Earth: A Rendezvous with Destiny

by We'retheDesperateMeasures-ODST

The 1960s as a decade was just as memorable: The 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was never assassinated and Vietnam was a victory for the West. But not all was well on Planet Earth yet when threatened with conquest by the Sith Empire, the nations of the world became co-belligerents of the Republic, in a collision course that became a rendevous with destiny.

23. Operation Midnight Part One

Leontyne Saresh - Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic

Supreme Chancellor's Office - Senate Building, Senate District, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:28:16 ATC/Thursday, August 28th, 1969 - 16:00/4:00 PM

"Look, General, no one here is doubting your experience but this is intergalactic warfare."

"I'm starting to wonder if Ike and I are the only sane persons in this room."

What was supposed to be an hour-long conference had instead evolved into a three-hour debate between Krueger and Malcom as, the two professional military men from different backgrounds and with different perspectives had their own idea on how to best end the menace once and for all with each believing that he was in the right while his counterpart was wrong.

Krueger, formerly the commander of the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II, was advocating for something he kept referring to as 'planetary hopping', a strategy which was an intriguing concept based on the 'leapfrogging' strategy that he and Douglas MacArthur implemented for the Pacific Theater of Earth's Second World War, nevermind bold. It entailed bypassing fortress worlds and instead targeting planets with the only value of these worlds being that they were on the path to the main objective, using each captured world as a springboard toward Dromund Kaas whereas industrial centers or fortress planets would be effectively bypassed but they could always be 'mopped up' later, the main priority would be having a springboard to 'leapfrog' to take the main objective of the offensive into the enemy's heartland itself.

However, it also necessitated a buildup and some reforms for the forces affiliated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization including the standardization of armaments beyond the minimal STANAG - completely reequipping armies in other words - and training them in their use, an implementation estimated to take a couple of months. Yet, it also held the potential benefit of bringing a speedy conclusion to the war and keeping the enemy on their toes as they wouldn't realize the reasoning behind the unorthodox move until it was too late.

The Supreme Commander, the dogged fighter from Barcaria by contrast, believed it would be wiser to make a gradual push taking sector by sector until the Dromund System was all that remained to be swollen up, even if it meant a longer conflict due to caution, sticking with the conventional approach and one that the Republic have been conducting before Earth entered the picture, not to mention being similar to the broad front strategy Eisenhower himself utilized in the European Theater in contrast to the island campaign in the Pacific.

Personally, the Chancellor was leaning slightly toward Krueger's scheme, as even though it was riskier, it also was something fresh in a state of stagnation. The Sith wouldn't even know the exact targeted locations or that there was an intentional policy of bypassing 'strategically vital' planets and keeping the flanks exposed until it was too late.

"Gentlebeings, I think we should have a fifteen-minute respite before getting to the main topic at hand."

"Agreed." Ike relented after giving Krueger a reproving look. "It should give us time to reflect as well."

After the council temporarily discontinued due to discontentment, Saresh massaged her temples and groaned. "You know, Evran, I'm honestly surprised by Krueger."

"What do you mean, Your Excellency?"

"He's persistent." Leontyne clarified. "And certainly knows strategy. By the way, Evran, are there any developments about identifying the intruder and what he potentially unraveled?"

"SIS hasn't found the culprit yet but he did act like an Imperial spy on the holosecurity recordings." Evran sighed. "And it is unfortunate that the Jedi are currently overstretched but I'm sure we'll discover the very being responsible for this affront."

"It better be as otherwise I'll have to reach out to them if it becomes that bothersome." Yet the Supreme Chancellor hoped that involving the GenoHaradan would be unnecessary.

---

Second Lieutenant John Robert Bolton - Supreme Allied Headquarters, Galactic, United States Army

Supreme Chancellor's Office - Senate Building, Senate District, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:28:16 ATC / Thursday, August 28th, 1969 - 16:05/4:05 PM

"I don't get it, Bolton, I just don't understand the opposition from Malcom."

The Maryland National Guardsman who was honored to be one of Krueger's orderlies alongside the aspiring novelist Tom Clancy was perplexed as he paced endlessly around the room, deep in thought, while Eisenhower was using the facilities. "What do you mean, sir?"

"This universe is still peculiar with space wizards and other nonsense out of some fairytale, even 'Star Trek' or 'The Twilight Zone' ." The veteran of the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War could still recollect the advent of the first motorless carriages and the Wright Brothers' consequential groundbreaking flight but this conflict was a far cry from the time when William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt were in the Oval Office, a period when another band of religious zealots who could be compared in some ways to the Sith - the infamous Juramentados - commenced ritualistic suicide attacks against American troops after the Moros declared straight out of the Quran Jihad during the Moro Rebellion, and it was also unlike the Punitive Expedition into Mexico following Francisco 'Pancho' Villa's vicious raid on Columbus, the same age when the 'Wild West' was no longer Wild and instead faded into history only to be followed by the 'Great War', the 'War to End All Wars' only that it wasn't. Despite it all, even though it was now a tussle in the stars proactively fighting alongside co-belligerents against an extraterrestrial menace in their native galaxy, Krueger was once again among those fending off an empire as if the anachronism was still adeptly commanding the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II against the forces of the Rising Sun.

"Sir, this is not a case of ignorance and an unwillingness to adapt but rather a misunderstanding and stagnation. Before the Empire decided to target our planet, the Republic had been fighting their adversary on and off for nearly three decades and despite our perspicaciousness, we're still the new kids on the block just squeezing ourselves into the wedge and are being treated as such, not the wise sages with a different yet useful perspective." Bolton asseverated as he defended the conduct of their allies and why there was apprehension over Krueger's proposition even if at first glance it seemed unjustifiable. "Even so, while our tactics, rifles, tanks, and of course our jets may currently give us the edge on the ground and in the air, to be a devil's advocate, the Republic did suffer greatly at the hands of the Sith Empire despite their advantages, entire worlds have either been left in complete ruins with billions dead or are still recovering despite their phenomenal, even inconceivable apparatuses, we're still a minnow in a vast ocean here with many species of sharks swimming around us so we can't always expect to be listened to, not with bigger - and dare if I say advanced - players at work."

Krueger nodded at the assessment, aware that it was true to an extent but at the same time some of the strategic decisions were baffling including but not limited to those endorsed or even marshaled by the Jedi High Council and of course then there was the Supreme Chancellor's own initiatives that were not in lockstep with those overseen by the Republic High Command in addition to those courtesy of the Space Monks all of which made managing this conflict a unsound mess. "That's a fair assessment, Lieutenant." The Prussian-born American concurred with a faint Northeastern German accent still present despite moving to the States when he was only eight years old, something that caused the French to be suspicious of Krueger when he first arrived to the Western Front during the First World War even though John Joseph 'Black Jack' Pershing, the overall commander of the American Expeditionary Force, was ironically of German descent himself. "These walkers for instance have been used for centuries before we even became aware of each other but our tanks are mauling them due to the lower profiles."

"Not to mention our rifles." John smirked. "Their laser rifles are still ineffective beyond four hundred meters or so."

"The boys who had competed at Camp Perry, Bisley, and Connaught sure are enjoying it." The old man chuckled heartily as the 'gravel bellies' were gratified at not only being vindicated but the situation even officially halted any further consideration of possibly fielding a small caliber, high-velocity rifle for the foreseeable future, possibly even never, especially with the after action reports of the Israeli Commandos at Kuat dealing the final evidential blow against the proponents and the spiritual descendant of John Cantius Garand's original design - the U.S. Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14 - was going to become a prevalent sight amongst the NATO affiliated forces after supplanting the Fusil Automatique Légers and Gewehr 3s due to being the most capable rifle and purpose-built for the doctrine. Still, it went without saying that since this was a conflict against 'Space Nazis' and the fact that Old Blood & Guts himself before his infelicitous death had proclaimed the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 to have been the 'Greatest battle implement ever devised' then surely by its very prerogative the improved Garand would not be out of place in the slightest and the rightful symbolism of using M14s in this war to pick off the enemy could not be understated. Of course, it was not only rifles alone as MBT-70s - with the newly adopted tank being officially christened as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 120-mm Gun M802 and the design of the turret had been altered so that the elevation of the main gun could be pivoted higher in order to better engage colossal enemy walkers - were presently on the assembly lines and there was also a substantial heavy tank variant, the 183mm Gun Combat Tank M803 , which has been armed with the British-designed Ordnance, Quick-Firing, 183mm, Tank, L4 Gun that was originally intended for the canceled Tank, Heavy No. 2, 183 mm Gun, FV215 and the M803 due to its intended role would have significantly thicker armor compared to the M802 while for the war in the cosmos the Vought F8U Crusader was being looked at as the basis for a feasible starfighter, if the design could be feasibly adapted for such a role and then constructed with the materials and tolerances necessary for outer space of course, but only time would tell if the starfighter would be derived from 'The Last Gunfighter' or not and there was even consideration to resurrect the Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar as well, potentially as a bomber if not a heavy fighter or a reconnaissance space plane. "In any case, we certainly are the new kids on the block but until the Empire gets their house in order we are on top of them yet that also applies to our allies as well. The Republic's forces need to be overhauled from top-to-bottom and it should have been done yesterday!"

"So what did I miss?" Eisenhower inquired as he reentered the chamber.

"Not much, Ike, I was just venting." Krueger disclosed.

"Well, Walter, I must admit that you are on to something as perhaps having a broadfront is the wrong approach when there's more than one world in this galaxy and the Republic has overwhelming manpower." Ike said as he came to recognize that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. "But ultimately the orchestration of this war going forward will be at the discretion of the Chancellor, not by us and we'll have to work with it accordingly."

"I understand."

---

Supreme Commander Jace Malcom - Commander in Charge of the Republic Military

Supreme Chancellor's Office - Senate Building, Senate District, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:28:16 ATC/Thursday, August 28th, 1969 - 16:05/4:05 PM

"In addition to Ike's profound insights, I can acknowledge Kreuger's astute cunning. I comprehend his perspectives, and I value his contributions during strategic deliberations, along with those of Heinrici and the other Earth Generals. However, I question whether Kreuger's confidence may be eclipsing his judgment." Jace pondered aloud.

"What do you mean, sir?"

Malcolm halted his measured pacing, a sigh escaping his lips. "Think about it. Krueger was among those who flocked to the American colors following the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine outside Havana Harbor, supposedly by a Spanish sea mine, and he served initially as a mere Private in Cuba then re-enlisted to fight Emilio Aguinaldo's Insurrectos under the command of Arthur MacArthur before receiving his commission. In the Gregorian Year of 1916, Krueger was on the American-Mexican border during the pursuit of this bandit and revolutionary named Pancho Villa and the officer was also the Chief of Staff of the Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Force during Earth's First World War despite the French suspecting him of being a German spy due to his roots. During the so-called Louisiana Maneuvers, Krueger commanded men including the late George S. Patton to successfully defeat the opposition and then Douglas MacArthur, the son of Arthur MacArthur, requested Krueger by name for the campaign in the Pacific despite his age. He may be elderly but at the same time he's venerable and I acknowledge that he is adept at strategy but what I'm most concerned about is the fact that he may be underestimating the Imps."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"Sir, with all due respect, this proposition may be the key to ending this war for once and for all. Krueger's proposed plan might be bold but arguably we have been too cautious and it still entails the invasion of Dromund Kaas. It's clear that Krueger does keenly understand the 'Operational Level of War'."

Amongst the military principles and theories studied at academies, Operational Warfare entailed connecting the details of tactics with the goals of strategy and Krueger was recognized as having a keen insight into the theory and executing it masterfully which made him credible in convincing the skeptical to at least consider this course of action yet Malcolm still had grave doubts or reservations even if it seemed like an excellent alternative. "That may be so but the matter of the fact is the Empire will overcome its shock and begin withstanding the onslaught. The recent debacle involving Libyan forces under Gandalf gives credence to it."

"Umm, it's Gadaffi, sir. You're probably thinking about the character in that novel Tom, I mean Lieutenant Clancy gave you, Lord of the Rings."

"Right and while that name doesn't matter now, ny point still stands." Malcom asserted only to sigh as it was becoming apparent that his counterparts were confident that on the ground and in the skies of planets they would be able to fend off whatever the Empire threw at them. "Unfortunately only a significant wakeup call will make the Earthlings truly realize what they're up against."

---

Supreme Chancellor's Office - Senate Building, Senate District, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Corusca Sector, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:28:16 ATC / Thursday, August 28th, 1969 - 16:15 / 4:15 PM

"So, where were we?" Saresh turned to the Director of the Strategic Information Service, Marcus Trant, who was planning to speak only for the debate to occur.

"I believe we should move on to the main discussion, namely a matter that should sound familiar." Trant uttered as he pulled up the mug of a being on the holotable. "Grotta the Hutt, wanted by the United States of America and Canada for murder and distributing narcotics. When he arrived, he believed there was an opportunity to sell spice and decided to set up shop in Greenwich Village, well, what was left of the 'Bohemian' neighborhood anyway following the 'Hard Hat Riots' that occurred throughout the nation-state."

"His one task, one task was bringing material for the embassy in New York City, not instigating a Mob War against these 'Five Families' or causing a diplomatic nightmare." Sarsesh groaned, still wishing that the fiasco involving Grotta and his men never occurred even if this New York City had been going downhill even before first contact and the very metropolis which had been ludicrously referred to as 'The Center of the Universe' on more than one occasion by former mayor Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Junior was arguably still becoming a shadow of itself compared to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In fact, there was even a motion put forward recently in the United Nations General Assembly to move the official Headquarters of the United Nations to Geneva, Switzerland for more reasons than just the fact that Edwin Anderson Walker had been elected to the Presidency as not only was the Governor of New York prepared to disregard the Mayor of New York City and the New York City Police Commissioner and send in the New York State Police, to have the State Troopers collect overdue parking tickets irrespective of diplomatic immunity, the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations of 1947 had become null and void and the American government was now preparing to charge rent since the building was not on 'International Soil' but rather was on 'American Soil', but following the incident involving Grotta, Krasul and the diplomatic staff even had to convince the United States government that it was not sanctioned by the Republic in any way and the Hutt Cartel disavowed him, even placing some deathmarks on the overly ambitious upstart especially upon discovering that the arriviste had plans to topple the Grand Council of Nal Hutta. Even so, after all this time evading capture or on-the-spot execution with well-compensated bounties offered by the Hutts, why pop up now?

Ike, however, only grumbled before having a figure step forward.

"Agent Wescott?"

On cue, a man in a sharkskin gray suit and wearing a complementary fedora stepped forward, a manilla folder in his hand as if he was some top of the line attorney on Saint Jacques Street.

"Agent Connor Wescott is an agent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service." Ike informed the gathered conference.

"Police? I thought he was a spy?"

"With all due respect, Director Trant, I had experience serving under the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. The Canadian Government officially doesn't have a foreign intelligence service of its own."

"And unofficially?" Trant pried after discerning that there was more to Wescott than just the fact that he was a so-called 'Mountie'.

Connor could only simper before unveiling a bombshell. "Let's just say that Timothy Leary is no longer problematic."

Ike's eyes widened in surprise as Leary had disappeared without a trace in Geneva following his arrest by the Swiss authorities after demonstrating acid to the locals and the Swiss government was going to turn him over to the United States Marshals Service for being a wanted fugitive per the extradition treaty between the two governments but on the morning of his transfer it was discovered the psychologist, activist, and author who advocated for the use of psychedelic drugs and alternative lifestyles wasn't in his cell.

"I see…" Saresh trailed, not expecting the confession revealed casually as if it was of no significance but underestimating Canadians seemed to be hazardous to one's health.

On cue, Connor began listing the makeup of his chosen personnel. "Chaos Squad and Agent Balkar need no introduction given how most of you are already quite familiar with them, so I'll skip them for now." The Agent mentioned as he pulled out the papers and handed everyone a copy. "Masters Serena Ashak and Andrik Bizzle of the Jedi Order."

"They're among the best lightsaber practitioners in the Order, outside of Master Therin that is."

"Not necessarily swordsmanship, Grandmaster, it's because this is a joint operation and their skills may come useful in some circumstances." Connor clarified. "Miss Ashak in particular has been highly regarded and I have read several accounts of her bravery and aptitude such as on Ord Mantell against the Separatists and being bogged down on Balmorra against heavy Imperial resistance yet she had managed to lead her remaining contingent to a hard fought victory, the list goes on but it is clear to me that she has a natural ability in leadership and a willingness to face danger if it means saving lives. Furthermore, she left a strong impression on the First Commonwealth Division during the Empire's attack on Tython. It helps that she has done undercover work before. Next is Alexander McAllen of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry."

"Huh? McAllen was one of the foreign students who attended Ranger School at Fort Benning." Krueger remarked as he read the dossier on him.

"I'm sure his experience in rock climbing will be beneficial. His service record is quite clean and we're more than confident that he'll be following his orders to the letter and without question." Wescott reasoned.

The next file was notably larger than the others, noting that it was due to the extent of what was found in the records.

"The final individual on the proposed roster is Corporal Hanzo Nilsson, who is in the same unit as McAllen, and he's already familiar with most of the candidates. Although Canadian, he went across the border to enlist in the United States Army and once his enlistment was up he decided to join the Marines, and fought in Vietnam. His previous unit before the Canadian Army was with the First Battalion of the Ninth Marines, better known as the 'Walking Dead'. While in the American Army, Nilsson was in an infantry platoon under the command of Lieutenant Wolfie, assisted by Sergeants Barnes and Elias, Hanzo ended up being transferred out of the unit after most of the platoon was killed in a large firefight with the North Vietnamese Army during in the night of New Year's Eve. After his two-year enlistment expired, he joined the Marines. Barnes also signed up for the United States Marine Corps and coincidentally was placed in command of the Marine unit that the Corporal served in, though it's clear that Nilsson and Barnes weren't exactly on friendly terms - to put it mildly - due to what may have transpire in their previous service and he also had a feud with Sergeant Elias before Elias was killed in action while Barnes was under investigation for a time before he was also killed in action, during a deadly ambush by the NVA which killed most of the unit near the end of the war with only a handful of survivors with Hanzo being among them. It's reported that they were 'Forced to fight their way out of hell and barely escape out with their lives' and there were some photographs of the incident retrieved from a dead North Vietnamese officer, suffice to say I'm astonished that they were alive after the state they were in. Still, the fact is Hanzo has an exceptional record and we have more than one account that praises his intrepidity. Furthermore, he appears to constantly ask his superiors what he can do to help or what needs to be done when not in combat. And while there were incidents of getting into fights with other personnel, these scuffles with fellow servicemen were not started by him, though he certainly finished them… Oh, and this may interest you Grandmaster as we're finding few reports of him having an interest in your Order's history, particularly of your ancestor, Revan." The mention of his curiosity about Revan drew a curious look from Grandmaster Satele, though it filled her with some questions.

Upon hearing the revelation, Satele's memories drifted to the day she had met her legendary ancestor in-person, when he was presented on Tython after he had been disenthralled from the Emperor's prison. It had been a dejecting experience to see not some controversial figure who had been equally praised and condemned by many historians but rather a man who should have been at peace and become one with the Force was instead still alive only to find everything he had ever known was now gone, changed forever. And then there was yet another anachronism - from an even earlier time, from when the Jedi first encountered the Sith - but for Revan in particular his reaction had been subtle, but Satele saw it the day he had explained his plans to the Jedi High Council, plans involving a Rakata droid factory known as the Foundry and he was meticulous, explaining how many assets he required down to the last bean but Satele sensed bitterness and even resolve not unlike that from his time as Darth Revan, the lengths he was willing to endure if it meant peace for the entire galaxy, as if the ends justified the means and in ways she discerned parallels between Revan and their newfound allies from the Milky Way Galaxy, some of which disconcerted her, but in the case of Revan, Satele sincerely wished she knew the full extent and nature of his plans before it had been too late but now she could only hope that he had found peace at last after the Foundry had been taken by the Sith Empire by force and her ancestor supposedly killed in doing so, though the details of the confrontation remain vague and in speculation.

At least T3-M4 was around after escaping the Foundry, becoming an icon at the Galactic Museum on Coruscant. The Grandmaster still felt sympathetic to the poor astromech who was the last surviving member of the famed heroes of the Republic and who didn't ask to become either a tourist attraction alongside the legendary Ebon Hawk nor a cause celebre amongst the Droid Liberation movement.

"Was there anything in particular that caught Nilsson's eye?"

"I don't believe so and while I wouldn't go as far as to say he was obsessed, Master Shan, Nilsson is undoubtedly fascinated with your progenitor including his role in the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. Come to think of it, one of your archive keepers at the temple on Tython had discussed Revan in length with Nilsson and while it was not the only period of galactic history he read about, his fascination with historical events aside, due to his experiences and adeptness, it is in my opinion that Hanzo is well-qualified for this operation even if he like McAllen are from a conventional infantry unit."

A holo-drone then came within view of everyone and it displayed a projection of Hanzo walking beside Marala, the pair were standing close to each other while maintaining their bearings with the recording showing them walking downward on a flight of stairs and some within the room recognized the location as none other than Carrick Station with the surrounding green lights and other familiar architecture giving it away but it was also evident that Marala stood a few inches taller than Hanzo which generated a few chuckles and someone even muttered ' I guess he likes them tall' though Jace shot a look at the attendants to remind them of their discipline even though the Supreme Commander himself was caught off-guard since relationships between Cathar and Humans were almost practically unheard of, the cultural and biological differences tended to make such relationships between the species difficult yet in the case Hanzo and Marala it was exceptional. "He's undoubtedly smitten with the kitten." Jace deadpanned, stating the obvious.

Eisenhower wasn't even sure how to react - neither did Krueger - and while the former President of the United States came to understand that in this galaxy humans and aliens could form bonds even if was statistically uncommon, he nonetheless still felt awkward when taking a stroll he by chance witness some man or woman kissing another being and rushed by it. "Alright, so there may be more than one way of convincing him." Ike stated while wishing to clear his mind of such images.

Some within the room threw a glance at him when his apparent discomfort was shown. While such reactions towards interspecies relationships was common across the galaxy as naturally not everyone was comfortable with dating outside of their species, it didn't mean that everyone within the room agreed with it. Even Ike, despite his ambivalence, chose not to make it broadly known and was rather neutral about it.

"May I suggest the ruse of a military inspection to throw off the attention of any Space Brits because very important officials would be visiting?"

"That could work since any Imperial infiltrators would be focusing on us."

---

Kuat City, Medical Station - Kuat, Kuat Sector, Kuat System, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:30:16 ATC / Saturday, August 30th, 1969 - 18:45 / 6:45 PM

Hanzo was planning to read yet another biography on Revan on the datepad when he heard the automatic door opening and he smiled upon seeing it was a familiar face who appeared through the doorway. "Hey Marala, I see you were able to get past Nurse Sonnu..."

"I wasn't going to leave you hanging." The Cathar purred affectionately, she was still wearing her armor, though her helmet was nowhere to be seen. Marala approached the bedside with an aura of both confidence and allure, causing Hanzo to chuckle but he also welcomed the kiss from his attachment after she approached and leaned down to give him a fond peck on the cheek.

They pulled back a bit, and she traced her hand on Hanzo's cheek, inspecting the scar. 'First a lightsaber slashed across his face and now getting stabbed by one. It's almost unheard beyond the few that have survived even worse.' She imagined while admiring her other half, she was beginning to realize they were getting to be inseparable, the more that they were learning about each other, the more comfort they were discovering with each other.

"How are you holding up?" The Cathar wondered, asking him out of concern.

"With all things considered, I'm much better than before. I more than owe you and your squad for finding me at the right time, and I'm looking forward to getting out of this ward to be with you." The Canuck smirked a bit as he traced his hand to her back, making her lean down more of herself to him.

"I would give you a love tap for that remark, but I wouldn't want to risk it." She jested.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Marala, I'm cleared to leave here tomorrow morning." He stared into her green cat eyes, finding himself easing in the understanding that only a fellow soldier who fought on the frontlines could, by 'Seeing the Elephant', experiencing combat and horror. ' I could stare into those eyes all day and still wouldn't be tired of it.' Beyond the fact that they were of different species, he had never met any other woman quite like Marala. Someone who could understand what war was like.

Back home there weren't many women that Hanzo had known who were even interested in him or at the very least on friendly terms with, some of it due to being partially of Japanese descent, his facial features giving it away, something that made it inevitable given first impressions when most ladies glanced at him.

The reminders of the stain left behind as a result of the atrocities committed by Imperial Japan during the Second World War and Hanzo being wrongly associated with them were used as justification by most. But it was more due to either him being of partial Japanese descent, simply not liking Asians in general, or believing in the 'Yellow Peril ', reasons that made him despise the idea of ' any' kind of racism. But regardless of their 'reasoning', the man or woman couldn't even tell the difference that he was only part Japanese or confused him for being Chinese, Korean, or even Vietnamese and the latter proved to be more than an issue during his time in Vietnam. He had overheard or even been directly called a ' gook' , 'dink' , 'Jap' , 'Nip' , 'Tojo' , or even a 'monkey' . Instead of letting himself be defeated by the derogatory against him, Hanzo took their words and wore them like armor in the face of their doubts, criticisms, and pettiness as he let his actions speak for him in the jungles and the term became a lot less of an insult to him and more that it become the moniker to identify him amongst his squadmates.

Hanzo had always done his best to at least be polite, to be considerate, and he was damned if he was gonna be greeted by his father in the afterlife only to be scolded by him for disrespecting a lady and he therefore always remained courteous even if it was not going to be reciprocated. There were even a few women who had sought a 'crueler' means of telling him to back off, trying to manipulate him into positions where he would either be humiliated or face their jealous boyfriends ready to attempt defending their supposed 'honor', all to appease their amusement and getting kicks of seeing their boyfriends act as their 'knights' for them, Hanzo would admit that when he was younger he was oblivious the first time a girl did this to him and he reacted as what any lonely teenager desperate for intimacy did after getting their heart broken.

Her name was Sierra Elizabeth Cooper, Hanzo initially believed that she was a comely girl with lovely blonde hair and blue eyes which sparkled whenever she giggled or smiled and he was still only seventeen at the time but he knew her as Hanzo had worked in her uncle's lumberyard since he was a young child, he grown up in the trade and he remembered occasionally seeing her accompanying her businessman father but even when he was a kid, he could understand why his boss never had kind things to say about him as Sierra's father had been pompous as they come and his eyes never looked kindly at Hanzo even after hearing the long hours he would put in and the injuries he sustained while working, or the fact that he was always asking if there was any work he could do with little breaks afterward.

No, the best that Hanzo had ever heard him saying was: "Keep on working there, boy. Maybe then you wouldn't be so skinny and short." Kind was a strong word, but it was the closest he ever got. But Sierra… He truly did think that she legitimately cared for him, her eyes didn't leave when she saw him working hard and the hard look he could've sworn he saw she gave her father after what he had said to Hanzo. As they got closer, Hanzo could sometimes still hear the ghost of his deceased childhood friend teasing him to go after her, and Hanzo wanted it to happen. The more he and Sierra talked and shared, the more that he felt comfort around her Hanzo would never forget how it felt then.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be. It was late at night and Hanzo had just finished his shift when he was surprised to witness Sierra embracing him and she even gave Hanzo the first kiss he had ever received from a girl, something that more than jolted the young teenager in surprise. She told him to meet her at the back of the lumber mill for something important and Hanzo cursed the wishful thinking with her eyes and smile being the only thing on his mind, and when he arrived at the spot with a large view leading out to the ocean from the trees… He witnessed her kissing the son of one of his co-workers, a young arrogant kid named Davison Leech, he was always angering and annoying everyone with comments and boasting about his achievements in sports, how he was going to attend some university in California, Hanzo still wondered why his dad thought it was a good idea to try to make him work at their worksite and all he ever remembered the man reply was: "My wife insisted."

Hanzo wouldn't have been surprised if they couldn't deal with Davison at home either, his father certainly had his moments with his son at work. Davison would always either be slacking off or spend yammering one's ear off while sitting on their material, Hanzo lost it when he saw him put boot prints on shipments of lumber that were supposed to look very presentable to Sierra's father. He remembered how his boss got yelled at for it, Hanzo didn't want to be considered a snitch but he did inform him all the same after he had finally gotten the chance.

It took about three months of working alongside him that Davison was eventually not allowed on the site again. Last he heard about him from Davison's father, his son was still getting into trouble, that he had gotten involved in the protests down in the States. Hanzo hoped his time spent in an American jail had finally wised him up.

But to see Davison kissing Sierra, hurt him. Hanzo almost couldn't remember his actions, only that he felt a wave of boiling anger building within him with each stump he took and the shift dodge to avoid colliding into Sierra, who tried to stop him. But no, Hanzo sidestepped to dodge her, and she was only left there to watch with a gaping mouth as it didn't take much for Davison to realize for all of his boosts, he had no skill to pack them. Hanzo dodged Davison's attempt to tackle him as he charged Hanzo like a bull but the idiot instead hit his head into a nearby tree and got dazed. Hanzo didn't waste time kicking him straight in the ass and while he didn't quite feel proud of himself at that moment, he was angry and he had truly had enough of him, knocking Davison unconscious. Hanzo walked up to Sierra and without any warmth on his face, Hanzo gave her one chance to try to give her an explanation, in hindsight, he shouldn't have had.

Her words once haunted him for nearly a month until he finally moved on yet it still hurt him all the same. "I'm sorry Han, but… I can't imagine any future with you, you can't support me with what little you have at that old cabin home. I don't want to be trapped in that cold place forever, like you." Hanzo wished she didn't see the tears and no longer did her blue eyes sparkle the way they used to. He just couldn't believe that she had done that to him, especially after the kiss she gave him. It felt so twisted, that she would do such a thing and he still wondered to this day just what the hell had she been thinking…

He hadn't seen her since and the last that he had heard of Sierra was hearing from one of his friends how she had tried to contact him when he was in Vietnam, not realizing that he had left the country. But she had run into his ' Guard Dog ' that chased her out of the property. He had been worried about hearing that and was glad she wasn't hurt even if it came somewhat hollow to him.

Still, having his trust betrayed like that made Hanzo suspicious of other girls, especially when he continued to encounter girls who tried to manipulate or intentionally hurt him. It made him admittedly more of a smartmouth and there was just something enjoyable in watching an overly-confident person suddenly going red as a tomato as they struggled to find a comeback to his words.

He also enjoyed watching the ladies in complete shock after watching their 'defender' get laid out flat on the floor either knocked unconscious or already making their way out of the door after deciding that it wasn't worth it, though there were some that'd tried to attack him in a false retreat and Hanzo was lucky that no one ever tried calling the police on him following the incidents.

Some people wondered if he hated women and while Hanzo may have unintentionally broken hearts, he frankly didn't hate women. No, Hanzo simply didn't feel the ones he dealt with were worth the effort after discovering their true nature. There was also the fact that Hanzo honestly didn't have much time for a relationship either, when, for the most part, he was constantly working to earn a living and survive by himself though, for the few women that he does occasionally think back to prove they weren't like the others… Hanzo didn't want a woman, a wife to be burdened by someone like him, someone still scarred from war or had little to offer to them beyond who he showed himself to be to them. A cabin home with no power in an isolated forest, what amounts of money he had worked hard to earn that didn't leave much over to use beyond purchasing necessities, and what he could offer in hard work to help support but that, unfortunately, does not always promise a happy future. Hanzo may have put it past what Sierra did to him but until recently he wondered how he was going to support a wife and raise a family in the conditions that he lived in? Though Hanzo had grown used to dealing with discrimination or unfair treatment, he didn't want it for anyone else or let them be a target, he could always take that on himself but not others, whom he cannot stand for. The life he's lived was not something he ever wanted to imagine any child of his growing up through.

They deserved far better than him… Especially of what he saw and did in Vietnam that plagued his dreams and nights.

But with Marala… Marala was different, it was almost hard to describe but there was something that felt far more comforting being with her than he possibly ever had with anyone else. However, he didn't want to rush this since separation could cause possible issues for their relationship and there was also the matter of the viewpoint that many of his fellow Earthlings were developing concerning interspecies relationships yet Hanzo didn't care what others would make of it as either way since the Canadian of Swedish and Japanese extraction had already dealt with petty racism for most of his life, he had seen for himself that no matter the complexion of one's skin or whatever deity they believed. Prejudice came in all forms and he became familiar with it, but that didn't bother Hanzo. His old habits were somewhat still there, having to grow up dealing with disappointments and betrayals that he's naturally cautious but he was glad to discover that Marala was similar-minded and it brought even more reason why he found himself at peace with her.

The Cathar smiled as she looked deep into Hanzo's green-hazel eyes, tracing her clawed finger on his torso. "In that case…"

The lovebirds however heard a cough and were astonished to see none other than the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order herself standing near the doorway.

---

Grandmaster Satele Shan

Kuat City, Medical Station - Kuat, Kuat Sector, Kuat System, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

08:30:16 ATC / Saturday, August 30th, 1969 - 18:45 / 6:45 PM

"I was going to release him in the morning anyways, Master Satele." Doctor Phoz declared. "He's in the room down the hall, third door on the right."

"Thank you, I'll leave you to do your duties Doctor." Satele declared as she gave him a nod in thanks, and then without a beat, the Grandmaster headed to the ward to recruit the Earthing of the Canadian tribe to the mission and stood outside, waiting for the door to open but as Satele was about to enter the room, she noticed that the newest member of Chaos Squad was on top of the man she had come to visit and it didn't take long for the Jedi to sense the feelings radiating from the tall Cathar and Satele brought her hand to her mouth and coughed. "Ahem."

The couple of course did not anticipate having an unannounced visit from a notable figure but they immediately halted from proceeding with their activity and composed themselves.

"Lieutenant? I apologize for interrupting, but I need to speak to Corporal Nilsson alone. It shouldn't be for more than a moment."

Although baffled as to why the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order would want to converse with a Corporal of the Canadian Army, the Republic military officer who was standing at attention nodded and saluted out of respect even though the Grandmaster was technically not a part of the Republic military before stepping out of the ward to wait in the lobby. Even so, in an apparent attempt to draw Hanzo's attention, her hips had noticeably swayed with each step as she left the room, and upon exiting she turned on her heel to gaze at Hanzo on the bed, throwing a wink at him as the door shuttered before her.

"How are you faring?"

Hanzo raised an eyebrow at the question as there has to be more to this than merely checking on his health. "Never been better, ma'am, all things considered after being stabbed with a lightsaber." He found the meeting rather ironic as he gazed at the Grandmaster, fully admitting to himself that he saw Satele Shan as stunningly beautiful despite nearing her fifties if he recalled the age correctly. She looked as though she was still in her thirties at best, with fair beige skin and braids in her black hair which slightly piqued his curiosity. He had seen plenty of Jedi Padawans wearing symbolic braids and he knew Satele had not been one in years. Her Jedi outfit did little to hide her curves and sizable bust, her arms were still fit, and he discerned muscle that spoke of strong training. But it was her eyes that Hanzo found to be the most stunning feature about her, blue as crystals and a hard yet conversely soft look to them which gave a sense of compassion in them, it reminded him of Serena's own eyes even if they were of a different color. It surprised him how much he could notice the resemblance Satele had to her other ancestor, Bastila Shan, from the image that he had seen of Revan's spouse during his research and curiosity about the period.

Here he was previously researching what had transpired three centuries ago only to meet face-to-face with the descendant of a man who had intrigued him greatly. 'Fate, or even the Force itself, seems to have a strange sense of humor for these things.'

"Word has been going around that somebody took down a particularly murderous Sith with experience from the previous war with their bare hands."

"Well, it wasn't easy but I had to do what needed to be done. That brute would've kept killing but his arrogance held him back." Hanzo could deduce how fortunate he was following the encounter as he could've died if it weren't for the quick actions of Chaos Squad being there at the right time.

Satele accepted the response. "Your personnel file mentioned that you had experience fighting in Vietnam with the Americans, some of which is interestingly blacked out."

Hanzo was getting suspicious of the inquiry but instead of brushing the Jedi off or revealing classified information he told her the truth, mentioning why he went. "I'm a proud Canadian, Ma'am, Canada is my home but I needed to prove myself. I was facing struggles at home for most of my life and eventually, I had enough of it. I wanted to show that I wasn't some 'Gook' or a 'Yellow Monkey'. But I won't bore you with that, mainly I wanted to serve because I wanted to honor my family legacy, my own family had served before me and it was the best opportunity for a job that I knew I could find. But the only conflict at the time where I was able to do so was in Southeast Asia." 'And because I didn't have much to return to if I were to be killed, not after I had lost my job, it would've been better had I given my life for a just cause…Unfortunately, it had become far more than that...'

But Hanzo kept that thought to himself, he was grateful for the inherent barrier that kept him from being mind-probed… Thus far anyway and he was unsettled by what the Force could do to minds after reading about the capabilities, especially in proficient hands as he thought back to how the Sith he fought countered his attacks. If he had been able to read Hanzo's thoughts, it would've likely gone much differently, he could still feel the ach in his hands and legs of what it felt like alone to try to block and counter against the Sith's attacks or to be hit by him.

"As to the bits that I assumed are still classified even to you, suffice to say, there were spooks that wanted to make sure that my unit and I were gonna keep our mouths shut about a particular 'incident'. Unfortunately, unless you get permission somewhere, I doubt I'd be allowed to say anything without spooks coming down knocking on doors, though I wager it would be difficult doing it far away from 'home'." Hanzo did not have any kind words to say about the Central Intelligence Agency, but he chose not to get his blood sugar worked up by thinking of one of their agents. "Respectfully, ma'am, there's no need to beat around the bush, there has to be a reason why you came as I'm not General Crerar and there clearly isn't a delegation visiting the wounded."

"The reason I'm here is because the higher-ups have something in mind." Satele handed him a datapad with presumably the information encoded into it. "I understand if you're hesitant or still recuperating but be sure to read it before eleven hundred tomorrow."

"Understand ma'am, I'll make the time for it." Hanzo grunted, still wrapping his head around this development. "Is there anything else that I should know?"

"Other than that your fellow squadmate, Alexander McAllen, who will be joining you on this matter, there's not much else besides that. You'll both be debriefed more of what's in store for you two." The Grandmaster took a moment to study Hanzo, noticing the complexion which was different compared to most of the Earthlings she had met. Satele recalled that the dossier on Hanzo mentioned that he was half Swedish and half Japanese, something that caused ambivalence in the room as well as caused a 'Nebraskan' aide with the last name of Hagnell to shake his head in disbelief.

And then there was his still considerably young appearance.

'Those eyes should not belong to someone this young.' Yet it was something she had come to see more than once in her lifetime now, what she was seeing in Hanzo's eyes had greatly reminded her of the soldiers and even her own fellow Jedi who had seen the worst of what war has to offer for anyone to be caught in them.

From what she had read about Hanzo from his service record, he had been barely eighteen when he first ventured to Vietnam, an age that made her think of when she was first there with her now second deceased Master Kao Cen Darach when the Sith Empire would retake Korriban. So many years ago yet she could remember it all too well.

It made her wonder when the old would finally stop letting the young do the dying for them?

"I'll leave you with Lieutenant Jorgo. Your relationship with her is quite a rare one. From what I have gathered from other interactions with your people, some of them do not seem to overly favor interspecies relations."

"I've noticed, it isn't much better from the perspective of what's happening back home on Earth, but I can't say that I'm surprised and we're still waking up to the fact that we're not alone in the universe. I hope this isn't a problem?"

"No, while we Jedi forbid attachments or relationships, it does not mean that we are or should be disconnecting ourselves from our surroundings or the people in them. And it's none of my concern what you two do, it is yours to face. However, I do hope that you both are acting responsibly. The Cathar do take the matter of relationships quite seriously, mating for life." Satele had a small detect of rare amusement in her tone.

Hanzo scratched the back of his head as he looked at Satele. "As responsible as we can be and I'm becoming aware of it, I'm learning what I can to try to help make it work between us, more so for her." He wasn't sure if their species would work in that regard, thinking back to the particularly intimate times he had shared with Marala.

If they were… He was glad that he had been careful during the intercourses they enjoyed, he did not want to be the one responsible for possibly ruining her military career. Though he wondered the same for Lizzy as he thought about the Mirialan Dancer he had met on Carrick Station, he needed to contact her when he got the chance. "That speaks much about yourself, I'm glad to hear you're both not at least being clouded by ill judgment or rash emotion. I expect to see you tomorrow, may the Force be with you." Grandmaster Satele bowed her head and without another word, she walked towards the door and stepped to the side to let Marala in as the door opened, the door shut behind the Grandmaster as she stepped out.

Marala glanced over to Hanzo, her curiosity piqued. "I must say, a visit from the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order herself? You're moving up to quite the high places, Han." She had a feeling though that this had something to do with the future assignment her squad was being given and her superior, Major Lane, had mentioned a big meeting between Republic and CFE officials.

"Heh, well, I'm just as surprised as you are, but trouble's always had a habit of following me. Sounds like there's a big mission coming up for me and Alex. I only hope that it doesn't take me away too long from my unit, I rather not be separated from them if they get assigned elsewhere." Hanzo would not forgive himself if he wasn't there to be with them in any further dangerous assignments as they had been before.

First Tython and then the Kuat shipyards, who knew what else was to come for the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry?

"Hopefully not. I felt the same with my old unit after I left to join the Special Forces. If it's any reassurance, their trip to Coruscant should go smoothly, the route they're taking has already been secured by the Ninth Fleet and they're in good hands with the First Expeditionary Fleet. Master Oteg can be… Strange at times, but he knows what he's doing, he's revered for good reasons." She still thought of her old teammates, the ones that had survived with her through the worst anyhow, memories stirring of the friends she had seen being killed right before her eyes, it was a matter that she was coming to realize that Hanzo shared in common with her. 'I wonder how the old unit is doing these days?' The last she had seen of them had been on Corellia before she had left to go into training for the Special Forces.

"Appreciate it all the same, I'm sure they'll have plenty to tell me about their trip with the fleet." He had heard about Master Oteg, hearing of his name being mentioned more than once during his time on Tython by several Jedi, recalling Serena had told him about the Jedi Admiral during her participation in the operation of the Maelstrom Prison to rescue a Jedi prisoner held captive by the Empire.

That Jedi was none other than Revan himself.

"But for now… No one should be coming to check up on us for a bit and if you're feeling up for it, we should be doing some catching up." She looked over and moved her right hand to the panel on the wall next to the door, she made sure it was locked to avoid anyone stumping upon them. Once it was, she looked over to Hanzo and with a grin, she walked over to him with far more sway to her hips, approaching him almost like a predator about to pounce on her prey.

---

The Hutt Nebula Cantina - Kuat City, Kuat, Kuat Sector, Kuat System, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:04:16 ATC / Thursday, September 4th, 1969 - 1:06/1:06 PM

Three days after Hanzo had been discharged from the hospital, Major Lane decided that the best way to further analyze the man she would be working alongside in the coming operation was to take him out for a drink and while she had offered Marala to tag along instead of making it an order, the Cathar needed to take something within the barracks, though if luck would have it, she'd have it finished soon and join up with them later.

"Huh, that's an 'interesting' choice of sign for this establishment." Hanzo remarked as he stared at the yellow neon sign of a Hutt smoking a cigar while holding up a large cup of what he assumed was beer or maybe ale. Below it was another sign in Aurebesh, displaying the name of the cantina.

He stood beside Jessie in the lower street where she had parked the landspeeder she had used to transport them to the destination, the trip giving Hanzo an even more breath-taking moment seeing the sights within Kuat City, the elegant towers that dotted the surrounding block and region, the spires, the even louder deafening sounds of the traffic they had to travel through.

Jessie was growing aware of that and she had patiently answered Hanzo's questions he directed or to what she had started, seeing for herself that Hanzo was typically quiet which was fine with her as she could work with silence. "I've seen stranger sites but you should see some of the ones they have in Hutt Space, they have names that I'd imagine even you may have some trouble pronouncing."

"That right? Do you have one in particular?"

Jessie crossed her arms and leaned against the wall while waiting to be seated, apparently, the cantina was under heavy activity after the battle over ahead in the shipyards had ended, the two were more than likely not the only soldiers present in the area.

"Jekk'Jekk Tarr."

"That's quite the mouthful. Was that Huttese?" Hanzo had paused for a moment as he processed the name in his head, before turning away from the sign and looking towards Jessie, still leaning at the wall. He was currently wearing his rifle green No. 3 Service Dress uniform instead of the olive drab combat fatigues while in sharp contrast due to different regulations Jessie stood in her red and black Republic Trooper armor but they both have their weapons with them. Hanzo had a C1 Submachine Gun slung on his shoulder due to reports of Imperial stragglers that resulted in troops being permitted to carry their issued weapons off-duty until it was resolved while Jessie continued to keep her blaster pistol at her left hip in a holster yet they also have their respective combat knives on their person as well.

The pair had established some common ground and enjoyed discussing a mutual passion of theirs, the subject being martial arts and not only strikes but weaponry such as bo staffs. It was during this discussion when Jessie enlightened him about her people, the Echani, while Hanzo in return expounded karate, a martial art he was well-versed in and their conversation helped pass the time as they waited to get inside the popular establishment. The streets were not too busy yet there was activity amidst the row of establishments of varying trades which made up the street and walking past the pair were civilians or patrons like themselves waiting to enter. Many were humans, Kuati to be exact, while not far away some Wookies, Twi'leks, Rodians, and Weeguay were clustered outside another establishment, a grill, that was buzzing with activity and gave off the vibe of being a hit, even a rival.

"I think so but I've never bothered to check. It's a cantina on Nar Shaddaa, in one of the ship-ports. However, I wouldn't recommend going there. Beyond the dangerous activity and criminals, it's hostile towards humans with an atmosphere that's quite literally lethal to humans."

"I get it, they don't like humans."

"It's not that, the air is toxic." Lane clarified, earning a small smile from Nilsson.

"I didn't know that you joked."

"I normally don't, but it's the truth. It's designed to be a haven for other species, a variety of pollutants that are highly lethal to us yet pleasant for them. I've never been to it for obvious reasons, but it's got a reputation following it, you've bound to hear warnings about it if you're ever on Nar Shaddaa."

"Duly noted, and I'd imagine with activity like that happening around there." The warning corresponded to what Hanzo had comprehended after he researched the planet and from the documentation he dissected it was evident to him that Nar Shaddaa was Las Vegas up to eleven, it was not some sin city or merely aberrant but a outright degenerate world which sanctioned activities that not only crossed the line immorally but scorched it as if such a line was nonexistent , slavery was ubiquitous and bootlegging prevalent, it was remarkable that there was no anarchy with the authority of the Hutts being the only resemblance of order to an otherwise handsoff planet.

It was little wonder why the world was infamously called the 'Smuggler's Moon'.

Jessie then turned her head away from Hanzo and looked towards the Cantina's door when they had heard it opening, stepping out was a tall heavy set Gamorrean who was dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and dark pants, looking every bit like a bouncer that was there to keep rougher folk in line.

The Gamorrean looked to the two and gestured the two over with his thick right hand. "Guess we're in at last." Hanzo commented, unsure if the being with a hog snout would attempt roughing them, which would be an error in judgment.

But thankfully for its sake, it appeared to be one of Cantina's bouncers when the pair approached and the Gamorrean began talking in its native language, something that Hanzo couldn't understand but it was being articulated in grunts and squeals along with uttering words but when the Canadian glanced over to Jessie she appeared to understand it and Jessie decided to translate for him.

"We're in, he's just explaining the rules this establishment has and also about warning us about some of the rougher folk inside. Self-defense is allowed, but no shooting, they apparently had a few incidents already. Otherwise, that's about it."

"Sounds simple enough to follow." It was starting to remind him of tales about the Wild West in the States and the roughest parts of the Canadian frontier including the Yukon Territory during the last century, something out of a John Wayne Western but then again this was no saloon but rather a bar in a prosperous city on a thriving alien planet.

The two stepped inside while the Gamorrean stood outside when the door closed behind them and the two were greeted by the loud buzz of activities ongoing in the cantina. Hanzo felt his eyes widening a bit when he took in what was before them as the sounds of music hit their ears.

'Huh… Guess I was closer on the mark than I thought.' Hanzo thought after seeing gambling tables including one where six beings were playing a card game and a cheerful Ugnaught was squealing with joy as he pulled the pile of credits while a scowling Nikto next to him was glaring with clear envy, he would not be surprised if the Nikto was plotting something.

The cantina was bright in neon lights shining around them or coming from the large stage in the center back where a band of Biths was playing their brass instruments while attractive Twi'lek women were dancing to the beat of the music on the stage with them, wearing rather revealing dancer outfits much to the enjoyment of the dancing crowd in the center. Or drinking away patrons observing from their tables and taking spots around the cantina.

There was also a crowd cheering over a row of Holo TVs that displayed the sport he was starting to become familiar with, Limmie or bolo-ball as it was affectionately called. He already learned that his girlfriend Marala was a huge fan of the sport and Hanzo had idly wondered if he should figure out a way to get tickets or something to one of the games to surprise her, if he was able to get pass for the day of the match of course. The pastime actually could be comparable to soccer, a sport Hanzo admittedly wasn't as into as he preferred hockey and baseball, but the more he watched bolo-ball the more he came to enjoy it. The patrons gave a very loud cheer when they watched their favorite team scoring but others were quite upset by the score and some of them broadly showed their frustrations, a female Rodian was letting several curses in her language as she slammed her fist into a table and two hulking Esoomians were grumbling loudly at how their team lost and he would not be surprised if a brawl commenced as a result.

Hanzo noted there were other Earthlings like him inside, recognizing a group of fellow Canadians at one table with the red crescent patch and white stitching with 'CANADA' giving it away sitting with some Republic soldiers while at another he spotted Australians and New Zealanders having a drink off with a group of patrons, already having passed out members on both sides or those who were nursing their headaches at their seats. Not to mention ribbing between the Aussies and the Kiwis.

"Ya blokes sure know how to make beer, way superior to Fosters, thank God."

"Only the finest that is affordable is served here." A tall male Devorionian - who was presumably a regular - informed the Australian as he stood next to him, drinking his own mug.

"I'll say." The Australian said as he raised his cup to drink more.

Hanzo's attention was turned away when he felt himself being pulled. "Come on, I'll show you our spot." Jessie said as she started leading him through the crowd and Hanzo did his best to avoid bumping into anyway but it still took some effort to squeeze through. The Corporal discerned a variety of languages being spoken and made out Twi'leks, Weeugays, Duros, Nikto, a towering Wookiee, and of course Humans but the scene reminded him of Carrick Station. Hanzo barely dodged a giant instinct-like being in clothing nearly running into him, he believed it was a Verpine, more than feeling the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he observed the retreating figure of the Verpine, he haven't encountered or even interacted with an insect alien until now.

But he once again found himself being led through by Jessie who got him back on track, the scent of strong perfume hitting his nose and he felt himself bumping against someone. He felt two unmistakably 'orbs pressing against him and the strong scent of perfume with some kind of soap. He immediately pulled back. "Pardon Ma'im!" He had to raise his voice due to the loud music being played, but he was greatly surprised to see who was in front of him, if it weren't for the reddish pink skin, she honestly would be mistaken for a gorgeous human woman, though she still was, in fact he'd consider her one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. With her long bright red hair and shining blue eyes, high cheekbones, and wearing a form-fitting blue spacer pilot uniform that did little to hide her curvaceous figure.

She looked at him and seemed to pause for a moment to study his features, her curious expression turned to a cheerful one, giving a wide grin to him, showing her pretty white teeth. "No problem, it's a busy crowd. Catch ya later there." She walked over and gave a surprised hip bump to him, giving a flirty smirk to him as she took in his expression. "Hope to see you again." She then moved away, disappearing into the crowds. "Careful there Corporal, I'm not sure if Marala would appreciate any sudden 'ideas'." Jessie's voice brought him back over to where she was giving him a glance.

"You won't need to worry about that, I'll never do that to Marala. But I will say I'm starting to see why Zeltrons are 'popular' in the galaxy." Beyond parts of his homeworld that is, with too many recent memories of the close to extinction Hippie Movement in the U.S. and Western Europe, even Canada, with most being an annoyance and some trying but failing to sway others to their cause yet groups such as the Weather Underground were outright hostile and went as far as to openly aid Viet Cong guerrillas in raising hell in the state of California, not to mention another NLF suicide team that attempted to murder the Kennedy patriarch at the family seat in Massachusetts.

Viet Cong guerrillas in the United States, who literally brought the war home to the Americans since they struck Idlewild and brought down the Empire State Building through a hijacked airliner, the anti-war protests and calls peace that followed had metamorphosed the already tense atmosphere against the flower children into more outright condemnation, sparking the Hard Hat Riots in the American cities of Albany, Ithaca, New York City, Boston, Springfield, Madison, Milwaukee, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, another Springfield, Chicago, East Chicago, Gary, Fort Wayne, Goshen, Indianapolis, Evansville, Akron, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Louisville, Frankfort, Saint Louis, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Salem, Portland, Olympia, Seattle, and a few others, but with the exceptions of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan and parts of Berkeley, California which were set ablaze by the wrathful patriotic mob on the warpath there was no widespread burning and looting but more like frequent scuffles and brawls commenced by AFL-CIO affiliated workmen during a planned concurrent nationwide counterprotest set on the same day who were joined in the bashing by white collar businessmen and shopkeepers, even firemen and policemen.

It became unbearable to be openly associated with the counterculture who mostly decided to attempt isolating themselves into communes but the movement was finished except for the scant few who still somehow believed protesting would do some good. And now with this conflict, all available manpower that could be spared other than what was necessary for war essential industries and vital occupations such as agriculture were being placed in uniform and being classified as a consciousness objector by the draft board - if the claims of pacifism were even accepted - meant becoming a cook or medic instead of a combatant but it was all the same as they still were shipped off to the front after induction and military training.

And for the Hippies who had fled the draft during the Vietnam War of 1965-67, the period when elements of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization directly intervened when the domino theory seemed imminent, they were now eligible to be conscripted by any nation they were residing in with Canada having a citizenship program where any military age man fleeing the United States of America must serve as a Combat Engineer before gaining citizenship and there were similar programs in other nations but France and Spain in particular placed anyone who dodged conscription in their home countries into their Foreign Legions, ironically making them forced to fight as combatants after dodging conscription in America and come to think of it, some nobody, an obscure prospective actor who had hoped to made it big in Hollywood but departed for Europe after receiving his official notice from Uncle Sam per the article, someone named Sylvester Stallone got in the headlines for becoming a French Foreign Legionnaire after fleeing to Europe to evade the draft while there were also rumors currently circulating that former Beatles musician John Lennon and his Japanese-born wife Ono fled to Chandrilla with aid of a Jedi but so far they were unconfirmed scuttlebutt.

Unfortunately by circumstances not of their own doing, as with the Chandrillaians though the natives of Chandrilla didn't go as far as the 'pleasure seekers', the Zeltrons were literally reminiscent of the Hippies as they were known to dress in wildly colorful or revealing attire and it was common to see Zeltrons wearing shockingly bright shades of neon colors in wildly designed bikinis, or nearly skin tight clothing of other sorts with bizarre color designs, patterns, and symbols, and just like the Hippies, Zeltrons were often stereotyped as lazy thrill-seekers due to their hedonistic pursuits.

Hanzo just hoped that there would be no misunderstandings or any diplomatic consequences occurring given how Zeltrons viewed monogamy as quaint and if they see someone not having a good time on their homeworld of Zeltros, the Zeltrons would know of it, and would do their best to correct it, but given the recent history back on Earth and the fact that there may Zeltrons who may not proscribe to limiting their special widespread enticement for those not enjoying themselves only on their native planet and find the expected social conventions on Earth especially restricting, it could be asking for serious trouble, repercussions that could be insurmountable and very well spark open hostilities in addition to the present ongoing conflict in the worst case.

He personally was coming to find the whole matter getting ridiculous, especially with lives being at stake regardless of who it was, it was reminding him a bit too much of when he had been caught in one of the protests nearly a year ago when he had been still traveling through the States. A Hippie rioter who had been quite high on cocaine, something he could discern by his red eyes and the dusts of white powder under his nose, maybe drunk as well judging by the way he was wadding in his steps. He had repeatedly tried to hit Hanzo with a baseball bat, his rage being fueled by Hanzo casually dodging his swings, either hitting his fellow rioters or the street building walls around them. He had enough and grabbed the bat and smacked it back at his head, giving him a hard knee to the rioter's gut that dumped him forward where Hanzo grabbed his head and almost slammed his head into the paved street.

Halting just inches away that had left him screaming in panic for a bit, Hanzo had let him go and backed away while seeing some police tackling him in a dogpile to arrest him.

It had been quite the time during his short stay in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Jessie studied him for a moment, her silver eyes staring directly into his, which brought his thoughts away from another coincidence in this Galaxy, before she seemed to be satisfied with Hanzo's answer. "I believe you, though you're lucky that she didn't use her pheromones on you, judging by the look of interest she had. But let's hurry before someone steals our table."

They had moved through more of the crowd before at last coming to their table, it was within back away from the crowds and offered a wide view of their surroundings. Thankfully it had been unoccupied when they came to it and took their seats.

"Are there any problems involving your wounds recently?" Jessie didn't miss a beat as she hit straight to the point with her question, figuring it as a good place to start their conversation while they waited for one of the employees to take their order.

"Thankfully not, the kolto did its job and being in the bacta tank helped things along. The medical staff at the hospital sure knew what they were doing."

"Glad to hear, with the coming mission ahead, it's best for everyone to be in shape. Not many can say that they've walked away alive after being stabbed in the chest by a lightsaber." Not unless they were drunken ramblings in attempts to be boastful of their achievements or selling their lies to the gullible. She felt her own scar across her nose aching in memory of what her's had been like and the pain of feeling its burn. Looking at Hanzo's left eye, she found it ironic that they both bore such marks on their faces.

Hanzo nodded in agreement and he can more than see why that was the case, he was lucky to be alive. "Seems like I got lucky compared to others that didn't survive theirs." It was a grim reminder of another reason as to why many of these soldiers were here to drink and relax, to forget that they had lost friends during the battle or to honor and mourn their loss. His now dead Captain and brothers-in-arms of the Canadian Army Section among them.

Jessie returned the nod in understanding. "They'll be remembered, Corporal. Always." It brought her back to one of the main things she had wanted to analyze for herself on him, his mentality now on the thought of lost comrades.

"I hope I do not come off as too nosy about this, but with those that I am to work on a mission and working alongside my squad. I like to have as much information as possible about your capabilities, you share yours and I share my own, does that work with you?"

Hanzo considered that before leaning back into his chair. "Alright then, that's fair considering what we're getting ourselves into. Ask away Major, what do you need to know?"

"How about training as a start, where did you receive it?" Jessie was curious about that, recalling back to her time spent on Earth.

"Fort Benning, Georgia for the United States Army, then San Diego for the Marines, and finally Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec for the Canadian Army."

"Quite impressive for someone who's still a Corporal. You certainly have experience." Jessie deadpanned as she took in the information. "Why did you join the U.S. Military first?"

Hanzo paused for a moment before answering her. "Because while I wanted to honor my family's legacy in the Canadian Military, Canada was not at war with anyone, I had been facing problems at home and after an incident with a co-worker I had in my previous job where I ended up being fired, I had enough and wanted to show that I wasn't what others in my hometown considered me as, only way that I knew how was to fight. So, hearing that there were Canadians volunteering to go into Vietnam, I thought it was my only shot and I took it. I left my home island and everyone thatI knew, headed to enlist, ended up having to cross into the border to finally find the recruitment centers."

Jessie's curiosity peaked at that part of his background. "And what was it that you were wanting to prove those people wrong about?" Her eyes drifted to his hands, noticing the scars on his hands and the calloused palms and fingers, which indicate that there was a history of hard work done with them.

Hanzo was about to answer, but he was intercepted when a waitress had finally come over to their table. She was a prepossessing Rutian Twi'lek with green eyes and wore a revealing tank top that could be mistaken for a sports bra due to the length and how it exposed her stomach - not to mention pushing up her prominent cleavage, she wasl wearing pants which hugged her shapely legs. She looked at them and while holding a datapad, she gave a genuine smile and spoke an accent reminiscent of French but it was articulated in a manner that was more comparable to a Quebecer than a Frenchwoman.

"Apologies for the long wait, but as you see, we've been quite packed. A lot of people are looking to celebrate the victory against the Sith at the shipyards and of course watching the bolo-game betweenTeam Corellia and Team Alderaan, a lot of excitement has been building up for it." She looked over to Hanzo, seemingly taking a moment to study his face, before admiring his uniform. "Ah, I see another of you has shown up, your fellow Canadians arrived here not too long ago." She pointed over to where the two had previously seen the Canadian Section chatting with Republic soldiers, their table had grown to include a few patrons taking up at their table, two being women, a human with blonde hair and a green skin Mirialan, they were clearly taking an interest in one of the Canadian and Republic soldiers judging from the way they were shifting closer to them in their seats and making moves to grab their attention. Hanzo quietly had some amusement watching as the Canadian soldier, the youngest within the section compared to the others, was acting shyly and blushing a bit as the Mirialan woman was making the moves on him, she was giggling and was clearly enjoying the way he was reacting to her.

"I'll have to remember to drop by their table later."

"Understandable." She nodded. "And say, since I'm going to guess that you're both soldiers who fought in that battle, you get discounts on your drinks, and an Eopie Cream Pie to split, that or something else if you prefer, but I do recommend it as it's one of our establishment's specials."

Hanzo and Jessie looked at each other in consideration, seeing if they agreed or not, before making their decision.

"Alright we'll take it. I'll get the Arkanian sweet milk myself." Hanzo had wanted to try it when he had first eyed it on Carrick Station, before he had decided on the spicebrew and Corellian ale instead.

"And a ruby bliel for me, also a friend of ours is coming and she'll be here in a hour." Jessie said, the waitress nodded at that as she wrote down the orders on her datapad.

"That's good and I will keep that in mind. That'll be thirty credits for you both including the pie. Oh and right, my name is Alyura and I'll be serving you tonight." She grabbed the credits the two placed on the table, she turned and walked off, intending on returning with their orders.

"So with that out of the way, what were you going to say?" Jessie asked as she observed Hanzo's expression, how his stance was almost tensing as he was mulling on his next choice of words.

"Well, since you've already been to Earth and spent time on the planet, how much do you know about the Japanese?"

Jessie raised a curious eyebrow as she took in Hanzo's answer, she was aware that Hanzo was clearly of Asian descent with his facial features and black hair being dead giveaways to it, which made her think back to the interactions she had with some back on Earth like the Koreans, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese. But she had heard about the Japanese and how the mention of that demographic had brought a variety of reactions from many, including but limited to Jake's own family when she had overheard his father and uncles retelling their war stories.

Mostly, it had been in anger or hate but if what she had heard of them was true and what she had stumbled on in her curiously, she saw why that had been the case.

"I have heard their name being mentioned more than once before, yes. They had an Imperialist government and their Emperor was partially responsible for how your world's Second World War erupted due to their aggressive expansion through Asia, and their war with China during your world's '1930s'. Though from what I had garnered reading on the extensive history of your world, it was not Japan's first time in trying to do so. Centuries prior they tried to, but failed in the end just as they did in World War Two."

The Imjin War. She had stumbled upon it during her curiosity to research one of Earth's most infamous past warriors that had reminded her of a unique combination of the Jedi and even the Mandalorians, the Samurai. She had found herself becoming intrigued the more she had read about them, their doctrine, their military tactics, philosophies, poetry even that had brought her memories of learning Echani poems in her childhood.

But it had also revealed to her how truly violent the times were for the island nation of Japan after centuries of brutal civil wars and violence between the provinces and rival clans that had fought for power and ambitions to take more. There were comparisons that she had found to the feuds fought between rival Mandalorian Clans or the Civil War years ago that had submitted to Mandalore the Vindicated's authority over the Clans after crushing the rebellious Clans that opposed his alliance with the Sith Empire. That had been a high loss of potential allies to the Republic and the SIS were still fuming over the failure of their attempts to aid the rebelling Mandalorian clans.

It had been known as the Sengoku Jidai, translated as the 'Warring States Period'. It was a time of near-constant civil war, social upheaval, and ambitious warlords fighting over control for all of Japan, it had truly shocked her to see for such a small nation that was greatly oversized by countries like the United States of America, the Soviet Union, and Argentina, it was over sixty-three provinces and all controlled by different Daimyos of a population that ranged to fifteen million. Reminding her of the Alderaan Civil War between the different Noble Houses though that of itself held more direct similarities to the constant wars that were fought throughout the history of the nation-states in Europe.

When it was nearly its close and Japan was coming to be unified under the rule of the Warlord known as Hashiba Hideyoshi, a peasant born man who had the astonishing luck of becoming the new ruler of Japan after the betrayal and death of his master, Oda Nobunaga, at the hands of his once vassal Akechi Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi, as a result after avenging his master's betrayal, would go on to complete Oda Nobunaga's conquest.

But having Japan alone was not enough for him and desperate to fully secure his legacy, to forgo his peasant bloodline in the minds of the Japanese nobility, not to mention in what Jessie had chalked up as the man becoming delusional. Hideyoshi felt it was his absolute destiny to conquer not only mainland China but to annex all of Asia.

Sending envoys across the continent with messages of his intentions and threats to submit, Jessie wasn't too surprised to read how some of the nations theorized Hideyoshi was blowing up hot smoke and thought little of the threat Japan had actually posed against them. Most of their previous encounters and interactions with the Japanese were with pirates, some had little organization or discipline, though others were far more organized as shown in the Jiajing wokou raids prior the war, and extremely cruel as Jessie had learned in horrific details of the massacres or cruelties they committed against the Chinese coastal populaces that left the half Echani feeling disgusted and enraged. Internal flaws and corruption plagued the courts which prevented proper action being taken against the raids and much to the irony of the Ming.

Most of the pirates were actually not Japanese but rather their own people with the present Japanese merely being associates or mercenaries hired for their skills as swordsmen and armed with firearms that were more advanced than the Chinese coastal defense forces. The troops became especially fearful of the arquebuses, there had even been accounts of these Wokou Pirates fighting the Shaolin Monks, such engagements surprisingly ending in the Monks favor.

The raids did finally subsided by later years and the pirates were driven out with their leaders either dead or captured, much of the contributions to the end of their golden era of raiding had been by a Ming General who would go on to become a national hero, Qi Jiguang. But, the raids still caused the mainland nations to underestimate the Japanese, believing that even if they invaded, they could be driven off 'easily' as the Wokou Pirates had been.

This however would not be the case, as a century of warfare and betrayals for power had forged the Japanese armies into what would be arguably the most battle-hardened army in all of East Asia. Hideyoshi's goals had been to also give potential rivals and threats a different target that would've otherwise focused on him, these were a people who had only known war for their whole lives and the violence left by the near-constant conflicts reflected in their ambitions to expand outward like how a caterpillar becomes a cocoon and springs out to emerge metamorphosed as a butterfly. It had been even suggested that the personal ambition and megalomania of Hideyoshi were reasons for the invasion as he did not intend to only invade China after conquering Korea but he also intended to target the Philippines and even India but the main prize would have been China as it was considered at the time as being the cultural heart of East Asia and by annexing China, Hideyoshi's Japan would replace its role as the center of the entire East Asian order yet in the end despite the Japanese holding the initiative early on, akin to the events of the Winter of '41 and Spring of '42, in the end they were overwhelmed.

The Imjin War was just one similitude she found which corresponded with events in galactic history but another was the Thirty Year War, a bloodbath which ravaged the European Continent from 1618 to 1648 with up to a third of the historic German population demographic dying as a result of the conflict, a ratio that was unmatched even by the total civilian casualties of Earth's Second World War, and this horrible loss of life was not limited to soldiers on the battlefield, but also included civilians who were caught in the crossfire or died from famine and disease caused by the war, even instances of individuals being burned at the stake for witchcraft. The war was primarily fought in the Holy Roman Empire, which encompassed present-day Germany but the effects were felt throughout the continent and in addition to the staggering loss of life, the Thirty Years War also had a significant impact on the political landscape of Europe. The war saw the decline of the Holy Roman Empire as a dominant political force and the rise of France as a major power. It also marked the end of the Habsburg dynasty's control over the empire and the beginning of a new era of European politics with The Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, marking not only the official end of the Thirty Years War but establishing the principle of state sovereignty and recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic and Switzerland. It also granted religious freedom to Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, ending the religious conflicts dating back to the Protestant Reformation which had sparked the war.

The Imjin War and Thirty Years War alike had provided her a deeper scope of Earth's bloody history when she heard and listened to Jake's relatives explaining their war experiences fighting against the Imperial Japanese during a family cookout she was invited to and of course the subject 'witches' with input from a certain cultivated transplant from Salem, Massachusetts.

"It has been called a few other things but the Imjin War is what stuck that I'm sure you probably noticed, though till… Both times had the same result, ambitions and cruelty running wild while the people caught in the middle to suffer for it, and countless lives being wasted with nothing to show for it in the end." Jessie detected a direct bitterness almost in his tone as he said that she took in his expression and analyzed.

Hanzo was still maintaining some calmness in his expression but there was a tightness in his jaw and she saw there was clearly something flashing in his head with the way he was just staring ahead as if imagining something there that's causing a anger to form in him, she could see it in the way his hands tighten on the table.

It then dawn upon her as why his given name sounded familiar, reminiscent of a masterful swordsman and tactician she had scrutinized during her research of the Sengoku Jidai, one of the most infamous shinobi in history:

Hattori Hanzō

"You're Japanese." Jessie realized as she looked at him to read his reaction.

Hanzo nodded, the tension that was previously building within him, calmed with the new focus directed to him. "I'm half Japanese actually as I'm part Swedish through my father. He hailed from Sweden before both of the World Wars, my mother on the other hand was born in Canada, a Nisei, but her parents were Nikkei from Japan, Kyushu specifically. They died in the internment camps where they held those of Japanese descent during the Second World War. It was a bad fever running in the compact camp in the middle of winter and it was the ideal conditions for it. The disease claimed them, though my grandfather had died alone in a separated camp that still contracted it, and my mother barely survived but recovered and lived to see the day when she and the other internees were allowed to return home. It hadn't been easy when she tried to restart her life and with the still fresh memories of the war. It had been horrible for her, but she ended up meeting my father when he and his squad came to the diner she was working at. He had fought in the war in the Canadian Army, just as both my grandfathers did in the First World War. But long story short, they met and grew to like each other enough that they started dating, my father never cared for racial tensions or how I guess people must have looked at them as a couple after the war, though it was enough that they then decided to get married and moved to my home, Vancouver Island off the coast of the province of Vancouver in British Columbia, to have their own anchorage of land away from city life and well. I was eventually born not long after that, lived on that island for most of my life before I had shipped out to serve in Vietnam. To answer your previous question though."

Hanzo sighed as he adjusted himself in his seat, before he looked at Jessie's face when he finally spoke. "I had went out to serve to prove that I was not what they or had saw me as soon as they look at me, a gook or what I've had plague me ever since I was just a kid, that I am not the Imperial Japanese."

"My grandparents and members of their family left Japan before the war started, not one of my family or I had anything to do with what they did for their expansion into Asia. It disgusts and horrifies me both still to this day of knowing the things that they did. I was fourteen years old when I first learned about Nanjing and Hong Kong. It was nothing but madness and cruelty gripping them all."

Hanzo could still remember the shock and horror that he had felt within him when he had first learned of the atrocities, from a survivor no less who had lived through what those dark times of being under their occupation had been like, it had revealed the darker side beyond the petty racism and arrogance that was often so directed onto him.

The hatred. The harder reflection he had came to realize about who he wanted to be and who he never wished to be.

"They left a horrific stain behind not only for their own people in Japan, but for others like my family. Canadians and Americans of Japanese heritage who have done nothing but show that they're proud to be a part of these two nations, we are loyal and proud to call them home, the home that many like me is the only one we know. It's what I've been striving to prove to those who thought of me otherwise for most of my life, everytime that I was reminded of my circumstances, I always tried to strive harder. Worked these hands for most of my life in labor work, whatever it was laboring or working on docks for fishermen."

"Reminds me of what I overheard about the backlash against German-Americans during World War One." Jessie mentioned as she thought of the occurrences she read up on in addition to the practice of segregation: The sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman Telegram, the fact that the peculiar enactment of Prohibition on alcoholic beverages was enacted partially due to most of the breweries in the nation-state were founded by families of German origin, it just seemed that more often than not history repeats itself and the rich traditions faded into obscurity with the two world wars bringing the culture to a lifeline but effectively it was a death blow.

It was in ways ironic that the demographic which literally was the largest ethnic group in the nation-state with a 'German Belt' stretching from eastern Pennsylvania to the coast of Oregon and contributed much to the United States of America with the surnames of von Steuben, Schurz, Custer, Pershing, Rickenbacker, Eisenhower, Spaatz, Spruance, and Nimitz being some of the most revered in American households yet there was the instance of Robert Paul Prager being strum up and last names being 'Anglicized' even if it was actually of Swiss, Austrian, Liechtensteinian, Dutch, or Ashkenazi Jewish origin; if it sounded German, it had a likelihood of being changed from Schmidt to Smith or Fischer to Fisher.

And there also was the impact of German - or a dialect of it - went from being the second most common language spoken with newspapers and official government documents published in the language to remaining spoken mostly within households as well as openly among the isolated Amish and Mennonite communities.

Part of it was due to mainstream newspapers publishing the story of one side due to the link with Germany being cut off, with the ones not holding bias to the Entente forced only by circumstances being able to showcase only the information written directly by British, French, Belgian, Russian, Canadian, and other British Commonwealth sources, declaring Germans as a people of all being warmongering brutes with the epitome being a poster created by Harry Ryle Hopps having the caption of 'DESTROY THIS MAD BRUTE - ENLIST' portraying a primate - a gorilla if she remembered the name correctly - wearing a 'pickelhaube' and clutching a club engraved with 'KULTUR' in one hand while holding an unconscious human woman in the other treading in the Atlantic from an engulfed Europe to head directly toward America.

It was also something she had come to witness for herself by comparable examples seen in the galaxy due to the decades of war and suffering, particular of resentments formed between Aliens and Humans, majorly done by the Empire's previously strong tradition of xenophobia against anyone that wasn't them and such views leading to horrific atrocities being committed like enslavement or even genocides done. There had been no shortages of brutal to sadistic cruelty she has seen from the very worst of them.

Especially from the Sith.

"There's similarities. Yes, it happened in Canada as well, I knew some who were still dealing with the prejudices or hatred left by the wars and the atrocities. War always breeds hate."

Jessie nodded in agreement. "They do, every war has it and the aftermath of them. Others doing something that ruins it for everyone else, it's a repeating tale old as time. Still..." Her silver eyes stared at him in analyzation and Hanzo felt as though she was seeing something that he was not, he was growing rather intrigued in what he knew of Echani culture and how fighting itself to them was their very form of communication, it had made him wonder of what it was like to live and interact with a whole society of them.

"You strike me as an honorable enough man and a dedicated soldier, regardless of what's haunting you, I see that by having a harder life, you've emerged better because of it." Her words seemed to strike at something in Hanzo, he paused and was still for a moment. Staring directly back at her and the two held the glaze, both were seeing the hard reflections of their time as soldiers.

"There's more of me you've yet to see Major, I've only done what I can and what I've done isn't what would be considered as 'honorable'. I'm a soldier, I follow orders."

"So am I Corporal, I didn't get this far without having made hard choices before, but we have our duties and what we do is so no one else has to make them. We're soldiers Hanzo, we don't do this for glory or fame, leave that for the burecaults and the heroes that folks need." Jessie put a comforting hand on his forearm on the table, the two still holding the glaze that softened somewhat, she would not ask what's directly haunting him, knowing this full well from other previous veterans she has known dealing with the scars left by war.

Just as she has her own, he may reveal it in time but thus far, it was something she was coming to believe that Marala would be most better suited for due to her relationship with him. Still as one of the leading officers for the future operation, she needed to ensure trusts and confidences were strong within the team and especially for who they needed to look to for direction, ensuring that with Hanzo would be among those steps needed.

They're moment would however be interrupted when Alyura returned to their table with their orders, raising a curious eyebrow at the fact Jessie's hand was still on Hanzo's forearm and a slow teasing grin was making on her face as she set the ordered drinks and pie down. "Here you are, I hope I didn't make you two wait too long, though I hope I didn't intercept anything 'special' going on." It didn't take long for Hanzo and Jessie to realize what she had meant, Jessie let go and threw a straight look at the Twi'lek.

"You misunderstand, he has desirable traits I will admit, but we are not together." Hanzo gave a curious glance towards her at that response, Jessie gave him a small grin in amusement to his reaction. Alyura appeared somewhat surprised, but found herself intrigued as she then leaned to her hip with her left hand and looked down towards Hanzo.

"Huh, had you two peck for a couple. But I believe I see what you mean. Let me guess, you have a girl waiting for you back at home?"

"She's here on this planet actually. She's our 'friend' we mentioned before, there weren't too many ladies back home that had an interest in me."

She appeared surprised about that. "That so? Their loss and it's a shame as I for one like a man in uniform and I can also see what you mean there with his 'traits'." Alyura gave a small giggle as she looked over to Jessie to show she was agreeing with her assessment, making Hanzo kinda uncomfortable that they were seeing something that he didn't.

"I'll leave you two to it then, the pie is our head cook's speciality. Catch ya later hon." Alyura turned on her heel and walked off, her hips having a sway to them as she went to take more orders from other patrons, leaving Jessie and Hanzo to continue with their conversation. Jessie gave Hanzo a small look that had a detect of amusement.

"My my Corporal, meet two beautiful ladies and they're already interested in you. What would Marala say?" Hanzo returned the look with a small grin, "She would certainly be wanting to make sure she has a firm grip on me to keep them from dragging me away." Jessie gave a laugh at that, it felt good to her as such laughs from her weren't normal for her with others, but she was finding Hanzo's company enjoyable for her.

"You've mentioned before that you were a Marine?"

"The United States Marines have a saying: 'Once a Marine, always a Marine' but yes, I was with the Corps."

"Heh, there was this one, Leatherneck, I believe you're often called, I've heard the term being said more than once." The nod from Hanzo confirmed that the term was correct and the Republic Major continued. "A Jake Meyer who during the initial stages of diplomacy had a disposition of trying to dispel the notion of the validity of the Force."

"This is going to be good, is it?"

"I was head of the security detail for Krasul at the time and there was this one time where I caught Meyer rummaging in Master Therin's closet to find any - and I will quote - 'levitating devices'."

"How did that end up going for him?"

"Not well though not in a reprimand or anything. The thing was his then...girlfriend was right next to me at the time when we heard clamoring in the room and she threatened to stun him on the spot."

Hanzo discerned the pause from the officer, hinting that it was the undercover Imperial who ironically was the one who prevented any theft of Republic secrets or something he shouldn't have taken while trying to disprove the existence of the Force, a natural phenomenon that as known thus far is only existent within this Galaxy and to Hanzo who had been studying the philosophies of the Force-based sects including the Jedi Order and what was accessible about the Sith it sounded absurd, while the Force sounded mysterious and unreal, it was very much the reality despite the Holonet polls showing that a significant but narrow margin of the CFE were in denial and Hanzo personally found much of the skepticism fueled either by ignorance or even downright stupidity and those on the homefront depending on the region were vastly more skeptical, due to wartime censorship and a lack of interaction with the enforced 'Quarantine Policy' jointly concieved by the Galactic Republic and the nations of Earth which not only restricts visitation to only fifteen permitted locations globally but was arguably over-extensive. Still, the enacted measures which did went overboard - even overkill - were unquestionably proving to be effective at capturing spies, preventing sabotage, and made smuggling thus far impossible and it was little wonder that there has talk in the news about a committee being formed in the Galactic Senate to study the possibility of enacting similar policies if practical since planets such as Coruscant cannot expect to reduce traffic as the livelihoods and even very survival of the residents on the city-world depended on vast imports and information was freely available but for Ordnance/Regional Depots and obscure locations convertible to black sites, it may very well result in the operatives of Sith Intelligence deciding to desert than to be sent to their deaths.

But even with the understandable necessity at safeguarding security and preventing sabotage, Hanzo couldn't help but to wonder if there was going to be ignorance of this Galaxy or complacency and arrogance as the policy was in coordination with the Republic Military and Strategic Information Service, cooperation which could easily be withdrawn at any time if there was an rift between the nations of Earth and the Galactic Republic as even though Earth helped paid for construction costs and were help manning the defenses with joint patrols commonplace on the structures, the technology were still new and advanced and would take time to getting used to.

'It comes back to simple ignorance, at least for the majority, but more of wrapping their heads around the feats of the Sith and our Jedi allies and attempting to understand what they've witnessed, they haven't seen what walking paths of destruction that they can be. They are looking for other explanations but the fact is still the same: The Force exists here and the Force isn't going to evanesce from this galaxy anytime soon.' Hanzo figured though that did still made him curious as to why there was no presence of the Force at all or how space in the Milky Way was a literal eerie dead-silent vacuum while here in this galaxy it was vibrant.

The more answers he read up on, the more questions he personally had about how he was breathing and even living without midichlorians in his bloodstream, which was causing the Force to be ineffective against those originating from Earth.

Was it possible that one of the two were just created and were in fact artificial instead of by all appearances being naturally occurring? What's not to say the Force itself was somehow removed from the Milky Way for some reason? What if something, even someone had created the Force? 'No, maybe not created. There's too many unknowns.' The Force in a way reminded him of the ocean, there was simply more about it that never was properly explained and there's still too many unknowns.

Either way, it was a subject and a mystery which fascinated him.

Jessie sighed as she sat down her Ruby bliel drink. "Jake was needless to say quite the character and I don't know if it was the fact that his stepcousins and stepgrandfather are zany with his brother Clark also being somewhat kooky or if being a member of that 'John Birch Society' had something to do with the rash act that day. Either way, while most of the people I interacted with are skeptical with some being more open-minded than others, he was on another level entirely and I wouldn't be surprised if he's convinced that there's some contraption housed somewhere inside a lightsaber that 'explains' the telekinesis, I know for a fact he thought it was on the belt."

Hanzo had only heard about the John Birch Society with The Chad Mitchell Trio and, that now forever loathed Pinko, Bob Dylan creating two hit songs mocking the overly paranoid anti-Communist watchdog organization but the fact this Marine had eccentric relatives most of whom were not related by blood and only by marriage reminded him of those of his old unit. "Huh, I imagine, though I've known some that would make that look tame in comparison to what I've seen them do. Once I knew a fellow Marine of mine that was ready to shoot another Devil Dog with a shotgun for shooting at his radio.. And that was after he was just calmly chatting about the best way to slice someone's head off with a machete."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Jessie snorted before taking a sip of her cocktail. "And ironically while he doesn't believe that the Force is real, Jake, well, believes that this 'Santa Claus' exists."

Hanzo couldn't help but frown at the contradictory irony about this Jarhead. "It sounds like he's an arbitrary skeptic. And a hypocrite."

"You know, other than the fact that his stepcousins are crazy despite his stepmother somehow being compos mentis sane, that might explain his 'reasoning'." The Republic Officer discerned.

The talk of Christmas caused Hanzo to think back to his childhood, before he became an orphan. The memories were very hazy for him but in 1949, four years since the end of the Second World War and a year before the conflict in the Korean peninsula, he vaguely remembered his mother approaching from the kitchen with cookies fresh out of the homemade oven and his father coming home after assisting their reclusive neighbor out in the deep wilderness they had lived in on their own anchorage, everything that Hanzo's father and even his mother had worked hard to construct and build for themselves. His father had been a quiet man, like father like son as saying went, stern and usually coming off as a grim man, he was a man that had seen some of the worse that World War Two had to offer and it had taken some of his soul. But Hanzo could still remember the times he had seen his far gentler side when he was around and it was during the holidays that he would be in a more warmful mood, taking him in his arms before snatching a fresh fire-baked cookie his mother made from the tray when she emerged from the kitchen.

And his mother chastised him, mentioning that there was Castella sponge cake as well but he shouldn't eat it by hand.

He couldn't remember much given how long ago it was, he had been only four, but that evening after dinner consisted of Okonomiyaki, warm soft rice with his favorite home-made umeboshi on top though they were not his father's favorite due to their extremely sour and salty taste. Cooked salmon with a small dash of soy sauce and pinch of spices, they didn't have any turkey unfortunately but they had found an easy substitute with a goose and partridge prepared in the Christmas style garnished with parsnips. When it came time to unwrap the presents and the goodies from the stockings, Hanzo could remember with excitement and curiosity as his mind razed on what it was when he had unopened it as his parents watched.

It had been some of his most treasured memories that had helped comfort him in his harder points of his life. Even if it had been like a knife through his heart.

It was a homemade trap fabricated by his father which appeared to be for the explicit purpose of catching crustaceans such as crawfish in the lake connecting to the ocean and either shrimp or perhaps even lobster in the said ocean. With mesh wire being the main part of the tool and the wooden planks carefully secured to form the box-like container, there was even a chain instead of rope to lower and retrive it, possibly chosen by his father for durability.

There was also a replica of a viking shield, which while it didn't aid him during the roughest parts of his life, it still was cherished by him nonetheless as the shield was delicately carved, crafted, and painted to be a faithful reproduction of one that wouldn't have been out of place aboard a longship as close as possible.

"'I remember that I had captured your attention with the tales I told you about Scandivina and the 'Pagan' tales. Like Fenrir and Tyr. Odin and his ravens Huginn and Muninn. Thor fighting the Jormungand. Beowulf. Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, the Greenlander Sagas. Gustavus Adolphus and his grandson Carolus Rex. You have Viking blood in you Hanzo, our forefathers were among the first to discover North America. Leif the Lucky was our ancestor, my son. And you have Samurai blood from your mother here.'" His father chuckled when Hanzo gave an astonished look to him, while his mother had shot him a look of amusement but with an appearance of sterness that said 'Really dear?'. Before there was a broken laugh of amusement into joy as they continued their holiday morning.

His memories were shaken back to when Jessie spoke. "That's right but I did not expect to be involved in it outside of diplomacy." Lane confided, she seemed to have noted that he had been daydreaming a little but did not choose to comment on it. "Still, even with the remarkable similarities to Life Day"

"I guess everyone's first Christmas is special." He said.

"Anyway, Hanzo, while I won't say that I would consider him to be a friend and he has his views, he still didn't deserve being used by Sara and the revelation of her true heritage certainly caught the squad by surprise, as if finding out that my then girlfriend was cheating on me wasn't already bad enough."

'That's a lot of damaged trust to go through, especially a teammate and then lover like that. She's got my sympathies.' Hanzo thought. "If you don't want to talk about it further, we can move on."

"No, it's alright but I feel like with the upcoming operation we should go over this, get it out of my system." Jessie reasoned. "She's in the Republic military like me and that's how we met. Last I heard she was serving somewhere on one of the fleets ongoing through in the Mid-Rim. But I don't care or of which, not after that I had found her while coming back from finishing reporting to our room, kriffing a Twi'lek prostitute on my own bed and was enjoying it all the while." The furious glint in her eyes spoke louder than words when it came to the fact that someone she felt intimate with went behind her back without any concern or regret of the consequences. Hanzo frowned upon hearing that, feeling sympathy for Jessie to discover her partner's unfaithful actions like that, especially seeing such clear enjoyment that no doubt stinged Jessie, just as how seeing Sierra kissing Davison did to him but that was a different level.

No, it reminded him of the time he finished basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia, when he and a few friends went to a bar in nearby Columbus and it was there where he met a pretty brunette who introduced herself as Mary Berry but it went downhill after he had purchased her a drink and even some food, the appreciation that he got in return was when she started asking him questions about Petterson, one of his 'friends', Hanzo could see it in her eyes that she was more interested getting to know him as there was no interest in hearing about his life and she even got insulted upon learning that he was Canadian as her next words were "Ugh a Canadian, great as if being a Gook wasn't bad enough." She muttered that last bit but he heard it all the same, Hanzo was left there to wonder how he's rotten luck with women had gotten him into this mess.

Hanzo decided that Mary wasn't worth the time of day to spent his last night before being shipped out and made the excuse to head into the washroom to avoid another conversation with the condescending woman but upon his return out, he found much to his slight anger was Peterson himself sitting where he had been and eating the very food he had bought.

Hanzo resisted the urge to shove Peterson's face into the hot fries. It stinged at his pride, but not like how it had been for Jessie when Mary didn't mean anything to him in comparison. Hanzo still got the last laugh in the end. His teammates, not liking what Peterson was doing and feeling sorry that Mary turned out to be a pain, joined in his decision to get out the bar and leave Peterson with the bill to pay for their drinks. Hanzo may not have gotten the girl that night, but he was shown that he had far better friends to be with but most of them were now dead.

"And while the circumstances differ of course, I will be honest and admit that at times I thought Kelrein was not cut out for Chaos Squad."

"What do you mean?" Hanzo inquired out of curiosity, wondering what had been lacking to Kelrein's set in the Squad's standard.

"I usually don't judge but unlike Kovo, she was a bit more 'feminine minded' I suppose you could say when off-duty, not an issue of itself but more where her's was coming from. Doesn't keep the bearings and was too easy-going except for when required while Kovo at least was more military minded. She might've been gifted with a sniper blaster and would have fitted in with the Deadeyes with her talent, she was not as adjusted in close-quarters as I noted in our sparring sessions that she far preferred distance, I had rather prefer that she was well-verse than limited in our line of the work requires. But maybe it should have been my first warning sign that something was off, there was something I should've taken more note of when I saw it in her own stances as well as in the instances when she did act professionally. A few used to joke amongst themselves that she needed to ease off due to being 'Too Impish' and it was all in jest but it never occurred to us that right there, in our Thunderclap-class transport was an Imperial Commando turned plant masquerading as a Republic Soldier."

"She sounds contradictory."

"This is speculative but given the personality, she might've been from Imperial high society which may partially explain her behavior and attitudes, though then again her actual rank in the Imperial Military is Sergeant when she should've become an officer as would be expected, assuming if she is from such a stratum. Contradictory is only understating it."

"I can only imagine in those circumstances, it sounds like though she will not have many places to hide with her identity now revealed. Can't imagine the Imperials being too eager to accept her back either."

"And loverboy is certainly not going to swoop in to rescue her from whatever trouble she finds herself in." Jessie shook her head. "It's ironic, she betrayed not only Chaos Squad but the man she was madly heads-over-heels enamored with and her actual home, the Empire. While I'd hope for her to get a taste of justice, I'd rather not have it be by her own unit, which they're reportedly active in the Shadow Town of Nar Shaddaa. I've seen what the Empire does to their prisoners and even what she did, that isn't something even she deserves."

"I agree, I've stumbled on some of the reports about it and it didn't take me long to see what you mean. Though she certainly doesn't have many options with odds like that, still something to keep in mind about considering the mission's location. So in that case in mind, how does Marala match up in your eyes compared to her?" Recalling that Marala was Sara's replacement to their squad.

"Jorgo might not be a long-range specialist exactly, but I can't blame command for being more thorough and having the candidate be from a known battle-hardened unit first instead of straight from the academy, I far prefer it for Chaos Squad. I'm frankly surprised that she hadn't been assigned to Havoc Squad with her record but she's sharp, quick, adaptable, dedicated, and reliable, overall I have to say I'm proud to have her in my outfit, under my command."

"That's a huge compliment, I had heard more than one of Havoc's achievements, especially in their role in Alderaan's defense in the last war against the Sith. I hope she continues to do well under your command."

"I'd imagine so. By the way, how are things between you and Marala? You two had quite the 'time' in the hospital."

"We were that loud?"

A slight smile appeared on her face. "I was standing outside the door during your 'mutual excursion' and decided to make sure no one came barraging in, though the droid janitor wasn't all too pleased when he came by. Could hear him muttering 'Kriffing organics, making my job more difficult to clean up their fluid messes'. That and the hickey on your neck was a dead giveaway." She pointed at the bite mark on his lower neck area, Hanzo took note and she could see that he was remembering when Marala had likely done that. "You're lucky Nurse Sonnu wasn't the one who found you two." Jessie took a drink of her beverage as she had calmly stated that, though taking a certain level of amusement in pointing it out.

Hanzo sighed as he took a sip of his own beverage, the sweetness mixed with what almost reminded him of rum, but felt smoother down his throat. "Yeah, can't say that I'd disagree, she had already given me 'scoldings' for getting out of bed during my recovery, don't want to imagine what she would've likely done if she came unexpectedly like that." He can already picture it now and quick as it came, it left as he knew how embarrassing that would've been.

But he didn't regret the moment with Marala. "As for your question, well so far things are going alright between us, we're going by what's feeling alright between us. But we are also keeping in mind if our duties might interfere. We're soldiers after all and I don't want to be the one holding things back for her in your unit, I take you were wanting to make sure this wouldn't cause any issues?" Understanding it with Jessie being her squad's leader.

Jessie set her drink down before answering him. "It's a part of it, yes, I've been in the military for a long time and I've seen more than once of what this war has done for relationships, and life outside of it for that matter. It isn't meant for everyone and with how long this war has been dragging on, before your planet was even known and only entered by circumstances. It leaves one to wonder if they're going to be the ones to see the new generation to eventually take their roles, I have." Jessie truly wondered at times if she would finally see a life outside of war, or if she could even settle into such a life, beyond that of the fact of her Echani warrior heritage. Jessie has only known fighting and the military for her whole life.

It was becoming nearly impossible to imagine what she would even do if there was no more fighting to be had in the galaxy for the Republic to be involved in. "But otherwise, call it curiosity, most Earthlings I have met are reluctant towards relationships with other species, though starting to see some changes besides yourself." And it hadn't been the first time she's met those who were like that, everyone had their limits and standards. Some were less understanding about it.

"I guess you can say that added to my interest in her, I wanted to get to know her and she was the same, guess that we both just felt a connection and went with it… She's brought me some peace that I haven't felt in a long time, I'm glad I'm sure she'll have her own things to say about us once she arrives."

"That I guess she will and that's understanding enough, so long as it doesn't interfere in both of your duties or encourage bad behavior, it should provide all the more reason for you two to watch each other's backs in where we're going. Just try to make sure you don't end up keeping all of us up at night." She tipped her drink to meet against his glass and Hanzo raised his for the toast.

But as they did, they felt two presences coming to their table and feeling shadows looming over. "Hey! My friend here doesn't like you, Republic types or newcomers." Hanzo and Jessie looked over and saw a gruff looking Weeguay wearing what almost looked like a pirate outfit to Hanzo if it weren't for the brown vest he wore and a red bandana tied around his forehead. Standing with him was a Klatooinian wearing a type of silver armor that Hanzo didn't recognize, noting the red scuff. The expression he was giving had honestly reminded him of a scowling bulldog.

"Well that's your friend's problem. If you didn't notice already, there's quite a lot of us here, he's gonna have to tolerate it or otherwise. Get out and find someone else to bother." Hanzo was not in the mood to deal with clearly rowdy thugs looking to stir something up for excitement alone or for the fact they could get away with it.

"No, in fact I did notice that wise-ass. We really don't like it, we were bloody fine before you new types came in here to stink up the place! Just cause that you stopped the Imps from the shipyards, doesn't mean you can crowd this place up!" The Weeguay raised his voice, even with the loud music and activities around him, his actions caught some patrons' attention to look over at their direction. The Klatooninian moved forward with clear aggression. "And I think we should give ya a kriffing reminder of who's actually in charge around here! And maybe have some fun with your lady friend here. What do you say, reddy?" He loomed over and displayed out his yellowish teeth in a fierce grin to Jessie.

Who looked more than unimpressed and leaned back.

"I say that you need to look into some mouthwash with the stench I'm smelling here." Jessie moved her leg under the table to position it in case the thugs made any sudden moves. "Oh! Ya gonna be like that ain't ya?! Well fine! You just lost out on this reddy! The Klatooninian gestured to himself with his hands, as if he was some kind of grand prize.

"You just lost out on this! I don't like you humans anyway. But we are gonna ask you to get out of the seats, this is our spot."

"Says who?"

"Says me. What are you gonna do to stop us from taking this table?" The Weeugay lifted his hand and moved to poke Hanzo in the chest.

"You soldier boys really need to learn to keep your mouths shu-GAH!" His words were caught off when Hanzo grabbed his finger and with a tight grip, bending it and forcing the Weeguay down to the floor, he tried pulling it back but it only forced Hanzo to move it further and just as the Weeguay tried to use his other hand to try make him release his finger but Hanzo grabbed it instead.

"Too slow." Hanzo pulled him in and twisted him around, he wrapped Weequay's own arm around his neck, securing his torso to his chair with his leg as he kept him trapped and struggling to break loose. His Klatooinian buddy had stood there dumbstruck for a moment before he had broken out of his surprise to respond to his friend's struggling.

"Why you littl-" His sudden movement to move forward was caught off when he was suddenly slammed jaw first into the solid table, crushing into it with a heavy thud and sounds of his teeth rattling from the force, the drinks rattling but not spilling over thankfully. He slid down to the floor, holding his jaw in great pain as Jessie looked down unimpressively at him, holding his jaw he tried to slowly get back up. "Mfy tonga." He had clearly bit his tongue with the way he mumbled his words, he looked and glared at Jessie, moving his hand to his sheathed vibroblade. But just as he was about to pull it out of its sheath, the Echani hybrid moved at such a shocking speed that it was almost like a blur when she grabbed and slammed the Kalatoonian's forehead into the table's edge. The solid material connected loudly and he slid to the floor with a thud.

"UUUUHH AAAAH!"

There was a mix of moaning and groaning of severe pain from him, he was absolutely out of the fight as he rolled around on the floor. A big bruise already swelling up on his forehead, Jessie took his knife to keep it out of his reach, inspecting the blade as she did. "Hmm I see it's been awhile since you last cleaned this blade." She noted with some disappointment of seeing the slight rust and stains by what he had likely used this blade to cut with.

"LET GO OF ME!" The Weequay's face was becoming enraged as the more he was feeling humiliated by this Earthling, the more struggled against his grip, the tighter it seemed to get for him as he couldn't pull his arm back while his other hand was still trapped in Hanzo's tight grip, feeling his throating slowly tightening as his arm was wrapped tighter. A couple of the patrons were eying the scene with mixed curiosity or excitement to see a bar fight that was ending in a rather hilarious manner, nearby Republic and Earthling soldiers cheering and vocalizing their support. "Yeah that's right! Picked the wrong soldiers to mess with. Waltress! A round for them!" The Kiwi's suggestion was met with cheers by his squadmates and even a few patrons that chipped in.

Alyura was nearby to hear that and came over to see what was happening at the table she was originally serving, sharing a nod with a Kuati waitress with brunette hair who went to take the Kiwi's crowd's orders. She appeared to recognize the two as she came to stop the still moaning Klatooinian in pain, "Bulka, Peet, didn't Grogou already throw you two out the last time you caused trouble?" It would appear this was not the first time that these two have caused trouble at this location and had done so previously.

"We don't take kindly to their types in here!" The one named Peet grunted out as he tried using more force to break out but Hanzo merely still held him in place. "Nope, that's not going to work for you." The Canuck remarked dryly as he restrained Peet's attempts to escape out, he looked to Alyura and gave her an apologetic glance. "Sorry for the trouble." Peet's face was turning more into enrage as he tried kicking around his legs in frustration, but Hanzo used his leg to pull back Peet's right leg. "HEY! DON'T! Don't make me do the splits! My leg does not bend that way, it does not bend that way!" He kept it locked around his chair while he moved his other leg to push back Peet's other leg, he didn't press too far as to not overly seriously injure him but it was certainly not comfortable for the Weeguay thug whose face was further wenching from the stretching pain in his legs. The muscles that had never been worked before were now being pushed to their limits.

She waved Hanzo's apology off. "Don't be, these two are always stirring something up, we throw them out and at some point or another. They find their way back in to restart all over again. We're just lucky that they didn't do it in the middle of the bolo-ball game... Again."

"IT WAS A FOUL I TELL YOU! HE STEPPED ON THE LINE! I SAW IT!" It appeared to be a sensitive topic for him, even as his voice was becoming squeaky due to the uncomfortable position he was in. "Noah he didn't! He scored da ball noleeya, accept it already Peet!" A male orange Twi'lek patron nearby responded back to him in half Huttese and half Basic, he was being backed by some other patrons who appeared to be in similar agreement to him, an Ithorian wearing a white beat shirt while his work jumpsuit that the sleeves was tied around his waist, shouted something Ithorese as he raised his fists around. Hanzo didn't understand what he said, Ithorese as he found out was incredibly difficult to learn but what Hanzo did understood very well was the 'rude' gesture the Ithorian next threw at Peet.

"HE DID! He stepped on it, that's why the goalie was dumbstruck, he was shocked by the sheer penalty of the move. You kriffing stupid head-tail! AND YOU! I'M GOING TO KICK YOU IN THE NUTS HAMMERFACE!" Peet pulled hard as he could to try to break out to get at the Ithorian, throwing his middle fingers at him, but still Hanzo restrained him till one could imagine swear were streams of frustration releasing out of the Weeguay.

"Hagwa make je come over ya tah kick do ass again." Growled out the Twi'lek, waving his fist at the bad mouth Weeguay thug.

"Peet… Shut the kriff up. Ughop, go back to your drink and watch the game." The identified Ughop waved her off somewhat rudely, but didn't press it further as he turned back to watch the game, his buddies doing the same but there was some muttering between them. Alyura somewhat scowled at him, her attention though remained focused on the thugs.

"Grogou! If you would be so kind to 'direct' these two out again, and get Boubo to stop sleeping on the job, it's no wonder why these two are always getting in here." Alyura pointed over to the far exit of the cantina's entrance, sitting on a stool while leaning on the wall was a sleeping Aqualish in an orange and green combat suit with a blaster pistol holstered on his right thigh. Drawing more than one eye of awkwardness over to him as a result. Remaining asleep all the while as he snored loudly, somehow the loud music and activities going on around him were not at all bothering him, while he slept away.

The large Gamorrean bouncer from before re-appeared and he looked rather annoyed in seeing the two thugs once again, cracking his knuckles as he moved to take Peet out of Hanzo's grip. "No! Don't let him eat us!" Hanzo threw him a bizarre look as Grogou took him and lifted onto his shoulders, moving to do the same to Bulk.

"... Any reason why he thinks that Grogou's going to eat them?" Jessie inquired with a raised eyebrow as she watched the Gamorrean displaying impressive strength in lifting them both with little issue or restrain, Bulk being still unresponsive due to the pain he was feeling. "He's a Gamorrean! They eat anyone! Don't let him take us!" Peet panicked, but no one came to his rescue as Grogou started walking away, saying something in his language that sounded to Hanzo as him disagreeing with Peet's statement, few around them were either shaking their heads in disbelief or muttering in anger when they realized that they had missed a score in the match.

The Ithorian from before in particular showed his rage by throwing more rude gestures at Peet while shouting more in his language.

"Ughop! Calm down for Goddess's sake, they'll replay it back."

The Ithorian grumbled but thankfully didn't press problems, stumping back into his seat while Alyura turned back to answer Jessie's inquiry. "Don't know either, though to be honest… I'm not sure if the Gamorreans do that or not. I don't ask. Still sorry that they troubled you two, but like how you handle them two." She throws Hanzo in particular a grin, "Nice work hon. But if you excuse me, I'm gonna go remind Boubo that he still has a job to do." With a frustrated sigh, the Twi'lek stumped off to the entrance, more than likely to give poor Boubo a rude awakening.

Hanzo and Jessie adjusted themselves back in their seats as people started going back to their business, though there were nods of acknowledgement and raised glasses by patrons to them in respect, the fellow soldiers especially who had been previously ready to step in if needed be. "Well, that was quite something."

"That's normally how your fights tend to go, Hanzo?"

"No, usually they would be knocked out or stumble away already. They really had low skill."

"Agreed." Jessie concurred. "With luck, they stop bothering people that are going to be sending them back with their tails behind their legs, but seeing Peet's display… I doubt it." The two started chuckling at that, finding themselves even more at ease with each other as they went back to their drinks and started getting into their pie.

"Well, it seems like I missed some excitement, hope I didn't miss out on the game." Hanzo peaked up and turned around to see Marala parting through the crowds, unlike Jessie who still wore her armor, Marala had chosen instead to wear a blue and white Republic uniform with her lieutenant badge on her upper shirt, a across her chest that held her blaster pistol, her hair don back in a ponytail. 'How did I get so lucky?' Hanzo thought as Marala came closer and his genuine smile hadn't not dropped once with the closer she came.

Jessie had more than notice and observed with slight envy as Marala stopped at Hanzo's seat, leaning to give him a peck on the lips before sliding around to take the seat next to his. "You can certainly say that." Said Hanzo, looking over to see Grogou carrying them out the door, the sleeping Aqualish was also now fully awake and being scolded by Alyura, waving his hands in front of him as if to protect himself from Alyura's riding on his job responsibilities.

But just as Grogou was passing them and quite unfortunately for Bulk. He was lifting his head up to try to give one last stare at them, glaring hard at Jessie in particular as he nursed his aching head, failing to see what was coming in behind him. They heard the smack to the door's roof to the back of his head. Bulk's head went limp and with his own bitten tongue sticking out. He was completely knocked out as Grogou's figure disappeared with the doors closing behind him.

"Ouch." Marala let out a wince sound after seeing that, her cat-like ears folding back a bit. "He's going to have one nasty concussion." Jessie herself looked satisfied at seeing Bulk getting knocked out. "That he will, maybe that'll give him the stronger message to stay out." Hanzo imagined that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. He then turned his attention back to the pie, getting Marala a slice after seeing the nod from her. "Thanks, I was only able to grab a ration bar from the barracks before making my way here. Starving after doing those reports." That and there was the bloody traffic that had kept her busy.

But she shook those frustrations off as she dug in the pie, humming in enjoyment as the sweet creamy taste filled her taste buds. "Probably should then order some food in that case, will have to ask Alyura when she comes back over." Hanzo, though much like Marala, too was enjoying the pie, finding it a good mix with his drink's flavor.

They continued to enjoy themselves, more drinks arriving at their table by the Kuati waitress and deciding instead to give their food orders to her, finding themselves into more discussions and curiously by Marala of what had she missed when Hanzo and Jessie were previously talking about. Their attention though eventually being settled on the bolo-game, Team Alderaan pulling a close win that had quite few cheering and Marala herself seemed satisfied in seeing the score that ended the game.

"They're some of the fastest athletes in the sport, even by the galaxy's standards. They've been on a good winning streak lately, the optimistic news happening on Alderaan has been helping their morale. But Team Coruscant's got it in the bag, they'll get into the Championships first." There was a proudness in Marala's tone when she spoke of her favorite and hometeam, Hanzo clicked his drink to hers in toast to that and it gave him an idea among what he should probably get her for Christmas/Life Day.

"Coo said da! Team Alderaan's doe wompa da's koona tah be taking it all. Weren't u paying attention tah doe game fur-ball?"

Marala sharply looked towards who said that and she was not the only one, Hanzo understood that Huttese quite clearly and did not appreciate the slight to her one bit, he was about to retold but Marala beat him to the punch. "And how about you go to your slum drink there. Learn tah mind do own poonoo, Schutta." Jessie and Hanzo looked at her a bit surprised, she was normally quite calm spoken and quieter about her views. But it seems bolo-ball was a particularly passionate subject with her.

"SCHUTTA?! Coo are u calling do schutta!"

---

Carrick Station, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:08: 16 ATC / Monday, September 8th, 1969 - 10:00 / 10:00 AM

"Atten-hut!"

Eisenhower and Malcom acknowledged the snappy presentation of arms upon their arrival and began inspecting each trooper one by one personally, mostly seeing the maintenance of their equipment.

"This one looks a bit rusty here." Ike growled as he noticed specks on this individual's piece and it reminded him of Patton's attitude to the soldiers who neglected their appearance all those years ago, the time when Bandito was given command of American forces in North Africa and to restore much-needed discipline in the ranks after the disastrous rout at Kasserine Pass, a time where Old Blood and Guts threatened to shoot any GI who wasn't wearing a tie just to restore the esprit de corps. "More than just piled with gunk and left to rot. Did you think this was a joke!? Where's your Sergeant, Private!?"

"That's paint, Ike." The Supreme Commander corrected, interceding on the subordinate's behalf as it was the truth.

"Well, I'm not familiar with blasters to be fair." Ike sighed as he handed the rifle back to the Republic soldier. The said trooper was doing his best to remain composed but he was perspicuously annoyed by the reproach. "And it's still baffling that over two hundred varieties are all regarded as 'standard'. Whoever is in charge of the procurement process needs to be court-martialed for wasting the military budget or replaced by someone competent as having two hundred different types of rifles is a headache to keep track of as well as needing to buy different spare parts for each weapon and so on..At least the ammunition is thankfully interchangeable!"

Jace sighed and proceeded to inspect the next subordinate on the line with the barracks being soon enough. ' This is going to be a long day.'

---

Carrick Station, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:08: 16 ATC / Monday, September 8th, 1969 - 10:30 / 10:30 AM

"We better finish sprucing up the barracks before the two womp rats get here." One of the expectant voices reasoned as he walked into the room, the automatic door splitting to provide entry. "Polish our helmets as well-" The merc, however, paused when he noticed some completely unfamiliar strangers in their room as if they were waiting for their return. "It seems like we have some uninvited guests."

"Sorry, I think we went to the wrong room by mistake." Connor apologized with a wicked and not-so-innocent smile, not even concealing his sarcasm."We're very sorry and my friends and I were about to leave."

"How right you are." One of the mercenaries growled as they drew their blaster pistols or rifles. "But this will be the last error you'll ever make."

"Alex?" Wescott requested. "You have the welcoming gift?"

"Sure do." The subordinate with the position of loader in a machine gun section smirked as turned the knob of the canister to vent out the vapors. "We're sorry, very sorry about this."

"Gas, gas, gas!"

The mercenaries frantically attempted to leave or grab their weapons to attack the intruders. At the same time, the unwelcome guests placed their gas masks on, but the automatic door was unresponsive as if it was purposely deactivated to provide a seal and trap the hired guns inside.

"Bastards! If we're dying here, we'll be taking you with us!" Though the gasses were already beginning to take effect with those without helmets already starting to drop or experiencing the deadly effects of the gas yet two of the mercenaries were wearing helmets that warded off the chemical threat.

"UGH!" The very mercenary that had spoken his threat - a Rattataki wearing a black Shadowed Med-Tech's MK-2 with his skull-like helmet painted white with a bloody handprint - roared as he opened fire on the intruders with his two A-116 Elite Marksman Interceptor blaster pistols while his other surviving comrade - an average-sized human male wearing RD-14B Stealth armor and a bug-like helmet - also proceeded to attack the interlopers.

"Move!" Wescott shouted and hissed in pain after his shoulder caught one of the bolts. The Canuck felt the inside of his shoulder burning and noticed smoke escaping out.

Enily caught him before the 'Mountie Spy' hit the ground and she moved him into cover. "I got you, sir!" She had already started to get her standard issue kolto kit out to treat Wescott's injury. The gas thankfully blocked most of the surrounding view though it did give the others time to dispatch the two surviving mercenaries.

Meanwhile, Hanzo ducked and did a frontal roll before drawing a Browning Hi-Power pistol from his holster, from the kneeling position he aligned the front blade with the rear notch and commenced firing but due to the armor the Rattataki wore it stopped the 9x19mm Parabellum from completely punching through and it became evident that the velocity as well as the projectile's shape and design was insufficient at perforating the breastplate.

"Ugh! So you're one of those 'Earthlings' !? Nice slugthrower."

There were some dents on his chest plate and a shot punched through his shoulder pad but it did not stop him. The wounded opponent pointed to return fire, Hanzo disappeared into the gas before the bolts had hit their mark, reappearing again with a flying knee which sent the mercenary stumbling back.

"Gah!" The Rattataki moved to fire again but was stopped as he was forced to try to block Hanzo's aim with his pistol. It was close quarters now as the two grappled and wrestled between their attempts at shooting each other, the mercenary's uninjured right arm would however become trapped when Hanzo grabbed it in a tight lock as well as the left, hearing the alien wince as he held his arms. Hanzo lifted himself and thrust his legs out in a double front kick, the blow sending the mercenary flying back, his blaster pistol thrown out of reach after it slipped out of his hands while Hanzo hit the floor. The Corporal propped himself back up, pointing up to open fire on the wounded Rattataki but he disappeared into the smoke.

Meanwhile, the other surviving mercenary attempted to slice the intruders with his vibrosword but he made the deadly mistake of attacking Jessie who had her vibroblade knife out, the mercenary over-extended himself and left an opening with his arms that Jessie took advantage of.

"Your stance is very open, merc." Jessie mocked. The mercenary yelled in agony when he felt his left arm was cut. Enraged, the man recklessly tried to attack but his downward slice missed with Jessie dodging to the side, roundhousing her kick into his gut that dumped him over. But he turned and immediately repeated his assault.

"Stand still, schutta!" But for each strike he attempted, Jessie dodged and twisted out of the way while delivering swings that were brisk without receiving an injury in return, a vexing situation that only further infuriated the now berserk merc as he felt the bruises and swelling forming. "Oh, that's it!" He twirled the vibroblade in his hand to change the grip before thrusting forward aggressively only to unwittingly leave himself open for Jessie to counter and parry the oncoming knife.

"That's enough now." She ducked under one of his slashes and came up behind, wrapped her arm around his neck, and pulled him back as she hovered her knife over his lower abdomen.

"Ugh!" Before he could resist her grip, she had already repeatedly transpierced him, and by the time she let go of him, he had fallen to the ground with his blood leaking out, joining the other slain hirelings in the room yet the tassel was not over as the lone survivor continued to fight Hanzo.

"DIE!" The Rattataki charged out of the fumes and knocked the handgun out of Hanzo's hand, but the Canadian responded by blocking the aggressive punches before front-kicking him to push the assailant back, creating distance before their melee resumed. The two brutally brawled each other as they tried to find the edge over their opponent, the Rattataki's armor made it difficult for Hanzo to block and attack without hurting himself, his gloves being the only thing protecting his knuckles from getting ripped as Hanzo felt his fist socking part of the Rattataki's mask but he was finding openings with the more reckless and desperate the Rattataki became in his attacks and Hanzo still had an advantage in speed as well as reach.

They parallel and blocked, he threw a front kick which Hanzo side-stepped on and tried roundhousing him in the face, but the Rattataki caught it and grabbed it in a hold, he swung Hanzo to the nearby wall. Hanzo grunted in pain when he felt his back slamming into the wall, sliding down, he placed both of his hands on the ground, and propping himself up, he back kicked at him, hitting the merc in the head that'd forced him back.

"Stubborn piece of- kriff!" He was about to stump Hanzo with his armored boot. But his attempt was stopped by a strong grip pulling him back and he was suddenly tossed over in a toss throw, rolling back onto his feet as he faced both Hanzo and Marala.

"Thanks." Hanzo brought himself back up and Marala nodded back under her helmet not wanting to give the Rattataki a chance to recover then the couple attacked the unexpecting adversary simultaneously.

The mercenary fought as hard as he could despite his injury but he was getting overwhelmed by the pair and what futile attacks he did make were being blocked and countered, blue blood began to leak from his mouth and nose which started to stain the wrapped bandages around his mask. He coughed and squirmed as more of his blood dripped courtesy of Marala's claws.

He worked up whatever strength he had left and charged. "RAAAH!" But it backfired as his head swung back from the counter punch and Hanzo pulled him in a hold, breaking the wrist in the process, Hanzo used his free hand to pull his head back while Marala kicked his left standing leg.

"UH!" The Rattataki was forced on his right knee, he couldn't reach Hanzo with his other arm and neither did he have the time to react. With his back bent and head hanging back, Marala showed her flexibility by bringing her leg up high to her shoulder, and with a heavy thrust, she slammed it back down in an axe kick to the mercenary's head with all the force she could muster and the mercenary's head snapped sickeningly, hanging loose as his body hit the floor with a thud after Hanzo let go of him.

All of the mercenaries within the room were now dead. Hanzo nodded in thanks to Marala, who returned the gesture.

Not wanting to take chances however, Hanzo saw his pistol nearby and went to retrieve it. After pulling back the slide only to catch an unspent cartridge that was ejected then pusing the button to release the magazine only to return it, he walked towards the body only to stop a few feet from the downed creature, aimed the handgun, and discharged one final shot. The bullet pierced through the skull and scattered brain matter was added to the blood spilled across the floor.

"Greasy, but I've done it before." Marala noted as she wrinkled her nose at the sight. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Won't argue with that." Hanzo concurred as he returned the pistol to the holster and he knew that phase two of their plan would now be able to proceed even if this skirmish was longer than anticipated.

---

Carrick Station, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:08: 16 ATC / Monday, September 8th, 1969 -

"Thank you, Jefro." Balkar acknowledged the agent impersonating a supervisor of cleaning droids who was to place the corpses in capsules and covertly dispose of them.

"No problem, Jonas. These scum deserve to be vented out of an airlock for what they did. Some of them were absolutely psychopaths, particularly the Rattataki. Suffice to say, your team did the galaxy a service by getting rid of them." The other SIS agent shrugged while the armor of the former owners were being distributed with Major Lane holding a silver Elite War Hero Eliminator armor and Lieutenant Jorgo receiving the Verpine Med-Tech armor that was painted in purple. The owner was unfortunate to have not been wearing her helmet as it would've likely kept her safe from the gas since Verpine technology was amongst the most advanced in the whole galaxy.

Hanzo, however, was given a set of armor which was a spare set owned by one of the now-deceased mercenaries or at least that's what they assumed. It was a customized TT-17A Hydra colored in gold and red, something that was very clearly Mandalorian as the design of the helmet with the infamous T-shaped visor being a dead giveaway. Even so, Hanzo was perplexed as the helmet was not usually used with the TT-17A Hydra, at least from what he had recalled from his research about Mandalorian armor, particularly after having encountered Beskar itself after the Sith Warrior he confronted that fateful day had used it.

The helmet itself was sleek with most of it being painted red like the rest of the armor but around the infamous T-shaped visor and in a straight line on the forehead was gold, the cheeks gray, and there was an antenna that if he remembered correctly, was a rangefinder and not something used for long-range communication.

But for some reason, the Corporal was beginning to suspect that this might actually be someone else's armor as none of the dead Howling Heathens were wearing anything resembling Mandalorian armor. Sure, there were humans among the fallen but that wouldn't necessarily make them Mandalorian and there were aliens who were slain with a Weeguay, Kiffar, Karkarodon, and Togruta being among the bodies. In fact, Hanzo surmised that the Karkarodon was female based on his fishing experience back in Vancouver Island where he occasionally had to deal with the pesky dogfish or even the rare time that a salmon shark had attempted to steal his bait, he learned to pick up things about sharks in general after that and though physically different due to of course being a humanoid species, he still discerned some familiarities. Even so, it was difficult at time to tell what gender an alien was if they were far less humanoid in physiology and regardless if they were green, blue, purple, whatever, he had already encountered a wide variety of them across the station that left him almost overwhelmed at the reminder of how massive this galaxy was.

"Hmm, is this Beskar?" Hanzo pondered as he inspected the armor. He learned that the very sight of the Mandalorians adorned in their armor could cause many to flee in terror but despite being dismissed as vandals, there were in fact Clans who were are honorable than being mere mercenaries with traditions dating back millennia and labeling them as ' brutes ' or ' thugs ' was not only an oversimplification, it was bound to create falsehoods, a misconception which was just as wrong and tantamount to saying he was unworthy of being a Canadian because his maternal grandparents emigrated from Japan.

But on the other hand… He could understand why the Mandalorians could be seen in such a light as they could be brutal like how their honor could be admirable and Hanzo discerned parallels between their culture and that of the Vikings and the Samurai. This current war has the Mandalorians as one of the Republic's main adversaries second only to the Sith Empire and they have not been a major concern since the Mandalorian Wars three centuries prior, still imposing as a major threat as they were during the Great Galactic War thirty years ago, when the reigning Mand'alor agreed to assist the Sith Empire and the resulting Blockade of the Hydian Way caused mass starvation and chaotic riots but this sparked the trend of the Empire more often than not hiring Mandalorians to assist in Imperial operations or to accomplish tasks that required their particular undertaking but given how each Clan had their own values within the overall Mandalorian Culture it made fighting them unpredictable and undeniably dangerous as while one group may respect non-combatants, another may kill everyone on sight and instead of looting like the Vikings they would raze everything down to the last minuscule like the Vandals instead.

"Hmm, what's this now?" Hanzo spotted some x marks on the right side of the chestplate, while the armor had been recently cleaned and polished, showing that whoever owned this clearly had much professional care in it's maintenance, it still had some signs of previous damage from battle, he idly wondered if some of it may had been from a lightsaber and Hanzo certainly knew kill marks when he saw them, it didn't matter that this was in a different galaxy, and it caused him to look back on his service in Vietnam as he served along someone who had kept count of their kills or even trophies. He counted at least fifty-three notations from a permanent marker on the upper plate, the number alone told him that whoever had once worn this, he was a professional killer and proud of it. 'If this is indeed Beskar then a knife shouldn't even make notches in it. These could've been made with some special blowtorch for all I know but I don't see any scorches."

Out of curiosity, he decided to try on the helmet for size and conduct a function check as well only to be amazed. Hanzo noticed that there was a display of a 'floating' red crosshair that moved whenever his eyes moved, as if the crosshair was tracking a target and on the side he could see a display showing what he recognized as Aurebesh numerals, the range being compensated for as well.

Concentrating on one of the bunks in the surprisingly spacious room, the Canadian serviceman noted that the distance was twenty-five meters and he switched his focus to a vase behind him, with it being registered as only five meters away.

However, as soon as he turned around, he noticed that somehow he could see whatever - or whoever - was behind him. 'Three hundred sixty degrees? This is good for tactical awareness' . Nilsson immediately recognized the advantages but felt that he needed time to become accustomed to using this suit of advanced armor or any sophisticated set of armor for that matter.

"It seems like you're enjoying yourself, Hanzo." Marala remarked half-jokingly as she was amused by the - for the lack of a better word - seeming playfulness of the Earthling as he 'assessed' the enclosed helmet.

"It's a lot more advanced than I'd imagined, and I didn't stumble on enough stories or articles that explained this kind of hardware."

"The Mandalorians guard their secrets closely, it's nearly impossible to predict their actions without having first-hand experience confronting them." Marala explained and her race - the Cathar - had been nearly been wiped out by Neo-Crusaders under Cassus Fett three centuries ago during the Mandalorian Wars, it was a atrocity that would shock the galaxy and something that was still felt to this day as Cathar and Mandalorians still continued to feud against each other, Mandalorians being hired by the Empire more than once when her people were stirring up problems for the Imps.

And she had fought against the Mandalorians before, back when she was a simple Republic grunt long before being selected and voluntarily joining Republic Special Ops, her encounters with them had been during her tour with her former unit on worlds such as Taris where she had found herself assisting her own people, the Cathar settlers and their Nikto allies, against the Empire's mercenaries, Mandalorians no less and they were being lead by the highly capable Commander Vorten Fett, a man who had earned himself notoriety, something she had seen for herself during the few times she had personally fought Vorten's Mandalorians.

Marala, however, would admit that she was something of a special case among her people. While she couldn't forgive the Mandalorians for the cruelty they had done to her people in the past or of the worse that she had seen of the Mandalorians for herself, she had conversely also witnessed things about them that couldn't be dismissed, something admirable and she couldn't blame Hanzo's apparent growing interest in the Mandalorians, she has seen the best and the worst of them, she couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to. She had endured their ferocious bravery in battle, their tactical poweress, their adaptability to survive challenges before them, their loyalty to each other and their Clan or fellow Mandalorians, and she had even bare witness to a moment that would forever be imprinted into her mind.

While on a scouting patrol by herself and peering through her sniper rifle, she stumbled upon a small Balmorran farm that had been sacked, it was there where she witnessed a Mandalorian warrior in yellow and gold colored armor, carrying a bundled up infant out of the burning farmhouse, the infant's parents being more than likely dead inside the home. She was at first alerted and felt a shot of fear for the infant's safety as she heard his or her cries even from her position, she was ready to move in to save the baby no matter what, she wouldn't idle to see any child in danger.

But what stopped her was when she observed that the Mandalorian had begun to tend to the infant's discomfort, keeping it close in a protective embrace despite not knowing if the Mandalorian was responsible for the destruction or had simply stumbled upon it. She largely suspected that Imperials were the ones responsible as they had done it before on Balmorra, the complete summary executions of entire districts which included even children would forever haunt her. Her platoon had been among those to stumble upon a community that had been thoroughly massacred, the Sith Lord in charge had taken a particular sadistic joy in it judging by some of the bodies found.

Marala could remember watching the Mandalorian carrying the infant away with him and she did her best to follow along without alerting him until she couldn't get any closer when he finally arrived at what appeared to be a camp being tended by what she imagined was his clan.

From a concealed position out-of-sight, she watched as Mandos repaired equipment or on patrol and while many were either humans or humanoids, she made out at least one massive four and a half meters tall Mandallian Giant in the back of the camp that was gazing around the terrain. The sheer size of the Mandalorian made her blood freeze for a moment as she eyed the massive blaster cannon that looked more fitting for a starship than being lugged around by hand.

Her attention was brought back to where some of the Mandalorians started greeting the returned warrior, a woman from what she could tell by the shape of the orange and red armor, had taken the infant from his hands without so much of a word, she could tell the warrior was caught off yet not alarmed as the female Mandalorian started showing affection to the infant, cuddling it and the infant adorably in response reached out to hold Mando's finger, more than one Mandalorian had come over to see the infant.

It was a moment she would never forget for the rest of her life… It had made her think back to the day she lost her home colony to the Sith Empire, of how she had made off with that world when her family didn't. ' Sometimes I wonder if I made the right call, if I should've gone after the infant and rescue him or her, but wherever that infant is… I hope that baby is safe.' She knew for all of the worse that she had seen of their people, the Mandalorians still cherished family and especially children above all else, adopted or or by blood, it didn't matter to them or if they were even the enemy's children, that moment alone had been among those that had revealed to her of that.

Her deepened thoughts were intercepted however when one of the agents decided to take command.

"Alright, cut it out." Connor interrupted, thinking the same way even though it was with a different conclusion. "McAllen, Nilsson, let's give the ladies some privacy."

"What's the matter, boys?" Enilly wondered cheekily. "Afraid to be around us?" She had her bodysuit's top zipper down which more than exposed some of her cleavage, obviously to get Alex's attention, to which it certainly did as his face blush up a bit as he tried his best not to stare, rudely that is as he still threw her a small grin.

Major Lane herself didn't show any apparent discomfort of changing in front of everyone either, though that could be due to her Echani heritage and her career as an officer which included moments where she'd shared barracks or showers with both men and women alike . "I would think at the very least Hanzo and Marala wouldn't have any issues considering their 'activities '." Lane said with a smirk as she began to unfasten her armor and she dropped her gauntlets on a table along with her helmet before undoing the rest of her sheathing, leaving her in a bodysuit which more than showed her figure that was a testament of her status as a Special Operations soldier.

Hanzo couldn't disagree with the Republic Major's percipient assessment, especially as he took a glance at Marala's rear, her own bodysuit did little to hide the very amazonian figure he had become rather ' intimately ' familiar with and appreciate. ' Ugh goddamnit! Control yourself.' He did his utmost to hide his instinctive reaction out of both military professionalism and to maintain his dignity but unknown to him Jessie noticed the flusteredness.

'Huh, I guess that explains the noises I heard Marala making in that room.' Lane thought with her left eyebrow raised as she noted the ' reaction', she looked over and spotted that Marala had also perceived Hanzo's perturbation as she bent down to grab a greave from the fallen former wearer, unintentionally inducing him when it was presently not the time for it.

"Careful Lieutenant, you just might make his face redder than a Devaronian." Jessie said while shaking her head.

---

Erick Priest - Howling Heathens

Carrick Station, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:08: 16 ATC/Monday, September 8th, 1969 - 11:15/11:15 AM

The dark blond-haired, blue-eyed Mandalorian outcast was imposing in his red TT-16B Master Powertech armor as he headed back to link up with the others at their temporary lodging, making sure to keep himself hidden to avoid any unwanted attention from the Republic personnel, knowing full well of the fact his 'people' are not welcomed in Republic Space.

The Dar'manda was not ashamed for what he had done, what was deemed to be immoral and dishonorable activities on Balmorra when collaborating with a fellow Mandalorian, Monta Drai, a professional mercenary who had kept a slavery business on the sideline, enslaving the local inhabitants and selling them off to the Empire for credits, nevermind burning villages for sport yet he never regretted his actions. He wasn't ignorant that it wasn't honorable or worthwhile as there wasn't anything to boost about stumping helpless civilians to the ground, but honor wasn't what drove him, he didn't lie to himself that he still had any honor after the things he did unlike the others within Monta's band.

Certainly didn't get them anywhere, they were dead when he wasn't. Avoiding their fate only by luck when he had been assisting elsewhere in the eliminating/rooting out of Resistance fighters. ' Got what you pretty much deserved, Monta.' He never did quite get all of the details of how exactly did the Republic stormed through Clan Drai's bunker, would've required a great deal to fight the Mandalorians on their own terms and getting in close quarters like he knew it would've as he recalled the design and structure of the bunker, or the various battle droids around that'd helped kept them sharp and on edge. But somehow they did, not without casualties no doubt, but still resulted in most of them dead, including Monta Drai himself and for all of his arrogance. He wasn't an amentur and Erick can still remember how vicious he was in combat.

It truly was like him to go out dying while fighting.

It didn't take long for Monta's dishonorable actions in slavery to become more aware and in awake of his death, there were not many other Mandalorians that'd spoken of him fondly and his own involvement in it made him outcasted by the Mandalorian mercenary company he had been assisting and thanks to a particularly nosely Ordo kid that had made it his personal mission to see the Clan Priest member brought to justice. Erick was exiled and his armor would've been stripped from him if he hadn't used his jetpack to escape, though he was pursued and had caused quite the stir among both the Imperials and Republic forces nearby that had witnessed the Mandalorians chasing him in the air.

He had though managed to escape between his natural flying skills and usaging the stony mountain way ins to cover his escape, he caused a cave in with his rockets and making to Monta's ship, he did tried to persuade the remaining Clan Drai members to join him that were still at the ship, promising that he could present them with better opportunity. But they decided to be hypocrites, dare to claim that he had no honor and that he didn't intend on joining a Dar'manda into the void, it was quite the tense silence when they waited for whoever would make the first move.

It ended up being him, it had taken time and he didn't escape the bloody confrontation without new scars to add to his old ones. The last one, K'kak Drai, was the one who had lasted the longest after he tore out the last other Drai clansman's throat with his gauntlet knife. Erick can still remember the words K'kak kept shouting at him as he ferociously attacked him without any inch of mercy with his beskad, the claims of him being a true warrior, a true Mando'ade, of how it finally drove him to the breaking point and surprising K'kak with his own strength to push him back and having no regard of the danger of doing it in their enclose space, Erick unleashed his flamethrowers on him and attempted to cook him alive in his own beskar'gam.

It had only succeed mildly, K'kak being a stubborn bastard had tried to still kill him even as he was being cooked alive, tackling him and almost killed Erick if he hadn't reached for his blaster in time to shoot through K'kak's helmet visor, killing him and leaving Erick as the only survivor in the damaged starship. It was on that day forth that he fully embraced the identity of 'Dar'manda', and he hadn't looked back since.

He did try to return to Clan Priest, he had afterall knew full well that his Clan was never truly that honorable, no they held a particular reputation among the Mandalorian community for their viciousness and sadistic brutality, cunning yet not above doing tricky. Often their honor has been called into question yet they've proven themselves useful when needed to be and their lust for violence had its uses when directed onto a target. Their interrogation and torture methods being considered amongst their prized talents, a talent they had sharpened during the Mandalorian Wars when Clan Priest had specialization in the ambushing and capture of Jedi and to be than handed over to the famed mad Mandalorian scientist, Demagol, for his experiments, brutal experimenting at that and it had paved the way for their Clan's reputation among the Mandalorian clans.

And though Clan Varad was more infamous in their raiding and pillaging and had once been one of Clan Priest's most provable allies. Clan Priest were still known for their own brutal raiding. If they felt the need or saw the opportunity for it, they took it and there was always a market for slaves from the captives they captured unless they'd seen any potential recruits among them, they would be selected and be granted training to be one of them, only if one could survive though. The selections often demanded a sacrifice in return or a test to see if you are capable of killing, often either pitting against fellow captives or even one of the clansmen, if you survive and kill the other, you're in. If not, you'd best hope you were dead and not still alive for them to do what's next.

Clan Priest was overall not a well liked clan by many Mandalorians that firmly believe in honor, while others still grudgingly accept their place within the Mandalorians war effort against the Galactic Republic and their alliance with the Sith Empire. Still, they've come close to being banned themselves from Mand'alor's stronghold on Geonosis, just as Clan Varad was prior to when they'd break away from the Mandalorian leadership.

But when Erick did return to the Clan Priest's home fortress on Gargon, he was not welcomed and it would appear that Erick's actions on Balmorra become too known. The Chieftain had wished to avoid bringing any unwanted attention that they didn't need, not publicly as though he was denied entrance into his own former home, the Chieftain did strike a deal with him that'd more than made up for the exile.

It would appear that Clan Priest had its own ambitions they wanted to keep and if Erick did things right, he could have a part in it, not that he truly cared as he knew that Chieftain Adenniyc Priest was more than willing to betray him if it benefited the Clan or his ambitions. That was fine with Erick though, he'd be both ready for when the moment may come, and milk out what he can from this.

Thus, leading to where he had ended up in this position in the first. "Maybe I should've considered joining Kreegan's group, he's a real besom chaavla. But, he's always got good contracts and there's always loot to grab with him." Though then again, raiding and terrorizing Jawas on Tatooine was low, even for a Dar'manda like him.

"Hmm guess I should consider heading back to Mek-Sha, it's been awhile since I last checked with the others. Adenniyc will get nasy if I don't report in… Again." He groaned thinking back to the last time that he had done that, it had been a reminder that Clan Priest never truly did let go of their infamously torturing methods that had made them feared over three centuries ago in the Mandalorian Wars and even during the Jedi Civil War when the Sith Empire would hire their services as mercenaries.

The demonstration that was given had more than sent the message across clearly.

Failure was not an option.

Regardless of what his fellow Mandalorians across the galaxy thought of what he did however, Erick still considered himself more honest than others would care to admit. He knew if he showed himself around any other Mando'ade, they would surely try to kill him on the spot without second thought or hesitation, he was just a scourge who needed to be ended.

And therefore he only became one of the ' Heathens ' not necessarily by choice but because of circumstances and he did enjoyed the time on Alderaan during the Civil War, but the recent decision by the leader of the band to work for the Republic while profitable did also prove difficult to adjust and there were a few of the group who shared the same sentiment.

As a matter of fact there was going to be a discussion after the Supreme Commander of the Republic Military and General Patton - a man he only heard about - inspected the quarters, a possibility of seeking employment elsewhere instead of charading themselves as some upholders of morality when to the contrary the Howling Heathens all had blood on their hands during the Alderaan Civil War, even at one point massacring five hundred peasants just because they were toiling the land of the wrong House and the Noble lord had wanted to send a clear message, as that was how they operated, not be some do-gooders.

Didn't in the end go well for the Noble that had hired them, they had been long gone by the time the massacre was discovered and had brought down the wrath of House Organa upon them, they'd even gone as far to hire the famed Republic privateer to assist in the besieging and capture of the Lord. The Voidhound of Port Nowhere. From what he'd heard, the Noble had shown his true colors as a coward quite broadly when he attempted to sneak out of his home palace by dressing as a maid, only to be then caught by the Smuggler who had seen through his disguise.

Erick would've had love to have seen the utter humiliation he could only picture that the Noble endured afterwards being presented to the Organas while in women's clothing.

Approaching the door, Erick noticed a specific device laying on the ground. "Looks like Molin accidently dropped her datapad." He chuckled before opening the door, only to see that no one was there and the place was almost like they left it, except for notably the personal datapad.

The discrepancy caused him to immediately have klaxons go off mentally, it was completely unlike the others to just neglect a task of any sort even if this one involved sprucing up a place for visitors. And scanning the room, he noticed something else was off - more like missing - from the otherwise ' untouched ' room:

His spare set of Mandalorian armor was gone.

"Damned chakaars!" Erick's eyes narrowed as rage filled his being, that armor alone had been worth over sixty thousand credits. "... Change of kriffing plans! Ke nu'jurkadir sha Dar'manda."

---

Carrick Station, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

09:08: 16 ATC / Monday, September 8th, 1969 - 12:00 / 12:00 PM

"Well, Han, I didn't expect us to be dragged for wet work." Alex sighed underneath the helmet after he changed into the armor back in the room, his being a 'TT-15A Powertech ' - specifically the 'Republic ' version, coloured dark camo green with silver painting, it was form fitting and while the HUD-screen wasn't as advance's to Mandalorians, it was still quite intriguing for Alex to see and he was glad that he didn't had to clean the helmet out too much. He brought up his new rifle, a blaster rifle that had intrigued him a bit as he inspected it and if he recalled correctly this rifle is a T-189 Rifle by BlastTech.

The corpses of the former owners now being disintegrated in tubs of acid before the canisters were vented into space intermixed with the jettisoned trash just to get rid of their existence.

The team embarked on the star transport owned by the Alderaanian mercenaries that was still docked in this section of Carrick Station's docking bays, it was a modified K-52 Strongarm coloured dark gray and red, on its wings were the Howling Heathens banner, a red circle that containing a white skull that had its mouth wide open to display a ' howl' and two vibroblades in crossguard behind it. The team stepped into the cargo hold, it had been large enough to fit them all in, a red/black Ubrikkian Raider speeder was in place of a working station of the far right, a roll of lockers and few crates being there along with a deactivated ODX-series protocol droid stood in a lump over position. The other side had been clear space where leading up to a stairway was to the rest of the ship. Each now wearing the selected armor sets from the deceased mercenaries and each were taking their time in getting used or fitted out with their new equipment, much so in the case of Alex and Hanzo who've never worn armor like they are now.

"Never did I Alex, I don't like the blind rush we're going in here but we've got little choice now. Better to adapt while you can." Hanzo's voice was changed due to wearing the Mandalorian helmet, sounding almost robotic and his already deep voice only now made him sound both intimidating and dangerous. He checked the tech on his gauntlets. Becoming intrigued by the gadget-like weaponry he was now realizing he had on his armor, being careful of the buttons on the gauntlet though as he didn't want to mess with anything he didn't knew yet, taking note that the previous owner must have been a pyromaniac upon discovering how personally modified the flamethrowers were on both of his gauntlets. And extra fuel to his jetpack that had him heavily intrigued, though he hasn't activated it yet as he wanted more time to train with it. His HUD screen came alive in his helmet and his eyes followed the targeting square icon that locked onto the items and even his teammates in what he imagined was scanning.

He was caught off guard for a little moment when he had blinked and the visor screen suddenly turned into a different mode, it was all blue and in place of everyone was now bright yellow lights with reddish tints. ' What the-What is this?' Hanzo halted for a moment in his steps as he tried adjusting to his visor's screen, he realized it was showing everyone's heat sights when a small icon symbol came up to his left that detailed in small Aurebesh words of everyone's readings. ' Interesting thing to note, I need time to figure all of this out.' This was a whole new field of technology for Hanzo to experience and use. He started trying to find a way to switch back to normal vision but just as he did finally, he felt a bump to his back.

"Messing with the helmet still Han?" It was Marala, her own voice changed as well due to the helmet she was now wearing in the purple colored Verpine made armor. It was form fitting yet the armor plates provided good protection to her vital areas and the suit had been made specifically for different environments that had included even hazardous dangers. Marala was finding herself wishing that she had these modifications in the armor during her tour on Taris with the amount of biohazards her unit had dealt with during the campaign.

Hanzo turned his head and nodded back to her with his small grin hidden by his helmet. "It's a lot to absorb, but I think I'll get the hang of it." The armor felt lighter than he had anticipated yet he still felt the weight of it and this was a new experience for him, to be wearing this kind of armor. While he had tried some Republic trooper armor on Tython during exchange training that his unit had with the garrison Republic soldiers and the becoming standard battle armor for the militaries of Earth. But Mandalorian armor was of a different level compared to them, it was a walking advanced arsenal of gadgets and gear.

"Will be plenty of time for it while on the trip there, the ship's cargo hold seems large enough for some practice. Unless there's any other larger rooms inside." Commented Marala as she stepped in to get a view of the space within the hold, eying the droid with some curiosity. "We're see, Lieutenant. We'll see." Said Andrik Bizzle as he too observed around the room in a calm manner.

Serena herself had taken up a spot next to Hanzo, nodding to him with a warmed smile and admired him in his new armor. "You continue to have more surprises Han, I didn't expect the next time I saw you would be wearing Mandalorian armor."

Hanzo took his helmet off with the detaching hiss sound echoing a bit and he held it at his waist as he returned Serena's smile with his own, taking too note of her own outfit and she couldn't help but laugh a little at the raised brow he gave.

"And I admittedly expected to see you in your Jedi armor or robes Master Ashak." The Rutian Twi'lek was no longer wearing her advanced Verpine Foestopper armor with the included Jedi robes, instead she is now outfitted with what was worn by the female Togruta of the deceased mercenaries, a clothing that was honestly fitting to what most Twi'lek typically wore. A tight yet not uncomfortably black and blue pants that showed off her well formed legs and thighs, two knee gray knee guards and brown boots, a pair of brown holsters clinging to her hips, wearing a short blaster-weave coat and underneath she'd only wore a black bra that almost barely just contained her admittedly very large breasts that stretched it out much to her annoyance. The Togruta had been a size shorter as Serena had found out the hard way and was already taking note of how it received quite a bit of attention.

As Hanzo evidently noted himself. "Well I needed to blend in sight and admittedly beyond it being colder, I could've done worse." Serena was not annoyed with Hanzo, she was more than aware of how many found her race and even herself highly attractive, the Twi'leks were notorious for it and the desires by many beings for them, Serena though appreciated that at least the Canadian wasn't rude about it. As a Jedi Master, she was certainly not ignorant of her surroundings or of the emotions of other beings, her long periods of time spent with soldiers had opened her into more of feeling others surface thoughts as she did not felt right treading into one's privacy like that but she always caught what been emerging out from the surface. Suffice to say, she knew real quick who definitely ' liked ' her a lot, but it helped too in helping her connect with the soldiers she had continuously fought beside throughout her role as Jedi Knight to a now Jedi Master.

Hearing them talk to her of their struggles, the ease she can feel them entering in as she listened to their stories or of their life back home they hoped to return to. Or of the friends they've seen killed, ruined worlds by war that left them haunted, or just of anything, Serena Ashak showed her compassion to these men and women in letting know their do in the end truly means much for the galaxy's stability, reminding they are all sentient beings and what they fear is natural, they all need to face them. Serena though knew as well not to push limits, she would not intervene in their duties as soldiers as she has her own, but she always does what she can for these brave soldiers even to their dying moments at the battlefield and she felt much prouder in using the Force to make it better for them.

But with Hanzo, it was much different trying to feel for him when she could not do as she had done with other soldiers through the Force. "You know each other?" The two looked over to see that Marala was looking at them with a curious glance, noting the familiarity between the busty Twi'lek Jedi and her mate. "We met on Tython and have known each other since. Jedi Master Serena Ashak." She introduced herself to the Cathar and held out her hand to shake, to which Marala returned in grasping her smaller clothed blue hand.

"Lieutenant Marala Jorgo, huh I thought you looked familiar. I remember you from Balmorra when my old unit was still stationed there, the 27th Infantry. Marala did not have to elaborate further as she and many in the regiment believed that the Jedi standing before her was the very reason why they survived the fighting in the Markaran Plains.

Serena blinked in surprise for a moment before answering back, there was a calm smile on her face that spoke of a fondness holding back to the Infantry. "I will not take the credit as the 27th more than showed their own bravery, defying the odds. But it's warming to hear that they are still praising my part in their duties, I only hope that they are doing well." Marala in confirmation. "Yes. They were last at Kuat before being reshipped out somewhere in the Mid-Rim." Serena nodded to that, hoping that the Prowl-Foxes as they are more notably known for due to both their emblem and cleverness in the field. She chose though to change the subject and continue to converse with the two.

"How is the armor Han? I noticed you were stumbling earlier." Serena's purple eyes traced over the details on the Mandalorian armor which caused her to reflect on the experiences she endured against the infamous enemies to the Jedi Order, both in combat and outside of it as she remembered her closer interaction with a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter she had encountered in her missions. It had surprisingly not ended in violence as one would've expected, instead Serena was given a closer depth into Mandalorian culture and their customs as the Bounty Hunter had been willing to assist her mission in tracking down pirates deep in the Imperial's pocket on Felucia, hoping to hide the slaves they were using to crop healing Nysillin and shipping them out to the Empire. Along with anymore slaves they were able to capture in raids that was the result of what brought the Jedi Order's attention onto them and why Serena, as a Jedi Knight, was sent to investigate it further that led her into discovering the operation… After they had shot down her ship and forced her stranded on Felucia, communications were cut and she was left by herself to survive in the fungi humid environment, Serena had still taken the opportunity to try scout out the pirates encampment and learning of their operations, particularly as well if there was a ship that she could take to report back to the Jedi Council.

Instead however, that plan ended up changing when she encountered an unknown Mandalorian, a warrior whose armor was painted in dark green with red and gold highlights. The Jedi sensed her approaching from behind and she activated her lightsaber as the 'threat' upholstered her blaster pistol and aimed it, the Twi'lek at the time asked herself why she decided to use a blaster when she fired only to miss yet Serena felt the presence of another creature and what emerged was a massive Jungle Rancor which had been lurking nearby, it stood at its full height and with a bellowing roar it charged, heading right towards them. Serena had expected that she was gonna have to deal with two opponents upon Force dashing out of the way to avoid the smashing of its heavy fists that rocked the mossy sod of the ground and a large midst of dust covered the zone.

Serena was surprised however when instead of attacking her while coming in heavily fast on jetpack, the Mandalorian fired off wrist rockets that roared out into exploding impact on the Rancor's thickened skin. Though blackened and scorched by the blasts, the injuries only served to anger the beast further into a frenzy as it tore the fungi plants apart standing its way and showing a surprising nimbleness in its movement by attempting to catch the Mandalorian infuriating it but so to did she as she flew in the air with a controlled balance. Dodging the attempts of being grabbed or smacked while recountering with her attacks with a mix of high powered blaster bolts and arsenal fire of flames/missiles, giving Serena time to focus on entering in the fight as she had used the Force to speed herself into a bur to the distracted Rancor's feet and she began slicing its legs.

The hot plasma slashing through its thick hide erupted louder roars of pain and she would accelerate herself to jump up high to spin herself in a twirl attack upwards the Rancor's chest. The lightsabers cut through deep in that inflicted more damage that though limited its nimbleness, it still had fight within it as it lifted its massive arms up and though Serena had landed back on the ground in time to speed some distance. But the force of the ground shake by the slam was still enough to knock Serena off her feet, she Force push herself back up in a roll and the enraged Jungle Rancor was stumping fast towards her, her next phrase of planning would however be cut upon the Mandalorian's returned action in firing that caught its attention.

"I noticed that you overlooked the beast behind you, I suspect it was an instance of it and I came at you concurrently, well more like deciding if you were its meal."

"That might explain it." Serena reasoned, it could have easily been an instance of a Mandalorian and a Rancor targeting her but that did beg the question. "Why shoot it and not me?"

"Using blasters against Jedi is a fool's errand. Besides, being mauled to death or eaten by a beast ain't a pleasant way to go."

Serena sensed that the warrior was now glaring at her underneath the helmet, her hand tensed as if she was contemplating her best approach of attack as she returned the blaster to her side.

The Twi'lek wasted no time and leaped out of the line of fire but still toward her foe, the Mandalorian turned with her forearm raised, attempting to use her mainbrace against the agile Force practitioner yet the Mando'a overheard voices from behind.

"Don't make any sudden moves, Mando."

A quartet of Republic scouts who emerged from the adjacent clearing maneuvered hesitantly and aimed their blaster rifles warily at the Mandalorian but before the Jedi could warn them off, the warrior spun around and dispatched them with her flamethrower, the jet of flames incinerating not just the soldiers but the very ground where they stood.

A walker followed up and it was something that was not brought aboard the shuttle craft, meaning only one thing.

'Reinforcements.' Serena figured, the Jedi realized that there might have been a Search and Rescue expedition launched when she didn't check in at the allotted time, time which passed by while she was attempting to endure the inhospitable conditions and attempt to communicate with her superiors.

The Mandalorian must have determined the same and the numbers were encumbering to a lone warrior, while skilled and capable of punching above their own weight, even a Mandalorian knew when it was time to retreat.

"Are you alright, Master Ashak?" A medic asked after she rushed to where the Jedi was standing.

"I'm fine." Serena assured her, but she couldn't get her mind off of the warrior and why she didn't just let her be mauled.

"The Council thought you were captured and when we found the wreck, we feared the worst."

"Trust me, it could've been."

After that encounter on that fateful day, Serena in her spare time began to read up on whatever she could about the Mandalorians and came to comprehend that there were admirable attributes, when before she would had never delve beyond judging them as nothing more than dangerous adversaries capable of defeating Jedi and never to be underestimated.

After reflecting on the occurrence and noticing that everyone else was now inside the vessel, Serena decided she would speak to her fellow Jedi Andrik Bizzle on some things regarding their mission. "It was a pleasure to meet you Lieutenant and to see you again Han. I look forward to working with you both, until we speak again." She gave them both a small bowing head and with a warm smile, she parted and walked over towards Andrik who sensed her approach and began speaking with her. Leaving Marala and Hanzo to converse with themselves as the gunship's hatch behind them closed.

"She's a bit more open than most Jedi I've served with but I think that's going well for us and her well earned reputation. Though she will certainly be attracting a lot of attention with that outfit." Hanzo couldn't disagree with his girlfriend on that as he would a idiot to not have noticed the open view to her cleavage and toned stomach, not even getting to the fact it did little to hide her honestly Heavenly gifted figure as he couldn't but notice the way those pants clinged to her. "That I do not doubt that, but knowing where we're going. That might at least loosen lips to be less resistant to us if we need to talk." Marala chuckled a bit at that and not helping herself, she gave an amused knowing look to tease, "Bet it will with the way you were staring at her breasts there. Do I need to worry about that?" Hanzo returned the look with knowness of his own.

"Kinda hard not to. Do hope she at least gets a bigger size bra than that one." It could not be comfortable for her with the way he saw them stretching out the material, Marala certainly agreed with him but it was more of her speaking personally as she was thankful she did not have 'melons' like the Rutian Jedi has.

"And no you don't need to worry Mara, mostly because." He leaned into her to whisper in her ear and surprised her a bit by caressing her hip. "You've turned me into an ass-man." Marala gave a purr to that and lightly hip bumped him to move. "Careful Corporal, don't want to get in trouble now for fraternization." Hanzo was admittedly concerned if their relationship will run into that problem eventually, but he still replied with amusement in his voice to keep with the mood. "Funny Lieutenant, considering who suggested it first in the hospital bed." Marala chuckled again and threw him a sultry look as the two went to join the others gathering up in the room.

Their pilot in the cockpit settled in the course for the trip ahead, the leader of their operation decided now was a good time to review everything.

"You remember the plan?"

"We're going to be posing as the Alderaanian mercenary group 'The Howling Heathens' and act as being hired on as security with rotations being one group on-duty at the front, one off-duty, and an third conducting surveillance on our target to figure out which location would provide the best opportunity to strike him down. Sometime in-between, we'll arrange ourselves to be hired as firepower to one of the warring gangs that are enemies of the Shadow Syndicate but not allies of the Republic publicly, we'll still help from the shadows and in eliminating possible threats. And in order to keep up appearances, we do what needs to present ourselves as hired paid mercenaries. But otherwise, we're doing what's necessary and able for the mission."

Wescott nodded at Specialist Kovo's paraphrased recitation of the plan. The war criminals they were impersonating wouldn't be missed in the slightest and the group needed to do anything to stay alive in the midst of the chaos occuring on the planet.

"I still have mixed feelings about having to give up my lightsaber to Grandmaster Satele." Jedi Master Serena Ashak muttered but she kept herself composed as she's still a Jedi Master, she would not misrepresent her position by giving into her emotions too much.

'I can only hope that I do myself as well as you had tried with me, Master Hukro.' She wondered what her deceased Master would think of her now? He was killed when she had been only still a young Padawan, during the Sacking of Coruscant and she herself witnessed Darth Malgus's led assault on the Jedi Temple, still recalling the adrenaline and fear in herself as both Sith and Jedi charged each other in their loud battle cries, the mass chaos erupting around her as they clashed in brutal close quarters fighting, blaster bolts flying across and the sounds of dying, the feeling she had felt through it all in the Force. She had barely survived through it all where so many hadn't.

Her Master, who had been the closest being she had to a father, was killed by Darth Malgus himself and the rage that shot through her as she saw Master Hukro be cut in half and the thud of his torso hitting the floor. She charged at the behemoth of a Sith and just as expected, Darth Malgus barely even glanced at her and met her assault with much ease, taking almost in amusement of her rage being released and the timed blocks he did to her slashes and strikes.

"Amusing girl, I'd wonder what your 'Master' would be thinking if he saw his student giving into rage so easily, he at least met his death with dignity." He stopped her attack as he locked her lightsaber down and fear shot through when she felt the sudden feeling of danger as Darth Malgus loomed over her, his Sith yellow eyes staring deep into her purple ones. " I'll show you true rage!" And that was the last thing that she remembered, one second Malgus was there, the next she had felt a massive force slammed into her so hard that the sheer force of it had already knocked her unconscious by the time she had landed a far distance away.

She did not know why Malgus didn't struck her down when he had the opportunity, a question she still pondered as she thought of the things that Darth Malgus would commit in the years following that horrific day in the Temple, but she was lucky that she was found by other Jedi survivors and brought to where surviving Republic soldiers and civilians gathered to try both survive and resist the Sith Empire's brutal occupation of Coruscant, the occupiers enforcing their concept of martial law and the Galactic Senate being disbanded for the time being as many senators were executed and worse. There was a great deal of war crimes inflicted by Imperial soldiers that were far less disciplined around civilians or their Sith commanders had choose crueler means in surpassing qurelling uprisings or sending a strong message to any that would dare attempt resistance, there were things that she can still remember that are forever imprinted in her mind as she thought of them.

It was seeing true cruelty and the suffering of so many that made her determined to want to meet the Sith full head on, why she had spent a great deal around with the Republic Military to help in their efforts to stabilize worlds left scarred and ruined from the war, serving and living alongside the many Republic soldiers she grew to knew, seeing at their very best and at their very worse in the variety conditions they found themselves in, even in during the Cold War where the treaty was still being tensely held, there was still fighting to be found whatever it'd be criminal elements seeking to exploit the suffering and chaos.

Pirates looking to raid and loot, raiders terrorizing and leaving even further ruin behind, she had seen it all and through it all with the soldiers of the Republic. She didn't treat herself any different from them and lived with the bearings as they did and what she could do with her abilities, she did for what she could to make their lives easier or surviving through the next battle, even being there listen to them when they had needed someone to comfort them in their darkest moments.

Something that she had come to see about with Hanzo, the time they had grown to know each other on Tython had allowed her to see that Hanzo was dealing with troubled memories of his previous service in Vietnam though he had shared little yet about it, that was fine with her, she knew Hanzo will share if he felt comfortable, she was already grateful enough to have gotten to know what bits she has seen of who he truly is.

'You're a better man than you give yourself credit for, Hanzo.' She would have to remember to give her gratitude thanks to Marala, this was about the happiest that she had seen Hanzo in, the closeness had been during when he had been exploring with his unit on assignment missions with Jedi through Tython's forests and though the Earthers lack of Force connection had caused issues to erupt up in unpredictable ways. She watched still of how at peace he seemed to be in the wilderness and his fascination with the old ruins, asking upon questions of what each piece was or stumbled upon while hiking through the forests and ruins.

But now, Hanzo was acting far more openly than before and it was warming for Serena to see.
Her attention was brought back to Wescot though, having heard her and responded. "To keep everything sanitized." Wescott reminded the Twi'lek Jedi. "I'm not having any unnecessary risks here as a lightsaber attracts attention and narrows down who uses them rather quickly. Besides, none of our now departed ' friends ' were former Jedi."

"He does have a point, Master Jedi."

"You know it would come in handy."

"We've been over this, Serena. If you disagree, you can drop out of this operation right now and return to the main temple on Tython. Agent Balkar and I discussed in-depth about the approaches and the only other one would be planting a bomb inside the casino that Grotta likes to visit and blow it to Kingdom Come. Unfortunately a certain Grandmaster swayed everyone except Ike and Krueger for it and Ike certainly understands if the ends justify the means."

"Hey, don't look at me but all I'm going to say is he has his reasons to be overbearing and insistent on how to proceed." Balkar defended. "And I thought this Englishwoman was unnerving."

"Englishwoman?" Alex asked. "We have female spies operating here?"

"I shouldn't have said anything but there's at least one I'm aware of, an SIS, well, a British SIS operative named Amelia Delbrück." Balkar confessed and the mention of her name earned a smirk from Wescott, a disconcerting smirk.

"Heh, it's probably good you didn't give her a white rose or whip up some Yorkshire pudding in a poor attempt at hospitality then, Jonas, as you certainly would've been on her bad side." Connor chuckled as if she was a fellow teammate on a hockey team and nothing more. "We certainly did some wetwork in coordination with a Dutch resistance cell in Eindhoven back in '43 but if I told any of you about the particulars I would have to kill you."

"Well, there's still a Veermok in the room." Serena interrupted. "As you all don't need to gang up on me about using my lightsaber, I'm more than aware of the circumstances, you wouldn't like it either if you were told to part away with the thing that's your very life." Serena didn't expect them to understand the connection that Jedi - or Sith for that matter - have with their lightsabers, particularly their connections to the crystal of their sabers.

Hanzo, though, had a better idea of it. While there were still doubters, the time he had spent on Tython had not only struck a chord but enlightened him and he came to understand why Serena was hesitant to relinquish her lightsaber even if it was temporary. "This isn't the first time I've had to go undercover without it, besides… I was born on Nar Shaddaa; this will be me returning home."

---

I know it has been some time since the story was last updated and the previous chapter as mentioned was a special case as it certainly wasn't planned but without further ado, I'll let my pal Mando have the honor of explaining the context here.

Mando?

Mandalore the Survivor: Thank you Jumper. The entire purpose of this particular narrative in the story is to have an arc which not only showcases the characters by exploring their past, explaining their motivations, and to give the readers a better understanding of the OCs created by yours truly as part of this collaboration, we also discussed at length about doing something special for the readers by portraying some OCs exploring a specific planet in-depth instead of doing only an encapsulation as Earthlings traverse the galaxy and it was determined that the best approach was to have Hanzo and Alex see what Nar Shaddaa is truly like including it's dangers. For Hanzo I hope to show him as someone truly different from the others and to present how Hanzo was affected by the Vietnam War

and provide a contrast to Jake's experiences during the conflict.

While I will openly admit that Jumper and I don't always agree and we do hold some contrasting views, we still learn to work together and our discussions helps create other elements for the story here with our respective characters and their storylines. I overall hope to be comprehensive alongside my friend We'retheDesperateMeasures-ODST since there is more to Star Wars than just the films alone.

We'retheDesperateMeasures-ODST: I got to respectfully hand it to Mando here as he was the one who came up with this and he was also the one who predominantly put the effort into making this arc reality, guys and gals, and I will continue to give credit where due.

While there are a few matters that admittedly are a bone of contention between us including Marijuana as my friend north of the Forty-Ninth parallel is under the impression that weed is beneficial while I'm firmly opposed to legalizing cannabis for any reason and won't give an inch as it rightfully should have remained classified as a Schedule I controlled substance here in the States but despite our respective stances on it and other issues we don't let any of these opposing opinions and conflicting viewpoints impede any cooperation between us whatsoever, a sincere example of what is sorely needed in this current divisive climate (and to be candid with the readers I will openly admit that speaking only for myself and only myself I as a discrete individual did vote for Trump again) . Even so, I'm still proud to declare that Mandalore the Survivor is one of the persons I know who I can always count on and I'm also grateful to call him a friend.

Mandalore the Survivor: And I as well. We still try what we can in the end. Anyway this concludes the first part and as for part two, we shall see when it appears as unlike more conventional stories it won't be sequential and it will also be set a few months following this chapter. Be forewarned though, there will be dark themes as one would expect for Nar Shaddaa and there will be more explored with it in the future but for now, I hope everyone stays safe out there and have a nice night.