The Legend of the Mandalorian Gun

[Sanis Prent]

I'm not a nostalgic kind of guy. Considering that I shook Nar Shaddaa off my boots as fast as I could catch orbit, it's probably not surprising. I've always been looking to bigger and better things. There was always a bigger score, a bigger win, just around the corner. Some people say that puts a chip on my shoulder, or makes me ungrateful for whatever I've got.

Maybe they're right.

Maybe it's catching up to me, and I'm able to look at a few parts of my past and realize that if I blinked, or if I missed a wrong turn, I might not have it so good. Maybe I wouldn't be me. I don't know if that means I'm getting older, or if it means that I'm just far enough away from my live-for-the-moment life that I catch perspective. I never had a dad, in the way that everybody else did. Some old man to sit me down and say 'When I was your age...'. I'm pretty sure even if I did, I wouldn't have listened.

Of course, I did have s'Il. Not hardly a parent figure, but, she always seemed like she was just born wise to the way the galaxy worked. Funny, I think of so many of those times that made all the difference to my life, and there she was. I wonder if she knew what kind of mess I was making. Maybe she had it figured I wasn't quite the fuckup I imagined I was.




Seven years ago...



I was her pilot. That was the arrangement.

The paint on the side of my YV-666 was barely dry, and the red-colored script read Layla, a shocking amount of color against the otherwise drab exterior of the ship. She'd been my ship for just under a year. I'd had grand dreams of hitting it big once I took to space, but in Layla, my biggest goals were usually to find enough fuel or spare parts to get us to the next port of call.

That's what brought us to this barren dustball. I don't remember the planet's name. I don't remember the coordinates. I remember we were on our way to Alzoc III, but wherever we'd landed, it was just some unnamed rock somewhere between Cathar and our destination. I remember two things. One, we were somewhere to pick up fuel, and two...



"Looks like one helluva fight."

The fuel depot was still servicable, at least. That was more than could be said for the smoldering wreck of a ship that rested at it's outskirts. From the pockmarks that littered the superstructure of the depot, it looked like a nasty firefight had taken place, probably within the hour of us getting to the depot. Instinctively, I grabbed a blaster out of one of my holsters, eyes scanning to look for trouble. It never hurt to play it safe, although I had a good feeling that whatever hit the depot had long-since moved along.

The smell of ozone and burning floatsam hung thick in the air, stinging my nose and eyes, and I looked back to Lok and Cirr. That's when I heard him.


"Nnn-ggh..."

At the epicenter of the aftermath, a weak voice cleared the silence, nearly scaring me out of my skin.

"Looks like we got a live one!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She'd smelled the lingering scent of life before Sanis' words. Felt the presence of quickly fading consciousness. It's wasn't a difficult thing to discern for her, but it never made it any easier. Too many times the Lupine had been witness to Death, watched as it took soldiers to Weit-Fällt, to pass beneath the Gate of Souls and journey beyond.

She had hoped that with her self-imposed exile to Cathar - away from the Rebellion - she would no longer have to watch as men grabbed a hold of Death's hand and left the mortal husk that had been theirs. She had hoped that in traveling with Sanis she would be free from such things. That this was her first outing with the young man did not bode entirely well. It made her pull a pained face.

She could feel the life within the carnage, ever so slowly slipping away into the great beyond. The man whose essence was now fading out was soon for the Gate of Souls.

With hands clasped before her, s'Il bowed her head, eyes closing in a sort of sad reverence.

She did not even need to see him - see where his final breaths would be taken.

"Not... " she answered quietly, "... for long."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr's eyes went wide at the sight. He'd never seen a...

A hand reached up, tugging at his cap to pull it off his head.

"He...wjill he?"

Basic was still not easy for him, but he pushed on in spite of the difficulty. One look to Madam s'Ilancy was all he needed to see, and he gave a crestfallen look to her, and then looked back to the man lying on the ground.

"Can't we...cha'naala e'...take carre of hjim? jYou heal?"

He pointed to s'Il, already cognizant enough to realize that she was gifted in ways others weren't.

[Sanis Prent]

I myself waited to hear from s'Il, fully expecting a Jedi miracle. After all, what couldn't they do. The voice on the ground, however, interrupted us all.

"You, spacer. Got a stim?"

Considering my only other option was to stand around looking useless, I knelt down to fish out a crumpled stim for the man. He wore a set of strange armor that had seen better days, and with his helmet discarded, his face seemed haggard and galaxy-weary. Scars and stubble decorated his angular expression, while a close crop of salt and pepper hair crowned his head.

The old timer took my stim appreciatively in his lips, and as I lit it, he gave a few weak puffs.

"That's what I'm talking about. What's your name, kid?"

I looked back to s'Il, expecting her to intervene to help the man. That she wasn't said about as much as I was expecting. I wasn't a stranger to death on Nar Shaddaa, but that didn't mean that I really enjoyed being bedfellows.

"Prent. Sanis Prent."

The old man seemed to size me up from where he lay. Despite our apperances, it felt like I was the one on the ground, and he was the one standing over me.

"That's a good name. Good name. Figure a name like that might catch a reputation, if you treat it right."

I wasn't sure of the old man's angle, so I humored him and took my own stim.

"Reputation?"

The old man laughed, a sound that was weak and labored. He puffed on his stim, shifting his weight a little.

"Yeah, kid. A reputation. Don't tell me this is just a chance meeting. You look the part. Lean. Hungry. Like you got something you're after."

I didn't really know if I cared for the forced introspection. I looked back to s'Il to see if she could figure heads or tails of it all.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It wasn't a storm that clouded her features, more of a gloomy, rain-cast shroud. She recognized the cut of his armor even if Sanis and Cirr didn't. It was a style that she'd not seen in a very long time, and the Lupine bowed her head, eyes screwing shut before she took a slight step forward. Her halting step turned to two, then three steps forward, and s'Il found herself stopping at the man's side, looking down at him before silently kneeling down.

"Atiniir," she whispered, knowing that the one who waited at death's door would know the meaning of her words - tough it out.

"What happened here."

[Sanis Prent]

The old man recognized s'Il's use of Mando'a, and his eyes tracked to hers with a quick once-over. He laughed weakly.

"Jedi?"

He didn't need confirmation. He could tell just in the way she carried herself. No matter. They weren't enemies, at least not here.

"Ambush. Nothing special about it. Someone knew I was coming. Someone prepared. I've lived a good long life by my code. Whoever did this to me, they earned it. They were better than I was."

He coughed, an effort that seemed to tax him, and then he regrouped and continued.

"Doesn't matter. It's a warrior's death. If I'm not to become Mandalore, then it's best to end it this way."

The sudden dawning in my expression must have seemed humorous to the old man, as my mouth hung open.

"You're a..."

"Mandalorian?"

The old fighter smiled a small smile, his eyes tracking back to s'Il.

"Your Jedi friend seems to know. My name is Valshan. I'm from Concordia. I imagine she knows all about us."

He shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Now, I'm dead."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr seemed anguished, seeing the man so close to the end. He took s'Il by the arm, pulling her toward him.

"Help hjim, help hjim!"

Doing what meager good he could, Cirr knelt down and pulled his water canteen from his belt to give to the fallen fighter.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was sad to see, and s'Il knew in that instant that Cirr had never before seen death. She did not stop the Cizerack however; even so close to the end, she knew that a man or woman - no matter what state they found themselves in - would appreciate that cool and invigorating rush brought on by the most basic of necessities.

She spoke with a quiet voice.

"I know enough," she started, her voice tempered by a strange sort of reverence that only he would fully understand.

"I could never forget."

[Sanis Prent]

Valshan didn't pry on that. It would waste precious breath. Suffice to say that the Jedi and Mandalorians had history. Whether any of his brothers had crossed her path, he neither knew nor cared. He took the water offered to him, sipping weakly as he coughed, turning his head to the side. He passed the canteen back to the distraught felinoid.

His eyes returned to me.

"Saw you touch down in that beat up Corellian ship. You...a smuggler?"

I didn't rightly know how to answer that. What was I doing, anyway?

"Just trying to make a living, mister."

Whatever I said must have been funny, as Valshan started to laugh.

"Hell, if you want to make a living, you become an accountant. I think we both know why you're really out here on that big slab of blaster bait."

He had a strange smile on his face, which became a painful grimace as he held his side.

"I didn't get into bounty hunting to make a living. The credits spend just fine, but I'm after something else."

He was speaking in riddles. I looked from Valshan to s'Il.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She was as much in the dark as Sanis, but unlike his confused expression, her features displayed nothing but patient waiting. The edges of her eyes were soft however, as she looked down at Valshan and Cirr.

A measured inward breath, and the Lupine locked her gaze with the Mandalorian's.

"I am no healer, but I can at least ease your pain if you wish."

[Sanis Prent]

Valshan shook his head.

"Pain's not bad. Just want you all to listen, is all."

He glanced down his side, and a shaky hand gestured at a pronounced gun belt and bandolier.

"Take my gun, kid."

I didn't make a move. It just seemed like a strange request to make.

"Take your gun?"

His hand worked feebly at the buckle at his waist, plying the leather around the clasp, but not getting anywhere.

"Kid, I'm dying. Don't ask me to repeat myself, I don't know how much time to talk I've got."

Valshan looked to Cirr.

"Big guy. My belt. Please."

Cirr didn't question him, and reached forward to undo the gun belt. Once undone, he pulled the ends to each side, giving a gentle pull to ease the back part out from under the Mandalorian.

"That gun's been in my family for two hundred years. I'm the last one left. Better...better I give it to you than let some vulture pick it off my corpse."

Cirr bundled the bandolier and belt up and passed them to me. I held the bundle and felt it's considerable weight. It smelled of oil and leather, faintly sweet and with a little spice. From what was visible outside of the lovingly-crafted leather holster, the gun was beautiful. They didn't make guns like this...anywhere that I knew of. I'd even seen some gorgeous guns from Naboo, but this was unlike anything else.

I looked to Valshan, and my mouth opened to speak again.

"Why you? That your question?"

He licked at parched lips, and took a few shallow breaths.

"Hell if I know. I think we're both after the same thing. It's no use to me where I'm going, anyway."

Living a hard life on Nar Shaddaa, I was certainly skeptical of unsolicited generosity. My brow furrowed. Valshan, again, seemed to read me.

"What's the catch?"

Again, dead on the mark.

"No offense, but yeah."

He smiled.

"My work isn't finished. There's a man that needs killing."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il closed her eyes tightly, her jaw clenching as she seemed to mentally rock back on her heels. She bowed her head. She could tell easily that Cirr was seeing his first death, and cracking one eye open, she glanced sidelong to Sanis. He was from Nar Shaddaa; he had seen death she was sure.

But...

... had he ever taken life?

She brought her hands together before her, fingers intertwining into a strange steepled pattern.

"Think well on what you wish to do," she spoke to Sanis. Though her words were gentle, there was a measured degree of worry lacing her tone as well. Worry for him.

[Sanis Prent]

I looked to s'Il and nodded, but pushed her concern aside. What was this guy gonna do if I didn't? Haunt me from the grave?

"I've killed when I've had to, but it ain't exactly the sort of thing I go out of my way for."

Valshan's hand, now trembling more, reached to a compartment on his armor and opened it. Inside was a dataslip that he weakly passed up to me. I took that from him as well.

"Weren't you talkin' about trying to make a living?"

His voice faltered, and he nodded to the slip.

"There's enough credits riding on that kill to get you by for a while. I'm a Mandalorian, kid. I don't leave loose ends. If I gotta go with you to keep my word, even after I'm dead, then that's a win for both of us."

His eyes, with some difficulty focusing, gestured to Cirr again.

"Guess I'll...guess I'll get another drink."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Releasing a pent-up breath, the Lupine looked up and away, her eyes scanning the destruction around them. They were in the middle of a field of death and destruction, and the sight took her back to days that were at times painful to remember.

The Mandalorian was fast approaching the Gate of Souls; she could smell it, his life force lingering. It teetered on the edge of the abyss, and she finally looked back to him.

"Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it."

Truth, Honor, Vision.

The words were whispered, and hard to leave her lips, but she knew that those three words would seal them all to the dying wishes of Valshan.

[Sanis Prent]

As Valshan took his last drink, he looked up to s'Il.

"Go."

He looked pale, and tired beyond words as he gestured for the three of them to leave. He reached into a satchel near to him.

"I don't want...you to see."

At last, he found the object he was looking for, and removed a thermal detonator from his pack. For a moment, he turned it over in his blood-crusted hand, feeling it's contours, positioning it so that he could access the switch with his thumb. He waited to be alone.

I took a few steps back, speaking with an unsure voice.

"I didn't promise a thing, Valshan."

"I never asked you to."

Cirr remained, still steadfastly hoping that at some point s'Il would be able to take care of him.

As for me, I slowly turned and walked away. Every ten or so paces, I looked back, not sure if I should say something else, or ask something else. But I didn't.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Come Cirrsseeto."

s'Il reached out to gently grab a hold of the Cizerack's arm, making her best attempt to pull him up and away.

"It is time for us to leave."

His look to her made her dip her head once more, shaking it sorrowfully.

"I can do nothing," she answered before he could ask aloud the question that his eyes begged of her.

[Sanis Prent]

"Cirr, we've still got fuel to get at the depot."

That, and s'Il's doting, seemed to shake him out of his brief bout with despair, and he reluctantly joined us as we walked on.

After a few minutes, it was quiet around Valshan once again. The old fighter set the thermal detonator for a dead man's switch, and held onto the grenade for as long as he had the strength to do so.

It wasn't long.

A hundred or so meters down the depot, the blast of the detonator was still thunderous, and the concussion of displaced air ruffled at the back of my jacket. I paused where I stood, looked toe gun belt, and then back up to my ship, and kept walking.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The act of refueling had been a silent affair. s'Il had spent her time mostly inside Layla trying to comfort Cirr. It was a task that she wasn't sure would be ultimately successful. In part the Lupine felt devastated - to console someone who had never before encountered death.

Sitting at the small galley table, she stared across the table's surface at the Cizerack across from her.

She had nothing to really begin any sort of conversation with, and instead allowed him the quiet to try and collect his own thoughts.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr looked from the table up to s'Il's face, and then diverted his eyes just as quickly. He wanted to ask why she couldn't save him. He wanted to ask why he killed himself. He just didn't know how to ask any of it. He'd seen people hurt or sick before, but nothing like that. He seemed so calm about it. But he knew he was going to die.

And that explosion?

"Werre jyou everr sscarred? Bejing a Jedji?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her gaze fell to the tabletop, and she closed her eyes.

"I was scared almost every day," she admitted truthfully. "Sometimes I still am."

At that, the Lupine opened her eyes once more, and slowly reached across the table to lay her smaller hand over his. It was an odd thing to see, since his was so much larger, yet the sureness of her motions lent a certain calm and control over all.

"But it was the people I was with; the people I cared for, that made me go on."

Her other hand came out then, and she put two fingers under his chin to lift his face so that their eyes could meet.

"You have friends here, Cirrsseeto. Friends who care for you, and friends who you care for. Remember that, and you'll be able to see the next morning."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jI've neverr rrealljy thought about death. jI neverr had to, jI guess."

His hand turned over, taking her hand in a much-appreciated embrace.

"jI djidn't know that man, but jI felt, jyou know, when he wass therre. What jif jit wass mama, orr Ssanjiss? jYou know, ljyjing therre."

He took new strength in her hand, and sighed.

"Doess jit everr feel djifferrent?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She shook her head.

"No. And it never gets any easier either- you just find different ways to deal with the loss, no matter if you knew that person or not."

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Just be sure to live that much more for those who are gone, no matter what they died for."

[Sanis Prent]

I stepped into the galley and paused. Looks like I was interrupting something. Judging by how rattled Cirr was with Valshan's death, it didn't take much to guess.

"We're in orbit. Ready to push on to Alzoc III."

Of course, that was pretty far from my mind. Everything Valshan said stuck to me. In my jacket pocket, I twirled the dataslip he gave me over my fingers, itching to give it a look.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Leaning back in her seat, s'Il released her hold on Cirr. Her concern was still etched onto her features, but the Lupine never-the-less turned her head to look at Sanis. There was certainly a cagey look to the boy, but there was no need for her to pry. She knew what was most prevalent upon his thoughts.

She watched him closely.

"Voice your thoughts," she said evenly, knowing that despite his casual words, there was a storm of curiosity raging behind his eyes.

[Sanis Prent]

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to give this job a closer look."

I pulled the dataslip from my pocket, and held it up to look at the transparent crystal.

"Maybe it's like he says, and it's a real mother lode."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il studied him, quiet as she stared unabashedly at Sanis. It was a pointed look - he wanted to know, and was desperate to see what the slip held. Why he held back was something of a quandary, and as she watched him, the Lupine began to wonder if his hesitation was some sort of uncertainty on his part. Uncertainty that she would disapprove of his rather obvious desire.

She licked her lips, then spoke once more to nudge him along while in a round-about way giving him her blessing.

"You should see what's on that thing."

[Sanis Prent]

I thought about that. What was I waiting for, exactly? It's not like I had agreed to anything, and even if I did, how could I be held to that?

Flipping the slip in my hand, I turned to head to the cockpit, and inserted it into the reader. A hologram popped up of an interactive menu, with many categories labeled in Aurrebesh. I glanced over them, and as s'Il and Cirr came into the cockpit as well, I selected the one labeled CURRENT JOB

A dossier came up, full of practical and biographical information, as well as a 3D image of a human in what looked like a military uniform of some sort.

"Name is Paal Freithe."

I panned down through the information.

"Huh, small galaxy. He's listed as last sighted on Orto Plutonia, half a stone's throw from Alzoc III. Says he's some kind of, uh, foreman. Something about mining."

More information flipped through the viewer, and I paused it.

"Looks like he's working a contract for the Empire."

At the bottom, the contract price glowed at me like it was made of gold.

"Sweet spice-lodes, that's a ten thousand credit job."

I could feel my heartrate increase.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I've never been to Orto Plutonia," s'Il intoned softly, looking at the back of Sanis' head. Her eye then went to the glowing numbers of the credits involved. It was enough to fully entice her young pilot, that much she knew without doubt.

"You will finish the job then?"

[Sanis Prent]

"Seems like it's a good idea."

I gave a small laugh.

"I mean, says right here he's fronting for the Imperials, so doesn't exactly sound like a boyscout. Figure I could bag him, and maybe use that as a bold point on a resume, so to speak."

Was that what I wanted? To be a bounty hunter? No, but I didn't want to be a smuggler, either. Valshan was right about me. I was more than that.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il kept her eye to him a moment longer, going over the situation in her mind. It confounded her some, the circumstances surrounding Valshan's ambush, and worried her. To kill a Mandalorian was not an easy thing, and if those that had done the deed learned of Sanis' decision to finish the job...

The Lupine folded her hands in front of her, her head tilting downward so that she could look at the deck. When she spoke, her tone held no reproach, but rather a hint of warning woven into her question.

"It is no simple task to kill a Mandalorian. Are you prepared to deal with those who did?"

[Sanis Prent]

My bravado spurred me on.

"Why not? It's not like I'm some kind of pushover, either?"

A plan began to form up in my mind.

"Besides, we've got the element of surprise on our side, don't we?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It wasn't a glare that she gave him; more of a steady gaze. In her mind, s'Il wondered if, despite the front Sanis put on, he was truly up to this task. For her part she knew that she held the better possibility of coming out of this endeavor relatively unscathed, but could he? Or for that matter could Cirr? Her young friends had only ever seen one side of her - a quiet, sometimes awkward side. Did she truly wish for them to see the part of her that knew too much of war and battle?

This trip was not supposed to be anything but a simple journey. But now?

Slowly the Lupine stood. She felt her knees creak as she did so, and folding her hands together into the wide sleeves of her outer tunic. She bowed, never letting her eye leave him.

"I leave the decision up to you."

With a step forward, s'Il moved past him and toward the ladderwell.

"I will be in my quarters."

[Sanis Prent]

I moved to say something, but hesitated as she left. I didn't have to read her mind to figure out she wasn't hot on this idea, but for whatever reason, she was being rather gracious in giving me enough leeway to figure out what I wanted.

I wanted this job. There was something wild, dangerous, sexy, and alluring about it. It was also forbidden as hell. I knew plenty of people on Nar Shaddaa who 'had it coming' and could use killing. The galaxy was just full of nasty folks like that. It was one thing to know that, and another thing to be the kind of person that made it happen.

But that was a shit load of money.

I returned to my seat in the cockpit, with Valshan's holster laying in my lap.

No.

My holster.

I drew the gun out, turning it over in my hand. Even the wood gleamed, kept slick by a fantastic polish and a loving coat of oil.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In her temporary quarters, s'Il stood just inside the closed door. A range of emotions made their way across her features as she let her mind go over the events of the last six hours. There were misgivings about all of it. There was worry for Sanis and Cirr.

Slowly she made her way to the small bunk, suddenly lonely.

She was not at home, not with Teagan (who'd turned one only a week prior), and not with Dan. She missed her estranged husband's candid and frank advice, but most of all she missed his presence. Sinking down to sit on the firm mattress, the Jedi let out a sigh.

She could certainly never deny Sanis the opportunity that he'd been given, but she also knew the danger entailed.

The question now was, did he realize the true risks involved?

[Sanis Prent]

* * *

The next day brought with it arrival at Alzoc III. We snapped out of hyperspace, and I brought the ship into planetary approach. The view that greeted me in the cockpit wasn't all that enticing.

"Cirr, I think you might wanna get your extra coat."

We glided over a vast expanse of tundra. Snow-crusted foothills and mountains, thinly veiled with evergreens with boughs full to the breaking point of snow. We crested a taller mountain range, which peeled away to reveal a valley, where a handful of steamy-looking lakes nestled a village.

It wasn't tough to find the rudimentary landing pad. It was the only flat surface that was blasted free of a full covering of snow. I angled for it, and tapped the comm to s'Il's quarters.

"We've arrived on planet Icebox, should touch down in a minute or so."

I slowed our descent, and cut thrusters to begin final maneuvers on repulsors. We floated down to a gentle landing, and I watched a small throng of villagers emerge from huts.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr watched the approach on the viewer, feeling a chill deep in his bones just from the sight. He knew they were there to get fuel and supplies, but he hoped they wouldn't be staying too long in this Goddess-forsaken place. Finding the deep cold gear in the supply trunk, he made sure to bundle as requested.

"We'rre gojing to frreeze out therre." He muttered glumly, watching Sanis and s'Il prepare to exit the ship.