Chapter Text
- - --ile we don't know much about the new Mand'alor, Boba Fett, including their pronouns, it's important to note their lineage. It's been 35 years since Jaster Mereel was Mand'alor, and his son and heir Jango Fett was only Mand'alor for 8 years after that before he disappeared in the Battle of Galidraan. Jaster Mereel was a very impactful Mand'alor with his Supercommando Codex, of course, and now the question is: will Boba be reinstating it?
- Boba is clearly very young, I doubt they have much experience as a leader. Their best bet is to bring back the Supercommando Codex, they probably wouldn't be able to write anything up to that caliber no matter how much of a wonder child they are. I think the question that should really be asked is where is Jango in all of this? Why hasn't Jango returned to reclaim the Darksaber? Why has he sent his ad to do his dirty work?
- Well if we're being honest with ourselves, the former Mand'alor is probably dead. After his stunt with the Republic clones, he's gone completely missing in the years following, minus a few vague rumors. No buir would let their ad become Mand'alor at Boba’s age.
- That's true, but we should take into account the fact that Jango has seemed to drop off the edge of the galaxy previously, first after Galidraan before he became a bounty hunter, and again in what can now be assumed are the early days of the cloning process. This could be another period of disappearance from Jango.
- But if Jango is in hiding, why isn't Boba?
- Well that brings us to my original que-- - -
- - -- most popular epitaph according to recent holonet data, excluding all the wildly trending jokes like “Mand’alor haa Di’kut” and “Mandalore the Tea,” is Evaar’la. Some other suggestions can be seen here.
[POPULAR TITLES (Minus jokes and negligible suggestions)
Mand’alor haa Evaar’la- 48.2%
Mand’alor haa Gaanla- 24.1%
Mand’alor haa Kyramud- 11.9%
Mand’alor haa Kih 5.6%
Other trending titles >2% - 10.2%]
Of course, it is very early to be picking an epitaph, but often early suggestions like these, especially ones that start trending on the holonet, end up being the ones that become official. We do not know much about the new Mand’alor, of course, but people, as always, are quick to extrapolate on what they have.
If Boba Fett ends up with the title Mand'alor haa Evaar'la, the question must be asked: how long will they truly be “evaar'la?” They will inevitably grow up, and their ideas and reign will stop being new in a few years. Is evaar’la a proper title for the Mand'alor?
There are many critics of the epitaph, but a solid second place alternative hasn't seemed to arise. Perhaps it will in the next few days, but with the instant popularity of evaar'la, it doesn't seem like anything else has much of a chance.
According to this gra-- - -
- - --cause the Nite Owls are part of Death Watch simply out of necessity. I don't think many people, especially those on the fringes of Kyr'tsad territory, quite understand how much control Kyr'tsad has over Keldabe. It can be argued that their control in general is slipping, especially now, but the less control over fringe territory will always mean an increased grasp on Keldabe.
- I understand that, but what does that have to do with the Nite Owls going from a support and pride group to a militaristic one?
- You cannot form anything close to an alternative faction within the city grounds. It will not survive.
- But a group for dalcyase? That's hardly an alternative faction.
- Doesn't matter. It's an organized group with a threatening number of members. Aligning with Kyr'tsad was the only option to keep it alive, that's why it's one of a kind in Keldabe. We were the only ones willing to fall that far, any other group decided they'd rather split up than ally with them.
- Ka’ra.
- And really, if you ignore a huge percentage of Kyr'tsad's politics, the Nite Owls have things in common. It's a subtle mercy.
- Do I want to know?
- Oh, it's just New Mandalore, don't worry.
- Oh right, of course. Carry on.
- A lot of the owl symbolism, the word dalcya, a lot of the culture around these things was developed offworld. I'll say that a lot of what I see in the Nite Owls mirror similar Mando communities on Coruscant, while Concord Dawn I've heard has a similar sense of community with very different labels and symbols, more synonymous with the larger outer rim culture.
A lot of the younger ade… I don't think they grasp how much New Mandalore changed everything, even all the way out here in the depths of Kyr'tsad territory. New Mandalore brought Basic gender constructs, Galactic Basic, that is, it brought all that to Mandalore when traditionally… I mean you know. Next we'll be seeing an emphasis on biological children over foundlings. Not that Clan Vizsla hasn't gone all out with that, hah! Anyways, I mean, owl eyes used to be everywhere. But after they gained a more specific meaning within the community you don't see them outside of it. And don't get me wrong! It's all needed, it's all what those ade need now that it's here. But New Mandalore and the Kryze clan are why a lot of this exists, and Kyr'tsad, well…
- And Bo-Katan being alor?
- <huff> I’ve already said too much against Kyr'tsad, I don't want to lose my job too.
- Right, sorry.
- She's part of why the Nite Owls can operate like it is properly, and I think allying us with the new Mand'alor was a welcome surprise. That's all I'll-- - -
- - --doing alright, we just had a bit of a scuffle with some Death Watch goons this morning in the studio! They were saying something about how our last broadcast was full of lies and slander and the like. And because I know everyone watching is wondering, my lek is not broken, don't worry, they just pulled on it a bit, the wraps are for a few cuts.
Anyways! Good morning Tsarud, and welcome to the morning report, now with less censorship and more anti-Kyr'tsad propaganda. Last night, the new Mand'alor posted footage of their beskar'gam being read, proving their claims to ancestry. Though we may never know if Jango Fett actually formally passed the mantle to his ad, that is the most likely possibility, and Boba can claim to be the first true Mand’alor since the illegitimate possession of the Darksaber by Tor Vizsla.
Some critics claim that either the footage or dialogue has been doctored, or that the alor'goran in the footage is illegitimate. We asked one of the local alor'gorane for their opinion on these clai-- - -
- - --swear you'll be the reason our podcast goes down.
- But am I wrong?
- No, you aren't. You're just saying some things that'll at least break a few of our bones.
- I'm confident we can keep ‘em out.
- I'm not! Maybe you can throw a few punches, but you aren't the reason we have a podcast.
- Yeah, alright. <throat clears> Hey Kyr'tsad, if you're listening? We love you! All that was just jokes, don't send anyone here. I'm comin’ down to Keldabe to give you a big ole kiss.
- I swear, if you start singing that dumb little song-
- I won't! Not while we're recording.
- You're really living life on the edge making enemies with everyone.
- I try my best!
- Also if you're listening for the first time, it's always like this. Last week we got a concerned comment worrying that we forgot to edit an argument out and I'll say right now that you'll know if we do that.
- Now that the disclaimer is out of the way can we talk about how many people absolutely adore the new Alor on the holonet even though they've said maybe three things so far? Like what if they end up being terrible?
- That could happen, but consider this: they're baby.
- Okay but we don't even know that either, it's just suspected that they're in their teens. You see what I'm getting at?
- Yeah, sure, you make a good point, but also they're baby.
- When they end up being just as bad as the Vizslas you're going to look back and regret that you called the Mand'alor baby on our semi-public podcast. I swear.
- You say that but I think it would be really, really hard for a Mand'alor that killed Pre Vizsla in a duel and then immediately announced that Death Watch was being torn down to b-- - -
“Mando?”
The Mandalorian finally looked up towards Orana, even though she'd been calling for them for about a minute. Typical.
“Sorry Orana, fell asleep,” they replied, stretching a bit for show. She didn't buy it for a second.
“I could hear the newscasts you were listening to, Togrutan hearing is much better than human hearing you know.”
The Mando sighed heavily like they'd expected to be found out. Orana vaguely wondered why she'd ever been intimidated by the Mando in the first place, sleek black and purple paint job aside, but then she remembered when one of their hunts had gotten a bit too close to the cantina.
It was easy to see why Orana didn't get any of the good jobs when they were around.
“I think I'm going to go on a bit of a… Vacation,” the Mando said lightly. “You'll get first pick in jobs for a bit.”
Orana frowned. “You going to go over to Mandalore to kill that kid they were talking about?”
“The new Mand'alor? Were you really able to pick up on their supposed age just from overhearing my channel surfing?”
“I pick up on details like that when you're clearly planning an assassination.” Orana shrugged. “Didn't think you'd be a fan of child murder.”
The Mando sighed yet again. They sighed too much in general. “You don't know me, Orana.”
Orana smiled, her sharp teeth bright and visible. “Sure don't, Mando! Be sure to send me a postcard while you're there. I'll take your place lookin at Mando news all the time just to look out for ya.”