StarWars: 501st by Karen Traviss

[Runi'lor]

Quote: 'Now' was the very best time to do most things. It was better to discover that late in life than not at all.
"K'oyacyi," she said. There was no better toast than that. It was a command. "Stay alive, come back safely" -- but it could mean anything from "hang in there" to "live life to the fullest". If anything summed up Mandalorians for her it was that word with two poignant meanings. "K'oyacyi." Staying alive was the one thing none of them could count on." endquote. StarWars: 501st by Karen Traviss p. 134

[Solus Nau'ur]

Jusik recalled a comment Kal’buir had made a couple of years ago. He couldn’t remember what had led to it, but it had moved him deeply, and every so often it surfaced in his memory: Bard’ika, if you ever want a father, then you have one in me. Yes, Jusik often wanted a father. He’d been handed over to the Jedi long before he was old enough to have any memory of his own. But he was now part of a culture where fathers and fatherhood mattered- not lineage of bloodline, but the long and infinite duty to a youngster who depended on you. He badly wanted to be part of this family, a real part, formal and permanent.

“Kal’buir,” Jusik said, “have you got room for another son?”

Skirata looked baffled for a few seconds, then smiled and held out his hand to grasp Jusik’s arm, Mando-style, hand to elbow. “Ni kry’tayl gai sa’ad, Bard’ika. I recognize you as my child.”

Mandalorian adoption was fast and permanent, a few words to recognize someone as child and heir regardless of their age. Given the emotional weight behind it, the oath seemed almost inadequate.

“Buir,” Jusik said. Father. Everyone called Skirata Kal’buir, a mark of affectionate respect, but the word was now changed forever for Jusik, because it was suddenly real and literal. He was finally someone’s son; someone with a name, someone he knew and cared about. For a man with no past, that sudden sense of completion was heady and unexpected.

Also from 501st, but I don't remember the page number. Mine's a little longer, but I really enjoyed yours so I thought I'd put up a quote of my own. Thanks for sharing!

[fellskyhawk]

So badly want the series to finish. I would tell Karen Travis "You can't end a series on cliff hanger, I don't care how much the head guys rub their nose and step on you, ya finish what ya start." Though can't blame her, almost want to write a conclusion myself.