Bo-Katan and Veso Rell slinked through the tall grass of Concordia, the one-handed Mando holding a button on the side of his helm. Flanked on either side, at least 10 Deathwatch loyalist soldiers walked slowly beside them, each armed to the teeth and ready for a fight, hiding in the cover of the dense tan grass.

"We are getting closer? You said the static should get more high-pitched the closer we get to the source." Bo-Katan whispered, her hands gripping her duel Westars.

"The static is increasing in pitch, yes… Wait, it stopped, there's nothing coming through the holo-waves-" He began to say before a deafening roar of twin jet engines sounded from the distance before the shape of a boxy silver and blue ship blurred past the sky.

"They're retreating." Bo-Katan stated plainly before standing up, her assortment of Mandalorians doing the same. The Mandalorian leader slowly shook her head. "We need to act fast, they are likely off to get reinforcements. Veso, get to the listening post, tune into all Protector and military frequencies. I will rally the troops."

"Yes Ma'am," Veso responded simply, a mere moment later jetpacking away back towards where he came. As he did so, Katan and her troopers did the same, but instead heading directly back to the castle, leaving behind only smoke and the smell of burnt fuel.

0

Bo-Katan sat, sharpening her retractable vibro-blade. Her force of hundreds of Mandalorians now doing similar. Some cleaned their armor, others loaded their Blasters, and many still worked to repair previously unneeded Disruptor weapons held in the armory. All in preparation for the calvary they knew was about to arrive.

As the head of Clan Kryze placed the jaded tool back onto the red ceremonial rag used to hold it, she heard her communicator beep loudly. Quickly activating the coms, she began listening intently.

"Ma'am. You will need to hear this." Veso said, the sounds of shuffling echoing through the coms as the technician fiddled with the consoles stationed at the post, attempting to connect them with his one hand left onto his communicator. As the sound of a click and a brief millisecond of silence sounded, the unmistakable voice of the Mandalorian Protector leader, Fenn Rau began to speak.

"-epeat that Mandal-12, you saw what?" The man said, shock sounding in his voice.

"Mandal-01, reporting from Alpha Squadron, I will repeat, the unidentified vessel in orbit is beginning to leave orbit. We have caught up with it. It is clearly of Imperial make, about the size of a Venator. Permission to tail the vessel?" Another voice answered.

"Mandal-12 do not follow that vessel! I repeat, do not follow that vessel! We've fought enough already today, return to Sundari. We need help gathering the dead, we've lost over 55 of the guard and we can't waste any more time."

"Mandal-12, returning to Sundari." The other voice responded as the channel cut out.

Bo-Katan could only hold her breath for a response. As she did, a mere moment later Veso started again. "They are leaving, Ma'am. Not just Concordia, but the entire system."

"Is that all you learned, Veso?" Bo responded quickly, letting out a sharp short exhale.

"No, Almec is dead. Same culprits too, Space Marines. I believe they received different orders than the ones who attacked us did, the Protectors were the first to shoot. I can't know for sure though, because even if they intended on just walking to the throne room without harming a hair on anyone, that changed immediately when a squad of Protectors in orbit spotted the gunship and tried to shoot it down."

"Thing managed to shoot down half of them before crashing through the dome of Sundari and dropping their troops off in front of the gate, literally landing on civilians and shooting anything living that got close. By the time the Protectors made it, the Astartes were apparently already done with their business in the throne room. It took over 80 protectors to take down all 5 of the Marines, half of which are now dead. Once the Marines croaked, the remaining Protectors made their way inside. And by the Mines, I do not wanna know what happened inside that throne room." Veso finished.

"What did they find?" Bo responded, quickly and concisely.

Veso sighed audibly. "Basically implied you don't wanna know but, fine. They found most of Almec's guards, killed the same way our men here met got killed, bolter rounds all that. But Almec, his head was crushed so hard it detached from his head, wasn't just his head either, he still had his helmet on, too. One of the Marines, probably their Sergeant or something had a big oversized fist he lofted around, and killed a few Protectors by literally punching them apart. This one probably did the number on Almec, damned terrifying to think they have weapons that can literally crush beskar like that."

Bo-Katan was shocked, but not too shocked to revel in the fact that the coward working for Maul was dead. "If anyone in this entire system deserved a fate like that, it was Almec. That being said, that is terrifying to think about. Just another reminder to not engage in CQB with those death machines then."

"Couldn't agree more there, anything else you want to know?" Veso added.

"How badly were the civilian casualties?" Katan finally asked, her voice changing from almost light-hearted to deathly serious.

"We don't have any solid numbers, Ma'am, but it was a meat grinder down there from what I heard. Heard estimates from anywhere between 60 to 200, in all likelihood, we probably won't ever be able to know, some of the gunship weapons literally turned people into chunks. And that's not even mentioning the fact they landed right on a busy town square." Veso said, matter-of-factly, an amount of well-hidden anger below the surface.

"We'll make them pay for that." Bo-Katan stood up swiftly, sliding her helmet back over her head. "Gather the remaining men, we head for Mandalore tonight. The people need a leader, and, and we need to stand united."

0

Gar Saxon paced the pilot center of his personal Kom'rk Class, the Red Menace. His ship on auto-pilot as they sat deep in the void of interplanetary space, orbiting a long-lost rogue planet they had made their temporary home until their ruler had made his presence known again. Rage bubbled below the cold, serious features of Gar Saxon's face. He just learned the news mere hours ago, during the attacks no less.

The far outsiders, those damned far outsiders had attacked his home, his people. Mandalore had no quarrel with the Imperium, his people were happy to stay out of the way as these brutish savages bulldozed a chunk of the galaxy. He knew they were willing to overlook everything they did as long as they left them the hell alone, and he knew this because he was too.

But now they dragged them into it, declared war on an already fractured people, murdered hundreds, and left them without even a puppet to command them. Gar then remembered Maul, and this made him snap. Picking up his helmet off of one of the many consoles, the Mandalorian of the renowned Clan Saxon snapped almost entirely, throwing his helmet into at one of the curved walls of the chamber, the beskar leaving a massive dint.

Where, is, Maul! Gar screamed in his thoughts, the sheer anger coursing through his veins so energetic it could have powered the very ship he was on. They needed him now more than ever, his leadership, his status as Mand'alor would be more than enough to unify their people and defend themselves against this aggression. Even those damn loyalist fools would be able to put their foolish ideology aside and join in protecting their own home, but where, was, Maul?

As Saxon picked up his helmet, half ready to throw it again in sheer rage, he heard the coms at the center console chime. Walking over to it slowly, he hit the button to answer the hail. As he did, the contemptuous form of Bo-Katan Kryze, the damned loyalist commander flashed as a hologram. The sight of her alone almost caused the Mandalorian to have yet another outburst.

"All peoples of Mandalore. I am broadcasting this message to all of you throughout the Galaxy. Today, we have been struck by an enemy that has become all too familiar in recent months. As the 'Great War' rages on from Axum to Raxus, from Tatooine to Hypori, we have been forced into this growing, all-consuming conflict."

"Earlier today, Prime Minister Almec was murdered in the very throne room I broadcast this message from. And not only this, his Assassins then proceeded to massacre hundreds of civilians and Mandalorian Protectors. They murdered our brothers, our sisters, our friends, and our families. This, in the plainest terms, is a crime unforgivable. A declaration of war against not just the remaining military and political forces of our system, but one against the very existence of the Mandalorian people itself. I have reason to believe this newly arrived far outsider threat, the Imperium of Mankind as they call themselves, seeks nothing short but our total annihilation. They seek nothing short but the total destruction of our culture, our history, and everything we hold dear."

"What is worse is that, divided as we are, we stand no chance against the force that approaches us from the gates of oblivion. For millennia we have stood fractured, dissolving, fighting each other. True Mandalorians Verus Deathwatch, Deathwatch Verus New Mandalorians, Deathwatch Verus Supercommando, this has to end here! An enemy we could have never imagined has declared us their enemy and seeks our destruction. I call a new meeting of The Clans, even the dead and forgotten, even the unforged. We will stand united once more, even if it is for the last time. For the Ancestors! For Kad Ha'rangir! For Mandalore!"

As the speech finished, sounds of thunderous cheers and applause echoed through the speakers of the command console. Moving back over to the discarded, thrown helmet, Gar Saxon slowly picked it up, staring deep into the golden T-shaped visor of his ancestral armor. The man finally slipped it back on as he sat back down at his command console, sending a holo-wave message to the rogue planet below.

"All remaining Supercommandos. Join me in orbit, we leave for Mandalore."