Author´s note: I would have put this up sooner, but the upload access was disabled due to a bug.
Say, this story seems to have vanished from the Star Wars search engine, and I have no idea why. If anyone could help me out I would very much appreciate it.
Once again a big thank-you to all who bother to comment on my story. It warms my heart. Really, it does.
Anyway: Here´s chapter 9 of Struggle. I hope you like it.
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Ignoring the disgusted looks she got, Keena bought a new set of inconspicuous clothes, along with a new hooded cloak. A quick visit to a cheap bath house got her skin and hair clean before she changed into them. The soiled ones went into a garbage-filled alley.
She stopped by the window on a blaster store, examining her own reflection.
Right, overlookable once more. Now try not to screw up so damn badly the next time, will you?
In about an hour after getting out of the sewer, Keena set course for the Republic landing site. It was risky, she knew, but it was her best chance of at least finding information.
Between the dark, the hood being up, and the change in wardrobe, the regular soldiers were unlikely to recognise her as long as she was careful. As for the Jedi . . . well, she would just have to hope that her Force cloak would keep on working. And if it didn´t . . . well, then it wouldn´t. She hadn´t gained Revan´s attention in the war by being timid.
Walking though the littered, scummy streets of Brim, Keena tried to come up with some sort of plan. Some predetermined course of action.
She came up empty. With so many variables, and so much that she didn´t know, Keena couldn´t see any way to prepare. Best to just dive in headfirst and let her instincts guide her. It was how she normally did things.
Of course, if her instincts had been a little sharper four years ago a whole lot of trouble could have been avoided.
Eventually the landing site came into view.
There were two blaster rifle wielding soldiers on guard, one of them young and with an air of nervousness about him. She recognised neither of them from the Retaliator. Of course, there were good chances pictures of her had by now been circulated between the Republic forces.
She stood there for a few moments, trying to weigh the effectiveness of her face-darkening hood and her control of the Force against the two soldiers´ estimated perceptiveness.
Screw it.
She walked up to them, creating an aura of trustworthyness and likeability. They wouldn´t be aware of it, but they would feel more favorably disposed to her than normally.
´´Good evening . . . miss.´´ said the older soldier. ´´This landing area is reserved for Republic Fleet personnel.
´´I know, I just need to find someone´´ Keena said in her friendliest voice, lacing her words with Force power.
She thought for a moment. They would be most likely to know the whereabouts of their commanding officer, but they might also be less likely to divulge his location.
´´I need to know where Mission Vao is.´´ she said to the young soldier, while using the Force on the other one to keep him from giving the situation too much thought.
´´Tell me where she is´´ she ordered, while giving him a hard mental push with the Force.
His eyes glazed over slightly. ´´Oh, she is meeting with some of her friends at the Verthandi Vigvöllur hotel in half an hour or so.´´
´´Thank you. I´ll just go away now. In fact: Let´s just pretend I was never even here.´´
The soldiers okayed simultaneously, and Keena walked briskly back into the ever-present crowd.
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She had never been inside the Verthandi Vigvöllur, but knew of it. Everyone on Brim did. It was a huge luxury hotel, the best one Brim had to offer. Keena supposed it would be a fine place for Revan and her crew to discuss Sith, strategies, and vengeful un-Jedi in comfort.
Keena again took to darkened rooftops for swifter travel, easily making the leaps over alleys, until she got to the somewhat more pleasant part of the city in which the fancier, cleaner, and taller casinos and hotels were. Intended mostly for crime lords, she supposed.
The hotel was easy to find, towering over the surrounding buildings as it did. It rose sixty storeys into the air, made of shiny, rust-red metal with a slanting pillar coming out of each side of the roof and going all the way down. Keena had no idea if they served some practical purpose or if they were just decoration.
She made her way to the fancy, heavily decorated reception, glancing every which way as she did so. Things had lately seemed all too intent on breaking all laws of probability, and she didn´t need a run-in with the Jedi now.
Guards in decorated armor stood at stategic locations in the lobby, and she spotted force field generators on the desk, no doubt designed to be activated quickly in case of trouble.
The impeccably dressed and groomed man behind the desk gave her a stiffly polite but slightly disapproving look. Keena supposed he regularly saw slaves better dressed than her.
´´Welcome to the Verthandi Vigvöllur, miss, can I be of any assistance?´´ His voice was silky-smooth, with just of hint of condescension.
Keena supposed that having well-trained and paid guards in sight made him confident enough to shrug off any tough talk or threats. Subtlety for now, then.
´´I am with the group accompanying General Onasi.´´ she said, placing her bet on Mission being there to attend a meeting between the Ebon Hawks´ old crew. ´´ You want to tell me which room is his.´´ She allowed herself the little hand motion many Jedi used as a gesture to focus their use of the Force.
´´Of course ma´am. The general is in room number eleven on floor twenty-eight. Shall I send a message announcing your arrival?´´
´´No need, he knows I am here.´´
Keena made for the turbolift, briefly wondering what the odds were of him thinking she was a street prostitute ordered to a "party", but quickly dropped the issue.
As the turbolift took her upwards, the former Padawan leaned against the wall, taking deep, calming breaths and worked hard to diminish her Force presence as much as possible. She would most likely be close to four Jedi Knights, after all. This was no time to get careless.
The lift stopped and the doors slid open. Keena carefully stuck her head out in the hallway and looked both ways. Nothing.
The last room before the nearest corner was number nine. Keena walked up to the door, and risked a little peek with her Force senses. As far as she could tell the room was empty.
She closed her eyes and very carefully used a tiny push of Force power to move the locking mechanism and open the door. Keena quickly slid inside, closed the door, and stood for several seconds with her breath held. Nothing happened.
So far, so good.
She made her way to the other end of the darkened, luxurious room, took out her lightsaber, and slowly and carefully cut a hole in the wall.
She strode into room number ten. Right next to the one holding "The Heroes Of Our Age". And most likely right next to her.
Keena put the receiver into her ear, took out the directional microphone and changed its settings before pressing it against the wall seperating the two rooms.
Time to get some inside scoop.
´´. . . ere´s Yuthura?´´ Carth´s voice.
Bastila replied. ´´She encountered a slight delay, but will be joining us shortly. Anyway, we can start without her. I assume everyone knows why we are here?´´
´´Yeah,´´ Mission. She sounded downbeat. ´´Because of Ann . . . this Keena person.´´
´´And because Tana and I suspect the ships may be bugged.´´ Juhani.
´´Yeah, and that.´´
´´Arrre you okay?´´
Mission sighed. ´´No, I´m not. She saved me and Big Z. I brought her back from J-3109, heck I talked her into coming, because I was grateful. I mean, we talked, we played Pazak, I tried to get her a job . . . and now you´re saying she´s a Sith out to kill Tana. I just . . . I just don´t know what to think.´´
´´We don´t believe her to be a Sith, Mission.´´ said Bastila. ´´Tana and Juhani were following leads on Sith spies when they sensed a disturbance in the Force. By the time they got there she had killed three Sith. The Sith may be overconfident, but even they are not foolish enough to play out their infighting on a secret mission.´´
´´No, she´s not a Sith.´´ Revan. Keena´s jaw muscles tensed, but she kept her temper in check. ´´She´s angry, very angry . . . at me.´´
´´Well, isn´t it anger that causes Jedi to fall to the Dark Side? Anger and fear?´´ Carth.
´´Anger leads the way, yes,´´ answered Juhani. ´´And I could sense so much of it from her. It . . . it reminded me of myself; in the grove.´´
´´Well, okay . . . but how come she saved us? I mean . . . I don´t see that she had anything to gain from it.´´ There was a sad, hurt quality to Mission´s voice that touched something in Keena. She didn´t like it. She didn´t like feeling guilty about hurting someone´s feelings. Not when there was one with so much more on her conscience in the room with her.
Bastila answered. ´´It may be that some flicker of light remains in her . . . that she hasn´t fully succumbed to her anger. That the Jedi Padawan she once was may still be saved.´´
Oh, you think so, do you?
´´Everyone has some of the Light in them. The only question is whether they realise it.´´ Juhani´s voice, filled with conviction.
´´Do you think you can pull her back? You do have a rather high success rate with that, Tana.´´
REVAN, is not pulling me anywhere, soldier boy. Not again!
There were a few moments of silence.
´´I don´t know Carth.´´ Revan said tiredly. ´´She has so much anger, and it´s all directed at me. I don´t think she´ll be all that interested in hearing anything I have to say. I, ah . . . can´t really say I blame her. Considering what I am.´´
´´We have been through this Tana,´´ said Bastila, ´´you have repented for your . . . for Revan´s past. None of us doubt your adherence to the Light Side. You are your own person.´´
´´Yeah, exactly.´´ said Mission. ´´You can´t keep doing these guilt trips.´´
´´You´re a good person, Tana.´´ Carth. ´´Hell, even I acknowledged it. You know, when I got over the shock.´´
Zaalbar rumbled something that as far as Keena could tell was something positive.
´´Agreement: Indeed master! You have no reason to regret putting down a few sloshy meatbags.´´
´´You know my feelings, Tana. You know them well.´´ said Juhani in a low voice that Keena wasn´t quite sure what to make of.
There was a prolonged silence, and Keena was starting to suspect that the Jedi had detected her.
Then: ´´I appreciate that, you guys. You know that. But all the kind words in the world aren´t going to . . .´´ Revan sighed heavily. ´´Look . . . after we got out of the sewer I had another one of my flashbacks, like I always do when something jogs my memory. And Bastila: I know you felt it through our bond but didn´t want to say anything. Anyway I . . . I recovered a bit more from my time as the Dark Lord. Mostly about Keena.´´
There was another pause, and Keena became aware of the wire-like tension in her body.
Starting to remember, are you Revan? Starting to understand? Good. Let´s see you writhe.
´´The details aren´t all that clear, but I remember . . . friendship. And trust. We were as close as I am with all of you. And . . . and I betrayed her. I betrayed all of them. Doing to you what I did to her . . . I just can´t fathom it. I can´t imagine doing that. But I did it anyway . . . and for what? What in me could possibly have made me do something like that?´´
I have my own theory Revan. You only have to ask.
´´The same that made Juhani attack Master Quatra, made Saul Karath destroy Telos and made me use my Battle Meditation against the Republic fleet: The Dark Side. It is within all of us, and all of us must guard against it. And I fear that Keena may lose her fight with it, if none of us can reach her.´´
Why do you people insist on defending her?!
´´Anyway, what do we know about her?´´ asked Carth.
´´Most Jedi who could have told us much about her either died in the war or joined the Sith. We did speak with Master Vandar, though´´ said Juhani. ´´He was quite surprised at the news. Judging by the Jedi archives, and what he knew of her personally, she was a promising young padawan. She was strong in the Force and dedicated and quickly gained exceptional skill with the lightsaber, although she hadn´t mastered emotional control.´´
´´When Revan´s call to arms came,´´ said Bastila, ´´she left her master and joined the war. There her combat skills proved sufficient to draw Revan´s personal attention; something those three dead Sith can certainly attest to. As a member of Revan´s inner circle she followed her to the Outer Rim after the defeat of the Mandalorians. As the Sith War started she was assumed to have either turned along with Revan, Malak, and the others or been killed. Beyond that there is little else that we can tell you. The only person left who knew her well is Tana.´´
´´And I don´t really remember much that would be helpful.´´
´´Well, so what can we do?´´ asked Carth.
´´I´m afraid she would be even harder to find than the Sith spies,´´ answered Juhani, ´´since we have at least some knowledge of their intentions and plans.´´
´´Which is why we hope she will come to us . . . or to me more specifically.´´ Revan sounded moody. ´´She will most likely try to get to me alone, so we´re hoping to draw her out.´´
´´And what are you going to do then?´´ asked Mission, still in that troubled voice.
´´Well, that will depend on her.´´ Juhani.
´´A little risky, don´t you think?´´ asked Carth.
´´Yeah,´´ said Revan, ´´but still; if it goes wrong then . . . well, at least it will a sort of justice done, won´t it?´´
´´Don´t say that!´´ exclaimed Bastila. ´´I can´t believe you´re still talking like this! You are a dedicated servant of the light, a champion in the struggle against the Sith!´´
The struggle she started!
Zaalbar growled something loudly.
´´Well, speaking of the Sith, do you have anything new on Darth Eskon?´´ said Carth.
´´Nothing that you do not alrready know, I´m afraid. He is looking for the tomb, and is believed to be close to succeding. The number of spies and scouts he has been employing in this sector suggests that he needs something more to find it, though. Tana and I have been trying to find out what his minions arre after, but so far nothing.´´
´´Suggestion: Surely an extensive orbital bombardment would eliminate any danger to you, master?´´
Keena put away the microphone and sat down on the first-class bed.
So, what had she found out? They were just as clueless as she had suspected on how to find her, and were hoping a trap with Revan as bait would do the trick . . . except now she knew. Eskon was looking for some tomb or another, and had planted spies throughout the area in order to find something that would help him do so. Revan and Juhani had been working on tracking them down, which explained why they had shown up so quickly after Keena´s fight with the Sith . . . which Keena still had no idea why had occurred. Revan was miserable, and her friends were unrelentingly supportive and faithful.
Like I would have been, back in the day. She always could inspire loyalty.
So what now? Would she shadow them and wait for the trap to be set, only to have some countermeasure ready? Would she hold back her lust for payback until she could find out exactly what was going on? Or just go with her plan of waiting for Revan´s guard to lower?
Well, I guess a little more information couldn´t possibly hurt.
She again took up position against the wall.
´´ . . . completely forgot, I brought your special robe back from Coruscant.´´ Bastila.
´´Oh, thanks. Did the scholars get anywhere with it?´´ Revan
´´No. They found no way to recreate the technology that spawned it, and its special properties only apply to you, its creator. So: There is only one set of "Star Forge Robes" in existance, and it´s up to you to use it.´´
´´It is strange indeed that a terrible artifact of the Dark Side could spawn something of purest Light Side.´´ commented Juhani.
´´Yes, but remem. . . wait!´´ came Bastila´s voice. ´´Do you sense that?´´
Keena had time to wonder how her Force cloak had failed before the explosion.
