They were just twenty past midnight when they finally arrived at their next stop, a small town on the coast that had parts of its assets sitting atop the water. It was fairly lit, and the town guard, who were seemingly pretty well armed, diligently patrolled the perimeter atop walls and walkways that had supports digging into the sand below the waterline.
"This is Orroio, Mand'alor, a little fishing town with some stiff defenses. Five whole squads of Hunters call this port-town home, two of which are Veteran squads. I'd say we hold up here for the coming day and continue moving tomorrow morning. After all, even if she's been sleeping most of it, this much moving around must be exhausting for the little one." Marcus said as he hopped out his driver's side door, meeting him on the sidewalk while referring to him by his new title. It was strange, being referred to as such, but satisfying nonetheless. Marcus had taken to calling him such as soon as he revealed his purpose, though it certainly wasn't unwelcome. His wife, her name he remembered to be Pearl, had come out and around with him, holding her son's hand as they came out. She wasn't quite what he was expecting, being a tall, lithe girl with long, jet black hair, wide blue eyes, and a somewhat pale complexion.
"Besides, if the people pursuing Ruby do catch up to us here, we won't be without assistance. We can afford to catch our breath here, at least for a little while." She backed him up, her voice a soft, almost delicate thing. She certainly wasn't what he expected a Mandalorian to court, but Midnight supposed she likely had other skills that made her capable outside of combat.
"Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hold up for a day. Still, best keep at least one of us on watch just in case." The suggestion received an affirmative nod from all present save the child asleep in his arms. Casting his gaze left, he looked at Ruby, her teddy bear was squished between her chest and his shoulder, and she was mumbling something in her sleep though it wasn't necessarily anything coherent. A low grumble escaped his own lips as he turned his eyes away and towards a quadruplet of approaching figures, all heavily armed with various weaponry though wearing friendly expressions...
"Welcome to Orroio, friends! Or, I at least hope you're friends. We don't get too many visitors out here, so you'll have to excuse us if we interrogate ya a little, eh?" The leader, a man about his height with short blonde hair and blue eyes greeted them, resting a sort of long sword on his shoulder. He wore a sort of brown leather duster with silvery steel plate both over and under, the latter being the case for his breastplate, the former being true for pauldrons, gauntlets and cuisses.
Midnight acknowledged him with a nod, before looking over to Marcus and repeating the action. Turning back to the leading man, he began to explain.
"Friendly. We only plan to hold up for a day or two, then we'll move on." He stated, keeping most of the details close to chest. However, this answer did little to date the man's curiosity.
"Well, glad we won't have us a battle at least. But, why the rush? You Hunters? You two wouldn't be taking your families with you if you were just going to or from a mission?"
"Ours is a... delicate matter, you could say. There's some bad people after the child, the sort that law enforcement would be no help with. You feel me?" Marcus interjected, drawing the group's attention over to himself while he nodded towards Ruby. "No idea why they're after her, but our best option right now is to make em eat our dust."
"Ah... I see..." The man nodded in understanding, before looking back to the others and nodding without a word. Immediately, all their weapons were stowed, and they all took up more casual stances. "Well, it clears up a few things, but doesn't answer all my questions. You hunters? Mercs?"
"Mandalorians. Marcus Ne'tra, current second to Mand'alor Midnight. My family follows for they too are Mandalorians... or at least being raised as such."
"Mandalorians?" The Man muttered to himself, before looking back at his comrades. "Uhh... any of you guys know what a 'Mandalorian' is?"
His inquiry was met with silent shrugs and shaken heads, all signaling that none of them knew what they were. A deep sigh escaped him, before he turned to look upon the two Mandos again, an unsure expression set upon his face as he quietly contemplated just what to do.
"Look, friends... you're admittedly an unknown quantity. We don't know how to size you up, which makes making a firm decision a little difficult, y'know? You're obviously warriors, if the arms and armor weren't enough indication, but other than that, we know next to nothing about you..."
"We won't be trouble, but we can't guarantee it won't follow us. Should such happen, we will help you fight it off. Whether they come here or not, we'll be out of your hair tomorrow morning." Midnight cut back in, reigning the attention back to himself. "I got several hours of sleep about 24 hours ago, so I'm good to help with anything like scouting or the sort should you require the aid."
"That..." the man stressed, though seemingly unintentionally as he rolled his neck and popped it several times. "That won't be necessary. Alright, Mister..?"
"Mand'alor." Marcus stated with arms crossed, getting a nod from the man.
"Well, Mand'alor... you and yours can hold up here for awhile. Just please don't make us regret our hospitality, alright?" Midnight regarded him with an affirmative nod, looking over at the child in his arms and noting that she was stirring. He chuckled lightly, before turning to face Marcus just as the welcoming party took their leave.
"We'll sleep in our respective vehicles. I'll take first watch." Marcus informed, nodding back to his own MRAP as he did so. "You need some rest, Mand'alor. Unlike you, I'm not sleep deprived yet."
"Appreciated, Marcus." He began, before propping up the child in his arms. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, looking him in the eyes as soon as she finished. "Marcus will take the first half of the night watch, so I'll be outside around when you wake up, alright?"
"Wait..." Ruby yawned again, nuzzling her head against his pauldron while making her small protest. "I-I'll be up with you..."
"No. You're still just a child, you need your sleep for good physical development. I'll be fine." He rebuked her, her yawn afterwards only driving home his point.
"But I-"
"No. When you wake up, we can explore the town a little."
"Really? Can we?" Her eyes widened slightly in excitement at the prospect of exploration.
"Focus on getting rest for now. We'll take a look around at 0830." Midnight finalized, shooting a final nod towards Marcus before retreating back into his MRAP, tucking Ruby into bed, and passing out within seconds of hitting his own bed...
He groaned slightly as he felt something like at him in one of the gaps in his armor, blinking rapidly a few times to get his bearings and looking at the clock on his helmet. It had only been about thirty minutes, had Marcus already found something? Was the enemy really so close?
"Umm... Mister Midnight?" It was Ruby's voice, he recognized, though why she was still awake he did not know. Turning his head to face her, he held an inquisitive look under his visor as he beheld Ruby trembling like a leaf, her teddy bear in hand and blanket still wrapped around herself. He moved his hand up, moving it in a circular motion to signal for her to say whatever it was she had to say. "I um... I-I had a scary dream... c-could I p-please sleep with you?"
"A nightmare?" He questioned, the child simply nodding slowly to acknowledge. He knew he should really start teaching Ruby self-reliance... but the terrified look on the child's face told him all he needed to know. This simply wasn't the right time to start, not with this situation, at least.
With a heavy sigh, he lifted his blanket, and gestures for Ruby to join him on his mattress, something Ruby very eagerly did, partially laying across him as he draped the blanket over the both of them.
"T-thank you..."
"Get some rest, you need it." He finished, wrapping a single arm around her somewhat protectively, before passing out again in an instant...
For once, Midnight actually yawned, cracking his neck back and forth as he sat upright. His clock told him that it was roughly 0925, meaning one of three things: Marcus fell asleep on the job, he decided to take the whole night, or something had happened to him...
"Ah, you're awake. Finally." It was Marcus's voice, behind him sitting in the shotgun seat. "Saw you and the little one cuddling, decided I'd let ya sleep in."
So that was it. He twisted his body back and forth, a rippling cascade of pops running down his back as he did so. Though not intentional, the sudden noise made Ruby shoot upright, immediately on alert.
"And the child is well rested, it seems." Marcus added with a slight chuckle. Throwing himself out the open door, he popped his head back in and added a final notice. "Come on out whenever you're ready. I'll hold down our little camp for now, gives me time to teach Mercury a few things."
He got up briskly, doing a few small stretches and readjusting his armor so it sat just right. Nine hours of sleep was the most he'd gotten for some time, so it was much appreciated. However, it did have the downside of him feeling slightly sluggish, not that it wasn't something he couldn't just power through, but it was a mild annoyance nonetheless.
"Mmh..." a small mumble escaped Ruby's mouth as she picked herself up and tried to mimic a few of his stretches. She did most of them wrong, but he appreciated the message nonetheless. As soon as they were both done, Midnight made a point to personally see to grabbing her a fresh change of clothes, brushing her disheveled hair back into something at least neat, and forcefully brushing her teeth since she didn't wanna. After finally washing her face off and changing into a fresh change of clothes, Midnight scooped her up and carried her out the back ramp as soon as it dropped, setting her down as soon as his boots were in the dirt road.
"Alright, lead the way, but stay within the town." He instructed, receiving a big, toothy smile in response as she started on their aimless path...
"Woah... what's that?" Ruby asked, pointing towards something. Looking at whatever it was she was pointing at, he saw a large white and black boat tied down to the dock, covered in a thin layer of snow...
"Some kind of yacht. Kinda like a luxury house on the water that doubles as a boat." He explained to her, before feeling a presence behind and a hand set itself on his shoulder, though not in a hostile way.
"It's also my home, kiddo." The man from earlier that morning revealed himself, his breath visible in the frigid air. "How you liking our little town, Mand'alor?"
"The child seems to enjoy it, but we'll still be moving on nonetheless in the morning."
"Damn shame. The guy you left on watch last night? He caught some of those bad folks you were talking about last night trying to sneak up on your vehicle... never seen a group of powerful warriors get demolished so fast, and with barely a sound, neither!" He informed, pointing back to where he could see his truck. "And his armor too... they shot and stabbed at him, didn't even bother to raise his aura. Just yanked all that damage with his armor like it was nothin, and not even a scratch either! Whatever his gear is, I know I want me somethin like that some day..."
"No." He said simply, turning to face the man with a scowl under his visor. He backed up, confused on why Midnight had suddenly taken a hostile tone. "Beskar belongs to the Mando'ade. For anyone not a Mandalorian or descendant of to wear our armor is an affront, an insult in its most base form."
"Woah, easy there, friend. Didn't mean no offense, alright?" He defended with his hands raised. He took a double-take of his armor, before giving him a curious look. "But... you are not wearing the same armor he does. In fact, yours isn't even made of the same material, is it?"
"His is ancestral, ancient, perhaps centuries older than he is. I was not fortunate enough to inherit my forbearer's armor, though I am Mandalorian nonetheless." He explained, before tapping his own armor. "Beskar is difficult to work with, and requires highly specialized tools to work with. Otherwise, fat chance you'll even be able to melt it down from an ingot."
"Wait... so it's... so that's what that is..." he mused, crossing his arms and gazing towards the skies in idle contemplation."
"What? What is what?"
"Follow me... the kid can come with, since she seems awfully attached to you, eh?"
He quietly did so, ushering her along as he followed the man onto his home boat...
"These ingots are used as a sort of high value currency in the Kingdoms, more valuable than gold, actually. Rare as all hell, but I got three." He explained, opening a cabinet door and pulling three ingots off the shelf. Midnight's eyes widened, and he curled his fists somewhat angrily as he saw it in the possession of someone completely unrelated to the Mando'ade. "You want it, pal? Well... I could give it to you, but you're gonna need to do something for me. A job, if you will. Interested?"
"What is this... job, you had in mind?" Midnight growled out, not trying at all to hide his anger.
"Some bandits need dealt with. We may got five squads of hunters here, but these guys are sneaky... we've tried tracking them down, but we haven't had any luck over a month's time. Find em, deal with em, and these three beauties are yours." He turned them, the light from the ceiling light reflecting off the wavy silver and shining in his visor. He knew real Beskar when he saw it, and here it was.
"Fine then... I'll be back before the night is out." He accepted the job, patting Ruby on the shoulder and turning her around with himself. "Ruby, let's go."
"Woah pal, I don't think bringing a child to something this dangerous is a good idea..."
"She's to be a Mandalorian. She has much to learn, and only so long to learn it all. It'll be a teachable moment." Was all Midnight said, taking Ruby out the door as he finished...
His rangefinder was an excellent tool, if on part of just how multi-purpose it was. He could obviously find ranges and zoom in with it, but it could also scan footprints and the sort. It had many uses, and that one happened to be very useful here.
"Is this where the bandits come from?"
"One attack was here. They had a smokescreen and covered their tracks, couldn't effectively chase them back when they retreated." The hunter informed him, getting a simple nod from the ARC Trooper.
"Not well enough to fool my rangefinder. I'll have them found shortly." He began following the footsteps, holding Ruby's hand in his left as he did so to ensure she couldn't wander off or lose him.
They trekked through dense foliage for several hours, the child surprisingly keeping quiet and not complaining the whole way through. Small thickets and brush, ferns and tall grass to accompany the many trees that littered the path, both alive and fallen. The path of footprints invisible to all but his rangefinder never lost its density, and he counted about nine or ten different tracks in all.
After a few more hours trekking into the night, they were prone on a berm overlooking a decently sized camp, with short wooden walls, each log sharpened to a spike at the end. It was evidently less meant as walls as they were just straight cover, not that it would help his targets in the slightest.
"Alright Ruby, take a look." Midnight handed her his binocs, and she looked down into the camp just as instructed. "How many do you see down there?"
"Um..." she started, counting each individual she saw in the camp. After about two minutes of silence, she took her eyes off the camp and onto him. "Twenty two. I think there might be more in that big tent at the end of the camp though."
"Good work. Now, stay low, watch, and learn." He pulled out his DC-15X, staying low to the ground, resting the barrel against the snow after padding it down with his forearm. "Soft-ish things like snow or sand bags can be padded down and utilized as a a sort of brace. Helps maintain stability and accuracy over prolonged usage."
"What about dirt or sand?"
"Too soft, most the time. Also run the risk of dirtying you're weapon, which isn't good." He explained, before training his sights down range. He steadied his breathing, pulled the stock into his shoulder, settled his cheek on the rifle, and splayed his legs so he lay as flat as humanly possible.
"Why do you do so much before shooting?"
"Makes recoil less prominent, transfers that kinetic energy better. Helps with accuracy, hitting what you're shooting at. When shooting to kill, every shot counts."
He continued to explain everything he did, from his stance, to breathing patterns, to explaining how to best set up a crows nest like their current one. Cover and concealment, advantages and disadvantages of certain terrain features, he explained it all for about an hour before actually making a move.
"Now... having good trigger control is another factor with good shooting. Just ease on the trigger, don't anticipate the recoil, aaaaaaand..." he took the shot, blasting a bandit that had shown much seniority in the head and killing him instantly, throwing much of the camp into chaos. "Now, usually-" *Bang!* "-you don't want to-" *Bang!* "-aim for the head. You wanna-" *Bang!* "-start with center mass. Aiming-" *Bang!* "-for the head or crotch is-" *Bang!* "-some generally more advanced-" *Bang!* "-stuff that you won't learn-" *Bang!* "-until you have a little more-" *Bang!* "-experience under your-" *Bang!* "-belt."
She watched with awe as he easily explained and shot simultaneously, dropping a grand total of ten bandits within just a few seconds. The rest of the bandits were still reeling, though had at least gotten collected enough to identify where he was shooting from and to take cover appropriately. They weren't returning fire, and they were staying down, not budging an inch.
"What do you do if they won't come out?" Ruby asked, watching as he reached back and pulled a blaster pistol from his hip, shooting back without looking and drawing a pained, dying scream from the wood line. Casting her gaze back, she saw a bandit hit the floor with a hole burned straight through his heart...
"If they stay down, if you got allies, you cover e'm as they flush the enemy out." He explained, standing upright, stowing his DC-15X and drawing out his DC-17M. "If you don't got allies, you wait for them to make their move... or flush e'm out yourself."
It took a little time, but he flushed out the last bit of hostile resistance, completely clearing the camp and standing amidst a clearing of scattered bodies and burning tents. He made sure to continue his lessons with Ruby as he pressed into the camp, noting each and every little bit of important info as he dealt with them in CQC.
Her interest was fully reeled in, and she showed quick understanding of every lesson he taught through demonstration. Truly, he felt blessed that his first Foundling was such a diamond in the rough. He would make sure to continue to polish this gemstone until it shined brighter than any other. It was the vow he himself not only as the girl's new guardian, but also as Mand'alor.
Kicking a corpse over to look it up and down, he confirmed that everyone except for Ruby and himself were in fact the only ones left alive in the-
"Drop the gun, Bucko." A feminine growl came from behind. Somehow, she'd snuck up on him, and currently held a knife to Ruby's throat. He assumed it must be more of the strange space magic of this world's people that allowed her to sneak up on them, though Ruby, despite having a knife held to her throat, seemed unconcerned. In fact, she had a small, knowing smirk on her face, like she already knew how this was gonna play out.
Scoffing, Midnight dropped his gun in the snow, turned around, lifted his left wrist, lowered his hand, and shot the stealthy fool in the face with his disruptor. An almost ghostly scream escaped her mouth as she was disintegrated in an instant, leaving her weapon to drop to the floor and Ruby completely unharmed.
With the return to silence, Midnight nodded at Ruby in approval, picking up his DC-17M as he approached her. "You did well staying calm there. You made the best possible decision, good job." He praised, making her beam happily up at him before being lifted to be held like he usually did just after he stowed his weapon.
"R-really? I did good?"
"Perfectly." He answered, content to let her just muzzle her face against his shoulder pad as he checked their belongings. After another few minutes, he seduced that there was nothing valuable in the slightest here, and so with Ruby in tow, left the burning, dead-filled camp behind as naught but a fleeting memory...
Dawn was only just breaking when he strolled back into town with Ruby in tow, though to say he was displeased with what he saw would be an incredibly gross understatement. Within the town, several battles raged independent of one another, each one kicking up it's own little smoke screen and making actually seeing what was going on remarkably difficult. It was clear to him that the people hunting Ruby had caught up in proper, and now they weren't so concerned with subtlety, as this was essentially a small-scale siege on it's own.
After setting Ruby in the MRAP, slapping his stealth unit on her and activating it once he finished hiding her under one of the bunks, he rushed out to join the fray. After all, what right did he have to call himself Mand'alor if he ran from the call of battle?
Rounding a corner, he rushed forward and slammed shoulder-first against one of the new assailants, a so-called "faunas" of the canine variety, throwing her to the ground. Not missing a beat, he drew his DC-17M and peppered her face with a hail of bolts until she ceased movement. Casting his gaze back, he noted the huntress on the ground start to pick herself up, but paid it little heed as he threw himself aside, pivoting midair to land on his back as he just narrowly dodged a diagonal slash from some sort of electrified battle axe. Snapping his sights up before he even hit the ground, he loosed a quick burst of fire into their head, killing them before he even hit the floor.
As soon as he hit the floor, he dropped his blaster and rolled back onto the balls of his feet, easily evading a descending enemy that smashed their hammer into the ground where he'd previously landed. Pushing off as hard as he could, Midnight tackled them to the ground while they still were crouched down, easily separating them from their weapon. He crashed down in a heap on top of him, drawing his vibroknife mid-tackle and already having stabbed a handful of times before they both ate dirt. With one final, heavy and telegraphed stab, he ended the man's life by sticking his knife to the guard through his skull.
Pushing off from them, he lashed out with his still turning right leg, smacking a descending blade out of the hands of his newest opponent while dropping the knife and drawing both blaster pistols. He riddled them with a storm of gunfire, before rolling back into a crouch and shoulder-checking their staggered form into a wagon behind them. He didn't even bother looking at them as he turned to face the next oncoming enemy, dropping a plasma bolt through their downed head while throwing himself aside and rolling upright from his shoulder.
The next foe didn't last a second, as he holstered both basters and met their charge, slipping around them with a lunge at the last second, grasping the front and back of their head as he passed them and let his momentum and iron grip do all the "talking" he needed as he snapped her head backwards. A single last pitiful cough of blood escaped her lips, before collapsing to her knees, and hitting the floor. Taking the initiative for his next target, he grasped their sword arm by the wrist, holding his blade aside while grasping him by the shoulder and ramming his helmet crown-first against the man's nose, forcing him to recoil. Not letting go, he yanked the man back while kicking out at his ankles, tripping him before bounding up into the air and landing in a squat upon his head, popping it like a cherry before rising and catching a fist against his gauntlet.
Dropping his forearm back, he extended it and looped it under the new girl's upper arm, gripping her shoulder blade as he locked their arms. He shot his opposite hand forward with just two fingers extended, using an Mando Technique to plunge his pointer and index fingers into her throat and open it up so easily. Pushing hard with his hand still gripping her shoulder blade, he yeeted her around into another oncoming opponent, dropping both to the floor before engaging the one behind the one he'd just dropped under a dying body. Sneering at his raised shield and defensive stance, Midnight simply raised his left forearm and blasted him with his disruptor, reducing him to ash in a picosecond.
Stepping up past the dying girl, he kicked the downed man across the head at just the right angle, and a satisfying Crack! filled the air as he suddenly went limp. Sparing her no additional attention, he turned his gaze towards another group of warriors rushing to meet him in battle. He didn't bother with paying them any heed, as not a moment too soon Marcus shot up through the ceiling of a burning building and reduced them all to meaty chunks with a single well-placed wrist-rocket. While still airborne, he burst one side slightly harder than the other, allowing him to deftly evade an incoming strike from a hawk faunas and putting her right in his line of sight. He simply lined up the shot, and fired once, his disruptor reducing her to dust in an instant, something he didn't even bother to spare a glance for as he'd already snapped to a different target before the bolt even struck.
A mighty roar erupted from the building to his left, as the front face of the building all but exploded outwards with a dozen mangled bodies flying through. The warrior who had greeted them stood triumphant over a good number of foes, but was evidently badly beaten up through his victory. Swiftly recollecting his weapons, he beckoned for the warrior to join them as he continued to push his way down the street that had become such a dramatic free-for-all.
He didn't need any indication other than the heavy footfalls of the man tailing him to know he followed, and with a satisfied smirk playing under his visor, Midnight pushed forward, rallying ally after ally as he fought through the waves of adversaries...
"Nine... Nine of us remain standing..." The blonde leader mused while lounging back against a broken barrel. The streets were littered with bodies, both that of friendlies and that of enemies. Warriors and civilians. Men, women, and children all alike lay unmoving in the streets, each one laying still in varying states of dismemberment and evisceration. The once peaceful town had become a burning, hollow bloodbath that few had managed to actually survive...
"I found the last survivor... the boy's wounds were too severe, there was little besides mercy-killing him that I could do." Marcus informed the man, holding the upper torso of a child that looked no older that ten that was trailing it's guts out behind him, the lower half of his body nowhere to be found. He gently set the boy's remains down beside the rest of the bodies of those townsfolk that did not survive.
"I am sorry. Had I known just how... numerous and brutal these savages were, I would've just kept me and mine moving." Midnight tried to apologize to the leader of the nine remaining hunters, though he simply waved it off.
"Don't. These sorts... they would've massacred us simply for being along the path you took. The intervention of yourself and your comrade, Marcus, saved four of every five townsfolk here... even if there's only nine of us warriors, all veterans... you two could've just used our battle to create a bit more distance, and those you did manage to save the lives of will never forget that." He halted Midnight, before whistling and collecting the rest of his team. "We were never properly introduced. I'm Aaron Heinsmann. Leader of Veteran Team ARMR. With me is my wife, Rikka, and our teammates Morgan and Romeo Licht, brothers... we've been in this line of work for ten years each now, and never once did something this brutal ever occur..."
"No matter, We've already discussed it." His proclaimed wife, Rikka, spoke up, drawing all eyes to herself. "The other five are going to help the remaining townsfolk in their relocation to Vale, but we, and our families, were nothing short of moved by you and yours."
"What she's saying is," It was Morgan Licht, whom any individually distinguishing features aside from a deep voice and heavily built stature were obscured by his black ACUs, a black ballistic vest, black balaclava, black tinted goggles, and his black fast helmet. "We'll be accompanying you on your exodus to the sands of Vacuo."
"Wait, you're joining us? You know what kind of commitment you're making here, don't you?" Marcus asked incredulously, standing up from his hunching over the dead bodies and ceasing with their final rites.
"That we'd be joining your... what... 'Mando'ade' you called it?" The leader, Aaron asked, drawing a nod from Midnight, who proceeded to elaborate further.
"Not only that, you'd be learning and accepting the Supercommando Codex, the Canons of Honor, and the Mandalorian Culture. You'd be joining something far more significant than just some band of mercenaries, you'd be joining a brotherhood, a family. Are you really all so sure that you're ready and willing to not just join us, but bring your families into the fold as well?" He pressed, receiving firm nods out of all present without the slightest hesitation. With a small sigh, he turned to look at Marcus, who regarded him with another simple, understanding nod. "Well then... We'll consider this morning's bloodbath as you four's trial by fire. Welcome, my first Remnant Mandalorians."