The Rakatan led them into a large chamber, where another of the aliens, clad as a chief, waited.
"Revan. Somehow I knew we would meet again," the One began without preamble when Kenna walked in the room. "Even when you vanished, I knew you would not forget the vow you swore to me. And when my scouts told me of a great warrior from the sky slaughtering our raiding parties with mysterious powers and magics, I knew you had at least returned!"
"I'm not Revan anymore," Kenna replied. "That part of me is gone. I'm Kenna Tasman now."
The One looked perplexed. "Your words are confusing. I recognize you: you are the one called Revan. You are the one who came here before; you and Malak, the one who served you. You promised to slay our enemy. In exchange for our aid you swore to destroy the Elders and bring us their secrets. Are you saying this means nothing to you now?" he demanded angrily.
"My mind was destroyed," Kenna protested, hearing Carth adjust his grip on his swords behind her. Even if he couldn't understand what the One was saying, he understood the tone. "My memories were lost." Calm down, flyboy. Even as she thought it, Kenna herself tensed in preparation to defend herself should the One attack.
But he didn't. "I believe you, Revan, " he conceded. "I sense there is something different about you. Something that has changed. You are not the same as you were before." You got that right, Kenna chuckled to herself as he continued, "Yet the power of magic--what you call the Force--is within you still. You can still destroy the Elders and fulfill your vow!"
Kenna sighed in resignation. "What was this vow, exactly?"
"You vowed to kill the Elders and bring us the secret knowledge they protect. In exchange, we promised to use the lost knowledge to help you enter the Temple of the Ancients," the One explained patiently. "When you vanished, we thought you had forgotten us--or been killed by the Elders. Now that you have returned our alliance still holds: destroy the Elders, and we will help you."
Kenna didn't like the sound of that. From what she'd seen and heard of these Rakata, they were barbaric, cannibalistic savages. Something deep inside her seemed to urge her not to agree, that it would be better to ally with the Elders. But if she'd promised…was she still bound by that promise? "Temple of the Ancients? I still don't remember anything," she admitted, trying to stall answering the One's demand.
"I suppose if what you say is true--that you cannot remember when you were last here--than you must have many questions. Very well, Revan. I will help you to understand. And then you will destroy the Elder tribe and fulfill the oath you swore to us long ago."
Relieved he was going to humor her, Kenna shrugged. "You should probably begin with the last time I was here."
The One nodded assent. "You arrived with Malak--your servant--three of your galactic standard years ago. My scouts saw your sky ship plummet to the earth and they went to loot the crash site. They tried to take you prisoner, but you unleashed your magic--what you call the Force--upon them. Seeing your power, they bowed before you and brought you here to me. You used your power to rip the Rakatan language from my mind, even as you drove Basic into our skulls so we could help you in your quest to find something called the Star Forge. But the answers you sought lay within the Temple of the Ancients, and we could not help you enter the Temple. The Elders alone hold its secrets, guarding them with their very lives."
"You say my ship crashed. Was it because of the disruptor field?" Kenna asked, still stalling.
The One shook his head. "I know nothing of this disruptor field, but throughout the history of our tribe ships have fallen from the sky," he explained, "It has always been this way; though in recent generations it has become more frequent. We have little understanding of such magic to make metal fly, but my scouts rush to take whatever we can carry from the crash sites in the hopes we may one day unlock these secrets. That was how we acquired our rancor war beasts. Several very young specimens were recovered from a crashed vessel. We raised them to adulthood, training and breeding them to be loyal beasts of war."
Another thought dawned on Kenna. "I need parts to repair my ship."
"That I cannot help you with. Although we have recovered many strange devices from the sky ships that crash to earth, their use is a mystery to us. As a show of good faith, I will allow you to search the stores of our tribe, and take whatever you find. In exchange, I know you will destroy the Elders and bring the secrets they guard back to me."
Again with the destroying the Elders! I get the point already, bantha brain! "Tell me about the Temple of the Ancients." That had to be the structure that Mission noticed, the one that sounded eerily familiar to her. Kenna wanted to know as much about as possible before venturing inside.
"There is little I can tell you about the Temple," the One said apologetically, "I know the secrets of our ancestors are contained within, but the Temple itself is barred to us. When last you were, you and Malak sought to enter the Temple. You sought ancient knowledge and a way to escape this world within its stone walls. But only the Elders know how to bypass the barrier that surrounds it. Destroy them and bring back their secrets to us, and we will help you enter the Temple. That was our agreement."
"Tell me more about the Elders." Kenna wanted to know if this other tribe was better than the savages she had already encountered, or just more of the same. The tribe of the One already had two huge black marks against them: they had attacked her twice, and--more importantly-- nearly killed Carth. For her to side with the One, the Elders would have to be pretty fracking horrible.
"The Elders guard the ancient secrets," the One began, "Within their compound is the knowledge of power and magic: including the knowledge of how to enter the Temple itself. I have lost many warriors storming the gates of their compound, but they use weapons of light and fire against us, and not even our war beasts are strong enough to breach their defenses. Sometimes we can capture an Elder when they venture forth from their compound and we have learned something about them. That is how we know they guard the ancient secrets. But no matter what tortures we inflict upon them, they will not reveal their secrets to us. They fear the knowledge they themselves guard, and they will never willingly surrender it to us."
Kenna's mind was made up when the One talked of torturing prisoners. She would never willingly assist him. He and his tribe were barbaric savages, killing with no regard to whom their blades felled. But she didn't want to fight him if she didn't have to, either. She did the only thing that came to mind.
"I will kill the Elders and bring you back their secrets." She was lying through her teeth, but hopefully the One wouldn't figure that out.
"I see you have changed much since our last meeting. I am confident you won't betray us this time." The One nodded. "The compound of the Elders is to the south, beyond the Temple of the Ancients. From torturing the few Elders we have captured, we know something of what lies beyond the gates. The Elders are few in number. If you can get past the outer defenses, you could surely slaughter them all. Then you can bring us back the knowledge they guard."
There was only one flaw in that plan that Kenna could see. "If I kill the Elders, can I bring you their secrets?"
"There was one prisoner," the One explained, "an Elder whose mind broke under our tortures. He raved of ancient rituals of lost power and forgotten secrets! Unfortunately, most of his dying screams made no sense. Yet in his last hours he spoke of a book: an ancient tome that recorded the most powerful knowledge of the Elders, and detailed the rituals that could unleash the secrets. I am certain this ancient tome will allow me to unleash what has, for so long, been hidden by the Elders. Bring me this book and I will use the knowledge within it to help you enter the Temple."
His talk of the Elder who broke under their tortures made Kenna want to smash her lightsaber into his face--without bothering to turn it on. "Don't worry," she lied, "I will slay the Elders and honor our deal."
The One nodded. "When you have it, bring it here to me. Until then, you may move freely about our village. I will be waiting for your return."
Kenna nodded and walked out.
"What--" Carth began before Kenna cut him off.
"Wait 'til we're outta here," she whispered, reaching back and taking his hand in hers.
As soon as they were away from the Rakatan settlement, Carth pulled Kenna to a stop. "What did you say in there? What did he say?" He hadn't understood a word; the whole conversation had been in the Rakatan language.
"He told me I was here before. With Malak. That I promised to wipe out some other tribe on the other side of the Temple and bring him their secrets and in exchange they would let me in the Temple, which was where I needed to go. I apparently never held up my end of the deal. That's Sith for you." Kenna gave a wry smile. "He wants me to make good on it now."
"Doesn't seem fair," Carth commented.
She cocked her head in confusion. "What doesn't?"
"Him expecting Kenna to keep Revan's promise."
Kenna stared at him for a second before hugging him so tightly she nearly strangled him. "Thank you," she whispered. Yes! Oh, yes, yes, yes! If she needed any more definite proof that he believed her about being a completely different person now, she'd just gotten it.
" You're welcome," Carth chuckled. "So, what did you tell him?"
She leaned back against one of the surrounding rocks. "Well, I considered telling him there would be rainforests on Hoth before I'd help a group of barbaric savages like his tribe. But I didn't want to fight him if I didn't have to, so I told him I'd do it."
"What??"
She smiled sheepishly. "I lied. I have absolutely no intention of helping them. I just hope I have an easier time convincing the Elders I'm…not who I was."
"You're really something else, you know that?"
She grinned at him. "So I've been told. Let's go."
"Right behind you, beautiful." Kenna blushed but didn't say a word as she led the way up the path.
The computer at the entrance to the Elders' settlement recognized her as Revan and let her in because the council wanted to talk to her. Oh, great, Kenna winced mentally, They probably want to take me to task for all my sins. Suppressing her fears and doubts, she led the way into the council chambers.
"We of the Elder Council did not expect to see you again, Revan," began the leader in the Rakatan language, "We thought you had betrayed us. Why have you returned to our village after all this time?"
Kenna blinked in confusion. "I spoke to you before? What did I want?"
The Elder eyed her suspiciously. "Is this some kind of test, Revan? Some type of trick?" he demanded angrily. "You came seeking our aid: you came in search of a way to enter the Temple of the Ancients. You claimed to be seeking a way to destroy the Star Forge, and we were foolish enough to believe you. Unaware of your true nature, we helped you enter the Temple. But you betrayed us, Revan. Instead of destroying the terrible legacy of our ancestors you unleashed the evil of the Star Forge upon an unsuspecting galaxy. And now you stand before the Council of Elders once more. And once more we ask you: for what reason have you returned, Revan?"
Oh, Sith's blood. Kenna had planned on asking for their help to enter the Temple and destroy the Star Forge, but if she had done that as Revan and betrayed them, stating that as her purpose would only breed skepticism. So she settled for blunt honesty. "I'm sorry, I have no memory of our last meeting."
She could see in his eyes the Elder didn't believe her. "Do you think we are fools, Revan?" he scoffed. "Do you think we have forgotten how you fled to us last time? Why should we believe you now?"
"My mind was destroyed, all my memories were lost," Kenna explained, knowing it would be hard to convince him. "It changed me. I am not who I once was."
The Elder looked as though he was considering what she had said. "They say that the experiences of our past make us what we are. If it is true that you have lost your memories, then perhaps you have changed. But how are we to know that this is not some trick, Revan?"
Kenna gave it her best shot. "That part of me that was Revan is dead. I am Kenna Tasman now."
The Elder shook his head. "You say you are not who you once were, yet here on our world you repeat the pattern of your last visit. Like the last time, you have crashed here. Like the last time, you have come seeking our help. How have you changed, Revan?" he demanded.
"I cannot prove what is in my heart." Kenna shrugged. "I only ask you to judge me by my actions."
This time, he nodded. "We sense you mean the words you speak. But words are easy to say; it is actions that prove the true nature of your character. You must prove to us that you are not the same as you once were, Revan. You must prove that you have changed."
"How can I prove that?" Kenna demanded eagerly. If she could redeem herself, she wanted to, no question about it.
"Recently, several of our scouts were captured by the One," the Elder explained, "Most of them were brutally slaughtered, but we have information that one of the scouts is still alive. They will use unimaginable tortures to force the scout to reveal everything he knows about our tribe. And once the One is done with him, the scout will be executed like the others. You must prove you have truly changed by risking your own life to save another. Rescue our scout from the clutches of the One, and we will consider helping you."
"So you want me to kill the One?" Kenna raised an eyebrow.
"We would prefer if you could find some way to save the prisoner without bloodshed, but we don't believe that will be possible. The One does not like to negotiate."
"So, if I save the prisoner, you'll help me?" Kenna clarified.
The Elder nodded. "Risking your life to save the prisoner would show us that you are sincere about making amends for the past."
"I'll be back after I rescue that prisoner," Kenna promised.
"The prisoner is being held in the chamber of the One himself. Return to us once he is free. Until then, you have free run of our Enclave."
Kenna turned to Carth and Juhani. "Come on." .
"So, where to now?" Carth asked, offering Kenna his hand.
She took it. "Back to the One. He's holding an Elder scout as a prisoner, the Council wants me to rescue the scout to prove I've changed. Apparently Revan already used the 'Let me in so I can destroy the Star Forge' card, but I was lying. The sins of the past have a nasty way of catching up to you." Kenna shrugged gamely and headed up the path.
"So, what, if we save this scout, they'll help you?"
"Exactly. I hope. His exact words were they would consider helping me, but he gave a strong impression it was assured if I help them, they'll help me. We can handle some Rakata and a few rancors." She shrugged. "'Specially since we both practically go berserk if the other gets hurt or is in danger."
"Wish I had your confidence, gorgeous."
"Told you I prefer 'beautiful', remember?" Kenna teased, squeezing his hand before letting go to lead the way.