The Terran Alliance: The Dark Soldier- Crosspost

Chapter 16- New Path

Chapter 16- New Path

(October 25, 2004)

In the near total darkness of the ancient battle site under the surface of the planet Malachor V, Philip slowly walks among the many petrified bodies of Mandalorians, Republic troops, and Jedi strewn across the battlefield. Looking up, he sees the massive Sith temple in the distance.

After he fled Naboo, Philip had wandered the Outer Rim for almost two weeks, just consumed by the emotions of self-hate and disappointment in himself for having become the very thing he swore to destroy. After almost two weeks, Philip had, during a look through his holocrons, remembered the story of the famed Jedi Revan, and the story of how he defeated the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian wars by using the superweapon of the Sith Temple on Malachor V. Drawn to the story, Philip had traveled to Malachor V.

For the last hour, after his arrival on the planet, Philip had been just slowly exploring the ancient battlefield where the Mandalorian Wars ended. As he explored, he had become overwhelmed by guilt. He realized that he had not only become like Revan had in that moment, but far worse. He had become someone who didn't care what lengths he went to to achieve victory.

As he looks out over the fields of petrified bodies, Philip feels a crippling sense of guilt. Although he doesn't regret any of the Imperial personnel he's killed, he realizes now that over the past few years, he's been carrying out his crusade with little to no regard for civilian life. He remembers how he abandoned the few survivors from that farming village destroyed by the Seventh Brother back in 1999, several civilians that died during his hunts for Inquisitors over the past 5 years, and of course the civilians that died or almost did on Naboo during his effort to draw in Vader.

Philip kneels down beside the petrified body of a Jedi, looking at the frozen expression on the face. The similarities between these bodies and images he's seen of the bodies from Pompeii in history books are startling, although these bodies are a little more detailed than the bodies at Pompeii. Once more, fresh pangs of guilt rush over him. Had he not had his epiphany on Naboo, who knows how much further he could've gone in his pursuit of vengeance. How many more would've died. And what terrifies him most of all is the thought that perhaps, one day, he could've fallen so far he could've either tried to become the Emperor's new apprentice or tried to kill the Emperor and take his place as Dark Lord of the Sith.

Philip looks out slowly over the barren landscape. Had he continued on his path, perhaps devastation like this might've begun to follow in his footsteps.

Philip takes his helmet into his hand, looking down at the skull-like design. This mask has struck terror into countless individuals over the previous years. It has become a symbol of fear and death. Philip once took pride whenever he saw that mask, but now he feels nothing but disgust. With a cry, Philip flings the mask away. The mask tumbles across the ground, the sound of it seemingly amplified due to the near total silence prior.

Philip looks at where the mask stopped, then slowly turns and begins to walk away. He knows what he has to do.

(November 1, 2004, Ossus)

On the ground outside the old Library, Philip carefully looks into his holocron. After leaving Malachor V, Philip had traveled to Ossus. He had gathered almost everything he owned, including the rest of his armor, all of his holocrons he had gathered from the day he fled the Jedi Temple, and his lightsaber, the one that once belonged to Darth Bane. At the same time, he had created two holocrons himself. In one of the holocrons, he recorded everything he felt noteworthy that he had learned over the past decade. Once he had finished, he put that holocron and everything else he had gathered and put it all in a chest. He had then taken the chest into the depths of the Great Library and buried it.