We start with the intell/intrigue thread, looking at Atton's background as an agent for Revan. The plan was meant to be Pure Pazaak, but it could go to hell and a handbasket quickly. We then seesome familiar faces with some visceral combat. Onward to glory.
Glory
Malachor System – Malachor V – Serphants – Day 2 – Hour of the Firaxa Shark (1900 Local Time)
The thick fog had returned to shroud the doomed city, coating the buildings in a cool, humid moisture. With the blackout in effect, the streets were dark and quiet with only occasional patrols of Mandalorian troops, who were clad in their thick body armor.
Republic Intelligence operative Atton Rand sat in the shadows of an alleyway, watching…waiting for his contact as a lump formed in his throat. Atton's youthful angst belied his experience in the clandestine service: he had been to places throughout the known Galaxy, met exciting and interesting Mandalorians, and killed them.
Somehow, the blood on his hands had not diminished his boyish charm and wry sense of humor…not his love of the game, Pazaak. Someday, however, this would change and the young man would carry a scar with him that would shape the future of the Republic.
Atton hunched low and read his encrypted data pad – the plan was so simple, it could not possible go wrong. Meet with Kayla to receive mission-essential gear, pass the mission on to Seja via secure commlink, clear the way for him to terminate his target, get the heck off of this rock.
At that moment, Atton's attention was drawn to two Mandies and a droid, walking the deserted street, scanning for threats to the empire with their intricate optics, but oblivious to the markings that the operative had left on the wall.
Atton smiled as he activated his stealth field generator, letting the complex electronics send deceptive photons of light around his body and he vanished in a haze of diffuse lights.
Our lord, Revan is depending on this mission. It will finally end this war.
The tracker droid, humming with electronics, stopped and turned in Atton's direction before continuing down the street into the fog.
Before the operative could breathe a sigh of relief, a dark figure landed in the alley way with a grunt, seemingly having fallen from a great height. Atton gulped quickly with surprise and instinctively drew his holdout blaster. His dark eyes focused ahead.
"The spires of Coruscant are much taller," the figure spoke in a male voice.
Atton exhaled heavily, letting the air drain from his lungs. He wiped beads of moisture from his brow as his image rematerialized from nothingness. "But the streets of Malachor are cleaner…for now."
Atton eyed the man, whom he had never met face to face. "Seja…we're only suppose to communicate by secure commlink. This is too dangerous. Where is the Jedi?"
His breath streaming in the cool air, Seja removed his goggles and glanced around cautiously. "Time grows short. We must complete the mission quickly. The Mandies have increased their communications intercept capability. I had to come here personally."
Atton bit his lip – they were both in grave danger by meeting like this. "Very well," he said softly, handing Seja the image of Vako Serphants. "Here is your target. Revan wants him eliminated. It will sow the seeds of distrust between the clans before the final assault. We hope to start a conflict between the Fetts and the Ordos that will bleed Mandalorian strength."
The short Jedi looked with horror at the image, but then quickly submerged his feelings. "Tell Revan it shall be done."
At this point, Atton was becoming anxious. "You need to go now. I can't risk being seen with you. Take an alternate route out of here…hurry, go."
As Seja sprinted off, Atton sighed again, his heart pounding in his chest. "That was a damn, foolish thing…I'll not risk my neck like that again," he whispered to himself.
Suddenly, a movement above caught his attention. His eyes shot upward and just made out the image of a red-haired woman ducking away.
"Dammit," he cursed, seething at his misfortune. With practiced hands, he produced a tube and fired a grappling hook onto the roof high above. Atton scaled the rope with ease, climbing onto the ledge of the building. He crouched down and quickly oriented himself, facing around with blaster at the ready.
Somewhere in the Outer Rim
A massive fleet of warships sat 'at anchor' near a star system recently liberated by the Republic. The detritus of recent conflict floated lazily in space, a testament to the ferocity of battle – an ion engine here, a chunk of hull there.
Several Republic frigates towed a captured Mandalorian vessel alongside a massive dreadnaught. Tractor beams seized the helpless ship with invisible hands and brought it alongside where boarding tubes slinked out from the dreadnaught to violate the smaller ship.
Within the tubes, Republic marines awaited droids as the machines seared the Mandalorians' hull, slicing and carving the durasteel with white-hot torches. The men of the Republic crouched down behind cover, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to punish the criminals who had defiled the Galaxy. The armored troops watched as the light of the torch left a black circle on the hull…the droids were nearly done.
A major raised his hand and men moved the selectors on their weapons from safe. The low hum of blasters powering up filled the corridor.
As the major prepared to give the signal to begin the assault, his commlink chimed.
"Standby, major. You will be receiving a message."
The major grunted with anxious frustration. "What is it now? We are about to commence the boarding action."
From the rear, a female voice sounded, young and shrill. "Major, the message is that you are to await my arrival so that I might lead the boarding action personally."
The soldier turned abruptly to face his commander, Admiral Revan. She was tall and lean with the build of an athlete. Her robes were gray and form fitting, accentuating her shape. The major inhaled sharply, trying to make eye contact with her, but Revan's face was hidden by an angelic mask of porcelain white – a mask eerie in its deadly serenity.
"Admiral…forgive me, I am eager to do my duty for the Republic."
The Admiral clasped the man's shoulder in a sisterly way. "There is nothing to forgive, Major Ronto. It shows that I have trained you well; you are eager for battle and understand the greater good. I would be remiss as a leader if I did not show you the way forward. I shall be the first in and the last to leave." She guided the major forward, striding past the crouching men, bolstering their morale. Behind her walked a woman with platinum blonde hair, equally lean with the lightsaber of a Jedi.
The major sighed with relief. "Aye, Admiral. I am pleased to tell you that our electronic attack has disabled their self-destruct and weapons tracking systems. We are free to board." The man's face then took on a curious look. "But Admiral, why not just dispose of them?"
"Major, I need prisoners. I need human intelligence on what awaits us at Malachor. Those are your orders…capture as many Mandalorians as possible. Treat them with respect."
"Aye, ma'am."
The major then knelt down beside his company commanders to relay the mission as Revan walked calmly to the hull of the Mandalorian ship. She turned to the blonde Jedi. "General, are you ready for glory?"
The blonde nodded with a wry smile. Revan's ablest general was all about results, casualties notwithstanding.
With raven hair tied behind her ceramic mask, Revan pointed to the droids and the hatch was blown into the interior of the ship with a flash and smoke.
Immediately, yellow flashes appeared in the gaping hole – Mandalorian blasters. With a sharp hiss, a cerulean blade shot forth and met the bolts of plasma in mid air, sending them back from whence they came. The bolts shot back into the dense smoke, slamming into armored bodies, hurling them back.
Screams and chaotic shouts rang out from the hole and Revan advanced to the ragged edge of the hull…the void…and stepped through, her boot landing on the cold deck plates with a thud that symbolized the destruction of the Mandalorians.
As smoke billowed through the corridor, Revan stepped forward toward the sound of coughing and clove a warrior from shoulder to belly, her blade sizzling through metal and flesh. Another warrior stepped forward, blaster raised, but the general thrust her weapon through his neck, the rod of pure energy passing through his durasteel gorget like it was paper.
Revan pointed down the corridor with her blue lightsaber. "Now my brave boys, forward!"
A cry rose up from the throats of her troops and the marines surged forward into the ranks of confused Mandalorians.
Blasters and grenades tore through the ionized air as the once-feared Mandalorians fell back with Revan and her general hot on their heels. The two women sprinted toward the bridge in pursuit until several warriors turned.
One whirled around and aimed his blaster at Revan's head. "For Mandal -" he began before her blade sliced away the top of his skull. Smoke coiled from his blackened gray matter as he stood for just a second more before collapsing.
A second warrior turned, drawing his vibroblade. He cut laterally at the blonde general, hoping to eviscerate her with a wide sweep of his weapon. The powerful, slashing style of the Mandalorians was disadvantageous in close quarters and the general knew it. She stepped inside his cutting arc and removed his arm with a short stroke.
The warrior howled as his arm and weapon fell to the deck. His agony was cut short by Revan's foot impacting on his head with a reverse kick and he landed with a crunch.
"Leave him!" commanded Revan. "To the bridge!"
The two Jedi rushed ahead to where they knew the hatch to be. Two warriors stood there, vibroswords held aggressively, unafraid of death.
Revan stopped momentarily before extending her palm out. The warriors looked at the thin woman curiously before white and yellow lightning shot forth from her palm and into their bodies. They screamed and jiggled for several agonized seconds before they crashed to the deck like rocks, filling the corridor with the stench of ozone and cooked meat.
The two approached the hatch, Revan cold and detached, the general near battle frenzy. Revan waved the door open with her hand and led the final assault.
As the last defenders surged out in a desperate counterattack, Revan hurled one back into the masses, knocking many down.
Two came at the general with wide hacking cuts. She slid between the two blades as if she were a piece of bread sliding into a toaster and spun her body, letting her hips power her cut. The silver blade raked across the bellies of both warriors, spilling sizzling innards.
Revan advanced quickly past the general onto the stunned defenders. As one attempted to rise, the admiral removed his head and continued on into the command center. Another warrior thrust at her with the point of his blade, but Revan sidestepped and grasped his arm with her free hand. She suddenly reversed direction and sent the man spinning into a computer console, creating a shower of sparks.
However, her action had distracted her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the arc of a heavy blade. At the speed of thought, the Force rose to meet the weapon…to absorb some of its lethality. Still, the sword found her head, shattering the ceramic mask. Revan's head was instantly filled with white-hot pain and her nostrils filled with the smell of blood. Ringing filled her ears along with the distant cry of her general, but there was nothing anyone could do.
As the mask fell away, the angelic face of a young woman was revealed. However, blood flowed from her temple and her visage was twisted in demonic pain and rage.
The Mandalorian hesitated.
"You're Revan…a girl?"
In the fraction of a second the admiral had recovered her wits. With a torque of her hips, she sent her blade through both of the warrior's legs. The man tottered and then fell to the ground with a wail.
Revan stood and put the tip of her lightsaber to the warrior's throat. "You have been vanquished by the Republic."
Bridge of the RNS Eagle, Flagship of the Republic
Revan stood, facing the hologram of a tall, muscular man with blond hair. In contrast to her earlier chill demeanor, her expression was warm…loving. "Malak, you have done well. Please deliver your report."
Despite the hologram's simplicity, Malak's eyes showed the depths of his devotion and his intensity of his love for her. However, there was also a twinkle there…the twinkle of independent thought…of ambition. "The fleet is ready to depart. I am also pleased to report that I have…convinced the Mandalorians to cooperate. I have formulated a plan to further destabilize them before the invasion."
"Excellent, please tell me."
Malak's face broke into that broad, toothy grin that she had grown to love and cherish. "It would appear that the rift in the Mandalorian clans is deeper than we first thought. I would recommend that we terminate a Canderous of the Clan Ordo as well. This would drive a wedge between Mandalore and his other supporters."
"I shall make the arrangements. Thank you, Malak. I look forward to meeting with you this evening," Revan said with rare anticipation.
As the hologram of Malak faded, it was replaced by the image of Saul Karath. Revan nodded in greeting. "Saul, send word to my agent, Atton Rand to eliminate Canderous Ordo."
"Aye, Admiral…and your orders for the fleet?"
Revan's lips curled into an evil smile. "Have Forn Dodonna bring her squadrons to full readiness and prepare for hyperspace jump – we are going to Malachor."