Mandalorian Lost

Chapter 24

I don't get the chance to say the bad news.

Mando, Cara, and Greef all rush to my side in time to see the speeder roll over and crash into a cluster of troopers before exploding. We all duck on instinct as the explosion roars up into the air and IG-11 starts shooting anyone he sees. The troopers shoot back, of course, and the whole street outside the cantina erupts into a giant firefight. I point at the chaos.

"That's the bad news!" I shout over all the commotion. Mando shoots me a pointed look that I can pick up on even through the helmet as he pulls out his blaster.

"Cover me!" He orders, running over to the cantina door. Cara jumps onto the bar top and braces herself to start shooting the heavy gun in her arms. Greef joins Mando at the door and I pause, sensing a darker presence nearby. Gideon isn't far.

The door hisses open and Mando steps forward, immediately grabbing one trooper by his gun and shooting him down. Once he's out, Cara starts shooting a spray of endless blaster fire into the street. IG loses some of the heat now that the others are joining in the fight, but he still sinks to his knees as a shot gets him in the leg. I jump into the air, rolling sideways to leap through the cantina window and into the battle. Immediately, two Death Troopers are on me.

I swing my staff over my head and manage to sink the blade into one of the troopers while kicking the other backward to buy me some time. I yank the blade out of the fallen trooper and turn around to finish off the other, but he's already on his knees. Mando stands behind him, a trail of smoke curling up from his blaster. I nod my thanks before rushing forward to find another Death Trooper. They're more skilled than the standard stormtrooper, so I'd rather take them out first.

I keep an eye on Mando when I can as I fight. He's taking on two more Death Troopers, which leaves two more to deal with. And those two have found me. I grin as they stagger just out of my staff's reach. They're smarter than the others. One of them waves frantically and suddenly countless stormtroopers join them in surrounding me. They all charge me at once and I end up using my staff more than my blaster to take them down. But they just keep coming.

In the chaos, one of the Death Troopers manages to wrench the staff from my grip and slices it across the side of my waist. A pained cry rips from my throat and I throw my hands out, shoving all of them back with the force. They lay unmoving as I use one hand to add pressure to my bleeding wound while the other calls out for the staff to return to my grip.

I glance up to see Mando has found a much bigger gun to use as he mows down most of the troopers with a spray of blaster fire. I don't see any gunfire coming from Cara's position, which makes me uneasy. I start heading for the cantina to check on her, but a familiar coldness stops me in my tracks. When I turn around, Moff Gideon is standing calmly on the edge of the battle.

"Such wasted potential," he calls, his eyes flicking over my figure with disgust. "I can see why your master wanted you eliminated." I pull my shoulders back despite the burning pain in my side, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Do you honestly think I care what the Empire thinks of me?" I snap, gripping my staff in my hand. I haven't spoken to him since the purge, and yet he looks exactly the same despite the years that have gone by since then.

He smiles wickedly at me. "No, I don't. Which is why you must die."

He suddenly raises his blaster quicker than I can comprehend and shoots past me. I spin around to follow his shot and gasp when it hits the back of Mando's helmet. He lets out a pained grunt and turns around, readjusting his grip on the large gun in his arms. He's going to kill Gideon.

But as I look back at Gideon, he's still smiling. He's as calm as ever, nothing like a man facing his death. And that makes dread pool in my gut as he lowers his aim a fraction and fires. I don't want to, but I look back at Mando in time to see the E-Web explode at his feet and send up a wall of fire to consume him.