Author's Note: Well here is chapter 2. I would have put it up sooner, but I had to reinstall my entire computer. The next chapter shouldn't be too long in coming. Tell your friends! (please?)
Ice Appeal: Yes, this will be a BastilaXRevan story. But that's all I'm saying for now, you'll just have to keep reading! : P
Chapter 2
More than three months had passed, and I was still assaulted by nightmares of my time aboard Revan's flagship almost every night. I couldn't understand the dream. It was as though everything was from Revan's perspective. I could even feel his anger, his pain, and his fear.
My thoughts were interrupted by a republic officer in a hideous orange jacket approaching me. "Padawan Bastila, The Endar Spire is ready."
"Thank you, Commander Onasi. Plot a course for Dantooine. The sooner we leave the better. If I am needed, I will be in my chambers." He saluted and left, and I made my way to my room.
When I got there, I found the small communicator among my personal belongings. I pressed a small button on the side, and about a minute later a reply came through. "Yes, Padawan?"
"Greetings, Knight Ulgo. Have you located him yet?" Trask Ulgo was an undercover Jedi posing as a soldier with the fleet. He was possibly the only person outside of the Jedi council who knew that Revan was alive, and even worse, aboard this ship.
"Yes, as luck would have it. He has been placed as my roommate. I shall let you know immediately if anything comes up." It was his primary duty to ensure Revan's survival if the ship came under attack, but he also had to watch him for any signs of the dark side. Certainly not an enjoyable task, but he was the only one the council could trust to do the duty.
"Good. May the Force be with you." I did not like the lie the council was weaving. Not even my four Jedi companions knew what the Endar Spire's real mission was. They believed, like the rest of the crew, that we were stopping off at Dantooine to pick up more Jedi from the enclave there to aid in the fighting against the Sith, and then taking them to various republic outposts.
The council planned to get Revan off the ship at Dantooine, so that the council members there could tap his memories to find the source of the Sith power. I sighed, and decided to meditate before I made myself even more depressed.
I took special care to not see Revan on board the ship. Despite the fact that I had saved his life, I was still terrified of him, and had no desire to meet him again.
Two days into our journey to Dantooine, I was arguing with Commander Onasi about the drunkenness of some of the soldiers. We had just come out of hyperspace above planet Taris. "My point is, Carth, that your troops should not be acting in such a manner. What if the ship came under attack? We would not be able..."
He interrupted me "When on their break, the troops are allowed to drink. As long as they are not lax in their duties, there is not a problem."
"So you find it completely acceptable for the troops to approach their commanding officer and ask her to..."
He interrupted me again. "Alright, Jedi, calm down. The offending soldier will be severely reprimanded, and made to apologise for humiliating you. Happy?"
"Well, it would be a start, but..." For the third time, I was cut off, but this time by a siren and red flashing lights. Am I never going to be able to finish a sentence today? I raged to myself.
"Two Sith Destroyers. Approaching from both Port and Starboard sides. Commander, should I sound the alarm?" An anxious looking technician looked to Carth for orders.
"Yes. Every man to the bridge. Bastila must be protected at all costs!"
"I have left my lightsaber in my room." I left the bridge quickly. It was true, I did need my lightsaber, but I also had to speak to Trask.
When I arrived, the communicator was already bleeping – Trask had already tried to contact me. "Trask?"
"Yes, I am on my way there now. I think he is asleep."
"Okay. You know what you have to do."
"For the Republic." And then he was gone. I knew I would never see him again, but I refused to let my personal feeling get in the way of duty. I picked up my lightsaber and ran back to the bridge.
"Bastila, We have Sith boarding parties all over the ship. We may not be able to hold them off."
One of the other Jedi approached. "Padawan, you need to be ready to escape. The rest of us will try and stave off Malak's followers." Fifteen minutes passed with Carth anxiously watching the life support systems, as almost hundreds of Sith, represented by red dots, swarmed from the hangar bays. Occasionally, blue or red dots would disappear as the person represented by the dot died. Far more blue dots went than red.
Carth swore, then shouted at his technician. "Give the order – everyone else to the escape pods. We are too heavily outnumbered, we can't win this battle. Bastila, quickly follow me."
As he made his way quickly to the starboard section of the ship, he spoke to me. "The Sith must have found out that you are on board. They will want to capture you for your Battle Meditation. If they had you, they would be unstoppable."
"I would never betray the republic!"
"Yeah, I bet that's what Revan and Malak said before they went to the dark side."
"You don't trust me do you?"
"I don't trust anybody. Now go!" He pushed me towards one of the escape pods. When the seven spare seats were filled, the escape pod launched.
Through the tiny window at the head of the pod, I could see Taris rapidly approaching. Then tiny specks appeared, which were buildings, and then they became large specks, and then they became clear. Suddenly, we were amongst them.
We hit the ground, crashing straight through it to another floor, and then crashing again, and passing into a third floor. We collided with the ground again, and finally stopped.
By that time, the escape pod had almost been torn apart. The entire roof was missing, and I saw that I had escaped losing my head by a matter of inches. The walls were bent completely out of shape, pushing uncomfortably close to the technician from the bridge, who was sitting opposite me.
We were the only survivors of the crash. He had blood all over his face, and I was suddenly aware of a terrible pain in my left arm. It was broken. Slowly, I brought the shards of bone back together using the Force.
When the pain stopped and I stopped shaking some ten minutes later, I pulled myself out of the wreckage, and was followed shortly by the technician. It was a wonder we had survived. "We need to get out of here fast. Taris is occupied by the Sith, and they will be looking for you."
I nodded, and looked at our surroundings. It was dark – the only light came from dim lights in the ceiling, and the hole we had made in the roof. The floor looked like permacrete covered in dirt, and small weeds had managed to grow. It stank, so I supposed we must have landed near the sewers.
A slight prickling of the Force in my mind told me to look around. When I did, I saw about fifteen figures running towards us. They were all wearing some ugly uniform, but they were not guards or soldiers.
The technician drew his vibroblade, and I reached for my saber. My hand met air. My saber was probably in the pod still, but it was too late to get it. We were surrounded. A Twi'lek looked at me and the technician, and then spoke in basic.
"The man is useless to us. Kill him. Save the woman. She will fetch a good price on the slave market. Brejik will be pleased."
The other gang members, a motley assortment of aliens and humans, surrounded the technician. He fought bravely, but despite me using Battle Meditation to help him, he died.
The Twi'lek turned to me. "Now you come with us. Be a good pet for Brejik."
I looked at him contemptuously. "I am no 'pet'. Keep your filthy hands away from me."
"Then I shall have to use this neural restraint collar to ensure you come without a fight." The gang members attacked at once, and held my arms still so I could not stop the leader putting the collar on me.
He grinned a slimy, smug grin, and fastened the collar around my neck. And then I was gone.