Chapter 83: The Armorer
A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!
Yeah you guys saw this coming.
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“I wondered if you would return.”
… Especially considering you got me with child.
Tylo’s power doesn’t give him any advance warning this time around. At least with Ursa, he’d been able to cheat and suss out exactly why the Mandalorian Woman was not only so personally irate with him, but willing to meet with him without it being an ambush in the first place. He’d gotten Ursa Wren pregnant. Not intentionally of course, but as some of the Masters back at the Temple would say, intentions meant nothing in the face of the Living Force.
Once he’d caught the stray thought from Ursa that she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do, he’d been able to focus his Force Sense on her womb and could indeed tell that she had a life inside of her aside from her own. Because of that, Tylo had been able to blindside Ursa (and Janga as well, but that was an accident) with his knowledge of the situation. And from there, they’d been able to handle the Death Watch Defector quite handily.
… Perhaps this was karma for that, because Tylo’s mutation takes a second too long to kick in for him to avoid being blindsided properly this time. The young Mandalorian Armorer that Koska Reeves had introduced them to answers the door to her domicile wearing less of her armor than usual. Probably because unlike Ursa, she’s already showing, her slightly smaller body resulting in a faster visible pregnancy.
Tylo barely has time to register the baby bump that the Armorer is sporting before he hears her thoughts and knows that it’s his. But by that point, damage control is impossible.
“Her too, huh?”
After all, he didn’t come here alone. Maybe he should have. It would have allowed him to handle this mess far more… diplomatically.
“Tch. Love to sow your oats, don’t you?”
Behind him, Janga Fett and Ursa Wren both make their opinions known, but he’s currently focused on the Armorer so he doesn’t hear their thoughts. Meanwhile, the young Mandalorian female tilts her head to the side… and her eyes widen when she sees who he’s brought with him.
“Mandalore!”
It’s not Ursa Wren that gets her attention though. It’s possible that the Armorer doesn’t even recognize that Wren is Death Watch. No, what gets her to suddenly jolt and rush back inside is the presence of Janga Fett, who she clearly recognizes by her armor. Leaving the door fully open behind her, the Mandalorian Armorer runs elsewhere in her domicile. Tylo doesn’t think she’s running away though, necessarily.
Glancing back at Janga, he can feel her radiating tension.
Damn girl moved too fast for me to correct her.
But of course, the former Mandalore hides her agitation and anxiety behind bravado, like always.
“Well? Doors open, isn’t it?”
Tylo snorts softly but shrugs his shoulders and heads inside. Ursa and Janga follow, with him also taking the chance to glance in Ursa’s direction to get a read on her current mental state as well. The pregnant woman is looking around the Armorer’s Forge with a sense of consternation.
… So he wasn’t lying. He really did know a Mandalorian Armorer. Still, judging by the look of her, she’s young. Too young. Death Watch probably took her Master from her… one way or another.
Ah. Good to know. Tylo files that information away just as they stop in the center of the room in time for the Armorer to come rushing back in. She’s properly armored up this time, including her golden helmet with its small spikes. Bowing to Janga, the Armorer clears her throat.
“Apologies for the way I greeted you, Mandalore. If I had known-!”
“Don’t. I’m not the Mandalore of anyone anymore, brat.”
And yet, Tylo wasn’t sure how true that was. There’s a note of something akin to longing in Janga’s voice. And the way she talked about things with Ursa made it clear, at least to Tylo, that she hadn’t truly left the position willingly. Rather, she’d been forced out and by the time she could have clawed her way back, she saw no reason to.
The Armorer freezes at this, seeming uncertain as she stands there for a long moment. And indeed, her thoughts are in tumult.
Not… not the Mandalore? But then… why? Why is she here? Why did he come back with her? What is this?
Just from the yearning in the Armorer’s thoughts, Tylo can tell that the young Mandalorian Woman wants nothing more than to sign on with Janga and a brand new revolution right then and there. Something that would put Death Watch in the ground but also finally put an end to the New Mandalorians destroying their culture.
She wants it so bad it almost hurts for Tylo to look at her. It also makes it hard for him to say what he came to say, all things considered. He almost feels like he’s taking advantage of her desperation. Not to mention he’s a lot more worried about putting her in danger now that he knows the Armorer’s… condition.
… And yet, what other choice did they have? Besides, Ursa is in the same condition and he knows he’s not going to be able to keep her out of danger. Besides… Beskar Armor is the best armor in the galaxy.
Letting out a shuddering breath into the quietly rising tension, Tylo spreads his hands apart in a peaceful gesture.
“We need your help… to take down Death Watch.”
That gets a surprised jolt from the young Mandalorian Woman, and Tylo has no doubt that her eyes are widening behind her helmet.
Death Watch! May they burn in the pits! I would do anything to destroy Death Watch once and for all!
To her credit, she manages to keep her cool outwardly, tilting her head to the side.
“Oh?”
Deciding there’s no point in holding the details back anymore, Tylo nods.
“The last time we came around… the armor you made for me was used to help me, Koska, and Bo-Katan infiltrate Death Watch.”
There’s a barely audible exhale from Ursa at that, but the Armorer only has eyes for him now that he’s telling such an interesting story.
Infiltrate Death Watch… to what end?
Glancing meaningfully in Janga’s direction, Tylo chuckles.
“We managed to accomplish our objectives at the time and weakened Death Watch significantly by not only rescuing Janga’s daughter from their clutches, but also helping one of their Commanders to defect. Rook Kast.”
Rook Kast! I didn’t even know she signed up with Death Watch! That bitch!
Tylo holds back the urge to wince, especially since the Armorer is thankfully keeping her thoughts to herself. Or at least, she thinks she is.
“However, Death Watch continues to be an issue. They’re a blight upon all Mandalorians, regardless of traditionalism or new way thinking.”
… Damn straight. The New Mandalorians disgust me but Death Watch… I despise them with every fiber of my being. I only wish I could take the fight to them. But then… maybe I can…
“What exactly are you asking of me?”
Before Tylo can reply, Janga finally steps in. The ‘Not-Mandalore’ certainly can’t quite help taking command in spite of her claims to the contrary.
“We’re going for the head of the snake, young one. Going to take out Death Watch’s leadership and then deal with the body as it thrashes about after the decapitation. In order to do that though, we need some particularly juicy bait.”
The Armorer stiffens at that.
Damnit. Young one. Never should have let Janga Fett see me without my mask. Now she’s just going to think I’m some girl forever and ever. Fuck it, never taking my mask off ever again in case I’m going to run into the fucking Mandalore at random. This is the way.
Then, that rambling rant done, she seems to truly realize what Janga is saying and stiffens even further, her hands twitching almost protectively towards her belly.
“… Bait.”
For all the Armorer’s hero worship of the former Mandalore, the amount of dry derision she manages to put into that single word is impressive. So much so that Janga snorts in amusement and inclines her helmeted head, seemingly in respect.
“Not just you, girl-!”
“Armorer! You will call me by my title. I have earned it, or do you deny the evidence of my skill on this one here?”
Anything to get the Mandalore to stop calling me brat, young one, or girl…
Tylo can easily imagine that the Armorer is flushing bright red under her helmet. Fortunately she IS wearing a helmet, so such an emotional reaction is hidden as she gestures to Tylo… and more specifically to the Beskar Armor she crafted for him what feels like a lifetime ago. Janga’s head moves as she looks over at him for a moment before slowly nodding.
“… Armorer. You would not be our only bait. Even a single Mandalorian Armorer would not be enough to get the attention we’re looking for. However… a brand new Clan WITH an Armorer, one seeking to join Death Watch in its entirety… now that would get their attention.”
Oh. That might work.
The Armorer’s initial reaction to the idea buoys Tylo’s spirits. Especially since this was kind of his idea that he’d received help from Janga and Ursa to workshop on the way over here. Why not take both of Ursa’s ideas and combine them, right? Not only would they be a would-be clan, but they would also have an Armorer. Seeing as their clan would be small, barely even half a dozen people, having a fully trained Mandalorian Armorer alongside them would certainly add to their legitimacy.
But who would be Clan Head?
Looking between them all, the Armorer focuses on Janga, suddenly deadly serious.
“How would this clan be structured, exactly? Will we be Clan Fett? Will you lead us in this false defection?”
Janga stiffens at the idea, before shaking her head.
“No, that would never work. My last interaction with Death Watch involved one of them selling me into slavery. They know I’m not an idiot… they would never believe that my defection was real after all this time. Especially not when I chose to take up the mercenary life after earning my freedom, rather than return to Mandalore.”
The Mandalore was enslaved?!
The Armorer’s thoughts sound aghast at the thought. Janga continues on unaware of the younger Mandalorian’s reaction.
“I will have to be in disguise. As will my daughter Boba, along with Kast and Reeves. That’s where your skill will have to come in.”
The Mandalore wants me to make beskar armor for her! This might be the happiest day of my life!
The Armorer tries not to let her excitement or exuberance over this show, but it’s a lost cause as she’s already vibrating slightly. That said, she still manages to make her actual response much more measured and realistic then her internal thoughts.
“… That would be a lot of beskar, Mandalore.”
Janga growls.
“I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Armorer. As for where the beskar will come from… you need not worry about that. I have it covered.”
As expected of the Mandalore!
Tylo resists the urge to snort derisively. It’s clear that the Armorer thinks Janga has some stockpile of beskar metal just lying around. In reality, it’s much more likely that Janga is simply still loaded from the payday the Sith gave her for helping to create the Clone Army. Buying enough beskar for three and a half Mandalorians would have been outside the budget for most people and was certainly outside the budget for the young Mandalorian in front of them, but not Janga Fett.
Again, the Armorer tempers her actual words, despite her mind being abuzz with excitement.
“Then I can get to work the moment you procure me those materials Manda- err, Lady Fett.”
The way Janga bristles at the title makes it clear that that’s not much better. Still, she lets it slide this time… before looking to him.
“As for our Clan Head… it’ll have to be this one. Might need to change his armor too based on how much Wren here told her superiors, but otherwise he’s our best bet at slipping in undetected.”
The Armorer’s eyes flash between all of them, her mind going a mile a minute as she processes that Ursa Wren is Death Watch. But in the end, she’s not so mentally unstable that she can’t compartmentalize things. Besides giving Ursa a quick glance, the Armorer mostly focuses on him, rather intensely at that.
“… And what would our Clan name be, exactly?”
Never had a clan before. Just a homeless urchin until my Master pulled me off the streets. But he’s gone now. All I have left of him is the knowledge he gave me… my knowledge now. Still… would be good to have a name for the little one if nothing else.
Ah, yeah. They’d never exchanged names, had they? They’d literally had sex, with Tylo even knocking her up, but even now he only saw her as ‘The Armorer’. To be fair, she’d never actually offered her name. Part of that traditionalism that Koska had said she was known for?
Clearing his throat, Tylo decides to remove his helmet so that the Armorer can see his smile and his eyes as he holds out a hand to her.
“Vondin. Our clan name will be Vondin.”
He sees her rolling over the name in her mind… and sees the moment she decides it’s not objectionable either. Finally, she nods and takes his hand.
“Then by the Resol’nare, I am Talya Vondin of Clan Vondin.”
Talya Vondin… shit, did Tylo just accidentally get married? He’s a little stiff as they finish the handshake, his own mind whirling now right up until Janga lets out a bark of laughter from his side.
“Serious whelp, aren’t you? Been jonesing for a name too, from the look of things.”
The Armorer… no, Talya, stiffens up at that and for the first time actually seems to glare in Janga’s direction.
“Not all of us can be lucky enough to come from clans that can trace their lineage all the way back to the Mandalorian Wars, Janga Fett of Clan Fett.”
Janga stiffens up at that and for a moment Tylo thinks he’ll have to mediate between them.
This brat…
But in the end, the former Mandalore just shakes her head with a laughing scoff.
“Perhaps I deserved that one. Well met, Talya Vondin of Clan Vondin.”
With that settled, the two move off to handle the details of getting Talya the beskar she needs. Ursa also departs to set up the meeting between Death Watch’s leadership and the newly minted Clan Vondin. Tylo, meanwhile, finds himself contemplating group composition for this upcoming tactical strike. He knows who’s going to be in Clan Vondin for the purposes of this meeting… but should Clan Vondin have servitors? Perhaps of the Togruta, Twi’lek, Zabrak, and Dathomirian flavors?
-x-X-x-
[X] Take Aayla, Maris, Ahsoka, and Ventress as well as the Mandalorians to the meeting - 54%
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