Jedi Prince Koren Omi-Ren

"You have the stance of a lightsaber specialist, Prince. As do your guards."

Koren nodded, while he was no real specialist he was well versed in the duelist form, Makashi had been the way of his master who despite preferring non-combat routes felt that if it came to a duel it was important to do so with dignity, elegance, and honor. All aspects that were at the core of Makashi. He nodded along as she spoke, fighting between Jedi did build bonds. He remembered many a day as a young Padawan dueling other Padawans while he and his master were at the temple. The days where he was working with Padawans heading towards the gathering he found great joy in teaching them the various forms.

As he started to teach the Royal Gaurd the bond between him and his guards became closer, he trusted them all with his life and the life of his wife. Some had tried to subvert his rule over them, though none had gotten far.

"Apologies Prince, it seems my time is short and so is yours with me this day. Do feel free to give me an answer on my offer, or if you like I can always scry the future of yourself or those nearest and dearest."

Koren shook his head, though before he could have any form of a comment she departed and in her place, another came along. The similarity between the two was immediately obvious.

Koren bowed his head out of respect as she introduced herself, and her title. He proceeded to then also bow his head in thanks as she offered to answer any questions. "I give you thanks Master Alleron. Though I must admit your sister, assuming that you are the sister that Sena Alleron spoke off. We covered many of the basics, as I am trying to discover if there is still room within the Jedi Order for myself, though I understand my duties are rather different." He looked around the courtyard that they were currently in. "Perhaps I should allow you to take point? Since Hapes has been in contact with the Mandalorian Republic and the Corellian... Hegemony?" He looked to the Jedi before him for confirmation if he had gotten the name right. "We have learned little of the politics in the wider galaxy. As such I would ask to speak to you first as one Jedi to another, and then we can speak as foreign diplomats."

"She's gonna kill me, she's so gonna kill me!" Wearing her favorite cyan dress with its pair of matching heels, Talia Je'and ran to where she was supposed to meet with her sister and their friends to go out and enjoy a night of rest after they'd all gotten back from a rather long series of escort and guard missions making sure that Mandalorian Republic's transports and cargo ships made it to their destinations with as little raider interaction as possible. Of course, the threat of lightsaber-y death wasn't always enough to convince pirates there was safer prey and so a few corpses had to be made before they left the ship alone. Right now, however, she was more worried about how her sister was going to react to her tardiness.

To be fair, as she dodged around a pair of Padawans talking excitedly about the Founding, it wasn't entirely her fault. She had been in a section of the archives and had simply lost track of time while reading about the history of the Jedi with that of the Mandalorians. Admittedly, it wasn't as great as her initial research had suggested. It was the Jedi Knight Revan who'd broken the Mandalorian push during the Mandalorian Wars and while the clans held Revan in high respect, it had set the Mandalorians to have several more clashes with the Jedi over the next several centuries. From what the young woman could find, those conflicts had been incredibly bloody and cost both sides more lives than the previous wars.

Caught up in her reminiscing on her findings, Talia only barely managed to avoid another group of Jedi. One conflict in particular during the course of the Mandalorian Wars had always interested her, and that was one of the final battles, that of Malachor V. Rumor had it there were still lots of ships, both old Republic and Mandalorian, floating in orbit around the world and she'd always-"Watch our, young Je'and!" Startled, she barely managed to stop herself before crashing into another Jedi, this one being none other than the librarian Airus.

"Master Airus, I'm so sorry! I was caught up in going over my findings in my head, I might have let my awareness of my surroundings slip. Combine that with being in a rush to meet up with my twin sister, and, well," Talia smiles sheepishly, "again, I'm so sorry."

---

---

Nau'ur kad be Dral
Isle of Kad Ha'rangir, Mandalore

”Son of a- Toryn, I’ll meet you when you get here. I’ve got another call coming in.”

And then the line went dead, leaving Toryn to just pause and stare at his inactive comm link in silence for a solid few seconds before his arm flopped back down to his side and he carried on.

"Well, that kinda figures..."

The Mando grumbled and shook his head ruefully— not out of any offense, mind; Talik was a busy lady these days what with that whole 'Rebellion spanning a good chunk of the galaxy'. Life was like that, he got it, and he'd never be so petty as to hold that against his old friend, even if that five minute call was the most he'd spoken to the twi'lek in a year or two now.

Rather, it was her timing—

Juhn, bubbly lil' blue-skinned bundle of hugs that she was, might forgive him for running off again less than two hours into his Founding Week holiday (Not even long enough to remember to take off his armour, in fact), even after he'd been off-world for a solid three months... but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to be forgiving himself so easily; Though he'd never say it out loud— least of all to a friend in need— this neglect of that most curious of Mandalorian traits, the innate need to be at home with clan and kin, well, it was really to starting to nag at him, truth be told.

"Heya, Toryn!"

Wearily, the Mandalorian's head rose and came crashing back to reality, catching perhaps the least helpful sight for those heavy thoughts in his head; Juhn's mother, Tanis, with the sleeves on her mechanic's coverall rolled and a bit of grease smudging her cheek as she waved him down with a warm smile and Rhea, grinning like she hadn't a care in the world. Or at the very least, for any of that dirt and grime she got on her while helping her mom pull the repulsor out of that old work-speeder she'd had up on blocks behind the house since he got back.

The smile on the Chiss woman's face noticeably fell slightly and whatever she was about to say died on her lips as she got a better look at him and realized what he was up to, a conclusion his niece seemed to come to as well as her grin outright melted her eyes cast down and she just walked right past him to meet her twin by the lake.

If Toryn felt bad before, he felt like an outright bag of shit right now.

"...'Nother assignment, Kiddo?" Tanis stated more than asked, crossing her arms and raising a brow.

His shoulders slumped a little as he cast a glance Rhea's way.

"That obvious?"

"Well, you're all geared up, spacing out and heading for The Dog like my foot's already been up your ass, sooo..." She replied with that cutting precision her people were known for... but also just a bit of her own trademarked smirk and humour. "Like a whore on 'Shaddaa, Tor."

Toryn ducked his head a little and scratched the back of his neck through the armourweave, though he couldn't help but let out a bit of a rueful laugh, something she joined in on with her own snicker.

He'd taught her that one, after all.

"So I take it there's no way to pass this one on to someone else?" Tanis finally spoke as the moment of mirth passed. "You really gotta go?"

"A friend of mine's in trouble, Tanis." Toryn said, shaking his head but at least sounding a little less down about it now as his visor rose to meet her eyes. "Can't turn my back on that."

The Chiss just sighed in response and lowered her head in thought for a quick second, taking a two toward as she did.

"Alright, alright... you do what you gotta do, I'll talk to Ruusad and the girls. Maybe butter 'em up with Founding Feast desserts or something." She said, opening her arms wide with false exasperation, dramatic flair and a sarcastic smirk. "Now get over here and pay your toll, you little shit."

A modulated little chuckle escaped Toryn as he stepped forward into woman's hug and wraped his arms around her in kind, something that had remained unchanged since he was a boy.

"Thanks, Tani." The Jedi said with a squeeze. "I shouldn't be gone long."

"See that you aren't— between you leaving and Dad being late, I'm not gonna have enough room in my fridge for all the leftovers." She replied with a snort and mock-annoyance. "But with any luck, you'll still beat the old man back here and he won't be all grumpy that his Verdika's missing."

Now it was Toryn's turn to snort, but he said nothing more as he squeezed a few extra seconds outta that hug to make up for lost time..

...Well, that is, until something suddenly occurred to him.

"Tani... aren't you covered in grease right now?"

He felt the near-human squeeze him tighter at that. And the impish grin form on her face through the armourweave on his collar.

"Yup."

---

On Approach to the Liberator
High Orbit, Mandalore

A short trip, a change of robes and a quick scrub of degreaser on his armour later and Toryn was in the hot-seat of that space-capable relic of a ship he called home.

And, as per usual, was currently arguing with it.

"No, I don't care what you say, Teeth. Keldabe's got it this year."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the disc-shaped head-unit of an old T3-Series droid whirl around on it's roost atop the central console that divided pilot and copilot seats to fix him with some fascimile of a glare through it's optic sensor. Letting out a short series suspiciously sarcastic sounding chirps and beeps as it went.

Something that seemed only to annoy Toryn further.

"Oh, fer... Two Words— Canderous Fett. He's been kicking all kinds of ass since we got him back from Taris!"

This was followed by a few more agitated beeps and whistles. And Toryn actually taking his eyes off the control yoke to glare daggers through his helmet.

"The fuck do you mean 'Too old'? Guy's barely thirty!" He replied, the quick few chirps he got in response before he was even done talking doing nothing to improve his mood as he raised a hand at the increasingly irate droid's optic. "Okay then, wiseass who do you have for the cup?"

A short pause followed. Then two beeps, a whistle and a decidedly defiant doot.

"Concordia?"

The saucer-like head of his ship's droidcore nodded excitedly.

"...I oughtta melt ya down for that kinda talk."

Before the Mando Jedi and the droid that was hooked into his ship's hyperdrive, lifesupport and damn near everything else could get any further into it, however, there was a slight flicker on Toryn's console as the somewhat familiar voice of Talik's Comms Officer filled the ship's cockpit.

"Lucky Dog, this is Liberator, over."

Casting one final glare that screamed 'This isn't over.' even through his helmet at the synthetic (which responded with a sarcastic bobble of it's head), Toryn flicked a few switches on his console to open the audio channel as the distinctive shape of the Lucrehulk docked with Mandalore's new orbital ring steadily came into view.

"Liberator, Lucky Dog. Go ahead, over."

"Ah, there you are. Lucky Dog, we've got you on an approach vector and have been advised you'll be looking to dock. Is that correct, over?"

Flicking a few more switches on his console and stretching himself out slightly in his seat in preparation for the whole pre-dock rigmarole, Toryn replied;

"That is correct. Waiting for instructions, over."

"Alrighty then... Permission granted for Lucky Dog to approach and dock at bay One, O-N-E, B. Slow to twenty, two-naught within five hundred, five-naught-naught of the doors and five, F-I-V-E when past. Channel open, landing lights will be on. Good for readback, over." Talik's radio guy rattled off, quick and machine-like as if he'd been doing this all day, every day for years.

The Jedi just throttled down slightly and adjusted his roll a bit clockwise.

"That's permission for Lucky Dog to approach and dock at bay One, O-N-E, B. Slow to twenty, two-naught within five hundred, five-naught-naught of the doors and five, F-I-V-E when past. Channel open, follow the lights." Toryn said back in a tone that suggested he'd done this too many times to really give it much thought at this point. "Good copy, over?"

"Solid." The comms officer said in a suddenly less robot-y tone. "...And it's good to have you back, Toryn. Liberator out."

"Good to be back, Dex. I'll see you inside. Lucky Dog out."

All that done, the man visibly relaxed a bit as he started guiding his ship the rest of the way to Talik's gargantuan murder-donut.

"...But seriously, Concordia?"

Aaaaand the droid started chirping again, and back to square one they went.

---

Aroma looked up to the Deathwatch member as she followed him through the halls, trying to see the man’s expressions through his helmet but to no avail. Though, she did get the briefest feeling that the man was feeling proud of himself. At that, Aroma couldn’t help but smile, already imagining the reaction of the soldier’s kids once he told them who he ran into. Once they entered the turbolift, she looked to her escort once more, nodding solemnly as he explained why he could not stay long.

”I understand, you have your responsibilities as does anyone. Even if most of the things I know about the Deathwatch are most likely myth, it does not change the fact that whatever you are being sent to do is most likely going to be a dangerous situation. It might not be my place to say this but... Please stay safe, you have a wonderful family waiting for you here after all. She replied, giving a sad smile to the man before adding something else to try and lift the mood. ”Also, I do expect to see both you and your girls at one of my concerts in the future, I’m sure they’ll love it.” The popstar grinned, always the optimist despite the situation. She hoped she eased what she thought was the soldier’s tension about a dangerous mission coming up for him. Even though the man was a part of the infamous Deathwatch, she wanted to do her best to build the bridge between Mandalorians and her own people, no matter their background or profession.

---

---

Mandalore, The Citadel
Year Four, After Re-synchronization

"I am indeed the one she spoke of, we share a force-bond that allows us to communicate with each other without need for words or to be in each others' presence."

Though such a thing wasn't entirely common among Jedi she didn't feel the need to go into the intricate details of a force bond with Koren on the first go. If he felt clarification was necessary, she figured he would ask. Hopefully he wouldn't expect too much, as the intricacies of the force was not something she was skilled with in any manner. Something more in line with Airus' expertise, the thought of him bringing her attention briefly over to where one of the other knights had quite literally run into him. As they meandered along into the outer courtyards she unfurled her parasol once more to shade herself from the sun overhead.

"Personally, I wouldn't concern yourself with how you might fit in with the new Order, as I'm sure you've already seen that we've laxed in many ways from the more strict policies of old. Some are a little more… Resilient to the changes made by Grandmaster Kenobi, but most believe it was not only a shift best for the moment, but in the long run. Though I do appear to be meandering off subject by a fair bit."

She paused before a statue of Cin Drallig out among the outer walls of the praetor-turned-temple, some wildlife moving in and out of the bushes nearby. It was clear here just as it was inside the Citadel itself that the man had left a lasting mark on the new order, his sacrifice allowing many to reach Mandalore and beyond. Afforded a bit of shade by a few of the trees overhanging the pathway, she returned her parasol back to her side and brushed a few stray strands of dark auburn hair from her face.

"The Hegemony is the correct name for what the Corellians have put together, though whether or not they wish to hear an outsider call it that you might never truly know until you get a particular noble or politician before you. I will admit that it can be a bit difficult dealing with them at times, especially since they are an older power, a member of the Core Worlds, and leverage significant influence with some of the most powerful planets and systems of the former Republic. Some even refer to them as the proper Republic, but I would advise against ever following suit while on Mandalore, as there are very few who can find forgiveness for them after turning their backs to the Republic in Exile."

"Corellia is, however, one of the great powers in the galaxy right now. Their fleet is the only one that we know of that could match the Grand Republic's in both size and skill, and either of those factors can be debated on an almost daily basis. Not just that, but as I mentioned they hold incredible prestige among the inner systems, are perhaps the most affluent of powers and their influence is constantly expanding."

What she didn't tell him was of just how that influence was expanding, through strong-arm tactics against smaller powers either through the threat of cutting off supplies or more direct violence. More and more reports were coming in of Corellia using the potential threat of a CIS attack to force systems into seeking their protection. The claims were of course, unsubstantiated, but it was becoming more and more commonplace for those southern systems to find themselves under scrutiny by the Confederacy. Speculation on such matters wasn't something she partook in, and so she left much of the hearsay and rumors for others to speak of, keeping strictly to the facts as she spoke with Koren.

"At the moment though, the galaxy sits in a stalemate between ourselves in the Grand Republic of Mandalore, the Corellian Hegemony and of course, the Renkar Imperium in the galactic north. Even as one of the peacekeepers you surely knew of Jira Renkar of the Eighth Sector Fleet, and his resolute command over the northern systems to keep them out of the hands of the separatists. Apologies by the way, I did manage to read up just a little on who you were before you disappeared during the war."

She gave him a curt bow, but she also figured he might have expected at least someone like her to have done a bit of background on him beforehand.

"I digress though. In the aftermath of Knightfall, as you may know, most Republic worlds surrendured unconditionally, laying down their arms and either looking towards rebuilding or making peace outright with the CIS. Corellia, Alsakan and Mandalore were three of the four worlds left that served as rally points for the Republic military, and all three agreed to a treaty with Grievous that would establish the dissolution of the Republic and a status quo on all held territory. The fourth world however, was Ord Mantell. Admiral Renkar had vowed not one step back, and not a single inch surrendered. So he refused the call for retreat, he took command of all military forces in the Eighth Oversector and made himself an empire. To this day, the Imperium has engaged in constant war with the CIS, slowly turning what was once just the breadbasket of the Galaxy into a war-machine with an army in the tens of millions."

---

---

The Liberator - Mandalore Docking Ring
Year Four, After Re-Synchronization

Arriving on the bridge in a bit of a hurry, the twi’lek wondered what could possibly warrant a summons to the bridge. Before she could even start to ask about what was going on, the comms officer turned around in his seat towards her and started to report in the situation. ”Ma’am, we’ve picked up chatter regarding the Liberator, seems a droid is rather interested in her.” The man reported, and seeing the girl raise an eyebrow in confusion, decided he should probably elaborate on why she cared to any degree. ”It’s an HK unit, ma’am. I figured you might want to try to hi-“ He said before being cut off by the Mandalorian standing nearby the console. Her uncle, A’den stepped closer and spoke up.

“HK? I know the damned clanker. The thing kept kicking over my astromech when I was taking him to get his servos repaired. Kept shouting something about taking his lunch money and shoving him in a locker. Then he ran off hissing at me when I called him a clanker.” The man said in a disapproving tone as he looked towards Talik. “I know his owner, however, had to call her to get repayment for the extra damage her idiot caused. Damn shame she’s spoken for though.” He said before chuckling and coughing awkwardly as his niece gave a critical look towards him. “Anyways, clanker’s a good fighter from what I’ve heard, might be worth giving her a call and seeing if we can hire him. Less of your people on the line for a personal mission.” He said, tapping at his commlink to pass contact information to his niece.

A few moments later, Talik was standing off to the side of the bridge, her helmet on to isolate noise as the commlink called the owner of the droid, curious to see if she could recruit it to help rescue Vasani.

Sable ran along the streets towards his master with all the gusto of a child running to a parent to show them the cool crayon drawing they did on the new wallpaper. All in his way were pushed aside; young and old, man or woman, they were shoved away. In complete contrast however, was Alanna, casually walking along with Ezali after leaving the shuttle port only being interrupted by her commlink going off. "The fuck? Who's calling me? Secure line… well this should be good. 500 says Sable's done something again." Alanna placed the commlink in her ear. "Hello you've reached Sable's owner I apologise for whatever he's broken or whoever he's hurt and I shall compensate you fully." Alanna's tone was monotonous as if she'd done this more than a few times in the past.

Ezali just laughed at Alanna. ”That’s a sucker’s bet and you know it.” In the fairly brief time she’d known the pair, she’d seen Sable start at least one minor diplomatic incident, two riots and more general brawls than she could keep track of. ”Honestly, I’m surprised the Mandalorian lets you keep Sabe online.”

”This is Talik Gida of Clan Skirata, I was given your contact information by my uncle.” Talik said by way of an introduction before continuing. ”We picked up your droid checking out the Liberator on our scans. An HK Model, impressive. I was actually calling you in the hopes I might be able to hire your droid. I know the HK line’s reputation, and I’m mounting a rescue mission for somebody close to my heart. I think I could use somebody along to help with the extraction with an HK’s skill. Are his services for sale?” She asked over the commlink, hoping to get a positive answer in return.

Alanna stopped dead in her tracks, in all her years No one had ever asked her to hire Sable. She wondered whether this Talik person had ever heard of Sable before or the… antics he's gotten up to. "I certainly wouldn't be… opposed to the idea. Do you have somewhere we could meet to come up with some sort of arrangement?"

Talik nodded to herself and allowed an unseen smile beneath her helmet. Turning, she said something difficult to hear to somebody not on the call. ”Thank you. I’ll be sending a LAAT Gunship to bring you to the Liberator to discuss more. Transmitting the details for your pickup now.” The girl said as she sent the details over to Alanna. The ship would be landing at the nearest landing pad to her, Talik intending to make the trip more convenient for her. ”I look forward to seeing you in person. I will meet you in the hangar. Oh, and bring the droid if you wouldn’t mind. I’ve never seen an HK in person before.” The rebel added before cutting the line and making her way towards the hangar where the shuttle would be landing. She was flanked by the two Magna-Droids, each eager to see an HK unit and express their superiority. Along with those two, A’den tagged along with his niece, though Talik had a suspicion as to his motivations.

---

As Alanna had accepted the comm call, Ezali’d made sure to step out of the holo’s pick up. Seeing ‘The Fox of Ryloth’ appear in the holo and speak to Alanna had certainly raised an eyebrow; while she’d never personally crossed paths with Talik, she’d definitely heard of her, and the more than sizable bounty the Confeds had put on her...though they found it hard to get anyone to actually take said bounty. There were more than enough mercenaries just like herself, who wouldn’t touch a CIS offered bounty even if it was the only work months, and of the few that she had heard of that tried...nobody heard from them again.

Now she stood beside her friend and SABLE and watched the old LAAT come in to land she wondered just what was up. She knew Talik commanded a sizable force, so if she was hiring more guns something big must be up; that was also why she’d tagged along with Alanna when she went to meet the gunship. Talik’s people shot at the sort of things that Ezali enjoyed shooting, and ‘vacation’ or not she was still short of credits for the 929 she had her eye on.

Alanna couldn't deny that it was certainly a nice surprise to have someone contact her about Sable and it not result in money out of her purse for once. Though upon seeing her supposed protection droid shove a small child to the floor as he sprinted towards her and her companion she could only pinch the bridge of her nose and hang her head in shame.

"Master, master I bring great news." Sable said stopping dead in his tracks before the Twi'Lek. "Oh? Is that so." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Ah… I see you already know. well?" "What do you mean 'well?' Sable you've been listening in on secure channels. In any other situation I'd be getting carted off to prison and you'd be melted down for scrap value. Alanna paused for a second, her rant had began to attract attention from passers by, luckily she was saved by the LAAT landing close by. "Luckily for you the person you were spying on has instead decided to try and hire your services. Considering you're the biggest idiot I know, I have no idea why she would want to… but here we are. So you're to put on your nicest personality, say please and thank you and if you don't want to spend the rest of your existence with a restraining bolt stuck where the sun doesn't shine you'll keep quiet and only speak when spoken too. Understood? "Might as well just tell me to not be me." "That's exactly what I'm saying Sable. So do you understand me?" "Yes master." Alanna simply nodded her head as the LAAT began docking procedures with the Lucrehulk.

As the Gunship came in to land, on the other side of where Toryn’s own ship had just landed, the small greeting party awaited their guests. The two magna-droids stood to either side of Talik, relaxed in posture after the twi’lek had snapped at IG to stop attempting to ‘T-Pose’ at the HK unit coming onboard. Just to the right of the two metal morons, was her uncle. The man quickly tried to fix up his hair and make sure he looked presentable, considering who was coming onboard. Then of course, front and center, stood Talik herself. Still in her jet black beskar’gam, her helmet was held by IG standing behind her. A way for her to ensure the droid didn’t try something stupid.

As the doors to the Gunship opened up and the occupants were ushered off, the girl moved forward to extend a hand towards those onboard, first the other twi’lek, then the Mandalorian she didn’t recognize. ”Thank you for coming, truly. I apologize for the lack of pleasantries, but I’m on a timetable. What details would you like to discuss as far as enlisting your HK’s services?” She said, all business with a certain edge to her tone. One which betrayed that she was rather personally invested in whatever the mission at hand happened to be. ”And might I ask who your friend is?” She asked.

”Well in terms of details regarding you hiring Sable for whatever job you have planned, well it mostly just comes down to covering any repair costs that he might need when he gets back. I don’t really need payment at all, money… Well it isn’t an issue for me let’s put it that way, but if this idiot gets damaged in any way I’m sure you understand that getting replacement parts for a model of droid that hasn’t been mass produced for a few thousand years is not easy. And while I can handle his internals pretty well anything else has to be custom ordered and made and spare parts don’t run cheap. And as for my friend here, I think she just tagged along because she wanted something to do.”

”Though I must ask, mostly out of fear for Sable’s safety, is this a blow in through the front door kinda job or would an option to bypass security and or defences be a preferable option?

Ezali was glad she’d stuffed her helmet on, as she didn’t need to ‘regulate’ herself as much as if her face could be seen. Damn...just….daaamn… After a moment, she realized the other two were expecting her to speak up. ”I’m sorry for ‘gate crashing’ your meeting. Alanna is a friend of mine, and I happened to be standing next to her when you called.” She said, giving Talik a more formal bow/nod.

”Ezali Halkrin, ,Keldau’s Reach Banner...though I’m technically ‘on leave’ from them. Alanna’s mostly right though, I tagged along because I can’t sit still and I figured if you’re willing to hire a grumpy tin can like Sable, you may just be looking to hire more pleasant organics as well...plus you folks are well known for shooting the same sort of things I like shooting at.”

Hooking her thumbs into her belt, she took a fairly relaxed stance. ”Unlike little miss credit plie,” She added, motioning to Alanna, her smirk clear in her voice. ”Standard rate plus expenses and we’re good...”

The young rebel studied the group before her for a long moment. ”Very well. Those terms seem fair, you have a deal.” She said, pausing for a moment to think about Alanna’s question. ”Unknown at this time. The Mandalore has promised aid and is assisting, they have a plan and gave me a place to meet with my people. I can only assume there will be heavy combat, but skills for bypassing security might also be helpful. Are you offering such skills?” She asked, and awaited the answer.

”Well i didn’t have… much planned for a little while. A slight Lekku twitch gave away that there was something deeper beyond her otherwise calm demeanor. ”And I have been called the best engineer on the planet before so in a sense I am. I wouldn’t be needing any other payments, only what we’ve already agreed. Think of this as a thankyou for not reporting Sable’s spying on official comm channels to the authorities. You can as the Paladin himself, he’ll vouch for me and my… skills.”

”Then I suppose you shall be joining us on this mission.” The Twi’lek said, watching Alanna carefully as her own lekku twitched slightly in a way that betrayed that she knew there was something more going on. Though Talik did not press any further on the topic.

Then turning her attention towards Ezali, addressing the fellow Mandalorian. ”I think bringing along a fellow Mandalorian will do some good to show my boys how to fight. You also have a deal.” She said before tapping at the commlink on her armor’s wrist to transfer data on where to meet for the operation to the two.

”You are welcome to use the Liberator’s facilities if you so choose to prepare. But if there is anything you need to pick up from planet side, your pilot who brought you to the Liberator will take you back planetside. Sergeant Darklighter will be your escort about the ship. I’d play host myself, but I must greet another guest and rally my own forces. Thank you, both of you. You will find mission details in the packets I sent via Comlink.” She said as she stepped away with her little entourage, and a human sergeant quickly came to replace her and see what the two needed.

Talik, meanwhile, tapped a few buttons on her Comlink, dialing the bridge of the Liberator. ”I need 13 volunteers for the mission. Express to them that this is outside their call of duty, and there is by no means an expectation to come along. Those who still volunteer, have them assemble in Staging Hangar 1-B in an hour’s time, ready for departure.” The girl said before looking back towards her Uncle and the droids. The look she gave the man spoke all the words he needed, as the Mandalorian started to guide the two Magnadroid’s away from her. Sputtering something about needing to check their actuators before the mission. With that done, the girl then turned and made her way towards The Lucky Dog, standing with her arms crossed and a fake look of annoyance on her features at the bottom of the ramp. Though the slight twitching of her lekku betrayed a sense of joy to those who could read such movements.

---

---

Mandalore, Jedi Temple

Airus had been focused on his own thoughts, having just looked around he couldn't find his former master anywhere. Well that meant she was busy and he'd have to get by with what he remembered from her old lessons. He sighed then, before he could react one another Jedi in a dead sprint came running towards him. He braced so when she collided he hardly moved but she bounced off the taller Knight's chest. "Where is the fire Talia?" He gave a small laugh and offered her a hand.

"I know you didn't mean to, it's fine. Please, I'm not a Master yet Talia, Chief Librarian is the only title I hold other than Knight." Though mentally he thought of a few other titles Solace and Toryn called him by that were less than flattering. He added stepping out of her way, at that moment of course Ve'vut Ca, the little devil of a cat hopped from the ground up to Airus's shoulder and perched there like he owned it.

"Believe me I understand letting time get away from you, you wouldn't believe how many times I've only left the library to shower." He sighed shaking his head. "I still get in trouble with it from Toryn and Solace for it some times. Apparently not eating or sleeping is a bad habit." He shook his head. "Now if you need to please go on, if your sister asks. I was having you research something for me, your tardiness is my fault."

Ve'vut gave a whine and tapped Airus on the face with a paw, as if threatening to scratch him. "Yes, yes were going soon Ve'vut Ca... I swear I've spoiled you rotten." He muttered, the cat hungry and knowing Airus had a fine selection of seafood still on the ship from when he last stocked it.

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Interacting with: Mor'gann Arnhar @LadyRunic Adaahna Vanil @ReddentheEarth Saveld Caldrassir 'Sav' @Paingodsson

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Mandalore, Keldabe city streets

Varina groaned internally, the boy she was with was going to drive her mad or... She could send the overly curious young man to Airus, that would brighten her day watching him go from happily answering questions to wondering what flavor lightsaber plasma tasted like. However, she had a job to do right now while she really wasn't in the mood for it or bringing back this gaggle to the temple. She didn't exactly have a choice, she could sense it from the girl, the Force... And the dark artifact of a saber on her hip something that she'd have to investigate possibly bring Airus or Solace in on. They knew more ancient stuff than she did, that thing was certainly old from what she could tell, though she definitely couldn't let Airus touch it.

"Boy, be a dear and be silent until this over or I won't answer any of those questions." She answered, turning her attention to the two fugitives in front of her. "You may think you have done no wrong but Keldabe Police disagree. You are wanted for a crime, however your friend there. The one who calls me Shaman, she carries the same connection to the force as I do... If you both come with me, I can at least temporarily keep you in the temple. Away from the police and spending a few nights in a jail cell here." She offered moving towards them slowly.

"I don't intend to fight unless you make it one, come quietly." She spoke with authority and grace, more importantly she looked past the Torgruta and at the one speaking in another tongue. "Not to mention, I know someone who can speak your language... A scholar from among us, my brother." He offered, trying to offer them ways out of this. She looked next at the Torgruta, "if you come with us and explain what happened we can make sure you are free to travel if you are sure you didn't commit a crime. We just want to tell your story of these events to us." She explained before slowly moving to place her lightsaber on her belt.

"If you all are ready. I can hail one of the emergency speeders to take us back to the Temple." She offered, praying the others here wouldn't start a fight she didn't want.

Mor’gann studied the woman as she tasted the word ‘shaman’. It was an odd thing this strange language of the traders, but she had heard odder in this crazy market. As the boy behind the Shaman raised his hands palm up, she gave a harsh chuckle. A sneer at the foolish notion that she couldn’t quite help as the boy looked ridiculous. Boy, young man. He was old enough to have fathered some whelps of his own. Though there seemed a lack of need on that front. She could probably take out the lad with a solid kick. The woman, however, was another matter. As she studied the alley about them Mor’gann’s thoughts picked out the words she knew and considered them carefully. It would be best to pretend to understand very little and let Adaahna do as much of the talking as possible. To reveal her hand would be offering something Mor’gann was not sure she wanted to offer.

If she got the words right it seemed that the woman wanted them to go with her. There was trouble stirring, but it was something Mor’gann was uncertain would turn in their favor. But there was the fact this woman a Shaman, which was a dangerous thing indeed. As Varina moved towards the two, the darker and younger woman stepped up laying a hand on Adaahna’s shoulder as she stepped in front of her guide. The older Je’di-Shaman spoke with authority, which made the younger Shaman duck her head slightly as she started to bow before remembering herself. Stiffening her spine, the dark young woman looked sideways towards Adaahna. [color=OIive]”Skull-ar?”[/color] She pronounced awkwardly, her yellow eyes narrowing dangerously on Varina. How did she have someone who knew the language of Mor’gann’s people? As far as she could tell, her language was unknown to these strangers. So that if someone knew it… But no one had left the village ever through one of the Traders. It was an alien thought to her people. But if she had thought of it… Could not another have? It was possible, not likely but possible.

The Togruta stood stock still, watching Varina cautiously for a moment before straightening her posture up and easing up a little at her companion’s hand on her shoulder, tilting her head to her Mor without taking her eyes off of the jedi.. “Scholar.. Story tellers, too much time to think and not work.” She whispered a quick explanation out before gesturing with a head motion to the woman opposite them, letting off a half-smirk to convince herself of her own confidence more than anybody else. Eyeing the boy that seemed to be the junior in their pairing before dismissing him as an opponent, surely if he had the authority to deal with them this force witch wouldn’t be the one doing the talking. ” If we come, you won’t coerce us with witchcraft? Change our minds? You’ll listen to our tale?”

”Skull’ar.” Mor’gann repeat slowly, committing the word to memory as was standard of any Shaman of her clan. Perhaps it was different out here, but shamans were the keepers of history in the clans. Well, outside of what was commonly passed down through word of mouth. An oral tradition that Mor’gann would gleefully call less than accurate. The old saying of the victor shaped the word was one she fully believed shaved away vital bits of information from the history of Dxun. Information that otherwise could help their prosperity if the people were not so stubborn as to ignore it. ”Change our thoughts?” Bristling slightly, Mor’gann gave Varina a sharp look. That was a dangerous thing, there were the odd story of Shamans meddling in the minds of people but it was an ancient legend told to the children to keep them obeying their elders or be handed over to the shamans. If this was possible… Could she stop it? Prevent it with her own powers as a shaman? Deciding that it was risk they should take to meet with the Storyteller or ‘Skull’ar’ she nodded slow. Tapping her chest sharply to indicate herself to the Togruta she nodded toward the strange woman and overly eager boy. ”Shaman.” She stated softly, she had picked up that Adaahna disapproved of shamans, but it was a risk Mor’gann would take. ” Shaman Mor’gann.” She clarified giving the new-come red woman a pointed look that dared her to challenge her right to that rank.

Adaahna’s sharp nail moving to scratch the bridge of her nose as the end of her spear is tipped back up to the sky, she glances sidelong at Mor again. Trying to figure out whether she should’ve known her a shaman, she definitely seemed the thinking type in retrospect, though at the time Adaahna had thought her just enamored with her mastery of tales and amusement. Pouting a little at the thought that her tales weren’t enjoyed, her focus turns back to the Jedi. “ Terms? Guarantees of safety? You won’t force this shaman to become a force witch?”

The dark-haired young woman looked bemused as her guide as she turned a list of near demands of the Je’di force vitch. Not that they were unreasonable, but that the concern for her was a curious thing. Perhaps Adaahna thought she would be useful later on and wish to keep her about, perhaps something more nefarious. Either way, it was a strange thing for the Dxun native. Though she wasn’t sure exactly what was said she did get the gist of it. A worry that she would be forced to become a Shaman for this woman’s tribe. Silly woman, a tribe only needed a certain number of shamans and seeing the boy was her apprentice? This red-skinned Je’di hardly needed another. ”Not keep.” She stated firmly to Adaahna. They could not keep her nor did they need to. ”We go. Answers trade. Stories trade.” Which seemed a reasonable thing and a fair trade would build goodwill. Perhaps enough to compensate for the disturbance the smuggler had caused.

"Thank you Talik, we both look forward to working with you. Don't we Sable?" The droid remained silent, only awkwardly shuffling his leg as if he was trying to avoid answering the question. "I said dont we Sable?" "Yes Ma'am." The droids tone was timid and for once it seemed as though Alanna's message had finally gotten through his dense head. "Good now come on we need to get your equipment. What about you Ezali? You need to get anything or are you staying here?" "Nah I'm probably gonna stay here and have a look around, come find me when you get back though." "Alright see you in a bit then." The three of them parted ways with Alanna and Sable walking back to the Gunship that had dropped them off."Excuse me pilot, we need to go down to this landing pad." She said handing the pilot a note with coordinates scribbled on it. "It's a private pad so there shouldn't be much in the way of traffic or issues with landing there. We've just gotta grab our equipment from my ship and then we should be good to come back. Is that ok?" The pilot nodded his head and climbed up into his seat. Savle and Alanna stepped inside and the doors closed quickly behind them.

It was on the flight down that Sable finally spoke up. "Are you… are you angry with me Master?" Alanna let out a deep Sigh "No Sable I'm not. I could never be angry with you. Disappointed? Yes, but never angry. You just… you just don't think sometimes. I mean what would have happened if it had been someone else who discovered you listening in on secure channels? I just wish you'd use all that processing power you have to think about the consequences of the stupid shit you do sometimes. But… let's not dwell on that for now, once again you've gotten away with it and as if that wasn't good enough you're going to get to shoot things again. Do a good enough job and maybe this Talik person could become a regular contractor for you." The gunship juddered slightly as it came to a stop on the near empty landing pad, the doors opening to show the pair Alanna's ship, The Atlas, an SS-54assault ship.

"Thank you pilot, we shouldn't be long, just have to get a few bits." It had always been a conundrum for Alanna's Mandalorian friends, why did she keep her and Sable's weapons locked away on her ship, surely having them in easy reach was a better option, well maybe it seemed that way to them but Alanna was quite the overprotective parent and the biggest rule she had was no weapons in the house. With one hyperactive child and one force sensitive child she didn't want to take a risk of either of them taking one and trying to play with it. Add Sable's presence to that and having any sort of weapon in the house was a recipe for disaster. "Well?" She turned to Sable and gave him a 'We're waiting' look. "... Oh right." Sable clicked his fingers and the ramp to the ship lowered, he didn't need to do it but he always liked to show off, Alanna just rolled her eyes and climbed the ramp. "Right you grab our equipment I've got a call to make. And don't forget my backpack and tools." Sable's eyes seemed to light up at his masters instructions and he quickly disappeared into the armoury room. Now that she was relatively alone Alanna headed up into the cockpit and tapped a number into the holo display. After a few moments of waiting an image of a little girl appeared.

"Ki'uk tilsera." A smile appeared on the small girls face. "Hello sweetie, you still sound like you're talking through your nose but good try." "Always a critic aren't you mom. "Only to you sweetie. But in all seriousness Jiari there's something I need to tell you." Alanna shuffled awkwardly in the pilots seat. "Your dad isn't answering my calls so when you get home from school I need you let him know that I'm not going to be home for a few days… some idiot has gotten themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere again so my retirement has been put on hold for a little bit. Oh and before I let you get back to playing with your friends I need something else from you sweetie. You know that… work friend of your fathers that he keeps having… meetings with?" The young girl nodded her head and her expression shifted to a slightly sour one, she knew exactly what her mom was talking about and what was happening between her dad and the… work friend. "Yeah I know sweetheart I know. But anyway I need you to tell me if she comes over to the house at all or if your father has to leave for a… work meeting with her. Can you do that for me Jiari?" "Yeah I can do that mom, though I'm guessing I shouldn't tell dad about the last part?" Alanna gave her daughter a 'really?' Look.

"Master I think I have everything ready." "Ok I'll be there in a second Sable. Right I've gotta go sweetie, give your brother my love and please sweetie, don't take anything out on your dad. Leave that to me." "Ok mom I love you." "I love you too Jiari." And with that the cockpit went dark again as the blue light of the holo display faded away. The pair of them left the ship and sable closed the ramp with another click of his fingers before the pair boarded the gunship and headed back up to the liberator. "Is everything ok Master? You've got quite the thousand yard stare on you. I know you're hurting… are you sure you don't want me to castrate him and feed them to him?" It took a moment for Sable's words to fully register with Alanna but they were enough to snap her out of the trance. "Huh what? No, no, no you're not castrating Laars. With what I've got planned… he'll be wishing that, that was his fate. The gunship jerked a little again as it came to a stop in the liberators hangar. "Right Come on Sable." She took her backpack from the droid and slung it over her shoulder. "Lets go and find what trouble Ezali has gotten herself into.

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Bay 1-B
On the Liberator

With a slight rocking, a pair of curt chirps and a low whistle from the cockpit, the Dog came to an easy landing on board the Liberator... Well... mostly, anyway. As subtly, almost deliberately, the starboard landing strut hit the deck juuuuust a little bit sooner than the others, causing the whole ship to recoil just enough to throw Toryn off mid-step and have to catch himself on the wall on the way out.

The extremely sarcastic series of chirps to the tune of "You're welcome." the Jedi received when he cast a glare down the hallway back at his trusty droidcore— who was already ignoring him and booting up a game of Mando Kart on one of the free monitors in the cockpit— did little to allay his suspicions.

"Thanks, Teeth." He ground out, shaking his head a little before turning away and carrying on.

Not like he was going to be long anyhow; snatching up a few fuel and power cells from his kitchen table and sliding them into his bracers as he went, eliciting a slight chirp in his ear as a few green notices appeared on his helmet's HUD to let him know the replenished state of his wrist-mounted blasters and flamethrower as he force-pulled his lightsaber off the coffee table and into his hand. Latching it to his belt as he made his way toward the boarding ramp.

...Pausing only for a second as he heard a loud, droidish screech from the cockpit. But carrying on soon afterward with what must have been a shit-eating grin beneath that helmet of his as he heard the long-series of sweeping chirps and beeps that followed immediately afterward and put two and two together—

"Yeah, you can just suck on that blue torpedo, you little shit..."

...Which, he realized, may have been an awkward thing to say out loud as his eyes turned forward again and found Talik waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp. Arms crossed and giving him a particularly sour expression... though he didn't let that bother him too much as he put his looped his thumbs into his belt and approached at a casual gait— the subtle twitching of her lekku telling him more of about what was going inside her head than her face ever would anyhow.

Coming to a stop in front of her, juuuust at the part of the ramp that would leave them at roughly the same height (the twi'lek having a few inches on him most of the time, as she was oh-so-fond of reminding him), the Mandalorian finally spoke.

"Kept ya waiting, huh?"

After saying her ‘goodbyes’ to Alanna for the moment, her eyes tracked over the freighter they’d landed beside, while she watched Talik; the way her lekku twitched and the way she carried herself towards the other ship led Ezali to conclude her new boss not only knew whoever was onboard, but was also rather happy to see them.

Not wanting to keep the Sargent waiting any longer, she began to turn towards him, when the ramp of the ship opened and the occupant spoke. She snapped her head back and took in the armoured figure. ”Toryn Dral…” She muttered. ”…fan-kriffing-tastic…” At this point the patiently waiting Sgt Darklighter spoke up. ”Something wrong?” His voice carried the obvious edge of a man expecting trouble, and really hoping to avoid it. ”Y-no…I’m not sure…” She replied after a moment. ”We’ve met briefly, worked a job with my Banner…he just has a…reputation. If Toryn Dral shows up, it generally means your life is about to get much more complicated.” Facing Darklighter, she laughed. ”If I’d known he was going to be here I’d ‘ve changed my rates.”

Darklighter chuckled a bit as he waved for her to follow. ”I wouldn’t get too worried, the Boss an’ Toryn are old friends…” She could tell he was about to say something more, but instead just shook his head and moved off. ”C’mon, if you’re like any other self-respecting merc, I’m sure you’ll be wanting to find some grub.” ”That’d be fantastic.” There was more going on regarding Toryn and Talik, Ezali could tell…but it very rarely paid to poke into a clients personal life…if it wasn’t a body-guarding job at least. ”An armoury and somewhere to rack out would be appreciated as well.” ”Sure thing.”

Interacting with: Mor'gann Arnhar @LadyRunic Adaahna Vanil @ReddentheEarth Varina Vel Aath @Apollosarcher

Mandalore, Keldabe city streets

Sav looked up at the Jedi who was talking to him as she told him that if he wasn't quiet that she wouldn't answer his questions. He seemed oddly take aback by that, his eyes widened as he looked up at her, his teeth gritting as he looked at the two beings in front of him. "Don't worry, mrs. Jedi master, I won't say a single word more. Consider me... SILENT" he'd say before bringing his hand up to his mouth and immitating that he was zipping his mouth completely shut.

When Varina said that these two had been committing crimes he remembered the position he was in as his hands went back up again, one eyebrow raised as he seemed focused as if he was trying to tell these two that if they moved he would force push them to the ground. Wait... he thought to himself. I can use the force, that means I don't have to talk, I can speak.... WITH MY MIND.

He began to squint his eyes as he grunted just slightly, with what almost would be the sound of someone who needed to use the restroom. As he thought in his head, If you move one wrong muscle, me and my partner here will push you to the ground and keep you there... he would look over at Varina, [i][color=cyan] Isn't that right, partner?! [/i][/color]

He gave her a grin as he thought about calling her his partner, and he would nod to himself assuming she had heard everything he had thought and assumed she was already proud of him.

After the little exchange, he would wait for her signal to loosen up, but when they said they'd go with them to tell their story, he looked to Varina. "Don't worry partner, I got you. he said in such a quiet tone, as he began to slowly move away from her just slightly though so that they could move together and he could follow behind, he'd give her a wink as he had a slight grin, then that grin quickly disappeared as he put on a serious face that wasn't so serious, and nodded at the ladies. They may have talked funny, but if the Jedi, wasn't gonna fight, he wasn't even gonna try to use his newly found Jedi powers.

This would be unless she told him otherwise, in which he would rightfully follow trying to obey as best as possible for her.

Talia smiles sheepishly and shakes her head. "While I appreciate the offer, Librarian, my sister knows me better than that." She paused as she went to move away and turned back to the Head Librarian. "Before you get too much further, Airus, I do have a question to pose to you." The young Je'and twin waited until she had her conversational partner's full attention before continuing, slowly working towards a nearby bench and taking a seat as she spoke. "During the Mandalorian Wars, I noticed that the Jedi Council had warned against involving itself within the sphere of the war, saying that it was a path to darkness that would ruin the entire Order. As a result, the Republic was on the verge of defeat when Revan defied the Council and took over leadership of the Republic's forces. His tactics changed the course of the war."

Her brows furrowed as she spoke and she barely acknowledged the exasperated and red clad form of Riven who joined her on the bench, mumbling to herself about no one else even showing up besides Talia. "He broke their push, sent them careening back into the outer rim and then chased them into the Unknown regions of space, into Wild Space. Then next thing we know, he's the Republic's primary foe until the Jedi strike team captures him. I mean...what happened? I've read all the theories and ideas, but...I don't know...the whole 'Sith Emperor brainwashed him' seems too simple."

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Mandalore, Jedi Temple

"Revan... A subject of so much debate within the Sith and Jedi." Airus sighed folding his hands into the sleeves of his robes as he focused on Talia. "While I do agree with the standing theory of Sith mind Domination, I believe Revan was not unaware of what he was doing. In truth he was shaped by his time with the Emperor of the Sith at the time. I believe Revan was dominated but upon his return to Republic Space changed his plan." Airus explained his pet sitting on his shoulder diligently watch Talia as if also lecturing her.

"Revan did no plan to bring the Republic and Jedi to heel for his own gain. He viewed the situation as a General, not a Jedi he looked at weak and broken Republic from the Mandalorian War and realized the only way it could beat the Sith Empire would be to start preparing for war now." Airus explained in his usual tone he delivered his explanation and thoughts to classes of younglings and Padawans who wished to learn about history.

"Revan was nothing if not a great tactician and leader of men. He would have quickly understood the only way to protect the people of the galaxy would be a strong authority forcing them to martial for the coming invasion. His Empire while brutal was fairly just by comparison to other past Empire's formed under Sith, most likely due to Revan's belief that he might one day after defeating his enemy restore the Republic." Spoke the Chief Librarian as his cat gave a meow at the twins looking between them.

"In truth, I believe Revan may have not been the Dark Lord we think of him as today but a far more tolerant and open minded Sith or a simply a Jedi who no longer could understand that the deaths he would amass to protect the people would outweigh the number he could save." Airus shook his head a moment then turned as Ve'vut Ca licked his cheek then hopped down heading for Talia's lap. "Either way I look at it, Revan was no hero and the Jedi's belief that joining the Mandalorian war would spell ruin for the Jedi, came true."

Airus paused thinking it through a moment, before shrugging. "If you two are not busy, I'm actually planning a short trip off world for some research into the Force and Dathomir. You could accompany me if you like, though I will say the native flora and fauna can be... Dangerous." Airus chuckled, deciding not to mention the other part of last encounter he'd land far away to prevent that from occur again.



Interacting with: Mor'gann Arnhar @LadyRunic Adaahna Vanil @ReddentheEarth Saveld Caldrassir 'Sav' @Paingodsson

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Mandalore, Keldabe city streets

"We won't force her to do anything, we will simply speak to her. Much like we all choose to join now, no one is forced." She explained putting away her saber, slowly walking away. "Come on, we can grab a speeder and make the trip back to the temple... You can all go your respective places and I can go get back to saber building." She muttered as she headed out of the alley heading towards a nearby automatic speeder cab.

"Alright, all of you pile in. Kid you sit up front with me." I don't want to inflict your company on these other two. She thought waiting on them all to get in then keyed in the Jedi expenses account... Namely the one for the Chief Librarian, she hummed and sat up straight taking manual control to fly them along once they were all on board. Varina would just be happy to get back and dump the problem children onto Airus or Solace or even Sena if she could... She disliked most people and having three people she had to responsible for, well she had to wonder if this was somehow one of those pranks that were so perfectly pulled on the Jedi of the temple.

They would arrive shortly however for the moment it would afford them all time to talk about the trip or ask questions to the Jedi as she flew the speeder along.

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The Liberator - Mandalore Docking Ring
Year Four, After Re-Synchronization

As a figure finally started to emerge from the ship, Talik did her best effort to calm down the twitching of the lekku that would betray that she was rather happy to see the Mandalorian. Though it was quickly obvious to anybody watching, that she had failed at the task of keeping said lekku from betraying her. As if the limb had a mind of its own... which technically wasn't all that incorrect. Still, she at least managed to keep the sour expression on her features as Toryn stepped out and addressed her, stopping where he was finally as tall as she due to the elevated ramp. "Yes, you did. Not very nice to keep a woman waiting, you know." The twi'lek teased the man before stepping forward to close the distance between them. In a mere moment, Toryn would find himself wrapped in her embrace, as she hugged her friend a bit tightly. Though she wasn't certain how much of the tight embrace Toryn would even feel through his beskar.

She held the embrace for a long few moments as her chin rested briefly on his shoulder pad, whispering at a volume that would only just barely be picked up by Toryn's audio input so he could hear inside the helmet. "Vor entye, ibic tid'ica yir at ni." She whispered, before finally releasing the man from the hug as she took a step back. While the girl would've much liked to indulge in the embrace a bit longer, she didn't want her friend to find it awkward. Along with the fact that there was already enough rumors that the twi'lek was aware of floating around the Liberator regarding her relationship with Toryn. Grunts liked to gossip, and she knew she didn't help matters with how eager she was to be around him. Though she limited herself at just that, Toryn was nothing more to her than a good friend. No matter how much her heart said otherwise.

"I believe I promised you food, so come on. Lets go get something to eat. I'm rallying the troops in about an hour anyway." She said with a rather friendly and pleasant smile towards Toryn. Reaching out with a gauntleted hand, she didn't exactly give him much a chance to respond as she grabbed his own and pulled to start them on the trek before letting go. "The Mandalor will be providing our ride to the station, Toryn. So if you want we can keep the dog on hand here and I could have my tech's refuel and restock you as a repayment for coming along." The twi'lek said as they started making their way towards the hangar. She had never really been one to be great at small talk, but the way her mind focused directly in on the mission at hand was still rather unusual. A habit she typically only took up around Toryn when she was particularly worried about the mission at hand, which somewhat would make a bit of sense given the stakes of what they were going to do.

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Ila gave a brief sigh, crouching down a little to the side of the entrance to the temple, where Airus had promised to meet her. Master Airus has been a little while now. I hope everything's alright. Considering the man was a historian and a teacher, she was certain he hadn't forgotten her. Considering he was a trained jedi, she was also certain that he could handle himself, so for now she chose to make the most of her time. When waiting to go on a trip as a jedi, and with so many different ways to quietly and silently practice the force, she couldn't think of any better way to pass the time than to interfere with random passersby and have random conversations. After all, she wasn't going to have much interaction with others except Master Airus during their trip, and she had no idea how long that would be.

Ila stopped anyone that didn't appear to be in a rush, beginning small talk about any little thing from the weather, to the food, to the colors of the rooms in the temple. She actually tended to stop people even if she was mid conversation to get their input, almost forcing a small group of people to gather for conversation. It was only ever up to about four people, including her, at a time, as some got annoyed with her constant attempts to keep the conversation going amongst them all, or others had to get back to business or never had time to begin with, but eventually, the topic of why she was standing out there with some things starting random conversation came up. "- so he should be here any minute. Oh! Maybe you can come to Dathomir with us! I'm sure Master Airus wouldn't mind, and I focus better with others anyway!" The responses, considering the dangers of Dathomir and unknown time there, were pretty clear. "That's fine, I can tell you all about it when I get back if you want though. We're bound to find something interesting!"

The twin girls looked at each other before Riven sighed and nodded. "Well, this evening has already been a wash anyways. And we got all gussied up too." Talia could barely contain the excitement of actually getting to go somewhere in the near future instead of suffering bouts of extreme boredom as a guard for the meeting chambers between her research times. The red clad twin stood and flipped her hair over her shoulder while the cyan clad one scratched the cat's chin. "How long before you depart, Chief Librarian?"

Talia ran the various things he could be looking for through her head a dozen different times before she snapped back to reality. "Oh! Do you think we'll see any rancors? One of my ancestor's raised a rancor from it's time as an egg and I had hoped to investigate the possibility of a strong bond forming like that with a predator like a Rancor. I tried to get a Krayt egg once, I'm sure you can imagine how that went."

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Mandalore, Jedi Temple

Airus answered with a nod. "We are leaving in thirty minutes, go grab anything you need for a trip. We can meet at hangar six, I'm in launch bay five. My ships a retrofitted Hammerhead Cruiser, so we will all have plenty of room." He explained as his cat purred before moving to follow at his heels. "Rancors are common there, yes. When we get on the ship we will have to discuss the Krayt egg mishap I'd love to know how you found one as rare those great beasts are. Either way, I must head out and get our other companion for the trip." The chief librarian spun on his heels and headed back towards the turbolifts.

A short ride in the lifts later he found himself back near the entrance, Ila had been waiting it seemed and he stepped over bowing his head slightly. "Terribly sorry about the wait, ran into a couple other I thought it would be good to invite along and I wanted to ensure we had the company if this does turn into a long trip." Airus offered to the padawan before him as he gestured for them to continue over to the dock outside. Airus took the lead letting Ila follow behind him as they began to short walk towards his ship.

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Mandalore, Jedi Temple

The woman seemed rather fed up with them, which Mor’gann found herself sympathizing with. Adaahna’s defense of her was useful and needed on this alien planet. Not that she wanted to admit it. Weakness got you killed after all if you let others know about it. Acknowledging that weakness to yourself and fixing it was how you stayed alive. Following the group to the strange ship, far smaller than what had delivered her to the planet, she gave the taller and hopelessly awkward youth a raised brow. Gesturing sharply that he should proceed her with a flick of her fingers. He was a bumbling young hunter who was over-eager, not someone she wanted at her back. Easing her shoulder out of the arm of her pack she lightly swung into the contraption after Adaahna, mimicking the Togruta. ”Small ship.” She noted absently to her guide with a skeptical brow.

Chuckling to herself as she toyed with her spear to pass the time of the ride, Adaahna nodded at Mors’ assessment “Very, these ones only go from place to place on the same world.. Probably to the lair of the witch” She spoke loudly on purpose, hoping to get a rise out of their escorts with her taunting, watching their escorts carefully as she slowly reached into her pack for a hunk of salted.. Something. Whatever it was it was meat, and all this trouble was definitely making her hungry.

Sav would watch as they fell in line with the orders of his new master as he nodded, stepping forward in front of Mor`gann but walking backward now, he didn’t like the idea of anyone who was causing trouble at his back. Now being closer to the two he seemed to no longer have a sense of uncontrollable eagerness about him. Now there was a calm excitement on his face as he walked onto the speeder, an eye keeping on the two continuously. He had remembered the order he was given to not speak and simply watched them, not saying a word. He looked calm, but there was that smile, that damn smile that showed everything, the excitement, but he couldn’t help it. After all, this was one step towards being known, and finding his true love.

Varina sighed as she sat with all of them. ”We are not going to a Witch’s lair. We are going to the Jedi temple, home of the defenders of the Republic.” Varina rolled her eyes looking among them as she watched the horizon, the distant sight of the temple coming into view as they joined the air traffic. Beginning to leave the city heading out of the distant temple. “You will all be brought into the temple. I’ll be promptly dumping you all on Airus. Our wonderful chief librarian and my brother, while I can back to some peace and meditate before I get some work done.” She muttered crossing her arms as the speeder drove itself.

Watching her guide pull out a thing of salted meat, the Dxun native turned her attention away. It was clear that Adaahna had an odd taste in food, but food was food. Not that Mor’gann thought eating while hurtling through the air was exactly natural. ”Vitch lair… Je’di tem’le” She let the words roll about in her odd smorgasbord accent. So it seemed this vitch, or Je’di, was taking them to others of her kind. To a story teller, shaman. Her lips twitched so very slightly as she caught the grumbled note of complaint from Varina. Giving a sideways look at Adaahna, she raised a brow and gestured to the speeder. Her fingers snapping sharply a few times, gesturing for a word. ”No…? Guide you ship? No, pilot!” Mor’gan gave a slightly relieved sigh as the word came to her, though she looked no less worried at the unmanned speeder. ”No, pilot ship?”

Eyes twinkling at the opportunity for mischief, Adaahna cleared her throat ”Now, these Jedi witches, they bind the souls of prisoners to their ships and speeders with occult prayers. We best be careful lest we end up some menial souls driving a ship for them!” doing her best to hide her mischievous grin behind a lekku. Eyes flicking to their captors in a faint hope that they might play along with her teasing, messily snapping clean chunks out of her meal as soon as her smile fades enough for plausible deniability. ”So.. What will become of us after we’ve told out lovely tales, witchmaster Jedi?.” The Togrutas grin resurfacing at her continued teasing, thinking herself a genius.

“You? You’ll probably be allowed to go, might even get a job offer from the temple if someone needs some help with exploration missions. As for our two force sensitives with their unique skills, they will probably be given the offer to join the temple. To become Jedi Knights, if they prove themselves capable enough for it.” Varina answered rolling her eyes, the grounded ship that had been made the Jedi temple came into view as they neared it, they could see classes of students conducting lightsaber training, other groups of children learning to control their telekinetic abilities, and even further in a sparring session between two Padawans.

Mor’gann had stiffened slightly as Adaahna had spoken, her mind sorting through the strange language of these people. Understanding the gist of things, she narrowed her eyes at the Je’di, but said nothing as Varina spoke. She did not like what she was hearing. Souls to power these ships? Oh, it was something she could believe. The chill along her spine at the memory of the long-dead spirit of the Temple. Now they were heading into another structure that seemed to facilitate the training and housing of these Je’di with their relics. To say she was pleased would be a lie. Rather, Mor’gann thought with a wry grimace, this was bound to be interesting and more trouble than it was worth. More people to yammer about, more to keep her eyes open for. Though she did give an approving nod recognition to the training she had seen below, a skeptic’s eyebrow-raising in slight shock she saw no beasts being tossed at the young hunters. Surely, they did have beasts upon this planet? Experience was the best teacher for it’s ruthless efficiently.

Varina sighed, as they finally came in for a landing, moments later the vehicle touched down again. Hoping up from the seat and up onto her feet, “all of you will follow me. We will need to find Airus or someone with the ability to comprehend her.” She thought a moment about pawning the troublesome Togruta off on Solace, she was more of a people person by a long shot. The other two though, the boy would need a teacher and someone who liked fielding questions. Airus worked because his own empathy and abilities would make him perfect for working with the girl who now one seemed to comprehend. She’d need to think more, unfortunately that time was running out, as she could see Airus heading into the yard with his traveling bag on his shoulder. Thank Ashla he hadn’t left yet, if he was leaving though he could just deal with them in his travels those that didn’t want to stay, they could be dropped off and more importantly, she wouldn’t have to deal with it!

Some days it hurt to be this clever, with Airus being the genius between the two of them but then she remembered she didn’t have to do half as much as him, suddenly it was so much easier to bear.

As they pulled up to the temple Sav jumped out and he took a deep breath. “Man, now that we are here, I have SO MANY QUESTIONS.” he’d say as he finally felt like he had completed his order of ‘waiting until we get there’.

“So, are these two, not criminals? Is that why we brought them to the temple? When are you going to teach me how to wield a light sword? What is the coolest thing you can do? OOO OOO, can I shoot lightning from my hands? I heard that was a thing in some stories, I mean, I think these two might learn a thing or two, like, you should be in awe, this is a Jedi! A protector of peace through the universe!!” his voice seemed to get a bit lower as he spoke a smile on his face, this time though his voice was a low murmur, “This is my chance to make something of myself.”

Mor’gann slid from the car offering a hand to Adaahna while she gave a pointedly annoyed look at Varina. ‘Her’ had a name after all, and this woman was getting a bit irritating as she jabbered on like a noisy bird. Though that thought was quickly taken back as the young man went into a spiel of words that Mor’gann was not even going to try to make sense of. For the sake of sanity (namely hers) however, she took a step over and pushed an insistent fingers under Sav’s chin. Her own hand raising two fingers to her lips as they moved slowly to form her own words with careful practice. ”Slowly. You speak enough for a pack of maalraas.” Which was unfair to the maalraas. Switching to the stilted and accented words of their shared tongue she removed her hand. ”Bird speak. Long speak?” She frowned, it wasn’t the right word. What was the word to make him at least slow the rapid fire of questions. Snapping her fingers rapidly she shook her head, the word evading her as she followed after the older woman, curious as to who would possibly be able to speak the language of ‘her people’.

Sav would seem to jump back as Mor`gann touched him. “Hold up lady! Hold up!” He would put his hand to his blaster, [color=cyan] “I never said you could touch me. I get you aren’t from around here and neither am I, and I don’t know where you are from, but we don’t touch chins, it’s too close to the damn neck.” he’d seem to raise his head up slightly as he looked at the others and slowly brought his hand away from his blaster, he took a deep breath and a smile appeared, “Well besides, I wasn’t asking you. I was asking the Jedi master, MY master!” Sav would say with a proud grin.