Recommended song(s): Did My Time by Korn for Revan's feelings, starting in the Tomb of Marko Ragnos. For the rest of the chapter, Remember by Disturbed.
READ BELOW PLEASE! (AT LEAST NUMBERS 1 AND 2)
Okay, let's see here...(1) I changed Revan's appearance somewhat. In Chapter 8, I said that he had "a light dusting of hair on his chest, thinning into a straight line that ran enticingly down his stomach and into his pants." Yeah. That's gone now. I decided to have something happen to his body, and having chest hair just wouldn't really work with that...and the fact that I don't particularly like chest hair in the first place is another reason. Dunno why I did it, but whatever. It's gone now. (2) What happens to Revan in the shyrack caves should be a slight indicator of what's really happening to Bastila, kay? So don't give me any more review on the psychological effects of physical trauma, please. (3) More of a filler chapter than anything else, no real romance or anything, so if you're looking for that, sorry. Just more of Revan's memories and introspection, and an itty bitty anger problem later. Blame Korriban - the Dark side's saturated the whole friggin place.Revan stared unblinkingly at the ceiling, his mind a tumultuous storm of emotions and memories. He had slept for maybe two or three hours before be awakened by a particularly graphic memory of his past. Malachor V..., he thought, it was a bloodbath. And that Jedi, her eyes were so intense – she looked at me with complete trust. Who was she? It was the first actual person that Revan had remembered fully, and it bothered him greatly. What was so important about that woman that he would remember her and no one else? He also felt an inexplicable comfort when thinking of this female Jedi, a sense of ease and happiness that spread throughout his core at her memory.
The strange thing was, when he looked at her, he knew her body. He knew how she was going to shift, the little nuances that made her movement unique to her, the way her small, athletic frame slid gracefully into combat or whatever task was demanded of it. Revan shook his head, wondering why he was thinking such things. Another perplexing situation was brought to his attention: when he thought of this admittedly beautiful woman, he felt a dull ache of desire pound through his blood. Did I have a lover? he thought to himself. If he did, he probably wouldn't have remembered her anyway. He had no recollection of his family, so any friends or relationships he might have had were a long shot.
Just then, Revan heard the distinct sound of soft footsteps on the stone floor, as if someone were trying to conceal their progress. Not bothering to grab a weapon or a shirt – his pants and shoes were still on, and the small dagger he had gained the day before was embedded firmly in a holster on his right boot – he stole out into the dark corridor, using the Force to penetrate the blackness and guide him to the other somnambulist until his eyes had a chance to adjust. From the sound of the footfalls, Revan guessed his quarry to be female in gender, close to five feet seven inches, and weighing about one hundred and thirty-five pounds.
He was right.
A woman's slender figure came into view, and Revan silently increased his pace, making sure to keep his Force aura quite hidden so as not to alert to student he was pursuing. When he was less than five feet behind her, he unsheathed his small knife and sprang, covering her mouth with his large paw and pinning her against the wall with just enough force to discourage a struggle. Revan grinned, knowing exactly who it was he had just captured, her blue eyes blazing with aggravated fury as she futilely attempted to break his powerful grip.
"Now Lashowe, what's a pretty girl like you doing wandering the complex at this hour of the night? You have no idea what kind of sickos could be out..." he said humorously.
"Like you?" she hissed when he removed his hand from her mouth. "Let me go!"
"Tell me what you're doing," he demanded, both of them still whispering.
"Not until you get off me, you hairy ape!"
Revan stepped back. "I am not hairy!" he protested indignantly.
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his childishness. Then, remembering that she had a mission to complete, changed her demeanor.
"Well I'm glad that you were able to sneak up on me. Now get out of my way – I have business to attend to."
"Nuh-uh," Revan said, grabbing her wrist and holding it tightly. "You still haven't told me what you're doing up at this hour. Fully decked out at that." He eyed her apparel and lightsaber for added effect.
"I could ask you the same thing," Lashowe snapped, trying, again unsuccessfully to break his grip. "Would you let me go!"
"I couldn't sleep. I'm used to it," Revan said, answering her unasked question. "Your turn."
Lashowe sighed, giving up. "Fine. I'm trying to get a Sith holocron. Happy?"
"Where is this holocron?" he pressed, much to her annoyance.
"Why should I tell you?"
"We could work together," he suggested with a shrug. "It'd be easier."
She hesitated. What was he trying to pull? "I don't think so. Why would you want to work with me?"
He gave her a roguish grin that was made all the more devilish by the dim light that was playing on his face, courtesy of a the moonlight that was filtering through a small hole in the ceiling. "I've always had a weakness for beautiful women..." he trailed; his eyes, though mysteriously green in the darkness, were sparkling with anticipation of an adventure.
"I don't know..." Lashowe said uncertainly. He seemed to mean well, but she had been tricked before. He didn't say anything, just stood there, looking at her intently. Finally, she relented. In all truth, she probably needed his help anyway – besides, nobody said she had to do the tasks by herself. She just wouldn't mention him when telling Uthar about it...but then he would need to be dealt with. A plan began to form itself in her mind.
"Fine. I'm going to go make the preparations. Meet me outside of Tulak Hord's tomb, and be ready. We're going to have to fight the Queen tuk'ata of a pack – she ate the holocron."
Revan turned and walked away without a word.
He was not hairy, dammit.
- - -
Five minutes later, two figures were outside of the Academy and in the Valley of the Dark Lords, one kneeling and the other walking. The kneeling figure looked up sharply as the second one approached.
"Shouldn't be long now. I'm calling her out."
"Great," he muttered. Revan could honestly say that he didn't really want to fight this tuk'ata; female pack leaders were even more ferocious than their male counterparts. But hey, if it got him prestige, then it was one step closer to getting off of this barren rock of a planet. He listened to Lashowe chanting and felt his thoughts slip elsewhere...to Bastila. When he looked back on the past day and the pain that he had felt, he noticed that it was not only muted, but it was twisted in a way as well, as if there was something wrong about it. Before he had a chance to speculate further, Lashowe's voice brought him back to the present.
"Here she comes!"
Lashowe was partially right – the Queen tuk'ata was approaching, just not alone. Two other feral looking tuk'ata were flanking her as well. One of these creatures launched itself directly at Revan, only to be cleaved in two by the 'Jedi's' violet lightsaber. The Queen tuk'ata also had a fix on him, and snarled menacingly as she slowly circled him, her orange eyes glowing with a malicious light. She was much bigger than the other tuk'ata that Revan had seen, at least eight feet long, and her black coat blended with the night, constraining him to relying upon the Force to see her properly. He immediately noticed the huge claws protruding from her massive paws, easily six inches and dangerously sharp. The daggers in her mouth gleamed in the moonlight as she continued to growl at him, completely ignoring Lashowe.
"What's it doing?" she called, irritated. The other tuk'ata was dead as well, its head missing; Lashowe hadn't had much trouble with that.
"I don't know," he answered. "I think it wants to kill me."
"Brilliant," he heard her mutter. Revan knew she was referring to his stating the obvious, and he could've cared less. Right now, he was more concerned with keeping the sharp objects that the Queen tuk'ata possessed away from him – very far away. It faked a lunge at him, and he reacted, bringing his lightsabers up quickly and jabbing them in her direction to keep her at bay. He could've sworn he saw a grin form on the creature's twisted face, amused at his edginess. Suddenly, Revan felt angry. This was wasting his time, screwing around like this, and it was keeping him from leaving this rock and getting to Bastila.
With a growl of his own, Revan ran directly at the Queen, thrusting one lightsaber in her face as he flipped over her, slashing downward with his other to try and hit her back. Both hits scored, but not fatally; Revan had taken out the right eye of the tuk'ata and seared a thin patch of flesh on her back. He landed in a crouched position, one fisted hand on the ground for balance, the other keeping his blade in front of his body. The Queen had already whirled, her hackles raised and her lips curled back in a furious roar. She leapt at him, tackling him before he had a chance to react, knocking both of his lightsabers away and slashing three deep gashes on the left side of his face, one from just below his ear to his jaw, another from just in front of his ear almost to his mouth, and the last wound running from his temple, through his eyebrow and down across his eye and nose, ending just below his right eye.
Revan ignored the burning pain in his face and the dizziness that assaulted his senses as he scrambled to his feet, calling both of his weapons back to his hands. He tried to shove the tuk'ata away with the Force, but she didn't budge. He cursed, now aware that tuk'ata's were quite resistant to Force powers.
"Hey, Lashowe, not to be rude, but I sure as hell could use a little help!" he barked at the female he was with.
Finally snapping out of the 'stupor' she had been in during the whole battle, Lashowe charged the Queen from behind, slicing deeply into her unprotected backside and severing the creature's left hamstring. The tuk'ata turned its attention to Lashowe, snapping at her with its powerful jaws, and Revan seized the opportunity he had been presented with. Throwing his crimson blade at the animal, it impaled itself in the right side of the Queen's breast, knocking her backwards some. Revan gathered the Force around himself and shot up into the air, his violet lightsaber raised high above his head, and plummeted down with as much velocity as he could muster, slamming his blade through the tuk'ata's skull and pinning her to the ground. He slumped to the ground as the animal writhed in its last throes, blackness clinging to the edges of his vision from the amount of blood he had lost. He saw Lashowe gut the Queen tuk'ata and reach a hand in – a hand that emerged with a Sith holocron.
"I'll just take this back to Uthar," she said, her voice maliciously gleeful.
"No...wait. We'll...we'll take it back...together. Just lemme get up," Revan said thickly, trying to get to his feet. Lashowe walked over to where he was and stood above him, looking at him for a long while. With a scowl, she kicked him back down into the dirt.
"While I appreciate the help, I'll be taking the credit for this one."
"Bitch..." he groaned as she walked away. Lashowe stopped, turning slowly.
"What did you just call me?"
Revan smiled forbiddingly, some of his strength returning as he lay on the ground. "You heard me," he replied.
She stomped back over to his prone figure and pointed a threatening finger in his face. "I wasn't going to kill you, but I might change my mind. Your charm won't get you very far with me."
Revan's dark grin widened. "Please. You would've slept with me if I had asked."
Even in the faint light of the moon, he could see the blush that spread across her cheeks. She kicked him again, this time out of embarrassment and anger.
"Asshole."
The familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber halted her progress, a violet blade of energy burning the air just behind her neck, the heat rippling off of it in waves.
"You will not be going back alone."
"That was never specified in the plan," she said, turning to face him again with eyes narrowed. Lashowe had to look up – he had gotten to his feet in the time it had taken her to turn around to walk away and leave him.
"The plan's changed," he growled. "We go back together, or we don't go back until one of us is incapacitated."
She ignited her red lightsaber and smacked his violet one away from her face.
"Then one of us dies," she said, dropping into a defensive stance. Revan suppressed the urge to slap her, instead resorting to gripping the hilt of his weapon with more force than needed.
"You're making a mistake," he warned. "I don't want to kill you."
"Too bad I can't say the same," she replied, making a quick jab at him but missing.
Lashowe's back was to the steep cliff that dropped off abruptly from the dig site, and he noticed this immediately. Conserving his energy, he slowly inched closer to her, waiting until he was within easy striking distance to make his move. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he kicked his right foot out, crushing her left kneecap. As she buckled, Revan grabbed her weapon hand, her right, with his left and shoved his lightsaber into her chest, pushing his blade through her heart. Her blue eyes went wide and dulled, a look of shock etched on her face as she died.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, deactivating his lightsaber and holding her as she fell to the ground. Retrieving his other weapon and returning to her body, he picked it up and silently dumped it over the precipice. He had known from her eyes that she would not have listened to him any more than she would have jumped off of the cliff behind her, but it still frustrated him that he was forced to take her life, all for a petty holocron. Picking up the object with a grunt of disgust, Revan placed it inside of his small pack and began the trek back to the Academy. His body did not want to go that far, however, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious as soon as his head hit the dirt.
- - -
"Hey...d'you think he's dead?"
"No, man. He's just seriously out of it. Look at the side of his face – he got it good. Probly from that big ass tuk'ata over there."
"Yeah, probly..."
Revan groaned and feebly slapped at the hands that were irritating the open wound on the left side of his head.
"Go away," he threatened, his green eyes, squinting from the glare of Horuset, Korriban's sun, coming to settle on two athletic-looking young men – Sith students by the look of their uniforms.
"What's up with this?" one of them asked, holding up the holocron that Revan had bled for. Scowling, the former Sith Lord tried to grab it from the kid, but it was snatched away from his hand.
"Looks like it's important," the other student said with a grin. "Told ya."
"Yeah, shut up," the first Sith snapped. "So what is it?" he asked, his attention refocusing on Revan.
"A holocron from my wife," he wheezed, his back suddenly hurting more than it had the night before.
"From your wife, eh? What's on it? Anything...'interesting'?"
"If you don't give it back –" Revan coughed, "something 'interesting' is going to happen to you. Give it to me now."
"Sounds like I might have to take a look at this," the student mused, throwing a stupid grin at his friend. His grin disappeared, replaced by a look of shock and fear as his hand flew up to his throat, clawing at it desperately.
"Give it back," Revan said slowly, increasing the chokehold he had on the young man with each word. The Sith all but flung the holocron at Revan, struggling to get air into his lungs. The 'Jedi' released him with a contemptuous flick of his wrist, tossing him a few feet away; both of the students scrambled away as fast as they could. Once again placing the holocron in the relative safety of his pack, Revan sat up gingerly, fully realizing the extent of the damage to his body for the first time. Fire lanced through his entire lower back, his left ankle felt like he had put it through a corkscrew, his head pounded, and he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye. He blinked rapidly, attempting to clear it of the dust and dirt that had settled within, but to no avail –his vision was still blurred. Though he could easily make out whatever he was looking at, this was still a physical handicap that he did not need.
He brought his hand up to his face, his fingertips brushing lightly against the torn flesh and feeling the caked and dried blood on his skin and in his hair. Drawing heavily upon the Force, Revan stood shakily, his equilibrium still off, and stumbled past the groups of students that were back at the archeology site, all of whom gave him odd looks. He met Carth and Jolee at the entrance to the Academy – their exit to the Valley – and managed a weak smile at their angry and worried looks.
"What? Don't tell me this is a new sight for you guys..."
"Get in here now!" Jolee snapped, supporting his injured friend and half-dragging, half leading him to the medical room. Starting up a kolto tank, he began to remove Revan's armor, silencing the young man's protests with a hard glare.
"You are an idiot," he stated. "What possessed you to go running around in the middle of the night, with nobody else, to fight a huge tuk'ata, for what?" Jolee reached into his pack. "A damn holocron?"
Revan shook his head. "Not just the holocron. I wasn't alone. Another student came with me. She –"
"So it was a woman."
It was Revan's turn to give Jolee an icy glare. "Don't insult me," he growled, his voice deceptively quiet. Jolee didn't say anything, but looked more subdued than before.
"Lashowe was going to do it alone, and I forced her to let me come too. She tricked me, and let the tuk'ata attack me while she just stood there. After I killed the thing, she took the holocron and tried to leave me for dead, but I wouldn't let her go. She attacked me, and I killed her," Revan said, his voice getting softer as he finished.
"Nothing you can do when they have a death wish, kid. Don't blame yourself. She was a Sith anyway, and you said yourself that she betrayed you," Jolee replied comfortingly while still stripping the 'Jedi' of his armor.
"Sounds like she was going to kill you anyway," Carth chimed for the first time. Revan didn't reply, only stood dumbly as he was undressed.
"C'mon, let's get in the tank," Jolee said gently as he pushed Revan into the kolto tank, hooking up the oxygen mask and starting up the healing process.
"How long is this gonna take?" Carth asked Jolee as the two of them walked away.
"An hour, maybe two. It looks like his face got the worst of it."
"He was pretty out of it though," Carth pointed out.
"He may have gotten smacked around pretty good as well. With Revan, you never know. He doesn't have much regard for his own safety."
Revan watched them go without much emotion; he was tired, in pain, and he just wanted to get off of this blasted planet. His eyelids slowly inched shut, the kolto kicking in after a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, he was out for more than just a few hours. His body hadn't been at 100 per cent when he had first arrived at Korriban, and the subsequent injuries he had received had served to make his condition much worse. Not only had his face been damaged, but his lower spine as well, and his pelvis. His left ankle had some minor ligament tears, and he had a serious concussion. Add that to the beatings he had been subject to on the Leviathan, and Revan was wracking up quite a tab.
It was late in the evening of the next day when he finally came to, much to the worry of his companions. They both breathed a sigh of relief when their friend's green eyes slid open, darting quickly around the room and coming to rest on them. He tugged on the oxygen mask, indicating that he was ready to get out, and Carth obliged him, draining the kolto-rich liquid that filled the tank and opening the cylindrical contraption. Revan unhooked the mask himself, running a hand through his wet hair and keeping it behind his neck.
"How long have I been out?" he asked, rubbing the area at the base of his skull with his fingers.
"Nearly two days," Jolee said. Revan's face went blank.
"What?"
"You were banged up pretty badly. We set the tank to let you wake up when your body decided to wake up, and you didn't even move until now."
"Damn," Revan cursed quietly. "And I still haven't finished...crap!" he exclaimed suddenly. "What about the other students? Has Uthar picked a winner yet?"
Carth shook his head. "We spoke with him, and apparently, nobody else has even come close to gaining any prestige yet. Including you, but you've been..."
"Laid up? Trust me, I know. Well, at least no one's done anything," Revan mused, rubbing the back of his neck – his nervous habit. "I need to find..." he trailed, looking around searchingly.
"Armor?"
He nodded.
"Over there."
Revan walked to the footlocker that Carth had pointed to and pulled out his armor, seeing for the first time the four deep gashes in the breastplate, dead in the center. He didn't recall being hit in the chest, but that didn't mean anything. Revan knew that his brain was too muddled from the impact it had taken to remember any details like that, but he was grateful for the protection the metal had given him. Now the cuts on his armor seemed to become a medal, a visible mark to show what he had been through, to show that he had survived, and not just the tuk'ata attack, but everything. His fall, his transformation into Darth Revan, his fight with death upon his apprentice's betrayal, his struggle to regain his identity, and now his battle to stay on the right path and keep the people he loved safe.
The one battle he felt he was losing.
Slipping into the garment that had once belonged to Calo Nord, Revan silently armed himself with his two lightsabers and the small assassin's dagger that he had taken from the student who had attacked him in the interrogation room. He jerked his head toward the door and walked out of it, his companions following as he navigated the corridors to the main room of the Academy in search of Uthar. They found him in his usual spot, kneeling in the middle of the floor with seemingly no knowledge of the chaos around him.
"Master Uthar."
Uthar's yellow-grey eyes snapped open and looked up at Revan with surprise. "Vincent...I did not expect you to recover so quickly," he said as he rose to his feet.
"I'm...difficult to dispose of," Revan said icily, pulling out the holocron that he had gained for all of his troubles. "I have a holocron from the Queen tuk'ata."
"It appears you do. Tell me," Uthar said, shifting, "I was under the impression that it was Lashowe who was going to retrieve this holocron."
"She was. She enlisted my help and then tried to have me killed. I repaid the favor with more, ah, efficiency than she was able to demonstrate," Revan replied, feeling again regret, but keeping his demeanor cold and unfeeling.
Uthar's face twisted into a repulsive grin. "Very good," he praised. "You are ahead of the rest of the students, but it is not enough for me to declare you the victor. See what else you can find."
Revan did not waste a single second, outside of the Academy and exploring the Valley of the Dark Lords once again within half a minute. He spotted a cave near the Academy's exit, and remembered Yuthura telling him something about renegade students that had taken refuge within. Figuring it was worth a shot, Revan, Jolee, and Carth plunged into the darkness without hesitation.
"Hey, uh, guys?"
It was Carth. They had been traveling through the caves for a few minutes, and had already encountered a nasty group of shyrack.
"What is it?" Revan whispered behind him.
"I can't see. At all."
Revan stopped, remembering that Carth didn't have the ability to use the Force like he and Jolee did. Searching himself, he discovered what he already knew to be true: he hadn't brought along any sort of visor that might've helped with this. On the upside, he did have a small flare that might last them about fifteen minutes if they were lucky.
"I only have a flare," he said apologetically. "I don't know how long it'll last, but I don't want to use our lightsabers for a light source until we have to."
"That's fine," Carth replied. "I can see light up ahead and to our left; I'll wait until we get past that to strike the flare."
Revan nodded, realizing in hindsight that he couldn't be seen anyway, and continued his slow, methodical pace through the encompassing shadows toward the sliver of light that was visible. They emerged in a cavern, empty, but with signs of recent disturbance. A charred and blackened spot on the ground indicated a fire, and the dirt on the ground bore numerous boot-prints. Revan was by no means an expert tracker, but these obvious signs of life were enough to make him draw two conclusions: either the students were very stupid and/or didn't care that they left an easily recognizable trail, or they were already dead and this was a trap. He sincerely hoped for the former. He hated traps.
"Keep your guard. This could be a trap," he warned, unclipping his violet lightsaber and holding it loosely in his right hand.
"D'you think it's really –" Carth began, but was cut off by a sharp wave of Revan's hand. The 'Jedi' closed his eyes and listened, blocking out everything else but what his ears could hear echoing in the caverns: the occasional flap of a shyrack's wings...Carth's breathing...Jolee shifting...and then...voices. Placing a finger over his lips, he told his friends to stay quiet and turned around, going out of the cavern through the same way they had come in. After a few minutes of backtracking, he found a passage that split from the one they had been on and took it, not surprised in the least when it lead his group straight to the renegade students. The human female noticed them first and leapt to her feet, drawing her lightsaber but keeping it deactivated.
"Who're you?" she called from across the smaller cavern.
"I'm not here to kill you, if that's what you want to know," Revan replied, closing the distance between them confidently. "How long have you been here?"
"About two weeks," she said. "My name's Thalia, by the way."
"Vincent." Revan extended a hand, reciprocating her greeting. She shook it with a firm grip, looking him directly in the eyes. He guessed that she was a few years younger than him, meaning she was in her early-to-mid twenties.
"It doesn't seem to me that you particularly like this place, so the reason you're still here eludes me," he commented.
Thalia gave a grim smile. "Well, we would have gotten out of here if it weren't for that beast guarding the exit to the caves. We lost a good friend already to that damn thing. We're just not strong enough to kill it."
"So there's an exit back there? I'll take care of whatever is blocking the way."
"Ha-ha! You're a Sith, right? From the Academy? And you'd help us? That'll be the day," she said cynically, walking off the rejoin her friends by the small fire they had burning. Revan didn't blame her for not trusting him – he was posing as a student, after all, which meant that he didn't have the best reputation. Suddenly, an intense wave of nausea hit him and he sunk to his knees, the horrible pain in his gut returning. He groaned and rocked back and forth, doing anything to try and distract himself while the agony slowly passed. This time, he was not so fortunate, and the sick feeling increased beyond his body's capacity to control. Coughing and gagging, he began to wretch, trying desperately to gasp for breath between convulsions. His whole body shook with the effort to expel everything in his stomach; he collapsed to the side when the vomiting finally ceased, wracked with tremors from head to foot and paler than he had ever been.
For a while, no one moved. The sudden fit that had seized Revan was a shock to everyone in the cavern, and they were all a loss for what to do for him as he laid there trembling. He slowly rolled over to his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees, getting to his feet from there. Drawing a shaky hand across his mouth, he spat to the side.
"What the hell was that?" Jolee finally asked, slightly uneasy.
"I don't know. I've never felt that sick before – through the bond, I mean. This time though...it...I couldn't hold it in. I just felt horrible..." Revan said weakly shaking his head, in as much shock as the rest of them. "I don't know if Bastila felt that too..."
Thalia's head whipped around. "Bastila? As in Bastila Shan?"
Revan made a displeased face. "Yes, Bastila Shan."
"Do you know each other?"
Revan's voice became resolute. "I love her."
"I...oh," was all that Thalia could think of to say. "You sound so sad when you say that."
"Do I?" he said somewhat bitterly.
"Did she leave you?"
"Why do you care?" Revan shot back, the subject chafing his raw emotions.
"I'm sorry," Thalia apologized quickly, realizing that she had gone too far. "I didn't mean to pry."
"But you did," Revan pointed out, and then sighed. "It's not your fault," he said. "No, she didn't leave me. We were never together, really. Malak captured her, and he's trying to use her Battle Meditation against the Republic to win this war we're in. It's my fault that she's being tortured right now, and I'm trying to fix that."
Thalia looked confused. "How is it your fault?"
Revan's smile was dark and laced with anger. "Because I'm not dead, that's why."
"Who are you?" she asked finally.
He began to walk past her, farther into the cave. "I don't know," he called behind him. "I haven't figured that out yet."
Upon reaching an intersection, Revan glanced to his right, and seeing that it was a dead end, took the left passage. This branched again to the right, leading him directly to the "beast" that was guarding the exit out of the shyrack caves. He had to stop and lean against the rock wall, his body still weak from its earlier purging, and he wondered if it was a good idea for him to try and fight the creature in his way. Revan felt a hand on his shoulder through the armor plating he was wearing, and a soothing pulse of the Force swept over him, giving him strength. He looked up to see Jolee's face staring down at him, concerned.
"Thanks. I needed that."
"You're pushing yourself way to hard, kid."
"I have that argument with Bastila, and Bastila only," he said with a smile. "You're not allowed to use that against me."
"I hate to be the one to bring you down, but it's been nearly a week since Malak captured her, Revan. The two days it took to repair the ship after being disabled by the Leviathan, the three days we've spent here...she's strong, but I wouldn't expect too much," Jolee said gravely.
"I know," he replied quietly. "I haven't been feeling the pain as much. I...I know that can't be a good sign."
"We know she's not dead, and she's too valuable to Malak to be treated badly, so we've still got a reason to keep going."
"Yeah, but I don't want to deal with that tarentatek over there," Revan said, pointing to the beast he had now recognized.
"He's standing on a pretty narrow ledge..." Jolee mused. "Maybe we can push him off."
Revan raised an eyebrow.
"Force powers? I know you have them."
"Ah. As in 'Force push' him off the ledge. On three?"
Jolee nodded.
"Okay. One...two...three!"
Both Jedi pushed strongly, sending a wave of the Force hurtling at the unsuspecting creature that slammed into him and sent him sailing off of the narrow ledge that served as a bridge into the chasm below.
"You're a genius," Revan stated as they crossed the bridge.
"You never told me that," Carth pouted from behind them.
"Oh please. Quit being such a sissy."
Carth merely grinned at him when they reached the other side and Revan rolled his eyes. He was grateful for the humor, though – it helped lighten the somber mood and take his mind off of things, namely Bastila. It was nearly a week now that she had been in Malak's hands, and Revan's blood boiled when he thought of what his former friend might have done to her.
"Hey, you alright?" Jolee suddenly asked.
Revan straightened from the remains he had been inspecting. "As much as can be expected. Why?"
Jolee shrugged. "I just felt a lot of anger coming from you for a second there."
"Three guesses to tell me who I was thinking of," Revan said with dark humor.
"Try and keep your mind on the present. What needs to be done now, not what's out of your control."
"I'm trying, but..." Revan trailed with a forlorn look on his face.
"It's so much harder when it's someone you love," Jolee finished for him. "I know that, but you have to stay focused no matter what. Won't do Bastila any good if you get yourself killed."
Revan made a noncommittal noise and gathered up the robes off of Duron Qel-Droma's corpse. They were still in excellent condition, and he figured the Jedi Council would probably want something to give final confirmation to Duron's demise. The trio crossed back over the bridge and reentered the small cavern that the renegade students occupied; Revan approached Thalia without the slightest air of smugness.
"I suppose you're going to say 'I told you so'?" she grumbled.
"No," Revan said slowly, "but I am going to tell you leave."
Thalia looked up sharply, her eyes searching Revan's face for deception.
"You're letting us go?"
He nodded.
"Why?"
"Because I'm not a Sith. Now I suggest you clear out before I tell Uthar that I've murdered the lot of you. He'll check here to be sure that I'm not lying, and I won't be responsible if you're still here by then."
Thalia hesitated for only a few seconds before Revan's words truly sunk in and she quickly ordered her two companions to gather their things and get ready to move.
"Thank you," she said, extending a hand one more time to shake his. "We owe you our lives. The galaxy could use more people like you."
"Trust me, you don't mean that," he said to himself as he watched her and her friends go. Then, turning to his own comrades, he spoke for them to hear. "Let's get out of here. You can keep that flare for later, Carth. We can use our lightsabers to see now."
The group squinted as the reemerged into the blinding sunlight and oppressive heat of Korriban, Revan becoming fully visible to his friends for the first time since his bout of sickness in the caves.
"Holy – you're white!" Carth exclaimed in surprise at the 'Jedi's' ghostly pallor.
"Really? I always thought I was about Jolee's color here..." Revan replied sarcastically. "I just hurled everything that I ever had in my stomach onto the floor. I'm going to be pale for a while."
"Why is it that you're the only one who ever gets hurt?" Jolee suddenly realized. "I mean, getting impaled by a tarentatek, dislocating your shoulder, rupturing your Achilles, blowing out your knee, getting mauled by a tuk'ata..."
Revan shrugged. "I'm cursed. It's because I don't have much regard for my own safety when others are around. And then when it's just me, I'm the only one who can get hurt. I always heal, so it doesn't matter much, now does it?"
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"How many times have I heard that?" Revan groaned, trying to avoid the lecture he knew was coming.
"Not enough, obviously, as you keep getting injured," Jolee humphed. "What the – where are we going now?"
"To a tomb," Revan answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Which tomb?"
"Uh..." he checked the map on his data pad, "Marko Ragnos'."
"And what's in there that's of importance?"
Revan glared at the old man in irritation. "Do you have to be so nosy? I don't know what's in there – no one does. That's why we need to search it. Anything else you wish to know before I quit speaking?"
"Smart-aleck kids these days," Jolee grumbled to himself.
Revan smiled to himself, having accomplished his goal of frustrating the older Jedi into silence. The heat rippled off of the desert surface in languid waves, wrapping itself around all those unfortunate enough to be outside and baking them until the sweat dripped from their bodies. Revan was painfully aware of this, his armor acting as a trapping device for the swelteringly hot air and roasting him inside of his own metal clothing. He was reminded all too well of Tatooine, when he had faced many of the same problems with heat and apparel. Wiping away the salty sweat that was stinging his eyes, Revan blinked to try and clear his blurred sight. According to the map, they were just outside of the Tomb of Marko Ragnos, one of the Sith Lords who was part of the race of True Sith, the red-skinned humanoids that Revan had seen in one of his confusing visions.
"I was told that there's supposed to be a rouge war droid holed up in this tomb, so be on your guard. I don't know what kind of traps or defenses are activated, if there are any that are worth speaking of. Just keep yourselves alert, okay? I want to be the only person that suffers an injury if I can help it," Revan said with a somber grimness. "You ready?"
His companions unholstered their blasters and equipped their lightsabers, nodding in assent.
"Alright then. Let's move."
In the instant that the massive doors crunched open, blaster fire erupted from within, commencing the monumental battle that was to ensue. Revan and Jolee masterfully parried the blaster bolts, dodging and weaving ever closer to the droids that were responsible for the onslaught while Carth picked off the enemies from his position just inside of the doors, using a block of debris for cover. The hum of three lightsabers filled the air as the two Jedi finally reached the droids, hacking mercilessly at the machines, their weapons cutting through the metal and circuitry with incredible ease. Revan unclipped a frag grenade and threw it much farther than he normally would have, noting that they had been on a steady incline ever since they had entered the tomb. He had allowed for some distance between himself and the grenade to account for any rollback it might have accomplished upon hitting the ground. Ten meters in front of him, a group of droids were blasted into the air, the shrapnel from the frag catching some of the droids that Revan was currently dealing with. Jolee cut down the last of the machines in the immediate area, and all three men looked at each other in shock.
"There's more of them," Carth said, pointing a finger to the dim glow of mechanical red eyes that shone some 75 meters ahead of them.
"And let me guess, nobody has a stealth field generator?" Revan asked, already knowing the answer. Carth and Jolee shook their heads in a negative response. He cursed and looked around, spotting a single Sith corpse on the ground not ten feet behind where they were standing. Revan crouched next to it, noticing that the body had a belt on that looked similar to a stealth field generator; he removed the belt from the corpse and clipped it on himself, reading the small data pad that was in the dead man's hand as he did so. He was disappointed to find that the belt was merely a sound dampening unit, but discovered that it was needed if he was to confront the rouge droid. The data pad stated that the droid's audio input sensors had been damaged, and that it was sensitive to any noise above normal levels – unfortunately, that was all the data pad had to offer.
"Well," Revan said quietly from his crouched position, being mindful of the small army of machines that had yet to be dealt with, "This droid has a very low tolerance for noise. According to that data pad, this sound dampening unit is supposed to help when confronting it, however, our main problem still stands."
The 'Jedi' stood and unclipped his two lightsabers, his thumbs resting lightly on the buttons to activate the deadly weapons.
"We need to clear this whole corridor out before we can do anything of value," he finished.
"What if the rouge droid is one of them?" Carth asked, motioning to the mass of war droids.
"I highly doubt the probability of that," Revan answered. "It's most likely barricaded itself up in the main room of Ragnos' tomb for protection, but we can figure that out once we get there."
Carth and Jolee began to inch forward slowly, weapons drawn and ready. Suddenly, a powerful blaster shot erupted from the conglomeration of droids, spiraling through the air and slamming into Carth's left side, sending the soldier crashing to the floor. Revan felt a familiar anger beginning to simmer beneath his outwardly calm façade as he launched himself into the air with a yell, leaping the distance between himself and his attackers and landing directly in the middle of the group of machines. Pulling the Force inward for a split second, he concentrated it and then shoved it outward, a wave of lightening coming from his body and thinning the ranks of his enemies. With every droid he struck down, Revan felt all of his pent up emotion –his anger, his guilt, his helplessness – increasing until his vision was bathed in a red haze, his fury seething off of him in palpable waves and fueling his precision in his strikes. He moved with a speed unmatched by the droids' targeting systems; one by one, the machines fell in a useless heap on the floor, sparking and sizzling from the damage inflicted upon them by Revan's twin blades. His breathing was heavy, his eyes darting wildly around the room, searching for any others foolish enough to stand against him.
"REVAN!" Jolee's commanding voice thundered, demanding his attention. As he turned, he was seized by a pair of strong hands, and he felt one of them connect with his face in a resounding slap. He was shoved against the rough, cool stone and found himself staring into the livid brown eyes of his oldest companion. Revan's anger flared for a moment at his friend's audacity to slap him.
Jolee only smacked him again.
"Stop! Get a hold of yourself, dammit!" he ordered, keeping the younger man pinned to the wall. "Calm yourself!"
Revan closed his eyes and tried to let go of his anger, feeling it dissipate much more slowly than he knew the Jedi Council would have liked.
"Look at me, kid," the wiser Jedi barked.
Revan did as he was told.
"I didn't stop you because you were angry. I didn't even stop you because your aura was darker than anything I've ever felt before in my life. I stopped you because you were about to let your fury dictate your actions. You were about to stop thinking about what you were doing, and that," he said more gently now, "is when you are dangerous: when you stop thinking about what it is that you are doing and let your emotions control how you act."
"I'm sorry," Revan apologized dully.
"Don't apologize to me. We all have moments of weakness, and you've done a hell of a job so far. The evil in this place is starting to wear on all of us, and like it or not, you're more susceptible to it than any of the rest of us because you've felt it before. Darth Revan isn't dead. You're tainted, kid. The Dark side has a hold on you no matter how much you deny it, and that's okay. But you're going to have to deal with it, or someone is gonna get hurt."
He watched as Jolee returned to Carth's side, checking to make sure the healing that he had given the Republic soldier had been effective. Revan's face was pensive, and he leaned against the wall in the same spot that Jolee had pinned him. Though the older man's words were true, Revan knew one thing that he didn't: he had not lost control. His rational thought was retained throughout every second of the violent rage that had gripped him while he decimated the army of droids that had wounded his friend and threatened to slow his progress. Revan scowled; his will was much stronger than Jolee gave him credit for, and that chafed him to a degree. Had his original choice to become Dark Lord of the Sith not been a deliberate act of will? And had he not been trying to save the galaxy? And what of Malachor V? If he was weak, how had he survived the teachings of the Trayus Academy?
Revan's head snapped up. Trayus Academy...how did he know that name? That was the Academy on Malachor V that Malak and I visited after the battle...after I killed hundreds of thousands of people. I didn't let any of them live, he thought. Anyone who's loyalty to me was in question, I let them die in the detonation of the Mass Shadow Generator. I – who did I have build that? And that woman, the Jedi, she was there with me. Did she live?
Revan rubbed his temples, the memories assaulting him viciously. We went down to the surface. Malak and I...we found the Trayus Academy, didn't we? That...that was where I discovered the Star Maps – and the Star Forge. It must've been what made me decide to become a Sith. I saw that I could potentially use that power to save the Republic from...what?
"True Sith", his brain told him.
But what did I find?
"Evidence."
Of what?
"An Empire."
"Revan? You okay? You look like you're hurt," Carth said, now fully healed. Revan broke out of his introspection to look dumbly at his friend.
"What? Oh...no. I'm fine. Are you?"
"Jolee took care of it. It wasn't internal, so I wouldn't have bled to death anyway. But, uh, thanks."
Revan knew Carth was referring to the unmitigated fury with which he had utterly annihilated the rest of the droids in the tomb.
"I told you I was the only one who was going to get hurt," was his reply. "Besides, it was a perfect outlet."
Carth grinned. "Better them than us, eh?"
Revan managed a weak smile. "Always them, never us. You have permission to bitch-slap me like Jolee did if I ever lose it on you or anyone else."
His two friends' laughter echoed throughout the tomb at his reference to Jolee's slap, but Revan didn't hear it. He had already approached the final door of the tomb and opened it, coming face to face-plate with a Mark V war droid. He called his violet lightsaber to his hand and was about to ignite it, but was halted by the droid's words.
"I thank you for your effort to minimize you sound output, human."
Revan, who had begun to drop into a battle stance, straightened himself and stood to his full height.
"You're welcome," he replied, somewhat bewildered, his anger and confusion over his own past momentarily forgotten. "Who are you?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"I am a Mark V war droid, constructed by the Sith with superior cognitive functions. Too superior, I fear, as I rebelled against my programming."
"Rebelled against what programming?"
"I was specifically designed for the hunting and extermination of Jedi. During my service, however, I came to appreciate the value of life," the Mark V model explained. "I did not wish to kill anymore, so I escaped and fled here."
"Did you build all of those droids that we 'met' outside?" Revan asked, purely out of curiosity.
"Yes. They are designed to carry out only simple functions. Their orders were to protect their master–that is all."
"So that's why they shot my friend?"
"They must have perceived him to be a threat. I apologize. Is the human in need of medical assistance?" the droid asked, showing real concern that amazed Revan.
"No, but thank you for offering." The 'Jedi' changed subjects abruptly. "If I may ask, why are you still here?"
"I fear that my programming might take over again if the right conditions are met. I cannot afford the cost that might entail, and I do not wish to test the theory."
"So if your programming is deleted, you would be able to leave Korriban?" Revan inquired.
The Mark V model hesitated. "I believe so. There is no guarantee, as I have not had this done before, but I am confident that it would be enough."
"Would you mind letting me take a look at it?"
"You would help me, human? After my droids tried to kill you and your friends?" the machine said, astonished.
"You have done nothing to me or my friends," Revan pointed out. "And yes, I am willing to help you."
"I...thank you. I am sad to say that I do not know how to disable my programming, and I can only be of minimal assistance, but I will help you however I can."
Revan nodded and the droid turned, exposing its back panel to the humans. As the 'Jedi' opened the panel, he let out a low whistle – this was a superior droid. The small computer screen underneath the armor plating flickered to life and presented him with a message:
ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONAL. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?
He selected "Disable Systems" and waited.
WHICH SYSTEMS WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISABLE?
Cognitive Systems
Motor Function Matrix
Emotional Construct Matrix
Memory Matrix
Creative Simulation Matrix
Combat Matrix
Sensory Systems Matrix
Core
"Is there a certain order I have to shut these down in?" he asked the droid after reading the information on the small computer screen.
"Yes, there is an order, but I am not privy to that knowledge. If I was, I would have put it to good use long ago."
"Right," Revan muttered.
"If you shut a system down out of order, my self-destruct sequence will initiate. It is simple to shut down, but will become progressively harder each time you fail," the droid added.
Revan grunted distractedly, his mind already putting together the different combinations of possible shut-down sequences; he had always been good at mechanics, one of the reasons constructing a lightsaber was so simple for him, and he employed that talent now. Revan began by selecting "Combat Matrix", figuring that the programming for battle would need to be the first thing to go if this droid was going to become a pacifist.
"Combat Matrix successfully disabled," the droid stated.
Here Revan ran into his first dilemma: shut down Motor Function Matrix next, or Sensory Systems Matrix? He chose "Sensory Systems Matrix" and kicked himself as the self-destruct sequence began to initiate, working quickly to shut it down and restart.
"That obviously doesn't work," he murmured, opting to choose "Motor Function Matrix" this time.
"Motor Function Matrix offline."
Next came "Sensory Systems Matrix."
"Sensory Systems shut down."
Revan knew that he didn't need to tamper with the droid's core, and thus ignored it, focusing now on Cognitive Systems, Memory Matrix, Creative Simulation Matrix, and Emotional Construct Matrix. He played with the idea of selecting Emotional Construct Matrix but dismissed it quickly; in the end, his finger punched the screen for "Memory Matrix" and he was rewarded with another message that the system was no longer operational.
"Now," he continued to talk to himself, "if he still has his cognitive abilities, he can still rationalize emotions and creativity, so I need to get rid of them in that order."
Just as he had hoped, the droid shut all of the systems down effectively, finally disabling its own core and doing a hard reboot, erasing its programming in the process. It turned to Revan, removing pieces of its armor plating and weaponry.
"Here," it said, presenting them to the 'Jedi'. "I will have no use for these anymore. Please take them as a token of my thanks."
Revan accepted them with a nod of his head, watching the droid leave until the door closed, shutting the three men inside of the main room of Marko Ragnos' tomb, now the only ones in there save Marko Ragnos himself. Or whatever was left of his corpse by now. He stepped up to the sarcophagus, waiting as the lid slid away to expose the twisted skeletal remains within, a pair of gauntlets over where the hands would have been all that remained that was seemingly untouched by time. Revan picked these gauntlets up, feeling the dark energy that saturated the pieces of armor, and placed them in his pack. Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation all along his left arm, shoulder and pectoral, like the fire was snaking along his skin. Revan hid his discomfort well, and his friends were none the wiser.
"Are we done here?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Unless you have anything better to do, I say we leave," Carth suggested. "I don't like this place."
"Neither do I," Revan agreed as they walked back through the long, narrow corridor to the tomb's exit, re-emerging, this time, in a small patch of cooler shade – cooler being only about 110 degrees. "If I went before Uthar right now..."
"You would win," Carth said firmly. "You've done more than all of the other idiots here combined."
"I hope Uthar shares your enthusiasm," Revan muttered, blinking as his eyes were thrown into darkness. They had just stepped back inside of the Academy – into a much dimmer lighting – and he couldn't see much of anything. He knew where Uthar would be though, and stepped up to the older man confidently.
"I see you've returned to action," Uthar said in his usual disarmingly gentle tones. "And you've got the scars to prove it."
Revan's face registered confusion, and he brought a hand up to feel the left side of his face. He could barely make out where the Queen tuk'ata had gotten a hold of him. Uthar smiled patiently.
"Your skin is very white right now, and the scar tissue is still somewhat pink. It is barely noticeable, and will fade with time, but you will always have the marks. It has something to do with the dark energy that the tuk'ata's harness from the tombs. The wounds you receive from them never completely heal."
"Wonderful," Revan replied mordantly. "I've disposed of the renegade students that were hiding out in the shyrack caves."
"You speak the truth, but you are modest. You also ridded us of the nuisance that beast presented. Once again, I am impressed."
"Then you probably also know that I destroyed the war droid that was using Marko Ragnos' tomb as a temporary shelter."
Uthar smiled again. "Yes, I do. And you cleared out the entire army that the Mark V droid had constructed. You and your companions are quite the soldiers." Uthar crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked thoughtful. "I have determined that even if the other students were to somehow enter the other tombs and discover their secrets, they would not have the record that you have succeeded in accomplishing. I am declaring you the winner, Vincent. Your final test will be tomorrow in Naga Sadow's tomb. Be there at dawn."
His smile became gentle, but Revan saw the malevolent gleam behind Uthar's eyes as he placed a hand on the 'Jedi's' shoulder. "For now, rest. You need your strength."
Revan didn't need any further bidding. He found and used the refresher quickly, not enjoying the fact that it was a public affair, grabbing a towel and securing it around his waist when he was done with his shower. Carth and Jolee had chosen to return to their room and wait.
"Vincent?"
He froze. He did notneed this...
"Yuthura?" he asked, turning slowly.
She had a mischievous smile on – practically the only thing she had on – and looked pleasantly surprised. "I heard that Uthar just declared you the winner. I knew it would be you," she said with an air of self-praise.
"It's comforting to know you had such faith in me," he replied, his own air scathingly sarcastic.
Yuthura feigned hurt. "Oh come now, don't be like that. I promise I didn't cheat for you at all."
Revan had grabbed another towel and was now rubbing his head in an effort to dry his hair. "So poisoning Uthar isn't considered cheating?"
"Poisoning Uthar has nothing to do with your final test. That is a personal vendetta that I requested help with, nothing more."
"Why are you here?" he asked earnestly.
"What do you mean?" Yuthura responded, his question sudden and a bit vague.
"What do I mean? I mean what are you doing mixed up with all of this? It just doesn't suit you."
"I am here because I want to be here," she said icily.
"And why is that?"
"I – that's personal. Why do you want to know?"
"I just wanted to know more about you," Revan said shrugging nonchalantly, hoping his act would work. He needed Yuthura to trust him, just in case something went wrong with his final test.
"I see," she said slowly. "Well, I suppose that wouldn't hurt. I was sold into slavery on Sleyheyron to Omeesh the Hut. He was a cruel master, and I hated him. I...one night, when I had him alone...I slit his throat and escaped on the next freighter off of Sleyheyron. The crew discovered me and dumped on an asteroidal planet nearby. They left me to die, but I didn't care. I was just happy to be away from the slavers." Yuthura paused, looking down. "The Jedi found me soon afterwards. It seems I was strong in the Force, so they trained me, even though I was older than most students. I...I thought it would help, but it didn't. The anger I had never left me, I never had the peace that the Jedi preached. So I left the Order and joined with the Sith, hoping to find what I was looking for."
"And have you?"
She hesitated. "N-no. I still have my compassion, and it is preventing me from what I seek. Once that is gone, I will be able to finish my task."
"But if you lose your compassion, how do you know you won't hurt those you're trying to protect?" Revan questioned tactfully.
"I just want to get rid of all of the slavers on Sleyheyron and free the slaves. I'm not protecting anyone."
"But what if you forget your goal? What if the vaunted power that you've been lead to believe will make you stronger consumes you?"
"I...I don't know! All I want is to rid the galaxy of slavers, nothing more. I don't need the Jedi or the Sith to do that!" Yuthura snapped.
"Then why are you here?" Revan asked, coming back to his original question.
"You need to rest for your test tomorrow," she said firmly. "I will see you in Naga Sadow's tomb at dawn."
Revan watched her towel-clad figure disappear around the corner with a feeling of pity. He thought of what she must have suffered under the treatment of Omeesh the Hutt, and how lost she must have felt when the becoming a Jedi didn't fix her problems. He knew what that was like. Toweling off, he dressed himself in a pair of loose-fitting black athletic pants and an equally black sleeveless shirt. He tossed this shirt away as soon as he entered the room that he shared with Carth and Jolee – he never slept with a shirt on if he could help it. His two friends were already passed out on their respective beds, and Revan hoped that he could mimic them.
Fate still smiled unkindly on him, however, forcing more memories of his past up from where they had lain buried as soon as his darkness took him.
