Progeny of the Despised

[Darth Carnifex]

"Have faith, apprentice. Did your mother not tell you that the universe is not so black and white as it may appear? The Mandalorians were once our enemy, but now circumstances favor temperance among their ranks. Those most likely to ally with the Jedi have been eliminated, killed in the Civil War or driven away by the Undying's unwavering policy against Force Users in their midst. Now they stand alone, alienated those that tied them to the Jedi, and surrounded on all sides by foreign powers."

He chuckled, "And Ra is no fool, he knows that if his fledgling Empire has any chance of survival he needs to make new allies. When he approached me I too was skeptical, but now I have certain assurances that the alliance we forged is not as brittle as many would like to imagine."

Not to mention that most of this was engineered by the Dark Lord himself, Ra's return, the alliance, the purging of the Force Users. The last one wasn't wholly his idea, that seed of prejudice was already part of the Mand'alor's subconscious -- all it needed was a push to ignite the flames of hatred that made Ra purge his own people of 'weakness'. Likewise Carnifex played no part in Mandalore's cataclysm, though he profited off of its occurrence readily enough.

"All you need to know is that the Sword of the Manda'yaim is poised to strike elsewhere."

[member="Calina Ovmar"]​

 

[Lina Djo]

Calina tensed at the mention of her mother, expression darkening just a little. She bit back the retort that danced momentarily across her tongue about her mothers mental health. Anaya said a lot of things to her daughter, but she also did a lot of things to render at least eighty percent of what she said as null and void.

She bowed her head. "Forgive me, master." she said after a moment. "My lack of faith is not in you, but in the mandalorians ability to keep their word. They may be poised to strike elsewhere now, but give them time to rebuild and regain their strength...." she shrugged and looked up. "I truly believe they are a threat, and one I will not underestimate."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I do not underestimate them, despite all of their honor they can be as treacherous as the Jedi if given the opportunity."

He was lucky to count [member="Vilaz Munin"] as one of his allies within the Mandalorian Empire, he could always count on him to keep his unruly brethren in line where he could. It was the others that the Dark Lord couldn't count on, like that burly Togorian that accompanied Ra Vizsla to the summit at Ithor.

"But I think you and I are finished here, this test has yielded interesting results. You know your way back to your chambers."

[member="Calina Ovmar"]​

 

[Lina Djo]

Calina bowed and departed, a frown creasing her forehead as she traversed the corridors back to her chambers. What did he mean by interesting results? She had expected more than simple dismissal, she'd expected punishment for speaking out of place. Perhaps he was waiting for something, looking to see how far she was willing to push those boundaries.

She slipped back into her chambers, closing the door behind her and leaning heavily upon it, a sigh escaping her as she did. Was she in over her head? Possibly, but then she'd spent her whole life playing similar games with her mother. The only difference here, was that not only did her life hang in the balance, but the life of those she chose as allies. Her thoughts drifted to Luke and she smiled sadly, well, perhaps the latter was not such a difference.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]