The Knights of Mandalore: Rise of the Empire/Part 3

*The Knights of Mandalore: Rise of the Empire*
Chapters 1–3 | Chapters 4–6 | **Chapters 7–9**

Written by: Gridlock007 (Gridlock), Astrovious (Astrovious), Octology (Fej Torra), Ocarina451 (Tracinya), Jonax Frostwalker (Jonax Frostwalker), Grant Holifield (Gjante Skirata)

Edited by: Ocarina451

## Chapter Seven

*After escaping Crait with their YT-2400 freighter, the group gathers in the ship's main living area to talk.*

ASTROVIOUS: Well, this is our home now I guess... is everyone alright?

*The others nod, though they are still mourning the late Whit-Ke Strell.*

GRIDLOCK: Everyone find a room to claim.

ASTROVIOUS: Got it.

*Astrovious walks into another room, where he gets settled, places his helmet on shelf, and changes out of his armor into normal clothes.*

TRACINYA: *(leaving Torra's eggs with Verd)* Fej with a clone helmet? Now that's a sight. *(to Torra)* I guess your eggs will be safe with the strill. It seems rather fond of them. Is there a closet where we can put them or something?

*Torra puts as many eggs as he at can fit in the soft lining of the stray clone helmet.*

GRIDLOCK: Uh, I think one of your eggs hatched. *(Torra startles.)* Made you look!

TORRA: No, they're still under incubation... Oh, kriffing Gridlock. *(smiles and goes to man the co-pilot seat)*

GRIDLOCK: Am I the only one fond of comedy here?

TORRA: *(returns from checking the navicomputer, which is functioning well considering the circumstances)* So is this our new home? This tiny thing? *(starts looking around, trying to find room)*

GRIDLOCK: So, Kamino anyone?

TRACINYA: No way. Too wet.

GRIDLOCK: Yeah, but they hate the empire.

ASTROVIOUS: *(returning to the group)* Alright, I’ve got my room settled, second from the left, don’t go in there, or you’ll lose more than an arm.

GRIDLOCK: I call Strell's room!

*While Torra frantically runs around looking for a room and place for his eggs, Gridlock walks into Strell's old room. He settles in, and changes out of armor for the first time in a while. Astrovious sits down and begins cleaning his A-180 and attachments. Tracinya begins cleaning up the blood Verd has tracked everywhere.*

GRIDLOCK: *(returning to the group)* Ok, so Kamino it is!

TORRA: A map. *(picks up a small, ruttled piece of paper)*

ASTROVIOUS: I’m not objecting...

GRIDLOCK: Fej, do you need help?

ASTROVIOUS: I mean, seems like there’s plenty of rooms.

*Torra picks up the map and shakes it because the kriffing image isn't clear.*

GRIDLOCK: You can always use the room dedicated to you. Astro took mine, so I took Strell's. Or two of us will share a room. I'm in the captains suite. Fej, Strell always said you would be in the second mates cabin.

TRACINYA: I guess I'll take Cabin C if that's all right.

*Some time passes. The group finishes getting settled in. Astrovious finishes cleaning his blaster, and returns to the living suite where Tracinya is cleaning her beskad.*

GRIDLOCK: What are we naming the ship?

*The group is undecided, but they agree that finding a place to go takes precedence. They just need to figure out where to go.*

ASTROVIOUS: So, Kamino from the sounds of it? They should have plenty of supplies right?

*The group sets course for Kamino and starts to relax. They have several hours until they reach their destination.*

ASTROVIOUS: Alright, anyone down for holochess?

GRIDLOCK: So, any of you excited by the sensation of being free to explore the galaxy? CAUSE I AM!

TORRA: Usually yes, but after almost dying, and seeing Verd eat a man's dismembered head, not so much.

ASTROVIOUS: Yeah, after what we saw on Crait, not so sure anymore, seems exciting, but never expected stuff like that...

GRIDLOCK: So, what should we name our ship?

TORRA: The *Agitator II?* *(lets out a chuckle)*

TRACINYA: Why don't we name the ship after our fallen leader?

ASTROVIOUS: Yeah, the *Strell*, or *Whit-Ke*, your choice.

GRIDLOCK: Come on, we have a pilot, a man eating pet, a warrior who comes from a family of tour guides, a Researcher, and a former Jedi! We should be able to think of some better ideas.

TORRA: *(points at Tracinya)* Better idea.

GRIDLOCK: The *Strell* seems nice.

TRACINYA: Strell sounds a lot like... *(the strill, Verd, bounds over upon hearing the name.)* Yeah, that guy. Might get confusing.

ASTROVIOUS: So the *Whit-Ke*, not bad either.

TORRA: *Whitbit?*

GRIDLOCK: I prefer *Strell*, or *Agitator 2*. The *Whit-Ke, sounds... strange to me.*

TORRA: *Whitbit*. ...WAIT! The *Streller!*

GRIDLOCK: *Streller!* Nice.

ASTROVIOUS: Oo, that does have a good ring to it.

TRACINYA: Sounds good to me.

TORRA: That way, it doesn't get confusing with head-eater over here, and it sounds cool. Plus, it's a verb. Those work well with ships.

GRIDLOCK: Yeah, like *Agitator* and *Ranger*.

TRACINYA: Yeah, it fits well. *(to Torra)* Fej, I'm pretty sure it was his arm, not his head - Verd, drop that bone! Well, there's another mess to clean up. *(sighs and goes to put the strill in her room)*

*The crew winds down after their stressful day and prepares for bed. Grid goes to the captain's suite and meditates himself to sleep, while Fej, who has not yet claimed a room, sleeps on the floor beside his precious eggs.*

## Chapter Eight

*Gridlock awakens to remember the* Streller *is still in Hyperspace. He runs to the cockpit, and waits until the navicomputer pulls the ship out. The* Streller *enters Kamino's atmosphere, and lands on one of the docking platforms. While Torra and Tracinya are still asleep, Astrovious is also awake.*

ASTROVIOUS: *(walks up to Grid)* Should we wear our armor out, or no?

GRIDLOCK: Ask Fej. He knows the etiquette.

ASTROVIOUS: Got it. *(finds Torra still asleep on the floor with his eggs, tries to wake him, fails, and slaps him)*

TORRA: Uhh, what?

ASTROVIOUS: Alright, now that you’re awake, you can get settled, there’s a few more empty cabins, but before that, when we go out on Kamino, armor, or no armor?

GRIDLOCK: Yeah, FEJ?

TORRA: I don't trust those Kaminoans, wear armor. *(puts on his helmet and grabs the clone helmet full of various eggs)*

GRIDLOCK: Don't bring the helm!

TORRA: You think I'm bringing my eggs with those cloning weirdos? Kriff no! Last time I was here it was not friendly.

ASTROVIOUS: Got it. *(goes to his room and gets his armor on, walks out, puts helmet on, clips lightsaber to hip, and holsters blaster)* Wait, given what happened to the Jedi and clones, should I leave my saber here?

GRIDLOCK: No, we must be ready for battle.

ASTROVIOUS: But are you sure it wouldn’t incite battle? I’m just as good with a blaster.

TORRA: I'm ready. *(stands up, fully armored, the clone helmet with eggs now hidden)*

*Astrovious puts the lightsaber back in his room, just in case. He lets Tracinya know that they're leaving the ship, and she agrees to guard it in their absence. Gridlock, Torra, and Astrovious walk out onto the landing pad of Tipoca City. A tall kaminoan strides up through the drizzle to greet them.*

TORRA: Ugh.

KAMINOAN: Mandalorians? We were not expecting you.

ASTROVIOUS: Well here we are, my friends here could better explain our mission than I could.

KAMINOANS: What is your business here?

GRIDLOCK: We are hiding from the Empire.

ASTROVIOUS: Hoping we could either hide here, or get supplies.

KAMINAON: I see you also despise the Empire. Come inside, Mandalorians.

ASTROVIOUS: *(looks over the edge at the ocean)* Uhh, I wasn’t aware that the platforms were so high up, let’s hurry inside please...

*Astrovious, Gridlock, and Torra follow the kaminoan inside one of the buildings.*

Astrovious: Well, better now, now I don’t know how high we are.

KAMINOAN: As you can see, there is no Imperial presence on Kamino. Oh, and we are currently 400 feet above sea level.

ASTROVIOUS: *(to kaminoan, annoyed)* I don’t want to know how high we are, which is why I’m glad we’re inside.

TORRA: -You guys go on ahead, call me if these guys give any trouble.

*Fej Torra gives an almost mischievous smirk with his weird Kel Dor mouth. He waits in the reception area while Gridlock and Astrovious follow the Kaminoan around the facility.*

*Meanwhile, a Mandalorian in red and black armor known as Jonax Frostwalker covertly watches the three Mandalorians. He appears to be speaking to himself.*

JONAX FROSTWALKER: *(sees other Mandalorians)* Hmmm.... Ravager. There are other Mandalorians here. I wonder what they are doing here.

RAVAGER: *(talking inside Frostwalker's head)* Do we “introduce” ourselves?

FROSTWALKER: No. I want to assess if they are a threat or not.

ASTROVIOUS: *(to kaminoan)* It appears almost peaceful here, like there hasn’t been conflict in a while.

KAMINOAN: As you can see, we have a reserve army of 1 million phase 1 clones.

ASTROVIOUS: That’s a lot, are they... prone to attacking Jedi?

KAMINOAN: No, they have no control chips.

ASTROVIOUS: Ok then, just asking... *(in his head)* Kriff, I didn’t need to leave my lightsaber back on the ship!

KAMINOAN: Are you a Jedi?

ASTROVIOUS: Not anymore, haven’t been for a while.

*Back in the reception area, Torra twiddles his large vermillion fingers. Meanwhile, walking through the halls with Astrovious and the Kaminoan, Gridlock sees someone lurking around, and breaks off from the group to look for the lurker. Astrovious notices Gridlock leaving, lets him, and plays along.*

## Chapter Nine

*Tipoca City, Kamino, 19 BBY*

*While Astrovious, Gridlock, and the kaminoan continue through the facility, Frostwalker, who has been watching them covertly, goes down a corridor to check on the clones. Back in the reception area, Torra hums a popular Max Rebo song.*

*Gridlock sees Frostwalker lurking, and follows him. Frostwalker hides behind a corner, grabs Gridlock and pushes him up against a wall, WESTAR-35 in hand and finger on the trigger.*

FROSTWALKER: Who are you and why are you here?

GRIDLOCK: *(startled)* G-g-Gridlock. I-I'm hiding from-m the um, Empire.

FROSTWALKER: The Empire? Ah yes. A likely story.

*Frostwalker takes off his red and black helmet to reveal his face. He is a bearded human with light skin and greying hair, and the right side of his head is mostly cybernetic.*

GRIDLOCK: Hello, middle-aged cyborg?

FROSTWALKER: Hey! I’m not middle aged and the name is Jonax.

GRIDLOCK: Ok, Grey-haired.

*Elsewhere in the facility, Astrovious and the kaminoan continue their conversation. Fej Torra, who switched out Astrovious' comm connecting to his, listens in.*

ASTROVIOUS: So, you’ve only got clones and kaminoans here, right?

KAMINOAN: Yes. We have one resident bounty hunter though.

ASTROVIOUS: Would he be of any danger to us?

KAMINOAN: He is jumpy and weary of visitors. But he has no love for the empire.

ASTROVIOUS: Got it, why is he here?

KAMINOAN: He is protecting us.

ASTROVIOUS: Ah, has the empire attempted an attack here? Ever since their takeover-

KAMINOAN: Unfortunately, according to their tactics, we predict they will attack today.

ASTROVIOUS: We'll be willing to help you, if you need it.

*As if on cue, two Imperial Star Destroyers fall out of Hyperspace above Kamino and begin to approach the planet. Alarms start to blare throughout the facility.*

FROSTWALKER: Alright Gridlock, why are you on Kamino?

GRIDLOCK: Hiding from the Empire. What about you?

FROSTWALKER: I ran with a pirate gang called the Night Sentinels. We were mercenaries and were were kriffing good at our work. Unfortunately, we were betrayed by one of our own. I escaped and made it here. *(hears alarm)* You brought the Empire here?!

ASTROVIOUS: *(over comms)* Fej, get ready, the empire has arrived! *(draws his A-180 blaster, and converts it to rifle mode)* And Fej, if you plan on coming inside, will you please grab my saber? Just that, nothing else from my room! And Grid, what’r you doing?! We’re about to be invaded!

*Torra runs frantically to the pilot's seat and activates all weapons and power. He then grabs Astrovious' saber.*

FROSTWALKER: (talking to Ravager inside his head) We need to go NOW!

RAVAGER: LET’S RUMBLE!

*Frostwalker converts to his Ravager form and sprints away with inhuman speed. Gridlock runs to the nearest hangar, where a squad of clone troopers is preparing to fly up to the Destroyer and blow it up from inside. He boards the clone LAAT/i shuttle, and they leave the hangar and fly toward the approaching ships. Meanwhile, Astrovious runs outside, converts his blaster to its sniper configuration, and looks through the scope to see three transports coming down.*

ASTROVIOUS: *(over comms)* Get ready! Grid, see what you can do to get up there, I’ll handle the ground invasion!

*Gridlock's team boards the destroyer, and Gridlock and the clone bois run throughout the ship, firing as they go. Gridlock pulls out his DL-44 and shoot 5 stormtroopers. The team makes it to the Hyperdrive room.*

*On Kamino, Torra appears out of the drawbridge of the Streller, looking for his fellow Sons.*

TORRA: *(over comms)* Where the kriff are you guys?! I see the Empire! What is the karking hold up?!

GRIDLOCK: *(over comms)* Hey Fej, look up. what do you see?

TORRA: *(over comms)* -Two Star Destroyers, and a few small dots flying out from the— *kriff.*

*Astrovious converts his blaster back to rifle mode, and waits until the incoming transports land and their hatches open. He opens fire alongside a squad of clone troopers, assuring no stormtroopers get out alive.*

ASTROVIOUS: *(over comms)* Fej, head to the east side, two transports are headed over there, I’ll meet you there.

GRIDLOCK: *(over comms)* I'm in the lead Destroyer.

*Torra locks up the* Streller *and runs as fast as he can, due east. In the lead Destroyer, Gridlock and the clones shoot every panel they see. The Clones slaughter their Imperial brothers - a sad, but necessary act.*

ASTROVIOUS: *(over comms)* Fej, they’re landing, this’ll make it difficult, they won’t be coming out one by one, get ready for a real fight!

TORRA: *(switches rifle to explosive plasma, high range)* Ready! Just tell me where'ta shoot!

ASTROVIOUS: *(over comms)* The transports, and throw my saber, I’ll take it from there.

*On the destroyer, Gridlock realizes that the ship is blowing up. His team's LAAT/i has been destroyed, so he activates his helmet seal and jumps out of the airlock.*

TORRA: *(throws the saber as far as he can)* Alright, let's see... *(aiming at transports)*

*With a PHRRSHHHUUUU, he fires his weapon. A transport's wing explodes. It goes down in a corkscrew fashion. Meawhile, Ravager sees the Sons of Mandalore’s ship.*

RAVAGER: Jonax, we can escape onboard that ship.

FROSTWALKER: Looks we have no choice. Go!

*Gridlock activates his jetpack, flies down through Kamino's stormy atmosphere to escape the debris of the exploding Destroyer, and lands by the* Streller*. He sees Frostwalker, now in his Ravager form, running towards it, and fires on him. Ravager gets minor burns and retreats back into Frostwalker’s body.*

RAVAGER: Well, that hurt a lot!

*Seeing that Fej has thrown his lightsaber, Astrovious uses the Force to catch it, and jumps off the edge of the landing platform he was previously standing on.*

TORRA: *(sees Astrovious falling)* Well, I hope he doesn't die.

*Torra continues shooting transports. On the landing pad, Frostwalker, now in human form, has run off. Gridlock unlocks the* Streller *and heads inside to take a breather and patch himself up, and ends up passing out from exhaustion. Above Kamino, the battle of stormtroopers against clone troopers rages on.*

*The Knights of Mandalore: Rise of the Empire*
Chapters 1–3 | Chapters 4–6 | **Chapters 7–9**