Desperation (complete)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Her conversation with Callidus was still bothering her, but she couldn't figure out why. She could get what she wanted - she only needed to complete one task. Her readings in the Royal Archives had told her everything she needed to know about the armored enemies that resided deep in the Wilds of Onderon.

Lilaena turned around suddenly, eyes watchful. She felt like she was being watched, but that was not unusual in a jungle full of predators. She had been walking for most of the night, and the sun had risen an hour ago. A scream from the west drew her attention, and she realized she was being stalked. This paticular beast - a wicked, black furred quadruped with vicious claws and teeth - always hunted in packs of three.

One would call the attention of the prey with a screech or other such noise, while the other two flanked the intended victim.

Her lightsaber was in her hand quickly, purple blade ignited just in time to turn and skewer the three hundred pound creature as it leapt out of the undergrowth at her. Bowling her to the ground with its sheer size, the beast shrieked loudly at the pain in its enormous chest. She pulled at her lightsaber, cutting a line through the creature's chest cavity, spilling blood and ichor onto her as it went into its death throes.

Lilaena deactivated her blade as soon as she was sure it was dead, using the Force to throw the beast off of her. There were still two others to deal with, but they seemed to be taking their time. The death of their packmate would have enraged them, however, and they would attack.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

There had been no further attacks. She had brushed close to a grove of deadly alanthus trees, and from the sound of it at least one of her beastly pursuers had been entangled in the alanthus' vines.

It was closing in on the midpoint of the day, and the sun was nearly directly overhead. She'd made good time, traveling quickly and using her lightsaber to cut a path through the thickest of vegetation. It made her trail easier to follow, but that would not endanger her plan.

She was drawing close to her destination, as well. Or, the closest thing she had to a destination.

Lilaena hooked her lightsaber to her belt, and slowed to a jog. She had never been to this part of the jungle before. From what she'd been able to figure out, no one from the City had. She was on the edge of their territory.

The Mandalorians.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena paused, kneeling on the decaying ground to present a smaller target and collect her thoughts. Always have a plan.

That was easy. She had a general idea of what she was going to do. Master A'na Eldhil would frown. One should always have a specific plan. Not exactly Lilaena's strong point. Trained to use her emotions, too often she allowed them to rule her, which led to hasty advances and sometimes quick retreats.

After a few silent moments in the dirt of the jungle floor, she heard something. Rather, she heard nothing, which was highy unusual. Covered up in her brown cloak, she was a barely noticable lump on the ground, but whatever it was that was scaring all the insects into silence would not be fooled for long.

Her hand tightened on her lightsaber hilt, readying herself for sudden movement.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Their boots made little to no noise on the thick pad of decaying flora that coated the ground. The armor was not old, which was surprising, considering that the Mandalorians had been without proper supplies for at least a thousand years, give or take a century. They were entering the clearing, and she knew that her target wasn't there. This was just a scouting party, protecting their borders.

As a female, however, she would not be killed outright unless she attacked and they saw her as a threat. The lightsaber would have to be ditched, because the Mandalorians would not have forgotten the Jedi. Lilaena unclipped the D-ring and dropped the hilt to the ground, a short fall of only a few inches, She forced herself to let out a choking sob - a sound of fear that the enemy would hear and hopefully not shoot at - and lurched to her feet. As she pushed up off the ground, she covered the saber with leaves, hiding it completely.

"Stop!" She could hear their weapons charging as she turned to flee, her hood falling backwards and exposing her face to them. Lilaena tripped impressively, falling face first into the ground.

There was a knee in her back before she could struggle to her feet, and she screamed, twisting about as her hands were bound and she was turned over. Five expressionless helmets regarded her, and she looked at them with stark fear in her face.

"N...no..nooo," she cried out as rough hands pulled her to her feet. Lilaena threw herself backwards, trying to make it as hard as possible, without making it too hard, for them to drag her off. "No, no! Please!"

"This one has spirit." They seemed to approve. Then one of them hit her in the head with the butt of his rifle. Everything went black.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The darkness receded slowly, revealing the dim light of day. It seemed filtered somehow, and as she opened her eyes Lilaena saw that she was in a wooden structure of some sort. It looked sturdy enough, but the walls had spaces between the boards. Probably on purpose.

Lilaena struggled to her feet, finding that her right hand and left angle were chained to a sturdy iron pole that was sunk into the floor. There were five such poles in the room, and one other had an occupant. She remembered hearing something about a missing woman, but the attack on the Queen's ward had overshadowed the lesser story. Women who lived by the wall were sometimes kidnap victims as the Mandalorians attacked the fortifications and were beaten back.

Some had speculated that some of the attacks were simply raiding parties to gather new blood for their encampment. Whether they were right or wrong, the disappearances kept happening, one or two a year.

She walked as far from the pole as she could, and found that she was sill a safe distance from the walls of the room they were in. Lilaena turned back, clinking over towards the huddled form on the ground. "Hello?"

The form twitched, but didn't release out of the fetal position, hair and hands covering the face. Lilaena could barely reach her, but she sat down at the limit of her chain and stroked the woman's arm. "What's your name? I am a friend."

The other woman moved slightly, just enough for one eye to peek out from under the matted mess of hair. Then she sat up slowly, her hair still hanging in front of her face. If she had been taken two days ago, as Lilaena suspected, it looked like she'd been dragged upside down through the jungles and then dipped in mud. But then, maybe she had.

The stench of raw sewage wafted up to her nostrils, and she looked toward the center of the circle of stakes. Apparently the refresher was a hole in the ground in the middle of the room. Quaint.

"My name is Aylee," she offered, reaching over to brush the woman's hair out of her face. The woman was little more than a girl, perhaps at her sixteenth nameday. Old enough for bearing children, however, and that was all the Mandalorians needed. In order for them to have survived so many hundreds of years, they must be reproducing voraciously to keep their numbers as high as they were.

"Hanna," the girl whispered. She looked towards the door of the shack. "We must not talk." She was terrified.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

They were left alone for almost an hour, as near as Lilaena could tell. She spent most of the time sitting crosslegged on the ground with her back against the stake she was chained to. The Force mumured to her of their surroundings - the amount of life around them, and the sounds she was able to hear indicated they were near the center of a large encampment.

It was theorized that the Mandalorians lived in two or more camps, but Lilaena guessed that the armored beings had only one camp. It seemed vast. From the sound of it, their prison hut was close to a metalworking facility of some kind. Old armor was probably melted down and re-made when it became too beaten up.

Someone was approaching. She opened her eyes and fixed them on the door before the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Hanna cowered on the ground, too frightened to move. The door swung inward, and a helmeted warrior entered. He didn't say anything, but his helmet regarded her silently as she stared back at him.

Two men entered behind him, with perhaps one armored suit between them. They wore no helmets, and they were not armed. They moved forward past the first Mandalorian, and walked to the stakes. Lilaena turned her head to watch the one who went to hers, apparently they did not regard the women as a threat. But then, the helmeted Mandalorian was present, and he was positively bristling with weaponry.

The chains were disengaged from the poles and snapped around the wrists of the men. Lilaena's ankles were chained to each other with a shorter length, and Hanna recieved the same treatment with a whimper. The Mandalorian nodded his head towards the door, and turned on his heel and left. The other men followed him with their captives.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena watched everything carefully as they were walked through the encampment. There was a bustle of activity everywhere - meat being dried, hides of beasts stretched out and tanned for leather, dirty women tending small gardens where a small variety of edible plants were growing. They were most likely originaly stolen from a freighter inbound to the City - there weren't many things that grew naturally on Onderon that were good for human consumption.

But then, Mandalorians weren't quite human, were they.

She stumbled as her captor yanked on the chain connecting her wrist to his, and forced herself to watch where she was walking. Hanna was sobbing in her fear, her hands alternately clutching and releasing the air by her sides. Lilaena wished she could tell the girl not to worry, but for all her confidence the chances she would succeed were about fifty percent.

Still, a good chance, especially with the Force on her side. She stumbled again, her soft boots stubbing her toes on a rock. Lilaena winced, but kept her balance and continued walking. Finally they stopped, outside a larger structure than she'd seen in the rest of the camp. The Jedi felt a momentary thrill as she realized that it was most likely the chieftan's home.

She raised her head to see the helmeted warrior looking at her again. Her obvious lack of fear was making him watch her closely, regardless of her sex. Hanna was made to stand next to her, and the girl seemed ready to collapse to the ground in a faint. Lilaena reached out to her and held her up, supporting her around her shoulders.

One of the men, the one attached to Hanna, explained what was going on in halting Basic. It seemed they were to be presented to the war chief, and then given away as wives to their captors. The warrior who was watching Lilaena so closely was the one who had captured her. Hanna's soon to be husband was out on patrol. From what Lilaena had seen of the females in the camp, being a Mandalorian's woman was not a job for the weak.

People were gathering around, and a hush descended on the Mandalorians as the long house's door opened. A great shout went up from the gathered soldiers as their Mandalore appeared, and Lilaena and Hanna were forced to their knees.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Mandalore stood over the captive women from the great walled City. He had nothing to say to them - weak females from an inferior people. There would be no need for them except that his predessors had warned about the problems of extensive inbreeding. Thus, new blood was brought into the mix every year.

Some survived the harsh life, others perished during their first Migration season. But the Mandalorians, while not flourishing, had survived many hundreds of years in the jungles of Onderon. Their war machines and technology still functioned.

And one day, one day the Queen of Iziz would grovel at his feet after he had led his army to success over her walls. She would bear him strong sons, and clean his armor for him. Mandalore smiled under his war helmet at the thought.

He readied himself for a rousing speech, a few sentances was enough to inspire his men, but one of the captives caught his eye. She had short dark hair, and a scar on her face. Her eyes were not blazing with false defiance, or with terror. Mandalore was surprised to see that the woman had no fear.

Her companion, the female from the raid that he had not been informed about (he was still angry about it), she was showing the proper fear and respect, her face in the dirt. Mandalore was considering having her killed - raiding parties were not to go anywhere without their war leader's consent, and there were some younger Mandalorians who had been listening to a stranger. Mandalore had heard the rumors of this man, Legion, but he had not been located.

And in truth, the man wanted the same thing he did, the domination of the walled City. Except that Mandalore wanted the young Queen alive, and Legion wanted her dead. The female captured in the illegal raid would not be awarded to her captor, he decided. She would be taken back to the edge of the camp and stoned.

But the other... the dark haired one... The crowd had grown silent, waiting for his words, and he raised his right arm, indicating his readiness to speak.

"I challenge you, Mandalore."

He paused, hand still in the air. There was a moment of shocked silence. "What?"

The warrior who had captured the dark haired woman stepped in front of her and delivered a vicious backhand to her face. Her head rocked backwards, but just as quickly she snapped it back. Mandalore could no longer see her face, but he pictured it blazing with conviction, as was every word that came out of her mouth.

"I challenge you. A fight, to the death-" her last words were cut off as the warrior facing her reached down and grabbed her by the throat with one hand. He started to lift her up, and her face became red.

Mandalore walked forward. It was almost amusing, were it not also so very insulting. "Put her down, Bretak." The soldier complied, obviously ashamed that his prospective bride had spoken so to his Lord. The woman gasped for air, still chained, still captive. Was she hoping for an easy death, to escape her fate?

"To accept your challenge would be an insult to his name," muttered the young warrior chained to the woman. He was pale, knowing that should his Lord be angered, he might not escape the woman's punishment.

Mandalore tilted his head to the side just a bit, regarding the woman in her defiance.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"In five millennia, the Mandalorians fought with and against a thousand armies on a thousand worlds. They learned to speak as many languages and absorbed weapons technology and tactics from every war. And yet, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures, and the absence of a true home world and even species, their own language not only survived but changed little; their way of life and their philosophy remained untouched; and their ideals and sense of family, of identity of nation, were only strengthened. Armor is not what makes a Mandalorian. Armor is simply a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassaliable heart. "
— Passage from "Mandalorians: Identity and Language"

There were murmurings in the armored crowd in their language, Mando'a. From an anthropologists point of view, the entire situation would have been quite fascinating. How, in the absence of anything, the surviving Mandalorians had dug in and re-created their society. The women were able fighters, some in full armor along the fringes of the crowd, others left to care for the camp while the others were away.

Had the Mandalorians not been a race of warriors, their culture never would have survived. As it was, they were perfectly suited for living in the dangerous jungles of Onderon. With their limited resources, the anthropologist would have noted that not all the Mandalorians could wear armor - most of the younger men wore partial suits. He would have wondered at the re-use of the metal from pirated freighters, shot down on approach to Iziz and never heard from again.

Lilaena thought about none of this, however, as she stared up at the masked Mandalore from her knees. She did notice the differences in armor styles and colors, denoting rank. Mandalore's black and white suit was the most impressive she'd seen.

She coughed, massaging her throat. He wouldn't fight her unless she was seen as a proper opponent. A woman from the Walled City would have to be taught how to fight like a Mandalorian, and taught their language. They expected her to be the same - a weak female.

Lilaena looked at the expressionless visor, and with a click her chains fell off. She surged to her feet, the shell gun in Bretak's hand coming loose and snapping into her palm. She pointed it at Mandalore, who still hadn't moved. A moment later there were over a dozen weapons pointed at her.

"A fight. To the death."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Mandalore continued to eye the woman, who seemed to have some skills that Bretak had not noticed in bringing her in. She manipulated what was known as the Force, and could be one of the Jedi who have exiled his forebears to Onderon over a thousand years ago.

A rage began to burn inside him, even as the warriors around him showed themselves ready to defend their Lord Mandalore. He spoke carefully, once in Mando'a and again in Basic, the language of the Walled City. "I accept the challenge."

There was no noise from the crowd, all whispers had ceased. Mandalore raised his hand, ignoring the weapon trained on him. He shouted in Mando'a, "This woman is a Jedi! One of those responsible for our exile! I will exact our revenge against her."

Some warriors nodded approval. Bretak reached over and put his hand on his shell gun, and the dark haired woman released it into his keeping. The challenge had been accepted, and she seemed to know the proper protocols. Mandalore stepped backwards, "Bring her armor. She professes a knowledge of our ways, let her die by them." He halted next to his second in command, who was taking everything in from his silver and blue helmet.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hanna was taken back to the wooden structure, as silent and as pale as the grave. Lilaena was escorted warily by a trio of Mandalorian women - whether they had originally been from the City or not, she could not tell. They were Mandalorian through and through now, whatever they had been at birth.

They outfitted her in a suit of armor, discarding the brown robe, tunic and leggings she'd worn during her trek through the jungle. Lilaena made it clear that her robe was not to be burned or destroyed, but she was not sure how long her request would be honored. Probably not longer than she lived.

The armor was surprisingly light, but she had no experience in it. The T-shaped visor in the helmet gave her a claustrophobic feeling, and she was not told of any of the weapons or how to use them. She refused the jetpack as it unduly threw off her balance, and trying to figure out how to properly use it would most likely lead to mistakes. A holographic display popped up inside the helmet, giving her a greater view of what was around her. It would take time to get used to using it.

And time was not something she had much of.

The battle would take place away from the camp, withing a specified area of the jungle. The circumference of the space was guarded by Mandalorians in full armor, and would be monitored for the duration of the episode. From what she could make out of the Mando'a words that were flying around, no one expected Mandalore to let her last long, mystic powers or no. He had his jet pack, and even the Jedi of old could not fly. This one didn't even have one of the legendary lightsabers.

Lilaena was led to the edge of the 'arena' by Bretak, who was stoic in his silence. She sensed a strange mix of emotions from him, a conglomerate of pride, shame, and hope. Probably hope that she would die quickly, but put up a good fight.

He did not touch her at any time, but stopped her at a certain point, and then melted into the jungle behind her. Lilaena was alone with the sound of her breathing, reverberating inside the helmet.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Aruetyc Jetii'la hut'uun! Mhi Mando'ade ven shuku gar shebs!" Mandalore shouted, and then he activated his jetpack, flying into the air to find the Jedi female quickly and exterminate her. At his words the warriors around him let up a cheer, and it set a fire in his heart to hear their enthusiasm.

There was no need to be wary of beasts - the only thing dangerous in this paticular spot of the planet was a large anthulus tree and many poisonous plants. The perimeter was guarded to keep the more deadly beasts out of the arena of war. It would be a quick battle - the woman would not be familiar with the settings on her armor, but she would probably adapt soon enough. Or, not soon enough.

Mandalore spotted the woman in her borrowed armor below him. She looked up at the sound of his jetpack, and dove behind a tree trunk as he brought squeezed off a few blaster bolts in her direction.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She'd already discharged a pair of darts into the jungle, not quite accidentally, but almost. With the armor and his position above her, it would be hard to guarantee a hit with only darts. But with the Force on her side...

Lilaena rolled out from behind the tree, bringing her arm up towards the hovering Mandalore. He adjusted his aim quickly, and she had time to get off a hurried shot before she was against forced back into cover. There was no effect, so she assumed the poison-tipped darts had hit a plate of the armor.

No time to contemplate her next move, Lilaena took off towards a thicker stand of vine encrusted trees. She ran into the middle of them, knowing that Mandalore would have to return to the ground to enter after her. After a moment, the sound of his jetpack stopped, and she knew he was coming in. The helmet offered her an infared display, picking up the approaching warrior clearly.

Of course, he could see her with equal clarity, which made things more difficult. Lilaena accessed another weapon built into the suit, and turned on the flamethrower. Switching to normal vision as the vines around her went up in flames, Lilaena stepped back slowly to distance herself just enough from the heat of the fire. She recalled the tale of Master Mace Windu defeating the Mandalorian bounty hunter - Jango Fett.

Of course, Master Windu had his lightsaber. But a blaster would do as well, if she could hit the right spot. With hers in hand, the Dark Jedi kept her eyes open for movement as she found herself a suitably hidden spot behind the growing wall of flame.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The woman was canny, he'd grant her that. Mandalore turned off the infared HUD as the area around the Jedi was engulfed with heat. Creeping around the growing blaze, the warrior knew she was now as blind as he was. He shot blindly into the vines that were behind the fire, hoping to scare her into moving and revealing her position.

fzzzzip

He felt the dart rebound off his chestplate, and immediately threw himself to the side and rolled out of her line of fire. Where is she? Mandalore figured she could not hide for long - the fire she had started was spreading rapidly through the dead vines and the smoke would soon drive her out.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

After firing the dart Lilaena had crept to a new position, circling around the Mandalorian war leader. In a few more moments he would probably assume she was moving out of the smoke and would scan the area with infared again - if he were not already doing so.

The helmet's display took some getting used to, and it was different to use the Force to enhance the digital displays, as opposed to her normal vision. She felt a strong emotion in the growing smoke: pride. Mandalore was not far.

With effort, Lilaena drew on the Force, creating a vortex of wind that whipped the fire up to even greater heights. A distraction was all she needed.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

A wind came from the midst of the fire, spiralling upwards and causing the flames to spread wildly. Mandalore narrowed his eyes and turned on his infared display again, looking away from the flames.

There was a touch on his back by his armpit, between armor plates. Too late.

The witch's voice crackled through the helmet's vox. "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur."

He didn't feel pain as the blaster bolt shot diagonally through his chest cavity, burning an exit hole in his abdomen. Mandalore only nodded. Today was indeed a good day for someone else to die.

His body fell to the side.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena coughed, the smoke from her distraction billowing around her as she hooked her hands under the dead Mandalorian's arms. Dragging him out of the thick grove, she used the Force to quench the flames so as not to endanger the rest of the jungle with a wildfire.

Mandalore was dead weight. And he wasn't a small man, by any means. By the time she'd moved his body towards the center of the battle arena, the silver and blue armored Mandalorian was already there, along with four other soldiers, including Bretak. One was a female, judging from the cut of her armor.

They surveyed her silently, and she refused to take off the helmet even though she found it stifling. Mandalore's second in command knelt by his Lord's body, carefully removing the black and white helmet. Mandalore's face was set firmly, his eyes staring straight ahead. He had not been afraid to die, only surprised. There were a few more moments of complete silence, as each Mandalorian judged for themself the outcome of the challenge.

"Gar parjir." You are victorious.

Lilaena nodded silently, knowing that her understanding of Mando'a was not a great as the occasion demanded it be. But the simple admission that she had won meant that in their eyes she was more than just the victor. She was to be their new Mandalore, by right of battle.

There was a distinct sense of satisfaction on the part of the female, though also the contradicting emotion of suspicion. Lilaena pointed at Bretak, the warrior who had brought her in.

"My knowledge of Mando'a is not what it should be." Her voice was strangely warped by the vox on the helmet. "He will teach me what I need to know to lead the great and proud people. Hibirar - I will learn."

The five Mandalorians nodded. Bretak would be her second in command. The former lieutenant of the dead Mandalore at her feet stated something in Mando'a, and then repeated it in halting Basic.

"Today... a new day dawns for the Mando'ad."

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime sat up from his position on the large branch, his eyes wide with surprise. Did she really just do what she think he did? Was any of this really happening? Who in this drenforsaken galaxy was she?

The black armored man sat up in the tallest tree he had been able to find with the best view. The quest of finding said tree had left him in a rather sour mood. More so than usual. The branch was wide enough to be a small bridge and the trunk had room for Hawkins and maybe two others. This forest did not like groups, a sentiment shared by Grime, and it only felt more welcoming to those seeking solitude because by oneself, no one else would ever hear the screams.

He held the electronoculars up to his eyes again and watched the witch walk among the Mandalorians like she was one of them now. The whole scene had been hard to follow. First she'd gotten herself caught, then humiliated in front of a crowd of the most sophisticated savages he'd ever seen. And then she'd disappeared into a hut to come out in a set of their armor, much to his confusion. He didn't have anything to catch the sound so he was more or less left to making up his own ideas of what was going on. He more or less had it figured out when she entered the ring of savages and squared off against the big one, some kind of chief.

She had just said she was going out for something. He hadn't paid enough attention to what it had been other than he was allowed to follow from a far distance... She hadn't mentioned anything about the beasts that he had encountered though. Well, after passing one corpse, he encountered one strangled to death in vines he had found foreboding since his arrival in the dark jungle. Not too far from there he had been prevented from following Lilaena any further as another beast appeared, enraged and charged him. His sword flashed in the light for an instant as it slid fluidly through the air. He didn't use a lightsaber like his... master, but her lessons in using his new powers led to satisfying results as the two halves of the beast fell to the ground. Paranoid that there might be more, he began his search for a safe vantage point from which he might observe the rest of her journey.

From there, he had come to here, and the voice running the monologue and asking the questions in his head had only increased its frustrated tone as everything played out before him. She had just killed one of the savages, the revered chief savage, of all of the savages to kill. And they weren't killing her yet? Why wasn't she dead? He'd almost had to accept that his lessons in the Force had come to an end and he was to begin his journey again. He had made some connections though out of what he was seeing, and something was trying to implode itself in the pit of his stomach.

All she had done was lose herself in the Jungle, seemingly allow herself to get caught by her supposed predators. Then she'd been thrown out in front of the group and humiliated, only to come out above them all. He hated her, absolutely hated her. Nothing was that easy. He hoped she had sustained some debilitating injury at least, something that would leave her limping for weeks. And if not that, he wanted something out of this, practically being forced to watch this, because if he hadn't, Hawkins would've been even more out of the loop.

He felt like he had been there for too long though. Their attention would return to their... 'patrols' or whatever the savages were up to out here and Hawkins didn't want to be any closer than necessary if they were still out for blood. He turned and pocketed the scope, hanging his legs off the side of the branch. He slowly allowed himself to slip off the wide branch and tapped into the bottomless pit of frustration that toiled within himself, like she had instructed him. As Hawkins fell, he grasped his anger and focused it upon himself, impressing the landing into something of fluid grace. He hit the ground with a metal thud in the moist undergroth, bending his knees to help in absorbing the shock. He winced, sighing in stifled pain. It never worked out as well as he expected; the thought instantly refueled his spent anger. Grime was getting out of here though, back to the city. They'd have a little chat upon their return, it seemed.