Chapter 12

(Jedi Temple)

Vima knelt in meditation in her own room. She was deeply troubled by the loss of contact with her daughter's team on Nar Shaddaa, they had been scouting what had been identified as a base of operations for one of Revan's former spy groups. Since Revan's capture and reprogramming the base had gone silent and had little contact with the main Sith fleet, hence it was decided by the council to send a small team to find out what the status of the base and its personnel was. Her daughter Ari had been assigned to lead the mission. It was her first major assignment since earning her knighthood. Vima had faith in her daughter's abilities, but she worried that she may have encountered more than she could handle, even backed up by two other knights. The council however had refused to send anyone to check on them, stating that they had no one to spare to send, especially not a council member themselves. That statement had come from Atris and been backed up by Vrook and Vandar, she had accepted their decision, but on the inside she was angered by it.

Vrook and Atris had never liked the fact that she had a daughter in the first place. They didn't believe Jedi should even have any family. That once they joined the order they should be committed to it beyond all other factors, they looked down on those Jedi who had broken the code and had children. The only reason they had not called for her to be exiled was of course her heritage as Nomi Sunrider's daughter. They ignored the fact that without a new generation there would be no more Jedi and children born of two force uses usually produced a strong force connected child. It was one of the rules she agreed with Revan should have been struck down long ago, but the order of Jedi, which she belonged to, refused to even consider change. Maybe Revan was right, maybe the Jedi had become their own worst enemy. She let out a sigh and opened her eyes as she ended her meditation. She still could find no clue as to what may have befallen her daughter and that continued to worry her. At least she did not feel Ari was in pain, which would be something she would feel through the force. She decided to try again in a few hours and if that did not work, then damn the council she would find someone to go check on her daughter and her team.

+TR+

(Leviathan Class Battleship Revenge)

Meetra considered options and plans as she read through the recent reports from the many spies Rikka had deployed. The young Twi'lek had truly come into her own while she was in charge of the fleet. Her time as Revan's aide had brought the former slave into a whole new life, and since Revan's potential capture by the Jedi she had done everything she could to keep the fleet together. More than likely it was due to her actions in saving Revan's life during the war, as well as her time as his aide that had granted her so much respect that the rest of the fleet had followed her. Leaning back in her chair she wondered what would have happened had she not been able to hold things together. Revan would need every able bodied man and woman for his plan to still succeed and she knew him well enough to know he would want to continue with his plan once he returned. Now that she knew the full story she agreed it was the only way to save the Republic and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well from the True Sith.

"It doesn't look good does it, General?" Rikka asked from behind her, having stayed quiet while Meetra caught up on how they stood.

"No, not right now it doesn't Rikka," Meetra reluctantly agreed with a shake of her head and a sigh. "We have close to three thousand soldiers and force users combined, a couple of hundred tanks and artillery pieces and finally one thousand ships and fighters combined," she repeated what Rikka had told her when asked where they stood in man power and fleet status.

It might sound a lot to those who had never been in the military or in a war, but in reality it was a small number when compared against the fleets and armies of the Republic and Malak's Sith. And Malak's Sith had the added advantage of the Star Forge which could create new ships and tanks with ease. She guessed they should be lucky that even that small number now in this fleet had stayed loyal to Revan and their plan.

"It is why I didn't dare launch any real operations, at least not until Revan returned," Rikka admitted. "I knew I could not throw away any lives or ships in an attempted revenge attack," she explained when Meetra turned to fully look at her.

"You did the right thing Rikka, believe me," Meetra assured her and reached over to give her a quick pat on the arm. "Revan would not want you to waste men and ships in a pointless attack sourly to gain revenge against Malak. No, his time will come once Revan is back and believe me it will gain us all the revenge we desire against those who have betrayed us," she insisted. "They will learn why Revan had such an affinity for the word revenge," she stated with a cold smile which was quickly shared by the young Twi'lek.

"So what will we do until then General?" Rikka inquired.

"Nothing we can do until Revan returns, the minute we strike at either Malak's Sith or the Republic we expose ourselves and at the moment we are too vulnerable and will be wiped out," Meetra answered with a frustrated sigh. "At the moment they don't know we still exist as a threat and that is something Revan will want in our favor when he comes back," she told her as she stood up and paced a little. "Surprise will be our favor when we announce our return. Malak and the Jedi will feel the full weight of our anger when we do attack, I can promise you that," she continued. "But only when Revan takes charge again, so you make sure the rest of the fleet understands that Rikka," she ordered as she stopped and turned to look at the young Twi'lek.

"I will General, I promise," Rikka assured her, relieved she had made the right choice in keeping the fleet hidden.

She knew a lot of the men and women within the fleet wanted revenge against Malak and those that had followed him in betraying them, but she had held them back and it had caused some resentment, but with the General backing up her call she knew it was the right call to make. She quickly turned and left to make sure the others knew this as well, just as the General had ordered. Revenge would come, but only when Revan led them once more.

Meetra watched her go and then turned and headed for her own quarters. Even with what she had told Rikka, the truth was that she wanted revenge against Malak just as much as she suspected the others did, but she knew wasting lives wasn't worth that revenge and she knew Revan would never sanction wasting the lives of their comrades for revenge either. So for now she would hold back until Revan was found. Then she and the others would make Malak and all his followers pay for what they had done. But she and Revan would have to ensure they did not lose sight of the goal they had set themselves, they had a mission to complete and loosing focus could end up getting them all killed.

+TR+

(Tatoonie)

Revan's lightsaber caught and deflected the flying blade the Sith sent his way as the seven man ambush struck, he almost smiled at their overconfidence. He lashed out with his boot and watched the other man stumble backwards. This left him open to his second blade which he sent straight into the man's exposed chest. He didn't even watch as the man fell dead, he turned and attacked another who was busy deflecting the bolts from Carth and Misson's blasters. The man never saw him coming, his lightsaber carved right through the man who dropped to the ground almost cut in half.

Bastila came right over his head and she dived to his side and deflected an attack from behind him, she had obeyed the warning from the force without question and dived away from the woman she was fighting to protect Revan's unprotected flank. The female Sith snarled as the Jedi bitch escaped her and tried to follow, however she ended up running into Canderous's line of sight and took three bolts to the chests. She let out a groan of agony before falling to the ground in a puddle of her own blood, her eyes roved wildly as she fought to stay alive. That fight became moot as a grenade fell next to her. Her eyes widened in alarm and she had a brief feeling of regret before the grenade exploded, killing her and causing the other fighters to fall to the ground.

Jolee groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet, the explosion had disrupted the fight and sent all of them to the ground. He looked up and saw two of the Sith coming towards him, while the other two were headed for the prone form of Bastila. He let out a curse as he noted Carth, Canderous, Jarael, Mission and Juhani were out cold or at least disorientated enough to be taken out of the fight. He looked for Revan, only to see him fighting three more Sith who must be reinforcements for this ambush squad. He regained his balance and charged the oncoming Sith, Zaalbar quickly followed as he had been far enough away to only be affected a little by the blast.

Watching all this was Melkor, Niks and Bentz, each conflicted as to what to do. They could each see that it was indeed Revan in charge of this small group, what they didn't know was whether or not he was still the man who had led them through the war and beyond it or whether the Jedi had done something to his mind and made him their slave once again. But they could see things turning against Revan and his team. Revan himself was outnumbered three to one and his remaining fighters were cut off from Bastila who was now been charged by two more Sith and it was clear the young woman would not be able to defend herself as she looked stunned from the grenade blast.

"Options?" Melkor demanded knowing they could not allow the Sith to capture the girl they themselves had been ordered to capture if they could.

"We have to intervene and now before they get hold of the girl" Niks stated as he pulled his lightsaber from his belt. "We can make up a story if that is not Revan once the fight is over," he added at the looks he got for his suggestions. "Our orders will be for nothing if they get a hold of Shan and her battle meditation," he reminded them. "Malak already has the Star Forge, how much worse do you think he will be if he gets the girl and breaks her?" he spat before turning and charging towards the battle heading straight for the two Sith bearing down on Bastila.

Melkor and Bentz glanced at each other before pulling their own lightsabers and following their comrade. They knew he was right if Malak got a hold of and broke Shan then he would be far more powerful and much harder, if not impossible, to defeat even if they got Revan back. They had to act, but Melkor promised to have words with Niks when this was over as he was the mission commander and not Niks and it was his choice whether to act or not.

Revan growled in anger as saw out of the corner of his eye the Sith coming down on Bastila's prone form. He had to get to her and quickly or they would take her and then she would end up in Malak's hands, something he had sworn would never happen. Suddenly he let out a hiss of pain as one of the Sith landed a blow on his exposed side. He turned and lashed out with a back kick before following it up with his lightsabers, cutting the man in half before turning back to block the attacks from his other two attackers. It was at that point he saw three more figures charge into the fray, but instead of attacking him or any of the rest of team they intercepted the two Sith heading for Bastila. He felt relief at that, before he refocused on his own attackers. Off to the side Jolee and Zaalbar were fighting the other two remaining Sith. Zayne was beginning to wake up, but was still sluggish as he tried to refocus after the blast and he quickly turned to check on Jarael who lay close by.

Niks caught the two Sith just before they reached Bastila, Melkor and Bentz quickly caught up and launched themselves into the fray. The Sith were caught off guard by the newcomers and were quickly forced on the defensive. Niks dived right then left as he dodged the wild swings of the left sided Sith, Melkor and Bentz teamed up on the right handed one. Zayne finally shook himself awake and checked fully on Jarael, he was relieved to find a steady pulse and no obvious signs of injury. Grabbing his lightsaber he activated it and headed for the fight Revan was engaged in, both Sith were unaware of his presence so focused on bringing their former leader down and earning the reward that would go with killing him. Zayne shoved his blade right through one of the men. This shocked the other who turned to attack him before realizing his mistake and turned back towards Revan only to receive a blade through his stomach. He coughed up blood as he stared into the cold eyes of Revan before dying.

Revan removed his blade before nodding at Zayne in thanks for the help before rushing over to check on Bastila who still remained unconscious. Zayne moved to help Zaalbar and Jolee only to see them finally gain the upper hand allowing Jolee to remove the head of one of the Sith while Zaalbar and Canderous, who had finally recovered as well, brought down the other one.

Revan reached Bastila and bent down to check her pulse even as the unknown people who had entered the fight continued to fight the last two Sith. He quickly found a steady pulse and let out a sigh of relief before checking the rest of her body for any signs of injury. He found none except for a few scratches and cuts on her arm and side, growling low in his throat he stood back up and headed for the last two Sith as Jolee, Zayne and Zaalbar checked on their other friends while Canderous moved to cover them in case any more enemies turned up. Revan charged right into the fight cutting into an attempted attack by one of his unknown helpers. Niks however quickly realized who had stepped in between him and his enemy and quickly backed off. He saw the look on Revan's face as he passed and knew the unlucky Sith was about to have a very painful end. He turned to help his friends, but found they had their own fight under control so he went to guard the unconscious Shan.

Revan used both of his lightsabers to attack the Sith who was pushed backwards as he did so. While the Sith was good he was nowhere near Revan's skill with a lightsaber. He dropped one of his lightsabers as he swung wide with the other, the Sith moved to counter before he was launched backwards into a wall by a force push with enough force to break two of his ribs. He dropped his weapon and cried out in pain. Revan grinned nastily as he used the force to cut off the man's airways and watched as he slowly suffocated from a lack of air. He found with Bastila unconscious his darker urges and instincts were closer to the surface thus his intent to make this man suffer for daring to try and take Bastila away from him. Finally the man died as he was allowed to drop to the ground like a puppet with its string cut. Revan then turned to see the last Sith cut down by the two other newcomers. He reached out with the force and called his other lightsaber to his hand and pointed them at them, he then frowned as he took in each of their faces.

Revan smirked as he realized he knew these men, they had been some of the Jedi who had followed him in the war. They had been Revanchists, and seen as they had helped killed Malak's ambush team he had to assume they were still loyal to him and the cause. But he refused to deactivate his weapons just yet just in case. He looked the men over taking in their features before their names came to him as he had always made it a good policy to remember the people who served under him no matter their rank.

"Niks Ka'narr, Melkor Xon Tarok and Jarrik Bentz," Revan said calmly. He waited as he watched their reactions which were to look between themselves for a few seconds.

"General it is you isn't it?" Niks was the one to finally ask.
"It is but do not call me by my name or rank" Revan said quickly as he noted Canderous and Zayne approaching from the side, while Jolee and Zaalbar checked on the others. "At the moment I'm going by the alias of Jaks Toulon, use it," he ordered.

The men quickly caught on as they watched Revan's companions reach them; clearly whatever was going on had their leader using a cover. That raised the question whether the Jedi knew Revan was still himself, or did they believe he was this Jaks Toulon?

"Friends of yours?" Canderous inquired as he leveled his blaster cannon at them.

"Yes they are," Revan said as he moved back to Bastila's side and checked her over again. "Keep an eye out," he ordered over his shoulder.

At his touch Bastila let out a moan as she began to come too, this relieved him and he quickly felt the bond reignite between them dampening his more blood thirsty thoughts and instincts. He frowned and wondered just how the bond between himself and Bastila really worked. It seemed far different than any of the other force bonds he had read about.

Bastila opened her eyes feeling groggy and slightly in pain near her left side, looking up she found Revan kneeling besides her looking relieved. Her last memory was an explosion during the fight against the Sith ambush squad, clearly it had knocked her out. Sitting up slowly she noted Carth and a few of the others also waking up, so clearly she had not been the only one to be knocked out. Rubbing her head a little she tried to stand, but quickly sat back down again as a wave of dizziness overcame her. Revan rubbed her back a little and she found herself enjoying the brief contact and almost leaned her head against his chest before catching herself. Using the force to force back the dizziness she finally stood up with only a little help from Revan. She looked around and took note all the Sith were dead much to her relief before her eyes landed on the three waiting newcomers.

"Who are they Revan?" she whispered so no one would overhear her using his real name.

"Old friends," Revan responded calmly as he watched Bastila regain her balance and begin to move around without his aid. This answer caused her to snap her head to stare at him in alarm.

"Old friends?" she demanded to know as she stepped towards him wondering just what she had missed while she had been unconscious. The only old friends she knew Revan had were all now following Malak. She felt a well of dread overcome her as she looked at Revan wondering if all his acts of caring and attraction had been a lie and he was once again about to embrace his role as Dark Lord, a role he had said was a lie.

"They are not Sith Bastila," Revan assured her with a little annoyance in his tone as he overheard her troubled thoughts. Bastila quickly caught the signs that she had angered him slightly by her doubt. She cursed herself for not ensuring he could not overhear her thoughts. "They saved your life," he stated, catching her off guard just as she was about to launch into an argument as the others crowded around them.

"Excuse me?" Bastila finally inquired not sure what to say in response.

"I was been kept away from you by three Sith, while Jolee and Zaalbar were facing the other two survivors from the ambush squad. However they had backup who headed right for your unconscious body," Revan explained. "They would have taken you before I could stop them, my friends here stopped them and killed them, thus saving your life," he continued. Here he told a small lie as he had killed one of her potential abductors, but he did not want her to know just how he had killed him.

Bastila blinked at him a few times as she absorbed what he had said. Finally she calmed down and accepted these old friends of his were not the enemy. Turning she found the three of them watching the exchange with interest. She looked them over, but found no outward signs that they had been corrupted by the dark side of the force like she had seen in some of the holo images from the archives.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but we have to be careful," Bastila finally said. "Thank you for your aid," she added.

"Always happy to help our friend Jaks out," Niks said in response, quickly adapting to using Revan's cover name, although he had almost slipped up and called him General, which would have been a bad mistake especially if the Jedi and the Republic pilot didn't know the truth about Revan's survival. "Guess we were just lucky to be in the area," he added with a fake chuckle.

"Yeah very lucky," Carth couldn't help but mutter under his breath. He was very suspicious of these newcomers, friends of Jaks or not.

"We best get somewhere where we can talk, away from these dead bodies before someone starts asking questions," Canderous suggested as he looked around and noted a few people were beginning to look in their general direction.

"Agreed, we'll head to the cantina and talk there," Revan stated with a nod of his head. "But stay alert just in case there are more of them," he added as he turned and led the group away from the carnage. Bastila followed quickly after him, she wanted to talk to him in private about these old friends of his and to ask if there was any more out there which was an idea that troubled her.