Build Me An Army Worthy Of Manda'yaim

[Mia Monroe]

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

A discreet note had been passed through to Mia, an extension of help from a Mandalorian Mia had yet to clap eyes on. The Death Watch had taken up arms and were gathering in Sundari and Mia was left to pick up the pieces of the mess that had been Keldabe. War had been declared, the clans were divided and Mia's dream of a clean slate was far from her reach.

It was not, however unreachable. The journey between here and there would be long and bloody. She'd left her newborn son in the care of her brother yet even as she sat in the newly built Oyu'baat, she yearned to be with him. There was time for that. She shifted in her seat, impatient and waiting for Magnus Deshra to arrive.

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus passed through the door and into the bustling, cantina-like place. It was apparently new and refurbished, after the mess the place had been previously. He didn't find it that impressive, but he supposed Mandalorians never cared much for being showy; he was glad of that. He found things like that unbelievably gawdy. His helmet and armour were clearly of Mandalorian design, though built lighter and more flexible than many of his peers; he preferred movement over protection, at least for the most part.

Deshra spotted the woman of the hour quite quickly; he'd read up on her and seen her picture plenty before, so she was hard to miss. He kept his hands behind his back, approaching towards her and standing next to where she sat. "Su'cuy." It was half an expression of surprise in her case; it was a bit unusual that she was still alive at this point, with all he'd heard about those who would much prefer to see her dead. He nodded his head politely. "Magnus Deshra." His tone was flat and dry, and he imagined he spoke oddly for a Mandalorian; he hadn't been born one, and it had been a while since he'd been in true contact with his people. It had been even longer since he was here. He glanced around the Oyu'baat, speaking quietly as he often did. "Guess I should've expected this place to look this way. It seems like your style."

All he'd really heard of the woman calling herself Mandalore was stories and second-hand accounts; this was the first real conversation. He'd been looking forward to it, too.


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia smirked gesturing at the chair opposite her. "Su'cuy, [member="Magnus Deshra"]." she didn't bother to introduce herself, he already knew who she was. Hell if people hadn't heard of her, they certainly knew her face and name now. A certain bounty had seen to that, and she'd no doubt that a lot of old friends might come calling soon. A problem to be handled at another time.

"The Oyu'baat has never been what aretiise call flashy, but its the best bar on Manda'yaim with the best supply of drinks to." she waited for him to sit. "I understand you have something that might be of use to our cause?"

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus finally sat down, looking towards Monroe with interest as she described the bar. "It's a shame I don't drink." He tapped his fingers together as they rested on the surface in front. He seemed to be considering something, mulling it over in his mind; most likely how to put what he was about to say, thinking over his response to her question.

"An army." Magnus remained very still before he finally leaned forward, the dark visor of his helmet reflecting everything that was in his gaze. "Not of Mandalorians, but a sizeable army. More than many can offer. Or will, at the moment." He paused again, pacing himself; every movement and word seemed to be highly deliberate and calculated, the product of a cold demeanour and an analytical mind. "My soldiers will be loyal and willing. They'll fight, kill and die for you. Usually, I'd charge more, even for the usual discount a Mandalorian makes. But I want you to have as much as you can." He leaned back in the chair finally, giving more personal space as he seemed to mull over everything again for a moment. "I'll provide them and their equipment, but I won't openly declare support. You understand that the things you've done aren't easily forgotten. I've kept my eye on things for a while, and this is not because of any personal love or care towards you. But what Vizsla represents....that's not good for anyone, Mandalorian or not. I believe the galaxy will be in a better place if you can win this."


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia chewed the offer over for a moment. "The lesser of two evils, eh?" she commented with a nod. "I understand, you want to protect you and yours and I respect that. There will come a time when you will have to declare, one way or the other. Everyone will get sucked into this war whether they want to be or not. Not because Ra and I demand it, but because Manda'yaim demands it. Because everything we hope to build at the end of it all will depend on who stands beside us."

She sat forward arms resting on the table top and studied him carefully. "What guarantee do I have that they will fight for me?" To accept an army, at cost, from a man that wouldn't publicly declare was dangerous, in Mia's opinion. If Magnus was lying, and his loyalties lied with Ra, then he would be able to turn the army against her.

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus was unusually still and stiff as he listened to Monroe. He was talking with another Mandalorian, so it was hardly like the armour was going to prevent any obviousness of his body language; he tried to keep it constantly under control and hard to understand at all times. Not because of dishonesty, but something that came naturally to him if he wanted to be successful in business. You could never let another know when you felt pressure or give them an opportunity to think they had the upper hand. "Perhaps one day that time will come. But it is not today."

His words were spoke frankly; he doubted she would care for any mincing of words or dodging around the point, and he didn't either. He wasn't sure if it came down to just Mandalorians or those with little patience for that sort of thing. "They have no implants, no communications beyond planetwide range, and I won't be within that range at all. If you'd like, I can show you where they're trained; you can train them to be soldiers yourself, or be trained by Mandalorian sergeants you approve. I'll allow them to take in Mandalorian culture and to be taught that you are the rightful Mandalore." Magnus steepled his fingers, crossing a leg onto another; more of a habit than anything. "They are in their formative years, after all. Raising them to be Mandalorian is no different from adopting an adult, like I was. Did you have your own guarantee in mind?" He sensed it might be something like that - but he'd been wrong before.

Whatever the Mandal'or was thinking, it intrigued him. "I realize declaring for you is more honourable; more scrupulous. If not doing so means I get no credit, so be it, I don't care about that. I believe you can restore this planet, and the Mandalorians with it. Ra Vizsla has no interest in building. He wants to destroy, and he wants power. Even if I turned on you, he'd want me dead for just having been on your side first." He wondered if perhaps he just seemed untrustworthy; maybe he did, but she was truly his only option. Vizsla hadn't even been considered. There was no man beneath that helmet, no eyes hidden behind his black visor - only violence. If he stayed out of this entirely and the Death Watch won, he'd be killed for inaction, along with every other Mandalorian in the galaxy Vizsla could get his hands on. Or perhaps Ra would be gracious and allow him to live in perpetual servitude in return for everything he owned. No matter what, Magnus didn't fancy the deal.


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia shook her head. "I don't have time to train them. The war has already started, I need battle ready soldiers not pups." she rubbed her eyes and sighed. Desperate times called for desperate measures. "I trust you not to be stupid enough to betray me, because you're right in what you say. Ra would kill you for being an 'insurrectionist' , but your death would be quick and clean at his hands. Rest assured, if you are not true to your word, I will not be so kind."

The promise was spoken with an even tone, and she let the words sink in for a moment before continuing. "How many, how quickly and how much?"

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus stared blankly from beneath his visor as Mia made her threat; he'd expected that. Mandalorians didn't make idle threats, they made promises. Mandalorians however, tended to promise a lot; he wondered if it was why they always fought amongst themselves. Promises to one and then the other. Mandalorians always followed their word and what they said they would do; he tried to be the same. He wasn't perfect in that degree, but he did do his best.

"4 million credits." He said it blankly and without any pause, continuing to stare at her. "For that, I offer 50,000 clones; they can move on a moment's notice and are ready now. This is considering upkeep and the feeding costs; I'll send them with spares for equipment and food that should keep them going for a number of months. We should have around the same number of clones ready in those few more months; once they're ready, you can have them as well, for another 1.5 million." Magnus spoke matter-of-factly, as he often did when discussing prices. They were far less than he would ask for usually - but he expected her to try and haggle him down anyway. His clones were grown and trained at an exceptionally faster rate than normal, and conditioned exactly as required. True, what he offered right now was closer to an Army Corps, but with the reinforcement offered in a few months time, he was giving her that veritable army. Deshra Labs would be at a loss with this, but he was confident he could make up for it later.


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia nodded pensively. "Two million, and we discuss the second half you can deploy when they are ready to deploy and when I've seen what they can do." It was a huge undercut, but Mia knew he wouldn't take it. Such was the joys of negotiating on price. Always aim lower than you expect to pay, on the off chance you get a bargain.

If he dug his heels in at four million, she'd find the money for it. She needed the bodies to win this. The might be bought, but she'd off them all a chance at a life beyond what they were grown for. If they weren't mandalorians now, they would be by the end of it all.

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus was almost eerily still, not making any noise before he finally spoke again. "Four million. And you're right, we can discuss the second batch when they're ready." Perhaps he was always just naturally stubborn; bad habit, he supposed. Or maybe it was just a blessing that he was like this. If he wasn't so damned stubborn, he wouldn't have done so well with his company as he already was; with this contract, even if it was overall a loss, the chance to refine and further improve their clones and increase their reputation would mean growth. Lots of growth.

Though there was that stubbornness, it was tempered by sense; Magnus knew she needed this more than he needed her credits, by a longshot. If he needed her credits, he wouldn't have lowered his price so much already. Although Vizsla's ideology was nice for his followers, bodies and blood would win this war; he had a lot of both to spare. "Perhaps by that time, I'll have even more to offer you." If the projected growth went well, he'd have much more he could do. He began taking mental notes; he would have to ensure the clones provided were a good mix of species, males and females. His clones already leaned towards a warrior and fighting culture; the way of a Mandalorian would appeal to them. If a large group decided to stay, it wouldn't be good for the genetic diversity of future clans to have hundreds of the same person, would it?


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia smiled. "Three million."

His heels were dug in and she knew it. But habit made her try.

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Beneath the helmet, Magnus actually broke a smirk. That was the first time in a while; smirks and pangs of approval in his face were uncommon, where smiles were a mythical beast, rarely seen by the common sentient. "Four million, Manda'lor." Many businessmen found him intimidating and cracked quickly; that was boring.

Though it was minor and fleeting, Magnus had missed the slight thrill of that negotiation, that side of business and dealing. However, as quickly as it passed, so did the smirk on his face. "Believe me, you need these soldiers much more than I need your credits."


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia laughed and sat back, the laughter seemed to take away the darkness that had pooled around her eyes. War was exhausting, and sometimes, to survive it, you needed to find amusement in the simplest of things. "Alright Deshra, can't blame a girl for trying. Four million it is."

He was right, she did need his soldiers. "I want them withing the week, deployed and set up at Norg Bral." she extended a hand to shake.

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus could see she was tired. Even exhausted, perhaps. A war like this would wear anyone out in her position; he had no doubt the things she'd done, and would do, weighed heavily on her. Maybe it was for the best that they did. A leader with no regrets, none at all, those were the ones to be concerned about.

He nodded firmly towards her as she stated what she wanted. "They will be, as you say." He didn't pause as he often did, immediately putting out his hand and firmly gripping hers to give the handshake. It wasn't over the top or a squeeze by any means; you could tell a lot about someone by their handshake. For Magnus, even that was reserved, with little feeling and only the firmness apparent. He made himself obvious in ways; some intentional and some less so.


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia made a mental note to look a little more closely at Deshra and his history, something about the man intrigued her but if he wasn't willing to openly declare it would have to go on her list of things to do if they won the war.

When, she corrected herself. When they won the war. "This will make a big difference, Deshra, I won't forget it."

[member="Magnus Deshra"]

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus simply nodded. He didn't think there was much else to discuss. He slowly stood up, though his gaze didn't move away from her. "You can remember my contribution later, once you've won. Ret'urcye mhi, Manda'lor. Unless you had something else you wanted to ask?"

Magnus got the feeling she had something else on the mind; however, with her thoughts no doubt plagued by strategy and how to win this war, even with 50,000 extra men, he hadn't considered it important. With negotiations over now though, he didn't see the harm in asking. That, and it may always be something important later. Even if he couldn't answer whatever it was now...he could come across that information at a later time. He had the habit of coming across useful data.


[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia paused for a moment before responding. "Maybe..." she said "Keep your ears and eyes open. Its easier to see from the shadows than it is from the front line. If you hear or see something that might turn the tide, I'd appreciate the intelligence."

She nodded. "Ret'urcye mhi, [member="Magnus Deshra"]."

 

[Magnus Deshra]

Magnus didn't say anything else. There wasn't anything else he really could say; he thought she had understood it by this point, that she had a supporter even if he wasn't going to be obvious about it. Perhaps she'd realized that from the start, but it was hard to read; an advantage on her part, no doubt.

Deshra quickly made his leave and walked away, heading out of the Mandalorian bar. Though he'd enjoyed the world, filled with his people and others that finally felt like him...he knew the serenity of it all couldn't last. There would be fire and death here, across the planet if not in that very bar. He was contributing to it, but something in the back of his mind told him, that it was for a greater good. Heading off to find his ship again, Magnus pondered whether that was really true. What would become of this planet, who would rule it. No matter who it was, he had the feeling the galaxy at large was in for a time of turmoil.


[member="Mia Monroe"]