Private Lost and Found

[Adelle Bastiel]

Sundari, Mandalore
Tags: Mia Monroe | Prisoner #36929

"Adelle, I know you already have your hands full with Liorra, but I've another student I need your help with."

That was it. The entirety of the message, aside from a location and time at the end. Adelle had to look at the sending account to even figure out who it was from.

Warmaster Monroe.

Of fething course.

As if she didn’t have enough on her plate with the recent incident with the Jedi at the Embassy. Still, there were few suicidal enough to challenge the Warmaster over something only inconvenient, and Adelle hadn’t reached the point of wanting to die just yet.

But knowing she was meeting with Monroe set her on edge. Had kept her on edge up until the appointed day. She had a lot of complicated feelings about the woman and her memnii didn’t help.

Phantom in her fluorescent orange vest hopped down from her shoulders as Adelle entered the empty training room, footsteps echoing. She was an hour early or thereabouts. Deliberately so. If the reference to Liorra was any indication, Monroe had found someone Force sensitive. And if Adelle was to do anything involving the Force, she wanted to be centered. Steady.

Which meant soothing her inflamed anxiety and the stresses life handed her.

The room had been built with Force users in mind. Panels on the walls could pop out and move into platform positions, while other panels hid training droids and probes. Training sabers were available for use. It was one of only a few training rooms like it in Sundari. There was still some underlying tension with Force-users becoming so prominent in Mandalorian society.

Adelle dropped her duffel bag down at the edge of the training ring proper and pulled the black hilt from its mag-locked position on the back of her belt. The Ankarres sapphire within hummed with a resonance like her own presence, like looking at her own reflection in still water. She closed her eyes and hovered her free hand over the hilt, adjusting the internals so the power very nearly equaled a training saber. It’d still hurt like feth all if she hit someone with it, but she didn’t anticipate needing to use it this session. It was more of a failsafe, just in case.

The familiar lightsaber katas were practically second-nature to her by now. Adelle settled into the opening stance of Form One, Shii-Cho, and stepped into the kata, slow and controlled. It was a ritual at this point: move through the forms katas slow at first then work through them faster and faster until she was breathless. She’d never been able to shake the dancing influence from her footwork, but the repetitive motions helped clear her mind like a sitting meditation never could.

She moved through the first set of katas, flowing from the foundational Form 1 to the more elegant Makashi and into the steady Soresu. Soresu turned into the eternally moving Ataru which became the fluid Shien/Djem So kata. The balanced Niman followed and turned into the intense precision and speed of Juyo/Vaapad. Adelle felt the natural inclination to speed up during the last kata, her weakest form, but kept her pace slow, steady. Speed would come with the next round of katas.

Adelle finished the warm-up round in the same place she started. Phantom had curled up on top of the duffel bag and offered an unimpressed yawn. Adelle rolled her eyes then her shoulders. There was still plenty of time before Monroe arrived with this new student. She could finish another one or two rounds.

And hopefully be ready to deal with whatever Monroe felt inclined to throw at her this time.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia had been a little less vague with her student. She had forewarned him that they would be meeting the Iron Lord, and that it was because she wanted him to be tested to fully understand the extent of what he did and didn't know where the force was concerned. He was a step behind her, disciplined in that regard since they'd sparred on Charros IV. She had told him he would be her shadow and her shadow he had become. She reached a hand out as they moved, her steps slowing as she beckoned him forward, bringing him to her side so she could speak to him.

"I am probably going to earn some ire from Adelle if I don't at least give you the basics of what we're doing here. Iron Wolves are the name we give our force wielding Mandalorian's. Like the Jedi and the Sith but not so restrictive. We are mandalorians first, always, our role is to educate those who need it, to heal and to protect against force born threats. Adelle and myself are Iron Lords, people who have mastered command of the force but our experiences mean she is the better person to test you."

She put a hand in front of him, stopping him as a group of soldiers ran across the corridor in tight formation, Mia's sharp eyes watching them before turning her gaze to him. "Ask questions. Adelle is gentler than I, she won't bite. And understand that this is not a test you can fail. It is simply a test to understand what you do know."

Her hand dropped and she marched them forward again, finding the training room set aside for them, the door opened and they slipped in quietly, Mia pressing a finger to her lips as they did, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth as they watched Adelle move through different lightsaber forms, her pace steady and controlled, lightsaber humming as it passed through the empty air. Mia's head tilted her eyes shifting around the room once before she moved to a control panel beside the door, tapping quietly at it.

There was a glint in her eye as she moved back to his side, mischievous almost as a panel further along the wall slid open, five training probes shot forward to encircle Adelle.

"Watch how she moves, how everything shifts."

Adelle Bastiel Prisoner #36929

 

[Prisoner #36929]

Tags: Mia Monroe | Adelle Bastiel
Equipment: X​

Head down and focus maintained, Prisoner kept his eyes on the Warmaster's boots. He didn't want to risk a clumsy step or a lapse in etiquette. The Nagai had done well so far, trailing her like a ghost since their time on Charros IV. Failure wasn't an option. He couldn't quite name the fear tightening his chest, but he knew the knowledge she offered was too valuable to lose.

When the Warmaster beckoned him forward, he lengthened his stride to match her pace. Hair fell over his face as he peeked at her, listening with the intensity of a young man whose life depended on it. He had learned to process information before speaking. Don't ask the first thing that comes to mind. Absorb everything and research the gaps later. He gave a sharp nod to show he understood the role of the Iron Wolves.

The pair moved into the training room as quietly as possible. Watching the Warmaster, he caught a glint of mischief in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. It was a look that felt almost dangerous. Suddenly, panels slid open and training probes swarmed the woman in the center of the ring. Prisoner did his best to track the movements of the one called Adelle, trying to see how her weight shifted and how the Force guided her.

Concentration proved difficult, however. His eyes kept darting toward the edge of the mat, wide with disbelief. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat as he remembered his instructions.

"Is that a..." He started to whisper, then caught himself.

He was supposed to be analyzing combat forms and the flow of energy. That was the mission. It was just significantly harder to focus on katas when a cat in a fluorescent orange safety vest was lounging nearby. He forced his gaze back to the training ring, determined to be the student she expected, even if the scenery was bizarre.

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Mia Monroe | Prisoner #36929

Phantom lifted her head from the warm nest she had made on top of her human’s bag, staring at the newcomers with wide eyes that became half-lidded. The one with a black and gold shell—armor, her human had called it—she recognized. She had nice scratches and pets, even if her human had very complicated, very confusing feelings about her. The black and gold human, in her opinion, had the qualities of a good queen and would have done well as a mother feline. The other one seemed young and skittish. She’d have called him a mouse if it wouldn’t have been an insult to Gold Queen. There was time yet.

The spukami stood and arched her back before stretching her forepaws way out in front of her and then rocking forward to stretch her hind legs. She shook her head then padded quietly over to Gold Queen and rubbed her head and back against her metal shins as a greeting, then twined through her ankles before finally sitting and giving a soft meow. <<Pets?>>

*

She was halfway through the third round of katas when she felt the stormy presence that heralded the Warmaster’s approach. Someone else was with her, their presence unrefined and malleable. Something else was there, something Adelle couldn’t quite put her finger on as she went through the sets. It would probably reveal itself during the tests. Until then, Adelle could wait. After she finished this round of katas.

The Force shifted suddenly, a moment before training probes hissed through the air. A flash of irritation flared and disappeared just as quickly. Adelle’s focus sharpened. Her old Order’s training probes stung but the Mandalorian probes hurt. And she didn’t have to wait long to figure out what level Monroe had set them at.

Blue bolts of ionic energy lit up the air as all five started firing at once. Adelle set her jaw, lightsaber already in motion, deflecting bolts. They began to move around her in random patterns, looking to flank, to gain height, to strike low. She adapted with them as if following the steps of a complicated dance, shifting between Soresu’s defense and Ataru’s acrobatic movements.

They were set to the highest level.

Fething Monroe.

Two would have been enough for a training session. Three pushed her limits.

Five. What was Monroe trying to do, embarrass her?

Adelle kept up as much as she could, pushing aside the incredible sting when the rare bolt landed. Finally, she managed to directly deflect two bolts into their respective probes, initiating their temporary shut down as they had to reboot. A moment to breathe. She spun out of the way of another bolt, cobalt blade moving behind her back to catch a second bolt, and flung out a hand at the control panel. The button to end the exercise depressed with an invisible hand.

All five training droids retreated to their respective places behind a wall panel as Adelle thumbed the lightsaber off, replacing it on her belt at the small of her back.

“Is hijacking everything I do a new pasttime of yours?” Adelle asked as she turned to face Monroe, an acerbic edge to the light tone. “Or is this just a special occasion?”

Phantom, of course, was already begging for attention from the Warmaster.

“Traitor,” she muttered.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia followed Prisoner’s gaze, wondering what kept snagging his attention while Adelle’s calm practice became a frantic flurry of defensive maneuvers. She didn’t need to hear the Iron Lord thoughts to know she was cursing her. Phantom stretched and padded over with the lazy grace only a feline could encompass and Mia crouched to greet her.

“Yes." she answered his unfinished question with a smile. "Pay attention.” She told Prisoner, while she obliged the demand for pets, scratching beneath her chin. “Hello Phantom.” she said in a low voice as her hand ran down the soft fur of her back, her eyes lifting as the fizz of a bolt hitting a probe drew her attention back to Adelle. She let out a low chuckle at the edge in her tone as the droids retreated back behind their panels.

“Seems prudent to carry on as I started.” she replied, tapping her shoulder gently to invite Phantom up. The spukami didn’t hesitate, leaping lightly and settling into place, purring loudly in Mia’s ear as she continued to fuss her.

“Why did you stop? You took two down already, the rest should have been a breeze.”

Her head tilted studying the former Jedi for a moment before shaking her head and gesturing towards her student and waving him forward.

Adelle Bastiel Prisoner #36929

 

[Prisoner #36929]

Tags: Adelle Bastiel | Mia Monroe
Equipment: X​

Distraction was a dangerous luxury, but the sight of a cat demanding affection from a woman who he thought could level a building was nearly enough to break his focus. The Nagai forced his gaze back to the training mat, his red eyes narrowing as he tracked Adelle's defense. She moved with a grace that made the chaos of the ionic bolts look choreographed. Every block was precise, every shift in her weight calculated. He crossed his arms over his chest, memorizing the way she transitioned from a low guard to a spinning parry before the droids finally retreated.

The air in the room felt heavy with a specific kind of friction. While the words exchanged between the two women carried a veneer of familiarity, the Nagai could feel the sharp edges of the tension underneath. It was a strange dynamic, seeing the Iron Lords trade barbs while a feline purred away.

A gesture from Monroe signaled it was time to stop observing. Prisoner stepped forward, crossing the distance with measured, quiet strides. He stopped a respectful distance from Adelle and offered a shallow, disciplined bow.

"A pleasure to meet you, Iron Lord," he said.

His voice remained steady, though he was acutely aware of his lack of standing in this place. Mandalorian customs were still a maze he hadn't fully mapped, but respect was a universal language. He kept his posture straight and his expression neutral, waiting for the test he knew was coming. Bound by his role as a shadow, he remained silent after the greeting, ready to see if Adelle was as formidable as her training session suggested.

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Mia Monroe | Prisoner #36929

Carry on as she started indeed. Adelle stared flatly at her for a moment before frustration flared at the question that followed. The meditation she’d been able to do did a lot of heavy lifting because for a few fleeting seconds, Adelle wanted to yell at Monroe. Why the feth did she think this was okay? First, all her scheduled meetings and now her meditation.

"I was not trained in the force. ... I went from a woman with no idea she even had a connection to the force, to a Master of the dark side overnight."

Adelle closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Of course. She had forgotten. Monroe wouldn’t know, couldn’t have. She might have known that the Jedi meditated, might have known that Sith didn’t normally. But understanding why and knowing about moving meditation wasn’t likely. Adelle eyed Phantom on her newfound perch but what frustration there had been was long gone.

“It wasn’t the point,” she said simply, meeting the Warmaster’s eyes.

Monroe waved the young man with her forward. Adelle stepped forward, intending to greet him with the clasping of forearms most Mandalorians did. Except he bowed. Shallow and stiff, but still distinctly a bow. Adelle stopped abruptly, discomfort squirming in her chest. She glanced at Monroe, wondering if she told him to do that.

“Oh please don’t,” she said, reflexively holding up her hands in a 'stop' gesture. “Nod your head, salute if you have to but please don’t bow.” Not to me.

Something else stuck out about his greeting though.

“What’s your name?” she asked. Strange, that neither Monroe nor the student she had brought had given her his name.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Frustration flared in Adelle’s eyes adding a fire to her hetrochromia that Mia hadn’t seen before. She expected to be yelled at, for Adelle to push back but the former Jedi just closed her eyes and breathed, when she opened them again the frustration was gone, her response earning a small tilt of Mia’s head.

A question lingered on her tongue before Mia decided to drop it. She wasn’t here for herself, not today. Her eyes moved to Prisoner as he stepped forward, bowing before she could stop it. Mia passed a hand over her face, smothering a laugh before it could escape. Not because it was funny to watch him fumble, but because Adelle’s reaction was.

“She’s not a Lord in the traditional sense, ad’ika.” Mia said softly. “Here the term Lord is equivalent to Master. You don’t need to bow. To anyone. Ever.”

Her eyes moved to Adelle. “Even our Mand’alor would balk at such a greeting.”

Mia didn’t answer the question of his name. His story was his own to tell, if he wanted to tell it. Moving away she settled herself against the wall, watching the interaction intently while scratching Phantom’s chin.

Adelle Bastiel

 

[Prisoner #36929]

Tags: Adelle Bastiel | Mia Monroe
Equipment: X​

Straightening from the bow, Prisoner immediately sensed the blunder. Heat would have rushed to his face if his pale Nagai complexion allowed for it. Both warriors looked uncomfortable, making the mistake painfully obvious.

"I, uh... yes. Apologies," he stumbled, clearing his throat.

Mandalorian culture was turning out to be a complete reversal of everything he understood about power and status. To hear that even their ruler would reject such deference was dizzying. He shifted his stance, trying to shake off the embarrassment before looking back at Adelle. Her question about his identity hung in the air, forcing him to confront a truth he usually preferred to avoid.

"Most have just called me boy, or prisoner," he explained, keeping his voice low. "I was found in Imperial captivity. I can't remember much of who I was before then."

An awkward silence followed his admission. Part of him knew he should have just picked a name by now to avoid these exact conversations. Yet, a stubborn piece of his mind held onto the hope that the memories would eventually resurface. He stood a little straighter, waiting to see how the Iron Lord would react to a student who didn't even know his own name.