Ultraviolet (An Anakin Skywalker Star Wars Story)

Chapter 1: The Jump

Sundari was a shining city. It's tall buildings, made of stone and glass, glimmered under the translucent bio-dome that kept the city safe from the encroaching desert that had overwhelmed most of the planet. The once thriving planet of green and blue had turned to a brown place of dust and sand. Of course, there was no one to blame for the limited vegetation except for the Mandalorians themselves, not that the traditionalists would hear of such things. However, most of them were believed to have long died off on the moons of Concordia.

Still, Sundari shone brightly, a beacon to the system and the planet, a new capital for a new way of life. Mandalore, once the place of war, was now a prosperous place of peace, thanks to the efforts of its new Ruler, Duchess Satine Kryze, and the rest of the Mandalorian ruling council. They were members of the New Mandalorians, and they were well on their way to building a new way of life amongst the people.

Amari Flare quietly admired the Duchess and her decisions, appreciating that due to her new laws, the schools had to allow Indaria to attend, and Flickr, the new owner of the Redhouse, couldn't keep the child around to clean the rooms under the new labor laws. However, she wisely kept her approval quiet, as the Duchess was less popular in the greedier parts of the city, including the neighborhood the Red House was in.

The difference between the Low District and the rest of Sundari was extreme. Most of the architecture of Sundari was traditional Mandalore, using glass and beskar to reflect every possible surface and stone to provide a foundation, the city was beautiful. Until you got to the Low District.

While the surfaces in the High District of Sundari were reflective and bright, the buildings of lower Sundari were opaque. Nary a reflective surface could be found on those streets, for the inhabitants did not want their goings-on to be revealed. Built more with wood and stone than anything else, the worn-down buildings were all that remained of the original city after the civil wars ravaged it to pieces. The area felt as if the glamorous city that most of the Sundarians lived in had built itself on top of the bones of the old one. The people who lived in the Low district were the poor and the criminal. They were the pieces of society that one didn't want to see, for it was better that they not exist in the first place.

Despite the new ideas that had gained traction, traditionalist views permeated the population. Despite their reputation for violence and bloodshed, the Mandalorians were a rather conservative bunch and wary of change, and a lot was changing. It was in the Low District where they fought the hardest to maintain their way of life. Superstitions were still prevalent, and one of the biggest oral traditions that had been passed down in the Low District was to never deal with a Flare outside of the Red House.

The curse of the Flare Clan was well known. Amari had tried to hide that from her daughter as long as possible. She wanted Indaria to grow up without that burden, without that label, as long as possible. Of course, going to school meant that by five, Indaria was out of her mother's protective sphere, and children were wont to repeat things their parents said. It would surprise none to learn that at the sight of Amari walking her daughter to the first day of school, tongues were wagging.

"Landuur," An older woman with dark hair pulled back severely from her face sneered at the young mother.

Before this, Amari had been gently fussing over Indaria, straightening her clothes and ensuring she had her student card so that she could receive lunch, but then, that word cut through the almost cheerful atmosphere and sent a frozen hush over the gathered parents. Amari's hands had frozen at Indaria's collar, her face draining of color and lips pinching together in irritation.

Breaths were held, waiting for the fight to begin. Mando'a was an extensive language and it possessed, perhaps, the most insults out of any other language in known galaxies. However, there were a few insults that, if said, would always result in a fight, and landuur was one of them. To fight was to be Mandalorian. Sure, they might have put on the vestige of a peaceful society, but one generation of peacekeepers could not change the foundation of an entire creed of people.