The Mandalore's Fleet
Spike spun round, the large quarterstaff clutched in both his claws whipping through the air towards Katara. She only just managed to block the blow, Spike quickly following up with a blow from the other end of the weapon, catching his Padawan on her back and knocking her to the floor.
“Are you ok?” Spike asked, placing the staff on the floor and helping Katara back to her feet.
“Yeah, thanks for pulling your blows again, master,” Katara nodded. “I don’t know how you do it, keeping track of so many weapons.”
“Jar’Kai,” Spike shrugged. “But, Katara, remember that with a double bladed weapon, a single blade can have more of an advantage. A double bladed weapon may have two blades, which makes it able to do more damage, but it has many disadvantages too. You can try and keep track of both blades in combat, doubling the number of possibilities and avenues of attack, but you must remember both blades are attached. If you know where one is, you always know where the other is as well. You can only be attacked by one blade at a time, and it is far less precise, needing swings and large arcs that are harder to change mid-strike. It’s a seldom used weapon, and people rarely know how to combat it, which is why knowing how to use it well helps to fight against those who wield double bladed swords like the Echani. But always remember, if you are facing two foes, one with a double bladed weapon, and the other with two single bladed weapons, the duel wielding enemy is far more deadly.”
“Yes, master, I understand,” Katara bowed.
“All hands, all hands, prepare docking bay five, VIP landing party on approach,” the voice of the docking bay officer rang over the intercom system.
“We have a VIP visiting, master?” Katara asked.
“Apparently so,” Spike nodded. “Let’s go and welcome them to Fireshot.”
It didn’t take long for Katara and Spike to get to bay five, standing by the docking bay officer as a Republic shuttle touched down on the deck. For a moment the ship stood there, creaking as it adjusted from the freezing temperature of space to the ambient temperature of the docking bay. Finally, the ramp lowered in a cloud of pressurised steam, a familiar, robed figure walking out of it.
“Great,” Spike sighed as Revan looked around the hanger.
“Who is that, master?” Katara whispered. “I assume…”
“That’s General Revan,” Spike nodded. “The mask and the cloak give it away somewhat. I keep forgetting that not everyone has seen him like I have. In fact I’d say I’m one of the few who know exactly what his face looks like.”
“Master Spike,” Revan bowed deeply as he approached.
“Knock it off, Revan,” Spike rolled his eye. “We both know this isn’t a social visit, so let’s cut to the chase. How’s the war going, and why do you want me back?”
“What makes you think I want you back?” Revan asked.
“I just said cut it out,” Spike snapped. “You wouldn’t have come all the way out here for a social chit chat, this far away from the front line, so tell me, why do you want me back?”
“The war’s almost over,” Revan began. “We have driven the Mandalorians back, all the way to the Malachor system. We are preparing to engage their fleet over Malachor V as we speak, but I need every ship at my command ready to fight. The Mandalorians are not going to go down quietly or without a fight, and the Fireshot fleet, while outdated, represents the largest cluster of ships outside of the main battlegroups. I want you to lead them for me, to bring the fleet to Malachor V, and to finally bring this war to an end.”
“No,” Spike replied simply.
“I promise you the head of Cassus Fett,” Revan came back almost instantly, Spike freezing at the name.
“You wouldn’t joke about that, would you, Revan?” he asked darkly.
“I am deadly serious, Spike,” Revan nodded. “Re-join the war, lead the Fireshot fleet, and the Special Forces fleet, and I personally promise you that when Cassus is captured, he will be given into your custody.”
Spike stayed silent for a moment, turning away from Revan and looking between the officers on the docking bay floor, before nodding once.
“Prepare, Battlefleet Fireshot, Harmony is designated as flagship. What ships did you bring with you, Revan?”
“Just a small escort,” Revan admitted. “Speed was more important than firepower for this mission.”
“Then come aboard, Harmony,” Spike turned to face him. “She’s the most advanced ship here, easily the fastest, and while she not be the best armed or armoured, she packs a punch.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Revan bowed again. “I will see myself aboard with your permission.”
“Stow your gear in the after cabin, there should be one beside mine, and opposite Katara’s, that is free.”
“Master, what are your orders?” Katara asked as Revan turned back to his shuttle.
“Get your gear, and meet me back in the hanger. You’re going to take your fighter out and dock it in Harmony.”
“Yes, master,” Katara bowed, heading off towards her quarters.
***
Spike, Katara and Revan stood around the planning table on Harmony’s bridge, looking at the display of the Republic fleet arrayed around Malachor V, the ships slowly orbiting around the world. The Mandalorian fleet hadn’t yet got there, but reports placed them only a matter of minutes away.
“We’re not going to get there before the Mandalorians do,” Spike growled. “We’re still an hour out. The rest of the fleet isn’t fast enough.”
“We’ll get there, Spike,” Revan assured him. “We just…”
With a screech, everyone on the bridge was thrown forward as the ship rapidly decelerated. Revan and Katara were pitched to the floor, and Spike only managed to stay standing due to the gyro-stabilisers in his legs.
“What the hell happened?!” Spike roared, looking between the bridge crew that had only recently been assigned to the ship.
“We’re not sure, sir, the Hyperdrive was running at full power and then they suddenly cut out,” one of the men called.
“Get me a status report on them, now,” Spike ordered. “And find out if the rest of the fleet is still in Hyperspace or have dropped out as well.”
Turning, Spike looked at Revan. “Do the Mandalorians have access to interdictor technology?”
“Not that we know of,” Revan shook his head as he got to his feet. “But after the battle at the Jaga Cluster, a lot of our ships were reported missing. We assumed that they had simply been destroyed, but maybe some were captured.”
“Sir, the rest of the fleet has been pulled out of Hyperspace with us, they are forming up around the flagship as we speak. Long range scanners are picking up a fleet on intercept approach,” another crewman called out.
“Looks like we’re about to find out,” Spike folded his arms. “Katara, get down to the hanger bay and take command of the fighter squadrons. Ensign, signal all ship to raise shields, prepare weapons and deploy their own ships. I want to be ready if this fleet has hostile intentions.”
The words were barely out of Spikes mouth when ships burst from Hyperspace, barely five hundred kilometres away from them, all bearing the markings of the Mandalorians. A split second after they arrived, they began to fire, filling the void in front of them with a flurry of laser bolts, all streaking towards the Republic fleet.
“All power to forward shields, engage evasive manoeuvres,” Spike cursed as he hurriedly sat down on the command throne. “All ships protect Harmony, we’re moving to engage their flagship.”
“Belay that order, that’s suicide, Spike,” Revan shook his head. “We don’t have the firepower to match that, nor the men to commence a boarding action.”
“I recognise that ship, it is the Mandalore’s personal vessel,” Spike pointed out. There are two Jedi on Harmony, and I do not intend for the boarding party to come solely from this ship. We are taking that ship by force, today. Not destroying it, boarding it. If the Mandalore is on there, we need a confirmed kill. Now, are you with me?”
“If you’re sure it’s the Mandalore’s ship,” Revan nodded.
“I am,” Spike began to type on the arm of his command throne. “Transmit these orders around the fleet. Once we’re in, all ships are to pull back to long gun range and harry the enemy. Do not get back under the gaze of their close in defences unless we need support. Are these orders understood?”
“Yes, general,” came the unanimous reply, the bridge crew beginning to work frantically to relay his orders to the rest of the fleet.
The fire volley of laser fired slammed into the shields of the leading ships, deflecting harmlessly as the Republic vessels returned fire. Klaxons began to blare as battle was joined in earnest, the two battle lines getting closer. Harmony quickly took the lead, her powerful engines propelling her forward, and the majority of the firepower the Mandalorians were bringing to bear avoiding her, instead concentrating on the large ships.
Spike let out a grin, before slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair. Instantly they opened fire, all of her guns firing at once at a single spot as the fighters and bombers moved forward. Lasers, missiles and ion bombs hammered the shields of the Mandalorian flagship, before with a blinding flash, they popped, leaving the ship exposed to any fire directed at it, and more importantly, allowing Harmony to dock with it.
“Signal to all ships, shields are down, boarding parties are to focus only on the flagship. Fighters are to shield their approach from enemy fire, nothing else matters. The XO has command of the fleet,” Spike ordered, Revan following after him as the pair walked towards the airlock.
The rest of the contingent of soldiers that had been on board were already waiting there, rifles at the ready as the umbilical tube extended between the two ships. Spike slowly drew his Lightsabers, eying the door warily.
“You know, for me, the war started on this ship,” Spike admitted quietly, only Revan paying enough attention to him to listen. “I fought the Mandalore then too, on this very ship. Let’s hope this time things go better for all of us.”
“We can only hope, Spike,” Revan nodded, igniting his own Lightsaber, the bright blue blade illuminating the small airlock.
The light above the airlock began to flash red as the umbilical cord finally connected, before suddenly turning green, the door sliding open to reveal Mandalorian soldiers, all ready to fire. Revan leapt forward towards the soldiers, but Spike was faster, his arm cannon firing as his Lightsabers flared into life.
Like a comet, he slammed into the line of Mandalorians, scattering them out of the way as he back them down. He wasn’t roaring, he wasn’t making a sound, instead he was simply fighting with grim determination, pulling up every memory he had on his flight from this ship years ago.
It didn’t take long before he was standing amongst corpses, a few parts of his bionics scorched from where blaster bolts had caught them, but otherwise unscathed. Revan and the other soldiers quickly came up beside him, all unharmed.
“I thought there would have been more of them,” one of the soldiers muttered.
“They’re hopefully being drawn away by the larger landing parties in the hanger,” Revan pointed out. “With luck, they don’t know that Spike and I were on Harmony, which gives us…”
“The element of surprise,” Spike finished off with a small smile. “An element from harmony, it almost seems poetic.”
“Something from your home?” Revan asked.
“Kind of,” Spike nodded. “Come on, let’s move. We don’t want to push our luck too much.”
Spike took the lead once more, following the directions in his head exactly, twisting down the corridors of the ship with baited breathe. He could almost smell the Mandalore as they drew nearer, but there was another scent, one that should have been so familiar to him, and yet seemed to allude his mind.
Letting out a snarl, Spike saw the door to the bridge, approaching it with Revan beside him. As they neared it, the door suddenly shot open, a flurry of bolts firing out. It was only thanks to the force that Spike and Revan could deflect the shots as well as they did, but the soldiers weren’t so lucky, getting off a few shots of their own, before being hit themselves.
“Well well, it seems you were right about the larger force being a distraction, I should not have doubted you,” the Mandalore turned to face Cassus as Revan and Spike entered the bridge.
Most of the Mandalorians there were either dead or wounded, rolling around on the floor nursing blaster wounds, but the Mandalore and Cassus both seemed to be unharmed, or were at least un-phased by the damage to their armour.
“Cassus,” Spike snarled, anger rising as he glared at the yellow armoured warrior.
“Jedi Knight Spike,” Cassus nodded back. “You seem different than when we last met, did you lose weight per chance?”
"And you must be Revan,” the Mandalore looked at Revan, tapping his fingers on the head of his axe. “For the hero of the Republic, I thought you would have been taller, but no matter. With this battle, the fate of the galaxy will be decided.”
“You won’t live to see another,” Revan growled, gripping his Lightsaber tighter.
“Then so be it, but this is what we all wanted,” the Mandalore threw his arms wide. “The best of you, against the best of me. How can you possibly beat me? Cassus has already defeated your precious Spike once before, and the last time he was here, he fled. Like a coward.”
“Spike, I gave you Cassus, like I promised,” Revan pointed out.
“Yep,” Spike nodded.
“Leave the Mandalore to me,” he replied, before sprinting forward, his Lightsaber trailing just behind him, cutting a small groove into the floor.
With a roar, Spike followed his lead, diving forward, using his wings to propel himself forward to crash into Cassus. Crassus barely managed to raise his sword before Spike crashed into him, knocking the Mandalorian back several paces as Spike twisted once more, his tail sweeping under his legs, knocking him to the floor.
“You’re getting slow, kid,” Spike sneered as Cassus avoided his follow up strike, Spike’s Lightsaber cutting deep into the floor where he had been moments before. “But not too slow.”
“I’m sorry, you look like someone I used to know,” Cassus got to his feet, beginning to circle Spike, occasionally glancing over to where Revan and the Mandalore were trading blows, both fighting with steely determination. “He was less metal though.”
“You can turn a phrase,” Spike nodded, before darting forward once more, swinging Dusk down towards Cassus.
Predictably, Cassus raised his sword to block the blow, allowing Spike to thrust his cannon forward, pressing the barrel against Cassus’s armour. Cassus briefly looked down, seeing what was now up against him, before Spike fired. The massive blaster bolt cut through him like a knife through butter, cauterising the wound as it went, leaving nothing but a blackened hole.
Cassus let out a gasp as he staggered back, his sword slipping from his grasp, clanging against the metal floor. To his credit, Cassus stayed standing for a while, before Spike reached out and tapped him with his claw, sending the man sprawling to the floor.
“You know, I should probably thank you,” Spike placed a foot on what was left of Cassus’s chest. “If you hadn’t tried to blow me up, which you managed to fail spectacularly at, I wouldn't have been able to replace my arm with this, and then smoking hole in your chest. Funny old world.”
Cassus tried to gasp again, a soft rattle emanating from his helmet grill, before Spike reached down and tugged at the helmet, pulling it free and examining it, before looking down at the man beneath it.
“It’s funny, you are the most wanted man in the known galaxy, if you live, people would hunt you across star systems for the bounty on your head, but what they really know, is this. Your helmet. No one knows who you are beneath it.”
Spike raised the barrel of his cannon to point at his now exposed head.
“And no one ever will.”
Before Cassus could try and respond, Spike fired, the bolt slamming into his head, utterly destroying it. Cassus staying rigid for a split second, before his limbs went limp and crashed to the deck. As Spike looked down on the corpse of the man who had caused him so much pain, he tried to feel anything, anger, revenge, even happiness, but he didn’t feel anything. It hadn’t been a hard fight this time, not like the first time, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel cheated.
The sounds of battle forced Spike to turn away from the corpse, watching Revan and the Mandalore trade blows. For almost a minute the pair seemed evenly matched, before Spike saw the Mandalore make a mistake. It was tiny, but it was enough for Revan to get inside his guard, switching his Lightsaber to a reverse grip, before plunging it through the Mandalore’s chest.
“Your reign of terror is over,” Revan pulled his blade free as the Mandalore fell to his knees. “Your mask will never be found, your clans will be scattered, your fleets destroyed. Today is the day the Mandalorians die.”
"This, is all I ever wanted," the Mandalore choked, looking up at Revan. "Glory in battle, honour, in defeat. We wanted to fight the best of the Republic... and you came, Revan. Come closer, I have one thing left to give you. One warrior to another."
"Reavn," Spike warned. "It's a trap, just kill him and be done with it."
"Your ears only, Revan," Mandalore glanced over at Spike, before slowly reached up to his mask.
He fiddled with the tubing that fed to the tank on his back for a moment, before allowing the pipes to fall free, slowly lifting his mask away and dropping it to the floor, allowing Spike to finally get a good look at the Mandalore's true face. He was not human, as Cassus had been, instead he was a member of the old Mandalorian species, the Taung. His green, angular face instantly brought memories of Maryx up once again, but he forced them down, before letting out a groan as Revan dropped to his knees, listening to what the Mandalore had to say.
Even with his cyberneticly enhanced hearing, Spike couldn't make out what the pair were saying, and by the way the Mandalore had turned his head, Spike couldn't even see his lips to work out what they were saying that way. Just as he was about to move closer to listen in, Revan stood back up, nodding once, before placing his Lightsaber next to the Mandalore's neck. The Mandalore looked up at Revan, defiance in his eyes as he straightened up, preparing for his death.
"You're free," Revan muttered the word softly, before swinging his Lightsaber down, neatly decapitating the Mandalore.
In a split second, his head crashed to the floor, the lifeless body following shorty afterwards. Revan looked at the corpse for a second, before bending down and picking up the Mandalore's discarded mask, holding it up before him. It seemed quite odd to Spike, Revan holding up the ancient mask of the Mandalore, while he himself wore a much more modern Mandalorian helmet. Finally, he let his hand drop to his side, the mask still clutched tightly in it as he turned back to face Spike.
“It’s been a good day, even if the fleet survives, they’ll have lost all sense of cohesion.”
“And if we lose the fleet they’ll just kill indiscriminately,” Spike countered. “I don't know what the Mandalore told you, but we still need to get to Malachor, now.”
Not waiting for a response, Spike turned towards the exit, breaking into a sprint, Revan trailing behind him.
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...There is no way this will end well.
Cassus Fett is finally dead! Wait a minute... with a cliffhanger like this, this is gonna suck.
"There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bullet-proof."
6461098
Voila! In view humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the “vox populi” now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin, van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.
Mass shadow generator baby
Malacor V....(i just finishe Kotor2)
6461300
It's an OK game. Not great, but certainly far from terrible
All hand, all hands, prepare docking bay five
I cut said cut it out
the Hyperdrive were running at full power and then they suddenly cut out
A split second after they arrived,, the began to fire,
Wedon’t have the firepower to match that
Instantly the opened fire, all of her guns
And you must be Revan,”
If you hadn’t tried to blow me up, I would have been able to
No one knows you are beneath
You mask will never be found
1. Hands.
2. Just.
3. Was.
4. Extra comma, They.
5. Forgot your spacing.
6. They.
7. Forgot your opening quotation mark.
8. Wouldn't.
9. No one know who you are beneath.
10. Your.
6461122 The timing of this is kinda funny as I literally finished hearing of the phrase Vox Populi from Bioshock 2 being used over and over again. Don't know what it means in this context but I assume it's an enemy portrayal.
Get rid of first cut
Your*
Two criticisms:
1. It's spelt "Malachor", not "Malacore"
2. We actually have some canon dialogue between Revan and Mandalore, where in his last words, he ended up revealing that he was manipulated by the SIth:
From his Wookieepedia page:
From the Revan page, dialogue between Revan and Malak:
Make of these what you will, if there is a change for a reason, then I am perfectly fine with it, I'm just throwing these out there just to help you out a bit.
Other than that, alright chapter. A bit short, but still pretty good.
6463051
I did actually forget about that, I will edit things around a bit to add that in.
6463051
Done some editing, how does it look now? (Less drunk now, so this should be closer to established canon)
6463502 Very good, fits perfectly. With that, I don't really have anything else to say about the chapter other than that it was good, and that the clusterfuck of the Mass Shadow Device is going to be fun to read.
6463511
Yeah, it should be good. Two more chapters in this act, and then comes the really big one. :P
6463564 The Jedi Civil War... only time will tell if Spike remains with the Republic and traditional Jedi Order, or side with the Sith. Personally, I hope Spike sides with the Republic, but I'm happy whichever way the story goes.
6463581
Oh I have big, big plans, just you wait
6464417
Well, now wouldn't that be telling? :P
Great chapter
Thus, the fall into darkness, and the rise of Darth Revan, is sealed..
Before long, Courscant shall burn!
(..Give or take 300 years, unless Spike somehow convinces Vitate to get off his throne early...)
"What sounds poetic?!"
Everyone jumps with surprise and turns to see Pinkie Pie beaming up at them with that bubbly smile of hers. It was then that Spike realized...
... The Elements of Laughter and Surprise go really well with Pinkie's parties.
And now the horror of Malachor V is imminent.