Chapter 4: Going to School, Mandalorian Style
POV: 3rd Person
Gardulla growled as her protocol droid entered her chambers and blinked blearily at the machine. She'd been in the middle of taking a nap aboard her personal cruiser as she and her crew made their way to Tatooine. They'd left Nal Hutta almost 24 hours ago. Officially, they'd left to visit Jabba the Hutt to cut some deals regarding the transportation of spice. Unofficially, Gardulla had been paranoid after her palace had been bombed and stuck around just long enough so that she didn't look like a coward to her rivals before leaving the planet.
"Well? Spit it out!" Gardulla growled as she deliberated blasting the droid and going back to sleep. She'd blasted her servants for less, but then again, she only had the one protocol droid on this ship. The droid would get a pass, at least until the arrived on Tatooine.
"My deepest apologies for disturbing you, oh great and mighty Gardulla, but your cousin Barrukka has an urgent message for you," the droid groveled before activating a holoprojector. The translucent blue form of Barrukka appeared before Gradulla, the only change since the last time she'd seen him was the addition of a cybernetic arm.
"Make this quick cousin, or risk earning my ire," Gardulla growled as she rubbed at her eyes, still not entirely awake.
"….. We've been attacked again," Barrukka said, an odd inflection in his voice. He seemed shaken.
"Where?"
"Nal Hutta."
"Where specifically on Nal Hutta?" Gardulla pressed. "My palace? The spaceport?"
"All of it."
"…. What?" Gradulla was VERY awake now.
"Nal Hutta was hit by some sort of laser," Barrukka elaborated. "I don't know what caused this or the origin of it, but life on the planet was wiped out. I sent a team of mercenaries to investigate once we deemed the situation relatively safe. The earth is covered in ash, the petrified remains of those who lived on it scattered like statues, there are rivers of black sludge and it's….. it's…. it's just awful. Many of our fellow Hutts have been confirmed as killed during this catastrophe."
"Sithspit," Gardulla muttered, feeling sick to her enormous stomach. If she hadn't left the planet just yesterday, she would've been among the countless dead. "Do we have any information on who or what caused this?"
"Nothing," Barrukka sighed, looking somewhere between exhausted and shellshocked. "The Great Hutt Families are relocating our operations to Nar Shadda but it will take time. We can't afford to investigate this right now while we're running damage control. A third of our mercenaries have abandoned us and fled Hutt Space out of fear of another attack, there have been massive slave rebellions on 12 planets in the past 6 hours alone, and several of the clans have engaged in infighting to determine the new leaders of their clans. It's a mess."
"I will confer with Jabba when I arrive on Tatooine and attempt to get him to help us hold things together," Gardulla declared. "It may not be a part of Hutt Space, but that miserable ball of dust is still a member of the Hutt Cartel. He'll aid us, if only out of self-preservation."
"Right. I'll get in touch with Ziro and see if he's heard anything from his contacts in the Republic Senate," Barrukka added before looking behind him as if someone had called his name. "I need to go. There's a lot of fires to put out and I have an armed rebellion taking place in Sector 9."
"Good luck cousin, may gods watch over you."
"May the gods watch over us all," Barrukka returned before she cut the transmission. "Dammit. Dammit!"
"Dammit," Baltrann muttered as he finished removing the ashes that had covered a corpse near the Malachor ruins. Much to his dismay, it was Shost Riin. A scholarly jedi who'd just been knighted a little less than a year ago. "An'ya! I found him!"
"He's dead, isn't he?" Kuro inquired as she emerged from the ruins.
"As lifeless as the rest of this Force forsaken planet," Baltrann sighed before narrowing his eyes. "Hold on, this wound. It was caused by a lightsaber."
"Hmm, you're right," Kuro frowned. "It seems our Sith Lord has struck again. And once again, the Hutts seem to be his primary target."
"Our theory of the Sith planning to seize control of Hutt Space and its resources seems to correlate with their actions," Baltrann mused. "I'll arrange for his body to be returned to the Jedi Temple. In the meantime, we should continue our investigation. They were only here a day ago at most, so there may still be clues as to their whereabouts in the Sith Temple below."
POV: Kazakin
4 days had passed since my little field trip to Malachor III. The planet itself had been a total buzzkill but the trip itself was nice and educational. Nothing too wild occurred. I mean, I killed my first jedi and wiped out all life on Nal Hutta, but other than that it was pretty boring.
After that short and relaxing trip, we returned home to Concord Dawn where, after getting chewed out by our parental figures and checked for injuries, we were informed about how all life on Nal Hutta was wiped out (I swear, I had nothing to do with it! Why are my fingers crossed, you ask?) and that the Enclave was being put under lockdown for now. Unfortunately, this meant that the time I had to study Darth Tanis's holocron was limited as I couldn't go around camp making things fly or electrocuting people for shits and giggles.
Well, I COULD but it would result in me wearing out my welcome very quickly. Also, it's just downright rude.
On the bright side, Rook and Denaar had agreed to keep the events that occurred on Malachor between us, especially the parts involving me killing a Jedi and wiping out all life on Nal Hutta. No need for anyone to know about that. Yet. Besides, what's a little genocide between friends? I think a few of the others were able to tell that my latest scar came from a lightsaber (my grandfather definitely did), but nobody had confronted me directly about except for the younger kids in the Enclave who bought whatever osik I made up. They respect a warrior's privacy around here.
Denaar kept quiet because he knew that bad things would happen if the word got out. Valkia kept quiet out of sheer terror in regards to the consequences of our (mostly my) actions. Rook, on the other hand, took some persuading as she was eager to brag about how she fought a jedi. It took informing her that the Enclave would be destroyed, a lot of candy, and the promise of letting her be involved in my future shenanigans.
She also made me promise to train Valkia in hand-to-hand combat, which is what brought me to my current situation.
"Use your whole body, Val," I instructed as I casually weaved around her fists. "Punching with your arm is only good for quick jabs meant to stun or disorient your enemy. It won't do much damage. But if you punch with your arm, shoulder, hips, and legs then it'll be much more powerful."
"I…. hate…. you….,"Valkia wheezed, sweat coming off her in buckets. We'd completed our daily regimen before starting this, so she was tired before we even set foot in the dueling circle. I don't know what she's complaining about. I had taken part in a duel as part of the repeatable Akaanir quest before our daily regimen even started so I should be more tired than she is. Of course, I'm a cheater with a lot of gamer abilities so that isn't necessarily fair. But she doesn't need to know about any of that.
"Good. Gooooood. Let the hate flow through you!"
"Shut up. Why are we even doing this?"
"Because while I get that you're not planning on becoming a Mandalorian, that doesn't mean you shouldn't take advantage of the opportunities you're presented with while you're living in the Enclave," I inform her, deciding not to tell her that I'm only here because Rook threatened me. Let her think I'm doing this out of the goodness in my heart. Besides, if this 'partnership' between the two of us is going to be a long-term arrangement, then I might as well try to make her more useful in a fight. "There's a lot of skills you can pick up here that are useful no matter what you do with your life. Besides, nothing wrong with knowing how to defend yourself."
"Is this what passes for you being nice?" Valkia snarked before throwing another punch at me, hoping I'd lowered my guard during our brief little talk.
"Maybe." I hadn't. "You're not kicking. Remember to use your fu-kriffing feet."
Stupid Star Wars curse words.
"Ugh, I can't wait for you and Rook to leave for Mandalore. By the way, how do you think the Republic is going to react to….. you know what?"
"Meh, those bigwig idiots on Coruscant are too far up their own asses to notice anything that doesn't happen in the Core Worlds," I shrugged. "I bet they've barely even noticed that anything is wrong."
POV: 3rd Person
Coruscant. The beating heart of the Galactic Republic and the home of the Senate Building. This sanctum of debate and diplomacy was a place where decisions were made that affected the entire galaxy. Worlds had been saved, despots had been toppled, lives were enriched, and liberty was defended. The fate of the galaxy was closely entwined with the decisions made in this very building.
But today…
"What is the Republic going to do about this!?"
"Do we know anything about why this happened!?"
"Who is responsible for this atrocity!?"
"What assurances do we have that our worlds won't be destroyed next!?"
"What are the jedi doing!?"
"How did this happen!?"
"We must hunt this villain down!"
The Galactic Senate chamber was abuzz with panicked senators, all demanding answers and assurances. The destruction of Nal Hutta had sent the galaxy into a frenzy. The attack had come from nowhere, there was no lead up or warning, and nobody knew who was responsible. An entire planet had been rendered lifeless. Its surface was now covered in ash, ruins, and the petrified remains of those who inhabited it. It wasn't much different from Malachor III now. The citizens of the galaxy where in a state of fear, not knowing who would be attacked next.
"Order!" Chancellor Skor Kalpana demanded, a tired look on his face. "We will have order! The chair recognizes Senator Orn Free Taa!"
"My thanks, Chancellor," the fat twi'lek senator started speaking from his repulsorpod. "Many of my fellow senators and I are deeply concerned regarding the destruction of Nal Hutta. It has been 6 days since this catastrophe occurred and we've yet to hear anything!"
"The representative from Rodia concurs with the honorable Senator Orn Free Taa," the senator from Rodia spoke up. "The galactic community needs assurances that something like this won't happen again!"
"I understand your concern, good people," Kalpana replied. "However, I have received word from the Jedi Order that they have made headway in their investigation regarding this catastrophe! Senator Valorum, if you will?"
"It's true, fellow senators," Valorum began as his repulsorpod approached the chancellor's podium. "The Jedi have confirmed that the heinous weapon that was used to destroy Nal Hutta has been located in the Malachor system and that it has been rendered inoperable. The Jedi Order have the site on complete lockdown to ensure that it can't be repaired or used ever again."
"Have the Jedi identified the monster who is responsible for this atrocity?" the senator from Malastare inquired.
"I'm afraid not, Senator Ainlee Teem," Valorum continued while suppressing a grimace. His friends within the Jedi Order had given him nothing regarding the identity of the individual or individuals responsible and had been unusually tightlipped about the whole thing. However, he trusted their judgement and decided not to pry. "The Jedi are personally investigating this matter and are following several leads; however, it seems that those responsible have vanished."
"The individuals responsible for this must be found!" Senator Antilles of Alderaan declared. "They should be charged with Crimes Against Civilization!"
There was much murmuring in the Senate. To be charged with a Crime Against Civilization was the greatest crime one could be charged with and was typically reserved for war crimes. Few had ever been charged with such a thing with one of those rare instances being the infamous Ulic Qel-Droma for his actions during the Great Sith War with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Exar Kun.
"Senators, while I hate to play devil's advocate given the circumstances, unfortunately we don't have any legal basis to arrest those responsible," Senator Awmeeth interrupted. "That piece of legislature only applies to actions committed against the Republic and neither Malachor or Hutt Space are under Republic jurisdiction. Unless the Hutt Clans ask it of us, we have no legal grounds to charge those responsible."
"Surely, Senator Awemeth, you aren't suggesting that we do nothing?" Senator Palpatine inquired in a grandfatherly tone.
"Of course not! But what we should do and what we can do are two very different things!"
"I for one think that whoever's responsible for this should be rewarded," Mene Korbin, the Togruta senator from Shili, sneered. "The Hutt Cartel has operated with near-impunity for far too long. Perhaps this will make them think twice before attacking our colonies in the Outer Rim and making slaves of our people!"
This argument would continue for months and in the end, as is typical of the Galactic Republic, nothing would be accomplished.
POV: Kazakin
10 Months later….
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! YOU LOOK LIKE A MONKEY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND YOU SMELL LIKE ONE TOO!
….. Thank you, Oz. That was EXCACTLY how I wanted to be woken up today. I DEFINITELY didn't want to sleep in!
No problem, partner! I'm glad you liked it!
…. Dammit, I can't stay mad at you.
Why would you be mad at me?
Ignoring the voices in my head, I dragged myself out of bed before glancing at the lockbox I had packed in preparation for today. Rook and I had decided to join Denaar, who'd become old enough to attend when he turned 10 a few short weeks after we returned from Malachor, at the Royal Military Academy on Mandalore in the capital city of Sundari together. Now that I was 10 and Rook having turned 10 last week, today was the day we left the Enclave and headed to the big city. I was actually kind of excited to see the home world of the Mandalorian culture.
Speaking of which, I had opened up those 3 Rare Item Boxes during my time at the Enclave. The items I received were a Malgus-style rebreather mask, a Krayt Dragon pearl, and a good bit of beskar. All useful, but I can't really use it at the moment. I have all 3 of these along with the lightsabers I gained on Malachor buried under my prefab house. I'll dig it back up when the time comes, but I can't bring any of it with me to Mandalore. I can't even have it with me when I'm walking around the Enclave.
Some kid walking around with lightsabers and a Krayt Dragon pearl? That's an attention getter. At any rate, I had all my stuff packed and left to board the Gra'tua early in the morning. I don't know what exactly is going to happen while I'm on Mandalore, but I completed the Akaanir quest over and over again during my time here (mostly against Rook) so I now had 446,525 points. That's plenty for me to spend if I need to pull any tricks out of my ass, so I'm not worried.
"Briikase gote'tuur!" Krask greeted, wishing me a happy birthday as he took a swig from a flask when I approached the ship. I don't know what he's drinking but I don't think it's alcohol. "Everything packed, Ord'ika?"
"All set, ba'buir," I replied with a lazy salute and a smirk, following his lead into the ship.
"Good. Kast'ika already has her things loaded in the cargo hold and has gone back to sleep," Krask said before waving at me to follow him to the cockpit. "After I've dropped you two off on Mandalore I'll be taking the Gra'tua back here. I'll be back for your Verd'goten when you turn 13, but there's some things you should know about the academy before you get there."
"Like what?" I asked, internally annoyed that he took the pilot's seat (MY seat) while I was put in the copilot's seat.
"You're heading to Royal Military Academy in Sundari. A few years ago it was the best place for young warriors to train in combat and tactics. But then the New Mandalorians took power," Krask growled as the ship quickly took to the skies and entered hyperspace. "For the longest time, Duke Adonai Kryze controlled Mandalorian Space through an uneasy alliance between himself, the Militant Revivalists such as Death Watch and the True Mandalorians, and the pacifist New Mandalorians. Then the Great Clan Wars happened and everything changed for the worse after the Duke's death."
"How? Wouldn't the truce between the factions be maintained by his family?" I inquired. I knew that Duchess Satine would turn Mandalore into a worthless backwater planet with her extreme pacifist ideology, but I didn't know how she claimed power in the first place.
"The Duke had 3 children. His oldest son and heir: Maan Kryze, his oldest daughter: Satine Kryze, and his youngest daughter: Bo-Katan Kryze. Duke Kryze was trusted to keep the Republic happy by allowing the New Mandalorians a hand in government while keeping our fellow Mando'ade satisfied by keeping our warrior culture and traditions alive," my grandfather explained. "Nobody thought that the New Mandalorians would get out of hand since Maan Kryze, the Duke's son, was a firm believer in the old ways. If something ever happened to Adonai his son would continue his work and keep the balance of preventing the pacifists from taking control while also keeping the Republic from attempting to crush what's left of our culture."
"I'm guessing things didn't work out like they'd hoped?"
"Elek. When the Great Clan Wars broke out, Adonai and Maan were killed in a terrorist attack by Death Watch," the old man seemed slightly angered at the memory. "They claimed they were attempting to revive our great warrior culture. Instead, they damned it! With her father and elder brother dead that dar'manda Satine became Duchess and threw in her lot with the New Mandalorians and any warriors who refused to leave Mandalorian Space of their own volition were exiled to Concordia."
"Cool story, but what does this have to with me?"
"The so-called 'Duchess Satine' hasn't been in power for too long but she and the New Mandalorians have already begun the process of dismantling our culture," Krask sighed, brushing a hand through his dreadlocks. "The Royal Military Academy is slowly losing what makes it a military academy in the first place. Headmaster Kotak Saxon is still in control of the academy and is limiting the dar'manda ideals that Satine is trying to implement, but once he retires, I have no doubt that the New Mandalorians will install a puppet to ruin it from within. I want you and Rook to learn what you can from there while it still has some worth. I pulled some strings with Kotak since he's an old friend of mine. You two will be assigned to a team with similar beliefs to ours: his son Gar Saxon."
"Alright," I nodded. Gar Saxon. That's another name I recognized. Gar served Maul when he ruled Mandalore and then ruled Mandalore in the name of the Galactic Empire years later. "How long until we arrive?"
"We should arrive early tomorrow. The new term has already started so you and Rook will have some catching up to do, but you'll manage," Krask sighed as he stood from the pilot's seat. "Once we've arrived, you'll be placed on a team. Your teammates will likely be students that have already been there for at least one term, so you'll be expected to perform at the same level as older students. Life isn't fair and neither is the academy so you it won't be easy for you. But for now, we've got some time to kil until we arrive on Mandalore. Want to play dejarik?"
"….. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss," I hissed.
POV: 3rd Person
Sidious entered his apartment in 500 Republica with wariness. He'd sensed his master's presence long before he'd arrived and knew that Plagueis was waiting for him. The Sun Guard, the personal bodyguards of Magister Hego Damask, were stationed in hidden positions throughout the building, though they were not hidden from the Force so he could precisely pick out their locations no matter where they hid.
"Welcome home, Lord Sidious," the insincere and dispassionate tone of his master murmured as he approached the lounge.
"Master," Sidious bowed immediately, inwardly seething at the fact that he had to do this. Oh, how he longed for the day he would cease to bow. Maul already bowed to him like this, but that was a small comfort that barely soothed his temper.
"Rise, my friend," Plagueis commanded with a wave of his hand. Sidious sunk into the luxurious plush cushions of the lounge with a sigh as he sat across from his master. "Tell me, have there been any updates on our fellow Darksider?"
"Nothing beyond the devastation unleashed on Nal Hutta," Sidious drawled as he absentmindedly used the Force to pour himself a drink. "The Senate is paralyzed with indecision but, ultimately, they lack any legal basis to get involved in this situation. Nal Hutta belonged to the Hutts who won't allow Republic Judicial Forces into their territory and Malachor, despite the Jedi keeping an eye on the system due to its history, is not under Republic jurisdiction."
"So, the Republic can't take any legal action," Plagueis mused, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. "This will keep our mysterious new friend out of custody, assuming the Hutts don't find him, and enable him to continue whatever it is he's up to, but it will make it more difficult for us to keep track of the young man we suspect to be his apprentice. It's just as well though. Life is more interesting with a mystery to solve."
"As you say, my master," Sidious sighed, keeping his own thoughts regarding the 'mysteries' Plagueis enjoyed solving. "I am working with a few of the Jedi to attempt to locate this Kazakin. Rest assured I fully intend on keeping the most important information out of their hands, although there isn't any information to work with at this time. I've put a bug into the Republic information systems to alert me of any files are added with his name, though I suspect that it will take some time for it to detect such relevant information."
"Very good, my apprentice," Plagueis nodded. "If you receive any alerts, inform me. Magister Hego Damask can move with far less scrutiny than Senator Sheev Palpatine."
"As you wish," Sidious droned, although he was internally annoyed. He wanted to get to this new Sith first, be it Kazakin or his master. They would make for an ideal apprentice, if they weren't a threat of course. With Plagueis showing an interest in these affairs, his master might take him to be his replacement. His master claimed that he intended to do away with the Rule of Two and allow the duo of Sith Lords to rule as equals but one would be foolish to ever fully trust a Sith. Sidious would NOT be replaced.
"Keep me updated, my young apprentice," Plagueis commanded as he stood and made to leave. "I will know if you do not."
"Yes, my master."
Sidious couldn't wait to be rid of the old Muun.
POV: Kazakin
We landed in Sunadari without any issues. Well, there were a bunch of Mandalorian Guards who were keeping watch over us as we exited the Gra'tua, but they were only armed with stun weaponry. Probably New Mandalorians. I could kill them easily but that would detrimental to my plans.
I say plans, but it's more like a list a list of shit I want to do because it would be fun.
Rook and I unloaded our luggage and waited there on the Sundari docks for whatever transport was supposed to pick us up.
"Alright, you kids have everything?" Krask asked, looking over us like a father inspecting his children before they go off to their first day of school.
"Yes, Forgemaster!" we saluted.
"Good," he nodded. "I'll be back on your Verd'goten, bu'ad. Kast'ika, your mother will here for your Verd'goten as well."
"Take care of yourself, old man," I snipped as he walked away and reboarded the ship.
"I'm not that old," I heard him grumble in response. He was flying away with the Gra'tua shortly after. Rook and I continued to wait on the docks for whoever the hell was coming to pick us up.
… Wow, this is boring. I should start thinking about who I'm going to kill and what I'm going to blow up while I'm here. Maybe I should kill Satine?
You really need to learn some self-control, partner.
Meh. That's boring.
…. Right. I didn't want to do this, but….
Quest added: 3 Years of Peace
Get through your time at the Royal Military Academy without directly killing anyone.
Rewards: 1,000 points and a Universal Item Box
Bonus points will be awarded upon completion based on feats preformed during the course of the quest.
Failure: You are killed or arrested and you will lose 10,000 points
OZ! WHAT THE FUCK!?
It's for your own good, partner! I don't want you getting in too much trouble before you're ready! If you die, I die!
You don't get to-
Now hold on! I've got another quest for you that coincides with this.
Quest added: The Royal Military Academy
Complete the bare minimum of your Mandalorian education (you can drop out at once you've completed your Verd'goten).
Rewards: 5,000 points and a Universal Item Box (assuming 3 Years of Peace has been successfully completed)
Bonus points will be awarded upon completion based on feats preformed during the course of the quest.
Failure: You will lose 10,000 points
Both of these quests will be considered successfully completed once you begin your Verd'goten.
I didn't bring it up before but what's a Universal Item Box?
It's a special kind of Item Box that gives you something from outside the Star Wars universe. It can be any kind of tech from other franchises as well as the schematics to make more of them.
….. Dammit Oz, you are impossible to stay mad at. Fuck it, I'm in. Let's do this.
Just as I finished speaking with the voice in my head (always a sign of good mental health), a hovercar pulled up and a man in a boringly gray uniform waved us over.
"Greetings, initiates," he said as we boarded, a look of clear disdain on his face as he spared a glance at the mythosaur skull symbols displayed on our chests. "Go ahead and climb on board. I am to give you a tour of Sundari before brining you to the Royal Military Academy."
"This is gonna be so boring," Rook moaned as we climbed aboard.
"C'mon Rook, it shouldn't be that bad," I said, deciding to be optimistic. "They'll probably show us some ancient battle sites and stuff. It won't be that boring."
Me and my fat fucking mouth.
"And over there is where our great Duchess Satine declared that those warmongering maniacs of Death Watch would be exiled to Concordia," the boring driver continued to rattle on, professing his love of the New Mandalorian ways and their achievements. "And that statue over there is made of pure beskar from all the beskads we confiscated from the citizens afterwards. And over there is…"
I am DEFINITELY stealing that statue before I leave this planet.
"Yeah, that's interesting and all, but when are we going to see something important?" I interrupted, much to the annoyance of the nameless driver and the amusement of Rook. "You know, like the ancient battle sites or mythosaur skeletons? Oh! What about the history of Mandalore the Ultimate?"
"Unfortunately, such sites were removed from the public in order to disconnect our people from our horrendous past," the New Mandalorian NPC replied through gritted teeth. "There is nothing to be gained in glorifying the old ways. It would be better if it was forgotten. Anyway…"
He started rambling on again, much to our dismay. He went on and on about how the New Mandalorians were the best thing to ever happen to Mandalore, blablabla, Duchess Satine was a goddess, blablabla, and anyone who followed the old ways had no business calling themselves a Mandalorian.
There was only one thing to do….
Sing.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves,
Yes, on everybody's nerves.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves
And this is how it goes...
I continued singing this at the top of my lungs and in the most annoying voice I could muster, causing Rook to laugh and the boring guy to stop going on and on about his boner for pacifism.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves,
Yes, on everybody's nerves.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves
And this is how it goes...
Rook joined in on the singing, further annoying our driver.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves,
Yes, on everybody's nerves.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves
And this is how it goes...
We continued singing until we arrived at the academy. Upon our arrival, the driver landed roughly on the platform in front of an older man with craggy features clad in beskar. I also took this opportunity to look at the large complex behind him. I recognized it, much to my own surprise. In the near future, it would become known as the Royal Academy of Government. In the Clone Wars animated series Satine's nephew, Korkie Kryze (stupid name), attended this place along with his friends. Ashoka was also here for some reason but it's not important enough for me to remember at the moment.
"We're here you little kriffing monsters!" the driver hissed at us. "Now beat it!"
"Well, that's not very peaceful of you, good sir," I snipped as Rook and I exited the hovercar. I sent a sweet smile and a wave his way which he politely responded to with a rude gesture before flying away. With that pleasant exchange out of the way, a giggling Rook and I turned our attention to the man who was waiting for us.
Observe
Name: Kotak Saxon
Race: Human
Force Potential: Negligible
Threat level: High
Skills: Martial Arts, Explosives, Jet Packs, Marksmanship, Dueling, Teaching
Thoughts on you: You were recommended by his old friend. Whether you and your friend will prove yourselves or not remains to be seen. He is glad that you were raised to hold similar beliefs to those held by the True Mandalorians.
"Headmaster Saxon," I saluted as I schooled my features Rook following my lead although she couldn't quite hide the mirth in her eyes.
"Cadet Ordo. Cadet Kask," he greeted with a sharp nod. "Welcome to the Royal Military Academy of Sundari. You two are to be assigned to Team Gundark under the command of my son, Gar Saxon. Report to him in room 9 at the living quarters."
"Yes sir!" we knew a dismissal when we heard one and marched towards the academy silently. Until we were out of earshot, that is.
"It's weird seeing you be polite to anyone who isn't your ba'buir," Rook jeered.
"Don't get used to it," I smirked before glaring at the building before us. "I can't wait to be done with this shab. I don't know about you Rook, but the moment I'm old enough to take the Verd'goten I'm grabbing the Gra'tua and getting the hell out of here."
"I haven't really decided what I'm gonna do yet," Rook admitted with a shrug. "If I can get in touch with Death Watch and start kriffing with the New Mandalorians I might stick around. Otherwise, I think I'm gonna start bounty hunting."
Finding the living quarters was pretty easy. Finding room 9, even easier.
"Rook? Kazakin?"
The surprise of having Denaar clad in a boring gray uniform greeting us when the door to room 9 opened was also pretty easy to get over.
"Good to see you Denaar," I greeted as we clasped arms. "Are you assigned to Team Gundark too?"
"That I am," Denaar affirmed before Rook glomped onto him, resulting in her receiving head pats. "They told me that we were receiving two new teammates to replace the ones who graduated last term but I didn't expect you two."
"Who's that, Denaar?" a girl who was probably 3 or 4 years older than me inquired as she poked her head out from behind Denaar. She had vibrant green eyes and blonde hair. Behind her sitting on a bunk was a dark skinned Zabrak male who was sitting on his bunk reading a holopad. Both of them were in the same boring gray uniforms. "These two are our new teammates?"
"Yeah," Denaar nodded as he peeled Rook off of him. "These two are Rook Kast of Clan Kast and Kazakin Ordo of Clan Ordo. They're friends of mine from the Enclave on Concord Dawn. Guys, this is Jynna Lok of Clan Lok and the Zabrak back there is Jartog Vrod of Clan Ha'rangir."
"Nice to meet you, Jynna!" Rook exclaimed as she started shaking Jynna's hand enthusiastically. Jynna had a grin on her face that was equal parts confusion and amusement until Rook stopped and moved over to Jartog. "You too Jartog!"
Jartog's response was to growl and scoot away from her without tearing his eyes away from his holopad.
"Don't mind him. Jartog abhors social interaction," a new voice explained from behind me. Rook and I turned around to see a young human male with blonde with a stern expression who seemed to be studying us. He was the oldest out of all of us, probably 15 or 16. "Welcome to Team Gundark. I'm your captain, Gar Saxon. Welcome to kriffing hell."
I couldn't help but notice how his eyebrow twitched when he said 'team.'
"Good to meet ya, boss," I greeted with a wave. "When are we starting combat exercises? I really punch something!"
"Me too!" Rook cheered.
"Don't hold your breath," Gar snorted before his expression became stern again. "In accordance with the edicts of our 'illustrious' Duchess Satine, full contact sparring has been banned due to 'concerns regarding the mental and physical wellbeing of the next generation' which basically means she doesn't want anyone knowing hand-to-hand combat."
"…. That's stupid!" I exclaimed.
"What a load of kark!" Rook added.
"We still have the firing range, combat simulations, and strategic thinking classes," Denaar said, mollifying the two of us. "But she's been doing things like this more and more in an attempt to remove anything violent from the curriculum. Some of those changes are big things like suspending CQC classes and then there are small things like changing the group names."
"Hell, last year we were Gundark Squad instead of Team Gundark," Jartog grunted (speaking for the first time) as he looked at us from over his holopad. "The Duchess wanted the word 'squad' removed from the assignment roster because it sounded too militaristic to her."
"How does this dar'manda bitch find the time to rule when she's running around kriffing with us like this?" I growled. This was both very annoying and very confusing. Does she just sit around all day looking for things she doesn't like?
"She doesn't actually do that much ruling," Jynna snarked. "She's an ideologue. She comes up with ideas and orders them to be implemented with the support from her cabinet which is stuffed full of New Mandalorian bootlickers. Prime Minister Almec is the one who has to cater to her whims and figure out how to run Mandalore despite her."
"What's an ideologue?" Rook asked in puzzlement. I'm glad she did because I didn't want to ask and look stupid. That's what other people exist for: to make me look better by comparison.
"Ideologue. Noun," Jartog answered, speaking as if he were reciting from a dictionary. "An adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic. They will insist that they're right even when evidence suggests they might be wrong."
"….Yes. That. Thanks, Jartog," Denaar muttered. "He is right though. That does more or less sound like Satine. You'll see for yourself soon enough. She likes to attend the graduations at the end of each term to glorify those who earn a spot in the Top 10, particularly the ones who follow the New Mandalorian ideology."
"Well, this conversation has done nothing but aggravate me," I sighed. "Can we please go shoot someone?"
"Don't you mean something?" Jynna asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"I know what I said."
"Hahaha. You're gonna fit in with us just fine, kid," Gar chuckled.
Day 4….
Today, Team Gundark was assigned to the firing range under Rangemaster Taro. He was a strict taskmaster who demanded that his students either respected their weapons or didn't bother learning to shoot at all. All the students were loaned a modified semi-automatic E-10 blaster carbine while on the range. In the days of Duke Kryze, students were expected to acquire their own weapon and maintain it themselves on and off the range. Under Duchess Satine, the blasters were kept under lock and key and weapons weren't allowed inside the main building.
That probably means that I should keep the WESTAR I brought with me hidden.
Anyway, in order to keep up with my teammates since up until this point I'd only invested in the Blaster Pistols ability due to my size, I dropped enough points into Blaster Rifles to get it to Elite leaving me with 434,925 points. With that, my shooting is on par with some of the more skilled trainees. It's not at the level of Gar's or the Top 10's though. I could bump it up to Master for an extra 50,000 points, but I don't want to get too much attention just yet.
Team Gundark isn't the only team here either. On our left was Team Wingmaw and on our right was Team Skar'kla. Team Skar'kla was mostly made up of New Mandalorians who didn't seem to care much for shooting although there were a few outliers such as their captain, Jaco Mareen. Jaco, from what I'd heard, endeavored to become one of the Mandalorian Royal Guards, charged with protecting Duchess Satine. He was alright for a New Mandalorian. His teammate Vatrok, on the other hand, was a pompous prick who couldn't help but sneer every time my team and I crossed his path.
I don't know what his problem is and, quite frankly, I don't care. So, I've done my best to be a pain in the ass every time he comes anywhere near us.
Team Wingmaw wasn't nearly as annoying. Among them were some faces I recognized from Star Wars media such as Ursa Wren and the team captain Bo-Katan. It was interesting to see those two so young. Bo-Katan had her hair in a ponytail instead of that haircut I don't know how to name she had in the shows and seemed to be constantly snarling. I guess that whatever it was that caused a divide between her and her sister had been fairly recent. Ursa was about what was expected and was overall uninteresting to me.
I swear, my interest in Bo is due to her importance in the show. It definitely has nothing to do with the way her ass bounces from the blaster's recoil every time she pulls the trigger.
With all of this in mind however, my focus remained on the target downrange and the scorch marks I was leaving on it with the E-10. The targets had some sort of scoring computers hooked up to them giving us points based on the effectiveness of our shooting (not to be confused with the points gained for Oz).
"Good shot Kaz," Denaar said from my left as he pulled the trigger of his own E-10, earning himself 30 points. "What's your score at?"
"I'm sitting pretty at 730 points," I replied before pulling the trigger again. "Make that 770."
"Not bad, rookie. But don't let it get to your head," Ursa said from my right.
"Ursa, stop fraternizing with the enemy," Bo-Katan growled.
"Aw, you're going to hurt my little feelings," I moaned sarcastically, furthering Bo's annoyance.
"Times up!" Taro shouted, brining an immediate end to the shooting. "In first place we Bo-Katan Kryze. In second we have Gar Saxon and in third Jaco Mereen! The rest of you can kriff off!"
"You can't talk to us like that!" Vatrok shouted before withering under the Rangemaster's glare.
"I don't care if your daddy's some bigshot in the Prime Minister's Cabinet, boy!" Taro snarled as he got up in the young man's face. "This is my shooting range and I will decide how it's run! If I call you a maggot, you're a maggot! If I tell you to kriff off, you kriff off! If I tell you to drop and give me 20, you drop and giving me kriffing 20! Now beat it you little shit!"
Vatrok wisely decided to back off, though he glared in my direction when I snickered at him.
"We're done here team, let's get something to eat," Gar ordered as the rest of Team Gundark fell in line and marched behind him as we made our way to the mess hall.
Week 2….
"I don't get it," I spoke up as we stood in the arena, waiting for the combat simulation to start. The room vaguely reminded me of the of area on Kamino where the clones trained. "The Duchess bans hand-to-hand combat but doesn't ban combat simulations? Where's the logic in that?"
I wasn't even talking out of my ass here. Me and the rest of Team Gundark stood at ready kitted out in plasteel armor designed similarly to traditional Mandalorian over a black body glove and armed with E-10s.
"While my father was willing to give a little ground to keep the New Mandalorians off his back and let the Duchess feel like she accomplished something, this was something he refused to leave out of the curriculum. Although, Satine did make him stop allowing us to fight against other students," Gar informed me. "Nowadays we're not scored on whether we beat the other team and instead on how efficiently we clear out the training droids. Besides, the Duchess apparently doesn't have any problems with people fighting some droids."
"Laaaaaaaaaame. I wanted to punch someone in the face!" Rook groaned while I nodded as Gar's words. That information checked out with what I knew from the show. I'd seen Satine shoot at some assassin droids when she was on her way to Coruscant with Kenobi and Skywalker.
"If you want to fight another cadet then you better work hard to get into the Top 10 Tournament," Jynna smirked.
"Prepare for combat, cadets!" the voice of Commandant Kallen, the woman responsible for overseeing the combat simulations barked at us. "Simulation begins in 3! 2! 1! Akaanir!"
At the Commandant's announcement, several droids popped out hatches built into the walls and ground. Among them were about a hundred B1 Battle Droids meant to represent standard and unimpressive foot soldiers. There a few dozen LR-57s spread out acting as heavy infantry and about a dozen IG units acting as elite forces.
This is actually looking kinda fun.
"Kazakin! Dennar! You take the left flank! Rook! Jartog! Take the right flank! Jynna, you're with me up the middle!" Gar ordered as we rushed towards our positions and took cover. We opened fire moments before the B1s started shooting at us with stun bolts. Just like in the Clone Wars they are terrible shots, but the sheer number of shots coming our way gives us no way to advance up the middle.
I had a feral grin under my helmet as Denaar and I blasted through scores of battle droids. I could hear Rook laughing maniacally on the other side of room. Gar and Jynna were pinned down by the unceasing blaster fire but were still able to get some shots off. However, the LR-57s began their advance after about a minute and fired low-power concussive blasts that forced Jynna and Gar to abandon their cover and take to the flanks with us.
"Dammit," Gar muttered as he made it to Denaar and I. A few of the IG units armed with sinper rifles had taken a couple of shots at him from their elevated positions on the ramps when he bolted over to us. "We aren't going anywhere until we take out those snipers! Kazakin! Rook! Up and over! Time to show us what you're made of!"
"This is where the fun begins!" I cackled as I hopped onto Gar's shoulders before climbing up the ramp. On the other side Rook had done the same using Jartog to elevate her up to the platform. In front of me were six IG units takings shots at my teammates. The first two were cut down before they could turn while the next two were eliminated before they could get a shot off. The last two managed to get a few shots off at me before I blasted one of them several times before shooting the weapon from the hands of the last one.
My eyes widened slightly as the last IG unit charged and started swinging its metallic fists at me. With my enhanced strength and reflexes, I managed to grapple my mechanical attacker and threw it over the railing where it deactivated once it fell.
"Kaz! Target the big droids!" Rook exclaimed as she and I concentrated our fire on the LR-57s. With us coordinating our firepower we managed to take down the large droids and draw the attention of the ones we didn't eliminate, allowing the rest of the team to storm the open battlefield and dismantle the remaining B1s in CQC. It didn't take us long after that to mop up the last of the droids.
"Time! Nine minutes and thirteen seconds!" Kallen announced over the intercom. "Team Gundark, you can review your individual results on your personal holopads! Dismissed!"
I was right. This was fun.
Month 4…
The academy mess hall was very military oriented in its design. It was kinda like a prison cafeteria but nicer and without any fun riots or guards watching. That lack of guards was part of the reason I decided to kick Vatrok in balls when he tried cutting in front of me in line to get food.
Did I mention that the boots that came as part of this stupid gray uniform are steel tipped?
Anyway, I sat down at my usual table which was more or less taken over completely by Team Gundark and Team Wingmaw. Bo was significantly more pleasant to be around when she wasn't being competitive. I sat down between Gar and Rook when I returned to the table with my Sarkhian cuisine. No idea what's in it, but food is food.
"Hey Kaz, what was that commotion from when you were in line?" Rook asked as she ate something that seemed to be bleeding.
"That? Pfft. Vatrok was acting like he's hot shit again and cut the line so kicked him in the gonads," I replied with a shrug as I started balling up a torn napkin to make a spitball.
"HA!" Bo snorted. "Good! The di'kut could use some reminders that no one cares who is dad is."
"What's his deal anyway?" I asked as I turned to look at Gar.
"Long story short, Vatrok Cabur is the son of one of the New Mandalorian leaders who's in good with the Duchess," Gar sighed. "He thinks that with the way things are changing that he and his family are going to be pseudo-nobility once the New Mandalorian reforms are done being implemented. He believes less in pacifism and more in allying himself to those in power in order to reap the benefits of his betters' success."
"Basically, he's a parasite," Jartog grunted before returning to his meal.
"If it wasn't for Jaco keeping him in check, Vatrok would probably be calling his father to report every single inconvenience he's ever experienced," Denaar added. "You should be careful Kaz. Most people just ignore him until he goes away but if you're picking a fight with him…"
"Hold that thought," I interrupted as I used a straw and shot the spitball at the back of Vatrok's head, causing the uppity little shit to start screaming and demanding to know who did that. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"…. You know what, forget I said anything," Denaar said as he shook his head, ignoring the laughter of Rook, Bo, and a few other members of Team Wingmaw. Hell, even Gar cracked a smile.
Month 10….
The end of the term was here. Rook and I started out 2 months after the term had started so it had been a bit of slog to catch up with the rest but we'd managed it. Now we as well as every single team that attended the academy had gathered in what was essentially an indoor arena. In the center of the arena, the Top 10 had gathered and stood at attention before Duchess Satine herself who was flanked by her Mandalorian Royal Guards. She was speaking to each of the Top 10 individually at the moment.
"So how is this supposed to go?" I asked Denaar who was seated on my left, causing Rook who was seated on my right to climb over me to listen in the conversation and practically use my head as an armrest.
"Each of the Top 10 will duel each other one-on-one," Denaar explained. "Whoever wins will proceed onto the next round. This repeats until we come down to the last man standing."
"So, it's like a tournament," Rook deducted.
"Yeah. It's not complicated," Denaar nodded. I was about to add my own remarks when the Duchess started speaking into the Star Wars equivalent of a microphone.
"Honorable children of Mandalore, I would like to welcome you all to-" Satine prattled with her arms held out in a grand gesture.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, I hate speeches," I sneered, not that anyone could hear me save for those directly next to me. "Denaar, how long did this go on for during the last ceremony?"
"About an hour."
"Kriff me sideways. Alright. I'm gonna take a nap," I grunted before leaning back in my seat. "Rook, wake me up when the fighting starts or, gods forbid I get this lucky, she dies."
And with that, I went to sleep.
POV: Denaar
I smirked at my sleeping companions. Rook had gone to sleep only a few minutes after Kazakin had which resulted in them sleeping through the entire tournament. It also resulted in the scene that was now taking place before me. Kazakin and Rook were still asleep but were now leaning against each other as the snored. Rook's head was lying on Kazakin's shoulder while his head leaned against hers. It was an amusing sight, a sight that I refused not to take advantage of. I snapped a picture of my friends in this compromising position with my holopad just as Jynna walked by with Gar and smiled mischievously at the duo before directing her attention to me.
"Oh, that is adorable. Look at our little psychopaths," she chuckled while tugging on Gar's arm. He simply rolled his eyes at the whole situation and let Jynna have her fun. "Denaar, if you don't get me a copy of that I'll never forgive you."
"Consider it done," I replied before turning my attention back to the sleeping pair and started nudging on Kazakin's shoulder. "Wake up burc'ya. It's time to go."
POV: Kazakin
I woke up groggily to Denaar's nudging, though I refused to move from my comfortable position.
"What?" I grunted as I noticed how empty the arena had become. "Dammit, did I sleep through the whole thing?"
"Yup," he nodded.
"Shit, why didn't Rook wake me up?" I growled. Denaar responded by pointing at my shoulder which I only just now realized had a foreign weight on it. "Rook! Wake up!"
"Zzzzz."
"Get of my shoulder!"
"Zzzzz."
"Stop drooling on me!"
"Zzzzz."
"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!"
Month 12….
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO-
Ooooooooooooooz let me sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…..
-YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU PSYCHOOOOOOOO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
I SWEAR TO GOD OZZY! I HAVE A BELT AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO HANG MYSELF!
…..
…..
…..
Would you mind upgrading Blaster Rifles to Master?
You got it, pal! Happy birthday!
Month 14….
Instead of the usual E-10 blaster carbines, the Rangemaster had us all equipped with 772 Firepuncher sniper rifles and had taken us to a different part of the range. Teams Gundark and Wingmaw stood at attention in front of him as he prowled back and forth like a predator waiting for his prey to make a move.
"Alright maggots, today you'll be given a crash course in sniper training," he growled at us. "Your teams have been selected to receive this training because you are our top scorers on the firing range. If I decide this training I wasted on you, I have full authority to have your asses removed for the duration. Not get to your positions!"
With no one wanting to test Taro's infamous temper, we all took our places and laid on our stomachs with our Firepunchers aimed down range.
"You have 2 minutes to calibrate your sights and take aim at your targets! Once those 2 minutes are up, I will come around and shoot the ground next to you! If you move, you will have points deducted! If you miss, you will have points deducted! If you kriff up in any way, shape, or form, you will have points deducted!" he barked at us. "2 minutes starts now!"
It was a good thing I'd invested more points into Blaster Rifles. Over the past 2 months I'd overtaken Jaco and was now consistently in third place on the firing range just behind Bo and Gar. As I looked down the range at my target, I decided to motivate myself by imagining that it had Vatrok's face.
This'll be fun.
POV: 3rd person
Sidious entered his office in the Senate dome with an almost imperceivable spring in his step. His motion to launch an anti-slavery campaign in the Outer Rim had been voted on in the Senate today. This would've charged the Jedi Order with assaulting outlaw organizations that weren't a part of Hutt Space and aiding the slaves in obtaining their freedom. The motion was, however, denied.
So why was Sidious so pleased by this?
Simple, it was never his intention for the motion to pass. As long as slavery existed, he had something to campaign against and gain the trust of the little folk while doing so. This action had also brought Senator Orn Free Taa of Ryloth into negotiations with him as he had a vested interest reducing the number of his people who would be taken as slaves. The hidden Sith Lord was more than happy to include the obese twi'lek in the discussions between himself and several other likeminded senators. But he could have time to revel in his success later. The beeping at his terminal indicated that he'd received an urgent notification.
With a regal but not extravagant flourish of his robes, Sidious sat behind his desk and examined his terminal to see what exactly was causing this alert. His gentle smile became somewhat twisted as he saw what it was.
At last! After over a year of no leads whatsoever, not a scrap of information, he finally had something to work with. Kazakin Ordo (a Mandalorian name, and famous one at that) was apparently attending the Royal Military Academy in Sundari on Mandalore. A quick glance at the boy's student profile confirmed what the Sith Lord has suspected. The boy was identical to the image of the escaped slave that the Jedi had shown him a year ago. His hair was longer, he was clearly healthier, and he had three intersecting scars on his right cheek. One of those scars Sidious immediately recognized as a wound caused by a lightsaber.
"Finally," Sidious hissed with glee before his mood dimmed significantly. He wouldn't be able to investigate the boy personally. He couldn't leave Coruscant without raising suspicion, but his master could. Loathe as he was to allow Plagueis anywhere near the boy, he didn't have much of a choice. Plagueis would know if he kept this information from him and his Hego Damask persona could move while attracting significantly less attention than Senator Palpatine. Besides, it was unlikely that Plagueis would make any big moves concerning the boy at this stage. At this point it was simply a matter of observing Kazakin to see if he was the Sith Apprentice as Sidious suspected and/or if he could lead them to the other Sith. At most, he might speak with him.
So, with reluctance and disdain in his heart, Sidious sent a message to inform his master. It would be best if they moved quickly. If the hidden Sith Lord kept this information from the Jedi Order for too long than it might lead to them becoming suspicious.
POV: Kazakin
Month 19….
Tactics and Strategic Thinking class. It wasn't the worst class I had to attend, that honor was held by the Nonviolent Conflict Resolution class. Oh boy, I wonder who had THAT added to the curriculum? Still, I'd rather get yelled at by Rangemaster Taro than sit here and review old battles and the strategies that were used in them. Though I did really enjoy the simulations where we were expected to command troops through ground and naval battles, depending on the exercise for the day.
It was like playing an RTS game but with holograms!
Today it was naval battle and I was commanding a holographic star fleet against my opponent: Bo-Katan. She was good, but I'd spent some points on both Tactics and Strategy, bringing both up to the Master rank.
Bo was aggressive. Very aggressive. She immediately put her fleet on the offense. Bo was excellent tactician, especially when it came to battles on the ground. But she lacked the patience for grand strategy and was quick to anger. I on the other hand, was cheating my ass off by using the abilities I received curtesy of Oz and had been played hundreds of hours of grand strategy games during my time at the hospital.
"Those tactics might work and pirates Bo, but not on me," I snarked.
"You say that, but it looks like I'm the one who's pushing you back," Bo smirked in response.
She was half-right. Her forces were indeed pushing mine back, but only because I was slowly pulling them away in a feigned retreat to lure her fleet into my trap. She kept making a beeline for my command ship in the middle and pushing it and its escorts back while inadvertently encircling herself. She was also growling under her breath the entire time. I'm pretty sure I heard the words 'sister' and 'traitor' used several times.
"You're more pissy than usual Bo. What's going on?" I inquired, getting looks from several people who knew that you do NOT try to talk to Bo about what's pissing her off. However, I have the super power of not giving a fuck. "What is it? Family trouble?"
"…. You got a lot of kriffing nerve bringing this up," Bo growled at me. "Why the hell should I tell you anything?"
"Because if you do, I'll give you some advice that will hit your sister where she least expects it in return," I smirked. "So, are you ready for story time with your creepy Uncle Kaz?"
"You're younger than me, you little shabuir," Bo grumbled with a shake of her head. "Fine. My sister and I had another argument a few days ago. I accused her of abandoning what our father strived to achieve here on Mandalore while she accused me of siding with the very people responsible for his death. My sister is…."
"Her royal pain in the ass Duchess-ness."
"I'm not gonna ask how you know that," Bo sighed. "I came away from it pissed because she always wins her arguments with words while I'm only really good at using my fists."
"I noticed."
"Gee. Thanks," she sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Well? Any advice oh wise and creepy Uncle Kaz?"
"Satine stays in power because of the will of the people. They follow her out of fear of Death Watch and all the horror they're blamed for and she's somehow managed to convince them that burying their heads in the sand and ignoring reality is the path to safety," I shrugged. "But actions speak louder than words. The moment they see that her way doesn't work, they'll abandon her and the New Mandalorians."
"Okay, but what do I do the next time I get into an argument with her?"
"Do you remember Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
"Vaguely. Some Jedi who was keeping my sister safe during the conflict. Why?"
"Your sister got awfully close with him during the Great Clan Wars. She'll have a hard time forming an argument while she's sputtering indignantly."
"Ha! That I'd like to see!"
Month 22….
Today another term ended. Just like last time, the Top 10 were dueling. Gar was among them this time. I doubted that he'd win but he had a solid chance next year. With that said, I was running fashionably late. I'd decided to take this opportunity to slip out of the academy and explore Sundari itself. Beyond running a few 'errands' I'd also checked out that big beskar statue I saw on the day I arrived at the academy. It was big, fancy, and it looked VERY expensive. It was also a horrendous waste of perfectly good beskar. Wouldn't it be a shame if something happened to it? But I'm getting ahead of myself.
For now, I'm cutting through some of the city's back alleys on my way to pick up some audio recording equipment. Why do I need this? Well, once I steal that bigass statue it would be pretty damn rude of me to leave something behind in its place.
I wonder what I should sing for it? Oh, who am I kidding? There's only one song I could leave for Satine. I better start practicing my Eric Cartman impression.
"Hey kid! What do you think you're doing walking around here?" random NPC 202 shouted at me as he approached with four other guys all of whom were doing their best thug impressions. "Don't you know who's turf you're on?"
"Don't know, don't care," I shrugged as I continued to stroll past them.
"Oh, you're about to kriffing care," NPC 203 growled at me as the pack of idiots got in my way, blocking my path out of the alley, as they retrieved knives and improvised blunt weapons from their jackets. "Now either give us your credits or just accept the beating."
….. Hey Oz, when you gave me that quest to get through these years attending the academy without killing anyone, you didn't say anything about maiming or crippling did you?
No siree. I did not.
Eeeeeeeeexcellllllllent.
Have fun, partner. Just remember we gotta be back at the academy in about an hour.
I won't need nearly that long.
"Hey are listening to me!?" NPC 201 hissed as he grabbed my shoulder. My response was to smile and return the favor by gently placing my hand own shoulder.
And then I unleashed Force Lightning directly into his body, making him scream and convulse much to the horror of his little friends.
"What the kark!?" NPC 203 cried. "Is he some kind of kriffing wizard!?"
"You limpdick fucknuggets are REAL unlucky," I laughed as I dropped the still-twitching NPC 201 to the ground. "I have almost two years of violent urges to work through and y'all motherfuckers just volunteered!"
The alleyway echoed with my laughter as I electrocuted the band of idiots with Force Lightning.
You know they're probably never going to fully recover from this, right?
Probably.
It would've been more merciful to just kill e'm outright.
Hey, you're the one who gave me the 'no killing' quest.
Welp, lesson learned. I ain't ever giving you any quests where killing isn't allowed ever again.
MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! PRAISE CTHULHU!
Month 24….
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KAZA-
OZZY I WILL CARVE YOU LIKE A PUMPKIN!
Month 28….
I can't believe I have to go through this again.
"I see we have full attendance today so I will go ahead and start," the instructor said. I didn't bother to learn this one's name as I has spent the last few minutes trying to figure out what this class was, guessing why there were no teams present, and staring at the instructor's massive tits. Rook and I were here as well as many other cadets that are about the same age. I realized what the hell was going just before the bitch opened her mouth.
"Welcome."
No.
"To."
Please no.
"Sex Ed."
Why must I go through this again? I'm only twelve, I'm not even a teenager yet! Why do I have to…. Oh. Right. Mandalorians can become adults after they turn thirteen once they complete their Verd'goten. Come to think of it, it won't be long until I can take part in the rite of passage. But until then…..
"….. Fuck me," I grumbled under my breath as I glared at the holographic diagrams detailing how human reproductive organs worked. "Literally."
"Don't tempt me," Rook snickered from the desk next to mine.
"Piss off."
"Now boys and girls, very soon your bodies are going to start going through changes," the instructor with the big titties continued. "These changes are perfectly natural."
I continued to quietly bitch and moan throughout the entire lesson.
Month 29….
Another day, another combat simulation. Me and the rest of Team Gundark are getting changed in the locker room. This path month has been…. Awkward. For most of my time living with Rook and the others here on Mandalore I never thought much of it. After combat simulations me and the rest of the team would remove the training armor, peel off the body glove, and get dressed in the boring gray uniform after hitting the showers. Nothing special.
Now, however, Rook has been hanging around Jynna for nearly two years and has picked up on her flirtatious attitude. Jynna mostly flirts with Gar in an effort to tease him. Rook has started targeting me and it's been getting harder and harder to ignore her. Up until this point I've regarded her as my annoying gremlin-like, murder-hobo, battle hungry, sarcastic best friend. The Sex Ed class we recently took has brought me to a horrifying realization.
I'm going to start going through puberty AGAIN in less than a year and based off of my memories of the comics and the final season of the Clone Wars, Rook is going to become very attractive (I'm assuming, she was never featured in a live-action project). I'm going to start looking at her VERY differently VERY soon.
Also, the body glove that almost everyone in Star Wars wears under the armor will leave very little to the imagination the moment the armor comes off.
I don't know what to do with this. In my past life I died a fourteen-year-old virgin. The closest I came to sex was flirting (sexually harassing) nurses who were twice my age and wouldn't show even the slightest interest. Partially because I was practically skeletal by the end of it and also probably because I was underage and they weren't pedophiles. I mean, there was one nurse who was kinda creepy whenever I jokingly brought it up but I'm gonna keep those memories locked up tight.
"Hey Kaz, you sure are spacing out a lot today," Rook called out to me from the other side of the locker room, causing me to turn towards. "Something on you mind? Or maybe someone?"
I groaned as she winked at me. I wish she would stop teasing me like this. It's not even that funny.
Wait a minute. What if it isn't teasing?
Observe
Name: Rook Kast
Race: Human
Force Potential: Negligible
Threat level: Medium
Skills: Martial Arts, Blasters, Dueling, Tactics, Stealth, Demolitions
Thoughts on you: You are her best friend and she teases you because she likes you but is too nervous to admit it. You are her first crush and she has no idea what she's doing so she's just mimicking Jynna in the hopes that it might lead to something.
Oh. That gives me an idea.
"That's an intense look you're giving me Kaz," Rook smirked, drawing me from my thoughts. "See something you like?"
"Yes," I smirked back, making a very obvious showing of me staring at her. "I like what I see very much."
My month of discomfort was at last avenged as the confident and sarcastic Rook seemed to mentally short-circuit and became a stuttering and blushing mess.
Observe
Name: Rook Kast
Race: Human
Force Potential: Negligible
Threat level: Medium
Skills: Martial Arts, Blasters, Dueling, Tactics, Stealth, Demolitions
Thoughts on you: brgGhnsaHNSuqrqh5b#zgkRTHNbg^!$161zk7SANahhnsa!#^rbhsNZKhnsaNSB
Month 31….
"Alright team, gather around," Gar snaped as we huddled over the common room table. He seemed frownier than usual. Is that a word? Frownier? Whatever. "This term's Top 10 have been decided and the results have been forwarded to the leaders of every team."
"Did you make the list again this year?" Jynna inquired.
"Yeah, so did Jaco, Bo, and Vatrok," Gar replied before frowning. "10 credits says that the only reason Vatrok is in this is because his father wants to show him off."
"Kick his ass for me, will ya?" I snarked. Gar didn't seem amused. I mean, he rarely was, but something seemingly had him on edge.
"You might just get the chance to do it yourself," Gar glared at me. What? What did I do? "I was putting this off telling you this because the situation is a tad strange but you also made the Top 10, Kaz."
"What the kriff?" I frowned. Nobody ever makes the Top 10 unless they're at least 15. It's not an official rule or anything, but it is still unprecedented.
"I didn't expect you to have friends in high places and I certainly didn't expect you to use them to cheat your way up the ladder," Gar continued to frown at me, disapproval dripping from every syllable. Jartog grunted in agreement with Gar while Jynna shook her head in disappointment. Valkia and Denaar just looked at me in confusion.
"I don't have any friends in high places," I said with a glare as I stood up. "And if I did, I certainly wouldn't use them for some bantha dung like this."
"So, you know nothing about this?" Gar asked with a voice as cold as ice.
"No damn clue."
"… Alright," Gar sighed as he eased up. "Does the name Hego Damask mean anything to you?"
… Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!
"Yeah, as a matter of fact it does," I growled as slumped back into my seat. Hego Damask. Darth Fuckmothering Plagueis. How the hell did he find me? Why did he find me? How do the Sith even know about me? I've been keeping a low profile!
Okay, maybe I haven't been keeping a low profile, but I haven't blown anything up since I arrived on this planet! I've been a good boy! Well, I tortured some people for funsies, but that still shouldn't be enough for them to have found me.
"Do you know why this guy is doing you favors like this?" Rook asked as he folded his arms. "All I got out of my father is that he's here on some business with MandalMotors. The CEO of the company is Jaco's grandfather so he's been invited to observe the Top 10 tournament."
"I got a few ideas, but nothing I'm willing to say out loud," I confessed. "I won't know for certain until I see him. Hell, I've never even met the guy."
My teammates seemed confused. Not that I could blame them. Why would some Muun business tycoon do a favor like this for someone they'd never even met? The five of them started speculating amongst themselves while I tuned them out, drawing inward and focusing on my own thoughts.
This is bad. Real damn bad. With my abilities and all the points I've saved up from my time here, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to escape from Plagueis if it came to that. Fighting him, however? Out of the fucking question. I had to leave my lightsabers back at the Enclave so engaging in combat with him is NOT an option. If it comes down to it, I'm just going to teleport around Sundari until I can find a ship to steal and run away with my tail between my legs. Maybe I'll bring the academy down on his head too, though I suspect this would only slow him down.
Ozzy, how many points do I have?
332,130 points.
Right. I haven't earned that many points here during my time here at the academy because I've been 'playing nice.' Dammit. The sooner I do my Verd'goten the sooner I can leave this boring place and get back to fucking things up in the wider galaxy.
Prepare yourself Oz. Once these guys go to sleep and I have some time with my thoughts, we're going on a shopping spree.
Oh boy! It seems like things are about to get exciting! Do you think you're ready to face a real Sith Lord, partner?
HAHAHAHAHA! No.