Author's Note: Paz, there may be a story from me in the future, just for you Paz. Thanks for reading.
/
Convincing Paz and The Armorer to leave the ring-like space station and set up their guild somewhere else was going to be difficult. Especially since Din was no longer considered to be one of them.
He was greeted at the entrance by Paz Vizsla, " Din, you shouldn't be here." He said with some menace in his tone, still clearly bitter about losing his chance at the Darksaber, and perhaps ready for another chance.
"Let him come," the Armorer stated. It took Paz a minute but he stepped aside to let Din pass. Din knelt before the Armorer. "Have you visited the mines under Mandalore?" She asked Din.
"No," he said.
"Paz Vizsla have you ever removed your helmet in front of another?" She asked.
"No," Paz replied.
"Din Djarin, have you ever-"
"Yes!" Din interrupted her. "Yes I have, but!"
"Then you are no longer a Mandalorian," the Armorer told him.
"I came to warn you. There's a Sith coming here. She goes by the name of Vissna. You can't trust her." Din pleaded with her.
"How would a Sith know of our location, Din," she asked him. Din wouldn't look at her. He felt ashamed.
"You led a Sith to our door?!" Paz roared, stomped towards Din. He grabbed him by the neck, and held him in the air off his feet. He fist ready to punch his helmet in.
"That is enough," the Armorer said, "let Vissna come. The Mandalorians have dealt with the Sith before. We will do it again."
"You must let me stay and help you," Din begged her.
"No," she said. "You are not one of us. This is the way."
"This is the way," Paz repeated.
Discouraged, Din left them.
/
Vissna held the broken and bloody body of a Mandalorian in her arms. He was dying. She had tears in her eyes. "W-why?" She cried. "Why would you do that?" Tears ran freely down her face. She clutched the side of the Mandalorian's chest where a gaping wound spilled blood over her and onto the ground. It must have been hard to get a good shot around all that beskar. She'd have to make sure she paid her assassins well, and use them again.
"V-Vissna," he coughed. Vissna took the bottom of the Mandalorian's helmet and pulled it up. "No!" He grunted in pain, pulling it back down, "you can't."
Vissna didn't loosen her grip on the helmet, "but, you're going to die."
"Then I will die with honor," he grimaced.
"What if I wanted to kiss you, while you're still here," Vissna sobbed.
He chuckled, "you can kiss me after I'm gone. And bring my armor back to my kind."
Vissna nodded, "I will." She took pride in how noble she sounded. She took his hands in hers and kissed them. "If only there were some way to save you. To have more time with you. You barely even know me, and yet you risked your life to save me. Why?"
"Vissna, I love you," he gasped, and then he took his last breath and went limp in her arms. It was all so touching.
"Finally!" Vissna sighed. "You took forever to die, did you know that?" Vissna took out her duffel bag. Her plan was working. You just can't make up these kinds of sappy memories. They are best fresh.
She let word out of some ex-imperials holding a large stash of beskar. A Mandalorian couldn't resist. Beskar's like spice to those tin heads. The club right above the Mando's hiding hole was hopping with the news of this big potential score. Soon the whole strip knew the information.
Then all she had to do was team up with the Mandalorian, fake the whole common goal thing, convince him of his love for her, stage the whole thing…. She happened to be holding onto a large stash of beskar for such an occasion. And now she had the dead Mandalorian body, and more importantly, his bloody armor.
/
"I request an audience with The Armorer," Vissna announced as she walked into the Mandalorian's covert. All she had to do was follow Din's memory of the place. She was met by Paz Vizla's blaster. "I'm unarmed," Vissna said, raising her hands and turning around for show. She used The Force to hide her lightsaber from his view.
Paz reached a hand out to pat her down. When he reached the hip her lightsaber was equipped to, she moaned and moved her ass into his touch, taking Paz by surprise. What was not surprising, however, was the instant hard on he received and the great difficulty and restraint it took to then remove his hand from her. He picked up her duffel bag and unzipped it. When he held it upside down pieces of Mandalorian armor fell out, including a helmet freshly covered in blood. Paz dropped the bag and had his blaster aimed at her head in seconds.
"I wish to speak to the armorer," Vissna said bravely. Paz looked like Din… but on spice. His bicep was the size of her head. The bigger they come, the harder they fall, she thought. And the greater quantity of blood they spill. Vissna licked her lips when he didn't answer, looking as though she'd found her dinner.
"Let her come," The Armorer said. Vissna picked up the helmet and presented it, along with two camtonos of beskar, to The Armorer. She dropped to her knees to show respect. "Where did you get all of this beskar?" She asked.
"Does it matter?" Vissna replied. "It's rightfully yours, isn't it?"
"What does this helmet mean to you?" The Armorer asked her, taking the bloody helmet from her hands.
"The helmet is a symbol of a culture that I admire, long lost but not completely forgotten. The armor itself, the beskar, is a gift from the universe, and so should be used as such." She replied, raising to her feet.
"And how did you come to have it?" She asked.
"He was a friend. He told me to return his armor to his people." Vissna said. She was thinking a bit on her feet. She knew her Mandalorian history. First she needed to give them something, an olive branch, why she was an asset and not an intruder. "I don't understand it," Vissna sighed, "how did the Mandalorians fall so far… I blame the republic, the Jedi, who stripped Mandalore of its leader, it's infrastructure and its culture."
The Armorer considered her words. "Who are you?" She asked.
Vissna shook her head. "I was born on Mandalore to the House Kryze. My parents parished getting me on my Aunt's gunship out of Mandalore on the night of 1000 tears. My Aunt adopted me, but once she learned of my true power, she feared for her own… and sold me into slavery in the Senex sector. My Master found me and made me strong, then he betrayed me and left me to die."
"You were Bo Katan's foundling?" The Armorer asked..
"I'm not her child anymore," Vissna sneered.
"No, not anymore," The Armorer repeated. "Bo Katan does not Walk the Way of the Mandalore. The Mandalorian who saved your life did." The Armorer said.
Vissna started to pace, "Bo Katan is not a true Mandalorian, she does not follow The Creed, and is ill fit to rule the Mandalorians."
"You are here to talk politics," The Armorer mused
Vissna smiled, she enjoyed girl-talk, "I like the horns on your helmet. They remind me of someone I've trained under. It is true, I'm not only here to return a fallen warrior's armor. Bo Katan wishes to reunite all the Mandalorians under her rule. Her ties to the republic make her a questionable choice at best. Wouldn't it be a shame if she succeeded?" Vissna paused to let The Armorer imagine.
"Are you asking me as a Sith or as a Mandalorian yourself?" The Armorer questioned.
Vissna knew what she was getting at, "The Sith and Mandalorians have held alliances since The Great Shadow Crusades. But I am not like the other Sith. The who have no attachments to Mandalore, and strive to play puppet master to its people. I've studied the Resol'nare, I know your culture and your Creed. I was born on Mandalore. The Mandalorians once became so powerful, they were perceived as a threat to the republic. What the republic cannot control, they destroy. Then they inserted their republic-loving pacifist leader, Duchess Satine to suppress Mandalore's culture and splinter its people. I wish to see it reunited under the rule of one supreme chieftain."
"And that chieftain is you?" The Armorer crossed her arms.
"No. I am not a true Mandalorian. But it could be you." Vissna smiled.
"What do you gain?" The Armorer asked.
"A powerful ally. One that will conquer and reign. Devour those who cannot live up to our potential. For combat is the one and only true form of worship. It is the divine will of the universe. If you have power, you must use it. With you as leader, we will replenish Mandalore together. I will see to it that the proper military infrastructure is in place. I will find a planet to train our recruits. I will hunt down every last piece of beskar in the galaxy and destroy any weapons made against it."
The Armorer seemed to consider her words thoroughly, "I will not be the one who reunites Mandalore. That future belongs to someone else."
Vissna smiled, "I thought you might say that, and I have an alternative candidate," and said in Mando'a, "Aruetyc talyc runi'la solus cet o'r. Aruetyc talyc runi'la trattok'o." Every last traitorous soul shall kneel. Every last traitorous soul shall fall.
Vissna heard footsteps from behind her and the sound of the activation of a saber. She smiled knowingly. After listening in and hearing Vissn's plan, Din decided now was a good time to announce his presence.
"Vissna," Din sneered with a great deal of hate in his tone. "What do you think you're doing here," it wasn't a question, he was threatening her to back down.
Hmm, Vissna thought, it appears someone's gotten to Din. She could guess who. Perhaps another visit to Mos Espa was in order? She couldn't help but feel slightly turned on with her Mandalorian's hate. "I was under the impression we parted on good terms," she said, "I can't imagine how I earned such spite from you."
"Leave," was all Din said in reply. The tone in his voice was a warning.
"Maybe I have a thing for Mando's, like you have a thing for Twi'leks," she smirked, turned towards him, "Maybe I really like not having to see my lovers faces when I fuck him.. or her." It wasn't entirely a lie, she did have a thing for Mandalorians. The Sith and the Mandalorians shared many core beliefs.
"No, I know why you're here," he growled.
"You can say that because you know me so well?" Vissna chimed.
"I don't know you at all," Din pointed his saber at her, "you killed that Mandalorian!" He said pointing to the bloody armor.
"Now that isn't fair," Vissna glared, "I would never kill my allies. How would that possibly benefit me? I'm here in good faith, asking for trust. It's all here in my memory. Would you like to have it? Would you like to see how we stole two cantoons of beskar from ex imps together? Or hear my friend cough on his blood while he professes his love for me?"
"I wouldn't trust any 'memory' of yours," Din was fuming in rage, practically panting.
"You wouldn't harm an unarmed woman," she said, "would you?"
"We both know you aren't unarmed Vissna," he said, slashing his saber through the air.
"Satine," she said.
"What?" He questioned.
"That's my birth name," Vissna explained, "I was named after the pacifist Duchess of Mandalore, an aunt I never knew. She was killed before I was born. The same Duchess Satine who saw her soldiers slaughtered by the hundreds in her attempt to remain neutral in war. There was an army of Mandalorians ready to protect its people, yet, due to her pacifist thinking, her people starved, children were poisoned, all because she was too weak to do what was necessary to maintain order. We all know what eventually happened to Mandalore in the end. I simply don't want the same thing to happen again. Wouldn't you like to see Mandalore restored to its rightful glory?"
"I'm not changing my mind," Din told her, taking a running start, his saber above his right shoulder.
"Stop!" The Armorer ordered him. Din halted to a sloppy stop just before his blade made contact with Vissna's face. Vissna smiled. "I accept your help in uniting Mandalore in the name of The Creed. This Is The Way." She said.
"This is the way," Paz repeated.
"This is the way," Vissna gleefully recited.
"No," Din cussed under his breath.
"Din Djarin," The Armorer called, "you and Vissna will visit the mines under Mandalore. You will become a Mandalorian once more. This is the way."
"This is the way," Din repeated.
"I have a small request to make," Vissna mentioned to The Armorer, causing Din to cringe at what else could possibly be in store for him. "Din has made his intentions for me quite clear. I would feel much better if Paz Vizla joined us on our trip to Mandalore, as my personal escort… to ensure my safety." Vissna could feel the hate radiating from Din, it filled her so pleasantly.
"It shall be done," The Armorer confirmed.
"Don't let me down," Vissna winked at Paz. "You know… there was another Mandalorian who gave his word to me too," she glanced at Din, "and yet.. here he now stands with a hand on his blaster in anticipation of ending me." Din reluctantly lowered his hand from his blaster.
"Din is not a Mandalorian," Paz sneered, "I am. That's the difference," Paz stepped in front of Din, between him and Vissna and looked down upon him, "This is the way."
Vissna almost moaned. This was too good to be true. She couldn't wait to get these two together for an extended trip. Clearly, they didn't get along. Din was walking on the edge of a thin blade here, choosing his next move oh so carefully. It's alright Din, Vissna thought, I'll do all the thinking for you, all you have to do is obey.
"Great," Vissna said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together, "we'll take my new ship," Vissna smirked.
"Find another Razor Crest?" Din mocked.
"Unfortunately for you, no. I was hoping my new ship would be more my style, alas, we aren't flying in luxury this time. Be good and I'll let you pilot her." Vissna cooed, further vexing Din.
/
