I am back with another chapter for you all.

Just a heads up, there is a little time skip, but too major, as I will be explaining what happened in between, which honestly would not have been interesting to read about. Mostly because it would have been unimportant things, still expecting the cliff notes in the opening.

Anyway, I rambled along for long enough, so let us get into the story, shall we?

As per usual, all credit for this story idea goes to Worldwonderer, and a big thank you to all those who have helped support this story with their feedback and ideas, as it does help. And as always, all rights go to their owners as I own nothing!

PS: Still looking for a beta reader if you are interested PM me and we can talk details and I will credit you as well.

It had been close to three weeks since Chief's mission to the Bloody Talon. And in those two and a half weeks Chief had not been idle.

As after he had finally parted ways with Ijaat and Valerie; John had almost immediately made his way back to the abandoned Death Watch base with the sole intention of claiming it for his own use.

Because firstly it was an obvious upgrade regarding his current living situation, and secondly, he wanted to ensure that another Death Watch cell didn't move back into the now vacant complex.

Even though he knew that time was of the essence, it still took John over two days to ensure that the surrounding area around the base was clear and secure.

While he did this, John had also installed defensive turrets on the base walls to deter anyone from attempting to sneak in while he wasn't there.

Even so, the Spartan knew that these defences wouldn't stop any determined Mandalorian group from breaching the walls. John could work on this issue later, as he had more pressing concerns at the moment.

Chief of which, was ensuring that everything was transferred over from his old base of operations in a timely matter.

But while John had been busy moving everything over to their new home, Cortana's dealings with the galactic stock exchange had finally borne fruit, as they both now had access to a large amount of credits which they could use to finance their operations across the planet.

A fact that John and Cortana had been taking full advantage of by sponsoring certain Mandalorians on the moon of Concordia.

As they helped ensured that the Mandalorian in question could kit themselves out and more often than not, be able to afford a ship to get off this rock and do some jobs off-world.

Usually, in exchange for this financial aid, John would ask for them to pass along any information they came across, exotic pieces of technology, or depending on just how much Cortana had provided in funding, they might be obligated to give them a certain amount of credits per job they did.

At least until they pay off the loan from him and Cortana, at which point they would be able to choose whether they wanted to continue working with them with a slightly different arrangement.

This whole scheme had been Cortana's brainchild; while Chief for his part had seen no problems with it. As it helped them honestly because they needed people who could move around the galaxy without drawing too much attention to themselves while feeding them information.

Besides, it was easier to hide their tracks if they subcontracted certain things out to different parties.

But this wasn't the only thing they were doing with their newfound credits, as the two of them had already begun stockpiling certain materials that most of the sector would need should trade be cut off in the coming war.

Most of which was on backorder, thanks in part due to Cortana.

As she justified this move by explaining to the Chief that if they ordered everything all at once, it would attract unwanted attention to them. John had reluctantly agreed to Cortan's decision to spread the deliveries over a six to eight-month period.

Still, that didn't mean John was simply going to wait around for all these supplies to arrive, as he had already approached Mandal Hypernautics to see if they were willing to refurbish the Shaadlar troop transport that he had acquired in the meantime.

They had agreed and given him a price for doing so, a price that John could afford to give Cortana windfall from her trades on the galactic stock exchange.

Even so, John could expect to be without the Shaadlar for at least two to three weeks, as the technicians at Mandal Hypernautics repaired it and brought the transport up to current standards.

Which wouldn't be that much of a change for John, as he had been relying on his Pelican dropship to ferry him around the system for a while now.

As such, John could afford to wait until the Shaadlar was ready.

But in the meantime, there were other things to keep the Spartan busy, as the two original children that Chief had originally taken in had turned into five, as the Historian had sent a message to the Chief stating that he required his help with something.

Not knowing what this was, he and Cortana had made their way over to where his museum was located. Once they had gotten there, however, they found something that they had not been expecting.

As in the Historians office, where at least three kids of at least around the ages of eight to ten.

At which point the old Mandalorian explained that they had tried to steal some food from him when he had caught them.

If it had been by anyone else then the three kids would've most likely been shipped off to an orphanage in the New Mandalorian capital of Sundari.

At which point would they be left to rot in the system, because despite what they said the New Mandalorian did not have that same culture of adoption that had so a part of the true ways as the old man had called it.

Knowing this, the Historian asked if the Chief would be willing to take them in.

A request that John had first turned down, as he already had his hands full with the two he already had. But the only old man had insisted for some reason, to which John wasn't sure if he intentions with this.

The only reason why he had accepted them in the end was because of a compromise that Cortana had struck between them, as John would train and take care of them. And in exchange for this, the Historian would attempt to find a Clan that would be willing to take them in as soon as possible.

That and not spring this kind of surprise on the Spartan again.

Still, this left John with his latest problem, as he still wasn't certain how he should train them.

Because on the one hand, there was no way that he was going to train them to be like Spartans, but on the other hand, he knew that they weren't going to be living civilian lives either.

As from what the Chief understood of the Mandalorian culture; most Mandalorians were expected to be ready for war should their leader make the call.

This, alongside the fact that most professionals that Mandalorians are usually involved in violence in one form or another.

So after thinking this over, John decided that it was probably best that he trained all of them up to the standards of an ODST and would also see if he would hire someone to ensure that they got any extra training they might need after he was long gone from this galaxy.

Still, there was the obvious question of how he was going to raise them so that they would be accepted back into the Mandalorian Culture when he finally left them.

A concern that he bought up to the Historian he then explained that if they were able to pass the trials to adulthood and impressed a prospective Clan that might accept them in.

As the Historian was more than aware of the Chief's situation, even so, he was hoping that this might help make the Spartan look more into Mandalorian customers on his own time.

Even so, John did ask him to help him ensure that they would at least be able to learn what they needed until he had time to look into some of it.

To which the Historian agreed to help Chief in this regard, and alongside that, he also promised that he would look out for them while Chief was away doing jobs for him.

Which was a welcome surprise for the two of them. As that meant that the Spartan and the AI could move around freely without having the kids become too much of an impediment to them.

Still, he was not entirely sure as to whether he should be doing this; an issue that he had raised with Cortana. Who as well seemed uncertain as to the motives of the Historian in this regard.

Even so, John agreed with what he proposed, as it made his situation easier, regarding personal feelings around this. As Cortana had pointed out to him, if they were not able to make it back to the UNSC, then it would pay to have allies in the system. And by having those John had personally trained enter other Clans; this would create a personal connection with other major Clans within Mandalorian space.

Thus, making it even more likely that should they be stuck here in this galaxy that they would not have that much trouble from the other Clans.

A fact should be helped by the fact that neither Chief nor Cortana had any interest in creating any sort of UNSC presence in this galaxy. For the simple reason that by doing this they would simply paint a target on their backs.

As they had already seen the reaction of everyday Mandalorians, to their imposed government. And they both knew that neither the major Clans, New Mandalorians, nor the Republic would sit idly by while John and Cortana built this opposing government.

That was just asking for war, a war that Cortana was certain they could not win. Even so, this might be an option he and Cortana could explore later, should the opportunity present itself.

But one thing was for certain; any idea of setting up a government that was friendly to them was nothing but a pipe dream now, so it was best to deal with more pressing matters.

Such as the matter and nature of Wookiee Wamoshoool and his Life Debt to the Master Chief.

Cortana had insisted that he should ask him for the details of it rather than herself. When he asked why Cortana explained that it was something of a case-by-case basis.

Seeing what she was saying once she explained a little more about it, it turned out that several diverse cultures across this galaxy had this practice, though it varied widely from Culture to Culture.

So, to know what this would entail it was best that John himself asked Wamoshoool. For he would be the only one that could explain what Chief could expect from him, as this was a matter between him and the Wookiee.

Finally bowing to reason, John took the roundabout way of doing this, as he had gained a certain amount of xenophobia considering the war that he had been through with the Covenant. As such it took a while for Chief to build up enough of a repour with Wamoshoool before he asked the question.

At this point, the Wookiees explained that his Life Debt extended to the Spartans' life. For Wamoshoool would endure whatever was needed from him to ensure the completion of this oath he had taken.

John asked him to explain what this meant, to which Wamoshoool told him the story of how the Life Debt came to be on his home world of Kashyyyk.

As he then explained that sometime in the ancient past of Kashyyyk. As a young Wookie was nearly killed in the Shadowland, but he was saved by an elder who had afterwards pledged his life to him.

In honour of that, all Wookiees' were honoured bound to give those that save them the same oath. To which Chief then asked how far this went, to which Wamoshoool explained that it was up to and including his life should the need arise.

John was a little unsettled, as he was not entirely comfortable with this kind of arrangement. Even so, he knew that there was no way that he could change this, but there might be a way for him to at the very least ensure that Wamoshoool could fulfill that oath and let him leave this galaxy when it came time for him and Cortana to return to the UNSC.

As Chief was not sure what would happen to him if he were to come over to UGE space. So, he then explained the cover story that Cortana had produced, that he was from an area of the Unknown Regions. And that he was only planning to remain here until his people could pick him up. For they were the only ones that could navigate that area of space, also he implied that they would not take kindly to unknown ships entering their space.

To which Wamoshoool still insisted that he would travel with him once they arrived. Which was the response that John hoped he would not get from Wookiee.

Seeing that this was going to be an issue, John then promised Wamoshoool that they would sort out this matter once his people came to pick him up, to which the Wookiee had agreed.

Having sorted that potential issue, Chief attention was then turned to a troubling trend that had been taking place within the last week.

As he didn't know just what had happened, or how it had started. But somehow, someway, word of what he had done on the Talon had gotten out and Chief and those he now had on his payroll were now hearing rumours of other Mandalorians calling Chief a Reclaimer as it were.

The reason they called him that was that they saw him saving parts of their history from the New Mandalorians that would like to do nothing more than throw it away in exchange for the ideology that had been given to them by the Galactic Republic.

John of course was not happy with these recent developments, as the Spartan was currently trying to keep as low a profile as was could possible, which wasn't helped at all by all this unwanted attention.

Even so Chief suspended that one of the slaves or prisoners that he had saved on the Bloody Talon had said something to one of the crew onboard the ship, which had eventually managed to follow him back here.

Either way, Chief had asked the Historian to keep an eye on these so-called 'followers' of his, as neither he nor Cortana was completely aware of their intentions regarding himself.

But John was certain of one thing, sooner or later one of the major Clans would take notice of him and his growing following and would attempt to bring him onto their fold.

But little would those attempting this know that if they started this fight with John, that he had every intention of ending it and on his terms.

Even so, John hadn't expected this conflict to start so soon.

As the start of this conflict began on any other day on his newly acquired compound.

John had just finished with his first round of boot camp for the kids he was looking after, and they were now with Cortana, who was giving them a lesson that she and the Historian had put together.

While that was happening, John and Wamoshoool were preparing the Shaadlar transport to be flown over to the nearby mining town where they were to drop off the ship to Mandal Hypernautics so they could begin to work on the ship and get it ready for his needs.

As he had put in a request that it could be used to both haul troops and cargo. Because John knew that he was going to be doing jobs with the Historian on this ship. As such, he needed to ensure that it could pull double duty, for he did have plans to bring this ship back with him to the UNSC when they finally came for him.

But just as he and Wookiee were just finishing the last inspection of the ship did a notification on his HUD appear.

Immediately recognizing what it was, John with a quick flick of his eyes brought up the feed on his HUD. On which now showed a single Mandalorian in gray armour standing at the gate.

"Cortana, what's he doing here?" The Chief then asked his faithful companion.

"He claims to be here to challenge you Chief."

"For what propose?"

"He says that he wishes to challenge you to join his Clan," Cortana informed him, as John stood up and looked towards where his challenger was currently waiting for his response.

Of course, John had expected that something like this would happen eventually once he heard the rumours about him. Even so, he had hoped that this wouldn't happen for at least another month or two.

By then he would've been in a better position to deal with this.

Still, this would've only bought him time, as John remembered what his benefactor had said regarding what he suspected would happen once the other Clans came for him.

As such it would be prudent to deal with this problem now, rather than simply leaving it to fester into something larger and more difficult for him to deal with.

Knowing this, Chief started making his way towards the entry point where this challenger would enter the compound.

"I'll take that as a yes to his challenge then," Cortana said as she appeared in one of the newly installed holo-tanks.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not if you want to be hunted down by everyone in the system." Cortana quipped as Chief shifted his attention back to the main gate.

"So, shall I inform the old fossil about this, and get his master plan underway?" The AI then asked the Chief.

Who responded in the way that she had been expecting.

As the Spartan then turned to look at her and gave her a simple nod.

At this point, Cortana sent the message while opening the gate. Allowing the challenger to enter the base.

But before the unnamed Mandalorian could enter too far into the base, he was quickly intercepted by the Chief.

"I have someone coming to act as a judge, if you have any issues with this you can call someone you wish to judge on your behalf." Chief gave him the prepared information that Cortana had given him.

"I don't have any issues with this. All I wish is for this to be done the Mandalorian way." The man simply requested of the Chief.

Nodding to the man, Chief then led him to where this match of theirs was going to take place. All they needed now was for the Historian to arrive so that he could get this over with.

As he knew that the next couple of days were going to be busy now that his unseen enemies were now making their move on him.

The Historian knew that he would be getting one of these calls eventually, as he, Cortana and the Chief had spoken at length about what would happen once the Chief finally attracted the attention of the major Clans on Concordia.

In the conversation that had followed, it had taken Cortana and himself to talk Chief down from 'Handling the issue'. Because as it had been explained to the Spartan that if he started going around killing everyone that attempted to challenge him, then it would only draw more of them to them.

Also, at a certain point, they would not be simply looking to beat him into submission but would take to hunting him for sport and to prove that they had what it took to bring him down.

Having convinced the Chief of this, they had then made a plan to deal with such an eventuality.

But the Historian would admit that he had not been expecting to be putting the plan into action so soon. For he had at least hoped that they would have a chance for Chief to meet one of the key players that he had been working to locate for some time now.

'He might just have to hunt them down himself.' The old member of the True Mandalorians thought to himself as he then turned his speederbike towards Chiefs new base.

Needless to say, the old man was slight surprise to see where the Spartan had relocated to. But considering the old base that the Chief had been using before, the Historian could safely say this was definitely a major improvement over his old one.

As he continued to race towards the gates that open upon his approach, as the old man rode his speederbike through them and right into the base.

Honestly, he had not expected the Master Chief to have taken over this old military base so quickly. But then again, the Historian found that the Chief and his partner Cortana were full of surprises.

As he then rode his speeder into the main rally area to find the Chief and the lone Mandalorian challenger.

'This can't be right.' The Historian thought to himself.

The usual traditions called for the whole Clan that had been issued to be present. Or at the very least the highest-ranking members to do so. The fact that there were not any, and it was a single Mando'ade raised many questions within the old man's mind.

But he could put the pieces together after he had greeted the two opponents. As the old Mando then dismounted his speeder and walked over to where they were standing.

"Is it just you vod?" The Historian asked the other Mando.

"Sadly, it is." He did not elaborate on this.

A fact that made the Historian more curious as to his case.

"What's your Clan name vod? As I must know if you wish to continue with your challenge." The Historian then stated.

As this was a part of the code for one Clan challenging another to give their name so that it could be noted in the memories of all those present.

"I'm Leo of Clan Beviin." Leo then introduced herself to the Historian.

At which point the Historian knew why it was, he was alone.

'Just what were they offering you that made you agree to do this?' He then asked himself.

But then again, the Historian knew that certain small Clans on Concordia were in a dire situation. As on the one hand they were caught in Satine's economic plans on the one side and the resurgent Death Watch on the other, in which they had been slowly beating smaller and weaker Clans into joining them to not be harassed or more simply straight out killed by them.

Another issue that Satine and her government had been ignoring for quite some time now. But this was not the time for him to dwell on the New Mandalorian government's failures, as the Historian had his ancestry duties to attend to as an elder of his Clan.

"Very well, Leo of Clan Beviin. Do you wish to challenge the Chief in a trial of combat for him to join your Clan?" The Historian asked to which Leo nodded simply.

"As the person accepting this challenge, Chief will be the one to choose the form in which the combat will take place." The Historian informed them.

John had been informed of this ahead of time. As such he already knew what this challenge was going to take.

"A Battle Circle, unarmed combat." Chief started simply.

Because he knew that there would be less danger to his opponents should they stick strictly to melee combat, as John knew that could easily control the fight with his superior reflexes.

"Very well then, Leo of Clan Beviin do you accept this trial of combat?"

"I do, and I accept," Leo replied.

John had to give Leo some respect, as he did not know many Marines or ODST that would be willing to challenge a Spartan, let alone fight them in one-on-one combat.

As such, John would do his best to test Leo and see what he was capable of before he began getting serious. During the war with the Covenant, he had found that defensive forms had slackened, mostly since most engagements happened at range. So, this would be a good chance to brush up while seeing just what the baseline was for most Mandalorian fighters.

Because John had not had the privilege of facing one in single combat before now.

"Very well, verd take your position on the perimeter of the Battle circle!" The old man called out, as John and Leo did what he said. "The rules of this Battle Circle are the following. Leo of Clan Beviin had challenged the Master Chief to a duel. If Leo emerges victorious, then Master Chief will join Clan Beviin. But if the Chief wins, then he will be able to impose his demands on that Clan Beviin. Knowing this, do you both abide by these terms?" The old warrior asked the two men present.

Both participants nodded in agreement with the terms that had been laid out. And with that, any chance for either one of them to back out was now gone, as their honour was now on the line.

"Very well, both of you enter into the battle circle." The Elder said as John and Leo entered the marked area.

"Cortana?"

"Don't worry John, I've scaled back as much as I can. Still, I wouldn't pull your punches too much." Cortana informed him.

This meant that despite her attempts to limit the assistance from MJOLNIR, John would have to watch his punches. That was unless he wanted to kill the man now standing in front of him.

This had also been the reason why he had ensured that this contest had been a physical one as if it had been with blades then he could not be sure about how much control he would have in that situation. But through a physical confrontation, there were many ways in which he could hold himself back while limiting the damage he did to his opponents.

Something that John knew he could do well.

"I wasn't planning to," He replied, as the Historian gave the signal and the contest between the two men began.

John allowed Leo to make the first opening move, both to allow him to see what Leo was capable of and to also allow him to let John get some practice in playing defensively.

Leo was smart enough to realize that he was not going to be able to brute force his to victory against the Spartan. As such he took the only path that was available to him, as he aimed his strikes at Chief's legs.

As Leo knew that this was the only way that he was even going to have a chance at beating him. For his part, John had made sure that Cortana had turned off the energy shields on his MJOLNIR, as they had already asked the Historian, who had confirmed that having such a thing active during a Battle Circle would automatically disqualify him.

But despite knowing this fact, neither John nor Cortana were worried about any permanent damage to the armour from this coming contest.

Still, the thing that John was finding slightly different was trying to figure out a way to block or counter some of his opponents' advances. Something that he could've easily done in other circumstances, but not without breaking any of Leo's bones.

Even so, John did manage to work around this, as he would be able to slide in a hit here and there. As he continued to spar with the Mandalorian. Seeming to sense the way that the Chief was taking this challenge, Leo started to speed up his attack. Switch his strategy, hoping that quantity then quality would allow him to land a decisive blow.

But as the pace of Leo's attacks increased, his defence started to slip.

At which point holes started to open in his defence, seeing this John waited for the right moment to strike. As he knew that right opportunity, he could deliver a decisive strike while at the same time ensuring that this game-ending blow did not end up killing Leo.

Because John had identified him as someone with spirit as it were. And would prefer to keep him around, if possible, because of the potential he saw in him.

At which point he saw his opening. Knowing that this might be his only chance, Chief immediately exploited it as he brought a knee into his opponent's flank. Thankfully for him, the beskar and the undersuit absorbed most of the blow.

Even so, Chief would hear the metal absorbing the blow alongside the surprised gasp by his opponent. As he had not been expecting the strength behind Chief suddenly strike.

But to give some credit to him, Leo did keep fighting. That was until he allowed Chief another opening, at which point he landed a strike to his chest, knowing both the wind and the will to fight out of him. As Leo fell outside of the battle circle and with it the independence of his Clan.

"The match and the winner of the Clan challenge goes to the Master Chief." The Historian said as John had not given him a Clan name.

So instead, he was forced to use the name he was given. It was not the traditional way of doing things, but then again, this whole situation was completely unusual from the regular way in which the Mandalorians used to do things. But then again, the Historian simply took this as a sign of just how much of the old ways had degraded under the yoke of the New Mandalorian puppet government.

As he then watched as Chief then approached Leo and offered him a hand to help him back to his feet. Which he took gladly, as John without any effort helped Leo to his feet.

"I'll leave you two to figure out your arrangement. I'll be waiting inside." The old man sounded tired as he said this.

This was also reflected in his walking speed, as the Historian was barely faster than a basic walk. As the Chief and Leo watched him walk off, Leo then spoke up.

"That was the most-!" He started to say before he let out a cough in which some blood came up.

At this point, John knew that Leo was not in any condition to do anything, at least without getting medical attention. His last strike did more damage than he had originally thought.

'Just like that incident on the Atlas.' John knew that this was a slight exaggeration on his part, but still, he could not help but recall the incident.

As he had not meant to kill or cripple those ODSTs, but at the time he had been still adjusting to his newly augmented body. It had been one of his rare lapses in judgment for him, as John could've easily used nonlethal methods of ending that fight.

But there had been a problem, despite trying to do so to an extent. John had found that he didn't take into accounted his newly augmented body, and when they had escalated the fight. Well, John's fight or flight response had kicked in and that had helped seal the outcome.

This had been one of the few times that John had doubts as to his ability to control himself. As he had felt guilty about the loss of those men's lives.

Still, John forced himself back into the moment, as Leo needed immediate medical attention. As he then called over a small speeder with a medical droid and pilot, which immediately came over to them.

"There's a medical facility located there," Chief then showed him a hologram of the base's layout, "Once I've finished my business with my contact, I'll be you there and we'll talk." With that Chief left the Mandalorian on the speeder as it flew away, as the Spartan had other more pressing concerns on his mind.

As John quickly reached and entered the building that the old Mandalorian had gone into only moments earlier.

The Chief entered the room moments after the Historian had taken a seat.

"He wanted to lose," Chief stated this as a fact.

To which the Historian could not argue, as he then nodded in agreement.

"Most likely Leo was both a test and someone who had little to lose by doing this. As the future Clan Beviin remains only with him." The Historian explained.

"Why would he do so?" The question was out of Chief before he recognized the reason Leo would do something like this.

"I'm guessing you already figured that out. So, the question becomes what are you planning to do about it?" The older man then asked.

John knew that Clans would move against him eventually, but what he had not expected was the form in which it had taken. But then again, what they had just done had set a precedent for him. Now with that John could not refuse any challenges that now came his way.

Knowing this, the only way that he could now possibly detour them was simply put, to make a reputation.

But not just any kind of reputation, as it needed to be one that could be used to stop any of the Clans from trying anything like this in the future.

This meant John needed to bring several of the local Clans to heel to make it clear what happened when he was provoked into action.

Still, this had been something that he and Cortana had been hoping to avoid. But events had forced them to take this approach.

"What we already talked about, though there will have to be some kriffing adjustments to the timeline though." The Historian sounded frustrated by this fact.

Because he knew that if this fell through then it would not only be the Chief who was in trouble. Like all the Clans the Historian had spurned when he declared the Chief would come for him. And as you might imagine, the consequences of this would be fatal for him, so the Historian needed this plan to work just as much as they did.

He knew that not only did his life depend on this but quite possibly the future of all the Clans on Concordia.

"So, how long will this new plan take? Because if it takes too long, we might just have to let the barbarian lose on them." Cortana then commented as she popped out of one of the nearby holo-tanks.

"As much as that might be amusing to watch; I would recommend we try my way before we do that." The Historian said as he then continued. "As I do not doubt that you're planning on challenging the main Clans of the area. If so, then you'll need someone else who can give you, their support." The Historian then informed him.

"Why can't you?" Chief inquired.

"For the simple fact that I'm an associate of yours, and thus cannot be considered nonbiased." The Historian explained.

"Ah, so who do you have in mind?" Cortana then asked as she ran through all the Clans that he was going to recommend.

"Simply put, you need a Clan that has a long history to back you. As I'm guessing you are planning on making sure that this can't be done again." The Historian stated to which the Chief nodded in confirming what he stated.

"We rather not to use by the other Clan if that can be avoided. As Chief tends to make a mess wherever he goes." Cortana joked.

But this was to hide the truth of the matter. As she knew that John would rather slit his own throat rather than be a pawn of the other Clans. Then again, he would just shoot them all first.

As that was more his style.

"Don't worry they won't. I can vouch for them, as they have a long history behind them as well." The old man assured them.

"If that's the case, why haven't we met them? They sound like someone that you would've had us track down." Cortana asked.

"I was originally hoping that you would've had the chance to Kriffing met them before this happened. But now once word of what's happened gets out, the other Clans will come for you." The Historian seemed dismayed by the turn of events.

As he was not like he knew that this was not possible. No, what he was dismayed with was the fact that he had no idea where Clan Spar currently was. And considering that they were short on time this was not the time for them to be tracking down one of the more nomadic of the Great Clans.

"You still haven't answered Cortana's question." John then pointed out.

"Right sorry, it's just that Clan Spar rarely settles down in one place for any length of time. Partly because of Satine's policies, amongst other reasons, well it is best that you see it for yourself." The Historian stated simply.

As he was not sure how to explain Clan Spar's history in a reasonable time. Then again, the Historian thought it might be best for the Chief to go in blind with this one so that he could learn a bit of their history, rather than have him explain it.

Still what surprise him next was the Chief reaction to all this.

"Understood, contact me where you can tell me where to locate them." And with that John then left the building, leaving only him and Cortana.

"He isn't one to mince words, isn't he?" The old Mandalorian commented.

"Well, he was practically raised in the army. So, he doesn't have those social graces you take for granted." Cortana informed the man.

"I can see that, still I worry that his demeanour might impede what he needs to accomplish with this." The old Mando voiced his valid concern.

"You're not the only one who's worried about that," Cortana assured him.

As she too was considered understandable by her Spartan because she knew that John would never be able to fit into what was considered normal civilian life at this point. As he had been fighting for over twenty-plus years, and that was adding cryo time onto his service.

Because overall John had barely had any downtime between missions. So, Cortana had been hoping that he would be able to do that just, as she knew that John had often been sent back into the field with injuries only half healed and little time to himself.

But it seemed that even in another galaxy, the universe had no intent to give the Spartan the rest he had truly earned.

"If that's the case then, we should both try to do what we can for him." The old man suggested.

To which Cortana responded with a note of good humour in her voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got some plans once we've dealt with this." Cortana assured him.

"If that is the case, then do you mind if I ask where I fit into all of this?" The Historian asked.

"I can't tell you everything. But it's oftentimes a good plan to have a contingency, should things not go as you might not be expecting." Cortana stated simply, as she then started sharing some of the details of that contingency plan with the old man.

Mando'a dictionary:

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

Beskar - Mandalorian iron

Beviin - Lance

Vod - Can mean both brother or sister given context

Verd - soldier, warrior

That's all she wrote, I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter.

As we got to see what Chief's been up to since he left ways with Ijaat and Valerie. My apologies if it seemed to drag on a bit, but this was honestly the best way I could have done this chapter. As I was grasping in the dark about how this might play out, as it is more traditional for a person to be adopted into the Mandalorian culture.

But as for the Chief, well he is a special case. Which is putting it very lightly; still given the circumstances it turned out okay.

As we also get to see that some Clans have decided to make their move on Chief. As such we get to see the start of the Historians' counter plan.

Anyway, that is all I have to say and until I see you in the next chapter have a good one.