"Carth and Bastila, it is good to see you well. In honor of the victory over Malak the republic is having a ceremony on the Rakata planet below, to honor you and your crew for your actions." Admiral Dodonna commented over the holo communications.
"Th-thank you, admiral," Carth stammered.
Admiral Dodonna smiled, "It's the least we can do, ah, Master Vandar would like a word with you."
The com channel switched to show Master Vandar. "Ah, Bastila it's good to see you, and back on the path of the light side, but what of Revan?"
Bastila shifted uncomfortable, "Yes Master Vandar, Revan is with us, and she is currently sleeping."
"Good to hear Revan is with you. When you land on the Rakata planet, I must speak with you, it is an urgent matter." Vandar said, "And also with Jolee, Juhani and you," Vandar pointed at Carth.
The com channel switched back to Admiral Dodonna, "I'm sending you the coordinates to where you should land, it will be a day before the ceremony is ready, I suggest you get some rest."
"Thank you admiral," Bastila commented.
The admiral smiled at Carth and Bastila, and the holo communication channel switched off.
Turning to Bastila, Carth said, "I wonder why Master Vandar wanted to see us?"
"It must be important, and we shouldn't keep them waiting," Bastila quietly said.
"The Master is worried about me…" Bastila though, "With good reason too," she sighed.
How easily she had fallen to the Dark side, how quick to betray her friends. It was rather ironic really, she was suppose to keep Revan from falling, but instead she fell. And then Revan had come for her on the Star Forge… to save her.
Another thought occurred to her, "Why was the Master so concerned with Revan? Not that he wouldn't be but he didn't even ask about her health… hmmm."
"Right, Ill take us to the planet then," Carth mumbled.
"Darn it, I was hoping to see Revan…" He thought.
Sighing he sat down in the pilots chair and punched the coordinates into the computer. It beeped and displayed the flight path for the Ebon Hawk. Carth grabbed the controls and started their descent into the atmosphere.
The Ebon Hawk glided down towards the planet and over beaches and some forest. There near the shore was a clearing where the Ebon Hawk landed. The sun shimmered over her glittering but scared surface, a testimony to the battle she had just been in.
******
Revan mind was foggy as she dreamed, flashes of light sabers danced before her vision, masked faces, and a gloomy gray fog. But then a slight humming and jolt knocked her awake, she sat bolt upright knocking her head against the compartments ceiling and rolling Hoppy out of the smuggling hatch. He plopped down on the floor and looked up at her with a "betrayed" expression on his face.
"Sorry," she mumbled to the little gizka, who chirped at her warmly. HK-47, her assassin droid, walked into the room. "Comment: Master? Master! There you are, HK-47 is ready to serve. Shall I kill a meat-bag for you Master?"
"Um, not right now HK-47. You can, however, tell me what's going on." Revan rubbed her sore forehead.
"Explanation: Yes Master, We have landed on the Rakata planet, tomorrow there will be a ceremony, many meat-bags there will be, can I kill one for you, or maybe even the entire crowd?" asked HK-47 gleefully.
Revan groaned, not a ceremony… "Erm, no HK-47, but you can help me down to the beach."
"Affirmative: Yes Master!" HK-47 chirped.
Revan limped slightly as she walked out of the cargo hold. She must have slept a long time to get that stiff in the smuggler hold. Tossing HK-47 a towel and some dry cloths, she stuffed a communicator in her pocket and strapped her light sabers to her side, and then they headed down to the beach.
"HK-47 can you do a scan for life forms and tell me the best, and most secluded spot there is for a dip?"
"Confirmation: Of course master, but I would rather eliminate all the meat bags for you."
Revan chuckled; she did find the droids eccentricities most amusing, if not brutish sometimes.
They walked through the small jungle out to the white beach. The sun was very hot today, owing to the Star Forge's explosion.
Motioning with his arm HK-47 commented "Just a little farther Master."
They trudged down a slight hill and there was a tiny secluded cove, its warm, salty waves lapping against the white sand.
"Perfect," Revan smiled. Reaching the water she looked at HK-47 and raised an eyebrow.
"Erm, maybe you should watch inland and scan for any people snooping about, It won't do to have someone spying on me, but don't blast them, just let me know."
Hk-47 replied in a slightly disappointed tone "Protection Mode initiated," He turned towards the land and turned his scanners to full.
Revan slipped behind a rock and stripped to just her scouts undergarments and waded into the sea.
"Hmm," Revan whispered as the sea eased her aches. She could have just used the Force to sooth them, but she was still in a shock after the defeat…no redemption of Malak. The impact of everything that had happened had hit her hard, and she still couldn't wrap her mind around it. She felt alone, in a fog wondering through the cold mists… waiting, ever waiting, and the bruises made her feel more alive. Revan hissed as the long slash of where Malak had grazed her shoulder ached. She ducted under the ocean, and let her long, dark hair float free.
"I will have to use the freshener to get all this salt out of my hair but it good for bruises, and not just physical ones," she whispered to herself.
She saw in her mind's eye, Carth standing there in full armor looking down at her, his sad eyes watching her as he told her about Telos, his wife and son. Revan felt so responsible for her death, even though she couldn't remember what happened, or how she had fallen to the darkness. Revan could still hear his words as clearly as the day he told her he loved her. She had told him she loved him back, she did too, with all her heart, but the guilt hung over her like a dark cloud. The thought of his love was the only thing that kept her going on the Star Forge, but now…she felt like all vibrancy, all real life had leaked out of her leaving a tired shell behind. She wanted to make things work with Carth so bad, but how…. She couldn't even forgive herself, so how could she allow accept him to forgive her? She sang a soft tune to ease her mind as she scanned the cool, crystal waters, unknowingly that she was being stalked.
******
Carth and Bastila wandered back to the ship after talking with Vandar. She had told them what had happened with her aboard the Star Forge. Juhani, Jolee and Carth also told their story. Then the council told Bastila about what they plan for Revan and her. His words echoed in Bastila's mind. "We plan on taking you and Revan for retraining," Bastila knew full well what that meant. Revan and she would be separated from the others, torn apart and likely to not see one another for a very long time. "They are still afraid of Revan," Bastila mused, "Even after all the good she's done…for me, the crew of the Ebon Hawk and for countless lives." She knew Revan was lost, just like her, in the end it might be best for them to be isolated in the new Jedi academy. She smirked slightly when she remembered Jolee's comment, "So, after all you did to that girl your just going to bottle her up again?" The council's reaction had been… interesting.
What had happened after that could also be termed as such… The council had dismissed Carth, wishing to only speak to the three Jedi about isolating Revan and herself, but Carth had other plans. Apparently he was still within ear shot somewhere because he stormed back and demanded to know why they thought that "isolating" Revan would do any good. After getting exasperated enough he had stormed out.
"Carth you know Jedi aren't allowed to love, strong emotions can…"
"I don't give a damn about your cursed Jedi code, all I care about is her, you and I both know how much she is hurting, I saw it too when she boarded the Ebon Hawk on the Star Forge. I..I just feel that maybe, just maybe I can save her from a lonely death that she may be longing for," Carth interrupted.
"I..see some wisdom in your words Carth, but you don't know how dangerous it can be for a person like Revan to love," Bastila confided.
"How would you know Bastila, you and I both know it was Revan caring for you like a sister that brought you back from the dark side, the council can't deny that," Carth yelled shaking a fist.
"I know…I know Carth it hasn't been easy, I see some truth in your words, but the council knows what they are talking about, please be careful," Bastila said with remorse.
"I will, don't you worry," Carth sighed.
The walked on in silence then, listening to the crunch, crunch of boots on the sand. They reached the Ebon Hawk and split off, Bastila to her room and Carth to go looking for Revan. He first looked in the bridge and found Mission playing a simulation.
"Hey Mission, have you seen Revan?" Carth asked.
"No, I haven't," She answered looking up from the console.
"Maybe you should ask Jolee or Canderious,"
"Thanks, I will," commented Carth worriedly.
His eyebrows furrowed as his mind drifted, "Now where on this blasted ship could she have gotten too, I need to talk to her so bad…"
He checked the cargo hold, engine room and several other rooms before bumping into Jolee.
"Got something on your mind?" asked Jolee smirking.
"Yeah, I was just thinking," Carth sighed.
"Does it hurt?" Jolee chuckled.
"Listen old man!" snarled Carth.
Jolee raised a quieting hand, "I was just commenting that it looked more serious than that, why are you wandering the ship like a caged rancor?" Chuckled Jolee. Carth frowned at that statement. "Ahhh it has something to do with Revan doesn't it?" Jolee smirked.
"Sigh…. Yes, I'm looking for her, and I can't find her anywhere on the ship," groaned Carth.
"I thought so, you made.. quite an impression at the council today." Jolee laughed.
Carth groaned, "I know, I let my emotions get the better of me, I just hate it how they can deny what's right in front of their noses. I don't want to sound too disrespectful, but this whole thing with Revan had lowered my opinion of them."
"Hmm I see, your not as stupid as you act," Jolee smirked, "Just be careful, it's going to take a lot more than just your opinion to change their minds."
"Yes, I suppose your right," Sighed Carth, "But anyways, have you seen Revan?"
"Well, she's likely not on the ship, but I did see that bucket of bolts leaving the ship with a towel in hand, so she's probably at one of the beaches."
Carth didn't stay to hear more, he just rushed out of the ship, stopping long enough to fasten his blaster to his sides, and to strap a vibroblade to his back, who knows what kind of crawling creatures he might meet up with.
Jolee chuckled as he watched Carth hurry out of the ship, "Young people," he laughed, "Always in a hurry."
"Hmmm, come to think of it, it is rather odd for Revan to disappear like that, she's usually very responsible for someone her age. Maybe I'll just go take a stroll down the beach myself," Jolee thought. A thin smile tugged at his lip as he watched Carth plowing down the path towards the beach.
Jolee laughed, "Boy, he's got it bad."
******
Revan groaned as she swam towards the beach, her muscles didn't ache too much anymore, but she should head back to the ship. Suddenly she felt the presence of a menace nearby and looked around her, trying to find it. Something grabbed her ankles and she was sucked under the waves as something heavy and muscular coiled around her body. She called to the force but it only seemed to encourage the unseen creature. She used the force to push herself to the surface and cried out.
"HK! Help," she gurgled before being sucked under the waves again.
She again called to the force, hoping to protect herself from the unknown beast, but it had no effect.
"What the hell," she thought.
Revan opened her eyes to the stinging water and saw a massive coil's of something fish like, with long, sharp spines on its back but there was something worse about this monster. It reared it ugly head to look her in the face and then the hideousness hit her. Its large eyes were covered with a milky film but you could still see behind them, they swirled with the darkness that ate it soul…. It was a creature of the dark side. It opened its mouth, and it could easily swallow her alive, if it chose to. Revan struggled against this creature, her mind screaming for help that did not come.
"Please," she thought, "help me."
She almost heard the sickly voice of the creature cackle in her mind, laughing at her struggle for life.
They sank farther down into the ocean and the long, sinuous creature began to drag its prey out to the sea. She struggled to free herself from the deadly coils, pounding on it and using her hands to try and damage the armor-plated monstrosity, but to no avail. Revan called to the force, knowing that was what the creature really wanted and forced herself back to the surface. Gasping for air, she looked to the shoreline where three figures plunged into the surf.
"Revan, hang on!!!" one gasped.
Carth! It was Carth. But the creature must have felt her rejoice, or maybe it felt the presence of the other figures drawing closer. It decided to end this fight quickly so it could drag it's prey down to feed. Its evil mind mused that it would not let her go, long it had slept and this was the first prey it would have, one of many. Its head reared up out of the surf, greenish fluid dripped from long unsheathed fangs. It hissed violently as it plunging its gaping mouth at Revan.
"NOOOO!" a scream pieced the foamy waters. Revan saw the final assault of this monster and tried to parry its attack but it was too strong, both in physical strength and also the Force. She only managed to redirect its blow and it sank its huge fangs into her side. Then with a splash of water it dragged her back down.
Revan cried out when the fangs sank into her right side, and she was dragged underwater. "Bastila! Please help me," her mind cried out as she touched that Force bond between Bastila and herself.
She saw crimson blood staining the water, but the worst part was the terrible, searing pain. It seemed to eat away at her body. Revan tried to calm her mind, tried to fight against the pain, but she knew she would loose this battle. With one final effort, she again called to the Force. The creature reveled in her pain and stole the Force away from her, cackling its mind-searing laugh. Her body stiffened and she could no longer control it. Her last thoughts were of her friends, how much they had been together and how much she cared for them, especially Carth, Oh Carth, how she loved him. She was suddenly very sad as her mind drifted away from her body. She knew he would take her death hard, very hard. Revan filled her mind with thoughts of him, his soothing voice, those rebellious locks of hair that hung over his forehead, his sweet smile and humorous laugh, the way he stared at her, how he called her gorgeous and beautiful. Revan clung to these thoughts as she felt a terrible fog envelope her mind… and her body sank into the gloomy depths of the alien sea…