Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Explanation: Destiny's Knight Chapter 16, takes place on Tatooine during the retarded jump in my story. I would like to seriously apologize but those of you who write know how inspiration and writer's block work. I hope you enjoy this chapter and can forgive my... lack of insight before. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 16: Tatooine

"Ehhh."

Revan groaned as he stepped from the Ebon Hawk's ramp and into the harsh glare of Tatooine's twin suns.

"What was the Force thinking when it made this world?"

Revan asked to no one in particular as he stepped onto the duracrete of the landing platform and allowed his eyes to adjust for a moment to the bright light. Brin and Carth followed and looked around, frowning at the heat.

"I think the Force was throwing what it had left here after creating the universe..."

Carth added as he glanced towards Brin and grinned. Revan shook his head and stepped forward to speak to the Czerka representative. After some Force-manipulation Revan stepped past the slightly confused representative and walked briskly to a nearby merchant who had a weapon that caught his eye.

"That last time I saw that... no, it couldn't be..."

"Excuse me, that is an Echani ritual brand is it not?"

The Merchant, who Revan recognized as one of the strange two headed alien species he had met in the Taris Undercity looked up and greeted him, handing him the weapon and going into a detailed description of its history. At hearing his own name mentioned, Revan raised a questioning eyebrow and examined the weapon with more scrutiny. It was the weapon of Yusanis' Brand, the weapon of the elite Echani he had slain years before during his reign as the Dark Lord. A small amount of shame entered Revan when he recalled the reason, he having killed the Echani Senator and the warrior seeking justice. Revan shuddered slightly and gazed at the poorly kept weapon.

"I'll take it."

Paying the eight thousand credits the weapon cost he walked back to the Ebon Hawk and brought Mission and Bastila along, leaving Carth and Brin to explore the port and leaving Canderous and Juhani behind to guard the Ebon Hawk. Leaving the newly purchased weapon behind, Revan walked briskly through the streets of Anchorhead and came across Brin and Carth, arguing with a Duros. Sensing that it was not a dangerous argument, Revan continued, though Bastila stopped and went pale as she overheard part of the conversation. Revan stopped and turned, his brow furrowed for a moment before Bastila spoke.

"I- I would like to check out the Cantina if you don't mind..."

She said softly, shielding her thoughts from Revan. Revan nodded and watched her leave, deciding it would be best to mediate the argument.

"Is there a problem here?"

He asked as he approached the Duros and his friends. The Duros looked at him for a moment before spitting angrily.

"Humans!"

And stalked away. Revan looked over his shoulder to where Mission was giggling.
"What about humans?"

Mission shrugged and continued giggling as Revan turned to Brin and Carth.

"What was that all about?"

Carth rolled his eyes and motioned his arm to where the Duros had walked off.

"Oh that Duros was complaining about some woman named Helena who is in the Cantina ordering everyone around and he decided to complain to us about it."

Revan frowned for a moment and looked off to where Bastila had gone.

"Helena did you say?"

Carth nodded.

"Yea why?"

Revan waved Carth off when he felt a dark shadow in his mind.

"There are Sith here..."

Carth and Brin immediately readied themselves, their hands going to their blasters and lightsaber. Brin's eyes scanned the surrounding area as Revan commed Bastila.

"Bast."

"What is it?"

She asked coldly, surprising Revan slightly.

"Uh, I can sense Sith here..."

"How many?"

Bastila's voice was slightly worried and Revan noted that her mind seemed elsewhere.
"I'm not certain, possible three or four."

"I'm coming back."

Bastila responded before cutting the communication. Revan closed his eyes and drew on the Force to mask their presence while Brin commed Juhani and Canderous about the situation. Several moments later Bastila returned, her lightsaber in hand as she cautiously looked at their surroundings.

"Alright, I think it would be a good idea for you and Mission to return to the Hawk."

Revan motioned for Mission to go with Carth back to the Ebon Hawk.

"Go with them Brin, make sure you shield your presence, we don't want them putting a tracking device on the Hawk or anything else..."

Brin nodded and moved quickly with Carth and a protesting Mission.
"Now what."

Bastila added in an irritated voice. Revan regarded her for a moment with a frown before asking softly.

"Is something wrong?"

Bastila sight and looked Revan in the eye.

"Yes, something is very wrong, all I want to do is get this over with."

Revan nodded.

"Stay back until you can get an idea of their fighting style. These could be assassins or apprentices, but there is also the chance that they are Sith Masters and-"

"I know, lets just get it over with."

Revan could sense something was bothering Bastila greatly and decided the best distraction would be killing Sith. Pulling his azure saber from his belt he moved quickly around the corner and leapt on top of a building, shielding his presence as Bastila activated her staff and allowed her aura to flare slightly, alerting the Sith to her presence. One of the Sith immediately activated his weapon and rushed off towards Bastila as the other two followed quickly behind. Revan watched from above, his black cloak billowing slightly in the wind and the suns casting his shadow away from the Sith. As the first Sith rushed past, Revan pulled a vibroblade from his cloak and waited as the other two followed, leaping down he slit one of the Sith's throats and threw the vibroblade into the Sith's shocked companion. The Dark Jedi fell to the ground and Revan turned his attention to where the previous Sith had gone, finding Bastila standing over his corpse and pulling a datapad from his cloak.

"Anything?"

Revan asked with a slight frown, sensing the annoyance nearly peaking in Bastila. Bastila scowled at the datapad and threw it to him, stalking off towards the Cantina. Revan read the datapad and frowned as holos of each of the Ebon Hawk crew appeared.

"Where did he find out who was with us..."

Revan muttered as he searched the Sith's corpse for any other clues. Unsuccessful, Revan followed Bastila's path towards the Cantina. A disturbance in the Force cause Revan to increase his footsteps, he could sense Bastila was troubled greatly by something and burst into the Cantina, plowing over a Czerka representative and stopping dead in his tracks when he caught sight of two women locked in a heated argument. Revan gaped at Bastila for a moment, her face locked in a deep scowl as she glared at an older woman.

"What did you do to him!"

She snapped. The older woman glared back and sighed, throwing her arms to her sides.

"If you don't want to help then leave me be child."

She resigned, it was obvious to Revan that the woman was weary and her presence in the Force was nearly non existent. Revan waited until Bastila finished her arguments and turned, slightly surprised to see him watching the exchange. Bastila quickly schooled her features and walked past him, saying she was going back to the Ebon Hawk to meditate. The former Dark Lord watched as Bastila walked away, turning his attention to the woman she had been arguing with.

"Excuse me, Milady."

Revan asked as the woman sat down and sighed heavily, likely worn out from arguing with Bastila and glared at him.

"What do you want?"

She snapped, eyeing the man in disapproval. Revan felt uneasy under the steely blue gaze and his confident stance waned slightly.

"Well I uh... I'm a friend of Bastila's and I was wondering if I could help, she seems... upset and detached ever since we've arrived and seeing your argument I was wondering if you could shed some light on... recent events."

The woman's cold gaze became even colder, which Revan had not thought possible and her eyes seemed to pick him apart piece by piece. Revan suddenly felt like a Gizak a speeder's headlights and shifted slightly, chastising his nervousness.

"This is ridiculous, I was the Dark Lord of the Sith and a Jedi Knight, I shouldn't be this uncomfortable around a Force-blind."

The woman continued to glare at him coldly, her eyes looking over his features before she shook her head.

"My name is Helena Shan, Bastila is my daughter... So you are her friend then?"

She asked, emphasizing the word friend. Revan suddenly felt the reason for his discomfort and suddenly felt about ten times as uncomfortable as he stumbled over his next words.

"Well- I uhm, yes, I've known Bastila since she joined the Order... I was actually with Master Vrook and Master Zhar when they took her from Talravin."

The woman scoffed slightly as her eyes narrowed and she looked the young man over again.

"Ah yes, the Padawan... Tell me, do you treat your mother like she did me? Is that what your Order teaches its students?"

Revan's nervousness vanished and slight surprise came over him as he looked up into the woman's cold gaze with one of his own.
"My mother is dead, if you must know."

Revan felt his eye twitch slightly at the memory of his mother being murdered by Uthar and how he had spoken to the man in the cell on Coruscant, not knowing it was his mother's murderer.

"I always thought it was Mandalores."

Revan shook the memory from his mind, noting that he had come dangerously close to touching the Dark Side in his anger. The surprised and uneasy look he received from the woman before him elicited a heavy sigh from Revan.

"I'm sorry, my mother was murdered by a Sith Master years ago and... it is unpleasant to dwell on those thoughts."

"Ah, the Sith."

The woman nodded and motioned for Revan to seat himself at her table as she lifted a glass of Corellian ale.

"Perhaps you could tell me where she learned to be so spiteful, do the Jedi train that into you? I had always thought they trained their students to be mature adults..."

Again, Helena gave Revan a pointed glare. Revan sighed and motioned for a Jawa to bring him a stiff drink, knowing he would need it and turned back to the glaring woman.

"When I first met your daughter she seemed... traumatized about leaving her family behind... she also told me that it was her mother that made the decision to send her to the Jedi."

Revan gave Helena a pointed look of his own and continued,

"She spent many years trying to overcome that pain, a child's mind is fragile and their minds can create things that may or may not have happened and they may harbor those... memories for most of their life..."

Helena's glare softened to a scowl.
"I see..."

She turned her blue eyes to Revan's brown and he was surprised to see concern for once in them instead of resentment or bitterness.

"She loved her father and he loved her terribly in return... as I do... "
Helena paused and sighed, it was clear to Revan that the woman was in physical pain as well as mental anguish.

"He was a treasure hunter, always going off around the galaxy and searching ruins of whatnot. He was just back from one of his hunts when the Jedi came and he had almost been killed... I didn't want that kind of life for our daughter... she would have followed him anywhere and he knew it as well as I did."

"And that is why you gave her to the Order."

Revan added softly, nodding his head as he nodded thanks to the server and took the Alderaniaan ale in his hand.

"I can tell you that she had a lot of trouble opening up to people and the painful memory of being taken form you and her father ate away at her for years... I am sad to say I didn't see it for years. She also lost a friend to the Mandalorian wars... and I can tell you that she took that hard."

Revan closed his eyes, not wanting to remember his betrayal of the Jedi or even worse, of Bastila when he fell to the Dark Side's promise of power and control.

"I see..."
Helena nodded, her expression softer than he's seen it as she mulled over the information fo Bastila's difficult youth.

"Well I am sorry to hear that..."

She looked over to Revan and offered a warm smile.
"But I am glad she had found friends like you, I can tell you truly care for her. Have you told her yet how you feel?"

Revan nearly spit out his drink in surprise and heard the laughter of the woman as she waved off his shocked expression.
"Oh she's as stubborn as her father, if she was willing to end our argument at your mere presence..."

Helena's smile shifted to a grin as she eyed the young man, causing the familiar feeling of a lab-gizak to return to Revan.

Helena had the tach to let the rest of her statement hang in the air as Revan decided it would be a very good idea to order another drink.

"So what was it you two were talking about anyways?"

Revan felt Helena's aura flicker and the pain that weighed on her mind assaulted his senses, surprising the Knight.

"Her father was killed while searching for a Krayt Dragon pearl, he wanted to find the damn thing so he could pay for my treatments and-"

The woman stopped at the mention of her treatments.

"He was killed by the dragon and I asked if she would retrieve his holocron for me, I am unable to go myself and I-"

"Hold on a second, your treatments?"

Revan asked. Helena sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes.

"I'm dying, there isn't anything the doctors can do about it, that is why her father and I came here. He had hoped the dry climate would help and he went on that damned fool adventure of his and got himself killed. I told him there was nothing he could do but he wouldn't listen. I just wanted something to see my husband again before I die... please, don't tell Bastila. She told me you were on an important mission and she was never one to mince words. I don't want her own grief to weigh her down."

Revan reached for the bond he shared with Bastila at that moment and felt the young Jedi's torrent of emotions.

"I think this is weighing heavily on her mind as it is. She is in pain... I don't think time will heal this, she needs to talk to you, hear what you've told me. Bastila is a Jedi Knight and she will know you speak the truth."

A sudden wave of determination washed through the bond Revan shared with Bastila and he jumped slightly at the shift.
"I beg your pardon, Milady but I must be going. I will search for this Krayt dragon and I will try to send Bastila to speak with you."

Helena nodded understanding and silently thanked the Knight, shooing him away when he lingered and suggested visiting a local Healer at his expense.

"I'll have none of that, go on and take care of my daughter."

Helena gave Revan a knowing smile as the Knight raised his eyebrow and turned, suddenly wary of the woman. Entering the harsh sunlight of Tatooine's suns, Revan followed his Force sense to find Brin, Bastila and Mission in the Czerka office arguing with the Czerka official. Revan's attention fell to a woman who stood nearby, her clothing was standard to that of most of the inhabitants of Tatooine but the Jedi could easily sense the despair emanating off the woman.

"Excuse me, Milady, is there something I can help you with?"

He asked as he approached the woman. The woman turned her attention to him after jumping slightly at his firm voice but calmed, offering a weak smile.
"Please, could you help me? I have nothing... nothing left."

Revan could feel the woman was telling the truth and the desperation emanating from her as well as the sorrow was nearly unbearable.

"My name is Rev, what do you need?"

She woman clasped her hands together and bowed slightly.

"Oh thank you, Thank you! I don't have anywhere else to turn."

The woman launched into a detailed description of her husband's death and Revan could feel her trying to hide her anguish as she spoke. The woman pulled what looked like a bone of some kind from her bag and showed it to the Jedi.
"This is a wraid plate, my husband found it when he went, before... He said it was valuable, could you sell it for me? I'm not a hunter and they won't buy it from me."

Revan eyed the bone for a moment, rubbing his chin.

"I don't have a hunting licence... but... I have friends I can sell that too."

"You'll buy it! I don't know much about hunting but I know it is worth at least five hundred credits."

Revan nodded and fumbled through his cloak finding a thousand Credit chip and handing it to the woman.

"I'll give you twice that."

The woman's eyes widened in genuine surprise as she handed Revan the Wriad plate and bowed graciously.

"One Thousand Credits! Oh thank you, you've saved us, I don't know how to thank you."

Revan sighed and looked the plate over.

"Helping you is thanks enough."

"And I have plenty of sins to make up for in my time."

The woman moved forward, taking his hand and clasping it tightly as she smiled warmly and bowed.

"You've saved my family, for whatever it means, May the Force be with you."

Revan bowed and moved to place the Wriad plate in his pack when his cloak was caught slightly in the wind and it blew the black cloak away to reveal his lightsaber. The surprise in the woman's eyes told Revan she had not known he was a Jedi.
"You're a Jedi?"

Revan nodded and brushed the sand from his knees.

"It is a Jedi's duty to help those in need."

The woman nodded, and gave a bow.
"Of course, Master Jedi. The Jedi will always have my gratitude, and you as well."

"May the Force be with you."

Revan bowed and made his way back to the Czerka office to find Bastila and Brin walking away as Mission interrogated a Duros as to the whereabouts of her brother.

"What's going on?"

Bastila looked at Revan curiously giving him a 'what do you have planned look,' while Brin sighed in frustration and made a rude hand gesture towards the Czerka official.

"Czerka bitch says we have to kill a whole village of the local Nomadic tribe to get a hunting licence and that we can't leave Anchorhead without one... I'm half a mind to just jump over the wall."

Revan nodded agreement.

"I think that would be a good idea, but we still need to find that Starmap..."

Brin gave Revan a blank look for a moment before realization dawned on her.

"What do you have ticking in that Jedi brain of yours?"

Bastila, who had been fuming as well from the argument with the 'Czerka bitch.' Turned to Revan and could see him calculating the dozens of variables in his plan. With a sigh of frustration she grabbed Brin's arm and began dragging the older woman back to the Ebon Hawk.

"You don't want to know and neither do I."

Revan smirked slightly before calling back to Bastila.

"Hey you may want to stop by the Cantina, I have a friend there who is interested in speaking With you."

Bastila shot Revan a glare that would melt Hoth.
"Traitor."

She hissed as she quickened her retreat. Revan sighed and felt through the bond he shared that the younger Jedi was taking what he said to heart, though reluctantly. The former Dark Lord strolled into the Czerka office like he owned it, much like he did as the Dark Lord when he entered a room and turned a dismissive look to the Czerka representative.

"I'm looking for some work and I heard you were offering up a lot of credits."The Czerka representative took a look at the imposing, black-clad man and nodded. With a little manipulation, Revan was able to obtain a hunting licence and the last known location of Griff. Turning to the still arguing Mission and the Duros he called the girl to follow. Mission frowned and turned to look at him.

"What about Griff?"

She whined, Revan sighed and closed the distance,. whispering to the girl.

"Griff has been taken prisoner and if you want to get him out, I'm going to need your help..."
Revan cast his eyes to the Czerka representative who was watching him warily.

"... And a little tach."

Mission nodded, deathly serious as she followed Revan from the Czerka office. Revan dropped the Wraid Plate off at the hunter's lounge and threatened the Gammorheans before walking back to the dusty streets and being verbally assaulted by a Duros.

"So you're the murderer the Czerka hired!"

Revan sighed and held up his hand, explaining a small part of his plan to screw over Czerka. The Duros seemed slightly shocked but offered help as well as his name. Revan thanked the man and asked that he wait near the Swoop track for him. The Jedi Knight and his Twilek companion made their way to the droid shop the Duros had spoken of and Revan nearly fell down when he entered the shop from surprise, his eyes falling on a crimson battle droid.

"By the Force..."

"Ah, a Customer!"
The Ithorian merchant greeted and launched into a rather amateur explanation of HK-47's functions. Revan could not fight the grin as he stared at the droid.

"Are you interested?"

The Ithorian, Yuka Laka asked in a slightly hopeful voice. Revan fought to keep a straight face and turned to the man.
"I'm interested, let's talk price."
"Five thousand credits!"

The Ithorian demanded, Revan's smirk vanished, replaced by a skeptical look as he turned his attention to the droid.

"I don't know... he doesn't seem too cooperative."

Revan could feel the aura of the droid pulse With dark energies and suddenly felt the urge to snap the Ithorian's neck. Turning to the man he fixed him With a contemptuous glare at the offer of four thousand credits.

"Four thousand credits, look at him. Its obvious to anyone who knows anything about droids that he hasn't been taken care of..."

Revan eyes HK for a moment and noted that several components were missing.

"And it looks like the Jawas already scrapped him before you found him!"

Revan snapped, pondering how his loyal assassin droid had come into the service of this particular Ithorian.
"I- uh, well. Two thousand five hundred credits is as low I can go."

Yuka sighed as he glanced warily at the droid.

"That is a fair price."
Revan lied as he laughed inwardly, handing the credits to the Ithorian and offering to buy several components that he would likely need to properly reactivate HK. Revan walked over to the assassin droid, motioning for Mission to come out of earshot of the Ithorian merchant.

"I can't believe this, Mish. This was my personal assassin droid I used to use as the Dark Lord."

"Wow..."

Mission muttered as she eyes the imposing droid's demonic features.
"I can tell."

Revan frowned slightly at the wording and turned his attention to repairing the many corrupted and damaged circuits, satisfied he activated the droid.
"Introduction: Greetings Master. My designation is HK-47, I see that you have repaired my poorly maintained circuitry and have purchased me from the Ithorian, Yuka Laka. This is a most satisfactory arrangement."

Revan smirked knowingly and backed away from the droid, crossing his arms.

"HK-47: Activate core memory protocol one-alpha-two, Submatrix: Bastila Shan. Command: Restore core functionality."

HK's eyes shifted to a crimson glow as it's head swivelled for a moment, looking down at it's maker.
"Master! It is a pleasure to see you again, I was led to believe that you had been terminated and that was most unsatisfactory."

Revan's smirk grew.

"I'm interested to hear what has happened since we last spoke, my friend but now is not the time."

HK's eyes lit up With anticipation as it pulled a large blaster rifle from Force-knows-where.

"Excited Query: Are we to engage in some unadulterated killing, Master?"

Revan chuckled for a moment, noting Mission's sudden discomfort.
"Maybe later, these are my orders HK, do not terminate any life forms unless they attack you first or I say so, and..."

Revan pulled the datapad the Sith assassin had been carrying and loaded it into HK's port.
"You are not to kill anyone on this datapad under any circumstances, is that understood?"

"Weary resignation: Of course, Master."

Revan nodded and turned to Mission.

"See? Harmless."

Mission gave an unconvinced smile before following Revan and his new toy from the droid shop. HK threatened Yuka Laka for a moment before following his master. As soon as Revan, HK and Mission exited Anchorhead they were accosted by a woman who spoke in a deathly even tone about her plans to murder her husband and gave Revan a contemptuous glare before going back to the city.
"Wow, someone needs a marriage counselor."

Mission noted as the woman left. Revan sighed and turned to HK, who offered the woman his services to kill her husband.

"HK, we're going to need to talk about your personality."
"Objection: It was you who programmed me, Master. I cannot restrain my lust for ridding the universe of meatbags..."

Revan chuckled at the 'meatbag' statement and shook his head.

"How about you just kill the original meatbag."

HK's eyes lit up and the droid spoke again.

"If droids could drool..."

Revan rolled his eyes.

"Anticipation: It would be most satisfactory to terminate the jawless meatbag for you, Master."

"Jawless meatbag?"

Mission's eyes were wide for a moment before she burst into laughter.
"You mean to tell em that Malak was the first person this... thing referred to as a meatbag?"

Revan nodded as HK launched into a description.
"Explanation: My master's former pupil once asked me what I thought of him, and I informed him of his meatbag status, he was unimpressed but my master found the remark humorous and programmed me so that I would continue to use the remark. It drove his pupil to great lengths of frustration."

Mission's initial laughter burst into fits of giggles and Revan had to wait for the girl to recover, turning down HK's offer to terminate the 'blue meatbag's' laughter. After eliminating several Sandpeople sentries and stealing their robes, Revan and Mission were able to enter the Sandpeople Enclave and speak with the leader. Not wanting to walk miles through the desert again, Revan decided to take the swoop bike stored in the Ebon Hawk back to the Sandpeople village after speaking with the Duros and convincing him to speak with his friend, who happened to be the Czerka supply manager, into giving him some moisture vaporizers. Revan unloaded the devices and HK from his swoop, leading Mission and Brin, who had decided to join them after setting eyes on the droid Rev had 'decided to buy.'

"I couldn't stand being locked on that ship with Carth and Bastila anymore, those two anymore. Canderous said something about Bastila getting captured fairly easily by the Vulkars and she went ballistic, then Carth make some wise-crack about the Mandalorians losing too easily during the war and I swear I thought Canderous was going to take that Echani weapon you bought and decapitate him."

Revan sighed and shook his head.

"I leave for two hours and everything goes to hell... Maybe you should do the work next time under these damned suns and I'll stay on the nice climate regulated ship..."

Brin chuckled and shook her head, waving away the comment.

"Not in your life, I'm just glad one of these maps isn't on Hoth."

Revan nodded agreement and after a translation by HK they managed to gather the location of the Starmap form the Sandpeople as well as a detailed map to where it lay. Revan decided that it would be easier just to have the Ebon Hawk pick them up after freeing several Jawas and Mission's brother, who he instantly disliked. Carth brought the Ebon Hawk over the broken-down sandcrawler, where Revan had convinced the others to wait. Loading everything on the Hawk they made their way back to Anchorhead and dropped the Jawas and Mission's brother off. After an argument and a few hundred credits the Twilek left. Revan had to resist granting HK permission to obliterate the scumbag and after a brief probe of the man's mind he had no wish to see him again, though Mission was hopeful. Revan marveled at how forgiving Mission was, she had offered the scum a chance even after he admitted to leaving her behind on Taris and asking for credits.

"Then again, she didn't hold anything against me, perhaps I can help her brother out... for her sake."

After some careful deliberation, Revan convinced the others that taking the Hawk to the cavern where the Starmap lie was the best plan and after mere moments they had landed over the cavern. Revan watched as two nearby men argued and one rushed into the cave.

"Idiot."

Revan muttered as he approached the Twilek man, who he recognized from the Hunter's lounge.

"Komad, how nice to see you again."

The Twilek sighed as he heard the scream from his companion and turned to Revan, offering a share in the prize if he could lead the Krayt dragon from the cave and warning about Sandpeople. Revan had a better solution and used the Force to coax the dragon from it's nest, using the Ebon Hawk's turrets, much to HK's delight to kill the beast when the Mines failed to kill it instantly. Komad offered his thanks and cut open the beast's throat, handing one of the crystals to Revan while he said a small hunter's prayer over the beast's corpse and made his way to his speeder, disappearing over the dunes. The Dark Lord was about to enter the cave when he stopped and turned, staring at a nearby sand dune for a moment.

"Canderous..."

He said into his wrist communicator. The Mandalorian acknowledged.

"We have company to the east, get to the gun turrets and prepare a proper welcome."

Canderous grinned.

"Sure thing, boss."

Revan, Bastila and Brin entered the cave where, much to Bastila's horror they found the few remains of her father. Revan helped carry the torn body from the cave, wanting to grant to man a proper funeral and solemnly handed the old and worn holocron he recovered from the man's utility belt to Bastila as Brin took down the coordinates of the Starmap. Upon exiting the cave, Revan noticed debris from several swoop bikes and saw Canderous, Carth and Juhani standing over a group of what looked suspiciously like corpses before the Mandalorian made a motion with his vibroblade and the group dispersed. Revan loaded Bastila's father's remained in the Ebon Hawk's cargo hold and brought the Hawk back to Anchorhead after speaking with the crew about the recent developments. Apparently Canderous had questioned Calo and discovered that Malak was tracking them and had assassins all over the worlds that held the Starmaps, waiting for them. Revan noticed that Bastila seemed withdrawn, her hand idly playing with the holocron and her eyes holding unshed tears. The former Dark Lord told the others he and Bastila would watch the ship and told them to go gather some supplies or explore for a while. Revan entered the women's quarters to find Bastila sitting in a corner holding the holocron and crying. The former Dark Lord walked into the rook and sat beside the young woman, giving her a compassionate look.

"Bastila, I'm so sorry..."

Bastila remained silent, holding the holocron as if it was her own life and staring blankly at the device, tears still falling down her cheeks. Revan placed a hand on her shoulder and fell her shrug his hand away.

"I am a Jedi, I can get past this..."

"The question is do you want to."

Revan said softly, ignoring the glare he received at the statement.

"Why wouldn't I want to!"

Bastila hissed.

"You have undergone Jedi training all your life, told to ignore your emotions for fear of falling to the Dark Side... This.. pain you feel is not something that will go away, it is something that will become part of you and it will linger with you for the rest of your life..."

Bastila's scowl shifted to a pained expression, the first of her grief leaking to the shared bond with Revan. Revan replaced his hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.

"You do not get over this, it is something that will be with you forever and will become who you are... I am so sorry but I cannot say it will all be better again, all I can do is offer my help."

"Help! Help?"
Bastila shouted as she brushed his hand away again.

"What could you possibly do to help this... this void that- that wants to consume me."

"Fill that void with something else, this will hurt for a long time Bast... and each time you remember the pain will still be there as intense as it was when you found out but fill it with the love you shared for that man, what you respected in him... fill it with his memory, do what would make him proud. He would be proud of the woman you've become Bastila, he would love you regardless, what man couldn't..."

Bastila closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs as she drew them to her chest.

"I don't know what to do, I- I've never felt this... this-"

"Empty."

Bastila nodded, her eyes remaining securely closed.

"Yes..."

She sighed. Revan took Bastila's hand gently in his own and pulled her to her feet. Bastila swayed slightly and gave him a confused look.
"There is more, isn't there."

Bastila nodded, fresh tears flowing from the blue depths of her eyes.

"My mother..."
Revan smiled sadly.

"You love her, don't you."

Bastila nodded, looking more like a frightened child as she wept.

"She's my mother, I- I don;'t want to lose her."

Bastila collapsed into Revan's embrace and held tightly to him, sobbing for what seemed like an eternity before finally drawing away and holding securely to the holocron. Revan sent as much love and comfort as he could through the bond he shared with Bastila, he knew her pain all too well and he endured the pain alone, succumbing to the despair and falling.

"You will not fail, you will not fall, Bastila."

Bastila sighed, wiping her tears away.

"I suppose I should speak with mother then..."

Revan nodded and Bastila gave him a nervous, almost shy look.

"Do- do you mind coming with me..."

"How could I?"

Revan answered as he and Bastila made their way to the Cantina, running into Brin, Carth and Mission on the way.

"I left the droids on the Hawk, Bastila and I have some business to take care of before we leave."

Brin nodded and motioned behind her.

"You might want to watch it, the Mandalorian is a little annoyed. This Twilek, Vek I think came along and kept offering him this datapad. Turns out that offering a Mandalorian something that isn't theirs and lying to their face is an insult."

Revan turned to Bastila for a moment before turning back to Brin.

"What happened?"

Brin snorted as Carth continued.

"Well... he took the datapad and... killed the man with it... I've never seen anything like it before. Its not like the man didn't have it coming though, the datapad had something to do with assassins on it and I just got a bad feeling from him."

"Well that's a Mandalorian for you."

Revan muttered sarcastically as he and Bastila said their goodbyes and made their way to the Cantina. After a momentary argument from two pained women, Bastila and Helena made amends and spoke quietly with each other as Revan stood and spoke to an older, dark-skinned man about swoop racing. After several hours, Revan felt Bastila tugging on his mind and paid for the man he had been speaking with's drink before returning and listening to bastila and her mother say a bittersweet goodbye.

"Here, take these five hundred credits and go to Coruscant, speak with the Jedi, they can help you..."

Helena shook her head, batting the hand away.

"Bastila, I've told you there's nothing anyone can do and-"

"Please mother..."

Helena sighed and took the credits before a sudden thought crossed Revan's mind.

"Wait a minute..."

Helena and Bastila turned to Revan who gave them a slight, knowing grin.

"We're going to Kashyyyk next and Coruscant is on the way... if you don't mind sharing quarters with Princess Padawan, Catwoman, Miss Republic and the Blue Tarisian terror..."

Bastila and Helena agreed to the arrangement and they made a slight detour to Helena's apartment to pick up her belongings before returning to the Ebon Hawk. Revan had since stored Bastila's father's remains in a casket, the family choosing to bury him on Talravin as to their traditions. Revan had locked Canderous in the cargo hold with HK and Carth in the cockpit With Brin to prevent problems from arising and was fairly successful in making the crew appear sane. The crate of Gizak would have been a disaster if Revan hadn't used the Force to manipulate the Aqualish's mind. Revan breathed a sigh of relief at that note, horrified at what kind of damage a horde of Gizak would do to his ship. The stay on Coruscant was brief, a meeting with the Jedi High Council, and a private one later with only Bastila and Revan in attendance as they relayed their newest findings. Helena had been taken to the Temple's healing facility where Helena was receiving the best treatment in the galaxy. The Healers were optimistic, using Jedi Healing techniques they were certain they could cure the disease that seemed to be raging through Helena. Bastila was mortified at her mother's initial physical and had been quite persistent in convincing the Jedi to give her mother top priority. After saying goodbyes once more and a final meeting with the Council, which Revan had dreaded even before falling to the Dark Side, the Ebon Hawk crew made their way to their next destination. The Outer Rim, non-Republic world of Kashyyyk. The journey to the distant world had been lengthy and the crew seemed extremely tense in the way of being ambushed by a Sith fighter patrol when they stopped over Tholatin for repairs, after the Hawk's engines burned out. The delay had led Sith assassins to investigate and they had to fight their way out, narrowly escaping from a nearby Sith expeditionary force. The former Dark Lord noticed that Zalbaar had been extremely anxious when he discovered they were going to Kashyyyk and Revan suspected it had something to do with the 'trouble' Mission had told him Zalbaar was fleeing that brought him to Taris. The Jedi Knight made a note to speak with the Wookie about the problem before they reached the world and made his way to the cockpit to relieve Brin and take his watch.