This is dedicated to all those who have done battle with darkness, in whatever form, and come away whole.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Four thousand years before the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire, the Old Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, last surviving apprentice of the Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy.
Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle, and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith master.
In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination…
Dramatis Personae
Aaryn Savo - Republic smuggler (male Human)
Atton Rand (known as Jaq) - Assassin (male Human)
Bastila Shan - Jedi Knight (female Human)
Brejik - Black Vulkar leader (male Human)
Canderous Ordo - Mandalorian mercenary (male Human)
Carth Onasi - Republic commander (male Human)
Darth Bandon - Sith Apprentice (male Human)
Darth Malak (formerly Alek Squinquargesimus) - Dark Lord of the Sith (male Human cyborg)
Darth Revan - Dark Lord of the Sith (male Human)
Dorak - Jedi Master (male Human)
Fiennes Tarkin - Supreme Chancellor (male Human)
Forn Dodona - Supreme Commander of the Republic fleet (female Human)
Gadon Thek - Hidden Bek leader (male Human cyborg)
Jolee Bindo - Force-user (male Human)
HK-47 - Assassin Droid
Kavar - Jedi Master (male Human)
Mission Vao - Hidden Bek member (female Twi'lek)
Rema Lamar - HoloNet Journalist (female Human)
Saul Karath - Supreme Commander of the Sith fleet (male Human)
T3-M4 - Utility Droid
Tol Cressa - Senator (male Togruta)
Vandar Tokare - Jedi Master (male)
Vima Sunrider - Jedi Master (female Human)
Vrook Lamar - Jedi Master (male Human)
Yu'la Juhani - Jedi Knight (female Cathar)
Zaalbar - Hidden Bek member (male Wookiee)
Zhar Lestin - Jedi Master (male Twi'lek)
JEDI ENCLAVE, DANTOOINE
Seven months earlier…
"The fact of the matter is that none here can accurately know just what he is capable of!"
"Are you really so certain?"
Jedi Master Vrook Lamar was more than prepared to stand his ground on this issue with Master Vandar Tokare. He had been prepared to stand his ground months beforehand, only to find the issue had already been decided upon before his arrival at the enclave. "Bastila may well be gifted in the Force," he replied, "but her aptitude for battle meditation is not nearly strong enough to directly influence Revan!"
Vandar sighed deeply. "Master Vrook, Bastila is one of few Jedi among us who has any aptitude for battle meditation. Even Master Kreia once remarked that Bastila's skills were astounding."
"Yet the padawan has little in the way of experience commanding a strike team, let alone being a part of a major military engagement. Revan and Malak are hardened from years of battlefield experience. We cannot risk Bastila being captured and lured to the Dark Side of the Force; with her power, the Sith could potentially push the Republic's forces back and have the chancellor on his knees, begging to surrender!"
Vandar, though diminutive of stature, remained ever-firm in his arguments. "Revan and Malak are our responsibility, my friend. As such, it is our duty to see that they are unable to continue their crusade against the Republic."
"If the Republic falls, so too does the Jedi Order." Until now, Zhar Lestin had remained silent; the Twi'lek Jedi Master, as with the remainder of the council on Dantooine, often allowed Vrook and Vandar their time to debate before wading into the… slight differences of opinion. "We are not innocent of Revan and Malak's crimes."
With a deferential nod of the head, Vrook conceded the argument to his peers. He knew a lost cause when it was slapping him in the face.
Before they could continue, a beeping began to sound, and the holographic form of a middle-aged woman appeared in front of the group. Resplendent in her naval regalia, Admiral Forn Dodonna, supreme commander of the Republic Navy, was a sight to behold even over holographic communications.
"Masters," she said. She'd never been one for preamble. "I understand you've been trying to get hold of me?"
It was Vandar who answered. "Yes, Admiral Dodonna. We believe the Jedi may be of some assistance."
"Assistance, master Jedi?"
Vandar nodded affirmative. "The council has concluded that it has been too far gone into this war without taking at least some responsibility for the actions of the Sith Lords Revan and Malak. If you would permit us, we have a plan to remedy the situation."
Even over the HoloNet, the admiral's face bestowed shock - this was evidently not how she'd envisioned this particular conversation.
Bastila Shan's brunette hair seemed to glide in Dantooine's natural, gentle morning breeze. She had spent all the previous night here in the ancient grove, a site of quiet contemplation outside of the enclave, meditating in solitude.
The grove was ancient even before the Jedi Enclave had been founded, which itself had been constructed around 4 decades prior; a Krevaaki Jedi Master known as Vodo-Siosk Baas sought to build a new academy for the Jedi at a time when the Order was desperately in need of Jedi Knights. Recorded in holodiscs in the archives, it was told that Baas had found a cave system full of Kyber crystals, and thus he'd petitioned the Jedi Council of the time to construct the enclave that was seen today.
Bastila slowly closed her eyes, lowered her hands to her knees, and concentrated. After a few moments, she fell into her deeper consciousness as she began to feel the Force flowing around herself and her environment. The Force flows through me, she told herself, though all living things. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is only the Force.
Reciting the Jedi Code helped to embolden her connection to the Force. Stretching deeper still, she felt the Force sweeping her through its rivulets of energy. Around and under her, Bastila sensed the ceramic tiles lifting into the air as her telekinetic abilities were focused by the Force. Though she'd been born with an uncanny potential for psionic ability, Bastila was forces to admit that it had taken her several years on Dantooine to master her mental dexterity.
Bastila remained in meditation for several more hours; it wasn't until sunset had begun to creep in that Bastila felt the council call to her through the Force. With a sigh, the young Jedi stood and made her way back to the enclave.
Vrook, Vandar, Zhar, and her master, a human named Emiq Thop, were already sat in their respective seats in the council chambers as Bastila entered. As soon as they came into view around the corner, she spotted three blue holograms of people she had not yet met. Both were women; one dressed in simple snow-white robes, which seemed to match that of her hair and eyes. Her face, however, was all but snowy - to Bastila it seemed more frosty than most. The man wore traditional Jedi robes, with dark skin and a bald pate.
The second woman was wearing what Bastila recognised as the standard uniform of the Republic Navy
"Jedi Shan," Vrook began. To the point, as always. "May I introduce Master Atris of the High Council on Coruscant, Master Dorak - currently stationed at the conclave on Yavin Four, and Admiral Dodonna of the Republic fleet."
Bastila bowed politely to the holographic images.
Admiral Dodonna continued the conversation, her tone clipped. "We have a mission for you, Jedi Shan. The chancellor has received intelligence regarding the future plans of the Sith fleet. Revan and Malak are due to target Chandrila in one of their next campaigns."
Bastila was instantly taken aback. Chandrila was one of the Core Worlds, not far from the galactic capital. From there, it was a mere hyperspace jump down the Perlemian Trade Route to Coruscant itself. If the Sith succeeded in taking Coruscant, the war would become immensely more difficult to win. As she recovered she asked, "Do we have a plan?"
"The Republic will intercept the Sith fleet at the Ralltiir. That's where you will lead a strike team to board the Iniquitous and capture Revan and Malak."
"Bringing them into our custody could be the lynchpin in stymieing the Sith forces and ending this war," said Zhar. "The Republic is not capable of repelling a full-blown assault on Coruscant, even with the Order's help."
"The Republic is losing this war, Jedi Shan," said Dodonna. "This isn't known to the general public; the chancellor has been careful to keep the news limited to his inner council. Arkania and Esseles fell to the Sith a fortnight ago; even without this intelligence, our tactical teams were on their way to working out that Chandrila was the next target." The admiral hesitated. "And… the Republic is losing this war. We still have no idea just where Revan and Malak obtained the designs for their ships."
Bastila was well-versed in those new designs. Back before the Jedi Civil War had begun, the Republic had been at war with the Mandalorians. The Jedi Council had determined to remain neutral in the conflict. In spite of that decision, several Jedi had taken it upon themselves to run into the fray and push the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders back into their own territory. Led by Revan and his best friend Malak - who had both spent time at the enclave here on Dantooine - the so-called Revanchists led the Republic war effort and did, in fact, turn the tide in the Republic's favour.
After the climactic Battle of Malachor V, however, Revan and his followers, including members of the Republic forces, simply disappeared. There were some that had attempted to pursue; when Revan's fleet left the known hyperspace routes and entered Unknown Space, though, the pursuers turned back, fearful of becoming forever lost, or falling into a black hole.
The Republic wasn't left wondering about the fleet's whereabouts for long.
Revan and Malak returned, with a fleet of Star Destroyers unlike anything the Republic or Jedi had faced previously. Granted, the new fleet was bolstered by the ancient Derriphan-class battleship, as well as the more recent Centurion-class cruiser of the Mandalorian Wars, but the bulk was made up of thousands of brand-new Interdictor-class destroyers - designs that had had been only in the prototype stage of development at Republic Sienar Systems. These new ships were capable of dragging a ship out of hyperspace, thanks to the gravity well projectors utilised in the Star Destroyers' design.
Thanks to good, old-fashioned politicking, when Dodonna said that the Republic had no knowledge where the blueprints originated… in actuality she was keeping up the pretence for the sake of any would-be eavesdroppers.
"Master Jedi," continued Dodonna. "Select a strike team and meet me at the Garqi system in thirty-seven hours. May the Force be with you."
REPUBLIC CRUISER INDOMITABLE
The trip from Dantooine to Elsho, the third planet in the Garqi system, took a mere two and a half standard hours. It had been thirty hours since Dodonna had signed off on her communication to the enclave, and Bastila had brought along thirty-five other Jedi, all handpicked by Masters Vrook and Atris. It was here that they would rendezvous with the main Republic task force, led by Admiral Dodonna herself.
The Garqi system itself was home to a population of approximately one hundred thousand colonists. Located just off the Entralla Route, the system was rich in minerals, and the colonists had insisted on farming the rich land on Garqi.
The Jedi strike team docked with Dodonna's ships after the admiral jumped out of hyperspace, only to jump straight back out again, and toward the system the Republic had set its trap.
The green and blue globe of Ralltiir zoomed into focus as the fleet slowed to sublight speed. Famed for the Obohn Gallery of the Industrial Aesthetic, the planet held a population of around five and a half billion.
Dodonna ordered the fleet to split up and conceal itself behind the outermost of Raaltiir's twenty-eight natural satellites as Lieutenant Hobii, the Indomitable's helmsman and navigator, tracked the power signatures of the Sith fleet nearing their position. "Contact the fleet," ordered Dodonna, "have them cut their power by another five per cent."
"Aye, ma'am," replied the Duros comms officer, Ensign Tique.
And that was how the fleet remained. Minutes passed quietly; the bridge lighting was kept subdued, and the officers, Bastila noticed, held their nerve in anticipation of the coming battle.
A beeping sound broke the silence.
"Admiral!" shouted Hobii. "Incoming hostiles! ETA: thirty seconds."
The admiral triggered a switch on the nearby console. "Admiral Dodonna to the fleet. Prepare to launch Fighter Groups Aurek through Qek. Capital ships, prepare to encircle the enemy fleet as it drops out of hyperspace." She turned to Bastila. "If you're planning on using that battle meditation of yours, it'd better be now."
"I'll be in my fighter," Bastila said as she sprinted off the bridge. Battle meditation, as the Jedi called it, was an ancient technique requiring the user to concentrate deeply within the Force in an effort to rally allied forces, whilst concurrently disheartening the opposing forces. The ability itself had been used by many hundreds of Jedi and Sith during the many conflicts the pair had shared in the last several hundred years. By far the most powerful Jedi accomplished in battle meditation was Master Arca Jeth, who had fought in the Great Hyperspace Wars almost thirty years previously.
The doors closed behind her.
"Ten seconds!" noted Hobii.
Dodonna took up her stationary position at the bridge's fore, just behind the lieutenant. "Charge all weapons; raise shields."
She braced herself for the coming onslaught.
The Indomitable had already begun to pitch from port to starboard under Sith disruptor fire before Bastila entered the main hanger. Her personal fighter was set down in the far left-hand corner of the bay, next Dodonna's personal shuttle. An explosion behind her made Bastila turn and watch as an engineer was sent careering through the air, only to land head-first on to a T3-series utility droid. The man remained unconscious.
The Sith flagship, the Iniquitous, loomed silent and deadly through the hanger's force field as Bastila climbed into the cockpit of her fighter and thumbed the throttle. A moment later, Bastila sent her fighter flying out of the hanger, and she aimed her ship at the Iniquitous at full throttle. Disruptor fire from the Star Destroyers and the hordes of Sith interceptors were drawn away from her as Republic forces engaged the enemy. Silent explosions all around her, death-screams on her comm system, Bastila expertly piloted her fighter closer and closer to the Iniquitous. She keyed-in her personal comm-sequence as she performed a full-axis rotation to port, allowing her ventral shields to soak up stray disruptor fire.
"All Jedi units, this is Commander Shan. Reroute power to your forward shields, then form up behind me."
As the strike team began to group together, Bastila's fighter took a direct hit to the port shield, almost knocking he off course. She deftly worked her flight controls, pitching the fighter to port, firing on a Sith fighter as it homed in on her squadron. Unfortunately, the interceptor belonged to a squadron of its own, and the Jedi were unequivocally dragged into a fierce dogfight.
Colonel Hiyax Meru was definitely not pleased. His squadron was taking heavy fire from the Sith fleet, and the Republic's gunners weren't keeping the enemy fighters off his tail. He jinked to starboard, performed a multi-g upward spin, at the end of which he thumbed his blaster controls to vaporise an incoming interceptor.
His wingman, a Twi'lek lieutenant who had only just become a mother in the last few months, was clipped by stray disruptor fire and flew end-over-end into the shields of a Star Destroyer. The shields flashed a deadly shade of green as they absorbed the energy and deflected the remains of the fighter back into space. Too bad, thought Meru. I liked that pilot. He swung his fighter around, and quickly got off a succession of shots before a blinding flash lit up his forward shields for a fraction of a second.
The melee continued. Blaster fire followed by evasive manoeuvres. Evasive manoeuvres followed by cries over the ship-to-ship intercom. Cries followed by explosions. Explosions followed by static on the intercom. Meru was constantly occupied with providing covering fire for the strike team; allowing even a single interceptor to fire on them felt almost like Meru had shot at them himself.
He wouldn't let them die.
He wouldn't let the Sith take control of the Republic.
Eighteen Jedi fighters eventually followed Bastila into the Iniquitous' main hanger bay. Republic fighters continued to draw fire away from the Jedi, though a few of Bastila's wing-mates were cut to pieces in the crossfire. The remaining fourteen Jedi increased their speed, slamming through the Iniquitous' force field and skipping to a halt on the hanger deck. The hanger was deserted of Sith troopers - all the interceptors had been launched, and there was a very low chance of anyone even thinking of attempting to board a Star Destroyer. Bastila popped open her cockpit canopy, and leapt out.
Outside the hanger was a different story altogether. Along every corridor, up every turbolift shaft, around every corner, Sith trooper after Sith trooper kept coming and coming, giving no quarter. After several minutes, the Jedi were slowly being push back the way they'd come.
Which was when the young apprentice to Bastila's immediate right had the uncanny idea to use the Force to bring the heavily-damaged ceiling down upon an advancing group of Sith troops. Unfortunately, this same apprentice lacked the insight to beat a hasty retreat - as Bastila did - and ended up crushing himself in the process. The Force will guide him to where he needs to be, thought Bastila sombrely.
Deactivating her lightsabre, the Jedi directly behind Bastila - a Cathar named Anyara - said, "Great, now we're trapped."
"Not quite," Bastila cut in. "Where there's a will, there's a way." As my father used to say. And with that, Bastila thrust her golden-hued lightsabre into the right-hand wall, and after a few seconds, had cut a Jedi-sized hole in the centre. "This corridor should leaf directly to the bridge. Let's move!"
Several hundred metres of running didn't tire a Jedi. What did, however, was the constant threat of attack by Sith troopers interspersed at several intervals down the corridor. At the end of the passageway, a small contingent of enemy troopers were guarding the doorway to the Iniquitous's bridge.
Bastila started forward, letting the Force propel her toward the troopers. Three of the other Jedi followed suite, while those remaining dealt with the troopers who were attempting to pin them down by showering grenades down upon them. The resulting explosion sent Bastila, the Jedi, and the Sith troopers flying in all directions; Bastila and the Jedi flew through the bridge blast doors.
The sight before them was staggering. Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, was Force-choking his second-in-command, a male human admiral. A mere moment later, he used the Force to throw the admiral across the bridge, intending to strike Bastila; the Jed ducked and rolled forward, and through the Force jumped up into the air, somersaulting head over heels until she placed her lightsabre into a classic spearing manoeuvre. Revan easily dodged this, activating his own lightsabre in a blinding flash of crimson.
Bastila rolled as she landed, parrying an attack from Revan. She kicked out with her left leg, and connected with the mask covering Revan's face. The Sith Lord recoiled, somersaulting backward toward the front of the bridge, and Bastila imagined that she could see a sneer of contempt beneath his mask.
Revan propelled himself at her, his blade held low and feinted a slash at her legs. Bastila was ready, her yellow blade clashing with the crimson Sith weapon.
Suddenly, Revan hurled Bastila backward with the Force, slamming her onto the deck with a bone-jarring thud.
The three other Jedi helped Bastila to her feet as Revan used the Force to choke another of his subordinates. Walking forward, her lightsabre raised defensively, Bastila warned, "You cannot win, Revan."
Any further confrontation was nullified as all were abruptly knocked to the deck as disrupter fire failed from a nearby warship - one of Revan's own, no less. The resulting explosion ripped through the Iniquitous' shields and hull plating, smacking the group to the deck yet again, before a rush of escaping air blew past them and attempted to pull them into the empty vacuum of interstellar space.
The explosion faded as the air blew into space. Bastila, as well the others on the bridge, used the Force to pull themselves toward the deck, and then, continuing with the Force, held themselves there. Darkness began to creep into the edges of Bastila's vision as her body succumbed to the first pangs of unconsciousness.
Just as she was reaching the limits of her endurance, Bastila felt rather than saw a force shield being raised to cover the exposed hull plating.
Pitch-black smoke began to slowly clog the environmental systems, even as those systems were struggling to pump fresh oxygen-rich air into the bridge area.
Silence punctuated the returning atmosphere as Bastila looked around for Revan, ready for another assault. But it was an assault that never materialised; crumpled on the deck below a computer console on the port side of the bridge, was the unconscious form of Darth Revan, fallen Jedi and Dark Lord of the Sith. His face burnt, bloodied, and bruised from the explosions. The mask that he'd taken great pains to wear in public had been knocked off lay next to the Sith Lord. His black robes were shredded, and pockmarked with burns. There was no sign of his lightsabre.
Bastila reached out with the Force. A moment went by, a moment that was interspersed with continuing fire from other Star Destroyers, as she felt for Revan's presence in the Force.
What she felt made gasp.
Revan was dying.