The Trials of Mand'alor

Chapter 2

Clan Beskad

Xerxes and Galbon ran to the small village where Clan Beskad lived. It was a few miles to the north west, outside of the planet's capital. The City of Keldabe, the largest city on the planet, located just 45 degrees north of the equator on a granite hill. The forests to the north of the city were always full of vicious wildlife perfect for hunting practice where young mandalorians could test their skills. As Xerxes ran into the village of only a handful of buildings, he took note of two of his friends whom he had not seen in a month, patiently waiting for him. The young man with dark hair noticed Xerxes and started sprinting towards him, calling out his name.

"It's good to see you too, Vlad!" Xerxes replied as they greeted each other. "So how was the hunt on Tatooine? Bring back any souvenirs?"

Vladimir, who had just recently become a teenager, could barely contain himself. The excitement of a successful hunt was bursting from his young face. "Yeah!" Vlad exclaimed. "I brought back some gaffi sticks from the Tusken raiders we were paid to hunt down! I don't mean to brag, but I was able snipe about five Tuskens before they even knew what was going on. Oh! You should see what Akiza brought back though."

Just then Galbon walked up to the two boys, attempting to catch his breath. "What- what could she have gotten- that's better than gaffi sticks?" Galbon asked.

Placing his hands on his hips and with pride for his older sister in his voice, Vlad stated, "She managed to kill a Krayt dragon all on her own."

"What?!" Xerxes and Galbon both cried out.

"Well, it was an adolescent Krayt dragon so it wasn't that big, but still."

Xerxes looked over to his best friend, Akiza, in disbelief. She however smiled, indicating that what Vlad said was true.

Xerxes couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the girl he had come to have a great affection for. He noted again the way Akiza's amber eyes glowed with confidence and warmth. How her red hair cascaded over her shoulders. How her beautiful smile always disarmed him. But most of all, how strong she was and resolute about being the best warrior she could be while still being kind to others. Galbon noticed Xerxes staring and took advantage of his brother's distraction. "A Krayt dragon you say?" Galbon said stroking his chin in mock contemplation. "That's quite the catch, wouldn't you agree, Xerxes?"

"Yeah.", Xerxes answered registering only half of what Galbon was said. "She certainly is."

Galbon and Vlad chortled at Xerxes absentminded response. Vlad spoke up to get Xerxes attention, "I never said the Krayt dragon was a she." Xerxes finally snapped out of his stupor and looked at Vlad. Glancing between the smirks on Vlad and Galbon's faces it only took a second for Xerxes to realize that they had once again gotten him to say something potentially embarrassing. "Oh, ha ha, guys. Real funny." Xerxes continued as his friends chuckled at his expense. "Well, aren't you proud of yourselves?" Rolling his eyes, Xerxes turned his attention to Akiza. "So, if you've managed to kill a Krayt dragon, where's your trophy proving your kill?"

Akiza walked up to the group with her hands behind her back. "Well" she began, "It was a choice between its teeth, claws or skin. So, I chose its skin."

"…And, where is it?" Xerxes asked.

"I'm wearing it." Confused, Xerxes quickly looked over her armor, but could find no indication of any krayt dragon scales. He raised his eyebrow at her in confusion.

Vlad answered Xerxes' unspoken question. "What she means is, she made some of the skin into a wearable under armor."

"Seriously?" Xerxes asked in amazement. "I didn't think such a thing was possible."

Akiza just shrugged her shoulders non-chalantly. "Neither did I, but I tried it and it worked out. The scales actually move quite freely with my body considering how strong and rigid they are." Xerxes had always been interested in inventing and building things with his hands so for her to let him know such details was no surprise.

"Interesting." Xerxes pondered. "You'll have to let me see it sometime and show me how you were able to make it."

Akiza put her hands on her hips and looked slightly put off. "Xerxes Fett," she exclaimed in a voice of mock shock, unable to hide the smirk slowly creeping onto her face. "You know better than to ask a girl for a peek like that." Vlad and Galbon suddenly burst into laughter. Xerxes felt a slight heat rising into his cheeks as he realized the joke she was having at his expense. For her though, he didn't mind too much.

Allowing a smile to grace his face Xerxes pointed a finger to defend himself. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I know." Akiza giggled to herself. "I just like to mess with you a bit. Now let's go. Dad has some important news for you two."

With her hands behind her back, she turned around and led the young men towards the only stone dwelling in the village. The home of L'gann Orren, the leader of Clan Beskad. As they stepped into the home, Xerxes could see a man in his late thirties conversing with someone on the holo-screen. He was throwing his arms around in wild gestures as he told incredible stories. The man in question was L'gann and even in doors he was still wearing his silver sunglasses. Xerxes had always found it weird that L'gann wore them almost all the time. Looking at the man's muscular arms covered in swirling blue tribal tattoos along with his blue hair, one would never have guessed that this eccentric person could ever be a responsible leader. Yet L'gann was probably the most reliable person Xerxes had ever met. After Xerxes' father had died when he was eight, L'gann had been the one to take him and his brother in and raise them up and train them. As the small group of teens entered the room L'gann looked over his shoulder, turned back to the screen and said, "Well, we can finish talking about that later. I gotta go. I'll see you soon pal." L'gann turned off the screen, spun around in his chair and putting his hands on his knees, gave his full attention to his guests. "Well, it's about time you guys showed up." L'gann said with all the enthusiasm of a young man. "Come on. Take a seat and we can get started." Everyone took a seat around the stone table centered in the middle of the dwelling. L'gann took a moment to compose himself before speaking. As he scanned the teenagers he had helped to raise, a wide grin broke open on his face. "Man. I'm gone only one month and look at how much you've grown. Speaking of that month, I gotta tell you all about the hunt on Tatooine. So, there we were in the canyons with a sandstorm threatening to come in while trying to hunt down some Tusken Raiders, when suddenly…"

"Um… Dad?" Akiza interrupted. "Don't you think you should tell them about the other important thing first?"

L'gann paused and looked over to his daughter in confusion with his arms above his head before realization dawned on him. "Huh? Oh yeah. The big news!" L'gann cleared his throat and continued, "So, as you all know, all the clan leaders and I have been getting the Mand'alor Competition set up in order to select our new leader. So far, we've kept everyone in the dark about who will be participating in this. Well, first I need to tell you this wasn't our idea. This was all Abram's idea."

Galbon and Xerxes stared at L'gann in surprise. "You mean our dad came up with this plan?"

"That's right. He left very specific instructions that if a new Mand'alor hadn't been selected in the allotted time that we should have this competition. I'm glad it turned out like this. Because the people he wanted to have compete for his title are going to be all of the people he ever adopted." L'gann ended his big reveal with his signature grin and folding his arms.

Vlad looked confused by the news. "So, what you're saying is that over a hundred people are going to be competing to become Mand'alor?" He asked.

L'gann just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose under his sunglasses. "I've been waiting eight years to say this and you guys still don't get it. No, the reason this is big news for Clan Beskad is because", L'gann beat the palms of his hands on the table in a drum roll, "our very own Fett brothers here, have got a shot at becoming the new Mand'alor!" He ended by pointing at the now stunned Xerxes and Galbon.

Galbon reacted first as he shook his brother's shoulders in excitement. "Do you know what this means, bro? We could actually make things be the way we want!"

Xerxes was still reeling from the daunting task that had been placed on him, so excitement came much slower for him. "Yeah, but that means we have to go through all of our adopted siblings whom we've never met, Galbon."

As the difficulty of their task set in Galbon's mind as he sat back down and turned to L'gann. "That's right." He said somberly. "Like Vlad said, that's a lot of people."

"WHAT?!" L'gann cried out. "Doubting yourselves already?" L'gann stood up and placed one foot on the table. With one hand on his hip and the other pointing towards the sky, he hollered, "If there's one thing I've ever taught you guys about believing in yourselves it's to 'Believe in the me…"

Everyone stood up and pointed to the sky as well and exclaimed in one voice, "Who believes in you!"

"That's right!" L'gann said pushing up his sunglasses with his thumb. "At least until you can believe in yourselves. So, get excited! This is your chance to carry on your father's legacy."

While his friends cheered and allowed the moment to sweep them away, Xerxes sat in thought, stroking his chin. He wondered to himself if this was what destiny had in store for him. Was he meant to lead his entire race, his entire planet? Being in that position of power would certainly make it easier to get things done that he felt would be in Mandalore's best interest or perhaps his own. But what if it was Galbon that fate favored? Would Galbon make choices that benefited everyone and not just his own ideals? Could Xerxes for that matter? The gravity of such power slowly crept in and settled like a heavy stone in Xerxes' chest. The more he thought about it, the harder it became to breath. He shook his head and drove those thoughts of doubt out. He hadn't become Mand'alor yet, no one had. It was a one in an almost hundred chances anyway. He just had to do his best no matter what. That's what his father would've wanted.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!" L'gann suddenly exclaimed. He retook his seat and pointed to the Fett brothers. "There's something I need you two to do before we can even start the Mand'alor Competition. So, for some reason both the Empire and Republic have taken an interest in this event to decide a new leader and have asked to send emissaries to view the events and participate as impartial judges." L'gann shrugged his shoulders and gave a small snort, "Yeah, as if they have no ulterior motives. Anyway, the clan leaders said they could send one judge each and a small group to watch the proceedings. This is where you two come in."

A sly grin appeared on L'gann's face as he stroked his chin. "See, the thing is, I may have given them each the… uh, "wrong coordinates" to land their ships while they stay here." L'gann chuckled to himself. "Last thing we need is for foreign representatives to try and kill each other in their sleep on our planet. So, Galbon, I need you to go get the Imperial entourage and Xerxes to go get our Republic visitors. Just make sure they don't get killed by the local wildlife on the way to Keldabe where they will be rooming." L'gann then handed them each the coordinates of their guests and sent the teens on their way. "I'll meet you all at the Oyu'baat Cantina." L'gann called out as they all left.

As the group of teens left L'gann's home, Galbon turned eagerly towards Xerxes. "So, bro. Since we're technically competing against each other," Galbon said with a mischievous look on his face, "How about we make this mission L'gann has given us a little more… interesting."

Xerxes knew what his brother meant by interesting. "Oh," Xerxes said mockingly, "You wanna lose another bet to your big brother?"

"No! Cause this time I'm going to win." Galbon clapped his hands together and began to explain his idea. "Here is what I propose. I say we each have to get our groups back to Keldabe without them knowing we're there for as long as we can, and whoever gets their party to the cantina first wins. Extra points for whoever remains undetected the longest." Galbon folded his arms across his chest. "So, how about it, bro?"

Xerxes folded his arms as well and mirrored Galbon's stance before speaking. "Well, what then, may I ask, are the stakes, little brother?" Even though Xerxes wasn't that much older than Galbon, he still liked to hang it over the younger boy's head.

"Let's keep it simple this time." Galbon said. "The usual." The usual meant whoever lost bought the entire group drinks at the Oyu'baat. Both Xerxes and Galbon had built up a considerable tab there over the years.

"Sounds good to me." Xerxes nodded approvingly. "How about we each have a small team of two others to accompany us? Say uh…Vlad, Akiza and me against you, Mark and Donni'ika?" Xerxes knew he'd stand a better chance with his best team. He also knew that setting his brother up with two younger Mandalorians could keep Galbon distracted.

However, a grin began to spread across Galbon's face. "I like those odds." He said smirking. "By the way, big bro, the rules of stealth only apply to you and me. It doesn't count if the others get found out." Galbon held out his hand towards Xerxes. "So, is it a deal?"

Xerxes thrust out his right hand and clasped Galbon's hand with it. "The game is on." Xerxes replied.

"Great. I'll see ya when you're paying for my drink." Galbon called out as he rushed away to grab his team. Xerxes chuckled to himself as he watched Galbon race away. Sometimes they had way too much fun. Xerxes turned around and gazed into the faces of both Vlad and Akiza, who were looking at him expectantly.

"Alright!" Xerxes said, placing his hands on his hips. "I take it that you heard what Galbon and I were discussing. Which means you know the rules and you know what's at stake. Don't let our guests from the Republic see us for as long as possible and get back to the Oyu'baat as quickly as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" They both cried out, knowing how serious Xerxes and Galbon took their bets.

"Alright then." Xerxes gestured with his hand, indicating for them to follow. "Let's do this one by the books."

….

The trek to the coordinates for the Republic representatives was a quiet one. Since time was paramount, Xerxes didn't bother grabbing any gear other than what he already had on him. His trusty shotgun and basic armor was all that he would need. Vlad and Akiza however were fully equipped from their earlier hunting trip from Tatooine and ready to go. Which was just fine with Xerxes. The less armor he wore, the better prepared for stealth he would be. The coordinates of the Republic landing site led to a clearing in the forest about twenty minutes north west of Keldabe. As the young Mandalorians arrived they found the clearing to be empty. The Republic hadn't arrived yet.

Xerxes took a quick look around and began to plan his strategy. "Alright, here's the plan." he began, "We'll stick to the cover of the foliage and keep the local wildlife from eating our guests. Don't let them know you're there unless absolutely necessary." Suddenly the sound of a starship's engines could be heard approaching at a high speed. Xerxes quickly added his final instructions. "We'll keep in touch on our comlinks. Let's move!"

The three teenagers split up and hide in different parts of the forest around the clearing. Xerxes dared to be as close as possible to the edge in order to have a clear vantage point. From overhead, a large, Republic cruiser appeared over the clearing and began its slow decent until its landing struts hit the ground. The cruiser was a dark-red color and the exhaust from the thrusters could be smelled all over the clearing. At first all was quiet and nothing happened. Then the loading ramp opened from underneath the cockpit area. A handful of protocol droids and a human walked down the ramp followed by a strange looking alien wearing a mask and goggles. Xerxes could hear the human complaining to the alien about having to land so far from the city. The alien simply observed his surroundings and seemed calm.

"Hey, Xerxes. What's with the alien's face?" Vlad asked through his headset.

"That's a Kel Dor, Vlad. Their species doesn't do so well in oxygen rich atmospheres, so they wear the mask and goggles to protect themselves."

Akiza chimed in. "It makes him look intimidating."

"I suppose." Xerxes said. "But more than that, he's not just a Kel Dor. He is a Jedi."