Chapter 50
True Colors
"You're not gonna eat?" Canderous asked Juhani as they sat on opposite sides of their shared tent in the middle of the forest, the interior weakly lit up by the flashlight that lay next to his knee. While he continued to munch on thick pieces of bread and dried meat, Juhani merely stared silently down at the dried fruit she held in her hand, a disappointed look written on her face.
"I will," she murmured almost lifelessly, exhausted after a torrid night of battle which saw her coat soaked with animal blood and laced with cuts. "It's just…"
"I get it. Wrong kind of company, right? Ha!" he scoffed, taking another bite of his food before continuing. "I'd bet it's Revan you wish was sitting here with you, seeing as how you were struggling to even stroll along the walkways of the village without him standing right next to you to keep you going."
"Is that not obvious?" she replied, looking straight into his eyes. "I wanted to stand by his side to help him free this planet and its people, just as he once freed me. But instead, I'm forced to work together with one who is from a people responsible for slaughtering and enslaving my own?"
"We went through this already," he growled, his grip tightening around his food. "I. Wasn't. There. None of my clan participated in that slaughter – quite the exact opposite, in fact. Members of my clan…my own niece…they were killed alongside your people when they tried to intervene and convince those savages from Clan Fett to rejoin the main fleet. Didn't Revan tell you all of this before?"
"…" Juhani could only stare down at her feet, unsure of how to respond.
"Look," Canderous continued. "I'm not asking you to like me. Hell, you probably never will. I wouldn't be surprised if the tin-can standing outside on night watch duty feels the same, despite being a droid. But as long as we're stuck in this situation together, I need you, at a bare minimum, to be able to trust me if we're gonna get out of this mess. Now, first thing's first," he remarked, pointing at her hand which still held onto the unconsumed pieces of fruit, "you need to eat."
Upon hearing Canderous's request, she eyed the bland and tasteless food in her hand which, ironically, brought back to her painful memories of her past. "The last time I was forced to survive on food like this...was on Cathar. It was after my mother and father were murdered by Xor, and I was shoved into a containment cell aboard a ship, along with many of my kind. For two whole days, they wouldn't give any of us food or water. Then, as we lay starving, they threw these at our faces, along with meager amounts of water. My aunt…she was the only family I had left. She willingly endured worse and gave up most of her own rations to me, so that I may stand a better chance of survival.
"We were fortunate, in a cruel way. None of us knew how long that journey was going to take, or where we were headed. But we arrived on Taris, a mere few days later. The… 'noble' Tarisian upper class were eager to use us as slaves. I still remember my aunt's screams as I was separated from her; while I was purchased, no-one would take her at the time, since she was badly wounded in the legs by Xor and in no condition to work. While all of us began a new life of slavery on Taris, she alone was taken away by him. I never saw her again."
"Well," Canderous puffed after watching Juhani take the first bite of her food, recalling the night when he took the fatal shot that ended Xor's life. "That just gives me all the more satisfaction after what I did on Tatooine, since I've effectively avenged both our families. Still…nothing can bring them back."
"You asked me to trust you," Juhani asked. "But that common goal that united us for a time is now gone. Xor is dead. Our goal here is not only to find the Star Map, but ultimately liberate Kashyyyk from the clutches of Czerka, which also means that we will inevitably clash with their Mandalorian allies. How can I trust that you won't falter against your own kind who have not personally wronged you in the same way that Xor once did?"
"Because…," he exhaled, then briefly rubbed his temple out of embarrassment. "Good god, this is some soppy shit coming out of me." Deciding to make his point clear, he straightened himself out and continued. "Because you're all that I have left of her."
Confused by what he meant, Juhani narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"Eileen," he explained. "That was the name of my niece who died at the hands of Xor while she desperately pleaded for him and the others in Clan Fett to stop their butchery on your planet. I should have realized long ago that there was more to life than merely following orders and seeking the glory of battle. I only wish…that it didn't take her cold and discolored corpse lying on a morgue table in front of me for me to figure that out."
"Canderous…," she murmured, moved by his words.
"You asked me how you can trust me, and so now I tell you this," he went on, looking at her with determined eyes. "Whenever I look at you; your spirit, your determination to fight on because it's the right thing to do…I see that same part of Eileen that defined who she is. I couldn't protect her, but I'll be damned if I fail to protect what she died for. I won't let anything or anyone harm you. I swear."
Touched beyond imagination, Juhani closed her eyes, letting fall the tears that had gathered for what felt like an age. "Thank you…"
After a momentary lull of silence, Canderous broke the solemn atmosphere, returning to the matter at hand. "Heh. Enough of this for one night. We'd only be putting our own lives in danger if we suddenly decide to turn into goddamn poets. Let's finish up and get to sleep – we've got a long day ahead of us."
"Right," Juhani said, then promptly moved to eat the rest of her meal before getting her sleeping bag in order. Looking over her shoulder back towards Canderous, she questioned him further. "You're sleeping just like that?"
Canderous, still dressed in his full set of armor minus his helmet as he lay down in his own sleeping bag, answered with a smile. "Bastila's not the only spoiled princess of a Jedi, I see. Clearly, you've never fought in a war. This is normal for warriors who are prepared to fight off any night attack. Lucky for us in this case, however, we've got a droid on night watch. So rest easy – anything comes up, he'll be on high alert."
"Right," she nodded, trusting his judgement as she lay her head down. "Goodnight…Canderous."
"Goodnight, Juhani," he replied, silently switching off the flashlight as darkness filled the tent.
-o-
"Cassus, wait! They're defeated! You don't have to do this!" cried the voice of Eileen who pleaded with the swathes of warriors of Clan Fett swarming above her with their jetpacks. Surrounding her were the helpless Catharese men, women and children, all trembling and begging on their knees by the banks of the ocean.
"Mandalore gave us his orders, and we intend to carry them out," replied Cassus Fett, outfitted in his distinctive golden armor and white cape as he aimed his blaster at her head. "This entire sector of the galaxy must be secured for our greater conquest. Know your place, take your paltry scouting party back with you and return to your main fleet, Ordo scum."
"You call yourself a warrior?" she shot back confidently, opting to appeal to his sense of self-respect and pride now that it proved futile to appeal to any sense of humanity. "You call yourself a Mandalorian? I've seen gizka with more bravery than scum like you, who prey on defenseless civilians in order to prove your 'prowess' to others. Is this really the best that Clan Fett has to offer?"
His cocky swagger having vanished in an instant, Cassus responded with chilling seriousness. "I won't tell you again. Move."
"Over my dead body."
For a second, it seemed almost as if her persistence had paid off. Cassus turned around to look at his subordinates who surrounded him in midair, peering at each of them one by one. Then, after a lengthy and tense moment of silence, he nodded to them, receiving a response in kind.
"Very well, Ordo. You have your wish," he said, then turned around to be the first to fly away.
Unable to believe that her efforts had actually succeeded, Eileen fell to her hands and knees in the cold water and lowered her head, relieved to see that those around her would be spared. Although she knew deep down that Cathar would be just one world among many that would suffer under the wrath of the Clans, she felt joy in knowing that she played a part in preventing at least one meaningless slaughter.
Then, screams rang out from all around her, the frantic Cathar running about in the knee-deep water and shielding their little ones in vain.
As she looked up at the skies, she beheld a hail of wrist-rockets descending upon her and the Cathar. Staring past the one projectile that was bound to end her life, the last thing she saw was the crimson figure of Rally Master Xor Fett looking down at her, unremorseful and unrepentant.
"I'm sorry, commander," spoke a Clan Ordo warrior garbed in the blue armor of a standard Mandalorian Neo-Crusader, standing beside Canderous in the morgue of his command ship.
"You did what was asked of you, Garron. Nothing more," Canderous replied almost lifelessly, letting his hand fall to his side. Despite being the gallant warrior that he was, it now took all of his mental fortitude to keep himself from dropping the device which contained the last voice recording of his niece whose corpse lay on the table before him.
"We never managed to find her helmet, though. She was the only one that we ended up being able to locate as well, and even that was a stretch. We found her body submerged close to the beach, and her armor was riddled with—"
"Garron," he cut him off quietly, raising his hand to signify that he had heard enough. "That's all for now. Return to your post."
"As you wish." With a firm salute, the loyal subordinate left, leaving Canderous alone in his thoughts.
Not long after the door slid shut behind Garron, Canderous fell to his knees before his dead niece, finally letting his tears fall as he rested his forehead against the cold metal surface of the morgue table. In his many decades as a warrior, he had witnessed the deaths of many subordinates and comrades in arms…but never something like this. His own flesh and blood, killed not in the glorious field of battle in line with Mandalorian ideals, but on a worthless beach on a backwater planet, defending people who were too petrified to even offer resistance.
He clenched his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face as he grasped onto her lifeless hand. His grip grew firmer and firmer as seconds passed, as if he believed that doing so would jolt her out of what was merely a long sleep.
Finally, having come to his senses and realizing that he must move forward, he loosened his hold, his hand now laying gently atop hers. Slowly raising his head, he opened his eyes to look upon her one last time before departing the room.
…Juhani?!
There he was, kneeling alone in the starboard dorm of the Ebon Hawk in front of an unmoving Juhani, a gaping hole burned through the middle of her chest. His heart beginning to race, all he could hear was an ear-splitting screech which drowned out the sound of his own voice as he shouted at and shook her while everything faded to black.
-o-
As he lurched forward with a gasp, beads of cold sweat flew off the tip of Canderous's chin, falling with a faint patter upon the end of his sleeping bag. Taking a look beside him, he breathed a sigh of relief after realizing that it was merely a nightmare, as Juhani was still sleeping peacefully on the other side of the tent.
Opting to rise for the day, he quietly made his way out of the tent to find T3 dutifully keeping watch outside, having hardly moved all night from his initial position. "Rise and shine, ya little twerp," he greeted his droid companion silently so as to avoid waking Juhani, then pulled out his datapad in anticipation. "Anything to report?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," T3 replied, his mechanical beeps and toots being translated and relayed to Canderous through his datapad. "I've been in contact with unit HK-47. He, Revan and Carth are located west of our location, approximately seven miles away. HK-47 tells me that they've come across another Jedi, and was sorely disappointed that they didn't continue fighting him instead of agreeing to help each other out."
"Hah. Sounds like him, alright," Canderous chuckled. "Well, get ready to move out. After Juhani and I have had a moment to eat, we'll head west to rendezvous with them as soon as possible, and—!" He immediately ceased speaking and went into a state of high alert the instant he heart the clashing of blades far off in the distance, followed by several blaster shots and savage shouts.
Frantic rustles could be heard from inside the tent, before Juhani rushed out and leapt to her feet, lightsaber at the ready as her eyes darted side to side. "What's happening? What's that noise?"
After putting on his helmet and taking up his heavy repeating blaster, attaching his bayonet, Canderous took the lead. "Looks like we've got company, and I'm not keen on waiting around for them to run into us. Let's move out!"
As the Cathar and Mandalorian ran through the bushes, T3 did his best to keep up, his wheels and flat bottom surface hardly doing him any favors in the rough terrain. No further blaster shots could be heard, but the violent clashing of blades grew to an almost intimidating volume, causing Juhani's heart to race as she had never before felt such unparalleled, raw emotion in battle.
Then, a howl of pain came from a Wookiee warrior, followed by a loud and heavy thud which echoed throughout the surrounding trees.
"Stay down!" Canderous gave a sharp whisper, crouching as he continued to advance cautiously, drawing aside with his hand a patch of bushes to see the source of the commotion.
"No!" Juhani gasped once she caught sight of the lone Wookiee lying helplessly on the ground, grasping weakly onto a great double-bladed sword while three Mandalorian warriors in blue armor stood over him with vibroblades in hand.
Knowing exactly what course of action was on Juhani's mind, Canderous didn't make any attempt to stop her. "Are you going in?" he turned his head to look at her, receiving a nod in reply. "Then I've got your back." He took aim at the Mandalorian on the right whose body was turned facing their direction, while Juhani locked her eyes upon the one in the middle with his back to them and preparing to finish off the Wookiee. A nervous T3, never one to be actively employed in a frontal combat role, cautiously and silently opened up the top of his head panel to aim his blaster at the Mandalorian to the left.
"For Cathar!" she shouted, springing from her hiding place towards the momentarily stunned Mandalorians and igniting her lightsaber. Just as they finally snapped out of their stupor and shifted to counter her, Canderous and T3 let rip with their weapons, torrents of concentrated and rapid shots from Canderous's heavy blaster riddling his target and knocking him back. T3, meanwhile, knowing that his blaster weapon was too weak to inflict any serious damage even when using the standard setting to kill, utilized several well-aimed stun shots to incapacitate the warrior.
It was over in seconds. Using the Force to take her opponent by surprise, Juhani pulled him towards her, skewing him through the weak point in his armor, the lightsaber burning clean through the left side of his torso and out the right as he fell with a yelp of pain. Once her initial target was dealt with, she surged forward to Canderous's target and cleaved his head off in one brutal swing, before impaling the final Mandalorian through the heart.
Her heart racing as everything fell into silence around her, Juhani deactivated her lightsaber and fell to her knees beside the fallen Wookiee, examining his wounds. "No!" she exclaimed, observing the countless and deep gashes that riddled his body, drenching his fur in a river of red. She held her hand gently against the side of the Wookiee's face, realizing that there was no way for her to save him.
The warrior could only muster enough strength to blink his half-closed eyes, his life fading with every breath he took. Utterly spent, he couldn't speak a single word, and could only look upon the stranger who cradled his body while shedding innumerable tears.
Despite all that his chieftain and fellow loyalists said about outsiders; how none of them could be trusted, and all of them without exception meant to do them harm and held towards them nothing but ill will…he knew from the sight of Juhani's eyes that that wasn't true. The Cathar's lips trembled, speaking to him words that he could only barely hear.
"Be at peace. I couldn't save my own world from their evil…but I will not let yours fall. Not while I still live."
Breathing his last, he closed his eyes and departed the world, glad that he at least found the peace of death in the arms of a kindred spirit who promised to do what he could not.
Sensing that the warrior had passed, Canderous slowly emerged from his hiding place along with T3, having judged it to be better that he stayed put and out of the Wookiee's sight in his final moments.
"Damn shame," he sighed, lowering his blaster. "We could've used his help, provided that he wouldn't have tried to rip my head off. Wouldn't have had to resort to stumbling in the dark."
"I could have saved him," Juhani sobbed, still kneeling by the Wookiee's body. "I know I could have. If only I arrived faster…"
"You can't save everyone, Juhani," he replied, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Every single one of us who arrived on this planet knows that fact all too well." He reached beneath her arm to help her onto her feet. "Now come on, there's no telling if there's more of them coming. We should go back to pack our camp and—" A peculiar and ominous sign caught his attention, as a thick batch of ferns about a dozen yards away seemed to slightly part in the middle, despite the absence of wind or animals.
The memories of the tenacious battles fought in the jungle world of Dxun not lost to him, his heart sank as it could only mean one thing.
Unable to afford Juhani even a quick warning, he immediately yanked her back by the arm, throwing her behind him before lurching forth himself. A split second later, a red blaster round hit him squarely in the right shin, originally destined to kill Juhani by striking her on her unprotected back.
Despite the ample protection offered to him by his Mandalorian armor, Canderous grunted as the sheer weight of the impact made him feel as if his leg was struck on the bone with a hammer blow. Unable to see his target, he fired indiscriminately into the bushes, causing his attacker to flee and reposition.
"Canderous!" Juhani screamed, leaping up with her lightsaber ignited and rushing to his side.
"I'm fine, just keep your guard up, dammit!" he grunted. "Just stick together and we can—" A flurry of shots from ion blasters followed from their right, rendering T3-M4 completely out of action as he tooted and beeped wildly before going offline with a whimper, his light fading out.
One by one they appeared. Over a dozen Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders in heavy armor surrounded them in a circle, blasters and wrist attachments drawn and ready to kill, their gazes fixed upon their two targets. As they closed in, several tilted their heads in wonder, perplexed to see one of their own garbed in the red armor of a Rally Master working alongside someone from a species they had decimated during the old Wars.
With Canderous still aiming his weapon at them and refusing to buckle under pressure, the warriors kept their distance. A tense and silent standoff followed, before it was broken as the underlings in blue made way for a man who appeared to be their leader, his stark red armor mirroring that of Canderous.
"Who are you?" he growled, his tone steady and deliberate. "Who are you to wear the armor of a Mandalorian, when you have slain three of our own and sided with this…this animal?"
"Watch your tongue, boy," Canderous dismissed, aiming his rifle at the man's head. "You insult her again, and you'll lose it."
"Wait a sec," the Mandalorian said, taking another step closer. "That voice…don't tell me that it's..."
Knowing that his fate was well and truly out of his own hands, Canderous removed his helmet, letting it fall by his side as he revealed his face for all to see. "I will say this once, and once only, Rally Master. You will take heed of our respective ranks among our people. I order you to have these novice chumps of yours stand down. You will not lay a finger on my Cathar companion, and you will fix the damage you inflicted on our droid."
"Hah!" his counterpart scoffed. "You presume to order me around? You, a good-for-nothing deserter who decided to run off almost immediately after our forced surrender? I'd even wager that you stole that armor from a lowly merchant. How low you've fallen, Canderous. From one of the most gallant Field Marshals and Mandalore's left-hand man, to a goddamn thief and a pussywhipped puppy strolling along after a kitten."
"If you want to see just how this old dog can bite," Canderous said, drawing his rifle to aim squarely at the man's forehead, "then try me."
"That blaster of yours will do you no good, and you know it," the leader chuckled. "You may have gotten lucky with your little bit of teamwork when you killed these three failures in front of you, but that luck has worn out. Don't you know the armor of your own people, Canderous? This is not a fight you can win; lay down your arms now, and I promise that we'll at least try and put you in an enclosure that's bigger than a tach cage."
Seeing that there was no way out, Canderous took a deep breath in and out, his head hung low as he stared at his feet in shame. Still, a promise was a promise…and he resolved to keep it no matter the cost. "Juhani," he drew close to her and whispered. "Run. Disappear."
"No," she responded, eyes wide with panic. "No, there must be another way! I can't—"
"Don't fight me on this. Please," he shook his head, then looked her in the eyes. "Just…find him. You'll be alright."
"I…" Tears welled up in her eyes once more, as she found herself unable to move.
"The fuck are they doing?" the Mandalorian leader muttered, unable to hear their conversation, then impatiently gestured to his minions before treading backwards behind the safety of their ranks. "You know what, forget it. I won't take any chances with the Jedi. Set your weapons to stun, and seize them both."
"Go," Canderous implored to her. "I'll be fine."
Her heart begged her to stay by his side, but in the end, she obliged him. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind to prepare herself to meld into the shadows as they both readied for battle.
"Now!" he shouted, turning at lightning speed and unleashing a rapid stream of blaster shots at the Mandalorians behind him, while Juhani simultaneously shimmered away out of sight. Distracted by Canderous's sudden retaliation, the Mandalorians standing in Juhani's path were brutally blown aside by a powerful Force Push, unable to do anything about the invisible footsteps that dashed past them.
Hearing the racket of blaster shots behind her, Juhani clenched her eyes shut as she focused on running as fast as she could through the forests. Cruel memories of her family's doomed attempt to flee from the Mandalorians resurfaced, with the dying gasps of her parents being something that she could never forget.
But now, in a surreal twist of fate almost two decades later, her heart was broken by the fact that she was forced to abandon someone who had proven all of her long and deepest-held convictions to be utterly wrong.
She thought of his people being little more than heartless murderers and enslavers; yet his story about his niece disproved all of her misconceptions.
She believed him to be an honorless mercenary; yet he always showed his quality in the end, always putting himself in harm's way to protect his companions.
She had even tried to end his life on Dantooine. Now, he was willing to sacrifice his in order to save hers.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw him buckling and being brought to his knees under a relentless torrent of stun rounds, yet holding on bitterly and refusing to let up. All for her.
Unable to look at Canderous any longer, a fresh stream of tears flew off her face as she continued to run through the forest, never stopping for a moment in her desperate bid to find Revan.
-o-
Gasping awake upon feeling a freezing splash of water hit his face, Canderous was wracked by pain in every part of his body, along with an overwhelming bout of nausea. His limbs numb and weak, his mind could barely register the irons and rope that kept his exposed arms and legs trapped against a metallic beam, while simultaneously feeling the stinging cold as his armor was out of sight. All around him, he could smell an incessant stench of animal blood and rotting flesh, as several mounds of discarded organic parts lay dumped in roughly-dug trenches.
"Good to see you alive and kicking," the familiar, hated voice said to him, this time ringing clearly without the interference of a helmet.
Lifting his head, Canderous opened his eyes to behold yet another Mandalorian from that one clan he despised above all, surrounded by his subordinates while sitting on a metal crate. "You…"
"Yes, me," the man in red armor grinned devilishly, his hauntingly light blue eyes taunting the old veteran. His appearance was just as Canderous remembered him: short dark brown hair combed over to the side, and a sharp jawline covered by a hefty amount of medium-length stubble all around. "Glad to know that you still remember your good old pal, Rally Master Ondar Fett."
"I remember you, alright," Canderous found the will to chuckle at his interrogator, focusing on him while blocking out the incessant background noises created by Czerka personnel packing crates full of animal and plant specimens. "Looks like nothing's changed. I knew from the start that you'd never become anything special. You were Cassus's water carrier back in those days. I see that you've turned to a life of banditry, now that there are no asses around for you to kiss in the hopes of advancing through the ranks."
Ondar smiled slyly, almost as if he took it as a compliment rather than an insult. Then, seconds later, he delivered a brutal backhanded punch to Canderous's cheekbone while the other Mandalorians stood by and silently watched. "Alright, Ordo. Enough with the soppy reminiscing, and enough with the games. You're gonna tell me just what the hell you're doing in this forest, and more to the point, who that Cathar bitch is and where she's run off to."
Determined to rile up his opponent to the end, Canderous mockingly retorted. "Firstly, I'm not so sure if a mid-wit like you will even be able to make sense of anything that I tell you. Secondly, you can forget about the Cathar: frankly, I don't think you're good enough for her. But you're definitely the type of person whom she'd enjoy tearing apart."
Seeing that extra persuasion was needed, Ondar sighed long and deep, hanging his head and shaking it slowly. Having endured the earlier strike, Canderous was more than expecting the follow-up that indeed came. Swiftly raising his head, Ondar leapt to his feet before brutally kicking Canderous right in the stomach, then additionally in his right ribcage, finally finishing off with a savage punch to the nose, drawing a stream of free-flowing blood.
"We can do this all day," Ondar panted, raising his arms to the sides. "Believe me, I'd absolutely love to. Serves you Clan Ordo fucks right for screwing us over during the war. If you weren't such useless incompetent pieces of shit, we'd probably all be feasting and drinking in the home of the goddamn Republic Supreme Chancellor himself right now. But here we fucking are, on this shithole of a planet, working as mercenaries and gutting out chimp brains for a living."
Not done with inflicting torment on the disgraced Rally Master, Canderous grinned with blood-soaked teeth. "Well would you look at that, Ondar? You've found your true calling! I always knew you would at least make a fine butcher in a meat shop, even if you were a complete failure as a warrior. You wouldn't be the first Clan Fett member I've come across to fulfill your true potential before dying horribly, I can tell you that much."
Showing clear signs that Canderous's words had struck a nerve, Ondar's voice almost sank to a whisper while the other Mandalorians began to chatter among themselves. "What did you say?"
"One of your favorite old buddies Xor, that's who," he scoffed. "He died as he lived – a useless sack of blood and guts. I would have given the honors to the Cathar, but the chance of getting payback for what that piece of shit did to my niece was too much to let up."
The rank and file Mandalorians nervously looked on at their leader, expecting him to deliver another gruesome round of punishment to the former field commander. Instead, after several moments of deep breaths to compose himself, Ondar did something completely unexpected.
He smiled...devilishly. With an eerily renewed sense of confidence, he stepped forward and came to a halt right in front of Canderous. "Alright, Ordo. I see you've made your choice. You won't tell us why you're here, where that Cathar has run off to, and you certainly won't cooperate in unlocking your datapad for us to get the information we need."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Canderous exhaled, prepared to meet his fate. "Do what you're gonna do."
"Oh…that I am," Ondar smiled. "That, I most certainly am."
Soon after hearing Ondar's declaration, Canderous closed his eyes and awaited the one final burst of pain before all faded into blackness. But it never came. Opening his eyes again, he looked puzzlingly at his adversary whose smile only grew wider.
"What? You thought I was gonna let you off easy by killing you, Canderous? No. Not a chance. You're not dying. Not today, not on this planet. You are indeed a warrior, and so I'd imagine that you want a warrior's death. That is what I'm denying you."
"What the…what kind of game are you playing?" he muttered, glaring through blurry eyes.
"I don't doubt that you and your companions – however many of them there may be – had come down here after currying favors with that fool Chuundar. It's painfully obvious what he's sent you down here to do, and he'll be greatly disappointed to learn that you've reneged on his deal. So…as a starting point, once we move out and return to the surface with our current hoardings, don't expect your friends to remain alive much longer once we've informed him of your actions here.
"Now for the best bit. You mentioned my true calling, didn't you? Well…I think I've found it. We're gonna be leaving this shithole after all, as it's grown tiresome and we would have made enough credits for all of us. We'll be dragging you along with us in just a few hours once final preparations have been made, locked in one of the cages we brought to hold animals – and guess where we're headed?"
"No…," Canderous gasped, shaking his head. "No, no, you fucking wouldn't…"
"Oh, yes indeed," Ondar laughed. "Mandalore is where we'll be returning to. I think we'll keep you safe and sound in Clan Fett's territory, bound by rope and crawling around on your knees and face, eating scraps off the floor until the end of your days. All Mandalorians – especially Veela and that runt son of yours – can gather around and watch what happens to traitors and failures who turn against their own people. I wonder what they'll think of you then?"
"I won't let you...I won't—!" he struggled, brought to heel by his terribly aching and nausea-riddled body.
"Ssh…it'll be alright," Ondar whispered, mockingly patting him on the cheek. "I'll personally make sure that their disappointment doesn't last for long. I'd be happy to be a proper mentor to your son – show him how a true Mandalorian conducts himself, unlike you. And as for Veela, oh… Despite being your wife for so long, that one simply does not seem to age," He chuckled, staring into Canderous's eyes and delighting at the sheer anger he invoked. "Who could ever forget a woman like her? Long story short, she won't be missing you anytime soon. I will happily guarantee that."
"You…," Canderous fumed impotently, his arms thrashing impotently against his shackles. "You won't live to ever see that day. I guarantee that."
"Oh, look at you. How the mighty have fallen. What'cha gonna do, huh? You think that Cathar pet of yours will be able to get you out of here all by herself? Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if she's abandoned you, Canderous. She should remember well enough just what we did to her kind the last time we held them in captivity." He turned around and spoke in a loud voice to his Mandalorian subordinates and Czerka partners. "Pack your shit boys and girls; in three hours' time, we'll be out of here with everything we've got. Keep the perimeter guard tight and compact – no lone searches, no squads of fewer than five men."
Upon hearing the command, the Mandalorians and Czerka personnel standing around Ondar moved in all directions, diligently organizing crates and equipment to load into their hover vehicles.
"Do yourself a favor, Canderous," he snidely quipped one last time before leaving. "Come up with an apology during that time. The best apology that you can possibly imagine. If you're gonna be reduced to a puppy dog, then I want you to act like one. I just may consider scrapping some of my most outrageous ideas in return, depending on how much I like it."
Ondar departed, his strides victorious and energetic while his underlings made way. Although he still refused to give up on the hopes of rescue by Juhani and Revan, Canderous sank his head as an overwhelming sense of defeat washed over him.
Veela, his son, Eileen, Jena, and now Juhani…he failed them all. Every single promise was broken.
He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep once more, knowing all too well that his fate was now out of his hands.
-o-
"…I'm telling you, I've got it," a woman's voice insisted, her tone beginning to border on exasperation, breaking Canderous out yet again from his intermittent rest as he drew a heavy breath.
"I've got orders to stand guard here," replied the male warrior. "You know that Ondar's not a man you wanna cross lightly."
"And I know that he's someone who values results over simply following orders to the letter like some good-for-nothing lemming," she spat back, nudging him in the chest. "If Ondar wants answers out of him, then I'll get them right now."
That voice…sounds so…
"Fat chance you'll succeed. Canderous isn't some green recruit who's liable to break given the right conditions. He's made of tough stuff – unlike some others I can name…"
Evidently hiding her pain and anger evoked by those words behind her helmet, the woman leaned forward. "You were there, Dom, weren't you? You saw what that Cathar is capable of. If you don't want your throat slit during our return to the upper levels by an enemy you have no chance of spotting, let alone fighting, you'll let me speak to him. For all of our sakes."
Relenting after realizing that there was truth to her words, the guard looked at Canderous. "Well, when you put it that way… But there's the issue of—"
"Tell Ondar that it was my request. If I can't get Canderous to spill the information we want, then I'll happily take whatever punishment Ondar deems necessary. Tell him that I'll take your share as well for making you disobey his orders."
After a few seconds' contemplation, the guard stepped away, heading towards the main section of the camp where the team of Mandalorians and Czerka hunters were still busy packing away all of the heavy equipment.
"And make yourself useful for a change, why don't you, Dom?" she called out to him. "Be a good babysitter and make sure those Czerka knuckleheads don't break anything while you're at it."
"Fuck you," he grumbled, disappearing into the busy crowd.
His body still craving nothing but more sleep to shake off the lingering effects of the stun rounds, Canderous forced himself to stay awake, concentrating on the woman in front of him whose identity was concealed behind her blue helmet. Her hand lay over the metal buckle of her sling bag which lay against the left side of her ribcage, as she studied him intensely and silently.
"If you're here to add insult to injury in order to make yourself look good in front of that fearless leader of yours, then go ahead," Canderous muttered. Even as a helpless prisoner, he retained every last shred of his dignity and honor, refusing to buckle. "Being interrogated by a front-liner like you would probably be like receiving treatment from a masseuse. Hell, I could definitely use some of that right now."
"I'm not here for that," she shook her head, her voice behind her helmet eerily familiar to another – delicate and very feminine, yet backed up by firmness and rigidity. "There's probably nothing that I can do to get out of you the information that Ondar is after."
"Then why are you wasting my time?" he grunted. "Just standing there looking at me like you're some dimwit spectator in a fucking zoo. They may be bound, but hands and feet aren't the only things I can hit you with, given the fact that I'm still nauseous as hell."
Frustrated with Canderous's stubborn exterior, she undid the bag's buckle and reached in, pulling out two objects which she held out in the palm of her hand. "We went through your belongings after retrieving them from your camp. I want you to explain to me these. Where and how did you get them?"
"That…," he gasped, realizing upon first glance that it was none other than Jena's lock of hair, along with the paper photograph of her family which was taken on Coruscant shortly after her and Dean's wedding.
Eager to hear the truth for herself, the woman reached up with her left hand and removed her helmet, revealing long, flowing scarlet black hair that gently fell upon the backside of her armor. "I want to know. Tell me."
"Tasi? Tasi Farr, is that you?" Canderous gasped, blinking rapidly as he thought his weary mind was playing tricks on him.
Far from a warm greeting, she looked at him with an intense gaze, seemingly bordering on anger. Unlike the cool grey eyes of Jena, Tasi's bright green eyes were an intimidating sight to behold in the darkness, like a black panther huntress staring down her prey. Her complexion was noticeably paler than her big sister, leading him to question just how long she and her party had spent wandering the Shadowlands in between periodically returning to the upper levels with their cargo.
Disregarding all protocol from their warring days, the young woman who was barely in her mid-twenties and a former Alor'uus rank holder – little more than a corporal in Republic standing – pressed her former superior harder. "You avoid answering me. My sister – I want to know how you got these from her. Or, rather, did you take them?"
"Jena gave them to me…to give to you," he replied, "to show that she's alive and well with her family, but…" He chuckled, finding humor even in his current situation. "Never thought I'd run into you like this. I was hoping to find you on Mandalore when I made my return."
The very mention of their planet made her close her eyes and sigh deeply. "You wouldn't have found me there no matter how hard you looked. I'm not going back, and I'll be parting ways with Ondar and his crew before they get there."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Look," she grunted, irritated by the fact that she had to address the issue. "Not all of us are wandering across the galaxy out of personal choice like you. For people like me, there was never any choice to begin with; the decision was made for us. My own parents turned me away almost as soon as I walked through the door to see them after returning from Malachor. We were accused of not fighting hard enough; of falling short of expectations placed upon us as Mandalorians. As far as I'm concerned, I've seen the last of my family…all save for her. I need to know what happened to her, Canderous; how she's doing, and where I can find her."
"Jena thought that the same thing would happen to her had she returned," he explained. "So she left forever. You might vaguely remember the little girl in the picture – Amy is her name. Veela left her in Jena's care, knowing that your sister was intent on traveling to settle in Republic space with Dean, the Republic medic in that photo who's now her husband after he saved her from death on Dxun as she lay badly wounded. You should be happy, Tasi," he gave her a smile that faded almost as quickly as it formed, his dry and cracked lips flaring up with pain. "I'm sure that you'll become an aunt very soon, maybe even within the year."
"My sister…the decorated Ver'alor Jena Farr…married this…medic?" Tasi raised an eyebrow as she stared down at the photo, far from impressed. "Well, then again, at least one of us has reason to smile in her life."
"How the hell did this happen to you, Tasi?" he shook his head incredulously, his sharp words causing her to look up at him again with a tinge of agitation. "You may have fallen short of becoming a Rally Master yourself, but I never would've imagined that you'd sink so low as to take orders from one of those goddamn Fetts."
"Didn't you hear a fucking word of what I just said, Canderous?" she shot back. "I didn't choose this life. Unlike you, I at least chose to return to my family, as pointless as that was. My own mother slapped me in the face and told me that I should've stayed back on Dxun instead of Jena; that the wrong daughter died. I still remember falling face-first into the mud as my father grabbed me by the collar and threw me out the door and into the freezing rain. How hard I slammed my fists against the door, begging them to take me back and forgive me. But that's in the past now. My parents have forsaken me, and I know that Ondar will continue to string me along until I eventually die, just like the three warriors you and your Cathar friend killed today. Jena's the only thing that I have left in this world…and that's why I need you to tell me where she is."
"Before I left her, I made Jena a promise. I promised her that I'd find you and let you know where you could find her," he replied, sparking hope in the eyes of the broken woman. Then, almost cruelly, he took that hope away from her. "But now, looking at everything that's going on around us…everything that you're helping to facilitate…I don't think I can. I don't think I will."
"What? Why not?" she said, outraged as she stepped towards him. "I told you, Canderous, this has nothing to do with Ondar and his demands. This is about my sister."
"Do you think that she'd want to meet you, if she could see what you're doing? Both of you have changed so much compared to how I once remembered you. But unlike you, Tasi, she's changed for the better. She's no longer a warrior, and she very well may have recently fought her last battle and might put down her blasters for good this time. But one thing about her has stayed the same: she would never forsake her family and friends.
"But you? You're more than willing to see me get taken away by those Fetts, never to be seen again, as long as you get what you want from me. If you do happen to find her by some miracle, you can tell her whatever you want – you can lie about how we met, and what truly happened here. But she'll see through you. And if she finds out the truth…she'll never forgive you. Then you'll truly have nothing left."
"Heh. You're really not gonna tell me, are you?" Tasi grinned, hiding away her inner pain. "Always were a stubborn jerk."
"Even if I told you where she is by words alone, you wouldn't be able to find her. The only way that you'll get to them…is if my datapad is unlocked to you, so that you can acquire the coordinates."
"What are you terms, then?" she asked, folding her arms. "Judging by what you just said, it sounds like you're expecting me to launch a one-woman extraction." Not long after she spoke, Canderous smiled at her wordlessly at the first mention, causing her to shudder and frown. "W-wait…you're not serious, are you?"
"You're a Mandalorian, Tasi. You should know that our lives will always be filled with danger. I stand firm on this. That datapad either leaves with me and the droid, or we all die on this planet. I won't be going back to Mandalore. Not like this."
"I don't understand, Canderous," she grunted, shaking her head as her arms fell dejectedly against her sides. "I don't understand any of it. Why are you making it so difficult for yourself? Don't tell me it's all for that one Cathar? Just who the hell is she? Is she really worth losing your own life and dignity over?"
He closed his eyes, affording himself a small moment of peace as the pain momentarily seemed to lift, accompanied by the image of Juhani's confident gaze in his mind. "Yes. Because now, I finally have something that's truly worth fighting for. Worth dying for, just as Eileen once did."
"Canderous," she begged, her voice falling almost to a whisper. "Please don't do this. Not all of us can be as strong as you, least of all me."
"I'm not asking you to become a martyr by throwing your life away needlessly just so that I can make a point, Tasi," he stated. "I want you to go and be reunited with your sister alive and in one piece, just as both of you certainly do. So I want you instead to listen to me very carefully." His hands still bound, he could only lean forward as a sign that he wanted her to come closer, which she in turn did.
"I'm listening," Tasi replied, peering up at her bound and wounded former commander.
Pressing her one more time, he looked her in the eyes. "Can I trust you?"
Her gaze faltered, falling to the ground momentarily before she mustered up the strength to look up at him once again.
"Can I trust you?" he repeated more strongly, his stare now bold and intense.
She turned her head to look to her right, where the other Mandalorians and their uneasy Czerka allies were shoving as much wildlife and plant specimens as they could into crates, barks and roars of accusations and criticisms of shortcomings and tardiness being lashed out in all directions. She then stared down at the palm of her hand, still holding onto her sister's lock of hair along with the picture of her beautiful family, Jena's eyes in particular seeming to sparkle with overflowing joy.
There was only one option.
She closed her eyes and sighed before raising the items to her face, planting a soft kiss upon both gifts from her sister. "Yes. Tell me what I have to do."
"Good," he nodded. "There was a reason why I sent the Cathar fleeing off to the west during my capture. I didn't say a word to Ondar, but there are indeed more of—" he was interrupted by a racket of shouting as the Mandalorians in the main section of the camp far behind him suddenly sprang into action, taking up defensive positions all along the perimeter and aiming their weapons at an unknown threat that was approaching them.
Fearing for the worst and that his plan was destined to fail before he could even speak, Canderous clenched his eyes shut and awaited what he believed would be the sound of blaster fire…but it never came. Instead, the chorus of shouting grew even louder before being silenced in a heartbeat as Ondar took charge of the situation, his voice ringing with clarity in the distance.
"Stop right there, both of you! Come any closer and you'll be blown to pieces! Identify yourselves, now!"
"I've heard that Mandalorians' sense of hospitality is second to none," a familiar voice laughed, causing Canderous's eyes to widen as he tried to turn his head to look behind him, to no avail. "I'm glad I managed to find out firsthand, after all. Name's Kael Deren."
"And as for me, I'm…well," Carth chuckled hesitantly. "Not sure if it's wise at all for me to say it, but…hell, several of you might even recognize me without me saying it out loud. Commander Carth Onasi."
Canderous's heart plummeted, the fear almost consuming him as he prayed that his companions managed to pull through with whatever daring stunt that they had intended.
"Good god…"
A/N: I had initially planned to extend this chapter beyond this point, but have had to cut it here because it's ballooned more than I thought, primarily because of the earlier scenes that were meant to further the connection between Canderous and Juhani. Again, just like the Tuskens on Tatooine, I wanted to combine the plot elements from the game covering the Czerka and Mandalorian hunters in the Shadowlands into one plotpoint that helps in character development, rather than separate and straightforward puzzle/combat side quests.
I always felt these days when replaying the game that there was so much potential wasted by not exploring deeper into the potential dynamic between Canderous and Juhani. Both had separate plot points focusing almost solely on Jagi and Xor, and it felt unsatisfactory that there was so little to explore further once those side quests had been completed.
As always, hope everyone is doing well in these tough times, and I look forward to bringing you the next chapter soon.