The next day, Spar and his closest allies came to an agreement with Guild Agent Greef Karga, who grinned with satisfaction, feeling accomplished at having been able to bring the Protectors into the Guild. The higher-ups of the Bounty Hunters' Guild would be very grateful for this agent's efforts on Concord Dawn.
During the negotiations, Paz Vizsla stood by and watched as Karga and Spar finalized the agreement. He was not alone, though.
"Tell me," Fennec approached him, still in her armor but with her helmet off. "Why did you come to us? Why not your own clan? Aren't you a Mandalorian?"
"Proud Mandalorian," Paz replied.
"Then why aren't you with your people? Why not Death Watch?"
"They will only lead us to death and destruction," Paz said, his tone showing how deeply he believed those words. "We had a chance with Jaster Mereel. It was my clan that squandered and destroyed that chance, resorting to deceit and lies to achieve victory. You could not find a more insulting way to defeat a Mandalorian than through such dishonorable means."
Fennec studied this fellow Mandalorian, who seemed to grow more resolute with every word he spoke.
"I intend to restore my clan to its former glory," Paz declared. "Back to our days as honorable warriors, when we stood against the darkness. I will do it, here and now."
Fennec considered Paz's words carefully and nodded slightly. "Well... if you're looking to find your place, then you're welcome here."
Paz turned to Fennec in surprise.
"You have done us a great service, one that will help the Protectors in both the long and short term," Fennec said evenly. "Although the Guild approached us many times, you personally chose to come here for the right reasons. It is an honorable decision, and I respect it."
She extended her hand. "Though we have only just met, it's good to know that there are Mandalorians in the galaxy who believe in our ways."
Paz straightened his shoulders, grasped Fennec's hand, shook it firmly, and then departed the camp and the planet entirely.
Some time after Greef Karga and his team left, Spar and the other Protectors were preparing for other assignments and missions when they noticed something appearing on their long-range scanners. They didn't recognize the signature, and that made them wary. When several of them emerged from the main compound, they saw it was a Separatist vessel.
"Is it the Trade Federation or the Techno Union this time?" Saxon asked, squinting at the approaching ship.
Spar's eyes narrowed. "No. It's worse than that."
He immediately headed toward the entrance of the camp, where the ship was hovering, motioning for the Mandalorians to be ready for anything.
The ship descended, extending a boarding ramp, and the door slid open. As vapor dispersed into the air, several figures disembarked and walked toward the Mandalorians. A male Weequay, a female Mirialan, a Dathomirian woman, and—
"Count Dooku."
The leader of the Separatist Alliance regarded the Mandalorian leader with a calculating look.
"You are not Jango Fett, are you?" Dooku asked knowingly.
"Of course not," Spar replied. "Jango Fett died on Geonosis. You witnessed that yourself."
"Yet you fashion yourself after him, behave like him. How... provocative."
"Count, is there a purpose to your visit?"
"Straight to the point—I appreciate that. I will be equally direct. I want you and your Protectors to join the Separatist Alliance."
"Why in the nine hells would we ally with a Jedi or a Sith?" Spar growled. "In case you've forgotten, I remember. I remember everything. It was your Jedi strike team that killed the original True Mandalorians on Galidraan."
To say Dooku expected a mention of Galidraan was certainly not what he had anticipated encountering when he arrived on the planet.
"I have them all," Spar emphasized, tapping the side of his temple. "All his memories. Every meeting he ever attended, every conversation, every battle, every moment. I remember you, Count Dooku, very clearly."
Behind Dooku, his companions tensed, slowly reaching for their lightsabers while keeping their eyes on the many Mandalorians who were now beginning to rest their hands on their blasters.
Dooku narrowed his eyes, studying one of Jango Fett's millions of clones, who was glaring back at him with equal intensity.
"I hope you haven't forgotten, former Jedi," Spar said coldly. "We are Mandalorians."
"Is that how you address our master, clone?" the female Mirialan said, gripping her lightsaber, ready to ignite it.
In an instant, nearly dozens of blasters were drawn and aimed directly at the four Force users.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Problem?"
The Mirialan snarled along with her Dathomirian companion, while the male Weequay remained more neutral. Spar shook his head dismissively in their direction and returned his attention to Dooku.
"As I said, we are Mandalorians, Dooku. At the end of the day, we know how to kill Jedi and Sith better than anyone else in this galaxy," Spar said, stepping closer to the Count. "We have suffered enough at your hands. The Sith have used us as tools for millennia. The Jedi, in their eternal fear of us, essentially glassed our homeworld and left millions dead. We will never again fall under the control of the Sith, nor will we ever again be manipulated by the Jedi. It would take far more than your offer to make us reconsider."
At this point, the tension was palpable, to say the least.
The meeting had been brief, but it had escalated to this level within minutes. The two sides had reached a stalemate, and neither was backing down.
Spar grinned coldly. "I can see it in your eyes. You want to strike me down, right here, right now. You're welcome to try."
Dooku did not move.
"Never forget, fallen Jedi. You may kill us, but we will always rise again and push back. That has always been our way, and it will always be our way."
"This is the Way," the Mandalorian Protectors called out, their collective voices echoing across the area.
...
The Sith Lord exhaled slowly to calm himself. "Very well."
The Count's eyes locked with the clone Mandalore. "We will make your existence much more difficult for refusing to consider joining the Separatist cause."
Spar simply snorted and flashed a challenging smile. "Sounds more like your master's problem, Darth Tyranus."
Dooku's eyes flashed with anger as he turned around, his cloak billowing dramatically in the wind, as he and his acolytes began walking back toward their ship, ignoring Spar's taunts.
"Making our lives harder?" Spar scoffed loudly. "That's when Mandalorians thrive!"
The Protectors cheered, jeering and laughing at the retreating dark side practitioners, while the two female acolytes glanced back with murderous sneers.
Moments later, the ship departed swiftly, leaving Spar still standing at the front of the camp, now joined by Fennec, Ursa, Tobbi, and Saxon.
"We need to increase our security and patrols," Spar said matter-of-factly. "No doubt Dooku will send forces against us at some point."
"We'll be ready," they replied in unison.