Sundari was an interesting place.
Large, built-up, cramped, and all the buildings had the same dull cubist appearance. The people here were not much better off, if Vendric was being honest - frightful sheep who flocked to whomever they thought would provide them the most safety, whether it was the pacifist isolationism of Duchess Satine Kryze or the militant expansionism of groups like Death Watch. Dull, cowardly, and unworthy of the name 'Mandalorian', in his opinion. They only wore this title by sole virtue of being born on the sacred soil of Manda'yim. No one here had gone through the Proving, nor were they born into any of the clans, be they major or minor. Nor were they even adopted into the creed, as had been commonplace for generations uncounted. No, these people were simply, by and large, the laity, only existing to drive the machine in exchange for protection.
Nothing but sheep to be sheared on occasion.
His distaste for the vast plebeian masses aside, Vendric was all too well aware that even though the sheep required strict rule and guidance, you had to take care not to abuse them. Fear, not hatred, was the order of the day, and as the current war between the Empire and the Arcadian-Rebel coalition was proving, hatred could overcome fear if you let it fester and grow long enough.
Unfortunately for him, it seemed that his brother had never cared to learn that lesson.
Case in point - his latest scheme, which he was in the midst of explaining to him, and the more Gar explained to him, the more enraged Vendric grew under the surface.
"So...let me get this straight, brother," Vendric at last decided to speak at length, neglecting to use Gar's proper titles, "your plan is to trick Ursa Wren into giving up the two fully trained Jedi knights under her care in exchange for her protecting her daughter, then betraying the Wrens and wiping them out, and finally enslaving Sabine Wren so she can rebuild the arc pulse generator?" Vendric questioned him, straining to keep the incredulity out of his voice.
"You're correct, brother," Gar affirmed, "the Wrens have been a thorn in my side for far too long. Once they're dealt with, that bitch Bo-Katan will have nowhere left to run and we'll finally be able to deal with her. I've half a mind to use the Duchess on her. Imagine the irony, to be disintegrated in your own armor by the weapon named after your late sister!"
"So you plan to publicly and willfully break your oath and violate the sacred rights of hospitality, bringing a small force of guards against Ursa Wren and her entire household guard, not to mention two trained Jedi Knights. Need I remind you how easily Ahsoka Tano cut through our forces during the Siege? Veterans of many conflicts and wars, with multiple kills to their name, and she slashed through them like she was carving a pie…" Vendric explained, scarcely believing he was having to explain all this to his brother. "This is beyond foolish. Lord Vader explicitly warned you-"
"Vader will reward me for removing a threat to the Empire!" Gar countered. "And I won't be going with only a small group. I'm counting on you to bring in additional backup in case the fight turns south. The smaller group will only be there as… an honor guard. Besides, Tristan Wren is loyal to me. He would never side with his treasonous family."
It was at this point Vendric knew that the time had come. Gar has gone too far to see reason now. Any continued leadership by him would lead to nothing but disaster for Mandalore. The choice was clear, and though part of him was pained to sacrifice his older brother, the larger part of him had little but disdain for his incompetent older sibling, and relished the chance to get rid of him. So, Vendric did the only thing that made sense in that time and place.
He lied.
"Of course, dear brother. If things should turn south, and they most certainly will, I will be there with two companies of our most trusted warriors," Vendric said, knowing that Gar would not see through the ruse. "I must take time to muster them, though, and many would undoubtedly have reservations about attacking someone as respected and honored as Ursa Wren."
Gar waved his 'concerns' off. "They'll do their duty to their lord and to the Empire, I'm sure. If nothing else, they will learn from the example I am going to make of Ursa and her clan. Muster them quickly, though, brother. I am counting on you."
"As my lord wills," Vendric swore, masking his falsehood even more.
With that, Gar nodded, and turned to head towards his ship. As his brother was leaving, Vendric finally let the mask slip, letting his true feelings be known once the elder brother was gone.
"I thought the fool would have never left," came a somewhat-nasally, yet commanding and authoritative voice from the shadows.
Vendric turned to greet the man, whom he had always known was there watching them. The man was a dark-skinned human in his late forties. His black, short, wiry hair was already beginning to grey, and a thin, dark mustache was the only hair that graced his otherwise clean shaven face. The man's brown eyes exuded both confidence and cruelty in equal measure, and adorning his grey-green uniform was an equally grey breastplate and pauldrons - the mark of an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau.
"It's better for all this way, Agent Gideon," Vendric greeted him, "soon, my brother will be dead, and perhaps we might find some measure of sanity."
"I certainly hope so," Gideon agreed, "but you may forgive me for having any doubts. I've studied the files in the Academy, and the records of all the clans registered in Mandalorian space. Even if your moron of a brother bites it, Sabine Wren and her compatriots remain a grave threat to your newfound rule. She's a talented weaponsmith, first in her class in leadership, marksmanship, and other subjects before her defection, and above all she knows how we operate. Not to mention we now know that she wields the Darksaber - the very weapon which could give her a claim to your throne."
"If she won it fairly in battle," Vendric countered. "If she does not, then she merely holds it. However, I do agree with you that she is a threat that must be dealt with. Your own work convincing the Kar'a that she was the one most responsible for the deaths of her uncle and his entourage has done us a vast favor, but if the truth ever came out that it was your idea to kill Lucius Wren in the first place…"
"The idea your brother went along with, may I remind you," Gideon warned him, "and one that had your tacit approval, even if you do not agree with the weapon involved."
"Lucius Wren was to be put on trial and executed lawfully," Vendric argued. "Being butchered like a nerf with a weapon meant strictly for battlefield purposes has only incited the anger of the clans. Those same clans may now decide to join the Wrens or what remains of the Kryzes."
"If they do," Gideon began to counter, "they sign their own death warrant. You know as well as I that the Emperor will not permit the shipments of pure beskar to stop from this world, whether or not its people inhabit it."
Vendric raised an eyebrow. "I see. Destroy what you cannot have. Crush what is not yours to possess. A fair philosophy. To deny your enemies any crucial advantage makes sense. However, I must note that it only works in the short term. You can't possibly rule over ashes, after all. Otherwise, how would you supply your armies? Your factories? Your shipyards? Fear, after all, only goes so far, and if you let it fester into hate, there will always be those who defy you, no matter how many we kill."
"Fair," was Gideon's reply. "At any rate, I know that you will be loyal to our Emperor. I'd hate for our arrangement to be broken."
"As equally as I'd hate that, Agent Gideon," Vendric answered. "My loyalty to the throne is always guaranteed."
Gideon nodded at that. "In this case, we have nothing to fear, then. I'm taking my leave, Viceroy. Have a pleasant day." With that, Gideon turned and left, leaving Vendric to stare behind his back as the ISB agent went out the door.
It's a good thing I swept this room for any bugs and rid it of any electronics. Can't have that one snooping through my quarters
He stiff led a snort. Sure, being allied to the Empire was the best course of action for Mandalore, but he was, after all, a Mandalorian first and foremost. Certainly, he liked power, and right now the Empire was the best option for securing that power, but he felt that the winds were shifting against the seemingly-mighty regime. Large portions of the Outer Rim had been abandoned over the past few months, and their failed offensive against the Arcadian Kingdom had laid bare their inadequacies for all to see.
If there was a commonality between Vendric and his older brother, it was this - they both had a keen sense of opportunity. However, while Gar rushed at it, Vendric patiently waited for it. He would play the part of Imperial puppet for the moment, but once it was clear to him that the Empire was weakening, he would discard these stormtroopers and agents as easily as any other riff-raff. To play the game of thrones, you had to hold no true allegiance to anyone but your own. All he had to make sure of was that when the time was right, he could eliminate both his problems in one fell swoop, and then his house would be in the undisputed position of supremacy over all Mandalore.
He began to formulate a plan in his mind. If he were to kill two birds with one stone, he had to make the bait irresistible to both parties. His loyal warriors he would hold back when the inevitable assault from the Wrens and their allies came, letting the Imperial legions and fleets act as cannon fodder instead, and once they were both weakened, he would swoop in for the kill.
This required careful planning. He would have to let Sabine Wren win her battles at first. He needed to draw everyone who opposed him out in the open, letting them gather under the banner of Clan Wren. He would also need to keep his plans secret from the prying eyes and ears of Gideon and the agents under him. He assured himself, however, that he would plant his dagger in the Imperial's back when the smug bastard was least expecting it.
It was during his musing that he heard a knock on his door.
Allowing for it to open, he motioned the man in. This man- another Mandalorian- looked much like him. However, he was far younger, around his early twenties, with blonde hair shaved on the sides and with the top hair tied at the back. His face was clean shaven, and his eyes were far brighter than Vendric's own. His armor was far different as well, being made of plastoid instead of beskar, and modelded after Imperial Jump Trooper's rather than the traditional patterns of their people. However, he still wore the Saxon sigil on his left pauldron, and stripped down the armor were his clan colors - red and black.
"You summoned me, father?" the younger Saxon asked him.
Vendric nodded at his son. "Yes, I do, Tyber. We are about to depart within the hour for Krownest. Your uncle thinks that we will be there to back him up in his supposed annihilation of Clan Wren."
"But we aren't going to...are we?" Tyber asked, as if already knowing the answer.
Vendric shook his head. "No, we are not. Your uncle has made far too many errors and has refused to learn from any of them. He is not the same man he was two decades ago. His strength and his mind wane. If he is allowed to continue to rule further, he will lead Mandalore into disaster. Therefore, it is time to exercise the tumor, and we will let the Wrens do that for us."
Tyber's eyes shot up in surprise. "But...father...that will cause a full blown civil war!"
"Yes, and that's what I'm counting on. Our enemies need to be drawn out into the open. Open conflict will make our foes reveal themselves. What's more, we need to ensure they gather in one place, for one decisive battle. If they continue to passively and secretively resist us, they can continue to slowly sap us of our strength. One large battle, however, will serve our ends more clearly."
Tyber nodded, though his eyebrows rose. "Yes, father. But would the Quiet Raven and her kin fall for such a ruse? I always remember you and Uncle Gar telling me of her cunning and prowess on the battlefield. Not to mention her daughter - wayward as she is - is supposedly even better when it comes to thinking outside the box."
"Indeed," Vendric admitted, "Ursa and her daughter, Sabine, will prove challenging. Not to mention those two Jedi knights who have accompanied them…" he trailed off, then looked straight at his soon. "Come and let us continue our conversation aboard the cruiser. I've something to show you on the bridge…"
It was around three-quarters of an hour later when the two Saxons finally reached the bridge. All around the viewports, the black ink of space greeted them, punctuated by endless stars and faint, but brilliant nebulae.
Vendric turned to his son and pointed out towards the cosmos outside the transperisteel windows. "Son, tell me what you see," he commanded of Tyber.
The younger of the two men took a good look around the bridge viewports. "Well, I see stars, nebulae, meteors…"
Vendric shook his head. "No. Tell me what you see."
Tyber looks confused by this inquiry. "I don't know what exactly you want me to see, father. There isn't anything out here. Only nothingness."
"Incorrect," Vendric corrected him. "No nothing. What you see is Mandalore," he said, pointing out the window. "Fly four hundred parsecs in that direction, you're still in Mandalorian space. Three hundred parsecs east. Five hundred north and south. Over two thousand systems lie under our jurisdiction. Mandalorian Space is larger than a third of all the other sectors of the Empire combined, and soon, I will be Governor, and you, my son, " he proclaimed, putting his hand on Tyber's shoulder, "will be my lawful heir. From this day forward you shall be known as Tyber of House Saxon, Count of Adderia and Lieutenant Governor of Mandalore."
Tyber stood for a moment, speechless, then bending his knee before his father, bowing his head in reverence. "Thank you for this, father. I swear upon my life and blood that I will be worthy of our name and position. I swear that I will not fail you."
"I know you will not, son," Vendric affirmed. Before they could continue their conversation, however, an aide interrupted them.
"My lord," the young Imperial ensign announced, "Your brother has arrived at Krownest. We await your word…"
Vendric nodded, and turned towards the viewport, looking at the endless sea of black. "Have the ship move to the edge of the Krownest system, right outside their scanner range. Gar expects us to reinforce him. It's too bad we will not arrive to the planet in time…"
With that command, Vendric felt himself smiling, away from any prying eyes who might have seen his facade crack. He did not know what the future after this would hold, but there was one thing he was sure of.
Mandalore was his, and he intended to keep it that way.
A/N: Well… that one took a lot longer than expected.
I had planned to release this over two months earlier, but a little thing called 'work' got in the way (namely dealing with an unruly client which has taken up a lot of my time and attention).
Well, now that Vendric has betrayed his brother, now what? Will the duel between Gar and Sabine go much the same way it did in Rebels? Or will things change?
Including a younger Gideon in this made sense, from my perspective at least. Din mentioned that he was an ISB Agent stationed on Mandalore right before Sundari was glassed during the Purge in Mandalore.
The character of Tyber here is going to be quite a bit different than the one in Rebels. More adaptable than his father, to be sure, but he doesn't have as much of a hardon for the Arc Pulse Cannon/ Duchess as he does on the show.
Stay tuned next chapter, for the Duel for the Darksaber.
Ciao.