Ari: A Mandalorian Story

One

It's been a long day. My ship is low on fuel, and I've still got quite a ways to go before I get back to Nevarro. I heard from an inside source that some terrible things have happened since I was there last. At least, just for the covert and the owner of that bar that was always full of nobody but criminals and bounty hunters. Maybe that was for the better. That town was always full of criminals, bounty hunters, and a few random visitors only there to fuel up. A perfect place for a Mandalorian.

From the looks of it, the ship should make it to that ash-covered planet. I'm not sure why, but the blue and white colors swirling past the windows of the cockpit when you're in hyperspace  has always fascinated me. Something beautiful in the galaxy, that most would take for granted.

"Ari... do you copy?" a familiar voice boomed through the comlink.

I snapped out of my stare and replied, "Uh... yeah. Is there something wrong?"

"Let's just say the outskirts of the town are uh... infested."

"What do you mean infested?"

"Just bring your slugthrower."

The com turned off. I let out a sigh, and wondered what the hell could possibly be so bad, that I had to bring a slugthrower. Those things are much stronger than blasters, so this better be a good threat. I climbed up the ladder into the main haul and attempted to locate the rifle. It had been so long since I've had to use that thing, and rounds are extremely expensive, so whatever type of infestation it is, this better be worth it. When I finally found the rifle, it was completely covered in oil. I looked into the crate it was found in, to see an empty can of said oil. I grabbed the rag on the shelf above.

As I scrubbed the gun clean, revealing a shiny carbon-fiber barrel, and a wooden stock, I realized that I should probably clean my chestplate too, as it too, was covered in oil and grime. I had to make a good impression on those mudscuffers on Nevarro. From what I know, if they so much as look at you funny, you're in for a fight. Soon my armor was clean, with the silver and purple colors gleaming in the dim light of the haul. I realized that I could see better out of my T-shaped visor. Funny how that works.

Back in the cockpit, as I was coming out of hyperspace, I let my mind wander a bit. Nevarro would be a lot different then what I had previously seen. From what I heard, it had been cleaned up quite a bit. But I also heard that... that the covert was destroyed by the Imperials. I don't know how, but I need to get back at those lousy Imps. They've caused enough issues. Issues like killing most of my people and nearly incinerating  our entire planet. Maybe someday I'll have a chance. I wouldn't mind dying doing it.

Those thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the com. That's good, because I found myself getting more enraged by the minute just thinking about it.

"Come in, Blade III, land in hanger two-eight, over."

"Copy. Two-eight, locked in. Initiating landing sequence."

Blade hadn't even landed yet, and I could already see that infestation Karga was talking about. Surrounding the grand arch at the front of town was twenty or thirty darmacs, which are creatures with a blaster-proof skin, so they are pretty hard to take down. They are also very ugly, with their three soulless eyes and four stubby legs. I see why I needed to bring the slug.  

When the ship touched down I immeadietly opened the hatch and slung the slug rifle out from over my shoulder. These things are predatory, and almost instantly, their dark lifeless eyes were all over me. I blasted one after the other, until one of them started to attack one of the locals. I ran over to her, and kicked the darmac right in the face, and it let out a shrill howl. The tagruta woman's leg was badly bleeding and I tossed her a bandage from my bag and returned to shooting. 

These things must be stronger than I thought, because a slug was only barely piercing their skin. A few of the other villagers chimed in with whatever spears or blasters they had with them. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity of shooting and fighting, most of them were dead, with some running away. The villagers thanked me, and I did the same to them. I checked up on the woman from earlier, and she seemed to have stopped bleeding.

"Nice job, only a woman of your strength would go through with this," Karga told me, with a smile and a handshake.

"It really wasn't that hard, ya know. Even you could've done it," I replied, sarcastically, of course.

"Ha! You haven't changed a bit, old friend! So what brings you here, anyway?" he asked as we walked toward the new bar, which surprisingly was not full of bounty hunters.

"Just dropping by, I wanted to see how the restoration was going, and to pay respects," I answered.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Thanks for the help. Oh, and there's someone around here that you might want to see," Karga told me.

"Like who?"

"You'll know 'em when you see 'em. Goodbye, now!"

Huh, I thought. Everyone I could possibly want to see is dead. Except for...