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“The Force—of course!” Luke smiled at Mando, then focused on Grogu. “Help me out, Grogu, since you’ve known this ship longer.”
How would Grogu help, aside from sensing things with the Force? Mando still hadn’t given him a flying lesson in the past few months. He meant to on the way to Ossus, but didn’t, for obvious reasons. How much Mando wanted to fly himself—he couldn’t. He had to continue using his remaining strength to fight the helmet, even though it hurt like a son of a gun.
From her seat, Esther encouraged Luke and Grogu: “You guys got this.” She had really come out of her tough Viking captain shell, like how Mando wasn’t as stoic as he usually was.
At the same time, Grogu and Luke closed their eyes (Mando guessed so the Force could synchronize them like Luke’s practice run).
When they finally opened them, Grogu called out to Luke, and he turned the Razor Crest sharply to the left, barely avoiding another attack from the invisible enemy. The ship shook, but not like it had been hit.
Luke and Grogu continued the pattern—Grogu calling out and Luke dodging—on the way to the base. It was one of the most fascinating things Mando had seen (and almost made him wish that he himself were Force-sensitive). Hopefully, once they reached the base and found Dante and the Mastermind, they could stop the invisible attacks to allow the New Republic through; however, it was unsafe right now.
As the base drew closer, Mando noticed just how enormous it was. It was the perfect retreat for the Empire—as well as the most technologically advanced one. It looked like it could hold hundreds of brainwashed victims.
The invisible attacks continued until the Razor Crest was right against the base, scouting it for a hangar. It was almost like the Mastermind had told them to stop—as if they were expecting them.
Regardless, the closer the ship approached, the more Mando’s helmet glitched and his head burned. It now felt like someone had shot him with a blaster, but he tried not to revert to regression again. He was not weak. He had gotten that far with his allies.
Luke soon steered the Razor Crest under the base, saying, “Ah, ha,” when a gap in it appeared. “There’s a hangar. Once we get in, let’s see if we can find a map for the New Republic.”
Aside from the invisible attacks and the journey through the nebula, everything felt a little too easy to Mando, so he told Luke, “We need to be prepared.” He expected an ambush as soon as they landed.
Mando unbuckled and slowly stood on his shaky legs, telling Esther, “Follow me.” It was time to open up the old weapon hold.
“Where are you going, Mando?” Luke asked, slowing the ship down a bit.
“To get weapons,” he answered, gripping the back of his seat for support. “You and Grogu will be fine.”
“But—!”
But Mando and Esther had already left and entered the common room, meeting up with Rotta. With Mando leading the way, they went to the back of the Razor Crest. Mando stumbled most of the time, so he relied on the wall to keep his balance. That time, he would not shoot someone he cared about. He would fight the urge if the Mastermind tried again.
Before long, Mando, Esther, and Rotta were in a hallway in the ship’s stern, a couple of metal doors surrounding them. It was also where Mando had kept a net for Rotta when he first met him and didn’t yet know how he felt about him, like Luke.
Mando slid open the door to the weapon hold. Immediately after, he heard the Mastermind:
“They’re getting in your way.”
No! Not now!
Mando stopped his hands from moving on their own and stepped aside so Esther and Rotta could pick up their weapons. Esther chose a blaster, a knife, and a few grenades, and Rotta grabbed a blaster that was perfect for his size. He examined it to find the safety and practiced flipping it on and off.
“Why do we need to go ahead and grab our weapons?” Rotta inquired, glancing at Mando.
“Because I’m expecting an ambush as soon as we land,” he answered.
“You listen to me, not him. They’re in your way.”
Not a chance. Mando endured the scorching pain that had just passed through his brain. Regardless, he still groaned and keeled over, leaving Rotta to catch him.
“Keep fighting, Din. You can do it.” Esther prepped her weapons. She and Rotta collected a blaster for Luke and closed the hatch, helping Mando to the cockpit.
The three saw that Luke had just entered the hangar. It was smaller, so obviously not the main one. Rectangular in shape, it had a domed ceiling leading to higher levels of the base. White and red patterns on the floor told Mando—and Luke—where ships landed, so Luke set the Razor Crest down; nonetheless, it was slightly wobbly since he was still learning. They were there, though. They had made it.
Sure enough, though, as Mando expected, a door opened in the back, and out ran a group of stormtroopers, white uniforms and helmets shimmering under a few of the hangar’s lights.
Luke kept the Razor Crest’s shield up, and he and Mando shot at them with the ship’s guns, sending a few troopers flying.
“I’m going,” Esther said to the team, setting her blaster. She stood tall and turned on her heel.
“Take R2 with you,” Luke said while he and Mando continued shooting the guns. “He’ll find a way to trap them.”
“Got it. Come on, R2.” With those words, Esther and R2 left the cockpit, leaving Mando, Luke, and Grogu behind.
As he watched them and the stormtroopers, Mando, shaking his glitching helmet, painfully said, “Well, we know one thing now. This base is definitely Imperial.”
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and then Add to home screen.