The Living Waters of Mandalore were as cold as I remembered from my youth, when I first spoke the Creed. The water washed away the sins we had committed as servants of the tyrannical and treacherous Galactic Empire, even though I still wore my Imperial armor. I knew in my heart that my armor, like myself, was once again pure.
Now, as Kris, myself, Crixus, Valerie, Jan, Ordis, and Kellen emerged from the Living Waters, we strode up to the Armorer. With her brown suit and golden helmet, she was the most mysterious of the Tribe's members. More Mandalorians were clustered around her, all of them armored and helmeted.
"Repeat after me," said the Armorer. "I swear on my name and the names of my ancestors."
"I swear on my name and the names of my ancestors," the seven of us said together.
"That I shall walk the Way of the Mandal'or."
"That I shall walk the Way of the Mandal'or."
"And that the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart."
"And that the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart."
"This is the way."
"This is the way."
The Armorer motioned seven of the gathered Mandalorians to step forward. Each one carried a helmet, and they presented one to each of us.
I looked at the helmet given to me. It was a classic Mandalorian helmet with the trademark t-visor and a rangefinder stalk. It had a light blue paint job, emblematic of Death Watch. Had this helmet previously belonged to a Death Watch member? I could not help but wonder.
I instinctively put the helmet on. My comrades also put on their helmets.
"You will wear these helmets any time you go into battle," said the armorer, her voice echoing through the earpiece. They are the very symbol of our people. Go now, and learn the Way. Welcome home."
The gathered Mandalorians saluted us, as did the Armorer. I was a Mandalorian once again.
Later that evening, I was dining with Kris around a campfire. We were talking about the future of our people, and what was in store for us next. Around us were dozens of Mandalorians, men, women, and children. Some were helmeted, some not, but almost everyone was armored. It occurred to me just how rare it is to see a Mandalorian unarmored, especially out here, on a planet with hostile wildlife.
"Are you hungry, brother?" Kris asked. She is a striking woman with short auburn hair, green eyes, and fair skin. She took a bite of the mystery meat on her plate.
I had not touched my food yet. I felt my stomach rumble. "Yes, I was just lost in thought, Kris." I picked up a slice of bread and bit into it, then took a sip from my canteen.
"What's on your mind?" my sister asked after swallowing.
"I was thinking about our future. Just a day ago, we were under the command of a ruthless Imperial responsible for the deaths of millions of Mandalorians. Now we are free. We're Mandalorians again. It feels fantastic, like a great weight is off our shoulders."
Kris took another bite. "It sure does feel wonderful. Honestly, I haven't felt so free in many years."
"It makes me wonder why we ever agreed to work for the Empire. Were we so blinded that we could not see Bo-Katan Kryze as the future of our people?"
"We were putting too much faith in the Dark Saber, Bjorn. It does seem silly how we chose our leaders depending on who was wielding that weapon."
"I heard that Moff Gideon destroyed it. I'm sure he didn't realize it at the time, but he did all Mandalorians a favor by destroying that trinket."
"Destroyed what now?" a new voice asked.
Kris and I both looked up to see that Axe Woves and Koska Reeves had joined us. Axe sat beside Kris, while Koska took a seat next to me. Both warriors had full plates of food.
"Good evening Axe, Koska," I politely greeted them.
"Good evening," said Koska. "It's Bjorn and Kris, right? Welcome back to the fold."
"Thank you kindly. We were just discussing the Darksaber's demise."
"By Mandal'or, that darned thing?" asked Axe. "I don't miss it. Too many warlords used it as an excuse to lord over our people." He began to cut the meat on his plate.
"That's just what Bjorn and I agreed," Kris remarked. "With the Darksaber gone, no single warrior can dictate the future of our people."
"That's correct," Koska affirmed. "We are truly a free people now."
Axe swallowed a bite. "Now that Lady Kryze has united us, and the Empire is gone from Mandalore, we can start rebuilding our homeworld. Relighting the Great Forge was a start, but the Armorer is going to need fresh beskar to work with."
"That certainly involves mining for beskar," Kris added. "Do you think our fellow warriors are willing to work in the mines again?"
Koska nodded. "I believe so. Mining for beskar is a point of pride among our people. I would be happy to swap my blaster for a pickaxe."
Hearing Koska say that made my heart grow. Ever since the destruction wrought on the Night of Tears, when Imperial bombers laid waste to our cities, our people had been forced to survive by being warriors and little else. Now that we were rebuilding our society from the ground up, I knew we would need more than just fighters in our ranks. We would need engineers, architects, scientists, doctors, scholars… the list went on.
"In the mood for some mining, Koska?" came Lady Bo-Katan Kryze's voice.
We all turned to see that she was standing next to us. Her signature red locks reflected the dim light from the camp lanterns. Even when relaxed, she still carried an air of authority. She had succeeded in uniting Mandalorians for the first time in a generation, and a part of her wanted to flaunt that feat (or so I thought).
"Axe, Koska, meet me at the Great Forge when you are done eating. We have much to discuss." To my surprise, she turned to Kris and me and said "Mikado siblings, you should come too. You're both part of this now."
"What's the matter?" asked Koska, saying aloud what all four of us were thinking.
Bo-Katan put a finger to her lips, cautioning us to be quiet. "Not here. At the Forge. After dinner. Enjoy your meals."
With that, Lady Kryze left the dining area, and the four of us ate our meals, wondering quietly what Bo-Katan had in store for us.