Meeting Lari Ko in the hall wasn't a surprise to Jango, not after Adatoya had wiped the floor with Priest. He had to be careful not to give too much away as the Kaminii turned to slowly blink at the other mando like he was an anomaly.

Well, to be fair he actually was an anomaly. How else did an ancient warrior end up on Kamino of all places?

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Adatoya. Will you be needing any specific accommodations for your species? A particular atmosphere perhaps?" Standing next to him Adatoya seemed to twitch slightly as if surprised.

"I'm… human, so a regular atmosphere is fine." As Jango listened to the warrior speak he had to hide another grin.

Human. Or, if the pause was any indication, near-human.

That was good to know.

"But my… religion forbids me from showing my face. If someone comes in and sees me… I am within my full rights to terminate them." The casual way Adatoya spoke of upholding the Creed sent a tremble of excitement all the way to his bones. He had no doubt that Adatoya would ice anyone who tried to look at them without express permission. The only ones he could see getting away with it were the ade.

"And no droids. I'll shoot them on sight." Jango remembered the words spoken during their apology and had to hide a scowl. He didn't know what the other warrior had experienced but if they were wary of droids then Jango was going to do his damnedest to ensure Adatoya never had to deal with them.

"We will do our best to accommodate you. Is there anything else? Any dietary restrictions?" Adatoya shook their head and Jango perked up. If the warrior had no allergies or restrictions then it would be much easier to try and catch their attention with some good old fashioned tiingilar.

He turned to Lari Ko as a wicked thought came to mind. "See if you can set them up near me. I have a feeling we'll be working closely for the near future as they-"

"He." Adatoya said beside him, just loud enough to catch his attention.

Jango was surprised for a moment but accepted that it was Adatoya's choice which pronouns he preferred in Basic.

"I have a feeling we'll be working closely with one another until he gets the hang of things around here."

Lari Ko nodded her head politely and after his years spent around the species he could tell that she was mildly amused. "I shall send someone immediately."

Before she could turn to go he stopped her by calling her name. "Lari Ko. Where are the Alphas currently?" If anyone could find out what had been done with his ade it was one of the Coordinators. "Boba said they had been taken somewhere and my son was sent, alone, to come find me." The reminder that Boba had been wandering around alone, where any of the Kaminiise might be able to snatch him up with the excuse that he was 'just like any other clone,' had him on edge.

She stopped and gave him a mildly perturbed look. "I have heard nothing about this. Is young Boba alright?" Her voice was tight with concern, although she did her best not to show it.

Many of the 'lower class' Kaminiise were actually fairly decent beings, if far too passive for his comfort.

"Boba's fine. A little upset, but perfectly healthy. I'm more concerned that someone took the Alphas without consulting me. I'm in charge of their training, I'm supposed to be notified if I have to modify their program around any new tests." His voice fell into a low growl and he had to clench his teeth in order to keep from lashing out at the Coordinator.

It wasn't her fault her superiors were bastards.

"Allow me to look into it." She said quickly, for her species at least, and pulled out a small datapad. Her long fingers danced over the screen and she blinked twice in rapid succession. "Oh." A small look of sympathy crossed her face for a moment, a mere flicker. But it was enough for Jango to feel wary. "It seems that Nala Se ordered a couple of blood tests and skin samples." She looked back at him, her vocal tone shifting to one considered 'reassuring' by Kaminiise standards. "They will be released soon."

As much as he appreciated the sentiment it didn't quell the dark mass of rage and worry in the pit of his stomach. "When will they be finished?"

"In approximately half an hour. There are no additional tests that have been ordered as of yet." And if the look he was being given was any indication he would know the moment she heard about any extra tests being conducted.

Jango forced himself to release some of the tension in his body. There was nothing he could currently do, so he chose to bundle up all his anger and worry and stash it away for later.

Like when he wasn't in the middle of giving an ancient Mand'alor a tour of the city.

"Thank you." He told the Coordinator sincerely.

With a polite incline of her head she held the datapad against her side and slowly went on her way.

Turning to look at Adatoya he watched as that bare helmet followed the coordinator. There was something tense about the way he was standing and after a moment Jango realized what it was.

It had been a long while since he'd first come to the planet so he had forgotten just how disturbing the species could be to anyone unfamiliar with them.

"That's a Kaminii. Cold bastards." Well, most of them. "They have a strict biological hierarchy, anything outside the norm or the approved form gets destroyed… including their own ade." Which is why, even if he liked Lari Ko more than the vast majority of the Kaminiise, he would still gut her if she ever did anything to hurt his ade.

He could practically feel the shudder of revulsion as the warrior assimilated the information. Adatoya's hand twitched as if he wanted to go for a weapon and Jango decided it would probably be a good idea to distract him from attempting to kill one of the very few helpful Kaminiise.

"So…" He gave the warrior a once over. "He?" He asked pointedly in Basic.

The warrior looked down at him, helm tilting slightly. "Male, masculine, he, him, his." He said simply.

"Thanks for telling me. It'll make things less complicated when I talk to the aruetiise." And when he talked to the ade. Although they were learning Mando'a on the side it wasn't actually a sanctioned class. Which meant their understanding of the galaxy was primarily in Basic. Unfortunately Basic was a heavily gendered language. So getting the ade to understand someone could be male on the outside and female on the inside, and that it was respectful to use the pronouns someone asked of them, was an uphill battle.

Especially when the Kaminiise were so rigid when it came to their 'products.'

Forcing those thoughts away for the time being he clapped the man on the shoulder and motioned toward the hall. "Why don't we continue?"

Adatoya inclined his helm and the two of them set off once again.

They were passing by the area where the Commando class of clones were housed when Adatoya looked down at him, seeming to contemplate something before speaking. "How many ade do you have?"

The question came out of nowhere but Jango wasn't bothered by it.

He grinned. "One hundred and one, so far." All of them strong young mando'ade, even if he had to pretend he didn't care about them as much as he actually did. "The Alphas are Boba's brothers, he was born the same time they were. Although he ages like a normal ad while his brothers age at more than twice the rate." It was something they hadn't told him when they first started the project. No. They'd waited until the fist few 'test' batches were finished before they explained the tinkering they were doing with the lives of children.

It was the first moment he'd realized he'd fucked up.

"A lot of them still don't have names yet. The Kaminiise give them numbers, like fucking droids." Or slaves, his mind helpfully supplied. "But I've been encouraging them to find their own names. Give them something they can choose for themselves." It didn't take away from anything he'd already done, it didn't bring back the ones he'd lost, but it did give the children one small sliver of freedom.

He only hoped they took that small sliver and rammed it directly into their slavers eyes.

"What about the ade I rescued?" There was a hint of a smile in the man's voice and Jango

Jango took a moment to remember exactly what class Priest had been teaching at the time of his very timely demise. "That was… the Commander Class. They won't be in your care but you'll be taking over their hand to hand classes from now on." It was the class that housed one of the batches he had his eye on. There was one boy in particular who was filled with mandokar, and Jango wanted to ensure that he survived until adulthood.

Coming up to a familiar door he realized he had a chance to do some ground work. Both for Adatoya and the ade.

"Good timing." He grinned as he stopped and reached for the panel beside the door. "These are the ade who will be in your care."

Opening the door he walked inside and took a deep breath. "Foxtrot Company! Fall in!" His voice carried over the noise of children in the middle of their allotted recreation time, that Jango had to fight tooth and nail for, and they all froze for a split second before hurrying to stand in their neat little rows.

Like good little soldiers.

"I don't know if you've heard the news yet, but Sergeant Priest is dead." He paused and watched them, waiting to see how they reacted.

He wasn't disappointed.

While some of the others might have a hard time telling the ade apart he knew their faces like he knew his own. Even if they weren't exact copies of himself there were certain tics that they shared with their donor. Which meant he could see the sheer relief that many of them were trying, and failing, to hide.

He turned to look at the door just as Adatoya came inside. Funny. If Jango wasn't mistaken then the man seemed almost nervous, as if he wasn't used to being the center of attention.

Curious.

"This is Adatoya, from today onward he will be your new training sergeant." Planting his feet he looked out at the children, hoping they would hear what was left unsaid. "You will obey him as you obeyed your last sergeant; is that understood cadets?"

Listen to the new trainer, but make your own judgment.

Stars and Manda he hoped they'd understood him.

"Sir, yes, Sir!" Came the synchronized response.

"Good. You will have a study day today and tomorrow. Dismissed!"

As the cadets broke ranks and began wandering back to their activities, giving the two of them wary or curious looks whenever they thought they could get away with it, Jango glanced up at Adatoya. It was probably unfair of him to drop this all on the ancient warrior so suddenly but honestly?

A little divine intervention in the form of a past Mand'alor was something they sorely needed right about now.

"They're not going to trust you right away." He warned, voice quiet but he knew the ade had better hearing than they let on. "Not after Priest." He didn't even try to conceal just how much he had loathed that Kyr'tsad wannabe bastard as he spat the man's name.

There was a grunt from the warrior beside him, their attention primarily on the children, before they turned their helmet down to look at him. "After what you pulled," and there was a faint hint of annoyance in his tone now, "you better be helping me plan this new training regiment."

Jango let out a loud bark of laughter that startled a couple of the ade, though he pretended not to see it, and clapped a hand against the man's pauldron in amusement. "Why do you think I asked for your room to be near mine?" He grinned. "This way we can get together with Kal and Cort to help get everything settled."

A ping from his bracer caught his attention and he read through the notification quickly. "Huh. We could start now if you want." Holding up his bracer he tilted it so the man could read for himself what the message contained. "Or you can settle into your new room."

"I wouldn't mind seeing my new room, but I'm not tired." The man said with a small shrug.

One of the ade shouted and the man's helmet perked up, visor sweeping across the room until it stopped on a couple of boys who had begun an impromptu sparring match. Around them more of the children were stopping what they were doing to cheer on their brothers.

After making sure the boys weren't overdoing it he heard the man speak once again.

"That demagolka earlier wasn't even a workout."

It was said with such casual ease that it set Jango's heart racing in his chest and left his mouth dry. In anyone else he might have considered it to be a brag, or even an outright lie. But Adatoya's voice held no false confidence or pride. Just the tone of a man who had seen a problem and dealt with it.

It was unfairly attractive.

The man looked down at him again, that slight tilt that Jango was learning meant he was either curious or paying close attention.

Jango pulled his hand back from the man's pauldron. "It's nothing." He said, hoping the warrior would believe him. "Come on, let's leave the ade to play by themselves."

Heading out into the hall he watched Adatoya as his visor never left the cadets. Even after the door closed he stood there for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. He saw the man's hand twitch before curling into a fist, how he stood even straighter, his tall athletic frame practically brimming with purpose.

"Don't worry about them for now, vod. We should hurry up and figure out what you're going to teach them." Jango called to catch his attention. "They're smarter than other ade their age, something the Kaminiise did to their brains. We've had to come up with new and creative ways to teach them because they learn so fast." Adatoya followed when Jango turned to head down a different hall, quickly catching up with long easy strides.

"Are they only taught by their… sergeants?"

"No. They have flash training and some classes with the Kaminiise overseeing their basic education. The group you're training now are future ori'ramikad'e." The man stiffened slightly but didn't falter as they continued down the stark white halls.

It was hard to parse out what the warrior beside him was thinking as he went quiet. Jango didn't say anything further until they reached the lifts.

"The trainers quarters are located on the top floor of the facility. We're given free rein of about seventy percent of the city, sixty five of which is where the ade live and train. The rest is dedicated to the Kaminiise. Their living quarters, working centers, their… laboratories." Jango had to stop himself from punching the button for the top floor.

"…where they currently have your other ade?" Adatoya asked, voice pitched low in sympathy.

"Yes." He said through gritted teeth. "And unless I kick up a lot of fuss and get more of the training sergeants involved they aren't going to let me anywhere near that place." He let out a shuddery sigh and ran his hand through his hair. It was getting a bit long, he noticed suddenly, he'd have to cut it soon.

"If…" Adatoya cleared his throat and Jango looked up at him curiously. "If something happens to the ade, or if these… Kaminiise, don't want give them back…" The man looked down at him and Jango didn't need to see whatever eyes he might have to know they were brimming with fierce determination. "We will either retrieve them or bring vengeance down on the Kaminiise's heads."

Jango felt something inside his chest ease.

While Kal, Cort, and Mij were always ready to fight for the ade not every trainer thought of them as living, thinking, beings. Even amongst he mando'ade there were those who thought of them as fleshy droids. If he was being generous he'd assume they were living in denial so the weight of what they'd signed on to didn't shatter their spirits. But if he wanted to rescue his ade he would have very little in the way of back-up, and if he was killed there would be no one to look after Boba.

The fact that this ancient Mand'alor had instantly seen the ade as they truly were, and had sworn to continue protecting them, just reinforced Jango's belief that he had been sent by the Manda.

"I accept that debt." He said quietly, sagging slightly with exhaustion.

"There is no debt, Jango." Adatoya said firmly. "Ade are the future."

Thankfully Jango was spared having to say anything further as the doors to the lift opened.

"Well, this is our stop. Top floor, penthouse suite." He said with a slightly cheeky grin, feeling a little less hopeless than he had been mere moments ago.

There was an amused snort and what might have been a mutter of "smartass," as Adatoya entered the new hall.

Not that you'd know it by looking at it. Honestly, everything in this damned place looked exactly the same. The Kaminiise assured them that all the halls had markings but none of them could actually see any. He assumed it was a thing that only the Kaminiise could perceive so he and the other trainers had resorted to maps loaded into their helmets and bracers.

"This way." Turning down the hall to the left he led the way down the more cramped halls until they passed a large window. Adatoya stopped, helmet turned toward the window. Outside was another rainstorm, the most common weather.

The man shuddered slightly before turning away and Jango wondered what the hell kind of reaction that was.

"Is the whole planet an ocean?" He asked.

"It is."

The man took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright."

They continued in silence until they made it to the hall where their quarters were located. "This one is mine." Jango said as he tapped his knuckles on the wall next to a door. "I'll be sure to mark it on your copy of the map in case you need something." It wasn't a luxury he afforded to all of the trainers but he had a good feeling he could trust Adatoya with the knowledge of where he and his 'oldest' son lived.

They passed by five other doors before Jango stopped. "This one is yours." He entered the security code he'd been sent before stepping inside first.

The quarters were the same as the others set aside for humans or near-humans. It had a large open living space and wide window, a single bedroom, fresher, and a small kitchen. Unfortunately there wasn't a space for armor storage or maintenance, not yet at least, so the man would have to make due with the low table in the living area for the time being.

"It's not much. But it's yours. When we leave you can put in your own door code. Only you and the main security system will have access to your room at that point."

Adatoya came inside a little cautiously but after a moment seemed to relax. Almost casually he came to stand next to Jango, his gloved hand tapping against his upper thigh armor.

It took Jango two repetitions to actually catch what the man was doing.

'Safe to speak?' He tapped out again in dadita.

'Not safe.'

The man turned to look out the window. "Is it always this stormy out?" He asked even as his fingers tapped out a new sequence. 'Recording devices?'

"Yeah. You can only see the sun a few times a year. Otherwise it's just different levels of miserable." He said with no small amount of disdain. 'Yes. Will send reinforcement for search and destroy.'

"Of course it is." Adatoya said in a voice drier than the deserts of Tatooine.

Jango let out a bark of laughter. "Should have asked before you signed on, vod." He teased.

"Noted." The man said, a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"If you're done here I can comm Kal and let him know we're heading over. You might meet his ade as well, they rarely like to be away from him for long. Little disasters are constantly causing trouble." He grumbled, though there was no heat to it. He understood why Kal's boys found it hard to trust him after everything they'd been through, and how he'd had to act in front of the Kaminiise. They were doing a little better now but there was still this dangerous edge around them that made him wary.

"Yeah, I'm done here." He turned and headed for the door, waiting on Jango to exit before quickly tapping out a new security code. He didn't make any moves to hide it from Jango so he assumed the man had taken him up on his offer of letting someone else into his room to get rid of any recording devices.

Jango wasn't certain why this Manda blessed warrior trusted him so much, but he made a silent oath to never betray that trust.

Mando'a;

Ad, Ade- Child, children.
Tiingilar- A blisteringly spicy casserole that is common in Mandalorian cuisine.
Aruetiise- Foreigners, outsiders, traitors.
Mando'ade- Mandalorians, plural.
Mandokar- The right stuff, being the epitome of Mandalorian virtues. A mix of determination, guts, and lust for life.
Kyr'tsad- Death Watch, a Mandalorian splinter group considered by many to be a terrorist organization.
Demagolka- A war criminal, a torturer of children, a Mandalorian's worst nightmare.
Ori'ramikad'e- Special forces.
Vod- Sibling, comrade, compatriot.
Dadita- Mandalorian morse code.