Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Ah the Chapter we've all been waiting for. This is where KOTOR II is going to pick up. I'm going to replay the game and spice up the storyline a little as well as continue describing what is going on behind the scenes with Revan and Malak. Hope you all enjoy this next installment! As for the seemingly downgrade in Revan's power in the last chapter. I didn't downgrade his power, Revan is Power after all. Darth Nihilus was draining his power during that fight, feeding off of him. I thought I made it clear, but oh well.
Chapter 36: Exile's End
The smoldering remains of Peragus loomed over the hull of the Ebon Hawk as a lone Astromec droid worked frantically to repair the damage done in the escape from the Sith assassins.
T3-M4 slowly brought the ship's systems back online, guiding it to the Peragus mining facility. The two lifeforms held within its bulkheads were more important to the survival of the Republic and the Jedi, than anyone else. After years of exile, Ian Kenobi was returning to the Republic. The former war hero had spent close to a decade wandering the Outer Rim, coping with his loss of the Force. The rejection of the Jedi and of his comrades had cut him deeply. The pain giving way to anger that lay buried with the resentment of the Jedi Council.
The scars of the Mandalorian wars still weighed heavily upon the Exile. Stirring beneath the surface of his unconscious mind was a flicker of the binding power that touched all life. The Force had awakened within Ian Kenobi as well as his companion. The Jedi Knight Kreia.
"Awaken..."
Opening his eyes groggily, Ian stood with a groan, wrinkling his nose and nearly gagging as the scent of kolto reached his nose. Standing shakily, the former Jedi Knight surveyed his surroundings critically before coughing up a mouthful of kolto on the floor. Stumbling across the medical bay, Ian rested himself against a wall, slowly lowering himself to the ground and slipping into unconsciousness.
Hours passed before he regained consciousness. Rising slowly, Ian tried to ignore the crusted feeling of dried kolto and made a mental note to find a refresher as he ran his hand along the kolto tanks of the room's other occupants.
"They're all dead... but where is the medical crew..."
Not even knowing where he was at the time, Ian staggered towards the door, glad it was unlocked. Seeing three doors, one appearing to have been welded shut and the other locked by a console, Ian Kenobi moved into the only open room, grabbing a medical pack and going over the medical files, frowning at what they revealed.
"Someone tried to kill me..."
Not having a clue how he had gotten from the Harbinger to the Peragus mining station, Ian unlocked the morgue, hoping to find an air duct or another door that would lead out of the medical bay. He was greeted by two bodies. Checking the old woman over, Ian frowned, finding nothing of value and knowing the boots wouldn't fit him he moved to the dead mechanic, pulling the man's boots off and finding them only slightly larger than needed. Pulling a plasma torch from the belt, the former General smirked.
"Find what you were looking for amongst the dead?"
"Gah!"
Ian dropped the plasma torch turning around with wide-eyes at the old woman.
"She was dead, I checked."
Calming down slightly, the former Jedi Knight narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I thought you were dead..."
The old woman smiled, eventually relenting and giving Ian clues as to why he had awoken on an abandoned, or at least deserted mining facility, his only companion an old woman who's stance just screamed Jedi. Relenting to what the old woman was telling him, Ian scowled as he noted the miner's corpse was too small for him to ransack the clothing.
"I think you should stay here... someone tried to kill me when I was in that kolto tank... they killed all of the others..."
Seeing through his words, Kreia knew he was telling her he didn't trust her to watch his back.
"Yet."
She added silently to herself, bowing her head in acceptance and slipping into a meditation as her strength in the Force slowly returned, as it was within the former Jedi before her. Kreia chuckled at that. Kenobi had scowled at the thought of being compared to the Jedi, obviously the decade of wandering, blind to the Force had done him some good.
melting the damaged lock that led out of the mining station's medical bay, Ian was lost in his thoughts. The old woman had called him a Jedi, had spoken within his mind while he was in the kolto tank and the most terrifying thing was, he had felt it as well. Felt the connection to the old woman that he had felt a decade before. Maybe not the connection of a powerful Force bond, though he was beginning to suspect that was what it was becoming, but of someone who shared his pain. Knew what it was like to be diminished and thrown aside as he had been.
He had not been able to forgive the Jedi for what they had done to him. Instead of helping him, they had cast him aside, thinking him useless since he no longer felt the Force. He had seen the fear in their eyes as they looked at him through impassive masks, saw how they regarded him as a disease, fearing his fate would somehow fall upon them my the mere association.
"At least Revan had apologized to me, let me know he did not know how to help and tried to offer help at all..."
Frowning, Ian wondered what had happened to his friends from the war. He had heard rumors of a war breaking out in the Republic and that the Jedi were involved. Whether that meant Revan was fighting with the Republic or against it had not entered his mind. It was simply unbelievable what the Council had accused he and his fellow outcasts of. Revan would never turn on the Republic, he had sacrificed as much as anyone else.
Shuddering at the memory of the Mandalorian war, Ian let out a silent prayer to the Force, or whatever gods would listen to him to watch over his friends. Living the hard life along the fringes of the Republic had taught him what the rest of the galaxy thought of the Jedi. Reassured him of how right Revan and Malak and he and the others were of leaving the Jedi Order behind to fight for what they believed in.
The rest of the galaxy, on the fringes only saw the Jedi as a myth. The Jedi were the supposed protectors that would swoop in and rescue them from their fates, they had been elevated to nearly god status and it had all made the reality startlingly clear. The Jedi ignored the suffering on these worlds. The Republic did as well. They did deserve what the Mandalorians had unleashed.
The traitorous thought refused to leave his mind even as he ransacked a mining blaster and a vibroblade form corpses and fought his way to the administration level of the mining facility. The Jedi had hidden their agenda within layers of half-truths and hypocrisy. They weren't guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, they were elitists. They thought they were better than everyone else because they could feel the Force and while some aspects of their existence was noble, they only helped the Republic. Only helped the rich. The Jedi had become lapdogs for the Senate, negotiating treaties when they should be conquering.
"Conquering?"
The former General thought, startled.
"No, subduing, rebuilding."
The Jedi should have been working to build a better galaxy, one where all the people were represented, not just the rich.
Finding a switch that deactivated the droids in the administration level and a forcefield, Ian decided to investigate the newly opened room to find another surprise in the form of a prisoner. It was not the man's attitude, but what the man had told him.
The Jedi were gone, Revan and Malak and the Jedi that had followed them had fallen to the Darkside of the Force and had become Sith Lords. They had invaded the Republic and killed trillions of people. The entire galaxy had gone mad after the Mandalorian wars.
As he heard the tale, Ian grown pale, running a hand through his coppery hair and staring at the other man with startled and pained blue-green eyes. So pained by the revelation, Ian simply released the man and found himself listening to the other's advice. He seemed to know more than he did about how the galaxy, or at least the Republic seemed to work these days.
Despite his anger at the Jedi Council, Ian could not help but mourn the passing of thousands of his Jedi brothers and sisters. Jedi were their own family. Brothers and sisters in arms and it hurt to know that the family he had been thrown from had been so twisted that it destroyed itself. He could not imagine Revan ever raising a blade against Malak or vice versa. It had all gone to hell, anarchy seemed to rule everywhere and the more the man, Atton Rand, told him, the more he felt his duty that had been built in his mind since he was but a child in the Creche.
"Jedi are protectors. Jedi are warriors of the people. Jedi are selfless."
They liked to think they were at least. A pained expression came over the former Jedi Knight as he left his anger at the corruption behind him. It would do no more good. He was cut off from the Force and unless he suddenly regained his power, he was next to worthless in the grand scheme of things.
In a dark cell, Revan Bloodraven awoke, finding himself chained to a wall. Whoever had chained him in this cell had at least given thought to his mobility. He could easily pace the length of half the cell before the long chains would stop his trek and he could feel his strength returning to him. Seating himself on a hard bed that seemed to be part of the wall, Revan pulled one of his legs up, resting his arm across the drawn leg and staring at the door to the cell.
After close to an hour, Revan was rewarded with the appearance of two Sith troopers and a Dark Jedi, all dressed in crimson and obsidian. It was almost ironic that the Sith would chose the same colors of his clan. The Sith left a tray of food in the room before leaving with the guards with Revan found strange. Standing, Revan eyed the food warily. If they were going to drug him through his food it wouldn't work as well as they may plan. Being a Mandalorian and a Jedi had conditioned him against various drugs and poisons. The paranoia that came with being Darth Revan also cause him to seek building a tolerance to the various ways his rivals could overcome him through dishonorable means.
The food was fine, if a little bland and Revan began pacing the cell, feeling his strength returning. It was strange really. He should have been able to snap the chains and use the Force to escape but something wasn't right. The chains didn't respond to the Force and when he tried to reach beyond the walls of the cell with his sensed he felt nothing.
"The chains and walls are likely shielded against the Force."
Revan decided finally, still pacing like a caged Nexu.
Ian Kenobi dropped to his knees, screaming as he clutched his left hand. Atton was talking to him, but he couldn't make it out, all he could feel was the burning pain in his wrist.
"What happened, are you alright? Come on, hold it together... we're almost there..."
Gasping, the Exile slowly pulled himself to his feet, staring at his left hand warily, as if it would suddenly fall off.
"Kreia... I think... She's in pain."
Atton frowned, his eyes darting about, showing his concern.
"That pain is buying us time, come on."
Ian stared at the other man, nodding.
"Thanks, lets go."
The fuel line from the Harbinger ended within the facility, bringing the Exiled Jedi Knight closer to the Ebon Hawk and escape. The next surprise on the long list of unpleasant realities was the astromech droid that had assisted he and Atton in getting this far alive. The journey to the Ebon Hawk after was an uphill battle against raging mining droids. By the time they had managed to unlock the hangar bay and made it to the ship, the hangar bay was filling with Sith troopers. clad in their gleaming armor. On the edge of his senses, Ian could feel the Sith Lord Atton had dubbed.
"Sleeps with vibroblades."
He seemed to still be on the Harbinger and Ian could no longer sense Kreia. Feeling a pang of pain at the loss of the old woman, who was annoyingly cryptic but had helped him reconnect to the Force, Ian took his place in the copilot's seat, firing the Ebon Hawk's defensive turret at the Sith as the repulsors fired and the Ebon Hawk pulled away from the Peragus mining facility.
Feeling something behind him, Ian turned to see Kreia appearing seemingly out of thin air.
"Kreia... you- your hand..."
The aged former Jedi Master brushed off his concern, keeping her thoughts in the here and now as the Harbinger tore away from the mining station and began chasing them, firing a volley of turboblaster-fire around them.
"Oh, not good."
Atton groaned.
"If they hit us we're dead and if they miss us we're dead."
Atton complained after explaining the asteroid field's volatile mixture. His eyes hardening, Ian checked over the data while he listened to the others suggestions.
"Just keep trying to evade them until we clear the field..."
Ian decided, not wanting to risk a miniature supernova around the smuggler craft. Right before clearing the field a stray shot struck one of the asteroids, causing a chain reaction within the Peragus system. The last thing Ian saw before the Ebon Hawk was safely away in hyperspace was the brilliant white-orange explosions left behind in their wake.
"Well... now that we've destroyed a planet does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?"
Atton asked, managing to keep the panic from his voice. He had learned long ago that business involving the Sith was not something he was cut out for. Ever since he had tortured that young Jedi girl to death and learned that Revan had an interest in him, he had run and never looked back. One good thing about his conditioning by the Sith was that he was difficult it not impossible to read clearly. Something he could appreciate since he was in the company of two Jedi and droid that didn't know when to stop making annoying noises.
Jedi Master Atris opened her eyes slowly as she slowly rose from her meditation. The Sith holocrons were whispering to her, showing her Revan falling again. It didn't seem possible, she had seen the change in him, hadn't she?
Frowning, Atris closed her eyes and reached out, searching for Revan and feeling nothing. Had it all been an act on his part? He had left Bastila behind, but that was so he could do what was right, fight the true threats, wasn't it?
Feeling a cold anger build in her, Atris scowled, using the meditation chamber to focus her power as she sought any other Jedi, trying to find someone who was worthy of carrying the weight of the Jedi Order. She was so tired, tired of being the last, tired of being the only one. Anger and resentment grew. Betrayal layered upon betrayal. That was all Revan was in the end, a contradiction, a traitor and she would dedicate the rest of her life and the rest of what remained of the True Jedi Order to his end.
Then she sensed it, faint, almost weak but growing ever so slowly. A presence she had not felt within the Force for more than a decade and she felt her outrage grow. Of course it would be him, he who had followed Revan and Malak and had fallen along with them on Malachor V. The one who had murdered tens of thousands of his own comrades with his death machine. Malachor V should have been his grave, he should have died there along with the Force. The void he had left with the Mass Shadow Device should have killed them all.
"But Revan and Malak survived. Their Darkness grew within them and shielded them from its effects. It made them stronger as if they had fed from the loss of those lives in that final battle."
Eyes widening in horror, Atris felt her body shaking in fear. What if that was what Revan had been doing, where he had gotten the power to fight the Jedi's efforts to cut him off from the Force. What if he had learned how to feed off of death to fuel his own strength. That would explain what had happened to Katarr. It would explain how he had survived.
Feeling the string of tears in her eyes, Atris lowered herself to the floor, crying for the loss of her fellow Jedi and those billions of lives on Katarr. They had all died because of her, because she thought Revan deserved a second chance.
Second chances aren't all they are made out to be, Revan decided as the hand was removed from his chest. Gasping to numb the raw pain coursing through his body, Revan glared at the pale, skull-shaped mask before him as Darth NIhilus shook from the pleasure of draining Revan. The Sith Lord stared down at Revan wondering how such power could be contained in a single being.
"Give him more."
Nihilus ordered to a Sith medic, his voice a hoarse twisted slur. The Sith injected Revan without question, backing away quickly as the former Dark Lord of the Sith. His power returning and strengthening from the injection of Bota extract, Revan pulled against his chains in a snarl, throwing out all the energy he could get past the binders and into the Medic. The SIth was thrown against the bulkhead and crushed into an unidentifiable pile of twisted flesh and armor.
Nihilus was unaffected and merely placed his hand against Revan's chest, even as the former Jedi grasped it with one hand and slammed his other into it in an attempt to break it. Growling in pain, Nihilus struck Revan across his face, continuing to drain his power, continuing to sate his hunger.
Visas Marr watched from the door to Revan's cell as her Master finished, leaving the former Dark Lord of the Sith lying on the floor to recover so he could feed from him again. List in her own thoughts, she missed her Master's order and suffered the same punishment for her actions.
Telos was greatly changed from what Ian Kenobi had remembered. No longer was the world an interplanetary hub, bustling with space traffic and families visiting its lush environments for rest and vacation. Most of the world was a smoldering, poison-filled wasteland, the only protection on the planet's surface the massive shields that the Ithorians used to rebuild what was lost to Malak's attack.
"Malak's attack."
The thought made the former Jedi sick to his stomach. Malak had been a friend, a comrade and more, a brother in all ways but blood and he would have trusted him with his life. But this, this was beyond the Malak he knew, beyond what Revan would have tolerated. The Revan and Malak he knew had trouble looking into the eyes of children who's parents had been lost in the war. The Revan and Malak he knew could barely live with the lives they had taken in battle, the lives of their own comrades that were lost. How could they order the murders of billions of people?
It was too much, dropping to his knees, Ian cried for the loss of countless lives to senseless war. Cried for the decade he was maimed, separated from his Jedi brothers and sisters. Cried for the hatred and resentment he had felt for the Jedi after his exile and he finally cried for Revan and Malak, because if he knew he saw either of them again, he would kill them.