Don't Stand Alone

[Subject 37]

Mygeeto - Orbital Station
[member="Kade Kelborn"]

Kiran sat quietly in what seemed to be a very comfortable chair made out of some sort of fluffy creature. There was a weapon leaning against the back of the chair, a blaster on the glass table in front of him. To his left was a massive window that looked down onto the surface of Mygeeto, to his right stood a woman in full Mandalorian Armor, black with orange slashes of paint clawed across the breast of it. Her helmet sat in place, though beneath it one was able to tell she was scowling just from the way she was standing.

The mercenary paid her no mind.

She didn't like the room that she had chosen, and her opinion had merit in this matter. The room wasn't exactly the most Mandalorian thing that Kiran had ever seen, in fact it was almost a bit too...plushy for the occasion. Ordinarily this room was used for bankers, meetings were millions of credits were traded, it wasn't the right sort of room for this kind of talk, but that was why Kiran had picked it.

No self respecting Mandalorian would come here unless they had to, or unless they were being paid. Of course Kiran had made sure that the particular Mandalorian he wanted to come here would show, but that had been the work of Sera Spar, not himself. He smiled slightly, tapping his fingers against the armored edge of his gauntlets. His eyes flashed quickly towards the Chrono on his gauntlet. "Your people are not a timely bunch."

The woman looked down at him.

"You should have picked a better place. Myrkyr, Mandalore itself maybe."

The helmet distorted her voice, but her displeasure was clear. Kiran only shook his head.

"Too obvious. Too noisy. This isn't something we want advertised, not yet." Clandestine activities were also not in the Mandalorian style, but that was why Kiran was here to guide the way. Though she didn't like it, Sera knew that Kiran was right, and that was why she stilled herself at his side. There was a reason she had hired him for his services.

 

[Sal Katarn]

A stocky Mandalorian proceeded down halls of Mygeeto station, face inscrutable behind red lacquered helm. Matters proceeded poorly on Mandalore. At the bank of the Kelita, the scions of Clan Verd chose to reject notion of action and honor in favor of consoling words. Kade did not need consoling, for this was no matter of grief, but of vengeance. They denied responsibility for the deaths on the station. They denied his right to challenge in single combat. Such slights would not go unpunished. They were no brothers of his.

Kade of Clan Kelborn entered the room. At a glass desk sat [member="Kiran Vess"], while at his side stood a Mandalorian whose armor he did not recognize - orange and black. Justice and a zest for life. Kade jutted out jaw beneath helm, noting the weapons the mercenary had placed easily within reach. The man was as transparent as the desk.

Deliberately, the Kelborn's faceless helm panned slowly across the room. The whole place was a posh cutaway of executive lifestyles, full of wealthy, meaningless decor. Without the anticipation of lucrative sums, such finery lost its appeal. Out the window he could see the snow orb of Mygeeto, a wide expanse of white ringed in blue that blotted out the stars. The place had become a stronghold for the Mandalorian Empire, which made the mercenary's request for a meeting here all the more odd.

Kelborn walked forward until he stood several paces away from the desk. He did not sit.

"Well met, though choice of venue odd. Speak and have intention made known, for what purpose do a Kelborn and a Saevan meet?"

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kade Kelborn"]

Kiran arched an eyebrow. Well at least the man was direct, that was something of a bonus. He looked briefly towards Sera, as if he was expecting the woman to say something, but as always she was silent. When with her clan Sera was generally a jovial person, but when with others? Strangers? She was silent. It was an odd sort of contrast, but not unusual for someone like her. Kiran finally turned his attention back onto the Mandalorian that stood before him.

"Clan Verd." Kiran said simply. "That is the reason."

It was the simple truth. "Clan Spar, and several of it's sister clans have hired Saeva to rid the Galaxy of what it see's as a false Mand'alor."

Sera turned her head slowly towards Kiran, staring at him as though he had said the wrong thing. The mercenary glanced towards her, shook his head slightly, then began to restate what he had just said.

"They have hired us to Kill Isley and assist in the dismantling of his Empire." That was not exactly true, the original reason for Clan Spar hiring Saeva had been entirely different, but as Sera had been freed from prison and as she had learned of what had happened over the last few years her focus had become more...narrow. "The United Clans are not yet ready to wage war with the Empire, even after what they've done, Clan Spar and it's Sister Clan's however, are. Simply put, we want you to join that war."

It was a simple proposition, and an honest one. Clan Spar and it's three Sister Clans didn't have the resources to go to war with the entire Mandalorian Empire, but Saeva nearly did. If Kiran and Sera could recruit other clans and notable Mandalorians then they would have more then what they needed.

Of course, there was the question of why Sera wasn't saying this herself.

 

[Sal Katarn]

The warrior felt a small flutter or surprise that any would act so openly against the self-declared Mand'alor, but it was inevitable. A man could not claim to be the Sole Ruler and yet fail to be recognized by the Clan Alors without some sort of conflict ensuing.

"Restitution must be had for lives taken. Challenge was given for the Circle. Isley declined. Clan Verd has failed to hold him accountable. Judgement will now fall on them."

The choice was a simple one. Kade did not seek quarrel with the Verd, but they had forced it upon him. First by failing to control their own, then by spurning his honor at the challenge. They would call him petty if he chose to aid Kiran. Those sympathetic would say he still grieved.

Grief was a word for weeping spouses and children bereft of parents. Kade had only known Ember Rekali in passing. The man's death was no great tragedy. He lived by the sword and he died by it, as should all Mandalorians. Any one of Clan Kelborn would be rejoice at the chance for such an end, for it would mean an eternity in the Oversoul.

Petty was a word for those who did not understand the nature of honor. And those who did not understand the nature of honor had no place in the Oversoul.

He would rip out their lying tongues.

"When do we start?"

[member="Kiran Vess"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kade Kelborn"]

Kiran smiled.

He liked not having to manipulate. He was a Zeltron, the core of him was filled with thoughts of charisma, shifting minds, and altering patterns of thought. His people were not normally fighters, they were planners. They used their natural skill to manipulate and change the thoughts of people who meant them harm. Kiran often had that calling, to do the same, but he resisted, he liked not having to do it. This mandalorian had given him that. Something Kiran wouldn't forget.

"Now." Kiran stood, Sera moved away from him.

The tall Mandalorian woman would wander towards a box that had sat in the corner of the room, a large metallic chest that she quickly propped open. For a moment she stared at the contents, then slowly she wandered behind it and pushed the footlocker towards Kelborn. The crate would slide across the smooth marble flooring, eventually coming to a stop just a few paces away from where Kade Stood. When he looked inside he would find four Seismic charges.

They were powerful weapons, destructive, not to mention incredibly effective.

"We begin a war." Kiran made his intentions clear. "Today. Here."

 

[Sal Katarn]

Kade stared at the contents for a long moment. Fingers of right hand clenched and unclenched.

"What is intent? To obliterate station?"

There were innocents aboard the station, for all the contempt he held for Clan Verd he would not extend it onto the people of the station. Civilian casualties did not matter to him in war, or when under contract. Conflict inevitably led to the deaths of the uninvolved.

"Quarrel lies with Verd, not Mando'ade. Any other foe would not weigh on conscience, but they are my people."

He would author the corporate lackey's wholesale slaughter, if such was purpose. Such an act would prove him no better than the Gen'dai. The helmet hiding his visage turned to fellow vod.

"You would allow this?"

@Kiran Voss

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kade Kelborn"]

For a moment the Mandalorian woman said nothing, then she spoke plainly.

"Yes."

Sera had never really been the most convincing person Kiran had ever met, but that was most likely because she hadn't ever seen the point of convincing others to join her convictions. Sera Spar was a certain special type of person, the kind that thought she could do everything on her own, or rather, with the aid of her clan. Of course in recent times this viewpoint had changed, enough that she had kept Saeva on to do what she could not. It appeared however that she had not grown enough to stop herself from being blunt.

"They laughed in the face of the clans when Isley was denied his claim. They split our people, they poke and prod, and worst of all they spit on what it means to be Mandalorian."

Kiran could see her hand clench into a fist.

Some people already knew, though perhaps Kade did not. Clan Spar was horribly against force users, and the fact that Isley was one...did not sit well with Sera.

"They take our traditions and laugh at them, throw them into the dirt. You saw it. You experienced it. They saw your challenge and they ran. They do not respect our customs, they are not Mandalorian, and those who follow them, those who pay fealty and homage to this false Mand'alor deserve no more consideration then the next piece of scum."

Her convictions were strong, something that would likely get her killed.

"This is war, and make no mistake, It's one they have already started."

Kiran waited a moment, the assessed the man before him. "Would you prefer another target? One more...military?"

 

[Sal Katarn]

"Your words ring true, but target is not sound."

Kade worked his jaw side to side as much as the confines of the helmet would allow.

"If war is sought, then a military installation must be struck. A station with civilians will only cause Verd to declare us terrorists and the Clans to name us rogues."

Mygeeto had a wealth of such bases. Still more outposts lay at the edges of Mandalorian Empire space, some of which lay between Clan and Empire territory. A direct strike there would do far more than torching the orbital station. Kade agreed that the Verd had abandoned the ways of the Mando'ade, but if an attack was to be made then it had to be one that unequivocally sent a message to both Empire and the Clans, a just cause that the Clans could rally behind. Not another mass murder to be labeled an act of terror.

"Find different target and my blade will join with yours."

[member="Kiran Vess"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kade Kelborn"]

Kiran thought for a moment. "Simple enough."

He could see Sera tighten her fist in the corner of his eye.

She wasn't well pleased. Sera meant every word that she said, there was no doubt within his mind. She wanted to see Isley burn, she wanted to see the Mandalorian Empire go up in flames and be entirely eradicated. It was a Crusade for her, one that struck home. Her people had hated force users for a thousand years, perhaps longer, it only came as natural to see him as scum.

Briefly Kiran wondered why Sera hadn't objected to others, like The Liberator and the one before her. Perhaps she had been absent for too long, or perhaps her outrage then had simply been too silent for anyone to notice. He mused on the thought for a second, then skipped past it towards more pressing situations. Mygeeto was controlled by the Mandalorian Empire, but it wasn't a naturalized world. The people here did not consider themselves Mandalorian, they were bankers, miners, money lenders, not fighters. That meant that the planet had a garrison of Mandalorian Soldiers, something to keep a watchful eye on their new world.

"The Garrison." Kiran said simply. "They are based on the world below in one of the crystal spires."

An easy enough target, though perhaps he would have to call on more of Saeva's resources. "It will placate Sera's lust to strike clan Verd, catch their attention, and unless Clan Verd has truly fallen to a new low there should be no one there but warriors."

 

[Sal Katarn]

The Kelborn warrior nodded slowly as the mercenary spoke. Such a target proved reasonable compromise, like enough as to provoke war. Some natives in the spire might die as a result, but such was the cost of any war. And if they were not Mando'ade, then Kade cared little.

He'd a blood feud with the Verd now and they would answer it, or find Kelborn heel on cowardly necks.

"Approval. A further plan is needed, both sound and simple. Take gunship and give it Verd transponder. Rig with slave circuit, then drive remotely into spire."

Kade slammed fist into palm for emphasis, now wearing a feral grin behind the helmet.

"Full load of seismic charges set to blow on impact."

Until Verd admitted fault lay with self and answered the blood price for honor spurned and responsibility shirked, Kade would see them harried.

[member="Kiran Vess"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kade Kelborn"]

"That would indeed work." Kiran said simply. "Though, it won't have the same impact."

His mind was racing now, thoughts of what Kade had said before haunted him. "They'll see it as an act of terrorism, not war. Destroying the spire would be easy, bloodying Mygeeto even more easy."

Sera looked towards Kiran. He could almost see the frown on her face. The woman wasn't quite sure what he was getting at, and he was sure that the other man wasn't either. They were thinking a tad too small. They could destroy the Spire, they could likely even level half of the area around it, but that wasn't the way of their people. It was a way to win, sure, but it wasn't the way that Mandalorians fought, at least not when they were dealing with matters of honor.

"We could also take The Spire." Kiran said plainly.

There was no doubt in his mind that they couldn't hold it. Saeva was an effective military force, and with the clans they had backing them they could fight an entire war, but they couldn't conquer a world and hold it, not against a major government. Yet they could take the spire, and anything else valuable that they found in it. That would be a statement, a declaration of war.

"Take it. Kill the warriors within. Find our next target." He looked to Sera. "Then destroy it."

 

[Sal Katarn]

A low rumble rose from Kade's chest, some sort of primal growl more akin to a bear or wolf than any humanoid sound. Approval? Disdain? He did not vocalize intent, but as with a sand panther made meaning known by deed and not by word.

Two steps traversed distance between Kade and crate of ordnance. He hooked the lid with top of foot and flipped it shut.

"Target is clear, further planning in such place is unwise."

He made a sweeping gesture to indicate all of the room. "We do not know who listens."

Kelborn would not put it past the Mygeetans or even Clan Verd to have bugged the room to listen in on corporate meetings. If anyone should be monitoring them they would not be likely to recognize his voice, muffled as it was through the helmet.

"Come." Reaching down, he seized the crate and began to carry it from room. "Let us discuss further in more suitable location."

[member="Kiran Vess"]