Change is Gonna Come

[Daniel Solus (old)]

The journey to Ryloth had taken much out of Daniel.

He landed on the planet a changed man. His ordeal with the Sith had brought forth many complicated and unsettling toughs to a young man who was normally unconcerned and carefree. He still felt that within him, but it was tempered now. His badger Archie seemed to feel the change too, pressing his cold nose into Daniel's hand as he walked along the corridor to where the Sith was being kept. Raz was on her way and Dan wanted to make sure that there would be no trouble.

The moment they had landed, Leandros and the others had taken off to a bar, unconcerned now that Daniel would be able to handle himself somewhat. He had said he wanted to talk with Raz anyway and give her the Sith. They had thought nothing of it and left the oddly quiet Daniel to himself.

The cargo hold was rank with the smell of burned flesh and urine, they had not let the Sith out of her chains for any reason. She lay in the middle of the room, unconscious and wounded. Daniel pulled out his blaster pistol and pumped a stun round into her for good measure before bending down and spraying a little kolto onto her wounds.

It wouldn't do if she died from an infection. He sprayed just enough to help them heal but not enough so that there would be no scars. His task completed he took up his usual position on the stack of crates across from the door, elbow resting on his knee and his his head resting on his closed fist...his thoughts wandered as he waited for his Clan Leader to arrive.

Archie made scratching noises and odd mewling sounds as he sniffed the Sith at a safe distance.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

It was surreal to think they had a Drast in custody. Not only was it a Sith, but a Drast, someone connected directly to the royal bloodline that had helped unleash a plague upon the galaxy. It took a lot of willpower for her not to destroy the woman at once, but she knew there could be other uses for a Drast. Raz was running late, and Dan was left to his thoughts in dealing with the woman. Leandros and the others had all dispersed, and even she had gotten herself a drink in quiet celebration. However, she didn’t miss that Dan hadn’t left the holding facility at all, and she knew this was venturing into territory he wasn’t familiar with.

After a moment, her boots resounded throughout the corridor. As usual, she was adorned in her beskar’gam, her trademark insignia on her bicep. Raz made her way over to where the Sith was being held, thankfully not smelling anything. She looked over at Dan, quirking an eyebrow as she noticed he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days. Raz paused as she arrived within a few feet of him, crossing her arms, “I can’t tell which one of you is the prisoner.”

She ignored the lump of a Drast on the ground entirely, focusing her attention on Dan, “You haven’t left this spot for a long time. What’s going on?” There was no denying the hint of alarm in her voice. Raz was usually direct and stern, but she had a soft spot for Dopey. There was concern in her tone, and it was clear she wanted to understand his state of mind. He had come a long way from being the delightful punching bag of the group, now having a hand directly in large scale efforts that involved Drasts.

@Lucid

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Daniel didn't know how long he sat there in that piss reeking cargo hold.

He thought of many things while time passed. He thought about the Sith, he thought about what he had done to her. He thought about trees and Ewoks. He thought that maybe he was allowing himself to be taken along somewhere he didn't want but felt trapped. He thought about the badger quietly sleeping with his head on Daniel's knee. He thought about what it meant to be Mandaloiran.

When Raz walked in and came over to him, he didn't immediately respond, though he was glad to see her. He sat there for a moment after looking up and giving her a brief smile, stroking the sleeping badger's snout gently. "Hey Raz," he said, voice rough from disuse. What could he say? He didn't know if she'd understand...she was the perfect Mando. "I brought you a gift," he gestured to the heap of robes on the floor, he couldn't bring himself to smile about it.

He looked at Raz, really looked at her, for the first time. She was, in many ways, the perfect Mando. Strong willed and fierce. Compassion for few and understanding for fewer. For a long time they had been superior and subordinate, but recently that had been changing. He decided that he should just be honest.

"Raz," he said, confused and upset, "I don't want to become like them."

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She didn’t say anything for a moment, not usually the type to have a heart to heart with anyone. Silence hung between them as she processed what he said. He looked troubled, and she could sense it clear as day. She didn’t bother looking over at the Drast. This was a moment of victory, but she knew it came with the sting of reality. Was he a monster for doing what he did? Were they any better than those they fought against? Raz had to consider and dissect his line of thinking, deciding that he wasn’t exactly insane for thinking like that.

She finally stepped forward, reaching out a hand to rest on his shoulder. He would look up at the cold T-visor, but her body language betrayed something much more gentle. She wasn’t a robot, at the end of the day, and she had gone through her own difficulties and trials. Raz sighed as she looked down at her feet, “War can bring out the ugliest sides of us all. Good and bad things will always happen to us - but we can always have a hand in choosing how it shapes us going forward. You will only become like them if you allow it, but never think that it is beyond your control.”

Raz pulled up one of the crates and sat down next to him, gazing forward, “Whatever decisions you make, consider the wellbeing of yourself and your brothers. The galaxy is far larger than you and I, and we are only just now beginning to make ripples that will become a tidal wave of change. You can help shape that vision, but you need to walk whatever path you do with conviction. Self doubt can cut as sharply as a blade on the battlefield, and a thousand cuts can destroy you.”

She knew she was revealing the thoughts that bothered her every day. Raz had her own battles to fight, both on and off the battlefield. She knew Dopey was experiencing something similar, especially as he was slowly beginning to see the world from a perspective that was outside of his carefree self, “We didn’t have a say in what happened to us. But we can have a say in what we do about it.”

@Lucid

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Something in Raz's words hit an unexpected chord in Daniel as she sat next to him, her emotionless helmet doing nothing to conceal her surprising empathy. It made him realize that he wasn't the only Mandalorian who struggled with these things. Not all of them could have the cold cruelty of Koil or the religious fervor of Leandros. Many of them were simply human, complete with all the baggage that came with it.

Daniel's expression brightened and he sat a little straighter, looking directly at Raz. "You think so?" He asked. "I don't want to become like them, I can't and I won't." The simple stubbornness with which he spoke was very much like the Dopey Badger she had come to know, but there was a new intense edge in his voice. Her comments about doing what was best for his family had struck home.

"The thing is," he said, reaching for his own helmet, turning it in his hands as he spoke. Realization dawned on him as he spoke. "I don't think I'm actually worried for myself. I did what I had to do, I think. I'm worried about our family." Daniel was still the kind young man he had always been and it showed. Struggling to explain himself, he gestured helplessly at Raz, stopping and starting before finally saying: "When I burned her, for her ignorance and foolishness, I finally understood why people were always so angry about the Empires and the Sith. It scared me," Daniel was talking to himself more than Raz now. He looked at the helmet in his hands. It had such violent history behind it, history that had led them to near extinction. "We didn't have an option when it came to what happened to us. But we have an option to do what is right...and I think that might be to kill the Sith. But not the innocent people just living their lives. Is that crazy to say?"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz remained silent as he spoke, knowing that most of it was him thinking aloud. These were moments that were important for everyone. She had them herself, but she had to be alone for it. There was no one for her to show her weakness around, and she felt isolated in that aspect. However, being here for him as he went through it was empowering for her. It validated her own struggles, and it also helped ensure she could support him through his troubles. These were natural thoughts and realizations for anyone to have, especially as they were seemingly shoved into the war overnight.

Her eyes followed his line of sight to his helmet, gazing upon the familiar T-visor, “Why do you think I was upset about Onderon?” She queried, glancing at the helmet still, “I knew innocents died, and I knew that made us no different than the Sith. There are many within the galaxy that have no part in the war and they have the luxury of abstaining from it. Unfortunately, we are not so lucky. We must ensure that we don’t put innocents in the crossfire of our war or have unnecessary casualties. That’s what hurt the most about Medriaas,” She turned to look at him, “Women, children, farmers, old citizens...people that had no stake in any of this had been butchered. We can’t repeat the same mistakes.”

After she was done, there was a short moment of silence. Raz still didn’t bother with the Drast, forgetting for a moment that she was even there. She sighed and put an arm around Dopey’s shoulders, “No matter what choices you make, I’ll be there for you. Whether it’s to support you, or deck you and tell you you’re a dumbass,” She grinned.

@Lucid

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

"We absolutely cannot," Daniel was adamant. Raz had spoken to something in the very core of him. He felt what he had been feeling crystallize into something more. It had become purpose. For the first time in his young life, Daniel had a reason. He believed so strongly in what he and Raz and Leandros and everyone else had started with the Mandaloiran people that it was almost painful. But, he knew that as time went on their actions would get bigger and the fallout far, far more severe. They needed guidance. Not just the savage guidance that someone like Raz could give, but something tempered and more moderate.

Daniel wondered if he could do it.

"Raz, this is going to sound crazy," Daniel wasn't totally in the dark about why they called him the Dopey Badger, "but I want to be there for our people like you're there for me." He returned the sidelong embrace for a moment. "I think that if we go into battle under someone who's only goal is to take and take and take without regard for anything beyond what we are now, it will be a sure way to die. Not just for you, or me or anyone on the front lines...but a sure way for our way of life to die."

He gave the helmet in his hands one last look before slipping it over his head and snapping it to his armor. There was something final in the gesture. "I think," he said tentatively, not unsure of himself but unsure of her reaction. "I think I want to be the one at the front. I am different from many of us, yes, but it's that difference that can make all the difference."

@Sreeya...Sorry, I thought I had already done this.

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz was more than a little surprised by his words. She took it all in, and she didn’t interject at any point. When he was done and he put his helmet back on, silence hung between them again. She had always known him to be Dopey, and it was always because he came with humorous or slapstick charms that entertained everyone. Out of all her brothers, he was the one she fretted over the most. Raz eyed him then, and she began to wonder if he was outgrowing that. He was slowly becoming his own person, and it began with his extraordinary scheme to hit the Kuat yards.

“You’ve come a long way,” She muttered quietly, glancing up at him. There was no denying she was more than a little impressed. He had put a lot of thought into this, and he was trying to step out of the role that he was in today. Raz had to smile at him, though he wouldn’t see it, “There is a lot of work to do internally before we can think about who’s leading what. Our people are at war with one another, and it’ll be a huge effort to rally them under one banner. We are weak divided, but we are unstoppable united.”

She rose to stand, finally turning over to look at the prisoner. She stepped forth towards the cell, gazing at the lump on the ground, “Whether frontlines or organizing things from the back, I’ll be by your side for it all,” Raz didn’t take her gaze off the woman, “To start, why don’t you take our little friend here over to the Rebel Commander.”


@Lucid

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Daniel grinned at her words. She had, as always provided him with focus and some much needed friendship. "Raz," he said, "that means more to me than you know." He laughed briefly before turning his attention to the heap of Sith on the ground. "I'm still the Dopey Badger, after all. Give me the contact information I need and I'll get it organized." She passed him a datachip and turned to leave.

He looked at the woman on the ground and thought about everything she symbolized. In ways that Alexandra Thul Drast could never fully understand, she had been the catalyst for some of the greatest shifts the Galaxy had ever seen. Fate had not been on her side when it played it's cruel tune and placed her in their hands but it had been on the side of change. He eyed the Sith a moment longer before turning back to Raz as she turned to the door.

"One last thing," he said coming up to her side. Without waiting--so she wouldn't have time to escape--he folded her into a hug. "Thank you."

@Sreeya

THE END