Alan looked up from the dirty dishes when he heard the door into the diner open. It was a little early for the morning rush. There were few people who came right when the diner opened. Even then they had already been served their breakfast. Alan returned to the front of the diner and frowned.
Alvar had entered the diner, alone. While Alan loved to see his son, it was odd one of the other masters or his padawan weren't with him. Alvar wore a rather grim expression, his dark eyes locked on Alan. The expression only seemed to enhance the fatigue in Alvar's face.
"What's wrong?" Alan asked his youngest. His heart fluttered a little. Alvar looked so tired. It was more than clear he hadn't been sleeping well despite getting rest when he and his family had come to visit Justin's. Though, Alan doubted this was the reason his son wore such a grim expression. It was more likely that the fatigue was from running the order as the current Grandmaster than anything else.
"Do you have a moment to talk in private?" Alvar asked. His voice was light, almost soothing despite the fatigue coating his face. If his face had been hidden as it had during the Mandalorian and early Jedi Civil Wars, there would have been no way to tell just how tired Alvar really was.
Cold trickled down Alan's spin. He didn't want to dwell on just how tired Alvar must have been through those wars. It was hard enough to see him pushing himself so hard in the present.
"Of course." Alan smiled, hoping it would hide his uneasy thoughts from Alvar. "Rana!" Alan turned a little towards the door back into the kitchen.
"Yes, Grandpa Alan?" Rana poked her head around the door. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Alvar. She stepped fully out of the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" The sweetness of her voice melted to distain.
Alvar looked at her and smiled. "I merely need a word with father," the lightness of his voice took an almost joking note.
"Over?"
"A private matter."
Rana folded her hands across her chest. Her gaze sharp. "I knew it. You are after the diner."
"My that is quite the imagination you have there," Alvar teased.
"Enough," Alan called both his son and granddaughter to order. Really? Why did Rana still think Alvar wanted the diner? There was no way his youngest would have enough time to even think about running the diner on top of running the order and restoring it. If he had let this conversation continue it would have deteriorated into Rana flinging insults at Alvar. Alan was far from worried about how Alvar would handle it, but he would rather not have the guests see this. "Rana, I'm leaving you in charge of the diner while I speak with Alvar."
Rana shot Alvar a smug look. "I won't let you down, Grandpa."
Alan kept quiet the smugness of the look and her tone. He just hoped she would eventually realize Alvar wasn't interested in running the diner. How had she even thought he would, was beyond Alan.
Alan led Alvar into his office. It was more a space to work on the profits the diner made throughout the day than anything else. He spent far more time in the kitchen than in here.
There was a chance Alan knew what this was over given everything that had happened. It had to be over his past as a "Sith lord." Not that he had ever lived up to the title. It had been a means to an end back then. Now, all the title meant was regret in he had ever been born in the empire to begin with.
Alan turned to face Alvar without taking the seat. He didn't place the desk between them either. He wanted to speak with son as equals… perhaps not equals, but not as a diner owner to the grandmaster of the Jedi Order.
There was nothing of panic in him. He was calm, even relieved. At long last his past was out in the open. It was more a weight being lifted from Alan than anything else. This was, of course, assuming that was the reason Alvar was here. There was a chance Alvar would force Alan into the Order for training as a Jedi. This would mean leaving his eldest and his family.
"Some information came to light over your past," Alvar started.
Ah, so it was over what Alan thought this was. "I see." Alan bowed his head. "It was only a matter of time given Jeri and Sighta arriving in the Republic."
"I take it you didn't inform the Order for Justin's sake?"
"Yes."
"Understandable. I investigated what you've been doing since coming to Republic space."
Alan smiled. It sounded just like his youngest son do so. It also explained some of why Alvar was so relaxed despite his grim expression. Also, why it had taken him over a day since the Sith guards capture to speak with Alan over this matter.
"You've been helping the people of Republic this entire time. That isn't the actions of a Sith Lord. Then there is also the fact you didn't resist when the Jedi Order came for me."
Odd. Alan doubted Alvar had memory of this moment. Not just because he had been so young when the Order had come, but also given Alvar himself had stated he had no memory of his life before finding his iconic mask during the Mandalorian Wars.
"Of course not. For one you wanted to become like Jedi to defend the Republic and its people." Alan smiled at the memory of Alvar's little face, beaming as he described his dreams for the future. "I also had read countless forbidden texts over the Jedi and their Force techniques during my time as an appearance in the empire. Everything I had read pointed to them being far kinder than the Sith. They were patient where the Sith would have just killed those around them. In all honesty, I was and still am happy and proud you became a Jedi."
Alvar's gaze flickered. The rest of his face remained devoid of the emotion outside of fatigue. The motion alone betrayed his feelings.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of." Alan placed his hand on Alvar's shoulder.
Alvar cocked an eyebrow. "You mentioned forbidden texts," Alvar turned the conversation back to what they had been discussing. "What did they cover?"
"Most were over healing techniques," Alan informed his son. He lowered his hand. "My master was trying to develop a technique to counter the Jedis' ability to heal through the Force. I wasn't told much over this matter. It was more notes I had found while studying those texts."
"Do you know how fat your master was into the research?" Alvar asked, frowning.
"He was fairly close to completing it when I fled the empire."
Alvar's eye glazed. His hand on his chin.
"I studied the healing techniques from those texts in order to find away to counter what he was creating," Alan informed his son. No, he was informing the grandmaster of the Jedi Order. It was important to inform the Jedi of this. There had been no way to do so prior to now given the apprehension the Order had over Sith.
Alvar's gaze cleared as he looked at Alan once more. "Did you have time to complete the counter?"
"Yes," Alan confessed. "However, I have never been able to test it. I completed it a few years after arriving on Telos."
"And it would be based off the last version of the technique you saw," Alvar muttered this more to himself. He nodded. "We can work with that." There was a dark look his gaze. "I understand why you couldn't risk testing it," Alvar spoke to Alan this time. "It would been a dead giveaway you were more than just a Force sensitive."
It would have been. It would also would have meant Alan would have to first use his former master's technique, something he would never, ever subject someone to.
"You are the first I know of who managed to fool even the former grandmaster, Vander." Alvar smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "You are a master of disguise when it comes to suppressing your Force sensitivity."
Alan frowned. He had never considered himself such. The way Alvar spoke it sounded as if Vander would have been extremely hard to hid from. Alan shivered. He doubted the former grandmaster had been unaware of Alan's presence in the Republic. Granted, if he had been aware another Sith had entered the Republic so soon after the previous war with a fallen Jedi – It was for the best not to think on this or dwell on it.
"I have the technique on a data pad," Alan moved the subject away from how he had remained hidden. "I know Hanna wishes to be a healer, perhaps she could help or if there is another in the Order training to be a healer. They would be able to test the technique to a degree."
"Both consulars training to be healers are still in training," Alvar confessed. "While I have some training as a healer, I am far from an expert in that side of the Force." Alvar's gaze locked onto Alan's. "What matters in the here and now is that have confirmed what I came here to."
Alan didn't move. It was more than clear it had been to determine of Alan was a threat to the Order and the Republic. Something he would never do or wish to become. Both of his sons called the Republic home. Both served it, though in very different ways.
"You are not and never have been a threat to the Republic," Alvar confirmed Alan's own thoughts.
Alan smiled at Alvar. All Alan had ever wanted to do outside of having a family was to aid those in need. This was what he had dedicated his life to after arriving on Telos. It was what he could continue to do until the day he died.
"Your heart is clearly here with the people of Telos and your family," Alvar continued. "However, I must ask, do you wish to join the Order?"
"What?" Alan blinked, the question coming at him out of nowhere. Had Alvar really just invited him to join the Jedi Order? It sounded like it, no matter how absurd it was. "I am not too old?"
"Not at all," Alvar stated.
Alan's heart fluttered. He had always believed his time using the Force was over. It was tempting, but – Alan's grip tightened on his cane – what good would be to the Order? Yes, he was self-trained in healing and the Light Side of the Force. Yes, he still remembered the years spent teaching himself the Jedi ways. The fact remained, despite finishing the theory to counter his former master's technique, Alan hadn't used the Force often. The last time had been during the bombing of Telos. For all the good that had done for the people who had lived here. He hadn't been able to save many then.
The thought of having been a Sith, having been raised in the empire, made his heart sink. In all honesty the only good that came from his time there were his children, and perhaps what he had been able to put together to counter the counter to a Jedi's healing ability.
"You needn't decide this instant," Alvar's voice disrupted Alan's churning thoughts. "Meetra, Jasper, and their padawans will be remaining here."
That was right. They were to render aid in the restoration of Telos.
"You can speak with one of them when you've reached a decision. You needn't feel pressured or obligated to the Jedi Order."
"Thank you, Alvar." Alan bowed his head. "I will think on this matter and inform you or one of the other masters when I've reached a decision."
Alvar smiled, no doubt noticing Alan's wording meant he wanted to reach a decision before Alvar departed from Telos. There was no telling how much time remained until then. It would be for the best to think this over carefully in the span of time left before then.
"I will be by tomorrow to collect the data pad," Alvar informed him. His tone was light once more, dropping the more serious tones he had used throughout their conversation before.
"I'll have it ready for you," Alan informed his son. "May the Force be with you," he spoke the traditional farewell of the Jedi.
Alvar blinked and gave a tired laugh. "And with you." He left the office.
Alan breathed. It was good to have the secret he had lived with for so long in the open. Still, what was he to do about Alvar's offer? He wanted to stay with both his sons' families. Part of Justin's was remaining here on Telos while the other three of Justin's children would be training as Jedi.
Alan closed his eyes. He had time to think about this.
x – Sighta – x
It was hard to believe and so easy in the same moment. Alvar, no matter what her mother had said, was far stronger than her. He had fought longer than her, struggled longer, while she had help through everything she had ever done. Sure, Alvar had allies with him, but they weren't there to make every fight easy. No, rather they had been what an ally should have been.
Sighta had been so blind. It was so clear now she looked back on all their conversations. He had dropped so many hints he was Revan throughout ever conversation. She had been a blind fool to not put two and two together until it had been bluntly stated who he was.
She had been so sure of herself, so blinded in her superiority that everything had gone in one ear and out the other. All she had been able to see when she had looked at Alvar was the picture of a sickly man her mother had painted him to be. Now, she knew better.
This entire time he had been Revan. He had been the one Jedi, the one person in the universe Sighta had believed capable of aiding her in overthrowing the emperor. The same man who had been turned into a puppet by the emperor to be the first she knew of to break his control over him. Well, one of the first as Revan's Jedi associate had done the same.
Overthrowing the emperor no longer mattered. The empire no longer mattered. The only reason Sighta had wanted to reform the empire had been her mother. Her mother who had abandoned her the moment she had lost the duel with Revan.
Now, it was Alvar – Revan, her mother sought to use for her own means. It was Revan she wanted to have replace the emperor. Not that Sighta could picture Revan doing so. Well, the person she now knew Revan to be.
It was funny how Sighta had been so upset after losing her mother's love and support compared to now. There was nothing of those emotions left in her. Nothing of pain. Instead, an excitement had grown to its place.
She was learning under the greatest Force user of their time. What did it matter if it was in the Jedi way? It didn't. All that mattered was she was learning under Revan. He was teaching her more about the Force and combat than her old Sith master had. Yes, she was to be a Jedi and not a Sith. She was a part of the Jedi Order, and she relished the idea.
Honestly, there was only one person in the universe that could beat Revan. That was the emperor. No member of the Dark Council would have been able to stand against him. It didn't matter if he did or didn't have all of his memory. He was so strong in the Force and knew it better than anyone Sighta had ever meet before. Then there was his lightsaber technique. She had only seen a little of it when he was training them and during that duel, but it was clear the blade was an extension of his body. His movements were clear and focused.
All right. Now Sighta had to pour everything into her training. She was done with not wanting to be trained. She was done fearing Revan. She respected him for his strength, but fear would only hamper her ability to grow into a Jedi. Fear and anger were done directing her actions. She had to rise beyond those emotions and find peace.
The first step in doing so was to meditate.
Sighta closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and let the Force flow through her. She exhaled, feeling the gentleness of the Force. Each sense heightened. The sensations washed through, calming even the excitement she had felt moments before. It was pure bliss like nothing she had ever felt before.
There was so much she had to learn. This was one thing. The feeling so alien and so welcoming she wanted to remain in this state forever. She would learn more. She would let the Jedi teachings guide her and open her eyes to the truth of the galaxy.