Author's Note: Unlike in the game I have decided that Master Vandar will speak more like Yoda as I've always associated Yoda's speech patterns as a species trait rather than an individual trait (seeing as how the other member of the High Council of the same species, Yaddle, also spoke like Yoda). This is part one of Chapter Four.
Chapter Four: An Unanswered Call to War
Jedi Padawan Malak stood before the only two members of Dantooine's Training Enclave Council currently on planet, Master Dorak and Master Zhar Lestin. The other two, Masters Vrook Lamar and Vandar Tokare were currently on Coruscant where they also held seats as members of the Jedi High Council.
"Thank you for your expediency in coming to us with this message Padawan Malak," Master Zhar said. "You may return to the Communications Room."
"Yes Master Zhar," Malak said with his soft velvet voice and a reverent bow, and then the young man turned and left the chamber. He had just delivered to the two masters a message that had come in over the comm. lines mere moments ago. The message was from the High Council on Coruscant and had contained only the four words: Urgent! Council Eyes ONLY! True Malak could have informed the masters from the Comm. Room with the push of a button, but he had felt it better to deliver the message in person. This fact didn't escape the two older men's notice.
"That one seeks too much praise. His desire for notice is far too great," Master Zhar said looking after the departed Padawan.
"Why do you think he is such good friends with Revan? Amongst the Padawans here, his praise and notice are worth almost more than ours," Master Dorak said, the left corner of his mouth curling in a slight smile.
"Young Revan is another matter altogether," Zhar said with a slight shake of his head, which caused his lekku to jostle.
Master Zhar began to move towards the back wall of the Council Chamber and Master Dorak followed. At the wall Zhar depressed a hidden button and a panel slid aside to reveal a screen set into the wall. The Jedi stood still for a moment, Master Zhar's lekku twitched involuntarily, but that was the only visible sign that the Twi'lek Jedi Master was at all distressed. The High Council rarely sent out comm. messages marked urgent, and even more rarely did they ever send them to the Dantooine Enclave for rarely was there ever an emergency that required the immediate attention of the Training Academy. Whatever the message was, if they were receiving it here on Dantooine, it could only mean something that could be dire for all Jedi everywhere, and especially for the Jedi students who resided here.
Zhar leaned in closer to the screen and spoke into the voice pickup on the wall.
"Contact Coruscant care of the 'Old Folks Home', scramble priority Zhar One-One-Gamma," the master said speaking the code phrase that was required for any urgent message. It would ensure that he was connected directly to the High Council Chamber as quickly as possible on a private and scrambled channel.
"Connection established," the screen reported to Zhar. The master waited for the High Council to pick up at the other end, and before too long the blank screen was replaced by the wrinkled visage of Master Vandar. The small master's long pointed ears extended from the sides of his head to either side of the screen. His face was grave. This must be bad, Zhar thought to himself.
"Ah, Master Zhar. Very good it is to hear from you. Pleased, we are, that quickly you returned our call," The diminutive Jedi Master said in the odd speech patterns native to his species.
"It is good to hear from you as well Master Vandar, though I suspect that the reason for the call is not pleasant."
The respected master's face fell a little more and he let out a slight sigh. This must be very bad indeed, Zhar thought.
"An understatement, this is. Bad indeed, events are," he said as if reading Zhar's mind, which Master Vandar was quite capable of doing given his grasp of the Force. "With you, is Master Dorak?" he asked. Dorak stepped forward into the sight of the comm. screen so that Vandar could see him as well.
"I am here Master Vandar."
"Good. Concerns you as well, this matter does. Concerns all Jedi, it does. Received a communication from Republic Command, I have. Their ship, Tatooine's Twins, stationed in the Japrael Sector, reported, it has, of an attack on Onderon."
"An attack?" Dorak exclaimed. "By whom?"
"Returned, the Mandalorians have."
"Mandalorians?" Zhar was stunned. The Order had heard nothing from the Mandalorians in three decades. "The Mandalorians have no fleet. It was destroyed in the 'Great War'…wasn't it?"
"Destroyed or not, a new fleet they have, and pointed at Onderon it has been," Vandar said shaking his head in dismay. "Reported, Tatooine's Twins has, that too late they arrived. Taken Onderon the Mandalorian's have, the Royal fleet, they now control. More ships, the Republic sent. Unable to stop the Mandalorians, they have been. Unable to stop part of the Mandalorian fleet from leaving the sector, they have been. Loose in the galaxy, the Mandalorians are. A holding battle, the Republic is engaged in at Onderon, both in space, and on the surface. For the help of the Jedi, the Republic has asked. Meet on Coruscant to discuss this, all Council members must. Informed of this, all Jedi Masters must be." The small master paused as if reflecting on something within. "A vision, I have had. This war, I have seen. Dark…dark times, the Republic is in for. Dangerous for all Jedi, this is. To Coruscant, you two must come."
Malak walked slowly across the Enclave courtyard lost in his thoughts. He knew intellectually that he should be hurrying back to his post in the Communications Room, but his mind was consumed by what had occurred over the last couple minutes. He had just left the two masters in the Council Chamber with their urgent message, and the experience had left him empty for several reasons.
He had thought that Masters Zhar and Dorak would be impressed by his devotion to duty, by the fact that he would take the time to hand deliver the message, by the fact that he felt it was so important as to trust it to no one but himself to relay to them, and yet they had appeared cold to him…indifferent. Could it have merely been the fact that it had been an urgent message and they had been concerned with its content? No, there seemed to be more to it than that. They seemed put off that HE had come with it. Or was it that he had come with it at all rather then merely contacting them via the comm. system? Malak was unsure. He sometimes felt so insecure among the Masters, even though he had grown up around them both, even taking instruction from them. He had even been Zhar's Padawan at one point. It seemed so often that the only Jedi that Malak did feel comfortable around was Revan. Revan seemed to understand him and the two had connected on some deeper level ever since they had met. And yet, Revan was always so far ahead of him. Revan was better at lightsaber combat, Revan had a greater command of the Force, Revan had become a Knight first while Malak was still a Padawan, Revan always pushed himself further and further, Revan always needed to learn more, and he always dragged Malak with him. Malak didn't always want to go as far as Revan, but Revan took him anyway, making him reach further then he would otherwise desire, and Malak could never say no to him.
Some of the other Padawans had tried to tell Malak once that Revan was merely using him. Malak didn't believe them. They were merely jealous. After all, it wasn't as if Revan was calling them his best friends. That was Malak's title and his alone.
Malak did sometimes feel as if he was always in the shadow of Revan, and with as powerful as Revan was, it was hard not to be. But if Malak couldn't be as good as Revan, he would at least be a close second, even if it meant riding on Revan's coat-tails. Malak knew in his heart of hearts that Revan would be the next great Jedi Master, and he also knew that whenever they said Revan's name, Malak's name would follow closely in everyone's minds. Malak just wished he could shake the feeling he got sometimes that Revan would be the death of him.
As if summoned by Malak's thoughts suddenly Revan was there. If Malak hadn't looked up just then he might have run right into Revan, as lost in thought as he was. As it was he had to stop short and almost stumbled.
"Whoa, Malak, are you okay?" his friend asked placing a hand on Malak's chest to steady him.
"Revan…I'm sorry my friend. I'm afraid I was a bit preoccupied."
"I can see that Malak," Revan paused for a moment looking his friend in the eyes. Malak suddenly felt uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny and turned away. "Malak, does this have anything to do with…whatever you were doing in the Council Chamber?"
Malak suddenly felt completely unsure. He had never felt this way around Revan, why was he so uncomfortable now? Then he realized that his discomfort stemmed from the other reason he had been so lost in thought. Somehow, seeing those four simple words on the screen Urgent! Council Eyes ONLY! had left Malak with an uneasy feeling. Somehow it concerned him, though he couldn't imagine how a message for the Masters would have anything to do with a lowly Padawan. And yet, in his soul he felt certain about one thing, whatever this message really was about…it would change everything for him…everything. After a moment, Malak was finally able to meet his friend's eyes.
"Yes…something about the message…I don't know. I feel as if there is something important about to happen."
"What did the message say?"
"It only said "Urgent! Council eyes only", and yet…I just don't know…it is something I can't explain," Malak said shifting his eyes away again. Revan smiled and rested his hand on Malak's shoulder.
"Don't worry my friend. Master Kreia felt something too, and she couldn't be any more specific, and as she told me 'If it is to be our concern, it will be revealed to us before too long'."
"Of course my friend. It was just…unsettling somehow…."