Revan gazed at the tactical holo-map of the embattled part of the galaxy. With a sad sigh, he ask one last time, "And there were no survives from the Lucazec System?"

Talvon shook his head. "No, Master and none of our crusaders were found either. Our best guess is that they were incinerated or vaporized in the battle. Mandalorians do hate us after all."

Revan doubted that the bodies had been destroyed. More likely they were captured or had escaped. If they were captured then the best way to organize their rescue was to finish the war. If they had escaped, they would make their way back. It was more important to continue the campaign. "That is tragic and unfortunate but we must continue this campaign. Since our victory here in the Stenos System, we have garnered more support from the Republic Senate."

Talvon nodded with a smile. They had garnered so much support that Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa had named Revan the Supreme Commander of the Republic Military. Revan stroked the chin of his mask. "We also lost much of our carbonite and tibanna gas production from Bespin. Have General Surik and Commander Terep take three Centurions, a dozen Hammerheads and thirty Forays and push on to Elom. You will go to the Jaga's Cluster with your own fleet. I will take Alec and we will strike at Taris and liberate it. It's time we started taking back the Outer Rim."

Talvon nodded and bowed. "Of course, Master. I will transmit your orders immediately."

Revan straightened and said, "No need. Let's go to the comms cluster and I'll give the orders myself."

Meetra and Xaset were aboard Meetra's own ship and only present via holo-communications. Revan issued his orders. Meetra looked uncertain. "Forgive me, Master but the Mandalorians have quite a few strongholds in between. Why are we skipping over them?"

"Because," explained the Master, "they are lesser strongholds with little strategic importance. If we take the surrounding fortresses, I believe that the Mandalorians will retreat and if they don't, we can weed them out from places of strength. If we are going to push against the Mandalorians, we need to pick our targets carefully. They need to be both meaningful and strategic."

Meetra nodded but it was clear that she didn't agree. "If no one has anything else;" said Revan, pausing to wait and see if any of them did, "go and protect the people of the Republic."

Talvon's flagship, the Cavalier, dropped out of hyperspace at the head of his fleet. The site that met their eye made them freeze.

The Mandalorian fleet was ready for them and moved to engage before they even had the chance to react. "As soon as they are in range, fire. Order the retreat. There is no possible way to defeat a fleet of that size or who were that ready for us;" ordered Talvon immediately.

He thought to himself sarcastically that this was a fine way for him to begin his solo command of a task force and engagement - with an immediate retreat.

"Sir, we can't! They're too close. If we attempt to flee, they will simply annihilate us before we can. Our only choice is to fight;" said the Republic Admiral.

Talvon growled in frustration. "Alright then, let's give them everything we've got. Batteries, fire on the small ships first and I want all shields to full front. Have all fighters launched. The Aureks will deliver full payloads against those first three dreadnoughts. All Cholas will target their command ship. Have the Forays escort them in and the Hammerheads will follow, using their main guns to pound the shields. The Centurion ships will follow up with full barrages. If we can't defeat, then we'll rip them apart."

The admiral relayed the orders before pulling Talvon aside. "Sir, we can't win this battle."

"Then what can we do?" asked Talvon as calmly as he could manage.

"We can make this defeat as costly for them as possible. Even in defeat, we need to send a message to the Mandalorians - the Republic will die fighting them to the last ship and the last man. We also need someone to escape. That way, the Mandalorians won't have a victory like they did in the Lucazec Sector where there were no survivors to report."

Talvon nodded. "You are correct. Send someone who can make it through the conflict intact."

"Only a Jedi could, sir."

Talvon nodded. "Alright, then send Cuo'guar."

"No;" said the Bothan Jedi in question.

Talvon turned to him, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"With all due respect sir, the Revanchist and the Republic cannot afford to lose you. The Master knows this."

Talvon shook his head firmly. "I will not be leaving this ship. Who of us is the best pilots?"

"You are;" said the other. "You are the best pilot, the best trained and you have the ear of the Master."

Suddenly, the ship shook and they all turned to the viewport. Suddenly, Talvon felt himself freeze. All control left him and the Bothan Jedi said, "I'm sorry, General Esan but you are leaving this ship. Get me a T3 droid and program it to return to the main fleet in a shuttle. I want three Jedi to escort him past the battle's perimeter. I will assume command of this battle with the Admiral when you're gone."

Talvon wanted to scream but he couldn't even do that as he was literally carried to a shuttle where he was strapped in. The reprogrammed T3 droid plugged into the main computer and ran the ship through preflight.

In the mean time, the battle was going as well as had been expected. For every ship of the Republic that was destroyed, at least one of the Mandalorians were eliminated as well. Basilisk war droids were literally ripping ships apart, tearing into the outer hauls of ships and burrowing in and killing anything and everything they found, their Mandalorian riders roaring battle cries in their rough tongue.

One by one, the Republic ships blew until the Cavalier was the only remaining ship. It was surrounded and its guns blasted pointlessly at the Mandalorian ships. In the end, Mandalorian's boarded the ship and attacked the crews. It was one hell of a fight. Every member of the crew fought back with blasters, vibro weapons and whatever they could get their hands on. Most Jedi died with a pile of armored bodies up to their waists but the inevitable could not be prevented. It ended with the Admiral and the Bothan Jedi Knight surrounded, back to back and ready to die when onto the bridge came the caped and yellow armored Field Marshal Cassus Fett himself. "Do you surrendered?"

"Go directly to hell;" snapped the Admiral.

Cassus Fett chuckled. "I do admire your courage, Admiral. It doesn't really matter in truth. We have no need for prisoners. Execute them."

The Jedi repelled all of the Mandalorians and charged Fett, using a telekinetic blast to clear his way. Fett pulled a mandalorian war sword and met him blow for blow. "You are not the first Jedi I've faced in combat. In fact, you aren't even the best."

It was a short, brutal fight. Before the Jedi even had the chance to gather a force attack, Cassus overwhelmed him and cut him down. The Admiral stood there, facing the Mandalorian Field Marshal levelly. "That was bold but disappointing;" said Fett.

The Admiral gave a cold smile. "Six dreadnoughts, eighteen Jehavey'ir assault ships, three Kyramud battleships and literally hundreds of basilisks and various fighters were lost in this battle, not to mention almost a dozen of those Kal-type warships; this victory cost the Mandalorians more than the Republic, even if you consider the lost Jedi."

"Perhaps you're right;" said Fett apathetically and he coolly shot the Admiral in the chest. "Set this ship to blow and make the fleet ready. We will retreat from here."

Revan looked down at Talvon, who was still on the hover-gurney in a stasis. Waving his hand, Revan woke him and asked quietly, "What happened, General Esan?"

Tarvon looked down, shamefaced and angry. "There was a mutiny. Cuo'guar and the Admiral put me in this stasis and had the T3 unit fly me back. I'm not sure exactly what happened. All I can say is that we knew from the start that the battle was going to be lost. I ordered a retreat but there was no time to turn the entire fleet about. I think that the Mandalorians anticipated our move. The rest of the fleet stayed to make a good fight of it but they sent me back."

Revan nodded. "Cassus Fett was there;" said Revan plainly.

Talvon flinched. "Did you know this would happen, Master?"

"No. I did not expect him to be so prepared. In fact, judging by the Mandalorian movements, I assumed that the fleet would be at its smallest. My timing may have been off. Meetra also didn't succeed. Apparently Mandalore himself was at Elom, expecting me to lead the fight personally. I was hoping that they would be at Taris but it would seem they didn't think is as important as I did. They are withdrawing deeper into the Outer Rim. I did not foresee that. None of their tactics suggested such a drastic retreat."

Talvon stood slowly to his feet, still shocked at the revelation. "How did this happen, Master?"

With a tired and depressed sigh, Revan removed his mask. "I am not infallible. I have been trying to guess our enemy's moves judging by his passed tactics. Before Duros, Mandalore was burning his way through the Outer Rim, even shelling some planets with nuclear tipped weapons, not even bothering to properly conquer them. Then began his push through to the Core. That is when we stepped in and his tactics started to change. Rather than fight to the last man, as the Mandalorians often did during the Great Sith War, they made tactical retreats, chose preferential targets by resources or the best possibility of conscripting new warriors. Now, after crushing two fleets and losing Taris, they are retreating back into the Outer Rim and preparing for the next stage in this galactic dejarik game."

"But - but what changed?"

Revan sat on the gurney, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his gloved fingers steepled. "We started our crusade. At first, Mandalore thought we would be a worthy but still ultimately ineffective challenge. When we started to be victorious, he had to change his tactics and his strategy. He nuked Serroco to test our resolve and then adjusted accordingly. Every battle has changed how he views us and, therefore, changes how we must consider them."

Talvon nodded. This war was a constantly changing thing. Sighing, he sat down beside his master. "I thought that this war would be more certain. It seems like such a simple thing in ancient texts."

Revan chuckled. "Yes it does. But hind sight is perfect, Talvon."

For some time, they sat in silence before Revan said, "Alec and I are taking a trip to Dantooine to drop off several force sensitive children we have found."

Talvon's eyes widened. "Why don't we train them?"

"A war zone is not the place for training Jedi initiates, especially not this war zone. No, we will bring them to Dantooine. I think that it would be good to wander the hills for an afternoon anyway. Perhaps it will bring me some inspiration or enlightenment."

Talvon nodded silently. "What shall we do in the mean time."

"You will continue teaching and instructing our young Jedi. You are a remarkable teacher, Talvon. Even Meetra gushes about what she has learned from you and Alec has a grudging respect as well."

Talvon felt warmth bloom within him. "I will do so then, Master. Who will command the fleet while you are gone."

"You will with Meetra. Trust your young friend Xaset as well. He has a solid head on his shoulders and a good connection to force. There are two other Jedi Knights you can count on as well - Cariaga Sin and Nisotsa are their names;"

Talvon nodded solemnly. "I will do as you say, Master."

Revan stood and said, "We will be back in a few days. Take care of them, Talvon."

Tavlon bowed as his master replaced his mask and departed.

Xaset headed to rear-most battery of the Juggernaut, Revan's Centurion Class Cruiser flagship. In one of the firing chambers, he knew that he would find her. Meetra sat there, gazing out the viewport expressionlessly. Xaset smiled sadly and sat down next to her. This was one of her favorite places to sit and think. No one ever came here except during a battle, immediately before to prep the cannons or immediately after to clean and check them. They sat there for quite some time before she said anything. "I blew it;" she finally murmured.

Xaset looked at her. "What?"

"I blew it. Revan is never going to trust me with another mission again."

She always seemed so strong. Yet right now, she seemed perilously close to tears. It was moments like this the Xaset remembered that she was only seventeen years old and only a Jedi Knight according to the Revanchist. The masters at Dantooine never confirmed her. Quietly, Xaset slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I highly doubt that. Did you hear about Talvon?"

"No;" she said guardedly.

Xaset felt terrible, using his close friend's misery to cheer her up but it was a point that needed to be made. "He lost his whole fleet. Would have died with it if it weren't for some freak mutiny by the admiral and one of the Jedi Knights under his command. All that to say," he continued, hesitating and choosing his words carefully, "I think that the Master is still learning about the enemy. I think that he assumed that either Mandalore or Cassus would be at Taris and he bet on Mandalore, which is why he went himself to Taris. It was a stronghold under the Mandalorians and a vast recruitment arena. The other areas were hyperspace access points. Instead, it would seem that the Mandalorians used this opportunity to crush two sizable fleets before retreating further into the Outer Rim."

The young woman nodded. After a pause, she said, "That doesn't make me feel better."

Xaset groaned and said, "I know and honestly, it shouldn't but at the same time, I think that you haven't shaken Revan's faith in you. That's all."

After another long pause, he nudged her shoulder playfully, "Hey, they're serving dinner in the mess hall. Come on. I'm not going to let my favorite general starve because she is feeling melancholy."

"Not hungry;" she murmured.

Xaset sighed and said, "So it comes to this. Alright then."

He stood and picked her up with ease, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her forward. Meetra was laughing and swatting at his back. "Hey;" she yelled, "put me down. Do you hear me? That's an order!"

"Can't hear you, Ma'am;" said Xaset with a grin. "Your stomach is growling too loud."

"Fine! Fine!" she laughed. "I'll come and eat."

Xaset put her down and Meetra swatted him again. "Oh you heard that just fine;" she laughed.

Xaset shrugged. "Must have been between grumbles."

As if to prove his point, a very loud rumble came from her stomach and they both burst into laughter as they headed towards the mess, side by side.

As they walked, Xaset said almost shyly, "Oh and by the way, happy birthday, Meetra."

Meetra gasped, "How did you know I was turning eighteen today?"

Xaset blushed and shrugged. "I might have asked the Master about you a time or two. I wanted to know about the woman whom I'm serving under."

Meetra smiled. "Thank you."

Suddenly, he pulled a tiny package from his pocket. "I picked this up on Duro during the battle. I fell out of a crushed Mandalorian Basilisk war droid. Apparently they use strange crystals to power one or another of the weapons systems. I found this one and..." he shrugged uncomfortably.

Meetra unwrapped the object and looked at the tiny blue crystal. It was just the right size for a lightsaber. "Now I can build a new one."

Xaset looked at her and was about to ask why she needed to when she hugged him tightly. His entire body went warm as hers pressed against his. Quietly, she whispered, "Thank you so much, Xaset. It's the best gift I could be given."

"No-" he gulped and tried again, his voice hoarse. "No problem. Glad I found it."

She let him go and pocketed the crystal. They kept towards the mess. When they were just outside, Xaset's mind reactivated and he asked, "So why do you need a new lightsaber?"

Meetra blushed again. "Mine was left aboard our flagship. Remember that explosion on the bridge? Apparently my lightsaber hook broke. I didn't find it before we had to evacuate the cruiser."

Xaset nodded. "I see."

"Alec gave me a lecture on my lightsaber being my life and all that stuff;" she murmured quietly.

Xaset growled. "Look, I know he's Revan's best friend and right hand and all that shavit but he needs to get off his high ronto. Someone needs to take him down a peg."

To his surprise, Meetra laughed. "He's right though. Our lightsabers are our lives. By strict Jedi code, they are the only things that we are allowed to own - truly own. Everything else belongs to the order."

"Yeah;" muttered Xaset, "well the Jedi believe a lot of things that are unrealistic and stupid."

Meetra looked at him guardedly. "You speak as if you aren't one."

"I am;" replied Xaset. "We are. I just think that the Jedi Order has grown so lethargic that it no longer has the will to be the guardians of peace and justice they seem to think they are. Only us few are anymore."

Meetra didn't respond for awhile. Finally, she said, "I think that perhaps the Order needs both to keep it balanced. Sometimes I wonder about Revan's decisions even as I think they are necessary to win."

Xaset looked down at her, mildly surprised. After a moment, he shrugged and chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right. It takes all types to make a Jedi Order."

Meetra chuckled. "Yeah it does. Just look at that fishy guy over there."

Xaset burst into laughter as they headed to the food line.

Updated 10/16/2018