YAVIN IV, 40 YEARS ABE:
The old Massassi temple had undergone many changes since it had been used as a secret base for the old Rebel Alliance. No longer being forced to hide their presence meant that the Jedi who now called the ancient structure home could make alterations to the exterior that the Rebels had not dared-such as constructing additional annex structures, erecting permanent solar power and sensor units, repaving the cracked courtyard with smooth modern permacrete...or ringing said courtyard with four tall antiaircraft towers to protect the school and its students.
The inside had changed even more dramatically, with the crude chambers the Rebellion had carved being refined into proper rooms while the hastily-erected prefab walls and portable display screens and terminals had been replaced by more permanent installations. Their jury-rigged power lines and lighting were gone, as was the moss and dirt and shadows that had once defined the old ruins. Now instead of a ramshackle militia hideout, the temple was a bright and homey center of peace and learning.
Leia liked the changes, even if it was still somewhat disconcerting to step into an unfamiliar room and realize that she'd once spent some of the tensest minutes of her life in there waiting to die like Alderaan. The Rebellion had fled Yavin IV in too much haste to bring all their large equipment with them, and the outdated holotable which had once displayed the Death Star's progress now served as an educational display for lessons and legends.
Today, the students in question were Leia, Han, and Chewbacca, and they studied the information Cilghal presented with as much avid attention to detail as any aspiring Jedi Apprentice.
A low-resolution hologram of two beings-one lanky, slim, and heavily cloaked; the other taller, broader, and bald-revolved in the air above the holodisplay. The holo was so old it didn't even show color, just grainy shapes. The most distinguishing feature of the latter was not the stripes tattooed across his bald scalp, but rather the prosthetic metal jaw that had replaced the lower half of his face. The other figure had no visible face at all, but the mask that concealed it was striking: a thin visor set in layered metal, its design evoking primitive styles of Mandalorian armor.
"There are few surviving images of either Revan or Malak today. The Emperor's Purge of Jedi history cost us a great deal," Cilghal explained, her gravely voice even more grave than usual, "and while we have made efforts to reassemble as much as possible, the Revanchist Wars took place nearly four thousand years ago. Much of the data on that era is lost to us."
Han poked a finger at the hologram. "So which one's which?" he asked.
"This is Malak." Cilghal indicated the larger of the two figures. "He was first Revan's friend and partner in the Mandalorian Wars, then later Revan's apprentice in the Dark Side. Legend has it that Malak wanted more power for himself and betrayed Revan to the Jedi Council, who drew Revan back to the Light Side long enough to together destroy Malak's Sith Empire."
"Then what happened?" Leia asked.
"No one knows." Cilghal lifted her shoulders in a crude approximation of a human shrug-not a natural gesture for a Mon Calamari, but one which she had adopted over the years. "There is little concrete data about either of them, and Revan least of all. It is thought they were both human, but homeworld? Family? Birth?" She shook her head. "Sources conflict even about Revan's gender, and the mask does little to help. If there are holos of Revan without it, they were lost in the Purge or before it."
"What about deaths?" Han asked.
"We do not know. It is believed that Revan killed Malak, but nothing is known now for certain. And as for Revan...legend says that they left the galaxy for the Unknown Regions. Legend does not say that they ever returned."
"Huh," said Han. Chewbacca yipped his dismay as well.
"Oh. It's the mask."
Everyone turned to look at Zekk, who was leaning on the edge of the holotable. The slouching posture made him look more like an ordinary university student than a trained Jedi Knight. He noticed the sudden scrutiny and pulled his eyes away from the flickering hologram to face the others.
"I'm just saying, if I wanted to pick an ancient Sith Lord to imitate in order to seem scarier, I'd pick one who was known for not showing their face. Look." He pointed at the hologram, his finger stopping centimeters from the harsh visor of Revan's helmet. "You wouldn't even need to get lucky enough to dig-up the real thing somewhere, you could fabricate a replica pretty easily and if no one has any good-resolution holos, it would be all but impossible to prove any inaccuracies…"
"Good point." Leia nodded. "But even if we can convince the Empire that this Revan isn't the original, I'm not sure that helps us. Imposter or not, they've seized control. We need to either dethrone them and hope that it's not too late for Pellaeon to put the peace plan back together...or we need to destroy them. Is there anything in the archives about the original Revan that can help us do that?"
Cilghal's webbed fingers flew over the terminal. "There are legends about a weapon of impossible power-a Star Forger-that Revan and Malak wielded in their war. Or, perhaps, that wielded them."
"That sounds pleasant," Han muttered. Chewbacca barked agreement.
"Rumor has it that this mythical weapon inspired Palpatine's fixation on superweapons such as the Death Stars and the World Devastators," Cilghal continued. "No records of the Star Forger survive, and indeed even its name is a conjecture restructured from fragments. It may not have ever existed at all."
"But it sounds like something that anyone pretending to be Revan would be interested in," Leia said.
Cilghal nodded.
"Well, see if you can find anything else in the archives about it. If we can put together enough scraps of information, we might be able to use that to lay a trap and lure Revan to us."
"A good plan," Cilghal said. She hesitated. "Perhaps…" She tapped a finger on the edge of the holotable, looking more unsettled than Leia could remember ever seeing her. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Perhaps it is time to investigate Dxun."
"Dxun?" Han repeated.
"A moon in the Onderon System." At Cilghal's command, the hologram projection shivered and changed into that of a star map. It showed first a system with a small sun and a few scattered planets, then zoomed in to one world and its four moons. "Long abandoned. We have many times contemplated initiating an archaeological expedition there, but concern over its rumored Dark Side connections have delayed our excavations." The holodisplay continued to tighten until only one moon was left visible, the largest one: Dxun. Cilghal looked up. "There are also rumors that it has old ties to the Mandalorian and Revanchist Wars. If any further information on Revan does survive, it may be there."
Leia exchanged a glance with Han and Chewie, who both nodded. "Then I guess that's where we go next," she said. "Do you know what we should be looking for?"
"Ruins?" Cilghal suggested. "Tombs? The ancient Sith Lords liked to intomb themselves with holocrons to record their knowledge-"
"And their egos," Zekk interjected wryly.
Cilghal tilted one bulbous eye towards him in a not-entirely-unamused glance but did not otherwise acknowledge his irreverent comment. "Perhaps," she said instead, "if the Force is with us, you may even find the true Revan's burial holocron."
"Well, it's a place to start," Leia said. "Thanks, Cilghal."
"Of course, Leia. If you'll give me a few minutes to discuss this with the other instructors, I believe we can arrange for a full expedition to accompany you to Dxun. It's past time to explore it anyway, and with the potential dangers of a Dark Side-infused world, the more Jedi to guard you against-"
The rest of Cilghal's words were cut-off by the sudden scream of a siren. Zekk was the first out the door, lightsaber hilt in hand; Leia and Han were right on his heels while Chewie brought up the rear with Cilghal, who had delayed to shut-down the holotable and clear its data displays. They ran down the smooth stone halls to the wide, open-air platform that marked the edge of the temple's second level. The raw stone had been supplemented with a durasteel balcony that extended beyond the heavy stone lip of the temple's original construction, allowing those who stood along its edges to see more than stone when they looked up.
In this case, they saw spaceships-Imperial spaceships. The distant vessels were too far away for the naked eye to discern details, but the triangular wedge-shapes of Star Destroyers were unmistakable even through the heavy jungle clouds.
"Huttspit," Han swore. He had one hand on the hilt of his DL-44, although even his acute marksmanship would serve him no good against a warship. "I thought they'd be tangled-up with Coruscant for days yet…"
"These ships may not have been at Coruscant at all," Leia pointed-out grimly. Her hands were fastened around the balcony's railing tightly enough that the skin over her knuckles had gone white. "This ersatz-Revan would have to be an idiot not to realize that the Jedi Praxeum is a threat. Those ships were probably set aside specifically for Yavin."
"We're a school," Cilghal sighed. "Of course we're a threat to tyrants."
Chewbacca growled an uncomplimentary observation about Imperial leadership and caressed the stock of his bowcaster longingly.
"You need to evacuate." Leia spun to face the taller Mon Calamari Jedi. "The Lady Luck has good armaments and a better engine, we can fly distraction-"
Cilghel held up a hand. "Not necessary, but I thank you." She turned one eye to look at the tall Jedi behind her. "Zekk, if you would-?"
Zekk clipped his lightsaber back to his belt and nodded. "Dispersal Plan Two? I'm on it," he said. He turned to Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. "Good luck," he said, then ran back into the temple which was suddenly bustling with beings of various species running and shouting and pointing. No one seemed to be panicking, not even the smallest younglings.
"What do you need us to do?" Han asked.
"Get to Dxun," Cilghal said.
"You need help here-"
"With respect, captain, we do not." Cilghal smiled sadly. "We have been prepared for the possibility of a day like this for a long, long time. You would only be in the way, not knowing our emergency protocols or evacuation procedures-and besides, you have your own role to play. You must discover a way to stop this Revan before things get worse."
Han hesitated, looking down at the rush of Jedi across the permacrete courtyard below. They didn't look like legendary warriors, or great sorcerers. Most wore simple coveralls or rugged jumpsuits suited to the harsh, muggy jungle environment. They looked no different than the people one would find in any rimworld farming village. No one had armor or blasters. They seemed exceptionally soft and small when compared to one's mental image of the marching stormtroopers and Imperial Walkers that were surely on their way. Even those few Jedi who were dressed in more formal robes, like Cilghal and Zekk, looked to Han's eye like children playing dress-up.
But they were playing it well, he had to give them that. Already, small figures were scaling the ladders of the antiaircraft towers while others directed some of the larger ships to float out of the lower level hanger into the courtyard, where they could be more easily loaded without impeding the egress of the smaller vehicles within. Older Jedi shooed younger ones into neat, hurried lines towards the various ships. Many of them carried crates of supplies while others ran back and forth ferrying satchels of datacards and holocrons to safety.
Han saw one tall Whiphid lift a small Twi'lek child to his shoulders. She caught the conical straw hat that threatened to blow away from his head when thruster wash from a ship maneuvering a little too close sent his robes flapping. The child pulled the hat over her own head and clung to its sides like it was a precious treasure while the Whipid Jedi ushered a flock of other younglings onto an old Star Commuter 2000 shuttle.
The faint sound of TIE-fighters screaming their approach was met by the ponderous chugging bursts of antiaircraft turbolasers returning fire. Bright red and green beams flashed across the once-peaceful jungle sky and birds fled for the cover of the trees.
"Yeah," Han said heavily, "okay. Sweetheart?"
Leia nodded, although she didn't look happy about it. This would make Yavin IV the second world that she had abandoned to conquest in as many days-but she knew her duty. "Cilghal's right," she said. "We can do more good elsewhere." She turned to go and caught the Mon Cal Jedi's arm. "May the Force be with you all," she said, her voice heavy.
"And you, Leia," Cilghal answered, her own deep voice grim. "I feel you may need it more than us."
Leia glanced at the swooping TIEs, a skeptical expression on her face, but she didn't waste time arguing. She led the way back into the temple, Han and Chewie on her heels.
Behind them, Cilghal stepped to the edge of the railing and lifted her wide webbed hands. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached out through the Force. One TIE-fighter, flying a little faster than the others, dodged between the antiaircraft barrage and began strafing laserfire across the courtyard towards the farthest shuttle. The Jedi boarding it paused to look up, but did not run.
Cilghal turned her hands palm-up. The TIE gave a sudden lurch, then tilted backwards against its engines, straining as though caught in a tractor beam. Two of the Jedi below each raised a hand as well, as though pushing it away. The TIE fighter toppled, hitting the permacrete and rolling, its solar arrays crumpling. It fetched up against a wide tree with a small explosion that left its cockpit burning.
The Jedi had already turned away to continue boarding. Cilghal lowered her hands, opened her eyes, and studied the scene before her. Then she nodded and walked back inside to finish her own preparations.
Outside, the Lady Luck rose on its repulsorlifts and spun a sharp 180-degrees so that it was now facing the same direction from which the TIEs were attacking. The sleek yacht lifted off and streaked towards space, almost paralleling the TIE-fighters' line of attack in reverse. They exchanged several laser salvos as they passed, with one TIE exploding in a vibrant blast under the Lady Luck's sustained laserfire. Three more TIEs turned to pursue the fleeing craft, but Lando's yacht was faster than she looked. They were still several hundred meters behind, able to do no more than take a few hopeful potshots that bounced off the rear deflector shields, when the Lady Luck broke atmosphere and made the jump to hyperspace.
The disgruntled TIEs abandoned the chase and returned their attention-and their weapons-to the Jedi Praxeum below. As more and more shuttles lifted off and began their own bids for escape, the ancient temple began to burn.