CHAPTER NINE: WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Halin Chan roamed the corridors of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, the hood of her cloak pulled over her head in order to hide her face and the silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. She wanted to take one last walk through these halls before such a time as she knew she would be welcome there no longer. Her childhood, her memories, her past life… everything she had known until that moment echoed residual energy that could be felt through the Force. For one last time, she would drink it all in. After her decision had been made, there would be no turning back.
"Halin?"
Halin froze at the sound of her name, but dared not look up. She knew Alex's voice all too well. She had almost hoped not to run into him while she was here. After all, how could she possibly hope to explain to her closest friend that she intended to abandon all that either of them had known their whole lives through?
Alex Kharr could feel a strange disturbance in his friend's thoughts, but her own mental blocks prevented him from seeing the cause of her torment. This worried Alex. It was not like Halin to be so evasive, particularly toward him. Something must have happened to her…
"Halin, please speak to me. Something is bothering you—I can tell… Please, whatever it is, you know that you can trust me…"
He waited for a reply from her, but all that came was a sigh. Unable to endure her silence any further, Alex reached out, placing one hand on Halin's shoulder and turning her toward him while removing the hood of her cloak with the other. It was then that he saw her tear-filled eyes which were so full of uncertainty. A piece of him shattered inside at seeing his dear friend in such a state. Trembling and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace.
Halin nearly choked in her attempt to hold back a sob. She tried gently at first to push him away, but he held her fast. "Halin, please tell me…"
"I'm not Halin," she said in a trembling voice. "Not any more…" And she pushed him away more forcefully this time, escaping his arms and stepping backwards in order to put space between them.
Alex looked at her, confused. "I don't understand…" He stepped forward, reaching out to her again, but she raised a hand and called upon the Force in order to create a stasis field, freezing him in his tracks. He could still see her, still hear her… but he would not be able to approach her.
"You are a good friend, Alex… but I cannot explain to you here… If you truly wish to know, meet me in the grove at sundown. This may be the last time that we see one another…"
With these words, she pulled the hood of her cloak back over her head and stepped backward further, seemingly fading into nothingness as she used the Force to camouflage herself in stealth. It was a technique she had learned under Master Arren Kae that had mostly fallen out of use with the disappearance of the Jedi Watchmen.
The stasis field lasted no longer than a minute, but by that time, Halin Chan was long gone. Alex was having difficulty understanding what she had told him. How could she not be Halin? How could she not be the woman he had grown to admire and to love?
He determined to meet her in the grove as she had told him. There were answers he needed from her. He needed to know what this change in her was, and why it had happened.
The woman formerly known as Halin Chan sat under a tree near a set of crumbling white stone pillars in the grove, turning something over and over in her hand. It was the Kyber crystal that she had won from Alex a year before, when they had both been fully accepted into the Order as Jedi Knights. Recently, the thing had undergone a drastic change. Whether intentional or not, it seemed that she had been slowly becoming attuned with the crystal. Its formerly clear and resplendent myriad of facets that had previously reflected so many colors and possibilities had changed to a smoky amethyst color.
It was an unusual color that only occurred among those who walked a fine line between Jedi and Sith. It was this thought that startled her perhaps more than the war itself. It was part of why she felt so strongly about speaking to Master Kreia about the matter. However, even this conversation had left her with a sense of uncertainty. She knew and understood that, for the Jedi, the risk of corruption was a very real thing… to be consumed by lust for power to a point where it overshadowed all else… To walk the thin line between the two was no easy feat. By leaving the Order and going to war against the Mandalorians, it was her burden from this point on.
Master Kreia had seemed alarmingly unconcerned about her taking up such a task. A part of her had wished that the old woman would have tried to talk her down from such a rash decision… And yet, it had seemed as if the Jedi Master always knew this would be the case…
Footsteps approached, and the young woman instinctively drew her lightsaber, it's Veridian blade illuminating the darkness of the newly fallen cloak of night. However, when she saw who approached, she withdrew the blade and returned the hilt of her saber to her belt. It was Alex.
"So you came after all…"
"Of course I did! How could I not come after seeing you in such a state?"
"The state I was in may yet be overshadowed by the state in which I may become…"
Alex was even more confused than before. "Halin, what are you talking about? It's not like you to speak in riddles and to be so evasive. Please, tell me what is going on…"
"I told you before, I am not Halin Chan… Not any more, at least… I must ask you… what would you do if you found out that everything you believed in wasn't what you thought it to be?"
Alex didn't like the sound of where this was going. "Where are you going with this?..."
"I've decided to leave the Jedi Order, Alex," she said with as much authority as she could muster. "I refuse to sit idly by in wake of the Council's decision to not aid the Republic in their war against the Mandalorians. I refuse to believe that any true Jedi would be able to do so… My people have suffered because of this war, Alex. So many other peoples have suffered, and are suffering still, and will continue to suffer if no action is taken!"
Alex was surprised by such news. War had been declared so very recently that he had not expected the Council to have made any sort of final decision on the matter yet. "And you are certain that this was their final decision on the matter?"
The woman nodded. "That is what I was told by the Masters themselves…. And that is why I can no longer be Halin Chan. Halin Chan is a Knight of the Order. She is respected by her colleagues and by her mentors, and will always have a place among them… But I am not Halin. Not any more… In the ancient Deralian tongue, there is word that that is difficult to translate into Basic. It means something along the lines of 'an act of presumed evil done for the sake of justice being served to the innocent'… In Basic it's quite a mouthful, but in old Derlaian, it is one word… From this point forward, I am not Halin Chan. I am the Revanchist."
Revanchist…
The word seemed to echo through the emptiness of the night, and it sent chills down Alex's spine. His friend was choosing a very dangerous path if she meant to defy the Council. The fact that she had gone so far as to change her name meant that she was serious about the matter.
"Is the Revanchist capable of fulfilling promises that were made by Halin Chan?" Alex asked her.
Halin hesitated. She wasn't certain what promise he was referring to… but perhaps it would be for the better. After all, everything would change after this point. "The Revanchist is always true to her promises, whether those promises were made by herself or by Halin Chan… What is it that you wish of me?"
"You promised me that you would let me come if you ran off one day to help those affected by this war."
"Did I?"
"Yes, back when you met Talon for the first time since being sent to Dantooine… I'm coming along with you."
"I can't ask that of you, Alex. Your life is here. Don't throw it away by following my poor example… I don't want my decision to leave the Order to harm you or anyone else…"
"I'm doing this because I want to. Do you think that I agree with the Council's decision any more than you do? Perhaps there is a reason for it, but even so, does the Republic deserve to suffer because of it? And beyond that, you can't do this alone Halin—Revanchist! So many other Jedi, if they knew what was happening, would also disagree with the Council's decision. I'm making this choice not because of you, but for myself. Let me follow you! Let anyone who is willing to take up the cause of the Revanchist follow you!"
With these words, Alex knelt before her, bowing his head and beating his fist on his chest as if to make a solemn oath. "I, Alex Kharr, ask that you accept me as your honorary apprentice, Revanchist."
The Revanchist was a bit taken aback by this gesture, but deep down, she knew that he was right. The war was so large that the more Jedi support there was for the Republic, the better their chances of defeating the Mandalorians.
"Do you swear to do all within your power to protect the innocent and to bring an end to this war?" she asked him in a firm voice.
"I swear."
She pulled her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, carefully passing the blade over each of the man's shoulders before holding it aside. "Then arise, my apprentice. I accept your pledge. From henceforth, you shall be called 'Malak' of the Revanchists."
Malak, as he was now known, arose and bowed fervently to his Master. There was no turning back now for either of them. What was done was done.
"What task would you have me to do, my Master," Malak asked.
"You are right in that there may be others amongst the Order who would be sympathetic toward our cause. My task for you is to search the Enclave and recruit any of these such Jedi. When you have finished your assignment, you are to meet me on Coruscant. I am going ahead to ask the High Council one last time if they will support our cause. When their decision has been made, we shall proceed accordingly."
"Understood, my Master."
"And Malak?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for your support. Because of you and others like you, we shall ensure that the Republic does not fail."
The halls of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine were completely empty at this hour. The Revanchist slipped silently through the shadows, making her way past the Council chambers to the initiate training room. There was one more thing that she needed to do before heading to Coruscant.
This particular training room was a little different from the others within the enclave. It was designed as the place where students would undergo the final trials before becoming a full member of the Order and attaining the rank of Padawan. It contained a small portion of the archives, intended for learning about the Jedi Code and a brief history of the Jedi Order, it contained a computer for simulations and for research on different classes amongst the Jedi, and it contained a workbench, where the new initiates were to craft their first lightsaber. It was for this purpose that the Revanchist had come.
The Revanchist pulled the amethyst Kyber crystal from her inner robe. The thing emitted a faint, yet pleasant hum as she held it in her hand. It had bonded to her, and its energy was reacting positively with her own connection to the Force. It was time. It was time for her to set the crystal and to construct a new lightsaber.
She began by crafting the basic pieces of the lightsaber: the focusing lens, the emitter matrix, the energy cell, and the skeleton of the hilt. The first thing was the hilt, since this would encase all of the other pieces. It was the part of the lightsaber that the Jedi held in their hand, so a comfortable grip for the wielder was crucial in its design. Some Jedi would choose to create a curved hilt, or one with extra handle, or a long staff-like hilt, depending on their own individual preferences.
The design that the Revanchist chose was relatively simple, yet elegant. It was of medium length, to account for grip with either one or both hands, and had three long, slightly curved pieces spaced evenly through the length of the body. On the end where the lens would be placed, they protruded slightly, creating a sort of claw-like encasement for the future blade. These three curved pieces would aid in maintaining her grip on the weapon in battle. The body was primarily silvery-gray in color, with accents of black along the edges. The back vent was very simple, round with no particularly interesting patterns.
The only thing particularly unusual about her design was her choice of placement for what would become the trigger when she inserted the energy cell and emitter matrix. She had opted for a faux trigger in the traditional red on the outside of the hilt. The true trigger would be located inside of the hilt. While seemingly bizarre at first, there was good reasoning for her choice. After all, the Mandalorians were skilled warriors, and, in the event she lost her weapon in battle, she did not wish for a Mandalorian to be able to wield the thing against her or against her allies. The only way that one would be able to ignite the saber would be through the Force.
She created a basic Diatium power cell with the materials available to her at the workbench, and a basic emitter matrix in order to power and stabilize the blade, and placed these inside of the hilt accordingly, being quite careful not to inverse anything, as the lightsaber could explode if improperly assembled in such a manner.
When it came time for the lens, she chose a somewhat unorthodox material. Adegan crystals were a relatively abundant crystal that was often used as a focusing crystal rather than material for a focusing lens. When used for the focusing lens instead, the crystal greatly intensified the power of and amount of damage the lightsaber could deal in combat. This new saber, while she honestly wished otherwise, would need to be capable of taking a life quickly should the necessity arise. Mandalorians were known to possess a special sort of iron ore that was incredibly durable and found only on the planet Mandalore. Such a material was capable of resisting even a lightsaber's blade. Given the likelihood of it being used in Mandalorian armor, the Revanchist did not wish to risk her weapon yielding to the stuff.
Her new weapon was nearly complete in its construction. All that remained were the focusing crystals. The woman still had with her the three crystals which she had won on the day that she had become a Jedi Knight: the Bondar crystal, the Opila crystal, and the now colored Kyber crystal.
The first crystal she set was the Bondar. It was the least lethal of the crystals, and provided a unique sort of energy within the blade that was best suited for stun. It was a crystal typically used in the training sabers of young Padawans. To the Revanchist, however, the crystal held a greater significance. It represented her origins and her training, but also, it represented mercy, and the way of the Jedi which she had grown to believe in before their seeming betrayal to the cause. The crystal reflected the past.
The second crystal she set was the Opila crystal. Unlike the Bondar, Opila was highly lethal. It made for an intensely focused beam that cut quickly with little able to inhibit its power. In this war, she would need whatever strength she could muster in order to defeat the enemy at hand. This crystal represented the aggression of war. This crystal reflected the present.
And the last of all of these things was the amethyst crystal which continued to resonate with its faint humming. It would be the main focusing crystal of her new lightsaber, and would determine the color of the blade. The color of the blade of the saber itself often reflected the identity of its individual wielder. The color purple was one which stood entirely on its own. It was removed from the Jedi, removed from the Sith… It was a color of great conflict... Of light and of dark… Of illumination and of shadows… Of good and of evil… Of Harmony and of Chaos… Of tranquility and of passion… Of blue and of red… It was the color of the Revanchist. It was the crystal of her future.
When the focusing crystals were all set in place, the Revanchist closed the hilt with the Adegan focusing lens. Her work was finished. The time had come for her to appear again before the High Council of the Jedi Order. The time of the Revanchists was now.