In the Company of Hawks

[Kori Buor]

Sundari Royal Palace
Mandalore
​

It was a dark, moonless night over Sundari; storm clouds had rolled over the capital city of Mandalore, and in the distance, thunder resounded ominously over the plains and forests. It seems that a tempest was brewing over the ocean not too far away, and that meant the thunderstorm overhead was only the beginning; a greater squall was coming. Looking out over his hometown, Ral Vizsla wondered what this storm would have in store for them. There would be greater storms to be sure; after all, the Sith were still out there, and they would be coming soon. He only hoped the Mandalorians would be ready for it, for the great gale they would bring.

Tonight, the Mand'alor was waiting for one man to arrive. Though he was suspicious of the man, he had heard rumors about him, rumors which made him believe he could help change the war to come. So, he was waiting for the man to arrive after he sent a message, through discreet channels, to meet him at the Palace. Ral was starting to see ghosts and shadows where there were none, and they were due to the enemies he began to see where. Perhaps that is what happens when friends and allies betrayed you, plotted against the Dominion, and worked to serve their own self-interests. If the rumors were right, this man could change and undue all of that.

So, Ral waited. He waited to see if the Bes'galaar was all that he had heard about. If he was, the Dominion would weather the coming storm with ease, but if not, then Ral was going to have to prepare for a long and brutal war.

@Apollyon

 

[Apollyon]

THEME SONG

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Nightmares hadn't let Iron Hawk sleep for going on two days now. Memories of a dead man plagued his mind, he had been hunting on behalf of the damned for nearly two decades now and yet they were still unsatisfied. The thousands of voices crying out in the throes of agony still echoed in his restless mind, a chorus of unfinished business spurring him forward.

"It wasn't my fault." He whispered to the ghosts as he shook his head in palms of his hands. "I didn't kill you." He continued almost as if he were pleading with the specters of his mind. "What more do you want from me?" He screamed out, tears beginning to roll down his face. "Please, I'll do whatev-"

Iron Hawk's words, the screams of anguish, all of it was drowned out by the vibration of a communication link. Iron Hawk gazed at the vibrating device for a moment, before he cleared the phlem from his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes. The broken man reached for the device with a trembling hand.

"Hello?" He asked in an almost sheepish voice.

Iron Hawk fell silent, his reddened eyes once filled with pain and anguish suddenly returned to a consuming rage. His free hand tightened itself into a fist as his gaze turned back to the visage of the Bes'galaar.

"Tell him I'll be there."

With that the Iron Hawk stood to his feet and stepped towards his second skin. He lightly and affectionately touched his second face, dragging his hand across it's visage. The screams faded from his mind as his hand rubbed his face, they merged into two voices in his mind.

"It's almost time." One familiar female voice chimed.

"Avenge us..." The other, more childlike voice continued, before it drifted off.

"...Daddy."[/beebox3]​

[beebox3=400px]The sound of rain pattering on his shoulders was a comfort to the Bes'galaar, it reminded him which side of the veil he was still on. It didn't rain often on Mandalore and when it did, it was a comforting reminder that there was always hope for tomorrow. But the Bes'galaar hadn't come to Sundari to enjoy the weather, he hadn't come to the Royal Palace for the view, he had been summoned by the Manda'lor himself to meet under the cover of night.

The Bes'galaar was no fool, he understood what a meeting under night's vale meant. Firstly, it meant that the Manda'lor wanted to discuss business that he never wanted coming into the light of day. But more importantly, it meant that the Manda'lor didn't want to be seen in the company of someone like him. This didn't offend the Bes'galaar, he knew what he was despite what the people might imagine him as. He was no hero, he was a killer, nothing more and nothing less. That was the thought that echoed in the Bes'galaar's mind as he fired his grapple launcher up at an outcropping of the Sundari Palace.

Bes'galaar was surprised at how smoothly he entered the palace's ventilation system, as he moved towards the Manda'lor's bed chambers he couldn't help but wonder if the Manda'lor himself had ordered reduced security around the Palace. Regardless, when he reached the area above the Manda'lor's sleeping quarters he stopped and kicked the ventilation grate loose before dropping into the empty room below. The Bes'galaar took a moment before he rose back to his feet and turned to face the only door to the room.

When the Manda'lor entered the darkened room all he would see would be the blue glowing eyes of the Bes'galaar gazing upon him. The figure of this being illuminated only by the occasional flash of heat lightning in the sky from behind him. The nearly two meters tall figure would stand without moving when the Manda'lor gazed at him. There would be no traditional greeting from the Bes'galaar, no signs of respect, the only words that echoed from him sounded mechanical and seemed robotic in nature.

"Gar ru'tionir par ni, ner Manda'lor?" <You asked for me, my Manda'lor?>[/beebox3]​

 

[Kori Buor]

As Ral turned around he could see two glowing eyepieces in the darkness of his quarters. At first he thought to sound the alarm and draw his weapon, but he suspected that if the figure wanted him dead, he wouldn't have been seen. Ral thought to himself that it was a good thing Talia wasn't present; she'd likely have gone berserk and turned his comfortable bedroom into a bombed out hovel. He wondered where the woman was and how long she would stay upset at him. The thoughts distracted him briefly as he stood there, but Ral quickly refocused his mind on the current situation; this could still be a trap after all.

Leaving the balcony which overlooked Sundari, Ral stepped inside of his bedroom and looked for where the armored figure had gained access. His eyes spotted the ventilation grate that was missing and he frowned. He didn't think anyone would manage to fit inside those narrow spaces, much less navigate them, but here the man was, the Bes'galaar. Ral would have to address the vulnerability of the ventilation system with his protectors later, perhaps include some razor sharp fans and force fields to prevent intruders from gaining access, maybe even include sensors and motion detectors as well. Perhaps it was time he began the ancient rite of the Blood Games.

In any event, Ral was now a few paces away from a man in a suit of modified armor; he barely even looked Mandalorian. But perhaps that was the point: to look like some grim metal hawk instead of a man. As the Bes'galaar spoke, Ral nodded in response. "I did," his voice rang out strong and clear in the quiet night air. "The Dominion needs your services; I need your services. We are beset on all sides by enemies... enemies from without and from within. Some you know of, like the Sith, the Jedi, some pathetic groups of upstarts, others are more insidious. They hide from the light and from me. I cannot allow either to threaten the safety of the Dominion. They must all be brought to heel or destroyed."

Producing a pair of datapads from one of his pockets, Ral looked at the armored figure for a moment before handing them over. "That's all we know on who opposes us, or who might oppose us. The top datapad contains everything we know on the Sith leadership, including every known Darth, high admiral, or general we could get a scrap of information on. It also contains data on some of those small upstart factions or alliances, along with other potential enemies that threaten us from the outside. The second datapad contains everything I've managed to gather about the nature of the Death Watch resurgent. They've grown inside this Dominion, a poison threatening to kill us and supplant the dream with the ambitions of lesser men. The leader is known to me, and his identity is in the datapad. If you track him down, try and bring him back to face me alive, if not, well, make sure he is no longer a threat. There's a recording on there of me ordering other Mandalorians to stand down so you can complete your mission. If you can, get as much information as possible about the Death Watch, then do what you can to track down its members and determine if they will remain loyal to the Dominion and to me, or if their loyalties lie elsewhere. I'm sure you know what to do with those who do not stand with the Dominion. It is important we find out what they're up to and stop it before men with secret agendas and goals, who don't answer to me, ruin everything we have worked to build."

There was a lot there, Ral knew that, but he didn't want to give the Hawk poor information, or even little information at that. If this man was who he thought he was, he could help keep the Dominion on course and prevent others from causing its collapse. So he wanted to arm him as best as he could, and in this case that meant Intel. Standing back, Ral waited for the armored man to respond.

 

[Apollyon]

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The Bes'galaar watched the Manda'lor as he entered the room and peered about, clearly looking for his point of entry. The Bes'galaar hadn't hidden his entry point purposefully, he wanted the Manda'lor to about his defensive vulnerabilities within his fortress. Nothing about his entry hadn't been keenly thought over, in a sense the Bes'galaar was showing his loyalty by pointing out these flaws.

"I did." Was the Manda'lor's response.

The Bes'galaar didn't reply to the Manda'lor's statement, instead his gaze remained focused and unfettered. His second skin's blue eyes pierced the darkness and gazed back into the Manda'lor's own, unblinking and unwavering. The gaze of the Bes'galaar was fully upon him, almost eerily so.

"The Dominion needs your services; I need your services. We are beset on all sides by enemies... enemies from without and from within. Some you know of, like the Sith, the Jedi, some pathetic groups of upstarts, others are more insidious. They hide from the light and from me. I cannot allow either to threaten the safety of the Dominion. They must all be brought to heel or destroyed." The Manda'lor said, finally beginning to explain why he had called the Bes'galaar to his side.

"Tion'ad?" <Who?> The Bes'galaar asked his tone of voice masked into an almost droidic neutral by his helmet.

Almost immediately the Manda'lor handed him twin datapads, the Bes'galaar's eyes finally pulled from the Manda'lor and fell to the intelligence handed to him. Even though the Bes'galaar wasn't looking directly at the Manda'lor he could still feel the man gazing upon him. The Bes'galaar didn't fully comprehend why the Manda'lor would fully disclose this intelligence to him, the man clearly didn't trust him. The Bes'galaar couldn't help but wonder if he was truly this desperate.

"That's all we know on who opposes us, or who might oppose us. The top datapad contains everything we know on the Sith leadership, including every known Darth, high admiral, or general we could get a scrap of information on. It also contains data on some of those small upstart factions or alliances, along with other potential enemies that threaten us from the outside. The second datapad contains everything I've managed to gather about the nature of the Death Watch resurgent. They've grown inside this Dominion, a poison threatening to kill us and supplant the dream with the ambitions of lesser men. The leader is known to me, and his identity is in the datapad. If you track him down, try and bring him back to face me alive, if not, well, make sure he is no longer a threat. There's a recording on there of me ordering other Mandalorians to stand down so you can complete your mission. If you can, get as much information as possible about the Death Watch, then do what you can to track down its members and determine if they will remain loyal to the Dominion and to me, or if their loyalties lie elsewhere. I'm sure you know what to do with those who do not stand with the Dominion. It is important we find out what they're up to and stop it before men with secret agendas and goals, who don't answer to me, ruin everything we have worked to build." The Manda'lor explained as the Bes'galaar scanned the files, reading names and known associates.

"Te Kyr'tsad cuyir cuun ruyot, meh meg gar sirbur cuyir haat val dar'ijaat ibac tome'tayl. Val cuyir aruetiise, dar'manda. Ni Kelir mar'eyir te haat bal gra'tuar cuun ruyot, ner manda'lor." <The death watch are our history, If what you say is truth they dishonor that memory. They are traitors, not mandalorian. I will find the truth and avenge our history, my Manda'lor.> The Bes'galaar replied as he read the information provided to him.

"Kalan Ordo, Director of Death Watch" The Bes'galaar thought silently.

The Bes'galaar could hardly believe some of the names on this list, there were members who were Dukes, Counts, Captains, even Dominion Supercommandos that were all apparent traitors. His eyes pulled from the datapad and focused back on the Manda'lor himself.

"Tion'ad sirbur ibic?" <Who told you this?> He asked calmly.​

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