The Quarry

The Quarry - Part 27

"You never knew?" Din muttered, frozen in place.

"That seems like a detail I probably would have mentioned, don't you think?" Versa hissed. "I've never seen him wear that armor. I had no kriffing idea."

"Why don't you come out here where we can chat?" Farr called.

The men behind them pushed them forward at blaster point. One of them shoved Versa in the back.

"Touch her again and I will kill you where you stand," Din growled.

"Now, now, there's no need for that. We can all still be civil here," Farr drawled.

Din and Versa shuffled to the end of the hallway, entering the main room. Versa chuckled. "The sewers. Fitting."

"Shut up, Vers," Din whispered, giving her waist a squeeze.

"No, no, Miss Horne is quite correct. We've been forced into hiding, all thanks to her. We were once an organization to be feared, much like the Mandalorians, and now, also like the Mandalorians, we are forced to hide, a shadow of what we once were thanks to her betrayal."

Din's spine straightened. "You are nothing like true Mandalorians."

"Am I not? I am upholding the warrior's way of life, like Death Watch wished to do, like your friend Bo-Katan dreamed. I may not observe the Creed in the same way as the Children of the Watch, but I do honor our culture, Din. The weak perish and we true warriors will endure."

An idea twitched in the back of Din's mind. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. "Can you stand on your own?" he whispered to Versa.

She looked at him hopefully. "Let's find out." Gingerly, she pushed herself upright, digging her teeth into her lip as her abdomen screamed in protest. Din slowly released her, stepping towards Farr.

"You adhere to the Resol'nare then?"

Farr turned, gesturing around him. "In every way that I can. Look around you. I wear my armor when necessary, I defend my family. I have no children to call my own, but if I did, they would be raised as Mandalorians. This is my clan, Din. I do what I can to protect them."

An insulting manipulation to the Creed, Din thought, but he knew better than to say so. "And your allegiance to the Mand'alor?"

Farr laughed. "There is no Mand'alor. I'm sure Bo-Katan Kryze thought herself fitting, but since the Darksaber was taken from her, there is no ruler, no one deserving of my allegiance."

Versa's eyes widened in understanding as Din reached under his cloak, pulling the Darksaber from its place at his back. He ignited it, holding it out to his side. "I am your Mand'alor, vod. If you adhere to the Six Actions, then you must rally to my cause, the restoration of Mandalore. I demand your loyalty." His voice carried more authority than he felt as he silently prayed that this would work, even with Farr's gross misinterpretation of the Creed.

He watched as Farr's head tilted in his helmet, seeming to examine the Darksaber and its current owner as he circled Din and Versa slowly, blaster hanging at his side.

"So, it's you then. You are the one who claimed it."

"I am."

"And you intend to rebuild Mandalore to its former glory?"

"The old ways have failed time and again. I intend to rebuild Mandalore as it should be."

Farr scoffed. "You know nothing of the old ways, foundling," he spat.