Private Hidden Things

[Mia Monroe]

Mia never stopped. She never had time to stop, from one fight to the next and when she wasn't fighting she was barely on Mandalore for more than a day or two before she was gone again. Ijaat Mereel was supposed to hold down the proverbial fort, to lead their people from home, so she could freely move to cover their backs. Secret meetings with enemies, forging bonds with those who could help secure their future. that was what it all came down to.

It came down to their rebirth and their survival beyond that. If they were to reach anything close to the power the once were, then deals had to be made. Ones that she knew would not sit well with any of them. It was past time she revealed what she'd been doing. Drego Ruus and Arla Rodarch had proven themselves well enough now that she knew she could trust them, and Ijaat had had the decency to remove his head from his forge.

She stood with her back to the door, arms clasped in the small of her back, the manda swirled around her, the whispers of spirits bouncing off the conference rooms doors, her eyes milky as she stared unseeing at the view of Keldabe that the MandalMotors Tower granted her, listening to the whispers. Soft words of encouragement, angry hisses. They were in conflict with each other just as much as any mandalorian's were today. Bull-headed, each believing their opinion was the right one, so unwilling to see the bigger picture.

The sounds of footsteps approaching and the whispers fell silent, Mia blinked, her eyes returning to their normal sharp sapphire, glancing over her shoulder to see who was first to arrive.

 

[Drego Ruus]

​

The Warmaster's job was never ending. He'd been storming around the capital all day, his face becoming very familiar to the shops and street walkers of Mandalore.

Mia wanted him for something. He had been called for some sort me meeting. Normally, endurance running was his way of relaxing. His way of keeping fit, and keeping ready for the next battle. Now, he felt like his legs were burning. He wanted to sit down, desperately. As he entered the conference room, he looked to Mia Monroe with a groan, taking a seat and letting out a deep breath. "This...better be good..."

 

[Arla Rodarch]

Mandalore
MandalMotors Tower

Arla had reports strewn across her desks, from lists to dossiers to a giant pile of requests which she was ignoring. She had made steady progress against the endless tide of bureaucracy that continued to pile up if it were not dealt with. She didn't enjoy it, but she enjoyed the results of not dealing with it far less. Mia's summons was a welcome respite from the sisphyean tasks.

Keen to check in with the Mandalorian Protectors' second, and with the Mand'alor too, who were as busy if not more than she was, Arla made her way down to the offices Mia occupied in the MandalMotors tower. She wore her armour, but her helmet was off, and she didn't bother with the usual face of imminent violence she showed the galaxy; not with Mia, Ijaat, and Drego, who were all present.

"Kad, what's all this?" Arla said. Immediately she caught the mood, and read the room.

She could tell by the fact the three most senior vode were here that this was serious as hell. Especially because it was just the four of them. This didn't happen often, not as often as any of them would prefer, she knew. Life kept you busier than you'd prefer.

She decided to amend her lighthearted approach. Wishing that this were a social occasion was inappropriate. This was something else entirely. "Forget it. What's up?" Arla's tone switched to business.

Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel Drego Ruus

 

[Ijaat Mereel]

Ijaat walked in last. Haggard, worn. There was a sag to his shoulders, a sunken look to his eyes that spoke of days or more without proper sleep, nutrition, or hydration. Obsession had kept him with a handful of apprentices he had taken on. Obsession of his great work. But, word had reached his ears of Mia unraveling similar to his own wasting, and if nothing else could stir him across the void, that would. He came armed and armored, oddly enough his hands and forearms covered in thick bandages that, unlike the rest of him, looked fresh and clean and well-maintained.

His helmet at his hip, he looked around briefly, but his eyes landed in a predictable spot as he smiled weakly to Mia, even his aura faltering and wobbly, as if strained.

"Su'cuy... Pardon the lateness. The apprentices are finishing the work and have kicked me out, swearing the last bits of the project they can handle themselves now. Unfortunately, you will be seeing more of my face around these parts again."

Arla Rodarch | Drego Ruus | Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia turned away fully from the window once they had all entered, her hands resting on the back of one of the chairs as she looked at each of them. "Thank you for coming. I don't often call on you, so I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules." her eyes lingered for a moment on Ijaat. "Your presence among our people is needed Mand'alor, there's nothing unfortunate about seeing your face again." she offered a small smile in return, noting the strain, the strangeness of his aura, but she didn't press. If he wanted to tell her than he would come to her when he was ready.

"The time has come for me to reveal some things to you, now that we have a good foothold underneath us. You're not going to like any of them and none of them are to be discussed beyond this room." She pulled the chair out and settled into it. " Darth Malum of House Marr is, as of this moment, on your no kill list." She paused for a moment, before continuing.

"While we were still establishing our borders, I made a deal with him, to gain access to the Tsis'Karr and their information network to get early warning systems in place, to allow us to gather intelligence on the Kainites and their leader Carnifex. In return, I will help him eliminate opposition within the Sith Order that might stand in the way of his ascension. This deal is still in place and will remain in place until the Kainties are eliminated, and Carnifex is brought to justice for his crimes. By which point, I hope for Malum to be in a position within the Order in which he can assure we are left alone."

Ijaat Mereel Drego Ruus Arla Rodarch

 

[Drego Ruus]

Tag: Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel Arla Rodarch
​

From under his helm, Drego couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Already making deals with dar'jetii Mia? And here I thought I trusted you." The sarcasm was thick with this one. "Alright, are we talking all of House Marr, or am I gonna have to be worrying about picking a single target out of a crowd? Hate to say it, but the sith don't exactly make it easy to tell them apart on the battlefield. A mortar shell isn't gonna discriminate between Kainites and Eternalists. Speaking of which, what's our stance on them? We're drawing lines here, and it's just gonna complicate the battlefield."

Drego knew he was gonna be in for a ride when he signed on as Warmaster. He didn't expect to have to draw lines between which sith he was blowing up.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

Mandalore
MandalMotors Tower

"Kriffing Malum." Arla said, more to say something than out of conversation. Drego raised some important questions, and Arla already had about thirty more running through her head. She'd not expected anything like this, and she forced herself to process logic and not emotion.

For her the most important detail was that Mia had volunteered such things, with no coercion or pressure. That was very important, for whatever Arla felt, she could trust Mia. Still, the notions warred in her mind as she prevented herself from further outbursts by watching Drego, and Ijaat and Mia.

Arla considered that Mia's actions were almost certainly a mistake to her mind. She wished that it were otherwise. She wished that she had not been told not to kill Malum. She knew that the whole thing was wrong in her heart, that it would end in betrayal and woe for them and their people.

But

She trusted Mia, and that trust had just been heavily reinforced by Mia willingly confessing something so dire. So, despite all her misgivings, deep misgivings, Arla would accept the reality, and trust her friend and mentor. She put Mia's judgement ahead of her own, and accepted things.

The Journeyman Protector took a deep breath.

"But, what's done is done." She'd let the Warmaster ask his questions, and listen carefully to the answers. For now, she had accepted the deal. She didn't have to like it. She was going to express her doubts to her friend privately, but Arla accepted the course. They could not afford to be divided. Especially now.

Ijaat Mereel Mia Monroe Drego Ruus

 

[Ijaat Mereel]

"I won't seek him out. But if he crosses me, he won't survive. That is all I can promise, cyar'ika..."

He sighed. Plans within plans. But that was what Mia was there for, the subtle edge to his blunt force. He sighed and looked around to those in the is room. His closest and best supporters and friends. And he nodded.

"I have things to speak of too, once you have laid bare your plans. Speak on, love."

Drego Ruus | Mia Monroe | Arla Rodarch

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia sighed. The reaction was not as bad as she was expecting, in all honesty, but its still wasn't great. "Trust me, or don't trust me. It doesn't matter. The deals I make are in our favour long term. We've been fighting the sith for long enough, this deal will help us find an end to it. Its likely we'll have to cross blades with him as time progresses, simply to maintain the illusion. The Kainites are the ones that hold control in the Sith State, they will be who we are fighting most, the Eternalists are likely to side with them but the Tsis'Kasr are not warmongers, their spies, the likeliness of us running into them are small. As for the rest of his house, I made no promise to him to protect them."

She inclined her head to Arla, at least she didn't have a lot to say on the matter though whether that was a good thing or not she wasn't sure. Ijaat however. "You'll need to do more than that, cyar'ika. he's likely to wind up my son in law, to complicate matters further. Elise has gone to him." She didn;t give more detail than that, though the sorrow in her expression was enough of a message on her feelings on the matter of Elise Ahana-Gwyneira defecting. Mia had played her part in pushing her away, unintentionally so.

"We were approached by the Dark Empire." she continued, not wanting to linger on the topib more than she had to, fingers moving to activate a hologram sahring the details of Onrai 's offer "Or rather someone who claims to hold some power and voice within their ranks, I don't trust them but I'm not against using this as a bargaining chip. In return for supporting them, they would offer us everything we need to restore Mandalore. The specific phrase they used was the wanted the service of the protectors. something I'm not keen on."

Arla Rodarch Drego Ruus Ijaat Mereel

 

[Drego Ruus]

Tag: Arla Rodarch Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel
​

"No." Drego said with a firmness in his voice. "While I agree we can use them as a bargianing chip, there's no way I'd be able to sleep at night knowing the homeworld was restored because of the Dark Empire. I fought against their folk back during the Great Hyperspace War, under a different name admittedly, but it's all the same people. Imps and Maw. The GA have offered us resources, and manpower, and we'd be backstabbing them if we ever actually took that offer. At least to me, the Dark Empire are just as bad as the Kainites. I don't trust them as far as I can throw Carnifex himself."

Drego needed to stand firm here. He had just secured weapon contracts with Shuklaar Kyrdol , and he didn't want to burn that bridge already making backroom deals with the Maw. "Besides, we take that offer, who knows what they'll want down the line. Folks like that don't make charity deals without wanting a favor or two down the line."