Duel on the Star Forge

"Once again we shall face each other in single combat&hellip; and the victor will decide the fate of the galaxy!"

- Darth Malak, to Revan

This duel was the final lightsaber duel between the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Malak and his former Sith Master Revan, who was now a redeemed Jedi Padawan. The duel took place in the year 3,956 BBY, the final year of the Jedi Civil War, during the Galactic Republic's assault on the Rakatan space station known as the Star Forge in the Rakata system. Revan fought and killed Malak before the Republic Navy destroyed the Star Forge, which defeated Malak's Sith Empire.

Prelude
"You will have gone from being the Sith Lord, himself, to the savior of our galaxy."

- Bastila Shan, to Revan

In the year 3,959 BBY, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Revan and his Sith apprentice Darth Malak declared war on the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic they had successfully defended as Jedi Knights during the Mandalorian Wars. This act initiated the Jedi Civil War. Two years into the war, the Jedi and Republic set a trap for both Revan and Malak. A Jedi strike team, led by Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, boarded Revan's flagship during the battle. Malak sensed his opportunity and ordered the guns of his flagship Leviathan to fire on Revan's vessel, in order to kill both Revan and the Jedi. However, both Shan and Revan survived, although Revan was knocked into a coma. Shan stabilized Revan, escaped the flagship, and brought Revan back to the Jedi Council. The Council temporarily erased Revan's memories, and implanted an identity of a soldier loyal to the Republic.

In the final year of the Jedi Civil War, the amnesiac Revan was retrained as a Padawan at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Revan and Bastila Shan were then sent on a mission by the local Jedi Council to find the Star Forge, an ancient Rakatan space station that fueled the Sith Empire's war effort against the Republic. During their search for the Star Maps that lead to the Star Forge, Malak captured Revan and his companions and brought them aboard his flagship Leviathan. Malak told Revan about his former identity of Darth Revan, and Shan was captured by Malak. After escaping the Leviathan and locating the final Star Map on the Sith tombworld Korriban, Revan and his companions traveled to the Rakata system and crashed on the planet Rakata Prime. Along with the Jedi Jolee Bindo and Juhani, Revan confronted Shan, who revealed that she was Malak's new apprentice, replacing Malak's Shadow Hand Darth Bandon, who was slain by Revan.

When Revan rejected Shan's pleas to reclaim his former mantle of Dark Lord, Shan fled to the Star Forge. Revan and his companions boarded the Star Forge aboard the light freighter Ebon Hawk. After battling through hordes of Dark Jedi and Sith troopers, Revan confronted Shan, who was ordered by Malak to kill Revan. After defeating her three times, Revan convinced Shan to return to the light side and use her Battle meditation&mdash;a Force power that bolstered her allies' will while demoralizing the enemy&mdash;against the Sith. He then went on to confront Darth Malak. When Revan approached the door to the turbolift that lead to the observation platform, Malak met him there, using the Force to choke two Jedi prisoners. Malak then used the Force to throw his lightsaber into one Jedi's chest, and unleashed a blast of Force lightning at the other, killing both. Revan told Malak that the Jedi would show him mercy if he surrendered, but Malak retorted that the stripping of one's power was no act of mercy, and that he would rather die. Malak then unleashed an unlimited force of Star Forge droids on Revan, and retreated to the observation deck. After Revan defeated the droids, he entered the turbolift and made his way to the observation deck to confront the Dark Lord.

The final confrontation
"Im&hellip; impossible. I&hellip; I cannot be beaten. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith.''" "''The power of the light will always be stronger than the dark side."

- Darth Malak and Revan.

When Revan approached Malak, the Dark Lord congratulated his former Master, stating that he expected the Star Forge's defenses to destroy Revan. However, Malak saw that there was more of Revan's old self in him then he expected. Malak opined that Revan was stronger than he ever was during his reign as the Dark Lord, and Malak remarked that he did not think that was possible. Malak then told Revan that he was tempted to try and capture Revan alive, so that he could break Revan and make him become his own apprentice. Revan said that he would never turn to the dark side again.

They began a lightsaber duel, one whose victor would decide the fate of the galaxy, as the Republic and Sith forces raged around them outside the ancient superweapon's observation deck. Revan proved himself to be a better lightsaber duelist, almost defeating Malak, but the Dark Lord withdrew from battle, explaining that he could not be defeated. Malak then used the Force to drain the life-force from one of eight captive Jedi that Malak captured from the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, when he and his forces attacked the planet. Revan destroyed the other stasis pods, allowing the other Jedi to become one with the Force.

Revan then focused his attention on cutting Malak down again. Eventually, Revan succeeded in landing the fatal blow, bringing Malak to his knees. Amazed that he had been defeated, Malak began to regret turning to the dark side. Revan apologized to his one-time friend for starting him down the dark path, but reminded Malak that he chose to continue down it. Malak stated that perhaps there was more truth in the Jedi Code than he ever believed, and wondered what would have happened if their positions had been reversed. Malak died with sorrow and regret over his deeds, but without hatred or malice towards his former Master. Revan then escaped the Star Forge with his companions on the Ebon Hawk, and the Republic Navy began bombarding the station, sending it crashing into the Rakata system's sun.

Aftermath
After Revan and his companions returned to Rakata Prime, they were rewarded by the Republic Admiral Forn Dodonna, each receiving the Cross of Glory, the highest honor the Republic could bestow on an individual. Revan was also re-bestowed the rank of Jedi Knight by Jedi Master Vandar Tokare, being proclaimed "The Prodigal Knight". With both Bastila Shan and Revan once again on the Republic and Jedi Order's side, and the Sith Empire's primary factory destroyed, the Sith forces were routed by the Republic.

Approximately three hundred years after Revan and Malak's final duel, a resurgent Sith Empire attacked and waged war against the Republic until a treaty was signed between the Republic and Sith Empire. An image of the duel was depicted a holorecord produced by the Kel Dor Jedi Master Gnost-Dural for the Jedi Archives.

Behind the scenes
The Duel on the Star Forge first appeared in the 2003 Xbox and PC video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, developed by BioWare. While the canonical ending of the video game is the light side ending, the player can choose to follow the dark path. In this ending, Revan gives in to Bastila Shan's temptations, murdering the Jedi Jolee Bindo and Juhani atop the Rakatan Temple. He and Bastila Shan travel to the Star Forge, and Revan orders Shan to use her battle meditation to assist the Republic, in order to entrap the Republic's forces. After he killed Malak and reclaimed the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, Revan ordered Shan to turn against the Republic, destroying the fleet and preventing the Star Forge's destruction.

In the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, written by Drew Karpyshyn, Revan was said to be a Jedi Master at the time of the duel. However, in Knights of the Old Republic, he is a Padawan. An image depicting Revan and Malak's final duel was featured in the eighth entry of the Galactic Timeline, a online video series created to elaborate upon the background for the upcoming video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. In the image, Bastila Shan is depicted as having also confronted Malak. However, in Knights of the Old Republic, she was using her Battle Meditation for the Republic's fleet, leaving Revan to confront Malak by himself. An easter egg in the ending of Knights of the Old Republic allows the player to transform Malak into a green-skinned Twi'lek dancer and skip the final battle.

The captive Jedi that Malak can drain the life from use the same model as one possible model for the player character/Revan.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Timeline 8: The Jedi Civil War
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

Notes and references
Duelo na Star Forge