(A/N Look at that! I actually have a chapter for you today. Yay! *shakes hands in imitation of victory dance*
But I warn you, it is a very lame chapter for a very big reason. It's mainly stuff you already know. Either from likeness to Chapter One or the Clone Wars or other random spots where Teena's history was brought up, it is repetitive. I'm sorry! I do become more specific and offer insight in some in-between times.
As always, I own nothing and with for you to enjoy your reading!)
She led them to her quarters and they took up their usual spots. She could still picture them so easily bouncing on the bed and upside down on the chair. They'd listen to her stories with rapture and ask an endless stream of questions, eventually calming down enough to pass out in whatever position they ended up in. She'd carry them over and tuck them into her bed and fall asleep on the chair. They didn't have those nights often; just when a job went south or a nightmare crept in - when they needed solidarity.
Today she had promised them the completion of a story. She sighed just thinking of it.
"Did he tell you the story I'm sharing tonight?" she asked Na'sara when everyone was settled.
"About the radical and the Jedi?"
"That's the one," Teena steeled herself. "I always end it with how the radical could not ask the Jedi to leave his order, so they parted ways, only seeing each other on the rare occasion after that."
"Yeah, I always hated that ending," 'Sara scoffed.
"Well, that is not the ending."
"They had a kid?" Dev guessed.
"Yes," she admitted. "I've told you many histories without including the details of time or the people's names. Do you need me to remind you how this one went?" They both shook their heads no. "Alright. Let me share their names and then I will tell you how the story concluded. The radical was Duchess Satine Kryze, of Mandalore, while the Jedi was Obi-Wan Kenobi."
She watched Na'sara clench her hands and tense as she absorbed the information, while Dev breathed out 'of Mandalore,' having some of his suspicions confirmed. They'd heard her and Commander Luke. They knew what she was telling them.
"When he left for the Order, heartbroken and yet understanding, Obi-Wan did not know that Satine was with child. She gave birth to a boy, who she named Korkie Kryze. She and her sister, Bo Katan Kryze, raised him together as their nephew. They claimed he was a foundling to avoid suspicion.
"For a number of years Mandalore knew peace. The Duchess, Satine, ruled with help from an assortment of officials. But some continued to oppose her pacifist ways. They felt she was erasing their culture and history. Children were still taught the Creed and how to fight, but fighting itself was heavily discouraged and the warriors had largely cut themselves off from other worlds."
Teena took a breath and scanned the ceiling, building up to her next words.
"But this story is not about Satine's rule. It is about her son.
"He was gifted in his studies and would have made an excellent politician, and he could fight well enough to honor his Mandalorian heritage. But in many aspects Korkie was naive. He knew small cells opposed his 'aunt's' rule, and he watched his other aunt frequently quarrel with her over these matters.
"Finally, the day came when he walked in on Lady Kryze packing. One of the cells had recruited her.
"'Don't go,' he said, 'she will change. We'll find the old ways again… after we rebuild!' He was grasping at straws, trying to find any way to keep his family together.
"'I can't stay,' she replied softly. She loved her sister much, no matter how they fought and had always had a soft spot for her nephew.
"'Then I'll… I'll go with you!' he declared. His voice wobbled, even as he stood as tall and sturdy as his small frame would allow him.
"But Bo Katan smiled sadly at him and brushed his hair out of his face. 'Oh my, dral vod'ika. You cannot leave. It would break my dear sister's heart if you left your mother.'"
"Korkie reeled back at the implication that he knew and was close to his mother. He had always been told he'd been taken in by House Kryze and that was why he was raised by his two aunts. Bo Katan used his distraction to leave unhindered.
"He waited days before he couldn't bear it any longer and confronted the Duchess."
Teena paused in her story, remembering the first time her father had told her the importance of this story. She had been nine at the time, and the focus of her studies were her families' histories. The fact her grandmother had ruled Mandalore for a time was kind of important, and explained Aunt Bo's persistence in many things.
She saw both Dev and Na'sara staring at her wide eyed, waiting for the rest of the story. It was slightly comical comparing the images from her memories to those in front of her. The two were no longer 13 and 7; instead a young woman of 21 and a growing boy that was 16. Teena felt old in this moment. Older than her 26 years should feel.
"He wanted to mention his aunt's disappearance, but there wasn't much to say about it. They both knew where she was and why she'd gone. But the Duchess would not coincide defeat and return to the old ways. So instead, he asked after his mother. If he knew her.
"'You do,' she told him slowly. 'She...wished to stay close to you.'"
"Korkie waited for more information, but it didn't come. So he did the only thing he could think of that would convince Satine to share the information. He packed his bags. He made a show of it too, making sure the Duchess knew his plan. It worked. He learned his heritage, but more than that he learned what he meant to the Duchess and why she had never entertained suitors."
"She still loved the Jedi?" Na'sara asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"Yes. The fire in her heart had not died.
"Years later war came to the galaxy and for a time the Jedi came to Mandalore. Obi-Wan Kenobi came to Mandalore. Korkie was so excited at the possibility of meeting his father. He knew better than to mention any history to him, he just wanted to see him. But Satine kept them apart with a very busy schedule and a very close eye."
Teena watched Dev's mouth drop open in disbelief.
"Korkie met other Jedi, and was even taught by one for a time. But Mandalore moved on," she sighed. "Onto the time of Maul."
Her audience of two tensed. They knew his name and the destruction it brought. They knew what he did to Mandalore.
"He killed Satine," she reminded them and they both hung their heads a little further. "In his eyes, her death was not a blow against Mandalore, but a blow against her love, Kenobi. Maul killed Obi-Wan's mentor, and was then defeated by Obi-Wan himself. He was physically maimed and then lost and forgotten. He lost his mind, but when he found clarity, his one goal in life was to seek vengeance on the Jedi. Satine died in Obi-Wan's arms, as Korkie listened helplessly from a cell."
A tear ran down Na'sara's face. Dev grabbed his legs to hug himself a little.
"Peace on Mandalore died. Korkie's peace died. He became a mercenary when he escaped and continued in that line of work even when the Clone Wars ended.
"This is how he found his new family. His wife. His daughter."
Teena stopped, unsure what to say next. She needed to tell them of her parents' death, of why she was dar'manda, but it was difficult to find the words. They already knew about how Ahsoka had tutored her in history and meditation; they knew she'd trained with any manner of weapon in her youth; they knew she lived a remote childhood.
"They named you after her," Dev said. She looked at him with raised brows. "Satine. Teena. You're named after your grandmother."
"Yes," she hummed. 'I try to keep them all alive. Through my actions." She tore the leather off her bracers and opened her readout to show the two her family tree. They talked about the importance of family for a little while and she mentioned that she had the data prepared to enter them into the readout if they were okay with that. No one would admit to the tears shed over that possibility. They were family, aliit.
Eventually Teena had to finish the story.
"Many of the factions of Mandalorians had divided. We scattered further with every blow the Empire landed against us. My great-aunt, Bo Katan, tried to lead them, to get them to stand together, but she failed. Once she failed to keep Mandalore from bowing to the Empire and once she failed to keep Mandalore from dying by it.
"Mandalorian scattered, but you must follow the Creed to be Mandalorian, but one faction added the Path of Mandalore. The Path means following the Mand'alor's example exactly, and the last Mand'alor we had-from decades ago-never removed his helm. Some think he was an alien, but whatever the case no one was meant to remove their own helmets within the Mandalorian culture. It created a sense of solidarity by removing the idea of species and race. You either are Mando'ad or you are not.
"A good sentiment, but without a Mand'alor to guide them they turned to thinking of themselves as the only true Mando'ade. Anyone who dared where Beskar and not follow the Path were killed. My parents among them."
"That's why you hate Mandalorians?" 'Sara asked.
Teena hummed and nodded, picturing the helmets and faces of the murderers.
"And now?" Dev asked.
"Now I've been declared Mando'ad by members of that same factions," she chuckled. "I've lived as dar'manda for so long… I'm not sure what to do now."
"Well," Na'sara said, "You start by asking yourself if you want to join them."
"Nala mentioned they'll be marching on Mandalore soon. I think the first thing I need to do is learn more about that."
"We drop out of hyperspace in like 3 hours," Dev reminded her as he looked at the chrono.
"Alright," she replied, "we need a plan."
He got that slow smile on his face while Na'sara bounced along in anticipation.