Author's Note: So I've heard a few weeks ago that the names of a few Sith trooper groups/legions have been named after ancient Sith Lords, one of which is called Revan, which confirms him as a part of official Star Wars canon. Sounds pretty cool! I just hope they don't mess him up if they decide to use Old Republic material in the future.
To the one reviewer: I don't use profanity, so I won't say or write any of that. Sorry.
Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun
3rd person POV...
Traveling along one of the many walkways connecting the structures of their home, Kira and Crassus were making their way over to the scientific research and weapons division of the outpost. As expected, the thought of Jarik Shan was well on their minds.
"This is a disaster," Crassus grumbles angrily.
"I think you're overreacting a little bit," Kira replies cheekily.
"I know you've never cared so much about this topic like I have, Kira, but how can you just accept it so well?" he asks in bewilderment.
"Just take a moment to think Crassus, we don't even know the guy, and he's never known us either," she tells him. "What's the harm?"
"He's a Shan! We can't trust them," he argues.
"Because big-bad Revan blew our ancestors to kriff?" she retorts.
Crassus looks at her incredulously.
"How can you speak of it like that?" he exclaims.
"Come on, don't take everything so seriously," she scoffs.
"Revan was a demagolka," he tells her.
"Yeah, I hate him too. He also betrayed Ultimate, something I find repulsive," she says with a look of distaste. "But that's not our cousin."
"Ugh, fine. Whatever," he groans in annoyance, shaking his head. "I can't believe you sometimes."
"I know. Come on stiff, let's get going already!" Kira chirps with a grin, skipping further along.
"Hey!" he calls out, jogging to catch up with her. "I told you not to call me stiff!"
"Then stop being so stiff all the time!" she retorts teasingly. "How your fiancé puts up with you, I have no idea."
"Because Shae is a warrior, and she likes me," he shoots back. "Plus, she's not a wimp."
Kira gasps, turning to look at Crassus and glaring at him.
"Did you just call my boyfriend a wimp?!" she demands.
"Am I wrong?" he replies, raising an eyebrow at her.
Kira hesitates, glancing sheepishly off to the side as she reluctantly acknowledges his point.
"Well, no..." she mutters. "But only I get to call him that! Besides, he's an adorable genius."
Crassus rolls his eyes in exasperation, and the two finally get to the building they were heading for. Opening the door, they step inside and Kira leads the way to the testing chamber, where her boyfriend should be working at. Reaching it, they step inside to see a young man a year older than Kira, with short brown and wearing a gray lab coat, standing in front of a large, six-legged basilisk war droid. He walks underneath the motionless object, muttering to himself as he checks a few parts with a scanner in his hand.
"Hadrian!" Kira calls out, waving her hand.
He doesn't notice, still too invested in his work. Crassus rolls his eyes in exasperation and cups his hands on either side of his mouth.
"HEY, SCRAWNY!" he yells.
'Hadrian' yelps in surprise, almost jumping into the air with a quick yelp at the loud noise, which quickly turns into a few muffled curses in Mando'a as he hits his head against one of the war droid's legs. He turns to look over at the two newcomers with a frown on his face, rolling his eyes as he identifies them. Kira also looks up at Crassus, less than pleased, to which he shrugs his shoulders innocently.
"What? I got his attention," he says.
"Yeah, and banged my head in the process," Hadrian replies irritably, walking over to them while rubbing his head.
"You okay sweetie?" Kira asks, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," he replies, setting his scanner down with a sigh.
"Huh. A basilisk war droid?" Crassus observes curiously, looking up at the brownish-green metal behemoth.
"Yup. Probably the only one left in the galaxy," Hadrian states proudly.
"Didn't know there were any still left," he remarks with a hum, clearly impressed.
"He built it all himself," Kira says with a grin, holding his arm.
"Real pain in the sheb's though," Hadrian sighs tiredly. "It's taken me ages to get this far."
"I can imagine. There haven't been any new ones made in centuries," Crassus remarks.
"I haven't been able to get it working though," he replies, frowning. "Anyways, did I hear correctly in that we've got some aruetiise hanging out right now?"
"Yeah, we do," Kira confirms with a nod.
"Worse than that though," Crassus grumbles, his gaze darkening. "It's Shan."
Hadrian looks at him, blinking his eyes in surprise at the statement and looks between them for a moment.
"Wow, really?" he asks. "What's he doing here?"
The door to the testing chamber then opens, allowing for a group of people to come filing inside. The assortment of guys and girls make their way over to the small group, some more urgent than others.
"Yo, you guys!" Jag Wullus calls out, skidding to a stop beside them. "Am I just hearing garbage or is Jarik Shan really here?"
"Yes, he's really here, and I hate it," Crassus scowls.
"Seriously?" Krunald Vurt says incredulously. "Oh, that's just messed up."
"What's the freak doing here?" Phanaa Evhut asks incredulously. "Don't tell me it's because he wants to be friends."
"He wants to be friends," Kira replies with a shrug.
"What the kriff-" she starts to say.
"Friends? Really?" Shae Danaera says with a look of distaste, coming to a stop beside Crassus. "How in Ordo's name would he expect that to work?"
"He's just playing games with us," Crassus grumbles. "We should've thrown him out already, but my father keeps saying no."
"Well, you can't deny the reason is good," Kira says.
"What reason could possibly be good enough for having that guy in our home?" Krunald asks in bewilderment, his expression doubtful.
"Retrieving Mandalore's Mask," she answers simply.
A few of the group roll their eyes or snicker to themselves, except for Hadrian, who picks up that she's not joking. Kira and Crassus aren't laughing either, the latter becoming even more frustrated than before.
"Hah! Retrieving Mandalore's Mask, that's a good one!" Jag says with a wide grin on his face.
"Alright, seriously, what's the real reason honey?" Shae asks.
"As ridiculous as it sounds... she wasn't joking," Crassus reluctantly grumbles.
All amusement and laughter quickly falls from their faces as they look between the two siblings, shock and disbelief filling their faces.
"No kriffing way..." Phanaa murmurs.
"That can't be true!" Shae says, looking up at Crassus with searching eyes. "No one's seen it in since Canderous Ordo last wore it. He has to be lying!"
"Apparently, my father disagrees," he scoffs irritably.
"Just to be the ori'dush advocate here for a second, what if he's not lying?" Hadrian suggests thoughtfully. "What he does know where the mask is?"
"But he can't know. The idea is laughable!" Krunald scoffs.
"Yeah, go back to making your toys Hadrian," Jag adds with a snicker.
Hadrian narrows his eyes at him while Kira also frowns, a small glare on her face.
"Need I remind you, my 'toys' are responsible for making your armor work as good as it does," Hadrian retorts.
Phanaa smacks Jag upside the head, and he grunts in pain before rubbing the back of his head while offering a meek apology, and a few of them roll their eyes in exasperation.
"Still, he does make a good point," Kira adds in support. "Honestly, he'd surely know that lying to us about something this big would be stupid, right? Anyone with a brain would know that you don't do that."
Crassus is about to respond, but Kira throws him a look.
"I swear if you start ranting about an entire 'evil Shan conspiracy' I'm going to smack you," she threatens.
He scoffs, rolling his eyes. The door then opens, and they all look over to see Aathias come inside. She looks around for a second, spots, them, and then glances back with an uneasy expression on her face and nods her head in a gesture. Mara, Hiccup, and Astrid then walk inside, followed by a cautionary but curious Toothless. The group all look on at the newcomers with surprise, followed by suspicion and annoyance, though there is some confusion and interest as well.
"What are they doing here?" Crassus demands.
"Nice to see you too," Mara drawls sarcastically.
Before he could respond, Aathias interrupts with a firm glare to both of them, ensuring their silence.
"Crassus, Kira, I'm hoping you could allow Shan's companions to remain in your company while we discuss his claims," she tells them, but the tone in her voice made it clear that was not a request. "I don't want any funny business while I'm gone, is that clear?"
"Of course mother," Kira says with a smile.
Aathias hums to herself, giving Mara's group a cautious and suspicious look, with some bafflement at Toothless, before departing from the room. They all watch her go, Toothless warbling to himself in curiosity as he gazes around the alien metal landscape. Once Aathias is gone, Hiccup turns around and looks at the gathered Mandalorians, trying to make himself look pleasant.
"So... nice to meet you guys," he says with a smile. "I'm Hiccup."
Crassus rolls his eyes and moves away several steps, Krunald and Phanaa following him. Shae gives them a wary, but also slightly apologetic look before following after Crassus as well. Kira, Hadrian, and Jag all remain, the latter's interest of the newcomers overshadowing his dislike of them.
"Sorry about them, it's just not very easy for us," Kira says in explanation, a bit apologetic.
"Eh, nothing new in my case," Hiccup replies reassuringly with a shrug.
"Come on, everybody back home likes you now," Astrid reminds him, nudging his arm.
"Why don't you hate my Dad as much?" Mara asks, a bit suspicious.
"I honestly don't really care. It's not like he did anything to us," Kira replies.
"Meh. I still think he's a loser, but that's just me," Jag shrugs carelessly.
Kira and Hadrian both roll their eyes in exasperation.
Jarik POV...
I wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving the others behind in a settlement of people that despise us, but Raman assured me that they would be treated as guests, and anyone who tried something would answer to him. While my aunt took them with her to look for Kira and Crassus, I stayed in the great hall with him and a small group of Mandalorians, who he introduced to me after they removed their helmets.
The big guy that Mara took a jab at was Jovani Danaera, one of the clans strongest fighters despite being in his mid-sixties. His wife Ivanka was present and also seemed to be a heavy hitter herself, carrying a strong muscle mass. There were two other guys named Sedriv Wullus and Logan Vurt, the latter with tanned skin and blonde hair while the former had a more light brown skin complexion with brown hair. The last two were both women, Kayli Evhut and Varlaa Asarr, definitely much more elegant and slender than Ivanka. Kayli had a light skin complexion with brown hair while Varlaa had a darker skin complexion with short black hair. They all looked at me with dislike and cold neutrality, although I did sense a bit of pain and sadness in Kayli whenever she looked at me, which got me curious.
"How did you come to believe that Mandalore's Mask is hidden here on Dxun?" Raman asks me.
I pull away from my thoughts and focus on him.
"With this," I say, holding up my holocron.
"What is that?" Logan asks.
"It's a Jedi holocron. But this one is a lot older than I once thought," I explain. "The coordinates to Mandalore's Mask are recorded on it."
"How would a Jedi know about the mask?" Varlaa questions.
"That, I don't know," I admit in response. "But what I do know is that Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan, who fought in the Great Galactic War, discovered its location and recorded it inside of this very holocron."
Suspicion and annoyance rise a little bit at the mention of Satele Shan, but thankfully they manage to quell their inner thoughts and focus more on the current topic.
"And we're supposed to trust the word of your ancestors? Mandalore already made that mistake once," Sedriv states coldly.
"Do you want the mask back or not?" I retort, shutting them up momentarily, and I take deep breath to calm my nerves. "Look... I'm not here to try and cause problems. All I want is to assist you in rebuilding Mandalore's strength to what it was like generations ago, not ravaged by civil wars or forced into constant separation and distrust with each other. Helping you find some an important symbol is the best I can do to help with that, and it's not even off-world. If it turns on there's nothing there... then what do you have to lose?"
They all share a surprised and concerned look with each other, appearing a bit thoughtful at my words. Heads turn to look toward Raman, who is contemplating the idea.
"You make a very compelling argument," he finally concedes, looking at me intently. "And you are right, there is nothing for Clan Ordo to lose if this turns out to be false. However, that is not exactly the case for you either."
I lower my arm with the holocron, looking up at him cautiously. At the same time, Aathias returns to the room and stands beside Raman, looking down at me.
"From what you've said and seem to want, our assistance in your fight against the Empire seems to be the logical gain for you. If your claims about Mandalore's Mask turn out to be false, then you likely will never be welcomed among us again, regardless of what Clan Wren decides to do with the Darksaber," Raman states firmly, giving me a look. "Are you willing to concede that?"
I glance down for a moment, but meet his eyes with determination and resignation.
"If it is your wish to have me gone, then I will honor it," I tell him with absolute sincerity.
Raman raises an eyebrow at my statement and shares a look with Aathias, who I can tell has very extreme reservations about my presence here. However she reluctantly nods her acceptance of my words, and Raman comes to a decision.
"Very well then. Show us the location of Mandalore's Mask," he says.
I take the holocron and cup it in both hands, breathing deeply as I focus on it. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the Force and let the holocron float in the air, the different pieces separating and floating around as I open it. The holocron glows blue as I sort through tons of data for what I'm looking for. I soon find it, and open my eyes to see the information displayed in a small hologram, as well as a recording of Satele's voice speaking through the holocron.
"Mandalore the Preserver, the last known wearer of Mandalore's Mask hid the artifact on Onderon's jungle moon. The coordinates of its location are 17.405.32 NE."
I open my eyes after the message is played, releasing my hold over the Force and catch the holocron as it drops from its hovering position, the blue glow fading as the pieces reattach themselves. I drop my arms and look up at the Mandalorians to gage their reaction.
"Hmm. Those coordinates would put its location about fifty klicks east of here," Sedriv remarks with a frown.
"Do we know of anything in that area?" Raman asks.
"Not that I'm aware," he replies with a shrug.
"There is something there," Jovani interrupts, and I notice him to have an uncomfortable grimace. "The Tomb of Freedon Nadd."
I widen my eyes in surprise at the news, becoming a bit concerned myself while some of the others are a bit less knowledgable on the subject.
"Who's Freedon Nadd?" Kayli asks, confused.
"An ancient Sith Lord who existed long before Revan," I explain with a concerned frown. "We learned about him in the Jedi Temple as younglings. His dark influence corrupted Onderon for centuries."
"And this tomb of his?" Ivanka asks warily.
"I've heard legends that his spirit supposedly haunts it, cursing anyone who dares approach," Jovani says uncomfortably.
"Oh, isn't that just terrific," Kayli groans in exasperation.
"So what, you're planning on leading us there to be cursed, Shan? Is that it?" Aathias demands suspiciously.
"I didn't even know he had a second tomb on Dxun until now!" I retort with some frustration. "Besides, Freedon Nadd's spirit can't 'haunt' the tomb, simply because the Sith are literally incapable of retaining their life after death."
I should know. Master Yoda himself taught me and Obi-Wan the secret to immortality through the Force.
"And if you're wrong?" Logan asks doubtfully.
"I'm not. If there is any activity, it's more likely just some residue dark side energy left behind from his time still living," I tell them. "If it's any reassurance, I can keep the dark side at bay while we search the tomb."
"You speak as if it's determined we are going to this Sith tomb," Aathias says with a frown.
I groan quietly in exasperation, turning around for a second to control my impatience before facing them once more.
"What more do you want?" I ask evenly.
Aathias narrows her eyes at me but doesn't say anything more. The others all share a few quick looks with each other, Jovani still seeming unsettled, before Raman gets our attention by standing up.
"We've sat here twiddling our thumbs long enough," he states, looking down at me. "As reluctant as I am to agree, your case has made my approval. I will travel with you Jarik, if only to see the chance of uniting all of Mandalore under one banner like the days of old."
Everybody, including me, all look at him with surprised expressions at his statement, having not expected it so suddenly. I can't help but feel an extreme sense of gratitude to him for it, and give him a small nod.
"Are you sure Raman? I don't like this at all," Aathias says worriedly.
"I am," he replies softly. "Any who wish to join us is more than welcome."
She lets out a defeated sigh, before reluctantly nodding her head.
"Alright. If only because I know Kira will seek to follow after you," she says bitterly.
Mara POV…
So far, I'm finding myself relatively surprised at how nicely Kira, Hadrian and Jag are all treating us. Unlike the others following that sleemo of a first cousin once removed, Crassus, they've actually been fairly tolerant and open to us. In all fairness Jag has no problem admitting he doesn't like us and thinks we're a bunch of weirdos, the Vikings and Toothless mostly, but he's still attempted to engage in conversation with us, although that's fallen a little flat so he's most talked with Hadrian.
Speaking of which, after realizing that Hadrian isn't a warrior but instead a weapons developer and engineer, Hiccup instantly started talking to him about machine ideas and asking about how 'people in space' do things, which Hadrian was happy to talk about. Apparently, while Mandalorians respect the talent and need of engineers, they still don't care to actually talk with him in-depth about things unless it's about how they can help them in battle. Even Kira has tried, but admits to getting lost and so doesn't discuss with him about it too much. But with hiccup's curiosity and ingenuity, I suppose it's no surprise that he would be eager to talk about it, and he seems to be following along fairly well considering he has no experience with such technology.
A real testament to how much of a genius he is.
Meanwhile, Astrid and I talked a bit more with Kira and shared battle stories, mostly in the case of the other two, but I was happy to join in. While more soft-spoken and cheerful than Sabine, she seemed to have a fairly similar personality which allowed for her and Astrid to catch on great with each other.
"So you guys don't have any blasters at all?" Kira asks. "No grenades, no fighting tech?"
"Aside from crossbows and catapults? Not really," Astrid shrugs, pulling up her axe. "Just our trusty weapons and fighting talent."
"How in Ordo's name did you fight those, uh, flying reptiles… dragons, from just the ground then?" she asks incredulously.
"Heh, you'd be surprised the damage a Viking can do," I say jokingly, and Astrid rolls her eyes.
"Really funny," she retorts. "But yeah, we hold our own very well against dragons. Everyone knows about some sort of way to take them down."
"Wow. We have to deal with a bunch of predators here too, like zakkegs, cannoks, and bomas to name a few, but zkkegs are heavily armored and just one of them is really hard to take down, even with all our equipment," Kira remarks. "I couldn't imagine doing it with just swords and axes: well, Crassus probably could."
"Your brother?" I ask her.
"Hmm hmm. He's really good with a vibrosword," she explains with a nod.
"Better than his attitude I'm sure," Astrid scoffs.
"Yeah… he's a bit annoying sometimes," Kira admits sheepishly. "He's a very traditional guy, and takes Mandalorian status very seriously. But if you get on his good side, then he's a very nice guy to be around, trust me."
"If you say so," I shrug in reply. "Emphasis on if, though."
"I'm sure he'll come around," she says, although there was a bit of doubt in her voice. She's quiet for a few moments before she decides to change the subject. "Where did you say you were from again?"
"Oh... we can't really tell you," Astrid admits apologetically.
"Aside from us, they don't have any connection to other planets, and my Dad really doesn't want the Emperor finding out about it," I explain to her. "It'd be a disaster if they did."
"Okay, I guess that's fair," she replies with some disappointment.
"Toothless, no! Don't do that!" Hiccup scolds.
We look over to see a piece of machinery in the dragons mouth, apparently something taken from the foot of the basilisk war droid. Toothless was bowing his head submissively in apology at Hiccup's scolding, while Hadrian just looked aghast and irritated; Jag, in spite of his earlier statements was laughing his head off at Hadrian, prompting an irritated glare.
"Of course Toothless would cause some sort of trouble," Astrid sighs in fond exasperation.
"Toothless?" Kira asks, blinking her eyes as if she hadn't heard her right. "That's his name?"
"Yup," I confirm.
"Seriously?" she asks dryly.
"Well, that's Hiccup for you," Astrid shrugs in reply. "During one of their first interactions he noticed that Toothless had retractable teeth, so I guess the name just stuck."
"Huh," she remarks. "You know, you've been saying dragons were fearsome, but he honestly seems more like an overgrown loth-cat."
We watch as Hiccup takes the machine part from Toothless, the dragon warbling in apology, and hands it over to a slightly disgusted Hadrian, who quickly places it back in its proper position before wiping his hands on a nearby cloth. Kira giggles at his reaction, while I notice more how irritated or annoyed the other group seems to be at the sight, with Crassus rolling his eyes and turning back around.
"There's no way you fought those things for hundreds of years," Kira continues.
"Toothless is actually one of a kind," Astrid tells her. "There are loads of different dragon species, each of them different. So far Toothless is the only night fury we've ever seen. But trust me when I tell you that all of them can quickly become very dangerous if they or someone who's gained their loyalty seems threatened."
"I'll believe it when I see it," she says with a shake of her head.
"Whatever you say," I reply casually. "I have a question though: why do Mandalorians all seem so... traditional, or stubborn, or..."
"So firmly set in our/their beliefs?" Kira and Astrid both say in sync, glancing at each other in surprise.
"Yeah, that," I say with a nod.
"It's kind of hard to explain all at once, but basically it all boils down to our culture," Kira starts to explain. "We take pride in our status as warriors, capable of fighting even Jedi. Combat is the cornerstone of our culture, our identity, and our spirit. Through our code of honor we take such things very seriously, and any type of dishonorable or callous actions are completely disgraceful. We're warriors, through and through."
"Ok, that makes sense," I reply in acknowledgement.
"It's crazy how similar you guys are to me, or maybe its the other way around," Astrid scoffs in amusement. "As a shield maiden I take honor and duty very seriously, and I just hate it whenever people act like scumbags for no good reason."
"Yeah, you've beaten up one in particular plenty," I mutter, and she withholds her laughter with a snort.
"What's a shield maiden?" Kira asks her.
"A female warrior. I'm the only one in my generation... would Ruffnut count?" Astrid asks me quietly, before shaking her head. "No, definitely not."
"You're the only one?" she questions with a sympathetic look.
"It's not that bad, and their are plenty of other shield maidens in our tribe. My generation is just a small group of people, that's all," Astrid shrugs. "Anyways, I pride myself on maintaining an honorable image in battle, kind of like Lady Sif. She's the Goddess of War, and famous for being one of the first female warriors."
"That sounds interesting," Kira remarks.
I can tell she's a bit confused and curious about the whole thing with Lady Sif but doesn't press on it, while Astrid didn't really notice her confusion. Our conversation is interrupted when the door opens, allowing Dad and a few others to walk inside.
Jarik POV...
After coming to an agreement, Raman lead me through the outpost to where the rest of my group should be, Aathias and the others following along with us. Along the way we pass by a few other Mandalorians, some of them younger kids. If there was ever any doubt in my mind that Clan Ordo hated me, which there wasn't, then it's plenty evident now with all of the looks I've been getting. One girl about ten years of age even got the courage to throw a small rock at me, which I lean my head forwards to avoid with a cautious look in her direction.
"Sarnu'a ni graoti'r, gedet'ye narir va narir ibac," Raman chastises gently, but with a firm look.
The girl's mother gives Raman an apologetic look, but still narrows her eyes hatefully at me with no regret for what her daughter did before ushering the girl along. I let out a tired sigh at the action, completely exasperated and tired of being so hated for no fault of my own.
"Sorry about that, but I'm sure you're already well aware that people here don't like you," Raman tells me.
"Yeah, it's fine," I reply reassuringly. "Honestly, this whole ordeal is going way better than I ever expected it too."
"Yes, it really is," he nods in agreement, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Isn't that the truth," Sedriv scoffs sarcastically, but also agreeing.
"So... who are you planning to bring with us?" I ask him.
Raman frowns, and glances back at the others questioningly. A few of them shake their heads in decline, although Kayli and Logan do give a hesitant shrug of interest in the idea.
"I'm not a fan, but I don't really mind," he says.
"Yeah... I'd be alright with it," Kayli adds softly.
"Well, good luck getting possessed by a ghost," Sedriv says jokingly, nudging Logan's arm.
"If I die, I'm coming back to haunt you," he retorts threateningly.
"Everyone with me is coming, of course," I tell Raman. "And I think I'll also bring my droid, R5, along as well."
"Your droid?" Aathias asks, a bit confused.
"My astromech. He has a bit of an attitude, but he's also clever, and he'd likely be of some use. I trust him with my life," I state confidently.
"Hmph. If you say so," Raman comments, slightly doubtful but not arguing.
"Before we leave, however, it would probably be in everyone's best interest if you left behind any non-essential items on your ship while we're gone," Aathias tells me.
"Like what?" I ask carefully.
"Weapons that aren't your lightsaber, communication devices, your ship's activators, anything that is not essential for the mission," she explains with a neutral expression. "Just because we're agreeing to this doesn't mean we still fully trust you. Whether you're being genuine or not, we still don't know for absolute certainty if your claims about the mask are correct. This will just be for our own safety and trust in your quest."
I withhold a frustrated sigh, since that all seems kind of pointless in my opinion, but withhold any argument. Raman and the others all seem to nod in agreement to Aathias' request. While I think it's pointless, there's also no real harm against it so I may as well justify appease them if it benefits our relationship.
"Very well," I say with a sigh.
R5 certainly wouldn't be happy at not being able to bring some of his tools.
We soon come up to a larger structure in the outpost, and make our way inside. Walking through the doorway we travel along a few hallways before reaching what appears to be some sort of hangar or construction chamber. A large, six-legged droid sits on one end, a workshop laid out in front of it, where I see Hiccup and Toothless with two other people there. Mara and Astrid are talking to Kira right beside them, while Crassus and his group of friends are further away at the other side of the chamber.
"Good, no mess," Aathias mutters to herself.
"Oh, hey Dad!" Mara calls out with a wave, and I wave back.
"Crassus, could you and the others come over here please?" Raman asks.
He looks over with an irritated scowl, narrowing his eyes at me. A few words and gestures from the dark-skinned woman beside him however seem to do the trick, and he and the rest of the group come over to us. Satisfied, Raman looks around at the assembled group and begins to speak.
"Ok, good. So here's the deal: we now have an apparent location on where to find Mandalore's Mask, and Jarik will lead us there so that, if this is indeed true, we can recover it," he explains.
"Where's it at?" Kira asks with interest.
"The tomb of Freedon Nadd," Aathias reveals.
There's a bit of murmuring amongst the younger Mandalorians present, but the lone voice of Crassus cuts through the chatter with hidden anger.
"Are you being serious right now?" he demands.
"Yes, we are serious. The validity of it has yet to be fully decided, but that's what this mission is about," Raman states firmly, looking at my group. "You three, you'll be coming with us."
"Toothless can come as well, right?" Hiccup asks.
"...Toothless?" Varlaa asks quietly in confusion.
"The dragon is named Toothless," I explain with a glance back. "They work very well together."
"Who names a fire-breathing beast 'Toothless?'" Sedriv murmurs, and Logan just shrugs.
"Yes, your dragon may travel with us," Raman sighs in reluctant agreement. "Kira, Crassus, I think you both should join us as well, since your mother is already coming. And the rest of you are free to join in as well if you wish to."
"Yes," Kira whispers excitedly.
"When are we leaving?" Mara asks.
"As soon as possible," I tell her. "The quicker we get, the sooner Mandalore has a chance of complete unity."
"Alright, you know what? I have just about had enough of this nonsense!" Crassus fumes angrily, storming forwards. "How can we trust anything this freak says?!"
I grimace slightly at the comment but maintain my ground. Mara is less than pleased, while Astrid and Hiccup share an uneasy look, and Kira looks more worried and anxious. The dark-skinned woman who stood beside him reached a hand out, her mouth starting to move as if she wanted to say something, but Crassus continues on his infuriated rant.
"There's no way Mandalore's Mask can be on Dxun without anyone knowing! Our people lived here once before, and we live here now. You, Jarik Shan, are a manipulative piece of filth trying to exploit us for your so-called Rebellion!" he scowls, glaring hatefully at me.
"Crassus-" Raman starts to say in warning, but he's cut off.
"I'm not about to let you use us for your own benefit, dinii, so here's what's gonna happen," he states coldly, marching forward to get in my face threateningly. "I invoke the code to seek our clan's justice through single combat!"
I raise my eyebrows at the declaration, and a few people let out startled gasps of concern.
"Crassus!" Aathias exclaims in worried disbelief, giving me a nervous expression.
"Did he just-" one of his friends muttered.
"If you win, then we go along with this stupid plan of yours. But if I win, then your and your group of or'dinii's leave and never come back! Ever!" he exclaims, and then scoffs mockingly. "Unless you're too much of a hut'uun to accept."
"Crassus, please don't do this," Kira pleads, but Raman gestures for her to be silent with a grim shake of his head, sighing.
I stare at Crassus for a long time, gauging his thoughts and feelings as I mull over what he just challenged me to. Like Fenn Rau warned me, someone in the clan would eventually invoke the code to fight me in single-combat, and now that's become a reality. If I lose, then all of this is for nothing. And if I don't take the challenge, that would be considered shameful and I would still be cast out. Crassus has forced my hand, and the only way for me to proceed and do what I came here to do is too accept his challenge and win. I take a deep breath, steeling my gaze as I look straight into his eyes without a trace of fear or hesitation.
"I accept your challenge, Crassus Sohl," I announce evenly.
The Executor - Hyperspace
Darth Vader POV…
"Jarik Shan is hiding with a group of Mandalorians?" Second Sister questions, baffled.
"He seeks an alliance with them to bolster the forces of the rebels," I state with contempt and subdued anger. "And apparently to make amends with the only family he has left."
"The fool. If it is true that they despise him, they'll never accept his offer," she scoffs with a shake of her head.
"But if they do, the threat they pose is all too clear," I remind her, coming to a stop before the doors and facing her. "Prepare yourself Inquisitor, for Mara Jade will most certainly be with him. The Emperor no longer desires her as a captive."
The vicious delight and eagerness running through her thoughts is quiet clear to me, and she bows her head in acceptance.
"I will make sure of that, Lord Vader," she hisses.
"Go," I order with a dismissive wave of my hand.
She bows her head again and leaves me without much complaint, and I couldn't help but mentally scoff at her retreating form. The Second Sister is a tool, one with unstable emotions and a petty drive against Mara Jade. With the amount of failures she's had in service to the Empire, failing to secure the infant girl, loosing the holocron to Kestis, and her continued blunder against these Lothal rebels, I would like nothing more than to cut her apart. It was only due to the wishes of the Emperor that stayed my execution of her when I detected her internal struggle with the light side back on Nur, in the presence of her former master. For whatever reason, he still believes she holds some use to us.
Shaking my head, I move through the doors and into my personal chamber, approaching a kneeling platform and then getting down to one knee. The lights of the chamber dim, and I bow my head as a hologram of the Emperor appears before me, his scarred and hooded face looking down at me.
"What is it, Lord Vader?" he demands.
"We have made a great success in locating Jarik Shan, my master," I answer in reply.
"Have you now?" he asks, his intrigue piqued. "Has his hidden planet been revealed?"
"Not yet," I admit, grimacing as I sense his irritation come forth. "But we have received word that he is with a group of Mandalorians known as Clan Ordo, on Onderons jungle moon Dxun."
"Is that so? For what purpose?" he questions.
"Gaining the alliance of the clan, and reuniting with his apparent family there," I state.
"Hmm… so that is where the armor came from," he murmurs seemingly to himself, much to my confusion. "But not matter. You must eliminate him at once, before he can escape!"
"I am already on the way, as is the Seventh Fleet. Shan will not escape this time," I state firmly.
"Make sure of it! With each passing moment his very name brings more support to this treacherous Rebellion!" he snaps, yellow eyes gleaming. "Failure will not be tolerated."
The Emperor's hologram then disappears, the room brightening once more now that he is gone. I look up from my bowed position and stand to my feet, suppressing a scowl. Sidious views me as nothing more than a tool to unleash on who he claims are his enemies, something I've known for a long time. But I do not care what he thinks, for I am doing this for the purpose of revenge, not the Emperor's personal interests. The time will come when I finally end him once and for all, continuing the ways of the Sith.
But until then, the Emperor's tool is what I shall remain as.
Battle Arena, Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun
Jarik POV...
Crassus's challenge against me incited a massive uproar across the clan, with a good majority of Mandalorians eager to see get beaten down. I'm not undermining my cousin's skills one bit, but unfortunately for him and the crowd I'm certain I'll be coming out on top in this fight.
The fight is going to take place in a large arena that the clan seems to have near the edge of the outpost, built strictly for observing a battle. Many Mandalorians were gathered in the stadium, and my uncle and aunt sat up in a special box, Kira among them. My own companions were seated just outside of the box as well, and they were given a wide berth by the Mandalorians. The arena itself was a flat circle of dirt, offering no objects or obstacles and leaving plenty of room for movement. I stood at one side while Crassus stood at the other, noticeably preparing himself for the fight, kind of like how Sabine did; must be a show of superiority and confidence or something.
I stood still, watching patiently.
Soon enough, Raman stood up from his seat and got the crowd's attention, his voice amplified by some sort of device.
"If I may have your attention!" he calls out, and the sound of chatter, jeering and taunts lessens somewhat. "As according to the Mandalorian code, my son Crassus has challenged Jarik Shan to single combat!"
Cheering and shouts of encouragement to Crassus erupt from the crowd at that, while others sneer and boo at me.
"The terms for this fight are simple: if Crassus wins, then Jarik Shan and his companions must leave us for good!" Raman says, eliciting roars of approval. "If the opposite proves true, then we shall honor Jarik's request to establish the goal of peace between us!"
Yelling and booing echoes around the stadium, and I glance around at the crowd with a small grimace, but otherwise keep my expression neutral. Toothless was extremely uptight and cautious of all the people around him, remaining close to the kids; Mara seemed irritated, Hiccup was baffled, and Astrid was concerned and wary. Kira seemed anxious and lost, as if she didn't know who to support, while Aathias felt a bit more inclined towards her son. Raman looked and felt completely impassive to it all as he sat back down. An older Mandalorian then steps forward to the edge of arena, seemingly the 'officiator' of the match.
"You all know the rules, but for those who do not they are quite simple!" he calls out, giving both of us a look, narrowing his eyes more at me. "There will be no killing, or intention to cause irreparable injury. Fight only with your own skills and talents, or else you shall forfeit the match!"
"It'll be a great honor to bring you down, Shan," Crassus says, smirking. "Your Jedi tricks won't give you any advantage, you can be sure of that."
He reaches behind his back and pulls out a weapon: a vibrosword. He gives it a twirl before holding it in a ready stance, his eyes glaring at me with anger and determination. The gathered Mandalorians all cheer at the sight of his weapon.
"I guess we'll see if you're right, cousin," I reply calmly, making him scowl at my reference to him.
"Warriors at the ready...!" the announcer exclaims.
I tense up in preparation and get into a ready stance, igniting my blue lightsaber and holding it by my side. I meet Crassus's glare with a determined gaze, gripping my saber firmly. Crassus also pulls his helmet on over his head, the visor gleaming in the sunlight.
"FIGHT!"
"For Mandalore!" Crassus yells.
He charges forwards with his vibrosword held at his side, dragging the point along the dirt before leaping at me. I raise my lightsaber and deflect his first strike, backpedaling and moving into a defensive rhythm as he presses his attack. I block high, then low, then around the middle, ducking underneath a horizontal strike aimed for my neck and then block an overhead strike, pushing back against him. He didn't fight with any lightsaber form, unsurprisingly, but he definitely wielded his vibrosword with clear skill and ferocity.
Crassus shoves our weapons to the side and then follows up with a roundhouse kick, which I evade with a sidestep to the right. I then begin my own offense, advancing forwards swiftly and delivering several fast strikes that force Crassus to back up in order to protect himself. I deflect his jab by shoving it away and then follow up by kicking him in the chest, knocking him flat on his back. He grunts on impact, and then deftly rolls to the side to avoid my lightsaber strike, leaping into the air. He starts to hover on his jetpack, pulling out a blaster and letting off a few shots in my direction. I effortlessly deflect the bolts away, and manage a redirect that hits the blaster out of his hand.
He lets out a startled cry of surprise and pain, but then flies at me while grabbing something from his belt. He chucks it at me, and I jump to the side just in time to avoid the small explosion that erupted. He throws another however, catching me off balance and sending me tumbling across the dirt, losing my grip on my lightsaber. The crowd cheers happily, and Crassus swoops in for another attack. Narrowing my eyes at him, I quickly get to my feet and then run right for him. Just as he pulls another explosive from his belt I leap into the air, spinning around and thrusting my leg out. I can sense his surprise and alarm at the motion, but he's unable to avoid my foot connecting fully with his chest.
I hit the ground with a roll and spin around to face him, watching as Crassus hits the dirt with a grunt of pain, momentarily stunned; the crowd boos and yells angrily at my move.
Shaking his head, I sense the anger beginning to build as Crassus grabs his vibrosword and gets to his feet, sprinting at me with the weapon at his side in a jab. I lean out of the way of his jab and grab his wrist with my left hand, squeezing so that he's forced to drop the sword. We grapple with each other for a moment, me gazing at his visor, and I twist myself around in an attempt to trip him up on his feet. However he maintains his balance and turns the fight in his favor by slamming his head against mine.
Getting hit in the head by a metal helmet really hurts.
I let out a cry of pain, and Crassus follows up by punching me in the gut before delivering a left hook punch against my face that has me stumbling back. He then grabs my shoulders and knees me in the gut, and I groan in pain before hitting the ground and he shoves me down. The crowd cheers and roars with approval, and I take a second to catch my breath, winded.
"So much for the mighty Jarik Shan," Crassus sneers.
He brings his foot back and then swings it forwards in an attempt to kick me, but I raise my left hand in front of his foot and stop it completely. He's caught by surprise, and with a determined shout I stand back to my feet and whip around, hurling him away. The strength and power of my mechanical arm sends him flying across the dirt several feet with a startled shout, and I quickly advance forwards. He furiously pushed himself back to his feet and turns to face me, but I pull my cape off and throw it at his face, blinding him. I follow up by jumping forwards and kicking him in the chest once more, sending him back even further.
Everyone boos and shouts at me with anger, but I disregard their jeering in favor of concentrating on the fight.
I wait for Crassus to get up, and like I expect he's quick to push himself up, fueling himself with his anger. I can sense the scowl on his face underneath his helmet as he stares at me, and he sprints forward in a charge. He activates his jetpack in a forward lunge, intending to tackle me, but I twist out of the way to let him shoot by. He quickly corrects himself by spinning midair, and tosses another explosive device, but I leap up into the air and over it, falling down towards him. I bring my left arm down for another punch, smashing my fist into the dirt as he barely dodges out of the way.
I rip my hand up from the ground and turn to face him, lunging forwards at the same time as him. By some stroke of accidental luck or mistake we both kick each other in the chest at the exact same time, and are thrown to the dirt on our backs with groans of pain. The tension in the crowd is extremely evident now, and I can sense their anxiety and unease, as well as worry and concern from my group and Crassus's friends.
We both pull ourselves up from the ground and get into a crouch, taking a moment to catch our breath. Crassus grabs his fallen vibrosword, which he had landed beside, and stands up with the blade held at the ready. I reach and hand out and call my lightsaber back to me, igniting the blue blade and getting to my feet once more. We stare each other down, before rushing forwards at each other in sync, our blades connecting with a loud clash, sparks flying out as my plasma blade pushes against his metal one. We disengage from the blade lock end exchange several strikes with each other, Crassus becoming more wild and ferocious in his form. Spotting an opening, I make my move to finally end the fight.
Deflecting his sword down to the ground, I backpedal a few steps before lunging toward him. He raises his sword in preparation to defend himself, but instead of striking I jump into the air and flip over him, lashing out with my saber. Crassus just barely manages to change position to block the strike, but the unexpected move leaves him unbalanced. Landing on my feet I whip around to face him and swing my lightsaber, to which he blocks just in time. Our twist our blades in a circle and force his sword out of his hands, quickly reaching for my belt and pulling out Ahsoka's lightsaber with a twirl, igniting the glowing green blade.
We freeze in place for several long seconds, my blue lightsaber held beside his neck while my green lightsaber is pointed at his waist, the blades inches from touching. The silence is deafening.
"…Victory belongs to Jarik Shan," the officiator finally says, unable to hide his disappointment.
The response is instant: everyone in the crowd jumps to their feet and begins to yell angrily, their voices furious and demanding, booing at me and yelling insults. I take a step back from Crassus and deactivate my lightsabers, sighing in relief at the outcome. Crassus watches me for a few long seconds, his face hidden underneath his helmet, silent.
"You fought very well Crassus," I tell him sincerely.
"…that's it? That's all you have to say?" he snaps, his pride hurt.
"Would you prefer I gloat?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "I meant what I said. All of it."
I make sure to emphasize the 'all' in my statement, and I start to sense some unease and doubt underneath the frustration and bitter shame he feels from this defeat. The crowd is still booing and yell, some even demanding a rematch, when it seems that Raman has had enough of it.
"EVERYBODY QUIET!" he roars, his voice booming.
The yelling and jeering comes to a halt as his voice breaks through their ranting, and we all turn to see him standing up with an irritated expression on his face as he looks around with a glare.
"Are we so beneath our pride that we cannot accept the laws of our warrior ancestors?" he shouts demandingly. "Jarik Shan has won the challenge, and we shall honor the code regardless of who is involved."
I turn to look at Crassus to see he's taken his helmet off, and is staring at the ground with a glum expression. I nudge his shoulder and offer him a sympathetic and understanding look, trying to convey the message that he shouldn't be ashamed over this. I get the feeling that he seems to understand, but I'm not yet sure about his response or how he feels about it. Nevertheless I turn towards the stands to look up at my uncle once more.
"I know full well that many of you do not like the idea of Jarik Shan being here, and I understand. I still have the same reservations myself. But he has brought up the promise of something that I feel you all deserve to know: the discovery of Mandalore's Mask," Raman reveals. Gasps and whispered murmurs full of surprise, interest, and suspicion erupt all around the stadium, but quiet down as he continues to speak. "The truthfulness of such claims have yet to be determined, but Shan does say that the mask is hidden on this very moon. I and a few others will travel with him immediately in order to determine the truth, and if he is right, then we may very well gain the key to uniting the clans of Mandalore back to their former glory! WHAT SAY YOU?!"
The crowd remains silent after the proclamation, murmuring to each other, but cries of support and approval start to come from a few Mandalorians, slowly feeding along them all until their seems to be a general agreement in support of the idea. There are plenty of Mandalorians who vocalize their disagreement and anger of the plan and my claims, but thankfully they seem to be in the minority. A small smile cross my face as I look on all of them, and I glance back at Crassus. He still seems extremely reluctant, but eventually lets out a weary sigh and nods his head in approval.
"Alright… I guess I'll be helping you with this," he mutters.
"Thank you," I reply gratefully. "Really."
"I still hate you, just so you know," he suddenly says, pointing a finger at me.
"Noted," I respond dryly.
"Just… not as much," he adds quieter.
I observe him for a second, noting the casual coolness he seems to exude, as well as the exasperation in his attitude. I grin at him with a light scoff of amusement, shaking my head.
I.S.D. Relentless - Wobani System
3rd person POV...
Agent Kallus stood at the holotable beside Admiral Konstantine, reviewing reports of rebel activity under the orders of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He's used this assignment in order to get a lead on what Thrawn's movements might be, and to subtlety ward of Imperial eyes from the rebels true locations based on his own knowledge, as well as warn them in advance. Admiral Konstantine, while pompous and annoying to be around for some time now, was also the perfect person to have as his partner for this work. Konstantine was obsessed with becoming the man who would defeat Jarik Shan, but he was also arrogant at times and overlooked significant clues, which works to Kallus's advantage. Even before switching sides he often saw Konstantine as ineffective.
"I should not be doing such trivial work," Konstantine mutters irritably, and Kallus withholds a sigh. "I should be doing my job as an effective admiral of the Empire! Not standing around some holomap!"
"These are orders from Grand Admiral Thrawn, admiral, and we would do well to see them through," Kallus reminds him.
"Don't you think Thrawn's way of going about things is unorthodox, and against Imperial strategy?" Konstantine asks.
"Perhaps," he responds in agreement, nodding his head. "But his methods have more than proven to be quite effective. So I would trust that he knows what he's doing."
"Perhaps you will, but I don't," he replies, shaking his head in distaste. "He thinks he can defeat the rebels singlehandedly, but he won't. The Emperor and Lord Vader will come to recognize my talents once I finally defeat Jarik Shan himself."
Kallus subtlety shakes his head in exasperation, but continues on with his work. However, an Imperial officer soon approaches them both and stands at attention.
"Admiral, I've just received new orders from Grand Admiral Thrawn," he announces.
"Yes, what is it?" Konstantine questions with great reluctance.
"He wants us to return to and rendezvous with the Seventh Fleet at once," the officer states.
"For what reason?" he demands.
"Lord Vader has ordered an assault on the jungle moon of Dxun. They received confirmation that Jarik Shan has traveled to a Mandalorian outpost there," the officer reports.
Konstantine and Kallus both widen their eyes in surprise.
"Jarik Shan?!" Konstantine asks, baffled.
"Yes sir. Shall I prepare the crew for departure?" he asks.
"...No, not to the Seventh Fleet," he replies.
"What are you talking about?" Kallus demands, narrowing his eyes.
"The Seventh Fleet is much further away from Shan's location than we are," Konstantine explains, an eager smile spreading across his face. "If we strike now, we will be able to catch him off guard before he has a chance to prepare."
"But sir, Admiral Thrawn ordered us to-" the officer starts to say.
"Enough lieutenant!" Konstatine interrupts harshly. "Prepare the cruiser for hyperspace! Thrawn will soon meet us at Dxun, so you needn't worry about him."
"Y-yes, admiral," the officer replies reluctantly, turning to carry out the order.
"Finally, my chance to proclaim myself has come at last," Konstantine says in satisfaction, smiling triumphantly.
Kallus looks at him and then at the officer, his expression filled with alarm instead of triumph. This is very bad news. If it is true that Shan is on Dxun, then he has no idea what is coming for him. Surely he can handle Admiral Konstantine, the man is way too overconfident, but he's not sure he can stand up to the combined forces of Thrawn and Lord Vader, especially when unprepared.
He needs to warn him!
Wren Stronghold - Krownest
3rd person POV...
The snowy landscape outside of the Wren Stronghold is practically silent, the only noise coming from the wind, no animals currently around to call out to each other. The silence is literally shattered when the glass wall of the stronghold is broken, Sabine and Gar Saxon tumbling down to the snow below it. They both lie still for a moment, stunned by the impact, and Sabine slowly pushes herself up to notice her jetpack is sparking, damaged from the fall. She yelps in alarm and just barely avoids but cut apart by the Darksaber as Saxon launches himself at her, swinging it with the intent to kill.
Sabine manages to evade a few of his swings, but then Saxon brings his foot up and kicks her in the chest with enough force to send her tumbling onto her back. She rolls from side to side in order to avoid getting cut as Saxon slashes the Darksaber at the ground, snarling with anger at his continued misses. Scrambling backwards, Sabine manages to get to her feet by kicking off the ground in a backflip, reigniting Ezra's green lightsaber just in time to block a strike from Saxon. The two shove against each other for a moment, groaning in exertion, the sabers sparking at their connection, before he shoves her back and advances once more. Up on the balcony above, the others are watching the commotion anxiously. Ezra moves to jump over the railing in order to assist her but is then held back by Ursa, who gives him a look.
"By Mandalorian custom and law, no one can interfere," she explains sternly.
"Are your customs more important than the life of your daughter?" Kanan demands in disbelief.
Ursa turns to face him, a shocked and worried expression on her face as she considers his question, feeling a bit of guilt.
Down below them all in the snow, Sabine and Saxon's duel only grew more intense. she jumps up and twirls around for momentum to slam her lightsaber down hard, but he quickly blocks her strike with the Darksaber, countering with a slash towards her middle. She deflects the attack and then flips over his next swing, twirling out of the way of an overhead strike.
Noticing her damaged jetpack, Saxon changes tactics and shoots up into the sky. He whips out his blaster and begins to fire at her while flying around, and Sabine deactivates her lightsaber while desperately sprinting away from his shots. Activating the shield on her vambrace, she blocks one bolt and then jumps towards a boulder, pushing off of it to gain more height while aiming her other arm. Sabine shoots out a burst from her flamethrower, and Saxon soars back with a startled yell while covering his eyes. No longer in the midst of the flames, he looks down with a glare on his face and attempts to spot her, his rage building.
Using the flamethrower as a distraction, Sabine sneaks behind Saxon and then shoots a small paralyzing dart from her vambrace. It slams into his jetpack, and Saxon looks back in surprise before yelling in alarm as the device erupts in flames. He tumbles out of the air upon losing control, soaring past Sabine and then slamming into the ice of the frozen lake, his jetpack now disabled as well. He looks up with a furious scowl on his face and wipes his jaw, glaring at her.
"You've been taught by Jarik Shan, haven't you?" Saxon growls in disgust.
Sabine falters for a moment, eyes wide in surprise and unease, before she narrows them at Gar Saxon angrily.
"Who ever said I was taught by him?" she demands, and he laughs at her mockingly.
"Everybody knows how much that filth favors the Jedi's saber-form of Makashi. You fight just like him," he spits out with a look of contempt, igniting the Darksaber. "You may have some skill, but not enough to save you!"
"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing to you," she retorts with a scowl.
She reignites Ezra's lightsaber and holds it at her side, staring him down. A few Mandalorians from Clan Wren gather around the edge of the lake to watch to duel, eager for their lost warrior to come out on top.
With a yell, Saxon charges forward and Sabine swiftly follows suit. The two run at each other across the ice, and engage in a vicious flurry of lightsaber strikes. They both block, attack, and parry, the green and black sabers clashing loudly against each other. Sabine backpedals to avoid a wide swipe from Saxon, and then lifts her blade up to block an overhead strike. She's forced down onto one knee, and the ice starts to crack beneath her feet. Glancing at the ice, she then shoves him away and spins around him to slam her elbow into his face.
Saxon stumbles backward with a grunt of pain, but lunges forward once more with an infuriated yell, his attacks becoming more wild and uncontrolled now. Sabine allows herself to back up, remembering the lessons she's been taught about lightsaber combat, and continually deflects his attacks while she waits for the right moment. Soon enough she spots her opening when he strikes down rather sloppily, and she spins out of the way before slashing her saber upwards, cutting across his bicep. He cries out in pain, the Darksaber spinning out of his hand before it's caught by Sabine who, wielding both sabers now, holds them threatening across his neck.
"Yield!" she demands.
Ursa watches with a happily surprised expression on her face, she and the others having come down from the balcony to stand at the edge of the frozen lake. Saxon glares up at Sabine with seething rage, refusing to yield his pride and submit to her.
"I'll never yield to you, girl. You'll have to kill me!" he growls defiantly.
Sabine widens her eyes, but moves the blades closer to his neck with a fierce scowl on her face. Ezra and Kanan look on worriedly, but she eventually pulls back on the urge to do so and deactivates the lightsabers, stepping away from him.
"That might be the Mandalorian way, but it's not my way. Not anymore," she declares, looking at her family with a nod.
Tristan smiles and moves forward, and even Ursa can't help but smile proudly at her daughter. As Sabine walks to rejoin them however, Gar Saxon watches her go with a glare on his face, his pride wounded and completely humiliated. Furious, he turns toward her and raises his blaster to aim at Sabine's unprotected back.
A shot rings out across the ice, halting Sabine in her tracks with a look of shock, and Saxon grits his teeth into a heavy scowl. When she turns around to look at him, she sees the smoking hole on his chest smoking, a hand held up to it. Gar Saxon loses his glare and slumps to his knees with a shocked expression on his face, then collapses lifelessly onto the ice as the blaster shot wound takes its toll on him. Sabine turns around to see Ursa holding her own blaster pistol up, her stern expression loosening as she looks at her daughter with a small smile.
"Mother," Sabine says in awe, smiling as well.
"No one threatens our family," Ursa declares happily, laying a hand on Sabine's shoulder.
"Gar Saxon was guilty of treason against the throne, collaboration with our enemy, and the execution of my fellow Protectors," Fenn Rau states as he approaches them, and Ursa glances down sadly at the last point. "But when the rest of Mandalore finds out about his death, there will be chaos."
"Perhaps Mandalore needs chaos if it's to become strong once again, and so that we may find a leader worthy of our people," Ursa decides firmly.
"As it turns out, we may very well have the chance to acquire something that could prove capable of uniting all of Mandalore; Mandalore's Mask," Rau states hopefully.
"What?!" Sabine exclaims in shock, baffled.
"Mandalore's Mask?!" Ursa asks incredulously.
"Indeed," he replies with a smile. He then loses the smile, a look of alarm and worry flowing through his eyes. "Oh no..."
Confused, Ursa and Sabine both look at him questioningly.
"What's wrong?" Sabine asks.
"...Jarik Shan is searching for it with Clan Ordo," Rau states, staring intently at Ursa. "They're all in danger!"
Ursa widens her eyes in realization, horror and guilt filling her as she realizes exactly what she's just done.
"Wait, seriously?" Sabine asks, baffled.
"Shan?" Tristan mutters with a frown.
"Hold on, what do you mean Jarik is in danger?!" Kanan demands, walking forward.
"What's going on?" Ezra asks cautiously.
"This... this is all my fault," Ursa groans guiltily, staring at Saxon's corpse with wide eyes.
"Mother... what did you do?" Sabine asks warily, becoming uneasy.
"...I told Gar Saxon where Shan was," she admits in despair. "I doomed an entire Clan..."
Sabine gasps in shock, Kanan and Ezra just as horrified by the revelation. They all look at each other with wide eyes, fear and worry for Jarik, Mara, the Vikings, and Clan Ordo all mounting at once. If the Empire knows where Jarik is, they won't just send some common Inquisitor, they'll send an entire fleet of warships, possibly even Darth Vader himself. And they have no idea what is coming for them!
"We have to warn them!" Kanan exclaims. "Ezra, call Chopper right now!"
"I'm on it!" Ezra exclaims, raising his comlink while rushing off. "Chop! Choper you there? Listen to me..."
As he, Kanan and Sabine scramble around in a panic Ursa remains standing in place, still staring at the dead body of Gar Saxon while Fenn Rau watches, his anger at her treachery fading to be replaced more with sympathy at seeing her clear guilt and horror over her actions. In her mind, she was thinking about the state of Clan Ordo and her past feelings about them throughout the years. Despite their reputation as disgusting traitors, having also harbored those feelings herself, she would've never even considered the idea of seeking destruction for the clan. And if it is true that they have a chance at location Mandalore's Mask, the most important symbol in all of Mandalorian culture, then she may very well have effectively destroyed any chance of unity amongst the clans, even with the Darksaber in their possession.
"How can I claim to be Mandalorian... if I sell out my own people?" she murmurs to herself.
The Knight Hawk, Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun
3rd person POV...
Since the conclusion of the challenge fought between Jarik Shan and Crassus Sohl, the group seeking to find and retrieve Mandalore's Mask has departed into the wild on their way to its apparent location. Daily activity within the clan quieted down a bit, although nearly everyone was talking about the topic of Jarik Shan and the possibility of getting Mandalore's Mask, something they all thought was lost to history.
Without R5 around to beep or continuously inspect his prized ship, the Knight Hawk was completely silent as it sat in the outpost's hangar. As promised by Raman and Aathias, the ship and Jarik's possessions would not be tampered with or harmed in any way while they were gone, as a few Mandalorians were asked to guard it from anyone who attempted sabotage. However, the apparent silence of the Knight Hawk was interrupted by the loud and insistent beeping of the ship's communications systems, the people calling it desperate for someone to answer so that they could warn of what was coming for Clan Ordo.
But the comms would only continue to beep, as there was no one to answer.
Author's Note: And now the search for Mandalore's Mask begins. Crassus has managed to come to a reluctant understanding, his clan's support of the idea to find Mandalore's Mask helping him to accept and tolerate the plan a bit more than before.
Any warning being sent to Jarik is unfortunately not coming through, thanks to this grave error where he is incapable or receiving any messages. Not good! Hopefully the team can locate the mask before the Empire arrives. Of course, Admiral Konstantine, however, is risking the very important aspect of surprise that Thrawn and Vader wish to keep in order to prevent any escape, something that is bound to completely backfire in his face.
Next chapter will bring about the introduction of a familiar character for many people...
TRANSLATIONS:
sheb - backside, rear, buttocks (also rear of building etc)
aruetiise - traitors, foreigners, outsiders
ori'dush - evil
Sarnu'a ni graoti'r, gedet'ye narir va narir ibac. - Excuse me miss, please don't do that.
dinii - lunatic
or'dinii - moron, fool
hut'uun - coward (worst possible insult)
Thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker: Warning: spoilers ahead of you haven't seen the movie yet! Also, this is all just my opinion on the movie, yours may differ! :)
So, I'm sure many of you by now have seen The Rise of Skywalker and know what's happened. After seeing it two times now, and going through several reviews given by various YouTubers, including a list of plot-holes from AngryJoeShow, I've come to the conclusion of what works and what doesn't.
With Palpatine's return it honestly just cheapens the whole Chosen One prophecy (honestly, a 1000 year old prophecy about the balance of the Force only leading to 30 years of peace before the destroyed Sith Lord returns, thus proving it pointless?!), and also the whole concept behind Force healing just ruins Anakin even more: the whole reason he turned was to save Padmé, and yet these two basically random Force users are able to heal and resurrect people with the Force? That's just stupid. The ability itself I can get behind if it's exclusive to just the extremely powerful Force users like Luke or Darth Sidious, but definitely not Rey and Kylo Ren.
In my opinion, Rey is way too powerful for someone who's only been trained for a year, and the whole lineage excuse doesn't work for me, because if that's the case then Luke should've had no struggle at all considering his father is the Chosen One. Natural talent does not equal great skill and knowledge of how to use the Force. Rey being a Palpatine however I think is a cool idea. In the Shaniverse I'm still working out fully how her character is around, but that does give me some ideas.
A dyad in the Force? I like the idea of that! In fact... it sounds like something a certain two characters in the Shaniverse have... ;D
Leia being revealed as a Jedi trainee by Luke is cool and explains how she flew through space, and the explanation of why she turned away from the Jedi path makes sense as well (she foresaw that remaining one would lead to Ben's death). But what also ruins that is because she was never even hinted at it through any previous material, so it seems more like an attempt to fix previous plot holes. Basically they've revealed all these things in the completely wrong order.
Thank you Rian Johnson.
Something I do want to declare is that I now have decided fully on how I'm going with the character of Snoke. I now have his backstory, his powers, and his motivation, and I think you all will quite enjoy it. Certainly a lot more than how he was just some random clone creation and plot device in the movies. And as for the Chosen One prophecy, I'm going to try and make it work a bit better. In ROS during the part with Jedi spirits talking (some of them shouldn't have spoken at all because they had no training for immortality lol), Anakin makes the comment that Rey has to bring back the balance like he did, implying that the Force was once more out of balance, which negates Anakin's purpose. Obviously the existence of another powerful dark side user in my stories also calls it into question, but I have an idea for it. Here's the official wording of the prophecy itself:
"A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him will ultimate balance in the Force be restored."
How I see it based on everything Anakin did in his life, including with the Mortis Gods, is that he brought balance between the Jedi and Sith. He destroyed both orders, essentially wiping the slate clean to bring about a time of balance, as the prophecy states. The Jedi Order and the Sith Order, are now gone, and what comes next is completely new. The old—and flawed—ways are permanently erased and won't return to the galaxy. Snoke is special because there was heavy emphasis on him not being a Sith, however with Palpatine being his creator that basically means he is one, which kind of ruins the idea. However that will not be the case in my stories, and I will make sure that he does not act/operate like one. He's something else.
The ways of the past for both Jedi and Sith were flawed, which is why there was never true balance. In my opinion, Anakin brought balance to the Force by wiping the slate clean. Now it'll be up to Jarik, Ahsoka, and future generations of Jedi to maintain that balance.
I hope you guys enjoy my thoughts on this whole subject, and are eager for what's to come. I certainly am! I already have the defeat of each of my main villains wrote out, and it kind of bugs me that I obviously can't reveal those yet until we actually get to those points in time.
However, let us continue on with the Mandalorian Arc! Things are only getting more intense for sure, as the inevitable confrontation draws very near.