Jedi Enclave, guest quarters.

Revan, his friends in close pursuit, ran out of the Council chambers and staring in horror at the rising smoke and dust cloud coming from the guest quarters of the Enclave, ran towards it. Civilians ran screaming from the smoking, burning building as the other Jedi from the enclave gathered.

The building had been the part of the guest quarters for visiting Jedi and VIP's. It had been impressive, in a calm and modest way, like all the Jedi Enclave buildings. This was especially impressive, considering it had been constructed of prefabricated permacrete blocks and tritium beams.

The main section had been round, like the other enclave buildings that had endured the bombarding and assault by the Sith. However, due to the new materials used in its construction, it had gleamed whitely in the Dantooine sun.

The many windows set into the round walls provided a view of the calm serenity of the Enclave itself or the Dantooine plateau. Made of polarised plexiluminum, they reflected the sunlight in a cascade of various colours, the material splitting the sunlight like a prism. Combined, the walls and windows made it shine like a jewel at noon.

Revan stood looking in horror now. The windows had been blown out by the detonation, covering the Enclave's main courtyard in sharp, shards of cracked and blackened material. The rounded wall now sported massive smoking cracks on their once pristine surface. Flames licked around the edges as any combustible material burned inside.

It was easy to see where the explosion had taken place. A massive crater, ten meters in diameter, sat gaping like a wound in the side of the building closest to Revan and his group. It belched black smoke and flames tore at the edges. Even as he watched, fresh cracks snaked out of around the hole and began to consume the semisolid surface of what was once a beautiful building. Revan stared at the smoking hole, judged the rate of the snaking cracks, and turned to grip the closest Jedi. The young man stared at him, in shock and Revan sighed, keeping his voice level.

"You! We need fire suppressants, medi-packs, blankets and anything else you have. Hurry!" The pale Jedi nodded and Revan glanced around. Spying his lover staring in horror at the rolling black smoke that poured from the pitted and burning hole, Revan slammed a quick burst of Force power into the bond, jolting her attention to him. "Bastila, we need to get anyone in there, out!"

"I know!" Bastila's attention wavered to the massive hole once more and she swallowed. Why attack the guest quarters? She shook her head. "Revan, this is awful, why attack the Jedi?"

"I don't know, come on!" Revan started to run towards the building, when Juhani let out a sudden cry of horror. He turned, only to find her running past him, her lightsabre snapping into life.

"Juhani!" He watched as she threw herself at the automatically sealed blast doors leading into the guest quarters, burying her lightsabre into the metal as far as it would go. "Juhani, wait!"

"Revan, help me!" She turned a panicked face to him, and he felt a shock ripple through him at the sight of tears in her eyes. "That's Yuthura's room!"

"With a start, Revan ignited his own dual blade and ran at the other side of the door, burying the hilt deep into the mechanism. Even as he dragged the energy blade downwards, leaving a molten scar in the doorway, he felt Bastila, Jolee and the Council leaders all arrange themselves behind him.

"Everyone, pull!" Bastila shouted, going down on one knee and raising her hand. Revan could feel the massive pull of Force energy slam into and begin to yank at the blast door. The door squealed and twisted in the frame, even as Juhani and Revan ran backwards to safety as the troupe of Jedi all concentrated.

Squeezing Juhani's shoulder tightly, Revan reached out his own hand, and feeling Bastila's exertions through the bond, reached out to her.

"Together, Bast... we do this together!" He slipped his mind around her, through her and she him, both concentrating at once. The Force of the two Jedi, so in tune, linked in mind and spirit, coalesced into one massive focused source of energy. With their minds set to one purpose, it slammed into and yanked at the metal of the blast door. The door screamed, resisted for a few seconds as it bent, then twisted, under the group's assault. The Jedi poured every ounce of power at it until, with the scream of shearing metal, it flew backwards onto the grass.

Revan collapsed forwards for a few seconds, and he could hear Bastila's heaving gasps of exertion next to him. After a few deep breaths, he managed to glance around.

Carth and Canderous were spraying the licking tendrils of flame that had burst out of the bent and broken doorway with suppression foam. Mission and Denara lay kneeling next to a few of the civilians who had been caught by the shock wave when the explosive had blown a hole in the permacrete, tending to their shock and wounds. The Jedi were all like Bastila and himself, trying to pull themselves together after such a massive effort.

Juhani was the first to recover, her Cathar metabolism fired by adrenaline shaking off the draining effect of such focus. She staggered to her feet and ran into the smoking doorway, even as Carth and Canderous called for her to come back.

Revan looked at Bastila and as she nodded at him, her face set into a grim mask, the two Jedi rose to their feet and also ran at the smoking doorway.

"Bastila..." Revan yelled, watching as her worried face turned to glance at him. "Take care of yourself."

Her face flickered though various emotions as she ran. Surprise, tenderness, realisation, irritation, only to settle with understanding. "You too."

"Revan, Bastila!" Vandar called, even as they plunged into the smoking building. "It is too dangerous!"

Juhani coughed as she ran along a corridor. Covered in soot, with black smoke rolling oily along the ceiling, tongues of flame burned the flammable materials left by the explosion. Juhani's yellow eyes flicked desperately around and her breathing was reduced to feral pants of the noxious fumes that poured past her. She staggered forwards, her fur rippling in the heat from the licking flames.

"Yuthura!" She screamed, desperate. "Where are you?!"

Unable to hear anything, barely able to see from the smoke and flames, Juhani staggered forwards coughing and sweating as she did so. Face black with soot as she fell against the twisted, hot, doorway that was once the entrance to Yuthura's corridor. She staggered forwards, gasping in pain, as gouts of flame licked at the back of her head, burning her.

The room was a gaping and smoking hole, carved out of solid Permacrete. Juhani's eyes took in the devastation. The cracked gaping hole with the blue sky behind it, the smoking crater carved out of Yuthura's floor and the smashed Refresher. She took it all in and felt a sob tear at her throat. "No...."

Staggering back, Juhani felt her eyes moisten. There would be nothing to save, the explosion had been that intense. "She deserved redemption! She deserved, love."

A sudden creaking made her look up and her mouth opened in horror at the sight of a huge crack running quickly across the roof. Splinters of permacrete scattered onto Juhani, and she coughed as the dust, along with a sizeable portion of the pluming black smoke, tricked into her lungs.

With a sudden, almost explosive crunch, the roof of Yuthura's room caved in. Massive permacreate lumps fell slowly towards Juhani and the young Jedi flung her hands over her head, too scared to move or use the Force.

The sudden feeling of hands gripping her and yanking her back as the lumps of permacrete smashed bare inches from her boots, made Juhani spin round. There, covered in soot, bruised, bleeding and with one of her Lekku gashed open, stood Yuthura. Blue blood oozed from the damaged Lekku, and Yuthura's eyes were glazed with pain. Despite this, she had been alert enough to pull Juhani from the room before the Cathar had been crushed.

"What are you doing in here?" She yelled, her voice panicked and harsh. Despite the tone, Juhani could see the fear, fear for her rather than herself, in Yuthura's eyes. "Fool! Come on!"

"You're alive..." Juhani managed, trying to grapple with her emotions. "Alive..."

"Come on!" Yuthura snarled, and gripping her arm, staggered down the corridor. As the two Jedi reached the intersection, the permacrete flooring under Yuthura's boots suddenly splintered and cracked. Yuthura gasped as she felt herself suddenly begin to loose her footing as the once solid surface gave way. She fell, screaming, into a pit, flames licking up at the edges.

"NO!" Juhani screamed, throwing herself forwards to catch Yuthura's bruised and bleeding arm as she fell. She felt the air knocked out of her as the Twi'lek's weight tugged her body to the floor and dragged her along to the pits edge, a mass of twisted and cracked permacrete.

She looked down, her muscles screaming, bunched tightly under the fur, as she clung to a swinging Yuthura. "Hang on!"

"Juhani, get out!" Yuthura managed, glancing up as chunks of permacrete began to fall around them once again. Her eyes stared at the Cathar with sudden fear, fear for her. "Please, go!"

"No, I will not leave you!" Juhani snarled, her yellow eyes burning with determination, scrabbling with her boots and the Force, trying to find a purchase to pull Yuthura up. "I cannot abandon you, my friend!"

"Juha..." Yuthura began, only to have the word half finished as a lump of permacrete slammed onto her head, purple blood spurting onto Juhani's face as it did so. "Gah!"

"No!" Juhani cried, her face slipping into panic as the Twi'lek's blood trickled into her mouth. She spat and shook her as much as possible. Yuthura's eyes had rolled into the back of her head, the Lekku limp as she swung. "Yuthura, wake up!"

The Twi'lek swung in her grip, slack, unconscious, bleeding, and Juhani could feel her body beginning to slip towards the edge of the pit as Yuthura's body weight yanked her down. She was so close now that her hearing could just make out the tiny sizzle noise of the bloody droplets from Yuthura's body as they fell into the roaring flames. She strained, holding the Twi'lek tighter, but it was no good.

The flames below them licked at Yuthura's boots, almost tasting her before they could consume her. Juhani screamed, the agony of holding her, even as she herself slipped towards the edge, consuming her Jedi control. She looked at the purple woman in her grip and clung tightly. "Force help us..."

"Juhani!" Revan's voice broke though the cracking of permacrete and roar of flames. "Juhani!"

"Revan!" Juhani cried out, her muscles screaming. "Please, for the love of the Force, help me!"

The man she looked up to, the Jedi, who had saved her all those years ago, from her own darkness, stumbled through the smoke and flames like a glowing beacon. He fell with a crash against the pit and swore at the sight of Yuthura swinging above a pit of flames.

"Hold on!" Revan focused himself and, glancing around at the teetering lumps of permacrete, reached out with the Force and nudged one to fall into the pit.

As it fell, he bound the Force to it, securing the other end to Yuthura's body concentrating hard to let the Force flow. Bound by an invisible cord, unbreakable to all regards, Yuthura's body flew up from the pit as the permacrete lump smashed into the flames, the physical momentum translated through the Force to her body.

Juhani gasped as the pressure left her arms, allowing her to yank Yuthura to safety. Revan helped the Cathar to her feet, bracing himself as the building trembled, micro fractures appearing along the walls. He shook his head and began to tug Juhani down the corridor, even as the Cathar flung the unconscious Twi'lek over her shoulder.

"What about the others?" She yelled at him, only to have Revan shake his head.

"This set of guest quarters is only half finished, Jedi guests only!" He screamed above the smoke and flames. The two Jedi staggered away from the destruction. "Yuthura was the only one still in here. Fara and Jazir were the only other Jedi given quarters here! The public quarters are in a different section. Come on!"

As they rounded the bend, Bastila ran up to them, and slipped an arm around Juhani, carrying her and Yuthura's weight. "Move! The explosive was set on a structural beam!"

The three Jedi staggered towards the twisted doorway, permacrete blocks smashing behind them with growing regularity. Juhani coughed, as she stumbled towards the exit. An itching sensation that had been in her lungs since the rolling black smoke in the corridor, had become worse. Now it burned and she coughed again, trying to disregard the sensation as they staggered along the collapsing corridor.

As they reached the exit, Carth and Canderous reached in to help yank them to safety, and Juhani felt a searing blast of heat hit the back of her neck as the remaining permacrete tumbled into the burning basement of the Jedi guest quarters. Even as she staggered away from the exit, Juhani could see Revan turning to look in horror as the remains of the building began to collapse in on themselves, huge rents appearing in the permacrete walls that still stood, and then tumbling into the burning maw of the building.

Juhani collapsed on the grass, only just able to lower Yuthura gently before her screaming muscles gave way. She ran an exhausted hand across the Twi'lek's face, trying to wipe the oozing blood from it. Another cough ripped from her lungs, and she choked a little before calling in a shockingly rough voice. "Jolee!"

The old Jedi ran quickly across to the Cathar and Twi'lek, his hands gripping a life support pack tightly. "Ah hell! Mission!"

"Sith spit!" The young girl managed, seeing Yuthura's pale face. "Jolee, we need to get her to the medical wing. She's lost a lot of blood!"

Jolee nodded, hauling the unconscious Twi'lek over his shoulder. "Juhani, you too! For smoke inhalation!"

"I am fine." she managed... only to cough hard. Mission shook her head and placed her young hands across the Cathar, hauling her to her feet.

"You're goin!" She demanded, even as Juhani shook her head. "No questions, Bantha brain."

Revan and Bastila watched the young girl haul the taller, coughing, Cathar away. With a shake of his head, Revan turned to observe the carnage. Bastila's hand snuck into his and she sighed. "This is a message... and an attempted assassination."

Revan nodded, even as Vandar and Vrook quietly walked next to them. "They were after Yuthura, and I get the feeling they used this to get our attention too Bastila."

"Then it is even more vital you begin as soon as possible." Vandar tapped his cane, watching as the Civilian emergency services arrived. "We cannot risk more innocent lives."

"Mmm, I agree." Revan glanced down at the short alien and cocked his head. "We should talk to Fara then. If we're to stand any chance of hunting this 'Brotherhood of Revan' down..."

"You must hurry," Vrook shook his head at the devastation and glanced at Bastila and Revan. "This is a bold attack for them, I can see them getting bolder if we do not do something."

Jedi medical wing.

"What's happening out there?" A medical technician yelled at Mission as she fought her way past panicking and injured civilians. Juhani coughing and spluttering under her arm. "Is it another attack?"

Mission shook her head, trying to reassure the woman, she recognised the fear in her eyes. "No, this was a bomb blast. Ju went into the blaze to rescue Jedi Ban, but she's hurt, bad!"

"I am fine," Juhani coughed, wheezing suddenly and falling to her knees. "F... fine, help Yuthura."

"You first!" The medic snapped, waving at a couple of orderlies. "What happened to her?"

"She ran inta the fire, the burning building. I dunno what happened, but she dragged Yuthura out of the building." Mission gripped Juhani's hand as it flailed weakly at the side bar of the grav-gurney. "What's wrong with her?"

The medic ran a bioscanner across Juhani's tossing form and stared in shock at its readings. She pushed Mission roughly out the way, and began to fumble with various hypo injectors. Mission yanked at her arm, span her around. "What?"

"She's dying!" The medic snapped at her, spinning back and injecting a vast quantity of Kolto into Juhani's blood stream. "She's too delirious to focus on the Force to heal herself."

"Dying?" Mission shook her head, her face draining to an almost ice blue. Even as she watched, Juhani coughed again, a trickle of bright red blood oozing from her mouth. "From what?"

"Acid. She's inhaled a Sith load of acid into her lungs, its ripping them apart. It's affecting her ability to absorb oxygen, so she's dying." The medic yanked a breath mask across the Cathar's weakening frame, and increased the flow. "Cathar have a far more active metabolism than humans or Twi'lek's, so they burn through more oxygen than we do. We'll have to hook her up to a steady Kolto flow, and try to get this poodoo out of her lungs."

"Can I do anything?" Mission stared at her friend, and felt fear slip into her. "Please?"

The medic sighed, and as the gurney came to a halt, placed a reassuring hand on the young girl. "Keep her company, if... when she becomes coherent, get her to focus on healing herself with the Force. I'll go and get the Kolto."

Mission gripped Juhani's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hold on, Ju."

As she held her friend's hand, a sudden whisper of curtains behind her made her turn. Her eye's widened in shock. Jolee, his own arm protectively wrapped around Yuthura's, smiled weakly at her. "Hey kid."

"Jolee?" Mission stared at Yuthura's face. Still scarred and seeping blood, Yuthura lay on the same type of grav-gurney as Juhani. Mission winced at the sight of the huge gash in Yuthura's right Lekku. She knew how sensitive her own head tails were, so the gash must have been agonising. "How is she?"

"In a lot of pain. That damn hunk of permacrete almost knocked her brain into her Lekku. They had to give her a sedative while the Kolto works its stuff." Jolee stared at Juhani. "How's Juhani?"

"Bad. The doc says she's inhaled acid inta her lungs. She..." Mission licked her lips, fought back tears. "She says that Ju might not make it."

"Heh, shows what she knows." Jolee smiled tenderly at Mission. "Kid, Juhani has a strong aura, a warriors aura. She'll fight it, and win. Besides, if this old man has any wits left, she's got something to come back to."

"What?" Mission frowned at Jolee as the old man smiled. "Okay, as long as she's gonna be okay."

"I'm certain she will kid. Us oldies may not be that smart, but we know some things about life."

"Is Yuth suffering from the acid stuff too?" Mission stared at the purple Twi'lek. So different from the Sith Master she remembered in Korriban. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know." Jolee picked up a bioscanner from a table, and ran it gently across Yuthura. "Well, she's inhaled some of that acid too, but it's not attacking her lungs. Maybe that's due to her homeworld. Sleheyron is all volcanic action and noxious fumes, industrial factories, slavery pens... miserable place. With all that crap in the air, I suppose she has a natural resistance."

The medic walked back, her arms carrying a large automated Medical life support pack. With a glance and nod at Jolee, she quickly slipped the system around Juhani's body. The Cathar shuddered as it slipped into action, jerking as the hypo's slipped gently against her sides. With a sigh of dismay, the medic turned to Mission.

"That's all I can do for her, apart from give her this to neutralise the acid." She slid another hypo against the Cathar's neck and injected its contents into Juhani. "Look after her, I have to tend to others now..."

Mission stared at Jolee and the two friends both sat next to their respective patients. Mission stroked Juhani's fur, and then glanced at Jolee, who raised an eyebrow. "Wanna play Pazzak? I get the feelin we're gonna be here for ages. I ain't leaving Ju!"

Jolee smiled. It was a good idea, and would help take the young girl's mind off her friend. "Against you? Do I really look that senile? Actually don't answer that. To avoid the grin I know is coming... I'll play. What are the stakes?"

"The person who wins three hands gets caffa brought to them..." Mission smiled. "While the other looks after both of them."

"Deal kid, shuffle the cards... from the bottom of the pack... and make sure it's the one without the markings and slight indents." Jolee grinned as she gaped at him. "I'm old, but I know stuff you haven't even thought of yet. Deal."

Jedi enclave Meditation suite: one hour later.

Bastila paced the room as Revan slipped the soft rug onto the floor in the middle of the room. She stopped for a second to stare at the man she loved, before pacing again. Revan ignored her, feeling her anxiety tremble into him down the link, until he turned to her with a sigh. "Bast, don't."

"Revan, I'm worried." Bastila looked at him and then walked up to him, giving in to her need to touch him, the irritation with him slipping behind her anxiety. "We have no idea what's floating around in those shattered memories. What if... what if I lose you?"

"That's not going to happen." Revan felt her emotions tumble, unstable... varied. One second annoyed with him over this morning, only to be swamped by her love and worry for him. "I have you with me, Fara too. Together, we can find anything I can recall. I know you can keep me from the darkness Bastila."

"How can I, when I can't keep myself?" She whispered. Sighing inwardly she reflected on her own emotional state, the upset... tinged with that... bitterness she felt whenever she looked at him. " How can I? When I can't seem to work out if I should be cross with you, or worried... or both..."

"You could be angry with me, I deserve it..." Revan sighed and shook his head at her look of astonishment. "But then, I want to protect you for so many reasons... I hope you can understand, I know you will."

She stared at him, the bond showing his words to be truth. She was amazed, and had the oddest sensation that she would always be amazed, at his need to be with her. "You really mean that..."

"Of course, I love you." Revan smiled weakly.

"Then understand when I ask you not to do this!" She said suddenly. " Let me protect you for once. Can you not see that you are being a fool, a gullible fool as well."

"Bast..." Revan whispered, feeling her words hit him in the heart, leaving an ache. "This is the only way to find them."

"I know," Bastila said quietly, and Revan could feel her temper roll under the surface. "But the fact is that this message, this... By the Force! I cannot help but feel they are connected, more than just to this brotherhood. I... Sith spit!"

Revan watched as she pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. "I feel as though someone's pulling us this way, deciding where we step and it worries me. That this is all a trap, for you!" She looked up at him. "I know this is the only way, I know that we will be careful, but still it worries me."

"Why?"

"Can I not worry for you as you do for me?" She snapped at him suddenly. "You seek to keep me from harm! Why can I not do the same for you? I am not weak, I have the same abilities and skills as you do!"

Revan looked at her angry, worried face, her blue eyes flashing with repressed anger and irritation as she struggled with the emotions that roiled under the surface. He reached out and touched her cheek, softly. "I never said you don't. I'm sorry... sorry if how I treat you annoys or angers you."

"I... I... I cannot explain how I feel." Bastila sighed, her Jedi training under Jolee allowing her to pull back from the anger. "This... anger is meaningless, has no reason to be there... I am sorry, truly."

Revan stared at her, felt the pain shuddering through her... the worry. Yet he could also feel the irritation, still there... and linked to it, the anger. Filled with worry for her he frowned. "I know this has all come fast, that I seem to protect you... but I only do what I feel is best, for us. Not because I just want to protect you."

Bastila felt the truth behind his words slam into her gut, almost making her wince. She could feel the worry, the pain and the shock her behaviour towards him was causing, and she regretted it. Even as part of her wanted to rant at him for always... getting in the way. "I... this is not the place to discuss this..."

Revan felt her pull back from her anger and he sighed. "I agree, but this... this has to end Bastila. I... this could pull us apart or worse."

He saw her stiffen, felt her shock. "You think I would...."

"No, no.... Because I know we will work this out, because we love each other." Revan wanted to touch her, watched as she relaxed at his words. "I trust you, and I always will."

"Thank you and.... I know you do. But as I say, this is for later." Bastila managed a smile, and shivered as Revan smiled weakly in return. "One thing, my love..."

Her use of her favourite name for him made Revan smile stronger. "What?"

"When we... try to enter the shattered portion of his mind... I urge us both to tread lightly. There are many... traps, mental disciplines that can assault a Jedi with fear, horror... pain, even with darkside energy. All can cause damage... some can kill. I am certain, Revan knew many, if not all of them."

"I... never thought about that." Revan stared at her, watched her eyes. "Did you ever meet one when you scanned my damaged mind?"

"Once, and no.... I do not wish to talk about it. Suffice to say it was not pleasant and highly unsettling." She looked at him with her dark blue eyes. "Trust me on this Revan... please."

"Always..."

"Good," she whispered, unable to hide her pleasure at the simple words. " We should prepare and when we do enter your mind, we must move fast." Bastila slid onto the rug, settled slightly and then looked up at him with her soft blue eyes. "Is that acceptable to you?"

"You don't have to ask." Revan slid next to her on the rug and stared into her blue eyes. Like a storm in the ocean. "Can you do what you did on Dantooine? On the other planets?"

"For us, yes." She frowned, nibbled her lip in an unconscious display of worry. "However, what about Fara? The bond is personal, a link that was forged on the very anvil of life and death. It cannot be invaded, broken forcefully by an outside party or shown to another. The only thing that can be done is to cloud the connection. For Fara, she will not be able to... share what we will."

"I understand," Revan nodded. "She can still assist us."

"How? She will remain... outside of us."

"That doesn't stop her helping us Bastila." Revan entwined his fingers in thought and sighed. "You and I know of the dark side. While we are not immune to its effects, we can guard against it as much as a Jedi can. As well as this, we both have a fair idea of what to look for... Fara has no idea. She wasn't present during that meeting."

"You think we stand a better chance? Revan, it was so hard to find anything in those shattered remains."

"But you said that the maps..."

"Yes, and I have no idea how I was able to bring them to the surface so vividly. It was the will of the Force that I viewed them at all. That, for the both of us, they were so clear."

"Then maybe we stand a better chance than I thought possible. If the Force wills it, I know we can find something... anything to help." Revan gazed at her and sighed. "The Curse of Revan, we heard that... I want to find any fragment about it. If we can find information, a memory... it'll be a step in the right direction."

"That may be buried deeply, too deeply." Bastila bit her lip and shook her head. "I am so uncertain over this. The danger there, I know and have felt it. You have not..."

"Fara will be our lifeline, our guide back if we enter too deep, if something happens." Revan took hr hand gently and felt her warm skin whisper over his as he squeezed it slightly. "She is a strong Jedi, a powerful mind healer... I know she can help us."

"I cannot help but feel this is wrong... dangerous. Revan listen. Maybe we should..."

A sudden, gentle, click made the two lovers glance around to see Healer Fara walk quickly into the room and bow. She looked exhausted. Deep rings lay under her eyes, and her usually immaculate brown hair stuck up through stress and sweat. She looked at the two Jedi and sighed.

"Sorry. I've been assisting the other healers and medics with the civilian casualties." She stifled another sigh and smiled weakly. "I've had quite an interesting hour or so..."

Revan gazed at her and gently placed a supporting arm on hers. "We can postpone this for later."

"I would prefer that we get this done, so you can stop them from doing anything like this a second time. I have had to calm far too many innocent people down, distract people from... nasty injuries... seen more pain than I ever wish to again."

"Fine," Revan smiled at her and helped her down to the rug, before shifting to sit cross-legged next to Bastila. "Bastila and I have discussed this. She and I have high hopes that with the bond we may be able to find... something. It is our intention to try and enhance the bond, try and join our minds. Then we'll search the fragments left of Revan's mind for any clue."

Fara stared at them with a slightly open mouth. "I'd heard about the life bond, but this is fascinating. You... you can meld your minds?"

"Yes," Bastila whispered, flushing slightly. "I can touch everything that makes Revan who he is, and he can do the same to me." She looked at Revan and despite their current coolness, felt herself tremble. "It is one of the most personal things I have ever experienced."

Fara sighed. "Well then, I don't see that I can be much help. After all, Revan, Bastila was the one who healed your mind, not me." She slid to her feet.

"No, please wait." Revan gazed up at her and motioned with his hand. "We'll need your help."

"Oh?" Fara stared at the Jedi, weighing if Revan was trying to soften her feelings or if he really did need her help. Revan gazed at her and smiled slightly. "Very well, how may I help?"

"Where we're going, is unknown. I would feel... far more comfortable knowing someone is there, able to guide Bastila to the light if anything should happen."

"Revan means us." Bastila said sharply, her blue eyes cooling, her annoyance flaring slightly, making the bond twang. Revan winced inwardly. "We both will need help to escape if anything should happen."

"Revan, Bastila... I doubt that there is anything in that... mess." Fara glanced at Revan and smiled sheepishly. "My apologies."

Revan shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I've been insulted by professionals."

Fara smiled and then continued. "As I said, the chances of anything dangerous is remote. It has been recorded, Sith mental disciplines that act as traps to anyone who attacks the mind of the Sith, but they are rare. Revan may have had some, but I doubt they would have survived Malak's betrayal. If your mind was as badly shattered as the Jedi Council on Dantooine said, as I have every reason to believe, then nothing more than fragments will have survived."

"I would agree." Revan glanced at Bastila and Fara felt herself smile inwardly at the sight. She could see that they had yet to set the various boundaries needed in relationships, and it was causing... tension between them. Oblivious to her thoughts, Revan soldiered on. "But I want you to be there as a safety rope, for mine and Bastila's sake."

"Very well," She slipped her legs under her, into her favourite meditation position, and nodded at the two Jedi. "Shall we begin?"

Revan nodded and turned to Bastila. Gently, he reached out and Bastila stared hesitantly for a few seconds, before entwining her fingers with his. "Let's begin."

Slowly, Revan reached into the bond, reached out to Bastila. He could feel her reaching out as well. The annoyance with him fading into the blend of emotions that was her... just Bastila. With a sigh, he felt his mind touch hers. Despite all their problems, Revan's eyes slid wide, as he felt her love pound into him. This bond was so very special, tender... private.

Bastila shuddered as she felt her love, her soul mate, bond mate, slip next to her, into her, merge with her. She could feel his own shock at how wonderfully personal this still was, for both of them. Even after all this time, Bastila still found herself overwhelmed by his physical presence, his touch, his taste, his smell. Her irritation with him remained, but faded into the background, she knew where her heart really lay... Now, with his very personality, his very thoughts, blending with hers, she loved him.

The bond....

"Bastila..." His voice, tender, close, and inside her mind. "I can feel you... "

"I know." His sigh, of regret over the... conflict between them, made her want to soothe his fear. "I... To think, at the beginning, I saw it as a curse."

He sighed. "Understandable. I suppose to be bonded to the Lord of the Sith would make anyone view it as a curse. But, how about now?"

"Now?" She wanted to see him, talk to him. With a little effort, Bastila concentrated, focused her mind and watched as the drifting mists of her own mindscape drew apart to show him. She sighed and smiled weakly. "Now... I... I want you to know that I still love you."

He walked forward. His mind joining hers in sculpting the mindscape that the bond created, sculpting it to form the illusion of physical reality. Around them, the mist trembled and focused under their feet, to form a flowing solid. Gently, they both let themselves sink onto it, and Revan's hand slipped around hers.

"This is different to the previous time we were... bonded." He looked at her sadly and she felt his... apprehension. "We're more... separate. Are you that angry with me, that you want distance?"

"No!" Bastila looked at him, pain in her eyes. "I would never do that to us... to you. I just... I just feel that it is safer to view the memories of your... darker past with the safety of distance. Well, the distance we can find in our own minds. If you or I encounter problems, the other can go for help. If we were bonded as tightly as before, it could be dangerous."

Revan shook his head. "That made no sense to me... I think you're making it up. Trying to hide the anger... you know where that leads."

Bastila sighed at the slight bitterness in his tone. She deserved his... annoyance with her. Concentrating on the disciplines Jolee had taught her, Bastila reined in her wildly swinging emotions.

"You said we would discuss this later. Please, this is not because of... earlier."

He stared at her for a few seconds as his own control snapped into place, reining in the growing unease, his own fear. Finally, he nodded and the fist of guilt that gripped her tightly loosened. Relationships, she was rapidly finding, were as hard as mastering the Force. "I believe you, Bast."

"Thank you." She whispered, suddenly feeling an odd need touch him. " The distance I have... willed is to give us protection, I promise you. I have tried to explain it as best as my lessons with Master Vrook and Vandar have taught me. But, the fact remains that this life-bond of ours is so rare, it has hardly been documented in the archives. Those that have had such a thing, remain reluctant to share it."

"I think I understand. Revan managed, pushing away his growing worry that their relationship was... fracturing under the pressure of their problems. "Well, can we contact Fara? We'll need her help, I think."

"Maybe... If we... search the Force outside the bond?" She closed her eyes and Revan felt her concentrate on Fara's image. "Master Fara?"

He joined her, closing his eyes and reaching out with his feelings, trying to fix on the Master healers face... her aura in the Force. "Master Fara?"

He felt, rather than heard, the gasp of shock. To his surprise he felt Fara's mind slip backward in defence. "Revan, Bastila... Not so loud!"

"Loud?" Bastila murmured her voice in so close as to be inside his ear. "How are we loud in this place?"

"Maybe... maybe when we both focus, it's very powerful..." Revan paused. "Remember the blast door? We're both powerful Jedi in our own right. If we use the bond, or fix on a single task together... we're stronger?"

"Mmm, I did not think of that." Bastila's mind was focused on her various lessons as a Jedi, and Revan felt the knowledge trickle into him. "What do you think?"

"I... suppose we can try to... speak quietly?" He looked 'up' and whispered. "Master Fara?"

"That's better... I can hear you." Fara's voice was distant, yet clear. "Are you joined?"

"Yes, Master Fara." Bastila felt Revan's worry over the distance she'd imposed and she sighed. What was happening to them? Revan's voice washed over her again. "It might be best for you to remain as close as possible, while we remain merged to search. It would be safer, for both of us."

"As I say, I know little about the level of... depth you two must feel, must share." Fara's voice drifted for a second and then focused. "You should continue, I wish you both luck."

Bastila and Revan felt her voice fade once more. In its place, lay a faint thread of the faintest silver... obviously the mental link to her mind. Revan decided to keep a tight grip on the path that led back to her, just in case.

"We must tread carefully... my love. Are you ready?" Bastila floated in the gentle mist of their mind, and looked at him with her deep blue eyes. Still linked, still sharing thoughts, emotions... but separate. Revan had never felt so... alone since the bond had made itself known. Since Malak had taken Bastila away from him, suffocating the bond somehow. Bastila felt Revan's apprehension and her face softened. "What?"

"I... feel." He licked his lips, unable to tell her because of... everything that remained between them suddenly. Unable to tell her, he changed the subject. "This seems familiar."

She watched him, sighed. "This was how I felt when watching your dreams my love, before we... drew closer. The meditation that Vandar taught me, to focus and search for the Starmap's, would let me... draw on your mind... make you dream your fragmented memories. I could... influence your dreaming mind to explore the fragments, hunt for the Starmap's. Once it did, I could... watch and.... feel how you felt."

Revan looked at her, his face immobile. "That explains the familiarity."

"I am sorry." Bastila looked away, suddenly ashamed of herself. "This just reminds me of how much I was manipulating you. Before you even try... I cannot help how I feel, I did this before, without your permission!"

"It's fine." Revan admonished. "I..."

"No, please... I know my sins, please." She felt the bitterness slip into her once more. Again, he was protecting her... from everything. Even herself. "Let me have this, deal with this... it's my problem!"

"I... sorry." Revan closed his eyes, and Bastila felt him pull away from her, the bond fading ever so slightly. She felt her heart tug and her mind hammered at her.

"Will I only be happy when I have destroyed... us? What is wrong with me?"

"We should hurry, the sooner we can leave the shattered part of my mind alone, the better." Revan glanced around and shivered. "This is just... odd."

Bastila shook her head slightly and as Revan tried to decide which way to go, gently slid her arm, ever so hesitantly, into his. "Come, this way."

Carefully, the two Jedi walked through the softly shifting, floating mist of the mindscape, felt its soft whisper touch as they walked past. Their destination lay in front of them, a slowly darkening swirl of the light blue fog... deepening in the centre to a blood red.

"This is so... strange." Revan whispered, eyeing the vortex with apprehension. "This is how it felt for you? When you entered my mind, felt my dreams?"

"No," Bastila whispered back. "This... this mindscape never existed the previous times. Before, when I... influenced you, it was while you were already asleep."

"So this didn't exist before?" Revan stared at her as she nodded slightly. "So... what is this?"

"I like to think of it as area between the conscious and the subconscious, the part that you are never aware of. This is where dreams, memories are stored. This is the part of the mind that remains hidden, even from you... until now."

"So, how do I... find anything?" Revan felt her pause to stare at the swirling red vortex that lay in front of them. Beyond, the shattered remains of Revan's mind lay in a darkly pulsing fog. As he glanced across, Revan could see the apprehension in her eyes. "What?"

"This is unsettling... how strong this all is." She looked at him, uneasy. "We should break it and find another way. Please. Before, I had a good idea what would happen... how to influence your dreams. This... this is dangerous. I have no idea what to influence you to find. This... mindscape is new, and a hint at how powerful the bond is when we both use it. As well as this, the fragments of Revan's mind lie in front of us. They are dangerous, even fragmented."

"We have to try..." Revan frowned in concentration as Bastila stared nervously around, peering into the fog. "I need you to help me find any memories with this 'Curse of Revan' stuff in them... I need to know, so do the council."

Bastila stared at him with hurt. He knew that she still obeyed the council, and to use that against her was, to Bastila, almost blackmail. She turned away, even as Revan felt the guilt tear at him.

"I see. You intend to ignore my advice and continue. I see... I really do."

"I... Bastila..." He watched as she turned back, her upset pounding into him. "I'm sorry... I am."

"Has it fallen apart this quickly?" She asked him, in a whisper. "You now no longer trust my judgement because I was... cross with you this morning?"

"No," Revan swallowed. "I... this is the only way to keep everyone safe. To spring the trap back on the brotherhood."

"There are other ways, troop movements, we could examine the message... something... anything other than walking through the shadows left by Lord Revan."

"You know as well as I do that this is pretty much it... hell, I have no idea if we'll even find anything." He watched as she struggled with this. "Bastila, I know what I'm doing."

She surprised him by sighing deeply. "No. I think you have no idea what this could mean... what could happen. However, I see you have no intention of listening to me, so I will help you."

"Thank you... for trusting me." Revan smiled faintly, only to have Bastila close her eyes and shake her head.

"I shall begin to focus on the discipline Master Vandar taught me when the bond resurfaced." Slowly Bastila began to concentrate. "Remember... what you can. Be ready, for anything."

Her voice drifted off, her focus centred on the discipline Vandar had taught her. Revan felt a sudden wind blow up from nowhere, the red fog of Revan's fragments swirling more and more violently as the breeze grew in strength. Suddenly, he could hear voices, carried on the wind, drifting and mingling as he strained to hear.

"Kill them all."

"We cannot allow the Mandalorian's to take a foothold."

"Revan, you must stop this... it is not the Jedi way!"

"The way of the Sith is the way to victory."

"Malak is a fool! The Star Forge is a toy. This... this was the curse of the Rakatan!"

His eyes widened and he grabbed Bastila. His lover gasped in shock, her meditation broken, and as she opened her eyes, the sounds faded. Revan looked around, both surprised and annoyed.

"No!" He turned to Bastila as she shook her head slightly and stared at him. "That was it, I heard it!"

"Heard what?" She asked, puzzled. "Did you hear something about the curse?"

"Yes, Revan's voice... talking about the 'curse of the Rakatan'." He watched her face crease in thought. "Can you bring it back?"

"Possibly. I was concentrating on the image of that woman in the cloak... her voice." Bastila looked at Revan with a worried shake of her head. "This is getting dangerous. Revan... I."

"We have to try."

With a sigh Bastila nodded. "Very well."