Cataan - Karrde Residence - two days later
The slightly chilly breeze coming down from the pass to Mt. Adan ruffled Marin's hair as she stepped onto the landing pad from the Werda's boarding ramp. So much seemed to have changed while she'd been… away. The Karrde house stood quiet. With Master Karrde gone, only Lady Karrde and Catharine stood off to the side waiting for them. Marin heard Callista's armored footsteps come down the ramp behind her, followed soon after by Ethan's heavier ones. After so long, she'd gotten to where she could tell them apart just by their footsteps.
For a moment, she just stood there wrapping her arms around her middle as she tried to hold off the chill. When Ethan's hand fell to her shoulder a moment later, she had to resist the urge to flinch. It was hard to forget what J'oran had done to her. None of her training had prepared her for something like that. When she turned to look up at him, she caught the tense set of his shoulders. She could feel his tightly controlled anger... though it had ebbed some now with J'oran's death.
Marin started a bit when she felt a pat on her shoulder from Ethan before he turned back to the Werda to lock down the ship. Though he wasn't Force-sensitive, he understood what she was going through right now. In the next instant, she found herself folded into a hug by Lady Karrde. While Marin didn't know her that well, she did sort of view the Karrdes as a second set of parents - another family. Master Karrde, and pretty much everyone in the Karrde family had been a huge part of her life for the last several years. Her entire body went rigid for the briefest of moments before she took a breath, reaching to the Force for calm.
"Marin... I'm glad you're back safe..." Lady Karrde said softly into her ear, hugging her gently but firmly. They stood like that for a moment before she seemed to sense that Marin was getting a bit uncomfortable. "If you want, there's some behot in the kitchen. It's in the kettle on the stove."
Marin nodded, and murmured a quiet thank you as she slipped inside. Jade's gaze followed her for a moment before she turned back to Callista and now Ethan who had come back down to the landing pad. "She's withdrawn isn't she...?"
Ethan and Callista traded a look before Callista spoke. "She's very shaken." For a moment there was silence between the three. "She... blames herself a bit for getting captured. I felt that very strongly. Aside from J'oran's... interrogating her..." Callista felt Ethan twitch. "When she was captured by J'oran's man... he cut off her Padawan braid to get her to talk..."
Jade's eyes went wide for a moment as that sank in. Then she nodded. The faint lingerings of despair made sense now. "And her arm...?" She looked to Ethan on that one.
He grunted, seeming to shake himself from his thoughts. "That chakaar used an old Cataani method... one that can be used to either heal or cause pain.. He used it to extract information from her. What information he got, I don't know. Nor does it matter now. He's dead." Slowly, he reached up and pulled off his helmet revealing close-dropped short hair that was slightly tousled. His fingers curled tightly around the lower edge of it as he tried to contain his anger. "Forgive the language, milady..."
Jade nodded after a moment. "It's alright... if it were one of my children, or Steffan, I would feel the same way." She gazed off into the forest for a moment. "Come inside. There's behot and caf on the stove, and I'm sure you could use some downtime after the last few days." She led them into the house, knowing by now that they would dust off before following. The trio followed the scent of brewing caf and behot to the kitchen where they found Marin staring into her mug at the table.
Callista shared a look with Jade as she poured herself a cup of behot before making her way over to the chair to Marin's right and sliding into it. She hesitated for a moment and then gently wrapped Marin in a hug, holding her mug in her free hand. As she opened her mouth to ask Marin if she should call for Andrea, Callista felt her sister's familiar presence. And Marin did as well. Callista felt the younger girl relax ever so slightly. Callista smiled. "Su'cuy, Andrea..." She grinned slightly at Andrea's look, but then sobered as she reached out to Andrea in the Force. 'She's alright physically... but she's still feeling a bit of guilt and despair...'
Andrea nodded, giving her mother a hug before she grabbed herself a cup of caf and slid in on Marin's other side. Ethan had already claimed a chair at the end of the table, reminding himself not to prop his feet on the table. Andrea sipped at her caf for a moment before she leaned in and gently took Marin's hand, holding it firmly. a long moment of silence stretched between them. She knew Marin would talk when she was ready.
After several moments Marin spoke, her voice quiet. "I'd been scouting Tanagis V for a couple days before I came across signs of someone else within a few kilometers of the house... too close for my liking. I knew it wasn't any of the colonists... they keep to the southern hemisphere..." She paused and took a slow sip of her behot. "I finally found his trail... but I got careless... and his snare caught me." Her left hand clenched a bit weakly around Andrea's for a moment as she bit her lip. She set down her mug, her right hand slipping inside her coverall to clutch Jarius' tags. Manda, she was glad they were still there. She'd thought for sure that they'd been taken.
It was a moment before she continued, her gaze on the table. "He... kept asking me if I was alone... and who I was... He eventually got the answer to both..." She sighed. "I guess he'd seen or heard of the DE-10's that buir gave me... and figured out who I was from there. He kept asking if I was alone... and didn't like my lack of an answer. Finally, he took a knife he'd been keeping in the fire and sliced off my braid..." She broke off then and looked away, ashamed.
Andrea nodded and hugged her. "You've nothing to be ashamed of, Marin. He was the one in the wrong..."
Marin shook her head. "Nayc... When J'oran began... interrogating me, he used needles. They either numbed for a long time or hurt... a lot..." She shuddered a bit at the memory. "I don't really understand why he was asking me what he did. But he asked me things about what we were learning; how many students were at the praxeum... how many had been knighted, that kind of thing." She frowned. "He also wanted to know about the strength of the Cataani Navy... but I don't know anything beyond basic information there..."
At that, the four adults looked at each other. What could J'oran... or whoever had hired him want with that information? Callista frowned and looked to Andrea. "What possible use could he have for information on the praxeum? Military intel I can see... but the praxeum?"
Andrea sighed. "I don't know either. If daddy were here, he could figure it out. But he's off on a mission right now." She looked at the wall chronometer. "It's late. You should all get some rest, and we can talk more in the morning." She hugged Marin close and helped her to her feet.
Keldabe, Mandalore
The transit back to Manda'yaim had been rather uneventful. Something Mesh'la was glad for after Bestine IV. With J'oran dead, most of the Kyr'tsad had withdrawn to regroup. She'd put out scouts to their usual haunts, but so far no leads. That fact alone concerned her. The Jai'galaar had put into orbit over Manda'yaim only an hour before. Leaving a skeleton crew for now, she'd released the rest to personal leave, and taken a shuttle down to the surface herself. While the mission itself had been a success, the disappearance of the remaining members of Kyr'tsad was not something to be ignored.
The gentle bump of the shuttle making contact with the tarmac jolted her from her thoughts. Shaking herself, Mesh'la rose, tucking her buy'ce under her arm as she strode off the shuttle and across the tarmac. She didn't need anyone to show her to Mand'alor's office - she knew the way. It took her several minutes to make her way across the city on foot. The signs of recent battle were still very evident, but she also saw signs of efforts to rebuild and repair buildings damaged in the recent attacks by Kyr'tsad. If one thing could be said for the Mandalorian people it was this: They were not a culture to give up easily. If one studied the history of the Mandalorians they would see evidence of this time and again.
As she drew near to Mand'alor's office, she heard voices inside. One, she recognized right away, but the other she did not. A frown crossed her face as she approached the door and raised her hand to knock before she saw it was already open. Mand'alor Morut stood in front of his desk, speaking with another whom she didn't recognize. Her hand dropped to her Verpine in pure reflex, but she didn't draw. The stranger wore beskar'gam. A common enough sight on Manda'yaim these days, but something about him set her on edge. She studied the scene for a moment before stepping into the office and clearing her throat, her thumbs hooked casually into her weapons belt.
"Mand'alor...when you have a moment, I need to speak with you..." The one she'd addressed turned towards her, a slight smile touching the older man's face. Parjai Morut had been Mand'alor for close to a decade now. And it showed in his face. Leading a culture of warriors was no easy task. Especially when those who chose to call themselves Kyr'tsad took it upon themselves to destroy those who fought for the greater cause. While it was true that Mandalorians and the jetiise had been at odds for centuries... and that was putting it gently... They'd had to work together to bring down kyr'tsad. Mandalorian scouts had been invaluable help when the Jetiise needed a different set of eyes in a situation.
It had been especially valuable when reports of kyr'tsad operating in Cataani space had surfaced. The Cataani may have good relations with the Jedi order, but this called for a different approach... one that required people used to dealing with such matters. And that was where Mesh'la and her crew came in. With help from Sharon, and getting in touch with the right people, Mand'alor had received clearance to send a contingent into the Galan system... as well as sending Mesh'la and her people through Cataani space on their way to Bestine IV. It had shaved at least a day off their transit.
But what mattered now was the result of her mission. And that wasn't something she wanted to share in front of some aruetii. Mandao'ad he might be, but she didn't know him, and thus didn't trust him. One couldn't be too careful; especially these days. She waited a few moments as Parjai spoke to the other man. After a few words, he turned and left. Finally, Mand'alor turned to her, his face serious for a moment. "Mesh'la, it's good to see you again..." He smiled at her, something that was good to see in such times.
She nodded, all business as she shifted her helmet to her left hand, thumping her chest for a moment in the formal salute before she smiled and sat down. "Ni ceta... habit..."
He chuckled. "I trust your mission went well...? I got your coded message a few hours ago. I'm glad to know the young Durza got home safe. Much thanks to you, Mesh'la."
She tried to wave it off. "Just part of the job, sir. Shab, it's the least we can do for Ethan... and Jarius... Manda rest his soul." They were both silent for a moment before she spoke again. "There were perhaps three dozen Kyr'tsad operatives on Bestine... they'd dug into an old base... looked like a remnant from the last Galactic Civil War... It was well hidden. I met up with Ethan... and a Master Gseran, I think her name was. Married to Qenadius if I recall." Parjai nodded again, offering her a mug of behot before motioning her to continue.
She sighed a bit. "I don't much know what happened to the young Durza, but she was favoring her left arm when Ethan and Callista recovered her. I'd think they are back to Cataan by now." A faint frown crossed her face. "Mand'alor...I'm concerned. The Kyr'tsad are much bolder. Granted, that was due partially to J'oran. I saw Ethan take him down. He deserved to exact vengeance for Jarius. But what of the remaining Kyr'tsad...? I know there still are pockets here and there, but they aren't in their usual places." She rubbed at her forehead. "I'll keep looking of course, but we must be diligent."
Coruscant Skylanes
It was the lack of motion that woke him. The soothing rumble of engine, the clean whistle of air, the background noise of flight had vanished along with the vibrating feeling of motion. He didn't know where, but he knew they'd arrived. Myk-Ron opened his eyes to see a pretty red-head in a medi-vac uniform hovering over him, the top two buttons of her coveralls were undone and her ample breasts nearly smothered him as she leaned over to undo the clasps holding his gurney in place aboard the medical transport.
"Do you charge extra for the bed-side service?" the Rogue managed to grin through the pain.
She startled and looked down at him with icy blue eyes and a mixture of faux anger and amusement on her face. "You didn't know it was me at first," Arie said, shaking her now-red mane. "And, you were flirting?"
"I didn't know where I was," the Rogue shrugged then grimaced. The act of moving caused the burns on his back to stretch and tear. He floated atop several bacta bandages that kept the burns from worsening, but they did nothing for the pain. "It's a good way to catch a person off guard in case I needed to make an escape."
"Uh-huh," Arie rolled her eyes as she rolled the Rogue back onto his stomach to take the pressure off his back. "Sure."
"Honest!" Myk-Ron protested, turning his head so he could see Arie's waist and the side door to the medical transport beyond her. Another set of legs came into view, also in medi-vac attire. "Where are we, anyway? And, what's with the uniforms?"
"We're heading into the Temple, Master Dinn," Ryneas' voice was above him, the new set of legs belonging to him. "The uniforms and the transport were…acquired by some of Phoenix Squadron. With your recent attack, and the general tension on Coruscant, Master Arie felt it would be best if we traveled incognito."
"Hi, Ryneas," Myk coughed weakly.
"Hello, Master," Ryneas said. Myk could almost hear the kid's grin.
"Now, you stop talking," Arie chided. "Your lungs need to focus on breathing. We're gonna drop you in a bacta tank for a day while we plan our exit."
"And, track down what we can on your attackers," Another male voice entered the confined space of the medi-vac transport. There was a hiss as the rear doors opened, and the sunlight streamed in. Soon, Myk was hovering along the permacrete promenade on his gurney with four sets of footsteps echoing around him. "It's Byr Truhi," the voice continued. "And, that heavy set of footfalls is Hart Buchaw. Phoenix Squadron aces, at your service."
Myk grunted a quick greeting, and watched as permacrete gave way to granite tiling as they crossed the threshold of the Temple. The cool re-circulated air inside set his back to stinging, and he bit down on his pillow to keep from groaning.
"No need to be brave, Master Dinn," Ryneas said. "There's almost nobody here to hear you scream. The Temple has been mostly evacuated. All that remains is the equipment, and a few techs closing down the records room to make sure all of our data is safely erased. Besides, anyone looking at your back wouldn't dream of begrudging you a moan of pain."
"Yeah, Sir," the other voice, Hart, spoke up. "It looks like Master Karrde tried to roast you on his open grill."
Myk-Ron did moan then at the thought of his seared flesh. That would be a lovely scar to add to his collection.
"Oh, stop being so vain," Arie sighed as they rounded a corner and pushed into the medical wing. The gurney stopped next to a bubbling and ready bacta tank. "I'm putting you in a healing trance while you're in here. Yeah, it's gonna scar, but when are you ever going to be staring at your own back?"
Myk let out a defeated sigh.
"Such a whiner," Arie laughed. "Now, you three, help me get him up. We need to strip him down and get him in the tank. Then, we'll get some food and go over the evidence, and our exit strategy."
Myk groaned mournfully.
"Yes, Nerfherder," Arie smiled. "We'll save you some food for when you're out. Now," she looked to the other three. "On three we lift. One…two…three!"
Werda – Shadow
Chakaar - corpse robber, thief, petty criminal - general term of abuse