Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Bastila's Redemption
Chapter X
"Korriban docking post 43TA, this is Sith Venticator Class ship Raven Spirit, requesting permission to dock," Visas spoke into the comm.
She waited a moment, hearing nothing but the buzz of static. She turned her head. Bastila and Navin were deep in their respective meditative states.
Bastila could feel the Force flowing through every person in the Sith Fleet that guarded the planet. She was slowly ripping the will from all of them, using her Battle Meditation to make the sluggish and sloppy. She could feel several of them making fatal mistakes. Those who were practicing with blasters were losing aim and firing upon one another on accident. Those practicing with vibroblades and lightsabers lost form. Some of them merely nicked themselves or others, while others completely severed limbs and/or heads from their allies. While some people began to kill each other using weapons, some were making fatal mistakes in programming defense systems or working with panels.
Navin's job was much easier than Bastila's. The exile's illusion was centered around the Ebon Hawk, while the Jedi's Battle Mediation was spread across an entire fleet. To anyone outside the ship it looked like a Sith Warship with the words "Raven Spirit" painted on the hull.
"Sith Venticator Class Ship, Raven Spirit, what is your objective?" The man replied to Visas. He sounded rather tired and bored. Clearly Bastila was holding up her side of the plan.
"My master is hear to join the Sith ranks. She has recently abandoned the Jedi Order in pursuit of knowledge of the dark side," Visas replied. "Both my fellow apprentice and I will be accompanying her."
"Fine. Land," the man replied. "Docking bay 32A4."
"Raven's Spirit out."
Visas hit the switch when the man did not reply and turned back to Bastila and Navin. "Break the illusion on my signal," the Sith Miraluka spoke.
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Brianna frowned. "Atris was correct," she muttered as she began typing furiously at the computer. She turned to the transmission hologram and Atris' tiny blue figure appeared.
"Ah, Brianna. What have you discovered?" The Jedi Master asked.
"You were correct, Mistress. The traitors have traveled to Korriban, though I am not sure if Darth Revan was amongst them," Brianna replied.
"Hmm," Atris mused. "Hold your position. If the Ebon Hawk departs within one week's time, then return here to Coruscant. The Sith Fleet has almost reached us and you would be valuable here."
"Yes Mistress. I will report if I see anything. Handmaiden Out."
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Atris sighed as she turned away from her holocommunicator that she and Brianna used to keep contact with one another. "So Darth Bastila is still alive," the Jedi Master mused. "This is something the council would like to hear."
Atris sat down at her desk and pulled up a program in her computer that would call an emergency council meeting. She labeled the subject "Urgent" and sent the message to everyone on the High Jedi Council.
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The Jedi Council assembled together almost an hour after Atris had sent them the message. Once they were all present and they had sorted out all of the greetings and chit chat, Atris stood up.
"Master's of the Jedi Council, I have called you all here for a very important reason," she began. "Several months ago, we sent the Jedi Knight, Bastila Shan on a mission to find the Exile. We know that she and Jedi Knight Revan were successful in their attempt and the exile was brought before us. Only a few short days after their return, Knight Shan and the exile went in search of Knight Revan."
The council nodded and began to mutter. Each had a different opinion on the matter and none of them had fully agreed with the ultimate decision.
"As you all know, I was firmly against the idea of letting her go. I stated that she should be found and captured. I believed that Knight Revan had gone to reestablish himself as the Dark Lord of the Sith and Knight Shan had gone to be his apprentice."
"Yes Atris, we know all of this," Zez Kai El interrupted. "Please get to the point."
"I did not agree with your ideas and I sent one of my personal servants to tail Knight Shan and the exile!" Atris snapped, specifically at Zez Kai El. There was a murmur throughout the council chamber. Atris didn't wait for them to be silent. "As it turns out!" She shouted. "I was correct!" The council went silent as Atris's words hit them. "Knight Shan entered Korriban! As we all know, Korriban has been a fortress that no Jedi has been able to enter since the end of the war!"
The council went silent.
"This could be bad," Master Vrook stated.
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Bastila sighed as they finally pulled the Ebon Hawk into the Valley of the Dark Lords. There wasn't much left. The pillars had been either knocked over or completely destroyed. The tombs looked like they had sustained heavy blaster fire, though she couldn't tell if it was from a ship or turrets.
The Ebon Hawk lowered its loading ramp and the two women stepped off of the ship. They both had their lightsabers in hand and were ready.
"I can feel him," Bastila spoke.
"Where?" Navin asked looking around.
Bastila jerked her head forward and pointed. "In the academy. They're torturing him," she replied. Navin noted that her voice was full of emotions… emotions that Jedi weren't supposed to have.
"Let's go then," the exile said igniting her silver lightsaber. "Visas and T3 should stay and watch the ship with that assassin droid." Bastila nodded her head in agreement. "We don't have time to be sneaky. By the time we're done with initiate exams, Revan'll be dead."
Bastila ignited one end of her lightsaber. "Then let's go."
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The doors to the Sith academy blew wide open and the two Sith Soldiers were impaled on lightsabers in a split second. Bastila and Navin rushed up the corridors and slaughtered the Sith troops that got in the way. Within two minutes they were both in the central room of the Sith Academy.
The room was surrounded on all sides by soldiers, sentry droids, and dark Jedi. Bastila and Navin kept their lightsaber's raised, Bastila in the Soresu defensive form, while Navin kept hers in the aggressive Ataru form.
"I'll take the four thousand on the left, you take the three thousand on the right," Navin suggested.
"We're outnumbered. Maybe we should lay down our weapons," Bastila stated.
"You love Revan?" The exile asked.
"Yes," Bastila replied, not seeing the point.
"Then take the damn three thousand on the right!"
Navin flung herself at towards the closest Sith Trooper. In a second he was dead.
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Was he dreaming again? Were the distinct battle grunts he heard really hers? "Bastila?" He whispered.
Revan turned his head. There was only one Dark Jedi guard watching over him, not they needed anymore at this point. The guard appeared to be bored and his repeating blaster rifle was lowered. He looked around trying to find a weapon of some sort.
I could try to take that guys blaster. He thought. He tried to shake his head at the thought, but it ended up hurting too much. Revan closed his eyes and let the Force run through him. He let it sooth his aches and pains and heal his cuts and open sores. His power was almost gone, but he still had enough to sooth himself and relieve some of the pain.
His eyes shot open he slowly sat up. The Sith guard didn't even notice. The former Sith Lord hopped off the cold table he had been on and began to slowly walk towards the Sith guard.
At the last moment, Revan leapt at the guard and tackled him to the ground. Revan managed to knock out the Sith before he could even scream. The Jedi turned to walk away, but he felt his knees buckle and give out beneath him. "Damn!" He swore as he smacked into the ground. He needed energy, but there was no way of getting it. He didn't have time to wait for it to come back. There was only one option. He turned back to the unconscious Sith troop he had just knocked out. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Revan felt a familiar feeling pulse through him. He hadn't felt it for a very long time. It was almost euphoric after so much time. He quickly shook his head. He was not going to let this feeling rule him. It had to be the other way around.
The former Dark Lord of the Sith extended his arm towards the unconscious Dark Jedi. An orange beam of light was pulled out of the Sith's body and flowed freely into Revan's hand. He basked in it as he felt his strength return to some degree.
With renewed strength, Revan stood up and walked over to the now dead Dark Jedi. He pulled the lightsaber from the belt and ignited it. The ruby red beam of energy poured forth and cast a crimson glow over Revan's face.
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Bastila struggled intensely to beat back the swarm of blaster fire that attacked her. She had managed to kill more Sith by deflecting the small bolts of energy, than actually using the Jedi weapon. Both blades were now ignited and constantly busy holding Sith forces at bay. She had lost sight of Navin quite a while back, but she was certain that the exile was still alive.
Suddenly the blaster fire stopped and several guards and Dark Jedi were on top of her in no time at all. Bastila worked as hard as she could to hold them off, but there were far too many. She could sense them coming at her from every angle. She swung her lightsaber and struck two nearby soldiers, but another came at her from behind.
Before Bastila could react, a crimson lightsaber penetrated her attacker and he keeled over dead. She hadn't seen what happened, but a moment later the entire room was engulfed with electricity that seemed to stem from nowhere.
Every single Sith officer in the room fell over in a slump. Bastila stared at the only two standing figures in the room. The first was Navin. Her silver lightsaber was still active, but it was no longer in an offensive position. The second one held a ruby red saber. His Jedi robes were tattered and his face was covered in burns, cuts, and bruises.
"Revan?" She asked. "What have they…" Bastila trailed off as he turned to look at her.
"Bast?" He asked, his voice coming in short gasps.
"Revan, did you…" Bastila indicated the bodies of the dead Sith that were scattered across the room.
"Bastila, it's you," he spoke, not even comprehending the question.
"Revan did you murder all of these people?" Bastila shrieked.
"I never thought I'd see you again," he spoke as he began to walk towards her.
"Revan they were killed with Force Lightning! It's a very well known dark side power!" She yelled.
"Bastila!" Navin snapped. "Does it matter? We were going to be dead in a matter of minutes if he hadn't shown up! Who cares how he saved us?"
"But-,"
"No! We can't worry about that! I say we get the hell out of here and worry about the Dark Lord later!"
Bastila turned towards Revan, who stood a good ten feet away from her, unsure if she wanted him or not. The young Jedi Knight sighed and looked hard at Revan. She felt a jumble of mixed emotions inside of him, but she didn't actually sense either the dark side or the light side inside of him. All Bastila knew was what she saw in his eyes and that was that he still loved her.
The Jedi Knight began to walk towards Revan. A small smile creased across his lips. She pulled put her arm under his and helped him stand. "Let's go home," she whispered softly.
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The three Jedi stepped on board the Ebon Hawk and Navin shut the loading ramp. "Visas, take us out of the world, now!" Navin ordered. There was no reply, but very shortly the Ebon Hawk began to shift and rise. "Bastila, take him to your bunk. He can sleep there for now."
Bastila had already planned on doing this, but didn't bother arguing. Instead she just continued to guide Revan towards the barracks. She dropped him off on her bed and kneeled down by his side. He was barely conscious, but none the less, he was still coherent.
"Revan?" She asked. He didn't answer, but he rolled his head over so their eyes met. Bastila got the point. "What they do?" She whispered.
Revan smiled slightly. "Don't worry 'bout this," he spoke. "A few good hours and I'll be able to heal myself."
"I could," she offered.
"I didn't realize we were at the gift giving part of the relationship," he said with a faint chuckle.
Bastila sighed. "You're a very stupid man, Revan," she said shaking her head.
"All due respect, Bast, but it wasn't exactly what I'd call smart to come rescue me," he replied. Bastila scoffed. "How did you know to find me, anyway?"
"The Force," she replied.
"Awe, should have guessed," he said with a nod. "Now, I don't mean to rush you or anything, but can you hurry up and heal me."
Bastila gave a laugh and nodded. She placed her left hand on Revan's chest and closed her eyes.
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Mission Vao stood before a small bronze colored alien, whom she had met once before. Jedi Master Vandar was the only Jedi Master on the council who had the time to speak with the young twi'lek girl. He was deeply grieved to here the news about Knight Lapis, but now his focus was completely on Mission. She had explained her battle with Darin Ordo in detail and he had a feeling that she had not just been good with a lightsaber.
He had felt it within her the last time they had met. Mission was a Force Sensitive, but why had her powers suddenly emerged as they had? She had actually used the Force in her battle with the Mandalorian, but how?
"And you say that you've never used the Force before that?" He inquired again.
"Yeah. I've never really known much about it," she replied.
"Hmm… It's possible that working so closely with Revan and Lapis could have triggered this, but I'm not sure. I would have to speak with the other Jedi Masters," he replied "I do wish to test these new found Force abilities of yours, Mission. I want to know how strong they are."
"I'm with you there," she replied.
"Good. I will personally evaluate your abilities. If they prove to be powerful enough, then you may be trained as a full Jedi Knight," Vandar explained.
"Huh?"
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Revan sat alone in the control room of the Ebon Hawk. All of the visual stats and holograms were turned off. For the moment it was just a table. Revan had always been very good with lightsabers. He had excelled in combat and construction. At the moment his hands were working like clockwork to construct a new one, his old one having been left on Korriban.
"Why are you doing this?" Revan turned around and saw Bastila standing in the archway. She was watching him expectantly. "Why are you avoiding me?"
Revan sighed and turned back to the lightsaber. "I scared you. I wasn't sure if you wanted…"
"Revan, they were going to kill us. I understand that you did it to protect us," she replied.
"To protect you, Bastila! You!"
Bastila shook her head, despite the fact that he couldn't see it. "Us, me. What's the difference?"
"Because I would have let Navin die! I would have let myself die!" He snapped. He turned around and faced her, eye to eye. "This is why the council forbids love! This is why Jedi are not allowed to love!" He shouted. "I can't control myself, Bastila! When I'm with you… I'm not the same. When I think of you being hurt, it eats me up inside."
"You're avoiding me because you love me?" Bastila asked, dumbfounded.
"No! I'm avoiding you because I can't control myself! I let the darkness win today!"
"Revan, don't be a fool!" Bastila snapped. "You are so powerful-,"
"Which is why I can't fall to the darkness again! If I lose… the Dark Lord will come back! And he'll be more powerful than ever. He'll slaughter everyone that you care about. He'll kill Navin, your mother, the council. And he will do it just to hurt you… I will do it just to hurt you."
Bastila shook her head. "No! You are stronger than he is, Revan! You can win!"
"And what if I can't?" He demanded.
"You can! We can! Revan, I will do anything to help you in this!"
"How can you help?" He demanded. "Honestly, Bast, besides giving lectures about the light over dark, how can you help?"
Bastila snapped. In one quick motion, she slapped Revan clear across the face. It calmed him, but it did not soothe his anger. "Revan, in case you don't remember, I fell to the dark side less that a year ago! I know what you're going through! I can help you see the light, the way you helped me see it!"
"Bast-,"
"You saved me Revan! You and I are going to be linked for the rest of our lives. When one of us falls, the other will always help. Our love is what saved me! Do you really believe that that same love will destroy you?"
"Bast, I can feel it-,"
"It made you stronger today! It made you stronger than you were before. You said it yourself, you couldn't have done that if it had just been Navin!"
"Bastila, please-,"
"No!" She snapped. "We are both stronger and better people because of each other. We should bask in our love, not reject it!"
Revan was about to reply, but he was too slow. Bastila grabbed him and pulled him into a fierce kiss. The two did not part for several moments. When they did, Revan looked away.
"No!" He thundered as he stormed away, into the barracks. "I won't risk putting you in danger!" Bastila followed him into the barracks and forced him to look her in the eyes. She grabbed him by the head and pulled him into another intense kiss. Revan tried to resist, but he couldn't. Bastila was too… he wanted to say strong, but in reality she was too arousing.
Revan gave in. His arms wrapped around Bastila and pulled her even closer. He was no longer tense and resistant. The two were as close as humanly possible without crushing Bastila's small form. He pushed her up against the wall broke the kiss. He began to explore her neck with his lips. She was vaguely aware of the fact that the straps of her nightgown was sliding down her shoulders.
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Bastila awoke the next morning with a wide smile on her face. She felt Revan's strong arms wrapped around her stomach. His robes and her nightgown were strewn across the floor. She looked up at his face and saw his eyes gazing back at her.
"Good morning, Lover."