Bespin (star chart coordinate: K-18) lies in the Greater Javin sector of the Outer Rim. It is a beautiful gas giant.
Suspended high within Bespin's soft, pastel cloud layers hangs an aerial city—Cloud City. This was the destination of Max Vizsla's Mandalorians.
In Star Wars media, Cloud City is one of the most famous locations of all. It was here that the young Luke Skywalker dueled Darth Vader in a classic lightsaber fight—Luke proved himself the rightful heir to the proud tradition of getting a hand chopped off, and Vader delivered one of the franchise's most iconic lines: "I am your father."
But in the real Star Wars galaxy—at this point in time—Cloud City was nothing more than a remote, obscure little settlement in the Outer Rim.
Ever since it was founded by the Corellian noble Lord Ikritiz Fieg, Cloud City had functioned as a tibanna-gas collection and refining facility—one with limited output, the kind that didn't even rate the Mining Guild's attention.
It wasn't until the Imperial era—after the talented scoundrel Lando Calrissian won Cloud City's ownership from some wastrel descendant of the Fieg line in a rigged sabacc game—and then managed it with real skill, that the place gradually began to prosper.
Which meant that from now, Cloud City would remain obscure for decades to come—and that was exactly what Max Vizsla valued. He wanted to take this place, lie low, and build strength in the shadows—of course, under the title of "protector."
"Dragonfang One reporting: Dragonfang Team has secured the communications center. We control inbound and outbound comms for Cloud City. No casualties."
"Mythosaur copies. Transmit to Dragon's Nest immediately. Guide Shriekhawk Squadron to launch and lock down the airspace."
"Dragonfang One copies."
...
"Dragonclaw One reporting: Dragonclaw Team has secured the power center. We control the tractor-beam projector and the repulsorlift generators. No casualties."
...
"Dragonhorn One reporting: Dragonhorn Team has secured the administrative center and 'rescued' the Cloud City administrator team. Two light injuries in the squad. No serious injuries, no deaths."
...
"Leader," the newcomer said, helping Max Vizsla remove his VR rig while giving the report, "this exercise took one hour and twenty-two minutes standard time. That's a new fastest record."
(One hour twenty-two minutes… that number feels kind of cursed.) Max pulled off the headset and replied, "Good. Run it a few more times. If we can reliably seize the city in under one hour and thirty minutes, then we can move."
Max Vizsla's Mandalorian "refugee" fleet had no large capital ships. Their biggest military craft was the Kom'rk-class Mark I fighter/transport, sixty-eight meters long. Their largest civilian ship was only a ninety-meter GR-75 medium transport, and they had exactly two of those. The ships were simply too small inside to build full physical mock-ups of Cloud City's key facilities and institutions. With no better option, Max had to rely on VR simulation drills.
Before the main fleet ever departed Concordia, Max had already sent reconnaissance teams ahead. Using miniature spy drones, they infiltrated Cloud City and conducted two full months of detailed surveillance, producing an accurate 3D structural map of the city. After the fleet reached the Outer Rim, they didn't go straight to Bespin—they hid in an asteroid field and began day after day of simulated "take-the-city" drills.
Another month passed. The time had come to test the results. VR drills were not the same as real combat, but that didn't dent Max Vizsla's confidence. Because when he considered the operation ahead… he didn't feel that ominous warning in his gut.
Feeling good, ready to move—that was the confidence of someone with a real edge.
Yes. Max Vizsla was Force-sensitive—an extremely rare thing for a Mandalorian.
He'd been born Force-sensitive, but in the past he hadn't realized it. Those hazy flashes of danger he felt in battle had been mistaken for nothing more than a warrior's instinct.
After arriving here, he'd dreamed of wielding a lightsaber like every other fan, and he became convinced that this "danger sense" was actually precognitive Force sensitivity. Before long, Max proved it by moving objects with his mind—he really was Force-sensitive.
But there were problems: no teacher, and nonstop fighting left him no time to train. Over these three years, his control of the Force had improved only marginally.
A Jedi or Sith who truly masters the Force can predict the exact path of incoming blaster bolts, then swing a lightsaber to block or even deflect them. The best of the best—like Obi-Wan Kenobi, famed for Form III, Soresu—can reportedly stop twenty bolts per second. Max Vizsla, in the same situation, could only manage a vague directional warning—then dodge or rely on an energy shield.
Of course, that disappointing level of control might not be only because he hadn't trained enough. There was another possibility: maybe his talent just wasn't that high. Max Vizsla—who carried a protagonist's dream in his heart—didn't want to think about that. Or accept it.
Either way, whether your advantage is "good" is one question. Whether you have any advantage at all is another.
This Mandalorian faction clung to warrior honor, and the more important and dangerous the operation, the more they insisted that the boss lead from the front—so the boss died fast. If it weren't for that, the top leader's seat would never have fallen into Max Vizsla's hands.
Max had been the boss for over half a year and still hadn't gotten himself killed. In a sense, that alone proved how insanely useful the Force really was.
And now, he was about to lead from the front again.
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Galactic Standard Calendar, Year 3, 23:00 on October 13. Near Bespin, a GR-75 medium transport suddenly dropped out of hyperspace and dove toward Cloud City.
"Governor, emergency situation. A cargo vessel is requesting an emergency landing at Cloud City. The request has been forwarded to your terminal."
"A lightly armed GR-75, equipped with four light twin laser cannons… encountered hyperspace turbulence. Hyperdrive and flight control systems damaged. It needs an emergency landing for repairs…" The newly appointed Cloud City administrator, Billy Williams, stared at the terminal without blinking and asked his protocol-assistant droid over his shoulder, "C-3PV, check the records. Any similar cases?"
"Master, Bespin lies along the Corellian Trade Spine route. Over the past three hundred years, incidents of this type—ships forced to land at Cloud City due to hyperspace accidents—have occurred many times. The most recent was in 13 Brs, and the one before that was—"
"Enough. Shut up." Billy Williams slapped his palm down and sprang to his feet, excited. Administrative work at a tibanna gas facility was mind-numbing; anything unexpected was at least a little fresh.
"Communications center, this is Administrator Billy Williams. Transmit to the distressed vessel: landing permission granted. Order the ship to power down its deflector shields immediately and accept our supervision."
"Yes, Administrator. Communications center copies."
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PS: Mythosaur is a gigantic dragon-like creature closely tied to Mandalorian history and culture.
PPS: According to official settings, 35 BBY the Galactic Republic carried out a "Great ReSynchronization," calibrating and unifying timekeeping across the Republic. That year was designated Year 0; years before it were marked with "Brs," while years after it used the plain year number. For example: three years before the Great ReSynchronization is written as 3 Brs, while three years after is written as Year 3.