A Step Away

I. A Step Away From the Darkness

Judgement

Masters Quelnath and Relanai retreated from Revan's mind slowly, again playing out the images in their own minds before releasing their hold on the woman. Once contact was lost between the Masters and the Padawan, Revan's prone body went limp. Due to the shock of the intrusion, her body's defense system took the time to sort out any last traces of the Jedi Masters. Her body gave a few violent spasms before her nervous system gained control and limited the movement to a few jerks and shakes of her head and legs.

Master Vandar gave a disapproving shake of his head. "I do not condone this act. Revan I trust and with this breach of conduct, it is broken between us." He held each of the Council's eyes with his own to make his point. "In order for the past to be forgiven we must both have confidence in the other."

"There was no way to be sure," said Vrook. He looked tired. He looked old. It might have been the stress of fighting Malak, but perhaps it was just that his time was coming to an end.

"Other ways can be found," countered the small Master with a sad smile. "Hopefully you have all the information you need to make your decision. I have already made my mine."

"As have I," said Relanai, the red Twi'lek, quietly. She moved back to her Council seat, her eyes respectively averted from the woman lying prone on the floor. Relanai regretted what happened. She had known Revan for a long time and such an act on her part would easily label her as an enemy in Revan's eyes. The young woman would feel as though the elder Twi'lek had betrayed her. She would be mistaken though, as Relanai had acted in Revan's best interests. If it had been another master conducting the scan, they might have uncovered memories that would have reflected badly on her behalf. At least with the Twi'lek in her mind, she could trust that Relanai would find only the most useful thoughts.

The older Jedi marveled at how just one person could alter an entire chain of events…and it wasn't Revan that she was referring to, either.

Revan caught the Masters' attention by giving a couple more quick spasms and a few gasps for air. The Iktotchi, Quelnath, leant down and placed his hands on her forehead. "Sleep," he commanded. Her body responded to the order and the twitching subsided. Her eyes fluttered behind her lids, her mind deep in a restless sleep. "She will not awaken for some time." He remained kneeling next to her for a moment longer to make sure that all was well before returning to his position.

"That is good." The Ryn Master gestured that all standing should once again be seated. "We have much to discuss and if she were to awaken - "

"Discussion will begin after I have made my announcement," interrupted Vandar. The Council murmured in surprise as they watched one of the leaders of their Order shuffle his way from his seat and stand at the center of the chamber. His small eyes closed as he brought the Force under his command. Vandar was old and his body failing, but the strength of the Force that flowed through him kept him alive. "In light of recent actions," he began, "I am relinquishing my seat as a member of this council. There is much work I can do, but it must be done elsewhere." He let his statement hang for a moment before continuing. "Consider this my own punishment for not intervening when the danger was at its greatest."

Master Vrook gripped his hands together tightly. "Are you serious? Have you even thought of a replacement? This unbalances a great many things!" How could Vandar even think of giving up his seat? There was so much he could do and accomplish. His guidance was valuable and he looked at issues from viewpoints the other members had not dared considered. No doubt he was their wisest and most valuable asset. Without him, things would become very different.

"I have thought about it," replied Vandar, "and while I am sad to go, I feel that this new member will serve the Jedi equally well in my stead." His gnarly fingers quivered. Age had struck the Council, though they did not admit it. Such a thing would be dangerous.

"You don't mean…" said a Mon Calamari, "…Revan?"

Vandar shook his head. "No, Revan will not sit on the Council for some time, if at all she should choose to remain with the Jedi." His little body shrugged. "I will not doubt that she will give considerable thought to our actions today. It will influence her greatly, I fear."

"Who will it be?" inquired Master Je'roth while brushing the fur on his hands idly. Even though this was a very serious and important matter, he couldn't help but find it terribly boring. The look into Revan's head had been entertaining and for a being with his personality, it was also very fulfilling. If it hadn't been for the damnable Alderaanian trying to speed things up, a greater scope of her thoughts might have been touched upon. As it was, the Ryn was curious by nature and desensitized to emotions such as love and sadness. They were an unfortunate weakness that many Jedi had to deal with. He was lucky. He lived his life within the confines of the order and was content. Such notions of privacy were alien to him.

Vandar smiled. "You have probably already been acquainted with him. He did stand trial here a number of years ago."

Enter one very angry Jolee Bindo.

"What did you do?" he exclaimed at the sight of the Jedi lying on the floor. "What have you old fools down now?"

"This," questioned Vrook, "is to be your replacement?" He eyed the man with a muted discontent. "After his chosen exile for so long?" This was the last in a very long list of revelations revealed to him today.

"I have given him the title of Jedi Master," explained Vandar, "as only a senior member of the Council can. He will take my place and we will be better as a whole because of it. Jolee," he pointed to his vacant seat, "once this has been removed, that will be your place in the Council. Agree you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Dig up old fossils like me to make decisions, humph," he muttered in response. He was not exactly happy to be spending the next decade of his life within the company of these one-dimensional individuals. Give him the silence of Kashyyyk any day to the blathering of these old coots.

The Mon Calamari aide was quick in returning with a chair for the new master. She entered and exited quickly. Most likely she was intimidated by the presence of such powerful individuals.

"I say again, what did you do to her?" said a calmer but equally perturbed Jolee. He placed his hands on his hips and eyed the rest of the group suspiciously. There would be some definite changes while he was around. Quick changes too, if he had anything to say about the matter.

"She received a mind scan," clarified Relanai. Her elegant hands were pressed flat to her thighs. The fingers drummed a little tune. "We had to make sure that her previous actions have not paved her another road to the Darkside. The Republic and the Jedi can not afford another war."

"Stuff and nonsense," Jolee refused to move to his chair and instead squatted down next to his friend. "If anything, you've pushed her down that road already. Have yourselves to blame when the galaxy comes crashing down around your ears!" He could just imagine Revan's taunting answer:

'Don't you know the road to the Darkside is paved with good intentions?' She would quirk her eyebrow then and pull a face. She was always doing things like that to make the others smile.

His hand did a quick feel of her forehead. He sensed her mind to be quiet. There would be hell to pay when she woke up, however. "She's sleeping?"

"Her body was feeling the after shocks of the scan," put forth Quelnath. "It distressed her."

Jolee gave a tisk of disapproval. He heard Master Vandar chuckle beside him. "A violent response to a mind scan only happens if it's against the person's will. You have that entire Jedi Library, don't you ever use it?" He shook his head, "I guess not. You haven't changed in over sixty years."

"We were about to make our decision on whether or not we are to return Revan to Jedi Knight status." Vrook steered the conversation away from a potentially lethal topic. "Because Vandar has named you his successor, you will also have your say." As much as Vrook disapproved of it, he had to let him speak.

The Kashyyyk recluse stood firm. Before his arguments could be voiced, he needed to learn a few things. "What did you learn from her mind?" If he was going to be able to defend her right to be a Knight, he had to know exactly what he had to say in order to counter their opinions.

Relanai gave him a hopeful smile, "that she has maintained a consistent standard for good deeds. There is, however, the small matter of the," she looked at Vrook and then back at Jolee, "pilot."

"His name's Carth Onasi and he's a decorated war hero many times over," supplied Jolee. "The Republic trusts him. Bah, what does this have to do with the Republic…its all about the shell lying on the floor at my feet." He gave a little nudge with his boot to Revan's side.

Je'roth sighed at the antics of the old man. He knew that quite a few of the masters felt the same as he did. "I can not, in good counsel, allow Revan to be returned to Knight status so long as he is around. He invokes dangerous emotions within her." He gave an impassive stare to Jolee.

"Love?" Jolee put a hand to his head in frustration. "If anything, that 'dangerous emotion' saved her from slipping more than once." He caught the Ryn's superior gaze. "Don't you look at me like that, sonny. You've never traveled the galaxy in your life, let alone felt an emotion. So you take that look off your face and let an old man have his say!"

The Ryn was unfazed.

"Please continue, Master Bindo," prompted the Khil.

"All I'm saying," continued Jolee, "is that it was not the Order that kept Revan stable. Hah, I'm almost positive that if it was just the Order she was going back to, Revan might not have forsaken the Darkside. With everything that's been done in the past against her, I was amazed she didn't turn sooner!"

"You're saying this Onasi man is the reason she didn't turn?" questioned Relanai. She had some interesting experiences of her own concerning love. This Carth really must be something remarkable if he kept a wild thing like Revan on course. He was handsome too, but not the type of man that Relanai could see herself falling for. Give her a Corellian space pirate any day…

"I think its one of the reasons, yes," answered Jolee. "Love makes people do strange things."

"Therefore love is dangerous," repeated Je'roth.

Jolee scowled. "Don't knock it 'till you've tried, fuzzball."

Now that made the Ryn cringe.

"Didn't you ever stop to think," said Jolee in all seriousness, "that perhaps it was the will of the Force for those two to meet?"

"What do you mean?" asked the Mon Calamari.

"Think about," urged Jolee. "Two people survive the crash from the Endar Spire: this Libra girl and pilot Onasi. Onasi's got his demons a plenty and Libra's definitely one fine lass. They get to know each other and are forced into a lifestyle where they have to depend on one another." He stared pointedly at Je'roth. "Without this strange woman, he might never have done what he had to and without him, she might not have remained as pure as we like to think."

"The Force moves in mysterious ways," conceded Vandar with a gleam in his gray-green eyes. Some things really were inevitable. It had not been hard on Dantooine to see the Force weaving its pattern around the two and yet they were blissfully unaware of what it all meant. The will of the Force could not be denied.

"Did you know?" asked the Alderaanian Jedi.

Vandar shook his head. "The future is always clouded."

The Alderaanian smiled. "So long as it does not interfere with her work as a Jedi, I see no reason to fear this relationship." He was a pragmatist; if Revan could be out there doing the work of the Jedi, what were they waiting for?

"It will not only end there," explained Je'roth with distaste. "They will want to be married, have children. These things tend to escalate. " How anyone could want to open themselves up to such temptation was beyond him.

"And will it be so bad if a child of Revan and Onasi should be a wielder of the Force? What then? Should this not swell our numbers for the greater good?" retorted the Alderaanian.

"Come now, Morio, that research has ever been uncertain. Strong emotional bonds, especially a parental bond, would do the child no good. Revan would certainly seek to train the child herself. This of course would be fraught with foolishness," defended the Zabrak. Had everyone gone to madness around him? Surely they wouldn't let a Jedi that was so frivolous with her emotions run free about the galaxy? If they did, they were just asking for a repeat of the past.

"You speak as if she even wants a child!" barked Jolee. He gave them all an impatient wave of his hand. "Perhaps if you had learnt your lessons as Padawans better, you'd have realized that patience is a large part of being a Jedi. You couldn't wait to let her get adjusted, oh no; you immediately drag her off the transport and stand her for questioning. Bah, I can see now why she kept trying to take my head off when ever you were mentioned in a conversation. Do you know what it's like to have a crazed woman after your head if the words 'Jedi Order' and 'mentor' are spoken in the same sentence?" His foot stamped on the ground for effect.

"You forget your place…" uttered Vrook.

Jolee shook his head, ready to take a stand. "No, I'm in my place and I'm ordering the aide to bring Revan back to her quarters to rest. Then you and I will have a nice long discussion about the changes that are going to be made around here. In fact, why don't we start while we're waiting for her to come back?" He strode to his seat and found it to be quite comfortable. He gave a cough to clear his throat; it was time to get down to business. "Now about this junk you insist be placed in the starships' food dispensers…"