Welcome back! Sorry for the delay, but the end of the semester is never easy, especially once you are in the technical college and finding time to write proved to be difficult for me. But, on the other hand, in one month I will have summer holidays, even if I'll be working during those two months but I won't have to worry about homework, school assignments, etc so I will probably have more time to write. Also, as I have checked, the best stories are being rarely updated XD. I'm not saying mine is the best but I hope it's at least bearable XD.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 9
Malachor V was just as Revan remembered it: crashed. Mountains standing even few kilometers high, nearly touching the clouds that covered the remnants of the planet. As it could have been seen from space, so it was noticeable from the surface – the green lightning that traveled across the entire cluster of dead rocks. This what remained from once vibrant and beautiful world was now covered almost fully in darkness. The shipwrecks of both the Republic and the Mandalorian vessels, that were floating around the planet, keeping the safe distance from crushing against it, were blocking out most of the light that was coming from the nearby star and if a small sunbeam succeeded in making it through the battlefield, the dense and heavy clouds made sure that it didn't reach the surface of this dead world.
"Remember about the oxygen masks," Revan said to his men, approaching the exit of the ship. Slowly, but steadily, the Malachor's atmosphere was evaporating, meaning that in a few years from now, the storms would disappear, and by then, this planet would be dead for good. A graveyard encircling its native star, waiting for it to explode as a supernova and turn into yet another black hole.
With his men prepared, Revan left the shuttle, stepping on the hard rock that covered the entirety of the Malachor's surface. Flying below the layer of clouds was nearly impossible, but they managed to land almost at the entrance to the Trayus Academy. It was as it always has been – untouched by anything. The decorated entrance, that was meant to inspire fear in those approaching the ancient structure, seemed to drill deep inside one of the many mountains. And indeed, the narrow marble path was leading all the way down to the planet's cold core.
"Why did we even come here in the first place?" Wolfie asked, looking nervously around. It was as clear as day that this place was sending shivers down his spine.
"The Malachor System is a perfect place for us to hide from the eyes of the Jedi" Revan replied. His voice, just like his man's, was distorted by the mask he was wearing. "So many have died here in just a single battle… something like that doesn't remain unnoticed in the Force, and, as you've felt it yourself, it scares away even those blind to the Force. No one sane would come here on their own unless they had no other option."
"No, no, no, I meant the Academy" Wolfie clarified, once again looking around after hearing a distant noise. "I could stay on the orbit for as long as you would order me to, but I see no point in coming over to the surface."
"Traya told me we have some fugitives from the Academy" Revan informed them, sharing the news he received from the old woman. "It is crucial for us to find them, and where better to start than the place they were last seen at? Everyone is detectable through the Force and this Academy is a perfect place to get to know what we're dealing with."
"And why is that suddenly our case?" Fox queried, looking nervously around just like Wolfie did no more than a minute ago. A muffled sound, like barking, could be heard from some distance, though, because of mountains, it was difficult to determine how far could be the creature that created that sound. "Weren't we supposed to prepare for war?"
"I've told you that you shouldn't be concerned about them" the well-known voice spoke behind their backs. Combined with the distant barking, the cold, female voice caused the three people who accompanied Revan to literally jump up, where they were standing.
"You have also told that you are too weakened to travel" the Dark Lord countered, turning around, not even slightly affected by the sudden appearance of the Sith Lady.
"Crossing such a small distance like from the Star Forge to the planet's surface is something I'm still capable of" Traya replied, walking past the four men towards the entrance of the Academy. In opposite to them, she wasn't wearing any mask to provide her with the amount of oxygen that the human lungs needed.
"You claim they are a threat to the Galaxy, and yet you demand me to ignore them?" Revan asked, changing the topic back to the one his Mistress brought up.
"I told you that this is something I will take care of" Traya corrected him. "One of your pets wisely observed that you have a war to prepare to."
"I'm not a pet!"
"Really?" she asked with a sarcasm as clear as day in her voice. "And what do they call you, soldier? Fox, is that it? A name of a wild, untamed animal… but you can keep on claiming you're not a pet if that helps you in any way."
"A war can wait" Revan opposed. "Without entering the Academy I can feel what they carry with themselves… and I most certainly don't like it. If they bring to the rest of the Galaxy what they have learned here… it can very well mean an end to all life. And then my war will be pointless."
"You can feel it?" Traya queried, turning around to look at Revan. For the first time in his life, the Dark Lord could hear the old woman be surprised.
"I felt it before" Revan admitted. "I even used this technique several times, but most importantly, I encountered another person who mastered this ability… though not to the point I can feel here."
"Nihilus didn't learn this technique because he chose to" Traya explained, continuing her way to the Trayus Academy and at the same time revealing the name of the first of the Emperor's emissaries. "It was forced upon him. His survival depends on his hunger, even if it's consuming him. Now that he left Malachor, he'll turn his eyes to the Jedi, and possibly to the Republic."
"And you are going to allow for that to happen?" Revan asked in disbelief.
"Perhaps that would be for the best" Traya murmured quietly, but not quietly enough for her words to escape Revan's attention. The young man's blood nearly boiled upon hearing it. Clenching his teeth, the hero of the Mandalorian Wars ran up to the old woman, catching her by her arm and forcing her to turn around to face him. He could literally feel his eyes turning from green to gold under his mask.
"You're badly mistaken if you think I will just sit idly by and do nothing while the Galaxy burns!" he snapped at her. "This is something I want to prevent by going to war and now you tell me that I'm not allowed to do that?! I left my wife in the Known Space to make sure she's safe and now you want to allow those creatures to do whatever they want?"
"Silence!" Traya ordered, sending a Force Lightning through the hand that Revan was holding. The young man kept his grip for a few seconds before finally surrendering to the sheer power of his old Mistress. "Apparently, Padawan Shan has weakened you even more than I expected" she suggested, bringing her tone back to normal.
"Isn't that you who taught me about the flaws of the Jedi Code? Mostly about the line 'There is no emotion, there is peace'? You told me yourself that it is against the human nature to live in loneliness and now you scold me for following your own teachings?"
"No, Revan. I'm just stating the fact that your wife has a way too big influence on your behavior."
"I see nothing wrong with the fact that I want to do my best to protect her and make sure she has a safe life… she and our child."
"If you really wanted to protect her you wouldn't have left her behind" Traya countered, silencing his arguments.
"How did that Nihilus, or whatever his name is, even escaped this dead world?" Atton queried, looking around. "Almost no ship can land on the surface in these conditions. It's a miracle we were able to go through the atmosphere and not crash in the process."
"They took one of the vessels that encircled the planet on its orbit" Traya answered, offering the same reply she gave Revan.
"That's impossible" Wolfie commented. "Maybe I know little about the Force but I know damn a lot about ships and none of those wreckages that surround this graveyard could have possibly been used to leave this place. Anyone who would try to do so could just as well open the air-lock without having any space suit on. Each and every vessel that remains on the orbit has more holes than the Peragus has asteroids, not to mention the solar radiation that most certainly took its toll on the wreckages. It's physically impossible to bring back to life anything that stayed on the orbit after the Mandalorian Wars" Wolfie explained, voicing his doubts.
"One ship is indeed missing" Revan stated, looking up into the sky in the futile attempt to break through the thick layer of clouds.
"And you could notice it when we were coming here?" Fox asked in disbelief. Sarcasm could also be heard in his voice.
"Actually yes" he replied. "My flagship, the Ravager, has disappeared."
"I'm sorry but I'm not going to believe that you noticed one of a few dozens of Centurion-class cruisers that were crashed in a single moment, missing" Wolfie countered. "Especially that you weren't with us during the battle. You know what happened to the Ravager only from what you've been told so how could you have noticed its disappearance?"
"Because I know the ship I spent the war on" Revan replied, now looking at the entrance to the Academy. Even if that was their destination, they still haven't entered it. "And it's not here anymore. I can feel it."
"Bullshit" Wolfie commented quietly. Revan decided to ignore his comment and proceeded towards the Academy.
"You're not going to get off their case, are you?" Traya asked, watching her ex-student approaching the entrance.
"Even if I disagree with you in certain aspects, I trust you" Revan replied, not turning around, nor even slowing down his pace. "But I have to know what we're dealing with. Even if it's not any of my business, they are working for the Emperor, what makes them my enemies. I will continue the war preparations but if I get a chance to stop them, I will not hesitate. Besides, we'll be staying in this system for quite some time, won't we? The Trayus Academy still remains under my control even if some of its students have betrayed me so I can as well remain here for some time instead of staying in the Star Forge."
"I only hope we won't be sitting here forever" Fox commented, following Revan towards the Academy's entrance.
"You said you were exiled from here" Revan commented after noticing Traya going the same way as they did.
"Because I was" she admitted, not even slowing down for a second. "But none of those who opposed me are here anymore. I had to leave this place to stay alive but I wasn't followed. They assumed they killed me and left this place, not checking twice. In order to survive, I had to find you. And now I can return here."
"That scar on your face, they did it to you, didn't they?" Revan asked, referring to a crack on her skin. "It is not the effect of you using the Dark Side."
"As I've said, there are techniques in the Force, against which there is no defense" Traya replied vaguely.
They entered the Academy in silence as if they didn't dare to fracture the sainthood of this ancient place. Revan could feel the overwhelming presence of the Dark Side and at some point, it made him uneasy. Indeed, it's been some time since he last visited the Trayus Academy. As he noticed, his men reacted similarly upon entering the center of Malachor V. Especially Atton, whose sensitivity to the Force has revealed itself years ago, even if it was only a mere whisper, undetectable for almost any Jedi or Sith.
Nomi blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the tiredness from the corner of her eyes. Ever since they left Coruscant, she didn't have a well-deserved rest, and that night was no exception. Once again, Bastila woke her, and the rest of their small crew, screaming loudly.
This was their first night on Telos. They arrived at the space station when that part of the planet was in the middle of the night what gave them a perfect opportunity to find an apartment almost without being noticed. They found a shelter in a small home, small for their crew at least, in one of the least populated buildings.
And that night, just as during their travel to Telos, Bastila didn't sleep calmly. Once again, the nightmares haunted her in her dreams, and, as the result, she woke the Jedi Master and others who traveled with them.
Nomi repaired her night robe and hurried towards Bastila's bed. She was flinging around in her sleep, screaming. Tears were running down her face, even if she still wasn't waking up. Mission was also up, rubbing her eyes out of tiredness while standing at the Talravinian woman's bed. She kept her right hand on Bastila's forehead as if in a futile attempt to calm her down, though it wasn't bringing any results.
The Jedi Master embraced the younger woman, waking her up from her restless sleep. At first, Bastila was disorientated, not knowing where she was, but she slowly began to relax as she felt Nomi's hands around herself.
"He was here" she whispered, hiding her face in Nomi's robe. She was still sobbing every now and then. "Malak was here."
"Shush" the Jedi Master replied, putting one of her hands on the back of Bastila's head. "He wasn't here" she assured her. "Malak is dead."
"I could see him here" Bastila countered, still sobbing. "I was back on that forgotten planet, tethered to the interrogation table. And… and he…"
She failed to say whatever it was she was trying to say as another wave of tears interrupted her. She didn't have to say it out loud for Nomi to guess what she meant, though. The Jedi Master knew all too well what happened to her during her captivity in Malak's hands and what was haunting her in her nightmares.
"Malak is dead" she repeated, doing her best to comfort the young woman. "He won't hurt you again, I promise. You're safe now."
"Where is Revan?" Bastila asked quietly when her crying subsided. She asked that question so quietly that Nomi wasn't sure if she heard that correctly. "Why did he leave me?"
Rarely in her life, Nomi didn't know what to say, but that was one of those times.
"He didn't leave you" Jolee replied, placing a comforting hand on Bastila's back while she still was hugging tightly the Jedi Master. "Those we love never abandon us even if they are far from us. And whatever he's doing now, he's doing it to protect you."
"He should be here with me" Bastila countered. Her voice was now a little louder. "He should be the one hugging me now, not you," she said, swallowing some of her unshed tears. Finally, after a few more sobs, she broke away from Nomi's embrace. "And now he's thousands of light years away while I don't even know if he's still okay. He's my husband, for fuck's sake!"
"I know, I know, I know" Nomi replied, once again bringing Bastila back into her embrace. She was caressing her hair, that, surprisingly, wasn't tied up in a pigtail, in a soothing manner, trying to calm her down. Every now and then, she was also placing small kisses on top of her head. "He will return one day. He promised it, didn't he."
"Just as he promised to return to me after the Mandalorian Wars?" Bastila asked, once again lifting her head from Nomi's chest. The spot on her robe where the younger woman was holding her head was soaked wet because of the number of tears that escaped her eyes.
"Bastila" Jolee rubbed her back soothingly. "Perhaps I don't know Revan as much as you do, but I know him. He would never do anything to harm you."
"Really? He proved otherwise a few days ago after the battle of the Star Forge" Bastila countered. Now behind her tears, anger could be noticed. "Do you know the content of the marital vows, old man? 'Until death does us apart' – that's what he promised to me by giving me this ring" she said, lifting her left hand to emphasize her words. "And yet he decided to abandon me a few days after he promised not to do so!"
As soon as she said those words, she burst out crying loudly again. Once again, Nomi embraced her, pulling her back to her chest. Bastila was holding her robe for dear life, soaking it wet with her tears. The Jedi Master didn't mind in the slightest, though. She could understand the younger woman perfectly and knew well that she was needing as much consolation and contact with other humans as possible.
"Go back to sleep, Mission," she said quietly to the Twi'lek girl, making sure not to disturb Bastila who was beginning to calm down in her arms. "I and Jolee will make sure she's alright."
The blue scoundrel nodded her head in agreement, heading back towards her makeshift bed that was standing at the far end of the room they were sharing. Right next to her was Zaalbar, apparently not affected at all by Bastila's screams, as he was snoring loudly on the mattress that could barely fit him.
"I don't want much, you know," Bastila said after a few more minutes that seemed to be hours for the two Jedi. "Every other woman in the Galaxy can have a normal life: a husband they can hug in the night and start a family with. That's all I'm asking for" she admitted quietly, still sobbing gently. "Not some luxuries or anything like that. I just want to have my husband at my side. I Just want to be with Revan" she whispered the last part, almost as if she was afraid that saying these words out loud would cross out a chance of her wishes coming true.
"I know, Bastila" Nomi replied in equally quiet voice. "I also don't know Revan much but I know that he's almost as stubborn as Vrook used to be. If he promised that he'll return to you, I'm sure that he'll leave no stone unturned in order to do so."
"Nomi is right, Bastila" Jolee added, sitting on the mattress, right next to the two women. "He cares for you and leaving you was the last thing he wanted to do. He wouldn't have done it if he wasn't completely sure that this is the best way to keep you safe."
"Which is why he sent me back to the Council? To people that saw me as a traitor?"
"Not all of the Council members saw you as such" Nomi assured her, once again gently caressing Bastila's hair. "Atris may be angry with you but she reacted as she did only because of your relationship with Revan. Trust me, if your husband was standing in front of the Council with you, Atris's anger would be directed at him, not at you."
"And what would that change?" Bastila asked. Her voice was back to normal; tears weren't interrupting her anymore. "He would be punished just as he was about to be when I brought him in front of the Council after the campaign in the Sernpidal System. And it wouldn't be any different from what it is now."
Nomi had no reply to that. She could only continue her gentle caressing of the younger woman's hair. Bastila's eyes were swollen and red from all the tears she shed. Fortunately, mostly for her companions, she seemed to cry out all of her tears already. The unanswered statement that Bastila said out loud hung in the air of their small room, creating a tense atmosphere between the three Jedi.
It didn't take long for Bastila to drift off back to sleep, though. Exhausted after their travel from Coruscant to Telos and by the nightmares that continued to haunt her yet another night in the row, she fell asleep in the Jedi Master's arms, clenching tightly to Nomi's robe, as a small child.
"She needs help" Nomi stated when she was sure Bastila was sleeping soundly. Jolee nodded in agreement, rubbing his eyes. "The nightmares won't leave her alone and I have a feeling that Revan won't be able to comfort her" she added even quieter as if she was afraid the young woman who was resting in her arms would hear her.
"I would say this is something we'll have to think about in the morning" Jolee replied, blinking a few times. "Let's go back to sleep, Nomi. Staying awake and exhausting ourselves unnecessarily won't help any of us."
"I'll stay with her" she offered, not letting the younger woman leave her embrace, eventually, falling asleep with her on Bastila's mattress.
That's it for today, let me know what you thought about this chapter in the comments. Now that we are a few chapters into the story I want to thank JourneyRocks13 who has been with me since the first chapters of 'Price of the Sacrifice' and continues his amazing work by commenting each and every chapter of this story as well. Also, big thanks to Kirito1993 who showed up when I was finishing my previous story but is very active and eager to comment my updates. So, guys, or girls XD, thank you very much for your feedback and I want to encourage others to write a review, especially if you haven't done it yet. See you ;).