Chapter 71

Lilo was sleeping when she suddenly heard rushed footsteps in the distance. They were heavy and not very fast. 

"We're under..." Lilo was about to shout when she saw that all of the other Mandalorians were already fully geared up. Some of them looked at her with laughter in their eyes seeing her panicked state while some looked at her in mockery. 

"Looks like your senses are still a bit dull compared to ours, kid," Kali commented. She was the officer in charge of the 200 Neo-Crusaders. "Get dressed and armored up. We will have contact in 3 minutes."

Lilo nodded without looking at anyone else. She put on her armor and helmet while equipping her blasters and plasma caster. While she was gearing up, the others had already left to go to the hangars. There, they prepared for the counterattack with their droids. 

Lilo hurried to meet them but by the time she got there, they had already deployed and were engaging the raiders. Lilo rushed out to join them but she was late once again. Dead Twi'leks and Blurrgs littered the ground. The young Mandalorian looked at the women around her and felt frustrated. 

Lilo kicked the dead body next to her while looking at the captured prisoners. Each of them was bruised up but none had any life-threatening injuries. It was obvious that the group had perfectly coordinated which Twi'leks they would capture and which they would kill ahead of time. 

Sev'rance walked over to the Mandalorians with two Necrons by her sides. All of the Mandalorians stood at attention and faced her while Lilo was a step behind them. Sev'rance looked at her but made no audible comment. Still, Lilo felt like every eye washed over her when she did. 

'Damnit!' Lilo shouted mentally, swearing that she would do better the next day to herself. She had thought that after getting private training from some of the best, she would naturally surpass the other Mandalorians, even if they had more experience than her. She only realized that she was still considered an amateur by them as they were veterans with 20-50 years of experience between them. 

All the captives were brought to holding cells where they were interrogated by Sev'rance herself. She was able to find out the location of 5 of the smaller cells before 3 hours had passed and 'morning' had arrived. With non-stop sunlight, it was hard to keep times without strict discipline. Unfortunately, the major base had not been found. Still, that was enough for them to show their hands and make a decent show of force. 

The Necrons were deployed as planned while the Mandalorians split into 5 groups of 40. Each group rode toward one of the bases that had been exposed from Sev'rances 'interrogations.' 

Lilo rode with Kali as the least and most experienced naturally needed to be together. The pair entered one of the bases and immediately began firing as soon as it was in sight. The Basilisk War Droids saw the compound hidden in the rocks and unleashed waves of missiles that destroyed the outer defenses and most of the internal structure. The rest of the base surrendered without another shot having to be fired. 

Dead bodies lay all around, ranging from soldiers to civilians who had gone along with their families. While they were walking through the remains of the base, Lilo looked at the carnage and saw a few stuffed animals and little hands holding them. 

"Couldn't we have done this more peacefully? We killed kids," Lilo asked Kali who led them with a blaster rifle in her hands. 

Kali looked back and shook her head at Lilo's innocence. 

"We can't. Only way we can ensure that none of them get hurt is to risk ourselves getting hurt," Kali told her while she oversaw the prisoners being taken from above. Each of the Twi'leks was being forced to strip naked before they were allowed to put their clothes back on. 

"This is what their leaders and family members signed them up for. They thought that what they believed in was worth risking their family members' lives. If they accepted the terms that the majority of the leaders agreed to, then none of this would have happened. Even if they disagreed peacefully, we could have let them be. But since they wanted to use violence to get their point across, we shall do the same without hesitation," Kali patiently explained. She understood how they looked like the bad guys in the situation. They killed kids and people fighting for their planet's freedom. But Jial had done everything above board. He didn't start using violence to get what he wanted from them. He paid in credits.

"But..." Lilo wanted to say something to disagree. She looked down at the men and women who were forced to strip in front of others and felt disgusted. "Do we have to do that?"

"Do you think we want to?" Kali asked with a sharpness in her voice. "If a single one of them has a bomb strapped to them or a hidden weapon, that puts lives in danger. I rather humiliate them for a few seconds than risk the lives of our fellow Mandalorians or the innocent Twi'leks who can follow the rules."

Kali turned away from the group below and looked at Lilo. She felt frustrated because she knew that the others had gone soft on her. They may have trained her body but they hadn't trained her mind.

"Go join the others. Tell them 'déshabiller.' It means to strip," Kali commanded Lilo. The girl wanted to protest but thought better of it. She nodded and went down to do as she was told. 

"You're there, aren't you, Lord Jial?" Kali asked

The sound of cloaking faded could be heard as Jial's figure slowly appeared next to her. Even though she was an Astartes, she was still small next to the massive form that Jial had. 

"You called?" he asked. Jial looked down to see Lilo barely whispering the commands. A female Twi'lek sensed her weakness and began to get hostile. 

"You chose me because you all were soft on her. You are giving me that responsibility," Kali stated, not asking. She already knew it to be true. 

"Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore. Vor entye (Pressure makes gems, ease makes decay. I accept a debt)," Jial thanked her. He could be hard on the girl but he could not be as hard as she needed someone to be. The rest of her family had failed her in that. If she were to survive as a daughter of the Mandalorians and Yautja, she needed a tough teacher. And Kali would make for an excellent teacher.

"You speak Mando'a well. Ever think of settling down with one?" Kali asked, knowing just how many of her fellow Mandalorians had fallen for Jial due to his strength

"Thought about it. But figured if I became one, I might start a war," Jial rejected

Kali raised an eyebrow when she heard that but she couldn't deny the reality of it. Jial had the qualities and power to make a play for becoming Mand'alor. 

"I'll train her well. She'll live up to the legacy that you are creating," Kali swore to him

Jial nodded before activating his cloak and slowly disappearing. Kali wasn't sure if he was still around or if he had left, but she didn't see him again for the rest of the time that they were on Ryloth.