Chapter 51
Bastlia had grown accustomed to chiding her bondmate for taking crazy risks, for pushing herself too hard, and for letting things matter too much and losing her carefully measured Jedi distance. But as the bond had intensified over the months they had been together as bondmates and lovers, (even though they had not shared a night of intimacy since that first night on Tatooine), Bastila found herself following that same pattern.
Had the Sentinel not nearly driven her dewback to death trying to reach Revan at the Sandpeople's Enclave? Had she not evoked more dark powers of the Force to push events in accordance with her will? But sometimes when Revan had truly given her a bad fright, or her mood was too deep, she had to use other means to break Revan free of sorrow, frustration or confusing memories she refused to share- anything to let the Nagai know that 'hey what you did just then, that was stupid.'
But mostly Bastila kept her fears for her beloved to herself, because of her Revan's bright and burning passion for justice, her reckless courage, her hunger for victory and her refusal to accept defeat- they were what made her Revan... the Revanchist. This was what it must have been like for the Nagai before her fall to the Dark Side. She wouldn't be Revan without her feelings.
Bastila knew that, accepted that, no matter what the Temple teachings said about Jedi and their emotions. Those emotions—the free-range yet contrary-wise control over them gave Revan immense power. It was something Bastila was envious of; wanted. That desire must have translated across the bond for Revan turned her electric blue eyes on the younger woman and gave her a very curious smile.
Bastila breathed out a soft sigh and reached out with the Force allowing the bond and her Jedi awareness to touch her beloved's mind-to know what her brilliant and sometimes impetuous lover was feeling now.
Impatience
Concern
Relief
Loneliness
Weariness
Yearning
Kaleidoscopic memories of two lives
And grief not yet healed.
It was such a muddle of emotions; such a weight on her shoulders. The months of brutal skirmishes, dodging Sith spies and hunters had taken their toll on all of them, but it had been worse for Revan.
She struggled daily with the memories of who she was-a Dark Lord of the Sith, with the legend of the Revanchist- hero Jedi General of the Mandalorian Wars- as told by others and the false memories of Ravensong implanted into her mind by the Jedi Council. The only thing that transformed the edginess to just a hint of softly churning disquiet- like water on the brink of boil- was the presence Bastila and their love for one another. Because of her fear; because of Bastila's dedication to the Jedi Code's admonishment of emotions, and her ingrained predilection to always yielding to the Masters' 'superior wisdom', the human had pulled away from embracing the fullness of passion with Revan.
And Revan was hurting because of it.
No more!
Fear led to the Dark Side- this was fundamentally true. By fearing to love Revan as she truly desired, Bastila argued with her inner 'but the Masters are always correct, trust their wisdom,' self, she was in fact tempting the Dark Side to take hold of her. However, if she were to embrace the harmony and the truth of love- love she held fast for Revan- that was the purity of the Light Side. The other "self" had nothing to say to that, no words of argument that didn't end up in circular logic, like an endlessly spinning windmill of the mind.
When they returned to the surface, Bastila vowed silently she would take Revan fully into her heart, her arms, and into her bed. She would admit to the significance of their passion.
Revan turned her blue eyes to Bastila, giving her lover a curious look. Oh sure, she could read what the other Jedi felt, see it in those storm-grey eyes that stared back at her, and of course the bond gave her a particular advantage.
It was not why Revan looked to the young human woman.
"I'll be fine," Revan tried to reassure Bastila and Juhani who was now also looking at her leader with a measurable amount of concern.
"It need not be you who takes all the risks, Revan," Bastila said, trying to make her voice seem as forceful as it had during those first days of the Nagai's training on Dantooine.
"Of course it must be me... and at any rate we have very little choice. Of all the suits we found, most of them were damaged in one section or another. But together they make one viable suit and that means only one of us goes. That's me."
"Will all due respect, Revan, not this time. I am better suited," Juhani said in one of her rare, bolder moments. The young Cathar rarely spoke her mind to others, and rarely still spoke out against their actions. Not since the incident in the grove at any rate.
"I sense that the firaxan sharks and the Selkath minds are linked to one another as well as the Master Controller, whatever that might be. It is why they do not attack one another. The Master Controller has the ability to generate a 'hive mind' or something like it.
"I can counteract some of its influence if I am close enough, which means I cannot be stuck here in this section of the facility. I must be out there. You must realize I am the best option in this given situation."
The other women turned to her, whether it was out of surprise for the sudden bold confidence, or because Juhani had taken a stance and waited for an explanation. "All Jedi can touch another's mind and influence it with the Force if it was a lesser will, but I have a particular talent for the beasts. Revan, you've seen first-hand how I controlled the pack of kath hounds on the Khoonda plains.
"I can do so again with the sharks. Whatever is troubling them and sending them into maddened frenzies, I can see what is beyond that to what lies behind their madness. At the very least I can redirect their unleashed anger elsewhere.
"The mind-trick works very differently upon a bestial mind than it does upon a sentient. If anyone is to venture into the depths of the ocean potentially facing off maddened firaxan sharks it should be the one who has the better chance of making them submit."
Juhani was right. She was the best option for this part of their mission. However…
"Under normal-well this is far from normal circumstances," Revan interjected "your arguments bear weight. But the visions clearly connect Bastila and I to the maps. It must be one of us to activate the Star Map."
"Regrettably this is so," Bastila looked kindly upon the younger Knight. She placed a hand upon Juhani's slightly broader one, not to chide or to belittle but to convey her thanks for the selfless bravery in the offering to go in their stead.
"As it must be one of us I am..."
"No." Revan said forcefully.
The human's eyebrows furrowed a knot in the middle of her forehead. "What? Why?"
"You want me to spell it out for you? You know why."
"If you say I am more important for the war effort because of the battle meditation, I will bite you." Bastila all but growled.
Revan smirked and playfully raised her eyebrows up and down. "Promises, promises, Princess."
The human made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes, it seemed her bondmate's levity was never far from the surface. Juhani swiftly hid her smirking muzzle. Though… there was a part of her that was still a little envious for the easy expression of their love, something she wished she could have with her beloved Beyla. Perhaps one day...
Revan swiftly pulled the rest of the environment suit over her blue Zeison Sha Warrior armor. Just before she sealed the helm, she turned to Bastila and said: "Look you can get the next solo mission."
"Ha! As if you'd let me. When danger is perceived, you are closer to me than my own shadow."
"Well I did make a promise to your mother. Going against a promise made to a Shan woman seems to be something a wise person wouldn't do."
In answer, Bastila only glowered. But there was no anger in the look. There was worry. Revan's jests grew worse when she became increasingly worried.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
Under the water, Revan encountered another fully suited traveller. It was difficult to tell if it was just another merc or one of the hapless scientists.
"Who's there? You're not Selkath. I can see that much. Are you another rescue crew?"
The Jedi answered honestly, if not slightly sardonically. "I would think the lack of an elongated snout, neck and gangly limbs, muzzle flaps might have been more than abundant clue. Also Selkath do not need environmental diving suits as they are an aquatic species. If you must know I am a Nagai."
"And no, we are not here on any sort of rescue mission. However that seems to be one of the recurring themes of the day that we are placed into situations that provoke us into aiding others.
"We are here for another reason entirely. An ancient relic... we know to be located on the ocean floor, it is imperative I locate it and collect its data. I ask now that you do not impede my way in any fashion. I am Skye Ravensong—of the Jedi Order. Now, who are you? Republic scientist, solider or merc? I sense you do not belong to the Sith. Be truthful with me for I will know if you lie," the former Dark Lord said the words more forcefully then perhaps she had intended.
"I... ah... I am a merc, hired by the Republic- hired a couple of days ago to investigate—but all we found was a bunch of insane Selkath killing everything that moves!" the more the man spoke, (a human by the inflection of his words) the more his voice became fractured and panicked-desperate. "All my companions are dead. The Selkath swarmed us -there were dozens of them! And they... they looked wrong… somehow. Like something had changed inside them. Like they went insane or something..."
Revan thought it wasn't only the Selkath if Fishy-man who had locked himself inside a weapons locker was anything to go by. "What are you doing in the underwater section of the facility?" Revan said with a bit of forcefulness behind her question, trying to burrow through the human's fear.
"Oh, I'd gone back to the surface long ago if this complex hadn't been overrun by all those crazy Selkath! There's no way for me to get to the submarine docking bay." I... discovered a way to get the bay and seal off the rest of the base. I just have to find the kolto harvester they built on the edge of the Hrakert Rift."
The man's fear turned conspiratorial. "It's got an emergency override to open the doors to the submarine docking bay and I could get in from the outside. I figured my only chance was to slap on an environmental suit, head out onto the ocean floor and check the harvester out for myself.
"Besides, it's got to be safer out on the ocean floor than back in there with all those crazed Selkath-mutants running around looking for dinner."
"You can come with me," Revan offered.
"I'm not spending another minute in this facility- not with those psychotic fish-people all over the place! I'm heading out to the ocean floor right now- it leads to another complex of buildings. Going through them is the only way to reach the kolto harvester." The man looked behind him, though through the darkened visor it was nearer impossible to read his expression. But his fear was more than palpable. He turned back to the Jedi as if to draw courage from her very presence.
"We should probably stick together, but I won't wait around in there with the Selkath. You can catch up with me if you want – down the hall and through the doors on the right. I'll be waiting on the ocean floor where it's safe."
Revan decided not to point out that the ocean floor was quite probably far more dangerous with the firaxan sharks just as hungry and frenzied as the insane Selkath. However, travelling with the merc was not a bad idea. He seemed to know the facility better than the Nagai.
From what vision revealed the Star Map it was located very near the kolto harvester, and the way to the harvester was down the very hall the merc was traversing. He had out paced her but only because Revan was concentrating on currents- not only of the ocean- but of the disturbance in the Force.
Her mind touched the frantic sharks, they were close. Very close. Four, maybe five minds swirling with chaotic anger, frantic and desperate to to and understand why the ocean no longer was they way She was supposed to be.
Revan paused, listening to the ocean, using the Force to feel the undercurrents.
She could feel the pulse of the ocean.
How discordant it was.
She could feel the pain under it all, and the anger…
It was so close.
"Don't just stand there, we have to keep moving!" the merc broke through Revan's searching mind. "The water is filled with..."
...the maw was black, gapping, filled with teeth!
"AWWWWWWWW!" The mouth snapped shut as the firaxan closed around the merc's yellow environmental suit. A flowering bloom of red blood puffed out into the ocean waters.
Revan quickly pulled back into the opening of the tunnel. With the environmental suit on it was difficult to move with any agility, let alone use the Force to enable such dexterous manoeuvres as her body was accustomed. She was only able to summon the power of the Force to pound the ground before her to allow the energy and aquatic physics to propel her backwards into the safety of the tunnels.
The shark that taken its meal had darted away but there were many more hovering nearby waiting for their own morsel of food to happen by. All of a sudden, a very teeny tiny part of Revan's mind reminded her that Juhani was the best of the three to command the minds of maddened sharks. But, there were so very few options. It had to be either she or Bastila and there was no way Revan was going to risk her lover.
Revan hugged the walls of rock and durasteel on the left, she moved in and out of the husks of the facility, that reminded the former Dark Lord of bombed out and looted apartments in the Lower City of Taris. Instead of rakghouls, swoop gang bangers and the desperate, the ocean floor had sharks, insane Selkath and yes- desperate mercs trying to reach the surface- not unlike Lower City denizens who tired to find a place of succour in the Upper City.
Dealing with the rakghouls was easy; they were monsters, true and true. They had no mind to speak of.
But the sharks.
They were not simple feeding machines ...there was something there.
Primal.
Fierce.
Powerful.
In the small shadow the tunnel offered, Revan stretched out her mind trying to find some... commonality, some connection to the beasts that Juhani might have had. But it wasn't there, Revan simply did not have the full talent of commanding enraged beasts. Oh sure, she could command one easily enough. Anyone versed in the powers of the Force could. But there was something...
Then it struck Revan. It was right there before her: 'We're not just afraid of predators; we're transfixed by them, prone to weave stories and fables and chatter endlessly about them, because fascination creates preparedness, and preparedness, survival. In a deeply tribal sense, we love our monsters.'
Even in her environmental suit, however confining, Revan found a certain connection- not as powerful as Juhani might have utilized, but no Force user was powerless.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
Oversea was bright with the Balm, as were the many small wounds. The Great Wound no longer burned the surface of the Sea and Mother lurked deeper in the Rift. It was almost a relief.
Mother screamed more when the Great Wound burned. When the Great Wound burned, the dirtwalkers were more active, as if they followed the currents of the Great Wound. The screams ever constant but when the Dirtwalkers trudged the Undersea in their yellow smooth-scales, the screams of Mother increased. When Mother screamed, all screamed, even the Betweeners and lurking in the uncave, like a vexing nautilus, was another one of the yellow smooth-scale dirtwalkers.
To stop the pain, to stop the scream, the Swimmers were to do what they do best: devour all prey. The Frenzy moved forward, tail swishing frantically back and forward gaining speed and power with each thrust.
A wave-front struck it hard and fast. The backlash was unlike anything the Swimmer felt. It tossed and fell backward within the churning currents. Its Frenzy-mates were equally caught.
Another Swimmer saw the yellow smooth-scale stumpy fin that was out-stretched, groping the waters like an octopus feeling around with a searching tentacle. It caused the water to curl back on itself like a whirlpool, changing the flow of Sea's currents. As with the other Swimmers, she two fell back, dorsal over tail.
More Swimmers circled; closing in, around and around, wanting to get closer to the Dirtwalker. But the creature caused too many ripples in the waters.
It made swimming nearly impossible, causing the echoes to be distorted so Oversea and Sea and Undersea became so mixed one could not be discerned from the other.
And the rage increased.
The pain became more.
The way became lost.
The Rift became still.
Mother was rising. The Call was too great to ignore. Only... it came from a different source, as if Mother was calling from the false-cave. It was distorted, disjointed and the waves were not making the Song.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
"You are worried for her." Juhani said needlessly, as Bastila paced back and forward in front of the great bay window, watching as the sharks swum to and fro in an endless pattern.
It was Juhani who kept them distracted, calling more and more to their location in hopes of distracting the mindless creatures. Their minds were so very different from the kath hounds back on Dantooine- more chaotic than the single unified goal of a pack- safety; food; water; pups.
This was simply the need to feed.
The need to be freed of pain.
The need to follow the Mother's song.
It took a while for the Cathar to realize that the "Mother" the sharks followed was not the currents of the ocean waters, but an actual mother. The mother. The Progenitor . She was the Master Controller-the one that linked all the firaxan sharks and the Selkath.
Juhani could not fully command the maddened firaxan, not in their frenzied state nor could she counteract the power the Progenitor had over her minions. But she could distract them—confuse them enough for Revan to get to the Star Map and do what was needed open it.
"Of course I'm worried." Bastila all but snapped back and regretted it as soon as her tongue formed the last syllable. "Juhani, I'm sorry…" shame washed over the human's face. "I know you're worried for her too."
"It is alright," the younger woman placed a hand upon the Sentinel's shoulder with an ironic smile on her feline lips. Those were the same words Revan had spoken to her months ago during those first days aboard the Ebon Hawk. At the time Juhani had rejected the forgiveness, believing herself unworthy of such respite from guilt.
Now she knew what it meant to offer such forgiveness. It wasn't to make the guilty feel they had nothing to answer for, but to help them reach a new level of self-discovery. Such offerings were meant to uplift both those who were trespassed against, and those who had committed the trespass to begin with.
Juhani needed to say the words to lift the shadows of a sin against her own self as much as Bastila needed to hear them so she might progress. Besides, snapping at a friend or arguing with them was no great crime. It happened before and will again. The key was not to take it too much to heart.
Also, Jedi were not immune to giving into their emotions. In fact, they felt their emotions very deeply, which was why it was ever so important for them to master them- to control them- and not be controlled by them. It could also be said that it was a Jedi's task to help their fellow Jedi, especially one they call brother or sister, to know that 'hey what you did just then, that was stupid and I care about you enough to let you know just how much.'
Bastila's outburst had absolutely noting to do with Juhani and everything to do with elements that even the Force had difficulties muddling through. Madness is, as madness does. She turned to Juhani with a look in her gray eyes that was reminiscent of Revan's when she was about to reveal one of her crazy schemes. "I may not be able to fully use my Battle Meditation against the firaxan sharks or the afflicted Selkath, but perhaps I can augment your abilities in the use your Beast Trick."
"It is definitely worth trying," Juhani agreed with an eager nod to her head, causing the beaded top-knot to bounce against her shoulder.
As one, they sat upon one of the very few dry places on the durasteel floor not covered with littler, detritus from previous skirmishes, or puddles of seawater leaking in from compromised seals in the bulkheads.
They then closed their eyes- focusing- reaching out with the Force, linking one mind to another, yet focusing on their individual strengths. Bastila spread her influence outward, allowing the ebb and flow of Manaan's oceans to influence the power of her battle-meditations. As if to enter the current of a great barrier reef, Juhani spread out her influence over bestial minds. Touching them all-turning them to their will.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
Revan felt a surge within the Force touching her heart and mind, emboldening her. She smiled, recognising the touch for what it was-Bastila's 'Battle Meditation'.
'Thank you, Love,' she uttered swiftly ash she made a break across the sea floor toward the airlock on the far side of the compound.
A shark was fast upon her heels; the suit was sturdy, but not meant for swift or dexterous feats of action. Fortunately, the entrance to the bay was far too small for the massive fish to enter.
Revan sprinted further, as fast as she was able, hit the control panel- causing the airlock doors to slam down- and in mere moments the room drained of water as the pressure equalized. Revan didn't waste a moment further; she shed the environmental suit and sprinted down the corridor toward the secondary hub. If that merc was correct there still might be a way to use the override to the submarine bay. If so, then Bastila and Juhani- not to mention the others of the team- could join her. It was a long shot at best but one worth taking.
She sprinted down the corridor skirting around puddles of sea water, fallen I-beams, detritus and parts of what could only be described as chewed meat—the bodies - the slabs of meat it all came from were not far. Revan gave a small glance to them and noticed they were all human and in research uniforms.
So just what were they researching down here? It wasn't sanctioned by the Manaan Government, that much was a certainty. But then Representative Roland Wann authorized several not-quite sanctioned activities- such as the recon droid in the Sith compound; hiring dozens of mercs; this base, whatever it was they were doing here and the deal with the Sith spies. Revan was still convinced that Wann was either inept, corrupt or a spy for the aforementioned Sith.
The effects of Bastila's battle meditation rippled through the marine undercurrents—striking not only the sharks and Selkath into blundering their attacks and bolstering Revan's awareness, it also allowed her extend her perceptions within the Force. She sensed the presence of a handful of Selkath waiting just beyond the bend in the corridor-their rabid minds linked together. Juhani was right; there was a Master Controller and getting to it would prove difficult, perhaps impossible.
But not for a motivated Jedi. There had to be a way. There was always a way.
The Selkath were waiting, weapons hot. Revan's hand went to her waist activating the sound-suppressing stealth belt with her left hand, and with her right hand she drew a sonic grenade. She tossed one and then another. The blast radius dropped the four almost immediately, allowing the Jedi to dash past.
The next bunch fell just as swiftly to a volley of adhesive and sonic grenades. The Selkath were out cold before they hit the deck. Revan didn't give them a second look or thought. Fortune was with her as there were no more raving Selkath roaming the corridors.
A third corridor ended in a doorway; slicing it was easy but it took Revan's last spike. When the door pooped open, Revan was welcomed by the sight of two humans cowering behind a glowing blue wall.
"Kriffing hells!" snarled the Jedi. Well at least she might get some answers from them.
The force-field had saved the Republic scientists from the insanity carried out by the Selkath, but the fear radiating off the humans was nearly as palpable as the madness surrounding the Nagai. She approached the control panel slowly.
"What are you doing? Stop! You have to stop!" The male screeched.
"Look, I mean no harm, I just need to talk to you..."
"No! No! You can't, if you lower the force-field the firaxan and the Selkath will get us! I will stop you! If you lower the force-field the Selkath will come!" the male screeched.
"If you go near those controls... I'll depressurize the room!"
"Kill her! Kill her now!" a dark skinned female shrieked.
The man sprinted to the controls that would indeed initialize and carry out his threat.
Revan snarled. She had no time for these games and she was no slicer, not like Mission, and unfortunately she had used the last spike on the door to get in here.
She had fifty-four seconds before the room lost all pressure and killed her. She had all the time in the world so she first encased her body in a Force-bubble that protected her least for a few seconds, then, summing the raw power of the Force, she rushed the force-field and used her lightsabers to bash against it. The fist strike slid and sparked, but the second shattered the glowing purple-blue barrier.
The rage and frustration was etched on her face as Revan slammed the male human against the wall using a Force-push. His back clanged hard upon impact- he was heavily bruised, quite possibly concussed, but very much alive.
As for the screaming woman the young Jedi Knight was half tempted to give into her darker impulses and strangle the dark-skinned female using the power of the Force for such insolence. But, the Nagai reigned in the rage and used a whirlwind to toss the murderous woman into hovering spirals until human nearly passed out from the G-forces. When Revan allowed the woman to fall to the ground, the scientist promptly vomited.
"Kill me? Kill me now? Is that what you said?" Revan took purposeful steps towards the human, mindful not to step into the puddle of bile. The woman raised her head and saw no blaster in the Jedi's hand but an ignited purple-black lightsaber pointed directly at her throat, with a very pissed off Knife-ear holding it. Another saber, a shorter one, was glowing green and was pointed at her friend. "That would be foolish. Try anything again and I may not be so kind."
The dark-blade hummed dangerously close.
"M... ma... Master Jedi, please! Mercy!" the human begged, not daring to take her eyes of the deadly glowing point of the laser-sword.
"The same mercy you showed me only a moment ago?" Revan snarled.
The female shook her head frantically.
Revan's voice was still low, but dipped into a growl. "In the future you should take greater care in who you try to murder."
The human male climbed to his feel screaming, "No they will get us! They will get us!"
Using the power of the Force, Revan hoisted the man back into the air and barely managed not to strangle the screeching male, using that same power.
"DO BE QUIET!" The Jedi demanded. "Or I will slam you against the wall again." She wasn't going to do anything more to him, but his screeching was giving her a blasted headache- on top of the one she already had because of the sonic weaponry of the fish-men.
"Please Master Jedi... we're just afraid... I am truly sorry about the horrible mistake we almost made. Please…" The woman was on her knees; her arms cupped in front of her chest, pleading- no begging.
With a thud, the man fell to the durasteel floor as Revan had released him. Only then did she disengage her lightsabers and replace them upon her hip.
"Any more screaming and I will knock both of you out. I have not the patience to deal with your screeching and murderous nonsense," this was the voice of the Revanchist. "Understand?"
They both nodded earnestly.
"Please... I... Sami and me... we thought we were the only ones left... we went a little mad, I think. We were too afraid."
'Sami and I', Revan's mind autocorrected the man's grammar, though she didn't say anything aloud. "You don't say." She did say aloud. "And this excuses my attempted murder?"
"Please, I just panicked when I heard someone outside the door. Please, please forgive me. I am just so scared." He nearly fell to his knees.
Revan only grunted.
"This madness seems to be contagious. The Selkath, the sharks, and now you people. Is it something in the air or is simply hysterics?"
"It's... it's... not a contagion. We had a few people outside when it happened." The man interrupted.
"The firaxan sharks just tore them apart," said Sami. "It... it was like they were frenzied."
"The next thing we knew, our Selkath researchers started screaming and... and... and... clawing at everything around them. My team... my team was torn apart... and eaten before my eyes. Sami and me... I thought we were the only ones left. We heard the Selkath outside the doors every once in awhile and strange noises echoing through the base."
"We thought everyone was dead." Sami interrupted the narrative. "Dead or insane. I must have been hysterical. I don't know what I can say. I truly apologize for the horrible mistake I was making."
Revan didn't say a word.
"I'm Kono Nolan and this is Sami. We're scientists working here on the Hrakert Rift Project."
"You have a great deal to answer for. Now tell me, Nolan, what is the Republic doing here?" Revan demanded.
"We ah, have a secret agreement with the moderates in the Selkath government. They knew that Manaan could not survive independently if the Sith were victorious."
"Those thugs would wipe out the whole damn planet just to get to the kolto." Sami interrupted once more.
"So the Republic approached them about making this secret installation to harvest more kolto, where the Sith couldn't see us. But all of that went horribly horribly wrong." Nolan's voce became deflated.
"What happened?" Revan said coolly.
"We don't know," it was Sami that answered the former Dark Lord. "Not for sure."
An arched eyebrow rose. 'Oh really? I bet you do know what went wrong. Don't worry; I'll get it out of you.' The Nagai's hindbrain uttered softly.
"The work teams were outside in the Rift near the vent. Then there was this rumbling and my head felt like it was splitting open."
"This, this monster rose up out of the Rift!" Sami said quickly.
"It was a firaxan shark, I think." Nolan took his turn. "But big. Bigger than anything I've seen. Bigger than our submersibles."
Sami clutched her head and trembled, whether it was out of fear remembered, or the cold dampness, or a combination of the two, it was difficult to say. "It was... it was like it was screaming inside my head."
Nolan again chimed in and it was as if the two of them were playing a game of catch by the way they tossed the explanation from one to the other. "Then all the Selkath started screaming too. They turned on us after that."
"Sounds to me like the large firaxan was protecting something," Revan surmised.
"It was like the Selkath couldn't control themselves… it was like the sound the monster was making in our heads drove them insane."
"Look, maybe the firaxan was protecting the ruins in the Rift," Sami muttered softly.
"It could have been," Nolan agreed. "It might have a lair in the Hrakert Rift near the kolto vent. Hum, that might explain a few things, too..."
Revan shook her head incredulously. "How could you miss something that big living here? No one knew anything about this?"
Nolan's voce became defensive. "We had no clue at all! …until it came out. Maybe whatever sort of power used to drive the Selkath insane masked it from us somehow. Maybe it was lying dormant deeper in the Rift."
"I think it might live there because of the kolto," Sami offered.
The two seemingly forgot the Jedi standing before them as they started to hypothesize and dissect the reasons behind the madness of shark and fish-men.
"Maybe… that would explain more. Like why it reacted so violently when our construction efforts got closer to the vent, and also why it's so large. It must be feeding off the kolto. It would have to be ancient indeed for it to reach that size with kolto as a food source."
Revan watched the back and forth for a moment, her arms folded over her chest as she placed her right foot a little ahead of her left and rested her weight upon the back foot.
"…and all those firaxan sharks might be its off-spring!" Sami added almost excitedly.
"Which was why they all swarmed when it called out to them. Like children coming to protect their mother."
"That's all well and good but this doesn't help me get to those ruins, which is why I'm down here. Thanks for asking, by the way. You two must have some idea what to do about it other than widespread beams of sonic blasts." Revan took back control of the conversation.
"The firaxan sharks have always been a serious problem. We have some blasters and projectile cannons to defend against them but they still got some of our workers from time to time."
"Yeah it's a real issue when nature starts to fight back after you trample and encroach upon its territory. Why hell, they should just let you roll in take what you want, do whatever you want to their home, and piss off right?" Revan glowered at Nolan.
The human had enough dignity to look chagrined, realizing that perhaps talking about the indiscriminate killing of a native species of the region to a Jedi was not on the whole a wise choice. After all, the Robes were notoriously very mindful over the protection of wildlife and of natural environments.
"We were working on a soluble compound that would drive them away." Sami swooped in, rescuing her partner from another verbal rebuke from the Jedi or perhaps even a more harsh, unspoken chastisement that came only from a look, that had the ability to turn bones to jelly. "Something that tasted or smelled bad. But we never got it working right."
"Just easier to slaughter them, yes?" Revan glowered at Nolan.
The man dared not lift his head. It wasn't his fault Roland Wann ordered no interruptions and to take whatever measures deemed necessary to keep the kolto flowing, so to speak. It was all for the Republic effort to win this war. Sometimes that meant sacrifices. Better a thousand sharks die than ten good troopers on the battlefront. Roland understood that and Kono Nolan agreed full-heartedly. It was what spurred him to speak out now. This Jedi simply had to accept the larger, more important picture.
"Oh I think not! Even flawed as it is, it should be ideal for this situation."
"No! It's not working right." Sami shook her head. "You don't know what it will do!"
"What are you talking about?" Revan demanded. "What does this compound do?"
"The repellent we made was supposed to drive firaxan sharks away. But we never got very far in its development. The one we tested instead was violently toxic to them, rupturing their outer skin in seconds and it prevented them from drawing oxygen from the water by clogging their in-takes."
"Whish is exactly what we need in this situation," Nolan became irate. He stabbed a finger in the air in Sami's direction. "Something to kill that monster that destroyed our station."
"But we don't know how else it will effect the environment or the kolto. We only tired it in a controlled environment. In the open ocean, who knows what it can do!"
"Pfft. We know exactly what it will do," Nolan dismissed the woman's protests. "It will kill the shark."
"Hang on. You're talking as if you are going to demand I do this. As if you could. I'm not going to do that." Revan interceded.
"Master Jedi surely you..." Nolan turned to the former Dark Lord.
"You know, I've had about enough out of you. I really have. You tired to kill me, now you want to do to the same to those sharks. You are seemingly stupid enough to try and disperse a chemical with unknown properties into a rift filled with kolto and just hope it won't affect it? I thought you were a scientist with brains between your ears, not some leatherneck with his boots stuck in the mud." Revan scoffed, then turned to the other human. "Sami, alternatives. Now."
"Well, the monster seems to be driven out by the machinery we installed at the edge of the Rift. We've seen it out there on the cameras bashing itself against the machines. I think if you can destroy the machinery we installed, the shark will calm down and retreat back into its lair inside the Rift."
"I'm liking that idea." Revan nodded.
Sami agreed. "It won't be difficult. You can reprogram the harvester to over-pressurize their cells of oxidizing fuel so the fuel tank canisters will rupture and the entire machine will destroy itself. The hydrolian gas we use is a gas at one to three million sagon, a liquid about four million sagon and a solid above that.
"When it's a liquid it's very explosive. If you inject enough of the hydrolian gas into the tank, the pressure will be so great that it will turn into the liquid form and start a chain-reaction inside the machine."
"But... but we will lose everything we've been doing here!" Nolan squealed in protest. "All those years of work!"
"It's better than whatever you're planning with whatever your chemical will do to the water!"
Revan shook her head and turned, leaving the two to argue it out. As she had stated before, she had quite enough of the both of them. She put her environmental suit back on and headed for the airlock.
Time to blow something up.