In Cold Respite

[Jak Skirata]

There's an old Mandalorian saying that goes:​

Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore.​

Roughly translated, that means​

Pressure makes gems, ease makes decay.​

I came to this place on a simple job,​

To kill Noqway Talvani​

But I guess the old saying is true.​

Aranzeb; Summer-3:45GST



The howling summer winds of Aranzeb brought nothing but cold and death. Even the beasts of this land fall prey to the ice embrace of death. A long history of isolation and fear made the world a perfect temporary hideout for thugs and criminals. A history of violence on the planet, wiped from most history archives, gave its people a grit not often seen in aruetii. They were survivors and fighters and they fought like Hell to keep themselves and their families alive on these frozen wastes.



The low shuffle of feet through these white wastes echoed on the wide open snow plains as a caravan made its way to their next location. The high pitched whir of the large and ancient freight droids known on the planet as Bes’uliik filled the air along with the occasional grunt from the small herd of Bantha that traveled with them. The wind buffeted the Banthas, eliciting a few loud moans. The alpha tucked its head to its chest and allowed the short gust to berate it, taking the brunt of the savage gust. Both the Bantha and Bes’uliik treaded along the snow covered earth, clearing a path for the heft bev’uliik and cuyan riders that protected the caravan. They seemed almost regal in the way they carried themselves. Sitting up tall and straight on their mounts with their four-eyed helmets on a constant swivel. They held their old blaster rifles at a relaxed position and their bantha-fur cloaks, covered in a light powder, fluttered around them as the wind began to pick up.



Their silence was eerie, almost unnatural for such a large group. It was if all joy had been robbed from their lives, forever bound on their death march to nowhere. For such a solitary people then, it was curious when the entire caravan stopped and from the small cargo hold of the main freight bes’uliik stepped one of these curious creatures. Taller than most of the others it held a strong presence in the Force, much stronger than its other three force sensitive brothers and sisters. Behind the mask his yellow eyes narrowed.



Through the snow he trudged, one of the hunters following close behind on his bev’uliik. It was a curious site, but not one uncommon to the nomadic people. A cold hand, no doubt attached to an even colder body. A shrill set of clicks and the two turned from the unfortunate site. Again, the shaman turned and looked to the hand as it reached for something. The shaman closed his eyes, reaching out in the Force to anything that would touch back. The bev’uliik grunted and the hunter began to move away from the scene. Another series of clicks, this time from the shaman stopped the hunter in his tracks. The hunter threw his hands up in frustration, but turned his beast around and waited for his elder.

 

[Jak Skirata]

The shaman knelt down beside the exposed hand, touching it, the Force flowing through his palm and into the hand left exposed to the elements. Only a miracle could be expected from this man, as nothing else would change the outcome of his touch. When the hand flinched at the shaman’s touch both of the Arenzebites flinched in turn. The Shaman then gripped the hand tightly, sending out healing waves in the Force. Warmth flowed from his gloved hand into the bare one that lay protruding from the snow.


Color returned to the hand and below the Shaman the ground began to shift. He could feel it, though he had never felt it before, he knew what this was. The Force had gripped Davin and raised him from perdition. He latched onto that faint whisper in the Force, gripped it for dear life as it lifted him from his icy Hell. As the dead man rose from his powdered grave the hunter raised his rifle in fear. Without thinking as if on instinct, while still shaking death’s hand from his shoulder, waved his right hand, tipping the blaster rifle up and to the right.


A red bolt flew into the sky, the sound of his blaster ringing throughout the frozen waste. Almost immediately a cloud of white erupted from the caravan as several hunters rushed to save their Shaman. Drool dripped from the man’s mouth, his libs still a shade of blue. His eyelids which had been frozen shut now struggled to stay open with Davin slipping in and out of consciousness. Blackness enveloped his vision as excited clicks and groans came from the strange creatures which had saved his life.


Davin awoke with a start wrapped in a warm blanket made of animal furs, a small artificial heat lamp illuminated the cargo hold of the large cargo bes’uliik. His vision was still blurred, but when he woke a smaller one of those creatures jumped to his feet and began clicking excitedly and beckoning the large one over from the darkness of the dimly lit cargo hold. Davin inhaled sharply and the musty smell of tanning leather and what he could only assume was some sort of stew filled his nostrils.


“Ugh!” More clicking, “By the Manda that smells worse than a strill’s backside…” That apparently drew the large one’s attention.


<Speak you Mando’a?> this brought a curious look from Davin. Of course he spoke Mando’a, but…the way this creature spoke it was strange. He nodded.


<Aye,> he replied quizzically, <What are you?> This brought what he could only assume was meant to be a chuckle. The Shaman pondered this for a while and then spoke in his strange Mando’a.


<We Arenzebite are, call Tolth you may me. One Lyyr call this.> All of this broken Mando’a was giving Davin a headache…Or maybe that was the hypothermia he had just barely survived. Sitting up, cross legged he cradled his forehead in the palm of his hands. They were still cold. His stomach growled and his throat was dry as the deserts of Tatooine, but first things came first. He had noticed at once when he woke up that none of his gear was with him. Not even his credits. He wondered if these Arenzebites took them.


<When you picked me up did you see anything around? Like my beskar’gam or tracy’uur?> if he was going to survive this harsh place he needed armor and a weapon and with both of his main things gone…Well, he was kark out of luck. Of course Tolth shook his head solemnly.


<Wayii! This is just a great karking mess I’ve gotten into, eh?> Silence. All eight of the pair’s eyes were trained on him. <Eh…I guess not much for talking,> he grunted as he stood. Suddenly he was in the air, or rather, he felt like he was. A resounding thud on the metal floor confirmed his theory. He had blacked out for a moment and taken a dive. Both Tolth and Lyyr looked at him concerned, at least Davin could only assume that’s what that had been.


<Well not you enough are…Feed and rest need you.> and the shaman was right. A night of rest and a full stomach later along with some healing from the Shaman and his apprentice and Davin was feeling alive again. But he still had only the clothes on his back. And a flightsuit was not ideal for the arctic.

 

[Jak Skirata]

A warm, lightly armored jacket with internal Tibanna powered heat dispersers was all he could ask for when a search of the cargo hold gifted them nothing else for the cold man to wear. Davin spent that day with the caravan, leaving wasn’t an option for him at this point. With no vehicle and no extra bev’uliik for him to use to get to one of the Valkyri or Exonard settlements he was stuck with the quiet group of aliens. Many of the hunters, if not all of them in this caravan could touch the Force, or as he learned they called it, the Manda. It was a funny thought, the Mandalorian afterlife being likened to the Force, but it wasn’t too far off. The Jedi believed that all returned to the Force after death, just a mass grave of people. It was no different in that respect than the Manda. An interesting thought.


The Hunters though, utilized their power superbly, commanding respect from their mounts through a combination of respect, training, and the Force. They had connected to them on such a level that he had been told it would be nigh impossible to separate a mount from its rider. A basic skill, he was told, to control a beast through the Force. As night began to fall and the caravan slowed to a crawl Davin returned to Tolth’s bes’uliik as the night got colder. The smell of the Arenzebites’ strange stew filled the dimly lit cargo hold. A grunt came from the old shaman as he stirred the pot.


<Know you mine people trust you not,> he began, <Much longer your stay cannot guarantee I.> He looked up from preparing the meal to meet the eyes of Davin who was stirring his own small bowl of stew.


<Aye, I figured as much…> he said, sighing as he shifted on the fur sleeping mat he had been gifted. <But I can’t just go out there on my own, I’ll freeze to death before I get any sort of communication link.> This caused a long, drawn out sigh that sounded more like a groan, but he had gotten enough of those when he was watching the Hunters earlier in the day to understand. To them, he was aruetii, an outsider and despite the language they shared, they were not Mandalorian and he was not one of them.


<Talk in morning.> And with that, the conversation ended and Davin retired to the smallest, darkest corner of the cargo bay for the night.


Outside the cargo hold of the blizzard was getting worse. As day began to break on the cold, icy world the Bantha and their caretakers began to rise with the sun. Steadily they continued on their trek to the next outpost. After their short conversation the night before, Davin asked Tolth to teach him how they controlled their beasts. Maybe, with that knowledge the nomadic people would tolerate him, just a little longer. If he could contribute then they had no need to complain.


Learning from another species speak a broken language was a difficult task. Honestly, it was worse than his time in Uni, but he grasped the basic idea of it quickly. It worked on a similarly to the old Jedi mind trick. Of course, animals’ minds were weaker than that of a sentient lifeform and so the ‘trick’ was less of a suggestion and more of a dominating force. They user appealed to an animal’s most basic instincts and placed himself high on the chain of command. A pack leader, an alpha. That is what one strived to become when using this power. It was an interesting thought process, and one that he could relate to. It was nearly the same principle used when training beasts without the Force.


The day dragged on, and Davin again spent time outside with the Caravan, though not much. He was soon forced back inside due to the intense blizzard. Without his beskar’gam’s macrobinoculars he could barely see a foot in front of him, and so he retired back to the bes;uliik with the Tolth and Lyyr. Another day went by with no end to the blizzard in sight. Davin and Lyyr spent time honing their use of the Force together, passing a small, round, ornate orb.


The next day, as the sun hit its highest point a rumble shook the droid pack mule, startling all inside and stopping the droid in its tracks. A tingling sense of danger ran down his spine, all three of them felt it. A loud crash erupted from outside, chunks of ice pounded the hull of the droid. Blaster fire and shouting made its way to the ears of the trio inside the bes’uliik. Loud shouting in their broken Mando’a could be heard,


<In, get! To Bes’uliik! Kill it!> cries of pain and death soon followed. Cursing under his breath Davin grabbed the closest weapon he could find, an ancient blaster rifle, jerry rigged to work with new and old power packs and less than reliable.


<Davin! Take care of it Hunters will,> but the cargo bay doors were already lowering. His eyes met those of Davin’s. They spoke of a will to fight, and protect those that had protected and fed him these last few days. Behind his mask all four of his eyes narrowed as he tested the waters of Davin’s resolve.


<A Mandalorian never lets a good fight slip away…Besides, you’ve all saved my life. What sort of honor-less Mando would I be?> The two stared for a few more moments, blaster fire and shouting still coming from the front of the caravan.


<Here,> the elder tossed a full canister of Tibanna to Davin with the Force. It landed scare in the palm of the young Mandalorian’s hand. With a twist and a click the Tibanna canister was traded out. A silent nod from the Mando and he was off. He leaped from the cargo bay, griping the upper lip and flinging himself over the top with the Force. Even in the blinding white of the blizzard he could make out the green bolts of energy being flung by the blasters of the Hunters, a large red shadow the focus point of them. Whatever it was, every time a blaster bolt hit it, that part of its skin glowed orange.

 

[Jak Skirata]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg02T7H5rFs&list=PLqwYk0Q739hy1-J9X43y3ip1xv4v-BWSR&index=6

A horrible hissing roar assaulted his senses as the beast continued its assault. It towered over even the giant Arenzebites and its red skin contrasted heavily in the white of the snow. Rows of sharp teeth filled its strange and terrifying triangular maw and black tipped claws shredded through the environmental suits of all that stood in its way.


Despite being powerful warriors the Hunters were struggling with this beast. Chaos had ripped through the usually disciplined and stoic unit and equipped with only blasters and small hunting knives the energy absorbant skin of this beast was proving to make it quite the adversary. Watching the scene from a short distance back, Davin closed his eyes and reached out to the beast in the Force. Of course, the Arenzebites who seemed to be masters of this technique had decided it not be worth the trouble to sway this particular monster, but it didn’t mean Davin couldn’t try. After all, he was only equipped with the same crude blasters.


His mind touched the beast’s and for a moment the beast paused in its rampage, giving the Hunters a respite from the onslaught. Its deadly tails stopped flailing and its massive head shifted to look at Davin. Heads turned to look at Davin as he stood concentrating with his hands reached out to the red creature. To be the alpha he needed to remind himself that he was the stronger, smarter warrior. A man that did not give ground. The beast skittered forward a few steps as to challenge Davin and he took one step forward, then two.


The monster skittered back uneasily as Davin made his advance. Not control, but he had grabbed its attention enough, just-Or maybe it had been playing with Davin, toying with him. It seemed that way as it lead him away from the caravan. With his eyes closed he could not see just how far away he had gone. And then it charged him and the connection snapped. Swatted like a fly he crashed through a thin wall of ice. He tumbled and rolled, sliding down the frozen tunnel.

He grunted in pain and looked up to see the horrendous creature attempting to squeeze inside, its jaws snapping wildly at him. Looking frantically for his blaster he took the tibanna canister from the small of his back where it was connected and tossed it into the mouth of the creature, its teeth shredding the durasteel with ease. With a click his blaster was active, full auto.




With a terrifying Mandalorian battle cry he pulled the trigger and let his blaster pour into the beast’s maw, setting its cranium aflame, the bolts eventually burning away the red skin around its face. A terrible hissing sound accompanied by a stench that could not be described with words filled the small cave. The monster thrashed, slamming its head against the icy walls before stuttering out and writhing in pain as the cold ate away at its skull, killing it in a matter of moments.

 

[Jak Skirata]

Heaving breaths of relief, condensation filled his goggles and clouds of his hot breath occupied his vision. His head fell back against the ice as the adrenaline began to slow. He felt sore all over, probably from being tossed like a rag doll through ice and he was mentally and emotionally drained. Was this from using the Force to such a harsh degree? The familiar clicks of the Arenzebite language echoed from outside. Shuffling, sliding and the loud thwack of an ice pick piercing frost brought a familiar face into view. Tolth, with one lengthy arm reached down the hole and the two warriors clasped arms. With his immense strength Tolth pulled Davin from his icy hole into the freezing blizzard. Almost immediately Davin began to shiver. Bantha fur was good, but Arenzeb was colder than Hoth some days and without the Tibanna heating his armor Davin was feeling the chill.


Several Hunters were gathered outside the hole along with Lyyr laughing at the foolhardy Mando. Playful jests and shoves were given and a heavier coat than the one he currently wore was placed around his shoulders. Tolth’s.


That night was a solemn night. Two Hunters and one Healer had perished in the assault, not to mention the various suit breaches that had left many near death and unconscious from suffocation and near hypothermia. One Bantha was severely wounded which meant death prematurely. They needed supplies to make it to the next outpost and with two Hunters dead, their mounts were now without a proper partner. For now, they were stuck in their place for several days as the burials commenced and the Bantha was stripped of what they could on such short notice.


As night brought darkness on the icy plains of Arenzeb the caravan mourned its dead, removing them from their icy tombs and placing them on the now roaring pyres. Shrill cries and shouts and prayers were murmured through the night and the blizzard slowed to a light snow.



<You know…I could travel into town, pick up the supplies you need.> that was only partly true. He also needed some hints on where to find his bounty who probably had all of his gear…Tolth could see through his offer though, but did not argue and nodded.


<You shall take Kaliah,> he nodded to the bev’uliik laying near the pile of snow that was had been her master’s grave. <Strong very she is, there take will you. Our ways, teach you I will.>


Davin nodded, understanding the gravity of the old shaman’s promise. Trudging through the snow Davin made his way to the mourning beast and slowly reached out his hand to run it through the course fur of the Mandalorian beast of burden.

 

[Jak Skirata]

The warmth of the beast flooded his hand. Its head turned and their eyes locked. The Force was a mysterious thing, and even more mysterious was the Kiffar’s connection to it. A blessing and a curse the power of Psychometry had been honed and mastered by many a Kiffar and even Jedi. Davin’s mind and spirit however were not attuned to the Force in the same way as his ancestors and with no control he was sometimes prone to these flashes, unorganized and violent.


As Davin looked into the eyes of the beast he was thrust into a series of memories, the connection the beast shared with her rider. Flashes of blizzards, harsh winters and wild hunts flooded his mind. The two shared a connection that even he could envy.


Dropped back into reality, the beady eyes of Kaliah staring deeply into his own. His training would begin on the morrow.

 

[Jak Skirata]

Of course the next day was somber as well. No snow fell from the grey skies that morning, but fresh powder blanketed the three four giant bes’uliik and it clung to the thick fur of the beasts of the caravan. Tolth woke both Lyyr and Davin early to begin Davin’s training and resume Lyyr’s.

The three of them approached thee bev’uliik. Of course, Kaliah was less than pleased to see the man whom had attempted to pry into her mind. She snorted and reeled back, threatening the trio with angry stomps.

<Udesii Kaliah,> whispered Tolth, a gentle hand reaching out to the agitated animal. Almost immediately she began to calm, grunting in a stubborn manner and turning away from the trio to go back to her dried grasses. <She challenge will be, but will try her restrain while begin training you, Lyyr has already connection made with Bev’uliik. We will travel half distance you with. I will try and give tips on way.>

With a sigh Davin attempted to approach Kaliah as Tolth and Lyyr mounted their bev’uliik. She huffed at Davin, nodding her head in a challenging manner. Her tusk could easily pierce through his armor but this was the first step…Wasn’t it?

<Alright…Kaliah, let me just...hop on up there alright?> She stared at him. Her left ear twitched and she turned from him, walking towards Tolth. <Hey! I was talking to you, you dumb cow!> her head flipped at him, she huffed, and without warning charged at him, her head lowered and ready to ram. Cursing under his breath, calling on the Force he rolled out of her way causing her to plow through the dried hay that had been put out for the Bev’uliik and Bantha to eat. She shook her head in annoyance and tried again, only to be dodged again.

<Woah…woah,> Davin muttered, putting his arms out to offer an apology. <I didn’t mean it like that…> his words were ignored, and she charged again. Taking a deep breath Davin had a feeling he would regret this. Though these people were not Mandalorian, they valued strength and so he took a gamble.

He charged.

He charged, shouting, calling on the Force to amplify his voice in a way he didn’t think he could. Fear, anger, and frustration fueled his power as he charged the Mandalorian rhino. A deadly game of chicken ensued and as the two came closer, he touched her mind again, this time involuntarily. For a moment she hesitated, slowing her run, but it was too late. Davin had won the battle and gained ground. He slid past her, using the Force to slow his slid and leaped, summersaulting in the air and landing atop the beast’s back.

She flailed, but with his feet firmly locked into the saddle’s magnetic footholds and a tight grip on the reigns he wasn't going anywhere.

<Udesii Kaliah! Udesii, udesii!> Davin attempted to emanate calm in the Force to settle the beast, touching her mind again.

<Ease grip!> Tolth shouted from afar. <It will calm her!> Davin too the advice, still pushing out calming waves in the Force. He couldn’t tell if it was because she was just tired of flailing or if what Tolth had said actually worked but slowly she calmed down and made her way panting to Tolth and Lyyr. Both of them chuckled at the Mandalorian’s straightforward tactic.