Old Republic RPG (Page 3 of 12)

"As I said," she explained, "we'll take care of you, and the other survivors. There's a job for everyone- tending to the wounded, scouting, even just carrying supplies and ammo. You're a part of the Mandalorian war machine now... maybe even one day a Mando'ad yourself."

She paused. "What's your name, Jetti?"

It's okay, re-read my last post about HK on page 2. I fixed it to fit the storyline better.

"Xondra," she repeated, then nodded. "A good name... strong name." She smiled, remembering how she had been introduced to her people much the same way. She was a stubborn brat of a girl, but she liked that. And she wasn't stupid, which meant she'd come around eventually. She darted up behind Mandalore and gave him a light bump on the back of the helmet. "Mand'alore," she said, grinning brightly, "can keep an eye on the Jetti? I need to go bug a certain tank driver."

Mandalore responded by giving her a would-have-been menacing punch to the gut were it not for her armor, and they both knew it. He rarely took off his helmet these days, of course. But she knew under it he was smirking too. "Yeah, yeah..." he grumbled. Had Shion not known him before he was Mandalore, she might have worried. But she didn't. Instead she stopped to talk to Xondra again.

"That's Mandalore, our leader," she said. "He is the strongest of all our warriors. He's watching you now." With that, she narrowly avoided the small slit of a window in Territ's tank, jumped on the hatch, and banged loudly. "Hey, guess who!" she shouted to him.

"Nothing, really," she said, making herself comfortable on the top of the tank. "Mandalore's watching the Jetti child, and it looks like a boring march to... well, wherever."

She paused for a moment, reading Territ's expression flawlessly. Something was clearly bothering him. "What do you think of these Jettise?" she asked.

His question surprised her, as did the concern that came with it. "I'm... fine," she said, which was only half a lie. She gently pushed Territ aside and jumped into the seat next to his, allowing him to drive the tank and talk at the same time. "You know, their leader wasn't here. The Republics think she's a match for Mandalore himself. About time we found a foe worth fighting, huh?"

Tension thick in the air, Shion's grip tightened on her rifle. "I wasn't born to Mandalorian parents," she said quietly. "I just see a lot of myself in that kid, that's all." Shion looked down to her armor, suddenly fascinated by the various scars it bore... or so it seemed. In reality she was thinking back to her violent initiation into the Mandalorian clans, a story that no one but Mandalore new. Not even Territ, whom she had known for years now, had never heard it. Shion knew that her people were people of war... but it had been brutal even by their standards.

((I thought the Taung were gray, not the Mandalorians? Most of which are human by this point, if memory serves))

((Taung were the original Mandalorians. They named the planet after their great leader, etc. And I've seen a picture of a Taung, both in and out of armor- you can't mistake them for human. But Canderous, Bendak, Kex, Zuka, Davrel... human. The Taung took up calling themselves 'Mandalorians' after Mandalore. But somehow they died out and what remained were the humans who had swarmed to their cause. They bred and survival of the fittest determined the genetic makeup of the Mandalorians as we know them... I think...? Oh wow, I'm so confused now..... oh well, on with the RP. I'll do some more homework on it.))

"You don't get it," she said dully, then shook her head. Territ was Mandalorian by blood, the blood of many, many generations. Even his skin bore a dull tinge to it, a sign of how old his bloodline really was. She couldn't expect him to understand what it was like to see herself marching beside Mandalore. Sure, the girl was a Jetti, but even so...

Worse yet, she realized, if she showed a weakness she could be exiled. And she would sooner die than leave her clan and people behind. "Nevermind," she said.

"An enemy worth fighting," she said grimly. "Perhaps too much so. That one welded your tank shut on you without even meaning to- they're dangerous. And this Revan sounds too much like Exar Kun for comfort. I think Mandalore intends to swat these fllies quickly, before they get out of hand."

She thought on his words a moment, and considered thanking him for his concern. On the other hand, she felt very irritated that Territ thought she needed to be taken care of.

"It's good to know you've got my back," she said after a long pause. "You know I've always got yours, right?"

Faux had been lost in thought, still stunned by what the Mandalorian had told her.

"We'll take care of you, and the other survivors. There's a job for everyone- tending to the wounded, scouting, even just carrying supplies and ammo. You're a part of the Mandalorian war machine now... maybe even one day a Mando'ad yourself."

The short haired red-head felt at the place where she had cut off her own padawan braid, her wide eyes staring off at nothing.

How...How...

Even the Jedi...would never...could never...be expected too... Since when were the Mandalorians more forgiving than the Jedi???

Then the blasterfire started, and all of Faux's thoughts stopped and she lost herself instantly inside the force. The padawan dived at Mandalore's legs and tackled him in front of the moving tank, not realizing she had knocked him out of the line of a sniper shot.

Shion hadn't minded being in a box with Territ... until the box had prevented her from taking a shot at who or whatever was attacking them. She suddenly felt more like she was in a cage- Shion's favorite place to be was on the battlefield with nothing between her and the enemy but her armor. Her joy in life was hand-to-hand combat. This...

Stifling her own problems with being in the tank, she quickly jumped onto a turret and began blasting away at the Jedi as soon as the other Mandalorians and the prisoners were clear. After all... no matter what her problems with the tank, she had Territ's back. She just wished it hadn't come to this.