AN: Thanks for the 50+ reviews guys.
Also, I know in canon that the Sith Emperor dominated Revan during their first fight, but this isn't canon. I feel that its more interesting for Revan to have a similarly powerful rival than someone completely out of his league.
Throughout the night, Bastila's thoughts tormented her. It wasn't just the thought of the Jedi being wrong or Revan being right; it was her fear that the Galaxy was about to experience yet another war, one with chaos and destruction on an unprecedented scale.
If Revan was telling her the truth, than she would gladly serve him. But what if he wasn't? He was too powerful in the Force to be able to detect a lie from. The last bit of Bastila's Jedi-Conscience kept telling her that he used the Dark Side, and the Dark Side was evil, so he must be evil.
She knew this wasn't all true. Bastila had spent the last twelve days surrounded by the Dark Side, and it didn't seem evil, or in conflict with the light, to her. Even Darth Revan wouldn't be able to disguise its nature for that long.
Was it possible? To use the Dark without turning from the Light? It seemed very possible, and Bastila had a feeling she would soon find out.
It was very possible that Revan was telling her the truth. She had seen the fear in his eyes when he spoke of the True Sith. And the way he had acted when she had demanded answers was something she had never seen from him before.
Should she do it? Pledge to be his apprentice and ensure his conquest of the Republic? It could mean the life or death of the galaxy. If the True Sith existed, her aid to Revan could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
And a part of her wanted to be his apprentice for selfish reasons. No longer was she an emotionless Ice Queen. Passion, which Revan had begun to leak into her soul, made life so much more enjoyable. Her emotions had grown ever since she had been captured. Even compassion seemed to come more easily.
Passion augmented compassion. It proved everything Revan had been telling her. And Revan…she wanted to be with him in other ways. She loved being around him. His wit made her smile, his strength lent her confidence, and his compliments gave her pride. His passion seemed to invigorate her.
He hadn't left her mind for days. She always yearned to know what he thought of her…and wished she possessed the same powers he did. Bastila wondered what it would be like to have his strong arms wrapped around her, caressing her.
Maybe, if she became his apprentice, they could be together.
And then Bastila plunged back into reality. The mere thought of a relationship with Revan was preposterous. Revan probably knew dozens of ladies far prettier and more desirable than she who would be eager to have him. He certainly could do far better than Bastila, his Jedi prisoner.
Bastila had always taken pleasure in his attention, but it probably wasn't the attention she was hoping it was. His interest in her was purely for her Battle Meditation, and the sooner Bastila could accept that, the sooner she would be able to forget these idle fantasies.
By the Force, she hoped he wasn't reading her mind right now.
GAP
Revan stepped onto his command bridge an hour after the ship had left hyperspace. The Star Forge was visible in the Bridge's windows. Revan looked at it with anticipation. He had ordered the construction of several new vessels, including a new flagship, and he was eager to view their progress.
In minutes he would be escorting Bastila to the Forge. Today could be the day she joined him; he knew that she was on the brink of turning her back on the Jedi. Perhaps she would…..
A loud alarm erupted from the Bridge's communication panel. "Admiral Karath, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Revan.
Karath, examining the communications panel, looked up at him with a face of sheer terror. "It's from the Star Forge, sir. Admiral Veers reports that a massive Republic Fleet has been detected on its scanners. They will be dropping out of hyperspace in a matter of minutes. The Star Forge's scanners have a much wider range than our own, and no enemy ships have appeared on our scopes as of yet."
Revan paled. He knew, somehow, they must have discovered his secret. Even worse, they had discovered its exact location. He trusted Veers' information; he was beginning to sense the approaching Republic ships.
"Prepare all available ships for battle, launch our fighter screens, and alert all nearby fleets that we are in dire need of reinforcements," Revan ordered with as much calm as he could, "I'm taking my fighter to the Star Forge. I will command the battle from there."
"Yes, Lord Revan," his senior officers said as they began to enact his orders. Revan hurriedly left the Bridge and headed for the hanger. It would be easier to direct the battle from the Forge; its systems and communications were more advanced.
He knew he would be outnumbered. Despite the numerical superiority his forces had over the Republic in the war, his armies were still stretched thin. As a consequence, only a relatively small fleet of one hundred and fifty ships was garrisoned to protect his most vital asset. That was in addition to the twenty five ships that were his flagship and its escort, which had accompanied him to the Forge.
If the Republic had truly learned of the Forge's location and importance, they could send capable of overwhelming his defenses.
As he raced to the hanger, he thought of Bastila. She would have to remain here, in her cell. She would be safer there. And the Republic would have a harder time of finding her. Revan knew it was likely they were aware she was here as well, and that recapturing her was their secondary priority.
Arriving at the hanger, Revan entered his personal state-of the-art Decimator Class Star Fighter. Around him, pilots bolted to their ships as they scrambled to organize for the battle.
His ship left the hanger in seconds. He quickly set it on course for the Star Forge. As his ship traversed the distance, the Force gave Revan a warning of danger.
Than the world turned to hell.
When he was halfway to the Star Forge, Republic Fighters began to drop out of hyperspace on all sides. Thousands of them began to fire at the assembling Sith Fighter Screens, which began to scatter.
The Republic must have sent an advance group of hyperspace-capable fighters minutes ahead of the main assault. A second wave cut him off from the Forge. Dogfights began to blaze around him as Sith ships desperately tried to organize. But the Republic had the advantages of surprise and number, and Revan's forces began to struggle to stay alive.
Fortunately, Revan was an excellent pilot. Within seconds, three Republic Fighters that tried to kill him were blasted out of the air with his guns. But more continued to come after him, and Revan was hard pressed to dodge all of their attacks.
The Sith forces began to recover from their surprise. The fighter group the Republic had set out only outnumbered the Sith fighters by a margin of 3 to 2. And Revan's ships were more advanced. His pilots were better trained. Slowly, the tide began to turn.
The Sith Capital Ships began to target the Republic Fighters. Dozens of Republic vessels met their ends from the Capital Ships' turbo-lasers. Coupled with the attacks of the reorganizing and technologically superior Sith Fighters, the number of Republic Fighters began to deplete rapidly.
Openings began to appear in the Republic's Fighter Screen. Revan began to clear a path to the Forge, blasting any Republic pilot in his way. For a minute it looked like he would succeed.
And then he saw a sight that truly frightened him.
Hundreds of Republic Capital Ships had appeared out of hyperspace. They came at the Sith Forces from all sides. Revan knew he was outmaneuvered and heavily outnumbered. Reaching out with the Force, he estimated their were five hundred Republic Capital Ships.
No single Republic Fleet was that large. They must have pooled nearly all of their resources into this assault, leaving their worlds nearly defenseless. New waves of fighters launched from the new arrivals, once again heavily outnumbering their Sith counterparts.
How had they found him? How had they found the Star Forge?
Sith Capital Ships began to exchange heavy fire with the Republic vessels. Fighter fought fighter as Capital Ship fought Capital Ship. For now, the Republic was too occupied to focus on the Star Forge. But that would soon change.
For the first time in the war, he was outnumbered. And heavily. His fighters were faced with Republic Fighters twice their number. Meanwhile, his one hundred and seventy-five Capital Ships faced nearly three to one odds.
Revan's forces were better trained. Their technology was considerably superior. And even without him, his admirals were more intelligent than the best the Republic had to offer.
But it wouldn't be enough.
It was possible that Revan's forces could defeat an enemy twice their number. But three to one was too much. They would all be destroyed, to the last man. The Republic would face massive casualties, but it would triumph.
As he came this realization, Republic fighters came at him from all sides. There was no hope of getting to the Star Forge now. All he could do was fight alongside his fighter screen against an overwhelmingly superior force.
And die with them.
Were all his plans going to come to this? He would perish in this battle. His fleet would scatter and the Star Forge would be destroyed. And then his Empire would splinter. The Republic would win and the Galaxy would experience a short period of peace.
Then the True Sith would invade.
There was no more time for these thoughts. He was Darth Revan, and he would fight until the end. Dozens of Republic ships were destroyed as they attempted to blast him. He performed the most complicated and skillful maneuvers he knew, evading endless barrages of laser fire.
And the Republic Fighters kept coming. And coming.
GAP
BOOM! A blast rocked the ship and Bastila was instantly alert. She jumped out of her bed and flicked the light on, searching for the source of the disturbance.
All around her, she could sense panicked and desperate individuals. Expanding the range of her Force-Sense, she learned why.
The Republic had attacked.
What should she do? What could she do? Bastila ran to her cell door and found it still locked.
They were at the Star Forge, Bastila could sense that. So the Republic had found it, somehow. She wasn't sure if she should be elated or horrified.
Who did she want to win? Bastila didn't know.
Another blast hit the ship. The dust began to fall from the ceiling of her cell.
After a third hit small chunks began to fall from the ceiling. Bastila knew one thing: she had to get out. It was that or be crushed alive.
Her light flickered and went off. Seconds later and the air-conditioning also powered down.
They were transferring all of the ship's power to the shields. And that meant her door was no longer electronically sealed.
Bastila gathered the Force in her hands, compressed it, and hurled it at the door. To her relief, the door lurched free of its hinges and flew out into the hallway.
She was free!
Bastila raced toward the nearest hanger. No one tried to stop her. All of the ship's personnel were far too busy to notice her. She barely passed anyone anyway.
The Force guided her through the ship's hallways and to the hanger. To her shock, it was mostly empty. All combat vessels had been launched. Only a few ambassadors' shuttles remained. All of the pilots were gone. There were a few maintenance workers, but none noticed her.
Through the hanger's shields, she saw glimpses of the battle. Heavily outnumbered Sith Forces desperately tried to protect the Star Forge. Soon, they would be overwhelmed.
Bastila could leave right now. Those ambassador's shuttles were hers for the taking. Republic space was only a brief hyperspace trip away.
But she didn't.
Instead she retreated back into the empty hallway and sat down to think. What should she do? Should she aid Revan, or return to the Republuc?
Days ago, she would have known her answer. Now, she didn't. In the end, it all came down to one thing: did she believe Revan?
A part of her didn't want to. She didn't want yet another galaxy-spanning war. Another part of her wanted to trust him, to know that everything he said about the Force was true.
Did she believe him? Bastila remembered the way he had reacted when he told her. She remembered how he had saved Naboo from mass starvation. She remembered how Taris had joined him completely voluntarily and the Republic had attacked it.
She thought about how much stronger she had become since opening herself up to her emotions and believing just the tiniest bit of Revan's teachings, and turning ever so slightly away from the Jedi Council's. She thought about how Revan had violently defended her from one of his own servants.
And she accepted how she felt about him.
The Force didn't tell her the correct course of action. But her heart did.
Bastila thought about the enormous power she currently had. Despite the tens of thousands who now fought this battle, its conclusion depended on her decision alone.
If she aided the Republic, the Empire would splinter, the Star Forge would be destroyed, and the galaxy would have a brief peace. If she aided the Sith, they could win this battle. Revan's Empire would remain intact, and the Republic would be dealt a crippling blow, opening up the Core Worlds for a quick invasion.
The fate of the Galaxy was in the hands of Bastila Shan.
But once she made her choice, she could never take it back. She would immediately go from having all of the power to being in the power of the side she aided.
Bastila knew her choice.
She crossed her legs and began to meditate.
GAP
He was doomed. Ships fired at him from left and right. His engines began to tire. The Republic would not let up.
He thought about how ironic it was. The Dark Lord of the Sith, killed by Republic Fighters in a space battle. The invincible, unbeatable Darth Revan, brought down by a burst of laser fire.
He didn't want to think about what would happen to the Galaxy after he was dead.
In the middle of trying to dodge laser-fire by spinning in a horizontal corkscrew, Revan glimpsed a Republic Ship coming at him from above. He sensed the pilot had locked onto him and was ready to fire. There was no way Revan would be able to evade in time.
He braced himself for the end.
But the pilot hesitated. His finger did not press the trigger. Instead, he began to panic, fearing a counterattack the Dark Lord of the Sith was in no position to make. It was just enough time for another Sith Fighter to blast him to smithereens.
Revan couldn't believe he was still alive. That pilot had had a clear shot. Even a Republic Cadet would have been able to finish him from that position.
He pulled out if the maneuver and glanced at the battle. His forces were starting to hold their own despite the odds. Republic Fighters were dropping faster than their counterparts.
It couldn't be…..could it?
Than he had no more time to think. The Fighters that had been attacking him regrouped and pressed their assault. They didn't seem as confident as they had been, but not drastically.
The edge his forces had gained wasn't enough.
GAP
Bastila couldn't do it. She could not simultaneously affect the minds of this many people on a battle this large. There were just too many people.
She could either concentrate her Battle Meditation on one half of the battle or use a much less effective version on the entire battlefield. Neither would be enough.
She just wasn't powerful enough. She could only delay the Sith's defeat, not prevent it. The Republic would still win.
Bastila nearly felt like crying. Everything would be lost. Because of her weakness, when the True Sith invaded, they would not be stopped. All because she wasn't powerful enough.
But wasn't there a way to increase her power? Yes, she could do what Revan had been telling her to. She could use her full spectrum of emotions, not just her Light Side ones.
Bastila only hesitated for the briefest second. She couldn't let Revan die. Not just for the Galaxy, but also because she couldn't imagine a world without him.
She reached deep inside herself, pulling out all the emotions she had repressed. They fueled her power, just like Revan had said they would.
She had been using emotions aligned with the Light. Her compassion for the innocent of the galaxy. Her concern for them and her willingness to sacrifice herself if she had to.
All of these emotions stayed intact. They were not destroyed like the Council had said they would be. Revan had been right all along.
The Dark Side simply enhanced her power. Her passion, her anger at the Council for holding her back, he rage at what they had done. And her love for Revan. She let it all out.
And the last of the shell the Jedi Council had encased Bastila in disappeared.
Anger, hate, rage, passion, love, concern, compassion. They all flowed through her. Bastila's strength seemed to double. With all of her energy, she spread her power across the entire battle.
The Sith gained confidence. They were the best in the galaxy. Their ships were the most advanced. Their forces were the most trained. The Republic would not stop them.
The Republic became demoralized. They were fighting against an unstoppable foe. Their age was ending, and their was nothing they could do about it. They were dust against a storm. They had no chance!
The Sith forces reorganized. They counterattacked against the Republic formations, which began to break up in the face of their assault.
The Republic forces began to fall apart. Pilots began to hesitate. All sense of strategy was let as they became increasingly desperate. Gaps began to appear in their lines, which were quickly exploited by the ascendant Sith Forces.
Bastila had never felt more powerful. Revan was right. She had been denying herself so much, but no longer. Now the Jedi were going to pay.
Speaking of the Jedi, she sensed a squadron of Knights preparing to board the ship. What were they doing here? They might be a problem, especially if they realized what she was doing, but she had to keep her mediation up. Without it the Sith might still lose. She would just have to hope the Jedi didn't find her.
GAP
The momentum had shifted. Revan's allies began to cut down the scattering Republic formations. Around him, he could see that his Capital Ships had also gained the upper hand. Many Republic vessels had already been destroyed or were retreating.
There was only one explanation: Bastila.
Finally. She had realized he was right, that he wasn't lying. And her timing couldn't have been better.
The battle would soon be winding down. Already some Republic Ships were starting to flee. No doubt Bastila had wiped them of all their confidence. He would take some casualties in this battle. But his forces would prevail against three to one odds.
It was all thanks to her.
Revan at last had enough time to open communications with his admirals. He assured them he was unscathed and would soon be returning.
And then he got the bad news.
"Master," Admiral Karath reported, "Several Jedi have managed to board the ship. They landed in the lower hanger and have just left their ship. We see them on camera."
Revan scowled. "Why have you not stopped them?" he asked angrily.
"We pulled out all our forces to fight in the battle. Our interior has little security left. Their ship evaded our hard-pressed turret defenses and landed in lower hanger," Karath reported.
Revan took a deep breath. Karath was right. There would have been no way to stop a small Force-Guided ship from landing in a hanger whose defenses were already overloaded.
"How many?" Revan asked.
"Five," Karath reported.
Revan reached out with the Force. His senses reached across space and penetrated his ship. He soon sensed what he was looking for: The Jedi.
As Karath said, there were five. One was a Jedi Council Member: Master Vrook. Revan could hear their conversation. "Shan is in one of these hallways. That is where we sensed her Battle Mediation originating from," Vrook was saying.
"It is clear she has turned to the Dark Side and is aiding the Sith. Bastila is responsible for the battle we have just lost," Vrook said to the four Knights with him.
The Knights nodded. Entering Vrooks thoughts, Revan discovered their mission: After the Jedi in the fleet had discovered Bastila was using her Battle Meditation against them, they had ordered Vrook and four Knights to infiltrate the ship and bring her down. And they weren't planning on taking her prisoner.
AN: Yes, next chapter it will be revealed how the Jedi managed to locate the Star Forge.