Up in here | Mandalorian Clans | Kashyyyk

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus supposed that falling straight onto his arse at the first sign of an intruder wouldn't have made the best impression of braveness or preparedness on a hostile world, but he hardly cared to make up any more excuse as to why he had done it. He had simply fallen, not frightened, just surprised.

"Well, I'm not much of a chef, but I thought I might give it a try."

Honestly he had forgotten the last time he sat down and cooked a meal. Most of his nights were filled with typing away at a keyboard and often required little more than a take home meal from one of the many fast food joints that had made their way to Keldabe. Had he made the stew correctly? He was sure that he had at least made it edible, and it would be very difficult to kark up one of the simplest meals in the galaxy. At any rate, time would tell if he had indeed taken any valuable lessons away from his mother and a few old cookbooks back home.

"Well, you didn't miss much... We kicked em clear back to Yutan."

It was true enough. From what he had seen, the last of the Republic forces had either fell under the blaster fire of the encroaching troops or had just made it on the transports that would carry them beyond the atmosphere and back into their strongholds closer to the core. It had almost been a slaughter, and he had been right smack dab in the center of it. He was sure that she too had seen her fair share of the results of the battle, but he certainly didn't want to talk about it much.

The Stew had come too a fair simmer, and he supposed now would be as good as anytime to dish out the portion he had made. He offered her a thick wooden bowl that resembled the one he held, both coming from the destroyed ruins of a tree house that had been the target of a few strikes during the invasion. They were well crafted from hand, obviously being some sort ceremonial pieces before they had wound up by the side of the fire.

"I'm Marcus."

Once she had found a place beside him, he dipped an equally thick looking ladle into the stew and withdrew two portions of it, filling her's first. Perhaps he had overdone it a bit with the hunks of meat that he had managed to scrounge from the quartermasters, but that was hardly a problem to him!

"I did see her coming down... She's the one that's all over Commander Munin, right?"

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco smiled as one of his people told him she had arrived. He was a bit sore, but he didn't really have a limp or anything noticeable by this point in the day. He looked clean enough that he could down play whatever Faith was mad about and say it was over-exaggerated. He knew she would be a little upset regardless though. No civilians were slain, and it was a strategic endeavor.

"Alright, where did she land?" He asked, standing up, holding the jar and carton he had in his hands. One of the Mandalorians with him, nodded and started walking through the woods and undergrowth towards the clearing where Faith's ship had landed. She had brought the Theed Palace Engineering ship, the one Draco had gifted to her when they were still newly dating, before she knew she was pregnant.

After a moment Draco and the warrior arrived in the clearing, just in time to see Captain Lindsey helping Faith down the boarding ramp onto the forest floor. There was no royal ceremony, no procession. Just the beat of music nearby, the howls and roars of Mandalorians in the forests. They were dancing, socializing, singing, and drinking. Many of them were drinking heavily. Occasionally there were a few sporadic bursts of weapons fire up in the air, but those had died down after the wookiees had complained. The Mand'alor had given no speech Draco had heard as of yet.

"Hi honey." Draco called softly, letting the timber of his voice seep into his words. "I missed you."

[member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Kenrath]

Cole shook his head.

"You mean the spear looking thing right?" "I know people who do...............well did back on Eshan as a teenager." "Our father was an infiltration guy............"

Cole smiled softly thinking about his father.

"He taught me to shoot, he taught me to fight with my hands."

He paused.

"Blades were not really a focus of his."

He looked over his shoulder at the sword on his back.

"My grandfather was the blades expert.............the sword has been passed down from father to son........... an inheritance kind of thing I guess."

[member="Arla Balor"] [member="Kaia"]

 

[Arla Ordo]

[member="Cole Dagos"] @kaia

He was smiling good memories? For some reason that made her smile , "You are fortunate to of had him. We teach our children how to fight, keep their honor, live our culture, and answer for our actions. Its good you have these memories"

A blade she was curious the only blade she had was a knife, 'is it hard to wield a blade like that?'

She knew guns to a degree.

A blade requires closeness A gun distance

 

[Kenrath]

Cole smiled.

"He was a good and honorable man who only slipped up once." "But it brought us [member="Kaia"] so I guess even good can come out of bad."

Cole slowly pulled the sword from it's sheath holding it out to her handle first it was a fairly standard Echani design.

"It really depends on the blade." "A knife is much easier to use as simply an extra inch or two to your punch."

He paused.

"A sword however you have to deal with length, weight, width, cutting edge.................of not only your blade but your opponents." "Then of course what it is made out of, how well it was made." "At least that is what I have been told." "I imagine your spear idea would be very similiar."

He trailed off.

"It is why we never really use them................to many unknowns."

[member="Arla Balor"]

 

[Kaia]

Kaia's smile as she listened to her brother and his new firend talk suddenly disappeared and she started glaring at her brother for the mention of the fact that she was a "slip up". It might have been true but it wasn't exactly something she wanted to go around telling the whole galaxy about. "Brother. Did you really have to bring that up...?" She said. It was clear she was mad about it. In truth Kaia was only half Echani and that fact was a touchy subject for the girl that she tended to keep to herself.

[member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Arla Balor"]

 

[Arla Ordo]

Arla reached for the sword first thing she noticed the weight heavier than she thought, the blade was edged giving it the ability to slice. She smiled at [member="Kaia"] when she spoke to [member="Cole Dagos"] , "Not to worry Kaia all 'slip ups' are meant to happen for one reason or another. So no matter how you got here you were meant to be here."

Arla hoped she understood, accidents happen, happy accidents for what it gave them was each other, it gave them family. that sense of belonging. Yes that was something she only had with the Clan for she had no brothers or sisters by blood, nor parents either both were dead. She remembered seeing them in the Netherworld they sought her out to explain. Seemed like long time ago. anyhow.

"The force pike yes similar idea, weight, strength it would take training to become good with it." She had started training with it, because it felt odd, weird.

Arla handed the sword back, "come let's go get something to eat"

 

[Alleycat]

[member="Marcus Lok"]

"Nothing wrong with attempting variations of something tried and true… I like to take ner ba'buir's recipes and give them a more modern flair. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. There are just some traditional things one shouldn't try to change up though… like a jate uj'alayi recipe. One just doesn't mess with it," the young blonde nodded with a soft grin.

In a way, Mesh'la was glad she wasn't on the front line, then again growing up a warrior the aspiring baar'ur felt guilty not helping in the thick of it. Soon the young Mando'ad would be serving alongside her mother as a battle medic with the Mandalorian Medical Corps. For now she'd continue bettering her medical skills while working on the MedEvac and RMSU.

Blue eyes looked from Marcus to the wooden bowls made by the Wookiees. They were simple yet beautifully handcrafted.

"Vor'e," Mesh smiled as she reached over and took the offered bowl of stew. She picked up the spoon and was just taking an experiment bite when Marcus commented on seeing her mother being all over the commander. The young blonde nearly choked on it, not because it tasted bad, but because of what he said.

"Oh really? Um well I know she was planning to ride down on the Alor of Clan Munin's bes'uliik as she is the aliit's baar'ur," she gave out as a plausible explanation. Only a few people knew of the Munin and Tor's romantic relationship.

"So when you're not being a chef, what else are you interested in? By the way this is pretty good, just hot," the blonde said making a little fanning motion with her hand.

 

[Kenrath]

Cole looked at [member="Kaia"] reaching out to pull her into a bare hug.

"Don't be mad little sis...............you know I love you." "And so did dad." "You shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of your past." "It is what has made you strong and resourceful."

Cole took the sword when it was handed back to him and slide it back into it's sheath. He smiled to Arla.

"Food sounds good......................after you."

Cole would wait for his host to begin leading the way before falling in a few steps behind her.

[member="Arla Balor"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus wouldn't have known about her mother's relationship with Vilaz if only for the subtle hints he had observed during their march to the city. Perhaps it was a professional relationship and her mother found it important to stick close by to the leader of the assault. It made sense enough to him; if the Commander fell, you would want to get him back up as quickly as you possibly could. Even if Vilaz wasn't the first man he would ever expect to go down...

Her reaction to his idle comment, however, made him a bit skeptical of that conclusion. Had it really tasted that bad, or had he struck a chord? The next spoonful that went into her mouth threw away the doubt about his ability in the kitchen, but only furthered the curiosity he now had about Vilaz and the mother of this baar'ur. He wouldn't pry of course. It wasn't his business to go digging in places he didn't belong without decent compensation.

"She did ride down with him, that was a hell of a drop."

It was a dismissive remark, if there was anything else to be told of the relationship, he didn't care to push her to reveal it. He was all too happy just to take the first spoonful of stew into his mouth and gaze into the orange coals of the fire, losing himself in their constant flickering light.

"Thanks, there wasn't much to it. Well, I am usually messing around with tech. Computers, Datapads, Terminals... I guess you could call me a Slicer. It's nothing too glamorous..."

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

[member="Marcus Lok"]

Mesh'la took another bite of stew and it went down without any problem. In fact, it was quite tasty and well she was hungry.

"I've never ridden on a bes'uliik before, but I can only imagine how crazy exciting it is to drop on one during a battle. I know when I am on the MedEvac transport, it can be like a rollercoater sometimes with evading and flak," she nodded.

There was a moment of silence as Marcus seemed to get lost in his thoughts while staring into the glowing fire. The baar'ur wasn't sure that her company is what the vod wanted, but I guess if the man wanted his space he'd be more clear about it, wouldn't he? Or was the slicer just being nice?

"Oh, but I think it is. I'm farthest from computer savvy. Give me boo boo's to patch up, broken bones to set, or a lac to stitch up, I'm your gal. But don't ask me to update your data station… I might create a lethal weapon of some sort by chance. Well maybe in certain circumstances that could be a good thing," she chuckled, then looked around for something to drink.

"Do you have anything to wash this fine meal down with?"

 

[Faith Organa]

"Hi honey" she smiled almost sarcastically up at him he knew he was in a bit of trouble. She could see he had what she asked for, "oh you remembered my pickles and ice cream, oooo" She cooed like a child waiting for a treat.

She reached for the pickles and with a quick move of the wrist the lid was off and she began crunching the briny delight. "So you want to tell me about falling out of a tree? " She smiled all while crunching her pickle.

The aroma of the brine on the pickles made her mouth water, OHHH she had so needed this. Wanted this.

She looked at [member="Draco Vereen"] he didn't seem too badly damaged. Though he had just gotten over the beating from Nar Shaddaa and here he was hurt again. One of these times he was going to get hurt, and not recover.

She paused looking at him. What bruises lay hidden beneath the armor, concern, and fear seeped into her. What his Vod didn't know was he wasn't indestructible not one bit! He could die as easily as anyone else out there, but the problem was he was hers.

Hers. Her partner in life, father of her children, advisor when things were hard, snuggler when things were overwhelming, and lover. She wanted to keep him around for a while, so...

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus nodded, recounting the view he had had when he was hurtling towards the earth with the rest of the Vanguard. It had been a task that brought down a fair few of their men, and for the first time in a long while, Marcus had doubted whether he would make it to the ground in one piece. Air bursting flak rounds had sent metal shards flying all throughout the sky, slamming into the men and sending them tumbling through the slipstream. He could only hope that many of them had activated their jet packs before they slammed into the misty lakes of the planet.

"It's certainly an experience... I don't know if I'll be taking it again anytime soon, but it was certainly worth the trip."

The next bite of stew set his reflective mind at east once again, and soon he found himself examining his own armor. He hadn't seen the need to check it until now, once the fighting had died down, and a quick examination of his chest plate revealed a few small holes that must have come from the initial drop through the atmosphere and into the flak. It was certainly nothing major, but it would have to be repaired, not to mention the new blaster score that had come about on his shoulder pad when a wookiee had set his bow caster on it. Honestly, he was lucky it had not been in one of the separations of the armor where it would have cut through his skin like a hot knife through butter.

"Well if I ever get more holes in my body than I can handle, I'll know who to call."

He raised his bowl of stew jokingly in her direction before finishing off the contents and setting it down next to his own buy'ce. The night was set upon them heavily now, and the laughs of the troops not far away had turned into loud snoring and the occasional stumbling crusader who had lost his belongings during the fierce celebrating.

Man, there was something special about these types of worlds at night... In the city, it was all noise all the time. There was never a moment allowed for quiet or silence, it was simply unimaginable. This was the kind of quiet he had grown up with at his father's enclave, not a skyscraper in sight, and it was for that exact reason that he disliked it. The forests, plains, and nature always brought back memories of his parents... Ones that he had tried his best to bury a long time ago, though the wound of losing his mother was still too fresh to fully bear. She would have liked it here...

At the mention of a drink, Marcus snapped away from the thought and nodded a bit reluctantly. He had found something that might be a bit more interesting than water in his search, and although it was not labeled, it did smell heavily of some kind of alcohol. It was housed in a glass bottle that had some sort of writing engraved in the glass which he could only assume held the identity of it, but it didn't very much frighten him.

"Found this a bit of a ways from here... I wonder if it's any good."

With that, it was only a matter of removing the small dark cork that stopped it off. The smell was stronger now, and with a quick flash of a smile towards Mesh'la, he took a swig of the light green liquid. The taste bit him hard, sort of a burning feeling quickly erupting on his tongue. He was lucky that he had experienced such breeds of alcohol before, otherwise he might well have spat it on the grass. He got it down alright, and almost immediately, he felt his vision blur slightly. Whatever the wookiee made in their tree houses, it was no joke!

"Oh... Wow! That gets ya' "

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

[member="Marcus Lok"]

"I wasn't quite sure what to expect here on the Wookiee planet, but it's not bad. I'm amazed at how big the trees actually are and the tree houses are very unique. I would have liked to explore Kashyyyk before the carnage of war happened though. Maybe another time after it is restored."

Mesh'la finished off her portion of stew in a couple more bites. It wasn't a lot to eat, but good enough to sate the hunger she had felt, and to help absorb the alcohol that the young medic was just about to ingest.

"That strong, huh. Oh boy," Mesh grinned with a chuckle, then reach for the bottle. The Mandalore-born wasn't that much of a drinker, but she'd survived taking a shot or two of Tihaar from time to time.

"K'oyacyi!" The golden blonde licked her lips in a moment of hesitation and anticipation, blue eyes darting quickly to his to see how Marcus was fairing after the fact, then Mesh'la brought the bottle to her moistened lips and took a sip of the green liquid.

Oh it burned! Her eyes closed tightly, but she didn't spit the drink out, rather swallowed it with pride. Reopening the sapphire gems there were tears in them, but a soft smile was on her face.

"Wow is right! It's good though," she said, handing back the bottle to the dark-haired slicer. A couple more sips of that Wookiee spirit and Mesh would be drunk for sure. Probably not the best thing, but it kinda felt good to let loose for a moment and feel alive.

"So where are you based when not responding to our Mand'alor's rallying cry?"

 

[Marcus Lok]

"Well... I'm sure the wookiees have recovered from their fair share of invasions... It's a shame what war can do to a planet like this."

While he didn't see the planet as any sort of home he would visit often, the aftermath of battle was always a tough burden to bear. Already in the previous days he had seen bodies being hauled off to forest burial mounds and the more fortunate wounded up to the orbiting frigates. Dismembered bodies, corpses and terrified screams were the worst parts of a battlefield, but they tended disappear after the victor had enough time to clean up the ruins. From what he was told, they might even be helping them to rebuild some of their more important structures, but Marcus knew it would only be to show a bit of unity after the Wookiee had been abandoned to defend themselves after the Republic had had enough.

Marcus smiled as she began to dip the bottle back. Her reaction had mostly matched his own, and it was a wonder to him that she was still sitting up! Perhaps she had more experience with that sort than he thought, but that was all the better! If she did end up drunk... Well, he would just have one more responsibility for the night.

"When I'm not lugging myself around this side of space, I try to stick around Nar Shaddaa, I've got a place there. It's not too friendly when you're alone, but it's good for work."

The next swig he took in caused a warm rush of energy to flow down his spine and into his stomach where the spirit sat like a ball of fire to match their own. He attempted to read the etching once more, but in a final look of frustration, he handed it back to Mesh'la.

"So... A baar'ur... Does that pay well?"


[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco grinned, letting her take the pickles from him without protest while he held her ice cream carton. "I did remember. I was good, went and fetched them right after the fight." He watched her struggle with the jar for just a second and then begin eating her treat. It was an odd craving, but nothing crazy. Following it up with ice cream was outside of his tastes, but not unheard of.

"Oh, I wasn't going to tell you about it at all. I would just say that the rumors are heavily exaggerated and then I was going to distract you with pickles, ice cream, and affection." Draco grinned again, playing off his pain. It was really just exhaustion and muscle fatigue, nothing a few days rest wouldn't cure. He knew she would worry about him, and that was why he was ready for her to stop worrying. He was ready to hang up his sword and stay home with her on Alderaan. He could still fulfill his duties from there without issue, and how many people would mind if he took a break?

"Come on, lets go sit on your ship where its climate controlled." A short burst of laser fire up into the air rang out over the sound of grunting, howling, singing, and drinking Mandalorians celebrating their well earned victory over the Republic, liberating the Wookiees. Those that lived in the Royal City seemed fine with the change. They were a little worried they would be an unrepresented slave work force again, like they had been with the Republic ever since Jack left. But, they could see with Alderaan and with Roche how the Mandalorians treated their charge. It was fairly simple. Find them a place to call theirs on the planet, let them have a portion of the planet's resources, and the rest they really didn't bother with.

"You can tell me about your day, I'm sure you don't want to hear about the fight anyway."

[member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Alleycat]

[member="Marcus Lok"]

"Nar Shaddaa, huh? I've been to the main starport there, but I didn't get a chance to personally check out the vertical city. Was stuck on the ship I was on… Seemed to be a pretty non-stop place and never a boring moment from the stories I was told by the crew."

The Smugglers' Moon was the port of call that was the last straw for Mesh'la and her short marriage. The medic had been traveling with her young husband on his late father's ship. The problem was the merc life and his crew had become more important to him than his little family. Mesh'la returned to Mandalore to make a life for Valen and herself amongst the Mando'ade and to live by the Six Tenets of the Resol'nare every day.

"It's enough to live on comfortably I guess… I don't need much to be happy, just my family really. It's more about helping people than making the big bucks for me. My clan are farmers at heart so when not working as a medic with the Mandalorian Medical Corps, I help out on the homestead," Mesh smiled, then asked in like.

Mesh'la retook the offered bottle from Marcus. The blonde medic never really considered that when choosing her career path. She just wanted to make people feel better. Growing up with her grandmother and mother both baar'ure, it just seemed a natural thing for her to do.

"What about you… How does the slicing business fare?"

With that question left out there, Mesh'la brought the bottle to her lips again and took a bit more of a swig this time of the green Wookiee spirit. The effects immediately hit her, warming the young Mando's insides from the top of her golden head to the tips of her curled toes in her boots. Oh boy… The music from the partiers nearby made Mesh'la sway to the beat as she sat on the log. She passed the bottle back over to Marcus and flashed a mischievous grin.

"Want to dance or shall we just howl at the moon?" she giggled softly as a full moon gazed down upon them from the clear Kashyyyk sky above.

 

[Marcus Lok]

"Well, it's the kinda place where you can go to get lost... Kind of like the forest but it's much easier to stay hidden. Duracrete jungles, skyscrapers all over the surface, something about it just keeps me coming back..."

The first time he had been to Nar, he had not known what to think of it. He was broke, and he knew the only way that he might raise himself back up to a respectable status in the galaxy would be to work his arse off for the gangsters and hunters, and anyone else that wanted him. It had really been a move of survival, and his only option otherwise would have been to return to his mother in shame and disgrace before she died. The thought had killed him everyday he had to struggle to find work on the planet, that is until his skills were finally recognized by the right people and steady contracts began to come in. It seemed like almost a lifetime since he had been struggling that much, but in reality it had been only a few years. That time of uncertainty let him realize how hostile the city worlds could be... And they certainly weren't glimmering beacons of hope.

"I know what you mean, my family was really important to me before they were gone... They really let me find myself when I was young, and that is probably more than I could say for most parents of the Clans. I knew another man, Jakoth, who wanted to become a politician... His dad beat him till he could see straight down his scope, and that's not right... When I have a son, I'm going to let him make his own path!

He stopped his tangent short when he realized he was rambling and looked down at his gloved hands. The plates that covered the backs of his hands shone brilliantly in the light of the fire, but he was all too ready to take them off. He tossed them into his helmet which lay on it's side by a grey flight bag which carried his datapad and other necessities when he went off ship, just in case any business might come through after the fact. In the back of his mind, he knew that he wouldn't be seeing nights like this for a while, and even now the clock was ticking. But while he sat there with this girl he hardly knew, he was content to forget about it.

"It pays well enough... Depending on the job, you know?"

He wasn't rich by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew that his pockets were lined well enough to get him by in the galaxy, and maybe a little more than that.

He eyed the younger girl as the bottle tipped towards the sky once again, and in her reaction he was beginning to see how this night might play out. He would be careful with her of course, he wasn't one to force a drink down anyone's throat. Instead, he took one more sip of the liquid himself and let the intoxication wrap around his head until there was little reason to continue sitting. He wanted to have fun tonight, and he didn't get to do it often enough!

"If you think you can still stand, then why not?"

It was almost an effort to get onto his feet, but he could still balance himself well enough to keep a level head. After his boots were firmly planted on the matted moss of the small clearing around the fire, he motioned her to follow suit. Who knew? She might not think he was a repulsive computer nut after all.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

[member="Marcus Lok"]

Mesh'la had always felt she could think for herself and do whatever she wanted to without being hamstrung. Her mother, grandparents, uncle, and stepfather had let the Detta-born have room to grow and learn life at her own pace, though it had been her compassionate side of the young medic that had gotten her into trouble; comforting Aden after his father had been killed in a way guys tended to need rather than kind words of support.

"I'm sorry you lost your parents. My father died during the rapture. I have a rather extended family now. And, agree that children should be able to make their own path, well within reason of course," Mesh replied, then nodded to his response about his slicing pay. She bet doing that kind of work depending on the sketchiness of it could bring in a pretty credit; not that Mesh'la thought bad of him if he had or did unless he stole from children.

Marcus seemed half there, half not. It was hard to get a good read on him not knowing the man very well. Again Mesh'la wasn't quite sure if he was enjoying her company, but tough luck because she wasn't going anywhere especially now after a couple of drinks of the strong Wookiee spirit.

"Oh I can stand… Just how well will be the fun of it, hmm?" Mesh quipped lightly, then pushed up from the log. The petite blonde tittered a bit as her head swam, reaching forward to grab onto the slicer's arms to steady herself.

"I'm thinking spinning me around in a twirl might not be a good thing to do," she chuckled softly. "but I can definitely sway."

 

[Marcus Lok]

He knew she wouldn't be quite ready to stand on her own when she got up from the log, and he did his best to compensate for her balance when she grabbed onto his arms. He held her steadily upright until he thought she might be able to stand for herself before removing his hands, keeping them quite ready should she lurch over. Despite gulping down her fair share of the Wookiee spirit, she seemed confident enough to hold up, but he didn't want her to face plant on his account.

In truth, he doubted he would be doing any quick turns of his own as his eyes glazed over her beskar'gam which was highlighted brilliantly by the fire. It was a bit of a surreal moment as the ambient music from one of the other camps drifted over to the two who now stood by the firelight underneath the pale moonlight. With the odd blend of colors affecting his already intoxicated mind, he looked upon her face with a calm if not somewhat dumb expression. He could scarcely say that he had seen a woman so beautiful outside of her helmet and with the flashing ember light dancing along her form, he felt as though he might have been in a dream.

"Swaying's fine... We can sway, I doubt I could do much more right now."

Soon he had come to wrap his hands about the small of her back and was content to stand their for a short while. The music had indeed grown quiet, but it still played consistently as if someone still knew that others would like to hear the playing continue. The odd guitar strings would have seemed foolish to sway to in any other circumstance, but at the moment, he couldn't think of anything he would rather hear.


[member="Mesh'la Dral"]