"Wow, that's a lot of missions!" Rayden paused for a moment, his eyes scanning each mission and its rewards.
"This is perfect! With these rewards, I can finally increase my Midichlorian count and improve my connection to the Force." Excitement built up within Rayden as he resumed walking, a newfound pep in his step.
Varn spotted Rayden walking towards them and raised his hand, signaling for him to join the group. "Rayden, come meet everyone," he called, his voice warm yet authoritative.
As I walked closer, I caught Lexi Serdran's gaze fixed on me once again. She had looked at me several times throughout the day. Maybe she is attracted to me—who can blame her? I inherited some good genes from my parents. A small, narcissistic thought ran through my mind.
Her piercing green eyes locked onto mine for a fleeting moment before she turned back to her mother, Veyra. Taking a better look at her, I realized that she is quite pretty.
Dropping what he was thinking, Rayden stepped forward and offered a respectful nod to the clan leaders. "It's an honor to meet you, clan leaders," he said, his tone steady.
Ravik Tov'ra, his battle-scarred armor glinting in the sunlight, gave Rayden an appraising look. "So, you're the young Knight heir. Your father says you've got spirit. Let's see if you can prove it this week." His gravelly voice held a hint of challenge, but his eyes sparkled with approval.
Standing beside his father, Jarek Tov'ra gave Rayden a quick nod.
Veyra Serdran's soft-spoken voice followed. "He has the look of a warrior, Elyse. Perhaps Lexi will find a worthy rival today." She glanced at her daughter, who stood silently with an unreadable expression, her eyes sharp and alert.
Camren Vhar'kar, towering over the group, chuckled. "Don't underestimate the young ones, Veyra. My Soren has a few tricks up his sleeve, and I wager this boy does too." Soren, standing beside his father, greeted Rayden while fidgeting with a small gadget in his hand.
Drenar Drav'korr extended his hand to Rayden. "A pleasure to meet you, young Knight. I understand you admire our craftsmanship. Perhaps we will forge something for you one day." His son, Drago, gave a friendly nod while checking his tools to ensure he had everything he needed.
Elyse placed a hand on Rayden's shoulder, her smile proud. "Let's head to the arena. The games are about to begin."
The group made their way to the makeshift arena located on the east side of the fortress. This structure was a remarkable example of Mandalorian engineering—temporary yet sturdy, featuring tiered seating for spectators and a central field designated for various events. Banners representing each clan fluttered proudly, and the air buzzed with the chatter of hundreds of clan members. The sounds of weapons and armor hitting each other as the contestants got prepared
Rayden stood at the entrance of the arena, his heart pounding in rhythm with the thrumming excitement around him. He could hear the sounds of weapons and armor hitting each other as the contestants got prepared. This competition will be fierce.
In the center of the arena, Varn climbed onto a raised platform. The crowd fell silent as he prepared to speak. The clan leaders flanked Varn on both sides. Meanwhile, Rayden joined the other heirs off to the side, standing beside Lexi and Soren to his right, and Drago and Jarek to his left, each sizing up the competition.
Varn's voice resonated throughout the arena. "Welcome, warriors of the clans, to the Great Clan Competition! Over the course of the next week, we will test our skills, honor our traditions, and strengthen the bonds between our people. The rules are simple: compete with honor, fight with valor, and respect your opponents. Adults and youths will compete in separate brackets, with events ranging from melee combat to marksmanship, tactical war games, and more. Points will be awarded to each clan based on their rankings in each event, and the clan with the most points at the end will be crowned champion. Top performers in each event will earn credits and unique rewards. Now, let the games begin!
The crowd cheered and stomped, leading to a deafening sound before quieting down.
Throughout the week, the youth division will compete first, followed by the adult division later in the day. Lexi and Rayden, who are both under 13, will participate in the youth division. In contrast, Soren, Drago, and Jarek will be competing in the adult division.
Rayden and Lexi walked over to the first game of the day, the shooting competition.
During the next hour, participants tested their shooting skills, accumulating points. The leaderboard changed with each new entry. For the final game of the competition, Rayden and Lexi competed as the last two contestants.
I approached the shooting range with my GALAAR-15 blaster carbine in hand. As I observed the other contestants selecting their blasters and the distances from which they would shoot, I noted that the farther you are from the target, the more points you can earn. For example, hitting a bullseye from 5 meters earns you 10 points, while hitting it from 10 meters earns you 20 points. I stood about 7 meters away from the targets, which was a good middle ground.
The targets in the youth bracket — both moving and stationary — were designed to test speed and accuracy. I glanced at the adjacent section where Lexi stood, blaster in hand, ready to go.
Each contestant had 30 seconds to shoot and hit as many targets as possible.
When the buzzer sounded, I steadied my breathing, aligning my sights with the first target that popped up. I let the Force and my training guide me as I pulled the trigger, feeling the shot hit dead center. Moving drones buzzed around me, darting erratically. I swiftly pivoted and fired three quick shots, scoring two bullseyes and one slightly off-center hit.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lexi; her shots were deadly accurate, missing only a few targets here and there.
"Focus, Rayden. You can admire her later," I reminded myself as I refocused on my targets.
Pushing myself further, I fired faster and began to move, snapping to each new target as if I had an aimbot activated. My heart raced as I hit the bullseye more and more frequently until the buzzer rang.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Time was up.
I looked at the scoreboard and saw that I had narrowly outscored Lexi by hitting a final high-speed target. My total points landed me in 3rd place overall, while Lexi took 4th.
The crowd erupted in cheers when I secured third place. I could almost feel the system's prompt in my mind: Mission Complete: Marksmanship Contest – 3rd Place — Reward: 500 credits, precision scope upgrade, and +150 credits for outscoring Lexi Serdran.
When I caught her eye, Lexi offered a nod, her lips twitching into a faint smile. "Not bad, Knight," she teased, her voice carrying a note of respect. I grinned back, "Not bad yourself, Serdran."
I looked at my system to see how my shooting had improved.
Blaster Marksmanship (Beginner, 400/500)
'Not bad. I'm close to leveling up my shooting skills,' I thought, gripping my blaster as I pictured the difference between beginner and intermediate levels.
The next game will be a one-on-one melee. As Lexi and I walked to the next area, we got to know each other better. Lexi turned out to be really witty and likes to banter.
Rayden: So, Lexi, are you ready to get your game face on?
Lexi: Game face? Please, I thought we were going to play a friendly game of tag with swords. You're running, and I'm tagging you with my blade.
Rayden: Oh, really, and he? I was thinking of going easy on you, letting you get a few taps in before winning.
Lexi narrowed her eyes. "Oh, a little arrogant, are we?"
Rayden noticed his words ticked her off. " Not at all, just confidence, Im really skilled with a blade and I dont want to end our fight to fast before we can properly dance." I started to shake my hips while looking into her eyes.
Lexi gave a small chuckle, her eyes no longer glaring at him. "Dance, huh? You think you can lead? I might surprise you with my moves."
Rayden chuckled back. "Can't wait to see them. You can never go wrong dancing with a pretty girl."
Lexi was momentarily stunned. 'He thinks I'm pretty.' A faint blush tinted her cheeks.
'I wasn't planning on saying that, but now that she's blushing, she really does look cute,' that thought ran through my mind.
Recomposing herself, Lexi crossed her arms and leaned back slightly, contemplating her approach. "Alright then, Mr. Confident. Let's see if you can put your credits where your mouth is."
Rayden admired how quickly Lexi refocused and flashed a grin. "Are you looking to place a bet? Credit or something else?"
Lexi replied, "Lunch for the rest of the competition."
Rayden raised an eyebrow. "The whole competition?"
Lexi raised an eyebrow in response. "Scared?"
Rayden scoffed. "Scared? Please, don't be delusional—you're on."
I extended my hand to seal the bet.
Lexi shook hands with Rayden, and they both continued on their way to the combat area.
What neither of them noticed was that their parents were watching their interactions from the observation platform above.
All the clan leaders, Elyse, and Torin were observing the games.
Drenar and Torin were sitting together, drinking expensive alcohol and sharing stories and laughter while watching the competition. Both men had known each other for years, with Drenar being Maria's brother.
Drenar laughed when he saw Rayden and Lexi flirting.
"Torin, it seems your grandson is quite the charmer," Drenar said, taking a big gulp of his drink and accidentally spilling some into his white beard.
Torin wore a grin on his face as he reminisced about his youth with Drenar. "That boy must have inherited some of my skills."
Drenar choked on his drink and then let out a snort. "Don't be delusional. If he inherited anyone's skills, it would be Varn's. It took you months to get Maria to agree to a date with you."
Torin bristled like a cat having its tail stepped on. "What did you say, you old drunk? I'll have you know I was taking my time wooing Maria."
"You want to go, you old fart?" Drenar slammed his drink down. "You were like a lost puppy following Maria around, confessing your feelings and getting ignored until she finally relented."
"You mean she finally saw my charm and fell in love," Torin quipped back.
Varn interrupted, "Alright, Dad, Uncle, that's enough. You can have your argument later. Right now, we are in the middle of a competition."
Varn was speaking with Camren and Ravik, while Veyra chimed in from time to time about the current political tension between House Kryze, their pacifist movement, and Death Watch.
Elyse and Veyra were deep in conversation, but they occasionally joined Varn's discussion.
Veyra asked, "What do you think?"
Elyse replied, "Think about what?"
Veyra rolled her eyes at her friend. "Don't play dumb. The kids—do you think they would be good for each other?"
Elyse chuckled warmly and tilted her head in thought. "They do look cute together. I wouldn't mind if they got together, but I'm not sure if Lexi would be okay with Rayden's ambitions."
Veyra asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Elyse's brow furrowed slightly, looking troubled. "That boy, even though he's still young, dreams of building a harem of women in the future."
Shocked, Veyra exclaimed, "What? That's crazy! What five-year-old thinks like that?"
Elyse shrugged. "Rayden, I guess."
Veyra asked, "How do you know this?"
"What mother doesn't know her own child?" Elyse said smugly.
Verya shot her a side glance that seemed to say, "Stop with the nonsense."
Elyse pouted when she caught the look on Verya's face. "Fine, I overheard the boy talking about all his future ambitions while he was in his room. He's planning for the future."
Veyra furrowed her brows, not particularly pleased with the idea of Lexi being married to a man who had other women. She understood that some powerful men in the galaxy maintained harems simply because they could.
"Besides that glaring issue, I don't see anything wrong with Rayden so far. We'll see how he behaves during this time and whether Lexi would be okay with sharing her man," Veyra said. She paused and then sighed. "Ultimately, it will be up to Lexi to decide for herself in the future."
"Agreed, but I think having a harem might not be a bad thing for him. It could lead to a big family, and I believe it would also help with his other ambitions."
Veyra: Care to elaborate?
Elyse: It's not my place, but I will say this: Being a clan leader is just the beginning of what my son has planned, that much I know for sure.