Guess who is back with a new chapter, my apologies for such slow updates. School has been keeping me busy and the ending of star wars rebels kept me from writing, only reading Sabezra stories to fill that void.
A small heads up for this chapter, from now on this will be partially AU from the canon events of War for Iokath, the biggest change will be revealed in the next chapter. I strongly dislike how the war for Iokath went along with traitor on Umbara hence I will be changing stuff.
Another note is, there is a time jump between this chapter and the previous one. It is roughly a month later and the battle for Iokath happened in that month.
On that note, let's get into this chapter.
"I see that our trade deal has really worked out for you, chancellor." Davin said, giving the older man a small smile.
"Although the circumstances could have been better, I must agree with that statement." Shalim Avesta nodded, leaning slightly back into his chair. "The end of the war between Zakuul and the alliance left a lot of scars to heal but with your help we are rebuilding, albeit slowly."
"The rebuilding isn't what concerns me, the acceptance of our help is." Davin noted, being aware of what the alliance composes of. Republic, imperial and zakuulan alike. The latter two being the reason.
"Leave that to me, despite most of the populace not saying it. We'll need resources, speaking off. How is the expedition to Iokath going?"
"Based on my reports, the radiation is completely gone from all of the superweapons there, not to worry. After the battle for Iotkath between us and the empire I've ordered Lana to dump the mechanical old gods in a star along with any other superweapon we uncovered." Davin said.
"That's news the public will be relieved to hear, I have heard news that Empress Acina was killed during the last skirmish." Chancellor Avesta recalled the report.
"I had no choice as she forced my hand." Davin answered plainly.
"I hold no judgement as the battle dealt a heavy blow and gave the republic much needed hope. However, you hadn't answered my question about the resources from Iokath."
"Fair point chancellor, considering the battle did it's damage it might take longer but with the help of Scorpio, Iokaths existing factories and resources I believe the resource crisis is coming to its end. I have taken measures that will ensure that."
"Such as?"
"Using a quarter of the Eternal fleet to establish makeshift shelters, food distribution and hospitals on planets that have suffered the worst along with retrofitting most of the droid complement on the ships from combat to labour."
"Wonderful news to hear. Now, I believe we have an audience to attend."
"Indeed, I was going to do this on Odessen for the alliance itself until you invited me to Coruscant and allowed the memorial to build here." Davin told as he reached for the button that opened the door with a hiss.
"Where would you have the place to put it?" Avesta quipped.
"Fair point chancellor." Davin chuckled lightly before stopping in his tracks.
"What?" The older man asked, frowning as the Jedi turned around.
"I sense a presence." Davin stated in a cryptic tone.
"Should I call security?" The chancellor asked, switching to an alarmed state.
"No need, he's a friend." The veteran Jedi assured. "I'll meet you downstairs."
With a small grunt of disapproval, Chancellor Avesta walked to the elevator and entered it, leaving Davin alone in the hallway. Striding towards the presence, Davin could sense the person tensing up.
"I figured you'd know I was here." A familiar voice spoke as Davin approached the occupied bench.
"It's been a month without any real update of your status and now you show up on Coruscant?" Davin crossed his arms, looking down at the hatted man in brown armour.
"I did send you a message that everything was fine." He grinned.
"That's not much to go on, how did you even know I was here?"
"Because I'm good at my job." The man chuckled.
"Don't get smart with me, Trannis." Davin said, pointing his finger at him.
"You must be really nervous to use my last name." Rulmatt stood up from the bench.
"Half of the citizens dislike the alliance, can you blame me?" Davin said, his tone lowering.
"Not really, no." Rulmatt rested his hand on the Jedi's shoulder briefly.
"Alright, what are you up to. Why are you here?" Davin asked in a more serious tone as they walked to the elevator.
"To make it official that I'm leaving the alliance." The bounty hunter stated.
"No offence but I don't recall you being an official member." The Jedi recalled, stepping inside the elevator and pressing a button, sending the elevator down.
"None taken and fair enough, it still is or was another job for me until it got personal." Rulmatt said, a hint of amusement glimmering in his eyes.
"And now the job is over, you're packing up." Davin finished for him.
"Yeah, I got a family to look after again now." The Mandalorian confirmed, nodding.
"Again?" Davin repeated the word.
"My crew is my family, Davin. It's just complete again." Rulmatt explained
"Minus Skadge." The Jedi master stated.
"Skadge was never part of my crew." Rulmatt corrected in a harsh tone.
"Can't blame you, his SIS file said more than enough." Davin said, recalling the file he'd read.
"We tolerated him for two months along with his actions, but he kept crossing the line." Rulmatt alluded gaining a frown from his companion. "Yes, I am a bounty hunter and Mandalorian, yes, we have a code, yes we exist."
"What happened?" Davin asked cautiously.
"Being bloodthirsty, drunk and a houk makes for a bad mix. In short, he gave a Tarentum, injuring Torian and Mako. Gault and I tried to stop him, but he overpowered us until HK stepped in and saved us." Rulmatt said.
"How?"
"Drove his arm through his chest." Rulmatt answered simply, stepping out of the elevator.
Following suit, Davin walked to the backstage of the stage for the conference where the Chancellor was, already giving the speech and nearing the end of it. Signifying he'd have to give his shortly, looking over his shoulder he could hear Rulmatt before he left to stand in the crowd.
"I'll talk to you afterwards."
Hearing that the chancellor called his name, Davin walked onto the stage overlooking the crowd that it had gathered, ranging from civilians to Alliance and republic personnel, even Mandalorians where in attendance in their own corner to prevent any old wounds to open again. In the back of the group of Mandalorians he could see Rulmatt standing next to Mako and their son sitting on his shoulders.
As he stood behind the small counter he could hear the crowd mummering amongst themselves, no doubt wondering what the covered object in front of them that was going to be revealed.
"May I get everyone's attention please." Davin said, the mummering stopping as all the attention went to him.
"I have no doubt that you all are aware that the war between the Alliance and the Eternal Empire has ended and in turn ending the sanctions on the Republic and the Sith Empire but not at a terrible cost."
"The wars has left scars everywhere, scars I hope to heal. With the help of the Eternal Fleet I hope to end the resource crisis and soon, the planet Iokath in our jurisdiction will soon be able to provide enough resources for every afflicted world."
"But I know some scars will never heal, I've seen that first hand and know it myself all too well. I know many still blame me for the deaths of thousands of loved ones, I can understand that but do understand that I will carry that burden no matter what. I let you down, yes. I failed you, yes. But failure is the best teacher one can have. These wars taught me that everyone around me will pass away eventually and I accepted that fact. It doesn't mean however that we shouldn't live, be happy."
"Everyone dies alone. But if you mean something to someone, if you helped someone, or loved someone, if even a single person remembers you, then maybe you never really die at all. I picked up a Mandalorian saying once: Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. It means no one is ever really gone, merely marching far away." Davin recited as the curtains covering was pulled away, revealing a long stone wall etched with the names of fallen soldiers, officer and Jedi alike. Among the names, Davin could read the names Rayhem Taol, Torian Cadera and HK-55.
"That is what I ask you, to live your life to its fullest because some of us can't. Because some lives are a battlefield. And they are empty, because everyone else is gone." And with that Davin was met with a thunderous applause. Briefly taking the gratitude in, giving the crowd a small bow before leaving the stage.
Walking down the stairs of the stage leading backstage, he could hear a soft clapping sound behind him. Looking to the origin of the sound he could see Rulmatt approaching, behind him he could see Mako and Connor, watching from a distance.
"Your speech was quite impressive, especially the Mando'a saying."
"Thanks, I take it you're leaving any minute?" Davin said.
"I am, wanted to properly say goodbye first." The Mandalorian nodded.
"I take it I won't hear from you after this." The Jedi deduced.
"Probably not for some time, I'm going to lay low for a while." Rulmatt looked back to Mako and Connor. "But if you need me, I'll be there."
"Thanks, I be sure to remember that." Davin gave a small smile.
"Before we part ways, I have something for you." Rulmatt said, kneeling to a small crate and opened it.
"What's this?" Davin asked as Rulmatt reveal the T-visor shaped helmet inside
"A Mandalorian helmet made from Beskar" He answered as he handed Davin the helmet.
"You made this for me?" Davin looked in awe at his helmet, it sported a white and black with blue detailing. Above the T-visor he could point our a pair of Jaig Eyes and on the side a symbol combining the crest of the Jedi and a Mythosaur.
"Mand'alor had is made for you for your help." Rulmatt explained.
"I'll be sure to thank her." Davin promised.
"I ought to be going now." The Mandalorian stated, holding out his hand.
"Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la." Davin shook his hand, the saying surprising Rulmatt.
"Thanks." Was all Rulmatt could put together.
"And may the force be with you." Davin added.
Rulmatt gave a small bow of appreciation before turning around and walking to his family. Davin watched as he scooped up Connor in his arms and rested his arm on Mako's waist, whom did the same.
Smiling lightly at the married couple walking to the spaceport, Davin thought back on the memories of their times working together, their initial meeting on Rishi, of being rescued by him on Zakuul, helping to pick a blaster from his arsenal, something that came in handy with their last mission on Myrkr to collect several Olbio trees and in turn the native Ysalamiri.
As much as Davin disliked the idea, it was crucial to the special prison section for force users, especially now with their latest prisoner. She had to frozen in carbonite before their mission. Now, she and others could still have a sense of freedom.
All thanks to the Olbio tree's they had planted in the cellblock's corners and the controlled growth of the branches that went through each cell allowed the Ysalamari to create a force neutral bubble in every cell, effectively preventing force sensitive prisoners and intruders using the force.
Thinking off their latest prison, Davin remembered the recent report on her. It wasn't good and needed his attention before it could get worse. Looking back one more time he could see the figures of Rulmatt and Mako fading out in the distance.
"Time to go home..."
Alright, that was today's chapter. Before I get angry messages regarding Myrkr, I want to explain how I took that part of Legends and wove it into my story.
First off, the knowledge of Myrkr's existence is know by the Jedi order since a long time, they no doubt catalogued it in their archives, named one of their lightsaber forms after it and for all intents and purposes avoided the planet due to It's native Ysalamiri.
Now I can hear you saying, what about Talon Karrde in Heir to the Empire being the first to be able to remove the Ysalamiri from their branches. That is quite simple actually, Talon Karrde was the first to learn that technique during Imperial Civil War if not the only one.
At first I intended to just the same but in order to keep the continuity preserved I came up with a solution, taking the entire tree and transport it with them to Odessen. In this way it serves two purposes, as mentioned before the preservation of the continuity and showcasing an older technique that is less effective than the nutrient frame that we see in Heir to the Empire.
If you might be wondering what the helmet and the Jedi/Mandalorian symbol might look like, you will have to remove the spaces between the slashes and dots and replace dot with an actual dot.
i . pinimg dot com / originals / 03 / 33 / 13 / 033313e38afe872abfec570aab05e265 . jpg
i . pinimg dot com / originals / ef / 93 / 85/ef9385d84315679160a003605818b5ed . jpg
Now that's explained, may the force be with you,