Saga The Kin of Mandalore - vignette (A-02 "Spar": a destroyer or a liberator?)

Title: The Kin of Mandalore

Author: Kudzu

Timeframe: Clone Wars, Year Three

Characters: Alpha-02 "Spar", OCs

Genre: Angst/Philosophy

Summary: It is a difficult mission that has finally all come down to this, this one palpable moment that could make or break one life or many in more ways than can be known. What has Spar, the rogue ARC trooper, the self-proclaimed Mandalore, come to?

Disclaimer: Unofficial, Alpha-02 "Spar" property of Lucasfilm, etc etc.

Epigraph: "Your bodyguard - that's what I am and what I'll deserve to be, in many more ways than you can know at present" - Ragnar Danneskjöld, Atlas Shrugged



Decked out in a heavy, full set of Mandalorian armor, he stepped through the threshold and into the office. The door slid shut behind him.

And, just like that, there was Spar, the renegade, the Mandalore, seated at a ravaged-looking desk before him. Trophies and prizes were mounted on the walls and the shelves around him. But there he was, just sitting there, wearing a jumpsuit stamped with the fanged-skull crest of the Mandalorian clan. His mission had brought him to this moment. The endpoint of it sat before him.

He drew his blaster rifle, steeling himself to the completion of this long, arduous search, the one that should have been another's but had instead been entrusted only to him. This was the moment that months had culminated in, right here.

Yet the face he saw belonged to someone he knew too well. It was not just his face, or the face of millions upon millions of other men, or the face of Jango Fett who had come before this relaxed rogue here, but Spar's face. He froze, finger on the trigger, in the millisecond before the life would have been blasted from his calm victim's body and his mission would have been accomplished at last.

Spar spoke. "Am I to know the identity of my assassin?" His voice was more cultured than he remembered it, yet at the same time it was rougher, more violent, more threatening. It was as if his voice represented a sinewy, strong animal with a pleasant exterior and a calm demeanor, yet muscles rippled and flexed beneath its smooth, shiny skin, and one knew that if it should be provoked, the provoker would face the consequences of its supple strength.

He identified himself as he had been drilled to do, as Spar had been drilled to do, as all of them had been drilled to do since birth: "Alpha Zero-One, 'Cygnus', Advance Recon Commando of the Grand Army of the Republic. Rank of Captain."

"Alpha Zero-Two, 'Spar', leader of the Mandalorian clans. Rank of Mandalore." Spar offered a mock salute, and Cygnus damned himself for not pulling the trigger right there to blow him away. Yet even as he hated his weakness, he could not find the strength to commit the impersonal murder or to bring the due justice of a traitor and a deserter to their kind and to the Republic.

He looked at Cygnus impassively. "I'd wondered if it was you," he said. "It's been a long time in coming, I must say. But here you are, alone with me, in a locked, soundproof personal chamber that I don't permit the surveillance of."

The glimmer of a blaster muzzle came into view, peeking up from beneath the edge of the desk; Cygnus swore wordlessly for neglecting to take note that Spar's hands were beneath the table. But he was still the one wearing the suit of Mandalorian armor, while Spar was dressed only in a jumpsuit over which it could be fitted.

"My mission here," he said steadily, "is to neutralize you as a threat to the security of the Republic and its people."

"Oh, ridiculous!" Spar exploded. "I'm not hearing that manufactured bantha poodoo from you. You know why you're here, tat Cygnus. You're here for revenge. You're here because I left the ranks of the Republic in its imaginary time of need."

He held the snub-nosed rifle still. "You will return and face prosecution or be brought to justice right here, by me."

He laughed. "Justice?" he scoffed. "Justice for what? Following in the footsteps of Jango Fett, who was bested by yo

 

Let me tell you Kudzu, this was incredible. It reminded me how much I've missed out on since falling behind on AIDW.

There were so many appropriate and well thought-out themes here, from brotherhood to fate and betrayal. I really enjoyed seeing Spar's motivations and rationalizations for the choices he made - they seemed perfectly conceived of and not at all delusional as Cygnus first believed. The interplay between both characters was fascinating to watch.

Spar spoke. "Am I to know the identity of my assassin?" His voice was more cultured than he remembered it, yet at the same time it was rougher, more violent, more threatening. It was as if his voice represented a sinewy, strong animal with a pleasant exterior and a calm demeanor, yet muscles rippled and flexed beneath its smooth, shiny skin, and one knew that if it should be provoked, the provoker would face the consequences of its supple strength.

This is one of your perfect paragraphs, which I've seen pop up throughout your work. The imagery is so vivid that it seems to come alive, a sign of true talent if I ever saw it.

"These are delusions of grandeur," said Cygnus, trying to shunt the truths (lies) of his wayward brother from his mind.

Great line - it really demonstrates how desperate A-01 is to believe he is in the right here, and that something is wrong with Spar.

his finger tensed on the trigger of his weapon, and he hoped impossibly for its bolts to just take the evil disguising itself as liberty or as ambition or as both out of Spar's body, for them to restore him to the straight-shooting soldier that he once was, back in the lifetime in which Cygnus had known him.

It's really apparent how helpless he feels at this moment; on one hand he has a mission he is obligated to accomplish, and on the other a brother he's been loyal and close to for quite some time. It's no wonder Cygnus is searching for a way out.

"So be it. My personal ideal will die with me. The concept of soul, the liberator, will endure forever. It's an eternal torch that no one can hide or snuff out. You can't blind the light of a quasar."

This was awesome dialogue, period. Spar really came alive in this vignette, in many ways more so than characters in some full-length stories. You really did a superb job with the characterizations here.

I'm not really familiar with the character of Spar, but I see from the disclaimer that he isn't yours. Let me tell you that I couldn't even tell the difference - I feel like your vignette gave me all the information I'd ever need concerning the kind of person he is. I'll assume Cygnus is your creation? The delineations are so carefully crafted that the line between OC and canon is invisible. I can honestly say when it comes to clones you have no equal here on the boards - you're truly a master of their world.


I'll admit to being on the edge of my seat, unable to predict what would happen. I really thought that one of them was going to die, but was pleasantly surprised at the end. The finale was excellent, from Cygnus' acceptance of Spar's new life to the way they exchanged helmets as a memento of each other and what they were.

I really can't say enough on how much I enjoyed this. It's amazing how much story you packed into a relatively short vignette, being both succinct and complex.

Great work as always

 

Thank you very much, Exeter! It's great to see a comment from you on one of my stories.

Spar is a canon character, yes, and Cygnus is of my own creation. I wanted to explore the feelings that the other clones, and particularly the ARC troopers - his contemporaries - would have for Spar, so I invented Cygnus to be his counterpart.

By the way...the sequel is up.

 

And this is why I ******* write with you. There were so many parts of that I absolutely loved reading, but out of all of them, this is my absolute favorite:

You know what I think the insanity is?" he asked, leaning forward; the silver of the blaster muzzle did not vanish beneath his body as he did so, but still winked its maybe-impotent menace at A-01 "Cygnus". He said, when the other did not answer, "I think that the insanity is living, fighting, and dying for someone who you've only been told to live, fight, and die for. You've been told to feel identity with the Republic, and so you pretend yourself to feel it."

Perhaps it's something I myself relate to, but that's beside the point. I won't babble about how brilliant I think that is (even though I know how much you'd love it ); the greatness is just there.

However, all of it just makes the fact that Spar was killed by friggin' teenage girl so much more aggravating.

 

Spar kind of earned it...plus, he was biologically 104+ years old, so...

Thanks for the R&R, tat Antilles!

 

Bumping this.

 

Heh... Spar, sounds kandosii!

I'll be reading it on sunday, bud.

 

Great Viggie Kudzu This was really well executed! So where can i read more about Spar???

 

In the sequel. Or in the Mando history article in Insider 80.

 

Thank you, my friend

 

I love that line, as well as the lines preceding it... the symbolic weight of it is just great...

...as great as this whole fic is. You're such a master at philosophy, Kudzu! I gotta second Exeter here: incredible, indeed!
Also, I second Exeter here:

 

That's what I was going for...thanks

I try.

 

Kih'parjai, Kud'ika.

Well... the article he first appeared in (AFAIK), the Mando History article in Insider 80 by Abel G. Pena, calls him "Alpha-Ø2"... and I think Ryan Kaufman or Karen Traviss once answered a question about how to pronounce it, and IIRC, they said it was "Alpha-Null-Two" (after they 'released' the Nulls).

 

Ah. I stand corrected, then. Vor'e.

 

Shabla kandosii, Kudzu!
Written with the expertise I've come to expect from you when dealing with the Clones, and I'm somewhat surprised you haven't done a Spar story before this.
Nice job, all around!

 

Great job on this, I really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

 

I read this very slowly and very carefully, because I had a feeling there would be some heavy lines in here. I wasn't disappointed. If this were a film, it would be a surreal thing to see. It's like seeing one man literally talking to himself - whether that other body is his conscience, his alter ego, his "what might have been" self, who knows?

I loved that opening. Feels like that's it, that's the climax. Then you realise that the tension is just beginning.

That gave me chills - the good kind!

SW films are in many ways about destiny, only people often focus on just the Jedi and Sith when they talk about fate. Of course everyone has a certain end in the GFFA, and clonetroopers (I would think) have an especially hard time figuring out what their destiny is. On the one hand, their destiny was created for them by the Republic, but does that mean that's the only path they have? Cygnus would agree, but to me Spar is the type who sees infinite threads and pulls on one.

And Spar summed it up nicely for me. It's interesting how much the concept of individuality and identity come into play when discussing free will vs. fate. Because he was specifically created to have free will, i.e. that's his identity, he can use it to shape his destiny. Almost as though it's his destiny to use his free will to shape his destiny. Stop me before my brain explodes.

I love that line! I don't know why - maybe because it adds so many layyers to the philosophy.

Nice touch. Spar's a clever one.

I think this adds so much to the idea of identity and destiny that I can't even go into it without blowing a fuse. Suffice it to say, that was a perfect ending to this vig on so many levels. If there's one thing I really like about your work, Kudzu, it's that it keeps my brain in good shape.

Also, the name "Cygnus" looks familiar - does that mean "swa

 

Wow. Fantastic work, Kudzu.
I love the debate on free will and the soul. Your writing always has such a cool philosophical edge to it.

It began in the soul that could not be assigned chains or sliced by any energy-lash. It began in the unfettered allegiance to one blood, one life, one being: the one that they were the legacy to.

Brilliant!