Chapter 57
"Korriban. What a shit hole." Canderous said once the Ebon Hawk began her descent into the atmosphere.
"Ugh another arid planet." Mission wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You know what; I think I am going to be happy cooped here on the ship. It has air-con, no sunburns, no sun strokes, no sand that gets under the …er nevermind. I mean yeah sure don't get me wrong, I want a different grub than what's in the synthesizers but yeah I had enough of dusty sandy plants."
"At least Korriban only has one sun." Zaalbar said optimistically.
"It also has enough Sith to choke a starving gundar." Canderous added. "Should prove entertaining."
"For some. For others not so much." Jolee said looking at Revan. The Nagai seemed to be lost in her own little world, her focus far from where they were. He thought he knew just where their leader's thoughts had drifted to or rather to whom.
'Bastila is strong. She will resist as long as she is able but if you want to save her you must focus your mind on where your feet are now, not on where they could be.' he sent into her mind.
His thoughts must have penetrated for Revan nodded in agreement. "Plans changed." She announced. "With the destruction of Dantooine we have an opening as to why Juhani and I will both join the Academy. We lost our home, saw the potency of the Sith Armada and decided to join the victors. The Sith have proven themselves the stronger, yedda yedda yedda.
"Jolee you will join me. You'll have to play a part of which you will not like - as my slave." Revan put a hand up stalling the inevitable outburst. "The Sith or at least the instructors and most certainly the Masters will no doubt sense your connection to the Force of course but we can use that to our advantage.
"I will be going in as Ravensong, just remember that. Also I'll be posing as a Zeison Sha warrior though most will only see me as a Jedi. They have no idea of the difference."
"They why push this new lie?" Asked Carth. "It seems to be another complication to the web of deception we're trying to weave."
"You're right Carth, normally keeping any deceptions as simple as possible is the best course. But this case not so much. Being a Zeison Sha follower gives us a small measure of advantage. For those that do know the difference between the two philosophies they will not question why I can use some of the Dark Side powers. And for another thing I'm not so certain me being of the Zeison Sha philosophy is that much of a lie. It seems very familiar."
Revan shook her head. "Anyway, the Sith Masters will assume to know how Jedi thinks even a fallen one, a fallen one like our Juhani here will be posing as. But of Zeison Sha they may not know quite so well. It is simply another element of uncertainty we have at our disposal that will act in our favour. The more we have them second guessing themselves the better.
"Juhani, as Cathar are not known to own slaves you will take Carth as your indentured manservant. If it comes up, play it off that he failed the Republic when Dantooine was bombed. You took exception and turned him into your servant as recompense for some personal loss. That leaves the droids, Mission and Big Z to remain at the Hawk.
"HK and Zaalbar you will protect Mission, Teethree and my ship. Understand?"
"Protesting supplication: Of course Master."
"That brings me to another point, Mission, Zaalbar if anyone starts making a fuss or even attempts to strong arm you or threaten you, you must play the part as my slaves. It will give you a modicum of protection. No one wants to pay for a damaged or killed slave, especially if said slave belongs to a Jedi turned Sith."
"Sorta like the slaves that belong to the Hutts. The slugs don't care for the lives of their slaves as much as the rep for someone damaging their property. Or hell Davik for that matter. He sent his thug goon squad out if anyone tried." Mission nodded understanding the reason behind Revan's orders.
"You know I led that 'goon squad.'" Canderous was quick to point out.
Mission smirked. "I know. I get it, the whole I'm her slave thing. I don't like it, but I get it." the young girl answered for both she and her Wookie 'brother.' "And for the record Twi'lek doesn't automatically mean stripper, whore or slave. Just putting it out there."
"Of course it doesn't youngling, any more than it does for a Cathar." Juhani's purring voice soothed.
Zaalbar was even more displeased than Mission for playing the part of slave. After what Czerka did to his people back on Kashyyyk it was understandable. He said as much.
"I hear you Big Z but you have to look at the bigger picture. It is not as if it is real or any more real for me and Juhani turning to the Dark Side. It is a part you must play for all our sakes. Do not make me demand it of you out of the Life Debt but if I must I will. Your choice, Zaalbar."
"I will play the part." growled the Wookie grudgingly.
Revan nodded gratefully. "Canderous see what shadier sides of things are going on here. One a merc might be able to know and use. Contraband moving in and out—that sort of thing. We need to know if the Sith Academy is receiving any arms or armaments from the Star Forge, or how many students are being pressed into service, anything. "
"Easy enough, I know Davik had a few business connections here with spice runs often enough despite his hatred for the Sith back on Taris. Mostly with Czerka but he had this fat fingers in a lot of pies all over the Mid and Outer Rims. The man knew where the credits were, I'll say that much about the bastered. I'll see what I can dig up."
"Good. Now as for the vision I saw before we touched down, it places the Star Map in one of the ancient Sith Master's tombs. I'm not exactly sure which one it is. Word is that the Sith have been excavating here for some time, now. I have no doubt they found the map but perhaps they have no context of what it is they've found."
"Wouldn't Malak have sent word to the Masters here that Jedi are hunting for the map?" Juhani asked perplexed about the obvious lack of discretion they no longer possessed. "Perhaps not by name but surely they be made aware that we are coming."
"That is a very distinct possibility." Revan agreed.
"Not to be too indelicate but I think Malak's attention is now focused on something else or rather someone else." Jolee uttered.
The room grew thunderously silent. Revan drew in air and let it exhale slowly. The old man's words could not be denied. Finally the former Dark Lord said, "Then we make use of the window Bastila has bought us. I do not know how long it will be before we go into the Vally of the Sith Lords or are able to find the cave without observation. Keep your wits about you." she then turned to Carth, "And your emotions in check. The Sith will exploit every avenue, every chance to divide us from ourselves and our mission. Don't let it happen.
"Carth, I know your boy is here somewhere but you have to keep focused. No outbursts, no rages, no rants. You have to keep it together. If you can't do it for us then do it for your son. You will do us no favors if you get us killed because you broke character."
Onasi almost bristled but he recalled his initial outburst, "I can keep up the facade, Revan, if you can."
"Yeah that's the other thing; don't do that. You all have to address me as Skye or Ravensong. As far as any of the Sith are concerned Darth Revan is dead. It has to stay that way."
"Isn't she though?" Juhani asked. "Darth Revan is dead. There is only Revan."
Revan could have kissed the younger woman. "She is indeed." looking at each face she added with more command in her voice than normal. "We all have our parts to play and it is imperative we do not break character.
"It will be no easy task to put ourselves into emotional landscapes—a narrative alien to our own demeanors. The intensification of emotions or the complete distillation of them must be a stream of consciousness that is loose knit but slovenly that will be elastic—a capacious hold all that one flings all sorts of odds and ends without looking them through.
"Be ever weary, I need not tell any of you that if we are discovered that death will be a mercy for what the Sith will do to us. Everything we have fought for, suffered for, everyone sacrificed will be in vein." She need not say the name though it teased the breath on her lips the name of her lover.
"I will not allow that to happen. I will not allow an unraveling. If you are unable to play your part stay with the Hawk, once we pass the threshold from landing bay to colony and most especially the Academy that choice is over."
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
The acrid heat of the Dreshdae landing platform hit the companions like a durasteel wall. To compare it to a blast furnace was not too far off the mark, still it was shades cooler than Tatooine.
"Remember to stay hydrated." Jolee advised witch earned him several head nods and almost instantly everyone reached simultaneously for their canteens before they paused. such a synchronized action was sure to gain them more than a few stares from curious onlookers. Still not to carry through was also guaranteed to draw attention. In the end they all took a sip.
As she had in the past Revan delt with the Dock Master by Force persuading him that she did not have to play the twenty-five credits to land the Ebon Hawk. Just as it was on Kashyyyk the display of power was for show. Any of those onlookers could easily be Sith watch dogs ready and waiting to report to their Masters at the Academy if anyone strong in the Force had touched down.
The Companions were not long past the entrance of the space port when they chanced upon four individuals. One a young human male in the familiar gray uniform of a Sith officer. The other three were two Twi'leks one male the other female. The male had emerald skin; the female had the complexion of a desert rose at full bloom. The remaining hopeful was a human male with the skin color of burnt molasses.
"Please, Master Sharrdan! Give us a chance! We'll do anything to get into the Academy!" the green skinned Twi'lek pleaded in Hutteese for himself and his two companions.
"Oh brother, here we go..." Carth muttered under his breath making sure none but his companions heard his voice.
"The acts of the desperate and the stupid," Jolee jested with an ironic tone, "never ceases to surprise me."
"Ain't that the truth?" Revan agreed in the same hushed tone.
"Pffft. I'm not a Master yet. But I do like the sound of that. Alright, one more question. The lot of you are trying my patients. Alright. Let's say you become a Sith and I am your commanding officer. I give you the order to spare the life of an enemy. Do you do it?"
The woman held her hands before her chest in supplication. "Of course Sharrdan. Anything you command us." unlike her fellow Twi'lek the woman spoke in Basic.
The human male was quick to follow up with: "We'd never oppose you."
"No! No! No!" the one called Sharrdan sighed tiredly. He closed his fist and held it before him in a show of strength and brutality. "Do you honestly believe the Sith are in need of such sniveling cowards? Mercy is a weakness. If your leader shows weakness, it is your duty to kill him and show true authority. True power. That is why the Sith are strong."
"Th-hank you, Sharrdan. We, auh….we understand now!" Greenie was swift to try and plicate the irritated Force-wielder.
"No! You don't understand at all!" Sharrdan all but snarled gesturing with his fist once more. "And you probably never will. You wouldn't survive five seconds in the Academy; the other students would tear you apart. BAH! I can't be bothered with fools." His voice took on a sociopathic edge. "Perhaps I should…" at this time Sharrdan took notice of his audience that had gathered around him. It was of the three Jedi it was Revan he chose to address.
"You, Jedi, you're looking to get into the Academy are you not?" he said then answered his own question in the next breath. "Of course you are. Why else would the two of you be here? Let me pose a question to you. These hopefuls will never survive in the Academy. A lesson must be taught here. But I am at a loss as to what form it should take."
"Well if you can't think of any thing cruel you really shouldn't be out here young man." Jolee shot back. "Should you?"
"I wasn't talking to you old man, I was talking to the knife ear. I'm thinking of sparing them the effort of being killed and doing it myself. Perhaps I should turn their skins inside out or…Force Lighting." Sharrdan's voice took on a gleeful edge, the spark in his eyes hinted at the almost sexual pleasure he'd receive delivering the torturous assault on the hapless trio before him. "Yes it's a most impressive display. Or perhaps a bit of humiliation is in order. I can easily strip off their tunics and have them run through the colony naked. Or they could lose control of all their bodily functions." the smile on his face grew more and more sickening as he counted out his options. "What do you think? I just can't seem to decide."
Juhani was nearly about to answer by telling the young human that he could not kill them but Revan was swifter in voicing her own quarry.
"What did they do?" the former Dark Lord inquired.
"We didn't do anything!" The human male cried out. "Please help us!"
"Silence" Sharrdan ordered the trio of hopefuls before turning his attention back to Revan. "It's not what they did as much as what they didn't do…which is to prove themselves worthy. I'm exhausted from dealing with their mewling…so please decide for me, will you?"
"Frankly, I'm stymied as to why you want them in the Academy in the first place. I assume the competition is extraordinarily high to gain the rank and recognition of Sith graduate. Why then fill the Academy with more competition for said title?"
That was not the answer Sharrdan was expecting.
Revan continued her voice smooth and sharp like a razor's edge but spoken in the low tone of complete control. "As for this punishment you wish to apportion, you must first ask what do their deaths or humiliation gain you, if anything? Will you gain the favorable notice of your Masters in doing so? Or will they look at you with distain for even bothering to go out of your way not only to harass clearly inferior potentials for the Academy but killing them when their deaths gain you absolutely nothing. I say leave them. If their lives have no value to you neither will their deaths. One does not brag about drowning kath hound pups. Turning such base ire on these three will have the same effect.
"Maybe your fellow students will be impressed with such low brow bulling but a true Sith will not need to resort to such pedantic displays of wasteful power to gain the favour of his Masters. You're not pedantic are you, Sharrdan? "
"You…you actually have a point." Clearly this was not the way the young human foresaw his afternoon entertainment going.
"Good for you to see it. As for your question you posed for them, letting an enemy live you may have a use for him your juniors do not know of or do not need to know of. If they kill you and the prisoner because they...oh…I don't know they deem it weakness in you then it is simply wasteful.
"Perhaps in letting this enemy live you 'allow' him to escape so that you might track him and thus he will lead you to his cohorts or a larger target. A secrete base perhaps. His life has use where his death is a waste of resources.
"Perhaps you wish the enemy to be used as an informant, a double agent as it were, or perhaps he already is and is only reporting in with intel on enemy numbers, movement that sort of thing. In order to do so he must come back in under the guise of a captured enemy. This is done of course to keep his deep cover intact. You and this double agent have understanding of the situation and save perhaps your own Master are aware of the details. The more people that know the greater the risk this deep undercover agent has in being exposed.
"If he has not turned, perhaps he could be. What better weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? Such things a junior officer is not privy to. They do not need to be. They need only to follow orders. Your orders. Not to do so, is to sow the seeds of mutiny and descent within the ranks. This is intolerable. Rank has its purpose as does order and obedience.
"You gave a meaningless scenario without context, Sharrdan. I'm guessing you did not see the other avenues either, nor apparently did they. If those three had then they should have been intelligent enough to point it out. What is strength without thought? Are the Sith brutes? In your little scenario they are. You'd have the Sith mindless like a rancor trusting only in raw base strength. The strong must survive but to have a quick clever mind—one that sees multiple angles, one that is patient, one willing to play the long game is true power, true strength.
"You think only one dimensionally Sharrdan, two dimensions at best. But if you intend to become a true Master of the Sith or to even to claim the lofty title of Darth you must be more than a beast that lashes out at anything he might see as weaker than he."
Humiliated in front of the hopefuls, Sharrdan ground his teeth, glaring at the witnesses to his chastisement. "Fine. All good points, Jedi. Yes. They can go. They were making me sick to my stomach anyway."
Revan turned to the three staring at her still uncertain if they should run as Sharrdan gave them permission to or if they now need answer to the Nagai. "You three remember this day. Sharrdan had one thing correct. None of you are Sith material. Leave Dreshdae Leave Korriban and never return. This place has nothing to offer you."
The three bowed low to Revan to them she truly must be a Master- fallen Jedi or not, they sensed her superior prowess. They were only too eager to obey the woman who in their collective eyes had saved their miserable lives and their dignity. Fleeing Korriban seemed like the most sensible thing to do.
Sharrdan glanced back to the Jedi. His thin lips pulling into a sneer. "You're words might have a ring of truth to them but I didn't think Jedi thought that way."
"You'd be very surprised the lengths some Jedi especially the Masters will go to if they need answers and what secretes they keep from those that serve them." Revan answered honestly. "Ask yourself this Sharrdan, would my companion and I be here if we followed the Jedi Code, a Code you know nothing about?"
"I don't believe strategic thinking is his strength." Jolee answered for the much younger male. "Master." he added belatedly.
Deflated and deprived of his amusements Sharrdan stalked away. The Companions remained rooted where they were.
"If that is any indication of what we are going to expect, I believe the students and not the Masters and teachers are going to be our biggest hindrance. We just made an enemy there." Juhani said after long last.
"I suspect we will make more than a few enemies before the day is out." Jolee agreed. "Word will spread that at least two Jedi are seeking to gain entrance."
Revan nodded. "No doubt. We better split up and find a way to get in. I doubt they will just allow us through the front door just because we say please."
"Here I thought the Jedi apprentices were a bunch of stuck-up Force wielding snobs." Carth shook his head. "That Sharrdan was so full of himself he could have passed for a Hutt."
Revan snorted in laughter in hearing the comparison. "He was at that wasn't he? Just think Carth we'll be meeting a whole Academy of the Hutt-spawn."
"Joy of joys." in a far more serious tone the Commander uttered, "Dustil…my son these mynocks will have eaten him alive, Skye. He was such a warm charitable child. You heard what that Sharrdan said with those hopefuls."
"Carth." Revan placed a hand upon the man's shoulder. "Your son has been here for month's maybe even years. Whatever child you left behind when you went to war he will be a man now. A survivor. Like his father."
Carth covered Revan's thin boned hand with his own larger one in silent thank you.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
If you wanted to get lay of the land talk to three groups: merchants, beggars and barkeeps well that and the regular drunk holding up the end of the bar. The Whelp wanted intel on goings on, on Dreshdae and what better place to know what was being imported and exported but the mega-corp that called itself Czerka.
"Greetings, to Czerka Corporation, sir." Said a man in business attire from behind the counter in the Czerka shop.
"Setting up shop here? Heard you guys took a nose dive not so long ago."
"I see you've heard of that awful business on Edean. Our corporate outpost there has been destroyed by the Wookie savages. This could put back the use of Wookie labor considerably. We may even have to abandon the planet completely. Ah well what can you do?"
"That planet is called Kashyyyk not Edean." Canderous corrected the other male as if channeling the Whelp. He frowned at the very notion.
"I see, you're a Wookie sympathizer, strange for a Mandalorian."
"Not a sympathizer, a realist. When the r ugs took their planet back they earned the right to call it by its original name. I respect that. Not surprised Czerka has offices on Korriban. Not hunting for slaves here, I'd wager."
"Of course not! As for us being here, well why not? This is Sith space now, and the Company has to survive regardless of who is in charge. The Republic, the Sith, eh, the economy has to keep going.
"We do some mining here and are responsible for local shipping and support of the Sith on Korriban. Our star port is mostly just frigates and such, but we do get many travelers that come here to learn from the Sith.
"This office is actually our administration headquarters for this region. Rather inauspicious, isn't it? We offer good prices here to those trades that keep the colony supplied. If you're in need of anything, this is the place to come. Our kiosk has a list of all goods we currently carry. Allow me to punch up our stock."
~.~.~.~
Canderous just dropped 10k to buy Casssus Fett's heavy blaster. Even if the Fett's were of a rival clan the old warrior's side arm deserved to be in the hands of a true Mandalorian not some punked up Sith pup or any of the mercs that loitered in the Dreshdae port. How Czerka got their spindly fingers on such a remarkable weapon Ordo couldn't fathom, but it was his now.
He was admiring the fine piece when he chanced to hear the voice of some snot-nosed female with a blond flat-top hair cut trying to intimidate Revan.
This should be fun. The old merc thought with a wiry smirked. He crossed his arms and watched the show unfold.
"Look here, by dear friends. We have some newcomers to the colony—led by a Jedi no less. I don't believe I've seen any of them before, have you?"
Revan turned to Jolee. "It was what hundred paces since the last one? Seriously?"
"Maybe you're just special, Master." Jolee cracked.
"I hate Jedi…and these fallen ones are worse! They always get into the Academy, and they always think they're better than the rest of us!" a pasty faced youth wrinkled up his nose as if he stepped in a fresh pile of bantha poodoo
Blondie chuckled. "Smart-mouthed newcomers, to boot."
"Looks pretty fresh to me, Lashowe." her ebony skinned cohort quipped
Revan and Jolee exchanged glances. "I think it's been a long time since anyone has called you 'fresh faced, Jolee.'
"HA! Don't I know it! It's like being carded at a cantina after you reach thirty."
"We weren't talking about you old man, we were talking to the knife-ear. Well stranger—I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but here on Korriban the Sith do as they please. And we are Sith."
"NO? I really would never have guessed it. I mean you disguise yourselves so very well. All conforming to the grey uniforms of the Sith military and what not. I would have never taken you for you know….Sith."
"That smart mouth will buy you trouble. Quite literally weather you live or die depends on our whim. What do you think of that Smart Mouth?"
"You can try. You will fail but you can try." Revan said in a low measured tone. Very subtly she shifted her stance from open to that of Ataru-the Form of the Hawk-Bat. Behind her Jolee took Niman. Only a careful observant eye would see the stance in the feet even if the upper torso had not followed though could very quickly shift into the full forms.
"Those are very brave words for such an insignificant person. Do you not realize how many Sith are in Dreshdae?"
"Twelve. No, wait. Thirteen." Jolee offered up swiftly. The punks would have taken it as a senile jest but in fact Jolee's hunter's skills were directly on the mark. Looking around from the port where the Ebon Hawk was docked to the market hall were the companions were now, there had been at least thirteen Grey-bellies. More than likely they were all Force sensitive or if not they were most certainly armed.
"Not enough to save your sorry selves." Canderous couldn't help but add some side commentary. He would have brought some popcorn if he'd known the market place was offering up entertainment.
"Let me kill this one, Lashowe! Let me do it!" Pasty-Face begged.
"No, no, let's not be hasty. Perhaps our friend here could offer up some amusement." Lashowe turned to Revan with a cock-sure grin on her pinched face. "What do you say? Amuse us. Make us laugh, and we must might consider allowing you to live."
"Be careful, you might be heading for more trouble than you can handle." Revan's voice grew colder. Once more she made a subtle move; this time though the strings of the Force causing Lashowe's minions to take an unconscious step back.
"You should move along kid." Canderous said from his observation point. "You don't want the trouble they'd give you."
"I have given a warning. It will not come again." Revan said very calmly.
"WHAT!" Lashowe snapped.
Her dark-skinned friend chuckled. "I think someone just stood up to you Lashowe."
Lashowe spun on her heel her ire now directed to her friend. "Shut up, fool! Unless you want to be next."
"Yeah? Anytime." he challenged right back.
"Stop it! This is boring! Let's just go back to the Academy." Pasty-Face whinged.
"Fine. We'll go." returning her gaze to Revan, Lashowe's face permanently twisted into a sneer. "As for you Smart Mouth, I'll find you later. Trust me on that."
As the trio started to walk away, Revan flicked her wrist with just the tiniest movement and the next moment Lashowe was swept up off her feet and landed hard on her back side. The men in her group shared expressions of stunned surprise at Lashowe's apparently clumsiness. The next moment astonishment turned in to hilarity, the men's' gawffing laughter pelted though the commons area. They laughed so hard both males had doubled over from the excursion and tears welled in their eyes from the mirth they gained of seeing their oh so haughty friend taken down more than several pegs.
"Uggh! The blonde leapt to her feet, rushing towards Revan, her face twisted in utter rage. "YOU!"
"Didn't you want to be amused?" Revan grinned, looking past the blonde to the young men still chuckling at the plight of their comrade. "I found that be ever so slightly amusing. Now get out of my personal space, youngling, you're crowding me."
Lashowe didn't budge, her hand reaching down for her lightsaber. But Revan was ready. Once more it was just a twitch of her fingers and the blonde was on her ass once more, this time however she couldn't get up.
Struggling to resist against the Force hold she called out for her cohorts. "Do something!"
Revan shook her head mockingly. "Tsk, tsk. See this is what comes with harassing 'fresh-faced newcomers.'" Still using a Force hold on Lashowe, Revan sent the young men sprawling across the room and pinned them to the floor as well. "Now then, do I have your undivided attention you little punk-weasels?" Of course no one was able to move from the hold that kept them stuck to the floor like insects on fly-paper. "Apparently on Dreshdae, Sith is synonymous with dull-stone thugs because so far that is all I have seen. How disappointing.
"'Quite literally weather you live or die depends on my whim'." Revan bent down over Lashowe. "I'm not one to boast or posture or make idle threats. I have no need to do so. My threats are never idle. 'Trust me on that.' You want to find me latter, Lashowe? It will be very easy to do so. I shall not be hiding; in fact I'll be in the Academy having a pleasant tête-à-tête with your Masters." Revan lifted her hold. This time she made a show of it knowing several eyes were on her. "Now run along younglings. You are boring me."
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
Juhani led the way towards the exit that led the way to the Academy's entrance. She and Carth had been in time to witness the whole thing going down with Lashowe. Both Jedi and Commander were more than willing to back up their friends but Revan gave a very minuscule shake of the head that said: 'We've got this, you go ahead with your plans.'
In return the Cathar nodded ever so slightly and moved away. Once they exited the star port they were hit with the same blast of heat that struck then upon first arriving on the desert planet.
"You know I'm starting to think it's a cosmic joke." Carth started following the young Jedi down the sand swept durasteel ramp to the desert floor proper.
"What is that?"
"Evil people live on evil planets."
Juhani grinned. "I might accept that statement, but I and our little Mission grew up on Taris. A planet filled with evil but we…."
"Ok, ok. Point taken, sometimes innocents get trapped on bad places surrounded by the bad people. But you know what I meant."
"I think you meant to say that most inhospitable sentients tend to drawn to the most inhospitable of locations for their bases of operation. On Taris as I was a youngling as it was with Mission it was the Mandalorians. Then came the Sith and Mission was still stuck on that planet yet fortunately she managed to keep a pure heart. And her adopted brother—Zaalbar the same."
"Yeah that." Carth grinned. Ok I conceded the point after all you became a Jedi. Mission and Zaalbar freedom fighters. So okay I'll admit some times bad places happen to good people. But once just once can't we have a bad guy that takes a tropical paradise, you know just for a change of pace?"
Juhani countered "Would it truly be a paradise then if so?"
"Got me again, sister." Carth clapped the young woman on the shoulder. He paused only for a moment thinking that this moment on this horrid planet was the only time he had truly talked to the Cathar with anything remotely resembling the banter of true friends. It occurred to him that for all she had been through, suffered and lost, Juhani was a truly remarkable young woman. …Jedi Knight.
Approaching the entrance to the Academy the two Companions saw a parcel of males with most of them being human; Juhani approached the only alien amongst them, an Aqualish
"What are you doing out here?" Juhani asked, she could not keep the puzzlement out of her voice.
"I have to stand here at attention. P-please…don't distract me, whoever you are." the young male said in his native tongue.
"You have to stand at attention? This makes no sense." Carth frowned shaking his head. "What is this? Some sort of test?"
"I…I am trying to prove my worth to enter the Sith Academy. We were told that if we stood here long enough…we would be worthy." the thick deep voice sounded parched as if the throat speaking the words had not touched water for the past few days.
Looking at the other haggard hopefuls, that was a very distinct possibility. The trio of males wavered on tired feet; spines bend forward from heat exhaustion, the humans' skins were red and starting to blister from sun burn and wind exposure.
"Seems not much to do to be worthy of anything. How long have you been up to it youngling?" Juhani pushed, trying to extract as much information from the young walrus-like alien.
"We've been here…for so many days. I am so hungry! Some…some of us have died. But I must be strong. I must! I will keep standing."
"Who put you up to this?" Juhani's voice now had a slight edge to it, not against the teenaged man-boys and their gullibility but on their behalf.
"Mekel. H—he's the Sith…the one watching us from other there." the Aqualish pointed with a trembling hand. "He….he-he said this was how we would prove our worth. I must be strong! Mekel…with find me worthy…soon, I hope."
Juhani moved to the second young man in the que, this human wore a stained – bleached out purple tunic. He looked wore off then the Aqualish did. Then again humans were not as sturdy or robust as the Aqualishian people.
"You…get…you…you're turn soon enough, fool!" He croaked in a voice beyond parched. "And when you do…*cough* I will be there laughing as you …*cough*…ca…collapse from heat exhaustion and Mekel's beatings."
The third man looked up in his delirium and shuddered. "P…p...please don't hurt me! I am too weak with hunger."
"This is madness." Juhani said softly to Carth. "I am going to end this." Determinedly the Cathar woman strode over to a man in a Sith uniform sitting at a table under a parasol, in his hand was a data pad, he glanced up at Juhani and Carth his lips pulling into a wiry smirk. "Is there something you wanted, cat?" he drolled.
"You are Mekel, yes?"
"And what if I am?" a pencil thin eyebrow rose up against a high forehead. His voice heavily accented of one born to privilege and prosperity.
An accent Juhani recognized as Tarisian. Her hackles rose despite her Jedi training. If he noticed the change in her demeanour he gave no outward show of it. "Why are you making those men stand there?" It came out more of a demand than a simple inquiry of curiosity. She'd have to be more mindful of her emotions.
"That is the whole point." he chuckled. "Personally I think it's wonderful fun. Those fools actually think that if they stand there long enough I will let them become a Sith." he chuckled again. "Idiots! A Sith is not a bantha all endurance and no brains. A Sith would fight for his life no matter the odds. If these rotgrubs are as stupid as they seem then they deserve their fate."
"So this is no test for them." this time the Cathar's voice was less confrontational. Juhani looked back over her shoulder to the teetering males with a mixture of pity and revulsion. She then turned back to Mekel.
"It's a test to see if they are actually fool enough to die. If they don't however I certainly wouldn't admit them just for that accomplishment."
"Aw what a sweet guy. he should get the Sith congeniality award." Carth quipped
"Why not just shoot them where they stand? It would at least be more direct." Juhani challenged. Not to mention far more merciful.
"Humm, it is a bit boring standing out here all day however." The voice was oil on ooze. "I think I shall go for some dinner. It will be fun to think of them while I gorge myself. They will still be here in an hour or two surely. I suggest you run along little cat before I decide to make you and lap dog part of the fun." He pushed between Juhani and Carth rather than go around them as if to prove in his brisk cruelty he was superior.
The Aqualish watched in dismay as once again Mekel had left them. "You…you spoke to Mekel" he croaked. "I saw you. Where did he go? D...did tell you I was worthy?"
There were many options Juhani could tell this poor fool but would he believe the truth? Sometimes the Jedi needed to bend the truth to fit a certain point of view. "He said you should go home. The Sith are not for you."
Anguish seeped into the baritone voice, "N…no! Not after all this time! I….I will oh, this is terrible! I have to …go home."
"Somehow I think he'll get over it." Carth muttered watching the Aqualish turn from the others, his feet dragging him towards the space port and presumably his home whether it was in the colony or off world it didn't really matter now, only that his life had been spared.
One down two to go.
Purple Tunic looked up, weaker now than he was only moments ago. "Leave…leave me be." It seemed all his flimsiplast thin bravado vanished as soon as Mekel was out of sight. "I won't listen to your manipulations. I will make it into the Academy! I will. I must!" He shook his head. "Just a few hours longer. Just a few hour, surely."
Green Shirt looked to where the Aqualish had disappeared. "You talked to Mekel? Have I proved my worth? Did he say anything?"
Juhani told him the same thing she had told the Aqualish, but Green Shirt shook his head. "No. No. You just want my spot. It will be me! It will be me! It…" he never finished his defiance, the heat, lack of water, food and sleep had bested him. As the air suddenly let out of a child's balloon, Green Shirt collapsed to the desert ground.
Juhani rushed over to see if she might give some aid, but it was far too late. Green Shirt was dead, leaving only Purple Tunic standing, his hands on his quivering knees. Over and over he said. "Only a few more hours, surely." Madness had taken him.
The Silverback guard looked at Juhani and Carth, though it was impossible to read his expression behind the full faceplate. But he looked board from watching Mekel torment the hopefuls. He had made no move to stop the Aqualish lad from running off nor made any move to check on the one that had collapsed. The hopeful had died as many had before. What did it matter?
"You are neither Sith nor do you bare the medallion of a student of this facility. Please leave at once." he said in a board tone.
"Kriffing hell!" Carth muttered more to himself than anyone even Juhani "The guy actually said 'please.' That's astounding."
"What is this medallion you speak of?" Juhani demanded.
"It is the device given to one who has been accepted into the academy but has not yet proved their worth as a student. If one of the Sith deem you worthy you will be given one. Which then you must take to Yuthura Ban, whom I believe is in the cantina. It is she who decides which hopefuls enter into the Academy."
"Thank you. We will go." Juhani turned and departed but not before she gave a disappointed look towards the stubborn fool who believed starving himself and exposing himself to the cruelty of Korriban's merciless sun and desert heat was a way to show endurance and thus gain the favour and precious medallion from that sadistic human.
"Leave, you fool. This is no place for you." she tried one last time using Mekel's own words: "The Sith do not want students to be banthas all endurance and no intelligence. Leave." Ultimately if he was determined to die, then he would die. At the very least they had saved one fool from such a fate.
How now to get a medallion? Juhani was not going to stand in the sun to get one. There had to be a way. However unlikely it was this Master Yuthura might give some insight on how to obtain such a coveted piece. One thing was absolutely certain none of the students were in a position to give one despite their boast to the hopefuls loitering that they could so just that.
Once back in the Dreshdae hub, both Juhani and Carth breathed deep the cool air of the air conditioning. But that was the only comfortable thing about the Sith's star port.
Juhani began, "Let us find a way to lay claim to one of these medallions as swiftly as possible…" Her words were cut off by the sudden interruption of a male human voice.
"Hoohoo, looks like we found a bit of sport my friends." drawled the leader of the band of punks. Two human males, a human female and a Twi'lek
"Great, just what we needed. Some punks come to steal our lunch credits." Carth scoffed. looking at the four inebriated Sith hooligans. Drunk or not, he knew from personal experience that going up against Force wielders was not going to be an easy fight.
Juhani was no silver tongued word-weaver as Raven was but she was fierce, fast and exceptionally strong. If the Cathar flexed a little muscle that might be enough to get what they wanted. She had after all handled that rat-bastard Mekel well enough.
"This is good!" said the female all too eager for a fight. "I want to celebrate my acceptance into the Academy."
"Me too." said the horse-faced male that was leading them. "So how' bout it chump. Ready to die? I'm eager to blow off some steam after the trials."
"I have no wish to fight you." Juhani said her voice normally as soft purr was now lowering to a growl.
"But we do! Isn't it obvious?" Said Lackey
"Are you sure you want to die?" Juhani asked coldly.
Carth's hands slid to the holsters on his hips, it was a very good think he was a quick-draw. He had a deep gut feeling he was about to be utilizing that particular skill very shortly.
"Hey that was a threat!" The Twi'lek pointed out needlessly.
"That's pretty funny" Lead-boy chuckled. "Why should we be scared of you cat? What 'cuz you're a Jedi?"
"Because I've killed plenty of Sith before now. Run along younglings." Juhani's voce did not rise in pitch in fact it grew deeper not unlike the predatory great hunting cat she so resembled.
"Hey this one has killed Sith!" Tough-girl barked.
"You picked the wrong place to say that, Jedi" Lead-boy shot back. "We'll score big points for brining back your body I'm sure."
The Sith acolytes had ignited their ruby-blood red blades.
"Here we go." Said Carth. Even before the last syllable left his lips his blasters were in hand and fired the first shot, directly into Lead-boy's chest, felling him.
Cathar strength was far superior to that of humans. A Jedi Cathar especially one that was a Knight even more so, even against a raw untrained Sith initiate. Cathar warriors never did a job unless they knew they've guaranteed the best odds. Cathar Jedi were not so very different.
Juhani slammed Tough-girl with a Force-whirlwind that had the young woman spinning in the air. Redirecting her immediate attention to the men she used a Force push to hit Lackey directly in the torso slamming him into the bulkhead. He cracked his head hard against its smooth surface and fell.
Carth battled alongside his Jedi companions long enough to spot an opening when given to him. He raised blasters, targeting Tough-girl. He was marksman and a quick draw. Despite that the enemy was spinning around and around like a corkscrew caught in a tornado. He pin pointed her scull and opened fire. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Head, chest, chest, legs. The Force-whirlwind dropped. Tough-girl was long dead even before gravity slammed her back to the deck.
Apparently Lead-boy hadn't counted on the target if his malice being a Jedi or a highly trained decorated Republic officer. Juhani took advantage of the young man's moment of shock. She came in high and fast with a strike that would have taken Lead-Boy's head off but he managed in time to block the move. Barely. Their weapons locked in a cross before them, the hum and heat of the blades reflecting off of the flesh of their faces – skin and fur alike. Lead-boy pushed back against the locked sabers, trying to regain the forward momentum.
"Surrender fool boy and you may yet live." Juhani hissed. Pushing hard against Lead-boy's defense.
"No Sith surrenders—Jedi scum!"
"You are no Sith, boy." Juhani rose her foot under the locked sabers, planting it against Lead-boy's chest and shoving him backward with all her strength. Lead-boy skittered, tripped over Lackey's prone body, landing hard against the deck. The Cathar leapt up into the air, spun her blade around so that the tip was angled downwards, when she landed the blue point pierced Lead-boy's chest directly over his heart.
"That was effective." Carth looked at the three dead youths.
"Amateurs bristling with the Force and no idea on how to use it!" Juhani exclaimed making no attempt to disguise her disgust. "You should have surrendered." She chided the dead before moving away from the body.
Carth's head swiveled on his neck expecting reinforcements to arrive, or at least a security detail. When none came only then did he allow his body to have a measure of peace thus relaxing his guard.
"They will not come," Juhani said as if reading his mind. "It is common practice amongst the students to battle one another. Not as openly as what occurred here perhaps but no guard will interfere with Sith business. They dare not."
"Right, survival of the most thuggish. I suppose we start looting the corpses. One of them must have a medallion. They were just boasting about getting acceptance into the Academy."
"I agree. It is distasteful but must be done." the young Cathar woman sighed. What a shameful waste of life. If Skye…no not Skye…if Revan had not restored Juhani back to the Light, this could have been her, one of many hopefuls lying dead on the floor as someone else rooted through her belongings for a coveted medallion.
KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR~ KOTOR
"Time to impress the Sith." Revan said approaching the cantina.
"Tell me Kid just what is your plan? Tell me you're not going to simply walk up to that Sith woman over there and ask to join their marry little club of psychopaths." Jolee commented.
The Nagai shrugged, "That is exactly what I'm going to do." She flashed one of her more charming grins. "Trust me, this will work."
Jolee groaned, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Relax, I've got this." She flashed another cock-sure smirk of a gambler who knew the cards were stacked in her favour.
Oh I hope so. The thought passed through Jolee's mind when he saw that 'I've got an idea' grin. "Right. I'll just play along then shall I?"
Revan only nodded as she headed towards the table with the lilac skinned Twi'lek. Almost as soon as she approached she was addressed.
"Is there something you need Jedi? Make it good for I have little patients." The other woman barely looked up from the data bad she had been studying
"Why do you call me Jedi?" Revan quarried lazily shifting her weight on one leg and folding her arms over her chest
"Ha! Do you think me a fool? You do not think I know lightsabers when I see them? You are far from the first Jedi to come here after all. Willing to abandon that decrepitude Order of yours?"
"I wear the armor of the Zeison Sha warriors not the robes of a Jedi. Our warriors are known for their self-reliance, mastery of telekinetic powers that far surpass that of the Jedi."
"That maybe so but you do not wield the Zeison Sha's favored discblades, you are armed with not one but two lightsabers. So a Jedi who decided to follow the Zeison Sha philosophy then and a Nagai blades master I'd assume"
"Who are you may to ask me such questions?"
"Who am I?! You must not have been on Korriban for very long or either that or you're feeling your way about blindly. Luckily for you I am in a charitable mood. I am Yuthura Ban, second only to Master Uthar of the Sith Academy here on Dreshdae. I am the one who decides which of the few of the many hopefuls that travel here to train actually become Sith. Now that you know my name, I shall have yours Zeison Sha ..."
"I am called Ravensong."
"That is not your given name." a keen observation.
"Clan name. It has more meaning than a given name."
"Nagai clan? Or of the Zeison Sha?"
A smile. "If you think it matters than choose."
"Coy. If you think such tactics will impress me you are mistaken, Ravensong."
"That is not my intent."
"Isn't it? Then tell me what exactly is your intent Ravensong? Is it your desire to enter the Academy? Is that why you are here?"
Revan scoffed openly. "Why would I want to join the Sith?"
Yuthura chuckled almost warmly. "An interesting question and not one I hear often. For most the benefits are pointedly obvious. We wield ultimate power my friend." Her voice became a seductive purr. "To be a Sith is to taste freedom and to know victory. Nothing is as glorious as to bend the Force to your will."
"Many of your hopefuls end up dead. That does not seem so glorious to me." Revan meant her words to come off sounding as an off-handed observation.
The seductive smile turned instantly sub-zero. "We make no apologies for the weak! If you cannot clench your fist and know when the moment comes to strike there is no place for you amongst us. Of those who come to train, those who are weak return home. If they are both weak and foolish they…die. But it was their choice to come."
"What of the Jedi?"
"Hide-bound relics that burden themselves with tradition and with the protection of the weak and ungrateful. They are pitiful and misguided. Why would you take a gift as glorious as the Force and squander it? Weaken yourself deliberately and shackle yourself to outdated mores? Our gift has made us superior; it is our rightful place to rule. How can you even deny that? Yet the Jedi do so and call us evil because we do not."
"You do not consider yourself evil?"
"Is the sarkath beast who dominates his jungle evil? The tukatta who leaps on a squirrel-bug for the kill? These are things of nature, of the universe. We are no different than this. The Force is part of the universe, part of the same laws. We were gifted to set us above the rest. To deny nature is foolish. If you truly are Zeison Sha do you not follow similar tenants? Do not the Zeison Sha resent the Jedi for their futile attempts to indoctrinate those that follow the Zeison Sha philosophy into the Order? Your people resist all attempts for unification. The Zeison Sha understand the true power of survival and nature and how it should be embraced."
It was spooky how much Yuthura's words echoed Revan's not so long ago. Rather than discus her feelings on what the Nagia felt was the true power of the Force…the fulcrum that was the Gray path she instead said: "But you serve the Dark side, do you not?"
"It is the Jedi who serve the Force, trying to discern its wishes like frightened old men." Yuthura's gaze lifted from the former Dark Lord to Jolee, her purple lips curled into a smirk, "starring up at the stars. The Force serves us." Once more the Twi'lek's voice became a seductive purr. "We shape it to our will. We are its master. The Jedi deny their darkness, but we revel in it. We allow it to fuel our strength."
"But the dark side is evil…it corrupts." Revan queried needing to know the other woman's stance on her once traitorous apprentice.
"Corruption is a word the pitiful use to describe the natural longing for power they deny. Evil is a word trumpeted by the weak of heart. It is true the Dark Side of the Force sometimes exacts a physical toll on some. But not a single one of them has ever regretted it. Anything else you hear is propaganda."
"So where does Darth Malak fit into all of this?"
"You know the name?" Yuthura seemed shocked. Her reaction surprised Raven
"Why shouldn't I know his name?" Revan said evenly. "His name is on the lips of all Jedi—fallen or not."
"As it should be. He is the strongest of us. And the strongest always rules. At least until one who is stronger can take it from him. That is our way. Survival of the fittest. You are always on guard, always lean for the kill. We promote it, for through this the Sith are stronger."
"You kill each other." It wasn't exactly a question though pitched as if it were.
"If a Sith as proven to be weak and if the time is right the Force will reward the cunning and the mighty who step up to the challenge if you dare or turn tail and run."
"And what if I said I was already a Sith?" Revan's right eyebrow rose in challenge.
"HA! I would consider that an amusing ploy to join the Academy. Why? Who would you claim to be?" Yuthura sprouted a grin. "Darth Malak himself?"
The former Dark Lord shrugged. "What about Darth Revan?"
That caused the Twi'lek to blink. "What about Revan? Revan is dead. You may have a natural gift for the Force my Nagai friend but you have no gift for lies."
Revan smiled mischievously. "I see. About joining you."
"You've heard enough have you?" Yuthura gave a throaty chuckle. "So what is it to be Nagai, are you here to be a Sith or not?
"Yes, I shall like to be a Sith."
"Ah so you're just another hopeful after all." There was almost a tone of disappointment in the Twi'lek's voice. She frowned. "Or are you? There is something odd about you that I cannot place, perhaps you are Zeison Sha as you present yourself or maybe just another fallen Jedi. You are very strong in the Force it seems. Were you with the Zeison Sha long? Did they train you?"
"What difference does it make?"
"Perhaps none, perhaps all the difference in the world. Either way you possess enough raw power to intrigue me greatly. With that kind of power you could become a great Sith. Perhaps. If I let you. Does that interest you?"
Revan decided to see if she could push the boundaries. Tapping the Force came readily to the young Nagai as did using it to bend others to her will. "Yes. You want to accept me into the Academy."
Yuthura felt the probing, the push and pushed back. She let out a soft chuckle of a he amusement rather than be angered such an attempt had been made to Force persuade her. "You must think little of Sith masters to try that little trick. I won't hold it against you however, it shows initiative."
Revan offered an easy shrug as an apology. "If it had worked I would have been very disappointed, Master Yuthura. in you. However I must say I have seen the hopefuls milling around Dreshdae, I have yet to be impressed of the caliber of people you are inducting into the Sith. These undesirable youths seem to be more like thugs of a low level swoop gang than anything remotely resembling imposing Sith acolytes."
"That maybe so. For now. Nevertheless as for my question I do desire a real answer."
You do not think I am a good liar? Let us see shall we? "Yes, it does. I wish to become a Sith."
"Ah good. That is exactly the sort of answer I was hoping for…."Yuthura stopped as soon as she saw Juhani padding in holding the confiscated medallion clutched in her left hand.
A Cathar in Matukai adept robes? In retrospect however it made a weird sort of sense. The Cathar like the Matukai were masters of guiding their bodies with the Force. They are capable of astounding physical feats. The Force-sensitive Matukai use their physical bodies to channel the Force. The balance of the physical and spiritual is a cornerstone of the philosophy just as it was for the Cathar.
"An auspicious day that not one but two Jedi come to the Academy. Or like your counterpart here who claims to be of the Zeison Sha will you claim you are of Matukai-and not a Jedi? If I didn't know better I'd say this was a half-assed attempt of an incursion strike team. What am I to think of this?"
"Think what ever you want Master Yuthura." Revan said keeping her voice neutral. She sauntered past Yuthura to Juhani making her eyes as seductive as possible. "Well…well what do we have here? Juhani? Isn't it? Finally decided to abandon the Khoonda Plains and your kath hound pets have we?" Her hand reached out and touched the soft pelt of the Cathar's cheek as she might have done to Bastila. Soft, tender and seductive.
"Ravensong." The Cathar responded mindful to keep her own voice equally as neutral. She made a show of taking the hand away from her face with barely concealed contempt. Or at least she hoped it would be seen as such.
"You both know each other I take it?" Yuthura's lekkus twitched in curiosity the same way a humanoid with an eyebrow might have raised theirs.
Revan turned her head over her shoulder to address the Twi'lek. "When I was on Dantooine seeking answers I chanced upon this lovely creature kneeling by the body of her former Master. Apparently this Jedi padawan decided to become a Knight by striking down her Master in anger. She then reached out within the Force and seized the minds of an entire pack of kath hounds…some thirty strong if I remember correctly and turned them on hapless farmers, brutish Mandalorian bounty hunters and patrolling Jedi alike."
Clearly in hearing that the young Cathar woman destroyed her Jedi Master intrigued Yuthura greatly. "If you killed your Master young one, why did the Jedi simply let you go?"
"No, they did not let me go." Juhani said honestly. Her eyes fell on Revan. "They sent her to end the darkness they felt growing on the Khoonda Plains."
"An assassin? I did not think that was the Jedi way." Yuthura crossed her arms. The twitch in the lukuus moved from curiosity to suspicion. if you are not adapt with the Twi'leks secret language it would have been missed altogether. Revan however was adept. It was why Mission could never cheat at pazak with playing against Revan.
"Yet they did send a Jedi team to kill Darth Revan." The Nagai countered. "It was only through the efforts of Jedi Knight Bastila Shan that Malak was able to turn and attack his Master's ship. Had it not been for Bastila's powers of Battle Meditation and her strike force, Malak would never have stood a chance to wrest power from his Master and he knew it."
"Those words could bee seen as treason." Yuthura cautioned.
"Truth is never treason. Those that fear it do not deserve the power they wield if they wield it at all." Revan said sounding not so dissimilar to Jolee.
"A valid point. What then is the truth between you two?" Yuthura demanded.
"We met on the field. Battled. She won and let me go." Juhani said simply as it was in fact the truth.
"Jedi mercy." There was contempt in Yuthura's voice this time.
"I saw no reason to take her life." Revan said honestly. "If there is nothing to be gained from taking a life, then I have no interest in doing so."
"Leaving her alive left you open for attack. You gambled that she'd not seek vengeance for her defeat." Yuthura said dryly
"Or someone seeking to vow their service to me out of gratitude or at the very least returns a favour. On my ship I have a Wookie bodyguard who has pledged a life debt to me out of the gratitude for freeing him from a life of slavery.
"I have also a Mandalorian that pledged a blood oath to me for freeing him a very impending death on Taris. Now he too serves me. Wielding the power of loyalty out of a willing servant is so much easier to control than holding terror over slaves. Their deaths would have brought me nothing. Their lives however gained me much."
"I do owe you for that day on the Plains of Khoonda, Ravensong." Juhuni said, her voice sounding like gravel against sandpaper. "You showed me my destiny was not to be found on Dantooine. You told me: 'Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.' And so I have. I wondered from that day to this, crating my own path."
"The Force led you here." Revan said. Again-truth. Let the Sith decipher the context.
"Yes."
"Trust only the Force, Juhani." Started Revan.
"Anything else is a distraction." the Cathar finished the phrase the Nagia said once upon a time. "I remember your words you spoke. Light and Dark have no meaning there is only the Force. Though I recall you said Living Force."
Yuthura's suspicions waned in-lou of interest. Rather interrupt the two strange seemingly Jedi women spoke. Indeed it seemed as if they had all but forgotten their audience.
"All energy comes from the Living Force, from all things that have ever lived, feed into the Cosmic Force, binding everything and communicating to us through the midi-chelonians.
"The Jedi only have half the answers I seek. Here on Korriban I believe I shall find the other half. T'is why I sought out the Sith and what it is to follow the Dark Side." Only now did Revan turn to the lilac hued Twi'lek. "Master Yuthura know this, I seek neither the Light nor the Dark. Only the Force. Only the Living Force. Anything else is a distraction—including this war."
"I can respect that." Yuthura was surprised that she actually meant it. "Come then, I will take you both to the Academy."