Revan's Shadow: Chapter Nineteen (the saga continues)

The story so far:

Once upon a time, a scout called Obtena woke in a bunkroom on a ship that was bouncing about far more than it should. Brief skirmishes with invading Sith soldiers were followed by a trip in an escape pod to a planet called Taris with Carth the paranoid pilot, who only uses the trimming attachment on his electric shaver. Obtena found all this to be a bit of a surprise, because she could remember little from before the Republic pressed her into service in the first place.

An adventure or three later, she had gathered a diverse group of people, escaped Taris as the Sith bombed its surface to dust, been given a crash course in using the Force on Dantooine, and was tasked with the responsibility of saving the galaxy. All of this was also quite surprising.

What was even more surprising was the development of a Force bond between Obtena and her fellow padawan Bastila, which has recently grown to include regular telepathic conversation. Bastila, often referred to as a "Jedi princess" by her companions due to her demeanour rather than her appearance, has been downright astonished by Obtena's apparently genuine feelings towards her. This is in part due to the sheltered lifestyle of a Jedi in training, but also because Obtena simply ran with it instead of suppressing her emotions like Bastila thinks a good Jedi should.

All of this is currently trumped, however, by the discovery of a grumpy old man in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, homeworld of the Wookiees, whom are currently being enslaved by the morally ambiguous Czerka Corporation. Since this self-proclaimed 'grey Jedi' has been down here for so long by choice, surprise is no longer sufficient, and the group is forced to resort to complete and total bewilderment.

*

"What happened to your Jedi uniform, old man?" Canderous asked as they walked, in a surprisng display of curiousity.

"Hm? I stopped wearing it, of course," Jolee responded as he pulled on a dirty, threadbare brown robe over his equally tatty off-white tunic and trousers. Obtena took a moment to examine the thing. Unlike typical Jedi garb, it reached almost to the ground and had wide sleeves, in which the old man now folded his arms. A loose hood also hung down the robe's back. Obtena found she preferred it to the traditional Jedi robes with their pointless shoulderpads. "No point wearing the outfit if you're not in the club, now, is there?" Jolee continued. "What about you? Shouldn't you be wearing Mandalorian armour?"

"What do you know about Mandalorian armour?" Canderous scoffed.

"That you tend to wear it like a second skin, and never take your helmet off to let your enemies see your true face... though with your looks, I'd say half the work is done before you pull the trigger. I take it your war on the Republic ended badly."

"You don't know?" Carth asked, predictably suspicious.

"How would I? I've been down here for a long time, you know. The only news I get from beyond Kashyyyk, I get from the few Wookiees brave enough to come down this far; and they get that news from the slavers, hmph."

"How about it, Canderous?" Obtena piped up. "Why don't you tell us about the war."

Canderous nodded curtly and organised his thoughts. "We fought against the Republic forces for some time, over the course of many battles," he began. "At the time they were not much of a threat, but once the Jedi Revan took charge, things began to turn against us. The Republic began to use more than basic tactics: feints, counterattacks, mass deceptions. Revan was a genius on the battlefield. He abandoned whole worlds so that others would be too fortified to strike, made sacrifices in order to achieve goals. In the end, he proved too much for us."

"He?" Juhani interrupted. "I understood that Revan was a woman."

"I suppose you'd know better than I would," Canderous admitted with a shrug. "To most of us he or she was simply the Jedi Revan. And like us, she never let her enemies see her true face. I suppose being a woman would explain her extraordinary cunning, though," he added with a grin aimed at the Cathar. Juhani refused to respond.

"So you don't mind being beaten by a woman?" Carth asked skeptically.

"Of course not. Gender is of no importance on the battlefield, only skill and honour."

"The Mandalorians are a male-dominated society only in numbers," Jolee elaborated. "I think there was one woman for every fifty men. As I understand it, they kept themselves quite pleasantly occupied when they weren't fighting shoulder to shoulder with their brothers in arms, heheh. I imagine the mating rites killed quite a few warriors that had acquitted themselves on the battlefield..."

Bastila, trying to keep the astonishment out of her voice, raised an eyebrow. "Mating rites, fatal?"

"Let's just say Mandalorian women don't go easy on the men that fail to defeat them," Jolee chuckled.

"We don't speak of such things to outsiders," Canderous said harshly, frowning at the old man.

"What about the Sith?" Obtena asked, eager to get back to the story.

"They had retreated into their empire, sealed themselves off from the rest of the galaxy. We thought it would be centuries before they'd come back. It's amazing that they could rebuild their fleet so fast... but at the time, it looked like the galaxy was in our grasp. I still remember that final battle above Malachor V, the two fleets filling the space around it, outshining the stars..." The Mandalorian's voice trailed off, his eyes seeing another time and place. Obtena noticed a similiar expression on Carth's face; his memory of Malachor V was obviously far more troubled.

"What happened in the battle?" Bastila asked, keeping a worried eye on Obtena.

Canderous answered her directly. "It was not your ships, or your men, or your vaunted 'fight for freedom' that won the war. It was the actions of one person, Revan, that you prevailed. Her strategies and tactics defeated the best of us. Even Mandalore himself was taken aback by the ferocity of her attacks, the tenacity of her defences, the subtlety of her plans. We really didn't stand a chance."

"But you didn't retreat, did you?" Jolee assumed.

"It was what we had wanted all along, in a way; to fight the best in a battle that would be remembered for centuries. And we did. And Revan won. I don't hold a grudge against her, and neither do any of my people. It was the greatest moment of my life to be in that battle. If Revan had been a Mandalorian, nothing in the galaxy would have stopped us." A shadow grew over Canderous' proud face, and he sobered. "But wishing for the past to be different is useless."

"Learn from the past, look to the future," Obtena said.

"Is that a Jedi phrase?"

"Haven't the faintest."

"No," Bastila told them, "Perhaps it's from Deralia, Obtena's homeworld."

"Perhaps," Obtena considered.

The whole group fell into a contemplative silence as they continued on their way, and none more so than Canderous. It was clear to Obtena that he had realised how much he had truly lost since their defeat. That was why he wished things had turned out different, despite his Mandalorian assertions. His way of life was in its death throes, and he knew it. Obtena wondered what, if anything, he planned to do about it. Perhaps the cowardly actions of the raiders Carth had told her about on Dantooine had made him decide to give up on his people altogether; but then what did that say of a man who had lowered himself to be muscle for a criminal overlord like Davik Kang on Taris?

"So, the Sith were behind the Mandalorian wars, were they?" Jolee said, breaking the silence. "It's to be expected, after the defeat of Exar Kun, I suppose. They never could lose gracefully."

"And you know nothing of our current fight with the Sith, of course," Carth grumbled. Obtena aimed a frown at him; he wasn't being very nice, despite the fact that Jolee was leading them to the starmap. Probably thinks he's lying, got some trick up his sleeve, she imagined.

"Another one, no. The timing's more surprising than anything," Jolee answered, "But it's what they're for, isn't it. Opposing the Jedi and the Republic, I mean. Every dozen millenia or so, the pendulum swings from one side to the other. Maybe it's time for the Sith to take over for a while."

"But you are a good person, Jolee Bindo," Juhani affirmed. "Surely you do not want to see the Republic fall."

"Oh, don't get me wrong; I know everyone will be worse off if the Sith win, and I'll do what I can to stop them. But there will come a time when nothing anyone can do will stop it, and we may be looking at it now. So you tell me, young man," Jolee said to Carth, "How did this new Sith war start?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"You've got 'Republic soldier' written all over you, that's what."

"He's a pilot, actually... and one of the Republic's finest heroes, too," Bastila added. Jolee's expression turned skeptical as he took a closer look at the unshaven man.

"Can't imagine why," he decided with a grin. "Did you fight in the war against the Mandalorians? Alongside Revan?"

"Well... with, more than alongside. I only saw Revan personally once, during the entire war. And I wasn't made a captain until I returned home after the battle of Malachor V."

"Then we did face each other in battle," Canderous told him. "Which ship were you on?"

"It doesn't matter, Canderous," Carth replied with an irritated sigh. "After the final battle, there wasn't much left intact of the Republic fleet. The spaceworthy ships and crew, Revan took with her on that damn crusade to find the 'true threat' the Jedi masters kept going on about as they sat safely locked away in their temples and academies. The rest of us, wounded mostly, cannibalized some of the damaged ships to fix up the others and limped home.

"When Revan returned, it was as the Lord of the Sith. They had taken the planets outside Republic space that had been decimated by the Mandalorians, before sending in... spies, I suppose." Carth's frown deepened and hatred crept into his voice. "People that had been loyal to the Republic, and then betrayed it for Darth Revan. They struck across the Republic words on the outer rim simultaneously, using ships and technology we'd never seen before. They've been heading coreward ever since."

"So Revan and all the Jedi who followed her fell to the dark side," Jolee mumbled as if to himself. "Curious... and a terrible shame. I suppose she used the loyalty gained during the fight against the Mandalorians to no good. Well, I suppose one has to admit she's been very clever about the whole thing. And now you're retracing her steps to find the source of that new technology and stop the Sith, before the Republic, already weakened by the Mandalorians, is forced to capitulate." He cleared his throat. "So you're the Republic's last hope? Maybe they should surrender now."

"Shut up, old man," Obtena told him. Jolee grumbled quietly in response, but the others noticed the wide grin framed by his beard as he did so.

As they walked on, they came across corpses, both wookiee and human. Jolee waited just long enough for the others to examine them and take anything of interest, intent on not getting directly involved to the point that he would give no direct answer to their questions. It wasn't until they had finally reached a force field erected by Czerka personnel that he volunteered information, explaining that there were more of them around the place, yet were completely ineffectual against anything that could climb the surrounding trees. This meant only the heaviest quadrupeds were barred from other parts of the Shadowlands.

After a little tinkering, the old greybeard managed to deactivate the force field long enough for them to pass to the other side.

It was almost impossible to tell, but they seemed to be heading downhill as they walked on. The darkness became even more oppressive, and the sound of the wildlife harsher. There was no sign of the simian tachs here, despite their common appearance earlier; Obtena imagined that this part of the Shadowlands was the territory of larger, more dangerous creatures.

It is more than the lack of sunlight, Bastila's voice echoed in her mind. The dark side of the Force grows stronger as we approach. The starmaps we have already found were in barren places with little life. This is very much the opposite, and the Force is a part of all living things. The starmap here on Kashyyyk has had far more opportunity to corrupt its surroundings.

As if in response to Bastila's thoughts, Obtena suddenly became aware of a violent confrontation ahead. Wookiee voices cried out in anger and pain amidst the melee. "That's no hunt," Canderous exclaimed, "That's blade clashing against blade!" He charged forward towards the battle without further thought. Obtena shrugged as others raised voices of caution, and followed in his wake. The rest were left with little choice but to do the same.

They reached what first appeared to be a natural clearing, and Obtena looked about herself in surprise. The bases of the treetrunks were scorched and blackened, but the ground foliage had regrown since the burning. Ahead of her, Canderous apparently paid no heed to these details as he surged toward the battle. A slight commotion to her left drew her attention upward, and she caught a glimpse of Juhani leaping from treetrunk to treetrunk with barely a pause. Obtena glanced to the other side and wondered if she could do the same, but decided now was not the best time to experiment. She envied the Cathar's ability - and claws - as she hurried after the Mandalorian.

As it turned out, he wasn't the only one of his kind present. Canderous had paused when Obtena reached him, and she looked on the scene before them for herself. There were three Mandalorians in full armour, but only one of them was in combat with a Wookiee. Both were using melee weapons, a simple - though elaborately decorated - blade against a vibrosword. The other two Mandalorians were watching the fight, but Obtena noticed the bodies of two more Wookiees in the ground. The last one was bleeding heavily and would probably fall any second.

She glanced up at Canderous and was about to ask what was going on, when his frown changed from one of mere observance to a grimace of recognition and contempt. Crying out in Mandalorian, he levelled his heavy repeater at his own kin and pulled the trigger. The nearest barely had time to turn towards them before falling under the hail of fire. The Wookiee collapsed as his opponent was distracted from their duel. Both remaining Mandalorians dove behind the larger of the two swoop bikes behind them; the questionable cover of a vehicle hovering a couple of feet off the ground proved secondary a moment later as blaster fire erupted from behind it.

Obtena's left arm whipped up, lightsaber already in hand and igniting, as a few of those blaster bolts came her way. Hearing the rest of the group approach, she gestured for them to hold back a moment. "Canderous," she yelled over the staccato noise of the firefight, "It's your call."

Ignoring the hits that burned into his armour, he replied with a growl that was nonetheless clearly heard, "They're scum. Take them out." Waving the others forward, Obtena began to charge towards the vehicles. She didn't even have to question if Bastila was right behind her. Igniting her second lightsaber, she made quite a display of deflecting the Mandalorians' fire, drawing their attention. As soon as they approached Canderous' line of fire he paused in his attack, and one of the enemy took the opportunity to spring across to the smaller swoop as his compatriot covered him. The smaller vehicle became the new target for both Canderous and Carth as they spread out, attempting to out-manouver the Mandalorian in a crossfire as they had just attempted to do against the approaching Jedi.

On a mental signal from Obtena, Bastila leapt up from behind her, somersaulting over the larger swoop, only igniting one end of her lightsaber as she came down behind the Mandalorian. He had indeed been to focused on Obtena's display, and reacted too late. With a downward and horizontal sweep, Bastila used both their momentum - hers falling, his turning - to slice through both his forearms. To his credit, despite his cry of pain and rage, he reacted immediately with a roundhouse kick that caught Bastila in the stomach before she had fully recovered from her jump. She fell painfully on her side, but maintained her grip on her weapon. Her focus shifted beyond the shining yellow blade to what lay beyond: the other Mandalorian, still behind the smaller swoop, now had a clear and unfettered shot at her. Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she rolled onto her back to minimize herself as a target, only to see her behanded enemy raising an armoured boot with the intention of crushing her skull before he perished.

She had heard that in moments such as these, one's life would flash before their eyes. Instead of her own, however, she almost caught a glimpse of Revan's. This was the nature of the foe that Jedi Revan had faced in all-out war. She'd heard Canderous' words recited by Obtena, but she had never really believed it until now. It truly did not matter to them that they would not survive the fight. All that mattered was that they died in a good fight. Even in defeat, they were getting exactly what they wanted.

A blaster bolt passed before her eyes, perhaps inches away from her face, she couldn't tell. More followed in quick succession, so she must have missed it when Obtena cut through the closer Mandalorian's waist. The boot never came back down, legs falling backward instead as the torso above tumbled down over it to land at Bastila's feet.

It took her a moment to register the sudden quiet that followed, and she looked back to the remaining Mandalorian. He was on his knees, Juhani's blue blade protruding down from the back of his neck through his throat. The body fell on its face and the Cathar deactivated her lightsaber as she walked over.

"Thank you," Bastila told her as she and Obtena took an arm each and hoisted her back to her feet.

"Don't thank her," Obtena interrupted with a smirk. "She was slow. You should be scolding her for letting that guy get a few shots off first."

"It's the intent that matters, Obtena."

"I just think you'd be singing a different tune if your nose had been burnt off."

"Perhaps you think you could do better?" Juhani asked Obtena light-heartedly.

"I'm willing to try, if we can get Carth to shoot at Bastila some more."

The Cathar considered this. "It shouldn't be hard for you to persuade him."

"Excuse me?" Bastila asked.

"Oh, I apologise... I meant that Obtena could convince Carth to do almost anything. I was not inferring that he would have any reason to shoot you."

"Absolutely," Obtena joined in, "It has nothing whatsoever to do with conflicting personalities or murderous rages at all."

Bastila looked at her levelly with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were the one intent on murdering me," she said with a sarcastically sweet smile, and prodded Obtena's memory of the moment she realised her feelings for Bastila. She was rewarded when Obtena actually blushed a little.

"Yes, well..." Obtena managed to get out before Carth called to them. The remaining Wookiee was still alive. Bastila assumed her typically haughty demeanour as she walked over, obviously pleased with herself.

"Are you alright?" Juhani asked Obtena.

"Yes, fine. It's just..." Obtena nodded at Bastila with a sigh, "First Canderous, now me... our little girl's growing up."