Jaune and Yang raced off across the open plans of her homeworld Yang closed her eyes and leaned back just over the upper edge of the windshield letting the win wip over her face. Sitting back down she started working on the hair tie holding her ponytail in place when she saw Jaune flip out his knife.
He went to hand it to her when instead she turned her head offering the hair tie to him. The idea of cutting Yang's hair tie off of her while driving at a frankly reckless speed was one that should have been more nerve racking.
But neither of them were known for giving in to nerves so after a moment of pause he looked over and casually slipped the hooked blade under the tie and drew back the curved blade slicing the material with ease.
Instantly Yang's hair, long by mandalorian standards, was blowing behind her as she relaxed into the seat. Her eyes slipped shut once more as her right hand found its way to the window sill of the right side of the speeder and her left hand found it's way to Jaune's right.
Their fingers intertwined as they speed off heading both for a specific spot and into the sunset.
…
From the hastily stopped speeder to their tree was a trail of discarded armor parts that lead to where the two of them laid. Jaune was on his back with the root of the tree under his arm that was under his head. Yang was right with him, her neck resting in the gap between Jaune's upper arm and chest.
"So what do you think about having a father now?" Yang asked
"Not sure, I think I like it but I haven't really had one for long" Jaune explained, trying not to talk about his father like he was some kind of pet.
"So what do you think about having a family name now?" Yang asked.
Jaune took a long time to answer but answer he did. "I never really intended to ever have my own, I was kinda figuring on just taking your's one day"
Just like he figured Yang's grasp when stiff for a second. She didn't say anything yet and he wanted to get ahead of the fight before they had it. "I know you aren't ready yet, I don't want to push you." he felt Yang's nervous grip ease up slightly. "What I do want to know is what you would ask of me."
Leaning down he kissed the top of her head saying. "If you were to ask for the stars themselves I would rip them from the sky with my bare hands. But I can't do that if you won't tell me what it is that you want."
They had this talk at least once a month for the last several years, ever since they had been able to admit they loved each other. It normally ended with Yang changing the subject and Jaune not pushing the matter. He knew she was nervous, her own mother's failures hung heavy over Yang. something that made Jaune despise the woman all the more.
"Are you going to enter the tournament?" she asked. While there was no ruling stating that the matches were to the death traditionally they were.
"Yes, I am. You aren't worried about me are you ?" he asked with a smug grin knowing she was but wasn't going to admit it.
Grinning and thumping him in the chest she answered. "Yeah, worried you'll make a fool of yourself" before getting serious and continuing, "so is my father, Jaune, if you face him in the tournament…"
"I'll forfeit" he said without hesitation. He wanted to be Mand'alor, but he wanted Yang more.
"No" she replied, confusing him. "You cannot let him win, Jaune my father is an amazing man, and would be an amazing Mand'alor, but the last thing we need is my mother having any claim to the throne," Yang explained. "There's more" she said just as Jaune was about to offer a counter point.
"you and I both know the people of Mandalore just wish to be left alone, for now at least. But he can't do that, he would need to help any and everyone he could. It would overextend us, and it would create the chance for a second civil war."
She was referring to the fact that the Kryze family the end of a long line of dukes and duchesses of Mandalore had too many fingers in too many pies, when their enemies came for them they were too spread out to properly fight back and over half of them were dead inside of a day.
"He is a good man, but he cannot be allowed to become Mand'alor, just please, don't kill him" she said with a sarcastic face but an edge or severity in her tone. To leave a man alive in a tournament like the one that was to come was often seen as an immense insult. But it was an insult that Tai was going to have to live with.
Jaune's arm left the back of his head and wrapped around Yang pulling her closer as his other arm took its place. "Like I said my love, Even the stars"
…
Pyrrha sat down next to Qui-Gon after watching Jaune and Yang disappear over the horizon. "So what do you think of Mandalore?" Tai asked her.
"I'm not really sure yet, I," she paused, not sure how to phrase what she was thinking.
"Qui-Gon has spoken of your master, I suspect you are not used to the excitement of Mandalore" Tai said subtly telling her about his knowledge of her connection to Dooku.
"That may be true," she said, still not sure how to answer.
"DAMN SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SAVE THAT MAN" someone yelled from the bar's TV tuned to the most popular gladiator chanell
Everyone turned to look at it and saw a man in a fine dress suit standing in the open arena. "What's he doing in there?" Tai half yelled.
"He's facing the man buster!" one of them yelled back.
"The man busters already killed five people, who let him do that?" Tai replied both forgetting Pyrrha for a moment and turning his focus to the screen.
…
The Iron gate groaned as the bars unlocked and started to rise. In the middle of the arena the formerly Adam Tuaras stared at the Horned Kath hound was unchained. The beast charged him intent on goring or trampling him. Whichever would be more gruesome.
He was not going to let that happen, not today. Years of training for his REAL purpose made him strong and fast, he was about to prove both. The hound was getting closer and he could see the blast marks where the ones who had faced it before tried to shoot it and failed to kill it.
He noted a slight hitch in the beast's left lead shoulder and decided that would be the side to attack. He half stepped to his own left, making the beast move to catch him when he launched into a vaulting cartwheel over the beast's left horn as it tried to turn to face him.
Adam was ready for it grabbing the left horn as he reached over the back and grabbing the underside of the right horn. There was a roar from the crowd as the beast dragged him to the wall trying to smash him off.
After it failed to do so it turned to pin him against the wall and Adam acted. As the beast went to slam into the wall gripped the horns as hard as he could and with all of his might he stepped out of the path of the beast and cranked the horns in a clockwise way.
The force of the creature's own weight mixed with Adam's augmented torque snapped the hound's neck.
The crowd went silent as the beast slumped dead on the sand as Adam adjusted his suit and returned first to the gate he was supposed to exit from before leaping up and climbing the wall of the arena that led to the Schnee family box.
Almost casually flipping over the edge of the box he moved with a natural grace to the empty seat beside Winter Schnee who was wearing a matching wedding dress. They sat in the seat of the Schnee family leaders that three days ago had been the newly deceased Jacques and Willow Schnee.
…
"Well that is one way to announce a marriage" Tai said looking back from the screen he saw Pyrrha and Qui-Gon both looking at him for an explanation.
"Jacques and Willow Schnee both died in their sleep three or four days ago, not that anyone believes that" Jacques said. "Some of my sources say that she probably had them killed, good thing too Jacques was going to get that clan eradicated if nobody stopped him."
Pyrrha, who had not figured out how to fully address any of the matters brought up so far, felt the need to simply sit silently and do anything Qui-Gon said. "Tell me Tai," the elder Jedi began. "What has become of Ghira? I heard he was seeking full recognition as a clan head before we left."
Tai laughed pointing to one of the other screens showing the near mountain of a man and comparatively miniscule wife at a different stadium watching the match of their adopted son who was named rather oddly Sun. "They were recognized against Jacques' and Johnathon's best efforts, they were given a sector of space on the border of Jacques' and mine own." Tai stopped for a moment and looked at the screen intently staring at the empty chair. "Odd, Blake is normally with them at all of Sun's fights."
On another screen the iron gate opened to reveal four men in moderate amounts of armor with shields and other weapons. Pyrrha was drawn to that screen by the horror on the men's faces. "You may wish to look away dear" Tai said "those men are convicted murders, that is an execution."
Pyrrha knew she should have done as Tai said but either her own curiosity or maybe there was something in the air of this new culture that was getting to her but she narrowed her eyes and focused in on the screen as Tai continued
"Three gates open, two close, the first is for those to be executed, the second two are for the Winchesters." At the mention of that name Pyrrha perked up slightly. The Winchesters were a known clan, they were known as Jedi killers.
Jonathan and his Son Cardin had yet to live up to that reputation but their forefathers certainly had. If these men were to fight even one member of the Winchester line then this was going to not just be an execution but a violent one.
The two gates on the other end of the arena rose slowly until both were fully raised. "The men have no idea which one is behind which gate," Tai explained as the men tried to make out the dark silhouettes for defining features. "They must choose which gate to close."
Pyrrha could see the barbaric beauty in making the men decide how they died. Since they had chosen the deaths of others, why should they get to stop there. First one man pointed his blade towards one of the doors, then a second, then the last two. In the end it was tied as Tai began to translate for her what the mandalorian judge was saying. "As the sentenced have not reached a verdict I am forced to pass the matter to the fates." she said as she simply flipped a coin with two symbols. Both gates had one of the symbols on it and as the coin fell Pyrrha was given a view from one of the cameras. She could see both symbols.
One was of a Concordian sunflower, a flower known for growing in the direction of sunlight, it was the symbol of Mandalorian justice always seeking the truth. The other, was far more gruesome a Nexu guardian her nest having just removed the entrails from one poacher lunging for another. On Mandalore Judgment was swift, and she was often final.
The coin landed on the Nexu and the gate under the symbol of the flower closed as Johnathon Winchester stepped out, the famed Winchester greataxe choked up in his right hand.
There was a great roar from the crowd right before they went silent as Johnathon raised his axe into the air. As he slowly returned the axe to a natural grip several deep and loud horns blasted. Pyrrha could tell that they would have been louder in person but even now she could see the effect they had on the men in the area all of whom seemed to have been hoping they got Johnathon's son.
Jonathan waited for the thundering horns to stop before he stepped forward. Only one of them was either desperate or brave enough to charge him. Jonathan kept the high grip on the axe while the man got closer. He was holding his sword and shield like he was trained in their use and when he swung he made sure to keep the shield up and close.
Jonathan seemed to almost sneer at the attempt as he thrust out the blunt top of the double axe at the man's shield. Pyrrha noted that Johnathon Winchester must have been the largest human she had ever seen, standing almost 7 foot 4 and the simple act of him striking the shield like he did was devastating.
The shield was instantly shattered with splinters of metal and timber spraying everywhere as the man was forced back. The man looked down at his broken shield being held in his broken arm before lunging in for a stab.
A stab that was promptly batted away with the flat of Johnathon's axe before he punched the axe forward and buried one of the heads into his chest. The mortally wounded man looked down, unable to scream as Johnathon ripped the axe out spraying blood everywhere.
The man tried to reach for the wound in his chest but Johnathon had other ideas bringing his axe down hard on the right shoulder he chopped through the armor, muscle and bone severing the entire arm as it flopped to the ground with a wet slap.
The man fell to his knees in shock as Johnathan stepped back and drew his axe into an overhead grip. Pyrrha knew that what was about to happen was going to haunt her but she had already come this far so she kept watching. Jonathan gave the man a moment to look up at him before the axe came down with a loud crunch as it shattered the man's skull and cleaved deep into his chest.
The crowd roared when Johnathon ripped the axe out of the man and was showered in the blood of the murderer. The other three must have realized that if they didn't come to Johnathon then he was going to come to them and they all rushed him.
Holding his axe in the normal grip Johnathon swung at the group of men the axed crashed into the man nearest his right and went through his shield clean through him sending his body to the ground in two pieces and then smashing into the second one breaking the shield and burying itself into the man's chest.
Letting go of the axe and allowing the second man to crumple to the ground. The final man saw the fate of the first two and froze in the middle of his swing. Jonathan seemed annoyed at that since he reached over and grabbed the man by his arm and lifted him into the air.
Before the man could recover from the shock of being lifted like a gallon of milk Johnathon swung the man around and threw him at the wall. Pyrrha could tell from the look of the arm that the shoulder was broken as Johnathon went to the man with his axe in his side and ripped it out and was about to walk away when he saw that the man was still alive.
Hoisting the axe over his head Johnathon brought the axe down hard, chopping through the man's chest and into the ground beneath him. Yanking the axe out of the ground, the body jolting as he did so. Johnathon gripped it properly as the final man was fighting his way to his knees. Without any waste of time Johnanthon hefted the axe up and brought it down, lopping the man's head clean off.
"And so Justice is served," Tai said as Johnathon held the axe aloft and the crowd roared so loud that the transmitters had to dampen the sound to avoid damaging the speakers. "So Jedi, what do you think of Mandalore now?"
Pyrrha turned back to face him and had the disturbing thought that she wasn't appalled by what she had just seen. She didn't offer an answer as Tai looked to Qui-Gon with a smirk that said what Pyrrha was thinking.
Jedi that came to Mandalore had a habit of liking it there. They may not like to admit it but many Jedi were warriors, and they liked to be among warriors. The same had been true of Obi-Wan, and of Qui-Gon. So it was no surprise that it was the same for Pyrrha.
"I think it would be best if Pyrrha and I returned to our quarters" Qui-Gon said standing to leave with Pyrrha hesitating before doing the same as the elder Jedi out to their speeder and then to the ship that brought Qui-Gon here from Mandalore.
As they flew back to the planet she asked him. "Master Qui-Gon, I was told that Master Dooku,"
"It's true," Qui-Gon said suddenly. "All of it, he hates himself for it even if he refuses to let it show." He knew that his former master was, in a word, stoic. So much so that at times Pyrrha questioned if Master Dooku even had feelings.
"But Master, we are meant to let go of our emotions?" Pyrrha half asked.
"No" Qui-Gon said suddenly, stopping not sure if he should say anymore at the risk of confusing the poor girl who was being trained by the very strict Count. With a tired sigh he decided that she was better off knowing it all now that he had started. " We are meant to not allow our feelings to control us, we cannot let them cloud our judgment. But to simply let them go would be to take away their value, and that takes away their importance."
Seeing he had in fact only served to confuse her more he continued. "There was once a Jedi Master her name was Tahl, we met as younglings and we remained friends for a very long time." He knew that Pyrrha was still not seeing what he was getting at but he continued anyway. "Young one I will say to you now that I was in love with her"
He felt a bit more pride than he knew he should when he saw how shocked Pyrrha looked at the revelation. "I loved her, and she loved me. We kept it a secret for the sake of the order but we never felt shame over it. Pyrrha," Qui-Gon paused before going any further "Tahl was murdered" he needed another moment to choke down the bitter words and even more bitter feelings that came after them.
"I went after the man who killed her. I almost gave myself over to the darkside, in fact I think at one time I DID give myself over to it. What brought me back to the light was Tahl. I remembered who she was, I knew she would have been ashamed of what I had become."
Qui-Gon wiped away the few tears he hadn't felt pool. "Your emotions are to be treasured, for they can be the most powerful bind you have to the light, stronger than anything the darkness has to offer." Having said his peace, Qui-Gon sat back into his seat and went silent in the same odd way that Pyrrha recognized. It meant that Qui-Gon wasn't going to be saying anything more for the rest of the night at least so she instead began her own thinking.
Here is chapter 6 everybody,
sorry about the late upload work for the better of me this week
as always if you want to get access to my works a week early (or see some of the short stories that don't really warrant me putting them on Fanfiction) you can do that as well as support my work on my page. So Long, Farewell, and God bless.
-Noruas Bombadil