As a Jedi, it was practically a requirement to believe in destiny. Even a Jedi who had never felt the subtle pull of the Force guiding them to take a one action over another knew that there were simply too many convenient coincidences in the universe. Bastila did not need to feel the unusual weight in the force to know that this meeting was destiny. Neither did the Jedi that followed her through the entryway to the bridge of the Sith flagship.

Bastila's eyes were pulled towards Revan, who was facing away from them, staring out upon the battle raging violently outside. It was an odd juxtaposition; the frenetic clash of ship and laser seemed so surreal when seen from the disquieting quiescence of the bridge.

The bridge was otherwise vacant; Revan must have sensed them coming and dismissed the officers. It was a strange thing to do. Most fallen Jedi would want to flaunt their power in front of their subordinates, not arrange for an unobserved duel. There was also the matter of not having backup in case things started going badly; it was 4-on-1, after all. Bastila could not tell if it was sheer overconfidence on Revan's part or the simple, quiet sense of honor that the Sith Lord had possessed before falling to the dark.

"Revan," she said softly.

"Bastila," the Dark Lord replied tonelessly, the syllables echoing disconcertingly from within the Mandalorian battle helm. "Korric. Ladya. Ondar. And let us not forget Inshai, whose end I sensed mere minutes ago. The Council certainly made careful consideration of who they would send to confront me. It would seem they still hold some hope for my redemption."

Taking a step forward, Ondar blurted out, "Why, Revan?"

"Control yourself, padawan," Bastila chastised curtly, though it was the same question she desperately wanted an answer to.

"Why?" Revan repeated contemplatively before finally turning away from the raging battle in space. The Dark Lord cut quite an imposing figure when viewed from the front, dark cloak casting dark armor in malevolent shadow. "There are too many reasons to recount. The Jedi have neglected their duty as guardians of the Republic. The Republic has abandoned its purpose as advocates and protectors of the people. Both are blind to the truth of things."

"The Revan I remember would never discount someone for their failings!" Ondar protested. "Whenever you saw a problem, you fixed it!"

"Am I not fixing the problem?"

"You call this fixing the problem?"

Feeling that the situation was getting out of hand, Bastila chastised her companion once more. "Ondar, stop. Control yourself or leave."

The Jedi backed off, struggling to deal with his anger.

Revan chuckled softly, the helmet adding dark, metallic overtones to the sound, before quoting lightly, "There is no emotion; there is peace. Now is not the time to be forgetting your lessons."

Bastila glanced sidelong at her companion, hoping that the jibe would not push him over the edge. Strangely enough, it seemed to have had the opposite effect. Ondar now was quite in control, his emotions only betrayed by the tenseness of the muscles along his jaws.

"I see you still know how to manipulate us, even after all these years," Bastila observed coolly.

Revan seemed to shrug under the armor. "None of us have changed so much these past years. Not even me, though I am certain you would like to believe otherwise."

After a moment of silence, Revan added mournfully, "I suppose this is the end of our quiet chat."

Surely enough, several dark Jedi had rallied under the battlecry of "Protect the Lord!" and were now storming the bridge to do just that. Bastila watched said Dark Lord suspiciously, wondering if Revan would join the fray. When no such indication was forthcoming, she engaged one of the new opponents, dealing with him quickly and decisively. The distraction had been dealt with as quickly as it had come, but now things were different; lightsabers had been drawn.

"You have to understand that you cannot win, Revan."

"Are you so certain, Bastila?"

They both felt the disturbance at the same time. Bastila tried to shout out a warning as she threw herself out of the way, but the words got caught in her throat and she was sent flying by the sudden explosion.

She tried to protect herself from the impact of landing with her arm, dislocating her shoulder as a result. All the air was knocked from her lungs and she rolled clumsily to a stop. Reopening her eyes, she staggered to her feet, disoriented, but not wanting to be caught off-guard. The first thing she saw was Ondar, Korric, and Ladya- dead. They hadn't sensed the attack and had been unable to prepare for it. There was nothing she could do for them.

Then she saw Revan. She had no doubt that the Dark Lord was the intended target of the attack. She made her way over to the armored body, intending to at least remove the Sith's helmet in death. It was the least she could do.

As Bastila removed the war helmet, she felt the faintest tickle of breath on her skin. Her eyes widened as she realized the improbable truth; Revan was still alive.

Without a second thought, Bastila was searching for injuries and doing her best to heal them. There was significant head trauma, which the young Jedi had not the skill to repair. But she did have enough ability to treat some of the other serious injuries.

"I will not let you die," she insisted as she worked. "Inshai… Ondar… Korric… Ladya… they died so we could capture you. I refuse to let you die now; not after all this."

True to her word, Bastila did not let Revan die.