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Chapter 38: Dodonna's Fall
Revan sighed, shaking his head at Jolee's body, feeling the life leave it, before turning around and seeing Bastila labouring. He looked at the giant holoprojector showing the battlefield, determined to come up with a strategy that would win this battle.
After a few moments of studying, it was clear to him what the state of the battle was. The Republic armada was organized into a disk—perpendicular to the orbital plane and facing the Star Forge—with Abo to their left flank biting into the formation, the star's radiation making that side impassable. The bulk of their forces were concentrated in the centre of the disk, getting thinner and thinner as they reached the edges. Opposing them were the Sith forces deployed in a mirrored formation. They were mostly committed, with around 10% held in reserve, replenishing their losses whenever possible. Yet, despite Bastila's battle meditation holding the Republic at bay, they were taking losses. Every time a ship fell, it would be replaced by another in reserve, but sooner or later the reserves would run out. With the massive Republic numerical advantage, their victory seemed assured, although it would take them a few hours before his losses became unreplenishable and the Star Forge itself came under attack. Still, given the time pressure, perhaps he should have just put Jolee out of his misery instead of wasting time arguing with a dying man… Thankfully, it wasn't too late.
"It appears that the Republic tried to outflank the Sith fleet group in all directions to attack the Star Forge on the other side, but Malak—or more likely one of his admirals—managed to halt it before we arrived. The Republic gave up and committed all their forces on the main assault in the centre, since it was going fairly well before Bastila started working her magic," Canderous helpfully explained to the others.
"What about the disruptor field?" Juhani asked. "Can we turn it on?"
"The disruptor field is only able to disable ships close to the Star Forge," the Dark Lord explained. "If we were to turn it on, we would only be able to disrupt the closer Republic ships. The rest of their armada would be then able to stabilize the disabled ships with their tractor beams, or they could abandon those ships outright, and we still wouldn't be able to take them on. We'd end up with a huge Republic armada here, and while they won't be able to attack Lehon or the Star Forge, they can certainly trap us here until we starve."
"Can we stall until reinforcements arrive?" she asked again.
"The vast majority of Sith space is on the other side of the galaxy. It will take at least a day before reinforcements arrive from there. If the Republic armada here is not committed to battle, they can defeat our reinforcements piecemeal. If we don't deal the Republic a major defeat here today, they will be able to constantly harass the Star Forge, tying most of our forces here for the foreseeable future, and they would be free to conquer most of our territory."
Revan stared at the battlefield for a few moments, before an idea entered his mind. The tactic he was thinking of was rarely used since it was very difficult to pull off, but given the bleak situation, it might be the only way out of this mess. He mentally asked Bastila if her battle meditation could aid in complex operational manoeuvres. Getting an affirmative response, he quickly outlined a plan.
"Now this is the kind of warfare I have been looking for!" Canderous exclaimed after hearing it.
Saul Karath was a loyal and capable admiral of the Sith navy. He served during the Mandalorian wars for the Republic with distinction, but grew increasingly frustrated with the Republic Senate. He greatly admired Revan for what he had accomplished despite the Senate's interference, but never dared to openly defy the ruling body of the Republic like he had. When the conqueror of Mandalore returned from the Unknown Regions beyond the edge of the Republic, Saul was one of the first to join him. With his fellow defectors from the Republic, he poured his heart and soul into building a new fleet group for Revan—the Thirteenth Fleet Group.
He was loyal to Darth Revan and would have died for him… but then Malak happened. Saul had never liked the brutish lieutenant of Revan, but there was little he could do. As the second-in-command of the Sith, Malak outranked him. Even worse, the brute could kill him with a thought. There'd been little Saul could do when the man had ordered him to glass planets, and even less when he'd seized the controls and promoted himself. He wished Revan had removed the brute's head instead of his jaw when he was punished for the former, but he supposed good help was hard to find. He knew this from personal experience. He wished his old friend Carth had come over with him, but he stayed loyal to the Republic. He shouldn't begrudge his other lieutenants, for they were loyal and certainly had tried their best, but only a precious few of them were as competent as Carth had been and worked well with him.
Yet Saul stayed under Malak. He could not bring himself to leave the fleet group he had so painstakingly built, especially when their new lord could do so much worse to them. It still pained him to think of those that had been lost so senselessly on Taris. He tried his best to evacuate as much as possible in the limited time he begged from the tyrant, but not all could be saved. Yet, if he had left, more would have been lost for certain in the insanity of the usurper.
Saul sighed. He supposed it was only natural to look back at his life at the end, wondering when it had all gone wrong. Despite lacking the power of foresight that the Sith had, he had no illusions about surviving the day. The battle raged outside, and they were vastly outnumbered. All he could manage was to prevent the Republic armada from outflanking the Star Forge and fully enveloping it. To be honest, the Republic gave up because to achieve that, he'd had to thin his forces, making his centre more vulnerable, also putting the Star Forge at risk. They were going to win anyway—it was only a matter of time. In less than an hour, it would all be over.
There was nothing that could save the day short of a miracle. If only Revan had been here… Saul looked in the direction of the Star Forge. Malak was not in the command centre, he knew that much. He heard the usurper was on the viewing platform, looking out into space. What kind of useless leader just stands and watches a losing battle out of a window with morbid fascination, yet giving no orders? He would never have dared to think such thoughts even a day earlier, knowing Malak could easily read his mind, but knowing his inevitable end was near had emboldened the admiral.
And then a miracle happened. Suddenly, some strange force had possessed his forces, and they fought back harder than ever. He studied his men on the bridge. None of them looked like the men resigned to their fate just seconds ago. They sat up straighter, determined to win despite all costs. Saul himself felt hope and determination. He knew at once what had happened—someone had to be using battle meditation. Did Malak also have a Sith with the power? he wondered. Suddenly, he shuddered for no apparent reason. He reasoned it must be whoever was doing the meditation. Whatever power that possessed him certainly found Malak repugnant. He frowned, wondering who it could be. Yet, he would not turn away such a gift.
As minute after minute passed, he realized that they were only barely holding on. In a few hours, despite the battle meditation, they would run out of reserves, and then it would only be a matter of time before the Star Forge fell. He knew he had to come up with a strategy to win the battle, but one remained elusive. He wished he had Revan's foresight with the Force. What wouldn't a commander give for the power to simply know if a strategy could lead to victory or defeat?
Suddenly, the comms burst into action. It appeared that someone had taken over command on the Star Forge.
"Malak the Usurper is dead!" the voice announced. Huh? was all Saul could think. All he knew was that the voice sounded familiar. The voice continued. "I, Darth Revan, the rightful Dark Lord of the Sith, have slain him in single combat," it proclaimed. Saul could hardly believe it. Revan has returned‽‽‽
The voice continued, filling every corner of every ship in the fleet group. "I hereby reclaim my position as the Dark Lord of the Sith and the supreme commander of our armed forces. Will you follow me once more, to victory, to triumph over the Republic?"
"Yes!" Saul shouted in unison with his soldiers. No doubt the morale boosting effects of battle meditation were partly behind the outburst, but he didn't care. With Revan, they had a chance! Most of the veterans at the final battle of Malachor V knew that it had been through his actions alone that they managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and those who weren't there certainly had heard of it. They had hope once more. "To victory! To triumph over the Republic!" they all shouted.
Moments later, Revan's form appeared on the main holoprojector on the bridge. He wore the robes he had always worn, but was unmasked. Yet, with the lighting, his face was mostly in the shadows. "Admiral Karath," his voice sounded.
"Yes, my lord!" Saul saluted immediately.
"Will you follow my orders once again?" the hologram asked.
"Yes, my lord. The Thirteenth Fleet Group is yours to command," the admiral answered without hesitation.
"Very well," the Dark Lord nodded. "I want you to organize a controlled retreat in the centre, letting it dip towards the Star Forge, yielding the Republic some space. The point is to break off as many ships as you can spare in the process, while making it look like a rout. Circle them around the Star Forge and send them, along with our reserves, around to the flanks in every direction not blocked off by Abo. We should have local numerical superiority against the Republic's thin forces there, and then we attack. With Bastila's battle meditation, their entire force should be thrown into a disarray and collapse like dominos towards the centre. Can you pull this off?"
Saul thought the plan was rather unconventional and daring if not risky, but he trusted Revan's judgment. And how did he get Bastila of all people on his side? he wondered. "It would be difficult, but with the battle meditation, I think we might just be able to pull it off," he affirmed.
"Then there is no point in waiting. Go!" the supreme commander demanded, before his hologram vanished.
Saul immediately sent all the reserves to the flanks as dictated. The Sith reserves dispersed, as if fleeing away from the battlefield, but in fact bolstered their own flanks, from the top-right going counterclockwise to the left, looping back all the way to the bottom-right. At the same time, he ordered the centre to a controlled retreat. Elements were able to disengage and circle around the Star Forge. As Revan had wanted, this appeared to be a rout to the Republic, and they continued to advance in the centre while their flanks lagged behind. The once flat disk formations slowly stretched into bowl shapes. The ships circled around the Star Forge and linked up with the reserves in all accessible directions. Without warning, they attacked the Republic's flanks.
Revan watched as Saul executed his plan perfectly. With Bastila's battle meditation sapping their morale, the Republic forces in the edges of their disk formation all collapsed in face of this assault. Many ships were destroyed. However, Admiral Dodonna was able to pull back half of the ships in the flanks back towards the centre, regrouping near the Star Forge.
Now that the Republic flanks were gone and their disk formation shrank massively, he ordered the ships that were holding them back to advance along with the forces that had assaulted the flanks to wrap around the Republic armada. Unnoticed by the Republic, their earlier advance in the centre had resulted in them being trapped in a hemisphere of the opposing Sith forces. Now, the advancing Sith ships wrapping around the armada, along with Abo's impassable radiation, completed the envelopment.
Dodonna had no choice but to turn all her ships around and defend in all directions instead of simply firing forward as she had before, suffering heavy losses as the Hammerheads—already in disarray after the collapse of the flanks—were unable to fire while they struggled to turn. They also faced fire from all directions, rendering them unable to focus all power into forward shields as they had before. Unable to concentrate their power, they became much easier prey. Even better, Sith fighters and bombers were able to dive into the blindspots of the Republic's defensive turrets and strike from there as their formation was thrown into chaos.
Still, Dodonna still had superior numbers—one and half fleet groups vs Revan's Thirteenth Fleet Group at two-thirds strength. Despite this, Revan's forces focused on relentlessly attacking what used to be the Republic's rear and flanks, and Bastila's battle meditation only fed their ferocity.
He smiled. The trap was ready and the bait was set. All he needed was for Admiral Dodonna to take the bait.
"The Sith have us boxed in!" one of Dodonna's aides shouted in panic. "Should we attempt a break out and withdraw?"
"This is our only chance to destroy the Star Forge," another aide stated, his voice shaky. "If we were to do nothing, the Sith would grow even stronger day by day. We can't withdraw. We can't!"
"Whether we attack or retreat, we can't be stuck in this pocket," Dodonna stated. "We still have superior numbers. If we were to concentrate our forces at a weak spot, we could break out." She looked at the map. The Sith forces were the thinnest in the direction of the Star Forge. She knew instantly what to do.
"The Sith made a critical mistake," the admiral noted. "In their eagerness to surround us, they forgot to bolster the defences on the Star Forge. With Bastila's attention occupied by attack, a concentrated assault should be able to break through on that side. We can then destroy the Star Forge!"
Her aides quickly scrambled to get the order out. The Republic armada concentrated their fire, turning for a mad dash at the Star Forge. Fortune was on their side, it seemed. Bastila appeared oblivious to the change in strategy, still focusing her attention at what appeared to be the Republic forces collapsing everywhere else. The Sith forces in front of the Star Forge—what used to be their heavily defended centre—melted away as Dodonna advanced with her remaining forces. Soon, the first of Republic ships would be able to open fire on the monstrosity itself. Within minutes, all her remaining forces would be in range, and the space station faced certain destruction.
Revan saw the Republic's dash at the Star Forge and smiled. Dodonna must be so happy right now. If only she knew what was about to happen… All he had to do now was press a button, and T3-M4 on the top of the Temple of the Ancients would receive orders to reactivate the disruptor field, destroying the entire Republic armada, conveniently all concentrated in range—but that would have been a waste. The Republic had made the mistake of rehabilitating his image, believing him dead. His supposed death and Malak's tyrannical rule was now an integral part of their justification for the war—a justification that would be invalidated very soon. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to convince some battle-hardened soldiers to surrender and then defect down the line?
Just before the first layer of Republic ships could fire on the Star Forge, the "collapsing" forces suddenly reformed. With Bastila's battle meditation, their firepower easily halted the Republic advance. The entire enemy armada was forced to stop to avoid a collision. Some ships were not so lucky and struck each other, exploding into space dust.
While the Republic wondered what to do, the Dark Lord took the opportunity to broadcast on the Galactic Emergency Frequency, normally reserved for communications between emergency rescuers and those who needed help. It was the one frequency that every ship would definitely be monitoring, and so in battle was often used for communications between belligerent forces, usually demanding surrender.
"Malak is dead! I repeat, Malak is dead!" Revan shouted into the channel.
Admiral Dodonna despaired. She had thought her victory was certain, and the Sith somehow bounced back, reforming a defensive layer that blocked her advance. She never expected Bastila's battle meditation to be so powerful! It certainly had never been this powerful when she'd fought for the Republic—not even in the embellished tales used for propaganda. Evidently, she never was loyal to begin with. She wanted to rage, against the Jedi, against the Sith, against Bastila. Warfare was never this frustrating until all three showed up. She calmed herself, however, knowing she still needed to figure out what to do next.
Suddenly, the emergency comms sounded. "Malak is dead! I repeat, Malak is dead!" Dodonna was elated. At least there was some good news. No doubt the Jedi strike team had done their job. She ordered the message to be broadcast live to the entire armada, hoping it would bolster morale in spite of the battle meditation. In retrospect, the way the idea popped into her head ought to make her a bit more suspicious, but she didn't think anything of it in the moment.
"Malak is dead! I repeat, Malak is dead!" echoed throughout every Republic ship. It had the desired effect, the soldiers jumped up in celebration. Then the bombshell dropped.
"I, Darth Revan, have slain him in single combat and returned as the rightful Dark Lord of the Sith! Bastila and her battle meditation have joined us!" The message echoed through all Admiral Dodonna's forces, completely stunning them. Her worst fears were realized, and far sooner than she ever expected. When Vandar told her about Revan, she had thought he would only be a player in a later battle. She cursed the Jedi. There was no doubt their foolish actions had doomed the Republic. Yet, with so many shocks all at once, it occurred to no one to stop the broadcast. The battle meditation may have helped with that, but it was difficult to say for certain.
Revan continued his speech. The Republic soldiers listened to his every word. "Malak's actions do not define the Sith, nor do they define our Empire. You know his brutality and fought valiantly against him. I commend you for that. But remember what the Sith used to be under my rule. We used to fight for the rights of the common people, against the corruption of the élite that has plagued the Republic for thousands of years! We used to protect civilians while the Republic used them as human shields! We used to free every slave on sight, while the Republic condemned generations to toil in servitude! Malak strayed… and died for it. With my return, things shall change, for they must. Once again, the Sith shall return to the true path, the right path! Once again, the Sith shall fight for a better future, for us, for you, for your families, for every citizen of the Republic and our Empire alike!
"You know my abilities. You know you can't win against me. But we need not fight! Enough blood has been spilled this day. Lay down your arms. On my honour, I make to you this promise: if you surrender, you shall be treated well. There will be food and shelter. When the war ends, you can return to your families. Do not throw your life away in vain for the sake of Senators that could not care less about your fate. Simply shut down your entire ship now. If you do not, I have no choice but to destroy you."
It finally occurred to the Republic admiral to shut down the transmission. But it was too late; the damage had already been done. The combination of Revan's recent popularity in the Republic, their bleak situation, and the promise of good treatment persuaded a majority of the Republic armada to surrender. Ship after ship shut their systems down, fading from the holoprojection in front of Dodonna. She knew she was beaten. And with the Sith envelopment, it was too late to retreat.
"This is what your foolishness has done to us!" Dodonna shouted to Vandar, who watched in silence. "In your arrogance, you thought you could control Revan. Now Revan has played you and me like a piano, masterfully."
"Yes," the Jedi Master admitted. "He played us for fools, and we fell for it. There is no escape for us now."
"No, but we can still ram the Star Forge," the admiral concluded, determined despite the odds. "Our fates are sealed. We can only try to do as much damage as possible." To her subordinates, she shouted, "One last charge at the Star Forge. Do not stop, no matter what! Ram the Star Forge! For the Republic!"
"F-for the Republic," her staff echoed. It was supposed to be a defiant battle cry, but it ended up sounding fearful and uncertain. Bastila's attention was fully focused on sapping the Republic morale and forcing a surrender, and empowered by the full might of the Star Forge in the Force, she was succeeding.
Revan watched as the lights faded on the Republic ships, one by one. He waited and waited. A few minutes later, no more ships surrendered. The remaining Republic forces, around a single fleet in size, charged at the Star Forge with renewed vigour, no doubt hoping to ram their way through the layers of defence and into the Star Forge, or die trying.
It was time. He pressed the button on his communicator. "T3-M4, activate the disruptor field," he said simply.
A few beeps answered him. The message was clear enough: it is done.
Looking out the window, the remnants of the once mighty Republic armada lost control completely. Luckily for their surrendered brethren, the disruptor field had no effect without running systems, and the charging ships already moved a large distance away. Unfortunately for the latter, not only did they lose steering, they had also lost their shields, turning them into easy prey for the advancing Sith forces. It would only take minutes for them to be reduced into space dust.
Ship after ship shut down their systems after realizing the futility of their assault, either because the commander lost faith, or because the crew mutinied, not wanting to die for the Republic. Without steering though, they continued to drift, but luckily for them, the Sith Lord ordered tractor beams to stabilize them before they could collide with the Star Forge or fall into Abo. Despite the generosity, over a thousand Hammerheads continued their suicidal charge…
Lights flashed around the bridge as the technicians frantically scrambled to keep Admiral Dodonna's flagship under control. Yet the situation only worsened. The admiral held onto a table to steady her feet and looked out of the window. She noticed the Star Forge jerking violently in front of her—along with the planets and the star. And then she realized her ship must be doing the jerking.
"What is going on?" she shouted.
"We've lost shields!" a technician shouted in panic. It was worse than she thought.
"The Dark Side has disrupted all our equipment," Vandar answered her unspoken question. "It is over for us."
"Then the Republic is doomed," Dodonna said at last, staring out another window, seeing the last remnants of her forces suffering the same fate, and feeling only despair. As a cost-saving measure to quickly field a massive navy for the Mandalorian wars, most Republic ships were not equipped with fully redundant systems, making them exceptionally vulnerable to the disruptor field. Redundant systems, of course, have their limits—they would not hold for long, though it might buy them the chance to fly the distance to the Star Forge. Curse the stinginess of the Senate, not willing to give up all their comforts and wealth for their own survival!
She knew with certainty that she was doomed, that her life expectancy would be measured in minutes, and that both fleet groups entrusted to her were also doomed. Worse, it had all been for nothing! The Star Forge was there, taking up most of her view. It was so close, yet beyond reach, as if it was taunting her. It pained her, but she held back the tears. If she were to die, she would face it with dignity. She continued her staring. She could see the final remnants of her armada—her best and brightest who could resist Bastila's compulsion to surrender—exploding one by one under enemy fire, and there was nothing anyone could do. She had hoped they would be able to go out with a bang, but all they could manage was a whimper. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
A minute later, her view was covered by a giant turbolaser shot. It moved closer and closer, and Dodonna was bathed in its red light before it slammed into the bridge. The flagship exploded.
And thus ended the lives of Admiral Forn Dodonna, the Republic's best naval commander, and Jedi Master Vandar Tokare, head of the Dantooine Jedi Council. With their deaths, Revan's second victory of the day was cemented. In a single glorious day, Revan went from being presumed dead by the galaxy to the victorious restored ruler of the Sith Empire. It was—without a doubt—a day that shaped the entire history of the galaxy. The date, and the Battle of the Star Forge, as it would come to be known, would never to be forgotten as long as sentient life continued to exist in the galaxy.
A/N: And that concludes Episode I. Next up would be Revan's consolidation of power over a Sith corrupted by Malak, and then the lengthy conquest of the Republic. Contrary to Admiral Dodonna's final words induced by Bastila's morale sapping, the Republic still has plenty of strategic depth, and its power centre in the Core remains mostly intact. Given the population figures of the Core compared to the Rims that the Sith Empire operates in, the Republic still has plenty of manpower to outproduce and outnumber the Sith. Meanwhile, while the Star Forge could print ships, it couldn't print their crews. This is why, knowing the Star Forge would be under threat, Malak was only able to spare one fleet group in defence, whereas the Republic casually showed up with two fleet groups, even when Bastila underreported the Sith strength.
In essence, the Republic lost this battle, but not yet the war. With proper leadership, they still have a decent chance. Remember, Hannibal dealt Rome three devastating blows—Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and most famously, Cannae—yet the Second Punic War ended in Carthaginian defeat. Similarly, the Wehrmacht inflicted defeat after defeat upon the Red Army during Operation Barbarossa, but they lost at the gates of Moscow and ultimately the war. We are only at the Trebia equivalent.
The deployment of the battle here is actually based on the real life Battle of Pharsalus, fought between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great in 48 BC, and funnily enough, Hannibal's masterpiece at Cannae, fought during the Second Punic War in 216 BC, except converted into 3D. Like Pharsalus, they faced each other with a barrier on one side: the Enipeus River at Pharsalus, and Abo here. However, instead of lines, the ships are arrayed into disks. Also like Pharsalus, the losing side collapsed like a row of dominos after they were unexpectedly flanked by forces that should have been committed to battle. The difference is that in Caesar's case, this was done by a hidden fourth line after luring and driving off the Pompeian cavalry, while here, Revan used Bastila's battle meditation to orderly withdraw some committed troops for a sudden attack. Like Cannae, Revan's weakened centre provided half of the envelopment, though in Revan's case, it was a hemisphere whereas Hannibal had a semicircle due to fighting in 2D. Then, Hannibal's double envelopment was extended into 3D, enveloping in all spatial directions, trapping the Republic.
As for Episode II, it's planned, but I don't know when it's going to be ready. When it is, I will post a sequel notice chapter on this story on FFN, so please keep the story followed. On AO3, please subscribe to the series.
While you wait, please feel free to check my beta readers' stories:
• Tracyn's Jedi Enduring Order, a continuation of the Jedi: Fallen Order video game, but involving Revan's people, on AO3; and
• DeathRanger's The Will of the Force, involving descendants of Revan and Bastila in the prequel era.
Finally, due to difficulties in editing chapters on FFN without triggering notifications, any future corrections to this story will only be applied on AO3. Please consider the AO3 version to be the polished version.