Canderous
Not that I don't appreciate the good behavior, but why were the others so calm in the face of that idiot? I expected them to start swinging. None of them even look insulted.
Jennet's voice in my head was one part relieved, one part surprised, and one part annoyed. I smiled grimly, and put an arm around her. She was shivering a little, the rage ebbing but the implications of the bar's attitude starting to sink in. To most anyone else, though, she probably looked perfectly calm and composed. Well, except the broken hand. I clenched my own fist by reflex; I had felt her knuckle smash when she hit the brick wall. There was a chip in the stone where her fist had impacted and I admired again how strong she actually was, especially when pissed.
I told them not to, I said simply. They also knew you didn't want them to start a fight. They might not appreciate civilized behavior, but they do appreciate and admire you. Plus, I don't think you realize how impressed they are by you standing up for them.
Why the fuck wouldn't I? She asked irritably.
We had started walking down the street, the honor guard in place around us, but she had stopped dead at my comment and looked at me, honestly surprised.
You're my Mate, true. But you were also an outlander. Tonight, you showed them you are truly Mandoa. They're proud that you're one of us.
Some Mandalorian I am. If I really was, we'd still be in there, smashing heads and probably waking up in a prison cell, she said wryly.
Maybe, I agreed. But it would sure play hell with diplomatic negotiations when Onasi got here. You did the right thing, and they know it. Besides, you don't think every one of us hasn't played out a similar scene at least a few times? If I know my men, they're mostly amused that those people think you're an unwilling captive, when you could wipe the floor with the entire bar, including them. They love that, believe me, and they're right now prouder than shit you chose them over those bigoted fools.
I used to be one of those bigoted fools. Jennet sounded sad.
Never, I answered. You traveled with two Mandalorians before you ever met me.
"Heal yourself, lass," Kex broke in to our silent conversation. "You don't want to end up like I was."
Jennet smiled at him, and I felt her healing energy intensify as it mended her hand. The faint pain in my own faded to nothing.
"Sorry I spoiled your fun," she said to the men in general.
"What, that rabble? Wouldn't make a decent brawl, anyway," Xarga scoffed.
"Not worth the trouble," Kelborn assured her.
"We probably would have just sat back and watched you clean out the room," Xarga offered. "The only disappointment I have is not getting to see it. Would have been bloody fantastic, that."
"I wanted to," Jennet assured him.
"Well, there you go," he grinned. "Almost as good."
"Head's up lads, this ain't over yet," Tagren observed, and we turned to see about twenty guys coming out of the bar, stopping short as they spotted us about a block away. At the head of the pack was Nice Face. I had heard Jennet use this designation in her mind in the bar, and I couldn't say I agreed with it. I heard Jennet sigh.
"Well," she said fatalistically, "At least they won't be adding destruction of private property to the list of crimes at our trial."
"Not to worry darlin'," Kex said behind me. "if they start it, the only reason we'd be in court is to testify against them."
"And if they're dead, we won't even have to do that," Xarga added helpfully.
"No killing," Jennet ordered.
"Well, now, if they draw first, I'd have to disagree with that one," Kelborn said thoughtfully. "But I'd be willing to settle for just beating the shit out of them."
"Jennet's right, men," I rumbled. "Unless they use deadly force, I don't want to see a weapon drawn."
There was a general grumble of disappointment, but I knew they'd obey.
"Let's just go," Jennet said softly. "I don't like their attitude, but no one has to get hurt. They're not worth it."
"Probably not," I said, "But it's too late now."
The party from the bar had nearly caught up. About half looked fairly intoxicated and I regretfully realized that the brawl that we'd avoided inside wasn't going to be nearly as much fun as expected outside. Much better when the parties involved are either all smashed, or sober. Evens the playing field.
Jennet caught that and had just enough time to scowl at me before Nice Face and his pals were on us. I grinned back, unrepentant.
"So," he said with a sneer, "if it isn't the Mandalorian pack and their little whore. Thought you'd be long gone."
I eyed the man like the bug he was, and smiled. I had the satisfaction of seeing him blanch.
"The last person to call my lady that ended up with her blade in their gullet," I said conversationally. "And you'll wish I was that easy on you if you don't apologize to my wife."
Well, that was a big help. Jennet said, more resigned than irritated. But thank you, love.
"And if I don't?" he asked belligerently, with the smirk of one confident he had the enemy outnumbered.
"Well, here's the thing," I said with my best friendly grin. He suddenly looked very uneasy, and my smile widened. "I promised her I wouldn't kill anyone tonight. I didn't promise I wouldn't make anyone wish they were dead."
His eyes narrowed, and he drew himself to his full height. I was impressed by his bravado, but I'd seen the fear in his eyes. I could admit that in the bar, his intentions had been honorable, if misguided and bigoted. But he'd degenerated to blustering bully, and that I had no respect for. And after his crack about Jennet, I had lost any patience I might have for his attitude.
"Twenty one against six," he scoffed. "They won't find all the pieces when we're done with you."
If I was ever in any doubt of his being a bully, that removed it. He seemed supremely unconcerned that he and his friends were willing to attack us three-to-one. Of course, with the Mandalorian reputation for fighting, it could be he thought of it as good sense.
"That would be twenty one against seven," Jennet said sweetly. "And I'm waiting for my apology."
"Little girls get hurt when they play with the big boys," Nice Face said, his face twisting into an ugly mask. "Enjoy being a widow."
With that, he swung at me, and all hell broke loose. I was surprised; he actually seemed to know what he was doing. Even so, I blocked the shot he'd taken at my face easily enough, and responded with a vicious hit to the gut. He whooshed as most of the air left his lungs, but managed to keep himself upright and fall back to regroup. I followed up with a spinning kick to his side and he went down. Then three of his buddies were on me, and the fight was on.
I felt Jennet, unlike when she was armed, start picking around the edges of the crowd, careful not to strike with killing blows and trying to keep from getting surrounded. The rest of our men waded in, grinning like fools and whooping, fists and feet flying. My battle ecstasy kicked in and I felt it merge with Jennet's Force abilities. The curious sensation of watching her fight while attending my own part of the battle came over me. I grinned savagely as I watched her gracefully dance under the flailing extremities around her. She dropped low to avoid getting her head bashed in, then took out two; one with a brutal kick to the nuts and the other by popping up and slamming her elbow into his throat. The man in front of me recoiled at the look on my face and I knocked him out with a punch to the head.
The crowd thinned out some and out of the corner of my eye I saw Xarga, Zuka, and Kelborn station themselves into containment formation, dropping back to pick off strays while Kex and Tagren remained in the thick of it with me and Jennet. I felt my wildcat make her way to me, and we fought back to back, spinning in time with each other's moves, kicking and punching anything that came near. She saw through our shared vision that I had four in front of me, and of the two she had, one went down with a well-timed head kick and the other spun to be summarily dispatched by Xarga.
Without any actual dialogue between us, but perfect understanding, I reached behind me, hooked her arms, and felt her clench her elbows around mine as I flipped her over my back. She flew over my head, using the Force to assist her, and landed in a half-crouch literally on the shoulders of the man directly in front of me. Without missing a beat, she shoved off, kicking him in the back of the head as she did so, and landed behind the other three. A swift low sweep of her leg and two went down, assisted into unconsciousness by Tagren and Kex. Leaping up, she spun again and got another square under the jaw with a solid kick. I took care of the one remaining in front of me, and spun to face the next opponent.
But there wasn't another. The seven of us stood among twenty one fallen men in the middle of the street, breathing hard but relatively undamaged. Nice Face was crawling to his feet, and Jennet went over to him.
"I appreciate what you thought you were doing," she said quietly. "But I don't care what you think. Keep any apology you might have; it wouldn't mean anything anyway."
Then she did something that floored me. I felt her healing go into high gear, and she healed everyone. None on our side were terribly battered, but Nice Face's gang had taken a brutal beating. The split lip and swollen eye of our antagonist's face melted back to healthy unmarked skin, and the pained groaning around us faded. Still in tune with her Force abilities, I could tell that she didn't have enough to fix everything. But still, it seemed the worst of the damage was gone, and the unconscious were stirring.
"Maybe next time, you'll realize things aren't always what you think," she said.
Nice face stared at her, mouth open. I chuckled to myself; he really did look ridiculous.
"Let's go, guys," Jennet said with dignity, and looping her arm through mine, led us down the street.
I snuck a look back, and saw the leader still on his knees, staring in astonishment.
"Why'd you do that, lass?" Kex asked crankily. "It's no fun if they don't hurt in the morning."
"Let them prove there was a fight if they lodge a complaint to the local magistrate," Jennet said. "Not that I really expect them to; who wants to admit so many got their asses whipped by so few, and one of them a woman?"
And maybe by doing that, the asshole might think about jumping to conclusions in the future. You could have let him bleed, and he knows it, I observed, understanding now.
Something like that. I really don't want any proof of a fight either. This way, it's far more our word against theirs, and I know Onderon; they won't arrest without real evidence. I did live here once.
So you did.
"That flip thing you did over the Mandalore's head," Xarga said with awe, "that was amazing. Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"My parents, mostly," Jennet said, shrugging. "Other fighters I've met over the years. Dad figured out early I was never going to be big, so he worked with me from the beginning to use my size as an advantage."
"I wouldn't of thought of it that way," Xarga said thoughtfully, "but you're right…we're all in good shape, and can jump well enough, but none of us could pull off that move."
"I had a little help," Jennet said, smiling at me.
I grinned back, chuckling. "Don't let her fool you, boys. I've seen her jump straight over a man's head from a dead start on the ground, and manage to get a blow in as she did. The day I met her, she killed a merc by sheathing a vibrosword in his head as she sailed over."
"I jumped from a table to do that," she protested, but was starting to laugh.
"True," I agreed. "But I've seen you jump higher, without assistance. And catching two plasma grenades when they were behind you to begin with, then throwing them back at the, what was it? Eight? Twelve? More mercs all firing away at you, with enough time to throw yourself at me and get us both out of the way…that was fast."
The men, started at Jennet, mouths slightly open.
Kelborn finally found his voice. "You did what?"
"Well, Canderous got me out of there…I was sort of knocked out by that move," Jennet said modestly.
"The best any one of us can do when grenades are thrown is get the hell out of the way," Xarga said wonderingly. "You caught them, and threw them back?"
"Um…" Jennet seemed at a loss of what to say. "Yeah."
"She did," I confirmed. "I saw it, and almost got my fool ass killed, I was so stunned. If it hadn't been for the large hole in the cantina wall, I would have believed I was seeing things."
"Not that I would ever doubt your word, Mandalore," Xarga said carefully, "and we've all seen Jennet fight. I think at this point if you told us she hung upside down from an invisible airspeeder and armwrestled a Lagarotz dragon, I'd believe you. But what you are saying is nearly impossible. I believe it happened, but it had to be lucky timing."
"Probably," Jennet said as at the same time I answered, "Nope."
We looked at each other, and she shrugged. I quirked an eyebrow at her, and answered Xarga.
"Jennet's modest, and she doesn't want to embarrass anyone by bragging. Give her some time, and she'll truly realize that Mandalorians revere those that can outfight us; she's just used to a less honest social circle," I explained cheerfully.
Jennet snorted, but less irritably than she probably would have yesterday. Nice Face and his bigoted buddies had been an eye-opener for my friendly wildcat.
"What the Mandalore says is true, my lady," Kelborn said, smiling.
Jennet started at the quasi-title; it was the first time anyone, besides me, had called her that; not even Dax had done so. She caught from me that 'my lady' or simply 'lady' was an affectionate diminutive for the more formal 'runi riduur Mandalore'. That, more than almost anything, was a mark of how accepted she had become. She smiled back at Kelborn a little shyly, but didn't comment. I could hear how flustered and pleased she was but she held herself together; sloppy sentiment is not something that would go over well.
"Give me some time, I'll get used to bragging rights," she said easily, and the men grinned.
"But really, lady, that feat with the grenades is amazing," Xarga persisted. "Any way you could show it to us?"
"I have no idea," Jennet said thoughtfully. "Usually in a fight, I just do what needs to be done; there's not a lot of conscious thought involved, you understand."
Nods went all around; everyone to a man understood that feeling. You start with a plan, and execute it to the best of the circumstances, but no fight goes the way you imagine it; something always happens that's unexpected. Improvisation and instinct play a huge part of any battle.
We'd been walking toward the hotel as we talked, and were passing an empty rocky space between two buildings. Zuka, who was taciturn enough to make the rest of us seem chatty, had unsurprisingly not participated much in the conversation. He was behind us, and I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Jennet whirled and caught the stone he had thrown with considerable force one-handed. She glared at him, but reluctantly grinned when he simply smiled.
"I'd say it was true," he said, and started walking again.
Jennet tossed it playfully back at him, and we made our way back to the hotel.