Ask Nar Shaddaa Kept you Waiting

[Rynn Itera]

Ambience​

The last time Rynn had stepped foot on Nar Shaddaa, he was partaking in a heist on the lower levels of the planet's underbelly, shooting his way out of a zombie infested hellscape. Most of the crew had tried to backstab him, but the towering Mandalorian had always gotten the upper hand. Nothing stopped him back then, he was ruthless and lost to the darkness and misguidance of the Sith. I still am a killer, Rynn reminded himself as he pushed through the crowds on the walking platforms of one of the countless levels on the Smuggler's moon.

The Mandalorian stepped through a hologram of a dancing zeltron and through a pair of sliding doors which lead down a dimly lit decline and into the underbelly of The Zapping Zel, just another hole in the wall club within a city that was filled with people looking to escape their lives. The club's interior was nothing to write home about, drabbed in durasteel grey, low lighting and neon accents that flashed along the trim, but that wasn't what the people that came to Zel's were after. Private Dances and forgetting your life.

The Mandalorian huffed to himself as he pushed past several drunkards who staggered about the dancefloor. A Twi'lek dancer tried approaching, but the horned helmet man simply waved them off. He scanned around the locale, past the faces of countless aliens until he saw Zel herself working behind the bar. Rynn approached the Zeltron woman, clad in a leather tube top and tight forming pants to match. She was busy preparing a drink for a weequay when he arrived.

Rynn placed the head of an IG unit on top of the glowing bar counter and pushed it forward as his gravely voice spoke up over the noise of the crowd. "I was expecting something harder," The Mandalorian crossed his arms and watched as the Zeltron moved over towards his direction from her side of the counter. She leaned over and traced a finger along the side of the helmet, following the pattern of black accents along the helmet.

"Mmph, you have a way of words Rynn Itera," the Zeltron's lips pursed as she gave a subtle wink and removed a bag of datachits and slid them his direction. "It's a shame you won't show me what's beneath that mask"

The Mandalorian collected the chips and brought them close to his belt, clipping them on tightly. "I've told you once before."

"Yeah, yeah. You don't remove your helmet unless it's with someone you love," the Zeltron huffed, blowing strands of her long blue hair from in front of her eyes. "Be honest with yourself Metal-boy. It's been decades, she's over it...move on with your life." The owner rolled her eyes and spun off with an annoyed expression, leaving Rynn to himself.

The likelihood of seeing Nara again was slim to none, especially in a galaxy this big. But, that didn't mean Rynn hadn't hoped he would. The last time the pair had seen each other, Rynn was much younger, weaker then. He wasn't the same man he was today, he betrayed her words, went against the Jedi and her friends. If he saw her, he wouldn't know what to say. The Mandalorian turned for the door and out of the corner of his visor, spotted a streak of brown long hair and subtle pale cheeks standing right beside him. Rynn's throat tightened a bit as he paused in his tracks. it looked just like her, albeit older.

"Nara?" His gravely voice asked in a low tone.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

The Zapping Zel wasn't one of her usual haunts, but Juniper was trying to broaden her horizons lately. You could only drink yourself stupid in so many bars in the Corellian Sector before people started to get a little rude. It wasn't just a drink she was after either. No, since that chance encounter a while back, she had been looking to acquire information. Take in Nar Shaddaa, and the Galaxy. See what she'd missed in her long resignation from everything.

She had no idea why she'd picked Zel's place. In their few encounters, Juniper hadn't exactly been endeared to the Zeltron owner. Too stingy with the booze, if she recalled right. That, and Zel looked like she was trying too hard. Parading around in her skintight leathers, making doe eyes at anything male that walked through the door. Not that she could judge people for poor decisions.

By the time she'd got her drink (her lovely, precious, wonderful drink), the seats were mostly full. She wasn't much in the mood for fighting it out and causing a scene, so she stood by the bar, flicking through a datapad. Tired eyes taking in the latest happenings. She looked up a couple of times, usually when someone new came in. Weequay, boring. Human scuzzball, whatever. Mando, yawn. Stupid shiny helmets. They were everywhere these days.

Of course, it always made her think of him. Back when she'd been young and full of optim-... well, full of something. When there'd been a Mandalorian boy who'd been there for her. But that was then, when she'd been a stupid, angry teenager. Now she was a stupid, angry adult and nothing could change what'd happened. She just knocked back her drink and pushed the cup aside, vaguely letting the words filter over her. She was vaguely aware that Zel was talking to the Mando, but it could've been about anything. Bounty stuff. Booze delivery. Fashion tips.

"Nara?"

She barely believed she'd heard it. Lucky she'd finished her drink, otherwise she'd be choking on it. She looked up from her datapad, eyes wide as she stared into the helmet. Those blue eyes staring, tinged with fatigue and redness. The voice sounded artificial and weird through the helmet. For a couple of seconds, there was fear there. Who'd found her? How did they know?

"Huh?" she finally replied, managing to control her face a little more. "You looking for someone?" she asked, like he hadn't just walked up and used her old name. Her voice was clearly older, a little rougher, a little more tired than she'd ever been. Breathing a little quicker as she did. "Never heard of no Nala." Her mind ran through why a Mandalorian might know her name. A bounty hunter looking for easy lightsabers? Someone looking for that ship she'd acquired? Who?

Unless...

"I don't know any Mandalorians."

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn Itera's eyes sunk beneath his amber visor as the woman nearly spat out her drink. He watched as she turned to face the horned helmet man with a strange look of bewilderment, though the Mandalorian felt that long brown hair and pale white skin had looked all too familiar, even decades later. But, perhaps he was wrong? The thoughts began to creep up in the warrior's mind as a sudden wave of doubt began to cross into his concious. Was this blood shot eyed woman truly Nara or just another drunkard that was looking for a momentarily escape from the dystopian nightmare that was Nar Shaddaa?

Rynn stepped one foot back, the lightsaber that clung to his breastplate bounced lightly with the subtle thud as he stepped into the back of the Zabrak that had been busy talking with the Zeltron bartender -- the Mandalorian hadn't even noticed in the moment. His attention remained on Nara as his throat clenched up and the words in his voice began to break into something.

"Nara," he repeated, "I said Nara." The Mandalorian shook his head and flexed his hand at his side somewhat awkwardly, "I'm not a Mandalorian." The words came out naturally, as if it was something the armored man truly believed. He had brought so much pain to this galaxy, betrayed allies and put false leaders onto the throne. He thought of the honorable men he had killed back on Mandalore, the ones who stood against Raze and the Jedi Younglings and Knights who tried to defend their temple on Lothal.

Nara had believed him to be a good man, and yet everything he had done for two decades had brought only more pain and suffering to the galaxy. If this truly was her, then she deserved to be left alone, not drawn in to the realities of what he had become or perhaps that was what he told himself to avoid facing the truth before someone he had once loved.

"I'm sorry," the Mandalorian's grizzled voice spoke through the helmet, "I mistook you for someone I," he paused for a moment, "...I cared about." The Mandalorian turned towards the dancing crowd and began to step away from the scene, freeing himself from the awkwardness and the pain. He took three steps forward before glancing back towards the woman. Am I truly going to leave her again?

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara... Nara... Nara...

The name echoed in her ears, like it wasn't her own. It had been so long since someone else had used it that she'd started to believe it wasn't hers at all. Some remnant of a bad dream, filled with disappointment and regrets. The Mandalorian's words worked into her thoughts, bringing back long forgotten memories. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

Someone I... cared about.

She stood silently, open-mouthed, as the Mandalorian turned away. Whatever he said, he wore the armour and the helmet. She knew little of their strange code or their ideals, save what she'd learned years ago. What she'd learned from him... It was enough for her to reach out, to step forward after him. Reaching out to grab his shoulder, feeling the cold metal against her skin as she tried to get his attention.

"Wait!" she called out, knowing that if she didn't ask now, she'd probably never see him again. She'd spend the rest of her life wondering if that was really him, in some chance meeting. Well, the rest of her life, or until she could black out everything in it with more drinking.

If he'd stop, she would look at him carefully, trying to place that voice in her head, past the years of disappointment and beyond the gruff, enhanced fuzz of the helmet. Who he was, long forgotten in what, twenty years?

"Rynn?" she asked in a small, soft voice. Trying to stare into that empty visor, as if she'd see those eyes and that young, hnadsome face staring back from decades ago. Back when she'd been young, full of fire and desperate to change the Galaxy. "Is it you?"

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn Itera felt the hand reach out, tracing along the worn cold metal that had been painted over red and black. The markings of a sith, the jagged horns of devil like appearance and a Jedi -- it was an odd combination, but it had been theirs. His hand curled slightly as he felt his chest compress against the inside of his chest. The Mandalorian turned his gaze towards the woman, looking down into her eyes as she pleaded with him.

"Rynn," Nara asked in an almost haunting fashion that brought him back to a much simpler time. Oh how naïve they had been back then. Or maybe I grew pessimistic.

The Mandalorian wanted to decline the name and push her away to save her from the truth of what he had done since they had last seen each other. But the touch had sent a shiver down his spine that caused even his own knees to grow a little weak. Rynn's right hand reached out, taking the woman's own and interlocking it with a soft squeeze as if to acknowledge that it had indeed been her Mandalorian.

He lead her away from the dance floor and off to the back corners where a booth had been tucked away from the larger crowd. Rynn helped her into the booth and pulled the privacy curtains and took a deep breath. His breathing seemed to rapidly pick up pace as he brought both of his hands up towards the sides of his helmet, clicking the seal directly off.

Rynn Itera had not removed his helmet since Ajan Kloss, at least not in front of others, but today that would change. His father, his clan, and her. The helmet slid completely off and was brought down towards his side as he turned to directly face her. His skin was pale, cheeks sharp and jagged with subtle scarring of war. The black wavy hair he sported had grown slightly longer, with grey streaks along the side. The two frontal bangs were adorned in streaks of white birth marks.

His amethyst eyes looked upon her like a fox as he adjusted to seeing her directly for the first time. It was clear his face didn't know how to quite move or show too much emotion, but his eyes gave it away. Without a word he slid into the seat beside her and put his head to hers and pressed a light kiss against her cheek.

"I thought you had died." The strained grizzled voice choked out.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Her eyes widened as he returned her touch. Even through the long, heavy cloak of the years that had passed, it felt like she was eighteen again. Before she knew it, he was leading her again, weaving through the club's patrons and drinkers, off to a private booth. It didn't matter that they were hidden away now. She couldn't take her eyes away from him, even with all that armour on. She felt numb, like she'd just been hit with a stun baton. After ten years of trying to drink herself into another plane of existence, he'd stepped back into her life on what felt like dumb luck.

Again, she was taken by surprise as he sat down and removed that helmet, revealing a face she hadn't seen in countless years. Sharp cheeks, scars and grey hairs. A harder, harsher face than she remembered, but there was no denying that it was him. A few features still stood out. The shape of his face and the set of his jaw. Those eyes, boring deep into her own. As if she would ever forget those eyes.

Nara felt his head against hers, his lips against her cheek, making her smile again. That smile that cut into her cheeks, brought out dimples that hadn't been seen in years. Her tired eyes sparkled with something again, gleaming and bright blue.

"Yeah well... same," Nara replied, before smirking a little bit. How could she tell him what had happened, over the years? What had become of her time with the Jedi, how it'd ended, where she'd been. Spending years mooching around the Core, bounty-hunting and commandeering a corvette, before everyone disappearing. All had happened since they'd last been together, when it was just them and a crappy spaceship, sneaking off to snatch time together. Where even to begin? What even to ask? What was there to say?

"Where the everloving fuck did you go?"

People change, but they don't change that much.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

The moment felt like dumb luck, but also a curse to the aging Mandalorian. Everything she had believed about Rynn was far from the truth. The goodness she saw in him, the virtue and the love, had hardly come to fruition in the past two decades. The Itera name had become legendary among the Mandalorians and certain circles within the outer rim. Many people hated him, while others loved him for his escapades with perhaps the strongest Sith in all of the galaxy. These thoughts ran through his mind as he watched Nara's smile widened along her face.

His gloved hand reached up to her cheek, taking it lighting within his hand as he pulled his head back to study her fully. How could he even begin to start or to explain these things. The Mandalorian's jaw shifted in contemplation as the scars that ran along his face twisted beneath the light. "Well," the words escaped from his lips with little thought.

"I needed to prove myself to my people," he continued on in a gentle tone. "My sickness and the question of my heritage had left myself and my covert with questions amongst the Mandalorian people. I took up work with the Syndicates, completing jobs which had made me rich."

Rynn took a deep breath, "I aided the Empire in the training of their army and worked beside Darth Raze...Through him I learned the legacy of my tribe and how we had Sith heritage, along with the ancient Mandalorians. I had become convinced that this way the true way, and so I helped to install a leader of a similar vision." He shifted his gaze down towards the lightsaber which had been strapped to his chest. "But, it only left our people more scattered and ruined."

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara expected some tale of restoring lost honour. Bounty hunting, or rebuilding somewhere in the Outer Rim. What little she knew of the Mandalorian people was mostly from him, years and years ago. Aside from the scraps of information and briefing from the Jedi Archives and what Rynn had provided, she knew little. Working with the Syndicates, well... could she say any worse? She'd worked with plenty of shady people, especially before she was taken into the Jedi.

The moment he mentioned the Empire though, something changed. Her eyes widened, her gaze turned hard and stony. She only needed to hear the title Darth Raze for her teeth to clench. Her jaw set hard as her eyes turned flinty, some of that old fire and burning righteousness returning. He stumbled back into her life like this, revealing that he'd been working with the Sith, and expected what?

The true horror only flashed when she realised what was hanging off his armour. A lightsaber hilt. She actually gasped. What could she say? What could she do? Her first love had admitted to her that, in the years since they'd met, he'd been a willing servant for those that sought to conquer, enslave and destroy.

"You absolute fu... fool," she said, fists clenching as she tried to contain her wrath. Her knuckles turned white as she did. "The Sith? Did you not even thi- hadn't you known that they-" she started to say, a thousand warnings, lectures and insults brimming on the tip of her tongue, fighting to be the first out.

"I suppose you learned your lesson then, if it lead you all to ruin?" Nara asked him. It was most definitely peevish though, she couldn't help it. For all the mistakes she'd made and the challenges she'd failed, she'd always retained some fundamental decency. An irritating, core tenet of herself. "Who did you take this from? Did you kill them?" she asked him, hand reaching for the saber hilt.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

The Mandalorian's face twitched as he felt Nara pull back from his touch in revulsion to the truths he had shared. Rynn had done many terrible things, how did he think that she would so easily forgive them or brush them off? His face failed to compute just how he felt in that situation, so he reached for his helmet -- the shell that brought him comfort from behind the visor. Rynn sealed it into place and took a deep breath as he tried to think of what to say.

"That they dominate and control," the words once again sounded cold and distant. "What was I supposed to do in the front of their demands? I had no other choice."

There was always another choice, Rynn knew that. The True Mandalorians had stood against Darth Raze on that fateful day on Mandalore, and he simply pulled the trigger and killed them on the spot. Muddied images of the boy with blonde hair dragging his father away from the steps of the throne, the star destroyers over head. That had been his choice, that was the hardest thing to accept.

"I defeated two of your friends on Kessel, they had aimed to destabilize the facilities and liberate the slaves from the Spice Cartels," Rynn reflected on the day as he felt her take the blade from the straps along the breastplate. She would feel the darkness that radiated from the blade, the sorrow and the pain of Byron. If Nara had known him, she would have seen glimpses of his fate after Rynn captured him, the torture and his fall to darkness -- and eventual death.

Rynn Itera hadn't killed him physically, but unknowingly had lead to his death. "I don't know," he stated quietly. "Why weren't you on Lothal when the Mandalorians invaded? Where's that master of yours?"

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

The way that Rynn hid himself behind the helmet made her pause. A hint of pity, that he felt the need to hide himself. Her gaze softened , whilst she wondered if she'd been too harsh. It wasn't as if she hadn't made poor decisions, though none of them had involved working with the Sith. The noble choice would have been to stand up against them and fight, fight she had. But that hadn't worked out well for her, had it?

She knew little of what had happened on Kessel. Were they dead? Alive? Had she ever met them? When her fingers brushed over the saber hilt, she felt a flash of darkness. For a second, she saw the face of Byron, someone she'd met once or twice in her time as a Jedi. She saw those brief flashes of his fate. The pain, the horror, the darkness. She wrenched her hand away with a gasp, icy pain coiling through her fingers. Nara massaged them gently, like she'd been burned by it.

"I'm not a Jedi. I haven't been for a long time," she revealed. When had Lothal been invaded? It must have been... years ago. Way past the time she left the Order. Way past the time she'd returned to Nar Shaddaa even. Had she even known it was happening? "I left. And I don't know about my master... dead, most likely." She hadn't felt much beyond the general malaise and disdain that permeated the Force of late.

"I don't feel the Force as I once did," she admitted quietly, looking away from him. "I closed myself off too well. I... I've done nothing but sit here and hide. Years and years just... fixing droids and drinking." She tried to hold back her emotions and remain as stoic as she could, but it was too much. Rynn's arrival had brought a tornado of thoughts, memories and melancholy to her. Nara turned her head away and tried to blink back the tears. It didn't help. Her fist clenched as she tried to stop herself, but she couldn't. A glittering trail on her pale cheek as she shook her head.

"Sorry."

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn Itera frowned beneath his helmet as he watched Nara's eyes shift away in pain of her story. The Jedi had once been a strong presence across the galaxy, but as of late they had seemed all but forgotten. The galaxy was becoming a lawless land with each passing day and with the fall of the Republic and shrinking expanse of the Empire's grasp had made things uncertain for billions of people. Rynn didn't have the answer to it, nor the answer to how Nara had to be feeling in that moment.

But, his hand would reach out, taking her by the cheek and wiping away one of the tears that ran along the curve of her face."We all make mistakes," the Mandalorian stated quietly. "It's what makes us human." The golden visor radiated with warmness, contrasting with the damp darkness of the dingy club the pair had found themselves in. She had returned to his life, both of them making mistakes that left them battling against inner demons and doubts, this couldn't have been a coincidence.

"I failed you then. I won't fail you now," the horn helmet said with a nod. "I'm on journey to renew myself to the Mandalorian creed. Finding you is fate, that much my heart tells me. Come with me, as we had always promised to do in the past."

 

[Juniper]

She had always hated crying. It was useless, stupid, it got nothing done... it used to enrage her that she could feel like that. Another reminder of failure, as if she needed more. She blinked away more as she felt Rynn's hand on her cheek. Just a simple gesture, but it felt like so much more. The mistakes that either of them had made didn't seem to matter anymore. There was just each other and what to do next.

Nara knew little of the ways of the Mandalorian people, just what Rynn had shown her and taught her, all those years ago. She'd met a few and fought with a couple. She didn't know what his journey would entail or what it could bring. She only knew that this felt like fate. The Force. Whatever you called it. Yet again, someone had come to Nar Shaddaa and offered her a chance to do something other than wallow on the Smuggler's Moon for the rest of her life.

"Yes," she said quietly, smiling at him. "I'll need to get some things, but yes. I'll come with you." She reached out and took his hand, holding it gently.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn took her hand into his own, folding it within the open slots and intertwining them once more to give it a firm squeeze. To become a Mandalorian was a journey that ended only in death. The Mandalorian wouldn't force her into that life, not without making sure it was truly something she wanted. He had fallen in love with who she had been, not because he thought she would convert to his lifestyle-- that wouldn't change.

A smile crept across his lips, hidden from behind the mask. Rynn stood up and pulled the curtains back to reveal the menagerie of aliens and people dancing about the crowded spaces of the Zeltron's cantina. He gave it one look over and then turned back to guide the former Jedi out of the booth and up the steps which lead onto the platform walkways. "Lead the way or I can wait at the ship and prep it, if you prefer to do what you need to alone."

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

They walked from the booth, hand in hand, with Nara letting him lead. There wasn't any rush of love or passion, just the feeling that things felt better already. That there was a way forward, a positive. A smile on her lips, for the first time in years. She probably had cracks in her face now.

What she needed to do was no great secret, but the thought of having Rynn there made her shiver. She shook her head, looking into that golden visor. "It's something I'd prefer to do alone. Nothing bad, it won't take me very long. I'll meet you at your ship?" she offered, free hand moving to her hip.

Not very far away from The Zapping Zel sat the small repair shop that she had 'run' for many years now. Letting Rynn in, to see the mess and detritus of her lost years... that might be a shame too far for her. She would take what she had to and leave the rest of it to fate. Certainly, she would go down into that basement and find that hidden vent where she had put those things that needed hiding the most.

The memory crystal. The belt. The lightsaber.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn understood the need for closure, especially for something that was deeply personal. He'd give Nara one subtle nod and a single peak into the building, before turning to press a button along his wrist gauntlet. "Sending you the coordinates of the ship. I'll see you there." His ship had changed a lot since she had last seen it. Has she even seen it? I can't really remember.

Back at the ship, the Mandalorian stepped up the ramp which lead into the halls of The Rim Skipper. They had been outfitted with old traditional rugs and carpets that covered the metal walkways of the halls. The once stained halls had been painted a solid black. Within the main room quarters of his ship a metallic black droid with deep red eyes could barely be seen through the thick cloud of incense smoke.

"Analysis: Your walking gate has stretched out by two centimeters, signaling happiness," the cold metal voice called out as the sound of electronic components swished between the clouds.

"Very astute," the Mandalorian stated as he stepped towards a shrine of candles and jet black armor with a red visor. Dathomir vines stretched around the the dedication in an unruly fashion. The Mandalorian unclipped Byron's lightsaber and placed it on a small holder.

"Should I have R6 prepare to depart for the Covert," the protocol droid revealed itself finally, its left arm replaced with a series of pins and needles.

"No, we're waiting for someone."

 

[Juniper]

She moved with purpose, striding through the collection of shelves and bays that made up the tiny repair store. Her hands reached out to grab various things of import. Moving with more certainty and urgency than she had for years. Everything else was left behind, save that one package in the basement. The cool metal of the lightsaber hilt felt strange, heavier than she remembered. She hefted it in her hand, wondering if it was worth it. Without thinking, her thumb flicked the rotating emitter, igniting the blade. A familiar blue bathed the room for a few seconds, before she turned it off again.

With lightsaber clipped to her belt, Nara left. She didn't even bother to close the door behind her.

As she arrived at the coordinates that Rynn had sent, she held the pack over her shoulder and stared at the ship. It made her smile. The scent of engine oil and conductor fluid surrounded her like a familiar friend. She felt her fingers twitch, eager to touch and tinker and play. Without waiting, she marched up the ramp, entering a peculiarly dark and heavy atmosphere. The air seemed tinged with a cloying, vaguely natural, sweet scent. Her hand reached out, touching one of the tapestries.

"Rynn?"

@TWD26