She heard the commotion even through the closed cockpit. The younglings were excitedly jumping around and by the sounds of it getting in the way of the adults. The booming voice of Big Blue made clear that he was anything but amused.

She was tired. Having locked herself into the cockpit had kept the others at bay. But the long hours had not been restful. Only once she had opened the door to get the small tray with food and something to drink. The other times she didn't bother. The voices urging her to get it had been her father's and the Nevarro brave's. Even the healer had tried once. The only time she did get it, was when they had used their ultimate weapon and sent one of the small ones.

The darkness with its sparkling spots had lulled her and her mind went adrift. Her half asleep state brought back what her father had said. He had fought with and for her – as long as I breathe and my hearts beat – and he would continue.

He had sounded so hurt and he didn't seem to understand when she had told him why she had fought Vas and Tiani. She had felt his rage – where is the trust you had in me – even though he had tried hard to keep his composure.

His accusations and reminders had stung deeply – you have lost the Way – had she really? Slowly she retraced the last years full of bounties and troopers, full of high paying bodies she had frozen and white or black armours she had left to rot. The sting had returned, he had been right, she had sought to follow them.

He had always understood her and he did understand her in her current state – I understand more than you will ever know, therefore it hurts the more – she suddenly had to gulp for air, her hands shook even as they gripped the arms of the chair.

It had always been her and her buir. She had never known anything else, she had never questioned or doubted. Now she did. He hadn't just spoken to console her, he had spoken with knowledge – live and honour them with your life – with the knowledge of someone who had to face what she was facing.

By the time she felt the wet stained streaks on her cheeks she was heaving with silent sobs. She didn't want to, everything in her rebelled against his demand – we will bury their armours there – she was not prepared for it, she would never be, she didn't want to part with the armours, with the last palpable memories she had. Then her hand rubbed over the bulge in her pocket. No, not the ultimately last one, she would still have the holo disc.

Donning her helmet she finally left the cockpit. The foundlings had been given tasks to keep them busy. She watched them bustling along, the older ones keeping an eye on the younger ones and Tulata giving instructions as she helped with the more difficult things.

She went for the lower hull. The warm fresh air felt nice and she activated the circulation system to exchange the used air throughout the ship. Outside, the rest of the tribe and her father were on their way to go scouting. They had fanned out to cover some area. Within the next day they would work through the different cardinal points. For the time being they would be staying on board, unless they could find suitable lodgings. The scouts had their coms with them and instructions what to look for, mostly any dangers and ways to sustain themselves.

She had different plans. If this was where the tribe could stay they might be in need of trading partners if not even allies. She shortly informed the healer that she would be out with her speeder. She relocated the A'den next to the ship and readied the speeder. Only some scratches told of the flight off Nevarro, otherwise the shuttle was clean. She mounted the speeder and set a lazy pace. The large plain she crossed was not too inviting. Before she drew closer, to where she had seen the farm, she circled wide to approach from a different angle.

When she came closer she scouted the surrounding fields that belonged to the farm. It was a middle-sized estate consisting of several buildings. Using her scope of her sporting blaster rifle she could make out that several men were busy with their tasks, then she caught sight of two figures in long skirts, women were normally a good sign. When she saw a bunch of younglings running out of the biggest building she had made up her mind.

With her hood once again pulled deep she slowly continued her approach. It didn't take too long and the occupants of the farm took notice of her. She appreciated their quick reactions, women and children disappeared in the house, the men fanned out, some under cover, and only three came to meet her. Even these were spreading, their blasters drawn, though not aimed.

When she was within calling distance she stopped the bike and its engine. With both legs swung over the side facing the men she awaited their approach. They were careful. The eyes of the man in the middle were on her, watching, calculating and measuring. The other two men had concentrated on the area in her back.

She gave them a full minute to assess her, then she nodded in a greeting: "G'day."

"Watcha want?" His accent was heavy, and his voice betrayed the distrust he didn't even care to hide. He and his company shared so much of their appearance that she was sure to have three generations before her. They were middle seized, all with a shock of blond hair, trimmed beards and grey eyes. The oldest one had more white than blond in his hair, but it was still detectable. And the blond fluff just starting told her of the youth of the youngest. All were more on the lean side and clad in sturdy working clothes. Even when they had been new, the colours had been nondescript, perfectly blending in with the nature that surrounded them.

"Saw your farm and thought I could ask for some fresh provisions in exchange for credits." It was a lie, but one she could easily live up to. Just for emphasis she patted her hand once against the small pouch on her hip. And she let it rest there, within easy reach of her blaster.

Her movement was taken in but left uncommented: "Got nothing to sale. Move on."

"Sure. Mind if I do some hunting hereabouts then," she waved vaguely in the direction she had come from. Having circled the perimeter widely enough her ship was nowhere near. "Could give you a share if I'm successful."

One of the other men had come closer and nodded towards the rifle slung on her back: "What else would you need a sporting blaster rifle for? It's a bounty hunter weapon."

"Got no fobs on me, if that's your worry. Took some time off." There was no use in denying what she was and with admitting she hoped she could gain their trust more easily. Though she did have to bend the truth a bit, it still might play into her hands: "Last job was a bit rough, wrong intel. Looked for a planet to stretch my legs and came upon Garos."

"Why should we put up with a prowler?" Her head followed the barrel of the blaster now trimmed at her midsection and then lifted to the speaker.

"Yeah, one that even hides beneath a hood!" The third man was so much younger, inexperienced, loudmouthed and eager.

"'Cause it's safer. Don't get shot at that often that way." She made herself chuckle at the youngest of the three.

"Isn't being a bounty hunter enough reason?" The young one was definitely a loudmouth she decided and turned her face to the quiet man who had initially addressed her, he seemed the one she had to convince.

"I'm hunter and prey," slowly she reached up and as she spoke she peeled her hood back. "Some are even less favourably looked upon than bounty hunters. For many, both on Imp and on Pub side, this is enough reason to first shoot and then talk."

The two younger ones reacted immediately. She already prepared to feel the impact of their slugs, but the oldest lifted his hand. She hadn't moved her visor from him.

"We don't have much contact with anyone from the cities, so our knowledge is limited. The Empire has retreated and the Republic doesn't have much influence on Garos, as far as we know."

She let them hear her smile: "That was what I had hoped for."

"I'm astonished to see that any of you have survived the conflicts. I had heard that the Mandalorians had been wiped out." She tilted her head wondering where this would lead to and waited for him to continue.

"It's not like Garos had much to do with you Mandalorians, Garosians had their own problems with the Sundari, who … more or less … ages ago … derived from Mandalore." She wondered where the history lesson would lead to. She realised he was testing her patience and willingness to listen. So she let him talk. After all it had been information she had come for and this is what she got.

"At least the invasion by the Empire helped both groups to forget about their pasts." He had come to an end and she nodded politely.

"So there is finally peace between the Garorians and you Sundaris? With Garos being off the Empire's hook I wonder if more Mandalorians have found sanctuary here." He was the anthill and she was poking with a stick.

She heard his inhale but he covered it quickly. Her guess had been right. This far away from the cities she had come across descendants of the Sundaris, just as she had wagered: "If any came they have been hiding well, haven't even heard rumours about it. But who would have cared in these times anyway, not us in this valley."

He seemed to think over his next question. It was important to him, she could see that, but something had him hesitate: "So, ermm, you not hunting anyone here?"

"Nope, just animals A vacation. And maybe a place to stay." His head swayed as if he tried to see beneath the red T-visor.

"So you and how many of yours?" It was her time to hold her breath. He was good at observing, or guessing.

Before she answered she looked at the two other men who still had her under their blasters. "So far just me."

He grunted to that and his lopsided grin told her that he didn't buy it: "If you want us to trust you…"

This time she did interrupt him: "… I've got foundlings to protect." And his mouth shaped a silent Oh which never came.

"You understand, they are important to us. I'm just looking for a safe place for them to grow up. Without them having to lose their covert again."

"Foundings then."

She simply nodded.

"The mountain range might be then what you are looking for."

She shook her head: "Too close to the denser populated area. They … We can be self-sufficient." She turned looking into the direction where her ship was actually located: "What's over there?"

"Nothing much, forests, mountains with some caves, no fertile soil, so not interesting for us." He had puckered his lips in a grin, he was reading her again.

She sighed with a hardly suppressed grunt: "Ok, you asked for trust. But before I say anything know this well. The numbers might be not impressive, but we know how to make a stand and with the foundlings in our care we are prepared for the ultimate."

Instantly he had turned serious: "Understood and appreciated."

"As you already know I'm a bounty hunter. Normally I work alone, but as fate had it I came under the care of a covert just before it was wiped out by Imps. Now I have the survivors with me. We seek refuge, won't trouble anyone and stay out of sight. Maybe there are better places, but my ship's too small to board them all for a longer time. I was aware of the history of Garos and I had calculated on landing where the descendants of Sundari lived, people such as you. I don't ask of you to take them in or provide for them. Just to turn an eye and let them stay."

He looked over to the other men before he answered: "This has to be discussed in our council."

"No, I actually do not even like the many ears which are gathered here already. The less know the safer the foundlings are."

He started to shake his head when the man, who must have been his son, moved to him and they started a whispered conversation. She looked towards the youngest who had run his mouth initially. He put on a brave show by gazing at her down the barrel of his blaster. By his nervousness she could tell that she would be his first kill, if he were lucky enough to get off a shot.

The low voices had died down, so she panned her visor back.

"If we are to let you stay we want clarity. How many are we actually talking about?"

"A dozen or so foundlings, half a dozen warriors," then an idea struck her: "A healer is among them."

She had guessed correctly. This information was important and right away the discussion between father and son continued.

"Good, you can stay as long as there is no trouble. First sign and you are off again.

Slowly she came to stand next to her speeder and stretched out her arm. When the older man grabbed her wrist she nodded as she said: "Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it." She did include the other younger men. They had been witnesses to the pact and she wanted especially the youngest to feel included. After all he would be the one who would be confronted with the situation the longest.

As she walked over to him she saw his neck turn red. Although his grip was strong his gaze wandered to her now exposed gauntlet. "This is beautiful. Is that Beskar?" She had barely finished her words when his awed whisper made her giggle in a low tone.

"Yes, young warrior, it is. You observe well." He red of his neck spread to his cheeks and he beamed at her words.

After some more words, mostly about climate, game and dangers like predators she bade the three men goodbye and mounted her speeder. The three men were already on their way back to their work when she decided to actually do what she had lied about to them initially. A hunt in the forest sounded like a good idea.

With barely any cover on the way back across the plain, she wished for a duller day. The sun shone mercilessly on her back. Her only solace was that she would soon be in shades of the first stretch of forest. The trees would soon grow too thick for her speeder to pass and besides that it would scare away any huntable game. So she stopped it under the canopies of the first trees. She pulled her cloak off and gave her blaster rifle a quick check, then she wove her way into the cooling shadows.

She had been right, only just after a short distance the forest grew thick. She stepped slowly, taking in the trees that surrounded her. It was chaos with a natural plan: different kinds of pine trees and foliage trees, in lighter spots tall ferns, even some flowers with brilliant colours where a storm hat cut a clearing. She could hear the whistles and twittering of birds and some splashing and grunts.

There were too many to make out their numbers. She inched closer, using bushes and trees for covers, she checked the wind, it was in her favour. What it was she didn't know, but they reminded her of the Grophets on Rishi and they were entertaining themselves in a large puddle of water turned to mud. She watched them closely and kept absolutely still. As she levelled her rifle she made her choice, two yearlings would bring a welcomed change in diet.

Her shots came quickly one after the other, fast enough to get both her targets. The rest was quick to run off squealing and grunting. When everything had gone quite she drew closer to the two carcasses. Just to make sure she nudged them with her foot, those spiky nodules on their foreheads could inflict some damage.

She knelt and started to eviscerate her prey, throwing the intestines into the undergrowth. When she was satisfied with her work she got the steel thread from her utility belt and bound their hindlegs together. Now she only needed the right tree limb to either hang them up and carry them or to pull them behind her. Soon she found what she had been looking for and with the weight dangling from both ends of the wood she laboured her way back to the speeder.

Her legs threatened to give in, but she was too stubborn to give up. Shortly she wondered if she was on the right way back, as the dimmed light of the forest didn't seem to lessen. But her HUD sensor said she was on the right track.

It seemed to grow even darker and she wondered if she had underestimated the planet's day length. Only when she finally reached the outskirts of forest and could see the sky clearly again. She saw the towering dark clouds – a storm was brewing.

As fast as she could she draped the gutted creatures on her speeder. She would make her promise come true. The Sundari farmers had been nice enough, it was time for a first payback. She saw them as they were already on their way home from the field they had been working on.

She throttled her speed to not surprise them too much, but over the wind that had picked up in volume they only heard the roar of the engine and turned when she was almost within calling distance.

She stopped her speeder bike and unmounted. Freeing the bindings of one of the animals she let it slide to the ground: "Mando'ad draar digu. As promised, your share of my hunt."

The gazes she met spoke of gratitude but also disbelief. The youngest knelt next to the dead animal and inspected it. She knew what he was looking for. Her lips parted in a toothy grin as she nodded to his awed face: "Always know where you place your shot."

After all she didn't have to tell him that this was the one she had shot first and that she had been lucky that it hadn't moved and ruined the shot to its eye. With a nod towards the other men she mounted and sped off towards the Keldab.

The first drops left large wet blotches on the bike and her. When she looked up she thought she could reach the low hanging black clouds with her hand. A queasy feeling settled in her stomach as she eyed the wall of sulphur-coloured clouds which seemed to be racing towards her.

The first lightning spread a spider web across the sky and blinded her as it lit up the darkness around her. She checked the sensor as she didn't trust her own feeling, but the temperature had dropped immensely.

The first thunder had started distantly, softly until it rose ear-deafening in volume. She had to adjust the function in her helmet or her ears would be ringing for days. The second thunder didn't want to end and then the downpour of hail started.

She couldn't drone out the clanking sounds which resounded in the confines of her helmet with each ball of frozen ice that hit. Only the Beskar protected her and she winced with each impact on the unprotected parts of her body. Within a short time she was soaked to the skin. Even underneath the Beskar the fabric clung to her body and made her shiver.

She had looked around, but there was no cover to be found. The only possibility was to reach her ship as fast as possible. She almost cried in relief when she was able to make out the huge form, dark against dark. Feverishly she hit the code to open the shuttle into her vambrace. Her fingers were numb with cold and she had to repeat the sequence several times before she got it right.

As soon as she had the hatch open and the shuttle protect her she let go of a sigh. Every limb hurt. She felt like she couldn't let go of the handle of the bike let alone get off the bike. And so she just sat there and listened to the thundering sounds that drummed down on her protective shield.

She looked towards the folded seats next to her. If she could drag herself there she could at least lie down and get some rest. Her body ached with every movement, she willed it into movement. Bending and reaching over, pulling two seats down to let her hip fall onto it, reaching farther and pulling another down to drag her upper body onto it, nestling with her feet to get the last one down to give her lower body a resting place.

Each gush of cold wind sent a shiver down her back. She shoved her clammy hands between her thighs finding little more warmth. She didn't know how long she was lying there, only that the constant drumming sound had changed. It was somewhat lighter, no longer ringing in her ears. And it had got brighter, a wide wedge of light had found its way into the shuttle.

She pulled herself together and focused in her dazed condition and saw them, gathered in the open hatch and peering out. She sighed in relief, all the scouts had made it back, now she could get some sleep.

He had been the first one to be back. The route he had chosen had proven to be fruitless. First he had almost ended up in a swamp, then his route took him to a rocky plateau. He had seen some game, at least provisions lay in that direction.

He was quite frustrated when he had come back and Tulata had told him that the pilot had taken the speeder. To spend the time he had trained with the two oldest foundlings. The maroon couple were next to come back. The forest area they had explored was slightly more promising, at least they would have cover there. But when they told of the huge imprints of a species of predator he was no longer sure.

The wind had picked up and become cold. Together with his sister he made sure all the younglings were back inside. Tulata and the other female started preparing rations to feed them. He went back outside and scanned the surroundings and the horizon for a sign of her.

Her father and Paz arrived almost at the same time. They both had been to the mountain range and told of caves which would be worth exploring. While they were talking he glanced at the black and yellow sky: "Something's coming. We should be all inside when it's here. Where's she got to?" No one knew.

The hailstorm came and scared the youngest. Everybody did their best to keep them occupied and their minds off the storm outside. He couldn't, his mind was roaming outside, wondering where she was, if she had found shelter, how long it would take her to come back.

When he had gone to the cockpit he felt something knot in him as he watched the icy balls bounce against the transpirasteel – where are you – are you safe. He turned quickly and went to his cabin where he looked for the thickest cape he had. Then he went for the hatch. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

He turned to face Paz: "I'm looking for her."

"You are going nowhere. This is complete madness!" It was easy to anger Paz and his loud voice drew in the others on board.

"Have to," defensively he plugged the hand off his shoulder and was about to turn again when the black armour of her father positioned itself next to him: "Copaani gaan?" He nodded his thanks and pressed the control panel to let the hatch down.

His modulator just crackled slightly at his whisper when he almost instantly saw her, she was there, she was safe. The shuttle stood open and her speeder was inside. In the dim light he could make out her body lying on the row of seats.

He ran down the ramp and slipped on the ice covered ground. With flailing arms he steadied himself as he sped on. Still ice balls slightly smaller than his fists hailed down on him, finding their way to the Beskar and between, to the fabric.

He slid into the shuttle, everything was wet and soaked. The sodden fabric of her suit looked even darker, a pool of wetness had formed where she lay. To get to her he had to move the speeder first. He almost shoved it into the cockpit to be able to kneel next to her resting form.

She was lying still, even when he touched her clothed arm. By the rise of her chest he could tell she was breathing. Gently he shook her and stopped immediately at the pained sound. Then he saw the shivers that trembled along her body.

"Cyare! You are freezing. I need to get into the ship. You need to get warm again." He knew that she was awake when she pulled her hands from between her legs. Carefully he helped , first to a sitting, then to a standing position.

"Are you okay? Can you walk?" Walking backwards he led her towards the opening. She stumbled and he made sure she fell into his arms. He looked back towards the ship. It was not far, only a few steps.

"Steady. I can carry you. Just need to get a better…" He didn't get any further.

Heavy boots were placed next to her side: ""Copaani gaan? Can't have you both slip and break your necks." Paz gathered her up in a swift motion. She made a small noise as the heavy infantry gave her another hitch to place her securely in his arms.

He lifted her free arm which hang loosely and placed it on cowl of the tall man's shoulder: "Here, grip. Don't let go." Paz stepped wide as he made for the ship. He waited until Paz had reached the safety of the ship before he activated the closing mechanism and followed him.

The unprotected part of his body hurt and he rubbed over his arms as he followed Paz. The strong warrior made his way to her cabin from where her father motioned him to bring her. From behind he could only see how she held onto the cowl at the back of the tall warrior's neck and the crown of her helmet resting against his shoulder.

He had to exhale deeply and willingly slacken the coil within him. He wished it was him she was clinging to.

Mando'a

buir: parent, father, mother
Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it: Truth, Honor, Vision — said when sealing a pact
Mando'ad draar digu: A Mandalorian never forgets
Copaani gaan? - Need a hand?
cyare: beloved