Sammie: Thanks. I know about my apostrophe problem, and I am trying to break my habit.
F4de: Glad you like it.
Prisoner 24601: Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep that in mind.
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Part 2: To The Star Forge
As we approached the beach where the Hawk was grounded, I thought about how they would react as I face them and say that Bastila had turned. I had to tell them. Not Juhani. Not Jolee. Me. They regarded me as a leader. I shook my head slightly. A leader who abandoned his love to the mercies of the Sith. A leader who was too weak to protect what he held most dear. A leader who had "shadows in his mind" that pulled Bastila to the Dark. I felt despair creep up on me again. This time I could do nothing to stop it from invading my soul. I don't deserve to be their leader. What would happen if those shadows claimed me as well? I shied away from that thought. No. I must not think of such things. As we rounded the last bend, I looked up and saw my companions clustered outside, waiting. You didn't need Force powers to sense their anxiety and worry.
Carth looked up and spotted us first. "You're safe!" He called out loudly as he rushed to meet us, closely followed by the others. "We have to hurry, the Republic Fleet will be here any minute now! Is the disruptor field down?" He asked, looking at me anxiously.
I sighed at him. "Yes, it's down. After Bastila-" "Bastila?!" His eyes widened as he cut me off. "Where? What happened in that Temple?"
Everyone looked at me expectantly. I hesitated a moment then said in a low, pain filled voice, "Bastila has turned to the Dark Side Carth." Mission let out a gasp and Zaalbar moaned. Canderous just stood there with an unconcerned expression. Despite my roiling emotions, I was amused. Does nothing faze that Mandalorian? Carth's voice brought back my attention. "The D-dark Side? W-what are you talking about?" a shocked Carth managed to get out. I looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "She became Malak's apprentice." I said.
Carth shook his head in denial as he cried out, "No. No! That's not true! That could never happen!" My heart twisted painfully at the tone of betrayal his voice.
Jolee looked at Carth in sadness and sighed, "It's true Carth. Bastila was strong, but she was also impatient and headstrong. She was always in danger of falling to the Dark Side. All of us are."
His words reminded me of an ancient Jedi saying. I said softly, "'We are not saints, but seekers.'"
Jolee glanced at me and nodded. "Malak used her weaknesses to turn her. I fear that Malak has a strong hold on her now." Jolee looked into the distance and said almost to himself, "This planet is tainted. The combined Dark Side energies of the Star Forge and the Temple have twisted the Force into an instrument of total evil. Just like Malak has twisted Bastila."
As I felt my eyes begin to sting, I bowed my head to hide the tears that threatened to fall. "It's because of me that she turned."
Jolee said in a sympathetic voice, "We all choose our paths in the end, but you would do well to keep in mind the role you played in her downfall. You and the task given to her by the Council. Through the bond that was created when she kept you alive she touched your memories...and the echo of darkness that was within you."
I kept my head bowed and said in a listless tone, "So she was right. The shadows in my mind was the reason she fell..."
Mission shook herself out of her shock and told Jolee angrily, "Hey, can't you see how torn up he is about this? Cut him some slack won't you?" She walked up to me and gave me a reassuring hug. "It's not your fault Diamid. Like the old coot said, we choose who we want to be, nobody tells us, nobody!" I gave her a small smile in thanks.
Carth looked at us in desperation. "But she can still be saved, right? I mean, Revan rejected the Dark Side, so Bastila can too, right?" I twitched a bit inwardly at that. I guess I am Revan in their eyes now. I sighed to myself. I suppose I should get used to it.
I looked up at Carth and saw his desolate face. He's taking this harder than I thought possible. Even considering his background. I felt troubled. I glanced at my friends and saw them looking at me expectantly. Trustingly. Even Carth! They need me! I thought in astonishment. They need a leader, I realized. have to pull myself together...for their sake at least. Taking a deep breath, I concentrated on all my fears, pain, anger and frustration and as I breathed out I let the emotions go with it. I looked at Carth and met his eyes. I let determination show in my demeanor as I said, "While Bastila is still alive there is always hope for her to be saved. And I assure you, Carth, I will try to redeem her." It was amazing what a few well said words can do. The only way to describe it was that the atmosphere suddenly became charged with energy.
Jolee looked at us in irritation and said rather testily, "Are we just gonna sit here and wait for moss to grow on us or move our behinds to stop Malak?!"
I shook my head and Carth chuckled. "The Old Man's right." he said. "All right people, let's move out!" With that we all walked up the ramp into the Ebon Hawk.
Admiral Forn Dodonna watched as the blue-white tunnel her cruiser was passing through dissolved into long white streaks, followed by the familiar black emptiness of space. But this time, it wasn't so empty. Directly in front of the bridge of her ship, was a massive orb of yellow-white light. The brightness of the star made her eyes burn a moment, she blinked a few times before the screen adjusted to the glare. The very top of the glowing sphere had a pillar of light leading up to a construct that shimmered in the bright light of the star. The construct was like nothing she'd ever encountered before, it was massive, though dwarfed by the star itself. From the design, Dodonna came to the conclusion that it couldn't have been a starship, but a space station, and the biggest one she'd ever seen.
A sphere was just above the center of the massive space station, with three tapering structures running through it. The top of the sphere was the home to a dozen or more spires. "What the hell is that?" One of the capital ship commanders choked as he asked. "I-it has to be huge to be visible at this distance!" Dodonna couldn't blame the commander for being shocked. The thing was immense.
Master Vandar, one of the Jedi Masters from the demolished enclave at Dantooine, looked up. He appeared to have been meditating. "The Dark Side's presence is strong, Admiral. I advise you to proceed cautiously." Dodonna nodded at the diminutive Master.
Dodonna walked to the front of the bridge. "Open a channel to the Fleet.", she ordered. One of the commanders bent over a seated officer a moment then waved to the Admiral. "This is Forn Dodonna to all Republic ships. I am sure you are aware of the importance of this battle in the war with the Sith. Therefore I expect you to give your best effort and then some. May the Force be with us all. Dodonna out." She turned to the commanders, "Send the signal. Prepare to engage the enemy."
As everyone settled into their positions I went to the back to install the Hyperdrive components that were fried by the disruptor field. I managed to salvage them from a crashed ship while on my way to the Temple. It took a few minutes to connect it and a few more to recalibrate the settings because the components weren't exactly made for the Hawk.
After I finished I made my way to the cockpit, stopping to check up on everybody when I passed. As I stepped into the cockpit I noticed Carth was frowning at the flight controls. "Carth? Is something wrong?"
He blinked and looked up at me. "What? Oh, no. Nothings wrong. I just can't believe our journey is nearing it's end. It just feels... surreal, I suppose. It feels as if we've been fighting for so long, even though it's only been a few months."
I nodded. "I know what you mean." I looked at him and smiled. "At least you'll see your son Dustil again." I chuckled humorlessly. "You have something to look forward to. I have to go see a bunch of stodgy Jedi Masters about the small issue of my identity." I winced slightly at the thought of confronting the Council. I wondered briefly if I would survive long enough to confront them. I shook myself. Don't go there Diamid. What will happen, will happen. I trust in the Force.
Carth cautiously started the pre-flight sequences. Though my repair skills are excellent, we weren't certain of the salvaged components' compatibility. He raised an eyebrow in my direction. "Stodgy? Aren't you being disrespectful or something? Not that I mind."
I turned my attention to the board a moment before answering. One by one green lights came to life. I chuckled again, but with humor this time. "Actually," I said in a wistful voice, feeling a pang in my heart, "Bastila was the one who called them 'stodgy'."
"W-what?", Carth stuttered, "The Jedi Princess said that?" I nodded. "Heh. Learn a new thing everyday."
"And what did you learn?" I asked, amused at his words. I glanced at the board again, there were a couple of red lights and a smattering of yellow ones. Not bad, I thought, could've been worse.
"That Bastila doesn't think the Council is perfect." He replied absently, his attention on the Hawk. "Well then.", he said, "Shall we go pick her Highness up?"
Before I could reply he powered up the repulsor lifts, heaving the hunk of metal into the air once again. I could feel the slight vibration as landing gear retracted and the hum of the engine beneath my feet. Gently he turned her and nudged the control stick forward. As the thrusters responded smoothly, Carth increased power to maximum, and we blasted out of the atmosphere. My breath went out of me as I felt myself pressed back hard a moment, before the inertial dampeners kicked in. I glanced at Carth. He looked at me and shrugged. I rolled my eyes. Damn show-off flyboy. I checked on everybody, aside from Jolee's acidic comments on 'hot-headed children who don't know a thing about flying' everything was fine. For the moment.
Dodonna watched the tactical display with pursed lips. The battle was not going very well. The Siths' tactics and formation were deceptively simple, but they were amazingly well organized, not to mention numerous. Dodonna shook her head slightly. At this rate they would have to retreat soon, and that did not bode well for the Republic if they did.
"Admiral, there's an unknown freighter coming up from a planet in sector Y-027." One of the officers announced. He checked the console. "The IFF transponder lists her as the Ebon Hawk."
Dodonna nodded to the communications officer. "Hail them, Lieutenant.", gesturing to the Holo display. The Lieutenant turned and punched a few buttons.
As Carth set our flight path towards that ominous bulk in the distance that was the Star Forge, I picked up a disturbance in the Force. It was fleeting, like a whisper against the roaring darkness of the Star Forge. I concentrated on it a moment and felt a momentary flash of recognition. Was that Bastila? I thought incredulously. I got over my surprise when I realized that she must be using her Battle Meditation. Carth's voice cut into my concentration.
"Is something wrong, Revan?", he asked with concern.
I blinked at him in startlement at his use of 'Revan'. He didn't seem to see nothing wrong with it. Can it be? I thought, Has he finally accepted that I'm Revan? And perhaps before me. What an unusual thought. "What did you call me again, Carth?" I asked.
He looked at me with some embarrassment. "I, uh, called you Revan." He fidgeted slightly. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
I waved away his apology. "It's alright. It just surprised me that you would use that name." I concentrated again, but could not sense the disturbance anymore. I frowned. "Strange. I thought I sensed Bastila using her Battle Meditation. I could be mistaken. The Star Forge tends to throw things out of normality."
Carth nodded and was about to reply when he was distracted by a blinking light on the communications panel. "We're receiving a transmission from the Republic Fleet! They must have got the message I sent as we were crashing!" Carth reached over and punched a few buttons while I prudently moved out of the pickup range. No telling who might recognize me. The image of a middle aged female I have never seen before flickered to life. The markings on her uniform and the number of medals indicated she was a high ranking officer.
"This is Admiral Forn Dodonna to the Ebon Hawk, do you read us?"
I looked on in some amusement as Carth set himself unconsciously to attention while addressing the admiral. "Admiral Dodonna, this is Carth Onasi. We are receiving your transmission."
Admiral Dodonna seemed relieved at his words. "Carth," she said in a warm tone, "I'm glad to see you're still alive. We have already begun our assault on the Star Forge, but we're taking heavy losses. Do you know how the Sith ever managed to construct something of this magnitude without us knowing?"
Carth shook his head. "The Star Forge wasn't built by the Sith, Admiral. We don't have time for me to fully explain, but that thing is far older than you think."
Admiral Dodonna mulled over his words a moment. "Maybe we should pull the fleet back and retreat. I don't know if we have the firepower to go up against this alien technology."
Carth looked somewhat alarmed at this declaration. "You can't do that, Admiral! The Star Forge is a factory of incredible power! This is the thing that has been powering the Sith war effort, creating capitol ships, snub fighters and assault droids!" His voice became intense as he drove his point across "You have to destroy the Star Forge now! Or the Republic will be fighting an unending wave of reinforcements!"
Admiral Dodonna looked at him solemnly. "Then I guess we have no choice. But this isn't going to be easy. I can't even get our capitol ships into position to start bombarding the Star Forge. The Sith are too well organized! It's like they can guess our every move and counter our every strategy!"
So it was Bastila that I sensed. Carth and I exchanged a sad look. "It's because of Bastila, Admiral. She has turned to the dark Side and became Malak's apprentice. We suspect that she's on the Star Forge right now using her Battle Meditation against you."
Admiral Dodonna's eyes widened a fraction before she nodded gravely. She looked over to the left a moment before stepping to the side. "This is Master Vandar. A number of Jedi Knights have joined our fleet under his command." It was my turn for my eyes to widen as Master Vandar stepped into the pickup range. I was glad of course that Master Vandar had survived, but Jedi actively joining in the war effort, in an actual battle? I shook my head. I guess it isn't that strange. After all, Malak, and now Bastila, are no pushovers, I thought. Not to mention a few hundred Dark Jedi. Carth was having something of a similar reaction, goggling a moment at the small Jedi Master before taking control of himself.
Master Vandar slowly blinked, giving the impression that he was on the verge of falling asleep. "If Bastila is using her power to augment the Sith, then Malak's fleet is invincible. Our only hope is to somehow stop Bastila from using her Battle Meditation."
Admiral Dodonna looked down at Master Vandar. "How can we do that if she's on the space station?"
Master Vandar explained, "I will send a squadron of Jedi Knights to the Star Forge to find Bastila. Their small ships should be able to slip through the Sith blockade and dock on the space station. If they can find Bastila, they may be able to distract her from the battle. That should allow you to move your capitol ships into position for a final assault on the Star Forge itself."
Admiral Dodonna nodded in agreement. "Very well, then." She turned back to Carth. "Carth, I would like you to turn around and get out of-"
At her words I felt a feeling of wrongness. Carth did as well it seemed, for he opened his mouth to say something just as I stepped forward and cut her off, "In all due respect Admiral, Master, I believe it would be best if we went with the Jedi to the Star Forge."
Admiral Dodonna looked rather startled at my sudden appearance and surprised at my words. Carth was nodding in agreement next to me. She looked at us and gauged our resolve. "As you wish, though I hate to ask you to do this after all you've done..."
"Don't worry, Admiral. The Ebon Hawk and her crew are going to see this through to the end!" Carth told Admiral Dodonna confidently.
Master Vandar stood there silent a moment before addressing me. "Are you certain you want to go through with this Padawan? I am unsure if you are up to this..."
"Yes, Master. I'm certain. I have a greater chance at finding Bastila through our bond, and perhaps turn her from the Dark Side. I have to at least try", I said. "To give her the chance you gave me." I added softly.
Master Vandar's ears perked up as he realized what I was saying, that I knew who I was. He nodded then gave me a kind look. "Then may the Force be with you." The transmission faded.
I turned to Carth. "Well then, shall we?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Let's do this."
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A/N: Parts of this chapter were written by my friend Orby. And I'd like to thank another friend, Bushy, for checking my spelling.