The Battle of Mandalore | Chapter 1 | Part 1 of 2

CHAPTER 1.5

Kom'rk, the younger Kom'rk, and Kotyc dismounted from their speeder bikes, and walked the short distance to where about 500,000 Mandalorian men, with more streaming in, stood, listening to their leader, the legendary Boba Fett, brief them.

--"The Vong invaders are here to destroy us, but they have gravely underestimated us. We are Mandalorians, and we have the advantage of terrain. We have the motivation. We have strategy.

"Now, your main commanders will be Dinui Beskaryc, A'den Skirata, Taglar Dreskk, and Novall Talon. You'll split into groups of roughly 100,000, and then be split up from there. I'll ask each leader to come up and name general clans to come up."--

The Parjai'Kotes soon learned that they were assigned to Dinui, and the three men, now joined by the women and Kom'rk's father, Kom'rk Parjai'Kote the first, moved to the mountains, where Dinui would direct the defense of the pass.

The pass, known as Manda'lor's Mouth, was the major pass through the Atin Mountains, and it was also known as the gateway to Keldabe. It separated the desert from the grasslands, and the Mandalorians were certain that the Yuuzhan Vong would land in the desert, a logistical error that big armies almost always made when attacking Mandalore. Mandalore had been attacked about 20 times in the history of the galaxy, and all of those times the home bolo-ball team had won, so to speak.

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Kom'rk lay in a prone position on a little outcropping in Mount Dral, one of two mountains which formed the pass. All around, snipers sighted the faint forms that were approaching through the desert. His sons were on Mount Dral as well; Kom'rk above him and Kotyc below him. His link to his sniper rifle flashed, alerting him that he was in range.

--"Ram'ser Traat'aliit She'cu, trac'yar mav!"--

Those in Sniper Squad Nine opened fire on the Vong hordes, cutting them down while they were still a klick out. The Vong responded by firing thud bugs at the Mandalorians, eliciting minor casualties from the armored warriors. The main sniper groups opened up, killing more Vong, until they were 200 yards from the pass.

--"This is Dinui, retreat! Phase one is completed! Retreat to the tunnels!"--

The Mandalorians fled from their positions, and traversed over rock into tunnels underneath Keldabe and the surrounding areas. Group two, led by the legendary A'den Skirata, led the defense of the tunnels until all of the citizens were inside.

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Kotyc fell from his position on a boulder as a thud bug hit his backplate. He tumbled down the mountain, landing at the bottom. The silver-armored Mando attempted to get up, but he looked down at the twisted clump of bone and flesh that once comprised his leg. He screamed in agony, but his screams were muffled as the sharp end of an organic amphistaff stabbed through his side, impaling his lungs, and piercing the ground. Kom'rk turned to look at his brother, who was now pooling blood on the ground as the Vong warrior pulled his weapon from the body. He sighted his rifle in rage and fury, pulling the trigger. The Vong's head disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Kom'rk scrambled toward the body, dragging Kotyc into the tunnel as the door closed. He sobbed uncontrollably as his father and grandfather kneeled next to him.