So I'm writing a trilogy about Tarre Vizsla, the Mandalorian Jedi who constructed the Darksaber from The Mandalorian, and I have the entire first book outlined except for the ending. A brief rundown: Tarre's father dueled a rival named Montross for the throne of Mandalore. Tarre bested Montross but spared his life. In retaliation, Montross shot Tarre's father in the back. Montross was subdued, and the last contender standing, Galaar Torian, proclaimed himself winner of the contest by default, and declared that, out of respect for Tarre's father's decision to spare him, he should be exiled rather than executed. Torian then appointed young Tarre to the Mandalorian Protectors, which meant he served as both a personal bodyguard and a military captain. Several years later, Tarre and a company encounter Jedi while searching for the fortress of a pirate named K'arrch, and together the Jedi and the Mandalorians defeat K'arrch's pirates and send him running. One of the Jedi reveals to Tarre that he is Force-sensitive. Tarre, now concretely aware of the gift he possesses, studies all he can and teaches himself to wield the Force, constructing his legendary blade, the Darksaber. K'arrch resurfaces and Tarre takes a small fleet to attack his flagship. K'arrch escapes in a pod and Tarre finds his murdered corpse on the planet below before being attacked by renegade Mandalorians. The sole survivor of the fight threatens of Torian's overthrow before committing suicide. Tarre returns and warns Torian, who sends ships to rally the Mandalorians in defense of the motherworld. (Since this is set in an ancient period of Star Wars history, I decided instantaneous interstellar hologram messages aren't a thing yet and people have to actually travel across the galaxy to send messages.) An invasion fleet emerges and a messenger demands that Torian face Montross, who was behind the invasion. So here's the climax and what I'm having trouble with: Torian, Tarre, and the Protectors take a shuttle to Montross' ship, but when Torian steps forward to duel, he is caught in a ray shield and electrocuted to death. Despite having broken both his promise and the sacred Mandalorian Code, Montross is confident that he has secured the throne, since the only group of witnesses who can attest to his illegitimate victory are currently standing in front of him. That's where I'm at so far. Where do I go from here? If Montross is killed, his fleet will destroy the planet in retaliation. I need a way for Tarre to duel Montross with the Darksaber without dooming Mandalore. I could have the Mandalorian fleet Torian summoned show up, but it might feel like deus ex machina. I don't want to raise the stakes and then immediately level the playing field and effectively reset them. How to I resolve this climax?
Hm. Maybe this can be more of a midpoint instead of a climax. I still have to find a way to move the story forward, though.
