Welcome again! Not much to say here, except for one thing: I find your lack of reviews disturbing XD. Of course, I'm not talking about JourneyRocks13 because he is writing a review under every single chapter and I'm extremely thankful for that but I also want the rest of my readers to write what they think. It doesn't take much time and it actually helps me. So read, like, follow and review ;).

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Chapter 38

All of this was chaos. One. Big. Chaos.

Or at least so it was in Bastila's opinion.

They were in the Sith base for approximately an hour or so and the path they came from was littered with tens of corpses. The soldiers, the Dark Jedi, the Intel officers… everyone was dead. And yet, more of them kept coming.

Bastila had no idea where Revan and his men were drawing their willingness to fight from. It almost seemed as if it was a game for them – one they very much enjoyed. Her beloved one, HK, Rex, Fox, and Canderous were right at the front, leading their group through the narrow corridors, leaving behind only a few survivors who were then killed by the rest. She watched Revan all the time he was fighting, as much as she had a possibility to do so, and she almost stopped in her tracks when she realized what this all meant.

Revan truly DID enjoy killing.

It froze her to the bone when her eyes confirmed what Juhani said earlier. But what worried her, even more, was the pace of which Revan was getting tired. She watched him fight before, mostly on the holovids from the Mandalorian Wars, and by now she knew that he was more than capable of battling for even few hours in a row. They were in the Sith base for no longer than an hour now and Revan was already panting heavily.

He leaned against the wall after they cleared yet another corridor. The blaster rifles were for nothing in the small area so vibroblades alongside lightsabers were the primary weapons used by them. Though Carth remained with his twin blaster pistols.

Revan wiped the sweat out of his face. They still had to make their way through few more floors in order to get to the Star Map data and he already felt exhausted. At least there was an elevator in the base. He was fully aware it was due to the poison in his body but he couldn't believe just how much it affected him. He didn't feel it a few hours ago when he was working out, but now it all came down upon him, depriving Revan of almost all strength. If these were the conditions he encountered Malak with, he would be deeply and utterly fucked. He would be lucky if the defenses of the Star Forge didn't kill him in the first place.

"Come on, we got to go," Rex said, patting him on the left shoulder. Revan replied with a nod, trying to catch his breath. He allowed everyone else to pass him by as he was struggling to regain his strength, what was rather difficult due to the coughing that erupted in his lungs with full strength.

"Rev" Bastila whispered to him ever so softly. He looked up to see her standing right next to him. The worried expression was written all over her face, allowing him to see all the concern she had for him.

"Bas" he replied in the same tone, faking a smile. It was as clear as day she didn't buy it.

"What's happening?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm.

"Nothing good" he answered, leaning back against the wall. The rest of their crew already disappeared in the next rooms. Screaming alongside clenching of the vibroblades and humming of the lightsabers echoed throughout the now empty corridor. Bastila removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it on his cheek, directly below the blackness that was slowly showing up also on his face. "I didn't manage to get rid of the poison completely" he added. Revan noticed Bastila's lower lip tremble slightly upon hearing this.

"It's my fault" she admitted quietly.

"Do not say so" Revan hurried with comforting her. "You weren't there."

"Exactly. If I didn't get caught on Taris, you wouldn't have to go to the Undercity. You wouldn't get infected" she said on the edge of tears. Revan wiped one tear that managed to run down her cheek.

"How long are you planning to cry over me?" he whispered to her, still holding her face in his hand. Revan moved his head away as another series of coughing made it impossible for him to speak. "You cried when I set out to fight against the Mandalorians, then when I came back, bringing another war to the Republic. Furthermore, you cried when you managed to capture me and after my trial. I didn't deserve all those tears you shed for me, Bas" he said, still with the same gentle whisper. "What defines us is not only our successes or good deeds but also our mistakes, our scars. I wouldn't be myself if I avoided all the bad things that happened to me throughout my life or those I did myself. After all, I wouldn't meet you in the first place." He kissed her lightly on the lips. It was just a brief peck, but it meant the world to Bastila. "Now, let's go on. After all, we have a date waiting for us once we're done here."

"Do we really have time for that?"

"Not exactly" Revan admitted. "But I promised that we'll go, didn't I?"

"You did," she said with a slight smile.

"And I'm the man of my word. I'll find the time for us to go to that date even if I had to burn this world to the ground."

"Do not say so" Bastila replied quickly.

"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Because I know you would be able to do it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Revan chuckled at that.

"You bet I would" he replied, pulling her closer to him by her waist. Revan attempted to kiss Bastila yet again, though he was pushed back by her.

"There will be time for this later," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "We should hurry, shouldn't we. Or else we might not manage to our date on time." Revan chuckled again.

"Lead the way, beautiful."

Bastila rolled her eyes at that and stepped away from him. Revan pushed himself away from the wall. His breathing now returned to normal. They walked towards the end of the corridor where the elevator was located in. They were quickly joined by the rest who left the now cleared Intel rooms. Revan could see a satisfied grin on the faces of his men. They clearly enjoyed a good fight.

"That was a nice way you handled them," Canderous said to Rex. "Are you sure you don't have some Mandalorian blood in you?" he asked. Rex only chuckled at that.

"I think not."

"The Star Map wasn't there" Fox reported.

"I know. We go lower" Revan replied, pressing the button that opened the door to the elevator. They all entered it and Revan pressed yet another button that sent them downward. "Better change your weapons to rifles. They will be more useful on the lower levels" he advised and began coughing violently. Every time it was becoming even more annoying and lasted for a split second longer.

Revan cursed silently under his nose and used the Force to nullify his coughing even if only just a bit. It didn't help that he couldn't get rid of that poison by using the Force. It was almost as if… this poison wasn't there in the Force. This was… disturbing, to say the least. Everything was present in the Force, and if this venom wasn't there, it made it impossible to defeat it with one's will only.

"It's nothing" Revan lied when he noticed the concerned looks he received from the rest of the crew. He was relieved when they didn't ask any questions even if it was as clear as day that they didn't believe him.

They reached the lower floor rather quickly. Revan cracked few bones in his neck and spine, preparing for combat. The moment the doors opened, the former Dark Lord ran out from the elevator, activating his lightsabers. Just as he expected, or as the Force told him, the very first room they walked in was filled with dozens of Sith soldiers. Revan, as it usually happened, was in the lead, cutting his way through unsuspecting men of his Empire. There were times when Revan felt remorse after slaughtering his own men like that, but now he had no time for second thoughts. Soldiers were replaceable.

It didn't take him long to deprive of life anyone who stood in his way. Some were capable, after recovering from the initial shock, of defending themselves, though they didn't last long. The precise shots from those who followed him always finished Revan's enemies who didn't die from his first strike.

There was one lucky enough Intel Officer who managed to hit the alarm button, though he was quickly decapitated by Revan's lightsaber that was tossed at him. His headless corpse hit the terminal desk he was sitting at. The alarm's noise was quickly stopped after Fox fired at the computer.

Even if the alarm was quickly destroyed, it did its job with alerting the rest of the Sith base about the intruders' presence. As a result, the thinning Sith numbers were rather swiftly reinforced with additional soldier squads, as well as the war droids. Even if the soldiers posed no challenge, the droids were something entirely different. They were the product of the Star Forge what made them more capable in combat than most of the common soldiers in the Sith Empire or in the Republic.

The droids were of the double height of a normal man and used their front claws while moving. Their weight was making it impossible for them to walk only on their legs what made them a little clumsy. And that was something they had to use if they wanted to defeat those droids. They had the ice- or flamethrowers mounted to their claws which made them deadly in the close combat. The auto turret on their heads only escalated it.

Revan was skeptical as to destroying these droids cause they were almost his greatest ace up his sleeve against the Sith from the Unknown Regions. Being immune to the Force attacks, just like HK-47, they posed a great challenge for most of the Jedi and the Sith alike. Revan wasn't sure if in his current state he was able to defeat them and he'd rather not experience it firsthand if he wasn't.

Revan deflected a shot that was coming forward to his head and sent it back at the one who sent it. He pushed the grenade that somehow found itself next to him and tossed it into the group of soldiers that hid behind a ravaged shelf. The rest of their team, except for him, Bastila, Jolee, and Juhani found shelter behind the now destroyed computer desk.

Rex and the others were smart enough to figure out that the soldiers were the annoying pests that had to be eliminated quickly in order to focus on the droids. The precision mastered during countless campaigns in the Mandalorian Wars allowed Revan's men to swiftly fire the killing shot.

Those of their group who wielded lightsabers were standing at the front, deflecting the shots that were coming their way. The droids' weapons' fire was far heavier than this of the common soldiers. Equipped with heavy rifles, they were more than capable of handling with the intruders. The rapidity with which they fired upon them made it even more difficult to dodge or deflect the shots.

Jolee was sent at the far end of the room they were in by the massive explosion that erupted just in front of him. The source of it was the explosive charge sent by one of the droids. Revan quickly looked backward, trying to find out if the old man survived. He let out a small breath of relief when he saw him slowly raising up to his feet, though not completely unharmed.

Revan had no time to concern about the old Jedi as he himself had some problems with avoiding the droids' deadly precise shots. He cast a quick glance at his other companions, in order to check if they could handle for themselves.

Revan smiled slightly under his nose when he saw Juhani struggling to grip the droids with the Force and crush them, only for her efforts come to naught. His smile quickly disappeared though when he noticed that one of the droids pointed at Bastila without her noticing that. He gritted his teeth and accelerated his moves with the Force, doing his best to make it on time. Time seemed to slow down as the droid's ice thrower came to life, unleashing the ray of freezing charge that was capable of decreasing body's temperature to the point of instant death.

Revan tossed his lightsaber, aiming at the droid's weapon. In the best case, his weapon would be destroyed, but Bastila would remain unharmed. In the worst, however… he'd rather not think what would happen if he didn't make it on time.

He sent silent thanks to the Force when his lightsaber destroyed the ice thrower before it could unleash its deadly charge. The hit caused the weapon to explode in the droid's grasp, freezing it instantly and seriously damaging the nearby machines. Revan's teeth clanked when the suddenly lowered temperature reached him.

One droid was destroyed. Nine remained.

Revan decided to tap into the Dark Side within him that he normally kept hidden deep, suppressing it with his mental strengths. Though now it would be more than useful in combat. Besides, he had to master the control over it. After all, in the battle against the Sith from the Unknown Regions, he would be using both Sides of the Force, and not just one.

Now, with just his red lightsaber left and his eyes burning with a hateful gold, he launched himself at the droids. His fury intensified by the fact that one of the machines HE created tried to harm Bastila, his Bastila, his arrogant, sometimes shortsighted, but gorgeous and extremely talented wife.

Suppressing the coughing that threatened to erupt within his chest, he ran at the closest droid, dodging the attack from the flamethrower by last second. He glided on his knees below the droid, the fire gently licked his face, though not enough to make any harm.

Revan leaped upward from his knees, finding himself now directly behind the droid. For a millisecond he was in an upside down position, slashing his lightsaber through machine's gas canister, making a small cut, though it was more than enough for the gas to begin evaporating. The Force Lightning erupted from his second hand, making contact with the cut in the canister, causing the droid to explode instantly, sending dozens of shards in every direction.

The whole situation lasted not longer than four seconds, everything happening far too quickly for one's eye to notice it. In one moment Revan was rushing at the droid and in the next one, he was attacking another machine with the first one exploding.

Revan's men reduced the fire from their blaster rifles, in order to not hit their leader. Juhani and Bastila were occupied with helping Jolee to rise to his feet. He had one nasty burn mark on the right side of his face. The scar covered the entire half of his head and even some part of his neck. His facial hair, as well as his eyebrows, were reduced to none in the explosion. His entire robe was in pieces. It was a miracle that it didn't burn down. Removing the melted clothing would be far more difficult for if it should burn down and coalesce with the flesh.

Both Jedi used the Force to close the wounds in Jolee's torso from which the blood was sipping steadily. They were relieved when the man's breathing returned to normal and his flesh began to accrete. He lost a lot of blood, but he wasn't beyond saving.

Rex and Fox leaped out from their cover, quickly being followed by Canderous and HK. It wasn't in their nature to stand aside when Revan was fighting, despite the fact that he was doing well with the war droids.

Even if the droids were invulnerable for the Force attacks, they had some flaws that Revan was laboriously using right now. Such as their physical size which made them somewhat clumsy if it was possible to say about the artificial machines. This was something that Revan had to improve as soon as he regains the control over the Star Forge, but now it came in handy. The droids were strong, but not mobile, and that made it impossible for them to keep up with constantly dashing Jedi.

The constantly changing air around them that shifted from burning hot to freezing cold made it difficult for any living being to keep fighting; the thermal shock was almost inevitable. But the fervor of battle allowed the skilled warriors to ignore the still changing temperature of their surroundings.

Revan's condition made it more and more difficult for him to keep fighting. His lungs were burning with the craving for oxygen that they didn't receive. The coughing that he kept suppressing within his chest has now completely blocked his air passages. The only thing that kept him conscious was the Dark Side that now fueled every single muscle of his body. It provided his lungs with the energy they needed, but still, nothing could fully replace the normal air.

Revan's masterful strikes combined with soldiers' precise shots allowed them to rather quickly deal with the group of war droids. When they did, Revan's eyes returned to normal green and he rested against the wall, struggling to regain his breathing. He was coughing for a solid minute as his air passages were being cleared from the mucus that settled there. His eyes glazed over from the exertion.

"Wait here for us" Revan declared to the part of their group that was taking care of Jolee. He earned shocked looks from every single one of them. "I, Rex, Fox, Canderous, HK, and T3 will go for the Star Map. Remain here with Jolee and make sure he makes it out okay. Also, search throughout all the rooms. Take everything that may come in hand; Credits, supplies, medicines, ammo, and generally whatever you can find. We should be back soon."

"Won't the Star Map be under heavier guard?" Mission queried. "We barely handled here, let alone where it will be kept! If you go in fewer numbers, you may not come back at all!"

"We'll manage, kid" Canderous replied with his usual, harsh tone. "Every single one of us fought in worse conditions than this. It's nothing we can't handle." Revan nodded, confirming the Mandalorian's words.

"We'll be back soon" Revan repeated, turning to leave. He coughed all the way to the staircase that led to the lower levels of the Sith base where the Star Map data was being kept.

Revan and his men quickly passed the stairs and found themselves in a much smaller area than the one they were previously in. A long corridor, barely floodlit that had no off-shots and led to a small room that contained the computer with the Star Map data. Revan found it strange that there was no guard here. When he left this place, he made sure to leave the biggest amount of soldiers and droids down there.

He sensed someone though. Someone powerful in the Dark Side but not as powerful as he or let alone Malak. He recognized this presence, but he couldn't just recall who it was.

His question as to guards' whereabouts was soon answered as he noticed a huge pile of corpses resting against the far wall of the corridor. He came closer to and examined them carefully. Their wounds were made with a lightsaber, though some of the dead bodies contained far more dangerous scars. The scars visible not with the eyes but with the Force.

Even if someone was dead, he still could be detected with the Force. Revan had no idea how it worked but that's just how the things were. The dead bequeathed a specific trail in the Force but some of the corpses from the pile seemed to be… ripped out from the Force. Even if those were common soldiers, their life essence was brutally taken away from them. Not with a weapon but with something much more terrible; a technique that even Revan dreaded to use.

He encountered victims of this ancient power. He knew how to use it, though he did it on extremely rare occasions. He was sure he could count on one hand the situations in which he used this technique. There were few reasons why he dreaded to reach for it. The most serious one was the fact that the usage of it left scars not only on the victim but also on the attacker. The one who wielded it was slowly becoming more and more dependent on it. It made him its victim, unleashing the remorseless hunger that just couldn't be fulfilled.

"Be on your guard" Revan warned them. "Whatever killed those men is something we cannot neglect."

"Observation: Whatever killed those meatbags is just another meatbag," HK said, reloading the blaster rifle. "And no meatbag is immortal."

"I hope you're right, HK" Revan murmured. He truly hoped that his favorite killing machine wasn't mistaken. For all he knew, the Sith Emperor was a living being, but so devoted to the Dark Side and Its techniques that it made him invulnerable to the effects of time. With the ancient ritual, he achieved what many dreamed of – immortality. Revan wished that he could prove it wrong. For if he didn't… Force save the Galaxy. If he should fail, the Galaxy would burn down to ashes.

Revan coughed again, cutting out the unpleasant thoughts and preparing for the upcoming duel. He really hated the fact that the threat from the Dromund Kaas now resting on his shoulders.


Oh shit, this was a difficult chapter to write. Mostly because recently the depression began to develop in me and now I wake up every day with a conviction that everything sucks and my sleep is getting shorter every night. I just hope it won't come to the point where I won't be sleeping at all. It's enough that I almost stopped eating… Through three days I lost 2 kilograms. Eh, I can only hope that it will get better one day. As always, leave a review, add this story to your favorite and follow it. See you guys in the next chapter!