Before the transmigration, back in his primary and middle school years, whenever he was forced to memorize classical poems and essays, the traveler always hated it with a passion. He'd never imagined that after crossing into another world, he would truly understand the mood contained in one single line:
"The closer I draw to home, the more timid my heart; I dare not ask the passerby."1
The starship had been out of hyperspace for a while now. Beyond the viewport, the white sphere of Mandalore was getting closer and closer, and Max's heartbeat grew stronger with every passing second—like it was resonating in sync with the planet itself.
It was a strange feeling. In Max's memories, Mandalore existed only as a few blurry impressions from childhood. And after the transmigration, he had never once returned to Mandalore. So why did it feel like this?
"Pah."
The sound beside him snapped Max out of what had almost become a Force-meditation trance.
Christopher Wren spat, muttering with bitter hatred, "Jedi scum."
Max looked around. The Assault Team's four "Kings"—Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning—each had eyes faintly reddened. Deep love for one's homeland was human nature. They all loved this world with a quiet, painful intensity.
Back when they'd been shopping on Corellia, Max had joked that they were short one person—that the four kings of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning still lacked one. It had been a throwaway line, but Christopher had taken it seriously.
Later, when Assault Team candidates were selected from across the entire faction, Christopher stood out with the top overall score, made the cut, and became the first captain of the unit (an expanded platoon-sized formation).
New captain, three new fires. Christopher's first "fire" was naming the Assault Team's four combat groups: Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning. As captain, Christopher—who had first used the callsign "Wind" during the Corellian "treasure-hunting" operation—personally took command of Wind Group.
This time, the trip back to Mandalore was done under false identities, boarding a civilian passenger ship.
Max had originally planned to bring only Christopher with him. But the captain—who didn't trust the New Mandalorians at all, and whose confidence and sense of safety collapsed the moment he was separated from armor and weapons—insisted that all four kings deploy together.
"Chief, more people means more power. If something goes sideways, the four of us can cover you from every angle—front, back, left, right." Christopher had said.
They entered the atmosphere…
They began the approach…
The hatch opened.
Mandalore—home again.
…
The day Max and the others arrived in Sundari, it was spring in New Mandalore Year 11. The sun was bright, everything looked alive and thriving… and yet Max felt a chill. A faint, ugly premonition crawled up his spine.
At first, everything went smoothly.
James Rok—Chairman, President, and CEO of MandalMotors Shipyards—treated their visit with great importance, sending people to the port to greet them. The moment Max stepped off the ship, he saw the sign: Welcome, Fieg Consortium Delegation.
No delays. No "one-day Sundari tour." The instant they disembarked, they boarded a groundcar and went straight from the spaceport to MandalMotors.
But the closer they got to the shipyard, the stronger that chill became—until Max was almost certain: this trip would not remain peaceful.
He quietly flashed a warning hand signal to Christopher.
Stay sharp.
"Mr. Claude—welcome!"
At the front gate, James Rok personally came out with several executives, giving Max and his group maximum face.
During the greeting embrace, James whispered close to his ear:
"Welcome… heir of the Thornflower."4
After travel fatigue, the first thing James arranged was to bring them to the VIP lounge to rest.
They took a short break, and soon it was lunch. Lunch was eaten with James and his people in the employee cafeteria—supposedly to "experience MandalMotors' unique dining culture." The formal banquet reception, he said, would be at dinner.
During lunch, Christopher tried—more than once—to taste Max's food first, only to be forcefully stopped. It drew plenty of side-eyes from the shipyard staff.1
That afternoon, James led the tour personally, bringing Max and the others through the production workshops. Their first stop was the civilianized production line converted from the Lancer-class pursuit craft.
"This is a 'pulse' production line—high efficiency," James explained, gesturing as he spoke. "The core idea is that the ship keeps moving throughout the entire build process, while human or droid workers stay fixed at their stations and perform specific assembly steps. Every five days, one Knight-class light freighter rolls off the line."3
(So the Lancer line can't be moved… not really.) Max nodded along, but internally shook his head.
Yet even in the climate-controlled workshop, Max kept feeling wave after wave of that chill.
It wasn't the fear of being robbed.
It was the fear of being watched.
That sensation—knowing you've been targeted, but not knowing when the strike will come—made Max deeply uncomfortable.
Dusk arrived. The welcome banquet was about to begin. As guests filed in and took their seats, the "main course" arrived—unexpected, and yet something Max had been waiting for, in the back of his mind.
"Missile attack—down!" // "Boom!!!"
Max roared the warning, and in the same breath snapped his hand out with a Force push, detonating a mini-missile early—outside the banquet hall doors.2
After the blast, everything erupted at once: blaster fire, thermal detonations, alarm sirens, screaming—instant chaos in the hall.
"Chief—it's Death Watch!" Christopher rushed over with Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning close behind. "What do we do?!"
"They're hitting indiscriminately. This has nothing to do with James Rok." Max's voice went cold and sharp. "You protect him. I'm going to secure our gear."
And with that, Max sprinted out.
…
PS: "Thornflower" and "Shriek Hawk" are the two major symbols of Clan Vizsla. The canon has not yet provided an official explanation of the former's true name or meaning. The meaning of "Thornflower" used here is the author's own invention.