Before - Legends Battle Cry (KOTOR era, the Exile and OC, short story) Updated Jun 16

Title: Battle Cry
Author: bi0nic
Timeframe: pre-KOTOR, during the Mandalorian Wars
Characters: the Jedi Exile (male, named Jei Xeleid) and Tashana Ordo (a female Mandaloran warrior OC)
Disclaimer/Acknowledgements: Thanks to George Lucas and the guys at BioWare and Obsidian for constructing and expanding upon an awesome universe for all of us to fool around with.
Summary: During the Second Battle of Dxun, towards the end of the Mandalorian Wars, Jei Xeleid (a Jedi Knight and Republic General) and Tash Ordo (a Mandalorian Neo-Crusader) have an unexpected encounter.

Author's Notes: This is a sequel of sorts to an earlier vignette I wrote set during the time of the Mandalorian Wars, On The Eve Of War. They're both pretty stand-alone, so you don't have to have read that to understand this, but you can always read them in order if you wish.

This was originally supposed to be a vignette, but it's grown a little long so I've decided to split it up. It'll be either a two or three parter in the end, I haven't decided yet.



Battle Cry


"For Mandalore!"

The ragged, deep-throated call of a Mandalorian warrior rang out from beyond the jungle, somewhere across the plains. The distant cry somehow rose above the thunderous rumbles of noise that flowed forth intermittently from the neighbouring battlefield. The piercing sounds of super-charged blasters, explosive artillery shells and frenzied screams of the wounded could be heard even from afar, easily drowning out the placid burrs and croaks of the Dxunian rainforest.

The noises surged into earshot, accelerating and becoming more frantic as shot answered shot, attack answered attack; the two sides simultaneously both provoking and responding to the ceaseless cycle of organised murder that this battle ultimately represented. As the sounds of war continued to escalate, growing louder and louder, approaching a near-deafening apex, crashing towards a terrifying crescendo?suddenly it stopped.

And was replaced by silence. Terrible silence. Dead silence. The only thing more chilling than the silence itself was the knowledge that before long, the noises would start up again and the orderly slaughter would resume in earnest, the living eagerly continuing on their fervent campaign to swell the ranks of the dead.

"For the Republic!" came the eventual reply?just as hoarse, just as desperate and just as venomous as its Mandalorian counterpart.

Such is the dialogue of soldiery, Jei Xeleid thought, hearing the decidedly unoriginal war cry of the Republic soldiers. As expected, it was soon followed by the familiar, all too familiar rising sounds of cannon, shell and flame.

It made for a horrifying soundtrack to what was a horrifying battle.

For months now, the Republic forces had been gradually pushing the Mandalorians back. Minutely small territorial advances came at the cost of hundreds, sometimes thousands of lives. Yet still, they pushed on.

The field of battle was no place for a Jedi. His proximity to such casual and unimaginably numerous losses of life sent disturbances through the Force, the likes of which he had never felt before. Every wave of deaths had initially come like a stab through the heart, though by now that feeling had diminished so as to feel only like a pinprick. He never thought he would have seen the day when he wished not to be able to feel the Force. But the pain that his sensitivity to the Force had brought him in the early stages of the war had caused him to do exactly that. In place of that sensitivity, he instead found himself harbouring a growing sense of deadening apathy.

The war had changed him, there was no doubt about it. Where once he felt compassion and pity for the victims of this conflict, now he felt only numb. More times than he would ever care to remember had he held a dying comrade in his arms, each and every time the boy would be we

 

It had been dubbed 'The Revan Doctrine'. The policy of pursuing the long term goal of winning the war at the cost of non-strategically important worlds. Basically, at the cost of however many lives it was deemed necessary. At first he had blanched at such a sickening idea?they were out here to alleviate suffering, not to allow or be accomplices to its perpetuation. But after nearly three years of being on the front lines, to a small degree of inner dismay, he had found himself in increasing agreement with Revan's tactics. The way to alleviate the most suffering was to end this war, as quickly and most expeditiously as possible.


Hence Sherman's scorched earth Policy at the civil war. It seemed heartless, felt impossibly horrible, but in the end possibly ended that war none too soon.

Interesting view of what war can be like. Good Job Bi0nic

 

The ragged, deep-throated call of a Mandalorian warrior rang out from beyond the jungle, somewhere across the plains. The distant cry somehow rose above the thunderous rumbles of noise that flowed forth intermittently from the neighbouring battlefield. The piercing sounds of super-charged blasters, explosive artillery shells and frenzied screams of the wounded could be heard even from afar, easily drowning out the placid burrs and croaks of the Dxunian rainforest.

The Council could keep their pacifist, weak-kneed, bleeding heart teachings. Out here, the ends really do justify their means.


War is hell! And you captured both the feeling and mind-frame of it very well here. I was nearly mesmerized with your detail in this fic. Hell of a good job, Bionic!

 

Noelie: It's really interesting that you'd kind of agree with Jei's assessment that the ends justify the means here, becuase I come from completely the other side of the argument. As a lily-livered, loony-lefty liberal, I would generally take the opposite stance. But it's good, I think, if what you said means I'm not coming across as biased and that my writing a character with different politics isn't prejudiced by my own.

Thanks a lot for the reply!

ZEGO: War sure is hell, no doubt. I'm glad that's the impression you were left with, that was definitely what I was going for. Thanks a lot mate!

 

Excellent! I really liked this, even though it's outside my usual genre of reading.

It had been dubbed 'The Revan Doctrine'. The policy of pursuing the long term goal of winning the war at the cost of non-strategically important worlds. Basically, at the cost of however many lives it was deemed necessary. At first he had blanched at such a sickening idea?they were out here to alleviate suffering, not to allow or be accomplices to its perpetuation. But after nearly three years of being on the front lines, to a small degree of inner dismay, he had found himself in increasing agreement with Revan's tactics. The way to alleviate the most suffering was to end this war, as quickly and most expeditiously as possible.

The Council could keep their pacifist, weak-kneed, bleeding heart teachings. Out here, the ends really do justify their means.

Superb ending!

 

Noelie: It's really interesting that you'd kind of agree with Jei's assessment that the ends justify the means here, becuase I come from completely the other side of the argument. As a lily-livered, loony-lefty liberal, I would generally take the opposite stance. But it's good, I think, if what you said means I'm not coming across as biased and that my writing a character with different politics isn't prejudiced by my own.


Hehe. Bi0nic and even from my viewpoint I am not sure I do agree. I suppose I should have said I understand. I have spent far too much time with various civial, and other war buffs. Not something I generally can talk about, but have listened long enuogh I recognized the policy that Revan would have been talking about. Tough stuff.

And I just had to say I understand how people could see it that way.

Still it was a great job

 

Every wave of deaths had initially come like a stab through the heart, though by now that feeling had diminished so as to feel only like a pinprick. He never thought he would have seen the day when he wished not to be able to feel the Force. But the pain that his sensitivity to the Force had brought him in the early stages of the war had caused him to do exactly that. In place of that sensitivity, he instead found himself harbouring a growing sense of deadening apathy.

Wow, how true this is. We loose our sesitivity as we see more and more of things that used to make us cringe in horor or disgust. Eventually we all become apathetic. Perhaps we also become inpatient?

 

"For Mandalore!"

There's a rule about not starting with a line of dialogue, but breaking it in this fic was absolutely brilliant. A battle cry should be sudden and penetrating.

And was replaced by silence. Terrible silence. Dead silence. The only thing more chilling than the silence itself was the knowledge that before long, the noises would start up again and the orderly slaughter would resume in earnest, the living eagerly continuing on their fervent campaign to swell the ranks of the dead.

The rhythm here is fabulous.

"For the Republic!" came the eventual reply--just as hoarse, just as desperate and just as venomous as its Mandalorian counterpart.

I think it's great how you're punctuating the fic with battle cries. I hope this continues.

The field of battle was no place for a Jedi. [...] And slowly but surely, in his own estimation, the worth of one single life had begun to decline.

I love these two paragraphs. Heck, I love everything about this fic so far, but these two paragraphs stand out. I admit don't know much about the KotOR era Jedi, but I think you're doing a fantastic job of describing one's moral fall.

I'm looking forward to the next part. Please PM me when you update this fic.

- lazy

 

VaderLVR64: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked the end bit, it was probably my favourite part. I hope my infliction of horrible colours and icons upon you this week hasn't soured you to me or my writing.

Noelie: I apologise if I put my foot in my mouth by placing words in yours. That wasn't my intention, sorry about that. I guess it does boil down to one of the most difficult questions ever, at what point and to what extent do the ends justify the means? I suppose the classic example might be Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I don't think anyone (whichever side of the debate they're on) can truthfully say what they'd do if given that kind of a decision to make. So, yeah, I agree. Definitely tough stuff.

Thanks again!

Araxie: I think you've hit the nail on the head with what I was trying to get across in this first part: Jei going from numbness to apathy to impatience. I've never even been close to being in that kind of wartime situation, so I've no idea if that's what someone's natural reaction might be. All I tried to do was reconcile how a Jedi (by definition a person of integrity and compasssion) could end up being responsible for something like Malachor V, which KOTOR canon tells us was perpetrated by the Jedi Exile.

Thanks for the reply!

Healer_Leona: I don't think I can agree with Jei's thinking in that part either. Both characters in this fic actually have views on war which I completely disagree with, which is strange as I'm quite a political person and I could have easily gotten preachy on this topic (especially at this moment in history). It's probably a good sign that I'm not able to do that as I don't have a like-minded character to use as a soapbox.

Thanks a lot! A PM shall definitely be winging your way when I update.

lazykbys_left: There's a rule about not starting with a line of dialogue? I must have missed that particular writers' law. But rules were made to be broken, right?

The battle cries will indeed continue to play a role, so be on the lookout. I didn't give it this title for nuthin'.

I'm glad you liked that paragraph which starts "The field of battle was no place for a Jedi", as I was unsure about that part. I mean, the field of battle quite clearly is a place for Jedi, we see them fighting in wars all the time, throughout Star Wars. But some sort of shortcut was necessary to try to explain how a decent, moral Jedi like the Exile could become capable of doing the things we learn he does later on in KOTOR canon, this being the most notable.

PMs shall be yours when I update. Thanks for the reply!

 

Part 2


It was glorious.

Tashana Ordo smiled at the sounds of battle that filtered through her helmet and flooded into her ears. This was what it was all about?the rush of a blaster bolt whizzing over your head, the thrill of seeing a Republic soldier falling to the floor in a lifeless heap after being hit by an expertly aimed shot from your rifle, the feeling of rising every morning knowing that you were going to have to fight tooth and nail just to ensure your own survival, as nature intended.

This was war. This was challenge. This was life.

The invigoration she had felt during every single battle, every skirmish, every incursion of this war was unparalleled. Nothing else she had ever experienced even came close. This was the conflict they had all dreamed of. The Mandalorian Clans, united and battle-hardened, toe-to-toe with all of the formidable military might that the Galactic Republic could bring to bear. This was the war that would define this generation, if not this entire age. It was the greatest of honours to know that her actions in these times would shape the future of the galaxy and that she and her peers would be immortalised in song and story for centuries to come. Because of their deeds in this contest between the two greatest superpowers of the present era, the name of the Neo-Crusaders would now always be remembered and revered in Mandalorian legend.

As she crept through the near-impenetrably thick undergrowth of the jungle, she gently brushed aside ferns and vines, stealthily clearing a pathway ahead. Although she wasn't picking anything up through her scanning visor, her predator's instincts were telling her otherwise. The prey she was stalking was close. Very close.

* * *

The entirety of the great Dxunian jungle had become liberally peppered with deep craters during the course of the war, having been created by the endless artillery bombardments and systematic aerial carpet bombing carried out by both sides. Jei tiptoed around one such crater now, taking great care not to lose his footing and fall in and also being sure to tread lightly so as not to make a noise.

He could sense a presence. It was just behind the next clump of brush, not twenty steps ahead. He searched his feelings through the Force, and the presence ahead of him began to phase into focus.

Not an animal. His shoulders tensed.

Not a fellow Jedi. He bent down.

Not a Republic soldier. He drew his lightsaber.

That left but one possibility. He continued to circumnavigate the crater, keeping his lightsaber lofted at his side in readiness, not yet activated so as to remain silent. As he sneaked slowly through the underbrush, he could almost begin to see a faint outline of a person through the all-encompassing foliage.

Before he could manoeuvre himself in closer for a better look, there was a startling noise from overhead that gave him pause. The distant booms of artillery fire had become so commonplace that he never even really heard them anymore. But the shrill whistle that always followed the boom sounded different in this instance. It was headed . . .

"Kriff!" He couldn't contain himself from cursing in desperation.

Extrapolating the trajectory of the incoming shell based on the sound it made and using his finely-attuned Jedi instincts, Jei sprang up and leapt away from the spot that was soon to be left rendered a smouldering pit of mud and ashes. He flung himself, aided by the Force, through the air and away from certain death by fiery explosion. The unfortunate consequence of which was that he flew, smack bang, headfirst into the Mandalorian, who as of a couple of seconds ago had been radically deprioritised on the scale of potential danger posed.

Both Jei and Tash were equally surprised by their sudden and forceful contact. Their faces, now only inches away from each other, turned from displaying startled surprise to instead exhibiting contorted pain as the heat from the rapidly-expanding fireball swarmed over the

 

Excellent update, bIOnic.

That OC really came to life in this chapter of yours, her view on the glory of war a stark comparison to the Exile's view in the last chapter.

Keep up the good work.

 

Art_Of_War: Thanks! Yeah, these two characters' views on war are pretty much diametrically opposed, one seeing nothing but glory, the other seeing nothing but suffering. One of the main things I've tried/am trying to explore with this.

Healer_Leona: Thanks for the reply Leona! I'm pleased that you've decided to continue to feed the hand that bites, or rather the hand that colours.

Fear not, although I'd love to be able to keep you on the edge of your seat with the question of if Jei and Tash are dead or just unconscious, the reality is it'd be fairly tricky for me to finish this story if I just killed off the only two characters. That kinda narrows it down.

 

My apologies for the delay update-wise.

I'm off on holiday for the next week, but as soon as I get back, I promise I'll finish this off. I've been writing this fic on and off for something like two months now, and so help me, I will get it finished eventually. [face_determined]