Canderous never particularly enjoyed hopping ships; even during the grand days of the Mandalorian Wars, he greatly disliked shuttling between Koramud's just to receive instructions to go somewhere else; which is why he was more than happy to meet with Revan on the planet below, frozen as the world of Rekkiad is. The ships shudders and stoops, battered by the cold, harsh winds of the blizzard. More than once he'd heard an uncomfortable murmur between the pilot and copilot, leading the burly Mandalorian to curl a lip is annoyance.

For some reason, Revan had asked him to leave the battlefield to come to this desolate place, but he knew better than to question why. Not that he was afraid of Revan; hell, Canderous had entertained the thought of adopting Revan as a brother, although the fact that the man was a spoon-bender made it unlikely. Revan would make a great Mandalorian, really, but the fact of the matter is that many of his people were still quite bitter about losing the war to him. Just another reason Canderous had left to scrape out a new life. Unfortunately, his past always seemed to catch up to him... even here...

"Coming up on the rally point." the pilot calls back to Canderous.

The Mandalorian isn't alone, however - eight Sith Troopers, wearing a slightly modified variant of the standard armor designed to withstand the freezing temperatures of worlds such as this, begin their weapon checks. Canderous smirks; ever since Revan had retaken control of the Sith, its military had undergone drastic re-calibrating. Thanks to revamped training methods, the Empire's armies were becoming dozens of times more efficient than before. Revan had once mused with Canderous what kind of effect there would be if the soldiers were trained by Mandalorians; which had directly led to Canderous reaching out to members of his own clan, as well as some others who had, like him, taken up a life as hired muscle or bounty hunters.

Just another reason why Canderous was feeling uneasy about coming to Rekkiad. The shuttle pitches, shoving its passengers hard against their security belts, as it makes the unmistakable sensation of landing. Clearly, the pilot was forced to drop quickly. Canderous quickly unclips his belt, making sure that his thick jacket is zipped up tight, and covers his face with a clinging cloth and goggles. The boarding ramp hisses open, permitting the Mandalorian and Sith Troopers to pour down the ramp and stomp out onto the surface.

Revan had come prepared, it seemed. Already, a prefabricated base filled with troops and officers has been established, teeming with activity. As Canderous and the troopers make their way to the main tent, he notices a few details about the base. Firstly, several of the repulsor tanks have clear carbon scoring across their surfaces - recent ones at that. The Mandalorian sets his jaw grimly as he enters the tent. Immediately, he is greeted by the sight of Revan and a pair of heavily clothed Sith officers.

"All I'm saying, my Lord, is that we should have run a scan before we started landing troops." an officer complains. The man is somewhat heavy-set, making Canderous wonder how he could possibly have found his way into a leadership position, much less here with Revan himself.

"Looks like you started the party without me; that's impolite, you know." Canderous barks at Revan, making the Dark Lord raise his eyes and smirk. A wide grin sets in on Canderous' face as he steps forward, his arm swinging up to grasp Revan's right forearm; much to the surprise and disdain of the officers. "Su'cuy, Revan. Copaani gaan?"

"Welcome, Canderous." the Dark Lord replies, waiving the officers away. "Yes, any help you can give is greatly appreciated. I'm glad you were able to make it quickly."

"Didn't have much choice," Canderous shrugs, walking around the long table, glancing at a flickering holoimage sprouting from a small device on top of it. A rather under-rendered image of what looked like twin, his expression becoming perplexed. "Though, I can't imagine you wanted me to come all this way if it wasn't important."

"It is." Revan replied, his expression a curious mix of irritable and excited. He reaches under the side of the table, and pulls up a helmet; a Mandalorian helmet. Canderous' eyes widen. "It seems that your people and I are here for the same thing."

Canderous' brows furrow as he looks from the helmet to Revan, his expression expectant.

"Judging from the markings, I'd say that you've had an encounter with Clan Jendri..." Canderous surmises.

"My soldiers did, at any rate." Revan replies, his tone indifferent. "Minutes after landing, they've explained."

"How long have you been here?" Canderous asks curiously.

"Six standard hours." the Dark Lord answers, grunting. "I had heard that there were Mandalorians in the system; I didn't know they had already set up on the planet themselves. They're searching for something. Likely the same thing I am."

Canderous shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

"I think I might know..." Canderous admits. "And if you're here, I suppose that it's true. This is where you hid Mandalore's mask after the war."

"Yes, it is." Revan nods, straightening and clasping his hands behind against the small of his back, making Canderous' expression harden. "It is for that reason that I have brought you here."

"...What do you want me to do?" Canderous asks tentatively.

For a moment, Revan looks at Canderous thoughtfully, only further fueling the Mandalorian's uneasy feeling. The Dark Lord looks pointedly at the two towering formations depicted in the holo, drawing Canderous' eyes as well.

"You remember at the end of the Mandalorians Wars, when I slew Mandalore the Ultimate, that I took his mask and hid it away to prevent one of your people from rising to become a new Mandalore." Revan states, slowly pacing to the left and right.

"So you did hide it here, then." Canderous grumbles shrewdly, leaning over the table and gripping the corners. He looks over the holoimage at Revan, who was watching Canderous with an intrigued expression. "...Why now? Why tell me?"

"That answer should already be evident." Revan replies evenly, but his eyes tell the Mandalorian that there is much more to the story. Seeing Canderous' expression, the Dark Lord's own expression darkens. "Besides Bastila, you are the only person I can trust. If you are not the one to reclaim Mandalore's mask, it will risk allowing a leader to rise and fight a war of vengeance against my empire. But for what is to come, I need the Mandalorians to be unified once more; but not as an enemy."

"What are you talking about?" Canderous inquires urgently. "Why do you need the Mandalorians unified? The Republic is as good as gone now; we are basically doing mop up work."

"The crumbling Republic isn't what concerns me." Revan replies with a dismissive hand. "But... I've been getting reports. Katarr has been destroyed."

Canderous' head jerks back, his expression even more perplexed.

"Destroyed? By who?" the Mandalorian asks.

"A rogue Sith... Someone called Darth Nihilus, apparently." Revan replies, making Canderous scoff.

"You're telling me that one guy destroyed an entire planet?" Canderous couldn't believe it, how was such a thing possible?

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities." Revan preaches briefly. "And some of those abilities are impossible to defend against. I don't know if I have met this so-called Darth Nihilus, but he is a threat. And not just to me, but to all life in the galaxy."

For a long moment, Canderous stares at Revan, and then lowers his gaze to the twin peaks, his jaw set.

"So... How does uniting my people help you face this di'kut?" Canderous asks of the Dark Lord.

"Against such a threat, anything helps. But I know, first hand, what your people can do." Revan replies, smirking at Canderous. "In the end, maybe it won't help, but I'd rather have us all united against this threat, than divided and weak."

For now, Darth Revan decides against telling Canderous of the nightmares he has been having; there is no need to, yet. To Revan's surprise, the Mandalorian chuckles.

"Looks like we're off to save the galaxy again, eh?" Canderous chuckles before jokingly adding, "Don't go talking about saving the galaxy too much; don't want the Dark Lord sounding like some Jedi, right?"

Revan furrows a brow, and the right side of his mouth turns down a bit in a mild scowl.

"At any rate, we should focus on the task at hand." Revan sighs, nodding at the holoimage. Canderous shrugs and gives Revan his full attention. "Commander Breen?"

Stepping up immediately to the summons, the stout officer begins his report.

"Yes, as I was saying earlier Mi'lord, if we had run a scan for life signs, we likely would have been able to avoid losing one of our transports and the troopers on board." Commander Breen huffs in a thick Core World accent, pretending not to have been interrupted by Canderous' arrival.

"We had reports of Mandalorian presence outside the system, but your assertion was noted." the Dark Lord points out.

"Yes, Captain Servius may have told you so, but he was clearly-" Commander Breen starts, only to be silenced by a leer from Revan.

"I didn't ask your appraisal of your fellow officers; I asked what we are doing about it." Revan tells the officer, who winces.

"Er, yes, well, we have sent out probes, two of which found nothing, but this third probe-" Breen holds up a datapad and hands it over to Revan. The live feed shows the Dark Lord a rather well established camp, and a number of heavily armed and armored humanoids. "Has discovered the location of the Mandalorian camp. As you can see, they are clearly preparing themselves for a counter-strike."

"Not from the way I see it." Canderous grunts, looking the recording over. The Sith officer raises a brow at Canderous, who shoots a dirty look right back. "Looks to me like they're packing it in."

"What does it matter whether they are packing up or not?" Commander Breen inquires sarcastically. "They can easily still move-"

"Doesn't matter, actually." Canderous retorts grumpily, interrupting the pudgy officer. "What matters is that you entered their turf, and your troops beat them back. They lost ground, and retreated. They're packing it in and moving to another area."

"So, what? They're just leaving and going somewhere else?" Breen asks haughtily, invoking a look from Canderous that made it clear the Mandalorian thought Breen an imbecile.

"Real quality officers here, Revan." Canderous says, rolling his eyes at Commander Breen and turning to the Dark Lord. "Do they always repeat everything they hear back at you?"

"Whatever the case, we should get moving soon." Revan tells the two, crossing his arms over his chest. "In the meantime, Commander, prepare the camp to move. I want us to be as close to the base of those peaks as possible before nightfall."

Commander Breen snap salutes to the Dark Lord, and promptly heads to exit the tent, pulling a warming mask up over his mouth and nose to combat the cold. Canderous looks back at the twin peaks, his eyes now revealing a gritty determination.


If anything could really surprise Canderous these days, he would have to chalk up today as being one of them. No sooner had Darth Revan's command to pack up been announced than the Sith troopers sprung into action. Their efficiency and speed would give even Mandalorian mobile bases a run for their credits. Revan's personal battalion, no doubt. Despite the encampment being only a few hours old, the troopers made no complaints. Plasteel containers were loaded and strapped down to repulsor crafts; each vehicle mounted with a well maintained blaster cannon.

The instant the last tent was folded and loaded up, they were all stepping onto one of the two troop transports. Canderous, on the other hand, was busy speaking into a comlink. When he shut the device down, Canderous would find Revan watching from a few feet away. There is no suspicion in the Sith Lord's eyes; only what Canderous knew was anticipation. Not wanting to disappoint, the Mandalorian walks over to Revan, his boots crunching atop the thick snow.

"I take it you were able to contact your clansmen?" Revan asks expectantly.

"Yeah; well, they contacted me first, actually." Canderous replies, sounding oddly somewhat perturbed.

"When did they do so?" the Dark Lord asks calmly.

"A few weeks ago. I was still running the show during the invasion of Chazwa." Canderous informs Revan. "It was during some downtime during the battle; we'd just taken out their shields protecting a city. They... contacted me. Told me they were looking for the Mask."

"And you turned them down?" Revan inquires, raising a brow.

"I walked away from all that a long time ago, you know that." Canderous tuts. "We were a broken people after the war; and I was already neck deep in conquering the planet. Besides, I would never abandon a battle for what I thought was a wild bantha chase."

Canderous glances at his comlink before stowing it in one of his coat's inner pockets.

"Besides, my oath to you is more important." the Mandalorian adds in, clapping a hand on the Dark Lord's shoulder.

"And what did they have to say?"

"This time? They're glad I decided to show up." Canderous chuckles. "I haven't seen most of 'em in years. Plus, I've given them the coordinates to where we decided would be best to hunker down for the night."

A raised brow from Revan catches the Mandalorian's attention.

"Don't worry; I've already let them in on the details. The wont attack us; but just don't expect some of them to be as friendly as me." Canderous warns calmly. "You know how I feel about the war, about working with you. But some Mandalorians just don't share my opinion. Some are still angry that we lost; they'll probably call you Revan the Butcher."

"As good a name as any, I suppose." Revan chuckles, returning Canderous' shoulder clap. "At least we don't have to sneak in and call me by a different name."

"You never know, it could work." Canderous laughs back. The two heave themselves onto the transport, and within moments the vehicles are off.

The trip is long, and uneventful. Hours pass by, but at last, the twin peaks loom over the large group. The moment the vehicles stop, the Sith troopers hurry to work. The prefabricated bases certainly came in handy for this sort of thing; especially given the threatening appearance of those clouds in the distance, Canderous surmises as he leers at the sky. They weren't even half-way through setting up before a slight alarm stalls the progress. Thankfully, Revan waived the troops down as Canderous stands up tall to make himself as noticeable as possible. And it was immediately clear why; a vanguard of trudging humanoids in thick coats and formidable armor approach the camp. Canderous calls out to them, walking briskly; or as briskly as one could through the couple feet deep snow. But when what Revan could identify as a woman steps in front of the group, takes off her helmet and gives one of the coldest glares Revan has seen in a long time, the mood changes.

"Su cuy'gar... Canderous." the woman calls out, her raven black hair being slowly speckled in snowflakes. It was a friendly greeting, but her tone suggests a terse irritation. Canderous sets his jaw, and walks over to the woman, stopping only a few inches from her. Revan could feel the tension between the two.

"It's good to see you... Veela." Canderous replies. Several uncomfortable moments pass as the two stare into each other's eyes; only to finally be cut when several Mandalorians walk up and surround the two. Their laughter and back-clapping breaks the tension at last, even eliciting mutual smirks from Veela and Canderous. After a few minutes, Canderous and Veela lead the troop of Mandalorians over to the Sith camp. Canderous nods at Revan. "Revan, I'd like you to meet Veela."

"A pleasure." Revan replies calmly, approaching the Mandalorians. His eyes lock onto Veela's, and she leers right back defiantly. "Is she a relative of yours?"

"I'm his wife, Butcher." Veela growls with clear contempt. This revelation actually surprises the Dark Lord, who flicks his eyes to Canderous. The broad Mandalorian only grins and shrugs, as if to say you never asked.

"Well then, even more of a reason to be pleased." Revan says, recovering from the surprise. "We are still setting up the camp, but feel free to relax."

"You call that setting up?" Veela snorts, jerking her chin at the Sith troopers who now resumed their work. She turns back to her clanspeople. "Oya! Let's show these chumps how Mando'a set up a camp!"

The order elicits an excited group cheer, and the Mandalorians surge forth. The two groups work fast, and well, quickly finishing the Sith camp before quickly putting up huts of their own; and in good time. As the last of the plasteel containers are set down, the great storm that had been bearing down on them finally begins in earnest. Even with the thick winter clothing, staying out in the open during a blizzard was foolish. Sith troops and Mandalorians alike hunker down in their tents, with Revan oddly finding himself in the Mandalorians' main tent with Canderous, Veela, and who Canderous told him were Edric and Grizzer.

His reason for being there was not as odd.

"So... it is here." Veela breathes, staring down at the large wooden table the five stand around.

"It is." Revan confirms. "I hid it in a small cavern high above us in the Twin Spears. I don't remember the exact details of the cave, but I do know that the Mask is there."

Veela's eyes flick from Revan to Canderous, who nods at her.

"Why help us now?" Veela asks.

"Because helping you, helps me." Revan replies honestly. "There are greater threats in the galaxy, and if helping the Mandalorian Clans reunite under a new Mandalore helps me protect the galaxy from those threats, then so be it."

"Ain't you the Sith Emperor, or something?" Edric asks, sounding perplexed. "What do you care?"

"I've said this to others, and I'll say it here; I am not Malak." Revan retorts calmly. "I built the Sith Empire to replace the laboring Galactic Republic; not to lay waste to the galaxy."

"What difference does it make if you do?" Grizzer pipes up.

"The difference is that my Empire will not stagnate." the Dark Lord answers, his voice showing determination. "If the galaxy is to survive the threats I have foreseen, then it needs to be led by a powerful, unified entity. Not split up by greedy, squabbling delegates."

"So you're saying that you're expecting a war, after this war you've got going on with the Republic?" Veela asks inquisitively.

"That, or something worse." Revan nods, turning his eyes back to her. "And bringing your people together indeed serves my purposes to keep the galaxy thriving."

For a few moments, the Mandalorians only trade glances. Eventually, Veela finally smiles; bringing out the beauty masked under her stern expressions.

"Well alright then." Veela says, slapping her hands on the table. "Sounds to me like we may have a worthy battle or two coming up! And tomorrow, Mand'alor will rise again! Sounds to me like a reason to celebrate! Grizzer, let everyone know the good news! And let's see how well this Emperor here holds his liquor!"


At long last, I have completed Page 6! Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to Page 7!