The doors slid open and Bastila listened as the footsteps approached behind her.
"I see now why Malak followed you. Even though you are only a shell of your former self, you are still a formidable opponent" she said aloud, not turning to face the intruders yet. A red light had been flashing on a control console since the Ebon Hawk docked and legions of Sith troopers, battle droids and dark Jedi had been dispatched to stop him. They had failed.
"I can't even imagine the power you must have wielded when you were the Dark Lord. You were a fool to give it all up and follow the light side" she continued, turning to face him finally. As their eyes met, she saw the pain her demeanour was causing him. There, in her long black robes, with her hair loose around her shoulders, she embodied everything he had fought so hard not to become.
Jak gripped his lightsaber tightly, his body weary from battle. Flanking him were his companions, Jolee and Juhani, the only two who could have survived the onslaught sent forth by Malak's Jedi. Seeing the woman he loved, the woman who had saved him from the darkness as she was, was almost too much for him to bear. He had fought so hard, for so long to protect his friends and stop Malak, but he knew he could not fight Bastila.
"You've been consumed by the Dark Side Bastila. Can't you see it's destroying you?" he croaked, pleading for her to see reason. Her normally rosy cheeks were pale and gaunt, her eyes sunken and dark. Behind her, a holographic image of the battle outside was lighting the room with a sickly yellow glow. An image of the Star Forge, filling the chamber, reminded Jak and his companions what was at stake.
"The Dark Side has made me stronger than I ever was before. I have a greater command of the force than all but the most powerful Jedi masters. As Malak teaches me the greatest secrets of the Sith, I will unlock more of my potential. Eventually there will be no limit to what I can accomplish with the force"
As she spoke, she raised her arms, smiling at the power flowing through her body, her hair being blown about by an invisible wind.
Jak had to bring her back. She had never abandoned him, not once. Even though she knew all along that he was Revan, she had stood by him. He took a step forward, slowly so as not to aggravate her. Behind him, Juhani was held back by Jolee, who shook his head knowingly.
"Malak will never let you become that powerful. He will kill you first" Jak said, nearing the centre of the room where Bastila stood.
"Have you forgotten the way of the Sith already Revan?" she asked mockingly, standing her ground beside the consoles of the Command Centre on which her lightsaber rested "Eventually I will challenge my master, if I am worthy he will die by my hand and I will become a Sith Master. Then I will take on my own apprentice and the cycle will begin again. This is the way of the Sith, it is how we assure our leaders are always the strongest and most worthy"
Jak sighed, his heart dropping at what Bastila had become. They stood opposite each other, neither breaking eye contact in the middle of the large chamber. If either had been watching, they would have seen that the small holographic Republic ships were slowly but surely being destroyed by the ships of the Star Forge.
"You're dooming yourself to an endless cycle of death and betrayal" Revan said, hoping that Bastila might see reason.
"No Revan, it is you who are doomed" As she spoke, her hand shot out and her lightsaber flew to it. Before Jak had processed the information, her twin yellow blades were lit and hatred was in her eyes.
Gathering his senses, he ignited his lightsaber and raised it to block Bastila's first strike. Yellow energy crashed down upon blue, and Jak took the offensive. As the two traded blows, parrying and dodging, Jak's mind took him back to Dantooine where he and Bastila had sparred for hours on end, getting his skills with a lightsaber up to scratch. Since then they had learned he was a better fighter than her, but there on the Star Forge she was energised by the Darkness. She moved faster and struck harder than ever before. It took all Jak had to keep her endless stream of blows at bay.
Pushing her back with the force, Jak took deep breaths and waited for Bastila's next onslaught.
"You are growing weary, I can sense it! Your strength falters; the light side is failing you while the power of the Star Forge re-energises me! Soon this will all be over" she taunted him, spinning her dual bladed lightsaber as she circled him. Seeing Juhani approaching, Jak gave her a look to keep her at bay. This was his fight.
Calming himself, letting the force flow through him, healing his tired muscles, Jak deactivated his lightsaber.
"Then strike me down Bastila, I won't defend myself"
Bastila stopped moving, the hum of her lightsaber barely audible over the rumble of the Star Forge.
"What type of trick is this?" she asked, a curious and malicious grin spreading across her lips.
"We meant something to each other, once. I don't believe you will strike me down" Jak said, letting his emotions speak for him. This was his last resort, if Bastila truly felt nothing for him any more, then he would be forced to call for Jolee and Juhani to help him end her life.
"I am a Sith apprentice now. You place too much faith in what I used to be, and for that you shall pay"
As the last words escaped her, she leapt forward, cutting down with her blade. Focusing, Jak stepped aside, avoiding her attack. Enraged, Bastila attacked again and this time Jak jumped on top of a command console. Gritting her teeth, Bastila swung again and again, but again and again struck only air.
Anger coursing through her, her attacks became reckless and putting all her weight behind a strike, she fell off balance. Seeing the opportunity, Jak used the force to propel her across the floor, her lightsaber clattering out of her hand.
By the door, Juhani loosened her grip on her lightsaber.
"No, this is not possible!" Bastila yelled, standing up to face Jak "You have rejected the dark side, you are a weak and pathetic servant of the light! How can you still stand against me? Why can't I defeat you?"
Her frustration obvious, Jak remained calm and thought back to his Jedi teachings.
"Now you see the dark side is not stronger than the light"
If Jak had blinked, he would have missed it. As Bastila stood, her fists clenched and shaking with rage, the look in her eyes changed. A glaze came over them, as a grim realisation set in.
"Yes, I see you speak the truth. I am no match for you" she said, her eyes dropping to the ground as the tension evaporated from her muscles. When she looked back up at him, Jak saw the eyes of the Bastila he had known, the Bastila he had fallen in love with.
"Please, for the sake of what we once shared, do not make me suffer. End my life quickly. There is no other way"
Jak gritted his teeth, his heart crying out for her. To see her like that, pathetic in defeat, was worse than seeing her as a dark Jedi.
"I could never kill you Bastila" he said, trying to be reassuring. He did not know what else to say; never had he thought she would beg him to end her life.
"What other choice do you have? I have fallen to the dark side. I am the apprentice to the Dark Lord himself. You cannot let me live"
She looked confused and hurt as she spoke, taking steps towards Jak.
"I was redeemed, Bastila. You can be, too"
"You were a special case, the council had no other choice. They needed you alive to discover the location of the Star Forge, it was an act of desperation"
Jak could not believe what he was hearing or the look of desperation in Bastila's eyes as she begged for her own death.
"It was my responsibility to watch over you, to make sure you did not slip back into your evil ways. I was supposed to protect you from the dark side"
"You did more than protect me, Bastila" Jak said, trying to steer the conversation back to their feelings for each other and away from the topic of Bastila's death. She looked away from him at his words, and directed her gaze up at the holographic display of the Star Forge battle.
"It's true I possessed… feelings for you. Was it only an illusion brought about by our bond? And what was the cost?" she turned back to him, tears seemed to be welling up in her eyes.
"Please… this is too painful. End it now, quickly. There is no other way"
The low rumble of the Star Forge seemed to fade away. Jak could hear the trembling voice of the woman he loved asking him to kill her, he could feel the lightsaber in his hand and his heart beating quickly in his chest.
"I love you Bastila. I can't abandon you, ever"
The rest of the galaxy didn't matter in that moment. The battle raging outside was a thousand light years away as when Jak told Bastila how he felt and he watched her lips tremble.
"You… love me?" she asked "There was a time I yearned for and yet dreaded to hear those words. I loved you too, but I could never face who you were. Malak knew how I felt. Any part of the light that was within me would be extinguished when I killed you. But what good is love? It cannot save me from the sea of blackness I am drowning in. I have betrayed everything I ever believed in! How can I atone for that?"
"Help us defeat the Sith, Bastila. This will atone for what you have done" Jak said, almost unable to believe she was prepared to renounce the dark side.
"Yes, I could join you in your battle against the Dark Lord. That alone would not make up for all I have done, yet it would be a step in the right direction. But how would you be able to trust me? How do you know I wouldn't turn on you when you faced Darth Malak? How can you know the dark side wouldn't make me betray you again?"
She could feel the darkness surrounding her, casting doubts on her commitment to Jak Kast. She needed him to be strong for her, to convince her beyond any doubt that the dark side was not stronger than the light. He tossed his lightsaber to her and held his hands out, inviting her to strike.
"I trust you enough to leave myself open to your attack, Bastila" he said simply and his eyebrows rose, waiting for her reaction.
Both Juhani and Jolee held their breath, too far away from Bastila to stop her should she strike.
"You play a dangerous game. Are you certain you wish to take the risk? I could end your life and gain Malak's favour with a single stroke of this lightsaber" she said, her thumb on the ignition. In the back of her mind, she felt the darkness creeping in. She could kill Revan with one blow, lop his head clean off. Then she could kill the Cathar with the force before she even made it close enough to strike and the old hermit was no match for her in a duel.
"You won't Bastila. Because I love you and I believe in you"
I believe in you.
The words seemed to echo throughout the chamber. The darkness could never take full hold of her if he was there to bring her back. As long as he believed in her, she would always be strong.
"You are brave, some would say foolish, but you are also right. The dark side has not wholly consumed me, I cannot raise a blade against you" she said, tossing the lightsaber back and taking small steps towards the smiling Jak. Jolee and Juhani both exhaled a sigh of relief.
"You will go on to defeat Malak, I have little doubt. You will have gone from being the Sith Lord, himself, to the saviour of our galaxy. And you said you loved me…" she paused as she looked up into his eyes, placing her hand on his cheek "This may not be the best time to say it but… I love you too. With all my heart"
A small smile spread across her face as the words escaped her lips.
"You aren't afraid to love anymore?" Jak asked, returning the smile.
"After this? No. Nothing could make me feel safer than to be loved by you"
He leaned down and kissed her softly. Her lips were dry and cracked, but her tongue was soft and warm like it had been on the Ebon Hawk the first time they had shared a kiss. In the few seconds their lips were together, the darkness vanished from the deepest reaches of Bastila's mind, banished by the strength Jak brought to her.
"You should go, Malak awaits. This isn't over yet, for any of us" she said as she saw Juhani and Jolee standing nearby, a quiet reminder that the battle had not been won just yet. She took a step away from Jak, and her calm and serious demeanour returned.
"I should stay here, though. If we face Malak I am afraid his dark presence will overwhelm me. It would not be wise to expose myself to such temptation"
Jak looked up at the hologram of the Star Forge, Republic ships disappearing every few seconds as a ship was destroyed in the battle for the Star Forge.
"You could use your Battle Meditation to aid the Republic fleet" he said, looking back to her.
"Yes, that would be for the best. You don't need me to defeat Malak anyway. Now I understand that a true Jedi is a match for any sith, even the Dark Lord himself. I will stay here in this chamber and use my Battle Meditation to aid the Republic fleet. I am their only hope of destroying the Star Forge and ending the sith menace. You must go and face Malak, but you have to hurry. Once I turn the battle in the Republic's favour we wont have much time to escape the Star Forge before it is destroyed"
Jak nodded and looked to Jolee and Juhani.
"I need you two to stay here and make sure nothing interrupts Bastila, anything that comes through that door, dies"
Juhani sprung into action, eager to continue fighting. She gave Jak an admiring smile and made her way to the doorway, igniting her lightsaber as she walked.
Jolee placed a hand on Jak's shoulder and squeezed.
"This is it kid, good luck" he said, looking up into Jak's eyes in a fatherly way.
"Just make sure you don't die before I get back" Jak joked. The two smiled and Jak turned to head towards the ramp leading to the viewing platform, and Malak. Jolee took his place beside Juhani as two sith apprentices appeared and charged at them and Bastila knelt in front of the large hologram, blocking out the sounds of the duel going on behind her.
"Good luck… my love" she whispered as Jak disappeared from view and his footsteps faded.