Six Months Later...
Though most of his time here upon Remnant had been spent at New Mandalore now, he couldn't help but feel as if the majority had been spent on the run, not settled down in what was essentially a promised land for him and his people. It was... strange, not being on the move for so long. Even back with his brothers serving the Republic, he and his were never in one place long, usually in and out from a world in a few days or weeks at most. To have spent so long now at New Mandalore, much of said time spent training and guiding the actions of his kin when they didn't have a lead on any Beskar shipments.
Mercenary work and bounty hunting made up the majority of the work his brothers and sisters took on, with the usual price being in Beskar. They had a high price tag, but they always got the job done. Sure, there were some injuries here and there but they hadn't suffered any actual casualties since their last large-scale operation against the Cultists near Alexandria. Several squads of warriors had now become clad in full Beskar armor, and their reserve, while somewhat low after everyone had obtained a Beskar helmet, was steadily climbing back up from both what their outbound kin brought back and what they'd pulled from the mines.
Thanks to the ample supply of droids, they'd carved out a space for themselves that was more than large enough for everyone, their vehicles, equipment and the factories they were planning on establishing. They already had a plan for what they'd make with the first few facilities, those being blasters, disruptors and the electronics that went into their armors, with the fourth line being kept in reserve for the time being, at least until Ruby and the Armorer's pet project was finished with prototype phase. That being said, they'd already gone through three prototypes, and had started on the fourth after accounting for the lessons learned from the previous versions.
By his own opinion from what he'd seen from number 3 so far, he'd say that it was in a more than satisfactory state for what they were aiming for. Nimble, strong, robust, and able to shoulder the weight a full suit of Beskar plates that thick without issue. Even still, they weren't satisfied, citing that while it was good, they wanted it to be more modular and easier to work with... he just hoped that #4 would be their golden goose, because it was very far from an inexpensive project. A worthwhile project, yes, but very expensive nonetheless.
"Helluva thing we've done, Mand'alor." He turned his head to the source of the voice, though he needed no introduction to the newcomer as he nodded his head towards his second. As he stepped up, Marcus handed him a glass of brandy, taking Midnight off guard somewhat but not necessarily fazing him with the offer. Nodding in thanks to his lieutenant, Midnight removed his helmet with one hand and accepted the glass with the other, gesturing for his right hand man to join him after setting his helmet down. "Appreciate it. So, what's our next move, boss?"
"Continue to make this place more homely, expand our ranks and continue leaving our mark on this world. Ruby is safe now, and she's settled into the daily routine here nicely, so I can keep my focus on other things." Midnight explained in a casual tone before taking a sip from the drink as Marcus sat down beside him. "My main goal now is making our people stronger, better developing and fortifying New Mandalore... that being said, you said earlier that you'd picked up some more recruits again from another job, yes?"
"Yeah, forty. I've selected a suitable job to serve as a trial-by-fire for them, as per the norm. Those who don't survive aren't cut out to be Mando'ade, but their children will be taken in as Foundlings, and their spouses will be allowed to come along as well, albeit to serve in a more civilian occupation, like manning the factories. Those who do survive, they and their immediate families will be welcomed into the fold with open arms."
"And our current count of warriors? Speaking mainly of foot soldiers, that is."
"Five hundred, even. Including families, there's just under a thousand in the Mando'ade not including children. New mechanics and engineers are being trained and taught, and we're putting together a program to further develop our current pool of Grand Army of the Republic vehicles. Evolutions to the AT-TE, BARC Speeder, LAAT Gunships, Y-Wing Bombers and ARC-170s. Should have everything in full swing before the year is out." Marcus explained as he took as sip from his own glass, setting it down a moment later as he leaned forward and rested his forearms against his knees. "Speaking of all that, I greenlit several more factory spaces to be cleared out for future production of vehicles."
"Good. Now, give me an update on our Beskar reserves and how much unrefined we have."
"The Armorer and Pearl's refinery facility was finished last night about 9 hours ago, and has already refined 2.3 long tons of Beskar ore into pure ingots, bumping our total stock up to 3.5 tons. As for Beskar still unrefined, we have a little over 60 tons, although after all the impurities are removed that's bound to see a significant weight reduction... still, even if I'm all but certain that we're sitting on most of the Beskar in the world, that which isn't ours we still must reclaim. It belongs to the Mando'ade, and no one else." His update brought a smile to Midnight's face, as he reclined back in his seat and set both hands behind his head after finishing and setting down his glass. New Mandalore was incredibly rich in unrefined Beskar ore, and even at the rate they were going, geographical scans showed they hadn't even scratched the surface of Beskar deposits beneath and around them.
Nevertheless, he agreed with Marcus on the note of reclamation. It was their birthright, nobody else had a legitimate claim to it. This he and the rest of the Mando'ade universally agreed upon, and the zealotry in reclaiming what belonged to them among the ranks was, if he were being perfectly honest, rather invigorating. That being said, 3.5 tons of Beskar was a very considerable amount, and could be used to forge new armor and weapons for many a warrior... even more so, considering many warriors preferred a Beskar Alloy for their armor. Beskar with carbon added into the mix to reduce weight without any significant loss in protection, still impervious to damage from any Grimm or weapon their enemies could field, but didn't stand up as well against Beskar Weapons as pure Beskar armor did. He would've thought to speak against this, but apparently this wasn't an uncommon practice for their more recent ancestors due to Beskar shortages.
Still, he felt that, even if it was a majority Beskar, that their armor and weapons should remain pure. Although he saw the necessity of it, given that it was easier to make, nearly as protective and served as an acceptable stop-gap until they had a large enough reserve that outfitting every single warrior with just a breastplate, pauldrons and a helmet wouldn't deplete their entire stock. It was also more appropriate that those non-combat personnel who were still being trained how to fight did not have pure Beskar for the time being, although he'd be remiss if he were to let a single Mandalorian be unskilled enough that they couldn't take down a dozen of their peers among normal hunters on their own. Even if a Mando was not a warrior by trade, they were by their culture. Didn't matter if they were a frontline warrior, a factory worker or a pre-school teacher, they were a Mandalorian before all else, and they had a reputation to uphold as the Greatest Warriors the galaxy had ever seen.
"How many warriors are equipped in a full suit of either pure Beskar or a Beskar alloy?" Midnight turned out a question after a few moments of silent thought on both warriors' ends, prompting Marcus to look back at him before reclining in his seat in turn as he answered.
"400 even as of last night. Every warrior among our ranks who battled the cultists back at New Alexandria is in a full suit of Beskar or Beskar alloy, and all ARC Troopers and Commandos have donned full Beskar since they're the Honor Guard. Most wearing a full suit are in Beskar Alloy, but that will eventually change, given a few more weeks or months. The Armorer is still training Pearl and eight others to be Armorers as well, and told me they'll all be ready to step into the role demanded of them before the year is out." He nodded in affirmation to the information, before turning his head over to the side as he heard the door to his training room open, with both Ruby and Mercury stepping out. They were wearing training gear, helmets notwithstanding since that was real beskar on both of them, and they both seemed quite scuffed up, albeit Ruby's worse-so. "You kids have a good training session?"
"Yeah, although it's sometimes a little boring with Ruby mostly doing aura training... still, whenever we do spar it's fun, even if I am the better fighter right now." Mercury answered in a cheeky tone whilst resting his forearm on Ruby's shoulder, who for her part seemed quite content with the results of their training today, more so than usual. Chuckling lightly, Midnight stood upright and began approaching the two children, dropping to a knee to look his daughter more closely to eye level (even if he did still somewhat tower over her a few inches).
"You seem more chipper than usual. Discovered a new move today?" His daughter merely shook her head, before pulling up the vibroknife she kept on hand from it's scabbard on her thigh. She focused for a moment, amazing Midnight as a corona of pitch-black energy enveloped the blade and with a single slash, extended out in an expanding arc a few inches further than the blade. That being said of course, he could feel that even that small slash had completely drained her aura, showing him that it evidently had a notably large cost on one's own aura to use offensively. Still, it brought a genuinely giddy smirk to his face as he witnessed his daughter had unlocked her semblance. With a gradually rising laugh, he scooped his daughter up in his arms in a big hug, before rising to full height and transferring his hold to be just under her armpits. "Hah! I knew with so much training you'd unlock your semblance eventually! I'm proud of you, now you just need to train it further, hone it to perfection... think you can do that, kiddo?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna make it super powerful and make you proud, daddy!" Ruby threw her arms up into the air, a faint corona of energy surrounding her as her aura visibly recovered. Because of Astaroth's presence within her and it's merging with her soul, Ruby's aura was visually very different than any other aura he'd ever seen, and recovered very quickly, too. Where others would glow slightly upon tanking a blow, Ruby's appeared like a corona of black energy that seemingly absorbed light from around it. Granted, his own aura was rather peculiar but from his reading there was precedence for such visual effects such as his own... no such thing was found for Ruby's, however. It was strange, but it didn't matter to him.
"That's what I like to hear... now, you've been training for a couple hours, now. How about we go fishing?" The way she squealed in delight answered his question, and with a muted laugh, Midnight set his daughter down and turned back to Marcus, seeing him smiling fondly upon his son as the boy rolled back his sleeve and boasted about a freshly-wrapped injury on his forearm. A moment later, Marcus pulled what looked like three tickets from one of the pouches in his armor, successfully honing the boy's attention in before gesturing for him to come along, and but a moment later, his top lieutenant and the man's son had left, leaving just him and Ruby to prepare for their fishing trip...
After many hours spent on the water, Midnight had gathered the whole of the Mando'ade by the shore, with himself, his top lieutenants and the Honor Guard at the forefront of the large formations. All donned their armor, all bore their helmets, and those who were not warriors observed from further back, their faces bare for the world to see despite not being the point of attention. No, tonight was dedicated to a special ceremony as the full moon shone down upon them. Two large formations formed at either side of a large walkway they'd made, lowering down to a cement pad and stairs that led into the water. The lowest part of the platform was submerged to around an adult's ankles, and around it in a half-circle all the warriors of the Mando'ade gathered, torches and banners held high lining either side of the walkway leading back to the inside of the covert, behind them the ranks of warriors who bore witness to today's ceremony, and behind them those who held the honor of sounding the drums.
And although one might've expected Midnight to be the one to guide the ceremony, he instead stood at the corner of the formation on the left side of the pathway, observing quietly as the event played out. Standing in the water, her back turned to the covert and a singular wooden bowl held in both hands with the water of the mines filling the majority of the bowl, the Armorer patiently awaited the recipient, who would tonight properly swear in to follow the path of the Mand'alor. They'd been learning for over six months now, and had shown they did truly understand and hold dear to them the Canons of Honor, the Resol'nare, to their heart. For this, tonight, they would finally be formally inducted into the Mando'ade, finally become a true foundling. This ceremony to be the first of many for the children within their ranks.
A moment later, Ruby Rose, the yet unofficially adopted daughter of the Mand'alor, emerged from the shadows. Around a newly silver visor, a crimson trim had been laid in, and the young girl wore a mostly black and red tunic and trousers. Silently, she strode purposefully down the open path, nodded to her father and receiving one back in turn as she passed, and after descending the final steps into the water and lowering herself down to her knees, halted before the Armorer. Just as she lowered to her knees, palms set down upon her thighs, the Armorer turned to face the young girl, raising the bowl slightly before she spoke.
"I swear, on my name and the names of the Ancestors..." She began, prompting for the drums to silence as the girl swore in.
"I swear, on my name and the names of the Ancestors," Ruby turned back, not budging an inch in the cold water despite it rising up to around her hips.
"That I shall walk the way of the Mand'alor and follow the Canons of Honor."
"That I shall walk the way of the Mand'alor and follow the Canons of Honor."
"And the words of the Creed shall forever be forged in my heart."
"And the words of the Creed shall forever be forged in my heart." Lowering her head silently as she spoke the last few words, the Armorer gently tipped the bowl, dripping the water down upon Ruby's helmet and properly baptizing her into the Way of the Mand'alor...
"This is the Way."
"This is the Way."
"This is the Way." The monotone, albeit loud collection of all the warriors of the Mando'ade's voices rung out, allowing Ruby to rise to her feet, and for Midnight to step forward and halt by her side. They all knew this would be happening, now it was just to make the matter official.
"I am adopting Ruby as my own. She shall be my Apprentice. Add her to the Song." He spoke simply, in a low but clearly heard tone. Although he couldn't see it behind her mask, he could almost hear an elated tone cut through the monotone used for the ceremony. And for this ceremony and the matter of family, he'd adopted a new name for the girl to have for her own.
"This is the Way." Midnight returned the phrase as appropriate, before allowing the Armorer to continue. "Let it be written in song that Midnight is accepting this Foundling as his Daughter. You are now Dha (Dark) Ruby Rose. Mandalorian Apprentice."
"This is the Way." The clan spoke, prompting the Armorer to then turn to Midnight and bow slightly as she properly regarded him.
"Many journeys await her, Man'alor. Just as there have been, and are yet to be for you, you must take Dha Ruby on hers." He regarded the Armorer's statement with a nod and returned as dictated, before turning his gaze down to Ruby, now officially his daughter and Apprentice. The girl met his eyes momentarily despite his visor, before turning her eyes back towards the water, taking in the moon's crystal-clear reflection at her feet with a smile, before looking forward, and unto a far more glorious future...
A/N: Sorry if this feels a little rushed, guys. Might refine this chapter's ceremony later, might not, I just wanted to get through this one admittedly and onto the larger story. This is the end of the Prologue, and yes, I know the Prologue is the length of some Novels, but "Volume 0" finally concluded at more chapters than any actual volume of the show has episodes, we can finally get onto Volume 1. From here forward, The perspective of the MC will be shifting, you know how this song and dance goes. V1E1 should be out before the weekend's out, be on the lookout for the new chapter in the next day or two.
As always, thank you to everyone who's liked and followed me and my story, and another thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story and my others, I do truly appreciate it. As ever my PMs are open, if you ever wish to chat or ask me any questions, I always try to respond in a timely manner.