From Ashes, We Rise

[Briika Munin]

Munin Homestead​

Concord Dawn​

​

~~~​

​

Briika sat straight up in bed, well as upright as she could with the extended baby bump of her third trimester pregnancy sticking out front. She was covered in sweat and her heart was racing making each breath hard to take. Something was wrong though the Tor didn't quite know what. The seasoned Baar'ur wasn't in labor... she knew what that was like having gone through it three times before, though one birth unfortunately ending in tragedy.

The older blonde reached for her comlink on the bedside table to check for any messages she might have missed while napping. There were none. Briika recently had taken to bedrest since her blood pressure had snuck up and her feet were swelling more than they should at this point. She didn't want to cause any harm to this baby. It was [member="Vilaz Munin"]'s first biological child. They both were old to start a family together, but the two had met late in life, and here they were about to be parents.

A nagging "mother's" feeling began to bug Bree so she dialed her daughter's comm number after calming down. [member="Mesh'la Dral"] and her young son were now staying full time at the Tor Homestead on Mandalore outside of Keldabe while Briika was living with Vilaz on Concord Dawn. It had worked out well for all parties involved so far. The young medic could be her own woman without her mother looking over her shoulder all the time especially now that Mesh'la was moving on with her life after the divorce from Valen's father, and seeing a certain tall, dark and handsome slicer. Yes, she know about [member="Marcus Lok"].

Strange the call didn't even go through... Briika dialed her parents, who lived up north in Enceri. That didn't connect either. Now she was getting extremely worried. Getting out of bed, Bree dressed quickly and waddled downstairs to the living room. She plunked down on the sofa, feet up, and turned on the holonet. What was scrolling across the bottom of the holoscreen made her sick to her stomach. Reports were her homeworld had been devastated by a huge natural disaster planet wide, but how the core of the planet had become so unstable had not been determined yet. It was too soon to tell the death toll, but the numbers would be staggering. Search and Rescue crews were being sent from multiple agencies to aid any survivors.

Gods if only she could go to help the injured, but more so find her family.... Tears welled in her baby blues as she put a call out to her beloved, who had been out on a mission with his Vanguard. Another would go out to her medical colleague, [member="Rianna Ar'klim-Organa"].

 

[Marcus Lok]

CRASH

Marcus braced himself against the controls of the ship as yet another huge shock wave from a disintegrating mountain face whipped through the air with crushing force. He had seen the disaster from space before he had heard about it over the radio channels that were droning on and on about evacuation from the Capital World of the Mandalorian people. It seemed that no one quite knew what was happening, or how they might stop it if they could, and at that moment he had only one thing in mind. He had to save that girl!

His hands whipped fiercely across the ship's controls, quickly gripping the throttle. He slammed it forward, immediately feeling the pull of G's that would come at such a change in speed, and as the grassy knolls rolled by the windscreen, he could only hope that the Tor homestead had not been swallowed in one more massive crevice such as so many buildings had in wake of the disaster so far. The hum that came from the engine room had long since fallen into a dreadful whine that came only when the reactors were put on high demand like this, and for a few moments he was afraid that with one more roll, he might well cause them to stall out.

Feth, feth, feth, feth!..

Soon, as the cockpit dipped low behind yet another collapsing hillside, he saw what he was looking for. The small outline of the homestead came into view, and in a few quick motions on the board, he set a landing destination to the ship's autopilot and ran towards the boarding ramp, falling against the side of the hall's metallic wall once another shock wave emerged from the earth, shaking the ship violently. With one press of a button, the hydraulics sounded along with the slow decent of the ramp, bringing in horrible clouds of dust and debris as it did.

She had to be alive...

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Tor Homestead Ruins​

Just outside Keldabe on the bluffs overlooking the Kelita River.

~~~

Mesh'la looked around cautiously. This wasn't the medic's home. Where was she, and where was Valen? Her little boy had been in her arms last Mesh knew as she scrambled for cover when the massive earthquake happened.

The petite blonde's blue gaze peered forward down a long whitish-gray tunnel where there was illumination at the other end, which seemed to be getting closer if ever so slowly. A rugged looking, dark-haired man wearing Mando armor appeared with a halo of light behind him. Mesh'la knew him well, but her father was... dead!

"Buir? Where am I, and why can I see you.... I've missed you so much!" Mesh exclaimed with much emotion as it over came her, then the young woman moved instantly to the man's welcoming arms. The warmth of her father's embrace was all encompassing. It felt so right, so nice. She didn't want him to ever let her go again.

Kable's hand smoothed down his grown daughter's long golden hair in a soothing fashion, then his fingers lifted up her chin so their eyes could meet. "I've miss you too, cyar'ika, though remember I'm always with you in here," he pointed to her heart.

"You are at the gates of the Manda. I have come to see you, if only for a moment. You see it's not your time to march through the gate quite yet. My grandson needs you. Your mother still needs you especially now as she brings another life into the world of the living. I'm happy for her. Our time together was so short, but I wouldn't have missed being with Briika. She's a good woman and I'm glad she's found love once again. You will find it again as well.... Now it's time for you to go back. Ni kar'taylir darasuum gar, ner cyare ad'ika," the more serious Detta brother said, then leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers. He held it there for a moment, then pulled away and let go as his image disappeared and the light dimmed. "Ret'urcye mhi, Mesh'ika... "

~

The sound of a baby's cry, one that initiated a mother's response, made Mesh'la take a breath she didn't know she was holding. It was a choked gasp and the taste of blood in her mouth didn't help. The blonde's hand instinctively reached out in the dark to find an infant squirming next to her. It was Valen and he was alive.

Mesh'la comforted her baby boy with sweet mommy words while she snaked her other hand down to the utility belt on her beskar'gam. Fingers grabbed upon the mini-maglite that was attached, then turned it on to find they were indeed under the dinning table with debris of what was the farm house surrounding them. She quickly did a head to toe assessment of her son. Minor bumps and bruises, but over all healthy though he was having some wheezing from the thick dust filled air in their safety pocket. A bandana from a leg pocket was pulled out and tied around his small nose and mouth to pose as an air filter; a poor one at that, but at least one. A coughing spell raked over the medic and pain shot through her chest... must have broken ribs, maybe internal injuries, but Mesh had to keep going for her son's sake.

There was a bit of panic starting to set in as the claustrophobic nature of their tomb so to speak and the reality of the situation came into full view. Who would help them get out? There was no one else on the farm when the earthquake happened except for Atin, and if the house was in this shape, other people were probably in the same boat. Tears blurred her vision as she cradled Valen closer, though she did not cry. It would only make her son more uneasy. At least if this was the end, they were together.

Mesh'la wasn't sure how long they cuddled there packed away from the outside world before a new noise brought hope to her once again... A whirl or more so a high-pitched whine of a ship's engines working hard was heard over head. She hoped the new shaking of the ground was of the landing struts setting down nearby and not another aftershock as each one packed them in more with no fresh air. It was beginning to be used up. Then came a male voice, one Mesh'la longed to hear one more time... calling out... It was him!

"Marcus!" Mesh yelled as loud as she could even through the pain in her side was excruciating and nearly took her breath away. The young blonde made as much noise as she could banging the maglite on the bottom side of the table top hoping [member="Marcus Lok"] would find them in the debris of the house, and was even thankful for once as Valen began to wail at the top of his little lungs as well.

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Somewhere in Mandalorian Space

He had been on a patrol route that bordered the territories of the Mandalorians and the Silver Jedi. Ever since the many Clans that united and attacked the Silver Jedi at Ossus, a cold war had begun between the two factions and it was a feud Vilaz wanted to take at the extremes of the Mandalorians crusading their neighbors. He was now Mand'alor after his duel with Ijaat and held the power to do so.

But those goals would come to a halt as he received a call from his dear beloved Bree.

The Munin knew that his significant other was carrying their child, and he was assuming that she was calling for something very serious or to just have some intimate talk and discuss about their unborn child.

"Cyar'ika? What's going on? Did you found Lok smoking spice again?"

[member="Briika Tor"]

 

[Briika Munin]

Munin Homestead​

Concord Dawn​

​

~~~​

​

When Briika heard [member="Vilaz Munin"]'s silly question after answering her call, she nearly blew a gasket. Between the pregnancy hormones and the high stress from the dire situation, the normally calm woman lost it.

"What?! If only... Nayc, Manda'yaim is being destroyed as we speak! The planet is blowing itself up with violent volcano eruptions and massive earthquakes... Where have you been? It's all over the comms and holonet. Your people need you... Your family needs you. Mesh'la was at the homestead with Valen, and ner buire are up north. It's not looking good. I'm frightened for them. Frightened for the Mando'ade," Bree cried out softly by the time her tirade was over, then the older blonde grabbed her full belly as she felt it tighten into a hard ball and a headache start. She needed to calm down before she went from preeclampsia into full blown eclampsia.

"Ni ceta... Gedet'ye just find out what's going on, Vil'ika, and let me know as soon as possible."

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

MANDALORE

"Sir, we have just entered the Mandalore System."

The words came just as the small boy was stepping onto the bridge. He'd sensed the vessel dropping out of lighspeed, returning now to the bridge to resume command of the large, oddly-vertical aligned battleship. "Excellent," the youngling knight opined, before adding, tongue in cheek, "We've either just given them hope... or something new to shoot at."

Only time would tell which.

"...in either case, we have work to do."

Nodding, the officer of the deck turned and began giving orders. "Com-Scan, try and contact Alor [member="Stardust Raxis"]." Turning back toward the boy, the man explained his reasoning. "We should try and make contact with what allies we may have here."

The young Anzat just gave a slight shake of his head. That assumed they had allies here. All things being equal, he wouldn't make that assumption. "Keep all stations on the alert. I want shield generators on stand-by, and all weapons off-line."

He saw the officer about to voice an objection, and silenced it with a motion. "I'll not get in a shooting war here," the boy answered, simply. To be frank, this was the Mandalorian homeworld. If it did turn into a shooting war, it would be one in which the Dagobah was hideously outgunned, outnumbered, and out of its class. "Let's do what we came to do," the boy urged.

With a nod toward the communications technician, the boy's voice was carried out over the planet below.

"This is the Silver Jedi Ship Dagobah, to anyone within the sound of my voice. We have come to offer aid. If you have the means, contact us for assistance. Otherwise, we will go where the need seems greatest."

Silver Jedi Aid Fleet
1x Mentor-class Battlecruiser SJS Dagobah (Command Ship, at Mandalore)
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)

 

[Marcus Lok]

The scene ahead of him looked bleak, and as the shuttles engines whined in the background of hillsides falling to ruin, he could only gaze in shock at the destroyed homestead which must have collapsed due to the more violent tremors. Was that it? Was she dead beneath the rubble along with the baby son that had been praised to him on so many occasions. It seemed impossible, for he had only just spoken to her to tell her of his return trip.

Just then, he heard a great cry above the engines of the ship, and although the planet was tearing itself apart, the sound was unmistakable. A baby's cry. So the son was alive, and with luck the mother would not be too far away either. He had to act, and fast. Beneath him he could feel the endless quakes that shook the ground rocking the ship behind him which weighed heavy on the already uneasy earth. A brisk leap from the ship's ramp would see the young slicer flying towards the fractured and disintegrating walls of the homestead which now largely lay in ruin, but with the promise of two precious lives still hanging in the balance beneath the shattered stone.

His HUD scanned over the rubble in quick motions while those dark eyes flicked about from each suspicious obtrusion that might be a hand, or an arm. So far, nothing, but he could still hear the crying. Trapped, and terrified, it was unmistakable. He landed, stumbling on the uneasy ground which still tremored in constant aftershock due to the tragedy that had stricken the planet's very core, and began to tear away at the rubble until he saw the durable face of the table. Gauntleted fingers wrapped around the underside of the table which still weighed heavy with fallen bricks and supports, and he only managed to lift it enough to see the shaking forms of a mother and her son beneath.

He dug deep, and although he dare not speak while he held the weight on his arms, he stomped the ground just next to the couple so that they knew it was certainly time to go. He doubted how long this particular plateau might stay intact, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to get a move on to the ship... Hopefully she could walk.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"],

"This is the Silver Jedi Ship Dagobah, to anyone within the sound of-"

The message would not even finish playing through the bridge of HK's ship as the droid strolled over to forcefully end it from the console, looking to the rest of the crew he only muttered out,

"How the feth dare they?"

Walking towards his command spot he continued his grumbles,

"Making a prank call at a time like this."

Before finally shaking his head and proclaiming annoyed,

"Like even the Silvers would be desperate enough to give a fleet to a bloody six year old!"

Of course it was only logical for a droid to assume that it was some sort of a joke when a voice of a child came through the console, little did he knew about Tiny Sor-Jan's true age and nature.

Still, he waited for the Mandalorian officials to respond to him so he could commit his medical units and ships without infringing their hospitality and angering the armor clad warriors.


[member="Preliat Mantis"],

While the main fleet stayed its position, waiting to hear from the planetary officials to give them a go-ahead, the Knight of the Eclipse did its thing, approaching the disaster-ridden planet stealthily to begun scanning for survivors in order to begin evacuating the survivors before the main humanitarian force was approved.

Through the thick clouds above the mass of ash Preliat was buried under two streams of white light pierce the darkness and the smog, search lights of a ship turning on as the sound of engines would draw near,

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM,

Scanning the area one of the lights finally came over the ash pile he was buried under and stopped there, the humming of the engines drew near as the ship lowered and lowered. Finally a sleek black outline of an unmarked stealth transport would be seen through the clouds, its airlock opened, ramp extended out.

On the ramp stood a tall, armored HK droid, wearing a grey cloak that flapped on the wind like wings of a carrion bird, black metallic looking cable connected him to the ship. As the vessel lowered closer and closer to where Preliat was buried the machine jumped off of the ramp, rappelling through by the cable as its heavy feet impacted against the ash, compacting it down. The droid did not waste much time before it started to dig with its metal hands, a construction droid floated off of the ramp as well, levitating down to the ash pile before it used its implements to remove more and more of the black powder.

Preliat would be probably able to hear the ash above him being scooped and tossed aside, layer after layer removed as the machines dug towards him and any other survivors there might have been by him. Hopefully he would be able to stay alive until finally rays of white from the ship would begun to shine their way through the powder and he would see two droid faceplates, the units baring insignia of GA, Pyre, and Abregado-Rae.

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The loud tone of voice of Bree ringed his eardrums and caused him to groan out from the pain it caused him. What did he do now to get a mad pregnant woman to yell at him. But then all the pieces came together. Mandalore, as it is right now, was in complete planetary devastation and the worst part was that his family and his fellow comrades were on that planet and needed aid...and fast.

"Okay, okay, okay, Bree. Just calm down, please. I'm already on my way to Mandalore, but try to relax. I'm sure Mesh and the rest of our family are okay. They're strong and resilient like beskar. I'll contact you once I have something to tell you. I love you."

And he ended the transmission, then opened a comm with those on the bridge of the vessel he was on.

"Plot a course to Mandalore now! Our brothers and sistsers need us."

They obeyed his command and in a hustle they made a course to the planetary capital of the Mandalorians, and once they were clear they entered lightspeed.

While they awaited to enter their designated system, Vilaz began pulling reports on Mandalore. He wanted to believe otherwise after he began reading them and just hoped that this was just a false thing. His stomach felt a bit sick and uneasy.

[member="Briika Tor"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

He came as soon as he heard the news. His ship touched down near what had once been the Skirata Homestead. Ashes were still raining down and there were still reports of tremors from as far north as Cold Iron City. His boots fell through six inches of ash before he felt solid ground. The sky was grey with dancing lights he assumed to be fire shining in the distance. There was a single figure kneeling before the Skirata Clan's monument to those fallen in battle. A semi-circle of stone with warrior's names etched into the stone with a beskad.

Clang! Scrrtch! Clang!

he figure was etching something into to stone. In the dark he couldn't quite make out who it was, or rather, he didn't want to. All around him he could sense the death and mourning, but his connection to family was strong and he could feel that his brother was in a dark place. He made his way through the ash to stand behind the armored man. He held a red helm, badly damaged.

"Gil...?" The man flinched.

"The Manda is a cruel force brother...First they take my wife. They refuse me. They hid my daughter only to bring her back broken and confused...And then take her too. Now they take Cai, just as he was beginning to come into his own..." Davin felt a chill run down his spine. That monster of a man was dead? He may have been born out of a test tube, but that man had still been his nephew.

Just what in the Seven Hells had happened to his home?

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"How the feth dare they?"

Walking towards his command spot he continued his grumbles,

"Making a prank call at a time like this."

Before finally shaking his head and proclaiming annoyed,

"Like even the Silvers would be desperate enough to give a fleet to a bloody six year old!"

Of course it was only logical for a droid to assume that it was some sort of a joke when a voice of a child came through the console, little did he knew about Tiny Sor-Jan's true age and nature.

Spoiler: Obligatory Robot Chicken reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIJgKB5PU2k​

So far, no word.

But they were not going to wait. And, if the Mandalorians took offense to that... then it could be said better to die saving lives, than to live taking them.

"The Yamato and Yoshiromaru are approaching the Mandalore System, sir," the naval officer reported.

The super freighters. If there were a high volume of survivors - and hopefully that would prove to be the case - then the two Liorre-class ships would be able to support moving refugees and displaced Mandalorians to more habitable locations. Which, was going to be the next challenge. But, one thing at a time. Or, one planet at a time rather. Calling up a holographic map of the planet below, the youngling knight was presented with the question of where to begin.

It was a rhetorical one, really. At least in so much as it didn't have any right answer. "Send the shuttles down over the population concentration areas of Keldabe and Sundari," the boy remarked, signaling the hangar to begin launching rescue shuttles toward the planet. The Dagobah carried four shuttles, which could then be divided two-by-two to cover those heavily populated centers. And then the search patterns could spread out from there as the Yamato and Yoshiromaru added their own shuttles to the effort; followed ultimately by those of the medical super carrier, when it arrived from Shri-Tal.

The hologram of the planet highlighted several other ships in orbit. "And broadcast our flight plan," the boy added, looking across the holo-table at the naval officer. "There are other ships in orbit. Perhaps we can synchronize efforts."

It was a hope anyway.

Now, with the shuttles underway, there was the question of where to take survivors. Holding Mandalorians aboard a Silver Jedi battlecruiser was a rather awkward prospect, which was in large part why he'd diverted resources from the Silver Jedi's commercial interests instead. But, beyond getting people to safety, there was still a larger issue of a longer-term solution for their cohabitation. "Com-Scan, see if you can raise any government officials on Concordia," the boy remarked, turning his attention to the communications officer. Concordia was one of Mandalore's moons. And one with a breathable atmosphere, and settlements of its own. "We need a place we can evacuate refugees to. It's the closest stable locale, if they can support it."

This seemed dangerously close to doing what Jedi did best, so he couldn't help but feel something was apt to go horribly wrong.

It didn't change that they going forward with the plan anyway. Just a bad feeling worth noting. Or, keeping to himself at any rate.

Judging by the tension he felt on the bridge of the Dagobah, it wasn't just him. But they would see how the Mandalorians reacted. Desperate people tended to make desperate decisions in the heat of the moment, after all.

Silver Jedi Aid Fleet
1x Mentor-class Battlecruiser SJS Dagobah (Command Ship, in orbit of Mandalore)
2x Liorre-class Super Freighters (on loan from Corellia Digital, nearing the Mandalore System)
1x Triage-class Medical Super Carrier (on loan from Sasori Research, en route from Shri-Tal)

 

[Alleycat]

Tor Homestead Ruins​

Just outside Keldabe on the bluffs overlooking the Kelita River.

~~~

The sound of [member="Marcus Lok"] digging frantically above them was music to Mesh's ears. It gave her hope as the air was becoming awfully thin in the small, debris-sealed space under the dinning table the two Drals were stuck in since the initial earthquake struck. The woozy feeling from earlier though was starting to come back and the pain in her side too was making it harder to breath; or more so was it the lack of available oxygen? She had to hold on... The Slicer had come looking for her, and Valen. The thought made the young medic's heart swell... He cared.

When a big thud was heard on the other side of the wood table top, Mesh'la knew Marcus had gotten through, now to just get them out. Soon the table began to lift ever so slowly upward giving way to a small space in which to crawl through. The rush of fresh air yet full of dirt, dust, and ash (where did that come from?) did wonders along with the natural light to motivate the petite blonde to move. It was now or never as she could tell the tech-minded Mando was straining to hold the debris-ridden table up with the help of his crushgaunts as yet another aftershock struck.

It was amazing what adrenaline could do for the body making one's injuries all but forgotten in a moment of fight or flight Mesh'la squeezed through the small space with her baby boy practically smashed up against her armor, then they were free of their tomb. There was no time for a reunion or small talk with Marcus as the far edge of the bluff overlooking the Kelita River began to give way where the homestead was built back from. It would be but a matter of seconds before the whole bluff would collapse taking them and the Ravana with it. Marcus would have to act quickly to get them out of there once on board. They weren't out of danger quite yet no doubt though at least alive thanks to her knight in shinning armor, literally.

Mesh'la cradled Valen protectively in her arms as she stumbled towards the open boarding ramp of the waiting ship ironically spotting the top of her helmet and the strap to her medpac in the rubble though too far away for her to grab. They had been on the kitchen counter top before the earthquake.... So much for that home-cooked meal she was in the middle of making.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

The light hit the aging Mandalorian's visor. The jet-black reflection shined back on @HK-36. He had never met the droid, nor truthfully, did he know who exactly he was. He shifted in the ash as the droids helped him, and he climbed upwards, and fell to his knees. He was sobbing. He was sobbing, tears of relief, and pain.


He looked pleadingly up at the droid."My wife...my daughter. I can't find them. They were in the house, I can't find them- please."The Wolf was wounded in a way that was beyond flesh. That was beyond mortal things. His soul was wounded once more. But this time, he felt it more personally than before. His wife and child were buried under the ash- and no signs of life on any scans were detected. Nearly half of the homestead was crushed under the blast wave of the seismic charge, and where Aditya and Yasha were- was nearly evaporated. Preliat only survived because he had his armor on at the time. His wife and child, did not.

Things looked grim for him. He wailed, a sound that no man could produce without loss. It did not come from his throat, nor his voicebox- it came from his soul. His heart was torn asunder, destroyed by those whom he thought friends at one time. Allies did this to him. Allies might have just taken what was most precious to him. He remained on his knees, unable to contain his heartbreak.

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus winced as the weight of the table and stone finally came to pull hard against his arms forcing him to drop the table once Mesh and the infant were clear of the debris. His breathing was quick now as he ushered the wounded girl towards the vessel. They would make it. They would have to make it. The alternative was an endless drop into the void that much of the surface had already fallen victim to, and the planet was becoming more unstable by the second. By now, Marcus was only a few paces behind Mesh and the baby boy that was still cradled safely in her arms. She was running fast, and although she appeared to be somewhat injured, he had every confidence that she could hold her own at least until they got onto the ship.

The door rapidly approached, and in the corner of his eye, a familiar red glint shone true to reveal Mesh's helmet alongside what appeared to be some sort of medical satchel. One, he knew, was very important to her, and in a moment that he might reflect on better he shot out the grappling attachment on his gauntlet to wrap around the rugged frame of her helmet, battered though it looked among the dirt and rubble. Perhaps it would be a smooth warming over present once they had time to think about what had really just occurred to the planet they had both been born and raised on. So many lives lost... So much culture and history already lost to the countless scars and gauges that plagued the surface. It was horrible to imagine it all... But it was now fact.

Once they reached the metal ramp, the young slicer could only feel a pit sink to the bottom of his stomach at the sight beneath the Ravana, a twisted and cracked surface of stone and earth. He would have to act, and fast. He signalled the autopilot to engage the thrusters even before he had entered the cockpit, ushering Mesh'la to the small med-bay without saying much of a word. There was simply no time! As soon as he was sure that she had at least secured herself, he broke into a sprint right back to the command console as the engines had finally hummed to life and jetted them away from the collapsing form of what had once been the Tor homestead, replaced now by an enormous sinkhole that whirled with earth and dust that had collapsed within its' massive maw.

They had only just made it...

With little more to see on the horizon than the collapsed forms of buildings, and clouds of fleeing starships dotting the sky, he made for space. He had truly come close to losing her... And he knew it well.


[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mandalore Airspace​

Aboard the Ravana​

w/[member="Marcus Lok"]​

​

~~~​

​

Mesh'la was still running on pure adrenaline so when Marcus left her and Valen in the ship's medbay on his way to the cockpit, she went straight to work checking over her son. The medisensor was negative for any injuries. The only thing bothering the baby boy was some reactive airway complications from the exposure to the dust, dirt, and ash. She quickly prepared a nebulizer treatment that would ease his wheezing.

While he partook in that, the young medic used the hand-held diagnostic device on herself, confirming what she already had guessed: two broken ribs and a concussion from when Mesh was slammed against the the kitchen counter before picking up Valen from his playpen. And hitting the floor again afterward hadn't helped either. The small laceration on her forehead was easily cleaned and steri-stripped. Mending her fractured ribs with the bone-knitter would have to wait as another pair of hands would be needed. Hopefully Marcus would be up to the task...

Speaking of which, the chaotic flight since fleeing from the planet had seemed to ease a bit. As soon as Valen's neb treatment was over, she changed his diaper, then made her way up to the cockpit with the baby boy in her arms of course. Mesh'la slipped gingerly into the co-pilot's seat, her sapphire orbs glued to what was in front of her out the viewport... Manda'yaim. From space it looked untouched. She blinked hoping this was all a just a bad dream, but it wasn't. The screams for help over the comms was real.

"Vor entye, Mar'ika... from the bottom of my heart," Mesh offered with a heartfelt teary look his way, then a hopeful sadness was voiced. "Is there any news of survivors from the North Country especially Enceri... Ner ba'buire live there on a homestead in the foothills of the Three Sisters Mountain Range."

The Sisters were three snow-capped mountains that were supposedly extinct volcanos. If they had erupted, the melting glaciers would cause such a massive mud flow anything in its path would be demolished and buried in tons of earth and debris. There would be no way the elder Tors would survive if that happened.

"If it's safe to, could we do a fly by?" she asked, then added after a pained moment and a hard swallow. "I just need to know."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Preliat Mantis"],

At Preliat's plea the construction droid only beeped something in binary to HK, if Preliat could understand astromech speak, the industrial machine confirmed there was no more signs of life,

"Scan again."

The HK droid ordered to the other droid. Although it was not the main HK-36, he was still above the planet aboard his flagship, it was one of his four copies kept around in older bodies as his honor guards, in the end the one being he trusted the most was himself. They were called the Greycloaks, on account of the Grey chameleon cloaks they wore to distinguish them from the main HK droid who wore a black one.

Either way, while Preliat was on his knees, a couple more cloaked droids rappelled down to the ash, searching nearby area for other survivors, digging out what their scans picked up. They managed to pull out another men somewhere close by, half conscious but still breathing, there was also a body, a survivor that was not as lucky as Preliat and was either crushed or suffocated by the mountain of ash above them. Both of them wore armor like Preliat did, his neighbors from nearby homesteads most likely.

The construction droid finished his second scan and turned to them, beeping again from its prolonged hovering body,

"I am sorry."

The Greycloak spoke to Preliat, turning to him,

"There are no more life signs from below the ash."

The armored HK droid confirmed to him as other copies of him gathered the second survivor, and the preserved body they dug out, and pulled them aboard the stealth transport still hanging in the air above them. One would be given medical treatment, the other a proper burial. Of course the machines would give the same treatment to what remained of Preliat's wife and child, but the section where they were was vaporized as he mentioned, there were no remains to bury.

For once, however, the droid kept enough tact to refrain from using words like "Ashed", "Vapored", or "Glassed" around a grieving man.

"We need to keep moving."

The droid stepped closer to Preliat, as much as he wanted to help him out or put his mechanical hand on his shoulder, he respected his personal bubble for now, you never knew with Mandalorians, especially those who were as wounded as he was,

"There are more survivors out there we can still save, and this region is still fairly unstable."

The Greycloak pointed out,

"Besides, we need to find whoever was responsible for this, and show them the true meaning of vengeance."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

There was no words to be said. He wailed and was treated and set upon by the droids. He screamed in agony. In rage. In loss.


But he said nothing.

His fists pounded at the ash.

There was nothing he could do. Could have done. No way to see this coming- this act, that he would later learn as betrayal. He threw his arms out, and cursed the galaxy itself for setting him, on yet, another path of rage and of loss.

 

[Kaveh Garshasp]

The rescue shuttle hovered over one of the many homes covered in ash and debris. Its lights washed over the small hut as the two Kay'calyr droids shuffled through the ash. A faint call came over the coms. A muffled cry, or was it shout? It sounded like the howl of a Rekr who had given up all hope. The large man waved to the pilot from his seat in the troop bay of the LAAT.

<There's someone down there!>

The patrol on the ground slowed to a halt and Mandalorians poured out of the backside of the great metal beast. Kresh leaped from the LAAT, landing with a soft thud, his armor taking the brunt of his fall, his strong bones taking the rest. The Mandalorians were struggling to lift a heavy piece of rubble, but with a grunt and his massive strength he pushed with all his might. It lurched, throwing ash and light within.

<Is anyone down there?!> Kresh shouted in Mando'a.

[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I am here."

He said weakly, rising to a stand. In the midst of the ashes, in the midst of the debris of his life, Preliat stood a ghost- or perhaps, more fitting, a demon. He was a demon in his own hell. He looked upon [member="Kresh Danner"], and the Mandalorians that came forth from yet another of Gilamar Skirata's creations. The Mandalorians swarmed him, checking him for injuries. He was burned, that much was obvious. Burned where the flightsuit failed to protect him from the ash. Other than that, his armor stood steadfast. Beskar'kandar- the toughest that could come from the beskarsmiths.

He looked meekly at Kresh. Kresh, was one of the first people in Preliat's life, that wasn't his wife- to see him weak. The galaxy had caught up with him. And again, it took all that he cared for. He had gained it back, but now- all that he loved, held dearly and cherished- was buried by volcanic ash. And unknown to Preliat- it was because of an act of betrayal.

"Vor entye, ner vod."1


He made his way to the LAAT, wordlessly. He needed time and space to heal the wound. And replace what he lost with what he best knew- hate. Rage. The Wolf turned back to face Kresh, grateful for the man's arrival. He turned and nodded over at @HK-36. He stopped, just before getting onto the iron beast. He gripped the hull tightly, his crushgaunts made of a stronger metal casting a print of his curled fingers into it. He turned and locked his eyes onto the droid. Preliat did not have many friends. He thought that he just might've made at least two.

"No one, who did this- will be safe from me."


1. "Thank you, my brother."
However, in Mando'a, adding the term 'entye' makes the thanks literally translate to 'I accept a debt', showing a deeper appreciation.

 

[Marcus Lok]

It was still a wonder to him that they had escaped the massive destruction of the planet below. It was something incredible, like nothing he had ever seen before in his life. Whoever or whatever had caused such destruction on the Mandalorian homeworld had surely made them feel grief today. Marcus himself felt shocked to his core, though the adrenaline of the near fatal rescue attempt kept him on high alert as they entered the planet's airspace. From the window, Marcus could see endless stretches of earth disappearing as if it were never there, down below into the dark pits of the planet's core. It was as if the world were eating itself, and every soul that was still on the ground was going down with it.

The cockpit's co-pilot seat itself was located directly behind the pilot, though he did not have to look back to know the grief that now gripped Mesh'la. This had been a home to her like no other, and while a certain part of him still knew the attachment that he bore to the world, he knew that he could never feel as deeply for it as the blonde Baar'ur behind him. He heard her request, the broken tone of her voice nearly bringing a tear to his own eye as he came to realize the true gravity of the situation. How could he refuse her? What right did he have to deny her that satisfaction before they headed on past the atmosphere, leaving their homeworld for an unknown amount of time. With a heavy hand, he pushed the flight stick down towards the surface, beginning their run to the mountain range that held the historic homestead of the Tors.

The ship dipped low, dodging several large pieces of debris that had been flung into the atmosphere with the collapse of several larger city structures, though the large range soon came into view across the windscreen, their might all but forgotten as large chunks started to rip away from their sides. It was almost as if they were melting away into a sea of rubble and ash... It was devastating to say the least.

"We can't stay long..."

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]