Star Wars: Rebellion Rising

Chapter Five: Mandalore

  "I don't think you should go there alone." I said to Carter as he boarded his newly bought starship. A merchant vessel would attract less attention. "Mandalore has a heavy imperial presence and a Jedi loathing populace."
  "I know. I've been there on occasion but if that's were I must go, the I'll go." He mused as I pulled out a set of coordinates from my belt.
   "I really think you should wait for us to go there."
   He rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can meet with me on Mandalore since you already have some sabers."
   I smiled. "We will meet here after you get your crystal." Carter and Dariella both took a set of coordinates. "It's an old Jedi ship called the Crucible. It should have all the parts we need for sabers. I remember it being still active out here in the outer rim."
   Dariella nodded and boarded her ship. In a flash, she was gone.
  I boarded Carter's ship and he fired up the engines. "Be careful out there. There are many who would want a Jedi's crystal for their own."
   He nodded and started flipping more switches. I walked back toward the ramp were R2C6, my Astro-mech droid shuddered and beeped. I looked back at Carter who was waiting for me to step off the ramp.
   I sighed. "My the force be with you."
  He nodded and the ramp closed behind me.

   I sat in the fields of valley grass as the wind blew around me. My montrals twitches as I sensed life forms move around me.
  I felt the Force flow through this place. Warmth and cold clouding my sense. Darkness seeped into my being. I just let it flow. Both sides of the force mixing with in one another. Neither confined, contained to an idea or moral. Both coexisting.
   My skin rippled and I felt the brushing of hair across my forehead and scalp. My eyes opened and I looked at my hands. My skin had dulled from its orange pigment to a more tan, and my montrals had turned into my rebel style hair. My pale golden locks were left long on top and shaved at the sides and back.
   Apparently my torture at the hands of Vader had not disabled my chameleon power completely.
  I brushed dust off my tunic and went back over to our house. My ship was still up in the mountains as was most of my effects. I had only brought a small bit of the items I had gathered in my time. My  meager scrap armor needed an upgrade.
   It would still be awhile until I received the go ahead to meet Carter on Mandalore so I decided to catch up on some much needed sleep.
  The cots were stiff and the blankets even stiffer but I managed to struggle into the cloth coverings and before long I had drifted off into darkness.

   A high pitched beeping shook me from my sleep. I picked up my com and held it to my mouth. "Yeah?"
  "Raj. It's me Carter. I'm on my way to Mandalore with Dariella." Carter spoke through a slightly grainy signal.
  "Okay. I'll meet you out there." I groaned and threw the stuff covers off of me and grabbed my sabers off the nightstand. I clipped them to my belt and made my way outside.
   The night chill made my skin tingle. I pulled my cloak around my shoulders and made my way into the mountains.
  My freighter was still where I left it. I boarded and fell into the pilot's seat. The lights turned on and the gears started to whir. And soon enough, I was in the atmosphere.
   The vast expanse of space came before me. Pinpricks of white light stabbed the black canvas like white hot needles.
  I plugged in the coordinates to Mandalore and engaged the hyperdrive. My freighter shuddered and I blasted forward. The stars blurred from points to lines and I kicked back on the control panel.
  I took the time to go through my extra weapons stash. I had two single handed Westar 35 blaster pistols with holsters and a plasma rifle. All would come in handy, considering I wouldn't want to use my sabers in public until I assess the situation.
  I stuffed my sabers into my boots to keep them hidden and buckled the leather holsters to my thighs. I shoved the rifle back into the stash box as I felt the ship shudder. Hyperspace faded around me as a pale golden planet appeared before me. Dots of ebony facets covered it's surface.
  Mandalore.

   My ship set down inside the capital city of Sundari. Each city was covered by a bio dome. Considering the rest of the planet was inhospitable due to a large scale civil war.
   Carter and Dariella were waiting for me when I landed. They both had armed themselves with blasters. I locked up my freighter and hooked their ships back up to it. After that, I walked out to meet them.
  "Raj?" Carter asked. He scanned me over to make sure I was who he remembered.
   Dariella nodded. "Smart. A Togruta would stand out in this place."
  I nodded back to her and we made our way into the city.
  Carter closed his eyes, a look of concentration etched out on his face. "I... I hear. Music. A song. It's coming from..." his hand moved toward a large palace. It's ivory walls glinting in the harsh sunlight. "There."
   "The Sundari Royal Palace." Dariella looked at me concerned.
  "This is gonna Be a lot harder than I thought