Chapter Six-The Mandalore
Night lay thick and heavy upon the planets surface. A distant moon bathed the landscape with a subtle silver light, making ordinary shadows appear grotesque and distorted. The air was chill and harsh, coating the Mandalorian leaders armour with a faint frosty sheen. He wondered how the Jedi was coping, her clothing did not have the thickness and protection that his battle armour provided, and her robes were worn thin with over four years of hard campaigning.
He cursed himself silently for worrying over her. As the Mandalore, he should be worrying over his troops, and not the woman that they fought with. She was becoming a distraction to him, and that would not do.
He raised his blaster, and felt the solid comforting weight that it provided him. Far better to trust in weapons than women, he thought ruefully, blasters rarely ever let you down.
A low noise behind made him turn around slowly. He activated his stealth field generator, and with a static whine, he became one with the night.
Slowly, he crept along the deep ridge. In the distance, he heard the screeches of strange beasts, but he paid no attention to them. Instead, his senses were alerted to the small group of Sith that lay hidden beyond the ridge that he silently walked. He did not call out to his men, this battle was his alone, and he relished the battle rage that rose deep within his chest.
He saw them, a group of six Sith, all clothed in black. He laughed silently; did they hope to fool him with their tricks? Did they not know the might of a Mandalorian? He walked carefully amongst them; he could hear their low murmurs as they talked amongst themselves. Stopping, he planted a plasma mine in their midst, and primed it for twenty seconds-enough time for him to get away from them, and to laugh at their 'unfortunate' demise.
He crept up the slight incline, and stood watching silently. He hoisted his heavy modified blaster to both hands, aiming towards the Sith, in case any survived the mine. He hoped that some would charge at him, so he could enjoy the feeling of ending their pitiful lives.
The mine detonated with a loud bang, and several Sith bodies flew past him, crashing solidly with the hard baked ground beneath them. Mandalore chuckled loudly and deactivated his stealth shield. Three Sith stood before him, looking at him with confusion in their eyes. He took aim, and cut two of them down before they were aware of what he was doing. The last Sith charged at him, a heavy vibrosword in a dark gloved hand. He blocked the lunge that the Sith made, and lashing out with the butt of his blaster, he knocked the man to his knees. He raised his rifle, and casually shot him in the head. The body fell lifeless to the ground in an untidy heap.
Mandalore sighed deeply as the battle rage left him; there had been no honour in killing like this, despite the temporary joy that it brought him. These Sith were seemingly all over the planet. It was the third group that he had seen since the Exiles disappearance. They had come across the wreckage of a downed Sith battleship thirty days ago. Metal had been strewn at great distances, and the central part of the ship had rested like the skeleton of a great prehistoric beast. Bodies laid strewn around the wreckage; some, many miles from the actual ship. All Sith.
He walked back along the perimeter, his blaster held loosely in one hand, the muzzle pointing towards the ground. His thoughts returned to Revan, and he smiled inwardly at the irony of their situation. Strange times make for strange alliances. He did not doubt her reasons for coming to this strange unknown world-the threat that lay here was great, and after the battle of the ancient structure, the Star Forge, Revan had wanted to protect the remains of the already fragile Republic from further threats. He admired her greatly; she was a woman worthy of respect.
He quietly strode back across to their small camp. A Mandalorian soldier nodded at him as he walked past. Mandalore ignored him, and walked across to where the Jedi woman lay sleeping on her travel stained bedroll. He sat down on the ground near her, propping his back up against a large boulder. As he glanced across at her, he was alarmed to see that she was twitching and moaning deeply in her sleep. Her dreams have been troubled as of late, he thought in concern, not that she will reveal what haunts her. He silently watched over her, until the first faint fingers of dawn slowly broke through the camp.
A sudden low cry of alarm woke him from his heavy stupor. He stumbled to his feet, grabbing at the blaster that lay at his feet. He cursed himself for falling asleep; lethargy was heavy in his muscles. Angrily, he flexed his arms, and walked across the few feet to where the Jedi was slowly stirring.
He leaned over her in concern, "Same dream, Revan?"
Revan slowly sat up, and looked up at him, the strains of fatigue showing on her face, "We need to find the Exile, before it's too late," she whispered.
Mandalore held out a hand to her, and helped her to her feet, "Are you alright?" he asked noting the sad look in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just leave me," she replied edgily.
"Whatever you want," he grunted back at her. He stood some distance away from her, watching the sun rise slowly over the craggy mountain range. He felt annoyed with Revan. After four years of searching for the true threat with her, he thought that she would have learned to trust him better than she appeared. He and his men had proved themselves to her time and time again, yet there was still that slight reservation that was felt between. Perhaps, he thought, it's because we are Mandalorians. She would no doubt trust her own kind more.
The sound of muffled footsteps broke him from his reverie. He looked up sharply too see one of his men approach, the blue-grey Mandalorian battle armour coated with a fine dusting of white ash. The figure stopped just short of him, and saluted.
"Yes, Kelborn?" he intoned deeply.
"Mandalore, we have just seen several Sith approaching from the west. They are heavily armed. I am concerned that they have learned of our presence here, and will send for reinforcements."
"Right," Mandalore rasped, "do you know, or do you think this?"
"Zuka has been on active patrol due south west and reported that he had seen them. They are at great pains to cover their tracks. They did not see him."
"Tell the men to prepare for imminent battle," he replied with relish, "I will go check on our Jedi, and alert her."
Kelborn nodded once and strode off, his feet kicking up small whirls of dust.
Mandalore walked back to where the brown robed Jedi sat cross legged, deep in meditation. He paused, uncertain as to whether he should disturb her. He regarded her with concern. Despite the fact that she had proved herself to be a great warrior many times in the past, she looked as if something weighted her down. He did not understand the ways of the Jedi; he thought that they were a strange breed, an unknown quantity to warriors such as himself. But, he thought, she did not seem herself. She looked tired, strained, and the pallor of her complexion, with the dark smudges beneath her eyes revealed the toll that this dark place was having upon her.
"Mandalore," a soft voice broke into his thoughts.
He felt a rush of embarrassment at having been caught observing her. "Revan. A squad of Sith…"
"Yes, I felt their presence in the Force. Strange…" she broke off.
Mandalore watched as she slowly stood up, wiping the dust off her robes.
She frowned, "There are many Force sensitives here. Seems like the dark of this place is drawing them."
He stood impassively, watching her movements with a cautious eye, "You feel them?" he asked questioningly.
"Yes, I feel them here," she replied, "This place draws them…" she stopped and looked at Mandalore "Come, let us move on. There are more pressing matters at hand."
The urgent sounds of repeated blaster fire brought them running to the scene some distance away. A tide of black Sith was battling the Mandalorian warriors. Energy burned through the sky, and lines of Sith broke away as the blue-grey of the warriors battle armour cut through them like a swathe. Revan unhooked her twin light sabers, and calling out to Mandalore, she ignited them. Blue fire lit across her face as she swung the sabers in an arc above her head.
A lone black robed figure peeled away from the Sith mass and headed towards her, igniting a red beam. Revan rushed at the man, and brought her twin sabers crashing down towards the figure, where they were deflected by a flash of crimson. Energy sparked and writhed, twin blues merging with red; the sound of live energy sizzled in the air.
"Clan Ordo!" came a fierce yell to her right, and she cast a quick glance sideways to see Mandalore ploughing through an army of black, his blaster rifle pulsing repeatedly. Behind the Sith lines, she saw five Mandalorians emerge as if from thin air, their blaster pistols sparking off bolts of orange plasma.
She pushed the dark Jedi away, and stood in battle stance, one arm raised, one arm held loosely down. He came at her like a savage, slashing with his saber, but she easily side stepped him and turning around, she pushed against his back with her foot. The Sith recovered easily, and turning quickly, he pushed himself upwards with one hand, lashing out with his saber. Revan feinted the blow and the two sabers clashed in a flurry of sparks. She read the surprise, and determination in his brown eyes and she brought her left arm around, while keeping the other towards her back. She circled him, and he stood defensively, watching her.
With a sudden upwards motion of his hand, blue energy cascaded and crackled all around her. She shrugged, feeling the Force rise up in her, as she deftly made a fake lunge at him. Tricked, he swung his saber to her intended mark, but she swung around with her right, and cut him down. His body fell heavily to the ground, smotes of dust danced in the air where he once stood.
She turned, panting slightly, and glanced across to where Mandalore was fighting fiercely. She ran to the centre of the throng, blue energy beams slashing and hacking their way. Black clad bodies fell to her left and right, and at last, she stood there, with the Mandalorians massed around her.
Someone cried out, a voice rusty, and full of pride-Zuka she guessed, and the next moment, a heavy gloved hand slapped her across her back.
"Well done, Revan!" Mandalore chuckled deeply.
A cheer rang out through the Mandalorians, as the warriors that had snuck round the back of the Sith defences came and stood with their companions. She couldn't stop the wry smile that touched her lips at this show of camaraderie.
"How many Sith?" she queried to the Mandalorian stood to her right.
"I would say, maybe fifty…give or take," Kelborn replied, "although one or two might have escaped." he shrugged, "I cannot say."
"I can Kelborn, and let me tell you, none escaped, we made sure of that!" a Mandalorian in front of them answered.
"That was good work, Kumus," Mandalore praised.
"Fifty Sith and one dark Jedi?" Revan mused. "There will be more. Many more that will come now."
They trooped back to the encampment, and while the Mandalorians packed the camp away, Revans eyes strayed to the temple to the far left. It stood menacingly in the bright light, its entrance; dark and forbidding like a hungry mouth. Revan shivered, in spite of the heat of the day. Her dream came back to her, and she wondered if this was the place where the Exile was imprisoned. She tried to sense her through the Force, but the link felt tainted and weak. Revan feared greatly for the Exile. She hoped that she was strong enough for the trials that awaited her. Am I strong enough for what awaits us all? For Mandalore, for the Mandalorians? I should have been here alone…she said silently to herself. They should never have followed me.
She hooked her sabers back into their pouches on her belt, and glanced across to where the Mandalorian leader was talking to his men. He was a great inspiration to them, a great warrior, and she could see why his troops followed him with an undying loyalty. She herself had inspired people to follow her in the past, and she knew what qualities a strong leader like that had to have.
Stubbornness is one, she thought wryly as she remembered the first time that she had seen Mandalore here on this planet. He had sought her out, defied her order not to follow. She had told him to search for the rest of the Mandalorians, unite them together…and he had done that, and then brought them here.
Revan sighed deeply. She had not meant for that to happen. Now she felt a responsibility towards the Mandalorians, as she did towards the Exile. It would have been better to come alone. She could not have them, or anyone else endanger their lives for her.
She should face the temple alone. The taint in there was too strong for her to risk the others.