Chapter 3

Revan was comfortable now; she was dressed in her familiar Jedi robes, her hair was tied back in the traditional style for females. Most people thought that the Jedi were very stagnant in their dress and behavior, walking around identical to each other at all times. This was far from true, at least in the opinion of most Jedi. Yes, there was a strict order that governed each Jedi enclave. This was as much for the protection of the Jedi as it was the people they encountered. To control one's connection with the Force was a difficult thing to learn, even if emotions were not involved. A Jedi must become strong in the Force before facing what most of the Republic deemed, "the real world". Yes, the young students were guided in a traditional hairstyle for boys and girls, but this avoided confusion. This allowed children and older Padawans who were not yet fully able to hone their skills to be easily identified. There were reasons for every tradition of the council, the wisest of all Jedi. They're word was law, and they were trusted to know what was best. That was enough and had always been enough for Revan.

Now she walked the hallways of the transport, the Traveler, as she tended to do on long trips. The Jedi had granted both a group of settlers and a small collection of Republic troops to share their transport ship and she was a bit curious about their guests. She glided into the refectory where many – including Jedi, militia and Republic citizens – sat, ate, and conversed with their neighbors. She received her meal from the refectory droids and walked to a cornered booth. Her presence seemed to hush those she passed. Many of them had probably never been aboard a Jedi vessel or been so close to so many Jedi. They're discomfort was understandable. She could sense their eyes on her, but she ate silently, not wanting to say anything that would put them at further unease.

After a few minutes, a little girl walked passed her and dropped her eating utensils on the floor beside Revan's table. "I'm so sorry, Master Jedi," the young girl stammered as she tried to hold the heavy tray while reaching for the floor.

But Revan's reflexes were quicker and she glided down to the floor with much more ease. After retrieving the dropped items, she gave them to a cleaning droid who was near them and gave a new set of utensils to the girl. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything to harm me. What's your name?"

"Mira."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Mira. My name is Revan."

Mira took a quick look around and then moved closer the Revan, touching her robes with her thumb and forefinger. "Are you really a Jedi Knight?"

"No. Not yet as least. I am a student of the Jedi order. We are called Padawans." Something about the young girl was calming. She wondered if this girl was Force Sensitive. "What about you, Mira? Are you really a settler? Maybe you're a Jedi Master trying to make sure I'm not misbehaving."

The young girl laughed at that thought. "No, silly, I am a settler. At least my grandparents are. They're moving us to Dantoine. They say it's safer to live on one of the Core Worlds, where the Mandalorians can't reach us."

An older woman rushed to the girl and pulled her gently by the shoulders. "Mira, don't disturb the nice Jedi. She has more important things to do than talk to you."

"But grandma – " Mira protested.

"She's fine, ma'am," Revan assured the woman. She turned her attention to the little girl again. "But I do realize that you must be very busy. It was very nice meeting you Master Mira."

"Nice meeting you too, Revan," Mira piped and bowed as she had seen Jedi do on holocrons. Her grandmother smiled at Revan and walked away with the young girl in toe as another Jedi moved to Revan's table.

"Friend of yours?" the Jedi asked as the girl left. He was almost a foot taller than she, wearing reddish robes and the traditional male haircut. He was muscular, broad and could seem a bit intimidating to one who didn't know him better. Luckily, Revan did. She smiled at her friend, thinking back to a moment when they were children, when she'd first met the young man. They were both the same age but she was the taller, more assertive (and sometimes aggressive) one. She took it upon herself to take care of the shy boy and a tight bond was formed. As they grew older, he grew both physically and in the Force, and began to be just as protective of her as she was of him.

They were assigned to different Masters, but that did not hinder their friendship. Rather, it encouraged it. They helped each other train and served as a person to talk to when their Jedi Master was too removed to understand the other. When one grew to a new understanding in the Force or had witnessed some new mystery of the galaxy, he or she was quick to share with the other. They were siblings in every way but blood, sometimes being called "the twins" by older Jedi. She was still the stronger, but that did not seem to be an issue. One's strength was the other's strength as well.

"Have a seat," Revan offered her friend. He obeyed her, still smiling calmly. "How goes the training?"

"It's going, Revan," he said, rolling his eyes a bit.

"What do you mean?"

He tensed up a bit, as if trying to find the right words to express himself. He looked around at the crowd of non-Jedi and decided to censor his words so as to not leave a bad impression on them. "Master Vrook is a wonderful teacher. He has a great understanding of the Force and I feel myself growing stronger whenever I am with him . . . but he isn't the easiest Master to learn from."

"What's wrong?" Revan asked softly while munching on something from her plate.

"I find it difficult to please him. No matter how hard I strive in one area, he condemns me in another. I don't believe he will ever recommend me for the trials."

Revan patted her friend's hand. "He's a different type of Jedi, but that doesn't mean that you won't succeed under him. I guess he pushes so much because he doesn't want us to fall like the other Jedi he's seen in his life. Try not to take it personally, Malak. Could be worse. You could be me. I know I'm not top on his list, but I do what I can and when he condemns me, I find what I can use out of what he says and forget the rest."

Malak smiled slightly. "Easy for you to say. I've head the Masters talking about you. Some believe that you will be the most powerful female Jedi ever. You've excelled me and others more than you realize." Malak paused, taking a bite of his food. "Besides, your master is Kavar."

"And he's far from easy to please, let me assure you. Keep at it. Hey, may Vrook's so hard on you because he sees potential. I've heard him say that you're mastering some of the more aggressive fighting forms. Maybe he just wants to remind you to steer clear from the Dark Side."

"Maybe . . ." Malak's words trailed off and the two friends found themselves eating in relative silence. They were used to a rigorous schedule and ate quickly and lightly out of habit. Padawans had always been taught to prepare oneself for anything, and that included how one conducted himself when eating. It wasn't above the Masters to conduct a drill during mealtime.

Once finished, they quietly left the refectory and headed to the Jedi dormitories. They would need to rest so that they would be prepared for their training. They entered their room shedding their outer robes and each finding rest on their respective bunks. Malak reached for the light and Force-pushed at the sensor to turn it off. For a while, the room was still, the hum of the hyperdrive the only recognizable distraction for the silence. Then, just when Malak was about to drift off, he heard Revan sigh. "Malak?"

"Yes?"

"You will be a great Jedi, Vrook knows that, but you have to." Malak was dead silent and Revan could sense that he was thinking of a rebuttal. She gave him a moment to add his opinion, but he stayed silent. "What, Malak?"

"There are many Padawans destined for greatness, Revan, but I fear that, in the end, I will be left behind . . . in their shadows." He'd wanted to say "in your shadow" but couldn't bring himself to. Revan had always been ahead of him, and to hear of her achievement on a day-to-day basis from someone as cold as Vrook was becoming unbearable, but it wasn't her fault. He was her brother. He should be happy for her achievements, not jealous of them. He began to quietly mumble the Jedi Code to himself, trying to center his emotions. He continued this for such a long time he thought Revan had drifted to sleep. Finally, when he was calmer, he heard her speak. "You won't me, my friend. I promise."

The two drifted to sleep as their other bunk-mates had, but their rest was short-lived. A few hours later, the ships alarm system began to shriek through the walls. Interestingly enough, the young Jedi were already awake. They had felt a disturbance in the Force seconds before the alarms and had reached for their sabers just when the noise resonated in their ears.

"What do you suppose it is?" a female bunkmate asked.

"Mandalorians," Malak replied, trying to open the door. "It has to be." He continued to press the controls locking the door. "They must have had the dormitory doors sealed. I can't open it this way."

He looked at Revan and she at him. They both then activated their lightsabers simultaneously, and used them as wedges to force the doors open. The doors seemed to give easily and when opened, they allowed the laser to fade away. "We may have been boarded," Revan acknowledged. "Brin, you and Tobias try to find a way to the settlers. Malak and I will try to get to the bridge and help keep it safe from the Mandalorians." The Padawans separated, each group determined to complete their respective missions.

Times like this, the connection between Revan and Malak showed itself the most. Without even speaking much to one another, they worked in tandem to make their way to the bridge. They slipped through ventilation ducts and slipped through several groups of Mandalorians to get to the bridge. Once there, they were truly shocked with what they saw; all of the Republic bridge crew – who were going to borrow the Traveler from the Jedi to assist other colonists – were brutally slain. The two Padawans moved from person to person, searching for any vital signs. They found none. Some had been gunned down; others had signs of viroblade injuries. The two bowed in humble respect for each officer, then began searching the consoles for the vitals of the ship.

"I'm detecting a Mandalorian vessel attached to our hull," Malak called out.

"And I'm detecting several troops moving through the ship. Most are concentrated near the dormitories." Revan thought for a minute. "Malak, is there any way to contact the Masters?"

" Normally the com would work, but the Mandalorians have shut it down. And from what I can tell, their main goal is to see what the Jedi have to offer to the fight."

Revan walked from her console to her friend and thought silently for a moment. "Then let's not disappoint them. Malak, I've got a plan."

Revan punched a few buttons in the navigational system in front of Malak. He looked at the console a moment, then looked up at her. "Do you think they will take the bait?"

"I don't think we have a choice. You think you can take care of the navigations without me?"

"I don't think I have a choice," Malak smirked as Revan left the room. She Force-sealed the door and guarded the Bridge, quietly waiting for opposition. She wouldn't be disappointed, for a few minutes later a few Mandalorian war-droids began attacking. She mowed them down quickly, trying not to leave herself open to a Mandalorian attack. Just when she'd finished the last one, a very intimidating Mandalorian appeared in front of her. He must have had his suit on stealth-mode and been watching her movements. He was clothed from head to toe in blue Mandalorian armor and carried a large Mandalorian rifle and a few Republic trophies on his hip.

"Very impressive, Jedi," his voice mumbled through the armor plating. "Now, let's see how you fare against a Mandalorian."

Revan narrowed her eyes and allowed her double-bladed lightsaber to ignite as the Mandalorian held his rifle at her. Neither spoke. Finally, the great Mandalorian chuckled and dropped his rifle to the ground. He pulled a viroblade from one of his armor's leg compartments. "Fine, Jedi. We'll play it your way."

The two began their battle, each trying to best the other in the quickest manner possible. Revan had never fought a Mandalorian before and had always expected the larger humans to move much slower. To her surprise, the warrior was almost as agile as the Jedi. She wondered if they drew power from the Force as well. In any event, they were matching each other attack to attack. The two pushed away from the battle was paused. "You fight well, Jedi, but you will not last for long," the Mandalorian said. You are beginning to tire."

"Interesting," Revan breathed. " I was just about to tell you the same thing."

The ship shifted positions and the Mandalorian looked around in confusion. "What's happening?" he demanded.

"Nothing much. We're just taking the ship through the atmosphere."

"At this speed – "

" – we'll rip our ship and yours apart. Either you and your troops leave this ship, or we all die together. Take your pick."

"You Jedi are a foolish bunch. Your deaths would be meaningless. No honor would be gained."

"Well, that's where you're wrong. I would be protecting a few million people from your ship and your troops. That's all the honor I need."

The Mandalorian paused again as if thinking. Then he chuckled a bit to himself. "Hmph. I suppose you Jedi are more resourceful than we thought." He punched a few buttons on his armband. "See you in battle, Jedi." He then walked away from the Bridge, fading in thin air as we walked.

Revan took a breath and opened the doors of the Bridge. Malak was still in the pilot's chair. "Well," he breathed, "it seems that your plan worked. As far as I can tell, the Mandalorian troops have left and the ship is decoupling from our hull."

"Good. So you can pull up now."

"Can't. We're in too deep now."

Malak gripped the controls a bit more and concentrated on the image of the rapidly approaching planet. "Like it or not, we're landing."

Revan stood silently as her friend worked at landing the transport. They came in a bit hot, but landed as well as could be expected, a few kilometers away from the Jedi enclave. By this time, Master Kavar joined them on the Bridge. He patted Malak's shoulder and looked warmly at Revan. "You have done well," he replied. "Thanks to you, the Jedi and the surviving Republic forces are safe."

"Just the soldiers and the Jedi?" Revan questioned. "What about the settlers?"

Kavar sighed, seeming grieved for the first time. He walked her and Malak down to the dormitory used for the colonists. "They didn't last long against the Mandalorians, Revan. And those that were strong or young were taken away."

Revan nodded understanding and knelt near a body of a familiar older woman, bowing her head in sadness.