This is a backstory for my character in Ayrn's new Star Wars game, Mars Tago. It was only supposed to be half-a-page up to 2 pages long, but when it was finished I had 6 pages of material. I decided to post the story here, for you all to enjoy. This is a copy/paste version, so it may be a bit of a headache to read, but I will try and fix it soon (or at any date in the future).

If you don't know what a Mandalorian is, think Boba Fett or check the Wookieepedia.

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The Tago clan was neither large nor especially renowned, but when it took a job it usually got good results. Of course, there were bad assignments. The clan’s last job on Kashyyyk, the planet of the Wookiees, was a prime example. Inquisitor Guudi, in Empire’s employment, had contacted Tryos Tago, the eldest of clan Tago and leader of the clan, and hired some of the Mandalorians to assist in the termination of a Jedi that was hiding in Kashyyyk. Tryos dispatched a group of his finest troops, including his grandson, Mars Tago, who had already proven himself to be a fine example of Mandalorian values. Also on this mission was Mars’ father and Tryos’ son-in-law, Drun Feles, a fine combatant; Tryos’ adopted son, Tivis Tago, melee specialist; Tryos’ brother’s daughter, Milene Tago; and, finally, Mars’ uncle, Guron Tago, demolition specialist.

This is the tale of their last mission, and the last flight of Dragoon IV.

***

Mars woke up in his bunk on board Dragoon IV, a ship built by his father. The ship had been travelling for a full day now towards Kashyyyk, and it was time for Mars and Tivis’ shift at the controls.

“Come on,” Tivis said as he shook Mars’ tired body. “Get dressed and report to your station. Your dad needs some sleep as well.”

Mars liked his uncle. He was somewhat different than everyone else at the camp. Unlike most of the Tago clan, Tivis was not human, but a Zabrak whom Tryos had met on Tatooine during one of his missions there. Tivis had saved Tryos’ life, and for that Tryos adopted him into the Tago clan. Tivis enjoyed living with the Tago, but preferred a fight with a blade over a fight with a blaster.

Mars like Tivis’ stories. Tivis had been almost as old as Mars’ father when he got initiated into the Tago clan, and by then he had travelled to many planets and experienced many great things. Tivis used to tell him stories about dangerous bounty hunters, seductive Twi’leks, and droids the size of asteroids. Mars enjoyed those adventures and hoped that one day he might see all the things in Tivis’ stories.

Mars got up and got dressed in his armor and put on his helmet. He yawned, but made sure no one noticed. He didn’t want everyone to think he was tired during his watch. On his way to the cockpit he met Milene.

“Hey there, little guy,” she said. “There’s not much further now, so don’t forget to wake us up before we land.”

“I’m not that little,” Mars said. And he wasn’t that little, and not very young either. He had reached maturity and gone on several missions already. He had not had the same sort of adventures as his uncle Tivis, but he already shown that he was a capable warrior and wouldn’t flinch if there was killing to be done. He had already caught his first bounty single handedly, had defeated a Rodian gunner on Nar Shadaa, and had taken part in a large battle when the Tago clan was hired to protect a shipment of spices through Hutt space. Although he had just reached the age of twenty, he was more grown up than most of his age in the Galaxy.

This was, however, the first time he was going up against a Jedi. He had heard stories. He had heard of the battle of Galidraan, where Jedi had wiped out the Mandalore and his warriors. He had heard of the time when Jedi lead millions of cloned Mandalorians in a war that spanned the whole Galaxy. Apparently, he was born during that time, but he was too young to remember anything about it. Most of all, though, he had heard stories from others of his clan who had gone after the Jedi bounty that the Empire had set, about how they were the deadliest and strongest prey they had ever gone after, and how they had powers no Mandalorian could ever understand. It frightened Mars, but also got him a little excited.

For the rest of the trip, Tivis bragged about his encounter with one of the meanest Hutts ever to exist, Jabba, and how he single handedly released the beautiful, female Twi’leks whom Jabba had enslaved to be his private dancers. Mars liked that story, perhaps because of the Twi’leks, but it reminded him of good times when he was somewhat younger.

***

When they landed on Kashyyyk, the inquisitor was there to welcome them, along with a squadron of stormtroopers. Guudi showed them to his ‘office’, which was a wooden platform with a roof and a desk. Drun did all the talking.

“The Jedi has been a nuisance for some time now,” Guudi said. He was an older man, about as old as Drun, Mars though. Judging by his tone and how he said things, Mars could tell that Guudi was a snob, probably from Coruscant or some other core planet. “He has disabled several of the minor camps and murdered some of my finest officers and soldiers.”

“What is the Jedi’s name?” Drun asked. Guudi looked at him, but with no confusion in his eyes.

“How should I know?” he said casually. Drun looked at him for a moment.

“And the reward?”

“The same as the bounty for any Jedi.”

“We will need some of your men.”

“They will do as you order them to.”

“Good.”

“You will leave as soon as my scouts return.”

“Good.”

It was a short negotiation. When they left back to the Dragoon to prepare themselves, Mars had to ask his father about it.

“There was something terribly wrong about this,” he whispered to his father. He didn’t want the other to hear him, in case they would think he was being paranoid.

“Perhaps they intend to stab us in the back,” Drun said. “What do you think Guron?”

Guron nodded. “It is possible,” he said, “inquisitor Guudi seemed to know a lot more than he cared to share with us.”

“I have had my share of the Empire before,” Tivis added, “they can rarely be trusted.”

“What if things go as worst case scenario predicts?” Milene asked. “Should we kill them?”

“Only if we need to,” Drun said. “We will let them make the first move, but be prepared for anything. I don’t trust him.”

Mars was surprised. They had been thinking the same thing as he had. And here I thought I was being paranoid, he thought to himself. Perhaps it runs in the family.

***

The scouts had returned shortly after their discussion of the inquisitor, and shortly after that Mars and the others had started walking into the woods. They had split up into three groups. Mars had gone with Milene along with five stormtroopers, Tivis and Guron had five of their own, and Drun had gone with a dozen stormtroopers.

The ground underneath them was wet and almost ankle-deep. Mars looked ready in all directions. He was going to make sure that no one would get past his keen sight. Milene was also with him, and between the two of them, nothing could get by unnoticed.

They had been walking for hours before Milene finally spoke. “So, all grown up,” she said. Mars looked at her, and despite having his helmet covering his whole head, he still looked a bit confused.

“You just noticed that?” he said and continued looking around for any possible clue of their prey.

“No,” she answered, “but, you know, you kids grow up so fast these days. I still remember when I could hold you with one arm. Now I can hardly hold you.”

“Yeah, we tend to do that.” The conversation drifted again into silence. After a short, awkward moment of no talking, Mars decided to continue. “Tyla has grown up as well. You should be proud of her.”

“I am,” Milene said. “She is as good a daughter as I ever hoped. She met a man on Duro, you know.”

“Oh, really? A good man?”

“Not at all. A merchant snob, or something like that. Not a man fitting to be called a Mandalorian. She says he makes her laugh. Hah! I’d like to see how that would help in a hail of blasts.” Milene paused for a moment. “No girl in your life?”

Mars praised his helmet. Without it, his aunt would have seen his face turn red. “Eh, no. Not yet. I--“ A sudden explosion rifted through the silent marshes of Kashyyyk, and for a moment Mars thanked whomever had set it off, before figuring that it meant the Jedi had been found. Without giving it a second thought, Mars rushed towards where the explosion had originated. He could hear the faint calling of his aunt telling him to slow down, but there was battle and his assistance was needed.

It took him some time running through this muck, but he was still faster than his aunt or the stormtroopers. Within minutes he got to a clearing, where Tivis and a robed man with a glowing sword stood in the middle. Tivis had his sword drawn and ready to engage in a fight. Mars quickly looked around in the clearing, and saw where five stormtroopers were lying face down on the wet ground. Their armor was burned as if one of Guron’s specially made hand grenades had killed them. It can’t be, Mars thought to himself, Guron would never use grenades if allies were close by.

Tivis rushed towards the Jedi. Their blades started swinging, but no contact was made. They avoided each other’s blades with all sorts of acrobatic movements. The Jedi was jumping and twirling, and Tivis did what he could to avoid that glowing edge. The blades suddenly made contact and Tivis’ sword was cut in two, just as if it had not been there to begin with. But with a sudden move Tivis thrust his shortened sword into the side of the Jedi, whose arm was caught by Tivis’ other hand.

Victory, Mars thought, before noticing that the Jedi was still standing and struggling. Tivis’ blade had been cut too short, it wouldn’t reach the vital organs. Mars raised his blaster and was about to fire when he found Guron. His body had been cut in two. For that brief moment of hesitation, the Jedi twisted his fighting arm free and the glowing sword cut Tivis’ sword-arm clean off. Tivis’ screams of pain were cut short as the Jedi swung his blade yet again and cut off his head.

“No!” Mars screamed in anger as he fired his blaster at the enemy. In Mars’ surprise, the Jedi deflected the shot with his blade, and the blast came rushing back towards him. But it didn’t hit him. The blast went past him and hit Milene, who had just gotten to the clearing, in the chest. As she fell down, the Jedi pulled what was left of Tivis’ blade out of his body, and threw it at Mars. The blade hit his blaster and broke it, just as the Jedi aimed his palm at him. He could feel his body lift up from the ground, and the sudden pain in his back as his body slammed into a tree. He could hardly stand, and could only just raise his head as the five stormtroopers that had been following him came rushing by, only to be cut down or have their blasts deflected back at them.

When the stormtroopers were fallen, the Jedi walked slowly towards Mars where he still could not get back up. Mars looked the Jedi in the eye, and saw neither fear nor anger.

“What do you fight for?” the Jedi asked Mars. “For money? For adventure? For your people?”

“I fight for honor,” Mars answered.

“You fight for yourself,” the Jedi replied, “and that is why you lose.”

The Jedi didn’t look like he was going to kill Mars, but he suddenly changed his expression, as if by a sudden revelation. He swung his glowing sword, and deflected a blast that came behind him. Drun had fired that blast, and a dozen stormtroopers stood behind the Mandalorian. They all started firing, and the Jedi deflected every single blast as he moved closer to Drun and the troopers.

Just as the Jedi was about to get too close, Drun flew upwards with his jetpack. The stormtroopers weren’t so lucky, and Mars watched as the Jedi cut each of them down. When all the stormtroopers were fallen, Drun started firing his blaster at the Jedi from high above. The Jedi in turn deflected every blast, and in Mars’ amazement, the Jedi dashed high upwards without the assistance of any technology. The Jedi cut Drun’s blaster in half, and destroyed the jetpack. While the Jedi landed on his feet, Drun came crashing down. The Jedi came rushing towards Drun, but just as he was about to cut him down, Mars managed to raise his blaster just high enough, and fired upon the Jedi. The blast was deflected, but it distracted the Jedi enough to give Drun the opportunity to grab something from the ground and thrust it into the Jedi’s chest. Mars couldn’t see what it was at first, but then saw it was the rest of Tivis’ sword.

The Jedi fell down, and Drun stood up. He walked towards his son and tried to help him up on his feet. “Thank you, Mars,” he said.

“But...” Mars said, “what about Tivis and Milene? I couldn’t help them. If I had acted sooner, Tivis might be alive, and if I hadn’t been stupid...”

“They had a good life,” Drun replied, “and a longer life than most Mandalorians. Come, we will give them a proper burial before we return to Guudi.”

And they did. Tivis, Guron, and Milene, were all given a proper burial. Or at least as proper as one could expect on a planet such as Kashyyyk. Very little was said during the ceremony, except for the customary words in Mando’a: “Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la.” In his mind, Mars translated the words. Not gone, merely marching far away.

***

“You lied to us!” Drun said as he forced his clenched fist onto Guudi’s desk. Both Drun and Mars had arrived to the inquisitor’s ‘office’, and met Guudi there with half-a-dozen stormtroopers.

“How do you mean?” inquisitor Guudi replied rather casually, despite seeing only two return from the confrontation.

“This was no mere Jedi,” Drun said, “this was a Jedi Master. Master Fatah Kuun, if I’m not mistaken. I recognize the lightsaber’s design.”

“Really?” Guudi kept his casual tone. “Had I known, I would have sent more men with you.”

“His bounty is worth much more than you promised us,” Drun said, his anger boiling into the words he spoke.

“At least twenty times as much,” Guudi replied, “but I never any intentions of paying you for that bounty. The Emperor will be very pleased when he hears how I defeated the Jedi, and I will finally be able to leave this poor excuse for civilization. Even if I will not be released from here, the financial reward of the bounty will make my life here considerably more pleasant.”

“You were never going to pay us anything, were you?” Drun said more calmly than before. “You never expected any of us to return.”

“I was confident that you would manage to kill that Jedi,” Guudi replied, “but they are such a stubborn bunch, I had hoped that you would have killed each other. But enough dawdling, it is time for me to make contact with the Empire, and I very much would prefer that you would not be alive when I do.”

Guudi signaled the stormtroopers, who surrounded Drun and Mars. Their blasters were raised and they all aimed at the Mandalorians. “Oh, don’t think we weren’t prepared for this,” Drun said and pressed a remote in his hand. A sudden explosion close by shook the office, and quickly but steadily Drun and Mars raised their blasters and started firing at the stormtroopers. Within seconds, every stormtrooper in the office were fallen.

Guudi looked up, and came face to face with Drun’s blaster. “Please,” he begged, “please don’t hurt me. I didn’t--“

“You are to blame for the loss of my men,” Drun replied. “It is you who should take responsibility for this botched operation.”

Guudi tried to calm down, as much as he could under the circumstances. “If you kill me, you will never be able to hide. The Empire will hunt you down to the very last. Your clan will be doomed.”

Drun hesitated, and Mars could see it. The blaster started slowly to fall, but suddenly rose again. “Let them come,” Drun said, and fired his blaster. The inquisitor’s body became lifeless, and fell out of the office and into the lake beneath. Drun turned around, grabbed Mars by the shoulder, and started to walk out. His stride was wide, and Mars could almost see how troubled he was.

“We need to get to the camp,” Drun said. “We need to warn everybody of the Empire’s betrayal. Are you ready for this?” Mars didn’t say anything. He just nodded. Let’s do this, he thought to himself.

***

Getting to the Dragoon was no easy task. The stormtroopers’ blasts were everywhere, but a Mandalorian is no easy target. Drun and Mars got to the ship and began preparing for departure.

“Mars!” Drun yelled from the controls. “I need you to take care of the defenses. Gun those imperialists down.”

“Yes, sir!” Mars replied. The defensive system of the Dragoon was impressive for a ship of its design. No one would ever suspect it would have this much firepower. Mars fired at everything that moved, and within moments, Dragoon IV was in the air.

“Mars,” Drun yelled again, a bit more powerless than before. “Get up here, son.” Mars rushed to the controls where his father was. “Son,” Drun said, “you need to get to the camp… you need to get to the camp, and warn everybody that the Empire’s coming. You… you must… I know I can count on you…”

“Dad?” Mars said in surprise when Drun’s body fell out of the chair. “Dad!” A stormtrooper had hit him sometime before, possibly as early as the confrontation with Guudi.

There was grieving, but Mars had a sense of duty, and he knew what needed to be done. He sat by the controls and told the navicomputer to make way to the camp. Couple of tie fighters came flying in and began firing at the Dragoon. Just a little while longer, Mars prayed in his mind, hoping the ship would jump to hyperspace before the fighters would do any real damage.

The Dragoon shook as one of the fighters hit it. Mars looked down at the navicomputer, and in the split second before the ship made the hyperjump, Mars noticed that it had been scrambled by the blast.

***

Days past before Mars finally got to the camp. Dragoon IV had gotten out of hyperspace just over the planet Tatooine, where it had crash-landed. It had taken some time, but by selling the Dragoon as parts, Mars had managed to save up enough to buy another ship in Mos Eisley. It wasn’t much, but it would get him to the camp.

When he got there, the only thing that met him were ruins of what had once been the secret camp of clan Tago. The battle had been recently, only a day or so had past. The bodies had been gathered into a pile in the center of the camp. There weren’t many, most of the Tago were frequently out for a job. Only five to ten were ever at the camp at any given time.

Mars recognized Tryos Tago immediately. I have failed again, he thought. I failed Tivis, Milene, Guron, dad. I have failed--. He suddenly remember the camp’s computers. They kept logs in there for every job that was being done, or ever had been done, by the Tago clan. Mars rushed into what had been the main building, where the computers had been kept. It served as a center of operations for the clan. If the Empire had gotten into the computers, it could find every single Tago in the Galaxy and exterminate the clan. He had to help them.

The computers had been somewhat damaged, but enough was intact so that Mars could sent out a warning beacon. Every Tago had now been warned about the Empire’s betrayal, and to stay away from any imperial or Tago outpost. Perhaps some of them were still alive. Hopefully I’m not too late, Mars prayed.

Mars took his blaster and whatever had been left at the camp. He got on board his little ship, and took off. This would be the last time he would see the Tago home-camp.

I was actually hoping for a comment if anyone liked to share. Either positive or negative is fine by me. This is the first time I write anything set in the SW Galaxy, and I have never read any of the Star Wars novels, so any criticism would be great.

I really liked it. It's certainly the most sympathetic account of a Mandalorian I've come across (except maybe for the KOTR games).

The one thing I wondered, though, is whether a Mandalorian would be a bit more 'klingon' about his father's death. Kind of swearing a blood-debt of honour or some such weirdness...

Oh and you should definitely read some of the SW novels. I've only read a few myself, but those that I have read have been great.

Thanks

You're right, there should have been some oath-of-vengeance deal going on there. My primary source is the Star Wars trilogies and wookieepedia, so I didn't really think of it. And I don't watch that much Star Trek so I didn't even think about comparing the Mandos with the Klingons. I'll keep it mind if I ever write a Mandalorian fanfic again (and I'll add the vengeance oath to this one later on )

Thanks again