Revan woke in a cold sweat, the dream still playing in her mind.
She had been trying to speak amicably to the natives of this world but they just didn't seem to understand the threat. Her threat. They would do what she asked or they would be eliminated and she finally revealed that implied ultimatum to them, in plain words.
She had almost laughed at their futile attempts to stop her. She didn't even need her entourage, and had held them at bay as she cut down every single one of the members of their government and military forces single handedly.
She loved the feeling of power and had to admit that their lack of fear had just fueled her desire to bring them all in a position of begging for their lives.
The last official, the one that had begged the most and promised the most, she had spared, but only after she was sure he would be able to provide her with what she sought. She gave him three months to set everything in motion before she left to return to her ship, satisfied that the entire galaxy would soon be under her control.
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Carth turned in bed, trying to ignore the cries he heard from Revan's room, which was just across the hall from his. When he had suggested separate sleeping arrangements he had seen the hurt in her face but she hadn't protested. He actually couldn't believe he would ever suggest it, but after what had played out earlier he actually felt a bit of fear towards her and being in the same bedroom was more than he wanted to risk. He was still furious and shocked that she had wanted to massacre the merchant and his group so badly. And that she had tried to cover it up by deliberately seducing him in an effort to delay their takeoff long enough to give them time to attack.
He shifted again, now hearing the sobs that were coming through the walls. Blast, this ship needs some serious soundproofing!
He honestly wanted to go to her, comfort her, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't hide the thoughts that suggested this was some other ploy. He also couldn't deny the other feelings that had been slowly creeping into his mind. His fist ground into the pillow before placing it over his head in an attempt to drown out what was going on around him. It did succeed in drowning out her sobs, but did nothing to drown out everything that was echoing in his mind.
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For the next two days Carth did everything he could to avoid Revan. It was hard, since they were the only ones on the ship. There was nothing to distract him or use as an excuse. He spent a lot of time in the makeshift training room, but when Revan started spending more time there herself, he avoided that too. He wasn't getting much sleep, nor was she, since she kept him up every night with her cries. But each night he was finding it a bit easier to resist the urge to go to her, although that was mostly due to his stubbornness and not his underlying feelings.
He had discretely checked into "The Rubicon" meaning and was less than pleased to discover that it held a damn dark meaning. Passing a limit of which there is no return; an irrevocable commitment. He had spent many hours pouring over the reasons why she might have chosen that name and he immediately began to hate the ship.
Onasi, you need answers and avoiding her isn't going to accomplish anything. Damn your pride and do what needs to be done. He had said those words to himself so many times they no longer held any meaning. Still, he couldn't bring himself to talk to her, to even be in the same room with her. Little by little he had begun to accept what Juhani had told him, he couldn't deny it any longer. And reluctantly, he was trying to let go.
They were only a few hours from their arrival on Triantean'k and he was looking forward to the distraction. He also made a promise to himself that he would talk with Revan as soon as they were finished and back on the ship.
Picking up the datapad that held the information she had never asked about, he moved off to the training room.
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Sweat was dripping off Revan and her hair was a wet mop but she kept pushing herself to perfect the swings and parries she was working on today. Although that wasn't the real reason she kept going, even hours after anyone else would have stopped. It was the complete exhaustion that always followed her exercises that she wanted more than anything. It provided her with so much.
She often stumbled back to her room, so spent, that she collapsed into sleep before even using the fresher. And that was a good thing, since she had become convinced that her memories held some clue about Aaron and Ariana. The more she slept, the more the memories came back and the less time she had to think about other things.
It was double edged sword though. Often she awoke more confused than before, her feelings and emotions twisting up her insides. She would cry then, for Aaron and Ariana, for what might be happening to them, for not being able to recall anything or do anything to help them. She was so angry at herself, sometimes feeling it so strongly that it made her sick. She wished could just slip away again, away from herself. It was those times when she missed Carth the most, when she longed to have someone to comfort her, distract her and fill her with reassuring words.
But Carth was another matter. She had seen the hurt in his face when she had awoken in his bed, unable to recall at first what had transpired, and she wondered if that was the reason he was now avoiding her. Or if it was something else entirely. But she couldn't remember those details any more than she could remember most of her dreams or even why the hell she had been wearing dark Jedi robes!
When she tried to recollect any of those times it was so fuzzy, no images came, just a flood of feelings, waves of emotion that were so strong, just the mere thought of them exhausted her. Their departure from The Fore Runner filled her with anger, no, more like loathing. There was also a feeling of power that danced around in her mind. And passion. Burning hot, heated desire, so intense that it frightened her. She had always felt those basic desires with Carth but these were so acute and consuming that it felt almost violent. She knew such strong and extreme emotions was asking for trouble, but she was just as powerless to stop them as she was to hide the tears and exhaustion that always followed.
Turning, she brought her weapon up and then down again in one graceful movement as she finished her flourish. She caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the doorway out of the corner of her eye. Panting for breath and wiping away some of the sweat from her brow, she turned towards Carth.
"We'll be touching down in a few hours, you should clean up and read over some of this." He moved to hand her the datapad. A shiver ran through her as their fingers slightly touched during the exchange. Her already high temperature seemed to rise another few degrees.
Her eyes locked on his, Ask him what's wrong Revan, she silently told herself. They stood like that as the seconds seemed to become minutes. Her mouth was just beginning to open, ready to say something, but he pulled back, turned and left the room. She was still standing with her arm outstretched, wondering what she possibly could have done to make him act this way towards her. Staring down at the datapad in her hand she made a promise to herself. As soon as this business is finished I'm going to make him talk to me!