So, I'm back with the next chapter for you all.

My apologies that it took this long to get out to you, but editing this one was a rather… difficult, and that's putting it mildly, also alongside the fact that my computer died didn't help matters at all.

Anyway, let's not dwell on this for any longer than is necessary and get to the main reason as to why you're all here.

So as always, the original idea for this story goes to Worldwander2.0 and as always, all rights go to their owners as I own nothing!

Also, a big thank you to Mandalore the Survivor for his help in creating one of the characters in this chapter as well!

PS. I'm still looking for a beta reader, feel free to PM me if you want to talk details.

Valerie was currently overlooking what should've been an abandoned base from the Mandalorian Civil War.

But this didn't seem to be the case anymore, as Valerie could see the lights on inside the base. This seemed to confirm the intelligence she had gathered during her investigation that had led her to this place.

"Okay, let's just see what I'm dealing with…" Valerie then muttered to herself as used her helmet's range finder to scoop out the place.

Needless to say, it didn't take Valerie long to locate some of the base's new residents, as she spotted two of them while scanning the walls trying to find a spot where she could make her way into the base without raising the alarm.

Upon catching sight of these two guards, Valerie immediately zoomed in on them and moments later wished that she hadn't. Upon closer inspection, an extremely familiar insignia came into view. Once her ba'buir had shown her at an early age and warned her to stay away from.

'Death Watch, here! How is that possible?' Valerie asked herself mentally as she continued to watch the two men.

As Valerie knew the story of how the Death Watch had been destroyed. Every Mandalorian knew it; as the seemingly defeated Mand'ador Jango Fett had escaped from slavery and there went on to kill Tor Vizsla in single combat, thus shattering the organization. Even so, Valerie knew that there had been rumours that even after their leaders' death some of the dar'manda had gone underground and had been rebuilding their organization from scratch.

But from what Valerie could now see, it seemed that these rumours might be out of date. Because she knew that if they were organized and supplied enough to occupy this base, then it wouldn't be long before they started making their presents known throughout the sector once again.

A prospect that Valerie dreaded even contemplating; for she knew all the stories about the great Mandalorian Civil War and the cost it had extracted from every Mandalorian across the galaxy.

Just thinking about the implications of another one made Valerie's stomach feel hollow, as she couldn't stomach the thought of going through another one in her lifetime, having seen what it had done to her Clan and more importantly her ba'buir. But Valerie didn't dwell on these thoughts for long as she then caught some moving towards the base out of the corner of her eye.

Realizing that it might give her a clue as to what was happening here, she then used her range finder to see what was moving towards the base.

Moments later, Valerie then identified the object moving towards the base to be a speeder truck. Its back compartment seemed filled with what looked like large crates that left nothing to her imagination. At this point, the job that Valerie had originally been hired to do became something of a secondary priority to her. Stopping whatever operation, the Death Watch had here become her main priority.

Knowing this Valerie immediately took stock of her equipment and her options, as she then realized her biggest problem that she had to deal with before she could even start her investigation into what was happening here.

"Just how in the nine Corellian hells am I going to get in there?" Valerie then asked herself.

As it was painfully obvious that Valerie's first obstacle to her investigation was simply getting into the base. From what she had been able to observe, most of the usual areas in which you could infiltrate the base was being watched, or at the very least patrolled to a certain extent. Thus, limiting her option in how she could get inside. But it would seem that she would catch a lucky break, as the arrival of the speeder truck had caused a noticeable break in the usual security routine, thus leaving Valerie a small opening in which she might be able to infiltrate the base without issue.

Even so, Valerie knew that even getting to the base undetected was going to be a challenge in itself. But considering this might be her only opportunity to do so Valerie would simply have to take the risk, as she then did a final check, making sure that all her gear was ready to go at a moment's notice, as she then started making her way down to the infiltration point.

As she did so Valerie sent a quick message to her Clan, informing him of what she had found. Also, what she included were instaurations on what they should do if they didn't hear from her in the next 24 hours.

But as Valerie then sent this message, she couldn't help but wonder to herself just how she was going to pull this off.

Even so, despite any uncertainty that Valerie might have she was certain of one thing: she would be taking no prisoners on this trip.

It had taken Valerie longer than expected to infiltrate the base, as she had been forced to go around to where the open landing field was and from there made a mad dash to cover what she assumed was a storage area. The fact that Valerie had made it this far without being detected was nothing short of a miracle in her eyes.

Still, Valerie didn't linger on this feeling for too long, as she immediately started making her way towards where she guessed the main control center was. All the while Valerie made sure to Valerie made sure she scanned the area around her as she did so, as she knew that this deep in the base, she couldn't afford to raise the alarm.

Because Valerie had no illusion as to what would happen to her if the alarm was raised, as she was in no way equipped to deal with this kind of situation. But despite knowing that Valerie pressed on, fully aware that there was absolutely no room for her to make any mistakes on this job.

As she then slipped into one of the nearby buildings so she could take a guard from behind. To hopefully dispatch him quickly and move on before anyone he wasn't reporting in and came to investigate.

Taking a moment to prepare, Valerie then opened the door and without giving him a chance to turn around she quickly grabbed and cut open his throat with her readied vibroblade.

But just as his body started to hit the ground did Valerie then realize her mistake. As there was another guard in the building across from her!

Knowing there was no time to take him out quietly Valerie reached for her blaster, all the while hoping that he was a slower shot.

But thankfully for her, she would never learn the answer to that question, as moments before anyone could pull the trigger the door behind the guard opened. It seemed to Valerie that the man knew what was about to happen as he tied to save himself. But this didn't change anything as a large then cleaved the unfortunate man's head clean off from his body.

As it took a moment for Valerie to process what had just taken place.

But that time her saver had already moved his body into the building from where he had come and was already gesturing to her to join him.

Seeing this Valerie immediately moved the body of the guard she had just killed into the building behind her; then took a moment to ensure that she didn't repeat the mistake that had nearly gotten her in trouble earlier. As Valerie checked to make sure that there weren't any more guards around, once Valerie was satisfied that there weren't, she immediately rushed over to the building from which savour had appeared.

"You were sloppy and nearly ruin it for the both of us." The man commented the moment she closed the door behind her.

"I couldn't see him from the warehouse, as they had most of the windows blocked." Valerie tried to explain to him.

But he wasn't having any of her excuses, as he made that very clear in his response.

"That's still not an excuse for not doing your basics." He commented as he continued to work on the COM that he had taken from the now-deceased guard.

For a moment Valerie felt like giving this barve a piece of her mind, but there was something in his voice that stopped her from doing so. As she recognized the tone of voice he was using as similar to that of her ba'buirs when he had scolded her for making a mistake.

Realizing this Valerie's earlier feelings of irritation melted away and were replaced with that curiosity. For it was obvious that the man in front of her had to be some renown, as his gear suggested that; the most notable of which was his green, black armour. As Valerie instantly realized that her saviour was fully equipped with a full set of beskar armour.

Something that was no small feat, as she knew that a full set of Mandalorian Shocktrooper armour made of pure beskar tended to cost more than most frigates these days!

Knowing this Valerie could easily infer that she was most likely dealing with someone who was from one of the more influential Clans in the sector.

"If I may ask; what Clan do you hail from?" Valerie then inquired.

As she hoped by doing this that she would be able to ascertain the identity of the man in front of him while hopefully moving their conversation away from where it originally started.

Luckily, it seemed that the stranger also wanted to get this out of the way as well, as he introduced himself in the usual way that one Clan would introduce themselves to another for the first time.

"I'm Ijaat; of Clan Cadera and you?" Ijaat then inquired about Valerie.

Who responded in the same way that Ijaat had.

"I'm Valerie, of Clan Einhherjar." Valerie introduces herself to the members of Clan Cadera.

"So, Valerie, why is it that you are here?" Ijaat then inquired.

As he wanted to know what had brought her here in the first place.

"I was hired to do a job investigating the disappearance of younglings in towns and cities throughout the area. The trail leads me here." She then explained to him.

Valerie also left out the fact that it was the New Mandalorians that had given her this contact in the first place. As she didn't want to get into the reason why she had to accept this particulate contact.

"Sounds to me like the auetiises trying to rebuild their ranks," Ijaat commented as he finished working on his captured Com-link.

"If they are then they haven't noticed all the discontent throughout the sector," Valerie commented.

"Wouldn't surprise me, as they're desperate and alienated a lot of the Clans during the war," Ijaat remarked as he put his captured Com-link away into one of his pockets.

"If this is the case then we need to shut this place down!" The raw anger in Valerie's voice was completely understandable.

As the mere thought of what the Death Watch could be doing to those stolen younglings made her blood boil.

"Agreed, you don't mind if we work together on this?"

"So long as you don't claim my bounty," Valerie made a point about saying this.

As she simply could afford to split the bounty with him, not with the financial situation their Clan was currently in.

"Don't worry; this is a personal matter for me," Ijaat assured her.

As Ijaat wasn't in this for the credits, as he was more interested in just what the dar'manda were doing with their kidnapped victims so he could report this to his Clan's chieftain.

This action was a new low even for the Death Watch, as even their old leader Tor Vizsla had standers as few as they might be at least had the decently of killing every member of a Clan that had to defy him. Guess this just showed how low his fellow dar'manda were willing to go considering that they were willing to follow his orders in the first place.

"Then I don't have an issue with teaming up," Valerie said as she made her way to the doorway.

But just as she was about to open it the Com in Ijaat's pocket went off. Hearing this Ijaat took out a COM and seemed to check something on it before explaining what it was to Valerie.

"There's a ship coming in. As I sliced into the bases perimeter sensors to make sure that we didn't get any surprises." Ijaat explained to her.

"Any idea as to what kind of ship it is?" Valerie inquired to which Ijaat shook his head.

"We would need visual confirmation to know what kind of we deal are with," Ijaat stated simply.

Despite being able to slice into the base's sensors, it didn't tell him who or what entered the base. Simply that something had entered into it, which was better than not knowing at all in Ijaat opinion.

"Then let's get moving then. As I want to know what the dar'manda are up to." Valerie said as she opened the door and made her way outside.

Following her lead, Ijaat then took a moment to make sure that his captured Com-link was connected to his helmet before he followed Valerie through the door, she had exited the building from.

It didn't take them long to locate what they needed. As there was a practically tall building that was located on the western end of the base, a fact made it easier considering that they were currently located on the south side. Because of this fact, both Valerie and Ijaat decided to simply skirt around the center of the base, not wanting to set off any alarms until they had a firmer grasp of just what kind of situation they were dealing with.

But that didn't mean that they didn't encounter any difficulties, but between the two of them, they were able to dispatch them rather quickly as they finally reached their destination.

"The buildings clear; you can start making your way up now." The voice of Valerie came through his Com loud and clear.

"Understood, I'm making my way up to you. Cover me if you can." Ijaat replied as he started making his way up to where Valerie currently was.

As he did so Ijaat couldn't help but wonder just what kind of situation they were dealing with, because for all he knew they could be looking at an illegal arms deal between the Hutts and the Death Watch.

But even if this wasn't the case Ijaat still needed an idea of just what they were dealing with so that they could plan appropriately. But that was something that he could worry about once he had a better idea of what was happening, as he then reached the top of the building and made his way over to Valerie.

"Did any other ships arrive while I was making my way up?" Ijaat inquired.

"No, so far it's just been the one ship," Valerie stated simply as she continued to scan the area with her rifle.

Also wanting to get an idea of just what they were dealing with; Ijaat used the range finder in his helmet to scan the center of the base. At which point his attention was immediately drawn to the Kom'rk-class fighter currently sitting outside of what he assumed to be the base's main building.

If Ijaat was to give his personal opinion on the craft, it would be something of a mixed review. As for what contacts he had within the Mandalorian Patrol, they said that it was a rather poor excuse for a fighter, but at the same time, it was nothing short of excellent in terms of getting troops where they needed to go in one piece.

So, in retrospect, it leaned more heavily towards being a troop ship rather than being a fully dedicated fighter. But Ijaat guessed that was the cost that MandalMotors had to pay to have the New Mandalorians authorize the construction of the new craft.

'For their nuhun of a police force,' Ijaat thought bitterly to himself.

As from a couple of contacts he had within the New Mandalorian government Ijaat knew what was going on. This only made him realize that the resurgent Death Watch would have a vast pool of recruits to draw upon should another civil war kick-off.

'The Clan head needs to be informed.' Ijaat then thought to himself.

As they needed to know what was taking place on Concordia so that they could act appropriately. If only to possibly spare the whole sector the pain of another Civil War. Because that would be almost a certainty should Death Watch be able to fully reform once again.

Knowing this Ijaat knew that he would have to gather as much information on the Death Watch while he was here. Once he had gathered enough information, he could show the dar'manda why he had gained the bounty placed on him by many crime lords over the years.

"Ijaat! Something is happening near one of the warehouses!" The voice of Valerie immediately drew him out of his thoughts as he tried to figure out where she was looking.

"Where is this taking place?" He asked her, as he then tried to locate the source of the activity that Valerie had alerted him to.

"Left side; furthest away from the landing pad," Valerie stated simply.

When Ijaat finally found what Valerie had been speaking about, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Which was rather understandable, as what was happening to the poor guards there was almost impossible to see. As whatever was tearing through them was moving too fast for them to see, as all Ijaat could make out was something of a green blur.

"Any idea what just happened?" Valerie sounded in a state of disbelief as she asked this.

This was rather understandable, as she and Ijaat had just watched something take down no less than ten guards without firing a shot. As such it took a moment for Ijaat to respond, as he was still trying to understand just what had witnessed.

"Something just took out the guards around that building. No kriffing clue as to what did it." Ijaat stated simply as he continued to scan the area for any signs of activity.

"Okay, so what are we going to do about it?" Valerie then asked, a note of uncertainty colouring her voice.

Because Valerie herself wasn't entirely sure as to what action they should take. As such, she was more than willing to follow Ijaat's lead on this, given that he was more experienced than her in this kind of situation.

"We're going to investigate that warehouse. As it's probably the best opportunity we're going to get to sneak to the main building unseen." Ijaat explained.

As despite knowing the risk of running into whatever had taken down the Death Watch guards; Ijaat knew that there was a chance that whatever it was wouldn't attack them on sight if they played their cards right. As it was now obvious to him that they couldn't play this mission safe any longer, as once those troops failed to report in then every remaining soldier would know that perimeter was breached.

"What about the thing that's probably in there?" Valerie asked as the two of them started to move.

"Leave that to me," Ijaat assured her; even though it wasn't that convening.

But despite that Valerie knew that she had to trust Ijaat's judgment. Even as Valerie silently hoped that Ijaat knew just what he was having them walk into.

"What happened here?" Valerie asked aloud as she carefully stepped over the form of a dead Death Watch soldier.

"Don't know, but whatever it is, it's good," Ijaat commented as he scanned the area with both blasters in hand.

As he hadn't expected to come across this as what he and Valerie had come across was something you would've expected to find in a third-rate holo-drama. But no, they were instead faced with something that was straight out of one, as neither Valerie nor Ijaat were aware of anyone who could take down at least two dozen Mandos without firing a shot.

So, their thoughts immediately turned to what could've possibly done this. They had both agreed that it must've been some new kind of droid.

Even so, there was the simple fact that Ijaat had only seen one person, which didn't rule out other beings involved in what had taken place. But if that were the case then he would've seen someone else, but from what he could tell from of the forms dead and dying Death Watch members, they had been thrown with enough force to inflect the fatal injuries they were seeing.

Well, whatever it was that had done this, both Valerie and Ijaat were about to come face-to-face with it in a couple of short minutes.

"Still planning to talk now?" Valerie asked nervously, as Ijaat approached one of the doors to the warehouse.

"I'm keeping my options opened," Ijaat commented as he went to inspect one of the doors.

As he found that it had been forced open, and the alarm system had been completely bypassed. This only helped to convince Ijaat that they were dealing with some kind of droid, if not a Jedi.

Because if they found themselves facing either one then Ijaat already had an escape plan in mind should need to make a quick exit. But despite having one, Ijaat wasn't entirely sure if his plan would work, especially if they ran into a Jedi.

"Any idea what those options might be?" Valerie then inquired.

As she wanted to know what her partner had in mind.

"I'll let you know when I think of it." Ijaat tried to make light of the situation.

But honestly, Ijaat wasn't sure how to plan this out, as there was so much information that he was missing. Even so, he did have an idea as to how they would escape, and it would rely heavily on their jet packs and some luck.

Even so, Ijaat knew how to make his luck, as it was an old habit by now.

"Great," Valerie said sarcastically as she then followed him into the building.

The two of them slowly made their way through the warehouse, all the while on guard for what they knew to be the building with them.

"Catwalk," Ijaat then pointed out.

At which point Valerie knew what he wanted to do. So, without so much as a word, the two of them quickly found a ladder and made their way up. Though they could've used their jet packs, the sound would've alerted everyone in the building to their presents.

Once they were safely up on the catwalk Ijaat and Valerie continued with their investigation of the building. So far, they hadn't encountered any signs of their mystery attacker; that was until they heard something in what they guessed to be the main storage area.

"Follow my lead," Ijaat said as he slowly made his way towards the source of the sound, weapon drawn.

Valerie followed his lead, as they both quietly made their way into the main storage area.

"What do you see?" Valerie then inquired as she finally reached the same piece of cover, he had.

"Take a look for yourself," Ijaat said as he pointed out the lone figure that he had spotted.

Valerie did as she was told and believe what she was seeing. As she immediately recognized their mystery person as the green giant that she had run into the last couple of times she had walked around town!

'What in the nine Corellian hells is he doing here!?' Valerie asked herself in something of a panic.

As she wasn't expecting him to cross stars with him again so soon; especially because she still hadn't worked up the courage to approach him while he was alone in the town's local Tap-café.

"Any idea's as to what we're dealing with?" Ijaat then inquired.

"I do," Valerie stated much to Ijaat's surprise.

"I'm surprised to hear that if there were someone like that in Keldabe he would be the talk of the town," Ijaat said as he kept an eye on the Spartan.

"I don't know too much about him other than he's been hanging around the local mining towns for the last two weeks." Valerie then explained to him.

"So, the private type; still lets if we can at least approach him and ask him what he's doing here," Ijaat said to which Valerie nodded in agreement.

Ironically, this was the best possible option that was available to them, as Valerie was more aware of the rumours regarding the Chief's fighting prowess.

Without another word the two of them started to follow the Spartan, which quickly lead them to another room in which they saw the Spartan crush the lock on one of the containers. After which he opened it to reveal a whole group of younglings that had been stuffed into the container.

Realizing that this wasn't the place to approach the Chief; Ijaat knew that the Spartan was more liable to simply shot and ask questions later with the presents of younglings in the room with him. But just as he and Valerie started to move a warning shot came only centimetres above their heads as Ijaat realized what had happened.

'The stang, he must have a motion tracker built into that armour.' Ijaat thought to himself as he looked over at Valerie, who for her part seemed to be on the ball.

As he could see that she had a smoke grenade in hand.

"Wait for my signal; don't do anything unless things start to go south," Ijaat instructed her as the voice of the giant rang out in the room.

"Stand up and state your identity and intent. Failure to comply will be met with force." The cool and crisp voice of the man came through the helmet's speakers.

Following his instructions, Ijaat then stood up with his hand above his head all the while hoping that he hadn't misread the man from the brief time he had seen him.

"Su cuy, I'm Ijaat of Clan Cadera." Ijaat stated his name and that of his Clan while making sure that the Spartan could see that his hands were empty.

Hoping that this would give him a chance to explain why they were here without getting shot. Thankfully, it seemed that Ijaat's choice to stand up with his hands up and without a weapon gave him the opening he was hoping for, as the Chief started asking questions.

"Why are you here?" The giant then demanded.

"We were hired to uncover why younglings were disappearing from the local towns. All the leads we followed pointed us here." Ijaat explained, using the reason why Valerie was originally here to cover for them both.

For a moment completely silent hung between the three of them, as Ijaat guessed that this man was weighing his options. Valerie on the other hand felt as if he was consulting with someone else on this matter.

What also didn't help this tension for Valerie was the fact that she was nervous about potentially allying herself with the same man that not long ago she and her brother had been trading blaster bolts with. Even so, Valerie wasn't going to advertise this fact to him, lest this information sways him from allying with them. But luckily for her Valerie didn't have to deal with the consequences of those actions, yet the Spartan was more interested in the truth of Ijaat's claims.

"Can you confirm this?" The giant then asked.

To which Ijaat nodded.

"Valerie, transfer him the job details," Ijaat commanded, to which Valerie didn't miss a beat.

As she then transferred the work order over to giant for him to confirm their story. After which another long silence fell between the three of them. That was until the man in olive green armour finally spoke up.

"Why were you following me?" The demand was clear.

"We saw you take out the guards and make your way into the building. As such, we used the opening in the hopes we could gather more information as to where the missing ade were held." Ijaat explained to the Chief.

Chief didn't respond, as Valerie could feel his gaze fall upon her; as if trying to judge Ijaat words by looking at her.

Still, he was thankful that Ijaat then spoke up to break the uncomfortable situation.

"So, you have a name or a Clan?" Ijaat then asked.

"You can call me Chief or Sir." The Chief replied simply.

"Very well; Chief so what are plans regarding them?" Ijaat inquired about the group of younglings that were hiding behind the Spartan.

"I was planning to continue clearing out the area, while I'm doing that, I expect you and Valerie will take the kids too safely, as that's your mission," Chief said as if it was a foregone conclusion.

Which didn't Valerie didn't respond very well to being dismissed from her bounty very lightly, as she then spoke up.

"I for one didn't come this far to not leave the job half done!" Valerie said, taking herself by surprise.

But then again Valerie had taken the contact, and honour stipulated that she followed it through to the end. Then again it could be argued that it had already been completed, but for Valerie, it would be once the reason as to why they were being taken was also found and removed as well.

For a moment, another silence fell over the three, as Ijaat and Valerie waited for Chief's reply as to whether he would allow them to work alongside them. As John weighed his options, on the one hand, what Ijaat's partner; and the Spartan had known that they had been there but hadn't made an issue of it was rather surprising to him.

As John would've expected them to prioritize the safety of the children and leave him to deal with the rest of this Death Watch cell given that was what the two of them were being paid for. But as Cortana pointed out to him, strange things had happened, so this left the Spartan with two obvious choices.

Either accept their help or decline it.

But given the fact that Chief knew that it would be easier for them to work tighter on this rather than get in one another's way, he was open to working with them. So long as they could pull their weight, as John wasn't going to tolerate liabilities on this mission, especially considering the possible stakes that failure might involve.

"Very well; Sarad," Chief then called out as a small Pantoran girl made her way to him.

"Yes?" The small voice of Sarad easily reached everyone's ears.

"There's been a change in plans; as such you'll have to say here until we secure the area. Are you okay with this?" John then asked.

As he knew that he was asking a lot of a six-year-old, especially because he had promised her that he would get her out the moment he found her and the other kidnapped children.

"I'm okay; will you lock the door so they can't get in?" Sarad then asked.

To which the Chief nodded.

"I'll seal the door behind me, if anyone tries to breach it contact me immediately," John stated simply.

Despite training Sarad for about a week in how to fire a blaster with the Historian, the Spartan didn't want to learn as to how well she had absorbed those lessons. Especially given whom Sarad would be fighting against if she did end up in a firefight; still this was a risk that the Spartan had to take.

"You still have your weapon and COM?" Chief then inquired, to which Sarad responded by showing him her small holdout blaster and the COM unit that had originally been hidden on her.

At this point, the Spartan then turned to see that Ijaat and Valerie were now on the ground level with him. They descended from the catwalk while he had been talking with Sarad.

"I'll need your help in securing this room," Chief stated simply as without another word the three of them quickly got to work.

It had taken them a couple of stander minutes to make sure the room was secure and could only be opened from the inside. Once that was done and John gave Sarad some final instaurations did the three of them finally leave and continued to investigate the building. Taking out any enemies as they came across them until they reached what Cortana had suspected was the main nerve center for the whole operation.

"I'm picking up at least ten hostiles," Chief informed his newly found companions.

"Understood, we don't have time to do this right. So, we'll have to do it fast, are you all ready?" Ijaat asked.

To which he got a nod of yes from both Valerie and the Chief. At this point, Ijaat pulled a stun grenade from his belt and throw it into the room, after which they quickly followed it by breaching the room and after a couple of quick bursts of gunfire, they had secured the room.

"Clear," Valerie called out once she confirmed that all their targets were down.

"Confirmed, all hostilities eliminated," The Chief confirmed as he lowered his weapon and started to search the room for any Intel they could use.

"I got something," Valerie said, as the two others joined her.

"Is it Intel on where they're keeping the rest of the hostages?" Chief asked the woman.

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just the name of the silmeball they were working with. It also seems to contain details as to where they were planning a meeting." Valerie sounded a bit frustrated by this fact.

"We need to go there if we're going to put an end to this." Ijaat then looked at the Chief, "Unless you have a problem with this?"

To which Chief remained silent. Not because he had a problem with what Ijaat was suggesting, as John had originally here to put a stop to this operation; even if that mean going off-world to do so. As the Spartan knew full well that taking down this operation wouldn't do them any good if they didn't remove the money that was funding it. Because if they didn't and given the current state of Concordia's economy then someone somewhere on the moon would try to do this again.

Knowing this, John had one simple question for his newly found companion.

"How do you suggest we infiltrate? As there's a good chance, they know that this base has been compromised." Chief then asked.

As it was a good question and one that Ijaat didn't have an answer to. Still, as he thought of a solution Ijaat eyes then fell upon Valerie, who was still searching the bodies of the down guards for more intelligence they could use. As she did so Ijaat couldn't help but notice that she and one of the guards' armour were almost the same size, which gave Ijaat an idea, even if he knew that it was something of a long shot. But considering their option he felt it was at least worth a try.

"Valerie; how good are you at Sabacc?" Ijaat then asked her.

"I'm good enough if you're planning what you're thinking," Valerie said as she then took a shoulder guard from one of the down Death Watch soldiers that were about her size.

Ijaat then took the shoulder guard from Valerie's hand as he then drew his WESTERN-35.

Putting his blaster on low power; Ijaat shot the shoulder guard. The beskar armour absorbed without any seeming effect, other than to slightly carbon-scoring the Death Watch insignia on it.

At which point Ijaat fired a couple more shots until the insignia was nothing more than a blackened area of carbon scoring. But when he turned to hand Valerie his handy work, he found that she was currently stripping the down soldier of her gauntlets and other small pieces of her armour.

Valerie must've sensed that the two men were looking at her, so she explained what she was doing.

"I probably won't get another chance to acquire classic beskar'gam," Valerie explained, as she took the second vambrace off the dead soldier.

"Besides," Valerie then held up hers and the one she had taken, "It's already better them my kit." She pointed out.

Because if Valerie was going along with this plan, then she was going to need every advantage she could get. Especially if the Chief, as he called himself, figured out that she was involved in the incident with her brother.

As Valerie still hadn't figured out how to approach this man, as his body language itself seemed to want to keep her out was unnerving, to say the least.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Valerie asked herself silently as she finished putting on her new arm guards.

As Valerie then inspected them, knowing that they were better than her original kit. As they were made of pure beskar and had a larger array of features that she hadn't been able to afford with her old vambraces.

But this was a fact of life in the Mandalorian sector, that its once famed for metal: Beskar was being held back from its population due to the tariffs that Satine had placed on the metal.

A single chest plate now costs more than two new starfighters currently on the open market. Because of this most Clans were forced to substitute their famous iron armour for cheaper facsimiles. The most popular and easiest to a Durasteel, for the simple fact that for the cost it provided a good amount of protection from most stander weapons bounty hunters would come across in the galaxy.

There were of course other materials available but weren't either as available or simply cost more for the same protection one would get with just using a Durasteel plate.

Even so, Durasteel was also starting to become rather expensive for those in the sector as well. As Satine continued to pursue her agenda of having the Mandalore sector integrated into the wider Republic.

For many Mando'a saw what Satine was doing as a betrayal of her home world. But Ijaat saw what she was trying to do a little differently; as he knew what Satine was trying to get on the Republic's good side, so they could potentially avoid a repeat of the Dral'Han and be allowed to manage their affairs by being kriffing interfered with by the shabbing Republic and their allies.

But sadly, as Ijaat knew that Satine had a fetal combination, as she was both an idealist and a reformer. As this was probably the worst combination you could find in a leader given the situation that Satine now found herself in. For she found herself taking actions that were attempting to please both parties which in reality only made them more resentful towards her.

Still, Ijaat could only pity her, as he knew that Satine was doing what she felt that it was in the best interest of Mandalore. This was the most tragic part in his eyes, as Clan Kryze, had originally been a well-respected Clan before this had all happened. As such, they had been one of Tor Vizsla's major targets during the war; as they had openly supported the True Mandalorians and had suffered greatly for that loyalty and support.

Still, this didn't stop most Mandalorians like Valerie from seeing Satine and her 'New Mandalorians' as a threat and a lap dog to the Republic given that Satine was seen as both senator and what passed for a governor in the Republics' eyes.

Even so, Ijaat had to agree with both parties on the fact that Satine's new government was a problem that the Mandalore people needed to deal with sooner rather than later.

"I'll get the ship ready. Meet me there once you're done." Chief then informed his new allies.

As he then walked off further into the warehouse leaving the two of them alone in the room Ijaat and Valerie then watched as this Master Chief disappeared into the darkness beyond the doorway.

"Well, isn't he an interesting verd," Ijaat commented once the Chief was gone.

"How did you know that he wouldn't shoot us on sight?" Valerie asked.

"Trust me, when you've been in this business long enough you learn to pick up on such things. As it can be a matter of life or death." Ijaat explained.

Because this was truly the case, knowing the differences between a thug and an ex-military person could be the differences between you catching your bounty or getting a blaster bolt to the gut. Even so, he had found it rather hard to read this Master Chief, but he had enough experience to tell that he was at least from a military background. But from where Ijaat wasn't sure.

"Can he be trusted?" Valerie asked the question on bother their minds.

"So long as we're straightforward with him, otherwise I can't promise anything," Ijaat said what Valerie had already figured out as she finished stripping the guard of her armour.

As she did so Valerie couldn't help but wonder what might happen should the Chief find out about her involvement with what had taken place at the relay with her brother.

She had more than once tried to approach him in the hopes that they could talk it over. But something had stopped her from doing so as if she could feel something off about the man, honestly, Valerie wasn't sure what it was that made her stop in her tracks everything she had tried to approach him.

But it was too late for her to do so now, as such Valerie for her part just hoped that if the Chief didn't find out the part she had played with her brother at the relay, because if he did it would not only put herself in danger but also put Ijaat at risk as well. As Valerie fully explained to the Chief to retaliate if he found out that she was the sister of the man who shot at him with a disrupter.

But knowing there was nothing she could do to change this fact Valerie simply focused on collecting the last of the armour she would need for this plan, as once she had finished collecting and changing over her kit; Valerie then followed Ijaat as they then left the room to meet up with the Chief.

"Is that everything?" Ijaat asked Valerie.

"Everything we need to pull this off." She said, turning to the Chief.

Valerie was still uncomfortable around the giant, not only because of the man himself. But what would happen once he figured it out, she was hiding something from him, was anyone's guess.

"Is there a problem?" The Chief then asked.

Valerie then realized she had been staring at the man, and immediately looked away from him.

"Just, a bit nervous that's all." Valerie lied, not sure how the Chief would interpret it.

For a long painful moment, he said nothing as if weighing her words. Valerie for her part was glad for her bucket, as it gave her a straight face when it otherwise would've been impossible.

"Understood," Chief replied simply.

As this wasn't the first time his presence had made others uncomfortable, even so, he would be keeping his eye on Valerie as he got the sense that she wasn't giving him everything.

That much was obvious, even so, Chief and Cortana would keep a close watch on her regardless. As he then entered the cockpit, to find the other Mandalorian: Ijaat as he was called still working his way through the computer.

"I've got all the data plugged into the Navi-computer. All Valerie will have to do is take us up to a jump point, after that, all we can hope is that our bluff works." Ijaat said reminded everyone of how much of a long shot this plan was.

Even so, both he and the Chief were used to dealing with plans that had the odds stacked against them. Besides between the three of them, they could figure something out. Besides, the Chief had an ace up his sleeve that the two Mandalorians weren't aware of.

"I'm ready to start this when you are," Valerie said as she made her way to the cockpit hatch.

"Good; Valerie go take your position in the cockpit. Me and Chief will check and make sure that our friends didn't leave any surprises aboard." Ijaat said as Valerie then opened the hatch and took her position in the captain's chair.

Taking a moment to scan the controls, Valerie saw that everything was primed except for the fact that the boarding ramp was still down. Which was quickly fixed when she hit the right control and heard the beep that confirmed that it was closed. Once that was done Valerie did one last check and confirmed that the boarding ramp closed and all those who had volunteered to come with them safely inside the Kom'rk-fighter. After confirming that this was the case, Valerie then hit the controls that would power up the ship's repulsorlifts.

As the larger unwieldy fighter slowly started to rise from the base landing ground and its large wings rotated into place; once they had moved into position and locked the oversized ship then shot into the sky dark above.

But little did anyone realize that this action would set in motion a chain of events that would reverberate not only across Concordia and the Mandalorian sector but the wilder galaxy in the months and years to come.

Mando'a dictionary:

Auetiises - traitor, foreigner, outsider

Mando'ade - Mandalorians (Pl) - sons and/ or daughters of Mandalore

Ba'buir - Grandfather/Grandmother

Nuhun – Joke

Beskar'gam - armor

Dar'manda – A state of not being Mandalorian - not an outsider, but one who has lost his heritage, and so his identity and his soul - regarded with absolute dread by most traditional-minded Mando'ade

Ade – children, sons, daughters

Verd – soldier, warrior

Beskads – A slightly curved saber made from Mandalorian iron

Su cuy' – Short for Su cuy'gar which translates into Hello and literally means *You're still alive.*

That's it for this chapter; I hoped that you all enjoyed it.

Sorry if anything felt a bit rushed, but simply put I wanted to get this out to you all as soon as I could, especially given the unforeseen delay. So please forgive any issues with this chapter in the meantime, as I'll probably make my way back and edit it again sometime in the future. But despite any error on my part, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter despite the long delay.

Still, I would like to thank all those who supported me this far, with either ideas or just support in general it really helps.

Anyway, that's all from me and until next time have a good one.

PS: we've reached over 100,000 views; as such I'll give you all a little snipped of what is to come…

"Threatening Statement: Release me now and I will ensure that you and your meatbag master's death will be as painless as possible. Failure to do so will result in your immediate termination upon my escape."

"Oh, I don't think so."