Meeting, Alor to Alor

[Gray Raxis]

Gray was dealing with some work at his company headquarters on Trenwyth. He had a lot of work on his hands getting his company established, but that was not a surprise for a new company. What was a surprise though was a matter that was brought to his attention. It seemed someone had put a bounty out on his head. He wondered who it could be that had done it. He had certainly pissed off enough people that it wouldn't be immediately obvious. He also could use a bit of a distraction after the seemingly endless paperwork he had to wade through.

Gray looked it over, and was a bit surprised by it. It was made by an [member="Alec Rekali"] who was the Alor of Clan Rekali. There was a claim of him slandering her clan, but when did he do that? He had never said anything bad about clan Rekali before. As far as he knew, they carried themselves honorably enough. What reason could he have had to say anything about them.....unless this was about that message during that terrorist attack. He had said some true things about the United Clans Council actions briefly during a message. That must have been what this was about. The council had done many things that were not true to Mandalorian tradition, but that was not the fault of the people or individual clans. They were just following orders from above and blameless. He needed to address this matter. Not because he was scared of having a bounty on his head, he figured a Hutt or two would likely have done that at some point, but because it seems there was some misunderstanding.

Gray did some digging and eventually found out how to get a message to Alec. He decided to go with a voiced one instead of a text one. It was more personal that way and showed he wasn't trying to hide anything. He said on it, " This is Alec Rekali, Alor of clan Rekali, correct? I am Gray Raxis and I wanted to speak with you about this bounty you put on my head. I think we should meet up and speak Alor to Alor. I will come alone aside from my astromech droid and unarmed aside from my lightsaber, which I have to take with me for reasons. Tell me where you would like to meet and I will be there. If you agree to this just let me know." He sent the message out when he finished speaking. He hoped this wouldn't end in some kind of conflict. He didn't want to fight a fellow Mandalorian after all unless he absolutely had to no matter his opinion on the United council.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gray Raxis"]

The reply was brief: a set of coordinates for a small prefab building in the middle of the Myrkr jungle. Using the Force there, for anything, wasn't an option. As the inheritor of a clan which included Dathomiri witches and Vahla, Alec had some large shoes to fill -- and unlike her predecessor, she couldn't use the Force. Hence a measure of caution when dealing with Force-sensitives who might be hostile. She had no way of knowing whether Raxis could read or alter her emotions or thoughts, just for starters. Hence the whole 'meeting on a planet where the Force doesn't work' thing.

So far as fundamental differences of opinion went, this one sure had some snaggly teeth. For her part, though, she came alone, wearing her Mandalorian armour and armed with her grandfather's sword. That, and a basic blaster. Handy things to have around once lightsabre deflection was no longer an option.

The prefab building held a table and two chairs. Alec sat in one, helmet off, drinking ne'tra gal. She held the blaster flat against the tabletop, and waited. Her earbud comm connected to an orbital overwatch: if Raxis tried anything involving anyone other than himself, she'd be forewarned.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray got the coordinates and traveled to the planet listed. He arrived as soon as could be expected and had his droid Key land the ship near the refab building. He could feel the inability to use the force as soon as he arrived, and wondered if they chose it because they knew he was sensitive. He wondered how they knew though. It was as if he hide the fact, but he also didn't go around talking about it either. He had been getting more active in force related activities lately and was part of the Mandalorian Empire's Mandalorian Knights, so it was more possible than he first thought. Like this person had heard about it via connections in the Empire. Either way, he had come true to his word and didn't have any desire for conflict.

Gray had his droid Key join him for once as he got off his ship and walked to the building. He only had his lightsaber Whisper on him, which was silent for the first time since he had found it. He didn't like that at all. The constant humming from it was just a part of his life now, and things felt eerily silent without it. He was dressed in casual clothing and leather boots. He didn't look like he was here to fight in any way, which is how he wanted it. He walked into the building with his droid behind him feeling nervous about the whole situation. He usually left the little droid on his ship because it wasn't good with aggression or violence, but he said he would come with it so he made sure to bring Key along.

Gray saw [member="Alec Rekali"] sitting across a table dressed in armor. The woman had a sword on her and a blaster pistol laying on the table. Seemed she didn't trust him at all, but he couldn't really blame them. He smiled to the woman as he said taking his chair, " Alor Alec Rekali right? Gray Raxis." He extended his hand out for her to shake. He wasn't sure if she would take it or not, but he added as she made her action, " I am glad you agreed to meet me like this. And with that said, how about we get into the meat of thing?" He just kept smiling to her as he finished speaking. It was time to see how things were going to go.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gray Raxis"]

She didn't rise; she didn't take his hand or let go of the blaster. With an eye on his lightsabre -- his request to bring it was how she'd guessed he was a Forcer -- she pulled out a small tape recorder.

"Family, Honor, Clan. Those are the values my clan follows, and we uphold ourselves to the traditions of all true Mandalorians. The United Clans have not been following these values. They have lied. They have deceived. They have not been honorable." She hit the fast-forward. "...not kill Mandalorians. No matter the crimes of the United Clans, the people of Mandalore are innocent."

The tape recorder's controls clicked, a sound of finality; she set it down on the table and leaned back, holstering her blaster.

"These are your words, Alor Raxis," she said quietly. "I would like you to explain to me exactly how the Mandalorian clans have forfeited the value of family, the value of clan, and the value of honor. I would like to know what precise lies you're accusing the clans of perpetrating. I would like to know what precise crimes you're accusing us of committing. Take as long as you like. Convince me."

 

[Gray Raxis]

It seemed she was not interested in making things friendly. Gray couldn't really blame her for that in light of what this whole meeting was about. He just needed to stay calm and friendly. Hopefully that would also help her get to a similar state. He listened to the recording of what he had said in that message. Seemed it was about that like he had thought after all. This really was a misunderstanding as he had thought. She played the parts dealing with the council of clans and asked him to explain himself. No it wasn't so much ask as it was demand. He was a little impressed to see she was willing to hear him out on his side rather than just throw accusations at him. There might be some hope in this whole situation after all.

Gray looked her in the eyes and smiled at her as he thought over his reply. After a few silent moments he said, " As far as the aspect of family and clan go, I have no solid things to say. These problems are not about individual clans but about the council of clans. I have heard several rumors of people being kicked out of clans for various reasons. One of them in particular was because a member was not aggressive enough. That is not how family or clan works, if it is true, and is a sign of some serious problems. I have heard nothing bad on this end about your clan however. As far as I can tell, yall have upheld the values of family and clan. This meeting right now is proof of that." He paused there. There was not much that could be said here without having intimate knowledge of every clan, which was impossible without having been a member of every clan. It was not the main issue though either, so he had to gloss over it.

Gray continued on after a few seconds, " The main issue though is the lack of honor I have seen by the council. The events at Roche are a perfect example of this. Every person has bad memories of that whole mess. The Republic Grand Chancellor went mad with power and began doing things that were wrong. A member of my clan and someone I consider family was effected by this actually. James Justice is who I am speaking of and he has property on Roche. The Republic went after his assets so he defended them by fighting the Republic, yet when the Clans suddenly came in to invade because of some connection to a Mandalorian company things got worse. He was on the same side of the conflict as the Clans yet they went after him as an enemy. They did not take the time or even care which side he was on, they just wanted blood. That was not an honorable thing that happened, and the council never once even apologized for it or punished those who acted that way. That is the first of many things that happened on Roche that lead to what I am saying, and it is not the only events that lead me to this decision. Do you wish to hear everything I have to say on it? It is not a friendly view of our people, and makes me sad to even know about it." He was very serious by this point. He knew his views were not popular and likely to get him called a dar'manda for even entertaining them. But it was all true despite what others might say.

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gray Raxis"]

"So my clan and I are supposed to believe that when you insulted the united clans, you weren't actually talking about the united clans? You were talking about the Alor'e Council?" Alec massaged her temples, then laid her hands flat on the table and met his eyes. "Well, as it happens, I do believe you. You're an idiot, but you spoke from the heart. So we'll drop the question of whether you directly slandered us.

"Indirect, though, is another matter. My grandfather served on the Alor'e Council for years, I've represented him there a bunch of times, and now I'm on the Council by my own right. So let's dig a little deeper here, and maybe together we'll find the actual truth.

"First things first: this whole idea of clans expelling members. Not sure what, if anything, that has to do with the Alor'e Council, and frankly it's not something I know about. Clan Rekali generally only kicks people out for, like, blood sacrifice and atrocity. If you can tell me actual names of people and clans, I'd be very interested in looking into what you're talking about.

"Second. Sorry, but Justice lied to you, or you're spinning things to my face, and I think you'd look down on anyone who did that. Justice signed up willingly to fight against the Mandos, brought his fleet and everything, totally unprovoked. Probably to try and shore up his own chances of not getting nationalized by the Republic. Then a Mando fleet commander bribed him to switch sides, and he did." She tapped her ear. "I was at a comm suite on the outside of Nickel One when it happened. Justice's fleet was right above me; maybe I could have hit his flagship with this blaster. I watched when a busted ship went out of control toward Nickel One, right toward me. Justice saved my life when he blew up that ship and killed hundreds of people. Then I learned that his ships all had tons of tractor beams and he killed them for convenience. Then I learned that that ship wasn't part of any of the fleets; they were all accounted for. It was just a bystander. Frankly, we still haven't identified it; it might have been a third party, an opportunist, someone's merc contractor or unofficial ally, might even have been civilian. Either way, it was busted and helpless. So when the Clans went after him, after we took Roche -- well, that was pretty hypocritical on the account of a couple of Mando decision-makers, I won't contest that, but like hell did he not have it coming." She shrugged. "Believe it or don't. I've got all kinds of sensor logs, comm transcripts, everything -- and I was there. We didn't go gunning for Justice; he went gunning for us, then turned coat for money at the drop of a hat and murdered a fethton of people he could have saved. Like it or not, them's the facts.

"So let's move on. You're talking about that as the first of many things at Roche. See, I fought at Roche. I lost family there. So I'd be real interested in hearing all these events that supposedly happened there, because I could tell you pretty much everything that happened across the whole battlefront, and I've got no idea what you're talking about. My bet is you've been lied to like you were lied to about Justice's role in things." She leaned back in her chair and slipped off her gauntlets, then began unbuckling her breastplate. "Sorry, 'lie' is a strong word. 'Spin' is probably closer. 'Groupthink.' You can't tell me this stuff doesn't get talked about every day in the Mando Empire, or get more angsty every time it's told.

"Oh, and along those lines...remind me to tell you the story of how James Justice first crossed paths with Clan Rekali. It's a good one."

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray listened to everything that [member="Alec Rekali"] had to say to him. She brought up some good points and things he didn't know before. He had not been apart of the Invasion at Roche, and he was feeling more and more that it was a good thing he wasn't. The whole ordeal had caused more trouble for both sides of it than anything else. It was just a huge pile of poodoo, and Gray felt like he was trying to sort through it all without any kind of gloves on. His smile slipped away to a slight frown as she finished. He was trying to be friendly and let her vent her anger on him because he had insulted her clan without meaning to, but that didn't help when it came to people he saw as family. He figured it was going to be better to avoid politics here, because it was likely to just piss them both off. This was a meeting to avoid unneeded conflict not to start a clan war.

Gray looked Alec in the eyes and said, " Call me stupid all you like, but do not dare say James would kill innocent civilians. He is a rogue, a scoundrel, and a womanizer. He has done plenty of wrong things throughout his life, but he has never been the kind of guy who would go around killing innocent civilians. You can tell me all you want to how he did that at Roche, but that is something I know James would never do." He paused to take a breath and center himself before he got upset more. " As far as the thing with James goes and your clan, I have no doubts it wasn't the best of impressions. The first time we met I ended up shooting him with a stun bolt, then a few weeks later ended up tackling him to the ground and punching him in the face repeatedly. I would gladly hear about it, but I think there is something more important to talk about right now."

Gray placed his arms across the table. He kept his eyes on Alec's and went on, " I think it would be best to drop the talk of Roche. I am going off of what people have told me from both the Mandalorians and the Republic. Until I sort through it all some more, it might be best for me to drop the issue for now. I would rather talk about some things that the Council did after Roche. They made demands for payment from the Republic after they had invaded Republic territory for damages and reparations. The Republic refused because it was a move to add insult to injury, but the Council still got their payment. Lady Kay, someone who is like family to me, liquidated everything she owned to pay them to try to keep the peace. The signed a None Aggression Pact with the Republic thanks to this, and while I think the demand for payment was not the most honorable of moves it should have ended there. Instead there was movement within the Mandalorians to try and force the Republic to break the agreement so they could justify attacking them. The "Invasion" of Alderaan was a prime example of that."

" The Organa's had asked the Council to send in ships to 'defend' them from the Republic. They never should have done this with the NAP they had with the Republic because it could have broken it and started a conflict. The ones in charge went further and made it sound as if the Republic was sending in a fleet to forcefully keep Alderaan even though there was no evidence to support this. The Organas ended up using Isley, who was sent in by the Council to negotiate, to help them get what they wanted from the Republic. There was no other reason for us to be there other than to try to start a war. Where is the honor in such deceptive actions?" Gray took a moment to let the information settle in before he went on. " And then there was the events on Gromas 16. Clan Raxis was the reason the system was taken. We came out in force and took it in the name of Mandalore. Yet we were not even acknowledged for our actions. Some of our members were even met with some hostility. The Council completely disrespected my clan and showed us nothing but dishonor when we were doing everything we could for Mandalore."

" I don't blame you, your grandffather, or your clan for any of this though. I do not know what role your clan has played in any of this, but you could have been used just as Isley was." Gray had to pause here. Gromas 16 was why his clan had left Mandalore. He was the only one who had decided to stay to keep the connection to their people, but he had wondered if he should have just left himself many times. He eventually went on, " I just realized but I never did apologize to you and your clan for any dishonor I gave you. I am sorry for any implied dishonor that my words have given. Your clan has always been honorable and quick to defend the people of Mandalore. I heard your grandfather was the first to act during the attack. I don't know how it went though after the beginning. I was put in the dark on it after the message went out and Isley ordered me back to Echol'ya......" He frowned as he thought about all of the innocent people who had died and he was not able to be there to help. It bothered him still that he was ordered not to act despite every fiber of his being crying out to act.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gray Raxis"]

"Apology accepted, but you've been played for a fool at pretty much every turn. Yes, Kay acted honorably when she agreed to pay the funeral expenses, but the Republic broke the terms of the non-aggression pact as soon as it was signed." Alec snapped her fingers. "Instantly and comprehensively. And the first time Clan Rekali met James Justice, he was playing security for one of our bounties. We went after the target with nonlethal weapons, he and his people opened return fire with heavy artillery -- in the middle of a crowded church. A lotta people died because your friend has no sense of proportion." She snorted. "Lotta innocent people. You seriously need to reconsider who you trust to tell it to you straight-"

Alec's comlink buzzed, then her datapad, then her helmet comm. The helmet vibrated on the table.

"Apparently someone needs to get ahold of me," she said, pulling out the datapad. "Probably my aunt being a-"

She read the message, then read it again. She should have felt disbelief, grief, fury. Instead she felt dissociation, like she was looking at Alec Rekali from the outside. Watching a young woman, a new Aliit'buir, go over and over the message while her comlink buzzed.

Hands shaking, she typed half a dozen words, sent them, and replaced the datapad in her armor's hip pocket.

"Not long ago, you were at Manda'yaim when the Gen'Dai blew up the space station in the name of my uncle, your mand'alor." She looked up from the table and met his eyes. "My grandfather -- that'd be Warmaster Ember Rekali, the highest-ranking Mandalorian in the United Clans -- has just been confirmed dead. See, I thought he'd survived. He's survived far worse than your petty, preening little club. But that was the search and rescue ships. They've recovered his armor; they have eyewitnesses to his death." She'd thought her voice would shake; it didn't.

"Out of respect for my uncle, you can leave Myrkr alive. But you tell him to get his house in order. Now. Are we gorram clear?"