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Revan Departure 6
Coruscant…
Things settled down quietly after the supposed 'betrayal' on Revan's behalf. That was until after the initial surge of excitement, of course. After Revan's flight from Republic space, Bastila, Jolee and Juhani were questioned constantly about his whereabouts by the Council. Of course, thanks to Bastila's quick thinking, she always managed to send one or more of the Council members to a blind rage thereby stalling however time they had to settle with their affairs.
Still, all the calm and quiet in the world would not stop the world from turning. Eventually, the group disbanded. They kept in regular contact of one another, of course, but without the essential glue that held them together, they were little more than acquaintances reliving the old days. And just like any band of brothers, they departed from one another drifting off to their own destinies.
During all this time, however, no one spotted what had become of the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo. Some say he was still drowning himself in Juma Juice, but others had their own theories. Regardless, the group did not see Canderous as they used to. It was more comforting than disturbing given the rather odd group dynamic. Even with one of their members missing, they all acknowledge a simple fact: Canderous could take care of himself, and most likely did not need or desire anyone's help. Mandalorians were built in such ways, Canderous in particular.
An off-deck rumor was that a Mandalorian donned in silver plating came and literally picked several Mandalorians off the floor, stating that it was time to rebuild. But, these were most likely just rumors.
They had all made their separate plans: Zaalbar, finding himself out of a lifedebt, ended up taking up Jolee's offer to go back to Kashyyyk. Naturally, Mission joined them as well, defending that her skills at her age were more than enough to survive in the trees. She did, however, manage to 'clean house' at a local cantina, thus ensuring that she, Zaalbar and Jolee traveled to Kashyyyk in style.
Carth managed to return home to Telos. Or at least, the space station orbiting Telos. Despite the Republic's best intentions, the supposed recovery effort went by slowly. Thus, many of the settlers made the space station their home. Cold and dead, the only thing that was left there for Carth was his son. Naturally, as they lived together, Carth worked his ass off to ensure that he and Dustil were on good terms. Dustil was hesitant, a natural side-effect, but eventually learned to accept his father's judgement on such things. It was for the best.
Juhani enjoyed Belaya's company in secret. The two Padawans had many an endeavor with each other, careful not to let anyone know their secret. Of course, Juhani felt more joy than anger when she was with Belaya. The two stood by each other's side in battle and in peace. If any Jedi was to find out, Juhani ceased to care. After a life on Taris, after being treated like a Cathar, she found happiness in the human girl beside her. Come to mention it, she owed a great deal to that other human, too.
Bastila coped as best anyone could in her situation. Slowly, but steadily her Force Bond with Hodge was weakening. She would feel extreme moments of pain on his part, but even then, those feelings began to fade away. She meditated and concentrated on her Jedi training, but would find herself distracted on where he went. Odd how she never felt any other temptation with any other Jedi. Then again, there was only one Hodge Antilles, a person who not only rejected his dark side but served the light. In the weeks that passed, she was mostly alone meditating the best she could, knowing he was doing the right thing.
Eventually, there would be an old woman on her death bed. People would often complain how arrogant and bossy this woman was, save for one person. This old woman, whenever she caught sight of her daughter, stilled herself, only for a moment. There, as the woman's dying breath was spoken, her daughter listened and gripped her mother's hand ever so slightly. What made this elderly woman happiest was how she rambled on and on about the girl's father. And the girl, couldn't have been any more happier.
As for the Prodigal Knight, the Jedi that came and saved the Republic, he would eventually drift and wonder, still unsure of his destination. His droid companions waited silently for orders, but they never once came. He would meditate and find little answers. Then, he found the graveyard of the Mandalorians. On a planet trapped in gravity's fist, cloaked in the mass of shadows, he sat there and meditated. When he realized where he wanted to go, he programmed the data in the navi-computer, and said good-bye.
And that was the last anybody saw of Revan, for 4 years.
On a mining planet, not too far from Telos…
It was a moment not too long ago. The droid was given orders, and followed them. It had become concerned when he lost track of his Master, but nonetheless, he was given a specific set of orders what to do. His Master hadn't realized that the night before he departed, his female companion took the droid aside and gave him orders. She had become desperate, almost as if her heart was breaking. Somehow she must've known or felt that she would not be able to stop his Master. Thus, she gave the droid specific orders.
"I need you to be the beacon, T3. If he is lost out there, on the edge of the galaxy, if he finds whatever terrible thing he has seen, then he may not survive. If he doesn't make it back, then I need you to return to the Republic, find help. If you cannot find me, then seek out other Jedi, the Republic..."
T3 even remembered the girl wiping her tears just before ending her transmission.
"I can't lose him, even if he believes he is protecting me."
And so, the droid did so. However, his journey had been long and perilous. Even after using the navi-computer to head back to Republic space, the ship had been infiltrated by their enemies, not armed soldiers, but rather cloaked assassins. Even with all of his skill and his might, he could only watch helplessly as many of the humanoid crew, Republic soliders too, fell to the assassin's blade.
But at last, his mission would be complete. He would find the Jedi that would change everything.
He wanted to be lost. Even after 10 years of meditation and contemplation, he still wanted nothing more than to be lost. For the most part, he had wondered the Outer Rim, staying away from galactic events that occurred. Not that it mattered. At this point, he was no more skilled than a new Republic recruit. Not since that day.
He wasn't sure why he took the offer from the Republic soldiers. However, transportation was transportation, and if the Republic wanted to see him, he had no qualms about it. His brief stay on the ship was mostly silent. He kept to himself, thinking about what he'd done and why he'd done it. He wasn't the same man as when he joined the Mandalorian Wars. That boy was young, strong, hot-headed and blood thirsty. He regretted it, all of it. But, he made no apologies.
The Mandalorians had to be stopped, plain and simple.
Now, however. Now, he was trapped in deep sleep, unable to awaken. If he was still young, he could break free. If he still controlled the Force, he could break free.
But he could do neither. What good was a Jedi without the Force? What good was he without the Force?
Soon, however, his destiny as well as the destiny of many others would change.
As the fool waited silently in his cell.
As the Mariluka meditated on her dead world.
As the last of the Handmaidens sparred with herself.
As the engineer repaired the shields.
As the huntress collected her bounty.
As the Mandalore led his troops.
As the droid activated the HK-50 units.
As the Prodigal Knight waited in the outskirts of the Unknown regions, one word would end an exile.
"Awaken."
(A/N: Yes, I am aware that the Exile is canonically female. I, however, decided to write him as a male.
For those of you who persevered, thank you for your reviews and contributions.)