A/N: Okay, I did it again. It took me a month to edit this chapter, whoops. I'm sorry! So thanks for being patient with me! And, as usual, many thanks must go out to Rian Sage for being my beta. She really had some good suggestions for this chapter and they made it sooo much better! So you can thank her that you didn't have to wait so long for a crap chapter! Erm, well, at least I HOPE it's not a crap chapter...

Something Unresolved

Revan sensed, with a great amount of annoyance, the other people landing on the surface of Korriban. People who weren't supposed to be there. People the cursed bounty hunter Veeren Siege had said he'd lost along the way. Luckily for her, the same cursed bounty hunter was also still planet-side, and she'd be sure to make certain he didn't leave until she'd dealt with him.

Revan felt her concentration wavering and pushed away any thoughts of the intruders. To keep up the charade of believable hallucinations for Carth took an immense amount of effort – as well as Kreia's expertly trained mind-reading skills. They were very close to the end now; Carth had played into her plan well enough, and Revan didn't want to waste this opportunity by ending the current act prematurely. She wouldn't be able to continue it for as long as she would have liked, being as the people now landing had followed Carth in the hopes of finding her. And she didn't want to be found so easily. She had a limited amount of time left before the circumstances forced her retreat.

But she really had nothing left to tell Carth Onasi. She had already said more than she had originally planned to say, including the admittance of feelings she had kept buried deep since Rakata Prime. The emotions she'd picked up from Carth as he'd worked his way through the tomb had surprised her, however; he was not so full of hate as he tried to appear.

His feelings now, as he sat next to what he believed was her broken body, were the most poignant of all, and she couldn't help the triumphant grin that spread across her face. Her plan was working. She had been right. She had been right all along.

Kreia's presence flickered through Revan's mind; she, too, had been distracted by the new arrivals. The visitors were now disembarking their ship; the ominous ripple of a Force-user signaled the presence of a Jedi among the group. Kreia had since withdrawn herself completely from the meditation in order to conceal Revan's own rather impressive connection to the Force. Without such an action, the Jedi would have located them quite quickly.

But Kreia's absence from the mental bond had also made it easier for the Dark Lord to accomplish her last point. She would not have wanted the old woman to witness her momentary emotional weakness. Now Revan's time was running out. She focused intently on manipulating the currents of the Dark Side that flowed through the tomb Carth currently occupied. She reached into his mind, feeling his grief and his guilt, hearing his regret. She enjoyed a moment of it before she used the Force to gently send him into unconsciousness. By the time he came around again she'd be long gone, and the Jedi would have led the Intelligence agents right to him. He would awaken in a state of confusion, but Revan had a good idea one of the Republic fools would explain the situation to him. At least they'd explain their interpretation of it. Revan didn't care whether they guessed correctly or not. Regardless, she had no doubt Carth would eventually end up on a ship headed for the Star Forge. And she would be there to meet him.

Another smile grew across her face at the thought. She came out of her meditation, opening her eyes and releasing a deep breath. She stood slowly, tossing a glance at Kreia as she did so. The former Jedi still sat with her legs folded, eyes closed in concentration. Revan easily masked her own presence in the Force, then did the same for Kreia, who opened her eyes with a start as she sensed Revan's takeover of her camouflage efforts. The older woman sent the Dark Lord a sightless glare as she stood.

"You didn't kill him," she stated dryly.

Revan shrugged. "There was no need. I told you it would work."

Kreia let out an amused grunt. "And was it in your plan for him to shoot you?"

Revan pulled her hood over her head as they made their way to the Academy's main door. "I admit that was unexpected. But in the end it worked to my advantage."

"Then I hope you'll finally end these foolish games. Look at the trouble you've caused us. The Republic nearly landed on our heads."

Revan snorted dismissively. "A bunch of fools with blasters, and one miserable Jedi. Even if they found us, I could easily dispatch of them all single-handedly. They don't concern me. They don't even know we're here. Onasi is their last, desperate hope to get to me, and once he joins me as well… they'll have nothing left."

"You are delusional," Kreia said bluntly. "He won't join you while you're still Darth Revan. His only desire is to turn you back into a puppet of the Republic. You sensed that just as clearly as I."

"You underestimate my persuasive powers," Revan said. "He will come to me on the Star Forge, and he won't leave again unless it's to help me on my next campaign."

Kreia made no comment, but made no effort to hide her skeptical expression either. Revan chose to ignore it for the moment. She had other things to attend to, such as the problem with Veeren Siege. The Dark Lord opened the door to the outside with a flick of her wrist, and the two dark-robed figures stepped over the threshold into the rain.

The deafening blast of a laser cannon made Carth's ears ring, a sure sign the enemy troops behind them were far too close. The thick red bolt plowed into the rocky ground just meters in front of him and he flung his arms across his face to shield his head from the debris.

Tyvekk ran beside him, but was not so quick to react. A piece of rubble struck the other man in the shoulder and knocked him to the ground, sending his blaster rifle skipping away into the surrounding smoke.

Carth dropped down next to his friend, then caught the front of Tyvekk's combat armor and pulled the man to his feet again. The Major gave a cry of protest, his left arm hanging limp at his side. But both men ignored the growing red stain on Tyvekk's sleeve. The battle cries of oncoming Mandalorian warriors could make a man forget most things, especially when they were so close. Already blaster bolts shot from the fog of destruction behind them; before long the Mandalorians would be in view and Carth and Tyvekk would be within easy killing range.

"Damnit, Onasi," Tyvekk gasped as they stumbled forward. "Of all the places you could've crash-landed us, you had to put us right in the thick of the Mandalorian troops."

Carth looked to his co-pilot in surprise. But sure enough, despite the obvious pain the man had to be in, Tyvekk wore his usual sarcastic grin. Carth swallowed hard, trying to force a smile to his own lips.

"Yah, well… next time I'll try asking that Mandalorian cruiser to shoot us down somewhere else."

"Excellent… excellent idea," Tyvekk murmured, then tripped over a rock and staggered, nearly knocking them both over.

Carth gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on Tyvekk's sleeve, trying to steady the other man. "Hang in there," he urged his friend. "Not long now…" The rescue transport was just ahead, waiting for them with open doors. The cannons thundered ceaselessly, and for once Carth found himself thankful for the acrid smoke of the fires. Without such cover, the transport would have made an easy target.

The com in his ear buzzed with static sporadically broken by shouted orders from the Generals still orbiting the skies above. They screamed now for an all-out retreat. As much as it burned Carth to give up a fight, today he had been relieved to hear the order. He'd seen more of his men go down above this planet than any other so far in this war. The Republic's losses had been catastrophic. They needed to get out before the Mandalorians could take credit for a massacre.

"We can't wait much longer, Captain," a hoarse voice barked in his earpiece. "It's too hot; those cannons are getting too close."

"We're almost there," Carth ground out, dodging another cannon-made crater. "Just give us another minute-"

Tyvekk grunted and pitched forward, landing face first in the dirt. Carth drew up short, staring down at his fellow soldier. Three black, smoking holes in the Major's armor told Carth all he needed to know. He swung around to face the advancing enemy; they were still hidden behind a wall of smoke and dust, but the sound of their boots and chants were enough to tell him where they were.

He brought up his rifle and opened fire.

"Onasi!" The voice shouted in his ear again. "What in the kriffing galaxy do you think you're doing? We have to get out of here now! Now!"

Carth ignored the transport pilot, but his attack on the Mandalorian front provoked a fresh volley of return blasts from within the cloud of smoke. The bolts struck him four times before he fell, but he kept shooting even on the ground. He hardly heard the string of curse words coming through the com; the first Mandalorian had stepped through the gloom, emerging like a nightmarish phantom. The sleek metal armor gleamed in the fire's light as the warrior moved to stand over Carth.

Carth lifted his blaster rifle in an unsteady hand, clenching his jaw against the pain in his legs and shoulder. "Damn you," he snarled. "Why won't you people die?"

The Mandalorian raised his own weapon to fire. But before he could act, the sound of engines drowned out the war chants and a heavy wind swirled up a new cloud of dust and grit. Carth squinted up into the transport's landing lights just as the ship's only weapon released a torrent of blasts into the lone Mandalorian's chest. The warrior flew backward, landing in a sprawled heap at the feet of the rest of his army, which had now become fully visible. Hundreds of Mandalorian weapons moved as one toward the hovering transport.

Two pairs of boots hit the ground next to Carth and he looked up to see Nigel Riffman and one of his lieutenants.

"Get your ass up," Riffman snapped, pulling Carth roughly to his feet and nearly throwing him into the transport's open bay. "Stupid son of schutta. What are you trying to do? Get the rest of us killed too?"

The Mandalorian blasters created a veritable wall of energy bolts, and the transport's shields glowed under the onslaught.

"Shields at thirty percent," the pilot called, and the note of panic in his voice was impossible to miss.

Nigel and his lieutenant jumped aboard, but before Riffman could give the order to ascend, Carth spoke. "Tyvekk. Get Tyvekk."

Nigel gave his fellow Captain an exasperated look. "Carth, he's gone. There's nothing we can-"

"Get him," Carth ordered sharply. But then his voice softened. "Don't leave him here."

Nigel hesitated.

"Shields at twenty-three percent," the pilot squawked. "Captain…"

"Hold position," Nigel barked. He looked at Carth for a second more, then shook his head and waved for his lieutenant to follow him. They disembarked, running to Tyvekk's motionless body amid a shower of blaster fire. A cannon shot rocked the transport and the pilot let loose another string of oaths.

Nigel and the lieutenant returned shortly; the only other two soldiers aboard the transport besides Carth moved forward to help drag Tyvekk's body into the bay.

"Shields at twelve percent-"

"Go!" Nigel shouted, diving through the doors after his lieutenant. "Go, go, go!"

The pilot didn't need further prodding. The transport rocketed off the ground faster than the accelerator compensators could compensate for, and the bay doors hardly had time to close before they reached sky.

Carth lay on the floor, still gripping his blaster rifle. He tried to ignore the burning blaster wounds in his limbs, tried not to look too long at Tyvekk's body. Tyvekk had been the last remaining man in Carth's unit. Now he was dead too. Now they were all dead. All of them but Carth Onasi. He couldn't help feeling it was somehow his fault.

"How're you doing?"

Carth startled at the quiet question and looked over to see Nigel crouching next to him. The man had several kolto packs in his hands and set to work opening them as Carth thought up an answer.

"I'm alright," Carth whispered at last. "Just some flesh wounds."

"Yah," Nigel muttered. "Crazy bastard. You got lucky."

"I don't think I'd call it lucky."

Nigel paused in taping a kolto patch over the oozing injury on Carth's left bicep and gave the man a serious look. "Don't start. There's nothing you could have done."

Carth shook his head weakly, then winced as Nigel got a little rough applying a patch to the burn on his right thigh. "I smelled an ambush up there. But I didn't act on it quickly enough. I should have known better…"

"You did the right thing," Nigel said reassuringly. "None of us could have known what we were flying into. We all lost people… good people." His eyes went surreptitiously toward Tyvekk's body. "But you know the dangers of holding on to what's done and gone. There's nothing we can do about any of that now."

Carth made no reply, but looked to the transport window. After a moment he realized the ground was no longer pulling away, but coming closer again. He frowned, and Nigel followed his gaze to the window, then looked toward the cockpit.

"Hey," Nigel called, "what's going on? Why aren't we leaving this gundark nest?"

"Gotta make another pick up," the pilot answered, clearly no happier about the fact than his current passengers. "General Revan's orders."

"Can the shields handle another landing?" Nigel asked.

"I guess we'll find out," the pilot replied morosely.

The soldiers in the bay exchanged apprehensive glances, but the transport had already begun its decent. Carth felt the barest of jolts as it set down, and out the window he could already see the bright exchange of blaster bolts against the black of night.

"This is gonna be close," he heard the pilot mutter, and then louder the man said, "Opening bay doors now."

Nigel, his lieutenant, and the two other soldiers took up defensive positions as the double doors whirred open. Carth forced himself into a sitting position, steadying the blaster rifle in his arms with a knee. The scene that confronted them outside was at least as chaotic as the one he'd just left, and it took Carth a moment to locate the person they were meant to pick up.

She stood amid a background of Mandalorian warriors, their weapons unleashing a torrent of blasts in her direction. Her silver lightsaber worked furiously to deflect the bolts; the swirling, flashing blade was almost hypnotic in its speed. The Jedi looked briefly over her shoulder as the soldiers in the transport opened fire.

"Help!" she shouted over the noise of battle. "Man down! I need help!"

Nigel and his lieutenant jumped from the bay, running to the Jedi's aid, while the two remaining soldiers moved forward to try and protect the transport.

"Get him to the transport," Carth heard the woman order. "I'll cover you." And even as the two men bent to lift the dark shape lying at the Jedi's feet, her lightsaber vanished and her hands lifted. Carth watched in amazement as the Mandalorians' shots seemed to vanish in mid-air.

"Shields at ten percent and dropping fast!" the pilot warned, but by then Carth had abandoned his weapon and was helping to pull the injured man aboard. The Zabrak was unconscious; his face had been badly burned and his lower left arm completely shattered. Carth winced at the sight of the arm, already reaching for a medpac, his adrenaline having effectively numbed his own injuries.

"General!" Nigel shouted back at the Jedi, who still stood with her hands up, maintaining the Force-shield. "General, we got him. Let's go!"

The Force-shield dropped at once, and the General staggered for a moment. The soldiers in the transport ducked instinctively as Mandalorian fire peppered the weak shields still protecting the bay.

"Five percent," the pilot called. "Captain, we're on the verge of becoming a permanent part of the landscape…"

The Jedi finally seemed to get her bearings and ran for the transport, throwing herself into the bay just as the transport's shields flickered and died.

"She's in," Nigel shouted to the pilot. "Go!"

The take-off was somewhat rougher than the last one; it was all Carth could do to hang on to the Zabrak long enough to keep him from sliding out the bay doors before they closed. But at last they were away, and the doors shut, and Carth sank back against the wall. He closed his eyes and tried to take deep, even breaths, all at once regretting so much movement so soon after being shot.

"General Revan," the Jedi said suddenly, and Carth startled, opening his eyes to see the woman speaking into a private comlink. Her face was smeared with soot, her black hair in complete disarray and matted near the right temple with dried blood. But her green eyes were fiercely bright and alive, and focused on the Zabrak's prone form as she spoke. "The device is ready."

After the chaos of battle, the profound silence that followed her words made Carth's ears ring. He only vaguely registered the reply that echoed from the com's tiny speaker: "Acknowledged, General Roe. The majority of their forces are still within range. You should activate it as soon as possible."

"Copy that. Activating it now." The Jedi switched off the comlink and pulled a square mechanism equipped with many buttons from her belt. She punched a series of the buttons, hit the largest one with fervor, and turned her eyes to the transport window expectantly.

The rounded sill perfectly framed the planet below, which grew smaller and smaller by the minute as they fled for the safety of space. The other occupants of the transport followed her gaze in confusion, and as they watched, the planet of Malachor V seemed to fracture from the inside out. A distortion of some kind rippled out from the planet's surface; tiny explosions in space marked where ships both friend and foe had kept orbit.

Carth stared, swallowing hard, and felt an unsettling mix of bitter satisfaction and growing horror spread through him as he watched the planet continue to buckle and swell. His voice was hoarse when he finally found it again. "What in the flaming galaxy was that?"

"Captain? Captain Onasi, can you hear me?"

The strange masculine voice brought Carth abruptly back to consciousness, and he reacted to the feel of hands on his shoulders without pausing to take in his surroundings. His fist connected solidly with a jaw and the person cried out in surprise, falling backwards. Carth scrambled to his feet, his hand going to a holster-less hip, and counted five shadowy figures surrounding him. He lunged for the smallest one, but something struck him mid-stride and flung him into the far wall.

The force of the hit winded him; he rebounded off the wall and crumpled to the rocky floor. Hands were on him again before he could recover; they roughly flipped him onto his stomach and began to pull his hands behind his back.

"What are you doing?" a sharp female voice demanded. "We're not here to arrest him. Release him at once."

"With all due respect, Investigator, he just tried to attack-"

"And I would expect him to do no less, given the circumstances," the woman said. "Now get off him."

"Yes, ma'am."

Carth frowned as the hands released his wrists and the knee lifted from his back. He knew that voice…. He slowly got to his hands and knees, then sat back on his heels. He tried to catch his breath as he looked over to find who he knew would be standing there.

"Aayla?" he asked breathlessly.

The blue-skinned Twi'lek stepped forward into the white glare of a military-issue glow lamp and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Carth."

He squinted up at her and immediately noticed her revealing dance outfit had been traded for a very professional looking and conservative black jumpsuit. "What… what are you doing here?"

She reached down to help him up and he accepted her hand, but winced as he stood up, putting a hand to his side.

"I came looking for you," she replied, then glanced to his side and frowned. "I'm sorry for the rude awakening. When we found you unconscious we grew concerned. And I'm afraid these guys don't know you like I do. They reacted out of habit… as you did, I suppose."

"Yah…" Carth muttered, still very confused. He rubbed at a growing bruise on the back of his head. "Erm… who… who is 'we'? And… where the hell did you come from?"

Aayla grinned. "We followed the bounty hunter from Coruscant, of course. But once they entered this system we had to drop back to avoid detection… it took us awhile to catch up again."

Carth vaguely remembered Siege mentioning something about a 'shadow'. Aayla's ship – or whoever's ship she'd come in on – must have been that shadow.

"As for the rest of these men," Aayla gestured to the four others standing with her, "I won't bother with introductions, as it wouldn't be their real names anyway. Except for Jedi Master Alex Faxx." The man stepped forward, dressed in the usual Jedi attire minus the cumbersome robe, and extended his hand.

Carth shook it uncertainly, noticing the man's bloody lip with dismay. "Sorry for hitting you," he said awkwardly. "I didn't realize…"

The man shrugged. "No hard feelings; I was the one who threw you against the wall."

"Ah…"

"We're with Republic Intelligence, Carth," Aayla said rather abruptly. "And I know you've been through a lot lately, but… well… we came to deliver a request from the Minister of Defense himself."

Carth stared at her, his brain desperately attempting to make sense of what he'd just heard. "Wh-what?" was all he managed to sputter.

"I'm Intelligence," Aayla repeated. "Always have been. The bit with Vogga was all part of an undercover mission which I cannot further detail; however, it didn't go exactly according to plan. You stealing a freighter was the only way I could have escaped, and after that Zabrak shot me, your actions saved my life. For that, I owe you. Which is why, I admit, the scenario I'm about to present you was largely my idea."

Carth blinked in bewilderment.

"Listen, Carth," she said seriously, "there is nothing the Republic wants more right now than to see Revan gone. More specifically, to see her dead."

Carth flinched at the word; an image of Revan's lifeless body draped in his arms flashed through his mind, bringing with it the familiarity of real memory. Had he been dreaming? No… I saw her. I saw her die. I… I shot her… The very thought made him sick and he swayed, leaning against the nearby wall for support. He swallowed hard, breathing deeply to try and quell the nausea that suddenly threatened to overcome him.

What was Aayla talking about? Revan was dead… couldn't the Twi'lek see that? He forced his eyes to move in the direction of her body, dreading what he would find but needing to see it. He spotted his blaster a few meters away, still lying where he had dropped it. Only… there was no body.

He stiffened, his heart dropping into his stomach. "Where is she?" he blurted aloud, interrupting Aayla's continued narrative. The Twi'lek looked startled for a second, then furrowed her brow.

"Where is who?" she asked.

"Revan," Carth choked out. Is she alive? Did she escape? No… impossible. She was dead, I know she was. But maybe… maybe she wasn't… He moved forward cautiously, limping slightly, searching the area where he had last seen her. "She was right here…"

"When?" Aayla asked at once.

"Before I… before I passed out," Carth said, realizing then that he had no idea what had made him fall unconscious. "I shot her," he whispered hoarsely, "she was… she was dead… lying right here…"

But there was nothing, not even a spot of blood, and Carth couldn't tell if that fact made him happy, or angry, or afraid. Maybe it was all three.

The Intelligence agents exchanged glances, and the Jedi Master broke the silence by clearing his throat. "This tomb is very strong with the currents of the Dark Side," he said quietly. "It's possible Darth Revan manipulated those currents in order to make you think you had killed her."

Carth shook his head stubbornly, his eyes still roaming the chamber for some sign of what had happened to her. "No. I saw her… I felt her…" He remembered the weight of her body on his lap so clearly, the feel of her fingers pressed to his lips, the softness of her hair as he brushed it from her face. It was real. It had to have been real. He looked down to his hands, but they were clean. Not sticky with her blood as they had been. He blinked at them, his mind struggling to find reality somewhere between his memories and the present.

"Hallucinations caused through the Force can seem very realistic," the Jedi offered.

Carth snapped out of his thoughts and glared at the other man, but made no reply. He continued to search the chamber for indications of Revan's whereabouts until he came upon a piece of evidence that made him freeze in his tracks. The far wall of the roughly-hewn room had been recently blackened by a single blaster shot. Carth stared at it, knowing if he had truly shot Revan, none of the bolt would have found its way through her body to the wall. His insides suddenly felt hollow.

He hadn't shot her. He hadn't killed her. It had all been an illusion. A sick, twisted illusion provoked by none other than Revan herself, he had no doubt. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Carth," Aayla spoke up softly from behind him, "we want to give you the chance to do what you thought you did. We want you to kill her."

He turned stiffly to face the Twi'lek, putting off his anger over Revan's manipulation for the moment to address his anger toward the Republic's leadership. "Really?" His voice was unusually gruff. "That's funny, just the other day I seem to remember waiting for my court-martial."

Aayla glanced down to her hands briefly, then met his eyes again. "I know. But I spoke up for your character, as did Admiral Riffman and many others who have served with you in the past. All together our opinions were enough to persuade both the Fleet Admiral and the Minister of Defense to give you this chance. If you accept this mission, Carth, all suspicion of your loyalty to the Republic will be forgotten."

The soldier narrowed his eyes. "If. And why me, anyway? The Republic's greatest Generals couldn't defeat Revan, what makes you think I can?" But even as he asked the question he could hear her quiet voice, almost pleading: We made such a good pair, you and I. Come back with me, Carth. I can't do it alone; I need your help.

He turned away from the Twi'lek, afraid she would see the effect of those words in his eyes. He had come so close to joining Revan's cause, so close to giving in to those wide, blue eyes. He swallowed again, trying to shake off the unease that slipped into his gut at that thought. In a mere moment's time, she had nearly converted him. Nearly…

Behind him Aayla sighed heavily, oblivious to his raging internal conflict. "Because…," she said, "the fact is, Carth, you're the only one who has a chance of getting near Revan as anything more than a corpse."

"I already tried to kill her once," he muttered, pulling himself back to the present once more. "And it didn't work, remember? She's too powerful… send some Jedi if you want to kill her." He shot a glare toward Master Faxx. "After all, they're the geniuses who thought reprogramming her memory was better than killing her the first time around."

"We've already done that," Aayla said gravely. "And none of them have returned."

Carth threw his arms up in exasperation. "Then why me? I'm no match for a Dark Lord of the Sith!"

"But you are for this Dark Lord of the Sith," Aayla insisted. "Don't you see the pattern? She's been keeping you alive for a reason. She wants you to come to her. There's something between you two yet, something unresolved. I don't know what it is and I don't want to know… but it's giving you a nice, wide window of opportunity."

I can't do it alone; I need your help. Come back with me and live the life you really want.

He swallowed hard, wondering why he still felt so confused. All he had wanted for the past year was to find Revan and make her pay for all the deaths she'd caused, for all the misery she'd made him suffer. And yet he couldn't shake the feeling of horror that had gripped him at seeing her body hit the cavern floor.

"Admiral Riffman said you had requested a strike team and a ship to go after Revan," Aayla said into the silence.

"Yah." Carth rubbed his hands over his face.

"Well, you'll have to go in alone, but we can monitor your progress from a distance. And we got you a ship."

Carth looked over at her, lifting an eyebrow.

"So?" Aayla asked. "What do you say? Take the mission?"

He glanced to the Intelligence agents, the Jedi Master, and Aayla. All watched him intently, waiting on his decision. He wondered what they would do if he refused. Would they drag him back to Coruscant to finish the court-martial? He found himself suddenly disgusted with all of them. They were nothing more than puppets, wrapped up in politics and secret agendas, the perpetrators of someone else's plans. They had treated him like a traitor when he'd first come to them for help, but now that it was their idea, they were willing to trust him. Their fickleness sickened him.

And yet, if this was ever going to end between him and Revan, he needed to get to the Dark Lord. He needed to get to the Star Forge. He needed a ship. "Fine," he said at last. "I'll do it. But I want to do it my way. I'm going to –" The words stuck in his throat and he coughed, thoroughly disturbed by his sudden inability to say it aloud. I'm going to kill her, he meant to say, but instead found himself saying, "I'm going to end it once and for all. And there's no need for you to monitor anything."

Aayla frowned. "But if something happened -"

"Do you really think you'd be able to do anything about it?" Carth asked. "I'd be dead long before you could reach me. And then she'd know where you were and blow you out of the sky, too." He shook his head. "No, I'll…" he ground his teeth in frustration and forced the word past his teeth, "I'll kill her and then be killed by her cronies, or she'll kill me. This is a one-way trip for me either way."

"You can have the Fleet standing by if you want," he offered, seeing her stricken expression. "I'll try and contact you if I succeed. If you attack immediately afterward, you might still catch them off guard and have a chance to destroy the Star Forge."

"What makes you think she'll be on the Star Forge?" a nameless agent asked.

Carth turned his dark gaze in the other man's direction. "I don't know. But if she really expects me to come to her, then she should know that's where I'd go."

I can't do it without you… I loved you… come with me…

The words kept running through his head, over and over. As much as he had protested going on this mission just moments before, he now had an intense desire to get to the ship and go. He needed answers. Answers only Revan could provide.

"So where's this ship?" he asked.

"Outside," Aayla said. "In the valley. Are you ready to go?"

Carth looked around the cavern, then went to pick up his blaster. He stared at the burn mark on the wall for a second. Why? His insides screamed the question. Why Korriban? Why this tomb? Why make me think I killed her? Or maybe she wasn't behind the illusions at all?

But then he remembered the tickle against his consciousness that had prompted him to shoot in the first place. Revan had often joined her mind with his while she had still been Moriel Ithilio; usually in times of stress, but occasionally during moments of relaxation or passion. Both had found the mental union surprisingly soothing, and it helped them work better as a team in combat situations. The recent brush on his mind had been familiar; much like the affectionate Force-touch Moriel had used to send him, but with a dark current to it that made the hair on his arms stand up. It had definitely been Revan. Darth Revan.

She'd been in his head, all right, apparently making him see things that weren't really there. He supposed she could have also been behind what he'd seen as Dustil, or his nightmarish dream about Morgana. But such thoughts only brought him back to the original question: Why? Despite the nagging doubts her recent deception had aroused in his head about the strength of his will, he needed to know the answer to that question.

Carth took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then turned back to Aayla. "I need a new pair of clothes," he said. "And some food. Then I'll be ready."

The Twi'lek grinned at him. "Done. Follow me."

A short while later Carth was clean, dry, freshly clothed, and sitting across from Aayla in a state-of-the-art galley. He'd been suitably impressed with Intelligence's style of travel; their ship was small and compact but well designed and maintained for maximum efficiency. The modern, gleaming fixtures of the galley went unnoticed, however, as the whole of his attention was focused intently on the medium-rare nerf steak occupying his plate.

The Andoan wine was also getting quite a bit of attention. Carth was in the middle of pouring his second glass when he noticed Aayla's curious expression.

He finished pouring and offered her the bottle. She shook her head, nodding toward her already almost-full glass. He shrugged and turned back to the steak, but her scrutiny soon interfered with his enjoyment of the meat. He swallowed his most recent bite and then sighed, finally meeting her gaze. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

She leaned back in her seat, cocking her head to one side. "I don't know. You seem… different."

Carth grunted. "Yah, because I'm clean."

She smiled. "No, it's not that. It's nothing physical. It's something… else."

"It could be a lot of things," Carth muttered, cutting another bite from his steak, "considering everything that's happened since we last saw each other. But right now I'd just like to finish my steak and my wine and go." He shook his head. "It's been too long. I just want to get this over with."

"That's it," Aayla said.

"What's it?" Carth asked, his mouth already full again.

"Your… intensity," she explained. "It's changed."

Carth blinked at her. "You know, it's amazing how changing from a dancing outfit to an Intelligence outfit makes you so much more cryptic."

Aayla rolled her eyes, leaning forward over the table. "Carth, when I knew you on Nar Shaddaa, I never saw you like this."

"Like what?" Carth demanded, wishing she'd just let him eat and be done with it.

"Tired," Aayla said simply. "Exhausted, worn-out… are you sure you're up for this?"

Carth snorted. "I don't think I have a choice."

"But you do," she whispered. "I know you may not believe it, but when I developed this mission plan I had your well-being in mind as well as the Republic's."

Carth eyed her skeptically, but she continued undaunted.

"I thought, given your history with Revan, that allowing you the chance to destroy her would be the best course of action in these circumstances. Not only because you were the one person who had the greatest chance of success, but because I thought it might also give you a sense of closure personally." She sighed softly, her eyes wandering over his face. "But… after seeing your condition, after speaking with you…." She smiled gently. "You've been through a lot, Carth. I'm beginning to reconsider the effect this mission might have on you. I'm not sure it will be as good as I had thought. You do have a choice; you don't have to do this. You could come back to Coruscant. The case against you isn't solid; there's a very good chance you'll remain within the Fleet –"

"And then what?" Carth interrupted, dropping his utensils and looking Aayla in the face. "I sit back and watch Revan take over the galaxy like everyone else?"

The Twi'lek's expression immediately morphed into one of offended protest, but Carth didn't let her speak.

"No, you were right in what you said earlier. Revan and I still have… unresolved issues between us. Because of that, I'm probably the only person in this galaxy who can get close enough to her to kill her personally. Except for maybe one of her apprentices, but I don't see that happening any time soon." He shook his head. "I'm not going back to Coruscant. I've been waiting a long time for this chance; I'm not passing it up now."

Aayla seemed about to protest again, but then sighed in resignation and nodded. "All right. If you must, I understand. But, please… remember to hang on to your anger."

"Okay," Carth rubbed his eyes, "now you're starting to sound like a Jedi. The bad kind."

"I'm being serious, Carth. Remember all of Vogga's slaves? Most of them started out just as you did, by signing a contract, and were somehow tricked or manipulated into slavery. That cursed Hutt broke their spirits so quickly, they never had a chance. Most succumbed to depression, conforming to a life of slavery with little protest and no hope whatsoever of escape."

"What's your point?"

"You were different," Aayla said. "No matter what Vogga did to you, you kept your head up. He couldn't break you. Your anger kept you focused on a goal, kept you going when you wanted to quit, gave you a purpose when you had nothing else to live for."

Carth squinted at her. "You speaking from experience?"

She glanced down to the table, then lifted her dark eyes to meet his again. "I'm just saying… when you get to the Star Forge, when you get to Revan, don't forget what she's done – what she's doing now. Keep that anger close. It will help keep you focused."

Carth stood from the table, glowering down at the Twi'lek. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" he growled through his teeth. "Do you really think I could forget such things? Revan started the war that killed my wife and made my son a Sith! Then she used me to set up her second reign as Dark Lord of the Sith while pretending to be a soldier of the Republic! And you think I'm going to go up there and forget what she's done?" He laughed. "You're using a strong kind of spice, lady."

Aayla stood from the table as well. "Carth, I'm sorry, I didn't know –"

"Well now you do." He snatched up his glass of wine and threw it back, barely tasting it as it went down, then set the empty glass back on the table a little too hard. Aayla flinched as it shattered, but Carth ignored it. He gave the Twi'lek one last, hard look and turned on his heel, heading for the galley door.

"Aren't you going to finish your food?" she called timidly.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he snapped.

The galley door shut noiselessly behind him.

TO BE CONTINUED...