Hyne stepped back into her yurt, the seven square-foot dwelling she had been living in for a year, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

She ripped her helmet off and through it against the wall. It simply bounced off the Duggervol hide and fell back into the center of the room, but it made her feel at least a little better.

Her yurt was the only one with a real door and an antennae. She made sure the room was secure before sitting down at the tiny desk that held her transmitter, as well as a hand mirror.

"Just one more day," she said, touching the scar on her cheek. "Just make it one more day."

Hyne picked up the helmet off the floor and ran her hands across the jaded crystal. She could see her own reflection in the silver metallic eyes, but she wondered if it might be a good idea to get a helmet with a t-shaped visor, so she could look more like the Mandalorians around her.

She sighed, knowing that something as simple as that was never going to work. Nothing would work, no matter how much she put up with from them, how much she bled for them.

"This is Blood Battalion Officer Second Brass Fiona Hyne, checking in with Deep Space. Response?"

"Acknowledged, Officer Second Brass. This is Deep Space responding on an unencrypted frequency. Please state the nature of your call."

"The nature of my call is an inquiry of a recent operation on Centrallis. I need to speak to Blood Battalion Officer Third Brass Jack Orin."

The transmitter went quiet for a moment, a sign the operator was scanning for her contact. "Officer Second Brass, please change to displayed encrypted frequency. This unencrypted line will be terminated once you switch off. Response?"

"Acknowledged, Deep Space." After a few seconds, the screen lit up with the new code. Hyne flipped the dials and felt relief wash over her entire body, when Jack's tiny 3D visage appeared on her desk.

"Hyne? Response?"

"Yeah, acknowledged. I'm here, Jack."

"Good. I was worried those savages had eaten you."

"They aren't savage," she corrected. "They're just very enthusiastic about death."

Jack laughed so hard he had to wipe tears away from his eyes. "I miss being back at base with you. How is everything?"

"Not good. The base came under attack."

"That was yours? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone here is on edge, though. I was just in a meeting with Mandalore, the big bad, and one of his lackeys tried to kick me out."

Jack seemed to study her for a moment. "Oh, right. To a Mandalorian, armor is considered upscale clothing."

Hyne felt a little embarrassed. Like Jack, most officers wore their proper dress uniform while meeting with foreign assets and the brass was held to high standards all the time, since they lived with foreign assets and acted as representatives of the Blood Battalion as a whole. His 3D image only showed him in blue, but Hyne knew exactly what his whites looked like, pure ivory military garb with red trim and of course the three brass rings on his right forearm and shoulder.

"Like I said, they're savages. I don't know why we even need them."

"Yes, you do," Hyne stated, and Jack just sighed. "There was an attack group sent out after the rebels. Do you know what happened to them?"

"It didn't end well. A transport was shot down, killing both everyone inside and crushing a speeder bike."

So, Boot hadn't lied. Hyne was surprised by that. He had made a habit of not revealing information in front of her. Perhaps he just knew word on Blood Battalion casualties was going to get back to her eventually.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. How are you?"

"Central is still trying to establish order, but negotiations take time. Nal Hutta has been in chaos ever since Jabba died though, so I guess this is just another day on the job."

"If anyone can get those Hutts to make peace, you can."

"Thanks, I needed that," he said. "At least the war means there are plenty of derelict ships we can send to Deep Space."

"Yeah, I think Centrallis is milked dry. Every ship or speeder left is either for our own use or under protection of one of the mining formen. If we lose their support, we'll lose our foothold on the planet."

"The Rabble has caused enough problems. If we ever get the chance, we should just bomb them from orbit and be done with them."

"I wish," she said, feeling a little bit lighter for the first time in a long time.

"I should go. I'm getting another call, plus I have back to back meetings tomorrow and it's pretty late on Nal Hutta."

"I forgot to even check the time difference. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm glad you called. Don't be a stranger, ok?"

"Ok. Bye, Jack."

"See you around, Hyne."

He winked out of existence, leaving her exactly where she had been before. The yurt was still small. The Mandos were still stubborn. Hyne had suffered their trials and yet was still treated like an outsider.

"Technically, they aren't wrong." She looked down at her helmet once again, at how different the jaded crimson was from the polished sheen of newly minted Beskar.

However, a thought began to creep into her mind. It had always been there, but quieter and discreet.

Once again, she pictured her helmet with the t-shaped visor, the traditional image of a Mandalorian twisted to suit the needs of the Blood Battalion.

"Not just a warrior. I could be... " she whispered, smiling wickedly before correcting herself. "No, I should be..."