Author's Note: Before we begin, I want to provide a few references here.
1: There's this one cool piece of concept art for Bastila Shan I always liked. Has her in a brown robe and a blue saber. Imagine her appearance in this story matching it.
Just google 'Bastila Shan concept', it's one of the first results.
2: When our heroes land, go ahead and listen to "Korriban, The Homeworld" from TOR. It'll make the reading experience more enjoyable!
Several hours after departing from Yavin 4, the Ebon Hawk was still flying through hyperspace. Carth Onasi sat in the pilot's chair, clearly happy to be flying his old ship once more. Standing next to the Republic soldier with his lightsaber at his hip and his mask donned was Revan.
Carth checked their coordinates and muttered, "Exiting hyperspace in three… two…" The shimmering blue outside faded and space returned to normal around the Ebon Hawk. Directly ahead was a dull red planet.
Korriban.
The ancient Sith homeworld was a desolate ruin. Revan was told during his early years as a Jedi that the Sith had abandoned it after years of conflict with the Republic. Obviously the Emperor didn't care. He would likely make this world his capital after returning to power and re-establishing the Empire.
Revan could feel an uneasy sensation as the Ebon Hawk pulled closer to the planet. As always an intense feeling of cold seemed to wash over him, signaling him to the presence of the Dark Side. But there was something else. Revan felt lightheaded, and it was as if there was a knot in his stomach.
"Are you okay?"
Carth's voice brought Revan back to attention. The Republic soldier looked concerned, and Revan realized he was wavering in place. He was about to fall over. "Not really," he said and regained his balance. As quickly as it had come, the feeling of sickness left. "We need to hurry. Take us to the Valley of the Dark Lords, I'll alert the crew." Carth nodded and Revan activated the Ebon Hawk's comm system.
"We're approaching Korriban now. It won't be long before the Emperor knows we're here, so be ready for a fight." He paused. This could be the last time he spoke to these people not just as a crew, but as the people who had fought with him through every battle, every struggle for years.
Some final words would do.
"I understand that some of you are afraid of what we might down there. Those of you who have served as Jedi have been told to ignore your fear, to forget it. But whoever told you that hasn't seen what we've seen, fought what we've fought. Fear is natural. It's a part of who we are.
But every single one of you has overcome it; otherwise you wouldn't be here now. You are the bravest group of fighters in the galaxy, and I'm proud to stand alongside you all.
Let's go out there and do what we do best. Save the galaxy."
Revan sensed his crew rushing to their stations. Bastila was already headed his way. "Nice speech," Carth said as they began to enter Korriban's atmosphere and tapped the Ebon Hawk's controls. "I can take it from here, Revan." As the Jedi readied to leave Carth added, "Be careful out there." Revan paused long enough to give Carth an encouraging pat on the shoulder before leaving.
"You too."
Nearby, T3-M4 and 3C-FD monitored the ship's systems. Not wanting Teethree to worry about him, Revan knelt down and patted him as well. "Take care of the ship while I'm gone," he told the droid. Teethree beeped enthusiastically.
With that taken care of the Jedi left the cockpit and met Bastila on his way to the garage. "Is everyone ready?" he asked. Revan's wife nodded and in spite of his old mask stared directly into Revan's eyes. "Yes, I've already seen to that. Are you?" Revan took Bastila's hand in his own. "As I'll ever be."
He removed his mask, putting it off to the side as he kissed Bastila for what was likely the last time.
"I love you."
The Ebon Hawk landed on the outskirts of the Valley of the Dark Lords, just as instructed. The ramp opened and every Force-sensitive member of Revan's crew emerged. Revan stood at the front with Bastila and Meetra Surik beside him. The rest of the crew remained in the ship, ready to help ex
Bastila peered across the barren terrain and shielded her eyes as a dust storm blew past them. "Scourge, can you see the temple?" The Pureblood walked ahead of them. "There," he said grimly and pointed at what looked like just a rocky outcrop under the cliffside south of the ship.
As the team moved closer, however, Bastila she saw that it was in fact a tower.
The base of the cliff seemed to have eroded away, and a spire of hung in the open space like a stalactite. The spire was carved out of rock and was a dark red color, almost black. A massive bridge stretched from the tower to the cliff. Scourge led them to the precipice and stopped just short of falling into the valley below.
"So… How exactly are we supposed to get to that bridge without plummeting to our deaths?"
Bastila rolled her eyes at Brianna's sarcasm. "This isn't the time." However the handmaiden's concerns were reasonable. The cliff was a sheer drop, and all Bastila could see below was a thick dust cloud blowing through the valley. "That being said I have to agree. It's easy to guess that tower is the Emperor's. How do we get inside?" Scourge looked over the cliff at something Bastila couldn't see and then back at her.
And then he fell off the edge.
"Scourge!" Revan and Meetra bolted to the precipice and looked down, with Bastila and the rest following, Scourge had disappeared into the cloud below. "What the hell was he thinking?" Meetra said in a panic. Revan cocked his head. "It doesn't make sense. I can still sense him…" A moment later the cloud was blown away, and Bastila's heart jumped.
Scourge was on a thin walkway jutting out of the rock wall beneath them. His hands were outstretched. "Come down," he shouted. Bastila looked at the dust billowing around Scourge, and a moment later she almost slapped herself on the forehead. The wind blowing that cloud past the cliff wasn't natural. It was some contingency set up by the Sith to keep the entrance to their fortress hidden.
"Clever," she muttered irritably and stepped off the edge.
Air whistled through her ears and her cloak flapped around her before Bastila landed on the walkway next to Scourge. "I suppose this isn't the first obstacle we'll have to face?" The Sith shook his head. "The first of many. It's not likely the Emperor will have left his new temple unprotected. When he senses our presence he may try to deceive us with illusions or sent other members of the Emperor's Wrath against us"
While he said this the other members of the team descended alongside them. Meetra dropped behind Bastila, and Revan stayed close to Scourge. "Lead the way," he said cautiously. They navigated across the rock wall at a steady pace until the path widened and entered a tunnel. Bastila raised her hand and the team stopped. When she was sure they were alone, she ignited her lightsaber to light their way.
The tunnel went on for a good distance until it opened into the bridge. The area was wide enough to fit an entire procession and was half a mile long. "Not ideal for sneaking in," Meetra remarked. Scourge shook his head. "No it isn't. I…"
He stopped in mid sentence, and the spines on Scourge's face stood on end. Revan drew his own lightsaber and murmured, "What is it?" His question was answered a moment later when the bridge suddenly darkened around them. An intense wave of Dark Side energy coursed through Bastila, and a sandstorm was kicked up around her.
"Revan!" she shouted as he was obscured from her view. Bastila tried to create a protective bubble around herself with the Force and reach her husband. But to no avail, as the sandstorm grew more ferocious. Soon Bastila found herself alone in the middle of a whirlwind, cut off from her allies.
She saw a dark shape just ahead of her and moved towards it. But instead Bastila was forced to lean back when the figure ignited a red lightsaber and swung at her. The Jedi Master leaned back reflexively, parrying the next strike. But as she readied to counter-attack Bastila was forced back on the defense when a second blade emerged from her attacker's weapon. Jabbing at her aggressively the darksider's face was illuminated.
Bastila gasped as she stared directly into a mirror image of herself.
Except it wasn't her. This other Bastila was clad in a form-fitting black outfit, wielding a double-bladed lightsaber. She smirked at Bastila and growled, "You have some nerve telling Revan you love him… After you betrayed his trust and tried to murder him."
Her words angered Bastila, and the Jedi soon went on the offence. She ducked the dark Bastila's spinning attack and thrust at her midsection. Following up with an overhead slash Bastila slowly drove her counterpart backwards. "I don't know what you really are. But I won't be threatened, and I won't listen to your lies."
The dark-Bastila laughed mirthlessly. "The truth hurts, I'm sure. Your anger hides the truth. You were too weak to fight against Darth Malak. You thought you could be a hero, but in the end you were just a pawn needing to be rescued by the man you hopelessly loved…" She brought her double-bladed weapon up and parried Bastila's attack with infuriating ease.
"What guilt you must feel. I wonder if your darling Revan feels the same? Or Meetra?"
...
Meetra was on the verge of panic as she backed away with her lightsaber drawn. Approaching her was a cloaked figure who seemed to darken everything around him. He drew forth his own lightsaber and murmured something in the ancient language of the Sith. The figure raised his head and Meetra found herself staring at the bone-white mask of Darth Nihilus.
"No… I watched you die." The Lord of Hunger advanced on her quickly and stretched out a hand. Meetra was lifted off her feet and felt herself being strangled. Nihilus pulled his lightsaber back, preparing to run it through her. Desperately Meetra blasted a crater in the ground in front of him.
Fragments of rock flew into Nihilus' face and his focus was shaken just enough for Meetra to free himself from his telekinetic grip. The Exile landed on her feet gasping for breath but still able to fight. "I don't care how you've returned, Nihilus." Meetra slipped into the Makashi form of combat, delivered a precise series of strikes.
"But I will strike you down again."
Meetra and Nihilus exchanged blows and Force-attacks furiously, and she tried to come up with a plan to defeat the returned Sith. The storm around Meetra prevented her from sensing her allies, so she couldn't hope to rely on their help. She tried to activate her ability to sever the link between the Force and a living being, hoping to strand Nihilus from his source of power.
As if sensing her plan Nihilus assaulted her with a renewed ferocity, letting loose a horrible Force-scream.
Meetra fell back in spite of herself, the memories of her deed at Malachor rushing back to her. Activating the Mass Shadow Generator had haunted Meetra for years. Nihilus was the embodiment of that guilt, a constant reminder of what she had done.
Nihilus seemed to grow stronger, feeding on her remorse and fear. Meetra forced herself to return to the present, or else become another one of Nihilus' countless victims.
...
Gritting his teeth Revan brandished his own weapon as he spotted a Sith approaching him with their own blade drawn. At first he thought it might have been the Emperor himself. But was something more familiar to the presence of this Sith. The Sith raised his lightsaber and the red light from his weapon reflected off his metal faceplate. Revan's blood ran cold.
"You had to know I would return. Sooner or later…"
Darth Malak charged at his former master and let loose a bolt of Force-lightning.
Author's Note: I really did enjoy that episode of The Clone Wars when Yoda traveled to the Sith homeworld. The Emperor isn't the only enemy our heroes have to overcome as I imagine the planet itself as alive, something for the Emperor to use against them.
How are Revan and friends going to get out of this one, I wonder?
