Author's notes: Since KotOR II for PC is coming out in a few days, I'll try to upload the rest of the Leviathan chapters as soon as they go through minor corrections, before taking a few weeks of absence to have my euphoria over the fantastic game and play it at least 4 times.

Dark Lord Daishi – thank you. I hope I got the KotOR II references right. That chapter took some time. Well, he didn't believe Revan could go so far… it was an act of desperation, I think. That part really just wrote itself. Many thanks again & keep reviewing!

X X X

Chapter 29 – Diamond

X X X X

The reach of the combined Force powers of the Force Sensitives aboard the Ebon Hawk was sufficient to give them a general idea that something was wrong. However, it was only when Juhani sprinted into her room that Revan realized that it wasn't simply her own instinctive awareness.

"Alexa…" the Cathar panted, "Go to the cockpit, we have problems."

Revan, who had been lying on her bed resting a bit sprang to her feet at once, pushing past Juhani. She was within the cockpit within a few seconds, but the sight of the ship they were unwillingly approaching made her stop dead in her tracks. For the first time since the beginning of their journey, a small portion of fear entered her mind.

Against her calculations and her will, the worst thing that could have happened was happening. Their encounter with Bandon probably didn't go as smoothly as they had believed – he had probably managed to send his superiors their coordinates before rushing into action. The usual cocky course of action, typical for Sith of his kind, would have been to simply attack them and then boast that he had killed them on his own. But apparently, he had been a tad too smart for his own good.

The sleek curves and greenish tint to the various patterns of the vessel made it look like a gigantic fish, about to eat its prey. Yet unlike the Progenitor on Manaan, this one was a more vicious thing. It was, if nothing else, impressive in size and, despite its uniform-like similarity to any other Sith vessel, Revan was able to tell it apart from any other ship easily.

"Not good." Revan didn't even realize she said it out loud before she heard her voice. it sounded slightly distant.

Carth and Bastila, who were piloting the ship at the present moment, didn't even turn to attempt to react to those words. Despite the brave façade they both attempted to put on, Revan realized that they both were scared more than they would even admit to themselves.

"They must have been waiting for us on the hyperspace route." Carth explained after pressing a few buttons on the panels, deactivating the engines. "We're caught in their tractor beam!"

"Do you recognize the ship?" Bastila asked, probably both of them as she pushed several buttons to deactivate the engines – the Hawk couldn't fight against the tractor beam.

"It's the Leviathan." Carth said, gritting his teeth. "Saul Karath´s vessel. My old mentor."

But Revan wasn't listening much to them. There was no avoiding the confrontation of their captors now, but there was still a chance, however slight, that Malak wasn't there… she couldn't sense any thoughts concerning her that she would recognize, or any presence that alarmed her.

"Assemble the crew." She ordered, still gazing at the Leviathan, calculating their chances. "There isn't the time for rash actions or fear."

Neither caught the fact that it was a warning addressed to them both. However, as the engines deactivated themselves, both pilots ran out of the cockpit. The crew was assembling quickly as Revan entered the main hold, some confused, some concerned, but all aware that something was wrong. Bastila quickly informed them of the situation, which caused no relief to anyone. But it seemed that they all were ready to do their part in their escape.

"Admiral Karath taught me everything I know about being a soldier." Carth added after Bastila finished her brief explanation. "He was a legend in the Republic fleet, and a hero to me. Until he betrayed us. When the Sith attacked my home world, the Leviathan - which is Saul Karath's flagship - was at the head of the fleet. My family was destroyed that day and my wife died in the Sith bombardment."

"Don't let your lust for revenge cloud your judgment, Carth." Jolee said, frowning.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid." Carth retorted, "I won't throw our lives away in some mad quest for vengeance. But if I get a chance to kill Saul during our escape, nobody better get in my way."

"Talk of an escape is somewhat premature, don't you think?" Bastila noted, frustrated, "We don't even have a plan to get out of this mess yet!"

"I'll admit it won't be easy. Saul's no fool and he won't underestimate us either. You can count on plenty of guards watching every move we make."

"Maybe Admiral Karath doesn't know how many of us there are on board." Bastila suggested, "We all have special talents; talents we could exploit so that one of us could stage a rescue. We just have to figure out who has the best chance to avoid capture so that they can come and rescue us later. It's a long shot, but it's our only hope - Admiral Karath will be watching Carth, Alexa and myself very closely. One of the others is going to have to save us."

"Well, if we're going to pick someone to save our skins we better do it quick. In another minute we're going to have Sith troops marching up our loading ramp!" Carth warned.

Revan, unconcerned by these useless discussions about personal motives, had been surveying each of the crewmembers with care, weighing their options carefully, knowing that though it would be the easiest way, she wouldn't be able to be the one to get them out of this mess.

"They might use a stun field on us… the droids could be the only ones who could get us out of there. Maybe…" she raised her hand and summoned an unfamiliar weapon. Juhani had to duck to avoid the flying object as it landed in Revan´s palm. T3 beeped as the human opened one of its panels and tossed the stun baton into it, securing it. "They won't search the droids, but they'll take our weapons. In case they don't stun everyone, we'll need a capable melee fighter, but at the same time someone who they think wouldn't have a chance to rescue us." Her eyes rested on Mission. "You are my choice, Mission."

"Maybe I could get the guards angry enough to put me into a separate cell." The Twi´lek immediately suggested. "Then I could steal the key card and come rescue you guys later. With them focusing so much on you three, I might be able to sneak out of my cell and come rescue the rest of you."

"No, it's too dangerous!" Zaalbar growled protectively.

"It's a risk we have to take, Big Z." Mission said flatly. "I can slice my way free from any security cell. Don't worry, I can pull this off! I won't let you down! You'll see!" She added for Revan. Memorizing the exact position of the tiny stun baton wasn't very difficult.

If Bastila or anyone else wanted to object to this plan, they didn't get the chance to do so. The ship shook violently and they could all feel a thud as it landed on the smooth surface of the hangar. Revan quickly said something in some alien language to HK-47, who nodded and deactivated himself. The approaching footsteps quickly informed them that Sith were on their way and within a minute, they were surrounded by silver-armored soldiers with high quality blasters ready to fire. Most of the crew raised their hands, save for Canderous and Revan, the former merely glaring at the Sith, the latter raising an eyebrow as the guns were pointed at them.

As per standard procedure, all of them were handcuffed and deprived of their weapons and any kind of armor before taken away to the detention area. Their clothes they were allowed to keep only after being searched. Then, on the way, Bastila, Carth and Revan were separated from the others and led into the interrogation room instead of the holding cells. There, their handcuffs were removed, but the three cages prepared for them they were unable to avoid. Carth was shoved into his cage roughly, Bastila backed into it with a glare at her captor. Revan simply walked into it, as if this were nothing.

A moment later, with the sound of approaching footsteps, the soldiers were dismissed and an officer entered. He was past his prime as a soldier, but certainly not as a thinker – Admiral Saul Karrath was still able to fire a blaster more than well and command the Sith armada as well as he had commanded that of the Republic.

"Carth, it has been far too long since we last spoke. I see the recent months have not been kind to you. I barely recognized you." The almost friendly tone he spoke in was somewhat misplaced in the detention area.

"But I recognized you, Saul." Carth´s voice, semi-calm, was as cool as either of his companions have ever heard it. "I see your face every night as I swear to myself I'll kill you for what you've done."

"Did you learn nothing in your time under me? As a soldier you should understand that casualties were unavoidable. This was an act of war."

"It was a cowardly act of betrayal." With each word, the coolness was being replaced by more and more justified anger. "Your fleet bombed a civilian target into oblivion without warning or provocation. And the blood of those innocent people is on your hands!"

"In war even the innocent must die." Saul reasoned, his tone as blank as his face, "The Sith would not accept me until I proved I had truly turned my back on the Republic by bombing the planet."

"My wife died in that attack, Saul." Carth said calmly, "And for that, I swear I'll kill you."

Saul shook his head. "You used to be a man of action, not of empty words. Cling to your lust for revenge if you must, but spare me your tired threats. I've heard them all before. You are an insignificant part of these events however." His eyes moved to the two women, a sneer forming on his face. "Lord Malak is far more interested in your Jedi companions. He has great plans for them."

"We will never serve Malak or the Dark Side. The Sith will be destroyed, Admiral Karath, as will you, if you don´t turn away from this path." The young Jedi preached, calm and emotionless. But her soul, which only Revan could see right now, radiated fear of pain and torture.

"Your words are brave, Bastila." Saul said, amused, as if he could read her mind. "But the lure of the Dark Side is hard to resist, or so I´m told. I wonder if your companion here is as devoted." Revan didn't even move as he turned to look at her, simply fixed the Admiral with a cold stare. Saul managed to maintain a steady posture, but after several seconds, his eyes wavered and he looked away. "The Dark Lord would probably reward me if I just killed you once and for all, but he may want to interrogate you given the trouble you've caused him…and the history between you." Again, Revan simply stared at him coolly, without saying a word. Saul continued, slightly disturbed. "The Dark Lord will no doubt torture you for information and for his own twisted pleasure. Eventually you will tell him everything. The Sith can be very persuasive. However, Lord Malak is in another Sector. It may be some time before he arrives, so I suppose I will have to fill in for him until then. Activate the torture fields."

The world vanished in a ray of white light. There was only pain, pain that penetrated every particle of their bodies, pain that was the only thing they would yet feel, the last thing that would be theirs before they would enter oblivion.

Bastila screamed as she had never screamed in her life. Her ears were full of the sound, the one thing that she attempted to generate to divert her attention from the pain. No amount of training had ever prepared her for this. She had suffered wounds in battle, true, but this was a thousand times worse. There was no defense, no escape… she only continued her screaming…

Carth, as a soldier, was used to pain, but he had never been on the receiving end of torture… as a matter of fact, not even on the giving end, but what did that matter. He tried to put other things into his mind, remembering Telos as it used to be, which fed his hatred towards the man who stood mere feet before him, the man he meant to kill… whom he couldn't reach yet.

Revan despised torture. True, she had never been tortured herself, not physically, anyway, but she avoided it as a teaching or interrogation method whenever possible. It had no subtlety. It was a moment when the barrier between man and beast was crossed, the step she didn't want to take. Her refuge from the pain was the Force, into which she surrendered, sitting down in her cage, closing her eyes and attempting to shield herself by it.

Of the three captives, she was the only one whose will wasn't shattered by the first strike, any scream that came out of her mouth silent.

"Enough! I don´t want them to pass out before I interrogate them."

"Don't waste your breath, Saul. We won't answer any of your questions!"

"I'm sure you won't, Bastila. However, we both know your friend's loyalties in the past have proven somewhat… flexible." the Admiral noted pleasantly. "Your will is too strong to be broken by torture. I doubt it would gain me your true cooperation. However, even the strongest of heroes have trouble watching those they care about suffer."

Revan remained sitting with her eyes closed, ignoring them all. The Force was her refuge. The Force would free her from the pain. The Admiral waited for any kind of response. Then, frustrated, he added: "For every unanswered question or a false answer, Carth and Bastila will suffer." he informed her.

"Our pain is meaningless." Bastila cried quickly.

"Tell him nothing!" Carth snapped.

The fact that Revan said nothing frustrated the Admiral. "I tire of these games!" he exclaimed. "Now I want answers. On what planet is the Jedi Academy where you were hiding in?"

Finally, unmoving, meditating, Revan spoke. "Jedi Academy? Coruscant, of course. Where have you been for the past fifteen thousand years?"

Saul blinked. "I – I meant… activate torture fields!" he yelled in frustration.

The screams didn't seem to reach Revan´s ears at all. "Enough!" Saul called at the guard, who immediately stopped the torturing. "Do you see what happens when you defy me? This first question was a test. Obviously Malak knew it was on Dantooine. Dantooine is an empty graveyard now – nothing remains there but the burned corpses of your former Masters."

"My Masters?" Although she knew he told the truth, resisting the urge to mock him was futile. "I never liked them anyway."

"A brave front, though you´re forgetting that it means no one will come rescue you. You are at the mercy of the Sith and you know very well what that means. Now... tell me your mission. How were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak and our Sith armada?"

She gave no answer. "Perhaps you need another lesson in the consequences of refusing to cooperate? Listen, can you not hear them suffering?" Saul asked, somewhat tauntingly as the two screamed in pain. "You can spare them further pain by simply answering my questions. Now, I will ask again - on what mission did the Jedi Council send you?"

"Now, do you really think I am going to make it that easy for you?" Revan asked, a slightly amused tone in her voice.

"Perhaps another lesson is in order?" After several minutes of screaming, both Carth and Bastila passed out, one after the other. "I'm surprised they didn't pass out sooner – rarely have I seen someone withstand such torture and remain conscious." Saul commented, amused. "I see I am getting no answers here. I will leave you here with a small taste of the horrors you will go through when Malak arrives. Then you will see my methods are considered merciful among the Sith."

There is no emotion… there is peace.

Yes, the pain vanished. All that was left was emptiness, blackness… and then, peace.

X X X

Saul Karath briskly strode through the Leviathan corridors, heading for the control room. All staff left as soon as he ordered them to activate the holocom – they all knew what it meant. As soon as they were gone, the Admiral straightened himself firmly. The holographic image of the Dark Lord appeared, flickering for a few seconds. Malak folded his arms as the Admiral bowed low, not blinking once.

"My Lord, we have captured the Ebon Hawk near the Lannik system. It seems they were en route to the Kastolar Sector, but we don't know what was their final destination."

Without an introduction or note if he was pleased or not, Malak asked coldly and… anxiously? "Is she with them?"

Saul nodded immediately, "Yes, Lord Malak – Bastila Shan is currently secured in the detention area…"

"Is she with them, Admiral?" Malak repeated, more angrily.

Saul quickly realized his error – he bowed his head. Fear came to him suddenly. It was difficult to predict the Dark Lord's reaction to this. "Yes, my Lord." He said quietly, with as much courage as he could muster.

Not raising his head, he didn't see Malak´s frown. "Are you absolutely certain it is her?"

Saul nodded nervously, still gazing at the floor. "The physical description you and the bounty hunter provided matches her to every detail. And the interrogation… I haven't seen anyone react the way she did. It had no effect when it came to information and only caused her to pass out much later on. However, forgive me, it is rather blatant what she was searching for. She told me nothing of her quest of what the Jedi wanted to achieve by letting her survive."

A moment of silence. "Very well then. Do nothing to her or Bastila. I will arrive shortly to deal with them both personally. Reinforce the corridor patrols and alert the security."

The Admiral didn't understand. "My Lord, forgive me the question, but why? The entire crew is secured and chances of escape are minimal…"

"They would be, if she wasn't with them. Reinforce the patrols and secure the bridge. I want to slow her down as much as possible… should she escape." He had learned not to underestimate anyone, least of all her. Weakened as she was and her allies captive, the woman was a threat to him, in every sense of the word. And the only torture he had at his disposal right now was fear – waiting for the inevitable end.

Admiral Karath bowed once more. He knew he was dismissed. "As you command, Lord Malak." The hologram vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving Saul alone in the silence.

X X X

"Don't try to move too quickly – you might not have yet fully recovered. Admiral Karath had his guards torture you even after you passed out." Bastila´s quiet voice was the first thing Revan noticed around her.

"They tortured all of us, though you got the worst of it by far." Carth, who was seemingly also still alive, added.

"The Dark Side has perverted him, Carth." Bastila commented. "Once you start down the tainted path, it leads you ever further into the depths of evil. I fear he is forever lost to us." She said with a sigh.


"The Jedi teach that no one is without hope of redemption, Bastila." Her voice was slightly shaking from the pain, she was almost unaware of what she was saying. And the small part of her that realized that her words were those of what she once was ignored it. The camouflage continued.

The Jedi lowered her gaze, nodding slightly. "Yes, I… I suppose you are correct. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that hope in the face of such unbridled cruelty, but you speak the truth. I think I am overwhelmed by the news of the destruction of Dantooine. I only hope some of the Jedi escaped. Vrook, Vandar, Zhar…" she paused for a moment. "We should have felt a disturbance in the Force."

"They certainly had, but no one could have prevented it. No one is to blame." Revan sat up with a slight grimace. "We cannot go back to Dantooine anymore. We have no refuge there and Malak might have left part of the fleet there to hold the enclave in the event of a Jedi ambush."

"None of this will matter if we don´t escape before Saul returns!" Carth said in frustration.

"I'm not afraid of the fool, but where is he now?" Revan asked.

"Saul mentioned something about informing Lord Malak about us." Carth said. "I think the Admiral left to prepare for his arrival... and to report the results of our interrogation.

"It is fortunate you were able to resist the Admiral's questioning." Bastila noted. "The fate of the galaxy could be changed by revealing the slightest piece of vital information."

After a moment's silence, Carth sighed and said, "I have to confess something. There was a moment - just a moment - when part of me was hoping you would tell him what he wanted to know. Just to make the horrible pain stop."

Bastila nodded. "I know… I felt that way too… but it is better this way."

"He would have tortured us no matter what I told him. Either it was for his own amusement or Malak´s. It wasn't an interrogation."

Carth nodded. "I've known Saul for a long time and I think you´re right." he said. "The interrogation was a sham. Saul wanted to see us suffer, he didn't care what he told him. I think it was just an excuse so that he could torture us. He's become some sort of sadistic monster. "

Then something changed. Something passed through the Force, disturbing the peaceful ripples. A strong, destructive power. The Darkness thickened around them. And Revan could almost see it washing over her, attempting to destroy her… but failing. It was just an emotion, not a physical presence.

"Did you feel that?" Bastila´s gaze searched the room, as if she thought the presence was mere feet from them. Obviously, she felt it, just not so strongly. "The Admiral wasn't lying. The Dark Lord is alarmed to our presence. Malak is coming." She whispered fearfully.

Carth frowned. "Well, we better hope Mission and the droids bust us out of here before he arrives."