Just as the deck under the Mandalorians' boots blew open, the doors ahead and to the left slid apart. Two light laser cannons thrust their barrels out and poured blaster bolts at the pair in a wild, continuous stream.
Under that suppressive fire, riot troopers carrying heavy shields and anti-armor troops with tube launchers filed out through the doorways in quick succession and began forming up.
"Captain, the target is too close—inside minimum safe firing distance. The E-60R can't fire!" a human squad leader reported in Huttese, frantic.
("You only noticed now? What the hell were you doing earlier?!") Brown asked in a low voice. "Can you adjust it so it can fire?"
"Captain, yes. First we have to remove—"
"How long?" Brown cut him off, blunt and direct.
"One minute."
("After sustained rapid fire, even light laser cannons need cooldown time. Stall a little—once the cannon crews and anti-armor teams are ready, we'll finish those two Mando bastards.") Brown issued the order immediately: "Laser cannons, cease fire. Anti-armor, move faster. I'll buy you time."
"Yes, Captain." / "Yes, Captain."
"Hmph." Hutt Brown cleared his throat, leaned into the mic, and switched to Basic. "Mandalorians. Disarm and surrender. Great Kossak will forgive your crimes and allow you to leave."
…
In battle, you should always see six directions and hear eight.
After boarding, everything had gone smoothly. Max had been so focused on pushing forward at speed that he'd dulled his awareness of other angles—and he'd nearly walked straight into a Hutt trap.
While Max and Wenban advanced in a fast, straight push, the Hutts had planted high-yield explosives on the ceiling of the compartment directly below this one—right under the route they had to take. The moment the pair broke into this compartment, cleared the defenders, and prepared to move into the next compartment straight ahead, the Hutts detonated it.
If the Force hadn't warned him in time, the Mandalorian duo would've been blown apart on the spot.
They avoided the center of the blast, but the shockwave at that range still rattled them badly—ears ringing, heads spinning, chests tight.
And right then, the loudspeaker blared with the Hutt's "offer."
"Shhiiing—"
Max shut off his lightsaber. Fine. Stall. Use the time to get his breathing and balance back, he thought.
Hyperspace fluctuations?
The instant he killed the blade, he felt it—hyperspace energy shifting. This Hutt warship was preparing to jump.
Hah. So they really were going to let the two of them walk? That was… surprisingly sincere. Max rubbed his nose, almost feeling guilty.
And in that same instant, he felt a massive surge of emotion on the other side.
What happened? Doesn't matter—perfect timing.
"Left gun position!" Max shouted.
As he called it, he raised his hand and fired his Whistling Birds toward the door ahead.
The moment the words left his mouth, Wenban Jaren fired his own Whistling Birds into the left-side doorway. At the same time, Max drove both palms forward—slamming the enemies in the compartment flat in a scattered pile.
"Go!"
Max kicked his jetpack and shot forward into the fallen formation. Wenban didn't follow—he'd likely taken a serious hit.
"Shhiiing—bzzzbzzzbzzz—"
A blur of motion. A storm of blade-light.
Heads rolled across the deck.
The loudspeaker crackled again—first a sentence Max didn't understand, probably Huttese. Then the speaker switched to Basic:
"Mandalorian. Stop fighting. We surrender."
Captain Brown, commander of the Evona, had ordered the surrender.
The security and boarding troops—ordinary humans and Evocii—were still bleeding and dying to hold the line, while Kossak, the Hutt who claimed to be above gods, had already fled with an abandon-ship order.
Do gods run? And if a god runs, is he still a god?
Hearing the abandon-ship order in his headset—and watching the holo feed of that Mandalorian reaper mowing down lives like grass—Brown's will broke.
Why the hell keep fighting? Surrender.
"It's not surrender," Max said with a sweeping gesture after hearing Brown's explanation. "It's a battlefield defection."
"Battlefield defection?" Brown didn't understand.
"Yeah. Battlefield defection." Max nodded. "Your crew doesn't have to sit in a POW camp. Anyone willing to work with us can stay in uniform. Anyone who isn't—fine. I can let them go home right now."
Brown let out a cold laugh. "We can't go home. Going back is a death sentence."
("Yes, I know. But thanks for saying it out loud for me.") Max feigned confusion. "Oh? How so?"
"If we go back, Kossak won't spare us. To cover his tracks, he'll kill every crewman who knows he ran—silence us."
The Evona's crew around them stirred, anxious and angry. Max added fuel.
"You've got all these mouths. He's only got one. You don't have to worry, do you?"
"It won't matter." Brown shook his head. "Kossak is a member of the Grand Hutt Council—a clan master. We can't fight him."
"Then…" Max removed his helmet and extended his right hand. "Join us. Welcome, Captain—welcome, everyone—step out of the dark and into the light. This is the Way."
"This is the Way." Brown extended his hand as well.
Someone started clapping. Then more hands joined in. Not thunderous—but not quiet, either.
…
"Commander!"
The moment the long-range link connected, Michael Saxon's voice exploded with excitement.
"Chief of Staff—don't get carried away yet. I've got three important items for you," Max said with a grin.
"Yes, Commander!" Michael Saxon snapped a salute, trembling—steady as he was, he couldn't hide it.
"First: the Evona's crew has defected and joined us. I'll be returning to Bespin aboard the Evona. Make sure IFF doesn't get me shot down."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Second: prep the medical center. Wenban Jaren is badly wounded. He's in a bacta tank on the Evona right now—he needs surgery as soon as possible."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Third: the Evona transmitted a comm-band dataset. Use that frequency and sweep inside and outside the Cloud City ship—there's a homing beacon onboard Cloud City. Find it."
"Destroy it?"
"Don't. Once it's at Cloud City, precise targeting doesn't matter as much. Remove it and study it."
"Yes, Commander!"
…
"Master." Darth Teralerres knelt on one knee, reporting respectfully. "That Vizsla commander is indeed capable—but perhaps too capable. He repelled the Hutt fleet. The Trade Federation relief force can't be used. I ordered the battleship to withdraw."
After a short silence, Darth Sidious spoke. "Understood. Keep watching him."
"Yes, Master." Darth Teralerres bowed.
"And don't watch only him. The galaxy is vast—there are plenty of excellent military commanders. If you find suitable ones, recruit them. You have full authority."
"Yes, Master."
PS:
In Star Wars, "laser cannons" are not true laser weapons—they are blaster weapons, firing energy bolts.
Laser beam turrets are true laser weapons, firing coherent laser beams.
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🛡️🔥🌌 STAR WARS: THE RISE OF MANDALORE 🌌🔥🛡️
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🚨 FOR MANDALORE! 🚨
The clans are stirring.
The armor remembers.
And Mandalore will rise again.
Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore has 100+ chapters ahead available right now on Patreon! ⚔️🔥
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🛡️ THIS IS MORE THAN A STORY OF SURVIVAL
⚔️ Mandalorian warriors🔥 Clan warfare🚀 Galactic conflict🌌 Star Wars worldbuilding👑 Power & leadership💥 Massive battles🛡️ The resurgence of Mandalore
The galaxy has seen Mandalore shattered before.
But broken does not mean defeated.
🔥 A people forged in war can rise from the ashes.
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This is the way.
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