Tales of the Mandalorians

[Dieter Schprokets]

"Commander Masatoshi Abeki of the Kusari Naval Forces here to see you, Sir"

John Cabot, looked up from his desk, startled, speechless for a second or two. "He 's not ARMED, I assume?"

"No Sir, we made sure of that."

Cabot nodded, but looked perplexed. What possible reason could there be for a Kusari officer to come here? They were his personal enemies, the Mandalorians' enemies, and enemies of Bretonia, the house to whom the Mandalorians owed the most loyalty.

A well-groomed officer marched into the room, presented himself before the Mandalore's desk, and wasted no time with formalities whatsoever.

"I thought Mandalorians had honour." With that outburst he threw some papers on Cabot's desk.

Cabot frowned at the Kusari officer, then regarded the papers on his desk with curiousity, which changed to concern as he reviewed the documents. They were personnel files of Kusari who had recently died in combat.

Yutaka Fukushima, 17 years old. Yasuyuki Eda, 16. Hiroshi Kawauchi, 18. Tatsuya Ito, 17. There were a dozen such files.

John Cabot leaned back in his chair. He understood. "This is my men's doing, isn't it." It wasn't really a question.

The Kusari nodded, grimly.

"Well, why the hell are you recruiting them so young?"

"Do you suppose we have a choice? It has been a long war!" Commander Abeki continued, "None of those men had even 50 hours in the cockpit! Your men have been coming to our space, and interrupting training excercises and committing wanton slaughter of inexperienced pilots."

Abeki leaned over the desk, "Mandalore, if you were hunting, would you shoot the fawns? Is this the sort of thing you want your men to be doing? Is this worthy of the Mandalorians?"

Cabot shook his head slowly. No, it was not. He answered the Kusari. "We shall take steps to prevent this sort of dishonourable combat. You have my word, as a former Kusari national to a member of the Emperor's Armed Forces, and you have the word of the Mandalore."

Commander Abeki snorted, "I know your history, but you are no Kusari! You are Bretonian! Your service to that traitor Miyagi means nothing! He died a traitor's death! His firing squad was a televised event, to remind the people what happens to dogs who defy the Emperor!"

John rose to his feet slowly, fire burning in his eyes. "You have assumed too much about your personal safety, Commander. You are no diplomat, and I represent no government."

The Mandalorian moved so quickly it was all over before any observer would think to react, had any been present. One lunge punch to the throat, and the Kusari collapsed like a folding chair.

Cabot kneeled down beside the choking Kusari, and spoke in a quiet cold voice. "Your trachea has collapsed. You will shortly lose consciousness, then die." The Mandalore rose.

"I will ensure our men engage Kusari only when the situation is honourable. We will also return your body to Kusari soil."

John Cabot left the room, leaving the Kusari writhing on the floor. He would have to get that mess addressed by the cleaning personnel.

Oh well, the staff hadn't had to deal with as many corpses since Luc's time as Mandalore. They needed something to do...

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