It was a sunny morning on the planet Coruscant when Meetra Surik walked through the halls of the Jedi Temple. Her steps echoed as she makes her way towards the High Council chambers.
Today is the day the Jedi High Council summoned Meetra in order to sentence her for her actions during the Mandalorian Wars, the war which left the Old Republic in shambles and almost decimated the Jedi Knights.
As she walked, images flashed on her mind: the Mandalorian Wars, fellow Jedi Knight Malak recruiting her and other Jedi to fight the enemies, Revan defeating Mandalore the Ultimate, the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator that killed every Jedi, Sith and Mandalorian on the surface of Malachor V, and the destruction of Malachor itself.
She was brought back to the moment when the doors leading to the council opened. She was greeted by the sight of the Council members staring at her...staring deep into her soul...as if something about her wasn't right.
She arrives, and stopped a couple of steps from the middle of the chamber. Sitting on the Council were Jedi Masters Vrook, Kavar, Zez-Kai Ell, Lonna Vash, and Atris.
Vrook, an elderly Jedi with a stern yet kindly countenance, finally broke the silence.
"Do you know why we have called you here?"
"I came here because I chose to, not because you have summoned me," Meetra replied, with a tinge of defiance in her voice.
"As Revan summoned you, so you have come full circle to return to the Jedi," Kavar, a young Jedi in his late thirties, said.
"Why did you defy us? The Jedi are guardians of the peace and have been for centuries. This call to war undermines all that we have worked for," Zez-Kai Ell, a middle-aged Jedi with balding hair and a deep voice, said.
"Is Revan your master now? Or is it the horror you wrought at Malachor that has caused you to see the truth at last?" Atris, dressed in white Jedi robes, asked, anger evident in her voice.
Meetra, after a moment of reflection, spoke. Her voice is tinged with sadness.
"I realized that following Revan to war is in violation of the Jedi Code - and I broke it, knowingly defying the wishes of the Council."
Kavar replied, "It is good you recognize this. It means you will understand why you must leave us."
"You are exiled, and you are a Jedi no longer," Lonna Vash, a young Jedi Master with chinky eyes and short hair tied in a ponytail, declared.
"There is one last thing. Your lightsaber. Surrender it to us," Vrook followed.
Meetra, deep in thought, hesitated.
She steps forward - slowly - towards the center stone adorning the Council chamber. She ignites her lightsaber - her remaining connection to a life she once had - and stabs it into the stone. Then she turns away and walks out of the door, not looking back.
She is now exiled - a Jedi no longer. But something else happened - something she can't comprehend, but something she instinctively yet unknowingly did upon witnessing those deaths at Malachor V.
She has cut herself off from the Force - she's now dead to it.
This is where her journey begins - the journey of the Jedi Exile.