[SoNE Freebuild 23] Vengeance, Bitter or Sweet?

[MKJoshA]

See the rest of the story:

Season 1

Season 2

Junker's Fee

Welcome to Fondor

Fondor City Nightlife

Many Bothans Died... Well At Least One

Fixing to Clear the Mind

Thermal Detonator Pot-Pie

Focus

Torturous Trial

The Escape

The Calamity Star

Hyperdrive Repairs

Motivating the Troops

Kuati Spaceport

A Friend of a Friend

Coming Back From the Edge

After leaving Kuat, it had taken Kale and I weeks to track down the first lead on the Mandalorian bounty hunter that had killed my brother. Turns out there were a lot of Mandalorians who had a beef with the Empire so the list of those who were on record as killing stormtroopers was pretty long. We narrowed that list down to those who had been known to be on Fondor when my brother died.

We ended up on Naboo of all places. Turns out the queen there was sympathetic to the Mandalorian's vendetta against the Empire and allowed them to come and go freely from a number of space ports as long as they didn't cause any trouble. Kale went out to investigate our next lead while I went out to get some supplies. When I got back to our quarters, I found a note saying "they" had Kale hostage and if I wanted to see him alive I'd meet them at the attached coordinates.

I left in a hurry, taking only the beskar blade I had received from Bryce after I finished my training with him.

"We know you've been hunting one of our own," stated the woman with red hair. "Your clumsy attempts to track us have alerted the Empire to a number of our operations."

MKJoshA just stayed quiet, waiting to see what their demands were going to be. He could tell Kale was bad off and didn't want to say anything rash that would lead to more harm.

"We've already taught your friend the dangers of being on our bad side," continued the woman. "Leave us alone, never try to track us again, and we will let you and your friend go."

Josh looked around and could see he was vastly outnumbered.

But he had come all this way and it seemed like he had finally stumbled onto what he had been looking for so he decided to press his luck. "If you've been watching me, you know why I'm here. You know I want vengeance on the Mandalorian who killed my brother. If he is here, I challenge him to single combat!"

The Mandalorians on the ground looked at each other and the woman spoke again, "I don't think you understand your position here. You don't get to make demands. Leave us or you and your friend die."

Just then a Mando flew down from the roof top.

"I'm the one your looking for," the blonde one said.

"So," thought Josh, "it wasn't a he, it was a she!"

"I killed your brother" continued the blonde. "He died without honor as all Imperials should. But you, you show honor by seeking to avenge him. I will give you the privileged of dueling me and dying with honor."

Josh could tell she didn't expect him to be a match for her. But she didn't know he had trained for this moment with all his passion. Their blades locked and the combat began.

Again and again their swords met and just as often they released and each combatant twirled away looking for a weak spot in his/her opponent.

The Mando slashed wide and Josh took advantage of it, twisting her blade out of her hand and driving her the ground. The other Mandalorians quickly raised their guns and trained them on Josh.

"Do it," she said. "You've beat me fairly. Kill me and take your vengeance."

"No," replied Josh. "Killing you won't bring my brother back."

Josh wanted justice, and he still wanted to turn the Mando into the authorities to answer for her murder. He knew he and Kale wouldn't be allowed to leave if he demanded this though. "One bridge at a time" he thought. "I just had the chance to kill my brother's murderer, and turned back from the edge. Now I need to figure out how to get out of here alive."

But he still stretched out his hand to the blonde Mando to help her to her feet.

But as he was pulling her up, a blaster shot rang out. Josh saw the Mando falling backwards, clearly dead before she hit the ground. He dove out of the way, not wanting to be the next victim.

The ensuing firefight between the Stormtroopers and the Mandalorians left a number of dead Mandos and put the rest to flight. Josh was helped to his feet by the Imperials.

"Are you alright sir?" asked the lead Stormtrooper. "We received intel that there was Mandalorians in the area and we were sent to erradicate the problem before any civilians were hurt. Looks like we got here just in time."

Josh couldn't believe his luck, the Imperials didn't recognize him as a Rebel!

"Tha... tha... thank you!" Josh said trying to sound sound like a worried, loyal member of the Empire.

"Think nothing of it sir," answered the trooper. "It looks like your friend here needs medical attention, would you like me to call in medical support?"

"No, you've done enough" said Josh, "I'll get him to the med-center myself."

"Very good," said the trooper. "We'll continue our eradication of these scum."

As the Imperials moved out, Josh reflected on what had just happened. His brother's murderer was dead, but not by his own hand. Kale was okay and would be back on his feet soon. And they had both just narrowly escaped another run-in with the Empire. Josh didn't know what this all meant, and he didn't know what was next. But he felt like this chapter of his life had closed. He may not know what was next, but he was pretty sure the Alliance would have something to say about it.

[Manx]

Great work! Colour combination is perfect and I really like the tank. As usual, fantastic story!

Edited August 13, 2016 by Manx

[Cody Startale]

Great work! I really like the use of green bricks in your build, it's a nice touch. The story and the photography are excellent, and that Imperial hover tank thing is fantastic. It really looks like it could take quite a beating and I can totally see that hovering through the streets of Theed. Awesome stuff!

[Merc4Hire]

Great work indeed man! This is a fantastic looking scene and a good conclusion to the story arc. The green adds a nice touch and I love that hover tank, perfectly captures the empire-look.

[LucasLaughing]

Great scene - I love the hover tank, and the broken windows on the building are a nice touch.

[Shadows of Nar Eurbrikka]

Judges have awarded you 3 XP!

[Forresto]

Of course the Imperials arrive far to late to do anything worthwhile, typical

I love this! The window shattering to the urban assault type vehicle! Even the various Mandos look great!