Where is your Honour?

[Lina Ovmar]

[member="Ra Vizsla"] [member="Davon Karr"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Ijaat Mereel"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Tysk Willamina"]

A message went out to the Council, the Cuir Rekr and the Alor Council. Mia requested a meeting, something had come to her attention that made her blood boil. She had agreed to tackle the Republic and the One Sith because they needed to be dealt with, but this? This went beyond any of that. Ilum sat beyond the borders of both those factions, the Jedi academy there was linked to neither faction and the blood split was unnecessary.

She waited till everyone was seated, rising from her own chair without a word, she replayed the message that the Academy on Yavin would have received. Cold eyes, watched Arrbi Betna, whether he was at fault or not remained yet to be seen.

"Forgive me, Mand'alor," she after the message had finished "but since when did we sanction the murder of children?"

 

[Darth Metus]

That is the Honorable thing to do.

The words of [member="Ra Vizsla"] echoed in the back of Isley's mind – over and over and over again. Honor demanded that he sever ties with the Black Tie Syndicate because of Yutan. Honor demanded that butchering innocent men and women was a sin. Honor demanded repentance. That was the reputation that the new Mand'alor had earned in Isley's book: he was a man who placed honor above all else. Under his rule, the Clans would indeed wage war; but dammit if their hands wouldn't be clean of innocent blood.

And now this. Kids. Butchered.

Isley heard the transmission...Gods damn. His gaze slid over to [member="Arrbi Betna"], but there was no judgment in his expression. The Alor had, supposedly, made the same mistake that Isley had. The thrill of a Crusade led him astray. If Ra could see that in Isley, surely he would in Arrbi – and thus would it be demanded that his honor be restored. So for now, Isley kept his peace and listened.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

He had wondered who had called a meeting of the clans, it was none other than Mia herself. Odd, but not unheard of. Previous Mand'alors usually did carry some weight within the clans. Her silence was haunting though, the look on her face was not one unlike a friend who had just been double crossed. She didn't say a word. She just played the message. And play it did.

And as it played his face contorted into one of disgust. His blood began to boil in rage. He imagined that if he was Force sensitive like his younger brother that the room would be in a flurry right now.

"What in the 9 Corellian Hells have you done?! Senseless violence? Murder of children?! That isn't the Mandalorian way, that is not OUR way! Not even the karking Crusaders of old were that void of honor! You're no better than the Kyr'stad! Are you trying to start a war?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"I was there, hunting. Betna had some young bloods get out of control. It needs to be handled, but understand the attack was launched and carried out before [member="Ra Vizsla"] made his challenge in the arena, before he was named Mand'alor. It was also carried out by both Crusaders and Clansmen before we were reunified." Draco said quietly. There was a lot of anger, but very little actually doing anything. "Kids aren't something we should be killing, I agree, wholeheartedly. I don't know why the young bloods thought it was necessary, I haven't spoken with them. I had no authority over them at the time. Vilaz Munin and I were gorgodon on the tundra hunting at the time. We accompanied the party and split up upon arrival." Cuir Rekr Shukalar nodded his head. He would probably be a little darker in punishment towards them than he would other types of warcrimes. With his own children on the way he abhorred the act itself, and something needed to be done.

"Arrbi lead an honorable raid by all accounts, offering the Jedi to leave and surrender peacefully, and they retreated into the tunnels and he was happy to let them do so. He went about taking care of looting the temple, while the young bloods held the entrances. They got carried away. By a few miles of good judgment and lacking the most basic common sense. It is a failure of leadership, but it was not an ordered and sanctioned butchering." Draco defended his friend some, but there was something to be said. The Mandalorian people, had in the past killed whole worlds, enslaved whole species, and torn down everything in their wake. What happened was regrettable, but the council was fooling itself if it thought there wouldn't be similar tragedies in the near future. What they did now however would set the pace.

"Before we fret over whose fault, let us decide how we will do it better now that we have been given the authority to do so. Its not like any one in this room is completely innocent. Now it is up to us to decide how we will quell this kind of fighting in the young bloods." It would never completely happen, but were they going to hang every officer who had a hot-headed young one decide to murder everything under his command while his back was turned? Probably not. The needed to define what they considered honorable and make sure the hordes of angry Mandalorians called to Crusade across the stars understood that.

[member="Mia Monroe"]
[member="Isley Verd"]
[member="Mia Monroe"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Darth Metus]

"We find ourselves in an awkward situation, one unlike the numerous Jedi Orders in the Galaxy. Some of our midst recognize the Codex, some abide solely by the Resol'nare. Some see a Raid or Crusade as a free pass to eliminate everything in sight, others stay their hands from innocent blood."

The Warmaster broke his silence. He would not leap down the throat of [member="Arrbi Betna"], nor attempt to step into the Mand'alor's realm of judgment. However, if the fact was that the young bloods went too far, then they as a Council needed to address the underlying issue from here forward. To be a Mandalorian meant different things to different people, but [member="Draco Vereen"] had a very good point. They needed to nip this in the bud and clearly outline how they would conduct battle, so that all Mandalorians – young and old – would never again commit such acts.

"Our people have several interpretations of what it means to be Mandalorian; and by extension how to wage war. I'm in agreement with Draco, we need to decide how we will raid, how we will wage war, and spread that decision to everyone."

[member="Draco Vereen"]
[member="Mia Monroe"]
[member="Gilamar Skirata"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]
[member="Ra Vizsla"]

 

[Arage Bao]

Ronan sat back and listened for a while.

There was a lot of anger in the room, resentment, emotions boiling over and in the crux of it all the Mandalorian truly did not understand the sentiment of some of his vod. Perhaps he should understand it, perhaps it was simply a fault of his, but at the end of the day… Vizsla felt like they were letting their emotions cloud their judgement.

"Peace, vod Skirata." The large man finally broke his own silence.

His clan and him had been there as well, though blackened armor and helmets made sure their identities were hidden from the Jedi and their ilk. Not that it saved Betna when Raxis proved himself to be inexperienced in the protocol of raids.

"What’s done is done and we must move on. Vod’e Vereen and Verd are right."

Another ponder.

How far to go, how far to go? It was clear that Clan Vizsla and its Alor had a vastly different outlook on moral and reasonability in engagement, so this called for a measure of diplomacy.

"But we cannot blind ourselves with emotions. Murder? The Jetii welps are not helpless little infants defenseless like sheep." Vizsla wove his hand to wave away that notion. "Any who raise their hand, who are capable of force and fight and kill are combatants who need to be dealt with in a combat situation."

His head cocked.

"Or should we simply lay down and let them kill us, because their culture does not train their children like we do ours?"

[member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Mia Monroe"] | [member="Gilamar Skirata"] | [member="Arrbi Betna"] | [member="Ra Vizsla"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"By all accounts," said Alec quietly, "the kids were running away at the time. Some of them were what the Jedi call younglings -- a term for any kid under about twelve or so. Generally not trusted with lethal weapons.

"The academy on Yavin is moving its kids out of Rekali territory, and I won't stand in their way. The Yavin academy has nothing to do with the Republic -- in its own way, it's caught as much contempt from the Republic Jedi as we have -- but to a whole lot of the vode, a Jedi is a Jedi. So them leaving, or at least getting the kids out, is a smart move on their part, and I've got no reason to stop them. Best for all concerned that we don't leave ourselves open to another Ilum debacle. Feth."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia said nothing, watching the reactions of everyone carefully. Her eyes coming to rest briefly on Alec. "That would be a wise plan, as it is clear some of us are unable to control our own youngsters." She shifted her gaze to Ronan, his uncaring attitude concerned her greatly, but she was careful not to make it personal, she was already biased in this situation as it was.

"I'll be honest with you. My anger here is not just because a handful of kids were slaughtered unnecessarily, but because a friends daughter was caught in the firing line. So my judgement is far from clear, but the fact still remains that our people's inability to distinguish one group of force users from the next needs to be dealt with. How long before their paranoia turns on the witches? Ronan, Isley, Draco you have families do you not? No doubt you're not the only force users in your clans, and I imagine some of them are children too. What happens when the gun is pointed their way?"

She sank into her chair. "We have just given every Jedi a reason to stand alongside and defend the republic against our attacks."

[member="Alec Rekali"][member="Ronan Vizsla"][member="Isley Verd"][member="Draco Vereen"][member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Oh, lets not go down that hypothetical road because we all know where that goes." Draco said quietly when Mia mentioned his family. Freshly redeemed Sith Lord and all, he may not be as powerful as many sitting in the room with the Force, but he certainly knew what it was likely that would happen.

"I agreed we shouldn't be killing kids that are just running away. I understand that, I emphasize with that. I'm still sure, that from this side of the curtain, we can't kill and witch hunt every commander that has a youngster go haywire when our culture has many sects, each with different views on whether or not that act would be acceptable. We just called a Crusade, which means every hot headed youngster has been given a gun and is expected to eradicate two major galactic governments. If we hang every commander that has someone freak out, everyone in this room is going to die by the end of the year, probably a lot sooner." Draco was certain of that. The first several battles would be bloody, messy, and there would be casualties in the civilian sector, even if they tried to avoid it at all costs, it was war, it would happen. It was a guarantee.

"Clear instructions to the literal horde of Mandalorians is the best you can do. I've told my clan if its holding a gun, put it in the dirt. If its got armor or a uniform, put it in the dirt. If its blatantly not a threat, stun at most. But, not everyone I lead in the coming battles is gonna be my kinsmen. Some are going to be from other clans with different views, and we need to get everyone in the same book, because we aren't going to get on the same page."

[member="Mia Monroe"]
[member="Alec Rekali"]
[member="Ronan Vizsla"]
[member="Isley Verd"]
[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"I'm with [member="Draco Vereen"] on all points. This is a distraction, and this kid, Merrill, is probably looking at things through the lens of a teenager's first time in combat. And she's clearly spinning the feth out of it because it makes her feel less guilty for the choices she keeps second-guessing.

"Betna couldn't have done better. Apart from butchering the kids that were running away, the raid was pretty much ideal. We keep moving forward, keep doing what we're doing, and make it clear to the dicks among us that you don't butcher the helpless unless they really, really asked for it. We all on board? Good. Let's go kill what actually needs killing."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"]

Vizsla nodded after Vereen said his piece.

"Vod Vereen sums up my feelings in this case." The man mentioned, before acknowledging Rekali’s point with another nod. "Those who pose a threat, they need to be dealt with. These… younglings? were not that."

Leaning back against his seat the Alor found himself frowning. Because Monroe was right about one thing, this singular event could unify all the Jetii against them and whatever his personal opinions were about them, they were not a joke.

"All clans are sovereign, until Mand’alor commands. I will instruct my clan the same as Vereen."

This smelled like damage control to him, but he wasn’t sure what else they could do besides the unthinkable.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"So be it." Mia said finally.

"However, I want the names of those who crossed the line."

There was no way that they would consider publically condemning the attacks. To do so would weaken the image they had started to build.

"They need to be dealt with. I've no intention of hurting them." Much. "I think it would be best that they understand where they went wrong. The rest of us can reiterate what is considered a threat within our own clans."

[member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"]

A long look was cast at Monroe.

She had already admitted that there was a personal stake for her in this battle and that was enough for the Alor of Clan Vizsla. It was true that these young welps needed a lesson and perspective on what mattered, and what did not matter during times of battle. But it would mean little to nothing coming from a raging vod who spoke and acted from the heart, instead of reason.

"I propose vod Verd, Akaan Kaylr, Warmaster to Mand'alor, speaks to these wayward children of Mandalore." There was a silence, before Ronan spoke again. "Your resolve is commendable, vod Monroe, but as you said- you have personal stake in this. We need a neutral voice, speaking from reason while commanding the respect of all involved."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia allowed a cold smile to spread across her face and she leant forward on the table fixing her gaze on Ronan.

"What makes you think, that I won't find them after the Warmaster has said his piece?"

She was beyond the line of reason, and she knew it. Fact was, at this point, she was beyond caring.

[member="Ronan Vizsla"]

 

[Darth Metus]

"I'll gladly do so."

Isley, too, leaned forward – his gaze planted square on Mia.

"And you're not going to do so because you give a damn. Yes, you're justifiably pissed the kark off, more so than most of us. But the bottom line is, you give a damn about what we're all trying to do. For the first time in years, we are showing our people that we are One. United. Where is the unity in a Warmaster addressing offenders only for the Wolf to devour them?"

He paused.

"You care. I get that. But don't let your anger damage everything we're attempting to do. I'll see to it that they atone, you know I will. Redemption is a specialty of mine."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Because you should have trust in your warmaster enough to believe he can fulfill the duties requested of him." Draco said flatly. It would probably get a rise, but it was simple and true.

"I agree. The Warmaster is Warmaster for a reason, an honorable man who knows sacrifice, loss, and justice, and they are carried in his hands and on his brow. Unless the Mand'alor wishes to handle it personally, or the Warmaster chooses to lay that burden on another, as is their right, it should fall to him. But, I'm well aware Isley knows what everyone thinks, what they want done. They lost control, they need to be brought in line, not lynched."

"In addition to the ones that caused this, Arrbi was the commander. We cannot punish them for losing control and do nothing to their commander who lost control of them. A good leader shows his honor by standing with his warriors. I ask that Arrbi face the same justice they do." Simple, to the point, and probably hanging his friend out to dry. Lord only knows what Isley would want done, but, it was the right thing. Lessons learned, planning his own raids. Leashes would need to be tight to begin with.

"It is the honorable thing to do."

[member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Lina Ovmar]

There were a hundred things Mia wanted to say, none of them were wise and all of them were born out of anger. She met Isley's gaze, knowing he was right and hating it oh, so very much. She rose without a word, not trusting herself to speak, simply giving a nod to say she understood and agreed, albeit reluctantly. She left the room, running a hand through her hair as she did.

She needed a drink, and something to shoot.

[member="Draco Vereen"][member="Isley Verd"][member="Ronan Vizsla"][member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Rj1GS9anA​

Betna's face was blank and he kept his emotions stable. Trained in the clan's ways of hunting the Force sensitives of the galaxy, he was a veritable master at hiding both thought and passions under strict control. Only his wife could truly know his mood and that was only through years of marriage and learning Betna's subtle body language.

His helm was on the table before him and dully reflected the light of the chamber as the others spoke. As they wrapped up their discussion, the warrior set a single datastick on the tabletop beside the beskar headgear.

"That contains all comm transmissions, audio, and video recordings captured by my buy'ce during the raid," he stated, his voice calm and controlled. "In it you'll find orders given and messages received as well as what visual recordings may be relevant to the issue at hand. I'd like to note that the reason I refused to evacuate the children from the caves, per the Jedi request, was because I did not want children to be exchanged. My goal was to remove the children as a bargaining chip entirely and to offer a peaceful full surrender to the Jedi residing in those caves on Ilum. My idea was twofold and based on what most aruetiise know, or fail to understand, of our culture: The Jedi would be forced to consider their children behind them as a liability if combat ensued, possibly aiding in their decision to surrender peacefully and that if they refused to surrender, they would be more liable to run from us further into the tunnel systems to avoid us entirely. I figured they would think we would view the entire group as a whole as combatants and react in one of two ways."

He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. The raid had been successful, true, but in many ways it had been a complete fiasco. A fiasco he was, ultimately, responsible for.

"When they refused, I expected them to retreat into the tunnels and acted as such. I specifically gave [member="Ronan Vizsla"] orders to use lethal force if needed when encountering resistance, but also to spare any children and younglings, as the Jedi call them, that were found, but only if doing so did not bring unnecessary and careless risk. In addition, after orders were given, in speaking with Alor Raxis after his negotiation attempt, I will readily admit to threatening him. However justified I felt at the time, it was inappropriate for me to do so despite the breach in Operation Security."

Arrbi looked at the datastick on the polished table a moment longer, remembering aspects of the raid. The evidence was fairly damning, but that didn't faze the Betna Alor. His defense was laid out, but the issue wasn't something to be ignored.

"Ultimately, what Alor Vereen says is true. The younger, greener warriors of the raiding party were given orders and became overzealous in those orders. I thought I had been clear, but it is clear I was lax in my duties as a commander. I should have lead them personally or, at least, kept an eye on their actions from afar. As it was my lax in judgement, I assume full responsibility for the incident as the commander of the Raid on Ilum that resulted in the deaths of Jedi Youth as well as for threatening the life of a fellow Alor. I place myself at the decision of the Council and Mand'alor.

Turyr eray vurel asas la hwa."

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Ra Vizsla"]

 

[Davon Karr]

Davon despised sit down meetings. If you needed to sit down you were probably talking for too long. Of course, he'd been in a civilian job for too long where the middle management seemed to spend their time having meetings for the point of meetings so perhaps that influenced things. The Karrs had always been a professional mercenary outfit. Though no instead of scattered, only soldiering part-time or deploying for Betna at Company level they were now preparing to organise as a small but effective fighting force that could be deployed alone. As long as Arrbi provided a few more troop transports. He was used to a strict hierarchy and lines of responsibility. Any conversation was as long as it took the senior member present to say 'We're going to do this...'.

His holo faintly flickered. Davon wasn't close enough to attend the meeting in person. There were more scouting incursions to be arranged into One Sith space. Resistance had been remarkably absent so far and he was concerned there was a trap coming.

"Under twelve and unarmed," he reiterated giving a slow shake of the head. "It does not sound good. The commanding officer on the ground and his men share the burden," he agreed. That was all he had to say on the matter. A decision had already been made and he had no reason to protest. Nor would he, the Warmaster had spoken. He could think of many punishments to mete out for the hot blooded warriors, from manual labour to a full dress down and stripping of name and clan. That was not his decision to make.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

"That's a joke if I've ever heard one," he muttered at Isley's talk of redemption. 'What did he really know? He's redeemed himself more times than I've been eaten by a saarlac and survived.' he thought to himself. But what was done was done, their passivity in this matter would only snowball. He had seen it before, just after the hyperlanes started reopening and the Gulag Plague had been all but eradicated and the clans exploded from their iron cage and ravaged the worlds around them. His father had seen to it that the Skirata clan followed the Codex, but the old ways weren't old enough it seemed.

This change would be no different. There would be blood, senseless and without gain and only loss.

Apparently Mandalorians did forget, a lot.

"Why raids to begin with? We united under Mand'alor Vizsla to fight against enemies. Not children. There will always be green soldiers as every day a boy or a girl completes their Verd'gotten. What we are teaching them with these raids is not honorable war, its wanton destruction. You want warriors find them work! There's plenty of it with a war on two fronts going on not even a stone's throw away from Mandalore. We don't need to prey on the temples of pacifists and the homes of children."

[member="Mia Monroe"] [member="Isley Verd"] [member="Draco Vereen"][member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Ra Vizsla"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]