From Ashes, We Rise

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

-ma'am intercepting a message it's silver jedi!-

Stardust looked confused then looked forward

*play it now*

She listned as she gave a sigh, she didn't know own what to do currently, she took a breath in and looked to the comms officer

*patch me immediately to the dagoboh I want full communications*

-ma'am aren't they the enemy?-

*listen hell has gone down we still.have people trapped down there, patch me in that's a order*

The comms officer nodded as soon she was patched through, her holographic form appeared

*this is stardust raxis alor to clan raxis, we need assistance immediately, we have people on ground and our ships are way to full to handle any more, I repeat, clan raxis needs your assistance*

Was this treason? Would she be branded a traitor? She cared not, her people needed her help, she turned as she started for a hanger and got in a drop ship, carefully lifting off she started out and waited as she patched the shuttle in

*if your assisting I shall be waiting*

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Ijaat Mereel"] [member="Mia Monroe"]

"You may," the shade snapped, ignoring Monroe -- or appearing to. "You've earned that much, Mereel. I can only assume the situation would be extreme indeed for you to go to these lengths. Come alone to the place where I gave you a new life. Tell anyone who I am, and there'll be nobody waiting for you. You'll need a new face again; you'll be useless to me as the most wanted Mandalorian alive."

The silhouette hissed in frustration, and vanished.

Fifty thousand light-years away, shaking and drenched in sweat, Ajira opened her eyes. "Fething Manda'yaim," she said, pounding her fist into the stone until it abraded her skin. "He's put a torch to fething Manda'yaim, after all I-" She gritted her teeth and stood, then headed out of the cave toward the vessel that would take her to the Shrine of Krul on Balowa.

 

[Malok]

Is this...Hell?

All around him was aflame. The trees, the buildings, the very earth. With every breath, hot ash singed his throat...yet Isley did not cry out. His strength was gone: the strength to move...the strength to scream...all had been spent in preserving the name Verd. Now, all he could do was lie in wait of the inevitable. Would it take seconds? Minutes? Hours? He did not know...nor could he accurately perceive the passage of time.

His fingertips...

The volcanic fury had spewed chaos across the landscape, followed by a lethargic flow of molten earth. It slithered down the mountain, gorging itself upon the native vegetation. Whatever it touched burst into flame...before slowly disappearing within its depths. Alone, singed, and spent did Isley encounter this foe: the anger of Mandalore herself. What had he done to enrage the planet so? What had he done to offend the gods?

It was slow.

It crept down his arm and over his helm...

It was...

***​

Before me was a table.

Nothing fancy: just a wooden table adorned with food and drink. An empty chair sat just ahead...and behind it was a man. I had not seen him in so long – his absence had left a void that nothing in life would ever fill. Now, he was here; or rather I was here.

"Ember?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Darth Metus"]

HELLO, ISLEY

I WONDERED WHO WAS SENDING THE LIVING INTO CHAOS

I SEE YOU'VE COME FOR THE LONG HAUL

A faint silhouette sat down on the other side of the table, and laid a rusty sword across it.

THIS IS A SWORD FROM THE FIELD OF BLADES, WHERE I LIVE NOW

AN ETERNITY KILLING SITH IS INFINITELY PREFERABLE TO THE ALTERNATIVES THAT THIS PLACE OFFERS

OR DISSOLUTION, I SUPPOSE, THOUGH ENTROPY WILL CLAIM US ALL IN TIME

JOIN ME

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

NEUTRAL SPACE BETWEEN GROMAS & NAM CHORIOS
Defense Patrol Group Three
Flagship: Mentor-class SJS Dagobah

It was several minutes before any response came.

To be honest, he'd expected the Mandalorians to be somewhat quick to respond kark you, or words to that effect. So, imagine his surprise when instead he received...

*this is stardust raxis alor to clan raxis, we need assistance immediately, we have people on ground and our ships are way to full to handle any more, I repeat, clan raxis needs your assistance*

"I can't help but feel this just got much more complicated."

Perhaps, somewhat of an understatement. That the Mandalorians had invited their aid was not an overture that the Anzat Jedi could refuse. At the same time, he had a military battle group under his command. Voyaging to the planet Mandalore with a flotilla of ships, while perhaps useful in the present crisis, was a gesture easily mischaracterized. For honest mistake or ill purposes. Neither of which helped the Mandalorians or the Jedi alleviate their present conflict.

"Orders, General?"

He'd gotten them into this diplomatic pickle, now the naval officer who'd brought him the earlier news seemed eager to capitalize on the tow-headed youth fidgeting over the present question of how to render aid without exacerbating hostilities by the same gesture. "Have the patrol group remain in the vicinity of Nam Chorios," the youngling knight decided finally, looking up at the man before turning his attention to the pit where the ship handling was captained. "Helm, set your course for the planet Mandalore."

The junior officer at the navigation controls spun around in his chair, as though uncertain he'd just heard what he'd thought he'd heard. "Sir?"

A Jedi Mentor-class battlecruiser, flying to the homeworld of the Mandalorian Clans. To be honest, Sor-Jan wasn't sure he believed it either, but this was one of those situations where the question wasn't to go or not to go, it was which was the lesser of two evils. Delay, sending non-combat ships with slower hyperdrives, potentially weeks away, homeported in berths at Voss or Laekia? Or take the military vessel that was on the edge of Mandalorian space as it was?

Truly, damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

...which, in his experience, was indication he was at least headed down the right direction. The right path was always ripe with hard decisions.

Signaling the com-scan officer, the boy cued his intent to reply to the message from the Mandalorians. "Alor [member="Stardust Raxis"], please advise authorities within the Clans that we are enroute to Mandalore. In addition to my ship, I am re-routing two Liorre-class freighters registered to Corellia Digital to aid in planetary evacuation."

Luckily, they'd opened a Corellia Digital Store on the Wheel, including a distribution node for feeding supplies out to the Kathol Outback and Galactic Alliance. Not to mention the supply lines flowing from Corellia Digital's home factories in the Corellian System to the Tingel Arm. As such, the commercial freighters Yamato and Yoshiromatu were both relatively near Mandalorian space. "Forward the transmission from Clan Raxis, and copy of my reply, direct to Grand Master [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]..."

If he was making a mistake, the Grand Master might as well get the news direct from himself.

"General, I have course plotted to Mandalore. May I engage the hyperdrive, sir?"

The boy looked down at the helmsman for a moment. "Let's not start a war..." the youngling knight muttered under his breath. Then, nodding, said only. "Best speed."

 

[Malok]

At first, the reality of Death laid heavy on my shoulders.

But then, I took up the sword.

The slightest touch shed me of my worries...my regrets...my sorrows...

"An eternity of battle?"

I felt a grin forming.

"LEAD ON BROTHER!"

I felt light. I felt...satisfied. I guess this is what they called "moving on."

 

[Julius Sedaire]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unBTRI4XDfQ​

"I will come. At once. You have my word..."

He nodded to the shade and then bowed his head deeply before following Mia into the ship. Once inside, he stretched out his senses. There was no way to risk warning people of what he had decided to do before he did it. But now he would take stock of his sins. Count the blood that he had shed so that he would tell the pain he would flagellate his very soul with every day from this one out. It was a foolish thing many Mandalorians did... Acting as if the killing they were all far too familiar with didn't bother them. In his opinion, it led to psychosis, to a fracturing of the personality and mind. And a stunting of it in a severe way.

But not the Iron Father. Guilt was accepted, if not looked for and cherished. Knowledge of who and what he was? That was never shirked and rarely hidden. Sure it had lead to issues. There wasn't enough alcohol in the galaxy to sate his nightmares and wash away his guilt. Night after night he would wake from slumber drenched in sweat. Hands clenching balled up and often ripped covers and sheets. Fists punching and clawing at the air wildly, tears staining his cheeks. Several times he had started awake screaming, somehow a pistol or knife in hand, his bed companion fleeing the room in stark terror at the madness of his dreams.

Maybe he had not escaped the breaking of his will after all but just found another way. Perhaps it was pride, nay hubris, that attended him in slumber. Regardless as he reached out to feel familiar presences, he felt one... And then felt it slipping. Senses far more powerful than he had a right to rippled out. Studies of holocrons of Jacen Solo in his two stages of life had influenced both his philosophy and ability... And so he pushed beyond what he should. His body screamed as, for a moment, he stood as the spectral images of Isley Verd and [member="Ember Rekali"] left this plane. Knowledge of the fate of his former apprentice and friend hit him like a ton of bricks.

But he did not break. No, not now. Later, maybe, he would. But his penance would be his life. He would go on. The lad was owed that much. The only slip was a sudden spike in nothing but pure woe and rage as he walked into the ship. A singular ceiling panel would suddenly warp and crumple and then just roll into a ball no bigger than his fist, clanging to the floor with a sharp metallic echo before the youthfully appearing Mandalorian simply strode deeper into the ship. Pain and darkness roiled from him in waves as more and more those he knew or did not died, and he felt their deaths. Questioned his methods. As he approached the cockpit he merely stood looking out of it at the hell he had created, and with his body screaming in pain, sent a burst of feeling and thought across the veil.

I am sorry, Isley...Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. Gar darasuum.

 

[Mia Monroe]

https://youtu.be/KGHA9oO1Ybg

Mia slid into the pilots chair ahead of Verz and Ijaat, double checking the systems were ready to run. A glance over her shoulder told her they were both onboard. Liberties Veil was off the ground before the landing ramp was up, punching a straight line out over the sea. She needed cover before she could disappear. She reached up to activate the sheilds as the volcano behind them exploded with such force it rocketed the Veil even from this distance.

Molten rock peppered their tail and Mia pushed the ship harder. Sensors began wailing, warning of an incoming obstacle. She tilted her head, trying to understand the readings she was getting. The obstacle was a tsumani, a great wave swelling with every passing moment. "Oh feth. Strap in!" she yelled before banking hard to the and going back the way she had come. What was she going to do? She couldn't outrun it, and heading inland wasn't an option either. There was a distraction as Ijaat reached out int the force. "Ijaat!" she called. "Don't!"

Her warning came too late, his pain was far worse than theirs, theirs that she could so easily shut out. His agony hit her hard in the chest and she found her vision blurred by tears. "IJAAT!" she screamed at him. "Pull yourself together gorram it! we're not out of this yet!" She flipped the ship again, end over end, and punched full throttle towards the wave, angling the shields at their bow.

"Brace for Impact!" she warned, not daring to take her hands off the controls to wipe away the tears. "Be with me." she whispered, praying to the force that gave her strength. The ship slammed nose first into the wave, throwing them forwards for a moment, their was a clatter as several crates toppled from their holds. They were plunged momentarily into darkness, the ships engines screaming as Mia refused to let ease up. If she kept the power up, the water wouldn't be able to get in. The lights returned and Mai slapped the controls for the cloak, shrouding them before they burst through the other side.

Pointing the ships nose at the sky she didn't ease up, not until they were clear of orbit. Only did she let the Veil slip into a soft glide. The comms were exploding with chatter, panicked shouts, screams and a handful of people trying to organise rescue. The holo displays around them filtered through images of the planets surface. She didn't look at them, she didn't need to look to know. She had always known there would be casualties. A hand reached up, deactivating comms and shutting the images off. She sat in the semi darkness, for a long moment, feeling the weight of what they had done press on her from all sides.

"R6." she said finally after a moment. "Plot a course for the nearest out of system space station and get us out of here."

[member="Ijaat Mereel"] [member="Verz Horak"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

The Deep Core,

One (perhaps final) quick trip to Kiribi to settle some personal matters, then it was back to the business. It just so happened that she had been in deep discussion with her commanders about operations in Mandalorian space when she received word of natural disasters springing up all over Mandalore from stories popping up on the holonet. Nothing had been confirmed about the origins of these disasters, but she gathered that it hadn't been a coincidence, not on this scale. After terrorizing much of the known galaxy, terror had finally reached the door of Mandalore. The Apokka had come home to roost.

Her original plans were tabled while Mandalore was in flames. The game had changed, and she wanted to find out who or what was responsible before she took action. She hoped it was from a result of an internal dispute. The best outcome for the galaxy was for the Mandalorians to become locked in some civil war, taking one of the Sith's pawns out of play.

When not brooding or stargazing, the warlord had been busy at her workbench, whipping up a whole new range of weaponry and components. Some were much needed bits of technology needed to upgrade the vessels of her fleet, while others were just fun little asides. One good thing about being a wanted fugitive was all the free time she now had for experimentation. The next best thing after full blown retirement.

With a new need for reconnaissance, she decided it was high time to test out some new starship designs in a scouting run. She had decided that the Mandalorians shouldn't be the only ones allowed to have fun with stealth.

((Using this thread for dev. Unless people start shooting at me, I'll just be around for observation.))

 

[Arla Ordo]

Arla was coming from the planet Ordo months she had been working there to reclaim the planet for the Clan. She looked out the port at Mandalore there it was hanging like it always did the home of many Mandalorians.

She remembered when she first came here with Arrbi it had looked...so alien to her. Years of living on Tatooine under the suns with its endless seas of sand had not prepared her for Mandalore. The forests where she hunted with Mirdala and [member="Verz Horak"] . She couldn't help but laugh because she left here to go to Ordo which just happen to be endless seas of sand except for places at the equator where oasis sprouted up.

They were building bio domes to live in and to farm in, and reclaiming what they could of the surface. She came to Mandalore for supplies this was her supply run.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-rffbriWI​

Hell. Hell had come for him. For his wife and for his child.

Underneath a mountain of ash, there was a scream. There was a scream and a call over the radio. It was a scream of hate, of rage- and most of all..


Betrayal.

He had been betrayed. He had been burned. His armor was the only reason he lived, he survived. He had survived, not lived. It was worse than the destruction of Dromund Kaas. It was burning, it was for him- and unknown to the Wolf, was set on by those whom he once called vode. He was betrayed. He was abandoned.


He screamed into the silence of the radio, desperate for help.

He only hoped for salvation.

 

[Verz Horak]

[member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Ijaat Mereel"]

Verz had known something was going on. How could he have not been able to do anything? He had run after Mia and Ijaat, raw instinct guiding him. His armor clanked and clattered as he ran, sweat ran down his forehead, absorbed by the padding in his helmet. His breathing was harsh and shallow as he ran. His only thoughts were to keep running and to follow Mia. He had to know what she and Ijaat had done.

He followed them to Mia's vessel, the rented speeder he arrived in forgotten. Then he saw it. The very ground had cracked open from within. Liquid rock had started to bubble out. The volcano had been set off. Verz climbed in, still hoping that something would make sense. That he could maybe do something. Part of his mind knew it was irrational, yet another still hoped. The ship shuddered as the engines forced it through the atmosphere, and Verz stared out the viewport as a wall of water, a spasm of his homeworld, raced to meet them, as though their home could not wait to embrace them in her bosom.

Something was wrong with Ijaat, that much was clear from how Mia screamed at him. Part of him watched numbly as the wall of water swallowed them, part noticing the sadness and despair in Mia's voice as she yelled. Then the water vanished, faded into blue sky, followed by the black of space. He could hear the panic and screaming over the comms, he could see his home being wracked by tremors and eruptions.

In the darkened vessel, Verz fell the the ground and wept.

[media]http://youtu.be/F90Cw4l-8NY[/media]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
She gave a sigh of relief as she rubbed her forhead, command had given no message out, where the heck was her manda'lore, his people was in disarray, she inhaled as she spoke back in reply

*[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], command has gone silent and I've heard nothing from the top, I need to get my clan out of the hell down there....I have no time to get word back....this is a risk I gotta take to protect my people...*

Stardust said as she gave a sigh and rubbed her temples, she didn't have tike, she started her transport back down, her transport shook as she broke the dust, she looked at the homestead, what looked beautiful was a mess...it looked like a war zone, stardust looked away as she found a place to land, she watched as people moved quickly she opened the doors and let them on....now she had to wait

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

HYPERSPACE

The young Anzat was just ending a transmission to Master [member="Matsu Ike"] when the naval officer returned, bearing news.

"Sir, we've received another transmission from Clan Raxis."

*[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], command has gone silent and I've heard nothing from the top, I need to get my clan out of the hell down there....I have no time to get word back....this is a risk I gotta take to protect my people...*

The boy's heart felt heavy. "So be it," the boy opined aloud finally.

They'd already crossed the border into Mandalorian space. Whether the authorities of the other Clans knew they were coming or not, they were already committed. Turning back now would only do more harm to Jedi-Mandalorian relations. If that was even possible.

"Sasori has offered us one of their medical ships," the boy remarked, introducing what he hoped was some good news to the present crisis. In a matter of minutes, the boy had been able to round up a pair of super freighters and a massive mobile medical base -- all of which was now bound for Mandalore.

Now, he just needed [member="Stardust Raxis"] to stay alive so they could get to her, and the rest of the afflicted people.

And hopefully avoid getting shot at in the process.

"Time to arrival at Mandalore?"

"One hour, twenty-seven minutes, General," the officer at the helm supplied from the pit below.

An hour and a half.

A lot of people could die inside that time.


Silver Jedi Aid Fleet
1x Mentor-class Battlecruiser SJS Dagobah (Command Ship, en route from Gromas)
2x Liorre-class Super Freighters (on loan from Corellia Digital, en route from The Wheel)
1x Triage-class Medical Super Carrier (on loan from Sasori Research, en route from Shri-Tal)

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

"Aye! We've got all green here, now try moving."

Gil grunted with in slight annoyance as he attempted to move in the massive suit of armor that MandalMotors had been developing. Information found during the Vong Siege of Keldabe of an ancient suit of Beskar'gam. He looked to his left and gave a grin to his estranged son. Not one he asked for, nor one he physically conceived. Just a strange chapter of his life or maybe one could say it was a page from another's life. Mordecai gave him a thumbs up.

They had finally started to see eye to eye. Mordecai was even wearing his own Beskar'gam. It made him proud, proud as he could be. Finally able to raise one out of three children to be Mandalorian. He took another step.

"Good!" Shouted the other mechanic in the room. The datapad beeped and chirped as readings and data ran across the screen. "Why don't we try-" The earth rumbled, the permacrete beneath them began to...sway. An earthquake possibly? The door into the R&D lab burst open, three Ori'ramikade ran in to clear the room. Mordecai pushed himself off of the wall ready for a fight but calmed himself after confirming who it was.

"Gil, we need to go. Now."

"What's going-" The entire wall fell apart revealing the Hell that had been occuring around them. A familiar metalic roar rang out. Atin slammed into the ground. The old Bes'uliik looked up. The sky was fire. Had the Manda forsaken them all? The Clan? He looked to Mordecai, his emotions blocked by the black visor of his helmet. An Ori'ramikade transport hovered next to the opening his Bes'uliik had created.

"Gil, sir, we need to leave now-" The building lurched forward. Everything in the room was suddenly in the air. Atin was smashed by a higher floor, his shout following him down to the ground below. Mordecai slammed into the shuttle as it spun out of control and Gil...Well, he was stuck to the floor. Alarms blared all around him. He shut his eyes. A familiar feeling radiated from his abdomen. There was no Rave to save him this time. It didn't feel like he had any organs hit this time. In fact...

He groaned, servos whined loudly. He got up surpsingly easily. Maybe he wasn't run through on a pole? He leaned over and gripped the restraints on his boots and ripped the durasteel from the crumbling permacrete. "Cai!" No where to be heard.

 

[Jak Skirata]

Lokaium - Concord Dawn

"12 Credits..."

The credits clanged onto the table in slow motion. What was this feeling? Like a part of him was burning, melting...Smoke, the Galek Hounds and Rekr howling mournfully. What in he hell...Pain in his heart. Gil? GIL?!

 

[HK-36]

"Where is my sword?!"

The droid called out as he threw pillows every which way, currently looking feverishly through a couch,

"Where is my bloody sword?"

He asked again as he and his Greycloak copies were searching his office for the said sword, finally one of his honor guards managed to pull out an old Protectorate-made officer's ceremonial durasteel saber from between a collection of unfinished dirty paintings of nude [member="Popo"] the Hutt, the top one was especially sexualized with the giant slug serpent monster in a sleazy position. The droid-copy tossed the aged blade to HK, who caught it in one fluid motion,

"Good. This will do great going up the anal cavity of whoever was responsible for this."


[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], [member="Stardust Raxis"], [member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Verz Horak"], [member="Mia Monroe"], [member="Ijaat Mereel"]

Broke'Alore,
Orbit
Some time later

A small fleet of old Protectorate and Pyre ships would enter realspace at the edge of Mandalore's Gravity Well as an Abregado-aligned IFF codes were broadcasted on open Mandalorian channels with a message,

"This is an allied Abregado fleet, we have heard news of the unfolding disaster on Mandalore and we have came here with aid. Do you accept or turn us away?"

Since the message was broadcasted on open channel, Verz, Mia, Ijeet, etc. would be able to receive it if they were still in the system when Abregado's humanitarian representation arrived, at least they would see that Mandalore, scarred and broken as it was from their actions, still was not without friends outside of Mandalorian territory. The Littlest Sor-Jan would be able to pick up the transmission too if his ships were already in the system, or close enough at least.

Of course one would always prefer to ask with the Mandalorians, it was only honorable and polite to do so. The small fleet was headed by the supercarrier the Dancing Queen along with the Siege Tower and other random ships, mostly carriers or freighters, in tow. Their shields were partially up, just to protect them from space debris and the usual radiation whizzing by the void, all of their guns were completely off, they were not coming there to pick a fight after all.


On the helm of the Queen stood the tall and armored HK droid, an old Protectorate durasteel saber hung off of his belt in a scabbard,

"Sir, should we hold until we receive a reply?"

One of his officers asked, HK nodded,

"Yes, have us stay in the current position. Sent out the Eclipse though, we are going to save at least some lives, whether they like it or not."

The officer nodded,

"Aye-aye."

So, as the fleet stayed put to await response from the Mandalorians, a single stealth-transport, the Knight of the Eclipse left the supercarrier's hangar bays, heading towards the planet with a small crew of medical droids.

 

[Kaveh Garshasp]

The shuttle hovered over the wreckage of Keldabe, or was it Little Keldabe? He couldn't tell anymore. Eruptions were still being reported from all over Mandalore, luckily the MandalRail stations were built like bunkers. Even with many of them destroyed, most of the larger stations had proven to be great places for wounded and others to take shelter. Mandalorian rescue efforts were in full swing. What was left of the Ori'ramikade had sprung into action and the decommissioned Red Legion members proudly donned their armor once again and also sprung into action. A good chunk of the rescue and relief efforts were being orchestrated out of Padelfia City, which being on the water was completely unaffected by the earthquakes and with its powerful environmental shields was also largely immune to the continuously falling ash and heat waves of the volcanoes. Initially it had suffered from heavy water damage, but the four outermost domes took the brunt of that damage leaving the main dome almost completely intact.

Concordia had never been more valuable than this moment. Evacuations were going slow, but slowly people were being transported to the moon and the myriad of stations surrounding Mandalore. Even the Vong from the Wastes had began to help in their own way. Lacking the fearsome ships of their ancestors, they made due with speeders and other large weird ways of transportation that would allow many of Mandalore's beasts to be safely transported and protected.

Kresh looked down below him now though. A burning wreck. From here he could see what was left of the Martyr's statue. He cursed the Manda for this disaster.

The shuttle made its way down to the mine. There were dozens trapped beneath the rubble of the Beskar mines. Droids and Mandalorians were hard at work moving the rubble, piece by piece. But another tremor and the rubble only seemed to shift back into place. It like the rest of the rescue efforts seemed like an uphill battle...

 

[Alleycat]

Tor Homestead​

Just outside Keldabe on the bluffs overlooking the Kelita River. ​

​

~~~​

​

The day had begun like any other at the Tor Homestead. Mesh'la was up at the crack of dawn to tend to the livestock kept on the family farm before her young son woke up. The foreman had stopped by the main farmhouse to check in with her before he and the other farmhands, all wounded veterans rehabbing there, took off for a day of hunting up in the nearby mountains. After wishing the vode well on their quest, she went to work cleaning the house because [member="Marcus Lok"] was scheduled to return from his business trip abroad and she wanted it to look smart when he came over. The petite blonde had taken a real liking to the slicer and was planning to welcome the tech-mined Mando back with a nice, home cooked meal.

It was about mid-day when Atin became very restless and wanted outside. After the dog was let out, Mesh'la went back to the kitchen to continue chopping vegetables for the evening meal taking advantage of Valen's nap time as he slept peacefully in his playpen nearby. It wasn't but a few moments later the dog began to bark wildly. It wasn't the old canine's usual warning kind that indicated a stranger was on the property. It was an altogether different kind of warning.

Suddenly the ground began to move and the house shook. It started as a slow, rolling wave. It took a moment for the young medic to figure out what was happening as this region of Mandalore wasn't prone to earthquakes, but once the lightbulb went on Mesh'la moved as quickly as she could to snatch up the baby boy into her protective arms. By now the shaking had become violent sending things flying everywhere including her to the ground a few feet away from the long, wooden table that separated the kitchen from the living area. That is when the upstairs of the grass-topped farmhouse started to collapse down onto the first floor... Mesh'la scrambled best she could for the safety of that table, then everything went dark and quiet.

 

[Arla Ordo]

What happen next Arla would never forget the very surface of Mandalore seemed to have heaved and let go. Bright orange rivers sprang forth and everything turned shades of black and gray.

Her mind turned to many things, her family, her friends...Verz. Were any of them on the surface near this? Who could survive such an event. She held her ship steady watching, if she landed the intakes could become clogged and she'd be trapped. But how could she watch ?

She began cycling through frequencies to see if anyone was asking for help, it was nothing but static...what had happen?