Chapter Note: The chapter overlaps with the previous.


Precipice

- Revan Freeflight -


The silence lay as thick fog; oppressive and heavy between us all.

The scene was almost absurd, like a line of topple-over chits: Juhani facing down Yudan facing down Jolee – who was staring grimly at me.

All were waiting for my next move. All was silent around us.

Except for the clamour in my head.

You do not need to cut Juhani and the old man down, Bastila urged again, as if she believed that to be my only hesitation. Stars knew, it was my primary one, but it certainly wasn't the whole of it. Knock them out, neutralize them – just do not allow their ignorance to stand in our way!

It wouldn't be that easy. It wouldn't be that simple. And I knew Yudan would not act with such restraint.

He'd fallen into a battle-ready stance: muscles tensed, gaze fixed, green 'saber held at guard.

The lightsaber that had once belonged to Malak's old master.

Jolee must have pocketed Zhar's weapon upon leaving the Leviathan – the old man must've decided Yudan was worth it after everything – and now Yudan thought to stand against him?

What the frell is Yudan's game?

He believes in our cause, Revan. Unlike the others, he understands – of course he does. He's travelled this road with you before.

She was right... but she was wrong, also. Yudan had made clear his primary objective again and again – and did that really fit with allegiance to me while I once more claimed the Star Forge in the name of the galaxy?

My gaze shifted to Juhani. Eyes narrowed, ears laid flat against the side of her head; in the illumination of her royal blue 'saber, I could almost make out her fine fur quivering on end as she glared fiercely at Yudan. Ready to pounce.

Juhani had been with me since Tatooine, and there was no denying her unyielding stand against the Dark Side. More than perhaps anyone who followed me, I could rely on her loyalty – with the caveat that I stayed true to the right path.

What is the right path, Revan? The sound of a dismissive snort echoed through my mind. Conquerors rewrite history in their own image to justify their actions. You know this. You know things are not black and white – Juhani never will. One poor decision led to her fall, because of her blind conceit that a true Jedi cannot fail. Rather than face the consequences of her actions, she ran away to cower on a foreign planet, believing a single misstep equated her as evil. Juhani is no authority – not on the matters we are dealing with.

Bastila's voice was a buzzing in my head. An intrusive eye, attempting to shape my indecisive thoughts as I struggled to think everything through-

Of course I am trying to convince you! I have laid my motives bare. We have the stability of the galaxy at stake here, Revan – the galaxy! There was an obvious thread of frustration running through her psychic monologue. Bastila had been concerned this communication would rouse Malak, but her desperation was overriding that now-

Because you are faltering! Due to nothing more than meddlesome ignorance!

Jolee's mouth thinned. That small action, in the periphery of my vision, drew my attention back to him. He'd been involved in the Exar Kun conflict. He'd seen his wife fall. He understood the pitfalls of pursuing power – no matter the intentions used to rationalize it. Jolee had instigated this stand-off, for all that he had been the last to power on his weapon.

He is willing to lay down his life for his values. I had to respect his tenacity, at least. There was a grim acceptance in Jolee's expression – for he'd already acknowledged that opposing me would mean his end.

Can I really allow it to come to that?

While your reluctance to confront your friends is admirable, do not forget that two lives balanced against the weight of the whole are meaningless.

But where does it stop? When sacrifice merely begets more sacrifice, and with each death our souls are hardened to the very real cost-

You would prefer to sacrifice the galaxy?

No, no... but I was missing something, here. And Bastila wasn't helping any. I need a moment, I whispered to my frantic bond-sister. A clamminess stole over my skin as I stared upon the others. One move, right or not, would set everything into action.

If I followed Bastila, the crew would be trapped on Lehon. Carth might be able to launch, but only straight into a Sith bloodbath-

The snubfighter can fit two. Yudan will follow you. The others- it would be better for them to stay on the planet.

-unless the Republic Fleet turned up, but the Fleet had no hope of survival while the EMP scrambler was still active-

The scrambler is controlled on the Forge, Revan. If you so strongly desire it disabled, then it is yet another reason for you to travel here-

-because I'd certainly have time to go traipsing through an alien space station looking for the right controlling mechanism-

What are their lives to you, Revan? Her irritation was mounting, threading like skeins of dark emotion through the mind-link. The Republic forces travel here not just to end Malak, but also you. And myself, by proxy. The only threat they see is the Star Forge itself – which is naught more than a weapon.

My throat dried. Every argument Bastila thrust at me had truth in it, but each word also deepened my unease. What are their lives to me? There was a sense of unreality, of fuzziness fraying at the edges of my concentration as I considered that.

I'd answered Rulan Prolik's interrogation over loyalty, and my disclosure had surprised me more than him.

Before... beyond the veil of amnesia that clouded my past- I knew I'd once turned against the Republic for valid reasons – with the arrogant intention of building a better, stronger Republic.

Because, once, Republic lives had been important to me.

I felt beads of sweat break out on my neck as the thoughts spun. Once, I'd led the Republic instead of conquering it. Once, I'd been willing to risk everything in the name of defense, of protection – anything I could, to help save as many Republic lives as I could.

Once, there had been nothing more important to me.

...

The Force sang.

I took one step into a massive hangar that stretched forever.

A thousand pinpricks of life shimmered ahead of me.

A thousand star pilots, their nervousness saturating the air as they faced away, listening to a panicked member of the brass trying valiantly to conceal just how badly the Republic was losing.

Flat words spoken to me earlier skimmed through my train of thought. "General Adashan wants us to pull back," Yudan had said. His tone had been neutral, but I knew him too well to be fooled. Adashan's sentiment sat as well with him as it did me. "He believes we are too valuable a resource to risk on the frontlines."

We'd arrived the previous week, all thirteen of us. We burned with righteous determination to do what the High Council would not. If we allowed Adashan to herd us, we'd be of assistance – there was no doubt of that. Vital resources, to augment the midfield.

But thirteen Jedi following a traditional general's command wouldn't be enough to hold back the Mandalorians. Adashan lacked the foresight required to change the tide of war... or to upturn the game-board and play a different game entirely.

My fingers clenched around the anonymous mask I'd carried since Cathar.

In the centre of the hangar the officer was still firing out frantic orders. Behind him was line upon line of prepped snubfighters, waiting to launch into the skies.

But there was an undercurrent of fear amongst the crowd, whispering through the matrix of my Force awareness. The grunts out there didn't believe in victory. They'd hold off the incoming wave of Mando fighters – this one, and the next – but their hearts had lost faith in the Republic prevailing.

In my mind, I could see the drawn cast to Em's face from the previous day. Her gaze had been bleak as she'd relayed the news. "Kavar has returned to the Core." She'd struggled to appear unaffected, as I'd struggled to bite back a curse regarding Kavar's parentage.

His departure hurt Em personally, but worse- it undermined our position with the brass.

The High Council denied my final petition. The Order still refuses outright aid. And now, the military commanders and Senate bureaucrats see that not even a master is willing to lead us.

The Republic would fall. I could see it happening, if things stayed as they were. Traditional, Senate-ordered ripostes were completely ineffectual against Mandalorian shock-tactics and basilisk drops. Outer Rim planets were ceding from the Republic in response to overwhelming civilian casualties, while other sectors were willingly absorbed into the enemy's ever-growing empire. Our morale was fractured by the waves of soulless refugees that had simply seen too much.

That same morale plummeted as the mystics- the saviours- the heroes that every little kid wanted to be- sat back and did nothing but meditate on a peace the galaxy no longer had.

What good is the Jedi Order, if we don't protect peace itself?

I still felt the heat of Mal's firm grasp as it had clasped mine. He'd found me, hours ago, seeing straight through my veneer of calm to the uncertainty that simmered beneath. "All of us followed you here, Revvie." His whiskey-coloured eyes had been dark with fierce conviction. "Lead, and we will follow. Lead, and show the Republic what it means to fight alongside a Jedi."

The mask sat heavy in my hand as I stared at the back of a thousand flight helms.

Weeks ago, back on Coruscant, as I'd waited for the Council's impending denial of my petition, I'd had an idea. It wasn't a path that appealed to me – but, maybe, it was a path that would give the Republic what they needed. What they deserved.

A faceless hero. A symbol of righteous might. An icon that taunted the enemy with their own face.

My fingers clenched again, and in a sharp movement I lifted the plain Mandalorian mask and placed it over my face.

No rank. Not a master, not a knight.

Just, simply, a Jedi.

The mask was more comfortable than I'd thought. The metal alloy had a certain flex to it that moulded perfectly around my face. With a steely conviction, I pulled up the hood of my grey travelling robe, and drew deeper on the Force.

Deep, deep, deeper.

The sensation was as rich as mola-syrup and as charged as a conduit about to blow. This hangar was the largest on Vanquo, hundreds of metres long; and yet I could trace out the electrical systems of each individual snub in my head; feel the lilt of every turbine compressor as it warmed to life.

Taste the agitation and despair of the crowd as it seeped into the Force. It was a gnawing shakiness eating away at them all, a blackening of morale I had seen everywhere during my renegade year of truancy from the Order.

I was back on the frontlines, now, and this time I meant to stay.

The sound of my boot landing on the ferracrete floor was audible as I took a step closer towards a thousand Republic backs. My next footfall was louder still. The slightest breath on the Force was all I needed to amplify the echo of my strides.

Make an entrance. Make an entrance, and give them something to believe in.

I felt rather than saw when they first became aware of me.

Another, tiny, release of energy; just enough to let the air whip around in a benign display of power.

The crowd turned, the crowd parted, and the brass stuttered into silence.

The officer was a Sullustan, standing on a raised platform addressing the room. His large black eyes widened in astonishment. Commodore stripes marked his shoulder – I vaguely recognized him as Karath's second.

Directly behind the man was one of the many snubfighters about to be deployed.

My focus narrowed. I lengthened my strides, jogging, running, sprinting with the celerity of the Force – leaping high as an influx of sweet energy boosted me clear over the startled commodore's head.

I landed on the roof of the fighter, and whirled around to face the crowd.

No title, I reminded myself. No family. No face.

"I am Jedi Revan!" I bellowed, letting another wave of power deepen my voice, carry through to every sentient in the hangar. A vortex of energy swirled, billowing my cape out behind me. A thousand visors stared, transfixed.

In the centre of it all, I felt strangely calm.

"The Republic bleeds. The Republic burns. The Republic cries out for help, and the Jedi are here today to answer that call!"

My free hand clenched tight into a fist. I centred the Force around me in a swirl of visible static that unleashed as a show of bright sparks spitting out from my closed hand.

There were at least a few gasps.

"Imagine a war where we shield you from incoming fire. One in which we sabotage the enemy's weaponry with a single thought. A war where we detonate mines from a distance, anticipate Mandalorian movements before they occur, and heal mortal wounds within minutes. This is the war I shall bring to you." I called a 'saber from my belt; in a showy twist, I thumbed it on before brandishing it in the direction of the far wall. "Myself, and twelve of the best Jedi Knights stand with you, ready to take the battle to the Mandalorians and show them that the Force fights with the Republic!"

My 'saber was aimed pointedly at the others – for they had followed me in, silently watching from the back of the crowd, far enough away that I couldn't even pick Mal out from the group. My friends, no more than a group of specks in my vision.

The brown of their robes was still noticeable, though.

There was a shuffling as many turned to look. I settled my awareness deep into the crowd – through the Force, every spark of life was inter-connected, every pinprick made up part of the whole.

And every single one was precious.

I could taste their awe as it began to build. Their fear, as it was slow to recede. And their disbelief – for twelve Jedi, I realized with a start, might not look like much from a distance to those who had never seen Jedi in action before.

I had to make them believe.

"One Jedi alone can change the outcome of a battle!" Reining the Force back in, I tightened it on the mass of durasteel beneath my feet. With my free hand raised aloft, the snubfighter gently rose under my command.

A metre or so, just enough to make a statement.

The Sullustan officer on the platform was quick to scrabble down and disappear into the crowd. A spattering of gasps was audible; the first few lines of soldiers stumbled back from me in caution.

With a slow, measured drop of my hand, the snub returned silently to the hangar floor.

"Thirteen Jedi can do a lot more!" I called out, my voice resonating loud and clear with the Force. "But I stand before you today, before the whole of the Republic itself, and vow this: more Jedi will come. Many more. I have spoken with my brothers and sisters from Coruscant to Taris, and I speak for them now as I promise you: the Jedi have not forsaken the Republic! We stand with you, and we will fight alongside you!"

The words were true, and I unleashed them with all the passion I could muster. I'd talked with many during my disjointed journey to the frontlines. Kavar I'd failed to win over, but other Jedi had listened, had believed. Some were already following in my wake. Some were sitting back to see if we'd follow-through on our defiance of the Council's decree. Then they'd come, too.

The Jedi hadn't forsaken the Republic – only the High Council had.

I swung the 'saber up high, now, pointing to the hangar's roof like a golden beam of light.

"Up there, in the stars, I will be the first to fly against the Mandalorians. I will ride co-pilot, in this snub beneath my very feet, and show those bastards who dare burn our worlds and enslave our children what the Force is truly made of. I will teach them what it means to attack an enemy with the Force on their side!"

With a deliberate flash of static light, I levelled the 'saber back down to point at the crowd. "The Force is with me. The Force is with you all. And we will not allow a horde of barbarians to take our worlds any longer!"

All eyes were on me. A battalion of Navy pilots, transfixed, following my every word. A singular focus, stripped of its earlier fear, and ready to be aimed at the enemy. This was what the Republic needed. Faith. "Death comes to us all, but not today. The Republic is worth dying for, but not today. Today, it is their turn. Today, we bring the war to the Mandalorians!"

There was a cheer; ragged, at first, as if half of them had forgotten their voices. It built louder, deeper, rolling into a frenetic, battle-ready echo of defiance.

The growing belief of so many bled into the fabric of the Force like a rich melody of life. I was part of it, as little or as great as every single sent who stood with me.

"Take to the skies! Let's show those bastards what we stand for! Let's reclaim our lost worlds! For the Republic!"

The cheer was louder, this time.

I brandished the golden 'saber once more, spinning it around in a flamboyant arc. With one last burst of ionizing light, another charge of static erupted from my free hand, shooting harmlessly above my head.

"Now, we fight back!" I howled. "For the Republic!"

A second later, a thousand voices roared with me.

...

The vision departed, leaving me gasping, stumbling back with its intensity.

There were three figures in front of me, but I could still see- hear- feel- the crowd I had faced.

Another step back- the visceral feeling of inter-connectedness with so many sentients- it was something I'd forgotten- that sensation of oneness-

In my head, there was a distinct impression of awe.

Bastila. My thoughts were sluggish, as the image of the hangar slowly dispersed into memory. I blinked, taking one last step back to steady myself. Bastila and her snub are behind me.

Bastila saw what I just remembered.

"Revan," Jolee snapped. I looked up through blurry eyes to see him striding forward. It took a second to comprehend he was reacting to my movement. His earlier words scythed through my mind-

"I ain't standing still if you take another step closer to that cursed snubfighter."

A blur- Yudan launched himself into the air, 'saber raised-

Sudden realization punched panic hard into my stomach.

"No!" I screamed. Desperation morphed into instinct, and I was calling out to the Force before even conscious of it. "Stop!"

The Force answered; and oh, there was a sibilant darkness to it here, a temptation to fill myself to the brink, the knowledge I could make everyone here do what I thought was best-

Get to the snubfighter, Revan, that's all you need to do.

The power erupted from my outstretched hands, a concussive wave of need that slammed into all of them. Yudan was knocked back before his 'saber could reach Jolee; Juhani toppled down from mid-pounce; the old man sank to his knees-

The Force burned.

-anything you desire can be made a reality-

That power you wield – that is what we shall master, Revan. It is stronger, still, on the Star Forge. It is what we need. It is what the galaxy needs.

The kaiburr's amplification transformed the Force into a raging torrent, laced with the cold desire to do my will. I could feel it responding to me, tightening around my crewmates and holding them fixed in a stasis prison, for all I wanted right then was a damn moment alone-

Hold them there, and come to me.

Air scraped against my throat. I could feel Yudan's immediate attempts to hammer against my invisible bonds, followed a second later by Juhani. On my own, it should've taken some effort to contain three powerful, experienced Force-users this way.

-glimpses of the truth can be found here. and truth is power-

Jolee... he wasn't pushing back at all. Yudan's strength was beginning to buffet against mine-

-draw deeper, for you are master here. once again, you can be master-

That voice- but it wasn't so much a voice, was it? More like a nebulous yearning that echoed from the kaiburr, and pervaded deep into my own Force connection. It promised the power to unleash my decree – like it had once before. The ability to do whatever I needed – whatever I wanted.

Revan, stop analysing everything- we don't have time! Come to me!

And if I wanted the others silenced and stilled so I could think through my options, then why the frell wasn't I thinking through my options?

Because power overwhelms. The thought came from deep within. An understanding, a comprehension, a lesson learned from past consequences. Overwhelms and corrupts free will, until nothing is left but the addictive pull of power itself.

Drawing back was hard. It was frelling hard. Like dragging out from a mud-bog, one torturous hand-hold at a time. The kaiburr-imbued Force didn't want to be released, as if it had found a home immersed deep within my flesh.

-do not be alarmed. you know better this time. you are in control-

I wouldn't be in control. And that damn voice wasn't sentient. It was merely the Dark Side calling to my own weaknesses, so much stronger here on Lehon – but, in the end, a challenge that all Force-users faced in one form or another.

And the path to falling felt far too easy.

With a final, gut-wrenching discharge, I let the threads of power go.

"A moment," I rasped, shaking slightly with reaction. "I need one damn moment to think."

Yudan was the first to find his feet, golden lekku lying flat behind him as his burning gaze pinned on me. He'd dropped Zhar's 'saber – but in one swift movement it flew back to his grasp and reignited.

I jerked up a hand, palm first. "If you make one sodding move, Yudan, I swear I'll wrap you back in stasis and throw you down the frelling pyramid. Just- just- stay still!"

His eyes narrowed and his grip firmed, but he otherwise remained motionless. Juhani launched upright, mirroring his actions, and a second later she was also standing with her weapon held aloft.

This time, at least, their attention was on me.

Revan-

Quiet! I half-snarled through the bond. One sodding minute of quiet, Bastila!

In the silence, I heard Jolee's knees creak as he pushed himself upright. He was frowning, as if a grumble trembled on the edge of his lips – but he said nothing.

I drew in a loud breath, closed my eyes, and focused on calming the raging chaos of my mind. Pulled myself inwards, away from the bond, away from Bastila, and deep into my own core.

The Republic Fleet is key, here. My thoughts slowed down into a line of cool, ordered logic. The scrambler is blocking the Fleet. Without the Fleet, the 'Hawk has no chance of survival in the skies – regardless of whether I am onboard.

A bloodbath in the skies between Malak's armada and the Republic forces would provide an appropriate distraction for the 'Hawk to approach the Star Forge. Contrast that with journeying in a Forge snubfighter – where I had the element of surprise, of time, on my side – but I did not trust the origins of the craft itself, no matter Bastila's assurances of its safety.

At the crux of my deliberation was the searing realization that I simply could not sacrifice lives so callously again. Not the lives of my crewmates, nor the thousands of anonymous troops from a Republic I had once sworn to defend.

My first objective must be to disable the kaiburr, I realized with a chill. Before I embark on anything else. Before I travel to Bastila or go after Malak. There was still Carth's plan – but I kept that thought small, tiny, hidden, from my bond-sister. For I didn't trust her, not wholly, not while she was still Malak's captive.

Carth will follow through even if I fly straight to Bastila. But... the 'Hawk was outfitted with just one proton torpedo. While its turbolaser turrets should turn the pyramid into rubble, kaiburr crystals themselves were amongst the more indestructible of minerals. And one this size...

The 'Hawk will have a single shot to get it right.

Maybe one of us had to traverse into the bowels of the pyramid itself. Actually see what mechanical enclosure surrounded the kaiburr, ascertain any other defences that may or may not be there, and judge how best to destroy it with the armament we had.

Getting that close to the source of the scrambler would be highly dangerous for any Force-user.

Revan? What are you thinking? Is it the Republic Fleet causing this indecision?

A cold anger bloomed deep in my gut. Bastila was allowing me no space, unlike the others who had withdrawn into silence-

I do not wish to be intrusive, Revan, but you are not thinking logically. You cannot compare a fleet with the whole of the galaxy-

I could block her. Draw deep into the Force, twisted as it was here, and block Bastila's influence from my mind.

Or I could level the playing field. Bring her arguments to the table for us all to hear.

"Bastila," I said out loud, snapping open my eyes to stare at the others. "Somewhere, you have to draw the line. And if you keep pushing it back and back, then the line fades. It blurs, it dissolves, until it eventually disappears."

And there is no empathy left. And the greater good you were fighting for is no longer a good anything... just a cold, selfish drive for your own ambition.

I could feel her recoiling in reflex indignation.

::This is your line?:: she spluttered, a note of incredulity emanating from the holo-stand behind me. ::A few hundred Republic ships?::

A soft breath escaped my lips, a hollow excuse of a laugh. "I'm not sure where my line is anymore, Bastila. But I know it has to be firmer than it was."

There was an easing in Jolee's grim countenance; the slightest hint of a nod. Acceptance. Maybe even approval.

I'd defend my decision to join the Mandalorian Wars until my dying breath... my conviction remained, that the Council had been too cautious: so scared of the past repeating itself that they failed to comprehend the magnitude of the Mandalorian threat. Had I done nothing, the Core would have fallen, billions more would have died, or been enslaved, and the Republic would have lost all faith in the Jedi as guardians.

Somehow, I knew the latter had happened regardless.

I'd spent years fighting an enemy in beskar. And when that enemy was broken, I found myself a new enemy. A greater one. And my actions ramped up in magnitude and consequence. All justified by my perceived belief in yet another threat to fight against – and strengthened by the power I had amassed during the years of Mandalorian conflict.

Power corrupts. Every idiot knew that. Power and the Force combined corrupts on a galactic scale.

I had no idea what this threat was – and part of me still wondered if Malak's approach would have been the wisest course after all. Let sleeping demons lie. The galaxy might have been a different place if I'd only listened to a man I should remember more than I did.

Perhaps, if I had, I wouldn't have fallen. Wouldn't have transformed into a villain. A villain that, so far, had done a lot more damage than whatever had so shaken me out there in the Unknown Regions.

And if it felt so easy to succumb now – to surrender to the dark glory like I had on Tatooine, on Rii'shn, Manaan, the Leviathan – then attempting to master a corrupted Force weapon was the last thing I should be doing.

::Revan!:: Bastila was angry. I could hear it behind me, feel it between us.

"Bastila." My voice croaked. I caught Yudan's gaze, tainted a fierce yellow from the shadows of our shared history, and was sharply reminded of the Jedi he must have once been. I swallowed, lifted my chin, and spoke louder. "I've done this before with the best of the Jedi, and it didn't work. It didn't frelling work then, Bastila-"

::You were not strong enough then, Revan! But together-::

"Strength in the Force is not everything!" I burst out. "And I'm not the same person I once was! I can only judge myself on events since the Endar Spire. Every time I've failed, I've been alone. It's been my friends, at my side, who've drawn me back from the edge. Who've kept me strong."

Golden bonds of friendship and love, a safety net of support, and a reminder of the cost-

And what am I?

The memory of the Leviathan simmered between us. Spiralling darkness, heady bloodlust, the sweet taste of righteous vengeance. Bastila had faith that such a fall wouldn't recur, but I... I didn't.

My heart stuttered as the realization chilled through me. And, between us, there was a sharp prick of hurt as she understood that.

"You are a friend," I whispered. "A friend who needs the whole crew behind you, as much as I do."

Bastila's hurt tainted our connection with bitterness, before it shrivelled back beneath her determination.

::There is no other way to succeed.:: Her words were cold with censure. ::You will remain stranded on that dead planet for Malak to target at his whim.::

"There is another way." A better way. A safer way. But I didn't dare relay anymore of my thoughts regarding it. "I will not forsake you, Bastila. But I will not step into your snubfighter. Not like this."

Everything paused for the briefest moment. I saw Jolee's mouth twitch with the slightest of smiles; Juhani's expression soften with relief. Yudan cocked his head- I couldn't read him, but oh were we going to have words once we got down from this frelling pyramid-

::The Fleet will be here soon,:: Bastila bit out. ::Do you know what my orders are?::

"What?" I rapped out, spinning on my heel to face her. "When?" The demand ripped from me, a driving need to know exactly what she did. "Bastila, do you have intel on when they will enter this sector?"

Her copper eyes flashed bright with fierce emotion. I will convince you. Anyway I must. There was a gritty desperation in her thoughts that felt almost foreboding in nature, before she withdrew from me in one swift movement.

"Bastila-"

::I shall leave that to your imagination.:: The timbre of her voice cooled into clipped tones as she leaned back from the holo-com, face set in a pale, rigid mask of disapproval. I lurched out psychically, only to slam against a solid mental shield. ::Malak commands me to employ my battle meditation against all enemy ships that survive the scrambler's signal. I remind you, once again, that they come here not only to destroy Malak and the Star Forge – but also you.::

She was hiding- retreating behind a block that shimmered with the intensity of her growing fury. The bond was a shadowy tunnel connecting our minds, one end closed tight with her command of the twisted Force that radiated from the Forge.

The Star Forge had to go.

"That hardly matters, in the grand scheme of things," I forced out through gritted teeth. "I'll see the Forge destroyed, Bastila. Like you planned from the beginning. Whatever is in the Unknown Regions isn't worth the risk of using a cursed, dark relic that warps everyone idiotic enough to use it!"

::I will not disobey Malak and suffer his wrath while you dither over an inconsequential number of lives.:: Her eyes narrowed. ::What the scrambler does not destroy, I shall.:: It was a proclamation of intent, hard and sharp-edged like I'd never heard from her before. There was nothing seeping through our mind-link, now – I slammed hard against her shield, but there was no give. She'd well and truly distanced herself.

"Bastila!" Juhani gasped from behind me. "You cannot-"

::If these Republic lives mean so much to you,:: Bastila continued, ignoring Juhani, her voice growing in volume and steel as she stared me down, ::Then you best enter that snubfighter now and stop me yourself.::

Outrage, or shock, or a mixture of both, seared hot through my veins. She couldn't mean-

"Do you hear yourself?" I snapped, fists curling, stepping closer to the holo-stand. "Employing blackmail, willing to kill simply to force me into doing your bidding-"

::I look to the greater good, Revan. As you once did.:: She could've been a statue, carved from chalk-stone, face tight with condemnation. ::Every minute you delay is another Republic ship downed.::

"Don't you do this, Bastila!" I growled, voice thick with angry desperation, heart pounding loud in my head. Hot words firing into our bond- A fall is simply a series of stumbles into the darkness, justified or not! Dammit, Bastila, this is another stumble! She wasn't hearing me. She wasn't listening, not through the mind-link, not anymore. I threw myself psychically, harder, harder, pulling deep on the Force- "You'll hate yourself for it-"

::You alone have the power to stop me. So, come and stop me.:: Her hand reached out, underneath the holo-cam, stretching towards the controls at her end. ::I shall see you soon.::

The image cut out.

And a signal sparked from the holo-stand as it powered down. The Force wavered in my grasp, turning instinctively to focus on the minuscule stream of electrons-

-oscillating straight back to the snubfighter, but it was a portable holo-stand, why was there a damn feed back to the ship-

Inside the snub, numerous devices on stand-by sprung to life-

My eyes widened.

"Trap!" I screamed, spinning around, the Force flaring out to the others in a haphazard shield. I was already sprinting back- "Run!"

The ground behind me exploded. A concussive wave of air punched me from behind, and I was flying, desperately struggling to hold firm on the Force as it wrapped around us all-

Metallic shards punctured my shield. I was plunging down, down, and my vision dimmed-

We're falling into the pyramid. The top will collapse above us! The shield- it was clasped tight around the four of us, even as exploding rubble peppered it from all sides. I had to keep it intact-

Distantly, I was aware of pain scoring against my back. Behind, a screech of tortured metal as an entire wall crashed inwards. One edge of my shield shattered underneath the impact, and I lost all sense of Juhani-

No! The Force thinned as my palms slammed into a moving surface- Jolee and Yudan blazed bright, adding their weight to my shield- but I could feel the fractures in our defense grow as debris rained down from above, fired by a second wave of detonation-

Sithspit! Must- protect-

One last flare of Force, one last injection of power to hold back this collapsing ruin of Rakatan legacy-

Something sideswiped me. I was thrown forward into darkness. And then everything cut out.

xXx

Author's Note:
Coming up next: HK-47 leaves the others behind in a bid to locate his master.

A gazillion thanks to kosiah for the beta, suggestions and corrections.