Trace forced us to keep a low pace, but we made headway. Always racing for the enemy garrison. Jassin had taken us off the road, letting Jobe guide us through the woods. We had passed into enemy territory a long time ago. Melia was being a good girl, speaking in a low voice when spoken to, and she gave information that Jobe could back up. Whenever she tried to feed us patrol-routes or anything of strategic importance, we treated it as a pile of shit. Best avoided. Trace however, was quite talkative.

"So what does Pentastar troopers do on their day off?" He asked, running for goal at the first opportunity.

"Jumping the gun." Shaz mouthed to me and we both sniggered. Melia did to, surprisingly.

"Haven't had a day off since I joined the Pentastar Army." She answered, not sounding disappointed at all. "We don't get much of that. We just hang 'round the barracks. What do you guys do?" She asked back. Trace and she was in the middle of the formation. At the back walked Shaz and I. On our left flank was Calo with Quill, on the right were Loback and Sindre. Jassin and Jobe were on point.

"We fight." He answered simply. "And love our family."

"Sometimes we play ball-games too!" I said loudly. Trace nodded to himself.

"That we do!" He replied, and the chatter went on. Trace was either hyped up on drugs to be sensible, or he had forgotten his own promise to his ex-wife. "I promise! I will never find someone like you!" He had shouted after the ship that took her away. The details were a little hazy, and I was unsure whether that was before or after he opened fire. Well... Maybe it was best he never found another woman like her. She was an auretiise, an outsider, and I meant that in a bad way. She had tried time and time again to pull Trace out of the Mandalorian way of life. She had failed every time. The final straw however was when Trace brought their eight-year-old daughter onto a battlefield. It had been a low-risk operation for little money. A simple protection-job gone sour. That was six years ago now.

"Trace!" I said, catching his attention. "How is your daughter?"

"Just fine thank you!" He answered. "Stowed away, probably polishing your armour by now." He said. So she was on board The Restoration.

"Why's she not here fighting with us then?" Shaz asked. Jassin turned around and gave us a death stare. If it meant "Shut up" or "Don't talk about The Restoration" I did not know. Shaz and I did at least close the distance between us and Trace.

"There are other jobs 'cept fighting you know." He said with a knowing smile.

"So you were married?" Melia asked, finding a way back into the conversation.

"Indeed he was." Shaz and I answered, almost at the same time. "Happy it ended old boy?" I asked.

"A true pleasure it was. Was quite a hunt getting little Lek'ika back, but it was worth every moment when I finally had her in my arms again." None of us knew how he found his daughter again, or even if his wife survived the hunt. Most of us thought she had not. He did call it a hunt after all. Not a search.

"Was your wife a nice person?" Melia asked, unleashing out laughter. Even Calo had heard it and joined in.

"She was not!" Jassin shouted back to us, not able to stay out of the chat any longer. "One of the worst auretiise I have ever laid eyes on." We were speaking a little too much Mandalorian for comfort. The conversation dropped to a lower volume as time passed. As the sun came close to the horizon, Trace grew progressively paler. His groaning also became more frequent, until we had to stop. Our progress was slower than Jassin liked, and he was downright frustrated when we made camp.

"I'll find some food." Calo said and took off before Jassin could assign him picket-duty, or bite his head off. Jassin looked as if he could have lobbed a grenade after him. "Erdal, go after him, and take Melia with you! She'll have to learn this stuff."

"As you say sir!" I replied, as the rest of the men settled in around the campsite. "C'mon trooper." I said and stuck the barrel of my gun into her shoulder. She still wore full trooper armour. I carried her helmet in my bag, stuffed with grenades of course. She got up with only mild complaints and we followed Jassin to a nearby stream.

"The things have large leaves. We wants the roots." Calo explained. "There." He said and pointed. That was the plant alright. The last time I had laid eyes on it was in darkness and I was several metres away. He got a small shovel out of his belt and started digging. The plant was less than sixty centimetres tall and it had large leaves. Twice the size of my hand. "The roots grow pods or buds or whatever. Do not cut the roots themselves please." He instructed and started digging. Twenty metres below ground, he found the pods, and they were exactly the same as Jelan had dug up. "You only take one third of the pods. Or else the plant dies." He said and passed the shovel to Melia. "The next one is down there." He said and pointed.

"As you say." She said, and I slung my rifle onto my back. She started digging as well and quickly found the roots. Using the shovel, she cut off a good many buds before she filled the hole again. Then she moved on to the next plant.

"Done this before?" I asked her, stashing the buds in the empty pouches in my belt.

"We had some courses in basic survival. I don't remember them well."

"Practical or theoretical?" I asked.

"We watched a holovid." She answered, earning a laugh. "Better than you though." She said, throwing a bud at me. I caught it easily and stowed it in my belt.

"We have Calo for that." I answered. "He however, is not as good a shot as I. Besides, he is more of a plant-guy." I explained. On the other side of the stream, Calo was working as well. He had resorted to digging with a flat stone he had found. "Give me whatever beast, a knife and five minutes, I can shave of so much meat you could drown in it." I answered.

"It's true." Calo said. "But I'm better with explosives. You barely touch them Erdal."

"True." I answered. Explosives were dangerous stuff. I could use grenades and such, but the bigger stuff, I saved for the professionals. Calo however, he made the stuff.

"I think we have enough." Calo said, stowing the last buds in his pouches as well. He had been a lot quicker than Melia. She of course had every reason to sabotage and slow us down. In the field, too little food could, and would, kill you. "Soup or mash Erdal?"

"Mash." I answered. "Goes well with the bread."

"Agreed." he started cutting the bulbs on the way back. "Borrow the bowl?"

"No problem. It's on top." I answered as we came back to camp. A small fire was already going and the squad sat around it. Trace was already asleep it seemed, lying against a tree with closed eyes. His face was both serene and pained at the same time. It was a strange combination indeed. Before long, Calo had water boiling and the bulbs were being cooked and cut. He had learned the art of making mash. A quarter of an hour later, we were all enjoying dried biscuits with mash. Even Trace was persuaded to wake up for some mash.

"Tastes like dirt." He complained, but he ate his share.

"'S not so bad," Melia said, "but perhaps something with a little taste could make it better." The rest of the men were too tired to complain and went to sleep. The sun fell below the horizon before Jassin handed out guard-duties.

"Quill and Shaz! You're on watch tonight. Four hours, then you wake Loback and Erdal." Jassin barked and found himself a blanket. Everyone else went to sleep, even Melia laid down, but she stayed far away from Shaz. As the others settled in and fell asleep, I walked over to Jassin and sat down next to him. "What is it Erdal?" He asked, sounding not the least bit tired. His eyes were fixed on Trace, and I knew that if it had not been for his injury, we would have marched through the night.

"I am just wondering what the hell we are doing." I answered. "I am itching to fight, perhaps more so than you do, but we are eight men, and not the best eight men either."

"Stop insulting my squad and get to the point." He grumbled.

"I just want to know what you hope to accomplish." I whispered. He scratched his chin for a few seconds. He did not smile.

"I am no fool." He said at last. "What I want to do is to scout the enemy forces and send running reports back to Cael, and there is one thing I desperately want to know. Their fighter-capacity." He explained. I had thought of that too. If they had fighters, we would be in trouble. It was however, logical to not attack a position armed with an E-WEB that could shoot down fighters. His plan then, was to let the enemy know we did not have it with us. Then they would clear us out with air-support. "Don't worry. I have a plan if there are fighters, I have Marrigous and his ship on stand-by." He said, smiling slightly.

"I heard they were flying cargo."

"They will be done in a day or two." He replied. "By then, we will have dug in at a vantage-point and start a skirmish the next day. Now go get some rest." He said. At the mention of Marrigous, I grew suspicious. If there was indeed a threat or conspiracy against Jassin, this would be a golden opportunity. Marrigous would just have to arrive late, or not at all, and we would be done for. As I fell asleep, I could not imagine Marrigous stooping so low. He had a bond to his brothers and sisters. Like every Mandalorian had. Resting my fate in the hands of the men around me, I let my consciousness slip into darkness. Four hours later Shaz woke me and Loback for our turn. The moon was crescent and offered little light it seemed. The only thing happening through the night was was that I sent Loback out to fetch firewood and water. Apart from that, he was not the talkative type. C-09 remained quiet all through the night. Our watch was over an hour before sunrise. The rest of the camp awoke as Loback and I settled in to get some last minute sleep. "We have time for breakfast." Jassin said after noting the look on Trace's face. He was not bleeding at least. Calo went out to dig up some food, but when I woke up, I was offered some fruit instead.

"Low yield." Calo explained and threw a nutrient bar at me as well. I ate without complaint, and after erasing our campsite from existence, we marched on. Shaz walked in the centre today with Trace. After the fifth hour of walking, Trace surrendered his rifle in favour of a walking-stick.

"Piggy-back ride?" Shaz had joked when he handed him the stick.

"Sod off." Trace had grunted and walked on. Again the frustration was visible on Jassin's face, but he kept his mouth shut.

Imperial Garrison, Pentastar Volunteers 15th Regiment

Kaide Battalion headquarters

Magloran

"Trooper Tassin reporting as ordered sir." The young man said offering his superior a salute. The old man behind the desk returned the salute, but kept writing on his datapad, letting the trooper wait. The trooper had no problem keeping himself entertained. The walls of the major's office was decorated with bones, weapons of different kinds, horns and stuffed heads. Being in the safety of his office, the major wore a simple uniform, offering no protection at all. His medals were discarded, serving as decorations in a display-case on the wall, next to his armour. Trooper Tassin's eyes widened when he laid eyes on the major's rifle, hanging on the wall directly behind him. It was a DC-17m with the blaster-attachment. Tassin had only seen those in old weapons manuals or holovids.

"Shoots straighter than the E-11 ever could." the Major said without looking up from his datapad.

"If you say so sir." Trooper Tassin replied, waiting patiently. The Major finally put the datapad down.

"I ordered the village of Velyme scouted trooper." Major Nex said, raising his head slowly. "Yet your patrol could not even reach the outskirts. Why is that?" Major Nex demanded, his cold eyes dug into the trooper.

"We were ambushed sir. The enemy was well dug in and well equipped."

"But inferior in numbers." Nex countered. "You had your speeders to rely on as well as two full squads of troopers. A full scout platoon." He let the words hang in the air. Now Tassin understood why the officers often said that Major Nex breathed poison. "Why could you not defeat an inferior enemy?"

"Poor leadership sir." Tassin answered, falling back on the only man he could blame: His officer.

"I agree." Nex said, taking his time articulating both words. On his desk lay a the after-action report side by side with a report from engineering and one from a civilian source, written in poor handwriting and sent by a bird no less. The hostiles were bandits as far as he knew, but they fought too well. They knew to dig in rather than build visible defences. He had noted there was no difference in uniform, but the group seemed to be a mix between locals and foreign bandits. "Make no mistake Corporal Tassin." Nex said. "We are fighting against a well organized foe." Tassin's eyes widened, but they were hidden beneath his helmet. Nex reached into a drawer and pulled out an insignia of rank and a notice of conscription. "The enemy is gathering his strength. So must we. Travel to the northern villages, those we have not visited yet and conscript whatever recruits you can. Be careful and do not cause an incident, or else your head will be mounted on my wall as well." Major Nex gave the newly promoted corporal a salute.

"As you say sir!" Corporal Tassin replied with newfound enthusiasm that his superior did not mirror at all.

"Dismissed." Major Nex said, and Tassin almost charged out of the room. When the grey metal door closed, Major Nex looked down at the reports. He had seen their like before and he knew all too well what they meant. The engineers reported a complete failure in interplanetary communications. The problem was not in their hardware or software. They were being jammed from a ship in orbit. The second report, from civilian, told him that the enemy was recruiting men from the local population, and they had had a good start. The third report worried him the most. Enemies digging in and who were either willing or disciplined enough to stand against a superior assault... It was worrisome at best.

Squad Three, Unknown position

Two miles south of Pentastar garrison

"So what was his wife like then?" Melia asked quietly. "What did you call her again? Auretiise?" It was strange hearing the word spoken by an outsider, an auretiise. It was stranger still to hear it from a person in enemy armour.

"She was an outsider." I answered. "Not understanding of our ways of life. Tried to drag Trace out of it." I answered in a whisper. She was coming dangerously close to a subject I was not at liberty to discuss.

"So you are a religious group then?" She asked, sounding like she had found something interesting about me finally.

"You can say that." I said, nodding more to me than to her. The Mandalorian way of life was more of a deep culture than a religion.

"So why did you attack Magloran? I do not remember any religious sites here in the tourist-brochure."

"But then again, don't you like holovids better?" I asked, she laughed.

"I do." She answered. "So this is a religious war?" She asked. It was my time to laugh now. I shook my head. "Then why?"

"That, I cannot discuss with an auretiise." I answered. "Do you play cards?" I asked, steering the conversation in a totally different direction. It seemed like she liked playing cards a bit too much, and won too little. She seemed to have lost almost three full months of pay to some trooper named Tassin. She spoke little of the garrison, or the personnel serving in it. All we knew was that it was at battalion-strength, slightly reduced now of course, Tassin served there and that they were equipped with speeders. Any attempt to intimidate her into giving information had resulted in failure, and in Shaz's case: A bacta spray. The other prisoners were no success either. All of them fed us different information. One told us we were fighting against troops on convalescence, another that they were simply there on a survival exercise. Their officer gave his word that the commanding officer on planet was none other than Grand Moff Ardus Kaine himself. The reports on unit strength also varied. Some said they were the only troopers on the planet, others said there were at least 100 000 troopers "in the bushes somewhere". It was a nightmare, but some of the officers had been carrying datapads, and we had confiscated a diary, or at least so I was told. When the sun met the horizon, we made camp. It was a sheltered small cave we found by chance. Loback and Calo went in to clear it and came back with nothing. We settled into the cave and started a small smokeless fire. Trace had trouble falling asleep, but after some of Jassin's liquor, he stopped groaning at least. Jassin took the first watch, and we ate nothing but plants and fruits Calo and Jobe brought back. It was a bountiful harvest, almost ominously so.

"Tomorrow we knock on the enemy's front door." Jassin said as we ate. It was mash with bits of fruit. No meat. "We will dig in, and pull."

"Bite and pull," all the Mandalorians in the squad said as one, surprising the rest.

"And we will make them remember Squad One." Jassin said. Everyone except Melia grumbled in agreement. I noted it, and made up my mind about something. It might be unpopular, both among my own and with Melia, but I had to.

Gaver Village

Village Hall

The Mandalorian soldiers stood in line at the far end of the room, staring into the opposite wall. Even the newly recruited ones had learned to stand in line. The council of elders had just gathered and they sat at their tables. The Mandalorians stood on each side of the door leading out into the hall. The room was lit by electric lights. In the distance Sai could hear the generators water wheels turning, and the generators run. The rain was drumming hard on the roof.

"The village council will hear Sai Kayze." A tired voice announced. It was not usual for the entire village council to be awoken and dragged into a meeting like this. It would affect their decision, Sai was aware of that, but it did not matter. He stood at attention, like he would if he was talking to Mandalore himself.

"I have come to ask you for the right to recruit from your villages." He said. The village-council of Gaver spoke not only for Gaver, but also for the smaller villages up the Kambay Valley as well. That was a total of three villages gathered into one council. The council itself consisted of four people. One from each village and one all the villages voted in by means of popular vote. Sill Uphill had told him as much. "It is for our war effort to liberate this planet from the grip of the Pentastar Alignment. We have fought them before and we have defeated them every time."

"So why do you need our youths to fight this war?" An older woman said. She had brown hair, but it was well on its way to be fully grey. Sai gave her a smile. The rest of the council would agree with her by default. He would pull the tax-card during the night. He just knew it, but that time was not now. He was far from it.

"Our military strength cannot eliminate the Pentastar presence." Sai answered, looking directly at the woman. "At least not soon enough. We know that the local troops are raw recruits and volunteers. We can kill them." He paused. "We will kill them, but if this war is to last less than six years, we will need the help of your villages to aid us bring a swift end to the war." The council looked in between themselves. The old woman was not convinced.

"So if we joined our forces with those of the Pentastar troops, the war would be over in a couple of days?" She asked, and Sai was unsure whether it was a joke or not.

"For you it would be." He said. "With all possible respect madam, we would burn your villages and slaughter you before three days had passed." He was unnecessarily blunt, but he felt the insult needed a proper reply. "Already the villages of Velyme, Santer, Boyd's Bluff and Riversside has joined forces with us. We number almost a hundred men, ready and willing to fight." It was only partway a lie. They were stronger, but the woman was clearly in favour of Pentastar rule. "Should you decide to withhold the rights to refuse, we will move on, no harm will come to you from our men." Sai promised, and that was truth. The Mandalorians would be little served having the population turn against them. The council turned to speak amongst themselves. The old lady became very agitated, but managed to keep her voice down.

"And should we agree to your terms?" The leader of the council said. He was an old man sitting at the centre of the group.

"Then you will be subject to lower taxes. If you want to join us, and be under our protection, we ask only one tenth of your income, whereas the Alignment takes close to half of your crops. Also, your soldiers will have the freedom to take back spoils of war to their villages." Sai answered. The council started mumbling again. "You may take as much time as you like debating the subject of joining us, but we would like the answer as soon as possible." The council seemed to agree amongst themselves.

"We shall reconvene in the morning." The leader said. "It is easier to think after a good nights sleep. You and your men are welcome to rest here for the night. There is room in the village hall."

"I thank you for your generous offer," Sai said "and we will take it. Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow." The leader answered, and the meeting was over. Squad Two was escorted to their improvized quarters by a protocol droid. The village council would have a lot to sleep on. As the droid left them, the Mandalorians started unpacking and make themselves comfortable. The newcomers were more than ready to start asking the veterans about war stories.

"Sai'alor?" Karaz said, coming up on Sai from behind.

"What is it you want?"

"May I have a word with you in private?"

"Of course." Sai said, and they walked into the hall. As soon as the door closed behind them, Karaz and Sai walked down the hall.

"I am sure you have noticed sir," Karaz began, "but none of the villages this far have had landing platforms big enough to take in traders."

"I... Did not think that far." Sai admitted. That was why he had asked specifically to have Karaz on his squad. Karaz was sharper than he looked and he knew to hide it well. "It would make a great pressure point would it not?" Sai suggested.

"It would indeed Sai'alor." Karaz concurred, offered a salute and walked back to their room, leaving Sai to contact Mandalore. When morning came, the council would be in for quite a surprise.

Squad Three

Unknown Location

"Shaz! Can I borrow Melia for a while?" I asked while the others were busy getting a lesson in theoretical tactics from Jassin.

"What do you want with her?" Shaz asked, shovelling down the last bits of mash before helping himself to more. "Actually, I don't care. Just don't let her get away, and don't mess with the parts of her that are mine." He managed to say before the shovelling started again. The last remark had captured my attention. Melia who had been sitting close by had started listening in at the mention of her name.

"And what parts are yours?" I asked, halfway laughing. Melia's eyes widened. She obviously did not like the turn of the conversation.

"Hips and downwards?" He asked, looking up from his bowl. Melia clenched her jaw. I nodded.

"No problem. I'll take her with me then." I said, seizing her by her arm and yanking her off the ground.

"Just don't let her get away." Shaz said again. I dug into my backpack and got out a tin-box and a can of meat I had hidden away. Then I took some rope from the side of my backpack, and led her out of the cave. She complained angrily, but shut her mouth when I poked her in the side with a blaster. Once we had gotten far enough away from camp, I stopped her.

"Can I trust you not to hit me and run?" I asked her, holstering my blaster. She was fuming. Before she even opened her mouth, I knew exactly what she was going to say. Her rage was as hot as a blaster-bolt straight from the barrel.

"Depends on what you are going to do with the "parts you own"!" She raged.

"Nothing Melia." I answered, calming her at least a little bit. "My business is with your armour. It shines and could not camouflage a bush if it tried." I went on, and got out the tin box. "This is dark paint, used for camouflage. Let me paint your armour," I said and got out the can of meat, "and you can have this."

"Meat?" She asked, using a higher pitch than I had heard earlier. She was probably still hungry.

"Eight hundred grams of ground nerf and merlie meat, ready to eat out of the can." I said, seeing the light in her eyes.

"Throw in a small fire to heat the meat with, and you have a deal." She said. "But where will I be while you repaint it?"

"You shall be in your armour." I explained. "If you want to, I can paint you while you eat." She stopped to think.

"Deal?"

"Deal." I said, and started the small fire. It was not a grand thing, but it burned heartily before a minute passed. Another five minutes later it was roaring. Ten minutes later, it had burned down to hot coals and Melia was very busy hearing her meat on hot rocks. I had given her my knife to eat with. I myself was defenceless as I slowly walked around her, repainting her armour as she ate heartily. The meat made my mouth water. I had been saving it for a special occasion. Perhaps I should make this into one. "I'm done." I said, and sat down opposite of the fire. She did not have time for me. She was too busy to even lay her eyes on me. I doubted she would have noticed if I raised my blaster at her. Before I knew it, I was smiling. My lips had parted, and for the first time in years, I smiled with my teeth. Had I noticed, I would have closed my lips, but I did not. In front of me, I watched one beauty devour another. The can of meat was a luxury, but even with that mighty temptation in front of me, I could only see the person eating it. When I regained my senses, I thought it was only the lack of sleep making me faze out like that. It probably was too. "One last thing though." I said, forcing her to focus at least a little on me. "I wish to paint something else, on your chest, but I need your consent."

"Do you have any more meat?" She asked, scraping the last strips of meat from the can onto the hot rocks. She had taken extra care not to blunt my knife.

"Not on me, but back in Velyme I have a can or two." I answered. "Though this is not worth an entire can. "I lied. "What if we share? Four hundred grams each?" I asked. Her answer came without even a single pause.

"Deal." I stuck my finger into the paint and sat down in front of. I had never drawn it on armour with such visible female forms, but my drawing as exact enough, despite the warping effect of the gravity-well projectors. It was a simple ninety degree angle and at its bottom was a horizontal line. They were both ten centimetres in length and about a centimetre thick. On the left side I drew the Aurebesh letter 'K' and on the right side I drew a simple vibroblade. "What you drawing?" She asked. I could not tell her what it was. Or rather: I should not. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep getting to me.

"It is the insignia of my clan." I answered. "Clan Kayze. Ring any bells?" I asked as the last meat sizzled on the hot stone.

"None at all." She said before scooping it up and licking it straight off the knife. "None at all." Jassin would have my head. If the Pentastar garrison had half an archive and half a brain, they might be able to do a simple search... Still, they were locked on this planet with no way of reaching their superiors. We would not be found out. "So... Half a can of meat when we get back?" She asked.

"Half a can." I repeated as we warmed our hands above the hot coals. She still had my knife.

"Since I am unarmed... How am I supposed to get back to that half can alive?" She asked. "May I have a weapon?" She asked, I laughed.

"You mean a blaster?" She nodded. "I ain't handing you a blaster to shoot me in the back. You may take the knife." I said and pulled the sheathe from my belt and handed it to her. "But if you kill me... Shaz will find creative ways to make you pay. Know this: I would hurt you only if you have broken my trust. Shaz will hurt you because he finds it fun." A stiff silence filled the air, and the light slowly died down.

"Don't make me eject the meat sir." She replied and stood up. "Perhaps it is time we made it back to the cave?"

"Yeah. Sure is."

Gaver village, village hall

Midday

As the hours passed, more and more village leaders came to Gaver village. At first the council hall had only housed its own representatives, but word spread quickly amongst the villages, and by two o'clock in the afternoon, leaders from six other villages had come as well. Men and women had taken the day off, filling the council hall to such an extent that the meeting had to be postponed and moved outside. Now Sai stood on a field in front of the council of Gaver and the Kambay Valley, and they in turn were backed up by the representatives from other villages.

"If you will Mr. Sai, Please re-state your terms." The leader of the council said. Starting the meeting for the third time today.

"Thank you." There were hundreds, if not thousands of lives depending on his next few words, yet Sai did not feel nervous. His heartbeat was slow and even. "I come before you, requesting the right to recruit men and women from your villages to fight against the Pentastar Alignment. In return we will reduce the tax from one half of your entire income to one tenth. Any spoils of war taken by soldiers recruited from your villages will be theirs to use as they see fit. Should you decide to withhold the rights of recruitment, we will bear you no ill feelings and leave you in peace." Sai stopped, and put on a devilish grin. "However!" He said loudly before the council could speak. "I was given new directives from my superior yesterday." The council grumbled amongst themselves, their faces full of surprise. "We will have to make you subjects to a tax on every item you sell, and also a tax on the use of our landing-platform. The terms will still be very favourable to you, but should you decide to join us, you will be exempt from these taxes. Thank you." Sai said and bowed to the assembly. The old lady had a nasty smile on her face. Malicious even. A fire burned in her eyes.

"It seems like you bring something new before us every time we see you Mr. Sai." She said, and Sai hear the quiet click of a holster being unbuttoned. His Mandalorians had their weapons within reach, but if the woman decided to shoot him, he would be dead before they could lift a finger. "Who knows what new terms this bandit will bring before us tomorrow?" She said, openly challenging his statement. "This is the first mention we have heard of a tax on their landing-pad."

"Aye!" The rest of the council agreed, including some of the newer members who had been there during the talks earlier in the day.

"The Pentastar Alignment at least told us what they took, and we held the papers in our hands. Mr. Sai changes his words every time we see him. His tongue slithers and spreads poison like a snake." Her verbal attacks seemed to strong for some of the councilmen, but none complained. "I would rather choose to live under a system where I know what is taken from me." She argued. "Mr. Sai here represents an instability." She was much too articulated Sai thought. She was not from these parts. "And it is hard to plan and live with insecurities." Again, the council agreed with her.

"Bloody witch." Sai thought to himself, feeling the frustration grow. He covered it up with a neutral smile. "I agree with your representative." He said.

"We do represent an instability as the situation now stands, but I wish you to know that we have time. If you are willing, I can sit down with you for prolonged talks. This needs not be decided now." Sai said, falling back to his original plan. Instead of having to go to all the villages, they had come to him. "However... I do wish to know what I am negotiating with." Sai said, before the council could dismiss the meeting.

"What do you mean Mr. Sai?" The woman asked.

"Am I dealing with only the village council of Gaver and the Kambay Valley as it was originally intended, or am I speaking to a union of villages?" Sai clarified. "It is an unknown factor I would much like to clear up." Sai finished with a neutral smile on his face.

"The council will have to discuss that." The leader of the council said. "Until we have 'cleared up that unknown factor", the talks are postponed."