The Party
Revan and Jolee made their way down the hill to the party, and Revan stood still for just a moment to survey the event from their uphill position.
The first thing that caught Revan's attention was the makeshift stage in the relative center of the whole event. It was decorated enough to make it look presentable to a galactic audience.
The party was situated in the middle of a large clearing, Most of which was made from clearing the area of trees and bush.
Even the Rakata were invited to the party, though they were invited mainly for the diplomatic angle of reintroducing them to the Galaxy.
He took a moment to see where the party dwellers were now.
Mission and Zaalbaar were at the food table; Mission probably making sure the latter didn't eat the whole party out, while Carth seemed to be busy speaking with Admiral Dodonna.
Canderous was at a table by himself, with a large area around him cleared. That wasn't strange considering he was glaring daggers at anyone who even attempted to come near him, besides the Ebon Hawk crew. Not to mention the armor and weapons that he was still wearing, which he had refused to leave at the Ebon Hawk for 'stuck up Republican Bureaucrats.'
How Revan envied him.
Juhani, HK-47, and T3 were nowhere in sight. Juhani he assumed was either on the Ebon Hawk, or meditating nearby, the Cathar didn't much like parties of this semi-grand scale.
He had ordered the droids to guard and repair the Ebon Hawk while everyone was waiting for the whole ordeal of the 'celebration' to end. The ship had taken quite a bit of damage from the shockwave after the Star Forges destruction.
He felt Bastila's presence through their bond out in the forest. Sending his concern and love to her, he felt her send back a faint wave of love back mixed with reassurance- though the latter wasn't very convincing.
He left her alone for now however, as his attention was suddenly sidetracked. Master Vandar was coming up to greet him.
The diminutive master strode up to Revan and Jolee as they were moving towards a seat in the back, away from most of the glares Revan was still receiving.
"Greetings, we haven't had a chance to talk as of yet young one...." Vandar looked up to Jolee and smiled, "I would like a moment alone with Adam if you please."
Revan scowled at the use of his alter ego, but didn't say anything. Half this party would probably come to a dead halt if he was identified by his true name at the moment.
Jolee merely nodded and looked up to Revan; his eyes silently asking him not to do anything rash. Revan only smirked in response.
Revan looked down to Master Vandar and raised his brows once they were out of earshot of the party. "What is it you wish to speak to me about, Master?"
Vandar cast his gaze over the young Jedi. "We have not been able to speak with you at length since Dantooine. I trust that you know of your true identity at this point? How did you take it?"
Fighting back the urge to glare at him, Revan replied evenly, "How do you think I took it? I find out that the Jedi decided to turn me into an experiment and reprogrammed my mind with a new identity more suited to your purposes. Then you send me to backtrack my own steps without telling me at all." He crossed his arms, "You had no right to do that to me. I can still feel most of my true memories, scattered and fragmented yes, but there nonetheless. It only takes a bit of effort to access them. If you Jedi had-"
Master Vandar interrupted, "We had no choice but to try and give you a new identity; we did not have enough time to completely repair your mind. You were fragile and broken. We were lucky to be able to implant what we could into you with the time we had."
While it was true that Revan was badly injured during the bridge incident, the damage wasn't so bad that he was completely gone. He would have recovered fully with time and help.
But it was a bit late for that.
Waiting for Vandar to finish, Revan took a deep breath to calm down, "Did you even bother to try and repair me? I know it takes a long time to attempt, but I am the one who has suffered because of it, not you, or the council, and I will probably continue to suffer."
Master Vandar sighed. "We did, and when we saw that it would take months to try and repair the damage, we opted for the best approach we could...we gave you a new identity, and hoped that your mind could repair itself. The blast from Malak's ship damaged your psyche extensively, and while it was repairable, we were pressed for time with the Sith advancing so quickly. Surely you understand."
Barely keeping from glaring now, Revan replied, "You may have been pressed for time...and I understand that you couldn't afford to waste much of it, but That doesn't mean I will forgive you, or the council who agreed to it. You know as well as I that once people realize who I really am, I will be hunted mercilessly for a long time. Quite possibly for the rest of my life. The Republic might have loyalty from most of its soldiers, but I -the person who caused this war to happen for the most part- will undoubtedly be the target of many: Sith assassins, Republic personnel who won't forgive me, and anything else you can think of will try to kill me. I will have nowhere to go in this galaxy, and I realized that from Admiral Dodonna's reaction to me. She barely kept her hatred of me from manifesting. No, the Jedi will not be able to protect me, and neither will the Republic. I am the one here with a dark past, not you, or the council. Killing me might have actually been a mercy"
Master Vandar visibly saddened at this apparent suicide wish, and was about to speak. Revan promptly interrupted him however, holding up a hand, "No, I wouldn't consider death now- I am a fighter, a diplomat, and a bastard: but I am not a coward. You and your council helped to deal me this set of cards in life, and didn't bother to try and help until it was too late. So unless you can somehow erase the memories of the last 5 years from the galaxy, I will not forgive any of you"
Bastila felt his rising anger through the bond, and was now coming back from the forest to find out what was wrong, and while Revan was trying to say it was nothing, Bastila wasn't convinced.
Inwardly he groaned.
The bond itself seemed to grow stronger after they both openly started showing their love towards one another. It seemed to him- at least for the moment, that an abundance of positive emotions directed towards the other for a long period of time made the bond grow, or perhaps it was simply using the bond that made it more fluid, more usable. They wouldn't know without time and experience.
She was still a while away however, and he hoped to get done with Master Vandar before she managed to catch up to him.
Master Vandar nodded grimly to this news, and tried to play a small trump card. "We gave you another chance at life. For that, you should be thanking us. Without us, you would still be an invalid who could not do much for his own self. You are also still a member of the Jedi Order"
Revan was expecting this, and didn't budge. "You implanted your own persona into me and used me for your own ends. I understand the logic behind it, and I might have done it myself in your situation, but I will not forgive the fact that you did not tell me. Nothing you say will give me enough reason to forgive the Jedi for not telling me that the whole life I remembered was nothing but a lie. As for the Order, I am considering leaving it, as I will have trouble obeying the wishes of a council who thought so /highly/ of my life"
Master Vandar closed his eyes with sadness, "I understand. I was hoping that you would be more agreeable. I would request that you come to Coruscant to see the Jedi council before you make any rash decisions at least"
Revan slowly nodded, "I was planning on it. Do not expect me to bow down to your will however. Now, while I can tell you have other questions. Perhaps we could speak more later once we reach Coruscant?" Without waiting for an answer, Revan stepped away towards the Ebon Hawk. He knew how things would probably go at the Council. While he didn't pretend to have all the answers like the Jedi did, he did know one thing.
Once his name slipped out, nowhere in the Republic would be safe for him.
If you read this story, please review, it lets me know people are actually looking it over at least, and in turn tells me that I should continue it and better my writing skills so more can enjoy it.
