Disclaimer: KotOR was not my idea. Writing on it was, but I'm not getting paid for it.
Chapter Forty-Three
Twenty harrowing minutes of bucking ships, dodging Sith, and full on barrel-rolls later, Carth landed the Ebon Hawk on the ancient Rakatan space station. The docking bay doors shut behind them like a sarcophagus lid. Aithne climbed down from her turret as Carth strode up from the cockpit. She kissed him on the cheek.
"Well done," she whispered.
She clapped Canderous on the shoulder as he climbed down from his turret. "Good work."
The entire crew was assembled in the hallway waiting for the ramp to descend. Aithne grinned, realizing they all looked slightly green. Still, they weren't dead yet. She shook her entire body and ignited her lightsabers. "You guys ready for this?"
"No," Mission said baldly. "But let's do it, anyway!"
Canderous pressed the button and the ramp descended. Aithne, Carth, and Jolee led the way. A woman whirled to face them, and a lightsaber ignited. But her blade shone blue, not red. The woman was short and solidly built, maybe thirty-five. She smiled in relief.
"You made it!" she cried, as four or five of her companions circled around. "Several Jedi have already gone ahead into the Star Forge," she explained. "We have to strike while we still have the element of surprise. If we don't stop Bastila from using her Battle Meditation the entire Republic Fleet will be wiped out!"
"Battle Meditation is annoying like that," Aithne agreed off-handedly, turning to make sure Carth and Jolee were behind her as the rest of the crew took up their positions around the Hawk. The Jedi Guardian looked offended.
"Come on, then," she said, failing to notice Aithne was moving towards the door across the chamber already, "before they…"
The door opened. Five brawny Dark Jedi men strode forth grimly from the bright opening.
The Jedi woman swore, glancing nervously at Aithne. "So much for catching them unprepared," she said, readjusting her plan. "We'll deal with these Sith," she promised. "You get into the Star Forge and find Bastila! Hurry!"
Aithne bit her lip, and turned to holler back, "Canderous, Aytchkay, Juhani, Teethree, Zaalbar, Mission! Give 'em hell! See you on the other side!"
She nodded curtly at the Jedi woman, and, shaking her head and dodging a Sith saber, plunged forward into the Star Forge.
Aithne led the way, sensing their path with her vaguely throbbing link with Bastila, and her own mostly buried memories. She guided Carth and Jolee through the labyrinthine metal corridors.
"They're going to try to get in our way, slow us down," she said to Carth and Jolee. "We can't play their game. Every minute they delay us is a minute Bastila's using her Battle Meditation to decimate the Fleet."
"So we go for incapacitation," Carth agreed. "Knock 'em down, stun 'em, make sure they can't follow us, but don't kill every Sith that steps in front of the barrel."
"Exactly," Aithne said. "The Republic Fleet is in charge of killing Sith. It's our job to make sure they can."
They turned to pass through the next door. So far, their progress had been relatively easy. But now, the door exploded.
"Malak knows we're here," Aithne cried, throwing up a Force Shield in front of the party. Two giant, red, battle droids looked down at them through yellow eyes.
Jolee blinked. He unleashed a wave of the Force specifically targeting the droids. Aithne followed it up, and the droids fell in useless heaps. "For someone that knows we're here, he's not putting up much of a fight," he muttered.
"Shut up and don't jinx it," Aithne said, beginning to jog again. "Of course he doesn't know we're here, not like that. My guess is that the Jedi on the inside have alerted him to the presence of intruders. Once he realizes we're here, too, though, it'll get a lot hotter."
"You mean when he hears that you're here," Carth corrected. "Jolee and I aren't on his radar."
Aithne shook her head, sighting more armored droids ahead. "Jolee's not. He's been in the Shadowlands a couple of decades. He's so old he's news. But you're on Malak's radar, flyboy."
Carth let loose with an ionic blaster. Aithne sent another stream of the Force through the droids facing them without breaking the stream of conversation. Jolee deflected some of their fire without even slacking his pace.
"You've been on every Sith wanted poster I've seen on the assassins he's been sending out." She snorted. "He was even sending the posters out with new recruits, like Dustil. My guess is Karath talked you up a bit. Malak knows your name, Carth. Sure, he doesn't care about you near as much as Bastila. Or even me, messed up as I am. But he cares enough to order you dead personally, if it makes you feel any better."
"My ego is much obliged," Carth said ironically. He punched the button to pass through the next door. A steep ramp greeted them, and they saw a narrow bridge at the bottom. On it, six lightsabers flashed, blue and yellow on red.
"We're almost to the main level," Aithne said, though she didn't know quite how she knew it. "We'll have to cross it to get to the command one. That'll be where Bastila is. And Malak."
She broke into a run, picking up speed as she raced down the ramp to the aid of the three Jedi fighting Sith on the bridge. Even as she watched, however, a tall Sith woman kicked out and sent a Jedi man hurtling off the bridge into the bowels of the Star Forge below. Aithne felt the life leave his body, a light extinguished in the swirling blackness that surrounded her. Another man, a Jedi Sentinel, used the brief distraction to slay another of the Sith, before he himself was slain by a felled Guardian's now freed opponent. Aithne ignited her own double sabers, angry. She had just now reached the bridge to aid Jedi she had hoped might help her penetrate the inner recesses of the space station, only to see them killed before her eyes.
The Sith woman with brutal eyes looked at Aithne. "Ah, more victims for us to slaughter," she purred.
Anger flooded Aithne. She felt herself slip, and the darkness jumped at her. With a gasp, she shoved it aside, harnessing her anger, calling it to order. Calming, she regrouped, and with Carth at her back, she attacked.
"Can't lose control of yourself for a minute here," she called to Jolee, fighting the man.
"No, the Dark Side is too strong," he agreed, dealing a blow to the Sith man's shoulder.
Aithne shook her hair back, bringing her left saber around. The woman gasped as Aithne's face, previously obscured by shadows and the curls escaping her braid, was revealed.
"Revan…?" she gasped.
Jolee felled her companion. Aithne grimaced. "If you're so impressed, you might surrender and let us by. Seriously, feel free."
The woman slipped in her block of a downswing of Aithne's, but she turned and made a break for a door on the left side of the bridge.
"Shoot her," Aithne ordered coldly. "She'll tell Malak we're here."
Carth aimed, but, as if sensing the order, the woman put on a burst of Force Speed. Carth's blaster bolt missed her vitals and hit her calf. The Sith stumbled, crying aloud, but kept running.
Aithne turned to Jolee and Carth. "C'mon," she said. "We need to run. We're headed the opposite way, and if I'm not mistaken, the route just got a lot harder."
There were another two battle droids guarding the passage to the main level. Carth took out one, and Jolee the other with no more trouble than they'd taken out all the others. But as they passed into the main level, Aithne's fears were confirmed. Several Sith ran at them, both Jedi and regular troops. Aithne shielded. "Remember!" she cried to the others. "Speed's the thing!"
Still, the next half hour Aithne felt like she was wading through setting concrete, so thick were the waves of troops Malak sent to meet them. The Dark energy of the Star Forge, too, worked against her, leeching her own energies. Aithne's muscles began to ache. The nice robes Aithne had found on Korriban were stained beyond repair.
Still they kept moving. Carth, in particular, was very useful. He stunned opponents with expert shots and aptly thrown grenades alike. The best Jolee and Aithne could do was to cut off limbs or put opponents into a Stasis until they passed on, and that was nearly as taxing in of itself as it would be to kill the legions that got into their path.
They made progress, though. They fought their way through the decks, sweating and covered in blood. They were bone tired.
"I wonder…how the others are doing," Aithne gasped as they hid in a room just down the hall from the elevator that would take them to the command level, where Bastila waited. And Malak.
Carth leaned out the doorway and shot a lone grenadier. "We can't worry about them," he panted. "We have to stay alive ourselves right now, and get to Bastila." Jolee slumped against a wall. His shoulder leaked blood from a blaster bolt graze he'd suffered earlier.
Aithne's eyebrows met worriedly, and she knelt beside the old ex-Jedi. She nodded at Carth. "Close the door a moment . We have to catch our breaths or we're no more than bantha fodder out there." Carth did so, and Aithne turned to Jolee. "Here. Let me take a look at that."
"What? This?" Jolee said. "I've had worse in my day. I can keep going."
Aithne shook her head. "I'm sure you can," she said softly. "I'd still like to do something, if I may."
Gently, she rolled back the Jedi's sleeve, and examined the wound. Fortunately, it was shallow and clean, but it was also long, and bleeding freely. Aithne felt deep inside for the replenishing Force returning to her. She imagined the skin closing over the gash in Jolee's shoulder, and the sting leaving the wound.
A scab grew over Jolee's dark, wrinkled skin. Aithne stopped there. The bleeding had ceased, and she could not waste energy healing the old man completely. "Is that better?"
Jolee flexed his arm. "A bit," he said. "Thanks, lass."
"I'd do more, but…"
Jolee nodded. "I understand. You have to save your strength."
Carth was examining the console on the other side of the room. "Aithne," he called. "Come check this out."
Aithne walked over, feeling the strength return to her muscles. "What is it?" she asked.
Carth brought up the functions of the computer. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before," he said. "It's supposed to make clothing…just generate it, from thin air."
"Not quite," Aithne said, feeling the computer and the Star Forge. "It's tapping into the Dark energy of war, and using it to generate armor. Hmmm…"
"What?" Carth asked.
"There's a robe function. Custom made."
"Star Forge robes?" Jolee said skeptically. "Wouldn't they be too affiliated to the Dark Side to be of any use to you?"
Aithne was examining the software. "No," she responded. "This particular function would take its cue from the Jedi commissioning the robes. The Star Forge would tap into my energy signature to make the robes, and the resulting garment would amplify and protect me and my own Force affinity."
"You going to try it?" Carth asked.
Aithne probed the wall in her mind, feeling for Bastila. She knit her brow, surprised.
"She's…she's stopped using her Battle Meditation," she reported. She probed the wall further, and caught an echo of Bastila's purpose. "Oh. She's waiting for us. I sense a lot of hostility…" she smiled a bit sadly. "It's worse than the time I kept insisting that I'd saved her at the swoop track."
Carth's mouth quirked, but his eyes were sad, too.
"So you can afford to take your time," Jolee said.
Carth shook his head. "Not exactly. The battle's still going on, and soldiers are still dying on both sides. It's just not quite as urgent now."
"I'm going to try the robes on," Aithne said decisively, looking down at her own blood-stained tattered ones with blaster bolt riddled sleeves. "By the Force, they can't be worse than these."
She keyed in the sequence, placing her hand on the pad so the Star Forge could read her systems. A bright light flashed in the corner, and a white barrel appeared.
Aithne walked over to the barrel apprehensively. She opened it and placed her hand inside. She felt the fabric. "Oh," she sighed, and drew out the garments within.
They were beautiful. They were the most beautiful robes she'd ever seen, if they could even be called 'robes'. The garments consisted of a hooded, long-sleeved tunic, cut long and slim, and long, full pants of the same soft, strong, light gray material. Aithne had never particularly cared for the dress-type robes some Jedi Masters wore, or the tied brown tunics and leggings that were standard for Padawans and Knights. In these clothes, both her modesty and free movement would be preserved.
She withdrew from the stack a white vest of a leathery material that looked to lace over the shirt, protecting the wearer against vibroblades and blaster bolts, it seemed. Aithne smiled.
"Turn around," she ordered the two men imperiously.
Jolee rolled his eyes. Carth smiled, bowing chivalrously. Both men obligingly turned their backs.
Aithne skinned out of the dirty, torn, robes she wore delightedly, following suit with her brown leggings. She pulled on the pants and shirt, closing her eyes in pleasure at the feel of the cool fabric against her weary skin. She tucked the pants into her black boots, and laced the white vest over everything quickly, and finally strapped her weapons belt on again.
All at once, the oppressive Force of the Dark Side retreated, not completely, but to a manageable distance. Aithne herself felt much stronger. She stretched, and smiled in relief.
"Alright," she said to Jolee and Carth. "I'm ready."
"You're quick," Jolee remarked, turning. Carth turned as well, and both men checked.
"Beautiful," was Carth's only comment. Aithne grinned at him.
"The robes look like you," Jolee added. "I think the gray tint of them reflects your alignment in the Force."
"Maybe," Aithne said. "I'll let you dissect the properties of my new clothes later. But I feel a whole lot better. What do you say we finish this?"
Carth smiled crookedly. "Can't do it soon enough for me," he said, his words full of an undercurrent that made Aithne shiver in pleasure.
They left the room. Surprisingly, few troops awaited on the way to the elevator.
"They're slacking off," Aithne commented as they rode the elevator to the command level. "And Bastila's close."
"What of Malak?" Jolee asked.
Aithne shuddered. "He's close, too," she said in a flat voice.
The elevator stopped with a ding, and Aithne and her companions left it only to find themselves face to face with five Sith.
Aithne let loose with a Force Wave to push them back and stun them momentarily, and Carth followed it up with three stun shots straight to the chests of the three regular soldiers. Jolee was waiting for the Dark Jedi when they sprang up. He brought the hilt of his lightsaber down hard on one's head, and the man went down with a grunt, unconscious. Aithne laughed, impressed.
"Nice one," she praised Jolee, driving a saber through the last one's chest to finish with. The three of them jogged on.
They turned the corner and ascended a ramp, and Aithne froze, eyeing a door. "That's it," she said. "Bastila's through there."
Carth nodded. "Great," he said. "We have to go through them, first." He pointed to the five robed Sith guarding the entrance.
Aithne sighed, shielding again. A ripple of the Force went over her. It was Jolee, lending them all courage and strength. Aithne adjusted her grip on her lightsabers, and led the party forward.
The Sith tried to incapacitate Carth first. Aithne felt the tremble in the Force, reached out, and shoved their attack aside. Carth shot a volley into the mess of guards. Most of his shots were deflected, but one hit a Dark Jedi apprentice in the side. He cried out, and Jolee sent Force Lightning through his body. The unfortunate Sith fell. He wouldn't be getting back up again, Aithne knew.
Two Sith sprang upon Jolee, anger written across their features. The other two split up, taking on Carth and Aithne separately. Aithne felt with the Force, and summoned a vibroblade from Carth's pack. She tossed it to him. He caught it deftly, and turned to face the Sith, moving so he was back to back with Aithne.
Aithne pulled with the Force using techniques Jolee had taught her, turning the Dark Side on her Sith opponent, draining his energy. Jolee, to her left, was unleashing a Lightning Storm on the Sith attacking him, cutting down one in the confusion.
Aithne and Carth fought, coordinating their movements in the effortless teamwork they'd always shown. They stayed calm as their opponents only grew angrier and more desperate. A thought occurred to Aithne just then. She smiled and tapped Carth's wrist behind her. He tapped back. The Sith lunged, and both of them dodged right. The Sith were impaled upon one another's sabers. Carth replaced his vibroblade in his pack carefully. He drew his blaster and aimed. He hit the last Dark Jedi in the head, and the Sith fell at Jolee's feet.
Aithne grimaced. She took a deep breath. When she had opened the door the Sith had been guarding, a small corridor was revealed. Another door stood at the end. Aithne strode forward and opened it as well.
Raw energy surged past her to encase Jolee and Carth in Stasis. Aithne darted forward, and the door started to close behind her. Just in time, Aithne used her own power to close the door at the opposite end of the corridor, locking it with the Force. Carth and Jolee were helpless. Now no enemies could get to them while she faced off with Bastila.
For there she stood, garbed in black. The room they were in was large, airy. It actually reminded Aithne of some of the rooms back at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. In the center, a large hologram was displaying the Star Forge and the ongoing battle.
"I would prefer that we have no interference from your lover and doddering old 'Teacher', if you do not mind," Bastila said coldly.
Aithne activated her sabers, wary. "Actually, Bas, I do mind, a little."
Bastila smiled, showing her teeth. "I knew you'd come for me, Revan." Her red double saber was held casually in her right hand. She was ignoring it, for the time being.
Aithne rolled her eyes. "Of course I was going to come. You ran before we'd finished talking. I don't give up that easily, Bastila."
Bastila's face twisted. "You are wasting your time," she informed Aithne. "I have seen the Jedi for what they truly are: weak and afraid. The Sith are the true masters of the Force. You have forgotten that lesson, Revan. Now you must pay the price. Here on the Star Forge the power of the Dark Side is at its strongest. This time you will not defeat me!"
She brought up her saber with all the quickness of her Jedi reflexes. But Aithne was ready for her. She knocked Bastila's stroke aside, and shoved out with the Force. But Bastila caught her attack, shoving back. Aithne's eyebrows rose. Bastila hadn't been kidding that the Star Forge made her stronger. Normally the strength of Aithne's Push would have knocked her back. Aithne stepped aside, attacking with her sabers, seeking to disarm.
Bastila was well-trained. She had not been fighting legions of Sith without adequate rest or water. But in a lightsaber fight, she was neither as quick nor as strong as Aithne. Here Aithne's superior height served her well. She forced Bastila back, but Malak's apprentice kept her saber despite Aithne's best efforts. Bastila shot a bolt of Lightning at Aithne's chest. Aithne caught the bolt, diverting it to discharge harmlessly in the air.
Bastila chuckled, flicking off her lightsaber. She panted a little. Aithne followed suit, and waited.
"I see now why Malak followed you," Bastila said in admiration. "Even though you are only a shell of your former self, you are still a formidable opponent. I can't even imagine the power you must have wielded when you were the Dark Lord. You were a fool to give it all up and follow…" she paused, looking at Aithne's robes. "But you didn't, did you? Those are Star Forgerobes. Hmm. It seems you stand on the very brink, Revan. You have not sold out to the Light Side, as I suspected. But neither do you embrace the Dark. Cannot you decide? You are a weak fool."
Aithne shook her head. "Bastila, I stand as tall now as I did when I was trying to conquer the galaxy and sat in the heart of the Dark. As I have moved towards the Light Side, I have not become weaker."
Bastila tossed her head. "The Dark Side has made me stronger than I ever was before," she boasted.
"That's your arrogance talking, Bas," Aithne said levelly. "The Dark Side magnifies it."
Bastila scowled. "I have a greater command of the Force than all but the most powerful Jedi Masters," she insisted. "As Malak teaches me the greatest secrets of the Sith, I will unlock more of my potential. Eventually there will be no limit to what I can accomplish with the Force."
Aithne maintained eye contact and spoke clearly. "If you follow the Dark Side you will remain limited," she said. "It only leads to death and destruction." She shrugged. "Lots of fireworks; no real growth." She punched at the mental wall between her and Bastila, trying to make a breakthrough.
Bastila tensed. "Jedi propaganda," she said simply. "The Dark Side is only a tool, and Malak will train me in its use. Eventually I will surpass my Master and challenge him. If I am worthy, he will die by my hand. Then I will take on my own apprentice and the cycle will begin again. This is the way of the Sith. It is how we assure our leaders are always the strongest and most worthy."
Aithne put her hands on her hips. "Listen to yourself!" she pleaded. "You plan on killing your Master! You want to train an apprentice that might kill you! Where does it end, Bastila? All this only sounds like death and destruction to me. Don't consign yourself to an endless cycle of betrayal. It costs too much. It hollows you out until there's nothing left to give. In my dreams, I can remember Revan's apathy and emptiness. I myself have been to Korriban and seen the ultimate destiny of the Dark Side."
Bastila twitched. The mental wall crumbled the tiniest bit, and Aithne sensed an echo of uncertainty across the link. She's getting it, Aithne thought. Bastila shook. "No, Revan," she said, answering Aithne's words, and thoughts. "It is you who are doomed!"
She attacked again. Aithne brought her sabers up just in time. She felt the Star Forge shove energy through Bastila, putting strength into her blow. Aithne darted back, circling the younger woman warily. Bastila shoved out at her with the Force. Aithne reached out with her own mind and stopped the attack, taking the mental blow and shoving back. Bastila stumbled back a foot or so. She let loose a Lightning Bolt. Aithne sidestepped neatly.
Bastila came at her with lightsaber again. Aithne's muscles strained to block the blow, but she did so, throwing Bastila back.
Bastila laughed. "You are growing weary," she taunted. "I sense it! Your strength falters. The Light Side is failing you while the power of theStar Forgere-energizes me! Soon this will all be over!"
Aithne spread her arms wide, not denying it. "Then will you strike me down, Bastila? You notice I am making no attempt to harm you."
Bastila's brow furrowed. "Yes," she said, and the chinks in the mental wall widened. A tenuous probe stretched out. "What is your game, Aith…Revan?"
"There you are," Aithne said wearily, gazing into Bastila's ice-blue eyes. "I see you, Bastila. You're not evil, not even now."
Bastila's jaw tensed, even as fear throbbed over the link. "I am a Sith apprentice now," she said stiffly. "You place too much faith in what I used to be…and for that you shall pay!"
The Star Forge surged again, and Aithne's jaw set as she blocked another bone shaking blow from Bastila's saber. Sweat ran down her forehead now. It threatened her eyes with a sting that could cost her life. She was tired, and angry, at this point. The Darkness swam around her, waiting for her to give in. It would be so easy to just give up on Bastila and retaliate out of her own Dark Side. Aithne halfway considered it. The lock on the door keeping the Sith troops out of the hallway where Carth and Jolee stood helpless sapped at her strength. And surely with Bastila dead, the Republic could at least cripple the Sith.
Aithne staggered back and Bastila bore down upon her. But Bastila's eyes were not hostile. On the contrary, Bastila Shan looked trapped and afraid. Something akin to a plea stood out as Aithne met her gaze. Aithne prodded at Bastila's mind and was surprised at what she discovered. Force, she doesn't want to win this fight!
Aithne threw back her shoulders then. She reached inside of herself and found new strength. She would bring this proud child to her knees, and then she would save her.
Aithne blocked Bastila's stroke and locked blades. She forced Bastila down and back, and then lashed out with the Force. Bastila flew back three feet. Her head was nearly in the holographic battle. Desperately, Bastila sent a volley of Force Lightning towards Aithne. Aithne held out her hands in front of her, caught the energy between them, and sent it flying back at Bastila, adding a jolt of her own. It did not hit Bastila, however. It was not intended for her.
Instead, the Lightning hit the shaft of Bastila's double saber, right between her hands. The resulting shock made Bastila fling the lightsaber away reflexively. Aithne caught it with the Force, deactivated it and flung it away.
She advanced on Bastila, sabers at the ready. Bastila could summon her weapon just as easily as Aithne had flung it away. But she didn't. The mental wall between them was all but demolished. Fear was the younger Jedi's dominant emotion, followed by confusion. Anger raged in a corner of her brain, and in the opposite, a tiny bit of relief lurked.
"This…this is not possible," Bastila said. "You have...you have rejected the Dark Side! You are a weak and pathetic puppet of the Jedi Council! How can you still stand against me? Why can't I defeat you?"
Aithne deactivated her sabers and clipped them to her belt. She placed her hands on her hips and breathed in deeply. "Listen. Bastila. The Dark Side is no stronger than the Light. Before, you spoke of Jedi propaganda. Well, this nonsense about Dark-Siders being stronger is Sith propaganda."
Bastila nodded ruefully, her pride broken at last. "Yes, I see you speak the truth. I am no match for you." She knelt slowly, wincing. "Please, for the sake of what we once shared, do not make me suffer. End my life quickly. There is no other way."
Aithne sat down across from Bastila and glared. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to kill you."
Bastila looked up at her in surprise. "What other choice do you have?" she asked. Aithne smiled. For the first time, it sounded like Bastila talking. Her Bastila, not some Sith caricature. "I have fallen to the Dark Side. I am an apprentice to the Dark Lord himself. You cannot let me live."
"Yeah, well, you let the Lord of the Sith herself live, once," Aithne retorted. She laughed. "Honestly, Bastila. So you're a security risk. I'm a bigger one than you are. The Dark Side is a choice. You can repent and reject it, too. Come back to the Light." She grinned, gesturing at Bastila's uniform. "Black's not your color."
"You talk as if I can change my soul like I can change my clothing," Bastila said bitterly, looking away. "Maybe you can. But I…I am not strong enough. There is too much anger inside me now. Too much hatred and fear. I can no longer find peace in the Force."
She made no effort to resist as Aithne probed her mind, though. Aithne bit her lip as she felt the chaotic mess Bastila described. She urged Bastila to examine her own thoughts, and felt the younger woman respond tentatively.
"See, I have anger and fear, too. You just need to…tidy up a little. Hmm. Old habits die hard. Try the Jedi Code. I think it might help you."
Bastila smiled sadly. "Even now, after everything, you try to help me. I doubt mere words can help me get back to you, but to appease you I will recite them."
She closed her eyes. "There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no chaos; there is harmony." As Bastila spoke, Aithne felt the younger woman's mind fall into order. Anger and blackness still ran like a river through it, but Bastila was beginning to bridle it. Bastila opened her eyes, and they were calmer. "Strange, but even now, I find comfort in these words. I suppose you are right about habits. There is no death; there is the Force," she finished. She took Aithne's hand.
"Thank you…Aithne. I am ready to face my fate now." She looked meaningfully down at Aithne's sabers.
Aithne shook her head. "Look, even if I were willing to kill you, and I'm not, death's just the easy way out. You're not done. Look inside yourself, like meditating. You taught me that, remember? You will see what I see: there is Light in you yet."
Bastila growled in frustration. "I know a flicker of Light still burns within me," she said, annoyed. "Malak felt it, too. He knew it could only be extinguished if I killed you. But what good is a single flicker of Light against the sea of Darkness I am drowning in? I can never atone for my betrayal!" As she spoke, her voice grew quieter, and a single tear born of her conviction of hopelessness slid down her nose.
Aithne's eyes stung. She knew where Bastila was coming from. She thought no one could know better. She pressed the hand she still held. "Oh, Bastila, I know the Darkness seems absolute," she murmured. "But you have to trust me, there is hope. Think of the Jedi Masters. Think of Juhani, and of Carth, and Mission, and Jolee, and your mother. Think of every kind word you've ever heard and every good deed you've ever witnessed and make yourself a lifeboat. There is Light and Life in the galaxy. Here, stand with me." She pulled Bastila to her feet, but retained her friend's hand. "How do you think I managed after I found out I was Revan? I don't know what you did after you turned. But I guarantee you that I've done worse. Giving up, thinking you can't atone, like death, is the easy way. Keeping on is harder. But you've got to. Come now, help us fight the Sith. We'll get through this!"
Bastila bit her lip, and Aithne felt hope grow in her heart. "Yes, I…I could join you in your battle against the Dark Lord," she said, just beginning to believe it. "That alone would not make up for what I have done, yet…it would be a step in the right direction." She looked up into Aithne's face, and hesitated. "I trust you, but how would you be able to trust me? How do you know I wouldn't turn on you when you faced Darth Malak? How do you know the Dark Side wouldn't make me betray you again?"
Aithne nodded quickly. She stepped away from Bastila and unhooked her sabers, flinging them across the room. She called Bastila's saber to her, activated it, and handed it over to Bastila. Bastila nearly dropped it from shock.
"Right," Aithne said in a loud, ringing voice. "Have at me! Do you want to kill me?" She spread her arms wide, maintaining eye contact. Bastila began shaking.
"You…you play a dangerous game," she stammered. Her voice and shoulders steadied. "Are you certain you wish to take this risk? I could end your life and gain Malak's favor with a single stroke of my lightsaber."
Aithne stepped up until there was less than a centimeter between her throat and the searing heat of Bastila's lightsaber. "You could," she said, slowly and calmly. "You won't. You're my best friend, and you've made a habit of saving my butt, not running lightsabers through me. C'mon Bastila, you're still you, and you serve the Light Side."
Aithne grinned. "You're aura's lightening as we speak," she added.
Bastila smiled. "You are brave," she said softly. "And some would say foolish." With a sigh, she deactivated her lightsaber and tossed it with Aithne's two. "But you are also right. The Dark Side has not wholly consumed me. I cannot raise my blade against you." She sighed again, looking at the door on the other side of the chamber. "I should stay here, though," she said. "If we face Malak I am afraid his Dark presence will overwhelm me. It would not be wise to expose myself to such temptation."
Aithne knew when to cave. "Alright," she said. "If it makes you feel any better. But Bastila," she added, with a glance at the holographic battle. "Can you let Carth and Jolee in here? And when you do, can you please use your Battle Meditation to help the Republic Fleet?"
Bastila's eyes lit up. "Yes, that would be for the best," she said excitedly. "You don't need me to defeat Malak anyway. Now I understand that a true Jedi is a match for any Sith. Even the Dark Lord himself. I will release Carth and Jolee," she said, focusing for a moment. "But they should probably stay in the hallway. I have reinforced your own lock. I must concentrate if I am to use my Battle Meditation to aid the Republic Fleet." She looked at the holographic battle and frowned. "I am their only hope of destroying the Star Forge and ending the Sith menace."
She gestured towards the door on the opposite side of the chamber. 'You must go and face Malak, but you have to hurry. Once I turn the battle in the Republic's favor we won't have much time to escape the Star Forge before it is destroyed. Good Luck, and may the Force be with you."
Aithne's face twisted, and her eyes stung. She ran to Bastila and enfolded the Jedi in a giant bear hug. "Bastila, it's good to have you back! Good Luck! See you on the other side!"
Then, in one fluid movement, she summoned her lightsabers back to her hands, releasing Bastila. The younger Jedi knelt before the holographic battle. Squaring her shoulders, Aithne walked through the door that would bring her face to face with Malak.
A/N: YAY! Bastila's decided black's not her color, too! Next up, we have an entire chapter of Malak/former Revan interaction. Expect lots of emotion, some gore…oh, you KNOW what to expect. Just read it! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, too. Whether you have or not, you should tell me what you think!
May the Force Be With You,
LMSharp