Discovering an Orphan

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen smiled to Ji'Kel as he introduced himself, although she couldn't help but stare a little when he took off his helmet. She had imagined that he was human, like most Mandalorians, but his scarred blue sking, red eyes, and black hair gave him away as a Chiss.

Aileen carefully listened to Athena as she told Ji'Kel Aileen's story. The massacre part was still quite sensitive to her, so she turned around to wipe a way some tears. Aileen mentally told herself that sooner or later, she would have to come to terms with what happened.

When Athena suggested that she go finish her meal and look at the nebulae some more, Aileen happily obliged. She grabbed her food from the mess area and found her way to the cockpit, where after finishing her food, she lightly fell asleep, tired after six weeks of little sleep.

 

[René]

Ji'Kel patiently waited for Aileen to be out of earshot before he began talking to Athena again. He sighed, and tucked his helmet under his arm while he leaned against the wall.

"So," he began, "After our little party on Tatooine that almost killed me, I've been thinking about something. It was a bit of a wake up call for me; I have no reason to really have a grudge against the Jedi, and I've killed so many."

Looking straight at Athena, he continued.
"Maybe I should turn myself in. After everything that has happened, I feel guilt. If I turn myself in, it will be on one condition: if the Mandalorians care that much about me, let them rescue me without repercussions. Although I highly doubt they would, since they all hate me."

Ji'Kel then took a risky move; he reached out and removed Athena's helmet in order to look at her face. It was beautiful, but now wasn't the time for that. His eyes looked right into hers, and he asked, "What do you think?"

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

She slapped him.
"That was for thinking of such a stupid idea. They'll kill you, you know, even before the Mandalorians come to rescue you. And you know that we don't hate you, Ji'Kel, the Mandalorians care about you, why else would they have come to Tatooine? They see you, they see the both of us, as the future of Mandalore."

She took a couple steps backwards,
"Why should you feel guilt anyway? They took the most important thing away from you. You're justified in your hate."

When Ji'kel had taken off her helmet, he had in turn removed her mental armor, the shield put in place by her mind in order to stop her from questioning her resolve. For the first time in years, Athena felt vulnerable.
"Back on Tatooine, I tried to defend you because I saw a kindred soul in you. We both had lost everything to these people. Yet now you are feeling guilt? What is that supposed to mean for me?"

She slapped him again, and put her helmet back on.
"That was for taking off my helmet. Don't do that." She paused a bit after that. Eventually she stepped forward and clasped her hands around his shoulders,
"Make amends if you want, but don't leave us. Don't leave your father, the Mandalorians. Don't leave me."

With that, she turned around and went to go look for Aileen.

 

[René]

Massaging his cheek, Ji'Kel smiled. Athena had just dispelled and doubt he had about himself, strengthened his resolve, and created a bond between them all at once. It made him proud to think that another Mandalorian believed in him so much.

Reaching out with the Force, Ji'Kel could sense her feelings. Athena was radiating anber, sadness, and something almost like betrayal. He couldn't leave her like this. He quickly caught up her, grasped her shoulder and turned her around.

"Thank you so much. I need you for moments like this. And in case there was any doubt, you make me feel like I did around Elia Yon. Meet me at my place on Mandalore if you still want to talk."

With that, Ji'Kel turned around and began to walk towards the docking area, preparing to leave on his ship.

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Athena didn't look back towards Ji'Kel as he left the ship. Emotions like anger, sadness, and confusion were throughout, but most of all was a feeling that Athena never wanted to feel again - vulnerability. For her own sake, she had shielded herself from connecting with other people, but despite her best efforts, she had connected with Ji'kel on Tatooine, and it had created a hole in her previously impenetrable emotional shield.

And now that she had connected with Ji'kel, she didn't want to lose that connection, hence her anger towards him at his suggestion.

She finally found Aileen sound asleep in the cockpit - smiling tiredly, she set the ship's course to head for Mandalore. Picking up the sleeping child, she carried her to a spare room and tucked her into bed.

When they arrived on Mandalore, Athena would get Aileen settled in and go talk a bit more with Ji'kel.

 

[Aileen Jurir]

When Aileen awoke, she found herself in a bed on Athena's ship. She figured that Athena must have moved her from the cockpit at some point. She walked down to the mess area looking for Athena, where she found her eating a small snack.
"Hi Athena! I assume we've gotten to Mandalore by now, right?"

Aileen was quite excited. She had never seen her family's home world before. This planet was also the place that she too would soon call home.

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Athena looked up as Aileen entered the mess. The trip had been uneventful after the meeting with Ji'Kel and thus Athena had had a long time to burn. Most of it she had slept off, going to her quarters after setting in the coordinates. In fact, she had only just recently woken up, deciding to treat herself to a quick meal after exiting hyperspace.

She had just finished her snack and put on her helmet as the young girl walked into the room,
"Yes, we're orbiting the planet now. We'll be landing shortly." She went to the nav console, tapping on it a few times and pulling up an image of an old clan complex.
"Since it's not just me anymore, I suppose it's a good time to head back to the old Jurir household, from before our ancestors left. Clan Vizsla was kind enough to gift it back to us when we announced our intentions to return. I've been avoiding it for a while but it should be in good condition."

She looked at Aileen once more. The girl was still scrawny from her time in the pod, so the first order of business was to fix that, and to teach her the ways of the Jurir Clan and Mandalore.
"Mandalore's culture isn't much different from ours back in the day; our fathers and grandfathers worked hard to preserve that tradition. I'll be teaching you how to use a vibrosword and blaster - your father would have started teaching you when you turned 10, but in his... absence, I'll show you how."

She chuckled a bit - the Jurir's had been renowned for their swordplay, it was time to bring that legacy back.
"By the time I'm done with you even a Sith will fear fighting you."

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen grabbed a lot of small protein bars and began to chow down when Athena pulled up the hologram of the Jurir clan complex. It was large and beautiful, at least to her. She quietly listened to Athena's description of Mandalorian culture and the type of training she would go through. The final phrase really caught her ears though. Having the Sith fear her? Almost too good to sound true. But she still had years before that was going to be a reality.

"It sounds great Athena! But one question...where will I get a vibroblade, blaster, and armor? Assuming I don't have to use this B-8R."

Aileen was excited and scared at the same time. Would other Mandalorians like her? Would they be nice or mean? What would training be like? When could she cut her hair to a more manageable length? So many questions, so few answers, for the moment. As the ship neared the surface, Aileen ran to the cockpit to get her first look at Mandalore's surface. Nearby was a city buzzing with activity; armored and armed warriors running here and there for various reasons, and normal people doing the same. And in the distance, the Jurir complex. Home.

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

"Don't worry, I've built enough enough funds to last us for a while."
Athena had both done missions for the Dominion and mercenary work over the past few years which, in addition to good management of her wallet, had helped Athena amass a small fortune.

"I'll get you kitted out with a sword and blaster, but no armor until I deem you ready."
It wasn't that Athena didn't want Aileen in armor, it was just that a Mandalorian would only typically get their armor after they passed their training and officially reached 'adulthood'.

As the ship landed with a muffled 'thump' on the landing pad of the Jurir complex, Athena looked out towards the series of buildings. Once, back in their glory days, this had been home for the entire Jurir clan. Now, it was the clan's home once again.

"C'mon Aileen, let's go find the generator and turn this place on. I doubt anyone has been here in years."
In fact, it was Athena's first time on the complex, as she had avoided going to it ever since the Vizsla clan had gifted it back to the Jurirs.

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen walked with Athena to disembark the ship and look for the complex generator. She smiled as her feet touched ground for the first time in months. She separated from Athena for a couple minutes until she found what looked like the generator.

"Hey Athena, I think I found the power! It looks a bit broken down--"

As she was walking around the massive generator, Aileen's foot stepped into a large puddle of oil leaking from the generator. Her whole body flew up as she slipped, hitting the ground in the oil puddle on her back, one of her boots getting caught in the small hole in the generator's fuel tank. Aileen was dazed, but she could faintly hear Athena coming closer. She pulled on her foot once, twice, and then a third time as hard as she could.

Her foot came loose, but in the process widened the 1 inch diameter hole into a 4 inch diameter hole. She cried out in surprise when the barely filled tank emptied right on top of her. Embarrassed as she was, Aileen couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of having just taken her first shower in months only to be soaked in oil the next day. When she tried to push herself up however, the chuckling abruptly stopped; an intense pain shot up her left arm, originating from her hand. Her left hand, her dominant hand, was broken.

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Upon hearing Aileen call out to her, and the subsequent sounds of falling and a cry of pain, Athena turned and ran towards the cause of the commotion.

She stumbled across the young child sprawled across the floor, soaked in oil, and nursing a broken hand. Despite the injury to the girl, Athena couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. Aileen seemed to be so excited that she couldn't even sense her immediate surroundings.

She picked up the girl, bridal style, saying
"C'mon, let's get you to the MedBay."

As she carried the girl, she spoke once again, chuckling along the way,
"You stumbled across the backup generator. I found the main one that's connected to the main power grid over where I was."

All around the two girls, lights were in the process of turning on and automatic routines were being run. The complex was starting to come alive.

Eventually finding the Medbay, Athena set Aileen down and inspected the wound.
"Hmm... it should be fine - set it straight and put it in a bacta-infused cast for a week and it'll be as good as new."

Athena wasn't a real doctor, but years of experience on the field helped her learn many different ways to heal a broken bone.
As she worked on the hand, she wondered at what secrets she may find in the huge complex - the kid inside of her wanted to go and explore a bit.

"After we get you clean again, how about we go explore some more? I think I know where the rooms are so we can start there."

OOC: I suggest you look at the writeup I did of the complex just a bit ago - the link is above (should also be in my sig).

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen groaned as Athena picked her up, oil dripping from her body. She smiled, slightly embarrassed, when Athena told her about the backup generator. The complex coming to life as the two traveled to the Medbay was an amazing sight. She let Athena lay her on a bed and set her hand. After that, she waited patiently as Athena placed the bacta-infused cast on her arm.

Aileen sat up from the bed and checked out the cast while listening to Athena.
"After we get you clean again, how about we go explore some more? I think I know where the rooms are so we can start there."

"Sounds good Athena. Sorry about what happened back there. I was just so excited that I wasn't paying attention to anything. Anyways...where can we go to get me a bath?"

Aileen gazed at her body, which was slick with oil. She would need a bath all right. But she also really wanted to keep exploring. She made a small grunt off annoyance at the need to waste time on her problems, but acknowledged that it was necessary to herself.

"Lead the way Athena..." she grumbled as they exited the Medbay.

[OOC] I read the write up on the complex. Nice job!

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

The complex was large, it had once housed an entire clan, after all. Athena lead Aileen through a series of corridors and pathways to the housing subcomplex she had stumbled upon when looking for the generator.

It looked a normal neighborhood, except that the smaller houses were located near the front and the larger ones near the back. Above each doorway to each house were empty circles in which Athena assumed were for sub-family crests. Every house didn't have a crest except for the largest one; the Head Estate. There, instead of a blank circle, was the crest of the head family of Clan Jurir. In other words, it was Athena's.

In the old days, Aileen would never have been admitted into the household unless it were for extreme circumstances, but since it was the only two of them and she was but a child, Athena decided it would be best for the both of them to stay together for the time being.
"Here's the house we'll be staying in, I guess." Athena looked at the oil-covered child, "I assume you want to take a bath?"

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen took a good look around the inside of the house. It was magnificent. Being the largest house around and being the only one with a crest above the door, she deduced that this house was the house for the head family. Then she replied to Athena.

"A bath would be really nice right now. It's probably going to be, like, an hours worth of scrubbing to get this oil off and out of my hair. Anyways, would you mind helping me? My dominant hand is my left hand which is broken right now..."

Then Aileen hesitantly entered the house; she didn't want to stain anything with her oil-soaked feet. She carefully hopped around looking for a bathroom and tub, finally finding one on the second floor. Frustratingly, she began to undress using just her right hand. She turned towards the door to look at Athena, who had just entered. With a pleading look, Aileen said,

"Now I really hope you wouldn't mind helping me. If I can't undress one handed, how am I supposed to wash myself?"

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Athena sighed, in all the amazement and new sights, she had forgotten that with a broken hand, Aileen would have trouble bathing and changing.
"Oh, of course I'll help you out." She then led the young girl into a bathroom, helping her remove her clothing and turning on the shower. "Go in first, I'll join you in a second after I've dressed."

Athena then started the tedious process of removing her armor, leaving her in her undergarments. Soon, those were also off and Athena was ready to assist Aileen in the shower.

On impulse, she grabbed a handtowel and wrapped it around her face, so that only the area around her eyes could be seen, as she stepped into the shower.

"Alright, let's get you cleaned up."

 

[Aileen Jurir]

"Thanks for the help Athena, I really appreciate it."

Aileen said this as she got into the shower, waiting a little while for Athena to come and help her. When she entered, she turned her head away from Athena so that she could help her with her hair, while Aileen began to work on getting the oil off of her arms and face. While the girls were scrubbing away, Aileen started to think about her new life on Mandalore.

"So Athena, um, what will life be like from now on? Will it be mostly training? Will I go on missions with you? A combo nation of that and a somewhat normal life? What about education? Sorry about all of the questions, but I don't really remember anything my parents told me about Mandalore and it's culture."

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

"Hmm... What life would be like, huh." To be honest, Athena had never fully thought of the implications of taking care of a child.
"For now, it'll be mostly me teaching you about the culture of Mandalore and it's recent history, as well as training you on how to fight." She remembered how the entire area was empty, "I think I might hire some staff as well, maybe even adopt some people into the clan."

"When you're able to hold your own in combat, I'll begin taking you with me on missions, stuff like that."

Athena finished cleaning Aileen hair and moved on to her back, switching to a new sponge as the old one was already dirtied.
"Don't worry about the questions." A moment of silence, "I've been telling you what my plans are, but what do you want to do? Life's no fun if its just training, trust me, I know." She smiled at her little joke - most of her life had been spent training with her father for the inevitable time when she took over the Clan.

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen began scrubbing oil off of her torso and legs while Athena finished her hair and began to wash her back. She thought long and hard about Athena's replies and question. After a while of training, she would probably begin to travel around with Athena on missions, but for now, what did she want to do?

"I think that I want to explore Mandalore and help you to find more members to rebuild our Clan. And since we are the only two pure-blooded Jurirs left, I want to spend a lot of time with you. Maybe learn more about our family's past and enjoy the company of one another."

"And one more thing- I want to learn how to use a variety of bladed weapons, from lightsabers to vibroblades to plain iron swords. Make good on the Jurir's famed bladed prowess. What do you think of that?"

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Still scrubbing hard, Athena once again couldn't help but smile,
"I'll teach you everything you need to know, from the history of Clan Jurir to using any blade out there. Although probably not lightsabers - Mandalorians general dislike those. You'll have to find someone else, maybe Ji'kel, to teach you that."

Finally, after what seemed an eternity of scrubbing, Aileen's back was clean. Since she was already in the bath, Athena decided to work on herself next.
"After we finish exploring the complex, I'll take you shopping for some gear. Weapons, utilities, and some training armor. How does that sound?"

 

[Aileen Jurir]

Aileen gave Athena a thankful nod when she finished scrubbing the oil off her back. She herself began to work on washing the oil off of her feet while Athena began to wash herself.

"I'd totally be up for some gear shopping afterwards! Only after exploring every inch of this place that doesn't have annoying oil puddles. I love the thrill of exploration but I hate getting broken bones and enough oil on my body to cause an hours worth of washing to get it off."

When Aileen finally finished washing the last spots of oil off of her, she got out and began to rub herself dry with a towel. When that was over she put her old clothes back on, and while laughing asked, "Speaking of shopping...how about we al so pick up a few new shirts and pairs of pants? These are the clothes I've been wearing since the 'incedent'."