[right][b][i]Flight of the Nightfury[/i]
[sup]Chapter 1: Into the Void[/sup]
[sup][sup]Mandalore System[/sup][/sup][/b][/right]

Xarthas swore as he felt the entire ship shake, as he pulled himself out from underneath the console he saw as the stars came back into focus as the ship reverted to real space. In the distance, he could see the planet Mandalore, and his home Concordia orbiting the bustling world. From what he was told it had nothing on what Coruscant once was, but it was certainly busier now than it ever had been, at least as far as he could remember. "Chuckles!" The droid rolled in, beeps coming forth from the small astromech as it complained about being pulled from its important work. Xarthas raised a hand to stop the lines of droid speak, which were starting to get more and more into the realm of expletives. Chuckles had to do as he said, but he made it clear that he didn't like it. He pointed once the little droid finished speaking. "I swear, as soon as I can find it you're getting a new personality matrix, but for now what in [i]haran[/i] just happened?"

The droid rolled its head out of frustration. "Yes I know we dropped out of hyperspace, but we were meant to be in hyperspace for another three hours! I've not got the communications back up yet." The droid turned and left as it continued to beep. "What do you mean you fixed the broken compressor!?" Xarthas threw a hydrospanner after the droid cursing as he saw a light blinking on the main console. No doubt Keldabe trying to initiate contact with his ship, finding out who he was and what he wanted. The issue was the communication system had been knocked out in a... [i]disagreement[/i] with CIS border forces and the droid should have prioritized the repair of those systems as with the political climate of most of the galaxy flying towards a capital in radio silence wasn't a good way to stay flying. Xarthas swore as he ducked back under the console, pulling at wires he shrugged as he grabbed two of them. He stuck them together with mere electrical tape as he sat up in his chair and hit the comm button 

[..."REPEAT. This is Keldabe ATC, this is your final warning. Respond now or you will be towed into the nearest dock then board-"]

"This is the [i]Nightfury[/i], Captain Xarthas at the helm. Clan Den, House Kryze. Sorry for the radio silence there, having some system errors." There was a beep at the back of the cockpit as Chuckles decided to re-enter the conversation, Xarthas shot daggers at the astromech as it accused the ship of [i]always[/i having system errors. “Requesting passage to Concordia to the Clan Den enclave. I come from away.”

“Permission granted. Follow the flight plan exactly, do not stray towards the ring or we’ll intercept with tug vessels.” 

Xarthas sighed as he hit the button to send his response. “Copy that, [i]Nightfury[/i] out.” In the years since they had started building the ring and had established Keldabe ATC things had gotten far more strict in the Mandalore system. As the ship swung around to Concordia it shook slightly as the vessel broke through the atmosphere. Creaking slightly as the hull became heated and shook as the Repulsors fought against gravity. Guiding it delicately the ship swung into the [url=https://66.media.tumblr.com/dae760e4176d7155211e8fed38ec8576/tumblr_pflrmrJVfc1rlsn3go1_1280.jpg]Den Enclave[/url]. Landing on the outskirts he could see the variety of craft that belonged to the clan. Two Z-95s sat in the pride space of the hangar right beside the enclave proper, Xarthas smiled slightly as he saw the craft. While many of the craft sat around the enclave belonged to people who were off doing their duty to Mandalore on the ring helping its construction or building ships, 

As he walked down the ramp Chuckles wheeled up behind him, he turned around and raised hi shadn at the droid. “Nope. You have systems to fix.” As the droid started to curse him in binary Xarthas just shook his head. “Don’t start with me. It’s your fault I never managed to get around to finishing the repairs by deciding to fix the compressor which was way down on the list. You just wanted to get back here as I promised to have you cleaned up. Well, now you can finish making sure the ship is fully operational before any work is done.” The droid turned around, cursing as it went. 

An old man with a familiar face within the Mandalore Republic came walking towards him, wearing the white armour of a Clone, though these days it had greyed and dirtied with age. Yellow emblem on his shoulder pauldrons, kill marks started on his right shoulder and went all the way down his arm with confirmed kills. Oddball, in the distance Xarthas could see Hawk working on his Z-95 and he waved. “Welcome back Xarthas!” Oddball opened his arms and embraced the younger man in a hug.

“[i]Ba’vodu[/i]. What are you doing here?”

“The Chief is on the ring to celebrate the founding. He asked me and Hawk to come back and manage the clan in his absence, we’re thinking about taking some of the children up in some old Arc-170s. Show them how the Open Circle used to do it back in the day.”

“I don’t know if I’m more surprised that those ships still fly, or that you still do.”

The two of them turned to walk towards the mass of buildings that made up the enclave, Oddball punching his shoulder. “That’s a lot of cheek coming from you, flying around in that old tub.”

“That old tub is faster than your old fighters, I’ve made a lot of special modifications myself.”

“It’s a mess.”

“I have a system.” 

The two of them chuckled, as they walked into the enclave. A decade ago this had been a bustling hub of activity as members of the clan had returned from all over the Galaxy at the Mandalores call. However many had moved on, some had joined the navy as instructors and squadron leaders. Others had went to MandalMotors with their vast engineering knowledge and expertise to build systems and ships to increase Mandalores strength, before Xarthas had ventured out into the Galaxy the Navy had sought after to recruit him. Now officially they couldn’t hire him since he was a wanted criminal in Separatist Space. It would be a little bit of a controversy to hire him. A group of children ran out. 

[i]“Xarthas is back!”“Hey look guys its Xarthas!”“Hey Xarthas where's Chuckles?”“Did you see any separatists?”“Get in any big fights?””Did you see the Hapan Battledragon?! I hear there’s one in orbit right now!””Have you ever fought a Lucrehulk?!””What is General Grevious like?!”[/i]

Oddball laughed. “That’s enough Children, let the man breathe and get some space.”

Xarthas raised his hand and placed it on Oddballs shoulder. “It’s okay [i]ba’vodu.[/i] I always have time for the [i]ade[/i]. After all they are the next generation of elite pilots.” Walking over he sat on a nearby crate. “Okay, let me have it.”