1. Chapter 1

Past and Future Collide

Author: Razial

Beta: Hawklan

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the connected media, including the books, cartoons and games especially the Knights of the Old Republic series. They belong to George Lucas and whoever owns the rights to the games, cartoons and books.

Pairing: Revan/Bastila, Anakin/Padme

Summary: Anakin's future becomes more and more clouded, as some unexpected allies show up during the Clone Wars.

Notes: This takes place in an alternate universe and will change certain historical events. It will also change others things within the events of the war and may also change certain relationships, but that depends on how this story progresses. So be warned, if you don't like that, don't read and if you do read please do not complain.

Chapter 1

(Outer Rim)

The Ebon Hawk dropped out of hyper space and soon came into orbit of the remains of Malachor V. Revan looked out of the cockpit and stared at the ship wreckages of Republic and Mandalorian alike, as well as the frozen corpses of the men, he condemned to death here. At the time it had seemed like the only way to stop the war, a way that would ensure the Mandalorians would not return for a very long time, a time in which the Republic could recover.

Then he made the mistake of following them into deep space to ensure they left and it had led him, Malak and everyone who followed him into the arms of the Sith Empire and its deadly Emperor. They had tried to fight, but in the end they were corrupted and although he tried to hold onto himself, he tried to limit the damage his invasion of the Republic caused, but he began to loose himself in the darkness. Malak sadly was overtaken completely and he wasted no time in laying waste to Telos, without waiting for his orders. His old friend was not the only one so corrupted. Thousands in his fleet lost themselves in that same darkness as they did.

He was lucky, he supposed, that Malak had turned on him when he did. It helped to grant him the chance at redemption, thanks to Bastila. He could not wait to see his love again. He glanced to his left as the Exile joined him in the cockpit followed by HK-47 and T3, his two droids. He knew the Exile's name better than most others, given that he had served under him, but had been wise enough not to follow him into deep space.

"We're back," the Exile noted with relief, as he had not enjoyed his time in deep space watching the growing Sith Empire.

"Yes, the end of the war was here and our journey to save the Republic and the galaxy at large begins here," Revan responded with a grim smile. "I just hope Bastila and the others are okay. We will need them in what lies ahead," he concluded.

"So you have said General," the Exile replied. "But I am still unsure how we are going to do what it is we must to even survive to the point where your vision happened?" he questioned.

"I've told you before Tarin, do not call me General," Revan growled. "I am no longer that person and I think I know exactly how to ensure that we survive," he told him. "Don't worry so much, set course for the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, I'll be in my quarters," he ordered.

"Statement Master: Will we get to kill anyone on this insane mission?" HK-47 inquired, his yellow eyes looking menacing.

"Of course HK, if my vision was correct, you will have plenty to kill," Revan assured his prized creation before heading out.

T3 beeped a couple of times, which made HK turn and begin arguing with the smaller droid. The Exile, now known to be called Tarin, smiled as he quickly set to work on sending the ship to Coruscant. Revan could argue all he want about been a changed man, but deep inside, the General who had convinced half the Republic army and the Jedi Order to follow him, still lived.

He watched as the ship jumped into hyperspace again, just glad to be away from the graveyard that was Malachor V. A lot of bad memories still remained with him, all centered on what happened on that planet. He set the autopilot and told HK to keep an eye out for any trouble. He then headed for his own quarters. He wondered what kind of Order they would find, it had only been a year since he had left in search of Revan and the Jedi he had left behind to rebuild had been few. He was sure that things would not go as smoothly as Revan seemed to think they would, even Bastila would be so accepting of his return for a while.

Still in the end they had to stop what Revan had seen in his force vision. If they did not, the Sith would rule the galaxy for a long time, resulting in billions of deaths and even after their defeat they would continue to return and wreck destruction. They had to prevent the one event that made that future possible. Still the love between Revan and Bastila would see them through the emotional reunion to come, entering his quarters he suddenly found his mind locked on seeing Visas again.

Across the ship Revan tried to meditate, but his mind was filled with a repeat of the terrible vision he had witnessed a month prior. It had forced him to return to normal space and forget about trying to sabotage the Sith Empire. He just hoped that in the time he had been gone, that the Republic and Jedi had rebuilt fast enough and when the inevitable invasion comes that they would be able to repel it. He prayed to the force that he was not making a mistake, but the vision would not leave him and so he believed the force wanted him to do something about it and with Bastila and his other friends he would do something about it.

(Jedi Temple, Coruscant)

Bastila Shan, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, walked through the corridors of the temple. To her the temple still felt quite empty. Once, before the wars, there had been thousands of Jedi in these hallowed halls, but now only a few remained. They were almost hunted to extinction by the Sith Triumvirate, only to be saved by the actions of the Exile. A Jedi, an outcast of the Order on the decree of the old council, for following Revan to war. He had been the only Jedi to return to face the consequences of his choice.

He had left force-blind and completely cut off from the force, but somehow he had rebuilt his connection. He had used his regained powers to aide in destroying the Triumvirate and to train a few force sensitives to become a new breed of Jedi, who would help rebuild the order. So far there was only fifty Jedi in the entire galaxy, with another twenty being trained at the moment. It would be a long while before they matched their former numbers. The stress of being the new Grand Master was great and each day found her wishing she had gone with Revan, no matter what he said. Another problem she had was raising their daughter.

No one but her, Carth, Mission, Zaalbar and Canderous knew who the father of her daughter Tera was. It was too dangerous for both of them, so it was kept a well guarded secret. She knew others on the new council suspected the truth and were making noise of asking her to step down. These were mostly made up of the old guard, who had survived both wars and purges and only had come out of hiding once the threat was ended.

She suddenly paused as the alarms of the temple started to blare and she rushed to the council chamber, which was filling up with her fellow council members and Jedi.

"What is going on?" she demanded to know.

"We have intruders in the temple Master," Ven, a Corellian Jedi of the old guard, reported. "I do not know how they got through our security, but they are inside," he added with a growl.

"How many?" Bastila asked, as more Jedi arrived, including Visas, Brianna, and Mira.

"We don't know," Alak said. He was one of the last remaining old masters to be still alive. She knew he was only alive because he had hidden on a world full of Sith and Jedi temples, which ensured that he could not be sensed.

"What should we do?" Brianna asked, wondering just who was crazy enough to invade the temple.

Before any of them could reply a shadow dropped down behind Bastila and brought up a purple lightsaber against her throat. Bastila was about to react when she realised she knew the presence and knew it well. He had come back, she felt her breath hitch, as the realization hit her and wanted to turn, but found she could not.

She watched as all the Jedi in the room pulled their own weapons, but before they could do anything else another shadow dropped down next to her and she realised it was the Exile. She saw the shock hit Brianna, Visas and Mira, as they realized who had turned up. She noted a combination of fear, caution and anger on the rest of the assembled Jedi.

"You've done well in my absence," Tarin said as he looked around and countered the number of Jedi. He frowned. 'Till so few,' he thought.

"Why have you come and why are you attacking us?" Ven demanded, before anyone else could say anything.

"We are not attacking you, just gaging your response," Revan spoke, as he pushed Bastila into the light so his mask could be seen.

"It's Revan," Alak shouted raising his lightsaber again, fear and hatred coming right to the fore.

It did not matter that the only reason the Republic still existed was thanks to Revan. In his mind the whole devastation of the wars, which had almost destroyed the Jedi, was Revan's and his friend Malak's fault and the Exile was no better. He had followed them to war and aided them in destroying not only an entire world, but half their own fleet.

"Stand down," Bastila ordered as she felt Revan release her. "Revan is no threat to us," she assured them.

"I'm not surprise, that you said that Bastila," Tanith, another old guard, spat in distaste. "You were his lover and even had a child with that murderer and just like your lover you fell to the dark side as well," he continued to shout, consumed by his hatred of all three of them.

He was cut off from an invisible force and began to choke. Bastila glanced to Revan and saw the anger in his eyes and knew he was using the force to choke Tanith, but within seconds he seemed to regain control of himself and Tanith dropped to the ground, grasping for breath.

"I would advise you to watch what you say, Jedi," Canderous said, as he stepped into the hall, followed by Mission and Zaalbar. "Revan takes it personal when you spew your tainted version of events," he warned.

Bastila was wondering what the hell Canderous was doing on Coruscant, last she had heard he was still rebuilding the Mandalorian clans, as asked by Revan. Mission and Zaalbar she knew lived close to the temple, thanks to some help from her in finding an apartment.

"Yeah the kid gets mighty cranky when you insult his girl," Jolee Bindo said with a chuckle, as he also joined them. "Kinda makes me wonder what Bastila has been training them in," he joked.

"Tell me about it old man," Carth put in, rubbing his jaw at remembering when Revan had hit him in response to something he had said during Bastila's fall to the darkside.

Okay now Bastila was very confused, as to how all of her old friends and comrades seemed to be in on this. Was it possible they had all been on Coruscant just as Revan and the Exile returned? Strange though it sounded may be the force had ensured that they would all be together, all except it seemed Juhani. She knew the Cathar had returned to Taris to help the people rebuild. Clearly something must be happening for them all to be together again.

"Surrender yourself Revan. You are guilty of assaulting a member of the council," Alak demanded, as Tanith was helped back to his feet.

Revan laughed loud and folded his arms across his chest and Bastila could tell he was glaring at Alak and almost dared him to attack. She got in front of them both.

"Enough, Tanith overstepped his bounds and paid the price," she told the assembled crowd. "I would think one who survived the wars would have more caution than to show such disrespect in his presence, by verbally attacking a known friend of his," she admonished him. "Now I want everyone to return to what you were doing, I will call a council once I know why Revan and the Exile are here," she ordered.

The assembled Jedi slowly left the council hall and she did not miss the anger on most of their faces, especially Tanith and Alak and even would add fule to the fire and give them more reasons to try and force her to stand down. Visa hesitated at the door and she watched the Exile quickly tell her to join them.

Bastila then turned to Revan, once it was just their small group of friends and raising her hand she slapped him right round the face, much to the amusement of most of the group. Revan rubbed his jaw, but was actually smiling.

"It is good to see you again Bastila," Revan said. "And I am pleased to see that your fighting spirit has not been put out in the time I have been gone," he added.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Revan," Bastila growled, before she grabbed him and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss, which he eagerly returned.

"He should have seen that coming," Misson said with a smile to which Zaalbar growled in agreement.

"He did see it coming," Tarin responded from next to Visa. "He just knew better than to try and dodge it," he added with a smile. "Five years is a long time to be separated, but for the moment none of that matters to them," he stated.

"Yeah I'll say," Carth said with a shake of his head. "Still I got the impression Revan would not be back from where it was you two went," he recalled.

They all noted the dark frown this caused to appear on the Exile's face and suddenly they all began to fear there was something big and dangerous on the horizon. Canderous, Jolee and Carth began to suspect that maybe this was why they had felt compelled to come to Coruscant. Revan and Bastila finally broke apart and they all took a seat. Revan sighed, as he removed his mask and then ran a hand through his hair.

"I was not going to come back, at least not for a long time, but I had a powerful force vision, one that to be honest haunts me," Revan began. "Even with all the death we have seen in the wars, this was just more bloody and on a scale I have never seen before, except for Malachor V," he informed them.  
Carth and everyone else shivered as he said this, whilst not all of them had been there during the battle of Malachor, they had all seen the results and knew what had happened there.

"Is that even possible?" Visa inquired, trying not to imagine her own barren world.

"What did you see Revan?" Bastila asked, concerned about how bad this sounded.

"I will show you," Revan responded.

Before any of them could say or do anything they were all overcome with the same vision that had been haunting Revan. Using the force he sent the vision into each of their minds and allowed them to experience it the same way he had. He could see Bastila and Visa, as well as Tarin, were truly affected by what they were seeing, but he knew they had to witness this, if he was to have any hope of getting them to join in his mission to prevent the future.  
When it was over he looked over the white faces of most of the people in front of him. Mission especially looked ill at what she had seen. Even Canderous looked sick, most likely due to the lack of honor shown by the Empire.

"What is it you want of us, Revan?" Carth asked, angered to see his beloved Republic fall due to corruption and treachery. "How can we even attempt to stop that?" he added.

Revan looked them each in the eye before he returned his gaze to Bastila. After his gaze locked for quite a while with her, he finally responded.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Jedi Temple)

Revan walked the corridors of the temple doing his best to keep himself busy, whilst the others went over what he had told them, as well as his plan to stop it. He could not force them to join him in this and no matter what it had to be their own choice to come.

He knew what he was asking was a lot, especially for Bastila who was bringing up their daughter. He would visit with her when Bastila had made up her mind.

Leaving Tera behind would of course be the greatest sacrifice Bastila and he would make, if they both went. They would leave Tera to be raised by Brianna, Mira and Juhani once she returned from Taris. They were people they knew they could trust to look after and raise Tera right, Juhani especially would protect Tera. As he came out into one of the relaxation gardens he sat at the foot of the statue of Nomi Sunrider and began to meditate. Being near the statue again made him think of Ulic Qel-Droma, another former Dark Lord, who had managed to redeem himself, love had saved them both from the darkside in the end. It made him even surer that the Jedi's fear of emotions was wrong.

Indeed it was due to that fear that the chosen one, he had seen in his vision, had been corrupted. He had hidden his marriage from the council and this served to help divide him from the Order. The Sith Master he had seen in the vision was far stronger that any darksider he had seen before, even Malak and the Sith Emperor of his own time paled in response to that one. Opening his eyes he almost started as he noted Tarin in front of him. He looked his friend over and noted he still seemed troubled by what he had been shown in the vision.

"You have questions, Tarin?" he asked, indicating Tarin should sit as well.

Tarin settled down at the side of his friend and glanced at the statue of Sunrider for a few minutes, as he gathered his thoughts.

"I am troubled by the grip the Sith Master has on the chosen one in your vision," Tarin finally spoke up. "He will not be easy to convince of the truth," he added, running a hand through his hair. "I am also not looking forward to stepping into another war so soon," he admitted.

Revan nodded, as he knew these were all important points, especially the part of not wanting to be in another war so soon. Sadly the life of Jedi, especially those touched by the force for a specific destiny were never meant to be easy, as for breaking through the grip the Sith had on the chosen one, well he hoped the love the chosen one had for his wife would aide in this and he said as much to Tarin.

"In the end we have to trust in the force, Tarin. He will see the truth once we tell them and him of what we saw. It will be hard yes, maybe even difficult, but never impossible," Revan went on. "At the point I hope to arrive we should be able to still reach him, as long as nothing goes wrong and we end up ahead of where we need to be," he added with a frown.

"We will have to set up some droids to monitor our suspended animation sleep, HK-47 and T3 can help and guard us," Tarin suggested. "But where will we go? Where can we go where we will not be discovered?" he questioned.

"I already have an idea on that and as for guards I plan to make some HK models which will obey HK-47 and guard us whilst we sleep," Revan responded. "I take it you are coming with me?" he finally asked.

"Yes General, I will follow you," Tarin replied with a small smile. "As before you lead we follow, only this time we know exactly what we face and the dangers of failing," he continued.

Revan nodded, ignoring being called general again, as he knew Tarin would continue to use that term no matter what. It would seem for now he could not escape being a leader.

Tarin left him and headed back to his temporary quarters. He knew the mission ahead would not be easy, but it was worth doing. Visas had already stated she would follow where ever he or Revan led. So far three of them were committed to the mission along with the two droids. The question was how many of the others would come with them. He hoped all of them, as they would need all the help they could get.

Revan watched him go and nodded. He was pleased Tarin had agreed to come, he would need him. He was a great second even more so than Malak had been. Unlike Malak he knew when to draw the line, when to fall back and when to follow the orders given. Malak had always been to reckless and more prone to do his own thing, even more so once they had gone to war. He rubbed the bridge of his noise and went back to meditating.

(Coruscant, Bar)

Carth drained his second drink and watched as Canderous ordered another round for them both. Both of them were soldiers and so knew that signing up with Revan again was going to be deadly. It would include sacrifice just as before. Only with bigger stakes this time. He would have to leave Dustily here which for some reason he had already been prepared for. It was almost like he knew he would not be coming back from this trip. He glanced at where Jolee, Mission and Zaalbar sat on one table and noted that they were all talking, but they were clearly disturbed by what they now knew. Was it even possible to avert what Revan had seen he wondered to himself?

"Finally a chance for glory has come for us again," Canderous finally spoke, after they got their next round. "I've reunited the clans as Revan ordered and they are ready for whatever challenge comes. I already picked a successor should I not return," he added. "I will join Revan," he finished with a grin, before downing half his drink.

"I wish it was that simple for the rest of us Canderous, but it isn't," Carth sighed. "But still I can't help feel Revan will need all the help he can to pull this off. My duty to the republic whether it is in this time or the future demands I do something," he stated with a shake of his head. "Dustil will survive and he still barely speaks to me after what happened. Maybe leaving him to chart his own path is best thing to do," he mused. "I guess I will go as well," he finally decided, hoping he was not making a huge mistake and also hoping Dustil would understand his choice one day.

Across from them Mission and Zaalbar watched as Jolee continued one of his stories. It finished with a dark ending, but one that had great meaning something they had realized Jolee's stories always had.

"Well what did you kids decide?" the old man asked, leaning back in his seat and watched the byplay on their faces.

He could see the conflict on both of their faces; both Twi'lek and Wookiee were tense and unsure. They wanted to help Revan he was sure, but they were not so sure about leaving their own time behind. They would all be going into a time completely alien to them. Hell that even gave him pauses, but he had nothing tying him to this place, not anymore. One last grand adventure called and he would answer it.

"I'm going, but that does not mean you have to go," he told them with an understanding smile. "You are both young and have much to live for. You can do great things here," he added. "You've done your bit for the Republic so do not think you need to do more," he assured them.

"You and the others are going. I know Canderous will follow Revan and Carth will go because if he does not, the Republic and everything he has fought for will fall and he will not accept that," Mission argued. "The Exile will go out of loyalty to Revan from the war, which is why he went into deep space to find and aide him. That Visas woman will go because the Exile is and Bastila will go out of love," she pressed. "How can we do no less?" she demanded.

"I still owe Revan a life debt and so I will follow," Zaalbar spoke up. "If such bloodshed is to come, then my home word must be protected at all costs and so I will go to help save it," he added.

"Yeah exactly what big Z said, we have our homes to save, as well as the Republic, Jolee," Mission agreed. "We have very little here and so we will go," she decided.

"What will you tell your brother?" Jolee inquired, knowing she should at least think of letting him know.

"I don't even know where Griff is and considering how many times he has left me behind and betrayed my trust, I owe him nothing. I recorded a message to be given to him if he turns up looking for me before we came to the bar," Mission admitted. "I guess deep inside I had already made my choice," she said.

"I contacted my father as well and let him know I will not be returning and that I go to ensure our world's future," Zaalbar stated. "He understands this is necessary," he added.

"Then we should go and let Revan know and prepare for what lies ahead," Jolee said while standing up and putting some credits on the table.

Carth and Canderous joined them and they all headed back to the Jedi Temple, with the choice made they all put their thoughts towards what they would be doing.

(Jedi Temple)

Bastila watched as her daughter played with her toys and wished she could be there for her as she grew up, but it seemed the force had other things in store for her and Revan. She had contacted Juhani and asked her to return and take up guardianship of Tera. Mira and Brianna would help if needed, but no matter how much she wanted to stay with her daughter, she could not as Revan would need her.

Plus there was a chance that Tera would have a role in the future that could not be avoided. If she took Tera with them then there was a chance something horrible could happen because the one person who could have helped avoid it was missing. She reached out with the force and found Revan through the bond they still shared and asked him to come to her quarters.

She would have to choose someone to take over as Grandmaster of the Order, but whom? If she chose one of those who hated or distrusted her, there was always a chance Tera could be hurt or kicked out of the temple. It had to be someone she knew would keep the Order on the path she had put it on.

The door to her quarters opened and Revan stepped inside, pausing only as he laid eyes on their daughter for the first time. She smiled and picked Tera up and handed her to Revan who looked amazed, as he looked at the life they had created together before he had left.

He noted Tera had his eyes and Bastila's facial structure and hair. She would grow up just as beautiful as her mother. Tera was busy looking the new face over and smiled before placing her head down on his shoulder as Revan sat down with her. Bastila smiled as Tera seemed to find Revan someone she could trust.

"I'm sorry I left you both," Revan admitted with a sigh. "But what I remembered had to be slowed down," he told her. "Well we did what we could, now it is up to the Republic and the Order to hold the line," he stated.

"I understand why you left us Revan, but it still hurt and it has been hell since you left," Bastila responded. "Most of the rebuilt Order either dislikes or distrust me due to our bond, as you saw earlier," she admitted with a sigh. "I need to find someone to take over as Grandmaster, one who will not try and evict Tera from her home out of some misplaced fear," she told him.

"Juhani, Mira, Brianna and Ana Sunrider are your only choices Bastila," Revan told her. "From what I sensed in the hall they are the only ones who bear you no grudge. Ana would be the most acceptable choice, considering her family's past," he advised.

Bastila nodded in agreement with that and she had to admit Ana was shaping up much like her mother Vima and grandmother Nomi, both in spirit and mind. She would be most likely the only one who the council and the rest would accept as the new grandmaster, as Ana had no ties to Revan or the Exile.

"Then it is decided, Ana will take my place," Bastila said, relieved the biggest problem had been taken care off. "I will call a council and make my choice known and I have asked Juhani to come back to take up guardianship of Tera," she told him. "I just hope our daughter will understand why we left her," she said, admitting her deepest fear.

"I started a Holocron for her," Revan told her, reaching into his pocket and pulling the cube out and using the force he sent it to her. "I left advice, guidance and a message explaining my choice. Do the same, whilst you can" he told her.

Bastila nodded and wandered into her bedroom to do just that, doing her best to keep her emotions under control. Revan sighed and leaned his head back, as he considered just how painful this must be for Bastila, as she had been with Tera since she was born and he had not. He glanced down and noted Tera had fallen asleep on him. He smiled and wished things could be different for them all.

Three hours later across the temple Tarin walked the corridors ignoring the looks he received from the Jedi he passed. He was finally at peace with his past and he did not need to defend himself against them. He was heading to the council chambers, everyone had made their choice and now it was time to let the Jedi know they were leaving. He was sure this would be hardest on Bastila, but she had made her choice and he agreed that maybe Tera would be important in the future.

He entered the chamber and noted it was nearly full, Revan stood with his friends as well as Brianna and Mira. Bastila sat at the head of the council and raised her hand for silence.

"A great darkness sits on the edge of our galaxy, a threat for which we need to be watchful for, as it will come for us," Bastila began, only to be cut off by Alak.

"Of what threat do you speak, Bastila?" Alak inquired.

"The remains of the Sith Empire, the ancient Sith. Revan and Malak found them and tried to fight them when they headed after the Mandalorians, instead they were corrupted and sent back to weaken the Republic, but their plan failed and we survived," Bastila answered. "Revan and the Exile headed back into deep space to slow down the rebuilding of this empire, but now a new terror has shown itself to Revan and he came back to gain aide. The threat of the Sith Empire will be your challenge and you must prepare for it as quickly as possible," she informed them.

"You are leaving us for him?" Tanith asked in disgust.

"I am needed elsewhere and it is clear to me that my presence here is barely tolerated, so I am stepping down as Grandmaster and appointing Ana Sunrider as my replacement," Bastila told them. "She will lead you in the coming war, while I go to face another threat," she stressed this point, before standing up and moving over to Revan.

Ana was shocked that she was been chosen to become the new Grandmaster of the Order, she slowly moved forward and sat down. She looked around and noted nearly every Jedi seemed pleased with the choice, so she relaxed a little. She hoped that this threat Bastila seemed certain was out there, gave them time to prepare.

"I wish you well Bastila," Ana finally spoke. "If there is another threat out there and you can either defeat it or slow it down, whilst we deal with the Sith we will be grateful," she added, ignoring the annoyed looks this caused from Alak and Tanith. "What about Tera?" she inquired.

Bastila hesitated, but when Revan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder she pressed on. "I ask that she be allowed to stay in the temple, which is her home, under the guardianship of Juhani, who is on her way back," she stated.

"Of course, I already know that Tera is force sensitive and so she will be trained," Ana agreed, again ignoring the grumbling this caused.

She did not care for the mistrust and hatred Bastila, Revan, the Exile and their friends were held in by some, because she knew redemption was always possible. Her grandmother had proved that with Ulic, she would not give into any attempts to force Bastila and Revan's daughter out and she was sure Revan was the father.

"Thank you Ana. May the force be with you all in what lies ahead," Bastila stated, before turning around and leaving the hall, followed by the rest of the group.

Ana watched them go and was wondering what great threat was out there, other than the Sith, thinking that maybe it was another Sith sect, which was always possible.

(Coruscant, two days later)

Juhani watched as Bastila tearfully said farewell to her daughter. She was still stunned by everything she had been told. She wished she could go with her, but she was needed to take care of Tera. This was the greatest honor that could be bestowed on her by Revan and Bastila and she would not fail them. Revan stepped up and handed her the Holocron that was to be given to Tera when she was sixteen, before he also handed her two lightsabers as well.

"Take care of yourself Juhani, you've been a great friend," Revan said, before also going to say his goodbye to Tera, who seemed to sense that something was wrong and was crying.

Juhani watched as they boarded the Ebon Hawk once Tera had been handed to her. Mira and Brianna stood behind her and they all watched as the ship lifted off and headed to where ever it was they intended to go.

"I wish them luck," Mira said, feeling slightly annoyed that she was been left behind, but she knew she was being trusted to help keep the Republic safe from all threats.

"Yes I sense they are going into great danger, which is why they did not take Tera with them," Ana said as she joined them. "Come, we have much to do," she finally said after a short silence.

Juhani stared sadly at the sky one last time, before following them back to the temple. She could feel Tera's distress and hoped that when the time came to give her the Holocron Tera would understand her parents' choice.

(Centerpoint Station, a day and a half later)

Revan continued to work on the last three HK droids that would defend this station whilst they slept. Jolee, Mission and Bastila were  
working on the Carbonite sleep capsules. They would suspend them in perfect condition and ensure they would reach the right time. T3 would monitor them and ensure that nothing went wrong. For them no time would pass, but for the droids. They would have to face the trip to the future one day at a time, but they would all be busy.

Centerpoint Station was an abandoned station created by a lost Civilization. It was hidden and forgotten in a large thick gas cloud deep in the Correlian System. So the chance of them been discovered was slim to none. It was the perfect place for them to sleep away the ages. The new HK droids were all keyed to obey HK-47 and T3. They were less independent so they would do only the job they had been assigned, which was to guard them as they slept and to ensure no one disturbed them. A few droids like T3 had also been bought onto the station, so they could help T3 monitor and maintain the station as well as the capsules.

"How long before we are ready, Revan?" Tarin asked from behind him.

"Another hour maybe two," Revan responded. "Everything is in place and once these last droids are operational we can enter the capsules, if they have been fully cleared," he added.

"They have been. Jolee just got back to me and said they are all in perfect condition," Tarin told him. "Do you really think this is going to work?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It will work Tarin, have faith," Revan shot back "This is what the force wants us to do," he stated, as he finished the droids and switched them on.

Stepping back he watched as they picked up the nearby blasters and went on their patrol route. Bastila passed them as she entered the room.

"The Ebon Hawk has been powered and locked down inside the stations back landing bay," she informed them. "Only one of our keycodes will release the lockdown," she added.

"Then we best finish moving the supplies we brought and then we can get into the capsules and get our long journey underway," Revan responded, before he led them away.

An hour later found them all in the capsules. As T3 began the sequence to lock them in and activate them he beeped a few goodbyes.  
"Remember HK, you and T3 are in charge until we wake up. Protect and maintain this station no matter what," Revan ordered, before he was locked in.

"Statement: Of course Master, your orders will be carried out," HK-47 replied, watching as the last of them was put into sleep.  
He walked away knowing that for the next thousand years or so he was his own master. A strange concept, but one he could enjoy.  
T3 remained behind and began to ensure that all the capsules were working properly.

As time passed many ships passed the gas cloud, but none bothered to enter it. Three hundred years later the Sith Empire returned to wage war on the Republic, just as Revan had warned them they would. The war would continue for years, but in the end the Sith were defeated in time and pushed back, they vanished in time. The Republic rebuilt and grew stronger, but also stagnating and corruption began to spread and the Sith returned, now under a new rule.

The Rule of Two, with only one master and one apprentice. They concealed themselves in the Republic and as many years passed the Sith Master, Revan had seen, gained complete power as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and set events into motion that would begin the Clone wars.

The wars began quickly and soon took on a life of their own, but everyone involved was unaware that they are been manipulated on a grand scale. Three years into this war the time arrived for Revan and his team to wake up and to try and stop the fall of the chosen one.

Anakin Skywalker, at this point in time, was leading his clone troopers, alongside his old Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Asoka, on the outer rim planet of Praesitlyn, unaware of the great changes to come.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(Centerpoint Station, Clone Wars, third year of the war)

HK-47 watched as T3 and the other utility droids began the process of waking Revan and the others up from their long sleep. It had been a very long and very boring century to be on their own. No one had come near the station and so he had not killed anyone is a long time much to his frustration, but once the Master was awake and ready, he was sure the violence he had been promised would soon follow.

He listened as T3 reported the entire group had come through the long sleep in good shape. The wake up process would take a few hours and even afterwards it would take a day or so for the after effects of such a long carbonated sleep. The Jedi, he suspected, would recover even faster thanks to their force powers. He knew his Master would not want to delay beginning their mission.

T3 continued the process of bringing the group out of their long sleep, as his fellow utility droids began the heating process. He was pleased to see all signs showed green on the scans he was keeping an eye on. He whistled and beeped a few commands to another of his fellow droids, before going back to his work. HK finally turned and left the status room and went to ensure food and drinks were prepared.

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin Skywalker stood next to his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and his former Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Clone Trooper commander Rex, as well as Obi-Wan's Commander Cody. They went over their plans for the coming battle. They were fighting Separatist forces again, which were led by Asajj Ventress.

"So what is the plan this time, General?" Rex inquired.

"A three pronged attack. We will take the right side and hit them hard and fast," Anakin replied, having already come up with a plan with Obi-Wan on their way here. "Obi-Wan and his forces will come from behind them, once Ventress has committed her forces and pin them in," he continued. "Ahsoka, you will lead a third force to cut off any escape from the left side, but do not make yourself known, until we are sure we are not going to get caught off guard," he warned.

"Understood Master," Ahsoka responded with a smile, as she took the plan on board. "I'll send a few scouts to keep an eye on the surrounding area, just in case," she stated.

"Good idea," Obi-Wan said with an approving smile, pleased to see how far the young Togruta had come since becoming Anakin's Padawan. "That should ensure we do not get caught unprepared by a surprise counter attack," he continued, folding his arms over his chest.

Rex and Cody shared a nod of approval as well, as they had seen the young Padawan in combat before and knew she could handle herself. They also knew she would do all she could to ensure she did not let her Master down in such a crucial battle.

"One thing Anakin, if Ventress shows up, do not go after her on your own," Obi-Wan spoke up and stared at his friend. "Wait for me, maybe this time we can actually capture her," he stressed, even if he thought the possibility of that was slim.

"Of course Master," Anakin replied with a smile, thinking that if he did see the dark acolyte who served Dooku he would do all he could to end the threat she represented.

Obi-Wan stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head and releasing a sigh. Then he gave the go ahead for them all to get into position.

Across the battlefield Asajj Ventress looked out over the large droid army she commanded. She was confident that this time she had enough numbers to finally crush Skywalker and Kenobi. She smiled grimly as she gave the order for the B1 and B2 battledroids to advance. She would hold the few Droideka she had in reserve, just in case she needed to make a quick retreat.

As all of them prepared for the battle ahead they paused as they each felt a slight pulse in the force that they had never felt before.

On Corusant both the Jedi Council and Darth Sidious, also known as Palpatine, felt the same pulse and frowned in confusion, wondering what it was. Count Dooku also felt the pulse and simply raised an eyebrow in surprise. He would have to discuss this with his Master.

Anakin shook his head and once again focused on the battle ahead. He watched as the droid army marched forward, just as he had expected them to do. As usual Ventress was over confident of her chances of victory no matter how many times they had defeated her. He glanced back at Rex and gave the signal to attack. At once the heavy cannons opened up and fired three salvos that landed dead centre before going silent. Anakin smiled as he saw the chaos and damage done to the centre of the droid force. He activated his lightsaber and then nodded at Rex before charging out of his cover. Rex quickly led their clone force straight after them with their blaster rifles firing into the mass of droids left.

Ventress watched from the hill as her force was stopped mid march by Skywalker. Her first instinct was to attack, but then she noted Kenobi had not revealed himself yet and so she held back. She did however order the Droideka into the fight. They should help cut the clone numbers down quickly.

(Centerpoint Station)

Revan rubbed his eyes and groaned. He was still trying to shake off the lingering remains of their long sleep. He was just pleased that his plan had worked so far and they were where they needed to be.

He looked over the others and noted Bastila looked sad and he knew she had to be thinking of Tera, who by now would be long dead. He wondered what kind of life their daughter would have lived, he sighed and went back to eating his meal.

Mission shivered as she tried to shake of the effects of the carbonite sleep, it was a weird feeling and not one she enjoyed.

Zaalbar seemed to be getting over it the quickest, maybe due to his fur or just something in his Wookiee genes. Carth and Canderous were drinking a lot of fluids, as they both felt dry after such a long sleep. Jolee, Tarin and Visas like Revan and Bastila were shaking the effects off fast with a few Jedi tricks they all knew to speed up recovery.

"Question, how do you feel Master?" HK inquired, as he walked into the dinner hall with T3 following close behind.

"Still a little cold and weak, but it is quickly disappearing," Revan responded. "Did anything happen whilst we were asleep, HK?" he inquired.

"Response, negative Master," HK responded. "No one has come near the station since you went to sleep. I have been bored out of my servos," the violent droid continued.

Revan chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "I bet. Well don't worry once we are all fully recovered from the long sleep we will move out and start our mission," he assured the droid, glancing at the others as he did so.

"Statement: That is good to hear Master," HK replied. "I really need to kill something," he added before he turned and left again.

T3 beeped a report on their final bio checks before he left as well. Revan watched the small droid leave before turning to the others.

"According to T3, we are all 100% ok," Revan told them with a smile. "So the after effects should fade quickly," he added.

"That's good to hear," Carth responded. "When I woke up I thought that I have never been so cold and weak before," he went on with a shiver. "Not something I would want to do again anytime soon," he finished.

"Yeah me neither," Mission agreed. "So how many years have passed?" she inquired.

"According to T3, a long time," Revan answered. "Everyone we knew is gone and the galaxy will be a completely different place than the one we left behind to come here," he went on, pouring himself a hot drink.

The others all looked away and tried to bring that on board, to them only a few seconds had passed since they had gotten into the sleep pods. Now they were alone from a time mostly forgotten in this new age, everything would be different. They knew a war would be raging across the known worlds, but they had no idea what else was going on.

Bastila especially was having a hard time thinking of anything else, but Tera and what kind of life her and Revan's daughter had lived.

"What is our first move going to be, kid?" Jolee asked as he finished his own hot brew.

"We have two options. We first head to Coruscant and meet with the Jedi council and attempt to convince them of the truth of my vision," Revan responded with a sigh.

"Somehow I doubt the Jedi will be willing to listen," Visas argued. "They do not know us, they may even mistake us as Sith," she added.

"Visas is right about that, Revan. A few of us have the trace of the dark side in us and you especially," Tarin spoke up with a pointed look to which Revan nodded.

"And the other option, Kid?" Jolee pressed.

"We track down the chosen one and confront him directly," Revan answered. "But that is tricky in and of itself as we have no idea where he is right now. We do not know his force signature and with so many Jedi out fighting this war we'd most likely waste out time trying to track him," he stressed this point.

"So the best option is confronting the council," Bastila finally spoke up, shaking the thoughts of Tera off and concentrating on the here and now.

"Well this should be fun," Canderous chuckled, imagining them walking into the council chamber and all but telling the stuck up Jedi their doom was fast approaching.

Revan at least saw the humor and smiled, but Bastila, Jolee and Tarin did not share it. They were more worried how the council would react to them and in Bastila's mind she was even more worried how history had perceived them all in the annals of the Order. That question continued to sound in her mind, who had written the history of Revan, the Jedi Civil War and their parts in it all? Revan noted her distraction and moved closer to her. He placed his hand at the small of her back and drew her attention.

"Be calm and ignore your worry Bastila. They will not harm us," he assured her.

"That depends on how history recalls us Revan," she argued, not willing to drop her worry just yet. "If Alak, Ven or Tanith wrote the history the Order has on us, they will not trust us and may attack us," she pointed out.

Revan took in what Bastila was saying with a thoughtful nod, as he recalled the hate he had felt from the three Jedi she had mentioned. However he was sure Ana Sunrider would have kept them in line and ensured they could not write lies into the Jedi archives. Still he had to admit Bastila had a point and one that could affect their goal. He sighed and remembered why he had gone to war without Council sanction during the Mandalorian wars. The Jedi argued and had an annoying habit that their way was the only way. They could be as arrogant as anyone else could.

"Ok, we will be careful, but I will not bow to any insane tests they might wish to set for us," he finally responded.

Bastila let a small grin form on her face and leaned a little closer. "But of course. Heaven forbid you do as the council wishes Revan," she replied and trailed a finger down his face. "I wonder if you would have obeyed me had you stayed and rejoined the Order?" she wondered.

"You yes, the council itself no," Revan stated, leaned forward and kissed her before he got up and headed towards the exit, leaving Bastila to shake her head, part in amusement and part in expiration.

"Carth, you and T3 get the Ebon Hawk powered up and ready to go. Canderous, you are with me to get the weapons and ammo stored," Revan continued as Carth finished his drink and nodded. "Mission, you and Zaalbar check the other supplies we brought. Jolee, Tarin check if the Hawk's shields and weapons are ready, remember we are flying into a combat zone," he added, reminding them of the danger. "Visas, you, HK, and Bastila see if there is anything still on this station we can use, if not just head for the Hawk and prepare to leave in an hour," he finished and then vanished.

"Well I guess our recuperation is over," Carth mused with a smile, feeling much better now. "Time to get to work," he added.

"Good, I have little patience for waiting around," Canderous shot back, as he headed for the door intending to follow Revan.

"Don't we know it," Jolee muttered, causing Mission to giggle as she overheard him.

Canderous ignored them and continued onwards.

The rest soon broke up and went about their assigned tasks. Within the hour the Ebon Hawk was prepared for it first flight in a very long time. Carth powered up the engines and smiled, pleased to be back behind the controls of a fast ship. Beside him Revan thought over the coming meeting and hoped that the current Jedi Council was more agreeable than the one he had known. He relaxed in his seat and watched as the ship jumped into hyperspace.

(Coruscant)

Palpatine looked on the visage of his apprentice as he told him of sensing the same pulse in the force he himself had felt. It added to the mystery of what had caused it. He wondered if the Jedi had also sensed it, sadly he had no real way of finding out. Asking, even as the supreme chancellor would raise too many questions and he did not dare give them anymore reason to distrust him just yet.

His plans were coming so very close now to succeeding, he only needed to gather a bit more power from the senate and then he could act. At that time he would be ready to hopefully turn Anakin into his new apprentice, as Dooku had long served his purpose and was of no more use. He needed a young and powerful servant for the final stage of his grand plan. He quickly told Dooku to be mindful and keep a close eye for anything before he signed off. Soon the Jedi would be no more and he and he alone would rule the galaxy. He let out a chuckle, as he imagined the future.

Across the planet in the great Jedi temple, the Jedi Council met either in person or by holonet, as they led multiple campaigns against the Separatist's. Mace Windu and Grand Master Yoda led the meeting as usual to discuss current events, like the war and the strange pulse they had all detected a short while ago.

"The war goes badly for us in the outer rim. Our forces are been stretched to the limit, as more and more attacks are launched across the entire rim," Kit Fitso began. "Our Clone troops are taking heavy casualties. We know reinforcements are out of the question right now and no new Clones will be ready for months," he continued. "We need to plan a counter attack somewhere and push the Separatist's back and hope they take the pressure off the other areas," he stated. "That way we can maybe reorganize our forces and be better able to meet them later on," he finished.

"The Rim sieges are beginning to tax our forces to the limit," Shaak Ti agreed, her hologram bringing over her worried demeanor into the chambers, even though she was not present in body. "The Kamino's are doing all they can to ready the next batch of Clones, but they will not be ready for half a year at best guess. We need to divert the Separatist's away from the rim as best we can," she suggested.

"I could split my forces and send them into a faint to try and draw some of the droids away from the Rim," Plo Koon put forward, his own hologram flickering somewhat as his position took fire. "Whilst we are under heavy fire here, we have routed the droids main force," he explained.

"Come back they might, the danger is in greater numbers that could overwhelm you," Yoda argued with a shake of his head. "No, other options there are," he added.

"I agree. It is to risky to split up any of our current forces on the more explosive fronts," Mace agreed. "We will find some units not in combat and put them together to form a relief force as fast as we can. I am sure things are not as bad as they seem if we take the right actions," he stated.

"We have joined battle against droids again led by Ventress," Obi-Wan reported as they shifted to other topics. "We already have a battle plan in place and if it goes the way we see it doing, we could move on and force the right flank backwards and relieve some of the pressure on our forces there," he informed them.

"Good news that is Master Kenobi," Yoda responded. "Your victory or defeat on Praesitlyn could decide the fate of the Rim worlds," he continued.

"I understand Master. We will do all we can to ensure we win," Obi-Wan assured them with a confident smile.  
"I am sure you will," Mace responded, knowing Kenobi and Skywalker had the best success record of the war so far.  
"There was one thing I wished to mention, Anakin, Ahsoka and myself felt a strange pulse in the force, unlike anything we have ever felt before," Obi-Wan reported.

"We all felt it," Kit Fitso informed him. "I think it is safe to say anyone who can feel and use the force could sense it," he added thoughtfully.

"Agree I do," Yoda nodded. "Unsure however am I on what caused it," he added, running a hand over his head. "Be patient we must be, reveal the source will in time," he stated.

Mace and a number of the others nodded in agreement, but Obi-Wan, Kit Fitso and Plo Koon did not share that faith. Each worried it was a new and maybe even greater threat.

Yoda broke the meeting up and went to meditate on the matters discussed. Mace walked over to the window and looked out over the city, wondering if the Sith had anything to do with the pulse.

(Praesitlyn)

Obi-Wan sighed as the transmission ended and he turned away from the communications station. He hoped Master Yoda was right, because at the moment they could ill afford another threat on top of the one they already faced from the Sith and the Separatists. Rubbing his beard as he considered things for a few minutes, he was broken from them by his wrist communicator going off.

"Yes Anakin?" he asked as he accepted the message.

"Master, the droids have begun their advance," Anakin's voice came through loud and clear. "I am in position with my force and Ahsoka is also ready," he reported.

"Good Anakin, be ready to move once they reach our forward line," Obi-Wan ordered. "I'll quickly link up with Cody and my own force and hit them from behind, just as we planned," he added. "Good luck and may the force be with you," he finished as he headed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Ebon Hawk)

Revan stood in the cockpit as Carth and Canderous brought the ship out of hyperspace and once again they could gaze out of the view port onto the planet Coruscant. Revan could tell the planet had been through a lot of changes over the long years they had been asleep.

He felt Bastila come up beside him and gaze out as well. He could feel her continued sadness at the loss of their daughter. He reached out and grasped one of her hands in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. He too felt the loss, but he was doing his best to ignore it and concentrate on the reason they were here.

"Man I've never seen anything more beautiful in years," Carth said, as some of the others joined them. "It is hard to think we've been asleep for so long and missed so much," he mused.

"I know how you feel Carth," Jolee responded with a smile. "The planet looks even bigger than I remember, as if there were hundreds of more buildings now standing," he said thoughtfully.

"Just remember that somewhere down there is the Sith Lord I saw in my vision," Revan reminded them. "We don't know what he looks like just that he is an important member of the Republic," he continued.

"Then how will we find him?" Mission inquired, wanting to get this mission over and done with. She had seen far too much death since meeting Revan.

Granted she knew he was not responsible for it all, but he seemed to have become a catalyst for such bad events and she had agreed to come on this mission. Seeing another war tear up the galaxy thanks to the Sith, was not something she wanted to endure and so she hoped once they had tracked him down and dealt with him, that then it would finally end and they could all settle down.

"We will find him Mission," Revan replied tightly. "It may not be easy, but we will succeed in our mission," he added.

Tarin knew that finding the Dark Lord would not be easy. Where the Sith were concerned nothing was ever easy. He glanced at Visas who was stood silently beside him. They were about to step into a dangerous situation and he just hoped that they would all come out of it ok.

"Entering the atmosphere," Carth reported. "I cannot wait to see the place again," he said, while glancing back and smiling.

"Head straight for the Jedi Temple and once we are near it let me know and I will send a signal to request landing permission," Revan ordered. "Everyone get ready, full amour and weapons and be prepared for anything," he added, as he turned to leave.

"They will not let us into the Temple armed, Revan," Bastila pointed out. "Especially not in war time," she added.

"I know, but we need to set an example and make them understand we are not people they can ignore," Revan responded with a smile, before he vanished from the cockpit.

"He has a plan," Visas said in the intervening silence.

"Of course, he always does," Tarin said. "That is what makes him such a good General," he explained. "Trust him, he knows what he is doing and he clearly wants to make an impression with the council," he continued, his own smile turning slightly wicked.

He had no problem with playing hard ball with he council, not after what the council of their own time had put him through. He had no respect for them anymore. He just hoped this era's council was more level headed, more open to be given advice.

"I will always trust Revan," Bastila said, giving him a hard stare before she too departed.

The others all exchanged surprised looks before they were surprised by Jolee laughing and shaking his head, before he turned and left as well.

In the end Tarin shrugged and left as well, followed by Visas and the others.

Carth frowned wondering at Bastila's tone when she had responded to Tarin, maybe she felt like Tarin had slighted her. Shaking his head he turned back and watched as the breath taking scenery of Coruscant came into view. He smiled as he Canderous plotted the course for the Jedi Temple before leaving as well.

He leaned back in his chair and continued to look out of the view port, in a sense he was home. He had always lived and believed in the Republic and this planet was the centre of that. He wondered if Dustil had ever come here before he shook his head and set the auto pilot and headed for his quarters.

(Jedi Temple)

Mace Windu walked through the corridors of the temple thinking hard on the latest reports from the front. To him this war had been going on far too long. He and Yoda had discussed it many times and had agreed that it seemed like someone was controlling how the war went, neither side seemed to be able to gain the upper hand.

He was sure the Sith Lord was behind this, but if that was true then it suggested their greatest fear was true, that the Sith Lord was somewhere high up in the senate. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering what the end goal of this Sith Lord truly was. Their attempts to pierce the darkside and see into the future always failed and so they were blind to the truth. He came to a halt near the hangar bay and entered looking around at the fighters stored there, another indication of the changes the Order was going through, thanks to the war. Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fitso, as well as others, had lobbied for the inclusion of the fighters. He was dismayed to see so many Jedi become more and more used to being soldiers instead of peace keepers. He paused as Sian Jeisel approached him looking surprised, he wondered what was wrong.

"Master Windu, we just received a request for landing from a ship that does not appear in the records," Sian reported. "It is stationed just above the temple and they say they have important information for us and request an audience with the council," she added. "I checked the ships serial number and a file did come up, however it is coded and it can only be unlocked by a council member," she stated.

Mace frowned as he took all of this on board and was surprised to say the least, not many ships came near the temple, especially now and they especially did not ask to land in the hangar. The fact that there was a file in the Jedi records but was coded spoke of a mystery.

"Grant them permission to land, but have ten Jedi ready to meet them. Let us see who these people are," he finally ordered, deciding to be on guard as this could easily be a Separatist trap.

"Yes Master," Sian responded and quickly ran over to the comm system and summoned help.

Mace watched and waited. Finally the ship came into view as it came into land, the first thing that sprang to mind was the ship looked very old and seemed to have been through some battles. He could see a few scorch marks and what looked like blaster hits. Had they been attacked on their way here, with this supposed important information?

As the ship completed its landing he wondered who was on board. Some Jedi who had lost their own ships or maybe some clones caught behind enemy lines? He watched as the Jedi led by Sian surrounded the ship and readied themselves for any threat. He walked over and waited for the ramp to open.

(Ebon Hawk)

Bastila and the others all met up in the large hold and waited for Revan to show up, when he did Bastila wanted to laugh as he walked into bay in his Dark Lord Robe and mask. For an instant she flashed back to when she had first met him during the Jedi's plan to capture him, with his lightsaber drawn he had appeared every bit a dangerous Sith. Shaking her head she gave him a glare, as he removed the mask and grinned at her, oh he was making a statement alright.

She glanced at the others and noted Jolee and Tarin were laughing, Carth looked uneasy whilst Canderous had a look of respect on his face. No surprise she thought as this was the image that came to mind of the man who had defeated his people. Mission was grinning whilst Zaalbar shook his head. Visas gave no response, but if she did not know better she could have sworn the woman respected Revan's choice, the droids just waited for orders.

"You do realize what you look like, right kid?" Jolee finally inquired.

"Of course, as I said we need to make an impression," Revan responded as he hooked the mask onto his belt and then moved towards the ramp which extended downwards, as he used the force to activate it.

(Praesitlyn)

Obi-Wan easily deflected the blaster fire from the droids, as he led his troops into the fight. He could just make out Anakin's form at the front, dodging and jumping into the fray. He shook his head at his old padawn's eagerness for adventure and action, before concentrating back on the matter at hand, dodging another droid he brought his lightsaber down onto its head and cut it apart right down the middle.

He was just about to wade into another group of droids when his force sense just picked up an incoming attack from above. He dove out of the way of Ventress, as she came down where he had been standing with her lightsabers aimed at his head. Smiling grimly at the woman who had continued to be an annoying menace to him and Anakin he quickly engaged her in a fierce duel, he pushed her back as hard as he could.

Anakin easily waded through the droids barely keeping an eye out for any surprise attacks. Frowning he quickly sensed that Ventress was here and he pushed onwards towards his former Master. If she had not attacked him then she would have attacked him, Rex and his men continued to watch his back and continued to push forwards, ignoring as best they could the loses they were sustaining.

On the ridge above Ahsoka kept a close eye on the battle for any incoming reinforcements for the droids, until they showed she could not get involved in the battle. She glanced at Vance, the corporal assigned to her for this mission, but he shook his head in answer of her silent question, so far he had seen no movement from enemy reinforcements.

(Jedi Temple)

Mace watched as the ramp extended downwards and he placed his hand near his lightsaber just in case this was some sort of Separatist surprise attack. A few moments later an imposing figure walked down the ramp and for a few seconds Mace thought the Sith Lord had come before them. When he noted Sian and the other Jedi had activated their own lightsabers he realised he was not the only one to think such a thing. The smile on the man's face showed he found their actions amusing, as others stepped off the ship.

First came a woman and an older man, then two more men both armed heavily followed by a Wookie and Twi'lek, both of whom looked young to him. The last four to come down were another man and woman and then two droids, the droids looked old, very old infact now that he thought about it.

"Stay where you are and disarm," Sian ordered and it was only then that Mace noted five of the group were armed with lightsabers on their belts.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know, stepping forward. "And where did you get those lightsabers?" he added.

"We are Jedi," Revan responded coolly. "The lightsabers are our own," he explained.

"I do not know any of you, nor do I recognize you from any of the Jedi currently in service," Mace pointed out as he gave the signal to Sian and the others to deactivate their weapons.

"Never the less we are Jedi," Revan responded, as he removed the hood of his cloak and showed his features for the first time. "My name is Revan and I have come a long way to meet with the council, we all have," he informed what he suspected was a Master, maybe even a council member considering the authority he seemed to have.

"Why have you come to see us?" Mace inquired, trying to feel these new arrivals through the force.

Most of them seemed like everyday people just as he had expected, but the five carrying lightsabers were awash with the force. Their leader especially seemed to be surrounded by the force in a way he had never seen before. No that wasn't exactly true he thought, it reminded him of Anakin Skywalker and the way he felt in the force.

"That is information only for the council," Revan answered. "It is vital they hear what we have to say, the very future of the Jedi Order now rests in what you do next," he stated.

Mace frowned, not liking the way this sounded one bit, however he could detect no falsehood in the man as he spoke. He glanced at Sian who looked very unsure. The other Jedi with her were exchanging either unsure looks or suspicious ones, Mace stared at the strangers before deciding to bring this matter before the council.

"I will inform the council of your request. I ask that you disarm, so we know you mean us no harm," he finally told them. "You will be shown to some quarters, whilst I discuss this with the council," he added.

Revan looked at his companions and nodded in agreement much to the annoyance of Canderous and HK. One by one they removed their weapons and placed them on the floor. Sian and the others quickly grabbed the weapons and took them away; Sian and two other Jedi remained and indicated the newcomers to follow her.

Mace watched them go and wondered just what this information was Revan and his friends had, another thing that was annoying him was the name Revan. He was certain he had heard it somewhere in the Jedi Archives. Something about it plagued him, but he could not think of what it was at all. Shaking his head he shook those thoughts off and went to find Yoda before he saw the rest of the council. Maybe Yoda might know something about these newcomers.

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin jumped over the battle droid and took its head off as he came back down, hearing a familiar sound he noted the approach of a load of droideka heading right for them. It would catch most of their forces off guard, as they were busy fighting the rest of the droid army. Obi-Wan was too busy fighting Ventress and he had not sensed the approach of the new threat. He cursed as tried to head them off, but was quickly intercepted by four assassin droids. They quickly forced him on the defensive.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Jedi Temple, Council Chamber)

Mace sat down as the most of the council joined him, again some were only there by holonet, but he noted Obi-Wan was not one of them. Clearly he had been caught up in battle. The same it seemed had happened to Plo Koon, frowning somewhat he decided to press on anyway. Maybe whatever Revan had to say would help them in the end.

"I am sorry for recalling the council so soon, but an event has occurred that I believe needs our immediate attention," he started to explain. "A ship has come into the temple after requesting landing clearance. A file of this ship is in the Jedi records, but is coded to the council only," he reported. "The people on the ship state they have important information for us, but will only tell the council what it is and so they have requested a meeting," he continued. "I have noted a couple of odd things in these newcomers. Their ship and droids are a very old design and five of them appear to be Jedi or so they claim, however I do not recognized them at all," he finished as he leaned back.

Yoda looked up at him and frowned as he reached out with the force and probed the temple and quickly found the five new force presences Mace had spoken of. Each was powerful in their own right, but one of them was even stronger than anyone he had ever felt, just like Anakin Skywalker.

"Puzzling this is," he stated. "I sense great power in them, their leader especially," he added thoughtfully. "Almost like the chosen one he is," he stated.

"How is that possible Master Yoda?" Shaak Ti inquired, her hologram was flickering somewhat.

"Unknown it is, the force surrounds them and gives no answers," Yoda answered with a shake of his head.

"What about the file on the ship? Have we tried to access it?" Kit Fitso inquired, intrigued by the new mystery even in the mist of war.

"Not yet," Mace replied before he stood up and entered his code into a near by computer off to the side and then waited.

Finally the computer responded and a very old file appeared on the screen. He blinked as he read the date again, sure that he had misread it the first time. "The date of the file is from 3,967 BBY and states the ship is called the Ebon Hawk and is the personal ship of," he trailed of as he continued to read.

"What is it Master Windu?" Saesee Tiin asked sensing the disbelief and shock of his friend.

"The ship belonged to Darth Revan and his followers including the Jedi known as the Exile," Mace finally continued as he realised why the name of Revan seemed so familiar to him. "It vanished from known records the same year the entry was made after they recruited the then Grand Master of the order Bastila Shan for some kind of unknown mission," he continued. "The file then splits into two links, both state they tell the history of Revan and his followers as well as the wars he was involved in," he finished turning and looking at the others. "The leader of the group who arrived called himself Revan," he stated.

"Impossible, Revan is long dead," Saesee Tiin responded with a shake of his head. "I have studied the archives for a long time and I have read both histories. They contradict each other completely, but the events in question happened a long time ago and everyone involved is dead," he assured them.

"Sense the force in this I do," Yoda spoke up. "Connected it is to the pulse we felt in the force," he added, as he again reached out with his senses and probed the force. "Grant them their request will we," he finally decided.

"But Master Yoda, if they are in anyway connected to Darth Revan and his followers they could be here to kill us?" Mace argued not liking this at all.

"See will we, what they are here for," Yoda responded before going silent.

The other council members exchanged unsure looks, but knew that nothing would change Yoda's stance now. He had made up his mind. Mace struggled with his own reaction, but finally brought himself under control. He bowed and headed out to collect Revan and his group. He just hoped he was misreading this. He guessed the three years of war and the never ending search for the Sith Master had affected him far more than he had realized. He needed to trust in Yoda and the force.

(Praesitlyn)

Ahsoka quickly activated her lightsaber and jumped from her position using all the power she had to land in front of her master and take up position to intercept the Droideka, around her, her men appeared in groups of two.

Spinning her lightsaber she began to reflect the blaster fire back at the approaching droids. Behind her she could just make out her master fighting four assassin droids alone, which made her curse as she could not help him until the Droideka were destroyed.

Ventress growled as Kenobi continued to dodge and jump her attempts to kill him. He was skilled, she would give him that, but in the end she had to win. Dooku was growing tired of her continued failure to dispatch the two Jedi and it was driving her anger in this fight. She lashed out again, but this time Kenobi parried with his own lightsaber and a grim smile, which made her blood boil all the more.

Anakin ducked again, just barely missing having his head taken off by one of the assassin droids vibroswords. This was getting on his nerves. He blocked another strike and then force jumped out of the circle of droids to land behind the first. Barely pausing he threw his lightsaber at the droid catching it as it turned to face him and watched in satisfaction as it carved right through it. He caught the blade as it came back and quickly engaged the three droids left.

Ahsoka pushed herself forward concentrating as hard as she could on reflecting the blaster fire away from herself and her troops as they closed in on the shielded Droideka. Once they were close enough they would have a better chance of penetrating the shields and destroying them.

(Jedi Temple)

Revan smiled as as he waited for the council to make up their minds on whether to meet with them or not. He knew he had left them with little choice in the matter with his well chosen words when they had arrived at the temple.

He knew the archives would probably have their histories in it, one way or another and that might make the council wary of them, but in his view they had to hear what they had to say.

"What do you think they will do?" Carth broke the silence that had descended since they had been brought into the room.

"Discuss our request and depending on what kind of history is in the archives, they may listen and then again they may not," Bastila responded with a frown.

"They will listen to us Bastila," Revan spoke up, brought out of his thoughts by the conversation. "Even if we have to force them to listen, we do not have a lot of time to put plans into motion," he continued. "Every minute we waste, gives the Sith time to counter us once he becomes aware someone is trying to stop his plans," he stated darkly.

"What makes you think he is not aware of us already?" Mission asked one of the questions that had been on her mind since she had awoken.

"It is possible he is aware that something new has appeared, but I do not think he knows what it is," Revan answered thoughtfully. "Something tells me the force would not allow him to see us straight away," he assured them.

"Which means he might become aware of us at a later date," Tarin concluded with a shake of his head.

"And what do we do, if he does find out about us Revan?" Bastila inquired. "Your vision did not allow you to see who the Sith Lord actually is," she pointed out.

"We will deal with that event if it happens, but until it does, I suggest we concentrate on convincing the council of the truth of my vision and then put our plans into motion to convince the chosen one of it as well," Revan shot back, slightly annoyed as Bastila was correct. His vision had not shown just who the Sith Lord was.

"Question Master: What if the Jedi refuse to believe you?" HK-47 asked.

Revan did not answer straight away as he had no real answer to that. He hoped the council would not prove to be as stupid as the council of their own time had been. Time was against them, he reached out with the force and tried to find some clue as to the answer, but found none.

"They maybe reluctant to believe us at first, but I think in the end they will listen and take action," Jolee spoke up in the silence that followed. "They can't afford not to. Right kid?" he asked.

"Correct Jolee," Revan responded. "If they fail to act, we will have to take action on our own," he stated.

"Sounds more fun that way," Canderous murmured, feeling bored and hating to be in effect locked up, whilst the council talked.

"Patience Canderous, if things go as I believe they will, we will have plenty to do," Revan responded, as he turned to face the Mandalorian.

Before any of them could say anything else the door to their room opened and Mace Windu walked in. They could all see the distrust and slight anger in the man's expression as he looked at them. This seemed to confirm Bastila's belief that their history had been written by one of their enemies. Revan frowned annoyed by this.

"The council has granted your request, you are to follow me," he told them, before he turned and left the room again.

The group exchanged looks before following one by one, each noting they were been followed by three armed Jedi as they went. Clearly they were not trusted.

(Senate Building)

Darth Sidious gazed out of the window as he contemplated his next few moves in his grand plan. Something however kept bothering him as he used his powers to look into the future. It still showed things going according to his plan, but now he kept seeing a blank spot, something he could not see and it enraged him to no end. Something was happening and he did not know what it was. Maybe it was connected to whatever it was he and Dooku had sensed.

Frowning he pushed as hard as he could, but the blank spot remained. He wanted to lash out in anger, but knew he could not. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He doubted it could be any real threat to his goal after everything else had gone to plan. Still he would be on guard and keep an eye open, he would also keep a closer eye on Dooku, just in case he was the cause. He well knew the Sith practice of the apprentice killing the Master, maybe Dooku had put something into motion to try and take his place as Dark Lord.

(Dooku's castle)

Count Dooku sat at the head of the table and listened as the droid who acted as his aide continued to read out the reports from the many fronts of the war, but he was distracted by the pulse in the force he had felt earlier and the fact his master did not know what it was. This was one of the few things that had seemed beyond his master's force vision. The question then became what had it been and why could his master not see it?

Standing up he paced a little as he tried to think of anything that might have caused such a pulse. It was unlike anything he had felt before, either as a Sith or when he had been a Jedi.

It was a mystery and he enjoyed mysteries and always had done, but he had no time for them since he had accepted Sidious's offer. He noted then that the aide had stopped talking and he glanced up to see that the droid was awaiting his response or any new orders he might have. He frowned having nothing really to say right now.

"Keep gathering data from the front and notify me if we push through anywhere," he ordered finally. "I also want to know if we are beaten in any of our current battles," he added before he dismissed the droid.

So many battles were raging at the moment that it was hard to keep track of them all. Placing his hands behind his back he began to walk to his quarters feeling tired. Perhaps once he had a good night's sleep he would feel up to making new plans to destroy his enemies, something told him a great change was coming.

(Jedi Temple, Council chamber)

Revan entered the council chamber and was surprised by the new layout of the temple. It was quite clear that a lot of work had been done on the temple since they had gone to sleep. He glanced at each of the Master's present including a few who were only there in hologram form, most likely leading one of the many battles going on he guessed.

"Welcome you are," Yoda said, as Mace took his seat. "Many questions have we," he added, before he introduced each council member bar the ones who were missing.

"I am sure you do know about us," Revan responded with a smile. "I am sure there was information in the archives about us," he continued, as he folded his arms across his chest.

"So you do claim to be Darth Revan and his followers?" Mace demanded to know his frown increasing.

"Former Dark Lord of the Sith actually. I was redeemed from the dark path many years ago," Revan shot back. "As for those who are with me, they are not my followers, but my friends and allies," he added.

"Once you start down the dark path forever will it dominate your destiny," Yoda quoted with a firm gaze.

"That is not true Master Yoda," Bastila spoke up with a glare. "Many have returned from the dark path. It is not an easy road, but it has happened," she stated.

"I was not the first to come back," Revan picked up the argument. "The first was another Sith Lord I am sure you are familiar with, by the name of Ulic-Qel-Droma. He to fell to the dark side but was brought back," he told them.

"Yes I remember reading about this from the great Holocron. It was recorded by Vima Sunrider," Saesee Tiin stated. "However there are those who dispute her tale. Some say she was under his influence when she made the recording," he informed them, as he recalled what he had read in the archives as well.

"That was most likely lies made by Jedi who feared him still or were left bitter and angry by his actions in the great Sith war," Revan responded calmly. "Vima Sunrider was one of the greatest Jedi Knights to ever live, just like her mother Nomi. So what if she was trained by Ulic after his fall?" he continued. "What she learned from him is something Jedi cannot learn," he pressed.

"And what was that?" Kit Fitso asked.

"A greater understanding of the risks of being a Jedi and the danger of the darkside," Revan replied. "It gave her a unique perspective on what to keep an eye out for in her time as a Jedi. A perspective I doubt any of you have at all," he stated.

"As interesting as all this is, can we get back to the fact you claim to be Revan," Agen Kolar interrupted wanting to get back to what he believed was a more important fact. "The same Revan who became a Dark Lord and lived during the time of the Mandalorian and Jedi civil wars," he pressed. "Tell us, how is this even possible," he demanded to know.

"We arrived here by way of a dangerous extended period of carbonite sleep," Tarin was the one who answered the question, not likening the tone of the Jedi Master.

"Wonder I do, why you do this?" Yoda inquired.

"That is a long story," Revan replied. "And one you may find hard to believe, but I tell you it was important enough that I asked my friends to risk their lives to come here and stop a great threat," he stated, as he looked from Yoda to Mace and finally to Fitso.

"What threat do you speak of?" Mace inquired putting aside his doubt and anger at this.

Revan took a deep breath before he began the tale of what had brought them all here. It was now he had to make the greatest impact on the council or their missions would become an even greater challenge.

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin smirked as he cut down another of the damn assassin droids. His men pressed forward making more and more headway against the droids. He managed to glance to his left and noticed Ahsoka and her team fighting off the Droideka keeping his flank safe. He was pleased that she was able to hold her own without him, turning back to his fight he rolled out of another shot aimed at his head and brought his lightsaber up in a cutting arc just managing to bring the droid down in return. He decapitated it to ensure it was destroyed, before he engaged the last one. He pressed the attack and forced the droid back.

Obi-Wan cursed as he almost lost his arm from one of Ventress's wide swings, jumping clear just in time he landed and quickly blocked her next two attacks. She was getting angrier, as she often did when they fought, but instead of making her slip up, it was just making her fight all the harder. As he launched his own attack, he noticed Anakin finally dispatched the last assassin droid out of the corner of his eye and rushed to help him. Smiling grimly he pressed his attack.

Ahsoka almost jumped as her master somersaulted over her and imbedded his lightsaber into one of the remaining Droideka's heads, destroying it instantly. He grinned at her and the rushed off to help Master Kenobi, causing her to shake her head before attacking another of the Droideka still attacking them. Ventress snarled as Skywalker finally joined the fight against her, having clearly destroyed her assassin droids. Lashing out with her lightsabers she managed to knock Kenobi off his feet and quickly turned and fled just as Skywalker reached them.

Anakin growled as Ventress escaped. His first instinct was to run after her, but the warning from Obi-Wan kept him where he was. He turned back to him and quickly helped his friend up.

"Nice timing," Obi-Wan said with a smile, as he winced slightly, having twisted one of his muscles in his fall.

"Ventress escaped again Master," Anakin stated with a dark frown.

"No matter, we will get her in the end Anakin," Obi-Wan responded. "Now how about we help end this battle instead of letting your Padawan and our troops get all the fun," he commented with a smile.

Glancing to where he could now see Ahsoka next to Rex and most of his troops pulverizing the reduced number of droids, he nodded his head and quickly headed right back into the fight followed by Obi-Wan.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Jedi Temple, Council chamber)

As Revan continued to tell his tale the Jedi Council listened and exchanged looks between themselves. Yoda focused all of his attention on the man standing in the centre of the chamber as he talked. The force was swirling around him like wild fire, this clearly was an important event and he knew whatever they decided to do would forever shape their future.

Mace listened and had to keep himself from cutting in constantly. He found it hard to keep his objectivity. This man in front of them was an admitted Dark Lord of the Sith, no matter that he stated he was no longer any such thing. The slight argument they had put forward about coming back to the light was hard to believe. He looked from Revan to his friends and wondered if this was truly why they were here. 'Damn the war,' he thought for making him so distrustful. He guessed not even the members of the council were free of the changes this war had brought onto the Jedi as a whole.

Finally Revan finished the tale as he explained their waking up at the appointed time and their trip to the temple after deciding they would not be able to locate the Chosen One on their own. Silence fell once Revan had finished talking. The Council looked around and quite a few had some very disturbed looks on their faces, others were either distrustful or surprised, but not one of them spoke.

"Granted I have not told you what I saw in the force vision, but I suspect you can guess," Revan stated, as he took in the looks on the council members faces. "If you wish, I can show you," he added.

"Decide we will once we have discussed all you have said," Yoda responded. "Troubling it is, what we decide now will be important and discuss it do we need," he continued.

"Very well," Revan shot back with a short bow. "However I ask that you not lock us back in the room we came from and grant us time to look around the temple," he requested. "A lot has changed from our time," he added at Yoda's look.

"Plus I ask we be granted access to the archives," Bastila asked while stepping forward.

"For what reason?" Mace inquired, a little surprised by this request.

"We would like to know what has happened in the time we've been asleep and what history tells about us," Bastila responded, before admitting the real truth. "And I wish to know what became of my daughter," she said, causing Revan to put his hand on her shoulder in support.

"It would be nice to also learn what happened to the friends we left behind," Jolee put in with a smile.

Yoda thought over their request glancing at each council member in turn and noted their reactions. He was somewhat sad to see so much distrust and anger in their faces. The war was slowly destroying the Jedi from within he thought. If it went on much longer he doubted they would truly be Jedi any longer.

"Granted is access to the historical records, but no more than that," Yoda finally decided. "Outside the aide will show you where to go," he stated.

"Thank you Master Yoda," Bastila said with a bow, before she turned and left, followed by the others bar Revan who remained behind.

"Discuss this as you need to, but remember this, every minute we waste allows the Sith to grow stronger and put more of his plan into motion," he warned. "And worse the more chances he has to learn of our presence and stop what we are trying to do," he added darkly.

"And how do we know that you do not secretly aide the Sith or more to the point how do we know you do not seek to supplant the Sith Lord we search for?" Mace argued, unable to stop himself from jumping to his feet and speaking.

"Trust," Revan replied. "A hard thing to ask for in a war, but it is what is needed," he pointed out. "Remember you are supposed to be Jedi, guardians of the peace," he continued.

Mace felt the anger and mistrust he had been feeling since he learned who it was who stood before him spike at that reminder. He found himself grabbing his lightsaber and igniting it, barely being aware that he was doing it. Revan responded instantly and reached out with the force and took one of the nearby council members weapons and quickly blocked the swing aimed at his head.

Bastila felt the tail tale tingle which told her that Revan was in danger and quickly rushed back into the chamber to find Revan engaged in a furious duel with Mace Windu. She noted that the council was being held back by Yoda, who watched the duel closely. She held her hand up to stop the others from interfering. She wondered what had caused this fight.

-PAFC-

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin jumped over the last group of droids and landed on the other side and quickly began swiping his blade into the droids. Obi Wan and Ahsoka quickly joined him, as Rex, Cody and the rest of their men secured the battle ground and began seeing to the wounded. A few minutes later the last droid fell to the ground letting out a few sparks before its yellow eye plates faded out.

"Well that was a fun work out," Anakin said with a grin.

"I suppose," Obi-Wan replied, as he folded his arms across his chest. "Still it cost us a lot of men," he pointed out, as he looked at the many dead clones and then the wounded ones.

"I know Master. I feel the loss as much as you and the clones do," Anakin responded with a sigh. "But if we do not win this war, then all the life lost will be for nothing," he stated.

"Which is why we must not let up, right?" Ahsoka asked, looking between the two men. "We have to keep pushing forward," she said.

"True Ahsoka, we need to push forward and quickly, but first we deal with the wounded and see what the council wants us to do now," Obi-Wan told her.

"Master, what about Ventress?" Anakin inquired. "She could still be on the planet. Maybe we can capture her before she escapes," he suggested.

"Let her go for now Anakin, we will catch up to Ventress another time," Obi-Wan replied after thinking the idea over for a few moments. "We need to rest, something tells me things are speeding up and we may be needed elsewhere," he explained with a frown.

"Very well Master," Anakin relented, before moving off to get the casualty reports from Rex.

This was the worst part of being a General in the Grand Army of the Republic, seeing just how many men you have lost after every engagement. It was taking a toll on him and every other Jedi General in the war, including Obi-Wan. Things were reaching a breaking point he concluded.

"Sir," Rex said, snapping to attention as he noted him coming.

"Do we have a preliminary casualty list yet, Rex?" he inquired, noting the minimal reaction from the man in front of him at his question.

"So far we lost one hundred and ten men sir. Another twenty five are listed as critical condition and another ten with wounds they can heal quickly from," Rex reported with as much control as he could.

In every battle in this damn war more and more of his brothers died. It didn't matter that he was a clone bred for this war he still felt their loss as did every other clone that had been created. He knew some people saw them as soulless beings, no better than the droids, but it was not true. They had feelings and a soul just as much as a normal person. Thankfully the Jedi saw them not as disposable cannon fodder, but as living beings. He could see how hard the report hit the General.

"Make sure the wounded, especially those in critical condition, are taken back to the troop transports and back to the ships medical bays for immediate treatment," Anakin ordered. "Then get the men to settle down once the area is secured. Tell them to rest and regroup Rex, but keep some lookouts in position, just in case Ventress has any more surprises in store for us," he continued.

"Yes General," Rex responded with a small grin.

"Tell them they did good Rex, all of them," Anakin felt compelled to say, before he turned and headed back for the command bunker to rejoin Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

-PAFC-

(Jedi Temple, Council chamber)

Bastila continued to watch the fight unfold, shocked at how aggressive Mace Windu was. She did not recognize the style of lighter saber combat he was using. She guessed it must be a new form they had created, but whatever it was, it clearly had Revan slightly off balance, before he switched his own style. She decided to see what had caused this and walked closer to Yoda who glanced up at her, she noted the guarded look on his face.

"What happened?" she demanded to know.

"The true danger this war represents has shown itself," Yoda answered with a sad shake of his head.

"What do you mean?" Tarin inquired as he joined them, knowing Revan could handle himself, but he was interested to learn what had caused the fight.

"Revan reminded us of who we are supposed to be. I think the reminder of what we have lost was too much for Mace to handle, considering who Revan is or was depending on how you look at it," Kit Fitso was the one who responded. "The Jedi are being consumed by war. Anger and hatred fill our ranks the longer it goes and now we know that not even the council members are immune," he informed them sadly.

"It has happened to the Jedi before," Tarin shot back. "During the Jedi Civil war, they were consumed just as badly, even if the council refused to see the truth," he explained at the few looks he received. "They can recover if the war can be won and they have a period to rest and redefine who they are. The lessons you have learned in all of this could help the Jedi change into a far stronger force," he finished.

"There is wisdom in what you say," Agen Kolar responded. "But somehow I doubt many would agree at this point. The war has taken on a life of its own and each day more and more of the Jedi is lost," he stated with a dark frown and a shake of his head.

"Truth is there in what you both say," Yoda cut in. "Dangerous is this war, overcome its effects must we if the Jedi are to survive," he continued thoughtfully.

"Why have you not stopped this fight?" Bastila inquired, as Mace and Revan continued to exchange blows intensely.

"Test is this for Revan," Yoda responded. "See where he truly stands we will," he added at Bastila's hard gaze.

"In another words if he kills Windu you will believe him to be a Sith still and the same with us, but if he lets him live then you will know he has spoken true," Visas stated, as she joined them. "You play a deadly game, Revan has been forged in battle for half his life," she warned.

"Visas is correct, Revan has been at war for a long time and when he fights he fights to win and usually that means killing his enemy," Bastila pointed out, wincing as Revan almost got caught by a deep thrust from Windu.

"See we will where his heart truly lies," Yoda said, ending the discussion.

Bastila shook her head, knowing Yoda and the council may not like how this test would turn out. They had no idea just how deadly Revan could be when he was consumed by his keen instinctual fighting skills.

Revan ducked the wild swings from Windu still getting used to fighting this new style of lightsaber combat, it was intense and very aggressive. Not something he would expect from a Jedi, especially not a Jedi Master or Council Member. He jumped over the next attack and struck back forcing Windu backwards, but the other man quickly countered and renewed his attack. Revan was growing annoyed and yet he was enjoying the fight and quickly switched his style again which at least gained him some ground against whatever it was Windu was using.

He spun to avoid another thrust and began his own series of attacks, this time he waited until he saw Mace begin to shift his weight and he quickly dropped to his knees and swept his left leg out and brought Mace down and before he could recover had his lightsaber pointed at the man's heart.

-PAFC-

(Dooku's castle)

Dooku growled as he was woken up by his droid aide, getting up he headed into his bathroom and splashed some water onto his face and then dressed as best he could while still feeling very much asleep. Sitting at his desk he waited for the droid to hand him a hot drink which he quickly downed, aiding in his waking up. Finally he felt ready enough to listen to whatever the droid needed to tell him. Instead of speaking however the droid pulled out a holocom and activated it. Frowning he noted Ventress was on the other end and she did not look happy.

"Master, I regret to inform you that we have lost the battle for Praesitlyn," Ventress reported, her tone bitter. "My forces have been crushed by Kenobi and Skywalker's forces," she added.

Growling some more at the bad news and the fact that his acolyte had once again been bested by the team of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, he leaned back in his seat and wondered what his next move should be.

"Get off the planet before they catch you and rendezvous with General Grievous and his forces at Salecuami and await further orders," he finally ordered. "I am not pleased by this latest failure," he added in a dark tone.

"Yes Master," Ventress replied, doing her best not to scowl at Dooku before she signed off and the droid quickly left him to his thoughts.

Damn Kenobi and Skywalker, every time he thought he had them they seemed to come up with a miracle and counter his plans. They were the most successful Generals in the Republic army and one of the main reasons they had not won the war yet, he needed to remove them from the war somehow.

Standing up he began to pace as he tried to figure out how to deal with the two troublesome Jedi. He could go and deal with them himself, but his Master had forbidden him to leave the castle right now as the war was at a crucial moment and so he could not be risked on the front lines. Maybe Grievious should be sent to deal with them, granted the two Jedi had proven the droid General's equal the few times they had met before, but sooner or later their luck had to run out.

-PAFC-

(Jedi Temple, Council chamber)

The moment was a charged one as the Council members' watched Mace fall on his back and before he could recover was suddenly defeated, as Revan brought his borrowed lightsaber up to the man's heart.

Bastila could feel Revan's thoughts as he stood over the defeated council member over their force bond and knew he was struggling with the instincts he had gained from the wars to kill his enemies. She reached out over the bond and began to send him whatever help she could. She did her best to stem the tide of his emotions and pull him back from the brink of something foolish.

Tarin glanced around and noted nearly every council member had their hands on their own lightsabers bar Yoda and the one whose weapon Revan had taken. He did not like this as he and the others were weaponless. Granted they knew how to fight without weapons, but against lightsabers hand to hand was useless, his frown deepened as things seemed to be coming to a head.

"Stop this," a new voice shouted and everyone looked around to see a simmering force ghost appear. "Revan enough," the ghost added.

Revan stared at the ghost in surprise as he recognized her as Nomi Sunrider. He backed off from Windu and shut down the lightsaber knowing if Nomi had manifested herself here it was with a purpose.

-PAFC-

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin entered the command bunker to find Ahsoka talking with R2-D2 his astromech droid who always accompanied him during his missions. Obi-Wan was at the holocom, but he seemed slightly frustrated.

"Problems Master?" he inquired as he joined him.

"I can't seem to get through to the council. The signal is not been blocked, but no one is answering," Obi-Wan answered, running a hand over his beard trying to think what could have happened.

"Maybe something has happened back on Corusant," Ahsoka suggested, as she joined them. "I mean it is possible the Separatists have struck the capital somehow isn't it?" she asked.

"It is possible Ahsoka, but somehow that does not feel right," Obi-Wan responded with a shake of his head. "No something else is going on, something important I wager. The force is almost blazing in its intensity," he added.

"Yes, I feel it too," Anakin agreed. "Maybe we should get some rest Master and try and contact them again later," he suggested.

"Good idea, I think after all that fighting we deserve a small rest," Obi-Wan agreed with a smile. "I am sure Cody and Rex will let us know if anything happens," he added.

-PAFC-

(Jedi Temple, Council chamber)

A great silence had descended on the council chamber at the appearance of the force ghost. Most did not know what to do or even speak. Only a few had ever seen a real live force ghost, Yoda was intrigued by this development.

"And you would be?" Agen Kolar inquired, not recognizing the former Grand Master of the Jedi Order after the Great Sith War.

"I am Nomi Sunrider and I am here to stop this mistrust from escalating into madness," Nomi responded. "The force sent Revan here for a reason and you will heed his warnings. You have allowed yourselves to be blinded by the war," she continued as Mace got back to his feet.

"This is a trick," Saesee Tiin stated. "It has to be," he growled, glancing between Revan and his friends.

"I am no trick," Nomi replied with a shake of her head. "I am a force ghost, here at the force's command to make you see sense," she stated.

"So you say," Mace shot back, as he picked up his fallen weapon and kept it at the ready.

"You would do well to listen to her Jedi," a new voice spoke up and another force ghost appeared and this time they could tell it was a male.

Only Revan and his friends recognized the second ghost and were slightly shocked by his appearance. They knew the story of course as told by Vima Sunrider, but it was still strange to see proof and yet also comforting.

"Ulic-Qel-Droma," Jolee said almost in a trance as he viewed the man who had helped bring about the Sith war that cost him his wife.

"Indeed," Ulic responded with a short bow. "You are running out of time Jedi. The Sith grow stronger whilst you weaken," he continued. "You have been sent help yet you refuse to listen out of mistrust and anger," he stated with a glare.

"Anger which you must set aside if you wish to survive what is to come," Nomi picked up as she looked from one Jedi to the other. "Revan is not a threat to you, nor are his friends. They are allies and I suggest you listen and plan carefully," she stressed now pinning her gaze on Yoda.

"This war and its end will decide the future for more years than you can imagine," Ulic warned them with a shake of his head and a dark gaze which was now pinned on Mace, who almost shivered in response. "If you refuse to listen and act wisely then all Revan has foreseen will come to pass. The Jedi will fall, blood, war and slaughter will rule the future," he continued.  
"And that is just the beginning my old friends," another voice spoke up, but this time only the council recognized it as belonging to that of Qui-Gon Jinn and sure enough he appeared next to Ulic and Nomi.

"We have all been used by the Sith Lord and even now he pulls our strings for his own ends. You must break those strings and save not only yourselves, but the lives of everyone who will die from this point on to the end of time, because of the countless wars and uprisings caused by the Sith," he cautioned them. "Save Anakin, save yourselves and stop the Sith on this all depends," he stressed.

"What do you mean by save Anakin?" Kit Fitso inquired. "What role does Skywalker play in this?" he asked his old friend, still stunned to see him again even as a force ghost.

"Anakin is the key. The Sith Lord wants to corrupt him and he will succeed unless you save him from his worst fears," Qui-Gon answered sadly. "I was correct when I stated he was the chosen one. He can save the universe or condemn it," he told them. "It is up to you to ensure he stays in the light," he explained.

"If he is that important to what happens and he is close to being turned maybe it will be best if we remove him from the war altogether," Mace suggested.

"No, Skywalker must play his part," Ulic cut in again, glaring at Mace. "This is his greatest test. I failed mine, but came back at the end. Sadly the damage I did during my fall was great," he said sadly, causing Nomi to place a hand on his shoulder. "It was the love I had for Nomi and through the actions of her daughter Vima I came back. She reminded me of what I was or what I had set out to do and I trained her so she would never fall into the same trap as I did," he explained, noting the skeptical looks on some of the Jedi's faces.

"I failed my own test as well," Revan pointed out. "I fell, maybe not as badly as Ulic, but I still caused enough damage in the end. It was not my intent, but in the end sometimes things happen outside our control no matter how good our intentions are," he continued, running a hand through his hair. "Bastila brought me back from the brink. She saved my soul and I returned to the light and did what I could to make up for my actions," he went on, his tone and gaze dark as Bastila took his hand in hers. "I brought Bastila back when she too fell, if even only briefly and not enough to cause any real damage," he told them. "Our love was the key to our salvation, an emotion you have all thrown away in your arrogance, just as the Jedi council of my own time did," he finished.

"And that is how you will save Anakin" Qui-Gon stated. "If you are wise enough to actually see how powerful that emotion is," he added with smile.

"Padme Amidala," Shaak Ti said, her hologram flickering a little. "It is not a secret the two are close," she reminded the others.

"If he is in a relationship with her then he has broken the tenants of the Order," Mace pointed out.

"Forget the tenants, they are no longer useful," Ulic shot back. "The reason you have been beaten so far by the Sith is that they have grown and evolved, whilst the Jedi have become stagnant," he pointed out.

"If you wish to survive what is to come the Jedi must evolve as well," Nomi agreed. "If you do not then you will fall," she warned.

"The choice is now yours my friends, so choose wisely," Qui-Gon told them, just before he and the other two force ghosts faded out.

"I suggest you think over all of this," Revan said, breaking the silence that had descended as he used the force to return his borrowed lightsaber back to its owner. "We will return when you call for us," he added, before he walked out his hand still tightly holding Bastila's who followed him and then the rest of their group.

The council, at least the members who were actually there, dropped back into their chairs still trying to come to grasps with everything that had just happened. Even more so on what the force ghosts had told them. Yoda most of all began to go through everything the force ghosts had said and even hinted at. Clearly things were even more dangerous than he had first thought.

Revan was also in deep thought as he wondered over the appearance of the force ghosts, clearly the force wanted them to succeed. Stepping off the elevator he allowed Bastila to take the lead as she followed the aide who was taking them to the archives. The rest of their group broke up into groups of two and decided to explore the temple.

-PAFC-

(Corusant)

Across the city planet Palpatine stood in his guise as Darth Sidious listening to Dooku give an update of the status of the war. He was annoyed to learn they had lost the battle for Praesitlyn as he had planned to use that planet as a new staging point for the next series of attacks he believed would weaken the Republic almost to the breaking point. This would set it up for the final move in his long plan.

He stared at the visage of his apprentice who awaited his orders over the holocom, he wondered if he should green light his idea to send Grievous after Anakin and Obi-Wan. He still hoped to turn the young Jedi into his newest apprentice, but there was now a nagging doubt in his mind thanks to the blank spot he could not see when he looked into the future.

Kenobi however would best serve him dead. The bond he shared with Anakin was just as strong as his own. If he ever truly hoped to turn him to his cause he had to either cut the bond Obi-Wan and Anakin shared or kill the Jedi Master, thus causing Anakin pain and grief and even better anger.

"Proceed with your plan my apprentice. However make sure your target is Kenobi only. I have plans for young Skywalker," he finally spoke in his sinister tone.

"As you wish my Master," Dooku responded with a frown, not exactly sure what he meant by that.

"Do not concern yourself with what I plan, just know that it will put us in a much stronger position for the end game," Palpatine told him, sensing the uncertainty from his apprentice.

"Of course Master," Dooku replied before he signed off.

Palpatine chuckled at how easy it was to manipulate Dooku as well as assure him he was not working against him. He should know better as the Sith always turned on one another in time. If his plan succeeds Anakin would take Dooku's place as his apprentice soon and the war would quickly be won in his favor and best of all the Jedi would finally be exterminated.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Jedi Temple archives)

Revan looked around the archive room which was one of the biggest rooms he had seen so far in the temple, he took note of the statues that lined the room. Each had a name to identify who they were, the Jedi on duty at the archives told him they were collectively called the Lost Twenty, Jedi who had either gone missing or left the Jedi Order.

He gazed at the image of Count Dooku and wondered what had gone through his mind before he had turned to to the ways of the Sith, the fact his statue remained here told much of his character. He must have been a great Jedi before his fall, and one well thought of if they refused to remove his statue due to his actions now. Finally turning away he headed to where Bastila was now seated at one of the data archives.

He took a seat next to her and hoped what they found would not be too painful. He feared what kind of life they had left their daughter too, with his blood in her veins he knew some in the Order they had left behind would attempt to harm her just for being his daughter.

He prayed to the Force she had known some peace in her life, but he feared that as his daughter she would be as cursed as he was to face war and to fight again and again for her life. He did not tell this to Bastila as he knew it would do no good. She probably knew this already, but did her best to ignore it and hope for the best. Leaving Tera had been the hardest thing she had ever had to do he knew, because she had known Tera and had raised her for her first few years while he had been in Deep Space fighting the true Sith and so his pain, whilst deep, could never match hers. He watched as she began to input commands and he wondered what they would find on the friends they had left behind.

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin awoke from his nightmare sweating and breathing hard, but he quickly regained control of himself. Thankfully it had not been anything more than a regular nightmare. He wiped his face and quietly got up and headed into the refresher, once he had finished he pulled on his robes and walked outside for some fresh air.

"You ok, General?" Rex inquired, having come up behind him from his inspection of the camp.

"Trouble sleeping," Anakin responded not that it was a secret from his men. Many times he had been found wandering the camps they had been in at night. "This war has given me many bad nights," he added with a tired smile.

"I understand General," Rex told him, knowing that unlike Clones they were not bread for war and so suffered the effects of it much worse than they did.

Some believed the Clones did not suffer the effects of war, but they were wrong, they did but their training and breeding made them more resilient than Jedi and others who fought the war. He had served with Anakin for the majority of the war and he knew the General was a strong man, but this war had taken a toll on him as well as every other Jedi. They were supposed to be peace keepers, not soldiers.

"Anything to report, Rex?" Anakin inquired as he looked around, taking note of how quite it was.

"Nothing sir, I think this planet is ours," Rex answered, but not without some caution in his voice. "Ventress must have left the planet to avoid being captured and had nothing left behind," he advised.

"That would be just like Ventress. She is always running at the end," Anakin mused in reply. "But she'll be back, and most likely she will be back with a bigger force," he added. "We don't have the troops to hold if she does strike again. We need to either get reinforcements or go after her and hit her before she can strike at us again," he explained.

"Agreed General," Rex said with a nod of his head. "But that is up to General Kenobi and the Council," he continued.

"I am sure they will do the right thing Rex, have faith," Anakin assured him. "I guess I best try and go back to sleep and I suggest you do the same Rex. Tomorrow will probably be a long day," he stated with a smile, before he turned and went back to his room.

Rex watched him go and hoped he would have an easier time getting some sleep than before. They needed him at his best, to meet what came next, especially if they were attacked whilst they were regrouping after the battle they had just fought. Heading back to his own tent he wondered just when this war would end, and when it did, he wondered what role the Clones would play in the future.

(Jedi Temple)

Jolee wandered around the temple with the droids following him. He was still fighting the shock of seeing Ulic Qel-Droma appear as a force ghost. He knew the story, as well as the rest of them, of how he had found redemption thanks to Vima Sunrider. He had always dismissed it, unable to think that the man who had caused the war that had killed his wife could be redeemed, now he could no longer deny that truth.

The Sith were an evil that had to be expunged for good this time. They had to succeed in their mission he thought. Sometimes he believed the universe would have been better off without Jedi at all, because he thought if there was no Jedi, there would be no Sith. But as long as the force existed then so would the Jedi and from them would always come discontent and frustrated Jedi, who would in the end become Sith. Power, as always, was a drug no one could really ignore, it drew even the best of people to it like a moth to a flame he knew. Ulic had set out with good intentions to save the universe, avenge his Master's and destroy the Sith. In the end that choice had destroyed him, because he decided to go alone into the vipers nest without support. He wondered what would have happened if Nomi or even his brother Cay had gone with him. Would he have been saved from his dark fate? Who knew?

Across the temple near the training grounds Tarin and Visas watched as a couple of Jedi trained under the watchful eyes of a Master. He was not one of the council members they had seen. He was clearly one of the Order's sword-masters as his skill was easily noticeable. Tarin wondered how many Jedi had fallen in the years this war had been waging and how young some of them had been, as some of the Jedi who were training still looked like younglings.

"They have some skill," Visis said, seeing even without eyes as her species could do thanks to the force.

"Yes they do, but no matter how great your skill in war is, a day will come when you either meet someone greater in skill or just get out numbered," Tarin responded with a shake of his head. "I hope they are training them not just for battle, but how to recognize when a battle is lost and to withdraw. War is not just about fighting," he reminded her. "No, it is a state of being, you live and breathe it and must recognize how to fight, how to survive, how to keep your men alive and in good spirits and how to think like your enemy," he stated. "You need to plan and then make backup plans in case your original one fails. You need to plan how to counter attacks in any form, that is what they need to know as well as how to fight," he finished.

"I am sure the council knows this Tarin," Visas assured him, hearing the tenseness in his tone as he spoke and she knew he was thinking of his own experiences in war, fighting alongside Revan.

"We can but hope, can't we?" Tarin said wishing this war was not happening, but like every other conflict he had been a part of, his wish went unanswered.

He knew he was needed here by Revan and the others, but he was tired of fighting. Hell he knew Revan was just as tired and both of them wanted to live in peace. But the force had other plans for them, as always. Maybe, just maybe, he thought if they pulled this mission off they could indeed have peace. Turning away he continued his exploration with Visas, seeing many new area's of the temple that had not been there during their own time, new statues were everywhere as well.

(Salecuami)

Ventress boarded Grievous's command ship, feeling somewhat tired, but still thirsty for revenge against Skywalker and Kenobi for always defeating her plans. They were always in her way she thought bitterly. She ignored the droids she saw all around the ship, as they did nothing but annoy her. One of the reasons she felt they had not won the war yet was the stupidity of the main B1 battle droid series. The B2 series was much more effective, but cost more and took more time to build and so there were far more B1 models in the army than the B2 and thus easily defeated by the Jedi and their Clone soldiers.

They could also do with some better commanders as some of the ones they had were idiots and they had lost some of the best ones they'd had at the beginning like Durge, Sev'rance Tann and Alto Stratus. Now except from Grievous himself all they had left were idiots, who knew little of how to fight a war, but Dooku and his Master did not seem to care and a stalemate continued to hold at the moment. They needed a breakthrough in the lines somewhere, they needed to push the Republic as hard as possible and make them commit whatever was left of their reserves. She knew they were having reinforcement problems so now was a great time to strike, but again they seemed to just wait. Arriving on the bridge she noted Grievous already in communication with Dooku, who soon took note of her arrival. His gaze was dark and she just glared back.

"Ah Ventress there you are," Dooku said, ignoring the glare she gave him and making Grievous aware of her presence. "Just in time to aide the General in his new task," he continued.

"And what is the mission, my Lord?" she inquired.

"You are to return to Praesitlyn, retake it and ensure Obi-Wan Kenobi is killed in the fighting," Dooku answered. "I don't care what it takes, but Kenobi must fall. Do not fail me again," he warned.

"What about Skywalker?" she demanded to know, wanting nothing more than to gut her nemesis.

"He is to be left alive, as my Master has plans for him," Dooku ordered, glancing at both and noting how they both frowned at this news.

"I will crush the Jedi," Grievous growled. "They will all die," he added before leaving to begin preparations for the battle to come.

"I will do the best I can Master to ensure Skywalker is unharmed, but things happen in war," Ventress said with a twisted smile, before she too left having no plans to follow that particular order.

Skywalker would die at her hand and if not hers then she was sure Grievous would deal with the upstart Jedi and his Padawan would also perish along side him. She doubted either Dooku or his Master would retaliate, as both she and Grievous were needed to win this war. She smiled darkly before heading for her quarters to rest.

(Dooku's castle)

Dooku glared at where Ventress's image had been, knowing she had no intention off following his order to allow Skywalker to live. She despised the young Jedi completely. Grievous too would ignore his order, as his hatred for all Jedi was uncontrollable, which is exactly why they had done what they had done to transform him into what he now was. They had framed the Jedi for the explosion that had almost killed him, so Grievous would become the supreme commander of their military. In this case that might work against them, he believed.

Still if he was honest with himself, he did not care one way or the other if Skywalker lived or not, as long as he did not shoulder the blame or suffer at his Master's hands if he should be killed. He turned and headed for his office wondering what plans his Master had for the Jedi that he would want him to live. He was uneasy with this twist, he would have to be more aware of his Master's actions and ensure he was not cast aside as one of the only reasons he could want Skywalker was as a replacement for him as his apprentice.

(Jedi Temple archives)

Revan leaned back and closed his eyes, doing his best to hold in his temper as he learned what had befallen his daughter. Bastila just cried ignoring everything else with her head buried in his chest. Oh how he wished he could go back and slaughter Alak and his supporters. How dare they exile his daughter? How dare they label her as dangerous, slowly bit by bit he calmed himself down.

According to the archives Alak had led a coup basically against Ana Sunrider's rule of the council almost ten years after they had left. Forcing her, Ana and the friends they had left behind to flee. It was due to this, that there were two versions of their history in the archives, one done by Ana and one by Alak. No wonder the council had acted as they had, Alak had tried to ensure that only their short sighted view was shown.

He pushed on deeper into the history and paused as he finally found what he had dreaded to find. Proof that the true Sith had struck just as he had always said they would. As he read the file he paused as something quickly caught his eyes. At first he thought he had imagined it, but after reading it again he smiled.

"Bastila look at this," he said, doing what he could to stop her crying.

Finally she turned and looked at what he had wanted to show her. He watched her tear stained eyes widen as she too saw what he had. He saw first the disbelief and then how satisfaction settled in.

"Our descendants came back to the Jedi," Bastila mused in surprise. "Tera must have married and had kids and in time when we were nothing more than whispers and names in history, they came back and rejoined the Order," she said, looking at him.

"And they helped save the Order from the true Sith, when they finally showed themselves," Revan continued, taking over from her with a smile. "This Satele Shan was Grand Master of the Order during the war, and her daughter played a vital role in ensuring the Sith never won," he added. "It would seem Bastila you were right that Tera had a destiny to follow. She was needed to ensure Satele Shan existed. If she had not then the Order and the Republic would possible have fallen," he stated.

"But why did Tera have to suffer exile, Revan?" Bastila demanded to know angrily.

"I do not know entirely, but maybe the Force wanted her to be a different kind of Jedi. Not one tied down to the tenants of the Order," Revan responded thoughtfully. "I am sure Tera and Juhani remained together and I am sure Ana, Brianna, Mira and even Atton were with them, doing what they could to aide people as the Jedi they were," he told her, bringing her slightly closer to ignore the disapproving looks a few Jedi shot them as they passed. "If I could, I would reach back in time and choke the life out of Alak and his narrow minded supporters, but I can't. I'm sure that they were punished for taking their fear, anger and hate out on a child," he assured her.

"I hope Tera knew we loved her, that we didn't abandon her," Bastila said, feeling tired and emotionaly drained. "I hope our friends found some peace. I can't help but think what would have happened had I stayed," she admitted almost fearfully, as she met his eyes.

"I know Bastila, I know," Revan responded softly. "But I fear even if you had stayed the coup would still have happened, maybe even faster than it did with Ana," he told her. "And I am sure Tera knew we loved her and that we did not want to leave her, but that we had to follow the will of the force," he said, trying to reassure her. "Juhani would have given her the holocron we made for her. Our messages would have ensured that she knew how difficult the choice was for us," he added.

"I need to sleep Revan, I am tired," Bastila finally said after a short silence.

Revan did not answer, instead he swept her into his arms and carried her all the way back to their room. He ignored the looks the passing Jedi gave him as he went. By the time he entered the room to find the others still gone, Bastila was already asleep. He gently laid her in the bed and covered her and then sat down across from her and brooded on what they had discovered.

More had to be known about what happened to Tera and the others once they were exiled. The question was how to find out? He would discuss this with Tarin and Visas when they returned, they would be useful and maybe T3 could hack the system and see what else were in the archives, which they had not been permitted to see.

(Praesitlyn)

Obi-Wan almost sighed in relief as he finally made contact with the council. He glanced to the left as Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and Cody joined him. He noted his friend looked slightly off and he guessed he had trouble sleeping again, as he did ever so often. Turning back to the council he was shocked by how tense they looked. Only Yoda seemed unaffected or was able to ignore whatever it was that had happened during the communications blackout.

"Master Yoda, I am pleased to report we have won the battle for Praesitlyn," he started. "We crushed the droid forces sent against us and forced Ventress to retreat. We believe she has fled the planet and I regret we were in no shape to pursue," he added.

"Good news is this," Yoda said calmly.

"However Master we need immediate reinforcements as I believe she will return in greater numbers," Anakin cut in. "Ever since I awoke I have been feeling a tremor in the force, a warning," he informed them.

"We have little to send Skywalker," Kit Fitso admitted. "But we will do the best we can, do whatever you have to and hold your positions," he ordered. "Help will be on its way soon," he finished.

"Is there anything wrong Masters?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Discuss that will we at another time Master Kenobi," Yoda responded. "May the force be with you all," he added, before the contact was cut off.

"Was it just me or did they all seem somewhat on edge?" Ahsoka inquired, feeling uneasy.

"Nice eye kid," Rex said with a smile. "They really have something on their mind at the moment," he added.

"Yeah, I wonder what though?" Cody shot back. "I wonder how the others are fairing across the line, just cause we won does not mean the others did," he reminded them.

"True Cody, but let us have some faith in our friends," Ahsoka replied. "No, I think whatever it is, was related to whatever it was we felt just before the battle," she suggested.

"We don't have time to discuss this Ahsoka. We need to prepare for the attack I am certain is coming," Anakin cut in, before they could go any further. "Rex, I want you to start setting up barricades and dug outs. Get the men rearmed and resupplied," he ordered. "Cody, set up watches, we need to know when they arrive," he added.

"I would also suggest that we find a good fall-back point, just in case we cannot hold them here," Obi-Wan finally spoke, having faith in what his friend had already ordered as well as his certainty that an attack was coming. "Draw back the majority of our heavy tanks and cannons we have left. Ahsoka you will be in charge of this relief force," he said turning to Anakin's Padawan. "If you get the signal that we are retreating then prepare to cover us as we come towards you," he told her with a small smile.

"I've got your backs Masters. I'll get Vance to get the remainder of my squad together and begin work," Ahsoka responded before she turned around and left.

"Rex, assign a few more men to Ahsoka's unit, will you?" Anakin asked as Rex turned to follow the orders he had been given.

"Of course General," Rex nodded before heading out, followed by Cody.

"I hope whatever support the council can find gets here fast," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "Because if you are right, big trouble is heading our way," he added.

"Isn't it always, Master?" Anakin shot back.

(Jedi Temple, Council Chamber)

"We do not have much left to send to aide Master Skywalker and Kenobi," Shaak Ti reminded Kit Fitso, once the channel was cut and even with the hologram flickering, the others could tell she was worried.

"I know, but I think we have enough to send to help them, as well as some of our new friends," Kit Fitso responded. "I suggest we send Revan and a few of his friends to aide Skywalker and Kenobi. A test if you will, to see just what kind of help they are," he continued.

"Forged in battle was Revan, did Bastila say," Yoda reminded them. "The Exile too, good Generals would they make," he agreed.

"If I may Master, I do not believe we should trust Revan with any forces," Mace argued, somewhat surprised by this move. "No matter what those force ghosts say, I believe Revan and his friends are dangerous," he stated.

"And yet he did not kill you, when he defeated you," Agen Kolar reminded him. "No, I think Fitso has a good idea here. Skywalker, Kenobi and their forces need help and we have some experienced fighters here who can help," he told the council. "Maybe just the kind of people who can use whatever reinforcements we can build up, however small that will be and forge them into something that can win the battle," he suggested. "From what I remember reading of Revan in the archives, he won battles ranging from big to small and sometimes with fewer forces at his command," he told them.

"All in favor," Yoda asked.

Nearly the entire council raised its hand with only Mace and two others objecting. Mace shook his head, believing the council was making a big mistake in trusting Revan with their Clone forces.

"Then agreed it is, summon Revan and his friends once they had had time to rest will I," Yoda said. "I suggest we use that time to find a force to send with them to aide Skywalker and Kenobi," Yoda advised before ending the session.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin watched as the clone troopers continued to prepare for what was sure to be a devastating attack. The tremor in the force he had felt when he had woken up had gotten worse. Ventress was coming back and he was sure she would bring an even bigger force with her than the one they had defeated to win the planet. He ran a hand through his hair and thought of Padme and he wondered what his wife was doing at this moment in time and wished he was with her instead of being here.

"You okay Master?" Ahsoka's concerned voice broke through his thoughts and he turned to face his Padawan. "Just wondering what kind of fight we have ahead of us Snips," Anakin answered, doing his best to look upbeat. "If the council can't get any real help to us in time, we may be done for," he stated.

"I'm sure it'll come in time Master. We've survived this long against worse odds," Ahsoka shot back with a little defiance in her voice. "Those tin cans are scrap," she said with confidence.

Anakin admired her strength of will and defiant nature, it was one of the reasons he had agreed to be her Master. She was very much like him in many ways. For the three years they had been together now and it had only increased their similarities. Of course they had both gotten into trouble due to their rebellious natures, but they always came through to win the day, well most of the time.

"You're right Ahsoka, we'll hold and help will arrive and we will push those tin cans all the way off the planet for good," Anakin told her finally with a cocky smirk. "Now let's see about sending some scouts out to where Ventress's base was. My guess is she will land back there before coming for us," he added as he turned and headed off to find Rex.

"Good idea Skyguy," Ahsoka agreed.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer-Black Star)

Revan stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer as they traveled through hyperspace towards Praesitlyn, Bastila was in her quarters sleeping while Tarin and Canderous were somewhere below. Only four of them, plus HK-47, had been allowed to come on this mission. He knew the council was testing them, but this mission was important. If they failed most likely the chosen one and his forces would be annihilated. His mind drifted to the council meeting and he recalled what had happened there.

+P+

(Jedi Temple, Council Chamber)

Revan entered the council chamber alongside his friends again and was wondering what the council wanted. He had sensed a slight tremor from the force, but it had not felt like a warning. No something else was going on here, something important.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and their forces are in need of help. They captured the planet of Praesitlyn from the droid army, but we suspect a bigger force is already closing in on them as we speak," Agen Kolar informed them. "We need to send them reinforcements and we would like you to lead this mission Revan," he added.

To say he was surprised was an understatement, he had expected to be kept here for quite a while arguing over the nature of his reasons for being here. He especially had expected them to take up Windu's wariness of him and his past, no matter what the force ghosts of Nomi and Ulic had told them.

"While some of us are unsure about granting you command of our clone troopers and investing you with the title of High General of the army we know you to be an experienced leader in time of war," Kit Fitso added. "We also know you can take a smaller force and mold it into a far more deadly force than it would be normally. We want you to take what reinforcements we have managed to scrape together and go to Praesitlyn and help secure the planet," he explained.

"Only four of you may go," Mace cut in before they could reply. "I have managed to convince the council it is wise not to send all of you, until you prove you are on our side no matter what you have said or shown us and no matter what the force ghosts said," he added. "So choose who will go with you," he told Revan, his eyes locked on the other man's.

Revan wasn't surprised by the fact it had been Mace who had argued to at least split them up. In the end it was a wise move and he would have done the same had he been in Windu's place. He noted Bastila was annoyed with the man's continued suspicion of them, glancing at the others he noted a few of them, especially Canderous and Carth were feeling the same.

"Very well, I accept the mission," he finally replied. "I will take Canderous, Bastila and Tarin with me and I will also take my droid HK-47," he added. "All three are hereby promoted to the rank of general. They have far more experience in war than many of your Jedi and they know how best to use the forces under their command, plus Bastila can use the rare force power of battle meditation," he explained, when he noted the unsure looks the council exchanged at his first order as High General. "While we are away I would suggest you begin to try and prepare and make plans to stop what we have told you is to come," he suggested.

"Agreed it is," Yoda responded with a slow nod of his head. "May the force be with you," he added.

"I don't like the sound of this Revan, splitting us up?" Carth said, as the group formed a circle just outside the council chambers.

"I agree. We should stick together," Mission said in agreement with Carth and with a frown on her face. She didn't want to go into another war, but she did not want to be left behind either. Zaalbar let out a roar of agreement from beside her.

"Still it isn't like we have much choice," Jolee reminded them. "They want to keep some of us here until Revan and Tarin have proven they are no threat and it is those two the council is worried about," he stated.

"Yes thanks to that narrow minded idiot Alak and his lies," Revan growled. He had filled in the others on what he had found out from the archives and none of them were happy to hear they had been painted as evil followers of the Dark Lord Revan.

"Stupid old man letting his fears cloud his judgment," Bastila muttered. "Taking his revenge on us by exiling our daughter, I spit on his grave," she continued to vent.

"Easy Bastila," Visas said, placing what she hoped was a calming hand on her shoulder. "Don't let your anger at Alak overwhelm you. We need you focused on what is ahead. Alak, I'm sure has paid the price of his actions when he was judged by the force," she told her.

"Agreed, now we must prepare for battle," Tarin spoke up. "They want us to rescue the chosen one and his friends and in this we can't fail if we shall have any hope of preventing the future we have foreseen coming to pass," he told them, glancing at each of them.

"Tarin is correct, we must prepare, those of you who remain here must ensure the council starts preparing for the fight ahead and makes plans to smoke out the Sith Lord behind all this," Revan spoke up.

Kit Fitso exited the chambers and joined them. "I will show you the way to your ships and troops who are already ready and waiting to depart," he told them. "The weapons you brought with you are already waiting in your chambers, so we will head there first," he informed them.

"Good, we will need them," Canderous responded with a grim smile. "Those weapons have seen a lot of action and kept us alive through many battles," he told the Nautolan Jedi.

+P+

(Docking Platforms)

"I take it we will not need our ship?" Tarin inquired as they headed through the docking platforms after they had picked up their weapons.

"No, three star destroyers have been readied for your trip with all the troops we could muster," Kit Fitso answered "Sadly your force is less than a complete battle company, at the most we scraped together two thousand clones," he explained. "Probably less than that," he added with a sad shake of his head. "We have taken many casualties in Clones and Jedi and we are stretched thin," he went on.

"We understand, we will make do with the troops we have," Revan assured him. "It won't be the first time we have gone against superior odds," he told Fitso. "Bastila's battle meditation will give us an edge and let us hope your chosen one and his friends can hold out until we reach them," he stated.

"I am sure they can hold. Master Kenobi and Skywalker have a habit of beating the odds," Kit Fitso responded with a brief smile. "Skywalker's Padawan seems to be picking up the same ability. Together they make a great team and their clones are very loyal to them," he added. "Which makes what you told us all the more hard to believe, that they would turn on us at a prearranged order in their minds we never knew about," he mused with a shake of his head. "We have to find a way to ensure that order never will be given, but until we know who the Sith Lord is we can't do that," he stated with a little frustration in his voice.

"We'll find him. The key to him is Skywalker," Revan told him. "I'm certain he knows who the Sith Lord is, even if he is unaware that is who the person truly is," he explained at Fitso's surprised look. "With what we tell him I hope he will be able to pin point the person who is the Sith Lord," he stated with some belief.

"I hope so," Kit Fitso responded as they came to a stop in front of a huge star cruiser which they had called a star destroyer. "This is your ship the Black Star," he informed them. "This is clone commander Trax, he will be your ground commander and the captain of the ship, Captain Hunt," he introduced them to the two men standing at the ramp way. "Gentlemen this is High General Revan, he will be in charge of the mission," he finished.

"Welcome aboard General, we are ready to depart immediately," Captain Hunt said snapping to attention.

"Excellent Captain, we will board in a minute," Revan responded. "Commander Trax we will meet to discuss strategy on route," he added.

"Yes General," Trax responded before he turned and boarded the ship with Hunt behind him, unsure what to make of his new General.

Revan and his friends said their goodbyes to those staying behind before they turned and entered the ship. This was their first true step towards completing their mission. They could not afford to fail. Mission and the others watched as the ship began to lift off and heeded into the sky.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer-Black Star)

Revan shook his head and cleared his mind of those memories before he turned and headed for the command centre. He entered to find Canderous and Trax talking strategy over the 3D map of Praesitlyn. Both went quite as he joined them and began to go over the reports the council had given them. They detailed how Kenobi and Skywalker's forces stood at the present time as well as the planet's layout.

Time was against them as their forces had been depleted almost to the breaking point. If they got hit by a big enough force, then Skywalker and Kenobi could be beaten and maybe killed.

"Lt, tell the captain to push the ships as hard as they can go," he ordered as he turned to a nearby officer. "We have to reach Praesitlyn as quickly as possible if we are to have any chance of rescuing our people there and off securing the planet," he explained.

"Yes General," the Lt responded and quickly headed back to the bridge to deliver the new order.

"We're going to have to be able to deploy our forces quickly as soon as we come out of hyperspace," Revan told them as he continued to look over the data.

"What about the enemy fleet that will be in orbit, General?" Trax inquired.

"I'm hoping some of the ships Skywalker and Kenobi had with them are still active and can join us in our attack, but we will be launching our ground forces at the same time," Revan answered. "I know it is risky, but we can't afford to wait to secure the planet's atmosphere," he stated. "Of course getting our tanks and cannons down will be even harder, but I'm sure it can be done. Trax summon the troops to the hangar in an hour, I will address them there," he ordered.

"Yes General," Trax nodded before he turned and exited the room, still wondering what to make of the man who now commanded his men.

He clearly was willing to take some risks and didn't seem to have the same kind of patience he had seen from other Jedi. He wanted to get into the thick of the fighting. He could respect that, but he was unsure of the plan to launch their ground troops while a full scale space battle was going on. They would take heavy casualties if their fighters failed to keep the enemy off their backs, still he seemed concerned about the troops already on Praesitlyn and wanted to be there to help push back the oncoming attack. Maybe this Revan was just what they needed. Moving on he hoped they were in time to help Rex, Cody and their other clone brothers.

+P+

(Grievous's Command Ship)

Ventress stood at the back of the command deck as Grievous watched the republic fleet retreating from the planet. They had destroyed one of the star destroyers and nearly crippled another before they had pulled out. She smiled a dark smile, imagining all the dead clones. They were like bugs milling around to her. Had their previous missions to take out the planet of Kamino where the clones were created successful, this war would already be over, but somehow the republic kept coming out on top and pushing them back much to her displeasure.

"Hahahah," Grievous's insane laugh broke her out of her thoughts and she focused on the cyborg General. "Look at those scum run. They are no match for my forces," he postured.

"We had more ships," she couldn't help but point out. "They had no chance of stopping us," she stated which make Grievous spin to face her with a glare.

"Silence assassin, remember we are only here to clear up your mess in losing to Jedi scum and their clone forces down below," Grievous countered in anger. "Had you done your job, this planet would already be ours and we would deploy somewhere more important," he growled.

Ventress glared at the reminder of her loss to Kenobi and Skywalker. It irked her greatly. She remained silent hoping for another chance to gut Skywalker and his little Padawan. She'd leave Kenobi to Grievous unless of course she saw a chance to kill him as well.

"Launch our ground forces immediately," Grievous ordered as he finally took his eyes off Ventress. "All ships are to maintain a blockade around the planet and keep any republic ships away," he continued. "Well assassin, let us go and clean up your mess," he said as he spun around and passed Ventress as he headed for the hangar, which made Ventress glare at his back and her hand touched the handle of one of her lightsabers before she regained control.

+P+

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin looked up from the map he was looking at as Rex ran up to him with Cody right behind. He got a bad feeling Ventress had indeed returned and as they suspected with a much larger force than she had before. He glanced to his side where Obi-Wan was meditating. His Master quickly opened his eyes and stood up to listen to their report.

"Our scouts report that a large droid army is beginning to land, General," Cody reported to Obi-Wan. "They also report that they have quite a few heavy cannons and tanks with them. Far more than we can hope to match," he added.

"So far they've seen no sign of who is leading this force, but it's fair to say its Ventress," Rex picked up from where Cody had left off. "But we both agree it that it is possible she has another Separatist commander with her," he suggested after a brief look at Cody.

"Agreed Captain," Obi-Wan responded after a brief silence. "It is doubtful that Dooku would give Ventress command of such a large force after suffering such a defeat as we just gave her," he mused, rubbing his chin in thought.

"What are you thinking Master?" Anakin inquired. "Let me ask you Anakin, who would Dooku turn to, to defeat us after Ventress was beaten?" Obi-Wan shot back with a question.

"Grievous," Anakin answered. "It has to be Grievous. Rex, tell our scouts to pull out and get back here," he ordered.

"Right away General," Rex nodded and quickly radioed in the order to the scouts.

"Cody, have our tanks and heavy cannons move back and prepare to fire an all out barrage as soon as the enemy is in sight," Obi-Wan ordered. "And tell the men to get ready for an assault," he added.

"Yes sir," Cody said with a nod and quickly took off to carry out his orders.

"What's wrong Masters?" Ahsoka's voice made them all turn to face Anakin's Padawan. "They're here Ahsoka and we think Grievous is leading them," Anakin answered her. "This fight won't be easy," he stated with a shake of his head.

"Let's hope our reinforcements can reach us in time," Obi-Wan said. "Take your positions and may the force be with you all," he ordered before they split up.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Revan stood in the hangar and was watching as the clones filed in one after another. He wondered if the order to kill all Jedi they had been programmed with could be stopped. They were the most dangerous element of this whole thing. Whoever controlled them had the upper hand. He glanced to his left where Tarin, Bastila and Canderous stood. Finally the Hangar was full, taking a deep breath he stepped forward.

"My name is High General Revan, beside me are the Generals Bastila, Tarin and Canderous, we will be leading you into the battle ahead," Revan began by introducing his group to the men, knowing his message was relayed to the other two ships as well. "We are on our way to Praesitlyn to rescue your clone brothers and their Jedi commanders. We are going to secure the planet and destroy the droid army they are facing," he continued. "We will do so as a combined force. We will do so together, as not one of us will stay behind the line and watch," he told them. "Your lives are not to be wasted just because some people believe you to be just as expendable as droids. We don't believe that. You have just as much a right to live as they do, you matter," he stated.

A large cheer went up from the clones for a few minutes before they went quiet again. They always liked it when their commanders actually seemed to care for them.

"General Bastila will begin the battle at the back of the line so that she can utilize her battle meditation, which will boost our morale, stamina and battle prowess. This will aid us against a superior force. General Canderous will take a force to hit the flank of the enemy, while Tarin and myself will lead the rest of the force straight into the enemy. Our goal is to reach our comrades and push the enemy back," Revan told them. "We will be executing a risky deployment as soon as we exit hyperspace over the planet. A space battle will ignite at this time and we will launch all ground forces during this battle, defended by our fighters. However we have to reach our trapped friends as fast as we can," he explained. "Are there any questions?" he inquired.

No one of the clones spoke and just watched the General who nodded his head at them. "Very well then you are dismissed and finish your preparations," Revan ordered before he turned away as the clones broke up.

"Nice speech," Bastila said with a smile. "I knew you had a way of building up your troops, but I've never seen it first hand," she added.

"What do you think our chances are?" Tarin inquired, as HK-47 came out of the shadows to join them.

"Good, depending on how well we get to the planet surface," Revan answered "HK, I have mission for you," he added turning to his droid.

"Statement: At last Master I was beginning to fear I'd never kill again," HK-47 responded.

"As soon as we drop out of hyperspace take a fighter and head for the planet's surface. Find the enemy base and destroy it," Revan ordered. "Cause as much damage as you can, kill anyone who attempts to stop you and then head to the battle and join us," he added.

"Statement: That sounds like a wonderful plan Master, I feel a tingly sensation just at the thought of so much destruction and death," HK-47 shot back. "Statement: I will prepare myself for the mission," he added before he turned and left the hangar.

"Well at least one of us seems to be excited about the battle ahead," Tarin said, breaking the silence that fell with the blood thirsty droid's departure.

"Speak for yourself, the battle ahead will be glorious," Canderous shot back, before he too turned and exited the hangar.

"It's best we all prepare for the fight ahead," Bastila said before anyone else could speak. "We will meet again before we exit hyperspace," she added, before she took Revan's hand and led him from the hangar.

Tarin watched them go and wished Visas was with them before he shook his head and headed for his own quarters to prepare. The battle wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin stood next to Obi-Wan and Rex as they watched the clones finish their preparations for the coming battle, each of them felt a certain tension as time passed. Ahsoka was already prepared with her force of what remained of their heavy cannons and tanks to cover their retreat if necessary. He just hoped it would not come to that. As they all knew a retreat could easily be turned into a route. He glanced at his Master and noted that he looked concerned. No surprise as half of their force had been killed in the first attack on the planet and a lot of their surviving clones were injured, which left them with only a few hundred to fight.

"Ok Anakin, I want you and Rex at the front," Obi-Wan finally said. "Do not leave our lines to engage them. We may last a little longer if we use what cover we can to keep us alive," he cautioned. "Remember our orders are to hold out as long as we can so we stick to the plan and do our best to hold our ground," he reminded his former Padawan.

"I'll remember Master," Anakin assured him, this time without his usual cocky grin as he knew this time Obi-Wan was serious and he was correct that they needed to use the cover they had to stay alive a bit longer.

"Good, send Cody back to me and we'll prepare to meet our guests," Obi-Wan ordered as he moved away to where he had two platoons of men ready to fill any gaps that might appear in their front lines.

"Yes Master," Anakin replied with a nod before he moved to do as he had been ordered, with Rex close behind him.

Obi-Wan watched him go and hoped Anakin could keep his reckless urges under control. There was no point in denying that sometimes Anakin's recklessness could help them swing the battle in their favor, but it could also cost them as well. No, this time they needed to stick to the plan they had. He stroked his beard as Cody rejoined him with a report that their scouts had sighted the head of the approaching droid army.

'So it begins again,' he thought.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Revan stood on the bridge of his ship in his full armor. He held his mask in his hand and watched as the two surviving Star Destroyers of Kenobi and Skywalker forces joined them. Within a few minutes they would jump straight into combat. He could already feel the darkness of the force swirl around him, but he ignored it. He would not give into the dark side again, no never again.

"We are ready General," Captain Hunt reported as he moved to stand in front of him. "With five Star Destroyers now in our fleet I'm certain we can get our ground forces down without suffering too many losses. We'll have many more fighters to cover your descent," he informed him. "However I'm still worried you and your fellow Generals all intend to go in the first wave with the clones," he admitted.

"It does no one any good Captain if the General in charge is not willing to do what he orders others to do," Revan responded. "If he will not take the risks he expects those under him to take he is not worth his rank. No, we will go down with our troops and we will survive," he continued. "Hear me well Captain, this battle may be the most important one you have fought in this war," he stated seriously as his eyes bore into the Captains. "Every command you make will decide how both battles go, you must make the right choices and use every bit of your military skill to win this," he commanded. "Our fates and maybe the fate of the Republic rest on you leading our fleet to victory. Use the forces under your command well and hopefully when this is over you will realize victory is always possible no matter if you are at a disadvantage or not," he concluded.

Captain Hunt and most of his crew listened in rapt attention as the General spoke. His words struck them all and they felt a renewed sense of hope fill them. "I understand General, we won't let you down," he promised as he came to realize the importance of this mission.

"I am certain you won't Captain," Revan agreed as he put his mask on. "The fleet is yours to command, good luck and may the force be with you all," he stated before he turned and left for the hangar bay.

Bastila stood next to Tarin and Canderous as the clones boarded their transports ready for the combat drop ahead. Canderous looked excited to be doing this and she guessed he was having flashbacks to using the Mandalorian Basilisk war droids during the Mandalorian wars. HK-47 was next to his fighter eager to start his mission. For once the droid's insane desire to kill did not bother her. Before this day was out many would be dead, hopefully if HK did his job well, then some who might die might be saved. A movement in the corner of her eye made her turn to see Revan moving towards her, with his mask on she couldn't tell how he was feeling, but the bond showed her what she could not see.

He was ready to once again wage war and once again to protect the galaxy. This time he knew the dangers and how to avoid falling to the dark side as he had done at the end of the Mandalorian wars. The clones not on the transports snapped to attention as he entered, Revan nodded at them as he passed them.

"We are ready to jump," he told them as he folded his arms across his chest. "In a few minutes we'll be in combat once more, each of you will go down in a different transport to ensure at least one of us survives in case the enemy gets lucky," he added. "If I don't make it Bastila will replace me as the senior General, but don't worry I am certain we will all make it down safely," he went on and making sure to wipe away their concerns especially Bastila's as he noted her concerned look as he spoke.

Canderous and Tarin nodded and left for their own transports, but Bastila remained at his side. He removed his mask and leaned down to kiss her which she returned eagerly, trying to gain some measure of comfort. As he pulled away she noted his eyes showed his own worry even though to anyone else they would show nothing, she ran a finger down his face.

"Just make sure you survive Revan," Bastila told him with a weak smile. "Once all this over, once the galaxy is safe I intend for us to have the life we should have had with Tera," she told him before she turned and headed for her own transport.

Revan watched her go a little surprised by her statement before a smile graced his features if that wasn't a reason to survive this war he didn't know. He quickly regained control and put his mask back on. Now wasn't the time for such things, he walked over to the transporter where Trax was in and entered it.

"Send the signal to all units to prepare for combat Drop Commander," he ordered. "And to hold on tight, things from here on will be very rocky," he added.

"Yes General," Trax replied with a slight nod hoping the General knew what he was doing before he sent the signal.

The last of the men boarded their transports and the doors were locked and sealed, the fighters which were to protect them powered up and prepared for the fight of their lives.

Back on the bridge Captain Hunt listened as the other ship captains reported in, stating they were ready for battle. He took a deep breath before he released it again knowing what he did next would swing the battle in their favor or their enemies. "Tell the Revenge and the Sunrider to jump to the flank of the enemy fleet two minutes after we and the Glory have jumped infront of them," he ordered. "Order the Firehawk to jump into their other flank and do their best to take out their command ship," he added.

"Yes sir," his communications officer responded before he turned and began to relay the orders he had been given. "Sir all ships have responded, they are ready to go," he reported after a few minutes.

"Then tell them all to jump and good luck," Captain Hunt ordered before he turned to his navigation officer. "Jump," he commanded and then stood back as his ship jumped into light-speed.

The Revenge and the Sunrider held their places as the other ships jumped as they had been ordered, their Captains could only watch and hope the plan would succeed.

+P+

(Jedi Temple, Council Chamber)

Mace Windu listened as Captain Hunt sent a brief message to tell them he was jumping into the fight. He hoped the council was not making a huge mistake in trusting Revan and his friends. He was still not comfortable putting the lives of not only his fellow Jedi, but the clones in their hands. Sadly he had been over ruled and that was that. He glanced at Yoda and noted he looked just as worried, but if he was not mistaken he looked quite confident Revan and his friends would succeed. A belief he did not share, at least not yet.

+P+

(Praesitlyn)

Anakin watched as the droids advanced under the cover of mass heavy cannon fire, he had lost several of his men already to accurate hits. All his instincts told him to strike, but he knew better as now was not the time to strike. He ducked as another blast came close to his position and he hoped whatever backup was coming, got to them soon or they were all going to be killed. The clones were all firing their weapons at the advancing columns of droids. They were nearly always accurate, but it did little to thin the massive ranks of B1 and B2 droids bearing down on them.

"General," Rex shouted from beside him. "We have to engage them now, while we can and before we are over run," he advised. "Our fire is just not having the effect we had hoped for," he pointed out.

"I know Rex," Anakin agreed. "Obi-Wan we need to engage now, our fire is not cutting the tin cans down in enough numbers, soon our line will be over run," he said into his com device attached to his wrist.

"I understand Anakin, but not yet," Obi-Wan's voice came back. "Hold your lines for now and thin the numbers as much as you can with what you have, including any grenades you have left," he ordered. "I have Ahsoka bringing up three cannons to help push them back," he informed him. "We need to buy ourselves more time," he stated.

"I hope you know what you're doing Master. If this continues there will not be many of us left to affect a successful charge," he countered.

"Have faith Anakin, our reinforcements will arrive," Obi-Wan shot back with a patient look on his face as he detected the stress in Anakin's voice, but at least he was relieved to know he had listened to him.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Captain Hunt watched as the jump was completed and their weapons opened fire on the unsuspecting droid fleet, the Glory and Firehawk quickly followed. The Glory was side by side with his own ship while the Firehawk was off to the right flank, concentrating all its fire on the command ship. In two minutes the Sunrider and Revenge would jump into the left flank, they just had to hold out till then. Two minutes in which the enemy would have time to regain their feet and maybe overwhelm his smaller fleet. He wiped that idea quickly from his mind.

"Send the signal to open the hangar bay doors and launch all fighters," he commanded. "Two minutes later send the signal to launch all ground transports," he added as he considered a few options of how to get his forces to the ground.

"Yes sir," his communications officer said with a nod of his head before relaying the orders.

In the hangar bay Revan heard the orders over the comms and nodded his head as it was a wise move as it gave the fighters time to form a decent screen. Giving into an urge to ensure Bastila's transport made it safely he raised his wrist and spoke into his comm.

"HK, do you read me?" he commanded.

"Statement: Yes Master," HK responded. "Question: New Orders?" he inquired.

"Before you head to the planet I want you to help guard Bastila's transport down to the surface, kill any enemy that gets near it," Revan ordered coldly.

"Statement: Understood Master, I will ensure none of those rust buckets that laughably call themselves droids get near the Mistress's transport," HK responded, having already expected such an order as he pulled his fighter back towards the Black Star to await the transport carrying his Master's beloved.

Revan actually chucked at his droids response having never heard him refer to Bastila as Mistress. He wondered what she would say when she learnt of her new nickname. Feeling the transport begin to lift off he quickly sobered and prepared for the fight ahead. On the other transports Bastila said a silent prayer while Canderous smiled in anticipation. Tarin just stared ahead with his hand on his lightsaber.

+P+

(Grievous's Command Ship)

The bridge was already covered in smoke and many of the droids were destroyed, however the command droid which had been left in command of the ship was still active and was trying to bring the ship back under control and start firing at the enemy. The command droid tried to send a signal to Grievous, but it would not get through. Clearly they were been jammed and it was up to it to keep the ship intact or he would be destroyed as so many others had due to the General's temper.

+P+

(Space)

Bastila did her best to ignore the jumpy ride as the transport tried to reach the planet below, this was not something she had done before. She knew Revan, Canderous and Tarin had done combat drops before, but she had not. She found she did not like it as she was not in control of her own fate. Still she had faith in Revan and his plans, and she had faith in the force.

"You okay General?" one of the clones inquired from beside her.

"I'm fine thank you," she responded. "This is just a new experience for me, while I've been in combat before and even fought in a war," she explained and then continued "this is my first combat drop," she admitted.

"I understand sir, a few of the Jedi I've served with before have said the same thing," the clone responded. "I just replied there is a first time for everyone including clones, you are handling it better than any of the others," he told her. "Name is Nicks by the way," he added.

Bastila nodded as she took in what he was saying. "That makes me feel a little better," she said with a weak smile. "Thanks Nicks," she said.

"No problem General," Nicks shot back, happy to ease the General's discomfort as he knew Jedi were not soldiers in the same way as him and his clone brothers.

The transport banked hard right, almost sending Bastila to the ground but she managed to hang on. Clearly the space battle was in full swing. Outside HK destroyed fighter after fighter as it came at the transport he was guarding, his advanced reflexes allowed him to get the jump on them. Clearly these fighter droids hadn't been made to his kind of skill. They were just cannon fodder and he exulted in once again causing chaos and death even if for now it was only against other droids, but that was still far better than no killing at all.

+P+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Captain Hunt almost let out a sigh as the Revenge and the Sunrider arrived and added to the chaos the droid fleet found itself in. They had them on the ropes and just needed to keep pushing. He was also relieved to hear the first of the transports were making landfall now, the General's plan seemed to be working.

"Send a signal to General Kenobi if you can, tell him reinforcements are inbound," he ordered.

"Right away sir," the communications officer responded as the bridge shook a little.

"Concentrate all fire on the lead ship," Hunt ordered as he watched the fighters from his newly arrived ships join those already in combat.

+P+

(Praesitlyn)

Obi-Wan was beginning to worry as the line of droids were almost on top of Anakin's position. They had managed to thin the first wave thanks to the three cannons Ahsoka had sent, but it was not enough to keep them away from their lines. A sudden bleeping noise alerted him to a message from the command post and he felt a flare of hope within him.

"Go ahead Knives," he said to the clone who was manning the comm system.

"We've just received word our reinforcements are inbound general," Knives reported. "Although it did not say who was leading them, they are coming," he added.

"Excellent, thank you," Obi-Wan responded before contacting Anakin. "Anakin our reinforcements are here, we charge now to keep their attention on us," he ordered. "I'll be with you in a second with my two squads," he added.

"Finally, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten how close these tin cans had gotten," Anakin responded. "Catch us when you can Master, we're going in now," he continued and Obi-Wan could imagine the reckless look in his former Padawan's eyes as he gave the order.

"Well Cody shall we go rescue Rex and his men from Anakin latest charge?" he inquired with a fake tired smile turning to his clone commander and friend.

"At your command sir," Cody responded with a smile of his own. "But I think Rex and his men are just as crazy as General Skywalker," he pointed out.

"How could they not be, even Anakin's Padawan is as crazy as he is," Obi-Wan responded with a shake of his head before he gave the orders to Ahsoka to bring up her men as quickly as she could before he then gave the order to charge as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

+PAFC+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Captain Hunt pushed himself back to his feet and wiped a trail of blood from his forehead. He had taken a bad fall against a nearby console after the bridge had taken a lucky shot. He glanced around and noted many of the bridge crew had come through the attack mostly okay, but a few lay on the desk either dead or badly injured.

"Get some medics up here to see to our wounded," he ordered before he focused once more on the battle.

The droidfleet was collapsing as it was attacked on all sides, but it was not beaten by any means. He could see that the Revenge had taken a beating, but it was still in the fight. The Sunrider had taken two bad shots that had knocked out some of its turbo lasers, the Glory and the Firehawk had weathered the fight well so far, but that could always change. His ship had lost some of its turbo lasers and their shields had taken a beating, but they were still in a good condition.

"Order all fire on the droid command ship," he commanded to his fire control officer. "We have to destroy it," he stated.

"Yes sir," the fire control officer responded with a quick nod of his head.

Hunt noted that the medics finally arrived and began to check the bodies still lying on his bridge. He wondered how the General and the others were doing.

+PAFC+

(Praesitlyn)

Revan felt the transport land with a thud and he felt a slight smirk grace his features behind his mask. The door would soon open and once more he would be in the thick of a fight to the death. He looked at the clones that were all ready to explode out of the transport. However he needed his force to be intact before they headed for Skywalker and the others.

"Trax," he said turning to his captain. "Order all clones to hold outside the transports. We need to be a focused force before we advance to the enemy and we need to allow for Bastila to prepare," he ordered.

"Yes General," Trax replied with a quick nod before relaying the command.

The door to the transport opened a few minutes later and he quickly exited. He was looking around as the clones filed out, but as ordered remained near their transports. Tarin, Bastila and Canderous quickly rushed over to him.

"Bastila you will remain here so you can use your battle meditation and allow us to bring this battle under control, once it is you can join us," Revan told her as he removed his mask so he could look them in the eyes.

"I understand Revan," Bastila replied although she would rather be by her beloved's side as they entered the battle.

"Canderous, Tarin you will both lead the flanks of our force while I lead the main force," Revan continued. "We will march straight into the enemy's side and catch the enemy off guard. Push them hard as we have to link up with Kenobi and Skywalker's forces quickly," he told them. "Trax I want a single platoon to remain to guard General Bastila and our landing site. They will go with Bastila when it is time for her to join the battle," he said turning to watch the clone.

"Right away General," Trax didn't hesitate to give orders for the 3rd platoon to be that guard.

"Form up the army into 3 forces and then move out as fast as you can," Revan finished to which Canderous and Tarin nodded before moving to comply with his commands. Revan gave Bastila a quick kiss, which in Bastila's view did not last long enough, before he replaced his mask and moved off with Trax close behind.

Bastila watched them go before she settled into a meditation position, closed her eyes and began to focus her battle meditation, not only on Revan and their army but also on Skywalker and Kenobi's remaining force.

At the droid base HK-47 slowly advanced towards the command post. Sneaking past the droid guards had been too easy much to his annoyance. These droids were an insult to the name he thought and it would be a pleasure to destroy them. Once he got close to the command post he took a quick look inside and noted several droids inside, as well what must be five advanced droids which actually looked like they might prove a challenge. He also noted that there were two aliens of a type he didn't recognize. This was going to be fun he thought with what some would call glee.

He picked two of his grenades and then flung them into the command post, a few seconds later they detonated just as one of the droids took note of them. Three of the droids were destroyed before they could react and the five advanced models quickly turned to face the entrance just as HK opened fire with his blaster.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple)

Jolee, Visas, Carth, Mission, Zaalbar and T3 sat in one of the many rooms within the temple awaiting word of Revan and the others. They all despised the fact they had not been allowed to go with their friends, they understood the council was wary of Revan, but to keep some of them away from the fight was annoying. Carth tried to pass the time playing a game of holo-chess with Jolee who seemed distracted. Mission was reading up on the history files Revan and Bastila had found on their friends and family they had left behind. So far she hadn't found anything on Griff. Visas kept herself busy by doing some maintenance on T3 who remained silent awaiting the return of his Master.

"This is not fair," Mission finally snapped.

"I know kid," Jolee agreed as he moved one of his pieces on the holo-chess board. "But until the Jedi council is satisfied that Revan and Tarin don't pose a threat to them we can't do anything," he told her with a quick glance he threw her way.

"It is not just them, they are worried about Bastila as well," Carth pointed out.

"True enough," Jolee responded with a sigh. "Seems things haven't changed much, the council is still a paranoid bunch of jerks," he stated grimly.

"They might have cause with this war on," Carth pointed out. "Jedi turning against them like before, then to have an old former Dark Lord and his friends arrive to help them," he continued. "I can't blame them for being a little on edge with those of us who have crossed that line," he stated.

"They should show a little more trust," Mission spat in response and glared at Carth a little. "They were told by those force ghosts we are on their side and still they want to test us like idiots," she reminded him.

"Their tests almost cost one of them their lives had Revan not been in total control of himself," Visas pointed out with a grim smile as her sightless eyes came to rest on Mission. Even though the young Twi'lek couldn't see them thanks to the robe's hood that covered Visas's eyes, she still shivered as the older woman looked right at her.

"True, but I think this will be the last time Revan will allow them to dictate how things will progress," Jolee responded as he made a move on the holo-chess board.

"I think you're right there Jolee," Carth agreed with a nod of his head as he tried to plan his next move. "Once this mission is over, he will not allow us to be separated again," he stated with confidence.

"I hope you are right Carth," Mission muttered as Zaalbar let out a roar of agreement.

Carth just gave her a quick look before he made his move only to have his smile wiped from his face, as Jolee quickly made his own move which ended up with him in check mate. Carth gave the older man a mild glare. Jolee just grinned in reply as he leaned back in his seat.

+PAFC+

(Praesitlyn)

HK-47 fired his blaster on full auto with such accuracy he shredded the first of the advanced droids in seconds. The other four returned fire while the two aliens cowered in fear of to the side. The remaining two normal droids were slower to return fire and their aim was way off HK noted in disgust. He backed off and took cover as he replaced his spent power pack with a new one. Spinning back into place he blew the two normal droids apart with only a few shots each. His eye lenses seemed to glow red as he twisted to fire on the advanced droids. His personal shield deflected the shots the advanced droids managed to land on him and within a space of five seconds he had reduced another two to scrap.

He quickly chucked in another grenade and was pleased to see it scarp two more of the droids he was facing. One was a normal droid and the other an advance model. He quickly retreated into cover as he once again replaced his power pack for his blaster. This battle was more fun than he had anticipated or more likely it was just the first time in a long while he had been able to cut loose. He quickly jumped back into the fray.

+P+

Obi-Wan jumped away just in time as Grievous suddenly jumped at him with four lightsabersaimed at where he had been. He somersaulted over the attack and leveled his lightsaber at the droid commander.

"So good to see you again Kenobi," Grievous spat as he turned to face one of the two most constant annoyances he knew in this war.

"The pleasure as always is mine General," Obi-Wan replied smoothly as he prepared to fight the most dangerous droid he had ever known.

"This time I assure you will be the last," Grievous snarled before breaking into a coughing fit and a second later he launched his attack.

Obi-Wan side stepped the attack and quickly countered, only for his lightsaber to clash against two of Grievous'. He strained against the increased strength of the cyborg general before leaping backwards as Grievous slashed out with his other two lightsabers. He had been expecting Grievous to use his extra arms at the first opportunity. It wouldn't be the first time as they had clashed quite a few times in this war. He quickly attacked once more but kept himself alert for Grievous' trickery. He pushed the cyborg general back step by step, but his advantage didn't last as Grievous quickly went on the offensive. The four blades he now faced twirled in a circle before lashing out at him. He was forced to jump away again before he launched his own attack.

Of to the side Anakin fought back to back with Ahsoka against multiple battle droids, neither flinched as their lightsabers came so very close to the other as they were well used to each other's moves by now and knew when to move or duck. Close by Rex and Cody stood with a small platoon of clones and did their best to keep the droids of their leaders, but for each droid they felled two clones seemed to fall in turn. The majority of their remaining force had been broken up and cut off. Both knew it was only a matter of time before they all fell.

"We can't hold out much longer," Cody finally snapped as he reloaded.

"We will hold as long as we have too Commander," Rex shot back as he blasted two more droids down with his blaster pistols just as another of their squad was cut down by multiple shots from three battle droids.

Obi-Wan blocked the wild swings from Grievous as best he could. He was looking for a route of attack, but so far he could find none. A sudden push forward by the cyborg general forced him backwards again, however he found the ground uneven and he lost his footing, fell to the ground and lost his grip on his lightsaber. He coughed a little surprised by his sudden fall and a sharp pain shot up his chest as Grievous forced his foot down on it.

"Ah at last I will have the pleasure of killing you," Grievous taunted him as he raised all four blades for the strike.

Obi-wan looked around and noted there was no way out. Anakin and the others were cut off by mass ranks of droids. He looked around for his lightsaber but couldn't see it. He turned back just as Grievous brought his blades down.  
"Goodbye General Kenobi," Grievous spat.

Just inches from cutting Obi-wan in half a blast of force lightening sent the cyborg general flying backwards. Obi-wan turned in shock and saw a man who had to be a Jedi standing in front of a whole column of clones. 'But then if he was a Jedi then why was he using the dark side of the force?' Obi-wan thought. He remained where he was as the unknown Jedi leapt into combat with Grievous who quickly got back to his feet. The clones quickly rushed into the thick of the fighting to relieve their weakened comrades. As Obi-wan pushed himself back to his feet he noted two more formations of clones rush into the battle. He noted another unknown Jedi leading one of the groups, while the other seemed to be led by what could only be a full-blooded Mandalorian in full armor.

"How in the force?" he asked himself before he was forced to refocus as a droid came rushing at him.

He jumped backwards and in a desperate move reached out with the force for his weapon, thankfully it seemed that his weapon was close by hidden by some rocks, which is why he hadn't seen it before. He activated it as soon as it was in his grip and cut the attacking droid in half. He turned back to see the unknown Jedi who had saved him in full flow against Grievous.

"Who the hell is he and his friends?" Anakin's voice almost made Obi-Wan jump and he turned to find his former apprentice standing beside him watching the same fight.

"I do not know Anakin," Obi-Wan responded with a shake of his head. "I don't recognize any of them and the fact he used force lightening is even more confusing," he pointed out. "But he is leading our own forces so he must be on our side," he added.

"Whatever," Anakin shot back before he jumped back into the fight just in time to save his Padawan from being shot in the back by an unseen assassin droid. "Watch it Snips," he warned her before he attacked another bunch of droids.

"Thank you Master, but I saw him," Ahsoka shot back as she followed him. "I was just about to take him out," she added as they smashed into the group of droids.

"If you say so Snips," Anakin teased back as he slashed one droid right down the middle before switching direction and cutting another's head off. "But I think you were slacking off," he added with a short grin.

"That is so not true Master," Ahsoka countered with a growl of irritation. She cut through two more droids as she did so, before somersaulting over another droid as it fired.

Turning back to face the droid with a grin on her face she brought her lightsaber up and cut it in half. She turned to see a horde of reinforcements charge into the army of droids which had almost wiped out their entire force. Canderous led his men into the thick of the fighting and his huge blaster cannon unleashed blast after blast into any droid he could target. A wide smirk graced his features to once again be in battle, for a chance to prove his worth once more.

Tarin was a bit more cautious as he waded into the battle with his own forces. His lightsaber took down droid after droid as his clones blasted even more.

Revan snarled as he dodged another of the cyborg's attacks. The fact this creature could use four lightsabers was annoying. It gave his enemy an advantage and kept him on the defensive for the most part, deciding to change the rules he unleashed another barrage of force lightning striking the cyborg general right in the center of his chest, making him cry out. He kept the attack going before he jumped out of the way. A slight warning in the force had warned him of an incoming attack. Looking up he found a bald headed woman holding two blood red lightsabers standing where he had been only moments ago. The dark side twirled around her, but she bore no markings of Sith origin. At a guess he believed she was a Dark Jedi at best, swinging his blade around he prepared to attack.

"So finally I find a Jedi who is willing to bend his beloved rules," Ventress sneered at him. "So you wish to sample the dark side?" she inquired.

Revan couldn't help but chuckle at her failure to understand the truth. "I'm no simple Jedi. I have been both, champion of light and dark sides," he told her as he prepared to leap. "I know both sides of the force intimately, you only know one side," he pointed out making her growl in anger as he basically dismissed her as a threat. "I suggest you run," he taunted her.

+PAFC+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Captain Hunt almost smiled in relief as he watched the command ship finally explode in a ball of flame. His bridge crew let out a small cheer before they refocused on continuing the battle.

"Turn all weapons on the nearest ship and fire," Hunt ordered.

"Yes sir," his weapons officer responded with a nod of his head.

"Captain, the Sunrider has to withdraw as she cannot take much more," his communications officer reported. "The weapons are offline and their shields are almost depleted," he added.

"Understood, have the Revenge cover her as best as they can as she withdraws," Hunt ordered, cursing the loss of the ship but at least they had not been blown up. 'They had already taken far too many losses in ships and men as it was in this war,' he thought.

"Sir their line is cracking," his first officer pointed out. "Should we try and push through?" he inquired.

Hunt thought about it for a few seconds before deciding the risk was worth it. The quicker they ended this fight the better off they would all be. "Order the other ships, bar the Sunrider, to close in on the enemy and breakthrough what is left of their line," he ordered as confidently as he could.

"Yes sir," the communications officer nodded in understanding before he relayed the orders.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

(Praesitlyn)

Bastila was starting to struggle with her concentration as she focused her battle meditation on such a large group, the larger the amount of the force she used for it, the harder it was to maintain. And this was the largest group of people she had ever used it on in her life, except during the bitterest days of the Jedi Civil War. The final battle of the Star Forge had been a huge test of her abilities, but during that battle she had the Star Forge itself augmenting her power. This time she had only her internal power, and it was clear to her she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.

'Revan, if you can hear me I can't keep this up much longer,' she sent through the force bond she shared with Revan.

'Then let it go, we have things under control, and join us when you can love,' Revan responded after a short moment. This relieved her as she had not wanted to let go if he hadn't responded.

Releasing the focus and the power instantly relieved the pressure she had felt beginning to form in her head, she collapsed backwards feeling tired. Nicks who had been assigned along with the rest of 3rd platoon as her guard quickly moved to help her.

"Are you okay General Shan?" Nicks inquired.

"I will be in a minute or two, using my abilities on such a large group is taxing and it drains me badly," Bastila assured him. "Had I held on much longer I probably would have collapsed from exhaustion," she added with a small smile.

"I see," Nicks mused as he had never really considered the strain their powers could have on their Jedi Generals. "Water," he called to one of his clone brothers who quickly acted.

Bastila eagerly drunk from the bottle enjoying the cool feel of the water as it went down and she quickly began to feel much better. "Tell the men that we move out in five minutes Nicks, we have a battle to help win," she finally ordered.

"As you command General," Nicks responded with a quick nod of his head before he left to prepare the platoon. He was eager to join his clone brothers in the thick of the fighting.

Bastila watched him go and noted the almost eagerness he had to go into battle, an eagerness she sensed in the other clones as well. Clearly it had been written into their genes when they had been created. Perhaps that is what allowed the Sith to use them as the perfect weapon against the Jedi as Revan's vision of the future had shown.

Back at the Separatist base HK-47 was still engaged in a fight with the last two battle droids, which were advanced models. He had managed to take out the rest even though he had taken some damage to his upper shoulder area. Thankfully it didn't hinder his movement. He waited as his enemies both poured fire near his hiding place. He reloaded his blaster and quickly shot out of cover when his enemy's weapons ran dry, his aim was precise and both droids dropped to the ground in a smoking heap. Quickly he destroyed the computers and controls of the base security system; it was at this point the two fleshy beings he had forgotten during the battle tried to flee. Turning quickly he shot both in the head with no little satisfaction, he watched as their bodies collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood. Eager for more death he headed out and began to fire on the other fleshy beings he noted in the camp. The slow acting droids protecting the camp proved no challenge to HK and he destroyed them with ease. Enjoying himself he was somewhat disappointed to find no more targets, so he returned to destroying any signs of the bases defensive abilities.

Back in the battlefield Revan pushed his attack on the female dark Jedi who seemed to think she was a true Sith, the very idea made him smile. Her power was next to nothing compared to a real Sith. Her skill with two lightsabers was impressive, but still lacking in what he would expect from a real Sith. He lunged forwards again and went for the woman's exposed side after her attempt on his head. She barely managed to avoid the attack. He paused as he felt Bastila contact him through the bond, he didn't think twice about ordering her to stop using her battle meditation. He knew using it on such a large group put a great strain on his lover, but for this battle he had no other choice but to have her use it to gain them an advantage. If Skywalker and Kenobi died here then everything he and his friends had done to get here would have been for nothing, worse the sacrifice he and Bastila had made of leaving their child in the past would have no meaning.

That very thought sent a surge of anger through him and he snarled as the bald headed woman came at him again, side stepping the attack he lunged forward and hit her with the hilt of his lightsaber knocking her of balance before he twisted and brought his blade down through her left wrist.

Ventress screamed in agony as the blade removed her left hand, although the heat of the lightsaber cauterized it and stopped any blood loss. She only hesitated for a second before she turned and fled, Anakin who had been coming up behind her and Revan moved to follow only for Revan's blade to halt his advance.

"She's getting away," Anakin protested with a glare at their still unknown rescuer.

"Doesn't matter right now Skywalker," Revan responded as he regained control of himself with a little help from Bastila through their bond. "We have a battle to win, she can wait till another time, she is injured and of no threat," he stated turning his mask covered face to Anakin who was still glaring at him. "Our men need our help more," he finished before turning and leaping back into the fight.

Anakin turned to where Ventress had fled and felt an urge to go after her, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Ahsoka come under heavy attack and quickly changed his mind and jumped to her aid. Their rescuer was correct, there would be another time for Ventress and Grievous who he noted had also fled.

Revan was relieved Skywalker had listened to him as the last thing they needed was him walking into a trap. He sensed Bastila on her way with her platoon to help them finish off the remaining part of the droid army. He decided it was time to call HK-47 back as well. He was certain his droid had caused enough damage and chaos at the enemy base by now.

"HK, I want you back here helping me finishing this battle off," Revan ordered into his comm. "I am sure you've had enough fun," he added as he decapitated another droid.

"Response: Understood Master, I am on my way and yes I've had a lot of fun causing havoc," HK's voice responded over the comm and Revan could hear an almost satisfied tone in the voice.

Revan sometimes wondered if HK-47 was something a little more than just a droid, he could swear the insane assassin droid showed emotion at times even though that was impossible. He jumped out of the way of a dozen blaster shots from five nearby battle droids just as Canderous and Tarin converged on his position. Canderous took down two of the droids with his heavy blaster canon, while Tarin removed another's head with his lightsaber. As he landed he rushed forward with a slight push from the force and took the last two down with two quick swipes from his own lightsaber.  
"The droids are beginning to lose their formation," Canderous reported with a smirk on his face as he continued to blast away at more droids as they closed in. "If we push now, we should be able to break them," he advised.

"I agree General," Tarin agreed as he deflected bolt after bolt with his lightsaber back into the droids who had fired them, destroying them with precise hits.

Before he could form a response Bastila and her platoon charged into the fight having clearly run as fast as they could to help. HK-47 would soon arrive as well and so he decided it was indeed time to wipe the droids out by making a push against them.

"All units push forwards now while the droid formation is breaking," he ordered into his comm. "Canderous, Tarin follow me," he added as he waded back into the fight.

Grievous growled as he slew two more clones before he noted his force had been penned in and was slowly been whittled away. He looked for Ventress, but didn't see her anywhere. This angered him greatly and he would make sure the bitch paid for deserting him. He suddenly took note of Kenobi and Skywalker bearing down on him from one side, Skywalker's wretched Padawan from another and finally the Jedi who had used force lightening on him. The searing pain from that attack still lingered, he wondered if this particular Jedi was close to falling to the dark side as Dooku liked to put it. Shaking that thought off he realized this battle was lost. He had to escape now while he still could. Summoning his bodyguard of Magnaguards to engage the oncoming Jedi, he quickly turned and fled cutting down any clones that got in his way.

Anakin jumped right over his enemy and brought his blade down into a cutting arc, but the Magnaguards reaction was faster than any normal droid and blocked the shot with its electrostaff. Alongside him the others all clashed head on with the other Magnaguards Grievous used as bodyguards.

Revan growled under his helmet as he watched the cyborg general escape. Suddenly a dark shadow jumped over his head and sliced his opponent in half, it only took him a moment to realize Bastila had finally arrived and used her doubled bladed lightsaber to good affect whilst the droid was occupied blocking his attack.

Go, we will hold," Bastila shouted to him while she moved to engage another of the advanced guards whilst her platoon quickly entered the fray close on her heels.

Revan nodded and quickly took off after Grievous, intent on ending him if he could. However he was quickly brought up short by two rolling droids who quickly deployed into heavy attackers with shields. Gritting his teeth he held his ground and deflected their shots as quickly as he could, the delay he knew would be costly and the insane cyborg would manage to escape.

+PAFC+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Captain Hunt watched as the enemy ships began to fall back in disarray, clearly with the destruction of their command ship they were lost. Plus with his own fleet bearing down on them, they didn't know what to do and decided retreat was the best option.

"Sir enemy fighter spotted boarding one of the far back enemy ships, that ship is now heading for an escape vector for a hyperspace jump," someone reported.  
"Sir that is the same ship that another fighter entered not too long ago," another voice chimed in.

"Can we target it?" he demanded to know as his brain quickly made the jump as to who might have been in those two fighters,

"Negative sir, it is out of range and we have two other droid ships between us," the weapons officer answered.

He could order his fighters in to try and disable the cruiser, but that was a long shot and it had the disadvantage of removing their fighter screen. That screen had helped deflect the worst of the enemy fire. 'No,' he decided now was not the time to try and be a hero. The lives of everyone on this ship as well as on the other ships in his fleet trusted him not to throw their lives away. There would be another time for finally putting an end to the threat of the enemy's greatest commanders.

"Then focus all fire on those ships we can hit, let us ensure we take what we can while they pull out," he finally ordered.

"As you command sir," the weapons officer responded before he targeted the nearest enemy ship and began to pound it with everything their ship had.

"Get me General Revan on the comm if you can," he said turning to his communications officer.

"Yes sir," the man nodded and quickly set to work.

+PAFC+

Revan was relieved when Canderous broke through the droid he was fighting and came to his aid. He unleashed a torrent of fire from his blaster cannon which was soon joined by shots from above. A quick glance told him that HK-47 had finally returned to help as ordered. The torrent of fire quickly overpowered the two droids shields allowing him to jump forward and attack. He sliced the first in half before it realized its shields were down, while the second managed to move away from him before it was gutted by the combined fire of HK and Canderous.

"You okay, Revan?" Canderous inquired as he reloaded his cannon.

"Annoyed, but okay," Revan responded curtly, still angered by the escape of the enemy commander. "Now let us finish this," he growled as he raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of force lightening into a tight pack of droids frying their circuits in seconds and watched in satisfaction as they dropped to the ground inactive.

Canderous just grinned and opened fire once more as HK moved to join them from his heightened position, firing as he went, behind them Tarin finally managed to behead the Magnaguard he had been fighting. This allowed him to turn and do the same to the one that was trying to overpower Ahsoka. Anakin was now back to back with Obi-Wan, when both suddenly ducked at the same time causing the Magnaguards to hit the other with their electrostaffs shocking them both. This slight mistake allowed them both to behead the Magnaguards just as Bastila used a force push to knock her droid to the ground and slice it in half before removing the head when it tried to crawl towards her.

"Well that was bracing," Obi-Wan mused before frowning as he watched the still as yet unknown Jedi unleash another wave of force lightening into the depleted droid army.  
He watched as droids dropped to the ground, inactive as their circuits were blown out from the power of the attack. The power was clearly effective against the droids as it had been against Grievous when he had saved his life, but using that power was wrong. Obi-Wan moved to confront the unknown Jedi when the female Jedi moved to block him with her double bladed lightsaber. He came to a halt as she frowned at him.

"Stay away from him until he has finished winning this battle," Bastila snapped, already detecting the elder Jedi's dislike for how Revan was fighting this battle, or more to the point that he was using what the Jedi believed to be a dark side power to win. "He is no threat to you," she added.

"He is using powers long linked to the dark side of the force and thus I question where his allegiance stands," Obi-Wan shot back a little taken aback at been snapped at by a fellow Jedi, especially as he was on the council.

Bastila snorted at the signs of the ever present limited vision of the Jedi in that response, when she had become grand master of the reformed order she had tried to introduce a more opened minded view on what was light and what was dark. Her adventures with Revan and their friends, even falling in love with Revan had taught her there was far more to the force that the straight lined view the Jedi liked to teach. Clearly when Alak had ousted Ana Sunrider's leadership he had reinstated that one sided view of the force. She felt her anger and hatred for the old man increase, but she quickly repressed it. Now was not the time to concentrate on the past and the actions of the man, who had exiled her daughter.

"Believe what you want. However if Revan would be a dark Jedi or a Sith then you'd already be dead," Bastila told him with a slight glare. "Plus he would not be leading clone troopers into battle," she pointed out.

"She kind of has a point there Obi-Wan," Anakin couldn't help but point out even though he kept his lightsaber in hand just in case this unknown female Jedi turned out to be a threat after all.

Tarin turned away and prepared to leap back into the fray when he realized the battle was almost over. The droids had been decimated due to the fleeing of their commanders as well as been caught in a pincer movement. The entire droid army had been almost wiped out, igniting his lightsaber again he rejoined the fray knowing Bastila could handle the outraged Jedi and keep him out of Revan's way while he finished this battle.

Revan continued to launch barrage after barrage of force lightening into the slowly receding lines of droids, finally though he had to stop as his energy reserves started to feel taxed. By this point the battle was all but won. The remaining droids were cut down by the clones in droves led by Tarin who was in the thick of the fight with the last large group of droids. Nodding his head in satisfaction he finally heard the call from his comm.

"This is General Revan here, go ahead I hear you," he spoke into it.

"General, this is Captain Hunt," was the response. "I'm pleased to inform you that the battle is won, the enemy is retreating. Should we pursue?" he inquired.

"Negative Captain, hold your forces and take up a protective stance over the planet," Revan ordered firmly. "Have a fighter screen maintained at all times, rotate the pilots every hour," he continued. "Please send down immediate medevac for our wounded," he went on.

"At once General," Captain Hunt responded.  
"And Captain please give all the crews of the ships and fighters my appreciation for a job well done," Revan added before he signed off.

Revan turned and left Canderous and HK to help finish the battle. He had felt Bastila's annoyance through their bond and knew it was best he see what was causing it.

"May I inquire as to what you are arguing about?" he inquired as he removed his helmet and stared at Obi-Wan.

"Oh this Jedi seems to think you might be evil due to you using force lightening," Bastila explained still glaring at Obi-Wan.

"Ah another one like Master Windu," Revan shot back with a smirk. "Well nothing I will say here will change your mind and until we get back to the temple you are not going to know who we are and what we are doing here," he stated.

"Why not?" Anakin inquired as he put his own weapon away as did Ahsoka as the battle was finally finished.

"Our mission is vital to the future of the Republic and the Jedi Order and we dare not tip our hand to the Sith," Revan answered as Bastila finally shut down her lightsaber. "They more than likely have spies everywhere," he pointed out. "Now if you will excuse me I have wounded men to see too as well a planet to fortify in case the enemy returns," he stated before walking off with Bastila close behind him.

"Who in the hell is he Master?" Ahsoka inquired with a very confused look on her face.

"I don't know snips, but I intend to find out because I like his style," Anakin responded with a grin which widened as Obi-Wan gave him a mild glare for his comment.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(Jedi Temple, Council Chamber)

Yoda was the last of the Masters to arrive in the council chamber having been overseeing a class of younglings. He nodded to Mace Windu as he took his seat at the head of the council. He was relieved to see that Obi-Wan Kenobi was present if only by hologram, that boded well for the rescue mission they had sent Revan on.

"Master Yoda I'm pleased to inform you that Praesitlyn is now firmly under our control," Obi-Wan began with a small relieved smile. "The rescue forces arrived just in the nick of time, however I have grave concerns about the Jedi leading them," he added.

Mace snorted and the others could tell he held no surprise at Kenobi's suspicious concerns about Revan, they all knew the senior Jedi remained on guard where Revan and his friends were concerned.

"Oh do tell," an amused voice said from behind Kenobi and each of the council members knew it was Revan. A second later he appeared behind Obi-Wan not looking concerned in the least with what had just been said about him.

"Do you mind?" Obi-Wan said turning to face Revan with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No I don't mind, if you were making a report to the council it would have been nice to alert me as I did lead the reinforcements," Revan countered calmly before turning his eyes onto the council. "I'm pleased to report the mission was a complete success, we suffered minimal losses and only one of my ships was badly damaged and will be needed to be repaired," he reported. "I managed to drive off the cyborg general just as he was about to kill General Kenobi. I also removed the arm of his wannabe Sith helper," he added with a grin which set of the council members on edge.

"And the planet itself?" Kit Fitso inquired.

"My men are currently securing it as we speak. I request another Jedi being sent here with a task force to take over so I can return with General Kenobi and the others and bring them up to speed on things," Revan answered.

"You have not told them the truth about your presence?" Mace inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't dare discuss it in the open as we have no idea what kind of spy network the Sith have access to," Revan shot back at the veiled accusation. "Hence I will wait until we are back at the temple. The less aware the Sith are of mine and my friends origins the better off we are in the long run," he pointed out to them. "Now I have passed your test and when I return, I will expect my other friends to be allowed to join me on any further missions you assign us," he stated before he turned and vanished from the transmission.

"Who is the man?" Obi-Wan asked in a raised voice. He was taken by surprise by the man's lack of respect to the council, the only other man who showed such a rebellious streak was his former Master Qui-Gon Jinn and even then he showed some respect to the council members.

"Not the time is it for that conversation Master Kenobi," Yoda stated with a shake of his head. "We will send a small planetary force to replace your combined assault force as quickly as we can. Once they arrive come straight back to the temple," he added. "In the meantime you and your rescuer will have combined command of your forces," he told him much to Mace's surprise.

"Master this Jedi used force lightening against the droids as well as Grievous when he saved me," Obi-Wan protested unable to keep silent. "How can you put him in charge of our forces?" he asked.

"You will understand when you arrive Obi-Wan," Shaak-Ti responded with a calming smile even as her own hologram flickered. "There is much you will need to understand, but as he said it is not safe to discuss this outside the temple," she told him. "Be patient," she advised.

"But keep a close eye on him and his friends Obi-Wan and do not let your guard down," Mace could not help to add with a frown. "Take note of any more signs of falling to the dark side he makes, or those of his friends," he added.

"As you wish Masters," Obi-Wan agreed somewhat more confused now than he had been before talking to the council. Clearly they were split where this man was concerned.

"May the force be with you," Yoda stated before they ended the meeting, all the holograms faded leaving only the actual present Masters in the room.

"You only feed Obi-Wan's suspicion of Revan with orders like that," Saesee Tin stated as he turned to face Mace.

"For now I still would rather air on the side of caution where he and his friends are concerned," Mace defended himself. "I could sense his pride and if I wasn't mistaken enjoyment that he had removed the hand of what I would assume was Asajj Ventress, which is not the actions of someone I would trust so easily," he told them as he stood up. "I remain wary of him," he stated with a shake of his head before he turned and left.

"Perhaps it is best that there is at least one of us who is more cautious where Revan and his friends are concerned," Kit Fitso said into the silence that followed Mace Windu's departure. "As it stands I will relay Revan's success to his friends and then see who we can send to relieve them on Praesitlyn," he told them before he left as well.

Yoda remained where he was as the rest of the other council members left and closed his eyes in meditation. He was concerned about the future even more now. Revan's arrival heralded great changes for Jedi Order, change that could not be stopped. And the most prominent question in his mind was 'Would the Order survive those changes intact'

+PAFC+

(Droid battle cruiser)

Asajj Ventress growled in pain as the medical droid continued to cauterize the stump of her now useless left hand. Once it was finished with that the droid would attach a prosthetic hand. The fact she wouldn't be whole anymore angered her greatly and her hatred, she had always projected on Skywalker before, had a new focus now and that was on whoever had cut her hand off in the first place. Whoever the damn Jedi had been, she had to admit he was powerful as he could control force lightening. Even the Jedi who had come over to their side could barely control such powers, but this one had full control and could cast it over a wide area. If he wasn't close to falling to the dark side then he would be a great threat. She needed to learn who he was and then kill him before he could do anymore damage.

Behind her Grievous lay on an operating table as more medical droids ran scans over his few remaining organs, the pain from the force lightening attack still lingered with him. He hated Jedi with a passion for the existence they had condemned him to when they blew up his personal shuttle and now he had further reason to hate them. And the need to eliminate every last Jedi no matter what age they were grew, he would have his revenge.

The medical droids injected his organs with small quantities of Kolto which slowly began to dim the pain. When he killed this particular Jedi he wouldn't just take his lightsaber, but his damn head as well. He would mount it on a pike outside his personal command bunker. Once the droids were finished he left the med bay with only a brief glare at Ventress who ignored him. He headed straight to the bridge. He needed to report to Count Dooku.

+PAFC+

(Dooku's Castle)

Count Dooku was kneeling in meditation when his com terminal activated. He opened his eyes to see the hologram of General Grievous standing before him. Noting the rather angered look on his face he guessed the General didn't bring good news, letting out a sigh he decided just to be over with this.

"General has the battle been won?" he inquired.

"I'm sorry to say Count, but no, the battle wasn't won," Grievous responded in a tightly controlled voice. "Jedi reinforcements arrived before we could finish Kenobi and his troops," he stated, his tone turning cold. "They were led by a Jedi who used powers I have only ever seen you use before," he added.

"Oh, what powers in particular?" Dooku asked with some interest, wondering if maybe there was another Jedi who was close to give in to the call of the dark side.

"Force lightening," Grievous answered. "He also cut off one of Ventress's hands," he added.

"Interesting," Dooku responded as he stood up and began to pace a little. "Do we know this particular Jedi?" he asked, wanting more information.

"No, we do not," Grievous shot back. "But I intend to find him and kill him most painfully," he added before he cut the transmission.

"Most interesting indeed," Dooku mused aloud to himself as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. He would have to do some digging himself to locate the identity of this potential recruit it seems. And he would have to do so before Grievous found and killed him. He doubted Ventress would take the loss of her hand very well either, so both of his senior commanders would be after this Jedi. Perhaps this Jedi might prove to be more than a simple recruit. All of his fallen Jedi were too weak to become true Sith. The closest to that status was Ventress herself, but even she wasn't strong enough to truly embrace the full power of the dark side. And he needed a real apprentice if he was ever to overthrow his Master and become the Dark Lord of the Sith. Maybe this Jedi had the potential to be his apprentice.

+PAFC+

(Praesitlyn)

Revan sat next to Bastila with an amused look on his face as Kenobi exited the communications bunker. Clearly he and his fellow Jedi were not going to get along too well at the beginning. Well he could deal with that. Hell if he was honest he had expected it. Bastila felt Revan's amusement over their bond and wondered about the source. When Kenobi stopped in front of them with a frown on his face it instantly clicked as to the source of her lover's amusement.

"Can I help you General Kenobi?" Revan inquired.

"The council is sending a relief force as fast as they can to relieve us. Once they have arrived we are to head straight back to the temple for that long overdue discussion you say we need to have," Obi-Wan told him, with an annoyed frown on his face as he stared down at Revan. "They also told me we are to share joint command of our forces here until we leave," he informed him.

"Thank you for passing that information along," Revan responded with a nod thanks. "I have ordered the burial of our dead troops as well as a ceremony for the remaining troops to say their goodbyes," he added.

"I'll be there," Obi-Wan shot back before he turned and headed out to check up on the fortifications that were being put up. He really didn't know what to make of this man. He could vaguely recall the female Jedi calling him Revan. The name seemed familiar, but right then and there he could not recall where he had heard it before. Shrugging his shoulders he decided to put it aside for now and do as Master Windu had ordered and keep a close eye on this 'Revan' and his friends.

Revan watched the elder Jedi walk away before releasing a small chuckle which made Bastila smile. It was rare that Revan let his defenses drop, especially during their missions.

"Are you having fun winding the Jedi Master up?" Bastila inquired with a smirk.

"Would I ever stop to such a thing, Bastila?" Revan responded in mock outrage. "I have the up most respect for our fellow Jedi," he stated before losing his composure and bursting into a full laugh.

Bastila just shook her head in amusement and leaned against Revan, she glanced around their surrounding and noted HK-47 standing almost in guard position close by.

"Why is HK keeping an eye on us?" Bastila asked as Revan got himself back under control.

"That is one of his primary functions when he is not on a mission," Revan answered before he chuckled again when he remembered what HK had called Bastila before the battle. "It seems he now sees you as his Mistress just as much as I'm his Master," he added.

"What? Don't be ridiculous," Bastila protested, thinking Revan was having her on.

"I'm serious Bastila," Revan assured her with another smile. "I ordered him to protect your transport on its way down to the planet. HK's response was that 'I will ensure none of those rust buckets that laughably call themselves droids get near the Mistress's transport'," he told her as his smirk widened as her face dissolved into shock.

Bastila was shocked because her relationship with the blood thirsty assassin droid had never been great, clearly either Revan had done some reprogramming which was unlikely or HK had come to accept her relationship with Revan. Still having the thing calling her Mistress had her a little off balance, she respected the droid's capabilities and the fact that Revan had built the droid with his own hands. But its constant desire to kill had always been a little off putting, even with her brief fall to the dark side and her abandonment of the Jedi code didn't dispel that feeling where HK was concerned.

"Does that mean HK will obey me now?" Bastila suddenly inquired with new interest.

"You could always try and order him to do something," Revan suggested as Commander Trax arrived snapping to attention.

"Sir, one of our patrols has found some left over pockets of droids still on the planet," Trax reported.

"Size?" Revan demanded to know as he snapped back into combat mode.

"At best count sir they number at least two hundred droids," Trax answered.

"Ok Bastila you take charge here with Kenobi, while I take Skywalker and some men and deal with our left over enemy," Revan said as Bastila stood up as well. "No arguing, you need the rest after straining yourself with using your battle meditation on such a large group," he added, already sensing her protest. "Commander relay your report to General Skywalker and then have him report to me and once you do that gather together two platoons of seventy men each," he ordered.

"Right away General," Trax replied snapping off a salute before he went to find General Skywalker.

"HK, we have some more droids to destroy so prep yourself for battle," Revan ordered.

"Pleased response: Excellent news Master, I was already getting bored," HK-47 responded before he turned to get his weapons ready.

"Why are you taking Skywalker and not Canderous or Tarin?" Bastila inquired having decided Revan was correct and she did need to rest as she still felt the strain of pushing herself almost beyond her limits.

"I want to see what Skywalker can do up close with my own eyes Bastila," Revan confided in her. "I also want to see just how close to the edge he is," he admitted.

"Do you think he can be saved?" Bastila asked quietly as she could see Skywalker on his way over with his Padawan.

"I believe we have got here in time to change his path," Revan assured her. "It is just getting him to listen to us that will be hard," he admitted before Skywalker finally reached them.

"Commander Trax said you wished to see me?" Anakin inquired as he glanced between the two Jedi and instantly could see there was something between them.

This was a surprise because he knew it was against the Jedi Code to fall in love, which is why he had to marry Padme in secret and keep it quiet even from his closest friends. He wondered again who these particular Jedi were. He didn't recognize any of them, but they clearly had support from the council which made the fact they seemed to be together all the stranger.

"Our scouts have found a large pocket of droids still active and we are going to go and wipe them out," Revan told him. "Bastila and the others can finish up securing this base," he added. "Trax is already putting two platoons together," he added.

"Sounds good," Anakin responded with a nod of understanding. "I'd like to bring Captain Rex and Ahsoka along," he stated.

"Done, we'll meet at the base perimeter in ten minutes," Revan told him. "Be ready by then," he added before he moved off to talk to Canderous and Tarin.

"Ahsoka find Rex and give him the order, I'll see you at the perimeter in ten," Anakin said turning to Ahsoka.

"No problem Skyguy," Ahsoka responded before taking off.

Bastila watched as Skywalker walked away to obviously discuss things with Kenobi, she hoped Revan was correct about them being able to save Skywalker. The future rested on them being successful in their mission; letting out a sigh she headed for her tent to have a proper rest.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Note: My thanks again to Hawklanfor helping out. By the way… you really should visit his author page. He has quite a few fics of his own you should check out.

Chapter 13

(Jedi Temple)

Jolee looked up as the door to their room opened to admit Master Kit Fitso. He looked calm enough so he could only assume the man brought good news. Granted not that he expected anything less where Revan was involved, and with Bastila and the others with him, failure was even less expected. He watched as the others all turned to face the Jedi with expectant looks on their faces, the senior Jedi gave nothing away for a few minutes as he looked over each of them in turn.

"I'm pleased to inform you that your friends have successfully rescued our colleagues and captured the planet they were on. They also destroyed the droid army sent to capture it," Fitso informed them. "Even more impressive was that Revan sent both General Grievous and Ventress running for their lives. Both of them have proved dangerous foes and have killed many Jedi," he told them, causing Mission to jump up and down in joy while Zaalbar let out a roar of triumph.

"As Bastila has already explained to you, Revan was forged in battle," Jolee responded as he stood up and walked forward. "He has led armies before. He almost conquered the very republic you seek to defend and had he not been betrayed by what used to be his friend Malek he might have succeeded," he stated calmly. "Revan is neither light nor dark anymore. He lies somewhere in between, never before has there been a Jedi like him before," he continued as he rubbed his beard a little. "He understands the dark side better than anyone. He will not be beaten easily. If there is a way to win then he will find it," he finished.

"Yes, I think I understand what you are trying to say, although I think it fair to warn you some Jedi will not be so understanding," Fitso told him in response. "Mace Windu is not alone in his fear of your friend's powers or his intentions. Obi-Wan is concerned after seeing Revan use force lightening to save his life as well as a weapon against the droids," he explained.

"The blind can never see the truth until it is exposed before their eyes," Visas stated turning her blind stare to Fitso. "The very fact they fear such power gives the Sith an advantage. Unless you are willing to go to the very edge of reason then they will never understand Revan," she told him. "Like Tarin himself, Revan will use any and all weapons to succeed where others would fail," she stated.

"But at what costs to them personally?" Fitso inquired as he began to understand a little of what made Revan the man he was. "What good does it do if he falls back into darkness? If he embraces the Sith way again because then everything he fought for would be undone, isn't that so?" he inquired.

"What you say has some truth to it, but the risk of Revan and Tarin falling to the dark side is small, both have a focus that keeps them on the right path," Jolee reminded him. "As long as Bastila and Visas are beside them, they will never turn," he stated.

"But how can you be so sure of that?" Fitso questioned with a frown. "The dark side is insidious and can bend anyone to its tune," he pointed out. "I have seen Jedi I have trusted for years turn during this conflict, one of them a fellow Master," he admitted.

"The dark side can twist anyone, in that you are correct," Visas acknowledged with a nod of her head. "But Revan, Bastila, Tarin and myself know exactly what to watch out for, we know the call of the dark side if you will and thus we can do our best to avoid it," she told him. "Having somebody to help, a focus, makes it easier to resist its temptation," she stated.

Kit Fitso had heard a lot of arguments about the dark side and its tempting call, but this was the first time he could honestly say he could actually believe it could be resisted with the right motivation. Of late his belief in fighting the dark side's pull had taken a beating, seeing trusted friends fall had been a painful experience and one that had almost shattered his belief in the code of the Jedi. The code was supposed to protect its followers from the dark side, yet it seemed more and more to be flawed. Then again he mused that was what the force ghosts who had appeared before them had warned them about, that the code and the tenants of the Jedi were no longer viable.

"If what you say is true then how it is Ulic-Qel-Droma fell when if I recall my history he already was in a loving relationship with Nomi Sunrider?" Fitso inquired as he continued to think over what had been said.

"Because not only did I allow revenge to cloud my judgment, the greatest error I made was to leave Nomi behind," Ulic's voice made them turn and note the force ghosts return.

Jolee couldn't help but glare a little at the ghost who in his mind had helped cost him his wife. Granted he had to admit even if Droma had not fallen that would have still left Exar Kun to start the war that helped corrupt many, including his wife.

"Had I taken Nomi with me then I'm certain I wouldn't have fallen into the trap I ended up in. I wouldn't have been poisoned by a special dark side cocktail that opened me to its full corrupting influence," Ulic told them with a sad shake of his head. "More so I wouldn't have fallen prey to Aleema Keto's seduction once I was under its influence. I was blinded by my rage and believed I had to do it alone and I paid the ultimate price," he stated with a haunted look as Nomi Sunrider's force ghost appeared behind him. "But I was not the only one to pay for my mistake, the galaxy at large paid with me," he continued. "Thousands perished in the war that followed. Jedi were corrupted easily by the promises of the power Kun and I would give them," he paused here as he glanced at Nomi who had moved to his side. "All my good intentions, all my hopes to save the galaxy from evil were lost as the war continued and probably would have gone to the end had I not had a large shock to bring me out of my submersion in the dark side," he said before Jolee cut him off.

"You mean when you murdered your own brother Cay," he stated darkly.

"The shock of that event opened Ulic up to the full extent of what he had done. He realized what had happened to him and it almost shattered his mind," Nomi took up the story as Ulic stared at Jolee lost in his memories. "But it came too late as I witnessed the slaying of Cay and came to the conclusion the man I had loved was lost forever. I didn't see that he had broken through the darkness and thus I cut him off from his force connection permanently," she explained with a sad gaze at Ulic.

"It was no less than he deserved when you take into account the scale of the death and destruction he helped usher in," Jolee could not help but argue.

"Your anger at Ulic for the fall of your wife is misplaced Jolee Bindo," Nomi responded with a sigh. "Exar Kun was the driving force of the war, Ulic was swept up into it and even had he not been there your wife would still have fallen because she desired power in the end, did she not?" she inquired.

Jolee frowned and looked away. He refused to answer that question even though he knew deep in his heart Nomi was correct. His wife would have fallen in time. Exar Kun's war would have drawn her in even without Ulic. But that was a hard thing to admit and even harder to accept, sometimes he really regretted becoming a Jedi.

"Ulic was free of the dark side, but not completely. He helped the Jedi and the republic hunt down and destroy Exar Kun and his remaining forces," Nomi continued without waiting for Jolee to answer because she knew he would not. "At the end he slipped away and spent the next few years wandering the galaxy trying to find some peace, but peace would not come as wherever he went he was haunted by the ghosts of his past," she explained. "It was not until my daughter Vima sought him out to train her than he finally shed the last tendrils of the dark side. Somehow she was able to help release him from the nightmare he had been stuck in since I stripped his powers from him," she went on before pausing.

"But how did she do it?" Carth inquired as he leaned against the wall having been listening vividly as the ghosts told their tale. He knew some of this history, but not all of it, and he could not help but feel there were lessons to be learnt from what they had experienced during the great Sith war. "What was it about your daughter that helped break that final hold?" he added.

"She made me remember just who I was, what I had once been," Ulic answered, finally breaking his sudden silence as well as finally looking away from Jolee. "She somehow brought back the man I had once been, instead of the haunting sounds of my past she reminded me that there was always hope for redemption," he explained as best he could. "On the ice world of Rhen Var I finally escaped the last hold the dark side had on me. My last act before I was killed by Hoggon was to state Vima ready for knighthood as well as pass on a necklace I had since I was a child," he finished.

"I felt the shot that killed Ulic through the long dead force bond I had once shared with him, the fact I could feel his pain showed that the man I had loved had indeed returned through the darkness to once more embrace the light," Nomi picked up the story again. "I held him as he died and he asked for my forgiveness, something I had already given him and then I had a further shock, as like the Jedi Masters he became one with the force and his body vanished," she told them. "I was shocked and I asked how it was possible and Vima responded that although he may no longer have been able to touch the force, he understood it better than any of us," she explained with a smile. "And she was right, Ulic's experiences through both light and dark had given him a unique perspective on the force that only Revan has found since that time," she finished.

"So what you are saying is for the Jedi to survive past this point they must find that unique perspective, they must come to understand the dark side instead of just fearing it?" Fitso inquired, intrigued by everything he had been told.

It was a far more personal view of the fall and redemption of one of the greatest dark lord's in history, it was also a view not shared by many Jedi. Maybe they and Revan were correct in saying that the Jedi of today were blind to their own faults, that they only viewed things from a limited view point. Was it possible that the reason they were losing this war was because they failed to truly understand the dark side and why it appealed to so many of their fellow Jedi?

"To destroy something you must first understand it," Ulic told him with a guarded look.

"Jedi have tried to defeat the dark side from the inside and they have fallen and become as evil as any Sith," Carth pointed out, having read of many examples of such things happening.

"Yes because they went in blind. They didn't know the dark side and they allowed their fear to drive them into a foolish choice," Nomi shot back. "They must learn to understand it, the challenge is to do it in such a way that they do not open themselves to it," she told them before she and Ulic vanished once more.

"Well that wasn't exactly helpful," Mission spoke up into the ensuing silence.

"It was enlightening actually," Fitso told the youngest member of Revan's group. "Granted even with what the force ghosts told us I doubt it will go over well with my fellow council members. Change isn't easy for Jedi," he admitted.

"Sounds like you'll have to change if you hope to survive this conflict," Carth stated.

"And that may prove to be one of the biggest challenges we have to face in the coming future," Fitso responded before he turned and left the room.

+PAFC+

(Coruscant)

Palpatine stared out of the window of his office which looked out across the vast city scape of the galactic center. His mind was focused as it had been for the last few days on the sudden block in his view of the future. A couple of days ago his vision of the future had been clear, his age old plan would succeed and soon the Jedi and the Republic they served would be crushed, even better Skywalker would soon replace Dooku as his apprentice. But then that vision of the future had become clouded and every time he tried to see the future now all he saw was a black void where once everything had been so clear. He could pinpoint the exact moment he first noticed the change, it was when he had suddenly felt a pulse of unknown origin in the force. It had been unlike anything he had felt before, something or someone was behind it and he needed to know how they had blocked his vision of the future to come. A sudden beeping made him turn to as his secure holocommunicator went off. He activated and watched as the grim visage of his current apprentice appeared.

"Master I regret to inform you we have been defeated in our attempts to capture Praesitlyn. Reinforcements arrived before we could finish off Kenobi and his troops," Dooku reported. "However along with this news was the fact that the Jedi leading the reinforcements used force lightening multiple times. Grievous seemed to think he might be close to falling to the dark side," he continued as he noted the frown his news caused. "I'm intrigued due to the fact that none of our current dark Jedi bar Ventress can sustain a long blast of force lightening," he stated.

Palpatine considered the news and even though he was annoyed his plans to finally rid himself of Kenobi had been dashed once more, it was true none of the dark Jedi they had at their service were what he would class as truly useful. Ventress was the closest they could get to a useful agent. Although she constantly failed against Skywalker and Kenobi, but then so did all of his other commanders. Was it possible this unknown Jedi could be as useful as Anakin would one day be? If he was as powerful as Dooku seemed to believe him to be then it merited some research into this Jedi. He could already see the interest in Dooku's gaze even as he tried to hide the fact from him, clearly he felt this Jedi might prove to be a worthy apprentice to finally help try and challenge him as Sith law dictated. Maybe he should look into this Jedi himself, either way it seemed they may become a problem.

"I will investigate this new threat Count Dooku," Palpatine finally responded in a tone he knew his apprentice would know not to question. "I want you to focus on winning us the outer rim territories. It is vital we hold them if we hope to crush the Republic," he ordered.

Dooku frowned for a brief second before he regained control of himself. Palpatine saw it anyway, but his apprentice didn't question his order as he knew he wouldn't. Dooku knew not to push him. He bowed and obeyed before signing off. Palpatine frowned and couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had Darth Maul not been killed on Naboo, more than likely this war might have been already won. Maul was brought up from the beginning as a Sith. Dooku however had been a Jedi Master for a number of years before leaving in disgust. It was that disgust that had left him open to being corrupted by the dark side. As powerful as Dooku was his training as a Jedi still shone through at times. It left him incapable of harnessing the full power of the dark side. He had more faith that Anakin would be able to control the full power as his training as a Jedi didn't take a deeper hold in his mind. Anakin's emotions were too close to the surface to be controlled like true Jedi did, and he had done his best to ensure Anakin allowed his emotions to flow. When the time came Anakin would embrace the dark side. He was certain of that fact thanks to his careful advice over the years to the young man.

+PAFC+

(Praesitlyn)

Revan watched as Skywalker and his padawan smashed through the droids like a lightsaber through flesh, they worked so well as a team that it was clear they wouldn't accidentally hurt one another. Clearly they were also more than just Master and student. They were friends from what he could see on their way here which was a point in Skywalker's favor in his view. Returning his attention to the droids he was fighting he unleashed a flurry of swings which decapitated three droids with his lightsaber, behind him Trax and a squad of his clones laid down a hail of fire as more droids advanced on them.

They had caught the remaining droids off guard, as without a command droid or separatist general they were lost as to what to do. Skywalker had suggested jumping straight into the middle of them, and he had agreed. The shock value of the move alone was worth the risk, as expected the droids hadn't expected to be attacked in such a manner giving them the advantage. In the initial strike the droids had been cut down in numbers from two hundred to a hundred and thirty, and even as the droids turned to fight they were easily been cut down. Captain Rex and his own platoon of clones were also cutting down the droids and Revan knew they wouldn't last much longer.

"Don't let any of them escape commander," Revan ordered as Trax passed him.

"Understood General," Trax nodded as he relayed the order and the clones did their best to encircle the remaining droids.

Anakin sliced through another droid as he noted the change in formation of the clones. Clearly Revan was getting ready to finish these droids off. There was something about Revan that reminded Anakin of Qui-Gon Jinn, the rebellious nature of the two men was similar and their defiance of the Jedi code also linked the two men. But he had a sense there was far more to Revan than he knew. He could sense a turning point approaching in his life. Revan's arrival here was about to change everything, and yet he still knew nothing about why he was here and why he seemed so interested in him.

A sudden warning in the force caused him to duck as droids tried to blast him from behind, turning he spun his lightsaber and took both of their heads off causing sparks to fly from their circuits as he passed them by. Ahsoka suddenly leaped over his head and decapitated another droid as it came up behind him. He spun to see her deflect multiple blaster shots from another droid before one of the clones blasted it in half with his blaster cannon.

"You're getting slow Skyguy," Ahsoka teased him with a smirk.

"In your dreams Snips," Anakin shot back with his own smile as he used the force to fling his lightsaber into another droid as it backed away from the clones, who were now gaining ground as more and more droids fell. "I'll always be one step ahead of you," he added with a cocky wink.

"Now who's dreaming Master?" Ahsoka responded with a shake of her head as she noted the last few droids get turned into scrap metal. "The tinnies didn't stand a chance," she stated.

"Nope, they were outclassed and basically useless without any of their commanders to give them orders," Anakin agreed as he watched Revan's droid rip the head of one of the last droids left standing and he wondered at the savagery of that particular droid.

"The battle is won General," Rex reported as he joined them. "We suffered only a few injuries and no deaths," he added.

"Excellent news Rex, get the men ready to fall back to base camp after we see to the injured," Anakin ordered with a smile.

Revan watched as Anakin and Ahsoka talked to each other unaware they were being watched. From what he had seen Skywalker wasn't as lost as he might have believed. He could be saved if he was willing to face the biggest challenge he would ever face, his own inner darkness and more importantly his own worst fears. Folding his arms over his chest he remained to observe the chosen one as the clones saw to their wounded and prepared to fall back to their camp. The next couple of days would prove vital to the future.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Knights of the Old Republic used in this chapter and onwards, they belong to whoever wrote that particular comic, Dark Horse, Lucasfilm and I guess now Disney as well.

Chapter 14

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Revan sat crossed legged in his and Bastila's quarters while Bastila herself slept on their bed. He was using the trip back to Coruscant to meditate and think of how to explain to Skywalker the possible future he faced. They were not moving as fast as they could have due to his order to keep the speed of their slowest ship. The Sunrider had taken a real beating during the space battle above the planet and was as fast as a turtle at the moment. He had refused to allow it to travel back to Coruscant without support as Obi-Wan had suggested. If it was one thing he intended to do it was to ensure the clones understood he didn't see them as expendable. It was not only Skywalker that presented a danger in the future, but the clones themselves. He had, since taking command, done everything he could to make them see themselves as individuals and that not every order had to be obeyed especially if they believed it to be wrong.

Getting them to believe that was for now the only hope he had, that they would ignore the order to turn on the Jedi as they had seen in his vision. Even if he succeeded in turning Skywalker away from the dark side, if he couldn't find a way to make the clones ignore that order then it wouldn't matter. They would all die, not even he and his friends could defeat all the clones. There had to be a way to either stop that order from being given, or he had to find a way to get them to ignore it somehow.

Bastila sensing his troubled thoughts slowly woke up from a restful sleep, she quietly got of the bed and sat behind her lover and drew him into a comforting hug. "You need to rest Revan," she told him gently. "You've been pushing yourself too much, now come to bed," she added and slowly pulled him up with her and guided him to the bed.

Revan decided not to argue as Bastila was correct, he was pushing himself and had not slept since just before they had reached Praesitlyn. If he was to work out the answers to the questions that bothered him then he needed a clear head. He quickly got comfortable as Bastila pushed up against him. His arms instinctively encircled her and brought her a little closer to him, closing his eyes he quickly fell asleep. Bastila enjoyed been back in Revan's arms for a few minutes, then she too let sleep reclaim her.

Elsewhere on the ship Obi-Wan Kenobi paced in his own quarters as he tried to work out the puzzle that was his rescuer. Something about Revan and his friends kept him on edge. Yes they had saved him, Anakin, Ahsoka and the rest of their troops and they had indeed led clones into battle with the approval of the council. Yet clearly not all of the council seemed to trust these people, so why then had they been granted command of a clone army in the first place? Revan's refusal to tell them anything until they were back at the temple grated at him, he didn't like mysteries when so much was already at stake. The assassin droid with them was disturbing in its needless obsession to kill as well. What kind of Jedi had that kind of droid with them? No there were too many questions and not enough answers, hopefully when they reached the temple he would get all the answers he wanted.

'But will I like the answers to these questions?' he asked himself unable to control a slight shiver than ran down his spine at the thought.

On the bridge Anakin listened as Captain Hunt gave the full report from both battles. In total they had lost close to three hundred clones over the course of the battle. The ships had all incurred some damage with the Sunrider been the worst hit, each of the ships had lost men as well as pilots from their fighter squadrons. Basically it added another hundred to the list of total dead. When this war had started such numbers had horrified him, but now he was almost numb to it all. He guessed it was the same with his fellow Jedi. They were all weary of the war and the casualties that continued to pile on. As the ones leading the armies they all took the guilt of those who died onto their own shoulders, but they could not let it cripple them as the war was still to be won.

"Thank you Captain. I suggest you get some rest now," Anakin finally said. "The men know they did a good job, they know we took another step towards total victory," he added. "Now they can enjoy a well earned rest, we all can," he finished before he turned and finally headed to his quarters to hopefully get some sleep.

Captain Hunt watched the Jedi go and wondered just how tired he and the rest of the Jedi were of this war. The clones were bred for it, but the Jedi were not. Shrugging his shoulders he called for a relief officer to take over so he could do as the General had ordered, get some well-deserved rest.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple)

Yoda sat in his quarters meditating on recent events when he heard the door open and someone enter. He knew in an instant it was Mace Windu and that his friend was still troubled by Revan and his friends' appearance and their actions up to now.

"Troubled I sense you still are," Yoda spoke as Mace sat in front of him. "Fixated you are on Revan," he added as he opened his eyes and looked at Mace.

"I can't help it," Mace responded and even as he spoke he knew it was a weak argument. "Revan's history is one of blood and war. He is, as stated by his friends, forged in battle and I worry that we have given him power in one of the greatest armies the republic has ever raised to defend itself," he continued. "He has the ability to encourage loyalty in those he leads. He once lead half the Republic fleet into deep space where it was corrupted into a new Sith army that almost destroyed the Republic," he argued.

"And worry that he will repeat that feat with the Clones you do?" Yoda inquired.

"Yes I do, the Clones are bred to obey from the moment they are born," Mace pointed out. "Getting them to follow would be simple, and we've seen the vision that brought them here," he reminded his friend. "We know just how dangerous the Clones can be to us and to the Republic," he stated.

Yoda nodded at that point, even now he could see in his mind the slaughter of the Jedi at the hands of their Clone soldiers. The vision Revan had shared with the council had made him sick with worry that they could not avoid that fate. But he had more faith that the force would not have sent Revan and his friends, if that fate could not be avoided.

"Understand your concern I do, but faith in the force we must have," Yoda told him finally. "Here at the force's calling is he and his friends, trust them we must as the force ghosts told us to," he added.

Mace frowned but finally let out a sigh and nodded his head. How could you argue with what the force had brought into being? Maybe he was letting his fear get the better of him. That didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on Revan and his friends, but he would try and not be as judgmental as he had been. Yoda smiled as he sensed his friend come to an important decision. Now they had to get ready for Anakin to be told of the possible future that may yet still befall them.

+PAFC+

(Dooku's Castle)

Dooku sat in his chambers in silence as he tried to plan how to turn this back to his advantage, he knew his Master was already seeking out this new potential Dark Jedi. He had to find him first or he may find himself the one being replaced. He needed someone on the inside to find out who this new person was and if he was close to losing himself to the dark side. He then recalled he had one other supposed Dark Jedi in his service. His name was Quinlan Vos and had been a supposed double agent for the Separatist movement although he still had his doubts he was truly a fallen Jedi. Still he needed to take the risk. He summoned one of his droids and issued orders for Vos to be brought to the castle at once. Once the droid had gone Dooku got up and began to pace. He knew if his Master caught wind of him disobeying him in this he may face far more than his usual temper. But if he was to be the Dark Lord of the Sith and not just the apprentice, he had to take the risk.

+PAFC+

(Venator Class Star Destroyer Black Star)

Revan's eyes snapped open as he suddenly sensed he and Bastila were not alone in the cabin. His eyes searched for whatever it was he had sensed, but he could see nothing. Getting out of the bed and standing up he ignited his lightsaber which woke Bastila who quickly moved to do the same. They both froze as a force ghost appeared. This however was not one of the ones who had visited to help them before. No, this ghost looked like a young teenager, but Revan's senses told him that was just how this ghost wanted to look.

"I know you," Revan stated as a memory tugged at his mind.

"Yes you do, I was once quite infamous to the Republic and the Jedi for something I didn't do," the ghost replied with a smile.

"Zayne Carrick," Bastila said as she quickly recognized the face of the ghost before her. "The supposed killer of the Jedi Padawans on Taris. Later being cleared after he managed to find enough evidence as well as get one of the Masters who did do the killings to confess to the crimes."

"Ah yes, I remember Malak ranting about you taking a girl from him," Revan said with a smile as if the thought of Malak ranting about anything amused him which Bastila supposed it did. "Jarael wasn't it?" he inquired.

"Yes it was, we became lovers and eventually man and wife," Zayne clarified with a nod of his head. "Malak was a good person when we knew him, but he turned like you did Revan. Only he went further into the darkness and he paid the price for it," he continued. "I dread to even imagine what would have happened if Jarael had gone with him. History is made by choices and his led him to madness," he stated. "Even had you not found the Sith emperor and been corrupted I feel he would have fallen given enough time. He grew more and more dark as time went on," he finished.

Revan didn't answer even though he knew the ghost was probably more right than he knew. Malak changed during the war with the Mandalorians and grew darker and darker as things got worse. Losing Jarael to Zayne probably added to the bitterness he saw overtake him. Maybe if she had gone with Malak things might have not got so bad. He quickly shook his head as he knew that was a stupid idea. Nothing could have saved Malak from what happened. Nothing could have saved him once he decided to go into deep space and ensure the Mandalorians never return. Instead he led them straight into the arms of the true Sith. Breaking away from thoughts of the past, he turned his attention back to the ghost and asked the question most prominent on his mind.

"Why have you come to us?" he asked.

"I have a request to ask of you," Zayne responded. "A request that might help you in your task," he added.

Revan exchanged looks with Bastila who just shrugged her shoulders in return. She had no clue what a force ghost could ask of them that would affect the here and now.

"What is your request?" Revan inquired as he sat down on the bed with Bastila right next to him and leaning into him.

"Before I cleared my name I returned to Taris to help a friend, in fact the same friend who'd been accused as a helper in the murders," Zayne began. "It was there we met Celeste Morne, a Jedi working for the organization that had executed the murders of my fellow Padawans," he explained.

"But unlike my former master and his allies Celeste worked for them to ensure others didn't suffer her families fate at the hands of the Sith. Although she was ordered to kill me by my former master. She refused time and again as she got to know me and realized there was no way I could have killed anyone, in time we sneaked aboard a Mandaloorian ship and ended up at their base on Jebble where they had taken a dangerous Sith artifact that Celeste had been sent to find," he went on. "The artifact was the Murr Talisman, within it was the spirit of the Sith Lord Karness Murr and it had the power to turn people into Rakghouls and then to control them," Zayne paused for a moment before he continued. "The Rakghoul plague transformed the entire Mandaloorian army into Rakghouls. Only these were not mindless beasts, but thanks to the Talisman able to use weapons and even think to some extent," he paused again to ensure both listeners understood the danger this posed to the galaxy.

"I heard of the Talisman when I was a Dark Lord of the Sith," Revan admitted with a nod of his head. "I even sent some of my people to try and look for it, but they could never locate it," he added.

"Be thankful Revan that they didn't. The spirit of Murr overwhelmed whoever possessed his talisman and used them to carry out his will," Zayne told him. "I doubt even you at that time could have held out forever against him. The talisman is death to any who find it and if the Sith ever find it first then there may be no winner in this war, only death and destruction as not even they can control Murr's appetite for destruction," he warned them with a frown.

"Then you know where this Murr Talisman is?" Bastila asked as she fully grasped the danger of this artifact.  
"Yes I do, it is around Celeste Morne's neck where it has been since I last saw her on Jebble," Zayne answered with a look that Revan could tell was full of guilt and sadness.

"You talk as if this friend of yours is still alive," Revan pointed out.

"She is. Celeste survived to this time as you and your friend did," Zayne said surprising them. "I refused to kill her when she begged me to, she knew now that she was bonded to the talisman, which she did to save me from it, that she was a danger to entire galaxy," he informed them. "I instead placed her inside a unique stasis device that would keep her frozen in time until I could find help for her. Unfortunately the Mandalorians wiped the planet clean to remove the threat after I warned them away from the planet," he added. "I made the mistake of thinking her dead and it wasn't until I became one with the force that I came to learn she had survived in the stasis tube, now at the bottom of the sea on Jebble," he growled as some of his guilt over took him before he forced it back. "If you look at your visions again Revan, you will see Celeste will play a role in the future of this galaxy up to the point she meets a descendant of Skywalker who will free her finally from her fate," he told them.

"What is it you ask of me?" Revan asked deciding to get to the point of this whole discussion.

"Go to Jebble, find Celeste's stasis tube and free her from the Murr Talisman," Zayne stated seriously.

"But you said not even Revan could fight the Sith spirits influence," Bastila argued.

"I said at the time he was a Dark Lord, but now he is more than just a Dark Lord or even a Jedi," Zayne responded with a reassuring smile. "Revan is unique, he is what Anakin Skywalker was meant to be when he was born," he informed them. "Skywalker is the chosen one and he has to be the one to end the Sith threat as you already know. He must learn what Revan now knows and time is against you, but I need you to do this for me," he stated, his emotions coming through as he spoke.

"How do I destroy the Murr Talisman?" Revan inquired as he decided to grant the ghost his request. He already had replayed the vision the force had sent him. He had seen just how much the talisman would affect the future of the galaxy. It had to be removed from contention, his very presence here had changed everything which meant that the talisman could be found earlier than he had foreseen in his vision.

"I will teach you the method needed to destroy the talisman, but until you can destroy it, it will be up to your will to resist when it tries to possess you," Zayne told him.

Revan nodded and then after a quick look in Bastila's direction he made his choice. "I will do as you request Zayne. I will find and free you friend," he promised.

"Thank you Revan," Zayne said with a relieved sigh. "Tell Celeste I'm sorry I left her behind and thought her dead and that I was so late in keeping my promise to her, will you?" he added and when Revan nodded he moved forward and placed his hand against Revan's head transferring the knowledge of how to destroy the talisman to him before he faded from sight.

"Revan, I don't like this," Bastila admitted. "If you are overcome before you can destroy the talisman," she started to argue, but Revan cut her off by taking her into his arms.

"Easy Bastila, you heard Zayne say I can do this," Revan reminded her with a smile as he pulled her back onto the bed, where she instantly curled up against him. "The Murr Talisman has to be destroyed before any Sith can find it, and I sense through the force this is important to our plans although I do not know how," he told her.

Bastila locked eyes with him before she let out a sigh and nodded. She had great faith in Revan and his abilities, but the Talisman Zayne had told them about sounded far more dangerous because of the ancient Sith spirit trapped within it. But Revan had made his choice and she would do all she could to support him, and if he sensed this was important then they had to succeed.

+PAFC+

(Droid Battle Ship)

Grievous and Ventress entered the com room at the same time and both glared at the other. They quickly stopped when the holocommunicator activated to show Lord Sidious, the true leader of the Separatists.

"My Lord, it is an honor," Ventress said quickly with a quick bow. "How may I serve you?" she inquired.

"I want you both to tell me everything about your encounter with this new Jedi who stopped you taking Praesitlyn as you were ordered too," the Sith lord commanded and his voice dripped in annoyance at their failure.

"Of course Lord Sidious, as you command," Grievous said before he and Ventress told the Dark Lord everything they remembered from their confrontation with the still unknown Jedi. This included everything he said or did during the battle, Sidious listened with growing interest.

When they both finished the Dark Lord just nodded and signed off, leaving the two to start glaring at one another again. Ventress quickly gave up and left having had enough of the cyborg already. Grievous watched her go with another glare before he headed back to his quarters. He would find this unknown Jedi and he would make him pay he swore once again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(Jedi Temple)

Revan entered the council chamber of the Jedi with the rest of his group alongside Skywalker, his Padawan and finally Kenobi. He was relieved to see the rest of his friends waiting for them, that would make this meeting go a little easier he thought, although he knew Skywalker was not going to like it. The truth could shatter a man's mind when learned. He just hoped Skywalker would prove strong enough to endure it.

"Welcome back and congratulations on your success," Shaak Ti stated as they entered, her hologram showed a clear connection to whichever planet she was on at the moment.

"Did you actually think Revan would fail?" Mission couldn't help to ask with a glare as she looked around at the assembled Masters. Wondering how they could still doubt him after all they had seen so far.

"We didn't say that young one," Shaak Ti responded as she understood the young girl had taken her words as an insult against her friend. "Only that we were pleased he was able to succeed," she assured her.

"Who are these people Masters and why are they in the council room?" Obi-Wan inquired as he looked them over and noted only two of them seemed to be Jedi.

"These are the rest of my friends Kenobi," Revan answered, not liking the other man's tone when he indicated them. "They have sacrificed much to follow me here, so I suggest you show them a little more respect," he suggested.

Before Obi-Wan could responded Yoda decided to intervene, he could already see Obi-Wan wasn't trusting of Revan and his friends, probably not helped by Mace's orders to him when they last talked.

"Revan and his friends come a long way they have, far more than you could imagine Master Kenobi," Yoda told him. "Their story verified it has been by visits by ancient force ghosts of long gone Jedi," he explained.

"And one former Jedi turned Sith Lord turned Jedi or so he claims," Mace Windu couldn't help but add, wincing slighting as he noted this put Obi-Wan even more on guard.

"Enough, this is only confusing them," Revan interrupted them all. "I will share my story and the vision that started it all, but I warn all three of you that it isn't an easy thing to see," he added with a tone that showed he was deadly serious.

Anakin shared confused looks with both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan as each tried to work out exactly what was going on. They had been wondering about their new allies since they had met and each wanted to know the truth. They just didn't know just how painful this truth would turn out to be, all the more so for Anakin Skywalker.

+PAFC+

(Dooku's Castle)

Quinlan Vos walked into the main meeting area of the Count's prized castle, one of the few holdings he had from before his time as a Jedi. A keepsake of his family, the dark tendrils of the dark side of the force filled the place and he could not help but shiver. It took all his control not to allow them to affect him. His mission here hadn't been easy. At first acting as a double agent had been simple, but then the more he was exposed to the dark side the harder it became. And he had come so very close to falling permanently into its embrace; his saving grace had been Khaleen Hentz.

Originally an agent of the Separatist cause, she had, through her contact with him begun to question the cause she had chosen to fight for. This woman was the main reason he had survived his exposure to the dark side, they had fallen in love during the many missions they had work together for Dooku.

Falling in love had not been in his plans, but once he had realized he had, he had embraced it fully. Maybe he should not have been surprised he had fallen in love, his people were well known for their instinctual passions. Still their relationship had saved them both and once this war was over, they both planned to vanish from the galactic scene and live their lives in peace. Seeing Count Dooku himself suddenly walk into the hall, he quickly pushed such thoughts out of his mind and took on the persona he had created, that of a dark Jedi. Kneeling before Dooku did not come easy for him, his instinct was usually to kill the betrayer for causing this war. But thankfully he had enough control to fight that urge. If Dooku was killed then Grievous was next in line to command the full might of the Separatist forces.

Grievous was a psychopath created by the Separatists to be their ultimate Jedi slayer, and a most effective one he was. If he took charge then he would push the Republic and the Jedi to the brink and maybe right over it. Dooku was a cautious man and knew when to fight a battle and when not too, he knew how to use the resources he had. But Grievous only cared about his revenge against the Jedi for the injuries he had sustained that had turned him into a cyborg, even though the Jedi were not responsible. It had been Dooku and his hidden Sith Master all along, he would fling every ship, droid, man and tank against the Republic and Jedi and maybe it would be just enough to win the war as they were hard pressed as it was to hold the line as it stood right now.

"Ah Vos, finally I have been waiting for you," Dooku said with a glare at his kneeling form as if he had been waiting far longer than he had been. "I have an important mission for you, it will require you to return to the Jedi Temple and pretend to be one of their puppets," he told him.

Vos almost wanted to smile at this piece of news. He could do with a chance to talk to the Masters about what was going on of late. Granted he would have to be careful, he knew Dooku had other spies and double agents within the Temple itself. Maybe he could convince Dooku to send Khaleen along with him as backup. Some time away from Dooku and his cronies would do them some good.

"There is a new Jedi hero on the scene. He helped win the battle for Praesitlyn for the Republic, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat," Dooku spat in anger. "He also managed to save young Skywalker and his annoying Padawan and of course Master Kenobi," he added, his anger plain for all to see. "But there are no records of who this new Jedi is and no mention of his name," he added, reigning in his anger as he paced a little up and down the room.

"Why in this Jedi of any interest to our cause Master?" Vos inquired, hating having to call a traitor Master.

"Because not only did this Jedi defeat Ventress and Grievous, he removed one of Ventress's hands and used force lightning on Grievous to the point it injured him," Dooku answered. "He then went on to again use force lightning to help win the battle against our battle droids. To think of this Jedi using such power once is of mild interest, but to use it again and again without showing signs of tiredness or affect is of great interest to me and our cause if he can be recruited to our side," he explained coming to a standstill. "Clearly the council is keeping this new hero under wraps unlike Skywalker. I want you to find out everything you can about this Jedi Vos, especially his name and where he came from," Dooku ordered him. "Don't come back unless you have that information," he added before he turned and began to walk out of the room.

Vos got back to his feet and quickly decided to ask for Khaleen's to come as backup. "I could use some backup just in case my cover is blown or I need a distraction," he spoke up, but kept any sense of his true feelings for Khaleen out of his tone.

"And you suggest your normal running partner Khaleen Hentz, do u not?" Dooku shot back over his shoulder.

"We have built up an impressive partnership that has always got the results you wanted," Vos pointed out. "We've never failed a mission you gave us so far," he added as an afterthought.

Dooku stared at him for a few minutes as he contemplated the request, he couldn't really argue about the success the two agents had working together. And it was possible Vos might need some help breaking into the archives if he couldn't get any information from his Jedi friends, frowning slightly he decided to grant the request as he needed that information and quickly.

"Very well Vos, take her with you but get me what I want," Dooku finally told him after another few minutes before sweeping out of the room.

Vos let out a slight intake of breath before he turned and exited the room and headed for the exit to the castle, he already knew where he would find his lover.

+PAFC+

(Coruscant)

Palpatine stood in his office still going over the information he had gained from Grievous and Ventress concerning this new threat, and in his mind this Jedi was a threat to his plans. It was possible it was because of this Jedi's sudden emergence that his once perfect foresight into the future was now disrupted, that what had once been certain to happen was now uncertain. Every time he looked into the future now, all he saw was darkness. Something was interfering in his plans and he believed it was this new Jedi, or maybe this was a dark Jedi in the making. Maybe an even worse possibility was that this Jedi could rise to become a rival Sith. He was clearly powerful as stated by his lackeys. He could not allow any rivals to challenge him. Dooku was easy to control and foresee what he would do, but this new individual was a mystery and he did not like mysteries. He needed to know who this Jedi was and then have him eliminated. 'But how to learn who this Jedi was?' he pondered. Maybe his human persona as chancellor could pry loose this information, suggest using him as the Republic used Anakin and Kenobi as moral boosters. Or he could just ask Anakin himself. He was certain that if the young man knew the truth about this Jedi then he could get the information out of him. If both of those options failed, then he would have to use more under handed methods.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple)

Anakin let out an agonizing scream as the vision Revan had transferred to him and the others washed over him, the contents of what he was seeing made him physically sick. He wanted to shout and rage against what he was shown, but he could feel the force flowing through him showing him that was he was seeing was the truth. Of what was to come unless he listened and trusted Revan and his friends, and somehow managed to change his path. Collapsing to the ground as the vision finally ended. He gave into the urge to be sick, not caring in the least the Jedi Council were all watching his reaction closely.

"Oh by the force, how could I do it?" he moaned after throwing up. Closing his eyes did nothing to block the things he now knew, of the images the vision had shown him.

"The dark side can twist even the greatest of men into vastly different people," Bastila stated into the silence that followed his question. "The more you are exposed to it, the more twisted you become, until there is nothing of your previous personality left," she told him, understanding exactly what he was feeling. She had felt the exact same thing from her own brief fall to the dark side, at least for now Anakin was seeing only what could be not what was.

"Why couldn't I see what was happening?" Anakin questioned aloud. "I all but ran straight into the Sith's trap," he spat in self-hatred.

"You weren't responsible alone for what will possibly happen in the future, the Council had played their own roles in your fall by mistrusting you so much," Revan assured him. "In being blind to the danger of their own rules and strictness in enforcing them," he continued as he glanced at the watching Jedi Council. "The only thing the vision doesn't show is who the Sith Lord is. All we do know about him is that he is someone high up in the Republic and someone you trust," he stated. "It is to you now that I ask, from what you've seen from the vision do you know who the Sith Lord is Anakin Skywalker?" he asked.

Anakin knew in his heart exactly who the Sith Lord had to be, there was only one person beside Obi-wan, Ahsoka and Padme he trusted so completely and that was Chancellor Palpatine. He was the only person he matched up with the person he had seen in the vision, although always shadowed by the dark side Anakin knew it was Palpatine. But how could a Sith Lord have infiltrated the Republic so much he could become Chancellor, why had none of them seen what was basically staring them in the face was beyond reasoning.

"It's the Chancellor, its Palpatine," Anakin answered and everyone could see the shock his realization had been for him.

"That's impossible, we'd have known if it was him," Obi-Wan protested instantly, not liking the implications if Anakin was right.

"The dark side has clouded our sight since the Sith returned to the Galaxy Obi-Wan. It is very possible it could be anyone," Mace Windu reminded his friend. "But if it is Palpatine, then that poses a very grave threat for us to overcome," he stated.

Anakin just nodded listlessly in response before turning to see how Ahsoka was handling this. His Padawan kept glancing at him as if unable to believe he was capable of such things. Or to reassure herself that what she had witnessed had not come to pass just yet. Hopefully, if they were lucky, that future would never come to pass. 'What must she think of me?' he couldn't help but think. He had in that vision brought the entire Jedi Order to its knees. He had slaughtered every Jedi he could find including younglings. He had become a monster, driven by a misguided sense of anger and betrayal when in truth he was the one who had been the betrayer.

"Even knowing the true identity of the Sith Lord, we cannot move against him until we solve the problem of keeping the Clones loyal to us," Revan told them all. "I suggest for now Skywalker be sent to Naboo to spend time with his wife. She needs to know the truth as well so she can help you face all you have learned," he advised. "My friends and I have a mission to undertake which will have an effect on the future. No matter what happens Palpatine must be allowed to believe his deception still works," he explained.

"Are you out of your mind?" Anakin exploded in rage at his suggestion. "I could never tell Padme the truth of what you've shown me. She turn from me in disgust quicker than you can say hello," he vented.

"You must tell her Skywalker or you will never be able to face the truth," Revan told him calmly. He understood the younger man's rage, but he had to do this or Skywalker would fail this test and more than likely he would be forced to kill him. And if that happened then he had no clue how it would affect the future as a whole. Was it possible to win the war and save the Republic and the Jedi without Skywalker? It was a question he had no answers for.

"Anakin, maybe Padme can help you," Obi-Wan tried to advise his friend while still trying to get over what he had seen Anakin do in that possible future.

Seeing his friend kill their fellow Jedi including the younglings was sickening and it made him wonder if this darkness had always been within his friend. Even more was the knowledge that in that future, Anakin had killed him when he was an old man trying to protect Anakin's son. It made him recall the scene just before the Clone Wars had begun, when he had told Anakin he had a feeling Anakin would be the death of him and Anakin had painfully rebuked him and called him basically the closest thing he had to a father. How could he say that and then change so much that he could indeed kill him?

"Anakin be reasonable, you cannot keep this from Padme," Obi-Wan told him as he moved a little closer.

"No he cannot. Skywalker needs to be clear headed before we even think of allowing him to face the Sith Lord," Revan stated calmly, having watched this all in silence. "Only Padme can help him come to terms with everything he has seen. She must be told and she must be told by him," he told them all.

"Never," Anakin snapped as he pulled his lightsaber and jumped towards Revan, he barely heard the alarmed shouts of those around him to stop.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(Smuggler Vessel Falcon)

Quinlan Vos began to relax as he sent his ship into hyperspace and away from Dooku and his followers. Having to pretend to be a loyal servant was beginning to get annoying. Turning he glanced at his lover who he noted was already watching him in concern. He guessed she could see the tiredness he felt threatening to overwhelm him. He needed this break away from pretending to be a Dark Jedi. He needed to remember what it was he was fighting for. And more than anything he needed some time just between him and Khaleen, they'd not had much time together since their last mission together. Getting out of the pilots chair he moved to the back with Khaleen following close behind, sitting back down he smiled as she quickly curled up against him. One thing he liked about this ship was the small living area just behind the cockpit; it had a very comfy couch chair that you could relax on in midflight.

"I've missed you," he whispered into her ear, making her smile before she leaned up and kissed him slowly, a kiss he eagerly returned.

As he pulled away he caught her eyes and just stared into them for a few minutes, basking just being in her presence without the masks they were forced to wear to maintain their covers.

"I know, me too," Khaleen responded as she settled in closer to him. "I've been kept busy by Dooku and his inane plans. For every setback he suffers he quickly seems to find a new way to strike back at the Republic," she told him with a sigh as she leaned into his chest.

"I don't think it is Dooku who comes up with the plans," Vos responded as he began to run his fingers through her hair. A comforting gesture she loved, it had a soothing effect on her. "I think it is his mysterious Master he serves, he is the mover and shaker of this war," he reasoned. "How he manages to keep the war bogged down in a stalemate though is something that bothers me," he admitted as he stared off into space.

"You think he has enough influence in the Republic to be able to ensure that they can't win the war unless he wants them to?" Khaleen inquired with a frown, that was truly troubling thought.

"It is the only thing that makes sense for why we can't seem to gain a real advantage. This Dark Lord wants this war to drag on as long as possible," Vos speculated.

"But why?" Khaleen asked as she glanced up at him.

"The longer the war goes on the weaker the Republic and the Jedi especially become," Vos responded, having thought about this off and on for the last couple of months. "He must have a plan he intends to unleash at the time when the Jedi and Republic is weak enough," he told her.

Khaleen didn't like the sound of that, but she could not find any fault with her lover's reasoning. Clearly the Sith Lord behind Dooku may prove far more deadly than his pawns. If it was true that he was waiting for a certain time when the Jedi and the Republic they defended was so weak they could no longer hold their ground, then it was possible they were already on the brink of defeat. She shifted a little to get a little bit more contact with Vos who seemed to sense her unease by wrapping her in his arms a little tighter.

"We'll get them Khaleen," Vos assured her as he kissed her forehead. "Have faith," he whispered.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple)

Revan calmly watched as Skywalker came down at him with his lightsaber pointed directly at his heart. He had known this would turn violent once he insisted the truth be told to Padme. He knew the fear that was right now eating Skywalker alive. He could understand him being so resistant to the idea that he would try and attack him. Raising his own hand he grasped Skywalker in a force choke which stopped Skywalker in mid leap. He quickly shoved him back with enough force that he hit the opposite wall. He watched as Skywalker quickly regained his feet and moved to attack again, Kenobi and Windu moved to stop him.

"No, let him come," he shouted, stopping them in surprise. "He needs to work through his, and if conflict is how that happens then so be it," he told them as he pulled his own lightsaber off his belt and activated it.

Anakin paid no attention to what was said as he charged forward again. Revan blocked the wild swing before he began to exchange a wild flurry of strikes. He could tell that Skywalker was completely out of control as his anger at what had been shown to him, as well as the fear that Padme would leave him once she knew overwhelmed him. He countered another thrust before going on the offensive and began backing Skywalker up. He put his full concentration into the fight although aware he could not harm Skywalker too badly.

"This is madness," Kenobi muttered as he watched the fierce duel ensue. The skill being put forward was impressive, but he could tell Anakin was out of control and barely paying attention to what he was doing. He was consumed by his anger.

"Yes, but sometimes madness must rule if you are to move forward past something standing in your way," Tarin responded from next to him.

Obi-Wan turned and gave Tarin a look of confusion at his words. He didn't understand these visitors from the past. The rather calm vibe they all gave off at the challenge before them, and that one of their own was attacked so fiercely. He glanced at the council members and noted they all looked rooted to the spot as the fight progressed. Each one seemed to be evaluating not only Revan, but Anakin as well. He glanced at Ahsoka and noted she seemed very worried by the fight. Her hand had strayed down to the handle of her lightsaber and was gripping it tightly. 'No surprise there,' he thought.

Bastila watched the fight with a critical eye, she was ready to intervene if necessary, although she didn't doubt Revan's ability to handle the rather enraged attack he was under. Revan had fought far more dangerous things in his life. Skywalker's skills were good, but nowhere near what Revan was capable of. And being so blinded by his anger and fear had diluted his fighting ability and that made things so much simpler.

Revan dodged another wild swing and almost shook his head in annoyance at Skywalker's lack of focus. He would need to be far more focused and skilled if he was to have any hope of fighting the now revealed Dark Lord of the Sith. He lashed out with a back kick that caught Skywalker on the side and sent him stumbling backwards. Skywalker let out a growl as he attacked again. This time he tried a twisting attack before following it up with his own kick. Revan quickly got out of the way and then used the force to send Skywalker flying into one of the council chairs. He watched as he tumbled over the chair only to quickly bounce back. He glared at him before he reached out and with the force took Kenobi's lightsaber and quickly ignited it. Revan smirked and quickly did the same, only he summoned Bastila's double bladed lightsaber and activated it just in time to meet Skywalker's renewed attack.

+PAFC+

(Dooku's Castle)

Dooku was going over the latest reports from the many battle fronts his forces were fighting on, as always he noted things seemed to be even between the Republic and the Separatists. He wondered not for the first time how his Master had kept the two forces so evenly matched, not one side seemed to be able to gain any major advantage. When questioned on this, all Sidious would say was it was necessary for the success of their plans. He had hoped this war would have been simpler to win. The Jedi had not fought as true soldiers for many years. They had become stale keepers of the peace, afraid to take any real action to change the ever growing corruption in the Republic. It was one of the main reasons he had quit the Jedi. He could no longer stomach their refusal to act against the corrupt system that caused many of the problems they faced and ended up costing many people, including their fellow Jedi their lives.

It was that anger at his fellow Jedi which had led him straight into the arms of Darth Sidious, he wondered if Sidious had been watching him before he had come to him with the offer to become his apprentice. How else would he have known he was close to turning on the Jedi way? Still he was now a Sith Lord and soon he would kill Sidious and replace him as the Dark Lord of the Sith. He would hold ultimate power in his hands and he would crush the Republic and the Jedi and replace them with something far more effective. Folding his hands he stared off into space, wondering where to strike next.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple)

Revan blocked the twin strikes from the now doubly armed Skywalker before pushing him backwards, the double bladed lightsaber giving him the edge he needed. Skywalker kept his feet and redoubled his attack, trying to overpower Revan, but Revan matched him in strength and easily countered. The blades flashed furiously as they fought back and forth, the council watched filled with tenseness as it progressed. It was Mace Windu who noted they were not alone in watching this fight, a number of force ghosts were also watching. He noted Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma among them, clearly this fight was of some importance if they were here to witness it. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine; this could be a deciding moment he realized and may show on which side of the force Anakin would stand. It was as he thought this that Ulic turned to stare at him and a second later give a small nod in agreement with his sudden realization. That just chilled him all the more. He hoped and prayed to the force that Anakin had it in him to turn away from his anger and fear. As Anakin twisted, he managed to knock Revan off balance, he was caught unaware as Revan's foot came up and planet itself into this chin. He dropped his borrowed lightsaber in surprise. Revan in response let go of Bastila's double bladed lightsaber and moved to engage Anakin before he could be ready. Anakin tried to use the force to shove him away, but Revan was ready for the attack and countered it with an overpowered force push that sent Anakin back into the wall. Anakin charged back out and lunged forward. He let out a yell as he brought his lightsaber down in a cutting arc.

Revan was ready for the strike and swung left and almost knocked Skywalker's lightsaber out of his hand by the sheer power of his swing. Skywalker however managed to hold onto his weapon and pressed forward again. His anger and fear lending him strength to meet what had to be the strongest fighter he had met. His sheer power would be impressive if he wasn't intent of carving this man in half for what he saw as trying to destroy everything good in his life. How the hell did this Revan expect him to tell Padme he hadn't only destroyed the Jedi and Republic, but that somewhere in the future he would torture their daughter and then go on to maim their son?

God the pain of having one of his own arms removed still lingered in his mind and the idea that he could do the same to their son wasn't one he could easily accept, which just fueled his anger all the more. He had been tortured as well after being captured quite a few times during their missions. He knew how painful and debilitating it could be. Thus he couldn't understand how he could ever do it to anyone else, let along his own flesh and blood. His own daughter, the thought caused him to lose a bit more of his control as he jumped over Revan and tried a wide back swing. But Revan was no longer there; he had already sensed the threat and jumped out of the way. Raising his hand Revan picked up Skywalker again and flung him into the wall again, but instead of letting him go he held onto him and kept him pinned.

"I know the pain and fear are overwhelming for you Skywalker, but you must do this or we are already lost," Revan told him. "Padme Amidala is your greatest strength, but she is also your greatest weakness," he added. "But she is only a weakness when you are not together, or on the same page as far as information goes," he explained as he got a little closer to the struggling man. "You are supposed to be a team, she knows what you know and vice versa," he stated as he let him go.

Anakin glared at him before charging forward again only to be deflected as Revan spun out of the way and brought this lightsaber down in a cutting arc. This forced Anakin to twist awkwardly to block the attack. His rage died down a little as his mind focused on defending himself. The fear however remained, almost a living thing inside him. He felt like fear had always been haunting him, from leaving his mother all those years ago to losing Qui-Gon Quinn during the battle of Naboo. It had continued as he formed a friendship with Obi-Wan and Palpatine, he had begun to fear losing them both even though now he knew Palpatine wasn't his friend and never had been. He feared losing Padme most of all in the way he had once feared the loss of his mother who was now dead. He realized fear consumed him just as it had in the vision Revan had shown him. His ultimate nightmare had come true, and he had reacted to save her anyway he could and it had led him to make a deal with the devil. And it had been for nothing. Padme had died after giving birth to their children. And yet she had still believed in him if the vision was true, she had believed he could be saved. That very thought struck him hard and he dropped his weapon, the fight suddenly going out of him.

"Why me?" he asked as he fell to his knees.

Revan knew the true question he was been asked. "No one knows why we are chosen for such a destiny Skywalker," he responded. "Nor do we know why we get chosen for such harsh tasks, but we must find it within ourselves to complete those tasks and complete our destinies' and this is yours" he stated.

Mace watched as Anakin digested those words, this was it he thought. The moment when Skywalker chose his side, either he would accept what he must do or he would attack again. After a few minutes of tense silence Anakin deactivated his lightsaber. Taking a few deep breaths he nodded his head as he realized he had to finally face his fear or it would forever dominate his life as it had in the future Revan had shown him.

"I will tell her," he whispered finally.

Obi-Wan was relieved to see Anakin stand down and realize Revan had been right. He reached out with the force and recovered his weapon at the same time as Bastila got back her own weapon.

Mace let out a breath of relief as Anakin made his choice, he glanced over at the force ghosts and noted each of them nod their heads in what he guessed was acceptance that Skywalker had made the right call and that the chosen one was finally ready to begin his path. Now he thought they could finally begin to prepare to face the Sith Lord behind all this. That the Sith Lord was actually Palpatine was still a fact that surprised him. Was the dark side so powerful it had blinded them all to the truth?

The force ghosts vanished one after the other and Mace wondered if the others had been aware they had been watching.

Revan nodded his head as he deactivated his own weapon, it was done. Skywalker had found it in himself to face his fear. The most dangerous thing the chosen one faced, and he was finally ready to face it. He smiled as he turned away and moved to join Bastila and the others.

"We've just taken our first steps into truly bringing the Sith down," he told them all.

"Was that fight truly necessary?" Kit Fitso inquired, still impressed with the skills of both fighters.

"More than you know," Anakin was the one who actually answered as Ahsoka moved to his side to check on him. "I'm sorry I lost control," he told the council.

"We understand the pressure you are under Skywalker, but if we are to truly defeat the Sith we need you clear headed and in control," Shaak Ti told him as her hologram flickered.

"Yes Master and I will be, once I have faced Padme," Anakin responded with a grim smile." My greatest challenge ever," he added, wondering just what Padme would say when he told her all this.

He recalled telling her about slaughtering the Tuskens after they killed his mother and she hadn't turned away from him then. No she had talked him through it and held him all night as he tried to come to terms with the loss of his mother, as well as what he had done to the things that had killed her.

"Kenobi and your Padawan will go with you to help explain the truth," Revan told him. "While they are away the council needs to begin to try and find a way to either expose Palpatine or remove him, but we must tred carefully in that," he added.

Before anyone else could say anything, the doors to the council chamber opened and another Jedi rushed in.

"Masters, forgive me for disturbing you without leave, but a ship is asking permission to land," the Jedi reported. "It is Quinlan Vos, he seeks a meeting on what he claims are important matters," he told them.

"Who is this Vos?" Carth inquired as he glanced at the Jedi council.

"He is a double agent within the Separatist ranks. We've had little contact with him though," Mace answered. "There are some of us who believe he might have truly turned to the dark side," he admitted.

Revan began to think as he heard that, a spy on the inside of the enemy ranks could be of use. He began to pace, gaining the attention of the others. Bastila could feel that her lover was already planning something new. The tide was turning she realized.

"Allow him to land, if he proves to be with us then it is possible he is the key to saving the Republic and the Jedi," Revan stated to the confusion of many within the room.

Yoda nodded as he said, "Agree I do. Hearing what to say he has we should."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

(Ebon Hawk)

Revan stood in the cockpit and watched as Carth and Canderous set the ship's course for Jebble, crossing his arms across his chest he just hoped Zayne was right and he could destroy the Murr Talisman. That his will could hold out until he could destroy the thing was a risk, but one he felt needed to be taken. If either of the Sith or that wannabe Sith apprentice got a hold of it, well the destruction it would cause would be tenfold. It would make their mission almost impossible to complete, and so far things had been going their way. They had rescued Skywalker and his friends, then the hardest part had been passed in getting the chosen one to listen and believe what he was being told and to confront his worst fears.

Now Anakin was off to Naboo to see his wife along with his former Master and his Padawan as support. He just hoped he was correct in the belief that Padme Amidala would help him, and not turn away from him in disgust. If she did that then all hope was lost, because then Skywalker would turn on them faster than any of them could blink.

"You okay Revan?" Carth inquired, having noted the thoughtful look on his friends face.

"I was just thinking," Revan replied after a moment. "Let me know when we reach Jebble," he told him before he turned and left the cockpit. Of course it wasn't just Skywalker that bothered him right now.

The other major thing going on was the plan now being put in place to ensure the Clones remained loyal to the Jedi and the Republic. After meeting Quinlan Vos and hearing of his status as a double agent, a daring and risky plan had come to him and he had wasted no time in putting it into action. Convincing the Council and more importantly Vos of the importance of attempting it hadn't been easy he thought as his mind drifted to that fateful meeting only two hours ago.

+PAFC+

(Jedi Temple, two hours ago)

Quinlan Vos entered the council chamber to find not only the council waiting for him but a group of people he didn't recognize. What he did note was that not all of them were Jedi. There were two droids of an ancient design, a Twi'lek in her teen years or a bit older, a Wookie, someone who he would bet was a Mandalorian given his size and stature and finally another man who looked to be a pilot. Then there were the Jedi within the group and he did not recognize any of them at all. He wondered if one of them was this new hero of the Jedi he had been sent to get information on for Dooku. Not that he intended to give Dooku any information that really hurt the Jedi or the Republic.

"Knight Vos, welcome back," Mace Windu greeted him with his hands behind his back. "Before we get into any sensitive issues I must ask you to prove you haven't turned against us and joined the Separatists for real as you must realize we've had little contact with you," he added.

Vos has suspected to have to go through this when he returned, he had not had a lot of chances to contact the Jedi council and provide updates. He knew they must have begun to grow suspicious of his actions and so he was prepared to defend himself.

"I've been watched heavily by Dooku's spies Masters, my chances for sending any updates have been very limited," Vos told them calmly. "He is suspicious of me, even though I have done all I can to make it look like I am loyal to his cause," he added.

"And there has been no other way to get information to us?" Kit Fitso inquired from his seat.

"I dare not trust anyone with messages and trying to set up any drop boxes puts my life at risk as well as my mission," Vos answered. "The same with any attempts to meet up with any Republic spies, I have no doubt I'm being followed when on missions," he told them. "I've done my best to foul up any missions in suitable ways that did not give me away, my mission was to get information on the Separatists and their forces and I have done that," he stated.

"We've received very little from you on their forces Vos," Fitso responded but not in an accusing tone. "If as you say you are being watched and followed, we will have to come up with a new way for us to communicate," he mused.

"He's telling the truth," Revan stated with a smile as he finally recognized Vos after replaying the force vision as slowly as he could. "I remember him now from the vision. He is the second Jedi to reject the code and take a lover," he stated with a smile. The council, as expected, looked shocked at this. Vos quickly became nervous as the stranger gave away his secret. "It is how he has stayed true to the light even as he was surrounded by the darkness. She is his strength just as Padme is for Skywalker, Visas is for Tarin and Bastila is for me," he told them all.

"What are you talking about?" Vos asked with no little confusion.

"I'm Revan and these are my friends Quinlan Vos, we have come to save the Republic and destroy the Sith at the behest of the force itself," Revan said introducing himself. "Where we came from is not important right now, but what is important is that I had a force vision of the future so powerful it showed me far more than I have ever seen before," he explained. "If we do not kill the Sith here and now, we condemn the future to suffer war after war caused by the continual return of the Sith," he stated. "We've already taken care of one of the main points that will turn the tide of this war, now we need your help to take care of the other main point," he said.

Vos looked the man over and noted he seemed confident and powerful, he was used to been obeyed or more to the point he was used to been in charge. He glanced at the council and noted they seemed to be taking the man's lead in this and that surprised him. That he hadn't been in trouble once this Revan had revealed his love for Khaleen was also surprising. According to the code being in a relationship was an offense that could get you expelled from the Jedi order and that he hadn't been spoke of great changes on the horizon.

"How may I help?" Vos finally asked after a few minutes.

"The Sith have planned this war far more in advance than was ever expected. They instilled a command within the Clones to attack and kill all Jedi when ordered," Revan answered much to Vos's shock as it meant the Jedi had been leading the very instrument of their destruction. "We need to make the Clones believe that Order 66 is a trap, a trap placed by the enemies of the Republic to ensure they destroy the very thing they were created to defend," he explained. "To do that we need someone on the inside who can get the best computer hacker inside their network, once inside they can input a data file that details order 66 as the Separatists last gambit to win the war," he went on calmly. "Order 66 orders the Clones to destroy the Jedi who it claims have betrayed the Republic," he added when he noted Vos about to ask what it was. "Then we have to ensure the Clones themselves discover the program, or they would never believe it," he added.

"You can't be serious," Vos responded knowing such a mission would put not just his life on the line, but that of Khaleen as well. "To do as you ask we'd have to travel to one of the most secret Separatist base, heavily guarded and almost impregnable to attack," he argued. "We can't do this," he stated.

"We must do it or we are all doomed," Bastila stated as she moved to Revan's side. "The Clones are either the salvation of the Republic and the Jedi or they are its destruction," she told him seriously.

"It would take a massive fleet to attack that base," Saesee Tiin argued heatedly. "We could barely manage to scrape together enough ships and Clones to rescue Skywalker, Kenobi and their forces," he pointed out. "Your plan can't be enacted," he added.

"It must be, no matter the cost, in the long run it will win us the war," Revan shot back with a glare. "In war one must be willing to take any risk even if it is against all odds of succeeding," he argued. "We must do this and quickly before the Dark Lord of the Sith actually puts that order into effect. I tell you not one of us, not even Skywalker, can save us if that happens," he told them in a cold grim tone.

The council looked between themselves as they considered Revan's heated argument, this wasn't something they could just rush into. If they made any mistake it could cost them the war, and if it did then the Republic would fall and with it the Jedi Order.

"Revan this can't be rushed, something like this needs careful planning," Shaak Ti said calmly. "If this one gambit is to be the hinge point of the war, then we must tred carefully," she added.

Revan admired her wisdom, but this was no time for wisdom. "We do not have time to waste Master Ti, the end of this war is rapidly approaching and we must strike now while we still hold the advantage," Revan responded.

"You must hear him," Tarin said stepping forward. "Revan doesn't speak out of turn, he is a master of warfare and he knows when a risk must be taken," he told them. "You know his record, you know what he has done in the past and you must now trust that he knows what to do here and now," he stated.

"Who is this man that you would listen to him?" Vos finally demanded to know.

"Have some respect Quinlan Vos, you stand in the presence of Revan Jedi Master and former Dark Lord of the Sith," Bastila stated glaring at the man. "The very same Revan from your history files, who almost brought the Republic crashing down at his feet before going on to save it from his former friend and apprentice Malak," she told him, rending Vos into stunned silence. "You stand before his allies, who have trod the same path of death and destruction with him to do just that," she went on. "The force called us here to ensure the Sith fall once and for all, to put an end to the bloodshed and the unbalancing of the force," she finished her eyes boring into Vos's.

Vos had read the data files on the Jedi Revan the so called Prodigal Knight, of his many battles both for and against the Republic. And now that he thought about it, this man before him resembles the holoimages that remained of Revan. But how was it possible that Revan and his friends could be here? If they were indeed who they claimed to be. Seen as the council had not contradicted him it might be true. Somehow these heroes of legend have come to assist them. He glanced at the council and noted they were all looking between themselves as if looking for answers, all but Yoda who sat calmly and watched events unfold.

"Master Yoda, is this true?" Vos finally asked the one Jedi he trusted more than anyone else.

"The truth it is, stand before you Revan does," Yoda answered leaning forward a little. "As does his friends," he added.

"By the force," Vos said trying to rap his mind around this stunning twist. "How is this possible?" he asked finally getting his thoughts together.

"That doesn't matter, we must prepare to enact my plan and quickly and we must make sure the Chancellor never finds out where we plan to strike," Revan responded. "He must also never learn of your true loyalty or of your relationship with your lover. Protect her Vos for she is your salvation when in the dark," he told the other man. "My companions and I must head to Jebble to deal with a dangerous Sith artifact while Skywalker, Kenobi and Tano head to Naboo to deal with their own business," he stated while turning back to the council and folding his arms across his chest. "While we are gone you must make every preparation for this plan to go forward, find the ships any way you can as well as the troops even if they are not Clones," he suggested.

"If we told the Chancellor he could help us recruit troops and ships," Vos spoke up.

"We can't tell him Quinlan," Kenobi objected with a sigh. "We've just discovered that the Chancellor is the secret Sith Lord we've all been searching for," he admitted after getting a quick nod from Yoda to tell him the truth.

For the second time in five minutes Vos was stunned speechless. 'How could it be possible that a Sith Lord had reached the highest position in the Republic?' he wondered. But his mind quickly shot to his thoughts on the trip here, about how the Sith Lord had to be someone high up in the Republic to keep the war in a stalemate.

"I believe that makes sense, I was thinking about how it had to be someone with great influence in the Republic to keep the war in a stalemate," Vos finally responded. "The stalemate ensures we continue to weaken ourselves as we fight, every time we score a victory the enemy quickly regains the lost ground and gets their own," he explained. "But I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be the Chancellor," he added with a shake of his head.

"Quite a shock isn't it?" Anakin said, still trying to come to terms with everything that he had learned and still had to face.

"To say the least," Vos agreed before taking a deep breath. "Now that I know this, I have to agree we must act quickly to ensure the Clones remain loyal," he said turning to face the council. "This order 66 will have to be given by him to make the Clones believe the Jedi have turned against the Republic. Since we can't move against him as he has too much power then this is the only way we can take his biggest weapon away from him," he explained.

The council listened and while each wished otherwise they knew Vos spoke the truth, they had to move and soon or the Sith Lord would give the order and the Clones would descend on the Jedi and wipe them all out.

"Are you willing to take a small team into the secret base Quinlan to upload this fake file?" Mace inquired finally after sharing a brief look with Yoda.

"I'm Master Windu," Vos agreed with a nod of his head and hoping he wasn't making a big mistake. "If it will help end this war and keep the Jedi and the Republic safe I'm willing to take this risk," he added with more confidence.

"Then we will begin preparations to do as Revan has suggested," Mace replied. "And may the force be with us all that you are not wrong," he added.

"I'm not wrong Master Windu, trust me," Revan shot back with a smile. "Mission, you, Zaalbar and T3 will help create the fake file and ensure all the information I've told you about Order 66 is in it," he added while turning to the young Twi'lek. "Also add information that reveals the truth about Palpatine," he added. "And before you argue with me, this task may be the most important thing we do here and I'm relying on you to help make it happen," he told her already anticipating her argument.

Mission glared at him for a few seconds before letting out a frustrated sigh and nodding her head. She knew Revan was trusting her with a huge responsibility and she wouldn't let him down. T3 let out a few whistles of protest, but quickly went silent after Revan patted the droid on the head.

"Okay Revan I will do as you ask, but next time we get to come with you," Mission told her friend who smiled and nodded.

"I promise," Revan reassured her as he gave her a brief hug. "Once the file is ready and the team you are sending with Vos is prepared send them, do not wait for our return," he told the council. "Pull as many ships, and soldiers as you can muster in secret where the Republic and more importantly the Chancellor's spies will find them," he added. "We must be prepared to strike before the Separatists can hit us," he said cutting off Plo Koon as he went to protest.

"Very well, do as you ask we will," Yoda assured him. "Vos bring your companion in and we will begin," he ordered.

"Yes Master," Vos replied, again surprised he wasn't in serious trouble for having a companion to begin with.

"May the force be with you," Revan said before he turned and led his group along with Skywalker, Kenobi and Ahsoka out of the chamber.

+PAFC+

(Ebon Hawk)

Revan headed for this room where he knew Bastila awaited him, yet his mind refused to move away from the plans now in motion. Each had to succeed if they were to have any hope to win the war, and more importantly succeeding in their mission. Entering the cabin he found Bastila already asleep, smiling he decided to try and get some rest as he suspected he would need all the strength he could muster to destroy the Murr Talisman. Gently, so not to wake her, he lay on the bed and curled up beside her and closed his eyes. Bastila's very presence helped calm his mind and push away his worries, slowly he drifted off to sleep.

Bastila opened her eyes slowly for a moment, smiled and then snuggled herself closer to her husband falling back asleep in an instant.


End file.
