CHAPTER SEVEN
Kadar sat at the holotable in the Renegade's main hold. Across from him sat the burly Cathar Wiskin, who stared at him unblinking with hard brown eyes. To his left sat Ves, the young girl in bright violet Mandalorian armor, still wearing her helmet in a futile attempt to look intimidating.
If he still had a sense of humor, Kadar would have laughed at this pathetic attempt to scare him. But doing so would probably earn him a blaster shot to the head.
Breaking the awkward silence, Ves said, "So, you're a Mandalorian."
"Used to be," Kadar corrected. "It's a long story that I do not wish to regale you with."
"Just as well," Wiskin snorted. "We're here to keep an eye on you, not fraternize with."
"Whoa, calm down, big kitty," Ves said jokingly. "I just asked a simple question. Doesn't mean I want to be buddies with him. Besides, he's a murderer."
"A murderer of Vigos," Kadar said pointedly. "Was it murder I committed, or justice?"
"You didn't have to kill them. Could have just turned them in."
Kadar snorted. "What good would that do? They'd probably find some legal loophole-- or hire some thug-- to bail themselves out. What I did to them was the only sure way to end their villainy."
"But don't you feel the slightest bit of remorse?"
Kadar considered the question for a moment, his stomach twisting into knots as he did. "Some," he finally murmured.
"What did they even do to you anyway?" Ves asked.
He sighed. "They killed my wife."
Wiskin shifted slightly, sympathy briefly flickering over his feline face. "You too, huh?"
Kadar looked at him. "Beg your pardon?"
The Cathar cleared his throat. "I had a mate once, not long ago. Her name was Nyyra. We had been very close, even when we were young."
"How did she die?" Ves asked.
"Got stung by a venom bug. Bacta did nothing to save her." Wiskin sighed, looking wistful. "All I have to remember her by is our song."
"Wow," Ves murmured. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Wiskin snorted. "Your sympathy would be more believable if you didn't wear that stupid helmet."
"Okay, okay," Ves muttered. She removed her helmet and Kadar froze. What he saw was a near-perfect replication of Corda's face, albeit younger and with black hair. Her eyes were brown instead of green, but they still carried the same fire he had always seen in Corda's eyes.
He quickly looked away before she could catch his gaze. He could not believe it; sitting right before him was his own flesh and blood-- the daughter he had not seen in ten years. A swarm of questions flooded his mind: would she remember him? Why wasn't she with Orde and Tessa? What was she doing with petty mercenaries?
He did not dare speak of this to her, dreading her reaction if he were to reveal himself-- the slayer of Vigos-- as her father. Instead, he resolved to return to Mandalore and find Orde and Tessa. Perhaps then, he would finally get answers.
* * *
"This the place he wanted to be dropped off at?" Kyla asked Keera as the Renegade came out of hyperspace before a desert world.
The Farghul nodded. "Yes. Concord Dawn, an agricultural world in--"
"Keera, I don't care," Kyla snapped. "Just tell him we've arrived."
As Keera left the cockpit in a huff, Bedo swiveled in his seat at the comm-board. "I'm picking up a weird signal."
"Are we being hailed?" Ace asked.
"I don't think so, it's just... weird." Bedo turned back to the board, his blue trunk crinkling. "And now it's gone."
Ace sighed. "Why have I got a bad feeling about this?"
* * *
Yellow eyes stared towards the dusty sky of Concord Dawn. The glint of a rusty Corellian freighter appeared, preparing to land at a local spaceport.
"He is here," the owner of those eyes hissed.
The man sitting across from her smirked. "It's about time." He raised a comlink to his mouth. "Alor, he is here. We are ready."
"Good," came the reply. "Proceed with the plan."
The man's grin vanished as he slid his helmet on. To his accomplice, he said, "Let's go."
* * *
Kadar stood on the threshold of the Renegade's lowered boarding ramp, looking out towards the desert plains of Concord Dawn. Behind him stood Ves and Wiskin, waiting for him to do something rash.
"What are you waiting for?" Wiskin growled. "Get your rear off our ship so we can go."
Kadar did not answer, instead looking towards the horizon. In the distance, he could make out armored warriors riding long-headed creatures, heading straight towards them.
"Welcoming party?" Ves asked.
"Not the good sort," Kadar muttered. "Change of plans; take me as far away from here as possi--"
"Ke'pare!" a voice called out. "We come in peace, vod."
Kadar froze, the voice striking a familiar chord to him.
The riders fully came into view and were brought to a halt by their leader, a male in customized dark blue and gold Mandalorian armor. He dismounted from his steed and removed his helmet, revealing the smiling visage of a dark-haired man.
Ves let out a gasp. "Uncle Tral?"
He nodded to her. "Vessin, your parents have been worried sick about you."
"They're not my parents," Ves said tersely. "I was nine years old when they adopted me; I wasn't that dumb to know what was going on."
Tral chuckled. "I would hope not. You have your mother's brains... and your father's wit." He winked discreetly at Kadar, who did not acknowledge it.
"What is it you want, Tral?" the bounty hunter finally asked.
"To give a hero his welcome," Tral said. "We've all heard about your feats, Kadar, even Mand'alor! For avenging your wife-- our kin. And, also because...." He glanced at Ves and then at Kadar. "I believe a family reunion was long overdue."
"What?" Ves exclaimed. "How is Kadar related to us, uncle?"
Tral grinned at Kadar. "Tell her, vod."
Kadar sighed and turned to face Ves. He then reached up and gingerly removed his helmet, which he had not done in over ten years.
His brown eyes met hers as he quietly said, "I am your father."
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