Tatooine Part 7
Revan woke up early the next morning, wondering who was going to accompany him to get the star map. He realized that most of the crew was not going to be able to go with him. He had to take Bastila, but he had to leave Meetra and Carth behind to help keep the rest of the crew safe, just in case. Canderous Ordo was still in the med bay, unconscious but recovering from the loss of blood. Sarna, Juhani, and Mission were still recovering emotionally. Revan could not take Zaalbar, as the wookiee would not survive Tatooine very long with his fur.
So, after all his thinking, Revan decided to bring Bastila and HK-47 with him, leaving Meetra, Carth, Zaalbar, and T3-M4 behind to protect the ship in the off chance of an issue that may come up. He contacted Bastila through their bond, telling her that they would leave as soon as she was ready to go. She replied for him to give her a couple of minutes, but she would be out in front of the ship shortly.
At that, Revan went to the cargo hold, seeing Sasha sitting on the little cot that they had given for her. HK was right next to the work bench, in standby mode, but coming to life when Revan entered the room.
"HK, get to the front of the ship; we will leave shortly" Revan said. Uncharacteristically, HK did not respond to that verbally. He just went out to wait in front of the ship as ordered.
"Revan, where are you going?" Sasha asked. He looked down at her, very glad that he had used the Force to plant galactic basic into the girl's mind. It made it a lot easier for him to understand her, especially after all the effort he had gone to in his attempt to learn her little language. He had succeeded, for the most part, but there was no way he would have been able to keep up.
"I'm going to find something in the desert, Sasha. I will be back this afternoon" Revan told her.
"Can I come with you?" she asked.
"No, you need to stay here where it is safe. No more leaving the ship, alright?" Revan asked. Once she nodded her agreement, Revan ruffled her hair and left the cargo hold, leaving the young girl behind with the rest of the crew.
He stopped in the cockpit, seeing Carth Onasi sitting in the pilot's chair.
"What's going on, Avner?" Carth asked. What normally would have been a casual, honest question was laced with paranoia that Revan just did not have the energy to argue with this time.
"I'm taking Bastila and HK to get the star map. I need you, Meetra, and Zaalbar to stay on the ship and keep everybody safe while we're gone" Revan told him.
"I think we can handle that. Is anybody else going to leave?" Carth asked.
"I don't want anybody other than me and Bastila to leave the ship until we get back. Once we get back, I think we can relax a little bit" Revan explained.
"Did you tell Meetra?" Carth asked.
"I didn't tell Meetra or Zaalbar yet. Meetra's still asleep, so I will leave it up to you to get her" Revan explained.
"You got it" Carth told him. Revan nodded and left the ship, seeing Bastila and HK already waiting for him.
"Sorry I took so long, let's go" Revan said, starting to walk out of Anchorhead.
"Revan, are we going to be able to take Meetra's speeder?" Bastila asked.
"Yes, we will be able to. It would take too long to get to the star map without it. The eastern dune sea is too big" Revan told her. She did not respond, seemingly lost in her thoughts. After getting another "good hunting" from the gate guard, the two went to the speeder and got in. It almost seemed like HK-47 was not even there. The droid was oddly quiet as Revan started up the speeder's engine, and remained quiet as Revan started to take the speeder out in the direction of the star map.
With the prior day's invasion of the most heavily fortified slaving outpost in the galaxy still weighing on their minds, doubled on top of how necessary it was for the group to find all the star maps, it was not too surprising that the trip toward the eastern dune sea was void of all conversation between the members of the team.
When the group got to the eastern dune sea, HK's sensors started going off. Revan explained to Bastila that he had uploaded the map that they had gotten from the jawas into HK's sensors so HK would be able to tell them where to go. It was why HK had been so quiet throughout the journey so far.
By that time, Revan was following HK's directions until he was able to see a distant cave that HK was leading them to. Bastila could tell that Revan had sensed something special about the cave when he parked the speeder behind one of the dunes, out of sight of the cave. He got out of the speeder and started walking toward the cave, Bastila following, less than one pace behind the reformed Sith Lord.
When they got to the cave, they saw two figures arguing in front of it. One of them threw up his hands in exasperation and ran into the cave.
The first thing that the group heard as they approached the cave is the man who ran into the cave screaming in agony.
"Annoyed complaint: Master, why do you never let me kill anything as brutal as that? I am very confident that my assassination abilities are superior to that dragon" HK stated. Holding back an angry comment at the droid, Bastila pushed Revan toward the other hunter, the one who was not too stupid to stay out of the cave, making it clear that it was time to get to work.
Revan walked up to the other hunter and was greeted enthusiastically.
"Greetings to you, human. I believe I saw you in Anchorhead. I thought I would see you out on the dunes. You look like a hunter. Perhaps you are interested in the way of the hunt? Will you help me? I have tracked a very special beast back to its lair. A krayt dragon; the largest of Tatooine's desert predators. It is an unorthodox creature to hunt, but we must use unorthodox methods today" Komad explained. Revan looked at him warily, but felt a calming wave from the Force coming from Bastila to keep him on task before he got off on another tangent as he often did when he didn't want to do work.
"If you claim that hunting this dragon is an honor, why would you want my help?" Revan asked. Bastila winced, knowing that Revan did not want the other hunter's help. She was worried that he was going to alienate the other hunter before they could do anything.
"A valid question. This is a very critical fight. Bull dragons are rare to see. Rarer still are dragons the size of this one. It is much larger than the one my father killed in his expedition. This dragon is too far out of its territory and must be felled. I might not prevail alone, human; I need your help" Komad explained.
"What kind of help are you looking for?" Revan asked simply. He was looking at the hunter warily, knowing that this was going to be very difficult for the little group to do.
"We must bait the great beast out and ambush him swiftly. There is no room to ambush him in the lair and his hide will repel blaster fire. I have placed mines around the mouth of the cave. We must coax him out, but this is the end of his season of hibernation. It will take much to rouse him. The food of a beast this size is almost exclusively banthas. Well, and foolish hunters like us if we are not careful. To lure him out, we must bring his food to tempt him" Komad explained.
"How will we lure the banthas here?" Revan asked.
"They too have their food of choice. We must find some bantha fodder to lure them here. Do you know where to find some?" Komad asked.
"Got some. Moving on" Revan said curtly.
"If you can bait the banthas here, they should lure the dragon out and trigger the mines. It may not be a glorious hunt, but it ensures the safety of the region" Komad explained.
"What aren't you telling me? If it were that simple, you would do it yourself" Revan snapped.
"Calm down, human. The Sand People regard banthas as sacred. Trying to lure them here will most likely result in an attack. I understand that you dealt with the other sand people, the ones who have been harassing Czerka, but these are a lot more dangerous, it seems" Komad explained.
"Why does it feel like I am doing most of the leg work?" Revan asked sarcastically. The other hunter did not notice his sarcasm and looked at Revan with a livid glare.
"Just ignore him. He has a habit of saying things that he doesn't mean" Bastila interjected, stopping the other hunter from lashing out at Revan.
"We will get your banthas, Komad. Just make sure all the mines are in position by the time we get back" Bastila said, pulling Revan and HK away from the twi'lek hunter before Revan could do anything else to alienate the hunter.
"I wish you luck against the Sand People. When you return, the dragon will fall. I wish it could be under more sporting circumstances, but we must do what the circumstances call for. I had hoped for a mirror of my father's expedition, but that will have to wait" Komad said as the small group left him to go find the banthas. To Komad's credit, he sounded honestly disappointed at what had to happen, but Revan was still very wary of the hunter, forcing Bastila to be the voice of reason, as usual.
They went over to the banthas and Revan held the fodder in front of the banthas, leading the animals back to where Komad was waiting for them. They were attacked twice by the sand people, but the attackers were dispatched easily, HK killing 4 of the 8 sand people that attempted to shake the group down.
It was rather simple for the little group of three to get back to Komad with the banthas. While the sand people were much tougher than the ones that they had to fight when they were going toward the sand people enclave, but they still fell to the trained Jedi, the former Sith Lord, and his created war droid.
When they got back to the other hunter, they saw that the twi'lek was not in a good mood, still miffed from Revan's sarcasm the last time they talked.
"Bantha delivery; that will be twenty-five credits" Revan joked.
"Don't worry, that's just his sense of humor!" Bastila interjected, hoping to placate the angry hunter before he attacked Revan and led them into a fight that was not going to end well for the angry twi'lek. When the hunter put his blaster back in the holster, Revan took his hand off of his lightsaber and his posture lightened up slightly. Neither Revan nor Komad looked away from each other as Komad started giving directions.
"Quickly, be ready. The banthas are in position and are ready to lure the dragon out. Listen to that rumbling! Oh, boy, it's a big one!" Komad told them, the irritation coming out clear in his tone of voice as he glared daggers at Revan. The dragon came out to rumbling that resembled an earthquake. The mines started going off as the dragon went toward the banthas. With every mine that went off, the dragon roared so loud that Revan and Bastila had to cover their ears.
The mines kept exploding around the dragon. The combined sound level between the mines exploding and the roars of the krayt dragon were getting to the point that it was nearly unbearable for the two humans. When it got to the point that it looked like the mines were not going to be enough to defeat the dragon, Revan pulled out his lightsaber, preparing to go finish the dragon himself. He didn't have to bother. Once he got his lightsaber into his hand, the dragon let out one last primal scream before it fell to the ground with a large thud that caused Revan and Bastila to have to hold on to each other just to stay standing.
Bastila was holding on to Revan's shoulders and Revan was holding on to Bastila's back. She was leaning backward, trying to pull herself up. She stopped when she looked into Revan's eyes. Then, time seemed to stop where it stood. They looked into each other's eyes, blue meeting gray in a sensitive embrace that showed how much they loved each other, even though Bastila was technically still loyal to the Jedi Order. Her eyes could not hide the truth that she was feeling; it could not hide the deepest desires of her soul.
They were broken out of their trace by somebody clearing their throat behind them. They looked up to see Komad looking at them with an amused expression on his face.
"I do hope I am not interrupting anything, humans, but I would like to give you your cut, as promised, so I can get on my way" Komad suggested, looking at the two blushing humans as they pulled away from each other faster than a mine would blow up a jawa.
"No, not at all. Let's get this done" Revan said, getting his composure back a little faster than Bastila. Komad handed Revan one of the pearls from the dragon's corpse and bowed.
"Thank you for your assistance, human. It is done. Now, I must go and honor the great beast's memory. I wish you the best as your hunt continues. Thank you, again, human, and goodbye" Komad said, taking one last curt bow toward Revan and Bastila before walking away, never once looking back at the large corpse that now lined the ground outside the cave that presumably held the star map.
"Ready to go in?" Revan asked. Bastila didn't look at him. Instead, she just walked into the cave. It was pretty obvious to anybody involved that she was not looking for the star map. Instead, she was looking for something else.
After making HK stand watch in the entrance to the cave, Revan went to the star map and downloaded the data, looking at the now revised coordinates to see that the map really didn't help them out at all. He looked at Bastila to see that she was pretending to pay attention to the star map, but she was still looking around the cave to see if her father's holocron was somewhere.
"Come on; let's find your dad's holocron" Revan told her, going around to look for the holocron, using the Force to help him find it. He needn't have bothered, to be perfectly honest. He saw Bastila take a knee on the ground near one of the walls of the cave and he knew that she had found her father's holocron. He walked over to her and knelt down next to her. She had a beaten up equipment pack in front of her and her hands were shaking as she reached to open it. Revan sat next to her silently, allowing her to get to see the contents of the pack whenever she was ready to do so.
She opened the pack and emptied the contents onto the sand. Some old food rations and an old water bottle fell out of the pack before a little metal case fell out. Instinctively, both humans knew that it was the holocron. Bastila's breath caught in her throat as she picked up the little case, trying to keep herself from dropping the little case as she fumbled with the clasp to get it open. The second she got it open, she allowed the holocron to roll out into her hand, noticeably shaking as she went to turn it on.
She paused for a second and shook her head.
"Not now, later" Bastila whispered, putting the holocron back in the case and putting it into her own equipment pack.
"It's alright, Bastila. You can watch it. Be my guest" Revan encouraged, giving her a small smile as Bastila took it back out of her pack and held it in her hands. After one last deep breath to get herself emotionally ready to see it, she turned it on and she saw her father carrying her, back before she could walk. The look of admiration on her father's face was inspiring, but Bastila turned the holocron off before seeing more, silently willing the tears away.
"Are you going to give the holocron to her?" Revan asked quietly.
"Do you think I should?" Bastila asked, leaning against Revan's chest.
"I think you should keep it" Revan admitted.
"I find myself agreeing with you, I just can't believe that father is dead" Bastila whispered, choking back tears.
"Don't hold it in, Bastila, let it out. It is something you need to do" Revan whispered.
"Not here, please, let me wait until we get back to the Ebon Hawk" Bastila begged. Reluctantly agreeing with her, Revan stood up and helped her up.
"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded and accepted his outstretched arm as they started to walk out of the cave. When they got to HK, the droid's sensors were going off.
"Statement: there are five beings on the other side of the dragon's corpse that are most likely here to attempt to end you. Query: may I utilize my excellent hunting skills now? I do believe that my combat skills far outweigh anybody who is here to attack you" HK said confidently. Revan shook his head in amusement at his war droid before looking at Bastila instead.
"Well, let's go greet the kids at our front door!" Revan joked, leading Bastila and HK into the coming battle with confidence seeping out of his body.
They went over to see Calo Nord standing with four other hired lackeys that were there, waiting to ambush the Republic's ace in the hole.
"I have to give you credit; you've led me on quite the chase, but nobody gets away from Calo Nord in the end. You got lucky on Taris. The Sith attack saved you from a quick and gruesome death, but I promise you; the Sith won't be getting in my way this time" Calo taunted.
"You think we got lucky last time? Let's do it again then!" Revan suggested, brandishing his lightsaber in a mock threatening manner.
"Let's go boys; it's show time!" Calo exclaimed, starting to fire his blasters at Revan. Then, the battle started. Revan sprinted right up the middle, weaving in and out of blaster fire as he tried to get to Calo Nord. Revan got to Calo, dodging a couple grenades at the same time before he was able to get to Calo. Revan swung his lightsaber at Calo's neck, expecting to be able to decapitate the little bounty hunter with just one swing, but Calo was able to get his sword up to block it, creating a stale mate between the two fighters.
"Cortosis weave; strong enough to repel a lightsaber. I did my research, Jedi. You won't be able to best me this easily" Calo taunted.
"If you are going to kill, kill. Don't talk" Revan hissed, pulling a dagger out of his pocket and thrusting it into the stomach of the little bounty hunter. Nord grunted in pain before he fell back, blood starting to pour out of the open wound.
Revan turned away from the little bounty hunter and looked over to see that Bastila had just cut down the last of Calo Nord's hired hands.
"Are you alright?" Revan asked. Bastila nodded, taking one more deep breath as she looked at the five beings that had died in an attempt to kill them.
"Statement: it seems like the overconfident meatbag is still alive, Master. Query: may I finish him for you, Master?" HK asked, his rifle pointing right at Calo Nord who was lying on the ground right where Revan left him. Revan shrugged and walked over to Calo. When he got there, Revan saw that Calo was chuckling.
"Well done, human. I did not recognize you at first, but now I realize why Malak was not confident in my ability to kill you. At first, I was insulted, since I had killed a couple Jedi Knights during the Mandalorian Wars. But, none of them were you, Revan. You defeated the Mandalorian Clans in the wars, and it is now only fitting that I, like my people, die at the hands of the man that Mandalorians respect more than any other, save for Mandalore himself. Goodbye, Revan" Calo said, giving Revan one last smile before he closed his eyes for one last time.
Revan bowed his head in respect for the fallen fighter before moving toward the speeder, Bastila and HK right behind him. When they all got into the speeder and they started to go toward Anchorhead again, both humans were distracted; Revan was thinking about what Calo told him as Bastila thought about what she was going to do about her father's holocron, and to an extension, what she was going to do about her mother as well.
As they walked back into Anchorhead after Revan parked the speeder just outside the gate, the first of Tatooine's twin suns was starting to set, and it looked like the second of the two was not too far behind. The group stopped outside the cantina and it was there that they split up.
"HK, go back to the Ebon Hawk and search for the twi'lek Lena who Mission found on Dantooine. Ask Mission if you need assistance finding her. Bastila and I will be back soon" Revan said. It was supposed to be an order, but his tone was more like pleading instead of an order that had to be followed.
HK acknowledged his orders and started to walk toward the Ebon Hawk, always searching for something to shoot at.
That left Revan and Bastila to go into the cantina to speak with Helena Shan one more time. Revan looked at her, silently asking her if she was ready to talk to her mother again. She nodded and walked into the cantina, Revan falling into step right behind her.
When they got into the cantina, they were fitted with a shocked look from one Helena Shan. The elder Shan woman was still standing in the corner with a drink on the table in front of her.
"Back already? Have you even looked for the holocron yet?" she snapped. Bastila looked insulted and put her hands on her hips, putting on her famous Jedi princess façade.
"I have the holocron, mother. I'm just not sure if I want to give it to you" Bastila responded coldly.
"Why? Would you deny me even that?" Helena asked, her affronted look matching Bastila's princess front.
"I have never denied you anything, mother. You may think I don't remember what it was like before I left for the order, but I do. You were the one who pushed father to go on one treasure hunt after the other. You loved living in wealth. You think I don't remember the fights? You were eager to send me to the Jedi even though I didn't want to go. You took father away from me. And now, this holocron is all I have left of him" Bastila exclaimed, her voice starting to rise in her anger at being forced to relive this part of her childhood that her Jedi training had been unable to hide.
"Fool girl! You have a strange way of remembering things. That isn't how it was at all!" Helena responded indignantly, her own hands going right to her own hips as well, glaring at her daughter.
"No, I don't want to argue with you anymore, mother. It's time we parted ways, for both of our benefits" Bastila said simply, turning away from her mother until Revan put a hand on her shoulder, telling her that she needed to calm down. She didn't calm down, deciding instead to glare at him and cross her arms, but she stopped her retreat away from her mother.
"Maybe you should listen to what she has to say?" Revan asked sarcastically under his breath, not intending for either of the Shan woman to hear him. To his chagrin, both of them heard his statement.
"You and I will have words!" Bastila sent through their bond. Revan was unable to respond before Helena decided to make her voice heard one more time.
"So, what is it, Bastila? You can't speak up for yourself, so you have this man do it for you?" Helena demanded, looking up at Revan, calculating his intentions.
"Not at all, mother. My companion spoke on his own behalf, but I will never understand why" Bastila responded coldly back. Not giving her mother the chance to respond, she turned right back to Revan and fitted him with another glare.
"You don't know her. My mother is notoriously deceptive when she wants something. Why should she have the holocron?" Bastila asked him.
"Is it too much to believe that I am a dying woman who just wishes to see her husband one last time?" Helena exclaimed.
"I find it difficult to believe anything you have to say, mother!" Bastila shouted back, all traces of civility lost.
"That's enough! Both of you shut up, now!" Revan bellowed, causing both Shan women to look at him in surprise, as well as everything in the cantina to stop instantly. He then turned to glare at all of the patrons in the bar.
"Hey, there's nothing to see here. Everybody go back to your drinks!" Revan snapped simply. When none of them listened, he hissed a firm "NOW" which made everybody turn away quickly.
"Now, as for both of you, listen to me now. Your husband just died, Helena. And Bastila, your father just died. Now, I may have never met him before, but something tells me that he would not want the two loves of his life to be sitting here chewing each other out over something as miniscule as a holocron!" Revan exclaimed. Bastila made to interrupt him, but he put his finger over her lips to tell her to keep quiet.
"No, no, no, it's my turn to complain right now. So, tell me honestly; do either of you really need this holocron? Are you going to die without it?" Revan asked, looking first at Helena.
"No, I suppose you are right. I knew my husband for thirty-four years. I remember him well with or without the holocron" Helena admitted, appearing totally humbled by Revan's arguments and the way he was presenting them.
"Well, I suppose I can remember my memories with father as well. But I still don't see why she deserves it anymore!" Bastila said. Her first sentence was soft and kind, but her second sentence was cruel and cold, much like her Jedi princess persona forced her to be.
"She is your mother. She gave birth to you and raised you for the first five years of your life. If it wasn't for her, you would not even be alive! That should be more than enough!" Revan snapped. Bastila recoiled as if she had been slapped, looking at Revan in shock, hurt coming out of her gray eyes.
"Bastila, your friend has a point. I was hard on you, dear. I wasn't a very good mother to you. I admit that. Your father loved you so. He wanted you to be just like him; he wanted to take you on his treasure hunts, but I said they were too dangerous. I always tried to keep him from the dangerous ones, but he would have none of it. It was a reckless life we led, always moving; I didn't want that for you" Helena confessed, looking down at the ground before sitting down in one of the chairs and taking a drink from her glass before calling for a refill.
"So that's why you sent me to the order!" Bastila realized, sitting down across the table from her mother. Revan continued to stand behind Bastila, close enough to be supportive, but not too close that he was intruding on family business.
"What do your father and I have to show for all those years of hunting? Nothing. That was no life for anyone, especially not someone as gifted as you. Your father spent all his last years trying to pay for my treatments. That's why he went for the pearls. I begged him not to, but he is just as stubborn as his daughter" Helena proclaimed softly, looking back up at the young Jedi padawan.
"Your treatments?" Bastila asked, a surprised look on her face.
"I'm dying, Bastila. I did not lie about that. I told your father to let me go, but you know how he gets when he puts his mind to something" Helena told her.
"I'm so sorry mother. I don't know what to say" Bastila whispered, her head dipping as she looked down at the table.
"Keep the holocron, Bastila. This talking to you, this was what I really needed" Helena said, giving her daughter a smile that did not reach her eyes. It went unnoticed by Bastila.
"I know, mother. Thank you. I'm glad we talked too" the Jedi replied, smiling slightly.
"Well, then. You said you have important business to attend to, and you never were one to mince words. You there, take care of my daughter, will you?" Helena demanded, once again bringing Revan back into the conversation, aware of him trying desperately not to intrude.
"As if she'd let me" he joked, smirking slightly. The joke was noticed and appreciated slightly by both women, just not to the degree that he had hoped for.
"Well, you make her let you. She's too much like her father in that respect" Helena told him. Revan caught her hidden meaning and bowed his head slightly, knowing what possibly could happen in the near future.
"Where are you going to go?" Bastila asked.
"It doesn't matter, dear. Don't worry about me" Helena told her. But, her suggestion was not taken to heart by Bastila, who decided that the best course of action was to merely ignore her mother's wish.
"Here, take these 500 credits. Go to Coruscant and find a doctor. I want to see you again after I finish what I have to do" Bastila told her. Helena looked at her with confusion.
"Bastila, I've already told you that nothing can be done" Helena said, trying to force the credits back at her daughter.
"Please, take it, I want to see you again when we can talk" Bastila begged. Reluctantly, Helena pocketed the money and looked back at Bastila with a small sigh.
"Take this datapad. It has coordinates to a planet beyond the outer rim with the best doctor in the galaxy. If anybody can help you, it is him. Show him the datapad, and he will help you" Revan told Helena, handing her a datapad with a smile.
"I thought I told you to take care of my daughter" Helena teased, smiling.
"Well, I seem to think that making sure that she will be able to have her mother after we are done here counts as taking care of her" Revan said strongly, smirking confidently once again.
"I will see your doctor. Now, go do what you have to do, Bastila. Go make your father proud" Helena told her.
"I will, goodbye, mother" Bastila said. Helena hesitated for a split second before walking past Bastila to leave. Just as she was going to get out of range, Bastila reached back and pulled her mother into a hug. Helena was shocked at first, but then returned the embrace, holding it for a couple seconds before breaking it.
Then, the mother and daughter exchanged real smiles for the first time that Revan had seen before Helena turned and left the cantina, leaving her full drink on the table, not once looking back.
Author's Note: Hey, guys. I am sorry that I am about a week late on posting this chapter. My only excuse is that I had to work from 1500 on Thanksgiving until 0200 on Black Friday and then 0800 until 1830 on Black Friday as well. I had no time to publish the chapter around that, based on working Cyber Monday from 1230-2230. After that, school, and family stuff that I had to take care of, this is the first time I have had enough time to post this chapter.
Sorry again, but it would still mean the world to me if you guys could review for me. If I could get ten reviews, I will pull an all-nighter and then upload the chapter right then and there. Just, the little one sentence reviews don't count in that count. The reviews that count are the ones that are constructive criticism. My word has been given and the gauntlet has been thrown. I know I don't really deserve that much help right now, but I sure would appreciate it. Thanks everybody, have a good one.