Carth made his way back to the Ebon Hawk under the watchful eye of one the Selkath Government's police droids. At least Sara had quietly acquiesced to the arrest and allowed herself to be taken into custody. He honestly hadn't been sure what she'd do. She easily could have dispatched the squad of droids sent to detain them.
Mission walked closely beside him. Sara's impressive display of Force lightning had dampened the girl's usually effervescent mood. "Hey, Carth?" she didn't lift her eyes from the floor. "Is Sara…I mean, well, is she?" the girl struggled to put her fears into words.
But Carth understood what she couldn't say. "I don't know Mission." He shook his head. "I hope not, but…"
"Yeah," she answered, "me too."
Carth put an arm protectively around her and for once the girl didn't complain about the fatherly gesture. They walked the rest of the way in silence.
The hangar was already locked down when they arrived. Another of the police droids stood guard at the Ebon Hawk's loading ramp. They were confined to the ship until Sara's trial or until she showed them the evidence they'd collected on the plan to initiate young Selkath into the Sith and conquer the planet from within. Perhaps that was why she allowed herself to be arrested; she knew it would only prove a slight delay.
Carth crept through the corridor to the port dormitories thankful he didn't meet anyone on the way and even more thankful the room was empty upon his arrival. The events in the Sith Embassy played over and over in his mind. Sara's words and her sickening smile were etched into his memory.
He'd seen that smile before, during the Mandalorian War on the faces of men who knew they were about to die. Their only goal became to take as many of the enemy as they could with them. Soldiers who shouldn't have been able to stand found the strength to charge with armed thermal detonators in hand. They clung to life solely for revenge. And Carth understood that sentiment far too well.
He shook the image from his mind with a conviction to relax until Sara returned from her trial. Leaning back on his bunk, he winced at the pain in his shoulder. A bruise was already blossoming from being Force pushed into the doorframe.
For that, at least, he could blame himself. As soon as he saw the Sith Master redirecting the blaster bolts toward her, he should have stopped firing. He might as well have just shot her in the back himself.
Before it was all over, Carth realized he might have to face that choice. If Sara fell, if Darth Revan returned, would he be able to stop her?
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Carth bolted up ignoring the sharp stab of pain that ripped through his shoulder. He hadn't even heard her come in, but she was there. Vivid blue eyes stared down at him from a blank face, her emotions hidden behind calm features. For a moment, he wasn't exactly sure what she was asking. Jedi could read minds and it was possible she knew what he'd been asking himself.
If she did, she gave no indication. "We have a submersible. Roland wants us to investigate his secret station and it looks like the last Star Map is involved." She knelt down to his level. "I know you don't want me running around secret Republic facilities without supervision. So, are you ready?"
Carth couldn't tell if there was anything hidden behind her sarcasm. "Let's go," he answered. He wished he could assure her that he still trusted her, but he just didn't know if that was true anymore.
As she rose to leave, he took her hand. "Sara," he began.
"I thought it was Revan," she cut him off harshly.
"My mistake," he muttered watching her walk away.
Grabbing his gear, he followed her.
For as long as he could, he would follow her.