STAR WARS

Prologue

Crusaders of the Mythosaur

CRISIS AND CIVIL WAR continues to escalate! The True Mandalorians continue their struggle against the Radical Death Watch, even after the death of JASTER MEREEL at the hands of the vile Tor Vizsla.

Meanwhile on Mandalore, the pacifist New Mandalorians, at the suggestion of the dubious Minister Almec, continue to impose ever greater prohibitions of the warrior traditions on the few moderate warrior clans.

Disturbed by these actions, one Clan Chieftain devises a plan with his allies in order to save the Warrior Culture, and reform it into a more disciplined society...

Krownest, New Kleyman System, Mandalore Sector

45 BBY

"He's a strong one. A fine boy indeed, cyar'ika" said one Adaronx Werde, Chieftain of the Mandalorian Clan Werde, as the child in his arms gripped his finger tightly. Adaronx was clad in the armor that was passed down through his family for generations. What made it special was that it was made of the increasingly rare Beskar ore.

A chuckle was heard from the bed beside the proud father.

"Well, I should know...I did give birth to him after all, so...," Said Meritta Werde, Adaronx's wife as she gave a tired sigh, before giving her husband a death glare, "Just don't expect me to go through this again anytime soon, or I'll break your legs,"

The male Mandalorian human only chuckled, much to the ire of his wife and love. He then looked back at the infant boy in his arms.

"What do you propose we name him?" he asked, and Meritta thought for a moment before answering as she gave a smile.

"I was thinking of naming him after my grandfather," she said, much to Adaronx's surprise.

"Bocc?" he said and Meritta nodded, causing the patriarch of Clan Werde to look back at his son, before a grin formed on his face. "Bocc Werde...I love the sound of that,"

Both parents laughed at that, unaware of the fact that the said child's eyes watched them...with extreme focus.

37 BBY

Age: 8

New Keldabe City, Krownest

"Your son is quite intelligent and skilled for one his age, Adar" said the Count of Clan Wren, Bevenn, as he and Adaronx watched the now eight year old boy as he practiced hand to hand combat with another youngling.

"I know... in fact, I'm quite surprised, and a little scared, at how fast Bocc's learning...walking in just a month after being born, learning and speaking fluent Mando'a, Huttese, Arkanian, AND understanding Shyriiwook at six, and field stripping a blaster rifle at seven." Adaronx said in astonishment before shaking his head, "I'm just glad he's not a stoic arrogant prick like most prodigies."

Bevenn only laughed at that.

"That's true," he said before a frown appeared on his face, "Adaronx, the government is going at it again. They're now focusing on other Mandalorian worlds in the sector, as well as the colony worlds,"

Adaronx looked at his friend with a disbelieving look.

"They can't be serious!? Why now!?" he said, and Bevenn sighed in irritation.

"Apparently the homeworld is not enough for them." he said, "Clan Almec is trying to bring all of Mandalorian society to follow the pacifist ideals and erase all of the traditions of the past...including the adoption rites of foundlings,"

"Tft! Clan Almec pacifists!? Ha, don't make me laugh!" he said with sarcasm, "Those chakaare are nothing more than black market cutthroats! And the government just ALLOWED them to have a seat of power in the council!? What is Clan Kryze thinking?"

Bevenn looked at his friend with a cautious look, "Careful Adaronx, Clan Almec may be cutthroats, but they're clever cutthroats. If they so much as hear a bit of dissent, they'll eliminate it...discreetly."

"They're more than welcome to try," Adaronx growled, "I may not agree with those so-called 'Faithful' dikute, but total pacifism while erasing the good points of our warrior traditions is a naive and stupid gamble that's going to come back and bite Mandalore in the ass,"

"But what can you do about it, Adar?" said Bevenn as he looked at his friend, "You're just one man, his clan, and it's allies, against an entire Galactic Sector and the Republic,"

"Don't forget the Jedi," A new voice said - as the two turned as a man clad in black and green Supercommando armor walked in - only with an added Kama hip cape and a backpack. "Wherever the Republic goes, the Jedi are soon to mindlessly follow."

"Mitari," Adarnox nodded, smiling slightly at his old friend Mitari Khanate, a Foundling Mandalorian, and a notable warrior who was close to forming his own clan. "Yeah… the Jedi are likely to follow too…"

"And despite all the countermeasures we've made against their Force abilities and using their arrogance against them...the Jedi always seem to have luck on their side, despite their adamant refusal of such things," Bevenn said with a sad chuckle at the last part.

"Their ability to manipulate the Force to benefit them makes it difficult to counter," Mitari sighed. "The best way is to force them out of their element… a place where their advantages are nil…"

"Sadly, not everyone has a home on Myrkr surrounded by those fuzzy lizards," Bevenn deadpanned with a half smile. "If you could bring some here…"

"Its a delicate process, Bevenn." The Mandalorian sighed, "Ysalamiri are a very sensitive species, you can't just transplant them and their Olbio trees from one planet to another en-masse... " There was a soft cooing as emerging from the backpack he wore, a yellow, fur covered, lizard slowly snaked its way out - moving atop his shoulders, which caused Mitari to smile fondly before giving the creature a gentle pat on the head, causing it to purr contently. "You need to gain their trust to let go of their trees… it's also sadly very impractical to carry these little guys into battle… not that I'd ever want to endanger them."

Adaronx only sighed as his finger tapped the railing. What his companions had said was true. The Jedi, though wracked by decadence, stagnation, and arrogance from their past glories, are still a no nonsense threat. Add to that, despite the Republic, rather foolishly, dissolving it's military, still had the Judicial Forces which are still a large force, made worse by the fact that they could just be supplemented by one of the nearby Planetary Defense Forces, like Corellia.

No...fighting the current regime of Mandalore, the Jedi, and the Republic head on was out of the question. He was a proud Mandalorian, and a traditionalist, but he was definitely not a damn fool like the so-called Death Watch idiots who claim wanting to restore the old ways of the past, but in truth are just a bunch of criminal thugs clad in armor they don't deserve to wear. They needed to find a way on how to save the Mandalorian Warrior customs without resorting to the radicals' tactics...but how?

"If only we could get those di'kute in the Death Watch to see more reason…" Mitari sighed, "The feud between them and Jaster's Ori'Ramikade has only made things worse... "

"You still want to bring them back?" Bevenn asked, groaning. "Especially after Galidraan?"

"Like it or not, they are still Mando… even if misguided," He shook his head, "I sympathise with them to some extent is all… after the Dral'han, we've watched the Republic extract our wealth, what made Manda'yaim great, attacked us unprovoked over 700 years ago, bombed our worlds to near dust, and forced our people to bend the knee, trying to 'pacify' us… they're mad, we're mad, we're all mad at it all…" He sighed as he leaned against the wall. "Manda'yaim, Fenel, Ordo, Concord Dawn… our worlds still bear the scars of that day, and the Republic has done nothing to mend the wounds they themselves inflicted upon us - under baseless accusations… We're sick and tired of the Republic bearing down our throats… you can only bend our people so far before something - or rather someone - snaps…the Aka'liit,Tor Vizsla and his followers sadly were the first, and they certainly won't be the last, unless something changes..."

"And how do we do that?" Adaronx said, "Our forebears, the Taung, only survived because they..."

He stopped himself right there as he processed what he just said, gaining the concern of his friends.

"Adar?" Mitari said, "What is it?"

Adraronx looked at his friends before a look of realization appeared on his face.

"My friends...I think I may have a solution." he said, "It's a longshot, but it just might work. All we need are ships, people, and an uninhabited system."

Mitari and Bevenn both raised an eyebrow at him, before the former spoke.

"Well.. ships are one thing…" He muttered, "Uninhabited system? That is gonna be a bit… difficult… even Myrkr has a semi-decent population of criminals - and Tatooine is a dust ball... as for people...well, aside from your clan's allies, mine, and Wren's, most of the other clans are either becoming pacifists and disbanding or joining the radicals,"

"I have some star systems in mind," Adaronx explained, "Just need to narrow down the best candidates. As for people...I know my clan's allies will be on the ball for this...but I need to scout for clans and other warriors whom I think we can trust."

The two looked at each other, before looking at the Clan head.

"And what is it you're planning, Adar?" Bevenn inquired, before he saw the man's mouth form a smirk.

"A fresh start..."

35 BBY

Age: 10

Clan Werde Compound

New Keldabe City

Krownest

Bocc sighed as he fiddled with a holo-schematic of what would be his future set of Mandalorian armor, once his father either... A. finds a stash of Beskar in the family vault, or B. procures a set from a clan who had been 'converted' to the new ways of Mandalorian Pacifism. So far he got the basic shape down, now he needed to find the necessary additions.

He placed the datapad down, before looking toward the nightstand on the side of his bed, and spotted the model of a ship, which he designed. It was, as he told his parents, his own idea of development of the Republic's Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers, but was slightly longer, and had two pods on the side that will serve as landing and resupply platforms for starfighters and other auxiliary craft.

He raised his hand before closing his eyes.

For the first few moments, nothing happened - however the model began to twitch a bit, before it began to move more violently. His eyes tightened a bit as he tried focusing more, as it slowly began to slide forward. Suddenly it launched itself towards Bocc - as he flinched slightly as the model was caught in his hand.

He blinked for a few moments before a wide grin of victory lit up on his face.

"...Yes!" He hissed as he pumped his fist up in victory. "It worked!" Putting the model down, he reached under his bed, as he pulled out a four-sided pyramid-shaped object - with the symbol of Clan Vizsla inscribed on one side, and the Mandalorian Mythosaur skull on another side.

As he pulled it out - the device's corners began to turn - before the pyramid began to slide open. Appearing at the center was a holographic figure clad in Mandalorian armor, with a cape over his right shoulder. "My name is Tarre Vizsla, head of Clan Vizsla, of House Vizsla." The hologram spoke. "If you are watching this… I am likely dead, and you yourself are also likely a force sensitive… and I most certainly hope that you are of Mandalorian heritage, my people... "

"I was once a Knight of the Jedi order, and I was the first Mandalorian to ever be accepted into their ranks." The hologram continued. "I have won countless battles, made many friends and enemies, and delved deeply into the knowledge the Jedi have sequestered from the rest of the galaxy… and I have learned much from them, and the Force itself. While the Jedi of my time are indeed keepers of peace and justice… I am beginning to notice a trend, one which worries me..."

"Now that the Sith have been defeated after the last battle of Ruusan, I've noticed they've been acting more in… lockstep with the Senate's policies, with the Army of Light having been disbanded, and the Sentinel Branch being either slowly disbanded or it's most vocal members disappearing, they and the Judicial Forces have taken over the role as peacekeepers… but it feels to me that they have been doing more to enforce the will of the Core Worlds upon the Outer Rim more than anything else… I have given my grievances to the Council, but…" The man rolled his eyes, "...unsurprisingly, they waved me off… saying they were doing this to preserve the Republic, and maintain the balance within the Force… but what does the Force care about the wellbeing of the Republic?"

Bocc leaned forward, listening to the holocron more as Tarre Vizsla continued. "Now, Master Farfalla was killed… found dead with four other Masters and Knights… the council believes the threat is over - that Darovit was the last Sith Lord that they were warned about… but I am not convinced." He shook his head. "The idea that one mere child was able to take down some of our best so easily… no, I believe the Sith are still out there, hiding… waiting… just like they did after the Great Hyperspace War… this will be the Jedi Order's downfall if they do not take this seriously..."

He seemed to pause for a moment "And it may be our downfall as well…" He sighed, "Too many times, have our people been swayed by the Sith… too many times have they betrayed us for their own ends, leaving us to die… I do not want the Mandalorians to be subservient to any faction anymore - not the Republic, not the Sith, and most definitely, not even the Jedi… Mandalore belongs to the Mandalorians, and no one else."

Tarre then took his helmet off, showing his short blonde hair and blue eyes, as he looked at it contemplatively. "...I had hoped that, being trained in the Force, I would have the power to unite our people again… I wanted to create an entire order of Mandalorian knights who would serve our people… if the Jedi insist on serving the Republic more than serving the wellbeing of the people of the entire Galaxy, we must act in kind… but I do fear where this line of reason may take us… the Senate's tolerance of Mandalorian supremacy has already been stretched thin long before the last war… I worry what steps they may take now…"

His head then turned to face Bocc, "I can only assume that if you are watching this, my dreams have yet to come to fruition." He said. "But, if you have activated this holocron, that means you have the potential to complete it… I have kept much of my own research, training regimens, and other studies in this holocron - and I ask that you use this knowledge to better your own understanding of the Force. Only through mastering the Force will more of my secrets be made plain to you - and perhaps you will be able to succeed where I failed… before we Mandalorians can ever hope to save the galaxy from what may be coming, we ourselves must be united and prepared to defend that which is rightfully ours."

Tarre reached to his belt - producing his Darksaber, which he ignited before him. "The Mandalorian people need to be able to adapt… the galaxy is changing, I can feel it through the Force… we must be willing to change with it - but do so without forgetting our roots, without forgetting who and what we are… we are not a single species, we are a culture - a way of life that is worth living, worth fighting, and worth dying for. And I know that if you truly believe that, believe in the Resol'nare in your heart… then Mandalore's fate rests with you, and I can only hope that you can be the arbiter between the past… and a brighter future."

"May the force be with you… and Kote!" Tarre gave a nod, before his hologram vanished.

The holocron then floated back to Bocc before he caught it in his hand.

"I swear to you, Master," he said as he looked at the device in his hand, "I won't let you down,"

He then placed the holocron back in it's hiding place before he heard a knock on his door.

"Ner'vod! Father needs to talk to you!," the voice of his younger sister, Jaeka Werde said.

"Alright! Be right there!" he said before he hopped off the bed. "Time to see what the old man wants to talk about."

Clan Werde Meeting Room

"So then...," Adaronx spoke as he looked at the many holograms of all the Clan Chieftains he had carefully chosen, eleven plus his own, Clan Wren, and Mitari's own group of Foundling Mandalorians. Which Mitari himself had appropriately named the Evaar'la Tal, or 'The New Blood', "...are we all in agreement on what must be done?"

The holograms all nodded in agreement.

"My clan is all for it," concurred Karlok Zukaust, of Clan Zukaust, one of the few remaining Mandalorian clans with the knowledge of forging Beskar into the armor that everyone in the galaxy knew by sight alone. "Ever since those idiot pacifists took over, smiths like my clan have been forced to cease production of good quality armor. Not to mention the Death Watch chakaare had already strong armed a few into their ranks."

"Starship production's also taking a hit," Vhaun Rhaedor, of Clan Rhaedor sighed. "Our family has helped build some of MandalMotor's best combat craft - even after the Dral'Han we were able to make something for the Pacy's, but now they're becoming even more demilitarized - all they're making now are non-combat speeders and swoop bikes at this point."

"We've noticed," Toryang Strehl of Clan Strehl nodded. "Ages ago we'd be mopping the floors with pirates and slavers in our neck of the woods with high quality gear - but supply lines with our distributors in Mandalore are getting cut off one by one. CEC is too damn expensive, so we've been forced to make due with Gallofree ships as of late since they're the only ones willing to cut a deal with us… and no offense to them, but their ships aren't exactly combat vessels."

"Hrm…" Grunted the bulking form of Rorick Arrorr, of Clan Arrorr. "Our clan gave everything to Mandalore. We even tried to integrate with the police force. Yet they just treat us like barbarians, like we're not even Mandalorians to them… it sickens me..."

"You can thank Clan Almec for that," growled Vorrs Massak, of Clan Massak, "Sneaky little womp rats have been issuing heavy tariffs on my clan's mining operations in the asteroid fields of the sector where some beskar was found three months ago!"

"Same goes for my Clan's farms on Ordo," said Orik Celtiber, of Clan Celtiber, "Every harvest we deliver to the capital the customs officials make us pay ludicrous fees just to try to piss us off!"

"And then there's the persecution of those who are, or only descended, from Foundlings...," solemnly stated Fateema Werjar, of Clan Werjar, "...despite Duchess Satine's promises of accepting them into the current norm, Clan Almec has issued unfair laws designed to keep them from high areas of political office or business. They had always believed that those whose lineage dates back a thousand years or more are the only Pure Mandalorians, and regarded Foundlings as inferiors,"

Many of the Clan Chieftains and Mitari bristled at that, including one Chieftain in particular, who had the mark of a predatory bird in a dive on his armor, similar to the old Clan signet of Clan Vizsla before Tor Vizsla and most of his clan formed the Death Watch. Only it was colored brown behind a field of Yellow, with green trim.

"When Tor along with several members of Clan Vizsla formed the Death Watch, and I left in order to not associate myself with them, I had to restart my clan again from scratch." said Drex Galaar, the founder and leader of the breakaway Clan Galaar, "Being a Mandalorian is more than just being born on Mandalore, if you have the right spirit and will to fight, then you have more than earned the right to wear the armor and be a Mandalorian. And now...these bastards are saying I should just throw out all those I took in like yesterday's trash!?,"

Many of the Clan Chieftains, agreed with the man's misgivings.

"Unfortunately so...," Wroen Brak of Clan Brak agreed solemnly, "...and the young Duchess is being influenced by Almec's words. And believes that complete disarmament is the true path of Mandalore. And worse, her younger sister is being influenced by Death Watch propaganda, which is further aggravated by the fact that Satine's full dedication to pacifism is a dishonor to their late father's memory. Which is somewhat true,"

"That's another Civil War down the line bound to happen," said Mitari as he shook his head, "Something we don't want to keep repeating over and over again."

"Which is why I started this plan in the first place," said Adar as he stood up, "To start anew on another world, away from the influences of the New Mandalorians, the Death Watch, AND the Republic! We are proud Mandalorians, but we are not blood crazed lunatics, but neither are we complacent fools who refuse to include our warrior ways in the new status quo. Jaster Mereel was right about one critical thing about our culture: We need to reform in the way how we fight, but we need to still honor the past as well,"

A resounding chorus of 'Ayes!' echoed in the room, signifying that they are in agreement with him. He nodded his approval, before addressing them again.

"And so, with this final decision, we shall henceforth be known as the Reborn Crusaders. However, our crusade shall not be of either conquest or xenocide, but of the preservation of the good qualities of our warrior past, to forge our discipline until it is as hard as beskar, and to fight with true honor." He stressed the three words: preservation, discipline, and honor, so that they would understand, and they did, giving Adaronx the que to continue.

"We will rebuild the warrior ways of our people on a New Home to call our own, away from the scrutiny of those who will see us as a threat. There, we will wait, train, prepare, gather, and build up our strength until the day comes for us to reveal ourselves to the Galaxy, once again. Whenever that day comes, we will probably not see it in our lifetime. But when it does come, let it be glorious,"

"Kote!" was the collective chorus of all the gathered.

Adar then breathed out a sigh, "Now then, we must discuss supplies and get any ship we can get our hands on," he said, "Freighters, Transports, Corvettes, even any surviving old relics from the past will do, just as long as they're still space worthy and able to leave an atmosphere. Vhaun, Toryang, that's your clans' job."

The two mentioned Chieftains nodded at that.

"Orick, Vorrs, you and your clans will handle getting as much supplies we'll need as possible, enough to last us until we can become self-sufficient." he said, then turned to the only Chieftess next, "Fateema, I need you and your clan to run counter-intelligence and keep any spies that Almec might have on us off our scent. If they get one whiff of our plan, the gig is up. Wroen, Rorick, Drex, you and your clan's will help Mitari in gathering what other disgruntled warriors that you can from the clans that were forced to disband...though make sure they're the sane ones."

"You got it, Adar," Mitari acknowledged, along with the three aforementioned Chiefs. Adaronx then turned to Karlock's Hologram.

"Karlock, you and your smiths are to gather up as much armor you and your clan have forged, as well as any scrap of Beskar that you can find. However, we'll have to use other metals than just Beskar in order to make more armor sets, they probably won't be as robust, but it's better than nothing." He said, acknowledging the fact that despite Beskar being the strongest metal in the galaxy, being the only metal able to block even lightsabers, it was becoming more and more rare, due to the fact that raw beskar ore was getting harder and harder to find. So, despite tradition, they had to swallow their pride and use other metals like Durasteel, Phrik, or even Cortosis weave plastoid, the third option unlikely.

He then turned to a man with olive with light blue trim armor, who had a fur mantle on his shoulders.

"Praetyn, since you and your clan are the best bankers and accountants in all of Mandalore, I want you to squeeze out as much credits you can get, the more credits we have, the better off we'll be in purchasing any new equipment and supplies." he instructed and the said Chieftain nodded.

"It will be done,"

Adaronx then turned to the last Chieftain, clad in black and white, yellow trimmed armor.

"Dreco, your clan's job is to acquire as many weapons and vehicles we can take with us," he said, "Buy them offworld if you have to, but keep it inconspicuous,"

Dreco Bifre nodded at that.

"Consider it done,"

Adaronx then sighed before he turned to Bevenn.

"You sure you want to stay behind, Bevenn?" he asked, remembering an earlier conversation with him, "We could use you and your clan's talent for art in making propaganda leaflets in helping motivate others to join us."

Bevenn sadly shook his shead, "As much as I want to join you, Adar, somebody has to stay behind and keep an eye on things here on the homefront. I can keep you updated on any changes in the capital, and help in moving any clans who want to keep our culture alive, the right way, on the correct path. Not to mention, my daughter..."

Adar sighed at that, knowing what he meant.

"Yes, I know," he said, "But, if you ever change your mind, there's always a place for you and your clan when we reach our chosen system,"

Bevenn nodded at that. "Thank you, ner vod,"

"Speaking of said system," Mitari spoke up, "where are we heading?"

Adar then pressed a button on the table before a holo-map of the galaxy appeared and it zoomed in on a specific area in the Outer Rim. The gathered Clan Heads could only blink at where their future home was.

"The Moddell Sector?" Wroen queried.

"More specifically UR-3741," Adar filled in, "I sent probe droids to the system a year ago, and they reported a G-type star, with 12 planets, with two planets being M-Class sharing the same orbit position. Scans show that the terrain of the planets are the same ecosystems as either Naboo, or Dantooine. There's also an asteroid field nearby where Clan Massak can search for any metals to mine, along with a barren rock planetoid. And, it's on the edge of the Monsua Nebula, near the Zorbia System."

"Zorbia? That's where that nest of pirates is, right?" queried Toryang, and Adaronx nodded.

"Exactly," he said, "The Zorbian Pirates have been a nuisance in the Moddell Sector for centuries, but they're completely disorganized, fighting each other over resources. And considering how remote the Moddell Sector is, the Republic just ignores them hoping they will just die out...but since they're descended from Corellians...well, we all know how much their stubbornness rivals ours."

The group chuckled at that, before settling down.

"There's over 30 million people on Zorbia, Adaronx," Rorick pointed out, "And let's not forget: disorganized or not, everyone knows that the best motivator for unity is a common enemy."

Everyone looked at their fellow chieftain who blinked in confusion, before realizing why they were looking at him.

"What!? I like a good fight, like any other of our people, but I'm not suicidal!" Rorick said in his defense.

Everyone shook their heads at that, before getting back to the topic at hand.

"Thankfully, a majority of the Zorbians actually hate the pirates, since the chakaare had been raiding numerous villages and farms for food tributes and protection money in the past centuries," Adaronx said, as a smirk formed on his face, "In fact, I'm confident they'll accept us as liberators once we deal with those bandits and won't report us to the Republic,"

"If, and it's a very big 'IF', we manage to purge the pirates from the sector, what do we do afterwards?" asked Praetyn, and Adaronx immediately answered.

"We follow Jaster's example," he said, "We act as mercenaries, working for the right clients. This will be the facade we will set up as we gather and train any foundling we can find, and slowly build up our strength, so that everyone in the Galaxy will think twice before they decide to mess with us again,"

The group of Chieftains nodded before the door opened, and Adaronx spotted his son entering, before the said young man stopped where he was and waited for his father to finish what he was doing. He smiled internally at this, knowing how respectful Bocc was when considering his meetings with others.

"You all have your assignments," he said, "I expect you all to give me a weekly report on your progress. Good fortune to all of you, this meeting is adjourned,"

With that, the holograms winked out of existence, as Mitari nodded and left the room, before giving Bocc a smile and head ruffle, much to the said youngling's embarrassment. After he left, Bevenn also walked by, giving Bocc a smile and a nod of acknowledgement before he too left, and Bocc walked toward his father.

"You wanted to see me Buir?" he asked, and Adaronx nodded as he looked at his firstborn child.

"Yes son, there are some things we need to talk about. Especially concerning your...future family,"

Bocc managed to fight down the blush that was creeping on his face, but Adaronx noticed it and laughed at his son's embarrassment, prompting a deadpan glare from his heir.

"That's NOT funny, ya old Rancor," he growled out, while the chieftain just waved it off.

"Joking aside, son. I'm actually serious about that last part." He said prompting a groan from Bocc, "l know, I know, you're too young to be thinking about that. But, with the way things are now...,"

Bocc nods in understanding.

"I know, Buir," he said, "Just wished it didn't have to be so soon,"

Bocc then felt his father's hand on his shoulder as he gave a reassuring squeeze.

"These are dangerous times Bocc'ika," he said, "Things are escalating back on Mandalore, and we need as many people on our side. And to do that...,"

"A marriage contract...," said the clan heir before groaning, "...oh joy."

"Hey now, don't be like that," Adar said, "Be thankful that we're giving you time, and that we're giving you a choice of who you want to be your bride,"

Bocc mentally sighed in relief, at least his parents were considerate in letting him wait and choose who he wanted to be with.

"I can't make any promises that the girl I want to be with will come up in the next few months, Buir," Bocc said, but then became uneased at the smirk on his face, "What's with the smirk?"

"I didn't say it had to be JUST a girl, son," he said, prompting an even more red faced heated glare.

"WILL YOU QUIT PUTTING DISTURBING SUGGESTIONS AND IMAGES IN MY HEAD!" he literally screamed, "AND I DON'T SWING THAT WAY! What is WRONG with you!?"*

Another bout of laughter and yelling occurs, before the two finally settle down, as Bocc asked his father the question he already knew the answer to.

"So...we are actually leaving the Mandalore Sector?" he said, his voice calm, but Adaronx noted the look in his son's eyes. The eyes of a young boy who knows what's about to happen, and understands the situation at hand.

He then gave a sigh.

"Yes son...," he answered, "...we are,"

"When?" Bocc asked.

"A year, maybe less if we're lucky," he said, "With Clan Almec influencing the Pacifists and ostracizing every good aspect of our Warrior Past...it's only a matter of time before they come to us,"

Bocc nodded in understanding, "I understand Buir and I'll be ready," he said, and Adaronx smiled before he placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I know you will, son," he acknowledged, "I know you will,"

A/N: And thus the Prologue to a new story. And yes, it's Mandos again. Don't like it, don't leave a review, it will save us all a headache. Don't expect quick updates though.

*: I'm NOT homophobic, but I don't like how the WOKE movement is getting too extreme with LGBT, and treating straight people as such. Enough said. Same goes for Bocc, he's not homophobic, he prefers to live by the phrase: "Live and let live,".

Til next time! Later!