Beyond the Light and the Dark

by cthulu1

It is a time of war. The mandalorians have attacked the Republic. The Jedi Council has dictated that no Jedi are to go out to fight. Though Revan may oppose it, she has her own reason to delay joining the war, Bastila. Though she may not be willing to admit that's why she's delaying. Meanwhile, there are powerful forces working behind the scenes, pushing both sides to destruction

10. Chapter 9: Training Part 2

A/N: Just a quick note here. There's a bit of technobabble in this chapter. If it isn't accurate to the lore or how things work in the real world, I am sorry, I am no expert on the subject in question.

Revan stood in the ancient grove, staring into the sky as she thought, 'She's a nice enough person, but doesn't know how to stay away from certain subjects. Wait a minute, why am I even thinking about Bastila? Oh, Force,what if Meetra's right? No, she can't be.'

Then, her datapad beeped and saw another message from Meetra. "So, what's the kid like? :-)"

"Really, can't you talk about something else?"
"Not until you confess to me your dark thoughts about this young Padawan."

"I have never had any and I never will. Were you able to get that old T3 working?"
"No, but your attempts to change the subject will not work. Tell me all about your crush. :-)"

"Meetra, drop it."

"You've got to relax, Rev. There's nothing wrong with liking other girls."

"I agree, but you really, really, really are starting to get on my nerves. Do you have a thing for this Padawan you've never met?"
"Nope, you should know who I'm interested in. :-)"
"Oh, are you worried about me ending up with some kid from Talravin instead of with you? No worries, Meetra, I'm not going to be with either of you."
"Awwwww, :-("

"Your sadness makes me laugh. :-D"

"Jerk."

"You know I'm just messing with you, Meetra. Have you tried re-insulating the wires and then bypassing the secondary motion actuators?"

"The what?"

"The secondary motion actuators. It's what enables the droid to still move if its treads aren't working properly."

"How do you know this off the top of your head?!"

"Before Deralia was attacked my dad and I spent hundreds of hours working on droids. You could say that I got my love of working on droids from dad."

"Or it could just be a reminder of a more innocent time before the... incident."

"Maybe. You tried it?"
"Yeah, looks like it's gonna work... Oh wait, just fell apart again. Any other ideas?"

"You could try opening its and checking for anything that's damaged. If the problem isn't in the drive train it could just be that the wiring's so old that it has decayed so much that you'll have to replace all of it."

"How do I check the drive train?"

"Sigh. Meetra, just go to the droid shop and get professional help. When it comes to fixing droids you're hopeless."

"I am not hopeless, you've just got a problem of not being able to explain things to people who haven't gotten a doctorate in robotics! : ("

"Relax, Meetra, you aren't the worst droid mechanic I've ever met. Still better than that guy you're hanging out with a lot.(you really should quit making him think you're interested in him.) Of course he's so bad with droids that I'm pretty sure he isn't allowed to work on them."

"Yeah, the Council told him he wasn't allowed to touch droids after he blew one up trying to clean the interior of one's arm."

"Well, I've got some work I need to do. Have to fix a droid here to prevent a war between two farmers."

"Can two farmers even have a war? Wouldn't that just be a feud?"

"I guess so, but I have to go prevent them from having an excuse to go and murder each other."

"Have fun! :-)"

"I'll try." Revan replied, walking back to the Enclave. When she entered, she went to the empty landing zone, and walked over to the droid shop. She said, "I'm the one who the droid's being held for. How bad is it?"

"The droid's locomotion actuators have been damaged and there appears to be some frayed wiring near to the cortex. Not to mention the obvious damage to the exterior plating."

"How many hours of work do you think it will take to repair this?"
"With the proper tools and parts it would take about fifty hours since the locomotion actuators are serious and they can't be replaced since it's a model we don't have."

"Do you have any guides for repairing this particular model of locomotion actuators?"
"We've got a manufacturer's guide."

"How much?"
"All expenses for Jedi Knights are covered by the Order."

"Alright, I'll take a guide. Does this model require any special tools for repair?"

"Nope, just what's in a standard repair kit."

"Got it, thanks." she said, using the Force to pick up the droid. She walked back to her house and inside turned all of the lights on. She covered the living room of furniture and got her repair tool kit. She sat down by it and began removing the armor plating so she could get to the actuators.

-=0=-

Six hours later, Revan sighed, and walked to her room, followed by Urz. She said, "Out! You can't sleep in here, Urz.'

The kath hound lowered its head and walked out the door, which Revan quickly closed. 'geez, I thought he knew better than to try and come in here.'

-=0=-

Canderous stood in the bridge of his vessel, and asked, "Where to next, Mandalore?"
"Set course for Cathar. The Cathar race should make excellent foes."

"As you command, sir." Canderous said, but thought 'We have an entire fleet for orbital bombardment. This will not be the glorious battle you promised us. They will be slain like animals from orbit.'

-=0=-

Revan walked into the Council chambers, where she was greeted by Vandar. He said, "Today, Knight Revan, we will be only working on your Force skills, and tomorrow you will work only on your lightsaber training with Master Vrook. After much discussion we decided that it would be best to simply alternate days between Force and lightsaber training."

"I understand, Master. What do you wish for me to do?"

"Follow me." the ancient sage said, walking towards another part of the Enclave. He stepped up to a wall, and said, "Through here, Knight Revan, is a special training ground that only the strongest Jedi here at the Enclave ever see. We shall train there, since your talent is great enough."

"Fake wall? Or does the ground open up?"
"Neither. The wall is real, but that does not mean it cannot be opened. You, Knight Revan, shall do so. Breath in deeply and feel the Force flow through you and around you. When you do, focus the Force and channel its power into the wall."

"Alright." She said, and when she had the Force pressed into the wall, she felt a crystal in it. "There's a massive focusing crystal in there."
"Indeed. The wall is made up of a hyper-dense material that weighs so much that without the crystal no one would be able to move it. Do so now, Knight Revan."

"Yes, Master." She replied, moving the wall.

-=0=-

Alek stepped into the training grounds, and asked, "Why did you want to see me, Master?"
"In a year's time you will be ready to take the Knight test, so to prepare you for it your training will intensify. Raise your blade, Padawan."
"Yes, Master." He replied.

-=0=-

"Bastila, what did Revan do yesterday?" Quatra asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, Master." She replied, "She trained with Masters Vrook and Vandar yesterday then went out onto the plains. After a while she meditated, and after that I don't know."

"Very well. Go back to studying Force Theory for now. Be sure to be near Revan at all times, so that we can be certain that she doesn't try anything that could harm the Order."
"Yes, Master." Bastila said, walking to her quarters.

-=0=-

Revan looked around the cavern, the walls were embedded with thousands of focusing crystals. She asked, "Is it safe to use the Force here? With this many crystals..."

"It will not be an issue, Revan. Unless you attempt to use too many of them simultaneously."
"I understand, Master. What am I to do?"
"Today we will be meditating. You must learn to become so in sync with the Force that it is almost as if you have become one with it while still living."
"I will try, Master." she said, sitting down with her legs crossed. She regulated her breathing so that it was at a slow, even pace. But, then she heard a voice say in the edges of her mind, "Just because you managed to escape before does not mean that I will not take you as a vessel."

Instantly after hearing the voice, her breaths became rapid, and she was looking around. "What troubles you, Revan?"
"I-I thought I heard a voice taunting me."
"Sometimes in a place such as this one's memories can manifest. Especially ones that have greatly influenced who and what you are."
"I understand, Master." Revan said, attempting to calm herself, but all she could think was, 'That wasn't a memory. That was way too real to be a memory.'

Seeing the fear on Revan's face, Vandar said, "Peace, Revan. Whatever you heard cannot harm you here. You are a Jedi at a place where the Force is at its strongest. Here there is nothing to fear."
"The voice I heard just seemed too real to be fake. I don't know how to describe it, but it just felt like it was real."
"You are safe, Revan. Whatever you heard is not real. Do not fear it, but try to find out why the Force made you hear its voice."

"I don't know."

-=0=-

Meanwhile, in a dark cavern on a far off world there stood two men covered in dark black armor and their faces covered with masks of a blood red. The first man said, "The Master has not returned since he brought us those two children to train and the pyramid. He has never been gone for this long at a time. He may have been found and killed by the Jedi. We must prepare for a time when he is no longer amongst us."

"If the Dark Lord found out that you attempted to usurp him he would kill you. You know that, Serratus."

"We cannot live our lives expecting him to always be here. One day he will day, it is simply the way the universe works. We must have a plan for after he is gone."
"We will do what he tells us to on his deathbed. We will not make plans for after his death when he is still alive!"
A shroud of darkness appeared and a deep voice asked, "Are you really planning on replacing me already? Have you learned nothing from my teachings, Serratus?"

"I have learned much from your teachings, Master. I was simply saying that it would be best to have a plan for if you were to fall, that way when we rise up against the Republic and the Jedi tyrants we will have a clear chain of command."

"I will not fall to any Jedi or Republic soldiers, Serratus. Perhaps I need to remind you who is the Master, and who is the Apprentice." the shroud said, and then lightning struck Serratus, and he fell to the ground, writhing in agony. "You serve me, and you will until the day you die. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Master. Now please end this torture. I beg of you."

"Very well. If you attempt to turn my people against me again, I will not be so merciful."

"I understand, Master."
"Good. Now return to your duties."
-=0=-

Bastila finished reading the section of the datapad and walked out of the Enclave. When she reached the Sandral Estate she walked to near the cave and sat down, staring at the world thousands of feet beneath the plateau. She then heard a rustling from her side, and three kath hounds leaped out at her. Seeing them approach she drew her lightsaber and cut the first one in two before grabbing the second with the Force and throwing it over the edge. However, while she was focused on that the third bit her right leg. She screamed in pain as she collapsed, barely managing to throw her lightsaber into the kath hound's head before fainting.

-=0=-

Revan sat in the cavern illuminated by thousands of crystals, meditating. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her right and blood flowing down it. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

"What troubles your mind now, Revan?" Vandar asked.

"I felt a sharp pain in my leg, then something like blood flowing down it, but my leg is dry."
"Perhaps you have an incredibly powerful Force bond with someone on Coruscant and that bond has enabled you to sense their pain."

"I don't have a Force bond with anyone on Coruscant."

"Then I do not know why. Return to your meditation, Knight Revan."

"Yes, Master." she replied, returning to her meditation.

-=0=-

Bastila groaned in pain, using the Force to throw more kath hounds away from her as she tried to pull out a medkit to handle the wound on her leg. 'Great, why wasn't I more careful. I don't think I'm going to make it. These kath hounds just keep coming.'

A kath hound leaped at her throat, but lost its head to her yellow blade. She slammed a rock into another kath hound, and kicked a third one with her good leg. 'Where are the Sandral's battle droids when you need them?'

-=0=-

Revan stepped out of the chambers, and when she reached the door to leave the Enclave was greeted by Alek. He said, "I heard you were working on that Matale droid, do you want any help?"

"I'd appreciate it, Baldy. But, first I've got something to take care of." Revan replied, walking away.

"Need help with it?"

"This is something I'll be taking care of solo." she said, walking away. Outside of the Enclave she headed to the north. While she walked towards the north, she felt the pain in her leg return, and as she went further north it grew stronger, more distinct. It began to feel more real to her as she walked down the path. After crossing through to the Matale Estate, she began to sprint. 'Whatever the cause of this pain in my leg is north.' she thought, increasing her speed.

-=0=-

Bastila panted, starting to feel faint. Yet another hound charged her, and she was barely able to kill it before it got her throat. The world seemed to be spinning to her, and she felt her eyelids get heavier. Just as a kath hound lunged at her, she blacked out, thinking, 'No, not now!'

Then, a whirlwind knocked the kath hound off course. A lightsaber slit its throat but moved through it so quickly that it still bled. Soon, the kath hounds had fled, and Revan said, "What the hell is going on here?" as she healed Bastila's leg.

-=0=-

Twenty minutes later Bastila blinked her eyes open, and saw Revan glaring at the countryside. A moment later she noticed that her leg was healed, and then Bastila asked, "What's wrong?"

"What did you do to me, Shan?" Revan demanded.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to you?"

"Then how come I felt it when your leg got bit by the kath hounds? How come I could sense your pain from the wound? What did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything! If that's happening to you, I don't know why!"
"How did you manage to make a Force bond with me so quickly, Shan?" Revan growled, "There is nothing extraordinary about you. You are just an average Jedi. Your skills are average, your past has nothing exceptional for a Jedi. How?"

"I don't know. And if a bond has formed I didn't want one. Why would I want to be bound to anyone? Especially someone like you."
"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean, Shan?"
"Someone who's good at everything they do. Someone who's so overconfident in their skills that they'll get themselves killed showing off. I don't want to be bound to someone like that because I know what happens to people who have bonds when their bondmate dies."

"So why did you do it? Why did you leave me with this fucking bond, Padawan?"
"It wasn't on purpose! I don't know why it happened!"
'She seems honestly surprised by this. And looks like I'm not the only one who isn't exactly pleased with this arrangement.' Revan thought, "Well," she said, "at least this bond will let us know if the other is in danger, so we can be safer if we're out here alone and get ambushed."

"I'd rather not have certain help if I get in trouble and not have someone bound to me by the Force." Bastila said.

"So would I, but that's not an option anymore." Revan said, 'Meetra is never going to let me live this down if she finds out.'

"So, why do you think it formed?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, that's unusual. You usually have an explanation for everything." Bastila said.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Revan said.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just annoyed by this bond bullshit." Revan said walking away. When Bastila moved to follow her, she said, "Don't follow me."

"Okay." the Padawan replied, walking away.

Revan looked around for a moment to make sure she wasn't being watched, then walked down the path towards the Enclave.

-=0=-

Kreia stood alone in her chambers, when a dark shroud filled the room. It said, "Kreia, what are you planning?"

"Why does it intrigue you, Darth Venerus? I am just an old woman, not a Sith, like you and your allies."

"Your actions have drawn my interest because they are interfering with my plans."
"I apologize, Venerus, I was not trying to interfere."
"Cut it, Kreia. I do not wish to have to slay you as I did the others."

"I am no threat to you Venerus, nor are any others. Why then do you threaten me? After all, I am content with my role in life, and do not have much of it left. Even now the years are catching up to me."

"I merely wish to know your plan regarding the child of those two."

"I have no plans. I merely guide their child to where knowledge can be made. Beyond that, I have no influence."

The dark cloud shifted, and growled, "Tell me the truth you old fool or your life will end now."

"I am telling you the truth, Venerus. Now can we please speak in a more civil manner?"
"If you are planning nothing, then I have no reason to speak to you." Venerus replied, fading away.

-=0=-

Revan walked into the ancient ruins of the Infinite Empire, and was greeted once more by the Guardian saying in shyriiwook, "Why have you returned?"

"I have something that I need to check." she replied, walking into the back chamber. She looked around and saw that it was empty. 'Someone moved the pyramid. But why? Why move the prison of an insane, warmongering spirit? It doesn't make sense. Unless someone knew about it and thought that there was a safer place. But who would know? Oh well, I should get back to my place and working on that droid.'

-=0=-

Nomi Sunrider stood in the High Council Chambers and said, "It is necessary that we give the Republic our aid. Yes, there is a danger behind this that we are not aware of, but there comes a time when it is necessary to take action against the obvious threat. If we do not give the Republic our aid, it will fall and the Jedi Order will be destroyed."

Master Oraka said, "Grand Master Sunrider, the danger behind this attack is too great to send Jedi to fight the mandalorians. If we do, there is a chance that they could fall to the dark side. We cannot risk that many Jedi Knights. What if we defeat the mandalorians but end up with another Exar Kun? Or ten?"

"Better to risk another Exar Kun than have certain destruction of the Jedi Order."
"If there were another Exar Kun the Order would be doomed." Master Sparatus said.

"You do not know that, Sparatus. We have to stand up to the mandalorian threat. Jedi are guardians of the galaxy, but you are opposed to having our Order fulfilling its duty as the guardians of the Republic. I remember that before Exar Kun's fall to the dark side that the Order would have stood against the mandalorian invaders. But now you are so afraid of the dark side now that you will let the slightest sign of there being a danger of Jedi that you will not allow them to fulfill their duty."

"You are out of line, Master Sunrider!" Oraka said.

"I am not, Master Oraka. This Council needs to realize that as Jedi we have a duty to aid the Republic when they ask for our aid."

-=0=-

Revan sat down on her bed and pulled out the datapad that Master Dorak had given her about Jolee Bindo. She opened it up to the first file. It said, "Jolee Bindo was originally found on Coruscant at the age of four standard years old. He was found to be powerful in the Force, and quickly learned the skills of the Order. When he was twenty-nine Exar Kun began his war against the Republic and the Jedi Order. His student, Nayama fell to the dark side and when he would not join her on the dark path she attacked him. He reported that while he did defeat her, he let her go out of sympathy. She went on to kill many Jedi and Republic troops until she was slain by Master Vrook Lamar in battle. During the war Jolee proved himself to be a valuable member of the Republic war effort, managing to convert over twenty Dark Jedi back to the light. Shortly after the war was ended he was tried by the Jedi Council due to his illegal training of Nayama as he was still a Padawan when he took her under his wing and she was rejected for training due to her age. Due to his actions in the war he was found innocent. Shortly after that he disappeared, occasionally being seen in various remote parts of the galaxy. He was last seen on Narr Shaddaa where he found Revan Tremaine, a Jedi with great potential."

'So, Jolee's been missing since he found me. Why would he completely disappear? Maybe Jedi were pestering him to rejoin the Order.'

-=0=-

That night, Revan was woken up by a message from Meetra. It said, "So, what's got you so quiet? You didn't make a move on the kid, did you?"
"No, I've been busy training, fixing a droid, and saving Bastila's useless ass again."

"Oh, what's got you so mad, Rev? Did she say something about your past again?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Meetra."

"You can tell me Rev, I won't give you too hard a time about whatever happened. :-)"

"Yes you would. I know how you are."

"So, did you make a move on the kid?"
"No, she's a minor, and despite what you insist on saying, I am not interested in her."

"Riiiight. If you were actually not interested you'd be joking about it more."

"I am not interested in her."

"Revan, there is nothing wrong with liking this Bastila kid. If she's attractive it's completely natural to want her. But, you'll have to wait until she's legal."

"For the last fucking time, Meetra, I am not interested in her. I don't want a relationship with anyone regardless of gender or species. All I want is to be the best Jedi I can be and kill every last mandalorian in the galaxy."

"Okay, that's too easy. I'm not even going to go there."
"Get your head out of the gutter."
"Oh come on. I said I wasn't going to go there. You're the one who's going on about how you want to fuck this Bastila kid.:-)"
"Meetra, you really need to quit this. It was kinda funny at first, but now it's really old."
"You've got to relax. It's like Vrook's rubbed off on you already."

"That's not it. I just don't have the time to handle your jokes now. I have a lot of tough training, making sure some idiot Padawan doesn't get herself killed, fixing a droid, keeping a kath hound alive, and then there's the fact that there's a mandalorian invasion of the Republic but I've been told that I can't go fight them."

"You heard about that?"
"Of course. When I was training with Master Vandar he told me."
"Are you okay with not going to fight?"
"No, but I can't act against the Council's wishes for my personal revenge. There's always a chance that the Republic won't need our help, so I'll give them time to do that. But, there's a good chance that we will have to go and fight the mandalorians. I just hope it comes sooner rather than later."

"I know you do. Well, I've got to go help clean the kitchens here. Talk to you later, Rev!"

"Talk to you later, Meetra." Revan replied, thinking, 'Hopefully in person in a few months because the Council's let us go to war. I can't do anything about them, I just have to find a way to break this bond with Bastila so I can go back to how things were before.'

-=0=-

A/N: Chapter 10's here! Thanks for reading and please review.