The Mandalorian Sagas - Book III: Fall

Chapter IV

After capturing Yang Xiao Long and departing from Ord Mantell, Blake begins the journey back to Nal Hutta. During the flight, Yang wakes up. She looks to see Blake piloting the ship. 

Yang: Damn....listen, Mando. I think we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we can work this out? I know a nice cantina on Nar Shaddaa. Maybe I'll buy you a drink?

Blake: Don't bother wasting your breath. You're not talking your way out of this. 

Yang fell silent as she glanced over to her cuffs. As she tries to find a way out of her cuffs, Yang continues talking to Blake. 

Yang: So how does a Mandalorian like you end up with a sleemo Hutt like Junior? 

Blake: Junior is my client and he pays me. Nothing more. Nothing less. 

Yang: Knowing Junior, I'm sure that Hutt's got his eyes all over you. He really likes picking the pretty ones. 

Blake said nothing as she focused on flying the ship. As Yang tries to find a way out of her cuffs, an Imperial Star Destroyer appears. Blake remains calm and collected as the Imperial Star Destroyer attempts to establish contact. Blake answers the comms and an Imperial Officer's voice was heard on the intercom. 

Imperial Officer(Intercom): Please identify yourself, vessel. This is an Imperial patrol. 

Blake: What seems to be the problem? 

Imperial Officer(Intercom): Standby for transponder scan. 

Blake immediately presses a button on a nearby terminal which relays a transponder signal. After a moment of silence, the Imperial Officer speaks.

Imperial Officer(Intercom): Standby for Tractor Beam.

Upon hearing this, Yang spoke up.

Yang: Hey.....you're not using any of Junior's transponder signals, are you?

Blake: I am. Why?

Yang: Ah Sithspit. I might've.....sabotaged some of Junior's transponders when he started sending bounty hunters after me. Put them all on several Imperial wanted lists. 

Upon hearing this, Blake was quick to power up her ship's engines. 

Yang: What are you doing? 

Blake: This isn't my first time dealing with Imperial entanglements and I doubt it'll be the last. 

Yang: This should be interesting....

Once Blake fires up the engines, Blake pilots her ship away from the Imperial Star Destroyer before the tractor beam could take her. Immediately, the Star Destroyer fires on Blake. Blake performs a series of evasive maneuvers to avoid getting shot. 

Yang: I hope you know what you're doing!

Blake said nothing as she concentrated on flying this ship. This gave Yang more time to find a way out of her cuffs. Meanwhile, the Star Destroyer sent a squadron of TIE Fighters to fire on Blake's ship. 

Blake: Damn it! 

Blake then engages in a fierce dogfight with the TIE Fighters. During the dogfight, Blake manages to shoot down one of the TIE Fighters. However, one of the TIE Fighters manages to land a shot on Blake's ship, causing substantial damage. 

Yang: That's not good! 

Blake: Keep it quiet! 

As Blake continues to evade the TIE Fighters, Yang eventually finds a way out. However, before Yang could move forward with her escape plan, the ship was hit once more. 

Blake: Damn it!

Yang: What the hell was that?! 

Blake: The ship's taken heavy damage! 

Blake tries to stabilize the ship, but quickly realized that it was possible. 

Yang: Does this ship have escape pods?!

Blake: Thank you for reminding me. 

Blake then flies towards the Imperial Star Destroyer. 

Yang: Why the hell are you flying towards that Star Destroyer?! 

Blake: I'm going to attack it. 

Yang: Are you insane?! That's suicide! 

Blake said nothing as she flew towards the Star Destroyer's bridge. When she gets close to the Star Destroyer's bridge, she released a Seismic Charge. Blake then flies away just as the Seismic Charge detonates, dealing major damage to the bridge while destroying the TIE Fighters chasing after her. Meanwhile, Yang runs to the escape pods. But as she does so, the escape pods were jettisoned. 

Yang: You've got to be kidding me! 

Yang then runs up to the cockpit. 

Yang: What the hell happened to the escape pods?!

Blake: I launched them. 

Yang: What?! Are you insane?! 

Blake: The Empire's going to be looking where those escape pods are. That should give us time to get away. 

As Blake piloted the ship away from Star Destroyer, another TIE Fighter ambushes Blake, hitting the ship with various critical strikes. While Blake was able to destroy the TIE Fighter, the ship was damaged beyond repair. Blake attempts to stabilize the ship, but was unable to.

Yang: What's going on?! 

Blake: That TIE Fighter managed to hit some lucky shots. We're going down. 

Yang: Are you serious?! How can you be calm at a time like this?!

Blake: Death is inevitable. Those who fool themselves into believing otherwise are only causing more pain in the future. The true purpose of life is to live in such a way that people will remember you long after you yourself have returned to dust. We are born to die. We live to be remembered. But my time isn't now. 

Blake then pilots the crashing ship towards the Outer Rim planet of Jabiim. 

Blake: I'll try to slow down our descent! You might want to strap yourself in, Xiao Long. This is going to be a bumpy ride. 

As Blake does everything in her power to try and land the ship, the ship crashed into the mud covered world of Jabiim. In that moment, Blake's mission had become more complicated. But that wouldn't stop the Mandalorian from completing her job.