Revan's Tale (Chapter Two)

Foerost... I know very little about the planet itself.

Revan thought as he sat in his chair; it was placed in the main deck, about five feet away from the front view port. It was styled like a throne; it fit his status as the Dark Lord of the Sith.

However, the terrain doesn't matter. What matters is the shipyards. I want them captured, not destroyed. They will play a key part in the battles to come; not to mention it will deal a great crippling first blow to the Republic. I'll let Malak have his blood lust on the surface; I'll lead the attack on the ship yards. If it were up to him, he'd destroy them. I can't allow that to happen.

It didn't matter, though. Malak knew what his role was in this battle; distract the Republic forces with a land attack, while Revan went for the real prize: the shipyards. From the shipyards, he would infiltrate their communications, and send out a message declaring war upon the Republic. While it was dangerous for the King to move in Chess...

If the King does not lead, how can he expect others to follow?

There were two minutes left until they would exit from hyperspace. Malak's small vanguard of ships had all ready gone a head to begin the land stage of the battle. With their forces distracted, it would be child's play to capture the shipyards. Revan rose from his chair, and walked closer to the view port. He folded his arms across his chest, and took a deep breath as the ships began to slow down as they exited from the hyperspace route.

They came into view of the planet quickly. It was just as Revan expected: several dozens of ships docked at the ship yard, as well as fighters and bombers. However, they were clearly not battle ready at the moment. It was all most too easy.

"My lord," came a voice from behind him. "What are your orders?"

"Engage the enemy," Revan said in a monotone voice. "But do not wipe them out. Cripple the ships that attack, but leave the dormant ones completely intact. This will be a deadly first blow to the Republic."

"As you wish, my lord."

Revan merely smirked from behind his mask.

This is going to be all too easy... once what little resistance there is has been wiped out, I'll send a boarding party into the shipyards to take prisoners; those who refuse to cooperate will be killed. After that, I will fly down to the surface and help capture the communications tower, then I'll transmit my message to Corascaunt.

As expected, there was little resistance in the space battle. What little defenses they had were quickly crippled, and the boarding party was sent out to secure the shipyards. Just as Revan was about to contact Malak, his comlink went off. When he saw the caller's image, he couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"What is it, Malak?"

"Master, a small Republic vanguard is defending the communications tower. I have only a handful of soldiers with me at the moment, and our Dark Jedi are defending the structures we have all ready captured. What are your orders, my lord?"

You idiot... you should have expected heavy resistance at the communications tower. It's all ways the one building that is heavily guarded.

"Await my arrival. I'll lead you and your men into the fray."

"Yes, my lord."

Fool!

Revan landed at Malak's coordinates within a matter of ten minutes. He calmly walked out of the shuttle, and Malak was kneeling at the foot of the ramp.

"Rise, my friend. What is the situation."

Malak steadily rose, then said, "They have snipers positioned on the roof, and according to our stealth remotes placed inside the structure, the inside is heavily guarded, and apparently there is a Jedi there."

"A Jedi?" Revan asked, shock quite clear in his voice. "How is that possible? I did not sense a Jedi. No matter... why would a Jedi be here in the first place?"

"I'm not sure, my lord. But it is irrelevant; I am sure he will be killed with ease. The problem is getting inside without being shot down by the snipers."

True... perhaps you're not quite as foolish as I had first concluded.

Revan thought as he walked past his soldiers, disregarding their salutes. His gaze was fixed on the tower, and the two snipers guarding it. With the Force, I might be able to distract them long enough for our soldiers to take up positions to shoot them down. Yes, that's probably the best choice. But from his distance, it will take a great amount of concentration to keep them fooled. It's the only option as far as I can see, however. The only other option would be to increase my speed through the Force, but that can be quite exhausting, even for one such as myself. Confusion it is, then.

He turned to the soldiers, and said, "On my command, shoot them down."

The soldiers nodded without question, and saluted.

Revan nodded in approval, then he turned back to the tower. He held out his hand and reached out with the Force, focusing on the two snipers. He dived into their minds, allowing his conscious to mingle with theirs. Once his superior mind had a good grip on theirs, he waved his free hand to signal the soldiers.

Blaster fire. Candles were blown out.

Revan took a deep breath as he felt them leave the world. He smiled to himself, the nodded at Malak, signaling for him to follow his lead.

"Soldiers, place a detonator on the door. On my signal, we break in and rush the tower. We kill anyone who gets in our way."

A trooper in red armour nodded, then signalled for his men to follow him towards the door. He took out a large detonator, and placed it on the door. After a few minutes of fixing the wiring, he backed up and gave Revan the thumbs up. Revan nodded in acknowledgement, and walked towards the tower; he unclipped his lightsaber, and Malak did the same. They both ignited their weapons, and Revan nodded at the trooper.

The door was destroyed as if it were cardboard.

Revan was the first to rush in. A Republic soldier saw his lightsaber, then cried out, "It's a Sith!" Those were the last words he spoke. There was a flurry of blaster fire, each bolt bouncing off Revan's blade. "Malak!"

The Dark Lord's apprentice leapt into the tower, and landed in front of a soldier, slicing down the middle of his body; another flame extinguished. It was exactly the distraction Revan needed. He deflected another bolt into a Republic soldier, and sliced through another one that came rushing at him with a vibroblade.

Where is that Jedi?

A flurry of blaster fire came from behind Revan. Within minutes, all the soldiers in the communications tower were dead. Revan gave the order for his soldiers to stand down, and for Malak to deactivate his searing blade. As expected, they all obeyed. That Jedi is in here somewhere...I can sense him now. His presence was so insignificant before, but now it's ringing loud and clear.

"Come out, Jedi!" Revan called out, holding his lightsaber casually at his side. "I promise, yours will not be as gruesome as their fate if you reveal yourself!"

"As if I were to believe that..."

Revan looked to his right, and out of the shadows emerged a young male Cathar. A Cathar? Impossible- no, not impossible. More like improbable. All Republic reports lead us to believe that the Cathars were dead after the Mandalorian attack. Well, I suppose I should know better than to trust Republic media.

"I know who you are, Revan." The Cathar hissed. "You rescued me and my cousin from slavery on Taris."

Revan frowned from behind his mask. "But how could you possibly recognize me now?"

"Your presence... your aura." He replied. "So full of energy... just like you, full of charisma. But now... it has an unmistakable taint; a taint of darkness. You were once my hero... but now you disgust me." He spat on the ground to emphasize his point.

Revan completely ignored the insult. "First, I must correct you; my name is Darth Revan now, Dark Lord of the Sith. Second of all," He began to approach the boy. Now that he got a closer look at him, he was roughly in his early teens. "There is very little you understand!" He spun in a complete circle, then swung at his neck. To his surprise, his blood red blade clashed against a vibrant yellow one.

"Ah, so you have had some training, then. It won't be enough to stop me!"

He disconnected his blade from the Cathar's with a slight twirl of the hilt, then he made a small cut on the youth's leg. The boy cried in pain, and Revan quickly backhanded him, sending him flying to the other side of the room with the Force. The boy groaned in pain, struggling to stand. He finally mustered the will to rise, but he was all ready weakened.

Pathetic; this is a waste of my valuable time.

"Since you're so eager to die..." Revan held out his hand, and with a mere gesture, crushed the boy's windpipe. The young man's body collapsed, completely lifeless. Revan deactivated his lightsaber, calmly clipping it on to his belt. He looked to his soldiers, then said, "Get the communications uplink running. Malak, contact the General, and have the uplink to the Grand Jedi Temple on Corascaunt ready. It's time to speak the words that will start a war."

It has been two years since Revan disappeared.

Bastila thought to herself as she sat in the Jedi Archives of the Grand Jedi Temple. I can't help but wonder what has happened to him? Is he in a self imposed exile? No, I don't think so. I know him better than that. If anything he'd come back to enjoy his hero's welcome. How unbecoming of a Jedi Knight...

She huffed in frustration and pushed out her chair, and calmly stood up. She took a moment to straighten up her robe and tunic, then she proceeded to walk out of the archives. When Revan disappeared, so did most of the Republic Grand fleet, along with most of the Jedi that followed Revan into war. Although she hated to think it, it was possible that Revan and Malak had turned to the darkside. She shuddered at the thought, but it was very possible. The foresight of the Jedi Masters had been clouded of late, which meant that the Dark side was growing stronger. Even she could sense the dark tremors in the force, and they were eerily familiar. It was too much like Revan... she hated the feeling, but she had to push it back to the back of her mind. It was best to assume Revan dead. That thought, however, almost brought a tear to her eye.

It was no secret that she cared much for Revan. The two were on a fairly good basis before he left for war. In fact, she was one of the first Revan had tried to recruit. As much as she secretly wanted to fight side by side with him, she couldn't defy the Jedi Council. She would never dream of it.

She had been lost in her own thoughts, that she didn't even realize where she was going. When she finally came to, she noticed she was in a room with several hologram projectors. Each projector had the image of a Jedi Master, each reciting the Jedi Code. She smiled a little bit, then started to recite along with them as she closed her eyes.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no death, there is-"

She stopped reciting the Code when she heard the unmistakable voice of Revan. She opened her eyes, and saw several images of the same hooded and masked figure. No... it can't be...

"Jedi Knights, citizens of the Republic, lend me your ears!" Revan exclaimed. "I have returned from the far reaches of space, bearing news that will shock each and every one of you. I have returned to you, no longer as the man who saved your precious Republic. Nay! I am now Lord Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith! And this," Revan motioned for Malak to step into view of the camera. Malak proudly took his place beside Revan, his arms folded across his chest. He glared at the camera, as if to kill anyone who was watching the transmission. "This is my apprentice, Lord Malak. We have discovered true power in the lost regions of space. Power enough to crush those who oppose us, and remake the galaxy in any way we see fit. This message is being transmitted from Foerost; I have captured the shipyard here, and the planet is now under the control of the Sith Empire! This will be many of the first planets to fall. They were ill prepared for us, so their defeat was quick and painless.

"However, if you dare to oppose us, your deaths will not be so quick. I extend an opportunity to any and all Jedi who know of us: Join the ranks of the Sith. Become an apprentice to my Empire, and you shall have power beyond your wildest dreams. Refuse, and your deaths will be slow and painful. I extend the same offering to the citizens of the Republic. Join us, and your lives will be spared. Fight us, and die. Regardless of your choice, the Republic must fall. Your precious Republic will burn in flames. And as for the Jedi...

"The Jedi will be obliterated, and replaced with my kind. You are incapable of defending the galaxy any longer; you have out lived your usefulness. Because of you, the Republic was almost destroyed by the Mandalorians. If not for me, the Jedi would be dead. You have no idea how many losses we suffered...but no longer. I am here to ensure that will never happen again. This is war, my friends. Prepare to be reborn in fire."

The transmission was cut, and Revan relaxed a little bit. Perfect... the war has begun. Soon, I can begin rebuilding the Republic the way I see fit. They will be prepared for when the True Sith strike... this I swear.