Star Wars; Knights of the Old Republic
Shades of Grey.
This story was written entirely for my own and hopefully the reader's pleasure. There have been many stories set after Knights of the Old Republic and many of them are very good. Therefore this story is very, very different as shall be shown later. The characters that are new are mine entirely whilst anything else belongs to its proper owner. I like reviews and accept constructive criticism as I acknowledge that nobody is perfect, especially myself. The only thing that I own is the original characters and situations here portrayed.
Continuity; if it seems wrong then it most probably is. Regrettably I am not a reader of the vast numbers of books and comics that come out. If something seems wrong, tell me but please do not hold it against me!
Lastly, realism; I thought KOTOR was a great game but by its nature it was an unrealistic portrayal of reality. Here, the Jedi are just as likely to die as a normal man and do not have unlimited force powers to help them. I hope it works out for the best.
Prologue – The Redemption.
The planet hung in space, a blue and green sphere against the blackest dark and brightest light of space. The planet with its three moons looked unreal in the endless depths of deep space. Near the planet was something even more unusual than even the most strange examples of space phenomenon. It looked like a tiny star, a golden ball of light that pulsed outwards with energy. As unusual as this was, it was what was above it that make it unique. There was a space station hovering over it. Drawing power from the orb and into the bottom of the device. The station was huge, fully fifteen miles from highest peak to lowest point. In form it was like a wide, short cylinder with a collection of great spires for the top and bottom. They looked like huge eldritch claws growing from the four points of the base. The power source was a mere fifty miles beneath the lowest point, it was no ordinary star as it gave off none of the nuclear heat of a regular star.
This was the Star Forge, an ancient device of alien technology that had been created as a factory for the ancient race which had made it. This device had fuelled the war efforts of the Sith for the last few years, now it was a battlefield. Ships, both large and small clashed in battle near the Star Forge. The battle had come down to a brutal pounding match as the two sets of capital ships hammered each other whilst the fighters flew their many errands between them.
In this struggle, there was two forces; the Republic and the Sith and the Republic was winning. The more manoeuvrable Republic ships were driving back the heavier Sith ships and pushing through towards the great station itself. The Sith were breaking, some fleeing and some fighting on until the bitter end. Although many were damaged, the Republic pressed on with reckless fury, desperate to destroy the factory and thus win this battle for the Republic. The heavy battleships and cruisers of the fleet fired blast after blast of energy and missiles into the station. Nothing could take such punishment for long, the station started to fall apart, slowly losing its height above the ball of light.
On the highest pinnacle of the Star Forge was the Sith battlefleet command. It was an impressively large room, filled with tactical displays, view screens and bodies. Scores of dead from both sides lay where they had fallen in this final battle to remove the head of the Sith fleet. The defenders and attackers had slaughtered one another until only two remained. One was a tall women with long robes that seemed to change in colour whenever the light changed. She was unusually tall and had a keen beauty that could touch the hearts of any that came across her. Her cheek was marred and in a perverse way, enhanced by a scar from some battle long ago. She breathed heavily and her face frowned in concentration as she faced her opponent. Her blue eyes looked with a calm determination at her foe, she was evidently tired but still in control. The women's opponent could not have been more different; a tall bald man with great purple tattoos across his skull. His lower jaw was encased in a metal contraption and his eyes were a dull yellow. His voice was a dull grating sound, artificial and menacing.
"We meet at last Revan. All around us are gone and it is just you and I once again. I must say that I was impressed by your tenacity in battling your way through my troops."
"If you had come and fought me then you may have had a chance but know that now your reign ends Malak." She said calmly and he chuckled with his electronic voice.
"I knew that this would have to be solved in the old way, master against apprentice. You and I have been both, now we will see who is truly superior."
"I do not desire superiority Malak, only an end to this war. If you will not stand aside then I have no choice but to fight you." Revan replied and activated her lightsaber.
"'Do not desire superiority?'" Malak roared, giving an imitation of Revan's voice. "You sicken me, even before we fought in the wars you were more adventurous. You would not hesitate to battle the council if they stood in the way of what you thought was right. You have become a weakling Revan, a pawn and a slave. To think that I once admired you."
"Then maybe you were wrong Malak. I am indeed a new person now. A better person perhaps. Maybe my own hubris demanded what happened to me. I no longer fight for myself, but for what I believe in."
"Then you are a fool Revan. Where are the people that will look out for you? There is no one except yourself." Malak re-ignited his red blade to contrast with the blue blade that the former Sith Lord held.
"I see you rush to violence still Malak, as you always did. I suppose you will not consider redeeming yourself?" She asked, knowing it was hopeless.
"Of course not, do not be a fool. I was impressed by your fighting skills Revan but you are no match for me. I am the darklord and you are but a lackey of the Jedi."
"And so you have added overconfidence to your impressive list of personal traits Malak. If it is a fight you desire then you shall have it, however it pains me." She said and saluted.
"Enough talk, the galaxy is mine." Malak said and attacked.
Revan stepped back to give herself room to parry the downward cut before sweeping forward with a swift flurry of her own attacks and blocks. Malak held his ground and counter attacked with precise and cutting attacks. The two were evenly matched, the agility and finesse of Revan met the stubborn nature and dark strength of the former apprentice. Malak stepped forward and locked the blades together, his dull eyes blazing with anger as the blades screeched. With a triumphant growl, Malak rammed his forearm into the Jedi before him, laughing as she staggered in surprise. The darklord gave her no chance to recover but attacked and attacked, driving her back towards the top view window. The battle raged outside, no less fierce than in this ruined and body strewn room. Revan leapt back, using her powers to land her safely amidst the wreckage of a fallen ceiling. She shook her head to clear her vision and looked into the eyes of the lost Jedi.
"Losing your touch Revan? I do not remember you fighting like this when you fought against Mandalore and his elite guards. Still, the light side is weak, it saps your strength and makes you hold back."
"But it means your judgement is better Malak then if you do nothing but attack. Some arguments can be solved with words and not death, that is what I have learnt."
"Then you should learn more than that. The darkside can give you everything you want. Once, you had the power of an empire behind you, now you are just a single insect in a great hive. A hive that will spit you out when your usefulness is over."
"And how is the way of the Sith any better? To kill and destroy, I have learnt that such things are not to be desired. I learnt that from you when you betrayed me Malak."
"And do you hate me for that?" He countered. "In your heart you know what you want is the power to bring balance to the galaxy."
"And balance means a balance, not one side dominating the other." Revan replied.
"Like the Republic does now?" Malak responded and strode forward.
"If there is imbalance, I would rather that it was towards the side of light and not darkness and chaos." She responded and then defended herself as Malak attacked again.
The light sided Jedi fought with great precision and skill but once again the strength and passion of the darklord was slowly overcoming her and beating her down. Seeing this, she channelled all of her powers to push the foe backwards and then press the attack. Malak blocked the psychic assault but was staggered by the swift assault. A cut, by luck or design, scored across Malak's leg, just enough to burn the skin. The man roared in anger and slammed his blade down so hard that Revan's lightsaber was driven aside. The blades cut through the metal railing like it was paper; Malak took the advantage offered and slammed his fist down onto her chest. The blow sounded sickeningly loud despite the klaxons and sirens of the station. The downward blow had staggered the Jedi and done considerable damage. She gasped, unable to breathe and the darklord took advantage of the distraction to knock her blade aside and slice up and across her body.
The blow would have been fatal but instinct or luck made the Jedi step back. The cut now razored an inch deep gouge running from her waist in an arc across her forearm up to her shoulder. Revan moaned and fell bonelessly against the weakened railing, making it creak.
Malak stepped forward and kicked the discarded blade down into the main room where it clattered into darkness. Malak held his blade at her throat and would have smiled if he still could. The station alarms continued and the flashes of ships and explosions seemed to be getting closer. The darklord did not seem concerned as Revan desperately held her side to stop the blood flowing whilst trying to breathe.
"Not so strong after all were you Revan? Do you not see now that nothing can hope to stand against the true power of the darkness. Despite your weakness I will give you a quick death, in remembrance of what you once were Revan."
"Maybe I am weaker now but in the end, darkness will destroy itself." She chocked and blood dribbled from her mouth.
As Malak readied himself the com-link on Revan's belt crackled with the voice of her friend and secret love, Captain Carth Onasi.
"Revan, this is Carth, the Republic is making the final assault so you will have to leave now. We will wait as long as we can." His voice faded and then came back. "Revan? Revan, do you hear me?"
The crippled Jedi's eyes closed in pain and she tried to move, to answer but Malak pulled the device from her belt and with great glee, crushed it. Her breathing was slowing as he looked down on her.
"Emotion? The sin of a Jedi, maybe you are not as pure as you make out. As for your friends, you will have to forget about them, your life is over." He said and saluted.
"That lies in the force." She said slowly.
Malak laughed and drew back for the beheading blow. Revan leaned her head back and waited for the end.
The horizontal blow seemed, from Revan's eyes to slow as it neared her. Everything seemed muted and she sighed slowly in regret for what she had done and what she would never do. The cut that would end her was halfway through when the station moved. The station shuddered like a great beast hit by the poacher's shot. Wounded but not slain, the massive movement surged power through the control computers which started to crackle with power. All this happened so quickly that Malak did not have a chance to react when the machine behind him exploded in a shockwave of energy and sound. The man staggered forward in surprise as shrapnel flayed his back. The blow cutting down on the light side Jedi swung off balance and chopped through the rails to her right.
Revan was beaten, her life was going and she felt that she was frozen. The exploding console was shielded from her by Malak. She saw the red blade go wide and she resolved not to die here, to this incarnation of evil. Even if she died in the attempt, it was better than accepting her fate. All this flashed through her mind in a second as Malak recovered his blade. He seemed to assume she was still weak for he drew the blade over his head to cut down like a comet's strike. Revan's hands closed on something, a knife, her knife. The one reminder of her three lives that she still carried, the knife of Mandalore. Taken from his corpse and then used in her travels, it was with her still as she put every grain of her essence into the last and desperate strike.
Malak never knew how one who was so beaten could move with such speed. He had thought her crushed and had left himself open. There was no time even to dodge as she drove into him. The knife, just four inches long, had not lost any of its perfect balance despite its frequent use. By luck or design it struck a weak point in Malak's armoured bodysuit and drove in deep. Revan, used her collapsing weight to push the Sith Lord back. Malak, his balance gone dropped his blade as the wound spilled blood to mix with the red of his armour. He fell and fell back onto the computer that had staggered him originally. Revan fell as he smashed into the live circuits and lay back.
The pain roared and tore through the Sith master, the pain was like nothing he had experienced, even the loss and pain from his ruined face could not match the intensity of the electrical power in him. His new voice box shorted and then exploded inside his head and still the shocks went on like some twisted dream. With his final strength he hurled himself from the ruin and fell bloodily at Revan's feet.
The darklord's face was blistered and bloody and his lower face was a nightmarish ruin of bone, blood and metal. Unable to speak or scream, he ripped the knife from his stomach and looked at Revan. If he would die, then he would take her with him, she would not survive.
Revan saw the nightmare rise with the knife loom over her, preparing to drive down with his final blow into her chest and end her life. There was no pain anymore, just peace and she waited as the station started to move from side to side. It was losing altitude but not enough to send the gravity generators off line yet. Revan, former Sith Lord, Jedi and Scout waited for her death.
A shot interrupted her final thoughts. The red bolt flew over her prone body to hit the nightmare full in the face. Between the eyes the bolt struck and blew apart the skull of the darklord. The head exploded like a ripe fruit and threw the body backward, splattering blood across the dusty gantries. Revan wondered idly what was happening but she was so tired. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. There was a cry of anguish and two people were running across the remaining distance of deck to reach the two figures. One was a tall, brown haired and eyed man with the look of a military man. He wore a suit of heavy, silvery armour and sheathed the pistol which had fired the shot. His companion was different in almost everyway. She was also tall but there the resemblance ended. She was clearly a Jedi, a certain nobility was about her and her blue eyes were as expressive as anything else about her. Her long brown hair flowed down her back whilst her face was concerned as she ran forward to kneel beside Revan, her friend. The soldier threw himself to the fatally wounded Jedi's side, his face was one of horror and panic.
"Revan, look at me. Don't die on me here damn it!" He said desperately as he lifted her head up. His eyes took in the dark blood near her heart and her lower torso. He shook her again, feeling for a pulse and finding a very weak one. He almost missed it, so faint was her ticking of her heart as he looked into her face. "Revan, come back. Don't leave me here." He said hopelessly. The female Jedi hung her head, her face a terrible mixture of emotion fighting her ingrained training.
"Is she still alive Carth?" She asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide her feelings.
"Yes. Bastila, help me carry her back to the Hawk, we don't have any time." He said but then stopped as the blue eyes opened and the faintest of smiles crossed Revan's face. She coughed and her eyes widened as blood trickled from her mouth. When she spoke, it was so softly that the two friends could barely hear it. The voice was like a whisper against the noise of a hurricane but it was there and Carth leaned down to hear her.
"I did it Carth." She said softly. Her breath rasped. "I have redeemed my actions. I am sorry." Her breathing started to slow and Carth held her close.
"We can help you. The Republic won, we can get you to a medic, you will be alright." He said, more for something to say rather than because he believed it.
"Too late for me." She gasped. "Go and save yourself. Goodbye." She said and fell back.
"I have not abandoned anyone on a mission and I am not going to start now." He said angrily, anger at himself and started to pull Revan up to carry her. Bastila staggered as the station turned slightly, the power was flickering and explosions could be heard in the lower points of the station.
"Carth, we have to go. We have no time to stay here. If we do not go now then we are all dead." Bastila said and tugged his arm but he shrugged it off.
"She gave me a reason to live Bastila, after all we have been through."
Revan moved slowly and grabbed his arm in a fierce grip while she spoke for the last time.
"I love you. Now go." She said and fell back to the deck, Carth cried in anger and pain as he felt for her pulse. It was as absent as the light in her still staring eyes. Bastila bowed her head.
"She is gone Carth, we have to go." She said.
Carth's com-link crackled and the rough voice of a man broke into the private moment. "This is Canderous. What are you doing? This station is falling apart. You have to go now or not at all."
Bastila snatched the device. "We are on the way , get the ship ready for lift off." She ordered and pulled Carth to his feet. "Move captain unless you want to join her in death." She said, unable to hide her panic. The power was really flickering now and the consoles around them were going dead. The gravity generators were starting to fail and the planet below them was slowly sliding into view.
"You go Bastila, save yourself." He said and she slapped him hard across the face. Her emotions finally won the battle and she seized the man's shoulders.
"Revan died to give us a chance. Is that how you want to remember her? By dying now, what will that achieve; we have a war to win. Now come on." She shouted at him and he nodded slowly. Carth leant down and kissed his love one last time and then turned and ran as finally the klaxons and alarms started to die. The air was getting thin and the station, listing as it neared its doom.
The huge device fell slowly at first and then faster and faster. The black metal of its surface was pitted and scarred by blaster shots and internal explosions. The Republic fleet had withdrawn out of range of any catastrophic detonation. They had long since stopped hitting it, content to let the station destroy itself as it fell towards its power source. The Republic ships sat in space, their hulls scored and damaged by the battle that had just finished. The wreckage of that battle; Sith and Republic had mingled in the zone between the present location of the ships and the space station. The Republic capital ships were large ships, the largest ship was over five miles long and were heavily armed and armoured. Whilst the Sith relied upon massed guns with a fixed firing arc, the Republic used fewer guns but had much greater arcs of fire. Their guns were heavier and slower to fire but were more damaging. On the largest of these ships, the Republic flagship, the commander of the Third Republic Battlefleet stood and watched as the Star Forge neared it's 4 nemesis. The commander was a tall women with the bars of a vice-admiral on her shoulder. She had greying-brown hair and watchful blue eyes deep set into her face. She was evidently an experienced soldier, as her age would suggest but looked every bit as vigorous as a person half her age. Beside her was a short figure in the robes of a Jedi master. Although only four foot tall, he had authority and power about him as he nodded up at the admiral.
"Sense a movement in the force I do. One of great power has fallen it seems." He said and the admiral nodded.
"I can only hope that it is the darklord, Master Vandar." She said, fretting slightly.
"To be certain of this I cannot but I think that we have achieved a victory."
A tall captain joined the two. He saluted the two. "Admiral, are you sure we are out of range of the station's destruction?" He asked and the fleet commander turned to him.
"We shall have to wait and see. Ready all shields to maximum power and cut engines captain," she ordered and the man withdrew to order his commanders wishes.
The two leaders watched as the station finally lost all of its integrity and plunged down headlong into the ball of energy. The was a flash like a photon flare, a rush of power and a burst of radiation as the station crashed into the glowing ball of energy. There was a succession of explosions that had nothing to do with air or fire. Flashes like a thousand small supernovas flickered and then with a blinding flash a shockwave of energy shot outwards. The fighters had long withdrawn to the hanger bays or they would now have been swept aside like leaves before a fire storm. The capital ships stood against the gale for what seemed an eternity before the haze of energy faded leaving the endless horizon before them. The Star Forge, the sphere of what must have been antimatter and the wreckage was gone, disintegrated by the power of the blast and by the annihilation of matter at the core of the explosion.
On the bridge, all stood stunned at the fury of the blast. They seemed horrified at such power, even the three Jedi who were at the rear of the bridge. They had been the survivors of those who had boarded the Star Forge but Revan had sent away before she had confronted Malak. Many had refused and had fought in the final battle on the command deck. All of those had died there. The admiral closed her eyes as the captain appeared again, hesitantly.
"Admiral Dodonna, report from Captain Jarik. He says that the White Nova had a hull breach and the shields are out of action."
"Have him contain it and I want damage reports from every ship. I also want repairs started to make the ships moveable, even to get back to dock." She said and the captain saluted. He was a bald man with a scar down from his right eye to his chin. That eye was white, suggesting blindness had resulted from the old injury.
As he strode away, Vandar looked up at the Republic admiral. "You feel for their loss do you not? The loss of the Ebon Hawk and its crew." He intoned and even he bowed his head.
"They did what we could not have done otherwise." She said and stared out as an excited lieutenant ran up to her.
"Admiral, a priority message from the Ebon Hawk." He said and the officer's head snapped up to look at the man.
"Patch it through lieutenant and prepare to move if needed." She said and the man signalled and the holo-generator before the admiral illuminated. The image was very scratchy and it was clear that the machine had been damaged, like the man in view. It did not take an expert to see that he was hurt mentally as well as physically. Nevertheless, he held himself up and saluted.
"Admiral Dodonna, the Ebon Hawk requests immediate docking." He said and the Republic naval officer nodded.
"I thought you had been lost to us Carth. It is good to hear you again."
"We almost were lost. Engines are crippled, shields lost and we have a small breach. I think we have an hour of emergency air left. I will say though, whoever built this ship built it well."
"Can you give us a location? We are sending in a cruiser to pick you up." She signalled to the captain who relayed the orders to the fleet.
"Coordinates transmitting now." Carth said and Dodonna nodded as they were received and passed on to the Vengeance, a heavy cruiser.
"Excellent, the Vengeance will pick you up soon Carth. Then I would like a full debriefing with you."
"Understood admiral. We will wait for that moment." He said and the image faded.
Vandar grimaced slightly. "Much anguish in his heart I sense. Fear as to what happened on the Star Forge I do." He said and the vice-admiral nodded her agreement.
"Maybe an old friend will help him." Dodonna chuckled as one of her ships broke formation.
The heavy cruiser glided through space; now that the Ebon Hawk had been recovered it was heading at speed back to the main fleet. In the main docking bay of the Vengeance, amidst the fighters and usual junk that characterised a docking bay, the ship was gently moved in by a tractor beam through the first set of airlock doors. There were the usual two of them which allowed one part of the docking entrance to be pressurised before moving it into the main docking bay. This had evidently been developed to allow people access to the bay even when ships were docking rather than having to leave. The Ebon Hawk looked like it had been the target of every asteroid in the galaxy but had somehow survived. It was battered but was still strong and sturdy as it was lowered to the deck. On the bridge of the ship, Carth undid his safety harness and stood. The interior of the bridge was even more damaged than the rest of the ship and the systems were fired and sparking. He looked to where Bastila was trying to undo her belt but seemed too nervous to keep her hands straight. Carth leaned over and helped her up. She looked at him a little dazedly.
"I am quite alright Carth. I do not need to be watched like a child." She said, but nearly fell backwards, and the captain held her steady and helped her out into the crew area.
"You'll be alright Bastila, that was quite a wild ride." He said, more shaken than he let on. She smiled slightly.
"I guess I am not used to flying in a star ship in a battle." She said and Carth chuckled as their other companions were trying to stand. All except for two of them looked a little shaken. One was a tall man who was obviously a soldier with short grey hair who looked as fresh as he had at the start of this day. The other was a tall dark skinned man with the robes of a Jedi and a lightsaber at his side. He looked mildly amused at what was happening around him. Carth's other companions were two droids, one small and one man sized. The man sized one was red coloured and had glowing red eyes and had a blaster rifle strapped to its back. There was also a giant shaggy creature of about six and a half foot tall who was trying to help a young alien girl to stand. She looked very unsteady and only the giant furry arms were stopping her keeling over onto the deck. The last was another Jedi, this one an alien with only a single collection of hairs growing from the back of its skull. The Jedi was evidently female and she shook her head to clear it as she stood.
Carth nodded to his friends. "We have docked on the Vengeance, my old ship ironically. We will then take a transport to the flagship, the Imperious. Is everyone alright? He asked and the alien girl snorted. Her skin was a pleasant light blue colour and her head had two long tendril like tails growing down from its back. They were at this moment looped carelessly over her shoulder as though they were always getting in her way. Sometimes they seemed to move of their own volition, a disturbing sight to be sure.
"I take back everything that I said when we landed on that planet Carth. That was some flight." She said and he shrugged.
"And we are lucky to be in one piece. This ship was made to last and that is the only reason we are sill here. That blast could have crippled a destroyer but we were lucky."
"Just try to avoid doing it again." The older Jedi snorted.
"Poor Revan." The alien Jedi said softly, mostly to herself.
Bastila walked over to her. "She did what she had to Juhani. I am sorry that this had to come to pass. We must take the opportunity that she offered us." She said and the Jedi before her bowed her head. There was something catlike about her features and movements. Carth looked like his life had been crushed out of him, like he was a walking corpse with nothing to go on for.
"Come on, we had better go see the admiral." He said with an utter weariness and headed for the ramp. The oldest of the Jedi came over to Bastila.
"It will either destroy him or make him a better man, I cannot decide which." He said and she nodded slowly.
"We will help him where we can but he must live his own life." She added and the man nodded and followed the captain outside and down the ramp into the interior of the Vengeance.
A tall naval captain with an unusual uniform of dark blue with black highlights waited for them at the bottom of the boarding ramp. He was a good looking, clean shaven man whose friendly smile was betrayed by his watchful and intense eyes. He was accompanied by a half dozen soldiers and his aide de camp, a younger man in his twenties. His watchful eyes softened as he saw the dazed and limping form of Captain Carth Onasi leaving the ship. His mouth became a wide smile as he walked forward and clapped the startled man on the shoulder.
"Captain Carth Onasi I presume, your fortunes have not improved. I see your flagship is not what it once was." He said happily and Carth returned the broad smile with his own and shook the man's hand.
"Solon you rogue. Good to see you, I see they made you captain here. What is the fleet coming to?" He asked and the man chuckled.
"Better times after that victory Carth but the war is still ahead of us." He said.
"So, have you been looking after the old girl?" Carth asked, waving around the ship and the man smiled.
"I have indeed. She did wonders in the battle, we crushed a Sith Dreadnaught. Can you credit it?" He asked and his friend shook his head.
"Not really, alone?" He asked innocently.
"Well, we did have some help from the Justice I suppose. Captain Harding is a good fellow."
"I remember him. I haven't seen you Solon since, since well I went to relieve Telos." He said and his humour faded. The man nodded.
"I heard what happened, a damn shame. Kareth offered me a full captaincy in the Sith fleet if I joined him but I heard what happened there and I could not bring myself to help those scum. So I stayed here and became captain last year."
"Well, technically I am only a commander but I borrowed the rank of captain." Carth admitted.
"You never could be trusted Onasi." He said happily. "That means you have to salute me."
"What is the Republic coming to?" He asked and turned.
Carth saw his friends had disembarked and led the captain back towards them. They looked up, surprised to see Carth so happy again, those closest to him knew it was a façade.
"My friends, allow me to introduce an old friend from the fleet academy, Captain Julius Solon." He said and the man bowed his head.
"So you would be the heroic saviours of the Republic then?" He asked and smiled. "The admiral has requested you come as soon as possible and where admirals command, mere post captains obey." He said and the crew of the Ebon Hawk smiled slightly, forgetting their loss to his infectious good humour.
"Lead the way, sir." Carth said sardonically and the man barked a laugh.
"It is good to see the art of respect is maintained commander." He said happily and walked alongside Carth. His face became serious again.
"Are you alright Carth? What happened on that station?"
"A very close friend of mine died there. She defeated the darklord but died from her wounds. I feel like I could have saved her."
"So you hurt yourself like you did after Telos do you?" He asked seriously, ignoring the look of anger on his friend's face. "I understand, you might not think I do but you remember Teron?" He asked quietly.
"Your brother?" Carth asked and the captain nodded.
"He was picked up as a prisoner over Ord Mantel. He had being doing covert ops as you remember. His cover was blown and he was captured. The last I heard, he was taken by the Sith. That was eight months ago." He said bleakly.
"Damn Julius, I'm sorry." Carth said and the man smiled thinly.
"So am I Carth, so am I. I know what it means and that is why I begged, bribed and almost mutinied to get this ship here for the fight. You killed Saul Kareth did you not?" He asked and his friend nodded.
"I did. It did not make it easier." He said and Julius nodded.
"It never does. I caught the man who betrayed my brother. One of the ring escaped and identified him. I caught him and threw him off the top of the building he was in. It did not make it better." He sighed. "Anyway, we had best not keep her waiting, I am in trouble enough with her for my last ditch admission to the fleet." He said and walked on to organise the shuttle. Carth watched him go and saw at once what was wrong with himself. He could not let this loss, or any other overcome him. He would survive.
"You okay captain?" The Twi'lek said, appearing beside him.
"I'm fine Mission. He just gave me some valuable advice."
"An old friend?" She probed and he nodded.
"We have known each other since we were ensigns out of the academy. He is a good man and he understands what I have been through. We fought together many times."
"Does he?" She asked and Carth nodded.
"His brother was a covert ops specialist. He just told me he was picked up by the Sith. He has not heard from him in eight months." He said and Mission nodded sadly.
"Terrible. This war must end." She said and Carth grimaced.
"I do not think it has even started. Come on, let's get the launch." He said and the blue Twi'lek followed him onto the shuttle.
Admiral Forn Dodonna sat at her table in her private office. Beside her was Jedi Master Vandar and another Jedi Master. A tall and silver haired man who seemed to have infinite patience and control. His eyes were as blue as sapphire and his plain black robes were stark against his silver hair and the white walls of the room. The other Jedi and even the Admiral seemed to hold him in high regard but he seemed not to notice, his eyes closed, channelling his senses out. The room was a plain white room with little decoration. The rear wall held a wide window whilst to left and right was the bedroom and library of the admiral. Dodonna was evidently not a women to depend on decoration or show, just the most functional items.
The door slid open and a young second lieutenant who was the temporary aide of the vice-admiral saluted.
"Admiral, the party of the Ebon Hawk." He said and Dodonna nodded.
"You may go lieutenant." She said. The man saluted and only just suppressed his surprise when the third Jedi's eyes suddenly snapped open. The officer left the room and the three leaders stood as the two people entered the room.
Bastila walked forward and bowed deeply to Vandar and then to the other Jedi, in total surprise at his sudden appearance. Carth saluted the admiral and Jedi collectively and then sat as the others did so. Dodonna smiled at the two.
"Welcome Bastila, Commander Onasi. You both know Master Vandar and I already but I believe the commander has not met Jedi Master Aetius Perinard. The man bowed his head and Bastila timidly asked her next question as though she expected a rebuke.
"Master Aetius, may I ask what one of the High Council is doing here?" She asked and the man smiled and pushed his shoulder length silver hair back.
"You may ask child. This matter of the Star Forge was as great importance to our order as to the Republic. I came to see if my assistance was needed. As it was I arrived to late to affect the course of the battle but hopefully I can assist in the aftermath." His voice was utterly calm but also humane and compassionate. It commanded absolute authority but was not arrogant or domineering.
"And we appreciate your presence Master Aetius." Dodonna said and looked to the two before her.
"And where is Revan? We heard that she was there, she sent back many of the Jedi while she went on."
Carth bowed his head. "Revan is dead. She died from the wounds inflicted in the battle with Malak."
"And Malak has not survived?" Vandar asked. Carth opened his mouth but Aetius beat him to it.
"He has not, I felt as much when I arrived. So she died defeating the evil she helped create. A redemption of her acts both past and present." He said and Carth glared at him. The Jedi was not fazed in the least.
"She made her choice master." Bastila said sadly. "She would not let us try to carry her away. She knew perhaps that we would not live if we were burdened by her or that she would die regardless of our assistance." She said.
Aetius looked at Carth's valiant attempt to hold himself straight.
"You loved her did you not commander? And she you?" He asked softly and the commander nodded, knowing that it was not hard to see.
"You will be surprised then when I say I do not disapprove." He said and there was silence as all in the room looked at the silver haired master.
"Master, the code-" Bastila began half-heartedly but Aetius held up his hand and she stopped.
"I know the code child, I know it better than you can imagine. I also know that there are times when the code can not help. Revan was always an interesting case. Even as a child, she held great strength but also great vulnerability in herself. No amount of recital of the code would convince her to change her mind. If perhaps, she had had a strong force to look to she may have chosen the path of temperance. Alas it was not so. Love is not evil, we all know this, but it does complicate matters. Revan was always vulnerable to the darkness of her heart and never more so then when her true identity was revealed." He looked over at Vandar who shifted slightly. The non-Jedi in the room caught the look but kept it to themselves.
"To find that she had been living a lie is something none of us can imagine. I think that without the support of her friends and perhaps the affection she shared for the commander, we may have had another darklord in the place of Malak. Sometimes good deeds come from the smallest chances, from the breaking of rules." He sat back and there was a collection of nods at the table.
"Leaving that point aside for the moment." Dodonna said, after a long pause. "This has been the first great victory of the Republic in this war. The war is not over, it has barely started but we have gained an edge."
"In the battle of nations, the path can only be slow." Vandar said and bowed his head.
"And we thank you two. On behalf of the Republic and with the support of the Jedi Order, we thank you for your assistance in this matter." Dodonna said and the two heroes nodded.
"Thankyou for your words admiral." Carth said. "We did it as a team and we could not have done this alone."
"Then you have our thanks. Much fighting lays ahead of us yet. What will you do now?" She asked and Carth breathed in.
"Permission to take two weeks leave admiral. Then, I will report for duty with the fleet." He said and she nodded.
"Nothing is going to happen for a while. The request is granted provided you stay on Coruscant. If we need you, you must be on hand." She said and he nodded.
"I will do that admiral." He said and Dodonna looked to Bastila.
"And you Jedi Bastila?" She asked politely and the younger Jedi looked to Aetius who smiled slightly.
"Although the demands of this war are great, we will match the admiral's offer. With the same condition. You have earned it Bastila. I will say now that I am glad that you have returned to the light."
She bowed her head at the remembrance of her weakness. "Revan saw it in herself to forgive me, to let me back despite my allegiance. I hope that others will forgive me also." She said and Aetius nodded his head slowly.
"The hard lesson is the one best learnt and most remembered. Remember that no one is infallible Bastila, you have gained much wisdom in this time and it will serve you well. When you return to duty we will consider where you are needed most. You will not be forgotten, your brashness has given way to tolerance I hope."
"Thank you master. While I regret my fall, I shall struggle to be deserving of your trust." She said and Dodonna stood.
"Good, we are returning to Coruscant with most of the fleet. You are welcome to stay with us until we land at Alderaan and then take a transport with us on."
"We will do that, it will be a long time before the Hawk is fixed. I will get some people on Coruscant to look at it." Carth said and rose. He saluted and left the room ahead of Bastila who followed.
When the door was closed Dodonna rose and looked to the two Jedi.
"Well, that is over with. If I may be alone, I must write my report for the Grand Admiral." She said and the other two nodded.
"May peace be with you admiral." Aetius said and left the room.
When the room was empty, Dodonna turned and looked out the window to where the blue planet was slowly easing past them as the Imperious accelerated.