Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
I think it's obvious what this chapter will include from the title.
MatbeK01: The Torfans look like the aliens of the same name from the movie Captain Marvel, though with a more advanced society. I'm still designing the tanks in my mind.
Starranger2: Not over Naboo, but it'll be something like that.
Rico: In this universe, they purchased F-16s in the 2020s. Also, the Filipinos don't operate the JAS39, but the FA-50. And yes, Putin did resign in this timeline, but Ukraine got F-16s during the Galactic Civil War after losses they took in Operation Nightcloak.
cocorodrigueqbarra: No, Din Djarin and Bo-Katan will not be lovers, as I never quite understood that whole ship. Also no, the Alliance is not going to lose a Super Star Destroyer.
Chapter 44- This is the Way
(November 17, 2050)
As the blue of hyperspace rushes past the Pegasus transport, Calvin Adams, who is standing in the cockpit behind the pilots, watches the control panel, and the display from the navicomputer, watching as it counts down the distance left to go before reaching their destination. "Alert me when we are one minute from the end of the run," Calvin says.
"Yes, General," the pilot in command answers.
Calvin turns around and walks out of the cockpit, heading back to the main passenger bay. There, Ben and a large contingent of men from the Delta Force and several Zulu commandos. Rey had originally thought about coming on this mission, but it was decided she was not yet ready for a mission like this. She had stayed behind on Earth to continue her training under Luke and Kelly.
"Alright, men. We have about 10 minutes left until we reach Mandalore. Be ready to move out as soon as we come out of hyperspace. We have no idea what kind of reaction we'll face when we reach the planet," Calvin says.
"Yes, sir!" the commandos all shout in response.
Calvin sits down next to Ben, who looks at his uncle with concern. "Do you really think it's something to worry about, Uncle? You were very close to the Mandalor when you were younger," he asks.
"Yes, but I haven't seen Din Djarin in almost 15 years, and the Alliance hasn't had contact with Mandalore for years. We know how protective they've been of their territory. Until they know it's me specifically, we have no idea exactly what kind of reaction to expect from the Mandalorians," Calvin says. Ben just nods in response.
The war against the First Order has remained a stalemate, with no major action and no change in the lines of territorial control. However, in the last month or so, since the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Jonathan has made a greater emphasis on training for and building up forces for an eventual counteroffensive, even though such an offensive could still be a few years away.
Jonathan had also put a greater emphasis on building up local forces within the Andromeda Galaxy to begin a stronger resistance against the First Order, and to increase the size of their forces. For that reason, he set his sights on the Mandalorians. Mandalore and the few surrounding systems that were known as Mandalorian Space given the Mandalorians had control of them all lay within Terran controlled territory, although they lay virtually along the border between Terran controlled territory and First Order territory. The First Order had attempted an incursion into Mandalorian Space shortly before the stalemate began, but had been horribly beaten by the Mandalorians. Since then, the Alliance had maintained their defensive line, which Mandalorian Space lay behind, keeping the First Order away from Mandalore. However, the Alliance was still hesitant to contact the Mandalorians, given how reclusive and territorial the Mandalorians had become since the First Order rose and the tensions in the galaxy began.
However, Jonathan had realized after Thrawn's death that the Terrans could no longer afford to maintain this lack of contact. If they wanted a fighting chance against the First Order and hope to break the stalemate, they needed the help of the Mandalorians. And so, Jonathan had made the decision to finally contact the Mandalorians.
At first, they had attempted to establish contact from a distance, but that proved impossible due to signal scramblers the Mandalorians had around their territory. After several attempts to get through, Jonathan decided to send an envoy to Mandalore to contact Din Djarin. However, unsure of how the Mandalorians might react, he decided to send Calvin personally, given his connection and friendship with Djarin, along with Ben, the Deltas, and the Zulus.
"Remember, men. Remember our orders and rules of engagement. You do not fire until we are fired upon. Our goal here is not to alienate the Mandalorians. If you have to shoot, do not shoot to kill unless absolutely necessary. These are the rules of engagement unless I say otherwise," Calvin says.
"Yes, general," several of the commandos say.
The minutes pass in silence before the pilot calls out, "General, we're coming out of hyperspace in 30 seconds! Get ready!"
"Copy!" Calvin calls back. He looks around at everyone in the passenger bay and gives a nod, which is answered by the commandos.
In the cockpit, the pilots watch as Mandalore approaches. They pass the moon of Concordia with no sign of being noticed by anyone. Finally, they descend into Mandalore's atmosphere.
As they approach the surface, the capitol of Sundari comes into view. Sundari was far from the city it used to be. Much of the city had been destroyed between the Great Purge in 2012 and the liberation of Mandalore in 2017. Because of this, the dome structure had been replaced by one of a cube, and most of the city had been rebuilt underground instead of above ground. This had been done mostly with the idea of preserving more of the city in the event of another situation like the Purge.
The pilots carefully fly down towards the city, watching very carefully for any sign of response from the Mandalorians. Thankfully, they don't see anything besides a few small speeders leaving the city towards other cities on Mandalore.
The pilots decide to set down on one of the public landing pads outside the city to avoid provoking the Mandalorians any further. Thankfully, there seems to be no sign of aggression as they fly in and touch down gently on one of the pads, though that does not necessarily ease their nerves.
"On the ground, General. Lowering the rear door," the pilot calls out.
In the passenger bay, Calvin and everyone else stands up, the commandos readying their weapons as they do. Calvin looks around at his entourage before he nods, and everyone leaves the shuttle.
Calvin stays in the rear with the Zulus while Ben and the Deltas lead the way forward. They move slowly away from the shuttle. There is absolutely no movement or anyone else on the platform, and that is unnerving.
"I don't like this," one of the Zulus says.
"I agree," Calvin mutters.
There are several more moments of silence. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a volley of blaster fire hits around Ben and the Deltas. They immediately recognize the sign of warning shots, and halt in place.
Suddenly, it seems as if Mandalorians are melting of nowhere. Several Mandalorians come flying in on their jetpacks, while others emerge from behind various cover on the platforms. All of them are aiming their weapons directly at the new arrivals.
The Deltas all hold their weapons at the low ready position as they surround Ben protectively. "We are representatives of the Terran Alliance. We come in peace to speak with the Mand'alor," one of the lead Deltas says.
Again, they hear the roar of jetpacks, and two more Mandalorians, one male and one female, come flying in and land in front of them. The two draw their weapons and aim them at the Deltas. "Visitors are not welcome here. Mandalorian borders are closed to all except those approved by the Mand'alor. Turn around and leave now, and we will allow to leave with your lives. Refuse, and you will regret coming here," the woman says to them.
"We cannot leave until we speak to the Mand'alor," Calvin calls out firmly.
"Then we will force you to leave," the woman says again. Then, on cue, the Mandalorians fire their blasters at the Terran commandos.
The Deltas and Zulus immediately raise their blasters and return fire as they rush their charges towards cover. Two of the Deltas are hit and wounded by the volley of blaster fire, but none are killed, and they succeed in wounding one of the Mandalorians in turn.
Ben and Calvin crouch behind a pile of crates as the Deltas and Zulus continue to return fire at the Mandalorians, trying to avoid firing killing shots. Ben looks at his uncle and says, "Guess you're not as memorable as you thought, huh?"
"Oh, shut it, Ben," Calvin responds as he rolls his eyes. He sighs before he says, "Well, guess we will have to fight our way through this. You want to take point?"
"I'll do what I must," Ben says as he draws his lightsaber. A second later, the brilliant purple blade springs to life and Ben springs over the crates they're hiding behind, charging into the firefight.
Several of the Mandalorians focus their blaster fire on Ben as he charges towards them, but Ben spins his saber around himself like a blur, his Soresu skills on full display as not a single blaster bolt comes close to him. As he continues his path forward, Ben occasionally reaches out with his free hand, gripping objects lying around with the Force and throwing them at the opposing Mandalorians. More than one Mandalorian is knocked out or dazed when a crate or other heavy object hits them in the head.
However, the Mandalorians are unflinching. Taking only brief pauses from shooting to move to better positions or pull back slightly, they never let their backs stay uncovered, with another Mandalorian always covering them whenever their backs are turned.
Ben deflects fresh round of blaster fire heading right for him and almost immediately spots the two Mandalorians who had flown down and spoken for the group. Knowing they have to be the leaders, Ben decides if he can take them out of the equation, it might convince the rest of the attacking Mandalorians to pull back, or at least cause some confusion that the Deltas and Zulus can exploit.
Ben moves towards the two leading Mandalorians, who immediately focus their blaster fire on him. Ben blocks their bolts before grabbing a nearby cargo crate with the Force and throwing it at the man. The man is not quite quick enough, and it strikes one of his outstretched hands before hitting him in the chest. The man is hardly dazed, but from the way he cradles the wrist of the hand that was hit, it's clear the impact of the crate either broke or sprained it. He pulls back, nursing the injury.
The woman continues to fire her blasters at Ben. Ben easily blocks the bolts before ducking and rolling forward to get close to her. He slashes at her left leg, but the warrior leaps up and does a butterfly twist to avoid the blow. She then tries to fire several more shots at Ben, who is on one knee in front of her, but Ben deflects the bolts before cutting one of her blasters in two. He cuts the warrior's second blaster in two a second later with another blow.
Ben firms his face as the warrior takes a few steps back to put some distance between her and Ben. Not wanting to kill her, but at least take her out of the fight, Ben pushes himself to his feet and leaps into the air, bringing his saber down towards her shoulder to try and cripple her right arm. However, right as he is bringing his saber down, the warrior reaches down to her belt, grabs something, then whip her arm back up. And suddenly, almost a foot from the warrior, Ben's blade is stopped…by another purple lightsaber blade.
Ben is frozen, stunned by this sudden turn. Then, he notices something. The fact the warrior is wielding a lightsaber, the color of the blade, the color of her armor, some details on her armor, and a small crest on one of her pauldrons…
"Jaina?"
The warrior freezes for a moment. After a second, she demands, "Who are you?"
"It's me, Ben. Ben Skywalker," Ben says.
The warrior stumbles back, lowering the lightsaber to her side. Then, she deactivates the blade before she removes her helmet, revealing a face very familiar to Ben. A face that has aged a few years for sure, but one still recognizable. The face of his long lost cousin, Jaina.
"Ben?" she gasps.
"Yes, it's me. I promise…cousin Jainie," Ben says with a smile, using the nickname he had for her when he was very little before he learned to properly say her name.
She stumbles back a step, then rushes forward, wrapping her arms around Ben and pulling him into a tight hug. "Oh my goodness. Ben! You've gotten so big! You've grown up. I didn't recognize you," Jaina cries from joy at the sudden reunion with her cousin.
"You've definitely changed a lot too, cousin," Ben says with a laugh as he returns the hug.
All around them, combat has come to a screeching halt. Both the Mandalorians and the Terrans are just staring at Ben and Jaina, wondering what is happening. All, that is, except for Calvin. Now standing up, he sees Jaina, and recognizes the girl he considered his niece. He starts slowly walking towards Jaina.
Finally, the two cousins pull back slightly, but with arms still on each other's shoulders. Jaina reaches up and places a hand on the side of Ben's face. "Oh my gosh, it is you. That little scar just above your eyebrow from when you fell down the stairs at the temple when you were three."
"Glad you recognized me eventually. Thought my saber would've been a giveaway," Ben says.
Jaina glances down. "Wait. You got your grandfather's saber? I'm so proud of you," she says before hugging him again, "You've grown so much. You've become a man and a Jedi."
"Thanks, Jaina. I missed you too," Ben says.
As they separate again, Jaina looks over his shoulder and sees Calvin standing a few feet behind Ben now. Finally letting Ben go, she gives her uncle a salute and says, "Uncle Calvin. I didn't recognize you either at first. I apologize for all of this. We had to maintain our security standards."
"I understand. I hope you can forgive the injuries we caused," Calvin says. Jaina just nods in return.
"Jaina, I understand your people need to maintain your security. But I am here to see Din Djarin. And I'm not leaving until I do, no matter who I have to fight," Calvin says firmly.
Jaina inclines her head respectfully. "I understand. We had orders to keep unauthorized visitors out…but for you, I think we can make an exception," she says. She then turns to her people and says, "Warriors, these men are welcome here, and are to be allowed to meet with the Mand'alor. We will escort them to the palace."
"Understood!" several of the warriors call out in response.
Calvin turns to the leader of the Zulus. "Stay here with the wounded Deltas and Mandalorians and nurse their injuries. We'll be fine," he says. The commando nods, and the four Zulus move to start helping the wounded Deltas and Mandalorians.
Jaina looks at Calvin. "Come with us. We'll take you to the Mand'alor," she says.
And, I'll end there. We'll wrap up this meeting with the Mandalorians arc next chapter.
So, at last, you guys have the answer to where Jaina's been all this time. Yes, she is a Mandalorian now, and has been for a long time. You'll get the whole story of what happened to her and how she came to be a Mandalorian in the next chapter. We'll also finally see the return of Din Djarin, although he won't be showing up near as much as Jaina will be in the rest of the story.
For those wondering who portrays her, I envision her portrayed by Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher's actual daughter. Since Lieutenant Connix is not a character in this story, I decided to still have Lourd portray a character.
Alright. Next chapter will be up soon. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!