Night Until Dawn: Interlude - Part 1
It had become a dangerous time to live during the era after the introduction of the New Galactic Republic to the wider galaxy. The introduction of gangs from Republic territory into Council territory had created a hot bed of crime on major planets. Crime rates were through the roof, and in these times people were always getting caught in the middle between the warring factions. The police fighting gangs, gangs fighting other gangs, gangs attacking and exploiting civilians...it never seemed to stop. This had created a lucrative business for people wanting to become hired body guards or assassins, pretty much all you needed was a weapon and some minor training, and you would be rolling in credits.
For the Mandalorians, a seemingly war like people that inhabited the planet Mandalore, it proved to be time of great wealth and honor. Mandalorians had been notorious for being the galaxies best hired soldiers, for thousands of years they had been hired en mass to be assassins, soldiers or guards. They had even been hired by the New Republic during the rebellion era and during the Republic - Turian war years ago. They had fought ferociously, like an wild animal fighting until everything in its path was dead.
With this new era of instability, it had created a sorta of gold rush effect on the business, with highly skilled mercenaries competing with no skilled, lack of experience people armed with cheaply made weapons and with even cheaper ideas. New freelancers would enter the business only with the idea that it was a get rich scheme, but exited the market battered, broken but most ended up dead. With the onslaught of unskilled hired guns, the demand for highly trained and highly experienced bounty hunters went up. And so mandalorians had become a popular group to hire from.
This however lead to a conflict of interest between the Mandalorians and a certain other goup.
The Krogans.
The Krogans had been the preferred choice group to hire from during the the years before the introduction of the New Republic. They, like the Mandalorians, come from a war-like background where most aspects of life were based off of fighting. The two groups had butted heads during varipus jobs, even fighting against each other during a corporate war between two large companies fighting over land rights on an off world colony not owned by any particular government. It was a fierce battle fought between the hardened veterans of each side, both sides getting quite a bloody nose form the days battle. The battle had lead to a mutual feeling of respect for both groups, but also created a bitter rivalry that had lasted for many years since.
Mandalore the Fair, Omega, 44 A.B.Y
The Mandalorians had a peculiar way in picking who would join their ranks. Although native born Mandalorians made up a majority of the group, there were cases, however, that members of other species could join their ranks after proving themselves in battle. Through a contest that was held every couple of years, the contestants competing with each other over specified bounties that they had to complete in order to move on to the further stages. As the stages progressed, the bounties would become more difficult, requiring the contestant to use their physical and mental strengths. When there was only one person left, they would be crowned the winner and would be inducted into the Mandalorian ranks. In rare cases, if they showed the required qualities, some of these people could even rise to become the feared and respected leader of the group.
Mandalore the Fair was one of these few people.
She had been a twi'lek slave to the cruel and greedy hutts on the planet of Tatooine. Working as a worker in a lavish hutt palace, she worked her early years with no parents, them being sold off to another hutt. She clearly remembered her early years of being alone, scoffed at and abused, the memories embedded in her mind. Her green skin visibly tensed, although slightly, at the thought of her childhood. The countless terrible memories of her being beaten, mocked at and the cruel punishments she received were blocked by the equally pleasant memory of her savior that brought her out of the chains of slavery. The one man she could trust with every inch of her heart, the only person in thr world she could open up her heart to. And that man was Zaeed Massani, a Mandalorian assassin hired by the moisture farmers of deserts of Tatooine to kill the hutt. The hutt had apparently funded attacks on the profitable farms, due to the scarce supply of water on the desert planet.
He had found her cowering in fear after he finished the job. She had looked at him as if an angel had just floated down to her from the heavens. She remembered his comforting smile and words, holding her and telling her everything was going to get better for her. He had taken her as her apprentice, teaching her in the ways of becoming a warrior. For days in and days out. He taught her valuable skills such as tactics, hacking, scavenging, and many more skills she could utilize when she became a full time bounty hunter. In reality he wanted her to win the contest that would allow her become one with his people, a true Mandalorian at heart.
When the time had come she easily had won the contest, becoming a Mandalorian and with that her true freedom. A smile found her lips at the fond memories of her rising through the ranks of the Mandalorians. It had been tough and gruel, but she had become one of the most feared and respected bounty hunters in the galaxy. But now was not a time for reminiscing over the past, it was now time for her to focus on the present.
She was walking on one of the most disgusting places in the known galaxy.
Omega.
It was originally built many years ago as a mining outpost for the asteroids abundant supply of element zero, but after saud supply eventually ran out, the miner abandoned it. Afterwords, criminals discovered it and popularized the former outpost. It was turned into a den of crime, its inhabitants were mainly criminals and terrorists that stayed here knowing full well the laws of the Citadel or Republic did not apply here. After years of expansion, it had become known as "Omega", ruled by the iron fist of Aria T'loak. While technically she was the 'leader' of Omega, there was no actual ruling body that enforced any type of law or order. On Omega, it was 'every man for themselves', with murders and theft at such a rate that many would wonder why you would live here.
Although she spent a great time of deal in the horrendous hutt palaces and nearby junker towns, they don't even compare to the level of lawlessness and dinginess that this place had. Everywhere you looked there were piles of scrapped metals, ruined electronics, or layers upon layers of crap. She had to even pinch her nose for a part of the walk, unable to breath in the toxic smell.
'Why do we even accept jobs from this shithole?' she thought as she stepped over a unconscious dirty Vorcha. Unfortunately there were no people who were willing to drive them to the lower wards of Omega, citing that it was even more dangerous than it was profitable. On her right stood her long mentor and father-like figure Zaeed, and on her left stood Jaed Koshi, also a good friend she had made during her early years as a Mandalorian. They were moving their way to a high paying job they had accepted from a arms dealer in the lower sectors of Omega. Although most of the times she would not accept jobs like this, she had some personal reasons for coming along with this job. She also enjoyed being in the company of the two people she could call friends.
"Having fun over there Fair?" spoke Jaed with a smug face. He had warned her that the smell in the lower levels could be overwhelming, but she had brushed it off, saying that it was him being a pansy. Now here she was barley able to stay conscious.
"Piss off you damn nerf herder" she spoke in a low voice, partially breathing in toxic air. Almost vomiting, she held it back knowing well that it would lead her to breathing more air. Both Zaeed and Jaed laughed at the poor Twi'leks dilema, both of them having oxygen masks on.
"Should've heeded the warning Jaed gave you, one of the few times he was actually right" he said as Jaed gave a light punch to Zaeeds shoulder.
"I'm usually right...i've only been wrong just a couple times..." he said as he sheepishly massaged his shoulders. Pinching his nose, Zaeed took on an annoyed look.
"Oh really?" he started, "I can't even count the amount of times you have misdirected us. Remember that job on Correlia, where you lead us through the entire damn planet for a day before you realized the target was not even on the damn planet?" he spoke while glaring daggers at the young man.
"Stop bickering, we got a job to do" Fair said as she strapped a oxygen mask to her face. The perks of being the leader of the pack had its advantages, such as being able to boss around others. She also was able to use it to stop people from bickering and ruining her mood. Both nodded to her, and they resumed their walk to the job site.
Fair, Zaeed and Jaed were all clad in full Mandalorian armor minus the helmets. Thick blue and white line went up and down the blast plates. Fair had a X-15 Riot Sniper Rifle slinged across her back, a powerful sniper rifle with a long ranged barrel and scope. On her hips she had duel DL-44 blaster pistols, and a light vibro-blade that was attached on her left thigh. Along with these, she also had grenades, trip mines, extra Cells, ect., everything a bountyr hunter might need.
Their job was quite simple. The arms dealer was importing weapons from Thessia, and they were hired to guard said shipment. Much of these weapons were stolen from a military depot on Thessia, all were mass effect based automatic rifles. The Council races had been trying to replicate Blaster technology, however were lacking the material to power it. She had know the lucrative business of selling the gas that powered the blasters. She had overheard it during her years as a slave, the hutts constantly talking about its profitability. It was a substance that, although it was common blasters were very common for both soldiers and civilians alike, it is only found in massive quantities on specific planets.
"Why the hell is this so low in the wards?" spoke Jaed, groaning at the amount of walking the had to do. Although she didn't appreciate the lazy attitude of her sloth friend, he did have a point. Why go to an extreme length to order a weapons shipment?
After a long walk, they finally reached their destination, a dingy little space port on the fringes of Omega. One could tell that this place was poorly built, it being barley able to properly dock spaceships. Rust, grime and debris could be seen all around the spaceport, as shady individuals eyed the armed bounty hunters. Most were armed with basic rifles or pistols, mostly Turians and a few Krogans.
Among the the thugs was a well dressed Asari, the client that sent the bounty request to the Mandalorians. She was short, maybe 4'6 in height and wore a black and gold dress. In one hand she talked into her omni-tool, the other hand griping her small pistol holstered at her hip. She seemed to not have noticed their presence, as continued to stare at a handful of crates in the center of the room.
After a few moments of not being recognized, Fair let out a few coughs, drawing the Asari's attention to herself.
"Ah, your here earlier than I expected" she said while giving a smile to the trio, "I am Shio Nala'ak of Thessia, I assume you are the famed Mandalore The Fair?"
"Indeed I am, pleased to meet you" said Fair, giving the Asari a quick handshake. Behind Fair, Zaeed and Jaed stood on guard with their weapons in quick reach.
"So I assume these are the goods?" spoke Fair, point at the containers. The crates seemed to be out of place in the dingy spaceport, the chrome sides seemingly shining in the dim ceiling lights. The insignia plastered on the crate were of the Asari Republic, Salarian Union and the symbol for Thessia. These three groups were known to work together on various science endeavors on a broad range of topics, ranging from advanced weaponry to fields in medicine.
"You are correct. These crates carry a cache of experimental weaponry from a Thessian lab that I ...'Procured' under certain circumstances. As you may understand, these goods are highly sought after, and can attract some unwanted attention. These are to be moved to the upper sectors of Omega where you will deliver it to a black market broker by the name of Kass'a Brak. I want this job done and over within the next 10 hours, and if the goods are damaged or stolen you will not receive your pay. Is this understood?"
The Mandalorians nodded as they quickly loaded the cargo onto a small freight mover that would extract the crates to the upper levels, allowing it to be moved by a vehicle to its intended destination. Since the area was so cramped, it was difficult to move large vehicles into the area without making it very obvious, basically painting a red target on themselves. Taking defensive potions they waited until they got the all ready signal and the freight elevator began to move upwards. The trio stood in a triangle formation with their blasters at the ready.
It was oddly quiet for the first hour of the ride, they had only spotted a handful of thugs and other types of criminals on their way up. Most would think this would be a good sign of an easy job for easy money. However, this unnerved the Mandalorians as they sat cautiously, not wanting to be overtaken by surprise. Zaeed and Jaeed seemed to be nerve wrecked as sweat formed on the back of their necks. The two got a feeling that this was not a normal job, as not even one group has tried to attack the shipment even once. On Omega it was extremely unusual to this, most of the time they would be attacked by at least groups of Vorcha or drug addicts that inhabited the lower wards and would attack others blindly and without a cause. But there had been none, as if they had been cleared out by a much larger and more powerful force.
Meanwhile Fair seemed to be unhindered by the lack of confrontation. She sat with a calm expression, slowly inspecting her blaster and her other equipment while they awaited possible trouble. She had known that this probably would happen, knowing who the real enemy of this payload would be. An enemy that she had a long time grudge she wished to settle wright here and now. She had not told the other two, or anyone else about who would be the one attacking the payload as she did not wish to drag her friends into the matter. However she knew that she would not be able to take them all on, and so she brought them to help her with the other possible enemies while she dealt with the one that the twi'lek had a bone to pick with.
Suddenly the elevator stopped in the middle of a platform and its controls went haywire, while a gunshot rang out that barley missed Zaeeds head by a small margin. The three took to combat positions and followed the angle of the gunshot to its shooter. What they saw shocked Zaeed and Jaeed, while bringing a smirk to the lips of Mandalore. Standing on top of a nearby stack of crates was the person Fair had expected to attack the shipment. It was a large Krogan armed with a large shotgun and outfitted with a battle tested red armor, its paint chipped in many places along with multiple scratches.
"Its been a long time...Mandalore the Fair..." he spoke out with a loud and authoritative voice. She simply stood there with her hands on her hips and a blaster in her hand, seemingly taunting the larger being.
"Indeed it has been...Urdnot Wrex. How is that blaster wound I gave ya?" she said with a grin. The Krogan scoffed before jumping down from the crates. He let out a yell and soon the Krogans and Vorcha that were hiding behind various cover came out rapidly.
"That's some big talk coming from someone who is outnumbered three to one" he said with a grin before the group slowly encircled the Mandalorians. The pulled out their blasters and held them in position, beginning a standoff between the two groups. The two groups waited for the other to make the first move. A Vorcha gre impatient and fired the first shot at Mandalore. Then all hell broke loose.
"Blast Them!" yelled Mandalore as she activated her jet pack, flying into the air before unleashing a volley of blaster fire towards the Krogan battlemaster. The two other Mandalorians began shooting out of cover, killing a couple of the enemy within a few shots. Wrex took cover behind a barricade and waited till Fair finished firing until he jumped out and began a counter attack. He sent a biotic pulse towards the flying Mandalorian, knocking her out of the sky and crashing into a pile of crates nearby.
"Mandalore!"
"Fair!"
The two shouted before trying to reach their leader, before being cut off by a wave of enemies. Wrex walked over to the fallen warrior and pointed his shotgun straight at her head.
"This time, I'll make sure you stay dead!" he said. Right as he was about to squeeze the trigger, Fair quickly shot her holdout blaster sent a bolt into his chest, before firing up her jet pack and sent a powerful punch to his face, sending him flying into a nearby wall. She pulled out a small metal object, pressing a button on the side and out came a humming black and white blade that slightly glowed in the dark warehouse. An unknowing Vorcha ran straight towards the wounded warrior but was quickly sliced in half by the blades searing heat. The other gang members stood in fear as they stared at the butchered corpse of their comrade before starring up at an bloodthirsty Twi'lek.
"You wanted a fight...NOW COME! FACE ME LIKE A WARRIOR!" she yelled as she sprinted towards the enemy. The other Mandalorians stood in awe as they watched their leader cut down Vorcha and Krogans alike.
The blade was the Darksaber, an ancient Jedi lightersaber that belonged to the first Madalorian Jed Tarre Vizla, and was later stolen from the Jedi temple by the Vizla clan during the fall of the Old Republic. Since then it was passed down from generation to generation of the Vizla clan leaders. After the death of the Pre Vizla by Darth Maul, the blade changed many hands over the coming years until it found by the first Mandalore. Since then it was passed down from one Mandalore to the next.
The two were taken out from their stupor as Vorcha swiped at them from behind. Zaeed punched it and sent it flying into nearby pile of crates and both took cover.
"Damn, remind me never to piss her off" said Jaed as he watched the angered woman slicing the thugs to pieces.
"Tell me about it' said Zaeed as he peeked out of cover and fired off a few shots. One by one the gangs forces were picked off until they realized it was a lost fight. They began to retreat from view, Wrex stood up in complete anger and fury.
"YOU TRAITORS! Fight you worthless scum!" the Krogan warlord screamed as he failed to try and rally his troops. Realizing the battle was over he attempted to retreat from the fight, only to be cut off by Fair as she landed in front of him.
"Going somewhere?" she said with a wild like grin.
The Krogan battle master shuddered at the sight before launching one last counter attack. He sent her flying backwards with his biotitcs, creating a brief moment of time for the defeated warrior to escape down a nearby elevator shaft.
The trio of victorious Mandalorians returned to the central platform to reorganize and recuperate. After a few moments at standing guard the power returned and the systems normalized, and the lift began moving again.
"That was...interesting..." spoke Jaed as he hunched over a nearby crate. The two others were in similar states as Zaeed sat on the ground while Fair laid against another crate.
"Haven't fought like that in a while...that damn Krogan can put up a damn good fight" spoke Zaeed. Fair only nodded while remain silent.
"Well at least were alive and the cargo's safe, so I believe we made out pretty well when you think about" spoke Fair. The three nodded as silence once again fell upon them. The rest of the ride remained uneventful and the delivery was made to its destination. As the dealer thanked the group and payed them their reward, they returned to their ship.
Mandalore sat alone in her room aboard the Fury with her pistol in hand. She just wore a basic shirt and a pair or workers pants, her battle armor being discarded to the other side of her bed. After cleaning the pistol, she laid back onto her bed and thought. It was quite rare for her to have any time to herself, and so she took the time to recount everything that had happened in past few years. About how quickly her life changed from a slave, to a random gun fr hire, to being the leader of one of the most powerful clans of bounty hunters and mercenaries, and the impact she had on the group.
She was unable to realize, however, how she would change the course of upcoming history with just a simple battle.
Hi guys, Reader here...
Yeah, I know its been a long time since I've updated any of my stories, let alone Night Until Dawn. Recently I had an imaginative brain that has been at full work for a couple of weeks. Also with this chapter I hope to show that this story is not dead, I am still working on it. However slow that pace it. Currently working on fixing those previous chapter. After looking through them, I almost want to slam my face into a wall at how bad I wrote it. The grammar, style, it just seemed way simple and felt as if a kid wrote it. Sorry for that, it should be fixed soon. Again I am truly sorry to all those people who have read the story and hoped for an update...hopefully I will give out updates more often. Also, readers of my other stories, they are not dead either, they are also being worked on, just be patient for a little bit longer. Shout out to Mandalore the Freedom for the idea for this chapter. I hope this chapter is to your liking. Send me a PM if you have any ideas, corrections or something else.
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Thanks to all who have read, and happy holidays to everyone!