A/N: I intend to continue this. But you never know. This is set before Malachor V during a skirmish in the outer rim.

She stood facing the viewport, horrified green eyes watching the planet burn below. It had been her orders that had condemned thousands, but she was only following orders of her own. Daria was a minor world…a small loss to the Republic.

But Karmanta felt every loss as if it were her own body. Every ripple in the force as another being suffered and was snuffed out violently.

Everyone seemed to think she was the right person for the job while she was looking them in the face, charming them with her smile and large almost childish eyes. But as soon as she turned her back the whispers began again. Apparently she was nothing but a toy who'd gotten this job on the whims of her master. General Rowen was a toy.

They hadn't wanted a woman in the position, especially a child, but she was qualified. Beyond qualified. She was charismatic, not as much so as the commander, but half the fleet adored her. She was a war hero, decorated as an 18 year old whelp. It seemed so long ago. Kar was perfect for the job, or so everyone said. Until she actually got it of course. Until the fact that she was sleeping with her commander was tossed out into the light like so much dirty laundry.

And the part that really, really pushed her buttons was that it wasn't the commander at fault. Oh heaven forbid she put one toe out of line, but it was okay that they'd been screwing since she was 17? She hadn't even been legal. How messed up was that? She wasn't allowed to lose face by sleeping with a man that she actually cared about, because he might be pulling the strings from behind the scenes but the senate didn't bat an eyelash to the news that their affair wasn't exactly a recent development.

Not that they should worry about Revan pulling the strings anyway. He was her boss after all. The fact that he was a General just brought him down a notch or two, it didn't help him ascend much more. Because to be perfectly and completely frank, there wasn't much higher he could climb.

Musing silently, she tuned out the suffering of the world below so effectively that she didn't even sense him until he was standing directly beside her. "Good evening, sir." She murmured courteously, although the sarcasm in her tone was likely not lost on the older man.

"Cut the bullshit, Kar."

She growled as he spoke, spinning away from him and away from the view of the burning ships. The senate needed a scapegoat. And guess who happened to fall under that category at the moment. Yeah, the toy. "You didn't tell me you weren't going to evacuate our people, Revan." She hissed, anger taking over any sense of station she might have.

They'd grown up together, he had nothing over her.

"And alert the opposition to our plan? You truly can be dense, Kar." He sneered, or at least she assumed he sneered considering she couldn't actually see his face. Revan had become known for wearing full battle armor after all.

"That's what those people were to you?!!! A plan?!!! A strategy?!!" Now she was yelling, her voice slipping an octave higher in her anger. "They have families Revan, and you just…"

"You gave the orders, Doll. I would've killed you and given them myself, had you refused… but you did have the option." He circled her slowly, obviously very, very amused…yet again she assumed.

"I-I…" She couldn't even dignify that with a response, horridly unsurprised at his death threat. He wasn't the Revan that had started out as a visionary in this war, nor the boy she'd grown up with. He was darker, colder, and she'd never wanted to see his face more than she did now. Simply to see if his once blue eyes were still blue, if he'd managed to stave off the effects of evil in his once handsome features.

"You're helping to end a war." He smirked pulling her to him none to gently and then turning her so she was facing the window once more. It wasn't a comforting view for the young General, and she didn't feel like she'd just won a battle for her Republic. In fact she felt rather like she'd been used and manipulated into giving orders that could be brushed off or Revan's conscience and shoved onto her shoulders.

The senate would either give her a medal of honor or have her executed publically when this was all over. Personally she cared for neither variables, but the preferable choice is all too obvious.

"You should wear your hair down more often." He murmured from behind her, fingers tugging the pins out of her hastily done tresses, combing through the vibrant red strands as it cascaded down her shoulders. "It really is an attractive color." The absent comment caught her off guard and she nodded slightly, all too aware that he still had her pinned to the control panel. Her eyes remained trained on the SS Avenger, watching her burn slowly before going up in a great roiling ball of gas and flames. His words were more or less ignored, a simple nod or murmur of agreement leaving her lips as he stroked her silky hair.

"It's settled then." He pulled away suddenly, cutting off her train of thought and leaving her stunned.

"What's settled?" She queried cautiously, eyeing him with the utmost distrust.

He simply shook his head, laughing slightly behind his mask. "Next time I'd suggest you pay attention to what you're agreeing to, voice contracts are legally binding. But no matter, you'll find out soon enough." With one more invisible smirk he was gone, sliding out the door as if he'd never existed and leaving a horrified young woman in his wake.

What the hell had she just agreed to?