A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…
—
Darth Reven stood on the bridge of her ship, the lifeless bodies of republic soldiers at her feet. The Republic had been foolish enough to think that they could attack her here, surrounded by her fleet. They would soon learn their mistake. The Jedi were coming. She could feel them, running towards her, just on the other side of that door.
"Let them come." She thought. They were no match. No one was a match for her, not now. Not with the power of the Star Forge at her command. Soon the Republic would kneel, and then Revan could get back to what was important—leading the galaxy to victory once and for all.
So unbothered was she by the approaching Jedi, she turned her back on the door and watched the battle outside. Since Malak had corrupted some of the Republic's best men, there was little the Republic's fleet could do against them. Suddenly she felt a familiar presence.
"Hello, Bastila." She said, turning to face the three Jedi crouched and ready to spring at her. In the center was the girl, Bastila. Once upon a time she might have become her apprentice. Now she would be just another sacrificed pawn the Jedi sent after her.
"You cannot win, Revan!" Although the younger woman could not see the face of the dark lord hidden by the cloak and mask she had become known by, the voice was one Bastila would never forget. It sent a shiver down her spine but she held her ground against the women she had once looked up to.
"I have to win." Revan countered, red lightsaber ignited. "The galaxy is doomed otherwise — none will be left alive."
Bastila also ignited her lightsaber, but it did not matter. The ship began to shake.
Revan turned around in rage, "Malak! You betrayer!"
She had known this moment was coming, but Malak owed her a better death than this. If force ghosts were real she would haunt him until he begged for death—
The bridge exploded around them as the ship was fired upon by Malak's warship and Revan was crushed beneath the weight of fallen debris.
—
Coruscant - 1 year ago
Admiral Dodonna stood before the makeshift Council in an empty hospital room. Masters Vandar, Vrook and Zhar were present, while others stood guard over the body several rooms away, trying to preserve the life that would lead them to an end to this war. The famed padawan, Bastila Shan, sat by the window looking tired. Dodonna imagined it hadn't been easy for the padawan. She didn't know much about force bonds, but she had a hunch being bonded to her would not be easy for the child.
"Are we certain her force powers have left her?" The admiral asked, turning her gaze back to the Jedi. It was Master Zhar who responded.
"We sensed nothing from her, the accident appears to have stripped her of her abilities. We must wait and see if it has stripped her of anything else."
"A Sith lord with her knowledge and no force powers could be very useful to us, of course we'll need to keep her identity a secret."
"Of course," Zhar nodded. "As far as the galaxy is concerned, Revana Nabarrie is dead."
"I want to be kept updated on this project. If there is any relapse, or resistance I want her euthanized."
"The Jedi do not kill their prisoners, Admiral."
"That may be, Master Vandar, but I'm no Jedi. If this project fails I'll kill her myself." The Admiral shifted her stance before continuing, "Now, lets discuss the specifics of her rehabilitation and the details of this mission—"
"Excuse me, Master Jedi? Admiral Dodonna…As you know, the patient has fully awoken, but something unexpected had occurred." A nurse entered the room, sheepishly.
"Unexpected?" Master Vrook glared.
"Yes, it seems…well it appears she-"
"Get on with it, please." The admiral commanded.
The nurse took a deep breath before looking up into he eyes of the older woman.
"She doesn't remember."
—
Present Day - Endar Spire
Captain Carth Onasi stood on the bridge awaiting final orders from Admiral Dodonna. The rest of the fleet had already taken off to confront the Sith in the Ojostor sector, but for some reason the Endar Spire had been ordered to remain docked.
Carth soon learned the reason why when a temples worth of Jedi boarded his ship like they owned it.
"What going on here?" He demanded as one of the youngest looking Jedi approached him and handed him a datapad.
"Orders from Admiral Dodonna and the Jedi Council. This ship is being commandeered to escort VIPs on a diplomatic mission for the Council—"
"Diplomatic mission?" Carth parroted. "Wait, Commandeered!?"
"Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Onasi." The young Jedi continued as though she had not been interrupted. "My name is Bastila Shan, I will be taking command now."
Carth couldn't believe his ears. This girl, this child, was the famed Jedi Bastila Shan? And she was taking command of his ship? His eyes narrowed. What were the Jedi thinking?
"I assume you're the VIP?" Carth quickly regained his composure. "I've heard about your battle meditation powers. It's an honor to have you aboard."
"Thank you, Captain. I am honored to be in the presence of one so highly praised by Admiral Dodonna—"
"Yes, we're all very honored" A playful voice said. Behind Bastila was an older woman, closer to his age, with a bored expression, flanked by several large Jedi Knights. He had assumed at first that the Knights were there to escort Bastila, but now looking at the striking woman before him he wasn't sure. Was she also a VIP? Or judging by the way some of the knights glared at her, a prisoner?
"Sorry, are you Bastila's Jedi Master?" He asked, and was instantly met with a look of fury from the Padwam, and amusement from the woman behind her.
"That was the wrong thing to say, Captain."The woman chuckled.
"Don't mind her." Bastila said, pushing herself in front of the woman. "She's nobody, not even a Jedi. She's merely here for consultation reasons."
"Aw, that's not very nice." The woman pouted, but was still smiling with her eyes. "Here I thought we were growing close."
She stepped past Bastila, past the Jedi Knights who all tensed when she started moving, and stood right infront of the Captain.
They both took a moment to examine each other, Carth thought she was stunning, but didn't like the way she was seizing him up. What was she trying to accomplish—?
"Aha!" She suddenly exclaimed. "I knew you look familiar. You're the guy from all the recruitment posters."
Carth suddenly couldn't control the color of his face. He had forgotten about that stupid promotional thing Dodonna had talked him into.
"Those weren't my idea—" He managed to sputter.
"Relax, Captain." The woman laughed. It was musical, and the crinkles around her eyes reminded him of happier times. "They're good posters—made me feel like joining right up.
She winked, before turning back to Bastila, who was glaring at her.
"Do me a favor, padawan, and call off your Kath hounds?" She looked back at Carth. "Having a entourage is a little tacky, don't you think, Captain?"
Bastila rolled her eyes, "I suppose it's fine now that we're on the ship." She waved a hand and the Jedi Knights stood at ease.
"Who are you again?" Carth's face was still warm as the woman brushed past him. She gave him a funny look over her shoulder.
"Weren't you listening, Captain? I'm nobody." She winked again, before walking off and leaving a starstruck captain and a slightly exasperated padawan.
"Please have the ship set a course for Taris." Bastila said, bringing Carth attention back to her. "I'd like to take off at the earliest convenience."
"Taris? B-but that's behind enemy lines. Why aren't we joining the fleet?"
"This mission is more important. Everything you need to know is on that datafile."
—
"Everything you need to know my ass." Carth grumbled as he went over the documents the Jedi Order had sent. The Jedi were making all sorts of demands and offering very little explanations, which was bad enough, but what really annoyed him was that out of all the ships in the Republic fleet about to head out to meet the Sith invasion, the Jedi had chose his.
"Just my luck," the pilot thought as he continued reading files.
When he had first gotten the assignment, Carth had been thrilled. Meeting the Sith invasion head on would put him in the perfect position for finding and confronting Saul. All he would have had to do was find the Leviathan and make sure he was on the right strike team…
But now that was all ruined. Now he was stuck escorting a bunch of Jedi on a pointless diplomatic mission to some backwards planet that was already being occupied by the Sith.
He skimmed through all the profiles but only two were worth paying attention to. The first was, of course, Bastilla Shan. The young Jedi padawan was famous for her war efforts, which included a rare force power that had helped the republic win multiple battles— and for her involvement in the strike team that took down Darth Revan one year ago. Carth wondered why the Jedi were wasting her talents on diplomatic missions, especially as she had been AWOL since that mission, but he supposed they had their reasons.
He still couldn't believe a nineteen year old Jedi Padwan was now his superior officer, so that ought to be fun.
The second profile was Hers—and it both intrigued and perturbed him. Her skill set was overflowing: computer and repair, demolitions, stealth and reconnaissance, but also diplomacy, cultural intelligence, strategic and weapons training. She was a technician who understood a plethora of languages, her skills list went on and on and yet…
Carth frowned harder, if that was possible. Where was her personal information?
Family History—none; planet-of-origion—missing; full name—redacted!?
There was only a short service record, an incomplete medical history, and an alias: Evana.
He sighed, tossing the datapad down in front of him as he leaned back in his chair. If there was one thing Carth didn't like, it was the unknown, and this Evana was the very definition. He would be keeping a very close eye on her.
—
Endar Spire - Orbiting Taris
Carth could feel the hull shake with each distant explosion. Each one was a frantic reminder that he was loosing his ship. The Endar Spire had flown right into a trap. A portion of the Sith fleet had been waiting to ambush them upon arrival at Taris. Somehow the information that Bastilla was with them had leaked. Carth face was hard as he barked out orders to the crew on the bridge. The security systems were already reporting breaches in the hull and Sith strike teams were starting to board.
"This is Carth Onasi," He announced over telecommuter "The Sith are threatening to overrun our position. All hands to the bridge!"
"Sir, life support systems are showing we've already lost the majority of the crew to Sith strike teams and the Endar Spire is taking heavy damage. We won't be able to hold out very much longer."
"Damn it! Where's Bastilla?"
"Already safely escorted to the escape pods, Sir."
"Alright, have the remaining crew evacuate."
"Yes, Sir!"
Carth stayed behind on the bridge for a few more moments, wiping hard drives and directing the few stragglers. When he found himself completely alone on the bridge he knew it was time to head for the escape pods himself.
There was only one functional escape pod left, it was all his…but just to be sure he logged into the nearby terminal to scan the life support systems one last time. To his surprise, a single green dot appeared in a computer room right past the bridge. He reached for his comm, but whoever this mystery crew member was, they didn't seem to have a portable communicator. Luckily this person was near their own terminal and that meant he could tap into the ship's communication systems.
He seemed to have caught her mid-slice, because the holographic face that met his—Her face, of all faces— seemed to jump back in surprise.
"Hey. This is Carth Onasi."
"Hello again, Captain." She purred.
"I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. You and I are the last surviving crew members on board. Can you make it to the escape pods?"
"Oh, fuck." He heard her mutter. "I'm on my way, but I keep running into more Sith than I can count…did you say life support system?"
Before he could answer, the woman—Evana— made some quick adjustments and suddenly the map on Carth's screen filled with little red dots.
"What did you just do?"
"I hacked the life support system, now we can see where the Sith are."
"You hacked- never mind. It looks like there's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door… You need to find some way to thin their numbers-"
"Got it," Evana messed with a few more controls and then the red dots in the next room disappeared.
"What happened?"
"I overloaded the terminal in the next room. Should be a pretty clear path now, see you soon."
She left before he could say anything else, but she burst through the doors only a few moments later, panting in relief when she recognized him.
"Let's go."
They didn't bother with any more formalities, and soon the last escape pod was crashing it's way down to the planet below.
—
"Reva..." an large hand caressed her face, turning her head to look into the eyes of a man she no longer knew. "You're going to be the death of me."
"I was always going to be the death of you, Alek."
The man frowned. "That's not my name anymore. You shouldn't call me that-"
"I'll call you whatever I want, apprentice."
"Apprentice." He sneered. "Just because the Emperor said you would lead doesn't mean I'm just some mindless follower. That title comes with a promise."
"Yes, I know Malak. Someday you must kill me, or I will kill you."
"Why doesn't that bother you?"
"Because I don't think you have it in you. You're too devoted."
"For now, but who knows how we'll be twisted by the Forge. If I didn't love you..I could do it."
"Well then..." Darth Revan brought the face of her apprentice close to hers and gave it a harsh kiss before pushing him back under her. "Make it a good death, my love."
—
The escape pod's crash landing had not been one of his finer moments; but that wasn't exactly Carth's fault. Something had malfunctioned, and they had been lucky he had managed to crash the pod with no casualties. Almost no casualties, anyway. The woman —Evana— had hit her head, and he imagined they would both be sore for a while from the force of the impact.
They were also lucky it was the middle of the night on Taris. He had been able to drag the Evana's body out of the wreckage and carry her to safety under the cover of darkness before anyone came to investigate.
"Looks like we're still alive, Beautiful." He murmured to his unconscious companion. "Now let's see if we can keep it that way."
The clank of armored footsteps began echoing through the streets, so Carth ducked inside the nearest building which appeared to be a rundown apartment complex. The place looked like it had been recently ransacked and then abandoned. He was worried they were too close to the wreckage, but it would have to do for now.
He set Evana on the bed in the apartment room he deemed the most strategically safe and then worked on getting the mechanical sliding door to close manually, locking them inside. He was relieved that the electricity controlling the lights still worked, even if the door didn't.
He frowned, realizing they would have to burn everything with a Republic ensign on it. He started tearing at the patches on his burnt orange jacket. He found civilian cloths that would fit him under the upturned dresser and felt pretty satisfied with his new disguise until he looked back at the unconscious women on the bed. She was wearing the same bright red and yellow uniform he had been, and there was nothing that would fit her in there. Still, they couldn't be caught in republic uniforms so he carefully undressed her, adding her cloths to the pile of things he was going to burn and then a covered her with the only blanket he could find.
"Hey, do me a favor and don't wake up and hate me. I'm just trying to keep us alive, alright?" He said, talking to the sleeping woman. For a moment he thought she might actually wake up, but her tossing and turning only resulted in the low whimpering of a name.
"Alek…"
Carth decided he would go out and try to find her something in the morning, and hopefully she wouldn't kill him in the mean time— a fellow solider would understand the necessity, but he still wasn't sure if she counted. He wasn't sure about anything.