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Chapter 3: Inevitable

The Ebon Hawk hovered over a dead world, its hull glowing briefly as it entered the atmosphere before it settled over a vast, sprawling city. Bodies, millions of bodies lay about the city, rotting away as they had for a decade. The ship who's crews had been so instrumental to the survival of the Republic and the Jedi Order hovered over the spectacle, its beaten hull telling the tale of its treacherous journey. Landing in a clearing near an old military base, the Ebon Hawk set down gently, its ramp lowering once the readings of the atmosphere showed little harm in breathing the air.

The first person off of the Hawk was a beautiful young woman, her brown hair pulled back into two braids while the top was twisted into a tight and elegant bun. Her stone-gray eyes scanned the bodies laying about and settled on a weapon that lay on the ground. Moving to the abandoned weapon; the woman knelt, running her gloved hands gently over the weapon as her lips turned down into a frown.

"Revan used this weapon..."
The woman stated, her voice coming through in an accent similar to those from England on Earth-that-was. The rest of the crew of the Ebon Hawk came down at a more sedate pace, the faces of each of the seekers showing their unease at the dead world they were surrounded by.

"Maybe we should hold off until the rest of the fleet gets here..."
Taya Kenobi, formerly Exiled Jedi Knight and former General of the Revanchists and the Republic Fleet stated cautiously, her blue-green eyes wary as they moved from body to body, building to building.

"Statement: HK-47 detects the Master's transponder nearby."
The rust-colored assassination droid moved ahead without orders, without asking and into a nearby building that looked to be a flight control center. Bastila Shan looked to the Jedi Exile's companions with a frown before following Revan's creation. HK-47 carried a tracking system that allowed him to return to Revan, or more accurately a small tracker in the deposed Dark Lord's mask. Upon recall, HK-47 would shut down and await further orders for his assassination protocol, but the order had been faked, implanted by the young blue-skinned woman that stood flanking the Jedi Exile.
"Guess he's got something."
Mission Vao muttered in annoyance. HK-47 always bothered her and regardless of the droid's obvious uses, she couldn't understand its eager bloodlust. Luckily it seemed to be focused on finding Revan and viewed all of the Ebon Hawk's crew as non-threats to its mission or Master.

Grunting in agreement to the Twi'lek's statement, Canderous Ordo; known to the rest of the galaxy as Mandalore, followed the droid, pausing at Bastila Shan's side as he passed her.

"Should follow the damned thing. See if Rev is around here still."
Bastila nodded shakily, uneasy at the death she could feel lingering around her. Behind her, the Exile's companions argued amongst themselves on what they expected to find when they encountered Revan, but Bastila pushed their voices from her mind. She had HK, Canderous and Mission with her and while the Exile's crew was formidable, she doubted they would be much of a threat to Revan if it came to a fight. The Exile had killed Revan's Jedi Master Kreia on Malachor V only months before and she doubted Revan would take such an offense lightly. The only reason for the Exile's presence on the mission to find Revan and the threat he had chased on the edge of the galaxy was Kreia's final vision of destruction.

Like Revan, the Exile needed to know what the threat was they faced. If Miranda's condition was any indication, there was likely good cause for Revan's disappearance and none commented on the nature of Revan's reasoning. They all hoped he was still the Jedi, but they also feared he was the Sith Lord once more.

Bastila, having the advantage of the bond she shared with her absent husband knew enough to know he was a bit of both at that moment. She also knew he wasn't nearby but his mask was and Bastila resolved to collect each piece of the man that she could until she finally found him.

"Mira would you mind contacting Admiral Onasi and letting him know the fleet is clear to join us."
The red-haired Mandalorian-raised bounty hunter nodded calmly, moving back to the Ebon Hawk to make use of the communications relay in the common room while Atton Rand and Mical stood stiffly at the Exile's flanks. Neither man wanted to leave the Exile's side and both shared concern for the woman that had given them both a purpose beyond their old lives.

Visas Marr shivered as she reached out with her senses, her thoughts focusing on the dead around her, people who had died as abruptly as those from her own homeworld, but in a different manner. Her initial fears of another creature like Darth Nihilus were cast aside to be replaced y another fear. Something primal and evil was stirring nearby and the reformed Miralukan Jedi could sense a bone-deep rage and agony and madness that hovered at the edge of her senses.
"The destroyed fleet we saw on our way to this world... Something lingers there... something evil. It- it does not feel quite like Malachor V... I- I do not believe a battle took place there... At least not a battle as we would call it. There is pain and anger and fear and agony and terror there, but I do not-"
Visas' empty sockets widened briefly as she staggered, Mission's blue hands steadying her as she knelt to the ground.

"It- it is like nothing I have ever sensed before. Such... such senseless violence, such pure evil."

Alarmed, the Miralukan stood abruptly, frantically searching for the calming presence of her new master. The Exile placed a gentle hand on Visas, frowning in concern at her companion though the Miralukan could not see the gesture. Feeling the concern from her master, Visas faced the Jedi Exile, her face twisted in pained realization.

"There- there is something in the debris. Something dark and hungry, hunting and ever-watchful. It- it is evil, master. I have no other word for it."
Taya Kenobi nodded to her friend, turning and shouting to Canderous' distant form to come back. The Mandalorian leader ignored the Exile's call, dragging a bag filled with Revan's abandoned armor and weapons with him while HK-47 trailed behind, looking forlorn for a droid.

"Revan isn't here. His weapons and armor were, but he's gone. I'm pretty sure he would have tried to get off this world if he could, but he would have brought this with him if that departure was his idea and not someone else's."
Bastila looked at the Mandalorian's silver helm, feeling the unease within the older human without having to see his expression.

"All of you, get to the ship. We'll wait for the fleet and defend ourselves if necessary. Remember, we are the scouting party, not the main battle group."
The others gave signs of agreement to Bastila, knowing she was the superior for their mission. Their mission was a simple scouting run to assess the threat on the edge of Republic space and find the Prodigal Knight if possible. Finding Revan's belongings was a start and they'd assessed a threat to them within a nearby fleet of what appeared to be destroyed ships.

"We'll find him, Princess."
Canderous assured the ranking member of the Jedi Order present. Bastila nodded numbly, crossing her arms and worrying briefly of her daughter. She'd left her daughter in Zalbaar's care on Kashyyyk, knowing that the Wookiee would fulfill his lifedebt to Revan to the best of his ability and extend that debt to Revan's offspring. Pushing back her fears and concerns, Bastila assured herself that Zalbaar was far enough away from the threat to protect her child while she sought the father. If Revan wasn't too harmed she was going to slap him before kissing him. He should know better than to fight a war by himself.

"Search the planet for any distress signals. Make sure to check all frequencies and all carrier waves. We don't know what kind of communications the people who lived here used."

Bastila ordered as she took one last look across the abandoned world. Reaching along the bond, the only reason they knew the general area of space Revan was in, Bastila tried to reach her absent husband, pressing along the weakened link between their minds and souls, trying to find her husband. Echoes of pain and anger and concern reached the Jedi and she shivered. Revan was obviously being held prisoner, but she wondered how seriously he would be damaged and honestly how much of the man she had fallen in love with would remain. Turning, Bastila returned to the Hawk, the Force echoing of a warning that was too late for anyone on the world to hear. Even a Jedi Knight.

Serenity moved silently through space away from Haven. Her hull was covered in the twisted trappings of a Reaver ship, all red paint and jagged metal accompanied by the corpses of dead friends. The crew moved quietly through the ship, making the preparations for their run through Reaver space in silence. Anger was a chief emotion amongst the crew as well as regret. They'd lost a lot of good friends on Haven and elsewhere because of the Operative's efforts to find River Tam. Come whatever else, the crew was prepared to die in the most horrible way imaginable to put their friends to rest, to honor their deaths by revealing whatever the secret was that they'd unwittingly died for. It wasn't about what was smart, but what was right and none of the crew, not even Jayne were going to turn back.

"Gorrammit!"
Jayne cursed, fumbling over his weapons in a mixture of anxiety, anger and annoyance. Shepard's death had hit hard and he found himself questioning his life and where it had taken him. Regrets that had nothing to do with the fleet of Reavers they were flying into were foremost in his mind and the mercenary grunted as he took a machine gun from his collection, cradling the weapon with care as he climbed out of his bunk. Glancing to the flight deck, Jayne moved to join Mal and Wash, neither acknowledging his presence as he stood at the entryway nervously.
"Kaylees got the engines ready to go. Everything that ain't important is stowed and I got my girls ready."
Jayne hefted the machine gun in his hands for emphasis as Mal glanced over his shoulder at the merc. Eyeing the man curiously, Mal shrugged off his questions and nodded to the hired gun, turning his attention back to Wash as the pilot did all he could to look for the rest of the verse like a Reaver ship returning from a raid.

"The Lord of Revenge is waking."
Jayne tried to muster up a glare at the crazy girl, but after seeing Shepard's body, he couldn't quite manage it. River's eyes were lucid, but that hardly meant anything and the merc glared over the reader's shoulder to her brother.

"Keep her quiet."
Jayne growled, earning a glare in return from the Doctor. Ignoring the glare, Jayne settled against the edge of the cockpit, waiting for it all to play out, hopefully without becoming a Reaver snack. River tilted her head, a feeling of something familiar on the edge of her mind that made her relax slightly. Miranda would giver her nightmares and captured memories reality and she shivered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The voice of the Paladin's Council seeks her mate. She brings righteous war..."

A smile crossed River's lips briefly, before the voices of the Reavers drowned out the light she could sense from Bastila Shan. Simon touched his sister's arm in concern, unable to pull River out of her horrified fit as she looked at the encroaching Reaver ships around them.

In the heart of the Alliance, buried in the bowels of one of its darkest secrets, Revan Qel-Droma opened his eyes slowly. The sensors around him beeped warnings to the scientists working on him and a drug entered his system, cutting off his thoughts before they could form into a weapon. For the briefest of moments, Revan sneered in disgust at himself. While he'd been gaining a steady immunity to the sedatives being used against his system he couldn't push enough of the poison in his veins out. A humorless chuckle escaped the captured Jedi as he struggled for several minutes against his bonds and the forced-delirium. He couldn't escape from the Academy by himself, he realized that after his first lucid period; but then... Who ever said that Revan would be the hero of the story?