It wasn't a few days before Master Revan and Alec returned. It was a few weeks and, when they finally did come back, something had changed about them. Alec began going by Malak and they were both more serious. When it came to engaging the enemy, they became ruthless and even merciless and the Mandaloriens were pushed deeper and deeper into the Outer Rim.

The battle of Onderon and Dxun was vicious. A massive Mandalorian fleet and a massive Republic fleet were blazing at one another and on both the planet of Onderon and it's nearest moon of Dxun, the fighting was nasty. Meetra Surik, who had grown from the young woman who wasn't completely sure of herself to a confident general with absolute faith in Revan's command. There were rumors that she was the Revanchist's secret lover but when questioned about it, she just shrugged, not bothering to confirm or deny. Talvon and Xaset both knew that it wasn't true but none of them cared one way or the other.

Talvon watched from his Centurion-class cruiser and directed the fleet's assault. One of the Republic Fleet's advantageous was that the Mandalorians were trying to defend both the planet and the moon. Drop ships escorted by fighter streaked through the blockades and landed on both Dxun and Onderon. Meetra and Xaset were sent to Dxun and Revan and Malak themselves went to Onderon themselves. Talvon and the Jedi Knights Nisotsa and Cariaga Cin, promoted by Revan just as Meetra had been, were assisting in the assault, the former leading the starfighters and the latter watching the tactical map. "General Esan, our starboard flank is pushing forward but our port is being held at bay."

"Redouble the attack on the starboard flank. Make sure that our ion cannons target the basilisks specifically. Those droids are more susceptible to them. As far as the port flank, have them hold and stay where they are. I want the ships under General Kae to push through the gap and pulverize their fleet from the inside."

Whoever was leading the Mandalorian fleet, it wasn't Cassus Fett, the Marshal of the Mandalorian forces, or Mandalore himself. Whoever this was, he was not as tactically skilled.

Xaset and Meetra were hacking their way through the forests. The Mandalorians were bad enough but the monsters just made things that much more complicated. Bomas and Cannoks and Malraas and so on. Their soldiers were dying in droves and the support ships of war droids were being blasted out of the sky. The female officer was on the very edge of panic. "General, how are we supposed to carry on without support?"

"We don't have a choice;" said Meetra grimly, her blue lightsaber in her hand. "Press on and beware of traps and mines. Those blasted Mandos will do whatever they can to slow us down. If we come across any downed transports, we'll salvage the droids as we can. The fortress is only two kilometers ahead."

Xaset sent bolts a force lightning, something that he had learned from Talvon only the week before, into a group of curious cannoks. "We'll follow you, General. What are your orders?"

"Gather the troops and get ready. When we start pushing, we are't stopping until we take that fortress."

Only sixty percent of the troops were combat capable and they only had four transports worth of war droids. Meetra looked at them all and used the force to amplify her voice. "Our enemy is there;" she said, pointing with her lightsaber. "If we can crush them there, the war will be close to over and we can return to our families and our homes. Forward, heroes of the Republic and remember that the future of free civilization is at stake."

Xaset could feel the effect of her words and her charismatic aura. He ran up as she turned to lead the charge.

They fought through ambushes and skirmishes for the entire two kilometers and when their forces reached the fortress, Meetra and Talvon used the force to wrench the durasteel gates open. Laser fire poured from the ramparts and cut down the Republic troops but many of them still barged through the gates, only to find the fortress mostly abandoned, filled only by auto turrets and Mandalorian battle droids. "Tech Sergeant Bao-Durr, Xaset and I will cover you. Locate the command center and we'll get you there to shut down the droids and the turrets;" commanded Meetra.

A large, muscular Zabrak pointed towards the main building. "That way, General Surik."

Xaset and Meetra deflected blaster bolts and redirected rockets towards emplacements manned by droids. Inside the command center, Bao-Durr used an Ion blaster to take out the guarding droids. "I don't get it, General;" said the Technical specialist. "This place should be crawling with Mandos, not a few dozen droids and auto turrets. Wait..." and he ran to a console and began to tap on it while sticking several slicer spikes into the slots. "Alright, the droids and turrets should be done."

Meetra nodded, closing her lightsaber down. "What can you get in the way of battle plans from the consoles?"

"Only an order from Mandalore to leave a skeleton crew and a small army of droids as a token defense. It seems like they're retreating again, General."

Meetra looked both relieved and upset. "Have teams of engineers come down with reinforcements. I want to make sure that there are none of them and nothing left by them left to cause trouble for the people of Onderon. Speaking of which, get comms up and get a status report of the rest of the battle."

She went to the window and looked out over the fortress and the forest beyond. Republic soldiers and war droids were dragging the wounded in to be taken care of and dropships were already landing with reinforcements. Even so, the loss of life had been terrible.

Talvon had been relieved to hear that Xaset and Meetra were not only alive but had been victorious on Dxun. The battle on Onderon was still going on viciously. Suddenly, the Mandalorian ships over Dxun began to jump to lightspeed. "Stop any of those ships that you can;" snarled Talvon. "The more we destroy today, the fewer we have to go through again."

A few of the enemy capital ships were crippled and destroyed but many more escaped. Talvon sighed in frustration. "Make contact with the Master and tell him that Dxun is taken and half the enemy ships are gone or destroyed and ask if he needs any assistance."

The comms officer complied as the Republic ships focused their assault the the remaining Mandalorian ships.

"Sir," called the comms officer. "The Supreme Commander wishes to speak to you."

Talvon hurried over, "Master, this is General Esan."

"You have done well. After a thorough sweep of the moon, have General Surik recall all of her forces. We will gather and devise a strategy. I want this war to end."

"I couldn't agree more, Master;" replied Talvon.

The comms were cut and Talvon turned to watch the battle finish. The other Mandalorian ships began to flee when they found an opening and the battle was quickly over.

Aboard the Juggernaut, Revan and his generals gathered. "We need to end this war. I know the place. Tech Sergeant Bao-Durr, show us the schematics."

Bao-Durr slipped a data spike into the holo projector and a large piece of machinery. "This is a mass-shadow generator;" explained the brilliant technician. "If deployed across a planet properly, it will increase the gravitational pull of the planet so that any ships within a certain distance would be pulled into the planet itself. So it's important to choose an uninhabitable planet. If we don't, it will most likely be rendered uninhabitable. Do you have a planet in mind, Master?"

Revan nodded. "I do have one in mind. I want every ship under our command to rendezvous at these coordinates. Bao-Dur, how long will it take to construct and install this weapon?"

"If I have the help and we build them into the planet itself, it should only take a month or so."

Revan nodded. "In the mean time, we must gather our forces. This war will end soon. Four years of hard conflict, plus many more considering the eight years of raids, will end at Malachor V."

Xaset was sitting in the lounge, sipping on caf when Meetra came over to him. "Come with me please, Commander;" she said calmly.

For just a moment, Xaset thought that he was in trouble. "Of course, General; whatever you need."

He followed her to their favorite spot and was completely surprised when she yanked him into a passionate kiss. At first, he was tense but then, all the pent up emotions and passions fell over him and he returned the kiss. After several long moments, when they took a second to breathe, he came back to his senses. "Meetra, we can't do this."

"Why not?" she asked, her eyes blazing with passion.

"Meetra, we are still Jedi and a Jedi can't give into our- our-" but Meetra wasn't playing fair. Her Jedi cloak fluttered to the ground, followed by her outer tabbard and then her tunic, leaving her in a sleeveless undershirt and trousers.

Xaset gulped and tried again as she went for her boots but it wasn't going very well. Suddenly, she grabbed him again and kissed him, pinning him against the bulkhead and shoving his outer robe off, using the force to unbuckle his weapons belt.

She let him go to push his tabbard and tunic off. "Kriff it-" he ground out and kiss her, laying her on the pile of clothes.

Talvon was pleased as his ship jumped to lightspeed. Looking around, he flagged down the Nisotsa. "Have you seen Xaset anywhere?"

"No, sir;" replied Nisotsa. "I thought I heard that he was in the mess drinking caf when General Surik came and got him."

Talvon chuckled. "Thank you, Nisotsa."

He knew just where they were. They had a secret spot in the aft turbo laser batteries where they slipped off to when one or both of them were depressed by he war. He traveled quickly there until he got to the door to the battery. When it slid open, he was greeted by a most unexpected sight. "Talvon!" two voices gasped and a robe flapped over two bare bodies. Talvon stared, mouth opened for several long seconds. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Does the Master know?"

They both looked at each other before looking back to Talvon and shaking their heads. "I see. Take care, Jedi. We are close to the end and we can't afford to make fatal mistakes this close to victory."

He turned to leave and Xaset called, "Talvon?"

The older Jedi considered. "This is important, Xaset. I don't know if I can keep this from the Master. I need to meditate on it."

As the days went by, Revan summoned Talvon to his ship. "Are your ships and men ready for the final battle, Talvon?" asked Revan.

"Yes, Master;" replied Talvon, trying to keep his anxiety at ease. It didn't work though and Revan turned to him.

"Something is bothering you, Talvon. I can sense you trying to hide it. If it is something that will effect this campaign, it would be best that you told me."

Talvon sighed and slumped into a chair. "General Surik and Xaset are having an affair, Master."

There was a long silence and then, to Talvon's surprise, Revan chuckled. "Is that all that's bothering you, Talvon?"

Talvon looked into the masked face. Revan chuckled again and pulled his mask off. "I have known that those two have been attracted to each other for some time. Xaset has been since we stepped off the ship on H'Ratth and Meetra has come to rely on him and trust him."

"But Master;" said Talvon, "we are Jedi, aren't we?"

Revan looked very serious again. "We are but we have changed. Why not change the ridiculous policy on attachment as well? Nomi Sunrider and Vima Sunrider and many of the best Jedi in history were either married or the results of marriage. Imagine if Xaset and Meetra had a child? How skilled and powerful would that young Jedi be when he grew to be of age?"

It was an interesting theory and Talvon had to admit that the idea was attractive. He himself had gotten quite close to Arren Kae, a woman who had been exiled after it was found that she had already had an affair with some politician. Revan burst into laughter again and said, "I didn't just call you over to discuss the idea of who we should be dating, General Esan. I called you over because I need to be able to trust you when the battle comes. Meetra and you will be given the leadership of the fleet. We will be sending troops and Jedi to the planet below to build a base."

Talvon frowned. "Master, what will happen to them when the generator is activated?"

Revan looked very sad. "They will most likely die. It will be a necessary sacrifice, I'm afraid, Talvon. I need you to be able to give the order if Meetra can't. Sometimes I wonder if she has the steel to make such a decision. If she can't, you will have to. Can I count on you, Jedi?"

After just a moment of hesitation, Talvon nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Good. Thank you, my friend. It has bothered me for some time whether any of my followers can give such a command. I admit that it is terrible but necessary."

Talvon nodded resolutely. "I agree, Master. Sacrifices are important if the Republic is to survive."

"I'm glad that we agree on this. You have been a loyal and faithful follower and I will remember that."

Talvon bowed but then, a question occurred to him. "Master, what is going to happen after the war is over?"

Revan looked distant. "I'm not sure. I have not looked that far ahead. I think-" and he stopped for just a moment, "I think that there is another threat out there. The Mandalorians didn't make the decision to conquer so suddenly themselves, especially after such a massive defeat during the Great Sith War."

Talvon nodded slowly. "Then, when this war is over, we will find who is behind their offensive, Master, and we will eliminate that threat as we did this one."

Updated 10/16/2018