He shrugs, "Yeah I'll give it a shot. Might just put a rug there. Naw, 'e didn't pay for the speeder yet, we's just about to decide on one when 'e saw you comin' and whipped out that carbeen."
Kandosii Beroya'se IC
“And people say I have a temper,” Ge’tal says ironically, putting her weapons away.
After the team sorted through the Barabel's belongings and taking what suited them, Cade and Falmok go to visit the banker's widow and explain just as much as they can to her about the deal they had with her husband. The others headed straight to the spaceport, when the arrived, Arno announced his decision to stay, sighting the chaotic conditions were ideal for a man of his skills. Darien and the others wished him luck and prepped for departure while waiting for Cade and Falmok to return. Darien arranged payments, Kara got Solus flight ready by the time Cade and Falmok walked up the ramp, explaining that the widow wouldn't be joining them. Cade had left her some of the credits with her so when she was ready, she could hire a ship and leave to find a safe place for her and her children. As soon as they entered the safety of hyperspace, the team began taking turns cleaning their gear and taking showers and slowly congregating in the galley and lounge.
Edited by RuusMarevDarien walks into the lounge helmetless and sits at the table, tilting back in his chair. "Detective Rijas sent us an update on his daughter. She's in pretty good condition, and the docs credit your timely delivery with that. He said D'avia doesn't have any memory of her rescuers except for, quote: 'hearing something comforting just as she saw the face of death' en quote." Darien winks at Cade, grinning humorously. "He said to thank you three."
He yawns, then says "Now that we've taken in such a large haul, I think we should pursue some modifications to ' Solus . I talked to Vaerk about it, and he has some ideas for transporting prisoners in stasis. That frees up the holding cells for additional crew quarters or passenger space. It'll take some minor renovating, but that's easily done. If we're staying on Vorpa'ya for the modifications, I need to tell Green we're unavailable and then we have to consider lodging. Ner riduur and I have a guest room, two couches, and a couple sleeping mats in case some Mando'ade ever needed to crash at our place, but there isn't much in the way of personal space, so some of you may want to consider getting a place in town."
Maya looks up from her datapad, "I... I'm afraid you shouldn't bother counting me into your plans. I've run into some difficulties and need to stay on Vorpa'ya for the time being."
Cade stretched out and yawned, Kar'ika and I could bunk on Liberator for a bit ner'vod, no need to impose with your family time.. he gave Darien a dismissive wave of a hand and a smirk. slanar ganar ca'nara ti aliit.
Kara nodded, Agreed, you and Vhal spend time at home and enjoy it.
Darien smiles, gratified and, honestly, a little relieved. Kyra will certainly be glad to hear that. Just because she can host four guests on short notice doesn't mean she wants to.
"Thanks, vode, we will."
The next day of travel goes by uneventfully, and they arrive on Vorpa'ya at roughly nine-thirty local time. Darien had sent a message home before they entered hyperspace, and was pretty sure it would have arrived by now, but received no response. At best, it would've only arrived a few hours ago though. He tried again when they reached the system, but no one picked up and he left a message.
Darien frowns as he walks out of Mesh'la Solus, disappointed to not see Kyra, Ferrus, and the family speeder truck waiting for them.
"Where is she? She must not have gotten my message."
He gets a sneaking feeling that something is wrong, but quickly dispels it.
"I'll comm home again and then call a couple speeder taxis if I don't get a response."
He again doesn't get a response, and so a couple minutes later a trio of rundown speeder taxis pulls up next to the landing pad. The Mandalorians bid each other farewell and part ways, Ge'tal to the local hotel, Cade and Kara go with Maysh'la to Vaerk's place and Liberator , and Darien and Falmok to their home.
Darien unlocks and opens the door, nearly clocking Ferrus in the face as he runs to greet them. The boy skids to a stop, dodging the door, and holds his finger to his lips, "Shhh, Kyr'buir nuhoyir." he whispers. Darien nods and ruffles his hair, then turns to Falmok, "If I know Kyra, there ought to be some food in the conservator, ready to be warmed up. I'll check on Kyra, you go ahead and get dinner." He then bends down next to Ferrus, "Tion'vaii cuyir Kyr'buir?" Ferrus points behind himself into the room he just came from, "She's on the couch." Darien nods, then stands up and starts to walk into the room, but pauses. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" Ferrus looks sheepish, "'leeeek, a Buir ne ogir bah narir ni o'r haav bal ni copaan olaromir gar yaim." Darien raises an eyebrow, "Alright verd'ika. Hibiir ni bah Kyr'buir."
Kyra is lying on the couch under a thick blanket, fast asleep, with her hair draped over her face. Darien sits on the table across from her and gently sweeps the hair back, saying her name softly as he strokes her shoulder. Kyra mumbles and shifts, beginning to open her eyes.
"Dar?"
She reaches out from under the blanket and gropes for his arm.
"Yeah, it's me cyar'ika."
Taking her hand, he leans forward and kisses her forehead.
"Why didn't you call ahead? I'd have gone to pick you up."
Darien chuckles,
"I
did
, Kyra. You must have been asleep."
Ferrus speaks up now,
"Buir called while you were gone. Ni
kebbur
rejorhaa'ir gar, a gar ori'haryc. Tion'gar partaylir?"
She shakes her head,
"I don't, I'm sorry. Munit tuur ibi'tuur."
Ferrus slinks out of the room, making for the kitchen and Falmok before Kyr'buir realizes he's up late or his parents get mushy. Either would be an undesirable development.
Darien pats her shoulder and chuckles,
"I called a taxi and brought Vhal home with me. He's in the kitchen now."
Kyra moans and pulls the blanket over her head, saying muffledly,
"I wasn't ready for this."
"Clearly."
"
Di'kut."
"I love you…"
Kyra pulls the blanket down and smiles,
"I love you too."
Yawning, she asks,
"Tion ca'nara?"
Darien glances at the chrono on the wall,
"Ta'raysh."
"Ni shi copaan nuhoy'ika… I've been up since… ehn o'r te vaar'tur."
"Is the guest room ready for Falmok?"
"It's always ready. If you'll escort me to the bedroom, I'll make myself slightly more presentable."
He helps her from the couch, putting an arm behind her back.
"Gar ruusaanyc, cyar'ika. Bal su mesh'la."
"I'm half-asleep and have bed-head. You have very low standards."
"I could say the same about you. You married me after all."
She smirks at him,
"I guess I did. Swept off my feet by the hero in matte black armor."
"That reminds me… It's about time you got beskar'gam."
Kyra looks up at him and frowns, then rests her head back on his shoulder and says
"Let's talk about that
later
, Dar."
As they pass into the hallway, she looks into the kitchen and waves casually to Falmok.
"Su'cuy, Vhal. Olarom."
She then notices the small figure sitting next to him, munching on a cookie.
"Vher'ika, what're you doing up?"
The taxi pulls up outside Vaerk's shop and stops, letting the three Mandalorians out. Maya pulls her duffel out of the vehicle's cargo hold and looks up to see Vaerk approaching. Osik. I'd hoped he'd already gone to bed. Well, I guess this is going to happen sooner or later. Vaerk stops a few yards short of the vehicle, "Su cuy'gar." At first, he seems to ignore Maya. " Liberator was completed earlier today. Lyn and the 'crew' (he barely restrains a snort at this) made sure to leave a couple of the nicest rooms available for you two. I'll give you an overview of the repairs and modifications in the morning, if you'd like."
Then he turns to Maya. She has her duffle slung over her shoulder and is carrying a camtono. She tries not to hunch or cringe, but she's frustrated, tired, angry at herself, and feels like a failure.
"You couldn't do it?"
Vaerk asks, looking at her critically.
"No."
Because I couldn't kriffing get the shabla thing started. Because I was too kriffing
scared
I was going to shabiir the whole osik'la mess without your help.
Vaerk is silent for a moment, considering. Then his expression softens and he says,
"Okay, ad'ika. Haven't touched your room, aside from a couple boxes I moved in. We'll take a look at it tomorrow."
As Maya passes him, trudging towards the house, he turns his attention to Cade and Kara. "Tion'gar jate? Need anything from me? Darien and I discussed modifications to Solus , you planning to get that done while you're on Vorpa'ya?"
Kyr'buir nuhoyir = Mom is sleeping. Tion'vaii cuyir Kyr'buir? = Where's Kyra? 'leeeek, a Buir ne ogir bah narir ni o'r haav bal ni copaan olaromir gar yaim. = Yeessss, but Mom wasn't there to put me to bed and I wanted to welcome you home. Hibiir ni bah Kyr'buir. = Take me to Kyra. Ni kebbur rejorhaa'ir gar, a gar ori'haryc. Tion'gar partaylir? = I tried to tell you, but you were too tired. Don't you remember? Munit tuur ibi'tuur. = Long day today. Tion ca'nara? = What time is it? Ta'raysh. = Ten. Ni shi copaan nuhoy'ika… I've been up since… ehn o'r te vaar'tur. = I only wanted a little nap... I've been up since... four in the morning. Gar ruusaanyc, cyar'ika. Bal su mesh'la. = You're reliable, honey. And still beautiful.
Cade had his helmet in one hand and travel bag in another, G e'catra, Vaerk!
Kara followed close behind, she too had her helmet in one hand and bag in another, she brought her helmet and tapped Vaerk's arm in greeting. Su cuy, Vaerk, that's great news!
Cade looked up at Liberator and was very happy to see fresh paint erasing the Thorned Circle emblem. The Aruetii cause any problems?
"Nayc, they were... acceptable. They aren't all that competent though." He rubs his forehead, "Seem... fairly trustworthy, all things considered. Grateful for cin vhetin, at least." He quickly adds, "Not Lyn though, Lyn's working out pretty well. He'll be able to manage those two di'kute."
Cade nodded, Good.. I'd have to call in some vod'e if they can't be trusted.. Separatists are getting a little too close to home..
Vaerk frowns, "In what way?"
Because we'll be needing some atin'la verda if we need to break up a blockade or invasion... Kara explained, her green eyes were like lasers as she stared off into the sky.
He shakes his head seriously, "Separatists making moves on your 'ba'slan shev'la'? That's not good. There aren't many of us, but Mando'ade draar digu. If it comes to it, we'll honor the old alliances. Been a while since we've had a good fight." He claps Kara on the shoulder and gives the pair a reassuring nod. "It's getting late. You two should go settle in, we can talk business in the morning. I stay up late, so I sometimes forget others aren't as ready to jump in as I am."
Cade gave Vaerk a nod, Thanks vod, see you in the morning.
Kara hesitated, looking to Vaerk. I was thinking about sourcing some equipment.. Do you think there are any Kal - class speeders around? We could use that kind of mobility and fire support.
"Not here... but I know a guy. If Dar wants to follow through on his carbon-freeze idea, you'll be coming back through before too long to pick that up... I might be able to get a Kal-class here by then."
Kandosii, Vor'e Vaerk. See you in the morning. Kara smiled in relief
In the morning, Kara borrows a speeder bike from Vaerk and drives out to Mesh'la Solus , stowing the bike inside and flying back out to Vaerk's. While she's en route, Darien comms her, Cade, and Vaerk to discuss modifications. They agree on a plan to implement a new, experimental carbon-freeze process for prisoner transport, renovating the cells as passenger/crew quarters and hardening the life-support system to be able to handle the increased capacity. After they close the deal, Darien signs off, mentioning that he's going with Kyra to see Jagen and finally get her outfitted.
Surprisingly, Wu Zakai contacts them that evening. It seems he finished the job his clan wanted him to do and he is now free to rejoin the team. Based on his distance, he should be able to arrive on Zhellday, the day before they expect to leave.
Over the next couple days, Vaerk and Maysh'la finish the repairs and modifications to Solus . Darien is mostly out of contact during this time, busy with family, but he does mention a new verd who wants to join the team and would fill a gap in their abilities.
On the third day, they are finally ready to set out again. Cade and Kara, with Wu and Ge'tal, who have just been delivered from town by speeder taxi, are waiting by Solus when Darien's speeder truck pulls up to the edge of the landing pad outside Vaerk's hangar and he hops out, shortly followed by Falmok and two women in Mandalorian armor. The driver seems to be Kyra, newly armored in orange and white, but Cade doesn’t recognize the other woman. She's a bit taller than Kyra, with a more substantial build, and her armor is russet and gold over a blue bodysuit. That must be the "new verd" Dar mentioned.
She pulls a backpack out of the back of the truck, slipping it on, then slides a DLT-18 out from the floorboards and slings it over her shoulder.
Darien says a couple words to Kyra and "kisses" her goodbye in the Mandalorian fashion, then walks to the others with the unknown woman on his heels. "This is the verd I told you about, who wants to join the crew. She's Jagen bu'ad, Jen, and we got to talking when Kyra was being fitted for her armor. Told her we'd give her a shot, see what we thought."
@Von3679 , @Bellona , welcome/back! @RuusMarev , maybe have Falmok slip in a comment regarding Jen's skills at a good opportunity. Something along the lines of "She is a good shot, but her fieldcraft skills could use some work." Darien and Falmok know her previously, but the others do not know her.
Cade was reclined on the ramp as Darien and the others arrived, lightly dozing in half armor. He looked up at Falmok when he lightly toed Cade to move. Cade grinned as Falmok helped him up and glanced at the new comer. Know her?
Falmok nodded. She is a good shot, but her fieldcraft skills could use some work.
"I'm a reasonably good mechanic too," Jen interjected with a grin of her own. "And my goals in life include frakkin' up Kyr'tsad's plans and earning credits."
This comment brought to you especially by the triggered Obligation of the day!
Cade held out a hand, Su'cuy gai cuyir Cade.. He pointed to a woman walking down the ramp, also not wearing her upper plates or helmet. I bac cuyir Kara.
Hi, my name is Cade.. That is Kara
Darien nods to Wu Zakai, "Su cuy, good to see you. We've done some renovations so you won't have to sleep in the cells again."
Well... Falmok said with a shrug. Technically, his new room was the cells....
" True , but they aren't anymore..."
"Su cuy'gar!" Jen replied to Cade and Kara, then tapped Falmok's shoulder with a playful fist. "And good to see you too, clan bro'! Hopefully you can help me improve my fieldcraft while we're out."
"So, where're the 'jail-bunks' that I've heard about? Hopefully the locks in them work on the inside too?" Jen asked the group at large as she adjusted the backpack slung casually over one shoulder and carefully made sure that her rifle didn't bump into the sides of the door when she entered the ship. "And the armoury ... and workshop area if you have one ... heck, how about just a tour of the ship?"