Mand'alor? Check. (Jace)

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

The room she’d commandeered was dark…blessedly.

With the beating she’d gotten in the past three days she was looking worse for wear. She was Mando’ade, however, and so she would live with it. Besides, the hut’uun had it coming. Dulled green eyes slid to the side as she eyed her rifle and the newly acquired beads on it. With a sigh she looked back at the com-system in front of her and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Of course she was doing the right thing…she’d gone into the Special Ops knowing what it meant, the new Mand’alor still needed her help, and now that she didn’t have Ixor to worry about…now that she’d gotten her head on a bit more straight as well…she was ready (she hoped) to help her people once again.

I hope I'm doin’ the right thing buir…doin’ right whatever you thought you did wrong. I don’ wanna have ta watch my back after this like you had to…

A weary sigh escaped her as she gazed blankly at her helmet. Hopefully Bane would understand…she’d tried to let him know that she hadn’t intended on leaving for good. Before his ascension she’d tried to talk to him but…saying anything, to anyone, was even more painful then than it was now. Hell, even now she felt like she was to blame. Not for the mission going so horribly, but for Sol’s death…if she’d been faster, better, smarter…maybe…

One hand ran through those auburn locks as she stifled the thought that kept nagging at the back of her head. That was the reason she’d left…that thought. It had driven her to think some pretty stupid things, and almost do them. Manda knew this was going to be a tough thing to do, contact Bane and lay out her suggestion, but it was all she was able to do right now…right now, she couldn’t go back. Not like he may have been expecting, or hoping, or hell maybe he didn’t even care. If that was the case it may just be easier than she thought. Shaking her head, Lia turned on the system and let the blue glow of it bathe her bruised and cut face and scored armor in light as she tapped in the com-frequency for the Ops base on Concord Dawn. The officer on the other end eyed her dubiously as her tired and grim face appeared in his view…hell, she hadn’t even been able to clean all the blood off of her armor yet.

This is Lieutenant Italia Phelan, I need to speak to Mand’alor…and before you ask, yes, like Arkandos Phelan.

The young man stopped his question before it started and shut his mouth, nodding a few times. The screen went dark, mando’a lettering scrolling across the screen. Go figure, put on hold…

[Jace]

Bane returned a salute to the guards outside his office. He walked slowly over to his desk, and fell heavily into his chair. The Spec Ops general now turned Mandalore was exhausted. Ever since the ceremony, he had been in one meeting after the next. Bane had never known such exhaustion, not even during the seemingly endless battles on Coruscant and Shogun. This was a different type of tired, not one from hours of battle, but hours of bureaucracy. He had truly reached his limit, though he refused to let it show.

The soldier had always been the type to personally lead his troops. Now he found himself delegating even menial tasks, he wasn't cut out for this whole politics thing. Luckily for him he had some solid advisers who helped with a majority of things. The Mandalorians of now were still fledglings compared to what they had once been hundreds of years ago. They were a developing society, one which also happened to be at war. It left them in an....interesting position.

He slowly rubbed his forehead and then followed with a deep sigh. It couldn't be helped though, he was now their leader, and he was too stubborn to give up. There was still work to be done before he could get some rest though. Bane could have really gone for a stiff drink, but that wasn't exactly something he could do at the moment. He had to settle for the next best thing.

"Sergeant" He said activating his comm

"Yes, Mand'alor" Came the immediate reply

"See if you can't rustle me up some Caf and maybe a meal"

"Understood" he replied simply

Bane felt slightly disgusted with himself at the request, but it couldn't be helped. He liked to go to the mess hall himself and get these things but he didn't even have time to do that lately. The Mandalorian brought up specs for some of the new vehicles being produced for the army. Bane was working on bringing higher quality tech to the military. Though they didn't have the largest military in the galaxy, their soldiers were the best. He wanted to support those elite soldiers with equipment and vehicles to match. Before he could look at the next model, his comm began to beep. He pushed the button, bringing up an image of a rather serious looking corporal.

"What is it?"

"Sir, I have Lieutenant Italia Phelan on the line"

"Patch her through, corporal"

Italia. She had requested some time off to clear her head after Shogun. While Bane wasn't exactly overjoyed with the loss of one of his soldiers, there was no point having a soldier who wasn't focused. It wouldn't be long before their next mission, and if she wanted to sit this one out, he didn't really have a choice. That reminded Bane that he needed to check up on the others in the squad. He would deal with that later though, for now he would hear what Italia had to say.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Lia had carefully propped her face in one hand, leaning on the table with an unfocused stare in the direction of the screen as she waited. Very suddenly it was very bright and she blinked a few times like an owl with a flashlight shown up at it and into its eyes. The officer on the other side informed her that he would be putting her through and she nodded slightly, sitting up properly once more. Again the screen went dark, but only for a moment. When it flashed color again it was Bane she saw…oh how tired he looked. Poor man. He didn’t seem at all cut out for political life. “What mandalorian is, though? It must have taken years for Sol to get used to it, and even then he was just a man doing what his people needed. Not sure it’s what he preferred to be doing.”

Su cuy’gar, Mand’alor…”she paused then, eying him studiously before speaking again,“Bane…ya look like osik.” One corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly for a moment. She was one to talk. No doubt she was looking a far cry from the spitfire who’d dared to call him “old man” during the Coruscant mission, tease him loudly across a mess full of eating soldiers while he sat with Solus’ad, then had the gumption to question his leadership abilities (again in front of Sol) when it came to checking on his team’s mental well being and needs. Those bright green eyes were dulled, the fire behind them only smoldering embers, the humor gone from her (for the most part), replaced with a grim and older seeming woman. Sad to say this was what lay beneath the mask of the happy and excitable young woman…though, at least before she hadn’t had quite so much trouble putting that mask on. Now she didn’t even bother with it.

It just took too much energy…emotional energy she just didn’t have.

“I’ve called ta let you know I'm not comin’ back for a while. Now, before you start up on me about duty or before ya start jumpin’ for joy cause I ain’t comin’ back, I’ll have you know I'm not quitting the Ops either. Strange as it may sound, I believe I’ve found a way ta help make takin’ our homes back a tad bit easier, an’ it requires me ta do a bit of…traveling.”

[Jace]

The face of the corporal soon disappeared and was replaced by the face of Italia Phelan. She was indeed a far cry was the woman she was months ago. Italia's expression almost mirrored his own, though for different reasons. He knew that she had taken the death of Solus'ad quite hard. Indeed, he for a veteran soldier like Bane, it had been a heavy blow. The only reason he wasn't in the same position as her was because time didn't provide him that luxury. It was hard to say who was in a worse position, but one thing was for sure, neither was favorable.

"Su cuy'gar Italia...and you are one to talk" He said in reply

Her last comment had reminded Bane of some of that fire she used to imbue, but it was quick to disappear. War wasn't easy, and sometimes it wasn't even fun. Each soldier handled battle and death in their own different way. Some left their emotions behind long ago, others used their emotions to fuel them. Bane was more of the former, he had lost too many comrades that if he grieved for all of them he wouldn't have had time to do anything else. His militia days were truly a losing fight, a seemingly impossible task, but they had persevered. To Bane, war was life, it was all he had ever known. Killing and death were thus just natural occurrences that he had learned to deal with a long time ago.

Bane listened quietly as Italia continued to speak again. He had expected as much from her as he listened to her initial words. What he was surprised by was her last statement. It seemed she wasn't going on a complete leave, or rather there was something she could do for the cause. Bane was glad to hear that she wasn't going to totally drop her duties. Afterall, he had explained to her before that joining the Spec Ops wasn't something one did for fun. It was a serious commitment. Though admittedly Bane had cut her some slack for not being a career soldier. Either way he would listen to what she had to say, knowing her, it should be something interesting.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Italia?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

A bit more of that familiar smile would show through at his reply, though the action had her face hurting a bit more than she’d have liked. Carefully she’d scratched around the bandage that was holding two sides of a rather nasty cut together before shrugging slightly. ”Yeah well…tends ta happen when ya run off, get jumped by a bunch of pirates and a former crew mate, get shot outta the sky, get jumped by MORE pirates when all yer tryin’ to do is have a drink, then go huntin’ said former crew mate down for…well…that’s a longer story than you have time for. Either way, this tends to be the result. Well, this or death, and I was told my death wasn’t on the list of options.” She shrugged again, quirking an odd smile that showed some of the emotional trauma that had gone on more recently than Sol’s passing.

”As for this idea I have…our soldiers are good…the best…but there are mandos out there…ones that for some reason or other haven’t come knockin’. We’re a strong people, but we’re scattered all over hell’s half acre an’ we’re not coordinated. Those planets we need to get back, the people there are waitin’ Bane…I can all but feel ‘em itching ta DO something, but now we’ve made our first moves, the Republic’ll be lockin’ those systems down tight. I’ve got access, for now, to a ship with Republic landing codes…”The woman paused there, letting all of that information sink in for a moment and start to process before she smiled a bit mischievously across the screen at him. ”I can get in without them questioning why I'm there too much. Not like they would if I…if I still had the Ghost Star.” Her voice had faltered for a moment, the loss of what had essentially been her home still taking a toll on her.

”You’ll need help on the inside, people to help take back their homes, the cities and villages, people to gather information for you that the Republic won’t take a second glance at because they’re already there…an because you can’t be everywhere. Daryn and I can find you those people, get you into contact with ‘em. Spread the word quietly that you’re comin’…an’ help start raising militia forces to make the Republic hold start crumblin’ from the inside so when you get there your jobs are a bit easier.” She fell silent then, gazing at him with a look that was half serious, half excitement, and all mischief.

[Jace]

Bane listened quietly until Italia had finished speaking. Honestly, it hadn't been far off from what he had been thinking. Lately Bane had been wondering about the same things, and how to execute them, but he had been running into problems. One of them being his ability to get on planet. Even if he stole a Republic ship, it would soon be declared stolen, making it useless. He needed a ship that had legitimate ID codes that could come and go without problem. Italia seemed to have the solution he was looking for.

Raising militias and weakening the Republic hold from within appealed greatly to the Mandalorian. Of course it would have, it was how he began to fight. It was how Concord Dawn was freed from the grips of those cowards. Bane learned to fight as a militia man, and guerrilla tactics if employed properly were terrifying if not effective. Indeed he felt as if an old fire that had once been snuffed out, had reignited. The feeling soon passed as he realized he wouldn't be the one on the ground this time, taking on overwhelming odds. Well atleast not yet is what he told himself with a sly thought.

"Well I don't see any gaping operational problems from this end. The idea is sound, and I can't say I haven't had been thinking along the same lines myself." Bane paused for a few moments, gathering his thoughts, careful how to express what he said next.

"Italia, I know you are no amateur soldier but not cautioning you would be irresponsible as your commanding officer and as a comrade. I fought in militia, indeed that is where I learned to fight. It is no easy task, much harder than what we do here at SpecOps. You may be going to help set these militia up, but I don't doubt that you will get yourself involved at some point or the other. As you know well, a militia's advantages lay in its elusive nature and its employment of alternative tactics.

They are effective, yes, but they can be crushed with a single blow. A militia's true strength relies in the member's morale. It will always be an uphill fight, but as long as there is some hope of success, victory is possible. If you let the Republic get the upper hand, it will be over even before it truly began. Remember, you will be my eyes and ears over there, a liaison so to speak. I expect you to act accordingly. Militia aren't a fan of enlisted soldiers, you need to prove to them that they can trust their brethren and that when the time comes we will support them"

Bane had spoken more than he intended to, indeed he had been quite long winded today. Maybe it was due to the pang of nostalgia he had from his old days in the militia, where he fought alongside his parents to rid Concord Dawn of the Republic. Either way, he had said what was needed to be said.

I am getting too old for this...

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Well I don’t see any gaping operational problems from this end.” Well that was always good to hear, and the fact that he, apparently, had been thinking along the same lines got her to release some of that tension in her shoulders just a bit. Hell, she hadn’t even known there had been tension in her shoulders while speaking to Bane up until now. Then he paused and that tension all rebuilt with a thought of ‘oh great, what now.’ It wasn’t helped much by his opening statement, but as he went along, she relaxed again and rested her cheek against her hand, listening to him. It may have seemed, by her relaxed position, that she wasn’t paying much attention to Bane, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Lightly she tapped her fingers along the table top as she absorbed this new information, the warnings he was giving her and the insight into his past. Those dulled green eyes had sharpened, their color almost seeming to become more vibrant once more as she watched him. By the time he was done, she was gazing unseeingly at the keys on the comm system, both elbows propped on the table and one hand wrapped over the other with her chin resting on her thumbs as she mulled over it all. ”Well, I'm not exactly intendin’ on declarin’ my position as a member of Special Operations unless it’s necessary. I won’ lie to ‘em, but I'm not gonna just offer the information either. As far as I'm concerned, in this I'm simply another Mando’ade tryin’ ta help our people free ourselves. My status as a soldier has little ta do with it other than the fact that I can more easily get myself or them inta contact with you.” She paused then, mulling over her thoughts for a moment before she settled her hands down on the table again.

”I have little doubt that they’ll put two and two together before long anyway, as far as my status is concerned. Either way, I don’ intend on giving anyone a reason to lower their opinions of the military on account of me…though I likely won’ be much of what they expect from someone who’s enlisted. As for the militias themselves…I don’ doubt for a moment that it’s gonna be difficult, but we’re resilient people and well trained. I’ll just have ta be cautious with what fights we choose and when…”

A sigh escaped her as she shook her head slightly. For a moment she wondered if she was capable of pulling off something like this. How was she supposed to keep up the moral of a militia if she was constantly battling herself and her emotions? A good mask, she supposed. One hand reached up and scratched at an itch across her forehead before she looked back to Bane again. She didn’t have a choice really…she didn’t want to continue with any of this, to even really focus on anything more than living day to day, but what she wanted wasn’t what should matter, right? It hadn’t mattered to Sol, his driving force had been what his people needed, what others needed…not what he wanted. The thought had her leaning on, and half shielding her face with, a hand for a moment. She really just…needed to stop thinking about him. Ever. It only took a moment to get herself back under control, that mask of calm up to hide the inner turmoil. It wasn’t the happy and bubbly face she was known for, but it was better than the alternative.

”I’ll do what needs doin’…I just need ta know where ta start. Not a mind reader, after all,” she stated, managing to pull up a bit of that plucky attitude again. It was an imperfect mask, but it was a beginning.

[Jace]

Bane mulled over the options for a few moments, considering Italia's words. The thought of thinking where to send her had been in the back of his mind during their conversation. Now that they had gotten most of the necessities out of the way, it was time to get down to business. He considered the various planets that had colonies of Mandalorians. Some planets had a larger presence than others, and Bane thought it would make sense to send her to a place that had already somewhat formed resistances.

There were two clear options in his head, Ordo and Gargon. Both had been Mandalorian territory at one point, but now they belonged to the Republic. There was no need to go to Togoria for the Republic presence there was negligible and they had already allied themselves with the Mandalorians.

"I could use you either on Gargon or Ordo, I will leave the choice up to you. Both already have a significant presence of our vod. It will be easier to organize the militia since they have minor resistances but they lack organization. I leave the rest up to your discretion, the only thing I can do now is wish you luck."

He could tell that the woman was still hurting from Shogun. There wasn't anything Bane could do except let her continue on with this 'mission'. She needed something to occupy by her, or atleast so Bane believed. All he could do now was sit back and wait to see what would happen.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Watching Bane watch her was an almost surreal experience. It just wasn’t something she was used to…she didn’t believe she’d ever get used to it, if she were completely honest with herself. While the young woman may not have been the most intelligent person every born when it came to book learning, Lia was far from unintelligent. Instinct and observation were on her side, and she’d been trained well in the ways of fighting. All these skills were more than useful to her, but right now it was instinct and observation that allowed her to see the wheels turning in Bane’s mind. No doubt he was debating on where to send her and why. Green eyes watched him settle on his options, the thoughts coalescing into something more solid and come to the front of his mind.

“I could use you either on Gargon or Ordo, I will leave the choice up to you.”

Ordo…the name of the world burned in her mind like a white-hot brand, the image of Ark emblazoned there in her mind’s eye. While she felt a draw toward the planet, and thus her father’s old clan, it could prove to be a double edged sword if she acted wrongly there. Now that she was bearing her father’s original last name (and thus that of her ba’buir), she took a risk going there. Family she had never known, a clan that she couldn’t easily identify herself with other than by lineage…but she had to try. It felt….right. Nodding to Bane just as much as she was nodding to herself, Lia settled her hands before her and gazed at the man seriously for a moment. ”I’ll go to Ordo. My father was from that clan, and I’ve learned that I have more family there than I did on Shogun. It’s as good a place as any to begin, and it feels right…” pausing, her eyes unfocused for a moment as she swiftly ran through the few things that still needed to be done here on Dxun before they could leave. ”We have a few more checks to do on the Ante and re-stock her…but we should be able to leave no later than the day after tomorrow.”