Chapter X- A Slight Detour
Revan stepped outside the negotiation chamber, glad to be out of the hot and stuffy room. Pinching the bridge of her nose, the Grey Jedi continued her pace trying to keep her consciousness alert. Opening her green eyes, Revan began to walk through the rich halls in her search for her apprentice.
Reaching out across their force bond, Revan found Bastila's presence on the veranda, alerting her that she was heading towards her general location.
As the former Jedi Knight roamed the empty halls, she became aware that it was night now, most people probably sleeping in warm and comfortable bed. Stifling a yawn, Revan continued down a hallway, nodding at a male guard who seemed hopped up on a stim-pack.
"Evening, Trooper." Revan greeted pleasently, the soldier returned a nod, blushing mildly. The former Jedi smirked to herself, while she was not attracted to men, it was rather...Cute to see their reactions to her, and a little bit flattering.
Turning a corner Revan stopped short and smiled at the sight before her. Bastila was leaning on the rail of the veranda, her form illuminated by the blazing blue moon of Alderaan. A light cool breeze filtered through the valley, catching a strand of Bastila's brown hair and twirling it in the wind. Revan drank in the site of Bastila, a woman finally broken out of the shell that had encased her since childhood.
"Enjoying the view Master?" Bastila asked slyly, turning around with a impish smile on her face. Revan smirked as she stepped forward, her left arm hooking around Bastila's waist and pulling her body against her own.
"More than you could image my Apprentice." Revan replied, her other hand caressing the other woman's cheek.
"I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit." Bastila responded slyly, leaning into the Grey Sith's touch.
"Well then, I'll just have to prove it to you." Revan said, placing a kiss on Bastila's temple. "Let's get back to the ship." The Empress said, Bastila nodding as she was led through the corridors to the landing pad.
As the Master and Apprentice approached the Ebon Hawk, Revan couldn't help but smile at the accomplishments on this day. The Republic would not only surrender it's power, but now the former Jedi could begin preparing for the inevitable war that lay ahead.
As Revan climbed to the top of the Hawk's loading ramp and raised it, a sudden wave of lust overcame her. Grasping Bastila by the waist, the Force Master spun her apprentice around, claiming her luscious lips in her own. The younger woman's grey eyes widened in surprise before she relaxed, returning the kiss with as much passion as she could muster.
Revan broke the contact of their lips, shoving her apprentice against the bulkhead. The younger woman gasping sharply before the master silenced her by latching onto her lips once more. Bastila writhed as her master's hands massaged her chest and posterior, the labeled 'Sith's' tongue pushing past the younger woman's lips and into her mouth.
As the intensity of the passion increased, Revan picked up Bastila and carried her through the ship. The two lovers entered the ship quarters, the raven-haired woman dropping her prize onto one of the beds, climbing on top of her and straddling her. Revan stared into Bastila's eyes, green meeting grey as a thousand unspoken emotions raced between them. The Master pulled on the other woman's collar, pulling Bastila's face closer to her own, their noses touching affectionately.
"You're mine." Revan growled possessively, as she delicately caressed her apprentice's cheek.
"I am yours." Bastila responded to her master, smiling brightly. The younger woman gently grasped the hand that caressed her cheek, leaning into her master's touch. "Forever and always." Bastila finished, leaning forward and pressing her lips against Revan's, the two losing themselves to the pleasure they both craved.
- Jedi Enclave, Dantooine
As Jedi Master Zhar Lestin landed his fighter on the Enclave's landing pad. The Twi'lek steeled himself in preparation for the council that awaited his return and his information on the negotiations with Revan.
It was a few scarce hours before dawn, the Enclave decrepit, no Jedi was conscious at this hour. The Jedi climbed out of the small fighter and made his way through the silent enclave towards the council chambers. Striding up to the beige colored door, Zhar didn't break stride a the door opened.
Beyond the door revealed a large chamber where figures in robes stood, in a heated debate. As Zhar approached, the debate was silenced, the four Jedi Masters turned towards their subordinate. The icy glare of Master Artis was the only expression of displeasure amongst the council of Masters.
"Well?" The dark voice of Master Kreia asked, her pale sightless eyes glare in Zhar's direction. The Jedi sighed and lowered his gaze.
"Our worst suspicions have been confirmed." Zhar said in a low voice. "The True Sith Empire is indeed alive, and they're a preparing for their invasion."
Silence encompassed the council chambers, the Jedi Masters looking between each other with concerned glances. Artis seemed disinterested with the information, as she took a step closer to the Twi'lek, as if physically trying to intimidate him.
"And what of Revan?" Artis asked, Zhar hesitated before taking a deep breath.
"Revan has assumed control of the Republic, and we have sued for peace with her." Zhar said, once more the Council was silent, except for the venomous Artis.
"Have you lost all sense?" The silver-haired woman asked, ice blue eyes burning with hatred. "With Revan in control of Republic, the Jedi are doomed!" The Jedi Master yelled, shattering the delicate silence that encompassed the Enclave.
"Peace Artis." The small green form of Master Vandar said, turning his gaze towards Zhar. "Master Zhar, what were the exact terms of this treaty?"
"The terms were as such: The Republic is to give command of the military and navy over to Revan. All members of the Republic Senate are to send their concerns and requests to Revan to sort them out." Zhar listed, stopping and meeting the eyes of his fellow Jedi (save for Kreia). "As of the treaty, the Republic is allied with Revan's Empire and preparing to mobilize against the Sith in uncharted regions." Zhar finished, refusing to meet the eyes of Master Artis.
"What of Jedi Order? Is our fate determined?" Master Dorak asked, his voice slow and calm. The Twi'lek reached into his robes and pulled out the data disk that Revan had given him earlier, handing it to the Human Chronicler. "This disk contains coordinates to Tython, it seems the Revanchist has found a stable hyperspace lane." Zhar finished, his fellow Jedi all looking amongst themselves in amazement, all except one.
"It's a trap by the Force!" Artis said with much restrain in her voice. "She wants to round us up so she can destroy the Jedi once and for all." The female Jedi argued, trying to gain support.
"I agree with Artis." The dark and haunting voice of Kreia said. "It is likely a ruse to round up the Jedi, the data on the disk is likely falsified."
"You forget Master Kreia, I was at this audience. I sensed no deceit in her intentions or her guise." Zhar countered, mildly agitated by the outburst of Artis.
"Sith are the masters of lies, Revan will go back on her word." Artis argued, her restrained anger breaking through once more.
Master Vandar turned towards the Echani Jedi Master. "If you recall Artis, Revan was labeled Sith by you and Master Vrook upon her return to the galaxy, her actions would indicate she is otherwise. Her treatment of captured soldiers, as well as her government of conquered worlds shows that she does not follow the Dark Side completely." The elder Master reasoned, his voice deep for one of his height and stature.
"And beside Master Vandar's point Artis, consider this, the Republic cannot defeat Revan's Empire, and go out to face the True Sith Empire, we have lost too much in the last century." Zhar supplied, knowing that Artis's argument was invalid.
"And how do we know that the True Sith Empire is real? It could be fabricated information that will, like now, convince the Republic to surrender." Artis bit out.
"We sensed a dark force at work during the Mandalorian Wars, we didn't act because of this threat. Proven right we were, as now the True Sith Empire has been confirmed to be actively preparing for conquest." Vandar interjected, his voice carrying the wisdom of the Jedi.
"I agree with Master Vandar, if we are to face this threat, then we must unite with Revan and reconcile." Dorak said, supporting Zhar and Vandar in this debate. "If we are to achieve the peace we have long sought, then we must unite with Revan and reconcile with her Empire. Without her support and forces, we will be overtaken by the True Sith when they strike."
"All in favor of honoring the treaty?" Kreia asked, her blank eyes seemingly staring at the three Jedi Masters opposite of her.
"Aye." Master Zhar and Vandar said in unison.
"Aye." Master Dorak agreed.
Kreia nodded, turning towards Artis. "All against?"
"Nay." Artis said, her voice alone in the council room.
"The 'ayes' have it, the Jedi Order shall honor the Treaty of Alderaan, let us hope it is the correct decision." Kreia deadpanned, her words low in her voice.
Artis was outraged. "I cannot believe any of you!" The Echani yelled. "You who call ourselves 'protectors' and 'saviors' are nothing but a group of scared children peaking under your beds for a nonexistent boogeyman!"
The silver-haired Jedi Master stormed out of the council chambers, the other force-wielders watching silently. The doors to the Chambers opened and closed as Artis departed, the Jedi looking amongst themselves.
"In time, she will see truth." Dorak said, a dry cackle came from Kreia breaking the fragile stillness of the chambers once more.
"Artis is as stubborn if not more so than Master Vrook. She won't forget nor forgive our decision, she is now a rogue Jedi Master." Zhar said, sharing Kreia's opinion, minus the amusement. Master Vandar stood next to Zhar, stroking his furry green chin thoughtfully.
"If Artis gains enough support, continue the war could be." Vandar stated, the other Jedi nodding in agreement.
"I think it best that we attempt to warn Revan, in the chance that a misunderstanding arises." Dorak suggested, the other Jedi nodded.
"Let's hope she is willing to trust us." Zhar said as he approached the holopanel.
Blood. Screams. A severed arm on the ground. Shattered buildings. A lifeless Mandalorian at her feet. A Lightsaber in her right hand, and rage filling her heart.
Revan charged into battle once more, her azure blade clashing with a Mandalorian vibroblade, his aggressive snarl aimed to intimidate the Jedi. Pushing off the Neo-Crusader's blade, Revan feigned an attack, rolling under the Mando's strike slashing his legs as she rolled by. Standing to her full height, Revan flipped her blade into a reverse-grip. The Jedi callously stabbed the injured soldier through his back, her blade erupting through his chest on the other side of his body.
Switching her blade to a regular grip, the Jedi scanned the battlefield, her mask heightening details not obvious to the human eye. A series of red and blue contacts some three hundred meters forward indicated a firefight ensuing nearby. Revan steeled herself, calling on the force to aid her as she accelerated her speed to the battle.
As she sped towards the firefight, Revan was able to make out a total of eight combatants: two Republic soldiers firing behind rubble as six Neo-Crusaders fired on their positions. The Jedi's eyes widened as a plasma grenade was thrown into the air towards the Republic troopers. Revan leapt in the air, grabbing the grenade in mid air and throwing it back towards the Mandalorians.
Revan's hand shot towards ground, pushing off the blackened rubble and twisting in the air to land on her booted feet. The grenade erupted at that point, engulfing two Mandalorians, the blast melting through the Crusader armor. The Jedi Knight ignited her lightsaber, blocking a quartet of laser blasts from the remaining Mandalorians.
The Jedi Knight leapt forward, her azure blade slicing through a Neo-Crusader's blaster. Spinning a round, Revan stabbed the Mandalorian with her lightsaber, pressing against his body to cover herself from the other warriors. Twisting off the dead weight of the armored warrior, the Jedi swung her lightsaber out of her hand towards the Mandalorian Sargent, his blood red armor pierced by the blue blade. Not slowing, Revan charged the other Neo-Crusader, grabbing his weapon and kicking him in the chest to wrench the weapon from him. In the blink of an eye, Revan turned the weapon towards the Mandalorian, blasting him in the chest as fell to the ground.
Revan turned towards the final Mandalorian, an elite clad in gold armor. The high-ranking Crusader dropped his blaster and drew his vibro blade, assuming a combative stance. Revan dropped the blaster in her hands, calling her lightsaber to her hand from the fallen Mandalorian. The Jedi's weapon leapt into her hand, a low hum emanating from the blue blade.
The two combatants stared each other down, Revan taking her stance and watching the Mandalorian wearily from behind her mask.
"I want you to know Jedi, that I consider this to be an honor." The Crusader said, his voice rough and mechanical from behind his helmet.
Revan snorted. "How is dying in the dirt next to your allies honorable." The Jedi asked, fierce anger in her tone.
"Life is but one long war for survival. Death comes to us all, even those who use the force." The Mandalorian countered. "Its in the battles that we all die in. Some die blubbering for mercy, others accepting the end of this hell known as life. You Jedi fight for a cause that will never amount to anything. Peace is unachievable dream."
"Oh really?" Revan growled, her grip tightening on her lightsaber. "If you and your masters hadn't attacked the Republic there would be peace!"
The Mandalorian laighed, "For a time, but be warned Jedi, we do not act on any incentive. We fight because it means glory and honor, as well as way to end the war of life with dignity. I have no quarrel with you Jedi, but I have one goal like all individuals: to better myself." The Crusader said, dropping his combat stance and pacing in front of the Jedi. "The ultimate test of that is to best the greatest warriors in the galxy: the Jedi."
"You fight this war to prove you can defeat the Jedi?" Revan snarled, trying to control the anger that was running through her veins.
"No, I fight to prove that I am worthy to end this existence with honor. If I live, I retain it until I do fall. You may not share our views Jedi, but you can respect them. Your own virtues are not dissimilar to our own." The Crusader said, Revan fumed.
"The Jedi are nothing like you!" Revan growled, though a small part of her mind could see the parallels between the Jedi and Madnalorians.
"Really now?" The Crusader asked, reaching up and removing his helmet. The man had darkened skin, black cut short to his skull, with piercing blue eyes. "I am an individual as you are Revan, I bleed as you do, I will fight for my loved ones or for what I feel is right. Whereas I choose my destiny, you submit yourself to a code that demands you to be a machine and to end your life for another." The Crusader declared, dropping his helmet to the ground. The Mandalorian then chuckled. "Its funny really, the Jedi Order claims to protect the freedom of people across the Republic, yet they deny this right for their enforcers."
Revan glared at the Mandalorian before reaching up and pulling her mask from her face. The Jedi pulled back her hood, meeting the Mandalorian's blue eyes with her green.
"I am Revan, and I am a human being." The Jedi declared, dropping her mask and raising her lightsaber. ''
"So now you see Jedi, a mask like the one you wear conceals the fact you are a person and not a tool. And though I admit I enjoy you more without the mask, wearing one can create an image that rallies anyone to you." The Mandalorian said, raising her Vibroblade. "I shall fight you, and may the one who win contiue the war for survival." The Crusader said, charging the Jedi.
Revan's eyes snapped open, her vision fixed on the ceiling of the Hawk's crew quarters. The raven haired woman realized she was sweating. The Grey Jedi felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, turning her head, emerald eyes fixed on concerned blue-grey eyes.
"Are you alright?" Bastila asked, her Talravinian accent soothing to Revan's ears. The former Jedi shrugged as rolled onto her side in the cot.
"Memories." Revan stated simply, her fingers running in small circles on Bastila's shoulders.
"Care to be more specific?" The Apprentice asked somewhat sarcastically.
Revan smirked before her expression hardened. "The Mandalorian Wars, I was recalling a battle." The Grey Jedi said, her voice hollow as several memories that had haunted her came back in a wave.
"One of significance I take it?" Bastila asked, hoisting herself up onto her elbow.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Revan muttered, Bastila remaining silent. "It was the battle that really made me question the good will of Jedi Order." The former Jedi said, her eyes staring off into nothing as visions of the past overtook her sight.
"How so?" Bastila asked, her voice bringing the Grey Jedi's sight back into focus.
"The state of a planet after the Mandalorians had had their with it didn't help my animosity with the council at the time. I was alienated further by the words of Neo-Crusader." Revan said, her fingers clenching into a fist.
"Revan?" The Apprentice asked, intimidated by the change of her Master's posture and voice. The Grey Jedi shook her head, turning and smiling apologetically at Bastila.
"Sorry, I lose myself in memories at times." Revan said, rubbing her eyes.
"Come on, let's get up. We'll be rendezvousing with the fleet in a few hours." Revan said, rolling out of the bed and standing up. She began to head towards the refresher but stopped upon realizing that Bastila was not falling. Sure enough, the young woman lay on the bed with a light frown on her face. "Something wrong?" Revan asked.
Revan's apprentice narrowed her eyes and stood up, her posture did not look particularly agreeing. "You may be able to sway your soldiers and admirable easily, but not me Revan." Bastila declared grasping the taller woman by the shoulders. "You need rest, with all these nightmares and restless nights, you are practically narcoleptic whenever something isn't being done."
Revan met Bastila's intense stare with her own, but it was clear that her apprentice wasn't going to backing down. Revan sighed, taking the younger woman's hands off her shoulders.
"Look Princess, while I appreciate the concern, I can't stop, not now. I need to order a widespread ceasefire and recall our forces to their-"The Grey Jedi began, until a lithe finger pressed against her lips, pausing her in mid-sentance.
Bastila leaned forward, an impish look on her face. "What do you think I was doing while you finished negotiations?" The Grey Apprentice asked coyly. "The fleets have been alerted and all military action has been halted as we wait for the finalization of the treaty to come into effect."
"I knew there was a reason I was bonded with you." Revan said teasingly, clapping Bastila on the shoulder.
"So with that out of the way, where do you wish to go?" Revan asked, leaning on the doorframe. Bastila seemed to ponder it for a moment.
"Was Naboo not added to your Empire in the last year?" Bastila asked, Revan smiled.
"That it was."
"I always wanted to visit." Bastila said suggestively, Revan smirked and nodded.
"Very well, I'll send a message to the Queen and let her know that we're coming." Revan said, turning away from the door frame and heading to the cockpit.
Bastila smirked as she stepped into the refresher, looking forward to the slight detour to Naboo.
In another part of the galaxy, a tortured soul slept. Perspiration covered the human body as it slept, shivering despite its feverish state. Darkness shrouded the human's mind, drowning its feverish dreams with a memory not belonging to the person's own recollections.
A calming warmth enveloped the woman, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her shoulders as night enclosed her and her lover.
The woman smiled in contentment, brushing a blond strand of hair from her brow as rested her head on her lover's chest. Even in the darkness, the woman could make out the black silkiness of her lover's hair, spread like a curtain over tanned shoulders.
Hoisting herself up onto her elbows, the blond woman looked down on her lover, eye lids concealing the deep blue and green gems that shone in her eyes. The blond woman ran her hand over her lover's hair, brushing out the black curtain with her four digits. The woman winced at the memory as she stared long and hard at her hand which lacked a ring finger, lost in the heat of battle during the Mandalorian Wars.
The rave-haired woman stirred in her sleep, the nightmares returning to her as they usually did. The woman's grasped her lover's tightly, as the other woman began to thrash in her sleep. Emerald-sapphire eyes opened in a flash of fear.
"No!" She screamed, flinging herself into an upright position, the other woman's pale arms grasping her by the shoulder, urging her down.
"Revan!" The woman yelled, using all her strength to push her lover down to the bed. "Revan, look at me!" The blond woman yelled once more, grasping Revan by the face, the emerald-sapphires meeting a clear sky blue. "You're safe, with me."
"Mee'tra?" Revan asked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness and meeting Mee'tra's. "I'm so sorry, I just can't get the images out of my head." Revan said, sounding delicate and fragile.
"It's ok my love, not many have seen the horrors that you have lived. I'll always be here to fight away your nightmares Revan. You know this." The former Jedi said soothingly, resting her master's head against her chest as she quietly sobbed.
The fragile silence of the resting chambers were broken only by the occasional gasp of air from Revan, and soothing singing of Mee'tra. The Republic General broke away from her lover, laying down on the bed, breathing in deeply through her nose.
"What are we to do Mee'tra?" Revan asked, the blond woman unsure of the question.
"What do you mean?"
"The war. The war is over, and yet, I can't find any peace or clarity over what it was all for." Revan said, rubbing Mee'tra's knuckles as she spoke. "We can never return to the Jedi order, and yet I don't wish to continue down this road to darkness, if we do, I fear for the worst." The former Jedi finished, looking out into the room with gaze of hopelessness.
"I don't know what we'll do Rev," Mee'tra said, laying down next to Revan and holding her close. "but I do know, that I will follow you to what ever Utopia or Hell you find for us." Mee'tra said, looking Revan in the eye. "I love you, and I'll follow you into the dark if that is your choice." Revan smiled faintly.
"Thanks Mee'tra." The former Jedi said, placing a chaste kiss on her lover's lips. "I'm glad I have you."
"I'm glad you'd have me." Mee'tra replied, laying down next to Revan and relishing in the comfort and contentment around her.
Then a sudden chill went up Mee'tra's spine, her senses and thoughts being suppressed as another presence took over her mind. When the former Jedi tried to speak, a dark voice filled her consciousness.
"You are a powerful force, but you'd get in the way of my goals." The voice said, Mee'tra felt consciousness removed from her body, watching it move without her commands.
The last action she could recall before falling into the abyss was yelling Revan's name.
The human figure gasped, sitting up and gasping, rubbing its eyes with its calloused hands. Upon feeling five digits on its face, the human reared back and examined its hand, five scarred and large fingers.
Looking at the body that lay on the cot, Mee'tra realized she was in a body completely different from her own, her own memories and the host's bodies memories were scattered and mixed together. Rubbing at the temples of her new body, Mee'tra heard a gruff voice from the other side of the room speak.
"Sir, are you alright?"
Looking at the muscled body that she now commanded, Mee'tra couldn't help but grin.
"Never better." Mee'tra said, the voice that spoke so much deeper than her own.
"That's good to hear Sarge, wouldn't want to lose you now. There's just been a peace treaty signed." The male voice responded. Mee'tra did not need to feign surprise.
"Between the Republic and Revan's Empire?" Mee'tra asked, memories of both her mind and the host's came to her in seconds.
"That's what it sounds like, though a treaty has yet to he finalized." Said a different voice, a female's. "Think of it, we'll be out of here and getting real food when were out of here."
"I'm not leaving." Mee'tra's host said, a collective series of the other members of the brig went up. "Listen, someone has to keep and eye on Revan and make sure she's on the up and up." The soldier said, standing from the cot and looking all of his troops in the eye.
"Are you sure about this Sarge?" Carth asked, suspicion laced in his tone.
"Yes, I'm sure." Said the voice of Adol Falcon, his thoughts in sync with the living spirit of Mee'tra Surik, the Exhile.
And the Plot Thickens.
Again, sorry for the wait, getting buried by a lot of stuff at the moment, not to worry, I'm still sticking with this story.
Sorry if this chapter is short and all over the place, I had a lot I needed to cram into this one bit that would make it a decent length.
The next chapter will be with Revan and Bastila and will probably be the last 'filler' before Couresant Negotiations and the preparations for war against the True Sith.
There will be some familiar faces showing up here shortly, both from KOTOR and KOTOR 2
Hope I didn't brag on too much, leave me a review or PM me with thoughts and Ideas.
~ArgoGladius