The First Jedi Purge:
Over the next several months, Revan would use this web to strike at random. Sometimes he'd send the full power of his armies, other times they were merely feints or hit and runs. Constantly, the Republic was kept on edge, never certain where Revan would strike next.
This method allowed him to not only slowly reunite the warlords from Malak's Empire under his banner but capture several worlds of his own. Boz Pity, Vjun, Saleucami, Ossus, Dathomir, Mindor, Serenno, Zygerria, and Rhen Var to name a few. This patchworked Empire began to disrupt the Republic's ability to trade, migrate, and even move through space safely. It may not have been vast swaths of space taken in a wave, but the random attacks and unpredictable losses quickly began to weigh on the Republic.
The Jedi Order had largely abstained from the conflict so far. Even though they were typically at odds, the remaining Enclaves had also remained out of the war. The High Council had issued an edict that the Jedi were not to involve themselves in the matter and that they should remain dedicated to the "… peaceful defense of your homeworlds, the continued study of the Force, and your eternal duty to combat the darkness in our hearts" and it had been heeded.
It was not merely sense of duty to their ways that kept the Jedi from the war.
The Mandalorian Wars had claimed countless lives. The Battle of Malachor V, a trap that included a heavy contingent of Revan's Jedi and Republic forces, had ended in the deaths of nearly all involved. The Jedi Civil War that had followed had torn the Order apart and led to the deaths of thousands upon thousands of Jedi- either to Sith, Imperials, assassins, or bounty hunters. All of this had occurred within such a short timespan that, by the time of the Hyperspace War, the Jedi Order was down to only a few hundred throughout the galaxy.
Coruscant-based Jedi, including the High Council, were perhaps the strongest, numbering at 300 knights and masters. Those in Enclaves had been so badly depleted that there were now only five to ten per world. The largest of the Enclaves had been Dantooine. Others took their destruction as a sign that they should never gather in force again, for fear that they will be more easily destroyed by whatever threat came next.
The worst was yet to come.
While Revan led his Empire against the Republic with soldiers and droids, he largely avoided using Dark Jedi, Sith, or other Force-sensitive soldiers. There were relatively few left after the infighting among warlords, and the Republic fielded very few Jedi, leaving little reason to use those that remained. Revan had, at a time, used the Trayus Academy in Malachor as a prison and conversion camp for Jedi, but he had not so much as even visited it since his return. It was inconsequential, and he doubted there was much left after all this time. He was wrong.
Kreia, a Jedi Master who had at one time trained Revan, was now in control of the Academy. Her beliefs, chief among them that the Force was a sentient beast that needed to die and that the Jedi needed to be eradicated in order to start again, had long ago forced her exile from the Order- Revan's fall to the dark side and sudden disappearance after Malak's betrayal had only further forced her hand. She took the mantle of Darth Traya and resurrected the Academy, turning it once more into a pit of despair where Jedi or Force sensitives were captured, tortured, and turned to the service of the Sith.
It was from this place that she tamed Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus, forming the fearsome Sith Triumvirate. Sion was an undying, scarred beast who was set upon tracking down a former High Council member, Atris. Unsealed records from the Academy reveal that Nihilus' attacks on Imperials had not been random, but targeted, and once he reported his deal with Revan to Kreia she immediately set him upon larger prey: The last of the Jedi.
Immediately, Nihilus' attacks increased. Under his will he now commanded undying legions of Dark Jedi, corrupted at the Academy, and began hunting down the remaining Jedi Knights. Entire Enclaves would disappear without warning; The Enclaves on Mygeeto, Naboo, Teth all were suddenly and abruptly killed off. The Jedi Order's reports on these incidents were inconclusive, but indicated two things: Revan was not responsible, but something terrifyingly strong in the dark side was. Nihilus' attacks turned from fringe attacks into a purge on all Jedi.
Even Revan took notice, as HK units, many of which had been dispersed throughout the galaxy under the guise of versatile protocol droids, began suddenly disconnecting from the network permanently. These droids had been invaluable for spy work and losing them was cutting off Revan's eyes and ears in places neither he nor Imperials could go. The fact that they were disappearing alongside entire Jedi Enclaves piqued his interest even further.
The Jedi High Council dispatched the few remaining Jedi Gunslingers, Jedi who were not exceptionally strong in the Force but were adept rangers and investigators, to uncover the cause behind these attacks. Despite being an unwinnable race, they managed to gleam one key detail: Groups of Jedi were tracked due to their visibility in the Force.
With this knowledge in mind, the High Council began debating what their next move needed to be. Clearly, they could not gather the sects together, but the disruptions caused by Revan's Empire made holocommunication impossible. They needed to desperately disseminate this information to the few Enclaves that remained, warning them that they needed to disperse at once or risk drawing the ire of their hunters. Making things even worse was the fact that the hunters did not discriminate based on location or experience.
Teth had been home to one of the strongest Enclaves, Masters and Knights who were extremely gifted in the Force and had centuries of experience between them. It had fallen and there wasn't so much as lightsaber scarring on the walls. Naboo was a lush, fertile world with a massive Republic starbase nearby. A dead, grey, forest was all that remained of the Naboo Enclave. Corsucant, the home of the Jedi Temple, was no longer safe to any of their order. Revan was quickly scooping up the galaxy under the banner of the Sith.
Faced with the decision, the High Council dissolved the Jedi Order and evacuated their members from Coruscant. All Jedi were to remain hidden and reconvene only when ordered by a Jedi Master who had held a Council seat. Their last message, broadcast galaxy wide on emergency channels used by the Jedi, is recorded and transcribed as follows:
"Our failures to redeem Revan, to save the Mandalorians, and, now, to determine the identity of our predators are unrecoverable. Flee from your homes, hide yourselves, and bide your time. Your blades must be hidden and your deeds unknown. The Force has been poisoned and the Jedi, its guardians, are dead."
-Jedi High Council Final Proclamation
It would be years until the First Jedi Purge would end with the deaths of the last Jedi on Katarr. While some would continue their duties, the Jedi Order effectively ceased to exist at the moment of the proclamation. The remaining Enclaves fell and the Order quickly became the subject of myth and scorn among the galaxy. For many, the dissolution of the Jedi was seen as them abandoning the Republic in its time of greatest need. For others, the Jedi never should have been trusted to begin with and it was good riddance that they were gone. The Jedi known as Mical ceased to showcase his abilities and would, shortly after, abandon his duties to Carth and the Republic in order to scour the galaxy for Jedi records and knowledge in order to prevent the Order from becoming lost history- or for their artifacts to fall into the wrong hands. The impact of the "Poison Proclamation", as it has become known, will haunt those who champion the 'light side' of the Force for generations.
Closing:
The Hyperspace War has much more detail and would not end for some time yet, however for the purposes of these intelligence reports it becomes more of a backdrop than the focal point. The following entries all take place during the Hyperspace War and are directly affected by it, but the subjects of interest are of greater importance than troop movements and the worlds that fell or were liberated. The Hyperspace War will continue to be detailed in following entries.
Observations:
The Hyperspace War was Revan's greatest achievement. Defeating the Mandalorians, finding the Star Forge, besting Malak, all of thes pale in comparison to the war. From less than auspicious beginnings at Manaan to sweeping across the galaxy using the hyperspace networks, his invasion of the Republic was swift, fierce, and resolute.
Although it was not his plan from the time he and Malak turned to the dark side, the circumstances he forced the Republic into ultimately secured their inability to respond when he invaded Manaan. Weakened by previous wars, the Republic was unwilling, even when the Mandalorians unified and began expanding, to face them again. Revan massacred a vital world and still they could not face him directly. A wounded, beaten, target can be humbled, can be emasculated, and will ultimately subject itself to punishment without complaint.
Utilizing Czerka as an unlikely but vital ally allowed him to gain his first victory, the momentum of which would lead into his others. Remember that power in the Republic always remains within the richest corporation, and targeting the leadership of that can unlock potential opportunities beyond prediction. It is also important to note that these people, despite their positions, are incredibly gullible to any proposal if it is flashy enough and if it promises to increase their profits exponentially. Not small gains, but permanent or massive increases.
Revan nearly lost the war at Manaan. Committing so much of his forces without adequate preparation was a gamble that he was on the edge of losing the moment he jumped into the Manaan system. Only because he was able to see the grander picture was he able to take advantage of assets such as the Exchange and Darth Nihilus. His will alone was not enough to succeed, he believed he would succeed and he was smart enough to back up that belief. When it came time to prove the strength of his will, he was prepared to do so because he had already accomplished so much utilizing only the former two traits.
So, too, is it important to recognize the other key players of this time.
Carth Onasi and Kreia's persistence is admirable. Carth recovered from certain death to become a leading member of the war effort. Revenge drove him from the moment he awoke in Republic space. Kreia held true to her beliefs regardless of what the galaxy said because she had seen the truth she needed. Intelligence officers are not encouraged to be overly independent of the state they serve, but knowing when their pride should outweigh their patriotism, and vice versa, is an ability that should never be disregarded.
The Jedi High Council's capitulation and abandoning of all they held true is the result of what can happen when a faction, no matter who they are, is destabilized to the point that defeat does not become an event but a belief. They had suffered loss after loss, but they remained resolute if ineffective. What truly forced them to the abyss was when their hearts were struck so repeatedly that they began to believe they had no choice but to surrender.