Back in My Day

[Keira Priest]

Antecedent​

Dragon Palace Casino​

​

The glittering neon skyline of Antecedent wasn't the first place one thought of when Mandalorians came to mind, but it was the closest thing to home Keira had had in a long while before she found her place among the vode of the Mandalorian Empire. A fondness remained for the planet even still, as she considered it the place where everything in her life truly took off from, both the good and the bad. At one point it was a planet to be feared for nothing more than the name of the criminal syndicate that resided there, and that mantle was slowly being earned back with the emergence of the Black Ties. Despite all of those other monikers, however, one rang true above all others: it was still some kind of home.

And now it would be the meeting place for herself and another Mandalorian, a man she had only really spoken to offhand before this point. [member="Zef Halo"] was an old friend to her brother, a highly skilled warrior from all she had seen, and some kind of acquaintance of hers. Now the two of them would be convening at the fabled Dragon Palace Casino for nothing more than drinks and idle conversation. A drastic change from the lives they usually led, and from the near-constant combat that had encompassed the whole of the Empire of late. She wasn't entirely sure who between the two of them had been responsible for arranging everything, only that it was happening very soon.

So for the first time in a long time she forewent her armor in favor of more casual attire, complete with her leather jacket that was almost always present when she was off the battlefield. Of course, her lightsaber still remained at her hip, but at this point that was a given. Her other weaponry had been left behind. This was, after all, supposed to be a roughly average evening, though she had a feeling that would change rather quickly as things progressed. They were Mandalorians, and when that factor mixed with alcohol everything tended to go downhill in one fashion or another. But this time she wouldn't play the instigator. She had to pretend to be a decent person every once in awhile.

While she was waiting for him to arrive she did nothing more than meander through the crowds on the main floor of the Casino, breaking up fights before they could begin and more or less keeping everyone moderately in check. It was a way of occupying her time and keeping herself busy, even if those means were violent. Someone like her simply wasn't meant to lead a wholly peaceful existence. This night would be something to behold.

 

[Zef Halo]

Antecedent.

A hive of scum and villainy painted in colorful and attractive flashing lights and millions of advertisements. Establishments upon establishments, gangs upon gangs. Small-time hustlers roamed around the streets targeting those that had arrived on tourist purposes, believing the hype that tour operators often produced falsely. Then there were the vehicle thieves, jacking expensive vehicles in less than sixty seconds and more often than not hijacking a vehicle that belonged to someone from the latest parts of the food chain. Then bad things happened. An luminescent environment of all sorts of criminals like insurance scammers to loan sharks and neighborhood empires. Above them all stood out one conventions of scum.

The Black Tie Syndicate.

He looked at the tower that was the infamous Dragon Palace Casino. Somewhere inside might be his friend - [member="Miss Blonde"], and drag him to pay more about his armor with work. Zef would probably never forget that stygium crystal mine. A walk in the park she said. Right.

Apart from dodging Miss B, the ex-smuggler had to meet up with the bathrobe-wearing-dress Mandalorian girl from Corellia - [member="Keira Ticon"]. Having at least a few days of relaxation from all the explosions was highly appreciated but that was not Zef's primary reason to accept.

Jaymes' little girl had sure grown up.

The scoundrel nodded to the guards as the fancy doors opened before him to reveal a scenery far too seen by Zef. In the middle there was Ticon breaking up fights with absolutely no remorse.

"Is it coincidence or just normal for everywhere you are to include excessive violence." The Mandalorian stopped a few feet before the brawl, his T-visor at Keira. "I thought drinks will be waiting for me rather than this."

Zef chuckled but inside his stomach turned upside down, it was time she knew more...

The galaxy was too damn small.

 

[Keira Priest]

No response was granted immediately, as her attention was focused more so on one of the brawlers as she held the man up against the wall and a few feet off the ground no less, all of this seemingly effortlessly. Her voice was low and brimming with threats of violence as she spoke, "If you start another fight around here I'm going to take that glass of yours and break it over your head so you'll be picking shards out for the next year. Understood?" The man only nodded meekly, and Keira let him fall with no regard as to whether he was able to find his feet again, uncaring as to whether or not he left the Casino never to return or remained for the night. He had been dealt with, and that was enough.

Finally she turned to Zef, smiling crookedly, brushing her hair back out of her face. "That's not excessive. Excessive is nearly decapitating someone with durasteel scrap thrown telekinetically." Mygeeto had been interesting. "Drinks are on me anyway. Turns out I have more money than I know what to do with after working for the Republic and Blonde. Can't go spending all of it on new gear, and the twins aren't quite old enough to start asking for things yet." She motioned for him to follow, sitting down at the bar and ordering a glass of whiskey for herself, nodding to him to order whatever he wanted. After the times they had fought together, something like this was almost too mundane.

"Do you always wear your beskar'gam? At least lose the buyce. Not like you need it around here." Now that she thought about it, she had never seen his face. Then again, there wasn't much time for that when combat was almost always on the agenda. A faint tremor in the ethereal about him told her that he was anxious about something, but she wouldn't prod him as to what. "I think this is the second time we've talked when we're not trying to kill something. At least this time it's completely friendly territory." Alderaan had been a botched attempt at politics, and also where she had first crossed paths both with Zef and her adoptive brother, now the Mand'alor.

Small talk wasn't exactly her strong point. She really was better suited for the battlefield.

[member="Zef Halo"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Zef chuckled at the scene where Keira demonstrated her character. There was no difference for her whether she was on the battlefield or out of it. The damn violent and direct attitude apparently were hereditary in the Ticon blood. Reminding him of the Mygeeto demonstrations was not something Zef wanted to remember right now. It was hell of a bloody battle, one won with a lot of casualties. The Mandaloriand kind of felt blowing up two buildings upon the foe's bases and men was less gore than Keira's use of the Force on some poor soul.

"That's beyond my level. Those mojo jojo space wizard poodoo ain't my kind of thing." The scoundrel laughed as he followed her down to the bar. Corellian ale, his usual drink, was his order. "If your spawns get the same attitude, I'd start paying from now for a god damn good lawyer....or pile up a lot of money for others' funerals."

Others' funerals. A brutal action that the Ticon family would use in their 'cleaning' operations be it for new territory or family vendetta. Slaughtering but one of a whole family and then sending money to pay for their funerals. An odd bunch the Ticons but they knew how to make sure to be remembered. Even now, Corellians knew about 'don't let someone else pay for your funeral.', a subtle phrase that meant - don't get into something, it's gonna end up really badly. It all sourced for the decades old practice that the Ticons did.

"I do always wear my beskar'gam. And the buyce - watch this." Zef gestured at his helmet and a small hole opened from which a straw popped out. The straw went into the bottle of ale and he took a sip. "No identity. Ever."

His thoughts then went once again back to Keira's family, Zef knew it was high time he made her know more about her family. At least, if she wanted to. Her family was once again another entity he had a debt to pay to. Not in credits but in appreciation.

Just like the debt he had on himself after the appearance of his wayward daughter.

"So it's been bad now, with Corellia half destroyed." The Mandalorian started cautiously, his tone sounding cheerful and one used for small talk. "You got your home there still ? Ol' man Ticon surely has got some properties for you to move in. Unless, of course, you destroyed them yourself."

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"Isn't your daughter a Jedi? You'll have to worry about the space wizard chit yourself." At least the girl would demonstrate some kind of restraint given that she resided with some kind of Order. When talk shifted to the twins she flashed a smile and took a pull of her whiskey. "They're sensitive, yeah. I wouldn't have expected anything less. But they're being raised among people who see the Force as a tool, not something mystical that you need to pay homage to, so at least they'll get the chance to choose their own place on the spectrum." If they chose to abide by a Code of some sort, so be it, but unlike millions of others within the Jedi and Sith both, they wouldn't be indoctrinated. Free will was something prized by Corellians, after all.

The trick demonstrated when it came to his helmet only drew a quiet laugh and a shake of her head. "You're vode. You sort of gave up the whole no identity thing whenever you became Mandalorian." That had been something she had been thankful for and was now reminded of as the topic took a change of direction. After the death of her parents and the collapse of the criminal empire they had once reigned over she had been wandering, lost and with nowhere to go for quite some time, until she reconnected with her older brother and a newly formed criminal syndicate known as the Red Ravens. A turning point in her life if there had ever been one, and just like that she had been back to what she knew seamlessly.

Like all good things, however, that had eventually come to an end, and she had experienced metamorphosis in its varying stages countless times throughout the years, only recently finding something of herself again among the Mandalorian Empire. It was a far cry from the life of a criminal she had grown up in and around, but it suited her just as well, if not better, than that had. Now she had more family and friends than she knew what to do with, something to fight for, and a place to rest her head at the end of the day. And, well, meetings like this as well, whatever they meant in the grand scheme of things.

"It's been...something else." Corellia hadn't been home for her for quite some time when the planet was broken, but like all others that hailed from the world its destruction was something that tore at her. Although she had scarcely set foot on her homeworld, it was still an intrinsic part of her, as was the case with all other Corellians. And now a part of that was gone for good. "I stopped having any real home there nineteen years ago. I, ah..." Why was it so hard for her to come to terms with, even now? "My parents were murdered, probably by some rival gang. The criminal empire we had fell to pieces, and all the rest of us went on our own way. Any properties we still had have been gone for a long while now. Nothing left to destroy, because there's nothing left."

[member="Zef Halo"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Upon the mention of his daughter and her being a Jedi, he shuddered artistically. Beneath his helmet, his face had made an obnoxious facial expression while shaking his buyce. Keira was right, Zef had to worry about that space wizard things by himself. He had already gone and saved her from slavery which was an... enlightening experience. The scoundrel's thoughts went for just a moment away wondering what his daughter was doing now. Then his thoughts mixed with what Keira was saying and what he thought next probably resonated to both of them. Zef's eyes fell upon a family of four happily entering the casino's hotel section.

In another galaxy far, far away, we might've been them.

But we are here.

"Your kids will do fine." Zef said and meant it. He took a sip from his ale through the straw. The good ol' Corellian ale. Used to be better in the days, though. The good ol' days.

The Mandalorian would listen to the identity comment but leave his comments to himself, he'd always operated with no face since he had become a Mandalorian. Yet, before that his face was known both to the gangs of Nar Shadaa, to the numerous smuggling employers and of course to the Ticon family. The family his father had told him to go to and save himself from the gang wars he had been part of on Nar Shadaa. It was on Corellia, employed by the Ticon family, he started working first as a vehicle and starship mechanic and then eventually a smuggler. It was there where he met Jaymes Ticon and his kids - the one sitting in front of him being one of them.

Looking at Keira, Zef really felt old.

"True, Jaymes and all the family were murdered in cold blood." Zef spoke, he had even left his ale alone, simply staring into the bar. He had to be direct. "But they wouldn't have been done there and then. If they had not been betrayed by one of their own."


[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

In those first few moments it seemed as if Keira hadn't quite registered what had been said about her family, because she hadn't, not really. Or at least, not in the since that she had fully processed all that had been brought to light in a matter of seconds. Her parents had been murdered, yes, but the rest of this was new information. And none of it sat right with her. Because whenever someone betrayed the Ticons, they were found dead the next day, simple as that. It was how it always had been, and how she imagined it always would be. Until the day of her parents' murder, they had been a night unstoppable criminal empire. And all of that had fallen in a single day.

Being twelve years old when everything happened, even she had intrinsically understood that with her mother and father out of the picture, the rest of the family wouldn't be able to hold up much longer. And so, one by one, they had departed their homeworld in search of something more, including her a mere two weeks later, when she left for the Jedi. It hadn't been the future she imagined, as evidenced by her departure four years later, but it was something more. At that point she had nearly forgotten about what led her to that way of life, in favor of shifting her focus to more favorable things, but now all of that came rushing back, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

All that he told her meant he knew her family, and had been fairly close to them as well. Really, it was something that would have been nice to know much earlier, but as with all Mandalorians Zef apparently had his own way of going about things. Telling her that the death of her parents was an inside job wasn't the best way to do so, but it was too late to go back now. Slowly she unclenched her right hand from a fist, reminding herself to breathe. There would be time to consider all the facts later. For now she had to learn just what those facts were.

Taking a breath, she leveled her gaze with the T-visor of his helmet, "What the hell are you talking about?"

[member="Zef Halo"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Necessary music.

Well, she sure as hell did not seem happy. And that was normal. Zef expected it or at least semi-expected it. Grief suddenly took over his mind, long lost behind grief. Grief accumulated over the years. Over so many years for so many decisions and events. It had been around twenty - thirty years since the execution of the Ticon's heads. Keira's parents murdered in cold blood. All because of a betrayal. One betrayal had costed so much change of people's lives including Zef's but mainly Jaymes' children. The Mandalorian could see that just by looking at Keira.

She certainly was the embodiment of character that her father would be proud of.

But she was not who she was supposed to be had the Ticons lived.

Zef knew that. First as an employee to the family to which his own father sent him after his father's passing, then as a friend to Jaymes and his siblings. He owed a lot to the family, Jaymes had given Zef a golden chance to up start his life from a simple gangster to a smuggler. Had he failed to deliver in this case as well ? Taking care of the man's children was what Jaymes' wish would've been but the situation... the situation was against him at that time. Or did he not fight enough ? Did he not fight enough to be able to take care of Jaymes' offspring ?

Maybe that was the reason for all of his grief. Not only the numerous lost friends over the years and his own mistakes but also the numerous times where he would give everything in his fight against the odds, against fate.

Fortune favors the brave.

But sometimes it does not.

"Whiskey. Corellian." Zef snapped his fingers, still not facing Keira but the bar. When the whiskey arrived, a moment long flashback occured as the reflection of his buyce in the whiskey transformed to a reflection of himself twenty and more years ago.

--

"Come on, Trek Jr." One of Jaymes' cousins yelled out from behind.

"Show us how the damn Vohaloveer drink. Y'all remained Corellian still in that shithole of Nar Shadaa?" Jaymes Ticon's voice rang behind him and echoed as if sending ripples through space and time.

There I sat. Peer pressured to drink this shit.

"Ugh, I don't want to drink this crap."

"Hahahaha, you little wuss you. It's damn Corellian Whiskey not just any 'whiskey'. Even Keira can drink it!!"

"You're a real prick sometimes, Jaymes."

"I'd say always, buddy." Keira's father laughed almost choking himself along with the rest of the Ticons who were urging him to drink.

"Fuck it."

--

The flashback merged with the reality of him downing the drink like so many years ago, this time with a straw through his buyce. In the warm, cozy and welcoming home of the Ticons.

Trek Jr. Trek. Trek's kid.

They never called him Zef there. They called him with anything that related to his father and that's how the little ones knew him. Trek Vohaloveer had once saved Jaymes' own father's life and never wanted a reward.

Still silent to Jaymes' daughter, Zef ordered one more Corellian whiskey and as it came, he began the procedure of taking his helmet off. In the process of which he would remember the numerous gatherings of the Ticon family of which he would always be part of, the numerous times he would show both to Keira and her siblings how a vehicle and a starship worked, the thousands of times he would chase them around the large estate for taking an essential part.

Good ol' days.

Trek's kid set the helmet on the bar infront of him. The mirror infront of him where the bottles stood revealed to Zef that his youth was gone. What he had done, he had done. His life, his youth had passed. No turning back, so many choices he came to regret now when he had reached the point of no return. Perhaps that was why he was always with his buyce. He did not want to meet reality. He was afraid of growing old, much more than dying. And now at this age reality had him straight in the face. The Mandalorians' return to the galaxy, his daughter and the Ticons.

"I survived."


[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"I survived." Those two words echoed in her subconscious, and for a long few moments Keira didn't seem to fully recognize that he'd removed his helmet. That was secondary to what had been insinuated in his final and only statement. Her right hand that was holding her glass gripped it with nearly enough strength to shatter it to pieces, but she managed to restrain herself, releasing it and resting her hands on the bartop. Taking in a slow breath she exhaled slowly, measuredly, mentally counting backwards from ten in order to calm herself and ensure she didn't lash out due to the emotions swirling around inside her reminiscent of a storm waiting to crash down.

Finally she looked to him, something about her gaze hollow, as if she wasn't entirely present in the current moment. With the reveal of his face, even after all the years it had been, his countenance sparked familiarity. Memories flashed through her head almost too fast to process, and she wasn't able to register much other than that she knew him, and dammit, how had she missed this before? It was obvious now, more than it had ever been, though his name hadn't been the same back then. No, Zef was a very recent epithet, one fitting for the fellow Mandalorian that sat with her. But it wasn't the same one that rang with a familiarity of years past.

"Trek." It seemed to fall past her lips unbidden, emitting as a sigh just as much as a statement, her dark gaze softening. "I remember. My dad used to tell stories all the time. It's been nineteen years." Her recollections were blurry, but clear enough to denote the importance of the one she conversed with. "I used to sit in the hangar with the rest of the kids and listen to you go on about ships and how they worked. Then we'd get bored and take something to run off with, just so you'd have to chase us around." Those had been far simpler times, and it surprised her how much she genuinely missed them. It took a lot to bring forth true emotion from her, but family was a surefire way to accomplish it.

Unbidden, her mind transitioned from those carefree memories to those of the day when she had walked in on her parents' murder. It was one of few things she recalled distinctly from her childhood. There had been a handful of police cruisers surrounding the house, sirens flashing noiselessly, their very presence indicative of something very wrong. The Ticons were a crime family, law enforcement was never a good omen. More like than not it meant someone had gotten busted, but on that day a sinking feeling accompanied the sight, and somehow she knew. None of them had ever quite forgiven themselves for it. Well, those that could remember, anyway. And she had been one of them. She had always been one of them.

"What do you mean?"

[member="Zef Halo"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Hell, it's been a long time.

The good memories that returned brought a slight smile on Zef's face but it was immediately erased by reality. The tough and ugly face of reality that hammered down all your dreams and all your beliefs. Obliterated all traces of naiveness. It was the gravity that brought you down face first in the ground when you thought you were soaring in the sky.

Good times.

"Your dad's cousin. The ginger. Gave all the security pass codes to that damn rival family. They had promised him that he would take over the Ticons as only the deaths of your father and his brothers would be bring the cousin as the frontman. He never thought that the family would kill him just like they killed your parents that rainy day." Zef spat out directly. To the point. He assumed that she would be hell of a mad, hell of a mad that she could not vent her vengeance now, since the traitor was dead. Killed by his own conspirers.

Zef then grinded his teeth and barely whispered, heavy sadness and shame in his throat.

"I ran. Almost dead. I ran." He was always told that he was born under a lucky star. But what luck is this ? Have to live the rest of the days with all the horrors you witness. Was this not a heavier burden than death ? Yet, he had a responsibility after running away. The kids of the Ticons. Zef felt that he did not have the power to admit that. Was he a coward ? Was he an egoist ? Always running away from his problems, never meeting them head on.

Always.

The Ticons first.

Varian and Joza, after.

The Mandalorians two decades ago.

All his life, he had spent running but damn did he feel tired of running now. Running time was over, he could not run no more. He'd stand infront of the cutlass and see its swing - a glancing blow over his hair or a clean cut through the neck.

"Your father. He. He had me promise him to return and take care of all of you - his kids." Both know what happened with that promise.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

If Zef was entirely correct about one thing, it was her anger at the betrayal of her family. And this time Keira had nothing to direct it against, which was perhaps the biggest frustration of all. The muscles of her jaw taughtened visibly, her right hand tightening around her glass, cracks running up one side. Oh, how badly she wanted to lash out violently and explosively, but what common sense and restraint she still retained prevented her from doing so. Besides, some part of her knew it wouldn't solve anything. She was nineteen years too late. All she could really do was be thankful that she had gotten some kind of closure, even if it wasn't the sort she had sought out.

It hurt. More than her hatred for the betrayers, more than the rage that boiled just beneath the surface, it hurt. And she felt that pain purely and deeply, in every last fiber of her being. Her eyes slid shut, a quiet sigh escaping her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, cybernetic left hand clenching into a fist lest she break something more important than a glass of whiskey. This was her excuse for an emotional spectrum. That switch was either flipped on or off. She either felt every emotion or none at all. Right now it was most certainly the former, and she remembered why she had closed herself off. It was easier to live without worrying about the later regret. But now that regret was all she had.

Next to her sat one who shared the same. After listening to him speak she slid off her stool and to her feet, dark gaze not quite meeting his own grey-blue eyes. Instead of walking away or otherwise reacting unpleasantly, she did something that surprised even her. Wordlessly she hugged him tightly, refusing - or perhaps not willing - to let him go for a long few moments. That single embrace somehow communicated their mutual pain, making the burden easier to bear and at once seeming to dissipate it entirely. Rarely did she ever get this close to another, physically or emotionally. This was an oddity in and of itself, but one the both of them needed after what had been said.

"It's okay." Slowly she released him, smiling just slightly. "It's okay."

[member="Zef Halo"]