Chapter 13: Unforeseen Circumstances
34 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin) - 2 Years before Canon
Sector/System: Mandalore
Location: On Mandalore - Clan Gryphen Compound
Sera and a guard could be seen carrying me through the hallways to my room but after a while, I could no longer pretend.
"I can walk from here." I told them pulling my arms back from their shoulders
"You were awake?" I heard Sera ask.
"Yes, been that for a while now, Rin meant well, she's not going to have a good time due to this and will most likely lose her place as captain if she's lucky, exiled if not, execution would not be out of place either but that would not happen." I told her. The guard wisely stayed quiet.
"Should you not go to stop…" Sera tried to say when I stopped her.
"She never wished to be captain, now that her older brother came back along the Deathwatch group she wishes him to take over." I told her taking my helmet off and looking to the ceiling with a pained look on my face
"He and I had a big fight years ago, not about me being a trader mind you. He like others started to believe Deathwatch's spiel about how the old ways are the best and all that crap, and the New Mandalorians under Satine Kryze being a blight… Sigh." I said, sighing at the end, shaking my head
"Even though Rin means well the spot will likely stay vacant for quite a while, the group of Deathwatch still needs to prove themselves and so do you, the attack in half a week's time will be all of your chance to do so." I told her
I knew it was a week but that was just to keep Deathwatch out of the loop, in our clan when it is one week it is half, is it three days it is in about one and a half days.
Basically, the time said split in half, one can never be too safe in these things. We have used this to our advantage numerous times, finding spies, and luring enemies into traps to name a few.
"You can go back to your post. Sera and I will go on from here." I told the guard, who saluted me and left
In the meantime, we kept walking to my room and going in after arriving.
"I know you have questions, all will become clear in time, now then…" I pressed some buttons on the console in my room and a screen opened up.
"Hello There." I said cheekily, those watching from the Command room, all looked rather surprised I was awake.
"If you are awake please stop the chief… big sis Rin…" I could see a crying redheaded young girl in the arms of the man I dread, her father Butch my mother's second-in-command
"I won't, even if she mends well her future in the clan is not in my hands even if I stepped in, I would just make it worse for her." I told the crying girl, who collapsed on her knees crying, almost making me wish I had phrased those words differently
I could see Butch kneeling and hugging the young girl while watching in pain at a large screen to the side, likely watching how Rin is beaten up badly.
I know she wanted to talk about that time, but that blasted test got in the way, and she never got the chance to do so.
"Lark… you should forget about Rin, she made her choice, and depending on the chief her faith will be sealed." I told the young man that always hated me for outshining him
To be honest, I rather have the lazy bones commander due to his skills than Lark my dear cousin… even though he works hard his mindset is too immature no matter what his parents my dear and kind Grandparents try to do.
"Chuck, Nora… tell Butch about his son who returned with you guys, he will not get the captain's post even if it will be vacant after Rin losses it." I told them watching Butch and the crying girl look at them in surprise.
"That is an order of myself, the Heir. Get to it. I'll speak to you all later. For now, I'll be resting some more." I told them, closing down the console and taking off my armor, soon lying in bed.
"Jack about… hes already asleep…" Sera wanted to ask something, only for me, to have fallen asleep already.
I guess recovering, the test and the big show-off fight took everything out of me possible, I was out like a light after hitting the pillow.
— — — — —
Back in the command room, the people there, were still looking at Chuck and Nora.
"What is the name of that son of yours sir?" Nora asked
"My foolish son's name is Odo… tell me about him." Butch asked them letting go of his youngest daughter and stood menacingly in front of both Chuck and Nora.
"Odo… fuck, that bastard lied to us." Chuck grumbled with a curse.
"What he means is we were all Clan-less before, mere orphans, you all know that is Deathwatches modus Operandi, Odo said he grew up on the streets and was thrown into prison for something he had not done, and found after release that all his family to have mysteriously died." Nora said, in quick order
"Yes, not only that… he enjoyed killing, so even though he came with us due to having been under our command, his gleeful laugh when he killed pirates before he was thrown into boxes… you should talk to him." Chuck told him
"I see so the trooper that was thrown in the recording Stan Yomaget had sent me was of my Clan…" Chief Catra, could be seen walking inside
When the others saw her they stood up and saluted her all at the same time.
"Yes Ma'em, he lied to us, how Heir Jackal found out, I'm not sure." Chuck hastily said.
"Idiot, the Heir looked at one of our men rather intently, and those two brutes on over-watch were clearly aiming his way, so I hazard a guess he recognized Odo, how I'm not sure." Nora spoke soon after
However, a young girl wiped her tears and ran towards Chief Catra, making Butch and the rest pale.
"... Chief… big sis Rin…" the girl nervously asked through her tears, when she was pulled into a hug by the woman she feared.
"No need to worry, Rin will be fine, it is just that I have new plans for her." Chief Catra said releasing her
"Go get Odo and tell him to get to the training field, if he leaves… I do not like traitors or liars and any combination of them." the chief growled with murderous eyes.
"Butch, if he is lucky you will keep a son, if not it is not to be for him to live." the chief said walking away
Making the young girl collapse again and cry all over again but this time for her brother and what fate he would have,
Her father was quick to arrive and held his youngest daughter while the others watched with different facial expressions.
— — — — —
Sera POV:
I saw Jack falling asleep so quickly, that it almost made me stumped, as if I did not know what his situation truly was like at all.
It is a miracle as they said, he should not have been awake let alone moving like he has been.
Only after I saw him fall asleep so quickly, did I understand what Rin really did, she noticed it and I did not. I guess her growing up alongside him would allow her to know if he was bluffing.
I quickly walked to the console and went to look for his medical files, I needed to know for certain how bad it really was so I could make sure to stop him myself if things got out of hand in the future.
Rin would not be around to stop him, so since we would not be here forever I need to know the true extent of his body's situation.
And just when I found it seeing a chard of his body with red marks everywhere to denote where the brakes had been badly healed and had been reset I froze.
The chard alone showed almost completely red markers, this should not be possible, it even showed that his nervous system had micro tears in them, making him not feel pain but when he did feel it, it would be so bad one would wish for death.
Blood charts show besides the poison large amounts of adrenaline and painkillers that are too much, so it's a miracle his organs are still working properly even if his heart showed it was working over time.
I could feel my heart quicken in fear at what I saw, he should have died many times over… is he even human anymore?
Just when I thought that I felt an arm go around my neck and hear the chilling voice of the chief in my ear.
"So your curiosity got the best of you." the cold whisper in my ear made me skip a breath.
'When did she get here, I did not even hear the door?' I thought in shock
"W-what h-happened t-to him." I somehow managed to say while the chief put pressure on my neck.
"Too much to tell a mere possession of my son." I heard her growl
I felt myself be thrown to the ground and saw her close the console down and lock it
When I looked up I saw the ice-cold blue eyes of the chief look at me… You will know true fear in front of something or someone so dangerous your body just freezes up no matter what you wish to do.
"It seems to let you be, letting you keep a semblance of freedom was a mistake…" I heard her growl and slowly walk my way
I remember in my clan my father, who had a personality disorder before taking his own life, this memory made me afraid of the chief, those like that are unpredictable, even if I was not sure if she was like that.
But what scared me more was the item in her hands. My body was not reacting due to the fear, when I felt her pull me back up by my hair making me grimace.
"My clan at least a portion of it dealt in slavery, anyone we captured from pirates mainly after all no one would miss them." I heard her mumble
"Rin will be nothing more but my sons's property and so will you, you both are nothing more than that." I heard her say when I felt a circular object around my neck that had been in her hand
"Mother…" I heard from behind and I saw the chief freeze up looking fearful at the bed.
I can't blame her, after what I learned from the medical report and him suddenly falling asleep when he lay down.
"You're awake, I did not expect you to wake up for a long while." I heard her say in shock
"Bah, who can sleep when feeling that aura of death so close, also what do you think you do to what is mine?" I heard him growl
'That low bass voice is making me shiver, down girl, focus' I thought feeling myself shiver and heat up hearing it
"Rin and 'this one' will be your property from now on, I bet you heard me about my clan." I heard the chief say
When I turned around and watched Jack rise from his bed, smirking our way.
"Oh, I sure did... Mother." I heard him growl
'What did I get myself into…' I thought, not able to think clearly when I felt the choker activate
— — — — —
Jack's POV:
I heard a beeping sound from my gauntlet, and when I looked I saw a new program on it with a few lists in it including two names I knew.
Rin and Sera were listed under the property/servants tab, and after hearing dear mother say that about slavery I knew more than enough to write books about with the thoughts I had flooding my head.
"Seems the chokers are active, so how long were you planning this." I told my mother looking in anger at her.
"The moment I knew she was from Clan Vor, it was an extra precaution, but when I found her walking normally, I knew I had to act, fearing she had you in her hands already." I heard mother say
"You are like your father, easily swayed by a pretty face, it took me a lot of work, in the beginning, to keep him in line and loyal to me. Even though that was much easier in the end since he loved me." she said
"Why would you risk it by doing this now? you know how I think on slavery." I told her walking her way
I saw the eyes of my mother shrink, and her body shaking but why? She can't be afraid of me, she always beat me into the ground so easily.
I did not know about the charts or how bad my situation really was, let alone what was done to me in the past, many of my memories are still spotty or covered in fog giving me a massive migraine when I try to get access to them.
I saw my mother's back hit the wall when she started to speak again.
"I did it for you Jack… with them now stuck to you they can't betray you not harm you." I heard her say, I noticed her voice forcefully staying calm
When I noticed something was wrong, I was losing to this feeling or instinct, intuition thing that saved me so often in such a short time, when things turned black.
— — — — —
Chief Catra POV:
I saw my son's eyes dilate into pure whites before going back again, and the sinister smirk and glint in his eyes was as if something had taken over.
It is not often I feel fear, normally I'm the cause of it, but I knew since my son was taken forcefully to a Republic lab due to his high Midiclorians they wished to see what made him tick.
I knew they were scared back then for a Mandalorian Jedi, or Force user while trained as a Jedi killer and hating the Republic, like so often had been in our history.
They did horrible things to him, and it was the only time I ever saw the old Duke as the warrior he once was, and had made me doubt my 'Neutral stance'.
All factions joining hands to save him was a thing of glory, but sadly short-lived.
Deathwatch has many factions and the Duke is dead, so much death among our people.
If only we had a capable leader if only the Duke stayed like he was during that operation things would be different… now? my son is nothing but a ticking time bomb.
But now seeing that evil glint in my son's eye and that smirk it would not bode well for me.
"Oh Mother, it seems you made a slight miscalculation, Sera was already mine, and Rin would be when I was done with her, but it seems I will have to put you in your rightful place as well." I heard him say
I felt something envelop me keeping me in place, I felt cold and my throat tightened unable to say anything.
That was when the door opened and I saw Rin standing there with fearful eyes walking in and locking the doors behind her.
"We will have lots of fun all four of us." I heard him say laughing in a mad tone
'Whatever happens, I need to make new plans this is bad… seems I messed up again, first when he arrived almost killing him, and this time in the training field…' I thought when I felt my knees buckle and my hands move on their own as if something controlled them
'Sigh, nothing to be done…' I thought when I felt pain a lot of pain making me wish to scream but being unable to.
Things are not looking good, how will it go? Be sure to watch the next episode of 'A Mandalorian's Aventure's'.
Until next time folks, Author out.