Star Wars: The Mandalorian Wars

by Romenjack

So i noticed that there weren't any books published on the Mandalorian wars. So I decided to write one myself. this is based off of hours of research into cannon and what was said in the KOTOR games not the MMO game. I did take some liberties here and this is only a rough draft i will continue to work on it. let me know what you think.

Star Wars

The Mandalorian Wars

I decided to make this record the other day when I was visiting the Jedi Archive for my centennial purge of any mention or reference of myself and I found myself distracted by an article on the Mandalorian wars. There was nothing really special about the article but once I started reading it I found myself reading others, and by the end of the day I had read almost everything in the archives on the Mandalorian wars and the thing I realized at the end was how much of it was wrong.

There were several things that they said that happened that never did and battles that they say happened and who won but not much on what actually happened. I think the biggest historical inaccuracy was the one involving Revan. Many said that he fell to the dark side; others say that he was somehow corrupted by the Sith Emperor. Well I am here to say that none of that is true. Revan was a good man and everything that he ever did was for the Republic and was for the betterment of all. I might not have agreed with everything that he did but looking back on it now I have to wonder what would have happened if he had succeeded. Bane would have never come to power and the rule of two would have never been made. The empire would have never formed and the clone wars would have never happened.

But then again we can't really know that. Maybe what happened was fate or destiny. Maybe the force willed it all to be and there was nothing that we could have done to stop it but then this is not about what ifs it is about what actually happened.

The hardest part I find about writing this is trying to decide where to begin. The problem comes from the fact that very few can agree on when the Mandilorians actually began. Some will say that it started when the Mandilorians first started their aggression on the outer rim concurring systems outside the Republic and expanding their power. Others will say that it started when the Mandilorians first invaded Taris in the false war, but that was just simply a test to see how the Republic would react and how strong their forces really were.

Many agree that the war started when the Mandilorians launched a three prong invasion of the Republic at Onderon Taris and Vanquo, and the ensuing battles that followed marked the true Mandalorian war. But I among a few others say that the war actually started when the Jedi Revan, known by many as the Revanchrist, took command of Republic forces and entered the war.

And that is were I shall begin.

The room was fairly dark for Meetra Surik tastes but then all Republic Ships seemed to be dark in the meeting rooms. She knew it was so that the holo displays would be clearer but that knowledge didn't help with the overwhelming feeling of dread.

Most of the people in the room hadn't said a word since they arrived. There was no small talk there was no catching up. Everyone looked defeated and broken and was just waiting to hear what came next. Alak, or as he was now referred to Malak, sat across from her leaning back in his chair a smug and superior look on his face. The light from the holo projector shined off his tattooed shaven head.

On the other side of the table were four Republic Admirals. Most of them had turned grey before their time and were merely staring at the three Jedi in the room. One though looked fairly young to be an admiral and seemed fairly happy to be here though he was not saying anything like the rest, though even he had the look of defeat in his eyes. What was his name again? She had read all the dossiers before coming here but Meetra was always terrible with names. She thought it was Saul. Saul something.

"So when would you launch the counter offensive on Duro?" Admiral Noma Sommos asked breaking the silence that filled the room. Sommos was the only admiral in this room who was from the very first confrontation with the Mandilorians and she almost didn't survive the ordeal.

"We are not going to launch a counter offensive on Duro." Revan said not sounding angry or annoyed.

"What in space do you mean that we are not?" Sommos on the other hand could barely contain her anger. "The Mandilorians have taken one of the Core worlds. Such a thing has not happened since the Great Hyperspace Wars."

"I am aware of that Admiral." The mask on Revan's face made it impossible to see his expression. It merely stared with an almost ominous gaze. "But that is exactly what Mandalore is expecting us to do and has fortified Duro in anticipation for that."

"Master Revan." one of the other Admirals. Admiral… Worsal she recalled. He was an older man who had been brought out of retirement during this war. "You said when you got here with your other Jedi that you were going to turn the tied of this war, and we all want to believe that but if the Mandalorians are at our doors like this then we need to beat them off with a stick."

"And what stick do you purpose that we use?" there was a bit of a boom in Revan's voice as he spoke. "If you haven't noticed the Mandalorians have a much bigger and stronger stick than we do. And they have done nothing but beat you with it for the past three years. When are you going to except that your traditional methods of warfare will do you no good?"

"And what makes you think that you will be able to do any better?" Sommos asked regaining her calm.

Revan did not say anything for a moment. He simply moved his head so his masked looked at every single one of the Admirals. "If you want my help and the 4,863 Jedi that I have at my disposal then you will give me absolute control of all Republic forces. Those are my conditions. No compromise, no questions."

"We don't have that kind of authority. Only the Senate can grant you those kinds of rights." Worsal leaned back in his chair in an almost dismissive way.

"You four Admirals are the highest ranking military officials in the Republic; your four are in command of the entire war effort. The Senate many give you your pay but in war all military decisions fall to you and you have the war time authority to defer to the Jedi in times of crisis." another pause. "And as you said Admiral, the Mandalorians are knocking on your door. If this isn't a time of crisis then what is?"

No one said a word for a long time. There were several glances across the room. The Admirals were looking to each other on a decision.

"What do we have to lose?" Admiral Saul shrugged. "At this point its not like they can do any worse and we have been lobbying for Jedi support since the start of the war."

"We have everything to lose." Sommos slammed her fist on the table.

"I agree with Admiral Sommos." Worsal said. "As much as I want the Jedi's help in all of this I am not ready to hand over complete military control to someone who has never even commanded a fleet.

Meetra opened her mouth to say something, but a reassuring hand grabbed hers. Meetra looked at Revan who shook his head at her. Meetra closed her mouth and leaned back in her chair.

"And what would you do with this power that we are going to give you?" The last Admiral asked. Admiral Laites. His name Meetra had no problem remembering. He had won several battles against the Mandilorians and had even halted one of their fleets' advancements at the battle of Randon effectively halting half of the Mandalorian Triumph as it was being called. Sadly the other half was never stopped and now the Mandilorians were in striking rang of Coruscant.

"No," Revan said furmenty. "Give me command or the Jedi do not help you."

Meetra had to wonder if Revan was bluffing. He had spent the past four years trying to convince the Jedi Council to join the war after four years of being told no he finally took a splinter group of Jedi to help the Republic anyway. Would he really turn back now if he did not get his way?

Meetra thought he probably would. Revan was never one to compromise, though maybe he knew that he wouldn't have to. The Republic was desperate there was no way they would turn down Jedi help. And Revan knew that.

"Alright." Worsal sighed pressing a few buttons on the terminal in front of him. "We hereby grant Jedi Revan complete Military Authority over all Republic forces that we command. To be given back at a time that the war ends or that Revan deems fit."

There was a long silence in the room as the computer worked. There was an affirmative beep and Revan nodded.

"The first thing I do is appoint the Jedi Malak and the Jedi Meetra as my top Generals. They have full command and answer only to me. Is that understood?"

There was a begrudging nod from the admirals, except from Laites Meetra noticed. He merely gave a single nod of agreement and almost had a smile on his face.

"Good now here is what we are going to do." Revan pressed a button in front of him and the galaxy map appeared in the center of the table. "The Mandilorians have expanded rapidly in the past year starting at the Eres system taking everything above Onderon," The Galaxy map zoomed in on those systems and followed a yellow line as it progressed from system to system. "And then coming down through Quellor and finally striking into the heart of the republic by taking Duro." the map zoomed out again showing the long yellow line as it cut through what used to be the Republic.

"We are all aware of this Master JedI." Sommos batted her hand in annoyance.

"The problem is that the mandalorians have spread them selves to far to fast. They have left them selves thinned in key locations, anticipating that the Republic force will hit near Duro."

"What you saying we should hit Mandalore instead." Sommos laughed but soon stopped when she saw that no one else was laughing with her.

"No in fact I don't plan on ever assaulting Mandalore. When the Mandilorians first attacked they cut off most Republic reinforcements from the Core and Mid worlds by conquering the system of Onderon. This essentially created a blockade on one of the few major hyperspace routes to the outer rim."

"And also set up their entire forward command on one of the moons there." Saul sighed. "In a single move they practically cut the Republic in half."

"Exactly. So I say we do the same." Revan pushed another button and the map zoomed in on the system of Onderon. "I say we strike at Onderon. More specifically the moon of Onderon, Dxun."

"That is the most defended system in the whole Mandalorian space." Worsal looked like he was about to faint. "They have spent the past three years fortifying it. We concluded that it would be suicide to try and take it back when Onderon was first concurred and it has only gotten stronger since."

"Yes that was your mistake for not taking it back then," Meetra almost missed the condemnation in what he had just said. "But the Mandalorian fleet is stretched thin now. Most of the ships in the system have been called to other systems. The real challenge will be taking the moon."

The map zoomed in on the moon giving us a full holographic image or it. "The moon is covered in a thick forest and is home to some of the most vicious predators in the galaxy. On top of that the canopy will make detecting structures from orbit nearly impossible not to mention any other fortification the Mandilorians have made in the past three years."

"How many people will we lose in this assault?" Laites' words were calm and his stare was serious. Unlike the other admirals in the room who thought the idea was crazy Meetra could already tell that his mind was spinning with plans and strategies. This man Meetra liked.

"My best estimates put the casualty rate if we win around 39 to 47 percent. If we loose…" Revan paused and looked at all of them. "Then we loose it all."

There was silence in the room as this information sank in.

"Make no mistake here Admirals" Revan continued. "I do not bring hope for this war, I bring only death. And through death maybe we may find victory."

"Look another one." Ian pointed out the observatory viewport of the space station's cantina. "How many Capital ships does that make?"

"By our count," Modi looked over at Chris' data pad. "94."

Ian Modi and Chris were all standing in front of the viewport watching as ships dropped out of hyperspace and fell into orbit around the planet Fondor.

"Looks like this place is going to get very crowded with solders on shore leave." Chris sighed.

"This has got to be something big right? Look that looks like the entire 7th fleet." Ian pointed as several ships dropped out of hyperspace.

"Please add 6 more capital ships to the total." Modi ordered and Chris made the notes on his data pad.

"Does this mean that we are going to be a part of the attack on Duro?" Ian crossed her arms in front of her chest as she looked at the ships move across her vision.

"We don't know were we are going to be deployed." Chris pointed out.

"Were else would we attack. The Mandilorians are moving in on the core worlds." As a Zeltron Ian was just naturally more outgoing and tended to be a bit gullible when she isn't being careful, but her excitement seemed unusually high.

"Do I look like an admiral to you?"

Ian rolled her eyes and gave Chris a rude gesture.

"Nock it off both of you." Modi pushed Ian's hand down and gave her a forceful look.

"Yes chef."

'Sorry chef."

They both were quite as they watched more ships jump out of hyperspace. Even Modi was impressed by the size of the fleet that was forming. But there was a little nagging in the back of his head.

Where were all these ships coming from? It was his knowledge that the Republic forces were stretched thin trying to hold the remaining systems that they had. Ether the Republic had a lot more ships in reserve then anyone had thought or these ships had been pulled off the front line.

Their unit had been stationed at Fondor since the fall of Commoner four months ago. Their fleet was too banged up and destroyed to be considered a fighting force and they had just been waiting for orders ever since.

"The Mandilorians don't stand a chance against a fleet this large." Ian stated.

"You weren't with us on Eres III." Chris pointed out. "The fleet the Mandilorians hit us with was almost this size. And ton for ton Mandalorian capital ships far out match Republic ships."

Modi heard the door to the cantina slide open. He turned to see four people walk inside. They were all dressed in civilian clothing fairly plain like a pilgrim. Modi could tell that they weren't military. There is a way that a solder walks but these people had purpose and walked with an air of confidence.

Modi slapped Chris on the back getting his attention. Chris and Ian turned and looked at the four people that he was pointing at.

"Are those…?" Chris could barely contain the awe in his voice.

"I have never seen one before," Modi crossed his arms. "But I think so. Those are Jedi."

There was a long pause between them as they stood their and stared at the four people sitting around the table sharing a drink.

Ian started nervously rubbing her hands together. "You think we should go over there and introduce ourselves."

"What you got a thing for Jedi now?" Modi back handed Chris in the chest and glared at him. "Sorry Chef."

Ian didn't seem to notice the comment. "So it's true then. The Jedi are finally getting involved in this war."

"Some of them." Modi corrected. "I heard that the Jedi council is still sitting on their hands, and these guys got tired of doing nothing and broke off from the Jedi."

"So then this is really happening then?"

Modi looked over at Chris with a slight frown. "What is really happening?"

"All the ships. Now the Jedi show up. So we are actually going to make our push."

Modi nodded as he thought about it. "Yeah it looks like it."

Now I think this would be a good time to explain how it is that I know all of these things seeing as how I was not present for all the events that occurred. Well let me just say that while I was not physically there and the Jedi frown on reading peoples minds I have never claimed to be a Jedi.

So let me just say that while I wasn't present for many of the events that I am writing about, I was aware of what was going on and yes I do know what they were thinking. Lucky for me all parties mentioned who would be angry have been dead for over 4000 years.

Meetra stepped out of the sonic shower never missing more her hot water shower back on Dantooine. Though not having to spend an hour drying her hair was a nice plus. Meetra was used to prolong space travel having been apart of many off world missions, but every time she knew that it was only temporary and that she would return home after but now it looked liked she would have to get used to life as a spacer.

The door beeped signaling there was someone outside. Meetra quickly put on a towel and headed for the door. With a push of a button the door opened.

"Alak?" Meetra didn't try to hide her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh call me Malak I'm more used to it now."

Meetra moved out of the way and Malak took that as an invitation and started to walk inside her quarters.

"Alak I have known you since you were 14. Do you think I will start calling you Malak because you decided to play Republic solder for a while."

"Roger that Captain Rims." he gave a weak salute.

Meetra rolled her eyes at his dig on her pretending to be a Republic solder early on in the war under her false name of Laura Rims. "Look I have a feeling that sleep is going to become a precious commodity soon so I would like to stock up on it as much as I can. So if you are here just to talk about our fake names."

"No no, it's nothing like that." Malak waved his hand cutting her off. "It's about Revan."

Now that was a subject that Meetra felt worth talking about. "Have a seat let me put some cloths on."

Malak found on of the chairs facing toward the space view, the planet Fondor filling most of the window, and sat in it while Meetra headed back into the restroom.

"You know I think your room is bigger than mine. And I know my room doesn't have this view." Malak said while Meetra was changing.

"That's because you requested an officer's cabin." Meetra raised her voice so that Malak could hear her through the door. "I requested a guest room."

"Why would that make such a difference?"

"Alak we are on a war ship. What kind of guest would a war ship be having?"

"Important enough people that they get a little more space and a nice view." Malak said understanding. "I will have to remember that for the next ship."

Dressed in a basic pants and shirt that looked more like exercise clothing Meetra stepped back out into her room.

"So what about Revan?" She took the seat to the left of Malak turning so that she was facing him.

"What do you think of his push on Onderon?"

Meetra thought about it for a second trying to figure what he was getting at. "It makes since. It will never be more vulnerable than right now and if we take it we will be cutting the Mandilorians in half."

Malak tapped his leg a little while he listened to Meetra. "Look this is just between us and I want you to know that I am behind Revan all the way and will never question his orders. Well I will but-"

"Alak." Meetra almost laughed. He was starting to ramble. That wasn't like him. Usually he was the most articulate of all of them.

"Revan and I were on Onderon you know?"

"Back when the Mandilorians first attacked. Yeah I remember. You were both lucky to get out alive." she had read Revan's report and heard all the rumors that were flying around soon after.

"Revan took command of the Onderon Defense Force and tried to push the Mandilorians back" Malak gave a sigh as he thought back. "Revan is good and it was a wonder to watch him work but I think he knew that there was nothing he could do. We were outnumbered almost 80 to 1 and he had no time to prepare but by the force he put up one heck of a fight."

"Sounds like Revan. What's the problem?"

"When Revan left Onderon he promised them that he would be back and he would liberate them. At the time we didn't know about Taris or Vanquo and Revan didn't know that the Council was going to… well…"

"Do absolutely nothing." Meetra finished. While she was not one to question the Council or the people on it, but they were all sick of how the Council had handled this war.

"I guess what I am saying, what I am asking." Malak took a breath. "Do you think that Revan is attacking Onderon out of some since of Duty or Honor?"

Meetra shrugged. "You know him better than I do."

"Yes and I am finding that it is hard for me to remain objective. You know him well enough to know how he thinks but not so close to him that your personal feeling will cloud your judgment."

"Well first off, I don't think anyone understands how Revan thinks. Second off Revan has always been one to do the rational thing. He doesn't let his feelings get in the way of what he needs to do."

Malak nodded. "I agree and even more so since Cathar and he started wearing that Mandalorian Mask all the time."

"I say we give Revan the benefit of the doubt." Meetra was not one to talk about what they had all witnessed on Cathar. Though it had steeled all of their resolve and had even softened Master Vrook's heart enough not to have them all arrested she still didn't talk about it. It gave her enough sleepless nights as it was.

"It's just fifty percent Meetra." Malak rubbed his eyes. "That is going to be well over 3million people."

Meetra couldn't say she hadn't thought of that as well. All of this to take a single planet. "If he intends to win every battle like this then there wont be a fleet left to fight very soon. Have you asked Revan about it?"

"I did. Though I was trying to be as tactful as I could."

"Revan tends to prefer strait forward questions and the full truth."

Malak chuckled a little. "He said pretty much the same thing."

"So what did Revan say about the losses?"

Malak's smile instantly faded. "He actually said that we won't lose many space ships that the space battle will be relatively easy. The hard part is going to be on the surface and that is were he expects to take most of the casualties. He said that after this battle the war will be decided in space and we can afford to take a huge hit to our infantry this early on."

"That sounds a little cold."

Malak nodded. "And now you see why I wanted to know what you though of this plan."

Meetra thought about that for a moment. What did she think of all of this? She had been just as vocal about the Jedi's need to go to war as Revan and Malak were but she had never once thought what getting in the war would actually mean.

Meetra chewed the inside of her lip. "Look I know that Revan often seems like he doesn't care. He can come off as cold and distant but you and I both know that he probably cares more than any of us." Meetra paused. "But I think that he knows that in order to win this war he can't let his feeling cloud his judgment. He has to think of things in terms of ships and numbers not people."

"So then it will be our job to view them as people and not ships and numbers." Malak stated.

Meetra smiled a little. "Yeah I guess it will be."

Reiff frowned as he looked at the data pad in his hand. He checked the markings on the side of the crate and back at the data pad. It was right, but that couldn't be right.

"Trevas." Reiff got his assistance attention. "

"Yes doctor." Trevas turned from the counter he was working at and faced Reiff.

"Why have we been issued forest antibiotics?"

Trevas shrugged taking the data pad from Reiff. He looked over it for a moment and gave another shrug. "I don't know Sir." he handed the data pad back.

"Great that's just what I needed. Over 70 creates of antibiotics that I have no need for taking up space." Reiff rolled his eyes and pushed the data pad into Trevas' chest. "Stow this away somewhere. I am going to go talk to the CO."

"Right away Sir."

Reiff stepped out of the cargo hold and down the space stations cargo hold. Several solders saluted him as he walked past. Reiff saluted back not even paying attention. Reiff pressed a button on the wall and the door in front of him slid open. He walked into the small room there was a MP standing guard next to the door and on the other side there was a desk with a woman sitting behind it.

"Doctor." The woman was a little surprised as Reiff walked in. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah I just got in a shipment that I think was meant to go someplace else and wanted to see what the Captain wanted me to do with it. Is he in there?"

Reiff didn't wait for a confirmation before he started walking toward the door.

"He is but he is a little busy right now with all of the command confusion."

"Yeah you put 80 captains in one room and it can get a little hard to tell who's in charge." Not slowing down he walked passed the MP and to the Captain's office door.

The door in front of him opened, Captain Gren looked up from the paper work at his deck. "Commander what can I do for you?"

Reiff stepped inside the office and let the door slide behind him. "Sir I have just received a large shipment of jungle antibiotics most of them for things that I have never heard of before."

Gren apathetically started looking threw the reports scattered on his desk. Finding the one that he was looking for he started to skim through it. "Says here that you are to start giving vaccinations the day after tomorrow."

That took Reiff by surprise. "Wait what? Who am I suppose to be vaccinating?"

"The 14th Corps, 38th Corps, 65th Corps and 79th Corps."

"Sir I don't have the staff to vaccinate every trooper on this station."

Gren shook his head. "Um looks like you are only going to be vaccinating about a third the rest will be done on Fondor's surface."

Well that was a relief though Reiff still wasn't sure why he needed to give all these troopers vaccinations for a jungle environment the surface of Fondor was urban. Then it occurred to him what the Captain had just said. "Sir did you just say that I am only vaccinating a third?"

The realization struck him as well. "That is well over a million troopers."

"1.5 to 2 million if I am doing the math right."

Gren sat back in his chair as he tried to absorb it all. "What in space is going on here? Traffic Control is already overwhelmed with how many ships are coming in. I have 12th fleet, 34th fleet, what's left of the 25th, 64th, 78th, the list goes on and more are coming every hour." Gren drummed his fingers on his desk then seemed to realize where he was snapped back to the moment. "You have your orders Lt, Commander. I would suggest you get to them. Dismissed."

Reiff snapped to attention "Aye Aye sir." Reiff made a sharp turn and walked out of the Captains office. Once the doors were closed behind him he walked passed the MP and the secretary back out into the corridor.

"Trevas." he said into his com unit in his ear.

"Yes sir."

"I need you to get those vaccinations to the med bay and prep it for a mass vaccination."

"Sir?" the confusion in Trevas voice was obvious.

"You heard me. We got a lot of work ahead of us and not much time to do it."

There was a moment pause. "Sir yes sir."

The Galaxy map spun on the display as Revan tried to find what he was looking for.

Meetra wasn't sure herself what they were doing but she decided that she would just stand quietly until Revan needed her. The doors to the briefing room slid open and Admiral Laites stepped in.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Please come in." Revan beckoned never taking his attention off the Galaxy Map.

Laites moved forward taking a spot across the table from Meetra.

"How is the fleet coming along?" Revan asked.

"Almost all the fleets have arrived still waiting on several of the defense fleets, it would seem they were a little unhappy at being called away from their systems and leaving them defenseless.

"Most of the Republic fleet is spread across the Galaxy trying to defend every single system." Revan explained. "If we don't consolidate and hold the key systems then the Mandilorians will take every system with no effort."

"Saying its better to let some systems fall then to lose them all."

"If they don't put up any resistance the Mandilorians have no reason to do any unnecessary damage." Revan said.

"I wasn't disagreeing with you sir." the admiral corrected. "I was merely making an observation."

Revan for the first time looked at the Admiral as if he was trying to sum him up. "I saw the reports on your defense of Randon. I must say that I am impressed."

"How so, sir?" Laites didn't seem to show any emotion at what was being said. Meetra found that odd. She would have thought that he would show some sort of pride.

"You sent out ships to harass the mandalorians for days thinning their supply lines and damaging key ships before the battle. But the way that you lead the Mandilorians into that trap, took a lot of foresight and planning."

"Not at all sir. The key to victory is not having more ships. It's having more ships in the right spot."

"But you ordered your ships not to destroy the Mandalorian flag ship. Or to take out their engines." Meetra pointed out. "Why?"

He turned and looked at her. "Because killing their commander would have only inspired them to fight harder to avenge his death but if I can make the commander run for his life then the rest of his fleet will think 'if he says this fight is a lost battle and is running away then so should I'"

"Mandilorians are not ones to run during combat." Revan said.

"Sure they are they just haven't had the need to yet."

This caused Revan pause. "How do you figure?"

He gave a casual shrug, the first brake in his military posture. "Mandilorians want nothing more than to die in a glorious battle but at the same time the more battles they can fight in the more honor they will attain. If a battle is lost and there isn't a reason to keep on fighting then they will withdraw and regroup. But as I say they have never had need before."

Revan seemed to like this answer giving a single nod of his head. "The reason I asked you here is because I want you to be in charge of an operation I want to do before we hit Onderon."

"Of course sir whatever you need."

Meetra held back a smile. He might want to hear what the mission is first.

Revan zoomed the Galaxy Map to the Duro area of the core worlds. "We need the mandalorians to think that we are about to attack Duro. Hence why I am assembling the fleet at Fondor. It is the only major ship yard that we can use to launch an assault on Onderon or Duro."

"Though the Mandalorians still might be suspicious." Laites said. "They probably expected the fleet to assemble at Kaut. It's closer and acts as a buffer between Duro and Coruscant."

"That is the reason that you are here." Revan nodded in agreement. "We need to make sure the Mandilorians are convinced that we are still going to attack Duro. So I need you to take the 5th fleet and start performing raids on Mandalorian supply lines around Duro. I need you to harass and disrupt them as much as you can. But here's the catch." Revan paused. "You will be almost completely cut off from the main fleet. That means that you won't have any support from us. And I won't spare any more ships or men to reinforce you, so what you have is what you get."

"I understand sir. If I may make a suggestion?"

"Please do."

"I would suggest that you leak it that I am in command of the offensive."

Revan immediately nodded. "Yes that way the Mandilorians think that you are setting them up again just like you did last time. And they already fear you since your victory at Randon."

"They will be more cautious and might even divert more troops to Duro in anticipation of another trap."

"Very good." Revan almost seemed to relax. "I leave it to you then but be sure to keep me informed of your progress."

"Have you heard anything yet Chef?" Ian set her chow pate on the table in front of Modi. Chris sat next to her and he was followed close behind by Fen and Ivan, two other members of his squad.

"Why do you assume that I get told anything?" Modi asked trying to swallow his food.

"Ian didn't ask if you had been told anything she asked if you had heard anything." Ivan stated. The twi'lek was their Tec specialist, and the only other solder besides himself that had been in this war since the beginning.

Modi looked at his squad then finally decided to cave. "Alright look from what I hear the doc just got a large shipment of vaccines and we are to get our shots sometime this week."

"That means that they have planed were we will be shipping out to." Chris said. "Do you know what kind of Vaccines?"

Modi shook his head. "No and the person I talked to said that he could get in big trouble if he told anyone."

"Makes sense." If word gets out what kind of vaccinations we are getting then chances are greater that it will reach the Mandilorians and they can start planning for the invasion." Fen nodded. He tended to be more of the analytical mind set. He saw things as being practical.

"Why bother keeping it secret?" Ian snorted. "Everyone knows that we will be hitting Duro."

"I even hear that they are putting admiral Laites in charge of the invasion and he is getting ready to start his raids on the mandalorians." Fen stated taking a bite of his bread.

"And where did you hear that hu? From one of your 'anonymous sources'" Chris mocked.

"As a matter in fact yeah." Fen was a fresh out of boot camp recruit. He had never seen battle of any kind and made Ian seem wise and mature. Modi knew that would change soon enough but until he saw what war was really like there was little that could be done to temper the boy.

"Well if you ask me most of your sorceress are just you trying to make yourself sound important."

"Enough both of you!" Modi snapped. "Look I have been hearing all sorts of rumors and none of them are any more creditable than the other so here is what we are going to do." Modi cleared his through as his men leaned in to hear what he had to say. "We are going to shut our traps and follow orders without second guessing our superiors."

His men sank a little into themselves. "But chief," Ian started.

"No." Modi barked. "If you want to be productive why don't you guys hit the rang and make sure that you will be able to actually hit something or better yet I saw your PT scores and I was not impressed. Do I make my self clear?"

"Yes chief."

Modi stood up taking his tray with him. He hadn't finished yet but he felt that a dramatic exit was for the best. Not that he could blame his men for how they were acting. He himself was full of questions, but it was not their place to be asking so many questions and doing so would only lead to trouble. They would receive their orders soon enough.

"Alright move the equipment over there." Reiff ordered one of the nurses. "Move it folks we have to get this place ready for injections by tomorrow." he clapped his hands together a few times moving people along.

Sure enough soon after Rieff's talk with the captain he had gotten his official orders to prep for mass vaccinations. He didn't like the short notice that he had received but recently there had been lots of sudden changes in operational procedures and the chain of command seem more in chaos than ever before.

He had spent the past 14 hours clearing out several rooms and getting them set up for the mass amount of solders that they would be having. He had called every one of his staff in on this one. While the station was more than equipped to handle the volume of solders that they would be dealing with normally Reiff would have at least a weeks notice with ample time to prepare. But as it was he had less than 36 hours to ready his facility and staff for hundreds of thousands of solders.

This is surly a sign of how bad things had gotten. With the Republic on the verge of collapse and every Admiral losing every major battle to the Mandilorians things were starting to fall apart. With the death count so high it would seem that no one was sure who was suppose to be in charge of what anymore.

Most of the new orders Reiff was getting seemed to countermand the orders that he had gotten just a few weeks before. And this whole thing with the vaccinations was not helping any.

"Admiral on deck!" Reiff heard someone shout. Reiff instinctively went ridged and stood at attention as the room suddenly became very still.

"As you were." there was a moments pause as everyone looked at what was going on before getting back to work.

Reiff relaxed a little but he was curious. He had to know what an admiral was doing here. There weren't many left from what Reiff understood. The ones that hadn't been demoted had been killed in combat. The mandalorians had become good at picking out the command ships in fleets and taking them out.

Reiff looked past the people moving around him setting up beds and chairs toward the entrance where the Admiral presumably was.

"Lt Commander Reiff?" It was a commanding voice and it was very close.

"Sir." Reiff stood at attention still not sure where the voice had come from.

"At ease Doctor."

Reiff relaxed yet again turning to see the man standing behind him. He was human with short dark hair wearing an officer's uniform. "Admiral forgive me I didn't see you there."

"Don't worry about it doctor." the Admiral brushed his apology aside. "Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

"Of course Admiral we can talk in my office." Reiff led the way with the Admiral not far behind. Reiff was shocked by the man. He didn't seem that old. Defiantly no older than 40 and he seemed to be traveling alone. Most high ranking officers had at least one subordinate with them to take down orders or anything else that needed to be done. And why would an Admiral be here in the first place?

Reiff opened the door to his office and stepped inside. The Admiral immediately removed his cover and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Reiff quickly moved to his own chair not wanting to be rude by standing while the Admiral was sitting. "Is there something I can do for you Admiral?" he asked as he sat down behind his desk.

"Yes and I am afraid that it is not going to be easy." The Admiral looked Reiff in the eyes as he spoke with a look that seemed that it had seen a lot more then any man his age should have.

For the first time Reiff was able to get a look at the name on the Admirals chest. An Admiral Laites. He had heard of the man but had never seen him before.

"I am aware that you have been in a little bit of a rush as of late with the orders for the immediate injections of so many troops but I fear that I am about to make things even harder for you."

"How so Admiral?" Blast this wasn't good. When an Admiral came down to tell you that things were about to become difficult he knew things were about to go sideways.

"I need you to ready you and a select staff to be transferred to the Cerrio by the day after tomorrow."

Reiff frowned. He knew that name. It was the medical ship in the 5th fleet. "Sir I don't think I understand."

"The 5th fleet took a heavy pounding a few months ago and several of the ships are in dry dock and are still undermanned." the Admiral explained. "As we need the 5th fleet fully manned in just a few days I have been given permission to take whomever I like to fill the roster. I have asked around and I have been told that you and your staff are some of the best."

"I'm flattered Admiral."

The Admiral raised his hand cutting off any further comment. "The 5th fleet will be leaving port soon and will be on an extended mission in hostile controlled space. Due to the nature of the mission we will not be receiving any additional support for a long period of time."

Rieff's mind started to race. What kind of mission were they going on? What would they be doing that they would have no support?

"We will be in lots of combat situations, and that means that there will be a lot on wounded." The admiral continued. "I need a doctor who can patch our solders up quick and do it using as little as possible. Because I have a feeling that before this is over we will be stretched thin."

"I understand sir." Reiff really had no idea what was going on but he would be dammed if he was going to say that to an Admiral.

"Sadly this is not a request you transfer orders have already been started." the admiral got up putting his hat back on his head. Reiff stood up with him. "Continue what you are doing for as long as you can but I want you and your men on the deck of the Cerrio in 48 hours time."

"Aye Aye sir." Reiff gave a crisp salute that the Admiral returned then held out his hand and Reiff took it.

"Best of luck to you." the admiral turned and walked out.

Reiff sunk back into his chair as he tried to let what just happened sink in. he was no stranger to a medical ship on the front lines. His first deployment had been on one but what the admiral was asking him to do was not only odd but going to be very difficult. And this talk about being in hostel territory what all did that mean.

Reiff sighed. Orders from all over the place. Sometimes he not only wondered if the right hand knew what the left hand was doing but if the right hand even knew it had fingers.