Sana Jurmar made her way into the massive grey and silver basilica. Months ago, this building housed the ruling council of the New Mandalorian government. When first Vizsla then Maul took power, every single one of these councilmen were either killed or made to join the new rulers of the planet, leaving the building abandoned and in disarray. And now, it serves a whole new function, a massive, makeshift barracks for the massive amount of men and women pouring to Mandalore to defend their people.
Sana walked past slowly as she neared the entrance of the colossal building, staring at a mural depicting the Mandalorian Wars shown on the adjacent street wall. She thought about the poetic significance of this mural, all who walked the way of the Mandalore coming together once again for a common goal. But this time, the goal wasn't one of conquest or crusade, but one of self-defense, a goal of survival against an impossibly strong enemy.
As she finally made it into the building, she was greeted with a nearly endless sea of beds, weapon containers, metal boxes, and even the occasional desk. Next to this sea met another one of an equal weight of both men and women. Some wore their traditional Mandalorian armor, and some simply either didn't have it or opted to roam without it. Still, these people roamed the massive open space, and people of all stripes, though mostly human, continued their tasks.
Some exercised to keep their bodies in shape for the coming storm, some cleaned and maintained their weapons, or practiced reloading and close combat skills, and others simply sat on their beds, waiting for whatever was to come next. As the Twi'lek made her way down the hall, she met eyes with one man clad in tan Mandalorian armor, wearing a helmet with 3 distinctive claw marks down the forehead and visor. This was the man she was told to meet.
"Kal Skirata!" The Twi'lek exclaimed as she ran up to the man. Next to him stood 5 men, all in pitch-black Katarn class battle armor. Clone Commandos, she wondered what they were doing here at first but she let the thought leave her mind as she finally met the man Bo-Katan had told her to meet.
The man looked the Twi'lek up and down and sighed loudly, removing his helmet as the commandos around him stared under their own. "If you're the one who is supposed to lead whatever crazy shit Watchy cooked up, well, I guess she wanted us dead more than I thought," Kal said plainly, staring up at the glass ceiling and the tower far above them, holding the Mandalorian Throne.
The Twi'lek sat stunned for a minute, she didn't remotely expect this kind of response. She slowly removed her own helmet and looked at the former True Mandalorian and his adopted sons. "I, I'm sorry Sir Kal. I didn't wish to be-"
"No, kid, don't apologize. I didn't mean that as an insult, it's just my people and hers, well, we have history." The clearly aging man sat down as he explained himself. "So, in all seriousness, I heard Kryze had something cooked up, something about an old empire-era fleet in deep space. I take it by the look in your eyes, the museum exhibit in your hands, and the fact you came here screaming my name means you're the one she appointed to lead us."
"Well, I, no…" Sana explained slowly and nervously. "I was told to accompany you on this mission, I don't know why, but Bo-Katan told me she wanted you to lead the force expedition. I'm supposed to tag along to help you get there, that and well, get the shops started again."
The old man chuckled to himself. "Well, at least she doesn't want us that dead. No offense, but you don't strike me as the leading type. Did she say anything about jurisdiction and who I can take with?"
The Twi'lek nodded slowly in response. "She said you can take whoever you need to get this assignment done, so long as it doesn't interfere with other current projects being undertaken by the other teams."
"Good." Kal said back simply. "500 Mandos would probably be all I need then, some vehicles too. Spacecraft of course but also speeders and some light armor, those stations are probably massive, and getting across them will need something fast-moving. Armor of course for if, and probably when, the old defense systems kick up or we need to ram into a door to get through. And another thing. Only Clones and old True Mandalorians, that is non-negotiable."
"Why is that?" Sana asked back, confused at the sudden sternness in the old Mando's voice.
"Too risky to trust this operation with anyone but them. If I'm going to lead this, I need people I know I can trust to follow my orders. Watchies and Civvies would likely either get in the way or get us killed. No offense to you, of course." Kal said. As he finished, one of the Commandos standing behind him chimed in.
"If we can't trust Civvies, why are we taking this one with us, sir?" The Commando asked bluntly, causing the aging Mando to look behind him and exhale sharply.
"Niner, she's important here. That data slate is probably the last one of its kind, and it belongs to her family. It's probably our only key into the stations." Kal said, the sternness of his tone making his feeling apparent.
Niner stood silent for a minute before responding. "I'm sorry, Kal'buir." He responded with genuine remorse pouring from his voice.
"It's ok son, just understand what we need here. From this point onwards, she's one of us." Kal responded sharply, the love he had for the men who stood behind him apparent in his features. "With that all being said, I never got your name, kid."
Sana stood silent for a moment before responding swiftly. "I'm Sana, Sana Jurmar."
"Nice to meet you, Sana Jurmar. I would like to introduce you to your new friends. Niner is the one who I just spoke to, the others are Darman, Atin, Fi, and Corr. They might not be of my own blood, but they are my sons through and through. We Mandalorians cherish family above all else, even those we make." Kal explained. "In time, I hope you may join our family too. With that all being said, welcome to the fold, Sana."