A/N: This is the first episode of my 'Tales of the Old Republic' expansion content. The second episode will be another character piece based off of the conclusion of this episode. I currently plan for three more episodes after those two.
Star Wars: Tales of the Old Republic: A Deadly Situation.
It has been a year from the final destruction of the True Sith.
Cade Richards, Jedi Warmaster, has proven his value to the Jedi time and time again.
But is the galaxy truly safe? Have the Sith really been eliminated?
The Call
Cade Richards strode out of the elevator, Revan beside him. The Council had been called into emergency session, which required both of them to appear. The doors slid open, and Cade walked across the room, taking his seat at the east side of the room. Most of the Council members had been assembled, with just the Master yet to arrive. Cade leaned over to Jolee, who had recently been promoted to the Coruscant Council. "What's going on?" he asked.
Jolee frowned. "Distress signal from the Academy on Dantooine. We haven't been able to reestablish contact since then."
Cade was silent. He knew the staff and most of the students of the Academy-not only from being trained there, but from trips to get reports from the Council on Dantooine. Cade looked across the room to Revan's seat-he noticed Revan's face was blank, deep in thought. He's worried about Bastila. Cade realized.
The Master walked into the room. "Fellow Masters, I won't drag this out any longer than it needs to go. We received an urgent message from the Academy on Dantooine roughly an hour ago. I won't go into details, but they stated there was an attack on the Academy and they were requesting assistance. We've contacted the Republic, who've promised to send a ship to investigate. But we need to send a small group of Masters to perform a possible rescue mission. I'm looking for volunteers."
Cade immediately stood, as did Revan.
"Master, if I may. I would also recommend we send Rachel on this." Jolee offered.
"Any objections?" the Master asked. No one spoke. "Very well. Cade, Revan, may the Force be with you.
Cade parked the speeder at the Jedi's launch bay in one of the reserved spots, and walked toward the Silver Whisper, a Jedi Infiltration ship. Revan and Rachel were already inside. Cade pressed the button to close the ramp and walked into the main hold. The pilot sent the ship into the air, having already received priority clearance from Coruscant Control. Cade sat at the plotting table with the others. No longer did he feel unwelcome. Fighting a war and shedding blood together was one of the surest ways to bond people. Add in the fact that Cade had saved Revan's life, and they were close friends indeed.
Cade did know how much Bastila meant to Revan, however, so he knew how hard this would be on him if they didn't find her fast. And Cade cared for the people at the Academy-they had been his trainers and family. He remembered that fateful night, when he had taken the children for a night of sky watching. It almost felt like that had been another life, so much had happened in the last year. Had they gotten to safety in time? Were they even alive?
Cade had to shut off that line of thought-it wouldn't do him any good to worry about things he had no hope of changing at the present moment. He caught Revan's eye. "I'm sure they're alright." he said.
Revan grimaced. "I think they are, but I need to be certain. I need to know that she's alright."
Cade nodded. He understood, as much as one who hadn't experienced love could understand.
It was three days later when they landed outside the Academy. The three of them dashed down the ramp as it lowered, seeing the Academy doors hanging askew.
Revan took the lead, running inside. The lights were dim--someone had shut down the power, probably.
"Council chamber?" Rachel asked.
Revan didn't reply, instead jogging in that direction.
Cade was searching other areas of the Academy, but he wasn't finding anyone. And that was the oddest thing. There were no bodies, either. He slid open a door. The room was clear. Starting to move away, he saw a flicker of movement.
"Hello?" Cade asked, moving to the closet.
As he opened it, he saw a saber come to life and fly at his head. Cade had to use a good amount of power to avoid the strike, but he managed to grab the hand, deactivate the saber, and throw the person across the room.
It was a girl, roughly fifteen years old. She looked worn out, with a torn, blackened robe and a gash on her forehead.
"Are you alright?" Cade asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I thought you were one of them." she replied.
Cade smiled. "Nope." He tossed the saber back. "What happened? Is anyone else here?"
She frowned. "Mercenaries blew a hole in the wall in the training area and charged the academy. They were looking for Bastila. But I saw her escaping in a speeder with some of the students and a few of the Masters."
Cade took her by the arm. "We'll need to get you to Revan right away-he'll want to here about this."
___________
Revan looked up from the computer terminal. "Find anything?" he demanded.
"Yeah. Someone who knows what happened." Cade replied, pushing the girl forward.
"What happened? Where is Master Shan?" Revan asked, a dazed look in his eyes.
"She left on a speeder with some other Masters and students. I don't know where, Master Revan." she replied, stammering.
"So where did they go?" Revan asked the group at large.
"I have an idea. We discussed this a few months ago in light of recent developments. It's part of Plan Hawk. Basically, if anything happened to the Academy, the Masters were supposed to evacuate as many as they could to the old Enclave."
"Then lets go!" Revan yelled, striding out.
"Can I come?" the girl asked?
"Yeah, we'll need help, I'm sure." Cade replied.
She brightened. "I'm Arianna."
"Cade Richards." he replied.
He had to laugh at her reaction as they walked away. If she had looked surprised at Revan's presence, then his name had nearly caused her to choke.
"You meet Revan and only look nervous, but you meet someone like me and act like that?" he asked, teasing.
"Well, Revan is powerful and all, but, you're the Cade Richards! The one who single-handedly defeated a Sith Lord!" she replied, in awe.
"I'm not the only one to have done it. Just the most recent." he corrected. After all, Revan and Rachel had done it fairly recently as well.
They took the speeder to the Enclave.
As it approached, Rachel spotted a mercenary camp. She nudged Revan. He saw it, and his face darkened as he swerved the speeder off to the side.
Cade motioned to Arianna to stay back as he jumped over the side, saber in hand. They'd been dealing with these scum for years, and the end of the wars had only made it worse. He grabbed Revan by the shoulder. "Calm down a bit, okay? We'll get them, but you don't need to lose it entirely, all right?"
Revan smiled. "Don't worry about me. I know what to do."
Cade used the Force to leap the remaining distance into the center of their camp, saber whirling. Rachel and Revan weren't far behind.
Arianna watched the three Jedi wipe out the mercenary camp. Rachel used a more traditional, familiar style. Revan was using a form she didn't recognize, though it was rumored he had developed his own form during the Mandalorian Wars. Cade appeared to be using several different forms at once, but she couldn't tell which, because of his speed. Then again, he probably was using several different forms at once.
Within a few minutes, the battle was over. The three walked back to the speeder.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed.
Revan clapped her on the shoulder, though he didn't say anything, taking the controls again.
The others piled in. Cade was rubbing his temples.
"Still having problems?" Rachel asked, concerned.
"Yeah. But not as bad as they used to be. Another couple of months and I'll have it under control." he replied.
"You get headaches from fighting?" Arianna asked, curious.
"Not quite. The headaches come from channeling Force energy. It's a common problem for Warmasters." he replied, sitting up.
"Oh. Can you learn to be a Warmaster? I think that would be cool!" she asked, excited.
Strangely, it was Revan who replied. "No. Warmasters are born, not made. And there isn't any way to tell who might be one, either."
Arianna looked disappointed.
"It's alright. We need as many Jedi as we can get. They don't have to be powerful or fast, they just have to get the job done." Cade said.
The Enclave appeared ahead, looming and dark. Revan cut power to the speeder, coasting up to the entrance.
Cade walked up to the door, punching in his Council override code. The door groaned, and slid open.
The four of them carefully walked through the dark hallway. It was Cade who noticed the people at the end.
"Who are you? State your business here!" a figure demanded.
"Council business. We're here to investigate!" Cade yelled back.
One of the other figures ignited a lightsaber. Revan recognized the yellow double-blade.
"Bastila?" he called.
"Revan?" the figure replied, running forward.
He saw it was her. He ran up to meet her, and they embraced.
Cade and Rachel strode past, Arianna in tow. Master Lee was standing at the end of the hall.
"Cade, Rachel, good to see you again. And you, Arianna? We thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.
"No, I was in the library when the attack came. My master told me to stay put while she checked the situation. They...they killed her. I was in the back, so they didn't see me." She began to shake. "I, I should have done something."
Cade shook his head. "No. You did the right thing, Arianna. There was no need for you to be killed in a needless fight."
Master Lee took her by the arm, guiding her to the area where they were healing the injured Jedi. Revan and Bastila walked up to them.
"Most everyone got out, thankfully. But there's the matter of the missing Jedi. Most of them are assumed dead, which will be easily confirmed by checking the bodies in the Training Hall at the Academy."
A passing Jedi heard Revan's words and gave him a cross look for being insensitive to the younglings across the courtyard. He ignored it. No one else was bothered by it, and Revan had never been one to mince words.
"But those who were captured will need to be saved, and fast. Also, we need to find out why they were after you, Bastila." he finished.
"Radio transmissions point to their encampment being located off to the south of here, on the old Sandral Estate." Bastila replied.
A group of Jedi joined them.
"We're going into that camp to capture or kill as many as we can. But we'll need to capture their leader so Cade and I can interrogate him or her to see why they attacked here. Any questions?" he asked. No one responded.
"Let's meet outside in two minutes. Come ready." Cade said.
______________
The small strike team looked over a grassy hill. The glowing lights of tents and campfires were easily spotted.
"Everyone move in, fast and quiet. Be careful. And may the Force be with you." Rachel ordered.
They charged down the hill, catching many by surprise. It wasn't until they had cleared over half the camp that a semi-organized resistance appeared. Jedi were cut down by the blaster bolts, though most of them plowed through. The mercenary line broke, and they began to run.
Revan spotted the commander off to the side, trying to rally his men. He stalked over, grabbing the man by the throat.
Cade ran up beside him, followed by Rachel, who was clutching her arm where a blaster bolt had grazed it.
Cade concentrated, sweeping his hand over it. The skin closed up, leaving no mark.
"Thanks." she said.
He shrugged, helping Revan tie the man to a chair. Bastila walked forward, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"The rest have surrendered or are dead, Revan." she reported.
He smiled. "Good. Thank you, Bastila."
Cade stuck a wake-up stim into the commander. He jerked into alertness, looking around wildly.
"Calm down. You've been captured. You will answer our questions, after which we will probably turn you over to the Republic forces en route to this planet as we speak. Now, why are you here?" Cade asked.
"Like I would tell you, Jedi scum!" the commander scoffed, spitting on the ground, hitting Cade's boots.
Revan slammed the man back, tipping the chair over.
"Don't toy with me." he said in a low voice. Jerking the chair back up, he slapped the man across the face.
"You've got one chance. Either tell me the truth or we'll force it out of you."
"In my left jacket pocket." the man groaned, shaking his head.
Cade pulled out a small control box. "And what is this supposed to be?" he demanded.
"Press the button." the man replied.
Cade did so, which sent a detonation signal to the thermal detonator in the tent, which clicked and beeped.
"RUN!" Rachel screamed, turning.
They all dived out of the tent as it exploded, sending them flying.
Revan was cracked over the head with a tent pole, which knocked him out. Bastila and Rachel landed near him. Cade ended up on the other side of the blackened remains of the tent.
______________
Three hours later.
Cade sat up. He was back in the Enclave, it looked like. Rachel was in the bed next to him, snoring.
He slid out, pulling on his robe and boots.
Walking out, he saw Master Lee beckoning to him.
"Good to see you up, Cade." he said, with a tired smile.
"What happened?" Cade asked.
"You accidentally triggered a thermal detonator. It blew all of you clear, luckily." His face darkened. "As for Revan, however...he's not quite all right."
Cade's eyes widened. "What's wrong with him?" he demanded, grabbing Lee by the shoulders.
"He was struck on the head by something. It seems he's lost his memory. With his history of memory problems, it's hardly surprising, but..." He let the comment trail off.
Cade walked into the other medical room, where Revan was sitting. "Revan?" he asked, cautious.
"Yes? Do I know you?" he replied.
Cade frowned. "We've been friends for over a year. You must remember something?" he asked, desperate.
"I...I can't. They told me who I am, but, it doesn't really seem real." Revan replied.
Cade walked out. He could take a lot, but seeing a friend like that was too much. He saw Bastila look up at him.
"It's no use." she said. "He's gone again, and who knows how long until he might be back this time." She began to shake, her head collapsing into her hands.
He walked over, wrapping his arms around her. "He'll come back. We'll find a way to fix it." he said.
She pulled away. "Yes. I know." She sniffed, taking a breath. "It just seems hopeless right now."
He didn't reply.
____________
Cade walked into the Council chamber.
The Master looked up. "Cade. How is he?"
"No change, Master." Cade reported, tired.
The Master sighed, running a hand across his face. "Until he's back, we'll assign someone to watch him and work with him. We need you back right now."
Cade nodded. The situation in the Outer Rim was degrading again, and it was becoming a strain to maintain stability.
"I have news for you, however. Because we lost several Masters on Dantooine, we've had to reassign some of the Padawan learners. You were a prime candidate for your own Padawan, and so you have been assigned one of these students. They will meet you in the East Hall in one hour."
Cade took the lift down to the Main Hall, where he walked over to the meeting place. He passed Rachel along the way, who gave him a curt nod. She hadn't handled the news of Revan's memory well at all, but it had been quite reserved compared to Bastila's reaction.
Bastila had requested an indefinite leave of absence, which the Council had granted without hesitation. No one had seen her since, though Cade and a few others knew where she was.
He spotted a girl standing by one of the marble pillars. Despite the situation that they were currently in, he found himself laughing a bit as he approached. It was Arianna.
"Master Richards." she said, bowing.
"If I am to be your teacher, you'll have to call me Cade." he replied.
She smiled. "Okay, Cade. What are we going to do today?"
He considered the question briefly. "First time on Coruscant?"
She nodded.
"Then we'll start with a tour of the city for today. Let's go."
The two walked toward the exit of the Temple.
So, as usual, I don't own Star Wars, or most of the characters in this story. I do own Arianna and Cade, however. If you've read this, please review it. Especially if you hated it. I'd rather have a review of 'You suck, and your writing sucks. Stop writing fanfiction and die." than nothing at all. Thanks.