Family Over Blood

[Raz Solus]

Second Moon of Concord Dawn​

Despite the Solus village here having been wiped out by Sith, she often came back here to pay respects to the dead. It was nothing more than a graveyard now, but there was an encampment nearby that housed the sentries that kept a lookout for any Sith attacks. It was critical that they didn’t lose the second moon of Concord Dawn entirely, as it was what Solus called home.

Raz was crouched in front of some unmarked graves, brushing her hand over the sands and scooping them up. The wind carried the grains to the side, as fickle and fleeting as the lives that were so carelessly lost. She knew they were proud though, proud of how far they had come along. Solus had reminded the galaxy of what it meant to be Mandalorian. Her father would be proud, and he was here to see it. Her mother was with the gods, but she knew she could hold her head up high. Raz smiled at the thought, finally rising to stand.

She was wearing her armor, but she had her helmet under her arm. She gazed out over the horizon, watching the sun beginning to set and paint the skies a mural of colors. There was a lot on her mind today, a lot of things weighing heavily on her. She thought of her House, the name that started as a Clan that was forgotten. It was now the most coveted House to belong to, and it had the allegiance and following of many clans and its people. She had built it from the ground up, and she had done it with the help of all those that she could always count on.

However, Raz knew her limitations. She had taken up the mantle of Mand’alor before she knew exactly how much work it was. She had called Diocletian here to meet with her privately, not wanting any distractions. Raz made her way back towards a large tent that was set up just for her. There were others in the area, but most of them were hanging out around fires or joking around.

She couldn’t deny that this all weighed heavily on her mind. It was an emotional time for her, and she couldn’t keep that off her face no matter how much she tried. She began to pace back and forth, a trait that those that knew her well had come to recognize right away. She was nervous.


@Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian was in the encampment of soldiers that guarded the graveyard from Sith attacks. This was a sacred place to him, it was where he one day hoped to be lain to rest. He wanted to lie among the heros of the past and feel like he was one of them. He still had a long way to go in his mind to reach that level, but he was getting there. Progress was a good thing and House Solus was definitely making progress towards good things. He smiled at the thought of the former Clan, now House and the long road they had all taken. They had lost good friends along the way, good vod now in the wind, singing the praises of the living.

Looking down the tussled the hair of his son who yanked his head away from his father’s hand in an act of childish defiance. The smile that hid under the expression showed that he didn’t mind the gesture, just not the venue. They were surrounded by the warriors tasked to defend this place, his son, Milo, wanted to look as much the warrior as possible. Dio had brought his entire family to this place, wanting them to see where they had come from. They came to serve as well, bringing several trays of good Mandalorian food stuffs from the main city out to feed the men stationed here. Dio considered it an honor to serve the men and did so personally, his family around him, making sure each man had a full plate and a warm thank you.

He looked down at the chron on his wrist and checked the time. It was time to head to his meeting with Raz. He wasn’t sure why the Mand’alor had called him to meet at this place. He was certainly not arguing with the opportunity to meet with her or to show his family their roots. He leaned over and kissed his wife and then down to kiss his daughter. He fist bumped his son and left the encampment. He walked slowly, he was in no real hurry as he stopped to look at the unmarked stones on the ground. He made his way towards the tent where the meeting would take place. He had his helmet off, it hung from a loop on his utility belt. Today was a day for faces, he had wanted to see the faces of the men he was feeding and visa versa. It simply had not occurred to him to put it back on so when he reached the tent, he did not have it on. He reached up and slapped politely on the side of the tent to announce his presence, he did not want to simply barge in.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz was still pacing when she heard Dio outside, calling for him to come in. She met his gaze, always thrown off when she saw her people without helmets. It was a nice change, and it was a reminder of how much emotion there was in everyone. The eyes and body language betrayed so much more than what the beskar’gam always helped conceal. Raz managed a faint smile, offering him a seat. She remained on her feet, pacing around still. This was a huge decision for her, and it wasn’t one she took lightly. She had been thinking about this for months.

“Eh.. um… how are you?” She stammered out, realizing that it wasn’t exactly polite to start dumping bombs on him just yet. Raz smiled at him sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair. This was another obvious sign that she was a little nervous, “I know Alex and the kids are here. How’re they liking it? First time for the kids isn’t it?” She asked, genuinely curious. Raz was quite fond of Dio and his family, and she had made no secret of that despite becoming Mand’alor. She was supposed to appear more impartial as the leader, but that didn’t stop her from sneaking away to his house to spend time hanging out with his wife or teaching his daughter how to shoot.

Truth be told, she had a lot discuss. She needed his counsel on a lot of things, especially concerning the Jedi. However, as important as those things were, something else eclipsed all that entirely. Raz finally took a seat in front of him, meeting his gaze for a moment, “This world means a lot for Solus. It means everything, and we almost lost it once,” She sighed, “In fact, I have a feeling the Sith will come back for it because they know it’s important to us. I feel like it’s becoming difficult to protect individual clans for me when we are thrown headfirst into a much larger war that scales across the galaxy and transcends individual peoples.”


@Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian entered the tent when bidden and took the offered seat. He would have preferred to stand as well but he felt accepting the offer would be rude as well as likely as not make Raz more uncomfortable than she already appeared to be. He met her gaze with his cool blue eyes, reading her body language. She was nervous about something and he was not quite sure what it was. If he had not just left his wife and children, he might be worried. The faint smile she offered allowed his shoulders to relax slightly, at least at the beginning, this little meeting appeared to be friendly.

The small talk was perfunctory, and he understood that. He smiled, being as genuine as possible in an unfamiliar situation. He had always had issues with social situations, his wife tried to help with that and his duties for the Mandalorian people had helped him get over many of those issues as well. So, he placed his hands in his lap, a sign of neutrality in social situations and kept his eyes on Raz as was polite.

“I am well Mand’alor, I thank you for asking. The family is indeed here, I just left them. They are at the encampment feeding the men tasked with guarding this place. I wanted to teach Milo and Andra the value of serving those that serve us.” He smiled as he spoke of his family, they were indeed his pride and reason for all he did. “Alex is good. She is up for promotion in the Mandalor Planetary Defense force. We should know within the month. It will mean more responsibility, but I think she craves that although she would never admit it.”

He was a bit more familiar with Raz than others might feel was proper but with the amount of time she spent around the family, she may have well been an aunt to his children and sister to his wife. As a member of House and Clan Solus, she would always be Dio’s sister, regardless of the other associations. Those ties run deep between people who know they might be called upon to lay down their lives for one another at a moments notice, that ties people together in a way few can understand. As Raz got down to brass tax, Dio leaned forward, ensuring he heard every word.

He nodded to the meaning of the world and her thought that the Sith might come back for it. He knew his personal fleet, comprised of the two Nynir-class corvettes, the Alexandra and the Andra, were in orbit at that moment for just such a circumstance. They may not be able to stop a Sith force, but they could certainly slow it down enough for reinforcements to arrive. “I agree with that completely, I think it is only a matter of time before the Sith decide that chasing Badgers all over known space is much harder than destroying their lair. It is simple hunters’ tactics.”

Dio continued to nod to her sentiment about the Clans, adding a reassuring smile to the mix. “Your responsibilities have expanded from a Clan to a House to a Race Vod, there is no shame in it being a bit much to handle at first. Just remember, you are Mand’alor the Chosen for a reason, the people chose you to lead them. Their faith is completely in you but that does not mean you have to bear that burden on your own. Your House and Clan will always be here for you, and now your race as well. That is a lot of support so do not forget to use it.” The change was subtle in his last exchange, changing from calling her by her title to calling her Vod. He hoped she understood the difference in sentiment. Although she was Mand’alor, she was still his sister in his heart and in all things.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz listened as he spoke, always loving to hear all about his family. In some ways, she lived vicariously through him. He and his family were very close to her heart, and she was closer to Dio than with her own brother in many ways. She lit up as he mentioned Alex being up for promotion, “Oh?” Raz grinned, “I’ll need to drag her out for some drinks when that happens,” She chuckled at the thought. It had been some time since the two women went out to party together just the two of them, “Hope you don’t mind being stuck with babysitting duty for a whole weekend,” Raz winked at him.

After he got to the more serious topics, Raz listened intently, looking down at her feet as he spoke. He always had wisdom in his words, and that came across even now. He reminded her that she wasn’t alone in this, and how her people had chosen her. Raz had to smile to herself, realizing that he was unknowingly guiding her to exactly what she had in mind. After he was done speaking, there was a brief pause of silence. Raz bit her lip slightly, thinking of ways to best word this.

“That’s exactly why I called you here, Dio,” She finally looked up to meet his gaze, “You’ve been someone I’ve counted on for years. You’ve been there to lead so many efforts for both the offense and expansion. You have been there to offer wisdom and knowledge to all of our younger clansmen. You know about the ins and outs of how Solus works and you are not brash like most of us,” Raz laughed a bit to herself, “Even if it is the attribute of our people…” She paused for a moment again, “Dio, I’d like you to take the reins of House Solus. You are my brother, and there is no one else that I would task this with,” Raz stood up then, the bittersweet expression now clear on her face, “Solus has been all I’ve known. I’ve put blood, sweat and tears into it, and so have you. It will be a huge part of me, but there’s no one else I’d give it to. It is a tremendous responsibility to shoulder since..” She grinned, “Well everyone wants to be Solus now, and we are leading our people. What do you say?”

@Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian listened and smiled several times as the conversation went on, mostly at Raz’s reactions to his revelations. He enjoyed talking about his family, it helped keep him grounded and reminded him what he did all of this for. It also kept them in the front of his mind as he spent far less time than he would have liked with them. Talking about them was the next best thing to being there and he would take what he could get. At the mention of the girl’s night to celebrate Alex’s promotion he nodded, “I know she would love that.” He laughed at the images in his mind of the carnage those two would do in Keldabe’s bar sector on that night. “I would consider it an honor to babysit, any chance to spend more time with the kids is a blessing I can not squander.”

Sitting on the camp stool, Dio laid out his news and support for her as Mand’alor. He knew he had not been as vocal as others at her ascension but that did not change his feelings for her or his pride at her new station. He needed her to feel that and he had done what he could to ensure that. There had been a lot going on that day, it had been a whirlwind of emotion culminating with her rise to Mand’alor and the death of Wyatt. His eyes glazed just for a moment before he blinked it away, the thought of his old friend causing a moment of memory.

Raz continued to talk, explaining how he had mentored the younger members of the clan and was move even keeled than most Solus. Dio knew she was leading up to something, but he was not sure what. It could go either way in his mind, this could go well or poorly. He could not think of anything that he had done wrong, so he hoped for the best. He knew Raz was not one to butter someone up with honeyed words without cause, so he waited for the other shoe to drop.

If he had been hit in the chest with his own wrist rocket it would not have been a greater blow than the offer from Raz. House Solus had been his home when it was still a fledgling clan and he was fiercely proud of that fact. Much of the past few years work had been taking that clan to House status and Dio had been very involved in that process. He understood what this meant to Raz as it meant a lot to him as well. His mind reeled between questions and plans, thoughts of family, friends, associations that would have to be adjusted or changed due to this. It would mean more responsibility and heaven help him more politics. He did not know if he was ready but was anyone ever truly ready to step up to such a position?

He realized he had left the tent in silence for a moment and that silence sat like a Hutt on a throne, lording over the conversation. He met Raz’s gaze and only found encouragement and faith there, it was what he needed. “I would be honored Mand’alor.” he said formally, straightening his shoulders and keeping eye contact. With the formality done, as an impulse he lunged over and hugged Raz. It was a quick hug, more like a comrade at arms thanking a friend than anything romantic. He released the hug after a heartbeat, hands remaining on her shoulders and the tears fell unbidden down his cheeks, a wide smile breaking his visage. “I can never replace you vod, I can only hope to make you happy with your decision.”

Dio released her shoulders and sat back on his camp chair, a million thoughts of responsibilities and questions about the rest of the clan filling his thoughts. He looked at her and immediately dismissed most of his questions, they would come in due time. He smiled quietly, realizing he had brought all this on himself and he was at peace with that. He thought briefly of Wyatt again and how his friend would laugh and punch him in the shoulder, calling him a fool but generally be proud of him. It made him at peace with the decision.

@Sreeya