The great mandalorian Training thread (Open)

[Zarkan]

Ark's view darkened slightly as he observed a pair of young recruits lobbing rubber training grenades down range. "Private, widen your stance, you'll get a better arc on it that way."

"Colonel?" Arkandos turned his head to the hesitant voice coming from his left. "Sergeant Drenal wants you over at the shooting range." Ark lowered his head to the young apparently shaken corporal at his side. "Alright corporal, lead the way. I seem to have forgotten how to get over there."

"oh," the young mandalorian seemed to perk up slightly before shrinking away again. "ye-yes sir."

Ark followed the young man trough the center of the hastily set up training field. As he ambled by the obstacle course he could see some recruits hastened to store some water away and sprinting back to the rope ladders. "This is going to be along day." he muttered under his voice. "Sir?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

”Beyond the boundaries of your city’s lights, stand the heroes waiting for your cries.”

So Daryn had managed to drag her sorry rear back to Concord Dawn after their escapades on Dxun. Unfortunately, this was not where she wanted to be. Or where she needed to be either. She needed to be on Ordo, where her assignment was! Frustrated, she’d left the farm and headed to the base, not that she’d particularly intended that…it had just been the direction she’d started out and kept going. It helped that she’d taken her rifle with her…hell, she’d taken practically everything with her. Credentials, rifle, vibro-dagger, a few throwing knives, maybe she had intended on going to the base after all? She honestly didn’t stop to ponder it. ”So many times you did not bring this on yourself. When that moment finally comes, I’ll be there to help.”

Miffed and sore, she worked her way through the compound to the training grounds and set up shop at the range. Putting her ear plugs in to help dampen the sound of the rifle, she snapped the first clip in and took a knee. Between the loud crack of her rifle shots, the recoil of the weapon, and the clamor of sound around her from the others out training, Lia was able to lose herself easily in the moment. ”Hope and pray that you’ll never need me, but rest assured I will not let you down…” The tune ran through her head, each steady intake of breath steadying the next aimed shot which slammed into the target down field before the long exhale. It was like a constant rhythm in her heart and her whole person, despite the fact that it made her wince with the tensing of her muscles and the attempted buck of the weapon.

”I’ll walk beside you but you may not see me…” She shouldn’t have been here, she needed to be on Ordo. *CRACK*….exhale…reload. She needed to be working to build the militia that would help the Ops when they got there. Aim…inhale…hold…*CRACK!*…exhale. ”On that day when you need your brothers and sisters to care, I’ll be right here…” With Ixor dead she could move on, not worry about looking over her shoulder. While she was still hurting from Solus’ad’s death, she was healing from that as well…finding mirjahaal, as he’d asked her too do, and with the man she’d put aside time and again. She shouldn’t have done that to him. Daryn was one of the better men in the galaxy, for all of his flashy, showy, smugness. During the recent incident on Dxun, and with the loss of the Ghost Star…and almost the loss of Daryn himself, she was slowly starting to see him as the one she could truly count on to be there for her and, perhaps not so oddly, she was finding that she liked it that way.

Ixor’s death had marked the beginning of something else as well, however. It had marked the beginning of her resolve to stop running, as she’d done when she’d left for Dxun without a word to friend or family (apart from Bane). She had been more than prepared to take up her duty and go to Ordo immediately…but Daryn had had other thoughts. He’d insisted they go somewhere for her to relax, but she knew herself better. She couldn’t relax and just focus on herself, especially if they went somewhere else. There would be guilt to wrestle with then…there was guilt to wrestle with now, and the feeling of precious time ticking away, but at least here, on Concord Dawn, she could vent her frustration in a constructive manner and help her mother and the others of her clan. It had been a shock to her mother to discover that she’d changed her name to that of her father and great grandfather, but Kiva seemed to understand, and perhaps even approve.

”On that day when you don’t have the strength for the burden you bear, I’ll be right here…” She pulled the spent clip from the rifle and dropped it on the ground beside the knee she had planted, pulling another out of her belt and sliding it in with a snap. Aim…inhale…hold...The next round slammed into the target’s ‘head’ with satisfying accuracy, but she winced at the pain of the rifle recoiling against her sore shoulder. The gentle clicking and tinkling of the beads and ‘trophies’ at the end of her rifle weren’t so much heard or seen by her as they were felt while they made the end of the rifle sway slightly as she readjusted her position to get more comfortable but still have a good, steady, foundation for firing the slug thrower. Italia was determined to be ready for anything by the time they left for Ordo; she wasn’t going to let her people down.

”Citizen soldiers, holding the light for the ones that we guide from the dark of despair. Standing on guard for the ones that we sheltered, we’ll always be ready because we will always be there.” She couldn’t let them down. This had to work, she had to make it work…so much was riding on her (and now Daryn’s) ability to work subtly that it was a bit daunting, but she would make it work out somehow. The Mandalorians were resilient people, strong and brave, and they would work with her. They had to…it was their best chance. Ordo was also her best chance to easily garner assistance with her blood ties to people in the large clan, not to mention her best chance to learn more about her father and her family’s past. That was the hope, anyway. She set up the next shot but it went just wide of its mark as the ground beneath her shuddered slightly as something heavy moved into the area.

Twisting her head around, the auburn caught sight of someone she hadn’t seen in close to a month. A sly smile lit up her face as she turned back around, waiting for him to get closer before doing anything noticeable. Considering she was in regular clothing instead of her armor the only thing he’d have been able to pick her out by was her hair color…and the beads if he’d seen them, but the triple strands were over her shoulder so it was unlikely. Once he’d started to pass her, she’d sling her rifle over her shoulder, gather the empty clips to shove back into her belt, and trot lightly up behind him. One hand reached up to rap solidly against the metal back. ”Oi, ba’buir…got a hug ta spare for a beat up pup?” And she was pretty beat up. Faded bruises and healing cuts shown on her face and the exposed parts of her arms and hands as she folded her arms lightly and looked up expectantly.

Ixor hadn’t been an easy man to kill, after all.

[Zarkan]

Ark scanned the backs of the mixed bag of armored and unarmored Mandalorians arrayed at the firing bays as he and the young corporal at his side crested the rim of the low valley the range set in. "What do you think of the new blasters the army is giving us Colonel?" Ark snapped his view back as he heard the question drift to him. "Hmm? oh! I suppose their efficient enough though they won't be truly Mandalorian until they get some scuffs." Ark rolled his shoulders before chuckling a little garnering yet another startled look from the young man. "Still I-" Ark lurched to a stop as the neared the range catching the corporal unprepared. "That sounded like.." He thought before a voice to his side abruptly cut off his trail of thought. "Colonel? is there something wrong." They armored head of the cyborg snapped to the voice drifting up to him. "Nothing corporal."he said in a low voice before twisting his head around towards the rang. "she couldn't be here" he said to himself. "As I was saying," ark began as he started walking towards the last lane. "I still prefer slug throwers to blasters." A T-visored helmet glanced up to him before lowering it again. "Um, why-" the corporal cut off before twisting around to look behind him in time with ark's snapping head.

Ark scanned the woman's face as she stood behind him one of her hands still raised as if to knock on his carapace. The cyborgs inaction only lasted for a moment before the giant moved with surprising speed lifting the young woman he considered his grand child is a long armed embrace lifting her slightly off the ground. "lia when.." ark cut off his happy question as a small amount of anger boiled up before he lowered the woman down to the ground and slid his arms out from around her until he could grasp her upper arms firmly. Ark snapped his head to his right side his voice becoming somewhat harse as the ordered the corporal. "Go, get sergeant Birga to help you, I have business to attend to." he said before turning back to look down at lia. "We need to speak now." he said letting go of her left arm and walking off away from the gathered trainees.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

It didn’t take long for the two to stop and turn to look at her. The reaction was priceless, even if she couldn’t see the man’s face and Ark couldn’t express much on his. She could imagine both…and it made that goofy grin grow further. ”Why? ‘Cause slug throwers aaaah!” She’d been swept up…and up…and despite knowing he wouldn’t drop her (after all, what kind of weight was she to him?), Lia had to fight to keep herself from clinging for dear life. “Lia when…” his synthesized voice cut off, however, and she managed to pry open one eye enough to glance at him before she felt herself being swiftly lowered again.

Well this doesn’t bode well…

Sure enough, no sooner had her feet touched the ground than he had a grip of her upper arms, making her wince at the already bruised skin he had a tight hold on. Immediately he spoke to the man with him and she knew. Yep…I'm in deep osik. “We need to speak now.” He’s gonna flay me… He let go of one arm and half pulled her along with the other, forcing her to trot to keep up with him.

”Alright, alright, but I can walk on my own, ba’buir…promise I won’ make a break for it.” …and she didn’t. Following along, she would move with him until he found a suitable place to stop and then turn to face him with a sigh. She could only guess what he was going to say…

[Zarkan]

Ark didn't even acknowledge her statement beyond releasing her arm and continuing over the crest. The cyborg stepped up to a low bush before snapping around look lia dead in the eyes. "What where you thinking?" he asked his voice flat as he bored into her head. Ark growled under his breath and turned on his heel beginning to pace back and forth in front of the woman. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Ark folded his arms behind his back as he stopped just off to lia's left and looked at her. "What was so important that you thought you had to grab up that smuggler and gallivant off without a word to anyone?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Maybe…if I'm very, VERY, still…he won’t kill me. That was about the sum of Lia’s thoughts as Ark rounded on her with his first question. Even as he started pacing she didn’t dare answer, standing stock-still. It really was simple to forget just how frightening he could be when he was so nice all the time…until he was raging at you, anyway. The last man he’d ‘raged’ at ended up torn in two over her head, spilling blood and guts all over her and about five other Republic soldiers.

She suppressed a shudder at the memory.

“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

Hadn’t she just heard that recently from her buir? Yes…yes she had. She’d thought she’d been afraid of a knife or something flying at her head then…HAH! That was nothing compared to ba’buir rage! As he finished with that last question, she settled her hands on her hips. That had been the line. ”I didn’ ‘grab up that smuggler’ fer your information, Ba’buir. Mum sent ‘im after me when I vanished. He…actually saved my hide a few times out there on Dxun.”

[Zarkan]

Ark snapped his head towards lia. "Duxn? you went to duxn!" Ark stepped up towards lia as he spoke. "Why would you go to that sludge pit of a moon?" the cyborg resumed his pacing as he continued to speak. "For that matter what convinced you to leave at all you still haven't answered that one." ark stopped his pacing once more planting himself in front of the young mandolorian girl.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Dxun? You went to Dxun! Why would you go to that sludge pit of a moon?”

”Technically I was headed for Iziz on Onderon…just ended up on Dxun by…fate.”

Yeah, fate…fate was a good way of putting it since it certainly wasn’t by accident. Ixor had quite intentionally planted charges on her engines and made her Star burn into atmo like a comet, and of course Fate had to go and poke its nose into things and make it be over Dxun instead of anywhere else.

“For that matter what convinced you to leave at all you still haven’t answered that one.”

With that Lia sighed heavily and looked down and away as she closed her eyes. There were so many things she could say to that, so many ways to answer…but they all hurt and she didn’t want to admit to any of them.

”Because…” she muttered quietly, ”because I was running…and because I was hurting. Because…because I couldn’t stand ta face anyone here after…” She paused a moment and looked, no, glared, up at him. Her lashes were wet, and eyes shimmering just slightly as she did. ”Look, it doesn’t matter why, alright? I'm back an' I'm headed off ta Ordo soon enough on Bane’s orders, so I'm not just vanishin' off this time…alright?”

Immediately she deflated again, hanging her head just slightly. Why? Why had she just gotten so defensive? She knew Ark was only speaking out of concern, but that question had rubbed all the barely healing emotional injuries the wrong way and she’d snapped at him because of it. ”I'm sorry…I didn’t mean ta snap at you…”