Throughout her entire life Ursa Wren has tried to live with honor.
From the time she could first start walking and speaking, she strove to abide by all the customs and traditions of their people, upholding the values of Mandalore and proving her loyalty to family and throne with steadfast dedication.
People have noted how stoic she was from the time she was just seven years of age, back when her father, Roland Wren, was Count of Krownest. So silent was she at times that people had nicknamed her "the Quiet Raven." Contrasting her silent, often taciturn nature was her younger brother, who was generally mischievous, flirting with any man or woman of his choice, and overall jovial. Hence he was named by his peers "the Wild Raven". Despite their apparent differences in nature, however, the two siblings had been as thick as thieves, with the only other people in her life being that familial to her were her husband, her father, her children, and Lady Bo-Katan, her dearest friend and the sister she never had.
As soon as her father had been killed in those first few months of the Clone Wars, fighting under the banners of House Vizsla and the Death Watch- those patriots who had tried so hard to return Mandalore to the old ways and free them from the yoke of the Republic and their puppet duchess Satine- she had assumed the title of Countess of Krownest and Lady of Clan Wren, with all the dignity and laconic grace a position like that demanded, and no small amount of internal trepidation.
She found her honor being tested during those dark times, as she found herself doing things and abetting events she would have never thought of doing before hand. She had nearly quit the cause in disgust at one point due to Pre Vizsla and her dear friend Bo massacring villagers on some forgotten planet in the middle of nowhere, but ultimately she refrained from leaving as it would have broken the oath she swore to the Viszlas.
All oaths had to be upheld, and a word once given must be kept. This was the very cornerstone of the Mandalorian way, the basis upon which all their beliefs were founded upon.
This did not mean that Ursa was not pragmatic or cunning, however. Far from it. Her father trained her in realpolitik, and she inherited his drive to constantly improve Clan Wren's position in the dangerous realm of Mandalorian politics.
It served as a constant test for her, trying to balance honor and pragmatism, and one of those tests had cut her so deeply that she had been debating with herself ever since if she had made the right decision.
It was on the day she found out that her brother - her cherished brother - had been slain along with his followers in the ruins of Keldabe, murdered by treachery… and her daughter's own weapon.
A weapon designed in particular to slaughter Mandalorians.
What followed that day was a blur to her, but she remembered the toughest decision she had to make all too clearly - banishing her wayward daughter and stripping her of all ranks and titles and casting Sabine to the wind as dar'manda.
And now, standing before her, defying all sense and reason, her daughter stood with her friends, wielding the ancient blade of kings, a relic she thought had been lost with Maul.
Ursa stood silent for a long moment, studying the figures before her while trying to process just how her defiant oath-breaker for a daughter managed to get a hold of the Darksaber itself from the clutches of a ruthless Sith Lord and criminal usurper. To Sabine's left stood two Jedi, one a man in his prime, wearing a mask without any channels for the eyes, so it was safe to assume this Jedi was as blind as a mynock. The other was a younger man - a boy - if she wanted to be pendantic about it. The older man was clothed in a simple green tunic and trousers, while the younger man was armored in a suit that looked vaguely familiar to Ursa, though she could not place what it was.
To Sabine's right stood two very familiar Mandalorians. The first was her son, garbed in that ridiculous Imperial Super Commando armor, but so far the only one in her family who had heeded her lessons, and the other…
The other was another oath-breaker. Her own craven of a brother-in-law. Johannes Cato.
Behind them stood a droid. He was a vermilion-painted BX-series commando droid, with red photo receptors that made it look like some sort of malevolent demon from myths past.
Her daughter truly had an odd collection of friends, that was for certain.
After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Sabine broke the pregnant pause.
"Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger," she said, motioning her two Jedi companions over, "this is my mother, Ursa Wren, Countess of Krownest and Lady of Clan Wren," she announced, carefully using her proper titles.
Well, thought Ursa, at least some of what I taught was retained.
"Greetings," the elder of the two Jedi greeted her. The younger of the two swiftly followed suit, saying a quick "Hello," while both performed a slight bow. It seemed that Sabine had informed them of Mandalorian customs and feudal procedure. She supposed it was good enough - she didn't feel like cleaning up Jedi blood. Still, though, something had to be aired out…
"What in the name of the gods did you think would happen here, Sabine?" she said at last, looking pointedly at her daughter. "Did you seriously think that we'd welcome you back with open arms after what you did? You're quite fortunate that Sasha didn't kill you upon entry! You're a wanted criminal by the Empire!"
Sabine sighed, obviously knowing that this would be how their reunion would be - full of bitterness and unmended wounds inflicted on one another. "Yes, I know, mother, but I'm with the Rebellion now. Please just hear me out. You can kick me out again later. Just listen to what we have to say. That's all I'm asking."
Ursa was silent for a moment as she considered the options. On the one hand, she held no love for the Jedi, and her daughter broke her oath. On the other, she hated the Empire and the Saxons even more, even if she was terrified of them, and news had reached her ears of the Emperor's forces being dealt a devastating blow at Arcadia, and Arcadia was indeed a powerful nation...
Finally, Ursa found the strength to nod. "I will tolerate the presence of the Jedi inside our ancestral home, provided that they leave their lightsabers," she said, beckoning Sabine and her compatriots inside, all the while making sure that the guards had their weapons primed and ready. She would not permit guest rights to a group of traitors, after all. On the other hand, though, she could not permit Sasha to exact her long sought after revenge on Sabine. The Countess had been called many names before, but she was damned before the other clans accused her of fomenting kinslaying. Ursa then turned and went into the keep, ignoring the conversation between Sabine and her friends and her uncle.
She strode with purpose into the throne room, intent on getting to the bottom of why her daughter dared to come back here after all these years, after everything that had happened. Reaching the White Throne of Krownest after some walking, she sat down on the double-wide chair that was intended to seat two comfortably, a fact that never escaped her. Behind the Countess was a painting of herself done by none other than her husband - an anniversary gift that he had given her right before he became Gar's hostage in Sundari.
Setting her helmet beside her, she regarded the ones assembled before her with a silent glower, before deigning to address them. More specifically, she began by addressing her wayward, stubborn, outcast eldest daughter.
"Your rebel friends are going to bring down the Empire on all of us!" she began, glowering at her daughter, trying to get her to see the point of her folly. "Do you think that the Darksaber is going to keep you safe? It won't! It's a symbol, nothing more."
"Yes," Sabine began to argue, "a symbol that's united all Mandalorians in the past. If we stand together now-"
"Stand together?" Ursa repeated, incredulous. "Sabine, it's all I can do to keep the other clans from wiping us out because of what you did!"
"I didn't know that the Empire was going to use the weapon I built against our people!" Sabine protested, "But you don't believe me, do you?"
"Even if I did," Ursa countered, "it wouldn't stop the other clans from seeing you as dar'manda. Your brother is now forced to serve in Gar Saxon's personal guard so that we can prove our loyalty to the throne and regain some amount of status back."
"Gar Saxon is a murderer and a tyrant," Sabine spat, and Ursa then saw the hate in her eyes for the man, hate that threatened to consume her very being.
"Gar Saxon is the Viceroy of Mandalore and Imperial Regent of-" Tristan began weakly before Sabine cut him off.
"He's a usurper who slaughtered the Protectors to a man!" she proclaimed to him.
"They were traitors who were executed for treason," Ursa countered. "Just as Fenn Rau will be when he is caught and brought to justice."
The Protectors were loyal to Mandalore, and the Saxons betrayed them!" Sabine yelled. "Just as they betrayed Uncle Lucius!" she added, causing a stunned gasp among many of the Mandalorians present.
"ENOUGH!"Ursa thundered, silencing everyone in the hall and calming the situation before it could escalate into a fight between a vengeful Sasha and a defiant Sabine. "Fenn Rau's people are dead, and mine are living. I intend to keep them that way, all of them!" she proclaimed, casting a glare at Sasha before returning her gaze to Sabine, who sighed and cast her gaze downward.
"Everyone except for me," was what Ursa heard her daughter mutter in resignation.
Upon hearing that, Ursa's normal beskar heart broke. Her poor, naive, broken daughter. Did Sabine truly have no idea of how much she had suffered after she made the decision to cast her out? How she had broken down and wept after she sent her away, only finding comfort in Alrich's arms, of how she spent her days and weeks in loneliness and grief as both her husband and her son were also taken from her by Gar, one a hostage and the other a glorified bodyguard. She needed her daughter to understand this...just as much as she needed to understand Sabine if she could not admit it out loud.
"Walk with me," she pleaded to her daughter in a much softer voice. "Please."
With that, Ursa got up and walked out of the throne room, heading towards the balcony that overlooked Lake Rumar.
After a while, Sabine came to join her, coming to lean out on the railing to her left.
A longer moment of silence passed between the two. It was again Sabine who broke the tension and cut right to the chase.
"Mom, how could you side with the Empire?" she asked. "After everything they've done to our people, after everything they've made me do?"
"Do you honestly think that I never tried to stop it?" Ursa counterpoised, "There was nothing I could do, Sabine. Mandalore was on its knees before the Emperor. After he put Lord Saxon in power, he gave us a choice - bend the knee or be destroyed. Your father…"
Sabine turned away. "Don't tell me…" she whispered, obviously expecting the worst.
"He's alive," Ursa finished, "On Mandalore, and a hostage to the Saxons. If we act out against the Empire-"
"They'll execute him," Sabine finished grimly. She then looked straight into her mother's eyes. "Why didn't you try to find me?"
"Find you?" Ursa repeated, unsure if Sabine was trying to understand her here. "Sabine, when you ran away, it saved you! Don't you understand? Coming back here has put you in great peril, almost as much as you are holding that blade," she pointed out, looking at the Darksaber. "Where did you get that from, anyway?"
"From Maul," Sabine began to explain. "He was hiding out in a cave in Dathomir, and me and a friend began to fight him to save-"
"You won it from him in combat?" Ursa asked, not quite believing that her daughter could take on a trained Sith and win. Not even Pre Vizsla could have done that, as she bore unfortunate witness to.
"Well...not entirely. I saved-" Sabine tried to explain, but Ursa cut her off once again.
"So you don't have a claim to it," Ursa stated in a flat, tone-of-fact manner.
"I'm holding it," Sabine countered in that irritatingly stubborn way of hers, "that's a pretty good claim."
"Anyone can hold the Darksaber," Ursa preached. "The trick is to keep it, along with your head. Do you even know how to wield a lightsaber?"
"You'd be surprised what hanging around two or three Jedi can do for you," Sabine said, which caused Ursa to scoff.
"You were always so immature and selfish," she lectured.
"Oh, and you?" her daughter snapped back at her: "The woman who puts politics and power plays above the wellbeing of her own family?"
Ursa glared at her. How dare she! "Everything I do is for the protection of our family!"
Sabine rolled her eyes. "Oh please! You've always done it for control."
Ursa was about ready to snap another retort, then thought better of it, and sighed. "Your father calls me stubborn and defiant. Now I see it in you…"
My own damned reflection
"And what is it you see in me, exactly?" Sabine questioned.
"A warrior," Ursa clarified. "Not the one I had hoped for, but still…"
"Well, I am your daughter. How can I be anything less?" Sabine sarcastically retorted.
Another period of uncomfortable silence passed between them, before the daughter turned to the mother once more.
"Listen, mom, the Rebellion is going to be taking the fight to the Empire, and they're planning something big. The Arcadians have already struck a real blow to them, and if we can do it, it will show the galaxy that the Empire can be beaten once and for all," Sabine informed her.
"Can you please tell me if your Rebellion consists of more than one blind Jedi and one child? Your uncle counts naught in this."
"First off, that child held off an entire Imperial regiment by himself," Sabine countered. "Second off, our numbers are growing more and more every day. We've made common cause with Arcadia. Mother, this could be the key to freeing all of Mandalore from Imperial control."
Ursa stared out at the lake, mulling over that thought. She could not see how the Empire could ever be overthrown. Their resources and manpower were simply far too vast, their spy networks too tight.
"I'm no traitor," she whispered silently.
"Mom, I want to save Mandalore too, but it needs a strong leader. I need you to trust me...just like I'm choosing to trust you."
Ursa shot her head up at that. After all these years, after all this pain and fury and heartbreak…
Sabine trusted her?
Before they could continue their conversation, however, Tristan stepped onto the balcony through the doorway, his demeanor grim.
"Mother, you're being summoned by the capital. Urgent message from Governor Saxon."
Ursa sighed, hiding her own bitter contempt for the man, before nodding at her children and stepping in through the doorway, closing the door behind her. She made her way towards the keep's communications center, nodding towards the two guards near the entrance. Stepping through, she shut the doors, and walked over towards the terminal, pressing the button to accept the call from Sundari. Almost immediately, a holographic image of Governor Gar Saxon appeared, wearing his crimson Imperial Supercommando outfit.
She always thought those things looked ridiculous, though she would never admit it out loud.
"My lord," she greeted.
"Countess Ursa," Gar greeted her back, his alligator smile not quite reaching his eyes of steel. "I see you're still as beautiful and cold as the winters on Krownest. How is everything going? Is everything the norm on that frozen shithole you call a home, or is there something you want to say to me?"
Ursa pressed her lips for a moment. Gods damn it all, she would have to word this carefully, or else she'd either betray her daughter's trust or risk her clan's entire lives.
"My daughter has come home to make amends for her crimes," she stated, careful not to give away anything that might raise Gar's suspicions.
"Ah, I see…" Gar chuckled. "And what of her Rebel friends? I know she prefers to travel with a boy in particular. I encountered a young Jedi on Concord Dawn. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"
Haar'chak! This was bad. No, this is worse. Somehow Saxon knew the Jedi was with her. Who could have informed him of this?
Tristan? No. While he was Saxon's bodyguard, there was little reason for him to betray family secrets, not to mention the fact that he genuinely loved his sister despite his disappointment in her.
With dawning horror, Ursa realized who it was who informed Gar of Sabine and the Jedi's location.
Sasha, what have you done?
"Yes…" admitted Ursa, pleading with the manda that Sabine would forgive her for this. "She arrived with two Jedi, though I can't be sure that these are the same Jedi you encountered."
"Chances are high they are," Gar informed her. "You're doing well, Lady Wren. Keep them there until we arrive."
Ursa pursed her lips. The Jedi she could not spare, but Sabine…
"I will hand over the Jedi, but my daughter is to stay with me, my lord. She is my blood, and I wish for her to make amends according to my whims," she informed him.
Gar smiled and nodded at her, "Don't worry about a thing, Countess. Clan Wren will be well taken care of for this service," he said, before shutting down the transmission.
For whatever reason, the way Gar phrased his last message sent a chill down Ursa's spine. Gutless coward he was, even he would not break the tenants of the Resol'nare…
Would he?
So lost in the tumult of her thoughts was she that she nearly jumped out of her skin when one of the guards approached her.
"My lady, the Jedi are requesting your presence in the throne room," he intoned. "As...is your niece. They're...beginning to argue. Loudly."
Ursa sighed in irritation and dread, and strode with purpose back to the throne room. If Sasha was trying to pick a fight with Sabine's friends…
As she entered the throne room, she was greeted to a contentious sight: Sasha was standing in one corner of the room, her helmet off and her hands straying dangerously close to her yet-holstered blaster, her amber-brown eyes registering fury, and in the other corner were the Jedi and their combat droid, unarmed but no less dangerous, staring Lucius' daughter down with a mix of cool resignation on the part of the blind man and steel contempt on the part of the younger boy. In the middle was Johannes, looking confused and annoyed in equal measure.
Honestly, Ursa could not fault him for this.
"You dare ally yourselves with that filthy murderer?" Sasha seethed at them. "You have the gall to call that traitorous bitch your friend?"
"Yes, she is my friend. More than a friend, to be honest," the younger Jedi, Ezra, answered her coolly, "and I'd appreciate it if you stopped spewing bile at her."
"Fuck her!" Sasha screamed. "She murdered my father! If it weren't for her weapon-"
"Building a weapon isn't the same thing as using it," the elder Jedi, Kanan, stepped in. "You need to let go of your hatred towards your cousin, Sasha. She did not pull the trigger on your father,"
"She might as well have," Sasha snorted. Normally, Ursa would have been in agreement with her, but after she found out what her niece had done, she wasn't having it.
"Sasha, that's enough out of you!" Ursa yelled, silencing her wroth niece with a glare. "We will talk more on what you've done later. For now, you will be silent and listen," she commanded, then turned her attention to the two Jedi. "And as for you two, you dare suggest that you know my own daughter better than I do?"
"With all due respect, my Lady of Krownest," the elder Jedi, Kanan, began, "you don't know what it's taken just for her to come back here. You should listen to her."
Ursa scoffed. "She's only a child."
"The child is no longer," Kanan corrected her. "You're vastly underestimating the woman she has become."
"And why would you side with the Empire, anyway?" Ezra asked her, and Ursa could detect a rising edge to his voice. "Sabine once told me that you were true Mandalorians, loyal only to-"
"You have no idea what you're talking about, boy!" Ursa snapped at him.
"On the contrary, I know damned well what I'm talking about, my lady," Ezra retorted back. "I know, for example, that Sabine was telling the truth about Saxon and the Protectors. We fought against the Governor on Concord Dawn's third moon, and Gar was proud of what he had done. He gloated to my face about wiping them out to a man," he then turned to address Sasha again, "and we're not asking any of you to forget your dead! I'll never forget mine!" he took a breath and sighed. "I lost my parents and some of my closest friends to the Empire. What we're asking you now, though, is to think of your children, because none of us are going to have children of our own if we don't band together," he said, looking at everyone in the room. "The Empire is only one threat. There is something much worse out there, something Sabine and I faced, something I lost my brother and half my limbs to, and it's going to come for all of us. No one alone can stop it. Only together we can defeat it. All of us, and even then, it might not be enough, but at least we'd give the karkers a fight!"
Kanan nodded, "I can vouch for what my apprentice says, on all counts. Under the Empire, my lady, Mandalore is divided and broken, and a divided Mandalore cannot stand against what's coming from the Unknown Regions."
Ursa was stunned for several moments, unable to find the words for a long while…
"Sabine...dueled Gar Saxon?" she asked, praying that what she just heard wasn't true.
It was.
"She did, and she held her own," Kanan confirmed to her.
Ursa sighed and felt nothing but shame as she swore she could feel the angry glaze of her ancestors upon her. "I'm so sorry about this. Forgive me."
She motioned to her guards, who immediately leveled their rifles at the two Jedi and their combat droid. Across from the throne room, Ursa could see Johannes shaking his head at her in disappointment, and on the other side, Sasha grinned in triumph.
And on her throne, for the second time in her life, Ursa wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and stay there, as she heard the distinct rumble of the engines of a Komr'k class ship.
Sabine, please forgive me.
A/N: Finally done!
Apologies for this arriving much later than usual. I was playing Skyrim again, and getting engrossed in that game. But soon the nostalgia wore off, and here we are two months later.
Admittedly, since we don't really get Ursa's POV as much as we do someone like Sabine's, it's a bit difficult to accurately write her character. Someone once said to me that she's an odd mix of Ned Stark and Cersei Lannister.
I admittedly was going to have Sasha duel Ezra out of her bloodlust and vengeance against Sabine, and I was going to have Johannes argue with Ursa, but the former I changed to Sasha being more hypocritically backhanded, and the latter I'm going to put off until a few more chapters in, maybe.
Next up - Vendric makes a return only to see his brother go do something totally idiotic - I.e., try to wipe out Clan Wren and their Jedi friends with only four men, and after that we're going back to the Unknown Regions to see what Rae is up to.
Until next time!