Jennet

We all returned to Dxun the next afternoon, split between the two shuttles. I had managed to get to the docks and check on the Phoenix that morning. I wasn't surprised when I found Bao Dur already there, tinkering up until the last minute. Apparently, he had opted to sleep on board, rather than taking a room at the hotel, and Megari and Danni as well.

"I apologize for taking advantage of the hospitality of your ship without asking," Megari said quietly. "I lost track of time helping Bao Dur, and I didn't want to make him walk Danni and me back. It was rather late."

"No, no," I said, waving off her apology. "I should be thanking you. The Phoenix looks marvelous."

"Megari here is a great mechanic," Bao Dur said with quiet pride. Megari's violet eyes shone at the praise. "She knows her way around an engine. The modifications I wanted to do are done and she's ready to fly. I must say this is a wonderful ship, one of the best I've ever worked on."

"That's high praise," I said, smiling. "I'm glad to hear it; I was having that buyer's remorse of being afraid I'd paid too much or she wasn't as good as I'd thought."

"Not to be rude, but how much did you pay?" Bao Dur asked curiously.

"Twenty five thousand," I said anxiously. "Atton seemed to think it was a good price, and he was over the moon about it being a Falcon. Was I suckered?"

Bao Dur stared at me, his mouth slightly open. "Twenty-five? Really? Do you have any idea how much these beauties go for new? Triple that, easy. And the Phoenix is no more than five years old."

"Oh," I said brightly. "Well I guess I did get a bargain, then. I just hope Canderous likes it."

"He'd be a bigger idiot than usual if he doesn't," the Iridonian said with a smile.

"I thought you liked him," I gave the big Zabrak a friendly elbow to the gut.

"I do," he answered, grabbing his stomach in mock pain. "Which is why I can say things like that."

"Seriously, though, I can't thank you enough for all your help in getting the Phoenix in top shape, and getting the energy dampeners up and running. You too, Megari," I said, touching her arm in gratitude. "You guys are the best. I'm sure I don't deserve friends like you."

"It was my pleasure," Megari said sincerely, and smiled.

"It's nothing," Bao Dur said modestly. "I would have paid you to get my hands on a Falcon. But you're welcome, all the same. Just let me be there when Canderous checks out his new ship," he added.

"You got it," I promised. "I owe you a spice cake and a keg of ale, too," I added with a grin.

"I didn't forget," the Zabrak laughed.

"And Megari, you will be in the wedding, right?" I asked. "And Danni?"

"I'd be honored, but you hardly know me," she protested. "Wouldn't that be, well…presumptuous?"

"Nonsense," I waved off her concern. "We're just good friends that have only just met. It's my wedding, and I want you in it, so there!" I stuck my lip out and stomped my foot in mock tantrum.

She laughed, as I had intended, and agreed gracefully to join the wedding party.

The four of us made our way to the shuttles to meet the others. Once back on Dxun, we were dragged enthusiastically to a newly cleared out area, meant for the final test. I was amazed at how much work had been done in so short of time. The barracks, bathhouse, and assorted workshops had been broken down and relocated to allow an enormous field to be leveled and incorporated into the camp. Shields were in place to prevent the local wildlife from rampaging through. Apparently, every hand available had worked on this, with Bao Dur directing where to set up the energy dampeners and shields.

I commented on the efficiency of the men, and Canderous shrugged. "It's what we do, Wildcat," he said, but I saw the glimmer of pride in his eyes. "We're trained to break down and set up camp as quickly as possible. Now leveling that field…that was impressive. How did you get that done so quickly?" he turned to Bao Dur, who smiled modestly.

"I modified one of your war droids to be used for tree removal and used the logs to shore up the boundaries of the camp. Primitive, but effective for all that. Then we simply dug a trench around the whole field to prevent any fire from spreading, and lasered the remaining plant life to ash. The war droid was useful after that for stomping everything more or less level."

"Ingenious," Canderous said sincerely. "I'm impressed. You did this in three days?"

"Ah, it was fun. Having a hundred or so strong hands to direct around made it easy. Your men are hard workers, and they wanted to do you proud," Bao Dur said, a twinkle in his eye. "And Danni loved tromping around with me in the war droid. Actually, I was only there for the first day; I left instructions with the Elders and your men on the finishing up. I had modified the droid the day before you guys left for Onderon."

"Thank you," I said, hauling on his arm so I could kiss his cheek. He had to bend almost double for me to reach.

"It was nothing," Bao Dur said. "I get to participate in the battle, yes?"

"I don't see why not," Canderous said. "Anyone that wants to can, I'm sure. I do have a little concern, though. The battle ecstasy isn't usually used against each other, and we don't have enough warriors to even up the sides without using mostly Mandalorians. I hadn't really thought about that until now."

"Oh, I don't think that's going to be a problem," Bao Dur said cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Canderous asked suspiciously.

"Not for me to say," the Iridonian shrugged. "Talk to the General."

We ran Ladria to ground in the mess hall, where she was chatting with Jarxel, Atton, and Visas.

Canderous strode up purposefully and without preamble demanded, "What's Bao Dur talking about, we won't have a problem with the battle? I mentioned that I was concerned about testing the battle ecstasy against my own men, and he said to ask you about it."

Ladria blinked at him, then smiled. "I apologize if I overstepped myself," she said in her best diplomatic voice. "It had occurred to me that if your battle ecstasy was used against your men, it might invalidate the test, if things go wrong. I thought that I had a solution to the problem, and I didn't want to ask until I was sure it could be done. Then I didn't say anything because I thought it would be a pleasant surprise. I did ask Jarxel, and the Elders, however, and they agreed it was a good idea."

"Agreed what was a good idea?" Canderous asked exasperatedly.

"I called in a favor from an old friend of yours," Ladria said serenely. She looked over his shoulder at the mess hall door. "Oh good, here he is now."

We turned as one to see the newcomer walk in, escorted by Kelborn and Xarga. He was about Canderous' age, stood about Atton's height and had a pleasant, handsome face. Dark brown hair was sprinkled lightly with gray, with attractive silver wings at his temples. He spotted Canderous and gave a sharp salute.

"Admiral Onasi of the Republic ship Eternity requesting permission to enter camp, General Ordo," he said in a clear voice.

Canderous seemed at a loss for a moment. I felt him mentally shake off his surprise, and he returned the salute. "Permission granted, Admiral. Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Carth Onasi strode forward and offered his hand "Good to see you, Canderous."

"Good to see you too, Carth," he answered, clasping his wrist firmly.

I could feel the undercurrent between them, and hoped that this didn't end up a pissing contest. Then Carth turned to me, hand outstretched. I took it in the same warrior's grip Canderous had used, and gave him my most brilliant smile.

"And you're Jennet," Carth said, smiling warmly. "I'm glad to finally meet you. Ladria has said a lot of nice things about you."

"Canderous has told me a lot about you, too," I answered diplomatically. He had a nice face, with hazel eyes that were kind and sharply intelligent. He winked at my careful phrasing.

"I'm sure he has."

Ladria and the rest of our friends stood to greet the Admiral. Jarxel gave him a measuring look, but seemed friendly enough. Bao Dur arrived with Megari and Danni in tow as the introductions went around, and took their turn in the welcoming. When Carth came to Atton, he smiled widely.

"So you're the current pilot of the Ebon Hawk," he observed. "How is she?"

"Still beautiful, Admiral," Atton grinned. "Flies like a dream."

"She's a good girl," Carth said approvingly. "Got us out of some tight spots. And please, it's Carth. Admiral makes me feel old."

Danni, who had been silent as always and leaning against her mother, suddenly toddled forward and stood in front of Carth. Megari looked startled, and took a step forward, but Bao Dur gently took her arm and shook his head. She frowned slightly, but stayed put. Carth didn't see this exchange as his back was to them. He went down on one knee so he could look the little girl in the eye.

"And who are you, sweetheart?" he asked gently, putting out a hand for her to take. To my shock, she did.

"Danni," the tot said clearly. "I like you."

"Well," the Admiral said with a smile, "I like you too."

I looked over at Megari, who was standing frozen, silent tears running down her face. Bao Dur put an arm around her, and she smiled, groping for something to wipe her eyes. The Zabrak snagged a napkin off the table and handed it to her. Danni, apparently having exhausted her vocabulary for the moment, touched Carth's face with one small hand before running back to her mother. Megari picked up her up, burying her face in her daughter's soft brown curls. Carth stood and caught the end of that, a puzzled smile on his face.

"So, Onasi, what brings you to Dxun?" Canderous broke in to the scene, and I could hear mentally that he was attempting to give Megari a moment to compose herself. Whoever thought he had no tact had never been witness to his thoughts.

"Imagine my surprise when two hours after I last talked to you, I got another comm from General Windbreak here," Carth said easily.

"Please," Ladria said firmly. "I'm not a general anymore. It's Ladria, or if you must use a title, Master Ladria."

"All right," Carth said with a nod. "Ladria. She told me a bit about the Mate trials you and Jennet were going though, and wondered if some of my men would be interested in a drill with the Mandalorians. It was amazing how many Republic soldiers wanted to participate," he added. "I have two hundred men in orbit on a transport vessel belonging to my ship. I wasn't sure if you had the room to land here, and Onderon requires a little more time to accommodate that many at their outpost."

"And no one told me this why…?" Canderous growled, glaring at Ladria.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Carth interrupted.

"Don't blame Ladria, Canderous," he said with a wicked grin. "I asked her to let me surprise you. I couldn't resist, after she had spoken so highly of Jennet. It was a condition of using my troops."

The two men eyed each other for a moment, and I held my breath. Then Canderous gave a bark of laughter.

"I accept your offer of help," he said with a genuine smile. "You win this round, Carth. I'm impressed. Is Mission with you?"

"I'm afraid not," Carth said regretfully. "She's currently on Kashyyk visiting Zaalbar. But she wants to come to the wedding. She's looking forward to seeing you again, and meeting Jennet. Zaalbar sends his regards, but can't leave his tribe right now."

"I understand. Send him my best," Canderous said. "How's Dustil?"

"Finishing up at the Academy," Carth said, and I saw his eyes shine. "He's going to make a fine officer."

"He had a good example," Canderous said gruffly. "It's good when a son makes his father proud. I didn't."

Carth raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."

"Hell no, I wanted to be a musician," Canderous said, frowning. "He beat that out of me soon enough."

There was a short shocked silence as Carth seemed to struggle as to what to say. I bit my lip hard, schooling my face into innocent unawareness. Then the admiral laughed uproariously.

"That was good," he said, shaking his head. "I deserved that."

"Maybe," Canderous said, grinning. "Call it even, now."