Chapter 4 – Return of the Sith

The former Echani General and current leader of the Echani people in the Republic Senate, Yusanis sighed wearily as he walked into his Senatorial apartment. In the fourteen months since the end of the Mandalorian wars, the Senator spent most of his time caring for his daughters and seeking peaceful resolutions to war. The Mandalorian wars had changed him as they had all that fought in them. The once feared Mandalorians were reduced to refugees, forced to work as mercenaries and bounty hunters to make a living. The Jedi had lost nearly a fifth of their number and what remained behind after Revan's disappearance beyond the Outer Rim were uncertain of where their place was in the universe.

Taking a moment to linger outside his youngest daughter's room, Yusanis sighed, staring at the sleeping teenager. "I don't think they know what danger they are in..." Yusanis took a deep, calming breath. He had recently been pressing the issue of the Echani joining the Republic and Jedi's war effort against the newly emerged Sith threat. His old friend had already taken twenty systems along the rim and was moving even further, threatening to engulf the Echani and their allied worlds. Making his way to the kitchen area of his apartment, Yusanis made a cup of Jawa juice and seated himself on a chair in his common room to review the latest movements of the Sith fleet.

Yusanis awoke to a pair of glowing crimson eyes. "What the-"

"Threat: Cease all movements or be terminated." The rust-colored droid responded, leveling a blaster rifle on the Echani. Yusanis calmed his breathing and eyed the assassin droid as it stood motionless across from him.

"Like my new toy?" A deep voice cut through the dark room. Yusanis' breath caught for a moment before he turned his wide eyes to the armored man standing in the dimly lit hallway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Revan..." Yusanis breathed.

Revan remained motionless, staring at the Echani. "Do you remember your promise?"

Yusanis nodded, standing. His rise ceased as the assassin droid charged its blaster.

"HK-47 Stand down." The droid's eyes flashed as the blaster rifle powered down. "Now then, lets discuss this new bill before the Echani as to what actions are to be taken against the Sith Empire." Revan started as he stared down at the Echani Senator through his mask. Within his mask, the advanced sensors woven into the crimson and obsidian mask picked up the increased heartbeat of the Echani as he looked down to the datapad he had been reading before he dozed off.

"What do you want, Revan?" Yusanis asked in a tight tone.

Revan turned his head from Yusanis and looked towards the area of the apartment his children slept in. "I want you to pass a new bill, Yusanis."

"I can't do that!" Yusanis snarled.

Revan raised an eyebrow beneath his mask as its sensors picked up one of the Echani's children stirring. "Do you wish for me to bring the full might of my fleet upon your people?" Revan hissed.

Yusanis glared at the Dark Lord. "Let them come!"

Revan laughed eerily as he turned from the Echani. "If you don't..."

Revan turned in time to see HK-47 move to restrain the enraged Echani. "You haven't fallen so far that you've forgotten your honor have you!" Yusanis nearly yelled, frightened to wake his children with his rising voice.

Revan laughed loudly, shaking his head. "I give you another option... fight me, tonight. You and I. Your death will be all I need..." Revan motioned to HK and turned to leave, stopping as he neared the doorway. "Meet me on landing pad 34-A In the Alpha-89 docking port..." Revan turned and gave Yusanis a pointed look through his mask. "Come alone and tell no one. If you do... I will go room to room in this house and kill each of your children... all but your precious Brianna. She, I will take with me."

Revan stalked towards Yusanis, glaring into his hateful blue eyes. "And she will die very slowly if you cross me, I can assure you."

Revan turned to leave, but Yusanis' voice stopped him. "If I fight you... will you leave them be."

Revan's shoulders dropped slightly. "I will..." His voice was barely a whisper, but Yusanis heard and nodded, standing and leaving the room as Revan and HK-47 vanished.

"Query: Master, why do you give the meatbag Echani a chance to escape?" HK asked.

Revan chuckled at the usage of the term 'meatbag.' Ever since hearing Malak arguing with the assassin droid and the droid referring to him as a meatbag, Revan had programmed the rust-colored droid to continue using the term when speaking to any type of organic lifeform. "Curiosity my metal friend. I wish to see if he still holds to his honor. If not I'm sure you wouldn't mind killing about six miniature meatbags?"

HK's eyes gleamed with hope at the promise of eradicating more life. "Request: May I kill the miniature meatbags anyways, Master?" HK asked hopefully, or as hopeful as a droid could ask.

Revan shook his head firmly. "Only if he does not come alone." Revan scowled towards the droid. "Sometimes that thing is a little too sadistic." Revan scoffed as he waited on the landing pad. A strong wind swept through the obscure spaceport, causing his cloak and robes to flutter. Turning, Revan saw Yusanis slowly approaching, clad in his Echani armor.

"No one knows I am here." Yusanis snarled as he pulled his double-bladed Echani Brand from his sling.

Revan tilted his head in acknowledgment and turned to HK. "HK prepare the ship for departure." HK's eyes dimmed slightly in disappointment as it boarded the small transport and prepared the ship's preflight protocol. "You and I have a promise to keep, Yusanis."

Revan activated his crimson saber, stalking towards the Echani Senator like a feline preparing to pounce on its prey. Yusanis let out a war cry and charged Revan, striking air as the Dark Lord vaulted himself upwards. Yusanis' eyes followed the Dark Lord as he rose into the air before he spun and brought his double-bladed sword to deflect Revan's crimson blade. Revan kicked off the ground to add speed to his dodge as Yusanis skillfully slashed for the Dark Lord's form. Revan twisted away from the counterattack and spun his saber, thrusting backwards and hearing a chocked gasp from his opponent.

"Yo- You're better." Yusanis coughed as he sank to his knees and his blade dropped from his hands.

Revan made no move to acknowledge as he held his saber in the same position. "Goodbye, my friend."

Yusanis coughed as he fell forward and his vision darkened. Revan turned and drove his saber into the man's heart swiftly to cease his pain. He eyed the wound he had made through the man's stomach and sighed as he called Yusanis' Brand to him. The Dark Lord tested the weapon for a moment before driving one of the blades into the landing platform.

"This should remain with your family..." Within moments, the Dark Lord had vanished into his transport and the transport was shooting into orbit. Nearby a scavenger looted the famed war hero and Senator before throwing his body over the platform and watching it fall into the Coruscant undercity.

Darth Revan eyes the news holo with a vicious glare as it revealed the current affairs of the Republic. "And in other news, The Echani Senator, Yusanis' body was recovered from the Coruscant undercity, stripped of all valuables and killed with what appears to be a lightsaber. Reports state that a dark figure was seen fighting with the Echani Senator on a landing pad and many believe it to have been a Sith. The man leaves behind six teenage daughters who have been taken into the care of Jedi Master Atris of the Jedi Council."

Revan continued to glare at the holo. "If I ever find who desecrated his body..." Revan clenched his fists tightly as he turned his smoldering gaze to a nearby guard.

"Prepare my fighter." Revan snapped. The guard hastily saluted and vanished. The holo continued and the Dark Lord calmed slightly at the news. "The Echani government had officially cut all ties with the Republic as their worlds have being to decay into a bloody civil war. The passing of Senator Yusanis marks the end of the shaky truce the Echani crafted to view the Sith threat."

"At least something went as planned." Revan snarled as he stalked to the corner of his room and activated his assassin Droid.

HK-47's eyes flashed as he powered up. "Exclamation: Master! How wonderful to see you! Is there someone you would like me to kill?"

It had been a week since Revan had returned from Coruscant and he had heard rumors of the Mandalorians attempting to regroup under a new Mandalore. Eyeing the silver armor that only the true Mandalore could wear, Revan snarled. "It is my right to be known as Mandalore... Only I, or someone I appoint can be called Mandalore." Revan turned to his assassin droid and smirked darkly. "Yes, there are quite a few, HK." HK's eyes gleamed in anticipation as Revan began stating off his demands. "Lelin-Der of Serroco has been a bit troublesome... he will have to go immediately. Mimas Yoon of Corellia is also being quite the bother." HK sealed the targets deep within his memory core, preparing for it to be erased. "There is also the matter of the new Mandalore. Find him and kill him." Revan stated firmly. HK acknowledged and prepared for Revan's next command. "You did a fine job capturing those Jedi..." Revan complimented his creation.

HK's eyes again shined with pride as Revan wiped the assassin's memory core and programmed the targets. No matter how useful HK was for capturing Jedi, there were other things that Revan needed done and HK-47 was one of a kind. After he finished his programming, HK swiftly vanished form the room and boarded a transport, preparing to assassinate his new targets.

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"Why don't we just kill them all?"Malak's mechanical voice cut through the silence of the torture chambers of Korriban.

Revan turned to his apprentice and former friend with a contemptuous look beneath his mask. "Because, fool. True power is not having your enemies lying at your feet dead and broken, but having them stand by your side, willingly." Revan leered for a moment at the torture cells that contained nearly a dozen Jedi that had been individually captured in their newly captured territory.

"What if they lie? What if they are not loyal?" Malak questions.

Revan turned to his shadow and smiled. "Because I know how to break Jedi." Malak shuddered despite himself. "Keep your friends close..." Revan began, causing Malak to tense. Revan elbowed Malak's ribs painfully, causing the apprentice to grunt and turn a glare to his former friend. "And your enemies closer..." Revan finished as he waved Malak away. "Now leave me, I must get to know our new apprentices."

Malak turned and left quickly, casting one last glare over his shoulder. The message in Revan's words was clear and he no longer blamed his old friend. "One day I will return this favor." Malak ran his hand across his metallic jaw covering and scowled mentally. If Revan would view him as an enemy, so be it. "Its not like I'm your friend." Malak ignored the pain that settled in his stomach at those words. He had thought he had cleansed the love he held for his childhood friend through the hatred he felt at Revan's betrayal of him. "His lesson." Malak corrected mentally. The Sith Lord let out a mechanical sigh as he rubbed his aching side.

"Must have broken a rib with that blow..." Malak said aloud, only to feel the burning hatred return and block out whatever pity or sorrow he felt when looking at Revan when a machine and not his own voice spoke. Revan had returned to the way he had been during the Mandalorian wars, distant and detached. Malak would have been concerned if he had viewed Revan as a friend, but he merely shrugged the thoughts away. The Dark Lord's mental condition was none of his concern. Revan had made it clear what his position was when he had taken Malak's jaw and called him a coward and a traitor for wanting to run from the Massassi.

"And look what he is doing now, exactly what I said!" Malak's internal voice chanted. "Someday, Revan you will lie broken before me and I will be certain that my debt to you is repaid." Malak stalked through the corridors of the Sith academy, stopping momentarily to observe a young and powerful student strike down one of his classmates before the academy's Master.

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Jedi Padawan Selene Arkesh moaned slightly as she awoke. It had been a week since she had been captured by Sith while on a mission with her Master. The Sith had seemed to appear out of nowhere and had killed her Master and knocked her unconscious. The following days had been filled with beatings and taunting. The doors to her torture chamber opened to reveal a young man. The young man smirked as he eyed the human female.

"Hello there, dear." He called out in a sickeningly sweet tone as he stalked towards the woman and caressed her cheek. Selene felt her skin crawl at the man's touch and felt bile rising in her throat. "I was sent to torture you... but I can think of something that may be a little more pleasurable for the both of us..." The young man eyed her hungrily and Selene resisted the urge to scream. The sixteen year old Padawan struggled violently against her restraints as the torturer ran his hands over her. "Come now, its better if you don't fight it... for you anyways." The man added with a smirk as he tore away the Padawan's tattered robes. "I will break you and you will bow to me and beg for whatever scraps I choose to give you in the end." The man sneered.

He had been an interrogator in what remained of the Sith Empire of Exar Kun before Revan had taken control and found that he enjoyed his work. Especially when working with female prisoners. The man held no fear of reprisals. Malak had given him free reign to use any means he deemed necessary and even though it was a crime to rape in the Sith Empire, he knew nothing would happen to him. The interrogator took a moment to eyes the Jedi Padawan hungrily. She would be broken by the time he was finished and would either not remember, or not care. The man laughed maliciously as he gave the Padawan a forceful kiss. "Now be a good little Jedi and submit." He hissed as he continued to tear away the girl's tattered robes. Weary from struggling and tortures, Selene screamed and was struck violently across the face. "That's not very nice, I have very sensitive hearing you know. I was going to be easy on you..." The torturer paused as he smirked and eyed the girl. "But now I think I may be a little rough."

The Padawan screamed as she tried in vain to break free of her restraints. The Force-disruptor collar on her neck keeping her from calling her constant companion's aid.
"We have laws for a reason..." A voice thick with malice echoed through the chamber. Selene felt the torturer's painful caresses of her body cease as his body tensed. "We are not animals... Men... should only know the touch of one woman... and women should only know the touch of one man... That is what separates us from animals."

The armored form of Darth Revan stepped from a shadowed corridor as his masked features stared into the torturer's face. "L-Lord Revan…Malak gave me permission to use any means necessary and I thought…"

"You thought that meant you could violate the oath you took to me?" Revan snarled.

The torturer leapt from his position over the teenage Padawan and stood at attention before the Dark Lord. "No, my Lord."

Revan stood motionless as he stared at the torturer. The Jedi Padawan stared through blurry eyes at the Dark Lord of the Sith. "Continue." Revan stated calmly.

Selene let out a strangled sob as the torturer shot her a lecherous look. "With pleasure, my Lord."

As he prepared to tear what remained of Selene's tattered robes, Revan cleared his throat. Turning to the Dark Lord with a questioning expression, the torturer froze. "My Lord?"

Revan crossed his arms tightly across his chest and leaned against the wall. "This is a torture chamber is it not?" The torturer nodded to Revan's question. "And you are a torturer are you not?" Again the man nodded. Darth Revan uncrossed his arms and held out his left hand. With a snap, Selene's collar dropped from her neck. "Funny... I thought you were a rapist."

Selene instantly broke free of her bonds and pinned the torturer within a second.
"Women are so much better at administering pain than men... did you know that?" Revan asked the torturer. "Padawan Arkesh?" Revan questioned softly.

The girl turned her confused eyes to the Dark Lord. "R- Knight Revan?" She asked his old title.

Revan walked to a nearby locker and pulled out a set of obsidian Jedi robes and a matching cloak. "Get dressed, Padawan." The Jedi Padawan cautiously rose and quickly made her way to the locker, Relishing the feel of clean clothing though she had the urge to shower and scrub her skin till she bled. A loud thud reached her ears and she turned to see Revan pinning her torturer to the block she had resided moments before, speaking lowly to her torturer before he grasped the man's jaw tightly and squeezed. A loud pop was heard as the man struggled violently and cried out in pain.

"I will stop when she asks me to." Revan had whispered to the man before he unleashed his unholy knowledge of tortures against the man. Selene heard Revan snarl to the man, something along the lines of. "If you wish to be an animal, I will slaughter you like one."

The Jedi Padawan watched with morbid fascination as Revan pulled the torturer apart piece by piece, surprised that the man still lived after several hours. The entire time she remained silent, watching the horrific display of savage dismemberment until Revan stopped and turned to her. Two blue eyes wide with fear stared back at him and Revan slowly nodded his head as he turned back and removed another piece of the torturer. The man's convulsions did not cease, but the pained cries he made did. Moments later the convulsions died down to a sudden jerk before they became nothing. Selene knew the man had never lost consciousness until that final moment that Darth Revan had snatched the life from him. She did not know why she did not try to stop him, but looking at the mangled body she felt no sympathy for the beast.

Darth Revan flicked his bloodied gloves for a moment to clear them of some of the mess before he turned to the Jedi Padawan. "I do not wish to break you... I wish to convert you..." He said with a sickening calm to Selene. After seeing him tear the man who was preparing to rape her to shreds and then to hear him directly address her, Selene was in near hysterics.

"So I can be like you?" She cried as she felt helpless.

Revan tilted his head slightly as he looked into her blue eyes that reminded him so much of another young woman he knew. "I just murdered that man... Violently. What difference does that make? I am already called a mass murderer but tell me this... What difference does this man's death make?"

Selene crushed her wish to fall to her knees and cry as she looked into Revan's masked features and eyed the blood that seemed to be splattered across his armor. "He can't hurt me... or anyone else again..."

Revan nodded. "Good, you're learning." Revan walked to the doorway and stopped for a moment. "The Jedi and the Republic would have allowed that man to live... throwing him into exile for his crimes or locking him away for only a year or two... Does that fit your view of justice?"

Selene found herself shaking her head. She turned her eyes to the Dark Lord as he turned to her. "I have the power now to end such things... Do you want that power?"

Selene's eyes widened slightly. He was asking her to join him, willingly. "I- That is the Darkside..."

Revan calmly pulled back his hood and removed his mask, causing the girl to gasp. She had seen Malak once, as well as the other Sith Masters that were disfigured by the Darkside and what she saw when she looked at Revan was not what she had expected. His skin was pale, likely from being hidden from all light within his armor and his face drawn and tired, but still handsome and somewhat young. His eyes where a deep brown, though red seemed to cloud them, giving him the look of utter exhaustion. "Do I look like I bathe in the darkness?" Revan asked in his deep voice.

Selene stared at the Dark Lord for a moment before turning away and wrapping her arms across her chest."…No." She whispered.

"That is where you are wrong." Revan's voice said calmly, but with hidden malice. Selene turned to see a vicious scowl adorning Revan's handsome features. "I am a mass murderer and one of the most evil men you will ever meet... But I still believe in honor and that is why I spared you that... thing's touch." Revan motioned to the pile of body parts and blood that lay motionless in the room. "I am fighting a war, Padawan. One I will do anything... almost anything to win." Revan sighed as he stared at the girl. "I have a friend... Bastila Shan. I want you to tell her that I am beyond hope. I want you to tell her that I have fallen."

Selene gasped. She had met the arrogant Padawan a few times during her stay at the Jedi Temple but was far from her friend. "Wha- Why do you want me to do that?" She asked.

Revan's face took on the weary look once more as he looked away from the young girl. "Because I don't want her to be foolish and believe she can save me... or capture me. You have witnessed what I am capable of and my only other offer is your immediate death." Revan took a threatening step towards Selene. The Padawan instinctively backed away. "I want her to hide in some hole with the rest of the Jedi to spare me the trouble of having to eliminate her."

Revan did not voice his desire to not see her fall. He had been tortured for weeks by dreams of Bastila falling in battle against his forces or of her being captured and tortured by the likes of Malak and the man he had killed a short while ago.

"I-" Revan took another threatening step towards the young girl. "Do you want to die?" Selene shook her head. "Do you want me to do to you what I did to that man over there?" Revan motioned to the torture slab. Selene again shook her head furiously. "Then what is your answer?"

Selene stared with wide eyes at the Dark Lord. "I will tell the Council... and Padawan Shan what I have witnessed here, today."

The Dark Lord was silent for a moment before he nodded and pulled his hood over his head, replacing his mask. "Good..." He said, apparently satisfied. The Dark Lord reached into his armor and produced a small datapad. "These are directions out of this facility and this..." Revan pulled a lightsaber from his cloak and tossed it to the Padawan along with the Datapad. "Completes your disguise."

Selene took that moment to eye her attire, gasping to herself when she realized she looked exactly like a Dark Jedi.

"Your ship is waiting." Revan said quietly as he bowed mockingly to the terrified Padawan and vanished darkly into the shadowed corridor. Selene gulped as she attached the lightsaber to her belt. Making her war through the Sith complex, she quickly found the ship set aside for her and left Korriban behind her. The Jedi Padawan did not take the time to relax until she had reached hyperspace.

"Why would he want Bastila Shan to think he is evil? From what I've heard she hates him more than he hates the Jedi..." Selene sighed as she tried to keep her minds from her imprisonment and her Master's death. "I will do as he asked..."

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"What significance is Telos?" Malak questioned as he followed Revan swiftly down the corridors of the Leviathan.

Revan turned to his Apprentice and smiled coldly beneath his mask. "They are to be made an example, Malak. Don't do anything unnecessary."

Malak seemed taken aback for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, an example, Revan?"

Revan resisted the urge to sigh as he spoke in a business-like tone. "The Telosians have been far to giving in the Republic's military. They have proven to be a nuisance and one that I will no longer tolerate. I want them gone."

Malak took in the information calmly. "So you want me to destroy them?" Malak asked.

Revan laughed that cold heartless laugh. "Yes...the Telosians have vast resources and manpower... They would make an excellent addition to my Empire. A Republic officer... I believe you know him. Admiral Saul Karath. Has asked how he can show his support to the Sith Empire. I want to you secure Telos' resources and I want you to make certain his priorities are in check. Do what must be done, I trust that you will not hesitate."

Malak nodded, as a truly evil plan began to form in his head. I think I'm going to be destroying a planet today. "Does it really matter if I reduce the entire planet to rubble?" Malak's mechanical voice asked eagerly.

Revan felt his lip curl into a sneer, and he looked at his dark apprentice beneath his mask, "Do what you see fit, Malak. We have enough resources one way or another."

Malak's mechanical laughter answered the Dark Lord.

"Be mindful, Malak. I would prefer to have the resources of Telos at my disposal but I will accept whatever you deem necessary. The Star Forge is more then capable of providing us our immediate needs."

It was always so much more enjoyable and simpler to annihilate his enemies totally than try to convert them like Revan. He has seen his master waste hours of precious time that could be spent killing Jedi trying to convert them. Through the horrors and pains he forced upon them, they had fallen and willingly followed his Master. It still confused Malak how they could be so completely loyal to Revan after torturing them for so long, but he asked himself why he still followed Revan. Power, Revan is possibly the most powerful Force user since the times of Exar Kun. He is possibly even more powerful than the former Dark Lord himself. But that is what truly frightens us, that the Massassi Sith, the remnants of the true Sith, are able to defeat our forces so easily. Malak knew that Revan held more power than him, more power than he could imagine.

Revan watched as his apprentice silently stalked off the bridge of the flagship, He is going to betray me soon. His honor will only go so far and he is on the brink of insanity as it is. "Lord Revan." Revan turned, raising an eyebrow to the approaching Dark Jedi. The Sith shifted nervously for a moment under the cold gaze before Revan's head tilted slightly in acknowledgment. "We have captured another Jedi prisoner. We were going to go ahead and torture her but she said she knew you personally." The Dark Jedi stated emotionlessly.

Revan chuckled, unnerving the Dark Jedi. "Show me to our guest then." I wonder what pathetic Jedi Master they have captured this time. Either way I'm sure that it will be amusing.

Revan was led to the Leviathan's landing bay where he boarded a transport, returning to his own flagship. To Revan's surprise he spotted a young Jedi Padawan being led towards him in binders.

"Padawan Offee..." The Padawan gave Revan a slight nod, surprised when he struck her painfully across her face. It had been five years since Revan had last seen the Padawan, the two had been friends back in the days before Revan had left for the Mandalorian Wars.

"Take her to the 'guest' rooms." Revan hissed. Barriss's eyed widened as she was dragged away and into the all to familiar torture cells. Hours later found her in Darth Revan's presence.

"Why are you here?" Revan asked calmly.

Barriss pulled angrily against her restraints. "I did what you asked, I can't go back to the Jedi now. They banished me like the plague, I was so angry, I felt that power that you spoke of. I desire to be a Sith."

Revan raised an eyebrow beneath his mask. "Oh?"

The girl seemed to be pleading to him with her wide blue eyes and Revan found himself curious to the questions lying beneath. "They said that what I told them about you was a lie and that you had no honor." Revan tensed slightly at the poorly veiled respect he heard in that statement. "They wanted me to see a mind healer... They kept asking me questions, again and again about my Master and-" The girl's breath seemed to catch at the mention of her deceased Master. Revan stalked towards the girl, eyeing her.

"What do you want, Barriss?" The girls doesn't have a trace of the darkside on her, yet those pathetic Masters deemed it necessary to send her, a Padawan to spy on the Dark Lord of the Sith. I will show them what I am capable of. They truly underestimate my resolve. I need the Republic's resources to defeat the Ancient Sith.

Revan asked, startling the Padawan by using her first name.

"I want to follow you... I want that power you spoke of..." Revan gave the Jedi Padawan a calculating look. "I will ask many things of you..." Revan whispered. Barriss merely stared back at his in defiance. Revan chuckled darkly. "I want you to beg." The Dark Lord hissed. Barriss's brow furrowed in confusion, unable to track the movements of Revan's hands as he pulled a small vibroshiv.

"Rev- Ahhhh!" Her words were cut off by a scream of pain as Revan dug the small cutting tool into her painfully.

"You want to learn that power?" Revan snarled as he continued to cut away at the Jedi Padawan. Her screams beginning to rack with sobs as her small frame shivered and convulsed. Then as suddenly as the pain was there, it vanished. Revan brought his masked visage inches from Barriss's face and waited as her blue eyes fluttered open. The eyes were filled with confusion and hurt as Revan laughed maliciously. "I warned you and the other Jedi to go hide in a hole until I was finished." Revan snarled. "Now I will not let you go until you are dead, or mine!"

"Please! –" Revan placed his gloved hand over her mouth. "Shhh..." Revan chided. Removing his hand, Revan was pleased to hear only the girl's ragged breathing. "I am no fool, Barriss. Why did they send you?" Revan questioned as he wiped the blood from the vibroshiv and glanced at the girl. Her once confident eyes had filled with terror and betrayal. "Not answering?" Revan shook his head mournfully. "You will..."

He promised as he allowed his hand and the torture implement to hover over the girl's bloodied Padawan robes. Barriss gasped as the blade dug into her flesh once more. "You will beg me to listen."

The next few hours where nothing but pain for Barriss. As Revan had predicted, she begged and pleaded with him to stop. The unshakable Jedi resolve being shattered under his torturous hands. "Spy..." Barriss gasped through the pain. She had already confessed things to Revan that she would never tell another soul. Part of her felt peace at ridding herself of the lies and frivolities of her short life but another was mortified that this man, who she had felt the smallest respect for, had shattered her image of an honorable Lord and held her deepest secrets. Her fears, her dreams and her very life were all in his hands. Revan's painful ministrations ceased instantly as she heard the vibroshiv being placed on a nearby table.

"Tell me something I don't know." Revan said in an amused tone that made Barriss sick to her stomach.

"Is he actually enjoying this?" Revan quickly grasped the stray thought and smiled. "I am so enjoying our time together, Barriss. But I do have other matters to attend to." Revan eyed the bloodied teenager for a moment before shaking his head. "Tomorrow, we will continue our discussion." The Dark Lord stalked from the room and Barriss released a breath she did not realize she had been holding when she heard the mechanical locking of the door.

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Darth Revan coughed violently as he leaned over the refresher, releasing the last of the sickness that clenched his stomach. His hatred of the Jedi had multiplied substantially after hearing the words leave her mouth that she was sent to spy on him. "A sixteen year old Padawan. A little girl sent to spy on the Dark Lord of the Sith. Oh how far the Jedi have fallen." Revan turned his eyes to his mirror and sneered as his hatred rose. Utter disgust had filled him. Not at his own actions, but at what the Jedi had done. Some small part of him had never accepted that they were the careless and emotionless robots he had accused them of being. That minuscule part had died as she whispered his suspicions. He did not regret the pain he had caused Barriss. It was a lesson to her. She would either hate him, or the Jedi for what had happened and that hatred would release the power she had asked him, begged him for. He had given her what she wanted. Revan leaned over the refresher once more, fighting to swallow the rising bile as he closed his eyes tightly.

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Hours passed and Barriss groaned in pain and apprehension as Darth Revan returned to her cell. "Where were we?" Revan asked lightly as he looked over the Padawan. "Ah yes, you were about to tell me how you planned to spy on me..." Barriss resisted the urge to cry as Revan lifted the vibroshiv and stood over her. Her blue eyes took in the dried blood of the small knife that she knew was her own and she looked pleadingly into Revan's mask.

"Bastila!" She screamed. The sudden jerk in Revan's stance told her she had hit a nerve. She began telling him the indignant rage Bastila had when she had delivered her message and how the Padawan insisted she held no feelings for Revan. She told him how Bastila's once dull and tired blue eyes has shined with anger as she spoke of Revan's deeds.

Glad that he still wore his mask, Revan leaned back against the wall for support to the emotions that threatened to cripple him. "She hates me then..." Revan whispered to Barriss.

The Padawan nodded eagerly. "That is what you wanted... isn't it?" Barriss asked, curious as to the strange stance Revan had assumed.

"Yes..." Revan hissed angrily. There was deafening silence between the two until Barriss finally spoke.

"Is it?" She asked bravely. Revan looked as if he would explode with rage but to both their surprise he threw the vibroshiv to the floor. The Dark Lord lingered for a moment, staring at the girl.

"Are you a Jedi or a Sith?" Revan asked finally. Barriss stiffened. She knew that her answer would seal her death or her damnation.

Taking a moment to collect herself, she stared at the Dark Lord with something resembling pity as she whispered to him. "I am a Jedi."

She did not see the frown under Revan's mask as he turned from her. "Then I can do nothing for you, foolish girl."

Revan stalked into the dormitory of the Sith interrogators on his flagship with a sneer on his face. "It doesn't matter what happens to her!" He snarled to himself as he eyed the Sith soldiers that stood stiffly at attention before him. "I have a young Jedi girl that needs some sense knocked into her..."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Revan stared indifferently at the smoke-filled atmosphere of what had once been Telos.

"Malak has certainly been busy..."

The Dark Lord muttered dryly as he shook his head. Deciding that training would be the best form of meditation, Revan settled into a private training room and pulled an ancient holocron from his cloak. Taking a moment to look over the holocron reverently, Revan depressed the switch to see the barely distinguishable image of an ancient Sith Lord. Having spent weeks secretly studying the holocron of Tulak Hord, the Dark Lords already remarkable skill with the lightsaber had improved a hundred times over. The technique of the ancient saber master was strange to the Dark Lord and defied all he had learned of lightsaber combat from the Jedi. It felt strangely natural to infuse himself with the Force and follow the odd techniques of the ancient Sith Lord. Launching himself into a deadly kata, Revan strove to perfect the art that had he had long ago mastered.

Two weeks passed before Revan's curiosity got the better of him and he returned to the cell he had left Barriss Offee. Telos had been a disaster. Most of the Telosian Security Force had been absent when Saul Karath had launched his assault alongside Malak on the world and all that was gained was another martyred world for the Republic to gain support. Malak had escaped unscathed of Revan's wrath along with all those who had been involved. The Dark Lord knew that in time, war would weed out those who lacked the resolve to do what had to be done.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

As Revan entered the dimly lit torture chamber he paused, eyeing the mangled corpse that lay strapped to the torture slab. Sighing, Revan shook his head as he walked towards Padawan Offee's corpse.

"Too stubborn..." Revan sighed. The Dark Lord cocked an eyebrow as he caught sight of the angry bruises that ravaged the girl's neck. The dark blue and purple contrast against her dead pale skin and Revan knew she had been dead for only a few hours.

"Perhaps you did not know when to be silent..." Revan ran his hand across the girl's face, closing her now lifeless gray eyes. "Another casualty of the Jedi's failure."

Revan snarled as he tore the restraints that held the girl's body and lifted her corpse in his arms. For some reason beyond his control, all Revan could see when he looked into her lifeless face was Bastila, and the thought drove him to his breaking point as he carried the girl's body to a transport and burned her remains on the planet below. Revan watched the ashes rise from the pyre as he spoke softly. "She would be eighteen now... Only two years older than you..."

Revan knew he was not an elder at his twenty four years, but what he had seen had seemed to age him by decades. His youthful and fit body was weary and pained. Nearly all his actions caused a pain to clench his body or mind and he dropped to his knees as he stared at the burning fire. "This is what has to be done..."

"Even if I am ready to kill... Can I?" It had never been a question for him during the Mandalorian wars. He simply weighed the pros and cons of a battle and made the most efficient and tactical decision while the soldiers died. He would fight alongside them in the thick of battle, but countless thousands he had fought beside lay rotting on those worlds or were blasted to ashes while he continued his war across the galaxy. But now he was killing children. That was what the Jedi seemed to be throwing at him or what they were sending to spy on him.

"This is ridiculous, of course I can." Revan resolved as he stood, watching the pyre die. The Dark Lord knew that a confrontation was coming with the Jedi. The first few months of the war had been mainly been a constant stream of victories against weakly defended worlds or poorly structured Republic fleets. The Dark Lord never considered the Republic to be the real threat. His eyes stared at the ashes within the pyre. "The Jedi are the enemy..."

For weeks his spies and agents had reported to him that the Republic and Jedi had been working together to unleash some type of weapon. What the weapon's nature was unknown to Revan or his agents and the Dark Lord continued to make preparations. Casting one last look at the smoldering cinders of the funeral pyre, Revan sneered. "Let the Jedi send their children to me... Let them see what I am capable of..."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Four months of fighting had torn the Jedi Order apart. Of forty thousand Jedi at the end of the Mandalorian wars, only half that remained in the Jedi Order. Thousands abandoned the Order for the teachings of Darth Revan and the Sith while others fell in battle or fled. The Jedi Civil War was falling into a retreat. The Jedi could not even call what their situation was a standoff. Wherever Revan attacked, worlds fell. Wherever Revan was, Jedi died. Whenever Revan spoke, Jedi betrayed. The Dark Lord of the Sith wielded a power more dangerous than the Star Forge or the assassin armies of the Trayus Academy. Revan held the power to make those who followed him believe.

The Corellian system was a rich trading world that had managed to survive the Mandalorian wars unscathed. It was also one of the first Revan targeted. The battle was not going well for the Sith. With twice the number of the Corellian Defense Corps, the Sith were baffled by how many men they were losing. So many that Revan had taken from fighting in the thick of battle in his fighter to returning to his flagship. On the bridge of his dreadnaught, Revan cursed as he watched a holo of the battle. The Dark Lord had spent hours devising a plan that would allow them to take Corellia quickly and with as little damage possible to the planet. So far they had not even breached the sixth planet of the Corellian system. The Republic and Corellian forces seemed to counter every attack and exploit every weakness in his strategy. That was the problem, there were no weaknesses in his plan. Revan cursed as another line of his fighters collapsed into chaos and were torn apart by the surprisingly well organized Republic and Corellian forces.

"Send Alpha wing to support Gamma, I want Commander Caine to bring his Interdictor cruisers in the breach at coordinates 9.89 mark 2.4." Revan eyed the battle warily as he spoke into the open comm channel. His split second adjustments played out, sealing the breach that came at the loss of Gamma squadron.

"How are they doing this?" Revan spoke in quiet awe as the reinforcements suddenly scattered and were destroyed. "Can you get me a hack into the Republic's comm frequency?" Revan asked a nearby technician. The Sith tech nodded and quickly made his way to a communications console. Revan continued making adjustments to his battle plan, sighing in relief when he found a breach in the Republic lines and then scowling when the breach instantly filled.

"No one is that organized..." Revan snarled as he quickly picked up a datapad and made his predictions of the battle. "I want to pull Beta and Omega squadrons form the fighting and use them to defend the heavy cruisers. In fact I want all fighters to break up and fire at will."

"My Lord?" A commander questioned over the comm line.

"It may drastically minimize the effect our fighters have on their ships but it will also prevent heavy losses if the fighter squadrons break apart. No groups larger than five do I make myself clear?" Revan stated firmly into the frequency. The Commander acknowledged and Revan waited for several moments as his fighters broke apart and swarmed the Republic lines. The lack of structure in his fighter's attacks and the random vectors the fighters choose to attack from made a noticeable difference as the Republic began taking heavy fighter losses.

"Thank the Force we have good pilots..." Revan sighed in his mind. The Sith Capitol ships quickly took advantage of the chaos in the Republic lines, tearing away the Republic fighters with their turboblasters and firing their blaster cannons against the Republic capitol ships. Revan suddenly shouted into the comm line to pull back the Capitol ships as the chaos in the Republic lines suddenly shifted to what he recognized as an offensive strategy. Caught off guard, the Sith Capitol ships found themselves surrounded by their breach in the Republic lines. The chaos surrounding them suddenly became a well organized and one sided bombardment as the Republic and Corellian ships fired on them from all sides.

"Pull back, all forces pull back!" Revan shouted into the open comm lines. Falling back to the outer edge of the Corellian system, the Sith fleet awaited reinforcements as their fighters fought desperately to hold the impossibly well organized Republic forces at bay.

"Lord Revan we have breached the Republic secure channel." A Sith Tech said proudly to Revan.

The Dark Lord nodded his appreciation to the Tech as he approached the console and scanned through the hundreds of signals from Republic and Corellian forces.

"The Jedi's plan worked, I can't believe it!" A young woman's voice spoke in awe. Revan locked onto the channel and waited for the response, his blood boiling. "The Jedi's plan?"

A round of laughs were heard over the consol as Revan listened. "Yea I guess that Battle Meditation girl wasn't all talk." An arrogant voice announced. "Look sharp Red 5 the Sith fighters are still attacking and we don't know how long Bastila can keep up that Battle Meditation."

A snort was heard from the end of the line as Revan roared in rage. "Battle Meditation!" Switching to an open hail, Revan spoke to his fleet.

"We're going back in, to hell with the rest of the fleet we still outnumber the Corellians and the Republic forces." The comms were dead silent as Revan eyed the Republic fleet's position on his holo. "I want all Capitol ships to break into groups of three and I want all fighters to use swarm tactics. Attack as randomly as possible, the Jedi are up to a new trick out there and we can't let them see our plans." Revan quickly drew out what vectors he wanted his scattered fleet to attack from and sent it through a secure comm line to each commander. "As soon as our reinforcements arrive I want you all to break from your random attacks and into this formation as the reinforcements will take this position."

Revan sent another drawn out design and listened to his commanders as they agreed readily, liking his strategy. The next hour was almost a stalemate. For every Republic and Corellian fighter lost a Sith one would turn to debris and for every Sith Capitol ship lost a Republic one would fall. Revan even took his own flagship into the fighting and was pleased to see chaos descending into the Republic's lines. He knew the Corellians would fight to the last man but the Republic's loyalties were easily swayed. Slowly gaining the upper hand, Revan prepared to call in his reserve forces when the unimaginable happened. A fleet of Republic Interdictor ships suddenly dropped from hyperspace and attacked the reserve fleet. "What!"

Revan roared as his reinforcements were torn apart within an hour. Snarling in rage, Revan opened a comm line to all ships. "This isn't over." Revan then gave the order to retreat as his battered and much smaller fleet returned to the safety of Sith space.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

One year of a brutal stalemate followed. Many in the Sith blamed Revan for the sudden lack of victories though in truth most of the battles Revan took place in personally were victories. The Deep Core and the Mid Rim remained in the hands of the Republic while the Sith held dominance over the Outer Rim and only a few parts of the Mid Rim. Hearing that the Jedi had begun using Bastila and her Battle Meditation filled the Dark Lord of the Sith with more dread than even the Massassi had. Revan knew now that it was only a matter of time before he was forced into a confrontation with the headstrong Padawan. Why he had no wish to see her join him or see her dead confused him. This internal conflict did not go unnoticed to those who would exploit what they saw as a weakness, Revan's only weakness. Malak was the first to spread rumors that Revan feared Bastila and her Battle Meditation. "Not a total lie..."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Malak smiled to himself as he spoke in a private meeting with a dozen Sith Masters and Admiral Saul Karath. "Revan has shown time and time again that he does not have the power to lead us any longer..." Malak began in a cold mechanical drone.

Murmurs were heard through the gathered Sith until one finally spoke. "Lord Revan has led us to countless victories against the Mandalorians and the Republic-"

"What about the Massassi?" Another cut off. The Sith fell into silence.

"But there is no beating them... Revan even managed to kill a few dozen of them on that planet he was trapped on... How many others can make that claim?" There was silence. They all knew that Revan had taken on nearly twenty Massassi alone and had survived with only a few broken bones and cuts while whole squadrons of soldiers had fallen to only a few. The strange aliens seemed to be skilled and unstoppable on all levels of combat.

"We all know that Revan is a skilled warrior... but he does not have the resolve to seek out this threat. Have none of you noticed that he has specifically spoken against using assassins to track down Bastila Shan?" Saul Karath spoke.

Malak smiled to himself as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Revan lacks the resolve to end this particular threat."

More murmurs were heard as the Sith continued to speak to each other. "Bastila Shan is just a child, she can be turned and Revan knows that."

"Yet he hasn't made an effort to capture her... one would think he is... allowing her to continue this." Another Sith Master cut off the one who had spoken before. The Sith Masters seemed to nod their heads in agreement.

"There is still the matter of Darth Traya on Malachor. With the army of assassins she wields she could easily eliminate each of us here..."

Malak laughed suddenly, causing all the heads in the room to turn to him. "Her apprentice, Darth Sion holds no loyalty to the witch. With the help of any one of us, he could easily take control and he has sworn to end Traya."

The Sith Lords muttered to themselves as they weighted their options.

"Follow Revan into death or follow me into victory. I assure you that I will end the threat of this Battle Meditation... I may even add it to our own ranks. We all know that after following him for a year, Revan has no wish to see this weapon in our hands." A gasp came from the Sith Lords. "Do you think Revan is sabotaging us? We are not the same people we were when Revan promised us the Republic... He may be deliberately sabotaging our forces..."

"Revan would never do that, he knows we need to be strong to fight the Massassi and whatever other horrors await us beyond the Outer Rim."

Malak nodded his head to that as did all the other Sith Lords though Malak chuckled as he did. "I'm sure Revan would not mind adding Bastila's Battle Meditation to our ranks then. He has exploited every other option but that... Why has he not sought her out?"

Malak nodded subtly to Saul Karath. "There were rumors that he was once good 'friends' with Bastila during the Mandalorian wars." Malak contained his laughter, knowing full well that Revan could not stomach fighting Bastila. Bastila Shan was a weakness to Revan. He avoided her like she was his own death and Malak reasoned that she likely was.

"There is something we can do..." Malak spoke thoughtfully through his mechanical filter.

"The Jedi are planning to capture Revan and they want to use Bastila to capture him..." All eyes were now on Malak. "Are you saying that she is Revan's weakness?" Malak would have smirked if he could. "I am saying Revan is afraid of her." The Sith that had spoke, nodded. Smiling coldly. "If we were to place Revan in a position where he could be captured... we could draw out Bastila and the Jedi to use their plan and then-" "Then we can destroy two threats to our power with one swift blow."

Malak finished, causing the one he had cut off to smile and nod. "We are with you, Lord Malak."

Malak resisted the urge to laugh in his own triumph. He would finally get his revenge on Revan for what he had done to him and he would gain control of the Sith. With the Star Forge and having the reputation of destroying Revan, none would challenge him.

"Revan is leading our Forces through unknown space to assess the Massassi threat. He will be gone for many months. When he returns I will handle how we contact the Jedi, then we can destroy Revan."

There were nods of appreciation until one of the Masters finally spoke. "What of Darth Traya? She is fanatically loyal to Revan and will avenge him..."

Malak's eyes flashed as he smiled internally. "I have sent Lord Nihilus to aid Lord Sion in that task. By the time Revan returns all his followers will be dealt with." Malak's mechanical laughter filled the room, joined by the other Sith's as they swore their oath to remove the threat to their power that was Darth Revan.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Darth Revan was gone for longer than they had thought. Nearly three years into the Jedi Civil War, Revan returned to relieve Malak of his control. Whatever foolish idea had led Revan to leave Malak in command was beyond him but he knew Malak would keep the Sith strong. The Massassi had been brutal and Revan returned weary of battle. Sickened to his core, Revan took in his pale skin and his golden eyes. Around the gold, Revan saw the blood that filled his eyes and blinked.

"When the hell did this happen?" He whispered as he ran his hand over his cold skin. He had made certain that Kreia knew not to attack Bastila. Being the loyal Sith she was, Kreia had agreed to make certain no one touched Revan's 'prize' as she called her. Revan allowed a cold rage to settle into his soul. He had killed many Massassi with the massive fleet he had built from the Star Forge. It was really the only reason Bastila's Battle Meditation was holding the Sith at bay. Most of their fleet was beyond known space fighting the brutal alien invaders.

In that year and a half, Revan learned and mastered the Dark Side of the Force. He took no pleasure in anything. Unable to feel the deaths of the countless Massassi he and his droid armies had wiped out, Revan had found himself oddly detached from the fighting. He could feel distantly the deaths of the worlds Malak attacked in his absence. Deaths that fell on his shoulders and he found himself filling with hatred.

"I will kill Malak as soon as the coming battle is finished..." Revan had heard Malak was taking an interest in training an apprentice. He had also heard from several spies that he had spoken with a young man, Bandon and had offered to train him.

"Malak will only spread his incompetence..." Revan hissed as he eyed his appearance. It was not so different from what it had been in the Mandalorian wars. Running a hand through his hair, Revan frowned as it fell out and into his hand.

"What the-" Running water through his hair, Revan was disturbed to find that his hair had simply fell away. This had been the first time in a week he had been able to clean himself and take off his armor. "I think I'm dying." Revan joked as he eyed his features. Staring at him were two dark green eyes. The Dark Lord shuddered as he ran a hand through his black hair. Whatever he had caught a glimpse of was something he saw in Malak and the other Sith Lords. He assumed it was a strange bloodlust that resulted in the Dark Side. Whether wanting the blood of the Massassi or the Jedi, Revan did not know and did not want to know as he splashed water on his face and resigned himself to train in his quarters, marking off what he saw as a hallucination from lack of sleep.

Revan stared into the mirror as he remembered the discoveries that he had made while visiting the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, before he had left on his crusade to defeat the Massassi.

Flashback

Revan stared through his mask at the shattered and broken planet that floated in the void of space before him. His mind wandered back to the Mandalorian Wars, and the countless friends that he had lost at this particular battle. "Yusanis, Arren, Ian…" The Sith Master closed his eyes and a the face of a beautiful young woman with shocking blue eyes flashed in his mind's eye, "Bastila…This is where my descent to the darkside began, this is where I lost you…"

"My Lord, we are prepared to land, do we have your permission?" Revan nodded to the young Sith officer and he left to carry out his orders.

As the ship landed a robed figure walked out from the Trayus Academy and stood before the landing shuttle. Revan slowly made his way down the landing ramp, and walked towards the robed figure, as he approached the figure knelt down, "Lord Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith. It has been a while."

Revan smirked beneath his mask, "Master Kreia, or should I call you Darth Traya now?"

"Kreia will be fine," The former Jedi Master turned Sith Lord of Betrayal rose from her position and fell into step behind the Dark Lord. "I did not think that you would come on such short notice," Kreia's soothing voice drifted from her hood towards the Dark Lord, "I have discovered an ancient secret from the texts of the Ancient Sith who built this academy."

Revan nodded his head and led his former teacher towards the entranceway of the evil academy. As the pair approached the entrance of the massage structure a group Sith Assassins previously hidden by stealth-field generators appeared and came together to form two columns facing the Sith Lords. As the two passed, the Sith Assassins kneeled and bowed their heads showing their obvious subservience two the two Masters of the Darkside.

When they entered the Trayus Crescent, Revan spoke in a harsh whisper, "What is it that you wanted me to see? I must move quickly, my spies report that the Massassi are amassing a martial force to attack my empire."

"Patience, my young pupil. They secrets which you seek lie deep within the Trayus Core, an area of this academy which I have only recently discovered. We will continue this discussion in a much more private place." With that having been said Darth Traya walked towards the end of the hallway and silently passed through the door. Revan followed closely behind her, eager to know the secrets of which his former master spoke of so highly.

The pair entered a large chamber with a seemingly bottomless pit set in the middle. However, if one were to look closely they would have seen a faint green glow at the bottom of the pit, the glow of Malachor V's core. Suspended above the pit was a large platform connected to the main portion of the room by three long walkways; the platform seven spires towering above the floor, arching towards the center to from one point. In the middle of the platform was what appeared to be a giant eye. "This, Lord Revan, is the Trayus Core. At one time this was the heart of the Ancient Sith Empire. The Empire from which the Massassi that you are fighting are merely the pathetic remnants, who only pose a threat to you due to the vast amount of Ancient Sith knowledge at their disposal." Kreia walked towards the red area leaving the mighty Lord Revan gaping at the structure which lay before him.

Quickly Revan came to his senses, and swiftly pursued his former master. "What was this knowledge that you spoke of?"

Kreia stopped at the outer edge of the platform and answered cryptically, "It will answer questions which have plagued you for many years."

"Damnit woman, I asked for answers not more cryptic words!" The Dark Lord of the Sith roared at the old woman.

Kreia turned around and glared at the Sith Lord, "You have fallen so far and yet you have learned nothing. Do you not remember any of the lessons that I taught you, or that fool Zhar. Patience, my Padawan," she spoke in a mocking tone, "Oh, but you never fell, did you Revan? You chose to become the Dark Lord of the Sith, believing it to be the lesser of two evils, you never fell. After all, choose the evil you know over the one you don't. You have been walking a very fine line. I sense something missing in you-- An empty place hidden even from yourself... A place that remains unseen because no light escapes from that region of your heart; it is through that point that the darkside truly calls to you. That is irrelevant at the moment, I did not call you here to debate endlessly the philosophies of the Force. There was an ancient technique used by the Sith Brotherhood in the time of Naga Sadow and Ludo Kresh. In those days it was necessary for the successor to the previous Dark Lord to be a pureblood Sith, and in order to be declared the Dark Lord he had to prove his worthiness to the Sith Priests. Because as you know the modern Sith are not a race of people, merely the followers of an ideal. This technique was referred to as the Sun Djem, it showed all the living relatives of the potential successor, as well as their history. For a very long time I know you have desired to gain the knowledge of what became of your birth family."

For a brief moment, Revan let the façade that he had held in front of the Sith for so long slip. He slowly slipped off his mask and let it drop to the floor, "You don't mean that I actually have family still alive? That, that can't be possible. Wouldn't someone know if I were their son?"

"No, you are from a planet a long way away, beyond the Outer Rim. You were attacked as a child and I rescued you; I then left you with the Mandalorians so that you might be raised as a warrior. Your parents are what they call wizards on their planet, they use an aspect of the Force long since forgotten. Your parents are two of the strongest supporters of the Light. Just imagine what they would think when they realize that their long lost son, the one they believe to be dead, is alive and actually the Dark Lord of the Sith. Possibly the most powerful person in the galaxy. But enough of my preaching, see it all for yourself." With that Kreia turned towards the eye and with a harsh and guttural voice began to chant. Every syllable she made chilled the veins and every word she uttered rattled the mind.

Revan felt his mind being drawn into the eye and suddenly he was in a swirling void. Then everything went black.

Visions:

Revan saw a man with unruly black hair and a beautiful young redheaded woman seated at what appeared to be an expensive restaurant. Glasses were clinking and everyone appeared to be having a good time. These must be my parents… Suddenly an old man appeared by their table and they stood up and disappeared.

The vision suddenly followed the redheaded woman as swirling lights and rushing noises raced past them. Suddenly Revan noticed that they appeared in a destroyed house and he saw his mother and father rush up stairs when he heard an anguished cry, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Revan quickly hurried to where his parents were, and saw his father attempting to comfort his mother. "It's okay Lily, he's in a better place now." So her name is Lily…

The visions continued to flash by until he saw the same woman although she was nearly eight years older. The old man who had appeared in the restaurant was sitting in the rebuilt house speaking to Lily. "Lily, as you know Professor Vector has decided to retire at the end of this year. It causes me great pain to see you moping about in such anguish. It's been eight years since his death Lily you need to move on, if Harry were here right now he would not want you to be grieving him so." So my birth name is Harry… Revan looked back at the woman and saw her consent to become a teacher.

Revan saw his father fighting men in black robes and white masks, and taking them into what appeared to be a courtroom.

He saw his mother give birth to a daughter, and he watched as she grew up to a beautiful sixteen year old. He watched as she went through many challenges: fighting off the spirit of the man who attempted to murder him as a baby; saving an innocent man from being sent back to prison; and competing in a dangerous tournament, from what he could tell this was the most recent. As he saw she was still in what everyone referred to as the "first task".

End Visions

With that Revan was forcefully hurled into his body, and he staggered under the impact of his mind coming back to his body. "My family is alive."

Kreia smirked at him, "How you use this information is up to you. But remember, the evil man you saw, that self proclaimed 'Dark Lord', has used Ancient Sith teachings to prolong his life, and make him nearly invincible…only you can defeat him, these creatures, they know nothing of the Sith, and their Dark Lord knows nothing of the Sith's true power, as you do."

End Flashback

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Bastila Shan bowed deeply to the Council as she stood and made her way to her quarters on Dantooine. The Jedi had chosen to hide her there after splitting the Council between several Enclaves. The threat of Malak and the Sith had grown with the disappearance of Revan. Many rumors ran that Revan had been killed and Bastila fought the dread she now felt at the news that Revan was alive and well. Malak was nowhere near as competent as Revan and whatever iron grip Revan held on the Sith a year and a half ago had vanished.

Gathering her things quickly, Bastila boarded a transport en route to the Republic vessel, Sojourn. Revan's flagship was being repaired after suffering heavy damage in what her mind could only see as some unholy campaign of destruction in unknown space that mirrored Malak's wave of devastation on the Republic. Her Battle Meditation had made a difference, but with Revan's return, the Council believed that the Sith would likely strike with the full force of their power. It was also apparent that Revan had taken a majority of his forces when Republic scouts reported that the already massive Sith Fleet nearly tripled in size at Revan's return, though many of the ships that returned were severely damaged and lacking crews. It would not surprise Bastila if Revan controlled all unknown sectors of the galaxy and the last bastion of strength was the Republic.

Shivering slightly, Bastila sat silently in her room, resolving to herself that the coming confrontation would not end in her death. The Council had sent her and two dozen Jedi Knights to find and capture Revan. It was the perfect opportunity. Spies in the Sith ranks reported that Revan's flagship was defenseless aside from the small fleet that surrounded it and that Revan was overseeing its repairs. Bastila felt the familiar anger in her at the thought of seeing a man she had not laid eyes on for four years. The last time she had seen him she was sixteen.

"He'd be twenty six now..." Bastila robbed her tired eyes and frowned as the thought crossed her mind. He was not the same man she had been friends with, he was a monster. "I should have seen it..." No matter how many times she tried to picture Revan as the heartless and disfigured monster that Malak had become, she could only see that tired young man she had loved who tried with all he had to make things better. "How did this happen?" Bastila cried out in frustration as her meditations were again interrupted by the image of Revan's warm smile. Growling to herself, Bastila slammed her hand on the floor, wincing at the pain that shot through it, though it was nothing compared to the sharp ache that had settled in her chest for the past four years.

"Why did you betray us?" The Padawan's whisper echoed in the silent room as she fought to see that same caring man as the monster he was. Nearly two years before she had been told what he was capable of and how he had no remorse. Bastila allowed a small and bitter smile to play on her lips. "He never did regret anything... at least that hasn't changed..." A cold shiver ran up the Padawan's spine at her own words. "What if he was always like this..." She knew he was a Mandalorian and by reputation, he seemed to fit in well with his own people. It was discovered that Revan had personally assassinated Senator Yusanis and she knew that the two had been good friends during the Mandalorian wars. "If he can throw away his friendship with Yusanis..."

Bastila did not even want to think about what he would do to her. This was the Jedi's last chance. Rumors were spreading that the Sith held a weapon, the Star Forge, and that they had endless resources. The fact that the Sith seemed to have endless resources drove the Jedi to want to capture Revan. "He'll never allow it..." Bastila realized sadly. "He will also never change..." Bastila's eyes shined slightly as she stared at the datapad before her. The image of a sixteen year old Jedi Padawan that had been killed two years before by Revan's hand met her eyes. Wincing, Bastila turned away. It had been her Master's decision that Selene be sent back to spy on Revan and take advantage of whatever favor he held for her. It was also discovered by a spy that Revan had personally tortured the girl and she had died two weeks after. A sudden feeling of resolve came over Bastila. "I will defeat him!" Bastila stood shakily as she drove the images of that young girl's torture and sacrifice into her mind. "I will not allow that monster to take another Jedi's life, he is not the same man I knew." Feeling confident in her resolve, Bastila struggled to regain her senses as she slipped into a light meditation to prepare for the coming battle. In just a few hours she would board Revan's flagship with two dozen other Jedi and fifty Republic Commandoes to capture or kill Darth Revan.