Chapter Text
Bewolf straightens their robes, from the intel they have, the Mriss negotiator and their aide will be meeting with the Anx negotiator to discuss a trade deal between their planets without having to go through the Trade Federation. A recent report states that the area has seen an uptick in pirate activity, but rather than change the location, they have opted to simply hire more guards, among them several Mandalorians.
They find themselves hoping that they could find Brer, though that is highly improbable. The odds of them ever seeing him again are slim to none, he said he wanted to become a bounty hunter, and is likely traveling on the other side of the galaxy. And who knows if he’d even want to see Bewolf again. They haven’t been in contact in several years.
Taking a deep breath, they go meet the negotiator, an older Mriss who walks with a staff and always looks like they’re playing mental sabaac against the galactic champion with death on the line.
“Knight Ho’Koay,” Negotiator Omoid Fa’an, greets with a nod. Her aide Sirin Takk gives a small wave, and a nervous smile.
“Esteemed Fa’an. Miss Takk '' Bewolf replies with a nod and small wave back.
“Are you nervous?” Omoid Fa’an asks, arching a feathery eyebrow.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Bewolf looks over at her with an arched eyebrow and a smile.
Negotiator Fa’an's Force Signature changes, the colors Bewolf associates with amusement flicker through the light blue. Bewolf wonders if she’s smiling, or keeping a still face.
Bewolf touches their face, double checking that their ‘blindfold’ is secure and covering their ‘eyes’ one last time, and the dangling beads are even.
“It looks even, do not worry about your blindfold.” Omoid comments.
Bewolf smiles, “thank you, I’d rather make a good first impression.”
“That would be ideal for all of us.” She comments, straightening her own robes, a smile in her tone.
The boarding ramp lowers, and they disembark. Immediately being flanked by two Mandolorians in full armor. One steps forward, a blue and red force signature. “Are you the negotiator Omoid Fa’an sent by The Mrissi Government?”
“I am” Omoid Fa’an says calmly. “And this is my Aide, Sirin Takk, and Escort, Jedi Knight Bewolf Ho’Koay.”
Bewolf gives a slight bow when their name is mentioned, and the Mandolorian stares at them a second, and gives a slight, hesitant nod in return.
“Right. Aara Huust requests that each side present has one witness, either your escort or your aide will have to sit this out.”
“Negotiator Fa’an, I can ‘sit this out’, it would be better for your aide to accompany you in this matter.” Bewolf chimes in
“I agree. Shall Knight Ho’koay stay with the ship?” Fa’an asks.
“If they wish, or they can stay with the rest of the guard. Whichever they prefer.”
“I don’t mind staying with the guard, it will be nice to see some new faces.”
Everyone nods then freezes as they process what Bewolf said. And Bewolf fights the urge to grin wolfishly as Omoid Fa’an radiates amused disapproval and Sirin fights the urge to laugh.
“Uh, right. This way.” The Mandolorian leads the group, Fa’an and Sirin follow with Bewolf and the other Mandolorian pulling up the rear.
Bewolf can sense the Mandolorian next to them giving them sideways glances, occasionally reaching out but never touching when they change direction through the hallways, probably thinking that Bewolf can’t see the way.
Bewolf gives them a soft smile and nod each time, and that makes her more uncomfortable.
They drop the Negotiators off in the conference room and take Bewolf to what seems like a break room with a kitchenette, holoprojector, and chairs.
And other Mandolorians. Who all stop and stare at Bewolf.
Bewolf gives another slight bow and introduces themself as Jedi Knight Bewolf Ho’koay, here as an escort to the Negotiators.
The woman Mandolorian who walked by Bewolf turns and folds her arms. “How do you know there’s anyone else in here?”
“I may not have eyes, but I can see that there are five others in here, besides you and myself. Someone is coming down the hallway towards us, they should be here right… Now.” And the door opens.
“Who’s this? A Jedi?” A deep, rough voice asks in Mando’a. And it is familiar, the voice, the language, it comes back to them in a rush from almost a lifetime ago. Learning each other's native tongue in the dark. Without turning to face him, Bewolf can see his Force Signature, and it’s aged and matured. Golds, oranges and blues with defined lines. Confidence in who he is, that hasn’t changed.
Bewolf turns slowly, and Brer Taxa stiffens, recognition sparking across their Signature, and carefully being banked with caution.
Bewolf introduces themself to him, and he gives a slow nod, and in Miralukese he greets “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Brer Taxa, welcome aboard the Helldiver.”
Bewolf cannot stop themself from grinning. “Your accent is very good, you must have had a good teacher to speak Miralukese that well.”
“Thank you, I’ve been practicing. Can I get you some Caf?” He gestures for you to take a seat.
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
“How do you take it?”
“Lots of cream and sugar please.”
“Wait wait wait. What language are you two speaking?” One of the other Mandolorians interjects.
“Miralukese, Jedi Knight Ho’Koay is a Miraluka, if I’m not mistaken?”
“Yes, I am.” Bewolf keeps a pleasant smile and accepts the hot drink, gently blowing on it before taking a sip. “And please, call me Bewolf, this is delicious, thank you.”
“Always a pleasure. What brings you to the Helldiver?” Brer asks as he starts preparing the cup.
“I’m escorting Mriss Negotiator Omoid Fa’an and her aide for these negotiations, then back to the Temple to continue my research.”
“What’s a Miraluka?” The red and blue Mandolorian asks
“Gorn.” Brer warns, not even looking over at him.
“It’s quite alright, a Miraluka is like a human, but we don’t have eyes, yet we see using the force. We wear ‘eye’ coverings because it tends to make sighted humanoids uncomfortable to see our lack of eyes. Sort of an uncanny valley response.”
“Well now I’m just curious.” One of the other Mandolorians, green and gold waves, mumbles in Mando’a.
“Don’t ask, it’s not polite.” Brer warns them.
“Who made you the expert on Miraluka?” Purple and sky blue snarks at Brer.
“Why do you care, just leave the Jedi alone.”
“Don’t think we didn’t see how soft you went for the Jedi, you never make any of Us caf, you grumpy bastard.” Green and orange flecks teases.
“You fuckers know your way around the break room. And the Jedi is a guest.”
“Since when do you care about being nice to guests? Did you lose your brain?” Green and orange flecks takes a turn teasing, the orange flecks flaring a little.
“Brer you can’t seduce the Jedi, they can’t form attachments, it’s just setting yourself up for heartbreak.” Purple and sky blue teases and warns in equal measure.
The other Mandolorians snicker at that, and Bewolf can feel Brer give them a glance, questioning whether or not to tell them the truth.
At Bewolf’s slight nod, Brer takes a deep breath, and gives an edited explanation in Basic.
“If you’re going to be nosy about it, we’ve met before, several years ago. I promised Bewolf a cup of caf if we made it out alive, and it was terrible, so, here’s a better one.”
“Much better than instant caf after That Ordeal if you ask me. Again, thank you.” Bewolf says with a smile, hoping Brer picks up that they are thanking him for so much more than just the drink.
Judging by the self consciousness sparkling through his force signature, he’s picked up on it.
“I see, do we need to leave you two alone to catch up?” Gorn asks,
“I hope not, I wanna hear more about this.” Another Mando with a pink force signature pipes up.
“Tai.” Brer growls.
“If you’d rather, we can go back to The Escorial and I can return the favor.”
Bewolf can sense instantly as every Mandolorian mind in the room takes that as an innuendo, Brer in particular is flustered by that and chiding himself.
“That would be appreciated, thank you.” Brer says more confidently than he feels.
“Aw, no fair.” Tai complains.
“Tai, let them catch up in peace, just come back here when you’re done, shift change is in an hour. Be back for it.” Gorn is stern but internally amused.
“Yes sir.” Brer gives him a nod, and helps Bewolf to their feet. “May I take that?” He asks, gesturing to the now empty caf cup.
“Yes, thank you.” Bewolf smiles, and Brer takes a steadying breath before grabbing the cup, and disposing of it before leading the way to the hanger.
“I feel like you should know, they’re blowing up the group chat about this.” Brer says conversationally in Miralukese.
“They seem like a fun bunch to work with, especially Tai.”
Brer chuckles. “Yeah, Tai is something. What have you been up to? Avoiding slavers I hope.”
" Yes, I resumed my training and am now a Jedi Knight, I investigate artifacts, mainly finding and retrieving them, occasionally destroying, what about you?”
“I’ve been working as a bounty hunter, I’m actually on a job right now as extra security, same as the others you saw in the breakroom. This area’s been a little pirate heavy lately, so it’s just a precaution to make sure nothing interrupts negotiations.”
“Has bounty hunting been everything you thought it would be?”
“It’s been an uphill battle, but I’m doing alright. And yourself?”
“I was worried I wouldn’t make it to Knighthood, but, here I am, I built another lightsaber, a matching tonfa, see?” and they hold up their newest lightsaber. “I still whack my arms with them every now and then, but not with the hot side.”
" Which side’s the saber side? It already looks like a weapon.”
“It technically is, though adding the blade makes it more of a threat, and the short end has the blade, that way I can still guard with the long side.”
“I almost want to spar against you, see how much we’ve changed over the years.”
“We shouldn’t, at least, not right now, during the negotiations.”
“That’s fair, we should also not wait so long to see each other again. Three years was too long.”
“Agreed, I need to do a bit more research, but I think that we could meet up before I head out to that mission, or perhaps afterwards?”
“How long do you think that will take?”
“A month, maybe less, do you want to exchange com frequencies?”
“That would be nice.”
Bewolf leads the way onto The Escorial to the kitchen, where they prepare Brer a cup of seasoned caf.
“You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Don’t spoil my fun, I’ve been looking forward to this for three years.” Bewolf scolds fondly while measuring out spices from different planets.
“I’ve been picking up different seasonings and trying different combinations to try and make the best cup of caf I could. The other Jedi at the temple seem to like my experiments, and this is my favorite recipe so far. I guess you could say this has become a hobby of mine?”
“You’ve put more thought into this than I have.” Brer sounds a little sheepish at this, and a little amused that Bewolf has taken this so seriously.
“I had to spend a lot of time in the temple, I got antsy and Sunyr thought this might help me relax. And he was right. He says ‘Hi’ by the way, and ‘Thank you for looking out for Bewolf.’”
“It was nothing, we needed each other and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Brer says softly, staring at his hands.
Bewolf pauses, holding the steeped coffee pot in their hands, hovering over two cups before whispering in Mando’a “so would I, if it meant my path would cross yours.”
Brer moves his gaze to Bewolf’s back, watching as they pour the caf into the cups, and carry them, cream, and sugar over to the table.
“I suggest trying it plain before mixing anything in.” Bewolf advises in basic, following their own advice.
“Thank you.” Brer says softly, removing his helmet and placing it on the table next to him. He carefully lifts the cup and takes a sip.
It’s delicious, and he can’t quite stop himself from drinking half the cup in one go.
Bewolf smiles to themself and raises a hand, the caf pot floating over and resting on the table within arms reach.
“Help yourself, I’m in a habit of making too much for me to drink alone.”
“It’s very good, don’t suppose you’d share the recipe?”
“With an old friend? Of course.” And they exchange com information, Bewolf sending the recipe they used for the caf, and Brer sends a picture of his Loth-Cat with the caption ‘The Sinner’ under it.
“The Sinner? Who is this!”
“Legally their name is Amyntas, but I call him Sinner when he knocks stuff over. He is very talkative, and loves being held and sitting on any available lap. I’ve had him for about a year and a half now, ever since he was a kitten.
“Is he here?”
“On my ship, The Chimera, which is docked here, so in a roundabout way, yes.”
“You’ve been doing well for yourself, that’s very good. I’m happy to hear it.”
“Bounty hunting is lonelier than I anticipated, and there're a lot of jerks in the galaxy, so it’s hard to let anyone close, that’s part of why I got Amyn, that’s helped a little bit. I wish we’d stayed in contact though.”
“So do I.”
“What sort of artifacts do you investigate, does that make you an archeologist?”
“I’m following in Sunyr’s footsteps, lots of artifacts from wars long past.”
“Now I know you’re a Jedi, nice and cryptic. Let me guess, they’re dangerous. You better not be out there digging up minefields with a stick.”
Bewolf can’t help but laugh, almost spilling their drink.
“No no, nothing like that, they’re artifacts from the Jedi’s wars against the Sith. They are very dangerous though, but not like a mine or bomb. More like, dangerous like a jeweled spider. Very pretty, tempting to touch, but will do everything in its power to kill the good in you.
“Why are they sending Jedi out to do that, wouldn’t it be less dangerous if someone without the force had the good killed in them?”
“If you know it’s there, and have an idea what it does, it’s easier to resist. Time is usually of the essence. I also do a lot of visiting old relic sites to see if the area’s stabilized, having a sith artifact around so long can damage the land, the plants, the animals and the people. It’s better to destroy the poison at the source, then check up to make sure the damage isn’t permanent and that you got all of it cleaned up. So far my track record is immaculate, though I usually do check ups.”
“That sounds dangerous. What if the artifact corrupts You? Do you have backup? A way to break its power if it’s controlling you like that?”
“Breaking the artifact can break the power over you, but this is a dangerous profession for a jedi, if you’re not careful, and consciously choose the light, you may sink into darkness, it hasn’t happened in recent years, most of the accounts I’ve heard of were over 1,000 years ago. Precautions exist for a reason, but…”
“But rules and regulations are most often written in blood.”
Bewolf nods solemnly. “Pre-emptive rules are made, but situations no one’s thought of makes others.”
They sit in silence, drinking their caf, and Brer pours himself another cup and offers to top off Bewolf’s.
“No thank you, I try to sleep every now and then.” Bewolf smiles. “If you want to put your helmet back on, someone’s coming.”
“Thank you.” Brer chugs the rest of his caf and quickly puts his helmet on.
Bewolf watches the person, a crewmate, in the hall as they walk past the closed breakroom door, not close enough to make it open, and continue on to the engines.
“False alarm.” They sigh. “Crewmate going towards the engines.”
“That would be a handy trick in the field, it must make your job easier.”
“It does, though I am curious if the colors I see are actually called what I think they are.”
“We’ve had this conversation before I believe.”
“Yes, it still frustrates me though. That and having to be able to focus to see droids and through walls.”
“You weren’t able to do that before, you’ve improved I take it?”
“I was learning the basics when we met in that cage, I should hope I’ve improved by now.”
Brer goes silent at the mention of the slavers cage, his force signature dimming, twisting with anger.
“I’m so sorry Brer, I shouldn’t have brought that up.” Bewolf apologizes immediately, wishing they could take back those words.
He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
“It’s okay. Did you hear what happened to them?”
“Jedi aren’t supposed to hold grudges Brer, I’ve tried accepting it and moving on, though it’s like a thorn in my shoe that they’re still out there.”
“They aren’t.”
It takes Bewolf a second to process this, studying Brer’s force signature, the anger is tempered, twisting and spiked.
But Satisfied.
“What happened? Do you know?” Bewolf asks, curiosity winning out, but unable to stop the stabs of worry for their friend.
“It was two years ago, all the slavers were killed, the slaves set free, no one knows who did it. But they aren’t hurting anyone anymore.”
“I see.”
They sit in silence, staring at their empty cups.
“Please Wolf, say something.” Brer finally whispers in Miralukese.
Bewolf takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly.
“Brer Taxa,” Bewolf starts in Mando’a, “as a Jedi Knight, I should not seek revenge or hold grudges. I should not hold onto attachments, and not let my emotions control me. As a Jedi Knight, I think it is good that there is one less group of slavers in the galaxy.
“But as Bewolf Ho’Koay, I am glad they are gone, and I hope they suffered for what they’ve done.”
They sit silently for another moment.
“They did.” Brer whispers, still using Miralukese.
“Good. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I think I need to meditate for a bit, I remember you not liking meditation, but if you would like to join me, my door is open.”
“I’d like that, to try to meditate again.”
“I think I would too.”
“Here?”
“We can, or you can come with me.”
“After you.”