Setting
An independent world ruled by the Mand'alor—the leader of all the Mandalorian clans, following the tradition established by Mandalore the First—the planet Mandalore found itself the ally and enemy of numerous galactic governments and groups throughout the years. Though largely abandoned by the early Mandalorian Crusaders, who continuously sought fresh conquests, Mandalore became the fallback point for many defeated Mandalorian Neo-Crusader warriors after the end of the Mandalorian Wars. With the rise of the pacifist New Mandalorian faction and their efforts to reform Mandalore's warrior ways, distancing themselves from the violent past after the disastrous events that lead to their formation, Mandalore was accepted by the Galactic Republic and was known as New Mandalore throughout the isolationist society that the New Mandalorians created. Originally neutral during the Clone Wars, after the New Mandalorian capital fell to the machinations of the Death Watch, the pacifist faction's influence dwindled. Later, when Mandalore the Resurrector came to power, the planet broke from the Republic and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems against the oppressive Coruscant regime, only to come under the heel of the Galactic Empire following the end of the Clone Wars.
With the fall of the Empire, Mandalore began a steady period of recovery up until the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion of the galaxy, and the devastation the extragalactic invaders wrought upon Mandalore. The resilient world did not yield to the Vong's attempt at destruction, however, and by the Second Galactic Civil War, Mandalore was in the midst of a prosperous resurgence brought on by the discovery of fresh lodes of beskar iron that had been exposed during the Yuuzhan Vong attack. Mandalore suffered an attack by elements of the Imperial Remnant loyal to the Sith Lord Darth Caedus near the war's end, yet persevered, continuing to grow and developing ties with the Verpine and the Galactic Alliance. Under the leadership of Mand'alor Yaga Auchs, the Mandalorians withdrew from the Sith–Imperial War and remained on Mandalore thoughout the Second Imperial Civil War, focused on bettering their world.
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Clans from all over the planet had gathered in the capital city to hear the Galactic Federation make their case--and then they made their own, individually, in fiery, painstaking detail. For nine hours. The damage the Yuuzhan Vong had wrought on the planet was evident; Keldabe was still a disaster, no matter how hard the rebuild effort tried. In fact, the Federation had offered grants for construction and renewal efforts to re-stabilize the economy and infrastructure of the capital city, to then promptly generate enough tax revenue for other affected areas to do the same. And more.
They didn't budge. Stubborn Mandalorians.
Temi lifted her drink to her mouth and took it down fast. She wasn't used to failing. It looked bad. It felt even worse. Maybe when she'd taken the assignment, she'd underestimated exactly what was going to happen. What a terrible planet to have as the first assignment.
A small droid bleeped helpfully to her right, offering a tray with a glass filled with the green drink she'd ordered. She smiled and nodded. "Thank you," she uttered, realizing how really ridiculous it was that she was speaking to a service droid, but at the moment she didn't really care. "You don't deliver to hostels, do you?" The droid offered a low trill and moved along. Temi sighed and took a sip of the new drink. She fully intended on finding a way to forget the day she'd had.
Her datapad flashed white and chirped a neutral tone. A new message. Temi opened her inbox and furrowed her eyebrows as she slowly read,
"URGENT. RETURN TO CORUSCANT. REPLACEMENT COMING. CHARTER SHUTTLE BACK. FUNDS COMING TO YOUR ACCOUNT."
The office sure had a way with short, succinct wording. And for striking dread right into her chest. How did it get back to them so quickly that the Mandalorian negotiations weren't going so well? Who knows, maybe this had nothing to do with it... but that seemed unlikely. If not that, then what exactly?
The droid came back with three glasses. Temi exchanged her empty glasses for the three. She'd worry about it later. For now, she needed to forget about it.
The last jump to Mandalore took several hours and Adrius took this time to prepare himself for his temporary identity. Afterall, Wes Haden was a transport pilot and private contractor so he had to look informal, yet professional. For this scenario, that entailed a pair of dark blue trousers, brown, strapless boots, a form fitting black shirt and a inconspicuous piece of chest armor. To complete the ensemble, he wore a brown jacket, a forward rimmed hat and a pair of black goggles that covered his prosthetic eye and real eye. Nothing he owned could cover his beard and mustache.
The Miss Happenstance descended into Mandalore's atmosphere, plunging through clouds and sky into the airspace over Keldabe. The vast plains and granite outcroppings near the capital of Mandalore had once been a great forest but, during the Yuuzhan Vong war, it was reduced to wastes. The fact that it was now green with grass and life was a testament to the healing the planet had undergone since them.
Adrius went through the motions of landing with the malaise of experience. His eyes and tone evidently bored but friendly as he attained permissions, navigated about the yards and, finally, put the luxurious little shuttle down in a hangar. He paid the docking fee in Aurorium coins, the only assuredly valuable currency in outter rim, though Alliance credit was still worth something here.
The spaceport, though surprisingly modest for a global capital, was still quite large and Wes found himself surrounded by loose groups of people the moment he stepped out of the hangar. He adjusted the straps of his pack and the position of his hat and peered through the crowds. No one seemed to notice him; no one seemeed to care that he existed. Perfect.
Adrius was not particularly looking, this not being his first time here, but the Mandalorian Keldabe spaceport was an impressive place of a beautiful and eclectic nature. One did not see wood in construction very often in the "civilized" regions of the galaxy. Here, it was a common sight.
Even so, he was not here for site seeing and kept his eyes forward as he headed off to meet with a local friend. After a nasty run-in with some underhanded fellows who worked for the Intergalactic Banking Clan, Adrius had hidden his ship, the Farren I, here and now he had returned to pick it up.
His boots announced Wes in the quiet spaceport bar. Though his shoes were no louder than any others, the bar was quiet enough that the older man noticed it. He made a mental note to step more quietly. A few heads turned and Wes ignored them, walking up to the bar itself and standing against it.
Where is he?
Wes thought, prosthetic eye scanning the room. He had no special sensory equipment beyond advanced movement and low light pickup but he could look less conspicuously than if he were looking with his organic right eye. He noted a few people, particularly the well dressed woman at the table (Temi) and the man seated in a lookout position in the corner, face covered and carbine partially concealed behind the folds of his coat.
A tall man with goggles and a hat hovered around the bar. She sipped her drink and watched him closely. It almost seemed as though he was searching for someone. She found herself hoping that no one would come looking for her right now at all. In this case, misery did not seek company.
And that's when it happened—her glass exploded in her hand, shards either flying in all directions or dissolving. She shut her eyes and turned her face away, immediately following what her office had trained her to do—take cover. While on her way under the table she noticed a burned spot on the far wall. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she pushed the table down to shield against the direction the blast had come from.
The ten minute mark hit and still no sign of Wes' friend. He felt the edge of paranoia begin to gnaw at his conscious thoughts, mostly thanks to the cold professionalism of the man in the corner. If this guy was here to start trouble, it was definitely big trouble.
Wes gripped the edge of a serving tray with one hand and pretended to look away, seeing how the man would react. He stood up. Wes' heartrate thrummed in his ears and his heart raced. It wasn't illegal to carry fire-arms here in the spaceport and he didn't want to cause a ruccus with the port authority by starting a fight.
The man grew closer and closer still. Wes' grip creaked on the tray, drawing a patronising look from the bartender. That was just about the moment that the wall behind the bar door erupted and the the world became a caucophany of ringing and disorientation.
Wes was thrown from his feet and he collided with something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it gave way and toppled. Something else collided densely with the armor on his ribs and he felt all of the breath explode from his lungs, his mind and body reeling.
Wes twisted his torso, his breath was deafening in his own ears and his stomach was trying to crawl up his throat but he had to move. He pushed himself to his knees and started to crawl toward the back of the bar. His hands pressed into something wet on the cold floor and he became quickly aware of the sticky sweet smell of blood.
There was a woman cowering behind an upended table and Wes' took advantage of the cover, rolling in behind her with a slurred "'scuse me". The world was starting to come back into full force and Wes became strikingly aware of exactly how much everything hurt! His hat was missing, his head was bleeding from a scalp wound and, though his goggles remained on, they were cracked and covered in dust.
Adrius tore off the goggles with a grunt, teeth gritted and drew out his DL-18 blaster pistol, getting into a practiced position behind cover. So much for the disguise.
The carbine that fired round after round was a E-11 blaster carbine without a scope, while still having most of the computer parts sticking in their normal places. If one watched closely, they would notice that even in the hands of the droid, the blaster carbine jumped with every shot.
To the droid, there were two targets and a friendly. Its target, Temi, was hiding behind a table that its shots could not pierce, and the civilians posed a small threat, mainly of its discovery. Adrius's cybernetics, on the other hand, made him look friendly to the droid. He might have noted this as shots went by him time after time, the occasional one missing its designated target, usually hitting someone not far off.
A small squad of security guards appeared at the establishment's entrance, firing a barrage of well-timed, well-placed shots into the assailant. It blew up loudly, shrapnel prevented from injuring other patrons as its coat, used as a disguise, contained the damage.
Mandalorians sure knew how to work efficiently.
The four or five immediately went to inspect the droid. Temi was still huddled against the back, her hair slightly disheveled. Her body was shaking, and it didn't help that she'd consumed a fair number of cocktails. Her stomach flipped anxiously.
She turned to the goggled man as she reached for her datapad. "Did that really just happen?"
He had been sitting at the Cantina for almost an hour now, before Adrius walked in, and he promptly perked up. He acknowledged Adrius looking him over, and waited for him to situate himself at the bar before he got up to approach him. He had information about a possible bomb placed behind that certain area of the bar, and he needed to get Adrius away from there as soon as was possible. But before he could reach him, his suspicions were unfortunately confirmed, and the wall behind the bar exploded. Glass and splinters of wood were thrown everywhere and the sound was deafening. He quickly crouched down to avoid a majority of the debris and found himself instinctively tipping over a table to use as cover. He observed Adrius getting thrown like a little stuffed doll, and took that moment to chuckle to himself and reminded himself to tease him about later.
He took cover there from the droid that soon followed the explosion, and it didn't last long before it was taken care of. Icarus took this moment to roll out of cover and calmly walk over to Adrius' position. He raised a hand to remove the mask from his mouth, and offered one of his iconic shit-eating grins to him. He crouched to be eye-level with Adrius, and lowered his voice to a whisper that only the two of them would be able to hear. "Hey man, looks like I'm a little late to the party. But I'm supposed to warn you about a possible bomb behind yonder bar. But it looks like you found out anyway. Ha ha. My bad, man." He raised a hand to rub at the back of his head, and then raised the goggles back up to his forehead.
"At least the assassination attempt didn't work, yeh?" For the moment, he ignored the small woman next to Adrius.
Wes' eyes met Temi's for a brief moment that seemed frozen in time as blaster fire coursed overhead. It was like war all over again, only this time, he wasn't serving under a particular banner or loyalty; no, he was on his own. Wes peeked around the side of the make-shift cover to see a table splinter under a hammer-fist blow from the droid. It was indiscriminately unloading its arms on anything that moved but seemed to be advancing primarily toward them.
Whoever programmed this droid was, evidently, infantile in their designs, but Adrius could not deny the brute effectiveness of the attack. Was this the only weakness he had to work with: An evidently underwhelming tactical acumen and overwhelming physical power? Crap.
As if on cue, the previously lovely wooden door into the bar shattered into a thousand splinters and there was a cacophony of shouting and footsteps. The authorities had arrived in force. The droid wheeled around on the Mandalorian security team but before it could even level it's blaster, it was torn into pieces with the cacophonous report of blaster fire.
Wes breathed out a sigh of relief and finally took stock of the remainder of the room. That was when he noticed the masked figure had recovered from the blast and was walking toward him, somewhat casually.
I recognise that walk.
Wes thought, holstering his pistol as Icarus Starr revealed his characteristic grinning visage. Both relief and anger flooded through Adrius as Icarus explained the situation. Wes' jaw firmed up and he glared at the younger man, his voice lowered to a whisper of about the same level. His tone was dripping with acidic sarcasm.
"Thanks for the heads up. Good to know we're ahead of the curve."
He then turned to Temi, who had asked a question as Icarus was walking up.
"I suppose it did."
Adrius muttered.
"Are you alright?"
Keldabe spaceport unloading personnel hauled countless crates everyday, usually only knowing what ship brought them in. This was not always the safest bet. This was proven when the top of one of the crates shot into the ceiling of the specific dock it was at, its cargo activated by the destruction of the assassin droid at the bar. Out of the crate rose a Sentinel droid, with heavy modifications. Its armor was remade to suit better against blaster fire and explosions, while its central processing was improved significantly, and redesigned in such a way that it didn't need continual memory wipes. Along its main upper arms, tubes of a bluish-white fluid ran into several small metal devices on its skin that looked to serve no purpose. Under its main arms was a second set holding the same carbine that the droid in the bar had used.
The first worker to turn around hardly lasted long enough to scream as the droid force pulled him onto a vibroblade it had been carrying on its back. Before the other two could react, its precision targeting left them dead on the floor. Putting the blade on its back, the droid knew that it needed to get to the other droid's previous location, as the signal that confirmed the droid had been fatally damaged was broadcast.
Walking out of the specific dock, the foreman of the workers it had killed came around the corner with a curious look on his face. Before he could speak, however, the droid lifted him in the air by the neck with the force. The droid waited until all signs of life in the organic were gone before it dropped to the floor.
As he droid walked among the crowds, going to the bar that the other droid had been destroyed at, it was thinking. Most of the organics just ignored it as some overly wealthy person's toy. Its though, however, was what would the droid call itself if it were to bother speaking with an organic. Its model number was far too lengthy when put through the vocalizer, and it needed something that flowed better. Raxus, the droid thought, Raxus. The first part of the name of the planet that made it.
As Raxus entered the bar, about when Wes asked if Temi was alright, any with force sensitivity would feel it. Unlike Jedi or Sith, so long as Raxus was activated, it created a constant tug on the force that made it easy to sense. As it entered the room, it looked at the hole in the floor. The droid here before it did was it was supposed to do when compromised, a good sign. Raxus, however, had no knowledge of what the other droid was sent to do. It was only given the order to retrieve damaged droids in the case of them being compromised, but it was not like their was a whole lot of them on Mandalore.
That would not be good. Not one single bit. There didn't need to be any extra attention drawn to the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances' negotiation proceedings, which were already a disaster, by way of Temi's name scrolling across headline feeds in news media. Things were so tense as they already were.
She bent down to pick up her datapad and her travel bag, and briefly glimpsed at the man approaching. He looked familiar... She couldn't quite place him, but could have sworn that she'd seen him somewhere before. Coruscant, somewhere. Before she began working for the government. But who, exactly?
Her train of thought was interrupted when a droid entered through the large main door. Suddenly she felt as though she were suffering from a hot migraine simmering behind her eye sockets. The sensation made her extraordinarily antsy. Temi looked between the two men and tilted her head briskly toward the secondary exit. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not staying," she whispered to them. "You're welcome to come with me."
She had to get out of there.
The air felt suddenly heavy in a way that Wes had never quite experienced, like something was attempting to pull his mind. He shook his head at the disorienting sensation and turned sharply to Raxus.
Something was very wrong about the droid and it seemed that even one of the Mandalorian security team were equally perterbed as they put up a hand and told the droid to "Halt". He informed the droid that this was a closed crime scene and that was enough cover for Wes to take Temi's cue to leave.
Wes looked at Icarus, bobbed his head toward the back hallway of the establishment and headed off quietly. Luck still intact, it seemed that any staff were no longer present in the back and that the most of the bar was possibly automated (gathered based on the small size of the establishment. There was very little hallway to speak of).
It took a few moments of laborously quiet movement amidst the hum of technology and a small S shaped hallway but they eventually reached a door that opened to a narrow alley. A defunct serving droid was lying against the next building and, as if luck was just fucking with them, a KPS (Keldabe Port Security) agent was standing guard at the end of the alley.
"This unit wishes to further investigate this crime scene." Raxus spoke, motioning with its hands. As it spoke, it caught glimpses of three organics exiting with haste. This memory was stored for later recollection to attempt to gather more information, but for now, Raxus wanted to ensure that they would survive.
"This is a closed crime scene."
"There was another droid involved. This unit wishes to ensure its current perceived state."
"You know a little to much, droid. I am going to have to ask you to shut down."
"This unit sees no reason to obey such commands."
"If you don't shutdown immediately, then we will have to do so with force."
"This unit is interested in seeing how you would attempt to do that." Raxus stated, setting his vocalizer to a sing-song way of speaking for this statement.
The KPS agent pulled out a heavy blaster pistol, but had several burns on his chest before he could even reach a good firing line. After running a quick life-sign scan of the KSP agent, satisfied with the death of the agent. Raxus then put his E-11 on his leg and walked out of the bar quickly, knowing that any other agents would be converging on his position.
Moving swiftly through the crowds of people, Raxus began taking careful notice of every organic it passed, calculating possible intentions, destinations, and mentalities. It did always enjoy trying to figure out how organics worked.
She heard shooting off in the distance. Something else was causing a distraction...
"I have to get to Coruscant," she asserted to them as all three ran ahead together. "Can I count on your help?"
Agent Nere had been on Mandalore for some time. He was given an order to spy on the delegations between the Alliance and the Mandalorians. The Empire had to make sure the Mandalorians will not be involved in the upcoming conflict. Or if they were, it would be on their side. Fortunately the Alliance offers to the Mandalorians were disagreeable, their stubbornness and pride has ensured less danger to the Empire. The superiors on Korriban will be pleased to learn this. Then the Empire may even begin to persuade the Mandalorians to join their cause instead, but that is an order for a different time. In the meantime Nere is to watch the Alliance's actions on Mandalore and then report back to base when they leave the planetside.
Nere was in a discreet cloak, as he moved about Keldabe Spaceport. He documentation of one of the Federation's Diplomat's (Temi) movements lead him here. All the while a few Prowler droids were dispatched to spy on any other Federation targets. One of these very droids found Gavin in an alleyway. It reported to him an assassination attempt inside a bar where the Federation Diplomat was resting. Curious about the disturbance, Nere headed for the bar. Once there he noticed a squad of KSPs scouring the area. Apparently someone they want has escaped. Nere assumed it was the assassin until when he managed to see the scraps of a droid. "Hm, riddled with blaster fire, this must be the culprit, but if these patrolmen are searching for another, then this droid must have an accomplice." Yet Gavin hadn't the slightest inkling about whom they are searching for would be another droid.
The man took careful note of the scene, and from the way he seemed to be thinking, Raxus hypothesized that the man had some sort of investigative background. Definately not police, by the way he carried himself. Raxus thought that he might have been a spy, but that was interrupted by the sound of "There's the droid! Shut it down!"
Raxus turned to see three KPS Agents turning the corner. Their first, and last, shot grazed the upgrade armor that Raxus had almost as soon as his blaster shot the only three shots it needed. However, this time Raxus wasn't leaving. Instead, he turned around to the railing once more, and leaned on it with his two under-arms, watching how the cloaked man would react.
This droid must be observed, perhaps even confronted. Yet, Gavin would not do so himself. He moved away from the crowd and as he moved to the side of the building. While he searched for all the entrances and exits, Nere called in his Prowler Droid. Ordering to keep an bird's eye view over the entire building, particularly the movements of the droid. He didn't want it moving anywhere he didn't know about. Before the Droid changed it's orders it had send him some information on the diplomat's movements. Apparently the target is with two unknowns as they are sneaking away from the area. So at least Nere knows these droids have not yet killed the diplomat. Although the mystery of the two unknowns has him concerned, so does this droid. If it means to kill the diplomat he must ascertain why. After all the Federation and it's people are of concern to him. If they are to be killed then it's on the Empire's orders.
Nere was not the only person seeking the droid. The KPSs near the bar at the time heard the shots. They too are seeking to enter the building. In the meantime Gavin stood aside as they entered the building. He can't be physically involved in these matters, that is not what an Imperial Agent does. They work from the shadows, and from these shadows Nere watches the events unfold.
When the man registered as dead, Raxus let the body drop to the floor. Raxus then charged the two other agents, who were standing still with horror, cutting them cleanly with his vibroblade. He was growing rather tired of them, but got the sense that the man was not one to be confronted in daylight.
Raxus let off a signal, a signal that only droids, specifically ones with older, clone wars level communications systems would understand. The message was "You have spiked my curiosity as much as I have yours. Find the red crate cracked slightly open."
With that, Raxus leaped from the ledge, slamming down into the crowd before the man, then running off to Storage Dock 194. Once he got there, he quickly hid in the same red crate he came in, slightly cracking the top open. He then shut down, leaving only his short range scanners on to take note of the surroundings, and of any KPS agents.
Some moments later, Nere found himself at the storage docks. He began to search for the red crate. To help aid him in the search was the Prowler ordered to find red crates that has traces of the droid's energy signature. The Prowler scanned the items with that distinct maker, before long the droid relayed to him a possible location, Dock 194. Gavin made his way to the dock and searched for the red crate. It wouldn't be too long that Nere discovered it, but he made sure to not stand to close. He placed himself near a wall in case the droid opened fire. If he were to use it's strange functions then the Agent would be in serious trouble. He would have to rely on the Prowler to use it's offensive capabilities to distract the droid. In the meantime Nere spoke, "I am at the crate you specified." "If you are interested in meeting me, then be so kind as to reveal yourself." "I'm not much for games I'm afraid." The Agent spoke in a calm, dry, British voice. He then waited to see what might happen.
As Raxus shot quick glances around the room, it had its rifle in its under-arms and its vibroblade in its upper-arms. After Raxus's Defensive Activation Protocols were over, it looked over at Nere.
"You are of greater bravery that most this unit has observed." The definite droid voice spoke, without any signs of emotion. If the Prowler was receiving, it might have read the excess of the different rays and beams that Raxus was using to analyse this anomaly.
He was receiving some new Intel from the airborne Prowler. It was relaying to him about the excess flow of rays and beams coming from the droid. The Prowler states that the droid is analyzing him. Nere thought to himself, "Hm, there's something off about this droid, even if one didn't see that display of power earlier, could still tell something is strange." Nere decided to engage the droid in conversation. "So tell me, I am not accustomed to your build," Gavin paused, "What is your make and model?" Gavin asked. Usually droids are required to answer requests made of them. Or at least answer rudimentary questions such as his.
Now Raxus was beginning to be more and more curious about this specific organic. He constantly referred to his 'field,' something Raxus believed that must be military in some way. The bravery did not calculate as something the common masses, or criminal masses, tend to have. His Prowler droid, which was logged from several terminal searches before as outdated, which was able to receive both newer and older transmitter signals showed that he did not seem the type to live without full knowledge of his environment.
Curious to ask a question in return, Raxus asked "What is this organic's name and field of work?" Raxus truly wanted to know, a small side effect of making a machine intelligent was that they liked to gather even the most useless of data for some odd reason.
The droid is commanded to be obedient to him and alert him to status updates. So, this...Raxus, isn't communicating with anyone else besides him...yet that doesn't mean he couldn't record this encounter and relay it personally later. Still, he didn't want to be rude to the droid, after all since it thinks on it's own, it might not be so kind as to give anymore information if Nere won't himself. The agent looked at the droid and spoke, "I am Gavin Nere, as for my field of work, well I watch things, document things, you could say I am a reporter." One could translate it as Intelligence Officer, but no outside party would react to it without more elaboration, after all he did describe the acts of a news reporter which isn't too far off from a spy, just the two servants report to different masters.
Raxus also took note of Nere. He seemed to stay in a mix of a curious and thoughtful states. This spiked Raxus's interest even more, specifically into what was going through Nere's head. So, the droid formulated a new question, and finished creating a inquisitive vocal settings file. Using said file through its vocalizer, Raxus asked "What do you prefer as a standardized quick reference to your name?" With only a second, or so, delay, Raxus continued with "Do you have anymore questions for this unit?"
While this could be a viable option, the Droid doesn't act like your average Assassin Droid. It's been rather cordial with the Agent, and while it is armed, it may be for only defensive measures. Yes, and with the Droid now asking another question of Gavin he could tell it has some interest in him. It even mentioned this before. Maybe this unit was designed to be a spy? Before the Agent becomes to carried away he decided to answer, "Nere, people at my work tend to call me by my last name." Which is true, though sometimes the title Agent is thrown in front, but the name remains the same. "As for more questions, well do you mind telling me this unit's primary programming?" Nere would like to know what this unit was designed for. It could be a number of things, assassination, military, espionage, even protection. Without a definite answer however, Nere can only guess at what it does.
"This unit has noted that the observation droid that you use is far from standard in the normal reporting field. This unit is curious as to why have you chosen that particular model of droid?" Raxus asked, again running the curious vocalizer settings hoping to gather data on how to improve it from basic ranged vital scans.
- 31 posts here • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2