Knights of the Old Republic: Rise to Glory/9-10

Chapter 9
"Good morning, Bloodraven," Mandalore spoke in a mockingly sweet tone as Revan was dragged onto his ship's bridge. Spots swam in Revan's vision as he was knocked against the side of the head with a blaster rifle stock and was struck in his abdomen. Mandalore signaled to his guards to back away. "I wanted you to see something," Mandalore trailed off as Revan fought to regain focus and looked up. The viewport of the Mandalorian battlecruiser only showed a hyperspace trail and Revan involuntarily coughed as he wiped the blood with his now free hands.

"What, the beauty of hyperspace?" Revan asked in a tight tone. Nearly a month at the hands of Mandalore and his tortures was eating away at the former Jedi Knight and he was having quite enough of it. Mandalore chuckled without humor as he turned his back to Revan and stared through the viewport.

"Patience, your suffering will soon be over, traitor." The hyperspace trail soon gave way to a starfield and what looked to be a tiny gray-green orb. "Welcome to Malachor V." Mandalore motioned to his guards to bring Revan closer. The Republic commander was roughly led to the viewport where he watched in fascinated horror.

"It seems the Jedi and the Senate sent reinforcements here a few days ago, according to my scouts. I hear your friend Malak protested fervently. It was so very easy to track them here." Revan's mind began calculating his options.

Before either guard could react, Revan had broken from their iron grasps and had disarmed one of his vibroblade. Mandalore heard the movement and spun in time to see his two guards fall to the ground in a lifeless heap. For being tortured for nearly a month and nearly broken, Revan was surprised how well his fighting instincts came into focus.

"I challenge you, Mandalore," Revan snarled. Mandalore stiffened and turned to the rest of his crew as they lowered their weapons. Mandalore laughed outright as shook his head. "Very well, fool." Mandalore removed his weapons and set them on the ground before approaching Revan and taking a fighting stance. "If you believe you can kill me with your bare hands." Revan threw his stolen vibroblade away and took another stance, ignoring the sight of the Mandalorian fleet charging the Republic and Jedi positions. Revan snorted to himself in disgust.

Revan's capture had sent a shockwave through the Jedi Order and the Republic. Especially when it was discovered by a spy that he was being tortured to death. The sudden loss of their hero spurred the Republic's painfully slow decision to send more soldiers into battle as well as increased pressure on the Jedi Order to take action. The Jedi had agreed to send as many Knights as they could to safeguard the new Republic forces. Not wanting to admit that nearly half the Order was ready to leave in order to save Revan.

Revan charged Mandalore, trying to keep his broken arm as far away from the clan leader as possible as he struck out and kicked the armored man with his boots which thankfully he was allowed to keep on. Mandalore staggered, either from the blow or shock, Revan did not know. Revan grinned to himself.

Revan moved swiftly, finding a new appreciation for Mira's care as his body protested each movement with a shot of blinding pain. The former Jedi could feel the Force on the edges of his senses and tried to ignore the Force-dampening collar's effect on him. Being cut off from the Force was nearly as unbearable as the tortures themselves. Revan sidestepped Mandalore's considerably slower attack and wove an intricate pattern around the armored man as he swiftly struck loose portions of his armor and where he believed to be weaknesses. It seemed Mandalore's confidence was beginning to wane.

From the bridge of the Ravager, Yyp Dracyl watched in horror as his fleet approached Malachor V. The Republic had sent a detachment along with the Jedi to hold Malachor V. Apparently, some genius in the Senate thought the Mandalorians would move against the base and that the best strategy would be to wait in orbit for the Mandalorians. The Mandalorians came, and in force. Yyp groaned as he caught sight of the massive Mandalorian fleet, already engaging the much smaller Republic and Jedi armada.

"Someone didn't get the battle plan, apparently,” Yyp scoffed as he ordered his fleet to move to help protect the new Republic and Jedi forces.

Malak scanned the battlefield, glaring at the newly arrive Republic vessels.“What the hell are they doing here?" He practically shouted as he slammed his fists into a console. “Now that the war is almost over, they decide to battle?” Malak asked no one in particular as he sent various orders to his forces to try to protect the inexperienced Republic fleet over Malachor.

The former Jedi sombered slightly as he caught sight of the Mandalorian fleet. Basilisks swarmed Republic ships and tore into Malachor’s atmosphere. Mandalorian Kandosii and Kyramuds charged the inexperienced Republic forces head on, driving into them and scattering the terrified soldiers. The Jedi had seemed to reserve themselves to fighters which Malak was thankful for. He had only discovered that the Republic and Jedi were going to reinforce them and he did not know the fools would take it upon themselves to choose where and when the forces arrived.

“Tell them to get out of Malachor’s gravity well. Where are the Interdictor ships, we need their gravity field generators or we’re done for!” Malak and Yyp had discovered that an Interdictor ship could use its gravity well projector to cancel out the effects of the Mass Shadow Device and were glad that the Mandalorians refused to use the heavy battleships.

Mandalore blocked Revan's kick and reached out, grasping the Jedi's broken arm. The Mandalorian leader tightened his grasp and pulled as hard as he could, satisfied when he heard the bone pop from its joint. Revan staggered from the pain and barely avoided the punch Mandalore threw towards him. Mandalore laughed as Revan backed away. Revan took a moment to regain his senses and channel the pain, which was easily being replaced by anger. The former Jedi spared a glance out the viewport to see the Republic and Jedi forces tat had joined his fleet being devastated and Malak and Yyp's forced nearing them.

"This ends, now," Revan snarled as he leapt over Mandalore and dropped behind him.

Mandalore turned around, a surprised expression on his face as Revan grasped a tube to his helm and tore it free, backhanding the Mandalorian with his undamaged arm. Mandalore fell, gasping as he struggled for breath. The leader tore away his damaged silver helm and charged the former Jedi, close lining him and bringing his metal boot down on Revan's sternum. Revan could only feel the blinding pain as his breastbone cracked under the Mandalorian's force. Mandalore panted heavily as he looked down at the fallen Jedi with smoldering eyes.

"You are finished."

Yyp Dracyl turned from the viewport as he watched the last of the Republic's capitol ships sent to help them be destroyed. Casting a pained look at his Iridonian tech, Bao-Dur, Yyp gave a single nod as the Ravager shuddered from the assault of the Mandalorian Basilisks.

"Any last words, Bloodraven?" Revan felt his body convulsing violently from the strain as Mandalore twisted his armored boot deeper into his damaged body. Revan licked the blood from his lips as he forced his body to respond. Mandalore felt Revan shift and before he knew it, was on the floor. Revan's booted heel dropped onto Mandalore's throat, crushing his breathing passage. Revan struggled to his knees and grasped Mandalore's head, whispering in his ear as he snapped the Mandalorian leader's neck with his last ounce of strength, "Watch your future's end."

A bright light suddenly filled the room, originating from Malachor V. Mandalore's last sight was of a massive shockwave consuming his fleet before he heard a distinct pop and his vision darkened.

Revan resisted the urge to vomit from the physical trauma his body had gone through. Turning to the nearest Mandalorian he snarled as he forced himself to stand.

"Get this damn collar off of me!" The Mandalorian nodded and activated the collar's release. Revan wished briefly that he did not give the order as the death and pain of all the Jedi, Mandalorians and Republic soldiers being crushed by the Mass Shadow Device assaulted him. White and red flashes of light assaulted Revan as he doubled over, clutching the sides of his head and screaming inaudibly as the pain washed through him and the Force. Malak staggered slightly as the death and destruction reached his mind, forcing himself to block the pain, Malak called on every ounce of strength to block the death being transmitted through the Force. Elsewhere, others were not so fortunate.

Arren Kae was crushed in a single instant by Malachor V's gravity well along with the thousands of Jedi, Mandalorians and Republic soldiers that reinforced them. Her ship being crushed into unrecognizable debris and her body being lost in that final battle of the Mandalorian wars. Yusanis searched frantically but to no avail for his lover throughout the survivors.

Yyp Dracyl dropped into unconsciousness the instant the Ravager sent the signal to Malachor V. The pain and death in the Force was too much for the General to endure and the Force simply left him in that moment to spare his life. The Republic crews under Revan, Dracyl and Malak tried frantically to move their ships away from the shockwave that engulfed the bulk of the Mandalorian fleet and destroyed their allies. The Mandalorians retreated or surrendered, too shocked at the destruction they had seen to risk losing any more of their people. The Mandalorian Wars and the Mandalorian people were destroyed in that single instant the Mass Shadow Device was activated.

The former Jedi Knight, Revan awoke two days after the battle of Malachor V on board his flagship. The former Jedi had been unconscious and under the constant care of the healers as they tried to stabilize his condition. What greeted the former Jedi's eyes was not something he would ever purge from his mind. All around him in the sickbay were dozens of former Jedi that he fought beside, all either unconscious or sickly and weak.

"What?" Revan managed to groan as he forced himself to sit up. The bone-knitters had seemed to do an excellent job restoring his shattered arm and broken ribs and he could feel the shark pain in his shoulder that told him his arm was no longer dislocated. Seeing the chaos around him, Revan forced himself to stand and cleared his head of the painkillers, allowing the Force to purge his body of foreign substances and damage. Several hours passed before Revan trusted himself enough to travel.

Malachor V lay before him, shattered into thousands of pieces though its atmosphere remained surprisingly sustained. Revan eyed the officers on his ship as they silently stared at the mass of destroyed ships before them. Never in all his years fighting and traveling had Revan seen such destruction and he paled when he thought of the millions of bodies that lay crushed in those floating hulks.

"Force what have we done," Revan whispered as he felt a hand lay reassuringly on his shoulder. The former Jedi turned to see his best friend staring solemnly at the debris.

"What we had to," Malak said softly as he turned and left Revan to see what he had already saw too much of.