Chapter 3- The Secret War

Jenck's eyes opened and he found himself in the Medical Clinic. Bandages had been placed on his wounds and he found he could barely move those areas. A nurse walked in. "Oh, you're awake. I'll go get Beluega for you." She walked out. Jenck turned his head and found two other patients are sharing the room with him. One of them was awake and studying a holotext. He turns to talk to Jenck and says, "Well, young sir, I see you've been through a lot. Fighting a Sith, truly remarkable for someone your age. And you get to tell the tale, a plus in my book."

"Thanks," responded Jenck.

Halcyon walks in and says, "I must say you've healed faster than I imagined possible."

"Where are we master?"

"On an outer rim world. I think we can take those bandages off." He removes them, but Jenck finds he is a little stiff. "Yes, you've healed enough. Come with me apprentice, I will show you to your room.

Halcyon heads down the hall and Jenck follows. Several people pass them, including a few Sith. Jenck reaches for his weapon, but Halcyon stops him. "But Master, there are Sith here."

"I know that." "You are not worried?" "Not in the least. A temporary pact has been formed on this planet due to a common enemy."

"And this pact keeps mortal enemies from attacking each other?"

"It's not perfect, as there is still some prejudice. But the pact prevents direct fighting between the two. In fact, a few Jedi are on friendly terms with some of the Sith here. They have been permitted to engage in some friendly sparring. Ah, here we are."

They entered a room. "Revan has given you a few holocrons, Jenck. Our shift starts at six. See you then." He begins to walk out, but Jenck says, "Revan's here? And what's this about a shift?" "Revan has been the leader of this army."

"Army? We are in a battle?"

"Yes, we are fighting an enemy unlike any we've seen before. They seek to destroy all Force-users and conquer the Galaxy for themselves. I'll meet you here at six. In the meantime, study the holocrons or try on your armor. I expect you to be in it at when I return." He leaves.

Jenck locates the armor and puts it on. It was composed of non-restrictive fibermetal plates connected together with fibercloth. A fibercloth cape was attached to the back for further protection.

Then Jenck picked up one of the Holocrons. Revan sprung to life before him. A voice neither masculine nor feminine but almost robotic spoke these words from behind a mask, "Hello, I am Revan. And if you are watching this then you must want to know my history. It is a long and difficult one to tell, full of treachery and loss. I think that it is best for you to know the entire story and perhaps you can see why I had to sacrifice myself, and then later leave the Order, perhaps for good. My life started like any other person's, brought to the Jedi temple on Dantooine. Soon I had built my own Lightsaber and had been placed under Master Kreia's teachings. Little did the Council know that Kreia was a Sith Lord known as Darth Traya."

"For years I trained under my Master's ways, before the Council discovered Kreia's true identity. I was then immediately placed under the guidance of one of the wisest Jedi of the time, Master Vandar. It was the Council's hope that with Vandar, they could reverse the influence Kreia had had on me. It was only partially successful. Soon came the time of the Mandalorian invasion. I felt that the Mandalorians had to be stopped, but the Council forbade it. But I, along with my friend Malak and several other Jedi, left anyway. We knew we would be punished, but if we didn't stop them, we would lose the Galaxy. So we met up with the Republic's fleet and became their Generals. Our first few battles, such as the one on Dxun, weren't successful. But soon we were racking up the victories. We were attracting the attention of other Jedi, who came to aid us."

"After a few years of fighting, the time came to attack Malachor V, a major base for the Mandalorians. We had gathered the entire fleet together and prepared for the assault. Malachor V was unlike any other world I had seen before. Lighting clouds hung above it in space and it radiated with dark side energy. Many ships on both sides were lost. But we had won it and we were now pushing them back onto the planet.

After much fighting we came upon a Sith temple. It corrupted us and all of the soldiers with us. The Jedi of our group became what we swore to defeat: Sith. We turned against the Jedi Order and the Republic, dealing blows to them when they were already struggling from the effect of the Mandalorian Wars. And on some of the planets we conquered, we had found Star Maps, guides to the greatest weapon ever created in the galaxy: the Star Forge, a massive factory that could produce a limitless supply of ships, weapons, and droids to fuel any army.

With the Star Forge, we had unlimited power. We quickly were drawing the Republic into defeat. But during an engagement with Republic, a Jedi team was sent to stop me. As I drew my weapon against my former allies, my apprentice, Darth Malak, turned on me. He fired on my ship and left me for dead."

"I had lost my memory and was given a fake one. So I found myself under the service of Bastila on a Republic ship. Our ship was attacked over Taris and we had to abandon ship. Hoping that our leader, Bastila, was still alive, a survivor of the crew named Carth Onasi and I searched for her. We gained new companions and soon we had found out that Bastila was a prisoner of a swoop gang, the Black Vultures. I decided to enter a swoop race in the hope of winning the prize, Bastila. But the leader of the Vultures, who had promised her as a reward, went against his word. Thus I slaughtered him and freed Bastila, even though she said she was never in any danger and could have saved herself anytime. But I truly did save her, as she would never have survived against all those gang members."

"We then escaped the planet on a stolen ship called Ebon Hawk and headed to Dantooine shortly before Darth Malak destroyed the planet in an effort to stop Bastila from escaping. The Jedi Council, led by Masters Vrook and Vandar, ordered us to locate the Star Maps and find where they lead. So we did, traveling to Tatooine, Manann, Korriban and Kashyyk. But in the middle of our search we had a confrontation with Malak. Bastila was captured and I found out my true identity. We quickly found the last map and went to where it led us: Raxus Prime, the planet the Star Forge was orbiting.

The Republic Fleet joined us as we attempted to destroy it. My companions and I were tasked with defeating Malak and destroying the Star Forge as much as we could from the inside. Soon I was separated from everyone else, and I proceeded alone. I encountered Bastila, whose mind had been warped by Malak's torture, and brought her back on my side. But she felt I had to face Malak alone. I confronted him and after a very long duel, I succeeded in defeating him and my companions and I made a hasty retreat. It was close, but we made it out of the Star Forge before it collapsed on us. But victory didn't last long as I found that I needed to leave my companions behind and venture into the unknown."

A voice from the room spoke, "So I came here and found a new enemy." Jenck, surprised, looked up to see Revan standing at the doorway. "I heard of your adventures so far and I am truly glad to have you fighting for me. Before your shift tomorrow, I'd like you and your Master to come see me. There are matters we must discuss and things we must do." Revan starts walking out but then says, "Speak of the Dark Lord! Here's Halcyon now!"

"Evening, Revan. I see you've met my apprentice."

"Yes, and he seems like a promising young Jedi. I'll see you after your shift."

"Come on Jenck, we are on patrol duty now." Halcyon leads Jenck to the front of the fortress, which was heavily guarded with turrets. Halcyon directs Jenck's attention away from the base. "Do you see those lights out there? That is the enemy base and is filled with creatures unlike any I have seen before. Revan has planned an assault in three days. We will be doing extensive training for the next two days, so be prepared." Their patrol went on without incident. Jenck, exhausted from the day's events, then went to bed.

The next day, Jenck trained in the morning, and then met up with his master and Revan. Revan led them to a cave that was a good distance from the base. Revan was saying, "Each crystal cave provides a challenge for the Force-user. I can't tell you what you will encounter there, but I must warn you: it won't be easy." They had reached the entrance.

"You must go in alone, my apprentice," said Halcyon. So Jenck did and after many difficulties and near deaths he could finally see the crystal formations. But a Spirit blocked his way. "Tell me, young Force-user, whose side are you on?"

"The side of the Jedi."

"Then you support the light side. Yet I see much darkness within you, and great potential. Very well, prepare yourself!" The apparition ignites a Lightsaber and they duel. Jenck was struck once, but did not encounter pain. Soon he had penetrated the ghost's chest.

"Why do you seek to become a Jedi?"

"Because I want to stop the Sith."

"A common answer, but you must learn that there is more to being a Jedi than killing Sith. You are fighting alongside Sith, are you not? Just because they have different opinions doesn't mean you can just kill them. A Jedi seeks peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Therefore I ask that you only stop the Sith that are killing people. But do not kill them unless you have no other choice. Do not seek to exterminate their race because without the Sith, there wouldn't be the Jedi."

"Yes, sir."

"Now that you have learned that lesson, I grant you access to the crystals. Take the one that draws your attention."