and repair. He told her how he had refused to murder anyone, or give up his virginity for credits. Strangely, Bo was glad that he hadn't. When Ezra got to the part about the man pulling him into the alley and pulling down his pants, while pinning him down, a look of rage came onto Bo's face. It actually scared Ezra, seeing the woman so angry. He'd seen it before, from Ahsoka and Hera, but unlike those two, Bo Katan Kryze was a ruthless Warrior, and therefore much more dangerous. Satine's sister saw how she was scaring the boy and calmed down.
"I'm not angry with you boy, I'm angry with the man, no the monster who did that to you."
"You don't have to worry about him Bo katan, I drove my legs, which he stupidly didn't pin, into his crotch, and when he was reeling in pain, I slammed my skull into his neck, breaking it. It was the first time I killed someone who wasn't an Imperial." Bo Katan Kryze smiled in satisfaction upon hearing of the man's death. As of sensing the question she was about to ask him, Ezra said "No, I felt absolutely no remorse for killing that bastard!"the Mandalorian woman's smile grew and she said glad to hear it. At this point, Hera decided to interject.
"I first met him on the streets of Lothal when I was given three days leave by Ahsoka, and decide to spend it on Lothal . With a stolen scout trooper Blaster, Ezra shot dead one Imperial officer and three Stormtroopers who were harassing me."
"First in the leg than in the head," Ezra added proudly Satine's sister grinnned at the boys enthusiasm, while the togruta and the green twi'lek were worried. "I don't believe in coincidences, so I asked him to join me and he agreed, reluctantly I might add."
"He was suspicious of me, as I was of him, but we gave each other a chance. Don't worry Ezra, I won't embarrass you by telling her how we bonded," she said giving Ezra a reassuring glance, who had a warning look on his face. For the first time, Bo Katan laughed at the boys childishly angry expression.
"We were on the planet for three days. On the 4th of day, I was fixing the dish on top of the Ghost, my ship, when he decided to prank me. He shouted my name, and I fell clean off the roof, but before I hit the ground, he telekinetically halted my descent."Bo's eyes widened as did the other mandalorians beneath their helmets. Ezra and his companions were worried that they would look at him with hatred, because of the feud the mandalorians had with the Jedi. Bo Katan and her comrades only looked at the boy with interest and surprise.
"You mean he's force-sensitive?"
"Yes, this isn't a problem, is it?" Hera seriously inquired. She told Ahsoka and Bail nothing was going to happen to her baby boy, as long as she had something to say about it.
"Of course not miss-I didn't get your name"
"My name is Hera Syndulla, daughter of Cham Syndulla". The Mandalorians, including their leader, were shocked at this revelation.
Recovering from her shock, Bo replied, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, the Jedi hate the Empire, and so do we. The thing is we haven't been able to find any who will fight with us except Ahsoka. The rest of them have either been killed or are too cowardly to come out of hiding, and here I thought the Jedi made peace with death."
If Ahsoka had still been a Jedi she would have objected to both statements, but she wasn't. When the council abandoned her she lost faith in it, and left to her and Anakin Skywalker's sadness.
"I'm more than happy to enlist this fine young man's aid. In fact, I'm willing to allow him to become a member of my clan."
Ezra Ahsoka and Hera eyes nearly bulged out of their heads.
"Are you serious?!,"all three comrades asked not believing what they heard.
"Very serious, he may be the strongest, 7 year old boy I've ever met" she said, complimenting the young one with blue hair and bright blue eyes. " He has just as great, if not more of a will, and the skills to back it up as any Mandalorian. And don't worry son, you won't have to do anything bloodthirsty. Mandolorians need all the help they can get delivering our planet from the Empire, and being unscrupulous won't win us any allies. That's precisely why Saw Gerrera and his crew are alone. Saw Gerrera is an extremist Rebel," Bo Katan Kryze said, answering Ezra's yet to be asked question. "So what do you say, Ezra Bridger, son of Mira and Ephraim Bridger?"
"I don't know what to say," he answered honestly.
"You should know if you choose to join my clan, you won't be able to be trained as a Jedi, or in the force," she said, surprising him and his two companions. "We'll fight with a force-user, but we Mandalorians won't allow any to become a part of our Clans, especially after what happened with Maul." Her face grew dark when she mentioned his name
"Who is that?"Ezra asked
"They didn't tell you?" Bo katan asked in a surprise tone.
"I didn't get around to telling him," Ahsoka spoke up "We were tired. I only got around to explaining to him about the Mandalorians and who Satine was ," looking at Ezra. Ahsoka continued.
"Darth Maul was a Sith Lord, Ezra." Ezra said that knew what they were; his parents had told him. They were everything the Jedi weren't. In fact, they suspected that Palpatine was one. Ahsoka nodded, once again suprised by the Bridger parents foresight. Continuing, the red togruta said that he trained Darth Maul.
"Maul fought with the Trade Federation against the Naboo resistance and the Jedi; he also killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. I told you about him remember?" Ezra nodded. Ahsoka continued "He was supposedly killed by Obi-Wan but survived using pure hatred, and had a prosthetic half on his lower body. He attacked the jedi again, 12 years later, killing several. Eventually, he made his way to Mandalore and convinced Death Watch to aid him in taking over the in the galaxy."
"Don't forget, he also convinced the Hutts the Pykes and Black Sun to work for him," Bo Katan interjected.
"We pretended to support Maul in order to take over Mandalore, then had him locked up along with his brothers Savage Oppress. They escaped, though,and he challenged Pre Vizla leader of Death Watch and leader of House Vizla to one on one combat. Vizla fought valiantly, even landing a few blows and cuts, but he was ultimately defeated and beheaded by Maul." Ezra grimaced, thinking about how gruesome witnessing something like this must be.
" He declared himself leader of Death Watch, and half of the organization refused to be ruled or let our planet be ruled by an outsider, so we broke away and became the Nite Owls. Eventually my sister, The Duchess Satine, with my help managed to smuggle a message to The Republic. Obi-Wan Kenobi came there and rescued her but both were captured by Maul I didn't see it happen but Obi-Wan, whom I rescued, said Maul killed her. When Maul was abducted savage killed later on, I went to the morgue where she was being stored at the cause of death was impalement with a lightsaber, and she also had strangulation marks in her neck."Bo Katan didn't cry, but anyone could see that she was profoundly devastated. It was ironic, because Death Watch had been planning to kill her sister Satine in order to soldify their rule of Mandalore. They also wanted the Republic to invade, so they could wage a bloody war, which was what Death Watch lived for.
"Maul was abducted?" Ezra asked in surprise.
"Yes, some of our spies saw him being dragged by a man in a cloak to a ship, a shuttle to be exact. Then our troops went in the castle of Mandalore and found dead Shadow Collective members. That was what Maul called his faction. We also discovered the dead body of Savage Oppress. Eventually, the Shadow Collective rescued Maul, and after a conflict with the Jedi, he returned to Mandalore."Ahsoka spoke up just then.
"I fought against him during that battle." Ezra was surprised to learn this; Ahsoka had told him about the battle but hadn't told him that she fought Maul. Ahsoka continued.
" I was still fighting him when Order 66 was issued. He was able to escape and it still out there somewhere because of that treacherous Emperor Palpatine."
She frowned and clenched her Fists. Going back to her original question, Bo Katan looked at Ezra.
"You have to choose my boy; you can be a Jedi, or a Mandalorian, but not both."
"Actually Bo," Ahsoka interjected "There was a Mandalorian Jedi, named Tar Vizla."
"He wore Mandalorian armor, Ahsoka Tano. he didn't follow Mandalorian ways, he followed the ways of your order, or should I say your former order." Looking back at Ezra she said "If you decide to become a member of my clan, you'll have to fight with us on Mandalore. Don't worry, you can still visit Hera Syndulla and Ahsoka Tano, and fight with them. But, when your visits and fighting are done, you will have to come back here," she finished, making the conditions clear for the boy.
"Don't make your decision right now, take some time okay?" Bo Katan Kryze asked, to which Ezra nodded in the affirmative.
Ahsoka why don't you give me that information, and Hera, I want to talk to you alone."
"Magdalene, entertain Ezra while we and his Guardians discuss things."
When her contact nodded, Bo Katan grabbed Hera and Ahsoka's hands, and flew up to the balcony of the control room they were originally in. Ezra looked at Magdalene then grinned challengingly, and said "I bet you can't catch me!" Without another word, he took off running in the burnt ruins of this formerly Imperial water control plant. She took off after him exclaiming "Oh yes I can!"Ezra ran past the vats to a pipe coming from the ground leading to the ceiling. He jumped onto a balcony, and ran off into a hallway with his adult playmate in hot pursuit. He looked back, and his eyes widened at her gaining on him. He ran faster, as fast as he could, but she continued to get closer, her leg muscles stronger than his. Ezra got an idea; he jumped onto the walls running diagonally then dropping to the ground. Unfortunately, Magdalene simply slid forward on her stomach and grabbed Ezra's ankles as he landed. Standing up, she grasped his armpits and said "Got you!" in a celebratory voice. He jerked away from her and said "Be careful, I'm ticklish!" Magdalene gave the young Bridger a wicked grin, and he thought in fear, 'I said the wrong thing.' Before he could even think to run, the grown woman tackled him pinning his legs together with her knees and holding his wrists in one hand, Ezra opened his mouth to beg, but it was too late. Bo Katan's contact began to mercilessly tickle his underarms. He laughed loudly and hysterically and squirmed. Despite being a hardened warrior, Magdalene couldn't help but smile, and playfully taunt the boy "Does it tickle, my little blue-haired baby? I hope it does, because this wouldn't be fun, otherwise. If I were you, I'd hope my twi'lek and togruta friend get done soon, because I'm not stopping until they come here. Coochie coochie coo!" Magdalene continued her tickle torture of Ezra Bridger. It was too bad that he was laughing so hard that he couldn't beg, because that would have given her even more satisfaction, and egged her on.