Lord Revan/Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was nearing midnight on Coruscant and Supreme Chancellor Udina was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo on a datapad that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. He was waiting for a holomessgae from the Chairman of a far-off planet in the Outer Rim, and between wondering when the wretched man would transmit, and trying to suppress unpleasant memories of what had been a very long and difficult week, there was not much space for anything else in the Chancellor's head. The more he attempted to focus on the text in front of him, the more the Chancellor could see the gloating face of Senator Ackdan. This particular opponent of his had appeared on the HoloNet that very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had happened in the last week, but also to explain how each and every one of them was the Chancellor's fault.

The Chancellor's pulse quickened at the very thought of these accusations, for they were neither fair nor true. How was he supposed to have stopped Pannus IV from crashing into the planet. It was outrageous for anyone to say that they were not spending enough on orbital stabalisers. The stabaliser had been less than two years old, and the best experts were at a loss to explain why it had suddenly broken down and caused that catastophe, killing everybody in the system. And how could anyone suggest taht it was for lack of security force personnel that had caused those two grisly and well-publicised murders? Or that the Chancellor should have somehow forseen that asteroid strike on Pantora that had caused so mauch damage to both people and property? And was it his fault that one of his aides, Grithin Chol, who had chosen this week to act so peculiarly, would now be spending a lot more time with his family?

"A grim mood has gripped the Republic." Ackdan had concluded, barely concealing a broad grin.

And unfortunately, this was perfectly true. The Chancellor felt it himself; people really did seem genuinely more unhappy than usual.

He continued to read the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave it up as a bad job. Stretching his arms above his head he looked around his office mournfully. It was a handsome room, with ornate statues lining the edges of the room and beautiful Alderaanian windows facing the Chancellor, as well as a huge one behind him. With a slight shiver, the Chancellor got up and moved over to the huge window, looking out at the rain that was hammering down upon Coruscant. It was then, as he stood with his back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him.

He froze, nose-to-nose with own scared-looking reflection in the glass. He knew that cough. He had heard it before. He turned, very slowly, to face the empty room.

"Hello?" he said, trying to sound braver than he felt.

For a brief moment he allowed himself the impossible hope that nobody would answer him. However, a voice responded at once, a crisp, decisive voice that sounded as though it were reading a prepared statement. It was coming, as the Chancellor had known from the first cough, from the small, blue, holographic figure that appeared to be standing on his desk.

"To the Chancellor. Urgent we meet. Kindly respond immediately. Sincerely, Dorak." The man in the hologram looked enquiringly at the Chancellor.

"Er," said the Chancellor, "listen... it's not a very good time for me... I'm waiting for a transmission, you see... from the Chairman of-"

"That can be easily rearranged," said the hologram at once. The Chancellor's heart sank. He had been afraid of that.

"But I was hoping to speak-"

"We shall arrange for the Chairman to forget to transmit. He shall transmit tomorrow night instead." said the hologram. "Kindly respond immediately to Master Dorak."

"I... oh... very well," said the Chancellor weakly. "Yes, I'll see Dorak."

He hurried back to his desk, straightening his clothes as he went. He had barely resumed his seat, and arranged his face into what he hoped was a relaxed and unfazed expression, when there was a small pop. He watched, trying not to betray a flicker of suprise or alarm, as an average-sized man appeared before him.

Dorak was looking distinctly careworn. he was thinner, balder and greyer (if any of these were possible) and his face had a crumpled look. The Chancellor had seen this look in politicians before, and it never boded well.

"How can I help you?" he asked, shaking Dorak's hand very briefly and gesturing towards the hardest of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Difficult to know where to begin," muttered Dorak, pulling up the chair and sitting down opposite the Chancellor. "What a week, what a week."

"Had a bad one too, have you?" asked the Chancellor, hoping to convey by this that he had quite enough on his plate already without extra helpings from Dorak.

"Yes, of course. I've been having the same week you have, Chancellor. Pannus IV, the Vash and Vanak murders. Not to mention that terrible ruckus on Pantora."

"You-er-your-I mean to say, some of your people were involved in thoses thigns were they?"

Dorak fixed the Chancellor with a rather stern look.

"Of course they were. Surely you've realised what's going on?"

"I..." hesistated the Chancellor. "How should I know what's going on in the, er, Force-sensetive community?" snapped the Chancellor. "I have to run the whole Republic and quite enough concerns right now without-"

"We have the same concerns!" Dorak interrupted. "The Pannus orbital stabaliser didn't wear out. That wasn't really an asteroid strike. Those murders were not the work of those who cannot hear the Force. And Grithin Chole's family would be safer without him. We are currently making arrangements for him to be transferred to the Jedi Temple's medical facility to be treated. The move should be effected tonight." Dorak paused for a moment before continuing, apparently unaware that the Chancellor had not understood a single word that he had just said. "Chancellor, Ia m very sorry to have to tell you this, but he's back. Darth Revan is back."

"Back?" asked the Chancellor nervously. "When you say back, you mean he's alive?" The Chancellor groped for memories of a meeting that he and Dorak had had just months previously, in which Dorak had informed him of the Sith Lord who was feared above all others, the Sith Lord who had commited a thousand terrible crimes before his capture a year previously.

"Yes, alive," said Dorak. "That is... I don't know. Is a man alive if he cannot be killed? I don't really understand it and Vrook isn't saying anything. But anyway, he's certainly regained his identity and is walking and talking and killing. So I suppose, for the purposes of our discussion, yes. He's alive."

The Chancellor did not know what to say to this, but a persistent habit of wanting to be well-informed on any subject that came up made him cast around for any deatails of a previous conversation that he and Dorka had had.

"Is Yul Frinn with Revan?"

"Frinn? Frinn?" Dorak said distractedly. "By the Force no. Frinn's dead."

"Dead?" Inquired the Chancellor, his spirits lifting slightly.

While the Chancellor lightly stroked the polished metal of his desk, Dorak continued, "But Frinn's by-the-by now. The point is, we're at war, Chancellor, and steps must be taken."

"War?" the Chancellor repeated. "I thought Malak was dead."

"He is, but Revan has taken up his old place again and is inflicting terrible wounds on the Republic. Since they have moved out into the open, they've been wrekaing havoc. The Pannus stabaliser. He did it, Chancellor. He threatened a mass killing unless I stood aside for him and-"

"Godd grief. So it's your fault those people died and I'm having to answer pointless questions about solar gravitational pull and I don't know what else!" said the Chancellor furiously.

"My fault?" asked Dorak incredulously. "Are you saying that you would have caved in to blackmail like that?"

"Maybe not," said the Chancellor, standing up and pacing about the room, "but I would have put every effort into catching the blackmailer before he commited any such atrocity."

"Do you really think I wasn't already making every effort?" Dorak shouted, "Every Jedi in the Order was, and is, trying to find him and round up his followers. But, Chancellor, we happen to be talking about one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time."

"So I suppose you're also going to tell me that he caused that asteroid shower on Pantora too?" said the Chancellor, his temper rising with every pace he took. It was infuriating to find out the reason for all these terrible disasters and not to be able to tell the public.

"That was no asteroid shower." said Dorak miserably.

"Excuse me!" barked the Chancellor, now positively stamping up and down. "Buildings flattened, tress burned to a crisp, horrible injuries-"

"It was the Acolytes." said Dorak. "Revan's personal sect of Force-sensetives. And... and we suspect rancor involvement."

The Chancellor froze in his tracks.

"What involvement?"

"He used rancors last time when he wanted a grand effect. It stands to reason that he is doing again. It's been a disaster!"

"You don't say." said the Chancellor furiously.

"I won't deny that moral is pretty low within the Order. What with all that and then losing Lonna Vash."

"Losing who?"

"Lonna Vash. One of the most prominent members of the Jedi Council. We think that Revan may have killed her in person, because she was a very gifted Jedi and all the evidence was that she put up a real fight."

Dorak cleared his throat.

"But that murder was all over the holonet. Lonna Vash. It just said that she was a middle-aged female human. It was a very nasty killing, wasn't it? It's had rather a lot of publicity. The security forces are baffled, you see."

Dorak sighed. "Well of course they are. Killed in a room that was locked from the inside, wasn't she? We, on the other hand, know exactly who did it. Not that that brings us any closer to catching him. And then there was Emell Vanak. Maybe you didn't hear about that one-"

"Oh yes I did!" said the Chancellor. "It happened just round the corner from here, as a matter of fact. The holonet had a field day with it. Break Down of Law and Order Right Under the Chancellor's Nose-"

"And as if that wasn't bad enough," said Dorak, barely listening to the Chancellor, "we've got Night Sisters attacking people left right and center."

Once upon a happier time, this sentence would have meant nothing to the Chancellor. But he was wiser now.

"I thought the Night Sisters guarded the prisoners in Verges Prison?" he said cuatiously.

"They did," said Dorak wearily. "But not anymore. They've deserted the prison and joined Revan. I won't pretend that wasn't a blow."

"Now see here, Dorak. You've got to do something. It's your duty as Grand Master to-"

"My dear Chancellor, you don't really think I'm still Grand Master after all this? I was stripped of that position three days ago. The entire Order's been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I've never known them so united." said Dorak, with a brave attempt at a smile.

The Chancellor was momentarily lost for words. He suddenly felt very sorry for the man sitting before him.

"I'm very sorry," he said finally. "If there's anyting I can do?"

"It's very kind of you Chancellor but there's nothing. I was sent here tonight to bring you up to date on recent events and to introduce you to my successor. I thought he'd be here by now, but of course he is very busy at the moment."

Dorak looked at the small hologram that was still standing on the Chancellor's desk.

"He'll be here in a moment," said the hologram. "He's just finishing a transmission to Vrook."

"I wish him luck," said Dorak, sound bitter for the first time. "I've been transmitting to Vrook twice a day for the past fortnight, but he won't budge. If he'd just been willing to persuade Atris, I might be... Well maybe Zhar will have more luck."

Dorak subsided into what was clearly an aggrieved silence. Moments later, a tall, pink Twi'lek walked into the room and stood in the middle of the room, with his blue lightsaber ignited. After looking around the room three times, he extinguished his weapon.

"You can't be too careful in these times." he said calmly to the Chancellor.

The Chancellor's first, foolish and quite impolite thought was the Zhar looked rather like a large worm. This aside, he had keen dark eyes and a loping grace, depsite the fact that he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression of toughness. The Chancellor felt that he understood why the Jedi Order preffered Zhar to Dorak as a leader right now.

"How do you do?" said the Chancellor politely, holding out his hand.

Zhar grasped it briefly, his eyes scanning the room, then stretched out his other hand.

"Dorak tell you everything?" he asked, locking the door with the Force.

"Yes," replied the Chancellor. "And if you don;t mind, I'd rather that door remained unlocked."

"I'd rather not be interrupted," said Zhar shortly, "or watched," he added, bringing the velevet curtains sweeping across the large window behind the Chancellor's desk. "Right, well, I'm very busy, so let's get down to business. First of all, we need to discuss your security."

The Chancellor drew himself up to his fullest height and replied, "I'm happy with my present security thank you very-"

"Well we're not," Zhar cut in. "It'll be apoor lookout for the Republic if their leader put under the influence of a mind trick. The new secretary in your outer office-"

"I'm not getting rid of Jaxia Veers, if that's what you're suggesting!" said the Chancellor hotly. "She's highly efficient, gets through twice the work the others-"

"That's because she's a Jedi," said Zhar, without a flicker of a smile. "A highly trained Jedi Guardian who has been assigned to you for your protection."

"Now, wait a moment!" declared the Chancellor. "You can't just go putting people into my office. I decide who works for me."

"I thought you were happy with Veers?" said Zhar coldly.

"I am. That is to say, I was-"

"Then there's no problem, is there?" said Zhar.

"Well... as long as Veers' work continues to be excellent." said the Chancellor lamely, but Zhar seemed not to hear him.

"Now, about Grithin Chole. Your aide who has been entertaining the public by impersonating a gizka." continued Zhar

"What about him?" asked the Chancellor.

"He has clearly reacted to a poorly performed mind trick." said Zhar. "It's addled his brains, but he could be dangerous."

"He's only cooing and jumping." said the Chancellor weakly. "Surely a bit of rest... maybe go easy on the juma juice."

"A team of Jedi helaers is examining him as we speak." said Zhar. "So far, he has attempted to strangle three of them. I think it is best that he be kept away from society for the time being."

"He'll be alright won't he?" asked the Chancellor. Zhar merely shrugged and walked back towards the door.

"Well that's all I had to say." said Zhar, with an air of finality about him. "If there are any more developments, Chancellor, I shall inform you. Or I shall probably send Dorak here. He has consented to stay on the council in a lesser capacity." Dorak attempted to smile but was unsuccesful. He merely looked as if he had been punched in the face. Zhar was already on the other side of the door before the Chancellor spouted forth the words that he had been supressing all evening.

"But Sith's blood! You're Jedi! You can use the Force! Surely you should be able to solve... well... anything!"

Both Jedi tunred back to him, before Dorak responded.

"The problem is, the other side can use the Force too, Chancellor."

And with that, both Jedi walked through the door and it closed behind them.