Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage

After we shared our toast and finished our drinks, Corvak and I returned down to the first deck. By then, his people had spread out a little, with my crew setting up some of the cots and sleeping pads we had. There wasn't enough for everyone, but Corvak assured me they would make do.

Once everything was set up and people had started to unclench after the rapid retreat from Grakkus's palace, I found myself once again sitting down with Corvak, this time on a few crates in the hold. We were joined by Ahsoka, Tatnia, as well as his wife, and a few of his soldiers. When I had explained what the Skyforged was and what I was hoping it would become, I had skipped over the fact that I was working with more Jedi than just Ahsoka. This was in partly because I wanted to get a feel for Corvak and his clan. Now that I felt I could at least marginally trust them, I decided to remedy that, starting with formally introducing the Ahsoka.

"This is Ahsoka Tano," I explained, gesturing to the woman. "She was a Padawan during the Clone Wars but was wrongfully accused of betraying the Republic. She survived Order sixty-six and is now part of the Skyforged."

The Mandalorians warily shook hands with Ahsoka, returning to their seats on crates and on the side of their cots.

"So, to be clear, I wasn't hiding this per se. You saw her lightsabers, after all, blocking blaster bolts and everything else when you attacked us," I pointed out, getting a series of reluctant nods. "I also want to let you know that the hidden planet I mentioned… Which I am now unilaterally calling Nirn since we have put off naming it long enough, we found a stranded group of about Jedi. They are part of the group living on the planet."

"You seem to know enough about our people. Surely you know how poorly we get along?" Corvak asked, sounding concerned. "We have clashed many times in our history."

"I am very aware. What happened to the True Mandalorians was a tragedy, and Death Watch is a stain for tricking the Jedi into wiping them out," I said, shaking my head. "But I can assure you, I only call these people Jedi because they have yet to name themselves something new."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Corvak responded after a moment, looking confused. "Have they started a new faction?"

"Well, they spent the last twenty years surviving on an island, besieged by monsters the size of a large speeder, with claws sharp and dense enough to score beskar. Oh, and they did so without lightsabers," I explained, pausing as they muttered at the mention of beskar being damaged. "When we found them, they were wearing clothes made from their leather. The leader, a Jedi Knight Amescoll, had taken a wife, and several children had been born while they were stranded. They are far from the Republic Jedi you knew."

"That… they do sound different, I will admit," He responded, processing what I said. "Was it the isolation that changed them?"

"More like the isolation revealed the truth," Ahsoka responded, catching Corvak's attention. "It is... Hard to explain to someone who doesn't feel the Force, but the Jedi feared the dark side, and because of that, they cut themselves off from what made them sentient, living beings. We were raised to think that attachments were dangerous, as losing someone close could pull us down. Cutting ourselves off from that and other aspects… it affected us more than we knew."

"And you have changed?"

"I am beginning to," Ahsoka admitted. "I am unlearning years of training, training I leaned heavily on when I embarked on my voluntary exile. It is hard to let go of something that… fundamental to me. I do realize how wrong it was to disconnect from the emotions of the people, however. I am trying to be better."

"... Well, considering that is the first time I have ever heard of a Jedi admitting they were wrong, I would have to say you're doing well," He said, shaking his head, before looking back at me. "As long as your Jedi aren't sanctimonious and don't harass us, we won't have any issues."

"I don't think it will be a problem, but I will make sure of it anyway."

"Thank you. Are there any other bombshells you'd wish to drop on us?" he asked with a smirk, which transformed into an eye roll when I winced. "Seriously? What is it?"

"We also employ around thirty to forty clone troopers," I answered.

The reaction to my statement was shockingly stronger than how they had reacted to the news of Jedi. A few of Corvak's men cursed in Mando'a, and the clan leader himself scowled, shaking his head in a fair amount of disgust.

"The abominations? Why would you allow them into their ranks?" He asked. "Their loyalty to the Empire is absolute!"

"It is, until you remove their biological control chip, freeing them from the complete, perfect mind control that Palpatine used to enforce his orders," I responded, shaking my head. "After you do that, they regain their free will, and they are capable of defecting just like any other being. On top of that, these particular clones were found frozen in carbonite at the station where we live. They are loyal to the Republic, and they see the Empire as the regime that destroyed it."

"A biological slave chip?" He asked, sounding skeptical. "You expect me to believe that an entire Clone Army had this chip and nobody knew?"

"Well, considering you would have to root around in their brains to find it. Despite that, some people did find out. Hell, the Jedi even knew about them. They just didn't know what they would did," I responded, answering his questions as best as I could. "The chip itself was passed off as an aggression inhibitor to make the clones less aggressive than their template."

"And what, it forced them to obey?"

"That's exactly what it did, by making it impossible for them to ignore orders. I don't know the exact mechanics, but I suspect that if there are any clones still in service, they are continuing to unquestionably follow orders from their superiors."

"Do you have any proof?" He asked. "The clones occupied our planet many years after the Siege of Mandalore. Our resentment runs deep, but proof that they were being controlled… It would help disperse the blame."

"The Rebellion is the one that helped us remove the chips from the clones that joined us," I explained. "I can probably get you some scans, maybe even a copy of the surgery. But I witnessed them myself."

Corvak slowly nodded, though he didn't exactly look thrilled about the concept of working with clones. He directed his attention at Ahsoka after a moment.

"And I assume this chip is why you are comfortable working with them?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is. I led many clones into battle, and I trusted them with my life," She said with a shrug. "When Order Sixty-Six was given, it wasn't them anymore. I do not blame them for what they did and… I wish I could have saved them."

"And you stand by your actions at the Siege of Mandalore?" He asked, Ahsoka's eyes going wide. "Don't be so surprised, do you really think Mandalorians wouldn't recognize you?"

"I have grown quite a bit since then," She pointed out, letting out a long breath. "The Siege was a complicated mess. Maul was looking to get revenge on Obi-wan Kenobi and kill Anakin Skywalker, but they were called back to Coruscant. We had no idea it was a trap, we were there to remove Maul. He would have used your people as pawns, thrown their lives away, and killed who knows how many innocent people. So, to answer your question, I do not regret my actions, though I wish it could have gone a lot smoother."

For a moment, Corvak stared at Ahsoka, attempting to intimidate or stare her down. When she looked back unflinchingly, he smiled.

"Good. Not many Mandalorians disagree with the siege itself, at least no more than any war," He admitted. "Rebelling against the Mandalore is expected. It's how they were tested. If nobody rebelled, how would a new Mandalore ever win the Darksaber? It was the occupation that occurred afterward that angered us."

I listened to the exchange with interest. This was a chunk of lore that I did not know much about, so it was fascinating to learn. I knew of the Darksaber and how the Mandalore was supposed to earn it through battle, but I did not know much about the Siege of Mandalore itself.

"The Darksaber was the weapon of the Mandalore… What happened to the Mandalore's Mask?"

"The Darksaber wasn't the weapon of the mandalore, it was how new mandalores were chosen. Whoever wielded the weapon was the current Mandalore until someone killed them and took it," He explained. "As for the mask… I'm surprised you know that story."

"The story of how Revan took the mask away when he killed the Mandalore, denying the succession of power, scattering the clans?" I asked. "And how Canderous Ordo found the mask and reunited the clans? As far as I know, that isn't a story. It's true."

"What? I find that… My father used to tell me that story when I was young," Corvak admitted, leaning back in his chair, looking a little lost. "How certain are you that it is true? And how do you know?"

"Well, considering I know Revan existed, then I'm willing to bet that the rest of the info I know about him is at least partially correct," I explained. "According to what I know, Revan did take the mask, but later, he also helped Ordo find it again. They were allies, and Revan charged Ordo with gathering the Mandalorians as a last line of defense against a new threat."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"That's something he does," Ahsoka explained, shaking her head as she gave me an annoyed look. "He knows things, things he shouldn't or even sometimes couldn't. As far as I know, he hasn't told anyone how he does it."

Ahsoka looked to Tatnia, who just shook her head to confirm I hadn't explained where my knowledge came from. I couldn't help but chuckle, getting a stern look from both of the women.

"I just assume it's his magic at this point," my second-in-command admitted with a shrug. "As far as I know, he hasn't been wrong yet."

"Really?" Corvak asked, looking back at me as if he wasn't sure he should buy into what he was being told. "Anyway to prove that?"

"Not to you, unfortunately, not at the moment," I said with a frown. "Not unless you don't know who currently holds the Darksaber."

"Moff Gideon claimed it, last I heard," Corvak responded, shaking his head. "It hardly matters, since it no longer holds the weight it did, not until another Mandalorian holds it and attempts to… use it as a gathering point. It's not the same anymore."

"Perhaps… that is for the best," I responded, quickly holding up my hand to hold off any rising ire. "What happened to Mandalore was abominable. But for centuries, the greatest threat to Mandalorian lives was Mandalorians."

"Do not look down on my people," Corvak said. "War and violence are in our blood. That we fight amongst ourselves is only natural."

"Or maybe using an object to mark the right of succession created massive instabilities in your people," I responded, shaking my head. "With the Darksaber no longer in Mandalorian hands, you have the chance to start something new, something better."

"With you as our leader?" Corvak asked, his tone biting.

"Of the Skyforged? Yeah, of course," I said, giving him a strange look before what he meant clicked. "Wait, you mean like the people of Nirn? Of everyone? Hell no! You think I want to be in charge any more than I am?"

Now Corvak looked confused, clearly not expecting a flat-out refusal like that. He looked to Tatnia and Ahsoka, the latter of whom smiled while the former rolled her eyes.

"Look, I'm in charge of the Skyforged because when the first core group got together, they put me in charge," I explained, shaking my head. "So far, no one has challenged me because, somehow, I have a particular talent for making things happen."

I explained, finding myself feeling defensive. I may have tapped a nerve with my comment, but I had been nothing but honest and helpful to these people. It irked me to be questioned like that.

"And my people? I may pay them, but they follow me because they like me being in charge. I'm not some Imperial or Republic big shot who was given command for brown-nosing or winning the yearly "who can kill the most orphans" contest," I said, leaning forward on the crate I had claimed as my seat. "I can't order my people to commit war crimes and expect them to do anything other than stun me and take me to the nearest medic. At the end of the day, I'm just some guy with fancy, flashy powers and a complete disrespect for a few of this galaxy's major power blocs."

"Then why are you so determined to get us to join?" He asked. "Many people have sought to control Mandalorians, to use us as tools."

"I want you to join because of her, you dope!" I said, pointing towards Vira, who burbled and reached out for my finger. "Because you are soldiers without a nation, citizens without a world, and a people without a home. I want to help because when I look at all of you, I see beaten, crushed, burned survivors who have somehow remained unbroken, and all I can think is, 'Goddamn, I want them on my side!' But most importantly, when you were at your lowest, and when your family was on the line, you had the basic common decency to look me in the eye and try to warn me that I was walking into a trap. And that Common decency? It's a lot more rare than you might think."

He looked me in the eye, absorbing my words and trying to puzzle out just how much of it was the truth. Whatever he saw, he must have liked it because, after a full minute, he reached out, his hand open.

"I am still not sure about your proposal. You are asking for a lot from us to leave behind so much," He admitted with a frown. "But I apologize for reverting to old traumas. You have proven yourself to be an ally and a friend. I shouldn't have assumed the worst."

After a moment, I reached out and shook his hand once before pulling my hand back.

"Apology accepted," I said. "I have no interest in ruling anyone, and while it's true that I want you to join because I know how effective you will be, I also just want to help. All you have to do is let me."