Knights of the Old Republic: Rise to Glory/5-6

Chapter Five
Revan looked up for only a moment as the sky burned with Basilisk war droids. The Jedi shook his head as he looked out over the rocky surroundings of the desert-like world the Mandalorians had occupied. The world was nothing more than a planetoid and Revan wondered how such a pathetic rock of sand and dust was so vital to the war effort. Shaking his head, Revan turned as he heard a turbolaser turret firing a volley into the sky. Several brilliant flashes in the distance caught the former Jedi's eyes before he turned his attention back to the fighter he was trying so desperately to repair. Somehow, his forces had managed to fight the Mandalorians back, and had dug in to the small planetoid, setting up hastily constructed batteries to keep the endless stream of dropships and Basilisks away from the surface. Revan sighed as he looked over the detestable rock that didn't even have a name. The only reason he was here was because a stronghold on the planetoid could give a strategic platform for the Mandalorians to strike Ithor. The Senate failed to see that their pathetic lives were soon to be at risk. That is what they were becoming to the former Jedi Knight. Pathetic. To sit around, bickering about how much money they had while worlds burned, to ignore the pain and suffering of the galaxy while others fought and died and were torn to pieces. Never in his life had Revan feared anything, but he slowly felt fear settle into him as he thought of what the Galaxy would become with such people ruling it. "What in the nine hells of Corellia?" Revan snarled as a volley of blaster fire came down on his position, obliterating a nearby turret. Revan growled in frustration as he looked at the mangled circuits of his fighter. Revan quickly made work of his fighter and ran a diagnostic, snarling when it did not respond. Revan impatiently looked skyward again to see the battle was dying down, at least the aerial battle. The Jedi had left Malak in charge of the orbital fleet, hoping Malak could at least shoot at what he saw. Malak may have been powerful and an impressive fighter, but he seemed to have great difficulty seeking out his foes. Throwing the loose component he had been working on down in frustration, Revan turned his thoughts and drive to the ground battle that was soon approaching. A flash of blue eyes and a smiling face came to Revan's mind and the former Jedi shook his head. The battlefield was no place for such distraction, but facing the chance of being overrun and destroyed by his enemy, Revan could only dwell on the young girl he had befriended. A shout caused Revan to turn his attention to a middle aged woman and an Echani warrior. "Yusanis? Arren? What are you doing here?" Revan asked, surprised to see the skilled Echani warrior and the outcast Jedi Knight. It had been nearly a decade since Arren Kae was thrown out of the Order for as the Jedi called it, pulling a Bindo. Revan shook his head of the thoughts as he took in the Echani that had forsaken his honor and family for the sake of the Jedi Knight he stood with. "We've lost the orbital defenses, Malak is ordering a retreat..." Revan was silent as he stared at the Echani warrior and his fellow outcast. Malak was not one to run from a fight and whatever it was that was making him run must have been serious."Where are they falling back to?" Revan inquired. Yusanis looked enraged and Arren looked sullen. "Eres III, the Mandalorians have begun landing Basilisks and are burning the Xoxin fields... the garrison there was slaughtered and they are shooting down whoever tries to flee." Arren replied in a solemn tone. Revan released a long and steadying breath. Malak was going to attack them head on, just his style. "Where's General Dracyl?" Revan asked, pulling himself from his thoughts. It had been nearly a year since Dxun and there was still no end to the war in sight. The Mandalorians seemed to have a death grip on the worlds they held and their armies seemed almost endless. The fact that the Republic and the Jedi failed miserably to reinforce Revan and his forces did not help. The Republic military was too concerned with losing political targets to actually see that losing military targets were much more vital. The Jedi Council was content to have him at their whim by threatening to call on the Senate if their wishes were not met. The Jedi constantly sent observers and used their influence to discredit Revan with the Republic. Revan was not blind, he knew that they were afraid of him. Revan represented something that the Jedi feared, he represented another option to their students. The former Jedi Knight knew that the thought of removing him from power or discrediting him likely crossed their minds. He hated power, he hated it when people looked to him for answers to questions he could not begin to fathom. He hated to be responsible for the deaths of his men, like he was responsible on Serreco. He hated the fact that men and women died to save him on Dxun. He hated the fact that he was fighting his own people. It sickened Revan to no end each time he struck down a Mandalorian before he had been wounded by Bastila. Bastila had opened his eyes to something. It needed to be done. No longer was he sickened by killing, he simply closed his mind off from the pain, he detached himself from what he was doing. Killing his own people. It simply needed to be done for the greater good. Some would argue more atrocities have been done in the name of the greater good than in the name of evil but Revan found himself simply not caring. Worlds died while he fought the moral implications of his war. It was his war. Before he had joined, the Mandalorians met no challenge and simply burned the worlds they conquered into ashes and left their cities as glassy craters. The Jedi had the gall to blame him for the escalation of violence in the war. They simply refused to see that the Mandalorians despised weakness and respected power. If he met them on the battlefield and succeeded, then they would be broken and they would surrender. If he failed, they would still respect him for fighting and perhaps in the end not view the Jedi and the rest of the galaxy as weak and inferior and perhaps begin to respect them. "How long until we get reinforcements?" Revan asked, annoyance clear in his tone. Yusanis actually grinned in response as Arren replied for him. "Telos and the Echani are sending reinforcements. The Telosians are under the command of Admiral Saul Karath and the Echani are to transfer command to Yusanis as soon as they arrive." At this news, Revan breathed a sigh of relief. An explosion and distant blaster fire drew him from his relief. "Well I suppose we should get back to the war." The other two warriors nodded agreement and followed Revan from the now useless fighter. -- Sixteen year old Bastila Shan looked down at the image before her in satisfaction. She was sure it was the image she had seen tattooed to Revan's upper right arm. She had been too busy staring at him and his amazing fighting style that day in the recreation room where she had wounded him to notice it, but they had sparred since and she had curiously asked him about the strange mark. Revan had instantly closed off of whatever they had been discussing and had left, but not before she had seen enough of the mark to draw an accurate picture. Bastila slowly made her way to the Jedi archives on Coruscant. She had been transferred to Coruscant after Cathar and much to her delight, Revan made frequent visits to the Republic capitol world to speak with the Senate and the Jedi High Council. Jedi Master Atris sighed slightly as she saw the young woman enter the archives. It was an ongoing joke within the Council that Bastila's sharp attitude could rival her own, something her fellow Jedi Masters found amusing to no ends. Snapping from her annoying reverie, Atris offered a small nod as Bastila smiled to her and bowed deeply. "What can I do for you, Padawan Shan?" Atris asked wearily. Bastila handed the sketch she had drawn of the tattoo and waited patiently as Atris furrowed her brow at the drawing. "Is this some kind of joke, Bastila?" Bastila frowned, not knowing what to say. Atris sighed and shook her head, handing the curious Padawan her drawing back. Atris turned and after digging quietly through a pile of datapads handed the datapad to Bastila. "It’s a Mandalorian symbol for a conscript. A forced member of their army and a member of the Clans. There are subtle differences for the Clans. Ordo clan uses a snake-like symbol while the Fett clan uses a Bantha skull..." Atris frowned slightly, looking over her console for a moment before finding the raven-like symbol. "Interesting..." Atris muttered to herself as she compared the two symbols. "This is the clan symbol of the Raven Clan." Bastila frowned slightly. "Raven Clan..." Atris nodded, suddenly interested in her work. "Yes they were said to be the only Mandalorians who were not blind to the Force. Mandalore is rumored to be from that clan. They were nearly wiped out seventeen years ago when they assaulted an unknown fleet of alien ships beyond the Outer Rim. It is unclear how exactly they were destroyed, but only a few dozen survived that battle. They were said to have scattered and been absorbed into the other Clans afterwards..." Atris trailed off, turning her attention to her beeping comm link. "Atris..." she answered, hearing the last voice she expected to her on the other end. "Atris, its Yyp." Atris' face turned red slightly as she trembled, her fact shifting to a small scowl. "What do you want?" she snarled into the communicator. Bastila backed away slightly, surprised and confused as to the Jedi Councillor's response to the other's voice. "Malak is bombing the Mandalorian positions on Eres III and Revan is missing in action along with Yusanis and Knight Kae... The Republic is refusing to send reinforcements to their last known position and if Revan's position falls... we may loose Ithor and the Echani sectors... I thought that might concern you, Atris." Dracyl finished, his voce calm and collected. Atris frowned slightly. If the Echani sector fell, it would directly effect her since she was an Echani and the Ithorians were a peaceful race that would be crushed beneath the Mandalorians. "What about the Iridonians?" Atris asked after a moment's hesitation. A deep sigh was heard from the other end of the comm link. "The Iridonians are allying with the Ithorians and are gathering in the Yulant system. If we loose anymore harvesting worlds like Eres III, there is no telling how many will starve in the next few years..." "What are the Echani doing?" Atris asked, confused that they would not be standing alongside the Iridonians and Ithorians. "The Echani and the Telosians are sending their Forces to the Wayland system. Revan was trying to keep the Hydian Way secured from there, but the Mandalorians are overrunning them and we've lost contact..." Bastila's eyes widened slightly at the news she was hearing. She knew Revan had been in the forefront of the Republic and Jedi forces, but she did not know he would be so exposed. A sudden chill ran up her spine when she mulled over all the things that could have happened to her friend. She remembered hearing about Dxun and Serreco and she could not keep the images of Revan being tortured and beaten to death from her mind. Atris sighed, shaking her head slightly. "What do you want from me?" she asked tiredly. Bastila remained silent, watching the strange way the conflicting emotions passed over the normally stoic Jedi Master's face. "We need help, Atris. We've lost over half of the Jedi already and we're estimating that we'll lose another two hundred within the next week. Revan may be too proud to say it but this war can't be won without the help of the Jedi Council... We need more people and the Council is sure doing their best to keep us from being reinforce,." the former Jedi General added, his voice rising with the accusation. For her credit, Atris looked surprised. "What do you mean?" she asked, shocked and appalled. "Don't even try. The Council has been constantly sending their little puppet Vrook out here and he's been discrediting us before the Senate and the Republic military. Do you realize that Revan has not been reinforced since Dxun? The Senate delays all his battle plans and only battles he or Malak or myself are directly involved in actually hold any results." Atris' face scrunched, in anger or confusion, Bastila did not know. The Jedi Councillor answered in a calm and collected tone. "I do not know what you are speaking of, Yyp. But I assure you that I will find out soon enough." Atris cut the communication as her eyes glazed over slightly. "Seven thousand..." she said below a whisper, though Bastila had heard. The thousands of Jedi sent to Revan were slowly being reduced to a handful and even the stubborn Jedi Master could see the implications. Turning her head to Bastila, a flicker of surprise shot through her blue eyes before she shook her head and dismissed herself. "I am sorry Padawan Shan, but I must speak with the Council immediately." Bastila nodded numbly, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. The idea of her own Master deliberately sabotaging the Jedi's war effort horrified Bastila to the point of her own mind closing off the possibility. Sitting in his chair before eleven of his fellow Jedi Councillors, Vrook Lamar sighed heavily as Atris replayed the communication from Yyp Dracyl. "We cannot fight... I've... seen what happens when Jedi fight. I saw the remains of those worlds the Mandalorians burned. If we are to remain strong... we cannot allow ourselves to be ruled by passion. We can't go into this war unprepared and there are not enough Jedi to end this war now that Revan has effectively lost nearly a tenth of our manpower." The other Jedi Masters silently agreed, though many felt the need to challenge the Mandalorian threat. Vrook settled himself in his heat and shook his head. He would not risk his Padawan in a war that could be won by the Republic. - Yyp Dracyl stood on the bridge of a Republic troop carrier, sighing and shaking his head as he looked over the gathered Iridonians and Ithorians. Holding the Yulant system and its rich agricultural worlds was key to preventing the suffering of the Mandalorian Wars to spreading into the Core worlds. The Outer Rim and Mid Rim burned while the Core worlds remained unscathed. His lip curling in disgust, Yyp stalked quietly to a meditation chamber, intent on seeking the Force's comfort. Revan had ordered him to keep his position and Malak was too busy burying the Mandalorians on Eres III under his ship's turbolasers to be of any help. Revan's position was a last stand against the Mandalorian advance and if his position fell...Yyp knew the hastily gathered Iridonians and Ithorians would stand little chance against them. The former Jedi let out a silent plea to the Force that the Telosians and Echani would reach Revan in time. If Revan was lost, he knew the war would be lost. A week passed and the bloodiest fighting the Mandalorian war had seen since had died down. Revan emerged with the Echani and Telosians triumphant as he successfully held off a much larger force. The Mandalorians had resulted to conscripting prisoners from their worlds along with their families. It seemed the endless armored warriors were slowly meeting their limit. The Core worlds still remained out of reach for them as Revan and Malak reinforced their positions with volunteers from the Iridonians, the Echani, the Telosians and the Ithorians. The Republic had managed to deploy the bulk of their fleet in an effective defensive pattern along the various hyperspace routes only a year and a half after Revan had suggested it. It appeared the losses on Eres III and Revan's stand had spurred the Senate into action. The Mandalorians had lost a bulk of their military and the hastily gathered conscripts held neither the skill nor the fighting experience of their previous comrades. The Mandalores still held firm and the worlds under them did not fall without blood, blood of their people. After a month of liberating nearly extinct planets, Revan had ceased the campaign, disappearing from the sectors of war along with Malak. The Mandalorians took this precious time to gather and strengthen their forces, though they knew a plan was being formed by their cunning adversary. Revan was rumored to have been spotted near the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and on Manaan, though the sightings were unconfirmed and his vessel was spotted near Tatooine, though it was gone before any Republic forces or Jedi could trace them. It seemed that as the months slowly passed that Revan had vanished and that the Mandalorians had dug themselves in for a bloody stalemate. Wherever Revan went in those several months was unknown to all but those who had gone with him. The Jedi Council and the Senate had met with him once, each refusing to support his increasingly violent actions in the war and each scolding the young former Jedi for his actions. When Revan and Malak did return, there was something about them that unsettled those closest to them. They no longer joked with the men and were often sealed away in their quarters or training themselves. Whatever they had found seemed to change them, harden them. Revan stared silently into the star field before him. It had been a week since his five month quest for the Star Forge ended and it had ended in a bitter defeat. The Star Forge seemed to require vast reservoirs of darkside energy to activate itself and the massive Rakatan device remained dormant, orbiting the Rakatan sun. Snarling in annoyance, Revan hastily retreated to his quarters, looking over anything he could to find a clue to unlocking the Star Forge's power. The massive factory was a relic of the darkside and he had known there were many others, like on Korriban or Dxun. A brief shiver ran up Revan's spine as he fought the feeling of dread those places stirred within him. Beneath the foliage, Dxun held something he feared and he did not wish to ever confront the true darkness of that moon. How he had not seen it while he was there he would never know but one thing was certain, he would never return to Onderon or Dxun if he had a choice. Korriban had sent another chill within him, a thrill of sorts. The world was dead but it still held the echoes of its former Lords, the power there if you could find it, but not enough to unlock the Star Forge. As Revan's eyes scanned the various datapads, one world, one name seemed to call to him. Malachor V...The Mandalorians feared that world, almost as much as he feared Dxun. "We need to go to Malachor V..." Revan muttered to himself. Mandalorians feared nothing and whatever was on that world that would cause the Mandalorians to isolate that single world and ban it would end this seemingly endless war. Revan knew he had to act, he barely had a thousand Jedi left in his ranks and his forces were not much better off. With the help of the Telosians and the Echani, Revan was able to liberate dozens of worlds, though what he liberated where worlds of corpses. It seemed the Mandalorians ruled an empire of death. Whatever the Senate was doing was not enough to protect itself, whatever the Jedi Council was doing was not enough to protect the Republic they had sworn to uphold was not enough. They were simply incompetent and could not offer strength in the face of adversity. Revan's Mandalorian blood boiled and he finally understood why the Mandalorians despised the Republic so much. War had made him strong enough to see the weakness of the Republic, how it allowed its outer edges to crumbled while corruption ruled and blacked its heart. There was something seriously wrong with the Senate and the Jedi Council.

"No!" Revan shouted, throwing the datapad away. "I can't think like that, this is what I am fighting for!" The words seemed to scorch his very soul.

What was the point of trying to save someone who didn't even make the effort of saving themselves. The Republic was on the verge of collapse and it had done that to itself by avoiding war for so long and not being prepared. The Republic had invited destruction. The Star Forge wasn't enough, hell it didn't even work and the Senate refused his requests for aid. There was only one thing Revan could do and the thought sickened him to no end. He had to stand before the Jedi Council and beg for their assistance, otherwise the war would never end.