718 FNM (20 BBY) Month 1
Coruscant, Orbit
Taylor Palatine
"You're wrong, and you know it, brother!"
"Just wait 'til we cut to commercials, Aipex, and I'll show you how wrong I am!"
"Try it!" The men in the holographic projection glared at each before Aipex cleared his throat, "In other news, we have a story that may lift the spirits of some while the search for the Princess of Mandalore continues. With the conclusion of season one of the Silver Mandalorian series and the preparations taking place for a confirmed second season, the rising holo-star celebrity, Taylor Palatine, who I had the honor of sharing company with on this very show, has decided to stretch her newly acquired Mandalorian legs during her vacation. With the most time-honored tradition of our people's history. Bounty hunting!"
"And who, you may ask, was the target of this glorious hunt? No good brigand smugglers, hiding out in the Breshig system, stealing Mandalorian artifacts as the planet's terraforming revealed lost secrets. If that's not exciting enough, Taylor herself has recorded her first bounty and uploaded it to her new streaming channel on RimVids accessibly anywhere with Holonet Transceivers. Even a wet-rag New Mando can watch, as the honorable Miss Palatine fought this battle with blasters set to stun, making sure all targets were captured alive and unharmed… well, except their pride! But she wasn't alone! To teach her the tricks of the trade was none other than Bo-Katan Kryze, helping her in the fight against these ne'er-do-wells, and if you watch to the end of the video available on the HoloNet, you will see how well Taylor did and what grade she was given by Bo-Katan."
Aipex seemed to tear up, "Just seeing young wild Mandalorians, even former outsiders, take their first hunt makes me misty eyed and nostalgic about my youth..."
Juup's sly smirk crept onto his face, "If I recall, you snuck out against father's wishes, then got shot in the leg. After you came home, father kicked your ass all over the family training hall, making a few new dents in every wall with your body." He proceeded to laugh, before being punched in the face, knocking him out of frame.
"FORGET THE COMMERCIALS! We're doing it live!" Aipex took a fighting stance.
"I'll gladly knock some sense into you, Brother!" Juup Jir yelled out of frame, before reappearing to tackle his brother off screen, much to the stage crew's delight.
I giggled as I closed off my HoloNet connection to the Daily Ordo broadcast. I was glad to know my first step into the bounty hunting world was used as a positive story for Mandalorians after we were attacked like this. If there was one thing that was hammered into me while I was learning to act like a Mandalorian, it was that family and unity came first, like the Resol'nare says.
While my heart went out to Clan Kryze, there was nothing I could do. I was an actress with some months of training and one real fight against Mandalorians on par with my level. I was not friends nor family, so there was no reason for me to charge in like a hero when I was halfway to Coruscant when it happened.
My own family was my current focus. I haven't seen my parents and siblings since I snuck out of Coruscant to audition for the role of White Silver in the fourth Silver Rider movie. Letters from home were mixed, Father was concerned for my safety out in the Mid-Rim while my sister, Celshy, had many questions about Mandalorians.
But she was Dad's little soldier, so who knows why she was curious. Tiffnata has barely said anything to me for the last year, other than congratulating me for my holonet success, what blindsided me was her asking me to pick up some of the latest Gargon Girls music and merch.
I knew she was in the boy band phase after turning fourteen, but this was surprising. Hopefully, the signatures I got for the t-shirt, poster, and a MandoTech vambrace would be a nice gift, along with a signed magazine with the idols and my signature under our faces would please her.
As for the dweebs, my weird identical twin brothers, the only news I heard was my Father's report about the terrible twos' continued pranks tormenting their teachers. Allegedly, they hacked their school mainframe to fudge grades for a female classmate. Seems their slicing skills were improving.
Mother wrote nothing... Translation, she was pissed.
She was an alright mom growing up, maybe a bit strict at worst, due to growing up in a very rich family with a lot of connections to Coruscanti nobility. Honestly, better than most. She raised us when Dad was rarely home due to his work as a Judicial which mostly involved teaching us etiquette and high society decorum. When I said I wanted to be an actress she was the one who taught me how to act and point out any mistakes I could fix. But when I wanted to audition to be White Silver she put her foot down and said no.
So I had snuck out without telling her. I still felt bad about betraying her trust but it turned out great as I got the role and I was a celebrity on multiple planets now.
Still, I needed to get home first, to reconnect with my family. Coruscant came into view as my ship rotated, I was letting T7 fly and coordinate with local traffic, while I sat in the cockpit chair, loose sleepwear still on as my lazy morning had stretched into lunch. Most of my clothes I'd brought with me were back on Mandalore in my hotel room, and while I still had half a wardrobe of clothes in my old room, right now I just had my PJs and my Mando flight suit with only a couple of changes of underwear...
I don't think this is what Bo meant when she said I should "rough it" for a while, in hindsight.
When the Republic Home Defense Fleet came into view, I frowned as my Laararir Ruyot was forced to veer off to fly under the keel of a Venator. There were a lot more ships guarding Coruscant than usual, must be because of General Grievous, and the attacks in the Core that everyone was talking about.
The Clone Wars was a war like nothing else, with even the Judicial Forces transferred to the Republic Navy to boost their numbers. However, people like Dad weren't taking it lying down, and had been relieved of command when they'd voiced that it was a mistake.
Chester W. Palatine, Captain of a Dreadnought-class Cruiser, had been forced into early retirement due to questioning the legality of preemptively invading Geonosis. We were lucky Dad's rank and prestige was able to secure us a decent pension in the meantime, but as the war intensified, inflation rose, and that pension was worth a whole lot less on places like Coruscant. Mom and Dad may not like it, but I was aiming to be the breadwinner in the interim.
A few hours later I got up and finally got dressed for the day in my full armor and helmet. We were flying in the Northern pole of Coruscant. Most holovids didn't like showing it, preferring to show off Coruscant's unique ecumenopolis nature, but there were small vestigial polar Ice caps that remained as "planetary parks" for the idle rich and as water reserves for the planet in general. Only a few snowflakes fell this time of year, carefully cultivated by the orbital solar mirrors.
Finally, my residential district was in sight.
My home was a simple affair for the Coruscanti elite, a three-story stump of metal and glass like the rest of the planet, kinda similar to Sundari, even though the Mandalorians favored more glass. Next to it was a private landing pad with a couple of hangar's housing Dad's old Delta-6 starfighter and the family shuttle, where I learnt how to fly. I circled the landing pad to make sure neither craft were in the way of landing. As I looked up from my console, I saw my family waiting near the entrance to our house.
"T7, take over." I ordered.
He replied in binary over the intercom as I left the cockpit. And made my way to the hold to access my weapons locker and kit myself out. Grabbing one of my pistols as a statement to my family, especially to Mother that I was an adult now and could make my own decisions. Then again, my vambraces' flamethrower and taser whipcord were dangerous enough without my blaster. But a pistol on your hip was a more obvious statement than those hidden weapons. With a rumble, the ship landed and it's hatch opened up. Taking a deep breath, I stepped down the ramp in view of my parents and siblings, with me in shining full Mandalorian armor.
My Father looked at me with mild curiosity and a raised eyebrow.
Mother narrowed her eyes.
Celshy smiled but then glanced at Father before quickly swapping to a mirrored expression.
Tiffnata looked bored to be here, and the twins, Wilale and Josmar had a mischievous glint in their eyes as they looked at my ship with wild fascination. They had the kind of look a Jawa would give an unattended ship, so I was definitely sleeping in my baby girl to make sure she remained untampered.
Mother briskly walked up to me. I was prepared to greet her formally but she rested her hands on my shoulder as she inspected every part of me before I could open my mouth. She lifted my arms and moved other parts of my body as if she was checking if I had any broken bones.
"Uh, mother?" I started-
"Shush, I'm making sure you are not hiding any injuries." Mother then pulled off my helmet and inspected my head. Her eyes focused on a few wounds and small scars I'd gotten with my Mandalorian trainers, when they planted my face to the ground. Once she was satisfied, she gave me a fake smile before her hand grabbed hold of my ear and pulled hard.
"OWOWOW, MOTHER!" After a few painful seconds she finally let go.
"That was for sneaking out and making us sick with worry!" Then she wrapped me in a hug, "This is for coming back home safe."
I stood there like a bantha in front of a speeder, not knowing what to do. So I just followed my instinct and returned the hug. Once mom let me go, she took a step back to let the others have their turn.
Then from behind her appeared an old childhood friend, clad in orange and silver plates, "A5!" I gave him a wide smile, "It's so good to see you again, buddy!" The Astromech, R2-A5, whistled and servomotors jostled in excitement as I knelt down to hug him.
Dad came up behind A5 and placed a hand on my shoulder, "Welcome home, Taylor, you sure brought home some souvenirs from your trip. A gunship, arriving dressed as a Mandalorian, and… your own droid copilot?"
T7 waddled down the ramp to join us, I smiled, "Oh where are my manners. Everyone, this is T7-O1, T7, this is my family including R2-A5." Celshy's jaw dropped, quite a crack in character. T7 and A5 met, and began to exchange pleasant binary conversations.
Dad nodded, "An Old Republic droid? That's quite a find."
I nodded back, "Yeah, the Patriarch of Clan Ordo gifted it to me a while back. Said that it was better than having it collect dust in his museum."
Celshy recovered herself, trying to emulate Father's signature stoic mannerisms, and put a hand forward, "Father is right, you come home with some shocking revelations, sister. Or are we to refer to you as Miss Mandalorian?"
I chuckle, grabbing her hand to shake, before pulling her into a one armed hug, "You might, but to you, it'll always be Big Sis, ya weirdo. I missed you."
Celshy dusted herself as I let go, "Right, well, perhaps I could see how well the Mandalorians taught you. It'll be interesting to have a spar with my Big Sister." I grinned in response.
"I warn you, it won't be a fair fight, they made me scrappy."
I turned to the twins next, "Hello, dweebs, I heard you've been quite loyal Hod Haran'ad with your pranks."
They looked at each other with that creepy twin telepathic look, "Our sister seems to have acquired an unfamiliar tongue, Wilale."
"Indeed, Josmar." But then Tiffnata pushed past them.
"Yea, yea. Our big sister has turned into a badass Mandalorian who smashes smugglers on the side. Thanks to that, the mean girls have stopped harassing me and the boys have been hounding for pictures and autographs from you. So if you have the souvenirs I asked for and come with me to school, I'll be the most popular girl in school."
"It's on my ship, T7 can sho-" I was ignored as Tiffnata ran past me, I sighed, "T7, go with her so she doesn't push the wrong button." He complied.
"Well." Father started, "Perhaps it's time we move inside to get this catch up started." And so we did.
But as we were leaving, I noticed something was missing... so I retreated back a few paces, reached both hands behind me and grabbed two shirt collars, then started dragging. "We were just looking!" The twins whined simultaneously.
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, that's how it always starts, I'm not letting your grubby paws get within a meter of my Baby Girl."
Coruscant, Palatine Residence Landing Pad
Chester W. Palatine
Smoking my Officer's pipe, I watched as my two eldest children sparred.
Celshy was in her vacuum training suit with an electro training staff and a training pistol in a thigh holster. At Taylor's suggestion, she even wore her helmet.
Taylor was dressed in her new Mandalorian armor armed with a training pistol in her left hand and a hidden retractable blade in her right vambrace, and further protected by shield generators in the braces. She slipped the real blade out of her bracer like one would a razor from a shaving handle, and had snapped in a training blade instead.
I watched as the two continued their bout, for the third round today. Celshy had won the first, but I could tell Taylor was playing defensive to learn her sister's moves until Celshy overwhelmed Taylor with a flurry of blows.
The second, Taylor kicked into a combat routine I had never seen her do before, and took the second round within seconds. Taylor used her armor to bulldoze into Celshy's space before she could gather any speed and grappled her to the floor. It had been so overwhelming and sudden that Celshy's only move had been to whack into Taylor's side ineffectually with her staff.
I made sure to raise all of my kids with self defense classes, and more if they seemed suited to the life, but this was like seeing a different person. Which wasn't hard to visualize with the helmet she wore. My daughter always had a knack for acting, and I was proud to see her step down her own path, but that didn't wash away my worries when she started working with the Mandalorians.
First that movie, that exposed my own child's chest bare for the whole Galaxy! Taylor has talked me down from jumping into my Delta-6 and giving that director some hot blasters by saying that she still had her undersuit on and nothing else happened after it faded to black. While I am glad my girl didn't get coerced, it didn't soothe my discomfort to see her on holo like that in front of trillions.
Then she told us that she gets to lead in a holoshow… with the same director! One could understand my reservations. In addition to that fact, it was to be filmed in the Mandalore sector, on the planet that had started the whole mess the movie was based on. My old Coruscanti prejudices regarding Mandalorians weighed heavily on my mind, rightly so! Even with that Duchess who has tried vainly for years to turn her people away from violence, I knew they were just biding their time until the next crusade.
With my discharge, I had nothing better to do than worry and get fat, so I started embarking on my old hobby of military history and started with the mandalore sector itself. I'll never stop worrying, but the more I learnt about the sector, the more my worries were assuaged. That is, until I learned that they hijacked the Maelstrom using only several dozen shuttles. Now I feel like my worries were justified.
Yet, the way she held herself in her holo series, and the communiques coming from her as time went on. The passion, it was like the Mandalorians unlocked something inside of her that Coruscant had stifled. Yesterday, the way she carried herself with that armor of hers, the blaster at her hip, everything about it all was like second nature to her.
She wore that armor like it was a second skin, she walked like a soldier, or at the very least a recruit that just passed basic training. Then by fate, last night the episode of the ceremony aired.
We all watched it, Taylor filled the air with her undeniable pride. My wife did encourage her to pursue her acting career as a safer occupation than being a Judicial, so she was quite bemused when she explained how often she got hurt on set since she insisted on doing her own stunts. My wife had looked at me with alarm in her eyes since it was more often than when I had admitted to getting hurt at work. I approved of course, Taylor was in her early twenties, she was an adult living away from home with a well paying job she loved doing and was more than capable of physically protecting herself.
So while I did worry about her well-being, I couldn't stop her from living her life… I just couldn't kill that smile of her's.
Her siblings had so many questions, like my younger self they thought of Mandalorians as the crusading barbarians of eons past, but the show had been a family staple over the weeks and they'd slowly changed their attitudes from savage to noble savage. Taylor's explanation of White Silver's codex had cleared most of the questions, but smaller ones were left unanswered.
Personally, that scene in the cave was very powerful, beautiful even. And the story and plot so far has been at the least entertaining, if a bit boring for the twins. Then Taylor gave us the behind the scenes of that day.
Now I can only feel pride and respect for her, and this White Silver.
Taylor unintentionally subjected herself to a ceremony that turned her into a Mandalorian. Yet she decided to not back out of it, sticking to it just like how I encouraged her growing up to stick to her dreams. How could a father not respect a child's determination to not back down from such a life choice.
In return, White Silver offered her a suit of Mandalorian armor of her very own. Now, I could tell that this person perhaps genuinely wanted to give Taylor something as a congratulatory gift, but I was no fool. Loyalty through gift bribery was one of the oldest tricks of the book.
A metal clang brought me out of my thoughts.
Celshy took a wide swing with her staff, Taylor connected with it instead of dodging it. She instantly locks it into a vice grip, despite the electro taser section constantly shocking her, and with the activation of her pack she jets backwards, ripping the staff out of Celshy's grasp. Once she was far enough, she tossed it aside, Taylor then ascended higher, unleashing a barrage of stun rounds causing Celshy to seek cover.
As Taylor chased her sister around the hangar and her gunship, Celshy returned fire but she is not used to shooting at a flying target so she got hit a couple of times. "Ow! Hey, no fair! Daaaad!"
I chuckled, Acts like a tough soldier until she's reminded she's just sixteen, "She warned you, sweetie. Mandalorians fought Jedi, and they don't play fair to do it."
Taylor's laughter boomed across the hangar, on top of her gunship's port engine she holstered her blaster, "Please, Dad. There's no way I'll ever fight them. I'm still struggling with pirate trash."
"Mandalorian pirate trash. Yes, your mistakes were made quite clear on your RimVids release. Your first mistake was taking a bounty job in the first place, but you did better than any raw recruit I've seen. Besides, how can I stop you from exploring different opportunities with half a galaxy between us."
Taylor then had to dodge a practice bolt from Celshy's pistol. She tried to blast her sister when she wasn't looking, attagirl. Taylor jumped down from atop the gunship, rejoining her sister in hand-to-hand combat. The clash of two foreign martial arts was amusing, and I could already see the counterplay developed by the two specifically to counter one another, taught and retaught across countless generations.
In particular, the usage of the full body as a cudgel against one another. Since their bodies were covered in armor, they could use every part of their bodies as a weapon. From elbows, knees, even heads, Taylor was much more willing to go through with it, and the hesitating Celshy didn't have any breathing room to counter.
Celshy was able to maneuver their body, and could dictate the fight in her own way. When Celshy kicked Taylor's torso to generate space and give her time to get her staff back, Taylor punched her left arm out, releasing a whipcord from her vambrace. I raised an eyebrow in curious surprise, but this fight was already over.
I took another drag from my pipe and hit the buzzer calling it for Taylor. The cord wrapped tight around Celshy, with a tug, Taylor pulled her sister to the deck. Celshy struggled to free herself, Taylor strode forward with her right arm out low, while no one could see her features, it was clear for all she was enjoying watching her younger sister squirm.
"Okay, okay, I yield." Celshy audibly sighed, Taylor untied her and offered a hand, "Sheesh, a year ago you couldn't hold your own against me. Now you're just scary! Sloppy! But scary!"
Taylor removed her helmet, causing Celshy to do the same, "Sloppy? I just trained, like you did, but the Republic isn't a place of warriors. Mandalore, however, never stops fighting."
I rose from my seat, and walked up, "She's right Taylor. You are sloppy. A year's a year, you weren't training from sunup to sunset, you're still learning an entire martial art while pursuing your acting career. You aren't perfect, no one is. With more practice, and more training, you'll hone yourself into a weapon that, well, I don't think any of us will surpass." I smiled at Taylor, and then aimed it at Celshy, "And while the Republic was at peace, Mandalore was at war with each other and everyone else. All I saw on my ship was the occasional smuggler along with senators and corporations getting too full of themselves. My crew was the Republic's solution if the Jedi failed to mediate a peaceful outcome. Better peace than war, and better war than rolling over. All the combat training in the world is but health and good practice if you never use it. Your sister here, she's used it, used it to fight and win a real fight with real life or death stakes. That's just not something you'll get with close combat practice alone, Celshy."
Celshy nodded, "Of course, father. May I go wash off, I have much to think about."
I sighed, "Always so formal. On your way, then." I noticed Taylor looked worried, watching Celshy as she left, "What's wrong, Taylor?"
"The stories I hear, how the Republic is growing insane, old school friends going to COMPOR rallies suddenly turning on me for my work. It's like a cult is forming here, and I've seen real ones on Mandalore's moon. Compared to COMPOR, they're tame. Some were even fans of mine." She sighed, "I worry she might fall to the same trappings at the academy."
I took a drag from my pipe, hiding my sigh, "I suppose that's as good a segue as any to talk to you about some things on my mind." I resumed my seat, and Taylor joined me.
"What about?" She prompted.
I chewed my pipe tip, "Like moving the family out of the Republic…"
Shock exploded on my daughter's face, "What?! Dad, why? Is it-" She looked to and fro then whispered, "Have you gone Speratist?"
I scoffed, "Void, no! It's the current Separatist advance to the south. It's that old soldier's gut feeling of mine. No matter what happens, the droids are going to attack Coruscant sooner or later. It's too big of a target not to."
She sat down next to me, "So what are you thinking? Moving to Neutral Space?"
"That is the idea." I replied softly, "Somewhere quiet, remote, and full of green… your brothers have always lived here, never seen trees outside of the arboretums and holovids. Some time away from city life would be good for all of us."
"You were a loyal servant of the Republic. When I started working with the Mandalorians, even you would avoid reading the books I sent home. What changed?" Taylor pressed.
My eyes reflected my heart, dark and cold, "The Republic changed, that's what."
Taylor frowned, "I don't understand."
"This war…" I began, "has revealed a side of the Republic that wasn't there before, or maybe, I refused to see it when I served. The rampant expansion of the military, the sacking of Judicial Forces, the unexplained origins of these 'Clone Troopers', the human supremacists rotting everyone's minds. Admiral Arikakon Baraka was a good friend and mentor of mine during OCS training, he didn't deserve to be disgraced like that. And then there's the Senate, I could rant about them for hours."
"Well, you know that I've been away for a while and I never really had much interest in them in the past." Taylor shyly admitted.
I took a deep breath to suppress my bubbling emotions, "It's bad. Legislations and bills that are getting passed are getting more and more extreme, and those who speak against them, like my friends in the Senate, are looked at with suspicion as Separatist sympathizers. Let's not mention the actual Separatist Sympathizers. But it's those who speak out against the bills that are the sane ones who actually care about the Republic's long term future. It's like the Republic I defended is dying, and the senators are letting it happen because of the Battle Droids breathing down our necks."
I sighed, and she put a supportive hand on my shoulder, "It's no wonder you're smitten with Mandalorian culture, that young Senator Kryze is a firecracker of a politician. Always ready to verbally punch back at the poison most senators spit out nowadays."
Taylor smirked, "I've hung out with her aunt a few times, she even helped with my training back on Gargon."
I raise an eyebrow, "Was she the one who took you bounty hunting?" My daughter nodded with a smile, "Huh, I can see where the senator gets her fire." I chuckled, taking another drag of smoke.
Taylor shrugged, "It's a more common Mandalorian trait than you think, but Bo is a unique character. I suppose Clan Kryze has influenced me more than people notice, the fighting style I used was a Kryze specialty."
I nodded sagely, "I see. Tell me, you talked a lot about the change Gargon has made since Gerr was overthrown. How safe would it be if we made our new home there, in the countryside."
She stroked her chin, and my mind flashed back to the White Silver in the show, "Gargon City is mostly loaded with casinos and tourist traps, not a good place for the twins. The mafia gangs might have gone straight, for now, but they're still mean Old Mandalorians, their kids just as much, just with less restraint. The twin's trouble making would not be good for their health. The other side of the planet are just fields for the nomadic Nerf herders and other livestock. It's a nice peaceful area, a continent long, and green. I've met the Gargon Council for meet and greets after my success took off, the Nomads' representative is quite a nice man."
I thought for a moment, "Would this nomad know a spot that has fields, forests, and waterfront views? Somewhere nice to build a house?"
Taylor responded by putting a finger on her chin, "Hmm, I think he might. I also think you'd find work in the old family business too."
Now I was curious, "How so?"
She looked at me with a serious face, "I know you dad. You weren't born for ground side retirement. You may be an old soldier, but you think you still got some fight left in you. It's very Mandalorian, if you ask me."
With a laugh I smirk, "Oh, how you insult me, daughter. It's not Mandalorian, it's Coruscanti, the Wheel."
She laughed as well, "And you're still the best pilot I know, the Gargon Mercenary Guild and Rangers could use more instructors. You can help me work on my film projects, I know I got my love of history from you, Dad. You're a nutter for Old Republic ships."
"I'm an old navy man, of course I have a thing for ships!" I grinned, thinking it over, it would be nice to work on something with my daughter, "Sounds like fun, a family project."
She looked concerned all of the sudden, "How are we going to explain this to Mom? She might be more hesitant to move out since her relatives all live here on Coruscant."
"Vacation home away from any potential droid invasion. If Gargon has quiet places like you say, it would be a lovely place to truly retire on my terms."
"Celshy might not like it either, Dad." She broached pensively.
I shook my head, "She will have to adapt. I will not let her join the current military if incompetents like Ozzel are floating around the academies." Then a thought occurred to me, "Perhaps if she truly wants a military life like mine was, then maybe a Mandalorian life would suit her. You could teach her-"
She shrugged, utterly disinterested, "Maybe…"
I patted her knee, "Come on."
"No. I don't think she'd like it." Perhaps I'd pushed too far. I stood up, pulling her alongside me, "What are we doing?"
"It's an old military saying, 'Rhymes with Maintenance', I know you haven't tended to your ship since arriving. I'm going to teach you how to keep a ship once you buy one. Now let's get some tools and get oily."
Her face scrunched, "Ew! Daaad… That came out weird!"
"What? The twins have T7 and A5 locked in Slicer cyber battles against them. T7 being an old droid with unfamiliar tactics is keeping them on their toes for the first time in years, and A5 says it's nice to share company with ancestors, as he calls him. Your ship still needs care after that long trip."
She rolled her eyes, "Fine, but don't say anymore weird mir'shab."
I grinned, "I'm a dad, it's my duty, that and raise hell for anyone trying to marry my daughters." We one armed hugged each other as we laughed our way to the gunship.