In truth, she had been very indecisive about different parts of her plan, but one thing was always inevitable; they would end up in the Ancient Grove. Now distinctly out of breath, Juhani led Belaya down on the grass amongst bleached and worn stone pillars and slabs. Running her hands slowly over her, she checked for cuts or bruises, gently probing with the Force to soothe any pain and pull her slowly out of unconsciousness.
The gas had burned her lungs, so Juhani eased her breathing. The fall had bruised her head, so Juhani relieved the swelling. And when Belaya's eyes flickered open, all they saw was Juhani.
"…'hani?" Belaya groaned, hands raising to rub her eyes. Where was she? The last she remembered was… the Sith! Jolting suddenly, Belaya tried to sit up, to reach for her saber at her hip, but a set of hands grabbed her shoulders.
"It's ok, Bel. You're safe, and you need to rest for a moment," Juhani whispered, easing Belaya back down with a moan. Her world had tipped on its axis as she lurched forward but settled as she led back down and closed her eyes once again.
"What happened? How are you here?" Belaya hissed while shifting. Juhani's hands remained on her shoulders, reaching out with the Force to keep alleviating her pain.
"Revan brought us here. You were knocked unconscious by a gas grenade. I took you away from the Enclave and brought you here to tend to you."
"Where is here?"
"The Grove," said Juhani, to which Belaya gave a pained chuckle. "What?"
"Am I not good enough for your ship's Medical Bay?"
"That would require taking you past the Sith," Juhani muttered.
"What?" Belaya's eyes shot open. "The Sith are still here? I thought you said we were safe!"
"We are safe, Bel," Juhani insisted. "The Sith won't bother us here."
The gears in Belaya's head started turning as the fog of unconsciousness suddenly lifted. "Why are you so certain?" she asked, a puzzled look landing on her face. "And what did you say earlier? Who brought you here?"
"There are some things we need to discuss, but you must…."
"I thought you said 'Revan?' But Revan's dead, so what did you say?"
"We can talk later once you've regained some…."
"We can talk now!" Belaya shouted. "What are you hiding from me? What is going on?"
"The Padawan who I've been travelling with? He was Darth Revan. Bastila saved his life, and the Council wiped his memories so he could work for them," Juhani rushed her words, more disgust leaking through than she noticed.
"That's ridiculous, Juhani! Who told you that?" Belaya scoffed.
"Bastila herself, amongst others, but it is her word I trust." That gave Belaya pause. The small amount of anger had dissipated, but her brows were no less furrowed. Why would the Council do that to somebody? It seemed so… wrong. To force redemption on someone was not redemption but… coercion. "There is more, but it can wait until you are ready, should you wish."
"No. Tell me now," said Belaya.
"Bastila was captured by Malak and tortured. Before we could rescue her, she fell to the dark side. When we confronted her, she convinced Revan to leave the Jedi and become Darth Revan again." Juhani explained, eyes never leaving Belaya's, which widened as her words sunk in. "They offered me a chance to join as well and… I accepted."
No.
No, it couldn't be.
She was dreaming; she had to be. Still unconscious or dead after the gas probably. She did not hear those words.
She did not hear her lover declare she had joined the dark side.
Belaya shuddered as disbelief and horror washed over her. She pushed herself away from Juhani and propped herself up on her elbows. For the first time, she truly looked at Juhani.
Her skin was still fair, and her eyes were still their natural gold. She had discarded her red Jedi robes in favour of a black tank top and black trousers, revealing her shoulders and arms, but the fur that dusted her body was still its usual golden-brown. There were no signs of greying skin, darkened veins, or corruption.
"I do not believe you. I do not know why you would tell me such a terrible lie, but I do not believe you!" she cried.
"I have not fallen to the dark side, but I have chosen to leave the Jedi and join Revan."
"Why? Why would you do such a thing?"
"To be with you!" Juhani shouted, her words echoing around the Grove. Belaya scoffed again.
"If you think I will fall to the dark side, you do not know me at all!"
"I am not asking you to fall; I am asking you to join me!"
"That's the same thing!"
"No, it is not!" Juhani's passion bubbled to the surface. "I have spent the past year with Revan, and we have never shown any signs of being evil. I have watched him convince young Selkath to turn away from the dark side because they were being manipulated. I have seen him working with Sand People when the easier choice would have been killing them. I have fought side by side with him as we helped Wookie slaves free themselves for Czerka.
"I do not know why he has forsaken the Jedi and become the Dark Lord again, but I know he wants to change the Sith, and I can help him. We can help him." Juhani paused. " Our relationship will never be accepted by the Jedi, but by joining Revan, we have the chance to be together openly."
Belaya stayed silent. Her mind was whirring. Before her stood everything she had ever wanted: the freedom to be with Juhani, to share more than nights under the stars in this very grove. All she had to do to achieve it was abandon everything she had ever known and join an enemy she was preparing to fight mere hours ago.
She looked back into Juhani's eyes, and a familiar feeling of calm washed over her. "I… I want nothing more in this galaxy than to be with you. 'Hani. But to join the Sith to do it? After what they have done?"
"I admit, there are many things I will never forgive the Sith for, and I am not comfortable with the presence of some of their allies. But nor can I look past the failings of the Jedi and the Council. I trust Revan with my life. More importantly, I trust him with yours. With him, we have a future together we could have only dreamed of." Juhani spoke softly, eyes flickering between Belaya and the ground.
Belaya sighed. "After hearing what the Council did to Revan and knowing what Quatra did to you, I can see why you would lose faith in the Jedi. And, if you haven't changed, if you haven't fallen…-" she took a step forward and grasped Juhani's hands within her own. "- Ok, Juhani. If you trust Revan and his word, I trust you. Working with the Sith will not be easy, but I think I can do it. For us."
They both smiled, and both leaned in.
The Enclave was quiet. The last of its Jedi defenders had fallen. Revan had won.
And yet, a small sense of failure permeated the air. Several Dark Jedi, commandos, and over a dozen droids had fallen in the fighting. Many more had suffered injuries. Revan had been slashed with a saber under his right arm, which he now favoured as he wandered the emptying halls. Those of his men who were still capable were clearing the bodies out of the Enclave whilst others sought medical attention.
The Enclave had always smelt pleasant, like freshly mown grass on a crisp spring morning. But, with blood staining the flooring and blaster marks and saber scratches smouldering on the walls, the air had turned acrid and harsh. The tree that marked the centre of the Enclave had been damaged beyond repair, and nearby commotion drew Revan's attention.
"Did you have to do so much harm to her?" a woman's voice echoed as she shouted. Clearly not dressed as a Jedi, she must have been a visitor of the Enclave, living in the Guest Rooms.
"I couldn't care less about that tree. Now keep moving!" Azkul growled, jostling the woman towards the exit.
"Keep your hands off my wife! We're cooperating, for goodness sake!" the man, also dressed in civilian clothes, latched onto his wife and stared at Azkul.
"Commander, what's going on here? Who are these people?" Revan asked.
"Civilians, my Lord. They were the only two who didn't put up a fight." Azkul looked down at the holopad in his hand. "Identified themselves as Arvan and Reiva Carrick, guests of the Jedi."
Carrick. Zayne Carrick. Memories flooded him of stories Malak had told about Zayne Carrick during the Mandalorian Wars, of the injustice he faced at the hands of the Jedi.
"I've heard tales of Zayne Carrick; tell me, is he here?" Revan stepped closer.
"We haven't seen him in years," Arvan spoke, a twinge of sadness hiding amongst his words. Revan glared at him for a moment, judging his words.
"Commander -" Revan turned to Azkul "- these are now high-value hostages. Arrange transport for them to the nearest prison." Azkul snapped to attention, raising his weapon and calling over several of his men. As Azkul gave orders and Revan turned away, Reiva shouted.
"Wait!" she said. "We can be just as effective hostages here. Why do you need to ship us out of here?"
"Because it will be easier for your son to locate you here," Revan spoke.
"I assume you plan to use this place? To train your own perversion of the Jedi?" Reiva sneered.
"Something like that…."
"Then keep us here. My husband and I have made our life on this planet. I'll even work on this Courtyard for you, try and save it from the damage you've done to it," she pleaded. Revan considered it for a moment. He thought that if he kept Dantooine as well defended as Korriban, which he planned to, they would be just as secure here as anywhere else.
Turning to Azkul, he said, "Go through every item they own. Any listening devices, communicators, sensors, weapons or suspicious objects are to be confiscated. Keep them under guard, but let her work on the garden here." Revan ordered, to which Azkul nodded. The husband and wife muttered their thanks as they were led back the way they came.
Now free to continue, Revan continued walking through the halls. His ultimate destination was to find his Bastila and HK. Deciding to return to the Council Chamber, he found them both. Bastila sat upon one of the Jedi Council chairs whilst HK watched over her.
"How do you feel?" Revan asked, smirking at Bastila lounging across both arms of her chosen chair.
"Proud to have fought alongside you, proud to have led men to assault this place and proud to have finally put the Council in their place," she smiled. Her emotions had stabilised in the quiet since the fighting. Her glee and sadness had made way from her pride to take centre stage, and she had never felt more elated.
"Good. Do you believe you have found your source of strength?"
"Yes. But then, you knew it all along, didn't you?
"Of course I did. I've known since I rescued you from Brejik on Taris."
"You did not resc…," Bastila jumped up straight in her chair before pausing. The insult to her pride had rejuvenated her, pushing her to prove herself. She smiled once again.
"Now you know too." Stepping forward, Revan extended a hand towards her. Bastila accepted, and she rose from the chair. "You have taken the first step to finding your true self, beneath what Malak and the Jedi taught you."
"Thank you, truly. You are far kinder to me than I deserve," Bastila muttered.
"Enough of that. You deserve all the kindness I can muster. What will it take to make you see that?" Revan tsked and shook his head.
"Perhaps we should… make some time for you to show me," Bastila whispered, standing on the tips of her toes and leaning close to Revan's ear.
"Oh, and how exactly would you like me to show you?" Revan smirked.
"I would like to start with something like this…." Bastila gripped his chin between her thumb and forefinger and tilted his head toward hers. Her grey eyes met his brown with a silent question. Revan's smirk grew, and he leaned in slowly, waiting for Bastila to make the final move. And she did.
Their lips met in the middle, calm and almost chaste. Revan slid one gloved hand up to the small of her back as her hands settled behind his neck. They continued to kiss, emotion taking over as Revan's other hand glided into Bastila's hair, pulling inexplicably closer.
Bastila felt ecstatic, smiling as Revan kissed every centimetre of her lips. Her feelings threatened to overwhelm her as her mind raced and her heart thundered. She pulled back slightly, desperate to regain some composure and Revan acquiesced, leaving his forehead touching hers and his hand caressing her hair.
"I… That was… different than our last kiss," she murmured, eyes opening again.
"Good different?"
"Definitely."
"Statement: I do not wish to alarm you, Master, but we are no longer alone."
Both Revan and Bastila's heads snapped towards HK, cheeks colouring further. "HK, I forgot you were there," said Revan.
"Commentary: Evidently so, Master. If only I were not, in fact, here."
"I'd rather not be here either," Canderous yelled, "but you're needed in the Sublevel." Bastila glared at him over Revan's shoulder.
Revan had no memory of the Enclave's Sublevel, having been refused access on his last visit to Dantooine. As he walked through the concealed corridors, he discovered it was far more interesting than above.
His first sight was a foyer filled with giant basins of colourful flowers collected on a raised dais under a glass roof. From here, the paths split, leading to classrooms, dormitories, storage rooms and computer labs. However, the true treasure was where both ways met again: the Jedi Archives.
Nowhere near as large as the Jedi Temple Archives on Coruscant or the ancient Great Jedi Library that was destroyed on Ossus years ago, the shelves still held an impressive number of holobooks. Spread across two levels, thousands of volumes must have covered hundreds of years and topics. Revan was wide-eyed and aghast.
"The problem's in here. I hope you have better luck with her," Canderous bemoaned. The problem he was referencing was a child, a Youngling. Canderous had fought the blasted thing hiding amongst the shelves, shaking in fear. There was no way he was gonna mess with that, so he put a man on the door and went to find Revan.
Leaving HK and Canderous at the door, Revan and Bastila took gentle steps into the Archives, eyes scanning around the room. Canderous directed them towards the back left corner, and as they approached, they saw a flash of movement. Gesturing for Bastila to stop, Revan spoke:
"Hello. We're not here to hurt you. I'd like to make sure you're alright,"
"I don't know you. Why are you here?" the child spoke.
"My name is Bastila Shan. I used to train here, like you. Can you tell us if you've been hurt?"
"I'm fine. This is a place for Jedi. You need to leave!" she shouted, slowly stepping out from behind the shelves. A girl in her early teens, by Revan's reckoning, with a mop of ginger hair and a lightsaber on her belt. She glowered at Revan and Bastila.
"My people and I have come to liberate this world, to bring the true teaching of the Force to the galaxy," said Revan, taking a single step forward.
"You're lying. You're here to destroy this place!"
"It is my fleet in orbit. If I wished this place destroyed, why would I be here?" he countered.
"Well, Master Vrook said the Sith are bloodthirsty –" she stumbled over the word "– and only want to kill the Jedi!"
"Master Vrook has lied to you like he did to me and many others. He has left this place behind, but, I promise you, you are safe with us." Bastila took several steps towards the girl.
"Why… why would he lie to me?"
"The Jedi have lied to you about a great many things. If you would like, we can find someone new to teach you, to tell you the truth?" Revan extended his hand towards her. She stared at it for a moment before placing accepting. "Excellent. May I ask your name?"
"Kaevee," she responded.
"Well, Kaevee, why don't you show this man –" Revan gestured to the commando posted at the door "– where your dormitory is and stay there while I finish my business here."
"Will you leave too?"
Bastila stepped in, "We have other business across the galaxy, but we will not leave without ensuring you're cared for; I promise." Kaevee seemed to calm at Bastila's words. She grabbed the commando's hand and dragged him away from the Archives.
"I'm glad that's over with. What say we get her a caretaker and leave this place?" said Canderous, laying his Heavy Blaster across his shoulder.
"No, wait. We can't leave yet. I have one final piece of business to attend to," Bastila declared and took off towards one of the storage rooms. Revan, HK and Canderous, although confused, followed behind her.
Entering the room, she headed for a footlocker tucked in the corner. The whole room was covered in a thick layer of dust, with small insects scurrying away in an attempt to remain hidden. She frowned at it for a moment before entering four numbers.
"Whatever you've left here clearly isn't important. This place looks forgotten." Canderous grumbled.
"I think you'll find it is quite important indeed." Bastila snapped. She grabbed the only item within the footlocker, which was small and wrapped in cloth. "Truth be told, I don't know why I kept this, though I am glad I had. It seems only fitting I return it to its rightful owner."
Bastila held out the item towards Revan with both hands. Casting her a quizzical glance, he reached out and took it from her. Running his fingers across the front, he gently pinched and removed the cloth. It was his Mask.
"Cassus – wait! They're defeated! We don't have to do this!" the unknown hero cried.
"The Cathar left a stain of dishonour on the Mando'ade. Today, I wash it clean in the waters of their own presumption." Cassus Fett declared. "But, if you truly feel they need a defender to stand with them – then do so, warrior. I salute you. Ke'serim!"
Cathar – the planet and the people – screamed around him. And then… it was over.
"They were beaten. You didn't have to do it! One of you knew, but you didn't listen!" he screamed. "I don't know your name – but I take up your cause. I will not remove your mask until there is justice – until the Mandalorians have been defeated once and for all. So swears… Revan!"
Flashes of memories and visions returned to him, and the back of his mind burned with intensity as feelings of pain and suffering washed through him. Revan gasped and faltered, growing suddenly unsteady on his feet. Bastila moved to brace his front whilst Canderous grabbed his shoulders from behind.
"Warning: Sudden increase in heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity. Potential medical emergency in progress."
"Revan? Are you alright?" spoke Bastila, eyes desperately darting across his face.
"Yes, yes, I'm alright. I… just need a moment."
"What happened to you?" Canderous said, uncharacteristically worried.
"I think… I think some more of my memories have returned."
A/N: Did you know... Arvan and Reiva Carrick appear in the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, along with their son Zayne Carrick. Also, Kaevee is a cut NPC from the Jedi Enclave Sublevel in KoTOR II: The Sith Lords.
Also, for those of you that read the book Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear "Clones" or the novella Skyewalkers: A Clone Wars Story, you may be aware that, in those stories, there are cloning facilities used by the Jedi in this time period beneath the Jedi Enclave. Whilst the existence of these cloning facilities does wonders for theory-crafting regarding the KoTOR games, I could not find an effective use for them within the narrative that I wanted to work with. Therefore, for the purposes of this story, those facilities do not exist.
While I do pride myself on finding and using obscure bits of pre-existing lore, I just couldn't make this one work in a way that I was interested in. However, I still wanted to mention it in case anyone was aware of those stories and waiting for the inclusion of the facilities as a plot point.