Needle in a Hay Stack

[Gilamar Skirata]

Gil's ship dropped out of hyperspace over Dathomir. The small crew of the Tu5k-class corvette was exhausted after their escape from Mandalorian space. Despite not having captured MandalMotors' orbital shipyards yet and without any huge holdings in orbit, Ra's hold on the planet was absolute. Getting in and out was an ordeal. He had lost one of his crew on planet.

"Sir, it looks like the orbital station is still operational...Though it looks like there are no life forms present." Good enough.

The ship docked with the Shokita station which let the crew stretch their legs and connect long range communication for Gil as he headed down to the planet in an old Mandalorian gunship left behind by the once great Mandalorian clans.

The ship landed at one of the Rekali outposts on the planet.

[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[Long Gone]

“Ma’am?”

A sleepy Mira stirred in her bed, beneath the stacks of heap of pillows and sheets. She rose up just enough to see who it was before collapsing backwards with a huff. Tendrils of curly brown hair blocking her hazy view as it fell upon the ceiling. “What is it?” She grumbled, attempting to gain her bearings upon where she was, what time it was and what exactly life was at the moment.

“An unidentified vessel landed at one of the abandoned outposts, should we have Zeta Guard engage them?”

Mira shook her head as she rose from bed.

“No.”

Despite the ongoing strife amongst the Mandalorians, and the damage inflicted upon Dathomir – The Sanctuary was sparred. The former home and resting place of Aaralyn Rekali had become one of the last bastions that remained nestled within the Singing Mountain range. It was no longer a place for the children to come and visit the cracked memorial dedicated to their mother, but a place for trade and bartering. Guarded by those who stayed behind to protect what was left, members of Clan Shardock and mercenaries who were paid top credit for their services.

Mira walked from the refresher, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail as she spoke. “Do we have an idea who our visitors might be?” Her once brightened pink armor and black armor was dull from the conditions on Dathomir, but the durability of the armor was never in question despite its appearance. "No ma'am." One of the guards replied as he moved with her. She’d walk through the desolate house, boots clanking against the polished floor. She’d exit the house without fanfare and disappear into a contingent of guards, donning her buy’ce before moving to a small convoy of ground vehicles. They would soon depart the facility and head towards the abandoned outpost where their guests were arriving.

There would be no surprises; there would be no ambushes – atleast on Mira’s part. They had the place well scoped out and had scouts in place. Upon arrival, they’d leave the vehicles and approach the facility in a casual manner, like any other day. To any other outside, this almost appeared routine.

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

"This place probably hasn't seen use in years..." A thick coat of dust rested on just about every surface in the small ground-based hangar he was standing in. Plant life had made its way into the building as well, chocking consoles and windows. The light from his helmet washed over a wall console, its faint glow indicated that there still power in the base.

The hangar door creaked open after he pressed a finger to the faintly glowing console, sending dust everywhere. Had he not been wearing his armor he likely would have been coughing his lungs out and meeting his end on this world instead of on the field of battle. He chuckled at the thought before walking over to an old Daw Motors speederbike. A hand cleared through the dust on its controls which activated the vehicle's repulsors.

The engine gave a low hum as Gil pushed the bike into Dathomir's sunlight. In the distance he could see a small group approaching.

[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[Long Gone]

The line continued forward as the audio sensors picked up the familiar sound of engines coming to life in the distance ahead. Mira stood behind the picket, hands clasped infront of her as she stared off at the abandoned facility. It was only a matter of time before the small plumes of dust and debris was caught by motion sensors in her buy’ce and the scanners would zoom in to focus on [member="Gilamar Skirata"]. She let off a sigh and continued to stand her ground, determined to find out their purpose on the planet before letting him proceed any further. Granted, this was Singing Mountain Clan territory – but this was the edges of the place she knew as home. She and the witches held an agreement, one that was held together by a very tiny thread.

She noted the vehicle coming to a halt a short distance from their line, and in turn, her men wouldn’t draw weapons – instead they parted. From the divide in the line, Mira emerged and gestured to the visitors. “State your name and business here.” Her visor began to immediately assess threat percentages, weapons and any other abnormalities upon his person. “And give me a reason as to why you’re on my family property.”

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The old Mandalorian grunted in response and stopped his forward movement. Good, they came here and saved him the trip. A gust of wind blew over the small, unused star port, billowing his black cape. Slowly he reached up to his neck and deactivated the magnetic lock of his helmet. With a hiss his sealed suit was breached as he removed the helmet from his head.

"Gilamar Skirata. I'm looking for any of the Hawkes or Rekali"

[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[Long Gone]

Mira chuckled at the mention of Hawkes on her territory as she stomped the ground, kicking up dust. A hallow thud echoed around them as she gestured with an armored clad hand towards Gil. “This is Rekali territory.” The same hand would rise up and press against the lip of her buy’ce, pulling it free from her skull, revealing her facial features. A youthful girl, in her mid-20s that closely resembled her mother – someone that Gilamar had met before. Her crimson eyes stared him down, although the left looked slightly different – artificial even. She tucked the helm underneath her arm and raised an eyebrow. “You won’t find any Hawkes here. We have a mutual agreement. “ Mira leaned a bit to the left, curious at this point.

“What is your business with the Rekalis?”

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

"The Clans need your help." A simple enough start. "Ra Viszla has taken control over most of Mandalore and claimed the mantle of Mand'alor, but something isn't right," he trailed off as something in his ear began to buzz.

ZZzzzzcrth"...followed us! We're.......them....for you!" It didn't take long for him to figure out what they were saying over the radio. Two Mandalorian shuttles hovered down from the sky above. Gil sucked his teeth and slid his helmet back into place.

"Looks like they can do their own introductions..."
[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[Long Gone]

"Their own introductions?" Mira quipped, raising a slender eyebrow. Her question was soon answered by shouting and weapons raising towards Gilamar and the alarm klaxons sounding in the distance. "Good grief." Mira grumbled and slid on the buy'ce, eyes narrowing to Gilamar as she did. "Just sit tight and don't do anything to make them shoot you, please." Her men were doing what they were trained and essentially told to do - they didn't know if he was the enemy - for all they knew, he could have led them to her and been paid for it. Mira motioned for the man to her right to follow, who complied without question.

The ships would make an unhindered decent without encountering the overwhelming defensive systems of the Sanctuary - most likely because Mira didn't give the order for them to engage the vessels. Their landing would be swift and without fanfare. Mira stood a short distance from the spot they landed, face grim beneath the beskar helm. She knew who they were and what their purpose was. The rumors had reached her this far out, she had just opted to be left alone. She had opted to stay out of clan affairs cause she felt the clans had abandoned her in her time of need. She didn't know all they had done in pursuit of justice for her mother - selfishly she took off in a fit and encompassed herself in her grief. Maybe it was because of that selfish act, she didn't see all that they were trying to do to be a family to her and now she wasn't there in times when the Clans needed her most.

Perhaps...

She watched with ruby orbs as they departed the vessels in a neat file and spread out in a ragged formation, approaching her with weapons at the low ready. The lead man approaching her, raising a hand to her, finger extending. "Are you the one they call Mira Rekali?"

Mira chuckled softly, causing the man to lower his hand and look behind him, no doubt stunned beneath his own buy'ce. He turned back as Mira responded. "That I am, I assume you're apart of Death Watch?"

"We are Death Watch, we will make Mandalor-" And Mira cut him off abruptly. "Yes, yes. I've heard. I don't really care."

The gasps were laughable - had they not leveled their weapons at that point. "Heretic!" He hissed, causing Mira to sneer and raise her hand up on response, trying to calm them down. "We can do this one of two ways, my way or your way, which I assume is going to hurt either way." At this point, the talking was over as a shot rang out from the distance and impacted the lead man in the chest and all hell broke loose. Mira would tuck, roll and trigger her lightsaber holster from her right thigh and out would pop the saber. With a snap-hiss, the blue and white blade would come to life. Shots would ring out as they panicked and spread out, trying to find what little cover they could. Mira stood her open ground, deflecting shot after shot with relative ease.

She called back to the group of men holding Gil, a few dozen meters back. "Let him loose, going to need him."

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]