I admit Malak was the master of his own fate, but he was Revan's most loyal ally and probably also felt honour bound. And to be fair, neither Malak, nor Revan willing fell. They were controlled by the emperor, but alas later they broke free, and still kept upon their path. So...yeah they both willingly did it, so this whole ramble was pointless...awkward
I read this fanfiction way back when called "For the Republic" before the Revan book was even a glint in anyone's eye. It was about a female Revan and I kid you not it was unbelievably the most awesome fanfiction I have ever read in my entire life.
In the beginning, the writer portrayed Malak as this real good guy sweetheart who was in love with Revan. Only Revan didn't really love him back. So yeah, he was kinda stuck in the friend zone. Malak's unrequited love "manipulated" him, causing him to follow Revan even when she started slipping. His fall thus resulted from his love for the woman he could never have. He became so corrupt because he hated that he loved Revan and she never loved him.
But the writer doesn't make Revan out to be the bad guy. Revan goes off to face the Mandalorian in order to protect the Republic. The story proceeds according to canon with Revan discovering the Star Maps, the Star Forge, and all that jazz. But beyond the Outer Rim, Revan discovers something. Something far worse than the Mandalorians. Something that could crush her beloved Republic once and for all.
Due to a bit of "madness" brought about by some darkside influences and whatnot, Revan surmises that there is only one way to save her Republic... by destroying what makes it weak and rebuilding it as a strong, infinite empire. An empire ruled by her. After all, Revan was the one who pushed back the Mandalorians. Revan sees herself as the only one strong enough to led the Republic into a new age.
But to save the Republic, sacrifices must be made. The Star Forge is not fueled by the lightside of the Force and Revan realizes she must take a darker path if she is to protect the Republic. She falls to the darkside, not because she craves power, but in order to save the one thing she loves. She falls to the darkside... for the Republic. (Author gets bonus points because they actually used the title of the fanfiction in the story.)
The writer takes this approach that Revan's army was never intended to be used against the Republic. Revan's army was to be used to strengthen the Republic in order to face the darkness lurking beyond the Outer Rim. Of course, the Jedi, in their blindness, saw only a Sith Lord marching an army against them. She had no choice but to wage a war against the Republic.
All in all, it was an epic read. I'm really not doing it justice with my summary. Y'all should look it up if you have the chance. It's fairly long though. And I don't know if the site it was on is still up and running.
Anyway, what kind of computer are you using, George? I have a Mac and sometimes it corrects words for me. When I first started using valsai'ium in New Beginning it wanted to change it to vatsalyam. Or velociraptor.
