And I thought that Malachor V was a Dark Side planet, Revan thought. He frowned. Malachor V, as he remembered it, had been a dark place in the galaxy, where few had ventured after the Destruction of the Star Forge, eight years ago. He had, after a few months since the celebration, gone to Malachor V, and delt with the Sith he had stationed on guard there eleven years ago. On the surface of Malachor V, he had found other things...answers. Answers as to why he had fallen. At the center of Revan's former stronghold was the Trayus Academy, an ancient dark side Praxeum that contained the deepest and most intimate secrets of the Sith. From this mausoleum of ancient Sith knowledge he had probed these ancient secrets. He had not probed very deep into that power, but he had found out the truth. He had learned of the existence of a more powerful, more dangerous empire far beyond the known borders of Galactic Republic space, where the true Sith Empire was waiting. Waiting to attack!
Quickly he had left for the Unknown Regions taking as much as an army he could find with him. He had found more troops, and Jedi, on other planets, that had long been oppressed by these True Sith, and were more than willing to help. Now Revan smiled, he had been a leader for a long time; ever since the Mandalorian Wars: 15 years ago.
He sighed. He remebered things. How the Republic's army had been near the edge of complete and total destruction. In fact it would have fallen, if not for the bravery and cunning of the crew of the Ebon Hawk. The Hawk's crew had gone on a crazy mission. They had searched for the lost Star Maps, that would eventually lead them to the Star Forge (a weapon-factory spacestation).
A tear-drop slipped out of his eye, and down his cheek. He remembered the love and friendship he had had with his team. How he missed them all.
His team had consisted of four humans, three aliens, and two droids. Each had different personalities, feelings, and perspectives on life. Each were unique in there own way.
How could I have left them? Revan asked himself.
First there was Carth Onasi. Carth had been, at the begining of the journey, suspicious of him. He had thought it curious that he had survived the crash with him. When Revan has asked him about his seemingly substantial bitterness towards him, he had simply answered, "I don't want to talk about it."
Of course, at that time, Revan had been brainwashed. His mind had been erased of all memories of his previous life. He had been programed, by the Highest Jedi Council, with a new identity: Matthias Mokato.
On further questioning, Carth had finally broken down his walls of secrecy, to reveal a secret so sad, it had almost made him cry once had started speacking: he once had a family.
It had happened shortly after the Mandalorian Wars. Revan (seduced by the Dark Side) had returned to the galaxy with a Sith armada, to battle the Republic. Amongst the Sith forces was none other than Carth's mentor and hero; Admiral Saul Karath.
Carth was devastated when, in a test of his Sith allegiance, Malak, Revan's apprentice, ordered Saul to bomb Carth's home world of Telos, due to its strategic significance to the Republic. Carth lost his wife, and his son disappeared. From then on, Carth refused to trust anybody, lest he suffer the same sting of betrayal again.
Eventually, he would find his son Dustil Onasi, and would help turn him from his current path, back to the light.
Revan didn't know if the two had been reunited, but he did know that the two were on equal terms.
The next two people to join were Mission Vao and Zaalbar the Wookie.
MIssion had been fourteen, and had been in the Lower City Cantina on Taris, when he'd met her. She had been about to have be molested by three drunk rodians, when Zaalbar, or "Big Z," had come to her rescue. She had talked to the brain-washed Revan, after he had had a run in with the "now-deceased" Calo Nord.
Eventually, after getting into the Undercity, after exiting the Outcast Village, they would run into Mission again. Big Z had been captured by Gammorean Slave Traders and Raiders. She had asked him for help.
They would eventually rescue Zaalbar, and together with him, Mission, and Carth, Revan would enter the Black Vulkar Base, to free the Jedi, Bastila Shan. She would follow him until the end of the Star Forge Quest.
Zaalbar was a wookie. He was the youngest son of the Wookiee Chieftain Freyyr, Zaalbar was born on the planet Kashyyyk. After being exiled from Kashyyyk for being a madclaw, Zaalbar travelled to Taris, where he met the young Twi'lek Mission Vao.
Shortly after Matthias' arrival on Taris, Zaalbar was captured by Gamorrean slavers. After being freed by Matthias, he swore a life debt to the former Sith Lord causing Mission to follow him as well.
When Revan and his companions arrived on Kashyyyk, where Chuundar, Zaalbar's brother, has seized power from his father over the Wookiees, the Wookiee was imprisoned by his brother for not honoring his exile. Revan learned that Chuundar sold several of his fellow Wookiees to the Czerka Corporation, but only a few Wookiees knew this, the rest saw him as a great hero. Chuundar asked Revan to kill an enraged Wookiee exile in the Shadowlands beneath the planet's mighty trees, which upon further investigation, turned out to be Freyyr, Zaalbar and Chuundar's father. Revan helped Freyyr retrieve Bacca's Ceremonial Blade, a mighty vibro-sword, and then led a revolt against Chuundar and Czerka, killing Chuundar. Freyyr resumed his position as chieftain, and Zaalbar rejoined Revan in his quest.
He too would follow him until the end of the Star Forge Quest.
Then there was Bastila. Bastila Shan had been the second main reason as to how they had finished the Jedi Civil War. She was also the one and only love of his life.
When Matthias Mokato had been awakened from sleep by the Sith Attack on the former Capital Ship, the Endar Spire, he had been briefed by a soldier, Trask Ulgo, that he had to make it to the bridge, to rescue her. Soon Matthias and Carth had been forced to abandon ship.
Once on Taris they had to rescue her there too. They had at last succeded: they escaped Taris.
They had gone to Dantooine. There Matthias had begun his training. When the threat of the Star Forge had been revealed, the seven allies had gone right away, to deal with it.
Near the very end of the voyage ha had learned a few things about Bastila.
She had been born on Talravin as the only child of Helena Shan and a hunter whose name was not preserved by history. She was gifted with a natural Force ability that would gain her considerable renown later in life: Battle Meditation. It was a rare skill that increased the morale of her allies in battle and reduced her enemy's will to fight. She was part of a strike team that was sent to capture Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith. There a powerful Force bond between the two.
During the journey, Bastila was again captured, but this time by Darth Malak. After subjecting her to torture, Malak eventually succeeded in forcing Bastila to give in to her hate and fall to the dark side. She became the dark lord's apprentice, replacing the slain Darth Bandon.
In time, she would reunite with Revan atop the Temple of the Ancients on the world of Rakata Prime, but their meeting was far from happy. Bastila had attempted to persuade him to reclaim his former title of Dark Lord of the Sith, but Revan would not be swayed.
After an intense lightsaber duel, Bastila retreated to the Star Forge, where she and Revan eventually faced off a second time. Even though her powers were continually renewed by the Star Forge, Bastila found herself unable to defeat Revan.
Beaten at last, she begged the former Dark Lord to take her life, but he refused. Instead he persuaded Bastila to denounce the dark side and return to the light by drawing on the bond of love that they shared. Redeemed, Bastila used her Battle Meditation to turn the tide of the battle in the Republic's favor, allowing the Star Forge to be destroyed after Revan had slain his old friend Malak in single combat.
There were also the "Daring Droid Duo," T3-M4 and HK-47.
T3-M4 had joined them first. T3-M4 was constructed by Janice Nall, a droid vendor on Taris, for the local crime lord Davik Kang. The droid was top-of-the-range for its time, and featured exceptional code-breaking and computer slicing skills, in addition to being able to mount armour and weapon upgrades.
It had been thanks to him, that they had been able to escape Taris.
He remembered the programing he had given the droid: "I want you to go around the galaxy. I want you to find these four people. Unite them...for if I fail, these people will take up my work."
HK-47, however, had been far different. He had found this out as Matthias: HK-47 was originally constructed by Revan, shortly after the Battle of Malachor V, to be the quintessential assassin.
While he was completely loyal—friendly, even—to those he identified as "master", he had virtually no regard for any form of life, and was driven by an unquenchable thirst for blood. He characteristically used the term "meatbag" when speaking of organic lifeforms, especially humans.
The droid remained in Revan's possession, assassinating beings who could potentially destabilise the Galaxy.
After many other "malfunctions and reprogramings" HK-47 was sold to Yuka Laka, an Ithorian droid dealer on Tatooine. There, he was encountered by his original master, Revan, who had suffered memory loss and was ignorant of his true identity. He purchased the droid for his knowledge of the Sand People dialect, as he intended to negotiate with the local Sand People chieftain about ceasing attacks against Czerka Corporation personnel.
Eventually, when Revan discovered the truth about his own history, this proved to be the stimulus necessary for HK-47 to recover his earliest memories. The droid remained with him until the end, following him to the Battle of Rakata Prime and to Malachor V, where, along with T3-M4 and the Ebon Hawk, Revan left him before departing to the Unknown Regions.
He still wondred where the duo were now.
There were three others: Juhani, Jolee Bindo, and Canderous Ordo.
Juhani was a cathar. She had been taken for training by Jedi Master Quatra. At first their relationship was peaceful, but as her training progressed, Juhani, due to her hot-tempered Cathar nature, began to lose control over her emotions and slip towards the dark side.
Quatra, aware of the changes in her Padawan, decided to test her in an unusual way. By that time, Juhani's training was almost complete, and Quatra had nothing more to teach her. She allowed Juhani to give in to her rage and strike her Master, making her believe that she had done so willingly. Juhani left her for dead, but in fact she was only injured, and later recovered in the Jedi Enclave.
Believing that she harnessed the power of the dark side, Juhani left the Enclave and hid in a Jedi meditation grove. The grove soon became tainted, and the local kath hounds were driven mad, and started attacking the local settlers.
Her salvation, ironically enough, once again came from Revan. At that time, the former Jedi Knight and Dark Lord of the Sith was unaware of his true identity; he believed he was a former Republic soldier taken for Jedi training, and the task of removing the taint from the grove, given by the Jedi Council, was his final test. Revan, like Juhani, was once again waiting to become a Padawan.
As Revan approached the grove, Juhani engaged him in battle, but was unexpectedly defeated—and she believed that no one could match her power. Finally, she realized what Quatra wanted her to realize: that the dark side itself was no stronger than the light side, and that being seduced by it did not make one any stronger.
Revan spared her life and persuaded her to ask the Jedi Council for mercy. She was forgiven, promoted to Jedi Knight, and remained in the Enclave for some time, until Revan and Bastila Shan uncovered a Star Map on Dantooine and the Council assigned Juhani to their expedition on the Ebon Hawk, which aimed to find other Star Maps that could reveal location to the Star Forge.
She would eventually com to terms with her past, and would help save him, when he would meet Bastila, after her being turned.
Jolee Bindo was (in Revan's opinion) the best "old-grump" ever.
From what he had gathered, this was why he was like that: During his days as a Jedi Padawan, Jolee was considered brash and reckless, often defying of the Jedi Council in order to do what he felt was right. A prime example were his actions during the blockade of the Ukatis system. Cut off from the rest of the Galaxy by its own King, the Ukatis system was unable to get food and supplies, and no help from the Senate was forthcoming. Jolee decided to help the people himself. He acquired a ship and was joined by a friend, presumably Andor Vex. Together they stole from the rich, considering it a "tax on the greedy", and ran the supplies through the blockade to the planet.
Eventually, his craft was shot down to the planet by no less than his future wife, Nayama, and the two were married, although marriage was frowned upon by many Jedi of the time. He discovered her to be strong in the Force, and he took to training her personally, despite the advice of the Jedi Council. He was not even granted the rank of Jedi Knight by that time. During the war with Exar Kun, his wife, like many other Jedi, fell to the dark side. She attempted to turn on Jolee, who resisted, eventually bringing her to kneels. Jolee was unable to kill his own wife, and let her go, going on to kill many Jedi in the war.
The Council did not punish Jolee for his actions, stating he had learned his lesson the hard way. When instead they wished to promote him to the status of Jedi Knight, Jolee lost faith in the wisdom of the Council and went into exile. Eventually he crash landed on Kashyyyk and remained exploring the Shadowlands for the next twenty years. At first, the Wookiees believed him to be a benevolent forest spirit, and so left gifts outside of his dwelling, until the old hermit explained the truth to them, albeit with some embarrassment. Still, Jolee remained a friend of the Wookiees, helping them to protect the Shadowlands and its wildlife. He often wandered through the forest, ready to defend himself from predators, sentient or not, with his lightsaber.
During his wandering, he discovered an ancient computer guarding a Star Map, and ended up making 152 attempts to communicate with it - however, the computer had been secretly reprogrammed by Revan, during his first trip to Kashyyyk with Malak, to respond to nobody but himself.
Jolee's professed neutrality, already belied by his joining Revan, was rendered further questionable when Revan landed on Rakata Prime, the home planet of the Rakata. When the Rakatan priests allowed Revan into the Temple of the Ancients to disable the Star Forge's disruptor field, they insisted on him going into the temple alone. Jolee, however, persuaded the priests to allow him and Juhani to accompany Revan, and it turned out to be a useful measure: Jolee and Juhani restrained Revan from being once again seduced to the dark side, this time by Bastila Shan.
Jolee remained with Revan until the end and, along with Revan's other companions, was honored at the Republic's celebration of their victory over Darth Malak.
One night, three weeks after the celebration, Jolee left. I still wonder what became of him, Revan thought.
Canderous Ordo was born on the Mandalorian world of Ordo, to the Clan Ordo. By the end of the Jedi Civil War, Ordo had fought with the Mandalorians "for over forty years." He fought with the Crusaders during the Great Sith War, and following their defeat, was quickly recruited by Mandalore the Ultimate into the Neo-Crusaders.
Before the Mandalorian Wars started, Ordo witnessed what may have been the first Yuuzhan Vong scouting of the Galaxy when he spotted an asteroid-sized ship that bore many similarities to those used by the Yuuzhan Vong. Yet, the vessel also resembles the asteroid-like ships used by the Vagaari. During that same time period, he took part in the First Battle of Althir in which he defeated an Althiri fleet ten times the size of his own and earned the command of an entire subsect of his clan.
When the Mandalorian war of conquest began, Ordo was a Mandalorian commander under Mandalore the Ultimate, and was one of the few Mandalorians (along with Cassus Fett and Jagi) to survive the Battle of Malachor V. After the defeat of the Mandalorian clans, Canderous came to be employed as an enforcer for a crime lord named Davik Kang on the planet of Taris. When the Sith blockaded the planet, Ordo decided it was time to move on. Assisting Revan in stealing the Ebon Hawk from its current owners, they escaped the planet. Canderous followed Revan in his goals, despite often disagreeing with his choices during the course of his plans. Canderous often regailed Revan with tales of his battles, and would later explain that coming with Revan was a route to finding glorious battle once more, something he could not do under Davik.
He had been heading for Dxun, when Revan had left.
How he missed them all.
Commander Doqtor Poloe interrupted Revan from his quiet contemplations.
"Sir, there is an unidentified ship off our starboard side."
Revan started. "What is the ship's identification?"
Doqtor answered: "It is a battered assault fighter, of Malachor V Sith design. There is an incoming transmission. It requests permission to come aboard."
Revan was surprised. A Sith ship fom Malachor V? That was interesting. "Tell the pilot to give his name and buisness."
"The pilot only says that you knew him as your General, durring the Mandalorian Wars."
Revan frowned, searching his memories. There had been only four generals in his army at that time. There was Orp Treng, Jhe Benders, Okke Waden, and Luke Starrider. Okke had died durring the wars. So had Orp and Jhe. Each of those three had joined him when he had fallen to the Dark Side, But Luke Starrider...
"Let him on board at once!" Revan nearly shouted.
Soon, almost the whole crew were assemled in the hangar of the ship. The whole crew was either expecting a trap, or a Jedi.
Soon the air lock of the ship opened, the ramp extended--
--and a blond-and-browned haired, green eyed human, wearing an old robe of a Jedi Knight, came down the ramp.
The man had a little stubble of a beard on his chin. His robe consisted of a regular Jedi under-tunic and light-robe w/ breeches, a battered old leather utility belt buckled around his waist, a brown-hooded over-cloak. The only possible weapons he could see on his belt were a small hold-out blaster pistol in its holster, a few thermal grenades clipped on one of his belt compartments, and his lightsaber. It was not the same lightsaber he had remebered Luke Starrider carrying in the Mandalorian War.
Revan stepped toward the man, telling his guards not to fire.
The man stepped towards Revan. "Revan," he said, and put his arms around him, giving him an easy hug. "Finally I've found you."
If Revan had any doubts that this was Luke Starrider, they were instantly washed away. The moment Luke gave him the hug, the Force had let him know.
He rememberd that, before the Second Battle of Onderon, he had shaked Luke's hand. The Force had told him then that he would be a leader among leaders.
"Luke Starrider. Please come to my stateroom," he said, assuring his guards that it was alright.
Later, after Revan was told of the events that had unfolded since Luke had been sent into exile for five years; he told Revan of the True Sith and his Battles in the Unknown Regions.
Soon, the proximity alarm went off. The planet Beqelzaar was under attack!
The ship went into hyperspace at once!
Chapter 1:
To Be Continued...