Broken Love Ch: 1

Note: Characters belong to Bioware. All Italicized Mandalorian words and phrases belong to Karen Traviss. Incredible artwork done by Xhybridus !




Of all the worlds that Canderous Ordo had ever known, Ilum might have been the most beautiful. He gazed in breathless wonder at the entire galaxy sparkling overhead: clusters of stars shimmering in clouds of blue stardust. Half a dozen small moons hung above the planet like floating lanterns that made the ice mountains sparkle.

The view was breathtaking, but it was painfully cold. Each frigid breath reminded Canderous of a wild summer fighting Cathar on the Outer Rim when he'd punctured a lung. He couldn't even guess at which old injury was causing his knee to ache in this weather, but he figured out quickly that he was just a bit too old and grizzled for a place like this. "It's pretty enough, but I was thinking somewhere a little more tropical for a honeymoon."

Revan's black hair looked like shimmersilk in the moonlight. Her deep blue eyes reflected each and every star. She was a vision of beauty, just shy of perfection. A smile would have sealed the deal, but instead she looked almost grim. "That's not why we're here," she told him shortly, and started off at a brisk march. He had no choice but to follow. "There's a series of crystal caves here like the ones on Dantooine. No Kinrath here, I promise."

He almost smirked at the memory. It seemed so long ago now, but it had been less than one standard year since the two of them had made their first stroll through a crystal cave. He tried to ignore how distant she seemed from him in that moment and focused on that memory. Given a choice between the two, he'd take the bugs over the cold. At least, he could do something about the bugs. He wished that they were strolling this time, too, but she was taking long, quick strides and he was limping after her. "Have they run of crysals on Dantooine?" he called after her, hoping for some sort of explanation for this abrupt field trip.

"I wouldn't know; I haven't really kept in touched with the Jedi," she answered, sparing him a glance over her shoulder. "They're not exactly thrilled with me after I married a Mandalorian."

"I'm not good enough for their standards?" he grumbled, but truly, he didn't care what the Jedi thought of him or his people. He had no great love for them, either.

"It's not about that. It's attachment," she said with a shake of her head. She paused to scan the mountains in search of the cave. It had been a few years since last she'd been here and she didn't remember that visit all too clearly. When she found it, she set forth with renewed determination. "They're afraid that because I love you, if something happened now, if some new threat reared it's head, I would chose to spend my time with you instead of fight for the good of the Republic."

"Well, if that's what they're afraid of, they don't know you at all, do they?" he returned, smirking fondly at his fierce and fiery woman. Yet again, she failed to smile. It struck him suddenly that he couldn't remember the last time he had seen her smile, but he was sure it had been a while. Lately, more memories were coming back to her of her old life as a Sith Lord. The more she remembered, the more somber she became. Every time he tried to talk to her about it, she brushed him off. When he said something to comfort her, it fell on deaf ears. Just like now. She acted like she hadn't heard a word he had just said. He could either be nervous about that or annoyed, so he chose the latter. Fear in any measurement was intolerable. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing here, or should I start guessing?"

This cave, he found, was just as stunning as the last. If he hadn't been puzzling over the state of his marriage, he would have enjoyed seeing it. The crystals grew in massive formations in colors he had never associated with the Jedi before: pale silvery-green, angry red-orange, even a few pieces were black and seemed to smoke rather than glow. In the center of the chamber were the largest growths that even Canderous could tell were practically humming with the Force. Blue, green and yellow pillars grew close together for almost two meters before they splintered off in all directions. A deep crevice formed between them. "In there," was all that Revan would say. Fresh irritation sparked in his grey eyes, but Canderous obediently reached inside it. His hand hit something smooth and metallic. He sucked in a sharp gasp when he hoisted it into view.

"The Mask of Mandalore..." he breathed in awe.

"I want you to wear it," said Revan at last. His attention jerked to her, freshly shocked and taking notice of the tears pooling in her eyes. "Gather the scattered the clans. Rebuild your people. I know you have no love of the Republic, but be ready to defend it. Do this for me."

The first pangs of fear sent adrenaline spiking through his body. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "Defend it from what? Where will you be?"

"I don't know, Canderous. I don't remember everything yet, but I can feel it in the Force. Something dark. If I don't stop it, it will destroy the Republic and everything I love. If I fail, I need you and your people ready. You're the only ones strong enough-" she began, in a high-pitched, strangled-sounding voice like the words she was saying were catching in her throat and choking her. Canderous grabbed one of her arms in his massive hand, squeezing urgently.

"No! Whatever you're planning, I'm going with you, tayli'bac?" Got it? White hot passion broiled in his eyes, turned them in pools of molten silver. The idea that she was leaving him, bound for some unknown danger was twisting his guts with panic, causing his heart to pound desperately in his throat. "We took vows, remember? Mhi medinui ahn, we share everything. This included!"

A tear finally fell. It left a trail of shimmering moisture to freeze on her cheek. "Shuk'la riduurok," she said carefully. It was a Mandalorian declaration of 'broken love' that severed the bonds of marriage. Canderous couldn't believe what he was hearing. A numbness spread all through his body that had nothing to do with the cold. Slowly but surely, he understood. His heart sank into a frigid pit of despair as he realized that even standing here, with his hand on her arm, she was already long gone. So, he let go. Dropped his hand back to his side.

"I love you, Canderous, but I don't want you to wait for me when I don't know that I'm coming back," she told him quietly, but her voice seemed to echo through the empty cave and fall on his ears a thousand times over. "Ret'urcye mhi, Cyare."

Goodbye, beloved. Maybe we'll meet again.

---

"Mandalore!"

Four years later, an eager Mandalorian scout named Kumus came sprinting into the war room of the Dxun Jungle Camp to find the leader of the Mandalorian people exactly where he expected: hovering by the computer terminal. Since General Vaklu first began his campaign to steal the throne of Onderon from Queen Thalia, Mandalore had been monitoring the holonews intently, but Kumus had just leaned something that he was sure to find more interesting.

"Mandalore, a single starship just entered our atmosphere. We checked the ID signature. It's a match!" he declared. Kumus wasn't sure how he expected Mandalore to react, but he was stunned when there was no reaction at all. As long as he'd been here, the first rule of monitoring the security systems was to alert Mandalore if the Ebon Hawk was spotted, day or night. If he was sleeping, wake him. If he was in the field, comm him. No exceptions. "Mandalore? Did you-"

"I heard you," Mandalore cut in sharply. "There's a woman on board, a Jedi. Have our scouts meet her as soon as she disembarks and bring her to me."

"Yes, Mandalore!" said Kumus before running off again.

Four years and she was finally back. Mandalore thought he felt some sort of emotion fluttering in his belly, but he squashed it at once. After she shattered his heart, he wasn't sure it ever recovered but he had packed it so full of ice, he couldn't feel a thing. He had done as she asked. He'd donned the mask, and it was like he was reborn. Almost no one among his people knew that his name was Canderous Ordo, and not one of them knew what he looked like. They knew his smoke-colored armor, and the fierce black 'T' shaped visor. He decided that was what he wanted Revan to see, too. He wanted to see what emotions roiled in her eyes before he permitted her to look on his face.

"In there," he heard a guard say from the corridor. Mandalore steeled his nerves as a woman was nudged into the room.

A woman that was most certainly not Revan.