Hello, guys! I had you waiting, hadn't I XD? Sorry for the long delay, but I was working my entire summer holidays so I was out from early morning to midnight every day. Also now my last school year has begun so my teachers are making sure that I don't get bored both at school and at home. Also, I'm working during the weekends, because I'm living on my own now so I have to make some money on the side. But I promise you that this story won't die! I don't know what would have to happen to convince me to abandon it fully. And perhaps longer pauses between the chapters will make you more hyped for the next updates XD. Enjoy :D.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 11
"I know I've said it time and time again, but I'm going to repeat it for as long as I can: this is stupidity on the highest level possible," Noma Sommos said via ship communicator.
"You are lucky to be one of the best Admirals in my Navy or I would have you executed for these words" Revan replied, massaging his temples. His Grand Admiral didn't seize to voice her objections ever since he got into a shuttle and jumped into hyperspace. And it was already getting on his nerves.
"I'm sorry, My Lord, but sometimes I have a tendency to speak clearly what I think" Noma countered; her mother-like tone still present in her voice.
"I've noticed it. Now, don't you have something more important to do than to bash me over my decisions? As I recall, you are supposed to lead our Navy to conquer Ziost, aren't you?"
"Indeed, I am, but even if we manage to conquer Ziost, it will be for nothing if anything in your plan goes wrong, My Lord." His only response was silence. "You don't have a plan, do you?" she queried; her voice was much quieter than before. Even though Revan couldn't see her face, he was sure her bottom lip has trembled.
"Proceed with your orders, Grand Admiral" Revan replied, avoiding her question. "I expect it to be done upon my return. Revan out."
"But..."
Without letting her finish, Revan cut off the communication on his end; the only sound that was now coming from the small communicator was a steady humming. Truth be told, he had no plan – he was acting only on his instincts. But there was no time for second thoughts now as he already reached the top layers of Coruscant's atmosphere.
Even while being still in the comfort of his shuttle, Revan could feel how different the capital of the Republic was. Despite the fact that the population lessened subtly, the planet almost seemed… empty. As if the Jedi were the only living beings on the surface, even if the population of Coruscant exceeded well over one trillion.
May I ask what are you doing so far in the Core Worlds? a voice rang in his head. He grew too familiar with this voice for it to scare him. And it wasn't the first time Traya contacted him through their Bond. Though it still remained a mystery to him how she could reach him so easily while remaining thousands of light years away.
And may I ask why you haven't started looking for Meetra yet? he countered.
I will soon, Traya replied. Besides, I'm trying to locate her right now. But your current actions were far too loud to ignore. A mere Padawan from the Jedi Order would be capable of sensing you… and your thoughts.
I had to act now. We don't know how long will pass before the Jedi return to Coruscant. And I'm pretty sure they didn't manage to take everything from the Vault and the Archives.
You're willing to risk the war and, as the result, the fate of the Galaxy, only to get some antiques?
Not exactly. After the war with Exar Kun, the Jedi Order collected many artifacts that contain the knowledge that caused many to fall to the Dark Side. I doubt they are safe in the hands of the Jedi, but leaving it like that, unprotected, is a worse idea. I think that as the former Historian and the Guardian of the Archives and the Vault, you are aware of it. My intention is to destroy the Sith but if any of those Holocrons remain in the Temple, my efforts will be for nothing.
You still don't understand it, do you? Traya muttered, chuckling humorlessly. I had many students and you were my most prominent one, and yet you don't understand it.
What is it that I don't understand?
But Traya didn't reply to his question. In fact, he couldn't even sense her through their Bond anymore. Revan let out a small sigh. He didn't have time to ponder on his old Master's words, though as the surface of the Capital of the Republic was getting closer and closer.
Acting quickly, Revan punched a couple of buttons on the shuttle's main computer, enabling the stealth generator. Seconds later, his ship vanished from the Coruscant's sky.
Even though numerous tests were carried out with these shuttles, Revan still was a little bit anxious. After all, Traya was right. At that moment he was risking a whole lot of things. Everything he worked for since the Mandalorian Wars could go fuck itself if he got caught right now.
But, as he should have expected, his arrival didn't cause an alarm in the planetary defense system. Pushing his luck even further, Revan flew by the auto-turret grid that was located next to the military region of Coruscant. None of the turrets moved in the slightest. Unnoticed by anyone, Revan proceeded towards the abandoned Jedi Temple.
Coruscant seemed… odd to him. With everything that was currently going on in the Galaxy, he couldn't understand how life here could be so… peaceful. Not that the people here weren't aware of the past two wars, but, apparently it didn't bother them much, as long as they weren't in a direct danger. He wondered how would they react if they knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith himself has just flown over their heads. Revan chuckled at this thought.
The Jedi Temple quickly came in sight. The building that was home to the Jedi Order for thousands of years was overshadowing every other skyscraper around. The five spires were casting intimidating shadows on the ground below as, for the first time in millenniums, nothing was coming from the Temple. Not even slightest whisper within the Force that would carry with itself a presence of some form of life. Nothing. Revan trembled unwillingly. The feeling was even worse than on Malachor. It was as if even the citizens felt it – no ship dared to fly over the abandoned Jedi Temple as if in fear of an invisible threat.
Unnoticed by anyone, Revan flew towards the menacing Temple. The closer he was getting, the more he could feel the emptiness coming from the building. Readjusting his lightsabers that remained clipped to his belt, he landed his shuttle on the back platform that was covered with shadows.
As soon as the landing gear hit the platform, Revan turned off the engines. He didn't want a casual passer-by to notice wind and dust flying off the empty landing pad. After the ship was stabilized, Revan turned off all the systems, except for the stealth generator. In a few quick strides, he reached the shuttle's exit. With one final breath, Revan lowered the ramp and walked into the cold evening air of Coruscant.
Silence. It was the first thing he noticed, even though in the distance hundreds of ships were flying in every direction. But nothing was breaking the immense silence that was radiating from the inside of the Jedi Temple. Hiding his presence in the Force, Revan jumped high into the air. He landed softly on the aslope wall, allowing his feet to touch the surface only for a split second before jumping back up. Just like that, he made it all the way up to the top layers of the Jedi Temple.
Taking a quick glance at the area behind him, Revan ignited his purple lightsaber and stabbed it into the wall. It took him a while before he managed to make a circular opening, large enough for him to fit in. Once he was done, he used the Force to pull the stone circle out of the wall and placed it gently next to him, careful not to make any unnecessary sound. With that secured, Revan entered the abandoned Jedi Temple.
"Send Admiral Dodonna and her fleet to the Mid Rim territories" Tol Cressa was delivering his orders, studying closely the map of the Galaxy. "The Jedi Order will keep their eyes on the Core Worlds and the area around. It is our duty to venture further on."
"With all due respect, Chancellor, why do you think the Jedi will help us?" Koa Delko asked, shifting his gaze from the three-dimensional map of the Galaxy to the most important man in the Republic. "You exiled and humiliated them right in front of the eyes of all citizens of Coruscant and the rest of the Republic. They claim to not know hatred and anger, but I can assure you that the eyes of that white witch were filled with it. There is nothing she would do more gladly than bring that lightsaber of hers through our chests."
"And that's where you're wrong, Minister" Cressa countered, massaging his temples. "Atris may hate us, and I don't blame her honestly, but she knows that if the Jedi find Revan before we do, she and the entire Order will gain much in the eyes of the mob. Eventually, this would be for them their return ticket to Coruscant. I assure you, Minister, they will be more eager to find that bastard than we are."
"You've had it planned all along, haven't you?" he asked, smirking lightly. The Supreme Chancellor returned the smirk.
"I guess you might say so" he replied, once again massaging his temples. Tol ran his hands through his graying hair. Despite the fact that he was only in his late thirties, much of his hair has turned grey and his hairline proceeded to recede. After all, not many had to deal with two wars in such a short span of time. Such stress would have had its consequences on everyone.
"But you are aware that it will take us long to find Revan, aren't you?" the Defense Minister asked, wanting it to be clarified. "The Galaxy is a big place."
"But not infinite" Chancellor countered. "Each and every report from the frontline confirms that the Sith Empire has pulled back their fleets which gives us the perfect opportunity to send our armies after Revan."
"This could also be a deception," Koa Delko noticed. "What if that's exactly what they want. We will send our troops after that son of a bitch without any trace at all, and the Empire will use that moment to conquer Coruscant while it's unprotected."
"Bullshit" Tol Cressa replied. "They had us in their grasp and could crush as easily. I'll say it out loud: it's a miracle that the Republic has not fallen yet. Revan is a fucking son of a bitch, I don't deny it, but I also don't deny the fact that he's a genius on the battlefield. His tactics would have us surrendered long ago if Malak didn't betray him. And when it comes to that jawless bastard, the mere strength behind his attacks would have all our navy crushed in a matter of time. I think we can be grateful that the Sith tend to betray each other. Even if it would mean for them to return from the grave" he allowed himself for a small laughter that was shared by Koa Delko. "My point is, if the Empire wanted to destroy us, they would have it already done."
"But still…" whatever it was that the Defense Minister wanted to say, was cut off by the sound of the Chancellor's communicator. Tol cast an annoyed glance at the small device before answering the call.
"What is it?" he nearly barked.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Excellency," a voice said. "But this is urgent."
"What do you want?" Tol asked again.
"I must report that someone has violated the restrictions that your Excellency ordered to be put on the Jedi Temple. Strictly speaking, we have an intruder."
This information seemed to have no influence on the Chancellor at all. "Did you double check it? The Temple's door has been sealed – there is no way anyone could enter it. Perhaps it was only an astray bat – I'm pretty sure there is a whole nest of them in that museum."
"I am no biologist, Your Excellency, but I'm pretty sure that on Coruscant there is no bat that would grow to the size of an adult man" the voice on the other side replied. This caught Chancellor's attention. "Maybe such creatures can live on Kashyyyk but not here… Not to mention the fact that there is no known animal that would be able to cut a hole in the Temple's wall."
"Did you scan the intruder?" Chancellor asked, straightening on his chair.
"Only partially" the reporter replied. "The intruder seems to have some sort of a disrupting field. I'm afraid I have no information other than what I've told already."
"Send every man we have to the Temple. We'll be there in no time" Tol announced, turning off the communicator.
Revan cut his way through the venting shaft and landed softly on one of the highest floors of the Jedi Temple. Never before has the inside of the Jedi home been so quiet. Nothing dared to break the silence as if it was something sacred. Only the steady humming of his lightsabers could be heard in the darkness. Revan reached out with his senses deep into the Temple's interior, only to find no trace of life at all. Not even a single pest.
Placing careful steps, the Dark Lord of the Sith proceeded towards the purpose of his break-in – the Archives and the Vault. Moving quickly through the shadows, he nearly became one with them. The purple blade of his lightsaber was the only thing that would indicate on his presence.
He reached the Archives quickly. The path was just as he remembered it from his numerous tours across the Temple from his time as the Padawan. Many times his legs carried him to the Archives; his unsatisfied hunger for knowledge of the old Jedi Masters taking the best of him.
The great treasury of the Jedi knowledge seemed to remain intact as if nothing happened here. The shelves shone blue, hiding millenniums of the Order's teaching and information gathered by the Masters and the Knights. He turned off his lightsaber. The shelves provided enough light for him. Despite lowering his weapon, he didn't lower his caution. Yet still, his senses didn't catch any presence in the Temple other than his own. Allowing himself to relax a bit, he approached one of the shelves.
Revan chuckled humorlessly. Despite his hopes, he was sure that the Jedi Order wouldn't be so foolish as to leave the Archives' records. And he wasn't mistaken. The disks in the shelves were wiped out of all the content they held. Or at least most of it – the most significant parts of the Jedi knowledge. He looked around himself, examining other shelves. Only then did he notice that some of the disks were in fact missing. He chuckled once again.
"Atris" he commented quietly. His mask muffled his voice. He was sure it was her doing. After all, she was the Historian before she was chosen the Grand Master of the Order. Of all the people in the Order, she was the one who knew exactly what could be found in the Archives' records and that it could not have been left without a surveillance.
Revan did not give up so easily, though. He spent too much time in the Archives to simply believe that all of its content could be so easily erased in a span of one day. With a few quick strides, Revan reached the section of the Archives that was devoted to the history of the Order and the Republic.
He pulled out one of the disks and scanned it quickly. Empty. Revan cursed silently under his mask but continued further on. He examined the shelf carefully. Blank spot after the disk, erased data, incomplete records, blank spot…
"Here you are" Revan commented out loud, pulling out one of the blue disks. It was glowing steadily in his hands. And it was the first one he found that remained intact. He smiled under his mask. It was in the moments like these that he had no doubts whatsoever that the Force was on his side.
He scanned the disk's content in the search for the information of one person. "Meetra" he muttered, not even realizing that he said her name out loud. He waited for a few solid seconds for the content to be fully scanned.
Nothing.
He tried again, typing the word 'Surik'. The result was the same. He tried over and over again, trying out different keywords. 'The Jedi Exile', 'General', 'Malachor V', 'The Mandalorian Wars', etc. But still, there was no positive result. Revan cursed loudly, punching the shelf with the disks. It shuddered.
Despite the negative results from his previous searches, Revan tried again after a certain thought entered his mind. He typed two words: 'The Traitor'.
Positive.
Revan shook his head. His hatred towards the Order only deepened at what he saw. The Council went as far as to declare one of the greatest heroes of The Mandalorian Wars the Traitor. They stripped his oldest friend of everything – even her name. They allowed for her to be remembered as the Traitor of the Order. His hands tightened into fists. If only the Council knew what was said about Meetra along the Outer Rim.
Revan both found and didn't find what he was looking for. There indeed was information about Meetra, but it was edged. No name, no birth information, no origin… nothing. Only some basic info: that she was a Jedi Knight, though exiled from the Order, ex-General of The Mandalorian Wars and a suspected status: alive. But there was no information that would indicate on her whereabouts whatsoever. Revan cursed once again. Atris truly did a good job in degrading his old friend.
"Where are you?" Revan sent the question into nothingness, not even hoping to receive an answer.
It was then that he sensed a commotion outside the Temple and trembled at the realization that followed.
His presence has been noticed.
Deciding to waste no more time, he hid the disk in his robe, hoping to retrieve some more information from it later. Not to mention the fact that his business in the Temple wasn't finished yet.
Accelerating his movements with the Force, Revan passed through the Archives, heading towards the Vault that was located at the end of the hall. He reached the doors quickly, only to be met with the same sight that greeted him each time he was here as the Padawan and later the Jedi Knight – tightly sealed entrance. But nothing was stopping him now from simply breaking-in.
Revan activated both of his lightsabers and dig them right into the control panel that was located right next to the doors. Immediately, the Temple's silence was broken by a loud alarm, though Revan didn't care about it at all. There was no one in the building to answer it.
Revan pulled back both of his lightsabers and sent a powerful Force Wave at the door, nearly breaking it out from the hinges. He repeated his action and it seemed that the sound of the alarm only increased, but the entrance still refused to give up. But Revan refused to give up as well.
Gathering the strength that remained deep inside him, he finally managed to break the doors of the Temple's Vault, making himself an entrance to the place that was always denied from him. Taking in a deep breath and ignoring the alarm that continued to ring loudly in the empty halls of the Jedi Temple, he stepped into the Vault.
"The alarm went off in the Archives" an Intel Officer reported as he continued on scanning the Temple.
"Do you have any information about the Intruder?" Tol Cressa asked as he was watching intensively the Temple from the outside. His men were still working on breaking the seals that they have put on the entrance a few days prior.
"Unfortunately, no, Your Excellency" the Intel Officer replied, shaking his head. "Whoever it is, we are not capable of getting any information whatsoever, despite our best efforts. I must admit that I have never met a disrupting field that would be so powerful" he added, although the last comment he directed more to himself.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a disrupting field," Koa Delko noticed. "That could be a Jedi and their Force."
"Whoever it is, keep your fingers on the triggers," Tol said, addressing the soldiers that were with him. "Shoot on sight. No one who is our friend would break into the Temple against my orders."
The soldiers saluted in confirmation, readying their weapons.
"You really think it's a Jedi?" Tol asked his Defense Minister.
"I've been to their Temple once or twice and I know exactly what value their Archives have" Koa Delko replied, reloading his blaster as well. "I'm pretty sure the Jedi didn't take all of their trophies from there. It is possible that they've returned for some of it."
"Then we can only hope that we can shoot faster than they can flap their laser swords" the Supreme Chancellor commented, readying his blaster pistol as well. It was only a few moments later that the seals fell off from the Temple's gates, allowing them to go in and find the intruder.
Okay, that would be it for this chapter, let me know what you thought about it. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions or anything like that, feel free to place them in the comments and I'll try to answer them. I'm sorry if this chapter seemed… bad, but I have to find love for this story again and get used to writing once more. I promise I'll do better in the next chapter. So, see you in the next update (I don't know yet when I will write it, though XD).