Star Wars: Combat Evolved
Mandalorian War Stories
It was years after the civil war ravaged the academy on Korriban that it was made livable again. Not entirely livable, for a planet such as Korriban can never truly be inhabited for long periods. The ghosts of the past, however, wasn't the most unnerving or macabre blemish on the planet's reputation, as I discovered myself whilst exploring the ruins of what was clearly meant to be an archeological dig site. I've explored these ruins for quite a while now and was content to find the odd blaster component or pieces of droids. What I found on that day, however, was completely unexpected. I was gazing upon the tomb of one of the ancient Sith lords when I saw an odd mark, almost totally hidden from site. Upon inspection, I found that this hieroglyph was part of a much larger work. I managed to force my way into the tomb and could barely make out the entire thing. I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but it was different. It didn't seem to have accumulated nearly as much dust as the other hieroglyphs, and it also didn't seem to fit. It seemed almost as if it were there by mistake.
I ran to get my older brother who had more experience with alien life in our galaxy, yet he was just as dumbfounded by the markings as I. The marks were large, and depicted some sort of hierarchy made up of bipedal alien species I haven't yet seen in my travels. Along with these creatures were what looked like planets, but which planets or moons they were was a complete mystery. I recorded my findings on my datapad and left the planet, determined to see if I could find any information on these creatures. I had no idea where to go, so I flipped a coin, heads Nar Shadda, Tails Telos. The coin showed me a face and I set the proper coordinates. Hyperspace travel, though slow at times, does give one to think and to reflect. I looked upon the picture stored on my datapad at this alien hierarchy. At the far right end, looking tallest was what looked like a cross between droid and organic. The drawings were crude but clearly depicted that this creature looked somewhat like an Ithorian mixed with a rather large remote. Next to this creature stood an almost equally tall organic. This bipedal creature looked humanoid enough, except for the fact that it's chin looked split, rather like a quarren, only the tentacles didn't hang low, but almost formed a mouth and jaw. Next to that, was what looked like a large droid, or perhaps an organic in armor. I have never seen armor like this, it was comprised of many plates and spines. This biped was also carrying a sort of shield in one hand, yet the other hand looked hollow. Rather like a cannon. The next creature in the line-up, was what looked like a bipedal reptile. It had an elongated head and large eyes. It looked like it was holding a transparent shield. Next to this creature was what looked like a standard human sized fly. It had several arm/ legs and large wings. At the end of the line was a small biped or perhaps a quadruped with an odd half-cone outcropping on it's back.
I studied these figures until I reached the bright lights and acrid stench of the Nar Shadda refugee sector. Having a grandfather who fought in the Mandalorian wars had certain benefits; like knowing people who would be willing to give information for free. On Nar Shadda, that kind of privilege is normally reserved for members of the exchange. I found an unclaimed landing pad and within minutes was making my was to the refugee quad. At one point in time, this area was occupied by refugees of Serreco, the Exchange, and a large group of refugees who could have been from anywhere. One day however, the exchange and Serreco just seemed to have vanished.
Ever since the Mandalorian Wars ended, the Mandalorian race seemed to struggle just to cling to it's faded existence. One Mandalorian, from Clan Ordo, tried uniting the scattered and broken warriors, and despite early successes, he ended up failing. The title of Mandalore, which he claimed for himself, was cruelly taken from him by a younger Mandalorian from Clan Fett. The old Mandalore, who escaped death, escaped to Nar Shadda, where he reamains old and broken. The only thing keeping him alive are the stims he has been using yet the thought of ending his life is always flitting through his old mind. His time of glory long gone. This is the man who may be able to answer my questions.
As I walk through the Refugee quad, I am met by a stench almost as horrid as the scene. The weak and poor dying on the ground at my feet as the tired cling to the waking world. Nar Shadda has always been a bleak place but it seemed to have gotten worse in the past few decades. I marched purposefully past the refugees of wars which ended long ago, ignoring their pleas for help or credits. I march to the very heart of this hell hole where an ancient looking man sits upon an old plasteel container as though it were a throne. In this world of the poor and dying, the man who retains a sense of self is king.
"Canderous" I greet him as though we had seen each other yesterday as opposed to several years ago.
"The last time I saw you...you wanted something...now you return to me...leave me and take your request Enma...I am not who I once was...I am not in any position to give help or credits or spice to someone I don't even care for" The broken Mandalorian spoke in a slow voice, taking deep rasping breathes after every few words. After he finished speaking he mearly glared at me, waiting for me to make my request.
"Canderous, when was the last time you were on Korriban?" He sat upon that old container in silence for nearly a full minute before he drew a loud rasping breath and replied
"I was there with someone whose bloodlust was insatiable...I was there with someone who wanted revenge for a crime he could barely remember...I was there also...with one who wanted to save the galaxy...but was consumed...by the shadows...cast by the ghosts of...her own past...I haven't returned to that world...since she fell" Canderous and I looked at one another for a moment before I drew my datapad from an inside pocket of my cloak and handed it to him
"Canderous," I said, "Tell me if these creatures look familiar to you." Canderous looked at the picture that I feared would burn itself onto the screen of my datapad. He examined the picture for a very long time, his breathing becoming heavier, faster. It sounded as though he were having an asthma attack. He thrust the datapad back at me and continued wheezing as he tried to speak
"Can't be...not...here...no...not...again...not...them" I was dumbfounded. Mandalorians don't normally lose control like that.
"What are they Canderous? What am I looking at?" I watched him as he continued breathing heavily, clutching at his chest as he tried speaking. After a minute or two, he had finally regained his breath.
"There are few things in the galaxy that a Mandalorian fears," Canderous began. There was something in his voice that I hadn't heard in many years. An alert sort of urgency. He spoke clearly and didn't seem to need to draw excess breaths between every few words. "When I first encountered them, I was chasing down some pirates with a small platoon, ya know, having a bit of fun. The pirates decided to hide behind a frozen asteroid which is a really stupid idea. We blasted the supposed asteroid, but once the ice had melted, something unexpected happened. The supposed asteroid began spinning at a high rate and sprayed everything with something that melted our armor like wax. Needless to say, those pirates were done for. Before we could pull ourselves together for a retaliatory strike, it had left on a path to the forbidden zone, to uncharted space. We decided to let it go that day but we regretted it soon after. "
I was listening intently to the aged warrior, deeply impressed by what may have just been the ramblings of a broken old man desperate for attention. He continued
"It was during the battle of Serreco that they turned up. Our Basalisk war droids rained to the surface of Serreco like meteors, blasting everything we could get into our sites, but then something huge appeared on our tracking systems. It was nothing we had ever seen before. It resembled the Leviathans used by the Sith during the Jedi Civil War but these vessels were much larger. I lost count of how many came, but it didn't matter. We received a message from a ship called, The Regret Carrier, saying that we were just a test to calibrate their new weapon systems. We forgot ourselves, the Serreco were barely putting up any resistence and we were hoping the Republic had finally come to give us the battle we so desired, but something was wrong. These ships used weapons we have never seen before. The smaller ships and personal crafts were also so completely alien to us, we realized that we were facing something completely different. We redirected our Basilisks to attack their capital ships but their shield systems were far more advanced then we could have possibly guessed. I don't think my men so much as scratched one. The smaller ships were destroyed, though not easily. The only ships that seemed to fall fast under our firepower were the personal crafts, yet they were swift and more maneuverable then most of the ships we had yet encountered. We pounded and pounded their ships but their numbers seemed limitless. A group of about a dozen Basalisks managed to break through the shield of one of the ships. I managed to follow them into the ship. We were planning to plant bombs at strategic points on the ships interior, but it didn't work out like that. We managed to cloak ourselves and our Basilisks. I was charged with standing guard over the Basilisks with three others while the majority of the group broke off to plant out explosives. I was watching their movements on a helmet camera. The creatures aboard that ship were among the ugliest creatures I have ever seen. Small creatures with cone-shaped air tanks on their banks, larger creatures with long reptilian heads and other reptilian features. The were ugly. I thought the plan was working out fine until I heard some horrible grunting noise which must have been their native tongue. Next thing I know, one of the men are down in a pool of their own blood and a hoof appears. They too were using stealth, it seemed, yet they could see through ours. I tried sending word to the others, but it was no good. More of these creatures appeared, taller then most humans by about a head or two, wielding some sort of energy sword..."
"Jedi!" I couldn't help myself. I knew the Jedi had come into the war at some point. Canderous glared at me before continuing.
"No, not Jedi. I told you, they were an alien species the likes of which I had never seen before. They used energy swords but NOT lightsabers. Their swords were much larger then a lightsaber. Besides, these things made the Sith look like Jedi councilors. They appeared on every screen, and slew my fellows one by one in cold blood. When all of them were gone, I looked up to find that there were at least a half dozen of them surrounding me and those who had stayed behind with the Basilisks. I tried using my repeating blaster on one of them, but it glowed an eerie blue light, and didn't seem to take any damage. It even chuckled. It made to swing that blade at me but I jumped on the nearest Basilisk and flew out of there. I didn't abandon my brothers, for I turned around and fired upon the hanger before completely escaping that ship. I saw two other Basilisks escape but it was no good. We knew to survive, we had to swallow our pride and flee. It was difficult though, they had surrounded the entire planet. The basilisks were too small to be seen on their sensors, which is probably why I was able to live through that horrible battle. I flew as far away as I could but stayed close enough to watch as their ships blasted the surface of Serreco. When they were done, the had reduced it's surface to glass. Our major carriers were destroyed. Our forces were dealt a heavy blow that day but we survived to fight in other battles. The interlopers obviously thought they had just glassed our own home world, for they left after they destroyed the planet. The republic believed that the planets destruction was caused by us. They would have been right had those...things...not interfered. I had never seen ships or creatures like that before. I doubt I'll ever see them again, and I pity any who do have to encounter those creatures."
I sat in stunned silence for a moment before I spoke up. "That doesn't answer my question though. How come these hieroglyphs were found on Korriban!? I'm sure someone would have noticed if they had gone there!"
Canderous was silent for a moment, but didn't fail to answer, "That was a great tragedy which few would believe. Imagine living through something like that! I don't think many of it's survivors were the same mentally. The hieroglyphs could have been made by either an insane survivor, or..." Canderous broke off for a moment, thinking to himself "Their stealth technology is great. They could have visited other worlds in secret but I doubt that after what I saw at Serreco."
I had to steel myself for what I was about to say but I said it anyway, "What if these are just drawings from a gifted youth? What if your story is just that? There is no proof to back up what you've told me and for all I know you could have just put a thousand words into this picture." Canderous almost laughed by the time I had finished.
"You're right," He said "I have no proof to back up my words. Here, take my datapad. You'll see just how much proof there is. Now get out of my home! Get away from me and let me die in silence!" At that, I left, for he had reached to what looked like a blaster pistol sticking out of the back of his belt. I hastened to leave, knowing that Mandalorians, no matter how old, are still Mandalorians.
It wasn't until I was back in my ship and back en route to Korriban that I looked at Canderous's datapad. I searched through his files until I found an untitled photo folder. I opened this folder and nearly jumped out of my seat. I saw the alien capital ships. I saw the aliens themselves. I saw the carrier ships. I saw the personal assault ships. I saw the devistation they brought. I saw the entire planet of Serreco razed until it was a molten ball of glass. Then I saw nothing. I had seen all I needed to see. I didn't know how to think or how to feel. I stashed the old datapad and never mentioned it again. I never mentioned the aliens or the hieroglyphs. I never mentioned anything. I barely spoke for the longest time. I acted as though all was well, yet as I gazed up at the night sky I couldn't help shivering a little bit. I had never forgotten the images I had seen. Those images had scared me in ways I couldn't possibly describe. To fear something that may not happen, it seemed preposterous, yet I never lost that fear. I knew that somewhere in the infinate void of space, creatures of a horrible power were lurking. Whether they were to descend upon us in a matter of moments or had completely forgotten about us, I never knew. All I knew was the cold fear that I may one day be a victim to creatures who could have slain me in a single swipe...