Author's Note: Here's a happy chapter! Or… mostly happy (Enjoy it while you can). It's a bonus for any Republic Commando fans or ObiTine fans, little AniPadme. The chapter title is Mando'a- it means a perfectly bittersweet moment, celebration while mourning. It's also a DOUBLE CHAPTER! Because I don't really see this as a chapter. It doesn't move the story along very much, at least not for Rex and Ahsoka. Hope you enjoy. -Ember
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Chapter 6: Aay'han
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Kal could see Bardan's hands were white knuckled on the controls of the Aggressor as the Mandalorian Countryside sped past outside. The unexpected arrival of Omega Squad's last defectors on Mandalore and all the unknowns that surrounded them were making everyone tense in what should have been a joyous situation.
Kad had sensed their arrival first, early that morning, dropping his toys and looking around the karyai making soft whining noises and short sobs. Even in Laseema's arms the boy had been restless and inconsolable, looking for something he knew was near yet couldn't find. Bardan had been hesitant to come, but accepted that his abilities might be necessary. They didn't know how Darman would react to coming home. They'd given up trying to predict him after their last denied 'rescue' attempt. Mij sat behind Kal in the Aggressor, re-checking the contents of the large med-kit in his lap. A'den was the last member of the retrieval squad. He was very still and silent, watching the miles tick by as they neared Keldabe, where Darman and Niner were waiting.
"Don't worry Bard'ika," Kal said softly, "They're coming home, that's what's important."
"I know buir," Bardan said. "I just…" He shook his head and trialed off.
"This another one of those jedi-senses?" Kal asked.
"No… I don't know… Maybe it is." Bardan kept his eyes firmly on the monotonous countryside of yellow grass and jagged rocks.
"What ever it is, we'll sort it," A'den cut in. "Darman isn't leaving again." His words held a ring of finality and a promise of action. Kal looked back at his son's impassive expression. The easygoing and fun-loving Null ARC was all business today. The old sergeant caught Mij's wary looks between the three Skiratas, but wisely the old doctor kept his opinions to himself. Kal turned back to the viewports and tried not to fidget as the Aggressor ate up the miles with alarming speed. For once he was happy Bardan favored fast crates and piloted like a maniac.
Keldabe loomed in view on it's fortified hilltop in record time. Led by some sixth sense Bardan turned the Aggressor east into a twisting valley and followed it into the shadow of the bounding ridges. There patches of trees grew densely in sheltered gullies. Bardan made a beeline for a small coppice. As he circled above it Kal saw the vividly violet ship sheltered there. It was an expensive looking machine with sleek lines and flashy logos—something totally foreign to a backwater like Mandalore but perfectly suited to the eclectic skylanes of Coruscant. Bardan put the Aggressor down a little ways off.
Niner was standing near the edge of the trees with his white Stormtrooper helmet in his hands, staring down at it. Darman was sitting on the extended boarding ramp of the ship with a tangle of wires and explosive dets in his nimble hands. As Bardan approached he saw the soles of Darman's boots were stained red. Darman paused his untangling when Kal entered the grove, sitting a little taller and clenching his jaw, bracing for a reprimand that didn't come.
"Ad'ika," Kal said to his returning son. He opened his mouth to go on, but emotions trapped the words in his throat. His eyes glassed over with tears, and he struggled to swallow them back. "Olarom yaim." Welcome home.
Darman just nodded and looked down at the wires in his hands.
"Kad'ika has missed you," Kal said softly, putting a hand on the young father's armored shoulder.
"How is he?" Darman finally spoke, his voice tight and clipped.
"Looking forward to seeing you," Kal replied. "He knew you'd arrived before you even called. He's getting as good as Bard'ika at finding people."
Darman's eyes widened and snapped up to his father. His nostrils flared in anger for a moment and his hands shook. Bardan could feel paternal protectiveness, raw anger, fear and a deep well of grief around Darman.
"Don't worry son, he's fine," Kal tried to assure Darman. "No Jedi are gonna snatch him up while we're around."
Darman's brow furrowed and he looked back down at his work, frowning. "I'll feel better when I can see him myself," the Commando said.
"I know you will, son." Kal patted Dar's shoulder comfortingly. He turned away to greet his last returning son.
Niner was still standing apart from the others, looking down at his helmet. Dirty red mud was clinging to his boots where dust had mixed with the liquid. To Bardan, he felt nearly as troubled as Darman in the Force. Dark guilt and uncertainty nearly overshadowed by oily doubts swirled around Niner. Bardan flashed Kal a meaningful look and touched his father gently with the Force in silent communication. Kal felt Bardan's fears for his brother and nodded. Darman hadn't been the only one trapped behind enemy lines and it had taken a toll on both Commandos.
"Any injuries?" Mij asked Darman, readjusting the strap of the med-kit.
"No," Darman replied darkly. "He's dead."
"Who?" Bardan asked anxious. He scrambled to think who's blood it might be on Darman's boots.
"Rede."
"Who's Rede?" Mij asked.
"The centax clone in our squad," Darman didn't even look up from the dets. "He was with us… we even thought he wanted to get out… Niner shot him."
"Shab," Bardan hissed. "Why did Niner...?"
"Rede tried to betray us, turn us over as deserters."
"Shab!" It was all Bardan could think to say. Niner had shot a brother—worse, a member of his own squad. They all remembered how badly it had torn up Darman to know he'd killed vode and he hadn't know them personally. Darman still said the remembrance for Moz and Olun every nigh. Rede was a member of their team even if he wasn't as close to them as Atin or Fi; it made things different and many times worse.
"Rede didn't even seem like himself—didn't try to hide it when he opened the comm back to HQ." Darman explained as he rigged the ship for it's final take off. "He actually pulled his weapon on me. Maybe I'd be dead if Niner hadn't been faster."
A'den walked up to the boarding ramp silently and looked at the grisly scene in the small cockpit. A high-velocity plasma-bolt did a catastrophic amount of damage at close range. From the slick red color of the back wall it appeared Rede hadn't been wearing his helmet either.
"Why did you bring him?" the Null demanded. "If you didn't trust him he had no place at Kyrimorut."
"We made a mistake," Darman growled lowly. Commando's weren't supposed to make mistakes. They were supposed to be perfect. Anything less than perfection was death. All those misconceptions that the war had destroyed still rattled around in Darman's head.
"No, your mistake was not getting out when we came for you the first time."
"I fracked up. I know!" Darman snapped back. "I should never have been on that bridge, neither should Niner. Then we'd have been here with everyone else. I would have seen her again… just once, to say goodbye."
"None of us got to say goodbye!" Bardan said softly.
"What? You didn't bring her home?"
"Ordo left her body with Jaller Obrim. Ny was supposed to smuggle her out of Coruscant, but Obrim and his family disappeared that night."
"What are you talking about? He was reassigned to Andara. We asked at CSF."
"That's a load of osik," A'den said. "They aren't on Andara—never were!"
The news of the Obrims' death hit like a physical weight on Darman's shoulders, hunching him over.
"Chakaare," Darman hissed, his hands fisted on the white leg-plates of his armor. "They couldn't even leave me her body. I've got nothing left of her!"
"You've got Kad!" A'den said, his voice deep and tinged with emotions that Bardan didn't quite understand. For a moment he felt bitter longing and resentment well up in the dizzyingly fast tornado that was A'den in the Force. Then the moment passed. "You're a father now, like it or not. Start acting like one."
The Nulls were blunt and borderline inconsiderate at the best of times, but this time it seemed to be was Darman needed. Darman sat up straighter and his fists relaxed, he calmly went back to arranging the wires in his lap. A'den nodded at his brother's fortified attitude. Wordlessly the Null turned away and went after his father. Niner had sunk to his knees in the dirt with Kal couched beside him. Bardan tore his eyes away from Niner; he trusted his buir to sort that out.
"There's something else," Bardan said and reached into the pack on the back of his utility belt. The two cylindrical handles clinked together and gleamed dully, still smudged with small feminine fingerprints. Darman just stared at Etain's lightsabers for a moment in stunned silence. A flash of raw pain crossed his face before it was shoved away and covered up with anger.
"I don't want those!" Darman growled. "They're the reason she's dead."
"They're also the reason she's alive," Bardan said, but he could tell Darman wasn't in a mood to be reasoned with. "It's ok. I thought Kad might want them when he's older."
"No!" Darman snapped, repulsed by the idea of his son wielding a Jedi weapon.
"As a reminder of her," Bardan clarified. "I'll take the crystals out if you want."
"Kad isn't—"
"He's not a Jedi. I know. He'll be mando'ad. Etain wanted that and no one is trying to make him anything else."
"What about the kriffing Jedi you brought to his home?" Darman demanded. Bardan tried to ignore the accusation thrown at him personally but it was hard. The words stung. Even after being adopted by Kal he was separated from the family by his abilities. The Force would always single him out while he was on Mandalore, make him foreign, aruetyc.
"Zey agreed to the memory wipe. He doesn't even remember Kad or Kyrimorut. We delivered him and Maze to Altis three days ago."
"Then the Jedi are gone?"
"Scout and Kina Ha asked to stay."
"Who?"
Mij answered this time: "Scout's a child—just another orphan created by war. Kina Ha is harmless. She was never part of the war and doesn't want anything to do with the Empire now."
"She's promised not to interfere with Kad. She knows what happened to the last Kaminoan at Kyrimorut."
"A Kaminoan Jedi?" Darman was momentarily shocked out of his anger.
"She's… different," Bardan said inadequately.
"She's also agreed to lend us her DNA to help us research an aging cure. The aiwa-bait is alright." Mij defended Kina Ha with a neutral tone and a casual shrug of his shoulders that didn't betray how adamantly he had argued to allow the two Jedi to stay.
"I still don't want her around Kad."
"She spends most of her time meditating anyway," Mij explained. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that."
Darman frowned but silently went back to the finishing touches on his explosive project. A moment later he snapped a panel shut and stood up, brushing off his hands.
"Done," he said and backed away from the ship.
"Let's get you home to Kad-ika then," Mij said, hoisting his med kit higher on his shoulder. They all cast looks toward Niner and watched as A'den dragged the Omega sergeant up by his armpit. He pounded a fist on Niner's chest-plate and the other man jumped violently. Together Kal and A'den led Niner out of the grove. The Aggressor was packed tight with six armored men. Mij opted to sit in the back foldout seats with Niner in case the soldier needed a stim or a sedative. He seemed to be teetering on shock at the moment, but he was at least calm. Darman sat up front, his eyes peeled for the first glimpse of Kyrimorut.
All of Omega Squad was waiting outside when the Aggressor touched down. Laseema stood at the front of the group with Kad in her arms. The child was alert and attentive. He could feel excitement and trepidation all around him. When Darman stepped down off the boarding ramp, he cried out happily and pumped his chubby, little arms on Laseema's shoulder.
"Dada!" He babbled. "Dada!"
Darman froze for a moment and stared into his son's identical eyes. Then he ran across the packed dirt between them. It didn't mater that he was wearing stormtrooper armor or that his boots were stained red, he was back with his son. Kad clung to his father, unbothered by the tears falling on his head.
Omega squad closed in around them. Darman grinned at seeing Fi back to his joking, confident self. Atin looked calm and content with one arm around Laseema and the other on Darman's shoulder. Corr had an armor-smashing hug for Niner that pulled the sergeant out of his shock. For the first time all the members of Omega Squad were together in one place.
The feast was impromptu, a mixture of leftovers and quickly prepared dishes, but there was no comparison to the last time they'd prepared for Darman and Niner's intended return. The atmosphere was jovial and victorious. The crowded Karyai was packed shoulder to shoulder with armored bodies and conversations almost had to be shouted. Even above it all a song would start up—usually about drinking or fighting—and end it raucous laughter.
Etain's absence hung over the family as it always would but it didn't press down with quite so much pressure that night. Mird was happy to run around between chair legs and boots to beg scraps from any hand he could slobber on. Even Vau looked down right cheerful, compared to his usual sullen demeanor.
As the night wound down Kal brought his bottle of tihaar over to Vau and fell into a chair by the old, black-armored man. Kad was asleep in his father's arms, sucking his thumb happily. Corr was amiably helping Jilka to clear the remains of dinner, piling dishes into a teetering tower to impress her. Fi and Atin sat on either side of Niner, carefully keeping his attention occupied even as their brother was yawning himself to sleep.
"Delta next, vod," Kal said, pouring himself a glass of the clear alcohol. The usual frown lines of Vau's face returned as all humor and good cheer left him instantly.
"What makes you think they want out?" He asked, a noncommittal response.
"Before Kashyyyk I wouldn't have questioned it. You raised those boys loyal. Now…" Kal shook his head, "I think they might be more open minded."
"We'll see." Vau said and frowned, but his eyes were bright. "They deserve the choice."
"All our boys do." Kal agreed.
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It was the first night that Anakin finally saw what his wife had seen at first glance in the old farmhouse. The garden behind the house was aglow with small candles hanging from the fruit trees. The air was fragrant with the smell of the ripe red purple globes hanging from the branches and the hearty aroma of the roast meal spread on the Alderani patterned tablecloth. Most of the food was from the garden Satine had slaved over and she held a bouquet of bright pink flowers Obi-Wan had coaxed to bloom with his gentle Force touch. The setting sun had turned the sky into a riot of colors. Amid all of it Satine's white dress looked very plain.
Satine and Obi-Wan stood hand in hand with Padme at her friend's right and Anakin at his master's left. Ahsoka held Leia, who was quiet and solemn for the important moment. The vows were simple and soft, for the couple alone in Mandalorian tradition. Satine spoke them first in her native tongue. Obi-Wan repeated them in Basic.
"Ti aliit olar sirb'an: Mhi katro'ran solus tome, mhi katro'ran solus dar tome, mhi me'dino'ren briikase, mhi me'dino'ren trikar, mhi cabo'ran, mhi ba'juro'ren cabur."
"Before our family I vow: we will be united whether we are together or apart, we will share our joys and share our sadness, we will protect our family, and we will teach our family to be protectors."
The couple smiled at each other, Satine's eyes swimming. Obi-Wan's expression was not the emotionless peace and assurance of a Jedi of the Order but peaceful contentment and acceptance of a man with a purpose. Anakin wondered if he had looked like that standing on the terrace of Varikino with Padme. He certainly couldn't remember feeling that peaceful. He'd been excited, anxious, hopeful, fearful, even conflicted… He'd known the marriage was against the Jedi code and would have to be kept secret, perhaps forever.
From his place beside Obi-Wan he looked over at Padme. She was dressed in cream and light green, holding Satine's bouquet. Her hair was arranged simply on the back of her neck, nothing like the elaborate styles of her reign or time as a senator but to him, she was still beautiful.
Padme caught his eye and smiled back with open adoration and love. He sighed, feeling her affection touching him in the Force, surrounding and embracing him. That was contentment, right at that moment. Despite the rustic setting he could have been back on Naboo at Varikino. That was the moment he agreed: the name, Varikino Minor, did seem fitting.
It was a wonderful night full of good food and good company. The next day would come with work around the house and the farm, the threats of the Empire and Palpatine still hung heavy over them and Luke's absence would weight on the broken family again but for one night the inhabitants of Varikino Minor Farm were happy. Each of them had lost part of their family. Satine had nothing to remember her sister or parents by only her memories of them. Padme could never contact her family while the threat of the Emipre hung over her. They would have to live with questions of their youngest daughter's fate just as she and her husband lived with the unknown fate of her son. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had lost their community of fellow Jedi, friends and mentors taken by the war or the Purge that followed. Now they clung to what they had left: their family and their memories.
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Author's Note: I made up most of vows that Satine and Obi-Wan said. They're a variation/expansion on the mandalorian traditional vow which is shorter. It goes: Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verd – We are one together, we are one apart, we share all, we raise warriors. I didn't think that Satine, being a New Mandalorian pacifist and from Kalevala (nearby but not actually Mandalore) would have all the same traditions as someone like Kal, a True Mandalorian traditionalist.
A note on Satine's Mando'a. What I've used here is a mash up of Karen Traviss's mando'a and the fannon version which includes conjugations. The Clone Wars series uses the fannon version of Mando'a in the episode "The Mandalore Plot". The wiiki claims that "colloquially" conjugation was dropped, so for common speakers like Kal and the Kyrimorut aliit it makes sense for them to speak that way. Satine is a highly educated Mandalorian from almost a completely different culture. She wouldn't speak the same version of Mando'a though they would be mutually understood. Thus the version I have used here: mainly KT vocabulary and Fannon conjugation rules.
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