Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 13: The Endar Spire

The former Lord of the Sith, Darth Revan stared at the bulkhead above his bunk on the Endar Spire. The Republic vessel had departed Telos and was making several more stops over the next two weeks before it would join a small fleet and attack Malak over Taris. The former Dark Lord of the Sith spent most of those two weeks avoiding the Jedi on board like the plague, though he knew his name was on the crew logs and that he would likely be shadowed.

Carth Onasi glared silently across the mess hall to the Republic soldier that sat alone, eating his meal. For some reason unknown to him the Jedi on board about had a collective heart attack when they had read this man's name in the Spire's crew logs. As the Republic Commander turned his attention back to his datapad that held the man's information he frowned.

"I don't understand why the Jedi were so interested in this man..."

Shaking his head, Carth continued to stare at the datapad until someone seating themself at his table forced him to look up.

"Hello, Commander Onasi."

Bastila nodded her head as she sat across from the Republic officer. Carth returned the nod with a neutral expression as he looked past her to Tauryn Katarn. The man was seated away from everyone else and didn't appear to mind. Seeing the glazed expression forming over Carth's face, Bastila turned to see what the man was looking at and paled.

"There's something about him..."

She heard Carth say though she forced herself to turn away from Revan and looked down to her meal, suddenly not hungry.

"Hmm?"

Bastila asked as Carth raised his voice.

"I was wondering why the Jedi wanted so much information on him..."

Bastila frowned and blinked at Carth.

"Tauryn Katarn."

Carth repeated the name as he nodded in Revan's direction. Bastila felt a pull in her stomach and looked towards the room's exit, cursing as she saw Revan rise slowly and stop by the doors to talk to a young woman. Flushing slightly, Bastila felt a stab of anger at seeing the former Sith Lord speaking so openly to someone and ignoring her presence completely. The Padawan winced when she thought of the reason why he ignored her presence.

"He doesn't know me... He isn't the same person. Force I'm probably the last person this Tauryn would want to know..."

Shivering slightly, Bastila turned from the blocked escape route and back to Carth, sighing in relief as three of her fellow Jedi seated themselves near her.

"He aided a Jedi Master on a mission once and we thought that Master Zhar would want to know how he was doing."

"Not exactly a lie..."

Bastila smiled in triumph to herself before Carth's next question made her stiffen.

"Why don't you just go talk to him instead of raiding the Republic's crew logs? I'm sure it would be easier, Padawan Shan."

Carth asked as he gave Bastila a calculating look. Outward, Bastila was the epitome of Jedi stoicism though inwardly she wanted to scream and cry as she hid in a corner.

"He's a rather anti-social man from what I've heard..."

Bastila noticed a grin form on Carth's lips and turned to see the young woman openly flirting with Revan though he seemed oblivious or unswayed by the woman's actions.

"It doesn't look like he's anti-social to me!"
Carth joked, flinching when he saw the rage flash across Bastila's face in a twisted sneer more suiting a Sith Lord than a Jedi Padawan. Bastila and Carth silently watched Revan joke with the young woman before she somehow maneuvered to run her hand across his chest. Revan backed away immediately with a confused expression before the woman whispered something to him and he frowned, shaking his head and leaving the woman to gape at his retreating form. Shaken, the woman walked over and much to Bastila's dismay seated herself next to Carth.

"What was that all about, Norim?"

Carth asked his fellow soldier. Norim sneered for a moment before shaking her head.

"I asked if he wanted to go back to my quarters and have a drink and he said he had to train..."

Carth openly laughed at the woman's anger and turned to see Bastila smiling sadly.

"That sounds like him..."

Bastila frowned as she brutally squashed the thought, unwilling to think about what she had lost.

"But it isn't him."

She chastised as she turned to the spot he had been standing. Shaking her head, Bastila politely excused herself and stalked to her quarters to meditate and center herself for the coming battle.

"I need to get him out of my thoughts. I can't afford to be distracted by my own ghosts..."

Shuddering at her own thoughts, Bastila seated herself and slipped into a light meditation to channel her energies and focus on the mission.

After several hours of cursing and shifting in continuing discomfort, Bastila sighed miserably and laid on her bed, pulling her pillow into her arms and burying her face in it as she tried desperately to calm herself.

Revan stood in his refresher and stared at his reflection with a sneer. Avoiding Bastila was becoming very difficult and when he had seen her in the Spire's mess hall he was tempted to speak with her.

"Very tempted."

Revan growled angrily at his lack of control as he moved to a more open space and began training his body ruthlessly to clear his mind.

"You can't let her know... yet..."

The former Lord of the Sith snarled in frustration as he increased the pace is his push ups and launched himself into a violent exercise routine.

"All hands, this is Commander Onasi. We are preparing to depart the orbital station. Stand by."

Revan ignored the announcement and continued to torture himself.

"All hands we are entering hyperspace and should arrive at Taris in ten hours."

Revan vaguely noted the amount of time he had until he would likely be destroyed with the rest of the crew my Malak's massive fleet and continued his brutal workout.

Seven hours passed before Revan had gained a somewhat pleasant demeanor, mainly due to exhaustion. Falling into his bunk, Revan fell asleep immediately, not even remembering that they would be battling Malak in three hours.

Revan awoke to the sound of alarms and explosions impacting the hull of the Spire three hours later. Cursing, the former Sith Lord stood and looked around his room, surprised to have not seen his bunkmate in the ten odd hours he had spent there.

"Must've been working a double shift."

Revan quickly rushed to his locker, throwing on a simple battlesuit that allowed more range to his movements than the uncomfortable fashion disaster of orange and tan Republic armor. Grabbing his duffel that contained his 'Jedi' equipment, Revan lifted a small holdout blaster and strapped the holster to his side as his roommate had an appearance.

"The Endar Spire is under attack be a Sith battle fleet!"

Trask explained. Revan gave the man a blank stare.

"The Sith want Bastila alive! We have to get to the bridge!"

Revan snapped out of his thoughts of strangling the man, what he said was true even if it was a massive waste of precious time.

"Then lets go."

Trask quickly worked on the sealed door and led the way down a hallway as the Spire's internal comm system. After hearing the announcement of the situation, Revan turned to Trask who was explaining the situation to him again and glared.

"Shut up and move it, soldier!"
Revan snapped. Trask frowned and nodded, making his way to a door and slicing the lock. Revan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back as a blaster bolt whizzed by.

"Thanks."

Revan nodded to Trask and pulled his holdout blaster, subtly using the Force to see what they were up against.
"Cover me."
Trask nodded and pulled his own blaster, shouting a battle cry as Revan bolted around the corner."For the Republic!"

Trask shouted as he fired and struck a Sith trooper in the chest. Revan sidestepped a blaster bolt and got within range of two other Sith troopers. Trask took one of the soldiers down and the other pulled a vibroblade, swinging wildly towards Revan. Revan easily avoided the attack and breached the Sith trooper's defenses, grabbing the soldier's arm and twisting it painfully before he brought his blaster to the base of the soldier's helmet and fired once.

"I don't think these will be the last Sith we run into..."

Trask said in annoyance. Revan nodded, forgetting his hostility at the man's seemingly condescending tone.

"I was asleep in the middle of a battle that we had more then enough time to prepare for..."

Revan reasoned. Lifting the fallen Sith's vibroblade, Revan turned to Trask.

"Shall we?"

The former Jedi asked with a grin, liking the feel of battle after so long.

"Must be a Mandalorian thing..."

Revan thought. Trask grinned back, tossing Revan a medpack that the former Jedi stuffed into his bag. The next group of Sith they ran into had sealed themselves in a small room and were easily dispatched by the seasoned Soldier and the former Jedi. Revan crouched as he approached a corridor, peering around the corner to see a squad of Sith troopers engaged in a firefight with several Republic soldiers. The Sith's superior numbers soon paid off and the Republic soldiers were all dead within moments. Revan sighed in frustration and turned to Trask.

"Looks like about seven or eight Sith troopers up ahead."

Trask nodded, looking around the corner and cursing under his breath.

"Got any grenades in that thing?"

Trask asked, motioning his head to Revan's pack. Revan shook his head and thought for a moment.

"You have an extra blaster?"
Revan asked. Trask shook his head and looked around for a moment, spotting a corpse and a blaster rifle nearby.
"Hold on."

Trask moved silently to the corpse and lifted the blaster, searching the fallen soldier briefly for grenades before returning. Revan nodded to him, taking the rifle and bashing with the hilt of his vibroblade before pulling a wire from the weapon and crossing it over the firing mechanism.

"A little trick I learned on Onderon."
Revan smirked as he pulled the trigger of his homemade thermal detonator and threw it into the corridor towards the unsuspecting Sith. A blinding flash of light and a wave of heat followed as the rifle overloaded and exploded. Revan and Trask waited until the sound of debris flying died down before rushing forward and killing the three Sith that still breathed. Revan and Trask quickly made their way to a corridor leading to the bridge through Revan could sense the battle ahead he chose to say nothing. As the door opened, Trask cursed as he saw a Jedi and a Sith locked in a deadly lightsaber duel.

"On no a Dark Jedi! This fight is too much for us, we'd better stay back. All we'd do is get in the way..."

Revan turned to his companion and raised an eyebrow, shrugging as he turned back to watch the duel and scrutinize the Sith and the Jedi's fighting styles.

"Not too bad, the Sith is getting too confident though..."

Revan nodded his head in approval as the young woman dueling with the Dark Jedi breached his defenses and struck her opponent across the chest. A blaster bolt whizzed by the woman and she turned to deflect it before the last sound she heard was Revan cursing. The blaster bolt made its way past the Jedi and connected with a power coupling, causing an explosion that killed the young woman and one of the Sith troopers nearby. Revan threw his weight against Trask and shoved him clear of the explosion.

"Power coupling."

Revan explained. Trask nodded his thanks as the two stood and killed two Sith troopers that remained in the hallway. Seeing that Revan was already carrying his vibroblade, Trask moved to the side of the door, preparing to cover the other man as they stormed the bridge.
"Ready?"

Trask asked as his hand hovered over the door controls, Revan smirked and nodded as Trask opened the door, the thrill of the battle falling over him. Revan rushed forward as the door opened startling two nearby Sith troopers. Revan cleanly cut one in half at the abdomen and moved in an upward strike, cutting through the other's chest and mask. Trask fired a volley into a group of Sith troopers that were dueling with some Republic soldiers before an incoming shot from one of the Sith vessels caused an overload in the bridge's power systems, causing an explosion to consume most of the bridge and kill all but Revan and Trask. Revan frowned at the sight and ignored the rising smoke as he turned to Trask, who had gone back to check on the Jedi.

"Damn, we could have used her help..."

He heard the soldier mutter. Revan continued to shield his presence in the Force, not wanting to search out Bastila for fear of causing her a distraction that could prove fatal.

"Come on Trask, let's move. There's nothing here."
Trask nodded, staring down at the fallen Jedi and his comrades before an angry expression formed over his face and he pulled a vibroblade, charging ahead of Revan and away from the bridge. Revan took off after his bunkmate and made it to the next room in time to see Trask shouting to him to run.

"Damn another Dark Jedi! I'll hold him off, you get to the escape pods, go!"

Revan was about to protest when the man suddenly fired his blaster on the door, sealing himself away with the Sith. Revan cursed, staring at the door for a moment with feelings of guilt and respect.

"I guess I misjudged him..."

Shaking his head, Revan made his way from the scene, knowing that Trask was already lying on the floor in several pieces. Placing the vibroblade in his duffel, Revan pulled his lightsaber and threw the outer layer of his armor on the floor to free his movements.

"I wonder what the Jedi did with my armor..."

Revan thought longingly for his customized armor that gave his a free range of movements and excellent protection. Shaking his head, Revan activated his lightsaber and was about to rush the single guard he sensed ahead when his wrist comm beeped. Cursing, Revan deactivated his saber and answered.

"There's a guard up ahead so you might want to try sneaking past him..."

A familiar voice suggested. Revan grunted into the comm.
"Thanks for the info, buddy."

He muttered sarcastically.

"Bastila's escape pod is away. We're the last two Republic soldiers on board so I suggest you hurry. Now that Bastila is gone there's nothing stopping the Sith from blowing us to cinders."
Revan nodded absently.

"Good point, see you in a minute."

Revan shut down the communication and rushed a very surprised and terrified Sith trooper, decapitating him in moments. Stalking into the next room, Revan openly used the Force to strangle the two troopers within. His comm blinked again and Revan sighed.

"Yes?"

Revan asked.

"There's an entire squad in the next corridor. I suggest you try overloading the power conduit or using that battle droid in there."

Revan frowned, wondering if his open display of Force powers had been a mistake and some Jedi or Republic officer was watching him. Scanning the room for a moment, Revan saw no listening or visual devices and sighed in relief, placing his lightsaber back in his pack and pillaging a locker, throwing the supplies in the bag.

"I can always say I thought we could use these on the planet below..."

Revan quickly pulled his vibroblade and walked quickly to the computer terminal. After trying for a moment to hack the console, Revan sighed in frustration and used the Force to manipulate the computer's lock. An explosion in the next chamber caused Revan to smirk as he walked into the room, lifting the Sith's weapons and stuffing one of the Elite's crimson armor into his pack.

"You never know..."
Revan entered the next room to find a man in a hideous orange jacket waiting for him.

"You've made it just in time! Now hurry we've gotta get out of here!"
The man quickly made his way to an escape pod, only to be stopped by Revan's voice.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Revan asked warily, wondering how the man had known all the things he did.

"I'm just a soldier with the Republic... like you... Now come on, we don't have time for this!"

Revan nodded, jumping into the pod after the man and blasting away from the Endar Spire. From the view screen in the pod, Revan could see the Sith fighters moving away from the ship as the landing transports pulled away. The Spire was consumed by turboblaster fire and blinked out of life in a bright orange explosion. A curse from his companion alerted Revan to the current situation. Turning his head, Revan saw the man had already strapped himself in and cursed himself, rushing to an open seat just as the pod impacted on the surface of Taris.

The former Sith Lord was thrown violently into the opposite side of the pod and lost consciousness immediately. Carth groaned as he pulled loose his restraints and looked down at the tears in his uniform and the bruises forming. The Republic Commander turned to see his companion sprawled on the floor, blood oozing from a cut on his forehead.

"Dammit!"
Carth cursed as he quickly scrambled to his feet and unconsciously grabbed the man's pack. The pod's door blew away and Carth struggled with Revan's weight and the pack. After clearing the pod, Carth noticed with relief that the area was deserted, though the noise would likely attract bystanders. Heaving Revan over his shoulder, Carth trudged towards an obscure apartment complex and as quietly as he could, searched for a place he and his companion could hold out.

Explanation: Since I am using an AU I may change some or a lot of the dialogue you are all familiar with in the game... That and I don't feel like replaying it with my lack of time recently and I don't want to completely copy the game. I will try updating this story as often as possible and I am grateful for all your reviews.