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Darkness. It was all she saw, felt, heard, and it was all she was. She ventured further in, curious, but ever so slightly frightened of the silent warning that emitted. But something was beyond there, she sensed...she was not alone. She turned back and searched in the darkness. Was she being followed? She shook the idea off. No, she did not sense any danger or hostility, but something...else. She spun back, grumbling in confusion, and almost flinched with shock at what sight lay before her eyes.
it was space - she was in space. Where she stood, it was lit with a blinding white and silver. Her gaze drifted down, and she inched forward to grip the railing before her Smooth metallic walls enclosed her, forcing her attention to what lay far down below the railing. From above, massive troops in grey uniform and silver armour could be seen. An armada of large, sleek polished ships were docked ready and lines of droids marched in unison.
Her eyes widened. "What is this place?"
Master Vandar and Admiral Taron waited impatiently for Padawan Shan's transport arrive. The transmission they had received from the approaching Sith shuttle was surprising, nonetheless. And laced with luck. A minute longer of wait, and the shuttle would have been fired upon by the Republic Cruiser. Any surviving Sith from the battle must be eliminated of threat.
Included in the transmission, Shan's voice explained the news in three short words: three short words that carried so much hope and meaning in them "Revan has fallen." Master Vandar had fallen silent as the surround Republic soldiers had rejoiced, their voices filled with glee and relief.
"He's dead! That monster has finally been slain!"
"At last this war has ended..."
"I can finally kriffing return home to my family! Oh, boy, is my little man gonna be excited!"
Amidst the cheers and whoops Vandar pondered in the back corner, his thoughts straying far from the ship he was onboard. He stroked his chin with his clawed hand absent-mindedly. The Jedi Master knew the truth that rang in Bastila's words. Revan was not dead, at least, not yet. The Jedi Council would see to these final matters.
Standing here now behind the docking bay doors that separated him from open space, anxiety took the chance to gnaw at him, but he knew better, and blocked out the irritable emotion. He had faith in her, faith in the Force. That was enough.
The Admiral Taron stood by his side, posed and uniformed. "I dare hope that your Jedi Padawan is unharmed," he said grimly. "Taking on the Dark Lord herself, and no doubt losing many men on the way. No soldier could would emerge from that unscathed."
"The Force is strong in Padawan Shan. I am sure that any minor injuries taken were dealt with," Master Vandar replied.
"Don't be so sure. The mind is quite a fragile thing."
The short Jedi Master looked up at Taron's stoic face. "Do not forget we are Jedi, Admiral Taron. We all find our peace in the Code-"
Taron shifted. "-Forgive me, Master Jedi, but your Code...does it not have any flaws? To banish all emotion, alone, is a rather harsh and difficult act. All beings experience feelings - love, hurt, sadness, fear. Would you Jedi go so far as to distance yourself from others?"
"No, Admiral, we do not aim to distance ourself from others, but from the bonds that hold us down. We honour the laws, and the grace of life, which we see to protect."
"A very noble view," Taron commented. He looked away from the Jedi, so the latter could not see that the corners of his lips were upturned. He scoffed. It was so simple: the Jedi couldn't be trusted, or at the very least, they couldn't be relied on. The wrinkled old Masters lay snoring in the comforts of their sacred temples and enclaves. Devoid of feeling, having being brainwashed since they were children, the Jedi had allowed the Mandalorians to bring ruin to the galaxy and the Republic. Admiral Taron knew enough to tell that the Jedi were walking in a corrupt path.
But no one but a fool would say that out loud.
Before any of the two men could say another word, the docking bay loud speakers rang loud and clear. *"Jedi Bastila Shan's shuttle has arrived in hangar two-six-eight-orange. Repeating: Jedi Bastila Shan's shuttle has arrived in hangar two-six-eight-orange. May all commanding persons and medics please report to the waiting area immediately, thank you."*
"Level Orange," the Admiral muttered.
Noticing the undertone in his voice, Master Vandar glanced up. "Level Orange?"
"It's where we keep the heavily damaged ships that come in. The ones that pose a danger to our crew and it's passengers."
"Then we should hurry."
"The Star Forge"
She turned, startled. She saw a man behind her and quickly withdrew. Why didn't she feel his presence earlier? Could he have been following her earlier? Who was he? And what was the "Star Forge"? The man in question towered over her, and wore a tight blood-red bodysuit. Mysterious blue tattoos lined his shaven head, and cruel sickly eyes glared down at the grey and silver troops. His mouth was a straight line, the tips pointing down. She saw the way he held himself. It was high and almighty, sick and sadistic, stretched and forced. It was as of the way of a warrior - no - a killer. A man with those eyes, and that stance, could only be a monster.
Nevertheless, she approached him cautiously. "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer, just kept staring down below, head tilted with superiority. It was like...she wasn't even there. He could see her, couldn't he?
She jumped at the sound of a door sliding open, and the footsteps that echoed and bounced off the metallic walls. "Malak, I want you to take a look at this." A masked man donned in black and magenta robes appeared, carrying a datapad. Its screen emitted a bright blue-white that radiated and pulsed.
Malak...was that the man's name? It sounded...familiar, but it was not the name of someone she knew very well. This newcomer, too, was familiar. There was something about the simple mask with the very angular patterns that made her nervous, and unstable with recognition. But how was this mask important to her?
'Malak' grumbled. "What is it?"
"Here, look - it's data."
She stepped back in confusion and took in the two men and stayed silent, with unanswered questions throbbing painfully in her mind. If they couldn't see or hear her then she could stand by and watch the two. Perhaps then, she would get some answers.
Master Vandar looked over to an unconscious Bastila, who was hauled over the shoulder of a red-headed man. Her skin was ghostly was pale, and covered in gouts of dried blood. Teams of medics and other first aid practitioners rushed around the hangar, and mechanics quickly got to work on stabilising Bastila's shuttle. Master Vandar interrupted a nearby, grave-looking young woman in a Medical uniform, who was typing furiously on a datapad.
"Excuse me," he said, "could you inform me on Padawan Shan's condition?"
The woman looked up from her datapad, an eyebrow raised. She whipped her head back and forth, but couldn't see anyone who might've called for her, and resumed to her typing. It wasn't until she felt something down below tug her plain robes, that she noticed the short Jedi Master looking up at her calmly. Naturally, she started, and a string of frantic words escaped her mouth. "O-oh, i'm sorry, Master Jedi! I didn't see..." The woman trailed off, and turned red with embarrassment.
Master Vandar continued to look up at her patiently as she regained her stern composure. "Padawan Shan?" he prompted her.
"Bastila Shan doesn't have any major stab or cut wounds as far as our scans can tell, however, her neural waves appear to have become completely unresponsive, although, they are fully capable of functioning." The woman stopped to look briefly at her datapad. "Our team is still determining exactly what state she is in. We can't expect her to wake up anytime soon."
"Thank you," Vandar said. He glanced back at Bastila, who was being carried away on a stretcher. Undoubtedly, this was no ordinary state of unconsciousness. it was possible that she was in a healing trance, as many Jedi naturally succumbed to in the midst of exhausting injuries. But, the Force that swirled around the young Padawan... it was in turmoil, and hot with rage and fear. No healing trance would emit such pressure. She couldn't be experiencing a vision. No way could her tired mind comprehend a vision that would produce such pressure in the Force.
So what was it? What exactly was happening to the young Padawan?
Vandar turned back to the woman, who eyed him shyly with green eyes. "What of the red-haired man, and his health?"
"He appears to be physically well, but has suffered some brain damage and amnesia. I'm afraid he has lost all recollection of events in the past five to six months."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. He believes to have been serving onboard Revan's ship under the guise of the Republic, and that the "hot Jedi girl" told him this shortly after he was uncovered from the rubble."
The Jedi Master wasn't even slightly fazed. "Rubble?" he asked.
"It would seem that Revan's ship was under attack during Bastila Shan's infiltration, and this is what caused the entire bridge to collapse." She spoke her next words rather sternly. "We have also discovered a dark-haired man whose identity has yet to be confirmed, struck in a similar condition to Padawan Shan. It's been confirmed there are no other survivors besides the three."
"Hm," he pondered. No wonder why Bastila's aura was disturbed; many of her close comrades were part of the strike team. Such loss would have greatly affected any Jedi. Suddenly, his ears pricked. 'A dark-haired man, you say?"
"Yes. He appears to be around his early thirties. Tall and well-toned; he looks fit to be a soldier, beside some severe damage to the head, as far as our scans could tell."
Damage to the head. Could this affect the Council's plans? Perhaps...no, the Council would request for Revan to be brought directly to the Halls of Healing. They should further examine him there...
"Thank you," he said again to the woman, before walking off to the hangar exit. Only one thought rang clear in his mind: he must contact the High Council immediately.
Malak made an exasperated noise that was a mix between a grunt and a sigh. "I can see very well that it's data, Master. You are holding a datapad."
'Master'? Her eyes immediately tore from Malak to the masked man. If he was the former's master, did that mean he taught him how to fight? How to kill?
"Don't get too cocky, Malak, and there's no need to use formal terms with such strain in our conversation," the masked man said calmly.
The impression she got off this man was one of strength, composure and wisdom, whereas the same could not be said for Malak, who appeared twisted, weak, and foolish. It was no surprise that the masked, dark-clothed man should be the stronger of the two.
"Alright, Revan. So what's this data you have?" Malak's tone was snappish, and impatient. She was liking the man less and less...
Hang on! 'Revan'. She knew that name. She remembered that name. That name belonged to a great hero; a man who aimed to save the galaxy and vanquish evil. The happiness she felt jolted her, and made her fingertips feel like sparks. And then she tore herself from the warmth, and looked back at the masked man bearing the name 'Revan' now. Her brows furrowed. Was this man a hero? Perhaps, if she continued to listen...
"Yes, it is," Revan said. "In fact, i've come to the conclusion of something very interesting about the Star Forge."
At his words, Malak perked up. "What? What is so interesting?"
"The Star Forge - there's more to it than using it for building mass armies of construction. It creates life. Feed it anything, and it will give you the necessary materials: air, water, carbon, even life itself!"
Malak continued to glare bleakly at Revan. "So? How is this important for our Sith empire? All we need, and all the star forge is for, are the necessary tools of destruction."
Revan sighed behind his mask. "You are blind, apprentice. This knowledge is power. This machine, no, this force is power for the taking. But...it destroyed the Rakatan people. It's dangerous..."
"We already possess this power you speak of. it has glorious power that will make us strong. We should not cower from it!" Malak gestured towards their army and ships. "Can you not see below us, Revan? Or are you the blind one here?" he retorted. It was a challenge, she realised. A challenge made by the lowly apprentice. She could remember the Sith, the dark lords who sought only power and dominance, and their ancient 'Rule of Two' doctrine. There could only be one Sith Master and one Sith Apprentice. One would eventually have to kill the other in order to gain the higher mantle, and Malak was taking the first step
What a fool.
There was a long, tense pause between the two men. She waited.
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of red and white, and a light hum that tore through the deathly silence. Before she knew it, Malak was trapped against the railing, and Revan had dropped the datapad and ignited his lightsaber. The glowing blood-red blade was hovering a centimeter above the side of Malak's jawline. She could faintly smell the vile aroma of singeing hair and flesh. Malak's singeing hair and flesh. The blade inched ever so closer. A cry of pain, and then it was gone, diffused, and back on Revan's belt. What fast reflexes...
When she looked back at Malak's face, a vicious burn was searing across the length of his jaw. His grey eyes were fearful and burning with pain, but his mouth was set firm in a line, and the muscles around his eyes were relaxed. He was making an effort to appear strong in front of his master, but those eyes and the way his hands shook, betrayed him.
Revan spoke menacingly; a warning. "Next time, your whole jaw will be cut off, and i'll no longer have to listen to that insufferable tone of yours ever again. Understand?"
Malak's head quivered into a nod, his grey eyes now burning with an old hatred.
"Now, get out of my sight, Apprentice, and treat that burn of yours before we head off to our next base. For now, I still need you in top condition for our operations. But that could change."
Malak's narrowed eyes were fixed on Revan, his left hand covering the burn and grey cape flowing behind him with every heavy step he took. The door slid to reveal only darkness on the other side. He stepped in and was enveloped inside, seemingly gone out of existence.
Now what? she thought.
Her gaze drifted back to the Sith Lord, who had turned and bent his knees for the discarded datapad.
In the next second, the datapad was sailing through the air and landed squarely in her palms. He had thrown it to her, and she had caught it.
Revan chuckled, which she though sounded extremely odd coming from the mouth of such a dangerous person. "I knew my senses hadn't been lying." He rose and advanced to her, a threatening hand reaching out and grasping at the air. "There was someone here, and it's you, of all people. Just my luck," he said lightly. "Well then, now that my idiot and brash apprentice is gone, I can at last talk to you."
"W-what? How...?" She could only stare at him, study him. How long was he aware of her presence? How could he see her when no one else could? What was so important about him and this Star Forge?
Revan raised both gloved hands to the edges of his mask, and lifted. The mask was clipped to his belt awkwardly, like it didn't belong there, and Revan raised his head. When she saw his true face, and when his eyes caught hers, she trembled."Who are you?" she whispered. She drew away from the dark entrails of the Force beginning to encircle and engulf her. They were going to trap and corrupt her; she could just tell. "Who am I?" Taking another step back met the smooth wall, but it was rough too, with it's minuscule dents and grooves. She tried to focus on the wall, or the Sith troops, or her breath. Anything but his voice...
"Remember, Bastila Shan."
And she did.
Terribly sorry for the hiatus i've been on, but i'm (sorta) back now. I've been concentrating on other things like school and art, so writing has been pushed to the side a little as lesser priority.
I've got a million ideas for oneshots i may do, and for the next chapter, so keep posted!
don't forget to review this chapter
