The explosions outside the hull and the shriek of alarms inside the ship wove together into a horrifying symphony of death—and the Hutt clan master, fierce only on the surface, had his nerve completely shattered.
Kossak Desilijic Tiurela trembled as he barked the order: "Retreat! Pull back! Jump to hyperspace—retreat, now!"
"Great Kossak, our starfighters haven't been recovered yet—"
"RETREAT! RETREAT! I'm telling you right now—immediately—this instant—RETREAT!" Kossak screamed, hysterical.
"Yes, Great Kossak."
…
"Master! Master!" Max shouted anxiously. "Link with me—telepathy, now!"
"Max…"
Aayla Secura had only just begun to speak when she saw the Hutt fleet vanish beyond the viewport—and Max's radio signal cut out with it.
Aayla closed her eyes.
"Max—Max, can you hear me?"
"I can, I can! You're amazing!" Max replied eagerly. "Master—did the flagship run, or did the whole fleet run?"
Sensing the excitement buzzing off him, the Jedi flower smiled.
"The whole fleet ran. Are you on the Hutt flagship?"
"Yes, Master. Please contact Michael Saxon and tell him not to send anyone to look for me or support me. Protect Bespin. I'll return to Cloud City before tomorrow."
"Understood. Be careful. May the Force be with you."
Max opened his eyes.
Now it was time to go full corridor-warlord mode.
He unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and turned his head. "Wenban—circle or square?"
Staring at the jammed, dead hatch of the T-6, Wenban Jaren drew his WESTAR-35 blaster pistol without hesitation. "Square."
"Good choice!" Max grinned, turned back, and ignited his lightsaber—"shhiiing."
"Bzzz—tzzztzzztzzzt—bzzz—"
With a flick of his right wrist, Max carved an orange-yellow rounded rectangle into the T-6's hull. Wenban strode up and planted a front kick—sending their new "hatch" flying outward.
"Objective: the bridge. Move!"
"Yes, Commander!"
The two Mandalorians surged out, murderous and confident—like they were the ones surrounding a lone, helpless ship.
"Great Kossak," the Evona's captain reported, "an enemy has infiltrated the Evona."
"Huh? Huh?!" Kossak's hand jerked. The live bog-frog he'd been lifting to his mouth dropped onto the throne and bounced away. Twi'lek attendants threw themselves to the deck in a scramble, flailing to catch the frog, and the bridge dissolved into chaos.
"Abandon ship—abandon ship!" Kossak shook all over. "Get my shuttle ready—now!"
The captain finally snapped. "Master Kossak!"
"Ah!" Kossak startled.
"Two." The captain pulled up the live feeds and raised two fingers in a scissor sign. "Only two enemies infiltrated the ship."
"Two…" Watching the holo footage of the Mandalorians cutting their way forward, Kossak fell silent for a beat—then, humiliated rage boiling over, he swept the little aquarium off its stand again.
"Filth!" Kossak's face turned red as he screamed. "Captain Brown—are you mocking me?! Get out there—personally lead the team—bring me those two little toads!"
"Yes, Great Kossak!"
Brown turned and left. He desperately wanted to whip that aquarium with his tail, but he forced himself to stop.
"Boarding detail—gear up and assemble," Brown ordered.
The ship's security blaster pistols did nothing against Mandalorian armor. The two Mandalorians advanced through the Evona like a hot knife through butter.
"Commander—we're at the top-deck compartment." Wenban glanced up at the "skylight" overhead and warned him quickly—afraid Max had gotten too used to "opening windows" and would reflexively cut the ceiling open too.
"Prep missiles. You take the front-right target," Max said. Through Force precognition, he'd already seen three heavy blaster emplacements set up in the next compartment beyond the door.
"Yes, Commander." Wenban rolled his neck; the bigger the scene, the more excited he got.
"Bzzz—tzzzt—bzzz—"
This time, Max cut a large circle into the hatch. He nodded to Wenban, then shoved his left palm forward—sending the metal disk flying like a high-speed saw blade.
As the disk shot through, the Mandalorian duo dipped in sync—left and right—back-mounted micro-missiles streaking forward on a flat trajectory.
Three heavy-gun positions: one got smashed and knocked apart by the spinning metal disk; two got blown to pieces by the micro-missiles. Max and Wenban pushed through, stepped into the compartment, and finished the stunned survivors with clean follow-up shots.
"You search—see if they've got thermal detonators," Max ordered, sending Wenban to loot while he walked over to inspect the three heavy blasters.
He only had one back missile. Once it was spent, it was gone. And there were still six hundred meters of straight corridor to the bridge—meaning they had to make maximum use of whatever weapons the enemy "donated."
The next five compartments followed the same method:
Max cut a small hole first. They tossed in a pile of grenades. Once the blasts had done their work, Max cut a larger opening. They stepped in, finished anyone still breathing, looted more grenades, then repeated—small hole, grenades, big hole, clean-up.
After five cycles, Max raised a hand and stopped Wenban.
"Captain—the anti-armor team is in position."
"Do it!" Captain Brown slashed his hand down.
"BOOM!!!"
"Watch your feet!" Max shouted.
The Hutts attacked from the compartment below.
"BOOM!!!" "BOOM!!!" "BOOM!!!"
The deck shook like a quake. The Hutts charged hard, as if they didn't care what they did to their own ship, hammering the structure with relentless blasts.
PS:
In Legends, Hutts are hermaphroditic; how you classify a Hutt's sex depends on their self-identification and whether they're pregnant.
In current canon, official sources have expressed interest in shifting the concept to male/female Hutts. But with the U.S. culture-war climate getting increasingly volatile, the "mouse" isn't moving lightly.
In this book, Hutts will have clear male and female sexes.
PPS:
Beskar armor is extremely strong—but it is not absolute, invincible defense. Think of it this way: beskar gives a Mandalorian tank-level protection. And even a real tank can be penetrated.
In this book, anti-materiel/anti-vehicle weapons will be able to damage beskar armor.
If you want to debate spear-versus-shield, Jedi Masters and Sith Lords are welcome to take it to the reader group.
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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.
And Patreon readers are already 100+ chapters ahead watching it happen.
👉 Join Patreon and witness Mandalore's resurgence long before the public release!
This is the way.
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🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless — 500+ Ahead👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System — 100+ Ahead🧠 My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator — 100+ Ahead💘 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew? — 100+ Ahead🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past — 100+ Ahead🏰 Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort — 30+ Ahead⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter — 100+ Ahead🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
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