Against the Odds

Chapter 21: The Jedi

Mando scrambled up to his hands and knees. He took another hit from a hunter beside him and his armor hit the hard metal ground. There was a pause in the firing which only gave him a moment to catch his breath. Din sucked in air fast and thrust his arm out, sending his grapple around the hunter. He felt it grab and tugged as hard as he could, directing him towards Malik.

The two collided and hit the ground. Din pulled out his blaster and shot at the hunters that hid in the rooms and peeked out from behind the walls. In an instant he was turned around as Malik jumped up and dived at him. Din had the upper hand with his armor, but Malik was smart about where he landed his punches.

The two men wrestled though neither could get the upper hand over the other. Malik landed a hard punch to Din's side before placing a boot against his chestplate and kicking him back. He stumbled for a moment, his boots skidding along the dirty metal as he steadied himself. Malik pulled out his gun and shot. Before he could land a hit, Din dove to the side and threw his first forward. Billowing flames rushed towards Malik. His eyes widened as he turned and dove behind a control panel.

Another hunter shot Din in the side. He let out a yell and moved to burn him instead. Luckily for him he ducked behind cover in time but his blaster clattered to the ground. Malik peeked out from behind the now melted and deformed control panel. His breathing was uneven as he peeked out and shot Din in the shoulder.

Nahla and Bimin watched with wide eyes and bated breath as Mando fell to his back with a grunt. Their hiding spots were under constant fire. They couldn't risk moving or else they'd be shot. So the two watched helplessly as Malik and four other hunters surrounded the Mandalorian with the intent to kill.

Nahla ducked back and held tighter to the child. Her jaw clenched. She looked down at the kid, hoping to the Force that maybe... just maybe... he'd wake up. But the Child's eyes remained closed and his breathing stayed the same. He didn't move. The storm raged on above them, she could hear the thunder getting more frequent and knew heavy rain accompanied it. Nahla looked towards the door where Lara and Vella were before looking to Din who took out his blaster as he was being surrounded.

"Mando!" Bimin called, peeking up and shooting down a hunter that shot at him. "The controls!!"

Din looked at Malik, his eyes darting from the blaster in the man's hands to the metal control on his arm. His eyes widened. Those controls were what kept Vella confined, if he could get those, she'd be free. The Mandalorian's gloved hand tightened around his blaster as he looked at the five that opposed him. He'd taken on higher odds than a few bounty hunters and an ex-rebel, but it'd been a long time since Din had a crew, people whose lives were on the line and depended on him to help them.

Vella depended on him.

Din saw Malik's stance widen and knew it was now or never. In an instant Din had shot a hunter in the thigh, ducked to the side, and was barreling towards Malik like a beskar train. He knocked him down but the man seemed to be ready for it. He flipped Din over and his backplate thudded against the metal floor as he landed on his back.

It only took a second for him to recover, rolling over to dodge the bolts Malik fired at him and fired one of his own. It hit the man in the shoulder. Din made use of his staggering by sweeping the legs from under him. When Malik went down, his paid lackeys fired and hit Din in the beskar before getting shot by Nahla from the entrance. The Mandalorian looked at her briefly, relieved to find the Child was still with her, and still safe.

Din pulled the control off Malik's arm and took cover behind a panel while the few that were still upright ran into the other rooms. The firing had stopped for the time being, but they weren't out of the woods yet.