Private Trial of Motherhood

[Aloy Vizsla]

NAL HUTTA, 1700 HOURS

Aloy stood anxious atop the boarding ramp of a stolen light-freighter provided by Leenic Ellsil . Leenic's extended voyage west had finally come to an end, and his return brought great and terrible news with it.

Tae'l Vizsla was alive. But far from well...

In these years away from Kestri, something about her daughter had changed for the worse. She was aggressive- more than usual at least- and gotten into a standoff with those she once considered family. Aloy had nearly broken into tears when suggesting that perhaps the Sith had captured and brainwashed her in the same way they created Apollyon The Betrayer . But why then was she working as a mere Bounty Hunter? Aloy simply could not fathom when Leenic found a lead among The Hutts. He had asked smugglers- far from gently- only to discover that they were to transport some manner of beast for her, a beast she was selling here on Nal Hutta.

They wasted no time in hijacking their ship and sailing across the galaxy to their meeting place...

Leenic, Tan'yill Vizsla and herself were the only 'crew' Tae'l would be meeting. They didn't know how many would be gathered in this place, if her daughter had help or even captors with her, but one way or another she would bring her girl home today. If she was well, than Tae'l would have a hero's welcome to Concordia upon their return. If she was not? If the Sith had done something to her little girl? Aloy would spend every expense, use every resource at The Black Fleet's disposal to make it right. To make her family whole again.

"Approaching the LZ." Aloy's droid pilot informed the group.

Her cybernetic fingers clicked and whirred nervously against her palm the ship began to shift beneath her feet. They were landing...

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

The large shipping crate rattled even as Tae'l leaned against it with her arms crossed, the strange roars from within frighteningly loud even if muffled slightly by the sonic-dampening liner inside her chrome helmet. Even sedated, the beast within was restless, perhaps frightened. She didn't move, didn't react, just pitied the creature. She knew how it felt to be trapped.

Still, the Hutt was paying well, and she needed the money. It wasn't just her life on the line anymore, she couldn't be picky when there were others in her care, and the ship was fast approaching.

The image of that descending ship warped across the mirrored finish of her visor, and she stepped away from the reinforced crate, uncrossing her arms as she picked up a mysterious Black Pod which she carefully slung over her shoulders in lieu of a Jetpack. Whatever was inside this pod, it was important enough to sacrifice her flight. Yet she was still the Tae'l Vizsla that some loved, and others feared. Star-spurs jingled with every step she took towards the approaching freighter, Pure beskar-armor that was now unrecognizable to it's pre-upgraded form gleamed even through the eerie haze of Nal Hutta's pollution, And most striking of all, The Golden Gun for which she was known for in lieu of her hidden name sat proudly leather-bound inside a quick-draw holster on her hip.
She did not come looking for a fight, but by Kad Ha'rangir was she prepared for one.

"You're late." She called out as her "business partners" landed, waiting for the boarding ramp to descend so that she could get this deal over with.


Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Aloy Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

Tan'yill stood in silence by her wife's side, the side which she would never let herself be led astray from, no matter what came in their way - and many things had come in their way in the past. Today, they were facing the hardest trial of all - the trial of motherhood.

Leenic Ellsil had completed his mission, and from the moment he had delivered the news, Tan'yill would always feel that their family would be forever indebted to him. News that had heartened them, reinstated some hope into their hearts, but at the same time also had dealt them a devestating blow and left them with only more questions. Questions that screamed for answers. Questions that had haunted the rutian Twi'lek every night on their way to Nal Hutta. Yes, Tae'l was alive, but far from well and apparently far from the little girl Tan'yill had watched over while she was hospitalized aboard The Recluse, or the last time she had seen her when Tae'l had brought Katyusha Jarko and The Dollmaker home from a mission to Mos Motesta. That last time, Tan'yill had felt her daughters discontent with life in general, and something... unsettled that she dwelled on, deep beneath the beskar. Tan'yill had never had the time to ask Tae'l about it before her disappearance, and it could very well be too late now. Tan was never the one to back down from a fight though, wether it meant to be physical or verbal, and she was hellbent to find out what in the scorching suns of Tatooine had happened that could possibly explain what Leenic had told them.

The tension was growing with every feet they closed towards the planets surface, especially within the two mothers. Ma and Mama, which Tae'l used to call them. A funny, very simple but yet clever way to distinguish whom she addressed. Tae'l was clever, and she had proven that in combat as well. Slightly heavy and forced breaths left the helmet which crowned rest of her armored body, the two E-851 Dueling Particle Pistols sat in each cross-draw holster on each hip. This was the way Mandalorians usually dressed, even if they didn't expect any fight. Tae'l would most probably be dressed the same, so hopefully nobody would feel threatened when they revealed themselves.

Her cybernetic fingers clicked and whirred nervously against her palm the ship began to shift beneath her feet. They were landing...

''Leenic?'' Tan'yill broke the silence with a, very unusual for her, muted voice, and turned her t-visor towards her fellow Mandalorian. ''We'll go first, if that's okay with you? In case this goes south... Which, of course, is unacceptable...'' she accentuated, swallowing hard underneath the buy'c. ''No lethal force... alright?'' she ordered, before turning back to Aloy.

''What are you... thinking, love?''

Aloy Vizsla ​

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic's body shifted slightly with each of the ship's jolty movements through the planet's thick atmosphere, automatically adjusting his weight to prevent him from falling over. The amount of time he had spent onboard The Golden Dragon had given him a good pair of "space legs" that kept him upright without him even having to think about it.

So instead, he thought about other things.

It was hard for him to pin down exactly what he was thinking about sometimes, too many thoughts flashing by to process them, and this was most certainly one of those times. He took a second to try and focus by closing his eyes and taking a slow inhale through his nose. The air of the ship filled his nostrils momentarily with a musty scent that almost stung to breathe in until he exhaled and cleared it out, his mind slowing down with a bit of added clarity now.

One thought lingered now, of a girl he met on coruscant. He was nineteen then, fresh into bounty hunting, and chasing down his first kill with little more than his blaster and some vague knowledge about old special forces tactics the Republic had used during the Clone Wars. Life was different back then, sweeter almost, and it had given him hope for a future somewhere down the line. An end to the chase, a light at the end of the tunnel where he would be happily retired with a family.

Oh how naive...

''Leenic?'' Tan'yill broke the silence with a, very unusual for her, muted voice, and turned her t-visor towards her fellow Mandalorian. ''We'll go first, if that's okay with you? If this goes south... Which, of course, is unacceptable...'' she accentuated, swallowing hard underneath the buy'c. ''No lethal force... alright?'' she ordered, before turning back to Aloy.

Leenic snapped back to the real world again (thankfully before the hard memories began to surface) and he quickly rotated to turn his head towards Tan'yill Vizsla .

"Roger." He said, giving her a quick nod before moving back towards the cockpit and leaning his shoulder up against the wall. "If nothing else I can probably hit her hand faster than she can hit me. Always been the quicker draw between us."

Then he watched silently as she turned to her wife, Aloy Vizsla , to discuss the plan of attack. Quietly he closed his eyes again, trying to get at least one more moment of clarity before the next events would unfold...

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

Aloy merely glanced over her shoulder at the exchange between Leenic and Tan'yill. The fact that such things as lethal and non-lethal options needed to be discussed was heartbreaking to the old Vizsla, and proof enough that she was... weak. She had failed to defend her family from the enemy, allowed them to become scattered and their enemies to abscond with one of her daughters, doing gods only know what to her!

''What are you... thinking, love?'

With the helmet held in one arm, her worried expression was evident even in the dimly lit cargo bay. She didn't even turn towards her wife, merely glanced, too overwhelmed- drowning- in her thoughts to manage much else. In truth she could hardly stand for anyone to see her like this.

"There are... too many unknowns" She sighed, voice cracking ever so slightly.

"It should have never come to this, I should have-"

The ship rocked one last time and then stood still. Aloy stood straight, slowly lifting that fanged helm to her head. She knew they had landed, she knew roughly what awaited her on the other side of this door, or what it would look like at least. Little Tae'l in her grey and white armor, a proud and strong Vizsla. But she could only hope that part of her daughter was still intact after all this time.



"Even if she is not herself, she is still a Clone Commando trained by four of the best clan leaders in her time... Do not underestimate her. "

The helm was secured with a pressurized hiss just as the first slivers of light began creeping into the cargo hold. Aloy stood straight, hands both organic and cybernetic at her side and away from her weapons. She wanted the first thing her daughter saw to be a friendly face- or helmet- and not the armed war party that had gathered in the bowls of this ship.

"You're late." She called out as her "business partners" landed, waiting for the boarding ramp to descend so that she could get this deal over with.

But Aloy's first sight was... different than she imagined.

When the ramp lowered, she did not see the grey and bone-white armor painted in a Vizsla color scheme, nor the black hand emblem that once proudly adorned her daughter's helmet.

It wasn't even the same helmet.

Nor the same armor. Tae'l Vizsla was... bigger than she remembered, about the same height as Aloy now. The armor was gleaming silver beskar with few markings on them, save for a red scar painted where Tae'l's eye should have been. She wondered what the story behind that mark was, or how many stories she had missed during Tae'l's absence.

"Tae'l?" She couldn't help quickening her pace, not quite running down the ramp, but not neither simply walking.

"You're right, I'm quite late! I'm... sorry..."


Tae'l Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"Tae'l?" She couldn't help quickening her pace, not quite running down the ramp, but not neither simply walking.

Tae'l... stiffened, froze up as a distantly familiar voice called. The voice of a woman she had been hiding from for years now. And as the ramp lowered, she saw the familiar armor and gnashing teeth painted on the helmet belonging to her worst enemy: Mother.


"That's close enough." She demanded as Aloy came within 10 feet or more, her clawed hand becoming firmly planted on the grip of her hand-cannon.
Her feet were also firmly planted, beskar sabatons digging into the soft soil, facing her entire front towards the woman. It made her a bigger target, but this stance wasn't meant to be defensive. Wasn't meant to minimize the damage coming toward her. It was meant for speed, lining herself up for a quick draw as she had done since birth, perhaps even more so since vanishing. It was everything she could do not to gun the woman down soon as the ramp lowered, perhaps she didn't want to put Tan'yill through another loss, or perhaps she was simply too stunned to commit in that brief moment.

Already, he visor display was showing a targeting lock the Ex-Alor. She wouldn't be doing this on her mother's terms, never again. She was her own master now.

"What the hell is this? How did you find me...??"


Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Aloy Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

''Thank you, Leenic... You're a good Mandalorian, and I'll forever be grateful for completing this task we gave you... You've been a friend of the clan and a friend of hers for long. If she doesn't listen to us, maybe she'll listen to you...'' Tan'yill told her fellow Mandalorian standing behind them. ''This is the way...''

"It should have never come to this, I should have-"

''Hey... I should have too. We all should have.'' Tan'yill reassured her wife, and laid a gloved hand on her shoulder and the pauldron with The Black Hand on it, as the ship touched ground and its engines were shut off. An eerie silence and calm filled the inside of the ship. The calm before the storm. ''Remember what I told you; this is. Not. Your. Fault.'' Tan added and squeezed the old Vizslas shoulder firmly and lovingly. In a way, the whole of Clan Vizsla had lost one of their vode to the enemy. To the darkness. To the bloody evil spirits of the Sith itself. But Tan'yill could not simply believe that they had lost her only because of possible negligence and because they had failed her. To make her happy, content and cherishing the life that they had given her. Something else was at play here. Something sinister. Something evil. ''Something, or someone got to have corrupted her mind! I just know it! I can feel it... There could be no other reason for her acting like that against Leenic.'' Tan tried to persuade herself and hold onto the hope that had been reignited with the news of their daughter still being alive.

"Even if she is not herself, she is still a Clone Commando trained by four of the best clan leaders in her time... Do not underestimate her. "

''I won't underestimate our own daughter...'' Tan'yill whispered almost inaudible, before taking one of the deepest breaths she believed she would ever take in her life, and braced herself for the reveal. ''I also refuse to believe that she would really hurt the ones that brought her to this galaxy... I can't. I just fething can't...'' she added, and looked down at her blasters making sure they were set for stun.

The ramp unlocked and started to lower itself before them. The die was cast.

"That's close enough." She demanded as Aloy came within 10 feet or more, her clawed hand becoming firmly planted on the grip of her hand-cannon.

A brief moment after Aloy had stepped onto Nal Huttan soil, heavy black boots clad in steel blue beskar walked down the ramp. They walked with certain confidence, but not with the aura of a warrior coming to command and conquer, or with death and ruin. With each step, the light of day were cast onto the armored figure and revealed, part by part, her brown jumpsuit and plates of steel blue and grey beskar.

The sight that met her was so... alien, and... heartbreaking. Not only because her daughter had changed armor and didn't wear the emblem of The Black Hand on her helmet any longer, but also because she stood in an aggressive, offensive stance, seemingly ready to pull that Golden Gun at her own mother. The horrible sight made the former Riduur'alor stop and look straight at the person being ready for a fight.

''Tae'l? Sweetheart...?'' Tan'yill managed to utter in a wavery voice, and simply shaked her head no at her daughter. Feth! In a normal situation - and this was far from fething normal - Tan'yill would already have drawn and gunned down or lunged at the opponent who dared to threatened her wife in such a way. However, her motherly instincts had put that option in chains impossible to break. For now. A mothers love burned stronger than any fire, stronger and brighter than the fires in the furnaces of Mandalore.

"What the hell is this? How did you find me...??"

''We found you...'' Tan offered to respond to that, seeing Aloy needed all the support she could get. ''... thanks to people that still are your friends, your vode... People that mean you no harm, and has never meant you any harm... People who will always care for you, and fight for you... People like Leenic, Kranak, Cynthia and Stardust, just to name a few...'' she explained, finding strenght in the flame of hope burning inside her.

''We found you... because we were worried sick about you! I were worried sick about you, Tae'l! I fething thought I lost you! My one and only daughter...'' Tan continued, walking off to the side, not making any moves towards her blasters, but instead intending to have an disarming approach.

''You pull that gun, how the feth do you think I would be able to choose between you two?!'' Tan'yill yelled, being both angry and disappointed with her daughter and herself. What by all the stars in the galaxy had she done wrong? She thought back on the sweet memories with Tae'l and tried to figure it out, but simply couldn't come up with a simple answer. ''I'd rather shoot myself, if it comes to that...'' she admitted, forcing herself to hold back a tear. It was hard, dead hard.

''No one is here to hurt you, Tae'l... I give you my word on that... Just, please... turn that targeting computer off of your mother... I beg of you...!'' Tan'yill insisted pleadingly, holding her hands visibly low and away from the blasters she once had been given as a gift from her wife.

Aloy Vizsla , Tae'l Vizsla , Leenic Ellsil ​

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic stood back for a moment, letting the two mothers exit the ship to confront Tae'l, his entire form tensing slightly when he heard the rogue mandalorian call out a warning to Aloy and Tan'yill.

"Damnit, verd'ika." Leenic mumbled, slowly pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against and slowly pacing towards the opening in the ship. He didnt exit the compartment, this wasnt his battle, but he stood looking down over the group with the contrast between the ships lights and the outside world masking his figure in artificial shadow, giving Tae'l only a visual of his silhouette.

''You pull that gun, how the feth do you think I would be able to choose between you two?!'' Tan'yill yelled, being both angry and disappointed with her daughter and herself. ''I'd rather shoot myself, if it comes to that...'' she admitted, forcing herself to hold back a tear. It was hard, dead hard.

Leenic winced slightly at the words coming from the blue Twi'leks mouth, the strain of watching her family go through such turmoil cutting through him even if he wasnt directly involved in it. It certainly did not help that he viewed Tae'l as a niece in a way, making her family some of the first family he had been a part of in a long while.

"You wont have to do any of those things." He muttered, keeping his comms silent so that no one would hear what he had to say. "I aint a stranger to this."

His hands then slowly moved to hook his thumbs into his gunbelt, Leenic's signature dueling stance, with his left one mere inches away from the grip of his blaster pistol. It might leave a sour taste in his mouth for the rest of his life, but Leenic would be damned if he stood by and let Aloy get gunned down by her own daughter in front of him.

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

"That's close enough."

She had was mid step when her daughter barked, Aloy visibly recoiling slightly in a heavy footfall. She imagined something like this could happen, but to see it play out in real time sent her heart racing. For the first time in a long time, the well spoken commander was just silent as she stared in horror at her own child. At a self imposed destiny made manifest.

Even as Tan'yill began to speak, trading roles as impassioned speaker and listener, Aloy could only stare at Tae'l.

''I'd rather shoot myself, if it comes to that...''

Her daze was partially broken by the statement, and only then would she slowly turn her head to regard her wife, her heart made flesh, as she squeezed the woman's shoulder trying to remind her that she wasn't going to do this alone, that she would never have to do this alone. Not again. Not with Apollyon dead.

''No one is here to hurt you, Tae'l... I give you my word on that... Just, please... turn that targeting computer off of your mother... I beg of you...!''

"Computer...?" Aloy muttered cluelessly.

She was simply... that absent from Tae'l's most defining moments of life. She knew of the Golden Gun's existence, but only by it's appearance inside a leather holster. She had never seen her daughter draw the gun before, nor spoken of the many complex internal systems that made it the fearsome weapon it was. She only knew of battle reports and her daughter's grim reputation on the battlefield.

She... didn't know what else to do. Battle was the only place she saw Tae'l come alive, it was that or make the bored little Twi'lek sit in a war room that she seemed to hate. They had become strangers so early in life because of Aloy's imprisonment she didn't know where else to send her while they waited for their home to be built. For their chance at stability to arrive.

But she was here now.

"Tae'l, please!" Aloy pleaded, taking a step forward with her hands raised ever so slightly.

"I don't know what's happening. But I want to understand. Whatever has happened, your mother and I will fix this alright?"


Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Tae'l had already issued the warning before realizing that Tan'yill was stepping out of the ship. To see her like this, now of all times, it made her feel... ashamed. Her mother- her actual mother- was never meant to see her like this. Better to think that Tae'l was dead than to learn her shameful truths.

Then she saw a third shadow, another armored figured and larger than the last. The light struck his armor from behind, then the rest shaded by the ship's interior, but she knew... she knew by the stance. She would recognize Leenic anywhere.

She was almost as ashamed to be meeting him again as she was to hear Tan'yill so distraught.
But she was also... furious. One could see by the subtle shift of her visor and the way her free hand slowly tightened into a fist.

"You too...?" She muttered before shifting her focus on toward her parents.

''No one is here to hurt you, Tae'l... I give you my word on that... Just, please... turn that targeting computer off of your mother... I beg of you...!''

"Tell that to your henchman maybe...?" Tae'l said in disbelief.

"I don't know what's happening. But I want to understand. Whatever has happened, your mother and I will fix this alright?"

When Aloy spoke up again, her visor snapped towards the woman but then- just for a moment- she looked down at the dirt in thought, sighing. It was painful, the things that she must do and say. If they had just... stayed away. If they could have just believed her dead for awhile longer, let her live in peace far away from it all.

"How... are you supposed to fix this?" She sighed.

"There is nothing to fix." Then growled, staring back at Aloy "Because I'm not the problem! I can see that now"

"What did you think would happen? That I'd just... come home? Wherever that is now? To do what exactly?"

She wouldn't even give her time to answer. She was done listening to Aloy's speeches, done being lied to over and over.

"You left me to die!" Tae'l would point accusingly.

"Kathol outback, Timra Ott in case you forgot. I was the only Mandalorian on that ship. I held it alone. Nobody came! Not the Enclave, not you!"
She was practically shouting now.

"Mos Motesta, before you moved in. Just me, I had to outsource with a Bounty Hunter to find your missing assets.

The Imperial betrayal above Kestri. I led your men into battle! Where were you?!"

Her voice shook for a moment, years of Aloy's betrayal bubbling to the surface in an instant.



"Kamino...!" then it cracked. A single tear rolled down the inside of her visor and over her lip.

"I was a child. I hardly ever saw you beside... Training for your wars. You let them put that chip in my head. You let them steal my very... humanity!
I'm not stupid, Aloy! I can see that we are all- all of us- just assets. That's why I have an operating code on the back of my neck-"

She scratched at the back of her flight suit's collar using her free hand, right where the Aurebesh tattoo was.

"That's why I'm just a clone... just a... weapon" Her voice was small now, like that little girl they'd grown on Kamino, even when she turned to regard the others with a defeated shrug of her shoulders "And yet you two... you still take orders from her. You still don't see it..."



Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Aloy Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

Tan'yill felt Aloy squeeze her shoulder, sending some strenght back to the rutian twi'lek. She could definitely understand Aloy's reactions to the hostility Tae'l showed, but it cut deep scars into her heart and she wished that she had the power to turn back time itself. They had not to lose hope, though. Not now. Not when they were standing face to face with their daughter. They had to stand together. For Tae'l, no matter what evil had got into her.

"Tell that to your henchman maybe...?" Tae'l said in disbelief.

''Wha-??'' Tan'yill uttered, threw a glance back at Leenic and his silhouette being at the ready, but still held that calm and collected aura that his large and tall frame often projected outwards. ''What do you think we are here for, Tae'l?! T-to kill you?! Is that what you think really think of your mothers?! Do you even hear how horrible that sounds?!'' Tan blurted out, all shocked about her daughters indirect accusation about their motives to find her alive, and reunite their family which had endured so many pains. This being the worst of them all for Tan'yill, and she knew it was the same or even worse for Aloy.

''You've known Leenic for years! He's your friend! He tried to convince you to come home, at our request! Many people have been looking for you, and not just because of the credits we paid them, all of the ones within the clan did it because they care about you! A Vizsla never gets left behind, and if we by some reason is left behind, we'll muster all our forces to find and rescue that vode... Vode'an, Tae'l...!'' Tan tried to reach out for her daughters understanding.

"How... are you supposed to fix this?" She sighed.

"There is nothing to fix." Then growled, staring back at Aloy "Because I'm not the problem! I can see that now"

"What did you think would happen? That I'd just... come home? Wherever that is now? To do what exactly?"

''There's everything to fix!'' Tan'yill called back, being hellbent on finding that thin and fragile thread to reel her only daughter back into the light. ''We were a family once, and by all the exploding supernovas by blood we still are, wether you would fail to see it at this time! We never said you were the problem, but if we took a wrong turn somewhere, wronged you in some way, then please tell us!''

"Kamino...!" then it cracked. A single tear rolled down the inside of her visor and over her lip.

"I was a child. I hardly ever saw you beside... Training for your wars. You let them put that chip in my head. You let them steal my very... humanity!
I'm not stupid, Aloy! I can see that we are all- all of us- just assets. That's why I have an operating code on the back of my neck-"

She scratched at the back of her flight suit's collar using her free hand, right where the Aurebesh tattoo was.

"That's why I'm just a clone... just a... weapon" Her voice was small now, like that little girl they'd grown on Kamino, even when she turned to regard the others with a defeated shrug of her shoulders "And yet you two... you still take orders from her. You still don't see it..."

Tan'yill could just about catch a glimpse of their little girl behind that small and wavering voice, behind that shiny new beskar, even if it was just a fraction of the once happy and carefree little tyrian twi'lek, and strong and proud mandalorian that was supposed to be their sunshine.

''No... No, sweetheart... That's where you're wrong...!'' Tan'yill contradicted, her own voice being thin as if she had been robbed of all the air in her lungs. She then carefully reached for her steel blue helmet, her gloved hands even being a little shaky as she removed it, and revealed a pair of glistening teary hazel eyes and a close-bitten face struggling to keep it together. Tan took a deep breath and looked at Tae'l, right at the helmets t-visor where her eyes would be, and gently shook her head. ''You're not just a clone... or a weapon, for that matter... You are our daughter, and the only one we could have ever wished for...'' she continued, speaking directly from her heart. ''You are our everything...! Can't you see that, sweetheart? Why else would we make all this effort to try and find you...? Send so many people out there...?'' Tan'yill made a short pause. ''I've been in so much pain you wouldn't believe... been such a wreck at times, but never once I lost hope or even considered to give up and stop looking for you... Aloy have carried equal burdens...'' she said, glancing over at her wife for a second, then back at Tae'l. ''You said she weren't there for you... But do you know where she were? Your mother had not been free from the Apollyon's despicable imprisonment for long, before all that occured... You know who fought the clans by the negotiating table? You know who tried to keep our clan intact when everything around us were falling apart? It was Aloy... And you know who she did it for... She did it for you! So that our family would be able to finally build something peaceful - a life without constant war... and pain...!''

''You know who took turns with me watching over you in the bacta tank...? After that incident that made us both pray for your recovery...? Aloy were there just as much as I were...! No one left you to die, Tae'l...!'' Tan added, seeing that Tae'l had failed to see so much of what was going on in the background. What Aloy actually had did for her and their family. They just needed more time alone. Just them. Talking. ''I remember a little girl that were so anxious and excited to complete her Verd'goten... To make us both proud... To prove her worth to the clan... And stars, you excelled at it, Tae'l... Aloy have never been more proud than when you finished it...!'' Tan'yill assured with certainty.

''The tattoo in the back of your neck is a standard procedure for the kaminoans, out of our control... And the chip...? If that is what has filled you with so much anger, I fething wish we'd never choosen it...! We just wanted you to be... better than us... and you know bloody well that we got our flaws...! I didn't want you to run the risk of becoming a spice addict, like I once was... And Aloy? Well, I'll let her speak for herself...'' Tan'yill continued, letting it all come out, and glanced over at Aloy, hoping that she would be able to fill in.

''Something's happened to you, Tae'l... I can see that, and I saw that when you came back from Mos Motesta bringing Yuna and your mothers doctor... And you know that my intuition is pretty damn spot on... especially concerning you, since we share the same DNA...'' Tan could feel a tear starting to build and were ready to fall down her cheek. She looked away and just shook her head in despair at this mess. ''You were created in my image as a twi'lek, but you have just as much DNA from Aloy in you, just not the same type of genes... She is your mother just as much as I am...'' she continued and looked back at Tae'l. ''Now, Aloy wants to understand! I want to know! Want to know what you have gone through all this time!''

''If you feel we robbed you of your humanity...'' There went the tear down the rutian twi'leks tattooed cheek. ''Saying I'm sorry would be a pretty weak and pathetic excuse... but... it's all I can do, sweetheart...'' Tan'yill stated, just before simply dropping her helmet to the ground. ''... and offer to point you towards the door that has always been and will always be open for you... And please, Tae'l... take your mothers hand and let her in... Let us understand, and know... If forgiveness isn't humanity in its purest, then I don't know what is...?''

Aloy Vizsla , Tae'l Vizsla , Leenic Ellsil ​

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic stood in the doorway silently, his fireproof Kama moving slightly in the light breeze blowing past the ship while the trio talked below him. He felt removed from it all, as though he were on another planet far away and simply watching through a broadcasted feed through someone's helmet.

But he was fine with it since it was quite clear Tae'l needed to sort things out with her mothers before he could ever hope of getting to her.

"Tell that to your henchman maybe...?" Tae'l said in disbelief.

Leenic visibly winced when Tae'l said that, his entire contracting slightly into a more defensive posture before he slowly moved back to his far more relaxed demeanor to try and disguise the turmoil inside his chest. Anger, hurt, and sadness were all so busy colliding into each other and attempting to force their way to the forefront of his focus that Leenic's mental state gradually drifted from calm, to confused, and then to an almost numb pain as his mind desperately tried to compartmentalize a situation he never figured he would need to deal with again.

He twisted his head back and to the left as he felt his neck stiffening up, popping several vertebra back into place to ease the tension on his mind and body at once with the hopes of being able to think clearly again.

"I was a child. I hardly ever saw you beside... Training for your wars. You let them put that chip in my head. You let them steal my very... humanity!
I'm not stupid, Aloy! I can see that we are all- all of us- just assets. That's why I have an operating code on the back of my neck-"

She scratched at the back of her flight suit's collar using her free hand, right where the Aurebesh tattoo was.

Leenic sensed a sudden spite in emotion from Tae'l as she began her next tirade, the hairs on his neck immediately standing on end as he refocused on the younger mandalorian. When her arm shot up towards her own neck Leenic's left foot subtly slid back a bit to prime his firing stance...only for her to simply scratch at the collar of her flight suit.

He relaxed slowly, keeping his foot planted in place as a bit of a safety for how volatile Tae'l was right now. He wanted anything but to hurt Tae'l, but unlike the two women between them he had no blood bond to Tae'l, and he would not hesitate to choose between her and his Alor.

Then Tan'yill spoke, her words reaching out towards Tae'l in a desperate bid to get her to listen, to get her to understand her mothers' positions and try to let them back into her life.

And all Leenic could do was hope it worked.

Aloy Vizsla Tae'l Vizsla Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

''The tattoo in the back of your neck is a standard procedure for the kaminoans, out of our control... And the chip...? If that is what has filled you with so much anger, I fething wish we'd never choosen it...! We just wanted you to be... better than us... and you know bloody well that we got our flaws...! I didn't want you to run the risk of becoming a spice addict, like I once was... And Aloy? Well, I'll let her speak for herself...''

"Deathsticks..." Aloy admitted after a long pause, allowing her wife to finish pleading to her own daughter.

"I've... I've been where you are, Tae'l... I... I shot my father, in the halls of my home on Concordia..." She began, clenching her fist as she stared into the polluted sky above.

"Your mother knows I used to smoke death sticks to take the edge off, but I've never told anyone that it was to drown out the voices. I was younger then you when I started, when the clan... broke under a civil war of it's own making. Split between Mand'alor the Infernal- Yasha Cadera- and our ancestral ties to House Vizsa"

"The body is still there. My mother's too, they fought on opposing sides in the end, and forced me to choose. I sooner ran than burry them."

Aloy sighed deeply, enough to peak her mic in garbled static as she lowered her head to look upon her daughter.

"But that's the kind of world we live in. That's the kind of world I raised you to survive."

Her voice had taken on a dark undertone as she spoke through grit teeth. Then, she took another step forward.

"We were at war Tae'l!

In a normal world, I would have found a way to raise you as any other child should be. No accelerated aging, no augments... They said the chip would make you feel... safe. Keep you level headed in battle. In my haste, I agreed... I agreed because we lived in a world that could come crashing down at any minute. Another purge, Apollyon's discovery of the Darksaber- any number of atrocities- that is the world I brought you into.

That... is the world where I left you..."


It was at this moment that a grim clarity struck her. Even if Tae'l had somehow been corrupted, she could see that her own actions were to blame. Even without the Sith involved, these were the consequences of her own jaded outlook on life. On Mandalore. On everything. Something so easy to use against her, and against Tae'l. Apollyon did horrible things just for closure. She couldn't give it her, but perhaps she could still give Tae'l that closure.

"I thought that if I could only defeat Apollyon faster, if I could just end it for Kreslin, that I could return home and that we could put this all behind us."

"I was wrong" She took another step closer, now between Tae'l and the others.

"Apollyon won the war. I lost... and instead of swallowing my pride, I continued to resist the empire when all others had fled Mandalore. I did not create the Black Fleet because it was right... I did not conduct operations behind the Enclave's back because I believed in Mandalore over Kestri.

I did it because I wanted to create a home for us, to carve out our own destiny somewhere that no one else could put at risk. I fell in love with power because it brought stability to this family in a galaxy that seemed hellbent on taking control from us!

I didn't think it would steal your own sense of control... I didn't think it would take so long, that we'd lose our connection in your most formative moments"


"But now?" She held out her hand "Everything you and I have built, has come to fruition. We are about to find true freedom. Stability, self sufficiency. A lasting home."

"I'm not asking you to forgive me... much as it pains me to say, I know how hard it can be. But will you come home? Not for the fleet, not for war... not even for me... just... for yourself? for a rest from all..." She gestures to their meager surroundings, to the violent world of Nal Hutta "This?"


Tae'l Vizsla Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Sometimes she would glance in Leenic's direction. His input would have been more valuable than perhaps anyone of the three could know. He had been a teacher first, a guardian next. He was often the one she had looked to for approval where Aloy seemingly had none to spare. He treated her like a person, where she believed Aloy would not. And where Tan'yill's opinions were perhaps tainted by her love for Aloy, Leenic was simultaneously family and neutral third party.

That is why his continued support of the Once-Daimyo stung as if it were betrayal. That is why she closed herself off to him on Batuu.

That... is why becoming his enemy made it feel so simple now. She didn't need to feel guilty anymore, not when she could hide his twitchy trigger finger like a shield, not when she could hide behind a perceived aggression that took all responsibility off her shoulders.

Issue being, she could never quite tell if it worked. Not that she even understood what she was doing.

We never said you were the problem, but if we took a wrong turn somewhere, wronged you in some way, then please tell us!''

Tan'yill was another story. She had never wronged her, there was nothing to even perceive as herself being wronged. Had Aloy come alone, this would have been a much simpler, shorter story. The only thing she would ever fault her for was blind obedience to her partner, when it seemed to obvious that something was wrong.

So she had no choice but to listen. And there was a lot to unpack.

She... didn't realize they had kept searching for so long. She always sort of assumed that they'd given up after the bounty hunters came back empty handed. She'd seen the reward posted, seen the details that described her as a "missing person" case. But given Aloy's history in special operations, she always thought it was a fancy way of saying they needed a target brought in alive, maybe cuffed even.

''Now, Aloy wants to understand! I want to know! Want to know what you have gone through all this time!''

"I... I can't"

"I'm sorry... but you're not ready to hear that story"​

​

​

She said mournfully, unable to bear the shame of revealing what had truly transpired.

"Deathsticks..." Aloy admitted after a long pause, allowing her wife to finish pleading to her own daughter.

"I've... I've been where you are, Tae'l... I... I shot my father, in the halls of my home on Concordia..."

Then Aloy spoke up, and for the first time since coming of age, the woman had her undivided attention.

It was a long, tense and frightening story. Even as Aloy approached, inching closer like a viper she thought, Tae'l couldn't move. She just stared at the woman, visor to visor.

It told her a lot... more about her human mother than she had learned her entire lifetime. She always knew that Aloy was cunning, or at least scheming. And ruthless, always planning a few steps ahead of herself, but she was also...

Weak.

Tae'l had never seen her like that. She had never seen Aloy so vulnerable, certainly not so regretful of her actions, she didn't think her mother capable of the thought. It was so new... so... unsettling. She didn't know how to feel about any of this.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me... much as it pains me to say, I know how hard it can be. But will you come home? Not for the fleet, not for war... not even for me... just... for yourself? for a rest from all..." She gestures to their meager surroundings, to the violent world of Nal Hutta "This?"

please, Tae'l... take your mothers hand and let her in... Let us understand, and know... If forgiveness isn't humanity in its purest, then I don't know what is...?''

She visibly stepped back when offered her mother's hand, equally out of shock as out of animalistic fear.
And yet, the grip on her pistol eased, and she shakily released a breath even she did not know was being held for so long.

But that didn't mean she was surrendering this newfound freedom.

"I can't... I just... can't. I have my own duties to attend, even if I forgave you, I will not abandon my post."

Her voice was softer now, saddened. But still determined as they day they lost her.


Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Aloy Vizsla

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

"I... I can't"

"I'm sorry... but you're not ready to hear that story" She said mournfully, unable to bear the shame of revealing what had truly transpired.

''Then save it for a time when you consider us to be ready...!'' Tan'yill put in, giving her daughter the power to choose when, where and how to tell her mothers about what Tan'yill just knew must have been part of the reason they were standing here now. If this wasn't the time, she could see that, and she wouldn't push for an answer if their now grown daughter thought they weren't ready.

Aloy explained it all so well. They had been at war, and everyone had gone through hell and experienced the loss of comrades, friends and family. By the gods, if they only had got to choose the galaxy in which Tae'l was created into and grown up in.

As Aloy left her side, Tan's saddened and tear-filled glance fell on her wife when she with great care and step-by-step tried to close that last distance between mother and daughter. Her heart took another heavy blow as Tae'l took a step back from the woman who had given her life.

Tan'yill had to struggle to force herself to stay back and observe their interaction. It had been an awful and painful journey towards this moment. It hadn't gone a day without a thought of her daughter, where she were and what this cruel galaxy possibly had thrown at her. The loss of her daughter and the sorrow had been turned to wrath and rage when she had slain many of their enemies. She had longed - she had longed so much - to hold her in her arms, feeling her scent, comfort her and care for her with love that could only be matched by the one she felt towards her wife.

The urge to step forward and just embrace her in a tight neverending hug were immense with the rutian, wiping another tear that threatened to fall from her eye, but she knew Aloy had to be the one to do this. To offer that hand of forgiveness, and be the the first one to touch their daughter after all this time. To give her that loving touch of a mother.

"I can't... I just... can't. I have my own duties to attend, even if I forgave you, I will not abandon my post."

Her voice was softer now, saddened. But still determined as they day they lost her.

''It's... It isn't about abandoning your post, dear...'' Tan insisted, her voice thin as she looked down at the dirty ground of Nal Hutta where her daughter claimed she had more important duties to attend to. It might have been that she had duties, but never the less Tan'yill saw possibilities and solutions where her daughter seemingly did not. It wasn't as if they were marshals on a mission to find and capture a prisoner on the loose, and if the Hutts and Tae'l's employer were to come after them or try to punish Tae'l for not completing this mission, they would cross paths with the wrong twi'lek, that was for sure.

''Come and stay... stay with us for a few days, free to come and go as you like...! Everyone will be so happy to see you...!'' she continued, desperately trying to induce her daughter to do something that Tan were sure was going to do her good. If she could just let Aloy make it up for lost time, and let Tan'yill apologize for her blindness and also explain that she saw it that day, but didn't got the time to sit down and really talk things true with her daughter. ''Leenic will be there for you from the very moment we step into that ship...!'' she added and motioned back towards the ramp and their vode standing in the shadows, ready to intervene but also equally ready to welcome Tae'l back.

''Let us show you where we are now...! The efforts to find and rescue you from whatever ordeals you've been put through, all the people that joined our cause... It left us with a fleet... A fleet which you mother built for the sole purpose that she just told you about...! Let us know where you are now... Sweetheart... I just want to hold you again...'' Tan pleaded towards Tae'l, and raised her hand ever so slightly and motioned, promoting her to take Aloy's hand, and thus giving their family another chance. ''I love you...!''

Aloy Vizsla , Tae'l Vizsla , Leenic Ellsil ​

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenics arms slowly unhooked from his belt and moved upwards to cross over his chest as the situation slowly seemed to slow down from the potential shootout it had started at, both parties rapidly starting to break down in emotion as what seemed like years of bottled up emotions flowed to the surface. Almost made him choke up a bit himself.

Almost.

"I... I can't"

"I'm sorry... but you're not ready to hear that story" She said mournfully, unable to bear the shame of revealing what had truly transpired.

Leenic perked up as he heard Tae'l say this, a bit surprised that she felt the need to hide something now of all times. Everyone was pouring it all out onto the floor at the moment, but he figured she'd somehow picked up a lot of the same tendencies that he carried around at the start of his carrier. It was... eye opening to him just how much he had pushed others away from himself, digging the hole deeper and deeper until he found himself rich but well and truly alone.

"I can't... I just... can't. I have my own duties to attend, even if I forgave you, I will not abandon my post."

Her voice was softer now, saddened. But still determined as they day they lost her.

That's it. He thought, taking a step forward, hesitating, and then continuing down the ramp. With each step the shadows receded on his form to allow the trio to see him better, his rusted and battle damaged armor hardly gleaming in the sunlight but giving off its own distinct reflection. It almost looked as tired as he did, barely able to bounce rays with the dents, burns, and decent cover of rust that hid the usually shiny beskar underneath it.

But yet there it was still, sturdy and durable as ever.

"Tae'l. Stop." He said firmly, himself coming to a stop several places behind Tan'yill and giving the blue Twi'lek a respectful nod before continuing.

"Stop this crap Tae'l. The running, the fighting, the hiding, quit denying yourself one of the best things you'll ever have in life when its standing right here, right in front of you, and practically begging you to take the branch being held out towards you." He said, kicking his right boot's steel toe deep into the ground. "I did the exact same thing you did, kid, I ran. From everything. My parents, my clan, my home planet, I ran from all of it and disappeared into the great wide galaxy in search of fame and fortune. And you want to know what happened Tae'l, you wanna know how all that went for me?"

He paused for a second, coughing once or twice to try and clear up the welling lump in his throat before speaking again.

"It worked." He said, choking slightly on his words. Vivid memories flashed by, nothing he had wanted to experience ever again, but he pushed through. He had to, if for no one else than for the Twi'lek he called his niece.

"I had it all, kid, fame, money, guns, steady jobs, and respect. Nothing and nobody could stand in my way, not that they'd want to, and I had gained so much notoriety I was even being approached for positions in special forces teams in several militaries." He took a breath through his nose, taking a moment to calm himself down. "But there was no one with me. All my friends either died or betrayed me, every lover I could've had I shoved away in my own blind fear of commitment, and the only groups I stuck with would shoot me in the back of the head if the price on it became large enough. I became paranoid, scared, and extremely lonely."

"But then your mothers let me in to your family. For the first time in damn near fifteen years I had people by my side who actually cared about me Tae'l, fifteen years." He sighed, his usually rigid stance slumping a bit for a moment before returning to normal. "I cant get those back."

Then he slowly reached up to his head, pulling the heavy helmet up and off with his right hand before letting his arm hang limply at his side, revealing his scared and hallowed face, brown eyes staring into Tae'l's visor.

"Come home, kid, please." His voice cracked slightly as he fought back tears. "If....if for no one else, do it for yourself."

Aloy Vizsla Tae'l Vizsla Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

''I love you...!''

"I..." She closed her eyes and sighed shakily. This was so much harder than she ever thought it would be, and yet that was exactly why she hid herself for so long. This conversation should never have happened, better for Tan'yill to think her dead than to know the truth.

To know that she had betrayed them like this.

"I know, Buir..." It was never in question. Never once had she doubted Tan'yill in that way, only ever regretful that she was under Aloy's sway.

"Please... please I am begging you; let it be enough to know that your daughter is alive. Let me leave this place and do what I must"

"Tae'l. Stop."

Leenic's voice cut through the air like a sudden bullet in the night, and for a moment her muscles tensed as if it were just that. So focused was she on the words of her mothers that for the first time in her life she had not been paying attention to the one who she was sure would become her opponent only moments ago.

"Stop this crap Tae'l. The running, the fighting, the hiding, quit denying yourself one of the best things you'll ever have in life when its standing right here, right in front of you, and practically begging you to take the branch being held out towards you."

He would not make this easy either. Like her parents, he assumed that the only thing stopping her from coming home was her distrust of Aloy. It was a fair assumption to make considering how little they all knew, how much she was hiding.

She was rethinking some of that distrust. It was becoming apparent that while she was a poor mother, she was still a mother more so than an overlord. She could have brought a squadron of commandos if she were here to retrieve an asset, and in fact this was the first time she had seen Aloy travel without her personal guard. Instead she brought only Tan'yill and Leenic, perhaps the most important figures in her life leading up to this moment, save perhaps Jackal, Malum and Omon.

If she were as uncaring as Tae'l once thought, would she have made someone like Leenic family?
Aloy had made many mistakes, Tae'l too. But now she was beginning to see that perhaps she had made more than she thought.

"Come home, kid, please." His voice cracked slightly as he fought back tears. "If....if for no one else, do it for yourself."

"Buire, Leenic... please don't make me choose like this" Tae'l would plead, shaking her head. There was one final mistake she had made, and it was impossible to take back now.

"It's not up to me anymore, and it's not something you all can fix"

"Because you are Mandalorians."​

She shook her head, on the verge of tears. Then took a step back, and then another, beginning to turn ever so slightly, as if she were about to run.

"Because your people can no longer accept me, even if you do.​

Because I... I Am not."​

"I'm so sorry...!"​

Aloy Vizsla Leenic Ellsil Tan'yill Vizsla

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

Aloy could not believe what she was hearing. What duty? What had happened to her daughter all those years ago? She withdrew her hand slowly, holding it close to her chest as if shot or pierced by blade.

It was all so wrong!

She could hear Tan'yill pleading desperately for their girl to just come home, to rest, to simply live. Even Leenic chose to offer his hand in all this, explaining the great and terrible things that had brought him to the family, to this moment. Things that even Aloy did not know about him despite the years they had served together in Mandalore's name. Always Mandalore, never themselves. Not until now. Not until today.

And still Tae'l refused! Begged for them to simply leave her even.

She had left her girl once. Never again.

"Because you are Mandalorians."

"Tae'l...?"

Because I... I Am not."


"I'm so sorry...!"​

"Tae'l!" Aloy shouts, sending the birds fleeing the trees around them.

"You are my daughter Tae'l. You have always been my daughter! You will always be my daughter. You were cloned for that purpose and nothing less.

There are as many ways to be Mandalorian as there are Mandalorians! I do not care whatever slight you think to have committed against them.

And I do not care for the ways of any who deny you! Let them taste my taste my steel if they should!"

Seeing that Tae'l was about to flee, she reached out to grab her daughter by the strap of her armored backpack.

"I am still your mother."


Tae'l Vizsla Tan'yill Vizsla Leenic Ellsil

 

[Tan'yill Vizsla]

"Tae'l. Stop." He said firmly, himself coming to a stop several places behind Tan'yill and giving the blue Twi'lek a respectful nod before continuing.

The voice of Leenic made Tan'yill close her tear-filled eyes and take a deep breath, silently praying that their vode could help convince Tae'l how mad and wrong all of this was. She turned her head and met the respectful nod with one of her own. Even though she had told Leenic to stay in the background, she knew very well that he wouldn't be shy to interfere when it came to Tae'l, and she welcomed the move with open arms. Any help in this situation was greatly appreciated by the rutian twi'lek. Leenics words were more direct, and harder than theirs, but Leenic's words were also honest, true and to the point.

‘’Damn it, Tae’l! Why would you have to inherit your mothers unyielding stubbornness?’’ Tan’yill thought, as she saw her daughter beginning to back away and turn, clearly not being content with any of the two options. Tan'yill noticed that inner conflict going on beneath the protective plates of beskar. She could not have imagined this being so hard.

"Tae'l!" Aloy shouts, sending the birds fleeing the trees around them.

Aloy sprang into action, her shout being enough to startle both the birds in the nearby trees and Tan'yill, who jumped slightly on the spot.

Tan'yill observed and listened intensely to what Aloy told Tae'l. She were immensely grateful that they were two, and even three about this. Tae'l didn't see clearly, Tan were certain about that. It wasn't the girl they had raised on Kamino and on Roon that spoke to them, and they needed to get inside that false facade someone or something had built up around her. Like a prison of lies and deceit.

As Aloy reached for and grabbed the strap of Tae'l's backpack, the wave of emotions going through them both, with frustration and despair, caused Tae'l to stumble and fall to the ground. Tan'yill held her breath, afraid that the unintentional result of Aloy's move would put what progress they had made at risk. She briskly jogged up to them before anyone had the chance to do anything rash, leaving the helmet in the dirt as she did.

‘’Tae’l…!?’’ Tan uttered gently, as she came up in front of Tae'l and fell to the knees herself, flashbacks coming to her from the fight after which she had rushed to her daughters aid and having to fight off thoughts that she had lost her. She took off her glove and extended her hand, gently touching first the shoulder and then the cheek of her dauthers helmet. As her mother, she could see through the helmet and her girl being on the verge of tears. It hurt her like no blaster or blade ever could, to see her in such agony.

‘’Says who…? Who says that you are not a Mandalorian…? I’m your mother…! Aloy is your mother and the rightful heir to Clan Vizsla, and even to Concordia itself…! If anyone could decide such a horrible thing, it’s us…!’’ Tan'yill urged with great concern to who or what had done this to their little girl, seemingly being in so much agony and pain she didn't deem her mothers ready to know her story. Not yet, at least.

‘’You were created to this galaxy as one…! Y- y- you completed your verd’goten in a way that outshines ours…!'' Tan'yill continued to desperately make Tae'l see what she refused to see, to make her see the things that could heal her soul and help them in this moment of despair and sorrow.

''Never once in the past have you veered off the way of the Resol'nare...! Never once have you failed me - not considering to me, and I'll be the judge of that!'' she insisted, tapping at her chest as she did. ''Aloy was born into this life, while I was not...! I have failed many times in my life, not being able to protect you being the biggest damn one of them, and I curse myself every single day for it...!'' Tan continued, motioning to Aloy and back to herself.

''Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, Ara'nov, aliit, Mando'a bal Mand'alor—An vencuyan mhi.'' Tan'yill repeated the old rhyme in Mando'a which they had taught Tae'l since before she were a mere mare'vod. ''You remember the meaning of that, I know it...!''

‘’The Black Fleet is half aruetii, but you... you are a Mando’ade, just as much as we are, and I'll challenge anyone who thinks otherwise…!'' she urged again, not once breaking the gaze with Tae'l if she did not. ''You must do nothing to come back to us...!'' Tan added, having no guess at what Tae'l said she had to do. The only small thing that she had to do, was to accept her mothers hand and loving embrace.

‘’I can’t let you walk away on me like this… Not when I see that so much is troubling you…! I can't, Tae'l... I simply just can't...!'' Tan admitted submittingly. She hoped that Tae'l would give herself this chance of redemption, of rest and of allowing herself to accept her mothers love once again. Along with Aloy, they both offered their hands to help their girl up. Both literally from the ground of Nal Hutta, and figuratively as to have cin'vhetin - to start anew.

Aloy Vizsla , Tae'l Vizsla , Leenic Ellsil ​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Aloy's sudden grip caused Tae'l's backpack to snap, the leather straps having been worn down by years of use even before she bought it second hand. The sudden give where there had once been pull against her own attempt to flee caused the girl to fall and the backpack with her as they both clattered against the ground.
She was quick to roll over onto her back, trying desperately to snatch up the backpack before anyone else could.

"No! don't touch her!"

But it was too late. The armored pod-like backpack revealed its contents as the black screen once meant to shield it's occupant from the light began to fail and fade because of the impact. Behind the now clear blaster-proof glass, an infant began to stir from sleep, and it's muffled cries becoming audible. She was a little girl with hair black as night, a human or perhaps hybrid perhaps.

One who stared up at the three Mandalorians with confusion in her little Red eyes.

Tae'l was quick to snatch up the pod, holding both it and her child close while inching away across the ground. She never intended to have a child, but it was clear that the gunslinger was very protective of her.

''Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, Ara'nov, aliit, Mando'a bal Mand'alor—An vencuyan mhi.''

"Mando'ad draar digu. A Mandalorian never forgets." She answered quickly, coming to a stop.

"And that's exactly why I can't go back... why we can't go back"

She glanced at the child, then up at her mothers.

"Because this isn't about me anymore! It's about her... About my daughter, who is is Sith... because if the others find out, they will never let it go, and Mirium will never be safe!"


Tan'yill Vizsla Aloy Vizsla Leenic Ellsil