by: Sam Lincoln
Rating: PG
Summary: A hyperspace accident throws Bastila and Revan into a galaxy of intrigue. Whatever happend to happily ever after?
Spoilers: If you haven't finished the game you'll be damn lost.
Trouble: Chapter NineteenBastila and Revan stood on the floor of the Valley of the Ancient Sith on Korriban. The wind whipped at the simple Jedi robes they both wore. Revan felt the lightsaber clipped to his belt bump reassuringly against his hip. He glanced over at Bastila and saw that she was looking around the valley calmly. Now that they were on Korriban there was no time for second thoughts and it showed in Bastila's demeanor.
"Do you think they'll show?" Bastila asked Revan.
"I think so," Revan replied. "They are Sith after all. A challenge like this suits their mentality."
"Are you sure? I've seen pictures of this Palpatine and he hardly seems like a spry young man. Sending a horde of war droids after us, or bombing us from orbit seems more his style."
"Why else do you think I chose this place?" Revan asked. "He won't risk pulverizing these tombs with an orbital bombardments." Revan cast his gaze around the rim of the valley. "No he'll show, his ego demands it."
Their arrival on Korriban had passed without incident. There were no cruisers waiting for them in orbit, nor were there any traps in the ruins of Dreshdae. Revan ordered the droids to take the Ebon Hawk and keep it nearby, but mobile to prevent anyone from getting a fix on their only means of escape.
Bastila remembered watching the Hawk take off and feeling the weight of the Dark Side presence on the planet close in around her. She had never been to Korriban. The crew of the Ebon Hawk by unspoken agreement left Korriban for last in the search for the Star Maps so she was already a prisoner of the Sith on Rakata. She wondered if the stench of the Dark Side had increased since Revan's first visit or if there had always been an overpowering sense of evil radiating from the very rocks of the planet.
A shuttle suddenly appeared and shot over their heads. Bastila tensed to avid a possible strafing run, but noticed that Revan had not moved from his spot. She straightened her back and did not flinch as the shuttle passed overhead a second time before settling down a short distance in front of them.
"You know," Revan said conversationally. "For someone with plans of galactic domination that's a pretty unimpressive ship."
"I'm just glad it's not armed," Bastila replied.
The shuttle's boarding ramp hissed open and a pair of backlit figures emerged. "Ah Revan, so you are here, and this must be the legendary Bastila Shan, hello dear. It's a pleasure to meet you." Palpatine said as he descended the ramp. He wore a simple black Sith robe with the cowl thrown back. He made no effort to hide the ravages of the Dark Side on his body unlike Revan's other encounters with him.
Walking a step behind Palpatine was a tall, dignified, elderly man who Bastila immediately recognized as the Sith who captured her. She might not have seen his face but she recognized his gait, and his dark aura. Bastila set her teeth in a concerted effort not to appeared alarmed at the sight of her former torturer.
"I was more worried you wouldn't show up Palpatine," Revan casually replied. He kept his hand close to his lightsaber, but made no move to draw it.
"Here I am Sidious, not Palpatine," Palpatine said.
"Has anyone ever told you that is a ridiculous name?" Revan asked. "Seriously, Sidious, what kind of a name is that? You dropped the prefix off of insidious, that's just frightening. How about you string bean? What's your scary name?"
"You can call me Tyranus," Dooku said with a sneer.
Revan barked out a short laugh. "Seriously, what is with you Sith guys, do you have a big hat of stupid names you reach into when you become a Darth?"
"You will..." Palpatine began to say.
"I know, I know. I will pay for my insolence," Revan said, cutting off Palpatine. Now that he was past the point of no return Revan felt almost at ease, and was able to make jokes despite the danger. "This is your last chance Palpatine," Revan said. "Renounce the Dark Side or be destroyed."
"And here I thought you'd finally come to your senses and decided to pledge your fealty to me. No matter, you will soon enough."
"You're the one who's crazy if you think I'll turn to the Dark Side," Revan shot back.
Palpatine sighed dramatically, "Very well, if you must insist." Palpatine raised his hand and shot bolts of Force Lightning at Revan.
Revan drew his lightsaber in a blur of motion and deflected the lightning harmlessly away. "You'll have to do better than that," Revan taunted as he settled into a defensive posture.
"Oh I intend to," Palpatine replied as he withdrew a lightsaber from within his voluminous robes and launched himself at Revan.
Revan parried the blow and countered with an attack of his own. Palpatine fended off Revan's advance with practiced ease. "So you do have some skill with a blade," Revan said. "I was wondering if that was the case."
"More than enough skill to defeat you," Palpatine snarled. He began another series of attacks at Revan, driving the Jedi back away from the shuttle.
Bastila watched Palpatine and Revan fight up and down the length of the valley. From her vantage point neither or the two combatants had a clear advantage. Both were equal in power and skill. She recognized that in such a close match the winner would likely be the one who did not slip on a loose stone, or some of lucky break. She wanted to rush to Revan's aid, together she knew they could defeat Palpatine, however she knew that this was a battle Revan had to fight alone. Also, someone had to keep an eye on Palpatine's apprentice in case he attempted any mischief.
"Revan will lose you know," Dooku said from behind Bastila. "He will either die or fall to the Dark Side."
"Do not make the mistake of underestimating Revan," Bastila shot back. "He is a survivor."
"That is an admirable trait in a Sith, but not necessarily a Jedi,'' Dooku pointed out. "It implies a willingness to sell out one's beliefs. Join me Bastila, I am not like Sidious. All he is concerned with is gaining personal power and settling the ancient Sith grudge against the Jedi."
"And you're not?" Bastila asked contemptuously.
"No, I am not."
"Then what are you after?" Bastila asked. "I can sense that you were good once, why side with the Sith?"
"Ask yourself, what is the greatest threat to the galaxy? It's certainly not the Sith, there are only two of us after all. No, the Republic is the greatest danger. How many times has the inability of the Senate to act quickly imperiled the safety of the galaxy? Strong rule is necessary, the Sith have the right of things there."
"Strong rule never works in the long run," Bastila shot back. "People want their freedom."
"You have no idea what evil is out there, beyond the Galactic Rim," Dooku said. "For years my dreams have been visited by specters of a future catastrophe. The Republic needs to be strong if it stands a chance of surviving. The weak and corrupt must be purged. Lord Sidious will be that purging."
"You're dooming the Republic in your attempts to save it!" Bastila protested.
"A pity, I hoped you would understand the importance of my work." Dooku drew his lightsaber. "If you won't join me I will have to kill you."
Bastila drew her lightsaber and ignited one of its blades. "You were lucky the first time we crossed blades, are you so sure the outcome will be the same this time?"
Dooku whirled and crashed his lightsaber into hers. "I see no reason to think otherwise," he said as he bored down on Bastila.
Bastila grit her teeth and forced Dooku back. She then planted a foot against Dooku and used him as a springboard as she leapt backwards, allowing her breathing room. She twisted in the air and landed lightly on her feet. Bastila stared at Dooku and ignited the second blade of her lightsaber. "Oh I think there is," she said with a feral grin.
Dooku growled in frustration and charged Bastila. The glowing blades of Bastila's double-saber swirled as she parried his attack. "You're skill with that lightsaber is formidable," Dooku noted as he deflected a thrust from Bastila. "But exotic toys are not enough to deny the superior swordsman."
"We'll see about that," Bastila replied as she blocked Dooku's stroke and countered with a swipe at his feet.
Dooku leapt over Bastila's lightsaber and fired a blast of Force Lightning in an attempt to distract Bastila. Bastila hastily erected a Force barrier that absorbed the Dark Side energy. She unleashed a wave of Force energy at Dooku in the hopes of catching the Sith off balance.
Dooku constructed a Force shield of his own, and while he was buffeted by the strength of Bastila's attack Dooku stood his ground. "You're simply wasting your energy. Even if you do manage to defeat me you will have to contend with either Darth Sidious, Darth Revan, or both. You have no chance in surviving such a fight on your own. It is in your best interest to join me, not to mention the galaxy's."
Bastila swung her lightsaber down and it crashed into Dooku's. "The galaxy? Isn't that laying it on a little thick? You want my help in conquering the galaxy. How is that better?"
Dooku dodged a strike from Bastila and countered with one of his own. "Because my dear, I'm not a monster. Certainly not like Darth Revan."
"It was Malak who was the monster," Bastila shot back.
"And who do you think molded Malak? Revan created Darth Malak to be his monster, that way Revan could distance himself from the worst of the Sith deprivations. Only a monster could create a monster like Malak."
"You seek to divide Revan and myself," Bastila declared. "Save your poison tongue. I know Revan won't fall to the Dark Side."
"And why is that?"
Bastila took a step back and straightened her posture, "Because I won't fall to the Dark Side. The strength we draw from each other shields us from the Dark Side's pull."
"Fascinating, I wonder what would happen to Revan if you were to die? Let's find out shall we?"
Dooku redoubled his attack and attempted to use his superior reach to break through Bastila's defenses. Bastila knew that Dooku had the advantage in a close quarters fight and did her best to fend the Sith Lord off.
"I can feel you're tiring," Dooku said. "You can't keep this up forever. Aren't your arms beginning to feel like lead? Your legs jelly? You know what the outcome of this fight will be so why fight the inevitable?"
"Because that is who I am," Bastila replied defiantly. She could feel the Dark Side singing out to her, begging for her to call on it. She pushed those feelings aside and focused solely on blocking Dooku's attacks. "I will stand up for the Light Side even with my dying breath."
"Noble words, but we both know that to be a lie. It's a proven fact your loyalties are much more...flexible."
"It's true, I've sworn allegiance to both sides of the light, but that means I've seen what have to offer, and I've made my choice. The Dark Side leads to death. I choose the Light, and life."
"I think you'll find that choice will lead to your hasty demise," Dooku snarled as he lunged at Bastila's head.
Bastila deflected Dooku's strike, and then swung at the Sith Lord's exposed chest. Dooku leapt backwards but the tip of Bastila's lightsaber still managed to graze his chest leaving behind an angry, red welt.
Dooku bit back a cry of pain, "Well played," he allowed through gritted teeth. He then charged Bastila and drove her back with the ferocity of his attack.
Bastila spared a glance backwards and saw that they were heading towards a deep ravine. She waited until she was on the very precipice of the ravine before leaping over the head of Dooku. Bastila twisted in the air and landed a solid, Force-assisted kick squarely on Dooku's back. Dooku flew into the ravine and bounced down the rock wall. He came to a stop with a thud against a large boulder.
Bastila looked down at the fallen Sith Lord, "Inevitable outcome my ass," Bastila said before skidding down after Dooku. The Sith Lord was unconscious, Bastila could see that he had multiple broken bones and a very nasty gash on his forehead. Bastila picked up the fallen Sith's lightsaber and stared at Dooku.
"It would be so easy," Bastila thought. "But no, I can't do it. " She knelt down next to Dooku and placed her hand on his head. Bastila closed her eyes and put Dooku into a healing trance. His wounds were grievous enough that without her help he would probably die. "I just hope I don't form a Force Bond with this Sith Lord," Bastila thought morbidly to herself. The trance had the added benefit of keeping Dooku unconscious for several hours. Time enough for Bastila and Revan to figure out what to do with him.
Bastila tucked Dooku's lightsaber into her belt and began to climb up the slippery face of the ravine. She hoped to be able to aid Revan in some fashion now that Palpatine's apprentice was dealt with. She reached out to grab hold of a rock to pull herself up and felt the rock give way in the soft earth. Bastila skidded down the shale and stared up the sharply angled wall of the valley. "This might prove to be more complicated than I thought," she muttered to herself.
Revan brought his lightsaber up in time and deflected away a powerful strike from Palpatine. For such a withered figure Palpatine was a surprisingly able duelist, with skills comparable to Revan's. Revan dodged a slash aimed for his head and countered with a swipe intended to remove Palpatine's legs at the knees. Palpatine brought his lightsaber around to block Revan's attack with blinding speed.
The two combatants backed off and circled each other. "You did not expect me to be so skilled with the blade, did you?" Palpatine asked.
Revan shrugged, "When the Force is your ally your age, or size, doesn't matter. That holds true for both the Light and the Dark."
"The Jedi trained you well," Palpatine admitted. "But not well enough. I can feel your anger, your hatred burning inside you. Let it out and be who you really are."
"This is who I am," Revan replied "Darth Revan was a...sidestep. I lost myself for a while, but with Bastila's help I straightened out."
"Do you really think Darth Revan would see things that way? What does it say that you had to be unmade in order to return to the light?"
"It says to me that the Dark Side exact a heavy price on those who turn their backs on it," Revan answered.
"The Jedi erased who you were and remade you in their image, how is that a willing conversion?"
"Because when faced with the truth of what the Council did, of who I really was, I did not turn back to the Dark Side. Face it Palpatine, I will not turn, and your dark reign ends today."
"You are over-confident. Let me show you the error of your ways." Palpatine redoubled his attack on Revan.
Revan countered Palpatine's offensive and matched him in intensity. The air around the two crackled with energy and any witness to the fight would have seen outlines of blue and red surround the combatants.
For Revan Palpatine was the most skillful opponent he had ever faced. In subtleness and cunning he far outmatched Malak. Palpatine countered all of Revan's advances and refused to be baited by any of his feints. Chunks of broken stonework and boulders flew around them as they tried to catch the other unaware. Revan did not know how much longer he could keep up with the Sith Lord who had seemingly limitless energy.
Revan leapt up onto an outcropping of rock to get some breathing space from Palpatine. "If you are so sure of yourself why do you run?" Palpatine asked as he unleashed a storm of Force lightning at Revan.
"I'm giving you a chance to reflect on your wicked ways is all," Revan replied as he summoned a shield of Force energy. Palpatine's barrage bounced harmlessly off Revan's barrier.
"You're not fooling anyone you know," Palpatine said. "You might have wrapped yourself in the sigils of the Jedi Order, the robes of Qel-Droma, the Solari Crystal, but these trinkets do nothing to hide the darkness that exists underneath the surface. I can feel it bubbling within you."
"I think you need to have your sensors checked," Revan snapped. "Because you're way off." Revan leapt off the outcropping and swung his lightsaber at Palpatine with a strong overhead stroke.
"Revan, your holding yourself back," Palpatine chided as he effortlessly blocked Revan's kill stroke. "Don't do that. The only way you can defeat me is if you give in to your hate."
"Do you think I just got off the transport from Dantooine?" Revan said through gritted teeth. "I'm not going to give you the satisfaction."
Palpatine chuckled. "For all your wisdom and insight into the Force you still fail to understand. You cannot best me if you refuse the Dark Side. There is no other way."
"That's a lie," Revan shot back. "The Light Side is every bit as strong as the Dark."
"In your day perhaps, but now the Light Side is so polluted the balance of power has shifted. It took many long years, but the Sith have successfully poisoned the Jedi's ability to access the Force. You have no choice, if you hope to beat me you will have to call on the Dark Side."
"We'll see about that," Revan said as he launched into Palpatine with a flurry of strikes. Palpatine coolly deflected Revan's attacked and countered with a slash aimed at Revan's midsection. Revan leapt back and the blade whistled past harmlessly. The move left Revan unable to take advantage of the opening and by the time Revan had gathered himself Palpatine had already started another offensive.
The force of Palpatine's attack drove Revan backwards. At the beginning of the fight Revan was able to use the Force in an attempt to catch Palpatine unaware. Now he was so occupied with defending himself from Palpatine's onslaught that he could not spare an iota of his concentration elsewhere.
Revan was staggered by the hate that Palpatine radiated. It felt inhuman, like an elemental force of nature. Unbidden Revan recalled a conversation with Yuthura Ban about the Sith legend of the Sithari and Revan wondered if Palpatine was in fact the incarnation of the Sithari.
A lucky strike of Revan's grazed Palpatine's arm, causing the Sith Lord to cry out in pain. "At least he's still human," Revan muttered to himself as he tried to press his advantage. Palpatine parried a blow aimed for his head and countered with a thrust at Revan's chest. Revan sidestepped the strike but tripped over a pile of loose stone and fell down. Revan's lightsaber was jarred loose from his hand by the force of the impact and it clattered on the arid ground just out of his reach.
Revan reached out with the Force to call the lightsaber back to his hand, but found that he couldn't. Palpatine was blocking his access to the Force. "Now you understand," Palpatine leered. "No Jedi can defeat me. If you truly desire victory become my apprentice, learn my secrets and use them to overthrow me. It is the only way you can prevent me from conquering the Republic and establishing a new Golden Era of the Sith."
As Palpatine talked Revan found part of himself agreeing with the Chancellor. "You don't have to completely turn to the Dark Side," he heard a voice whisper inside his head. "Think of it as going undercover, it's what you have to do in order to save the galaxy."
Revan recognized the voice, it was his own. The darkness that still lived inside him. Through sheer willpower Revan shut out the voice and focused all his energy in breaking Palpatine's hold on his lightsaber. Very quickly Revan found himself channeling more Force energy than he ever had.
Suddenly time seemed to stand still and the world around shifted. He found himself standing on the deck of a ship, or a space station. He saw Palpatine, now even more warped and twisted from the Dark Side standing over the body of a sandy-haired young man in a black jumpsuit. For a moment Revan thought it was Anakin, but a second glance proved him wrong.
"This must be the future," Revan thought to himself. "Odd time for a vision."
The tableau unfroze and Revan watched as Palpatine mercilessly unleashed bolts of Dark Side energy into the young Jedi. He heard the young Jedi calling out for his father's help. Revan was reflecting on the oddity of the Jedi's pleading when a large shape loomed up over Palpatine. Revan wasn't sure how he knew, but he immediately recognized the twisted amalgam of man and machine as Anakin Skywalker. Revan watched Anakin lift Palpatine up and throw him down a deep exhaust port.
As quickly as it appeared the vision dissolved. Revan felt the barrier around the lightsaber weaken. Revan intensified his efforts. to free the blade. He knew now what he had to do.
"Well, what say you Revan? Will you chose survival and join me, or do you chose death?"
Revan looked up at Palpatine. "You offer me a chance to strike you down if I join you as your apprentice. But that's no choice at all. I would simply supplant you as Dark Lord, and the galaxy would be no better off than it is now."
"So you chose death."
"I chose the third way, life," Revan declared. He punched through Palpatine's shield and called his lightsaber to him. He brought his lightsaber up just in time to parry's Palpatine's intended deathblow. The two lightsabers locked together and Revan forced his way back to his feet.
"You see Palpatine I realized something, you're right. I know I can't beat you, not fully at least Of course you'll never succeed in vanquishing the Jedi. One can never completely defeat the Dark, or the Light because they are nothing more than two sides of the same thing, the Force. In fact a Jedi will be you're undoing, I have foreseen it," Revan sneered over the crackle of the lightsaber blades.
"Oh you have?" Palpatine asked in a condescending tone. "By all means do share."
Revan smirked. "The son of Skywalker will take up his father's mantle as a Jedi and will be the cause of your downfall." Revan glanced around and saw that they were standing in the shadow of Naga Sadow's tomb.
"An interesting tale, time will tell if your prognostication is accurate. Unfortunately you will not."
"No, I think I will," Revan declared. He unleashed a concentrated burst of the Force directly into Palpatine's chest. Palpatine was driven backwards into the yawning darkness of the tomb. Revan then used his lightsaber and the Force to cause an avalanche that sealed the tomb. He knew it wouldn't contain Palpatine for long, but it would provide enough time for Revan to make his escape.
"Revan!" Bastila called out, "Are you alright?"
Revan sagged as the stress of the fight began to take its toll on him. "I'll live," he replied. Revan looked at Bastila and noted her torn and soiled robe "What happened to you, and where's Palpatine's apprentice?"
"Unconscious in a ravine, what should we do about him?"
"Let him stay there, we're leaving," Revan declared. He reached into his robe and withdrew his communicator. "T3, we need immediate extraction."
The Ebon Hawk roared overhead and T3 brought the freighter in close to where Bastila and Revan were standing. The boarding ramp descended and the two Jedi hopped on board.
"HK, blast that shuttle!" Revan shouted as he ran towards the cockpit.
"Acknowledgement!" The droid shouted with glee and the blaster turret fired on Palpatine's shuttle as the Ebon Hawk passed overhead. The shuttle exploded in a large fireball.
T3 whistled at Revan as he sat down in the pilot's seat. "There's a cruiser waiting for us in orbit?" Revan asked "That's predictable. Do you have the course laid in?" The droid chirped that he did. "Well hang on." Revan accelerated to full speed and the Ebon Hawk shot out of Korriban's atmosphere.
Bastila slid into the copilot's seat. "Are there any problems?" she asked.
"Nothing we didn't anticipate," Revan replied. "We have inbound fighters. HK, hold them off, but don't destroy them."
"Consternation: Master, I don't know how you expect me to function at peak performance if you do not allow me..."
"Do it HK!" Revan thundered into the com. "Hyperspace jump in two minutes." The ship shuddered as HK opened fire on the Republic fighters.
T3 chirped nervously. "Yes, T3, I'm aware that the cruiser will have us in tractor range sooner. Don't worry, I'll think of something. In the meantime get back to the engine room and channel all the available power into the engines If all else fails we can outrun them." T3 beeped his understanding and wheeled his way out of the cockpit.
Bastila wanted to ask Revan what happened with Palpatine, but knew that question had to be asked later, when their live were not in peril. She busied herself by watching the countdown to when they could enter hyperspace.
"Making the jump to light speed now," Revan announced just as a warning klaxon announced the Republic cruiser had them in tractor range. Revan activated the hyperspace engine and the ship transitioned its way out of real space.
As they raced away from Korriban Revan slumped down dejectedly in the pilot's seat. "I couldn't do it Bastila. I had the chance to stop him, but I couldn't do it."
"If you'd taken that chance you would have condemned yourself to the Dark Side," Bastila told Revan. "You had no choice in the matter."
"Except that's not true. When I was fighting Palpatine I saw a vision of the future. I know what must be done to cleanse the Force, but I wasn't willing to pay the price to do so."
"What is it?" Bastila asked with dread in her voice. If Revan was unwilling to go through with what the Force demanded the cost must be terrible indeed.
"Sacrifice. A sacrifice made out of love will restore the balance. Anakin will destroy Palpatine at the cost of his own life to save his son."
"His son?" Bastila asked in disbelief.
"I don't know the how or why, just the final result."
"Despite the fact that it's a horribly selfish thing for me to say I'm glad you chose not to sacrifice yourself. I'm not ready to give you to the Force just yet."
"Still, why should Anakin be the one who has to die?"
"You'll go mad trying to answer questions like that and you know it. You did all that you could, there's no point in fretting about things you cannot control. Besides, maybe there is a reason for you to still do. You say Anakin will make a sacrifice of love. Who exactly will teach him what love means?"
"Not me, we can't stay on Coruscant, not after this."
"There are, other ways," Bastila allowed. "Think about it Revan, you might not have defeated Palpatine today, but you can plant the seeds for his eventual defeat."
Revan thought over what Bastila had to say, "Maybe you're right. I'll give it some thought when we get to Rakata."
"So we're going to Rakata?" Bastila asked.
"Unless you can think of a better place to hide," Revan replied.
"I'm sorry we were unable to do more," Bastila admitted.
"I am too, but hopefully we did enough."
"I know we did," Bastila said. The pair lapsed into silence and watched the roiling swirl of hyperspace in front of them.
-to be continued-
Author's notes: What, you thought I'd let Revan win? Sorry folks, that was never in the cards. It felt good to write this chapter since I've been waiting for almost a year to do so. Chapter Twenty will tie up the loose ends and then it's done, hallelujah. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
-sam, 12/21/2004