Author Topic: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 10/03)
Dar_manda 
Registered: Dec '07
Date Posted: 4/9 6:49am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 03/27)
Okay folks. This is a litte heavy I know, but it has been reviewed by a mod.


Canderous shivered as he heard a scream. He did not fear death, or pain and he had learned to block out the suffering of others in his long career. He put it down to the cold in his cell, frost formed on the beskar bracelets around his wrists, that on his home-world signified that he was a slave. He shook them gently and listened to the chains rattling. He closed his eyes, his legs crossed under him and remembered his life, it was an old habit he had acquired to calm himself before battle. His father had told him that it was important to die well, and be proud of the things you had achieved. When every moment could be your last it was important to fill it with something, even just memories. In the darkness he lay down and slept.

He awoke fully to a second sharp kick to his ribs, the first having only served to pull him out of the depths of sleep to dream. He looked up the leg of his own armour into the face of the male apprentice.

"You're trying to wind me up aren't you?" Canderous rumbled softly, holding his hands up and stretching the chains as far out as they would go. The apprentice took the bait by grabbing the chain, Canderous yanked him down and wrapped the chain around the Sith's neck, choking him. "Hear me well," the Mandalorian hissed into his ear. "The line you walk is already thin, don't presume that your master will keep you safe forever. Many have died with that assumption as the last in their minds, I would advise you not to pursue this course of action." The apprentice struggled against the chain.

"Are you threatening me old man?" he whispered. Canderous tightened the chain, the man's eyes bugged.

"You don't know me very well do you?" The young man got a hand to either side of Canderous' head, and allowed his rage to channel lightning between his fingertips. It was not a very powerful bolt, the armour impeding his connection to the Force, but it did not need to be. The charge ran along the Mandalorian's nerves, the pain so intense he could not even breathe.

He threw Canderous' arms from around his neck, removed a neural disruptor from a pocket in his robe, and clipped the device around the unconscious man's head, watching with satisfaction as his body went rigid. The apprentice rubbed his neck, feeling the wheals where the chain had cut into his flesh. The old man would pay for his impertinence with blood and pain, copious amounts of both if he had any say in the matter.

His second awakening of the day was more gentle but no less insulting. The deep and long kiss awakening more than just his consciousness. He shook his head to clear it, clarity bringing with it discomfort. The female apprentice pulled her face back from his and her voice as she spoke had a similar quality to that of her master.

"I've always wanted to do that. But your people never seem to sit still for long enough, it's much easier like this."

"I would normally have to restrain myself, but I guess you've already done that for me. Sorry darling but you're not my type." He wiggled his hands, feeling them brush against the back of his head, looking up to his elbows he saw that his arms where bent back on themselves over a thin bar. His ankles were chained to the floor, the chain running up to his hands. He was mildly impressed, it was inventive if nothing else, calculated to cause him a deal of chagrin before anything spectacular happened. He scratched his neck, feigning composure. "Are you going to get on with it? I'm bored already, and my back itches."

She produced what appeared to be a lightsaber hilt and activated it. It was a very short blade, green in colour and holding up a hand she stroked the blade down the back of it, inhaling sharply as it stung. "How about I scratch it for you then?" She stepped behind him and he felt the blade touch the hair on his back and he braced himself.

"I can see it's going to be a long night." He sighed. "A little harder and to the right."

 

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Trika_Kenobi 
Registered: Nov '99
46133_Talon Squad
Date Posted: 4/9 12:46pm Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/09)
Dar_manda posted:
"I can see it's going to be a long night." He sighed. "A little harder and to the right."

laugh LOL. What a mess. Nice post... I definitely got a kick out of it. tongue

 

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KELIA 
Title: Moderator: Fan Fiction
Registered: Jul '05
41733_Fan Fiction
Date Posted: 4/10 3:45am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/09)
Are you going to get on with it? I'm bored already, and my back itches.

laugh laugh laugh laugh

Canderous, Canderous, Canderous - sometimes humor is just not the way to deal with things.

shame_on_you shame_on_you shame_on_you shame_on_you

tongue

On the other hand, at least he hasn't given up

Great update

applause applause applause applause

 

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MsLanna 
Title: CR GSFF Central
Registered: Jul '05
20930_Boba Fett<br>Unleashed Figure
Date Posted: 4/12 2:23am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/09)
What a wonderful update! applause

I do love Canderous attitude, he's just the man to crack. mischief Let's hope the female apprentice does not take him to litteral. It might bedifficult to stay alive with a lightsabre though the back.


"I've always wanted to do that. But your people never seem to sit still for long enough,

That cracked me up. laugh
Good work! dancing applause grin

 

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Dar_manda 
Registered: Dec '07
Date Posted: 4/18 5:38pm Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/09)
Anyone want an update?

 

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Dar_manda 
Registered: Dec '07
Date Posted: 4/24 5:57am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/09)
Update!!

The apprentices, known as Fear and Panic, had gone to play with Canderous and Mallia hoped that the life-time of experience he had would not fail him now. She knew both of them well, they had no other reason to turn to the Dark Side than that they loved it as much as each other. They were compelled like a binary star system, orbiting each other without caring who they burned or what they destroyed. She had seen the boy, Fear, flaunting his new armour with exceptional pride. She had quickly realised that it was more of a hindrance to him than the protection it provided warranted. It was likely that the boy would learn the hard way.

Her former master had reclaimed her almost immediately and she had not begged for her life as he had expected. He sat down every day to watch her dance. At first she would not move, she stood and stared straight ahead. It continued for many days until finally he spoke.

"Mallia, my dear, you will dance for me." He gestured to the cowering slaves. "If you do not dance, you will not save them." A bolt of Force lightning struck one of them and she, a young twi'lek, screamed as she died. Mallia closed her eyes and fought for control.

"Everyone breaks, all defences fall." He stood and walked to her, stroking her face, smiling as she recoiled. "You know I can wait. Hmm, I would wait forever to see you dance again." He returned to the table, picking up a cup and drinking from it loudly.

"Such a beautiful taste. You must be so very thirsty. Dance for me and you will drink your fill." He walked back to her and held the cup under her nose, letting her smell the exotic scent wafting from it. He pulled it away slightly and her head followed fractionally. "I can feel your lust," he held it to her mouth and tilted it until the liquid just touched her lips. Her breath caught in her throat as he pulled the cup away, the drink spilling down her chest. His eyes followed the rivulets on the paths they traced into her clothes. Every line of her body was as familiar to him as the decks beneath his feet, and he had, in his own corrupted way, missed her company.

"I will not dance for you. You know that their lives mean nothing to me," she inclined her head towards the slaves.

"Then dance, what can pride possibly bring you except more pain?"

"Pain is transient. I am afraid of neither it or you," she said, her eyes staring unflinchingly into his. "There is nothing you can do to me."

He laughed and refilled the cup, taking a sip and holding a hand to her. The Force lightning ripped through her and she screamed at the agony, collapsing to the floor barely conscious. He finished the drink casually and crouched beside her as her muscles continued to spasm. Her eyes widened as he stroked her face, reaching into her mind as easily as opening a book. Robbing her of her pride and honour was what he enjoyed about her the most. Her will was so strong, and she fought against him so hard that it was always worth his effort. He pushed through her memories, returning her to the time when she had tried to kill him. She gasped as she remembered what he had done to her back then, re-living her personal hell. His words echoed in her mind as she cried in the darkness of her mental confinement.

"Mallia, you are mine. You became mine on this day, the day you tried to take my life and I spared yours. The quality of mercy is in the price you are willing to pay to achieve it. A bit like freedom, if you want either you will do as I command both now and in the future."

"I belong to no-one!" she whispered, her defiance bringing her to her feet, breaking his contact with her mind. She kicked him in the face as hard as she could.

He rolled and came to his feet, spitting blood onto the floor. "I like having a pet with claws," he said. "It's more fun to play with something dangerous. You are what I made you, woman, you will obey me!"

"I obey no-one but Mandalore! I am Mando'ade, I made myself! I killed Jedi in the Wars, when the Order finally decided to join the fight. Don't feel bad because we destroyed your home-world, feel bad because they didn't protect you! Why did you join the Order and fight with those who betrayed you? Braxus, I don't understand, but I pity you for your impotent rage."

He held her still with the Force, crushing the breath from her body. Smiling into her eyes as she fought him with everything she had. The disturbance she caused in the Force around her made it hard for him to focus, but he was so angry at her refusal that he could have killed her right there. But he wanted to make her suffer. He released her and she curled up into a ball.

"What can I do to persuade you to obey?" he looked down at her.

"Kill me," she whispered. "I will never obey you again, I have turned from the Dark Side. One day I will walk in the Light and I will once again have my honour."

He laughed at her and kicked her, sending her spinning across the floor, still in her protective ball.

"I can't threaten the mandalorian, he probably means very little to you." She closed her eyes, hoping that he did not perceive the tiny leap in her heart at the mention of Canderous. "Your engineer is dead, but... Yes, the overweight, overpaid, and under-talented slob that flies you ship, how about him?" he watched her carefully.

"I don't care. He knew the dangers when he signed up. He gets paid for this." She said, sitting upright.

"Does he get paid to suffer? I can make him feel pain for the rest of his life, which will not be a short time." He smiled again. "Mallia, my Cyren, give me what I want and I will give you power."

"No. I don't need you to gave me power, I already have it, more than I ever wanted."

"Hmm, you are stronger than you were last time I had you. What can I possibly do to make you dance? What could I threaten? Your people destroyed many worlds in their unrestricted rampage across the Rim, so I doubt my wiping Che'trall off the face of the Galaxy will bother you. Still, it's worth a try."

The ship shivered as she fired volley after volley into the planet, the rest of the fleet joining her attack. Mallia tried to block out the world's death cries, but Braxus had a way through her defences and he kept them down, making her watch the destruction.

"Where to next?" he walked to a screen on the wall and pulled up a map of the Galaxy. "Anywhere in particular? Any cantina's that have short changed you recently? Now is your chance to avenge whatever slight, no matter how small."

She laughed at him. "You have nothing, you cannot control me any more. I am free of you forever." She stood up and he tried to strike her with Force lightning, but she raised her hands and the Force moved, washing away from him.

"Then I no longer need the other mandalorian." He showed Canderous to her and let her feel his pain. Her knees buckled as the lightsaber moved down his back, every nerve in her body shrieked. "I will let Panic kill him, she's very good, he won't bleed too much, that would be far too quick, don't you think?" The image of Canderous in her mind screamed again and she held her head. "Ahh, you see, I can control you. As long as he is alive you will dance for me."

She hung her head and began to dance. When she finished he strode out, leaving the bodies where they fell to torment her. All she wanted, was to die with the shame of her failure.

The truth was, that Canderous had struck her heart, he was the one person that she could trust, and he could return the honour that she had lost. She was trying to plot an escape, and she did not want to have to make Canderous wait too long, even he could not hold out forever. In the darkness inside her the beast stirred, the wild animal that she rode into battle, her Basilisk. She let it loose to consume her fear and pain, leaving behind only her anger, determination and pride. Rising she reined the beast in, she would kill Darth Braxus for daring to do this to her. He had stripped her of everything that had ever mattered in her life and now he was threatening the one thing that she really wanted. The beast refused to be tied down and she felt it rip free inside of her, tearing through her memories. It found the focus that gave her control of the Force and it wrested it away from her like she was a child, roaring as it filled with power.

Braxus had left her lightsabers on a table and she picked them both up, looked at them for a moment before dropping them into their holders. There was a black robe draped over the accompanying chair and she put it on as she stalked out of the door, pulling the hood over her head.

 

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Karen Traviss For MANDALORE!!
No I'm not going to kill ya! I need a sprinkle you onion! - The Hitcher
Proud Fan-fic Padawan to BrentusofGath.
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Trika_Kenobi 
Registered: Nov '99
46133_Talon Squad
Date Posted: 4/24 5:04pm Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Gah! What happens next? Don't keep me waiting too much longer! tongue

 

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KELIA 
Title: Moderator: Fan Fiction
Registered: Jul '05
41733_Fan Fiction
Date Posted: 4/25 4:11am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
WOW - that was intense.

I was hoping Mallia would be able to hold out...on the other hand, the story would certainly suffer without her.

Great update

applause applause applause applause

 

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Undue Circumstances: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28530583/p1/?10
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MsLanna 
Title: CR GSFF Central
Registered: Jul '05
20930_Boba Fett<br>Unleashed Figure
Date Posted: 4/28 7:04am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Creepy.
Braxus is a ToS-violation and I hope Mallia does many of those to him. not_talking

 

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Chico_Jedi 
Registered: Apr '08
46105_Indiana Jones 4
Date Posted: 4/28 12:11pm Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
I randomly started reading this story yesterday and I quite enjoy it. happy Could you add me to this list of readers as well?

 

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Dar_manda 
Registered: Dec '07
Date Posted: 4/30 7:07am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Certainly Chico_Jedi.

Thank you MsLanna. I did check with 'The_Face' before posting Canderous' torture scene, and he reckoned it was within the ToS. Have I crossed a line somewhere? blush .

 

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Dar_manda 
Registered: Dec '07
Date Posted: 5/7 9:55am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
A nice big chunk for you folks!!


Panic patted Canderous' cheek until he came around and when he groaned, she backhanded him with all of her strength, knocking his head back. The bar was cutting off the circulation to his fingers and he flexed his arms painfully. He was not sure how long he had been hanging in the half-light. He felt the tingle as the burns across his body healed and sighed. Panic stood in front of him with a bucket of water, she dipped a ladle into it and sipped the cool liquid.

"You're thirsty aren't you?" She emptied it back into the bucket and stroked his lips with it.

"Being tortured does take it out of you," he rasped. "That being rather the point." She tapped the end of his nose with the ladle, and then dropped it with a clatter. In the same moment she upended the bucket over his head. The water had been chilled to close to freezing point and it felt as though his heart had stopped. She laughed as he fought to breathe and checked the bucket carefully.

"It's all gone," she pouted as the door opened, and a black robe swirled in, an arm raised and indicated Canderous and a voice hissed.

"Bring him to me." The apparition faded abruptly, and Canderous could swear he saw the shimmer of a cloak. He felt Panic put the neural disruptor around his head again.

"Sleep well for you may die soon, if you're lucky." His body shuddered as she activated the device and pain coursed through him. He closed his eyes but he could not block it out, it was everywhere and he gritted his teeth. "Silly me, you can't walk like this." She unlocked his chains and he collapsed flat on the floor. "That's better isn't it? Get up." She kicked him, he did not move. He couldn't have, even if he had really wanted to, his body had finally failed him. He did not know it, but it had been two weeks since his first incarceration and he had been under near constant pressure. He closed his eyes and dropped into the deepest sleep he had had since Mallia had drugged him.


She strode onto the bridge and stopped in a slow motion sweep, her robes settling around her unnaturally. Darth Braxus turned to face her as an absent minded crew man walked between them. She barely flicked her fingers and the unfortunate man crashed into another man's station. There was a brief shower of sparks and a frightened shout. She yawned impassively and continued on her little walk to the window, this time when she stopped her robes continued moving, and she pressed her body against his. He loved the way the Force did not stand still around her and as she kissed him for the last time, he realised she had been paying more attention than he had realised. He had fatally underestimated her and he knew it would not take long to die. They stood locked together by her steel blade, he smiled and looked down at his hand, his grip slowly releasing on the dead man's switch that would cause a cascade failure in the ship's engine core. The twins dragged Canderous onto the bridge. Mallia bent down and retrieved the switch, turning to look out of the window.

"I will only take one of you as an apprentice, you can decide which, or maybe neither, of you it is to be. And I did say bring him to me." She folded her arms and her robes stilled. Canderous was dropped by her feet and she turned him over, as the twins began to fight. Mallia noticed one of the bridge crew start to get to his feet, she stared at him and smiled. He stopped stock still, his breathing quickening as she pointed a finger downward. He made a career decision and sat down.

She crouched and turned off the neural disruptor, but Canderous remained absolutely motionless, he was not quite dead, but would soon be if she did not do something. The beast inside her asked why she should care, he had done nothing but almost get her killed. Why should a man she could never love mean so much to her? It told her Revan had been foolish to walk away from such power again, but that it could be hers if she would just let him go. Let him die here and put another in his place, so that they will follow you, it whispered. The Republic could not stop you this time. She shook her head and stood up.

"Enough, give me his armour Fear." She said.

"But, Master?" He was puzzled.

"Do you dare question me?" She covered the deck between them faster than should have been possible, the tip of her lightsaber a mere inch from his nose. "Still, I like an inquiring mind." She retracted the blade. "You are giving Panic an advantage for the sake of pride. It is a foolish thing to wear something that you are not well acquainted with. Take it off and begin again." She moved a plasteel crate beside him and he stripped the armour piece by piece, dropping it in the box. She walked back to the prone man taking the box with her, she lifted him and swept out to an adjacent room.


The room was a grand conference hall and she laid Canderous on the table. She put a hand either side of his head and forced the beast inside to listen to her. It begrudgingly allowed her to use the Force, and she channelled the thought of his suffering; pulling at his pain until he opened his eyes, the Force washing away his fatigue. He sat up and looked at his arms, the bruising had paled and the burn marks had healed. He looked into her eyes and saw them changing from blue to green.

"Canderous, only you can help me come back from the brink. I caught you when you fell, I need you to do the same for me. Stand with me for the moment and we can both survive this." She shuddered as the Dark Side enveloped her. He got to his feet and retrieved his armour, strapping it to himself like a second skin. She handed him the blade she had killed Darth Braxus with and on impulse he leaped onto the table and swept it in beautiful flowing arcs. It had been a long time since he had felt so strong and happy as he sparred with invisible shadows. He stopped suddenly and laughed.

"What amuses you Mandalorian?" She had settled gracefully in a seat at the head on the table to watch him.

"I am a bearer of the Cross of Glory, titled Defender of the Republic by the Jedi Council, trusted with becoming Mandalore by Revan himself. But I dance on a table for the amusement of a fallen Jedi, on board a ship in the heart of the Sith fleet." He knelt down on his right knee and rested his forehead on his left. "The irony is not lost on me."

"Then side with me, bring the Mandalorians back to glory and I will let you ride where you will." She was losing the battle inside her mind, falling further away from him at every moment. But as they stared at each other he did not care she reached up a hand and he took it, helping her onto the table top.

"Dance with me?" He said quietly. He held her close, one hand on the back of her head, the other at her waist. Time seemed to freeze as he remembered the last time he had held a girl who actually reciprocated the affection he felt. The scent of that perfume returning to his nostrils.

But his mind raced weighing up the cost of accepting her offer. He could lead the Mandalorians to glory once more. He looked out of the window and could almost see the the planets burning. The Republic destroyed in the firestorm, and him, Mandalore, fighting in front of his men. The Empire rising with him as the finest warrior the galaxy had ever seen.

He shook his head, it would be a slaughter, about as glorious as enforcing for Davik had been, and it made him feel sick. He pushed her away and she spun, a blade appearing in her hand. She raised it level with her eyes and looked at him down it. He saluted her with his own, and she attacked him with all of the passion and ferocity she could muster.

 

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Karen Traviss For MANDALORE!!
No I'm not going to kill ya! I need a sprinkle you onion! - The Hitcher
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KotOR_girl 
Registered: Jun '07
44114_Carth Onasi
Date Posted: 5/7 11:42am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Great story! grin I like the characterizations so far, nice job on there. happy
Please let me know when you post the next chapter because I'm dying to see what happens next. grin

 

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Chico_Jedi 
Registered: Apr '08
46105_Indiana Jones 4
Date Posted: 5/8 5:35am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Haha, Canderous dances? Amazing! grin

 

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Trika_Kenobi 
Registered: Nov '99
46133_Talon Squad
Date Posted: 5/8 9:07am Subject: RE: (KotOR) Road to Mandalore. (Updated 04/24)
Canderous dances? I have to agree with Chico. Sounds amusing. tongue

Thanks for the update! happy

 

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