The Holocron

This is the official Order of 66 Back-story.  And it begins, as all things Star Wars do, with the opening crawl:

“You see, the war, the true war, has never been one waged by droids, warships, or soldiers. They are but crude matter, obstacles against which we test ourselves.”        -Darth Traya / Kreia (KoTOR II, talking to  the Exile about the threat of the Sith not being directed at the Republic.)

300 years have passed since our ancestors left their comrades behind and returned from the Unknown Regions seeking Revan.  300 years and still his legend is told.  300 years and still we follow his teachings, his ideals.  300 years we have carried on with his mission:  Preserve the Republic.

When the 66 returned to the Known Galaxy they sought him out.  I don’t know what they expected to find; maybe Revan standing at the head of the Republic, enforcing his will.  Controlling the destinies of the billions upon billions of beings that call the galaxy home, perhaps.  Maybe they expected him to be hailed as a hero and have great statues erected to him on every planet of the core worlds.  Instead they found that Revan, still hunting the threat some thought only he could see, had returned once more to Unknown Regions to pursue them.  They had missed him and now the 66 survivors had only themselves to look to for guidance.

Some wanted to return immediately, to aid Revan once again.  Discussions were held, information gathered, counsel sought.  They learned the stories of Bastilla, Onassi, and others.  They learned of the Jedi Exile.  She who fought alongside Revan and also returned.  She was known to them and at last they understood.  For them, they could not return.  What Revan must do, he must do alone.  It was his wish to be unaccompanied.  The 66 would honor that wish.  Perhaps he would reunite with those they left behind, perhaps not.

Over time they settled down and started new lives. They did not forget their purpose though.  Whatever they had witnessed or experienced in the Unknown Regions they kept to themselves, but they remained ever watchful and true to Revan’s desires and teachings.  Families began and each generation was taught what they had learned.  Balance in all things, preserve the Republic, pay the price.  They paid the first price in leaving the Galaxy and following Revan against the wishes of the Republic and the Council.  Prices were paid in the battles they fought, in  the exile they endured, and in their separation from Revan himself.

United as they were by Revan, they understood and were understood by only themselves.  Together they vowed to remain in contact with each other, to continue to pursue Revan’s goals and ideals.  They called themselves The Order of 66 and promised to pass the knowledge and quest on to their offspring, to indoctrinate them in the ways of The Revanchist and to answer the call should it ever come.  Individually and as a group The Order of 66 remained watchful as they spread out through the Galaxy and quietly faded into the background to wait.

Some say that Revan’s followers fell to the Dark Side.  The Jedi Council certainly took this view when Revan and Malak first revealed themselves as Dark Lords.  The ensuing Jedi Civil War certainly did nothing to allay these accusations.  The 66 knew better though.  Revan was no fool.  He saw a need for all philosophies and all teachings.  Where the Light Side might prevail when diplomacy and peace and redemption were needed, the Dark Side of the Force would provide for those occasions when more direct applications of the Force were needed.  Always remember that Revan did not know exactly who or what he would need in the Unknown Regions.  Foresighted as he was, he did not see all things and that same foresight lead him to take on all who were willing to follow him and offered some skill or ability that he himself did not posses that might be useful in the coming confrontation.  Light and Dark are not all the sides of the Force and even the Force sometimes proves inadequate to the needs of the moment.

Among the original Order of 66 were both Jedi and Sith, but we came to understand that these terms were misleading, labels applied to things that people did not understand.  They were but two sides of the same coin.  Revan ever sought to keep the coin on its edge, to find the balance.  Walking with them as equals were soldiers and mercenaries, bounty hunters and noblemen, and many others.  Revan asked only that those who followed should do so because they  sought to preserve the Republic in any way they could.    With Revan there were no distinctions placed upon Species or Social Status,  Dark or Light.  There was only he and the Republic.  A Bith engineer could prove as useful to the cause as a highly skilled Human Jedi in the right circumstances.  Revan understood this.  He taught it to his followers.  He taught it to himself.

Over the years The Order of 66 has, in part or in whole, taken action to preserve the Republic, to prepare it to survive the looming threat.  We act carefully, never revealing our selves unless there is a great need to do so, and even then showing the barest traces of who we are.  To the Galaxy and especially to the Republic itself, we are but a myth, a rumor, a story told to wayward children perhaps.  We do not seek medals and glory, we merely act as needed, to the purpose at hand.  This is as it should be.  If we were to be known in any great measure, there are those who would act against us even now down through all the ages that have passed.  The memory of what we began remains strong.  Old wounds heal slowest.

A time is approaching when this will no longer be possible.  We will have to stand at the ready, prepared to be counted and known.  Our preparations and training will be called upon and we will rise to it.  Even now the rumors reach our ears and we prepare ourselves for the coming battle.  The threat to the Republic grows though many do not see it yet.  This has ever been the case.  We are ready, we are willing and we will fight.  And those days that come will be the turning point.  The Republic will stand, because the Order of 66 will stand with it.  In this we must not fail.

These things I have taught you my son that you may also carry on where I must eventually cease.  We are many now, far more than those 66 who first returned.  We are, in many ways, the invisible hand of Revan, still reaching out toward the Republic, cradling it, protecting it, keeping it close.  Like an ungrateful child it sometimes turns on us, but like a parent we still nurture it and care for it.  You too will do these things and, in time, pass on what we are to your children and instill in them this same purpose.  Do not take the duty lightly.  Be ever mindful of your teachings.  The Force works in ways we do not all understand, but know that our path has ever been clear from the moment Revan took us in and an unbroken line ties you to him and to the Republic.  Be strong, be vigilant and may the Force be with you.