Chapter Sixteen: Trust
Of course, Revan said nothing of any of these ambitions as they began their journey.
For days they traveled through the marshy wilderness, ducking under low-hanging branches. That, and avoiding bogs. Zez-Kai Ell proved an adept woodsman, and he led them by swift paths that also kept them out of sight. Yuthura hangs on his every word, always swift to obey without a word of protest.
Kreia seemed to have more regard for Zez-Kai Ell than Vrook, though they spoke little.
During this time, Revan would practice with his lightsaber, working on getting the hang of it. Yuthura seemed to focus far more on meditation than lightsaber combat. He noticed she seemed ill at ease with it. When he took the practicing of his stances near her, within sight, she couldn't help but glance up.
Yuthura preferred fighting to meditation.
Worth knowing.
"That's enough travel for the day," said Zez-Kai Ell suddenly one day. "We are near our destination, and we should be fully rested before we attempt the task ahead. Revan, Yuthura, I believe you should spar."
"Hmm?" asked Revan, surprised despite himself. "Why?"
"Sometimes, it is only in action that one can judge someone truly," said Zez-Kai Ell. "And I want to have an idea of how ready both of you are for combat."
Yuthura nodded and drew her lightsaber. "Very well."
Revan walked to stand across from her. What was Zez-Kai Ell trying to do by setting them up? Certainly, Kreia must have told him his history by now. Even so, he drew his blade.
"Your lightsaber is unstable," said Yuthura in surprise. "Are you certain you wish to-"
"I've been working on fixing it, okay," said Revan, annoyed. "But, I'm making this thing from scratch." Then he noticed Yuthura's lightsaber had a short, green blade and was held in an under grip. "Why is yours so short?""
"I've always been better with shorter weapons, in truth," said Yuthura.
"Fair enough," said Revan.
"Begin," said Zez-Kai.
Yuthura sprang toward him with lightning speed. Revan parried her blows as they clashed again and again. He'd gotten a lot better since his days in the academy but knew at once Yuthura was faster and stronger. She attacked with a focused rage, one he struggled to match.
"That's an aggressive style for a Jedi," said Revan, holding her blade in place, so they were face to face.
"I channel my anger into this so that it does not affect my decisions," said Yuthura simple. "In so doing it forms a productive-"
Revan ducked low and swung a kick that nearly floored her. Yuthura backflipped away, and Revan sprang forward, only to veer off at the last moment. Yuthura slid and fell out of her stance for a moment. Revan flourished.
"Careful. The dark side lies that way," said Revan, smiling in a way he knew infuriated.
"The Dark Side is a choice, and I have chosen, otherwise," said Yuthura, voice cold.
"Cute," said Revan. "How'd you end up as a Padawan with opinions like that?"
"That has no relevance to this battle!" snapped Yuthura, before surging forward and attacking with less control. So, she'd been a special case, he figured as much.
Parrying a blow, Revan vaulted over her shoulder, spinning through the air. Righting himself, he landed on a tree branch. "Come on, over here!"
Yuthura remained where she was, pacing below.
"What's the matter? Can't make it this far?" asked Revan.
Yuthura hurled her lightsaber at the branch, and it carved through. Even as it did, Revan flipped toward her. Yuthura, now unarmed, saw her danger and rolled forward to catch her lightsaber. Turning around, expecting an assault, Revan simply walked backward, flourishing.
"Stop running and face me!" said Yuthura.
"Catch me if you can," said Revan. Keep her unsteady, break her control of her anger, and she'd get sloppy.
Yuthura glanced at Zez-Kai. "Master Zez-Kai, can we call the match-"
Revan surged forward, and she hardly parried his assault. Forced on the back foot, Yuthura could do nothing but defend as Revan attacked in a flurry. "Where were you looking?"
Yuthura regained her footing, but even as she did, Revan moved back and flourished again. She was trying to take a defensive stance, so get her angry. Right now, her thoughts were turning between her options, but if she was indecisive, he'd win. Keep her thoughts spinning. "Oh come on, Yuthura? What are you, chained to the ground?!"
Yuthura suddenly rushed forward with a cry. As she came at him, Revan parried her thrusts with careful precision, before knocking a clumsy one far. From there, he brought up his blade and nearly scored a winning move.
But Yuthura had dodged back.
"...You're baiting me," said Yuthura.
"Of course, I'm baiting you," said Revan. "Jedi Padawan are trained to repress their emotions, so when they unleash them, they slip up. It's a major flaw in the Jedi training program.
"They just cover it up by kicking out anyone with anger problems."
"That's enough, Yuthura, Revan," said Zez-Kai Ell, suddenly. "I think I understand both of your key issues now." He came forward, and Revan looked up as the master eyed him. "Revan, you are very attuned at baiting your enemy into making mistakes. This talent could be used to teach others valuable lessons. In a battle, situation could lead your enemy into a fatal mistake. However, you relish your victory far too much. You enjoy destroying others' self-control for its own sake.
"Because of this, that same talent could easily be your undoing. An enraged opponent is stronger, and sometimes a deranged enemy is more dangerous than a calm one."
Revan was impressed. "Honestly, I figured you'd call off the match as soon as I got Yuthura to lose control."
"She hadn't," said Zez-Kai Ell. "Now until that final bout." Then he turned to Yuthura. "Yuthura, you have channeled your emotions well. However, you still have yet to master them. Had you been facing a true Dark Jedi, you might well have been consumed by your emotions or killed.
"Remember that your anger can be used to do what is necessary. Yet to become too fixated on it will consume you and those around you."
"Yes, Master Zez-Kai Ell," said Yuthura.
What was going on here?
He was supposed to lecture Revan about his faults. Not suggest genuinely useful tips on how he could improve. Though Revan supposed his advice was pretty good.
"We should rest for now," said Zez-Kai Ell.
Revan took the first opportunity he had the next day to talk to Yuthura alone. It was when Kreia and Zez-Kai Ell were off scouting. "So, Yuthura, Zez-Kai Ell does not seem to act as a teacher ought to by the Jedi Code.
"There is no emotion and all."
"Master Zez-Kai Ell disagrees with the Jedi on many principles," said Yuthura. "He believes that in order to purge one's emotions, one must understand and accept them. Only them will your mind be clear. And once it is, your emotions can be used to achieve great things.
"Anger, properly channeled, can be used to help others. And to pretend as though it does not exist is perhaps the greater danger."
"Nice speech," said Revan, "which Master are you quoting?"
"Master Zez-Kai Ell," said Yuthura.
"Well," said Revan, "you certainly have a lot of hatred.
"I've never seen anyone attack with that kind of rage before. Even the Mandalorians usually enjoy things too much."
"If you must know, I was a slave.
Asking directly would get her to close up, so best to reveal something about himself. "Well, I know what's that like.
"I got the job of clearing minefields since I was a kid. What did you get?"
"I was a slave, born on the Outer Rim planet of Sleheyron and owned by Omeesh the Hutt," said Yuthura. "My Mother, Layeh, taught me to stay under the radar at all times and remain hidden. Omeesh had a passion for torturing his slaves, you see. Often he would become murder a slave that displeased him, slowly.
"One day, my mother dropped a platter of food and...
"He took her into his bed chambers, and I heard her screaming. There wasn't even a body at the end of it. I think... I think he ate her.
"After that, I stopped trying to stay out underfoot.
"I got myself a knife and made a show to displease him one night when he was incredibly drunk. Then, when he took me to his quarters, I slipped out of his grasp and stabbed him to death.
"Then, creating a rope from bed sheets, I escaped out of the balcony and made a run for it.
"I heard about the Sith Code, and well, to a slave, it appealed."
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
"Through passion, I gain strength.
"Through strength, I gain victory.
"Through victory, my chains are broken.
"The Force shall free me." She hesitated as if realizing she had spoken out loud. "It's a seductive ideology."
"Well, it's a lot less boring than the Jedi Code. No wonder you know it by heart," said Revan.
"I remember it as a warning against what they represent," said Yuthura.
"So, what happened next?" asked Revan.
"I escaped into the city and stowed aboard a transport heading toward Korriban. I'd heard there were Sith Cults there," said Yuthura. "I never got that far, though. It turned out that there was a Dark Jedi on the ship I was on.
"I asked him to take me as an apprentice, but he laughed and stranded me on a barren planetoid to die. There was hardly any atmosphere and barely anything living.
"I remember he said:
"'If you can survive this, you might be worth my time. The Dark Side does not accept those who cannot survive without its power.
"'I shall return in two months.'
"And then he left.
"I spent a week on that rock, scratching out a living and... well... then the Jedi found me.
"Master Zez-Kai Ell had been called in to investigate the death of Omeesh. In the process had revealed the horrors of what he was doing. He tracked me down and offered to take me as an apprentice.
"Naturally, having had all I could take of the Sith, I accepted.
"I was eleven years old at the time.
"I was never trained in a temple-like most Jedi. They felt I was too old, Master Zez-Kai believed that were I to be turned loose, I would fall into a dark path. So he resolved to teach me himself, against the wishes of the Jedi Council."
"So this Sith, who was he?" asked Revan, not finding the latter part of her story very interesting.
"He went robed and cloaked and rarely left the ship," said Yuthura. "That's why I hadn't seen him.
"I saw his face.
"One of his eyes was the purest white. No pupil and his flesh... it was like he was a living corpse. There cracks and wounds, but no blood came out. He scared me a great deal, far more than Omeesh ever had, and yet he rarely raised his voice.
"Every movement he made was filled with rage, but a very controlled way.
"I remember there was another boy with him about our age at the time. He was called Aedal."
"Aedal?" asked Revan, surprised. "This Dark Jedi, was he named Sion?" Something was wrong here.
"He may have been referred as much," admitted Yuthura.
"That can't be..." said Revan, pretending to be more confused than he actually was. Kreia had been deceiving him.
"What is it?" asked Yuthura.
"Well, Kreia told me that she killed Darth Scion during the Wars of Exar Kun," said Revan. "Or afterward, anyway. We weren't even born then. And she also said that Aedal took over for him after Sion died. Or was supposed to anyway."
"The Jedi tell us only what we need to know when we need to know it," said Yuthura sagely.
"You're joking?" asked Revan. "After all you've seen of the Outer RIm, you just want to take their word for it they know best? You wouldn't even be getting trained if Master Zez-Kai Ell hadn't disobeyed them."
"They do," said Yuthura. "In most situations.
"I... who I was then is not who I am now.
"I don't like remembering that time. Master Zez-Kai is helping me move past it. I... sometimes I remember the screams and that barren rock, but I don't want to think about it.
"Why do you question them?"
"Me?" asked Revan. "My friend Malak and I grew up here in the horrors of war. I survived by pouring myself into my job, doing it nonstop. I learned to use my instincts to learn everything I could, and I joined the Jedi after they killed my father.
"I like the Jedi, but I just can't buy their full ideology. It's why I was assigned to the Agricultural Corps."
"Then what are you doing here?" asked Yuthura.
"Being part of the Agricultural Corps, obviously," said Revan.
Yuthura paused. "The Jedi killed your father. And yet you have no grudge against them?"
That settled it, Yuthura ban was not nearly so devoted to the Jedi was she pretended to be. Even to herself. "Not really. My father had a lot of children, and he was a monster. His raids against Melida butchered men, women, and children.
"Zhar was doing us all a favor by putting him down."
"That is admirable," said Yuthura.
"What?" asked Revan.
"You are able to remain clearsighted in spite of personal connections," said Yuthura.
Revan laughed hysterically at that. He wasn't exactly sure why it was so funny. "And here I thought there was something seriously wrong with me."
"What do you mean?" asked Yuthura.
Revan considered how to approach this. "...Malak and I have been friends for years. We survived together, have had each other's backs wherever we go. Right now, I'd be willing to risk my neck to save him.
"But if he got his throat cut in front of me, I don't think I'd feel sad.
"I mean, I'd be enraged. I'd probably kill the person responsible.
"But...
"It's like if an author kills your favorite character in a book. It's all just fiction to me. And the bookend when I die. I probably wouldn't even care, just be annoyed if it didn't happen the way I wanted."
Then Zez-Kai and Kreia came through the trees abruptly. Revan hadn't even known he'd been gon.
"Break camp, now," said Zez-Kai.
"What is it, Master?" asked Yuthura.
"There is a patrol heading toward us," said Zez-Kai. "Now hurry."
And so they set about dousing the fire and cleaning up. They'd hardly gotten into the trees before the sound of voices came to them. "You hear about Aedal coming in here?" asked a man.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that." said another. "He's been drilling us for months, but he wasn't scheduled to arrive for quite some time."
"I heard he had a full-on battle with Daan and blew three ships out of the sky." said the first.
"You know the plan calls for only raids. He wouldn't have come back here." replied the second.
"Well, he did need repairs."
"Well, I hope it's true, Reg. I'm sick of raiding, I want to show my valor to Mandalore and prove we're worthy of becoming a clan ourselves."
"Look, let's just find if there are any escapees and get back, okay? If this kid did make it into the wilds, he's probably starving."
"You know that Aedal wants to kill him himself, don't you?" came the question. "Shooting him would probably be doing him a favor."
"You don't know that, Taj," said Reg. "Aedal wanted him alive, he might just want to offer him a job. Mandalorians are big on defeat, meaning friendship."
"Yeah, but this seems pretty personal," said Taj. "Face it, the best thing he can hope for is to be given a grueling death in the mines. No way is Aedal gonna forgive that kind of defiance. He's not a Sith, after all."
Both laughed as they faded into the forest.
Revan dropped down and Yuthura with him. Yuthura looked to her Master. Kreia remained silent. "Becoming their own clan?"
"Mandalorians are not a race or ethnic group," noted Kreia. "Anyone may become one, so long as they are strong enough to survive the trials."
"I see now," said Zez-Kai Ell. "That is the purpose of this, then. I suspected that the slave trading was a mere pretense."
"What do you think it is?" asked Revan.
"I believe that Aedal plans to establish a new Mandalorian Clan on this world," said Zez-Kai Ell. "Come, we must hurry."
And so began the final step of their journey. As they did, Revan began to feel more and more serious about things. If the Mandalorians did get a base here, they might count as something more than pirates. If the Republic acknowledged this territory as legitimate, it might make temporary peace. But the Mandalorians would have a jumping point to conduct further invasions.
Everyone in that fortress had to die and soon.
Soon enough, they came to the fortress. It was far more impressive up close, towering on the cliffs. Aedal's ship was above and below, where they were, was a heavily fortified mine cut into the side of the mountain. Revan felt a... a rage of a sort from it. There were also several other buildings. A barracks and a long-range transmitter station as well.
"There is the base," said Zez-Kai Ell.
"The defenses are quite formidable, and Aedal's vessel provides additional security," noted Kreia. "Any attempt at infiltration will be problematic."
"There's a radio tower there, toward the north," said Revan, suddenly. "We could send communication for help at any time."
"To Zegil?" asked Kreia, voice disapproving.
"Who else are we supposed to talk to, exactly?" asked Revan.
"Atris is available and has contact with Captain Saul Carath. She could provide evacuation," noted Zez-Kai Ell.
"Evacuation?" asked Revan. "You heard what they were saying.
"Mandalorians live for war. If there is a Mandalorian Clan established on this world, they will keep attacking until we, or they, are dead." He remembered the horror stories of those who fought them.
"The Mandalorians are a warrior people, but they are not without an honor code of their own," said Zez-Kai Ell. "It may be that some understanding can be reached."
That would be a temporary understanding that would leave the Mandalorians with a foothold. "Every mercenary and hired gun who's out of a job is going to come running to join. How else are they going to pay the bills with the truce on? We need to take them out now. Or do you want the war to start up again?"
"...There is truth in what Revan is saying, Master Zez-kai." said Kreia. "We cannot allow a Mandalorian Clan to become a notable power. It could destabilize the entire region.
"At the very least, battle meditation is something they cannot be allowed to have."
Oh right, they had to save Malak and Bastila. Revan had forgotten about them, he should keep notes or something.
"We have, as I see it, two goals," said Zez-Kai Ell. "First, to free the slaves who have been imprisoned and see to their evacuation. Doing so will deny our enemy a source of income. Second, to free Malak and Bastila from Aedal, which will serve as a humiliation. If we achieve both these things, our enemy will be discredited.
"A discredited warrior cannot rally armies.
"Once the ideology is destroyed, those who follow it shall fall away.
"We should arrange a long-range communication with Atris. She will be able to get the Republic Fleet to descend and evacuate those we rescue."
"So much for letting people solve their own problems," muttered Revan.
"This is neutral territory, Revan," said Yuthura. "It doesn't belong to anyone. And they have openly attacked Republic ambassadors. We are well within our rights to act."
"So is Zegil," noted Revan. "And so are Mileda for that matter.
"Why don't we contact both governments and let our people bond by killing Mandalorians?"
"Revan, we are trying to avoid senseless bloodshed," said Zez-Kai Ell.
"It's not senseless," said Revan. "These are pirates and slavers who have ravaged our holy sites. We hold everything these people represent in contempt. How is it senseless to want revenge?"
"Revenge is not the Jedi way," said Zez-Kai Ell, voice hard.
"You seem have a pretty personal vendetta against the Sith." snapped Revan. "You hunted them down wherever you could until they fled into the utter darkness."
"That is different," said Zez-Kai Ell.
"It's the same," replied Revan. "They betrayed everything you stood for, they hurt innocent people. They made a mockery of what you hold sacred.
"Can you really say that the Jedi were hunting them purely because they were a threat? They would have eaten eachother if you'd just left them alone."
"What are you suggesting, Revan?" asked Kreia. "I assume you have some alternative in mind?"
"If you are really so convinced that mass slaughter is out of the question, then how about you explain that to Zegil?" asked Revan. "If you go behind his back on this, it will discredit him. You can't expect people to solve their own problems, then treat them like children!
"Talk to him!
"Tell him why a mass slaughter of these people would be a bad thing! Show him that you respect his government and then give him a reason to do what you want him to do!"
Zez-Kai Ell considered the words. "...It may be for the best if we coordinate with the local government.
"Very well then, we'll wait for nightfall before we begin operations. Once that happens, we will make a twofold operation.
"Zez-Kai an I will enter the tower and make contact with Zegil and Atris.
"Once we finish, we will plan the freeing of Bastila and Malak. Once we have done that, we will pull back to the treeline and wait for their arrival."
"What about us?" asked Yuthura.
"You will remain in communication and alert us of any changes in the camp," said Kreia. "A boring but essential task."
"But, shouldn't we go with you, Master Kreia?" asked Yuthura.
"To be blunt, neither of you are experienced enough to be taken into this situation," said Zez-Kai Ell. "Your eyes will be of more service than your lightsaber."
Well, at least Revan got more time to corrupt Yuthura.
