Chapter 8: Rude Awakenings
The Ebon Hawk: Now
Alone in the heavy silence of her office, Min set a bottle of Sacorrian Fire Whiskey and a blaster down on the top of her pleakwood desk. The whiskey was cheap rotgut, strong and foul smelling. Normally she would have never touched it, but she wanted something that would burn as it went down her throat.
The blaster was one of Carth's; he had several and had made a habit of constantly tinkering with them. It was the only thing of his that she had kept when she'd removed his belongings from the room. The part of her brain that functioned on a practical level had realized that he was going to need his belongings back. So she had found an empty cargo crate, gathered his things together and left them in the hallway, trusting that eventually he'd find them. Overloaded by emotions, she hadn't actually thought she could feel any worse, but it was like she was tearing a piece of herself out every time she'd put something of his in the crate. Grief lanced through the layers of hurt that fogged her brain and when she was finally finished, she was in a way, relieved.
Min had even managed to recess the bed back into the wall, and return the furniture to where it sat before. Then she locked the door behind her.
She studied the whiskey and the blaster for a long time, both of which offered oblivion.
Time to pick your poison.
Telos: Four Years Ago
Saul soaked up the blazing afternoon sunlight while he finished off his Corellian Ale. After six months on his flagship, being downside, and at a barbeque no less, felt strangely alien. He liked Telos, it was as close to a home outside of his flagship that he had, and many of his men had relocated their families here. Telos colony itself was non-military, but it was less than a two day hyperspace jump from the large Republic shipyards in orbit around Nigel Three.
Distracted by the sound of clinking silverware, Saul watched Morgana Onasi fiddle with the table settings, while her husband and son played some kind of game that involved a ball, some convoluted rules and tackling each other as much as possible.
Ever polite, she asked, "Can I get you another drink, Admiral?"
After fourteen years, she still calls me by my rank.
Saul flashed a smile, which he hoped covered his annoyance with her. "No, thank you. I'm fine."
Their eyes met, and he knew she was not fooled, but she nodded and said, "Dinner will be ready soon."
Morgana's coolness towards him was nothing new. At first he thought it had something to do with the fact that he had advised Carth not to marry her, but now he knew it was more than that. It wasn't personal, he actually liked Morgana. She was a brilliant engineer and her new experimental ion drive had just been installed in the starfighters aboard his flagship. But Saul was of the firm belief that career military and marriages went together like oil and water. It was a point that had been made by recent events. After serving in the military for over seventeen years, her husband, Saul's protégé, had handed in his resignation which became effective when his tour was up in six months.
Saul was furious because Morgana Onasi had finally won.
She stepped off the patio and joined her husband and son in the grass. Both Onasi males turned on her as she approached and after some token protests from Morgana, and some excited shouts from Dustil, the three of them ended up in a laughing, tickling pile on the grass.
In the beginning, she'd been supportive of Carth's military career, but as the years passed and their son grew older, the tension between husband and wife had grown. For years Carth had been caught in a tug of war between them, but Saul had always managed to convince Carth to stay in the military and talk him out of resigning, but Carth had finally given in. Saul had been grooming Carth for fifteen years, eventually planning for Carth to take his place, but Carth had been adamant about it. No matter how many times Saul tried to convince him otherwise, Carth remained unmoved.
It was most frustrating.
All of these years, all of that potential, wasted!
Although he was angry, Saul understood Carth's decision. It was unreasonable to expect Carth to sacrifice a civilian life when the ranks of the fleet were rife with nepotism and political maneuvering. Both of them had been passed over for promotion several times and he'd seen Carth chafe under the stupidity of the Republic leadership. The most recent and outrageous example was Pol Durvil's promotion to High Admiral. Despite High Admiral Durval's ineptitude, the Galactic Senate kept giving him chances to prove himself. What the Republic didn't realize yet was that they were running out of time. Revan's forces were gaining in numbers daily and with each consecutive victory her forces grew stronger.
However the situation was still salvageable because Saul had just been made a most intriguing offer. It would allow him to get the recognition and power that he had earned. He'd already accepted, and now there was just one thing left for him to do.
While Saul formulated his plan, Carth rolled his wife over onto her back and thoroughly kissed her in the grass. Dustil rolled his eyes and made loud retching sounds. Morgana and Carth broke apart laughing and picked themselves up off the ground.
Shooting his wife and son a grin, Carth checked the nerf steaks on the grill and joined Saul at the patio table. Morgana led a complaining Dustil inside to wash up for dinner.
Alone with Carth, Saul saw his chance and took it, certain that this time Carth would listen.
He began, phrasing his words carefully. "Carth, we need to talk about your future…."
The Leviathan: 26 Hours Earlier
Sith guards flanked Carth and led him from his holding cell into a painfully bright and vacant interrogation room. Once the guards left, Carth did a quick check and was not surprised to find that the only furniture in the room, a table with a chair on either side, were all bolted to the floor.
He'd woken up a short time ago with a disrupter collar chafing his neck and his hands bound by metal binders. Carth wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious and he hadn't seen the others since they'd been captured by the Sith Interdictor ship, the Leviathan.
The Ebon Hawk had been pulled out of hyperspace about ten hours after their departure from Tatooine. Locked in a tractor beam, there was nothing the crew of the Ebon Hawk could do except wait to be boarded. Once in the hanger bay, they were surrounded by Sith troopers, but the crew was determined not to go down without a fight. When the boarding ramp lowered, the four Jedi attacked. With covering fire provided by the others, the Jedi managed to push back the Sith troopers almost to the hallway when the blast doors started to slide shut. Belatedly, they realized what was happening and they tried to keep the heavy doors from closing, but it was too late. Once the doors were closed and locked, the Sith flooded the hanger bay with sleep gas.
Refusing to sit in one of the chairs, Carth leaned against the wall next to the door and waited. Eventually, the door opened. Carth didn't even look to see who it was, he charged hoping to bowl over the person who came through. He only made it a couple of steps before crippling pain shot down his spine; Carth fell to his knees and he couldn't contain the ragged scream of pain. His eyes blurred and his back arched, but just as suddenly, the pain stopped.
The familiar voice barely registered. "Put him in the chair."
Carth felt gloved hands under his elbows and was jerked to his feet and dumped into the metal chair. Finally, his eyes focused on the grey haired, grey eyed man who had taken a seat across from him. But Carth didn't need to see him, he knew who it was even though it had been four years.
Pure hatred roiled in Carth's guts and came out in one word.
"Saul."
Carth looked across the table at the man who had once been closer to him than his own father, the man who he had respected more than anyone. He wanted nothing more than to tear him apart, piece by piece.
"That little maneuver was foolish. You must have known that it was futile."
"It was worth a shot."
Saul gestured, and the guards that had accompanied him into the room left. "It has been far too long since we last spoke." He took in Carth's scruffy, unshaven appearance. "I see the years have not been kind in your case. I barely recognized you."
"But I recognized you, Saul. I see your face every night even as I promise myself I will kill you for what you did to Telos."
Saul spoke in a tone that was maddening in its bland reasonableness. "Did you learn nothing in your time under me? As a soldier you should understand that casualties were unavoidable. It was an act of war."
"It was a cowardly act of betrayal. Your fleet bombed a civilian target into oblivion without warning or provocation and the blood of those innocent people is on your hands!"
"In war even the innocent must die. Malak would not accept me until I proved I had truly turned my back on the Republic by bombing the planet."
"Morgana died in that attack, and for that, I swear I'll kill you."
"Yes, that was too bad," Saul stated in complete seriousness. "I always liked her you know, but you never should have married her. I always told you that career military and family don't mix."
Propelled by fury, Carth lunged across the table. Pain spiked down his back again and Carth gnashed his teeth together determined not to scream. He almost succeeded.
Saul waited until Carth finished gasping for air before he spoke. "I was hoping that we could have a civilized conversation. Cling to your lust for revenge if you must, but spare me your tired threats. I've heard them all before."
The two men stared at each other in stony silence and then Carth asked the question that had plagued him for four years.
"Why did you do it?" he asked quietly. He had a pretty good idea why, but he wanted to hear it from Saul himself.
"They passed me up for promotion one too many times. The Sith offered me the power and recognition that I had earned, that I deserved." Carth was unsurprised, he had figured as much.
While he loved the Republic, Carth was not blind to its faults. At the end of the Mandalorian War, Saul had been poised to take command of the entire Republic fleet. His promotion to High Admiral was expected by everyone except apparently the Senate, who in one startling case of military stupidity, promoted the far more politically savvy but tactically challenged Pol Durvil instead. It was an action that would have never been taken during war time, Durvil was just too incompetent for that, but with peace potentially looming over the horizon, the Senate wanted someone flashier with a bit more polish.
Chasing down and humiliating Durvil had been the first thing that Saul had done after the bombing of Telos, which was why High Admiral Dodonna was now in command.
"I had given everything to the Republic. I dedicated my life to military service for over thirty years and they expected me to follow the orders of that imbecile. I didn't betray the Republic, Carth, it betrayed me."
"So you murdered millions of people, because your ego was bruised." He studied Saul and had a flash of insight. "It must really tick you off being under Malak's command." Saul's face remained a blank mask but his eyes betrayed him. "Serving under Revan's strategic brilliance was one thing, but having to take orders from Malak now must really burn."
"The Dark Lord shall prevail," Saul protested automatically but Carth knew him well enough to know that he had scored.
"I've seen the reports. You would never make the tactical blunders that Malak is making. He's not listening to you the way Revan did, is he?"
Saul studied Carth over his steepled fingers. "You were always very perceptive. It's a shame that you didn't come with me. You were my biggest disappointment. After all those years of grooming you to take my place in the fleet, I thought you would understand my decision. I thought you would come with me. You were the son I never had Carth, you were to be my legacy. I should have known that you were too soft, but I had made great plans for you."
Carth bared his teeth. "Like you made for my son?"
For the first time, anger and disapproval crossed Saul's face. "I did have great plans for Dustil. You and your companions made quite a mess at Korriban. You denied him his chance at greatness, Carth."
Carth was horrified, he hadn't realized how deep Saul's plans ran. "You weren't planning on having him be just Malak's apprentice were you?"
"It is easier to lead the Sith if one is a Dark Jedi, they tend to get more respect," Saul said wryly. "Eventually, with my help, he would have taken Malak's place. It is the way of the Dark Jedi, the Master eventually usurped by the Apprentice. But without any military knowledge he would have needed my assistance, of course. I would have commanded the fleet through him, and eventually he would have taken my place."
But you can't touch him now. He's safe thanks to Min. It was only that thought that kept him from lunging at Saul again.
"Losing Dustil was a great disappointment. But it may be possible to salvage the situation now that I have Bastila. She is young and malleable, not much older than Dustil. Once the Dark Lord turns her, she will need allies herself." As Saul raked Carth with his gaze, Carth realized that he was a dead man. Saul would have never told him this unless he planed on killing him. "You, on the other hand, are an insignificant part of these events." He stood and the door swept open as guards entered. "Bring him. He may yet prove useful."
Canderous woke on a stainless steel metal table naked, cold and in agony. His body was covered with seeping burns and blisters from a small incendiary grenade that he had intentionally set off on himself. While his Mandalorian healing implant could repair quite a bit of damage, it did nothing to ease the pain. Using the discipline that he had acquired during his forty years of fighting, he ruthlessly pushed the pain aside and focused on moving. After a few minutes of concentrating he was able to move his head. He looked around as much as he could at his surroundings.
From the fact that the slab next to him held a dead Rodian, Canderous surmised that their backup plan had worked. It looked like the Sith had thought his wounds were fatal and had dumped him in the morgue to die. He was still in pretty bad shape and there was no way that he was going to be able to move the rest of his body for quite a while, so Canderous forced himself to relax and let his healing mods do their job.
He considered his options.
Once he was able to move, he could abandon his companions to the Sith. The Sith would probably be so preoccupied with the others that they wouldn't even notice him missing until he was long gone. It would definitely make his escape much easier, and besides, other than Min he owed the others nothing.
Or he could stay and follow through with the backup plan, which was most likely going to get him killed. But that really didn't bother him, he'd never really feared death itself, what he feared was a meaningless death, a death without honor. Like Jagi.
There really wasn't a choice. He would try to rescue them, because she was his comrade. Although he hated her sometimes, because she made him question things that he had taken for granted his entire life, she had stood by his side when there was no one else. Even though she wouldn't have thought so she, in her own way, lived by the code of the Mandalore.
Honor in battle. Cheating death. Comrades in arms.
He smiled.
It will be a good death.
Min sat in her containment cell in her red silk underwear and tried to reach out and touch the force for the hundredth time. It was absolutely maddening, she could feel it, but it was just out of her reach. Bastila who was in the cylindrical cell next to her had explained that these energy cages gave off a special disrupter energy signature which disrupted the force in a small radius around the cell. They were extremely expensive to build and required an enormous amount of energy to maintain. Many Republic ships had the same cages installed to contain any Dark Jedi that might be captured. Min knew that it was futile, but it was either try to focus on figuring a way out of here or go crazy so she concentrated again and tried to touch the force.
Bastila interrupted her fruitless attempt at escape. "What do you think is happening to the others?"
Min looked over at Bastila, who was also in her underwear, except hers was black lace. Despite the circumstances, Min was impressed; she had no idea that Bastila had it in her.
Maybe there's hope for her yet.
But Bastila looked pale and understandably terrified. Despite her usual prissy and stiff attitude, Bastila was generally so poised that Min forgot that how young she really was, but right now she looked she looked like the scared twenty year old kid that she was.
"I don't know. I just hope they're alive."
Min couldn't figure out why she was alive, let alone separated with Bastila from the others. She knew why Bastila was alive, Malak would find her Battle Meditation ability useful, but she hadn't figured out why the rest of them were. The Sith would be able to find out all their important information by interrogating Bastila, they didn't really need the rest of them, other than Carth who might be privy to some Republic secrets, unless they were going to be used for some kind of leverage on each other.
It still didn't make any sense to her, the Sith had to know what they were up to. She was pretty sure they were the ones who sent Calo Nord after them on Kashyyyk, and she knew that they had sent Bandon after them on Tatooine. Between that and the ruckus they had caused on Korriban as well as the fact they were waiting for them on the hyperspace route from Tatooine to Manaan, Min was damn certain that the Sith knew that they were after the Star Maps.
So why are they keeping the rest of us alive? What's the point? And why do I get a place of honor next to Bastila? Why didn't they put me with Jolee and Juhani?
Out of all of them, the one she was worried about the most was Mission. The teenage Twi'lek had the least to offer the Sith in usefulness and she was pretty. Min swore to herself that she would kill anyone who touched the girl. That is, if they could manage to escape. Min hoped that Canderous had survived the incendiary grenade.
Bastila cut across her thoughts. It was her tone of voice that caught Min's attention; Bastila sounded not only afraid but guilty. "Min there is something that I have to tell you. Something that you deserve to know…."
Before Bastila could finish her sentence, the door slid open and Min held up her hand to silence the younger Jedi. Whatever it was that Bastila needed to get off her conscience, the Sith didn't need to know.
Both women stood in their cells as a man in a high ranking Sith uniform entered the room, followed by Carth who was half led, half dragged by the Sith troopers flanking him. Min was relieved that Carth looked fine so far, but by the way he was looking at the Sith officer, Min had no doubt who he was.
Bastila confirmed it, speaking in a calm and arrogant tone. In the face of their captors, she had regained her composure. "Your efforts here will be futile, Admiral Karath. We will never serve Malak or the dark side. The Sith will be destroyed, as will you if you don't turn away from this path." Min was impressed, she just wished she shared Bastila's Jedi calmness; she struggled to control her temper but the fact that she was scared didn't help.
Saul ignored Bastila, instead heading directly to Min's energy cell. He walked up to her and inspected her as though she were some kind of exotic insect. Their eyes met, and Min saw something in their little staring contest that she didn't expect, awe and fear.
"Unbelievable," he muttered to himself, loud enough for only her to hear. Saul blinked first, shook his head and walked away. Min tried to mask her confusion at his reaction. She looked covertly over at Carth who was being clamped down in a metal chair in front of them and they shared a confused glance.
Saul, who had turned his attention to Bastila, finally spoke. "Your words are brave, Bastila, but the lure of the dark side is hard to resist, or so I've been told." He looked back over at Min. "I wonder if your companion is as devoted to the light as you are."
Min just stood silently in her cell with her arms crossed staring at Saul, which apparently amused him. "You're defiant. I'm certain Malak will find your loyalty to the Jedi amusing. The Dark Lord would probably reward me if I just killed you once and for all. But he may want to question you given the trouble you've caused him and the history between you."
History? What the hell? What history with Malak?
Min stayed silent, despite her growing confusion, hoping that Saul would elaborate.
Saul continued. "The Dark Lord will no doubt torture you for information and for his own twisted pleasure. Eventually you will tell him everything. The Sith can be very persuasive. However, Lord Malak is in another sector. It may be some time before he arrives, so I suppose I will have to fill in for him until then."
"Don't waste your breath, Saul. We won't answer any of your questions," Carth stated with venom.
"I'm sure you won't." Saul looked over at Min again. "However, we both know your friend's loyalties have proven in the past to be somewhat flexible."
Min's confusion began to turn into icy fear. Whatever the Jedi were holding back from her, Saul knew, which just couldn't be a good thing.
He acts like he knows me.
Still, she refused to give Saul the upper hand so she swallowed her confusion and tried to keep her face blank, but the moment she'd been dreading had arrived.
"It is time to put your loyalty to the test. I doubt torturing you will gain me your true cooperation. Your will is too strong to be broken that way. However, even the strongest of heroes has trouble watching those they care about suffering. The interrogation will begin now. Each time you refuse to answer or give me a false answer, Carth will suffer."
"My pain is meaningless! Tell him nothing!"
She tried to bluff her way out of the situation. "Go ahead, torture him. I don't really like him anyway."
"You expect me to fall for such a transparent ploy? You travel half way across the galaxy with someone and you expect me to believe you feel nothing for each other? I tire of these games - now I want answers! On what planet is the Jedi Academy at which you were trained?"
Min answered truthfully, because she knew that Saul had to know already. There were just too many people coming and going at Dantooine to really keep it a secret from the Sith. Besides, Malak had been to Dantooine to find the Star Map, he had to know about the Academy.
Saul was pleased, thinking that he had terrified her into submission. "An excellent beginning. I am glad you are being reasonable. This first question was a test. Obviously Malak knew the Academy was on Dantooine, and it has since been destroyed by our fleet. Dantooine is an empty graveyard now. Nothing remains but a smoking ruin and the charred remains of your former Masters!"
As he spoke the words, she knew that it was true. She looked over at Bastila, who was shaking now. Min concentrated on not being sick.
"Now, tell me your mission. How were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak and our Sith armada?"
"Cut the shit, Saul. You know how."
"Why don't you enlighten me?"
"Why are you asking me questions that you already know the answers to?"
"I am interrogating you, not the other way around. You will answer questions, not ask them."
"We were searching for the Star Forge."
"That does not make any sense. I will ask you again, how were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak?"
Min was completely confused now. "I told you already."
Saul pressed an unseen button and Carth arched in his chair, screaming in agony for a full thirty seconds.
"Again. How were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak?"
Min looked at Saul in horror and she tried to remain calm. She and Carth exchanged panicked looks and she knew they shared the same thought.
Oh, god. He doesn't believe me!
She tried the truth again. "I told you, we were looking for the Star Forge."
Saul let Carth writhe in pain for a minute and then asked the same question. Min didn't know what to say. Saul was relentless. He let Carth buck and scream for a minute and a half and then stopped to ask the same question, then two minutes, then two and a half. By three minutes she tried to lie, by four she was weeping, and by five Carth had passed out and they had to revive him.
"Perhaps this isn't bloody enough for you." He nodded at the Sith troopers who began to work Carth over in the chair with their fists. Then they pulled out their knives.
As Carth coughed up blood, Min begged for his life.
That caught Saul's attention. He finally asked a different question, one that she could answer.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes," she said through angry sobs.
He looked at her with careful consideration. "I believe you. Amazing. Truly amazing." He looked at Carth, who was nearly senseless, in astonishment.
Min felt her fury building around her calling out to the darkside and Min knew if she could have touched the force, she would have wrapped it around herself and given in to her hate. If she had gotten loose right now, she would have killed Saul on the spot and then gone after the entire Jedi Council for withholding from her whatever Saul wanted.
"But you still won't answer. Interesting. I'm going to ask you one more time. If you do not give me the answer I require, I will eviscerate him. Now, how were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak? On what mission did the Jedi Council send you?"
Hot tears streamed down her face. "Don't. Please don't do this."
"You can stop this; all you have to do is answer."
"I don't know what you're talking about! I told you already, we were looking for the Star Forge."
Saul sighed and nodded at the Sith trooper.
Bastila finally spoke. It was a shock, Min had forgotten that she was there. "Stop, it Saul. She's telling you the truth, she doesn't know."
Saul held up his hand to stop the interrogator.
"What do you mean, Bastila?" Saul asked.
"The Council was using her to find the Star Maps. She doesn't know what she is."
"What are you talking about, Bastila! What don't I know?"
Comprehension dawned in Saul's eyes, followed by amusement. "You mean...oh, this can't be true, can it? You really don't know what's going on here, do you? Well, I won't be the one to deprive Malak of the pleasure of telling you himself." He turned to the Sith troopers. "Put him in a containment cell." He looked at Min again. "His value has suddenly increased; Malak may want to use him."
Saul turned to Min and flashed a wolfish smile. "Now, my dear, it is your turn."
Time to move.
Canderous pealed himself off of the stainless steal table, with a quiet grunt of pain. The burn blisters had begun to heal but it would still be several days before he recovered completely, even with his implant.
A quick search of the room yielded a blaster rifle, a sharp black knife and an orange jumpsuit which all belonged to the dead Rodian. The jumpsuit was far too small for Canderous, and he would have to go without clothing for awhile. His own clothing was missing, Canderous doubted that there would have been much to salvage anyway after the grenade blast.
He looked at the chronometer, pressed against the wall next to the door and waited. A minute later the door swooshed open and the scrawny Sith tech walked in. Canderous waited for the door to close behind him before he made his move.
Canderous crept up silently behind the tech and grabbed him from behind. He pressed the knife to the man's throat and covered the man's mouth with his large hand.
The technician froze.
"Droid bay. Where is it?"
Canderous moved his hand slowly from the medic's mouth. Stuttering in fear, the man's words tumbled over each other as he scrambled to tell Canderous. Satisfied by his answer, Canderous slit the man's throat and let him drop to the floor. As the tech gurgled his life away, Canderous searched the dying man for anything useful. He found a pass card and briefly considered the man's pants but decided that they were far too small.
When the man was finished dying, Canderous placed him on the empty exam table, covered him with a sheet and headed to the droid bay in search of droids and pants.
Carth awoke to the sound of the door sliding open and wondered if he should pretend to be unconscious or just sit up and see who entered. Deciding that such subterfuge would accomplish nothing but delaying the inevitable, he slowly sat up, hissing as pain crashed through his stiff muscles.
"Damn Onasi, you look like shit. You keep taking beatings like that and you're not going to be so pretty anymore."
Carth coughed and looked at Canderous through the yellow haze of his energy cage. The big Mandalorian was barefoot and shirtless, wearing nothing but very tight grey trousers. At another time, Carth would have found it funny. "I thought you'd take off without us."
Canderous moved over to the control terminal and after a second the energy fields around their cells snapped off. "I'm sure you did."
"Where are the others?" he asked, as he slid off the platform of his cell and lurched over to where Min was lying, unconscious.
Canderous started rifling though the storage lockers against the wall, pulling out and inspecting the contents. "Zaalbar and Mission are getting them right now."
"How's Mission?" Carth had been worried about what the Sith troopers would do to her.
"She's fine."
"Did they…" Carth couldn't even say the words out loud; the thought was just too awful. He picked Min up and cradled her in his lap.
"No. I don't think so. I overheard some of the guards talking. It sounded like they were under orders to wait until Malak arrived. Although, apparently that didn't apply to the three of you."
Carth looked down at Min and gently shook her awake. In some ways, she had gotten the worst of it. They had tortured her for hours, and Saul hadn't even bothered to ask any questions. He knew the pain had to be excruciating, but be was damn glad that they hadn't dared to let the energy field drop. At least they hadn't been able to touch her physically. Saul had curiously observed her reactions to the pain reviving her as she passed out again and again, and Carth had been forced to sit there and watch. The only other time that he had felt that helpless was when he watched his wife die.
Her eyes cleared and focused on him. "Carth," she murmured.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm here."
They clung to each other for a minute, soaking in each other's strength in silence. As he heard the others come in he felt the cold tingle wash over his skin, by the time it was gone he felt a lot better. Reluctantly, they moved apart realizing that they needed to get moving quickly.
Min stood, albeit a little shakily at first and Canderous tossed Min her armor and her lightsabers. While she pulled it on, she turned on Bastila. "Alright Bastila, spill it."
Bastila just looked at her in guilty silence.
Min's voice became colder and louder. "What don't I know?"
"We don't have time for this right now. We need to focus on getting out of here as quickly as possible," Bastila said and as much as Carth hated it, he had to agree.
But Min wasn't quite convinced. "Maybe we need to make time."
"Can you feel it? We need to hurry, Malak's coming."
Min looked over at Jolee and he nodded, "She's telling the truth."
"How far away is he?"
"Close, but not on board yet. We have less than hour," Bastila said.
Min turned to Carth. "How do we get off this ship?"
"The bridge is the only place we can open the docking gates of the hangar where they've got the Ebon Hawk. I'm going there anyway. I've got a score to settle with the Admiral before we get off this ship, and I have a feeling I'm gonna find him on the Leviathan's bridge."
Min looked him in the eye and he could see the grim determination on her face. "I'm coming with you." Carth was grateful that she wasn't going to try to stop him.
"So am I," Bastila said.
Min looked like she was about to argue with her but decided against it. "When we're finished, you and I are going to have a talk. Okay, Bastila?"
Bastila nodded.
"The rest of you get to the Hawk. Be ready to go when we get there."
Carth turned to leave, but Canderous stopped him. "Here, take this." He handed Carth a wicked looking knife in a leather sheath. "For Saul."
Carth nodded and hung the dagger from his belt. A small part of him knew he should be worried that Canderous approved of what he was going to do to Saul, but mostly Carth was just grateful for the knife.
"Thanks." He followed Min out the door.
Thanks to Jolee, they made it to the hanger without firing a shot. As they walked down the brightly lit corridors, Canderous couldn't believe that they didn't run into any Sith guards.
Jolee took the lead, walking next to the big Wookiee with his eyes half closed, muttering to himself. Canderous felt a strange tugging at the edges of his mind and realized that the old Jedi must be doing something.
"What's he doing?" he asked Juhani. He and the Cathar were bringing up the rear and she was all coiled tension, ready to attack at any moment. She turned her yellow eyes on him, her distaste at having to talk to him obvious. Like Carth, Juhani spoke to him only when necessary and only when he spoke to her directly. He knew why, she was a Cathar and his people had destroyed her homeworld. The Mandalorians had been eager to fight the Cathar people, they were renown for their fierceness and unlike many other worlds that had fallen with a whimper, the fight for Cathar had brought much honor.
She struggled to explain. "It is a Jedi mind trick. He is nudging the minds of the Sith guards, not to enter the hall way or to go back into their rooms. It is like a mass suggestion, and it will not work for anything more complex than a very simple thought. It takes great mental control."
When they reached the hanger bay, he left the others in the hanger and boarded the ship with Mission. Walking up the ramp, he saw Jolee herd the astromech droid to the nearest wall interface, "Get those vents shut off. We didn't want to get gassed again."
Once on board, he turned to Mission. "Fire up the Hawk."
Mission was quiet and pale, but was holding up surprisingly well and she nodded and headed off to the cockpit. Canderous entered the sleeping quarters, pulled on his armor and grabbed a satchel full of weapons. When he emerged from the ship, he directed the others to move some of the cargo crates that were stacked along one of the walls into defensive positions where they would be able to take cover while firing at whoever came through the door.
If they were lucky, they would be gone before anyone noticed that they were missing, but he had just hunkered down next to Juhani when the alarms went off and he knew was only a matter of time before they checked the hanger. Canderous passed out blasters, grenades and energy shields. He handed Juhani a blaster rifle. She looked at him quizzically; the blaster rifle looked amazingly out of place in her hands.
"Ranged weapons first, then hand to hand when they get closer."
She didn't look happy about it but she nodded. The Ebon Hawk's engines hummed to life behind them and everyone settled into their defensive positions. Canderous lit a cigarra and waited for the battle to begin.
Carth, flanked by Min and Bastila, stood in front of the large steal doors that led to the bridge. Min looked at Carth and he could see that she was seriously worried.
"Are you ready?" Min asked, as if someone could be ready for what he was about to do.
"Yeah."
The last four years of his life had been building up to this moment and now that it was here he felt strangely detached from it. All he had was one burning goal in his mind.
Kill Saul.
Min took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He looked back at her and tried to give her a reassuring smile but he knew it didn't work because of the way she winced. Carth unsheathed the knife Canderous had given him, and held a blaster in a death grip his other hand.
When the doors opened, all he could see was Saul standing in front of the large viewing windows at the nose of the bridge. His strange detachment evaporated as the cold fury that bubbled underneath boiled over.
For an instant, time froze, and then everything began to happen at once. Two dark Jedi Masters and several Sith guards attacked. Bridge technicians scrambled to get out of the way of the oncoming Jedi. Min held out her hand and pushed as hard as she could. All of them went flying backwards, several connecting with the metal consoles and slumping into unconscious heaps. Carth went for Saul, who was the only Sith on the bridge left standing. He wasn't sure if it was because Saul was standing too far back to be hit by the wave or if Min left him standing, just for him. Ultimately, he didn't care.
Carth ignored everyone else and charged after Saul.
He made it halfway across the bridge and had to take cover behind one of the computer consoles. Saul and one of his Sith honor guard targeted him and fired. He managed to take cover as the blaster bolts zipped past him. He popped out from behind the console and fired off several shots, targeting the Sith guardsman first and was satisfied to see the man go down. He could have shot Saul then, but he wanted to kill him up close and personal. Saul fired again, and Carth could hear the blaster bolt sizzle against the chest plate of his armor but Saul didn't have time for another shot.
Carth lifted the blade Canderous had given him and swung down towards Saul. Saul dropped his blaster and grabbed Carth's wrist. The two men grappled over the sharp blade before the large viewing windows, but Saul was no match for the younger man. Carth shoved Saul backwards and Saul lost his grip on Carth's hand. He stabbed Saul in the stomach and jerked the blade to the side. Blood splattered everywhere. As Saul stood there clutching his stomach in shock, Carth raised his blaster and fired. Saul twisted and the shot hit his shoulder.
The force of the shot toppled Saul backwards. Carth, covered in Saul's blood, stood over him and looked down at his former mentor. Saul was still conscious as Carth raised the blade to finish him off.
"It's time to finish this, Saul."
Fuelled by fury, hatred and bile, he brought his hand down, but Min caught his wrist in mid swing.
"Stop."
He turned on her, furious that she would interfere. "Don't you understand what this man has done to my life? You know the pain he's brought me! I have to kill him!"
"Look at him. You already have."
Carth did look then and saw what Min was talking about. Saul was shaking in shock and his grey uniform was sopped in blood. He could tell by the Saul's grey pallor and wheezing breathing that she was right.
He lowered the blade slowly.
Min turned to Bastila. "Get those hanger bay doors open." The younger Jedi moved to the nearest computer console and began working.
Carth looked down at Saul, the man who had ruined his life, the man who lay there broken and ragged and heard him whisper, "Carth…."
Part of him didn't want to know what Saul had to say, but part of him had to know.
Carth crouched down to listen.
They could hear the Sith troopers running through the hallway and Canderous knew that they would be coming through the open door in a matter of seconds. He could feel adrenaline kicking in and his blood thundered through his veins. In a moment of strange quietness before the fight, he looked over at Juhani. Her eyes were intent on the door, yellow irises glittering in anticipation as she ran her tongue over her fangs. Juhani glanced over at him and their eyes locked in mutual understanding.
Juhani gave him an acknowledging nod and flashed her fangs at him. Canderous smiled in approval.
This is what we were born to do.
Malak was close enough now that Min could feel his strangely familiar presence herself pressing down on her and she knew that they did not have much time. It was creepy; the bridge looked the same as it had in her vision of Revan and Malak. To make matters worse, Malak was close enough now that she could feel his familiar dark presence approaching.
I want to get out of here. Now.
She turned her attention back to Carth and Saul. Saul lay in the same spot that Malak had in her vision and Carth was crouched beside him.
The Admiral was dying, there was no doubt about that and Min couldn't say that she was sorry about it. Several hours earlier, she would have cheerfully killed Saul herself, but she had stopped Carth because the cold, hard look in his eyes was just too much to bear. It was one thing to kill Saul, it was another to hack him into little bits. She sincerely hoped that Carth was going to come out of this emotionally in one piece.
Bastila finished working at the console and joined her. They all looked down at Saul who was struggling to speak.
Min could barely make out what he was saying "…must tell you something...come closer."
Carth, who was crouched beside his old mentor leaned in and Saul whispered in his ear. Min couldn't hear what he said, but she saw the look on Carth's face and her blood froze.
Saul laughed; it was a horrible wet gurgling sound. "You didn't know, did you?"
Carth stared at her, the blood drained from his face, shock and betrayal and fear shining in his eyes. Min knew that whatever Saul had said, had to do with her.
She looked at Saul who had a triumphant grin on his face, as if somehow, he was the one who had won. "Remember my dying words." Saul said in between coughs. "Remember them whenever you look at those you thought were your friends…."
Saul made one last wet rasping sound and died, but no one was paying attention to him now.
Carth stood, still staring at her; his voice was a hoarse whisper, "No. It can't be."
Although she was confused Min held her hand out to him, but he stumbled backwards away from her. He turned to Bastila, angry and accusing. "It is true, isn't it? And you knew! You and the whole damn Jedi Council. You knew the whole time!"
Bastila pleaded, "Carth, it's not what you think. We had no other choice! Please, you don't understand..."
"So make me understand!"
"Not here, Carth. Please -"
Min couldn't stand it any longer. "What is going on here? What did he say?"
Bastila held her hands in front of her in a placating gesture. "There's no time. Malak is coming. This isn't the place."
Min ignored her and asked Carth again. "What did he say? It was about me wasn't it?"
"Min, please. Malak is here, we have to leave, now!"
Min took a step forward towards Bastila. "No. I've had it. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on!"
Carth and Bastila just looked at her, dumbstruck. Min's mind began to race and everything began to fall in place.
"Min-" Bastila said frantically, but she was beyond listening now.
In one moment of cold clarity, she knew what Saul had said.
No!
She could feel Malak's presence calling to her, a dark, familiar beacon that pierced through the despair that threatened to crush her.
There was only one way to be sure.
"Malak," she whispered, as she ran off the bridge.
Juhani lobbed another grenade and everybody ducked as it went off. When the smoke cleared and the screaming stopped, the blaster fire began again. The pile of Sith corpses between the cargo crates and the door had grown to an impressive number. They had held out pretty well so far, but soon they were going to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Canderous looked across the room at Jolee, Zaalbar and the droids. The old Jedi was treating the Wookiee's wounds as the stench of burned fur wafted through the room. The droids had a few scorch marks on them but they were holding up well. Canderous was glad that Min had allowed HK-47 to be repaired. There had been a lengthy debate over whether or not they should do it, but in the end, the droid was too useful to be left in a scrap pile.
Juhani was next to him, blaster abandoned at her feet, which was probably a good thing. For a while she had awkwardly tried to use the blaster, and Canderous had never seen anyone who was such a bad shot, especially considering that she had the force to help her. But she seemed to be a natural with grenades. He handed her a couple more and picked up his repeater again.
She tossed another one, probably using the force to guide it and there was more screaming and dust and then silence. This time there was no blaster fire, instead Canderous could see through the dust cloud several glowing red lights.
Next to him Juhani tensed. When the dust cloud settled Canderous could make out four of them, but it was the one in the middle that caught his attention. The man was as tall as Canderous, but leaner. The shiny metal plate that was where his jaw should have been gave him away. For the first time in years, Canderous felt fear.
The Dark Lord of the Sith and his Dark Jedi advanced on them but Malak suddenly stopped short.
"Take care of them," he ordered. He turned and inexplicably left.
As Canderous covered her with his repeater, Juhani sprang.
Min stepped off the lift and into the corridor that led to the hanger bays. She could feel him, he was close, his presence almost suffocating. With a strange sense of inevitability she walked down the corridor towards the large blast door at the end.
As she walked, her mind pieced it all together. The Council's strange decisions; Bastila's behavior; Saul's questions and remarks; why she could build lightsabers, ride swoop bikes and knew Mandalorian customs; it all made a hideous kind of sense.
She felt Bastila and Carth run up behind her, but she didn't stop to acknowledge them. She continued to the blast doors without breaking stride and when the doors opened she saw Malak. The memory came unbidden.
She stood on a platform in the Valley of the Dark Lords, the tomb of the ancient dark masters towering over her. The distant midday sun shone over the dusty valley as she looked out over the crowd of dark Jedi and new Sith recruits. The regiments stood at attention in ordered rows, over twenty thousand troopers and several hundred Dark Jedi watched her. There were even more watching on holoscreens from the fleet in orbit.
Her army was ready. It was time to take what was rightfully hers.
She held out her hands before her, palms up, hand spread wide, as if she were embracing the crowd and reveled in her power. At this moment, they would do anything she asked, obey any whim she had because they all belonged to her. Underneath the black mask, she smiled.
Malak, the one who would follow her anywhere, the one she owned most of all, stood beside her as thousands chanted her name.
Min wanted to deny it, to scream at the top of her lungs that it wasn't true, but she knew it was. All of the pain and despair that she had been holding back flooded over her and she stood there looking into Malak's cruel gaze, paralyzed.
They stood there staring at each other as seconds dripped by and then finally Malak spoke. His baritone voice was synthetic and cold.
"Hello, Revan."
Canderous dropped his repeater, picked up the short swords and joined the fray.
He'd tried shooting the Dark Jedi with his repeater but all that had done was get his blaster bolts reflected back at him. It was a good thing that he had taken the time to put on the energy shield, otherwise he would have been dead by now.
Juhani held off all three of the Dark Jedi by herself with an impressive series of kicks and spins and swipes. But he knew that she wouldn't be able to hold the Dark Jedi and the remaining Sith troopers alone.
Canderous charged the closest one attacking Juhani, the Dark Master had his back to Canderous who thrust his sword at the Sith's back. The Dark Master turned just in time to keep from getting impaled on Canderous' blade, but the sword did manage to graze his side. The Dark Master spun around to face Canderous bringing his red lightsaber down in a diagonal swipe. Canderous blocked it with the other blade in his left hand and his arm ached with the impact. He thrust again with his right hand at the Dark Master's throat and this time the Jedi was unable to dodge the blow. The blade pierced the Dark Jedi's throat, and red blood gushed from the wound. The Dark Jedi's eyes went wide with shock as he fell to his knees.
Canderous pushed his foot on the Sith's chest for leverage and pulled the blade out of the already dead man. The Sith toppled over on his side.
He looked up in time to see Juhani get run through.
Min wanted to die, and it looked like she was going to get her wish.
Malak's attack was brutal and relentless, with a series of savage swipes that Min parried and dodged by automatic reflex, but she couldn't summon up the desire to fight back.
She had learned the truth from Bastila and Malak; the Jedi had led her into a trap, Malak had betrayed her by firing on her ship and for whatever reason, whether it was cold practicality of war or some sense of Jedi humanitarianism, Bastila had saved her. However at this point, Min sincerely wished Bastila had let her die.
It would have been kinder.
Now Malak was going to finish what he had started when he had betrayed her to the Jedi, and she was going to let him, but she had to do one thing first. She couldn't let her friends die with her.
With the last bit of resolve that she had, she summoned up her will and focused. She pulled together a ball of electricity and pushed it at Malak. It enveloped him, and he stumbled backwards. It didn't hurt him very much, but it was enough to break his concentration and the stasis fields that he had wrapped around Carth and Bastila dropped and they were free.
She used the force to project the word and amplify the thought. "Run."
Malak recovered as Min turned her lightsabers off and triggered the switch for the blast door. Malak brought his red blade down in a sweeping arc and Min was jerked backwards off her feet, and past the closing door. She hit the floor, momentarily disoriented.
Bastila charged forward through the closing door, "I'll hold Malak off. You two get out of here! Find the Star Forge!"
The blast door closed behind her and for the second time, Bastila saved her life.
The Sith trooper that had skewered Juhani's shoulder flew backwards and hit the wall of the hanger bay so forcefully that Canderous could hear his neck snap. Canderous turned and saw Jolee standing hand outstretched with a dead Dark Jedi at his feet.
Canderous looked around and realized that the hanger bay was silent. Dead Sith troopers and Dark Jedi littered the floor, singed, bloody and broken. Jolee crouched down next to Juhani and began working while Mission's voice came over the comn.
"There's another platoon of troopers on their way, Canderous."
He looked down at Jolee and Juhani. Jolee looked up at him and spoke softly "She's hurt pretty bad, we need to get out of here soon."
Where the hell are they?
"Mission, have you been able to reach them?"
"No, they're not answering, but they're really close."
"Try again." He looked at Jolee, "Get her aboard the ship. We'll hold them off. Take the Wookiee." By we, he meant himself and the two droids. Zaalbar was propped up against the hanger bay wall, his fur singed by nasty blaster burns. "If it looks like we're going to get overrun, leave." He knew that Min wouldn't want them all to die, she'd put the mission first.
Jolee nodded, picked up the Cathar, which was impressive since she was bigger than he was and headed up the walkway. He tried to get the Wookiee to come, but Zaalbar stood up, albeit slightly wobbly and roared his refusal. Not having time to argue, Jolee boarded the ship
Canderous surveyed the carnage and prepared for another assault.
"God damn it! No!" Min shouted. Carth watched her scramble to her feet and launch herself at the large metal blast door. The shower of sparks raining from the control panel next to the door and the smell of burnt wiring told Carth that there was no way they were going to get that door open now.
His comn link chirped and he answered, "What?"
It was Canderous. "You're going to have to get here soon or we're all dead. There's another Sith platoon on the way and were not going to be able to hold them off."
Carth looked at the big metal door and made his decision, although it went against every instinct that he had.
He grabbed Min's shoulder, but she ignored him and stared at the door, eyes wide. He could tell that she was about to lose any sanity she had left.
"The door is sealed, we can't get past! Come on, we have to get to the Ebon Hawk!"
She pushed him away, ignoring him and held out her hand in front of her. The large metal door started groaning as she began to force it open against the gears, the door jerked open a couple of inches.
But it was too late, Carth could hear the Sith platoon coming up behind him. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she spoke through gritted teeth, "I thought you didn't leave people behind?" The door ground open another inch.
He never had, and if it had just been himself he would have stayed, but there was too much at stake this time. He stepped in front of her so she couldn't ignore him. "We can't help her if we're dead! We have to get off this ship and find the Star Forge." She hesitated, and he took advantage of it and pushed her towards the other door that led to the hanger bay. "Now move!"
When she still didn't move he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. Finally, she began to move on her own and they raced towards the Ebon Hawk with a Sith patrol on their heels.
He shoved her up the boarding ramp, and was followed by Canderous, a very ragged looking Zaalbar and the droids. Carth scrambled to get to the cockpit as Mission guided the ship out of the hanger and into the darkness of space.
Min and Carth faced each other in the common room as the oppressive silence settled around them. The others had wisely left them by themselves.
Min was still in a state of shock. For a while she had regained some of her senses, because things had to get done. She helped Jolee work on Juhani and an hour later, she was stabilized, although the sooner they could get her to the doctor the better she would be.
She told Jolee, Canderous and Zaalbar about Bastila, but not about herself, the three of them kept shooting worried looks at her but she couldn't find the words to say it. She had just ordered the droids to power down so Zaalbar could repair them when Carth and Mission emerged from the cockpit.
That was when Min told them who she really was, that she was Revan. She had expected them to react with fear, shock and hatred. But what had happened was almost worse.
It really hadn't fazed Mission and Zaalbar all that much. They were shocked and surprised but both declared, over Carth's protests, that it didn't matter to them, that she was their friend and they owed her their lives. Min almost started to cry right there, Mission and Zaalbar's kindness was almost too much to take.
Canderous had looked at her with a new appreciation, almost reverence that was frightening as he vowed to follow her until the end, no matter what path she decided to take.
Jolee declared that it didn't matter to him, that he had known who she was and was glad that the truth was now out. Min shoved the spike of anger aside at that statement.
I will deal with him later.
With a degree of tact that was unusual for him, Jolee had led the others out of the room making up some excuse as for why they were needed elsewhere.
Carth stood rigidly before her, arms crossed and jaw in a hard line. His eyes betrayed his inner turmoil. He looked like hell; his face was drawn, bruised and ragged. Saul's blood was still splattered across the front of his armor.
He had accused her of killing his wife, destroying his world and betraying everything he believed in. Canderous had defended her, pointing out that it was Malak, not Revan who had given the order and Saul who had carried it out. But Min knew better, she'd created and led the Sith war machine so she was responsible. Even worse, she knew that if she had thought Telos was a worthy target, she would have bombed without remorse. When she'd pointed that out to Carth, she saw him flinch.
Part of her wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that it wasn't her fault, that it wasn't fair. But although it wasn't fair, it was her fault. So she sat in front of him in silence not knowing what to say while her heart bled, cut to ribbons by grief and guilt.
Min could feel how badly he was hurt, his anger, disbelief, and grief poured off of him in waves. She could have raised her Jedi senses against his emotions, but she figured she deserved to feel it. He looked at her and she could see the betrayal on his face. All the trust that they had built between them was now gone.
Finally, she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know. Maybe I just need time to think about it. I suppose you've proven yourself to be a friend of the Republic by your actions so far, Revan." She died a little death when he called her that. "But can I trust you? Can any of us? The others seem to trust you and we need you to stop the Sith and I suppose Malak is the real enemy here. I don't have much choice but to go along with this for now, do I?"
"Of course you have a choice. You could kill me." Carth actually blanched at that suggestion. "Or you could turn me over to the Republic authorities once we get to Manaan. I wouldn't stop you." He looked surprised at that statement, and Min knew that it actually hadn't occurred to him to turn her in.
His emotions got the better of him and he choked the words out. "I should have figured it out. How could I have been such a fool?" He accused her with his eyes and his words, and she didn't defend herself. "How could you betray me like this? I swore to protect you and here you were the enemy all this time!"
She looked at him in silence, knowing that anything she said would be horribly inadequate.
Besides, you deserve it. All of it.
Carth closed his eyes and rained his temper in as his practical military instincts kicked in. "Well, we need you to find the last Star Map. I won't let my personal feelings get in the way of my assignments or this mission. But don't forget: I've sworn an oath to defend the Republic! As long as this mission stays on course I'll stick with you. But I won't let you betray the Republic under any circumstances!"
She nodded. He continued. "So I guess that's it then. We keep going."
"Okay."
Carth turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway. She could see his hand, which rested against the doorjamb, shaking. Without turning to face her he asked, "I just can't...." His voice broke and Min wished she were dead. "Was everything a lie, then? Everything we talked about, the way you felt...."
She answered softly, "No. It wasn't a lie."
"How do you know?"
"Because I don't think it would hurt this bad if it were." He nodded and walked away.
Min fled.
Min stood in front of her desk where the whisky and blaster waited for her to choose. She picked up the whiskey bottle with her trembling hands and walked to the chair. When she was halfway across the room she stopped, went back and picked up the blaster and carried both to the leather chair.
After all, it's good to have options.
Thanks again everyone for the feedback and encouragement. It is most appreciated and it is very helpful to know what you liked or didn't like.
A big thank you to Lord Valantai for another fabulous beta (I just want to point out that the Anchorhead/Arrowhead blunder was mine. He pointed it out to me and I missed it!).
Another big thank you to Xenzen who helped me figure out Saul's motivations.
I'll be posting cookies next week for my next chapter over on kotorfanfic.com in my guest book, if anyone wants to check it out.
Trunxluvr82190: The story will most likely be three more chapters long. And no, I don't have an account on fiction press, since this is my first attempt at creative writing.
sammie teufel: I'm glad someone's making money off this fic!
VMorticia: The origin of "Kitten" will most likely appear in the next chapter (although I haven't decided whether or not to keep that scene yet). I haven't seen British Big Brother because I'm a yank and unless I get one of those dishes with the 3000 channels on them, there is no way for me to watch it. But I imagine it is probably pretty lewd…
Marcus came from me trying to figure out what sounded good in between Carth and Onasi. I thought it sounded cool (as you can tell, I have very complex motivations as a writer).
Yes, Mission is still looking for Griff and most likely will be for the rest of this fic (although I have some vague plans for him in the future). I try really hard to keep the pace snapping along (thanks for the compliment Tim) so I have two rules that I try to follow when including scenes. Each scene has to either 1) further the overarching plot or 2) illuminate something about Carth or Min. While the Griff/Mission plot could do that, I wanted to go with Canderous instead. The last chapter clocked in at over 16,000 words and so if I'm ever going to finish this, I have to make choices.
Yes, Bandon is dead (or is he…I'm just kidding, he really is dead). His dying in the sandstorm was just me being lazy and not wanting to write another action scene.
Anyway, thanks again for the feedback guys.