Devil Makes Three

[Arage Bao]

Dantooine, Te Dral Acy'ra.
Raioballo Sector
----
[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Te Dral Acy’ra - roughly translatable to the Bright Valley, was one of the rare bright spots on Dantooine these days. It used to be better. Used to be a green, lush world teeming with life and splendor, but that’s what happens when a Cult takes over and then an entire fleet suicide-crashes itself into the surface of the world.

It hadn’t been complete annihilation like Dromund Kaas. A few years had passed and nature was already busy reclaiming its lost ground, but it would be many years before it would heal itself back to the old days.

At least without any help.

And if there was a singular word that could describe most Vizslas… it was that they weren’t a patient lot.

“I just don’t get it.” Ghedon suddenly said from out of nowhere.
“Whatcha mean?”

The sudden silence was filled with grunts of exertion and the heavy thunks of durasteel boxes being shoved around.

“Why Dantooine? It’s the middle of nowhere. We could have settled on any other world… maybe with some more civilization!”

Dev pondered on that for a while, before shrugging. Clan Vizsla had laid its claim on Dantooine a few weeks prior and were already establishing the foundations of a small colony on the world.

Why Dantooine?

“Oh? So the fierce warriors of Vizsla are in need of civilization’s cuddle?” The shadow of a third man lingered over them. Ronan Vizsla was not a man easily disregarded, appearance wise anyway, but it was the voice that settled the entire tone.

Few people really knew how it had happened but one day Ronan had returned with one jaw less and in its place a ‘mask’ of sorts that kept him breathing and alive. It was that same mask that distorted his voice, giving it a slightly higher and wheezier pitch that made him sound like he was in a constant state of amusement.

“Perhaps we can supply blankets too, Ghedon. Hmmm. I am sure we can also find stuffed teddy bears to keep you company, Dev. If that’s what you think we need to thrive, of course.”

Ghedon avoided making eye contact. “You misunderstood me completely, Ronan. I was merely suggesting that… the initial… supply chain? Would be difficult to sustain? Yeah. Logistics and all that.”

Now came that static wheezing sound that meant laughter.

“Good save, vod. Back to work, we still got a ton of work to do ‘til the setting of the sun.”

Just as quickly as he had appeared Ronan left the two again.

His stride had purpose and his direction was currently aimed at the makeshift spaceport they had constructed farther way. It was really nothing more than a big spherical clearing with a few sheds next to it to store the supplies transported to them by the freighters.

And just now a new ship was making its landing.

Hopefully they had the parts to repair the generators, because otherwise Ronan would really need to find blankies and teddy bears to keep the Clan warm.

 

[Nyx]

By the Force, was there any world not scarred by war, anymore? As her shuttle descended to Dantooine, Nikole shook her head sadly as her brown eyes stared upon the former farming world's scarred surface. What a waste. How many mouths could be fed with the crops destroyed here? She would never understand what kind of monsters could do this to such a peaceful planet. The former commando ran a hand through her dark brown hair, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Clan Vizsla was moving here, establishing a colony. She supposed it made sense. Mandalorians going to a dead world to try and make it there.
Well, that included her, now. It was still strange to her that she could call herself a Mandalorian of Clan Vizsla. When she had served in the Republic Commandos, her comrades had often poked fun at the Mandies, calling them kamikazes and weirdos. She had never joined in, but had laughed along with them. That was before she'd seen them in action. Time and time again, the Mandalorians joined the Republic in their war against the Sith, and she had found herself fighting alongside them on countless worlds. That was when she had grown to respect them.
And when she had left the dying Republic, she had joined them.

As the shuttle landed, Nikole and several others descended down the ramp, a few with parts for some kind of generator. The woman sighed and stood off to the side, observing the work. She felt useless. She was a soldier, a warrior, not an engineer or a builder. Dammit, someone had better give her something to do or she would go insane.

[member="Vassik Kilvaari"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Vizsla strode or rather swaggered past his clansmen, until he passed a particular soured face that had been staring at his exchange with Ghedon and Dev. His chin was sparingly decorated with patches of hair, almost as if the genetic code had decided to be a miser right when Ash’s turn came around.

"You seem troubled, vod. Speak your mind."
"They are weak, Ronan. Ik’aade the lot of them. We used to have pride, we were strong and unyielding."

There was a fever in Ash’s eyes: a sickness of the mind rather than the body, born out of seeing his people beat down time and time again. A desire waking up to see them reclaim their former glory. It was no wonder that Ash had immediately signed on when Ronan had told them of his plans to join Mand’alor the Reclaimer.

"They are tired, Ash." Ronan answered after giving the silence a chance to soak up the words of his vod.

Before Ash could reply the young warrior stepped up, his big hand resting easily on the slumped down shoulders of the older man. A squeeze and the warmth of his hand started to spread through the cold lump.

"Can you eat pride? Can you cloak yourself in it to ward of the cold? Does it keep you company at night when you only have the darkness of your soul staring back at you?"

Ronan shook his head and almost beyond himself Ash started to shake his head as well. It was an involuntary motion, stemming from a man’s very need to believe that there was better out there.

"All we have and all we need is each other, vod. That’s all Clan Vizsla ever had, each other. Together we are strong, separated we are lessened and fall to despair, do you understand?"

"I… I think so, cabur.”
“Ronan, vod. Go help out the men with the generator.” He jerked his head towards the freighter and the host of people coming out with exactly what they needed to get through the night.

"Of course, ca- Ronan." Ash joined the men then, his stride just a little bit more secure, his shoulders less tense and chin up higher.

It was a start.

Ronan was about to join them all when he noticed a single woman standing a bit off the crowd. She had isolated herself - body language said it all, she didn’t think she belonged, didn’t think she was necessary, but she hadn’t realized yet that they were all cogs in the infernal machine.

She would see him coming and he nodded to her.

"Sister, I don’t think I have seen you around before."

Perhaps a new initiate.

 

[Nyx]

​She was no stranger to camaraderie. For eight years, she had fought alongside people of every race and gender, seen them band together in a common cause. But what Nikole was witnessing went deeper than that. These people, her vod, were family. And it looked like she was stuck with them for the next long while.
She didn't mind. Although she still felt out of place among the Mandalorians, service to the Empire and Clan Vizsla gave her a sense of purpose she had not felt for a long time. She just had to figure out what the hell that purpose was.

Oh, kark, someone was headed her way. She vaguely recognized him as Ronan, one of the more prominent members of Clan Vizsla. In fact, she believed he was leading this colonization effort. And he was approaching her. Chit, had she broken some kind of Mandalorian custom she wasn't aware of? Was she supposed to meditate or punch someone in the face when she came to a new planet? Chit, chit, chit!

"Sister, I don't think I have seen you around before."
Oh. He was greeting her. Uh, good. Yeah, great.
"No, you likely haven't. My name is Nikole, Nikole Dor- er, Vizsla."
She stuck her hand out in greetings, wondering if Mandalorians did that. She had no idea.
"Sorry. Still getting used to the new name."

[member="Vassik Kilvaari"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Almost immediately Ronan clasped her forearm in a warrior greeting, instead of the professed handshake. He knew what she had been trying to do and he also knew that some of the other Mandalorians - like Ash - would have looked down upon it, which could have made her life just a little bit harder than it should be.

There was no sense in that.

"Welcome to the family then, Nikole Vizsla." His tone grew even more amused than was, if that was possible.

His grip on her arm was released and Ronan looked back at the men and women working calmly as one. The parts and the spare generator were already being moved into the prefab buildings that had quickly been erected during the day, their engineers would hopefully make good time with the repairs.

"What are you bringing to the table?"

Ronan knew she was a warrior, of course. No outsider would be initiated into Clan Vizsla without at least some skill in the combat arts, but most of them had other primary focuses.

Artisans, smiths and engineers.

They had a lack of cooks though. Vizsla finally turned around again, inspecting her with a critical eye… she didn’t look like a cook.

Though looks could be deceiving.

 

[Nyx]

Oh. He grasped her forearm. That was pretty. . . warrior? She hadn't seen anyone do something like that outside of holovids about muscled up men in tights fending off huge armies of skinny weaklings. And the man in front of her certainly fit that image well. By the Force, he looked like he was straight out of a body building ad. She was pretty sure some of his veins had veins. . .
Nikole snapped out of her thoughts, her cheeks flushing for a moment before she heard his question.
Oh, good. Something to talk about other than his huge biceps- stop it.

Her back straightened, and her arms clasped behind her back, her military stance coming back to her.
"I'm a former Republic Commando. Served for eight years, fighting the Sith scum. I fought on Coruscant, Togoria, Contruum, Roche, and several other places I am not at liberty to speak about. I served as my fireteam's leader, and only lost five soldiers under my command during my service."
But those men and women would haunt her sleep until the day she died.
"I have extensive training and experience in the usage and upkeep of weapons, armor, and explosives. I am also a decent chef, though I usually only work with military rations."
Maybe that would impress this behemoth, though she had a hard time seeing anything impress him.

[member="Vassik Kilvaari"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Not at liberty to speak of.

It seemed Nikole did have a lot to learn about what it means to be a Mandalorian, but that would have to wait for later. After listening on for a few more moments Ronan was about to ask if there was anything more - it wouldn’t have been an insult, but as stated before… they had warriors, it was the other skills that were just as vital if not more.

Ronan studied her for a moment or more. She didn’t really seem like the cooking type, but then again, what did he really know about those things? Xo didn’t look like a cook either, but he was… well… the less said about that the better.

At least Grimm had done a good job picking this one out.

“Now this is truly great news. We only got one other ‘cook’ out here and our people were getting a touch grouchy about it.”

He looked over his shoulder, trying to see if he could spot Xo, but no luck there right now.

Xo was a Verpine. One of the fresh recruits they got after Roche and the Republic’s lunacy with the civilian hangar bays being decompressed. A good enough fella, if a bit difficult to understand at times. That wasn’t even saying anything about his cooking skills.

Even if he had really been a cook back with his own people. Well, it was clear that the Verpine did not share the same taste as they did.

“Ah, well. We will have you meet with him at a later point. Let’s go, I was planning on going on patrol before you arrived, you can show me how much of that Republic training is really worth something.”

 

[Nyx]

Nikole blinked in surprise at his response. He had seemed more impressed with her cooking skills than with her extensive record with the Republic Armed Forces. . . what? She had often had to spice up the MRE's given to her fireteam, sure, and she had gotten fairly good at it, too, but still; she was a damned Commando. Then it dawned on her; these were Mandalorians. They had been trained since birth in the art of combat. Hearing that she had been a trained killer for the Republic likely didn't impress any of these people that much.
Well, she'd just have to change their mind about that, wouldn't she?
Nodding, she began to follow [member="Ronan Vizsla"], her posture still ramrod straight. In her mind, Ronan was now her commanding officer, and in charge of her time here at Dantooine.
"Of course, sir- vod. What kind of opposition are we looking out for? Wildlife, raiders?"

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

"Kath hounds, stalker lizards… Grauls." Ronan counted out from the top of his head. There were less of them than before, of course. Most of Dantooine hadn’t been colonized. Instead there were large farms scattered all around the world with a few minor cities here and there, so the wildlife in between had cultivate itself and adopted to it. But with the Primeval Fleet suicide crashing itself into the surface… well, the weak perished and the strong persevered. So the animal life wasn’t as bountiful as it was, but those that remained were the strongest of the bunch.

"Scouts reported other movement in the forests as well. We think there are enclaves of former Primeval cultists out there."

Always fun.

But annoying if they got the drop on you during the night. So Ronan had made sure that there were regular patrols and now with the spare generators, they could finally afford to put up a network of automated turrets around their encampment.

"It will be a nice warm-up at the least."

No, he wasn’t particularly worried about what was out there. The wildlife and cultists couldn’t break them, only they could. People like Ash losing hope and spreading it around.

There was just so much he could do on his own.

 

[Nyx]

Nikole could handle those animals, she was confident of it. She had fought the Sith, which in her eyes were the greatest threat the galaxy had to offer. Her government had lost, but that wasn’t the important thing to take to heart, here. Nikole had served the Republic well, even if she had ended up deserting for her new vod.
She needed to get used to Mando’a. She’d picked up a few languages in her lifetime in the Republic, but none of them were quite like the language of the Mandalorians. She was not well versed by any means, but she could ask for directions and talk about simple weather.

At the mention of the Primeval, Nikole scowled. She had never had a run-in, herself, but she’d heard stories of the cultists. Horrible stories of their atrocious activities.
”Don’t worry, sir. I eat cultists for breakfast.” Nikole’s blaster rifle was slung on her back, and her fingers ached to feel it’s familiar and comforting presence; but she waited. She didn’t want to jump the gun, here. She had no idea what would happen if she did; mandies were weird at the best of times.
[member="Ronan Vizsla"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

"Unusual diet, sister. I am not sure the men will be comfortable with it." Ronan replied matter-of-factly while checking his belt for equipment.

Two nades, a beskad and a short vibro-dagger. The smart move would have been to go back to the makeshift armory and get a few guns, but Ronan was getting hungry and the last thing he needed was to get the urge in the middle of the camp. Besides miss Commando over there had enough firepower for the both of them.

It would be fine.

Probably.

They passed the two guards, one of them saluting Ronan who returned it with a nod of his own.

"Oya."

It wasn’t shouted, just stated calmly without the usual bluster. A sign for them to start jogging instead of walking. The best of the Mandalorian trackers could run in full armor and make only the softest of ripples in the air.

Not that either of them were on that level, but practicing could never work.

Besides… Ronan was anything but subtle. Him trying to sneak around in the woods would be more amusing than anything else.

 

[Nyx]

Nikole blanched at [member="Ronan Vizsla"]’s response, blinking in surprise. She considered explaining the joke, but decided against it. Mandies probably didn’t get jokes that didn’t involve stabbing things, anyway.
They passed two guards, one of which saluted the behemoth leading her. Another reminder that while Grim may be the leader of Clan Vizsla, Ronan was highly respected by her vod. The commando wondered what she would do if it came down to a power struggle between the two. The thought disturbed her, and she shook it out of her head. She was a soldier. She’d let others worry about politics.

At the order, Nikole joined Ronan in his jog, her awkwardness and attempts at humor disappearing. Her eyes became guarded, and her back straightened. Good. Maybe now she could actually get something done and not put her foot in her mouth.

 

[Arage Bao]

[ [member="Nikole Vizsla"] ]

It would probably never come to that.

Ronan wasn’t interested in floaty titles or ranking positions, because he understood that power and authority were not derived from them. Oh, perhaps it was different in the Republic or the Sith, but the Mandalorians didn’t respect titles - at least not beyond the basic level of recognition - no, what they respected were deeds.

What they respected were actions and reputation.

No, Ronan Vizsla did not care about being anointed as clanfather of Vizsla or any other fancy title.

They ran in silence for minutes.

Around them the wildlife continuously silenced itself and then regained its capacity to screech as they passed, but Vizsla felt it all. It was like the subtle tugging at his own soul: the great source of life radiating from Nikole and the lesser life signs farther away from and around them.

For a while that was all there was, until it wasn’t, of course.

Ronan suddenly halted mid-stride, dropping to one knee and raising his fist in the air projecting the universal sign of ‘stop’ and ‘Don’t make a sound’. He continued on giving a flurry of military hand-signs that she would be able to understand, they would have to teach her the specific Mandalorian ones, but that could wait.

The hand-signs went like this.

Danger. Large predator. Half a click on our two o’ clock. Investigate. Split up and circle around. Oya.

Vizsla waited a single moment to see if Nikole had followed all of that, after which he crept through the boundary of the forest and disappeared behind the trees.

 

[Nyx]

As they ran in silence, Nikole’s mind began to wander. She enjoyed this. Running with a comrade on the field of battle, in the middle of a mission. They did not need to speak, at least in her mind. To the commando, just doing a mission was communication enough. She wasn’t good at that social stuff. She wasn’t nice, and was about as charismatic as a rancor. But on the battlefield, she felt at peace.
At [member="Ronan Vizsla"]’s signal, she stopped dead in her tracks, watching the hand signals.
She figured he was using things she would understand, instead of the Mando ones. She’d just have to learn those.
With a nod of acknowledgement of his orders, Nikole primed her blaster rifle with a quiet whine, creeping through the trees, her eyes swiveling, searching for the target.

 

[Arage Bao]

[ [member="Nikole Vizsla"] ]

Ronan pushed away a branch to clear his line of sight.

There it was in the middle of the clearing, sniffing at the corpse at some kind of deceased animal, perhaps its former prey? It was a Graulhttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Graul, because of course it was one of those. It couldn’t have been a pack of Kath Hounds or lizards or whatever, no, it had to be one of them.

One of the biggest predators Dantooine had to offer and surely one of the most dangerous ones.

Not that Vizla was worried about himself. He could probably take it on… easier time with guns, but he could probably manage. It was his newest sister that made him a bit weary about engaging this thing.

Not that they had a real choice in the matter.

It was far too close to camp and already its ears were twitching as they picked up the faint noise residue of their approach: very sensitive ears and very sensitive noses, too.

The Graul suddenly whipped around, now facing Ronan’s direction.

It bellowed.

Ah, feth. Shouldn’t have worried about Nikole after all.

The Mandalorian grabbed for his beskad and prepared himself mentally for what was to come.

 

[Nyx]

Chit. . . was that a Graul? Nikole scowled as she hid behind a tree, aiming her blaster rifle at the large creature. She couldn't spot [member="Ronan Vizsla"], and decided he was skilled enough to stay hidden as she took aim, trying to find a weak point on this giant. Funny. She was now alone in the woods with two giants, one of which she had no idea where he was. Oh, if only her parents could see her now. Maybe she should've taken their advice and become a farmer on Taanab.
Nikole was snapped out of her thoughts by the creature rapidly snapping it's head up, staring at one of the trees across from her. Oh. That was probably where Ronan was.
It roared, and Nikole made a quick decision.
She snapped out of cover, pulling her rifle's trigger four times, each flying at the creature's armored back, trying to get it's attention.
"Hey! Over here!" She shouted, waving her arms.
She needed to get it's attention off of Ronan; Clan Vizsla needed him, not her. She was just another soldier, expendable; not a leader like he was.
She just had to get ready to run.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Four… three, two, on-

The feminine scream tore through his conscience and reminded him distinctly of one Nikole Vizsla. But it couldn’t have been Nikole, because Nikole was not a complete and utter idiot - not that he had spend much time with her, but Ronan liked to think he had a decent judge of character. The beast turned and just then did Vizsla see a flash of a certain woman, before the vision was obscured again by the bulk of the Graul.

Feth. She is gonna get detention.

With a chortled sigh Ronan started to run. His speed ramped up and there the Mandalorian was in the air and there did his beskad flash in the sky and there did the point of the blade shove itself in the shoulder of the Graul.

A stray blaster bolt hit Ronan in his shoulder, but there was nothing much to do about it.

Mostly because at this point in time it was all he could do to ride out the storm and not fall off.

Ah feth.

The green blood gushed and suddenly Ronan felt that tug again in his heart. The beast was in pain, his life energy was being siphoned.

That feels good.

 

[Nyx]

Nikole gave a small smile as she saw the Graul approach her, her plan working. Alright, draw the thing off Ronan, fall back a bit, think of another plan-
Or [member="Ronan Vizsla"] could just jump on the thing's shoulder and stab it. That was cool too.
She winced as she saw one of her shots hit his shoulder, gripping her rifle tighter. He was her CO, after all, and injuring your CO was not cool at all. As the thing tried to shake the large man off, Nikole tried to get a clean shot at the beast, but it's erratic movements prevented her from a one hundred percent guaruntee she wouldn't hit Ronan. Chit.

With a loud sigh, Nikole slung her blaster over her back, looking around for something to help her vod. She spotted a nearby tree, and got a sudden idea.
She ran over to it, and began to push. Her blue armor and prosthetic arm strained against the wood, and she grunted in effort. It wasn't a huge tree, but it would serve her purpose.
After a minute or so of strain, the tree cracked, and began to fall; right in front of the Graul and Ronan. If all went according to plan, the Graul would trip over the tree, giving Ronan the advantage he needed to finish off the beast.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nikole Vizsla"]

Ronan strained and the Graul roared, but the beast could not find the necessary purchase to get at the Mandalorian. Its limbs simply weren’t designed to reach its own back just as easy that, Ronan assumed that if their back ever got scratchy that they simply rubbed it against a nearby tree or something. That would explain how sometimes they came across trees with barkless surfaces and lots of fur.

All of that was all nice and good, but it didn’t solve his current predicament. His beskad had punctured the Graul’s hide four or five times already and yet there was no end in sight.

It roared again. This time just a little bit softer than usually, what with Vizsla Force Draining the beast’s life energy.

Then it happened.

First the tree falling down roughly in front of them. A heavy thunk followed as splinters of bark and wood flew all around. Once again the Graul growled, but in his movements he didn’t account for the sudden appearance of the tree.

“Grrgrr???”

Instead its pawy legs hooked themselves underneath the fallen tree and it started falling, with Ronan holding onto it for his dear life. Another even heavier thunk and the Graul whined. One of the broken-off branches had digged itself into the softer parts of its belly.

Any other Mandalorian might have pushed the advantage there and there. The common Mandalorian would have executed the beast on the spot.

But Ronan simply ripped his beskad out and jumped off the beast, casually avoiding the lumbering arms lashing out as the Graul tried to escape from its torture.

“We aren’t in the Republic military anymore, sister.” His eyes were on the beast though. Thoughtful eyes.

“We are family. And you putting down your life would have only weakened us as a whole. Remember that for the next time. Understood?”

 

[Nyx]

Nikole observed [member="Ronan Vizsla"] crash with the Graul to the ground, feeling her heart skip a beat- was he alright? Had she made a miscalculation?
But he was fine. He came off the Graul, sword with him, and Nikole barely kept herself from a sigh of relief. She didn't want to lose someone the day she was really proving herself.
She approached him, keeping an eye on the sprawling creature.
"I. . . I understand, sir."
Somewhat chastised, Nikole rubbed the back of her neck.
"Sir, do you want me to take a look at your shoulder? I have bandages and a shot of bacta with me."
Always be prepared for any situation.