Two Sides

[Jak Skirata]

Kesh

The wind screamed around him as he flew over the hilly plains that surrounded Tahv, the capitol of this continent. It had been some time since he had all but given up on finding the person who had plunged Mandalore into darkness. He had since been floating around with the Skirata Flotilla between the Outer Rim Coalition and the Galactic Alliance. He worked as a Judge, a kind of Force wielding law enforcer in the wild space that the ORC called home. Mostly he stopped small time pirates and mercenary companies from taking advantage of small settlements, but on occasion he killed monsters the likes he didn't know existed.

Today he was here on Kesh to kill such a monster. It had started its rampage and stopped just as suddenly, its wrath nearly destroying an entire planet. Davin had given up after the Rekali clan deciphered what he had been feeling in the Force. He was on a hunt for blood and his recklessness led him down a dark path. But now, after so long hearing nothing he heard a whisper. Force sensitive, Mandalorian....He needed to find out for himself if this monster was one of his imagination or if such a beast truly existed.

He had tracked it down to the hills of Kesh. The locals said a hermit had taken up residence in the hills and so here he was, flying an Uvak.

"Down."

With a push from the Force the beast understood and made its way down to a small cave. Various bits of tech littered the floor, a smoldering fire pit and enough space for a speeder told him someone lived here. He took a knee near the fire and laid a hand on the embers. His glove protected his hand from harm and allowed for him to dive deep into the Force. His Psychometry was unusually strong, even for a Kiffar...But it seemed like whoever was here didn't want to be found. The vision he gained was murky, the person's face and most of their body was blurred or blacked out. There was another person and even though he couldn't make out what they were saying he recognized the style of armor and the color made through just enough for a spark of realization and hurt to shoot through him.

"Verz?" He whispered as he came out of the vision.

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia liked to flit from place to place, while in the Outer Rim, not only did it make it harder for her to track, but it gave her oppurtunity to overwatch for a while longer than most, catching things that other Judges might not. She was returning from a hunt, a pair of rabbits clutched in her hand, rifle resting on her shoulder as she made her way down the hill to the cave she paused, spotting the wings of the Uvak. the child in her belly stirred at her apprehension.

She was not expecting anyone, and those that had been in contact with her had come to understand unannounced visits were not welcome and liable to be met with violence. She was, after all, public enemy number one so far as a lot of Mandalorian's were concerned. Blowing a sigh out of her nose, she tied the rabbits to the rear of her belt, and took the rifle in both hands before continuing her trek down, raising the weapons to her shoulder as she drew closer to the cave mouth.

She reached out in the force to unite the Uvak, to prevent it from giving her away, and stepping into the cave entrance, rifle training instantly on the intruders back. "Hands where I can see them." She barked.

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia liked to flit from place to place, while in the Outer Rim, not only did it make it harder for her to track, but it gave her oppurtunity to overwatch for a while longer than most, catching things that other Judges might not. She was returning from a hunt, a pair of rabbits clutched in her hand, rifle resting on her shoulder as she made her way down the hill to the cave she paused, spotting the wings of the Uvak. the child in her belly stirred at her apprehension.

She was not expecting anyone, and those that had been in contact with her had come to understand unannounced visits were not welcome and liable to be met with violence. She was, after all, public enemy number one so far as a lot of Mandalorian's were concerned. Blowing a sigh out of her nose, she tied the rabbits to the rear of her belt, and took the rifle in both hands before continuing her trek down, raising the weapons to her shoulder as she drew closer to the cave mouth.

She reached out in the force to unite the Uvak, to prevent it from giving her away, and stepping into the cave entrance, rifle training instantly on the intruders back. "Hands where I can see them." She barked.

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

A woman's voice. Likely a Force User, no definitely a Force User. Did he want to take a blaster bolt directly to the back of the head or back? His armor could take the beating, but he didn't really feel like fighting in this cave through a concussion. He raised his hands above his head like he was told.

"Mia Monroe." His black and gold armor said everything she needed to know about her visitor. Justice in the black and vengeance in the gold, it was repainted specifically for this encounter. He wanted her to know that whatever misguided idealism led to this attack on his people that they didn't care and they would get what they deserved from this encounter. "You are under arrest for actions that go against every tenant of the Resol'nare. Murder, destruction of property, and endangerment of civilians are what I am taking you under in Outer Rim Coalition Space. Your response?"

Regardless of her response this could only end one way.

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia tilted her head, frowning slightly as the voice stirred memory in her head. [member="Davin Skirata"], Gil's younger brother. The then she laughed at him. The fact that his armour was gold and black meant he was here for more than just justice, he was here for blood, hers if he could get it. And he was not getting it.

"No fething way."

She pulled the trigger, aiming for the back of his head. It wouldn't kill him, probably wouldn't even hurt much, but it would give him enough of a headache to give her oppurunity to charge her body with tutaminis and start assessing her options. She could run, but he had her trail now, he would not relent. She could fight and hope to manda that her child remain undamaged, but that was far too risky. No, she had to disable him quickly, and make him listen.

 

[Jak Skirata]

Danger sense tickled up his spine as she pulled the trigger. His reaction times were getting slower from relying on the Force, but the glancing blow to his helmet sent red alarms through his helmet's HUD. She had completely destroyed his macrobinoculars and the attack put him off balance for a moment. He swayed to the left but caught himself mid-fall and turned to face her with equal force. His blaster carbine was in his hand and trained on the Mandalorian legend. Was she...pregnant?

He hesitated before pulling the trigger.

A thousand thoughts flew through his head as he tried to process that his prey was pregnant. What did that mean for their fight ahead? Should he come back later? No, he'd just lose her again. He cursed under his breath. This was no time to be sympathetic. Not only was this a Mandalorian worthy of holding the Mand'alor title based on just her combat record, she was also a deadly Force wielder. He couldn't hesitate like that again.

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

She saw it, that brief moment of hesitation upon seeing her through his HUD, acknowledging her condition and choosing to shoot anyway. Logical Mia understood the choice, she'd shot first, he was out for blood, shooting was the logical thing to do, but logical Mia had taken a walk when her pregnancy hormones came knocking at the door. Mother Mia was furious, even though the shot from the carbine hit her skin on her chest and did nothing but singe a hole through her clothes and make her skin glow her anger was palpable, the air in the cave became thick with it as red descended over her eyes.

She brought the rifle back up to bare and advanced, firing once, twice three times, aiming for head and chest before dropping it and shoving her hand forward aiming to throw and hopefully pin Davin against the rear of the cave with the force.

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

On the floor now he rolled for cover behind some crates. The smell of ozone filled the cave as he fired shot after shot, spitting up dirt and debris as the fired shots slammed into the cave wall and floor. The Force was difficult to run away from. The crates and Davin went flying into the cave wall sending a warm pain up through his back and head. His legs were probably bruised from the impact. He cursed again under his breath realizing how big of a gap in their Force abilities there was. The anger was palpable in the cave and it felt like it would swallow him whole.

But there was no turning back now.

Breathing heavily he struggled to move his hand, and then when he couldn't his fingers. He focused intensely on them and the pots over the smoldering ashes of the cooking pit. With a pained grunt he tugged, harder than he thought he could, at the pots and sent them flying at the approaching woman. He had threatened a Drahrr'Jor and her unborn cub, and hopefully this pot would give him enough time to reassess his plan of action. His brother had fought several Sith Lords head on before, and he was an old man without the Force. He could surely take a pregnant Mandalorian with the Force.

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Something solid connected with the side of her head, and several more points along her body, the arm holding the rifle dropped to guard her belly her grip on him unrelenting as she shrugged off the pain with practised application of crucitorn. Mia had only a handful of force powers she used, but she had mastered them all. Snarling she pulled him away from the cave wall with the force and slammed him back into again.

"GEV!" She yelled at him. Every ounce of her that was controlled by the rage that had descended wanted to kill him for his insolence and stupidity. He was not his brother, his brother would have been far smarter in a fight.

"Davin," she continued in a lower tone though the anger was still there. "The fact that you are Gilamar's younger brother is a very delicate thread separating you from life and death right now. If you continue to threaten the life of my child, I swear, by manda, that I will cook you in your armour and leave you for the wolves."

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

Thud.

"Kark."

His heads up display was screaming at him. Velocity warnings lit up the screen as if he was getting fired from a flak canon, his repulsorpack was all but useless save for the right thruster and his antennae were both shot and his visor was cracked so that his left eye was visible. One slam did this? Its fine, he had gotten out of worse jams before. He thought back to the time he fought a rabid To Vhin on his own in the ashen snow of Mandalore. This was only a little bit different.

But something snapped him from his half panicked fight or flight simulations. She mentioned his brother, as if he was someone that meant something to her, as if his name carried weight with her. And something just broke. Maybe it was the anger she was bleeding out in the Force, maybe it was his own pent up feelings of rage towards this woman and the harm she had caused his clan, no, all clans. A burning sensation rose in his chest and boiled to a fever pitch.

He had been told that anger was one of the most powerful things a Force user could use, and the most dangerous. He had forgotten which of the Jedi had told him that, but it didn't matter much to him now. Now he fed on that anger and let it explode from his chest.

"My brother?" His voice came surprisingly strong despite getting pushed deeper and deeper into the cave wall by the second. "You put my brother in a coma for months! You killed his only living son!" A shock wave rushed from his body, pushing back against Mia's own Force push, releasing him from her hold and sending provisions and boxes flying through the air. They spun around the two angry Mandalorians' hurricane of anger. A lightsaber fell from a compartment in his right forearm and into his hand. It was crude, with many of the cables and wiring exposed. It's crystal was a deep red; The Heart of Fire had been passed down from Skirata to Skirata and his brother had given this to him ages ago.

The blade erupted with a low roar and an unstable hum.

"Don't talk about any Mandalorian as if you cared for them if you won't even face them for what you've done. To hell with your child Mia Monroe, and all those that call yours vode." He was struggling to keep her own power from crushing him back into the wall. A bead of sweat formed above his brow as he attempted to take one step forward, and then another.

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

She hadn't known that, she hadn't known anything in terms of the damage she had caused to those she had once called friends, save for Isley and Isley had already sworn to bend the knee on her return to Mandalore. Did she care? No. Same as she had told Isley, it was collateral damage for a necessary act required to wipe the slate clean for all mandalorians, its served only to make them stronger. Davin's rage added to her own, the contents of the cave swirling as Davin managed to pull himself from the wall and begin his slow advance.

"I did what I had to do. When you're less blinded by grief and rage and are capable of seeing the bigger picture perhaps you will understand that I do care. I care very much and I carry the death of millions on my shoulders without regret because it was necessary to burn out the rot and stagnation." he voice was steady and calm as she dropped the rifle, still holding him at bay with the force and reaching behind her head to draw her beskad from its sheath at her back. "I will face my people when the time is right and not a minute before that."

She stopped pushing him in the force. Her beskad in one hand a knife tugging from her belt in the other. "But seeing as you're so determined to take this path, lets see if you have it in you to murder a pregnant woman and her unborn child. See if you can handle the consequences that come with that, because I can handle murdering the brother of a friend. Make no mistake."

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

Mia pulled back in her assault in the Force. The things that had been floating before clattered to the ground around them. Anger turned cold and focused. She was right, his anger had caused a lot of rash decisions, but this, this wasn't one of them. Honor demanded she pay for her crimes. It took all of his strength to pause. It wasn't because she was pregnant. Mandalorians fought pregnant all the time. But he couldn't make someone's child pay for the sins of their parent.

Keeping his guard up and his saber drawn he took a few steps forward.

"Tell me why, without your flowery metaphors. Why did you do it? I may let you walk out of this place with all of your limbs."

[member="Mia Monroe"]

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia's lips twitched, the fact that Davin thought he would succeed in removing her limbs was amusing, but antagonising him was not her best choice of action so she internalised it and thought carefully over her words.

"Because we needed to break and fast, because without breaking we cannot become stronger. And I mean to make us stronger."

 

[Jak Skirata]

His eyes narrowed at the pregnant figure before him. She was so resolute in her ideals it was a little intimidating. The low gurgle of his blade stopped as it deactivated and he sighed.

"You should thank your child when they're born. Who knows, they still might not be birthed if Mandalore decides that your sins were too great. If you care for that child I'd suggest you don't attempt to find out and once your child is born I will be back for you."

[member="Mia Monroe"]