Chase

- Canderous Ordo -


"Ordo."

It was Onasi's voice that had me waking, thoughts snapping logically into order. The ship's repairs must be complete. It's time to get moving.

There was always that sense of feral urgency – anticipation, really – when heading into combat. Battle lust zinging through the blood, sharpening the mind, knowing it could be the end, but a glorious one-

And what was flying to the Star Forge to take on Darth Malak – fighting next to Revan herself – but a glorious way to live or die?

It was when my feet hit the durasteel floor that I realized something had gone balls-up.

The old man's not in his bunk. Neither is Rosh. And, hovering over me, pissed-off panic in every line of his body, was Onasi – who should've been warming up the engines or something useful had things gone according to plan.

"What the kriff is going on?" The words came out in a growl as I reached for my boots.

"Common room. Now," Onasi rapped out, before vanishing out of the men's quarters.

My gaze stilled on the damned empty bunks in front of me. I didn't have to bet a pile of creds as to who else was missing – I already knew.

Revan. Haar'chak kriffing Jedi!

Minutes later, I strode into the central hub of the freighter; fully armoured, jaw set, heart pumping steadily as my mind zeroed in on exactly what crap had exploded where. The weakest link in our crew was obvious to me, and so it was a surprise to see Carth's kid standing awkwardly in front of the gloop machine, instead of also missing. Mission was sleepily rubbing her eyes in his shadow.

Kid Onasi shot me a furtive glance. "Um. Dad's just getting Zaalbar." He folded his arms, all defensive and wound up like a slink-spring about to let go.

"I can't believe they've gone," Mission mumbled. "I should... I mean, sheesh, it's not the first-"

"Clarify," I barked. "Who's they? Rosh, Bindo... Revan?"

"Juhani, too." Mission was nodding, eyes downcast as she leaned against the wall at Sithkid's side. She sounded more subdued than customary – and that just pissed me off all the more.

"Tell me they took a wrist-comm," I growled, as the stern hatch opened on my left. "Tell me someone took a kriffing comm!"

"No." Onasi had returned through the door, Carpet hot on his heels, and he sounded just as furious as me. "First thing I checked when Dustil woke me."

"No," I echoed, barking a laugh- but it wasn't funny in the slightest. Oh, I was gonna knock some heads together when we caught up with the others. Revan, you better have a damn good reason for leaving us behind!

The Wookiee rumbled something that caused Mission to push off against the wall and walk to him, one hand reaching out for his furry arm.

"You were only half-coherent when you woke me, Dustil," Onasi stated. The anger in his voice had firmed into a hard-edged command, levelled directly at his spawn. "We're all here, now. Tell us what happened."

"Revan ran," Dustil muttered. "The others- we all woke up- and, and they went after her."

"Where? To this temple we're planning to blow up?" I stared hard at the boy, but he refused to meet my gaze- or his dad's, for that matter. "How long ago?"

"The temple, yes, but I-I don't know how much time has passed."

"He said that bastard Rosh knocked him out," Onasi cut in, before I had a chance to growl at the stupidity of the answer. It was then that I noticed the blaster held tight in Onasi's grip, the mesh armour he was already wearing, the glint of purpose hardening his face. He was about as willing as I was to be left behind.

My gaze slid back to his son. "You said Revan's the one who ran. So, she fell under this mystic spell you lot are so enraptured by? With the way your eyes glazed over the other day, boy, I find it hard to believe that Revan's the one who crumbled."

Sithkid's head snapped up, the fire of anger apparent in the deep lines of his scowl. "Well, she did, okay? She ran... she'd already gone by the time that damned voice woke us all-"

Carpet howled. Mission mumbled something, sinking into his side. Onasi cursed under his breath-

"Voice?" I snapped. "You mean to tell me this pyramid is talking to you lot now?"

"We have to extract them and then blow the blasted thing up," Carth muttered. "Dammit, Revan! How could you run, after everything-"

But his son was shifting awkwardly on his feet, his temper vanishing as something close to embarrassment burned his cheeks. "Um, maybe what I said- maybe it's not entirely fair to Revan- frakk. I can't believe I just said that-"

Onasi blinked. "Dustil-"

"Spit it out. Now!" I demanded.

Kid Onasi shot me an almost-hostile look. "It wasn't the Force-beacon talking to us, or whatever you're thinking. The voice was speaking to Revan- only Revan- it was just so powerful that the rest of us heard it." He bit his lip, looking uncertain. "Juhani said it was Bastila Shan."

Bastila. The name was a shock. Oh, I'd thought of the princess often since her capture, but I'd never known how much to believe in the Force-voodoo between her and Revan. Revan had confirmed Bastila'd been having a hard time, but little else- and that bit of intel wasn't exactly galaxy-shattering in revelation. I knew they could speak to each other with their minds, but...

My eyes narrowed. Bastila had been a prisoner for over a month. Young, softly-bred woman like her- she would've broken by now. She's lured Revan away. Question is, why the kriff did Revan listen?

There was another howl from Zaalbar, this one more insistent than the last.

"We'll get her back, Big Z," Mission soothed, empty words considering half the damn crew were gone. "We'll get them both back."

"Bastila..." Onasi trailed off. Just like that, the fight leeched out of him as he wearily scrubbed at his face. "The bond... I- Revan's been worried... Dustil- what exactly did you hear from- from Bastila?"

"I heard her say it wasn't a trap," Sithkid muttered. "It's what woke me. I think Juhani heard more. She- she thought Bastila's state of mind was- was- and then Yudan Rosh said it was a frakking trap and Revan was an idiot and waking up the rest of us would only slow them down-" His jaw clenched.

"Huh," I grunted. "I've seen how fast those Force-bastards can travel, so I might actually be with Rosh on this one. Except that shabuir should've kicked us awake before leaving. Doesn't make any sense to knock you out, either." As I stared, a dull red darkened the boy's smooth cheeks once again. He held my gaze, this time, but it was obvious there was still more to his damn story. "Why'd he knock you out, Sithkid?"

Dustil looked over to his dad, who had a firm, uncompromising look on his face. I was one step away from shaking the boy, myself, when Dustil sighed. A heavy gust of air that signified defeat. His shoulders sagged and his head dropped.

"To stop me following, I think," Dustil mumbled. "I said I could help, and then all three of them looked at me like- like I was the biggest liability- and next thing I knew I was lying face first on the frakking ground and they'd long gone."

"To stop you following?" Onasi's voice had deepened. "Rosh knocked you out to- you didn't tell me that before."

The boy's jaw tightened, but his head stayed bowed.

There was no denying we had to get a move on- maybe old man Bindo and Juhani and Rosh had this under control- but I wasn't counting on it and, somehow, I didn't think Onasi was, either. But for the first time since I'd met Onasi's difficult, resentful kid, I actually felt a wedge of sympathy for him.

Staring down at the ground, a mixture of shame and belligerence hunching his shoulders up to his ears, I could see that despite the boy's issues with just about everything – he wanted to prove his worth. Like a young Mando'ade unblooded in battle, Kid Onasi wanted to race after the others and throw his might at the enemy. He ain't exactly a weakling, either, when it comes to that. Can't forget all he got up to on the Leviathan.

The dumbest thing Dustil Onasi could've done upon waking was run after the others – but he hadn't. He'd woken his dad up instead – and I didn't think it was from a sense of fear. Maybe the boy was learning to think things through.

Onasi's gaze shifted to mine. We stayed silent, and I knew he'd come to the same conclusion as me. His son was the only Force-user left on the ship, but there was no denying he was a liability. I could still see Sithkid's nose in the air, his eyes unfocused like a spice junkie, as he failed to see or hear anything until Revan had slammed him backwards with the kriffing Force.

Dustil Onasi may have kept control of himself since then, but there was no telling what getting closer to this pyramid would do to him. Yet... I didn't want to crush the whining boy's pride, either.

You're getting soft, Ordo.

"We can't leave the ship undefended," I said abruptly, swinging my gaze to Zaalbar. "How's the repairs going, Carpet?"

He answered, a long and low rumble, followed by a shaggy shake of the head that looked entirely too negative for my peace of mind.

"Slow," Mission translated, her voice muffled as she leaned against him. "The patching's done, but Teethree's worried it'll explode-" A short howl drowned out the rest of her words, and she pulled back, rolling her eyes at Zaalbar in an echo of her normal sass. "Okay, okay. They're worried about the integrity of the fuel tank, and that it might explode further along-" Another rumble had her huffing and poking him in the side. "Sheesh, Big Z, rupture or explode, what does it matter?"

"How long until we're done?" Onasi demanded.

"Big Z says maybe another six hours?" Mission relayed after a long series of howls. Her voice was tentative. "Canderous got him enough material, but there's another spot- Teethree's scans show a weakness in the metal seam from the collision... they're worried it might tear when you re-pressurize the fuel tank."

Haar'chak! My gaze snagged on Onasi's again; he was frowning in consternation. They said four hours before we went to sleep!

"The longer we're on this damn planet, the longer we're a blind target," I said. "We gotta keep the speed on the repairs."

"Yes," Onasi rapped out in agreement. "Any minute the Republic fleet could be jumping out of hyperspace – and straight into the scrambler. We can't help them until I can manually launch the 'Hawk and target the temple... but- but we have to get the others away from there, first."

Zaalbar roared. Short, sharp and loud.

"Big Z's going after Jen," Mission said quietly. "He- it's the lifedebt. You won't be leaving him behind."

There was no denying the Wookiee's strength in a fight, but I didn't want the astromech fixing the 'Hawk without assistance. "Trashcan's gonna need another set of hands or we'll be here forever. Ad'ika, you're the only one who can understand him. I need you under the ship helping him."

"And Dustil can protect the two of you," Onasi added. "While you're busy working-"

"Hey, I don't need protection-" Mission flared.

Dustil glared at his father. "You're only saying that to make me stay behind-"

"Dustil, we need the ship repaired as quickly as we can. Ordo's right." Onasi's jaw had firmed as he stared down his son. "There's enough Force-users already after Revan, it makes sense to leave one with the ship. We send muscle after them-"

"I can help!" the boy implored. "Dammit, Dad, I'll be nothing but useless while Mission and Teethree fix the ship-"

"A true warrior knows his own strengths and weaknesses," I snapped, slamming an armoured glove down hard on the table. Sithkid jumped, his gaze swinging back to me. "You're susceptible to this kriffing Force temple – you're a blind utreekov if you pretend otherwise. And we'd be a pack of di'kuts if we didn't leave someone behind to guard our only way off this damn planet."

"This planet's deserted," he muttered. "You're just-"

"You think I'm saying words for fun, boy?" I growled as my impatience surged. "Our sensors – the ones that actually work – only show the immediate area. We don't know enough about this place to equivocally state it's deserted. But I have seen your abilities. Guarding home base is just as vital as leading the vanguard, and you're a powerful warrior in your own right. As long as you stop whining about everything and focus."

I wasn't the sort to waste bolstering words on weaklings. And while I might label Onasi's son any number of uncomplimentary words, weakling was not one of them. Not since the Leviathan.

...

The Sith armour sat tight around my waist, tight enough that I was concerned about it hampering my manoeuvrability. There's prison guards in the next room, Ordo. This suit's better than nothing. Wander in there half-naked and one shot will drop you. I grimaced, feeling my head pound, my thigh throb, and the superficial grazes over my torso sting like a swarm of sugar-bees.

I'd been worse off – more than once – but I knew if I didn't find a stim or painkiller soon then my injuries were gonna compromise matters. Especially my damn leg, where those Czerka di'kuts had got the better of me back on Kashyyyk.

Zaalbar howled something, waving a blaster around, as he crouched over the two corpses Kid Onasi had sliced effortlessly into pieces.

"Nothing else on the bodies," Mission translated. She was hovering behind him, wearing the armour suit of the smaller guard. Good thing, too, because she'd been just as under-dressed as me – and I had the feeling things were gonna get hairier than Zaalbar's furry arse once we left the prison cell.

And, at least now that she was wearing more than just her damn underwear, Kid Onasi might stop blushing whenever he looked her way.

"No matter. We gotta move." My words were brisk, and I motioned the others closer. There was only so long before one of the guards outside tried the hatch, or ran a wary eye over the forged vid-feed-

Someone banged heavily on the other side of the only exit.

"Time's up," I muttered, before jabbing at the wrist-comm that Sithkid had been using earlier to get to us. "Trashcan, send a malfunction report through to the next room, informing them there's a fault with the hatch to our containment cell. Say that maintenance has been despatched." It should be enough to stop the guards next door from sending out an alert – at least, for the next few minutes.

I looked over the three allies I had to work with. Somehow, we had to get from this prison complex to the suite of interrogation rooms where Revan and the others were being held. It was only three floors up from here, but we had little in the way of armament – and I couldn't discount how my own injuries would impact my abilities.

My gaze fixed on the young man who'd just broken us out. "Can you do that hiding trick again, boy?"

He stared at me before nodding firmly. His fingers tightened on his deactivated glow-stick.

"Right. Here's the plan. Trashcan reports there's five guards in the next room. I'll get him to seal all exits, then we'll open this one and Dustil will take the lead." I could see Mission steeling herself next to the Wookiee, but it was the Sithkid I kept my attention on. He'd done damn well to get us out of the cells without being seen, but now I needed to use him in outright combat. "Dustil, you go straight for the soldiers further back in the room. Carpet, give your blaster to Mission – you'll be taking out the closest Sith with your fists. Mission and I will follow with covering fire. We all good?"

Mission swallowed, nodding a little shakily. Zaalbar handed her the lightweight blaster he'd frisked, hilt-first, before rumbling something and striding towards the exit.

"I'm ready," Dustil said in a low voice, standing next to the Wookiee. "Don't shoot, though. Not unless you have to. You might get me instead." He gave me one last intent look, before vanishing in front of my eyes.

The boy had a point. "Ad'ika, we cover Carpet. Only Carpet. Don't go firing wildly unless you want to hit Sithkid."

"Yep," she whispered, stepping closer to me. "Got it, Canderous."

"We'll secure the next room, grab whatever equipment we find, and move on to the others," I said. "They're counting on us, and we damn well won't let them down."

Mission's chin lifted. Zaalbar roared in agreement. I stared back down at the wrist-comm. "Trashcan, seal all exits of the next room, and disable the defense turrets and surveillance." There was a heavy minute of silence before the bucket droid beeped an assent that translated as confirmation on the small screen. "Now, open the cell hatch."

The door hissed as it opened.

I had no way of knowing where Sithkid was, and instead placed myself behind the towering form of Zaalbar as he barrelled into the room. My focus narrowed down the scope of the standard-issue blaster; five marks – all armoured Sith – the nearest one straightening in surprise just before he copped a hairy limb to the head.

The Sith's scream was drowned out by the cracking noise of shattering plasticeel as Zaalbar's fist pounded again and again through his helm.

My aim moved immediately to the next mark, who was running straight for the Wookiee's back with an upraised vibroblade. A double-tap of my gun crackled against a blue energy shield; at my side, Mission opened fire in unison. The guard stumbled as his blue-white shield dispersed; my next flurry of bolts smashed the neckpiece of his armour suit right open.

The Wookiee roared, spinning around, before laying a wild roundhouse into the faltering Sith.

I wrenched my attention deeper into the room as Zaalbar flattened the second mark. Standing awkwardly over three prone corpses, a red 'saber in his grasp and a fierce glint in his eye, was the visible form of Dustil Onasi.

Mand'alor's balls! He'd taken out three guards quicker than the rest of us had neutralized the other two. I'd seen – and firmly discounted – the use of stealth belts in combat. They had nothing on this clever trick of Dustil Onasi's.

And it seemed his sword arm wasn't too shoddy, either.

...

We'd run into heavier fire before we'd finally made it to the interrogation rooms, where we'd found Onasi, Juhani, and the old man – all prone on the lilac floor until Mission shot them full of stims we'd looted on the way there.

I'd taken another hit, by then, and was barely walking myself. It'd been a close call, more than once, as we blasted through the enemy cruiser. And it was Kid Onasi who'd led the way; sometimes hidden, always with that red bar of death in his grasp, silently obeying my snapped orders as he cut through most of the enemy and Zaalbar mopped up the remainder.

There was no denying that Dustil Onasi worked a lot better under pressure than he did when he had time to whine about his life.

"You got us off the Leviathan, boy. Hold the damn ship. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and hold the damn ship."

"We need you here, Dustil," Onasi said, his voice low and resolute. "You wanted to be part of this. That means you put your personal opinions aside and do what's required. I need to be able to trust the 'Hawk's covered."

"Okay." The boy swallowed, and lifted his chin. All traces of resentment had vanished, and his nod of agreement was firm. He stared at us steadily. "I won't let you down. Either of you."

"Armour up, the both of you," I rapped out, inclining my head at Mission. "Then grab a kriffing comm and go help the astromech. Ad'ika, you do whatever Trashcan needs to get the 'Hawk fixed as fast as possible."

"Dustil, keep your eye on a bio-scanner," Onasi added. "Make sure nothing catches you unawares, and stay within sight of the landing ramp. I'll be in touch over the comm."

"Sure." Kid Onasi nodded again. "I'll go- just, be safe, okay Dad? Let the Force-users do- whatever they need-"

"Go," I snapped, suddenly impatient. "Get your kit on, and get to work."

The kids left, and Onasi and I stared at each other, grim and resolute and ready, as the Wookiee rumbled something incomprehensible. The three of us made a tough trio – if we were up against anything other than kriffing Force powers.

We don't know the area. Only the general direction of this damn temple. We'd have to rely on comms back to the 'Hawk- unless there was someone else who might know something about this cursed place-

My thoughts spun quickly. And another gun in the hold is always a good thing.

"Carpet, get yourself armed," I ordered the Wookiee. "I'll grab a belt full of grenades. No telling what we're gonna run into."

"I'll get medkits and visors," Onasi added. "And a bio-scanner. It's still dark out, we need to make sure we know which way to go-"

"Leave that to me," I ground out, feeling a feral grin spawn on my face. "I've got an idea."

xXx

Crimson photoreceptors flared to life as HK's head swivelled in my direction.

"Greeting: I am-"

"We're on the only planet in the Lehon system," I interrupted, not interested in any sort of deranged waffle that Revan had once programmed into him. "Are you familiar with it?"

There was a slight whirring from the robot before he answered. "Query: Does the master wish to travel to the defense structure of the Star Forge?"

I grunted at his acknowledgment of the pyramid. "So, you've some knowledge of the area, at least. Can you lead us to the damn structure?"

HK's angular head cocked; if he'd been a sent, I would've expected a puzzled look of curiosity. "Acknowledgment: If the master commands me to perform the belittling duties of a tourist guide, then my programming has no option but to comply, even under duress."

"Here's the thing, Tinhead," I cut in, leaning forward. "I remember how you ran off in the Shadowlands, last time Revan played truant. This time you're taking orders from me."

"Statement: My primary objective is the safety of the master." His head canted even further, while his unblinking electronic gaze stayed pinned on mine. "Inference: The master has once more disappeared into danger. Primary objective initiating-"

"You take one step on your own and I'll shove that triangle head of yours down your own gullet," I growled. "We're leading an extraction to rescue your damn master, and if your aim is Revan's safety then the best thing you can do is follow my orders and lend supporting fire. Don't test me, Tinhead, or you'll find yourself marooned on this chivhole of a planet while I have all the fun killing the enemy on the Forge."

I wasn't really gonna disable HK if he was determined to do things his own way, as the one thing I could count on was his loyalty to Revan. But if I couldn't trust his back in a firefight, then the droid could damn well rot on this beach while we took to the skies.

"Observation: You are a harsh, harsh taskmaster. I like you more already."

The hatch to the cargo bay opened, and Onasi took two strides in before stilling.

"Oh no," he said. "You're not taking that thing-"

Behind him, Zaalbar walked in, huffing with disapproval as he also spotted the droid.

"Commentary: Geriatric Blockhead has wisely deduced that you frail meatbags require my superior assistance." There was a clicking noise as HK withdraw a blaster rifle and cocked it. "Mockery: It is beyond my processing power to account for your survival before I entered your meaningless lives."

"He knows the area, and he's loyal to Revan," I pointed out when Onasi's frown landed on me.

"Fine," Onasi grumbled. "Maybe his shields will fail and enemy fire will take him out." He shot HK a look of intense dislike. "Again."

There was an electronic squawk of protest from the droid. "Indignation: The first time that occurred, I had no shielding to fail, about which I had already warned the master. As for the second time: you fell to Calo Nord's offensive the same as I did."

"Only twice?" Onasi muttered. "I seem to recall you were a heap of useless metal after Korriban-"

"Retort: That had nothing to do with my shields, Paranoid Has-Been. Did your half-blind, organic eye-receptors fail to see that my head had been removed-"

"I'll remove your head from your-"

"Children," I growled, a second before the Wookiee rumbled something that was probably the Shyriiwook equivalent. "Shut your traps and focus on what's important." I levelled an irritated scowl at Onasi; to his credit, he looked somewhat sheepish.

"I checked in with Teethree," Onasi stated, turning his attention back to me as he tightened a strap on a small backpack. "The 'Hawk's external scanners are useless with the scrambler active, but Teethree's picking up an electromagnetic spike six klicks from here. That'll be where we need to go."

"Confirmation: The radiation is the emittance of the kaiburr housed within the defense structure of the Star Forge. Even a portable paperweight should be able to sense that."

I glanced back to HK, and wondered just how long his obedience would last without a direct order from Revan. "What else can you tell us about this place, Tinhead?"

"Statement: Now that my memory core is fully unlocked, I can access the navigational charts of Lehon and the schematics of the Rakatan structures from my databanks. Elucidation: This planet was once the homeworld of the Rakatan species. They used a transmutation technology to convert Force-power into other forms of energy. On Lehon it was converted into a sector-wide EMP scrambler that disabled any starships missing their designated decryption protocols." The droid gave a mechanical shrug of indifference. "Commentary: While the Rakatan were both ingenious and innovative in their use of kaiburr-enhanced Force, they failed to fully account for the cerebral and biological side-effects of such constant immersion in transmuted Force power. It is simply another indication of the superiority of artificial life-forms."

"Force power," I muttered. "Makes sense. And I think I can guess the side-effects, judging by the impact it had on Sithkid."

"You've been on this planet before?" Onasi said, his voice abrupt as he stared hard at the droid.

"Negative: I have not personally walked upon Lehon's surface."

"Revan uploaded this intel into your head," I surmised, rolling my eyes. Haar'chak, to think how much shorter this mission could've been, had we all known the truth back on Tatooine.

"Speculation: While the master did not divulge her reasons for storing this intelligence in my databanks, my hypothesis is that her motive was to provide an alternative route to access the Star Forge, should it be compromised. The information I have is locked to be released only to those I calculate as fully loyal to the master's well-being." The robot sniffed. "Reluctance: Despite your obvious biological deficiencies, I suppose I can consider you all to fall within those parameters. For now."

Probably, HK meant for it to sound ominous. But I'd heard too much of his thinly-veiled threats for it to hold any water, and I highly doubted it had any effect on the others, either.

"Let's get a move on," Onasi said, his voice gruff. "We can always grill Psycho-droid on the way."

xXx

"Okay," Onasi muttered into his wrist-comm, acknowledging his son's report of absolutely nothing. "We're about a klick away. I'll check in with you when we reach the pyramid."

The forest we traipsed through was low-lying; a tangle of dry brambles that wasn't the easiest for humanoids to clamber through. Zaalbar led the way, forcefully clearing a path for the rest of us to follow, the vegetation posing no challenge beneath his muscle.

::Right. Talk to you then,:: Sithkid returned, before Carth's comm switched off.

"Commentary: Internal bio-scanners are sensing nine mink-rats within close proximity of our position," the droid droned. My visor picked up the small, swift blur of a projectile the same time as a faint thwacking noise resounded through the air. "Amendment: Eight mink-rats now within close proximity."

"What, killing the native fauna now?" Onasi's voice was laced with disgust. "It's no surprise you're a creation from the blasted Forge, with all your gratuitous killing."

I hadn't heard Onasi's reaction to HK's origins, but I highly doubted it'd been a positive one. Frankly, I was surprised the Republic pilot wasn't, once more, calling out for the droid's scrapping. Onasi generally allowed his tedious moralistic principles to override his pragmatism, but maybe in this case he was smart enough to concede HK's usefulness had its place in our team.

"Objection: The Rakatan considered the mink-rat species to be a native pest. Without their presence to keep the rodent population in check, one could argue that I am merely providing a planetary duty." The damn droid sounded far too smug for that argument to hold any weight. An irritated howl from the Wookiee seemed to agree with my observation.

"Retort: Taking pride in my prowess does not make me evil, Mobile Carpet. In fact, from a nauseatingly emotional viewpoint, it is merely one route to an ephemeral form of happiness."

"These Rakatan," Onasi cut in. "What happened to them?"

"Conjecture: The answer to that is not conclusively known. There are theories of some sort of plague decimating that Rakatan population, but the odds for that to drive a galaxy-dominant species to near-extinction are mathematically unfeasible. Commentary: It was the master's belief, once, that the Rakatan suffered from too much Force-exposure, and may have inadvertently caused their own demise with their experiments. Perhaps it was a combination of both, or some other unknown factor."

"She thought that, back then," Onasi whispered as he strode in front of me. His steps suddenly seemed faster, angrier. "And she still did what she did, despite believing the Rakatan had dabbled too far."

"Revan had a reason," I replied to him, hearing the gruffness in my own voice. "She may not remember it, and it may not have worked out how she planned... but she had a reason. We both know that."

"She was wrong, whatever it was," Onasi returned bluntly. "Nothing good can come from that Forge."

I shrugged, unwilling to encourage the pilot's melodrama. My gaze returned to the droid, striding in front of me, ducking smoothly behind a branch that swung back from the Wookiee's grasp.

"Tinhead," I called out. "You said near-extinction. Are there some of these Rakatan still around, then?"

The droid whirred as he continued walking. "Answer: That is unknown. Four years ago, all Rakatan on this island perished. But Lehon is comprised of many islands and archipelago. There are two landmasses larger than this one, and I have little data on the habitation of them. Extrapolation: There is no evidence of Rakatan surviving elsewhere in the galaxy, and there is no advanced technology of note on this planet – with the exception of the Star Forge's defense structure. One can surmise that if the Rakatan are not yet extinct, then they are surely on the brink of becoming so."

We lapsed into silence, following the Wookiee, as he snapped spindly branches and pushed through dense undergrowth in the dark. It couldn't be too far from dawn, now; the nav-charts gave Lehon an eighteen-hour solar cycle, and it'd been night for at least six hours. Though I had no damn idea about any seasonal fluctuations on this planet.

The jungle was dense enough to block out the light from Lehon's two moons. The visors more than coped for the lack of visibility – not that either the Wookiee or the droid required one.

"HK," Onasi said, some time later. "The scrambler. What's the best way to bring it down?"

"Answer: There is a console at the top of the defense structure that corresponds to one on the Star Forge itself. Either can be used to shut down the transmission of the EMP scrambler."

"Then what's to stop ole Malak from turning it right back on?" I growled. "Not exactly an infallible plan, if that's what Revan's going for."

Zaalbar stopped in front of us, turning to briefly howl something over a furry shoulder before moving on.

"Translation: The Wookiee's opinion, debatable though its value may be, is that the master's primary desire is to rescue Bastila Shan. Obviously the idea of having more than one concurrent objective is a foreign one to his inefficient brain, but, that is hardly surprising."

"It comes right back to blowing up the pyramid," Onasi cut in, his head turning to face me. "That's the only sure-fire way of taking down the scrambler for good."

"Cautionary: While destruction of the kaiburr itself will certainly disable the scrambler, it will also leave it inoperable for when the master once more assumes control of the Star Forge-"

"Revan's not looking to take that cursed thing back over!" Onasi said heatedly. "That blasted factory is getting destroyed, one way or the other!"

Frankly, I didn't care if Revan blew the kriffing thing to bits or appropriated its functions again. I was here for her end-game – to take down Malak. If that meant stealing his ship factory out from under his nose, or exploding it while he stood on it – well, the end result was the same.

Zaalbar halted again, this time long enough that the rest of us stopped as well. He turned around to face us, before rumbling something long and low in Shyriiwook.

"Statement: The Wookiee wants something to eat." There was a howl of protest, loud enough that it made me wonder about the reliability of HK's translation. "Commentary: The bio-organic fuel required to power you meatbags is an obvious design flaw of your life-form. Example: Withhold rotting matter from the Wookiee for a single rotation of this planet, and one could probably coerce him into doing just about anything."

Zaalbar growled, a hand waving in either disagreement of the translation, or simply a desire to dismember the droid.

"Mockery: Your organic flailings amuse me."

"Keep food from the Wookiee, and I think he'd be a lot more likely to rip your arms off than do what you want," I said drily. "What else did he say, Tinhead?"

"Extrapolation:," HK continued. "The Wookiee also points out that we have reached the pyramid."

I stepped sideways, looking beyond Zaalbar to see an immediate thinning of the vegetation.

My fingers tightened on the heavy blaster in my grasp as I prepared to face the unknown. It felt- strange, almost, to go striding into a danger I couldn't even perceive – an enemy that wasn't a group of people to be fought against, but rather a foreign energy that might be screwing with the minds of our Force-sensitive crewmates.

And Bastila Shan.

I couldn't think of the princess as an enemy, but I wasn't blind to the edginess some of the others had whenever her name was mentioned. Dark Side, Light Side... the labels mattered little to me, but it was obvious Revan and Juhani were both deeply concerned about Bastila.

Which made it even more idiotic for Revan to have run off alone. Bastila saved her, though. Just as the Wookiee owes his life to Revan, Revan owes hers to Bastila. That, maybe, I could understand.

"Let's go," Onasi said in a low voice, striding forward to flank Zaalbar.

The treeline completely disappeared within metres, and we were left staring into a large clearing, lit by the same sharp moonlight as on the beach. In the centre of it, rose the oblique pyramid that could be easily seen from the skies.

The angles of the structure were sharp, sharp enough that I guessed its height more than twice the length of its base. The pyramid narrowed to an almost-tip at the top; it was hard to see clearly from the ground, but it looked like a small roof or platform was notched into the very peak of the building.

"Commentary: The kaiburr and its transmuting enclosure are housed within the ground floor of the defense structure. The controlling console is located on the apex of the structure. Observation: I cannot sense any life-forms in the immediate area, but the emittance of kaiburr radiation is interfering with my scanners. I would speculate the master has likely travelled to the apex to gain control over the scrambler."

My eyes narrowed as I kept them fixed on the pinnacle of the building. Is that where Revan was? And the others? Bastila?

A flash of light sparked from the top.

"Hypothesis: The master is currently blasting-"

The light morphed silently into a large fireball; a second later, the cacophony of detonating explosives hit my ears.

"-her enemies-"

Before my stunned eyes, the peak of the pyramid ripped apart beneath the might of what could only be high-grade munitions-

"What in the blazes-"

"Haar'chak!" They're there – or were. They've triggered a damn minefield!

The flames of conflagration receded; another deafening rumble sounded through the air, and beneath the dying flames of what I guessed to be permacrete detonators there was a new shape to the apex of the pyramid.

Something whistled. Debris, firing down from up high, as chunks of the structure's framework were blasted through the air.

"Take cover!" I snarled, spinning around to see Onasi already yanking the Wookiee back into the treeline. Alarm wedged a spike of ice in my gut as I sprinted after them. No matter the droid's rosy belief in his master's superiority, I knew this wasn't her work.

I threw one last look over my shoulder before disappearing back into the vegetation. There was no clear apex anymore – simply an uneven gouge, running metres deep, like a massive claw had taken a swipe to the very top of the pyramid.

An explosion like that – I knew the odds, even for Force-users. If taken unawares, it'd be game over.

For the love of Mand'alor – Revan, are you still alive?

xXx

Author's Note:
Coming up next: Revan makes a choice. The unexpected follows.

Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts :-)
As always, many thanks for the reviews, follows, favs, and even just the views. It means a lot! And the reviews, honestly, are fantastic encouragement :-)
And, even more so, a thousand thanks to kosiah for the beta.