#S3 Chrome

[not-radioshack]

Please signal boost: One-of-a-kind Broken Prototype S3 Chrome 460 Mega-infopost

(Yes, I know that is a very word salad-y post title.)

This is the S3 Chrome 460. It is currently nonworking. Nobody knows anything about it, and I’m trying to get in contact with any former S3 Graphics engineers that may be able to help.

What is known:

All “@” handles are in reference to users on Twitter.

As a whole, the Chrome 400 series utilized the Destination architecture, which was S3’s very first unified shader architecture capable of GPGPU tasks, much like Nvidia’s CUDA.

The Chrome 450/460 series utilized the mid-range “Destination 2” (D2) architecture, as opposed to “Destination 3” used by the low-end 430/440. As said by Loeschzwerg, there were no known high-end “Destination 1” architecture chip taped out. (https://twitter.com/Loeschzwerg_3DC/status/1683162950951903235)

The Chrome 450/460 was a 13x13mm (169mm2) die produced on the 90nm node by Fujitsu, and later TSMC. Strangely, the 430/440 series was produced on the much smaller 65nm node.

The Chrome 450/460 supported DX10, whereas the 430/440 supported DX10.1

The PCI device IDs for the Chrome 450/460 series are as follows:

o 9020, 9022, 9023, 9024, 9025 (http://listing.driveragent.com/c/pci/5333)

o The vendor ID for all chips is 5333 (S3 Graphics)

o There is one known beta driver that supports these device IDs (https://www.touslesdrivers.com/index.php?v_page=23&v_code=21175)

These PCI IDs appear to correspond to different die revisions

o Known existing die revisions present in collection: 86C920-921 (ID 9020), 86C922 (ID 9022 based on the cards owned by @Loeschzwerg_3DC), and 86C924 (can be assumed to be device ID 9024)

There are two “major” die revisions that exist.

o Revision 86C920-921 (I will refer to this as the “’920” revision) is most certainly the earliest revision, being physically larger in package size than all other revisions.

 It also has a different pinout, and is produced by Fujitsu rather than TSMC, resulting in a greyish tint on the die rather than the blue tint of later revision chips.

 The date code on all 86C920 chips (in my collection) reads “0727”, which implies that every ‘920 chip in existence was produced in a single batch on the 27th week of 2007, but cannot concretely prove so.

o Revision 86C922 (‘922) changes fabs from Fujitsu to TSMC, leaving the dies with a blueish tint and changing the pinout. This revision serves as the basis for all following revisions known to exist.

 The date code on all 86C922 chips across my collection and Loeschzwerg’s appears to be 0738, implying that this revision was also produced in a single run much like its predecessor. (https://twitter.com/Loeschzwerg_3DC/status/1616750453500547072)

 The 86C924 (‘924) revision is minor in comparison to the jump from ‘920 to ‘922, but interestingly the two in my collection have mismatching date codes—0728 and 0734. Unless I am reading the date codes wrong, this means that the ‘924 revision was produced either in two separate batches before the ‘922 run was done, or that perhaps it was continuously produced between the ‘920 and ‘922 revisions. I do not know what changes were made between ‘922 and ‘924.

o Almost all dies have a number and a letter, a word, or both written on them in permanent marker, likely for IDing which ones were being tested for what. The two words that appear the most often are “mem” (by far the most common) and “shift”. The letter “p” (pass?) also regularly appears.

There are three known Chrome 460 ES cards that exist: my broken early-revision ‘920 card, and Loeschzwerg’s two later-revision cards, one of which appears to be a 460 binned down to a 450.

There were rumors that the reason why the card was scrapped seemingly just before release was because its die became too expensive to produce (https://forum.beyond3d.com/threads/s3-excalibur-with-128-bit-mc-taped-out.42965/). There is zero confirmation or denial of this, and this rumor was said in passing on a thread discussing the follow-up Chrome 500 series (Excalibur architecture, which was later revealed to be a mildly tweaked at best Destination architecture).

The Chrome 460 (or at least, its ‘920 revision) gets hot very quickly, and may have been the reason for the switch to TSMC’s fabs.

o I believe that my card, despite having a heatsink and a fan blowing directly at it, likely died from overheating in the few minutes that it was running while I was collecting information and attempting to install an INF-modded 430/440 driver. It worked again after replacing the popped MOSFET and putting on the proper stock heatsink that it would’ve had mounted, but quickly died to a short a second time even with the new cooler. I still feel bad about this.

Most if not all Chrome 460 chips were acquired either directly through the S3/VIA/Centaur lab auction or through someone who attended the auction. The chips and card I own came from John at CPUShack, for example, and a number of others purchased miscellaneous 460s for their private collections from him.

o Loeschzwerg got his cards from a reseller who attended the 2021 Centaur auction just like I had.

And now, returning to my own broken card, to reiterate:

The card died to a short, and triggers the power supply’s OCP mode when the chip is installed on the board according to @dosdude1 . This does not happen when the chip is removed.

VCORE and GND were found by dosdude1 on the card’s footprint of the Chrome 460, and using that knowledge, the resistance from VCORE to GND on the chip itself was found:

o The original chip that was soldered to the card itself measured 1.5 ohms from VCORE to GND

o All other ‘920 chips between the ones in my collection and sent to dosdude1 as candidates for chip-swapping measure between 0.5 and 0.9 ohms, which I was told should be normal for graphics chips, but according to dosdude1 is still plenty low enough to trip the PSU’s OCP mode when installed.

Timeline

I originally purchased the card, alongside two “spare” ‘920 chips, two ‘922 chips, and two ‘924 chips, from CPUShack. The card had no heatsink included, so I had to make do with a chipset cooler (that honestly might have actually been better at cooling than the stock cooler) and a case fan.

o A few weeks after the purchase and arrival of the card, which by then had blown out its MOSFET and died short, I was able to buy a couple S3 Chrome 400-series coolers from CPUShack after he found them. Installing the cooler and replacing the MOSFET with an identical one salvaged off a Chrome 430 managed to get the card to work again for about half a minute from what I remember. However, I will also mention that the salvaged MOSFET came off a Chrome 430 that also died short. The MOSFET itself was undamaged, but the die itself appeared to be busted. I guess it was just an S3 thing during this generation.

o From what I remember, I filled out repair forms for both Louis Rossman and NorthRidgeFix, in hopes that a chip swap with one of the extra ‘920 dies I’d acquired at the time could bring the card back to life. In both cases I was turned down, though this was to be expected since there is zero documentation available for either the card or the chip itself.

o I was then able to get in contact with dosdude1, asking the same thing—just a chip swap was what I was hoping needed to be done. After some back and forth, I sent off the card, both of the extra ‘920 chips I had at the time, and some additional VRM MOSFETs that I’d bought after I’d run out of salvage chips.

o Shortly after the card and chips were mailed out, I came back to CPUShack asking if he had anymore Chrome 460 dies in stock. I proceeded to purchase all remaining chips he could find, which consisted of 10 ‘920 and 10 ‘922 revision dies.

o The chip swap would be completed with minimal issue, but the card unfortunately remained dead. It’s at this point where dosdude1 decided to probe for VCORE and GND, and in turn I measured out the resistance between the two on all ten of the ‘920 chips that had arrived by then, finding that they all read between 0.5 and 0.9 ohms. I do not know what the resistance from VCORE to GND is on the later die revisions, as the pinout was changed.

o Currently, dosdude1 is waiting for a buck regulator replacement to arrive after replacing the MOSFETs themselves yet again, finding in the process that the replacement MOSFETs I sent were faulty and… sending 12 volts straight into VCORE. That’s on me for buying them off Ebay. I did not know where else to look.

o Despite this, even after the faulty MOSFETs were replaced with tested working ones, the card continued to pull far too much current.

o Finally, as of now, he is still waiting for the buck regulator to arrive. There is no evidence that it is faulty as opposed to the MOSFETs, but neither of us have any clue what could be wrong anymore at this point aside from the dies themselves. It’s very much possible that one of the three dies in his possession have been fried to a crisp by that momentary 12v to VCORE in the split second before OCP kicked in, but even then after a non-faulty replacement was installed alongside a spare die it continues to trip the power supply’s OCP.

o I own 27 Chrome 460 dies across three revisions, 13 of which, counting the two sent to dosdude1 and the one installed on the card itself, are of the ‘920 revision that’s been causing myself and dosdude1 headaches for the better part of a year. Neither of us know what is wrong with the card, and outside of the discovery of the faulty “new” MOSFETs I’d sent, the only thing that appears to still be the issue are the dies themselves. They can’t all be bad, right?

Misc. info

My only lead on anyone that may be familiar with the S3 Chrome 460 is Bruce Chang of VIA Technologies. However, his email appears to only accept messages from others in the company.

Additional Photos

[ella390-the-potato]

Dr. STONE: NEW WORLD - PV

Can't wait to see some of my favorite dorks animated again.

[drstonestitches]

looking at the radar

[assim-eu-sou]

I’m Eating Concrete.

[themajortechie]

REALLY liking how these two photos turned out. I'll probably be sending a couple of these off to dosdude1 to (hopefully) repair my S3 Chrome 460 prototype soon, but the rest of these are either reading with extremely low resistances (a possible indication of the chip being faulty) or are a newer revision that is physically smaller and has a different pinout.

[madisonmccoy]

helpful hint for non-Norwegians streaming Rykter

several youtube channels have posted translations of S1 and S2 with English subtitles (and we hope they will do the same for S3). here’s one example:

but in the meantime, if you don’t speak Norsk and still want to stream the episodes as soon as they premiere, read below!

i recommend using the NRK dual subtitles chrome extension!!

step 1. add this extension to your chrome browser

step 2. access the episode on NRK’s website using your preferred VPN to bypass the geoblock

step 3. click the extension and choose your preferred language

step 4. turn on captions and press play. the Norsk subtitles will appear side by side with your preferred language in real time

i have used this with other shows as a language learning tool and find the translations to be fair quality. occasionally the translator will throw a wrong word in, especially with slang words, different dialects, etc. but in my experience they are usually descent enough to get the major plot points of the episode even if you don’t speak the language!!

hope this helps y’all and happy streaming on 19. august :)

[twinklestarss]

Some stuff we’ll seen in TLOVM Season 3

•S2 ends up the Chrome Conclave is a big threat. He says is S3 things are going to get a lot bigger and relationships are going to blossom.

•Pike will have a big role in S3

•There will be an inter-party struggle during the season as well. We will be jumping towards the other side of the world as well as exploring other dimensions.

Also here’s a link to a clips they have shown from season 3: One from sdcc2024 and one they posted on twitter

Season 3 comes out on October 3rd on prime video

[orpiknight]

OrpiKnight's FAQ FAQ

For the Neil Gaiman Tumblr FAQ

GO S3 was announced! Will you be updating the FAQ still? Yep! :)

--- Who? Vel (blog OrpiKnight)

Why? I'm excited about Good Omens 2, I was looking through the Asks on Neil Gaiman's blog anyway, and I like having a constructive outlet when I'm going through so much information. And there were a lot of repeat questions. I mainly made it for me and my friends for reference, but then decided to go ahead and throw it out into the Tumblr void, too.

*Are a lot of these questions really frequently asked? Well, this started out being called a "QnA" doc because I was compiling the Asks. Then everyone kept calling it a "FAQ". So I rolled with it. It keeps up with the current Asks as much as possible, though. (I have no way of knowing how many times he gets asked some questions. That's for his inbox to know.)

Will you be actively updating it with new questions/answers? Yes. I update in batches now, every month or so. For my sanity. *When I update things, I usually put the new questions at the bottom of their section, even if they might fit next to something else in it better. This is just to make new ones easier to find. Later on I might reorganize them.

Can you put it in a Tumblr post? No. It's too much information, it can hang out on docs (which is 30+ pages). I'm pretty sure I would hit a word limit if I put it on here. Or break my dash. Or accidentally delete it. *You don't need a Google account to access it. I have tested this signed out on non-Chrome browsers. (I use Firefox btw)

You missed some Asks. Yeah... there is no way I could get all of them. I had to draw the line somewhere.

Some of the questions are strange. Don't I know it. Edit: But I do like to put in all sorts of questions. Sometimes there are things that don't even occur to me to ask that Neil says he gets constant questions about (like the ice cream/ice lolly). Sometimes there are things that I don't realize need clarifying (like "two consenting bicycle repairmen"). One person can ask a creatively specific question that other people are quietly wondering about. I also like the funny ones.

I found an error (typo/link not going to where it's supposed to/accidentally wrong info/etc.)?

But seriously, it's okay to message me to let me know. It's very helpful.

Can I have shared editing access to your document? No.

About the fanfiction thing... Please end my suffering. (And Neil Gaiman's) Edit: I should probably clarify that I do like fanfiction.

I have personal opinions. Please be nice to me.

Can you add or change this, that, or whatever? I work irl, am usually tired, and don't have much time to constantly edit every little thing. Unless you're Neil Gaiman himself asking, it's likely I'm just going to leave it how I organized it. And I mean that in the politest way possible. Speaking of, if you would like to help me out at all with things like bills, medical costs, and food— here's my: Venmo: @ajgvel Ko-fi page (It says you're giving me ducks on there! :D)

It's not expected of course. Regardless, much love to everyone, and thanks for making a space where we can all have fun together about something we enjoy. ♡

Find me on Bluesky: OrpiKnight

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex Episodes

It has come to my attention that Hudson and Rex episodes are not easily accessible to a lot of people, despite it being broadcasted in many countries. I was looking for a place to archive the episodes myself in good quality as a backup but up until recently, the 1080p rips were huge so it was an impossible feat. I finally found some mkv ones that are not as ginormous as the others, and I'd like to share them with the fandom.

Disclaimer: I did not do these rips or the transcoding. I haven't checked the episodes one by one to see if there are any faults with them, just a few as random tests, I also watched a few, and they were all good, subtitles were working and in sync, etc.

What you need to know before downloading:

The files are in mkv format and Mega, the host I've uploaded them on, does NOT have a player to play MKVs online. The links are for downloading, or alternatively transferring to your own Mega account, not for online streaming.

The video codec is HEVC, which is why the size of the episodes is not huge. That might affect some older computers which may not have this codec, though. Read about HEVC here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Video_Coding and if it's missing, you can add the HEVC codec.

Same goes for your tv if you choose to play them in one (although you probably can't add the codec there). I generally recommend downloading one episode as a test. If it plays in your device, they all should play in that device.

Most of the files have forced English subtitles on them. I am unfamiliar with forced subtitles in general. You may have trouble removing them on a tv, maybe. I've tested them only using VLC on my computer and they can appear and disappear just fine when I choose so like normal subs do. Forced subtitles are not hard-coded subtitles.

Episodes S01E01 - S06E06 were all transcoded by one team as it was a pack, the rest by another, as the first pack was uploaded during this winter hiatus and there was no other upload by the first team for the rest. I only see small differences between the episodes, not worthy of a mention. I've kept the original file names, so you will know when the teams change if you're interested in that (team name is the last input on the title of the file).

The size of all the episodes in total is around 92GB. When you go to download them, each file will also display the size of it.

How to download (skip this if you've downloaded from Mega before):

Even if you have set your browser to ask you where to download the file, Mega will download the file you requested entirely before asking you were to save it. It's how their cloud service works. You don't need to download anything else to get these files, just right-click a file and click Download, and then Standard Download when the submenu opens. You do not need to download the Mega Desktop App, unless you want to download the entire folder at once as a ZIP file. I don't know how many concurrent downloads a free user gets on Mega, or limitations regarding the GBs per day on free users.

Mega suggests users download using Chrome or a Chromium based browser, however downloading the files one by one should work in any browser.

If you have a download manager, just load these folders in it and it will do the job better than your browser.

If you attempt this with a smartphone, then I highly suggest you download the Mega mobile app. I don't think the files will download to your phone otherwise.

Links:

These lead to each season's folder of episodes. Only copy the link below, do not copy the season identifier at the start of each line. Make sure you copy the entire link especially the S4 one which apparently continues in a second line.

S1: https://mega.nz/folder/1ZMTlbpY#DqS2V2KKgeajbINzx8c6Pg

S2: https://mega.nz/folder/kZE1yTTC#p29HrvXgahGXW-0rlzx77Q

S3: https://mega.nz/folder/0Bt3gBJL#hcX7tjU1GScmprTc0nkc0w

S4: https://mega.nz/folder/UQFD3SZZ#nbGJeLzH2IHLVpVFyK750A

S5: https://mega.nz/folder/ARkzUQbS#eS1Yy11x_DEPg3T2bD5ozw

S6: https://mega.nz/folder/lBUFnBwb#WszZvKLzfpRKVvuz5B78Nw

Other information:

I'll try to keep the links up as long as I can but I suggest keeping your own copies. Mega does not offer that amount of space for free, so this is a paid cloud service. I'm not looking for anyone to participate on the upkeep but there might be a day when these links will be taken down for any number of reasons. Personally, I don't trust the cloud. Keep local copies of anything you don't want to lose.

If these are reported, I will not be reuploading them and I assume that reporting may also take down my account with them so I will probably also not be able to be a paying customer of their service either way. So, keep the sharing of the links within the fandom. I will not tag this post, but I highly encourage reblogging it to spread the info.

I suggest that anyone who wants to share this with a lot of people should make their own cloud backup. The purpose of me uploading these links is, ironically, not piracy. The purpose is to make the episodes easily accessible to fans.

I will not upload these in other cloud services, if anyone wants to go upload these in google drive, for example, I'm not willing to risk it but of course, anyone else willing to do it is welcome to.

If anyone has questions or concerns, I'll be glad to answer them. Not everyone is familiar with hosting sites, but this is easier than a torrent. I'm sure I've forgotten things which to me may seem simple.

[ladysophiebeckett]

if you're watching s3 betty (as i will be referring to it as) on amazon and you cant get screenshots bc theyre mean, i recommend this one-shot-screenshot extension. there's a chrome and firefox option. i use chrome.

when ur watching and u want to screenshot, you just pause the player, wait a second till it clears and then--

then go to ur downloads folder or whatever folder youve designated downloads go to and you'll find this--

that's how its gonna look and then you can just crop it.

[ticklish-n-stuff]

How Dr. Stone characters react to you telling them you like being tickled

Except it's only my faves

My condolences to Ryusui, I'm only halfway through p1 of s3 and still wasn't sure on what to write for him

Anyways, enjoy<3

Senku Ishigami

Mr I bottle up my emotions would pretend to act indifferent, but don’t let that font fool you. In that big brain of his he’s already plotting

When he finally strikes, he’ll brush it off as him just trying to torture you into working on his next mindblowing project. But deep down, he loves these rare moments of just goofing around.

Would uplay the whole evil scientist schpiel, just imagine the most shit-eating grin imaginable looking down at you the whole time. 

When he thinks you’re not looking, his expression softens up :3

Gen Asagiri

You will never know peace ever again

Not only does he now know that you’re ticklish, but that you like it as well?! He’s going HAMMM

Very evil with the teasing

“What’s that? Did you want something?~”

Loves to bring attention to his fingers just to tease you further

Can and WILL make you ask for tickles

“See? That wasn’t so hard~”

Taiju Oki

This big oaf can’t contain himself, instantly wanting to try it out for himself

Will scoop you up in his arms with ease and go to town on whatever spots he can reach

Though he is a gentleman in his own way. Can easily get carried away but always apologizes and makes it up to you with lots of cuddles uwu

Typa ler to laugh alongside you, enjoying the simplicity of it all

Yuzuriha Ogawa

Don’t get fooled by her sweet personality, her touch can be LETHAL

Girl has the hands of a surgeon, she’d know exactly which spots to pinpoint and how to get the best reactions. 

Queen of soft tickles, but still highly effective

“Try not to squirm too much~” 

Ebvil

Chrome

Bro is like a golden retriever, ready to pounce on sight

Can and will tackle you like a damn brute

Not teasy on purpose, he just lets the science brain take over and curiously tries out different spots and techniques

“What happens if I pinch here? OHH! Do that again!!”

Gets lost in his own nerdy lil world so you might need to tap out to get him to stop

Always so bashful at the end when he realizes that he tickled you breathless

Kohaku

She doesn’t seem like the type to goof around much with such knowledge

Would mainly tickle you if you’re being stubborn in the mornings or as “motivation” to train

Doesn’t show it but absolutely loves the thrill of making you laugh

Excels in chases, being able to zoom all over Ishigami village and grab you in record time

A bit of a ruthless ler, so prepare yourself. But knows when you’re reaching your limits

Tsukasa Shishio

For seeming so intimidating, he’s actually a big softie

Always asks permission beforehand, very gentle touch, always checking on you

“Is it okay if I keep going? Your laughter is too sweet for me to stop”

Though, if you act bratty and try to provoke him, he will not hesitate to chase you down and destroy you lovingly

Ukyo Saionji

Sneaky ‘lil bastard

Always finding any opportunity to sneak quick lil pokes and squeezes when you’re not paying attention

Sometimes he’ll just smile from your adorable reaction, other times, if he’s feeling playful, he’ll play dumb

“Everything okay there? You look a little flushed~

King of comfort tickles. Always at the ready to bring back a smile onto your face and tickle your worries away.

[goldenpinof]

hi!! you can actually do some poking around and find all the alternate thumbnails!! u have to use chrome but right click on phil's YT page > click inspect > click the icon that looks like a box w/ dotted lines with an arrow in the corner > click the thumbnail of the vid. it should come up with this URL (for the new video): https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QUegn1-s3-A/hqdefault_custom_1.jpg?sqp=-oaymwE2CNACELwBSFXyq4qpAygIARUAAIhCGAFwAcABBvABAfgB_gmAAtAFigIMCAAQARhlIFEoVTAP&rs=AOn4CLAxTU88vTKHhrTpMTg7Z2jVpLmPaw

from there you can change the number "1" (after hqdefault_custom_ right before .jpg) to 2 or 3 and it'll bring up the other thumbnails :) this works for his other videos too. like for example when you find the zillow vid thumbnail url it only is "hqdefault" but if you edit the url to be "hqdefault_custom_1" (or 2 or 3) you can still see all the options!!

aaaaaa, thank you so much! it works on Mozilla as well.

also, if anyone is interested but can't find the links in Inspect. each video has its own name/code in URL, and it can be inserted into Emma's link between /vi/ and /hqdefault_custom_1.jpg (for example, this video it's QUegn1-s3-A, the soup video's — DRsawqWjCUE).

i checked 3 videos. we can see only 3 thumbnails, right? i know the construction worker video had 4 different ones (just Phil's face; Phil's face with a text; Phil's face and a constructor; Phil's face, constructor and a house), now it shows only 3.

i also checked the soup video that had 3 or 4 thumbnails but now we can see only 2. so it sees what's in the code right now, but not all options that were there ever. or i'm doing something wrong.

this is a great link nevertheless. thank you so much <3

[ella390-the-potato]

Dr. STONE NEW WORLD

Screencaps from the How Many Spoilers Can You Fit In An Opening

[drstonestitches]

sailing

[t4yce]

where did you get hq drag race ph s3 😭😭 i can't find 1080ps omg

i just screenrecord from wowpresents! if you use chrome and turn off hardware acceleration in settings you should be able to screen record 💕

[kalevalakryze]

The Protector

Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV) Pairings: Bo-Katan Kryze &Sabine Wren, Din Djarin & Bo-Katan Kryze Characters: Sabine Wren, Bo-Katan Kryze, Din Djarin  Warnings: No Graphic Tags, Sparring, Depression Era Bo-Katan Kryze Notes: For @whumptober 2023 Day 19 & @sabineweek Bingo Prompt Fill "Mandalorian Protectors" & Sabine Week prompt "Sabine and Bo-Katan." Timeline is set around Mandalorian S3. Prompt: Sabine & Bo-Katan | “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.” “I’ll take one final step, all you have to do is make me.” | Mandalorian Protectors AU Word Count: 3,120 AO3 Link: Here!

The perimeter alarms went off in a way that brought goosebumps to Sabine’s skin. There weren’t many beings alive who knew Clan Kryze’s ancestral home still sat on Kalevala, and from the list of those alive, even fewer could be trusted to show with less than hostile intentions. 

Her helmet was pulled on in short order; Bo-Katan did not utter a word to her protector as she stalked from the desolate Throne Room. Rain fell in thick droplets, rapid in their descent to the earth and in their journey of thoroughly soaking the thick material of Sabine’s flight suit. 

The N-1 was bright, chrome plating catching the flashes of lightning as it arced from the skies from several kilometers away. The pilot was just as reflective as his starship, fresh, unpainted armor catching the ever-present gloom of the storm as he landed. There was no Death Watch signet on his armor, and no threat in the way he exited his ship, in fact, the Mandalorian hadn’t even acknowledged the Protector upon his exit, instead turning back to his ship to prepare something from inside. 

Sabine’s fingers flexed towards the Westars at her side, peering through the raindrops on her visor as he worked. She could not see what was loaded into the pram, but soon, white-painted durasteel hovered two feet from the Mandalorian’s side, and he’d finally graced her with his acknowledgment. “I’m here to see Lady Bo-Katan Kryze,” He began, the wind caught most of his voice through the vocoder, chin raising as he regarded the strange woman and stranger armor. 

“She is not here, you should leave,” Sabine called, shoulders squared and chest puffing out as she regarded the unknown man. Bo-Katan had mentioned a Mandalorian fitting the description of the man, but as her sole Protector, she couldn’t be too careful. 

The Mandalorian paused, hopelessness sagging his frame. “Could you pass along a message, from a friend?”

Walking in long strides, Din Djarin had to move fast to keep at Sabine’s heels, the pram floating behind the two Mandalorians, and raindrops falling to the old carpet where it dripped from their armor. Bo-Katan did not raise her empty stare from indents in the floor, even as their purposeful strides bounced off the cavernous walls. 

“Lady Kryze,” Sabine pulled her helmet from her head, tucking it under her arm as she approached to bow her head, purple strands of hair falling in her face as she did so. Din seemed taken aback at this, but wisely allowed the Protector to continue once she’d garnered the attention of the Princess. “Din Djarin has come for you,” 

The chrome Mandalorian stepped past Sabine, allowing her to take her place to Bo-Katan’s side once more, boots having long since worn into the stone from her weeks of silent vigil at the older woman’s side. “I have come to join you,” He called, imitating Sabine’s posture; shoulders squared, chest puffed out, chin raised. At least an uncivilized member of the coverts could show some respect to the Leader of their people…

For the first time of the day, Bo-Katan’s weight shifted in the throne. Sabine felt the warmth of relief as Bo-Katan’s shoulders rolled. “There’s nothing left to join,” Bo-Katan refused to see it in her grief, that there was something to join, yet Sabine could not step from her place, it was not her duty to make the woman see that, not yet at least. 

Sabine’s head turned away as Din turned to stare at her for an explanation. Her teeth gritted and her fingers flexed around the rim of her helmet. It took a lot to keep her mouth shut, but she’d been trained for this, and had devoted her life to this. If Bo-Katan was not ready, Sabine could not force her…

Din’s confusion showed in his tone, his weight moved from the balls of his feet to his heels. “What of your plans to retake Mandalore?”

Bo-Katan scoffed and Sabine winced. “When I returned without the dark saber… My forces melted away,” Those piercing chartreuse eyes settled on her, bringing the younger Mandalorian to attention. She was the only one who’d stayed, after all. She was sworn not to the dark saber, but to Bo-Katan, and would continue to be until her death in battle. 

Din still seemed confused by this, his head shook in disbelief. “Then where is the stolen fleet?” He hadn’t spotted the stolen imperial ships on the surface, but he’d known the lengths she’d gone through to acquire such a scale for her nite owls. 

The muscles in Sabine’s jaw flexed. She had no kind thoughts on the usurpation of Bo-Katan Kryze for the spineless brute that had rallied her own forces against her. She’d kept her tabs on each of them and had watched every moral Lady Kryze had bestowed upon them all melt away under the promise of a handful of credits. “Making their way across the galaxy..” Bo-Katan answered, beskar catching on the smooth stone of her throne as her weight dropped back again. “As mercenaries,” She added almost sourly. 

Din Djarin’s head turned to the protector then, looking at the armored warrior from the paint splatter on her greaves to the colorful mark that named her commander of the guard stamped proudly into her breastplate. “Why have you stayed, then?” 

Golden eyes flickered towards Bo-Katan, though the woman had looked away pointedly. “Where she goes… I go,” The younger woman declared pridefully. There would never be any uncertainty about where her loyalties lay, ever since she joined the Mandalorian Protectors and had found the Regent Leader working as a Rebel. Saxon didn’t need her, and Mandalore hadn’t needed another to join the cause of bleeding it dry. Bo-Katan had freed the planet, and herself, and while the Imperials reigned havoc upon their homes, she would never forget the kindness that had come in war. 

“Do you still have the saber?”

“...I do”

“Then you lead them,” There was disdain in her tone, Bo-Katan was weary of the interaction already, it seemed. Sabine released a slow breath as she slipped her helmet back over her head, preparing to escort the chrome Mandalorian from Clan Kryze’s castle. “Wave that thing around, and they’ll do whatever you say.” 

“So you… gave up your designs to retake Mandalore?” There was a sadness in his voice, one Sabine could echo. Bo-Katan and herself had argued extensively about the planet’s survivability, and if saving their home would even be worth it. Each time, it seemed to only dull the woman’s will to do much more than sit upon the throne and mope. 

Coming from Din Djarin, however, this seemed to spark anger. Bo-Katan’s lip curled, and Sabine had to calculate the time it would take her to leap between the two. For a woman who spoke of the heaps of Mandalorian blood spilled by her own, she was always so ready to attack even the slightest offense, to defend herself and her honor, oftentimes forgetting that she had Sabine to help carry that weight. 

“Your cult gave up on Mandalore.” She snarled, muscles in her jaw twitching, though neither Heiress or Child of the Watch moved for their weapon, despite stirring hostilities. Still, Sabine took a step down, closer to the apex of tension between them all. “Long before the purge,” A deep breath as the older woman’s brows furrowed, her weight shifted forward and her eyes narrowed. “Where were you then?” 

“The Children of the Watch and all the factions that came before,” Her voice dropped; Bo-Katan had never been one to shy away from her part in Mandalore’s destruction or in the part those fallen, fragmented members of her clan had in the division of their people. “Fractured and shattered our people…. Go home… There’s nothing left.” Sabine’s chin dropped at the conviction in Bo-Katan’s voice. It was the same argument, with a different, hopeful Mandalorian in her place. 

Din Djarin did not back down, however, and Sabine had to commend such an act. “I am going to Mandalore so that I may bathe in the living waters, and be forgiven for my transgressions,” 

There was something familiar in his tone, a voice that had been mimicked by Tristan when he’d run off to the Imperial Academy and returned to Krownest years later with a Jetti and a band of rebels. A promise in his voice that she knew from experience could only be put down with death. Maybe Bo-Katan needed her own Tristan, like she had… A look towards the redhead’s quiet, seething form had told her that no, Din Djarin was not the spark that would reignite the fire of Bo-Katan Kryze. 

“You are a fool.” Her weight shifted against the throne once more. The woman was finished with the conversation, that much was clear, as her tired gaze moved to Sabine before lingering back to empty walls, sinking back into the ghosts of her memories, in paintings that had been taken off the walls when the wails of their ancestors grew too loud. 

“There’s nothing magic about the mines of Mandalore,” She continued, eyes moving across the stone, as if she was watching the choppy animating of a children’s holofilm play out. “They supplied beskar ore to our ancestors, and the rest is superstition. That planet has been ravaged, plundered, and poisoned.” 

“You said that the curse was a lie. Make up your mind,” 

Sabine did not often wear her helmet outside of battle, but now she was thankful for the beskar hiding the way her lips split into a smile. He certainly had a fire in him, that was undeniable. 

“If you want to go to the mines,” Bo-Katan finally turned to look at him once again. “Be my guest. They’re beneath the civic center in the city of Sundari,” 

“Thank you… And I will find out if the planet is really poisoned.” Sabine finally moved from her post to escort the spitfire as he turned away from Bo-Katan. 

“Goodbye, Din Djarin.”

“He’s got a point, Lady Kryze,” Sabine began upon her return to the throne room, frowning at the way Bo-Katan sat back on the throne, a gauntleted arm thrown over her eyes in frustration. 

“I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Wren,” Bo-Katan snapped without looking at her. Sabine let out a soft sigh as she jogged up the stairs of the throne. The younger Mandalorian sighed as she removed Bo-Katan’s helmet from the side of the throne, setting it carefully on the floor under the hawk-like gaze of its owner until she’d removed her own and set it at her side as well.

Carefully, Sabine perched on the arm of the throne, hands in her lap, nervously picking at the fabric that covered her knuckles. “You’re the smartest person I know, Lady Kryze, nothing is going to change that-”

A scoff from the redhead, as she turned her body to face the back of the throne, armor scraping against each other as she curled her legs onto the chair with her. For someone who stood so tall and took up so much space, it made her chest ache to see her let the world swallow her up. 

“Would you like to spar, my lady?” 

This, at least, seemed to get some life from the woman. Sabine needed to keep active, and as much as she liked running the trails around the castle or dancing around the cavernous rooms, a good fight was what they both needed to get the blood pumping and burn off Lady Kryze’s simmering stockpile of rage. 

Bo-Katan was always a ferocious sight in battle. Being able to witness the woman’s prowess in battle was like having a front row seat to the stories passed down between clans, of warriors with the fires of the Great Forge burning under their hal’cabur, bending the battlefield to their demand as they fought for what was right.

There were no stormtroopers to be found under her fist, yet, as the woman taped her knuckles on the other side of the mats, Sabine could still feel the tangible thrum of anticipation, a thundering in her heart at the promise of being the one to pull the Mand’alor from her stupor, however brief it may be. 

Shaking the throes of anxiety from her fingertips, the Protector stretched her arms above her head, palm locking against the opposing elbow until the familiar stretch in her arms thrummed through muscle. Bo-Katan was occupied on the other side; while she did was not one to miss her morning exercises, it had been all too long since she’d allowed the armor to come off. Sabine filed the knowledge away to polish it for the woman later, if all things worked according to plan. 

“I can feel your eyes on me, little Wren.” There was humor in her voice was she spoke, yellow-green eyes unblinking as she adjusted the way the dark blue material rested across her knuckles. 

“My apologies, Lady Kryze,” The woman’s voice held no apology, but the hints of mirth that Bo-Katan had come to appreciate in her company. A smirk tugged at full lips as Sabine released her arm, swinging them out to loosen up before repeating the process on the other side. 

“Alright, Protector, let’s see if you’ve still got it,” There was a spark in her eyes, an ember of something that had been doused by so many before, but not quite put out, not yet, not while Sabine had anything to do with it, at least. 

Bo-Katan waited for Sabine to strike first, air displacing around her fist as she jabbed out, using her forward momentum to follow Bo-Katan’s sidestep up with an elbow jabbed outwards. Bo caught the elbow against her forearm, shoving Sabine back to stagger her momentum. 

“You start with that?” Bo-Katan taunted, sharp eyebrow raised as Sabine spun on her heel, fingers flexing as golden eyes reassessed. 

“Had to make sure you were going to be on your game, this time. Didn’t want to leave you in the dust like-”

Before Sabine could finish, she was put into a terse defense as Bo-Katan snapped forward. Blow after blow was caught on forearms and the meat of her thighs, muscles aching and shaking under the feeling of bruises blooming under powerful hits. 

Bo-Katan wasn’t holding back, a smile seemed to pull at her lips as she sunk into the familiar burn, a predator pushing their prey to the bring, playing with their food… It was the most Bo-Katan had seemed like herself since capturing the Imperial fleet and laying eyes upon the dark saber once more. 

Before Sabine knew it, a foot was hooking behind her ankle, her body was being pitched forward into a steady column of the older Mandalorian’s body, and, in a last-ditch attempt to regain some control of the situation, they were soon both tumbling to the mats, Sabine’s arms circled around Bo-Katan’s shoulders, pinning one arm under her own as her back hit the mats. 

With Bo-Katan’s foot wedged around her shin, the purple-haired Protector was able to koala both legs over the one, knees locking around the thick muscle of Bo-Katan’s thigh as she pitched them to the side, hands scraping, burning against the rough material of the mat as her hands rubbed flat into the floor, pushing herself off the redhead just enough to get a hand on her shoulder.

From the corners of her eyes, she could see the way purple and blue were already beginning to bloom across olive skin, could see the way the freckled skin flushed, sweat-slick and almost shining in artificial lights. Bo-Katan said nothing, breathing through parted lips, a much quieter contrast to the deep swallows Sabine was breathing. Intermingled and tangled, Sabine stared down at the older woman, shock and a sliver of fear at being the one to get the Bo-Katan Kryze on her back.

The silence dragged with Sabine frozen in spot, and Bo-Katan’s eyes raking inquisitively over the protector. 

It took a rush of… something, surely not confidence, that had words spilling past Sabine’s lips, words she had mulled over and had not considered articulating when Bo-Katan seemed desperate to stew in her misery. “Lady Kryze-” She paused as if waiting for permission to continue, however, she forged on before the woman could acknowledge her. The younger woman sat up, leaning back against the redhead’s bent knees. “If there is a way to reclaim Mandalore, don’t you think we should? Mandalorians… we’re stronger together,” Her finger twitched against the soft fabric of the woman’s tank top, anxiety brimming over the surface as the embers in her eyes simmered. 

“I’ll take one final step,” Bo breathed, voice dark and heavy, lips smoothing into a mask of dispassion as her hands settled against Sabine’s arms, fingertips dancing across bruised elbows before she was guiding the young Protector off of her. Letting herself drop to the mats beside her, Sabine reached to brush her hair out of the way, watching Bo-Katan as she rose and wiped the sweat from her brow. “All you have to do is make me.” When Bo-Katan rose next, she extended a hand down to the woman below her. “Show me…” A pause, like the woman was reconsidering this moment of vulnerability, even with the woman who had seen her through her worst times. “Show me the way, Wren.”

Something itched at the back of Sabine’s mind. The Jetti paired with Tristan’s ‘Ghost’ crew had mentioned the Force to her once, nothing but passing in an explanation of a blind man and his blue son, but from how her vod’ika had explained it, she could only consider it to the feeling of the Manda. When she reached to take Bo-Katan’s hand, there was a flash of the image, distorting in the Manda’s memory of gold and grey armor, reaching to take the blue gauntlet of the woman before her. 

Ursa Wren had once been this person for Bo-Katan Kryze, and she had met her end for it, at the hands of Moff Gideon. Bo was danger, she was carnage and blood and ruin. But Sabine always did have an affinity for volatile experiences and people. Ticking bombs were her specialty, and no matter how long the charge that was her Mand’alor lay dormant, Sabine was her mother’s daughter. She knew the risks, and the dangers that came with it, and time and time again, the Wren would follow the Owl to ruin. 

Sabine’s hand clasped in Bo-Katan’s as the image steadied, offering a stretch of her lips, a smile as she tugged Bo-Katan until their shoulders bumped. “Then let’s get to work, my lady.”