Playing with Fire

[Writer]

Mandalore System


A single fighter exited hyperspace close to the system of Mandalore, and within moments the alarms within the fighter began blaring loudly. Aaralyn could only sigh as she shut the alarms off and looked out the small viewport at the different vessels moving to intercept her vessel. “Rowdy, shields double front…just in case.” The R9 droid beeped a confirmation and the sound of the shield generators powering up hummed in the rear of the X-wing as she maneuvered the vessel slowly towards the lanes of traffic. The communications channel buzzed multiple times from different frequencies, obviously the Mandalorians were eager to find out why a –New Republic- vessel was identified and not a Galactic Republic vessel.


“Unidentified Vessel, state your business.” A very gruff voice spoke through the cockpit.


~Unidentified huh? I think the ID on the ship clearly states where it came from…~ She pressed the communications switch and spoke calmly. “This is Aaralyn….” She paused for a brief moment, taking a deep breath. “Rekali, with the Jedi Order. I come to speak to your Mand’alor.” It felt odd to say the last name of her father, considering she had only recently discovered the truth. Ember had always been like a father to her, the truth behind hidden right infront of her all these years…maybe there was good reason.


She had to forgive him at some point, as much as he had to forgive her for her choices. Him telling her something as jaw-dropping, life changing, and an emotional bombshell as him being her father…did nothing to change how she felt. He was dad and she would always love him, but Ember wasn’t here and this was her mission. She had not told Kiskla about this agreement and had done this on her own, had the other woman known about her attempting to make contact with the Mandalorians, then she could have made her feel regret about it. Then again, Aaralyn could be wrong, it could have been encouraged to reach out for peace, who knows.

There had been a long pause on the other end of the line, long enough where the vessels moving to intercept her had shifted course and headed in other directions while her X-Wing continued to drift towards the lanes of traffic in Mandalorian space. The sound of rustling caught her attention and the same gruff voice returned to echo in the cockpit. “Flight path coordinates are being sent to your ship, do not deviate. Your escort will meet you are the platform.” A solid click of the communications being cut off on his end caused her to raise an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t they nice…” She muttered and in turn Rowdy responded with a sly retort, one which she fired back to.


“It’s not like I showed up with a fleet of Star Destroyers….” She threw her hands up before punching in the coordinates into the navigation computer, the HUD coming alive and showing her the flight path towards Mandalore.


AN HOUR LATER….


Traffic in Mandalorian space wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great and beyond that she had to clear through additional security considering the origins of her vessel. By the time she had landed, it had been a solid hour. Her hands manipulated the cockpit controls, the atmosphere hissing as it made contact with the clean oxygen of the cockpit. She looked down in her lap, at the small crate within it and then around the platform. “Hmm, no one here to greet us…?” She could hear Rowdy maneuvering within his droid socket and then ejecting from it. She looked back one more time and grabbed the small crate within her right hand, left hand grasping the edge of the cockpit as she leaped out of it, landing onto the platform softly.

Indeed, this was going to be interesting.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Standing on the other end of the platform was a rather menacing figure. His armor was a dull, discolored black, almost dark brown in color. Its surface was riddled with scars and old burns from surviving what seemed like hundreds of battles. With arms crossed and dark cape billowing in the wind that beset MandalMotors tower a black, cold and ambiguous T-shaped visor stared her down. The figure seemed to command the respect of the two other Mandalorians standing beside him.

Behind the black, Gil's old eyes studied the young woman for a time. The graying amber orbs following her every movement, trying to spot out the similarities between her and his close and trusted friend Ember Rekali.

The man had saved his life on more than one occasion and had proven to be an invaluable ally to the Mandalories and a powerful soldier on the field of battle. If this woman was whom she said she was, he had to hear her out at least.

Taking a step forward, he clicked his helmet off and clipped it to his belt, revealing the slightly tanned, weathered face of Gilamar Skirata, current leader of the Mandalorians. His face was not nearly as stern and intimidating as his armor was, but neither was it soft and welcoming. "Rekali?" he asked, raising his voice over the short gust of wind.
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn raised an eyebrow and gently set the crate down beside her, chesnutt hair blowing in the breeze that rushed over the platform. Her R9 unit rolled up behind her and beeped softly, she carefully brought her hands up to her chest, watching the two Mandalorians beside [member="Gilamar Skirata"] and then the man himself. ~This is the Manda'lor?~ She couldn't help but turn her head and smile, biting her lip as if she were holding back a laugh. Her vision was briefly obscured by strands of hair before she turned back to him, adjusting herself accordingly before nodding. When she spoke, her R9 unit moved infront of the crate as if to block it from view and with that she took a step between the droid and the Mandalorians. Her arms remained crossed over her chest, both sabers staying clipped at her side.

She wasn't stupid nor was she here to cause trouble. "You're skeptical that I'm my fathers daughter...." She raised an eyebrow and made a gesture to the man with her right hand as it came out from under her arm. "I suppose you're going to want some sort of proof?"

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Standing only 3 inches taller than the woman, he studied her with his eyes. The sudden defensive movement between himself and the box she was guarding drew a quick and rapid responce from the two others standing beside him. Rifles raised and charged with a long beep, Gilamar's eyes fell on those of the young woman before him. He did not have the Force, but Gil liked to think he could see the truth in people.

Raising a hand to quell the escorts he grinned. "No. You say you are his child, so I believe you...Nobody would be that stupid!" at least he hoped...
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

She pursed her lips at the guards before [member="Gilamar Skirata"] calmed them. ~Wise move you two.....~ And this man was supposedly attached to her father somehow? How? Her right hand came back out and up to her forehead, index finger and thumb pressing hard against her flesh. ~How do I get myself into these things...~ She took a deep breath as the wind continued to press against her, hair blowing in different directions as the wind shifted around the platform. Her hand finally came down and she nodded once more to the man. "I don't come on behalf of my father, as he is disappointed in my choices of affiliation." She paused briefly. "I have with me a gift, and some things I'd like to discuss along with that gift...and I ask for something in return."

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The smile turned to a frown quickly as he realized what she was saying. Glancing down to her waist he spotted her weapon of choice. "Ah. A Jedi? I can see why he would be...upset. But I've already said you could come on in, so come on in, before this damn wind blows us off the platform." He didn't know much about Ember's past or to that effect, his family. He knew that his son had died trying to protect Mandalore from the Death Watch and Sith and that Ember was one of the Force users he trusted most in this Galaxy...And so his honor traveled with him through blood and beyond.

Entering the turbolift was a little cramped, but the ride was quick down to MandalMotors hall. Exiting he led the woman to the actual Hall, a large room with a spacious round table with the center removed and the front where the Mand'alor sat, or rather stood, was also cut so he could enter the center. On the ground in the center sat a large holoprojector. With a heavy sigh he turned to the young woman. "What is it you had for me?"
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

She didn't sit, instead she stood on the other side of the table from him. Her black jumpsuit making noise as she moved, the fiberweave material and mesh grinding together as she brought the crate up and ontop of the table. "First, my proposal..." She took a deep breath, this is where it was all going to crash and burn or take off. "I'd like you to sign a cease-fire with the Republic..." And before he could respond, her hand quickly came up, motioning him to hold on. "Now, before you laugh me out the door or kill me where I stand regardless of who my blood is...let me finish."

She spun the small, ancient looking crate around and fiddled with the lock in the front, her black gloved hands adjusting the nodes before it popped open. She quickly flipped the lid and spun it back around to face him, within was a golden based triangle shaped holocron of sorts, one that appeared very old. "This is the Codex of Tython. It came with me from almost a millennia ago." She looked down at the box with the Codex inside of it and then up to him. "Now, this artifact is useless to you, I know but to the Jedi Order it's priceless." She continued, her hand coming back up to hold him off from talking. "Now, I also offer myself...." At this point, a knot of nervousness welled up in her chest and her stomach. This was the complication, if the Republic or the Order broke the agreement should the Mandalorians agree, she would be dead.


"As a sign of peace and a gesture of good will towards it, I am willing to stay until true peace is established between our two governments, now should the Republic or the Order break that..." She trailed off and quietly closed the box to the Codex, her hands gently sliding over the features of the ancient box. Her gaze rested upon the box before she looked up at him. "Use your imagination..."

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

What his guest didn't know is that he had already met with Popo, chancellor of the Republic, though exact terms were still being talked on. Peace was relatively close at hand between the two powers. Though mention of the Order did bring his eyebrow into a questioning arch. "What does the New Order have to do with the Republic?" Had his fears been correct, were the Republic and Sith conspiring against the Mandalorians?
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about the New Order? What the hell is the New Order?" She gestured to [member="Gilamar Skirata"] "I think you're getting a bit jumpy..." And with that, she could feel her senses suddenly heighten. She felt an odd tingling sensation on the back of her neck, and the Force was with her. The room, it's features and everything within were sparkling ley-lines in the Force and she knew each and every intricate detail within a split second. Like a flash of a holocam.

"I offered you something and asked for something in return...it's as simple as that. There is no deception here." She gestured with her hands outwards, well away from her lightsaber hilts. "I came here with the best of intentions."

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

A sigh of relief escaped his lips and a grin danced along the edges of his mouth, but he kept his cool. "This...holochron. What is its significance? Would you be able to access these...secrets of the Jedi?" he asked. He had already made up his mind either way. The Mandalorians had several Force Users he assumed were capeable of discerning the contents of the Holochron but he was...Intrigued if even she knew what she was holding. What she was doing.
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

"The significance of this holocron is the data kept within..." She shrugged slightly and lowered her hands to her sides, a slender eyebrow raising briefly as she felt light ripples through the Force. "I would as I pieced it together...it's a complex puzzle..." She chuckled softly. "You might think I'm blind or just stupid, but do you really think I'm just going to hand this over to you and agree to peace without keeping it close?" She brought her hand up, waving her index finger. "I don't think so, you can easily let me go and keep this artifact and the knowledge within..."

The same finger she was waving came down and tapped her chest. "The final piece is in a safe place, without it or without me, you won't be able to access it." Her hand fell back down to her side again, gripping the bottom of her hilt tightly, much like her other hand had come up to do so. "I'm doing this as a selfless gesture, one my father doesn't even know about and I'm not sure he'll care..." That was probably a lie, Ember could possibly blow a gasket over this.

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The old man looked the young woman before him right in the eyes, stared at them, bore deep into them. And then began to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. "You have gal, coming here...offering such a sweet deal and then taking it away." Putting his hands on his hips he sighed happily. 'You Jedi sure know how to negotiate." What was she thinking? It was as if she was offering herself more than the holochron, and to be honest...She wasn't that valuable to him at all. He wondered what sort of leverage she thought that would give him, what kind of incentive.

His eyes falling to her hip he smirked and pointed to her lightsaber with a finger and a nod of his head. "You gonna use that?" He had been hit with a numerous amount of lightsabers. By now, they all felt the same, and none of them were particularly painful, unless you were a beast of a man like Vulcanus or Appartus.
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn wasn't one to fight unless there was a need for it, her hands slowly came off the hilts of her sabers and her right hand came up and reached within her jumpsuit. She yanked hard and pulled out a glimmering crystal, a sigh escaping her lips as she set it down on the table before them. "I have no intentions of double-crossing you Mand'alor..." She shook her head and made a motion. "And let's be honest, your interest is not in me but in the holocron...for all I know you're going to take me out back and have some artifact that will subdue my powers and snub me right there."

She looked down at her hilts and smirked as her gaze came back up to him. "Even if I did, you and I both know I may be dead but I promise I wouldn't go down empty handed..." The smirk faded into a more serious face. "But I didn't come here for a fight, I came here with a deal. You don't seem to keen on it, you just keep trying to egg me on and bait me into some battle royale as if you're trying to prove something." She made a motion with her hand towards him. "I am not your enemy, the Jedi are not your enemy and neither is the Republic." She pointed at him directly. "Our enemies are knocking at our very doorstep and soon will be at yours, what then?"

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The old man's face became stern all at once. The laughter faded from his features and his eyes became dull. "I am not trying to egg you on." he said, his voice even and strong. "I am trying to understand why you would come to offer an item in trade and then keep it to yourself." He sighed and scratched his head. "If you want to stay then stay, in exchange for the holochron and your help, should you stay, I will still all war plans against the Republic." he grunted.

"Besides, if I killed you Ember would have my head." Turning away from her he left the room and called to her, "You can leave the box on my desk. When I come back if it isn't there, I'll know your answer. You've heard mine."
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn blinked twice, she went to say something but the words couldn't form properly. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and chased after him, gently grabbing his shoulder. "Wait...you mean I'm welcome to stay here or I better stay here? Big difference between the two?" She withdrew her hand and placed it infront of her and motioned to the box left on the desk. "So you mind telling me what you're going to do with it?"

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

"You may go, you may stay." he shrugged his shoulders tiredly. "I plan on learning as much as I can about the Jedi, Force users in general. I don't much trust them and I don't like the idea of them running around with ultimate knowledge of everyone one else." It was true, very few Force users held Gilamar's trust, in fact many of them that he did trust, he knew as normal Mandalorians, the burden of their Force sensitivity thrust upon them in one way or another. Ember was the exception. "Afterwards I don't know what I will do with it."
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Writer]

Aaralyn pursed her lips and nodded. "I see, so that is what this is about..." Her arms came up and folded across her chest. "Knowledge and power..." She shook her head softly. "You men are all the same, doesn't matter what caste you are from." She gave him an unimpressed look and nodded once more. "Enjoy whatever you get from there, I'm sure soon you'll be on a die hard quest to eradicate all Force users soon enough." She brushed passed him and as she did. "Just like Palpatine did with the Jedi..."

Of course he wouldn't have known anything about her, where she came from or the fact that her mother had escaped the whole execution of the Jedi Order. No one would have, except Ember. All this knowledge and power men constantly sought, she never understood. It apparently didn't matter if you were Sith or non-Force user alike. To have the power to exterminate life or understand how best to eliminate the Force as a whole, gave men a feeling of superiority. Perhaps she read him all wrong, and he was doing it for the greater good...or some other bantha poodoo reason.

She didn't care, it was reality. The universe had changed...

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Writer]

It didn't matter, Aaralyn was disgusted by this point and nothing else could be said to the Mand'alor nor Aaralyn. She was free to go and he made it clear, she made it clear that she kept her end of the bargain from a certain point of view.


It was short work to load up the XJ-3 and Rowdy, a quick pre-flight and a mock salute to the guards standing rigid on the platform and the X-Wing was airborne. Before she knew it, she hit the atmosphere and was in space. A sigh escaped her lips as she reached within her jumpsuit and touched the necklace that her father had given her.


It was safe.


And with it's safety, the secrets of the Jedi were safe...to include the Codex of Tython. From this point forward she knew that it was game on. It was for the safety and security of the Republic and the Jedi Order. If the Mand'alor wanted to know what was in it, he would have to see her personally without any of the gimmicks and to get to her...well he would need to find her first.


She was taking an awful risk but at the same time, she didn't trust him...and he proved her inability to trust him with his last comment. With a push of the throttle, her ship jumped into hyperspace. A short distance outside of the Mandalorian System she came out of hyperspace and made another microjump, and then another, and then another. She would ensure there would be no ability to track her hyperspace route.


She held the key both mentally and physically to unlocking that Codex, and [member="Gilamar Skirata"] would have to prove that the knowledge within was for someone honorable. Period. Now she needed to call her dad and warn him of what she had just done...for there would be hell for her to pay and her ALONE to pay on the horizon.