The Lord of Fett

[Kori Buor]

Sundari Royal Palace
Mandalore
​

Today was going to be a rather exciting day for the Dominion; one of the counts of its noble houses would be recognized for his deeds both for the Dominion and his house. Count Aiden Fett was going to be recognized as the exemplar of all of House Fett. As Count of his clan, and without a current Duke leading his House, that meant he would likely assume the role as leader of his House, a role he was largely already filling. Mand'alor Ral Vizsla had been keeping an eye on the man for many months now, having noticed his exploits during the Siege of Eshan and the innumerable battles and skirmishes that had occurred over the past six years. He definitely deserved the recognition of the Dominion and the loyalty of his clan, but would he be able to handle the weight of being a Duke in one of the most powerful factions in the Galaxy? Would he act in the best interests of not only himself and his House, but the Dominion as a whole? This much remained to be seen.

This was going to be a rather small, private affair, with Ral planning on making an announcement to the general public of the Dominion afterwards, perhaps with Aiden at his side if all went according to plan. Ral had never done anything like this before, and his nerves were a little on edge, though he'd never show it, and he doubted that many people would be able to notice except for maybe Talia and Bardan. Luckily, that is why he had his armor and helmet on. Today, the only participants in the ceremony would be Ral, Aiden, and a handful of hand-picked Protectors, Ral's usual retinue. The reasoning was fairly simple: Ral didn't want to sully the moment by having some upstart or dissatisfied Duke or Count begin protesting or calling from the crowd, insighting the sort of fighting Mandalorians were known for. This was more for Aiden's sake; if he wanted to celebrate with others there would be plenty of time later.

Sitting in the Throne of Mand'alor, the golden-orange fresco behind him glowing warmly as his presence filled the seat, Ral waited for Aiden to arrive, his ancestral vibrosword in his left hand; it's sheath too long to allow him to suit comfortably. He had already received word that the Count-soon-to-be-Duke had arrived at the Palace and was making his way to the Throne Room. Now he simply had to wait for the man to enter the Throne Room and present himself before the Mand'alor.

@Chask274

 

[Chask274]

The familiar muffled clank of armor plate and clack of boot heels on the floor accompanied Aiden as he walked through the halls of the Royal Palace. It had been some time since he'd visited, and he hoped this time wouldn't be as tense as his last visit. He'd given his armor, sword, and pistol a thorough cleaning and polish, ensuring he looked his best for the meeting. He had a few ideas as to what the Mand'alor had called him here for, most of which were good ones. The others...well, it was best not to dwell on that line of thinking.

Ensuring his helmet was properly secured to his belt alongside his sword and pistol, Aiden entered the throne room and approached Ral, his expression calm and content. Stopping at short distance from the throne, Aiden snapped to attention and placed a closed fist over his heart in a traditional salute, giving a slight bow as he did so. "Su cuy'gar Mand'alor." Straightening up, he gave Ral a friendly smile. "It's good to see you again, Ral. How have you been?"

@Kori Buor

 

[Kori Buor]

Seeing Aiden approach made him smirk a little; at least the man knew how to be punctual. Standing as the warrior approached the throne, Ral placed his right hand, fist closed, over his heart, while his left still gripped the scabbard of his vibrosword. Nodding slightly at the man's bow, the Mand'alor smiled, "Sucuy'gar, Aiden. It is good to see you as well, old friend. Things have been well for me, I suppose. Could be better, of course, but nothing to complain about, yet." The man said as he kept the Fett in view.

Bringing his right hand off of his chest, he motioned to the large throne room, "I'm glad you have arrived. Things are gearing up for the next great war. No doubt countless lives will be lost in the war, and much glory will be won. If our people are going to have a share in the glory, then we will need to stand unified, together, with the greatest of us leading. You have done much for your clan, your house, and the Dominion, Count Aiden Fett, and you have done much for me as well as a loyal and trusted companion. Such loyalty is hard to come by these days. Such character is going to be needed amongst those who will lead us forward. The leaders of our houses and clans should be paragons of character, those who are above reproach, wouldn't you agree? And that is why you are here, so we might recognize your character." Ral said, a slight smirk on his face as he watched the Mandalorian's body language. Though they weren't standing next to each other, after all, Aiden was at the usual place for supplicants: down the steps from the thrown and a handful of meters back, he was still close enough to see how the man handled his words.

 

[Sreeya]

Talia slowly strolled into the throne room. She wasn’t the punctual type, and today was no different. Her helmet was under her arm, cigarra hanging loosely from the corner of her mouth. She didn’t personally know Aiden, but she knew enough about him to cause her amusement. Her footsteps echoed as Ral addressed him, the woman entirely unconcerned with the fact that she was interrupting this ceremony.

Ral had invited his trusted protectors here, and that included Talia and a few others she knew. Only thing was that she wasn’t here to observe the ceremony. She wanted to be a part of it. Talia gave Aiden a playful wink, she strode past him and towards Ral, moving to stand next to the Mand'alor. She glanced over at Ral, “Terribly sorry to interrupt this. However, there were some interesting developments I’ve been wanting to bring up with Mr. Fett here.”

A few days ago, Talia had received a very interesting transmission from someone that had been unassumingly pulled into a plot of Aiden’s. Gorman was a smart man and decided to out the plan instead of going along with the foolish ideas. Talia held up her comlink, putting it on speaker so the message played out loud and clear. Not only did it implicate Aiden, but it also named the others involved. Through it all, Talia simply puffed on her cigarra, smiling at Aiden.

Talia had never been involved in clan affairs, and she had never changed her name back to Kryze. The entire objective of Aiden’s plot seemed like a personal attack against her with the pathetic excuse of inter-clan conflicts as a flimsy cover. Talia found the idea hilarious, especially as the man that sought the title of Duke didn’t have enough balls to directly face her in combat, instead resorting to cheap underhanded tactics. As the message played, Talia’s other hand discreetly activated an EMP grenade on her hip. Any and all explosives and the clips on guns would be deactivated in case Aiden had any bright ideas and Aiden and herself were directly in the center of the blast radius. The EMP would be prematurely activated if she saw Aiden make any sudden movements. The grenade would be instant, not set to a delay.

“So, do you have anything to say about this little plan of yours?” Talia had to fight to keep from laughing, “Better yet, did you think you were going to get away with it? That others in your little circle wouldn’t think you’re a pathetic little snake?”

Talia did not go for any weapons, but it was quite obvious at that moment that Aiden’s freedom was forfeit.

@Chask274 @Phoenix @Mirdala Priest @Kori Buor

 

[Phoenix]

This was never going to end well. Petty rivalries and whispered plots weren't going to get the Dominion anywhere. Couldn't they just all get along and stomp Sith or something like that? For that matter, why wasn't there just a direct challenge, the Mandalorian way? Wasn't there better things to do than attack one another? Apparently not. Apparently, assassinating one of his fellow Protectors for no apparent reason was how things went these days. It hadn't taken much prompting - basically none - to get him to come out today. Talia was one of his best friends in the Dominion and he didn't particularly appreciate an attack like this.

Well, Protectors defended the Mandalore and each other, so if there was a threat to either of them - in this case you could argue that there was a threat to both, though perhaps a loose argument - he was here to deal with it. In fact, he might rather enjoy coming back form his hiatus to immediately board the Gank Express again, one way trips to... well you can probably guess where.

Plans to kill a Protector. Not a great plan... Dak came in, stopping about six meters behind the Fett captain, hand resting on the grip of his A-140 that hung from the harness at his side. He really didn't think this was going to end well, but then, what did you ever expect from these types of things? It wouldn't take much more than a twitch for him to unload on the man in front of him. @Chask274 @Sreeya @Mirdala Priest @Kori Buor

 

[Bardan Kex]

His eyes narrowed behind the black visor of his helmet, he'd walked in just in time to hear the start of the message, he'd been surprised to see Talia walk by with out much of a word and decided to check it out. He'd been warned by both his Cousin and Mand'alor that something was going on with House Fett that would concern him, details had been slim but they'd mentioned it would be handled. Looks like this was them handling it. Bardan's jaw clentched as he heard the details of the plan and those that would be involved. Really? He'd just gotten back to the clans, and one of those implicated he'd recently been on assignment with. He was beginning to hate Clan politics.

"And here I was hoping to make up for what ever did or didn't happen between our Houses." He stepped forward only slightly, sure to remain out of way of any grenades; emp or otherwise, blocking the side door he'd slipped through should the count choose to run. The urge to reach out and strangle the man with the force was palpable, for now though he just summoned up the energy should it be needed., his right hand hovered at his side ready to go for either his saber or side arm. Briefly glancing around, one of the Protectors, a man he didn't know yet had taken up a position behind the Count, others of his kind were nearby as well. "This doesn't look like its gonna go well for you Fett."

@Chask274 @Kori Buor @Sreeya @Mirdala Priest @Phoenix

 

[Kori Buor]

Ral's eyes travelled to where Talia had just entered the throne room, her strut meant only one thing, and there was nothing good about it. Sighing, he mentally shook his head as he watched her walk up with helmet under her arm and cigarra on her lips. How many times had she been asked not to smoke in the palace; he guessed when he was as wildly regarded and dangerous as she was he could do whatever he wanted as well. Letting out a low growl, Ral let the woman know of his annoyance with her interruption. He had planned on dealing this in his own way on his own time, but it seems that was going to change. If there was one thing he had learned about Talia Al'Saif, it was that she played by her own rules and according to her own plan. Some thought it made her dangerous, possibly even treasonous, but Ral knew that's what made her effective.

Grimacing as Talia played the recording, he watched Aiden, in truth his eyes had never left the man, but now he felt a little bad for him; despite the foolhardiness of his plan, and the frankly idiotic reasoning, Ral wanted to give the man a chance to explain himself without feeling ambushed. Fat chance of that happening now. Still, he couldn't fault Talia for doing what she thought she had to do; if one thing was true it was that Talia was blunt when things needed to be blunt, even when he preferred the diplomatic approach.

After the recording played and Talia stared the Fett down, Ral felt suddenly grateful to be out of the blast radius of any potential explosive, but he hoped the man would not be foolish enough to try with so many guns aimed at him.

"Aiden, I've known you for years, you are an honorable man. You've shown loyalty to the Dominion and courage on the battlefield. Let the truth be known here and now, and may the gods and our ancestors judge you thusly." Ral spoke immediately after Talia hoping to remove the sting of her words and encourage him to be forthright. At this point, integrity might be the only thing saving him; he only hoped Talia would not be so trigger happy. He wished the man would speak, save his honor, and prove himself loyal and above petty grudges and politics in the sight of all present, but he knew that his wishes did not always become reality.

@Chask274 @Sreeya @Phoenix @Bardan Kex @Mirdala Priest

 

[Sreeya]

Talia was disgusted as Ral played soft, turning to diplomacy instead of being incensed at the fact that the man before him had planned to put forth a plot to kill her. She turned to Aiden, the man having no explanation or anything to suggest he could deny any of it. Anger bubbled under the surface, Ral’s words about judgment playing in her mind. Aiden’s guns and every grenade on him were deactivated, and he had no time to draw any additional weapons.

Without warning, she briefly turned to Bardan and then Dak, nodding before she lifted her armored gauntlet. Standing so close to Aiden, she didn’t hesitate as she manually switched on her flamethrower, searing hot flames abruptly engulfing the would be Duke. It was a glorious display as the heat began to consume him, powerful enough to bodily destroy him. She was known across the galaxy for her flamethrower and what it had done to a Sith Lord.

She also knew that was cue for Dak and Bardan to begin their attacks. Talia made a point not to look at Ral, the pouring flames a testament to the rage she felt. There was a glint in her eye, a faint grin spreading on her face as she thoroughly enjoyed her vengeance. Talia was normally a very passive person, but if someone did her wrong and they were caught, they would pay dearly and painfully.

Talia intended to keep the torch on him, ready to switch to lightsaber if he showed any signs of movement. She kept her gaze trained on him, “Kriff the gods and ancestors, I’m the maker he is meeting today.”

@Phoenix @Bardan Kex @Kori Buor @Chask274

 

[Phoenix]

Remorse wasn't something that Dak felt often and he certainly didn't feel it when it came to executing a traitor. That's what this man was, a traitor, and a senseless one at that. There was a term he'd once heard for that, people who screwed their friends for their own stupid and selfish reasons. Blue... what was it? Some sort of animal? A blue fox? Blue ferret? No, that wasn't it but maybe it would come to him later.

For now it was largely irrelevant. Talia knew he was a shoot first, ask questions later (or never) type. In fact, it ended up annoying her on plenty of missions where she wanted to try to be stealthy. Today, it was an advantage and there was no hesitation in his actions. He was loyal to his friends, a group that was few and far between. If people didn't understand that then they were simply gits.

His rifle immediately swung up, the trigger pulling in rapid succession at the man's back. The man hadn't moved and so had no time to react or move, let alone see the Mandalorian standing behind him. His rifle fired at the man's back, once, twice, thrice, continuing to empty his rifle a few more times if the coast was clear until the man's armor was shattered and broken. At six meters, the recoil was all but irrelevant to his aim. No one would be claiming his armor or honoring him. He'd be dumped like the traitor he was. @Chask274 @Sreeya @Kori Buor @Bardan Kex @Mirdala Priest

 

[Bardan Kex]

Ral had tried to show the man leniency, offer him a chance to explain himself. It was more than Bardan could admit to being willing to do at this time. He could feel his cousin's anger welling up, her own rage seemed to feed into his pulling him on that all too familiar path. He waited, holding the rising anger in check as long as he could waiting for Fett to say anything at all, he remained quiet. Suddenly Talia turned him catching his eyes and nodding before doing the same with the Protector near by, she raised her arm and jet of flame erupted, covering the would be Lord of Fett.

His blaster was in his hand in a flash, and he took aim, not to kill but to cripple. The bastard could burn. He fired two shots, one to the back of each of the man's knees as yet more bolts shot out from the direction of the Protector, driving the man further to the ground. Bardan stood by as the Protector kept firing, the red of his bolts and the flames dancing in his visor. Yet more he was sure he'd have to make up for with the Fett Clan. As the weapon ran dry Bardan stepped forward and put two more rounds into the traitor's back.

@Sreeya @Chask274 @Phoenix @Mirdala Priest @Kori Buor

 

[Kori Buor]

The silence that filled the throne room was deafening. Each second that passed seemed like an eternity as Ral waited, trying to give the man a chance to speak, to justify, or deny, his cause. In truth, Ral only wanted Aiden to speak so he could confirm or assuage his fears, hoping the man would have knowledge of the Death Watch he could use. Ral didn't give a damn about what happened to Aiden, and knew he was more than likely a dead man. A small part of him hoped this could be some sort of reconciliation, or that they could avoid a potential civil war, but as the silence carried on the chance for any of that shrunk.

Then Talia nodded at the other two men in the throne room that seemed to be there to have her back and then she raised her flamethrower and began a relentless barrage of fire. Hopes shattered. Ral couldn't be mad at Talia; he expected her to act this way, he just hoped that the man would have given something up before she tried to kill him. As blaster fire resounded in the throne room as both Dak and Bardan opened fire, the Mand'alor knew that Aiden was almost assuredly dead, but he had done this to himself. Conspiring to murder a Protector, not just any Protector, but her meant he had sealed his fate the moment Gorman had sent Talia that message. He had hoped to use the man's honor to convince him to give up the charade and any secrets he had, but it seemed the man had lost it all, lost his integrity, his reason, and now, it seemed, his life.

With his vibrosword still in hand, Ral took the grip of one of his pistols as he stepped down the stairs, pulling it out of his holster and keeping it up and ready. Shaking his head as he stepped up next to Talia, he paused, glancing at her. "And so you are, and he has..." He muttered. The gods were dead, and if Ral believed in one thing that was supernatural, it was at that moment, Talia was the wrath of their ancestors made manifest. Her expression was grim, a visage of anger and death in human form. A chill ran down the man's back. He would wait before he said anything to the three involved, for the moment he merely signalled to the Protectors present. Lock down the Palace. No word of this gets out until he says so.