Chapter Two: A Blast from the Past
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic One or Two. They belong to Lucas Arts and Bioware
Revan woke to an alarm blaring away in his ear. Did he really need it to be so loud when this ship was practically empty? He got up quickly and yawned when it suddenly hit him like an Thermal Detonator right to the head. The alarm?
He shifted his body and jumped from his bed, running into the cockpit, "AL? What happened? What's wrong?" the AI switched on a monitor, a small blimp being shown on the screen.
"An unknown ship is approaching the Sector thirty Light years away from the direction of the Torsista system, it is not a Sith ship, nor is it any ship from any of the planets we traveled to." Revan's eyes widened. Sure it was common to run into non-Sith ships but it was uncommon to run into a ship that didn't register with any of the hundreds of planets he has traveled to. This was the Unknown Region. The only ships that traveled around here was Unknown Region ships or Sith ships. It was possible it was from another part of the Unknown Region but for one to show up suddenly when he hadn't seen one for five years…there was another possibility…
Revan suddenly got an exciting chill down his back and quickly spoke up, "AL, scan the incoming ship and try to match it with the inner-region database." Revan saw the computer switch screens to a list of ships. He saw it stream through all different names before landing on one.
His heart jumped, another chill went down his spine. He told AL to double check it so he wasn't wrong and came out with the same result. On the screen was a picture of the Ebon Hawk, the ID signature and name blinking under it. The Ebon Hawk, The Ebon Hawk. He quickly set a course to intercept it.
The Ebon Hawk was here…did that mean that…his friends came looking for him? Was it possible? Could they have actually found him in this dangerous Unknown Region? He was flying pretty close to the border of the Unknown Region and Inner-Region…maybe it was by chance. Was the Force guiding him? He had no idea but he knew something was on the ship, something powerful. He could hear an Echo in the Force. Like an emptiness, a hunger. He knew this would attract a lot of unnecessary attention.
"AL, send a transmission code to the Ebon Hawk, tell them to follow us. Tell them that if they don't get their asses out of here soon, they will be swarmed by Sith." Revan sat down in the pilot seat and started typing into the computer, turning on various systems and switching to manual controls.
He switched off his cloaking device and activated the weapon systems in case of an attack. He prepped the forward blasters and mini-plasma missiles, warming up the various systems. He made sure the EMP pulse was fully charged and activated the jamming system.
"Sir, the Ebon Hawk is trying to open up communications." Revan felt another shiver of excitement then quietly squashed it, moving back to his bedroom. He grabbed his Darth Revan robes and put them on, pulling the hood up. He picked up his red-black mask and put it on. He went back to the cockpit, opening up a video link up.
An unfamiliar face of an blonde haired male appeared on the screen. Revan tried to squish his feelings of disappointment and cleared his throat.
Before he could say anything the man on the video screen suddenly yelled in shock and disbelief, "Revan…?" he heard shouts of surprise and disbelief in the background. So this person brought more people with him…does he have any idea what dangers are out here?
"Yes, I am Revan, former Darth Lord of the Sith, a former friend of the Jedi order as well…" the man in front of the screen grinned and turned his head back a bit, speaking to the people behind him, "I told you Atton, Revan turned back to the Light and defeated Malak. Oh and by the way, he is a guy…" he heard someone swear in the back.
"Excuse me…if you would kindly divert your attention back to me, we have bigger problems…" he knew the Sith were long out of reach but he wanted to be better safe then sorry.
"The True Sith right? Kreia told me a little bit about them and how you came out here to fight, so we came to help." Revan's eyes widened. Kreia…his former master before and after his destiny was set into motion. Why…how…
Revan focused his attention back to the screen, "W-Where is she? Where is Master Kreia?" suddenly the man in front of him looked a bit down, hesitant. Revan knew the answer but wanted to hear it anyways, "Please tell me, where is my Master?"
The man looked at Revan dejectedly and sighed, moving a hand over his face. "Kreia…is dead, I slew her…at Malachor V. Her body was lost when the Mass Shadow Generator was fully powered up and activated…" Revan was a little taken aback. This man took down Kreia…?
"Malachor V…you went back to Malachor V? Who are you…?" the blonde haired man smiled a little, waving his hand, "Lets talk about this later, didn't you say we were in some kind of trouble…?" Revan suddenly remembered and mentally kicked himself.
"Follow my Hyper-Space trail, keep close…" he typed in a coordinate for an oceanic planet near the edge where the Unknown Region and the Inner-Region split. He had set up a small base there for himself, and an encampment in case he made some friends. Sadly, none of them lasted long. He shook his head of the thought and activated his Hyper-Drive, feeling the familiar G's forcing him back a little as the stars in front of him turned into streaks of Light.
The Ebon Hawk's trusty and unlucky pilot, Atton Rand, punched in the coordinates and activated the Hyper-Drive, blasting the Ebon Hawk forward into the stars and the depths of space…
o.o
Back in the Republic, a few remaining Jedi who were contacted by The Exile through the Echo of the Force, were gathering on Coruscant, ranging from Jedi Knights, Blade Masters, Jedi Masters, and Jedi Consulars. One was an infamous one, Master Hoth, who was talking with the group of Masters who made it by now.
They were discussing how they all got a faded message from The Exile, strong enough to reach all the Jedi, yet too weak to be specific. All they could make out was, "Gather and Reform". So they all gathered, on Coruscant, coming out of their hiding in dangerous times. They were discussing how to rebuild the counsel and who should be in it. Any Jedi who didn't have the rank of Master quietly stood by or were meditating.
"This is a sign! We must stop hiding and reform our ranks! We must bring peace again!" Master Hoth shouted out, waving his arms around in an aggressive sort of manner. Some other Masters were agreeing but others were a bit skeptical.
"How do we know this isn't a trap? We sent a few Jedi to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, they found three former counsel members dead! Drained of all life and Force energy! This was clearly the work of the Echo! How can we trust the Exile if he did that?" others were nodding their heads, thinking deeply.
"Whether or not he did it is not important! Right now we must think about the Galaxy and peace, not our lives! Besides, I don't see the Exile here, now do I? He left and asked us a favor, he is not a threat! Did you all not feel that tremor at Malachor V? So many Sith, dead. I know I felt it, two humongous Sith Masters fell, along with many Sith Lords, Marauder, Assassins, Apprentices, and many Dark Jedi. We must not dwell on the past of the Exile! We must act now!" by now, everyone was agreeing and nodding their heads.
Hoth huffed with pride and raised a hand, "We must protect this Galaxy, and bring peace once again!" all the Jedi around him nodded.
"Come! Though there are only a few of us, we must get to work on rebuilding the temple…then we must go pay the Senate a visit…" Master Hoth fixed his robes, walking towards the huge abandoned temple.
o.o
Revan felt the G's dying down as his ship left Hyper Space, opening up to a nice peaceful space filled with…
A green streak flashed forward, missing his ship by an inch. He quickly maneuvered to the right, dodging a few other green streaks of burning energy.
He was happy that his Fury had the latest technology, or he would have been toast. He quickly activated his weapon system and shot out an EMP pulse, quickly taking down every fighter around him, knocking out the shields of two huge Sith battle cruisers.
He look at his screens, noticing that his long range sensors picked up three more coming from the far side of space. He estimated they would be in range in about two hours.
He quickly maneuvered his ship into attack position above a Sith Cruiser and locked onto the important systems located on top of the ship. His systems locked on and he fired all thirty-six missiles from his ship, bombing the top of one of the Sith cruisers, taking out the bridge, communication dish, and some gun turrets. He smiled as one lucky missile went through the thin shield of the hangar bay and hit one of the bomber fighters, causing an domino affect as every other fighter in the hanger blew up. He watched as the whole battle cruiser started to explode in various areas. The cruiser was falling apart, some stray pieces falling down towards the ocean below.
He turned the Fury towards the second battle cruiser that was slowly recovering. He felt no pity as he drove his Fury towards it, a large plasma cannon coming out of the middle of his ship, in between his two laser barrels. He shot one huge burst of plasma right at the now vulnerable bridge. The laser cut through the windows with ease and killed every single crew member in it. Revan watched as the bridge exploded and floated off of the battle cruiser.
He circled around and shot his small laser cannons across the deck of the ship, destroying a few turrets and the relay dish along with the communication dish. He then turned his attention towards the life support system and promptly shot it into oblivion. As he flew across the deck of the battle cruiser again, he shot the main cannons that would be strong enough to burst through a shield easily and worked his way towards the ship's engines. He circled around and took the shot, taking a few minutes to destroy the whole back of the ship.
The Ebon Hawk came out of Hyper Space about twenty minutes after Revan. They had lost him briefly then found him again when their long rang sensors picked up some huge explosions. What they saw when they came out of hyperspace, completely left them dumbstruck.
In front of them were hundreds of small Sith fighters just floating around them, along with two burning Sith battleships. Atton cautiously navigated through the debris and fighters.
"W-What the hell happened here…?" Atton was still looking around in amazement. By now, everyone was at the cockpit, looking through the cockpit's windows.
"I think this was Revan…" the Exile looked around, scratching his cheek, "He is still so…powerful." he remembered rumors of how Revan was merciless and one of the most twisted people ever, he never saw his face and wondered what kind of a face a man of pure evil had.
"That man has too much power…it's really not fair." Mira, the self proclaimed Best Bounty Hunter on Nar Shaddaa, spoke up with a small whine in her voice, which brought a smile to his lips. She twirled both her lightsabers, nervousness visible in her body language. The Exile chuckled, earning a glare from the red headed bounty hunter who had way too much "attitude" for a Jedi.
"We should proceed cautiously, it may be a trap." the white haired Echani Handmaiden spoke with confidence and strength. Her mother's white Jedi robes fitting her curvy and well built body. She also had both her short lightsabers out, holding the cool metals with a little too much pressure.
"General, I'm going to work on boosting the shields a bit with the droids, if you don't mind?" The Exile nodded at his Zabrak friend. He nodded back and walked down the corridor with the trust utility droid, T3-M4, a sharp droid with intense combat experience. He had no doubt in his mind that this utility droid knew more then it should about everything that was going on around them.
"I shall assist you, Iridonian, together we can do more then if we were alone." G0-T0 spoke with the same grumpy low voice of Goto. The upgraded interrogation droid floated over to Bao-Dur. Bao-Dur seemed a bit skeptical, gripping his Double-Bladed Lightsaber in his right hand, but nodded anyways and left with G0-T0 close behind him. Everyone on the ship still didn't trust that unit, including the Exile…
"Query: Shall I man the turret and blast all these insignificant planes out of the sky, Master?" The Exile shook his head at the violent assassin droid, HK-47. The beat up droid had rusted red plates covering his whole body, the plating showing signs of blaster fire and Lightsaber damage.
"Resignated Obedience: Very well Master, I shall be in the Navigation room if I am needed." the droid promptly turned around and walked away.
"Now this is the Revan I remember…" Mandalore of the Ordo clan of the Mandalorians spoke up, excitement in his voice. The Exile remembered that Mandalore mentioned that he served with Revan during the Jedi Civil war's end, when Revan turned back to the Light and took on Malak.
"Happy to see your old leader again, Canderous?" though he couldn't see through the Mandolorian's helmet and armor, he knew that the old Mandolorian was excited and… a bit glad? That was new. He turned to Visas Marr, a small smile on his lips as he touched her hand.
She turned to him, a small smile visible on her lips, "The pilots inside the fighters are all alive, though they are trying frantically to find a way out…" the Miraluka female spoke with her usual mystical and smooth voice. She seemed to tilt her head a bit, seeming to listen. "Something approaches us from the east, a ship."
Atton looked at the screens, none of them reading any signs of a ship. He looked out through the ships' main window of the cockpit and spotted nothing but aimlessly floating Sith Fighters. "I sense something too…but I don't see anything.", Atton spoke with a bit of annoyance in his face, looking at the screens again. Brianna and Mira were looking around as well, trying to focus their minds. The Exile spoke softly, but loud enough for them to hear him.
"Clear your minds, let the Force guide you, do not try to command it, but work with it." they all nodded and focused, feeling the presence of a small ship coming towards them. They reached out further, seeing the blurry form of a human.
"It's…Revan, right?" Atton spoke first, opening his eyes slowly. "I know I didn't say this before, but is it wise to trust the Dark Lord of the Sith? Even if he supposedly turned to the Light, he has been gone for five years. Rumors say he remembered everything and left to start everything over…"
All the Jedi on the Ebon Hawk, minus Bao-Dur, shared brief glances of anxiety with one another before looking at The Exile. He just smiled at them with his usual confidence, "Well, never know till your try right?"
Mira let out a frustrated sigh and gave up, turning around to go back to her "room" to meditate, she was getting used to the quiet, long travels of a space ship.
Briana just nodded and walked back to the cargo hold to do some more training, perfecting her Echani hand-to-hand combat style.
Visas touched The Exile's hand softly and went back to her room, to do her regular meditation and to see through the Force again.
Atton just shook his head and checked the sensors again. He prepped the weapons system and hyperspace engines, just in case they needed a quick getaway
The Exile let out a small chuckle and went back to Kreia's room, to meditate and try and feel the Force the way his Master felt it, and to learn from the mistakes she made.
o.o
Revan opened communications with the Ebon Hawk once again, "We've got trouble." the face of the pilot came onto the screen. He had typical short brown hair, hazel eyes and light skin. Revan could tell this man was more slippery then he looked. He noticed he was wearing Jedi robes, a double bladed lightsaber was on his waist.
"Yeah, I know, we saw your handy work, nicely done. Took down a lot of your own men I see." Revan chuckled. Ah…so that's the time of man he is…interesting.
"What's so funny?" Atton glared at Revan, who merely shook his head, "Nothing, Padawan, I guess it is natural to not trust me, but rest assured, I am a good guy." Atton had a hard time believing that the former Dark Lord of the Sith was a "good" guy, but he could tell he wasn't bad either.
"So? What's the problem? You took down two battle cruisers and now you need a challenge?" Atton raised an eyebrow, which made Revan laugh again, "You remind me so much of Carth. Except he was more…mature I guess?" Atton didn't comment, he knew that Carth Onassi, the decorated war hero who followed Revan from the beginning, helping him take down the Sith.
"Anyways, the problem is, that there are three more cruisers coming, if we land in my base, we are going to run into some trouble you know?" Atton's eyes widened as he checked the long-ranged sensors. He swore under his breath. How the hell did I overlook this…god damn it!
"If we go into Hyper Space now they will follow us. What do we do?" Atton looked at the screen as he pushed the button for Kreia's room. The Exile and Atton had asked Bao-Dur to make a small buzzing system that would allow them to call upon each other from their rooms if needed, the cockpit too of course.
The Exile came down in about a minute, his carefree smile still on his face. "So, what's up Jaq?" Atton glared at the Exile who just raised his hands in surrender, "My bad Atton, I was just kidding." Atton looked back at Revan while pointing at the long-ranged sensors screen, "We've got a big problem, if we run they will track us down and if we land they will still track us down and shoot at us from space, if we hide we might stall but they will find us. Oh and kill us." the Exile promptly rolled his eyes and looked at Revan on the screen.
"So, commander. Got any bright ideas?" Revan seemed to be thinking, glancing at the side every now and then. He seemed to be debating about, his expression still hidden behind that mask of his.
"Go to Telos…they will not follow us into Republic space…the Ithorians started to rebuild Telos right?" Atton and the Exile seemed to be surprised, glancing at each other.
"Yeah they did…but…we just got here…to help you in the fight against the True Sith, your telling us to just…run?" the Exile looked at Revan, tilting his head to the side.
"Well, under normal circumstances where I would be alone, Fury's cloaking systems should have been successful in losing them, but now that you guys are here, I can't really do that…I can't risk having my base discovered and I can't go to another planet, most are either inhabited by peaceful people or are swarming with Sith, the best plan would be to retreat now…" Revan didn't know what he was thinking but he just…had enough. He needed to go back, he couldn't fight this alone, not anymore, he needed help.
"Well…I guess that makes sense…alright. So Telos it is…it just recently got attacked so they had a few set backs but I hear they are making good progress…" Revan nodded, glad to hear some good news.
"Telos huh…? We've been there many times. I'm sure the TSF would love to welcome us! After all, we saved them a few times." Atton energetically started punching in the coordinates.
"You forgot that we destroyed Peragus, causing no fuel for them, right?" Atton turned on the Exile, "Whoa whoa, we didn't destroy anything, that was Sion shooting at us from the Republic ship!" the Exile just laughed again, one thumbs up, "Yeah yeah."
Revan watched the Ebon Hawk blast into space, setting off towards Telos. Revan quickly punched in the coordinates and felt the familiar G's again, his ship blasting into space as well.
Revan smiled under his mask and started to reminisce about his old companions and what happened after the war..
Carth Onassi…the decorated war hero who was on the Endar Spire when the Sith attacked. Carth had saved his life many times during Taris and was a dedicated soldier that lost his wife and kid at the beginning of the Jedi Civil war. He was focused on revenge and didn't trust people well. He remembered arguing and laughing with Carth, and how Carth was reunited with his son in the Sith academy on Korriban and how he started to trust people more and become a more of an open person…kind of.
Revan smiled a little more as he remembered how Carth said that they had to find Bastila and get off Taris. How she used her battle meditation to help them escape from the Endar Spire…
Bastila Shan…the young Jedi Knight that he saved from the Black Vulkars. Or how she saved him from them, so she claims. The beautiful, powerful, smart, and strong woman who took him down as Revan, well, kind of. The strong girl who stood by him mostly throughout the war, and the girl who stayed with him after it. The Council never agreed, they were fearful of their love turning him to the Dark side again.
Despite all that, they both didn't care and were lost in each others' love for weeks. Then he had the vision, the knowledge pounded back into his head. The vision of the Unknown Region. The knowledge of the True Sith. He needed to go, he couldn't tell anyone, he couldn't let anyone follow him.
He started to remember his old companions, the different paths that some of them took.
Zaalbar returned home, much to the dismay of Mission, who promised to visit him a lot.
Canderous…wandered off but came back occasionally to test his skills against the former Dark Lord of the Sith.
HK-47 and T3-M4 stayed with them. T3-M4 was a useful guy and Revan regretted just letting him wander around the house with nothing to do. T3 claimed that it was "happy" and continued its' random chores.
HK-47 on the other hand…annoyed the hell out of Bastila. He went around complaining almost every day and had been deactivated repeatedly. Every time they woke him back up he blabbered on and on about how life isn't about being peaceful but about combat and war. Revan got a few good laughs every time Bastila and HK got into a fight. He loved how HK had so many human emotions and interesting points of views.
He never regretted making HK, not even once. And he let the droid know it, and only got the reactions of "Disgusted Statement: Master you are turning soft, I am tempted to take out my plasma projector and jog your memories of combat…"
Mission Vao was living right next door and was constantly mothered by Bastila, who actually Forced her to go to an Academy. She was repeatedly kicked out for slicing into the school's main system or opening random security doors.
She shrugged every time they talked with her, "Hey, a slicer never stops slicing." he laughed but Bastila never gave in. She was becoming a fine mother figure.
Dustil came to visit often, hanging out with Mission the most. Bastila suspected a romantic relationship but never looked further into it. Carth, was oblivious to the whole thing. Dustil was good at hiding stuff from him, plus the fact that Carth couldn't come home or see Dustil unless Dustil went to him. They spent time together a lot, practicing blaster fire and grenade throws.
Revan even occasionally taught Dustil how to wield the Force better, telling him the Jedi code. He taught him basic saber techniques and skills, secretly from Carth of course.
Jolee Bindo…the old man said something about returning to Kashyyyk, which was quickly silenced when the Council asked him to teach young kids, not as a Jedi but just a teacher. It took some time but Jolee finally gave in, muttering something about True Destiny that he will see in kids. He didn't know whether to be worried that Jolee didn't like young people or happy that a wise man was teaching the future Jedi.
Juhani. She told him and the others that she was going to take a small group of Jedi Knights who offered to join her and that they would take a ship to the Outer Rim. As a last request the Council had allowed her to do so. Four or five Jedi went with her, along with six or seven Republic soldiers. She was going to help people there from oppression and tyranny, in any helpful way she could.
There were tears and hugs as she boarded the ship, standing proud as a leader. She had faced her Dark past, conquering the feelings of the Dark side by not slaying the monster who attacked her, her family, and her people. He was proud.
When he finally decided to leave, he left orders to two people, Canderous and T3-M4. He needed T3 to make sure no one could follow him. He needed Canderous to move on with a purpose, and possibly supply him with a damn good army.
Leaving without saying goodbye broke his heart, he didn't want to hurt Bastila or Carth, or anyone. He knew Bastila would look after Mission like a mother. Zaalbar would surely defend them both. Of course Carth would look after them.
He left a data pad for Carth, mailing it to his home on Telos. He was sure Dustil would surely get it even if Carth wouldn't. Dustil would send it to his father, Carth still had a bit of work to do for the Republic but promised Dustil he would be back home soon.
HK-47...he decided to deactivate him and leave him locked tight in the small room that Juhani always stayed in. He felt sorry for HK but he couldn't take him with him. Despite the droids constant violent acts and foul mouth, he had a personal bond with it, despite appearances.
He remembered watching Bastila on night he left. She was getting ready for bed, dressed in a lovely brown-red nightgown. He watched her fix her hair in front of the mirror, a small smile on her lips as she watched his reflection as well. He smiled from the chair he was sitting on. They had bought a small place on Telos, where almost everybody was staying.
When it was time to leave, he got up quietly and slowly, careful not to wake Bastila. He got dressed quickly, pulling out his old Jedi robes. He moved silently, opening up a locked safe that was installed inside the back wall, covered by a closet. He opened the closet door and removed some hanging coats, opening the back wall of the closet. He typed in the security code and gave the small sensor his hand print and eye scan.
The safe quietly unlocked and opened. He pulled the door open, finding his old equipment inside. Inside, was his old Darth Revan robes and his red-black mask. His two lightsabers were in there as well, the cool silver shining in the moonlight
He took everything out, dressing himself in the robes and putting the mask on. He put his lightsabers on each side of his waist, gripping the familiar thin cylinder for a few seconds. He turned to Bastila and smiled warmly. Watching her sleep peacefully always made him the happiest man alive. He removed his mask and bent down, kissing her forehead softly.
"I love you, Bastila Shan. And I ask you to stay with me, forever.", he pulled a small box out of his pocket and put it down on the night table next to their bed.
"This might be a little selfish, but I wanted to do this for a long time. I'm sorry that I am leaving, I will come back…I will. When everyone is safe again…", he smiled a bit and brushed a few strands of hair from her face, caressing her cheek gently.
He whispered into her ear softly, "Keep me close, in your dreams…", he then backed away, turned around, and left.
It had been about five years since he left. He regretted ever hurting her and leaving her. He wished to go back everyday since he came here but knew he had to face this.
Five years did a lot to a person, especially when fighting a harsh battle. He knew, that he couldn't fight this alone, he needed help whether he liked it or not. Then, out of the blue, the Ebon Hawk fell out of the sky, or space, and brought along a lot of help. He was going to see this as a sign, the Force was guiding him, telling him to go back.
That was precisely what he was going to do. He needed to get help, most of all, he needed to see Bastila. He just hoped that she would forgive him for leaving…
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm his mind and body. The sudden blast from the past and returning home in one moment was really making him tired. He started to drift asleep, muttering to AL to wake him up when they arrive.