"Central to the Mandalorian culture is the Resol'nare, or the "Six Actions". These six tenets define what it means to be Mandalorian, and any who wishes to be considered as such is expected to abide by them. The Resol'nare consists of: wearing armor, speaking the Mandalorian language, defending oneself along with one's family, contributing to the welfare of your clan, rallying to the Mand'alor when summoned, and raising one's children in the Mandalorian ways. In order to retain their heritage in the face of outside influence, Mandalorians place a high value on rigorously carrying out the Resol'nare's tenets in a daily manner. However, interpretation of the Resol'nare differs, and at least one group of Mandalorians—"
My razor strips away the last of my shaving cream, and I flip on the faucet to wash the remnants away.
"The uncertainty of life means that most Mandalorians celebrate the time they had at every opportunity, taking part in communal singing, drinking, and enjoying time with family. The concept of aay'han was a Mandalorian term that encompassed the joy of time spent with loved ones while remembering those who were no longer among the living, roughly translating into Romance languages as the term "bittersweet"."
"Pause." I dictate to Twos, who indeed pauses the reading from the Archives.
"Would you like me to mark your place? Or will you be returning to this soon?" She asks faithfully.
"No, I think I'm about to be busy all day. Mark it, I'll return to it."
"Done." She reports as I pull my shirt on and open—
WHOA!
I quickly hop on one foot, then take a step back as Mira and Ghost are sitting right in front of my bathroom door. "What are you two doing in here?"
Mira squeals before Ghost gets to his feet and rounds Mira so that he can sit at my feet. "Were you guys waiting on me? I didn't know we were up!"
I scoop Mira up as she is making her way to turn towards me. When she realizes what I'm doing, she bursts into a huge smile and grabs onto my shirt.
"Yeah…hi. Good morning!"
Mira lovingly bangs her hand on my collarbone before a pleased look comes onto her face. "Breakfast? Are we hungry?"
Ghost snorts out a breath before he leaves my room, heading for the rest of the house. I follow, Mira in tow before voices float to me thru the kitchen.
"Why are you here? Did you just leave Mira waiting for Ezra?" I hear Hera ask Ghost before I hear Kanan.
"I'll check on her."
"Right here." I smile before I appear out of the hallway and become visible to them. "They were waiting on me?"
"Ezra!" I hear Jacen call out from deeper inside the house.
"Hey!" Cayle protests as I turn towards the living room and see Jacen, still in his pajamas rushing towards me.
"Easy!" His father says just before Jacen collides into me and gives me a huge hug.
"We heard the news! Congratulations!" He says, squeezing me as hard as he can.
Mira makes a pleased noise before I reply. "Thanks."
Jacen only slightly breaks off from his hug to smile up at me. As a result, Mira turns to Jacen, then almost dives for me and grabs onto my shirt tightly.
She's copying him. Aww…
"Aww. You giving me a hug?" I ask Mira as Cayle approaches. Cayle's smirk grows into a full smile as Mira makes a noise, only for it to be obscured by my shirt.
"That's a yes." Hera says, sounding very happy. I turn to her, only for Hera to be smiling widely as well. "Congratulations dear."
"Thank you." I smile back at her. "And she's copying you bud."
Jacen gives me an odd look. "Really?"
"Yup."
"She copies you all the time." Kanan tells Jacen. "Why do you think she's trying to stand? And follow you around?"
"I don't know." Jacen replies.
"She sees you and wants to be doing what you're doing."
Mira adjusts her grip and turns to her brother as I ask the room. "She's trying to stand?"
"Yeah." Hera reveals. "She's grabbed onto Ghost, grabbed onto the coffee table. Grabbed onto basically anything and tries pulling herself up."
"But her legs aren't strong enough." Kanan points out. "If she keeps trying though, it won't be long."
Mira. Walking.
Unbelievable.
"You're gonna walk soon?" I ask Mira. "I remember when you could barely move! You could only wriggle!"
Cayle only smiles. "She's growing and learning super fast."
"Too fast." Hera interjects quickly. "Pretty soon she's going to be taking the car keys to hang out with boys."
Cayle and I both laugh and Kanan grins. "Oh no. And besides, she's not allowed to date until she's older than Ezra is now."
"Date?" Jacen parrots.
"Have a girlfriend." His mom clarifies before turning back to Kanan. "And that's not happening."
"What's not happening?"
"She can do whatever she wants. It's her life."
Kanan defensively raises his hands. "I know. I'm just saying."
"21." Cayle picks a number before thumbing Mira's nose. "Wait until she's 21."
Mira giggles before Kanan adds. "See? She agrees with me."
"Does not…" Hera rolls her eyes before turning back to me.
"Ezra dear, I'm making something for us. But you can make a waffle or whatever if you want. You know where everything is."
"Can I have a waffle?" Jacen immediately asks.
Hera makes a face of pure irritation. "I'm making your breakfast."
"Is it a waffle?"
"No." She answers patiently. "You asked for muffins yesterday, so I'm making muffins with some fruit on the side."
"What fruit?"
Twenty questions.
Mira moves in my arms as Cayle gives me a smirk. "Bananas and strawberries dear."
"Sounds good." I interject before Jacen can protest.
"Have you washed your hands?" Kanan asks him.
"No Daddy."
Kanan simply points upstairs. "Go."
Right away Jacen races up the stairs, footsteps thundering away, leaving Kanan with a wince on his face.
Cayle doesn't help by laughing as Mira squirms again. "Hey, I'll take ya." Mira babbles out a reply while I loop around them and into the kitchen.
A waffle does sound nice. Now where is the waffle mix?
"Is there a plan for today?" I call out as I walk into the pantry.
"Rex, Echo and Zeb are over at the new place installing your safe." Hera informs me. "I was thinking about taking a few loads of stuff over."
Kanan adds. "We can take the kids and take a look around. Investigate the dog park."
"Dog park?" Cayle asks.
"The complex has its own dog park." Hera tells him as I find the waffle mix.
"Sounds like a plan to me." I say as I return to the kitchen.
Cayle turns to me as I set the mix down and duck down for the waffle iron. "Have you even seen the place?"
"Yeah."
Sabine and I walked over and checked it out before her final last Tuesday.
"And?" Kanan tacks on.
"Bigger than we thought it would be." I say as I pull out the waffle iron. "And the view is nice."
"We?"
Dammit I slipped up.
Cayle!
Purposefully, I ignore him and stride over to the cabinet where Hera likes to keep to keep the measuring cups.
"I think he took Sabine."
"Oohhhh…" Kanan begins teasing me.
Great.
"Shut up Cayle." I reply as I grab the measuring cup I'm looking for and set it aside to look for a bowl.
"I mean, tell me if I'm wrong." He responds.
"How is she by the way? Kanan said you were going with her to her connection in Chicago." Hera asks.
Kanan quickly makes a noncommittal noise before I feel Cayle tense up.
No response.
Wish it wasn't the first thing I checked this morning.
"What?" Hera asks the room.
I wish she didn't have that much power over me already.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"
C'mon.
I gesture with two fingers for Cayle to continue backing up the moving truck as the irritating alarm continues sounding out.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP—
Keep coming.
I continue waving Cayle into the parking space directly in front of the stairs until he's in position, then throw up my hand in the universal "STOP!" signal.
Cayle hits the breaks perfectly and the moving truck rocks to a halt. Beside him, a dark blue car pulls in and Hera appears out of the front seat.
"Good job." I hear Hera compliment Cayle when we're close enough.
"Thanks. The steering on this thing sucks."
Hera laughs before replying "I can drive it back to the lot once we're done."
"Nah, I got it. It just feels like I'm driving around a couch."
"Imagine how semi-truck drivers feel." She counters before spotting me and giving me a smile. "How's everything?"
"Good." I nod. "Rex and Echo are installing the safe. They already pulled the whole thing out of my wall."
"Where are they putting it?" Cayle asks.
"In the closet by the front door. They're taking out most of it."
Hera frowns. "That'll be noticeable."
Not really.
"I don't know about that. They're utilizing the empty space." I reply, only for Hera to walk past me and begin up the stairs.
Cayle and I stand there for a moment before I turn to him. "So." He says.
"So."
"Let's get this party going." He gives me a smile, then waves his hand. The lock and the latch to the door of the truck fall off, allowing the door to raise revealing the entire contents of my apartment, piled inside.
Lightest boxes paired with heaviest boxes. Furniture on the bottom, protected by blue blankets and padding that Kanan bought when we rented the van after breakfast.
Effortlessly Cayle hops on inside and grabs a box before making a casual motion with his left hand. "Everybody's gone?"
"It's the Monday after school ended for the semester." I counter. "You were expecting people?"
The campus was starting to clear out Wednesday when I was still taking finals.
"I was expecting—" He pauses as he hands off some boxes. "—permanent residents. Do we know anything about your neighbors."
"No—" A deep voice replies, and I jump out of my skin while whipping around.
Oh. It's Zeb.
Zeb immediately starts cackling before taking a step or two away from me. "I—I—I'm sorry Blue." He laughs as behind me, Cayle lets out a quiet chuckle. "My fault. I thought you felt me behind you."
"Nope." I force a smile onto my face. "I didn't."
He got me.
Zeb rubs me shoulder affectionately. "My bad. I'm here for boxes."
"Boxes—I can do!" Cayle's voice strains as I step aside and look up the stairs,
Clear.
"I'll be back." I tell Zeb and Cayle, then begin marching up the stairs with my two boxes.
Once I arrive, I balance my boxes on my knee before knocking twice. "It's me! Boxes!"
"You're good!" I hear Rex reply before I toe open the door and slide inside.
Once I'm past the door I take a few steps before I hear "Looks fearsome."
I laugh, then look down at the boxes I have.
Kitchen and bathroom. Makes sense I guess.
"Not bad. Kitchen—" I stride to the bare kitchen and drop off the top box onto the counter. "—and bathroom."
"LIGHT!" Echo calls out after me.
Rex's belly laugh bounces off the walls and I walk about ten steps then take the right towards the bedroom before turning off and lightly pushing open the door to the bathroom.
Alright.
I set down the bathroom box on the toilet, then cross the door and peek into the area for the shower.
Hmm. Stone and glass.
Looks great, but could be slick.
Maybe it's not actual stone. Just a backdrop to the shower that looks like it. I imagine the floor is tile.
By the time I'm back in the living room, Zeb's already set down two more boxes in the living room.
Let's keep going then.
Taking the lead, I lead Zeb back downstairs where Cayle is in the process of creating a system for us with boxes stacked in twos, all set apart from each other.
"Careful, the bottom of that one felt weird." He informs me as I grab the furthest one on the left.
"Thanks." I smile, then start back upstairs.
Alright…Bedroom and…school?
Once I slip past Rex and Echo, I make my way back to my to-be bedroom and set these two boxes down.
Oh wow. I'm sweating already.
Using the back of my hand, I wipe the sweat from my forehead, then pull my phone out of my pocket and into my hand.
10:21
Great.
This is going to suck.
The knife Zeb loaned me tears right thru the clear tape used to close up the box before I open the flaps.
Pans. My skillet, frypan and saucepan.
Grabbing the skillet first, I load up the bottom shelf with the pans before going back to the box.
And the lids for the frypan and saucepan.
Putting the lids on the pans, I then grab my knife again and break down the box, setting it beside the black trash bag we've been filling up.
Next box.
A mechanical screwing sound echoes throughout the apartment before I hear Zeb's voice. "Nah, that's just Rexy and the equipment. You want something to do?"
Uh oh.
Zeb reaches the entryway to the kitchen as I grab the next box. "Hey." I smile.
Mira babbles out a greeting, but still communicates her hello with a smile to me before she looks around. "Hey. You wanna help Ezra?"
Mira claps twice before I pull open this box.
Silverware.
Silently, I grab Zeb's attention and he takes a step. "Hey! Here's how we can help Ezra. Let's put silverware into the tray. You like helping Mommy unload the dishwasher."
Obstinately, Mira peers into the box before giggling and grabbing the edge of the box. "Sounds like a yes to me." I joke while going for another box.
"Yup. Have you gotten the tray out yet?"
"Nope." I reply.
Zeb scowls before crouching down, Mira still in hand and starts looking down the side of the remaining boxes, all of which are marking with their contents.
Cleaning supplies.
Tearing open the box, I set the blade up onto the counter and sit down.
Oh wait, I need a towel first. Otherwise Hera will not be happy.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, unlock it then tap on 'Hera Cell'.
…
…
"Yeah?"
"Are you with the towels?" I ask her. "I'm loading up the sink."
"Don't think so. Hang on." She tells me. "Dear?"
"Yeah?" I hear Kanan in my bedroom before something clanks into place.
Sounds like my bedframe.
"Are the towels in there with you?"
"I don't know." Kanan answers.
Cayle adds. "Think so. It was early."
"Can you grab one for Ezra please? He's loading up the sink."
"One minute dear, we're in the middle of something."
The phone jostles around before Hera asks me "Did you catch that?"
"Yeah, thanks." I smile.
Hera abruptly ends the call before I take the phone off my ear.
Guess I'll hang for a moment.
I set my phone into my pocket again, then begin pulling out the contents of the box and setting them next to the trash bag.
Bleach, scouring powder. Three types of trash bags. Disinfectant sprays, wipes, ant killer. Mouse traps, a spare plunger Hera bought for me on a whim that I've never used…
"Hey, you've got a garbage disposal. That's nice." Zeb says cheerfully. "Won't have to be picky when doing the dishes."
I don't know what that is.
"Really?"
Mira makes a face at my obvious confusion before Zeb asks me. "Have you never had one before?"
"Don't think so."
"Oh. Well a garbage disposal chews up stuff like food scraps that you flush down the sink. It' a great way to keep your trash down. You just have to be careful what you put in there. Otherwise it'll back up and…yuck."
"Sounds useful." I smile.
"It is." Zeb replies before the door behind him opens, and Echo moves to talk to our new guest.
Wonder who that—
Master Tano slides past the door before smiling at Rex, who gives her a big hug. "—looks like you guys are having fun."
"Oh yeah." Rex replies. "Getting things done."
"How's the safe?"
"Good. Cody's at the other apartment prepping to reinstall the wall there. That'll be the last thing we do there."
"Will you need any help?" Master Tano asks.
"Shouldn't, Commander. But if we do we'll let you know."
Ahsoka nods, then turns to Zeb, Mir and I in the kitchen before Mira squawks out for her attention.
"Hi! Look at you!" She gushes, scooping Mira up while smiling. "I haven't seen you in a month. You're so big!"
She is getting too big.
As I look on, Mira makes a move for Ahsoka's headband, only for Ahsoka to hand it over. "Here ya go…How are we in here?"
"Good." Zeb smiles before I nod in agreement.
"Have you checked you email today?" Master Tano fires off at me.
"No."
Ahsoka bends down and gives Mira back to Zeb. "You need to check it. Especially now that you're with us. Everyone is constantly communicating in there, and we're copying you now too. Multiple times a day."
"Alright." I nod before going for my phone.
Guess I'm checking my email.
"—seems like you guys have made some good progress. Did the truck get completely unloaded?" Ahsoka asks Rex as I navigate around my phone.
"Yeah. Kanan and Jacen went to go turn it back in. Having a few Force users really helped with the big stuff."
Ahsoka laughs as multiple email notifications pop up, and I scan the first few.
Daily Briefing: December 17th—
FINALIZED BRACKET: TOURNAMENT OF—
Intelligence Report: Kamino—
MISREP: Monte Carlo, Ibiza, Barcelona—
"Why'd I get the finalized bracket?" I ask Master Tano as I pull up the review of my mission report.
Shouldn't be any real surprises. The Council was pleased with how things went. But this version will have—
"Because you're in the tournament. Tough draw, but…" She trails off.
I'm not in the tournament.
They've never let me compete.
I'd love to. Martial skill has always been my strength.
"I'm in?" I repeat after her.
"You are. You are a Padawan now Ezra. With all the rights and privileges that every Padawan has." Master Tano replies.
Oh wow.
Zeb turns to me and smiles before I return the smile and look back to my phone.
Let's see what she means by a tough draw…
The entire tournament is a massive undertaking. A few hundred rounds, double elimination. Masters and Padawans along with Battlemasters from all over the world descending on one Temple for a month to crown a winner for that year.
The bracket loads up in PDF form and tiny font before I pinch my fingers. "Twos. Find me please."
"On it, Ezra." Twos answers audibly, before I feel Master Tano's slight irritation.
Hey, why do things the hard way when I have an easier option available?
"Master, I didn't know you'd arrived." I hear Cayle's voice as Twos stops her search and highlights my name for me.
Padawan first round, second round…
There are five or six duels a day. Each watched over by an official, usually a supervising Jedi Master. Others can watch the matches, which are usually spread around the Temple.
Oh man.
Master Stella in the fifth duel, her first of the competition. And Battlemaster Kam Solusar in the seventh duel if I make it that far.
"—not bad for you. You don't face a Master until Day 3 potentially." Master tells her student before I glance up.
Cayle is holding a green towel while glancing at Ahsoka's phone. "That's not bad." He says, then sees me and throws the towel at me. "How about you?"
Mira squawks at the throw before I answer. "Looks rough."
"How so?" He retorts.
"Battlemaster on Day 2. But that's not the best one."
"What's the best one?" Zeb asks.
"Master Stella, from one of our European Temples had an unprovoked incident with Ezra about a month ago." Ahsoka informs him.
Three weeks.
"Unprovoked?" Zeb quickly asks. "What'd he do?"
"Got a snack." Cayle frowns. "She slapped him."
Zeb scowls before grumbling "I already don't like her."
"Well she's one of my last duels on Day 1. Her first one too."
Priming me to lose. Whoever put together the bracket is betting on my fatigue and her fresh legs overcoming me.
I don't think they want me to advance.
"Wonderful." Cayle lets out a laugh as I set the green towel down and start unloading the contents of my box. "So they want you to lose."
Yup.
They always want me to lose.
"Guess you'll just have to prove them wrong." Zeb says, with a sense of finality to it.