Tales of the Mandalorians

[Dieter Schprokets]

"Gentlemen! What an unexpected surprise! What can I do for my three consuls today?"

Luc McCloud, Mandalore had entered the room. His face fell when he saw the demeanour of his three consuls. John Cabot, Dha Piruna, and Ne'tra Verda stood and regarded the Mandalore with grim resolve. This was not a social call.

"Hmm, so, who brought the blaster?"

John Cabot showed a wry smile. "It's not like that, Luc." Actually, it could be precisely like that. Ne'tra Verda had smuggled a blaster past the guards, in case this went badly. And knowing Luc's temper, badly is how it could quite likely go.

"Then what IS it like, John?" He kept his gaze fixed on the Bretonian.

Dha Piruna interjected. "The war with the Union of Gold has the people.. dissatisfied with the current leadership. Specifically, you. We fear our rule is in danger."

"Am I to be a scapegoat, then?"

"Actually, yes." said Ne'tra Verda. "Your harsh words started this war. The fact that the Union of Gold officially declared war first is immaterial. Therefore you are to blame for the disastrous defeat in Dublin, and you will have to pay the price."

"With my life?!? You won't find me so easy to kill!"

"No." Dha Piruna continued. "You will have an opportunity to retire gracefully, now that a suitable replacement has been found."

"One of you, I suppose."

John Cabot smiled grimly. "You're looking at him. Sorry, Luc"

Luc nodded, eyes hardened, "I suppose you gentlemen did not consider me sufficiently.. controllable."

"To say the least!", Dha Piruna snorted. "We cannot continue on the present course. Your rash judgements will ruin our tribe. As it stands, our resources have been depleted enough that our plan to colonize Omega 50 is put off for the forseeable future. It takes money to replace a fleet. Destroyed by Mollys..." His voice trailed off in disgust.

Luc McCloud, Mandalore, settled into a chair, with a tired look on his face. "And if I refuse?"

"Civil War, I suppose.", answered John, eyes narrowed. Or Ne'tra's blaster...

"Well we don't want that, do we? Our people have suffered enough." The Mandalore stood, faced the window, then turned around, grinning. His sudden change in attitude was confusing to the consuls.

"Well, if you aren't going to kill me, what exactly are you going to do with me?"

Ne'tra answered "There is an opportunity available for command within the fleet, if you are interested. It would get you back in the cockpit again. An elite fighter squadron, started by an officer by the name of Heinrich Drechsler, who named it Luftwaffe. A strange name, something to do with his Rheinlander heritage. He was killed in the battle of Dublin. His men need a new leader. Do you suppose you are up to the task?"

John continued "You will no longer be Mandalore, but you will command a squadron of the finest fighter pilots in Sirius, with the rank of Admiral. Can you accept these terms, 'Mandalore'?"

Luc McCloud paused with a grimace on his face. Ne'tra Verda tensed. Luc saw that out of the corner of his eye and smiled at Ne'tra. He knew exactly what that involuntary response had meant.

"So you have the blaster, eh, Ne'tra? Don't worry, you won't have to use it." He laughed, then continued.

"This may go down as the most civil coup in history. Not very Mandalorian of us... Let the age of the Bretonian Mandalore begin! Hell, I miss the cockpit anyway. So what is your first major decision, 'Mandalore John Cabot'?"

Relief showed on all their faces. Even battle hardened warriors do not relish killing friends. John answered:

"Fall back the fleet to Omega 3 and regroup at Freeport 1, out of the range of the UOG. Refit and repair, and strike back at the Mollys, to regain our honour. We are concerned about how our key military clients view us in the aftermath of the Dublin battle. After we are redeemed, we should seek terms with the UOG. We don't have the resources for a long war."

"Excellant decision. Far more prudent than I would have been. But I suppose that is the point of all this, isn't it?"

McCloud left the room, in front of the others. He paused to make one last point, just to keep his usurpers on edge:

"You'll need a new consul. There have always been 3 consuls, to balance the power of the Mandalore. I recommend Aden Cote, John, I think you can trust him."

He turned and gave a small wry smile;

"Though bear in mind, I trusted all three of you..."

With that, he left the room, leaving his consuls to try to read each other's expressions..

---

[Dieter Schprokets]

Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap....

John Cabot, Mandalore, kept hitting the pen on the desk, praying for something, ANYTHING, to relieve the monontony of paperwork.

Paperwork. The job of Mandalore was 90% paperwork. Had he but known...

To make matters worse, Luc had never kept up with the paperwork. Hell, Luc had not done ANY paperwork. Outstanding invoices for ship repairs, dated over a year ago!

Here I am authorizing invoices for shield batteries for two ships blown apart in Dublin by the bloody Union of Gold! Suppose thats a Warranty item? Obviously the shields were no hell...

He pushed back from the table, rubbing his eyes, then started rummaging through the desk drawers.

"Luc, where did you hide the whisky?" Bottom right drawer. Bingo!

John popped the top of and took a swig. Forehead was throbbing. Piece of metal under the scar there. Never taken out. Might want to finally get that done.

"Sir?" Functionary at the door, with a report. Another. Bloody. Report.

John stood to greet the man. "Come in"

"May be important sir. Our UOG mole."

Cabot opened the seal, and read for about 5 seconds before falling back into his chair.

"My God!"

"Sir?"

"Get Dha in here, now!"

The functionary ran out the room, face drawn. Impatient Mandalores can be bad for your health.

Dha Piruna was there within minutes. He'd obviously ran, knew something big was up.

"What is it? John. What?!?"

Cabot had been staring at the wall, stroking his chin, and paused before saying, rather softly, "Kearney O'Sullivan is dead."

Union of Gold Commander. Leader of the enemy.

Dha sat on a long bench on the adjacent wall.

John continued. "Quite the opportunity, don't you think? Dha, you didn't.."

Piruna interrupted. "No, no. I wouldn't assassinate anyone without your permission. You know that."

Cabot nodded slowly, then rose and began pacing.

Dha spoke after some thought. "Question is, what is this an opportunity for? Do we attack? Or do we make amends?"

John gestured violently at his desk. "We owe about 360 million credits for repairs made a year ago on ships that are Dublin space junk now! I'm begging for lines of credit to pay for fuel! I've sold three ships from the fleet to pay for parts for the others! We have no resources for war!"

John sighed, then continued. "The reality is that even if we win this thing, it will destroy us. We will have nothing left. And if we lose..."

"No. We need jobs, paying jobs, long term contracts with well off clients. Not..." He gestured at nothing in particular in frustration.. "Luc's wretched leftover blood feuds!"

"No. We end this bloody, pointless business. Now."

He sat at his desk, then looked Dha Piruna in the eyes and smiled.

"You have command for a while, Dha. I have a funeral in Londonderry to attend."

He frowned, then spoke again. "They ARE Irish. Better get to the wake before they're all drunk, or they'll just bloody well kill me..."

---

[Dieter Schprokets]

Flight deck, BAF Base Imperatrix, New London

John Cabot looked up at his Kusari destroyer. The ship was an old friend, a relic beaten up by age and more close calls than he could count, but still capable. Every hour of flight requires several of maintenance (Spare parts for Kusari vessels being a bit hard to come by in Bretonia, for obvious reasons), so the Goju Ryu is now largely just a ceremonial vessel for the Mandalorians.

The ship had been acquired as a gift for John from a grateful Kusari Admiral Chojun Miyagi. While employed as a low-ranking bodyguard for the Admiral, the young Bretonian proved his loyalty to the Admiral by taking a bullet through the lungs for him during an assassination attempt. After recovering, he was given command of a Kusari Gunboat, and eventually worked his way up through the ranks by merit, becoming the first non-Kusari to command a capital ship, the Destroyer Goju Ryu. She was even then an old girl, but a servicable one, with an excellant, experienced crew.

John stooped down to fix his boots, and his eyes hardened as he recalled the reason he now had the vessel, in a Bretonian port. When war between Kusari and Bretonia broke out, the Admiral learned that the Kusari State Police intended to arrest and execute the Bretonian. He had warned his friend, and John escaped with the destroyer still under his command, but just barely. He had a piece of shrapnel in his head, and a scar there, to remind him of the day he nearly lost his life, and lost a good friend. For his loyalty to John, the Admiral Miyagi was executed by the Kusari.

Some things are never to be forgiven, John thought. Some of the Kusari crew he had brought with him. They had helped him willingly on that fateful day, and had chosen loyalty to friends over loyalty to their nation. John knew he owed them a debt that could never be repaid. When the war was over, maybe they could return home, depending on how it goes...

In the meantime, there were business opportunities available. And some certain Kusari needed to die.

---

[Flo]

Busy days for Dha Piruna, Banker of the Mandalorians.

Sweat ran down his face although he got already rid of his spacesuit. "New air con" he wrote down as a notice.

It was still a hard decision to authorize all those expenditures they had. Especially negligible things like that....
So he continued his work with the hope of a sudden onset of winter.
Hell...he even started to hallucinate. After typing all the costs and income into his computer it said that they were in the black. Strangely confused he wanted to press the delete button as it knocked on the door.
"C...come in! Ah, it is you." John Cabot entered the room, carrying a pile of paper. "I have some work for you. Please do it fast, the meeting of the highest will take place in two days and i need this to be finished until then."
"You are giving me orders "Mandalore"? Don't get too cocky in your new position!" "This is not for me. It is for all of the mandalorians. We had bad times but we are getting more and more popular. It is a slow development - not everyone will have noticed it yet, so i want to make it official at the meeting."
"I guess i have no other choice?" "No.", John said with a little smile and left the room whistling his favorite song.

"So...what do we have here. Even more acc..? HUH?" Dha Piruna did not trust his own eyes. All those sheets John had handed him over were outstanding but also paid bounties.

Suddenly the temperature in the room was nice, and the work was easy to do. It looked like the pilots of the mandalorians finally showed their true face and no longer mercy. Here 25 million, there another 7. Two hours later he had finished his work. He stood up and stretched. He turned over to the door, but then suddenly stopped. There was one piece of paper left. It must have been fallen down earlier. He took it, turned it and begun to read. As he had finished reading his face had turned as red as all those red letters on the sheet. "Curse you McCloud! How can a single person spent that much money!? Just wait until i se you again!"
Full of anger he threw the paper on his desk, turned swiftly around left the room and slammed the door behind him. The wind gust blew the sheet into the air, from where it slowly floated right into the paper basket - still with the big "-80.000.000" on its end.

---

[Dieter Schprokets]

John Cabot stormed into the Hospital Ward, New London General

"Where is he?!?", he demanded.

A visibly shaken nurse pointed left down the corridor. "Room 236" Her voice was quiet.

The Mandalore proceeded apace down the hall, then paused at the room to check through the glass first, then entered, his demeanor a bit calmer.

"Dha, who the hell did this?"

His consul had the use of only one eye, since the left side of his face was badly swollen. 2nd degree burns were evident on the same side, all the way down to where his leg.. should be. He turned to face Cabot, and grimaced when he did so.

"Gaians. Nature's Last Hope. That cult we've been intercepting in Bretonia. Plus those Colonials.. helped them. Don't know why. They got the jump on me."

John frowned. "That crew from that Battlestar, what is it called, Galaga?"

"Heh. Galactica, John."

John just looked confused. "What would they have to gain by helping Gaians? Makes no sense."

"Don't know, Mandalore. But they blew my ship to shards."

Dha coughed, then continued. "John, look, can you tell me how my leg is? They won't tell me, and I can't sit up to see. It hurts like hell."

Cabot looked at Dha with a grimace of sympathy. "They haven't told you a thing?"

"No."

"Dha, you ever hear of 'Ghost Pain'?"

Dha just looked confused, so Cabot continued.

"Dha, your leg isn't precisely... there. Know what I mean?"

The consul closed his eyes, then said quietly, "I thought maybe that was it. Just didn't want to believe it. Suppose I'll get a new one cloned, but I've heard it's not the same."

He settled back again. "John, I'm done for the day. Let me sleep before the painkillers run out. They only give me about half of what I should get, I think."

The Mandalore nodded slowly then got to his feet and left. On the way, he paused at the nurse's station for a word with the nurse who was there previously, and her supervisor.

"Look, you guys give him more painkillers, starting right now. He's missing a leg. Acting like it's a flesh wound won't cut it, narcotics-wise. Am I one hundred percent clear?"

He sure was. They both nodded, quickly.

The Mandalore left the building in a manner that gave nobody any illusions about how unwise it would be to be in his way.

Time to rouse the boys, he thought, a bloodthirsty smile starting to show.

Blow MY consuls leg off, eh?

Lots of Gaians and Colonials were going to die. And not gently.

---

[Flo]

The door shut quietly behind the mandalore - so did Dha's eyelids.


.....Corsairs helping house factions.......Bounty Hunters doing nothing, but watching how the Corsair destroyed the Bretonian Battleship.....then impacts......fire......

"Are you alright, sir?"

A horrible pain caused Dha to see little stars as he scared up. "W....what?"

"Oh sorry. I did not notice you were asleep."

"Thanks to you, I am no lon....aaargh" another pain wandered up from his missing leg to his neck "More painkillers, now!"

"But sir, we have already..."

"I said NOW!"

The nurse shrank back and quickly left the room, nearly falling over her own feet. The moment she left another person entered the room.
"What is all the riot here? You won't get better if you don't rest enough."

"So, who are you now? Another "nurse"?" a sarcastic smile was about to grace his face, but somehow the muscles weren't fully funtionable.

"No...I am the chief physician - and I am here to inform you about the required measurements to reconstruct your lost leg. Normally we take a sample of the DNS so we can "generate" similar tissue for the prosthesis. That should let you feel only little difference to your old leg....."

"Wait, wait, wait.......what means "normal" and what means "little difference"? So there WILL be a difference?"

"Well, we do that surgery to most people and they say th...."

"But I am not "normal people! I am a high ranked person - i cannot afford to teeter around like a cheap puppet!"

"There is another possibility. But it will cost some credits."

"Ha! That should not be a problem for me. Tell me more! Now!"

"There is also the possibility to support your legs movement by a cybernetic implant."

"Don't use such a moonspeak! Tell me the facts!"

"Well, we will put a titanium exoskeleton in your new leg moved by hydraulic and pneumatic processes. It is joined with your nerves so that it takes its "orders" directly from your brain........."

As the doctor continued Dha's eyes started to glare. Even though he already made his decision, he listened to the precise description of the medical scientist like a exited child.

"....and that is all.", he ended.

"I'll take that robo-leg no matter what."

"Sir, the phrase "robo-leg" is not very..."

"I pay it. I will have it. I name it like i want. Just one last question: Will it make my leg stronger?"

"Why do you ask? I already explained that..."

"Will - it- make - me - stronger!?"

"*sigh*...Yes, it will"

"Goooood.....I will need to kick some major as*** once I am out here....When will the surgery take place?"

"Next week would be good."

"Next week? Are you kidding me? I want it this week! I want it today!"

"But today our list is full. I am sorry but.."

"You want our money or not?"

"Well then......today.....7 p.m."

"Don't be late!" Dha shouted as the man left the room mumbling something.



Some hours later he was brought to the operating room. The anesthetic was working fast. But this time his dreams weren't bad.



He was dreaming of flowering meadows...they were burning...

There were also long haired people trying to escape.....but nobody could escape him and his leg of revenge...


Nobody....

---

[yurineova]

*Luc bursts through the door, heaving*

"I just got news, Nature's Last Hope did this?! Oh, and by the way, Dha, sorry bout the 80 milllion credit deficit..."

"This is not time for jokes, McCloud." Mandalore Cabot stated. "Now, state your business."

"Sir," Luc said, with a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, "I come to report that upon hearing what happed to Dha here, I sent Luftwaffe to hunt the b******s down. Infact, we will be launching the Aurora MKII to follow them within the hour."

Dha leaned up, only to be struck with pain and to fall back down. "Aurora MKII?"

"New ship, our techies kinda, ah, 'Borrowed the shell and skeleton design from the Kusari Naval Forces. Uses mainly Rheinland tech, a beautiful vessel."

"Ah, and its power?" The mandalore asked, suddenly interested.

"Sadly, its lacking armor, but its more maneuverable than a Rheinland Gunboat, with almost the same power. Also, I may have a proposition with the Blood Dragons."

"Oh?"

Dha started to snore and drift into a hazy sleep...

"I feel it is time for the Mandalorians to possess their first Battleship. a Command HQ, a Symbol if you will. If we play our cards right, we may be able to sign off a deal with the Blood Dragons. If we satisfy them with a few Contracts, particularly against KNF, and make a mutual agreement, we may be able to get the plans to heir newest Battleship, the Togo. With a few modifications, we will rename her, the Red Oktober. Now, Dha here-" Dha shifted slightly "- wonders why I have a 80 million credit deficit." Dha mumbles in his sleep 'pay back my money, McCloud, or I'll have your head...' Suddenly, Luc rubs his throat. "This is because I rented a trader. I'll start trading to support this behemoth. I just need your approval."

The mandalore seemed as if in a trance of deep thought. "I dont know yet, Luc. I'll consider it."

"Aye, sir. I best be getting off then, dont wanna be late to the surprise party." Luc had an evil grin. "Hey, sir, you like baseball?"

"Not my favorite, but rather fond of it, why?"

"Bring your mitt. By this time tomorrow, we're gonna be playing catch with his balls."

With that, Luc left the room.

---

signature goes here once its done!

[NovaPG-Die-Hard]

-=Preforming requested task.......=-
Completed.

Channel open.

Hail, High leaders of Nova Power Gen. This is Luc McCloud. I have just be sent by the Mandalore to inform you that I shall be your contact for the Mandalorians.

Rumors have spread that we will be selling our battleship that we aquired from you. In the event that we DO sell the ship, then we will keep our contract terms the same as if we still had the battleship.

A message from Yuri Neova aswell, He states that his shipyards are your shipyards and they are at your disposal.

Contact myself if you need anything.

Luc McCloud

Admiral and Intel for the Mandalorians.

Closing Channel.

**Incoming Transmission**
Comm ID: Captain Bruce "Die Hard" Willis Of The Kana Keiko.

To: Luc McCloud

This is my true belief that we will become great partner and will share many things in the future, if you have to sell the ship, No worries, we have a stock of smaller ships for you to try out.

if the politics of others around here continue i think i will be using your service myself.

Luc McCloud and the rest of your guys "Our Home is Your Home"

Die Hard Out.........

**Transmission Ended**

[yurineova]

**Incoming Transmission**
Comm ID: Captain Bruce "Die Hard" Willis Of The Kana Keiko.

To: Luc McCloud

This is my true belief that we will become great partner and will share many things in the future, if you have to sell the ship, No worries, we have a stock of smaller ships for you to try out.

if the politics of others around here continue i think i will be using your service myself.

Luc McCloud and the rest of your guys "Our Home is Your Home"

Die Hard Out.........

**Transmission Ended**

Return Message send protocol initiated.

We thank you, Leader of Nova and we would offer the same had we a home such as yourselves.

Our forces are up for hire at extremely low to no charge, as usual.

We will wipe KNF off the map together.

Contact Yuri should you need his shipyard.

Contact Us if you need a contract fulfilled, such as escort or strategic assassination.

Luc McCloud
Admiral

Message sent.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luc walks in the doorway of the Mandalore's office. He had a big grin on.

"Why," Started John, "Do I have a feeling you're gonna tell me something that will make me very happy?"

"Because Yuri has finished the battleship. He piloted it to Southhampton Shipyards in the New London system."

"Excellent!"

"Not even the best news yet. We have a deal with Nova. They are interested in our offers of contracts within Kusari space, and want us to hunt KNF. We may be able to kill 2 birds with one stone here, John."

The mandalore wore his 'Thinking Face'. "Go on."

"Its fairly obvious we are going to need to take a side in the kusari bretonian conflict. we cant sit in the middle of this one forever. Not as mercs. We kinda openly allied with Bretonia, unofficially, and you yourself mentioned that KNF is a possible target."

An hour of discussion goes on between the two for about an hour...

"So," Concluded Luc, "Nova is offering their home as ours and their ships and equipment to our disposal."

"Alright. I'm interested. Make it happen."

"Roger, KNF is now marked as Assassinate."

With that, Luc walked out the door, but suddenly stopped at the door. "Oh yea, John, Catch!" Suddenly, Luc threw something wrapped in plastic at john.

"Whats this?" The ball shaped object was a peach-ish color smeared in red. "You didnt..."

"I take it you dont want to play catch right now..." With that, Luc walked out.

"Well, he has his way of telling me he accomplished something..." John said to himself, tossing the victim's privates up before tossing them in the trash. "At least he had the curtosy to wrap it before bringing it in..."

*one more stop...* Luc thought to himself as he walked into the hospital.

"Heya Dha!" Luc said, waking up Dha. "Got something for ya."

"Better be important, Luc."

"Catch!" Luc threw a ball shaped object, similar to what he gave to John.

"Luc, you didnt..."

"He took your leg, now I took his Balls. Looks like we're even now."

"Ha. You still owe me 80 million credits..."

"You're funny. I'll let you to rest now, at least know you are avenged."

As luc left, Dha threw the poor guy's privates up several times, threw it against the wall twice, squeezed it until it nearly popped until finally throwing it away. *I feel better now...* Dha thought to himself before falling back to sleep.

---

signature goes here once its done!

[NovaPG-Die-Hard]

**Incoming Transmission**
Comm ID: Captain Bruce "Die Hard" Willis Of The Kana Keiko.

To: Luc McCloud/Yuri Neova

Added to Our Kill on Sight List is:

Days"Of"Thunder

i will be asking you to deal with this, the contract is 100 mill on his head, i want him killed faster than the fastest thing.

Die Hard Out.

**Transmission Ended**