Author's Notes:
This was my very first KotOR 'fic', the origin of the 'overly intense bond with Bastila' concept that inspired Fall With Me (which I still consider my true first fanfiction). Obviously, that story took on a completely different tone, with a more empathetic Revan who has quite different goals than this version, and the circumstances and characters present by Leviathan are vastly different.
But, for the record, this is where I started. On September 10, 2016, I became a fanfiction writer, and the following garble is where it began.
It's terrible. It's old. The tense is inconsistent. Also, like early chapters of Fall With Me, it adheres somewhat too closely [word for word] to KotOR in places.
It would take more effort than this story is worth to correct it.
Please feel no obligation to read it, I just wanted it to be posted somewhere for historical/archival purposes.
"It was your fault for being there, and your fault for rescuing Bastila."
I couldn't deny Juhani's accusation, not truly. I was the reason Malak destroyed Taris, the reason he was there. But we didn't chose that battle, it was an ambush set and enacted before we could do anything to stop it. The Endar Spire could have been destroyed, Bastila captured by the Sith, and the war ended.
If I'd been dead. If I hadn't been drawn toward her so strongly I would move planets to reach her.
More than Carth's incessant yattering, that internal pull had kept me moving, searching, trying every angle to find and recover something so important to me I couldn't have named it at the time, but which would continue to pull me onward from the first time she saved my life.
Bastila Shan, Jedi knight, master of the Battle Meditation. More than a sister-in-the-force, as if she were an extension of myself, as much as my lightsaber and the elemental powers that leapt to my commands. My weapon, my apprentice, my mentor, my precious useful fool.
I don't remember what I told Juhani. Probably a bland apology, I'm very good at making people think they're more important to me than they are. I think she may have a crush on me, even. As though I could be someone you loved.
I am the Dark Lord of the universe, the uniter of galaxies, conqueror of worlds. I may be experiencing minor difficulties at the moment, such as not having any respect or followers aside from those on my ship, but I feel confident that my destiny will not remain so restricted for long.
Once I find this 'Star Forge' and wrench it away from Darth Malak's feeble grasp, I will truly be able to dominate as is my calling. The Force wants me to unite the universe, and I have no objections to doing so. Those who resist will be destroyed, and my new regime all the stronger for the rest of the galaxy watching them fall.
We were heading from Kashyyyk to the Yavin base, a good place to offload the small fortune in looted equipment we had clogging up the cargo bay, and I was taking advantage of the break to chat with the crew. I find it relaxing, figuring out how to manipulate their affections, bringing them in closer to me.
I may not want or care for their 'affection', but I do demand their loyalty. The droids I can master, mechanical repairs and programming are my strongest skills, aside from perception and persuasion, of course.
The wookiee could be the most problematic, except that his life-debt oath binds him to me with all the strength of tradition. He will follow where I command, and though I've asked occasionally about his people, I really don't care enough to press the matter. The visit to Kashyyyk gave me more than I'd ever wanted to know about his family's affairs.
The Twi'lek hacker may have been essential during the early stages of our mission, but once we left Taris she is no longer a factor worth considering. Her brother seemed like he may have been a worthwhile contact, but his lies and foolish greed rule them out entirely. I haven't a reason to keep or discard her at present, so long as she doesn't betray me or try to steal anything.
Juhani has fallen once, it will not be so hard to persuade her to follow me into darkness. Bastila is bound to me in ways neither of us can fully explain, but her brash claims to light power should crumble soon enough. Her curiosity will draw her after me. Those with the power of the Force, however deluded, are worth my attentions.
Jolee, our newest addition, will never fall in line. He's too old, convinced that there is no benefit to light or dark, clinging to the thread of neutrality. There are advantages, when one is close to the extremes, that cannot be replicated with grey.
Canderous respects strength, and for that he will never have reason to fault me. I may have been half-dead on Taris, and my connection to the force took months to recover, but now I am confident that I will never again be forced to flee.
The only problem on this ship will be the pilot. Carth Onasi, hardened Republic soldier, who only follows me because he believes our intentions to be those the Jedi 'Council' on Dantooine set us. They sent me and Bastila to find the Star Forge, because of our bond, because I can see her resonating in my visions.
As though I would turn over such power to a weak and foolish bunch of meddlers, trying to suppress everything that makes us ourselves. Love may be useless, but eschewing all emotion is folly of the highest order.
My contemplation came to an abrupt end as the ship jerked suddenly, thrown out of its hyperspace path and into normal space.
I raced for the cockpit, cutting off Juhani's rambling about her mother.
"What happened?"
"Sith Interdictor ship, must have been waiting in ambush," Carth explained. "We're caught in their tractor beam."
Bastila looked pale. "Do you recognize the ship?" she asked faintly.
Carth nodded, his face grim. "It's the Leviathan. Saul Kareth's vessel. My old mentor."
I knew, from discussions with him in the past - he'd been very reluctant to discuss such things, but I am nothing if not persuasive - that he held a deeply personal grudge against Saul for the destruction of his homeworld and the death of his wife.
"This is your chance to avenge your family, your home," I told him eagerly. Finally, a way to get him in touch with his own dark side. A few minutes before, I'd have written him off as a republic drone for good, but with fate on our side I may yet be able to bring him in.
"Vengeance and anger are not the way of the Jedi," Bastila said, but I knew the words for what they were - empty repetitions of something she'd been told. She didn't really believe it, not in her heart, and that was why she would follow me forever.
"I won't throw our lives away just to chase vengeance," Carth told her. "But if I do see a chance during our escape, then nobody better get in my way."
I silently applauded, his voice was firm with determination and years of anger.
The tractor beam pulled us closer, and we began strategising our escape. The ship itself would be trapped without being released from the bridge. Kareth was Malak's fleet admiral, and would be well familiar with both light and dark force abilities. We couldn't rely on him making any mistakes with myself or the force-enabled. Bastila and Carth were too high profile.
I didn't trust either Mission or Zaalbar enough to come save us on their own, their abilities aren't suited for surviving in enemy territory. T3 would be ruled out for the same reason. Though he could hack into the computers and get us freed, he had no guarantee of survival.
That left Canderous and HK, both of whom I would trust with my life, both with the capacity to rapidly recover from any non-lethal injuries. I like Canderous more, his swordsmanship is stellar and he's never failed me, but his plan would require trusting the Sith to underestimate a Mandalorian just because he looked mostly dead.
No, the only one who could pull this off would be HK-47. Disabled, with his reserve memory on a delayed restoration timer, we left him lying in the corner of the workshop, behind the swoop bike as though forgotten. A solid model like that, the Sith would have far more motivation to retrofit him for their own uses than to deconstruct him for parts.
The flurry of frantic activity over, there was nothing but to arrange our desperate attempt to resist captivity.
While I could take on dozens of soldiers and a handful of dark Jedi single handedly, even I couldn't outshoot a hundred grenadiers and well over two dozen dark masters. We could see them through the windows, lined up around the area where the Ebon Hawk would end up.
My stomach tightened in fear. I couldn't fight my way out of this. I could try to run, but force speed was never my strongest ability. They'd catch up, and I'd be weakened by then and still unable to fight them off. In unknown enemy territory, I'd never be able to lure them off one by one as I'd have preferred, and they were well spaced to not be caught at once by my area attacks.
For a moment, standing in silence as we waited for the tractor beam to drag us into their clutches, I considered it anyway. If I caught them off guard, used my Genoharadan stealth field generator - I'd never studied stealth, but the technology was incredible - I may have been able to get away. I could join up with HK, help him break the rest out.
I knew, somewhere dark and deep and terrifying, that this man would not be merciful once he had us in his grasp. It may be Carth who has a history with him, Bastila his dark master is so eager to capture, but I am strong enough in the force to feel when something terrible is going to happen.
And it was Saul Kareth. Something terrible, about to happen to all three of us, and there's nothing I could do to stop it.
Through power I gain victory, I told myself, while a weaker part of me whispered There is no emotion, there is peace.
Peace is a lie, I snapped back mentally, then continued silently. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force will free me, (or, in this case, an assassin droid with a faulty memory core.)
I took a deep breath and motioned my followers to lay down their weapons. We were not going to fight, not yet. I was sure I could handle whatever they did to us. I could. There was no reason to be afraid, the Force would protect me.
They had torture cages ready for us, of course. Each was a pillar of solid energy a meter in diameter and just taller than a man could reach, holding us at the center. The slightest movement - even breathing - sent electric shocks simulated physical discomfort through your body from every direction. The closer you got to the edge, the more intense it became.
I tested that exactly once, reached halfway to the circle's edge before it left me nearly doubled in agony. I slowly stood, shivering, and stayed in the center of the cage. Fear rippled through me in waves. What if HK couldn't get us free, what if I really did have to face the current pretender to the title of Dark Lord while trapped and powerless?
I'd never been this helpless before. Even unarmed and alone, I'd had the power of the Force at my command. The burning ripples of energy that pulsed through me from the cage shouldn't have the ability to disrupt my connection to to it, but I found my concentration completely abolished.
Pain.
Just enough to keep me from focusing. Just irregular enough I couldn't adapt to it. And increasing, slowly, as they made us wait, and wait. My breath caught at a particularly sharp electric jolt, my body twitching.
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes, but I was already having a hard time keeping my resolve steady. I would not let Malak's underling be the one to defeat me. A torture cage was nothing I couldn't face, nothing—
Pain.
I could handle it. I drew a breath, then gritted my teeth and stood as straight as I could. Minutes of silent struggle, but this time my resolve held. I would not be bowed.
Dark Lord of the Universe. I would claim my rightful place, and all those who dared oppose me would be crushed.
My anger overrode the fear, my determination consumed the momentary weakness.
The pain pulsed into me, and I seized it furiously, compressed it to hatred in an instant. The fire that tried to burn me melded with my own inferno. I trembled, but no longer feared the pain. The Force still seemed distant, my concentration didn't allow for both, but I could withstand it now.
Finally, the door opened.
Saul Kareth came himself, alone. He tapped at a control in his hand, and the pain receded, drawing off part of my focus with it. I just watched, startled, as he strode toward us.
"Carth, how nice to see you again. I see the months haven't been kind, I barely recognized you."
"I recognized you, Saul," Carth spat. "I see your face every night as I renew my promise to kill you for what you did to my family, to my world."
I smile faintly. Carth's defiance will be useless, of course, as will my own. But we must put up a good show for each other.
"Casualties are inevitable in war," Kareth said. "You should know that."
Carth glared at him. "You bombed a civilian target without warning or provocation! It was a cowardly act of betrayal."
"I did what I must," Kareth said without particular emotion. "The Sith wouldn't accept me without proving my loyalties. Your homeworld just happened to be the target."
"And I will kill you for that," Carth growled.
"Spare me your empty threats, you are powerless and insignificant and I've heard them all before. I am actually here to speak with your Jedi friends, that is where Lord Malak's interests truly lie."
Carth's stare was so venomous it would have been accompanied by his hands around Kareth's throat were he not caged.
"We will never serve Malak, or the dark side," Bastila said. "You will be destroyed along with the Sith, if you do not turn away from this path."
I just smiled. One of those was certainly true. I would never serve Malak, and those who stood on the path opposing me would be destroyed. And this Saul Kareth, regardless. I did not take kindly to being introduced to fear and pain without my expressed permission.
And I wouldn't need to use torture cages. The power of the Force alone would be far more effective both at the pain and the fear, should such measures prove necessary.
"Brave words, but I've heard the power of the Dark Side is hard to resist," Kareth said.
Why any would resist the path of freedom and power in return for the outmoded Jedi ways of smothering emotion and ambition, I'm sure I'll never know.
Then Kareth spoke again, and I almost burst out laughing.
"I wonder if your companion is as dedicated to the light as you are?"
I gathered my breath, stood defiantly. "I'll never betray the Jedi, no matter what you say or do to me." If not for the continual pain of breathing and standing, I might have laughed anyway. As it was, I constrained myself to a tight smile. Defiance, not mocking laughter.
"I'm sure Malak will find your loyalty to the Jedi… amusing."
No more amusing than I find it, I'm sure.
"Lord Malak has offered a great reward to whoever destroys you, but I'm sure that under the circumstances he would much prefer interrogating you personally. And, of course, dealing out your eventual demise."
"Malak won't get any answers out of me," I insisted. "No matter how displeased he is, I'm much more displeased with him."
"The Dark Lord will no doubt torture you far beyond what I can manage here, for information or his own pleasure. But however you resist, the Sith are quite persuasive. You will, given time, tell him everything."
I wanted to retort defiantly, but my own thoughts betrayed me. The Force could be far more effective, and right now I was in exactly exactly the wrong position. Fear shivered through me again, and I almost turned away.
Malak, however easily I could dominate him in a fair confrontation, might well be able to break me in these circumstances.
"However," Kareth continued, "Lord Malak is in another sector, it will be some time before he arrives. Until then, I'll have to fill in."
I nearly sighed with relief. We still had time. HK could still get us out, and we could still take down Malak in full force. End this war. Take over the Star Forge.
I was shocked out of my self-congratulation as the cage suddenly increased in power. Even when I'd tried escaping, it hadn't been this suffusive. I couldn't move, couldn't breath, stiff with tight fiery agony that didn't so much flood through me as become my only perception.
"Enough," Kareth's voice cut in, accompanied by a release that left me panting for breath. "I wouldn't want you to pass out before I even ask any questions."
I reached for anger, for strength, but weakness and fear hovered between me and any thought. I couldn't think, not yet, and he didn't give us time to recover.
"I'm sure Lord Malak will greatly appreciate any information I have for him on arrival."
"Don't waste your breath, Saul," Carth said. "We won't answer any of your questions."
"I'm sure you won't, but your friend's loyalties may be more… flexible."
Kareth was staring at me. It was all I could do to hold his gaze defiantly, I had no breath for words. Fear deepened and writhed within me, I didn't know if I could handle that again. I certainly didn't know if I could hold out until Malak reached us.
Maybe I'd underestimated what simple fools could accomplish with technology.
"It is time to put your loyalty to the test. I doubt torturing you could accomplish anything, your will is too strong to be broken that way."
I could almost have laughed. My strength was with the Force, and somehow that power was not with me at the moment. If it were, I could have shorted out the cages with lightning, broken his mind with a word, and left him choking and unable to breathe while we casually used him for target practice.
My determination was strong, but right now I was at my very weakest. If he'd pushed, I may have cracked.
"Even the greatest of heroes has trouble watching those they care about suffer. If you refuse to answer me, Carth will be hurt."
If I weren't still questioning my mental stability, I might well have laughed. Carth? It was Bastila I needed, for her power. It was Bastila whose bond tied us together, who I might have cared about losing.
Carth? He's just the pilot. I may be trying to draw him to my side, but that's only because he's a diverting challenge when I'm bored between planets, and because there isn't anyone more interesting around to recruit.
Still, I could have fun with this. I could say whatever I wanted, prove my 'loyalty' to Bastila, and all it would add up to was another strike against Carth's hold. Another push toward giving in to his instinct for darkness.
I drew myself up, Kareth's complete lack of perception giving me the spark of confidence I needed. "You needn't bother, I won't tell you what you want either way."
"We shall see."
"My pain is meaningless," Carth said bravely. "Tell him nothing."
"I tire of these games, I want answers. On which planet did you receive your Jedi training?"
"Alderaan, they're on Alderaan." I've never been to Alderaan, but I've heard it's pretty and peaceful. A reasonable spot for a Jedi academy.
"Alderaan? They're nothing but artisans and philosophers. There is no training academy there."
He pressed a trigger, and Carth screamed, his body tensing as he writhed in pain. I'm so loyal to your cause I'll even let them hurt you. You even gave permission, I thought wonderingly. This has got to be the weirdest interrogating I've ever been involved in.
I gathered my strength and focus, willing the Force to return to me. I knew he wouldn't keep on with the same useless tactic once he saw how ineffective it was, and if he turned my cage up again I needed to be able to resist. Even a trickle of the Force could help me hold separate from the physical assault.
"You see what happens when you try to defy me? But, despite your attempts at deception, this first question was a test. We have already destroyed the academy on Dantooine, your Jedi masters are nothing but a smoking crater.
Bastila stiffened at this, clearly upset. I didn't see why she cared, they never answered our questions clearly and always were trying to stuff us into their mold for perfect little Jedi drones.
"You and your Sith master alike shall be destroyed for this insult," I growled. "Dantooine will be avenged."
Bastila gave me a grateful look, and I nodded firmly.
"More empty threats. We Sith prefer action."
The moment I get a hold on the Force, I'll show you action, I thought. It would serve him right to understand that allying himself with Malak was a foolish mistake. The first chance I had, I'd have him choking on the floor while I mowed down his followers with lightning.
"Now, tell me what the Jedi hoped to gain. What was your purpose? How were you supposed to disrupt Lord Malak's plans?"
"I was just planning to kill him," I answered honestly. The Jedi may have wanted some convoluted plan to find a Star Forge, which seemed to be my best chance at infinite power, but my plan was to just choke the life out of the upstart Dark Lord the moment I got him in reach.
"Do you take me for a fool? The Jedi do not think that way."
No they don't. Probably why I'm not at all phased by their destruction. I was getting tired of them looking over my shoulder anyway. Good riddance.
"Perhaps you need a reminder of the consequences of your uncooperative behavior."
Carth shrieked, higher and longer than before, shaking and convulsing. Partial words - No, the pain, no please - didn't quite make it through.
"Listen to him suffering. Surely you just want to cooperate with us, to spare him his pain."
Yeah right.
"Now I ask again, what mission did the Jedi Council send you on?"
"You know this isn't going to work, just wait for your master to come and do it properly."
"Perhaps another lesson is in order?" He pressed the toggle more firmly. Carth screamed, tried to plead for mercy, then passed out.
I tilted my head at him. "Now what?" But mentally I was straining for the Force. Not any particular ability, just to have it nearby, to protect me. Unfocused, undirected, but maybe enough to keep me from giving in.
"I'm surprised he lasted that long. When Lord Malak arrives, you'll see how merciful my interrogation techniques are, and wish you'd been more cooperative."
He flicked all three switches up, then turned and walked away.
With a last desperate grasp, I seized as much power as I could as a shield between myself and my body's sensation. I'd seen Bastila use a similar technique to protect us in battle, prevent us from succumbing to injury. It was all I could manage, unformed and half-directed, but it would have to be enough.
Then that instant ended, and the pain hit, and I heard only Bastila and myself screaming until sensation overwhelmed me and the pain followed me into darkness.
"Don't try to move too quickly."
Bastila's gentle voice brought me back to awareness. The cage was turned down again, just minor jolts whenever I moved. I straightened slowly, taking each burst of pain stoically. Compared to before, this was nothing.
I glanced around, but the room was empty.
"How long?" I asked.
"He hit you the hardest, even after you passed out." Carth said, misunderstanding my question. Which isn't surprising, I was only half coherent. "Probably thought you were faking. He's a sadistic monster."
"That's the fate of all who succumb to the Dark Side, Carth," Bastila said. I frowned slightly, her usual Jedi-talk seemed more pronounced now.
Ah. The loss of Dantooine. She's 'honoring their memory' with renewed dedication to their worthless ideals. I'd have to get that out of her eventually, but for now my attention went to our situation. Fortunately, these 'torture cages' wouldn't cause any actual permanent damage, apart from whatever our bodies did to themselves. It was all sensation, not actual harm.
Well, certainly mental harm, but not anything that would have an effect on our fighting capacity. Once HK broke us out, we'd be ready to go in a few minutes. Assuming we could find something to fight with. I would have my force powers, but Carth needed a gun or he was completely useless, and Bastila was more enhancement/healing aligned. Most of her combat output consisted of her lightning-fast flurries with that double-bladed saber of hers.
Bastila was still talking about dark side corruption and losing yourself to violence and evil. I'd had about enough of this attitude that 'Dark Side' power means you're evil, because it doesn't mean a thing. That's like saying it's bad to want to be the Dark Lord of the Universe. Which it isn't. I would never torture someone pointlessly like that! The Dark Side of the Force appealed to people who were already evil, it didn't take good people and make them do evil things. That was their own weak minds succumbing to their own desires.
"Blah, blah, blah. Do you have to be so preachy?" I snapped.
"This is not something to take lightly!" Bastila retorted sharply. "If Saul shows us anything it's that the Dark Side can corrupt even the greatest of heroes."
If his job interview was bombing a peaceful civilian planet, then he obviously didn't care too much about being a hero.
I glanced over at Carth. He wouldn't have done it. Even if he was captured by Malak, offered power and position, he wouldn't have turned on a civilian planet. Saul Kareth didn't have any connection with the force. I had to admit grudging respect for him, even if he didn't share my outlook, he was true to his ideals.
"The Dark Side had nothing to do with why Kareth turned," I said. Carth had told me that, months ago on Taris, and it came to mind now. "And not all evil people are working for the Sith." And not everyone working for the Sith are evil, but they're still in the way of my universal domination.
Bastila turned away slightly. "I'm sorry, I should not have snapped at you. I… I think I'm taking the news of Dantooine rather hard."
"Maybe he was lying," I said, but it felt empty. He hadn't gotten the name from any of us, he hadn't been guessing.
"I'd like to believe that, but I knew his words for truth as he spoke. Dantooine is gone. And it is troubling that we did not feel its loss."
I didn't care about them. My connection to the 'Jedi Masters' was so thin as to be nonexistent. Bastila was rebellious, curious, and had been away for longer than she'd been present. It was no great surprise that we didn't feel their loss.
But, of course, she had to spin it out into some plot of the Dark Side.
"None of this will matter if we don't escape before Saul returns," Carth murmured.
"I'm not afraid of him," I said instinctively, and found it to be true. He'd already done his worst, and anticipation and fear is far more dangerous than facing something you know. I can embrace the pain, I can block the pain, or I can surrender to it and pass out.
I know the Force, and Malak would find himself on far too even a ground for his pleasure should he try anything with me. No, they had nothing left to threaten me with.
And with that thought, the Force came flowing back into me. I stretched a hand toward the edge of the field, the pain intensifying in response, the barrier turning firm and resistant against my fingertips, and I drew off a tiny thread of healing from Bastila.
She didn't know I could do that, of course. It's a combination of my standard Force Drain ability with the intense connection of our bond.
The pain receded, even as it was created, and I shrugged and stretched and then relaxed back into a casual stand.
Carth and Bastila continued talking, but I tuned them out. I closed my eyes and watched, following HK as he blasted his way toward us through the Leviathan's hallways. I gave him a nudge toward the right doors, without even thinking about what I was doing. It may be all the time I spent repairing him, or the many weeks we spent in company on Tatooine, but he seemed to be the most receptive droid I'd ever met.
Within ten minutes, the door blasted open and I opened my eyes. With a few well-placed shots, HK disabled the torture cages and we stepped out into freedom.
"When we get back to the Republic, I'll see you get a medal for this," Carth told HK gratefully, with no small amount of relief in his voice. "Even if you are a droid."
"Information: Your other companions have been released. The Ebon Hawk is in the hangar level."
"The hangar will be locked without permission from the bridge," Carth said.
"Kareth will probably be up there," I said, realizing his intent. "HK, gather the others and take them to the Hawk. Canderous will know what to do, and together you should be able to deal with any guard they've set. The dark Jedi will be up here, between us and the bridge. Carth, Bastila, and I will storm the place and take down Kareth. When we've released the hangar doors, we'll be right down."
"Affirmative, master."
HK saluted with his heavy repeater, then jogged off to relay the orders.
"Any objections?"
Bastila shook her head. "We should get moving. I can feel the darkness of Malak's presence approaching. None of us is a match for the Sith lord."
I scoffed quietly at that. I could sense Malak's so-called presence approaching too, and it was not even close to as strong as myself. Stronger than Bastila, certainly, but nowhere near my own strength.
"Saul is going to pay for it all today," Carth said. "Everything he's done, to us and to the rest of the galaxy."
I nodded. "Don't worry, we'll take him down."
I led the way through the halls, which weren't entirely familiar but the layout was similar enough to something I was familiar with that I could make out the general layout of the place.
We recovered our equipment and fought past Sith soldiers, dark Jedi, and patrol droids. Increasingly, they couldn't even hope to stand against us. The longer I was free the stronger the Force was pulsing through me. It was as eager as I to exact destruction on those who stood in our way. Malak was an utterly unworthy Dark Lord.
We reached the bridge without complications, and Kareth was ready for us. A full trio of dark Jedi - the strongest we'd yet encountered - and heavy troopers in every corner of the room.
Kareth faced us from the rear, a satisfied smirk on his face. "We knew you'd come here, as soon as we heard the alarm. Lord Malak would have preferred live prisoners, but he'll have to do with corpses."
"Only yours," I muttered under my breath, and choked him off with the Force.
He stood, struggling and grunting, while we systematically cut down his backup and support. Bastila took several hits, and the grenadiers knocked Carth and me backwards more than once, but I stood each time and kept the dark Jedi occupied with my repertoire of Force powers while Bastila cut down the nearer soldiers and Carth blasted those more distant.
Then the room fell still.
"The Admiral is still alive!" Bastila exclaimed, rushing to where he'd collapsed, gasping for breath.
I strolled around the room, checking the dark Jedi's lightsabers in case they had any crystals worth my time. They didn't.
Then I noticed Carth stumbling back from the now-unmoving Kareth.
"Damn you, Saul, damn you!" He rounded on Bastila. "And it's true isn't it? You knew this whole time, you and the whole Jedi Council?"
"Please, Carth, there's no time for this now," Bastila said frantically. "Malak is coming, this isn't the place."
"When we get to the ship, I want some answers," Carth said firmly.
"I think we deserve an explanation," I said, though unsure what they were talking about.
Bastila nodded. "When we're safely away from here, I'll explain everything. I promise."
"Good enough for me," I said. "Shall we?"
Carth gave one last glance at where his dead former-mentor mortal-enemy lay dead, then nodded and followed Bastila. His one glance at me was full of distrust and fear.
I sighed. Carth has had trust issues since I first met him, and finally defeating the man who betrayed him the hardest seems to have done nothing for his peace of mind. Whatever story the dying admiral came up with to scare him, it seemed to be working.
We retraced our steps, reached the elevator after blasting our way through a few more dark Jedi and Sith grenadiers, and reached the hangar level safely.
I sensed Darth Malak very close. With luck, we wouldn't be too early.
I kept us checking every room, grabbing anything of value - we were on our way to Yavin, and every Dark Lord needs a proper fortune to back up their power. My power.
My unlimited power.
Ever since the confrontation on the bridge, I've had a sense of purpose. Something was about to change, and the balance of power would tip in my favor forever.
We eventually reached the series of airlocks that led to the actual hangars. I took a step forward, then stopped. The door ahead of us crackled with Dark Side energy. Malak stood just beyond.
"Bastila, maybe use your Force Valor now?" I whispered. She nodded and the Force swept around us each in a shield of invisible energy. It wouldn't protect us exactly, but it would make us stronger and faster, more capable of dodging and resisting.
Then I opened the door.
Darth Malak was taller than I'd have expected. From all the pictures, I'd imagined him closer to my own height.
He was tall. He was big. He was ugly.
Typical wannabe Dark Lord. One glance, and you knew he was trying to be something. He was dark, yes. Powerful, moderately. He'd inherited his fleets and station from his own master, though, the infamous Revan who'd made the galaxy tremble. From what Canderous had told me, Revan was a strategic genius. Mysterious, masterful, and unreadable.
Malak, on the other hand…
Brute force and no subtlety. He would smash his power against ours, and Bastila and Carth would be overwhelmed.
Within moments, they were paralyzed. The Force held them tighter than even my own powers could have.
But Malak was distracted. His power divided.
I seized him by the throat and held on. He tried to push me away, but I held the tighter. Choking, he finally summoned enough power to lift and whirlwind me away. My full attention on the attack, I didn't block him fast enough. I released his, and he fled as I fell to the ground.
A brief moment of disorientation, and I raced after him. He held the door between us sealed, but there were enough interconnecting airlocks I easily found a way around.
"You still don't know what's happening here," Malak said, laughing. "You would follow the Jedi Council's every order, never questioning their claims to wisdom."
"Hah. If you believe that you're even less of a threat than you look," I said, confidently. "You should have run farther when you had the chance, I'm not letting you escape again."
He drew his lightsaber as though to goad me into a hand-to-hand fight, but by the time it was fully ignited my power was around his throat again.
"You have an army," I hissed. "Guess what I'm in the market for."
"No, I am the Dark—Lo—"
I tightened my force grip and cut him off. "No. I am the Dark Lord now. You take orders from me, or you will die. Understand?"
Malak glared, struggled, and tried weakly to throw his lightsaber at me. I deflected it with my off-hand vibroblade without taking my eyes off him.
"You. Serve. Me." I told him, bringing every ounce of my persuasion and Force power to bear.
Malak nodded, slowly, and I released him. He slumped to the floor, gasping.
"Now, for the time being, I find it convenient to allow you to maintain an appearance of control. I have business to conclude on Korriban, I will meet you at the Star Forge. In the meanwhile—"
I considered. Bastila knew something that Carth wanted to know. If the look he'd given me was any indication, it couldn't be good. Either I could take Bastila with me and turn Carth over to Malak - which would be a good plan except for being pointless waste of a soldier - or…
"Take Bastila. Release her from your Force Stasis, I will pretend to be overpowered. She will do the foolish thing and try to 'save' me and Carth by 'sacrificing' herself. You will take her with you, and break her resistance against the Dark Side of the Force. She will be a useful weapon I would very much like to have available. Do not try anything beyond this. Do not attack any planets. Hold the fleets in readiness, continue building up my armies, but don't do anything else."
He wanted to betray me the first chance he got. He wouldn't 'pretend' to overpower me, he would try for me seriously.
I held him again, and stood directly in front of him, forced my persuasive power into his mind.
"You will serve me or die," I hissed. "I have no use for you if you refuse to do my exact bidding. Understand?"
This time he did. He told himself he would bide his time to strike, but from what little I know of him he wouldn't find the courage to strike at me directly. He would sent his minions 'accidentally' or attack a planet I was on, or send fighters after my ship. But all that I could deal with.
So long as he followed my instructions, he would be of use to me.
I released the shields and defences, released Malak's body. He carefully placed the Force Stasis around me, not too constrictive, as instructed. He knew that I was stronger, knew that I held my own power ready to destroy him if rebelled here.
He would wait.
Bastila cut through the door between us just as Malak raised his lightsaber as if to finish me off. He spun to face her, his fury at being outmatched by me translating to a glorious barrage of blows that even Bastila had trouble keeping up with. Her double-bladed saber spun in a blur as she shouted for me to run.
I hesitated, wondering if I'd made a mistake, but the door slammed and sealed between us.
"Bastila sacrificed herself so we could escape," Carth said, running up beside me. "We have to go, now."
"Yeah, let's leave Malak to her," I said absently, staring at the door. I could still break it open, it really might have been a bad idea to give Bastila to Malak. He was blunt force, dangerous and careless. He might break more than her resistance to the Dark Side, and he might leave her less useful than before.
"Bastila doesn't stand a chance, and neither would we. Come on, we have to go!"
I followed Carth to the Hawk, leaving Bastila to the clutches of a maniac.
But, at least I wouldn't have her dramatic revelation ruining Carth's dependency on me.
Or so I believed.
"Where's Bastila?" Jolee demanded the moment we were clear of the Leviathan and its swarms of fighters. "What happened on that ship?"
"We ran into Malak," Carth said. "Bastila sacrificed herself so we could get away."
"Does that mean she's dead?" the twi'lek hacker asked.
"Don't be foolish, she's far more important to Malak alive," Jolee explained, and I nodded silent agreement. My plan was sound. Malak had an obvious motive to take Bastila - he'd been searching for her this whole time, in fact. If I'd told him to take Carth, no one would have bought it for a moment.
"He'll just turn her Battle Meditation against the Jedi," he said, but he was watching me too knowingly.
I don't trust the old coot. I wish I'd had the chance to give him away, that would have saved us all some trouble.
Then Carth told them all what Admiral Kareth had said, and I nearly died laughing.
"Wait, wait, that's what he tried to tell you? And you believed it?"
"He said you were working with Malak, that you've been a spy the whole time. And it's true, isn't it? I've seen the darkness in you, the greed and the selfish misuse of your strength. You're a Sith plant."
Jolee looked at us both oddly. Canderous chuckled slightly. Juhani squinted at me as though trying to place me somewhere in her past.
"That's idiotic." I told him firmly. "If I were a Sith plant, then I'd have been the one to stay behind, not Bastila."
"You tricked her into surrendering herself so you could give Malak her Battle Meditation, then go on with us to find the Star Forge!"
"Carth, listen to yourself. Malak already has the Star Forge. He knows exactly what it is, where it is, and has been churning out an endless armada to invade the republic. If I were in league with him in any way, it would make no sense for me to be here with you."
"That's a good point," said the hacker. "Are you alright, Carth? You seem distraught."
"I—But—"
"Carth, it's all Sith lies, trying to make us turn on each other," I said soothingly. I didn't put any Force behind my words, against a trained Republic officer that would be a dead giveaway.
"Well, the others seem to trust you. As long as this mission stays on track, I'll follow your lead, but I won't let you betray the Republic. Under any circumstances."
"Alright," I said mildly. "Then let's get this junk sold. The sooner we get to Korriban, the sooner we can find the Star Forge."
Carth narrowed his eyes, watching me suspiciously, but didn't remark on the fact that we were heading for the Sith home world next. If anything would trigger him, I'd have guessed that would be it, so he should be safe enough for now.
Once we actually reach the Star Forge, he'll probably not be so biddable. But by then, if he hasn't succumbed to my dark designs, I'll have no place left for him anyway.
I wrote this because it really bothered me how easy Malak is to beat on Leviathan in the fight, then he runs off acting like he's so powerful. I wanted Revan to actually beat him there and become the next Dark Lord without ever actually learning who she is. Muahaha hahaha haha~