::Galactic News System - Star Wars Combine::

Reports of shock and outrage followed the announcement by the Krath Dynasty earlier this week of the brutal public execution of seventeen members of Death Watch, on the planet Koru Nemoidia and at the hands of Talak Kasra, a Hapan-born Krath officer.

After a few days of private mourning, Death Watch Overlord Peter Max gave a short, prepared speech in front of a few select clan members and representatives of the press. After a nod to the Mandalorians in attendance by using the greeting “Sucuy gar, ner vode,” he addressed the media.

“Regarding the recent news of the death of my daughter Elvette Rainmark at the hands of the Krath, I publicly condemn this act of cowardice from traitors who dare call themselves Mandalorians. The truth is, Elvette had fallen ill some years ago and was confined to a private hospital room. When Death Watch lost control of the city where she was confined, we were assured she would be treated with honor and respect, as would be granted to any warrior who surrendered honorably. Since the planet Antar, where she was confined, had been captured by Death Watch specifically for the Krath, we expected nothing less.”

After a moment where the normally stalwart warrior stared hard into the distance, he continued, “We received word last week that members of the Krath military had dragged her from her hospital bed. We attempted to mount a rescue operation, but were unable to confirm her exact location. Her death comes as a shock to us all, but I am certain she remained defiant to her last breath.”

The Overlord indicated an area on a ridgeline off in the distance, where thin wisps of smoke rose from a night-long bonfire. “We had no body with which to perform the traditional ‘kote kyr'am,’ the ceremony of the ‘glorious death’ traditionally performed in honor of the fallen, so we substituted some of her personal possessions on the pyre.” He nodded solemnly. “Elvette stayed true to all Mandalorians by not begging for her life at the end. She has now found her place among the brethren who have preceded her into the ‘Manda,’ the collective consciousness of all previous Mandalorians.”

A source familiar with both sides in this conflict, who spoke off the record, suggested that the inability of Krath to protect Minos-Mestra resources from being pillaged by Black Sun operatives last month, might have led to this explosion of brutality on Kasra’s part. “Whatever caused this, he’s no warrior,” the source commented. “He’s simply a murderer, plain and simple. There is no honor in killing defenseless opponents. No one worthy of the name Mandalorian would ever condone such a vicious and cold-blooded action.”

Our reporters attempted to convince other officials in various military forces to go on the record, but none wanted to place themselves between the two groups, whose enmity towards each other is well known. But more than once, our reporters heard talk of a possible new Mandalorian Civil War brewing as a result of this event. When asked about this possibility, the Overlord would only reply with the grim words, “Death Watch will respond to this heinous act with an appropriately firm and measured response.”

Rumors that the Death Watch’s special forces commandos, the veteran Nite Owls, were already assembling at secret bases scattered across three systems could not be confirmed.