A Mandalorian Barn Raising (Mandalorian Protectors, Mandalorians)

[Anija Betna]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

She studied him for a moment as he considered her response. It was not something she did lightly. As she waited for him to reply, she took a moment to look over the lines of working Mandalorians. Here was a sight she'd not seen much of lately, and she was glad to see it now. She was well aware that what she was walking into with regards to training could be a long commitment. But for her, it was the end goal that mattered. Sure, she had her secrets. As all of them did - but she found it difficult to keep her just that - secrets. She felt a bit vulnerable still after Draco's attack. And she knew he's not intended it.

As Arrbi approached, Anija reached out to grip his hand firmly as she kept her attention on what Muad was saying. A place from Mandalorian history? The thought had her intrigued..... and if she was being honest with herself - as nervous as she was, the prospect of a new challenge excited her.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna drew alongside his wife and took her waiting hand gladly. He'd caught the important bits of the conversation as he'd approached, so he wasn't entirely out of the loop.

"Training is always good," he said to his wife with a grin. "I know you can hold your own, but it would make me feel better to know you'll be okay no matter what happens."

He turned to Muad and nodded at the other man. The two had known each other for only a short time, but sometimes you just found a kindred spirit. Muad was the most volatile, insane, and violent man he'd ever met, and he'd met many a madman, but at the same time he knew Muad was absolutely safe and trustworthy around friends and family. It was like having a highly aggressive Akk Dog in the family, one that would attack strangers immediately and without remorse, but would go and play with the toddler as meek as could be right after as the family pet.

But Muad was no pet and was definitely no Akk Dog, but he was a friend and a friend Betna valued.

"Honestly, we got lucky with this vein," he said after a moment. "The initial scans showed only a marginal amount the first time. We got lucky that the surveyor accidentally scanned it twice and got a better reading the second time."

[member="Anija Betna"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Muad grinned at Anija as she took his hand. Training was never easy for the student or the teacher. But it was rewarding if one persevered through. And he had a feeling she would not disappoint. Nodding he looked at Arrbi as he spoke of the vein and their luck.

"Some would day there is no luck only the force. Course those same Jedi don't say much after you ram a lightsaber down their gullets ..."

Muad chuckled as his mind drifted to doing just that on several occasions. Then he lightly shook his head breaking the reverie and looked at the Betna's once more in the moment.

"The Protectors should have a class about fighting, tracking, and escaping a force user. Specifically a Sith. If not the group then individuals. I'd gladly teach that because dark siders aren't like Jedi. They kill and destroy on a whim. They cheat and manipulate to overcome. Our vode need to be able to resist force users with more then just the lizards strapped to their backs."

Glancing over to where the excavation was progressing he drifted again in thought. The beskar was an important part of who the Mandalorians were just as the force was the identity of who Sith were. But take away the beskar and the Mandalorians would still be who they always were. Take away the force from a Jedi out Sith and their identity flounders. It was something to consider.

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Anija Betna"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Workers from ArmaTech arrived not long after the shindig got started, but they weren't interested in partaking in the festivities themselves. Neither was their boss, hooded and sitting quiet, away from most people. The workers murmured about some gossip about me here or there. Most of their gossip was as far from the truth as possible, but the fact that there was indeed something to gossip about stung a little. It hurt my pride that I was not in as good control of myself at the time, but that wouldn't happen again. I had spent the last few days gaining some level of control over the beast, and exerting dominance over it. That part of me still held power, and would need to come out every now and again.

"How far have the others come without us?"

"Not too far, but they are getting it along."

"Get to work then. We can't sit around waiting for them to finish. We have a debt to be paid." I said, sitting down on a long, letting the hood cast a shadow over my face. Dour mood or not, there was indeed work to be done, and I owed Arrbi this much.

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Anija Betna"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Mining and smithing a relatively small amount of Beskar was easy, especially for a company or crew prepared for it. Sometimes we could pick up the amount we were after in a matter of days if we were driven enough, and having seen the drive earlier, one could say we were sufficiently driven to finish the things we started.

Miners and mining droids hauled ore from the particularly small vein of ore little by little, each load adding to the next, and as the small unprocessed rocks filled the holds of the cargo shuttles we had brought. Little by little we could excavate the ore and take it to our processing plants on Concordia where they could be refined and smelted properly, forged and pressed into service alongside a whole host of other ships. These ships that the Protectors had designed would be excellent if used in the field for raiding, or for getting troops to planets prior to invading the enemy to take out key locations or the like.

“Move boyos. We have a schedule to keep.” I said walking over behind them, supervising the group of men and droids removing the ore.