Chapter One: Beginnings and the Endar Spire
Disclaimer: I own nothing you see here that could possible make me money. Thanks for reminding me, now I'm depressed.
Author's Note: For those who don't read my profile, just don't expect steady updates or anything. I'll do my best to keep them coming but sometimes life happens. Anyway, this is my first fanfic so don't be too harsh. Any complaints on names, age or events will be ignored. This story is AU from the very beginning and even tiny actions can cause drastic changes. Also, not all of Revan's memories will be shown in depth. Some will just be explained when he got them which will explain how he can use certain force powers. Writing all of them out is just too much for me to do for a fanfic most people will never read. Don't worry though! Every memory that has particular significance to the plot of the story will be shown.
Okay … On with the story!
A gentle hum filled the air, interspersed with the crashing sound of thunder. Blue and green flashed and struck. The air was thick with tension and static. A boy of about eight years old and an old woman were dancing an intricate yet deadly dance. The young boy had a confident, charisma that had made him popular among the other initiates. Not only that, he possessed skill and talent which the Jedi haven't seen in any other. Perhaps that was the reason why any master would answer his questions, or even offer him extra training. Even though he was apprenticed to Kreia, every other master wanted a hand in his growth. Whispers followed him everywhere. He was Revan.
The woman was old, yet seemed incredibly dexterous despite this. She was a master of the Jedi Order and this boy's teacher. She had found him when he was younger and discovered that his midichlorian levels were the highest ever recorded. Even young, even now, she could see the force itself pulse behind the boy's green eyes. She knew that the other initiates, apprentices, and padawans unconsciously followed her charge. With midnight black hair, jade green eyes, and handsome features, the boy was the image of a strong leader. The woman was aware that the other masters taught her padawan things as well. She didn't care. She recognized that he was special, that he would surpass them all. He had a way of looking at things that made him greater than all the others, or it soon would, at any rate. She was Kreia.
As time passed, the dance grew more intricate. Revan moved with a practiced ease through Shii-cho, even at this age. Yet, despite his skill, Kreia could only frown at his performance. Something was off with him. He had been better than this just yesterday. He had moved faster, struck harder. What could have altered that in a single day? Finally, green penetrated blue and the air began to smell of burned flesh. Even with the lightsabers on a training setting, small burns were received upon contact. Revan stepped back and deactivated his lightsaber. Kreia marveled at how he didn't make a sound, but he was always like that. 'Never acknowledge weakness to any but yourself,' he had told her once. It will make others lose faith in you or seek to use it against you. The only one who needs to know it is you, so that it can be corrected.'
Statements like those made Revan who he was. Still, Kreia wanted to know what was wrong with her student's performance. "It didn't escape my notice, Revan, that you didn't use the force to augment your speed and strength today. Why?"
"I apologize, Master Kreia," Revan answered quickly. "I have recently concluded that practicing in that manner is detrimental to my overall progress."
"What do you mean Revan?" Kreia was truly curious now. What new idea had Revan come up with that would push him, yet again, leagues beyond his peers and, dare she think it, far too close to levels of power he is too young to have.
"Well," Revan began slowly, as though thinking carefully as to how to word his thoughts. "From the way it is taught to us, and from our best examinations and trials, the force augments our own base level abilities. Some can make themselves move faster with the force than others can, but that is simply a difference in those people's ability to control the force. What I'm saying is, people with a Knight's proficiency in boosting their speed would gain the same increase in speed from the force. The difference is in their speed without the force. Am I right so far, Master?"
Kreia was surprised, but thought about it for awhile. "Yes," she said at last, "that sounds right."
Reassured, Revan continued, "Well, a person's ability to control the force can be done through meditation. So practicing, while channeling the force, is detrimental to the growth of the actual person because all they're doing is using the force to become stronger. Their muscles remain the same. They haven't become stronger or faster. So, I've decided that I will practice without the force and perform my usual meditation exercises to increase my control of the force. That way both abilities grow separate from each other and when I combine them they are far greater!" Revan finished his explanation looking incredibly excited about his discovery. However, Kreia could see one big flaw in this method, and decided to make him aware of it.
"If you train like that, though, you won't be able to properly use your combined abilities when the time comes. What if you jump too far? Strike too hard or weak? Your idea is good Revan but without practicing with them combined you'll either overestimate or underestimate the increase when it occurs. You wouldn't know your own limits."
After her explanation, she waited to see what Revan would say. At first, he looked crushed. For some time he was deep in thought, until finally he looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Master Kreia! You're right about that flaw. Still, I think if I add a single practice session a week, where I will use the abilities combined, it should counter balance this fault."
Once again, Kreia was speechless. Revan's idea had merit and you could tell that he would probably try it no matter what she said. Still, he had found a way to bypass the only flaw she could tell. If this new training method worked half as well as Revan speculated it would, he could reach Knighthood by his teen years! Shaking her head with a rueful smile, Kreia consented and said she looked forward to his progress. Happily, Revan ran from the room to do his homework from the day's classes. Kreia just smiled, oh yes…he had potential.
Fog blocked all vision. Nothing could be seen. Suddenly, yellow cut through the dense fog. Yellow and red fought against each other. This was not the safe dance of the blue and green. No, this was death or life. Victory or defeat. A hooded, dark jedi faced off against a young woman in her early twenties. The young woman wore a very form fitting, tan bodysuit while the dark jedi wore traditional robes all in black. After some minutes, the young woman found an opening and struck. The dark jedi fell and suddenly, knew no more.
With a start, Daven Thrar shot up in his bunk holding his head. Daven knew he wasn't normal. For one, ever since he had woken up in the jedi temple on Coruscant, he had been having these flashes of Revan's childhood. What kind of normal man has visions, which look clearer than any of their own memories, of the ex-Sith Lord? He had kept these visions to himself, though. Something told him the jedi wouldn't release him if he had. Still, the knowledge in the visions disconcerted him the most. Why would visions of force powers that only a small percentage of the galaxy can use bother him, you ask? Because, for some warped reason, he could use them too. The visions were, odd as it sounded, like relearning things he had forgotten to him and he could replicate everything in them as though his body had done them before. It was all just so… natural.
Daven couldn't help agreeing with what Revan had just said, though. Those were his reasons for not using his 'gifts' more often. Practice without them and when the time comes, be really surprised when you perform better than you expected and don't die. Despite this, it disturbed him that he agreed with Darth Revan. Maybe Revan was just a kid then, but it still upset him. Deciding that he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep, he grabbed his gear and suited up. A standard scout outfit, his stealth field generator, and his short sword made up his ensemble. Quickly, he grabbed some of the on-hand med supplies just in case he'd get in a situation where he'd need them. Two medpacs would be enough.
Unlike most people who fought with the Republic, Daven didn't use blasters. Why would he need to? Everynight he dreams of more and more of Revan's combat training. Revan's skill with a blade was legendary, even at eight the boy was probably better than anyone who wasn't a jedi. Plus, with the force to augment his speed and create a defensive shield around him if he needed it, he could get in close without getting hit. Slipping into the stance he had seen in his dream, he began practicing. Even if he had Revan's memories in his head and even if his body remembered the moves, he would practice for several reasons. First, it would increase his natural proficiency. Second, it would keep him in good physical condition and, as Revan just pointed out; increase his base abilities without the force. That way, when he used the force, nobody would be able to stop him.
An echoing boom resounded as Daven was thrown to the ground. Someone was attacking the ship! He was back up in an instant and started moving towards the door when it was opened from the other side. Without a pause, Daven was in a defensive posture, waiting to see who it was. The jumpsuit of a standard republic soldier was the first clue that the man was an ally. Relaxing, if only slightly, Daven nodded his head at the man.
"We're under attack. We have to rescue Bastilla!" The young officer said. "I'm Trask Ulgo, your bunkmate here on the Endar Spire. We work different shifts so you probably haven't seen me."
Oh great, Daven thought. Why does he get stuck with the greenie? Deciding that he would have to take charge, Daven just said, "Cool it soldier. Bastilla will have been evacuated first. She is top priority on this ship. Our duty is to make our way to the escape pods and rescue any surviving members of our crew. That way, more of us can live to fight another day. Also, you need to temper your attitude. This isn't some glorified video game. You fight and you win, or you die. You're gonna provide long range support with that blaster of yours while I strike close. Now, let's move out."
Trask just seemed to stare blankly for a moment. He obviously wasn't expecting Daven to take charge of the situation. Too bad, because that's just the way it was going to be. Pushing past, Daven decided to take point. Gathering his concentration, Daven opened his senses to the force. Sensing two Sith soldiers just past the blast door up ahead, he motioned Trask into position. Slowly, Trask obeyed the order. However, the moment the doors opened, Trask yelled something that sounded suspiciously like 'For the Republic!' and charged into the open to shoot the Sith soldiers. Sensing the danger to his only ally, Daven put on a burst of speed and charged the sith that wasn't being bogged down by fire. The Sith saw him coming but wasn't able to draw a sword or melee weapon before Daven had run him through. The sound of blaster fire stopped and a body hit the floor. Trask had taken out the other soldier.
When Trask walked over the first thing that Daven did was punch him. Hard. With Trask doubled over and panting, Daven snarled, "What were you thinking? You should have stayed behind the doors and taken pot shots at the sith while I distracted them. We had a tactical advantage because they didn't know how many of us there were! Instead, you run off and try to get us both killed! Start acting and thinking like a soldier!"
Trask looked rather hurt by the stinging words, but when he looked back into Daven's eyes it was clear to see he'd had the desired effect. The boy would follow orders and help to the best of his abilities. Suddenly, his comm unit sparked to life and a voice said, "This is Carth Onasi. Bastilla's escape pod is away. I repeat, Bastilla's escape pod is away. All remaining crew members please head to the nearest escape pods. Over."
Looking at Trask, Daven decided not to say anymore. If Bastilla was away, then they'd be left behind if they didn't hurry. With a jerk of the head, he signaled that they keep moving. Trask caught the hint and they hurried onwards. Sensing another pair of sith in the room just in front of them, Daven caught Trask's arm. Trask looked at him oddly, but understood when he nodded a head to either side of the door. Trask quickly chose to stand on the left side and prepared to open the door. His blaster was trained warily towards the door, waiting. Smiling at the soldier's newfound professionalism, Daven took the other side and gave the signal.
When the door opened, Trask immediately laid down cover fire so his partner could get in close. A well aimed shot actually took down one sith while the other couldn't move from his position lest he suffer a similar fate. Standing when the fire stopped, the last thing the sith was expected was a blade to be sticking through his heart. Still, there it was. Pulling out his blade, Daven allowed the sith to fall to the ground. As Trask headed his way, something on the soldier's belt caught Daven's eyes and he grabbed it. Standing, he found Trask looking at him weirdly, but he just shrugged and handed the newbie the frag grenade the sith had been carrying.
Ignoring the attempts of Trask to return the explosive, Daven opened the door to the next room. A dark jedi and a jedi were fighting in the hallway. Trask, catching the sight, added his own two cents, "A dark jedi! We'd better stand back. In a fight like this, we'd only get in the way."
Daven rolled his eyes and responded, "You would, perhaps. Attempting to fight a force user with a blaster is the same as putting the thing to your own head. My, swordsmanship could actually help if I had a cortosis woven blade. Plus, you've got that lovely grenade now. If we could get some space between them we could blow the dark jedi to pieces. Listening to propaganda and rumors is pointless. Jedi and dark jedi are not invincible. Nothing is impossible unless you don't try, fool!"
"Nothing is impossible unless you don't try fool!" A dark, hooded figure spoke to his robed companion. The demonic mask and armor were symbols of Revan after a year of war. Not that it mattered. Three mandalorian warships were hovering over the recently liberated Taris. Malak and Revan were the only jedi on site and they had few soldiers on hand. The situation looked truly dire for the young general and his friend. Revan was still determined to do the impossible.
Stalking forward, Revan came to stop thirty paces in front of everybody else. The recently freed slaves watched their savior in awe. The soldiers watched their leader in shock. Malak watched his best friend in concern. What was Revan doing?
Revan raised both of his hands skyward, palms facing the left most starship. After a few tense seconds Revan began to move his hands towards the ship on the far right. Why were his arms shaking? Then, they saw it. Every soldier watched as the starship Revan had first pointed at slowly changed course until it ran into the ship on the far right. Two starships exploded in a furious ball of light! Revan had just destroyed two of the ships! Raising his hands to the last ship, Revan pulled down. Just like before, the ship came crashing down before them all. It stopped mere feet before crushing Revan beneath its bulk!
Without a word, Revan lit his azure blade and walked aboard alone. Moving from room to room, any crew still living was quickly dispatched until only the general on board remained. That general was brought out alive. In front of the soldiers who had doubted, in front of Malak who had hesitated, and in front of the slaves that had hoped, Revan killed the general. That was the day that Revan became truly feared by the mandalorians. Sure, his strategies could win battles. That was nothing compared to what he had done that day.
He had single handedly taken down three warships. A crew of three hundred mandalorians on the one he had entered had been killed, no slaughtered. Yet, there hadn't been a scratch on him. He became deified that day. Every mandalorian, every battle, every campaign was considered an automatic loss the moment he appeared on the scene. To the republic, he became their hero, not just a great leader but a one man army. To his men and fellow jedi, he became a symbol of power. To the jedi who heard of this grand act from safe in their tower on Coruscant, he was a fraud who had somehow staged it all. After all, even the entire jedi council could not move an entire warship; an eighteen year old who turned his back on the teachings couldn't either. Well, let the jedi believe what they want. To Revan, this was the day he had finally become what he was always meant to be: the best.
Shaking his head, Daven forced himself to come back to the present. Okay, so Revan had been stronger than any other force user. Everyone knew that. It was why jedi never faced him alone and why Malak had only chosen to betray him by attacking from behind. Any other method was suicide. Idly, Daven wondered if he would be able to do that now that he had seen it. That's the way his other visions worked. Looking outside a nearby view window, he ignored the battle between the jedi and the sith for a moment. Seeing a nearby sith cruiser he decided to try.
Bringing all of his focus to bear, Daven grabbed hold of the cruiser in his mind. With a steady, firm image of what he wanted, he focused his power to make it as he wanted. At first nothing happened and he thought he had failed. After a full minute, right before he gave up, the ship started moving! Astonishingly, the ship moved exactly as he saw in his mind and crashed into another nearby cruiser. Daven wanted to shout for joy! What power! Not only did he hold Revan's memories, but he apparently held Revan's power! Suddenly Daven felt ridiculously drained. He almost collapsed where he stood. Sweat poured off of him and he started shaking.
Well, it appeared that he needed to practice gaining some control over his power before he threw it around like that. Still, this was an amazing discovery. Turning his attention back to the fight he saw the dark jedi get struck down. As quickly as they could, Trask and Daven moved to stand beside the jedi. Just as they reached her, four sith rounded a corner and started firing on them. Almost on instinct, Daven stepped in front of the jedi and Trask. A raised palm was all that stood between him and dozens of blaster bolts. His flimsy defense held, though, as every blaster bolt bounced away without ever once touching his hand. Not waiting for the jedi or Trask, he dashed down the corridor with speed far greater than any normal man should have.
These sith were prepared for him though. They had put their blasters away when they saw they couldn't hit their targets. The four sith stood in pairs, vibroblades drawn. Despite this, Daven didn't slow his charge even a fraction. His memories of combat with a blade from Revan and his own extensive practice made him confident. Four people would be no problem for him at all. You see, even though most of the memories he had were from when Revan was between five and sixteen years old, even at that age Revan had been great. He knew all seven forms of traditional lightsaber combat before his fifteenth birthday! It was hardly a wonder that he became the greatest swordsman alive. Revan had lived up to Kreia's expectations and become a knight just days after he turned sixteen.
The soldiers never stood a chance. Flowing makashi parries made two of the soldiers kill an ally. Then, the fast and powerful strikes of juyo took out one of the others. In all of three seconds, he had reached the soldiers and killed three of them. The final sith took a step back in fear but still readied his stance. Acknowledging the man's bravery, Daven gave a short nod of the head before lunging. Sparks flashed as their blades clashed. This man was fairly good with a sword. Every strike that was made was parried, every thrust diverted. There seemed to be no way to hit this man. The soldier didn't even attempt an offense in the midst of Daven's fierce attacks. After about ten full seconds of getting nowhere, Daven allowed an opening in his lower left guard. As predicted, the enemy struck only to find their sword blocked. Pushing the sword away from his opponent's body, Daven dealt the killing blow. The man fell to the ground, bleeding heavily from a slice across the neck.
When Daven turned around, he was greeted by the incredulous stares of the jedi and Trask. Both walked up to him and Trask began to search the bodies for anything that might be useful. He found a handful of credit chips and another medpacs to add to their stock. Finished with his looting, Trask turned towards his companions. Daven and the jedi were staring each other down. If Trask had to hazard a guess, the jedi wanted to know how Daven had done all of that and Daven had refused to answer.
The jedi spoke up icily, "Very well. Expect the council to hear about this when we reach Dantooine, if you don't feel like answering me." Daven merely rolled his eyes, and Trask just smirked at his correct assumption. "My name," the jedi continued, as though reluctant, "is Kara Nima. I was recently promoted to the position of Jedi Knight." The pride in her voice at her latest accomplishment was obvious.
Daven looked entirely unimpressed by this declaration. Raising an eyebrow he merely remarked, "You look about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Am I right?" A nod was his answer so he continued, "Well, I don't see the accomplishment then. According to records available to the public all jedi become knights around that age if they have the potential to become a knight at all. So, basically you're just average and making yourself sound superior over nothing. Like all other jedi," finished outlining his conclusion, Daven turned and continued moving towards the bridge without a second glance towards Kara. Snorting at the look of shock on the jedi's face Trask moved to follow as well.
She caught up to them right at the entrance to the bridge. Kara, however, was now acting far colder than she had been earlier. Ignoring her, Trask and Daven took up their positions beside the door and flipped the switch. The doors opened just in time for them to see an explosion go off, killing every Republic and Sith soldier on the bridge. After the smoke cleared they moved quickly to the other doors. Opening the doors, they rushed into the chamber that connected them to the starboard side of the ship. They were almost to the escape pods!
"I sense something behind this door." Kara moved towards the other door as she spoke. Without warning the door opened and a sith came walking out. Double-bladed lightsaber in hand, this sith gave off the vibes of a master. "Run," Kara said. "I'll hold him off!" She charged blindly in and locked the door behind her. Daven raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but to not miss her. The woman was a nuisance and couldn't follow orders. Signaling to Trask, they continued to move quickly.
His comm unit crackled to life as Carth chose to give another message. "You two are the only members of the crew on this ship still alive. There are three sith between your position and mine. One is guarding the hallway and the two others are trying to gain access to this room with the escape pods. You'll need to find a way to bypass them and quickly. I can't wait much longer."
Before the signal was cut, Daven spoke up and quickly outlined a plan. "Carth, I can take out the one in the hall, but I have something better for the other two. When we open the door, they'll turn to face us. After that you open your door and we can get them in a pincer movement."
"Alright, soldier." Carth responded. "Your idea's a good one. We'll go with that. Just hurry up. Carth Onasi, out," and the radio died. Clipping it back to his belt, Daven turned to Trask and signaled for the grenade. Trask understood and handed it to him. Daven activated his stealth field and walked towards the sith standing in the hall. An explosion off to the side caught the man's attention and he moved to examine the area. Perfect. A twitch of the thumb activated the explosive and a flick of the wrist slid it silently under the soldier's feet. The sith hadn't even noticed. Deactivating his stealth field, Daven turned to Trask and motioned him forward.
The noise of the two moving towards the adjacent room caused the sith to turn. Just as he was about to open fire on them, the explosive beneath his feet turned him into a corpse. A calming breath and the two stood, once again, at the ready on either side of the door. Without preamble, Daven opened the door and Trask opened fire. Both sith turned prepared to fight back. Suddenly, the door behind them opened with a whoosh and Carth caught them from behind. It took merely a few seconds before both of the sith were dead. An inspection of one of the corpses revealed an odd vibrosword. It was woven with cortosis but it was of a make and model that Daven hadn't seen before. Shrugging he clipped it to his belt. Revan's memories of jar'kai gave him the knowledge to wield this with his other blade easily enough.
"Come on," Carth said urgently. "We need to move! Bastilla's pod is away and we only have this one escape pod left. We need to hurry before the sith blow us all to bits!"
Daven couldn't agree with Carth more so he and Trask quickly ran into the escape pod and Carth joined them shortly. It was a bumpy ride to the planet below, Taris from the looks of it. On landing, Daven's safety belt came unbuckled and he flew across the pod. Hitting his head, he registered darkness creeping into his vision and then knew no more.
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