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Chapter 9: Pride

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Doctor Halfan asked, raising a brow slightly at Malak's troubled expression. Malak shook his head.

"Normal battle injuries for the most part. Revan and Aven are the ones I am most concerned for. According to Aven's transmission Revan was struck in the chest by a projectile and Aven's rib cage was shattered. Aven was able to have a little in the way of healing but Revan was forced to cauterize his wound to prevent further blood loss."

The Cathar nodded, the eight Sith troopers accompanying her were loaded with medical supplies as well as heavy weapons issued to most SIth special forces. The black armor of four of the soldiers and the red of the other half marked them as elites and Malak was sorely tempted to send a handful fo Dark Jedi as well. Revan's warning of the physical strength of their opponents stayed Malak's hand and the Dark Lord's apprentice held his own compliment of Dark Jedi to defend the Interceptor, should it come to that. Revan had spoken briefly of the Covenant but Aven, despite her injuries had gone into greater detail as Revan lost consciousness.

"There is one thing."

Malak did not answer right away and Doctor Halfan sighed, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Anytime now, Malak."

The former General of the Republic narrowed his eyes, pulling a blaster pistol as well as the belt with the holster from a nearby Sith soldier and tossing it to the Doctor.

"You're a Doctor, yes but you are a Cathar first and a Sith second. It may become necessary for you to defend yourself."

The Cathar caught the holster on reflex and nodded slowly, knowing quite well that just because a foe was unarmed didn't mean they were not still attacked. The Doctor had the distinct feeling the Covenant would make no distinction between combatant and non-combatant and decided not to argue. Treating the injured required no oaths in their galaxy and it was simply a personal decision to help others, no form of the Hippocratic oath existed for the Sith or the Republic, merely a set of standards that any wishing to practice medicine had to meet.

"What of our guest? I'm certain she would be eager to return to her people..?"

Malak shook his head, his features slowly becoming suspicious.

"No, I don't think that is most prudent. I'd like to keep an eye on her until we can fully understand what her armor can do. We had a droid try to use part of the gauntlet and it smashed its hand. We used a slightly upgraded droid and it functioned properly but... humans outside of the Force simply do not have the reaction time to use the armor without injuring themselves. The suit is a bloody power vacuum but we found a thermonuclear core was being used to power it. Can't say having a miniature nuclear core in my armor would be a fantasy of mine but they don't appear to have the technological capabilities of creating a stable power core that is not radiological."

Having a basic understanding of mechanics as most Sith did the Doctor frowned.

"How does it compare to the power suits our soldiers wear?"

The Doctor unconsciously gestured to one of the Delta Legionaries. Malak frowned slightly.

"Consider ours to be Gizak and that nuclear monstrosity a Rancor."

In other words don't get punched by someone wearing the strange green armor.

"Alright, we'd better go or Revan will have our heads."

The pilot of the transport stated. Malak nodded, feeling the hull of the Interceptor vibrate as it passed into Halo's atmosphere. With so many Covenant ships around they were going to make a quick insertion with a small fighter escort. The transport was loaded with medical supplies as well as weapons, armor and several small vehicles and repulsor packs for their soldiers on the surface so there was little in the way of room for more than the doctor, the legionaries and the pilot. The landing bay doors opened and orange fire streaked alongside the invisible shield that kept the atmosphere of the landing bay pressurized but allowed solid objects such as ships to pass through. Stepping back, Malak watched as two fighters lifted and raced out, quickly followed by the transport and turned towards the bridge.

John 117 sat in the back of a fully loaded Pelican dropship as it skimmed the surface of one of Halo's oceans. Above, the Spartan saw an orange streak across the sky and his visor magnified to shot the distinct outline of a Sith heavy battle cruiser. Knowing that their unlikely allies had called in for reinforcements, John was not surprised and calmly waited as Cortana scanned the ship with his armor's sensors.

"Ion-based engines, energy deflector shielding and the power reading is off the charts!"

The AI was slightly excited at her first view close-up of a Sith capitol ship and John remained silent, following some of what the AI was telling him but keeping his mind on the mission. He was to secure a beachhead and fight his way inward to something the Covenant called the silent cartographer. Whatever the thing was, the Chief knew the UNSC couldn't afford to let the Covenant, or the Sith for that matter control it. Checking the safety on his MA-5B, John 117 felt the craft shift as the pilot shouted.

"We're coming in hot!"

The Chief stood, leaping off the back of the craft before it touched down and rushed forward, his MA-5B spraying a stream of deadly projectiles into Covenant Grunts and tearing through flesh and methane packs. A click and a zero on the weapon's ammunition indicator and the Chief calmly primed a grenade, sending it into the middle of a group of three Covenant Grunts and an Elite as his shields flared bright gold and he took cover, waiting for the shields to recharge and reloading. As the indicator on his heads-up display charged, John leaned from his cover, seeing that one the Elite had survived the grenade and fired seven rounds at the hulking alien. The Shanghielle's shields had absorbed the blast from the grenade but its armor did little against the shredder rounds of John 117's MA-5B.

The Interceptor quickly rose from Halo's atmosphere, its once gray hull blackened from Covenant plasma and the heat from reentry. Malak arrived on the bridge, walking to the viewport and calmly crossing his arms as the ship rose into space to reveal four Covenant ships on a direct intercept course. With a smirk, Malak decided to play a game with the Rakatan's own modified gravity generators that had turned their Interdictor generators into more than a crude method of destabilizing subspace. Quite the effective weapon when given enough time to make the calculations and Malak watched as the Covenant ships formed into a triangle, having learned from their predecessor's mistakes.
"They aren't going to break this time."

Malak turned to the ship's captain and nodded.
"Slow us down until we're within range of their weapons, then we'll see how good they are at-"

"Detecting subspace rupture, they're doing a microjump."

Malak quickly gained control of the situation.

"Track their heading and charge the main weapon. We're not going to be so lucky on this one."

One of the Covenant ships jumped and Malak cursed. They hadn't had time to make the proper calculations and the Covenant ship materialized ahead of them, a blue-white field of energy crackling around it as it emerged from slipspace.
"Keep this heading and split them in two."

The Interceptor's pulse laser charged and fired, slicing the Covenant ship in half. The hull of the Interceptor groaned as it slid through the debris field and the ship shook as a the three Covenant ships that remained reached firing range and opened up. The first plasma torpedo impacted on the shield and dissipated on the backside of the Interceptor, nearly shorting out the Ion engines.

"Turn into it!"
Malak shouted, the crew responded without hesitation, used to stressful battle situations and the Interceptor's side was struck with the other two plasma torpedoes. Seeing a glowing orange flash along his ship's hull, Malak cursed as damage reports began rolling in.
"Forget this, launch a bloody nuke in the center of them."

Malak ordered, seeing that they wouldn't last very long without their shields. The damage from the debris had nearly collapsed their shields and Malak knew he was lucky that the only one of the Covenant's shots had actually struck their ship full-force.

"With pleasure, Milord."

A small object emerged from the Interceptor, only visible by a white speck of an Ion engine surrounded by a red glow as its fuel ionized in the vacuum of space. Malak and the Interceptor's crew turned away as a bright glow of a thermonuclear explosion momentarily blocked out the darkness of space. As the light dimmed, Malak turned his eyes back to the pursuing Covenant ships, his eyes widening as he saw that one still remained, encased in a golden field of energy.

"Looks like their shields are solid..."

Malak muttered, unable to believe the ship could survive a nuke and not the ship's pulse laser. Then again, most of the technology on the Interceptor was Rakatan and Malak had no idea of its capabilities.

"Two more Covenant ship on approach. Shields are down but we're working on it."Malak crossed his arms calmly.

"Send a fighter with another nuke to finish that bastard off and lets get the hell out of here."

The order was relayed and a Sith fighter with a nuclear payload was quickly launched. Malak felt the Interceptor vibrate as it began picking up speed and frowned.

"Run a check on our inertial dampeners."

The crew complied and another Covenant ship was engulfed in a nuclear explosion.

"Fighter is clear and on its way back. Inertial dampeners were damaged from the attack but they are still operating at 96 efficiency."

That meant they'd feel themselves moving but it wasn't a particular danger. Malak nodded, his brown eyes flickering across the damage to his ship as he stared out of the viewport. They were lucky and he knew it.

"Casualties?"

Malak asked, watching closely as energy was fed into the ship's Rakatan systems and the damage slowly began repairing itself. The bald former Jedi could still scarcely believe such technology existed but ignored his thoughts as he listened to his officers.

"Twenty-nine dead and sixteen severely wounded. They're being taken to the medical bay. Most are suffering from severe burns from the plasma weapon. The hull is still stable and we've only suffered a two percent loss of power."

Malak nodded, frowning as the fighter docked with its mother ship and they moved away from their Covenant pursuers.

"Milord, detecting another subspace rupture."

Sighing, Malak rubbed his eyes.

"How good is that star chart we've been making so far?"

The ship's navigator frowned at her console.

"We might be able to find out way back if we jump, sir."
Malak nodded, knowing they were dead if they stayed. The Covenant had a few extra ships from what he remembered and they had adapted their tactics. They'd have to adapt as well.

"Do it."

The Interceptor vanished in a streak as it entered hyperspace. The Covenant ships pursuing broke off, unable to track the craft's course as they could the slower UNSC vessels.

"Break off. We await the arrival of divine prophets. Soon we will cleanse the sacred ring of the demon's taint."

The orders of the Covenant Fleet Master were followed and the ten Covenant ships that had reinforced the first of Halo's attack groups took position around the ring, waiting for their communications to get through. Soon High Charity itself would orbit the sacred ring, looking on at the wonder of the holy Forerunners and more world-ships would soon arrive as the entirety of the Covenant would await the Great Journey. The organization of the fleet and the withdrawn to their massive space stations such as High Charity and Unyielding Hierophant the second of which was poised to make a direct assault on the rumored human homeworld.

"Incoming!"

Marines were at full alert as three specks appeared on the horizon. Sometime in the night a small group of Covenant had tried to infiltrate Alpha base but were quickly discovered and turned back. Already on alert from that, the captured Covenant Shade turrets as well as the small compliment of Scorpion tanks and Warthogs turned their guns to bear on the distant objects. A figure in red and black stepped outside one of the makeshift cubical shelters that made up the UNSC base and looked to the sky before calling to one of the Marines.

"Those are from our ship. It would be most unwise to attack them."

The ground emplacements could barely track the two Sith fighters as they screamed past, their wing-foil design causing a loud whine as they passed through the air. At this point the entire base had been alerted and half-dressed Marines and weary crewmen moved from their barracks and into the small plateau that made up Alpha Base.
"What the Hell is going on here you alien freak?"

Major Antonio Silva asked harshly, missing his helmet but otherwise fully dressed in his black ODST combat powered bodysuits. The armor was basically a drastically cut down version of Spartan MJOLNIR armor and the strongest that unmodified humans could safely wear.

"Our Lord is injured. We called in our ship's doctor. I do not answer to you, human."

Glaring at the Sith Commander, Major Silva refrained from any further actions as he turned his attention to his marines and made a stand down gesture. The Marines complied warily as the Sith transport lowered to the ground and Aven moved slowly, still suffering greatly from her own wounds to meet them. The rear of the shuttle opened and immediately all of the Marines present raised their weapons as four shadows clad completely in black armor moved out, their weapons facing the ground but still very much at the ready. The leader of the unit of Delta Legionaries raised his hand and the four formed a square around the ramp. Four more soldiers clad in Elite Sith armor of red moved to reinforce the Deltas.

"Did you bring the Doctor?"

Aven asked, her normally vibrant red skin a pale shade of dark pink. The leader of the Deltas nodded and kept his stance as he looked to the Marines around them.

"Stand down."

Aven ordered, knowing the soldiers wouldn't like it but saying nothing further. The leader of the Deltas seemed to hesitate before nodding slowly and relaxing his stance, slinging his blaster rifle over his shoulder.

"Commander Aven, Doctor Halfan is on the ship collecting what she will need."

Aven nodded sedately.

"Very good Lieutenant Rand. The rest of the men are with the Jedi and Lord Revan. Apparently she's trying to keep him alive if you'd believe it."

Atton Rand, special forces Lieutenant of the Delta Legionaries frowned beneath his black mask. Why would a Jedi try to help Revan. Then again, the Sith special forces soldier merely nodded, dismissing it as more Jedi lies and moved back into the transport, grabbing the Doctor's case and carrying it as the Cathar frowned at the soldier and followed. Revan had personally trained the Deltas to kill Jedi and they were more assassin than soldier. Still, they had been soldiers at one point and the Doctor knew better than to argue. Her arm was still tender from the damage Linda had done and it was thoughtful of the soldier to remember.
"Thank you Atton."

As the Cathar stepped from the transport, she pulled her white jacket around herself tightly and glared through cold yellow eyes at the stares she received from the UNSC soldiers. Having lived on Taris for a time with other Cathar refugees, the Doctor was not warmed by the looks of bewilderment and disgust the xenophobic humans gave her. Seeing Commander Sek'tai, the Doctor frowned and her brow lowered from a glare to concern.
"Aven, I can tell by looking at you that you're hurt. Get the bloody hell back in bed."

Aven swallowed, nodding as she turned. The Sith Commander staggered slightly but was caught by one of the Deltas.

"I don't need your blasted help!"

The Twi'lek spat, wresting away from the Delta's grip. The Delta released the Dark Jedi immediately, knowing signs of weakness were not tolerated within the Sith and tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"Now just a minute, we have to clear this shit before you start laying it around my base-"

Major Silva heard the clicks of a hundred MA-5Bs before he registered a glowing crimson blade inches from his neck and the cold obsidian glare of the Twi'lek Sith. The ODST was getting the feeling that the Sith were, for lack of a better term; point blank and in your face.

"We can level this base in seconds with our fighters. Shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

At that point, Captain Jacob Keyes had emerged, fully dressed and looking as if he were meeting a Vice-Admiral.

"Marines stand down. We're in alliance with these Sith and I'm sure Major Silva was just expressing his concerns over the equipment, weren't you, Major?"

The Captain glared at the ODST and Major Silva swallowed his pride, nodding slowly.

"Yes sir. Proceed."

Aven's glare narrowed and the Twi'lek deactivated her lightsaber.

"See that this does not happen again, Captain. Or I cannot guarantee the safety of your men."

Having seen firsthand what Revan had been able to do to a Spartan, the Captain had no doubts to the powers of the enraged alien before him. Turning his gaze to the newcomers, Captain Keyes knew he was looking at trained killers as soon as he spotted the dangerous stances of the soldiers. In the confusion they had again taken defensive stances and the Captain noticed they were protecting another individual.
"I'm sorry but we usually inform ground forces if we're going to land in the middle of a base. You'll have to excuse my men. We're not used to your... culture."

The Deltas slowly, cautiously moved from their defense of the Doctor and relaxed their stances. The Doctor was the priority, she was needed to heal Revan and their lives were expendable next to Revan's. All were willing to fight and kill and die for Revan, he had saved them and he was their leader, their Lord. It was a loyalty few could fully understand as they turned on their old beliefs and embraced Revan's teachings, but it was more necessary than anyone would have admitted; anyone but Revan. The Captain's brow rose slightly at the new alien before him but he did not openly gawk as some of his soldiers did. The Doctor straightened her white coat and Captain Keyes caught a glimpse of a holster belt, concealed beneath the jacket.

"I apologize. Darth Revan is right this way."

The Cathar doctor's face was blank as she nodded, seeing that this was the man in charge of the base and the one that had been rudely delaying her had merely thought he was in charge.

"Very well, you may call me Doctor Halfan."

Captain Keyes smiled politely.

"Captain Jacob Keyes."

The UNSC Captain extended his hand and the Cathar looked down at the hand with a frown.

"I suppose you don't know the history of my galaxy but that is a Mandalorian gesture and I am a Cathar. The Mandalorians destroyed my people so I hope you don't take offence if I do not return the gesture."

The UNSC Captain pulled his hand back, controlling his discomfort and nodding politely.

"Of course, I'm sorry, Doctor. It's a human custom to shake one's right hand. Archaic since most humans of my race are right-handed. A way of showing we have no weapons in our weapon hands. A greeting between friends if you will."

The Doctor's expressionless face did not change.

"We are not friends."

Captain Keyes felt a flush on his cheeks at the scathing manner in which the Doctor spoke but nodded again.

"I don't suppose we are. Its lost its meaning over time and is used as a non-hostile greeting."

The Doctor's yellow eyes moved to Captain Keyes' hand and she frowned slightly.

"Members of the Republic do that from time to time but the gesture is lost on most of the Sith. We do not initiate contact with potential threats as they call pull you into a false sense of security and who's to say just cause one hand is empty, the other does not hold a vibroblade?"

Assuming a vibroblade was a knife or dagger, the Captain nodded politely again. He'd kissed ass with the best of them and knew how to keep his cool.

"Perhaps our cultures can learn from one another."

At this, the Cathar smirked.

"I believe Revan has been sharing our culture with the Covenant all day."

Unsettled by the bloodlust in the alien's eyes, Captain Keyes swallowed and nodded. What strange beings but then, the Captain did not know the Cathar were a passionate race and their humor often times rivaled the Mandalorian's in its sadism. Stepping past the UNSC Captain, Doctor Halfan walked towards the cubical structure Aven had vanished into and calmly began laying her equipment out on the empty cargo containers that littered the room as Atton and the other Deltas brought the containers in. Several wounded Marines and UNSC Crewmen were nearby but the Doctor paid them no mind, her concentration completely on Revan. Pulling out a small medical scanner, the Cathar walked to Revan's side, noticing with a frown the Dark Lord was laying on the floor with his head propped up by his armor wrapped within the Jedi's brown robe. Obviously the conditions on the surface for medical attention would be crude at best.

"Has he regained consciousness at all since the communication?"

Bastila Shan shook her head, turning her eyes to the Doctor before looking back down at Revan's pale face. Whatever the projectile had done to Revan, it had done well as the Dark Lord was still losing blood. Laying a hand on the Dark Lord's forehead, Doctor Halfan frowned, reaching down and taking Revan's wrist in her clawed grasp.

"His heartbeat has slowed significantly. Luckily its still getting enough blood through his system to keep him alive but... It looks as if he may be bleeding internally as well..."

Bastila nodded, a small frown on her delicate features.

"Yes, several times he was forced to defend himself on the Covenant ship and I believe the wound reopened and the projectile migrated somewhere."

The Doctor nodded to the Jedi. She knew enough to know something was wrong but not enough to do anything about it. Looking closely at her scanner, Doctor Halfan rose a brow, the thin layer of vibrantly colored fur on her neck standing on end.
"The projectile is actually digging in to his heart. He shouldn't even be alive..."

Acting immediately, Atton began throwing out equipment needed for an emergency operation. The three other Deltas had holstered their weapons and were following suit, all having a basic understanding of medicine and knowing what would be needed.

"I take it this is your doing?"

The Doctor asked, indicating the bandage around Revan's wound. Bastila nodded, a slight flush to her cheeks as she looked back down at Revan's motionless form. The Force around the main was screaming in agony but Revan did not move, did not speak, his eyes flickered slightly beneath closed lids and his jaw was clenched tightly, but Bastila somehow knew he wouldn't cry out, even in his sleep.

"Are you keeping him unconscious?"
The Doctor asked quickly, using a surgical blade to slice away Bastila's bandage. The Padawan nodded slowly, trying to stay out of the way but for some unfathomable reason anxious to help.

"Good, see that you keep him under. Revan has a pretty poor attitude when he's wounded this badly and its no sense having him awake while I dig that blasted primitive chunk of metal out of him."

Bastila could feel Revan in the back of her mind, pushing against whatever was keeping him unconscious, fighting to hold on to his own life. At first it startled the Padawan with how close it felt, how real it felt but Bastila relaxed slightly, feeling the confusion within Revan. Reaching into the back of her mind, Bastila could feel Revan and the Padawan shivered slightly.

"Oh Force no. This can't be happening."

Knowing what a Master-Padawan bond felt like, Bastila knew exactly what had happened. As she had tried to keep Revan alive on the dropship ride to Alpha base, she had somehow bridged their minds through the Force and Revan, being weakened and delirious had allowed it. A Force bond could not be forced and both individuals had to want the bond for it to form. Blanching at that thought, Bastila scowled down at Revan. He would most definitely have no peace when he woke up, perhaps it was petty and childish but he wasn't the one Force-bonded to a Sith Lord because he tried to do the right thing.

"His pupils are dilated, give me a kolto injector and a bloody set of tweezers. We're going to have to get that projectile out fast and then seal it with Kolto directly if we want it to heal. Have the defibrillator ready in case we need to resuscitate him."
Atton complied, bringing over the equipment while his three fellow Deltas held Revan's arms and legs down.

"Jedi, this is probably going to wake him up so try to keep him calm. A pretty face and a nice clean accent always did that for Revan. Atris could do wonders for him before he fell."

Bastila nodded, still annoyed by the bond but not wanting any actual harm to come to Revan. In any case Malak would go insane and destroy everything and that would do none of them any good.

"Hold him, Atton, make sure he doesn't move."

As soon as the scalpel cut into Revan's cauterized wound, Bastila felt the bond shift and recede as Revan's brown eyes snapped open. The Dark Lord's eyes were gold for a fleeting moment before they cleared to a dark brown and Revan opened his mouth, taking in a deep gasp of air.

"Bloody- Dammit, hurry the Hell up!"

The Padawan moved to the side of Revan's head as the Deltas held down their Dark Lord, all knowing if Revan truly wanted them off of him they would be off. Laying a hand on Revan's forehead, Bastila attempted a small smile as the Dark Lord's eyes searched hers.

"Actually, Doctor. Take your time."

Revan smirked, eyeing Bastila appreciatively and the Padawan flushed. Did the man have no shame? There he was bleeding to death as they tried to pull a bullet from his chest and he was bloody making inappropriate jokes. Bastila's smile turned to a scowl and Revan's smirk grew before he winced and a small exhale marked a sharp increase in his pain.

"I was joking about taking your time, Anara."
Doctor Anara Halfan rolled her eyes. Revan acting this way when wounded was nothing new. It was the way he set an example for his men. He wasn't afraid to bleed with the rest of them and unlike the soldiers, Revan did not take any painkillers during his surgeries. Half the time he was in a coma if he required surgery so it didn't surprise the Doctor. Sometimes Anara wondered if Revan truly enjoyed the pain of if he used it as he used his hatred, saving it for when he wound need it in a fight.
"Got it, Atton inject him, now."

Atton immediately injected a syringe of Kolto into Revan's bleeding chest wound, the chemical acting almost instantly as it entered the wound and began healing at a vastly accelerated rate. Still pale and still smirking, though the smirk had shifted into more of a grimace, Revan remained perfectly still, channeling his pain into the Force to be called upon at a later time. Pain led to anger and anger was the fuel of the Darkside.

"I think- I think I'll just close my eyes for a moment..."

Revan muttered, his eyes rolling back into his head. Bastila's scowl turned to a frown as the Padawan searched the whites of Revan's eyes.

"Bloody- He's going into anaphylactic shock, quickly find a epinephrine injection."

Atton, being the only one not holding Revan down or trying to keep him awake moved to the medical supplies, his brown eyes searching frantically before he found the correct injection and handed it to the Doctor. Doctor Halfan injected Revan, nearly in the wound on his chest and pulled out the needle, pulling off her surgery gloves and replacing them before finding a breathing apparatus in case Revan lost control of his body. Bastila felt the bond she and Revan had formed wane as Revan lost consciousness and the Padawan, not knowing what else to do began searching Revan's mind, trying to find Revan and pull him back through the Force.

Atton narrowed his eyes at the Jedi as she closed her gray eyes and laid a hand on Revan's head. Watching for any signs of treachery, the Delta nearly went for his weapon when Revan jerked violently. Before Atton could do anything, Aven Sek'tai had hold of his weapon hand and the Delta turned to the Twi'lek, frowning.

"She's trying to help. Let her."

Frowning, Atton nodded, turning back to Revan and crossing his arms. There wasn't much else they could do and the Doctor seemed to be waiting for sometime. Atton's eyes locked on the Jedi Bastila's face and he noticed her pale complexion turning pink slightly as the Padawan opened her gray eyes and scowled down at Revan.

"You have a bloody disturbing and sick mind!"

The Padawan spat icily, nearly leaving in outrage before she stopped and glared down at Revan, her features not softening.

"Are you going to live?"

Revan had awakened with a smirk on his face, his eyes following the Padawan the entire time.

"For shame, Bastila. Those weren't my dirty thoughts."

The Padawan's face was crimson as she turned and stormed from the cubicle. Bewildered, Atton looked down at Revan and saw the Sith had turned to him.

"This one is mine, Atton. No torture and no killing."

The Delta nodded, saluting and stepping back with the rest of his squad. Doctor Halfan looked a cross between worried and annoyed.

"Really Revan if she wasn't here you would be dead and then we would be dead when Malak found out."

Revan chuckled, his breath catching a moment before he cleared his throat and nodded instead.

"I know, but it was hard to resist. If she wasn't a Jedi I think I would actually like the girl but alas, the woes of being a Sith Lord."

Knowing Revan hadn't been serious since he'd been wounded, Doctor Halfan pulled out her scanner and did a checkup of Revan. The Kolto as well as the Force was healing the Dark Lord at an exponential rate and in a day or two, Revan would be as good as new.

"I still can't believe it whenever I see you or Malak heal."

The Doctor stated, turning her attention to Aven. Aven caught the Doctor's look and obediently sat, pulling off her armored breastplate and then her tunic as the Doctor wrapped a bone knitter around her rib cage and injected the Twi'lek with Kolto and painkillers.

"Keep Revan some company for the rest of the day, Aven. Neither of you should be walking around."

Scowling, the Twi'lek sat on the floor beside Revan, pulling on her tunic and glaring at the Cathar.

"I'm going to treat the other wounded if I can and then I want to know what did this to you, Revan. Since when did you start getting careless?"

Revan said nothing, his eyes staring at the doorway as a mischievous glint shone in their brown depths. Seeing part of Bastila's mind had been rather interesting and Revan had to admit, the Padawan wasn't all that hideous to look at either. Turning his gaze to Aven, Revan smiled slightly.

"You just gave all the boys in here an eyeful, you know that?"

Aven rose a brow, wondering what had Revan in such a good mood. Rarely did Revan act, playful being the only real word to describe it, unless he was in a really good mood. Shrugging, Aven leaned her head back and closed her eyes, her arms resting over her chest as her breathing slowed and she fell into a light sleep. Revan cleared his throat, swallowing and took in a deep breath, feeling a slight burning sensation in his chest over the mind-splitting pain when he took too deep of breaths.

"Deltas, get your things together and meet the other Sith. We'll have a talk with Captain Keyes this evening about what we should do in terms of Halo. I personally don't want to lay around this base all week."

Atton nodded, his face obscured beneath his mask as he and his fellow Deltas retreated. The four crimson armored Sith Elites remained to guard the door while Revan watched the Doctor work on the wounded UNSC crewmen and Marines. Through the Force Revan could feel Bastila's shock and outrage but beneath all of that, there was a hint of surprised interest. The Padawan obviously hadn't been around men very often, at least men that weren't Jedi. Smirking, Revan relaxed slightly as he thought of ways to make the Jedi miserable. It was only fair considering she had made a potentially dangerous bond with his mind that would allow them to share their thoughts and dreams and Revan had no wish to share the dreams of a young woman.

"Revenge you are my art."

Chuckling, Revan closed his eyes and joined Aven Sek'tai in unconsciousness while a certain Jedi Padawan shivered slightly at what a glimpse in Revan's mind had shown her.

"There is no passion... There is serenity. No passion, serenit- oh Bloody why does he have to look so handsome when he smiles."

Scowling, Bastila crossed her arms in a huff and stalked across the Alpha base, her cheeks still pink from Revan's inappropriate comment in her mind of her outfit. Looking down at her form-fitting robes, Bastila frowned as she realized it left very little to the imagination.
"How the bloody Hell does he concentrate with all that clutter in his deranged mind?"

The Padawan wondered, wishing she were wearing her cloak as she turned back towards the makeshift hospital. However wrong it seemed, Bastila couldn't help but smile slightly at the memory of Revan, delirious with blood loss on the Covenant transport calling her lovely. It had been so long since anyone had complimented her it seemed and the Padawan felt some of the stress of her situation slowly slide away. While she was in his mind, Bastila knew Revan was angry but she also knew he wouldn't allow her to come to harm, not after she had saved his life so thoroughly. Smirking, the Padawan knew he wouldn't giver her any peace for being forced to let her live but then, she wouldn't be too cooperative with him either.

AN: And now the Pride of Revan and Bastila will start butting heads... Decided to show the Covenant's not as big of pushovers as the Sith thought, hope you all enjoyed!