Trouble: A Knights of the Old Republic Fan-fiction
by: Sam Lincoln
"Coruscant Control this is the civilian freighter Endar Talon. We're requesting permission to land," Revan said into the com.
"Endar Talon, this is Coruscant control, please standby." The controller said in a bored voice.
"Understood," Revan replied before shutting off the com.
"What if they don't buy our cover story?" Bastila asked.
"Then we run like hell and figure something else out," Revan said in a calm voice. "I hear Kashyyyk is lovely this time of year."
"The Intrepid must have transmitted descriptions of us and the ship all across the galaxy. It won't be long before we're more wanted than a Sleheyron crime lord!"
"This is a smuggler's ship, it's fast enough to get us out of any scrape."
"This was a smuggler's ship 4000 years ago, there's no telling how outmoded the Ebon Hawk is now."
"Based on what I saw on the Intrepid I'd say not much has changed. It's sort of disappointing, it's like there's nothing left to discover."
"Attention, Endar Talon, this is Coruscant Control. You have permission to land. Proceed to the transmitted coordinates. A series of landing coordinated scrolled across Revan's display.
Revan stared at the coordinates in disbelief. "Coruscant Control, are these coordinates correct?"
"Affirmative Endar Talon. Follow the flight path and do not deviate from it. Coruscant Control out."
"What is it?" Bastila asked.
"These are the coordinates for the Jedi Temple," Revan answered, there was a slight tinge of shock to his voice.
"The Jedi Masters are strong in the force, no matter what the era. Perhaps they sensed our arrival in the system."
"If they did then who else knows we're here?" Revan wondered aloud as he entered the coordinates into the computer.
They were silent as the Ebon Hawk flew towards the Jedi Temple. The Coruscant that spread out beneath them looked very much like the planet did in their time. The only difference was that the city seemed even more crowded, if such a thing was possible. The view reminded Revan of Taris before the Sith bombardment destroyed that planet. The comparison troubled Revan; Taris had been a decaying planet, its days of glory lost forever. If the same was true for the capitol of the Republic the consequences were unsettling at best.
"We're coming up on the temple," Bastila noted.
Like the rest of Coruscant the Jedi Temple looked much like it did in Revan's time. The only difference between it and the rest of the planet was that the temple was undimmed. The signs of decay Revan noticed in the rest of the planet were not visible. Revan circled the temple once before setting down on one of the landing pads that dotted the temple grounds.
"Are you ready for this?" Revan asked Bastila. They were both still skittish about meeting other Jedi and to have to walk into the heart of the Jedi Order was a daunting prospect.
"Of course I am. These are the Jedi, what do we have to fear?" Bastila replied sharply before getting out of the copilot's seat.
"What indeed," Revan muttered to himself as he followed Bastila out of the cockpit.
"Query: Do you require me to guard the ship Master?" HK asked Revan when he entered the main compartment.
"That would be for the best, we wouldn't want you to blast a member of the Jedi Council," Bastila told the droid.
HK stared at Bastila, "Statement: Quiet meatbag, I did not ask for your opinion."
"Guard the ship HK," Revan said quickly to cut off the brewing argument. "We'll be back soon." Revan walked over to the boarding ramp. He paused to pick up his lightsaber from the workbench in the maintenance bay. He lowered the ramp and walked out of the Ebon Hawk with Bastila close on his heels.
The pad they landed on was cut off from the rest of the compound by a high wall. The ground surrounding the ship was dotted with trees and shrubs that gave the pad the impression of being on a pastoral planet instead of the industrial Coruscant. IT reminded Revan of the enclave on Dantooine.
Standing at the edge of the pad were two Jedi. One was a tall human who Revan thought resembled a young Jollee Bindo. The other appeared to be from Master Vandar's home plant. Both carried themselves with the air of a Jedi Master.
"Welcome to Coruscant," the human said. "I am Master Mace Windu, and this is Master Yoda."
"Curious I am as to who would carry a lightsaber, but not dress like a Jedi," Master Yoda said in reference to the lightsaber clipped to Revan's belt.
"That I can explain..." Revan started to say.
Yoda held up a clawed hand. "Not necessary explanations are. Distain for traditions you are famous for... Revan."
"But how did..." Revan said, amazed that the tiny green Jedi knew his true identity.
"When you arrived it created a disturbance in the Force. Those being who are exceptionally strong in the Force sensed that disturbance," Windu explained. "As for knowing who you are, there aren't that many Jedi who have wielded a lightsaber like yours."
Revan reached down and touched the oversized hilt of this double-saber. "A lightsaber is just a tool, what's important is how you use it," he said mostly to himself.
"If Revan he is, then Bastila Shan be you," Yoda said. "Honored I am to meet you both."
"As are we Master Yoda," Bastila said with a bow. She found it remarkably easy to fall into her old patterns of deference to anyone with the title of Jedi Master.
"Come, we have much to discuss," Windu gestured for Bastila and Revan to follow him.
"How many people know that we are here?" Revan asked as they walked towards the temple.
"Just the members of the Council," Windu replied. "We felt it best if your arrival was not public knowledge for now. Revan and Bastila are legendary, and controversial, figures in the Republic, and if we announced you were here now...it would make things complicated."
"What is our standing in the Republic?" Bastila asked.
"Even after all these millennia you and Revan are a divisive topic. Some people think you should have been punished for your crimes. That the Jedi are soft when it comes to policing their own. Others hail you as the saviors of the Republic. There are also those who regard you as the greatest romance in the history of the galaxy. There's an entire sub-genre of romance holo-vid that revolves around the two of you."
"Romance holo-vids, about us?" Bastila said in astonishment. "Whatever for?"
"Much mystery around your disappearance there was," Yoda said. "Theories there were many."
"The most popular one was that you fled to the Outer Rim because you couldn't bear the thought of the Jedi Council separating you," Windu added.
"What rubbish," Bastila scoffed. "We were on our way to Coruscant when all of this happened."
"Tell me about the Sith," Revan said quietly. As much as he enjoyed hearing about he and Bastila's place in pop culture -- and he fully intended to torment Bastila with those holo-vids -- it was the Sith presences that troubled him.
Windu looked around the hall they were walking through and the Padawans and knights who were giving the two masters and their companions a wide berth. "Not here, we will discuss this somewhere more private."
Windu and Yoda lead Bastila and Revan through the Jedi Temple. Revan took the opportunity to examine the grandiose building. He knew that Darth Revan had spent time on Coruscant before his fall, but he could not recall any of those memories. He was struck by how oversized the temple was. While the enclave on Dantooine was designed for quiet reflection the Jedi Temple seemed to be designed to instill a sense of awe about the Jedi in its visitors. All things being equal Revan preferred the low-key approach taken on Dantooine, though he had a suspicion that his former self would have chosen the temple.
Bastila also took careful not of their surroundings although her reaction differed from Revan's since she could remember her last trip to Coruscant. She was struck by how few Jedi there were. Even in her time, at the height of the war with Revan and Malak the temple had been bustling with Jedi. Now, even though the number of people she saw was not much smaller, the temple seemed less alive. It felt more like a museum than a living building.
They finally came to a stop in the chambers of the Jedi Council. Even Bastila had never been there, the inner sanctum of the Jedi world. Revan could sense the Force residue of generations of Jedi Masters. The weight of history in the room was almost oppressive. The thing that surprised Revan the most was that the room did not feel especially strong in the Light Side. He decided that the politics that the council engaged in precluded a strong connection with the Light.
"In all of the thousands of years the Jedi have occupied this room no one has ever managed to eavesdrop on a conversation held within it's walls," Windu informed them he and Yoda sat down in the padded chairs that lined the wall of the circular room. They did not indicated that Revan or Bastila should do the same. Revan briefly toyed with the idea of sitting down, but decided against it. "No before we discuss more sensitive topics there is the matter of your status within the Jedi Order. As you might have guessed the Jedi Council of your time had reached a decision when they summoned you to Coruscant."
"What was their decision?" Bastila asked.
"Passed the Trials you both had, full fledged knights you were to be named."
"But I fell to the Dark Side," Bastila protested.
"And yet returned you did," Yoda replied. "Just as important that is."
"But what about us?" Revan asked.
"The records show that the council debated long and hard about what to do with the two of you. IN the end however, it was decided that the best course of action would be to assign the two of you to different posts."
"That's absurd and would have done more harm than good," Revan fumed. "Didn't they realized that it was our feelings for each other that helped destroy the Star Forge?"
"This is not the time to get into a discussion on the merits of Bindowism. It's a debate that's been gone over a thousand times before." Despite his frustration Revan couldn't help smiling at Windu's reference of the cranky old Jedi. :In any event that decision was never formally approved and now your situation is more open to interpretation."
"Meaning what?" Bastila asked.
"Meaning we're not about to assign either of you anywhere just yet."
"However remain the question does. What do we do with you, hmmm?"
"You'll do whatever you decide is best for the Order, like the council always does," Revan said with a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"Yes for the good of the Order we will," Yoda agreed. "But fallible the wisdom of the Council can be. Know this well you do," Yoda sighed. "Discuss this later we will. Other matters of more importance Jedi Revan wishes to discuss, yes?"
Revan bowed his head. "Yes Master Yoda, ever since Bastila and I arrived in this time we've felt the presence of the Sith."
"Sure of this are you?"
"Of course I am," Revan snapped.
"Yes you would," Windu agreed. "As would we. We've been aware of the Sith's presence for some time now."
"You've known and done nothing?" Bastila exclaimed.
"So sure of that are you?" Yoda asked sharply.
"Their malice, it feels unchecked.," Bastila insisted.
"Yes, the men on the Republic ship that found us seemed to be falling under the Sith's dominance," Revan said in Bastila's defense.
"Ship?" Windu asked.
"A Republic cruiser picked us up immediately after our accident. They tried to detain us as smugglers, but we escaped. I thought they would have broadcast our description across the galaxy by now."
"There has been no such report," Windu said. "What was the name of this ship?"
"The Intrepid."
"Ah yes, Captain Brecktan. That would explain much," Windu mused. "We've suspected that the Sith have agents scattered throughout the Republic military and Captain Brecktan was one of the officers we suspected."
"So the Sith know we're here," Bastila observed. "Why am I not comforted by that?"
"Even if they know we're Jedi we never told anyone on that ship who we are," Revan pointed out. "So far as they know we aren't anyone special."
"Why do you think that cruiser was out there?" Windu asked.
"Brecktan said they were standing guard over a training exercise."
"There are no war games scheduled to take place anytime soon. The Sith must have sensed your arrival and dispatched one of their agents to investigate."
"But how could the Sith have gotten so powerful that they can count the captain of a Republic cruiser as one of their agents?" Bastila asked.
"The Sith of this time are different than the Sith you fought. They stay in the shadows and influence events rather than directly take part. They've been building their network for a long time, allowing their agents the opportunity to work their way up the chain of command."
"We have to find them," Bastila said. "If left unchecked the Sith will destroy the galaxy."
"We have...attempted to ascertain the identity of the current Sith Lord, but so far he has eluded our best efforts."
"Then let me find him," Revan offered.
"The galaxy you know has been gone for four thousand years," Windu scoffed. "I doubt you could find your way to the Galactic Senate from here."
"But I know the Sith, better than anyone else in the galaxy."
Yoda nodded, "Truth you speak. Perhaps for the best it would be if hunted the Sith you did. A guide we can provide you. Master Windu, summon Master Kenobi." Windu nodded and walked out of the chamber. "Important it is that you keep your identities secret."
"Why?" Bastila asked. "I can understand not wanting to tip our hand to the Sith, but to deceive a fellow Jedi strikes me as wrong."
"Not important who you are. Cause more complications it will. Trust the wisdom of the Council you should Bastila Shan."
"As you wish Master Yoda," Bastila said with a bow. "But I that does not change my opinion."
Yoda chuckled. "Headstrong she is," he told Revan. "Attractive you find it, yes?"
Revan smiled. "That is part of it."
"Trust your feelings you should, but be ever vigilant for betray you feelings can. Know this already you do. Also, only Jedi Revan will Master Kenobi accompany."
"What!" Bastila shouted. "I know the Sith just as well as Revan."
"Contemplated your fall you have not. Conflict within you I sense. Meditate on this you should do first. Do this on you're your own you must. Also, two Jedi are not uncommon, three are suspicious."
"I..." Bastila paused. "Yes, you are correct I apologize for my outburst."
Yoda nodded, "NO necessary an apology is. Now for the time being Revan shall be known as Aarn Delwynn, And Bastila, Brin Kyja."
Windu reentered the council chambers leading a bearded man not much older than Revan. The bearded man bowed to Yoda. "Master Windu said you wished to see me?"
"Yes Master Kenobi, introduce you I would to Masters Aarn Delwynn and Brin Kyja."
"Masters Delwynn and Kyja have spent the past few years searching the Outer Rim for evidence of the Sith at the behest of the Council," Windu explained. "It is their conclusion that the Sith are not hiding in the Outer Rim, but are here in the Core Worlds."
"What is it you wish me to do?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You have more experience with the Sith than anyone else in the Order. The council has decided that it would be prudent if you were to accompany Master Delwynn in his search of the Core Worlds."
"But what about Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Look after your Padawan I will," Yoda declared.
"Well then, in that case when do we leave?"
Deep in the heart of Coruscant Darth Sidious met with one of his agents. The spy, a worker in the Coruscant orbital traffic control, crept into the darkened room. His handler had summoned him to meet with Lord Sidious. He found the Sith Lord sitting on a dark throne in a low-lit room. There were no windows so the spy didn't know if he was underground or not. What he did know was that in this room he was very much alone, and his life was entirely in the hands of the robed figure sitting in front of him.
"Report," Sidious demanded.
"My lord, the ship you ordered me to look out for arrived today."
"And did you divert it to the location I specified?"
The agent wrung his hands. "No my lord, Jedi Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Council called my supervisor and ordered him to send the ship to the Jedi Temple."
"And you went along with that request?" Sidious asked, his voice remained calm and collected.
"I couldn't send the ship to another set of coordinates without risking exposing myself," the spy said desperately. "My supervisors would have asked too many questions if I didn't do what the Jedi asked for."
Sidious nodded, "What's done is done. Is the ship still with the Jedi?"
"Yes lord, and there is no sign it is going to leave anytime soon."
"I want that ship kept under constant surveillance, if it moves I want to know."
"I will make sure of it Lord Sidious."
"I wasn't talking to you," Sidious replied coldly. The agent's handler stepped out of the shadows. "Did you hear all of that?"
"I did lord," the handler replied.
"Then we no longer need this failure." Before the spy could beg for mercy Sidious raised a withered hand and called forth blue bolts of Force Lightning. The spy howled in agony until his nervous system shut down. Sidious stared at the smoldering corpse. "We need a new agent in Orbital Control. This time recruit a senior controller."
"Of course," the handler replied. He did his best to hide his disgust at the stench of burning flesh that permeated the room.
"I want more information about this ship and its crew, and I am done tolerating failure," Sidious told the handler. "If we have another one of these breakdowns I will hold you personally responsible. Now go and take that mess with you." The handler grimaced as he dragged the corpse out of the chamber.
Sidious stared at a picture of the Ebon Hawk taken while it was on the Intrepid. There was something about the ship and its crew that seemed familiar to Sidious, but he could not put his finger on it. "Whoever you are you have tremendous power," Sidious said to the picture. "Power that I must control for my own purposes...or destroy if it comes to that." He put the picture down and turned his attention to other matters.
-------
by: Sam Lincoln
Rating: PG
Summary: Will Trouble ever let a pair of Jedi Knights be?
Spoilers: If you haven't finished the game you'll be damn lost.
Trouble: Chapter Four"Coruscant Control this is the civilian freighter Endar Talon. We're requesting permission to land," Revan said into the com.
"Endar Talon, this is Coruscant control, please standby." The controller said in a bored voice.
"Understood," Revan replied before shutting off the com.
"What if they don't buy our cover story?" Bastila asked.
"Then we run like hell and figure something else out," Revan said in a calm voice. "I hear Kashyyyk is lovely this time of year."
"The Intrepid must have transmitted descriptions of us and the ship all across the galaxy. It won't be long before we're more wanted than a Sleheyron crime lord!"
"This is a smuggler's ship, it's fast enough to get us out of any scrape."
"This was a smuggler's ship 4000 years ago, there's no telling how outmoded the Ebon Hawk is now."
"Based on what I saw on the Intrepid I'd say not much has changed. It's sort of disappointing, it's like there's nothing left to discover."
"Attention, Endar Talon, this is Coruscant Control. You have permission to land. Proceed to the transmitted coordinates. A series of landing coordinated scrolled across Revan's display.
Revan stared at the coordinates in disbelief. "Coruscant Control, are these coordinates correct?"
"Affirmative Endar Talon. Follow the flight path and do not deviate from it. Coruscant Control out."
"What is it?" Bastila asked.
"These are the coordinates for the Jedi Temple," Revan answered, there was a slight tinge of shock to his voice.
"The Jedi Masters are strong in the force, no matter what the era. Perhaps they sensed our arrival in the system."
"If they did then who else knows we're here?" Revan wondered aloud as he entered the coordinates into the computer.
They were silent as the Ebon Hawk flew towards the Jedi Temple. The Coruscant that spread out beneath them looked very much like the planet did in their time. The only difference was that the city seemed even more crowded, if such a thing was possible. The view reminded Revan of Taris before the Sith bombardment destroyed that planet. The comparison troubled Revan; Taris had been a decaying planet, its days of glory lost forever. If the same was true for the capitol of the Republic the consequences were unsettling at best.
"We're coming up on the temple," Bastila noted.
Like the rest of Coruscant the Jedi Temple looked much like it did in Revan's time. The only difference between it and the rest of the planet was that the temple was undimmed. The signs of decay Revan noticed in the rest of the planet were not visible. Revan circled the temple once before setting down on one of the landing pads that dotted the temple grounds.
"Are you ready for this?" Revan asked Bastila. They were both still skittish about meeting other Jedi and to have to walk into the heart of the Jedi Order was a daunting prospect.
"Of course I am. These are the Jedi, what do we have to fear?" Bastila replied sharply before getting out of the copilot's seat.
"What indeed," Revan muttered to himself as he followed Bastila out of the cockpit.
"Query: Do you require me to guard the ship Master?" HK asked Revan when he entered the main compartment.
"That would be for the best, we wouldn't want you to blast a member of the Jedi Council," Bastila told the droid.
HK stared at Bastila, "Statement: Quiet meatbag, I did not ask for your opinion."
"Guard the ship HK," Revan said quickly to cut off the brewing argument. "We'll be back soon." Revan walked over to the boarding ramp. He paused to pick up his lightsaber from the workbench in the maintenance bay. He lowered the ramp and walked out of the Ebon Hawk with Bastila close on his heels.
The pad they landed on was cut off from the rest of the compound by a high wall. The ground surrounding the ship was dotted with trees and shrubs that gave the pad the impression of being on a pastoral planet instead of the industrial Coruscant. IT reminded Revan of the enclave on Dantooine.
Standing at the edge of the pad were two Jedi. One was a tall human who Revan thought resembled a young Jollee Bindo. The other appeared to be from Master Vandar's home plant. Both carried themselves with the air of a Jedi Master.
"Welcome to Coruscant," the human said. "I am Master Mace Windu, and this is Master Yoda."
"Curious I am as to who would carry a lightsaber, but not dress like a Jedi," Master Yoda said in reference to the lightsaber clipped to Revan's belt.
"That I can explain..." Revan started to say.
Yoda held up a clawed hand. "Not necessary explanations are. Distain for traditions you are famous for... Revan."
"But how did..." Revan said, amazed that the tiny green Jedi knew his true identity.
"When you arrived it created a disturbance in the Force. Those being who are exceptionally strong in the Force sensed that disturbance," Windu explained. "As for knowing who you are, there aren't that many Jedi who have wielded a lightsaber like yours."
Revan reached down and touched the oversized hilt of this double-saber. "A lightsaber is just a tool, what's important is how you use it," he said mostly to himself.
"If Revan he is, then Bastila Shan be you," Yoda said. "Honored I am to meet you both."
"As are we Master Yoda," Bastila said with a bow. She found it remarkably easy to fall into her old patterns of deference to anyone with the title of Jedi Master.
"Come, we have much to discuss," Windu gestured for Bastila and Revan to follow him.
"How many people know that we are here?" Revan asked as they walked towards the temple.
"Just the members of the Council," Windu replied. "We felt it best if your arrival was not public knowledge for now. Revan and Bastila are legendary, and controversial, figures in the Republic, and if we announced you were here now...it would make things complicated."
"What is our standing in the Republic?" Bastila asked.
"Even after all these millennia you and Revan are a divisive topic. Some people think you should have been punished for your crimes. That the Jedi are soft when it comes to policing their own. Others hail you as the saviors of the Republic. There are also those who regard you as the greatest romance in the history of the galaxy. There's an entire sub-genre of romance holo-vid that revolves around the two of you."
"Romance holo-vids, about us?" Bastila said in astonishment. "Whatever for?"
"Much mystery around your disappearance there was," Yoda said. "Theories there were many."
"The most popular one was that you fled to the Outer Rim because you couldn't bear the thought of the Jedi Council separating you," Windu added.
"What rubbish," Bastila scoffed. "We were on our way to Coruscant when all of this happened."
"Tell me about the Sith," Revan said quietly. As much as he enjoyed hearing about he and Bastila's place in pop culture -- and he fully intended to torment Bastila with those holo-vids -- it was the Sith presences that troubled him.
Windu looked around the hall they were walking through and the Padawans and knights who were giving the two masters and their companions a wide berth. "Not here, we will discuss this somewhere more private."
Windu and Yoda lead Bastila and Revan through the Jedi Temple. Revan took the opportunity to examine the grandiose building. He knew that Darth Revan had spent time on Coruscant before his fall, but he could not recall any of those memories. He was struck by how oversized the temple was. While the enclave on Dantooine was designed for quiet reflection the Jedi Temple seemed to be designed to instill a sense of awe about the Jedi in its visitors. All things being equal Revan preferred the low-key approach taken on Dantooine, though he had a suspicion that his former self would have chosen the temple.
Bastila also took careful not of their surroundings although her reaction differed from Revan's since she could remember her last trip to Coruscant. She was struck by how few Jedi there were. Even in her time, at the height of the war with Revan and Malak the temple had been bustling with Jedi. Now, even though the number of people she saw was not much smaller, the temple seemed less alive. It felt more like a museum than a living building.
They finally came to a stop in the chambers of the Jedi Council. Even Bastila had never been there, the inner sanctum of the Jedi world. Revan could sense the Force residue of generations of Jedi Masters. The weight of history in the room was almost oppressive. The thing that surprised Revan the most was that the room did not feel especially strong in the Light Side. He decided that the politics that the council engaged in precluded a strong connection with the Light.
"In all of the thousands of years the Jedi have occupied this room no one has ever managed to eavesdrop on a conversation held within it's walls," Windu informed them he and Yoda sat down in the padded chairs that lined the wall of the circular room. They did not indicated that Revan or Bastila should do the same. Revan briefly toyed with the idea of sitting down, but decided against it. "No before we discuss more sensitive topics there is the matter of your status within the Jedi Order. As you might have guessed the Jedi Council of your time had reached a decision when they summoned you to Coruscant."
"What was their decision?" Bastila asked.
"Passed the Trials you both had, full fledged knights you were to be named."
"But I fell to the Dark Side," Bastila protested.
"And yet returned you did," Yoda replied. "Just as important that is."
"But what about us?" Revan asked.
"The records show that the council debated long and hard about what to do with the two of you. IN the end however, it was decided that the best course of action would be to assign the two of you to different posts."
"That's absurd and would have done more harm than good," Revan fumed. "Didn't they realized that it was our feelings for each other that helped destroy the Star Forge?"
"This is not the time to get into a discussion on the merits of Bindowism. It's a debate that's been gone over a thousand times before." Despite his frustration Revan couldn't help smiling at Windu's reference of the cranky old Jedi. :In any event that decision was never formally approved and now your situation is more open to interpretation."
"Meaning what?" Bastila asked.
"Meaning we're not about to assign either of you anywhere just yet."
"However remain the question does. What do we do with you, hmmm?"
"You'll do whatever you decide is best for the Order, like the council always does," Revan said with a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"Yes for the good of the Order we will," Yoda agreed. "But fallible the wisdom of the Council can be. Know this well you do," Yoda sighed. "Discuss this later we will. Other matters of more importance Jedi Revan wishes to discuss, yes?"
Revan bowed his head. "Yes Master Yoda, ever since Bastila and I arrived in this time we've felt the presence of the Sith."
"Sure of this are you?"
"Of course I am," Revan snapped.
"Yes you would," Windu agreed. "As would we. We've been aware of the Sith's presence for some time now."
"You've known and done nothing?" Bastila exclaimed.
"So sure of that are you?" Yoda asked sharply.
"Their malice, it feels unchecked.," Bastila insisted.
"Yes, the men on the Republic ship that found us seemed to be falling under the Sith's dominance," Revan said in Bastila's defense.
"Ship?" Windu asked.
"A Republic cruiser picked us up immediately after our accident. They tried to detain us as smugglers, but we escaped. I thought they would have broadcast our description across the galaxy by now."
"There has been no such report," Windu said. "What was the name of this ship?"
"The Intrepid."
"Ah yes, Captain Brecktan. That would explain much," Windu mused. "We've suspected that the Sith have agents scattered throughout the Republic military and Captain Brecktan was one of the officers we suspected."
"So the Sith know we're here," Bastila observed. "Why am I not comforted by that?"
"Even if they know we're Jedi we never told anyone on that ship who we are," Revan pointed out. "So far as they know we aren't anyone special."
"Why do you think that cruiser was out there?" Windu asked.
"Brecktan said they were standing guard over a training exercise."
"There are no war games scheduled to take place anytime soon. The Sith must have sensed your arrival and dispatched one of their agents to investigate."
"But how could the Sith have gotten so powerful that they can count the captain of a Republic cruiser as one of their agents?" Bastila asked.
"The Sith of this time are different than the Sith you fought. They stay in the shadows and influence events rather than directly take part. They've been building their network for a long time, allowing their agents the opportunity to work their way up the chain of command."
"We have to find them," Bastila said. "If left unchecked the Sith will destroy the galaxy."
"We have...attempted to ascertain the identity of the current Sith Lord, but so far he has eluded our best efforts."
"Then let me find him," Revan offered.
"The galaxy you know has been gone for four thousand years," Windu scoffed. "I doubt you could find your way to the Galactic Senate from here."
"But I know the Sith, better than anyone else in the galaxy."
Yoda nodded, "Truth you speak. Perhaps for the best it would be if hunted the Sith you did. A guide we can provide you. Master Windu, summon Master Kenobi." Windu nodded and walked out of the chamber. "Important it is that you keep your identities secret."
"Why?" Bastila asked. "I can understand not wanting to tip our hand to the Sith, but to deceive a fellow Jedi strikes me as wrong."
"Not important who you are. Cause more complications it will. Trust the wisdom of the Council you should Bastila Shan."
"As you wish Master Yoda," Bastila said with a bow. "But I that does not change my opinion."
Yoda chuckled. "Headstrong she is," he told Revan. "Attractive you find it, yes?"
Revan smiled. "That is part of it."
"Trust your feelings you should, but be ever vigilant for betray you feelings can. Know this already you do. Also, only Jedi Revan will Master Kenobi accompany."
"What!" Bastila shouted. "I know the Sith just as well as Revan."
"Contemplated your fall you have not. Conflict within you I sense. Meditate on this you should do first. Do this on you're your own you must. Also, two Jedi are not uncommon, three are suspicious."
"I..." Bastila paused. "Yes, you are correct I apologize for my outburst."
Yoda nodded, "NO necessary an apology is. Now for the time being Revan shall be known as Aarn Delwynn, And Bastila, Brin Kyja."
Windu reentered the council chambers leading a bearded man not much older than Revan. The bearded man bowed to Yoda. "Master Windu said you wished to see me?"
"Yes Master Kenobi, introduce you I would to Masters Aarn Delwynn and Brin Kyja."
"Masters Delwynn and Kyja have spent the past few years searching the Outer Rim for evidence of the Sith at the behest of the Council," Windu explained. "It is their conclusion that the Sith are not hiding in the Outer Rim, but are here in the Core Worlds."
"What is it you wish me to do?" Obi-Wan asked.
"You have more experience with the Sith than anyone else in the Order. The council has decided that it would be prudent if you were to accompany Master Delwynn in his search of the Core Worlds."
"But what about Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Look after your Padawan I will," Yoda declared.
"Well then, in that case when do we leave?"
Deep in the heart of Coruscant Darth Sidious met with one of his agents. The spy, a worker in the Coruscant orbital traffic control, crept into the darkened room. His handler had summoned him to meet with Lord Sidious. He found the Sith Lord sitting on a dark throne in a low-lit room. There were no windows so the spy didn't know if he was underground or not. What he did know was that in this room he was very much alone, and his life was entirely in the hands of the robed figure sitting in front of him.
"Report," Sidious demanded.
"My lord, the ship you ordered me to look out for arrived today."
"And did you divert it to the location I specified?"
The agent wrung his hands. "No my lord, Jedi Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Council called my supervisor and ordered him to send the ship to the Jedi Temple."
"And you went along with that request?" Sidious asked, his voice remained calm and collected.
"I couldn't send the ship to another set of coordinates without risking exposing myself," the spy said desperately. "My supervisors would have asked too many questions if I didn't do what the Jedi asked for."
Sidious nodded, "What's done is done. Is the ship still with the Jedi?"
"Yes lord, and there is no sign it is going to leave anytime soon."
"I want that ship kept under constant surveillance, if it moves I want to know."
"I will make sure of it Lord Sidious."
"I wasn't talking to you," Sidious replied coldly. The agent's handler stepped out of the shadows. "Did you hear all of that?"
"I did lord," the handler replied.
"Then we no longer need this failure." Before the spy could beg for mercy Sidious raised a withered hand and called forth blue bolts of Force Lightning. The spy howled in agony until his nervous system shut down. Sidious stared at the smoldering corpse. "We need a new agent in Orbital Control. This time recruit a senior controller."
"Of course," the handler replied. He did his best to hide his disgust at the stench of burning flesh that permeated the room.
"I want more information about this ship and its crew, and I am done tolerating failure," Sidious told the handler. "If we have another one of these breakdowns I will hold you personally responsible. Now go and take that mess with you." The handler grimaced as he dragged the corpse out of the chamber.
Sidious stared at a picture of the Ebon Hawk taken while it was on the Intrepid. There was something about the ship and its crew that seemed familiar to Sidious, but he could not put his finger on it. "Whoever you are you have tremendous power," Sidious said to the picture. "Power that I must control for my own purposes...or destroy if it comes to that." He put the picture down and turned his attention to other matters.
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Author's Note: This is the last of my backlog. Currently
I'm about halfway through the second draft of Chapter 5 and halfway
through the first draft of Chapter 6. Everything is mapped out I just
have to write it.
-sam