Star Wars_ The Old Republic_ Revan - Drew Karpyshyn [47]
“I understand well enough,” Revan replied in her native tongue.
Veela arched her eyebrow in mild surprise, then turned her attention back to Canderous. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that any way to greet a clan-brother?” Canderous asked.
“Are you still my clan-brother? You left us after the war. You deserted Clan Ordo to become a mercenary.”
“There was no Clan Ordo after the war,” Canderous snapped back at her. “Tegris was dead. We had no leader. We were scattered. Broken. Defeated. I wasn’t the only one who left.”
“We heard you were working for the Jedi,” Veela said, her voice low and hateful.
In the silence that followed, the sentry called Edric spoke up. “Cin vhetin,” he said, and there was a general murmur of agreement from the others in the room.
The literal translation of the phrase was “driven snow”—appropriate given the conditions outside. But Revan knew that the true meaning of the phrase was closer to “The past is in the past.” The Mandalorians believed that once you took up the arms and armor of the clan, your past was irrelevant. Edric was saying that whatever Canderous had done over the past few years was irrelevant now that he had returned.
From Veela’s expression, it was difficult to tell if she agreed with him. But she let the matter of Canderous’s past drop.
“I’m the leader of this clan now,” she insisted. “I still have a right to know why you’re here.”
“To help Clan Ordo find Mandalore’s Mask.”
Veela tilted her head to the side, as if getting a different angle might help her see whether Canderous was being completely honest with her.
“And what about this Outsider?” she asked, pointing to Revan.
“He is my friend. My brother. He will help us in our search.”
“Do you have a name, Outsider?” Veela asked.
“His name is Avner,” Canderous said, cutting Revan off. “He’s a mercenary. We met while I was working for Davik Kang.”
“You can’t speak for yourself?” she asked, still focused on Revan. “I thought you understood Mando’a. Am I going too fast for you?”
“I understand,” Revan answered. “You speak well.”
There was a gasp from the crowd, followed by the sound of stifled, nervous laughter.
Revan knew full well the insult he had given. The Mandalorians were warriors; they had nothing but contempt for diplomats and politicians. They valued actions over words, and he’d just implied that Veela was all talk.
“Brother Canderous vouched for you, so you can stay,” Veela said through clenched teeth. “But if you betray us, I’ll kill you. If your weakness causes one of my people to get hurt, I’ll kill you. If you slow us down, I’ll kill you. Is that clear?”
“Wait … what was that second one again? Maybe I should write this down.”
There was another round of stifled laughter. Veela pretended not to hear it as she turned back to Canderous. “Welcome home, brother,” she said flatly.
She grabbed her winter gear, quickly threw it back on, and left without saying another word. Once she was gone, the others in the room seemed to relax.
Revan motioned to Canderous, calling him over to join him in the corner before he was swallowed up in a crowd of old friends.
“Avner?” he whispered in Basic. “That’s the best name you could come up with?”
“What’s wrong with Avner?”
“You just rearranged the letters in Revan.”
“Relax. Nobody out here’s going to—” Canderous stopped abruptly as he noticed Edric ambling toward them.
“Don’t judge Veela too harshly,” the sentry said, misinterpreting their hushed dialogue. “She’s a good leader, but she has a temper.” He looked at Revan. “You should remember that the next time you provoke her.”
“I just got caught in the middle,” Revan protested. “Canderous is the one she’s really mad at. I get the sense you two have a history.”
“You could say that,” the big man admitted. “She’s my wife.”
CHAPTER TEN
SCOURGE HAD BEEN WAITING inside the cave on Bosthirda for nearly an hour when he finally heard the faint sound of a speeder landing outside. A few minutes later he heard footsteps coming down the passage. He smiled. Unlike his previous