- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
it is nice to note that knowing what a sith lord looks like is the more cheerful news of today
May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)
- Thread starter Dr. Snark
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star wars canon what canon tsundere dice ck2 quest actions have consequences all the credits all work and no play makes ciaran a dull girl best sister capitalism ho! despairing qm teetotaller society member gotta catch 'em all insanity looting off the rails sage dice approaching spicy sheev tsundere asajj
Isn't Vectivus a big and heavyset man?
Nope. His official picture is a shadowed face shown from the side, possibly to allude to the fact that unlike other Sith who tried to leave a legacy of their accomplishments; Vectivus simply existed.
He knew of what the Grand Plan was, but was sensible enough to know it wouldn't be up to him to accomplish it. So instead of refining Sith Philosophy or grabbing more power and influence for the Sith, his focus was on studying the Dark Side and leaving behind his notes for future successors.
I do question one thing, if he died from old age then who was the Apprentice that allowed his Master to walk away?
Kinda what I suggested a while ago already. To be more specific, my idea was that OOM-9 takes inspiration from the Droid Exercise Omake and starts cheating like a mother******. @Teron wrote a short snippet that consisted of OOM-9 hacking a simulation against Thrawn to cheat himself more reinforcements. Which is certainly a viable interpretation, though not really what I meant. My idea was more along the lines of OOM-9 starting to employ all sorts of cheap and dirty tricks and tactics, particularly the ones made viable/effective by the use of droids and their general lack of self-preservation.
Like sending a force of droids against an enemy and having most of them "take the fall" and play dead during combat, so the enemy will later pass them by, thinking them already destroyed. Then, at an opportune time, re-activate them, and have them attack the enemy from behind, or attack some vital target behind enemy lines.
Or load up some expendable B1s with explosives and send them against enemies as suicide-bombers.
That sort of stuff.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Sounds like a job for Sovium's Rush-Box. Maybe borrow a gutted Duelist Elite droid's learning procedures, connect the idea to the droid's ability to perceive and assess the tactical and strategic situation, and enable him to literally learn. Rather than gaining new programming, gain the ability to write his own programming based on observation and experience.
This _certainly_ isn't connected in any way to @Publicola 's Gray Paladin quest. Certainly not this part, near the beginning. And of course, people who know me from that quest know that I'm certainly not a fanatic for the idea of droids becoming able to learn.
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- Location
- Latvia, Riga
Ohhhhu, you Naboo'd meOn a more cheerful note, I found a picture of Darth Vectivus and learned that he was indeed a Baneite Sith:
, fine here's the second ~part:
- Location
- Leeds
Or did the Apprentice believe that the Master had died?
(Omake) New Dawn (Canon)
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
A New Dawn
"He's waking up. I can feel it," Darra announced. "Thank you, Rogan. For everything," Darra said. "I can take it from here."
My eyes were closed, but I stretched out with my other senses. Taste…the aftertaste of bacta remained in my mouth. I'd spent time in a bacta tank, apparently, and without knowing of it. Smell…the medbay. Darra's scent. Touch. I was in a medbay bed, in the traditional patient gown. Someone had gotten me out of my clothes. I didn't feel grimy. Someone got me out of my clothes and bathed me after my bacta treatment.
"You're not fooling me, Rip. You're awake. You feel all right?" Darra wasn't buying it for a moment.
My eyes went open as I tested my limbs. They seemed to work. "I think so?"
Darra smiled. "Good."
My cheek erupted in fire almost before I realized she'd slapped me.
"The hell was that for?" I asked.
Darra huffed. "For a doctor, you're pretty darn dumb. Dumb enough to think dying was the best way out. You know secrets that you really need to keep? That people learning the things you know is liable to lead to a future where I'm dead, along with everyone I've ever known and cared about? If you don't trust me, trust my self-interest. The thing for me to do is teach you how to keep your secrets, protect your mind against intrusion through the Force. Once we've neutralized the Sith…you're telling me everything."
I blinked. "Um. I might be able to retire once the Sith are gone, but I'm under a non-disclosure agreement. Pretty standard stuff for this sort of work, but I'll tell you everything not covered in it once the Sith are gone. Best I can do."
"I know the Watcher NDA. I was the Jedi liaison not long ago, if you recall?" She sounded concerned that I might have had a head injury. "Why don't you let me talk a while? The procedural sedation should clear by the time I'm done talking."
I smiled. I know a thing or two about how to handle drugs, in the Matukai fashion. I drew upon the Force and purged the sedatives from my system over the course of about a minute, half-listening.
She leaned back in her chair. "You should know my side of things. Rogan was telling me during my rehab, after you brought the cybernetics. He told me that any organization is going to be composed of lots of different people. For every Sora Bulq and Pong Krell, there's an Obi-Wan Kenobi. A Yoda. There's bad actors and good actors, and everybody should be treated based on who they are, not who they're associated with."
I nodded. "I'm a doctor, not a criminal mastermind. If I were a criminal mastermind, I'd grow a big black mustache. I'm a traditionalist."
Darra chuckled. "He told me you were definitely a spy, but he wasn't sure for whom, just that you were the polite sort of spy, the kind allowed to linger. You weren't interested in harming the Jedi; indeed, you brought medical supplies with you every time you came. You were collecting information. Learning things. Making us like you so we'd like whoever it was you worked for, once we worked it out."
I looked innocent. "Uhh…I wish I was that clever. I just went to help and learn. Whatever tale the intelligence division spins to support my efforts is their deal."
Darra scoffed. "Riiiight. And you'd like to sell me 500 Republica at a bargain price, too. We traveled the continent together, Riphath, I know when you're trying to float a lie by me."
"Aww shucks. You got me. I wasn't just bringing over cookies as a planet-warming gift, I was also mending fences," I said, my agriworld mannerisms coming out like tended to happen when I was drunk. Or on pain meds.
"We went on that trip so I could figure you out, in addition to the expressed purpose of the trip. Was also a bit of a test for me and my new limbs. By the end of the trip, we'd started forming a Force Bond. It's how I felt you were running, trying to end everything. It's why I ran to try to stop you, to tear up your engine and force you to land. It…didn't work out like I'd planned. Your ship's a total loss, between the crash and then tearing the cockpit apart to get to you. I meant well, it just…"
I might have been on pain meds, but I recognized a set-up line when I heard one. "Got out of control and hurt the person you were trying to help because of stuff you didn't know about? I'm not in much condition to respond like you did, so I need to come up with a different approach."
Darra chuckled. "You also haven't bugged my ship, so even if I were to run off to it, you couldn't listen in. Thousands of years of ship advances but everybody still uses the same boarding ramp lock."
"So wait. You heard…all of it?" All the things I said when I was on the ship. My ship was bugged and I never knew. If any of the Watchers learned about that I'd never hear the end of it. More reasons I never should have tried to do the whole "spy" thing.
"I heard every word. You should know that for a little while, you succeeded. You were dead for about a minute before the Jedi Healers could bring you back," Darra said.
I blinked. "I was dead. You'd think I'd feel weaker or something."
Darra smirked. "Well…that was yesterday."
What.
"You were in something like a coma once we brought you back from the crash. About an hour in, one of the healers noticed something weird about your Force Presence. It was…muted. Like a child dipping their toe into cold water and getting used to putting a foot in, compared to swimmers gliding through that same water. You've been unconsciously holding back from being able to perceive the Force for a long time, apparently. How long were you a trauma surgeon?"
I blinked. "A couple years," I replied, shock causing me to answer a simple direct question with a simple direct answer. "Long enough to see and be around a lot of fear, anger, hatred, pain, all those dark side feelings, if that's what you're asking."
Darra probed further. "It's not just that. Maybe you connected with the direly ill?"
My eyes went wide. "That's…that's why I had those shooting pains, working trauma. One psych fellow, buddy of mine, suggested I was getting sympathy pain. That I must have been identifying with my patients and feeling what they felt. Said that I needed to find that detached professionalism, wall off from my patients, treat them like practice. I tried to do that, and that helped, a little.
There's…there was so much weird stuff in my residency and fellowship this explains. The patient who came in walking and talking and totally healthy who I looked at my colleagues and said she wouldn't last the night, that there was something really badly wrong with her. I couldn't place it. They humored me. Thought I was nuts. About three hours in, she blew a triple aurek. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. Basically, the hose carrying the blood supply to everything below her rib cage sprang a leak. She died, and I was really messed up about it for a while. Told myself I should have looked for that, should have seen it coming. All my colleagues said it wasn't my fault, nothing I could have done. Felt like a failure, like I had an insight that I missed. I had a couple other episodes like that and I missed them, just from not having the experience to figure it out before the bad things I felt coming happened. I…stopped listening to it after that. Tried to just do my job. The whole thing went quiet after a while of turning away from it, and that was that."
Darra closed her eyes. "Record has it Meetra Surik did much the same after Malachor. The cutting-herself-off thing. Rogan will be intrigued to find out that it can happen through prolonged exposure as well. I'm…concerned about what that might mean for the Jedi in the War. There's also that tomb-temple-fortress…thing we checked out. Perhaps we all should work on shielding our minds."
I looked down at my garb. "Who…" I raised the implicit question.
"Don't get your hopes up, it wasn't me," Darra smirked. "I might think about it another time, though."
I was puzzled why she was telling me this, and it must have shown on my face.
"Since you've come to this planet…I got my mobility back. I got my ability to contribute to the Jedi back. My…ability to trust people…okay, that one's still a work in progress."
I raised an eyebrow. "You did, after all, bug my ship."
Darra had the sense to look sheepish. "Yeah, okay. That's fair. Just…when I thought you were gone for good, I realized…you've been really good for me, and I think I've been pretty good for you. Throw in the Force Bond, more or less the Force itself weighing in on that…and the case is pretty much made, for me."
She held out a hand to me. "Riphath? Would you be Luwoban with me?"
I nodded. "I would be delighted to see where that goes, Darra," I said, holding her hand.
A/N:
Were I to screenplay this, the last shot with him holding her hand would gradually fade out, to about this part of "Feeling Good".
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Max Uristwell
Custodian of the Toobs
- Location
- United Kingdom
You utter bastard, making me grin like this with an infected gum. Fuck you.
Max Uristwell
Custodian of the Toobs
- Location
- United Kingdom
Well, the good doctor has been saying "no comment, canon, +10" about them for a while...
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I admitted a while back I've been consulting snark and publicola for this series. That has not stopped.
Besides, I'm sure the NDA will cover "all details deemed as pertaining to operational security, ongoing operations,..." such that he can say "I work for them. They work against the Sith. By whatever means necessary. Anything more than that I need to ask if I'm allowed to talk. "
- Location
- At the Edge of Insanity
When you consider that he is a Baneite Sith his role in the quest is amusing:
1. He apparently goes through the motions to keep the line going, but
2. In the present he decides: Screw the Sith and the Grand Plan. I'm dead, Ciaran is FAR more interesting and this all is way too entertaining.
Thats a very petty reason to help sabotage an a 1000 year old sheme.
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I think you mean shame.
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
That was because I didn't want to spoil anything since Baron was consulting with me for the better part of his writing to make sure things fit in and such. I felt like I would be cheating by making snide comments like I usually would.
But now I can conclusively say that I'm happy with how things have played out...and I admittedly am almost certain I've initiated some kind of butterfly effect by canonizing these that will have some sort of insane consequence down the road knowing how this quest goes.
Anyway. That one is +10, and the one before that is also +10 because I never commented on it.
There's also:
3. Ciaran is a far more fitting successor to me than any Sith I've seen so far. Why not throw in my lot with this unexpected pupil and see what happens?
(Funnily enough I was already planning on talking about those in more detail during the next Vectivus Corner.)
Also this is a PSA that I am not dead, but a mixture of a lot of work-related stress and sickness knocked me flat on my ass for the past couple of weeks and it has not been fun trying to get my head back in the game. However it is and those issues are thoroughly dealt with, and I'm going to tempt fate by saying that the interlude should be out by Friday at the latest, tomorrow at the earliest.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Comments like these make me want to focus more on improving our knowledge of the Force.
I'm glad you're feeling better.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Considering the insane consequence would also surprise me, because I don't know what it could cause? I look forward to finding out what the rest of the playerbase finds. Probably something to do with the Infinity Gate / Hypergate on Tython, if nothing else.
Dirtnap
Kanmusu Affecionado
"Yub yub, Commander."?
I still laugh when I read the scene where Wedge pranks him back.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
the rogue/wrath story line was gold from start to end i think
Interlude - An End to Savagery (Pt. 3)
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Mandalore Orbit
"Destroyer Beta is losing power and launching escape pods," a bridge officer announced to Thrawn as the ship in question burst into flames and began listing, escape pods flying in every direction as they launched away from the now-burning hulk.
"Excellent. Maintain fire and-"
"Sir!" another officer shouted out, his face visibly shaken. "Pardon me for interrupting, but you need to hear this." He pressed a few buttons, broadcasting a message to the entire bridge.
"This is Phantom 1 with a priority message-"
"Oracle copies, what is it?" Thrawn said rapidly.
"The-they're going insane is what it is! The Sabaoth fighters are ramming into our ships!"
"When did this start happening, we haven't-"
"Sir, we're starting to get distress calls from our support fleet!" the comms officer shouted out. "They-"
"Redirect our fighters, focus on keeping that fleet alive," Thrawn ordered as he focused on the battle at hand. This is madness. What would drive a mercenary squadron to fight with such fanaticism...
"ENEMY FRIGATE ON COLLISION COURSE!" the tactics officer screamed out as the frame of a Sabaoth frigate started to become larger and larger as it approached the Oracle on a suicidal charge.
"Evasive maneuvers, shoot that vessel down before it reaches us!" Thrawn barked out as the the Oracle's cannons started to rotate towards the approaching frigate, though it seemed like they would be unable to turn fast enough before it-
Out of nowhere a stream of red bolts slammed into the frigate's hull, followed by a pair of missiles that impacted it dead center, tearing the ship apart before it could get any closer. As Thrawn tried to process what had just happened, he barely managed to catch the sight of a Headhunter with a distinct red and dark grey paint job blast by as it started to open fire on a pair of Sabaoth fighters that had the misfortune of being in the way.
Thrawn smirked slightly before refocusing himself. "It would seem that the fighter reinforcements from the Hand have arrived," he calmly announced to the shaken bridge crew. "Focus on point defenses - I do not want a repeat of that near miss."
"Yes sir!"
Meanwhile in lower orbit the Hex ships were already under fire from the Watchers' fighters, with many of the bombers already shot down.
"Dammit...hell with this, I'm not dying here!" a bridge officer on one of the Deployers screamed out, starting to run towards the escape pods before he was cut down by a blaster bolt.
"If anyone else thinks of deserting, they will meet the same fate!" the captain declared as he lowered his blaster pistol-
"Are you out of your damned mind, sir!?" another officer shouted as he raised a pistol of his own. "We're going to die if we stay on this ship!"
"Traitor! Remember the mission-"
"TO HELL WITH IT, I'M NOT BEING PAID ENOUGH TO DIE-"
"Ignore the captain, he's gone mad!"
"TRAITORS, ALL OF YOU-"
Scenes like this played out across the Hex ships as some Deployers started to suddenly eject escape pods before self-destructing, while others tried to continue on their course but were quickly being torn apart by the fighter screen that had been pinning them down. Even so the Watchers' pilots were horrified when some of the Deployers' cannons began to open fire on the escape pods that had already been launched.
"Holy hell..." one of the pilots muttered as the battle started to wind down. "What is going on in those ships?"
"The same thing that's been compelling those ships in orbit to go on suicide charges. I dunno what would cause them to try something like that though, no mercenary group is that desperate...right?"
"Well at least we aren't on the ground."
"Heh, tell that to the Guardians."
------------
"Motir ca'tra nau tracinya! Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a! Taung!"
The echoing chants of the Mandalorian Guardians echoed throughout the streets of Sundari as they began to drive back Maul's forces now that their numbers had begun to wear thin. While they were still putting up a fight, it was rapidly becoming apparent that without their ability to leverage numbers they weren't able to fight the Guardians on equal terms. They were simply better shots than the army of thieves and mercenaries they were fighting, and anyone that tried to get up close and personal would learn that a vibrosword or knife didn't help when their opponent was both a skilled enough martial artist and covered head to toe in armor. Already there were signs of the attacker's lines breaking, the odd mercenary or pirate breaking and running after their comrades were gunned down by a Guardian.
It was only a matter of time before the battle of Sundari would be over for most of its defenders.
At the Sundari Royal Palace though...
The Fett clan was quickly making their way through the palace halls, not even bothering to stop and check to see if the bodies lining it were moving. They'd gotten word that a duo in Death Watch armor had managed to slip past the defense lines and make their way into the Palace, and given that Maul was prioritizing the Duchess it seemed logical that they were targeting Prime Minister Almec. That, and given their effectiveness, it was almost certain that they were none other than Dred Priest and Isabet Reau, one-time Cuy'val Dar members and quite possibly the last two members of the Death Watch in the entire galaxy.
While their abilities didn't worry Jango in the slightest - he had nearly killed Priest with little effort on his part when he'd set up a glorified death match ring back on Kamino - he was worried about Arla, who had gone dead silent ever since she had heard about who they were trying to intercept. He knew on an instinctive level that his sister wanted to see them die slowly after everything that happened.
A part of Jango couldn't help but sympathize with that. The rest of him wanted to end the fight once and for all, personal grudges be damned.
However the situation became much more complicated when he, Arla and Jango burst into the Prime Minister's office to see that Reau was holding a blaster rifle to Almec's head as Priest leveled his own at the Fetts.
"Move and he dies," Priest coldly said.
"You may as well let her shoot me," Almec said in an unnervingly calm tone that visibly annoyed his captors. "Either way these two will be either dead or imprisoned before the day is out."
Reau's response was audibly growling with fury followed by her attempting to club him with the butt of her blaster rifle. Unfortunately for her her temper quickly proved to be her undoing as Jango quickly seized the opening and drew one of his blaster pistols and shot the rifle out of Reau's hands, sending it crashing against the wall and clearly destroying it.
The Fetts dove out of the way of Priest's fire as Almec quickly ducked behind his desk to get out of the worst of the fighting. From there the situation quickly degraded as the five combatants toppled over what little furniture was available to them to get cover in the resulting shootout -
Except for Arla, who charged straight at Priest, taking two blaster shots to her armor before she tackled him to the ground and began to savagely beat down on him. While Reau attempted to get closer, she was pinned down by fire from Boba, though as she ducked down behind a desk she heard the sound of a jetpack activating -
She managed to roll out of the way just before Jango slammed down where she was just at, briefly stunned that he managed a jump like that in such a confined space even if Almec's office was rather sizable. As Jango began to lay into her with a brutal series of punches and kicks she tried to dodge, only for Jango to almost always read her perfectly and hit her as she tried to disengage. After a few seconds of fighting she felt something in her right arm crack and pain blossoming across her body before Jango threw one final uppercut that knocked her unconscious.
Meanwhile Priest had managed to kick Arla away, but it was little comfort of him as the woman in front of him had clearly gone berserk, charging straight at him and throwing wild haymakers and kicks at him. Granted her movements were sloppy due to her rage and Priest was able to strike back on a number of occasions, but even when he managed to get a punch in Arla didn't seem to register it in the slightest. After a few seconds Arla cornered Priest against a wall, winding him with a brutal strike to the core followed by her grabbing his helmet and repeatedly slamming it against the nearby wall.
"THIS IS FOR MY FATHER!" she screamed as she smashed his head against the wall. "MY MOTHER!" Another smash, concrete beginning to visibly crack. "FOR EVERY" - smash - "MOMENT" - smash - "OF THE LIFE YOU STOLE FROM ME!" - smash smash smash, the wall was now visibly damaged - "AND FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE YOU DAR'MANDA SLAUGHTERED-"
Before she could slam Priest's head against the wall one more time she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Arla. That's enough, isn't it?"
Boba's voice was enough to cut through her berserk haze and let Arla look down on her handiwork - Priest's helmet had been badly dented and the visor had shattered, and from what Arla could see of his face it was covered in blood. She turned slightly to see a visibly unnerved Almec and Jango standing over Reau, whose neck had been clearly snapped by Jango, before turning back to face Boba. As she started to open her mouth the pain from the wounds she had sustained during the fight flared up, causing her to cry out in pain as she collapsed against the wall.
"You alright!?" Jango said, rushing over to her and quickly giving her a once-over.
"I-I'll live..." she said shakily as she worked off her helmet, taking in a breath of fresh air after she did. "I...was working out some issues," she said before laughing slightly, then wincing from the pain it caused.
Jango nodded slightly as Boba moved to apply more thorough first aid. As he stood up, he coolly faced Almec as though nothing had happened. "Prime Minister."
"Mand'alor," Almec replied equally as curtly. "Your assistance is appreciated."
"Right. Have you heard from Duchess Kyrze yet?"
------------
The hum of a lightsaber echoed through the halls of the Royal Palace as Maul stalked his way through them. It seemed as though his way had been cleared as no one had tried to stop him. Even so he was randomly lashing out at the walls, slicing into them as he continued to make his way towards the throne room.
That woman - Ciaran - thief, coward, murderer - had killed Savage he felt it in the Force she would die Siri Tachi would die Satine Kyrze would die Obi-Wan Kenobi would die last he had to suffer this was all because of him he had to suffer
Maul roared with fury as he sliced apart the door to the throne room before blasting apart what was left of it with a Force blast. As he stepped in he saw Kenobi and Siri both staring him down, lightsabers already ignited.
"I'm afraid that the Duchess is unavailable at the moment," Obi-Wan coolly said to the clearly enraged Maul before his face hardened. "More importantly, you've lost. Your forces on the ground are breaking and your ships in orbit are being destroyed. Give up-"
"Never," Maul hissed out as he ignited his lightsaber. "This death, this slaughter, it is all because of you," he said as he gestured around him. "Every moment of my suffering since you left me for dead on Naboo has only served to strengthen my resolve, to ensure that my hatred for you will never die."
"...That hatred truly has consumed you then," Obi-Wan said quietly before settling into the opening stance of Form III as Siri readied herself as well. "We shall do what we must then."
With another roar of fury Maul started to charge at Siri only for Obi-Wan to quickly intercept him, diverting his attention to his hated nemesis. As he started to go on a berserk rampage he instinctively reacted to a chop by Siri, managing to block it just before it cut into him. He hit Obi-Wan with a Force blast that sent him flying across the room and began to squarely focus his attention on Siri, though to his frustration she was able to mount a noticeable defense against him. Even so-
"You are weak," Maul spat out as he forced Siri into a blade lock. "And your presence only serves to weaken Kenobi."
"Says the Sith who's outnumbered two-to-one."
Maul barely managed to disengage in time as Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber down to try and slice off Maul's hands, pushing himself back as Obi-Wan regained control of the fight. Siri quickly used the opening to recenter herself before getting back into the fray, darting around Obi-Wan to get a few strikes in against Maul before moving back and letting her partner absorb the brunt of Maul's counterattack, then repeating the tactic to continually wear Maul down.
The fact of the matter was that Siri was right about Maul's odds - and while Obi-Wan knew that Maul was a skilled fighter it was becoming increasingly apparent that his rage was beginning to work against him, making his moves sloppier and his tells far more apparent. It was far easier for Obi-Wan to block Maul's strikes when he began to inadvertently announce them with screams of fury, and increasingly easier for Obi-Wan to keep Maul's focus on him and not on Siri, meaning that Maul was wasting his energy against Obi-Wan's defenses.
"You...THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Maul screamed out, punctuating his scream with a shockwave of Force energy that sent Obi-Wan and Siri flying and knocked over everything in the room. He briefly slumped over before recovering and charging at Obi-Wan, who managed to block his attack in time and forced a blade lock. "You were the one who took my brother from me! You were the one who left me for dead! You...because of-"
"You and you alone are responsible for all of that," Obi-Wan coldly interrupted. "You were going to kill me back on Naboo so I fought back and before today I had no reason to assume you lived! You led all of those mercenaries and pirates here to burn Mandalore to the ground! Your brother is dead because you couldn't let go of your hatred! Everything you have described...you have no one to blame for any of that but yourself."
Maul roared in fury and started to press his attack only to suddenly feel a burst of pain from his right shoulder. As he turned to process what happened he saw that he no longer had an arm and that Siri was preparing for another strike.
Operating on sheer instinct at that point Maul let out another shockwave of Force energy before running out of the room, briefly collapsing against a nearby wall before continuing his run to get to the outside. As he ran a maelstrom of thoughts swirled through his mind that served to only magnify his fury and insanity.
Kenobi will pay as will Siri Tachi they will both suffer they had to suffer they deserved to suffer
this was all because of them Savage his forces everything all of it was because of them it was because of their weakness they drew this conflict to them he was not weak he was strong strong enough to endure strong enough to take his revenge time five ten twenty fifty years it didn't matter he would suffer all of them would know his pain
pain
pain the pain was overwhelming the pain had made him strong the pain reminded him of what was important the pain reminded him of Kenobi and Tachi
he felt pain again as something hit him but it was meaningless he would endure he would always endure all he had to do was survive pain it didn't matter nothing else mattered
something someone was there they were familiar why not enemy yet-
"...Look at you. There's barely anything left, isn't there?"
"I-I-I...I will...I must...Kenobi...Tachi...they both...suffer...!"
"...Nothing else matters to you, does it?"
"They...they...because of them...this...all of this...!"
"I see. If that is what you truly believe, then there is only one final mercy I can grant you."
"You...this is not the end...I...will...never rest until-!"
The sound of a lightsaber cutting through flesh echoed through the area as Maul dropped to the ground, clearly dead.
"...No matter how strong you were...there would have been no escape from the pain."
The lightsaber deactivated.
------------
"This is Duchess Satine Kyrze to anyone who can still hear my voice. It is my great relief to tell you that the attack on our planet is over - the enemy has been pushed back through the combined valiant efforts of our Royal Guards and the Mandalorian Guardians. While I wish it was under better circumstances, I am proud to say that both forces carried themselves in the most exemplary fashion during the battle.
As for the attacking forces, it is only now that we have understood what drove them to attack us despite our peaceful nature. The army that struck us was lead by a Sith driven mad by pain and rage, who sought to spread his suffering to those he believed were responsible for inflicting that suffering upon him. While his body has yet to be found, I have been reassured by Master Kenobi that with the injuries he sustained during the battle he will not return any time soon.
Now we must mourn for those dead, rebuild what was destroyed, and move forward with hope for a brighter tomorrow in our hearts."
As the speech ended and a visibly exhausted Satine moved back inside the palace she wondered where Obi-Wan had vanished to on an "important meeting..."
------------
"How did you do it?"
"Do what exactly?" Ciaran said lazily to a clearly frustrated Obi-Wan as the two of them faced off from one another in a small and private room.
"Stop playing games with me. How did you kill that other Sith on your own?"
"Lots of practice, good instincts, and my ability to strengthen my body to a degree that let me fight him on even terms," Ciaran replied with a shrug. "What more do you want than that?"
Obi-Wan's brow furrowed slightly before he shook his head. "Fine. Since you're not going to tell me more about that, maybe you'd be more willing to mention how you knew Maul survived before the attack started."
Ciaran's response was to sigh in annoyance. "Right. So here's the story - through various means I heard news that there was this pair of Zabrak running around trying to recruit mercenaries and the like for what we now know to be the attack on Mandalore. I had some people do some digging and they managed to figure out that one of them really didn't like you for whatever reason - did it have something to do with his missing legs?"
"You could say that. I would call it a fair trade since he killed my master at the time," Obi-Wan replied dryly, though his face betrayed a hint of pain as he spoke.
"...Your master? I don't think I've heard about him before."
"His name was Qui-Gon Jinn. He was a pupil of Dooku's before he decided to leave the Jedi and become a Sith Lord," Obi-Wan explained.
Ciaran was silent for the briefest of moments before replying. "Yes, well anyway that's about it - I pulled some other strings to make sure things wouldn't get too bad and here we are now. That good enough?"
"No, but knowing you I doubt I can get much more than that," Obi-Wan said resignedly.
"Yes...well..." Obi-Wan's danger senses started to go off again as he noticed that Ciaran was visibly serious again for a brief moment before she shook her head. "No, it can wait for now."
"Wha-"
"I need to talk to you about something important, but it can wait for now," she said rapidly. "I've got other obligations happening soon what with the Galactic Games and all," she said before she suddenly smiled. "Give it a month or so afterwards and we can make it a date~"
"No."
"Killjoy. But I am serious about wanting to talk to you in private soon. Just not right now," Ciaran replied.
"...Fine. But it had better be actually important."
"It is, don't worry," Ciaran said lightly before shrugging. "Now if you don't mind, I think your girlfriends are waiting~"
"This conversation isn't over," Obi-Wan said, completely ignoring Ciaran's tease as he left.
"...I know. But right now I need to focus on a different one..." Ciaran said to herself...
-----------
Mandalorian Guardians HQ
Private Meeting Room
"Arla Fett. Do you swear to serve with the rest of your vode in the Cuy'val Dar until the day you die?"
"I do, Mand'alor."
"Very well, you're in, congratulations," Jango grumbled. "Quite frankly I didn't want to bother with any speech whatsoever, but Kal was insistent."
"It's important to uphold tradition for an event such as this," Kal replied, clearly annoying Jango.
"This is my sister we're talking about, Kal."
"I agree with my brother," Arla coolly replied. "After everything that happened why would I ever refuse?"
Kal rolled his eyes. "Look, we're done with you and that's what matters, right?" His face visibly hardened as he heard a knock at the door, before he turned to face Jango. "...Are you sure about this?"
"Times are changing, Kal. We need all the help we can get," Jango quietly replied before loudly saying "Enter!"
The door opened to admit a slightly nervous-looking Etain Skirata, who entered the room and stood at rapt attention in front of Jango. "You wanted to see me?"
"That I did," Jango replied, folding his arms and thinking to himself for a moment before speaking again. "Quite frankly if you'd told me that I would even consider what I'm about to do a few years ago, I would have said you were crazy. But, Kal tells me that you've been upholding the Resol'nare so here we are."
"I'm not sure I follow..." Etain quietly said.
"You're here because I'm offering you the chance to join the Cuy'val Dar alongside myself and Kal," Jango flatly said. "Do you know what that means?"
Etain's eyes widened slightly. "Didn't..." She turned to face Kal. "Didn't you say those were the people who helped train the clone army?"
"That's right. They were called the Cuy'val Dar because they had to cease to exist while they were on Kamino," Kal explained. "Now...well, what we do now is a bit more complicated. But what's important is that this is not some honorary title. You'll be putting your life on the line if you join, and quite frankly once you do there's no way out."
"I won't fault you if you say no," Jango said. "This is a lot to ask of anyone, so think about this decision carefully."
Etain was silent for a brief moment. "...What would I do if I joined?"
"You'd help fight against threats to Mandalore and the galaxy as we know it," Jango flatly replied.
"Is that right?" Etain muttered to herself before her eyes visibly hardened with resolve. "If it means protecting my family, then I accept."
"If that's the case, there's one thing I need to hear: a formal vow from you," Jango said. "Etain Skirata. Do you swear to serve with the rest of your vode in the Cuy'val Dar until the day you die?"
"I do."
Jango studied Etain intensely for a brief moment before nodding. "I can see it in your eyes - you meant what you said just now. Good." He leaned back slightly and turned to face Kal. "There you have it Kal. A one-time Jedi in the Cuy'val Dar."
Kal shook his head. "The galaxy really is going mad for Jettise and Mandos to work together like this..." he said, though there wasn't any bitterness in his voice.
-----------
Elsewhere in the HQ one of the rooms was currently being occupied by a certain Kaleesh bodyguard/Abyswalker/fanatic going through some basic motions with a practice weapon to blow off some steam.
Kygeetu never got the full details about her Lady's fight with Savage, but even so she was still frustrated with herself. Her Lady was not wrong when she said that Savage was out of her league by comparison, but even so the thought that she was not good enough was pounding through her head, making her movements faster and faster-
The weapon she was using shattered as she slammed it against a training dummy, causing her to jolt slightly as she realized what she had been doing.
"...This room's taken then."
Kygeetu turned to see who spoke to her - and while it took her a second to recognize the young man his resemblance to Jango helped her recognize Boba quickly. "...My apologies. I will reimburse you for the damage."
Boba shrugged before walking in, not particularly fazed by Kygeetu's display as he looked for a weapon of his own to train with. "Something wrong? I've seen some of my friends working that hard when they're frustrated about something."
Kygeetu was silent for a moment. "I wasn't strong enough to protect my Lady."
Boba turned to face her, tilting his head slightly. "But...she's alive. Unless Zam is impersonating her and no one-?"
"That's absurd!" Kygeetu shouted out, causing Boba to reel back in a mixture of shock and bafflement. "No, she is alive, but she fought one of the Sith and left me behind because I wasn't strong enough."
"...You sure that's true?" Boba replied. "Because if I were her I would have asked for your help anyway, as a sniper or an extra sword arm or something like that."
"Of course it is! What other explanation would there be!?"
"Sounds like she wanted to prove to herself she could beat a Sith on her own," Boba casually replied as he walked away, picking up a training blade and idly swinging it. "Some of the other guys get like that too at times - they want to prove something and don't want anyone else's help while they do it." Having found what he was looking for, he casually wandered out the door. "Good luck with your training," he called back just before the door closed, leaving Kygeetu to her thoughts.
"...She wanted to prove herself as a warrior?" Kygeetu muttered to herself, mulling over the concept. It wasn't inconceivable to her that her Lady wanted to test her mettle against such a fearsome opponent - the logic was much the same for any Kaleesh who wanted to prove themselves by hunting a mumuu or karabbac. But another idea floated into Kygeetu's mind-
Maybe it wasn't about her Lady proving something to herself. Maybe she wanted the chance to fight an opponent like that on her own terms for the sake of the thrill of the battle itself.
Still, as Kygeetu restarted her practice, she knew that didn't matter. She would have to get stronger for her Lady's sake.
Rewards: Maul and Savage eliminated. Maul's forces almost entirely annihilated and trihexalon bombing of Keldabe prevented. Jango's "Cuy'val Dar" trait improved. Ciaran gains "Soresu Adept" trait. Negotiating With "The Negotiator" action free next turn with a +10 bonus to the roll.
AN: I'M BACK, FINALLY!
Anyway sorry about the hiatus again, yadda yadda yadda. On more relevant update news I realize that the real fun happened the last time around and this was more wrapping up a bunch of things. That being said I do admit I enjoyed writing Maul's descent into insanity as he realized just how screwed over he was. He never was the most stable of individuals in the first place after all...
I will get around to explaining the Things I have Implied during this update in the next couple of things, don't worry.
Yes, I copped out of the talk with Obi-Wan. Honestly this was meaty enough as it was, and it makes sense that Ciaran would want to space out her conversations that could potentially destroy her relationship with a close ally.
Also yes, Etain is now a straight-up Mandalorian Jedi. Yes, the galaxy is going mad like Kal said and/or I'm completely insane, why did it take you this long to realize it?
I think that's about it. The last interlude will be after the Vectivus Corner, because there is no way in hell I'm firing that off early. It'll be out once I've properly set things up for it.
"Destroyer Beta is losing power and launching escape pods," a bridge officer announced to Thrawn as the ship in question burst into flames and began listing, escape pods flying in every direction as they launched away from the now-burning hulk.
"Excellent. Maintain fire and-"
"Sir!" another officer shouted out, his face visibly shaken. "Pardon me for interrupting, but you need to hear this." He pressed a few buttons, broadcasting a message to the entire bridge.
"This is Phantom 1 with a priority message-"
"Oracle copies, what is it?" Thrawn said rapidly.
"The-they're going insane is what it is! The Sabaoth fighters are ramming into our ships!"
"When did this start happening, we haven't-"
"Sir, we're starting to get distress calls from our support fleet!" the comms officer shouted out. "They-"
"Redirect our fighters, focus on keeping that fleet alive," Thrawn ordered as he focused on the battle at hand. This is madness. What would drive a mercenary squadron to fight with such fanaticism...
"ENEMY FRIGATE ON COLLISION COURSE!" the tactics officer screamed out as the frame of a Sabaoth frigate started to become larger and larger as it approached the Oracle on a suicidal charge.
"Evasive maneuvers, shoot that vessel down before it reaches us!" Thrawn barked out as the the Oracle's cannons started to rotate towards the approaching frigate, though it seemed like they would be unable to turn fast enough before it-
Out of nowhere a stream of red bolts slammed into the frigate's hull, followed by a pair of missiles that impacted it dead center, tearing the ship apart before it could get any closer. As Thrawn tried to process what had just happened, he barely managed to catch the sight of a Headhunter with a distinct red and dark grey paint job blast by as it started to open fire on a pair of Sabaoth fighters that had the misfortune of being in the way.
Thrawn smirked slightly before refocusing himself. "It would seem that the fighter reinforcements from the Hand have arrived," he calmly announced to the shaken bridge crew. "Focus on point defenses - I do not want a repeat of that near miss."
"Yes sir!"
Meanwhile in lower orbit the Hex ships were already under fire from the Watchers' fighters, with many of the bombers already shot down.
"Dammit...hell with this, I'm not dying here!" a bridge officer on one of the Deployers screamed out, starting to run towards the escape pods before he was cut down by a blaster bolt.
"If anyone else thinks of deserting, they will meet the same fate!" the captain declared as he lowered his blaster pistol-
"Are you out of your damned mind, sir!?" another officer shouted as he raised a pistol of his own. "We're going to die if we stay on this ship!"
"Traitor! Remember the mission-"
"TO HELL WITH IT, I'M NOT BEING PAID ENOUGH TO DIE-"
"Ignore the captain, he's gone mad!"
"TRAITORS, ALL OF YOU-"
Scenes like this played out across the Hex ships as some Deployers started to suddenly eject escape pods before self-destructing, while others tried to continue on their course but were quickly being torn apart by the fighter screen that had been pinning them down. Even so the Watchers' pilots were horrified when some of the Deployers' cannons began to open fire on the escape pods that had already been launched.
"Holy hell..." one of the pilots muttered as the battle started to wind down. "What is going on in those ships?"
"The same thing that's been compelling those ships in orbit to go on suicide charges. I dunno what would cause them to try something like that though, no mercenary group is that desperate...right?"
"Well at least we aren't on the ground."
"Heh, tell that to the Guardians."
------------
"Motir ca'tra nau tracinya! Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a! Taung!"
The echoing chants of the Mandalorian Guardians echoed throughout the streets of Sundari as they began to drive back Maul's forces now that their numbers had begun to wear thin. While they were still putting up a fight, it was rapidly becoming apparent that without their ability to leverage numbers they weren't able to fight the Guardians on equal terms. They were simply better shots than the army of thieves and mercenaries they were fighting, and anyone that tried to get up close and personal would learn that a vibrosword or knife didn't help when their opponent was both a skilled enough martial artist and covered head to toe in armor. Already there were signs of the attacker's lines breaking, the odd mercenary or pirate breaking and running after their comrades were gunned down by a Guardian.
It was only a matter of time before the battle of Sundari would be over for most of its defenders.
At the Sundari Royal Palace though...
The Fett clan was quickly making their way through the palace halls, not even bothering to stop and check to see if the bodies lining it were moving. They'd gotten word that a duo in Death Watch armor had managed to slip past the defense lines and make their way into the Palace, and given that Maul was prioritizing the Duchess it seemed logical that they were targeting Prime Minister Almec. That, and given their effectiveness, it was almost certain that they were none other than Dred Priest and Isabet Reau, one-time Cuy'val Dar members and quite possibly the last two members of the Death Watch in the entire galaxy.
While their abilities didn't worry Jango in the slightest - he had nearly killed Priest with little effort on his part when he'd set up a glorified death match ring back on Kamino - he was worried about Arla, who had gone dead silent ever since she had heard about who they were trying to intercept. He knew on an instinctive level that his sister wanted to see them die slowly after everything that happened.
A part of Jango couldn't help but sympathize with that. The rest of him wanted to end the fight once and for all, personal grudges be damned.
However the situation became much more complicated when he, Arla and Jango burst into the Prime Minister's office to see that Reau was holding a blaster rifle to Almec's head as Priest leveled his own at the Fetts.
"Move and he dies," Priest coldly said.
"You may as well let her shoot me," Almec said in an unnervingly calm tone that visibly annoyed his captors. "Either way these two will be either dead or imprisoned before the day is out."
Reau's response was audibly growling with fury followed by her attempting to club him with the butt of her blaster rifle. Unfortunately for her her temper quickly proved to be her undoing as Jango quickly seized the opening and drew one of his blaster pistols and shot the rifle out of Reau's hands, sending it crashing against the wall and clearly destroying it.
The Fetts dove out of the way of Priest's fire as Almec quickly ducked behind his desk to get out of the worst of the fighting. From there the situation quickly degraded as the five combatants toppled over what little furniture was available to them to get cover in the resulting shootout -
Except for Arla, who charged straight at Priest, taking two blaster shots to her armor before she tackled him to the ground and began to savagely beat down on him. While Reau attempted to get closer, she was pinned down by fire from Boba, though as she ducked down behind a desk she heard the sound of a jetpack activating -
She managed to roll out of the way just before Jango slammed down where she was just at, briefly stunned that he managed a jump like that in such a confined space even if Almec's office was rather sizable. As Jango began to lay into her with a brutal series of punches and kicks she tried to dodge, only for Jango to almost always read her perfectly and hit her as she tried to disengage. After a few seconds of fighting she felt something in her right arm crack and pain blossoming across her body before Jango threw one final uppercut that knocked her unconscious.
Meanwhile Priest had managed to kick Arla away, but it was little comfort of him as the woman in front of him had clearly gone berserk, charging straight at him and throwing wild haymakers and kicks at him. Granted her movements were sloppy due to her rage and Priest was able to strike back on a number of occasions, but even when he managed to get a punch in Arla didn't seem to register it in the slightest. After a few seconds Arla cornered Priest against a wall, winding him with a brutal strike to the core followed by her grabbing his helmet and repeatedly slamming it against the nearby wall.
"THIS IS FOR MY FATHER!" she screamed as she smashed his head against the wall. "MY MOTHER!" Another smash, concrete beginning to visibly crack. "FOR EVERY" - smash - "MOMENT" - smash - "OF THE LIFE YOU STOLE FROM ME!" - smash smash smash, the wall was now visibly damaged - "AND FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE YOU DAR'MANDA SLAUGHTERED-"
Before she could slam Priest's head against the wall one more time she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Arla. That's enough, isn't it?"
Boba's voice was enough to cut through her berserk haze and let Arla look down on her handiwork - Priest's helmet had been badly dented and the visor had shattered, and from what Arla could see of his face it was covered in blood. She turned slightly to see a visibly unnerved Almec and Jango standing over Reau, whose neck had been clearly snapped by Jango, before turning back to face Boba. As she started to open her mouth the pain from the wounds she had sustained during the fight flared up, causing her to cry out in pain as she collapsed against the wall.
"You alright!?" Jango said, rushing over to her and quickly giving her a once-over.
"I-I'll live..." she said shakily as she worked off her helmet, taking in a breath of fresh air after she did. "I...was working out some issues," she said before laughing slightly, then wincing from the pain it caused.
Jango nodded slightly as Boba moved to apply more thorough first aid. As he stood up, he coolly faced Almec as though nothing had happened. "Prime Minister."
"Mand'alor," Almec replied equally as curtly. "Your assistance is appreciated."
"Right. Have you heard from Duchess Kyrze yet?"
------------
The hum of a lightsaber echoed through the halls of the Royal Palace as Maul stalked his way through them. It seemed as though his way had been cleared as no one had tried to stop him. Even so he was randomly lashing out at the walls, slicing into them as he continued to make his way towards the throne room.
That woman - Ciaran - thief, coward, murderer - had killed Savage he felt it in the Force she would die Siri Tachi would die Satine Kyrze would die Obi-Wan Kenobi would die last he had to suffer this was all because of him he had to suffer
Maul roared with fury as he sliced apart the door to the throne room before blasting apart what was left of it with a Force blast. As he stepped in he saw Kenobi and Siri both staring him down, lightsabers already ignited.
"I'm afraid that the Duchess is unavailable at the moment," Obi-Wan coolly said to the clearly enraged Maul before his face hardened. "More importantly, you've lost. Your forces on the ground are breaking and your ships in orbit are being destroyed. Give up-"
"Never," Maul hissed out as he ignited his lightsaber. "This death, this slaughter, it is all because of you," he said as he gestured around him. "Every moment of my suffering since you left me for dead on Naboo has only served to strengthen my resolve, to ensure that my hatred for you will never die."
"...That hatred truly has consumed you then," Obi-Wan said quietly before settling into the opening stance of Form III as Siri readied herself as well. "We shall do what we must then."
With another roar of fury Maul started to charge at Siri only for Obi-Wan to quickly intercept him, diverting his attention to his hated nemesis. As he started to go on a berserk rampage he instinctively reacted to a chop by Siri, managing to block it just before it cut into him. He hit Obi-Wan with a Force blast that sent him flying across the room and began to squarely focus his attention on Siri, though to his frustration she was able to mount a noticeable defense against him. Even so-
"You are weak," Maul spat out as he forced Siri into a blade lock. "And your presence only serves to weaken Kenobi."
"Says the Sith who's outnumbered two-to-one."
Maul barely managed to disengage in time as Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber down to try and slice off Maul's hands, pushing himself back as Obi-Wan regained control of the fight. Siri quickly used the opening to recenter herself before getting back into the fray, darting around Obi-Wan to get a few strikes in against Maul before moving back and letting her partner absorb the brunt of Maul's counterattack, then repeating the tactic to continually wear Maul down.
The fact of the matter was that Siri was right about Maul's odds - and while Obi-Wan knew that Maul was a skilled fighter it was becoming increasingly apparent that his rage was beginning to work against him, making his moves sloppier and his tells far more apparent. It was far easier for Obi-Wan to block Maul's strikes when he began to inadvertently announce them with screams of fury, and increasingly easier for Obi-Wan to keep Maul's focus on him and not on Siri, meaning that Maul was wasting his energy against Obi-Wan's defenses.
"You...THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Maul screamed out, punctuating his scream with a shockwave of Force energy that sent Obi-Wan and Siri flying and knocked over everything in the room. He briefly slumped over before recovering and charging at Obi-Wan, who managed to block his attack in time and forced a blade lock. "You were the one who took my brother from me! You were the one who left me for dead! You...because of-"
"You and you alone are responsible for all of that," Obi-Wan coldly interrupted. "You were going to kill me back on Naboo so I fought back and before today I had no reason to assume you lived! You led all of those mercenaries and pirates here to burn Mandalore to the ground! Your brother is dead because you couldn't let go of your hatred! Everything you have described...you have no one to blame for any of that but yourself."
Maul roared in fury and started to press his attack only to suddenly feel a burst of pain from his right shoulder. As he turned to process what happened he saw that he no longer had an arm and that Siri was preparing for another strike.
Operating on sheer instinct at that point Maul let out another shockwave of Force energy before running out of the room, briefly collapsing against a nearby wall before continuing his run to get to the outside. As he ran a maelstrom of thoughts swirled through his mind that served to only magnify his fury and insanity.
Kenobi will pay as will Siri Tachi they will both suffer they had to suffer they deserved to suffer
this was all because of them Savage his forces everything all of it was because of them it was because of their weakness they drew this conflict to them he was not weak he was strong strong enough to endure strong enough to take his revenge time five ten twenty fifty years it didn't matter he would suffer all of them would know his pain
pain
pain the pain was overwhelming the pain had made him strong the pain reminded him of what was important the pain reminded him of Kenobi and Tachi
he felt pain again as something hit him but it was meaningless he would endure he would always endure all he had to do was survive pain it didn't matter nothing else mattered
something someone was there they were familiar why not enemy yet-
"...Look at you. There's barely anything left, isn't there?"
"I-I-I...I will...I must...Kenobi...Tachi...they both...suffer...!"
"...Nothing else matters to you, does it?"
"They...they...because of them...this...all of this...!"
"I see. If that is what you truly believe, then there is only one final mercy I can grant you."
"You...this is not the end...I...will...never rest until-!"
The sound of a lightsaber cutting through flesh echoed through the area as Maul dropped to the ground, clearly dead.
"...No matter how strong you were...there would have been no escape from the pain."
The lightsaber deactivated.
------------
"This is Duchess Satine Kyrze to anyone who can still hear my voice. It is my great relief to tell you that the attack on our planet is over - the enemy has been pushed back through the combined valiant efforts of our Royal Guards and the Mandalorian Guardians. While I wish it was under better circumstances, I am proud to say that both forces carried themselves in the most exemplary fashion during the battle.
As for the attacking forces, it is only now that we have understood what drove them to attack us despite our peaceful nature. The army that struck us was lead by a Sith driven mad by pain and rage, who sought to spread his suffering to those he believed were responsible for inflicting that suffering upon him. While his body has yet to be found, I have been reassured by Master Kenobi that with the injuries he sustained during the battle he will not return any time soon.
Now we must mourn for those dead, rebuild what was destroyed, and move forward with hope for a brighter tomorrow in our hearts."
As the speech ended and a visibly exhausted Satine moved back inside the palace she wondered where Obi-Wan had vanished to on an "important meeting..."
------------
"How did you do it?"
"Do what exactly?" Ciaran said lazily to a clearly frustrated Obi-Wan as the two of them faced off from one another in a small and private room.
"Stop playing games with me. How did you kill that other Sith on your own?"
"Lots of practice, good instincts, and my ability to strengthen my body to a degree that let me fight him on even terms," Ciaran replied with a shrug. "What more do you want than that?"
Obi-Wan's brow furrowed slightly before he shook his head. "Fine. Since you're not going to tell me more about that, maybe you'd be more willing to mention how you knew Maul survived before the attack started."
Ciaran's response was to sigh in annoyance. "Right. So here's the story - through various means I heard news that there was this pair of Zabrak running around trying to recruit mercenaries and the like for what we now know to be the attack on Mandalore. I had some people do some digging and they managed to figure out that one of them really didn't like you for whatever reason - did it have something to do with his missing legs?"
"You could say that. I would call it a fair trade since he killed my master at the time," Obi-Wan replied dryly, though his face betrayed a hint of pain as he spoke.
"...Your master? I don't think I've heard about him before."
"His name was Qui-Gon Jinn. He was a pupil of Dooku's before he decided to leave the Jedi and become a Sith Lord," Obi-Wan explained.
Ciaran was silent for the briefest of moments before replying. "Yes, well anyway that's about it - I pulled some other strings to make sure things wouldn't get too bad and here we are now. That good enough?"
"No, but knowing you I doubt I can get much more than that," Obi-Wan said resignedly.
"Yes...well..." Obi-Wan's danger senses started to go off again as he noticed that Ciaran was visibly serious again for a brief moment before she shook her head. "No, it can wait for now."
"Wha-"
"I need to talk to you about something important, but it can wait for now," she said rapidly. "I've got other obligations happening soon what with the Galactic Games and all," she said before she suddenly smiled. "Give it a month or so afterwards and we can make it a date~"
"No."
"Killjoy. But I am serious about wanting to talk to you in private soon. Just not right now," Ciaran replied.
"...Fine. But it had better be actually important."
"It is, don't worry," Ciaran said lightly before shrugging. "Now if you don't mind, I think your girlfriends are waiting~"
"This conversation isn't over," Obi-Wan said, completely ignoring Ciaran's tease as he left.
"...I know. But right now I need to focus on a different one..." Ciaran said to herself...
-----------
Mandalorian Guardians HQ
Private Meeting Room
"Arla Fett. Do you swear to serve with the rest of your vode in the Cuy'val Dar until the day you die?"
"I do, Mand'alor."
"Very well, you're in, congratulations," Jango grumbled. "Quite frankly I didn't want to bother with any speech whatsoever, but Kal was insistent."
"It's important to uphold tradition for an event such as this," Kal replied, clearly annoying Jango.
"This is my sister we're talking about, Kal."
"I agree with my brother," Arla coolly replied. "After everything that happened why would I ever refuse?"
Kal rolled his eyes. "Look, we're done with you and that's what matters, right?" His face visibly hardened as he heard a knock at the door, before he turned to face Jango. "...Are you sure about this?"
"Times are changing, Kal. We need all the help we can get," Jango quietly replied before loudly saying "Enter!"
The door opened to admit a slightly nervous-looking Etain Skirata, who entered the room and stood at rapt attention in front of Jango. "You wanted to see me?"
"That I did," Jango replied, folding his arms and thinking to himself for a moment before speaking again. "Quite frankly if you'd told me that I would even consider what I'm about to do a few years ago, I would have said you were crazy. But, Kal tells me that you've been upholding the Resol'nare so here we are."
"I'm not sure I follow..." Etain quietly said.
"You're here because I'm offering you the chance to join the Cuy'val Dar alongside myself and Kal," Jango flatly said. "Do you know what that means?"
Etain's eyes widened slightly. "Didn't..." She turned to face Kal. "Didn't you say those were the people who helped train the clone army?"
"That's right. They were called the Cuy'val Dar because they had to cease to exist while they were on Kamino," Kal explained. "Now...well, what we do now is a bit more complicated. But what's important is that this is not some honorary title. You'll be putting your life on the line if you join, and quite frankly once you do there's no way out."
"I won't fault you if you say no," Jango said. "This is a lot to ask of anyone, so think about this decision carefully."
Etain was silent for a brief moment. "...What would I do if I joined?"
"You'd help fight against threats to Mandalore and the galaxy as we know it," Jango flatly replied.
"Is that right?" Etain muttered to herself before her eyes visibly hardened with resolve. "If it means protecting my family, then I accept."
"If that's the case, there's one thing I need to hear: a formal vow from you," Jango said. "Etain Skirata. Do you swear to serve with the rest of your vode in the Cuy'val Dar until the day you die?"
"I do."
Jango studied Etain intensely for a brief moment before nodding. "I can see it in your eyes - you meant what you said just now. Good." He leaned back slightly and turned to face Kal. "There you have it Kal. A one-time Jedi in the Cuy'val Dar."
Kal shook his head. "The galaxy really is going mad for Jettise and Mandos to work together like this..." he said, though there wasn't any bitterness in his voice.
-----------
Elsewhere in the HQ one of the rooms was currently being occupied by a certain Kaleesh bodyguard/Abyswalker/fanatic going through some basic motions with a practice weapon to blow off some steam.
Kygeetu never got the full details about her Lady's fight with Savage, but even so she was still frustrated with herself. Her Lady was not wrong when she said that Savage was out of her league by comparison, but even so the thought that she was not good enough was pounding through her head, making her movements faster and faster-
The weapon she was using shattered as she slammed it against a training dummy, causing her to jolt slightly as she realized what she had been doing.
"...This room's taken then."
Kygeetu turned to see who spoke to her - and while it took her a second to recognize the young man his resemblance to Jango helped her recognize Boba quickly. "...My apologies. I will reimburse you for the damage."
Boba shrugged before walking in, not particularly fazed by Kygeetu's display as he looked for a weapon of his own to train with. "Something wrong? I've seen some of my friends working that hard when they're frustrated about something."
Kygeetu was silent for a moment. "I wasn't strong enough to protect my Lady."
Boba turned to face her, tilting his head slightly. "But...she's alive. Unless Zam is impersonating her and no one-?"
"That's absurd!" Kygeetu shouted out, causing Boba to reel back in a mixture of shock and bafflement. "No, she is alive, but she fought one of the Sith and left me behind because I wasn't strong enough."
"...You sure that's true?" Boba replied. "Because if I were her I would have asked for your help anyway, as a sniper or an extra sword arm or something like that."
"Of course it is! What other explanation would there be!?"
"Sounds like she wanted to prove to herself she could beat a Sith on her own," Boba casually replied as he walked away, picking up a training blade and idly swinging it. "Some of the other guys get like that too at times - they want to prove something and don't want anyone else's help while they do it." Having found what he was looking for, he casually wandered out the door. "Good luck with your training," he called back just before the door closed, leaving Kygeetu to her thoughts.
"...She wanted to prove herself as a warrior?" Kygeetu muttered to herself, mulling over the concept. It wasn't inconceivable to her that her Lady wanted to test her mettle against such a fearsome opponent - the logic was much the same for any Kaleesh who wanted to prove themselves by hunting a mumuu or karabbac. But another idea floated into Kygeetu's mind-
Maybe it wasn't about her Lady proving something to herself. Maybe she wanted the chance to fight an opponent like that on her own terms for the sake of the thrill of the battle itself.
Still, as Kygeetu restarted her practice, she knew that didn't matter. She would have to get stronger for her Lady's sake.
Rewards: Maul and Savage eliminated. Maul's forces almost entirely annihilated and trihexalon bombing of Keldabe prevented. Jango's "Cuy'val Dar" trait improved. Ciaran gains "Soresu Adept" trait. Negotiating With "The Negotiator" action free next turn with a +10 bonus to the roll.
AN: I'M BACK, FINALLY!
Anyway sorry about the hiatus again, yadda yadda yadda. On more relevant update news I realize that the real fun happened the last time around and this was more wrapping up a bunch of things. That being said I do admit I enjoyed writing Maul's descent into insanity as he realized just how screwed over he was. He never was the most stable of individuals in the first place after all...
I will get around to explaining the Things I have Implied during this update in the next couple of things, don't worry.
Yes, I copped out of the talk with Obi-Wan. Honestly this was meaty enough as it was, and it makes sense that Ciaran would want to space out her conversations that could potentially destroy her relationship with a close ally.
Also yes, Etain is now a straight-up Mandalorian Jedi. Yes, the galaxy is going mad like Kal said and/or I'm completely insane, why did it take you this long to realize it?
I think that's about it. The last interlude will be after the Vectivus Corner, because there is no way in hell I'm firing that off early. It'll be out once I've properly set things up for it.
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Hey, my headcanon was always that Revan was Mando, so I am totally behind this.
Darik29
Verified Delicious
Revan Was Mando. He killed Mandalore and took the mask.
That's basically all you need. Well, that and the respect/fear of all the other Mando's.
And that man had Both of those things in Spades.
Jack_Trade
Chasing the Green Fairy
- Location
- Scotland
All this talk of Mando force users, makes me wonder why their was never a Mandalorian force sect.
I would say it's ending up in The Vault, but I believe Ciaran will return the body to Talzin, both for the traditional burial and to tell Talzin that 'The son you knew was dead the moment Sidious took him and what was left was nothing more than a walking corpse filled with rage and pain. It was never going to end well.'
Speaking of Vault, I'm stuck between on name for the Achievement, can't decide between ...Dig Two Graves (to carry on from Ventress' There's a Saying About Revenge...) or Savagely Mauled (wordplay on names). As for The Vault, Ciaran is most likely going to put the Brothers' Lightsabers in it.