"Honored members of the Council, I would like to address this conclave." I stood up and looked towards the Council, seated at the bottom of the room. The room that the Jedi were gathered in was cavernous. There had to be hundreds if not thousands of Jedi in the room. The Jedi gathered were of different ranks, ranging from prospective students through to the Jedi Masters.
"Yes, Jedi Revan, what is your question?" One of the Council members recognized me where I stood.
"We've spent this entire conclave discussing issues ranging from class schedules to minor diplomatic missions. When are we going to address the Mandalorian threat?" My voice rang out and before I finished my statement, the room erupted in a cacophony of voices.
"Jedi Revan, we have already discussed this with you in private." Another member of the Council spoke up this time.
"We are not a shadow organization; we are not a secret group. I was hoping, in this forum, we could all discuss what the Jedi response to the Mandalorian invasion would be." I was upset at the Council's lack of action. They had been stonewalling me for weeks on the response to the recent attacks by the Mandalorians in the Outer Rim.
"We have done what we can. We have sent envoys to negotiate with the Mandalorians. We are waiting for a response."
"Were these envoys Jedi? Were these envoys high-up members of the Republic?" I was baiting a trap, waiting for the Council to fall into it. I was tired of the lack of action. The Jedi were the peace-keepers of the galaxy and without us, the Republic was being pushed back further and further coreward. Eventually, at the rate the Republic was losing battles, we would be speaking Mandalorian before the year was out.
"Revan, you know as well as we that the envoys were not Jedi, nor would the Republic send diplomats of high rank. The risk is too great."
"Then, will all due respect, you can assume that your envoys are dead and this silence is your response." The chattering picked up again at my bold declaration.
"What makes you so sure that diplomacy will not work with the Mandalorians?" The youngest member of the Council and one of my friends, Kavar, spoke up.
"I did not say diplomacy would not work. The Mandalorian people have a very complex system of honor. In their culture, you are sending grunts to do a leader's job. They are insulted by this and will likely take out their ire on the envoys you sent. The only punishment fitting for this slight to the honor of Mandalore is death. You need to send an envoy of leadership, not a third party envoy." The reaction by the crowd showed that the tide of support was swinging towards me and away from the Council. Perhaps others were as frustrated as I was at the Council's lack of action.
"Are you saying that we should send you as our envoy?" Master Vrook questioned me this time. I couldn't gauge the different members of the Council to see if they supported me or not.
"I'm saying that it is time that we do what we vowed to do, Masters."
"What is that, in your opinion, Jedi Revan?" Master Vrook once again challenged me.
"Every Jedi has vowed, at each and every level of achievement and honor, to uphold the laws of the Republic and the Jedi Oath. We are the peace-keepers of this galaxy. As such, it is time that we do our jobs and fulfill our vows. We sit here as countless billions are slaughtered, as planets are decimated by these invaders. The Republic's diplomacy has failed. The Council's version of diplomacy has failed. It is time to keep the peace and protect the Outer Rim's people." The approval from the Jedi within the room soared at the end of my impassioned speech.
"Are you entreating us to war, Jedi Revan?" Master Kavar spoke once more.
"I am entreating us to do our jobs and to fulfill our vows. I, for one, feel the anguish of those conquered and enslaved. I, for one, see that our response has been ill-researched and ineffective. If keeping the peace for the Republic means going to war, then I, for one, am willing to confront that possibility when it comes." The groundswell of applause rose from the group.
"Silence, we will discuss this in our chambers." Atris, my least favorite Council member, spoke from her seat on the small dais.
"In all due respect, the Council can continue their ineffective discussions about the Mandalorian invasion. I am done with idle chatter; the time for action has come. Your version of diplomacy has failed. Through that failure, billions of sentients have lost their lives, their homes and even their planets. Those that lived through the attacks are now enslaved, forced to serve the will of a people that refuse to see reason and live for bloodshed.
"The time for action is now. I am willing to do what I vowed to do when I achieved the rank of Jedi Knight. I will confront the threat to the peace of the galaxy and the Republic. I am willing to assume the mantle of peace-keeper." With that, I turned and walked out of the room, applause trailing me as I exited.
I woke up in a sweat again. The room was far too hot. The plastasteel windows wouldn't open to allow the cool night air in so I went to the environmental controls and turned the temperature down again. I started pacing back and forth as I went over the dream. No, dream was the wrong word, it was another memory. I could feel the passion behind the words as I addressed the conclave of Jedi. I could feel the rumble of applause throughout the room as I made my speech.
It had all been carefully plotted and planned, of course. I'd known what the Council's response was going to be when I stood up. I'd known just what buttons to push to get the support of those gathered in the room. The rumors and suppositions of my fellow Jedi had led me to mapping out the best orations needed to get the best response. With my grandiose ending statement, I'd led the Jedi to war.
I continued pacing back and forth in front of the bed. The carpet was soft underneath my bare feet. The room finally began to cool off as I walked off the memory.
"Hey, beautiful, what's wrong?" Carth's sleepy voice came from the bed.
"A dream, you know me and sleep. We don't seem to get along anymore."
"Why don't you come back to bed and tell me about it? Everyone says that talking about your dreams make them less real." Carth sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"How can I make a memory less real, Carth?" I stopped pacing long enough to look towards where he sat on the bed. The light coming in from the always awake Coruscant night lined the bed with streaks of light.
"I thought you said it was a dream."
"For me a dream is the same as a memory, anymore. I can't seem to separate the two." Carth got out of bed. His feet didn't make a noise as he approached me. His arms enfolded around me as I lay my head on his shoulder. My voice, when it came, was muffled by his chest. His skin felt smooth under my face.
"Why don't you tell me about it, beautiful? We're working on our trust issues, remember? You can trust me on this." Carth's hands, with their rough calluses rubbed across my back. It was a small gesture but it helped realign me. I felt more real than I had when I woke up.
"I remember addressing the Council, in front of a huge group of Jedis about the Mandalorians. I'd figured out exactly what to say to get the most Jedi to ally themselves with me. Everything went according to my plan and so many Jedi followed me to their deaths." I reached around Carth and squeezed. My embrace was tight, almost desperate. "Why do people follow me? Why did you follow me?"
"I followed you because you knew what you were doing. You're a leader, Revan. No one can take that away from you. You try to do what's right and you have this ability to help people realize the right path."
"So, I define the right path and tell people that's the right path? What's to say that my path is the right one?"
"I can't answer that for you. You have to answer it for yourself. C'mon, let's go back to bed." Carth led me to bed and I curled up on my side, with Carth holding on, as if sheltering me from whatever other memories were trapped in my head.
His sheltering didn't work. As soon as I drifted to sleep, I was engulfed by another memory disguised as a dream.
"Malak, how could you be so short-sighted? Have you learned nothing from me?" Rage poured off me as I paced the room.
"Insuring Admiral Karath's loyalty was necessary. You told me to test him." I quickly executed an about-turn and walked up to Malak. We were a hair-breadth's away and I wasn't going to back down. If Malak wanted me out of his personal space, he would have to back off. I calmly took off my Force Mask that disguised my femininity.
"Why don't you define, for me, what exactly we received in return for the destruction of Telos? Spell your tactics out for me." My voice was deceptively calm. Malak almost controlled his flinch at the tone of my voice. My brother knew how enraged I was when I used that soft calm voice.
"We received confidence in Saul Karath's dedication to our plan. With him, we received the dedication of his entire fleet."
"Did we? So, in return for the destruction of a resource-rich world teeming with people that we could have converted to our side, we receive acknowledgement of the loyalty of one man. In return for the decimation of a population, we get one man. Is this one man's confirmed loyalty worth the outrage and ire of the rest of the galaxy that we haven't confronted yet? Is this one man's loyalty worth the future resistance on other worlds? Is this one man's loyalty worth the loss of manpower and supplies that we will now have to waste in future battles? Tell me, Malak, is this one man's display of loyalty worth all that?" Malak backed up a step.
"You forget all that Admiral Karath brings with him."
"Do I? What exactly does he bring with him besides his own ego and loyalty?"
"He has, at his command, an entire fleet of capital class ships. Our navy is now reinforced with well-trained dedicated soldiers and personnel."
"Is it, Malak? Do you think, I know how hard it is for you to think ahead a few steps, that those soldiers and personnel that Karath had fire on their own people might just be a bit disillusioned with our war? Do you think that they are loyal to our cause or just afraid?"
"The terms are one and the same at this point."
"How did I ever get cursed with a brother of such low intelligence? Think, Malak, why don't you think? Fear causes people to do things. Right now, those things are to our advantage. However, when offered an opportunity to get out from under that burden of fear, do you think that these men and women will not jump at the chance to betray us, the killers of their homeworld? Force save us, Malak, because it's obvious that you won't." I turned my back on my brother as I started pacing again.
"I do not see what you are saying." Malak sounded confused still. His voice betrayed his aggravation with me also.
"Of course you don't. You don't plan further than the quickest route to the goal. Those men and women were just forced to slaughter their own families. A planet that was extremely rich in nutrients is now a barren fire-ravaged wasteland. Instead of being able to pull trained soldiers from this planet, food and arms from its vast supplies, we are now forced with a resistance in our own ranks. Do you remember how you felt when word of Deralia's bombing spread through Coruscant? Do you remember the pain and loss and outrage you felt when you heard that our parents were dead, slaughtered by a bombing of that world? We could now have insurrection in the ranks, all due to your short-sightedness."
"I did what you asked. Why are you being so harsh on me?"
"You didn't do what I asked! I trusted you to test Karath and his crew's loyalty and instead, you have almost certainly insured the loss of loyalty of his crew. We have gained one man and lost a fleet. There was a multitude of other ways to test Karath." My rage poured over and the deceptively calm voice disappeared. Instead, each word was like a vibroblade that started gutting Malak's confidence and pride.
"Then tell me, oh great and masterful tactician, how would you have tested his loyalty?" Malak's voice and statements were far too familiar for the ways of the Sith.
"I'll tell you exactly how I would have done it. I would have asked Karath to sabotage the supply routes to Telos, causing a blockade and eventual surrender of the planet." I raised my hand and casually struck Malak with Force Lightening. "I would have asked Karath to work within the decrepit government of the Republic to destabilize that antique." I hit him again with the Lightening. "I would have asked Karath to surgically remove those in the upper echelons of the Republic Navy so that he was guaranteed a position of power." This time, when I struck Malak, he fell to the ground and writhed in pain. "As you can see, apprentice mine, there were many ways that did not involve the destruction of an entire planet. This is why you will never be the Sith Lord and, instead, always be the apprentice. I always thought my nickname for you of Gamorrean was a misnomer, but I see I was wrong. You have as little intelligence and forethought as that horrible race." I kept the Force Lightening on Malak until he lost control of his body and the stink wafted up to me. I stopped the attack at that point. "Clean yourself up. Our parents would be ashamed of you."