IN THE SHADOW OF THE MANDALORE

THE MANDALORIAN (part 1)

This is for SCI-FI Friday.

The funny thing about it, is that Subscribers on my ‘Stack are reading this, as well as my ‘followers’. (Uhhhm, does that make it sound like a Cult? ‘…my followers? Or is that just me?) Anyway, I don’t have a clue as to how many of my followers are reading this, because Substack doesn’t count them. (That’s why I’d rather have them as Subscribers.) I mean, it had a 63% “open” rate. So of the 209 readers that looked at it, 130 of you read it. That’s more than I was expecting. This isn’t supposed to be a ‘thing,’ remember? Somebody started a ‘Stack for SCI-FI stories and I just happen to have eight chapters of a STAR WARS story I started writing about five years ago. It’s not finished. But if you want me to finish it, and force me to, I’ll have to put it up behind the paywall, because it will be a legitimate serial novel, which means I’ll have three of them going at the same time.

If you read 8 chapters of this, will you continue reading it if you have to pay $30 a year, Canadian? I guess we’ll find out together! Anyway, here we go with my Sci-Fi entry…

Alyssa P’oh

CHAPTER FOUR

      THE MANDALORIAN

  i

His first thought when Archangel pitched down into the atmosphere and alarms started sounding, was whether they would make it to the rescue pods in time. His second thought was to wonder which direction they might be.

Why isn’t there a pod in this room!

Fitt had insisted Archangel be built to his exacting specifications, knowing how most people died because they were unable to reach the rescue pods in the short time available. He thought it made more sense putting pods in every sleeping chamber and at every workplace, rather than having a central mustering station which only led to panic and chaos as far as he was concerned. Having survived through the experience twice, he felt he had a clearer understanding of what was involved more than anyone else. There was no speedy adrenaline rush that he could remember. There was just fear, and terror; a blinding terror that tore at your mind like a clawing animal. The best a man could do was hope to control it; the best Fitt could hope for was to be a man in his daughter’s eyes.

“We’re going to crash!”

There was panic in her voice. Semolina was on the verge of hysteria Fitt realized, and told himself she couldn’t let the fear overtake her.

“Strap yourself in!” he screamed at her. “Hurry!

He grabbed her by the arm, throwing her into the nearest seat. He was rough with her on purpose. He understood her fear, and knew she had to harbour it in order to conquer it.

If I can feed off her fear, I won’t have to think of my own.

“We’re going to die!”

He knew he should say something to try and comfort her, but what could he say to her that wasn’t a lie? Whatever words he chose to say at this moment would never calm her down. With a blinding fear like hers, there was nothing he could say. He looked into her eyes, willing her to be calm.

“We’re not going to die. Do you understand me? I’m telling you this because I believe it. I’ve been through this before. But you can’t be afraid. You have to take control of your fear and use it; you have to gather strength from it. You need to keep your mind clear.”

“You mean like a Jedi?”

He looked at her. “If that’s what it takes. Yes. Like a Jedi.”

She began strapping herself in but her hands shook too much, so he helped her, trying to instil a sense of calm in her. He watched her, saw her relax, and then saw her eyes grow large and tears come swimming to the surface. He looked over his shoulder at the view screen and saw the rapidly approaching planet. He knew he was running out of time to save himself, but it didn’t matter; she was the only thing that mattered to him. Time seems to slow down when a man faces death, he remembered someone telling him years before. When was that, he thought? He found it ironic he should be thinking of that moment now, as he was about to die.

That’s what life’s taught me, if it’s taught me anything.

He fought the G-forces as Archangel dropped. He was certain he was going to be tossed up into the ceiling, but he was able to reach the belt in the seat next to hers. He fought his way into the seat as the ship levelled out, getting one belt around his waist, and grateful for it. At least I won’t slam against the bulkhead with the sudden stop, he told himself as he leaned back and braced for impact. He waited as the ship levelled out; watched the view screen and the oncoming planet. The buildings looming large on the view screen, and he remembered Semolina had it set for maximum magnification.

He saw rescue pods ejecting, and suddenly remembered his sons. Why wasn’t he as concerned for their safety as he was for his daughter’s? Didn’t he love them as well? Or had he pushed them away for so long his love for them was lost?

What about the grandchildren?

Surely, I love them? The fact he didn’t care for his daughters-in-law made him wonder if choosing wives for his sons had been the right thing to do. He’d based his choices on what was best for the business at the time, not for the boys. At the time, cementing an alliance with his partners looked like his best choice. It was a mistake. He knew that now.

Why did I think I had to do that for my sons?

He’d met and fallen in love with his own wife without the interference of his father. Why did he think it had to be different for his own sons? He knew he wouldn’t make the same mistake with Semolina. She deserved to fall in love; he just hoped it wasn’t too late for her.

He could see the buildings looming large in the distance—huge stratoscrapers that appeared to be literally touching the clouds—and then he felt the ship tilt, veering to the left and banking as if coming in for a soft touch landing. He found himself coming back to the reality of what was happening around him.

He keyed the Comm on his left wrist.

“Captain! Captain! Talk to me,” he said, trying to control the panic in his voice.

He looked at Semolina clutching the arm of her seat, her eyes squeezed shut, silently wishing he could shut the end out as easily. He looked ahead, tried to imagine the ship’s impact into the city, and began doing up the rest of the safety belts as he spoke.

“What’s going on, Captain?”

“Jer’glo, here,” the Captain’s voice came on.

“What’s happening?”

“We’ve been fired on.”

“What!”

“We lost the rear shields and stabilizers. Whoever it was, he was kind enough to leave us the re-entry shields.”

“But how did—we were dropping—now we’ve levelled off.”

“I don’t know.”

“I thought you said we lost the stabilizers?”

“We’ve lost more than that,” the Captain said with a noticeable tightness in his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not the one bringing it in, and neither is the NavCom. I don’t know who’s flying the ship, but it’s not me.”

Fitt tried to think for a moment, wondering what the implications could mean. He would’ve liked to think it through more clearly, but he was wondering if he’d survive the impact. He thought he could sense the ship slowing in its descent.

“How many pods were released?”

“Computer says sixteen.”
“My sons?”

“The first,” Jer’glo said without a moment’s hesitation. It seemed as if he was gloating in giving him the news.

“Crew?”

“All non-essentials were ordered off.”

“Non-essentials?”

“I don’t think we’ll be needing the galley crew, sir, do you?”

Fitt could not suppress the smile.

“What’s that leave us with?”

“Security personnel, as well as the bridge and engineering. Eight.”

Only eight?

“So who is it?” Fitt asked a moment later.

“We picked up a ship coming out of atmosphere behind us, but I don’t detect a tractor beam.”

“A ship? What kind of a ship?”

“I don’t know, signature gives it as being Mandalorian. If it is, it’s a relic.”

Fitt took the news with a feeling of dread. He had to ask himself again what was going on. He hated not being in control. He knew there was only one thing that could slow the ship’s descent, and with a planet full of Jedi it was something he was willing to let himself believe. But another part of him said there were two sides to every coin. He forced this newfound fear into the back of his mind and looked at Semolina. He reached a hand out to her, trying to smile encouragement even as the buildings loomed closer. She opened her eyes long enough to see what lay ahead and turned away, looking at him, fighting the fear as her tears streamed down her face. He could see she was trying to be strong, and he patted her hand with a reassurance he didn’t feel.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said, and he felt tears come to his eyes.

“Brace for impact,” Captain Jer’glo’s voice called out over the ship’s intercom.

It wasn’t hard to imagine the buildings around them slicing apart and crumbling to the ground. The cost in lives will be catastrophic, he thought, feeling the vibration of the engine’s hyperdrives shutting down and rumbling through the ship. Outside, he watched buildings made of transparisteel and durocrete twisting and melting as Archangel’s delta wings forced a wedge between them.

They were sliding, the view screen still on, and even though Fitt tried not to watch, he couldn’t turn away from the sight. He struggled to undo the seat belt holding him in, horror-stricken as people in burning buildings leaped to their deaths. He could see flames breaking out around them, engulfing the ship. The smaller walking malls and parks around them were reduced to rubble as the surrounding buildings fell in on themselves as the ship slid to a halt. Archangel lay balanced near a wide opening overlooking the Second Level three thousand meters below.

His first thought was that he was alive—they were alive—and his second thought was that they had to get out as quickly as possible.

Verd’ika, the Madalorian Sith

ii

Verd’ika walked through dark corridors lit with emergency lighting as alarms echoed through narrow halls filled with smoke. It wouldn’t have mattered if the halls were lost in total darkness; he had infrared inside his helmet.

After meeting the first security droids at his initial entry point, he met two security teams whom he quickly dispatched.

They’re no match for Mandalorian armour.

They knew it, too. He wondered what they thought seeing him approach with a lightsaber in hand as well? He knew no one on the ship posed a threat to him. He turned a corner and saw a turbo-lift door. The operating light for the panel was still on, and he placed his left hand on the door, sensing something beyond.

“Fitt,” he said to himself.

He drove his lightsaber into the blast doors of the lift, using the Force to toss them aside as if they were crumpled wads of paper. Looking down into the black pit, he adjusted the infrared in his helmet and saw the turbo-lift jammed in the shaft, three floors below.

He jumped, letting the Force slow his descent as he landed on the turbo-lift, the echo of his heavy boots sounding like thunder. He drove his lightsaber into the flimsy metal and cut his way through. He could see soft light filtering through the turbo-lift door. It was partially open, and he pushed against it with the Force.

Turning off the infrared inside his helmet, he looked down the narrow corridor. There was a landing ramp at the end of the corridor, and he knew that was where he’d find Fitt. He’d also find the rest of the security force as well as something else.

There was a disturbance in the Force around him.

A Jedi.