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lesbianwyllravengard · 2 years ago

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Cool so @itsybitsybatsyspider had the genius idea that is a D:BH Star Wars AU, and I was so excited for theirs I couldn’t stop thinking about it so now I’ve formulated my own DBH star wars AU but it’s set on Mandalore and everyone is Mandalorian rather than Jedi/Sith/Rebellion/Stormtroopers etc. because I am obsessed with Mandalore/Mandalorian culture. (it ofc has simarkus and reed900 and chloenorth because. I’m a whore.) but I can’t keep doing this. I am so busy I cannot be writing all this.

So anyways here’s about 8.6k words I wrote of what I’m thinking:

Mand'alor Carl, Clan Manfred, House Kryze, is the current Duke of Mandalore, and his son, Leo Manfred, is next in line for the throne when one day he goes missing. Carl sends the Mandalorian Royal Guard to find Leo, but they come back with nothing. No sign of where he’s disappeared to or why. Carl is devastated, depressed, and his health is declining, leaving him almost bedridden in his grief.

Elijah, Clan Kamski, House Kryze, comes from a wealthy family who was close friends with Carl Manfred. When Elijah was a teenager, it was revealed that his father had had an affair with a working class Mandalorian - Maria, Clan Reed, House Kast - and Elijah’s father was cast out of the family, with his mother taking control of the wealth and Clan Kamski. Elijah never met the child of his father’s mistress, but he heard it was a boy just a few months younger than him.

Markus, Clan unknown, House Kast, is an orphan foundling who attended the Mandalore Royal Academy and is a remarkable artist. Elijah Kamski is also a rising pioneer in advancements of Mandalorian armour and technology; he graduated the academy early due to his achievements, and ended up teaching a class at the Academy despite his young age. Markus takes this class, and is surprised to see someone around his age teaching it. Kamski notices Markus and his skills, knows he’s an orphan, and is all “Let me introduce you to my old friend, Carl. Who also happens to be the ruler of Mandalore but that’s not important.” Carl adopts Markus almost immediately. It starts as an ageing ruler’s last attempt at an heir, but then Carl grows to love the boy, and Markus takes care of him the best he can, while also learning his new responsibilities as the future possible ruler of Mandalore (it’s a voting system that chooses the ruler, but having an heir gives them an advantage because yknow nepotism and whatnot).

Simon, Clan Phillips, House Vizsla, is the son of the Mandalorian Prime Minister, Caroline Phillips. His twin brother, Daniel, had a fight with their mother after their father John Phillips died in a planned assassination meant for Caroline, as Daniel blamed her for their father’s death. Daniel shunned the Noble life, leaving home to explore other planets in the galaxy. Daniel was favoured by their younger sister, Emma, who was sad when he left and decided to join the Academy rather than train to become Nobility. Simon, while not necessarily trying to follow in his mother’s footsteps, did so anyway, out of familial obligation. In his training, he met Josh, also House Vizsla, Clan Eldar, who was interested in the history and politics of Mandalore. Simon thought maybe Josh would make a better future Prime Minister than himself, but Josh wanted to pursue teaching, not actual politics. Simon spent a lot of time in the Sundari Royal Palace, both in shadowing his mother, and in performing his own duties. He became close friends with Markus, who wasn’t used to the royal lifestyle, and spent every moment he could either painting or hanging out with Simon, or both.

North, Clan Rook, House Kast, is a fiery and passionate Mandalorian who left her abusive family and joined the Mandalorian Royal Guard - the Mandalorian Protectors - when she was a teenager. Through the years she worked her way up the rank and became Head of the Protectors, and Carl Manfred’s personal Guard. North likes the old man, for he’s kind to her and took her in, but she grows disenchanted with Carl Manfred’s Mandalore, and longs for the stories of when there was real progress through action. She feels Carl has grown stagnant and is failing as a ruler meant to ensure prosperity in his reign. She stays loyal, however, and simply waits for the day Markus will become Mand’alor. While some of her tactics are more traditionally Mandalorian, as in aggressive, Markus sees her perspective as well as his father’s, and pledges to rule with a balanced mind.

North and Simon grow close after they find they both don’t agree with the way Carl rules, and wish for more progress. Simon jokes that he’s not strong enough to be a warrior like her, and North teases that she’s not boring enough to be a politician like him. Josh appreciates Carl’s rule and sees no need to change it, but he doesn’t mind diplomatic advancements. He and North disagree over this frequently, and North believes Josh isn’t a true Mandalorian due to his pacifism.

Once Markus is of age, Carl steps down and Markus is voted Mand’alor. He has the full support of his people, who are happy to see a fresh face on the throne.

Simon and Markus grow closer, and fall in love, but once Markus becomes the ruler of Mandalore and Simon his prime minister, Simon worries they cannot be together because of their positions. Markus doesn’t care if it’s unorthodox, and begins to court Simon anyways. Carl of course approves, and often gives both Markus and Simon advice on how to make their relationship last despite their responsibilities.

I need to note that every Mandalorian's iron heart - the hexagonal piece that rests at the end of their sternums on their outfits/armours - is different, whether it’s because of size, colour, shear, or position. However, Markus and Simon's are exactly the same in shape, size, and position. Their only difference is their colour - they both used to be the same colour, green, but once Simon noted that his was green like Markus's eyes, Markus changed his to be blue like Simon's eyes. Consider it an early step in Markus's courting of Simon. So to say, their iron hearts are compatible, wink wink.

But before Carl stepped down, Elijah, taking progress into his own hands, decides to form a new sort of political faction he dubs “Kyber Life”, with the goal of inventing and producing technology, weapons, and armour that will spur Mandalorian advancements as well as offer new age protection in Mandalorian wars and battles, especially against the Jedi. Carl gives his permission, curious to see what Elijah has in mind, and trusting his vision. Elijah takes up residence on Mandalore’s moon, Concordia, and sets his base of operation there, because he doesn’t want anyone to think he means to undermine Carl’s rule. He hires working class Mandalorians to work for him, for good pay and free housing, and convinces his Academy mentor, Amanda, Clan Stern, House Vizsla, to join him and continue to guide him in his efforts. Kyber Life grows, and after spending years studying the Darksaber, Elijah invents the first Mandalorian Kyber Blaster. It’s revolutionary in design and is at first only introduced to the Royal Guard and Noble Mandalorians, but will be a very powerful weapon against the Jedi.

However, another mentee of Amanda’s named Perkins - Clan Vizsla and House Vizsla - grows ambitious and greedy for power, as well as jealous of Amanda’s favouritism for Kamski, and decides to join Elijah’s operation in an attempt to overthrow him. Elijah trusts him, unsuspecting of his intentions, and Perkins plays the role of loyal subordinate well. Then, Amanda uncovers Perkins’s plans, and threatens to send him to Mandalore to face trial for his illegal activities. It's believed that Perkins murdered Amanda. He then forces Kamski to resign or else Perkins will kill him too. Elijah doesn’t want to leave his faction under Perkins’s control, but Perkins has grown in following and Elijah knows he wouldn’t survive. So he flees back to Mandalore, to find Markus now ruling, and tells him everything that happened. As it stands, they cannot make a move against Kyber Life without more substantial evidence they could use to sway the public into seeing Kyber Life for what it has become, rather than what it was meant to be, lest they start a full blown war that they aren’t ready for. Despite Markus believing Kamski, he can’t do much without his people’s support, and so they all start a campaign against Kyber Life.

Once Kyber Life was first founded by Elijah, and he began hiring working class Mandalorians to work for him, he met Kara, Clan Saxon, House Vizsla. Kara was trying to escape a distant member of her Clan, Todd, who was a member of the Black Sun crime syndicate and had tried to murder her. Kamski saw Kara’s wit and determination, and she became one of his leading developers of Kyber Life technology. But when Kamski was forced to leave, he told Kara of what happened and she left with him, unwilling to work for Perkins and loyal to Kamski’s vision. Kara returned to Mandalore to find that Todd had been killed by the Black Sun Syndicate’s leader, leaving his daughter Alice all alone. Kara didn’t hesitate to adopt the young foundling, and enrolled Alice in the Royal Academy so she could have a better future.

Luther, Clan Andronikov, House Kast, had shunned his clan after escaping his adoptive father Zlatko who’d held Luther captive. Luther became a professor at the Royal Academy, and grew fond of Alice. He met Kara and they became quick friends, Luther promising to look after Alice during her schooling. Kara and Luther grew inseparable and decided to raise Alice together, as friends, and form their own new clan, which they dubbed Clan Jericho, vowing to take in any other Mandalorians who had also left their clans. (just as a note, the Kara and Luther ship is cute but I don’t personally ship it. I headcanon Kara as aroace! And I like her and Luther as best friends better. Also because men and women can be friends too.)

Hank, Clan Anderson, House Kryze, was a member of the Mandalorian Guard, which were local protectors rather than the Royal Mandalorian Protectors (basically, the Mandalorian police, but I refuse to call them that because fuck the police). Hank had a son, Cole, with another Guard member, but they remained friends and simply shared responsibility over Cole rather than get married. Hank had planned on joining Kyber Life before Kamski left, but then Cole’s mother died in a street riot and Hank had to raise Cole on his own. He didn’t step down from the Mandalorian Guard, but he did take on less responsibility, and was tasked with menial work, avoiding anything dangerous that could risk Cole losing his father too. Jeffrey, Clan Fowler, House Kast, was Hank’s closest friend and the head of the Mandalorian Guard, and looked out for him and Cole.

Connor, Clan unknown, House unknown, was an orphan boy who lived with his older brothers in an abandoned house in the outskirts of Sundari City. He was too young to remember their parents, or much of their childhood. His eldest brother called himself Nines, and the other brother called himself Sixty, but Connor wasn’t old enough to have remembered their real names either. They changed their names to hide, so they couldn’t be traced to their clan, and tried to convince Connor to change his name too. But Connor didn’t want to change his name, he didn’t understand the danger, so they relented. To protect him though, Nines and Sixty only called Connor “Vod’ika” (little sibling) while they were in public, and “Connor” only in private. Connor didn’t know the word had a meaning, just that it was what his brothers called him, so Connor misunderstood and thought that their Clan name (last name) was “Vod’ika”. Neither Nines nor Sixty had the heart to correct him. Only Nines knew the trouble their parents had been in, only he knew they had been part of the Black Sun syndicate as well but had been killed trying to escape for a better life. They died saving the three brothers, and Nines took the blame for it. Sixty didn’t care about guilt and was full of anger for the Mandalorian royalty that let things like this happen to the Mandalorian people without caring to help them. Nines resented them too, though not as much, and Connor just did whatever his older brothers did. (Connor is the youngest, Nines the oldest, and Sixty middle child, because that's just their vibes, and as an eldest child myself I can say with full confidence that Connor most definitely is not.)

When they were all adults, they heard about Kyber Life, and all decided to work there on Concordia both for extra protection and the money. When Kamski left, they stayed, believing Perkins Vizsla’s lies that the Mandalorian Royalty was corrupt and greedy, and wanted to eradicate Kyber Life for daring to advance. Connor was the first to realise the true ways of Kyber Life, and he left without telling Nines or Sixty, because even after revealing his findings to them, they were too loyal to Kyber Life. Connor instead joined Markus’s side, becoming his advisor against Kyber Life. It was the first thing Connor ever did without his brothers, and he was scared, but he wanted to take Kyber Life down, and his brothers didn’t believe him.

Gavin, Clan Reed, House Kast, was raised by Maria Reed in a poor home in Sundari city. (I headcanon his mom’s name being Maria, idk why.) Maria had been part of the Mandalorian Guard, and she knew Hank and Fowler, but she left after sustaining a debilitating injury to her leg due to a bomb that exploded in the town square where she had been standing guard. Because of this, she encouraged Gavin to attend the Academy rather than join the Guard because she cares about his safety. Gavin tries to go to the Academy, he really tries, but he’s not doing the best, he has the Mandalorian equivalent of undiagnosed ADHD. And then Maria’s health starts to decline, and she can no longer do her mid pay job, so Gavin quits the Academy and joins the Guard so he can get paid and take care of her.

Gavin quit the Academy just a few days before Kamski first began teaching there.

Gavin met his father all of two times, and neither of them were good times. Maria told Gavin that his father was the head of Clan Kamski, and Gavin knew who Elijah was, but they’ve never met. When his father is outcast from Clan Kamski, Gavin doesn’t ever see him again. He has no interest in meeting Elijah and he’s jealous of Elijah’s wealth and stability when he’s struggling to support himself and his mom. He doesn’t resent his mother though and he doesn’t regret it. Mandalorians have a strong sense of family, and he’s bitter that Elijah doesn’t seem to care about his family.

Gavin manages to help his mom back to health, but by then he’s been in the Guard for too long and doesn’t bother going back to the Academy. Maria feels like it’s her fault but Gavin doesn’t blame her. He’s also made friends with Hank and Fowler and enjoys his work.

Once Kamski returns to Mandalore after leaving Kyber Life, he meets Chloe - Clan Wren, House Vizsla - who took his place as the professor of science at Mandalore Royal Academy. He doesn’t mind, and they become friends and Kamski respects her. Kamski decides to run for president of the Academy and he wins that election. This is how he starts his attempt to raise support against Kyber Life: he does lectures at the Academy on how he started Kyber Life, how he wanted it to be, and what it has become now that Perkins Vizsla has taken over. He basically starts a highschool revolution.

Chloe was very sweet and compassionate, but she at times had a very traditional Mandalorian mindset about progressing through more action-based means. On one of the few times she was able to visit the Palace, she began a conversation with North, who was surprised to find that someone as innocent looking as Chloe was so on the side of violence. North… fell in love with her pretty quickly, and Chloe took every chance she could get to visit the Palace and see North. Markus and Simon both saw how the two women acted around each other and would tease North relentlessly about not acting on her crush. Simon even offered to tell Chloe for her, and North threatened to kill him if he did.

A while later, after Connor has left Kyber Life, Nines is sent on a mission to eradicate a noble family of Mandalorians whom Kyber Life claims stole from them. Kyber Life says this noble family is going to try to attack KL with their stolen gear, and Nines must go and assassinate them before they attack. Nines goes in the night to assassinate them, but Connor tipped off Markus’s Protectors with the condition that they don’t hurt Nines, and Markus agrees and sends them to ambush Nines. Nines fights them all off, but Gavin overhears the commotion on one of his rounds and shows up, sees Nines beating up the Royal Guard, and he gets in on the fight. While Nines is busy fighting North, the only one left standing, Gavin takes advantage of his distractedness and takes him on. Gavin is the only one who manages to take Nines down, mostly because Nines isn’t expecting it and is busy fighting North, and Gavin helps the Protectors shackle Nines. Gavin goes to leave but North stops him, asks him to come with them because he helped take down Nines and deserves to be rewarded. Gavin doesn’t want to, he doesn’t care, but North insists, and Gavin gets the idea that he can’t say no to this. So he goes with them, and helps report to Markus what happened.

Connor asks Nines if he realises what he’d actually been sent to do. Nines relays what Kyber Life had told him, and Connor and Markus reveal that the family he’d been sent to assassinate was actually two noble women and their two small children; they hadn’t stolen anything from KL, and they weren’t planning on attacking Kyber Life either. Kyber Life wanted them dead because they were working with Kamski to spread the word about Kyber Life’s true nature, and KL wanted them silenced due to their money and influence. Nines is horrified, he didn’t know, and he hadn’t realised how bad Kyber Life had become. He says he would gladly join Markus, but he understands if Markus chooses not to trust him and chooses to execute him for attempted murder. Markus pardons him, trusting Connor’s judgement of his brother and giving Nines the second chance Markus feels he deserves. Nines wants to go back for Sixty but Connor fears Sixty still won’t leave, because he’s more intensely loyal to Kyber Life than either of them ever were. Connor suggests Nines goes back as a double agent instead, and they’ll give him fake proof that he “killed” the family, while Markus sends the family into hiding. Nines agrees, and leaves.

After Gavin took him down, Nines kept his eyes on him, and as Nines is leaving, he pauses before Gavin, looks at him, and turns back to Markus. Nines informs Markus that Gavin was the one to take him down and that perhaps his skill was being wasted on the regular Guard. Then Nines winks at Gavin, and leaves. Gavin is already drooling over him but tries to play it cool.

Markus decides to promote Gavin to the Mandalorian Protectors due to his service, and Gavin is honoured and accepts the offer. This also means that he and his mother now get to live in the palace, and they get a room that’s bigger than their entire home. Maria is proud of him and he's grateful she finally gets the life of comfort and stability she deserves.

One day, while Gavin is training with North on his new duties as a Protector, Elijah comes to the Palace with news on their efforts against Kyber Life. He passes Gavin and North, and pauses. He’d heard, of course, that a “Gavin Reed” had joined the Mandalorian Protectors, but he hadn’t expected it to be his half-brother - but upon seeing Gavin for the first time, Elijah knew it was him. He introduces himself, acknowledging how they’re related, and Gavin is a little abrasive, but Elijah doesn’t care. He’s fascinated by how different they are. North tells him to fuck off in a friendly way, because he’s clearly making Gavin uncomfortable, and Elijah leaves. Later, when Gavin tells his mother that he met Elijah, she insists that Gavin invite him over because she has to meet him. Gavin speaks to Elijah the next day and begrudgingly asks him to come over and meet his mom, and Elijah agrees. Gavin dreads it but Maria is very excited to meet Elijah. Gavin and Kamski don’t get along at first; Gavin still holds resentment that Elijah never seemed to care about him or his well being, and Elijah doesn’t understand why he should have because they didn’t know about each other’s existence until they were teenagers, and Elijah was already getting busy with his early teaching career and technological advancements. They’ll eventually start to get along, but they’re going to clash for a bit at first.

Finally getting into his new role as Royal Protector, Gavin makes friends with North surprisingly quickly; they both have the same sense of crude humour, and get along well. Then Gavin meets another one of the Protectors, Tina - Clan Chen, House Kast - and finds she’s very similar to them as well. They become their own little friend group within the Protectors. Tina had a crush on North for the longest time, but claims that she’s over it now and is just waiting for the right woman to come along. Gavin still teases her about it though.

Nines returns to Concordia with his fake evidence of having killed the family, and Perkins believes it. Nines goes to Sixty and brainstorms how he could possibly try to convince his brother that Kyber Life is the enemy, and they were wrong. Nines presents his evidence to Sixty, who does believe him, but he just isn’t ready to believe that Kyber Life is in the wrong yet. He thinks that, while KL’s methods are pretty violent, the royal family doesn’t care about them and would rather see them all killed than help them, so he is going to keep following Kyber Life’s mission. He doesn’t rat out Nines, but they grow tense. Nines is only hanging out at Kyber Life to keep looking out for Sixty, but Sixty seems entirely committed.

On Mandalore, Hank gets word that Gavin has joined the Royal Protectors and wants to bring Cole to see the Palace. Gavin manages to get them a visit, and as they’re walking the halls, they run into Connor. Cole likes him immediately; he thinks Connor is super cool and smart and tall, and he wants Connor to give him piggyback rides around the Palace, to which Connor happily agrees. As Connor talks with Hank, he reveals that he doesn’t know his real Clan, or his House, as his parents had died when he was too young to remember, and he’d been raised by his older brothers. Hank starts to have a soft spot for this kid who lost everything and was now doing everything he could to help others. Hank is around more often after that, and he takes Connor under his wing, treating him like a son.

Back to Kara and Luther, their new Clan Jericho has gained many new members, adult and child alike, and they’ve reached the ears of the Mand’alor. At first they’re worried Markus might be mad at them for doing something untraditional, but Markus is nothing like that, and he is happy about what they’re doing. He makes Clan Jericho an honorary Royal Clan, meaning it now has the full protection of the throne and House Kryze, like a legitimate Clan. Kara and Luther are beyond joyful. Simon falls in love with him even more. Alice makes friends with some other foundlings at the Academy and invites them to join her clan. Connor hears about Jericho and, while he’s sad there wasn’t anything like that for him and his brothers when they were young, he’s happy that so many Mandalorian children are being adopted and dubbed “Foundlings” now. Kara asked Connor if he’d like to join Clan Jericho, because he doesn’t have a Clan either, but he holds off. He feels like the only Clan he’d want to belong to was Anderson, thinking of Hank like a father. Hank knows Connor is already an adult, but Mandalorians are committed to their families and belonging to a Clan, regardless of age; so when Hank asks Connor if he’d like to join Clan Anderson as his adopted son, Connor wholeheartedly agrees. He only hopes Nines and Sixty will want to join him when they return to Mandalore.

On Concordia, Nines keeps in secret contact with Connor, who was named an enemy of Kyber Life. Connor tells him about Hank adopting him, and that Hank would be more than happy to adopt him and Sixty into his Clan as well if they wanted. Nines wants to - Connor has talked a lot about Hank, and Nines appreciates him beyond words for taking care of his youngest brother for him - but he just can’t leave Sixty behind. Nothing seems to be working though and he’s not sure what to do. He just hopes that Sixty will see the truth before it’s too late.

Sixty’s loyalty and devotion to Kyber Life doesn’t go unnoticed, and Perkins decides to name Sixty his acting General. Perkins sends him on solo missions, with the intent of spying and retrieving information that would benefit KL, as well as assassinating rival faction/syndicate members and disrupting trade. Perkins suspects Nines, and is trying to use Sixty to have leverage over Nines in case he tries anything.

One day, Sixty is sent to take a small ship and plant bombs on some trading ships set to arrive on Mandalore the following morning. He’s told the ships are actually carrying war supplies that the Mand’alor intends to use to weaponise more Mandalorians to help attack Kyber Life. Before Sixty manages to complete his mission, he’s caught and captured by the Captain of one of the ships. When he wakes up, he’s being held in the ship’s brig, and the Captain begins to question him. Sixty angrily tells the Captain everything, saying he has nothing to hide, because he thinks his cause is just. The Captain reveals that, yes, there are weapons and other such supplies on this ship, including datapads and school supplies, because they’re being delivered to Elijah Kamski, not the Mand’alor, and they’re for the Academy, not the Royal Protectors. Sixty is confused, doesn’t believe the Captain, but the Captain decides that if Sixty doesn’t cause trouble, he’ll drop him back off on Concordia and be on his way. Sixty asks for the Captain’s name, and the Captain tells Sixty to call him Allen.

Rather than take him to Concordia, Captain Allen goes directly to Kamski on Mandalore and informs him ahead of time about who’s on board. Kamski knows from Connor who Sixty is, and promises to keep him contained so Allen can leave Mandalore safely.

David, Clan Allen, House Rau and Captain of the Concord Dawn Protectors, was old friends with Kamski when they attended school together prior to the Academy. Elijah had informed him both of Kyber Life’s founding and subsequent corruption, and of Elijah’s campaign to bring them down, being aided by the Mand’alor himself. Captain Allen, as well as those of his House on Concord Dawn, pledged to help bring down Kyber Life before they took over all of Mandalore. Kamski informs Allen of the state of things on Concordia, and Allen gets the idea to contact an old friend who could help him wreak havoc in Kyber Life’s headquarters. They won’t manage to stop KL entirely, but they could at least fuck em up and leave em bleeding. Kamski agrees and informs Markus, who gives his permission so long as Allen and his men act on behalf of Concord Dawn, rather than the throne. Allen happily agrees.

Sixty is of course furious at being lied to about being taken back to Concordia, but while in captivity, Kamski gets Connor to come talk to him. Connor tries everything. Sixty simply thinks he’s been fooled as well, and refuses to do the same. Connor is at a loss for what to do, but then Markus joins him and speaks to Sixty himself. He listens to Sixty’s story about the Mandalorian Royals not caring about him and his brothers, their Clan, and leaving them to die. Markus answers his questions, explains his perspective, and manages to get Sixty to relent, and finally see that where Kyber Life once had a vision of growth, they now have a vision of greed, tyrannical dominion, and control. (Basically Markus uses his knee-weakening Leader Voice and Pretty Words to convince Sixty to “deviate” from his loyalty to Kyber Life, lol.) Sixty is broken down from everything he once believed in, but Connor takes care of him, and so does Hank.

Nines didn’t know any of this was going on, just that Sixty had gone on a mission and hadn’t returned. He became worried, and tried contacting Connor, but was caught by Perkins. Perkins and two of his men overpower Nines and hold him down, but just before Perkins manages to execute Nines, blaster fire from elsewhere causes Perkins and his men to flee. Nines gets up to see unfamiliar figures approaching him. They reveal themselves to be Captain Allen, two of Captain Allen’s fellow Concord Dawn Protectors, and a fourth man who says his name is Daniel. Nines mistakes Daniel for Prime Minister Simon at first, and Daniel admits they’re twins. But that’s besides the point. They all tell Nines their plans to just fuck up Kyber Life best they can before they get caught, and Nines agrees to help, using his insider knowledge. They have to be quick though, because Perkins already knows they’re there, and that Nines is now set free and Pissed Off. They blow up a bunch of shit, steal some tech, Nines gets a whole new set of armour, and then they leave, chased away by the returning blaster fire from Kyber Life, but all safe and alive.

They land back on Mandalore, near Kamski’s place so they’re not associated with the Mand’alor, and they all make the journey to the Palace. There’s a happy, teary reunion between the three brothers, as well as between Daniel and Simon, as the latter had genuinely believed he’d never get to see Daniel again. They catch up, and Daniel tells stories of all the planets he visited, how he met a Jedi and didn’t just attack them, how there’s word of a galactic war starting with droids and clones but who cares about that lol. Daniel also reunites with his mother and sister - Emma is more than happy to have him back and won't let him out of a hug, and he and Caroline have a silent mutual understanding before they embrace too.

A year after all of this first went down, Markus feels they finally have enough support against Kyber Life to take them down. He doesn't want a war, but he will lead one if they force his hand. (North approves.)

Amidst all of this, everyone's been working together very closely and have grown closer as a result.

Hank has finalised his adoption of Nines, Sixty, and Connor into his Clan. They are all now Clan Anderson, and they couldn't be more happy or grateful. Cole, too, is overjoyed to now have three new older brothers.

Chloe and North got together, and it was actually Chloe who began courting North first. North is just a simp and Chloe is such a supportive girlfriend (which is a canon word in star wars lmao).

Gavin and Nines aren't together yet, but there's lots of tension and it's only a matter of time.

Markus has plans to propose to Simon - he was going to wait until after Kyber Life was taken down, but when he talked to North about it she told him to cut the shit and ask him before, give them both something else to look forward to after. So Markus takes Simon to the Palace garden, alone, and proposes, and of course Simon says yes. They agree to hold off getting married until after Kyber Life has fallen. And Simon has learned by now that no matter how many times he brings up his concern that they shouldn't be together because of their positions, Markus won't hear it, and now Simon doesn't care either.

Kara and Luther become more involved with the royal business, especially with the Academy's collaboration. Kara and Luther, with help from Kamski and Chloe, were able to trace lots of corruption - both within the Academy, and on Mandalore itself - back to Kyber Life, and have gathered it as evidence to help Markus.

Markus confronts Perkins Vizsla and tells him that if he doesn't shut down Kyber Life immediately and cede all of Kyber Life's property to the Mand'alor and his people, they will go to war. Of course Perkins refuses, because he cannot be negotiated with, and so Markus as Mand’alor leads the Mandalorians into battle against Kyber Life.

Kara and Luther stay on Mandalore to provide backup and protect the children of Mandalore, the new foundlings of Jericho, and the Palace. Nines, Connor, and Sixty join Markus's Protectors to fight alongside them. Markus leads front and centre. Josh stayed behind with Kara and Luther, unwilling to fight unless absolutely necessary. North of course is more than willing. Markus tried to get Simon to stay behind, but Simon refused to not be by Markus's side through any fight. Markus lost that argument, so Simon came and fought right at Markus's side, North on his other side. Connor and his brothers used their previous knowledge of Kyber Life to help infiltrate it, and Sixty admitted that he knew of others who had wanted to leave KL but didn't feel safe to, but they would join Markus if he called to them, so he does, and they join.

A huge battle ensues on Concordia. Markus even got any Concord Dawn Protectors who could join him, to join. Captain Allen took his place alongside Connor, Nines, and Sixty, the latter being slightly fascinated by this mysterious Captain who had lied to him and thus saved his life. Daniel joined too, as did Chloe, but Kamski - not much of a fighter - stayed back to provide technical support. Gavin of course is with Markus's Protectors. He and Nines had a moment before the battle started, and Gavin almost kissed him, but held back. He could wait.

During the battle, Markus gets shot by a Kyber blaster in his iron heart in just the right way that it flies off. It protected him, of course, but it's damaged and won't protect him again if he gets hit there. Simon pulls him away from the fray to tend to him, and begins to replace Markus's broken iron heart with his own. "Our iron hearts are compatible. You have to take mine." Markus refuses, and tries to push Simon away, but Simon once again wins the argument and gives Markus his iron heart. Markus makes him promise not to get hit, and Simon says he'll try.

They manage to infiltrate Kyber Life successfully, and move to apprehend Perkins and take him in to face justice. But when they get there, Perkins has a very much alive Amanda held at blaster point. Turns out Perkins had simply imprisoned her within KL to use as leverage when needed, which was now. Markus wasn't going to risk Amanda's life if he could help it, so he tries to stop and reason with Perkins. North insists he just kill him. Simon says nothing. Perkins demands they leave and allow KL to continue operating as usual, or he'll kill Amanda, and then everyone else. Markus can't let that happen, and tries to appeal to any compassion Perkins may have left for the people of Mandalore. But he has none. Then Amanda tells Perkins to kill her - she means nothing, she can do nothing more, and she won't let herself be what keeps Markus from acting for the betterment of his people. She won't be used as a tool against her Mand’alor. Perkins agrees with her, but before Markus can react, Perkins aims his blaster at Simon instead of Amanda, and shoots. He hits Simon square in the chest, and Simon flies back, unconscious.

Markus absolutely loses his shit. He yells and ignites his jetpack, flying directly into Perkins before the latter can ready his blaster again. He takes out Perkins and they begin fighting. Markus bests him, and continues hitting him. He probably would have killed Perkins, but North steps in and pulls him away. She orders Gavin to cuff Perkins, and he does. Markus snaps out of it and runs to Simon. He's still breathing, but it's shallow, and he's unresponsive. Markus leaves immediately, Captain Allen flying him back, so he can get Simon to the Palace's medbay ASAP. Connor bros help the Protectors cleanup and round up the last of Kyber Life's supporters, loading them all onto the other ships to take back to Mandalore.

In the Palace medbay, Markus is told that Simon is alive, but fading. They'll do everything they can, but they can't promise anything. They tell Markus that the blaster bolt didn't fully enter Simon's chest and the wound was cauterised before he could bleed out, so there's hope, but they still can't be sure. Markus doesn't leave his side for a second. He doesn't eat, or sleep, and only leaves briefly for the restroom, but eventually stops doing even that. He's there for three whole days and nights. Everyone's worried for him, and his absence is causing the trial against Perkins and Kyber Life to be postponed. North voices her concern that the longer they wait, the more they risk Perkins trying to escape before his trial. But Markus is incorrigible. He's a mess, and everyone is concerned. North tells Chloe that she's worried that if they lose Simon, they may lose Markus as well.

After the third day, Simon becomes stabilised, but he still hasn't woken up. Markus finally manages to leave, but he's distracted the whole time. He begins the trial against Perkins, but he's especially cold. No one - besides Josh - really disagrees with how Markus is treating Perkins, because everyone hates Perkins, but it's definitely not right of him to do. Nines offers to help him, legally, as he's had the most experience with and knowledge of Kyber Life and all of its proceedings. Nines becomes something of Markus's lawyer, and Josh represents Perkins - not because he wants to, but because he's the only one who can do so in a fair and just way (as in, without just killing Perkins then and there). Kara helps with the legal proceedings as well, and brings the Academy students and foundlings of Jericho to act as the jury alongside the people of Mandalore, saying that their future generations have been greatly impacted by Kyber Life and Perkins's actions, and thus must be included in bringing them to justice. Markus agrees, and only steps in when necessary. Simon's Council takes their place too, but without Simon they appear a little lost. Markus relates.

Kamski attends a bit of the proceedings, but he's too angry with Perkins as well to hear him out. He also hears of Simon's state, and goes to try to help him. He gets the help of Amanda too, and together they work with the medics to try to heal Simon completely. They work on him for another day, but despite Kamski's improvised gadgets, Simon doesn't seem to be getting any better. On the fifth day, Hank visits the Palace with Cole in tow, meaning to check up on his now adopted sons. Alice tags along, as she's been bored in the Palace since Kara began working with the legal proceedings, and she's friends with Cole now. They go to see Simon as they'd also heard of his injury, and that he hadn't woken up yet. The medics let them come up to his bed. They both like Simon, as he's always been nice to them and has even played with them before when he wasn't busy, so they're sad to see him this way.

The medics, Kamski, Amanda, and Hank watch as the two children look at each other and seem to have a silent conversation, before they both place a hand over Simon's chest. Hank goes to stop them, but Amanda stops him, and tells him to wait. There's a slight glow at their hands - not a real light, but something of an essence, an energy. After a minute, both children pull away. They glance at each other and laugh. Then Simon jolts up, wide awake and panting. Everyone except for the kids and Amanda are shocked about what happened. Once the medics get Simon calmed down, and confirm that he's been completely healed, Amanda explains to everyone that Cole and Alice are force sensitive children. She says she sensed it as soon as she met them, but said nothing. She also tells everyone they must be protected, and kept away from the Jedi, at all costs. Hank more than agrees, and promises to relay the information to Kara.

That afternoon, Markus is leaving the court to visit Simon again, and sees him sitting up in his bed. Markus runs to him, holding him as tight as he can without hurting him, and he cries. It's the first time Simon has seen him cry, and his heart breaks at Markus's state.

Once he finally calms down, and after he's finished kissing all over Simon's face, he is called back to the court to finish his ruling against Perkins. He manages to give a final, fair ruling, and tells Perkins that he is only being shown mercy because he failed to kill Simon. Markus promises him that if he had killed Simon, he would spend the rest of his life rotting in hell. Perkins, for once, has nothing to say. He's taken away and thrown in a special jail aboard one of Concord Dawn's ships. Simon is proud of Markus's ruling, but a little concerned with how everyone's acting towards him.

Later that day, North tells Simon everything that happened while he was out: mostly how Markus behaved as a result of Simon's state. Simon is entirely understanding, because he knows if they had been reversed, he would've acted the same. In fact, he doesn't believe he would have shown Perkins mercy regardless, had he harmed Markus. And so he's proud of Markus. But North insists they talk about it, because she is disappointed with Markus lmao. Simon agrees.

He confronts Markus about it. Markus admits that he couldn't act as Mand’alor while Simon was hurt, that he was constantly scared and spiralling and couldn't focus. Simon reiterates his fear that they shouldn't have gotten together because of their positions. Markus tells him it would be worse if he couldn't have Simon by his side in every way.

For the first time since being made the ruler of Mandalore, Markus is unsure of his place. He tells Simon he thinks he should step down, pass the title to someone else. He says he feels weak - that if Simon had been lost, then he would have been lost too. He can't rule without Simon, he can't BE without Simon. Markus says that no matter how hard he tried to keep this from happening, Simon has become his priority. And Markus knows that isn't fair to his people. But he can't help it. Simon feels guilty of course, though Markus tells him not to be. That if he didn't have Simon now, he would truly be lost.

They start to discuss who might take Markus's place as Mand'alor. Then they hear a scuffle break out down the hall, and they rush to see. It's a conflict between two foundlings, no older than 15, but they are almost immediately broken up by Kara. She separates them and chastises them, and she is as strict as she is caring. Markus and Simon meet eyes, and share a nod and a smile. She's perfect.

Markus asks Kara to run as Mand'alor elect against him, and at first she refuses. She says she'd vote for Markus over herself any day. Markus says that's exactly why she's perfect for the role. She finally agrees to run, only under the condition that Markus agrees to run Jericho for her in her place, becoming Jericho's honorary leader. Markus graciously accepts. Kara still thinks she won't win against him, but she doesn't know that Markus plans to reach out to the people on her behalf. Markus tells the Mandalorians exactly why he wishes to step down, and the majority believes his decision to be honourable, and so they do not hold it against him. Likewise, Kara had made quite a name for herself on Mandalore, both through the Academy, and through Jericho. The people are more than happy to accept her as their new ruler, and she wins the vote.

Kara takes her new place as Mand'alor, with Alice and Luther living in the Palace with her. Everyone who had lived in the Palace stays too, as she refuses to let Markus leave his home just because he's no longer their ruler. She also seeks his council, and makes him her Advisor as well. Simon remains as her Prime Minister, North the head Protector, etc etc basically everyone keeps their same positions except for Markus.

Markus meets a Mandalorian woman named Rose who had been responsible for most of the foundlings reaching Jericho safely, and her son Adam, who was wary of the foundlings at first but now considers them family. Rose is honoured by Kara as well, and she and Adam are granted permission to grow Jericho’s reach outside of Sundari City.

Alice and Cole take up training with Amanda, who is also force sensitive and has evaded the Jedi her whole life. She shows them how to wield the force as Mandalorians, not as Jedi. To value love, and connections with other living beings, more than politics and control. To value family above toxic individualism or needless separation. To be better than any Jedi in the Order could hope to be. (Is it obvious yet that I despise the Order? Anyways.) Amanda enlists the help of Lucy, an old friend of hers who she says is the wisest force user she's ever known. Lucy is another Mandalorian, and she's very strong in the force and wise beyond her years (think Rebels epilogue Ahsoka - that's who she reminds me of). Lucy has the force gift of Precognition, meaning she can see visions into the future. Cole and Alice both have force healing, which Alice picked up learning about in the Academy library and told Cole all about it. Amanda has psychometry, so she can sense the past through the force's echo (inspired by @itsybitsybatsyspider <3)

During all of this, Nines spending more time at the Palace for the trial meant he and Gavin had even more time together. As soon as he sees Gavin again, Nines kisses him without hesitation, saying he's making up for Gavin's indecisiveness before the battle. Gavin kisses him back. They finally start dating. Connor, Sixty, and Hank are all fucking relieved.

Tina gets over her crush on North and meets a cute Mandalorian woman during one of her rounds. They start meeting up and eventually start going out as well. Gavin thought he'd get to stop hearing Tina go on and on about pining over a pretty girl once she finally got a girlfriend, but alas, now she's worse about it. Only fair, as Tina had to listen to him pine over Nines for a whole year.

Simon and Markus finally get married, and it is glorious. Kara oversees it as the new Mand'alor, and Carl officiates. North is Markus's best man, and Daniel is Simon's. Josh is the ring bearer.

A few weeks after the wedding, a stranger appears in a strange ship and in strange armour. He looks almost like a bounty hunter, not a single Mandalorian look to him. However, once he removes his helmet, he reveals himself to be none other than the missing and thought dead Leo Manfred. Carl is both ecstatic that he's alive and absolutely furious that he left allowing Carl to believe he was dead for so long. Markus is happy to finally meet his brother. Leo is jealous of him at first, but eventually warms up to him. Leo never wanted to be Mand'alor, and he's glad someone as capable as Markus took his spot, and now Kara. He also gets along surprisingly well with North, and they become a dynamic duo who play pranks on everyone.

North one-ups Chloe by proposing to her first. Chloe is surprised North really wants to marry as she'd seemed adverse to it before, but North says she decides she wants to marry as long as it's Chloe. Even more surprisingly, when Chloe says she wants to start a family and have a Clan of their own, North wholeheartedly agrees, and they immediately set out to take in Foundlings of Jericho.

Markus and Simon are taking it slow in the adopting kids aspect, unsure of whether or not they will, but they spend enough time looking after Emma as she and Simon have grown closer recently. Mandalorians are very reverent of their families, of family units and clans, and Markus and Simon know that if a child in need crosses their path, they'll rise to the challenge together.

Kara rules with a firm yet gentle hand; she is patient and kind, passionate and bold, wise and strong willed (think Duchess Satine with the same fire, but Kara is not a pacifist coward oops). Alice doesn't plan on taking her place someday, and Kara isn't going to take away her childhood to raise her as the next Mand'alor. Alice and Cole have become best buds and they have so much fun learning from Amanda and Lucy about the force. Emma watches in too, and likes to play with them, but she's not force sensitive like they are. They don't care though, they're just happy to have another friend.

That’s kinda all I’ve got now. Maybe, someday, I will write this as a whole fic. But definitely no time soon. I just had to get all my thoughts out.

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deviantconnorarmy · 6 years ago

Text

Details: Chapter 3--Pin Drop

AN: I’m doing a scary thing for me, and this chapter is from Connor’s POV. I haven’t tried writing Connor yet. We’ll see how this goes. Did I mention this is a slow burn fic?

Characters: Cecilia Manfred, Connor, Hank Anderson, Leo Manfred

Pairing: Connor x OC

Warnings: Language, Violence, Angst

Word Count: 3567

<--- Previous Chapter Masterlist Next Chapter --->

*Connor POV*

Carlos Ortiz’s android was safely removed from the interrogation room without much incident--aside from Detective Reed threatening to shoot Connor in the head, and Lieutenant Anderson threatening to shoot Detective Reed if he did so.

The deviant was still in one piece, though, and that was what mattered.

Connor followed quietly after Lieutenant Anderson as they left the interrogation room, the Lieutenant grumbling something about the time under his breath while Connor pondered the deviant’s soft-spoken words to Connor as he was led out.

The truth is inside...

What did it mean?

One of the other officers in the precinct stopped Hank before he could get too far, the Lieutenant not one to hide his displeasure.

“Jesus Christ, whatever it is, it can wait until there’s fucking sunlight--I don’t want to hear about it till I come in tomorrow,” Hank told the officer harshly.

“You’re going to want to get this one settled now, Lieutenant,” the female officer told Hank as Connor stopped quietly at the Lieutenant’s side. “It’s high profile, but it’s cut and dry. Just a bit of paperwork and it won’t be your problem.”

Hank looked conflicted, but the promise of less of a headache if he just filled out a few forms seemed to win him over. “All right--who bit the dust this time?”

“Carl Manfred, the famous painter. His son says their android got violent, pushed all of them around, injured his half-sister--she’s still in shock over by Chris’ desk in the other room, we can’t get her to react to anything--and triggered the heart attack that killed his father. The android’s already been destroyed and disposed of, it was shot by the first responders. We’re just finishing getting the son’s statement and the paperwork and we’ll close it up.”

Another deviant, but this one destroyed and already out of his reach. Pity. If it had been recovered in one piece he could have cross examined it. He might still be able to learn something, though.

Connor left Hank and the female officer without saying anything, weaving effortlessly through the rows of desks to Chris’ desk in one of the far corners. There wasn’t anyone around at the moment except for a lone figure sitting hunched forward in a rolling chair that had been taken from another desk. The woman’s black evening dress was torn and filthy, moved enough off her frame with drag patterns of dirt to show she’d been crawling on the floor. There was a cut on her head disappearing into her hairline, already attended to by medical personnel--it was going to leave a scar, and looked like it came from the side of a metal shelf. She was covered in Thirium, the spatter patterns indicating that she might have been not only on the ground, but behind the android when it had been shot. A standard blanket was draped around her shoulders for her shock, covering up what her dress no longer could.

Connor kneeled down in front of her once he was closer, gaze calculating as he continued with his analysis of the woman. She didn’t even react to his presence, eyes glassy and fixed straight ahead of her. Her body was rigid with tension, and Connor could detect a slightly faster-than-normal heart rate, though her hands lay loose, cradled in her lap, like she wanted to reach out to something but knew it was useless to do so. There were scrapes and bruises, indicating she’d been thrown into the metal shelf she’d gotten her head injury from. Her face had traces of tears, her make-up smudged and a few trails of black making it halfway down her cheeks.

Finally Connor did a facial scan, quickly registering the basic information it provided him with.

Cecilia Manfred, born February 23, 2013, journalist, no criminal record.

“Connor, what the hell are you doing?”

Connor didn’t turn at the sound of the Lieutenant’s voice, though he did answer him. “She saw what happened--the deviant was right in front of her. Has no one collected her statement?” Connor quizzed.

“Look at her, she’s in no state to be giving a statement, she doesn’t even know you’re sitting in front of her. Besides, we’ve already got the son’s statement, case closed.”

Connor stayed crouched in front of Cecilia Manfred, still studying her. “Her reaction seems extreme for what the son reported.”

“She was just attacked by the family android and saw her father die--I think she’s earned the right to be in shock,” Hank scoffed. “Her brother already said he was taking her straight home after this--said she’s been through enough, tonight, so it’s out of our hands, anyway.”

Connor still didn’t agree, though he did slowly rise back to his full height. He detected someone approaching them at that moment, turning just enough to see a man being escorted in their direction by another officer. A quick facial scan identified the man as Leo Manfred.

He must have finished giving his statement and came to collect his half-sister.

Once Leo got close enough, Connor saw Cecilia twitch out of the corner of his eyes, and turned his head to see if she was going to show further responsiveness with her half-brother’s presence. She raised her head marginally, her eyes focusing on her approaching half-brother. For a few moments, it looked like there would be a family reunion, the disheveled woman rising steadily from her chair, blanket falling off her shoulders on the way.

Then her heartrate sped up, her cheeks flushed, muscles strained with more tension, pupils contracting substantially.

“Lieutenant--” Connor started to warn, but the woman had already launched herself forward as she violently snapped out of her state of shock. Her scream brought the activity in the DPD to an abrupt halt.

“YOU MURDEROUS BASTARD!”

Cecilia was on top of Leo in seconds, punching him with a left hook that had enough momentum behind it, the man stumbled into the wall. She tried to go at him again, but the officer who had been escorting Leo got between them, and Connor grabbed Cecilia by the arms from behind.

Considering her head injury, the last thing the woman should be doing was getting into a fight.

Cecilia was still shouting--screeching--and straining against Connor’s hold on her to reach Leo.

“You got them both killed! He was begging you to stop and you kept going! And framed Markus for what, spite? Because Dad’s caretaker was more of a son than you ever were? Both of them dead, all because you wanted a goddamn fix!” Cecilia screamed at a suddenly frightened Leo, trying to pull free of Connor. “You bastard, you killed them, killed them both for fucking drug money!”

Cecilia pitched forward, and Connor suddenly found himself holding the woman up as she stumbled drunkenly, the stress and exertion doing nothing to help her head injury, but she kept cursing Leo all the same. Even as she slumped backwards against Connor, and he had to wrap an arm around her to keep he up.

“That’s it, get them out of here, now, before they make more of a scene!” Lieutenant Anderson barked, gesturing back towards the interrogation rooms. “And keep them separate so they don’t attack each other!”

Connor shifted his grasp on Cecilia so that he had a more secure hold on her as he guided her into the interrogation room the deviant had been in minutes ago. He brought her right to the chair, which she sank into while folding her arms atop one another, resting her head on top. Conner did another quick scan to check on her physical state--she was supposed to be resting, not getting into fights or having more emotional strain put on her. Her breathing and heartbeat were both erratic, her shoulders tense with pain and anger, and he was certain that she was crying again.

It looked like Leo Manfred's story was flawed--they needed her side, but she also needed to be treated carefully due to her current state of being.

Slowly, Connor settled into the chair opposite Cecilia, already making the calculations and choosing what words to say to get her talking. She would need a far more gentle approach than he'd taken for the deviant.

"You suffered a serious head injury--you shouldn't have starined yourself like that," Connor informed the woman. She still didnt lift her head or acknowledge him in any way, so he continued. "I'll give you a moment to collect yourself, and then we can talk."

Again, Cecilia didn't respond, but Connor didn't expect her to, not right away. The silence in the room was enough to disturb any human being, though Connor remained unfazed, gaze fixed on the distressed woman and watching as her heartrate evened out and her breathing steadied. When her vitals were back to a normal range, the woman raised her head so she could look Connor in the eyes.

"What does Leo say happened?" she asked, voice rough.

Connor stayed silent for a moment, making sure she truly was calmed down before answering. “From what I’ve been told, Leo Manfred’s story is that your father’s caretaker android attacked the two of you, and caused your father enough stress he suffered a heart attack. Then the police arrived and shot the android before it had the chance to cause any more damage.”

Cecilia was shaking her head from the start, but Connor kept going so she would have all the facts and could dispute whatever was incorrect properly.

“For starters, Leo and my dad aren’t...weren’t close. It wasn’t normal for Leo to be at the house--the only time he ever showed was when he wanted money.”

“For drugs,” Connor added pointedly, drawing on her outburst in the hall. Cecilia nodded.

“Either to buy more drugs or to get himself out of trouble with someone he owed money to. My dad wouldn’t feed his habit. If he was clearly on something, or looked like he was withdrawing, my dad wouldn’t give him any money. Which Leo wasn’t too happy about.”

“So what was Leo doing at the house?”

Cecilia reached like she was about to rub her head, then remembered the injury and switched sides. “Earlier he came to the house asking for money. He was strung out, we could all tell. Dad said no, and Leo tried to pick a fight with Markus, but Dad kicked him out. We all thought that was the end of it, until we got home from my dad’s retrospective and found the lights on. Leo had broken in and told us flat out that he was taking some of my father’s paintings to sell them for the cash he’d wanted earlier.”

Cecilia’s dropped her hand back to the table palm-down, wincing when she agitated one of her scrapes. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the surface, and she slowly shook her head. “Dad and Markus tried to get him to leave, even warned him that the police were coming, but he wouldn’t leave. And then he started going off about how Dad loved Markus more than Leo, started pushing Markus around...”

Cecilia wiped a freshly fallen tear from her cheek, Connor watching her every move closely and noting how her vitals had started to pick up again at the memory of what happened. “My dad tried to break it up, but Leo just pushed him out of the way--I managed to catch his wheelchair before it tipped over or he crashed or anything. And I could just see that Markus wanted so badly to do something, to stop Leo, to defend himself and get Leo out of there before Leo hurt someone, but my dad told him don’t do it. He wanted to, but he didn’t, he didn’t raise a hand to anyone the entire time.”

“Your injuries came from Leo, then?” Connor asked, gaze flickering back towards her head injury while he noted Cecilia’s comments on the android’s behavior. So it hadn’t attacked anyone...and yet it had still shown some signs of deviancy, perhaps? It may have still been deviant.

Cecilia nodded. “Leo hit Markus across the face and knocked him into a table. Dad was...yelling for Leo to stop, to leave Markus alone, but Leo wouldn’t listen, and I could tell he was in pain and the stress was getting too much, so I charged Leo, to get him off Markus. I knocked him into one of my dad’s paint shelves. He grabbed me and I tried to push him away, to push him out, I was telling him to go, but he threw me to the ground right into the paint rack we’d knocked over. When I hit my head, I blacked out, and when I came to, Leo had ahold of Markus and was yelling in his face about how Markus was nothing and he was going to destroy Markus. Markus still didn’t do anything, but he looked so angry, like it was barely held back, and his LED was flashing red and yellow, and Leo hit him again, hard enough Markus doubled over, and...my dad fell out of his wheelchair.”

“Did they stop fighting?”

Cecilia looked up at Connor with a frown. “I wouldn’t call it a fight. Markus wasn’t saying or doing anything, he was just standing there and taking it. He wanted to do something, but...he didn’t.”

Connor wanted to correct her, tell her machines couldn’t want or feel anything, but right now he wanted her full, unedited story. He could go over details and technicalities with her after.

Once Cecilia saw Connor wasn’t going to say anything, she continued with her account. “It did stop what was happening, though. Markus ran over to my dad, and I had to crawl over to him. By the time I reached them, he was gone--he only had time to say goodbye to Markus. Leo was just standing there, he hardly waited for my dad to stop breathing before he started raving about how it was Markus’ fault. And when the cops came in the room, he instantly blamed Markus, and he hadn’t done anything, he was just standing there, but they still shot him, I couldn’t even get a word in, and they were both gone. All cause Leo wanted a goddamn fix...”

Cecilia seemed to have finished her recounting of the nights events, so Connor didn’t press her for further questions as he processed this new information. Her heartrate informed him that she was telling the truth--or at least what she felt was the truth. Considering his mission was regarding deviants, he wanted to immediately get to questioning her about her father’s android. Having lived around a deviant, she could have valuable information about them.

He had to confirm the suspicions the android Markus had been deviant before getting to those questions, and before he pressed her about the android, he had to address the matter of her brother.

Clearly, after that display out in the hall, she wanted justice. He’d offer it to her.

“Right now, its your word against his,” Connor informed her, leaning forward to emphasize his point. “But with this new information, I could go back to the crime scene and reconstruct what happened to find evidence and prove your side of the story...if you wanted to press charges.”

Cecilia’s eyes locked with Connor’s, and he was mildly surprised at the determined fire that was in them. “What’s he looking at, potentially?”

“According to your story? Breaking and entering, destruction of property, attempted theft, filing a false police report, assault, and manslaughter, to start with.”

Cecilia gave a bitter laugh, wiping a few new tears from her cheeks. Connor couldn’t fathom why she was crying again...all the charges she could press was good news, right?

“D’you know what’s messed up?” Cecilia said dryly, still looking Connor directly in the eyes. “Markus was family, more of a son to my father and a brother to me than Leo ever was. And his death is being treated as damaged property.”

Connor’s brows furrowed, and he tilted his head to the side as he worked to understand why this fact of all things bothered her. “It was a machine designed to accomplish a task. An android. He wasn’t human, wasn’t alive. You can’t kill something that was never alive to begin with.”

Connor saw Cecilia’s eyes flicker briefly to his LED before returning to meet his gaze again. “I know he was an android. That doesn’t change anything.” Connor’s LED flashed, stuck in yellow as she continued. “And would you please stop referring to him as an it? He had a name: Markus. And despite what everyone else thinks, he was family. He was different.”

Connor was still trying to process such intense feeling for an android, when they were just machines, nothing more. However, he saw his opening, and in order to get her to be more willing to talk to him, Connor obliged to her request he refer to the possible deviant android by its given name.

“All right. Why don’t you tell me what was different about Markus?” Connor asked calmly, his LED finally settling back to a cool blue.

Cecilia’s gaze narrowed on Connor for a moment, studying Connor in turn as she tried to determine why he was asking her these questions. His patient, calm expression encouraged her to speak, and after a few moments where they simply watched each other, she began to answer him.

“He was a prototype, an RK200 model,” Cecilia began, gaze flickering to the RK800 on Connor’s jacket. Connor’s LED flickered to yellow for a split second before settling back to blue like nothing had happened. “Elijah Kamski gave him to my dad after he was in that accident where he lost his legs. They actually didn’t get along much at first, my dad just saw him as a stupid machine, but...that opinion changed, obviously. Like I said, my dad thought of Markus as a son.”

“What about behavior?” Connor asked searchingly, taking care to refer to the android as a he and as Markus lest he offend Cecilia. “Did he develop attributes unusual for an android?”

“Of course,” Cecilia answered. “Compared to when my dad and Markus were first together, Markus started showing actual care for me and my father, he could be...artistic--truly artistic. Just this morning we...we were listening to him play the piano, and it sounded so...intimate. And it was an original piece. Then in the studio he actually painted an original piece with emotion and meaning. He told me when he made it he was thinking of humanity...empathy. He said once he hadn’t understood the complexity of human relationships but...he’d started to understand. And I asked him if he was starting to feel...he said he did. And I could see it in his eyes--regular androids don’t get that look. Markus was different,” Cecilia finished quietly.

Definitely a deviant. And for how long, living peacefully with this family? How many deviants were lying right under their owner’s noses?

“Cecilia,” Connor began patiently, folding his hands atop one another and making sure he was emphasizing his every word. “Cyberlife has been looking into such anomalies. Androids don’t actually feel--they just emulate human emotion, it’s all just errors in their software,” Connor explained patiently.

Cecilia’s gaze narrowed, something harsh suddenly appearing in her features, entirely aimed at Connor. “I understand that you’re also an android, but just because you don’t feel--at the moment--does not mean that Markus didn’t. I saw him sob over my dying father, saw the tears streaming down his face, heard him call my father Dad. The painting he created from his own imagination with its own unique meaning is still sitting in that studio. I don’t give a damn what Cyberlife thinks they know--Markus was more human than Leo, than half the people in this city, maybe more.”

She wasn’t going to change her mind on this opinion. Whatever she’d seen with this android had convinced her there was humanity in machines. But he still had her as a source for deviants, someone who’d lived with one for so long. Even if her belief in what deviants were was a little deluded, she could still hold useful information.

“Did Markus ever mention something called RA9?” Connor asked carefully. The switched tracks of conversation surprised Cecilia, though the woman eyed him suspiciously.

“No, I’ve never heard of that in my life...what does that have to do with Markus?”

Connor sighed. “Nothing, apparently.”

Perhaps he could learn more if he saw the house. She’d said there was a painting there? And he still needed to reconstruct the crime scene in order to confirm her version of what had happened.

Carefully, Connor rose from his seat at the table. “What happens next?” Cecilia asked before he could say anything.

“I’ll go speak with the Lieutenant, and we will figure out the best course of action. In the meantime, try to relax--you’ll only worsen your condition if you strain yourself.”

Cecilia looked around the interrogation room, eyebrows raised. “Sure, it’ll be easy to relax in here--it’s like a resort!”

Connor’s expression furrowed into a cross between contemplative and confused, but he made no comment, leaving Cecilia Manfred alone in the interrogation room while he went into the observation room to speak with Lieutenant Anderson.

Next Chapter --->

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