Title: Destiny's New Path
Summary: A what if. What if it wasn't Revan on the Bridge when Malak fired on his Master's ship? Suddenly the Apprentice is betrayed by the Master, and Revan then infiltrates the ranks of the Jedi. The Dark Lords mission: turn Bastila to the Dark Side of the Force.
Disclaimer: George Lucas and Bioware own the basis of this FanFic. I am merely entertaining the idea that I am good at making Star Wars stories (stupid ideas).
Chapter 4: Davik's Demise
:After three hours of waiting, they finally came back; Kayle walked into the Cantina triumphantly, carrying the datapad containing the Sith launch codes. Behind him, came Mission and Carth, Mission was carrying a large double-bladed vibroblade, which she handed to Zalbaar. The Wookie examined it for a moment, and then growled his thanks to Mission, who smiled happily. I looked to Carth, who was wearing a new suit of Dueling Armour.
"Where did you get that armour?" I demanded, walking up to him.
"Just a little prize from the Sith Governor we had to kill to get the launch codes." Carth said. I didn't want to admit it, but I thought he looked quite striking in the silver and black armour.
"Ah, Kayle Starfire, I presume?" Canderous stood and walked over to us. "So do you have them?"
"Right here…" Kayle said, dropping the datapad onto the table we were waiting at. "We lived up to our part of the deal, now you better hold up your end."
"Of course…" Canderous said. "As I said in the recording, Davik has stopped paying me what I should receive, and frankly, I'm sick of it.
"So my plan is this: I bring you to Davik's Estate, and say you're looking to join the exchange. Davik's always looking for a new recruit, and between my recommendations and your win at the Swoop Championships, he'd be happy to let you join. He'll let you stay in his estate while he runs a background check on you, and while he's doing that, we take his ship, the Ebon Hawk."
After hearing the plan, I spoke up. "This is far too risky. We can't do it."
Canderous turned his steely gaze on me. "You got another plan?"
"No, I don't." I said, returning the glare. "But I would much rather not put my life in your hands."
"The feeling's mutual, which makes us even." The Mandalorian turned back to Kayle. "So, you up for it…?"
"You bet!" Kayle said, shaking Canderous' hand to close the deal. "Let's go." He and Canderous began to walk toward the exit of the Cantina.
"Hold it!" I said. "You're not going anywhere without me!" I said.
Kayle stopped and irritably turned. "I thought you said you didn't want to be a part of this."
"No, I said it was too risky." I said, catching up with them. "For that reason, I believe you'll undoubtedly need me."
Kayle shrugged. I think he'd been expecting me to come, and I wasn't too thrilled about being predicted, but at least that meant he was allowing me to join him. "Okay, let's go."
As we were leaving, Seth suddenly raced up to us, flustered and out of breath. "I can't find Zora!" He panted. "I've looked all around the apartments, and down the streets, she's no where to be found!"
"Okay, calm down Seth." Kayle said. "We have to go with Canderous. While we're gone, you, Erik, Zalbaar and Mission search for Zora. Do you understand?"
Seth nodded. The young man turned and dashed out of the Cantina to look for the other Jedi. Mission and Zalbaar got up and ran after him.
Canderous led us to a couple of swoop bikes, which he said had the location of Davik's Estate in the vidmaps on the two bikes.. He jumped on one, Kayle and I (Kayle at the handlebars) hopped on the other. I wasn't exactly comfortable sitting with him, but it was far preferable to sitting with the Mandalorian. I jumped on the back of Kayle's bike and pulled on a helmet.
We traveled for about an hour; I could see how Kayle had won the Swoop Championship: He was extremely skilled, dodging around the base of buildings, jumping the swoop over small obstacles, and at one time he even drove the swoop up a ramp and rocketed it skyward. We didn't stay airborne for long, falling back down to the Undercity of Taris with the ease of a great bird.
"Ease up on the stunts kid, Davik doesn't want the location of his Estate known by the Sith." Came Canderous' gruff voice over the two way communicator in our helmets.
"No problem Canderous." Kayle said back, and he slowed to a mere 220 odd miles an hour, allowing Canderous to keep up with them. I vaguely remembered that I'd been told Malak had been quite a swoop racer during the war.
Finally, we arrived at the Davik's Estate. It was almost night, and the only light came from the inside of the Estate. Canderous led us into the underground Garage around the back, and then brought us up to meet Davik.
"Ah, Canderous, how good to see you again." Said the old man who I assumed was Davik. He was short, with oily grey hair and dark eyes, and a smile that one often found oneself looking at about ten seconds before being eaten by a Dxun pit dweller. "But I see you've brought someone with you this time, rather peculiar if I do say myself."
Beside him, an even shorter man stood. He was unshaven, with goggles hiding his eyes and a blue and red flight jacket of thick battle armour. He, unlike his boss, seemed incapable of even a pit dweller smile. He simply stood there and glowered at Canderous, then when Davik brought up the subject of Kayle and I accompanying Canderous, he spoke up.
"You're going soft Canderous. Normally you bring your target's in dead."
"You stay out of this Calo or I'll start telling people why you didn't go into the Undercity to search for those escape pods."
"You say one word and I'll-!" Calo had reached for his blaster, but Davik raised his own first and fired at the ceiling. It hit a forcefield and sizzled out, but it stopped Canderous and Calo from arguing.
"Enough!" He said, reholstering the blaster. Reluctantly, Canderous and Calo did the same. "I will not have my two best mercenary's killing each other over petty insults. I'm sure Canderous has a perfectly good explanation for bringing these two in alive."
"Actually, these two aren't prisoners." Canderous said. "In case you didn't recognize them, this is Kayle Starfire, who won her, the woman Brejik put up as first prize."
"Ah yes, of course, now I recognize you." Davik said, though I could see he was lying through what was left of his teeth. "So, if you are not a prisoner, then why have you come? Unless…"
"Kayle is looking to join the Exchange. His win at the swoop track was simply a way to gain our attention." Canderous stated. "As you can see, he succeeded. And as I told him, you're always looking for new recruits, and with his skills, he could turn out to be a real asset."
Davik was nodding, and still smiling that false smile. "Yes, a good idea." He said. "Of course, it would require a thorough background check, and then you would have to sign the contract with the Exchange, then pass a test of loyalty, and then get three crime lords to sign the contract to state you have full permission. But with my connections and Canderous' recommendations, you stand a real chance of getting in.
"But enough of this talk for now, why don't I take you on a first class tour of my Estate." Kayle shrugged, Canderous nodded. Davik turned and pressed a button next to one of the doors leading out of the rooms, and we followed him out.
He led us on a tour of the Spice Lab, the Infirmary, the Dining Room, the Throne Room, the Hangar, and then finally, we retired to Visitors Quarters.
After leaving strict orders to remain in our room, Davik bowed out and left us to our own devices.
"Okay, we're in." Canderous said. "That's one out of three objections completed. We still need to get the codes to disable to shield around the Hangar Door, and then we need to get the Ebon Hawk itself."
I nodded, and Canderous opened the door to the hall. Kayle led the way, with Canderous and I trailing behind him.
First we paid a visit the to Slave Quarters, where we learned of a Pilot who had not been seen since it was discovered he was leaking information to Davik's rivals, and that he was most likely being tortured in the Cells. Of course, the slaves didn't know the location of the Cells. But I had a feeling I did.
"Did you notice how Davik continued to avoid one particular hall, even though it was obviously a shorter way to our next destination?" I asked. Kayle thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"As a matter of fact, I did." Kayle said. "It was strange, like he was hiding something."
"Let's go!" Canderous said. Kayle sprinted down the hallways, with Canderous and I struggling to keep up with his speed. After a couple of incidents with guards in the Spice Lab and Infirmary, we found the hallway we were looking for. Indeed, instead of the doors that led to rooms like in the hallway Davik had left us in, it had forcefields to hold the prisoners in their cells. As we tuned a corner we found the torture cage, and two droids hovering around flicking switches and pulling leavers. I raised my hand and tried to use the Force to disable the droids circuitry, but all I managed to do with overheat it, and it would only last about ten seconds.
Ten seconds was all Canderous and Kayle needed. They both raised their blaster cannons and blasted the droids into small pieces of smoking metal and circuits.
I sprinted over to cage controls and deactivated it.
Inside was a young man, his face dirty and unshaven, with shadows under his eyes and his ribs showing under the rags he was wearing. Upon seeing that it wasn't a guard or the droids, he sighed with relief.
"Oh, thank you." He stammered. "I don't know how much longer I could have withstood that without going insane."
"I am glad we could help." Kayle said.
"There has to be something I can give you for helping me." He held his head, trying to collect his thoughts. "Wait, there is. I don't have any credits, but I have something just as good: the codes to open the hangar bay doors. Once you do that you can use the codes to disable the security system for the Ebon Hawk, Davik's flagship."
"Thankyou." Kayle said. "If I let you go, can you find your way out?"
"I should be able to, after all, I used to work for Davik." With that, he picked up a bag in the corner of the room, and sprinted away.
"Okay, we have what we came for. We should probably get to the hangar as soon as possible." Canderous said.
"Agreed." I said. "Let's go-"
At that moment I heard the snap-hiss of a Lightsaber igniting. I spun around, my Lightsaber leaping off of my belt and landing in my hand, one end already activated.
But it wasn't a Dark Jedi, as I had suspected. It was Zora, somewhat out of breath and looking a little worse for the where, but all around okay.
"What happened?" Kayle asked. "No, wait, tell us on the Ebon Hawk, we don't have time to talk right now."
Zora nodded, returning her Lightsaber to her belt, as did I.
We easily found our way around the Estate, and were quickly outside the hangar.
"Let's hope this works." Kayle said, punching in the code to open the hangar doors (both the entrance into the hangar, and the bay doors to let the Ebon Hawk out), and they slid open. We walked in.
The hangar was being torn apart around us by laser fire that could only come from a Sith ship in orbit. We sprinted toward the Ebon Hawk to escape.
That's when we saw Davik and Calo racing into the hangar from the other end. Davik looked up as they neared the Ebon Hawk, then slowed as he saw us.
"Well, look what we have here." He whispered, still smiling his false smile. "Thieves in the hangar…so, you though that you'd simply take my ship and leave me high and dry while the Sith blast Taris into rubble?"
"No, actually…" Kayle stopped for a moment to think. "Oh, yes, we are." He narrowed his eyes without thinking and Davik was suddenly thrown off his feet. I turned to look at him.
He recoiled slightly but I smiled. "Not bad." I said. I ignited both ends of my yellow Lightsaber, and Zora ignited her green Lightsaber. We rushed forward at Davik, while Kayle and Canderous raised their blaster cannons and let loose a volley of blaster fire at Calo.
Davik was a skilled swordsman, but he was nothing compared to two Jedi. We attacked him with a flurry of attacks, our saber blades blurs of yellow and green as they blocked and struck and parried and sliced at Davik. After only a few well place strikes, he was down, obviously his old age had caught up with him.
Before we could take out Calo he suddenly stepped backward, out of range of the blaster fire, and pulled something small and shiny out of his jacket pocket.
"It's a-" Canderous began.
"-Thermal Detonator, and if any of you come near me, I'll press this button and blast us all to hell." Calo said. I looked around the hangar, hoping to find something I could use to stop him. Then another laser fire made a direct hit and a catwalk from above came loose, falling from the ceiling and crushing Calo.
"Come on!" Kayle shouted. I looked up; Kayle and Canderous were already going up the boarding ramp and Zora was racing toward it. I used the Force and propelled myself forward, narrowly dodge falling debris as I raced toward the Ebon Hawk.
It was just as I made it up the ramp that I felt the first blast of pain through the Force as all the Tarisian civilians were either killed by the lasers or crushed under the debris that had once been the skyscrapers and hotels and manors.
I fell to the floor as another wave of pain pulsed through the Force. I saw that Zora was leaning against a swoop bike in the workshop part of the ship, struggling for breath as she, too, was overwhelmed by the pain of Taris.
Then I lost consciousness as a third wave of pain came at me.