A Little Birdie

[Kyra Findlay]

Kyrimoruut.

Home of House Skirata and a completley neutral port on the planet of Mandalore as far as Madnalorian politics were concerned. The Skiratas here went about their business, did their bit, and simply requested they be left alone. It worked out for them well enough. Gil had managed to gather enough support and notoriety that even the Empire steered clear of the city. Nestled along Lake Kad'ika, the city was built into a massive veshok tree and built within and along the outside of the bark. The town sprawled from the top canopy all the way out past the tree's massive roots and down to the lake.

Kyra was waiting at the modest space port for her client to arrive. Last name Fett, which made her even more curious. Not many Fetts around, and considering their connection to House Skirata, she wondered if Koda was coming here to also visit relatives. She shrugged off the thought as his shuttle came down from the sky.

She wasn't wearing beskar'gam, hadn't in years. She was well past her fighting prime and typically fought her battles in the stars, behind several meters of durasteel and glass. She was a ship captain, a privateer, or pirate depending on who was paying. Once a proud Mandalorian of the Quez clan, she now ran guns, stole ships, raided trade routes and all sorts of other things to pay off debts.

She looked out a viewport that overlooked the lake and spotted two youthful Mandalorians hovering over the lake on their bes'uliik, training. She smiled, memories of her younger days flooding her mind.

 

[Koda Fett]

KYRIMOUNT​

​

There were many individuals within this Galaxy that had a part to play. Quez may have been gun running and raiding thief, and to some more lawfully inclined that'd certainly be a deterrent; not to Fett, though. Te Veman​ was undoubtedly the underdog when in comparison to that of the Mandalorian Empire, and so it only made sense to never be too picky. After all, Fett was considered a galactic terrorist in many systems spread throughout the core, mid and outer-rim. It came with the trade and so if anyone was understanding it was the Bounty Hunter turned Warlord.

He departed that shuttle with wandering eyes, or more so a venturing visor. Kyrimount had been selected by chance, it was never intentional. The significance to such a place, to himself, had been lost. Perhaps he could learn with time, but for now it had only been some smug attempt to make use of the immunity this Cin Vhetin had provided him. Fett was sure that it wasn't going to exist for much longer, not with Te Veman ready to strike. He paced through the port, clad in his armour with a Carbine slung over his shoulder. It was the usual, really.

Fett had made his way in the direction of the intended meeting point, and upon arrival there was nothing more than a simple question that came from beneath his battered, bruised, scorched and scratched helmet. "Kyra Quez?" It was strange to think that armour was something more identifiable than faces these days.

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

Her aging smile didn't flinch when her thoughts of the past were interrupted by work. Instead the gogi turned her warmth to the Mandalorian known as Koda Fett.

"In the flesh," she said and did a bow. "I can only assume you are Koda. Your reputation precedes you, young buck." She gave the bounty hunter a wink and nodded towards the exit. "Walk with me, I've got a few errands I need to run in Kyrimorut so you might as well tell me what this job is and get a tour from a local girl." She pulled her hood down and slid her arm around his. There wasn't really any saying no to such an old woman.

Kyra began to lead him out of the hangar and sighed.

"So what is this job, hmm?" Despite her curiosity, it seemed she was preocupied with a small screen in the palm of her free hand.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

KYRIMOUNT​

​

Fett had remained entirely still in the beginning, not a movement came from him as he stood silently whilst listening to Kyra. He allowed this 'local girl' to talk, say her peace, and even loop her arm around his own- perhaps uncomfortable considering the armour. It hadn't been an action this Bounty Hunter partook in a long time now. It was typical of his arm to loop around another's, sure, but it was often then that bones had snapped. Surely not the friendliest of men.

They began to shift further into Kyrimount, and as they had Fett's helmeted had casually shifted back and forth indulging himself in the sights. Considering the ancestral background of such a place, this 'local girl' may be a relative of Koda. Strange to think, but he didn't. Unaware of said history.

"Te Veman." Fett had stated so plainly. "I need a gun runner, a smuggler, a thief." His T-Visor glanced down in her direction, shifting to the screen on her hand in a moment of curiosity. "Simple as that."

Te Veman, as of now, may be nothing but a whisper. Yet, in the time to come it was bound to be something so aggressively exclaimed.

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

"Te Veman....Hmm..." She'd heard whispers about it.

Most Mandalorians had.

Considering the fragile state of Mandalorian politics, uttering the name alone could have brought Death Watch on anyone who said it aloud in public. She frowned and tapped the handheld device against her cheek in thought as they walked through the starport and out into an outdoor marketplace. The sun was warm against her skin and coupled with the cool breeze of northern air brought her old bones joy. But not as much joy as running guns. But still, she had to at least try to play hard to get.

And so she frowned, slipped the device into her pocket, and dug a little deeper.

"I'm guessing you want Mandalorian, new preferred? Or do you already have your buyer on Mandalore?"

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

"There are contacts on Mandalore, but none with your reputation, Quez." It was true. Te Veman had rung true to many, and those lesser known had implemented themselves back among Mandalorian Society with ease. They dwelled in their homes, operating with a cloak around their shoulders and a dagger firmly cemented within their grip. It was the kind of movement that inspired the disgruntled, and it quenched that insatiable desire for a fight. It was, after all, within their nature to hurt. Kyra may be no exception. "Anything you can get your hands on is worth it."

Mandalorian politics always were... a thing. They seemed to be nothing more than who is the strongest, the most capable, everything along those very lines. It was difficult to rule for long, if it all.

Fett hadn't felt the sun as Kyra had. His life kept him behind a suit of armour at all times, and if not for his genetic background he may very well be as pale as a ghost. He kept cool within it, though. Those temperature regulators had made sure of that.

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

"Awww, flattery will get you nowhere ad'ika." She slumped and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked through the marketplace. Kyrimorut was a strange place, even for her. Goods from across the galaxy gathered here and the Mandalorians that purchased them weren't hurting for credits. Then again, the way the Galaxy had been, what Mandalorian would have been hurting for credits? War was a profitable business. Bodies, weapons, armor, food, booze? All of it a Mandalorian could provide and provide they had, similar to what Koda was asking of Kyra now.

"Ships won't be as easy to come by, but no need to worry on the weapons front. For the right price," she winked, "I'm not cheap like those girls on Zeltros now." Despite being shorter and much older, Kyra seemed to be leading the pair through the crowd. They were headed up a flight of old stone stairs now that wound up and around a hill that overlooked Kyrimorut. The crowd was beginning to die down this far from town.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

This had certainly been discomforting. It was beneath the Mandalorian's helmet that he held some kind of scowl that expressed that; it had been reminiscent of someone, now lost to the annals of time. Fett, however, was never going to express his disdain. He had a position that needed to be taken, and Kyra was the perfect fit for it. There was no throwing away an opportunity such as this.

"I can supply you with a crew." Koda plainly explained. Rohak Vizsla and his Black Hand were experts on that front, and if they were to ever work together the results garnered were absolutely going to be favourable. Vizsla was a pirate, a thief, but that didn't matter. They had fallen beneath Ronan's directive, after all.

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

https://soundcloud.com/shin-ojisan/tending-to-others?in=justin-jeffries-1/sets/muse​

​

The suggestion made Kyra suck on her cheek in thought. The pair were quiet, likely both in thought, as they climbed the stairs. When they finally reached the top a small grassy patch awaited them, a tall Taung War Oak hung its obsidian leaves over three massive slabs of dark, worn beskar. A few cut and forgotten vormur flowers had been left in a tied bundle, tumbled out of their water jar. In the space left between each slab one could look down over Kyrimorut and Lake Kad'ika.

Kyra frowned and finally let go of Koda's arm and walked forward to replace the flowers into the water jar.

<There, there,> she muttered in Mando'a and patted the flowers. She sighed and stood back up, back to Koda.

"You have never once given us thought. Why now, after all we've done to repair our world, does an outsider like you want to disrupt everything?" Her tone had become notably more serious than before. Stern grandma mode had been activated.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

Fett had taken to inspecting the Taung War Oak; his T-Visor gaze shifting from it's roots to it's canopy. It was strange to see something so unnaturally natural, but the same could be said by so many other things in this Galaxy. This Bounty Hunter had been well-travelled, seeing all that this unforgiving existence could provide. It created a sense of distrust and independence within a man, but that had to fade away into obscurity if Te Veman was ever going to have the leader they deserved. He had accepted the title, the role, the position, but there was alway doubt to it. A certain reluctance.

Did he have an answer for that? He tried to find one as he cast his eyes over the rest of Kyrimount. "Pride." He claimed so sternly. "They cast us out, and now we return." Fett craned his neck to allow that Visor of his to fall upon Kyra. "You? Credits. It's nothing more than a cause. A means to one end. I know the kind."

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

"I didn't ask about me," she said surprisingly harsh. Her eye darkened at the man hiding behind old, worn armor.

"You don't think the Mando'ade have suffered enough for stupid, boarish pride? Here you stand before a testament to the souls lost to the Manda in civil war after civil war and all you have as justification for a new one is...Pride."

She walked up to the Mandalorian sternly and pulled out his hand, slapping a communicator into it.

"I may be a thief and a pirate, but I'm still Mando'ade and this is still my home. Come back when you've found what it means to be a Mandalorian other than..." She grimaced and spat, "Pride." She turned from the bounty hunter and began to walk away before pausing.

"My daughter did not die for more of the same, but I won't kill my own vod for petty glory hounds and little lost pups who don't know what that symbol on your chest stands for."

 

[Koda Fett]

Nobody was the same.

Fett had made that crucial mistake. It was greed and pride that dictated his actions and so many others, but not everyone adhered to such a poor code of conduct. Perhaps he had spent far too much time alongside Bounty Hunters, Assassins, Mercenaries and Imperials. They were all... questionable characters, to say that least. Mandalorians were a proud people, no doubt, but they valued the greater things in life beyond wealth and reputation. Perhaps Kyra was right in saying he hadn't known what it really meant to be a Mandalorian.

It was with that communicator in hand that he forced a reply of his own, "My Father," Fett stated, allowing Kyra some time to cease her movement. "That's my reasoning. He would never approve of this Empire, and so I intend on bringing it down and re-crafting Mandalore in his- in my image. Another civil war is coming, you can't stop it, but you can choose a side." Koda furthered. "Te Veman refuses to exist as a puppet as this Empire does, but as an independent system free of exterior corruption."

[member="Kyra Quez"]

 

[Kyra Findlay]

"You think this Empire's a puppet, eh?" She turned around, face neutral. The old woman heaved out a sigh and placed her hands on her hips, her gaze fixed to the lake. "Haar'chak!! I'll see what I can do," she said after a long pause, "Keep the communicator. Use it to send me a list of gear you need...I'll fix up a quote and we can do business. Depending on where you are...Well, you know how Mandalorian weapons are." Illegal. Mandalorian weapons were illegal in most of "civilized" space was what she meant, and getting them through system checks would be a costly hassle.

Without waiting for an answer she turned and waved as she began the long trek back down the hill.

"Stay a while, get to know the people you thought you knew so well. I may or may not have tipped off the Protectors about your ship so you'll be stuck here for a bit anyways. Just in case this went south...No hard feelings!" She shrugged and cackled like the old woman she was to the point of coughing.

"Ret'!"
[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

The Mandalorian hadn't offered a verbalise response, but a nod of his head in acceptance of the elder's acceptance. It hadn't been the most perfect start to any business related relationship, but if he had learned a thing from this encounter it was that these Mandalorians, or at least some, had appreciated the honesty to his tale. Family had been oh so very important to them, and even as an outsider on the in, Fett could witness that. Perhaps he was too ignorant, too arrogant. There was hope all that could change with time.

Fett had, however, grumbled at the mention of the Protectors. They had always been a thorn in his side- any law enforcement had. Koda often intended on maintaining a positive relationship with the law, despite the fact he often broke it. Protectors, however, never seemed to appreciate the Bounty Hunter. He never bothered fighting them, though. Might be more than he bargained for on a planet that consisted of individuals armed from head-to-toe.

​He took a glance over the portion of Mandalore, curious as to how he was to spend his time.

At least this venture hadn't been for nothing.

[member="Kyra Quez"]