All the events of the past five years had culminated to this moment. Darth Diabolis stood on the bridge of the Iron Fist and waited for his mortal enemies to drop out of hyperspace. Here, over the forest moon of Yavin IV, the Dark Lord of the Sith would either fulfill his purpose and destroy the New Jedi Order or fail and fall into history as his Master, Darth Revan, had done.
Diabolis's oldest friend and apprentice Darth Heluquin was dead, killed by Luke Skywalker. His lover Silri was dead as well at a Jedi's hand and everything he had gained by taking over the Zann Consortium or allying with Grand Admiral Thrawn was reduced to one mammoth Star Dreadnought and a few dozen Consortium warships - a meager fleet held in the contingency that the Imperial Grand Admiral's plans fell through.
As he gazed into the star-filled blackness of space, Diabolis reflected on his life. It was often said that, when you were about to die, your life flashed before your eyes. Well, the Dark Lord had no intention of dying. However, his mind was drawn back - over four thousand years back to when he was knighted in the old Jedi Order just as the Mandalorian Wars kicked off. It had been a different time then.
Back then, the Old Republic was on the wain and now, the New Republic was on the rise. The Empire of that time had been less than a shadow of a threat unless you considered their involvement by egging the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders to be so.
One similarity is that war hardened both the Old Republic and the New Republic and, as had before, the Jedi Order was returning and it was fundamentally different than the way it had been before.
Diabolis remembered the temples and towers and enclaves of the Jedi Order when the Mandalorians began their destruction of the Outer Rim and remembered when Revan, Malak and Meetra Surik had come to the facility he was at to recruit those who would defend the innocents of the galaxy. Revan had given a rousing speech and Meetra had stood beside him. She was so young, only perhaps seventeen or eighteen. She had said a few suitable words and she, even more than Revan, had convinced young Jedi to join the Revanchist. Darth Heluquin, who was then known as the Jedi Knight Xaset Tarep, had almost immediately fallen in love with her. Diabolis, known then as Talvon Esan, had not blamed him. She was beautiful and charismatic and was herself a skilled warrior and powerful Jedi.
With a smile, Diabolis closed his eyes and sank back into time, allowing himself to go back to that very first encounter with the Revanchist.
They all watched as the shuttle descended from the sky above H'Ratth. Talvon and Xaset and several other watched with interest and could sense the power of the beings on board. The ramp lowered and out stepped three individuals - Jedi all. A very tall, bald man led the way. He was handsome and burly, wearing a tight red jumpsuit and light body armor. He stood and eyed the assembled Jedi critically as the other two Jedi strode up. Another man, tall yet not as tall as the bald man, wore a mask - a Mandalorian mask at that. Lastly, with them was a young woman. She had blond hair tied in a short utilitarian tail and she was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. She considered the gathering and smiled, confident in herself and in those around her and those who saw her felt their own confidence boost.
They smiled back and Xaset said to his older friend, "Wow... who is she?"
"Mind yourself, Jedi;" chuckled Talvon.
"Greetings, my brother and sister Jedi;" said the man in a deep, resounding voice. "who will lead us to your academy's masters?"
Xaset lifted a hand eagerly. "I will. May I ask who you are, Jedi?"
"I am Revan;" said the man. "This is Alec Squinquargesimus, though Alec would be less of a mouthful. And this is Meetra Surik."
Silence fell and then a murmur went through the gathered Jedi. "That's Revan!"
"Why is he here?"
"He wants to recruit Jedi to fight the Mandalorians."
"The Masters aren't going to like this."
Revan lifted his hands. "Jedi, please; we don't have a lot of time. With every moment, the Mandalorians grow closer to victory."
Talvon and Xaset stepped forward and the former said, "We will take you to them, Jedi Revan. If I am not mistaken, they are meeting to discuss the very issue of the Mandalorians. This way please."
"Thank you. What is your name, Jedi?" asked the masked man.
"I am Talvon Esan, Jedi Knight. This is Xaset Terep."
Revan considered us from behind his mask as we walked. Finally, he said, "I sense great power and potential in you, Jedi Esan. Tell me, how do you feel about this conflict?"
"Are not the Jedi supposed to be guardians of peace and justice? What peace and justice is served by the inactivity of the High Council of Coruscant?"
Talvon sensed Revan's approval of the questions. Meetra, a girl who could be no older than seventeen or eighteen, smiled and said, "I sense that you would be a great addition to our Jedi Crusade, Talvon. Tell me, with or without the blessing of your masters, will you join the Revanchist?"
Talvon felt four sets of eyes on him and he smiled grimly. "I will. I will join your crusade, Master Revan and the Mandalorians will fall to the Republic and the Jedi."
"Well said, brother;" said Alec, slapping Talvon on the shoulder.
"How about you, young Jedi?" Meetra asked Xaset and Talvon knew immediately the answer.
"Yes;" he said eagerly, a large smile on his face. "I will join the crusade. No one is served by Jedi inactivity."
"Excellent, my friends. Be warned that I do not promise you the ease of a Jedi temple or academy nor the simple life of the odd adventure or investigation. I only promise you war, sorrow, tears, sweat and quite possibly death. Are you willing to accept that?"
"Yes;" they said together.
Meetra smiled and said, "Good; now, Master, I suggest you allow me to speak to the Masters. You and I both know that I tend to be able to convince others to see our point of view."
Revan chuckled. "Of course, Meetra. Your softer voice tends to convince others of our message."
Alec grunted. "She may have a softer voice, Revan, but you are the supreme commander of our cause. Meetra and I are simply your main officers."
"Let us wait and see what the masters have to say;" said Meetra, which made perfect sense. "I've a feeling that, whomever talks, it will basically go the same as always."
Talvon and Xaset stared at one another. They both knew that they had entered the company of beings who would one day become legends among the Jedi and the people of the Republic.