Loyalties and Lies

[Mia Monroe]

Ringo Vinda Space Station​

8 Standard Hours after Mandalore​

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Mia was trapped, unable to escape the turmoil around her. Both Verz and Ijaat had become consumed by the horror of what had been done and her inability to resist the urge to check in to the holonet for updates on the situation did not help matters. Even now, the number of the dead was unconfirmed with various reporters exaggerating as much as they could. They couldn't hide from the images though. Flattened homesteads, coastal towns drowned by tsunamis, pyrotechnic clouds from dormant volcanoes obliterating all in their path.

Isley Verd was thus far, the only named casualty. While her heart was heavy at this fact, she still found time to smile. They had talked once, of travelling into the netherworld to bring [member="Ember Rekali"] back, or at least try. They never had, but, she believed that Isley would find him now. Old friends, united in death.


"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la." she said softly, a sad smile on her lips. The warning for their reversion to real space filled the control room and Mia snapped out of her revere, deactivating the cloak on the ship and turning it towards Ringo Vinda space station. Unless fate had other plans, this would be the closest to home she would come for a long time. A brief conversation with the security and they were assigned to landing bay #257.

Leaving Ijaat to watch the ship, she led [member="Verz Horak"] into the station, picking out a catina known for its conflicts. Should this turn nasty, no one would turn a blind eye. Grabbing his elbow, she led him to a table in a dark corner. Settling herself down she caught a glimpse of the holoscreen above the bar where an attractive zeltron male was talking, images of mandalore's peril flickering behind him. She turned away and looked at Verz.

"I wouldn't have had you caught up in this, not if i'd had a choice." she began. "Kad Ha'rangir seeks to test me, clearly."

 

[Verz Horak]

For the first time in a very long time, Verz felt numb. By the time the ship Mia was piloting had dropped out of hyperspace, his tears of sorrow and rage had stopped, leaving only an absence of emotion, as Verz's mind struggled to truly comprehend the vastness of what had happened. His heart was heavy with grief. Nobody yet knew the extent of the damage, nor how many lives had been claimed by the two people he had called his friends.

He did not even know if [member="Arla Balor"] was alive.

Communications were almost certain to be down, at least planetside comms would be. The ash and damage to the world would ensure that, for a short time Mandalore would be silent.

When [member="Mia Monroe"] had grabbed his arm to lead him into whatever seedy station she had picked to land at, it was as though Verz was just a passenger in his own body. He let her prod him to his feet, then let her lead him by the elbow to some dingy cantina. The sight of the news about Mandalore on the holoscreen fanned the flames of his grief and anger once more.

He sat across from her, the darkened visor of his helmet showing only the reflection of Mia's face, and the flickering holoscreen behind her. He opened his mouth, then paused, gathering his voice.

"We were supposed to protect our home Mia."

 

[Mia Monroe]

For a long moment, Mia simply looked at Verz. Great shadows hung beneath her eyes, grey eyes that flickered with emotion. But she had no regret. She had made the right choice, and though she had not pulled the trigger, she would bear responsibility with Ijaat with pride. Arasuum had taken hold of their people. Seized their hearts and smiled. Someone had to act.

"I have." she replied finally, her voice quiet. "I have saved them from Arasuum in the way Kad Ha'ragnir would have wanted. With a trial like no other."

[member="Verz Horak"]

 

[Verz Horak]

[member="Mia Monroe"]

Verz was taken by surprise by that answer. He hadn't expected it. He didn't think Mia had still followed the old way. Not many still did. His surprise quelled his anger, at least for now. When a waitress working for the cantina, a Twi'lek woman, came by with some water, Verz only responded with a curt nod. When he focused back on Mia, his voice was still full of pain.

"Saving them from arasuum would be rallying them to war! Giving them good, honorable deaths, not killing them from the shadows and destroying our home. Killing the people we have both dedicated our lives to protecting is not keeping them from arasuum!"

Verz punctuated his point by slamming his fist on the table. It would not intimidate Mia, not by any measure. It was just cathartic to hit something,

"This is something a dar'jetti would do Mia."

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia was unaffected by his rising anger, her head tilting to one side as he drew the word dar'jetii into the conversation. That should have felt like an insult, she should have felt rage rising in her stomach couple with a desire to put Verz through the wall behind him. But it didn't.

"Who shall I rally them to war against? The Jedi?" she snorted. "The very same who have been our allies for over a decade. Those who at this moment, despite our war against the republic, if you could call that a war, despite what we did to the younglings on Ilum and what we did to thier temple on Ossus, they still stand by our side. They offer assistance. You want to go to war with them? Because I don't. So who's left? The crusaders? The Galactic Alliance?"

She let the question hang in the air for a moment. "The truth is, Verz, that I have started a war. It's just not on the scale you are used to. And when they find out who has killed thousands of their own people without so much as a hint of remorse, they will come looking. Maybe I am dar'jetii, or perhaps I've simply lost my mind." she shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyhow. What matters, Verz, is what you are going to do next."

[member="Verz Horak"]

 

[Verz Horak]

[member="Mia Monroe"]

Verz took a moment to digest what Mia had told him. It was a plan, and an insane one at that. He had known Mia for a long time, and yet he had not heard something so insane come out of her mouth. To buy himself some time, Verz took a sip of the water that had been placed in front of him. He placed the glass back in front of him, the condensation leaving a mark on the dingy metal table.

"To be honest Mia, I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore. It all used to be so simple. Our enemies were clear. Our goal was set. Then you vanished, and I was left holding it all together. All of our friends from the old days are either dead, or have just vanished into the galaxy. Ever since our people decided I was not fit to be Mand'alor, I have not known what to do with myself. All I can think to do is strike down as many Sith as I can before I die."

Verz took another drink of the cold water.

"Maybe, if I'm lucky, Arl'ika will want to raise a family with me before it's my turn to taab'echaaj'la. But now, I don't even know if I can do that. Arla may be dead, and both our homes destroyed."

Some of the grief and anger started to creep back into Verz's voice.