Thanks for the support from the last chapter but there is one thing I do need to clarify or more rectify really.
While I have been enjoying the Book Of Boba Fett, one thing I do agree with as a complain is Luke's handling. The whole no attachment thing felt really off cause in the OG trilogy, it was Luke's bonds that both got him into trouble but also out of it.
Really goes to show that in the end, Legends Luke was always better in the eyes of the fans.
As was Boba who went on to become Mandalore.
Also, something I really feel like I need to get across cause the message clearly hasn't sunk in entirely.
This is an AU. So certain events, plotlines and character moments will not happen, happen differently or can come out later but be changed retroactively to better fit the narrative on hand.
For example, Boba's arc in chasing Windu didn't happen.
The gold Droid episode didn't happen.
The Blue Shadow Virus arc was pushed back to season 2.
Umbara defecting early and participating in the Battle of Kamino.
You guys gotta just keep an open mind on what is and isn't going to happen.
Not saying this to be an asshole. Just saying this cause it feels like it's not being fully understood.
With that out of the way, let's keep going.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 67: Mandalorian Doubt
She watched as he left her cell, fuming after their latest "session" in his interrogation on her.
He may try to call it whatever he wishes but she knew better.
Bo-Katan Kryze wasn't a Mandalorian for nothing.
And Matt Murdock was a severe pain in her ass.
The door to her cell closed, the red haired woman grumbling incoherently.
She kept mumbling on about how he's a "good for nothing lawyer" and a "blind jackass" and other insults that would make any sailor blush.
Ever since her capture here on Coruscant, Bo-Katan had been stuck in this prison cell within the Jedi Temple.
She had been questioned a number of times by Jedi, some Republic officers and had even one meeting with her sister Satine before she departed back to Mandalore.
But the one most consistent individual she had come to know rather "well" was the Avenger named Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil.
He was a lawyer/superhero and was the one who was chosen to best speak with her whilst she remained in her cell.
It had become a bit of a routine with him despite only having a handful of meetings.
But in the dozen times they had met and gotten to know one another, Bo can confidently say that she found Murdock infuriating.
Every time they spoke, it was like a verbal game of sabacc.
Except the damn lawyer held all the cards, even the ones he dealt out.
No matter how many times she rebuked, countered, shouted at him even, he always had some damnable silencing response to everything she threw at him.
She couldn't tell if this was rehearsed or he was just good at being able to counter whatever was thrown his way but she found it aggravating on immeasurable levels.
The way he sat there, stoic and unmoving despite her near constant promises of physical harm was grating on her soul.
In her opinion, he was quite cold, neutral, robotic even with the way he spoke and addressed her.
Not that he was entirely, there were moments where she saw him twitch or shift about differently but those were far and few in between their conversations.
He tried to warm her up, being friendly to strike up a decent conversation.
Asking her what her childhood was like, if she had any friends and any interests outside her life as a Mandalorian.
Granted, Bo Katan wouldn't deny her being intentionally hard to start a conversation with, but she just refused to give him the satisfaction of one.
And Mandalore dammit, she still lost!
There were times where she did talk about her past, about who she was as a Mandalorian cause he annoyed her into it.
He didn't break her. She would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that he managed to break through the facade of strength she had put up since her separation from Satine.
She could see this as a constant trial for her to endure. As she seemed to be victorious in not giving Matt anything, she failed in so many ways.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" Bo asked herself, alone in her holding cell within the Jedi temple. "I'm a Mandalorian. The way of the warrior is the only life that matters to me."
'But is it all you really want?' Said a quiet voice in the back of her head.
"No." She shook her head rapidly. "NO! I'm a Mandalorian. A true Mandalorian who remains faithful to the ways of old, the true ways of my people. I-"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Shouted someone from another prison cell.
"Make me!" She yelled back.
"You're not the only one in here, ya dumb Mando!" Said another annoyed prisoner. "It's bad enough the Jedi preach their bullshit to us, we don't need a crazed bitch-"
*KRACKABOOM*
All chatter and arguing was effectively silenced as the entire Jed Temple quaked.
"What in the-"
*TTHMMM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM*
The prison cells underneath the Jedi Temple violently shook about, making her wonder what was going on.
Straining her ears, the Death Watch Mandalorian heard the telltale sounds of lightsabers igniting followed by blaster fire.
Was… was the Jedi Temple under attack?
That was a rather preposterous-
*KRAKOOOM*
"Holy shit, it's under attack." Bo Katan muttered in complete disbelief.
There was no way that this was actually happening.
Who in their right mind would so brazenly attack the Jedi temple like this?
Attack Coruscant?
What was going on?
She soon saw nearly several dozen Jedi rushing by her cell and they quickly engaged the invading enemy.
Bo couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She saw droids and her jaw nearly dropped.
Had the Separatists invaded?
What sort of madness fueled such a suicidal attack?
Even the Mandalorians of old knew that such an attack would need to come at the loss of nearly thousands of ships to even break through to the surface of Coruscant.
She began seeing all these unique looking droids breaking into the place and were either exploding or firing upon many of the prison guards. They didn't remind her of any droid she had seen before save for a few that had glowing red eyes.
Actually, all of them had either blue or red eyes now that she got a proper look at them.
Then there were these droids with their arms morphing into cannons and firing larger energy projectiles than the usual blaster bolts.
She flinched as a number of them streaked past her cell, hitting the barrier and walls around it.
One of said shots actually ruptured a generator. It had to for her kinetic barrier cell door and many others went offline, making it far easier to get out.
She saw many prisoners run out, only to be blasted down by a number of those droids. This gave her the personal warning to stay back and find a proper opening to find a way out.
Bo got her chance at one point when a Jedi fell down dead and dropped their lightsaber.
Seeing the weapon presented to her, she quickly snatched it off the floor and took it with her. She will need it as an additional piece to her arsenal once she regains her property.
Kryze never used a lightsaber before in her life but it was better than nothing in this situation. The closest equivalent she wielded to a lightsaber was a vibroblade. And the only lightsaber in Deathwatch's possession was the Dark saber, presently held by Pre Vizsla.
Running onward, the leader of the Nite-Owls tried her best to navigate her way out of the prison area. She had ignited the lightsaber, emitting it's deep blue color, in order to cleave through some of the attacking droids and Jedi getting in her way.
It was pure pandemonium as she ran upstairs, seeing Jedi left and right fighting against flying droids that quite literally appeared to be swarming into the temple.
She briefly caught sight of the planet outside the walls and her eyes widened at the sight of multiple warships and droids attacking the entire planet.
'What the hell is happening right now?!' Bo screamed in her mind, rushing back downstairs to where the prison cells were.
She knew she can't get out of the Temple just by herself and her pilfered lightsaber.
No, she needed her gear and she needed it now.
Rushing down through the cells, Bo looked around rapidly, trying to discern any location that may hold where her armor had been stored. Only then will she have an easier time getting off this planet and back into Mandalorian space.
She saw a young Jedi rush past her, possibly a decade or so younger than she was and quickly stopped the young one by grabbing her arm.
"Where do they keep what they have taken from the prisoners?"
"Wha-?"
"Where?" Katan demanded more forcefully, causing the youngling to flinch and shakily point in the direction behind Bo.
She looked to where the Jedi was pointing at.
"That door there?" Kryze asked to be sure, seeing the youngling shakily nod her head.
"Good."
With that, she knocked her away and went to her destination.
The Mandalorian stood in front of the door, looking at it on all sides frantically as she attempted to figure out just how to open the damn thing. On the side was some kind of panel and from the looks of it, it seemed to require a Force-users touch to access it.
"Dammit." She stomped her foot on the ground, feeling a thin cylindrical device bounce off of her.
Bo looked down and remembered she had a lightsaber in her possession, mentally slapping herself for forgetting this detail. And with a lightsaber, a peculiar thing could be done with them towards locked doors.
Activating the lightsaber, she pierced the metal door and pushed down as hard as she could before bringing it back up again to form a hole.
Not her best work but again, first time using a lightsaber, cut her some slack.
It felt too long, yet she was able to get through once the hole was made. The large piece of metal fell forward, granting her access into the large room where a litany of items were placed on shelves and cabinets.
Scanning around, she saw the place was somewhat wrecked from an upper level collapsing into this room. Many items were buried left and right and it would take too long to dig a number of things out.
She prayed to her ancestors that she could find her armor quick and soon.
Apparently, it seemed they were answered as she went further into the room.
What she saw before her was unmistakable to her. She can recognize the colors, styles and everything else about it.
'Yes!' Bo thought with glee. 'Come to mama.'
Rushing over, she started putting back on her signature armor with the Nite-Owl insignia on the helmet and shoulder pauldrons.
It felt like she was nearly whole again, slipping more pieces of her precious Beskar armor onto her person. Sadly she couldn't wear it all, due to some pieces that were presently located underneath the rubble. It would take too long to find them and dig them out.
She needed to flee immediately before she could get captured again.
Sliding her helmet on and thanking her ancestors that her jetpack was one of the things she was able to recover, Bo rushed out of the room and instantly took to the skies.
Since most of the Jedi halls were so spacious, even the prison holding halls, being able to fly over a majority of the madness was a cinch for her.
Blasters in both hands, she rapidly shot down multiple of these flying droids whilst avoiding the Jedi.
She realized that as much as she wanted to kill her ancient enemies, now wasn't the time to draw attention to herself.
Right now, she just needed to get the hell out of here.
Finding an available opening from a blown up wall, she flew out and regained her freedom.
It was at this moment did Bo-Katan Kryze halt and look at what was around her.
If there was another word to use here other than Pandemonium, she was unable to think of it.
Pure chaos maybe but even that wouldn't do it justice.
Coruscant… was being invaded.
"What in the…" She whispered at the scene before her.
Endless swarms of droids, ships, people, it was an indescribable cacophony of war and death.
Her eyes managed to pick up on the Jedi and their allies, the Avengers, heading into battle and the enhanced individuals were proving to be vital in holding the line of whoever it was that was attacking.
Looking up above, she was barely able to make out the uncountable number of warships engaged with each other in the skies above the atmosphere.
What is happening right now?
Coruscant was being attacked?
What madness was this?
Bo was violently snapped out of her daze upon a blaster bolt nearly striking her, hitting the wall right above her head.
She looked ahead to see nearly a dozen of these flying droids making a beeline straight for her.
"Oh shit." Kryze said, whipping out her blaster pistols to shoot down a number of them until she saw more join in. "That's just Poodoo."
Her jetpack deactivated momentarily and she dropped to the ground with the droids following straight after her.
The jetpack reignited and she was flying at full speed, as best as she was able to in the midst of all this madness.
Flying around, Bo had to lose her pursuers.
She occasionally fired back at them while maneuvering around a litany of debris, both from buildings and fallen aircrafts.
"Come on, come on." She kept whispering to herself, wincing at nearly being shot down several times whilst her Beskar successfully repelled some shots that grazed her.
She had let them get close to her, all before she stopped her jetpack from propelling her. She was able to fall back before she went on with the attack. Lightsaber ignited, she cleaved through the other droids once igniting her jetpack to get back to them.
With them out of the way, she began flying around in order to find something usable for her to get to space.
Easier said than done when everything was basically blowing up or taking flight or both all around her.
She couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening or where she even was.
Did she fall into the lower levels?
No, the skies above were still clear.
Was she far from the Jedi temple?
Seems like it really.
Did she lose her pursuers?
She got her answer in the form of a droid tackling her midflight and aggressively shoving its hands against her helmet.
Nope, she didn't lose them yet.
"Get-" Bo struggled, angling her newly acquired lightsaber. "OFF."
She sliced the droid in half, spinning around in time to cut through several more, flying off a moment later as more droids replaced those she had just destroyed.
"Relentless metal bastards." Bo-Katan grit through her teeth, once again fleeing these freaky looking clankers.
More and more kept coming her way, making her ever more frustrated as she blasted and cut down them all. She grunted in pain when some blasts hit her unprotected areas of her body. She yelped from them, yet persevered as she continued the fight for survival.
Some of these droids managed to latch onto her, an arm wrapped around one of her injuries.
The Mando screamed out in pain, desperately flailing about to get these freaks off of her.
Bo hadn't realized where she had been flying, being so focused on getting these clingy droids off of her.
Kicking the last one off her leg, Kryze looked up in time to see a window of a building she was flying right towards her.
Katan's eyes widened in horror and she could only throw her arms up in an instinctive defense before she crashed through the window.
Her jetpack got damaged, thrusters dying out instantly and she fell to the ground.
Her body bounced against the floor a number of times, head smacking against it once rather hard to the point that it rattled her brain.
She finally stopped, colliding into a wall and slumping down on her stomach with her sprawled out on the floor.
Bo could only moan in pain, vision becoming blurry at the sight of the ongoing battle outside the building she crashed into.
The droids appeared to no longer be chasing her, leaving the Mandalorian alone in relative "peace" as unconsciousness claimed her.
-Scene Cut-
"So you're sticking with the group that has such a lovely title that wishes to bring death upon your own family."
"You were doing what was right for your people and serving your nation, but was that in fact the reality of the situation?"
"Shut up."
"I might be blind, but I can probably see that you were being led astray."
"Shut up."
"Throwing your life away where it might turn out to be a total waste. No honor, no glory, no respect."
"SHUT UP!"
"Deny all you want, Ms. Kryze, but you'll need to pull your head out of whatever hole you have it buried in sooner than later."
"You think you're so smart, dontcha? Acting as if you know all the answers."
"I can say I'm quite dumb and idiotic on a number of fields. A couple of friends of mine can attest to that."
Bo-Katan's eyes snapped open, inhaling sharply as the memory she was dreaming of instantly faded from her eyes.
The Mandalorian coughed, a throaty dry one at that, serving her a bout of pain that wracked her whole body.
'Wha-what happened?' She hazily thought to herself as she slowly regained her bearings.
Forcibly sitting up, she looked around to see debris was littering the immediate vicinity.
Bo looked at her person and saw much of her was alright. Well she still had those blast marks on her exposed areas, which will most certainly scar since she doesn't have any bacta spray on hand. And placed some feet away was her lightsaber.
Crawling over, she took back her new weapon before clipping it to her belt. Getting up from the floor, she shakily balanced herself before dragging herself to parts unknown.
She exited the building and saw only ruin and destruction on a scale she couldn't properly quantify.
Smoke and fire emanated from all over with sirens of all kinds being heard in every direction.
This devastation was… it was indescribable.
"Gods of Mandalore above." Bo whispered. "What happened here?"
Was it the Separatists? It had to be. Only they -as far as she knew- had such a droid army of such a capacity.
But… no, something felt off about this.
They wanted to win against the Republic, yes, but this was a battle that didn't fit their MO.
From what she had heard and gathered in terms of the battles waged between the two factions, neither side was this destructive.
… Ok, they kind of were but there was a different feeling to this one.
From what she was able to gather, there was no rhyme or reason to this attack.
It was just shooting everyone and everything that they saw and damn the consequences. The attack was almost, no, it was indiscriminate.
Was it really the Separatists? Or was it something or someone else?
Bo-Katan Kryze looked back at what lay before her.
Smoke, fire and bodies were everywhere amongst the destruction.
She rolled her shoulders, trying to get her jetpack to get her into the skies only for it to be letting out sparks of clear damage.
'If my jetpack wasn't wrecked, it would be easier to get down to the base areas. Now I gotta walk down so many stairs. Let alone the fact finding transport after all this.'
This was clearly going to suck.
Cautiously, Bo began her trek through the damaged and ruined streets of Coruscant.
She passed by many collapsed homes and establishments, bodies that were being picked up by guards, clones and people alike.
All didn't even bother to give Bo a glance as they had their attention focused solely on the fallout.
The Mando watched as multiple stretchers with tarps over them were carried away, AT-TE's being fashioned as debris removers and everyone just trying to clean up.
It was just pure devastation.
Bo felt a strange feeling of both shame and vindication.
The latter came from an age-old ancestral grudge that she and many Mandalorians held against the Republic.
Centuries ago, Mandalore and its people were going through a time of unprecedented growth and rebirth. After Aga Awuad had brought the Mandalorians back together and after the end of the New Sith Wars, a restoration had begun in the Mandalore sector.
They were on their way to a new age…
But then the Republic and Jedi had a flashback to 4000 years ago and bombed their home planet along with a number of others into oblivion.
Jungle worlds rife with life and civilization bombed out of existence.
And now, centuries later, here the Republic was feeling a similar devastation.
Like before, Bo felt a sick feeling of righteous vindication at her ancestors' enemies suffering like this which instantly turned to shame at the sight of children crying over the loss of their parents and loved ones.
Now she felt no better than the monsters that shattered her people's rebirth.
"Oh my." Said a deep, vibrating voice filled with worry and concern.
Bo looked over to see a male Ithorian approaching her.
"My lady, are you well?" He asked through translators installed around his gills. "You are gravely injured."
She tried pushing him away. "No, no, I'm-"
"In need of immediate medical attention." The Ithorian cut her off, placing a hand on her back. "Come, come, my clinic is not far from here. I shall assist you."
It was hard to deny assistance from an Ithorian when they were so forcefully helpful.
They were known to go out of their way to assist and help any and all that they could, traveling in domed ships across the galaxy with the sole intent of helping those in need.
'Where were they when Mandalore needed them?' Bo bitterly thought to herself before squashing the thought.
She was being helped by one now and he was doing it because he wanted to help her.
It would be rude and wrong of her to deny such assistance when she clearly needed it.
She was guided into a rundown yet standing clinic with a multitude of patients in and around it.
"Won't I-"
"There's always space for those who need it." The Male Ithorian calmly answered her.
Many who saw the Ithorian quickly began showering him with praise and gratitude though he waved it all off, calmly telling him he had another patient with him.
Guiding her into a separate room of the surprisingly expansive clinic he had, the Ithorian had her sit on the bed in the center as he began gathering medicinal equipment to treat her wounds.
"Now then." The Ithorian approached her with bacta in one hand and herbal meds in the other. "If you would please."
Bo blinked at the unspoken request, momentarily unsure as to what he wanted until the gesture he made to her leg made her realize what he meant.
She began removing her armor, wincing several times from her other injuries in doing so.
"Those will also have to come off for me to treat you properly." The Hammerhead alien stated, noticing her freeze up defensively. "Worry not. Your armor will stay with you in this room. But it will impede my work, you know."
She cleared her throat, blushing slightly as though she had just been "scolded" so to speak and soon removed the rest of her armor.
"There we are." The Ithorian medic pleasantly said, beginning to apply treatment to the Nite Owl who hissed at her injuries being touched before sighing in relief, feeling a great deal of pain subside.
"What's your name, may I ask?"
Bo had her eyes closed, arm resting over them. "Bo. Bo-Katan Kryze.
"A pleasure Ms. Bo-Katan." The Ithorian said politely. "I am Kes Vogi at your service."
She mumbled a small thanks as she silently lay there whilst Kes continued applying bacta and herbs to her injuries.
"Though you are still, you are restless." Vogi spoke up, startling the Mandalorian slightly. "Where are you in a rush to go to? Have you not seen what has happened outside?"
"It's for that reason I need to leave as soon as I can." Bo argued back. "I… I need to get back home."
"Home." Kes nodded understandingly. "And where would that be?"
Should she tell him her actual home territory or somewhere remotely close?
"You are a Mandalorian, no?"
She stiffened when this revelation was quickly found out.
"Everyone knows that design across the galaxy." The Ithorian stated plainly, pointing to her helmet. "Unless of course you may have stolen-"
"I am a Mandalorian like my ancestors before me." She said sternly. "And my armor had belonged to my family for generations, despite how I painted over it."
Vogi simply hummed aloud. "So you wish to return to Mandalore, no?"
"No." Bo flatly said. "Mandalorians like myself have been banished."
"Banished from your own homeworld?" Kes's inquisitive tone asked for clarity.
"The new, peace loving Mandalorians," Katan spat out that faction derisively. "Have chosen to shun and turn away from who we are instead of putting on this false cloak of pacifism to quell the Republic's concerns should we ever pose a threat to their "power" ever again."
The Ithorian hummed as he continued on with his work.
"Right now, whatever animosity you have needs to be put aside." Kes advised quietly. "A great travesty happened and everyone needs help, no matter whose side they're on."
Bo looked at the Ithorian in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Coruscant wasn't the only planet to be attacked this day."
-Scene Cut-
The entire galaxy was in a state of paralysis.
Word of this "Ultron" or whatever it was he called himself had spread like wildfire, sending the galaxy into a state of panic and fear.
Kes wasn't lying when he told her that Coruscant wasn't the only planet to be attacked.
Practically every system and sector had faced an attack of some kind by this new enemy.
Most were quick guerilla attacks, hit and runs that scared the populace.
But others, like Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa and Raxus Prime were hit with an overwhelming attack force.
And then came the news of Jabiim.
Ultron defeated both the Republic and the Separatists at the same time.
Mass hysteria followed soon after.
It had gotten so bad that Bo had actually stepped up to becoming a temporary peacekeeper in the area that Kes' clinic resided in.
That was a rather bizarre turn of events with her taking up the role of a marshal of sorts in order to keep a semblance of order whilst Kes continued his continuous treatment of those who came to his clinic.
More Ithorians actually came in assisting the workload and Bo worked in paying off her debt to make sure the clinic remained safe until she knew that clones and other Coruscant guards would be making their way to her.
She knew it was only a matter of time until other help arrived and she would need to get off world.
But her pride, her honor in being a Mandalorian demanded she watch over this clinic and Kes until she was certain he was in safe hands.
On top of being a peacekeeper, Kryze had struck up a strange friendship with Vogi and found herself ending her days with just talking with him.
She didn't understand where or why she was doing this at first but then…
Bo thought of her time speaking with Murdock and how much he challenged her notion of what it meant to be a Mandalorian and really, challenged who she was as a person.
Who was she, Bo-Katan Kryze?
She didn't realize that she had asked that to Kes and she found him standing in front of her when she did so.
He simply took her hand into his own, placing his other hand over hers.
"You are a woman brave enough to question herself and her purpose and one who will find her path in time." Kes' sage words echoed in her mind. "You mustn't rush or run, Bo. Simply allow life to flow, act and react when you understand to. And in that, you will find yourself. Your true self."
She didn't know if his words would bother her more than Murdock's. Yet they seemed to affect her as time went on by.
Eventually, she had a strange, sentimental goodbye between herself and Vogi.
The wide eyed bastard provided her with his own starfighter that would take her back home.
She was practically ready to reject the offer outright but he would hear none of it and told her to take it and return to her people. He knew he would not be going anywhere anytime soon as he still had a mission to do on Coruscant but her people needed her.
So, with a heartfelt goodbye that she would deny to her grave, Katan boarded the ship and departed from Coruscant.
Bo was practically quiet on her trip back to friendly territories. From her time spent imprisoned to recovering on Coruscant, a great deal of tumultuous events transpired in rapid succession.
Her processing everything that befell the galaxy with many worries filling her very being.
Were the Mandalorians attacked? Death Watch? Was the rest of her companions safe? What happened to Mandalore? Were… Were Satine and her nephew -Korkie- safe and sound?
It felt like days had passed by on the ride back to the nearest Death Watch outpost.
Upon landing and exiting the ship, she was greeted to the sight of several tense Mandalorians who instantly dropped their weapons upon seeing who it was.
"Bo? You're alive?" Kosha Reeves, one of her ardent followers and friends exclaimed in relief, pouncing on her leader in a bone crushing hug.
"It's good to see you too, Kosha." Bo said with a laugh, holding her friend close.
Pulling away from Reeves, the rest of the Nite Owls swarmed around her, all chattering excitedly and contentment at their leader being alive.
"How'd you escape?" Asked a broad shouldered Mandalorian. "And when?"
"When Coruscant was attacked. I escaped during the chaos and was lying low until I could find a way back." Bo said. "I owe a debt to someone who saved my life and intend to repay it in full when the time comes."
It was going to be the best excuse she could work with. A partial lie being covered by a believable truth.
"Bo."
The red haired Mandalorian turned to see another one of her most trusted lieutenants.
"Axe." She said with a smile. "What is it?"
"Lord Vizsla has heard of your return." Axe Woves stated, thumbing behind him. "He wants to talk to you immediately."
An exhaled sigh escaped Bo's lips as she nodded soon after. She then went to the console over yonder to talk with the leader of their organization.
Once approaching the holotable, she saw the holo-image of Pre Vizsla who soon regarded her with a pleased expression.
"It is good to know one of our best warriors survived the onslaught of Ultron." Pre said straight away. "Welcome back, Katan."
"Were our people attacked?" Bo asked straight away. "Ultron attacked all over the galaxy, did he not?"
Pre scowled at the mention of Ultron, a glare that would have melted Beskar.
"Not one was spared from his attacks. There were many casualties from all sides."
"Did our clans-"
"We still stand, do we not?" Pre cockily interrupted though becoming serious a moment later. "At least three hundred of our numbers fell in battle."
Bo's jaw dropped, stunned at the number. Of the three Mandalorian factions currently in play at this time, Death Watch was the one with the fewest number of members in total.
Wherein the New Mandalorians under Satine hold Mandalore and the few million on their ancient homeworld, it was the Protectors that had the most amount of occupied planets and territories with the most number of Mandalorians following their way.
Death Watch only numbered a few thousand at most. Such a sizable loss of three hundred of their kin was not something to dismiss out of hand.
"Where are you now?"
"Carlac." Vizsla revealed. "Regrouping and recuperating our losses. Not to mention rebuilding our strength."
"You were clearly busy while I was gone." She said to her esteemed leader. "So what now?"
"Now? Now we prepare for war." Pre said as though it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. "We may not have the strength necessary to fight back against our delusional brethren but I'll be damned if a vile droid like Ultron thinks he can just walk all over us. When the time comes, we'll be ready for him."
"This is the Way." Bo stated solemnly.
"This is the Way."
-Scene Cut-
It had been a relatively uneventful number of weeks since Bo's return.
Since she came back, it had been mission, training, recruiting, eating, sleeping, rinse and repeat.
They've been working on missions nonstop, earning credits left and right to fuel their organization.
It had been both difficult and not so difficult in getting jobs at this time due to the chaos that had been unfolding in these last few weeks.
Really, it was a matter of just rushing to get one because there were so many being taken at such a rapid pace, damn near impossible to get jobs consistently.
It didn't help that a majority of the jobs Death Watch was after or had been offered were being taken by their sworn rivals and enemies, that being the Protectors.
On top of that, their allies -The Ravagers- were getting equally as much clout and repertoire so they had them to contend with as well.
So they had to resort to the more dirty, unsavory jobs that few were willing to touch.
They paid well and handsomely but…
After the first two jobs involved assassinating a governor who just wanted to keep the Pyke Syndicates Spice out of his territory, a pit of guilt was planted in Bo's gut.
She actually felt rather sick in conducting these missions, thinking back to her time with Matt and especially now, her time with Kes Vogi.
Yet desperate times called for desperate measures. That being unsavory jobs.
But these missions were starting to bother her like no tomorrow.
Why did she have to have the images of both Matt and Kes giving her looks of disapproval?
Seriously, they were starting to annoy her. More the former than the latter.
Granted, Matt Murdock has been plaguing her mind for a while now but now they've been amplified.
One topic of discussion they have had was the matter of her allegiance and loyalty to Death Watch.
With that annoying dilemma on her mind, Bo had been conducting "research" on her own accord. A means of either distracting herself or settling these annoying hallucinations of hers.
What research, one might ask?
Well, since her time in prison and her blasted sessions with that damnable lawyer, a weight had been placed upon her that had sunk into her mind and refused to budge.
What did she know about her own group that she hadn't known before?
Not every organization or group, who bore "good" intentions for the greater good was all that innocent. There would still be someone dirty and seeking their own agendas or possibly for someone else. If it wasn't happening now, it may be happening later. Allegiances may change or cemented as time passes by, which would be ever confusing when one least suspected it.
No one was excusable and free from this notion. No matter what position they were. From the lowest grunt to the very person leading them all.
While in the middle of her research, her quarters were intruded by some of her owls.
"Kosha? Axe? What's wrong?" She asked her top two lieutenants. "You both look winded."
Reeves panted slightly, pointing behind her with her hands on her knees.
"We *Cough* we ran… HAAA, Here."
Bo raised a brow at that. "You know we have jetpacks for a reason, right?"
"Sh-shut up." She panted out, eliciting a laugh from their leader.
"Alright, what is it?" Bo asked. "You sprinted here like crazy it seems."
"Have you heard, Bo?" Kosha asked in apparent shock.
"Heard what? I've been rather occupied as of late."
"Vizsla got a message recently." Axe said with a troubled look. "An invitation to come to Mandalore by none other than Satine Kryze."
Bo blinked, mind going blank for a moment as she needed to hear that one more time.
"...I'm sorry, she… what?" Katan stammered out. "Can you say that again, please?"
"You heard us, Bo." Kosha emphatically said. "We've been invited to come to Mandalore and speak with the Duchess."
"Kryze." Axe gruffly corrected. "We're not royalty."
"It could be a trap."
"The Duchess swore to not have any warrants for our arrest during this upcoming meeting."
"A lie, no doubt, to lower our guard."
Bo, however, had not been listening to the two bickering with each other as everything in her point of view was silent.
Her sister had called out to the Death Watch, the organization of Mandalorians that attempted multiple assassinations. She wanted them to come back to Mandalore.
For what purpose?
The planet was under Republic occupation and the Death Watch were certainly no friend to the Republic.
If they were to go, there was a likely chance of being either arrested or shot down.
"Has Pre decided who will go with him or attend in his place?" Katan questioned.
She knew their leader had to be precautious with this upcoming meeting. If this was indeed a trap, he couldn't risk being there and be swiftly captured; which would cripple their organization severely. If it wasn't, the same applies if someone thought of being bold and acting out of turn. Thus it was Bo's belief he'll have others go represent them all.
"He said he's not going." Axe answered. "He told us none of us are to go to that traitorous woman's invitation."
"What do you think, Bo?" Kosha asked, making Kryze pause in thought.
What did she think of this?
Was this a trap?
She shook her head at that.
Her sister who abhorred violence with a burning passion setting a trap?
She might as well consider herself a Jedi really though she does have that boy toy Jedi from her youth.
No…
Whatever this was that her sister had called for must be extremely important.
She wouldn't risk something like this without reason.
And loathe as she was to say it out loud, Satine was her sister. She was her family and she still loved and cared for her despite how ideologically opposed she was to her sisters way of Mandalorians.
In trying times, Mandalorians of all walks of life learned to set aside that which separated them and willingly worked together for the greater good of all Mandalorians.
If her sister was willing to take such a step, Bo wouldn't be able to live with herself at being the cowardly sibling that refused to do the same.
"Prepare the Nite Owls." Bo declared, silencing Axe and Kosha's banter. "We're going to Mandalore."
Her two lieutenants gaped at their leader as she stood and walked by the two without saying another word.
They both shared a look with each other until scrambling to run after her, clearly unsure in doing this but still opting to loyally follow their leader.
AN
It's amazing how just a two minute trailer can just spark a need to write a chapter in one go.
Like seriously, Jeb and I watched the trailer to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and thought to ourselves, let's write Infinite Wars NOW.
Jebest4781: And boy… Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness… What a way to hype us all up. And yes Moon Knight trailer was pretty nice on what was shown as we got a better look of his costume. Yet it was Doctor Strange who stole the show.
FMW: That trailer was just un fucking believable. Now THAT is how you hook an audience. Seriously, I didn't even know or understand half of what was happening and still, we're all in. And the fact that we got Sam Fuckin' Raimi to direct this one? When studios don't interfere and let artists who understand what they're doing work their magic, we may just have another amazing superhero sequel come from the man who gave us the OG Spiderman trilogy.
Jeb: Granted we could've had this out sooner if it wasn't for Covid, but hopefully all this extra time, on top of reshoots, would be worth it.
FMW: Got faith in Raimi and after No Way Home, still got faith in Marvel. Moon Knight looks really cool and interesting but we all know it's Strange that has our attention.
Wanted to touch on this chapter but figured that we're more hung up on Strange than to address this Bo-Katan centric chapter so screw it, thanks for reading folks.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.