Post by Nicole on Aug 24, 2011 17:13:21 GMT -5
Mandalore: Homecoming
A lonely shuttle exited hyperspace over the arid wastes of a once luscious planet below. Where once there had been a cornucopia of plains. Mandalorian’s had never been known for their artistic aspirations. They built out of need for shelter. A nomadic people constantly on the move, traveling the great sea of grasses that covered the planet, their buildings reflected their desire to move on. Squat and easily setup, easily taken down or left behind should the need to move quickly arise, their capital wasn’t more than hovels and a few multi-tiered buildings.
So far removed was this new Mandalore that Zev couldn’t help but remember it as it was before the Vong invaded. He slipped back into that vexing campaign. A campaign of courage and loss, it was raining overhead and his troop had been tasked at securing the last avenue for the refugees of the war torn land to escape, the mood was appalling. They had been taking large losses throughout the all out assault of the Vong warriors.
He had to do something as he paced in front of his men. He was the field-commander, he knew how vital this was not only to the campaign by the Mandalorian people who had fled the large cities and gone to ground. This was their only avenue of escape that had yet to have fallen to the Vong.
Zev remembered the beating of his heart. The disheartened looks of his men, not their eyes, but the slump of their shoulders, the lax stance. Shape up he wanted to scream at them. This is your moment! He recalled it with a growing disquiet.
---
“I think upon the past and I knew you to be, the one who brought the fight; who never said die. Never letting fate decide; Be all you hope for, you where the best you could be. A valiant tribute to all that you have achieved. Until the end and back again, defiant to the last man, ‘til there’s nothing left to fight against. No surrender!
Unto the corners of Mandalore, defiant to the last breath! Until there’s nothing left standing. No surrender! Conjure the ground your families once stood upon. Bury the conflicts that prey upon your mind. Find strength in actions that only courage achieves. No surrender!”
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Zev had been old enough to understand there was no glory in war. There was only death and suffering and in their case, money. The fight for Mandalore however was personal. There was no money involved; this was a matter of pride. This was their home, their birthplace; this is where the first Mandalorian crawled forth.
Who could believe it with the way things looked now? Some survivors still remained in the wasteland. Eking out whatever living they could. He had come to oversee the bacteria injection procedure. Though he understood little of it, he knew the chain reaction was already taking place as radiation levels began to plummet. The toxic resins thrown from the stars by the Vong had begun to dissipate; but none of that would change Mandalore into what it was.
As the shuttle was brought in over the one base left on the world, he couldn’t help but notice the gun emplacements, the power generators that powered each and their armored shielding. Over it all stretched a bio-dome that could be brought down in a moment’s notice. It shielded the inhabitants from the devastation that surrounded it. Hulking plasma cannon emplacements where the first to be seen, their large coiled tubes easily the largest structures in the expansive base, surrounding those behemoths where the tenacious turbolaser batteries, point-defense laser cannons rounded the assortment out as well as their smaller cousins for anti-vehicle problems.
The shield generators were located below the base, their cooling vents the only weakness in design. They where redundant, should one fail the other would pick up with minimal time lost in between. Zev agreed with the way the base had been setup; unfortunately the Federation had seen fit to commandeer the planet’s only starfighters. A problem easily solved with a few calls to MandalMotors. Taking out the data pad he had brought with, he made it a priority, the planet may need to scramble fighters and the defenses as where could only be described as meager in the face of a full on orbital assault.
Once the shuttle landed, Zev exited via the back ramp. He had sent one of his Commanders down here before his arrival to make the transition from Federation to Mandalorian. The forces had been local from the beginning so there really wasn’t much to do. Surveying the thousands arrayed before him, he stood for a moment, data pad in his right gauntlet, transfixed by what he saw. The prominence of their puffed out chests, the pride so easily impressed upon their shoulders and eager stance.
He remembered that rainy day so long ago. . .
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Thousands had defended the pass. Hundreds remained in the aftermath. The pass was held. The last of the survivors escaping to their underground bunkers, what remained was a haggard bunch of men and women. Many had watched comrades die and still they fought on with fervor and conviction in their actions. They stood their ground against that impossible onslaught. When the apocalypse came they stood defiant until the last man, or in this case Vong. It didn’t matter whether it was from the ground, air or even space, they persevered. Somehow he had kept his hand for Zev remained in the thick of it. His officers sent their reports on enemy movements and incoming threats from overhead and he reacted, keeping his forces fluid and mobile, but never ever allowing a single enemy to push back their lines.
Victory through absolution.
---
Zev waved his hand at the Commander he had sent. “At ease.” He inspected the ranks, the pristine condition of their armor, their clan insignias clear on each battle suits. The inspection would take a few hours until finally he stood forlorn on the observation deck. Looking out through his T-Visor, over the vast decrepit wasteland their home had become.
It was Zev’s home now. He had been given the Vrei estate by Ranah Vrei. Somewhere out there it sat waiting to be restored to its former glory. It felt good to have a home again. Someplace to be when there was no else to be, that still left the bittersweet ache in his stomach. There was so much left to do, could one man do it all? He had Ranah now, maybe a man and a woman could do what one man couldn’t. The shield and the sword, he had to laugh at the thought, his tail no doubt wondering where in the misery of the view could laughter be found?
Tomorrow they would inspect the old MandalMotor’s headquarters as well as the Vrei estate. It was time to begin rebuilding, to begin repopulating.
“You see men,” he pointed with his red gauntleted hand at the far horizon, “that is where mortals dare their fates. The Gods play games with mortal hearts as the carousel goes round. You see that horizon?” They nodded, “Can you see the light as far as the eye can see?” They got it now, they understood and they laughed. Zev grinned, “Let me remain where there is light.”
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:15 pm by Nicole
For Ranah every trip to Mandalore was heart wrenching. For a people that took such pride in who they were, what they were, to have their homeworld decimated was a wound to every Mandalorian's soul. She had come there with Zev, silently disembarking the vessel and making her way past the formation of some of their finest warriors. She cast one last forlorn glimpse towards Zev, could he sense the sense of anger rising in his wife?
Her stark black armor crisply accented her figure, the small black cape adorned her backside as she stepped to one of the powerful speeder bike, she mounted it and flicked the controls, a quick check and she thrust forward and towards the exit of the base, the field at the gate fizzled out, letting her pass before it reformed.
Ranah's eyes scanned the landscape as she accelerated faster and faster, one might even think she was in a hurry somewhere, but she simply was not. It was the thrill of speed that she had left, something to focus her mind on away from the wastelands that rolled around her. The red dust already began to form a brownish red hue on her armor, her cape. Her destination was a bit further away than some, Keldabe.
It would give her some time to think, to ponder the plans for Mandalorian future. How she'd ever agreed to take over the Politics so Zev wouldn't have to deal with them, she would never know. Perhaps Zev had slipped something in her drink that night? She gave a small chuckle at the thought, leaning further forward as her cape snapped hungrily behind her for anything to crack upon.
Keldabe was to be their Capital once again, but it had been left in ruin and abandoned, the fact that the city had been so quickly evacuated left much to be sorted through, in the end only one place did Ranah's mind focus upon, the MandalMotors complex, with it's towering spire and it's great Hall, it was the center of their government, of commerce, of everything. It was only expected that the Capital would be the first to be restored, and Ranah had her own mindset about it. Zev's team would come in the next day, but that night Ranah would prowl, scout, and search with her Force abilities for anything amiss, to ensure the city was safe, secure for their Warriors. Afterall, this city, while their home was some klicks off, had been home, where her family had spent most of it's time. And that Great Hall, she could so easily remember as a small child peeking past the towering columns that lined it's interior towards the massive table in the center, peeking to watch both father and grandfather argue and debate.
In the end, the last she had witnessed was the Clan Chieftains all concurring that the Mandalorians would go to war against the Vong. She could even see it playing in her mind now as she sped towards the granite hills.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:09 pm by Praenuntius
“She left?” He shook his head unwilling to believe that she would’ve left without her tail. She was a head of state. A sly grin formed at that though. Of course she would run off alone, she had always been a solitary creature. With the Force as her companion there wasn’t much that could stand against the Resol, but he didn’t like it. He looked out over the red expanse. The crumbling buildings in the distance signaling the beginning of Keldabe, he looked back at the Captain. “Did she say where she was going?”
The Captain shook his head, “No Al’verde. We didn’t think to question.” And why should they? While he had been locked up in protocol, she had been free to strut her way through the bio-dome and into the toxic wastes of Mandalore. He nodded to the Captain, “You may go.” Looking at his tail, he shook his head, “You are relieved of your duties. Report tomorrow and head to MandalMotors Citadel as we had planned.”
Minutes later a Mandalorian in red armor was seen leaving the complex at high speed. In the wake of his bike little wind devils where stirred up. It wouldn’t take long to enter the city proper, though there was no way to tell where Ranah would go. He supposed he could use the scanner to scan for life forms, but people still lived here.
No he had a better way to communicate. Flipping out his forearm, he pressed a button that illuminated a holographic keyboard for his use. The buttons where extra big to accommodate his armored fingers, “You could have told me you wanted to get out.” She would get the encrypted message, so would anyone else who was listening, but unfortunately they wouldn’t have the cipher. He only had to wait for her response.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:29 pm by Nicole
Ranah had made it to the center of the city without incident or being stopped by anyone. Those who had remained planetside knew better, and kept indoors. Mandalore was often visited by gangs and criminals alike in the days since the War. The faithful Mandalorians drove them away, time and time again, and once the base had been erected it seemed to ensure that most stayed away now.
Even so, one could never be too careful, with her bike at the steps to the Great Hall she crept up the massive granite steps to the heavy metal doors, even they took time for the Force user to press enough power against to have them open, they simply dwarfed her by far and without power they would not move willingly.
Her foot steps echoed through the massive room, only a dim light filtered in through the dome far above, through a few missing panes, broken glass here and there below. On the walls were blaster marks, scorch patterns from weapons fire. In the center of the room she approached the massive round table, coated in inches of dust. The room looked so much smaller than when she was a child, or perhaps she'd simply gotten larger. Even so it was still large, with rows of seating on either side of the room.
She had slowly circled around the table to a side, to one of the sections and brushed her gloved hand through the dust, revealing a V beneath, though barely discernible through the cleaned streaks her fingers had made.
She had only moments to consider it before her wrist beeped, and a line of text appeared on her visor. She smirked some, bringing her arm over to the other she tapped on her own holographic keyboard and sent a response back.
RESOL'S PRIVILEGE. THOUGHT I'D SEE THE NEW POWER CENTER OF OUR PEOPLE. OUR ARENA.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:52 pm by Praenuntius
He had stopped in what appeared to be some sort of intersection. Zev had been to this city a couple of different times, but in his youth he had never paid any attention to the layout. With one foot on the ground, the other still on the bike, he had just finished his third scan of the area before his HUD light up with the large bold lettering of her return message. He shook his head, looked around once more before replying.
“Did you forget to depress your capslock? MandalMotors Citadel?” As if he had to ask. He hopped back on his bike, used his eyes to visually move the layered menu’s of his HUD before getting the route to the Citadel. When he looked in the distance he could see it poking above the rusted and broken in rooftops of the buildings surrounding it.
Easing into his bike he sped off towards the old building. He honestly wished he knew more of Vrei’s past. Something had to of drawn her there ahead of the team. Through the rubble strewn streets he sped. The red sand had invaded everything. It was disgusting, even before the Vong had left; the affliction could be seen spreading across the globe. It had been disheartening to have beaten the enemy off only to have an unseen foe take the world beneath your very feet.
It didn’t take long before he was easing in before the Great Hall. The other bike was a dead giveaway as he parked his beside it. Scanning once more he only found one heat signature, guessing it was Ranah’s he secured both bikes by removing the capacitors that powered their engines. Slipping into his suit he stopped before the doors that where now open.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:52 pm by Nicole
It didn't take very much for a faint little blue dot to appear right on Zev's chest, nor the sound of power charging as Ranah's forearm gauntlet directed right at the man. Her visor's HUD had done a very quick scan of him in that time, enough for her to realize that it wasn't some gangster come to rob her. A click had her weapon disengaged and the little blue dot disappear from the Mandalorian male.
A slight smirk creased her lips beneath her helmet as she placed her hand back down upon the table and stared at the armored figure across the room from her, her voice echoed across the empty expanse as she humored herself, "If I'm to watch my back, who's to watch yours?"
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:05 pm by Praenuntius
Ranah saw Zev before he saw her. However indicators on his HUD made him well aware of what had just taken place. He had instinctively gone for his guns even moving his right foot in the direction of cover. Before he made the move however he realized who it was. He couldn’t blame her edginess.
He took in the room before actually stepping from the doorway and into it. Turning his sight back on her, he shrugged. “No one watches my back.” You either live or you die there was no sense in dreading it. Every man died, was only a matter of time. Either Zev had been extremely lucky or ferocious in combat. He didn’t like to dwell on it. He certainly wasn’t smart or he would have been behind the line of battle instead of in the thick of it, preferring instead to leave the thinkers organize and strategize. He was best for making maneuvers in the field.
“You want to tell me about this place?”
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:17 pm by Nicole
Ranah chuckled slightly, lightening the tone within the room as she watched Zev begin to advance towards her, her eyes glimpsed back to the table as he smoke of his curiosity of what the Hall was. Ranah's fingers rose to her helmet, twisting it free as she cast her gaze across the room to the figure which cast his shadow to her. Her eyes departed him and glimpsed back to the table as she leaned over, taking a deep breath she exhaled it back out in a stream, blowing a small cloud of dust from the area before her, a second further unveiled the Vrei clan logo upon the section she stood before, her eyes rose up, focusing back on the new Mand'alor.
"This was the power center of our people. Nine heads which lead the clans of our people. " There were of course ten spots at the table, though the other symbols were equally covered as the one before Ranah had been. Her hand motioned towards one of the areas that the table seemed to focus towards.
"And our Mand'alor. " she revealed. Her golden eyes scanned around the room before settling back on Zev.
"The last time this room was used was at the beginning of the War."
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:32 pm by Praenuntius
He moved forward, pulling his helmet off with a few clicks and a hiss as the suit depressurized. Holding it beneath his left arm, he leaned over, his slate-grey eyes turning black in the gloom of the building. Her clan symbol became clear, Vrei, and the apparent use of the room became all to clear to him. Of course he had heard of the Council made of up clan heads and how the Mand’alor brought them all together, which placed the tenth seat, Ranah’s words filled in the gap. His seat, how queer that felt rolling through his mind, if ever there was a Mandalorian unworthy of the praise, it was him.
He took a step along the row of chairs that had been arranged so neatly. That might explain why the place had never been looted or gutted. He said nothing as his eyes truly took in the magnitude of the hall. Finally he turned his black eyes upon her, a knowing look they shared, as he reminded himself it was Ranah that should be the Mand’alor. After all, as head of the great and powerful Vrei clan, he had no blood, not that it mattered in Mandalorian society.
“At least it seems mostly intact. We will have to gather them all once more. From across the sector.” The air still had a pungent odor too it, but otherwise the levels where stable enough that one could finally breath on the planet. “You spent a lot of time here.” It wasn’t a question. He stated it as a fact. He drew his attention away and to the far chair, his chair once more, walking over to it, he slowly stood behind it, facing the length of the table. How long it seemed from the vantage. His shadow cascading down the expanse of the table, he didn’t like it one bit. This was her chair he decided.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:50 pm by Nicole
Ranah stepped back from the table as her eyes followed Zev to the Mand'alor's chair. Her breathing drew in sharply, filled with the pungent scent of the air. Her arm tucked her helmet beneath as she brought her hand up, eyes closed as she focused on the massive circular table made of granite. In her mind she could see it, the entire room and even Zev without looking. As her hand rose a rumble reverberated through the table as it began to rise up, there was a small muscle which clenched in Ranah's jaw as one end began to elevate higher and higher, bringing it vertical the dust poured from the side and down upon the floor, billowing away from the area both she and Zev stood in, the last thing she wanted was to coat them in dust so she'd sent it opposite.
Just as carefully the table returned back to it's original position with a loud clunk back on it's pedestal.
When her eyes opened she could see the symbols of each leader engraved around the table. Only one symbol was ever consistent, that of the Mand'alor. Ranah's head bowed slightly as she spoke to Zev's earlier comment of her spending time there.
"My father once held this seat." Ranah stated, " I use to hide behind the rows and watch their meetings when I was little." she added, her eyes glimpsing to the lines of seats rising up from the floor in two parallel lines on either side of the rectangular room.
"I never thought that I'd be on this side of the table. "
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
He reveled as the table was brought up. A quick look to Ranah confirmed his thoughts as he remained where he was standing as the dust was cleared from the table. A neat trick but judging by the way she was grinding her jaw, a hard one to pull off. He didn’t say anything until the table was set back down, but before he could, she had started to speak. Listening intently he crossed his arms behind his back, eyes piercing the depths of her golden gaze.
Who would have thought either of them had a childhood? He certainly couldn’t imagine hers and he had never told her about his. Mostly boring bits until Duncan showed up and taught him how to be a Mandalorian. From that moment forth he had been a Mandalorian, not as a child, but as a man. With Ranah it was different, being raised Mandalorian from childhood.
He watched her gestures, her eyes widen as if reliving those moments. He even half expected to see her father seated before them, but unlike her he wasn’t surprised. Where did she expect to go? Travel the stars forever? A grin formed, “Where else would you rather be but at the head of your people?” He looked over the table, at the rows of seat, one on either side, “Who else is going to lead them to glory?”
He could imagine it then, while he had never met any of the tribal leaders, he could imagine them in their ancestral suits of armor, heavily laden with political astuteness. But warriors all the same, their scheming was only for the greater good. Power and strength where respected, hence Zev’s natural diffidence towards Ranah.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:18 pm by Nicole
The table had been a feat, it was massive and weighed much, while she was a practicing darksider, she was far from a Master. If Zev had known how easy she could've dropped it he might've considered moving elsewhere during the little maneuver. Fortunately she had caused no harm and the table rest back in it's place a bit cleaner.
Ranah's hands moved the helmet she held beneath her arm and placed it on the table over the symbol. She'd never told anyone but the helmet she wore was the only thing she had left of her father, her way of remembering him, honoring their family was to proudly wear it and continue the fight. To never disrespect the helmet, the Vrei or her people.
Her figure turned as she slowly walked around the table to where Zev was, her eyes glimpsed towards his as she stood before him, a long glimpse cast towards the helmet she'd left on the table. "I'd much rather he still be here to lead the Vrei. I always expected that at some point I'd have a brother by the time..." she trailed off, shaking the thought from her mind before looking back to Zev.
"I have great faith that my husband will lead the Vrei and the other clans to glory." she spoke, breaking her eyes from Zev's as she bowed her head slightly to him, once more demonstrating her loyalty to the Mand'alor. Afterall, the sixth oath of any to hold that new formed title was to Rally to the Mand'alor when called.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:26 am by Praenuntius
Zev could understand her reverence for the helmet and the family sigil. While he had no idea the helmet was her father’s, he could at least understand the loss. Mandalore had lost so many people during the Great Struggle. Would he have been a kinder or gentler man he might have reached out and touched her. Instead he remained resolute with his hands pressed behind his back. “You will serve the Mand’alor and the people of the Vrei clan well in his stead.”
He hadn’t moved when Ranah lifted the massive table because of trust. And because of trust he bowed his head when she bowed her own, their heads would be at equal height, leaving him at the disadvantage due to his superior height. Still the token was given. There was no equal to the Mand’alor, but in this place, shared between them, Zev knew full well he would’ve never made it off of Dromund Kaas if she hadn’t put an end to their standoff.
“This Mand’alor will do the best that he can.” He was only a man. Not a great figure like the Fett’s who had rallied the Mandalorians to Mandalore when the Vong had come. He was not the Mand’alor’s of old. He had simply fought and bled for the freedom they so rightly deserved after having been discarded by a weakened Republic.
Victory was a fickle thing. So often the public would believe it so simple and pure. They had won their freedom. And now those freed men and women looked to their leader, the one who had inspired it all, their Mand’alor. “You and I will lead them to greatness Ranah Vrei.” Hopefully her faith wasn’t misplaced. What could one man do? Zev had never been anyone special. Was no hero; he was a simple Mandalorian who did what he thought was best.
“What else is there to see here?”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:40 am by Nicole
Ranah's eyes lofted upward towards Zev's for a moment at his comment, a simple response was given from her as she acknowledged his authority, " Thank you Sir." she replied. Her head came back to normal level as she glimpsed around her, taking in the chamber once more before her hand extended to her helmet, calling it to her she glimpsed to Zev once more at his question. It was obvious that Zev had not spent much time in the Capital city in the past, at least pre War.
She tilted her head a little and smirked, " Think you can handle a climb?" she questioned him, mocking as she cast her gaze upward towards the dome above them and the massive building which stretched upward, riddled with broken windows and destroyed structure. At least after all this time it was still standing. Mandalorians certainly knew how to construct things to last, and for a long time.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:50 am by Praenuntius
Zev was from Concord Dawn. Born a human, reborn a Mandalorian, his home was now gone. A blackened stain where his family had once lived, not that they cared about him or what he went on to become; Zev’s parents enjoyed their dull and boring life, they weren’t warriors and so they had shunned him and Duncan when it became obvious that Zev’s pursuit was the way of the warrior. So yes he was ignorant of the city but not ignorant of the what Mandalore used to look like. Keldabe was just an ancient skeleton in comparison to what it had once been – but then again, wasn’t that why Ranah was here?
His gray eyes followed her gaze, hands falling to his sides as his back arched to support his far reaching eyes. The structure seemed sound enough. He hadn’t gotten this far by being cautious or reckless and this reeked of neither, so he simply shrugged and regarded his ravishing wife. A coy grin spread across his rugged visage, “I think I can manage.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:58 am by Nicole
Ranah chuckled and placed her helmet on, twisting it into place and walking towards the other end of the hall, towards the other set of closed doors, doors which rustily groaned open with the power being leveraged against them. Her body proceeded on through and into the grand lobby of the MandalMotors tower. It was a mess just as the rest of the complex was, ceiling panels had fallen in in places, debris scattered all about the area. She cautiously made her way about towards the central core of the building where the lifts and stairs were.
She paused and pushed open one of the doors to the stairs and glimpsed back to Zev with a smirk, noticing a second set of stairs behind her she quirked a brow and glimpsed back to him, "Well Mand'alor, I'll wager that I make it to the top before you do."
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:06 am by Praenuntius
Remembering the schematics as he had gazed up at the hundred meter structure, he suddenly realized he was in the heart of the city. What had happened to the beautiful river that had once surrounded the city? And sure enough he could still see the faded mythosaur logo attached to the building. The color had faded, but the outline remained the same.
Clicking his helmet back on at the same time Ranah did he followed her, wondering why she insisted on opening the doors until he realized she wasn’t using her physical strength, but that of the force. For once Zev was just as cautious as his beloved. The rubble was still mostly unsettled, shifting and sliding with each step they took. Zev looked from side to side trying to form a mental picture of what the lobby must have looked like.
Turning his attention back to Ranah, he could tell she was smirking beneath her T-Visor. Eying her stairs he looked to his set and hoped to hell neither of them met with a bad end on the way up. Was splitting up such a good idea? Eh, he grinned, “We’ll see about that.” And with that the Mand’alor started the leg race, taking three-four steps at a time.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:14 am by Nicole
Ranah chuckled and turned for the door to the stairs just as Zev did, however, as the male disappeared up the flight of stairs, three and four at a time she turned back to the lift doors, her hands shifted with the Force as she pulled the shaft doors open and stepped into the lift, an examination of the ceiling of the cab had her opening the access panel and leaping up onto the roof. Her wrist angled up, a small poof at her wrist signaled the launch of a cable upward, looping around and sticking to one of the beams within the shaft.
With a press on her gauntlet she began to ascend upward in the shaft, bypassing floors more rapidly. Once she was at the beam she pulled herself up on it and realligned the cable, firing it once more as she made another leg of the journey, once more she would do this process till she were at the very top, her fingers prying open the doors to the lift tube she pushed up, toppling on out into a crouched roll.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:22 am by Praenuntius
A solid thirty minutes later Zev would barge through the door on the roof. He wasn’t even panting his physical condition was so well honed. The door he had busted through had come off its hinges, it had been sealed shut to prevent a rooftop intrusion. Of course he expected the woman to beat him to the top. He had not missed the elevator. Though what she missed was the brief tour of the building. Great rents in the structure gave a dazzling view of the city below. Too bad it was all so choked with crimson tides of sand. Endless in either direction as far as the eye could see.
But the view at the top was more than impressive. He moved to the edge looking over the tableau of the cityscape. It didn’t appear like much here at the top of the world. But there it was – home. He would have to call the clan leaders, summon them all and gather the Mandalorian’s once more to their Mand’alor. He looked at Ranah then, would she make it official then? One of the Clan elders would have to declare him Mand’alor before he could assume the mantle of leadership and begin directing the clans.
“So this is home.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:26 am by Nicole
Ranah stood perched upon that ledge as she glimpsed back over her shoulder as Zev appeared sometime later. A slight smirk creased her lips as she turned and glimpsed back along the landscape that surrounded them. Soon she thought. Soon Mandalore would be green again, and not the reddish dust ball that it had become. There was no greater vantage point affixed to the ground than the MandalMotors tower, how little everything felt below them, they were literally right atop the world.
She stepped back from the ledge as Zev approached, turning to him as he spoke.
"All before you, all behind you lies Mandalore, our home. While it is but a shell of it's former glory, it shall once again be made whole in time. Normally I would not proceed this as such, but as I do not know which Clans survive and which do not, as the head of Clan Vrei I call you to oath Zev Khandrr." she spoke, her eyes bore upon him from the helmet.
"Will you protect your people, their lands, and their sovereignty? "
"Will you follow the Resol'nare and it's six commandments?"
"Will you take the mantle of Mand'alor, and defend it's rights?"
Assuming Zev would answer affirmative to the questions she would draw her Vibroblade from it's ankle sheath and draw the hilt up, pressing the blade flat against her chest she focused on him once more.
"Then til someone stronger take it from you in battle, you are officially declared Mand'alor. Clan Vrei pledges itself to you." she would kneel before him, blade still against her chest. Of course the other clans, had they been there, would have done the same pledges to the new Mand'alor. Perhaps in time, when they found the new heads to them, whom had survived and who had perished, they would offer their allegiance to the man standing before her, officially.
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
Tearing his gaze from the quagmire of scarlet sand he looked at his wife. It didn’t take long at all to see where her words where leading. He knew in other cultures a leader might bow, might suffer the shame of bending a knee, but a Mand’alor was a leader through strength and courage. There was no bending of the knee, no bending of the head, there was only acceptance. As much as he thought he was a poor choice, he couldn’t insult them by refusing. After all the men and women who had died getting him this far, it would be an insult to their memory.
Zev did answer in the affirmative. “To the best of my ability,” how weak and pitiful the words sounded. Then she was kneeling and pledging her clan to his banner. His first clan, he bid her rise, but not with a touch on the shoulder or more wind, no he slapped her with his gauntleted hand. The blow wouldn’t be severe, but hard enough to remember. “Rise then and remember your responsibility and duty to the Mand’alor you have chosen.” The words where harsh and halting, Zev gave no apology for the slap. With the same hand that had slapped her, he took the hilt of the blade she pressed upon her chest.
Wrapping his hand fully around the hilt he slid the vibro blade free of her grasp. Taking it up and away from the kneeling Mandalorian Chieftain he inspected the offered weapon. The balance was correct, though a little off-center just as he liked it. Was easy to handle as he demonstrated his dexterity before ultimately handing it back hilt first, there were no ceremonial words that he could recall; the Mand’alor was always chosen for his strength of character and the best qualities of his people.
He didn’t voice his insecurities nor did he wear them on his face. His eyes where cruel and judging as he turned his eyes to his world, the world named for him and those who had come before him, it would be green and lush as it once had been. In his lifetime or their children’s lifetime, “Call the clans. Its time the people saw their Mand’alor and its time the people where told what has happened and what will come.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:46 am by Nicole
Ranah's head was twisted off center as Zev's gauntleted hand impacted against her helmet with a resounding twang of metal upon metal. She had to admit, there was a brief moment that anger and rage boiled through her, enough that she considered showing him what it felt like to be a metal can being crushed. Such was the dangers of the darkside, that once those emotions reached a point, they were not so easy to subdue once more.
When Zev took her blade, there was perhaps a lingered grasp from her as those thoughts were still so fresh but she relinquished it as he took it from her, her head returned forward as she pushed up and stood at his command. Perhaps that was the true test of loyalty, to pledge oneself and then be tested right after. How very Mandalorian - but he didn't have to hit her quite so hard.
She watched him test her blade, the well honed weapon before he returned it to her, she sheathed it back in it's proper holster before she looked to him at his command. She straightened, " Yes Sir, Mand'alor." It would be done as Zev ordered, Ranah would oversee it personally that the heads of each clan were found, there was no greater a need than present to discover what Mandalorians still lived and which ones had been destroyed in the bombardment of Concord Dawn.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:05 pm by Praenuntius
He could sense the anger; almost taste the bitter betrayal oozing from his wife. Perhaps he had hit her too hard, but shouldn’t her test be the hardest? She is his best friend, his wife; she should know that where he walks, peril isn’t far behind. Still when she rose and accepted her blade back, he found that he wasn’t relieved, but knew instead that she wouldn't strike back. She was his to the last, unflinching in her loyalty.
That much he should’ve known before the slap, but it was the same for the men and women who followed him. He almost broke down and apologized seeing the rigid posture she now took. Instead he turned back to the vista below. He wouldn’t insult her by asking if she was sure of all she had committed herself to. Their marriage had not yet been made official in the eyes of the public, nor the place he would reserve for her in the newfound Mandalorian governing body. Words where wind, but actions, actions where bold and cunning. Actions told you who and what a person was. She was with him and that’s all that mattered now. Between the two of them, there was nothing they couldn’t stand against. Defiant to the last, he regarded her with a quick glance, “I will get the men in here to fix the place up. It is time we tell the Clans of our plans, to deliberate and set aside our own goals and instead focus on the grander goal of rebuilding this world, Concord Dawn.”
He paused and turned away from the desolate vista below and took his wife by the shoulder, “I need you by my side Ranah Vrei. As my equal. My partner. My friend to the last. Because once we are done rebuilding, once we are done righting the wrongs of the Federation, we will call upon their debt … In blood. This is the promise I make you and all Mandalorians. Stand with me and justice will be yours.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 5:11 pm by Praenuntius
The next day brought the entire entourage upon them. Heavy loaders carried the scavenging equipment, as well as the communications array that would be setup. Ranah and Zev had stayed at the old Communal Hall, enjoying the solitude without the nagging responsibilities they had thrust upon themselves. Along with the entourage would come supplies to feed the restoration crews as well as mounted blaster cannons for perimeter defense.
Throughout the day the Mandalorian teams would setup the defensive perimeter, using the extra capacitors that had been brought along to provide power. The communications array locked them into the Keldabe base not more than a few kilometers outside of the city. From there they would get periodic reports from the fleet stationed in orbit over Concord Dawn.
Once they had finished setting up the base, they began making repairs as well as scavenging for anything they could find in the MandalMotors Tower. They found prototype schematics as well as lost schematics that hadn’t been seen since the Vong invasion. Just how many and how valuable Zev didn’t have the time to check as he was personally overseeing the restoration of the Communal Hall.
A large contingent of Mandalorian’s had begun to wander in from the outlying areas, curious at first and then heartened by what they saw. Rations where provided for those who offered their services and in no time at all, the Hall was free of the red sand and power had been restored. Luckily they had brought spare power cells to feed into the giant generator located beneath the hall.
Instead of sleeping outside, they had cleared rooms and where using those as makeshift tents. It was hard going and in a few days Zev and Ranah would have to leave, but for the moment he stood at the top of the tower once again, arms crossed over his chest. He had seen very little of Ranah throughout the day as she had been focused in the Tower itself and not the Hall it sat adjacent too.
He could see the little dark forms scurrying below, men on patrol he knew. Others would be providing food to the stragglers that could still be seen walking in from miles around. Just where they came from and where they had been hiding was beyond Zev. Not far from where he stood he knew there used to be a popular Cantina, Oyu’baat, it had been called and the only place he could recall with a clear memory. There were other local dives in the vicinity, but most of them looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.
While they were being questioned and watched, Zev wondered just when he had needed to start caring about what Mandalorian to accept and which to shun. Most of the strangers it seemed came from homes they had made out of the rubble or from the outskirts surrounding the town. They wanted to help rebuild the planet and knew little of the Federation or the war that had just been won in their honor. His Chief Intelligence Officer however saw shadows lurking in every dust coated wanderer that came into camp. A job best left to other men, though he would be sure to test their loyalties in other ways. For now however he set his sights on the city and the planet beyond.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:24 pm by Nicole
Ranah had set her sights on the tower for most of the day. It was true, things of value were being pulled from the rubble, from the remnants of files that lay scattered about. It had been she and Zev's conversation that the tower would become a tower of their government, in lieu of being returned to MandalMotors. As such she'd spent the day assisting with the cleanup, one floor at a time, starting with the top and working their way down. One of the turbolift shafts even, temporarily become a garbage chute to dump useless items, debris, and even the red sand that had worked its way in through broken windows.
At the end of the day Ranah sat silently on the edge of the CEO's desk of MandalMotors. It was expansive, and the finest of the whole tower, near the top with a perfect view of the city. Ranah's eyes scanned around it, it had survived being damaged from bombs and other ordinance, even it's windows had remained all intact.
Ranah's fingers clasped before her, she was alone for the moment, her thoughts to herself as she considered, contemplated. Then her mind wandered to Zev, wondering what the Mand'alor was currently up to. She tapped out a message to Zev on her interface, sending the room number and floor. Hopefully he was not too busy to visit the new Resol.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:37 pm by Praenuntius
Jarred from his reverie by the blinking red icon just seconds before a room number and a floor flashed across his orange and green HUD, he quickly thumbed open his holographic keyboard and typed a simple message stating his was on his way. While it would be a few days yet before they could get the power generators back online, he didn’t at all mind the exercise. Ranah was only a few floors below him, a few glow globes to light his way as he walked into the lush interior of the MandalMotors CEO room.
The thin coating of red sand had been swept away, but there were still traces of it left out in the hallway. Tracking a few grains of sand in with him, years of harsh military discipline had him taking in the room in one sweeping glance. Zev rarely saw the inside of an office, preferring his room or the bridge of the Adenn Naast. Still the table and the architecture spoke volumes of Mandalorian attitudes. Brusque, yet impressive, not oppressive as the Sith Citadel had been, but powerful and bold, the columns remaining sturdy and unworn by the passage of time, even the mighty Vong had been unable to tear the tower down.
Looking over his wife as she leaned over the desk, he approached her, his boots making dull thuds with each step he took over the carpeted room. The view was equally impressive two floors down and it did not escape his attention. He however only had eyes on his exquisite wife. “How is the work coming along?”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:12 pm by Nicole
Ranah looked up to Zev as he walked in, she had actually heard his pace as he walked there, a pace that was Zev's own. She glimpsed around the office at his question and shrugged a little, " We've cleared most of the tower." she commented. She pushed herself up from the desk and slowly approached him, stepping to his side she turned and glimpsed back towards the desk and then glimpsed back to Zev.
"I dont like having an office when some of our people have no home. When we get power back here, I want to offer up the entire tower as a refugee shelter. " she stated.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:44 pm by Praenuntius
Following her gaze once she joined him, first to the desk and then to him, he listened to her and nodding his approval. It did not sit well with Zev. Not with so many starving. While he had been toying with the idea of sending out a message on every frequency in use, as well as some soldiers to rouse those with no technical means to receive the communication, he had yet to put it all into use. Seeing her take the initiative he decided the least he could do is support her.
“I agree. We’ve already had hundreds approach us – most seem eager to help us rebuild, others just want something warm in their bellies and a soft place to rest.”
He looked around the room, trying to picture it as it must have been. Tried to picture it with Ranah sitting behind the massive desk before them, he couldn’t picture her behind the desk or anywhere in the room. Ranah didn’t belong in the trappings of a corporation – she had always seemed more at home among the stars, but then what he remembered of the girl he fell in love with, was now a grown woman. She would choose her own place and he would just have to accept it.
He regarded her, “I’m being told we should have the power back online by night’s end, possibly a little later if they find any problem with the generators, so far they haven’t ran into any issues. It was amazing how well they built this structure. I’ll instruct the men to help – can broadcast a message across the globe, send some troops out with yai’yai(field rations.)”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:40 pm by Nicole
"Good.." Ranah stated, contemplating as Zev told her to the timeline and how long it would take to get the generators up and running. She considered something and then looked back to him. " When power is restored to the tower, have every room on the outside's lights turned on. If you require my ship for the additional power, she is yours. Let the tower that was once the symbol of MandalMotors be a symbol of refuge to our people." Ranah replied.
She paused in thought for a moment before she looked back to Zev, " Have the clan leaders begun to arrive?"
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:09 pm by Praenuntius
He shook his head at the last question. Moving away from her, he turned his back on her to looking over the darkening clouds. “Most of the clans are still in disarray. It will be a little bit yet before they begin to trickle in. Concord Dawn is where most of the clan chieftains migrated too and most of them rallied their clans in the uprisings.”
He didn’t have to fill her in on the rest, she knew as well as he did. She was there beside him staring down at the planet from the deck of Adenn Naast. She had even gone down to the planet. He put his gloved hand on the intact pane of glass. Pressing his visor firmly against it as well, he wondered just what it would look like all lit up. “This would be a shining beacon to those from miles around. Kind of hard to miss something like this being lit up. We won’t need your ship Ranah, our technicians are the best and they say the generators are mostly intact. Should be more than enough to power up the lights, we’ll have to replace any damaged fixtures. I’ll need to get the men working on it. Is there anything else the Resol needs of me?”
He turned then to regard her, that thin window pane all that separated him from a near hundred meter drop.
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
Ranah stepped next to Zev by the window. Her eyes gazing down in the same path that he was, glimpsing out, not really focusing on anything. He had picked up on the idea that the tower would be a bright beacon slicing through the night for their people. It would do a perfect job of calling those whom hadn't heard over conventional communications, who hadn't noticed the flurry of activity that had picked up during the day.
She shook her head and glimpsed back to him after he'd questioned if there was anything else. "Of the Mand'alor? No." she replied to him.
"Of my husband however, I believe he requires dinner."
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:38 am by Praenuntius
It was more than just a shining beacon in the expanse of the night sky. It would turn into a symbol before long. This had been their cradle. This is where the first Mandalorian had come from and after so long, after so many valiant deaths, it would finally be brought back to its former glory. A shining jewel in the night sky for every wandering Mandalorian and it will all start with the one building that had withstand the Vong wrath.
He looked to his wife as she joined him. So they where off duty it would seem, though as both of them had readily found out, leaders never had a day off. “Dinner would be quite nice. So what will it be? Yai’yai or yai’yai?” The fare was less than appetizing but a Mandalorian learned to survive on the hardy rations. Turning away from the window he instead made his way back to the center of the room, his arms folded behind his backside. Brooding as he scanned the top of the desk and the view screens that made up the wall behind it. “We eating up here?”
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:01 am by Nicole
Ranah's head tilted, following Zev as he moved away from the window and to the center of the room. Her arms folded over her chest as she glimpsed to him. There was a small chuckle as she heard his comment, and the selection he offered up as well as the location. She shook her head and moved away from the window now, moving to leave the room as she spoke over her shoulder towards him.
"Actually I had something else in mind. If Mand'alor is done with my husband, perhaps he can give him leave of the tower to accompany me." she replied, lingering her gaze over her shoulder towards him before proceeding on out, her pace was slow enough for Zev to catch up, afterall, they had a few dozen floors to make it down and she was in no hurry.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:14 am by Praenuntius
Zev wouldn’t take long at all catching up to Ranah. He was after all curious. Just where would she want to eat. Not like they had many options, but Ranah was resourceful and he wanted to know what she had in mind. Matching her slow pace with his confident steps he said nothing for a while as they began their descent once more into the monolith of a building.
The Mand’alor had no more use of the man named Zev. For now he could be a man until the Mand’alor had a use for him. Whether that be to some new crisis or some mundane inspection. While he knew the importance of his presence, the importance of his men and women seeing him, he cherished what time he could with Ranah. Away from their duties and responsibilities, where one could just relax.
“So where are you taking me wife?” His voice had a hint of his amusement and curiosity. He had a few ideas now the further into the building they got.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:33 am by Nicole
"Do you really think I'm going tell you?" she questioned, tauntingly as she headed down the stairs. Some time later she and Zev would both appear at the lobby of the massive building, Ranah still leading the duo towards the exit of the building. With Zev now caught up her pace could increase a bit more till she was boldly trodding across the square towards a building that made up the area across it. If Zev hadn't guessed it already, the faded words of Oyu’baat would become more apparent as they neared it. It appeared deserted, desolate as usual, but as Ranah stepped to it, her armored hand gripped the heavy handle and pulled the door open the sound of traditional Mandalorian music echoed out, artificial and from a music device the scent of food wafted out some. There were also a few kegs that lined atop the lengthy bar on one end, and a row of helmets on the other.
Ranah's hands slipped up, drawing free her helmet as she sat it next in the row and turned her head to cast a glimpse back towards Zev. Her head tilted as she spoke softer towards him, informing him of how the Resol had outmaneuvered right around the Mand'alor.
"I sent a ship to Vorpa'ya to bring back a nerf and some other things." she commented, of which said items were quite obvious.
The cantina was filled with Mandalorians from all over, those who had come to help rebuild, the warriors she and Zev had brought, and even a few off-duty from the base nearby. And everyone seemed to be having a great time, the monumental task around them seemingly forgotten in the moment. Even some of the fierce warriors were arm wrestling on some of the wooden tables, others were comparing weapons. It was a scene that desperately needed recreating in Keldabe, and so it had been.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:55 am by Praenuntius
“Yeah I was kind of hoping you’d give me a clue. The Estate maybe? Back to the base?”
The cantina hadn’t been on his list. When they didn’t get on the speeder bikes he was utterly confused. Where would she be taking him in the rubble of the city? And then it became all the more apparent as they trudged into the deepening twilight. The red sand crushed beneath their every step harkening their approach to the old run down establishment. It had been well known to all within the Mandalore sector.
Pulling the door open he was greeted with the wall of sound he would find any local dive. He followed after Ranah, the door shutting tightly after him. Again he surveyed those helmetless Mandalorian’s with the cool assertiveness of a veteran. Every miniscule detail was gathered in a couple of glances as his feet shuffled slowly until he had to turn away to remove his helmet and add it to the rack.
When she saw his question eyes, he turned back to the scene, leaning close just to hear her words. Nodding his head, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, “Best idea I’ve heard all day. Know how long it’s been since I’ve had proper Mandalorian ale?” And a nerf burger sounded so delicious his mouth began to water with apprehension of the taste.
Leading them into the fermented dive he was more than pleased to see the red sand had been left at the door. It was good to see the Mandalorian’s at ease, laughing and joking, competing fiercely with one another and even a few talking of their daily efforts. For once the cold, cruel demeanor seemed to melt away and in its place a warm grin. The high spirits where contagious and catching as they walked through the crowded cantina. He picked a dingy booth that had seen little love in the past few years. Old stains and an odor he couldn’t quite place. The seats where sticky, though with what he couldn’t tell, the grin remained however, if it wasn’t dirty it just wasn’t fun. He let Ranah have a seat or refuse his choice, after all there were a few stools in front of the counter. That at least looked a bit more clean, though equally worn down by use.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:59 am by Nicole
What Ranah couldn't see in Zev she could feel as he lightened up. The atmosphere in the old cantina was working it's magic, and when she saw his grin she knew he was pleased. She said nothing, making no indication that she even saw the cold man looking much different she simply let him lead them to the table. Her eyes gave it an appraising look before she cast a "look" towards Zev and then nodded to his choice. "I'll be right back." she commented before she spun about on her heel and headed down to the bar, grabbing two of the metal mugs she walked over to one of the kegs of Ale and filled each.
As she headed back some of the warriors made jest with her. Asking her if being Resol would make her soft with a office in some fancy tower. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Tower or not I can still come down and kick your ass any day."
There was a eruption of laughter from the others along with a few "Oooohs." Ranah headed on back to the booth Zev had chosen for them, placing the drinks on the table she sat down on the other side with a small grin lingering on her lips from the interaction. Her eyes glimpsed back to Zev for a long moment before she commented.
"After we get the tower and hall up and going, I think this should be our next focus." her eyes left Zev and brushed along all the others laughing and enjoying themselves. "Look at them Zev, I doubt any of them could ever forget whats going on outside, but it's no longer ontop of their minds." she soon brought her eyes back to him. "They deserve a place like this to relax after a hard days work."
A lonely shuttle exited hyperspace over the arid wastes of a once luscious planet below. Where once there had been a cornucopia of plains. Mandalorian’s had never been known for their artistic aspirations. They built out of need for shelter. A nomadic people constantly on the move, traveling the great sea of grasses that covered the planet, their buildings reflected their desire to move on. Squat and easily setup, easily taken down or left behind should the need to move quickly arise, their capital wasn’t more than hovels and a few multi-tiered buildings.
So far removed was this new Mandalore that Zev couldn’t help but remember it as it was before the Vong invaded. He slipped back into that vexing campaign. A campaign of courage and loss, it was raining overhead and his troop had been tasked at securing the last avenue for the refugees of the war torn land to escape, the mood was appalling. They had been taking large losses throughout the all out assault of the Vong warriors.
He had to do something as he paced in front of his men. He was the field-commander, he knew how vital this was not only to the campaign by the Mandalorian people who had fled the large cities and gone to ground. This was their only avenue of escape that had yet to have fallen to the Vong.
Zev remembered the beating of his heart. The disheartened looks of his men, not their eyes, but the slump of their shoulders, the lax stance. Shape up he wanted to scream at them. This is your moment! He recalled it with a growing disquiet.
---
“I think upon the past and I knew you to be, the one who brought the fight; who never said die. Never letting fate decide; Be all you hope for, you where the best you could be. A valiant tribute to all that you have achieved. Until the end and back again, defiant to the last man, ‘til there’s nothing left to fight against. No surrender!
Unto the corners of Mandalore, defiant to the last breath! Until there’s nothing left standing. No surrender! Conjure the ground your families once stood upon. Bury the conflicts that prey upon your mind. Find strength in actions that only courage achieves. No surrender!”
---
Zev had been old enough to understand there was no glory in war. There was only death and suffering and in their case, money. The fight for Mandalore however was personal. There was no money involved; this was a matter of pride. This was their home, their birthplace; this is where the first Mandalorian crawled forth.
Who could believe it with the way things looked now? Some survivors still remained in the wasteland. Eking out whatever living they could. He had come to oversee the bacteria injection procedure. Though he understood little of it, he knew the chain reaction was already taking place as radiation levels began to plummet. The toxic resins thrown from the stars by the Vong had begun to dissipate; but none of that would change Mandalore into what it was.
As the shuttle was brought in over the one base left on the world, he couldn’t help but notice the gun emplacements, the power generators that powered each and their armored shielding. Over it all stretched a bio-dome that could be brought down in a moment’s notice. It shielded the inhabitants from the devastation that surrounded it. Hulking plasma cannon emplacements where the first to be seen, their large coiled tubes easily the largest structures in the expansive base, surrounding those behemoths where the tenacious turbolaser batteries, point-defense laser cannons rounded the assortment out as well as their smaller cousins for anti-vehicle problems.
The shield generators were located below the base, their cooling vents the only weakness in design. They where redundant, should one fail the other would pick up with minimal time lost in between. Zev agreed with the way the base had been setup; unfortunately the Federation had seen fit to commandeer the planet’s only starfighters. A problem easily solved with a few calls to MandalMotors. Taking out the data pad he had brought with, he made it a priority, the planet may need to scramble fighters and the defenses as where could only be described as meager in the face of a full on orbital assault.
Once the shuttle landed, Zev exited via the back ramp. He had sent one of his Commanders down here before his arrival to make the transition from Federation to Mandalorian. The forces had been local from the beginning so there really wasn’t much to do. Surveying the thousands arrayed before him, he stood for a moment, data pad in his right gauntlet, transfixed by what he saw. The prominence of their puffed out chests, the pride so easily impressed upon their shoulders and eager stance.
He remembered that rainy day so long ago. . .
---
Thousands had defended the pass. Hundreds remained in the aftermath. The pass was held. The last of the survivors escaping to their underground bunkers, what remained was a haggard bunch of men and women. Many had watched comrades die and still they fought on with fervor and conviction in their actions. They stood their ground against that impossible onslaught. When the apocalypse came they stood defiant until the last man, or in this case Vong. It didn’t matter whether it was from the ground, air or even space, they persevered. Somehow he had kept his hand for Zev remained in the thick of it. His officers sent their reports on enemy movements and incoming threats from overhead and he reacted, keeping his forces fluid and mobile, but never ever allowing a single enemy to push back their lines.
Victory through absolution.
---
Zev waved his hand at the Commander he had sent. “At ease.” He inspected the ranks, the pristine condition of their armor, their clan insignias clear on each battle suits. The inspection would take a few hours until finally he stood forlorn on the observation deck. Looking out through his T-Visor, over the vast decrepit wasteland their home had become.
It was Zev’s home now. He had been given the Vrei estate by Ranah Vrei. Somewhere out there it sat waiting to be restored to its former glory. It felt good to have a home again. Someplace to be when there was no else to be, that still left the bittersweet ache in his stomach. There was so much left to do, could one man do it all? He had Ranah now, maybe a man and a woman could do what one man couldn’t. The shield and the sword, he had to laugh at the thought, his tail no doubt wondering where in the misery of the view could laughter be found?
Tomorrow they would inspect the old MandalMotor’s headquarters as well as the Vrei estate. It was time to begin rebuilding, to begin repopulating.
“You see men,” he pointed with his red gauntleted hand at the far horizon, “that is where mortals dare their fates. The Gods play games with mortal hearts as the carousel goes round. You see that horizon?” They nodded, “Can you see the light as far as the eye can see?” They got it now, they understood and they laughed. Zev grinned, “Let me remain where there is light.”
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:15 pm by Nicole
For Ranah every trip to Mandalore was heart wrenching. For a people that took such pride in who they were, what they were, to have their homeworld decimated was a wound to every Mandalorian's soul. She had come there with Zev, silently disembarking the vessel and making her way past the formation of some of their finest warriors. She cast one last forlorn glimpse towards Zev, could he sense the sense of anger rising in his wife?
Her stark black armor crisply accented her figure, the small black cape adorned her backside as she stepped to one of the powerful speeder bike, she mounted it and flicked the controls, a quick check and she thrust forward and towards the exit of the base, the field at the gate fizzled out, letting her pass before it reformed.
Ranah's eyes scanned the landscape as she accelerated faster and faster, one might even think she was in a hurry somewhere, but she simply was not. It was the thrill of speed that she had left, something to focus her mind on away from the wastelands that rolled around her. The red dust already began to form a brownish red hue on her armor, her cape. Her destination was a bit further away than some, Keldabe.
It would give her some time to think, to ponder the plans for Mandalorian future. How she'd ever agreed to take over the Politics so Zev wouldn't have to deal with them, she would never know. Perhaps Zev had slipped something in her drink that night? She gave a small chuckle at the thought, leaning further forward as her cape snapped hungrily behind her for anything to crack upon.
Keldabe was to be their Capital once again, but it had been left in ruin and abandoned, the fact that the city had been so quickly evacuated left much to be sorted through, in the end only one place did Ranah's mind focus upon, the MandalMotors complex, with it's towering spire and it's great Hall, it was the center of their government, of commerce, of everything. It was only expected that the Capital would be the first to be restored, and Ranah had her own mindset about it. Zev's team would come in the next day, but that night Ranah would prowl, scout, and search with her Force abilities for anything amiss, to ensure the city was safe, secure for their Warriors. Afterall, this city, while their home was some klicks off, had been home, where her family had spent most of it's time. And that Great Hall, she could so easily remember as a small child peeking past the towering columns that lined it's interior towards the massive table in the center, peeking to watch both father and grandfather argue and debate.
In the end, the last she had witnessed was the Clan Chieftains all concurring that the Mandalorians would go to war against the Vong. She could even see it playing in her mind now as she sped towards the granite hills.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:09 pm by Praenuntius
“She left?” He shook his head unwilling to believe that she would’ve left without her tail. She was a head of state. A sly grin formed at that though. Of course she would run off alone, she had always been a solitary creature. With the Force as her companion there wasn’t much that could stand against the Resol, but he didn’t like it. He looked out over the red expanse. The crumbling buildings in the distance signaling the beginning of Keldabe, he looked back at the Captain. “Did she say where she was going?”
The Captain shook his head, “No Al’verde. We didn’t think to question.” And why should they? While he had been locked up in protocol, she had been free to strut her way through the bio-dome and into the toxic wastes of Mandalore. He nodded to the Captain, “You may go.” Looking at his tail, he shook his head, “You are relieved of your duties. Report tomorrow and head to MandalMotors Citadel as we had planned.”
Minutes later a Mandalorian in red armor was seen leaving the complex at high speed. In the wake of his bike little wind devils where stirred up. It wouldn’t take long to enter the city proper, though there was no way to tell where Ranah would go. He supposed he could use the scanner to scan for life forms, but people still lived here.
No he had a better way to communicate. Flipping out his forearm, he pressed a button that illuminated a holographic keyboard for his use. The buttons where extra big to accommodate his armored fingers, “You could have told me you wanted to get out.” She would get the encrypted message, so would anyone else who was listening, but unfortunately they wouldn’t have the cipher. He only had to wait for her response.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:29 pm by Nicole
Ranah had made it to the center of the city without incident or being stopped by anyone. Those who had remained planetside knew better, and kept indoors. Mandalore was often visited by gangs and criminals alike in the days since the War. The faithful Mandalorians drove them away, time and time again, and once the base had been erected it seemed to ensure that most stayed away now.
Even so, one could never be too careful, with her bike at the steps to the Great Hall she crept up the massive granite steps to the heavy metal doors, even they took time for the Force user to press enough power against to have them open, they simply dwarfed her by far and without power they would not move willingly.
Her foot steps echoed through the massive room, only a dim light filtered in through the dome far above, through a few missing panes, broken glass here and there below. On the walls were blaster marks, scorch patterns from weapons fire. In the center of the room she approached the massive round table, coated in inches of dust. The room looked so much smaller than when she was a child, or perhaps she'd simply gotten larger. Even so it was still large, with rows of seating on either side of the room.
She had slowly circled around the table to a side, to one of the sections and brushed her gloved hand through the dust, revealing a V beneath, though barely discernible through the cleaned streaks her fingers had made.
She had only moments to consider it before her wrist beeped, and a line of text appeared on her visor. She smirked some, bringing her arm over to the other she tapped on her own holographic keyboard and sent a response back.
RESOL'S PRIVILEGE. THOUGHT I'D SEE THE NEW POWER CENTER OF OUR PEOPLE. OUR ARENA.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:52 pm by Praenuntius
He had stopped in what appeared to be some sort of intersection. Zev had been to this city a couple of different times, but in his youth he had never paid any attention to the layout. With one foot on the ground, the other still on the bike, he had just finished his third scan of the area before his HUD light up with the large bold lettering of her return message. He shook his head, looked around once more before replying.
“Did you forget to depress your capslock? MandalMotors Citadel?” As if he had to ask. He hopped back on his bike, used his eyes to visually move the layered menu’s of his HUD before getting the route to the Citadel. When he looked in the distance he could see it poking above the rusted and broken in rooftops of the buildings surrounding it.
Easing into his bike he sped off towards the old building. He honestly wished he knew more of Vrei’s past. Something had to of drawn her there ahead of the team. Through the rubble strewn streets he sped. The red sand had invaded everything. It was disgusting, even before the Vong had left; the affliction could be seen spreading across the globe. It had been disheartening to have beaten the enemy off only to have an unseen foe take the world beneath your very feet.
It didn’t take long before he was easing in before the Great Hall. The other bike was a dead giveaway as he parked his beside it. Scanning once more he only found one heat signature, guessing it was Ranah’s he secured both bikes by removing the capacitors that powered their engines. Slipping into his suit he stopped before the doors that where now open.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:52 pm by Nicole
It didn't take very much for a faint little blue dot to appear right on Zev's chest, nor the sound of power charging as Ranah's forearm gauntlet directed right at the man. Her visor's HUD had done a very quick scan of him in that time, enough for her to realize that it wasn't some gangster come to rob her. A click had her weapon disengaged and the little blue dot disappear from the Mandalorian male.
A slight smirk creased her lips beneath her helmet as she placed her hand back down upon the table and stared at the armored figure across the room from her, her voice echoed across the empty expanse as she humored herself, "If I'm to watch my back, who's to watch yours?"
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:05 pm by Praenuntius
Ranah saw Zev before he saw her. However indicators on his HUD made him well aware of what had just taken place. He had instinctively gone for his guns even moving his right foot in the direction of cover. Before he made the move however he realized who it was. He couldn’t blame her edginess.
He took in the room before actually stepping from the doorway and into it. Turning his sight back on her, he shrugged. “No one watches my back.” You either live or you die there was no sense in dreading it. Every man died, was only a matter of time. Either Zev had been extremely lucky or ferocious in combat. He didn’t like to dwell on it. He certainly wasn’t smart or he would have been behind the line of battle instead of in the thick of it, preferring instead to leave the thinkers organize and strategize. He was best for making maneuvers in the field.
“You want to tell me about this place?”
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:17 pm by Nicole
Ranah chuckled slightly, lightening the tone within the room as she watched Zev begin to advance towards her, her eyes glimpsed back to the table as he smoke of his curiosity of what the Hall was. Ranah's fingers rose to her helmet, twisting it free as she cast her gaze across the room to the figure which cast his shadow to her. Her eyes departed him and glimpsed back to the table as she leaned over, taking a deep breath she exhaled it back out in a stream, blowing a small cloud of dust from the area before her, a second further unveiled the Vrei clan logo upon the section she stood before, her eyes rose up, focusing back on the new Mand'alor.
"This was the power center of our people. Nine heads which lead the clans of our people. " There were of course ten spots at the table, though the other symbols were equally covered as the one before Ranah had been. Her hand motioned towards one of the areas that the table seemed to focus towards.
"And our Mand'alor. " she revealed. Her golden eyes scanned around the room before settling back on Zev.
"The last time this room was used was at the beginning of the War."
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:32 pm by Praenuntius
He moved forward, pulling his helmet off with a few clicks and a hiss as the suit depressurized. Holding it beneath his left arm, he leaned over, his slate-grey eyes turning black in the gloom of the building. Her clan symbol became clear, Vrei, and the apparent use of the room became all to clear to him. Of course he had heard of the Council made of up clan heads and how the Mand’alor brought them all together, which placed the tenth seat, Ranah’s words filled in the gap. His seat, how queer that felt rolling through his mind, if ever there was a Mandalorian unworthy of the praise, it was him.
He took a step along the row of chairs that had been arranged so neatly. That might explain why the place had never been looted or gutted. He said nothing as his eyes truly took in the magnitude of the hall. Finally he turned his black eyes upon her, a knowing look they shared, as he reminded himself it was Ranah that should be the Mand’alor. After all, as head of the great and powerful Vrei clan, he had no blood, not that it mattered in Mandalorian society.
“At least it seems mostly intact. We will have to gather them all once more. From across the sector.” The air still had a pungent odor too it, but otherwise the levels where stable enough that one could finally breath on the planet. “You spent a lot of time here.” It wasn’t a question. He stated it as a fact. He drew his attention away and to the far chair, his chair once more, walking over to it, he slowly stood behind it, facing the length of the table. How long it seemed from the vantage. His shadow cascading down the expanse of the table, he didn’t like it one bit. This was her chair he decided.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:50 pm by Nicole
Ranah stepped back from the table as her eyes followed Zev to the Mand'alor's chair. Her breathing drew in sharply, filled with the pungent scent of the air. Her arm tucked her helmet beneath as she brought her hand up, eyes closed as she focused on the massive circular table made of granite. In her mind she could see it, the entire room and even Zev without looking. As her hand rose a rumble reverberated through the table as it began to rise up, there was a small muscle which clenched in Ranah's jaw as one end began to elevate higher and higher, bringing it vertical the dust poured from the side and down upon the floor, billowing away from the area both she and Zev stood in, the last thing she wanted was to coat them in dust so she'd sent it opposite.
Just as carefully the table returned back to it's original position with a loud clunk back on it's pedestal.
When her eyes opened she could see the symbols of each leader engraved around the table. Only one symbol was ever consistent, that of the Mand'alor. Ranah's head bowed slightly as she spoke to Zev's earlier comment of her spending time there.
"My father once held this seat." Ranah stated, " I use to hide behind the rows and watch their meetings when I was little." she added, her eyes glimpsing to the lines of seats rising up from the floor in two parallel lines on either side of the rectangular room.
"I never thought that I'd be on this side of the table. "
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
He reveled as the table was brought up. A quick look to Ranah confirmed his thoughts as he remained where he was standing as the dust was cleared from the table. A neat trick but judging by the way she was grinding her jaw, a hard one to pull off. He didn’t say anything until the table was set back down, but before he could, she had started to speak. Listening intently he crossed his arms behind his back, eyes piercing the depths of her golden gaze.
Who would have thought either of them had a childhood? He certainly couldn’t imagine hers and he had never told her about his. Mostly boring bits until Duncan showed up and taught him how to be a Mandalorian. From that moment forth he had been a Mandalorian, not as a child, but as a man. With Ranah it was different, being raised Mandalorian from childhood.
He watched her gestures, her eyes widen as if reliving those moments. He even half expected to see her father seated before them, but unlike her he wasn’t surprised. Where did she expect to go? Travel the stars forever? A grin formed, “Where else would you rather be but at the head of your people?” He looked over the table, at the rows of seat, one on either side, “Who else is going to lead them to glory?”
He could imagine it then, while he had never met any of the tribal leaders, he could imagine them in their ancestral suits of armor, heavily laden with political astuteness. But warriors all the same, their scheming was only for the greater good. Power and strength where respected, hence Zev’s natural diffidence towards Ranah.
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Post Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:18 pm by Nicole
The table had been a feat, it was massive and weighed much, while she was a practicing darksider, she was far from a Master. If Zev had known how easy she could've dropped it he might've considered moving elsewhere during the little maneuver. Fortunately she had caused no harm and the table rest back in it's place a bit cleaner.
Ranah's hands moved the helmet she held beneath her arm and placed it on the table over the symbol. She'd never told anyone but the helmet she wore was the only thing she had left of her father, her way of remembering him, honoring their family was to proudly wear it and continue the fight. To never disrespect the helmet, the Vrei or her people.
Her figure turned as she slowly walked around the table to where Zev was, her eyes glimpsed towards his as she stood before him, a long glimpse cast towards the helmet she'd left on the table. "I'd much rather he still be here to lead the Vrei. I always expected that at some point I'd have a brother by the time..." she trailed off, shaking the thought from her mind before looking back to Zev.
"I have great faith that my husband will lead the Vrei and the other clans to glory." she spoke, breaking her eyes from Zev's as she bowed her head slightly to him, once more demonstrating her loyalty to the Mand'alor. Afterall, the sixth oath of any to hold that new formed title was to Rally to the Mand'alor when called.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:26 am by Praenuntius
Zev could understand her reverence for the helmet and the family sigil. While he had no idea the helmet was her father’s, he could at least understand the loss. Mandalore had lost so many people during the Great Struggle. Would he have been a kinder or gentler man he might have reached out and touched her. Instead he remained resolute with his hands pressed behind his back. “You will serve the Mand’alor and the people of the Vrei clan well in his stead.”
He hadn’t moved when Ranah lifted the massive table because of trust. And because of trust he bowed his head when she bowed her own, their heads would be at equal height, leaving him at the disadvantage due to his superior height. Still the token was given. There was no equal to the Mand’alor, but in this place, shared between them, Zev knew full well he would’ve never made it off of Dromund Kaas if she hadn’t put an end to their standoff.
“This Mand’alor will do the best that he can.” He was only a man. Not a great figure like the Fett’s who had rallied the Mandalorians to Mandalore when the Vong had come. He was not the Mand’alor’s of old. He had simply fought and bled for the freedom they so rightly deserved after having been discarded by a weakened Republic.
Victory was a fickle thing. So often the public would believe it so simple and pure. They had won their freedom. And now those freed men and women looked to their leader, the one who had inspired it all, their Mand’alor. “You and I will lead them to greatness Ranah Vrei.” Hopefully her faith wasn’t misplaced. What could one man do? Zev had never been anyone special. Was no hero; he was a simple Mandalorian who did what he thought was best.
“What else is there to see here?”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:40 am by Nicole
Ranah's eyes lofted upward towards Zev's for a moment at his comment, a simple response was given from her as she acknowledged his authority, " Thank you Sir." she replied. Her head came back to normal level as she glimpsed around her, taking in the chamber once more before her hand extended to her helmet, calling it to her she glimpsed to Zev once more at his question. It was obvious that Zev had not spent much time in the Capital city in the past, at least pre War.
She tilted her head a little and smirked, " Think you can handle a climb?" she questioned him, mocking as she cast her gaze upward towards the dome above them and the massive building which stretched upward, riddled with broken windows and destroyed structure. At least after all this time it was still standing. Mandalorians certainly knew how to construct things to last, and for a long time.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:50 am by Praenuntius
Zev was from Concord Dawn. Born a human, reborn a Mandalorian, his home was now gone. A blackened stain where his family had once lived, not that they cared about him or what he went on to become; Zev’s parents enjoyed their dull and boring life, they weren’t warriors and so they had shunned him and Duncan when it became obvious that Zev’s pursuit was the way of the warrior. So yes he was ignorant of the city but not ignorant of the what Mandalore used to look like. Keldabe was just an ancient skeleton in comparison to what it had once been – but then again, wasn’t that why Ranah was here?
His gray eyes followed her gaze, hands falling to his sides as his back arched to support his far reaching eyes. The structure seemed sound enough. He hadn’t gotten this far by being cautious or reckless and this reeked of neither, so he simply shrugged and regarded his ravishing wife. A coy grin spread across his rugged visage, “I think I can manage.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:58 am by Nicole
Ranah chuckled and placed her helmet on, twisting it into place and walking towards the other end of the hall, towards the other set of closed doors, doors which rustily groaned open with the power being leveraged against them. Her body proceeded on through and into the grand lobby of the MandalMotors tower. It was a mess just as the rest of the complex was, ceiling panels had fallen in in places, debris scattered all about the area. She cautiously made her way about towards the central core of the building where the lifts and stairs were.
She paused and pushed open one of the doors to the stairs and glimpsed back to Zev with a smirk, noticing a second set of stairs behind her she quirked a brow and glimpsed back to him, "Well Mand'alor, I'll wager that I make it to the top before you do."
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:06 am by Praenuntius
Remembering the schematics as he had gazed up at the hundred meter structure, he suddenly realized he was in the heart of the city. What had happened to the beautiful river that had once surrounded the city? And sure enough he could still see the faded mythosaur logo attached to the building. The color had faded, but the outline remained the same.
Clicking his helmet back on at the same time Ranah did he followed her, wondering why she insisted on opening the doors until he realized she wasn’t using her physical strength, but that of the force. For once Zev was just as cautious as his beloved. The rubble was still mostly unsettled, shifting and sliding with each step they took. Zev looked from side to side trying to form a mental picture of what the lobby must have looked like.
Turning his attention back to Ranah, he could tell she was smirking beneath her T-Visor. Eying her stairs he looked to his set and hoped to hell neither of them met with a bad end on the way up. Was splitting up such a good idea? Eh, he grinned, “We’ll see about that.” And with that the Mand’alor started the leg race, taking three-four steps at a time.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:14 am by Nicole
Ranah chuckled and turned for the door to the stairs just as Zev did, however, as the male disappeared up the flight of stairs, three and four at a time she turned back to the lift doors, her hands shifted with the Force as she pulled the shaft doors open and stepped into the lift, an examination of the ceiling of the cab had her opening the access panel and leaping up onto the roof. Her wrist angled up, a small poof at her wrist signaled the launch of a cable upward, looping around and sticking to one of the beams within the shaft.
With a press on her gauntlet she began to ascend upward in the shaft, bypassing floors more rapidly. Once she was at the beam she pulled herself up on it and realligned the cable, firing it once more as she made another leg of the journey, once more she would do this process till she were at the very top, her fingers prying open the doors to the lift tube she pushed up, toppling on out into a crouched roll.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:22 am by Praenuntius
A solid thirty minutes later Zev would barge through the door on the roof. He wasn’t even panting his physical condition was so well honed. The door he had busted through had come off its hinges, it had been sealed shut to prevent a rooftop intrusion. Of course he expected the woman to beat him to the top. He had not missed the elevator. Though what she missed was the brief tour of the building. Great rents in the structure gave a dazzling view of the city below. Too bad it was all so choked with crimson tides of sand. Endless in either direction as far as the eye could see.
But the view at the top was more than impressive. He moved to the edge looking over the tableau of the cityscape. It didn’t appear like much here at the top of the world. But there it was – home. He would have to call the clan leaders, summon them all and gather the Mandalorian’s once more to their Mand’alor. He looked at Ranah then, would she make it official then? One of the Clan elders would have to declare him Mand’alor before he could assume the mantle of leadership and begin directing the clans.
“So this is home.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:26 am by Nicole
Ranah stood perched upon that ledge as she glimpsed back over her shoulder as Zev appeared sometime later. A slight smirk creased her lips as she turned and glimpsed back along the landscape that surrounded them. Soon she thought. Soon Mandalore would be green again, and not the reddish dust ball that it had become. There was no greater vantage point affixed to the ground than the MandalMotors tower, how little everything felt below them, they were literally right atop the world.
She stepped back from the ledge as Zev approached, turning to him as he spoke.
"All before you, all behind you lies Mandalore, our home. While it is but a shell of it's former glory, it shall once again be made whole in time. Normally I would not proceed this as such, but as I do not know which Clans survive and which do not, as the head of Clan Vrei I call you to oath Zev Khandrr." she spoke, her eyes bore upon him from the helmet.
"Will you protect your people, their lands, and their sovereignty? "
"Will you follow the Resol'nare and it's six commandments?"
"Will you take the mantle of Mand'alor, and defend it's rights?"
Assuming Zev would answer affirmative to the questions she would draw her Vibroblade from it's ankle sheath and draw the hilt up, pressing the blade flat against her chest she focused on him once more.
"Then til someone stronger take it from you in battle, you are officially declared Mand'alor. Clan Vrei pledges itself to you." she would kneel before him, blade still against her chest. Of course the other clans, had they been there, would have done the same pledges to the new Mand'alor. Perhaps in time, when they found the new heads to them, whom had survived and who had perished, they would offer their allegiance to the man standing before her, officially.
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
Tearing his gaze from the quagmire of scarlet sand he looked at his wife. It didn’t take long at all to see where her words where leading. He knew in other cultures a leader might bow, might suffer the shame of bending a knee, but a Mand’alor was a leader through strength and courage. There was no bending of the knee, no bending of the head, there was only acceptance. As much as he thought he was a poor choice, he couldn’t insult them by refusing. After all the men and women who had died getting him this far, it would be an insult to their memory.
Zev did answer in the affirmative. “To the best of my ability,” how weak and pitiful the words sounded. Then she was kneeling and pledging her clan to his banner. His first clan, he bid her rise, but not with a touch on the shoulder or more wind, no he slapped her with his gauntleted hand. The blow wouldn’t be severe, but hard enough to remember. “Rise then and remember your responsibility and duty to the Mand’alor you have chosen.” The words where harsh and halting, Zev gave no apology for the slap. With the same hand that had slapped her, he took the hilt of the blade she pressed upon her chest.
Wrapping his hand fully around the hilt he slid the vibro blade free of her grasp. Taking it up and away from the kneeling Mandalorian Chieftain he inspected the offered weapon. The balance was correct, though a little off-center just as he liked it. Was easy to handle as he demonstrated his dexterity before ultimately handing it back hilt first, there were no ceremonial words that he could recall; the Mand’alor was always chosen for his strength of character and the best qualities of his people.
He didn’t voice his insecurities nor did he wear them on his face. His eyes where cruel and judging as he turned his eyes to his world, the world named for him and those who had come before him, it would be green and lush as it once had been. In his lifetime or their children’s lifetime, “Call the clans. Its time the people saw their Mand’alor and its time the people where told what has happened and what will come.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:46 am by Nicole
Ranah's head was twisted off center as Zev's gauntleted hand impacted against her helmet with a resounding twang of metal upon metal. She had to admit, there was a brief moment that anger and rage boiled through her, enough that she considered showing him what it felt like to be a metal can being crushed. Such was the dangers of the darkside, that once those emotions reached a point, they were not so easy to subdue once more.
When Zev took her blade, there was perhaps a lingered grasp from her as those thoughts were still so fresh but she relinquished it as he took it from her, her head returned forward as she pushed up and stood at his command. Perhaps that was the true test of loyalty, to pledge oneself and then be tested right after. How very Mandalorian - but he didn't have to hit her quite so hard.
She watched him test her blade, the well honed weapon before he returned it to her, she sheathed it back in it's proper holster before she looked to him at his command. She straightened, " Yes Sir, Mand'alor." It would be done as Zev ordered, Ranah would oversee it personally that the heads of each clan were found, there was no greater a need than present to discover what Mandalorians still lived and which ones had been destroyed in the bombardment of Concord Dawn.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:05 pm by Praenuntius
He could sense the anger; almost taste the bitter betrayal oozing from his wife. Perhaps he had hit her too hard, but shouldn’t her test be the hardest? She is his best friend, his wife; she should know that where he walks, peril isn’t far behind. Still when she rose and accepted her blade back, he found that he wasn’t relieved, but knew instead that she wouldn't strike back. She was his to the last, unflinching in her loyalty.
That much he should’ve known before the slap, but it was the same for the men and women who followed him. He almost broke down and apologized seeing the rigid posture she now took. Instead he turned back to the vista below. He wouldn’t insult her by asking if she was sure of all she had committed herself to. Their marriage had not yet been made official in the eyes of the public, nor the place he would reserve for her in the newfound Mandalorian governing body. Words where wind, but actions, actions where bold and cunning. Actions told you who and what a person was. She was with him and that’s all that mattered now. Between the two of them, there was nothing they couldn’t stand against. Defiant to the last, he regarded her with a quick glance, “I will get the men in here to fix the place up. It is time we tell the Clans of our plans, to deliberate and set aside our own goals and instead focus on the grander goal of rebuilding this world, Concord Dawn.”
He paused and turned away from the desolate vista below and took his wife by the shoulder, “I need you by my side Ranah Vrei. As my equal. My partner. My friend to the last. Because once we are done rebuilding, once we are done righting the wrongs of the Federation, we will call upon their debt … In blood. This is the promise I make you and all Mandalorians. Stand with me and justice will be yours.”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 5:11 pm by Praenuntius
The next day brought the entire entourage upon them. Heavy loaders carried the scavenging equipment, as well as the communications array that would be setup. Ranah and Zev had stayed at the old Communal Hall, enjoying the solitude without the nagging responsibilities they had thrust upon themselves. Along with the entourage would come supplies to feed the restoration crews as well as mounted blaster cannons for perimeter defense.
Throughout the day the Mandalorian teams would setup the defensive perimeter, using the extra capacitors that had been brought along to provide power. The communications array locked them into the Keldabe base not more than a few kilometers outside of the city. From there they would get periodic reports from the fleet stationed in orbit over Concord Dawn.
Once they had finished setting up the base, they began making repairs as well as scavenging for anything they could find in the MandalMotors Tower. They found prototype schematics as well as lost schematics that hadn’t been seen since the Vong invasion. Just how many and how valuable Zev didn’t have the time to check as he was personally overseeing the restoration of the Communal Hall.
A large contingent of Mandalorian’s had begun to wander in from the outlying areas, curious at first and then heartened by what they saw. Rations where provided for those who offered their services and in no time at all, the Hall was free of the red sand and power had been restored. Luckily they had brought spare power cells to feed into the giant generator located beneath the hall.
Instead of sleeping outside, they had cleared rooms and where using those as makeshift tents. It was hard going and in a few days Zev and Ranah would have to leave, but for the moment he stood at the top of the tower once again, arms crossed over his chest. He had seen very little of Ranah throughout the day as she had been focused in the Tower itself and not the Hall it sat adjacent too.
He could see the little dark forms scurrying below, men on patrol he knew. Others would be providing food to the stragglers that could still be seen walking in from miles around. Just where they came from and where they had been hiding was beyond Zev. Not far from where he stood he knew there used to be a popular Cantina, Oyu’baat, it had been called and the only place he could recall with a clear memory. There were other local dives in the vicinity, but most of them looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.
While they were being questioned and watched, Zev wondered just when he had needed to start caring about what Mandalorian to accept and which to shun. Most of the strangers it seemed came from homes they had made out of the rubble or from the outskirts surrounding the town. They wanted to help rebuild the planet and knew little of the Federation or the war that had just been won in their honor. His Chief Intelligence Officer however saw shadows lurking in every dust coated wanderer that came into camp. A job best left to other men, though he would be sure to test their loyalties in other ways. For now however he set his sights on the city and the planet beyond.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:24 pm by Nicole
Ranah had set her sights on the tower for most of the day. It was true, things of value were being pulled from the rubble, from the remnants of files that lay scattered about. It had been she and Zev's conversation that the tower would become a tower of their government, in lieu of being returned to MandalMotors. As such she'd spent the day assisting with the cleanup, one floor at a time, starting with the top and working their way down. One of the turbolift shafts even, temporarily become a garbage chute to dump useless items, debris, and even the red sand that had worked its way in through broken windows.
At the end of the day Ranah sat silently on the edge of the CEO's desk of MandalMotors. It was expansive, and the finest of the whole tower, near the top with a perfect view of the city. Ranah's eyes scanned around it, it had survived being damaged from bombs and other ordinance, even it's windows had remained all intact.
Ranah's fingers clasped before her, she was alone for the moment, her thoughts to herself as she considered, contemplated. Then her mind wandered to Zev, wondering what the Mand'alor was currently up to. She tapped out a message to Zev on her interface, sending the room number and floor. Hopefully he was not too busy to visit the new Resol.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:37 pm by Praenuntius
Jarred from his reverie by the blinking red icon just seconds before a room number and a floor flashed across his orange and green HUD, he quickly thumbed open his holographic keyboard and typed a simple message stating his was on his way. While it would be a few days yet before they could get the power generators back online, he didn’t at all mind the exercise. Ranah was only a few floors below him, a few glow globes to light his way as he walked into the lush interior of the MandalMotors CEO room.
The thin coating of red sand had been swept away, but there were still traces of it left out in the hallway. Tracking a few grains of sand in with him, years of harsh military discipline had him taking in the room in one sweeping glance. Zev rarely saw the inside of an office, preferring his room or the bridge of the Adenn Naast. Still the table and the architecture spoke volumes of Mandalorian attitudes. Brusque, yet impressive, not oppressive as the Sith Citadel had been, but powerful and bold, the columns remaining sturdy and unworn by the passage of time, even the mighty Vong had been unable to tear the tower down.
Looking over his wife as she leaned over the desk, he approached her, his boots making dull thuds with each step he took over the carpeted room. The view was equally impressive two floors down and it did not escape his attention. He however only had eyes on his exquisite wife. “How is the work coming along?”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:12 pm by Nicole
Ranah looked up to Zev as he walked in, she had actually heard his pace as he walked there, a pace that was Zev's own. She glimpsed around the office at his question and shrugged a little, " We've cleared most of the tower." she commented. She pushed herself up from the desk and slowly approached him, stepping to his side she turned and glimpsed back towards the desk and then glimpsed back to Zev.
"I dont like having an office when some of our people have no home. When we get power back here, I want to offer up the entire tower as a refugee shelter. " she stated.
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:44 pm by Praenuntius
Following her gaze once she joined him, first to the desk and then to him, he listened to her and nodding his approval. It did not sit well with Zev. Not with so many starving. While he had been toying with the idea of sending out a message on every frequency in use, as well as some soldiers to rouse those with no technical means to receive the communication, he had yet to put it all into use. Seeing her take the initiative he decided the least he could do is support her.
“I agree. We’ve already had hundreds approach us – most seem eager to help us rebuild, others just want something warm in their bellies and a soft place to rest.”
He looked around the room, trying to picture it as it must have been. Tried to picture it with Ranah sitting behind the massive desk before them, he couldn’t picture her behind the desk or anywhere in the room. Ranah didn’t belong in the trappings of a corporation – she had always seemed more at home among the stars, but then what he remembered of the girl he fell in love with, was now a grown woman. She would choose her own place and he would just have to accept it.
He regarded her, “I’m being told we should have the power back online by night’s end, possibly a little later if they find any problem with the generators, so far they haven’t ran into any issues. It was amazing how well they built this structure. I’ll instruct the men to help – can broadcast a message across the globe, send some troops out with yai’yai(field rations.)”
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:40 pm by Nicole
"Good.." Ranah stated, contemplating as Zev told her to the timeline and how long it would take to get the generators up and running. She considered something and then looked back to him. " When power is restored to the tower, have every room on the outside's lights turned on. If you require my ship for the additional power, she is yours. Let the tower that was once the symbol of MandalMotors be a symbol of refuge to our people." Ranah replied.
She paused in thought for a moment before she looked back to Zev, " Have the clan leaders begun to arrive?"
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Post Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:09 pm by Praenuntius
He shook his head at the last question. Moving away from her, he turned his back on her to looking over the darkening clouds. “Most of the clans are still in disarray. It will be a little bit yet before they begin to trickle in. Concord Dawn is where most of the clan chieftains migrated too and most of them rallied their clans in the uprisings.”
He didn’t have to fill her in on the rest, she knew as well as he did. She was there beside him staring down at the planet from the deck of Adenn Naast. She had even gone down to the planet. He put his gloved hand on the intact pane of glass. Pressing his visor firmly against it as well, he wondered just what it would look like all lit up. “This would be a shining beacon to those from miles around. Kind of hard to miss something like this being lit up. We won’t need your ship Ranah, our technicians are the best and they say the generators are mostly intact. Should be more than enough to power up the lights, we’ll have to replace any damaged fixtures. I’ll need to get the men working on it. Is there anything else the Resol needs of me?”
He turned then to regard her, that thin window pane all that separated him from a near hundred meter drop.
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Re: Mandalore: Homecoming
Ranah stepped next to Zev by the window. Her eyes gazing down in the same path that he was, glimpsing out, not really focusing on anything. He had picked up on the idea that the tower would be a bright beacon slicing through the night for their people. It would do a perfect job of calling those whom hadn't heard over conventional communications, who hadn't noticed the flurry of activity that had picked up during the day.
She shook her head and glimpsed back to him after he'd questioned if there was anything else. "Of the Mand'alor? No." she replied to him.
"Of my husband however, I believe he requires dinner."
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:38 am by Praenuntius
It was more than just a shining beacon in the expanse of the night sky. It would turn into a symbol before long. This had been their cradle. This is where the first Mandalorian had come from and after so long, after so many valiant deaths, it would finally be brought back to its former glory. A shining jewel in the night sky for every wandering Mandalorian and it will all start with the one building that had withstand the Vong wrath.
He looked to his wife as she joined him. So they where off duty it would seem, though as both of them had readily found out, leaders never had a day off. “Dinner would be quite nice. So what will it be? Yai’yai or yai’yai?” The fare was less than appetizing but a Mandalorian learned to survive on the hardy rations. Turning away from the window he instead made his way back to the center of the room, his arms folded behind his backside. Brooding as he scanned the top of the desk and the view screens that made up the wall behind it. “We eating up here?”
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:01 am by Nicole
Ranah's head tilted, following Zev as he moved away from the window and to the center of the room. Her arms folded over her chest as she glimpsed to him. There was a small chuckle as she heard his comment, and the selection he offered up as well as the location. She shook her head and moved away from the window now, moving to leave the room as she spoke over her shoulder towards him.
"Actually I had something else in mind. If Mand'alor is done with my husband, perhaps he can give him leave of the tower to accompany me." she replied, lingering her gaze over her shoulder towards him before proceeding on out, her pace was slow enough for Zev to catch up, afterall, they had a few dozen floors to make it down and she was in no hurry.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:14 am by Praenuntius
Zev wouldn’t take long at all catching up to Ranah. He was after all curious. Just where would she want to eat. Not like they had many options, but Ranah was resourceful and he wanted to know what she had in mind. Matching her slow pace with his confident steps he said nothing for a while as they began their descent once more into the monolith of a building.
The Mand’alor had no more use of the man named Zev. For now he could be a man until the Mand’alor had a use for him. Whether that be to some new crisis or some mundane inspection. While he knew the importance of his presence, the importance of his men and women seeing him, he cherished what time he could with Ranah. Away from their duties and responsibilities, where one could just relax.
“So where are you taking me wife?” His voice had a hint of his amusement and curiosity. He had a few ideas now the further into the building they got.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:33 am by Nicole
"Do you really think I'm going tell you?" she questioned, tauntingly as she headed down the stairs. Some time later she and Zev would both appear at the lobby of the massive building, Ranah still leading the duo towards the exit of the building. With Zev now caught up her pace could increase a bit more till she was boldly trodding across the square towards a building that made up the area across it. If Zev hadn't guessed it already, the faded words of Oyu’baat would become more apparent as they neared it. It appeared deserted, desolate as usual, but as Ranah stepped to it, her armored hand gripped the heavy handle and pulled the door open the sound of traditional Mandalorian music echoed out, artificial and from a music device the scent of food wafted out some. There were also a few kegs that lined atop the lengthy bar on one end, and a row of helmets on the other.
Ranah's hands slipped up, drawing free her helmet as she sat it next in the row and turned her head to cast a glimpse back towards Zev. Her head tilted as she spoke softer towards him, informing him of how the Resol had outmaneuvered right around the Mand'alor.
"I sent a ship to Vorpa'ya to bring back a nerf and some other things." she commented, of which said items were quite obvious.
The cantina was filled with Mandalorians from all over, those who had come to help rebuild, the warriors she and Zev had brought, and even a few off-duty from the base nearby. And everyone seemed to be having a great time, the monumental task around them seemingly forgotten in the moment. Even some of the fierce warriors were arm wrestling on some of the wooden tables, others were comparing weapons. It was a scene that desperately needed recreating in Keldabe, and so it had been.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:55 am by Praenuntius
“Yeah I was kind of hoping you’d give me a clue. The Estate maybe? Back to the base?”
The cantina hadn’t been on his list. When they didn’t get on the speeder bikes he was utterly confused. Where would she be taking him in the rubble of the city? And then it became all the more apparent as they trudged into the deepening twilight. The red sand crushed beneath their every step harkening their approach to the old run down establishment. It had been well known to all within the Mandalore sector.
Pulling the door open he was greeted with the wall of sound he would find any local dive. He followed after Ranah, the door shutting tightly after him. Again he surveyed those helmetless Mandalorian’s with the cool assertiveness of a veteran. Every miniscule detail was gathered in a couple of glances as his feet shuffled slowly until he had to turn away to remove his helmet and add it to the rack.
When she saw his question eyes, he turned back to the scene, leaning close just to hear her words. Nodding his head, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, “Best idea I’ve heard all day. Know how long it’s been since I’ve had proper Mandalorian ale?” And a nerf burger sounded so delicious his mouth began to water with apprehension of the taste.
Leading them into the fermented dive he was more than pleased to see the red sand had been left at the door. It was good to see the Mandalorian’s at ease, laughing and joking, competing fiercely with one another and even a few talking of their daily efforts. For once the cold, cruel demeanor seemed to melt away and in its place a warm grin. The high spirits where contagious and catching as they walked through the crowded cantina. He picked a dingy booth that had seen little love in the past few years. Old stains and an odor he couldn’t quite place. The seats where sticky, though with what he couldn’t tell, the grin remained however, if it wasn’t dirty it just wasn’t fun. He let Ranah have a seat or refuse his choice, after all there were a few stools in front of the counter. That at least looked a bit more clean, though equally worn down by use.
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Post Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:59 am by Nicole
What Ranah couldn't see in Zev she could feel as he lightened up. The atmosphere in the old cantina was working it's magic, and when she saw his grin she knew he was pleased. She said nothing, making no indication that she even saw the cold man looking much different she simply let him lead them to the table. Her eyes gave it an appraising look before she cast a "look" towards Zev and then nodded to his choice. "I'll be right back." she commented before she spun about on her heel and headed down to the bar, grabbing two of the metal mugs she walked over to one of the kegs of Ale and filled each.
As she headed back some of the warriors made jest with her. Asking her if being Resol would make her soft with a office in some fancy tower. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Tower or not I can still come down and kick your ass any day."
There was a eruption of laughter from the others along with a few "Oooohs." Ranah headed on back to the booth Zev had chosen for them, placing the drinks on the table she sat down on the other side with a small grin lingering on her lips from the interaction. Her eyes glimpsed back to Zev for a long moment before she commented.
"After we get the tower and hall up and going, I think this should be our next focus." her eyes left Zev and brushed along all the others laughing and enjoying themselves. "Look at them Zev, I doubt any of them could ever forget whats going on outside, but it's no longer ontop of their minds." she soon brought her eyes back to him. "They deserve a place like this to relax after a hard days work."
