Chapter 10: Just a Few Bad-Ass Girls
Just a few Bad-Ass Girls:
The feast/celebration was in full swing and growing by the minute. Two ships had left to get fresh food from Sundari since no one wanted to feast on rations and protein bars. Within an hour those two ships were back and were accompanied by dozens more as word spread like wildfire that THE place to party was the new Mand'alor's camp.
Bo-Katan had never been more proud of her people as she was now. This was the biggest peaceful gathering of clans in the memory of even the oldest amongst them. All around her, warriors mingled with the more 'enlightened' citizens of what was left of the New Mandalorians her older sister had worked so hard to promote. Their spirits were high as they ate their fill and drank a ridiculous amount of liquor.
She took a sip of her own spiced mead, glancing at her dinner companion who had somehow become her shadow over the course of the last day.
Fenn Rau caught her glance and winked, raising his cup to her in a salute. "I never thought I'd see this day," he said in exuberant disbelief. "You have performed what most would call a miracle."
Bo-Katan blushed slightly at the praise, glancing down her mostly empty plate. "I can't take all the credit. If it weren't for that Wren girl and her determination to stir up chaos over the last few months, I doubt the rest of us would have been inspired to act as we have."
Fenn tilted his head in acknowledgment. "As one who has taken part in most of her 'chaos', I have to admit you have a point. But I can guarantee it was you and not her who these people are here to celebrate with. You're the leader everyone wanted. We've just been waiting for you to realize it. I'm almost positive that everyone here would call you their Mand'alor even if you didn't have the Darksaber, It's only a symbol. YOU are the reality." His glacier blue eyes met her brilliant green ones, pouring all of his sincerity and admiration into his gaze.
Bo-Katan gazed back at him for a minute, not saying a word as she came to a decision. She stood abruptly from the hastily set up table in a clear space of the camp that was now packed with dozens of tables and hundreds of people. "Come with me," she said as she grabbed her helmet off the bench beside where she'd been sitting.
"Alright," Fenn said, quickly copying her movements and following her confidently striding form towards the small village of tents. He had no idea what they were doing, but he would happily follow that shapely frame anywhere and eagerly drink in the sight of her rounded hips swaying as she walked, without any complaints.
She strode into her personal tent. It was just large enough to stand up in and fit a small cot in comfortably with space beside to dress in. (Even as the Countess of her clan, she'd never felt the need to be ostentatious.)
Fenn followed her in, raising a brow in confusion. "Did you want to show me something?"
Bo-Katan smiled a secretive little smile as she sealed the heavy fabric door shut. "In a fashion," she said as she tossed her helmet onto the cot and then closed the distance between them until her armored chest was only millimeters from his. She took his helmet from his unresisting hands and tossed it on the cot as well and then looked up at him as her hands came to rest on the hard armor over his chest.
By now, Fenn was getting a pretty good idea where this was going but he wasn't getting his hopes up too much, just in case.
Bo-Katan's eyes roamed over the rugged lines of his handsome features before settling on his eyes once again. She smiled slightly to see the anticipation in his gaze. Excellent; she hadn't misread his interest. (That would have been awkward.) "We're both way beyond the age of silly courting games," she finally said. "So I'm just going to kiss you and see if this attraction is worth pursuing."
Fenn returned her slight smile as he placed his hands on her narrow waist and pulled her closer so that her chest armor fit snugly under his and tilted his head down towards hers. "I'd be very surprised if this doesn't work," he murmured. "You're the sexiest female I've ever seen."
Bo-Katan hmmed in pleased agreement before she rose slightly on her toes and closed the last remaining distance between their mouths. His lips were soft and fitted perfectly with hers. They kissed gently for a moment before drawing back and looking at each other, seeking permission to continue. Then their mouths meshed together once again and tongues quickly came into play.
Fenn growled out, "Bo" in a throaty moan, and wrapped his arms around her, never having felt such an instant need to dominate and worship another female before.
Bo-Katan nipped at his lower lip as she jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist as need coursed through her. "Fenn," she growled back, green eyes heavy-lidded as she buried her fingers in his short red hair only a shade different in color from her own. She smashed her lips against his again, moaning at his taste of mead and male.
Eventually, they parted again, gasping for air and gazing at each other in lust and somewhat stunned shock at the combustible chemistry sizzling between them. Bo-Katan tightened her fingers in his hair and smiled a Tooka smile. "We're going to have a pack of red-headed kids and they're going to take over the galaxy."
Fenn threw his head back and laughed for a few moments before he leaned forward again and nuzzled his nose into the delicate spot below her ear, breathing in her female and flowery soap scent. "I can't wait to meet these hell-raising children of ours."
Bo-Katan giggled as he tickled her with his nose and she started tugging at his armor. "Then we'd better get started, 'cause we're going to be awful busy for the next year or so while sorting out the mess Mandalore's in and it looks like you're going to be on a different planet than me more often than not."
Fenn pulled back a little again, eyes turning serious. "We'll figure it out."
Bo-Katan tossed a blue shoulder guard to the tarp floor before attacking the other one. "Yes, we will."
Kanan floated through the Force, letting it take him wherever it wanted for a few hours. As usual, he received glimpses of the past and flashes of possible futures. The tiny pieces of scenes or voices that he had yet to experience or hear were never enough to get a firm grasp on what any of them meant, but sometimes he could puzzle together enough of them to have an idea of what was coming.
Today, he was seeing enough things related to Lothal to let him know that going back there was definitely an idea approved by the Force and it helped to settle his mind over Sabine's plan.
His meditation was interrupted by the familiar sound of Chopper's wheels rolling in his direction. Kanan sighed softly and rose from his kneeling position, wincing as his knees protested the movement after being in the same spot on the hard dirt for hours. (There was definitely something to be said for meditating on his cushion.)
He walked off the stiffness in only a few steps as he moved to intercept Chopper. "What is it, Chop?" he asked as soon he was near the droid.
Chopper stopped rolling and waited for Kanan. "Hera's on the comm again. She says High Command wants to talk to Bo-Katan and Sabine."
"Thanks for telling him, Chopper," Hera's voice said dryly from Chopper's speakers.
"You're welcome," Chopper beeped back, pleased with himself as he deliberately ignored her sarcasm.
Kanan smirked, just knowing Hera was rolling her eyes right now. He continued walking back in the direction of camp about a kilometer away. "I'll find them, but I doubt you'll get Sabine anytime soon. She and Ezra just got married and are probably still in their own little world on the Gauntlet."
"WHAT?!"
Kanan chuckled at her screech. "Yep. Not kidding. Some guy challenged Ezra for the right to court Sabine. Ezra trounced him after playing with him for twenty minutes so the poor Mando didn't feel too bad about himself, and then our opportunistic boy promptly said the Mandalorian wedding vows to Sabine so no one else could try and claim her."
"Well, Poodoo," Hera said, startled into swearing. "I owe Zeb Twenty Credits!"
"How'd that happen?" Kanan said, surprised. Hera almost never lost a bet, her intuition being incredibly accurate for a non-Force-sensitive.
"I bet they'd get married within a month when I told Zeb they were together this morning. After looking like he was about to drop dead from shock, Zeb promptly laughed like mad and said they'd be married by the end of the week. I think he was joking, but I took the bet, thinking I'd win for sure. Kriff," she muttered to herself at the end, but Kanan heard anyway.
He chuckled at her uncharacteristic slide into Vulgar Land. "Sorry to ruin your morning, darling. The good news is that I should be back in your company within the next two days, assuming we leave this planet sometime in the near future. We were supposed to leave for Krownest hours ago, but things... happened. I have a feeling the kids aren't going to be inclined towards thinking about real-life again until tomorrow."
Hera smirked to herself on a jungle moon far far away. "Especially not if Ezra's anything like you, dear."
Kanan felt his face heat as Chopper beeped out a disgusted sound. "I haven't heard you complaining about my keeping you 'occupied' for hours at a time," he said in self-defense.
Now Hera was smiling like a satisfied Tooka. "Oh, I wasn't complaining. That was meant to be a compliment."
Kanan's lips curled up in a smile full of well-deserved pride. "Thank you, darling."
Chopper made a gagging sound, ruining the moment. "If I have to listen to this all over again, I'm quitting and you two can find a new droid. You only get one sex call per day and that's final."
"It's okay, Chopper. We're done," Kanan reassured as he neared the camp, his long legs having covered the distance quickly. "You can have a fit at me another time."
"I'm holding you to that," Chopper beeped firmly, prompting a laugh from Hera and a scowl from Kanan.
"Getting back to bringing you home..." Hera said excitedly. "I've got a ride coming for you. I remembered Ketsu was passing near the Mandalore system on Alliance business while I was trying to fall back asleep earlier. I commed her and she agreed to pick you up from Mandalore. She should be landing in the next hour or so."
"That is great news. But how did you know I wouldn't already be in transit to Krownest?"
Hera smirked to herself. "I just did. I know my family and I had a feeling something would happen to delay your departure. I wasn't expecting it to be the kids getting married, but... yah. Even if you had left, Ketsu said she didn't mind chasing you down on Krownest. She wanted to spend some time with Sabine anyway. They haven't seen each other for months."
"That's true," Kanan said as he nodded a hello to the warrior sort of guarding the entrance to the camp. "On a similar note, I feel like it's been months since I've seen you. Force, I miss you."
"What did I just say about your sappy blathering?!" Chopper beeped angrily.
"Hera, your droid needs his attitude adjusted again," Kanan said in exasperation. "I swear he gets worse every year."
"I get better, you Meathead."
"Chopper! Enough! Kanan's right." Hera scolded.
Kanan smirked at the droid rolling beside him. Chopper zapped his leg. Kanan kicked him, sending Chopper flying sideways a few meters, making a few passersby laugh. Chopper reoriented himself and charged towards Kanan on one wheel, electric probe extended.
"What was that?" Hera asked suspiciously, only hearing the noises.
Chopper resumed rolling in a normal fashion.
"Nothing," Kanan and Chopper said together, neither wanting to get in further trouble.
"That's what I thought," Hera said knowingly.
Kanan snarled at the droid silently but continued on into the camp, dodging the ridiculous number of Force signatures now present. He focused on the Gauntlet as he walked past it and smiled to himself to see Ezra's and Sabine's signatures wrapped around each other once again but also quite dormant as they slept. His chest filled with joy for them, so proud of his 'children' for having the guts to move their relationship into new territory even if they did go a little nuts about it. "As I expected, the kids aren't coming out of the Gauntlet anytime soon. They're sound asleep right now, cuddled together like puppies," Kanan told Hera.
"Awwww. Now that's just adorable," Hera said. "Although how I'm supposed to explain that to High Command is going to be something else entirely."
Kanan chuckled again at her disgusted tone as he started half-heartedly searching for Bo-Katan's unique signature. "What? The Rebellion doesn't stop for weddings?"
"You know perfectly well it doesn't, Kanan. We were fighting for our lives on Garel only the day after ours."
Kanan shook his head at the remembered mess their honeymoon had turned into as they'd gotten separated while he and Ezra led the Inquisitors away from Phoenix Squadron once again. "And I'm still sorry for that, Hera. At least we haven't seen any more Inquisitors since Malachor. That whole fiasco did have one good final result."
Hera sighed mournfully. "I'd rather not think about it. Just find Bo-Katan so I can get on with my day, all right?"
"All right, Hera," he said in a resigned tone, not really wanting to end their conversation but knowing it couldn't last forever. "Just give me a minute. There are hundreds of people here now, all having a very good time, from the sounds of it."
Kanan walked the edges of the eating area, searching for Bo-Katan or even Fenn Rau since he had a feeling the other man would be near her. He soon came to the conclusion that they weren't in the crowd. That left one of the ships or one the tents. Frowning to himself, he walked closer to the tents and focused on them. It only took a few moments to find the signatures he was looking for. Kanan started laughing.
"What now?" Hera said in a somewhat exasperated tone.
With some effort, Kanan controlled his mirth enough to talk. "You're going to have to tell High Command that Sabine AND Bo-Katan will call them back later or tomorrow or something. The new Mand'alor is currently merging her signature with Fenn's and I don't feel like the situation is anywhere near important enough to interrupt them."
Hera's eyebrows rose to near the top of her forehead and she blinked as she interpreted Kanan's words. "You mean..."
"Yes. That's what I mean," Kanan said, still chuckling as he turned back around and aimed for the buffet tables. The fresh food smelled really good and his now rumbling stomach was reminding him that he hadn't eaten since dinner yesterday and it was now somewhere between lunch and dinnertime today.
"All righty then," Hera said in quiet disbelief. "I guess I'll go break the news to Mothma and the others. But I don't know if they're going to believe me."
"I'm sure you'll be properly convincing, darling," Kanan said confidently as he located a stack of disposable plates by watching what others were doing. Then it was just a matter of carefully following the desires of his nose and moving his hands cautiously around the food platters.
"Thanks, love," Hera said, heavy on the sarcasm. "Call me again in about ten hours if you haven't made it here by then and we'll talk some more. I'll be off duty then."
"All right, Hera," Kanan said softly. "Love you."
"Love you too," she replied.
"Finally," Chopper beeped. "You two are the worst to listen to."
Kanan frowned at the droid. "Why don't you go find someplace to charge for a while and leave us 'organics' to enjoy the rest of the day in peace?"
"Gladly," Chopper beeped before rolling off.
Kanan muttered something under his breath along the lines of 'stupid, kriffing droid' as he finished filling his plate and located a pile of utensils and a bottle of water. He then turned and wound his way through the crowd in the direction of where he'd sensed Sabine's father to be sitting with three other slightly familiar signatures that belonged to his fellow clan members. He figured he might as well get to know Sabine's other father better since they'd probably be spending a lot of time together in the future.
They were going to be sharing the grandchildren after all.
Ketsu Onyo landed her ship, the Shadow Caster, a Lancer-class pursuit craft, as close as she could get to the big camp that was out in the desert not too terribly far from Sundari but not in seeing distance either. The camp was surrounded by a wall of ships, almost all of which were manufactured by MandalMotors just like hers.
She disembarked her ship and wound her way through the haphazard parking lot until she came to the entrance of the walled camp. Even from here, she could easily hear the hundreds of voices talking, singing, and shouting as people fought to be heard above the others. The guard at the gate leaned against the wall, looking as disgusted to be there as a person could while wearing a helmet. She bet the man wished he was partying with the others. Hopefully, they rotated him off duty soon, because he looked like he couldn't care less anymore who walked into the camp as he waved her past without even asking her name. Now that was just sloppy. He should be recording every person who entered, just in case something happened.
Oh well. Not her problem.
Staying near the wall, not particularly wanting to interact with these people who would scorn and curse her if they knew who she was, she made for the distinctive red and black colored Kom'rk, hoping Sabine was in there.
Upon arriving at the ship, Ketsu frowned at the closed ramp and crossed her arms in dismay. She stared at the ship for another few seconds, hoping that Sabine would magically emerge from it, but no such luck. Kriff! Now she was going to have to go searching through the crowd to find Sabine.
As she turned to head towards the center of the camp, Ketsu cursed herself for not wearing her helmet. Someone was bound to recognize her if they looked long enough. There weren't that many dark-skinned and purple-eyed Mandalorians running around out there. And all of those that were, were all descended from the Count of Clan Onyo who had the same coloring. The Count, who just happened to be her father.
Ketsu still cringed when she thought of the day he'd disowned her for going AWOL from the Imperial Academy with Sabine. He'd beat her bloody and to the point where she could barely walk and told her if he ever saw her again, he'd kill her. Ketsu believed him.
She really really hoped he wasn't here.
Just as she passed a tent and the eating area came into view, Ketsu's hopes were dashed to smithereens. Not only was her father here, but he was also sitting at one of the outer edge tables and was facing her way.
With only half a second to think, Ketsu improvised on the spot. Turning and running was out of the question because that would draw his eyes to the movement. That left her with doing something that most people will look away from out of courtesy.
Ketsu grabbed the arm of a passing male warrior and turned him so he was between her and Kean Onyo. She barely took the time to notice her scapegoat had startled looking but striking grey eyes and pleasing features before she grabbed the back of his head and pulled it down to hers as she plastered her mouth to his.
While she was kissing the poor guy breathless, she was also pulling him with her as she backed up until the tent was once again blocking her from the view of her father's table. Feeling safe again, Ketsu moved to pull away from her unwitting accomplice, but he had other ideas.
The man wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer, taking over the kiss and stealing her breath in return. Ketsu's eyes fluttered closed as she hummed in pleased surprise, thinking this was turning out quite well, all things considered. She wrapped her arms around the man's neck and pressed even closer to his hard frame, drawing out the suddenly mutual kiss even longer.
Eventually, they both pulled back a fraction and sucked in much-needed air while looking at the other in wonder. "Hi," she breathed out softly, not letting go of him just yet. "My name's..."
"Ketsu Onyo," he finished for her.
Ketsu blinked in surprise, backing up and hugging her arms protectively, feeling wary now and ready to run if she had to. "You know me?"
He nodded, smiling enough to show nice white teeth. "I do. I was a couple of years ahead of you at the Academy, so we never met, but everyone heard about the girl who took off with Sabine Wren after the two of you blew up a rather large portion of the science and engineering labs. You're almost as famous as she is."
"You might be interested to know that she's an artist as well," Sabine's voice said dryly from behind them, making them both spin and look at her smirking figure in surprise. "That is if you're still looking for someone to paint your armor, Captain Hark."
Sabine woke up most pleasantly if somewhat awkwardly stretched across Ezra's back, who in turn was splayed across the entire bed. As she took stock of her current situation, she realized that for the first time in years, she hadn't woken up sweating and crying from the nightmares that usually plagued her. It only made her love Ezra more.
Her cheek rested on the pad of his shoulder muscle and her decidedly bare breasts were pressed against his equally bare skin. Her arms more or less followed the length of his thicker ones but didn't stretch anywhere near as far. One hip and leg touched the bed. The other leg was thrown over one of Ezra's legs and nearly twined with it.
Sabine rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, inhaling his heady scent of soap, fresh air, and grass. She smiled slowly as she decided she liked using Ezra as a pillow. It seemed fitting somehow, given that he was hoarding all the actual bed space. She had no idea how they'd ended up this way, though, because she distinctly remembered falling asleep wrapped in his arms with her head pillowed on his chest.
That memory triggered memories of everything that had come before the sleeping, bringing a flush of heat to her cheeks and a twinge of arousal to her core.
After she had personally cleaned every millimeter of her new husband's skin and they had an even more intense dry humping session than the first, he had taken his sweet time bathing her in return. His large hands running over her body and massaging her muscles had been decidedly more erotic than she'd ever dreamed it being. He appeared to worship all of her parts equally, being just as fascinated with her toes as he had been with her breasts, just as an example.
Ezra had praised her from top to bottom with words such as, 'prettiest hair in the galaxy', 'such a slender neck', 'love your abs', and these are the cutest knees ever'. Sabine had never felt so special and beautiful in her entire life.
Just like her, he'd left the most private area for last.
Looking up at her from where he knelt by her feet, he'd silently asked for approval with his eyes before daring to wash her pussy very gently, carefully, and quite thoroughly. And also just like her, he'd dared to travel further back and wash and caress between her butt cheeks. Not even a minute into his ministrations, Sabine had her hands on his shoulders to hold herself up as her eyes near rolled back in her head from the pleasure of having his fingers caress and explore her folds.
And when he figured out that she especially loved having her clit played with... Well, let's just say she'd had her third orgasm of the day. Sabine knew for a fact she left impressions of her nails in his shoulders from that one.
Not that he minded or even seemed to notice. Instead, he'd watched her come apart intently, patiently, and damn near worshipfully, if what she'd seen on his face was any indication when she'd managed to open her eyes again and look down at him gratefully.
And then he'd said, "Now can I taste you?"
The very millisecond she'd nodded, he'd beamed up at her, rose to his feet faster than light, and kissed her breathless. Then she found herself scooped up in his arms and carried out of the refresher. He hadn't even taken the time to turn off the shower manually, which had turned pretty cold by then. (But neither had noticed or cared.) Instead, he'd waved a hand at it to shut it off while he was already moving away from it.
Sabine hadn't realized he had a much broader idea of what needed tasting than she anticipated until he'd laid her reverently on the center of the bed and knelt beside her as he gazed at her with adoring eyes. "I've been waiting for this to happen for years," he'd whispered. And then he proceeded to kiss and lick her from her forehead to her toes. And if she tried to move to alleviate the nearly overwhelming sensations, he stopped her with the Force, electric blue eyes pinning her to the bed even more than his powers. "Please, just let me have this," he'd begged the first time. The second time she moved, he didn't even bother to speak, just used those eyes on her again.
So she did, perhaps moving once or twice on purpose just to see if he'd hold her still with the Force again, which he always did. He'd loved her front side and then worked back up again with her now on her stomach, before turning her over once again and finally delving into her weeping pussy and bringing her to ecstasy yet again. By this point, Sabine had felt like one large, screaming nerve ending from top to bottom, astonished at how turned on she was to be completely at his mercy.
Except for emergency situations on missions where he'd caught her or pushed her out of the way of something bad, this was the first time he'd ever used the Force on her deliberately. This was also the first time she'd seen a more domineering side to his personality. Sabine decided that she liked it very very much, and would be quite all right with them taking turns as the dominant partner in bed.
That last orgasm was easily the strongest one she'd ever had and she ended up completely boneless and feeling like a puddle of goo when it was over. This was when she mumbled many words of love, vowed to herself to do the same to him when she had the energy for it, and ended up wrapped in his strong arms as she fell asleep on his chest.
Now, after looking at the Chronometer, it was three hours later and she was starving and desperately needed to use the refresher. But she also didn't want to move from her surprisingly comfortable position.
Her bodily needs soon convinced her otherwise. So she kissed Ezra's shoulder and rolled away from him, out from under the sheet, and off the edge of the bed in one hurried move.
Ezra stirred, head-turning in her direction, but not opening his eyes. His hand moved half-heartedly around the bed looking for her, and he mumbled, "S'ine?" Her heart melted even further if that was even possible. Kriff, he was cute in every way you could think of.
Telling her bladder to shut up for twenty more seconds, she petted the back of his head and kissed his cheek, then said softly, "Shhhh. I'll be back shortly. Go back to sleep."
Ezra smiled slightly, made a rough sound of acknowledgment, and went limp again, falling back into dreamland.
Sabine smiled at him like he'd done something particularly clever and she was a proud mother for a moment before turning once again for the refresher.
Five minutes later, she emerged wearing her bodysuit leggings and top, but nothing else, not intending to be out long enough to bother putting on things like armor plating and underwear. As she left the room, she looked at Ezra again, noting he hadn't moved at all. The copper-colored skin of his shoulders and arms made a wonderful contrast against the navy blue sheets on the bed, and his hair a few shades darker against the matching pillowcase. Sabine paused and smiled to herself, making a note to paint him like that, but maybe without the sheet covering him quite so high; it would be a shame to hide the V line of his back from shoulders to waist.
Happy with her newest inspiration, Sabine continued out of the cabin and down the hallway, on a mission to find some food that hopefully didn't come in packaging meant to the last few years.
She found her helmet and Ezra's things in a neat pile on the decking beneath the button to open the ramp and the ramp itself quite closed. Sabine laughed softly, knowing Kanan had somehow managed to do what most would consider the impossible again. Even now, more than a year later, she was amazed by how well he'd learned to function without his sight.
She'd never wish the tragedy on Kanan, but Sabine couldn't help but notice he had emerged from the trial of Malachor a better person, a better fighter, a better teacher, a better husband to Hera, and overall just more centered and calm within his own skin. There was no Council left to bestow upon him the rank of Jedi Master, but according to Ezra, Kanan had assuredly reached that point in his Jedi skills even if he never claimed the title and was content to see himself as just a Knight for the rest of his life.
Sabine smiled at the irony of how she was now married to a Jedi Padawan and silently called a Jedi Master her second father, considering how she was raised to believe the Jedi were evil and the ENEMY. And somehow, her Jedi were slowly but surely earning the respect of an ever-growing number of Mandalorians. Somewhere, there must be a ton of Mando ancestors rolling over in their graves at the horror of it all. Laughing softly at the image now playing through her mind, Sabine tugged Ezra's neatly folded orange jacket from the bottom of the pile and shrugged into it, covering her form-fitting black and grey bodysuit that left her feeling a little bit exposed without the armor attached to it.
As she did up the zipper, Sabine was surprised at how big the jacket was on her, making her realize once again that Ezra was definitely growing up. They could have traded clothes when he first appeared in her Ghost family's lives, they were so similar in size. Now... Now the sleeves went past her hands, the shoulders hung down her arms, and the bottom hem hung around her thighs and covered her butt. It certainly didn't cover Ezra's fine ass, she thought with a smirk as she hit the button to open the ramp. Earlier today, she'd been admiring how his rear end looked in his brown trousers and how it was almost framed in by his belt and the straps that held his holsters to his legs, and he'd most definitely been wearing his jacket at the time.
Sabine walked towards the noisy center of the camp, certain she'd find the feast that someone had been calling for hours ago. Knowing Mandos and their propensity for long and raucous parties, she wasn't worried that the food would all be gone; it was guaranteed that more food and drinks would be brought with every new addition to the party. And judging by the sound of the crowd, there'd been A LOT of additions.
Sabine came to an abrupt halt when she saw a familiar set of armor topped by a distinctive haircut and red tattooed head pull a now almost equally familiar Captain Hark into a very passionate-looking kiss. Sabine blinked at the shocking sight for few seconds until she looked past where Ketsu had just been standing and spotted the Onyo clan members at an outside edge table. Understanding dawned instantly, but Sabine couldn't help but have a little fun with her close friend and the guy who'd wanted to court her not even five hours ago.
Sabine walked a bit closer and waited for the pair to come up for air, finding herself more and more amused the longer it took. Ketsu's behavior didn't surprise her much, as the other girl had always had a very strong love 'em and leave 'em attitude that had no problem with picking up a guy for a one-nighter and then never seeing him again. (Sabine was sure Ketsu's abusive father had a lot to do with that, making Ketsu unwilling to commit to a male but still craving their company.)
Sabine was kind of surprised by Hark, though. For a guy who had shown such interest in Sabine not so long ago, he was definitely on board with Ketsu's kisses now. Then again, he was a guy and a hot girl had just kissed him. She couldn't really blame him for getting into it.
There had been one occasion, years ago when she and Ketsu were bounty hunting together, that she'd even experienced one of Ketsu's kisses even though neither of them swung that way. It had been a cover to get close to a bounty, and it had worked perfectly. (Apparently, men turned into brainless idiots when they saw two females kissing.) Sabine had to admit that Ketsu was quite skilled in the kissing department and striking to look at, sooooo, yep; she couldn't blame Hark at all.
Eventually, they stopped to breathe and struck up a conversation. And ohhh, there was a surprise; Hark knew who Ketsu was and he was in the Academy the same time they were if a couple of years older. AND he thought they were famous. Was that a good thing? Sabine had no idea. "You might be interested to know that she's an artist as well," Sabine butted into the conversation dryly. She smirked at them as they spun around and gawked at her. "That is if you're still looking for someone to paint your armor, Captain Hark."
"Sabine!" Ketsu beamed at her, dodging around Hark and bounding over to hug her enthusiastically. "I'm so sorry about your mom and brother," she said solemnly after pulling back.
"Thank you," Sabine replied sadly.
"Buuuuuut," Ketsu continued, completely ignoring the guy she'd just been kissing as he awkwardly shifted his feet a few steps behind Ketsu, not sure what to do with himself now. (Sabine was secretly amused.) "Hera says congratulations are in order," Ketsu continued in a more positive tone. "You've destroyed the Duchess again and hooked up with Jedi Junior?"
Sabine nodded, smiling widely.
"Good for you. I always knew you'd cave into the boy's obvious adoration eventually. Annnnnd, you're already wearing his clothes. Impressive."
Sabine shrugged, grinning. "He's my husband; I can steal his stuff now with impunity."
Ketsu laughed. "Someone's a fast worker! Last I heard, you'd just reached the courting stage and that was only a few hours ago."
"Ezra was inspired, thanks to your new lip-locking partner back there."
Ketsu looked back over her shoulder at him, looking somewhat surprised to see that he was still standing there. "Him? What's he got to do with anything? Other than being in the right place at the right time and being a really good kisser, that is?"
Hark lit up at the compliment and moved forward a few more steps so he joined the conversation group.
Sabine snorted and rolled her eyes. "What hasn't he been involved in lately? But, in this instance, I mean that Captain Hark, here, decided that he could challenge Ezra for the right to court me. Ezra won."
Hark winced and Ketsu looked at him with disappointment. "Is that true? Did you want Sabine?"
Hark flushed red and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well, yes."
Ketsu huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, pointedly looking away from the man, dismissing him. She had no interest in Sabine's cast-offs.
"But," Hark hurried on, obviously trying to salvage something. "I realize now that it wasn't Sabine specifically that I was looking for, but her type."
Ketsu glared at him, raising a black brow scornfully. "What? Tiny and pale? No offense, Sabs," she added.
"None taken." Sabine couldn't wait to see where Hark was going with this. And she knew Ketsu was deliberately baiting the man.
"No!" Hark exclaimed, looking appalled. "I meant badass warrior type female who's not afraid to stand up for herself."
Sabine couldn't help but be a little flattered at the description.
Ketsu hmmmmmed non-committally, but Sabine could tell Ketsu was secretly pleased by the man's comeback as well.
Hark continued on bravely, his entire focus on Ketsu. And what do you know; his eyes didn't look like flat grey Imperial hallways anymore. There actually was some depth to him. "I know you're one of those too, Ketsu Onyo. And for the record, I think you're both beautiful, but you suit me better. Sabine IS a little short, now that you mention it."
"Hey!" Sabine said in mock-offense just for the principle of the thing. He did have a point though. She'd have to climb him like a tree to kiss him or he'd have a terrible crick in his neck in no time. Which made Sabine contemplate telling Ezra that he could stop growing anytime now (as if he had control of it) because, at the moment, their heights fit together perfectly. Then again, she wouldn't mind climbing Ezra like a tree on a regular basis. That thought led to another and suddenly, Sabine just wanted to wrap this up and get back to her new husband for some more fun alone time. (But not without finding them some food first, her rumbling stomach reminded her.)
Ketsu looked at the man assessingly once again, turning towards him fully. "Perhaps you're not a complete dud, then. I don't have time to stay and play, but if you go wait by my ship, the Lancer-class painted in Rebel Alliance yellow and red, I'll give you my holo frequency before I leave. Feel free to call me, and we'll talk some more about getting better acquainted, Captain Hark."
"Jett," he said, looking quite happy with how things were turning out. "My name's Jett."
Ketsu's mouth curved up in a seductive smile. "Jett it is, then." She grabbed his tunic and pulled him close, planting a quick kiss on his mouth before letting him go. "You better not disappoint me."
He looked kind of dazed. "Oh, I won't."
"Good. Now go do whatever you were doing. Sabine and I need some girl time."
"Okay," he said obediently, wandering off and muttering to himself, "I guess I'll just have to paint my own armor. It's gonna suck, though."
Sabine shook her head at his retreating back. "You really know how to pick 'em, Kets. That one is either the galaxy's biggest idiot or incredibly smart. I haven't decided yet."
Ketsu shrugged, watching him walk away as well with her head tilted slightly to the side and smirk on her lips. "Who cares? He kisses like a dream, is built like a rock, has a large package in perfect working order, and has a mighty fine ass. That's all I need to know."
Sabine barked out a laugh and linked her arm with Ketsu's. "Come on and I'll tell you everything I know about Captain Fine Ass." She led Ketsu back to the ramp of the Gauntlet and they sat down and had a little chat.
Seven minutes later, Ketsu shrugged. "You're right. He's either an idiot or very smart. Still don't care. It's not like I'm going to marry the man."
Sabine shook her head at Ketsu fondly. "I wish you good fun, then." She nudged her friend with her shoulder. "Sooo, what are you doing here, anyway?"
"Oh, that. I'm here to pick up Jedi Senior and the Droid From Hell. Hera sent me. I think she wants her man back."
"Are you sure it's not Chopper she wants back?" Sabine said, completely deadpan. "He's so much more useful than a 'meatbag' after all."
Ketsu and Sabine looked at each other for a couple of seconds before breaking out in snorts of laughter that grew for a minute until they managed to pull themselves together and wipe the tears from their eyes.
Now composed again, Ketsu sighed and looked a little woebegone. "I don't suppose you could go get Kanan and Chopper for me while I go wait for Captain Fine Ass to meet me at my ship?"
Sabine shook her head slowly, despite knowing that would be the fastest way to get back to Ezra. But there was something that needed taking care of first that had been a long time coming. "Sorry, Kets. But I think it's high time we fixed your status. The fact that you'd rather kiss a stranger than face your father is testament enough to that." Sabine smiled as Ketsu sagged before nodding reluctantly. "And you know what else? I now have the power to help you."
Ketsu looked at Sabine blankly for a few seconds before she got it. "Shabla nerf-herders! You do!"
Sabine grinned and bumped her shoulder against Ketsu's. "Come on, then. It's time to be badass warrior girls who aren't afraid to go after what we want."
Ketsu giggled, rising to her feet beside Sabine. "Wouldn't want to disappoint my new man candy. I have an image to uphold, after all."
"Right. We wouldn't want to disappoint Captain Fine Ass, because that would certainly be a disaster." Sabine's eyes twinkled with hidden mirth as she deadpanned utter seriousness.
Ketsu snorted and then both women giggled with laughter as they walked shoulder to shoulder back towards trouble.
Sabine grinned at the girl who'd been her friend since their first days at the Academy together despite the fact that Sabine was a year younger and started the program early. For a brief moment, it felt like old times again; just them against the rest of the galaxy with only their guts, blasters, and each other to rely on.
(Too bad Sabine left her WESTARs in the refresher. She really hoped she didn't need them.)
Sabine strode into the obstacle course of tables, benches, and people like she owned the place; with her shoulders back, a smirk on her lips, and her steps confident. Anyone in her way automatically moved without even realizing it, unconsciously reacting to her aura of authority.
Ketsu followed in her wake, adopting the same attitude, but really feeling like she wished the ground would swallow her whole. She was a little in awe of her younger friend. Sometime in the last year, Sabine had truly grown up and was confident in herself in a way she had never been before. She had always had the instincts of a natural leader but had been content to let others lead while she coasted through life in her own little world of paint and explosions. Sabine had definitely changed and it left Ketsu feeling like it might be time for her own transformation into a responsible adult.
But then again, responsible adults probably don't pick up man candy whenever someone happens along and she had no desire to give up the new sexy man she'd just found. Maybe she'll be a responsible adult next week.
Oooooo. And there he was, talking to a group of warriors in red and black armor. Ketsu guessed they were his men since those were Saxon colors. She waved when he glanced up and spotted her, a grin breaking over his handsome face. Ketsu pretended that her heart didn't leap with excitement when he smiled. There was no way she was actually going to fall for him; she was going to leave the truly sappy stuff to Sabine.
"Hey, Wren!" someone called from the crowd. "You get tired of your Jedi already?" Those who heard chuckled in amusement. (Which was almost everyone.) "There's plenty here who would happily take his place if you want a real man to warm your bed."
Sabine paused and found the man wearing Clan Kryze armor. She didn't know his name, but she'd seen him around enough to know he was one of Bo-Katan's seconds. She grinned at the man. "My bed is hot enough, Kryze, but thanks for offering. My Jedi is undoubtedly twice the man you are anyway, so I wouldn't get too enthusiastic with those offers if I were you."
"OOOOOOOO," gasped the crowd, grinning and laughing.
The Kryze warrior sat back down and suffered the good-natured ribbing his companions gave him.
Sabine exchanged grins with Ketsu and they walked on, aiming for the table containing her father, Kanan, Shubin, and the other two Wrens, along with more members of Clan Kryze.
"Where IS your Jedi?" someone else called, this one not wearing any identifying armor.
"I left him in bed, sleeping," Sabine called back. "He's more than earned it if you get my meaning."
The crowd burst into laughter again.
"Sounds like your Jedi is good at more than just fighting," someone else added.
Sabine laughed, not surprised at all by the attention she was getting. The good news was that this was keeping people's attention on her and not Ketsu, so she really didn't mind. "My Jedi is better than good at anything he does, and that's all I'm going to say on that."
The crowd laughed once again, but took her word for it and lost their interest in her as they returned to their little islands of conversation.
Everyone, that is, but the members of Clan Onyo, who had spotted Ketsu and were all waiting with bated breath to see how their leader would react. They weren't disappointed when Kean Onyo snarled and surged to his feet.
Kendo Onyo put a hand on his father's arm, stopping him for half a moment. "Remember where we are,"
Kean narrowed his eyes at his eldest child but nodded curtly. He would attempt to keep his temper in check for the honor of the Clan.
With that, Kean wound his way through the crowd, not drawing attention to himself too much, but clearly a man on a mission.
Meanwhile, Sabine and Ketsu had already made it to her family's table.
"I'm honestly surprised to see you out here, Sabine," Alrich said with a twinkle in his eyes. "None of us were expecting you to emerge from the ship until tomorrow morning at the earliest."
Sabine shrugged and blushed. Being teased about her love life by strangers was one thing but by her father... Well, that was an entirely different matter. "I was hungry and wanted real food!"
Her family and the others at the table chuckled. Kanan smiled at her. "Now that, I can understand. Yesterday's dinner was a very long time ago."
"It was," Sabine said, as her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard. "I'm hitting the buffet in a minute. But first, as you can see, I found a lost soul wandering the edges of the camp. You remember Ketsu, Father?"
Alrich nodded, smiling at the tall young woman. "I do. It's been a long time, but I could never forget my daughter's best friend from the Academy. How are you?"
"I'm good, for the most part," Ketsu said returning the smile. She'd always liked Sabine's dad; he was so much nicer than her own and he'd been the one to get her properly started as an artist. She and Sabine used to sneak out of the Academy at night and go hang out with her dad at the Wren mansion whenever he was in town. And that was often, with his art gallery also in the city. She pointed at the Phoenix symbol on her shoulder guard. "As you can see, Sabine's dragged me into her cause."
"And we're lucky to have you," Kanan said. "You're a great addition to the rebel forces. Nothing like a Mandalorian to inspire fear in a stormtrooper."
The group laughed at Kanan's dry comment.
Ketsu snorted. "At the moment, I seem to be doing more cargo runs than fighting, but whatever. And as my latest batch of cargo, grab your stuff and Hera's droid, Jedi Senior, cause we're out of here as soon as possible. This isn't exactly a sanctioned side trip but a favor for your wife. I would hate for us all to get in trouble with High Command," Ketsu said, rolling her eyes as she layered on the sarcasm.
Kanan chuckled as he rose to his feet, picking up his empty plate and water bottle in one hand. "I'll track down Chopper. I have no doubt he's either sulking somewhere or starting a droid revolt."
"My vote's on the revolt," Sabine said, exchanging smiles with Kanan. She stopped him with a hand on his arm before he left. "Do you want me to wake up Ezra, so you can say goodbye before you go?"
Kanan shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We can talk over the comm later. It's only going to be a few days until we meet up again on Garel anyway, right?"
"That's the plan."
"Good," Kanan squeezed her shoulder affectionately before turning to leave, smirking slightly to himself as he noticed she wasn't wearing her shoulder armor, and if he wasn't mistaken the material under his hand felt like Ezra's jacket. It smelt like it too, he thought, as he inhaled just to double-check. Kanan froze in midstep as he turned his focus on where he intended to walk and immediately spotted a very angry and very large Force signature heading towards them. He put his trash back down on the table as he tensed slightly before consciously relaxing his muscles again. "We've got trouble marching this way," he said quietly.
The signatures of everyone around him changed to battle readiness in an instant and the Wrens rose to their feet, hands going to their blasters. Kanan stepped protectively in front of Sabine, assuming her lack of armor also meant she was unarmed. He also assumed that whatever this was about had something to do with Sabine.
He was wrong.
Sabine, in turn, placed herself between Ketsu and the Mando bearing down on their table with a fierce scowl and clenched fists. She'd never liked Ketsu's father, for a very good reason.
"I knew this would happen," Ketsu said in a sad undertone so only Sabine could hear.
Kanan heard anyway, his hearing on high alert and Force enhanced. "Knew what?" he started to ask, but the approaching signature cut him off.
"Ketsu! I told you if I ever saw you again, you would regret it! How dare you show your Dar'manda self on Mandalore of all places! Have you no respect for your clan left at all?" Kean stomped the last few steps and came to a stop in front of Kanan, snarling at the man barring his way. "Don't interfere in Mando business, Jedi."
The watching crowd of hundreds froze as a whole as people sensed family drama occurring. Not a sound was heard for a breathless second as everyone waited to see what would happen next.
Kanan put a hand on the tank-like man's chest plate and pushed him back a step with a hint of Force. "I'll interfere if I feel it's necessary. Keep your tone civil to my friend or you will not like the consequences."
"She doesn't deserve civility. She dishonored my clan."
"Don't care," Kanan said calmly, figuring things out on the fly. He hadn't heard that Ketsu had been declared Dar'manda like Sabine, but it made sense as they had both fled the Academy together. "Ketsu Onyo has earned my respect and the respect of hundreds of others in the Alliance. Your hurt feelings for something she did for the good of her people just proves you to be the less honorable one."
Kean snarled more, refusing to back down. "You know nothing, Jedi scum! I can treat my daughter however I wish!"
Ketsu had started to shrink within herself but she remembered she was a badass girl and her father had no power over her anymore; he'd disowned her after all. She squared her shoulders and stuck her chin out, stepped around Sabine and placed herself beside Kanan, and glared up at the man who had sired her. "I am not your daughter! You said so yourself when you beat the crap out of me when I tried to come home all those years ago. If I'm disowned by you, then you're disowned by me. I spit on your rule and I refuse to call myself an Onyo anymore. There is NO honor left in that name!"
The crowd gasped at the worst insult you could give a clan leader.
Kean's arm swung back to strike at Ketsu, intending to punch her in the jaw for her insolence.
Kanan froze his arm in place with the Force.
Kean's vivid purple eyes narrowed in rage at the Jedi, muscles straining against the invisible hold.
"No!" Ketsu said to Kanan. "I'm not a little girl anymore. If Count Onyo wants to throw a punch at me, let him. I can take care of myself."
"As you wish," Kanan said, dropping his hand back down to his side.
Suddenly released from the hold, Kean's muscles betrayed him by throwing a sloppy punch that spun him on his feet. He growled and reoriented himself. He went to grab the Jedi's shirt so he could hold him still and pummel him but the Jedi was magically no longer standing in that spot. Kean spun around and found the Jedi standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his lips below that Jaig eye mask that he couldn't possibly see through. "How did you...?" he growled.
"I don't let hate and rage cloud my vision," Kanan cut him off with a no-nonsense tone. "You could take some lessons from the Jedi, Count Onyo. Your temper is your downfall. What has it gained you but the loss of a talented and worthy daughter? Annnnd, the loss of the respect of your peers if what I'm feeling from the crowd is anything to go by. I bet none of these people knew that you beat your daughter when she was only fifteen years old and then turned her away from your home."
"That's not the only time he beat me by a long shot," Ketsu said bravely. "He beat my mother too. I remember that from when I was little. You told me she died in a speeder accident, but that was a lie, wasn't it?"
Kean opened his mouth to defend himself, but all of the accusing stares around him froze his voice in his throat.
"Is that true, Father?" Kendo said, walking up to the group, a younger but still identical image of his father and a male version of Ketsu. He was followed by two more of his half-siblings, both younger than his sister. "Did you kill my mother?"
"It was an accident!" Kean finally managed to spew out. "We were sparring! Everyone knows the women have to train harder to make it as a warrior against stronger men."
"That may be true," Sabine said, stepping into the conversation. "My mother was a firm believer of that very same philosophy and I trained my ass off to make up for my small size. But there has to be a line somewhere between sparring and beating and you more than crossed it. Ketsu came back to the Academy after every holiday covered in bruises and once even with a broken arm. You can call it sparring till you turn blue, Onyo, but as the bigger person, you should have known better. As a husband and father, you are a failure."
"How dare you call me that, you little whore," Kean all but shouted as steam almost literally spewed from his ears. "Selling yourself to the enemy, sleeping with a Jedi. Everyone knows your mother disowned you at the same time I disowned Ketsu. You shouldn't even be allowed to step foot on this planet. Your mother was weak when she took you back. She deserved what she got when her daughter's own weapon killed her."
Sabine flinched at the insults that also felt too much like the truth if you twisted them a different way.
More than one person was about to come to Sabine's defense when someone else beat them to it.
"That's ENOUGH, Father!" Kendo yelled, getting right in his father's face and meeting his eye to eye. "I told you to keep your temper and remember where we are and now you've left me with no choice. You are Dar'manda to me. I no longer acknowledge you as my blood kin."
"Me too," rang out from another Onyo and another and another, until every member of the Onyo Clan present had all disowned their Count, father, and relative. And then the leaders of the other clans or their representatives also added to the call.
Kean looked around frantically, not seeing any friendly faces left in the crowd.
Ketsu stepped up to her father one last time. "It's official now, you dishonorable excuse for a man. YOU are Dar'manda as well! You might want to scurry off and hide before the crowd decides to drag you to Sundari and hold you for trial for the death of my mother."
"I think we'll do that anyway," a new voice rang from the edge of the crowd. People parted to make way for their Mand'alor as she walked to the center of the crowd and joined the group everyone was staring at, Fenn following in her wake like a faithful bodyguard. Everyone politely ignored the fact that they both looked like they'd hastily thrown on just their bodysuits and the mussed hair. Bo-Katan stopped in front of the thoroughly panicked-looking ex Count of Clan Onyo. "As your Mand'alor, I too declare you Dar'manda and am placing you under arrest until a proper trial can be held."
Bo-Katan glanced around and spotted Hark and his men watching avidly nearby. "Captain Hark, would your men like to do the honors? As former Imperials, you must be familiar with the prison facilities available in Sundari. Do you think you could find the most uninviting cell available and throw him in it?"
Hark grinned as his men surrounded Kean Onyo and disarmed him before bodily dragging the furiously cursing man towards the Mand'alor's ship. "I know just the place, My Lady. He won't see a glimmer of sunlight for days. There might be a rodent problem. And I think the heater might be broken too."
Bo-Katan returned his smile. "Excellent."
As Hark followed his men away, he winked at Ketsu and mouthed the word 'badass'.
Ketsu blushed, thankful her darker skin hid the heat on her cheeks.
Bo-Katan turned her attention to Kendo. "It would seem your clan is in need of a new Count. Is there any here who object to this man being the Count of Clan Onyo?"
The Onyo's shook their heads and the rest of the crowd remained silent.
"Good enough for me," Bo-Katan said with a smile. "Kendo Onyo, you are now Count of Clan Onyo. Take care of your family well."
Kendo beamed, even daring to look at his little sister and exchange smiles, even though she was technically still Dar'manda. "Thank you, Mand'alor Kryze. I will not fail you or my people."
"That's what I like to hear." Bo-Katan then turned her attention to Ketsu. "And you. From what I've heard, you have been unjustly declared Dar'manda. We should fix that."
"I was going to do that before we were rudely interrupted," Sabine piped in with.
Bo-Katan nodded once. "Very well. The Wrens are in need of new members anyway. You may proceed."
"Thank you," Sabine said graciously. She turned to her family. "Father, Shubin, I call on you as members of my clan to bear witness to the adoption of Ketsu into our clan. Do you agree?"
"I do," Alrich and Shubin said together, both smiling at the turn of events.
Sabine faced her friend. "Ni Kar'taylir Gai sa ner Vod, Ketsu Wren."
The crowd whooped as Ketsu beamed through sudden tears and hugged Sabine. "Thank you, Sabine."
Sabine hugged her back. "You're welcome, sister."
Kanan touched their shoulders, smiling. "Welcome to the family, Ketsu. I'll go find Chopper now and meet you at your ship."
The girls watched him effortlessly wind his way through the crowd. "How does he do that? I'd hit every table and person if I was blind," Ketsu wondered.
Sabine shrugged. "Sometimes I feel like most of us received the short straw when it comes to the Force. All I know for sure is that he will unerringly find your ship amongst the veritable sea of them out there and he'll do it like it's no big deal. It's Shabla impressive, really."
Ketsu hmmpphed as Bo-Katan stepped up onto a bench, drawing attention to herself once again.
"My people! I have one more proclamation to make this evening before I disappear again for the night."
The crowd stilled and quieted, everyone, turning to face their Mand'alor again.
With her eyes fixed on Fenn and a smile on her lips, Bo-Katan said, "Mhi Solus tome, Mhi Solus Dar'tome, Mhi me'dinui an, Mhi ba'juri Verde."
Fenn's eyes widened for a moment before he repeated the vows quickly but succinctly, and clearly very happy.
The crowd went a little crazy with the cheers, Sabine and her family included, as their Mand'alor jumped off the bench and into Fenn's arms and they kissed passionately. They were still cheering as he carried her in his arms back to their tent.
Alrich wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders and put a hand on Ketsu's. "I am now blessed to have two such amazingly strong daughters in my life."
Sabine smiled up at her dad. "Thanks, daddy. You're the best father, too."
"Thanks, Lord Wren," Ketsu said too. "I've always wished I was part of your family and not my own."
Alrich squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "Well, now you are. And you can call me Father if you like. I would be proud to hear it."
"All right, Father," Ketsu said a little hesitantly, fighting tears again. This had turned into the best cargo run ever.
Sabine pulled away from the little group. "I'm going to get some food and feed my Jedi. Ketsu, I'll see you soon, I'm sure. Father, if you want to take the other ship and head to Krownest with Shubin and the others tonight, go ahead. Ezra and I... We'll get there. Tomorrow probably."
Ketsu and Alrich chuckled as Sabine blushed at her own words and what they implied. Alrich hugged her one more time and kissed her on top of her head. "Don't rush for my sake. I'll take care of our clan until you come home to us."
Sabine smiled a little mistily, kissed his cheek, and then turned and disappeared into the crowd; her diminutive height making it easy to do.
Ketsu sighed a little. "Right. I'm off. See you sometime soon, Pops."
"Hey!" Alrich exclaimed as Ketsu laughed and wandered away. He chuckled to himself and took his seat again beside Shubin. "At least life is never going to be boring with two artist warriors as daughters," he said to no one in particular as he picked up his glass of something turquoise and incredibly high in alcohol content. (He figured today was a perfect day to get fantastically drunk since mourning his wife and son was still too painful to think about right now.)
Shubin and the rest of their table laughed.
Ketsu had only made it a few meters before Kendo stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. The siblings stared at each other for half a minute, not sure what to say.
"I'm sorry," Kendo eventually said. "I didn't know Father was beating you."
Ketsu shrugged, feeling awkward. "It's not your fault. I hid it, thinking it was my fault for not being good enough. I think Mother did the same."
Kendo shook his head. "I still should have seen that something wasn't right."
Ketsu put a hand on his arm. "Don't blame yourself. It's over. I don't want to dwell on the past anymore. I have a good clan now, and I'm happy."
"I'm glad. I'm sorry you don't want to come back to Clan Onyo, but I understand. I would like to still claim you as my sister if that's all right with you. I never agreed with Father's decision to cast you out."
"I would like that. Thank you, Kendo," Ketsu said softly. "Let's keep in touch, okay?"
"Okay."
They smiled tightly at each other before sidling apart and going separate ways. It was going to take a while for that relationship to reform into something comfortable.
Ketsu wound through the edges of the crowd and then strode for her ship, passing the bored sentry at the gate again. She found Jett leaning against the side of the Shadow Caster. He smiled widely when he saw her. "Hey, beautiful. Some day, hunh?"
Ketsu snorted lightly at that understatement. "Hey yourself. Aren't you supposed to be escorting the prisoner?" She couldn't bring herself to say her father'. He would never get that title again.
Jett shrugged. "He's currently stunned unconscious, has all eight of my men guarding him, and he's cuffed to a wall. I don't think he's going anywhere. I didn't want to miss you before you left."
Awwwww. He really did care. Or he just really wanted to get laid. Whatever. Ketsu smiled, showing a lot of teeth. "Come on then, hot-stuff, and I'll write down my frequency for you."
Jett eagerly bounded after her up the ramp of her ship and followed her to the small common room. She found a permanent red marker in her art supplies and walked up to Jett. After pushing the sleeve of his black tunic up past his elbow, she wrote the complicated frequency on the underside of his muscular forearm before blowing on it lightly to make sure the ink was dry before pulling the sleeve back down as he shivered lightly.
Ketsu looked up at him, smiling softly. "So you don't lose it."
Jett cupped her cheek with a large hand, grey eyes looking incredibly soft and filled with desire. "Never gonna happen," he breathed. He tilted his head down and gave her a soft kiss filled with heat and promise.
Ketsu's eyes fluttered open as he pulled away, hand caressing her jaw as he did so. "Shabla hell, Jett, I have got to take some time to be with you."
He brushed a thumb over her lips. "As soon as we can make it happen, I can guarantee you're going to see me again." He gave her one last promise-filled look before he left her ship, passing the older Jedi and his droid on the ramp. They did the nod thing and Jett aimed for the Mand'alor's ship, his men, and his prisoner. What a strange day, indeed. But turning into an amazing one, he thought with a smile and a bounce in his step.
Kanan was surprised to see Ezra's challenger leaving Ketsu's ship, momentarily thinking he'd mistaken the shape of her ship for another one, but no, Ketsu's signature was definitely in there. Shrugging off the curiosity, knowing he'd find out eventually if it was important, Kanan strode into the ship.
Ketsu appeared at the top of the ramp and closed it once everyone was on board. "You ready to go home to Hera, Jedi Senior?"
Kanan nodded, smiling happily at the thought, and Chopper beeped an eager, "Yes!"
"Good." Ketsu strode past stacks of crates, down a hallway, and to the bridge of her ship with her passengers following. "Cause I'm more than ready to drop you and the other cargo off and call in some vacation time. I've got a date with Captain Fine Ass."
"Who?" Chopper beeped.
Kanan settled into the co-pilot's seat after tossing his bag of personal items that he'd snuck onto the Gauntlet to get onto the floor. (Ezra had still been asleep, so he hadn't bothered him. Sabine could have that honor.) He grinned at Ketsu's statement. That took even less time than he thought for his unspoken question to be answered. He may have missed something along the way, but it seemed that the Force was working in mysterious ways again.
He wasn't surprised in the least.
Mando'a words:
Ni kar'taylir gai sa ner vod. – I know your name as my sister.
