Lone Wolf

The Revelation

They maintained their sprint over the uneven terrain. The shaking of the ground began to feel like an earthquake. The tremors became so intense Kella feared the earth would open up and swallow them. Finally, an all-consuming roar filled the night. The sound made her want to curl up in a ball and hide. The forest floor levelled out in promise that the clearing was near. Kella thought she glimpsed a lightening in the trees ahead.

It didn't matter. A shadow rose to block their escape. Mando unleashed the canon on it. Kella could see it was bigger than the one from the ship. It screamed at them as the blaster fire struck its face. Kella shot too. Her aim was true, but the little blaster didn't faze it like the cannon. She remembered what Mando said and aimed for the eyes. Mando turned his weapon suddenly and strafed an identical rancor. The two adolescent creatures darted out of their path and Kella followed Mando to the edge of the clearing.

Mando whirled to face the tree line. "Get to the ship!" he commanded. A dark shape loomed above the trees. Snapping and crashing sounds accompanied the thuds of approaching feet. Kella was frozen in place. A monster bigger than she could have imagined filled her eyeline. Two smaller shapes, the hatchlings, hopped down from the big one's back. They'd hitched a ride on mama.

"Kella, run!" Mando snarled.

His words snapped her from her fear and she ran. She didn't look back until the ship's ramp was lowering. On the other side of the clearing, the cannon flashed. She could see the red bolts striking the hide of the huge monster. Mando wasn't gaining any ground. They had him pinned down. The smaller ones were skulking around the perimeter to cut off his escape. Kella ran onto the ship and climbed into the pilot's seat. It was broken in perfectly to fit Mando's body. She perched on the edge, powered up the engine, and brought the weapons online.

The targeting was tricky. She'd never fired anything like this before. She aimed the ship's guns at the biggest target, the mama rancor. She wasn't confident enough in her aim to shoot at the smaller ones. She might hit Mando. The first shot blasted the big rancor square in the face.

"Nice!" She grinned in satisfaction at the powerful feeling and fired again. Another direct hit. The rancor gave a fearsome roar when its eye was struck. Kella fired more rapidly now, pelting the great beast until it turned its armoured back and dissolved into the trees. She thought she glimpsed two little shadows hop onto it as it disappeared.

Mando's cannon was no longer firing. Hopefully that meant he was running for the ship and not that he was out of commission. She left the cockpit and flung herself down the ladder. With her blaster at the ready, she stood on the loading ramp and leaned out cautiously. Something was coming.

Please be Mando. Please be Mando.

Beskar glinted in the ship's light. He was almost to safety. Kella saw he was empty handed. Before he stepped foot on the ramp, one of the adolescent rancors plowed into him from behind like a bull. Mando tumbled into the air over its back. The beast grabbed him by the arm, sank its claws into him, and threw him back down. Mando let out a painful scream that silenced when his helmet struck the foot of the ramp. He didn't get back up.

Kella raced down to him. The rancor slid to a stop a few meters away and pivoted back. She hooked her elbows under Mando's arms and pulled as hard as she could, dragging him fully onto the metal surface. She ran back up and hit the control panel to raise the ramp.

The rancor leapt and grabbed the edge. The ramp shuddered to a halt and Kella fell, dropping her blaster. Mando's head lifted slowly. The rancor howled at them and added its other hand to pull the ramp open further. The ship groaned and strained. Mando raised his right arm. Flames spewed out, engulfing the rancor. It drew back. Kella couldn't tell if the fire hurt it or if it was simply blinded by the light.