Before the Saga [KotOR] Road to Mandalore

Hello! This was posted on the old forums a while ago and I thought I'd restart it for the new forums. I should be posting updates every week, I hope you enjoy, concrit is welcomed.

Canderous was not a happy man, he'd not slept for a week, the shower in his room was broken and he was hungry. It had been maybe a year since he'd traveled with Revan, and he hoped he would never see another Jedi again. It would mean he could die a happy man, in his bed if he really had to, if he never met an another one for the rest of his days.

He sat at the bar in the cantina and thought about his life, he remembered his many battles in the war, victories and defeats. The light under the bar hummed gently, reminding him of a lightsaber in full spate, his shoulders dropped at the thought, and he ordered another drink. He spun around on his seat and watched the two dancing Twi'lek absently. Revan had hated slavery to the extent that he had bought a slave and freed her. Canderous didn't care either way, he'd seen most things in his extensive travels and at the moment he just wanted some rest.

The music changed slightly and a woman walked onto the stage between the Twi'lek. The cantina hushed, the music silencing. She was dressed in silks that moved of their own accord, the effect was spell binding and made even the group of other Mandalorians in a corner booth fall silent. Canderous was impressed, she had barely moved, a shiver ran through her silks like a Dantooine wind. She began to move, raising her arms above her head and pausing for the barest moment, before lowering them to waist height. Behind her veil she smiled, her mark identified.

She danced like a dust storm, swirling around and over the tables, whirling faster and faster, sometimes stopping, with the music following her movements with practiced ease. Her silks shedding like leaves from a tree, eagerly snapped up by the watching audience, men and women alike spellbound by the intricate motion. She made everyone who watched her feel as though she danced for them alone, but Canderous ignored it. He was watching the other Mandalorians, and thinking about what Revan had said. Uniting the clans would not be easy, but there again nothing in his life had been so far.

She leapt onto the bar like a cat, and her scent pulled him from his reverie, it was deep like an ocean, but free as the sands of Tatooine, it made him look into her face, actually look at her for the first time. As her eyes swallowed him he realised what was happening and raised his defences, his vehemence surprised her and she laughed behind her veil, whirling away to somewhere else.

Canderous turned back to his drink as the music stopped and she disappeared from the room to riotous applause,the patrons banging on the tables with anything they could lay their hands on, including weapons. The Mandalorians in the booth had fallen back to whatever they had been talking about, he suspected he had been the topic, and as he considered joining them he scratched his neck. He growled to himself, his neck chain was gone. He checked the box by his feet, and the blaster holstered on his hip. He looked at his empty glass and sighed, finding a person like that should be fairly easy and he could use another one.

"Hey, I'll take another one of those." He said, his head whipping around as someone behind him laid a hand on the small of his back. There was no-one there, but when he faced the bar again there was a tiny piece of silk next to his hand. He picked it up, the smell of her was still on it and he crushed it into his palm as his drink arrived.

"I'll settle the tab." He said to the droid.

"It's been taken care of sir." The droid replied primly.

"Who by?" He looked at the group in the corner, who had become more conspiratorial, drawing the shadows in around themselves as though they did not want him to see them.

"I cannot say, sir. I am permitted, however, to tell you that the bill for your room has also been paid. Clearly you have a benefactor." It cocked his head at him in way that it's programmer had obviously thought coquettish, but merely appeared smug.

Canderous wanted to break it in half, with his expenses paid, he had more than enough on him to cover any repair bill. He quelled the feeling and instead asked it, "that dancer, where was she from and where does she live?"

"Ask Dr'anni, the green skinned girl that is dancing at the moment." Canderous looked at the stage. "She will tell you."

Canderous stood up and picked up the case that had rested below his seat. The weight was comforting in his hands and he wished he could carry it in public. But he did not want to provoke people into attacking him so that they could take it off his hands. The repeating blaster was something that he felt connected him to his travels with Revan, that and the pendant on the chain, which was now gone. He stalked across the cantina towards the stage, skirting some groups of people, walking through the middle of others, ignoring their disgruntlement. He stopped at Dr'anni's feet and looked up, waiting.

She jiggled for five minutes before she noticed his waiting patiently, and upon seeing him she dropped into the splits, her right leg hanging over the edge of the stage. She bought her left leg around into the most provocative position she could think of, and was disappointed when he ignored it.

"Wha'sa you wan'?" She asked in broken basic.

"What was that dancer called?"

"You'sa wan' time with I?" She looked interested. "You'sa Mandalory, have a good time long while we hmm?"

"No, I just want her name, and if you know where she lives tell me." He growled, her face hardened.

"You'sa pay like everyone else," she looked over his shoulder. "It'sa credit or I knows nuthin'." Canderous sighed and produced a credit chip. She eyed it carefully. "Me'sa take Mandalory, then me'll tell." He extended it and she took it delicately. Opening her hand to reveal an empty palm, she grinned and stood up lithely.

"Me'sa not knows Mandalory." Canderous was totally still, breathing almost imperceptibly. On the outside he appeared calm, deadly calm. On the inside he was calmer, he thought for a moment. It was an irony of existence that her life was probably worth less than the droid's vapid platitudes, but most cantina owners had a problem with cleaning their good dancers off of the furniture. Not only did it cause problems with local security enforcement, it made decent drinks difficult to obtain.

"Why is it women play games?" He rumbled to himself. "No matter were they come from?" There had been times when he had wanted to slap Mission until she glowed. It had been the only thing that he and Carth had agreed on, but he had been restrained by his loyalty to Revan. The Wookie had been a lesser threat.

"Ok, I'll play," he set the case down. "Dr'anni, you want more credit?" The look in her eyes was suspicious, at first, but when he held up another chip in the tips of his fingers, her eyes locked onto it like a guided drone.

She bent down, hinting that he should drop it down her top and he licked one of his teeth. He knew she would probably be faster than him, but she would also not be expecting his next move.

Some scumbag in the gang haunted corridors under Taris, had once told him that he was an old man and should probably retire, Canderous could have handled that. But the idiot had pushed his luck. Canderous had been required to explain carefully, with diagrams, that if he said he was a Mandalorian. If he was demonstrably capable of destroying a gang on his own without getting shot. If he could field strip a blaster and employ said pieces in an entirely inventive manner, that probably violated more than just the warranty, and put it back together afterwards, it was probably safer not to call him a liar. After a protracted discussion with Canderous, on such issues as, personal safety, a need for honesty among mercenaries, and a polite request for him to cease hostilities. The young man had joined the Exchange without a second glance, he didn't dare refuse, his first glance had encountered an irate Mandalorian.

Canderous exhaled slowly and reached up to her top; concentrating carefully he let the chip drop. His hand followed it and she squealed with surprise as he pulled her down, caught her shorts in his other hand and tucked her under his arm like a pet. She gabbled her outrage as he picked up the case and strode towards the exit.

"Sir! Excuse me!" The bar droid quavered. "That belongs on the fixtures list for this cantina, if you take it out of the door it is not covered by the insurance. Any damage is your responsibility and I will have to contact local enforcement."

Canderous drew level with the end of the bar and looked at the droid.

"Ten minutes?" At his words, the droid adopted a pose of what could have been shock, although it actually looked as though it were about explode.

"I will bring her back, you have my word on it." He said as he walked out.

He jogged down the corridor, not caring what went on around him, something about a shape in black caught his eye, but when he looked again, the shadow was gone. In a deserted side passage he dropped Dr'anni on the floor. She had fallen silent before they left the cantina, but she started to whimper when he sat down in front of her and put his blaster on the floor between them.

"Please no hurt me! Mandalory please no!" She tucked her legs up tight and looked into his eyes pleadingly.

His face was a locked door to which she possessed no key. The silent, blank stare frightened her more than any rage would have done, and he knew it well. She wrapped her arms around her legs and, resting her face on her knees, began to sob. "Mandalory kills me, he has to pay, I not knows, so he kills me anyway." She began to rock gently, seemingly arguing with herself. "But he promise take me back. So no kill me perhaps?" She made the mistake of looking up, but he had not moved, he was barely breathing. Her eyes darted out to the main concourse and she licked her lips. "Mebbe Mandalory knows I not knows now and lets me'sa go?" She babbled, picking at her leggings.

His deliberate movement caught her attention and her mouth dropped open as he picked up the blaster and cradled it in his lap. His hands moved over it and her gaze was torn between his hands and his eyes, still locked on her. He checked every part he could before raising the weapon to chest height. The end of the barrel became the deepest black hole in her universe.

"You're right I did say I'd take you back. I didn't say you'd still be able to dance."

She began to shake violently and he knew she had not been lying to him. She tossed the two credit chips to the floor in a desperate bid for her life, but he ignored them. It is amazing how any sentient creature remembers everything about it's final moments, a crystal clarity that few others can achieve even in a lifetime of meditation. She watched the tiniest muscles of his face for some sign of reprieve, noticed the slight bend in the tip of his index finger, laid across the trigger-guard, broken when he had ripped open a door on board a ship to escape a death in the emptiness of space. She shivered and closed her eyes. She was so certain of her imminent death that she shrieked when he touched her.

He walked back to the cantina and dropped her gently into a seat. He lost a brief internal struggle and dropped 300 credits on the table in front of her.


She stared at it for a moment not comprehending, Canderous stared at it too, it was a lot of money to give away. The development of a conscience recently was a character flaw he did not like it in the least. But it was hard to refuse the image of a man who barely reached his chin, was half as wide as he was, and could throw Canderous across a room had he so desired. Not that Revan would ever have done that in his new frame of mind, but he would have been so disappointed in Canderous that he would have been cheerful at the veteran until he did what Revan wanted. He turned on his heel and walked out of the cantina, leaving a small piece of freedom in his wake.

 

Nice! Look forward to the next update.

 

I think you did a very good job of capturing Candeous' personality and manner in this. I wonder how you'll get from this to Mandalore? I especially love how at the end, you can see the influence Revan had upon him.
I'm also curious about who Canderous' benefactor is.

 

UPDATE!!

Canderous sat on his new bed feeling slightly lost. He'd walked up to the main desk of his previous lodging and been told that the reason his access code no longer worked was because he'd been checked out. The young girl behind the desk had looked into his face when he calmly enquired where he was going to sleep, it was apparently not her problem and he should depart.

"What about the things I left in there?" He asked softly, his mind on the other, larger case containing his armour.

"The room was empty, sir" the pause each time she said 'sir' was beginning to get on his nerves. "I'm afraid all I can do is contact Enforcement for you. There is a message for you however, here." She held out an envelope, he took it and walked back onto the concourse.

He sat in silence, running through his hands repeatedly one of the items it had contained . A square of silk, missing one corner, its scent on opening the envelope had hit him like a knock-out punch, so strong it seemed to make the world spin. There had been an access code in there too. Not the most expensive hotel on the main deck but not cheap either. He looked around the room, and felt safe, which in of itself felt wrong. His body was used to being on constant guard, but that said his need for sleep was getting to him finally. Either that or it was age. He stood up and walked to the sink, his own face in the mirror seeming distorted. He washed his face in cold water and was acutely aware that the planet was moving. His jacket he took off and dropped onto the floor, every muscle suddenly shaking with effort. His boots would not respond to his touch and he was almost unconscious when they finally fell off his feet.

His breathing had barely slowed, when the balcony door opened almost silently the draught flapping the curtains around a figure that could not otherwise be seen.

There was slight movement and the active camouflage hiding the figure dissipated and a woman appeared, covered almost completely in dark grey and black, her face and hands glowing in the pale light. She moved silently across the room and turned the tap off, blue metal glinting on her forearms. She walked to stand over her quarry. Bending down she righted his boots and picked up his jacket, folding it neatly and placing it over his boots. She eyed his holster and drummed her fingers on her thigh in indecision.

"The Force is with me." She muttered. "Except when I have to do something awful. Yes being Force-sensitive has advantages, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I'd never left the Academy. This was not what I had in mind as a glorious career." She bit her lower lip and closing her eyes, touched his belt, he growled and his head twitched. The clasp clicked and she breathed a sigh of relief. Focussing her centre she lifted him off of the bed her fingers barely touching his hip. She looked at the bed expecting to see his blaster lying there, she put him down gently but hurriedly and screamed silently, balling her fists.

With her eyes open this time she undid his holster belt, leaving his trouser belt undone. She dropped the holster with everything else and tucked the blaster under his pillow. She laid the cover over his legs and sprayed something close to his face. After covering her hand with a glove, she picked up the piece of silk, replacing it in his hand with a whole piece. Wrapping the silk in the glove and secreting it inside her top she checked his breathing and pulse.

He opened his eyes slightly as she leant over him, all he could see was her silhouette, the only thing that stayed with him was the flash of metallic blue at her wrist. He tried to sit up, struggling to come fully conscious. As he made it half way upright, she disappeared into thin air, leaving only the perfume to haunt him as he fell back into sleep.

It was dark and the space he occupied, he shared with something else. It shifted under him and as he realised where he was the bay doors in front of him opened, and he and his Basilisk dropped out of the ship. The familiar thrill ran through his blood as he felt the heat on the outside of his armour, his HUD showed the layers of protection that were ablating from man and machine on their descent onto the planet. An alarm sounded inside his helmet and he felt his blood freeze. His attitude was destabilizing so he fired a short burst and rolled slightly, but a different alarm had taken up the clamour for his attention.

The forward armour was being eaten through faster than it should have been. At the rate it was going at, he would not make it through the atmosphere. He rolled the Basilisk once more to spread the load and he felt the first punch-through on the droid as keenly as he would have felt it on his own body. The end of the higher atmosphere brought only deteriorating telemetry that signaled the end of the Basilisk.

He was falling, through the air, his armour was gone and the clouds scudded past him. Below was the red and desolate surface of Korriban and he could see the Academy burning, columns of smoke billowing around him. He shot through a cloud and he saw, as he shook vapour from his eyes, surface had changed to Telos. He watched the missiles land, sending ripples through the very crust of the planet. The cities shook and fell, crushing all within. Suddenly the ground was directly below him and he braced himself. At the last moment, it opened and he fell through it into darkness.

There was firm ground beneath his feet and he walked forwards towards a small red light glowing like a lightsaber. It became so intense that he held up a hand in front of his face. The armour on it melted into his flesh, burning him all over his body, turning his skin silver and black. He wanted to scream with the pain that filled him, but his hands stretched out of their own accord into the crimson light. As he touched the object within the pain ceased and he felt nothing but peace. The light issued from the visor of the helmet of Mandalore and to hold it in his hands filled him with both pride and shame. Pride that he had finally found it. Shame that he had ever thought of turning his back on his people.

It all faded into light before he could put it on and he awoke, his fingers around the grip of his blaster before his eyes opened. He stared the weapon for a moment and focused beyond it at the startled woman standing in front of him.

She spoke first. "Umm. We were told you would like breakfast in peace sir. Your daughter told us we should bring it in before you woke up. Sorry to disturb you sir." She put the tray she was carrying down on the table and turned to leave.

He opened his mouth and felt his stomach growl.

"Thank you." Was all he said as he put his feet on the floor, but his mind was racing as he looked around the room. He felt angry at himself for not having checked the room before he went to sleep.

"Will that be all sir?" She asked, her hands crossed at her waist. He was on edge and, unusually for him, it showed he felt disjointed and for the first time in his life, out of place. He looked at the silk in his hand.

"No, there's nothing else, thank you."

She nodded her head, turned and walked out, her dress momentarily catching his attention. He sat on the edge of the bed, and ate his breakfast. He washed, changed his shirt and trousers and wondered what it was exactly he was doing. The curtains shifted in the breeze and he walked out through the window, onto the balcony. The view of the city was something special, the bay beyond it glittering in the early light of a fresh sun. It wasn't quite Taris but he was sure he would find himself some action soon. He put both of his hands on the balustrade and looked down, leaning over as far as he could get.

A woman on a balcony fifty feet below looked up at him and shook her head. As she raised her hands to applaud, he saw a flash of blue and he nearly let go of the edge.

He caught himself, it was a long way down and he did not fancy his chances of surviving the drop. He had seen worse odds and come through them, and though he did want to be remembered, decorating a pavement was not his idea of a good time. He had a strong aversion to dying, but the boredom was starting to grate on him, he walked back into the room. He had to admit that he was puzzled by the maid's reference to his daughter, as far as he was aware he had no surviving children, and if he did he was pretty certain they would not have gone to the effort of tracking him down to then not speak to him. There were also the things in his room that had moved.

He sat down, put his feet up on the table and stared across the room at his upright boots, still supporting his holster and jacket. That was something else, whomever had been in there had known enough about him to know he slept with a blaster under his pillow but that he had not put it there. He had considered that he had been drugged, the replacement of the silk had confirmed his suspicion.

The perfume had been one that had been popular on Mandalore when he was a young man, and he remembered the one woman he had bought it for. It had partly been her marriage to another man that had thrown him so completely into fighting, after losing her he never felt that he could settle. So this person knew him extremely well, could move freely in and out of his room, and could de-materialise at will. He concentrated on the image he had seen through the haze, but there was nothing except the blue metal, he frowned. Why would an assassin toy with him like this? Unprofessional surely? And why had he dreamed about Korriban, it had just been another piece of the puzzle, hadn't it?

A gust of wind sent a shiver down his spine and when he looked towards the window, a faint shimmer was outlined against the sky, the only tell-tale sign that a cloaking shield gave away.

It did not move, even when he picked up the knife beside his plate and felt the balance of it. The table knife flew wide as he had expected, but the throwing knife was directly on target, the recipient giving a soft sigh as it struck. It hung in mid-air as the cloak dissipated around the intended victim, one hand above and one below holding the knife's blade in her palms.

Her forearms were covered by blue vambraces of the Mandalorian Iron, beskar, the cuffs of her coat raised to her elbows to allow access to the controls. Her coat was black, one cuff fading to pale blue, the other a deep red, loose enough to hide the bracers from sight should she wish. The rest of her attire was varying shades of grey, the only other thing that struck him, was the presence of a stick shaped grenade on each hip. She flipped the knife and it landed hilt down on her finger, perfectly balanced.

"I take it that's not the way you normally say thank you? If it is then I understand the why I have reputation I have." Her voice was as precise as her appearance. She walked over to the chair opposite him and sat down. Playing with the knife.

"So you're the legendary Canderous Ordo. Hmm, you're not as good as they say you are." His face hardened and she smiled. "You're better, it's been hard work trying to find you. I'm just glad my employer has deep pockets, although I doubt he could've paid anyone else to take this job. But like you I prefer the constant movement." She eyed the fruit bowl carefully, finally reaching across and selecting a bunch of round red berries.

"By the way, Dr'anni is still shaking, it took a lot for me to convince her not to try and run away. Not that she needs to now that she's free. Very kind of you, altruism wasn't listed as one of your qualities when I took this job."

"Your job being?" He absently chewed on bread and stared directly at her, she was not afraid to meet his eyes.

"To take you back to Dxun, alive and preferably in one piece. I'm surprised you tried this to be honest, a Mandalorian runs from nothing. But there again escaping your problems by leaving them behind is something you do rather a lot, so I'm told." She popped a berry in her mouth and sucked it dry, watching a muscle in his jaw move. "I only ran away once."

"Why was that?" His eyes flicked down to the blade in her hands and back up to her face, a white mark ran the length of her left cheek, from the corner of her mouth up the side of her nose and under her eye socket to the top of her ear.

She touched it self-consciously her eyes closing.

"The price of failure can be high, but sometimes success isn't worth the balance of the account." She said quietly, he nodded, it was a situation he knew all too well. "But still," she broke the mood with a cheerful smile. "We need to depart, the Dar'manda awaits."

He stood up and stepped into his boots, buckling his blaster belt on and finally throwing his jacket over his shoulders before spinning his blaster and dropping it into its holster.

"Interesting name for a starship." He said.

"I was always told that a ship should reflect the personality of the owner. One day its name might change." She replied, the switch from Basic to Mando'a as flawless as his had been. "Everything should know what it is and who it is with."

"Some would say it's an unlucky name. That you invite disaster."


"Superstitious fools," a darkness passed briefly across her face, her blue eyes for a moment turned golden as if lit from behind. "That's as maybe, but for the moment it is as good as any other. We have to go." She stared at the red dot on the side of his head, and threw the knife at him.

 

Apologies for the late update.

He ducked and the shot burned into the wall. Retrieving the knife, he darted to the wall next to where she had taken up station, her hands empty of weapons.

Thrusting a silver bracer into his hand she activated her cloak and Canderous saw her image ripple out of the window. As soon as his cloak came on-line he followed her.

He could make out the faint tracery of a rip line over the edge of the balustrade. He ran back into the room and checked it carefully, his case was gone. He growled and ran back out, catching the line as he leapt over the edge. He dropped thirty feet before he slowed his descent, the line biting his hand, it cut through his palm and he let go, blood dripping freely down his arm. He aimed his bracer at the wall and hoped her knowledge was as extensive as it seemed. It was, and he felt vague satisfaction as the bracer fired. The feeling evaporated like morning mist as instead of the line he was expecting, darts fired out, impacting the plasteel wall, each small detonation stripping a part of his hope.

Far below, she felt the calm acceptance of his situation as he tried to think of a way out. She focused all her strength onto him, she would have to catch him out of thin air. He was falling fast, increasing the weight load with which she would have to cope, but that was a minor issue for her to contend with. The major problem she had was that he was still cloaked, even the slight shimmer of imperfection would be a meaningless clue at that speed. She felt him falling, his utter calm diminishing his presence in the Force, and pushed off the side of the building as hard as she could, arcing up to meet him.

He felt her hand caress his chest and almost catch his shirt. Her now closed fist hit him square in the jaw, banging his teeth together and flipping him so that he was plunging to his death head down. She opened the clamp on her line and dropped after him.

The pain of his jaw showed up like a light in the darkness, and she headed for it like a starving predator. She landed on him, her legs wrapping around his waist. Her left hand flew up to her right wrist to help absorb the impact of their arrested fall, and felt the heat build-up in the bracer from the friction of the line. She held it, gritting her teeth as it burned through her skin, and applied the braking clamp.

The heat became almost unbearable and she realised, that despite her efforts, they were not slowing down as much as she would have hoped. She could not let go of Canderous and her panic was upsetting her focus. She relaxed everything but her grip on him, the ground rushing up to meet them pushed from her mind, replaced with calm.

They stopped suddenly, and rebounded a couple of feet, spinning on the end of the line. They dangled there for a few moments, twisting like bait on the end of a line. She opened her eyes and looked down at the ground, mercifully still quite a distance away. As she peeled her hand off the bracer, it left behind a great deal of her skin and she stared at the blood dispassionately.

Canderous for his part, hung watching the ground spin below him, his hand throbbed and he examined it, opening the wounds gently. As he was deciding he had had worse, something wet struck his chin and he looked up at her, wiping his chin with the back of his uninjured hand.

"Line run out?" He said,

"Yeah," she replied. "Umm, I think you're slipping Canderous. Any suggestions?"

"Just one," he said, staring at her blood. "Hold still, I'll get upright and that will give me a better grip."

He swung his feet either side of her body and sat up, almost face to face with her, she smiled and he let go of her. Now upright he felt better, he crossed his ankles and she tucked her feet under him.

"Not exactly how I planned to have lunch, but I think it beats being poked with a sharp stick."

"True." He nodded. "Is your pilot any good?"

"About as good as I could get in the Republic. He was rotated out of the fleet 24 hours before the Battle of Malachor V. He was rather upset at the time. He knows who I'm here for and he's not exactly happy about it."

"He's not a Telosian with stupid hair, a bad attitude and an ego you could crash a freighter into?"

"No, it's not Carth Onasi. But he did know him. Shall I ask him for a pick up? Or are you happy with the scenery?"

"You make a good harness, but a bad window," he looked around her. "Speaking of which, we have company."

At a window behind her a group of men were setting up a large weapon, a heavy blaster by the look of it. There was a large explosion that blew them outwards, shards of glass flew past them and she gasped, blood welling out of her mouth. One big piece severed the tough line that was their only link to life.


He put his arms around her as they dropped. Not very far, the ship rising below them a jarring impact that he absorbed most of. He heard the blaster power up and he rolled with her down the ship to the already open emergency hatch. He dropped her inside the ship and knelt up aiming his blaster at its oversized counterpart. He fired twice and disappeared inside the ship, the heavy weapon blowing its crew out of the shattered window in a shower of fire.

 

I like.

 

Apologies for the late update. Been a touch busy.


He sat next to her as she awoke. He was holding one of her grenades. She sat up stiffly.

"Lightsaber," he said, activating the blade, it was red. "There are only a few people I have ever heard of that use red lightsabers, and if you tell me you killed a Sith and stole it, I'm not going to believe you." He said levelly, as the blade retracted.

"Even if I were telling the truth?" She said, he shook his head. "And I know I can't make you believe me." She made to stand up and he drew his knife. "Ok so it's like that." She sat back down, tucking her legs up under her. "What do you want from me?"

"The truth."

"That one I killed a Sith and took." He growled at her. "Honestly," she held up her hands. "He got in my way when I was trying to leave. I was in a bit of a rush at the time and I didn't have much else on me, mainly just the clothes I stood up in. He decided that he would make me stop and fight the incoming threat. I didn't want to, so I left." She considered his face while she was talking.

"You said you only ran away once in your life, that was it? What scared you enough to make you run?"

"You," the single word bought an expression of confusion to his face. "Well, word filtered down the ranks that Revan was coming, of course like you we didn't know who he was, he was just a Jedi to us. Then they started saying that he had a crack shot with him, that was just seen as a challenge and I was desperate to have Carth's head mounted on a wall somewhere."

"Aren't we all?" Canderous murmured.

"But then someone bragged that he would kill himself a Mandalorian. Your name was mentioned and I did the most sensible thing I have ever done in my life, I ran for it. I got outside and everything became complicated," she paused, met with stony but attentive silence. "The walkway I was running along collapsed and I had to climb up the outside of the Academy..." He held up a hand.

"The Academy, the Sith Academy on Korriban?" He took a deep breath, wanting nothing more at that moment than to wring her neck. "You're a Sith? Sent to stop me?"

"No, Revan asked me to help you, he said that he knew you could never walk out on him. He thought it was mainly the morbid curiosity the Mandalorians are legendary for that kept you with him. He asked you to do something for him and he understood a lot about us because he knew you wouldn't dare back out. He knows we were once a proud, honourable race and he's seen what we have been reduced to. Brigands and mercenaries? We should be so much more! And he knew that you are the one man that can make it happen," she was on her feet and in his face, her vehemence making him sheath his knife. "I hold a very loose allegiance to the Jedi Order, but a great allegiance to Mandalore. What I am is what you are. You walk away from me and I will burn Ordo to its core, before I ever admit that I am your kin!"

Canderous' mouth dropped open in shock, no-one had ever spoken to him like that in his entire life. A few people had tried, but only one of them had ever survived.

"Not to mention that Mandalorians have sided with the Sith at every available opportunity. I find your lack of trust in me on discovery of the fact that I'm a Jedi, frankly disturbing. You're a hypocritical, old man, who only lives for the next war to start so he can revel in blood! You want lecture me about honour! When you re-discover yours, you can, until then... I have nothing more to a say to a hu'tuun like you!"

He slapped her, the blow was so hard it took her to her knees and broke her cheekbone. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision and his boot caught her under the chin, knocking her flat. He activated the lightsaber, and kneeling down on her hands, held it to her throat, the blade touching her skin just enough for it to smoke.

"How dare you call me that!" He growled. She did not answer him, she was busy concentrating on the end of the hilt. Being threatened with a lightsaber was not the best focusing aid for a Jedi trying to unscrew something using the Force. But she was aware that he needed to understand, the vision Revan had sent her had been specific.

She was walking on a grassy path, binary stars in the sky. It was peaceful and as she walked she felt as though each step lifted her darkness a little more.

"Mallia, you ran from me when I would have spared you," the voice came from nowhere.

"I thought you would kill me without a moment’s hesitation, you made me fear you," she said.

"I did nothing, your fear was your own. It always will be, the choice will always be your own. You have done much to dishonour your name, but that time has now come to an end. I need your help." He walked beside her, his face in shadow. All she could see were the movements of his lips as he spoke.

"What could you possibly ever want with me? I have fallen from beyond grace, and now I stare death in the face. I'm nothing and have nowhere to call my home. My life has become meaningless." He smiled as she spoke.

"Canderous Ordo," he had said. "Is not a subtle man, I need you to help me with him." Her eyes widened and she gasped. "He is kin to you. He is proud of who he has been, but he fears what he must become."

"What could I do? He is more than I will ever be. He will crush me with his bare hands." Revan shook his head, his smile widening.

"You are stronger than you think, you learned well, if misguidedly, at the Academy. I would not send any other Jedi to him, they do not understand your ways, the outcome would be," he sighed. "Unfortunate. But as a Sith, you have felt power and the you still have the will to use it, but I would counsel you to use those abilities with care, lest you fall to the Dark Side once more. Do as I ask and you will bring honour to all Mandalore. The name of your clan shall ring down the ages and your kind will never truly die. Both you and I made the same mistake, wanting to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Think of this as a second chance. A chance to change who you have become."

"It's more than I have ever deserved." she said hanging her head. He touched her shoulder and slid his fingers to her chin, raising her face.

"Maybe, if you walk away now you will prove my faith in your people unfounded. You were once strong and fearless, I took that away from you, Canderous has the means to return it, but he has lost hope. Help him recover the Helmet of Mandalore, and with it the pride of the clans."

As she opened her eyes the lightsaber fell apart and Canderous stared at it for a moment before tossing the hilt aside and raising his fist. She put her feet flat on the floor and while he was unbalanced she arched her back as far as it would go. He fell forward, his head connecting with the edge of the table, the impact producing a sickening crack. As he fell sideways off her she leapt to her feet and waited for him to get up. He got to his hands and knees drawing his blaster, raising his eyes to hers he dropped the weapon with an evil smile. He stood up and dusted his trousers down.

"Don't think this will make me trust you, whelp." He said.

"Let’s see how you feel when I beat you old man." She cracked her knuckles, and he rolled his neck. "Oya firfiek di'kuit!" He roared in anger at her words and the punch he threw at her was wide.


Out in the corridor the engineer Tural Remahn examined a panel. He was checking the main systems, again. The roaming electrical fault that plagued the Dar'manda was starting to get to him and he would have liked to finally nail it down. His obsession with finding it had led to him having stripped all the main systems down twice already, only to find them in excellent shape for a starship the Dar'manda's age. He put it down to pilot mishandling. Kriag Donnae was, even he had to admit, an excellent, if unconventional pilot. He should have been training young hopefuls in the art of not crashing their starships, not lounging in a backwater of the galaxy. Kriag had one major personality flaw however, a taste for sweet things and the evil drinks of every planet. If Tural had known the meaning of the ships name he would have smiled tightly and nodded, muttering that the ships chances had decreased several thousand-fold with Kriag at the helm. The pair were friends of old, serving in the wars together; each had his scars, Tural was Telosian, Kriag a thorough-bred Coruscanti.

The engineer stood up and stepped a pace to his left as Canderous egressed the door at speed, his back hitting the wall where Tural had been crouched a moment before. The tall thin man looked down his nose and past his moustache at the recumbent Mandalorian.

"Canderous Ordo I presume?" he said primly, reminding Canderous of the droid in the cantina.

"Depends who's asking."

"The Emperor of the Known Galaxy. Who else could possibly I be?" Tural said flatly.

"I knew a man like you once." Canderous said as he got to his feet. Tural raised an eyebrow. "He's dead now of course."

"War can do that to a man so I've heard."

"Me shooting him in the side of the head didn't help him much either." Canderous dusted himself down.

Tural smiled and extending a hand, said, "Tural Remahn of Telos at your service."

After staring at it with suspicion, Canderous took the offered hand, his firm grip bringing tears to the engineer's eyes.

"Is there another way out of the medbay?" Canderous grinned evilly as Tural shook his head. "Good. I shall see you later Telosian."

"Don't break her, if you don't mind. It's difficult to extract payment from a dead employer," Tural said as the Mandalorian strode back into the medbay.


There was a yell, brief sounds of struggling and Tural winced at the sound of something unrepairable breaking. There followed total silence; Tural continued about his work for a full twenty minutes, before even considering that either of them might be seriously injured.

 

Bit of a short one today, I'll post more next week!

"Nice feint," Canderous said. He was leaning against the wall, a bottle of something resembling alcohol in the less bruised of his hands. Mallia was opposite him, her face damaged in several places. He knew he had broken ribs at least, possibly also some other internal, but as yet undisclosed, injuries. He drank deeply and tossed the bottle to her.

She winced as some of the stuff caught in her wounds as she upended the bottle down her throat and coughed. "Too bad it's been tried before. You need to work on not broadcasting your intentions so clearly." He inhaled raggedly, his shoulders shaking with the effort. She looked at him concernedly and hauled herself to her feet, staggering over to the intercom. "Kriag, I could do with some help down here." She whispered.

"Call Tural, he's down there already. I'm busy." He settled more comfortably into the cockpit seat, adjusted his stomach over his belt and belched.

"You disgust me Donnae. Deeply, extremely deeply."

"You're thinking of Manaan again aren't you?" He said scratching at his beard.

"Yes, the deepest darkest depths of Manaan, the only place where your self-respect and dignity could hide." She rolled her eyes as he laughed.

"We've been through this before Mallia. You pay me to fly this sorry excuse for a starship, not to haul your lovers off the floor when you lose you temper with them."

She slid down the wall, hopelessly.

"You, Kriag are a treacherous, whining, arrogant and utterly reprehensible man. Get your disease ridden, corpulent carcass down here, before I cut your salary and throw your entire stash out of the airlock," she yelled.

"I love it when you talk dirty captain."

She waited for a few minutes. Listening to Canderous' worsening breathing she began to meditate, pulling the world in around herself, letting the Force wash away her pain. It's influence leaving her calm and collected.

Kriag wandered in and poked Canderous with his foot, the only time he would have ever dared try it. The big man grabbed the unconscious Mandalorian by the front of his jacket and lifted him onto the nearest table, swinging his legs up roughly.

"I'll leave you to it Captain," he said, bending down and picking up the bottle, he sampled it, and dropped it in her lap. "Have fun." He laughed as he walked out, Tural looking down at him as he passed.

"Disgraceful," the engineer muttered.

"Who me? Never, I have always been a pillar of strength and loyalty. A shining beacon of integrity, and moral rectitude." Kriag contrived to look hurt.

"Rectitude is close to the word I'd use to describe you. Although I'd be thinking more in the vernacular." Tural flared his nostrils. "You might stand a better chance with her if you bathed more often. A person should be seen and not smelled."

"When I have five minutes of time not devoted to flying this bucket or sleeping I'll think about it," Kriag leaned against the wall, smoothing the front of his uniform, stolen some months ago from an unsuspecting Czerka Corporation Employee, who would no doubt have been forced to explain the missing ship at great length, possibly between screams. The Republic had been a noble ideal to fly for in the war, but money was more useful in the long run, at least on a personal scale. So, he had given up an opportunity to train the next generation of pilots in exchange for a profit and a good pension. Whenever he thought about it he tingled all over, and when he remembered Mallia's promise his heart always sank a little. He sometimes fervently wished that he had never set eyes on her.

Tural was the nearest he had ever come to having a friend, but he knew the engineer cared for little but machines. That and all things explosive; Tural was a very strange man. Kriag had once seen him shoot a man for kicking a droid. One mission had involved a bombing run on dug in Mandalorians with Basilisks, Tural had actually cried at the thought of blowing up something that he considered so beautiful. His backing out at the last minute had left Kriag to both fly the ship and drop the bombs. It had not been easy, and he had been very glad they had not been shot down.

"Now would probably be as good an opportunity as any." Tural continued his work unperturbed.


Kriag yawned theatrically and turned away, heading for his cabin and bed.

 

Will be back with updates in the new year, Have a good one!

 

Looong update! A lot of talking in this one.


Some days later Mallia stalked the corridors of the ship, restless and unsettled. She could not find anywhere to sit and meditate and a full cargo hold meant she could not practice her form either. She had rebuilt her lightsaber and they were both back where they should be. She wandered into the drive room and tucked herself into a gap. As it turned out Canderous got on well with the other two, and she felt a little left out. She could feel the hum of the drive vibrating through her body and she tucked herself up tight.


Closing her eyes, she reached out, expanding her awareness to sense the others and watch the ripples they made in the Force. Tural was fidgeting with a device, and Canderous was with him. Both seemed to her to be satisfied. Kriag was asleep, his dreams an eclectic whirl that she knew better than to read too closely. The one time she had, had made her want to lock her door at night.


After a few hours at rest, she walked confidently back into the small room that served as both a lounge and Tural's sleeping quarters, she slept in the galley, Kriag had the other cabin and they were pretty sure Canderous slept in the hold. She knew that he had found the crate containing his armour and had hunted him down whilst he slept, to discover that he had buried himself in the cargo as deep as he could get. She had simply rearranged the manifests, checking through the supplies.


"Who's winning?" She indicated the tactical hologram both men were staring at.


"Me," said Canderous, stretching himself and removing his feet from the only other seat in the room besides theirs.


"I don't understand why you would sacrifice so much for so little gain." Tural said. He was still as immaculate as the day she had first met him and Kriag.


"For this." Canderous' next move gutted Tural's fleet entirely. The engineer was left with two badly crippled ships and an awful lot of explaining to do, had he actually been an admiral.


"Well, it's been distracting, but I must get on." Tural nodded to Canderous, stood and glided out.


"We need to talk," she paused to drink. "About this Helmet. I need to know where it is." Leaning on the table she popped food into her mouth.


"Mandalor." Canderous looked at the ceiling as he spoke. She stared at him, chewing patiently.


"Keldabe."


Her eyes bugged, and she choked, hitting herself in the chest.


"He must have been insane, how could he have gotten there, without anyone noticing? It's not exactly like gaining landing permission on Coruscant!"


He shrugged, as though it would not be a problem and ran his fingers through his hair. It was part of the reason he had not yet moved to reclaim the Helmet, he had absolutely no idea where to start.


"So, all we have to do is walk into Keldabe, find the where Revan put the Helmet, take it without a fight, and get back off of the planet before we get discovered. Hmm, not the easiest thing I have ever attempted."


"Walk in the park. There are after all two of us." One side of his mouth lifted in the closest thing she had seen to good humour from the man.


"Against the rest of our people, and don't tell me you've faced worse." She rested her head on her arms and shook a finger at him.


"I know I can't make you believe me, even if I were telling the truth." A light sparked in his eyes, as she looked up.


"Really? Please do tell. I am deeply intrigued."


"There was a small matter a few years ago, we encountered some light resistance from people who still haven't seen sense. Called themselves the Republic, I believe you might have heard of them."


She laughed as he continued.


"Like I said there are two of us."


"As if it makes a difference." Mallia replied with a soft huff.


"Yes, it does."


He took a piece of bread from her plate, ignoring the slap on the back of his hand. "One of us is me."


"I know what we have to do." She turned to the intercom. "Kriag, Tural, get in here."



Kriag leaned against the door frame shaking his head. Half an hour had passed, and the three men had listened as she outlined her plan.


"No, I'm not doing it!!" he said. "I'm rather attached to the ability to breathe; strangely enough it's become important over the years."


"Trouble is you don't look like you could ever be a bodyguard, except possibly to a Hutt. Although you'd be more credible as a relation." Canderous half smiled as he spoke.


Kriag rolled his eyes before replying. "I'm not scared of you Mandalorian. If you are as tough as you say you are, how did you get beaten up by a woman? I seem to recall having to haul your unconscious self off of the floor."


"Well, you've just proved that you're stupid enough to try the plan Kriag." Mallia said poking Canderous hard in the knee as he bristled. "Got another uniform in your cupboard?"


"Yes, but it won't fit him. He's a shade taller than me for a start," Kriag shifted his weight, he valued his own life almost as highly as his next pay-check, the two being mutually dependent. "Not much though. I'm a slightly different shape too."


"He isn't a problem, I have plans for him. Canderous, you can't show your face on Mandalor, not without causing difficulties. You will stay silent, unless of course I speak to you," Mallia waved a hand in his direction as Canderous opened his mouth to speak, and out of respect for her he shut it with an audible snap. "An Apprentice does not speak to their Master unless invited to do so."


"You want me to be a Sith Apprentice," he said levelly. "That is one thing in this galaxy that will not happen. Whilst any sun is capable of rising on my body, I'm not pretending to be a Force user. When we get discovered..."


"You mean if," interrupted Kriag.


Canderous took a deep breath and drummed the fingers of one hand on the tabletop.


Mallia looked at him hard and he met her eyes, the short knife in his other hand resting on the seam of his trouser leg. She shook her head almost imperceptibly.


"When we get discovered," Canderous continued quietly. "I would prefer to be gone. We'll have to make it to Dxun, so we need to fly fast and not look back. This needs some more thinking through but as a rough idea it could work."


"If I might interject here?" Tural, silent until now, sat up straighter and primly stifled a yawn. "I need to rest if I am to be of any use to man or beast. You can all survive without the need for it apparently, but I am not a warrior, nor stimmed out of my tree. If you wish to continue this line of reasoning, please be so kind as to do it elsewhere."




The Dar'manda was registered as a Czerka Corporation ship and Tural worked hard to maintain the illusion. Everything he had ever done would be put to the test when they entered Mandalorian space, so they stopped off for supplies and to deliver the cargo on a world called Che'trall. It was a fairly isolated planetary outpost currently in the process of being strip mined by Czerka. The main city was a conglomeration of recycled buildings, including an ore processing facility and a horribly outdated space port. The entire place reminded Canderous of the undercity of Taris and dressed entirely in black he both blended with, and stood out from. the crowd. It irked that he had to cover his face, but Mallia had been right to make him do it, the anonymity it afforded him was, he had to admit, a nice change.


He swept around the city, following in Tural's footsteps, radiating a confident aura of intimidation, something he was well practiced at. Mallia commented that he made a convincing Sith, despite being as she put it, as Force-sensitive as a brick. He could see the attraction of it all, but he felt it degraded his honour to not be who he was. In a culture that valued honesty, what he was about to do went against everything that he believed in.


They had talked around in circles trying to find another way, but if one existed, it was beyond their reach. Mallia had procured the correct Czerka codes, Canderous had not asked how, the missing officer bulletin that Tural received, the only necessary clue as to their source.


On the whole he settled to his role, getting used to the sideways looks of the soldiery, who were extremely wary of him, unsure if he was about to kill one of them for his own twisted amusement. He had one of her lightsabers under his robe, along with his blasters and his armour. She had recommended that he wear it, it changed his body shape slightly, also adding an amount of practised grace, bred by familiarity. It helped that it was black and silver, on the occasions it showed under his robe, it did not look out of place on a Sith. Mallia roamed the halls restlessly, not concerned by the occasional need to pin an impertinent Czerka employee to a wall and throttle them.


Canderous leant back and drank deeply, it was a downside to his disguise that whilst wearing it he could neither eat or drink. Another was the red fuzz over his vision, but he could tolerate that. The one thing that really annoyed him was the attitude of the women, it was a serious affront to him to have to tolerate the attention, and soon he would have to do something about it. Mallia stared through him whilst she peeled a fruit, her hands on either side of her face. Kriag was sulking with the ship, which meant he was still alive. Canderous sorted himself out, they had an appointment to keep in a section of the foundry complex, he suspected it was a trap and checked his dart launcher and crucially his rip-line. As entertaining as the fall had been, the subsequent wait testing his self-control, he had no wish for a repeat performance and he did not anticipate being rescued again. Tural steepled his fingers, sitting back from his disassembled vibro-blade, his outward disposition calm and relaxed, but it did not take a Jedi to sense his disquiet. He fiddled with the blade, there was a soft click as it came back together in his hands, it engaged with a hum, worked momentarily and then fell entirely apart. Tural's eyes narrowed at the pieces, and he walked out. Mallia looked away, her eyes meeting Canderous', he raised an eyebrow and shook his head.


"That was unpleasant, nasty and back-stabbing. Possibly one of the best tricks I've seen for a while. Well done." He said, pulling the red silk off of his head, smoothing it out and re-tying it over his eyes.


"I have a strong and sneaking suspicion that Tural is not as normal men, he has to be very frustrated to let it all go. Aside from that, he's an extraordinarily useful man to have around," she replied, picking up the pieces and assembling them, some parts she dropped replacing them with new ones. She flicked it on, walking to the centre of the room, she swung the blade in a wide arc. It stopped with a clang against Canderous' blade, they stared each other in the face for a full minute, before he shoved her away. She became a vague swirl of movement the blade flashing around her. He poked his blade into the floor leant on it, watching her, his sub-conscious calculating her next manoeuvre. He blocked with his left wrist as he stepped near her, his own sword sliding over her shoulder, a fraction of an inch from her throat. She smiled at him and her eyes flicked down to the blade.


"I don't want to have to hurt you." She said. "Again." He shrugged and took the blade away, as he turned his back to her, she kicked the back of his knee and he collapsed, bringing the blade up over his body in a powerful arc but she was not where she should have been. She stretched out on the sofa, lounging comfortably, as though she had not moved. He sat up. "And you say Tural is not as normal men, I think you're nuts. Let’s find him and go to this trap, I mean, meeting."

 

I always loved KotOR. I'm actually replaying KotOR 2 because I've never played it with the restored content mod. I haven't gotten very far yet but I'm interested to see the restored parts.

I like what you have done so far. I really think you're doing an excellent job on Canderous' characterization. It really feels like he's walked right out of the video game.

Joe

 

Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else: The fight you've been waiting for!

He enjoyed being right, and as the odds racked up he shifted his shoulders under his armour, assessing his possibilities and forming plans of attack in his mind. She was contented and could feel the tide of the impending fight, but something was not right, there was a disruption in the Force near her, she pushed it from her mind and concentrated on the present.


There were about thirty of them, a ragged but effective little band of mercenaries. They had placed themselves well, including the two snipers on a gantry who thought that they had not been noticed. The three stood back to back inside the shrinking circle of mercenaries, Tural stood with his sword drawn. There had been a short discussion and the outline of the future had been simple, they would die. Which 'they' abruptly became a moot point as Canderous erupted into action. He pulled the robe off and spun it over his head, the heavy material billowing out. He was no longer there as it fell, having taken three steps and drawing his blasters, to make long dive. He barrelled through the line and disappeared into thin air. The two men he had knocked over stood up and dusted themselves down. Mallia bent down and picked up the robe, he had dropped the lightsaber inside it. As she straightened up she had the robe draped over her arms, a lightsaber in each hand concealed by the folds. She walked up to the commander of the mercenaries and nodded to him, he returned the gesture.


"I shall try not to kill too many of your men, I know training costs etcetera, really piles up doesn't it?" she said casually.


"Yes, it's why I've taken a better offer," he said, she stared into his face. He was not an unpleasant man to look at and she studied his scars. She wondered for a moment what he would be like in bed and she sighed softly.


"You're reneging on the deal with me?" She moved closer, and licked her lips. "You do realise you've made a mistake, you've double crossed me and I won't stand for it. I know you aren't scared right now and I can almost forgive you for that. I can excuse stupidity, grand crass stupidity in your case, but betrayal...."


"You think I'm scared of a woman?" He interrupted her, looking down her body. "Even a Jedi witch like you. You don't frighten me and neither does your 'Order', I'm with the Exchange now and there's nothing you can do to me. Well, not unless..." He put both hands on her hips and pulled her into him.


"T'ad," she muttered. "It is better that you know why you died, in the afterlife, if you have one, so I will tell you. I am a Mandalorian." The last syllable whispered from between her lips, joining the last breath of air from his lungs. She shut off her short lightsaber and let his body fall to the floor. There was a brief silence as the rest of the mercenaries assessed their situation.


Canderous watched from the gantry, he was still invisible and lying between the two men. They were watching the fight below, he was very disappointed but he waited for an opportune moment. One looked through him and whispered to his mate.


"Cor she can move can't she!? Nice bit a stuff that."


"You an idiot or sommat Rel?" the second man said. "You saw what she did to the Captain, you think she'd have any hesitation in doin' the same to you?"


"I'd rather I was the one doin' the stabbin', if you get what I mean?" They leered at each other through Canderous' head for a moment and turned back to the fight.


It was in full swing, the warrior wanted nothing more than to drop down like avenging fury and destroy all who stood against him. He restrained himself however, the thought that she would be upset, forming a wry smile on his lips.


"I don't think she'd let you do that, Mandalorian women prefer their men to actually be proficient at combat." His cloak disengaged, he was lying on his stomach arms outstretched, a blaster at each man's neck. "Me, I'm what you might call ideal. But I stand as much of a chance as you boys do, for a much different reason."


"Oh yeah what'd that be?" Rel asked. "You her grandfather or sommat?" The other man sniggered. "Or maybe you're into that, I heard some weird stuff about the Mandalorians. But what make you think you ain't got a chance old man?"


"I'm not dead." Canderous said.


"Neither are we." Rel replied looking puzzled.


"You are, you're just too dumb to realise it." Both men went white. "Now get the hell out of my sight!" They looked at the ground, the gantry was over a void, it would be a long fall. "What are you waiting for, you boys want to hold hands or something? We heard some weird stuff about the Republic too, difference was, most of it turned out to be true." Canderous was getting bored. "C'mon have some guts for one time in your life, I've battled children with more tenacity than you. They were fighting to defend their homes," he rolled onto his back and folded his arms both weapons still trained on their targets. "You have nothing to defend. Either you get off now or I'll shoot you until you fall."


"Go to hell." Rel spat. Canderous shrugged.


"Have it your way." The two shots sheared through the chains supporting the gantry and it dropped into the hole. "Save a seat for me at the bar." Canderous leapt to his feet, and stepping over Rel he ran to the end of the tilting chunk of metal. Pausing momentarily until the gantry shot past the edge of the hole, he jumped into the abyss, feeling life truly return to his body for the first time in years. His line fired and he ran along the wall parallel to the edge until he was close enough to bound up the rest of the way. Activating his cloak once more, he shot two distracted men, one in the face and the other in somewhere painful but survivable.


He was glad beskar deflected lightsabers, he could feel the buzz of the short blue one against his side. She stared into his eyes as he de-cloaked, and he winked. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her into him and kicked a man swinging a sword at her back in the groin.


Her hand snaked up his chest and she caught hold of top of his breast plate. She pulled, the Force propelling her away from him to Tural, who was losing a fight against five men. She landed on one hip, slid between Tural's feet, and came up on one knee, a mercenary impaled on each lightsaber. She crossed the blades concentrating on the sound they made as the control fields repelled each other. The Force welled inside her and she threw the mercenaries away like trash. A protracted scream indicated that at least one man had been unfortunate enough to join Rel and his companion. She looked up at Canderous, he was in his element, having switched to a pair of short swords. Whirling like a battle droid, he cut through any opposition in front of him. He will make us proud once more. Mallia thought wishing, not for the first time, that she was just a warrior. At that moment she would have followed him into the core of a planet. The world blazed around him, his blades almost glowing like lightsabers. She could see the future before him, and suddenly it was darkness, Mallia dropped to her knees as she saw him scream in agony. She knew what it was that had disturbed the Force. She wanted to run and knew there was no point, wherever she went he would find her, and she would be dead.


But the sound was not Canderous, and the screams were those who stood in front of him being cut to ribbons. Rising to her feet she felt exhausted, and an instinctual need made her reach out with the Force to a young man near her. His eyes opened wide and he tried scream as the blood drained from his skin, the power flooding through her system like adrenaline. Sith troopers piled in to the cavernous hall, the free-falling odds not seeming to trouble either Canderous or Tural. The engineer was on form, it was disturbing to watch. Tural did not like to kill his opponents, a left-over from the war. Wounding a Mandalorian so that he could no longer fight meant a dishonour. That was what each blow was carefully calculated to achieve, however he was not fighting warriors now. The men before him fell like a harvest and all the while his eyes showed nothing, as emotionless as though he was staring at a wall.


But it was not enough. They were being backed towards the void, and even with Mallia's efforts causing localised disruption to morale, it is hard to find the will to fight when the man beside you has just moaned and had the life sucked out of him. They were lost, but they fought on, her lightsaber deflecting blaster fire, Canderous' armour soaking much that was aimed at him. Then the view in front of them was empty of enemies, the troopers where pulling back. Canderous rumbled in the back of his throat and rattled a blade against his leg armour.


"You boys getting tired already? Call yourselves warriors?" He sheathed one sword and drew a blaster pistol. "You're not even soldiers! Come back and fight me you cowardly scum!" But even he would not shoot a man in the back. He waited until some of them turned their heads to look at him when he shouted.


The crowd of troops split down the middle and a Sith stalked down the gap, he stopped in front of Mallia, flanked by two apprentices. He was human once, but the Dark Side had stripped more than just the light from his soul. The scars from an attack during the Mandalorian Wars, deeper than just his flesh. He reached out and stroked her face with his right hand, the one remaining limb that was his own.


"Mallia, my dear, I see you had the good sense to come back to me." His voice did not seem real, it sounded like the words came from a great distance, but were spoken beside the listener's ear. He laid his hand flat on her chest and lifted her off of her feet. Canderous started to move forward, but the Sith raised one hand and with a smile threw Tural over the edge. The Mandalorian tried the grab the engineer as he passed but even he was not fast enough. He turned to look at Mallia and with effort she flicked her fingers in a gesture that meant he should stand down. Her body jerked as the air was crushed from her lungs, he dropped his blaster.


"What do you want from us?" He said, the grip on Mallia loosened slightly.


"Not 'us', just you. It could be said that you made me the man I am today." The man's voice shifted like a breeze. "You probably don't remember Desria III, but I do. The falling stars that signaled the end of my home, I remember them all too clearly. Each one a nail in the coffin of my father and brothers. They came into my home and dragged my mother and sisters away screaming. They thought I was dead but the Force was with me that day and still is. My hatred of your people burns as the light that keeps my soul in darkness."


"Does this have a point? I'd rather be shot in the back of the head than listen to you talk any more. You going to tell me what you want?" Canderous unclipped his gauntlet, pulled it off and probed the inside of his ear with a fingertip.


"The Helmet of Mandalore, such a simple thing." He spun Mallia, examining her from different angles, as though she were an expensive sculpture. "But that is not all I want. She has always been mine, and will be until the day I die." The lightsaber deflected Canderous' first blaster shot, but not the explosive tipped dart that buried itself in his leg. As Braxus collapsed he motioned his two apprentices to the attack. The Force was a powerful ally, and both were still young, he used every trick he knew, but it was no use. He was pinned in place by one, a man barely in his twenties, whilst the other, a girl, gleefully stripped him of his armour and weapons. He offered no protest, even when his hands were chained together and the tears fell from Mallia's eyes.


The Dark Jedi got to his feet, the sound of his bionics snapping back into place, reminding Canderous of a time when had a broken his arm and had to reset it. "I will remind you of why you lost the war," he stood next to Canderous, his dark brown eyes staring into impassive grey ones. "For as long as you can tolerate it, and I know that will be a very long time."

 

TW Mild torture.
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 gentler, 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."



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.