Mandalorian Wars- Tales from Both Sides: Fight for Freedom

A/n: Sorry for the length...

The two siblings sat in their pilot and co-pilot seats, chewing thoughtfully on their dinner of ship food, and watched the white lines of hyperspace through the window.

'You know, Asori,' said Nydo, 'I don't think there's anything more beautiful than this.' Asori grunted, not quite paying attention to her brother. 'I mean, there's the colors, the shapes...It's just amazing!' His sister reached over and smacked him upside the head.

'Shut up,' came her full-mouthed, muffled response, 'I'm eating.' Nydo snorted.

'When are you not?' She smacked him again.

The truth was that she did eat a lot. Almost all of the time, Asori was chewing on something. Nydo often teased her, saying that mynocks would have trouble surviving if she ate power cables. But what really stunned most people, besides her ability to eat more than 3-5 helpings of anything, was the fact that her body was so slim. She looked like she ate like a normal human. Asori just said to other, rather jealous, women that her metabolism was fast, but it was obvious from her muscles that she worked out.

Nydo was a different story. He was also muscular, but was otherwise boney, tall, and his legs looked almost too long for his body. Almost. He ate normally, but exercised double what Asori did. Despite his almost lanky looks, most girls crowded around him because of his 'poetic', 'romantic' nature. Asori pretended to throw up when she heard him recite Batacci.

'Well,' said Asori as she tossed away the last wrapper. She didn't continue her sentence, however, because a light on her side of the controls flashed.

'Well, what?' asked Nydo. Asori said nothing, so Nydo leaned over to see what was going on. She was staring at the screen beside the white, blinking button. Realizing that Nydo was over her shoulder, she recovered quickly.

'Message from home.' Her long eyebrows furrowed. 'Do we answer?'

The real question going through the girl's head was 'How did they find us?' Nydo seemed torn. He had left home to protect his little sister's butt from danger so his parents wouldn't fry him if she was caught by the Republic, or worse, Mandalorians. But even so, their parents were angry and upset (It was even worse when the two stole the family ship they were going to inherit once Nydo turned 25, the Inanimate Allure). Asori watched him carefully, her grey eyes regarding him curiously and carefully.

'No,' he said at last, 'We'll see the message later. Go to sleep.'

Asori glared at him. 'I'm old enough to stay up late, you know. Besides, on Bakura it may be daytime,' she said in a dignified voice. Nydo grinned and tweaked her nose. She slapped his hand away. 'Fine. But I'm not going to sleep, just to bed. 'N I better find the message unheard,' she growled. Nydo nodded.

Asori pushed past him and exited the cockpit, her long, black braid followed. It behaved very much like a single Lekku would for a Twi'lek, twitching on its own accord, jumping around. Or maybe that was just the way the woman's movements flowed through her body. As she turned into the security room, planning to keep an eye on her otherwise sneaky brother, she thought about home. Corellia Upper Class had been nice, but she hadn't had freedom. She was a headstrong girl who ran around with the children of smugglers. Her parents considered her an embarrassment, and had sent her to endless reform schools, all of which began to look the same after the first three switches: The same, spacious, but useless, backyards. The same tittering, gossiping, annoying 'young ladies'. The same snot-nosed outcast to share a room with. The same bratty boys from the all-boys school across the field. It was empty and meaningless to Asori. But she continued to ignore her status, getting angrier and angrier at her parent's attempts to 'subdue' her. When she turned 20, Asori began to realize that her life would not evolve on the family grounds. She needed the flow of outside life, adventure, passion...

So she left. First, she headed off to find a job. Then she began to learn from an ex-family friend, to fight with a vibroblade and a blaster, and if that failed, where to kick and punch to make it hurt and stick. Then she found out her brother had been searching for her. Nydo found her and, after many arguments and stubborn yelling from both parts, Nydo decided to join her. They both knew that their parents would pressure him more than they already did to make up fro the missing child, only after sticking a grenade in his head for not finding his sister, if he stayed on Corellia.

Here they were, two years later, after having been on off jobs to pass messages or get (good and innocent) people off of a planet, or something of the like. They had been on the most popular planets and the backwater planets, and had only recently had run into a tad of Border Patrol trouble. They didn't realize they had been smuggling carefully hidden Spice in small shipment in a box of Kolto, and since most Spice traders used the excuse 'I didn't know! It was hidden from me!' Asori knew the Republic would not believe them, so, being the fair pilot she was (She learned to fly from a disgraced uncle when she was 12), she flew them off. She, of course, did not realize that she wasn't only a 'fair pilot', but very much like a trained pilot. But there was no one to tell her she was an amazing pilot. Nydo couldn't fly until she introduced him to it; a Gamorrean on a swoop bike would look like he flew good to him.

Asori sighed and put her head in her hands. What she had wanted was to be free, but she was only on the run. She felt very guilty for having her brother end up with her against his original intentions. But, said a defiant voice, He chose to come. He could have endured Ma and Da's disappointment for a while. He was gonna move out soon, anyway! But she knew that he had come because he felt he had a job to do as an older brother. No matter how guilty she felt, though, she was proud and happy to have a brother like him. Without him, she would be alone.

The thought sent a shiver down the girl's spine, even as sleepiness was settling in. The chill soon wore off, though, as sleep claimed her and she was given one last, dreamless night.

_______________________________________________________

The Inanimate Allure docked on Bakura, but Nydo reluctantly lifted himself from the pilot's seat. Even after an entire year, he still found it interesting in that seat. You could see so much! Nydo was an easily amused guy, sometimes. It was something that made him take an interest in so many things. Even Swoop Racing had taken to be an interest not too long ago.

He came out of his ship and paid the docking fee to Czerka, even though something about the people working for Czerka mage him feel like he was selling slaves to the Exchange, though he didn't under stand why, and slipped back inside the ship. A hand with Caffa met his face.

"G'morning," he said, taking the cup.

"Yeah, yeah," said Asori. It was the routine: Caffa, greeting, planning, more Caffa, and then the day got started. "How do you even drink that stuff?" Asori asked, wrinkling her nose with disdain and sticking a finger towards the inside of her mouth and faking a choking noise.

"I open my mouth and sip it," he responded, his brain not quite functioning enough to some up with a proper rebuttal.

"Tea for me," she said as she poured a steaming liquid into her cup. They glanced at each other and both headed into the cockpit, Caffa and Tea forgotten. "Do we play it?" Asori asked after they stared at the white button for a while. In answer, Nydo reached out and pressed it. There was a soft whirring that seemed foreboding in the silence. Then a small image of their parents appeared above the controls.

"Asori, Nydo, we have tracked you and the ship and we know you are heading to Bakura. You have run for too long," came the deep void of Mr. Daneb. Mrs. Daneb nodded.

"We have enlisted the help of Republic," she continued. The siblings paled. "We know the Spice incident." Now the woman's blue eyes watered as her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We just want our children back." Now tears spilled. But both had seen this act before for guests and show, and were unimpressed and were not fooled. They knew that beneath the tears, the eyes were pinpricks of ice.

Now a Republic Officer, an Admiral, they noted, stepped up to speak. "Crew of the Inanimate Allure," he began, "We have permission to board your ship, should we find you. We also have permission to fire upon your vessel if you resist. Please, choose carefully."

The image faded. For a long time, the Daneb siblings stayed silent, the words of their parents and the Republic Admiral replaying in their heads. Finally, Nydo lifted himself up and clapped his hands together.

"Well, sis, strap yourself in," he said cheerfully. Asori gaped at him. Less cheerfully, he added, "We're leaving." She glared at him.

"Were you paying any attention? That's what they want us to do! They caught us in hyperspace, so that means they were tracking our coordinates. They knew we were going to Bakura!" It was Nydo's turn to glare.

"We out-ran the Republic before, we can out-run them again."

"No."

"We're going."

"You want to lead us to our deaths, don't you?"

"Don't be stupid," Nydo snapped. He turned back to the controls. "Strap in," he commanded.

"No," Asori said blandly. Nydo sighed and rubbed his temples. When he did that, the battle turned into a war. Asori didn't care.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because they are prepared this time."

"I doubt the Republic is going to spare any soldiers at all to find two runaways like us when there's a full-scale war going on, Asorimi," he said skeptically, as Asori flinched at the use of her full name. She took two deep breaths.

"Damn it, Nydoran, stop being so fracking stubborn!" She yelled. Nydo covered his ears. "They are out there!"

"We're going! Strap in!"

They narrowed their eyes at one another, daring the other to look away. Asori sighed and backed off. Who am I kidding? she thought bitterly, It was going to come soon, anyway. Nydo smiled smugly as Asori strapped in. They lifted up into the air and flew into space...

When a warning shot blasted about 2 yards away from them. Nydo growled in anger.

"Told you!" called Asori.

"Don't rub it in," growled Nydo.

"Receiving transmission." She hit the white button again for the second time in the past hour.

"Nydoran and Asorimi Daneb: Please do not resist boarding. Come peacefully or we will be forced to meet in unpleasant circumstances," said the figure covered in an odd red-orange-black patterned uniform. It faded away.

"Yeah, I'll bet," grumbled Asori as she and Nydo exchanged glances.

"Boarded? Not over my dead body! Asori, get shields up, maximum power. Then hit the coordinates for any planet you know into the navi-computer," Nydo ordered. Asori nodded grimly, suddenly proud at having a brother who could take charge of a situation. Even if he was the one who got them into it. Mostly. Moments later, the two saw three freighters. Another shot hit them. A second later, the lights dimmed and the hum of the ship slowed, then everything resumed.

"What was that?" Nydo asked shakily.

"They're using Ion turrets!" Asori cried. "We'll be left hanging out here! Then we'll be caught for sure...I told you we should've stayed on Bakura, if only for a while! Get up! I'm steering this junk!"

Nydo rose obediently. If he didn't, she would use him as a booster seat. Asori's hands flew across the controls. The ship flipped on its back just as Nydo put his seatbelt on, then dived and turned upright once more as they reversed direction. This confused the Republics, but they were back on track in a minute. They missed as they tried to hit the ship again. Asori spun and Nydo cheered, still trying to remember the coordinates for Rutan. He could remember poetry with 1000 lines, but not hyperspace coordinates; Asori was the pilot of the family. That was established long ago. She could not so much as remember a word of "Ryloth Ballad", but she knew nearly every coordinate of every Outer Rim planet with a starport. It would take very long to find it in the flying junk's navi-computer, but Nydo decided he could risk it. After all, it would take longer to do it by memory, where he could mess up and charge them right through a planetary core.

Meanwhile, Asori was running out of fancy tricks. The shots from the Republic ships were getting closer to their mark. Finally, one hit them. Taking advantage of the pause in the Inanimate Allure's movements, the other freighters fired. The shots all hit them. Asori slammed her fist on the useless controls.

"Damn." She heard Nydo swear in an unknown language and winced. He never cursed unless it got bad. "All systems failed," she reported as he walked in from the security room. "Get me my blades and blasters." Nydo stared at her.

"You're not going to - "

"I will. I'm not going down without a fight. you can come and stay with me or go crying to ma and da. Your choice," she said evenly as she put up her feet.

Nydo watched as the Republic freighters drew closer. he looked back at his sister, watching the empty bluntness in her grey eyes, which stuck out from her tanned skin. Nydo's own were a blue that contrasted his skin and black hair. They could have passed for twins, had their eye color been the same. How could anyone be so devoted to freedom? The same way the Republic wants to keep themselves away from Mandalorian rule, he answered himself. Seven lines from a poem floated back into his head:

He sighed, giving in. "Fine. But you owe me big." Asori didn't grin or acknowledge his final comment with anything more than a nod. She swiftly put her feet on the floor and walked out, grabbing a small pack of Kolto packs from the corner of the cockpit.

---

"Ready?" Asori whispered apprehensively as she and Nydo stood, blasters and blades ready for the coming action, in the shadowy hallway near the loading ramp. The Republic freighters were connecting themselves to each other, and the nearest to the Inanimate Allure.

Nydo didn't respond. That meant he was as ready as he could be. Even now, the 23-year-old was horribly shocked that his sister, his own flesh and blood, would attack the Republic. He was sure they wouldn't have gotten them in trouble if they had done a bit of service for the government. He didn't get what his sister found so hard to believe. If they still didn't believe them, then surely their parents would help them, cloak them in the untouchable veil of Upper Class. How he got here was an even bigger mystery to him. He should have dragged his sister back, kicking and screaming. She wouldn't have been happy about it, but she would have been safe. "You're crazy," was all he muttered just before the hatch opened and a short tunnel lay ominously before them. Since they were both hidden in little niches in the wall, they couldn't see much.

But no one walked in. No cries came out. There was just the empty tunnel. Were they expecting them to go board the Republic freighters? Long, silent moments passed by, where Nydo and Asori barely breathed in fear of giving away their crouched positions. Finally, the exchanged glances, even through the dark. Nydo shook his head. Asori nodded. He shook his head again. She stuck out her tongue and stood from her kneeled position. She took a careful step forward, then another, until she was nearing the center of the hallway. She felt the swish of air before she heard the clang of a vibro-blade hitting the ground where she had been standing a millisecond ago. Training was kicking in. Asori holstered her blaster pistol with one hand and drew her blade with the other. She parried one attack from the now-appearing Republic soldier. He was using a stealth-shield generator! Damn it all! Asori thought angrily as she blocked another attack and took 2 quick steps backward. A carefully aimed shot from another invisible soldier hit her as Nydo was springing into action. Another one hit him too, and both crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

_________________________________________________________

"No. I'm not going back, not now, not ever," stated the now fully-conscious Asori. Her father gave an exasperated sigh.

"Why not, darling?" her mother said sweetly, a false pity in her eyes.

"Because you're ordering me to. Not asking me to, not requesting me to. And Ma, that false sadness you think you're acting out so well? Do I look like I'm fooled?" Her mother's 'sad' eyes only got 'sadder'. "I'm not going back. I don't want to be Upper Class or rich or in stuffy, uncomfortable, stiff clothing you put me in!"

"You'll come around after the Admiral speaks with you. I hear he's willing to forgive you for your," she paused as her thin mouth curved in distaste. She spoke with effort. "Spice problem." With a swish of a 'fashionable cloak', the man and woman left Asori and her brother alone.

Asori glared at the door. She turned to her brother, whose face was in his hands. "Did ma ever know da chewed Spice?" Nydo shook his head. "Figures. So how do we get out of here?" Nydo froze. He looked up at her, his eyes wide.

"YOU'RE FRACKING CRAZY, YOU KNOW THAT?!" he yelled. He stuttered for a moment, then formed coherent words. "Y-You-First you go off, blithering on about some stupid freedom you were never given, THEN you go off to steal the ship, then you run away from everyone and even tried to fight off the Republic, and now you want to RUN AGAIN?! What's wrong with you! Is there a lose wire in your head somewhere!?" He breathed heavily, as Asori regarded him coolly, her face placid.

"Are you finished?" she asked after a moment.

"I sure as hell am not!" Asori stood and walked to the door. He stood and grabbed her arm, squeezing hard. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Nydo-" she began.

"NO! You are going to at least sit through the Admiral's questioning!"

"Nydo," she tried again. "I have to urinate. You know what stun blasters do to me." Nydo quickly let go of her. Half-smuggler or no, he still had a right mind to keep away from messes if there was a way provided. And he trusted his sister not to abandon him. She walked out, then came back 5 minutes later.

"Finished?" he asked with a crooked smile.

"Feeling better?"

"Not by much."

Asori sighed. "Nydo, they're going to force us into going back with our parents. You know as well as I do that they can get anything they want as long as the stick the credits beneath the Kath Hound's noses," she said gently, though with slight anger towards the end. Nydo shook his head.

"You know the Republic wouldn't do that."

"Do I? Do you?"

Nydo opened his mouth to reply when the door slid open and in walked a white-haired man with a Republic Admiral uniform. He sat at the desk and gestured for the brother and sister to sit in the two chairs in front of him. They sat obediently, Asori more begrudgingly than her brother. The Admiral regarded them carefully, giving the Daneb children a chance to study him too. He had white hair, that was true, though you could still see the remnants of dark hair mingling with silver on the snowy plateau that was his head. His brown eyes were humble, but tired. A small bit of sympathy grew in Asori's heart. Very small. His movements suggested that he had all the time in the galaxy, though his frequent visits to the chrono-meter on his desk with his eyes suggested otherwise. Finally, he spoke, and Nydo noted how it sounded like he was from the Core Worlds, melodic and deep, warm, and kindly, though you could feel the confidence radiating off of him was very high, and he loved to hear himself speak. Nydo felt respect towards him.

"Do you know which planet you are on?" he asked. Nydo shook his head.

"Manaan," Asori answered, her eyes straying to the large windows to the side. Ahto City was famous for its Kolto mining and the Selkath's neutrality. the man raised his eyebrows, impressed and curious. "I saw a fish on the base when I was going to the bathroom," Asori clarified, a wry smile dancing on her face.

"I see. My name is Admiral Saul Karath." Nydo's eyes widened slightly. Saul, the man who helped Revan and Malak plan so many victories by the Mandalorians. Why was he bothering with them. Apparently noting recognition in the young man's eyes, Saul gave a small, almost smug, smile. "I am in charge of Republic recruits, as well as planning with Revan and Malak." They both heard the self-satisfaction in his voice, though the eyes seemed to get wearier.

"I see," said Asori. "And you're also in the clutches of my parents." He smiled thinly.

"That was an opportunity to learn all about you and be able to track you down. You've been on our list of recruits since you transported that family off of Nar Shaddaa." Asori flinched. That had been hard. But she had to. They were being hunted by the Exchange. "We realized we needed you even more when you smuggled out a woman from Ryloth..." he trailed off as Asori flinched again. The Twi'lek had been a Joy girl, and sick of it. "I am willing to offer you a job with the Republic. Both of you." Nydo and Asori both sat up, looking at each other in surprise.

"But...we smuggled Spice!"

"Unknowingly."

Nydo was wound in already. "What are your orders, sir?" he asked excitedly, his eyes shining happily. Asori stuck out a hand in front of Nydo's hand.

"Wait a sec. What's the catch?" Her eyes were narrowed. Saul sighed.

"I see there's no way to hide things from you, Asori. You must rescue three Intelligence Officials from a rather small camp in a few caves on Almania. The Republic hadn't much luck," he said, sounding rather disappointed. Under his breath, he added, "Bloody Mandalorians." That earned a grin from Asori. "What do you say?" Asori pondered this a moment. She would get all that she wished for: Adventure, the ability to hold a blaster with reason, and maybe even be worth for something other than to stand and look pretty. She looked at Nydo. He seemed to be waiting for her decision.

"Alright, Mr. Karath." She stuck out her hand. "We may have ourselves a deal."

Saul took her hand across the desk and gave it a firm shake. "Then get used to calling me 'Sir'," he said with a small smile.

_______________________

Two Weeks Later

"You know, I'm pretty surprised they're still a live," grumbled Asori quietly. Nydo gave her a grim nod. "Grenades, blasters, or Echani doubles?"

"Not grenades! They could easily kill the Officials!"

"Not since I've had target practice."

Over the last week and a half, Asori had learned the blessing of a grenade and had gotten trigger-happy with them. Even though she had practiced a lot during the short training session, Nydo still worried that she might hit the wrong target. "Gimme that," he said, reaching for the grenade, which Asori pulled out of his reach.

"Nuh-uh. I'll do it."

"No, you won't."

Asori gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Blasters, then?" Nydo nodded. The Republican officer that had come with them tapped Nydo on the back.

"More Mandalorians are entering the cave!" he said in a loud whisper. Nydo shushed him, but nodded.

On a hand-given signal, the three jumped from behind the plasteel cylinders and crates and shot at the Mandalorians. Almost immediately, three of the fifteen went down. The others dived and turned on the shields. Even against his better judgment, Nydo let loose two grenades which blasted away two of them, and wounded one severely.

"Oh, so now it's grenade poppin', then? Why wasn't I told?" snapped Asori as she holstered her heavy blaster and grabbed the Echani double-blade from behind her. Nydo ignored her as he drew is own blades and stepped forward. They turned on their melee and blaster shields, then fought with ferocity. Despite the protection of armor and shields, the Mandalorians managed to gain an upper hand. For a moment. Parry, parry, strike, parry, strike, strike, strike, miss, miss, strike was often what the two managed to get in. Nydo called to the remaining Republican to open the Force cages which the Twi'lek, the Bith, and the human Intelligence Officials were locked in. Asori kicked a Mandalorian in the stomach after he'd given her a bad gash in her leg. Nydo stuck his blade into the thigh of another who had blasted his arm into uselessness moments ago. Finally, only three stragglers remained, and one severely wounded.

"I'm Nydoran Daneb and this is my sister Asorimi Daneb. We're with the Republic. Come on. We've gotta get to the speeder outside." Nydo introduced them quickly, then nodded to Asori, who went ahead to make sure the stragglers who had run off, leaving their wounded behind, were running far, far away.

"Clear!" she called back. For now, she added silently. She didn't bother bandaging her leg, and Nydo didn't bother with his arm. No one noticed the permacrete detonators set in the shadowed corners of the tunnels. They were halfway out when there was a loud explosion behind them. Next came a sound that represented the falling of rocks and debris. "Damn! GO, GO!" Asori shouted, flinging her arms for extra expression. Everybody ran - no - everybody sprinted out towards the exit. The human Official tripped over a pile of rocks and fell behind.

"I'll get him," said Nydo, and reversed direction.

"No! Nydo, you'll be crushed! The Mandalorians set detonators!"

"Risk me or risk the Republic?" And with that, Nydo rushed back.

Whether it was seconds, moments, or months, Asori didn't know, but she heard a loud scream of pain behind her. She stopped. "Nydo..." she whispered, then ran back. After a moment's hesitation, the Twi'lek, Bith, and Republic soldier followed. The human Official was pushing a pile of rocks from over his leg. "Where's Nydo?"

"I-I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen! He just kept telling me to go! I-I couldn't help him!" the man shouted, then gestured to a pile of rubble sitting a few feet away. Asori pushed and pushed at the rocks, but couldn't remove them.

"Help me!" she cried. The rest, except for the man who tripped since his leg was gushing blood and he couldn't use it, helped the girl remove the rocks. There lay Nydo, bleeding, bruised, and dusty. "No..." she whispered, not daring to wrap her mind around it. She felt his pulse. It was failing quickly. His breath was thinning. "Nydo..." His mouth twisted into an attempted smile, more like a grimace and muttered something.

"Mynock...chewing power cables," he struggled out second time. A laugh, more like a forced breath, forced its way out, and he was lost. Asori's eyes overflowed a moment, and the tunnels continued to fall apart. She looked back at the people standing beside her, most of them looking confused. Nydo wouldn't want me to abandon my duty, not when he wouldn't if I were in his place. She lifted her older brother from the rubble and slung his limp body over her shoulder. "You and you," she said, brushing away her tears and gesturing to the Twi'lek and Bith. "Help him. Let's go," she ordered. They began to run again, Asori in the lead. The least she owed her brother was a proper funeral.

_______________________________________

About Five Years Later

A loud crash shook the woman from her dream. She fell from her bed. She struggled up, supporting herself with her nightstand when another crash hit. She quickly braided her thigh-length black hair and tossed it over her shoulder. After having equipped all that she could in her under-garments, her sad, grey eyes scanned the room, trying to forget the memories it brought back with her brother, and trying to forget the creepy dream she had with the dark-cloaked man and the Jedi woman, Bastila. After quitting for so many years and turning back to smuggling, Asorimi Daneb allowed the Republic to catch up with her again and re-recruit her, now that she was more prepared for the death that was involved in war. The door opened and Trask Ulgo, her room-mate ran in.

"The Endar Spire is under attack!" he cried.

"Nooooo, I really couldn't tell from the big booms and the pretty yellow fire outside my window," Asori snapped sarcastically. She quickly got dressed in her more comfortable clothing, ignoring her ugly, embarrassing Republic armor. Trask ushered her out of the room and into her destiny, which would take away all the meaning from the memories of Nydo.