Son of Mandalore
As the son of legendary Mandalorian Bounty Hunter/ Mercenary Vrom Ordo and heir to the leadership of Clan Ordo, Kandosii has always been faced with high expectations. Trained from birth to inherit the title of his forefathers, the decisions he makes will change the course of the galaxy and the fate of his people. In an era on the eve of rebellion, he must choose his side.
"We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal, there are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire as weak, vulnerable" Kallus informed.
"Not toworry Agent Kallus, the emperor has sent for alternative solutions for these rebels" Grand Moff Tarkin said confidently as the shuttle ramp lowered making a hiss.
*Heavy Breathing* "Send word to the Mandalorian Jedi Hunter that I require his services on Lothal and that the empire will pay handsomely for the killing of Jedi"Vader spoke without remorse to Kallus.
Tatooine
"Incoming transmission from Lothal master, it appears to be quite urgent would you like me to patch them through to you master?" the droid appeared on his wrist holo projector.
"Yes C5 feed them through to my holo" Kandosii replied nonchalantly.
"Kandosii Ordo, your services are required by the Empire on Lothal. Lord Vader requests for your presence" Kallus informed with slight distaste, why did they need this bounty hunting scum when they had all the resources needed to deal with a Jedi and some meagre rebels.
"Lothal? Why does he need me on that backwater of a planet anyway?" Kandosii replies inwardly smug at the fact the Sith lord personally wants an audience, inflating the already pride swollen ego of the Mandalorian.
"It would be best for you to journey here and discuss it with him personally, the reward for seeing this contract through is in the millions of credits. Notify me on your arrival and I will send an escort to see you to Lord Vader. He expects you within the hour…" the holo cut out leaving a silent but air chilling warning, one that Kandosii wasn't going to ignore, it wouldn't end well he thought with a chill creeping up his back.
Kandosii was drawn out of his musing by the blaring heat of the Tatooine suns, why does a planet need two anyways. He was sure Hoth could do with another one, reminiscing about that freezing ball of gas still gave him shivers as if he was still walking on the cold wasteland. Trawling back to the spaceport in Mos Espa was more dangerous than tournament he had just taken place in, with the shadiest smugglers and dangerous bounty hunters throughout the galaxy it was certainly one the worst places to live in both Hutt and Imperial space.
Checking his winnings had come through was enough to make the Mandalorian sigh, no one had even come close to proving themselves a worthy foe, Kandosii was almost wishing there were still more Jetiise in the galaxy… the last few he had faced were escaped Padawan's, on the run with no friends or allies which made them less brag worthy. Now when he first started off… they were some fights, extremely worthy foes. Jedi Knights who had escaped the initial Jedi Purge and had survived Vader or remained well hidden.
Flashback
He had just landed on Naboo, a strange place for a rumoured Jedi Knight to have hidden? This was the centre of Imperial power, the core worlds… haran even the emperor's birth place. Last known location that Kandosii had received from a duros after a 'friendly' talk was that a rumoured Jedi war hero was hiding out on the outskirts of Theed, towards the Gungan forests, it made sense he thought. No outsider went or did business with the gungan's, nobody really cared much for them especially not the imperials.
He was deep in the forests now, away from civilisation… he knew where to go, he felt a pull within guiding… no pushing him onwards, he felt him ahead. It was this damned sense he'd been cursed with from birth. The force…
How he hated but simultaneously loved it, this was the gift that made him stronger than the rest of his clan, the rest of his people. He had studied the art of lightsaber combat from the numerous Holocrons that had been 'liberated' from the Jedi Temple thousands of years ago in previous conflicts where the Mando'ade had waged war on the Jetiise alongside the Sith. He had mastered all they had to offer, war was the Mandalorian way of life and the arts of the old Jedi were impressive. He knew from the Holocrons his clan; Ordo had acquired were only three out of seven lightsaber forms.
He could smell the smoke and feel the Jetiise was close, adrenaline pumped through his veins and into his muscles, his sensory systems were on high alert and ready for combat… he lived for the thrill of battle. He entered the clearing ahead of him, upon hearing him the Jedi came out of his meditative stance.
"I have foreseen this moment for a long time, bounty hunter. I am afraid that I cannot let you leave" the Jedi said calmly.
"Ahh you must be Zarreb Sionise the former apprentice of the Jedi MasterJoclad Danva, I am not going to run from this fight Jetiise. May the best man walk off this battlefield the victor" the duel began, Zarreb charged igniting his lightsaber trying to quickly close the gap thinking Kandosii would use blasters… he was wrong. Kandosii unsheathed his clans most treasured trophy for over three millennia, a black cored purple lightsaber. The blade was as beautiful as it was rare, giving off an almost ethereal effect with the darkness of the blade contrasting like the flames of a fire intertwining with the purple. He raised the blade just in time to block a downwards slash, the dance had begun and only one shall walk away…
The fight felt like it was an eternal conflict, never ending destruction. Nothing was being held back by either combatants, the Jedi had come with an aggressive start favouring Ataru. The acrobatic form, with its complex manoeuvres made it extremely risky, thrice he had almost met his end, twice from the bounty hunters saber and another from a ravine he had not noticed the battle was having an effect on him, the nauseating thumping of his heart and burning in his lungs practically broadcasting his fatigue, the bounty hunter had put up more of a fight than originally anticipated he thought. Barely dodging another killing blow, he did not get off easy receiving a light strike. He could smell his singed skin and feel the blow on his neck. The Mandalorian was still going strong despite the heavy looking armour which had saved him from a few scars himself.
He noticed a particular pattern in the Jedi's fighting style and stance, he waited poised ready to strike at this newly discovered weakness, whenever Zarreb went to strike with a high to low diagonal slash he left his right side of his body exposed. Kandosii feigned extreme fatigue deliberately slowing his blows waiting to spring the trap, he fell right into it. Leaping at the chance to finally end his dancing partner the Jetiise renewed his efforts pushing Kandosii back until he attempted the aforementioned strike. The mistake was recognised far too late, shuffling his weight onto the ball of his left foot and dropping beneath the strike and rising with speed long since lost from the duel and plunging his saber into the Jedi directly to the hilt before swiftly removing, it was over. Zarreb dropped to his knees, lightsaber extinguished and rolling away from its master towards the underbrush.
"gar ru'akaanir pirusti jetiise, may gar mar'eyir o'r kyr'am meg naak gar copad o'r oyay" kandosii solemnly spoke.
Zarreb looked up into the sky with the light slowly dimming, he could suddenly feel empowered yet weak, all-knowing yet unknowing. He felt at one with the force as he expelled his final breath.
Kandosii knew that it was tradition for a Jedi to be cremated upon death, he went about building a pyre to honour his fallen adversary. He noticed another holocron before he began the ceremony, he quickly grabbed it before the flames took hold.
"What secrets do you have I wonder" Kandosii murmured, he pocketed the Holocron and the lightsaber beginning the long journey back to the capital city and the journey towards fame and riches, he was to be known as Kandosii "Jetiise Kyramud''.
End of Flashback
Kandosii returned to his ship forgetting about the first Jedi he had defeated, quickly entering his hangar bay he strode towards his ship cockily again thinking about his first Jedi kill. No one had come as close to defeating him after that fight, he had uncovered upon a great secret inside the holocron, inside were the teachings of Zareeb's master, Joclad Danva the master Jar'Kai duellist. The art of wielding two lightsabers, how fitting that he could now practice this art with the weapon of the deceased padawan whose master was unknowingly teaching.
"C5 I want you to plot a course to the Lothal system, inform me when we are coming up to Lothal, I'll be in the training room" he informed the protocol droid before wandering off through the corridors of his Mandalorian 'Crusader Class' Corvette otherwise known as Manda'yaim's a'den, the ship had an impressive cargo capacity of 3'600 tonnes which made it extremely useful for transporting weaponry and illegal goods if there was good money in it. The ship was manned by droids who maintained and operated the weaponry on the ship besides the front facing cannons which he himself operated.
Upon reaching the training room, Kandosii quietly sat down dimming the light in the room before it illuminated with a crystal clear sea blue as he opened the holocron, he began listening to the form, Jar'Kai was particularly hard to grasp especially when he had trained with the use of only one lightsaber. The form often called for less strength behind the blows and more for a fast paced move set, he had come to enjoy the form after two years of practicing Kandosii had even created his own form a combination of Form V Djem So and additionally Form IV Ataru combining both of these forms to create an aggressive acrobatic offence whilst using Djem So move sets to reduce the amount of energy he uses whilst fighting, a major weakness to Ataru. Utilising other Mandalorian weaponry such as jetpacks and blasters into the style, the highly unpredictable nature of the style created unease as Jedi could tell he was trained in the arts of lightsaber combat but couldn't see the next pattern in the form, Kandosii stood and strode to the middle of the room igniting his saber. Practicing 'redalur be Manda'yaim' his personal form, he simply closed his eyes immersing into his mind and began fighting a shadow. To anyone witnessing the form it was a blur of movement and colour, extremely well-coordinated movements yet seemingly erratic the high strikes gave way to the low kicks which turned into a flurry of parries and riposte strikes came down on an imaginary opponent who by now would have been long since dead. The form was the most unpredictable fighting style but also the most physically draining, only a mere twenty minutes after starting Kandosii was fatigued and needed to rest. 'If only he could somehow reduce the physicality required to achieve the same results' but no one had withstood this barrage of strikes and whirlwind of death not even Jedi of old did.
He had hunted and successfully killed three more Jedi within two years, one was a former Jedi Knight on Dantooine which had also been a worthy fight but yielding similar results to the first, however the last two were padawans where it became clear who the victor would be from the beginning. There was no honour in facing an unworthy foe but at the time the need for credits was high and so was the fact of becoming a renowned Jetiise Kyramud he had received four million credits for each kill which had gone to fund clan Ordo and additionally his current ship.
Kandosii hit the fresher, quickly showering and assembling his armour to place on. Truthfully he didn't need the droid to tell him Lothal was close, he could feel the Emperors right hand getting closer and closer to the point where he was at the controls the second he dropped out of hyperspace. Quickly remembering what the imperial agent had say and comm'd the agent before he was attacked by imperials, the fighters he could handle without a problem but the warships would prove problematic without support.
"Agent, I have arrived in the system. The escort would be appreciated" he quickly spoke not knowing the planet or even the capital city, it was truly a backwater which just happened to be the home of someone extremely important if he was called here.
"Welcome to Lothal Mandalorian, the fighter escort on route from the Destroyer Relentless shall escort you to the imperial headquarters I shall await you on the ground- Kallus out" well I at least know the bearded agents name, not a random bucket head he chuckled to himself. He followed the escort to the imperial headquarters taking notes of the planet and seeing it was a fairly open planet with no skyscrapers which was a rare sight among many of the planets he been on. A lot of places for someone to hide especially if they know where to. He shook his head and began the landing sequence touching down whilst the TIE's went back up into space he left the cockpit and departed from the ship.
"Kandosii I assume? Follow me this way Lord Vader isn't the most patient person in the galaxy" the agent known as Kallus stated before simply walking off towards the building. He picked up his pace following silently, his armour intimidated the storm troopers around him and he secretly revelled in the fact. Mandalorians were to be feared especially the Jedi killer his wide array of weaponry on his person was far more deadly than anything they possessed, there blasters whilst powerful recoiled with a vengeance negating their usefulness in a close quarter fight making them practically useless at range. How far the 'Grand Army of the Republic' had fallen, they wouldn't stand a chance against all of the Mandalorian clans. It was a shame that the peace loving Mandalorians still ran the planet of Mandalore under imperial watch, truly a disgrace to the warrior culture they boldly claimed to be with the pacifist views… their ancestors must be looking down in disgust, however the main problem was actually unifying the clans under one banner. There hadn't been a Mand'alor who had successfully united all of the clans for thousands of years since the last great Sith War, a worthy opponent could be found in the imperials, their resources and firepower were unchallenged in the galaxy which would make the perfect target.
He was brought out of his thoughts hearing the door open to the governor's office he could only assume and there facing towards the city was the Sith Lord Vader. He was just as intimidating if not more so than the HoloNet and the rumours he had heard surrounding the scourge of the Jedi. Standing almost 6'3 he made Kandosii look small at his 5'10. The deep breathing was the only noise in the room which echoed around.
"You are the Jedi Hunter of Clan Ordo?" it seemed more of a statement by the tone "I have a task that requires someone of your expertise. There is a small band of rebels under the leadership of a Jedi who slew the grand inquisitor, his padawan is extremely strong with the force and is required by the emperor. Your task is to kill the Jedi known as Kanaan Jarus and capture the young one, do this and you will be rewarded with wealth beyond your comprehension, do you have any terms?" he finished clearly knowing how to entice a bounty hunter by mentioning credits, it certainly enticed the young bounty hunter.
"I can imagine quite a large amount of credits my lord, containing a Jedi will be harder than killing them… how old is the padawan? Do you have any leads or IDs on the rebel crew? Also some payment up front will be required I had to cancel a contract with a Hutt to come here, they are the terms I care about" He finished confidently interested in beginning the hunt for this rebel crew but more specifically the Jedi master of the two.
"All information deemed necessary shall be given to you on a holo disk to view on your ship from Agent Kallus, you may receive a partial fund of four million credits up front to compensate you for your Hutt problem, now is that all" Vader was becoming agitated so to not infuriate the Sith he nodded his head and left quickly. There weren't many things that unnerved the Mandalorian but Vader definitely gave off a rather chilling and fearsome vibe.
On his way back to the ship he was handed the holo disk by Kallus and dutifully began his research firstly by looking at the rest of the rebel crew trying to ID the Jedi, they were easy to see in the band and what an odd mix a twi'lek woman who was dressed in pilot attire, a Lasat; big unruly and easily identifiable in a crowd and lastly a…Mandalorian now this was a surprise her armour was Beskar but only in places which were completely vital against blasters, she had the mark on her body just as all Mandalorians do showing their allegiance to a clan along with their house if they were born into the culture. Wren of House Vizsla, her age would make her the missing daughter of Tarro Wren what was her name he thought. Sabine named in spite of the pacifist dead duchess Satine.
Well the aruetii emerges; the difficulty she had caused to his mother's operations was astounding causing the once death watch to hide on his home world not that he minded much, he saw his mother Bo-Katan Kryze.
This was a great opportunity indeed; he could collect a huge pay check and additionally bring back a traitor to the clan who might oppose him crowning himself Mand'alor in the future. This was almost too easy he smiled to himself…
Mando'a translations:
Mand'alor= Mandalore (Leader of all Mandalorians)
Aruetii= traitor
Jetiise= Jedi
Kyramud= Killer
'redalur be Manda'yaim'= Dance of Mandalore
Manda'yaim= Mandalore (the planet)
Manda'yaim's a'den= Mandalore's Wrath
"gar ru'akaanir pirusti jetiise, may gar mar'eyir o'r kyr'am meg naak gar copad o'r oyay" = you fought well Jedi, may you discover in death what peace you sought in life.
Mando'ade= Sons/ daughters of Mandalore
If you are interested in some of the inspiration behind aspects in the story feel free to PM me, or have any suggestions on how to improve the story. I've had this idea ticking about in my head for some time and being a fan of the older SW games KOTOR in particular, I was surprised after hearing of these warriors I am surprised at the neglect that is shown towards them. A people who are so fractured not only by nature but by the 'new Mandalorian way of life' and different types of sects claiming to be Mandalorian. I aim to try and paint my own interpretation of the story of these people after the collapse of the republic going towards the galactic civil war. Hope you enjoy this story. I'd like to know who your favourite Mandalorian is (old canon/or new) and what you like about them
AN: Just letting people know that my work, might alter my ability to update. I will try to aim for one chapter every week.