Aloha to BaM for the beta. I think we'll be done in a few chapters. I was gone to Napa Valley, CA for some hiking, climbing, running, and drinking where I could reconnect with my husband. Then, this week was 44 hours in three days at work. But I did get to fire a 40mm mortar and shot about 1200 rounds 5.56mm, 9mm, .40 cal, .45 ACP.

I wanted to again show Revan's genius in battle and the Exile's determination. They'll be more from the Mandalorians and they do fight back hard. I've got the next chapter done and in the queue.

No Greater Glory

Malachor V – The Serphants Stronghold

Serphants turned away from Atton Rand, distracted by the sound of a lightsaber cutting through one of his guards. One moment of distraction was all it took for Atton to body check the Mandalorian and then grapple with him. Howling like a lunatic and looking like one with an eye swollen shut and his clothes in bloody fragments, the Republic operative rammed his forehead into Serphants' face.

The Mandalorian chief grunted and the two crashed to the ground amid the chaos of a melee. Ignoring the battle around him, Atton pulled back his fist and drove it down toward Serphants' exposed throat. An experienced warrior, the chief kicked Atton sideways, deflecting his punch into the ground and then he pulled the operative close to him and wrapped his thick arm around Atton's scrawny neck from below.

The operative felt the hollow sensation of the blood being cut off from his brain and his vision immediately began to dim. Weakly, he pounded on Serphants' chest, but his struggle was futile – the Mandalorian was simply too powerful. With a last gasp, Atton drove his knee into his enemy's groin and he was rewarded with a howl of pain and the loosening of the death grip around his neck.

Seizing the initiative, Atton bit deep into Serphants' arm and he heard another howl and tasted blood. He pushed Serphants off his body and rolled away. As he completed his roll, Atton turned back to face his opponent just in time to see a vibrodagger slashing at him. With Echani-trained instincts, the operative twisted his body again to avoid a fatal blow, but the tip of the blade raked across his chest, flaying his skin and tunic open. Blood dribbled down his exposed front.

Atton winced, but tried to maintain focus. I only have to fight one right now.

Then, his blood chilled and he saw a guard out of the corner of his eye, launching an attack on him with a vibrodagger. Atton stepped into the cut and, with his open hand, he seized the man's wrist. With amazing finesse, Atton torqued the Mandalorian's hand around and plunged the man's own dagger into his neck.

In near panic, Atton spun around to face Serphants, but the chief was gone.

"Where'd he go? Kayla, where'd Serphants go?"

The Jedi woman stood over several Mandalorian corpses and her blonde hair fluttered in a warm breeze. "I hurled him away with the Force, but he then fled. I was unable to pursue. You and Seja are in bad shape and…and I could not leave you behind."

Atton rubbed his swollen eye and winced with his good one. "Not very Mandalorian of him, don't you think?" he drawled, his characteristic insouciance sneaking back into his bruised face until he staggered a step, wobbled and then went down on one knee.

"Jaq? Jaq, are you okay?" Kayla asked as she rushed to him, cradling his head in her arms.

Atton quivered in pain for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Don't sweat it, sister," he said with a weak chuckle. "I knew this would bring you running."

Kayla gave a disgusted grunt. "You are impossible, Jaq! Come, we have to get out of here before Serphants comes back with reinforcements. I've freed Seja and he's secured us an exit."

The operative stood slowly, holding out his arms for balance. His eyes registered surprise. "Seja, goodness gracious, I thought he was dead," Atton said. Then, he narrowed one eye and his near-permanent smirk returned. "How's he holding up? Serphants worked his ass over something fierce."

"Not too good, I'm afraid. I think we're all in bad shape," Kayla said as she put her arm around Atton's waist to help him walk. Together, they rushed to the exit where Seja was waiting.

Through his split lip, Atton smiled at his intelligence contact. "Glad you made it, Seja. Hey, I'm really sorry about Callista. Tough break."

Seja nodded silently, his face impassive. He pointed out toward a wooded area. "The egress shuttle is hidden this way. We must hurry."

A Starfighter in the Heat of Battle

Revan broke sharply to starboard after she had destroyed a Basilisk Droid with laser fire. The smoldering remains of her kill flew apart in all directions, peppering her shields with debris.

"Wooooo!" called her astromech droid, which sat right behind her like a copilot.

Guided by her awesome command of the Force, Revan yawed the nose of her starfighter to port and pressed the trigger, unleashing a torrent of laser bolts into another Mandalorian. The energy splattered on the Basilisk's shields for a moment until they collapsed under the assault. Then, bolts raked across naked durasteel and armored plates disintegrated along with the droid.

"Splash two," she said, announcing her two new kills. The heat of battle was growing in her soul.

Something tingled in her mind – the Force screamed a warning. Reaching out with her senses, she felt the two incoming missiles. Immediately, she slammed down on the left rudder pedal while slapping the control stick into her left thigh. The starfighter careened to the left and one missile shot by, exploding a mere 20 meters away.

The second missile was not so easily fooled and stayed with her through the turn. She quickly flipped on her electronic warfare suite and metallic chaff shot out of a dispenser along the ventral surface of her craft. Her jamming pod also emitted a barrage of radio-frequency energy to confuse the missile's targeting system.

The deadly dart hesitated for just a moment, but it was all Revan needed. She reversed direction on a dime and shot off to the right, letting the missile shoot by. Before she could breathe, her senses warned her of a new threat and she yanked the stick back into her belly, pitching the nose of the starfighter over. In the blink of an eye, a Mandalorian craft flashed by and Revan unloaded her lasers. Bolts of plasma splashed along the fuselage of the enemy, shattering panels and systems. Trailing ignited fuel, the Mandalorian tumbled end over end until exploding.

"Splash one…I'm good for twenty three," she announced with a smug smile. She took a deep breath and focused the Force around herself, letting her mind wrap around the entire battle. She switched frequencies to talk to the Eagle. "Implement the attack plan. May the Force be with you."

"Wilco, Revan. Breaking formation…." came the reply.

With her awesome situational awareness, Revan saw her line of warships breaking formation and turning into Bendak's fleet, which was parallel to her own. At first, her ships took a pounding at long range against the Mandalorian broadsides.

Stay focused…remain courageous, she thought as she reached out to give her crews strength against the ferocity of Mandalorian fire.

Several of Revan's major vessels were burning and dead in space, but in a minute, the Republic fleet had closed.

"Fine maneuvering. The Mandalorians think that they have the advantage and will maintain formation," she whispered as her individual ships now got behind individual Mandalorian vessels and unleashed their own broadsides at point-blank range. Revan turned her starfighter about to watch the devastation and was rewarded by several Mandalorian cruisers disintegrating in massive shockwaves. As expected, the enemy held tightly to their illusory advantage and the whole tide of the battle shifted in a minute.

Situated behind the enemy, the Republic ships continued to fire volleys into the engines of the Mandalorians, disabling their ability to maneuver. Bendak's ships were sitting ducks. Only now were they beginning to react to her strategy – but it was too late.

"All capital ship, continue the assault until they break. Rejoin on me," Revan then called to her flight of starfighters. "I'm going to defy the will of the Force…I want Bendak himself."

As starfighters lined up behind her, she found the crippled dreadnaught that was Bendak's flagship. They accelerated ahead amid a barrage of turbolaser fire. Revan's helmet-mounted sight began displaying targeting cues on key systems of the ship and she pressed the trigger. Lasers streaked into turrets and shield generators, smashing them to dust. Boldly, she flew along the hull of the great beast, dodging return fire and obstacles. Fire and debris was pouring from numerous fissures along the body of the ship and Revan jinked to avoid a gout of flame. Again, her mind screamed.

Incoming torpedo.

One of her warships had launched a proton weapon and it would land just in front of her. Guided by the Force, she spun the starfighter away, but the cylinder slammed into the Blade Dancer and exploded. Revan gritted her teeth and prepared for the worst.

Here comes the shockwave.

Aboard the Assault Force Bound for Malachor VII

General Mai-Lyn T'Sing sat, strapped to a seat within one of hundreds of assault shuttles. A gray helmet encased much of her head and gray body armor covered the rest of her. She looked around the cabin to see men and women, soldiers and Jedi, who had been with her since Dxun…some since Dantooine.

I must be more like Revan and know my people. I must inspire them like she does.

Mai-Lyn turned and made eye contact with each and every one of the people in the cabin. She was rewarded with smiles and reassuring nods.

Floxel, Jorath, Hoff-Tau, my friends from Dantooine…. I can't even envision the Enclave any longer. We have been through too much and too many have perished. It is nearly finished, my friends…this is the last full measure.

The general pulled down a viewing screen to observe the battle. My power is not as strong as yours Revan, where you can see everything in your head.

On the display, Mai-Lyn saw Revan's squadron tearing through several Mandalorian ships, finally attacking the Blade Dancer. Revan's starfighter, with its prominent transponder signal, flitted around the ship's defenses while dealing out horrible damage to the enemy. Then, a torpedo struck the crippled ship where Revan's craft should have been. Mai-Lyn gasped and her mind reached out into space in near panic.

Revan! By the Force, we cannot lose you now. The end is so near.

A moment passed, before, against hope, a voice answered in her head. Have no fear, Mai-Lyn. All is well. The fancy flying was all my own, but I learned a Force trick or two from that mysterious crone, Kreia. When all of this is finished, we shall seek her out and continue our learning.

The general sighed and settled back into her seat. For so long she had relied on the admiral's guidance and calm strength to lead this crusade. She refocused on the display and saw Revan's starfighter veering away from the Blade Dancer, which was careening out of control toward deep space. Red triangles, representing Bendak's fleet, were winking out of existence in twos and threes now; several avenues of retreat cut off by Malak's ships.

Though the Mandalorians would die for pride and glory, they were now being slaughtered like sheep.

"General T'Sing, the way to Malachor Seven is open. You may begin your landing," called Revan, her voice to Mai-Lyn seeming oddly cheerful.

"Acknowledged, Admiral. We are approaching the outer atmosphere."

On cue, the ride became rough and Mai-Lyn bounced against her safety harness. She had been through this a hundred times on a hundred worlds, but somehow, this one was different. Quickly, she reread a reconnaissance report by Revan's operative, Jaq. It gave detailed descriptions of terrain and defenses along with personality assessments of the Mandalorian leaders.

So, that's his name. This Jaq has proven to be most useful. I should love to meet him one day.

What Mai-Lyn didn't know was that there was one thing Jaq's report had not captured: the arrival of Mandalorian reinforcements including one, Canderous Ordo, who alone was worth a thousand warriors.

As the assault shuttles penetrated the atmosphere, anti-air artillery opened up, making the ride rougher still. The speakers crackled with a distorted voice from another shuttle. "We're taking surface to air missiles and triple A from the fortress. Request planetary bombardment from the fleet."

Mai-Lyn nodded and keyed her mike, but Revan was already on it.

"General T'Sing, I have two destroyers entering orbit with orders to support the landing."

"Thank you, Admiral."

The shuttle rocked from a near miss and the ion turbines whined as the craft went into a power dive. A SAM plowed into a nearby shuttle, shredding its metal skin and hurling flaming soldiers into the air. In a moment, the sky was filled with landing craft screaming toward the ground, streaking missiles, and bursts of laser fire. In short, it was pure hell.

Mai-Lyn dug her fingers into the arm rests of her seat and grit her teeth as G forces washed over her. Every second or two, she could hear a paff sound as chaff bundles shot from the shuttle to confuse Mandalorian sensors. Turbulence, exploding warheads, and the jinking of the shuttle by its pilot further shook the brave soldiers in the cabin. The general keyed her mike. "Commander Dodonna, now would be a good time."

"Roger that. We're beginning our strafing run."

"This is Onasi, ready to rumble."

Mai-Lyn strained to look up into the display where she could see Forn Dodonna's starfighters streaking across the terrain, blanketing the defenses with missiles and rockets. The violent buffeting from enemy fire slackened and the shuttle continued to scream toward the icy ground.

"Prepare to egress in two minutes," called the pilot, a man from Telos named Jordo Crae. "The LZ is hot. I say again, the LZ is hot." Suddenly, the shuttle veered to the left, throwing Mai-Lyn against a soldier. "Missile inbound! Prepare for impact," yelled Jordo.

A blinding flash lit up the sky in front of the shuttle and then a Republic starfighter shot past. "I took the missile out. You're clear," a man's voice said.

"Thanks Carth, I owe you another one," said Jordo with a sigh of relief. He looked back into the cabin. "Thirty seconds!"

The general unhitched her safety harness and powered her blaster rifle. As the roar of the ion turbines lessened, she stood sharply. "On your feet! Fifteen seconds!" The platoon stood in unison and moved to the egress hatches with a single purpose. The sensation of gravity changed and Mai-Lyn knew they were on the ground.

Now's our time. Let us end this swiftly.

"Hatch opening!" called Jordo and red lights turned to green as the exit appeared.

The general slapped the back of the man in front of her. "Go go go!" Men dashed out of the shuttle and into the maw of death. A stream of blaster bolts slammed into armored men as they ran down the ramp. Blood, bits of metal, and body parts flew backward onto the men behind. Viscous red liquid sprayed into Mai-Lyn's face and she saw the shuttle next to them explode.

"Keep going, we're sitting ducks here!" she yelled, pushing men forward. Soldiers staggered into the snow, only to be riddled with blaster fire. A gunner on the shuttle swung his heavy blaster around and returned fire amid the smoke and chaos.

Jordo powered up his engines. "General, with all due respect, you have to get off of my shuttle. We're taking hits!"

Mai-Lyn nodded and began hurling men off of the ramp. She let her rifle fall into the snow and her lightsaber flew to her hand. With a twist of her wrist, she powered the weapon and interposed it before a bolt of energy. The plasma struck the silver blade and it flew back the way it came. There was an explosion in the distance. She slashed another bolt away and kicked the last surviving soldier into the snow. "Pilot, get out of here!"

The ramp retracted as the shuttle dusted off, sending up swirls of white powder. Burning shuttles and smoldering corpses lay strewn about and Mai-Lyn motioned for her men to take cover. Amid explosions and flying chunks of ice, she scanned about and saw three armored walkers from the 1st Armored Cavalry, pressing against the enemy. One walker took a direct hit from a Mandalorian turbolaser and smoke poured from its hatches. Burning men leapt from the armored beast into the snow.

"Turtle, this is Spear Point," she called on the comm, using callsigns. "Enemy position at grid coordinates two-five-lima-hotel. Take it out, we'll support you."

"We're on it, General."

The walkers swung to the right and began laying down fire with their heavy weapons. Mai-Lyn got to her knee and pointed to the left. "Take up flanking positions…move!" Men streamed from behind cover and ran through the frost to rock formations at the base of the icy heights.

Before they could continue a soldier stopped and fell over dead. "Sniper!" a man yelled out and the platoon dove for cover. Another bolt smashed into an icy rock, spraying sparks. To make matters worse, the eerie Mandalorian battle cry rose up from nearby.

The general scanned the area with a sensor and her blood ran cold. "Prepare to repel. They're coming at us in at least company strength," she ordered, letting the platoon know they would be heavily outnumbered. Although the quality of Mandalorian warriors had fallen off dramatically in the past year, they were not to be underestimated.

One of the Republic walkers approached, twin lasers blazing as the sound of the Mandalorian charge grew louder. An enemy warrior was cut in half and another burned to a crisp. Bolts streaked into the Mandies until a missile found the leg of the walker and it tumbled over in flames.

Mai-Lyn squeezed the handle of her lightsaber tightly. It was going to be a brawl at close quarters. Unexpectedly, the gray skies lit up and a beam from the heavens fell upon the Mandalorians. Screams and the stench of burnt meat rose from ahead of the Republic soldiers.

The orbital bombardment had begun. Turbolaser fire rained down around the perimeter, shattering Mandalorian men and vehicles. The slaughter was immense.

The general sank back against a cold rock. "The LZ is secured. I say again, the LZ is secured."

"Good work, Mai-Lyn," voiced Revan. "Bendak's fleet is scattered. Move quickly to secure the fortress. Orbital bombardment will be useless against the site due to heavy shielding."

The general quickly scanned the battle report. "Admiral, we are gathering in strength. I will be able to advance within the hour."

"Excellent. The shield generators should be your priority. Revan out."

Mai-Lyn nodded grimly. If the casualty reports were true…. Our victory will not be as swift as I thought and I can expect the Mandies to contest every bloody inch of ice and snow here.