Chapter 5

It didn't take long for the others to arrive in their spaceship. It was however only Brachium and Thwak that disembarked, this time not wearing their iconic armours. Their faces were battle hardened and they looked around Dunn's age, maybe a bit younger.

While he knew those two giants were very built, he was still a bit surprised just how bulging their muscles were. It spoke lengths of their dedication and discipline and even with his limited understanding he could easily see that they both were formidable fighters just from the way they walked.

"It's good to see you again." Brachium said as Thwak nodded along.

"You as well, I heard you wanted to test my unarmed fighting capabilities?" Valin inquired after he greeted them.

"More or less. My brother will fight you first. I doubt it, but if you are still in peak condition afterwards, we will do some light sparring with training daggers. I take it that the one you are carrying isn't just for decoration?"

"It isn't, but I never had a teacher or anything similar." Valin answered honestly.

"That's fine. Let's see how you are doing when faced with an enemy and no weapon in hand." Thwak said as he walked in front of him, taking a lose stance and indicating for Valin to do the same.

Valin quickly followed after putting his dagger to the side and while it looked a little off, it was still something that proved itself in the rare scuffle he had before.

„Well, it could be worse brother." Brachium stated looking at his form.

"You are right brother, instead of looking like a gangster's, his form could look like that of a poor street thug." Thwak answered seriously before they both started to laugh.

Valin had to stop himself from frowning. He knew better than anyone else that he was not proficient in close ranged fighting, not yet at least, but it was clear as day what they both wanted to do.

They tried to rile him up to teach him some kind of profound lesson of always keeping a calm head and that losing his cool would doom him instead. And while he agreed with it and knew he stood no chance against them for now, he wouldn't run at them like a hormonal teen whose self-esteem was hurt.

No, he would instead use the two biggest strengths he had at the moment. Firstly, his head. Working on extremely complicated subjects for years now, helped develop his logical thinking and finding flaws. His knowledge of physics and biology had their own use in fights.

Knowing how to exercise more force with concepts like the leveraging effect and knowing weak points on human bodies at least gave you a fighting chance against stronger and more experienced opponents, no matter how small it was.

And secondly one of the few life lessons he remembered reading in his first life. Warriors that face each other will use everything they have to overwhelm their opponent, as not giving it their all would be disrespectful to the opponent as much as it was to yourself.

At least that was how he interpreted it and he would even use little tricks or actions others would deem as dirty if it meant to further his chances of victory.

"Are you just going to talk all day or are we going to fight?" Valin said in a slightly condescending tone, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Haha brother, do you hear that? He isn't taking you serious, is he?" Brachium laughed, making fun of his brother, and trying to rile him up himself. Those two were obviously the easy-going ones of their party.

"If you are so eager, l don't mind." Thwak let out an excited smirk as he slowly advanced.

Valin's body began to tense in return, ready to react at any moment. He didn't have to wait for long as his opponent put his weight onto his front left leg and got ready to strike out with his right fist.

He prepared to move to his back left to avoid the strike when his expectations fell down the drain.

"Wha-!" he exclaimed as he ducked out of reflex, rolling onto the ground on his left, barely avoiding being struck down by a fast kick. Thwak obviously feinted and with a grace betraying his heavy stature swung his upper body to the side as he raised his right leg.

Quickly standing up, Valin distanced himself to put together a game plan. He knew from the start, that his opponent was a lot stronger when comparing their physiques, the same as he knew that his opponent was well versed in martial arts and had lots of experience to boot.

Still, he was shocked how fast and flexible he was. His surprise was positive however since Thwak and his brother were potential crewmembers of his. It only took him a moment to decide on a course of action. The fight wouldn't last long, but he would give it his all to at least get a good hit in. Going for weak spots wasn't going as he planned before, but that didn't mean he had zero chances. Looking around he knew what to do to get the highest chance for the current him.

He didn't have any more time however as his opponent was on him again. Instead of entangling himself with him, he rolled to the side again to avoid getting hit, his hand grabbing at the ground simultaneously, acting as if he hurt his shoulder as he stood up again.

Thwak seemingly buying his bluff advanced onto his weak side. As Valin made to throw the dirt he gathered during his last roll, he got a bad feeling that was confirmed just a moment later as the Mandalorian jumped to the side, easily avoiding his cheap attempt at blinding him.

Both of them stopped for a moment and looked at each other. He couldn't be sure, but he thought Thwak recognized his quick thinking and will to use everything available to him. Maybe his interpretation of a warrior's code of honour wasn't that far off the truth.

"Not bad, lets see how you will do if we take it up another level." Thwak said seriously as he charged again.

He was even faster this time and while his speed didn't completely outclass Valin, his movements were just far more refined and sharper. Before he could get out of the way, Thwak easily kicked one of his legs away and Valin began to fall as his body turned.

Thwak however didn't stop there and stepped behind him, preparing to take him into a chokehold and end the fight with his next move.

Valin seeing his only chance to at least get in one hit, tensed his one stable leg and jumped back with the back of his head aiming at Thwak's face, taking him by surprise with the reckless action.

Due to their momentum, it was hard to avoid a collision as he hit Thwak's lip with his head before ending up in a hold, having lost.

As Thwak stood up again, he stayed seated for a moment, cradling his hurting head. That will surely become a bump on his head he thought to himself. But it was worth it. He didn't plan to use his head this way, but it worked in the end.

Facing an experienced opponent was definitely something else. Nearly nothing went as he expected, but it just showed how much untapped pontential he still had to fulfill.

Shrugging of the pain he stood up and was greeted with the smiling brothers, Thwak's lip bleeding slightly and a grin making its way onto his own face. While his opponent wasn't really serious, it seemed he gained his respect.

"That wasn't half bad." Brachium said while patting his back, making Valin smile.

"But it was more of a coincidence that you got a cheap shot in. Don't misunderstand, your instincts are good, and you have a good head on your shoulders. We will make a proper fighter out of you in no time!" He stated, as Valin nodded his head.

Learning from those two was a heaven sent, as he could eliminate his currently biggest weakness that way.

Afterwards Valin good himself a pack of ice to cool the small swelling on his head as they decided to postpone his sparring with daggers for later. It didn't mean however that Brachium wouldn't tell him what was important about it and how to act in certain situations. It was certainly enlightening to hear the various stories of what he encountered in previous fights and the different kinds of people he met.

One time he even met a fake martial artist that claimed he could easily disarm someone who pointed a knife at him. Long story short, he got stabbed into the gut and would have bled to death if it wasn't for the quick application of a bacta pad. Even Valin knew it was a bad idea to fight against someone armed with a knife if barehanded.

He was woken from his thoughts when Dunn called out to them to board the ship. They quickly made their way over and took a seat as Corvus began to fly further into the desert.

Valin sat opposite of Dunn as the others lunged around at other places inside the ship, all within hearing distance.

"So how did I do?" Valin asked curiously, waiting for the verdict.

While they were testing him for now, he didn't mind. If he was capable enough, they would end up as his subordinates. He wouldn't want reckless individuals that couldn't take a proper decision and just jumped at the first offer of money. He wanted to surround himself with loyal and capable people and going another extra step was worth it.

"I am surprised, both Sabe and the twins were full of praise for you. While I didn't see you shoot, I saw the fight and you did good. Better than I expected." Dunn honestly answered. What Valin didn't know was that they were undeafeated among their people and the biggest prodigies Mandalore had seen in decades when it came to physical fights. So holding on as long as Valin did at his age and with the limited amount of experience at that, it was no wonder that Dunn saw him in a good light.

Valin nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Sabe already told you, but the last part will be a hunt. A sort of rite of passage for us as you called it. Originally, we called it a verd'goten, but most Mandalorians, don't honour those traditions nowadays. They are too dangerous they say, too barbaric." He explained in a bitter tone full of reminiscence.

"If you manage to survive in the wild and manage to hunt a worthy foe with earlier agreed equipment, you will become an adult in our culture, and we will accept you as one of our own. Are you prepared for this? Last time to back out." Dunn tested him for one last time.

"Don't underestimate me, I will surprise you yet again Dunn." Valin smiled in return. Somehow, he was looking forward to his verd'goten, or at least something similar to it.

"Very well then. You can keep one of your blasters, and your dagger. Additionally, you get one bottle of water to start with. The rest is up to you." Dunn motioned for him to hand over the rest of his equipment he wouldn't need.

Valin meanwhile began to concentrate and went over all of the different beasts and enemies he could possibly encounter in the wasteland and thought about which of them would be worthy enough to gain their respect.

He wasn't too worried however since his biggest advantage in situations like these was his ability with ranged weapons and he was allowed to carry one with himself.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination and Valin stood at the ramp, facing an endless sea of rocky terrain and sand.