Amidst The bones of Mandalore (PM to join)

[Celiana]

I'd been spending more time back at the temple on Voss recently but with my sister as a padawan here I needed to move elsewhere. I needed to allow her to have her own life among the Silver Jedi. In order to do that however... I needed to move my things from the home I'd made here on Voss to either another location on the planet or I needed to find another planet to call home. I traveled among the stars extensively so honestly I would probably just buy a new ship and abscond with The Morrigan and my gear...

Keeping the thought filed away in my mind I allowed my fingers to dance across the controls of The Morrigan as I slipped back into realspace. I'd had limited contact with members of The Silver Jedi once I'd gone into my self-imposed exile. Upon having returned though I'd had some limited contact with Master Dragonsflame. I'd talked with Joshua about catching up and now I was entering orbit around Mandalore to meet him there. When the Mandalorian factions had fallen I'd thought about making trips out here to pick through the rubble I was nothing if not opportunistic and my idea of buying another ship paled in comparison to restoring one that had belonged to the Mandalorians. They were nothing if not known for the durability of their people and the same could be said of their tech.

Keying in the sequence to enter atmo I plotted a descent course that'd land me close enough to one of the bigger outposts to ride in on a speeder bike. I'd meet Joshua and then see what kind of mischief we could get into together....

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The things he had found out on this planet were... Well, they were astonishing.

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"Master DragonsFlame, you might want to see this."​

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"Mmm?"​

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"Immediately."​

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"Where am I heading then?"​

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"Mandalore. I'll give you the coordinates once you land."​

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Would you believe him if he told you that he had never been to Mandalore before?​

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Josh had dealt with many interactions with the Mandalorians. He'd fought alongside Ordo as well as Tracyn in battles years past, and had also fought against the Mandalorians during their strife with the Republic in years gone by. He was a bit older now, a bit wiser... Well, much older now, he supposed. He was only a young one then, barely out of his teens when he had been the Grandmaster that had stormed the ship of the Mandalorian leaders for negotiations. But now... He had no links, he was his own man, away from the Republic, and able to be free to do the job as it should be done.​

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And yet, despite his past, he'd never been to Mandalore.​

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He didn't know why he had been called here. And yet, part of him... Felt like it called to him. Not just because of the message, but as he came near the planet, it just... Called to him with a sense of familiarity that he had never imagined he could feel from a planet that he'd never been to. He felt... Nostalgic, somehow. The Final Dragon would touch down on Mandalore, and the forests that were a clear defining factor of the world immediately reminded him of his homeworld, Naboo. And yet they felt... Rougher somehow. Battle-hardened, if that was a way to describe a forest, or any biome... The ship would touch down, and he would make his way out. He wasn't garbed in the traditional Jedi wear. Instead he wore a black leather jacket over a blue t-shirt, with black pants and boots under them. Long blonde hair blew through the wind as he would walk down the ramp, motioning for R4 to watch the ship as he would walk out of the spaceport.​

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"What am I looking for exactly?"​

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"Our scouts were going through Mandalore on a separate mission, and happened to chance upon something that... Well, it lines up with something you mentioned before. About your father, and what he did, to honour her..."​

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He stopped.​

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"... I'm listening."​

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"Please, just follow the coordinates. It might be better for you to see it yourself."​

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"... Alright."​

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The Jedi Master let out a sigh and shook his head as he would look over the map he had, punching in the coordinates of where he was to head to.​

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"Huh... Is... Is that a graveyard?"​

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It was rare that his contacts were wrong on something... But this seemed so vague, and they didn't seem to detail it as a mission. What in the world was going on? He had left Shmi Labooda at home to pursue what he was told was an immediate matter, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy at just how vague this was.​

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He wanted to walk. Part of him just wanted to walk, for some reason... He deigned not to take a speeder, and just walked through Mandalore's open forest landscape with a calm, brisk manner. The feeling of nostalgia, like it felt familiar to him, flooded his very being and he just wanted to feel that feeling, if it made sense... Feel it's warm embrace for just a little while longer. He hadn't been here before, and yet... That feeling of nostalgia called to him and made him want to see, and feel the planet.​

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Perhaps he had been here before after all? Long ago?​

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It was faint... But he could make out something in his head. And then it was gone. Letting out a sigh, he would continue his pursuit of whatever it was he had been asked to see.​

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It was funny... Despite the condition of Mandalore now, he still felt at home somehow. It was like the planet hadn't become a wasteland, in his mind... Even if in his eyes, he could see it. It was a weird feeling. Nostalgia. Nostalgia for a planet you'd never even visited.​

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But... Why?​

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"I'm here, what do you want me to look at?"​

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"Look at the grave on the far right end, sixteenth row..."​

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"Alright... I....-"​

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"..."​

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"I..."​

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What he found inscribed on the tombstone was something he couldn't believe.​

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"Here lies Serena Halen... No matter her path, she lived and died a true Mandalorian warrior..."​

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Serena Halen...​

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That was the maiden name of...​

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Of his mother.​

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The clan name was there as well, but the gravestone had rotted with time, and he couldn't make it out...​

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"... She was a Mandalorian."​

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It had... Taken time to process this. He had stayed on Mandalorian to try to find more information, but this far... Nothing. He had received a message from one Celiana, now a Jedi Knight, who he had not seen in quite some time. Deciding he could use the break, he would make his way to the meeting spot...

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

I'd ridden to one of the garrison buildings earlier and now I was waiting for Joshua to show up. While I was waiting for him to arrive I began walking among the ruins before going into the garrison building. As I walked I began noticing that there was actually quite a bit of gear laying around...Not actually that surprising though with the sudden downfall of the Mandalorians here. Continuing to walk through the ruins I finally came to what looked like an armory and after making my way inside I realized there were pieces of Beskar armor along with some other nice surprises. The power was dead but there was actual electricity still running I could feel the energy through The Force. But if there was still power what was it running to? There was something hidden in these ruins and I was very curious as to what it was. Hopefully when Joshua made his way here we could find out what it was that was hidden....

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

I mean, it was very unlikely much beskar was left. The Mandalorians had likely stripped most of it bare, and on the way here, Josh had seen a team destroy someone's home just to get the little bits of beskar inside. Fact was, there was very little to no beskar left on this planet, so the odds of Celiana finding it all that easily, and especially just at random, was very, very slim.

Of course, eventually he would make his way to their arranged meeting spot, and would lean against the wall, eyes closed, arms folded... Just relaxing for the time.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Open to the currents of The Force I focused on the electrical current I'd picked up on earlier. Then I sensed Josh coming up outside the garrison, igniting my saber I notched the frame of the door then went out back through the garrison to meet Josh. Coming back out the entrance I saw Josh leaning against the door frame. "Long time no see Josh, care to join me for a bit of exploration?" Looking back towards him I picked up on his mood if even only a little... "Hey Josh, you alright? Something about your mood seems a bit...off I guess. Not like you to not have some sarcastic comment ready."

Even with Josh seeming a bit...off I wanted to find out where the electrical current led within the garrison. I had a feeling that even though the majority of Mandalore's armaments had been secured and were now elsewhere in the galaxy that there was still something hidden here among the ashes and bones of Mandalore. Why would there still be power to any of the military buildings if there was nothing left there? The Mandalorians were nothing if not known for over preparing, so perhaps there was yet something hidden here that we simply had to do a little searching to find...

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He wasn't surprised she had wanted something the moment they locked eyes. It was nothing new with Celiana, and honestly, at this point he was expecting it before he had even seen her. In response, he would push himself off the wall and stretch out a moment, before shooting Celiana a light smirk in turn. "Never saw that coming" He would joke, with a tone that indicated he was joking. "Sure, why not. I was exploring the planet anyway."

Though to her remark about his mood, he would tilt his head for a moment, before merely shaking his head and giving her a smile. "I'm fine, Cel. I promise" He would remark as he would walk past her and motion for her to come, and indicating for her to take the lead as well. He was okay, just... Still taking in, processing all of this information.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

His joking tone was just kind of how I thought of Josh anymore. That being said I wasn't entirely sure about him being alright either....In any case now we were headed back into the garrison building. Re-tracing my steps I made my way back towards the armory where I'd sensed the electrical currents leading down under the garrison building. Looking back towards Josh I said "Josh you'll have to tell me what you sense but when I came through here earlier I sensed live current still active on this level. I had the sense that if there was still current running on this level that it'd make sense that there would be levels underneath this one. So I wanted your opinion on that and your help finding a way down to the lower levels. Odds are we may both find something of use further down..."

Turning back to him I looked him over and said "You're sure you're alright Josh?"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Joking around was kind of his thing, really. Granted... If he stopped joking around, wouldn't he be just kind of... Well... Boring? Regardless, he would stretch out as he would follow behind the newly minted Jedi Knight. "So I heard you were promoted" He would remark, cracking a neck and trying to stretch out his sore joints. "Congrats" He would add, with a light smile, nudging her playfully in turn. At least his wisecracks and playfulness hadn't faded, even if he did seem a bit off. He was still a bit... Shaken, he had to admit.

Nodding toward her request to let her know if he sensed anything of interest, he would blink when she would ask if he was alright again.

"I'm alright" He would respond. "There are... Personal matters, that are on my mind. But let's focus on the task at hand."

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Smirking at the comment on my promotion I turned and said "Thanks Josh, not entirely sure the Masters made the right choice....Odds are I won't be taking on an apprentice any time soon, even though I could with the new rank. That's honestly the reason why I'm not sure about their decision. I mean what kind of Master would I be? Am I even ready, or worthy of that responsibility?" Sighing I continued moving back towards the armory I'd been in earlier. Focusing through The Force I found the current I'd felt earlier and followed its flow to where it was going on this level. I realized there was a control cluster hidden under a section of durasteel paneling. Ejecting my hidden wrist blade I shoved it into the panel before prying it up. Looking back towards Josh I pulled up a release valve before twisting it and pushing it back down.

After doing so a hatch popped open and looking at Josh I said "Down the rabbit hole?"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"They don't always make the best choices, but their choice is their choice. Just take the promotion and actually prove you deserve it, if you don't think you do" He would remark bluntly with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why complain? You got it. So don't make them regret giving you it. That's all you can do with it. Improve yourself as a Jedi to match what a Knight should actually be. Then you can know you actually bloody deserve it."

He was letting Celiana take the lead on this. Sure, his guard was up and his senses were out and about, but this was her thing... He was just along for the ride. This was Celiana's mission, not his. He'd let her yield the experience from accomplishing it. Once the valve was released and a hole was revealed underneath, he would nod his head.

"You first then."

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Kind of my thought process too...Fact was I needed to work at being a decent Jedi Knight before I even thought about taking on a padawan. Hearing Josh say you first I stood, then jumped down through the hatch. Falling for a few seconds I hit another metal deck when I landed. Looking around I reached out and followed the flow of electricity towards what was probably another hatch. Looking back towards Josh as I reached another hatch release I said "Josh what've you been up to recently? I mean it's been awhile since we've worked together after all." After looking around for a few minutes I found the latch and after pulling it up, twisting, then pushing the release down. Another door opened in the floor and looking back towards Josh I gave him a quick grin and jumped down through the next hatch.

I doubted that there'd be many more hatches to travel through but the fact was that this was the second one I'd been through. Now I was falling again, after a 20 foot drop I hit the floor again. Reaching out I could still feel the power two more levels down. Reaching out I sensed the latch on this level and using The Force repeated the process here and on the next level down. Only the next two levels to go...Odd that we hadn't run into any traps or anything yet. With the power I'd sensed earlier coming from two more levels down though odds were that the next levels would have something waiting for us...

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Jumping after her, he would land before answering her question. "Mainly just re-allocating my schedule with the Silver Jedi. Have to put less time to missions, too much on my body with how much I put on that. I need to be able to spend more time at home, so I'm putting more time into my lessons with teaching Padawans, since that schedule is a bit less strenuous and I can usually fly home afterword once they go their own way. It's less time-consuming to teach then to spend a few days on a planet doing Force knows what."

He would fiddle with his datapad for a moment as they walked. He would show her a holographic picture of a young child, no older then two. He had blonde hair, and brown eyes, very similar to the man who walked alongside her...

"This is my son. He'll be turning two within the next season" He would explain. "He's going to need his father being there."

And with that, he would put it away as he would shrug and jump down the next hatch. The next few were the same, but seemed to be longer drops each time, which was beginning to cause him concern...

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Smiling as Josh rejoined me and showed me a picture of his son along with explaining the reasons why he wasn't out on missions more. Approaching the second to last hatch I realized something, there were controls by this hatch. Reaching out with my senses I felt around on the floors below. There seemed to be a power transfer center on the floor below along with some other random electrical signals.... Those could be anything from small booby traps to an elite set of sentries. Since the floor below was the last one before the final floor there was bound to be some kind of security there. Also with the first drop it'd only been ten feet, the one we'd just done had been 20 which was double the distance to fall.

Looking back towards Josh I said "That's good Josh about time you spent time with your family and not the cute padawans turned Knights. Aside from that though It's important for a son to have his father around I think." Making my way towards the next hatch I poked my head down into the hole then came back out and said "it's another large drop, double the distance of the one we just went down. About 40 feet down, odds are the last one will be double this drop so 80 feet. Odds are there's some kind of security system on the floor below too. Multiple different electric signals which could be anything from booby traps to some kind of elite sentries. Mandalorians aren't known for allowing people to just walk off with things of value to them..."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He figured she'd be surprised that he had a son, he hadn't mentioned his son before. Of course, she knew about his wife, he talked about his wife quite often to... Well, just about everyone that he could, really. But he hadn't really brought Jason up with many people until now. He had allowed Celiana to take the lead for the time being while he followed from behind making sure that nothing would attempt to gut them from behind.

"Aye, I never really... Had a childhood, myself. So if I can give Jason one, it would mean the world to me" He would answer to her statement as he would peer down the hole. Man... These drops were just getting steeper. He didn't think even a Jedi could survive 40 and 80 foot drops... They'd have to find a proper way down this time, no jumping this go around.

"So, any ideas for how to get down that don't involve breaking every bone in our bodies? Shmi won't be happy if I can't perform in the bedroom, you know..." He would half-joke with a light smirk.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Smiling at Josh whilst rolling my eyes at his comments about needing to not break every bone in his body and how he needed to perform in the bedroom. "Josh, what you do with your wife in the bedroom is your business. We will probably need to make a slower descent though..." Unclipping my helmet from my belt I slipped it on and checked my HUD. If we were going to make a safe descent we'd need at minimum some kind of rope, though I also had the climbing hooks in my gauntlets. A line launcher would work as well but I only had one in either of my gauntlets. Looking toward Josh I said "I can loan you a Beskar gauntlet has a line launcher in it so we can each make a safer descent. Though we'll still be dealing with about a twenty foot drop at the end of the line. Just depends on the amount of risk you want to take...."

Slipping off my left Beskar gauntlet I tossed it towards Josh and said "Wouldn't want your delicate bones being cracked or shattered." Then I shot him a wink to emphasize my point. Looking at the hatch I readied the line launcher in my right gauntlet then pointed at the hatch and launched the cable at the hatch. Looking back at Josh I slipped through the hatch more gently this time and began lowering myself down...

@Joshua DragonsFlame

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Oh I know. I still need my bones in proper condition in order to do my business with her though" He would joke back, shooting her another grin in turn. Oh, Shmi would have gotten a kick out of hearing all this, he was sure. Josh would roll his eyes once she handed him the beskar gauntlet after the common about his bones being brittle. "These brittle bones have seen more action then you ever will..." He commented, shaking his head at her before pointing at the hatch and following behind her.

"You know, it's comments like that, that get you spanked" He cracked dryly as he would hit the wall with his feet after zipping at it, and starting to lower himself down alongside her...

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Smiling at his comment of how he'd seen more action than I ever would I continued rappelling down the wall. I was curious as to what had been hidden this far down. If I had to guess it'd be a ship of some prototype design that hadn't made it off planet, either that or some kind of other ship with designs inside of secret origins. Either way the fact that whatever it was was this far down with power systems still running made me a little bit nervous as to what it was down here. I was glad for my beskar'gam armor though as even if there were security measures in place here it was likely that they'd recognize my armor as Mandalorian.

As we neared the bottom of the descent I caught Josh's comment about how my playfully disrespectful comments could end up getting me spanked. Rolling my eyes inside my helmet I looked towards him and then simply reached up and tapped the control on my gauntlet releasing the cable and retracting it as I fell the last twenty feet. Activating some small jets on the back of my Beskar cuirass I slowed my descent just enough to avoid hurting my legs as I landed. Going into a roll to spread out the impact I popped back up and waited for Josh to get down. Speaking back up to him I said, "You may have seen more with your old bones Josh but I've definitely got style going for me."

Looking around with my HUD active I noticed what appeared to be some elite guard droids in hidden alcoves on this level. They also had Echani weapons and what looked to be Echani armor plating. Why these guard droids though? I'd never known Mandalorians to be so receptive to Echani warfare tools. From what I knew they considered Echani to be too delicate, outside of Arja who I knew vastly respected the Echani due to our knowledge of unarmed combat and bladework skills. She'd said the Echani's skills made them ideal for assassins and bodyguards. Mandalorians who used Echani based war-droids and had I not had my Beskar armor I'd have never seen them here...Ideal for assassins indeed.... Odds were that they'd registered me already along with my weapons. Thankfully I had my Echani honor blade which would grant me the droids questioning of how I had such a blade.

@Joshua DragonsFlame

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He merely rolled his eyes in turn, a wry little smirk crossing the Jedi Master's lips as he would listen to her words. Really? Old? "Really? Sweetheart, I'm only 28" He would respond, shaking his head with an amused tone to his voice. But he would ignore it from there as he would allow for Celiana to go first. Once she had made her way down, he would shoot his cable toward the wall and jump, grabbing onto the hook once it had connected to the wall and would begin to bring himself down. Once it had reached the end of it's rope, Josh would unsnap it before digging his armored boots into the wall, sliding down much slower and slowing his descent overall.

Once he had reached a satisfactory distance, he would launch himself off the wall, backflipping through the air before landing on his feet, pulling a reverse somersault before in the same motion bringing his palms to the ground and springing himself upward, flipping through the air once more, two backflips, force-assisted followed as he would then land on his feet, knelled, arms spread out side to side, smirking toward Celiana and shooting her a little wink before shrugging his shoulders and continuing on his way like it was nothing.

Style? Hah. He'd been doing this with style before she'd even joined the Jedi.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Smiling as Josh made a big show out of his dismount as he landed I looked at him and said "I did my dismount without using The Force. By the way, we've got elite Echani battle-droids in the alcoves of this level. They only seem to be watching us now but I'd like to keep an eye on them nonetheless." Looking through my HUD I noticed that two of the droids were now active and observing us in a surveillance mode. Looking around I found the electric current after switching through my visor modes. Well thankfully we wouldn't have to make another descent with my Beskar gauntlets as there were a set of stairs leading down to the final level down. Though there were likely to be more droids on the level below especially since two had switched to a surveillance mode already... Odds were there were several on the level below readying themselves to defend what was on that level. If these droids were programmed with assassination protocols or even battle protocols the ones on the level below us would likely engage us as the ones in surveillance mode would come up behind us...

Clearly whatever was hidden on the level below was of some kind of significant worth otherwise elite guard droids wouldn't be needed. I wondered what the likelihood of these droids yielding to us if we entered into combat with them was...Since they were Echani droids the likelihood was possible if they recognized my unarmed or bladed combat techniques...It'd be a shame if I were forced to have to destroy them as Echani honor-guard droids were highly prized by warrior classes or anyone who'd had the services of one before...

@Joshua DragonsFlame

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Love, I used none of the Force for all but the little extra theatrics at the end... And either way was more stylish in a few seconds then you could ever hope to be" He would tease, thwishing a bit of his long hair that fell to his shoulders back from his face as though he were the most fabulous Jedi bastard in the world. He walked with confidence and swagger, even if he was exaggerating it a fair amount for the sake of bringing about a good laugh. He laughed, too, laughing as he walked past her with that confident strut as though he didn't have a care in the world. He would of course, still remain cautious. He could see the droids there... He saw them, and he was wary of them. His theatrics were jokingly, but his guard was far from down. They were an illusion in a way, the confident strut... They didn't betray the fact that he was ready to rumble at any given moment.

Keeping an eye on them, he would let out a deep breath as he would continue to simply let Celiana take the lead, but his eyes and ears were fully ready, as were his senses, full guard...

He had a bad feeling about this.

[member="Celiana"]