Private Supplication of the Thirteen

[Onrai]

Mia Monroe
Mandalore

The tarnished metal of the ethereal cube floated ever closer towards the world below before stationing itself in orbit, as it had many times before around many other worlds. Its lack of external threat was deliberate as the mysterious object entered into a shadowed orbit of Mandalore, a world which Onrai had been to many years before. A simple transmission was sent from the Cube to the surface of the planet below as scales disengaged to reveal a shuttle on its way to the world's surface. The transmission reached the world's surface at roughly the same point of time that the shuttle itself did. For the moment, whoever was in it chose yet to not disembark. The message, intended for the upper echelons of the Mandalorian Protectors, said only the following.

Children of Arasuum, Via seeks the servant of Kad Ha'rangir, god of the exiles of Notroskinon.

Words entangled in enigma were sure to draw the attention of the one other Mandalorian that Onrai knew of whose knowledge of the ancients would draw her into this web of intrigue as soon as his own.

 

[Mia Monroe]

The reaction was instantaneous, the tension high since the last sith assault on their world, nothing appeared in Mandalorian space without being tailed, and so the cube was tracked, and Mia was called into the war room. She rested her hands on the console watching the holoimage before her, the patrol tailing it scanning it continuously, the data, thus far, uninteresting.

Until it spat out a comm signal and a ship at the same time.

Mia didn't need to speak, the security of Keldabe Spaceport were already moving, another oair of ships rising to greet and escort them to the ground, the message came to her direct, the war room froze as Mia diverted it to the console and allowed it to play outloud.

A smile tugged at the conrners of her mouth. There was no denying she had been a servant of Kad Ha'rangir. Now though? The old gods, didn't matter, there was only the Manda.

"Keep your weapons trained on it, if it shows any hostility, take it down. I will go meet our unexpected guest."

The ship was surrounded, Mandalorian with a variety of weapons trained on it as Mia approached.

"Its been a long time since anyone has called me a servant of Kad Ha'rangir." She called "The old gods don't have much place in this galaxy."

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Mia Monroe

The door of the shuttle opened, revealing a hooded figure that looked down on the Mandalorians who surrounded it. "Kad Ha'rangir and Arasuum are long dead, and their bones languish in the same soil as the ones who called upon me to cleanse the ash from their world. They sought the power of the Architects to aid them, not knowing that there was no unity between Vol and his brethren." The voice that spoke was clearly female, and as the hood was lowered, the woman's greenish flesh and darker greenish hair became apparent, a subtle yet unnatural glow behind it. There was no illusion being cast, nor was there an indication of deception from the form before them. Were any remnants of the ancient times left within the lore of the Mandalorians, the appearance of the woman would, perhaps, match the appearance of the ancient Notron goddess known as Via, worshipped by the Zhell civilization and supplicated to in the time of the war with the Taung about which Dha Werda Verda had been written.

And while she was not the original, enough time had passed for her mimicry to be nigh-complete.

"I come out of... empathy." She said. "When the war was lost, the Taung abandoned the Architects and those who had blessed the humans of Notron on their exodus at the behest of the Inscrutable One. The servants of the Father of Shadows sought to pollute their society, but failed, and the Taung followed the path of the Rainbow Comet through the Cloak of the Sith and to the world of Manda, where Mandalore the First conquered the monstrosities of the region and, ultimately, the world of Tal'tar - where we stand today."

She looked over the beskar-plated forms of those whose weapons were yet brought to bear, ready to be used against her were they to prove a threat. Mortal memories of her last fateful encounter with a Mandalorian - an encounter that required the unlikeliest of salvation attempts and required escape from a literal oven - came to mind for a moment like a faint whisper before she continued.

"It is for this harsh existence, and what has been done to your world, that I, the one known under many names, come now to offer you the succor deserved. I offer the knowledge of your past lost to the ages, the resources to help rebuild your world, and above all, the relics of the righteous dead. I know of the graves of your champions - the tomb of Rexutu the Unconquerable, of Olhak the Reaver, and the cairn containing the ashes of the Doom of Ulmarah. And should you accept this, I shall grant you the greatest gift a daughter of Kad Ha'rangir could yet ask for: the sarcophagus and remains of he whose actions led to the journey that has led you" - she motioned to every one of the Mandalorians encircling the shuttle - "to this point. The remains of Emperor Arden Zhell the second, he whose guile sparked the conflict of Akaa-nati'kar'oya that led to the involvement of myself and the Architects." The War of Life and Death, the beginning of the conflict that would see all pacifism shed and bled from the Taung people.

She thought for a moment, a smile coming to her lips. "I have no reason to quarrel with you. Your people are... respectable even to one such as myself, and the motivation of your unity of the disparate shards of Mandalore in the face of greater problems is something which I admire, hence the offer of my aid." She recalled her past interactions with Runi Kuryida , and her own personal goals of gathering what was necessary to prevent the pollution of the Lord of Darkness from making egress into this plane. That she sought to mitigate Mandalorian conflict with the nascent Empire her followers had joined was only a side effect - she swore that this time, the mistakes of past empires would as yet be forgotten.

"So I ask, Mia, should we perhaps speak more of this in a more apropos environment?"

 

[Mia Monroe]

Her appearance created a ripple, it was a quiet gentle movement, some tightened their grip on their weapons, other lowered, some exchanged glances with those they were standing next to. this iteration of mandalorians were out of touch with their last hundred years of history, let alone that thousands Tof years ago, but there were those among them who knew enough, who would recognise the impersonation of the woman before her.

Mia's face was stoic, void of all emotion, clean of any reaction while the woman spoke, where her vode's knowledge was limited...hers was vast. She called the manda to her, let it fill her. As 'Via' spoke, Mia drew on the spirits of the manda, calling on them to join her to meld with her. Whatever, or whoever this woman was, she was a danger. Perhaps not one with a weapon in her hand, but one with honeyed words, false promises and a clear ability to draw zealots to her.

"We have endured our share of pretenders." Mia spoke, her voice, more than her own, it rippled through the force, punching through the air like she had shouted. "Do not insult us further with your blasphemy." Mis blew a sigh out of her nostrils. Feeling the spirits swirls within her, their anger flickering behind her sapphire gaze.

"We can talk, when you state your purpose and your true name. No one offers such treasures without expectation of something in return. There is no such thing as goodwill, it is a lie that someone tells when they wish someone to look the other way. Who are you, truly, and what do you want? If I like the answer, we can talk, if not..."

Her hand clamped into a fist at her side, there was another ripple through those that surround the ship, sharper, more certain, as a dozen rifles settle into their shoulders, as power packs began to hum to life.

"We don't take kindly to uninvited guests."

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Mia Monroe

"Pretenders?"

Onrai sensed the tension in the room building. She reached the foot of the steps of the shuttle. standing there for a moment as Mia continued. She was not the original Via, that was certain, but her belief in her existence as a successor to the long-dead being was such that she was loathe to give up the suggestion she wasn't who she appeared to be. Despite this, the cordial green form of Via as once depicted many millennia ago decayed, collapsing into the infinite abyss of swirling shadow that Onrai more typically had presented herself as to her followers. The woman's pose or position changed in no way.

"I am Onrai, and I want to minimize wasteful conflict. I was present during the time of the Sith Empire's conflict with the Mandalorian Enclave, a foolish act that benefitted no one - the Sith gained nothing from betrayal of their allies, and the Mandalorians certainly gained nothing from the betrayal in and of itself. Conflict without purpose serves no ends but those of the Father of Shadows." She paused for a moment.

"A new Empire is forming. Disparate peoples brought together by the allegorical axe to grind against the Galactic Alliance. I do not wish to see people fail to learn from their mistakes and, as such, seek a more peaceful coexistence, so I offer the most appropriate compensation I can. And if the relics of the Taung and Zhell are not enough, there is yet more I can give in exchange for such. Things of unparalleled value that few know about." There it ultimately was - Onrai desired no senseless conflict between the Mandalorian Protectors and the Dark Empire. It was simple enough a solution - though whether she would receive a more positive response or not was another question entirely.

"And if you want something more immediate and substantive... I'm ready to offer you manpower, droids, raw materials, and financial resources to assist with the restoration of your world."

 

[Mia Monroe]

The tension did not ease, if anything the true visage of Onrai served only to unsettle the mandalorians more. Mia, however simply gave a cold smile, her hand waving them to stand down. "See how much easier things are when we are honest, Onrai?"

She tilted her head pondering before giving a nod. "Very well Onrai, I will hear you out. Come."

Turning on her heel, Mia would lead them out of the spaceport. Silent hand signals given for most to fall back, though a pair fell in step behind Onrai a silent escort. Keldabe itself had come far in the rebuilding efforts, where it had always been a mismatched jumble of dusty buildings, there was some uniformity in its rejuvenation, pockets of greenery, gardens and trees planted throughout, MandalMotors tower stretching above them, looming as Mia drew them ever near it.

Inside there were still some construction works going, but for the most part, it was cosmetics, Mia was able to settle them into to a quiet conference room. Dismissing their escort, she gestured at Onrai to sit.

"I'm aware of the development of the Dark Empire and their quarrel with the Galactic Alliance. While we have far bigger problems than to be concerned with, the Alliance are our allies, if they ask for our support in whatever war the Empire starts they will have it. Without then we would not have known about the undead crossing across the Stygian Caldera, their warning gave us enough time to prepare and push back."

She settled into a chair opposite Onrai. "What authority do you have to speak for the Empire, Onrai?"

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Mia Monroe

"You may yet be surprised as to how much of my initial words were, truth, Mia."

As the duo walked, Onrai's malignant and anti-conceptual form observed what had so far been done to help restore Mandalore. It was no ecumenopolis or paradise planet, but it was at least a sincere start. With each further step down the pathway prior to their sitting down, she pondered over the circumstances in question. When they finally did sit down and Mia began to speak, Onrai was, at least in part, disappointed, though it was something to only slowly but surely walk through.

"If your issue is knowledge about that which your enemies seek to do, that can be more than provided. The Alliance is your ally only because it pays you to militarily align yourself with them, not because it desires to see the regrowth and revivification of your society. Credit flow to promote the buildup of your military ends when your usefulness to them ends - and it does not benefit the further development of your world. Farms, factories, molecular forges... things conducive to the growth of a Mandalorian society where war and attrition perpetually gnaw at your numbers." She said.

Onrai watched as Mia sat down across from her. "I am a part of the Imperial tribunal and wield seniority if nothing else, as one who has been around since before the Emperor himself - but if you worry about whether I can provide what I offer, that is within my personal if not political capability." She reconfirmed. "There is more to know, after all, than merely resources. Perhaps you would know of the Warriors of Shadow, and of the attempt once made to corrupt them to evil by the Father of Shadows?"

 

[Mia Monroe]

"Credits pay for more than just our military, Onrai. Just because they pay us to fight doesn't mean that we only use those funds for that purpose. There could be ways to make it more permanent, ways that have not been broached as we have a common enemy in the Sith Order."

She left it unsaid that there were many among them that did not want to ally with the Galactic Alliance, but they were at present the largest and most powerful presence in the galaxy. Corruption was rife among the senate, but that had always been the way. Republic, Alliance, call it what you wanted they were both the same, keeping themselves on the right side of them was in their best interest. This Empire that Onrai hailed from? She saw no reason yet beyond a promise of relics and a voice in whatever format their political state took.

It wasn't enough.

"You're talking about the Taung... and a deity I'm not overly familiar with. I'll be honest with you, unless they can restore the damage done to my world, I don't much care for them. I might have chased relics a few decades ago to add to my personal collection, but my personal collection is ash and dust, along with half my planet and more than half our people, so what are you truly offering the Protectors, and what do you want in return?"

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Mia Monroe

"The question comes down to how much and why." Onrai said. Barring the fact the Mandalorian Protectors were not a homogenous group - the same as any Mandalorians - Onrai knew that the Alliance was never going to give them the necessary money and resources to restore Mandalore, since it would mean losing an excuse to keep the mercenaries on an allegorical leash. That was the key - if the Mandalorians were actually given the resources to restore their world, there was no reason for them to be forced into long-term loyalty to a government that would end up inevitably collapsing in due time - especially know that the Imperial knife had been driven into the heart of the Alliance and was edging ever closer to their capital. Thus there would never be conflict between the Mandalorians and the emerging new order in the Galactic Core, one that looked to soon devour the Alliance from the inside out.

Of course, there would be inevitably complications, but those were things to be dealt with later.

"Dead never-gods aren't exactly the most reliable of patrons. That said, the archaeological finds from their tombs would certainly be worth an entire Coruscanti district." She said, before reaching into the inky blackness of her being and withdrawing a datapad. Setting it on the table, a series of numbers and holographic images began to emerge - accounts worth the trillions of credits, molecular furnaces, and a labor force in question, both mechanical and fleshy in form.

"What I want is the service of the Protectors and for them to not end up becoming an enemy of circumstance through the long-term shackles of a galactic government whose interests are in giving you just enough to quiet complaints, but not enough to make a difference. What I offer you is everything you need to rebuild your devastated world of 4 million souls with the full and explicit knowledge that you will neither be subjugated as a result - by the powers-that-be with those I mingle with, or by the Alliance - nor that I am guaranteed by long-term circumstance that all I offer will not be destroyed again by things far outside by control. Credits, worth more than the Alliance's trickling faucet of funds. Devastator-grade molecular furnaces to directly reprocess waste and rubble into usable building materials. An industrial and willing labor force comprised of decades of current and former soldiers, droids, and even Panathan refugees - none of whom are enslaved or coerced to serve in any way. Your world would not be the first they've rebuilt, and I'm sure it won't be the last." Holograms emerged from the datapad showcasing that the same resources and people she was offering to Mia had already rebuilt the equally ruined worlds of Kinoss and Ool, devastated during the past Mawite incursions into Chiss space, into worlds as equally populous and industrious as pre-devastation Mandalore had been. "And if the material benefits alone of having a rebuilt Mandalore to call home are genuinely not enough, you gain an ally in the emerging new galactic order that can minimize any risk of long-term harm to your world and territories." Were the Force-sensitive being to attempt to divine whether there was malice, subterfuge, or underlying schema behind the offer in question, she would likely be surprised to find that there was none, along with no attempt by Onrai to disguise or otherwise mask her motivations that had been made most plain.

Onrai's milky eyes looked at Mia from within the sub-charcoal void of her existence. She had offered the Mandalorian leader the deal of a lifetime, the allegorical 'offer that could not be refused,' and provided her with every possible receipt showcasing her benignity, that the resources to rebuild Mandalore were in fact available to her, and lastly, that she had already done the exact same for other worlds in question. To say at this point that she was curious to see Mia's response was an understatement - this had the potential to be a particularly curious change in galactic fortunes.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. the offer was substantial, more than they had gotten from anyone else, of that much she was certain but it came with a cost. Service of the Protectors...that meant fighting another war that wasn't theirs, that meant fighting against the biggest power in the galaxy at present. A power, that if they so wished, could easily roll over them.

"That's a generous offer. One I might consider if it didn't come with the request of service. The Dark Empire already has Mandalorian's under its wing in the form of the Deaths' Hand, why would you need us?" she challenged, leaning forward, her eyes shifting form the holoimages to the shadowy form that was Onrai . "I will also not allow Panathan's to set foot on this planet. They are Kaine Zambranos's people. Loyal or not, I will not have them here. That is not up for discussion."

She drummed her fingers on the table. "And while we're on the topic of Zambrano, what is the Empires stance on the Sith Order?"

This decision would not be hers alone to make, she would need to present it to the Mand'alor Ijaat Mereel and to Warmaster Drego Ruus as well as the head of the Journeyman Arla Rodarch . There was also a chance to raise this with the Galactic Alliance. If the senate knew they were being approached with such offers, perhaps she could use this to their advantage, perhaps she could garner a better deal with the Alliance.

 

[Onrai]

"Because I don't trust the so-called 'Mawdalorians.'" Onrai said, replying simply and plainly. "In fact, there are many in the Empire I don't trust, Sith and non-Sith included. Many of those there are either propagandized into believing in the cause - or worse, seek to abuse it for their own benefit at the detriment to the greater galactic power. I support it because I both understand what it is and am willing to put resources into benefitting it - as are some others." After admittedly venting a bit about the level of propagandizing and scheming she had encountered within the Empire, Onrai realized she probably needed to give a better and more concise answer.

"Mandalorian supercommandos are simple enough to trust. You make an offer to them, they accept it, and the agreement is sealed. You give them what was agreed upon and they give you what was agreed upon. I prefer the certainty of such over the irregularity of those in the Maw, who would gladly take my money and attempt to kill me with it. I know if you were to accept this agreement, I can trust that your cumulative honor as Mandalorians will ensure it is abided by on your side."

In response to Mia's demands for no Panathans to be part of any rebuilding program agreed upon, Onrai laughed. "They are my people." She corrected Mia. "They prayed, begged, pleaded, cried out to their god to save them when doom came to their world." Her tone became sober - extremely so. "Some slashed themselves, letting the blood flow in thoughts that the sacrifice of their flesh would bring forth their salvation. And some..." Her voice became less magnanimous given the atrocity she was about to describe. "Some even sacrificed their children and kin in hopes of getting his attention. He never came for them."

She was quiet for a moment, letting what she had just said sink in. "I saved them. They are devoted to what gave them salvation as opposed to that which abandoned them. But if you wish for none of them to be included in any rebuilding efforts, I have more than enough in the way of veterans and droids that can handle the process. I can even ship in fresh water as needed." A hologram showed up of an Aqua-class liquid transport and its capacity: enough fresh water to supply the entire personal needs of every Mandalorian man, woman, and child on-world for over a hundred years.

The question of the Empire's stance on the Sith Order was a tricky one - one Onrai needed to be quite tactful about. "We don't look at them as the rightful galactic power, nor do we acknowledge the authority of their Emperor or any of their leadership." She said. "They are a useful distraction to the Galactic Alliance, certainly one we have no reason to interfere with on that front, but I expect that eventually our paths will cross negatively once the Alliance has collapsed and is no more. It is the way of powers touched by the darkness to fight each other until only one reigns supreme - and while I have no reason to seek out the future on that regard, I wholeheartedly expect to see it come to fruition in due time. If the ancient Sith could not stop their own infighting, their successors likely won't either. Our agreement wouldn't change that relationship, though I'm sure some of the more ambitious Imperials would love to learn how to overcome whatever the Sith are trying to do to your space."

She was curious what other questions there were that Mia would have. If there were others Onrai needed to speak to, she would do so in a heartbeat - and she fully expected Mia to try and get more out of the Alliance in the meantime. That said, she also knew there was no chance the Alliance would ever give them a deal equivalent to what she was offering. They couldn't afford to do so and expect long-term support from the Mandalorians for their own squabbles and aims.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia sat quietly for a moment, pondering everything that had been said, before blowing a sigh out of her nose.

"I appreciate the offer, but I must decline it. I cannot, and will not, allow my people to be puppets to any nation, the Alliance included. To work for you, is to work for a Sith led empire, something we simply will not do. Nor, will I allow our honour to be besmirched because we chose to turn on the people that have helped us already."

She pushed herself smoothly to her feet. "I will escort you back to your ship."

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"We are all servants of something." Onrai replied. "The only things that do not serve are the Maker - and the Father of Shadows, of course. Whether we know it or not, there are those above us that puppeteer and change the landscape of the galaxy." She paused for a moment. "The Sith are but small pieces in a larger, grander galactic game, one that has been getting played for millions of years by beings of unfathomable thought and power. The Emperor of the Dark Empire, surprisingly enough, works against the interests of the true galactic evils, whether he is Sith or not."

Onrai slowly stood up in a most unnatural way, relying purely on her feet as opposed to any leverage from her hands getting out of the chair. "I can respect your desire to maintain relations, but the Alliance will spit in your eye. I fully expect you and the other Mandalorian leadership to go to them with a proposal for closer relations, trying to use what I've offered you here as leverage. The Senate will dishonor your visit and demand more of you than you have already given them while offering you meager trifles in exchange. If the honesty and certainty of their insulting platitudes towards the Protectors is worth abandoning the opportunity for your world to live again - to truly live - then I truly am sorry it has come to that point. Know that whenever Mandalore falls, my offer will yet still be there."

With that, the duo began walking back to the shuttle in question.

Mia Monroe