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Jod wanders the ship, looking at the kids as they sleep. He hated taking control from Fern, and scaring them, but it had to be done. He’d only meant to take them captive to keep them safe. He thinks they might trust him again, though he’s not sure. Now that they are on their way away from Lanupa, he can relax, a little. One can never be too trusting of pirates and that they will follow them.
The New Republic is after him, again. The Empire, the New Republic, they are all the same. He did hear a whisper that Mandalore is in control of Mandalorians again before he rescued the kids from the wastes of the planet. He wanders over to an old holo-station and pulls up the holovid system. He fiddles with the parts, and finally the system comes online.
He scrambles their location, and traveling through hyperspace helps as well, then clicks on the holovid. It takes a few moments to stabilize, then the New Republic logo appears. There is an old image of his face with a reward. Lovely. Then New Republic negotiations with Independent Systems comes on.
It’s been a long time, but he’d know that red hair and those green-blue eyes anywhere. She is flanked by Koska, he thinks that’s her name. Is that Fenn? No, that’s got to be Axe. He thinks he heard Fenn died in the Purge. She’s flanked by three Mandalorians in full armor, their faces not showing. The one directly behind her is in all silver beskar with a small green being standing on his shoulder. There is a second one in an orange helmet and mismatched armor. The third is a female that has a gold horned helm that takes him back to Mandalore when Maul was in power, when…when…
He pulls himself away from the thoughts, concentrating on the screen.
“No,” she says sternly, “Mandalore does not agree to those terms, Senator Xiono.”
The man she’s speaking too makes a face, “Now, Miss Kryze….”
“Her title is Mand’alor,” says the man in silver as the green being hisses out something as well. The silver-clad warrior continues in a deadly voice modified by his vocoder, “You will use it or not address her at all.”
The threat is undeniable. Jod can see the slight twitch of Bo-Katan’s lip. Jod smirks, feeling his own lip matching hers. Koska and Axe are biting back smiles as well as a group next to them from the planet Plazir-15. He realizes how much he’s missed her. Would she even recognize him now? He doubts it, he doesn’t recognize himself.
He wonders idly if she knew the truth of him. She was only a few years older than him. Could she have known? He doubts it. Bo-Katan wouldn’t have kept the secret from him. They were close until she joined Death Watch, and she would have used that piece of knowledge to her advantage. He sighs as he watches the proceedings continue. Who is the warrior in silver to her? He seems to have her ear and her defense. Could it be that his wild Auntie now has a beau? The little green being seems protective of her as well.
Jod watches as the being lifts a piece of fruit sitting next to Bo-Katan, giggling as it swallows the fruit quickly. A Force-sensitive. Bo-Katan turns looking to the being, lifting a hand to gently tug on its tunic with affection, before turning back to the proceedings. The little being giggles again. A child? Not hers. There’s no human in its features. A foundling?
He turns to look at his foundlings. He never suspected he’d have a brood. Granted, if he can get to At Attin, they’ll be returned to their parents, but they are his in a way now. The negotiations are in a nearby system. Should he show her that he’s alive?
No. No.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bo-Katan walks with Din and Grogu around the elevated starport walkway. It’s been a long, tedious day. Grogu is asleep against her cuirass as she holds him.
“Xiono is a piece of work,” Din replies.
“No, Din, you can’t shoot him.”
Din chuckles, turning to look at her, his dark eyes dancing with mischief, “No one would know.”
She laughs. He’s so expressive. She’s more than happy he decided to show his face. It’s only to her and Grogu, but he’s so expressive, especially now.
As they take a turn, Din puts his helmet on. There is a hooded figure a few meters away from them who turns towards them a moment later.
Grogu pops awake looking around, “Patu?”
Next to her Din is on high alert, hand hovering over his blaster and she thinks she hears the distinct sound of his whistling birds come online.
“There’s no need for weapons,” the hooded figure replies, “I only wish to speak to A…B….Mand’alor Kryze.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Do I know you?” Bo asks him.
“A long time ago,” Jod replies, keeping himself covered and though he’s the same height as the silver-clad Mandalorian next to his Auntie, he hunches just a little to keep the façade of being shorter.
Jod watches how protective he is of Bo. His Auntie was never a flower, and she’s holding the foundling while one hand is settled on one of her Westar blasters.
“What is your name?” she asks.
Jod had not planned to show his face, but the foundling in her arms turns instantly, raising a hand, and the hood blows off. He turns his face to the side as he stands to full height.
Bo’s Westar is now trained on him, as well as the weapon of the silver-clad warrior next to her. The foundling giggles as Jod feels the lightsaber at his hip move. He grabs it, before it can be lifted from him and looks to the little one, “That’s not yours.”
The foundling giggles, “Patu,” and Jod feels a slight pressure against his mind. He never learned the Jedi ways, just enough to get by in the galaxy as he realized the truth in the records he’d found. He imagines a door shutting and the foundling grunts.
“You’re a Force Wielder?” Bo asks.
Jod turns to her, “I am not a Jedi, if that’s what your asking. My father was. My mother….my mother was Mandalorian.”
Bo lowers her Westar, “Show me your face.”
It’s a demand, Mand’alor to Mandalorian. He could deny her, but she wouldn’t recognize him. He turns his face fully to the light as she holsters her weapon and steps forward, the foundling now on her hip like one would carry their own child.
“Bo,” comes the voice of her companion, “he’s the one that kidnapped those children.”
Bo holds her hand up for silence and steps close enough to look at him, really look at him. Her face scrunches, “No.”
“Hello, Auntie,” he smiles at her, his voice softer, more like his youth.
“No. Korkie wasn’t a Force Wielder.”
He laughs, “When a building is caving in on you, you find something within yourself. It might have helped that I learned the truth a year after the Purge from the pirates that rescued me. “Auntie Satine lied to me, to you.”
Her face becomes a mask, hiding anything.
“My father was not a long-lost brother. You and Satine were the only Kryze children that lived out of the seven children born to Adonai Kryze and Martella Vizsla, the others all died of crib death before they were two years old. Only the girls lived, not the boys.”
She stands just staring at him.
“My father was…”
“Obi-Wan.”
Jod only nods.
“Bo?”
“It’s alright Din, lower your blaster.”
“He…”
“My nephew didn’t kidnap those children.”
“No,” Jod replies, “I have been trying to get them to their home. Many don’t understand what it takes to protect foundlings.”
The warrior lowers his weapon. Jod looks at this man, Din. He had his helmet off when walking with Bo and the foundling alone but put it on immediately when realizing someone was near. Only his Auntie gets to see his face. Interesting. A zealot from one of the outlying colonies, not Mandalore proper.
“Kryze women seem to like those…..bound to their faith,” he can’t help but poke the queen Nite Owl.
Her head tilts, “What did I tell Satine when we rescued her from Carlac?”
Ah, a test, “We didn’t rescue her from Carlac. We rescued her from the detention center on Mandalore. You told her the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
She takes a deep breath and goes to step forward. Jod finds himself stepping back.
“I thought I was the last Kryze,” she replies.
“You are. By all rights, I am a Kenobi.”
“Kor…”
“My name is Jod Na Nawood,” Jod replies looking at the approaching Mandalorians, “thank you for your time Mand’alor Kryze. It was a pleasure.”
With that Jod whirls the cloak around him and disappears into the dark.
++++
He’s gone before she can stop him. A Force Wielder. Korkie.
“Who was that?” comes Koska’s voice from behind them.
“An old friend,” Bo-Katan replies, “informing Din about the truth of the lie the New Republic is telling. The pirate that stole those children was just protecting them, taking them home.”
“This is the Way,” the Armorer replies.
A moment later, a derelict looking ship rises from the starport. It hovers a moment, enough for all of them present to get a good look at it, before it lifts and darts out of the atmosphere.
Din leans in to her, “I’ll talk to Teva. See what he knows.”
Bo-Katan nods, watching the sky for a moment before turning with the group and walking back to their rooms for the night. She has a lot to ponder.