Author's Note: In case anyone's left wondering, I did purposely leave a few questions to be answered in the next chapter or two. Once again, thanks to my beta-readers, and reviews are appreciated!
Chapter 1: Shadows
"No, it's that way, Big Z," Mission Vao argued, pointing toward the direction of the sewer entrance. "Gadon told me that the pod crashed somewhere north of the Undercity, and that's down there."
Zaalbar expressed his disagreement in a series of groans and roars indecipherable to almost every non-Wookiee race. Mission, however, understood her friend perfectly, and laughed softly.
"Oh, come on, Big Z. It's not like we haven't explored the Undercity before. Remember that one time we almost got caught by those Sith thugs?"
Zaalbar grunted his confirmation.
Wake up, Mission…
"Exactly!" Mission said cheerfully, smiling at the Wookiee. "So we've got nothing to be afraid of. Let's go!"
Zaalbar grudgingly agreed, and the two friends walked toward the sewers, leaving behind the semi-security of the Undercity settlements. Even after half an hour of wandering, however, the pod was nowhere to be seen.
"Uh, Big Z…I think we're lost."
The Wookiee heaved the closest thing to a sigh he was physically capable of doing, and added a few more grunts.
"Whaddaya mean, you told me so?" Mission cried indignantly. "You never told me not to head in this direction; you just told me not to explore the Undercity in general. And it's not like you would have ― "
Wake up, Mission…
Zaalbar interrupted Mission with a ferocious roar, and the girl stopped talking. After a few moments of silence, Mission could not bring herself to stay quiet any longer.
"What is it, Big Z?"
As if to answer her question, three figures suddenly dropped from the air, landing on the ground in front of the two friends. The creatures' pale bodies were distorted with mutation, and their eyes shone with a hunger that seemed insatiable as they stared blankly at Mission and Zaalbar.
"Rakghouls!" Mission exclaimed, and fumbled for her blaster. Beside her, Zaalbar drew his vibroblade without a sound.
The group of mutants advanced, and then one rakghoul leapt forward with a snarl, poison-coated claws poised to rend flesh…
"Wake up, Mission."
Mission Vao slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the sight of the failing sunlight that filtered through the canopy overhead. She lay on a strange wooden bed, and stone walls adorned with carvings surrounded her on all sides. In front of her stood a single statue of stone, depicting a reptilian, flat-faced alien in all its glory.
"Wh…where am I?" she wondered.
"You're in the settlement of the Elders," came a voice from above her. "It will take some time for you to fully recover, but the Elder Rakata are proficient healers."
The voice belonged to another Twi'lek, standing over the girl in concern. She was dressed in a simple robe of brown fabric, the customary outfit of a Jedi. Her skin was colored a light purple, and a series of unsettling markings tarnished her otherwise striking visage.
"You!" Mission gasped in revulsion, recognizing the woman from the Sith Academy on Korriban. She tried to draw away from her, but winced as searing pain shot through her torso. The older Twi'lek looked concerned, but a momentary flicker of disappointment crossed her features as well.
"Save your strength, young one," she said, waving her hand slightly, and the pain in Mission's muscles immediately subsided. "I am not as I once was; you have nothing more to fear about me."
"Yuthura's telling the truth, Mission," came another voice, this time deeper and much more familiar. "I've heard her story, and without Revan, she's the only one left we may be able to trust."
"Carth?" Mission exclaimed. She began glancing around the room for the soldier, but thought better of it. "How long have I been here?" she asked.
"It's been a few hours since Revan and Bastila took off in the Ebon Hawk," Carth explained, walking up to Mission's bed. "I waited until they were gone, and then carried you to the Elder settlement. Your wound looked pretty serious; I was afraid you wouldn't make it." The soldier sighed wearily before he continued. "I'm sorry I didn't help you, Mission. There was so much I could have done, and I just stood there and watched…"
As if waking from a pleasant dream, the terrible memories started returning to Mission, bit by bit. Revan returning from the Temple with Bastila. Revan announcing that he'd turned to the dark side. Carth yelling a warning before fleeing the scene. Zaalbar drawing his vibroblade and turning to face Mission…
Mission was suddenly conscious of the tears forming in her eyes. Ashamed, she tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming, trickling down the girl's cheek and onto the bed. Before Mission knew it, she was crying.
"Why?" she managed to choke out in between sobs. "Why would Zaalbar hurt me?" Pain shot through her lower body once again as she shook, but the wound in her belly was nothing compared to the wound in her heart. "He was my best friend…"
"There is much conflict in your Wookiee friend," said Yuthura, attempting without much success to reassure the weeping girl. "I could feel it, even during his brief residence in the Sith Academy. Ever since his banishment from his home village, he has been caught between following tradition and doing what he believes is right."
"Zaalbar cares about you, Mission," Carth said earnestly. "You're the only friend he's ever had. He would never have hurt you if Revan hadn't been there, manipulating his emotions. In any other situation, Zaalbar would have given his life to protect you."
The room was silent for a few moments, as the two adults gave Mission some time to confront her feelings. After a few moments, Mission was slightly calmer, and much more inquisitive.
"Jolee, Juhani…" the girl said, as if just noticing their absence. "Where are they?"
Carth looked uneasy. "They never returned from the Temple," he told the young Twi'lek. "It is possible that they survived their encounter with Revan and Bastila, but it's almost night, and I'm starting to lose hope."
"We shall search the Temple in the morning," Yuthura announced. "It is much too dangerous to leave this settlement after sunset; the Elders have seen to it that we are well aware of this fact. I cannot sense whether our Jedi companions still live; the Force is strangely muddled on this world, and clouds my ability to sense their presence."
Mission nodded, sniffing as she banished the last of her tears. She glanced up at her two friends in gratitude; without Zaalbar, they were all she had left. Carth seemed as strong-willed as ever, albeit much wearier and a bit more unkempt. The suspicious tone in his eyes had intensified greatly since the last time Mission had seen him, and she was surprised by how easily the soldier had given Yuthura his trust.
Yuthura Ban, on the other hand, seemed almost an entirely new person. Her once-pale skin had regained much of its vivid amethyst color, and the Jedi robes looked almost elegant when compared to the bland Sith uniforms she had once worn. There was something else different about her; something subtle that was hard for Mission to pinpoint. It was almost as though Yuthura's very essence had changed; she was no longer surrounded by an aura of cruelty and death, but one of life and harmony. All that remained of her former lifestyle was the series of tattoos on her face, forever a reminder to the Twi'lek of her troubled past.
"Yuthura," Mission said, for the first time meeting Yuthura's gaze. "You're a Jedi again, aren't you?"
Yuthura shook her head, troubled, and Mission, halfway to another question, closed her mouth. "I am no Jedi," the purple Twi'lek said bitterly. "I have been redeemed in the Masters' eyes, but not in my own. Until I make amends for all my mistakes in the past, I do not deserve such an honorable title." She sighed, glancing down at the ground. "For now, I am nothing; neither Jedi nor Sith."
A serene silence followed Yuthura's oration, and the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the twilight sky, casting the room deeper into shadow. When the silence was finally broken, it was Yuthura herself who spoke.
"I…I did not have the most enjoyable youth," she said, her voice strangely quiet. "I do not remember my childhood, but I still remember my slave years as clearly as I remember yesterday. I can still hear the Hutt's revolting laughs in my sleep; I can still feel the weight of chains around my neck. After I killed the slug out of rage, I joined the Jedi because I thought it would give me the strength I needed. I would then use that power to free other slaves, until every slave in the galaxy was liberated." She laughed bitterly. "Such an innocent young girl I was…
"But soon after I joined the Jedi Order, I began to notice that things were not exactly as I'd imagined them to be. The extensive study of philosophy bored me, and I was frustrated by the Jedi's reluctance to ever take action. But I tolerated the dull texts and recitations. I endured the infuriating lack of action. I persisted in my training, still clinging on to the naïve, improbable hope that one day, I would be able to travel the galaxy, freeing all slaves in my path. That one day, I would be a savior.
"It was a little less than five years ago when I experienced my first taste of the dark side. I still remember that night clearly; I had been meditating in the fields outside the Enclave after a particularly arduous day of training, when I was distracted by a bright light coming from somewhere near the ruins containing the Star Map. Although I knew I shouldn't have done so, I went to investigate the lights. And what I saw changed my life.
"It was no more than a Dark Jedi killing Kath hounds with Force Lightning, nothing compared to today's standards. But at the time, it was like nothing I'd ever seen. The dark side was everything that the light side was not; it was aggressive, while the light side was passive; it was passionate, while the light side was indifferent; it was quick to act, while the light side debated issues in pointless conferences. And you can see how the dark side would appeal to me; I wanted take action and help others, not sit idly while hoping the situation would sort itself out.
"I learned the name of the Dark Jedi; it was Uthar Wynn, and he was soon to be my new master. He told me of the power of the dark side, the ability to control your own destiny ― the usual Sith lies that have attracted so many to the Academy on Korriban ― yet at the time, the Sith ideals seemed almost utopian to me. Act quickly, use your passion, and if anyone stands in your way ― strike him down. I was so intent on saving the galaxy that I did not bother to consider the consequences.
"I left for Korriban the next morning. I left a short note to the Jedi Masters in my quarters, saying that I was gone, and thanking them for all they'd taught me. Uthar and I stowed away upon a spice freighter headed for the Sith planet, and that marked the end of my career as a Jedi."
Yuthura paused then, as if expecting Carth or Mission to chastise her for abandoning the Jedi Order. When the room remained silent, the Twi'lek sighed and continued her story.
"The first few months of my career as a Sith were pure bliss. It was almost like being a child again; no one told you what to do, and there was freedom to do anything your imagination could devise. I easily blew past the other hopefuls, surpassing them in both talent and intellect. I quickly became good friends with Uthar ― if indeed the word 'friend' could be used to describe Sith ― and together we climbed the ranks faster than all but a handful of Sith from history. The Master at that time, Jorak, took Uthar to be his personal apprentice, and as soon as the opportunity came, we evicted Jorak from his position and cast him into the caves. Uthar then became the Master, and took me as his apprentice, though I was as skilled a Dark Jedi, if not more skilled, than he was.
"It was then when I began feeling the first bits of uneasiness at being a Sith. The competition between students at the Academy was very apparent, but Uthar took it to another level. Students were instructed to take advantage of others' faults and to use any methods possible, including murder, to dispose of possible rivals. I wanted more than anything to get rid of Uthar, to discontinue his brutal method of teaching, but I knew I could not do it alone. I knew I would need help.
"Even when I first saw Revan at the cantina in Dreshdae, I could tell that he was something different. He simply had an air of greatness about him, a feeling of confidence and quiet power rarely seen in those at the Academy. I could tell that he was the one I was looking for, but I needed to test him some more. When he asked to join the Sith, I declined, knowing that he would find another way into the Academy. And he did, and my greatest hopes were realized.
"The next few weeks were another life-changing experience. At first, I had hoped to use Revan, to exploit his power and eliminate Uthar, but there was something about him that prevented me from doing so. He had definite Jedi qualities, but he was like no Jedi I'd ever encountered. He was peaceful, serene, and used his power to help others, but he didn't sit around and waste time like all the Jedi I'd known. He knew when to act, but his actions lacked a certain brashness often seen in Sith. His actions still managed to satisfy his wishes, but with a surprising lack of the consequences that usually resulted from Sith approaches. In a way, he was the type of Jedi I'd always strived to be ― powerful and strong-willed, but not relying on cruelty or fear. In a matter of days, he'd coaxed my entire life story out of me, something that not even Uthar had managed to accomplish.
"By the time he reached the Tomb of Naga Sadow, Revan had more of my trust than did anyone before him. I watched as he solved the grueling puzzles with ease, and effortlessly defeated the deadly terentateks. And when the time came for his final challenge, I had faith that he would side with me. He did so, and together we defeated Uthar with barely an effort. He seemed surprised when I turned on him, but his emotions contained not a trace of anger, only determination. While I drew strength from my hatred and rage, he remained calm, and proceeded to defeat me so utterly that even I was taken by surprise. I begged for mercy, and he spared me without a second thought. And when I asked him how he'd managed to acquire such power, he simply replied with 'there is no emotion, there is peace,' and left the tomb without another word.
"His words were a simply the first line of the Jedi Code, words I'd heard countless times during my career as a Jedi. But hearing them from Revan was different; it made me consider that there might be truth in the Jedi teachings after all. As I sat alone in the tomb of the legendary Sith Lord, I summoned the Jedi Code from my memory, piece by piece. The words remained unchanged, but their meanings seemed different now; they now seemed pure, noble, and most of all ― correct.
"Sometimes I wonder what would have become of me had Revan not said those seven simple words. With Uthar dead, I'd had the perfect opportunity to seize power, to take over the Sith academy and meld its principles to my liking. But thanks to Revan, I knew that the path of the Sith was not for me, and passed up the opportunity. Thus, I caught the next shuttle to Dantooine, ready to continue on my path as a Jedi.
"It is strange to me, and more than a little disturbing, to hear that Revan has fallen to the dark side. After all, it had been he who had exposed me to the lies of the dark side; it had been he who had revived my journey toward the light. I do not know how much Revan has changed since I'd last seen him, but I do know that I pity him and his decision to pursue the inferior side of the Force. But at the same time, his resolve is worthy of admiration; to have seen the true power of the light, and then to turn away from it, is a difficult thing to do indeed."
A small breeze filtered through the gaps in the canopy, silently marking the end of Yuthura's tale. Carth wore a solemn expression on his face, and for once, even Mission had nothing to say. Yuthura Ban smiled softly as she glanced at each of her two companions in turn.
"It's getting late," Carth observed, glancing up at the stars that filled the night sky. "You'd best be getting to sleep, Mission."
"I'm all right," Mission protested. "No, really, I'm not tired at all." She glanced over at Yuthura, as if hoping the Twi'lek would be more lenient.
Yuthura shook her head. "We must wake early tomorrow," she said. "If you are better by morning, you can come with us to the Temple." Seeing Mission's disappointed expression change to one of excitement, the redeemed Jedi smiled. "But for now, child…good night."
Yuthura laid a gentle hand on Mission's chest, and the girl drifted instantly into peaceful, dreamless sleep.