“Come on!” Spike bellowed, standing a few inches away from the viewport, starring into the swirling blue miasma of Hyperspace. “We have a class one Hyperdrive, we are the fastest ship in the Republic fleet god damn it, we could outrun Davik and his precious Ebon Hawk if we had to, so get us to Telos faster!”
“Sir, we took a lot of damage in the battle, we’re going as fast as we can but we’re leaking coolant from both the primary and the tertiary engine and the shield generator is fluctuating. If we divert power away from it we may not be able to get it relit in the event of combat.”
“Fine, keep them powered and deactivate the sensor array, keep communications running on ghost power and divert the power to the Hyperdrive,” Spike ordered.
The bridge crew got to work on Spike's orders, the lights dimming as every scrap of unnecessary power was redistributed. Repair crews were still trying desperately to fix some of the consoles that had blown out, but most of the damage had been contained already. Spike hadn’t been given a final report, but it was clear Harmony was in a bad shape, she hadn’t been this hurt since Eres, and it was showing as Spike sensed the Hyperdrive clunking and spluttering. They were running the ship hard, and if it hadn’t been so important for them to get to Telos quickly, Spike would have already switched to the backup and made for the nearest friendly port.
“Sir, we’re approaching the system. Pulling out of Hyperspace in three…two…one,” one of the bridge crew called, before Harmony slowed down, a terrible creaking a screeching heralding it, but Spike didn’t care for the sound, only what he saw before him.
Telos, the beautiful planet that he had left barely hours before, was burning. Not just the ground either, the entire atmosphere seemed to be rippling with heat as the firestorms raged below.
A few ships still seemed to be active, their engines weakly firing as they attempted to move out of the way of the debris, but the majority were little more than lifeless hulks, huge holes ripped in their hulls as they floated along lifelessly, caught in the gravitational pull of the planet. There were no signs of Sith ships.
Spikes throat when dry as images of Malachor came to mind, and it took him a minute to find his voice.
“R-reactive the sensor array, open up scans for life on the planet and hail any ships in the area. Bring…bring us in closer. If there are survivors we need to rescue them.”
“This is barbaric,” Katara whispered from beside him, tears forming in her eyes. “They didn't even take the planet, they just razed it to the ground. What could Revan possibly hope to gain from this?”
“Fear,” Spike whispered in return. “He wants us to fear him, he wants us to fear the fact that Saul Karath turned traitor and did this. It’s not going to work, I assure you.”
“Sir, we’re picking up a distress beacon from the surface and two fleets are approaching the system. One is our own fleet and the others are the reinforcements from the Home Fleet.”
“As soon as they arrive patch them through,” Spike ordered. “Make for the planet, are our shields still strong enough to take us through the atmosphere?”
“If we divert power away from the weapons then maybe,” the head engineer nodded.
“Do it, we’re not going to need them,” Spike nodded, before the communications office gave him a thumbs up, the communicator flaring into life.
“This is General Spike of the Special Forces to the Republic Home Fleet, please respond, over.”
“This is Captain Carth Onasi, I read you, general,” came the reply, the man’s voice clearly distraught. “What the hell happened here, sir?”
“That doesn’t matter at the moment, Captain, what matters is the relief effort for Telos. We are receiving a distress beacon from this location, I want you to send all available ships there for relief efforts, I will send what ships I have to assist you, as well as to look for survivors on the derelicts.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice, General, Carth out.”
Spike flicked the communicator to his own channel as the ships Carth had brought with him began to move towards the surface of the planet, their engines burning brightly as they poured everything they had into getting to their destination as fast as possible.
“Squadrons nine and twelve are to begin sweeping the wrecks for survivors. All other ships that are able move to the surface for rescue operations. If you’re too damaged, deploy shuttles and make yourself ready to receive wounded.”
“Where are we bound, sir?” one of the bridge crew asked.
Spike didn’t reply for a moment, starring out at the planet, before Katara finally raised her voice in his stead.
“We move to the planet, engineering, how are our shields looking for atmospheric re-entry?”
“They should hold, it will be touch and go though I’m afraid, master jedi. I can’t give you much more than that without testing them more, a lot of instruments are broken beyond repair down here.”
“Well just do what you can,” Katara replied.
“I can strengthen the shields,” Spike muttered, sitting down in his command throne and placing his hands flat upon its surfaces, his eye rolling back in his head as he felt the skins skin as if it was his own, pouring what little strength he had left into the shields.
Harmony’s engines began to blaze as they were propelled towards the planet, the rest of the Special Forces limping after it. They quickly reached the outermost layers of the planets, descending through the rapidly decaying gasses, fire licking their shields as they passed through. Spike felt his mind battered by the strain of keeping the shields up, but he held, the touch of fire being well known to him, presenting little in the way of discouragement, until finally they were through.
Spike let out a gasp as he let go of the ship, returning to his senses and standing up, shaking his head to try and clear away some of the nagging thoughts he was having. All of them could wait, for now there were people who needed his help, and by the force he was going to give it to them.
"Extend all flaps and drag wings, reduce the engines to minimum power draw, no point using them in atmosphere if we don’t have to,” he ordered, standing up as Harmony entered its final approach. “As soon as we touch down I want all non-essential crew off the ship helping the efforts, those who stay keep an eye on long range sensors, if anything more appears within ten parsecs I want to know about it. Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir,” came the near unanimous reply, only the Engineer saying something different.
“Word just in from the men working the shield generators, sir. Re-entry over-taxed them, they’ve shut down and are entering the recharge cycle. I don’t know how long it’s going to be but we are almost certainly grounded until we can get them back up and running, Harmony isn’t made for unshielded re-entry.”
“Do what you can to speed up the progress,” Spike ordered, before turning and walking towards the hanger, Katara hot on his heels.
“Master, are you ok?” Katara asked as the pair walked.
“This is my fault, Katara, we were supposed to be here, and I got caught up in dreams of grandeur,” Spike sighed. “I was so ready to be the next great commander of the Republic, but in the end I fell for a simple ruse and left an entire planet to burn. I have seen three planets die, Katara, no one should be able to say that.”
“We need to concentrate on the now though, master,” Katara reassured him, placing a hand on Spikes arm. “There are still people that need our help.”
“Yes, yes of course,” Spike nodded, reaching the airlock as Harmony landed.
The first thing Spike noticed as the ramp was extended and the airlock opened was the stench, the foul stink of burnt flesh and rapidly decaying plants snaking into the hanger of the ship. Katara and some of the other crew immediately gagged, Spike scowling at the smell, before stepping out onto Telos.
The surface of the planet was exactly how Spike had imagined it would look from orbit, huge fires billowing smoke into the air, while huge craters pockmarked the earth. Soldiers were already running back and forth, responding to the screams that floated through the air.
“Spread out by squad, provide what assistance you can and get them aboard the other ships here,” Spike ordered. “Harmony isn’t in the best shape, I don’t want to laden her with wounded and lose people because she isn’t in a fit state to carry them.”
The men quickly jumped to Spike's orders, Spike and Katara also setting off at a run, heading for a cluster of ships that had already landed, their markings showing them as part of the Home Fleet.
“Where is Captain Onasi?” Spike asked as he strode forward.
“He is out with a search party,” a man came forward. “I am lieutenant Harlod, he left me in command while he went out.”
“We need to coordinate our efforts,” Spike nodded. “Padawan Katara will stay here with you and oversee the Special Forces, let’s make sure that we get as many people as possible.”
“Where are you going, master?” Katara asked as Spike turned around.
“I’ll move faster on my own,” Spike flared his wings. “There may be people further out than where we’re searching, I wouldn’t have them left behind if we can avoid it.”
Katara nodded, Spike giving her a curt nod in return, before taking to the air, wheeling over the heads of the Republic soldiers and survivors of Telos, flapping his wings hard until he was over even sparser populated lands. The ground where the ships had landed had been devoid of life, but at least it hadn’t been actually on fire. Now all Spike saw were flames, fields upon fields of them as he flew. Even the oceans he passed were boiling, steam rising to join the smoke as they began to shrink in size. It wouldn’t be long before they vanished entirely, replaced by naught but an acidic sludge.
Eventually, Spike came into land, staggering slightly as he stopped atop a cliff, sending loose rocks skittering over the edge.
Master? Katara’s voice was loud and clear across the comms. the fleet managed to recover some crew from the wrecked ships, they are shedding light on what happened here before we arrived. Shall I patch you in?
“Yes please, Katara,” Spike sighed, wishing that the long quick flight had left him even winded, but being sadly disappointed.
Patching you in now.
Spike was greeted by a few seconds of silence, before the radio came alive once more, a man’s voice ringing through loud and clear.
They came at us like things possessed, swarming from Hyperspace like things possessed. Hundreds of ships, maybe thousands, the Leviathan at their head. We fought as best we could, Captain Mansuero did all he could, but they over-ran us in mere minutes. Most of our ships were destroyed utterly, but they left some of us active enough to watch what they did. These new ships, the Interdictor-class, they destroyed the entire planet in less than an hour, even when they surrendered, they just kept shooting, and then they left. They didn’t want this world, they wanted it to burn.
“Get medical attention,” Spike ordered. “Thank you for your services, I will make sure you are commended when you get back to Coruscant.”
Spike let the comm link die before hearing a response, turning around to look at Moonstone, the mare completely uncaring as smoke and flames blew around and through her. Then again, she didn’t exist, so why would she react? For a long time Spike tried to figure out what to say to her, trying to put into words what he was feeling and expressing them to the one being that would already know what he was thinking.
It was odd, Moonstone should have been the easiest conversation partner in the world, and yet Spike's words stuck in his throat more than they had with Katara. Finally, Moonstone spoke.
“Spike…”
“Please don’t, I’m not ready for the blame game from any but myself,” Spike shook his head, trying to concentrate before his shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, Moonstone, I can’t…I don’t…”
Before Spike could decide what he couldn’t or wouldn’t do, he took to the air once more, wheeling back towards the republic ships, landing by the Home Fleet once more.
“Kata…” Spike began, before something hit him in the chest.
It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to stop Spike from talking and force him to take a step back, not prepared for the sudden attack. Looking down he saw a clearly grief stricken man wearing an orange jacket and old issue Republic flying trousers. The insignia on his jacket marked him as a captain in the Navy, and Spike instantly realised this was Carth Onasi. Tears were streaming down his face as he aimed another punch at Spike.
“Where were you?!” he roared, Spike knocking his hand away more as a reflex action than a conscious decision, still processing the unexpected attack, his already burdened mind not ready for this.
“You were supposed to be here! You were supposed to protect this planet! Where were you?!”
Spike finally caught hold of Carth’s arms, holding him tightly as he struggled, before lapsing into a sobbing wreck. Spike tentatively let go of Carth, allowing the man to collapse to his knees, wailing as he weakly beat his fists against Spikes feet.
“Where…were…you?” he sobbed weakly.
“I’m sorry,” Spike whispered, his own voice wavering as he looked at the clearly broken man, his conscience not being eased when the man looked up at him, tears still streaming down his face.
“Sorry? My wife…my son…my home? All gone, and you’re sorry?”
“What do you want me to say?” Spikes voice cracked. “I made a mistake, I made a big mistake, but I can’t bring them back. All I can say is I’m sorry for what I did, Carth. You are a War Hero, your family deserved better than this, but the Sith are to blame. Saul Karath…”
“Saul?!” Carth roared, rising to his feet as anguish gave way to rage. “Did you say Saul Karath?!”
“Yes, he was the one who led the attack,” Spike nodded. “You knew he turned traitor, didn’t you?”
“He…he came to me,” Carth began. “He said the republic wasn’t worthy of the service of veterans like me, that he knew people who would reward our service properly. I thought he was crazy or just hypothesising again, but to do this? I trusted that man with my life!”
“We don’t truly know anyone,” Spike murmured. “I didn’t trust Revan by the end, but doing this…”
“Don’t place your suffering on level with mine,” Carth growled, before shaking his head. “Sorry, where are my manners? Don’t place your suffering on level with mine, General.”
“Captain Onasi, I know you are grieving…” Spike began.
“Yes I’m grieving!” Carth roared as more tears sprung from his eyes. “My wife and son were on this planet! I just held my wife as she died in front of me, I can’t find Dustil, I can’t find my son! He could be dead! So yes I’m grieving, general! But this is on your shoulders as much as it’s on Saul’s. You abandoned your post…”
“That’s enough,” Katara cut in. “Captain Onasi, the atmosphere is degrading quickly and is eroding faster every minute. Soon we are going to have trouble breathing, so I suggest we get back to our ships. Telos is lost, Captain, I feel your pain but I do not want to see anymore death here today, there has been more than enough.”
Carth glared at Katara, before nodding, glaring back at Spike for a moment.
“Goodbye, General,” Carth spat at Spike’s feet, before turning and walking back to his ship, his feet dragging in the ash and his shoulders sagging, several of his men rushing over to him and surrounding him, doing their best to help him as they boarded their ships.
“Thank you, Katara,” Spike turned to his Padawan. “That situation could have turned ugly…uglier, it could have got far worse.”
“I saw, master,” Katara nodded. “But what I said is true, the atmosphere is degrading. Pretty soon we’re not going to be able to breathe here, let alone rescue any more people.”
“Get back to the ship then,” Spike ordered. “Order every ship that is able to make for the nearest Republic medical facility. When they have off-loaded they are to regroup and await further orders at Arcadia. All ships that need it should go into dry dock.”
“What about us, master?” Katara asked.
“Spike to Harmony,” Spike called out over the comms. “How are the shield generators?”
They’re holding and they’ve entered their recharge cycle, sir. My best guess is that they’ll be at operational level in an hour. I wouldn’t want to go into battle with them, but they’ll see us through planetary re-entry easily enough.
“Good, keep me informed, I want to know as soon as it is up and running again,” Spike shut off the comm before turning to Katara. “We can’t currently leave, Katara, but as you said soon you’re not going to be able to breathe out here. Go back to Harmony, seal the ship.”
“What are you going to do?” Katara asked in confusion.
“Meditate,” Spike sighed. “I need to do some thinking…a lot, a lot of thinking.”
“Stay safe, master,” Katara placed a hand on Spike’s arm.
“I can survive in space and toxins don’t affect me much,” Spike shrugged, trying to force a smile onto his face. “I’ll be fine, honest.”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Katara let her hand drop, before coughing and turning towards Harmony. “I’ll let you know as soon as the shields are back online.”
Spike watched as Katara hurried back to Harmony, the airlock sealing behind her. Closing his eye, Spike folded his legs, sitting down on the ash as he opened himself to the force and the flow of magic. Spike could hear the screaming in his head, the death cry of millions, but he forced himself to keep going, suppressing the thought that no one should have to hear such a scream twice.
Spike felt the planet around him, touching every plant left even as the fires raced to consume them, feeling the life of every animal no matter how small and how tiny as they scurried to safety that they would never find. More than once he touched a life and they turned to face him, no matter where they were on the planet, sensing that there was something left besides them. Spike could feel their fear, some frozen by it, while others tried to race towards him and what they could only perceive as salvation, but it was futile. Soon, all life on the surface of Telos had perished, all life, right down to microscopic virus’s and single celled organisms. All life but Spike.
Master, the shields are ready Katara sounded cautious as she spoke. Are…are you ready to come back in?
“I am,” Spike rose as he spoke, walking up the boarding ramp as the outer airlock opened, admitting him inside. “Plot a course for Coruscant, you command, Katara. I’ll be in my chambers. I do not wish to be disturbed.”
Spike lapsed into silence as he headed for his room, ignoring the looks and whispers of the soldiers as he went, before finally locking himself in and crossing his legs once more, closing his eyes and opening himself to the ebb and flow of the magic around him, and the cool breeze of the force.
Before, Spike had hated the Sith for what they represented, and because they had turned some of the greatest warriors the Republic had ever known against it, now it was different. They had destroyed a planet, razed it to the ground. Every battle Revan had fought in the Mandalorian Wars was brutal, but always with strategy, always with a bigger goal in mind. Even Malachor had a bigger purpose, but Spike had been too blind to see it. Now his eyes had been opened.
The Mandalorians had been monsters, and the only way to stop monsters was to become monstrous themselves. They had bombed Serroco to dust, reducing the planet to ash, and that had created Revan, and ultimately led to their downfall.
Spike was not so vain as to think he was the next Revan, but he now knew what Revan had known. That some enemies couldn’t be beaten through conventional means, and that to defeat them, you had to meet them on their own playing field. Spike had been trying so hard to stay true to the ideals of the jedi, even if he didn’t agree with all of them, but now he saw that the ideals of Revan in the Mandalorian Wars were the only thing that could win this war.
“You will pay for this, Revan,” Spike thought rather than spoke, projecting his voice through the force, bolstering the signal with magic. “Whether it be in a day or a year, or even a decade, I will bring you to justice for what you did today. So swears Spike.”