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| - "Have you seen the suffering of those who starve because of this war? Have you seen the look of despair in a mother's eyes when she looks to her children and tells them their father is dead? Do you see your friends and comrades falling around you and know that no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, nothing will help them? Have you seen the bodies, oh so many bodies that have been broken and destroyed or the ruins of those once great cities and races that now burn because of your inaction? Have you seen anything besides the mounds of credits you pile before you and shove in your fat faces?" Malak roared to the Senate advisors as he stormed past them with a look of hate painted on his face. None of the Senators spoke as the former Jedi left them. A week had passed since Revan and Malak had driven off the Mandalorians over Duro. The world's once glorious orbital cities now lay in ruins, silent graves of countless Duros, Republic soldiers, Jedi and Mandalorians. The Mandalorians were far from weak and were far from defeated as the Republic had thought and Duro had been their first strike against a core world. What had enraged the former Jedi Knight more than anything was that the only reason the Republic even considered doing a damn thing about it was the amount of money lost in trade and destruction and not of the millions of lives lost. Revan remained behind, staring at the Senators as they stared after Malak with contempt and arrogant distaste. "Can you believe that!" an Aqualish Senator scoffed. Revan shook his head and turned to the Senator. "To be so weak and so blind as you are I cannot." Revan shook his head in disgust before leaving the suddenly speechless Senators. Never had Revan spoken to the Senate in anything close to disrespect and the Senators watched the respected and charismatic leader follow his friend's path. "I can't believe I risked my life to save the likes of you," Revan spat acidly as he passed through the doorway, leaving the Senators even more shocked by his behavior. "Malak,"Revan called after his friend's retreating form. Malak spun and stared at Revan with rage in his eyes. "Why are we even doing this! The Mandalorians are right! We should let them die!" Revan nodded before his common sense could stop him and sighed. "I don't understand how anyone, the Senate, or the Jedi Council can be so detached from what is happening. I have seen it, felt it in each of those battles. Do you feel it too?" Revan asked his friend, relieved when Malak nodded. "The silence that follows a battle, it always amazes me. To the Jedi those battles echo pain and death and they can hear or see nothing beyond that but they have not been there, they can't see what is before them.Did you feel it? Even on Dxun I felt it. Something is manipulating the Mandalorians, something that seeks to weaken us, the Jedi and the Republic, and they are succeeding." Malak grunted before narrowing his eyes and looking over a nearby balcony, staring towards the five spires of the Jedi Temple that lay across the walkway from the Senate rotunda. "There was always weakness. This is something else." Revan nodded his agreement. "On Korriban, when we sought out the Star Forge, did you ever wonder what happened to the Ancient Sith and their Empire? To have all that knowledge and... power lost to sand and wind seems..." "Impossible?" Malak finished as Revan shook his head. "No, it seems too convenient. We know that the true Sith did not die out in the Great Hyperspace War a millennium ago, they were merely weakened. We know that Exar Kun found remnants of those that followed Naga Sadow on Yavin IV. The Massassi Temples and the primitive descendants of those ancient Sith." Malak seemed to pale slightly as Revan paused. "I heard a rumor that the Sith pressed the Mandalorians into this war. A young Mandalorian prisoner with a mouth too big that was killed by his comrades but still where would these Sith come from? Those that followed Exar Kun died in the bombardment of Yavin or were killed by the Jedi. Perhaps the first Sith Empire never collapsed as we thought?" Malak coughed suddenly, turning from the view of the Jedi Temple and processing the thoughts he and his friend exchanged. "Those are dangerous thoughts..." Revan smirked and shrugged. "As dangerous as seeking out the Star Forge and the ruins of the Trayus Academy on Malachor V?" Malak turned and gave Revan a scolding look. "You walk a fine line my friend. We walk a fine line," Malak finished, turning from Revan and glaring at the Jedi Temple. "Look at them over there, content to sit in their spires and watch the galaxy die. If what you say is true, then they were right, Revan. Perhaps we should not have gone off to war, perhaps these Sith are lurking beyond their vision and preparing for the attack. Force knows this war has nearly destroyed a fifth of the Order." Revan nodded, crossing his arms tightly over his chest as he stared indifferently towards the Jedi Temple. "Do you feel how much we've changed? Three years ago we were nothing more than newly knighted children wielding a weapon that was too heavy for us and now," Revan paused, turning his gaze to the deep canyons that lined the cityscape as the echoes of pain and misery that existed a few kilometers below brushed his senses. "Now we are stronger than we could have dreamed," Malak whispered, following Revan's gaze as his face shifted to a mournful expression. "As my Master used to always say. It is conflict that strengthens us, Padawan!" Malak snorted and shook his head. "Kreia always was a bit eccentric." Revan laughed as he slapped his hand on Malak's shoulder, causing the taller former Jedi to lurch slightly. "I think that is a requirement for being a Jedi Master, my friend." Malak allowed a ghost of a smile to play on his lips as he and Revan turned, leaving all thoughts of the Republic and Jedi behind and occupying their thoughts with the coming battle. "Mandalore!" a young Mandalorian Elite shouted as he rushed into the bridge of the Corrupter. The Mandalorian leader turned his armored form to the approaching Elite and nodded as the Mandalorian bowed at his wait and brought his right fist over his heart in a salute. "Speak," the silver armored man spoke, his voice tearing through the deathly silent bridge. "Scouts have reported that Revan has landed on Yavin IV in the Gordian Reach. His forces are minimal and it appears to be a scouting mission." Mandalore smirked beneath his silver mask as he stared at the Mandalorian Elite. "What are you waiting for? Send a Kyramud and a squad of Shaadlars at once!" Mandalore turned from the man as he saluted. "Yes, Mandalore!" The Elite vanished from his leader's sight and Mandalore smiled as he looked over the starfield. Mandalore's head dropped slightly as he thought of killing such a worthy opponent. The Mandalorian leader smirked as he thought of how quickly the war would end with Revan's death, though part of him regretted killing such a worthy opponent another was thrilled at the idea of defeating him. "Commander!" an anxious Republic soldier shouted as he ran into the small Republic encampment on Yavin IV. Revan looked up, nodding to the young soldier as he brushed dust away from his robes. "Yes Corporal?" the former Jedi asked as he adjusted the focusing lens of his newly constructed lightsaber. The azure crystal gleamed brightly in its casing and Revan quickly snapped the pieces together, preparing to assemble a second lightsaber. "We've finished our patrols and the men are rejoining the fleet." Revan nodded as he quickly and expertly assembled his second lightsaber, placing a ruby red crystal in the hilt and sliding the mechanism into the saber's hilt. "Very good." Revan looked up to the young man sadly. "You should leave as well." The young Corporal frowned as he looked around the encampment. "But sir there are no others here," the Corporal trailed off as Revan tilted his head. "Are you implying that I cannot defend myself?" Revan snarled. The Corporal backed away and shook his head. Revan nodded. "There's a fighter on the third landing pad, I will be taking the transport," Revan added as the Corporal saluted and scurried away. The fighter soon blasted away and Revan sighed, checking his newly assembled lightsabers and rubbing his hooded head in thought. "I wonder how long I will have to wait." Revan's eyes scanned the small encampment in irritation. Luckily this wouldn't be a costly trap for the Mandalorians but he did dread being tortured once more by them. The young former Jedi stretched in his armor and checked the small shield that lay strapped to his bicep. The former Jedi smirked as he began typing false reports on a datapad about the border world's adequacy as a hidden base, making certain to mention the fleet's secret base on Malachor V. Revan chuckled as he shook his head. The datapad would not be convincing, but since the Mandalorians had never discovered his men were attacking from Taris and that he would be found along with the datapad, he suspected the Mandalorians would fall for the trap. Yyp had told him he needed three days to complete preparations on the Mass Shadow Device and his fleet would be assembled in full force over Taris within another day of that. Revan nodded silently to himself as he made his way to his transport, purposely damaging several key components to the ship's drive and takeoff repulsors. The former Jedi made certain his sabotage was not so obvious before pulling a hydrospanner and hastily patching the damage. Revan chuckled, rising from the floor and walking back to the small encampment, making certain that the base's computer core was wiped before sticking his lightsaber into the device. Revan chastised himself, searching the base to make certain his plan would not be too believable. Just enough that Mandalore would not suspect a trap. It would make sense that Revan would choose Malachor V for his headquarters. The Mandalorian's paranoia of the rocky world was well known and Revan suspected Mandalore would be most displeased when he learned of the location. Revan activated several construction droids, making certain that they began building perimeter defenses and a sensor perimeter before heading to the base's command area and leaving a notice for the base's next commander that the droids were set to automatic. The former Jedi slowly paced the office, making certain the base's long range scanners were conveniently malfunctioning. "I think this is a little too obvious," Revan groaned as a beep sounded from the scanner console. Revan walked to the device as a Mandalorian scout ship appeared, nodding to himself as he rushed to the hangar to repair his damaged transport. An hour of waiting brought the Mandalorians. Revan rushed from his transport and retreated into the base, heading for the command center to send out a false distress signal before he leapt to one of the rooftops and waited. A dozen Mandalorians came into view, their weapons raised as they looked over the base. Revan levitated himself with the Force and landed softly before them, smirking beneath his mask as he bowed his head. Several blaster shots came towards him and reflected harmlessly from his energy shield as the Republic Commander raised both his hands, sending six of the Mandalorians flying into the air. The remaining six watched in awe and horror as their friends were thrown upward by Revan's power, vanishing from their sight. Two lightsabers flew from Revan's robes and to his hands as the azure and crimson beams ignited, signaling the beginning of the battle. Revan rushed a Mandalorian, slicing through his blaster rifle and continuing through the man's body as he deflected several shots back to two other armored warriors. Revan leapt over a hail of blasterfire and dropped onto the shoulders of one of the three remaining Mandalorians, driving his azure beam straight through the man's head and into his spine. Revan leapt from the fallen warrior's shoulders and spun through the air as he brought his crimson saber through another Mandalorian's helmet. The final Mandalorian threw away his blaster, only to find his lower body and vibroblade on the ground and his torso following before darkness took him. Revan's head snapped to an approaching blaster bolt and his azure saber flicked the offending blast into the distance as a scream sounded from the attacker. The Jedi broke into a sprint, using the Force to propel his body upwards. Three years of war had hardened the once skillful Knight into a tool of death. Dropping to the ground, Revan used the Force to speed up his movements as he cut his way through dozens of armored Mandalorians. "Where is he?" a Mandalorian commander bellowed as he grabbed a younger officer by his breastplate. The younger Mandalorian simply stared blankly at his commander as a lightsaber cut its way through the dropship's bulkhead. Revan rose slowly from the hole, allowing his shield to deflect the blaster bolts away from him. His boots hit the floor with a thud as he calmed his breathing. He estimated that he had killed somewhere around a hundred Mandalorians in nearly two hours of fighting. The Mandalorian commander motioned to another Mandalorian and Revan watched as a forcefield activated around him. "Activate the gas vents," the Mandalorian shouted to his security officer as he watched Revan tap the field with one of his lightsabers. Sighing, Revan took a deep breath and attached his lightsabers to his belt, seating himself on the floor and crossing his legs as he slowly levitated and a barely visible blue field surrounded him. The sound of metal twisting alerted the Mandalorians that their plan had not worked. The forcefield collapsed, sending the poisonous gas flowing through the bridge, though the Mandalorians were unaffected within their armor. "Activate the stun pulse," the Mandalorian shouted as Revan stood and walked towards him. Revan's left arm raised as the commander was thrown across the bridge and into the dropship's command console. The console exploded in a flash of electricity as the deadly energy coursed through the commander. Revan quickly sidestepped a thrust from a Mandalorian warrior, allowing the warrior's momentum to take him to the ground. Revan brought his knee into the back of the Mandalorian's neck, breaking it instantly as he pulled his azure saber and deflected the blasterfire away from his failing shield unit. A heavy hum vibrated through the bridge of the vessel and Revan frowned as a bright blue light filled the room, sending all the Mandalorians to the ground. "Sithspit," Revan cursed as numbness threatened him. The Jedi looked around quickly for the control console, only to have another stun pulse tear through the bridge and bring him to his knees. Revan quickly pulled his false datapad from his cloak and code-locked it before another pule sent him into darkness.
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