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Chapter 25
Chaos was present all over the battlefield. In the skies of Malachor, fighters were flying in random directions, damaging the capital ships of both sides. From time to time, a random missile hit their cruiser, though Meetra couldn't guess if it was an accidental friendly fire or a Mandalorian attack. Fortunately, their ship remained far enough from the center of the battle. She was watching through the viewport and on a large screen the battle that was supposed to end the Mandalorian Wars. She felt a shiver run up her spine; she trembled unwillingly. She could understand why Mandalorians feared Malachor V. Even onboard of the Ravager, she could feel the Dark Side of the planet that would serve as the means to destroy their enemy once and for all. She closed her eyes and turned away from the viewport.
But the Dark Side wasn't the only thing that she felt from Malachor. When the final battle was being prepared, Meetra and Alek agreed that some part of their army must be sent to the planet's surface. She had no second thoughts about that, even though she was fully aware of what would happen to the unfortunate souls that would be sent there. Many tests performed by Bao-Dur almost always ended up in the same way – a miniature black hole appeared in the center of the test, only to evaporate almost instantly. The Iridonian explained to them after many failed attempts that it was because the object they were testing it on was too small and too light to have its gravity increased to such extent. If they wanted to observe what should happen, based on Bao-Dur's calculations, they would have to perform a test on some planet. Revan refused to go that far.
Asyel, she thought, breathing in deeply. He was on the Malachor's surface, leading the group of Jedi and the Republic soldiers against the Mandalorians that ambushed them there. Asyel Den'kel was one of her friends from Dantooine. They grew up together and they have completed their Jedi training together, though he never was included in Revan's group. That often caused Meetra and Asyel to argue heavily, though it always resulted in the same way – never truly solved.
But when Meetra joined Revan and Alek in their quest against the Mandalorians, Asyel was one of the first Jedi to follow her into the war. To be honest, Meetra wouldn't be surprised if his love for her would be the real reason. Asyel never said that, but she suspected that he was deeply in love with her. But to Meetra, he always remained a friend. For the past two years, they haven't argued again and silently agreed to put that subject aside. Asyel has proved himself a worthy General many times during countless battles they fought. He quickly became second only to Meetra.
Which is why now she felt terribly – she has sent one of her friends to certain death. And to make things worse, she could feel what was happening to Asyel. Meetra did her best to shut him off and not feel what was going on in her friend's mind and around him. It proved to be futile, though. No matter how much she tried, she still felt Asyel on the edge of her mind, following their plan.
It was a clever plan. 'Accidentally' they have released information about the secret training academy, located on the planet, in order to lure the Mandalorians to this system. As they have foreseen, their enemy took the bait and arrived with a full armada, even though they feared the Malachor V.
Not many people knew the details of their plan. Meetra, Alek, Noma Sommos, Saul Karath, Jimas Veeltra, and Bao-Dur kept everyone else in the dark; none of them ever allowed anyone else to know about the existence of the Mass Shadow Generator. Eight deactivated Hammerhead-class vessels were transferred in secret to the planet's surface, days before the Republic's army arrived at Malachor System. Bao-Dur and a handful of droids managed to assemble the vessels on different parts of the planet and the chaining sequence has begun. The Iridonian suspected that it would take at least five days for the weapon to be ready to use on such a scale. Meetra and Alek have personally overseen the preparations; Revan's whereabouts were still a mystery. They haven't found his body on Althir III and they were sure that he was captured by the Mandalorians, most likely executed. It didn't matter what they felt about it – time for mourning the dead would come after the war.
"Is the device ready?" Meetra asked via her communicator. Their ship was just outside of the Mass Shadow Generator's reach. Or so Bao-Dur claimed. Alek was standing right next to her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Set and activated" Bao-Dur replied calmly. This was it, the final moment of the Mandalorian Wars. In just a few seconds she was supposed to witness the annihilation of the entire Mandalorian fleet… and that part of the Republic's Navy that was close to the Malachor V. The fate of the Galaxy laid in her hands. A catastrophe was waiting only for her word.
"On my order then," she said, faking calmness. She watched the simulation of the explosion of Bao-Dur's machine many times and now she was supposed to see what it truly was capable of. She watched the Republic ships for a while longer. They all served under them, willing to fulfill every order just to get rid of the Mandalorian threat. And now, they were about to die in the same way as their enemies.
"General?" Bao-Dur asked after a moment of silence. The Iridonian was waiting only for her word. Just one word. "General? Let's get this over with" he urged her on. But Meetra was lost in the world of her own thoughts. She wasn't accustomed to this – to giving orders. It was something that Revan was good at. But Revan wasn't there.
"General?" Bao-Dur asked again. She felt Alek squeeze her shoulder reassuringly. He wanted her to know that he was with her.
"We owe it to him" he whispered. Meetra knew he was right. She took in a shaky breath.
"Do it" she said quickly. For a moment she was afraid that Bao-Dur didn't hear her but then, the space above Malachor V shone brightly as if a supernova exploded right next to them. Bright light forced her to cover her eyes. First, there was silence. But after a few seconds, she heard thousands upon thousands of screams throughout the Force. She heard Asyel and his group of Jedi and the Republic soldiers. The pilots of the fighters, the Commanders of the Cruisers and the Mandalorians – all of them were pulled towards the planet, crushed in the gravity's fist. She collapsed to the ground, resting on her knees. She felt Alek kneel next to her immediately.
"Meetra?" he asked, genuinely concerned. He kept his hand on her back, not sure what he could do to help. Meetra looked at him pleadingly, as if he was the one who could make the pain go away
It's too much! she screamed to herself. She brought both of her hands to her temples, feeling the pain of all those who died around her. Their lives and their deaths poured into her mind, almost knocking her unconscious.
"Stop" she heard her voice. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Alek looking at her with a dumbfounded expression. But her words did nothing to help her. "STOP!" she screamed again with the full strength of her lungs, allowing the Force to move freely through her throat. The pain was still there, though, defining what she was and who she was at that very moment. And then, suddenly, there was nothing. Where there was chaos, there was stillness. And where there were screams, there was only silence.
It was the second time that she dreamed of Malachor. Two times is way too much, she thought to herself as she was slowly returning from the unconsciousness. But this time was different. This time she felt the pain of the Mass Shadow Generator as if she was there again, even though it was only a memory. She felt Alek's presence, even though he was long dead, and Asyel on the planet's surface. Asyel, she remembered, I'm sorry… my friend.
But even though she relived the destruction of Malachor V again, those feelings quickly evaporated, allowing her to feel what was happening around her. A large pain erupted at the back of her head. Meetra tried to lift her hand to touch that spot only to find out that she was spread in an uncomfortable position on the ground. She opened her eyes, trying to get a better understanding of her current situation.
She noticed two feet no more than a meter away from her face. She used the Force to lessen the pain she felt; it worked immediately. She stood up, using her hands for support.
It took some time for her eyes to get adjusted to the bright light of the sun. At first, she only saw a silhouette of a man in front of her and a flying orb right next to him. Her first thought was that it was Atton, though she didn't remember his left forearm shining so brightly. Nor did she remember Atton having spikes at the top of his head.
"Good to have you back, General" the man in front of her greeted her. That voice, she thought, somehow remembering it.
"My head… feels like I've been ripped in half" she replied, still not recognizing the man in front of her, even though his voice sounded familiar.
"Easy now," he said gently. "You survived one spectacular crash. Lucky I was here to pull you and your friends out of that shuttle or you'd be more than a little crispy. But it's only fair" he added quickly. "I owe you more than one, General." General, she thought. Then it hit her. It was the same voice she remembered from her dream of Malachor V. The same gentle voice…
"Bao-Dur?" she asked in disbelief. Her eyes have already adjusted to the bright light and they have confirmed what she suspected. The Iridonian technician, the one she hadn't seen for the past eight years was standing in front of her. She gasped unwillingly.
"You must be in shock from the crash" he replied, smiling gently. "Have to expect some long term memory loss from that. Too bad she's not a droid, huh?" he chuckled slightly. Only then did she realize that the last sentence was directed at the small droid right next to Bao-Dur. The flying orb replied in a series of beeps. "We can't all be that lucky" he answered and looked again at Meetra. "We all went through some tough times after Malachor, and maybe we all did a little forgetting. Guess that's one thing we've got better than droids – they can't forget anything. But then, you give them a memory wipe and they forget for good."
"How… how are the others?" she asked, looking around, noticing Kreia and Atton still lying on the ground.
"They'll be fine" Bao-Dur assured her. "The pilot's more or less unharmed and the old lady, well, she's tougher than she looks. You know, I never thought I'd see you again, General. Galaxy's a big place, and this is the last place I thought I'd bump into you" he said, changing the topic. "So I have to ask, just what are you doing here?"
"Looking for my ship" she explained, bringing her hand to the back of her head. She felt a wet spot on her hair.
"Well, if your ship's in as bad shape as this one, I don't think you're gonna have much luck" Bao-Dur replied honestly. They both heard Atton grunt before Meetra could say anything else. They turned to his direction, noticing that he already stood up.
"Well, this is familiar" he commented, cracking a few joints. "Feels like my last time on Telos."
"Crushed a shuttle that time, too?" Bao-Dur asked with a small chuckle.
"No, pazaak" he replied as if that single word was supposed to serve as an explanation.
"That was not the most pleasant landing I've endured," Kreia said, gathering the attention of others. "Next time, we should perhaps seek out a more reputable pilot."
"You're welcome, Kreia" Atton replied through clenched teeth. "You know, if I weren't such a crack pilot, we could have hit the shield wall or one of those rock faces."
"Yes, our current situation is a vast improvement" she countered.
"We need to find the Ebon Hawk," Meetra said, ending their argument before Atton could say something else.
"I can help you find it" Bao-Dur offered. Meetra once again was focused on him. "I have access to the shield network" he explained. "I came hoping to repair whatever damage your shuttle took, but not even I can fix that wreck."
"So what do we do?" Meetra asked, sensing that the Iridonian had some plan in mind. She wasn't wrong.
"We'll have to get back to the compound" he explained. "It's the old Ithorian research station, turned into a salvage team staging area. It won't be an easy hike."
"Why not?"
"First, there's the mercenary pursuit team looking for me" he answered calmly. "If Czerka's secured the compound, there could be a lot of them out there. Second, there are all the Cannoks."
"What's a Cannok?" Atton asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"The vicious, wide-jawed predators the Ithorians imported from Dxun. They were meant to keep the herbivore population in check."
Dxun, Meetra thought, shaking a little. Just like Malachor, Dxun was an unpleasant memory.
"I don't see any herbivores around" Atton replied.
"Right. The Cannoks ate them all" Bao-Dur explained. "Now they'll eat anything they can catch, including us. Without the Ithorians to maintain the accelerated ecosystem's balance, everything is falling apart. Czerka's killing the Restoration Project piecemeal."
"Let's get going" Meetra ordered. The others agreed silently and the group of three followed Bao-Dur. They've crash-landed in what looked to be a canyon, surrounded by high cliffs from each side. The Iridonian led them directly to the edge of the canyon and began to climb upward. Meetra rewarded him with a smile after he pulled out his cybernetic hand to help her get up. The two of them pulled Kreia and Atton up.
"Is there no other way to get to the compound?" Meetra asked, panting heavily. They've only reached the top of the rock shelf and she was already sweating profusely. Bao-Dur shook his head.
"The canyon is filled the Cannoks and the mercenaries. It would be a suicide to try to get through them. The cliffs are our best shot" he replied calmly. He seemed to not care about the climb as if it was a routine for him. Once everyone caught their breaths, they've resumed their journey with Bao-Dur leading the way. Meetra was walking right next to him, leaving Atton and Kreia a few steps behind. The small droid was flying right next to the Iridonian, separating them.
"Bao-Dur" she addressed him softly. He looked at her immediately.
"General. Need something?" he asked in exactly the same way as he used to during the war.
"Yes. I'd like to know how you ended up here. I thought that everyone who survived Malachor followed Revan?" Bao-Dur chuckled at that, looking to the ground.
"Believe it or not, General, but you weren't the only one to return to Coruscant after the final battle… after the plan" he replied. "When you left Malachor System, many others did, including me. I have returned to the Republic, hoping to rest after the war. I don't remember how long I've lived there before a group of soldiers appeared at my room during one night" he said, earning a questioning look from Meetra. "The news about the outcome of Malachor reached Coruscant faster than you've reached the Jedi Temple, I assure you. The government was looking for people who were responsible for that and apparently, Admiral Dodonna remembered that I was close to you and Revan during the war and thought that I could know something about it. I was brought to the court in the middle of the night, facing Tol Cressa and Koa Delko. Dodonna was there too, as well as many others who I can't remember now. They've asked me questions. Questions about the war and the final battle. I've admitted that I was the one responsible for the destruction of Malachor… and a huge part of the Republic Navy."
"Why did you tell them?" Meetra couldn't help asking.
"You weren't the only one who couldn't live with themselves after the war, believe me" he replied. "I thought that perhaps admitting to my crimes and facing punishment would bring me peace… but it didn't. It was a matter of time before they locked me down on Coruscant. I was supposed to serve a life sentence. The only reason I haven't faced the death penalty is that it is forbidden in the Republic. I've spent a year and a half in detention before I was summoned again to the court, but for other reasons. Revan and Malak have returned to the Known Space, bringing another war with them" he breathed in deeply, looking into the sky. "The Republic wanted to know if there was a threat of repeating the tragedy that took place on Malachor V."
"And what did you tell them?" Meetra queried, looking at him. Bao-Dur looked her in the eyes before replying.
"The truth," he said simply. "I've told them that I am the only one to know the secrets of the Mass Shadow Generator. I was put under a lie detector, even though the entire Jedi Council was gathered there and they've vouched for me, confirming that I was telling the truth. After a long time of debating, my sentence was altered. For the crime of Malachor V, my left forearm was chopped off and I was sent to Telos to help the Ithorians in the Restoration Project. After a while, I've built myself a second hand and I have been working here ever since, hoping that helping to bring life back to this planet would bring me peace that I've lost at Malachor V."
"But it didn't?" she guessed.
"It didn't" he confirmed, shaking his head. "No matter how much effort I've put to rebuilding Telos, I couldn't erase Malachor V from my mind. I can't remember a night without dreaming about it. All those who perished in the gravity's fist… because of the invention that I've come up with during my final months on the university of technology," he said with a sad but gentle voice.
"Asyel" Meetra whispered, agreeing with Bao-Dur's words. "Wait… you've invented the Mass Shadow Generator?" she asked in disbelief. Bao-Dur nodded his head.
"Of course. If it wasn't the case, I wouldn't be the only one to know how to build it. It was the topic of my Engineering Thesis – the enhancement of the planet's gravity to help to improve the ecosystem of the inhabitable planets. If I knew that I would use it in a much different way, I would have never created that."
"Do you regret what we have done on Malachor V?" Meetra queried. Truth be told, she didn't have nightmares about Malachor as Bao-Dur had. It started recently when she woke up at Peragus. Until then, for eight years she kept pushing the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars out of her mind as if she tried to deny that it happened. Everything she went through on the bridge of the Ravager has come back to haunt her. The feelings she hoped she had forgotten, returned with full strength as if the battle took place only the day before. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Bao-Dur must have felt after dreaming about Malachor every night for the past eight years.
"I do not regret what we have done to the Mandalorians" he admitted after a moment of silence. "They've got what they deserved at Malachor V. But I regret sacrificing all those Jedi and the Republic soldiers on the Malachor's surface and in its skies. Who knows, maybe if they all didn't die back then, the Jedi Civil war wouldn't have happened, or at least, Malak and Revan would have a much harder time against the Republic. Perhaps, Telos would have avoided such tragic fate" he explained, not looking at her. Meetra wondered on his words for a while.
She would have laughed at how well Bao-Dur guessed if the matter wasn't so serious. The Iridonian didn't know that the people who were sent to the Malachor's surface and into the direct combat against the Mandalorians in the planet's skies were handpicked by Revan just before the battle of Althir III. He chose those whose loyalty remained in question and those who were openly against him. Meetra and Alek helped him in that task, creating a list of all Jedi and the Generals who were supposed to be slaughtered at Malachor V. Meetra said nothing when one of those Jedi turned out to be Asyel. A casualty of war, she justified herself.
Bao-Dur's words had some truth in them that caused Meetra to wonder if the Galaxy hadn't suffered so much if the battle at Malachor V was ended in a much different way. She sighed heavily, knowing that she would never find an answer to that question. The past has already been written; the ink has dried. There was no point in wondering what could have happened. Life was too short for that.
"I regret that too" she replied, not allowing her thoughts to slip up.
They've continued their journey in silence. Bao-Dur was correct – there was no sign of the mercenaries nor the Cannoks on the cliffs. The only obstacle was the terrain. Every here and there, Meetra saw the unnatural craters that wouldn't exist normally. She quickly realized that it was the aftermath of Malak's bombardment.
Whatever she saw when the Ebon Hawk left the hyperspace in the Telos System couldn't even be compared to what she saw on the planet's surface. The Ithorians truly did a great job of bringing that part of Telos back to life. It was as she remembered it – vibrant with life, though not to such a scale as before the bombardment. The sun was shining through the Citadel Station, illuminating their path. The air was clear and Meetra took pleasure in every breath she took in. She recalled the times when she roamed across the planet's surface after fulfilling the task that the Council gave her.
"We've arrived" Bao-Dur announced, coming closer to the cliff's edge. He lowered himself to the ground, observing what was happening in the canyon. Meetra, Atton, and Kreia followed his movement, lying right next to the cliff's edge. Down below, they saw a compound that was made of a few buildings, spread chaotically at the end of the canyon. It was filled with people, undoubtedly the mercenaries that Bao-Dur warned them about. It didn't take a genius to realize that they were greatly outmatched.
"There's the landing pad" Bao-Dur informed her in a whisper. Meetra followed his gaze to the structure that he was observing. "There should be a computer terminal I can access from there. Looks like we're gonna fight our way there, though" he added, observing the mercenaries who were protecting the compound. Meetra shook her head.
"There are too many of them" she countered. "Going in now would be suicide. It's nearly dark" she noticed, observing the sun's position in the sky. "We'll wait until nightfall to make our move" she ordered. Her three companions nodded their heads in agreements and the group retreated from the cliff's edge. Now they could only wait.