26 BBY, four years later
"The last squad to finish will clean every weapon in the armory for a week!" Hamar yelled to his cadets that were currently running laps around the military complex in Tipoca City.
Karel zoomed in closer with his helmet's rangefinder, having finally gotten his first set of armor when he turned ten years old. It wasn't made of beskar, but of a durasteel alloy. In Clan Jansek, younglings were not given a suit of full beskar armor until they were adults and had proven themselves worthy of said metal. Before that they would use a training armor made from inferior metals to get them used to the weight of the armor, and the only beskar you would be allowed to carry until then was your kar'ta, which you would forge yourself. Hamar had kept this tradition of their clan alive when he started teaching Karel how to forge beskar, a skill he himself had learned from his own father. The only beskar Karel had ever forged was the one he was currently wearing, and he wore it with pride knowing what it represented. He shifted again on the support beam he was sitting on, and looked down as two squads of commandos faced off against each other in a combat session.
"Well, this is interesting," he said after noticing the two squads were Omega and Zeta.
"Karel, get down here," Hamar ordered through their comlink frequency, "it's your turn to run the course."
"Entertainment will have to wait," he muttered to himself as he began climbing down the support structure. When he was a few feet from the ground he leapt down in front of his father and the clones.
"Dismissed," Hamar told his training company, Delta Company, and they split off in groups of four with their respective squadmates.
"Good luck, vod," one of the cadets said to Karel. The clone in question gave him a playful punch on the arm. He smiled and walked away with the rest of his squad.
"Thanks, Jaig," Karel replied with a smile of his own. It had taken him a while to learn the names of the clones and know how to differentiate them, but he had learnt to distinguish specific markings on their uniforms and subtle differences in their speech and body language. Karel came to stand in front of his father, who had just finished speaking with the cadets of Tracyn Squad. They saluted at their training sergeant before turning sharply and walking away.
"Which one am I running today?" he asked as they started walking together a short distance away from the clones.
"It's a new one, I just programmed it and you'll help me test it out," his father replied as they separated to go to their respective positions. Karel headed for the start line and Hamar went to wait at the finish line. Delta Company stood at the side of the training course ready for the show.
Karel checked his blaster carbine one last time and took a deep breath. The chronometer started counting as he ran to the nearest cover. He peeked his head from the right to spot two droids laying suppressive fire on him. He moved to the left end of the barrier, took aim, and fired, disposing of the targets with two well-placed shots. In front of him were two opposite guard towers at each side and they simultaneously opened fire at him with repeating blasters. He rolled to avoid the incoming shots and fired back, taking out the droids. Another droid appeared at his right where his cover would not work and he destroyed that one before it had a lock on him. He sprinted through the open field at the middle of the training course but as he was crossing, four more droids emerged in front of him. He quickly took out three of them but the last one managed to land a hit on his blaster, disabling it. He switched to holding it as a baton and used it to beat the droid before rushing for cover and drawing his blaster pistols.
"Don't lose a hand!" one of the clones yelled to him from the sideline. Karel glanced to see the one teasing him was Lylek, the heavy weapons and recon specialist of Rapier Squad, and known joker of the unit. Clones didn't have many ways to spend what little free time they had so they mostly spent it making fun of each other. And that was a double-edged sword for Karel, since his father's commandos had taken him in as one of their own.
"You couldn't beat me in a melee even if I lost both!" he retorted. Karel knew he had won this round when the only reply he got were the laughs coming from the side and no further comments from Lylek. He peeked over the wall and a blaster bolt graced the dome of his helmet.
"Haar'chak, that was close," he muttered as he heard the clipping sound that came when removing a power pack.
He jumped to the side and while in the air shot two droids dead. Landing on his back behind a short wall he rolled to lie prone and shot the last remaining targets dead. He raced to the finish line where his father was waiting for him with his hands behind his back. An alarm blared and the chronometer stopped as he crossed the line, indicating the end of the simulation.
"You missed one," Hamar said.
Karel was certain the chronometer wouldn't have stopped if he had left a droid standing, or the alarm blared if he hadn't crossed the finish line. He turned to the training course and, as expected, found that all the droids had been disabled. Most had a bit of smoke coming out from the blaster shots and the one he beat up with his rifle was definitely neutralized. He turned to look at the clones and they looked confused as well. He had just finished an unknown course with flying colors, set a new record time and achieved all the objectives he'd been given. What could he be not getting?
"No, I'm pretty sure I got all of them," he answered.
He turned to Hamar for an explanation as a blaster bolt hit his right chestplate, making him fall to the floor with enough force to make him feel a bantha is standing on top of him. His father came into his field of view, his blaster still in his hand with a smoking barrel, and the list of questions inside Karel's mind only kept growing.
"You let your guard down and you got hurt because of that. Never let your guard down. If you do, you or someone else might get hurt, or worse."
That explained everything.
"Noted," Karel said with a groan as his father helped him sit up. "You could have used the stun setting."
"It wouldn't have worked as well," his father explained as he stood up. Jango had observed the whole exchange from the side and Hamar went to talk to him as a few of the cadets approached Karel, not having dared to interrupt whatever lesson their sergeant was trying to teach his son.
"Has he ever done that before?" one of them asked.
"Not without warning," Karel replied. He took off his helmet and could feel the smoke of burnt tibanna gas hit his nostrils.
"You okay?" another one asked.
"Yeah, just help me up." The two cadets held him from the arms and pulled him up. He looked down and started rubbing the spot in the center of his right chest plate where the shot hit him. "Osik, that hurts..."
"The durasteel armor absorbed most of the energy, but that's definitely going to leave a mark," said Axe, the medic of Nebula Squad.
Hamar returned from his talk with Jango and the cadets stepped back from Karel, turning their attention to their sergeant.
"We're done here for today. Go with Fenn for your fighter training," Hamar instructed Karel. They had become close with the native of Concord Dawn during their time on Kamino. Hamar turned to the rest of his cadets and they stood at attention. "Go back to your barracks, training is finished for today."
**********
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be with your father?" Mira called to Karel from behind as he walked to the flight simulators section in Tipoca City. She caught up to him and they kept walking together. She had also become close to them and the four had become as close to a family as they could be.
"Got fighter training," Karel replied. He kept rubbing the sore spot on his chest and Mira frowned at his behavior, but she figured he was just tired.
"What's wrong? Hand-to-hand combat got a little too exciting?" she asked teasingly. He scoffed and moved his hand so she could see the charred paint on his armor.
"Not exactly. Dad wanted to teach me something." Her eyes widened at the implication of what happened as she carefully pressed her hand against the armor plate.
"Wait. He did this? He shot you?" she asked in disbelief. She was still not very familiar with how Mandalorians raised their children despite being close friends with a few of them.
"Yeah. He said he wanted to teach me a lesson," Karel replied casually.
"And what lesson could that possibly be?!" Her tone was rising with every word and Karel could see the anger in her eyes.
"Never let your guard down or you get hurt," Karel replied. He winced as Mira grabbed his arm and pulled him to start walking away from the flight simulators. "Ow! What was that for?"
"You Mandalorians will be the death of me," she muttered to herself. "I'm taking you to the infirmary. You need to get treated right now! And while we're there I am going to have a very serious talk with your father."
"Calm down, it's not that bad," Karel replied as he stopped walking and freed his wrist from her hold. "Are you coming over for dinner tomorrow?"
She sighed, frustrated at how casually he shrugged off what had happened. His more playful attitude had quickly returned now despite the pain that he was trying to ignore. Yes, he probably should get checked before the bruise got worse, but he doesn't think it's that serious. Besides, he really didn't want to miss fighter training, that was probably his favorite when not allowed to leave Kamino.
"Yes. Go before Fenn gets mad at you for being late." She leaned down and pointed a finger at him. "And when you see your father you tell him he's going to get an earful from me next time I see him."
Karel laughed as he turned and kept walking towards the flight simulators. Despite her reputation as a tough woman that cared only for herself, Mira could sometimes show her soft side with those close to her, something Karel had come to experience first hand many times over the past four years or so.
"Sure thing, Mom."
She froze in her place and her breath caught in her throat, not knowing if she heard him right. For a moment she thinks he said that out of spite, but she finds no bitterness in his laugh as he walks away without turning back. If he was being honest, she was the closest thing he had to a mother now, and while he knew she could never replace his real mother, he figured she was the closest thing he'd ever get. And besides, Karel was no fool, he's noticed the looks she and his father have exchanged, and he sometimes wished he saw it too if he wasn't so busy with his work and raising him.
Karel quickly shook those thoughts away as he reached the flight simulators of Tipoca City. As expected, there was no one there but himself and Fenn, who was sitting on a simulator's wing as he read a datapad. The clones had already finished their training for the day, so they had the installations all for themselves.
"You're late," Fenn said looking up from his datapad.
"Sorry Fenn, I got held up," Karel replied. Fenn noticed the mark on his chest but didn't pay much attention to it.
"Blaster training gone wrong?" he asked. His voice was neutral except for his Concord Dawn accent that had only begun to be lost after so many years away from his homeworld.
"Sort of, it's a long story. You'll hear it tomorrow at dinner, I guarantee," Karel answered. He really didn't want to explain the whole thing again, and fortunately Fenn seemed to understand.
"So long as you don't let your father cook, I'm happy to wait," Fenn replied. Hamar had pretty basic cooking skills, but he was not as good in the kitchen as his son or his late wife, so he often let Karel take care of the food when they had visits.
They both laughed as they walked to their respective simulators and carried on with the training. It had been, as Karel expected, the highlight of his day, despite having to sit through the pain for a few extra hours. Fenn had finally let him train with the Fang fighter simulation and it had been everything he hoped for, and he couldn't wait to finally get the chance to fly the real thing one day.
He returned to his and his father's apartment and walked into his room's personal refresher. He started removing his armor as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He removed the top part of his flight suit and carefully took off his black form-fitting undershirt made from a material similar to that of the clone armor body glove. He grimaced once he saw the bruise on his chest. It had taken a purple, almost black coloring, and was about the size of his closed fist, maybe bigger. He graced his fingers over the wound and hissed at the sharp pain that followed. He started regretting not listening to Mira when the main door hissed open.
"Karel? Are you here?" his father called from outside.
"Over here!" Karel shouted. Hamar entered the refresher to find Karel applying a bacta patch to himself. "Your lessons do leave their mark."
"That's so you don't forget them. Are you okay?" Hamar asked as he leaned down to help his son with the patch.
"Yeah, the bacta will take care of it in a few days. But you got a very angry Mira on the hunt now," Karel replied. He laughed quietly and tried not to move too much as doing so would cause the bruise to hurt even more. "And you're her prey," he added.
Karel took note of the slightest blush in his father's face when he mentioned Mira. For a moment he considered probing further, until he remembered something else.
"I saw that Jango went to talk to you. What did he want?" Karel asked.
"Since your thirteenth birthday is approaching I had to talk to him about us leaving for your verd'goten," Hamar explained. He started applying a spray-bandage across Karel's chest to hold the patch and protect the wound.
"And what did he say?" Karel asked. The verd'goten was a major event in a Mandalorian youth's life. It was, after all, the transition from child to adult, and he was very excited since they hadn't been able to leave Kamino in almost a year now.
"He gave us five days. It should be enough for what I have planned."
"Is it fighting another beast? Because I'm not going back to Scarif to fight another blixus. Too many tentacles."
"But Scarif was great, it was almost like a vacation," Hamar replied. He finished applying the bandage and took a step back. He started laughing to himself as he remembered that lesson.
"For you perhaps. You were taking the sun while that thing was trying to eat me. Not the way I expected to pass my tenth birthday," Karel exclaimed sarcastically. He picked up his belongings and walked out of the refresher.
"Please, it wasn't that bad. You passed the lesson after all," Hamar replied as he followed Karel.
"No thanks to you," Karel shot back, frustrated. He slammed his helmet on the desk next to his bed and turned back to look at his father leaning against the doorframe. "Do you have any idea just how angry a female blixus trying to protect her eggs is? Because I do."
"And yet here you are. You fought the blixus and came out victorious. Now, no matter how long you live or what you face, you will never fear again."
Karel sighed, tired of the bickering between the two of them. They weren't actually fighting, and he wasn't angry with him, but scenarios like these were not uncommon between them. This was just a way for them to blow off steam from time to time.
"Why do I even bother?" he muttered. He chuckled and Hamar laughed as Karel turned back to his armor and started cleaning the charred paint from the chest plate.
"I'll go make you some shig, I think there is some uj'alayi as well."
Karel nodded as Hamar exited the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He kept absently cleaning his armor, but his mind was somewhere else, too busy thinking about the verd'goten. In just a few months he would turn thirteen years old and officially be considered an adult in Mandalorian culture. If he passed the verd'goten that is.
He shook his head to clear those thoughts away. Of course he would pass, he'd trained his entire life for this. He kept trying to convince himself he would succeed. He'd never heard of anyone not passing their verd'goten, but he can only guess it would be a great disgrace both for himself and his family. What would his father think of him if he did not pass?
"What if I fail?" he whispered.
"What?"
Karel looked behind him to find his father carrying a tray with his food, confusion etched in his face.
"Nothing. I, uh, I..." Karel sighed, tired of pretending. "Dad, if I... I don't know... failed for some reason." His voice was small and insecure as he scrambled to put his thoughts into words. "W-would you still... love me?"
"Come here." He quickly left the tray on the desk and hugged Karel tight, but was careful not to put too much pressure on his dressings. "Karel, of course I would still love you. You're my son, and nothing will ever change that." Karel looked up shyly, not daring to make eye contact with his father. "You know, I too thought I wouldn't pass when I was your age."
"Really?" Karel couldn't believe what he was hearing. His father was the most courageous and fearless person he'd ever met. He thought there was nothing in the known galaxy that could make his father nervous. He had seen him cry, bravery was not the same as coldness and grief was another thing entirely. To know that his father had been as insecure as him at one point shattered the almost perfect image he had of him.
"Yes, it was a few weeks before my birthday," Hamar explained as they sat on the bed. "I didn't want to tell anyone because I felt they would think I was being weak. Your grandmother noticed and told me I should talk about it with your grandfather."
"And you did?"
"Not at first. I thought he would be mad at me for some reason. Eventually I worked up the nerve to tell him how I was feeling."
"And what did he say?" Karel asked incredulously. He remembered his ba'buir as a fair and forgiving man, but he had also heard he was not someone you wanted to anger.
"He understood everything." Hamar shifted and turned to look Karel in the eye. "Karel, the trials aren't meant to be some sort of impossible mission you'd need a miracle to complete. They are more of a demonstration of what you have learned. I'm not planning to throw you against a greater krayt dragon, give you a stick and tell you to kill it." They laughed and Karel relaxed hearing his father's words. "Yes, I will challenge you. But I'm not going to put you against anything I'm not absolutely sure you're ready for."
"Thanks Dad, I really needed to hear that." Karel gave his father a light side hug, careful not to overwork himself with his current condition.
"Come on, eat your dinner and get some rest. You really need it."
Karel smiled at his father as he stood to leave. Hamar smiled back at him as he left and the door closed. Karel looked at his dinner, then back at his armor which had been discarded to the side during their talk. He picked up his helmet from where he had left it and held it in his hands.
"I'll be alright."
