Marvel crosses Star Wars, and everyone attacks the galaxy

Now fully equipped and prepared, the three Mandalorian protectors left the Crucible and returned to their ship's destination and mission.

"So, Aldo." Toby said, looking at Dax. "Weren't you born there, Dax?"

Dax shook his head. “No, my father is from this planet. I was actually born in Concord Dawn.

"Really?" Finn asked curiously.

Dax, despite being a good friend of Finn and Toby, has never really talked about his past. He has only revealed a few details, though he mostly keeps his past to himself. He joined the Protectors shortly after they were formed, becoming good friends with Spur, Finn, and Toby, and a paragon of the Protectors.

He is a fierce fighter, and Dax makes it a point to always take a nap whenever he has some free time before a mission.

Still, he was their trusted brother, and they knew that when push came to shove, they knew Dax would be right there beside them, blaster in hand, ready to fight.

"Go ahead, Finn, Toby." Dax spoke after a moment of silence, as the ship was traveling through hyperspace. "What is Mandalore like?"

"Hmm?" Toby looked at him. "What? You've never been to Mandalore?

"No. I only saw images of my home world.

"How to describe it...I'd say it's a facade," Finn said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Facade?"

"Of course, it looked peaceful and relevant to everything the Duchess had been doing for the last few years. Pristine imagery, a model for many neutral systems. However, she hadn't really noticed the criminality there. The black marketeers, the rebellion.

"That doesn't sound stable," Dax pointed out.

"Not at all." Finn shook his head. "I know she wants peace and everything, believe me, I get it. But to change the way we've been living since the beginning? Too drastically, too fast? It's impossible.

"We are Mandalorians," Toby said flatly. "Our way of life is to be warriors.

Dax agreed, knowing full well the truth of the matter. He was fully aware that the planet of Mandalore itself was under the control of the New Mandalorians, as they liked to call themselves, who were now a "pacifist" and "peaceful" people.

The only reason Duchess Satine was able to gain power at all when she first came on the scene was because enough influential families and clans got tired of fighting and wanted to settle down. Those who sided with her were able to swing the votes in Satine's favor, which quickly led to what's happening now.

However, it is not hard to see how little impact this sentiment actually has. Only the planet Mandalore itself is occupied by this new regime. All other planets within the Mandalore space region follow the old ways.

While they started out with only about 212 members, the number of recruits and members from all clans, as well as outcasts, has steadily increased in recent weeks.

The foundlings are the future of their people, and they are to be protected and trained.

“Actually, I heard that little rumor before I left,” Finn said, leaning forward as his two friends stared at him. “The Duchess’s sister refused to support her cause before the new Mandor went to change Mandalore.”

"Really?" Dax was surprised by the message. "Do you know who it is?"

Finn shook his head. “There’s no time to learn about it. But it suggests her regime won’t last.”

"Agreed." Dax and Toby said in unison.

The journey to Odo was shorter than their return trip home before this mission. Once in the system, Toby piloted their ship toward the Clan Planet, from which the system was named.

This is a mostly desert world with very little vegetation. The main area for agriculture is near the equator, where most settlements can be found.

Landing outside a tree-lined town, the protectors disembarked and the three headed straight for the settlement. Few people were out and about now, and it wasn't necessarily a big deal, but they were clear that they saw something was wrong.

Stalls everywhere were damaged, goods missing, and other houses and buildings were vandalized.

As soon as they stepped into the town, several passers-by saw them and went to look for the blasters tied to them. Although they relaxed a little, one of the male humans recognized them at a glance.

"Mandalore," he greeted warmly. "A surprise, but a welcome one to be sure."

"What's going on here?" Finn asked immediately.

"Invasion." A woman said flatly, looking a little disheveled. "In the past few weeks, the damn bastards have been harassing towns all over Aldo."

"Invasion?" Toby said, taking off his helmet, revealing a clearly visible frown. "What kind of predators?"

"Rogues, judging by the way they're equipped," said the man who had first spoken to them, with a look of displeasure on his face.

"Would they attack Aldo so blatantly?" Dax asked, with a hint of anger in his tone.

"Where are the warriors protecting this planet?" Finn asked. "Are there no Mandalorians on this planet?"

“We are all Mandalorians,” the woman puffed out her chest with pride, but deflated after a moment.

"This is different," spoke up another male, this one was younger, looking to be in his teens.

"What happened?" Dax stepped forward. "How could Aldor, a planet we all respect so much, be troubled by low-level predators?"

The older male said dismissively. "Those foolish pacifists were so focused on consolidating their control over Mandalore that the rest of Mandalorian space was left to fend for itself.

The three Mandalorian Guardians all twitched in anger at the mention of the New Mandalorian. How could they have let this happen?

They knew that Mandalorian space was essentially split into factions, but it was insulting to them that the Marauders were proving to be a problem.

"Where are these raiders now?" Finn asked pointedly.

“Not far from this village. About a few kilometers away,” the older male said, gesturing to the left, and the protectors gazed in that direction. “See that building on the top of the hill? You’ll find them there.

"Okay. Stay indoors, just in case," Finn ordered.

“Do you think we’d be stupid not to?” the woman said sarcastically.

The others shook their heads, and the Mandalorian protector made his way towards the structure on top of the hill. As they trudged to the top, they were surrounded by tall grass, which provided useful cover as they approached.

They had come to the planet in search of their purpose, but here they were, already hunting a group of dastardly marauders who had the audacity to choose Aldor.

The three decided to teach them a lesson.

The Protectors were formed to unify the Mandalorians once again under a single, proper banner as a united people, but they arrived on a planet of prestige and historical importance that was struggling to deal with a base population of marauders.

This is how far the Mandalorian has fallen.