When Zam Wesell send Cye and Jango a list of the Jedi who survived the battle of Galidraan the two of them must make a decision. Who do they kill first?
27 BBY
Rav Bralor's helmet clattered to the ground with a solid hit as she managed to twist away from Cye's grasp. The woman's short, grey speckled brown hair spiked in all directions as she cleared the ringing in her ears with a head shake. Surprise shone in her eyes, but she was quick to retaliate. Cye leapt back, narrowly avoiding the gout of flame that shot out from Rav's vambrace. She wished she had her own, but the day's training wasn't about being evenly matched. Singed hair and accelerant were the only things she could smell as she shielded her eyes from the sudden blast of heat. The sparring matches with the older woman were always intense.
Out of all the other Mandalorian Cuy'val Dar, Rav put up the hardest fight. The days Cye worked with her and her boys were lessons painfully learned. Rav's clone commando trainees watched on, some cheering for their trainer and some cheering for their melee instructor. Either way, Cye hoped that they were paying close attention.
Rav shot out her whipcord before Cye could regain her balance. It encircled her torso and right arm, cinching tight around her ribs. "You should wear your beskar when you fight," Rav said, her tone cocky and triumphant. "Ready to yield?"
Cye snorted and rocked back, pulling the cord tight between them. Rav yanked the line, trying to force Cye off balance. Instead she activated the vibro blade hidden up her left sleeve and they both tumbled backwards. In the moment it took Rav to recenter herself Cye slipped out of her loosened restraints and sprinted the distance between them. She flipped the blade in her hand and jabbed the butt of the handle between Rav's armor plates up and under her armpit, simulating a piercing blow with the vibroknife.
The punch Rav landed nearly knocked the wind from Cye's lungs, but she managed to hold onto both her breath and the chest plate of Rav's beskar'gam. She pulled Rav close so that they were nose to nose. Too close to give the other woman a Keldabe kiss, but just the right distance to activate the vibroknife under Rav's chin a finger's width from her throat.
"Are you ready to yield?" Cye asked back.
Rav smirked and relaxed her grip on Cye's arm. "If that'd been a real jab I'd be bleeding out anyway. Nice job, hiding that blade."
She deactivated the vibroknife, stepped back, and grinned. "Guess I didn't need armor to kick your shebs, eh?"
"This time," Rav said as she rolled her eyes. "Next time I'll be looking for that knife."
"Next time it won't be a knife," Cye laughed. "I have to keep you and your boys on their toes. Who knows, maybe next time I'll put on my full kit."
"I look forward to it." Rav turned back to her commandos in training. "Alright boys, you saw what just happened. Being unarmored and mostly unarmed isn't an excuse for failure. Now, square off with those dummy droids. Find their weak points and take advantage of them. If you don't, I'll send Cye by to find yours. Got it?"
"Yes, Sergeant!" The chorus of similar voices said in unison before they split into their quads and got to work. Cye coughed softly, clearing her throat as she rubbed the soft spot just below her ribs where Rav punched her. The other woman smirked and patted her shoulder.
"You're getting better at keeping your diaphragm tight. Good job."
"You certainly don't make it easy," Cye replied. "I don't think I've been more fit in my life. Or more sore. It's been fun."
"Fun," Rav chuckled. "You're something else, Cye. I'm surprised you don't have your own group of clones to train."
Cye frowned, waving away the suggestion with a flick of her hand. "And be stuck here cut off from the rest of the galaxy? I don't think so." Rav wasn't the first trainer to question her about taking on a group of clones herself. "Besides, I'm not getting paid to be here. I have other priorities."
"We're training the next generation of Mando'ade. This should be your priority."
Cye cocked her head, judging Rav through a narrowed stare. The comment caught her off guard. Mandalorians who chose to come to Kamino were ori'ramikad with no one to fight. After the civil war, the new Pacifist government had no need or room for those who fought their battles for them. They were brushed under the rug like a shameful secret, some were outright banished from their homeworld. The young clones were an opportunity to keep true Mandalorian culture alive.
"I teach what I can when I'm here, Rav." She kept the offense from her tone as squared her shoulders. She was winded from sparring, but Cye would finish a fight if Rav started one. "And I take out obstacles that threaten their future when I'm not. There's more to winning a war than training the soldiers. You know that just as well as I do."
"As long as we're on the same side," Rav said as she extended her hand. Cye repeated the gesture and they clasped forearms. Rav looked out at the group of boys training with the droids and smiled proudly. "Their side."
"Their side," Cye agreed with a nod. "I'll see you next time. Keep up the good work."
Cye took the outside loop on the walk back to her shared quarters. She didn't like discussing her reasons for not taking on a position as a full trainer. She especially didn't like to come up with excuses and lies to placate the people she respected. What those boys were put through at the hands of their own trainers was something she couldn't will herself to do. It was a horrific reminder of her own abuse as a slave, and not an experience she was able to inflict on the young clones. The other Mandalorians might not fault her for that choice if they knew what she's been through, but she'd rather avoid the admission than show weakness.
She caught her reflection in the transparisteel windows as lightning flashed outside. Her long, braided black hair was tightly wrapped and pinned around her head. The bruise on her chin she'd earned from training with Walon Vau the week before had faded to a pale, mottled yellow. She could barely make out the silvery lines of the scars that splayed out from her temple. A constant yet faded reminder of what she had survived at the hands of Death Watch decades before. She'd overcome that abuse and more, the clones would survive their abuse too. She simply didn't want to be the one to inflict it.
She paused, watching the rain pelt against the windows. Monsoon season was in full swing, with waves cresting high upon the stilted legs holding up Tipoca City. She could almost feel the subtle sway of the building as the massive waves crashed under her feet. It reminded her of the otherworldly sensation of hyperspace. At least here she was able to keep control of her body.
Out in the distance a lumbering wave rolled closer. It was easily 30 meters high, growing taller as the trough deepened. It might have been the biggest wave Cye had seen since she made Kamino her home. Yet it still crested and passed through the stilts, the city unscathed. It seemed like no matter how hard nature fought, it would never claim what the Kaminoans built. Cye walked away wondering if she was the city or the wave.
Her contemplations were interrupted by squealing giggles as she opened the door to the small apartment. Boba was wriggling on the floor with Jango kneeling over him, practically jabbing his fingers up and down the boys sides. It was strange to think the other clones were the same age, barely five. Boba could hardly catch his breath between peels of laughter. Her brother's grin erased the scowl lines that were often etched into his face. Boba's changed him for the better, she thought as she crept into the room. The door slid shut behind her and they both froze, heads jerking towards her in a brief surprise.
"Cye'ba! Help!" Boba gasped before attempting to free himself from his father's grasp. Jango trapped him with more tickles caused an eruption of snorting laughter.
"Oh no you don't," Jango teased as he wrangled his son. "Your ba'vodu won't help you. She's on my side."
"We'll see about that," Cye said as her cheeks pinched from smiling. "What happened?"
"Someone decided to sneak the last piece of uj cake from the conservator," Jango said as Boba's squeals of protests were cut off with hiccuping howls as the attack continued. "Your piece of uj cake. So I'm tickling it out of him."
Cye clicked her tongue as she approached, shaking her head in mock disappointment while trying to keep a straight face. "You ate my last piece, Boba?"
"I didn't know it was yours, Cye'ba!" he managed to protest between gasps. Cye sat down just out of reach and folded her arms across her chest. Her only response was a cocked head and raised eyebrow. "Okay, okay!" Jango paused his assault like enough for Boba to continue. "I thought you forgot about it. It's been sitting there for days!"
"Just one day!" she scoffed.
"I thought you didn't want it!"
"Well maybe I did," Cye replied, scooting closer. "But now I'll just have to settle for something else."
Before the boy had a chance to react Cye started a new barrage of tickling. Boba's screamed with laughter as he begged her to relent through his wriggling. Jango held him up and she blew raspberries on his exposed belly. Boba's shrill giggling filled the apartment, and probably carried out to the nearby compound but Cye didn't care. Boba was their happiness and they didn't care who knew it.
"Ni dinu! NI DINU!" Boba breathed at last. Jango and Cye halted their attack, chuckling as he collapsed in a heap beneath them. She wiped away laughing tears and held the spot Rav hit her earlier protectively as she caught her breath.
"Next time you'll think twice before swiping the last piece of uj cake," Jango said with a wide grin.
"Or get better at not getting caught," Cye added.
"Are you sure you want to open that door?" Jango asked. The soft clicking and whirring from the kitchen drew their attention. MU-12 stood in the doorway with a tray of food. Boba took that moment to roll out of Jango's reach and stand.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your punishment, but it's Master Boba's lunch time," she said in her clipped monotone. Cye stood and moved to give the droid the room to set the tray at the table.
"Wide open," Cye replied to Jango with a wink as she ruffled Boba's hair. "Better luck next time kiddo."
"You also have a holo call waiting, Master Jango. It's Zam Wesell." Jango met Cye's curious gaze with one of his own. He would contact the clawdite bounty hunter with jobs that he wanted to subcontract. It was rare for her to reach out first. "Shall I tell her you're busy?"
"No. I'll be right there." Jango stood and nodded for Cye to follow.
Boba raised his eyebrows and bounced excitedly. "Can I come?"
"Not this time," Jango replied. "I'll let Zam know you say hi."
The young boy dropped his shoulders and frowned, but didn't argue. He mumbled something under his breath and flopped down at the table and poked around his food. Adorable. Cye snorted softly before catching up with her brother. He took the holo into his bedroom and she slid the door shut behind her. From the look on Jango's face, this was a conversation he didn't want Boba to overhear. Cye sat down beside him at his desk as he activated the holo comm and Zam's human, pixie-like face popped up.
"Zam," Jango greeted the clawdite, back to his gruff, no nonsense tone. "I hope you have a good reason for contacting me."
"Can't a girl call to catch up?" Zam offered a sly smile. "It's been a while Cye. You're looking good. It just hasn't been the same working solo." Cye wasn't sure if she winked or the holo flickered. She couldn't help the fluttering in her stomach as she remembered the way Zam looked at her the last time they'd parted ways.
"If you wanted to chat, you called the wrong holo," Jango said as he glanced back at Cye. She tried to keep her expression passive, but she was sure her brother saw the heat rising up her neck. "What do you have for me?"
"Always business with you, Jango," she sighed, "never pleasure. Too bad. I do have something for you though. That list of names you gave me? You should have told me I was looking for Jedi. It would have made things a hell of a lot easier."
"Jedi?" Cye asked, her past feelings evaporated and replaced with an instant swirl of anger and unease. "Tion'jor val oya'kar Jetiise?"
"Nu oya'kar," Jango replied, "Scouting. What did you find, Zam?"
"I had to call in a favor, an expensive favor too, Jango."
"You'll get your money. If you completed the job."
"I'm sending you the data now," Zam replied. "Six of the people on that list are dead. Seven of them are still part of the Order and three of them parted ways with the Jedi years ago but still live. I've got the assignments of the current Jedi and last known locations for the others."
"Good work, Zam," Jango said with a curt nod. "How soon can you meet us at Tatooine? I have another job for you."
"I'd like to get paid for this one first."
"Okay then. How soon would you like to get paid?"
Zam rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated huff. "I can be there in two days if I leave now."
"We'll see you then," Jango replied and moved to cut the holo feed.
"Wait, I-"
Cye stared forward at the spot where Zam's face had been. She clenched her fist against the roiling emotions she wrestled as she avoided Jango's eyes. He watched her carefully until she finally managed to put her thoughts in order.
"You sent Zam to look for the Jedi at Galidraan." Cye turned just enough to meet his gaze. It wasn't a question, but he nodded anyway. "And you didn't bother to warn her who she was looking for?"
"She's a smart woman," Jango said back. "I wasn't worried."
"Does she know why?"
"I haven't told her, if that's what you're wondering. But that doesn't mean she won't figure things out." He balled his hand around her fist. "I sent her to collect information and now we're one step closer to putting those Jedi scum in the ground. But I want us to be the ones to do it." He activated the holo display on the data Zam sent over. "Let's take a look and pick who we're taking out first."
Seeing their faces dredged up the overwhelming sense of loss she thought she'd moved on from. Everyone she'd grown up with, everyone who looked after her and trained her after her father was killed, the people she cared about and believed in were gone in the span of an hour. Massacred by the so-called peacekeepers of the galaxy without a second thought. Fresh hatred blossomed like night blooming varos, filling anew the void their loss left behind. It was a reminder that they were still far from exacting their vengeance. She relaxed her hand and pulled away from her brother.
"We should start with the deserters," Cye said at last.
He swept aside the profiles of the Jedi still operating in the Order and expanded one of the renegades. They were near human with ashen green skin, short cropped blonde hair, and dark violet eyes. It was difficult to tell if they were male or female, but their distinctive triangular facial tattoos across their cheeks and forehead made them recognizable enough to track down in a crowd.
"Andan Valazos," Jango said before he began spouting out stats, "Mirialan. One point eight six meters, seventy-seven kilos, right handed, specializes in Form Two Makashi lightsaber dueling. Padawan to Master Lurial Morusei, killed at Galidraan-"
"Good."
"-left the Jedi Order four years later without completing the Trials. Currently serving as a surgeon's aid in the Med Corps on New Holstice, caretaker to the Jedi memory moths."
The next image was a familiar one, though the name was different. Dooku, Count of Serenno. Renounced the Jedi Order shortly after Galidraan, citing the Order's policing disputes they had no part in, growing involvement in politics, and corruption in the Senate.
"At least he could admit what he did," Cye said as she looked over his credentials. "They managed to push him far enough to become their enemy too and they don't even know it."
"No one else needs to know it either," Jango added. "Tyranus is still more valuable to us alive anyway."
"After orchestrating all this?" Cye gestured with a circling hand. "I'm inclined to agree. Let's see the last one."
Cye sucked in a sharp gasp and flinched like she'd been stabbed in the gut. She felt the bile rising as she stared at the face of the man who'd handed her over to the governor of Galidraan after slaughtering her aliit. She swallowed the hard knot in her throat, forcing air through her nose with a snort to remind herself to breathe.
"What is it, Ika'vod?" Jango asked.
"This one is mine," she replied in a hoarse whisper. Even with a long, gray beard Cye recognized the crystal blue eyes, the long, hawkish nose, and the wide ears that tapered to rounded points. They were seared into her memory when she and Jango were hauled away to a fate worse than death. "I want my face to be the last thing he sees before I kill him."
"I won't take that from you," Jango replied. "But be careful. Dardua Waikali is a master of influence and mind control. They kicked him out of the Jedi Order for it. Out of all the Jedi on our list, he's probably the most dangerous." He expanded the man's profile. He never moved past the basic forms of lightsaber combat, but he could manipulate even Jedi Masters with the Force.
"I don't care," Cye said with more anger than she intended. "I remember him. He enjoyed killing Mandalorians. I remember the way he smiled as they took us away. He knew where we were going. I wanted to scrape that smile off his face with my boot. And now I will."
Jango's brow furrowed with a concerned frown emphasizing the scars on his face. She held his gaze with her jaw tight. She wasn't going to hear any doubts or uncertainty from her brother. She wanted him to see she was serious.
"You handle Waikali," he said at last. "I'll take out Valazos." He pulled a spare datachip from the desk drawer and downloaded the information on Dardua Waikali then handed it to Cye. "I'll drop you with Zam on Tatooine. She can go with you."
"I don't need a babysitter," Cye protested.
"Never said you did," he said. The edge of his lip twitched up. "But she did want to catch up with you. Plus she knows Azterri well, especially Talos. If your mark is there, she'll be able to help find him faster." He stood up, pulling the data card and tucking it into his pocket.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine," he replied as he slid the door open and exited to the main room.
"And what if you need backup?" Cye asked as she stood and followed her brother out of the room. Boba was extremely focused on his food that he'd barely touched. She wondered how long he'd been listening at the door before he scampered back to his lunch.
Jango flashed a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "If you haven't heard from me by the time you've finished your job, you can be my backup."
"I could be your backup, buir," Boba said, food forgotten once again. "I can shoot a blaster now."
"Not yet," Jango said. "You need to work on your aim before you come on jobs with me. We don't need any bystanders shot unless we do it on purpose." Boba groaned in disappointment, but didn't argue. He went back to his food, but Jango stayed where he was, his head cocked, watching the boy. "Actually," he said at last. "I think you should come with me."
"Really?!" Boba practically shouted with excitement.
"Yes. I think you'll be very useful."
"Ori'vod," Cye said warily.
"I have a plan," Jango replied. "Besides, it's time he started learning how to hunt."
"I promise I won't let you down, Ja'buir," Boba said eagerly. "When do we leave?"
"Pack your things," Jango said with a nod towards the boy's room. "We're leaving as soon as we're ready." Boba leapt from the couch and straight for his room. As soon as he was out of earshot Jango turned back to Cye. "This will be a good learning opportunity."
"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked. "He's only five, Ori'vod."
"How old were you when Jaster started your training?" he asked back.
Cye sighed, "Four, but he wasn't sending me after Jedi, either. Just target practice and how to field strip and clean blasters."
"I promise I'm not going to let him get killed." Jango placed his hand on her shoulder to offer more reassurance. "You know I wouldn't be that reckless. I'm not just dragging him along either. I think he will be useful as a distraction."
"If you say so, then I trust you." Cye looked up and gave a short laugh. "But if I don't hear from you by the time I'm done, I'm coming after you."
"Good," he said with a quick nod. "Now let's get our kits and get out of here. We have Jedi to hunt."
Mando'a Translations:
Beskar'gam - Beskar armor
Keldabe kiss - Headbutt
Shebs - Ass
Cye'ba - Aunt Cye
Ba'vodu - Aunt/Uncle
Uj cake - A dense, very sweet flat cake made of ground nuts, syrup, pureed dried fruit and spice
Ni dinu! - I give!
Tion'jor val oya'kar Jetiise? - Why is she hunting Jedi?
Nu oya'kar - She's not hunting
Aliit - Clan / Family
Ika'vod - Little sister, younger sister, term of endearment for Cye (more familiar than the usual vod'ika)
Buir - Father/mother/parent
Ori'vod - big brother, older brother, special friend, term of endearment for Jango