Home for the Holidays

[Jax Xefern]

Jax's drop ship dropped out of hyperspace well within the call zone of the planet Concord Dawn. That also meant that he had dropped into real space well passed the Imperial picket lines, instantly setting up a fury of comm calls from no less than two Star Destroyers. The massive Mandalorian reached out and casually flipped a dedicated switch that had been set to transmit his permit back to the Imperials. It galled him to have to indulge them even that far in his home system, especially since their arrogance was just a thin facade meant to hide their fear of his people. The Mandalorians might not be able to win a war with the Empire but they would damned sure tear a big chunk out of them for the loss. They might even put up enough of a fight to bring out the wolves of the galaxy, bring in the carrion hunters that would be all too happy to swoop in on a wounded military complex.

A new comm signal pinged on his control panel, a different tone that actually got his attention and wiped away the dim thoughts of rebellion. At least for the moment. "Jax, go." Jax replied simply to the comm signal. A smile spread on his face when his mother's voice came through the speakers. "Jax-ica! You're required at Homestead, asap." Her tone made that a non-request, he was being ordered to the planet bound complex that his Clan owned and operated as both a home and planetary depot for all manner of minor businesses. "Yes, buir." He responded flatly. Jax had been ordered to come dirt side without stopping at the Last Dance as usual, but there had been no hint as to whether it was a bad thing or not.

Without hesitation or dread he turned his drop ship on a looped heading that would bring him in by passing the Clan's old Crusader-Class Corvette, the Final Contract where it sat in its customary geosynchronous orbit over the Clan's home. Jax watched as the vessel slid past his view port as his ship slid passed it. There wasn't likely to be an original molecule left on or in the vessel, decade upon decade of repairs and refits had long since replaced every rivet, deck plate, collar fitting, wire, and that was not to mention all the armor, weapons, shield generators, engines, etc. that had been upgraded or retrofitted along the way. Whether or not it was the most deadly Mandalorian vessel in the system was always up for debate with every Mando'ade voting for his own vessel but there was no arguing that it was almost always the largest.

She was no match for the Star Destroyers floating around the outer edges of the system, she was only a corvette after all, but many a pirate band with a bounty just a smidgen too high had found out she was more than a match for whatever buckets they'd been kicking around in when the Clan Xefern had come to collect. It'd been a while since such an operation had pulled all the members of the Clan at once but Jax still had fond memories of such events. The atmosphere began to kick up along the leading edge of his vessel's shields as he made a hard entry into the planet's stratosphere. It would only be a few minutes and he'd be standing on the surface of Concord Dawn on his family's property. That alone was worth the trip.

[Jax Xefern]

Jax came in high and hot. It got him there quick, made it obvious he wasn't trying to sneak up on the compound, and also prevented the risk of ground fired weapons hitting him before his sensors got a chance to warn him. With fair warning he could usually get the boat out of the way long enough to get his deflectors angled and shields up. He was on his way home and many would consider his behavior borderline paranoid, especially on a world as serious about its own sense of security as Concord Dawn, but his family would agree that anything that kept you from getting baked in your own armor was a good thing.

The airspace around the depot was pretty quiet at that particular moment but that was nothing unusual. The star ship repairs that Clan Xefern offered were rarely taken advantage of and most were done in space around the Final Contract or at the site of the breakdown. Ground craft and land speeders were the more common sight at the compound, along with droids and farm equipment. They also offered refueling, a general store, special order inbound shipping, courier service, and other above board services. Of course, it went without saying there was Bounty Hunting and Mercenary services as well.

All were legal businesses, above board and licensed in the Empire. Being Mandalorians, and thus able to demand top prices for the roughest jobs, meant they were even able to pay the the exorbitant fees that the Empire levied on anything that even remotely resembled a paramilitary force that wasn't directly run by them. It had sent the mercenary business into a tailspin but the Mandalorians had thus thrived due to their reputation. Most people still came thinking of the Fetts but it had been a while since there had been more than one or two of those running around. Left plenty of work out there for the other Clans to rake in the credits on.

The automatic beacon recognized his friend or foe signal and guided him to the back lot where he could tuck his drop ship neatly between a pair of droid combines. Jax set her down and set the engines to run a cool down cycle before heading down the steps, through the rear cargo hold, and slapped the button to drop the bay door. He'd brought some things back to resupply the depot, a habit of all the hunters in the Clan, and figured he'd leave the doors open for the cousins to unload them while he attended to whatever business it was his mother had demanded his presence dirt side for.

The rear ramp hit the ground, kicking up a low puff of dust, and he was impacted by his little sister. Serenity's yellow armor was freshly polished and Jax instantly knew what had happened. "He finally asked." He pulled away from his sister and bumped his new helmet against hers. "You finally got a proper suit of armor instead of that cobble together." "After that heavy clung to an exterior wall for a full day they figured they were under paying me. They grumbled about fitting the interior of the helmet and the size of the plates but... here I am. Now, stop changing the subject. He asked. Finally."

She giggled, a decidedly un-Mandalorian sound that he cherished more than anything as it chimed like bells. Serenity took off her helmet and smiled at him, the fresh tattoo under her eye displaying the Clan's personal symbol. "Yes, he finally asked. And he's joining Clan Xefern." Jax's speakers burst in static as he let out a huff of relief. He'd known... Kriff, everybody had known, that sooner or later the young man named Dagna was going to propose to Serenity. The only question had left unanswered had been whether they were going to gain a brother or lose a sister. Jax had dreaded a loss and been only mildly preferential toward the gain, but keeping Serenity around was worth putting up with the tiny farmer.

"Promise to be nice to him." "I'll promise no such thing." "You can't be mean to him all the time!" "True. I still need to sleep and it's not like I'm here all the time." "You're mean." "No, I'm your brother. I love you. Nobody said I had to like your taste in males." "Man, not male." "I disagree." Jax safety tapped his side arm with one hand and ruffled her hair with the other. She frowned. "The wedding is today. About twenty minutes... I want you to stand witness for me, since mom has a hair trigger." "... of course, Serenity-ika." Jax put an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the main buildings.

[Jax Xefern]

The 'wedding', as it were, went exactly as a Mandalorian wedding should. The bride and groom spoke the words to one another and the matter was considered closed. It took approximately 17 seconds start to finish. The only abnormality was that the two did so in front of about forty armored Mandalorians and other various Clan members who didn't make their living clad in the Beskar'gam. Not that they didn't have armor, every Mandalorian had armor, they just didn't go about in theirs day to day. Jax stood witness for his sister and, by extension, the boy that was wedding her. The concept was simple in that a couple that intended to live as married simply stated as much and it was done. However, Concord Dawn was a big fan of its laws and so the Mandalorian population of the planet had adapted to make sure there was no questioning the legality of their traditions. Questioning the validity of a Mandalorian marriage was dangerous at best, questioning the honesty of the witness to said marriage was practically suicidal.

The sole oddity, the number of people present, was explained by another aspect of Mandalorian culture. While a marriage itself was nothing to get worked up over for any but the directly affected parties it certainly served as a sufficient excuse to throw the rarest of all cultural practices observed within Mandalorian culture: a rip roaring good party. Two separate Clans joining together to throw one bash was a reason to shut down the local space port to keep it on planet. It didn't always work but it was worth the attempt. Music was live, food was great, and the drinks were endless. There was a freckled redhead from the other Clan that even turned out to be handy once she got passed the blushing. It was a good night.

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Jax Xefern opened his eyes and regretted being alive for a few moments. Water, he needed water. Humanoid physiology was a surprisingly constant thing, lizard or mammalian, and the massive Falleen had partaken of his fair share of the available libations the night before. He ran a currently green hand over his ridged head and the motion elicited a shift from a freckled redhead that was firmly snugged against his side. Apparently he'd had more than his fair share and it brought a suffering smile to his face as the majority of the night shuffled itself into place in his head.

"Kandosii." Jax whispered before slowly extricating himself from the comparatively tiny girl in his bed, rolling out of the bed and leaving her the sheets. He had personal quarters on board the Death Head, the pilot's chair in his drop ship would lay down flat enough to sleep even in his armor, but by far his largest appointed personal space was his bedroom in the Clan's compound. That was where he'd had the presence of mind to take his guest and he had plenty of clothes laying around waiting for use. His skin flushed blue as he felt at home amidst the family once again. He dressed in a pair of loose sleep pants and a simple shirt before heading out. He closed the door behind him so as not to disturb the girl's continued snoozing.

Jax padded down the earthen hallway on bare feet, the occasional snatch of conversation coming through a door here or there, and made his way to the common area. There, his mother was drinking from a cup of caf and reading through the galactic news on her datapad. She was in her armor, helmet off, and it was plain to see she hadn't indulged in any vices. Fey'bel was still vital, still in her fighting condition, with only the slightest lightening of her blond hair toward something whiter. She aged well, for a human. Her Falleen son retrieved a full pitcher of water and sat down across from her. "Good morning."

"It's almost noon, actually. I slept in and was still the first person in the compound on my feet." She took a sip of her caf before continuing. "Of course, I was also the only person who didn't have any fun either."

Jax was finishing off the last of the pitcher of water, draining it directly from its vessel, when his mother made reference to the passing of his father. He put the empty container down and made a mental note to make sure he brought some water in from the well before he went about his business for the day. "I miss him too. I used one of his lines on that redhead you introduced me to. You know... for old times' sake." Jax smiled a sharp-toothed grin at his mother which caused her to smile back. Despite not being of their blood like Serenity, Fey'bel couldn't help but see a lot of her passed husband in their son's demeanor. His fighting style too. Disilij had been a large man himself, prone to a heavier cut of armor, and the Falleen boy they had adopted had grown into a spitting image quickly enough.

The sound of a speeder warming up outside made Fey'bel grab her helmet and peek into its opening, watching a feed from the security cameras. "I do believe your friend has decided there won't be any morning after talk." Jax looked into his now empty water pitcher by way of reaction. "We got any on planet shipments today?" No promises had been made between him and the girl, he couldn't quite recall her name at that very moment, so no good byes were needed. No offspring would be forth coming so he was fairly certain she wouldn't be coming back around unless he'd impressed her severely.