Chapter 10

Revan could feel the force shifting like a tectonic plate and he was sure that it was in his favor. The confrontation in the corridor had been a catalyst for many things and the critical moment was approaching were he would soon be able to take advantage of them. If all ended well, he would set the soon to be ex-Jedi on a course that would take her to his side and to the death of Malak. In his mind, he was silently cheering Malak's foolishness when he destroyed Telos, because it would give him a brand new Apprentice that perhaps had more potential and power than his old friend. "I hope that this was all worth putting me through."

He turned to her as they walked down the corridor, "This is a pivotal moment for you. You have finally opened your mind, I do apologize for this, but you weren't listening to me."

"I hate you," Bastila hissed, and Revan felt an uncharacteristic shiver run down him.

Then he smiled and looked back at the soon to be ex-Jedi, "Good."

It was very good that she was willing to admit that she felt the most basic emotion, that she was indeed willing to hate him for something even though he didn't technically do it. The destruction of Telos had been something of Malak's desire. Apparently he believed that if they proved to their enemies that they could destroy a planet, then it would make them more intimidating. Revan knew he was wrong. He knew that the action would make the people who fought against the fleet at Telos into martyrs and give the Republic a rallying call. When he had arrived at Telos, he had been so furious that he couldn't see straight.

He had mutilated Malak that day. In a display of his wrath, he had literally ripped the jaw off of Malak's skull and since that day, their relationship had been going downhill. "I must warn you that if you have a problem with graphic images then you won't want to see this."

"I saw the footage of the planet's destruction," She retorted petulantly, "I can handle it."

"That's not what I meant," Revan chuckled darkly as they arrived at the Holoroom.

Waving his hand over the pad, the door opened with a hiss and he beckoned her in with a wave of his arm. Falling into quick step behind her, he used the force to activate the banks of florescent lights and when they hissed on he turned and smiled at her, "Jedi Shan, you are perhaps the first Jedi to see the crowning achievement of my greatest technicians. The Holoroom, I can send a message to anyone in the known galaxy from this room and it is where you and I will soon hold our meetings with the fleet Admirals, isn't it something?"

"Don't count on it," Bastila hissed under her breath, "Yes it is certainly something."

"Oh I do plan on your conversion," He chuckled, walking to the left side of the room and padding in a command to the central control panel for the Room's Holopads, "The footage you are about to see are the accounts of the Telos Invasion from Malak's ship, you will see just about everything and you will see what I did to him on his own bridge afterwards."

He prodded himself into her mind and he almost chuckled at her doubt, she would see, she would see that he didn't stand for Malak's actions that day. That would buy him into her mind as a good figure and he knew that she would think that against the part of her mind that would always be a Jedi. He would only have to do that and he would have her, she would be his, they would destroy Malak and he would be able to continue. Smiling in anticipation, he turned and folded him arms around his back, "Please take a seat anywhere. Computer: begin program Alpha-Revan-Delta-Tango, dim lights and seal all doors."

"This is Leviathan Control," A crisp voice announced over the shared com-channel that linked Darth Malak's attack fleet, "We are to begin our attack run in coordination with the assault frigates, they will begin firing at all spaceports and the capital city. To increase casualty rates among the citizens you will also begin bombing runs against housing blocks."

Sith Fighters were swarming out of the dozens of Interdictors that now surrounded the Planet of Telos IV, they had been fighting Republic Defense Forces for days now and this was now the prize. The Interdiction Field was now strong enough to encompass half of the Telosian System, so any escape attempts would have been utterly futile. They were in the perfect position to destroy the planet and that's exactly what the fleet commander had in mind. "All fighters, this is Darth Malak, begin your attack run on Admiral Karath's mark."

Behind him, Admiral Saul Karath stood fidgeting with his uniform cap. He didn't feel right about doing this, there was no tactical and military point to this and that's why he had sent a subspace message to Darth Revan a few hours ago. Karath knew that Revan would show him leniency for letting him know about this, but he would be exactly kind to him when he arrived to stop Malak. But at least he would be alive, and Malak would pay for his foolishness. Hesitantly, the Sith Admiral pressed his ear piece and gave the mark.

He was distracted visibly. He knew that if Lord Malak turned around he would see that and want to know why, he was silently calculating how long a heavy Sith Interdictor could take to arrive at full capacity from five systems away. That's where Lord Revan was and when he finally had an answer, he sighed. It would several hours before the ship arrived and by that time the planet would be destroyed and millions of unnecessary murders would have been committed, "Leviathan to Interdictor Squadron Block, begin your firing plan."

Three hours of constant bombardment was beginning to take its toll on the planet. Stress fractures in the crust of the planet were now visible from space and magma was now beginning to pour from the mantle. The force itself was now screaming with the death and it was overwhelming to anyone who was in touch with it. Yet Malak didn't stop, he ordered the Frigates, Fighters and Interdictors to press their attack. He wanted to see the Planet ripped apart and from the looks of the surface, he wasn't that far from it.

Saul could only imagine would sort of damage this would do to the Galaxy. The destruction of a Government was one thing, but the death of a planet and its entire population was another and he believed that it was foolish to destroy a planet in the first place when it had value in resources and labor. He shook his head in incredulity and turned from the viewport where Malak hadn't moved a single step since the bombardment had begun.

"Lord Malak," A Lieutenant reported from the left crew pit that surrounded the bridge walkway, "There is a convey of at least thirty five ships that are attempting to leave orbit."

"Don't let them," was all Malak said before effectively ignoring the poor man.

Karath furrowed his brow as he saw the Lieutenant turn and look at him. There was a question in his eyes that asked him if they should follow his orders. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shook his head and mouthed the order to lower the interdiction field. His heart leapt when the man nodded, and then Karath felt himself feeling better. At least some people would make it off of the planet alive. "Lord Malak! We have a fleet coming out of hyperspace off of the portbow at high velocity. Shall I re-direct our fighter squadrons?"

"Who is it?" He could have sworn he heard Malak hiss.

"I-It's Lord Revan," The Communications Officer stuttered, he knew exactly why the man was stuttering. Malak had made it clear before the operation that Revan had no idea that it was going on and if one thing was certain about Revan, you didn't keep him in the dark let alone do something that seemed utterly foolish on the scale of destroying a planet.

Saul Karath smiled, he couldn't help it. But his smile faded when he heard the audio system of the bridge crackle to life, "Override Code accepted. Access to Bridge Public Announcement System granted."

"Lieutenant! Who entered the override code?" Malak snarled in contempt.

"It was I Malak," A cold, unforgiving voice answered, "You did not seriously think that I would react well to this did you? This is my one and only warning to those who do not wish to suffer the same fate as Lord Malak, send the Leviathan into a parallel position with my ship, Then I everyone at attention until I arrive, you will pay dearly for this apprentice."

Malak's eyes widened, the fear was radiating off of him, "Thank You for letting me know of this travesty Admiral Karath. You will be spared from punishment, but reprimanded."

"I wouldn't have felt right if I didn't contact you," Karath breathed.

The apprentice of the Dark Lord bore holes into him. Admiral Karath looked up into the blazing golden eyes of Malak and he stared defiantly into them. Revan would protect him from Malak, he knew that. But until Revan arrived on the ship, he really didn't feel safe at all. "Don't even think of attacking him Malak. He has done nothing wrong. On the contrary he has done everything right. This is another warning to all of those aboard the Leviathan, if Admiral Karath dies than everything on that ship will die. Do you understand Malak?"

A gasp was elicited from the bridge crew as some invisible force weighed the man down. At the head of the bridge, Darth Malak was forced down on his hands and knees in a kneeling position, "Ye-Yes, I completely understand …Master…"

"Good," Revan said before the audio system clicked off.

"Do you wish to see what I did to him when I arrived on that ship?" Revan questioned.

The darkened room had grown quiet. Revan couldn't even heard Bastila breathing. She was staring at the image of Malak in a submission stance. Using the force, he quietly prodded her mind and he certainly found her thoughts encouraging. She was taking pleasure in the sight. He knew that he had driven the point home that Malak and Malak alone had killed her Uncle, that he had killed a family member. The foolish Jedi notion that all you had to do was cut emotions out of your life was being proven wrong. "Bastila? Did you hear me?"

"Yes I did," Her voice was firm, "And Yes, I do want you to show me."

Revan smirked, oh happy day! He just loved it when he won, "Computer: move ahead to time frame 0954 and magnify image."

The blast doors slammed open and an entire squadron of Sith Troops and Dark Jedi filled into the bridge. The Troopers aimed their blasters at the bridge crew and the Dark Jedi were marching to the head of the bridge to surround Malak. All five of them grabbed their lightsabers from their belts and with a hiss the crimson blades formed a barrier around the disgraced Apprentice. "Admiral Karath, you are officially relieved of your command of the Leviathan and you will be sent to a safer working environment on Rakata."

"Thank you master," Karath said as Revan strode onto the bridge, "Please forgive me."

Malak looked up and narrowed his eyes, "All is forgiven. I would have not been so forgiving if you hadn't contacted me, but you've done the right thing and you have been rewarded."

He watched as Revan dismissed Karath with a wave of his hand, and then he felt his heartbeat increase tenfold when the Dark Lord approached him. The invisible hand of the force clammed around his throat, and he felt the familiar touch of Revan's power around his mind, "An eye for an eye, my dear friend. Now what am I going to do with you?"

Of course he couldn't respond, and when he tried to use the force to respond, he found that he couldn't so he just sat there, "Gizka got your tongue Malak? Well in that case…"

And then an unimaginable pain ripped through him as he felt the Dark Lord's hand swarm to his jaw and made a force backed jerking motion. Before he blacked out, he managed to see his now detached jaw bone lying on the floor ahead of him and blood pouring out of the Orpheus that used to be his mouth. "Oh look at that Malak. I think you need a doctor."

All was silent, and when Revan opened his eyes he felt a smile curl onto his lips. Even the most plebian fool could feel the Dark Side wrapping itself around Bastila as if it were a cloak that would keep her safe from everything bad that would happen to her. "So, now that you know that I didn't react well to the destruction of Telos, the question is, how do you feel?"

Authors Note: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! To everyone around the world and I hope you enjoyed this. I didn't want to make things too graphic, but I hope that you got the point. So please leave a review from me and tell me what you think about this.