Tracks in the sand [Muad Dib]

[Mirshko Betna]

[member="Muad Dib"]

She shrugged ever so slightly as she noticed the frown cross his face. She couldn't really make sense of it either. She had only returned to the betna homestead once since everything had happened. And she still hadn't really figured out how she'd found the bes'uliik. It seemed she had done so by pure luck.

What she'd found of the homestead was a smoking ruin. She knew some of it had to do with the damage caused by the Cataclysm. The rest, at least from what she could see, seemed to have been caused by explosives of some kind. She closed her eyes at the memory and sighed heavily. "Ni ru hbaih biai Ni mar'eyir bic... ra tion'jor..." she whispered in response to the sensation she got from him. "A Ni ganar, bal Ni e'ya'ga at gotal'ur pirimmur be bic. Ret bic cuyir asuba hbina ni at bic."

After a moment, she sighed heavily. Perhaps that was a discussion best left for another time. She was utterly exhausted. Her eyebrow arched slightly at him at the mention of the Confederacy. "Can't say that I've worked with them before..." she replied after a moment of silence. "For now - it can wait." She smiled at him, still cradling her helmet in her arms. "I think I'll take your suggestion," she told him with a small smile. "Bic garay. Ni urmankalar ibac asuba athu'neha mhi norac tome par a jorbe..." she told him softly before she stepped into the room.

Translations

Spoiler

«I don't know how I found it... or why...»
«But I have, and I intend to make use of it. Perhaps it was the Force guiding me to it.»
«It does. I believe that the Force brought us back together for a reason...»

 

[Muad Dib]

As the doors to the quarters slid shut he turned and walked several meters back down the hall before pausing and shaking his head. The Bes'uliik showing up was very odd. Some would call it providence, others the force, even more would say blind luck. But he had been on Manda'yaim after it's destruction and during Ra the Undying's regime getting force users safely off the planet and located elsewhere for their protection. Homes of force users were ransacked and burned by the more zealous of the Death Watch. No, it was not any form of luck.

"Anija ... Where are you? Are you in the Manda or somewhere else?"

He mused to himself as he continued down the hall to his own quarters. Sleep sounded like a good idea.

Several hours later ... ​

Rising from a troubled sleep he showered quickly and dressed in his typical attire of brown trousers, tan tunic, and boots. Collecting his imbued beskad and kal, he sheathed the knife at his waist and tossed the sword across his back before making his way from his quarters down the hall to the turbolift.

On the ride down to the smaller, auxillary hangar, he commed the bridge to check the status of their passage. They were on schedule and were only a few short jumps away from the Siskeen System. Pocketing the comlink he exited the lift and made his way to the far side of the hangar where he laid his weapons to the side before dropping to his knees for meditation.

Yet his mind was still too restless to focus on the diverging paths that lay before him. Rising he instead began working out, starting with a nice, long run around the perimeter of the hangar. An hour later he slowed near his weapons and began going through different martial art forms he had learned. Moving slowly at first, his pace quickened as he flowed through different styles including Teras Kasi and Echani, which he had learned long ago on Korriban from his blood brother, Dresdin Astil.

It wasn't just a physical outlet for Muad but also a form of meditation learned from the Matukai. A way of knowing your body and empowering it through the force. So as he moved across the hangar in a blur his mind finally began to settle and calm.

[member="Mirshko Betna"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Muad Dib"]

it was as if his quietly spoken words had been some sort of summons. After a few moments, the air in front of him shimmered. Slowly, a form began to take shape. Blonde hair and blue eyes regarded him from a face that he would instantly recognize. Her blonde hair was loose, flowing down over the shoulders of her dark grey and purple beskar'gam. A faint glow surrounded her entire form. There were a few beats of silence as she regarded him for a moment, her face somewhat sad.

"Muad, ner vod. Narir va echoylir par ni. Ni kar'taylir cad olyay miuk de hur suhdarka tionas." she would pause and sigh heavily. "Cad olyay ketye Ni ne'waadas at rejorhaa'ir gar, a Ni chaab Ni ganar euk ca'nara o'r meg at narir bic." She sighed, her ethereal gaze tracking in the direction of the quarters which Mirshko now occupied. After a few seconds, her piercing gaze returned to his. "Asas gar kapr ganar nayc dema diba'a teh ibic gursr, Ni ganar.... spirba at Ka'ne. Bic cuyir va er Ni ganar ketye bu'yruta jaon at ca'nara. Shekemir Liyiltahna, Ni yaim'ol at cuun yaim. Bic cuyir ogir ibac Ni bal ashi motir sianci'dr at sianci'dr ti Kyr'tsad bal birov ashi ga'ayihetr. O'r kyr, mhi echoy'la. Ni narir ba'slanar a kisol kebise sulyu par Mirshko, hwa la vurel yaim'ol. Ni kar'taylir la cuyir gurire! drala ti dibarle adate at ca'nara. Ibac cuyir tion'jor gar jii jorir ner bes'uliik o'r gar pa'dar. Ni narir va vercopa par bic at trattok'or lo aru'ela gaan. Bal bid, bic be'u bed a kisol ashi or ganar nalya morut'yc haaranovor de a Cin Gter etevir. Ni cuyir warye va meh etevir malyasa'yr su taylir jii ibac Ni cuyir slanar."

She sighed heavily once more. "Gar cuyir shi aliit ba'slanar ibac Ni kar'taylir Ni liser morut'yc bu'cina. Ni kar'taylir bic bu'gar'a gar ibac gar narir va aalar ner kyr'am. Vam narir la. Ibac cuyir kumayi at la jutesr be vaulr bal haran baova de Liyiltahna ast, asas pirusti asas sarnr be jibr teh ibac bal shekemir bu'ctihyr." A moment of silence passed between them then. "Ja'hailir kaysh. Gar cuyir an la ganar jii. Gaa'tayl kaysh mar'eyir nalku'na la tarja."

Translations

Spoiler

«my brother. Do not mourn for me. I know there are so many unanswered questions. »

«There is much I need to tell you, but I fear I have little time in which to do it. »

«As you may have no doubt guessed from this form, I have.... passed to the Manda. It was not something I had much control over at the time. Following the Cataclysm, I returned to our home. It was there that I and others stood toe to toe with Death Watch and many other fanatics. In the end, we lost. I did leave a few things behind for Mirshko, should she ever return. I know she was off training with various people at the time. That is why you now carry my bes'uliik in your hangar. I did not wish for it to fall into enemy hands. And so, it along with a few other items have remained safely hidden by a White Current illusion. I am unsure if the illusion will still hold now that I am gone. »

«You are the only family left that I know I can safely trust. I know it concerns you that you did not feel my death. Nor did she. That is due to the sheer volume of chaos and destruction caused by the Cataclysm itself, as well as the loss of life from that and the following conflicts.»

«Watch over her. You are all she has now. Help her find the answers she seeks.»

 

[Muad Dib]

He stopped and looked at the vision of Anija Betna. At first he wondered that perhaps it was a form of astral projection through the force. Yet even as he thought it the truth resonated within him even as her words echoed the very same sentiments. He couldn't deny it anymore.

His vod, Anija Betna, was gone.

His jaw clenched at the emotion that threatened to swell yet it wasn't just for him. The youth in the quarters was befret of her mother. And not for the first time. But this instance would be permanent. Mirshko had been through so much, and now she would go through even more.

As he listened to Anija he growled at her words. He did have so many questions. He wanted the identities of those who had taken her life. He wanted to know what else Anija wanted her daughter to have. He wanted to know where more of the clan was. He wanted to come flying down the road sliding the swoop bike sideways and climb off to see Anija tinkering on some device as little Mirshko watched nearby. But he would never visit her yaim again. Their clans would never mingle, never fight, never laugh.

"She doesn't need me ner vod, she needs you. She wants you. I'm not Clan Betna nor Clan Ordo. I'm not brilliant like you. All I have to offer is blood and death."

He gritted his teeth in frustration that for all his knowledge and power he didn't know of her death. Dropping his hands to his sides in resignation he looked at Anija sadly.

"My blood for hers. My Clan and House will always be there for her. No matter what. And if I die, my Clan and House will never forget. I'll never forget."

Gulping he tilted his head in the general direction that Mirshko was.

"Is there anything you want her to know?"

 

[Mirshko Betna]

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


Mirshko's sleep was anything but restful. She tossed and turned in her bed, the sheets becoming entangled about her slender form. She kept going back to what she had seen at the Betna homestead. The images were burned into her mind, it seemed. She sat up, feeling her pulse pounding in her head. It was then that she felt a presence that she hadn't in over 2 years. Taking a deep breath, Mirshko tried to calm her suddenly racing pulse.

Reaching out briefly in the Force, she sensed Muad nearby. With a nod to herself, Mirshko climbed out of bed. And promptly hit the floor as the entangled sheets tripped her up. Cursing under her breath, she dressed in a fresh coverall before heading out to find him. And hopefully that presence as well. 'Could it be?'

Hope soared within Mirshko as she raced for the lift, and she held her hand over the controls for a moment to get a sense of where Muad might be. When she had it, she stabbed the correct deck control with a finger as she hastily ran her fingers through her hair. She skidded around the corner, barely stopping to let the door to the hangar sense her approach before she barreled through it.

And once inside the hangar...she stopped dead, wobbling for a moment in sudden shock. "Mom?!"

 

[Anija Betna]

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

A smile touched her face as her gaze suddenly moved beyond Muad to the opening hangar access hatch. "I don't think that will be necessary.." she told him softly. For an instant, her image flickered and shifted. If one looked closely, they might have noticed a tear tracing its way down her ethereal cheek. An ethereal hand reached out to lay itself on Muad's shoulder, and she nodded past him once more, her gaze locked on Mirshko like a battleship's targeting computers.

Her form seemed to almost float across the deck towards Mirshko, for there were no footsteps from the movement. She came to a stop in front of MIrshko, and her left hand drifted up to wipe at the tears on her daughter's face. Anija's form flickered for a moment as she held MIrshko at arm's length for a moment before wrapping her arms around her. "Mirshko..." she breathed. That one word was filled with so much emotion, and Anija felt grief clutch at her heart for a moment as she tried to keep herself calm.

Her hand shook as she lifted it to Mirshko's cheek for a moment. "I...am sorry. I find that it is difficult to know what to say..." she continued after a few beats of silence. "I know you both have so many questions. Some, I may be able to answer. Some, I can't." She sighed heavily. "I know you both want answers regarding the who and the what surrounding my death. I am not sure I can give them. When the Manda decides it is time for one of it's children to return home, who am I to argue?" A sad smile touched her face again, and she brushed Mirshko's cheek with her fingers before she looked back at Muad. "I could not ask for you to have found a better friend right now, Mirshko. know this: I will always be with you - in here..." she tapped Mirshko's chest with two ethereal fingers.

 

[Muad Dib]

Muad grit his teeth as he watched the mother and daughter interacting. The shabla filtration system was messing up on the ship. Pollen or dust had to be getting through the oxygen scrubbers because his eyes watered slightly. He really did have to get onto the technicians to do their job better or else. Hayfever was a serious thing after all.

Crossing his arms over his chest he glanced at the floor, trying to give them a moment alone, yet the words of Anija from her etheral form made him look up with a grimace on his face.

"Fierfek. The Manda can go kark itself with the force, the winged goddess, or any other deity. It's time when your bone and sinew, your heart and soul, say it is."

Looking between his vod as an apparition and her daughter, he frowned again. Anija said she could think of no better friend ... Maybe death had left a bigger impact on her ability to think if he was the best friend she could think of.

"Anija, surely there is someone better suited .... A member of the Ordo or Betna Clan? With me she will be looked at in relation to my Clan, my House. I have many enemies ner vod. "

He glanced at Mirshko showing he was not excluding her from his conversation before continuing.

"The Galaxy has grown even more dangerous since last you breathed. The mando'ade are trying to survive the travesty of recent events. Mandos are scattered throughout space. Enemies of all who wear beskar'gam are everywhere. And you wish her to be with one once known as the Mad Knight of Manda'yaim? I am still a warmonger among many, a fact I cannot refute."

Looking between the two women he shook his head.

"You know I will do whatever I can. And Mirshko will always have home and hearth with me and mine. As I once did with you when I was still a rabid Sith. She will never be alone. My Clan, my House, will always claim her as aliit."

[member="Anija Betna"] I [member="Mirshko Betna"]

 

[Mirshko Betna]

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

Mirshko sighed heavily as she listened to what Mom and Muad were talking about. She frowned in thought. 'Was Mom right? Had it been her time?' She shook her head and hiccuped as she tried to keep her emotions under control. After a moment, she sighed once more. Emotional control be damned. Reaching out, she tried to take Anija's ethereal hand in hers. It was a strange sensation to be sure, and she felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment as she looked between them.

As Muad spoke she sighed once more, though her gaze stayed locked on Anija's face. "Muad.." she said softly. "If I know Mom.... she stood her ground against them.... protecting her home.... and me." She whispered the words as her gaze shifted to him. "There are none from Betna or Ordo that I have been able to contact. Which means one of two things. They are either in hiding... or they are dead." Her tone was somewhat flinty, and she sighed heavily. That was an eventuality she had not wanted to consider. But, she had spent the better part of two years searching for any sign of her clanmates without much luck.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Mirshko Betna"] | [member="Muad Dib"]

There was a heavy sigh from Anija, as if the weight of realization had finally settled onto her shoulders. After a few more moments of silence, she spoke. "Muad, she's right. I too have tried to reach out to those who remained of Betna and Ordo.... and have been unable to reach any of them. Given that, and the things that have happened over the last year or so... I feel that you are one of the very few people left that I can trust." She felt Mirshko trying to take her hand and sighed once more.

"I may no longer be flesh and blood, but know this: I will do whatever I can to help both of you. That is my solemn promise."

 

[Anija Betna]

[[Double post]]

 

[Mirshko Betna]

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

Mirshko felt tears welling up in her eyes at Anija's words. She closed her fingers reflexively around Anija's once more and had to bite back a sob as her hand passed right through Anija's. it was.. an odd feeling, but not in a bad way. She frowned and turned to look at Muad. She could feel faint ripples of his own emotions. She hesitated to reach out to him. It felt.. strange somehow. But, he'd always done right by her. And she would do what she was able to in order to honor that. How she was going to do so... she wasn't entirely sure.