Star Wars: The Dark Empire

Episode 2 - Jenesis

Epilogue - Victory

One week later

Coruscant

Trumpets blared and streamers flew. Pieces of coloured paper floated down in clouds as fireworks shot high into the air to explode in broad daylight. People of all species' cheered and clapped as the bands led the massive procession. The music, amazingly, was all in harmony; if incredibly loud. Dancers and acrobats on floating platforms performed the most elaborate moves with their teams, while clowns; jugglers; costumed performers and all kinds of others put on their own shows. If any of these acts wasn't quite up to professional standard, nobody noticed. For today was a day of celebration. The Suppression war was over.

Marka sat ill at ease, wishing he didn't have to be part of it. But then for every Jedi on Coruscant, plus the entire high council, attendance had been made compulsory. Bastila had seen to that, despite his protests, stating that they needed to be seen in an event like this which would attract massive publicity. He could see where she was coming from, but still didn't like being in the open where anybody could take a shot at him, despite Revan's assurances that all the Phantom's in the Republic were now dead.

He was sitting near the front of an open-canopy luxury speeder, which was coming up at nearly the back of the parade. Sharing it were his wife Kaya, Bastila and Revan. True, it was a good idea to put the four most famous together, but it made it very awkward for them all. After what had happened, there were a lot of emotions running high which hadn't had a chance yet to settle down. Silence prevailed between them, Bastila was making a few attempts at polite conversation with the driver, but that was it. Nobody dared speak to anybody else for fear of offending them or somebody else in the vehicle. To say the mood was tense would be a severe understatement.

Marka glanced across at Kaya, still amazed to see her alive. Their reunion hadn't been the happiest, especially since Bastila had been there. But it could have been worse, he concluded. He could hardly believe what Kaya had done, even after she had explained it all to him. Apparently she had had her first powerful, far reaching visions when she had given birth to their daughter. She hadn't been able to see everything she needed to know, but enough to act.

She had faked her death, in order to break free of the confines of the order and her responsibilities as a wife and mother. She'd known that the Hutts would betray them, and that the Republic would desperately need a symbol of hope to sustain them through the dark days ahead. She had to manipulate events in order to ensure his and Revan's respective victories. And she had to be able to take the Hidden Sith completely by surprise.

He was in total awe of her. It wasn't difficult to realise that she had single-handedly saved the entire Republic and the Jedi order, not to mention all of their lives. That reminded him of the obscure line in the prophecies, how the Prophet would save all of the other hearts just before the war with the Empire; two directly and one indirectly. She had saved Bastila by being there, and him by transferring power to him using some method he had no understanding of, and saved Revan by sending Dustil there with the Swords of Justice. There was no doubt about it, she was the Prophet!

Protector, battle winner - Bastila.

Prodigal, renamed thrice - Revan.

Swordsman, feet of iron - Himself

Prophet, of great sacrifice - Kaya.

Both Revan and Kaya had been given places in the high council, replacing Astin and Vandar. It was both in recognition of their achievements, and because there truly weren't that many Jedi experienced enough to take on the mantle. Even some of the current council members were very new to the order. Kaah Ohtok was one of them, he was currently near the head of the parade, since he was the one who had accepted the Hutt's unconditional surrender. They had only given in to the demand for it ultimately because of the circulating news of the defeat of Korgul, Jezebel and the Hidden Sith. Now, all over the galaxy, Republic officials were seizing their ill-gained assets.

Marka though was troubled. The news of his left hand's defeat would have reached the Dark Lord's ears by now, it couldn't be long before the Sith invasion began. Why they had waited so long, he had no idea. Perhaps they had simply been allowing them time to put up as proper resistance. But even that didn't make sense, the whole point of war was to win! Or was there some other underlying motive?

In any case, the Republic was now stronger than it had been since before the Mandalorian Wars. The armies and fleets had been rebuilt and were still growing, the infrastructure to support them was in place. The Jedi order had grown to nearly four thousand members, all trained in the Sith way of fighting. There were enough of them to match the Sith in numbers. But most had had between six months and a years worth of training, they would be going against opponents with decades of experience. The coming conflict would not be decided by armies or fleets, though they would have a part to play, but by the Jedi and Sith. It would be a war between the two different sides of the Force.

He looked out his vehicle, there were about a hundred Jedi just ahead. Groups of them were giving a flashy show of synchronised lightsaber movement, which was one of their rookie-level training techniques. They were brave, putting themselves in terrible danger just agreeing to join the order at such a time. Marka's heart went out to them, how many would survive even a year of war against the Empire? Given two more years he could have created a force that would crush the Sith, but he didn't have two years. It couldn't be long now.

By now they were coming into the main square, and the driver indicated back to them. They all stood up, raising their arms and receiving the applause which had now grown to tumultuous proportions. Both Bastila and Kaya had become famous for defeating the Hidden Sith, especially since it had been captured on video and was now circulating throughout the galaxy. Kaya especially, now that her identity as Morningstar had become known. And since he had beaten Jezebel, the greatest single scourge the Republic had ever seen, his stock too had risen even higher. Only Revan wasn't receiving universal praise, Korgul hadn't been so well known. But they were spinning that story with sympathetic journalists in such a way that it should be enough to dispel his old infamy at being the former Dark Lord. Even still, no matter what he did for the people, it was likely he would never be totally forgiven.

Marka glanced backed at Kaya, remembering the choice he'd been forced to make. Her or Bastila; his wife or his lover. He'd felt betrayed at Kaya's leaving him, but knowing the circumstances it would have been unfair to hold them against her. To have stayed with Bastila would have been the easiest thing to do, but that would have broken both Revan and Kaya's hearts, and left their children with broken families. In the end he'd done the right thing, and shelved his feelings for Bastila. Revan had been overjoyed, he could now pursue his wife again. It seemed though that he was back to step one. Marka was in a similar position, but that was by personal choice. He didn't feel comfortable touching Kaya not knowing who she was any more. They all needed time to adjust, time that they probably wouldn't have.

Once he had made his decision known, Kaya had shared one final revelation. One that was growing in her belly, and had been now for five months. It was noticeable lump now, although she hadn't had much trouble hiding it with loose robes. Marka wasn't sure what to think, too much had happened for him to be happy yet. With luck she would be able to have it before the war began in earnest. He did respect though that she'd waited for him to decide before revealing it, so as not to force his hand. It was amazing that she'd been able to get pregnant so soon after the birth of their first child. This time, she had promised, it would be a boy. He believed her. He would name him after his father.

gWhat I don't understand," Revan said out of the blue, "Why Vandar didn't come out during the Jedi civil war, back when I was Dark Lord. With his help, my Sith would surely have defeated the Republic. Even if he'd come out later for Malak, both sides were close enough that the balance would have swayed."

gThe Hidden Sith were the remnants of Exar Kun's Sith order, they were never linked to the order you created," Kaya explained. "In fact they were against them the entire time. They wanted to take over the Republic themselves, slowly manoeuvring themselves into positions where they could do that. Your regime was a threat to this. They did everything in their power to beat them, they put their entire weight behind the Jedi order. They didn't make much difference in the end, but if they'd turned; like you said; it could have tipped the balance. It was only after you left the Republic that they started playing a more active role in galactic affairs."

Marka wasn't listening, he knew it all already. He'd been the one to gather all the information from the crippled self-styled Sith Lord. Any of the other ex-Sith could have done it, but he didn't want any of them reverting to there old ways yet. They probably would anyway once open war started, but for now they could remain true to the Jedi ideals. As their leader, only he should have to sully his soul with torture. His victim had become very forthcoming on the second day, and by the third Marka had exhausted his supply of useful information. The man was scheduled for a public trial next week. The other prisoners had pleaded redemption and been spared, but not Feasance. For his crimes were against the Republic and he had to be held accountable to Republic law.

He thought back to the kindly, venerable Master Vandar. He would have been the last one he would have suspected of being a Sith. Amazing how one who had seemed so perfect on the outside nursed a well of malice and ruthless ambition inside. Marka was aware that he too had a darker side, one that he still sometimes let slip of the reigns on. But he didn't allow himself to be controlled by it, he forced himself to act selflessly, to think of the good of others, even when it went against his nature. But to him, that was what being a Jedi was all about.

There was a space between the buildings to the left, through it he could see the Jedi temple. A thin trail of smoke still rose from the nether regions. Earlier that day they had consigned all the Jedi who had fallen to the Hidden Sith to the flames, including Master Astin Lamar. Marka had never liked the man, but he still grieved his passing. In hindsight, it was heartbreaking to realise how he had been indoctrinated into that terribly stagnant path by his mentor; Master Vandar; and finally murdered by him, the one he had respected and admired the most.

There had been two others in the pyres, ones that probably couldn't have been classified as Jedi, but he did them the honour all the same. Jaq and Visas, Jezebel's followers. They had made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure his victory. He had never known them, and only met them on one occasion before. Now he wished he had, they had saved his life.

The parade continued for a good few hours more without incident, by the time it had finished Marka was chafing. He didn't like doing nothing for so long. Revan was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he was probably feeling the same way. If Bastila and Kaya shared the sentiment they were not giving any sign of it. He forced himself to view it like any assignment, all the objectives had been covered with no unexpected snags, it was successfully accomplished. Now he could move onto something more stimulating.

They landed in the mid-levels of the Jedi temple. Besides the guards, there was a man waiting for them in Jedi robes, complete with light cortortis-woven plates incorporated. Marka recognised him, young Orrin Ithker, one of the unsung heroes of the battle in the Senate. He supposed he shouldn't be thinking of him as young, he was the same age as him. He was also a Jedi Knight now, Bastila had promoted him personally when he'd come out of therapy yesterday, a rare honour; without having to go through the trials. But what could he be waiting for them for, with that expression?

Orrin stepped forward as they were getting out, and Marka guessed what was going on. "The Empire's made a move, hasn't it," he said, it wasn't a question. "Where?"

gBelkadan and Helska, we only received word half an hour ago. They're in the process of being overrun," said the other man grimly.

Marka looked back at his companions, studying their reactions. Revan stood a little straighter, the set of his shoulders betraying his eagerness. For him it would mean a chance to gain face, people would forget his past crimes if he could give them victories. Also as their pre-eminent strategist he would undoubtedly be spending a lot of time with their primary battle-meditator. This was his best chance to get his wife back. Bastila looked resigned to the situation, they had all know it was coming, she was largely echoing Marka's sentiments on the matter. Kaya looked gut-wrenchingly sad, with her abilities she probably had already had insight to the terrible future that was; thankfully; beyond the rest of their vision. And she might not even be able to reveal most of it to them, because that would steer it in the wrong direction. Marka felt his heart go out to her, it was such a lonely path she would have to travel. He longed to hug her, to let her know she wasn't alone. But he couldn't; not yet.

They all knew what to do, they had planned for this months in advance. All that would be needed were a few minor adjustments to take the recent events into account; all of which had strengthened their position and sealed potential problems.

gBastila, I think Revan should go with you," he said, taking charge. Initially the plan had been for him to go with her, but that had been before the prodigal's return. "I'll lead the council in your absence, and organise the order. I need a month to get the Jedi ready and mobile, but if possible I'll join you before then with a smaller group."

gPlease do," she said, "I doubt we'll be able to hold out that long."

He turned to Kaya, "I don't expect you to explain everything you do to me, I understand a bit of how shifting futures work, and so do the rest of the council. We voted that when war came, anything you did will have our full backing; I understand that the senate is passing a similar bill. We haven't given you any duties, so you have time to do whatever you have to. You have our full support, Kaya, please don't keep us in the dark all the time."

She gave no hint of surprise, she'd probably known it was coming. "I'll do what I can," she promised. She had certainly become cryptic.

Bastila and Revan meanwhile had left to prepare for their departure. Marka signalled for Orrin to follow him, gave his wife an awkward wave, then headed up to the nearest long-range communication's console. There was so much to do before they could be ready. Besides getting in contact with all of the academy masters, he'd have to recall Ramon and his fifty students. Ramon had originally given him a time-frame of six months to prepare them, there was still a month left of that time. Hopefully some of the faster ones would be ready immediately. Dustil had rejoined them to finish his training a few days ago, missing the parade. Only when those Jedi, their elite, were mobile would they truly be ready.

He saw Orrin following faithfully at his side out the corner of his eye. He smiled. It was heartening to know men like him would fight by his side. Only five months before Orrin had been a military academy student, now look at him! It must have been one of the fastest promotions to knighthood from being totally untrained in the history of the order. It was premature though, one of Bastila's worse decisions, it had happened before he'd been able to learn of it and intervene. If Orrin was to survive the next few months and continue to grow would be best to pair him with a more experienced Jedi, perhaps one of the ex-Sith. He had talent, and Marka was determined not to waste him. If he survived long enough he could serve as a Jedi strike leader.

Marka sighed and adjusted his shoulders, trying to get used to the weight on them. So much depended on him. But this was what he'd been born for, he knew without a shadow of a doubt. He was the one to defy the Dark Lord, despite being born into his servitude. And if there was a way to win, Kaya would find it, no matter how high the odds were stacked against them. For the first time since his betrayal, Marka felt a confidence born of a belief that they could actually prevail.

We've made our moves. Darth Messiah, you will know by now that your assassin is dead; Marka thought. Now the true war between us begins. You've waited too long. We're ready, the hearts are united to defeat you. Come with your armies, your fleets and your Sith. Whatever it takes, we will defeat you.