Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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What we've learned (Keira Verd + Invite)

It was the week after Ondreon, and [member="Keira Verd"] insisted that he come home to heal. Not Mandalore, but their home. He was so busy with work that he never made time for the closest people in his life; and while he had always been distant, his sister put her foot down. "How can you call yourself Mando'ad if you don't make time for family?" she had chided him harshy. "You're hurt, you need to take it easy, and you need to let us be there for you."

She was in charge, at the end of the day. If she wanted him to be there, he had a duty to listen. It gave him time to work on his newest project, something on the side he had been keeping under wraps.

It was then that he learned that Asha and Keira had conspired to build him a workshop. It was place on Ashrah where he could work, a reason to spend more time on the world and to come home from Keldabe from time to time. He had no words to describe how thoughtful it was.

Asha and Alkor rarely saw eye to eye. It was something he never discussed with the woman, and she was content to continue doing her duty to Clan Verd regardless of whether he was there or not. Asha was a good Mandalorian, and Alkor knew it. Better than he would ever be. One day, she'd have a family of her own- a home, made for a lover and their children.

Alkor would never have that.

He took a seat, grunting from the pain as his torso screamed at him from the wounds he had incurred. The kolto injections at various locations around his body constantly pumped a mix of healing fluid and numbing agents that did just barely enough to keep him up. Being a stubborn bastard got him the rest of the way.

"You should be resting," the blonde girl said flatly as she walked into the room without knocking. "You're pushing yourself too hard."

"I can't sleep, Asha," he said tiredly. "I've got so much to do. So many things-"

"They'll be there when you get back, she promised as she crouched next to his chair. She looked up at him, head rested on her arms as she folded them over his leg. "You've got to make sure you stay alive. You're important to the aliit."

He looked down at her and smiled. "No," he responded softly. "You all don't need me. You've proved that all this time. I'm sorry for putting my problems all on you."

She lightly pushed her clenched fist to his ribs, and he groaned as the agony twisted his gut. "Stop talking like that," she sounded far more serious, "or I'll hit you harder. Keira! Come in here!"
 
Contrary to her brother, Keira was doing her best to relax after the fight on Dxun, having sustained her fair share of injuries as well. Sure, she had her own responsibilities, but she understood that she wouldn't be good for anything unless she took the time to get back to full health. As much as she loathed not doing anything, it was satisfying to be allowed to exist and let life pass her by as it wished. It was a luxury she hadn't been afforded in years, and she'd learned long ago to seize her opportunities as they came.

Inevitably, one thing or another arose, and the peace was interrupted all too soon.

Groaning, she pushed herself into a sitting position, head in her hands. "Someone better be dying!" With a sigh and a grimace she stood, gingerly running a hand over her bandaged ribs. She was no stranger to internal damage, but it was one of those things that never got easier with time. If anything, it just became worse as you got older, but no matter the cautions from every doctor, she wasn't about to slow down. There were more important things at stake than her own personal safety.

She paused in the doorway after making her way down the hall, observing the scene before her for just a moment. As always, her brother and Asha were at odds, but then, that was never not the case. With a shake of her head and a smile she pulled over another chair, sitting down and leaning back slowly, carefully. "You two are worse than the ad'ike, I swear." Looking between them, her gaze settled on the other woman. "What's the problem, Ash'ika?"

[member="Alkor Centaris"]
 
"He won't take a break," Asha explained, "and now he's feeling sorry for himself."

Alkor made a face as he sketched designs on paper, pulling the helmet he had received from [member="Preliat Mantis"] closer as he studied the design. It was very similar to the general design used in all beskar'gam, but the structure was tougher and built to withstand more damage. He scribbled some notes next to the illustration as all of it came together in his mind.

"I'm just sitting here instead of filling orders that I'm backlogged on," Alkor drawled. "There are a score of more Mandos waiting for weapons and armor, and I'm doing them a disservice."

Asha shook her head, but she had called [member="Keira Verd"] to speak because she knew Alkor would not listen to her. "You lost your buy'ce," the girl noticed as she looked at his incomplete set of armor, "but it looks like you found another one."

"It was a gift," he told her as he swiveled in the chair to face both women. "And a promise. In that fight, I discovered the discontent that divides our people, and I aim to do something about it."

He gripped the helmet and looked into the broken T-visor, looking at his cracked and disjointed reflection. Then he looked up to Keira. "We have some things to talk about," Alkor told her in a quiet voice.
 
"Well, you're motivated, I'll give you that." Keira traded a look with Asha, both unsure what he meant but willing to hear him out because, well, he knew what he was talking about, usually. If he hadn't been knocked around too badly in their last fight. "It's about who holds the throne, just like it always has been. That's what it was in the Crusaders, under Ra, and it's what it is now. How many near-civil wars have we seen, vod'ika?"

Leaning over to get a better view she studied the helmet for a few moments before relaxing into her chair. "Which poor shabuir did you hurt bad enough that they decided to hand you their buy'ce and call it a day? Not that I'm exactly surprised." Her guesses were limited to what they knew of the Te Veman, but in all the commotion and crossfire she'd lost track of her brother. That had only allowed him to get into more trouble, but apparently he'd managed to put a positive spin on the infighting, something that was new for him altogether.

She could feel Asha's eyes on her expectantly, the other woman no doubt anticipating a lecture about how he needed to learn to take care of himself. She'd long worn herself out on long-winded tirades, and so addressed the issue succinctly, "And she's right, you need to take a break. Right now you belong at the homestead, and before you start, I am pulling rank on this." It wasn't something she necessarily enjoyed, but being Alor had its perks, especially when dealing with particularly stubborn younger siblings.

The sound of a more distant voice had her halfway to her feet before she recognized it and once more sat down, raising her own voice to be heard, "We're in the back, Australis."

[member="Kaine Australis"] | [member="Alkor Centaris"]
 
There was no realistic way for him to fight back against her executive decision in his current state. Alkor had been to levels of weakness and in much more dire need of healing than this before, and he knew better than to push himself to teeter over that edge ever again. The dull ache reminded him constantly that sitting here and doing menial work on his orders was better than breaking both his arms and legs trying to fight through it all.

"A small part of it," he grunted, "though it makes you think about what it means for someone to be Mand'alor. No, the heart of the issue is our identity. What have we become?" he asked. "What shape are we poised to take, and what are Yasha's designs for the future?"

Alkor placed the buy'ce down and folded his hands in his lap. He hunched forward, chewing on his lip as he looked between the two women. "The war within is one of beliefs. What are we fighting for? What was fought for in the past? Have we cast aside those things? The concern is valid, and with each brushing aside their discontent solidifies into hatred. Who can blame them for that?"

He heard her call out to [member="Kaine Australis"] and nodded. The man was invited to their homestead for a similar conversation. [member="Keira Verd"] was just a touch early. "This buy'ce belonged to Preliat Mantis," he told the Verd Chieftain. Asha seemed concerned at that statement, but she did not voice as much.

"My foremost desire is to unite the Clans, the way we were before." In the time before Ra, they had crusaded together. Alkor had seen the full force of a unified Mandalore. He wanted that to be the status quo. "But I do not know where to begin."
 

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