(Author's Note: It has been at least a few years since I've worked on this story, but I started replaying KOTOR recently, so I thought, you know, why not? There's probably some minor continuity errors with previous chapters just given the time difference, but I tried to keep it pretty consistent. Anyway, I thought returning to this story would be a fun way to blow off some steam from my other serious writing projects and I think some of you would like if I updated it a LITTLE MORE FREQUENTLY so since I've got quite a bit of free time the next while, I'm going to start updating it regularly again!)

Chapter 10

Bondage

There was an explosion of sparks and a dying, electronic scream as the Governor smashed into the massive viewscreen overlooking his office. He hung there for a moment, glass spinning through the air around him, before he was ripped downward, slamming into ground and shattering the polished ceramic tile. Bits of glass and debris fell gently around him. He groaned as he pulled himself to his knees, clothes soaked in blood from injuries he could only begin to imagine. With effort, he looked up at his assailant in time to witness the surge of lightning arcing through the air. It danced across the office, a constant stream of destruction and pain that he writhed in the center of. Even as he screamed, he was lifted into the air once more.

"Look at you. Such a waste of human life. You could have been a bouncer or a..." There was a pause, one the Governor would have noticed were he not screaming in agony. "...well, you could have been a bouncer. Maybe a sandperson." The lightning stopped, and Akon hung limply, suspended in the air. He coughed once, blood escaping his lips in a sudden gush. The intruder stood in the ruined office of the planetary governor, smoke from damaged terminals curling at his feet. Red jacket. Black gloves. Brown pants. Spacer drek. One arm was extended toward him, hand open. The man turned his head, examining the Governor before he finished. "...but instead you chose to be a failure. Why would you do that? Think of all the rabble that are going to get into clubs now because you decided to try and play at being a Sith."

The governor groaned, a single question burned into his fading mind.

"What... are you?"

"A real one. Obviously." The man closed his fist, and the governor's spine snapped backwards against itself, his lifeless body dropping to the broken ground.

Revan lowered his arm, glancing about the battered remains of the office. That had been fun, in a way. Wasteful, inefficient, but... invigorating. He had the codes he required, and the base was now, for all intents and purposes, empty. He turned to leave through the badly broken door, pausing to look behind him. He stared at the floor a few moments before sighing. The Dark Lord of the Sith returned to the office, knelt down, and began picking up the scattered pieces of the utility droid.

---

The Sith uniforms lay empty in the corner of the abandoned apartment, their former occupants now engaged in a heated argument with the hero of the republic.

"We have to leave! There's a Sith fleet orbiting the planet looking for you and there's an entire army tearing the city apart to do the same thing! Did you notice them? They're the ones in the chrome armor. You know, shooting at us all the time."

"Show some respect to your superiors, Carth!" Bastila nearly yelled, slamming her open hand on the table. The most important, most critical mission of her entire life and she had failed, more than she had ever thought possible. Revan was free, loose in a city the size of a planet. The ship escorting them had been destroyed. Its crew was dead. The Jedi who had been onboard, her friends... all dead. She was alone now, alone except for her failure, a walking, sadistic force conduit, and a war hero who did not and could not be allowed to understand what had happened.

"With respect, ma'am." Carth leaned over the table. "I don't remember anyone putting you in charge of this mission. If there's some secret Jedi bullshit about how you can't leave unless it's a full moon then you've got to at least tell me. I'm trying to save your life, Bastila, cut me a little slack here."

"We..." Bastila stopped, glancing away from the Republic war hero.

"Carth's right, Bastila. We need to get off Taris before the Sith find you. You're the entire war effort anymore, the Republic needs you." Trask said. He was seated next to Carth, street clothes thrown over his battle armor. The apartment was dingy and poorly lit, a single window looking out onto the Taris skyline. Mission Vao leaned against it, eyes wide. The Sith fleet hung in the sky over the city, a blanket of steel that stretched almost across the horizon. She had never seen the upper city, never truly believed that the great buildings stopped. There was a low growl behind her, and she frowned without turning.

"It's not that great. Just a bunch of rich, boring snops in a bunch of ugly buildings under a bunch of ugly sky. And a bunch of Sith. You know if they all opened fire right now, the upper city would be toast. That'd show the whole bunch of them, stupid bantha brains."

Zaalbar looked up, making a brief whine.

"I'm not upset, I'm just saying they'd have it coming." She turned away from the window, walking past the wookie and throwing her hands in the air. "Stupid upper-city snots!"

She hopped onto one of the tables swivel chairs, pushing the floor with her feet and spinning in a circle.

"Are we doing something yet? Zaalbar's getting bored and believe me, you don't want to see a bored wookie." She talked as she spun, another low whine coming from across the room. "You are too bored, don't you sass me."

"We're trying, Mission. Could you just settled down?" Carth asked plaintively as she unleashed a loud, lingering groan. He turned back to the jedi, who was finally prepared with a statement.

"You have a mission to protect me, I have no wish to dissuade you from that. But I have a mission as well, and though you may find it difficult to believe, it does not involve my safety. The entire galaxy, the entire war is at stake, yes, but for different reasons than the ones you believe. If I fail, if we leave this planet as it is, my battle meditation will mean nothing, and we, all of us, will have doomed the galaxy." She stood with one hand upon the battered table, the other clenching by her waist. Dust from the decaying apartment floated past her, illuminated by light from the single window. Carth sat speechless for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

"...Alright, Bastila. We'll do it your way. But you've got to tell me why we're dooming the galaxy if we don't. I'm trusting that this isn't just some force hyperbole."

"No, Carth." She said, slipping slowly back into her seat. Mission had stopped spinning and was now staring at her in disbelief, arms braced against the table.

"...Wow." The twi'lek almost whispered. "Is it your boyfriend?"

Bastila blinked, her confusing lagging a moment before she turned to the young girl.

"My... what?" She asked.

"The guy who was in the escape pod with you." Mission said, tilting her head. "Me and Zalbaar were going to offer to help him out of the undercity, but, you know, he seemed like he could handle himself alright."

A loud roar erupted from the corner of the room, the wookie's head tilting upwards as he watched his partner.

"Yeah, and he was scary lookin'." Mission confirmed.

"Mission's right, he's what this is all about, isn't he?" Carth said, looking back towards Bastila.

"You never did say what he was doing on the ship, ma'am." Trask said, resting his arms on the aging table. "Or who he is."

"If he's really this important, we need to know what we're dealing with." Carth said. "And don't feed me any of your lines about 'classified' or 'need to know'. We need to know, and you owe us that much."

"Well..." Bastila glanced towards the ceiling, stalling for time like a child. "...It's complicated."

---

The speeder was waiting on the edge of the skyway, Canderous sitting calmly in the driver's seat. Like a shadow, the Mysterious Stranger appeared from the empty walkway, dropping a large bag into the back with a clang and climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Quite a show in the Sith base, I hear." Canderous said, pulling away from the platform and back onto the skyway. The Mysterious Stranger leaned backwards, resting an arm on the side of the car.

"Quite a show indeed." He replied. "I assume you received the codes."

"I did." Canderous said. "What's in the sack?"

"Davik's droid. Turns out a Sith apprentice won't end up on the losing end of a fight with a utility droid. Will wonder's never cease."

"You didn't have to save it. Now that he thinks he's got the launch codes, Davik won't mind the loss, it wasn't that expensive."

"Actually, it was free." The Stranger glanced at Canderous. "But it's not for him. We're going to be spending a lot of time in hyperspace and I may need a project."

"So you work on droids?"

"As a hobby."

"Any good at it?" The speeder rushed past one of the lower city parking sections, blaster fire pouring across the skyway as Sith troopers advanced against a desperately entrenched swoop gang. The Stranger smiled at Canderous, a small, somehow deeply unsettling gesture.

"Oh, I'm the best."

The speeder zipped to the right, taking a heavily neglected tunnel that twisted upwards, back towards the skyline. Canderous glanced to the left, a squadron of Sith fighters swooping under the skyway.

"Remember..." He said. "Just act natural when we get to the estate. Davik needs to believe I think you've got what it takes to work for the Exchange."

"But how ever will I ever live up to your recruiting standards? The Exchange, my word, what a bastion of talent."

"Yeah, just talk exactly like that, except pretend you mean it, and we should be fine. First chance we get, we'll take the Ebon Hawk right out from under his nose and get off this forsaken rock."

"Small amendment to that." The Stranger lifted his hands above his head, stretching. "In between escaping the planet and blasting off into the happily ever after, I need you to stop on the Leviathan."

Canderous frowned, twisting his head towards his business partner.

"The Leviathan. You mean Malak's flagship? You want me to stop there?"

"Just for a few minutes." The Stranger lowered his arms again, examining the worn gloves on his hand. "Long enough for me to kill Malak and take back my... well, my everything. After he's dead I'll let you skip off to... wherever it is Mandalorians go." The Stranger stared an Canderous incredulously. "...Tatooine?"

"You're crazy." Canderous' face was frozen in a mix of concern and surprise, and he was dimly aware that he was no longer watching the path in front of them. The Stranger raised his eyebrows.

"If you want..." He said, gesturing towards a growing gap between two of the massive buildings and a Sith capital ship hovering distantly beyond them. "...I could tear it out of the sky right now and save the both of us a trip, but I'd like to get it back in one piece." His brow furled suddenly, and he glanced at the dashboard. "...Although that would pay him back for destroying my ship."

The speeder drifted to the right as the skyway twisted past a building, small section splitting off to reveal a very exclusive parking garage. Canderous pulled into the minor alcove, engine stalling before cutting out completely. He continued to stare at the Stranger, who seemed either unaware of this, or completely uncaring.

"Oh." He looked up, examining the tiny garage. "Servant's entrance, I take it? I'm sure the inside is very nice." The Stranger hopped out of the speeder, grabbing his bundle of droid parts from the back and slinging it over his shoulder. Canderous stepped out slowly, heading towards the elevator that would take them up to Davik's estate. He kept one eye on the Stranger.

"Let's... deal with the Leviathan when we come to it. Until then, remember, you want to-"

"I want to join the exchange, Davik you're so wonderful, I'm so honored I might get to punch old women and stand around your house snarling at your guests. Then I can get together with all the other guards and we can trade insults that involve 'pantha poodoo'. I've wanted to do this all my life. I have the brain of a gizka."

"If he shoots us both, I'm blaming you."

"If he gets the chance, you should."

---

Malak stood on the bridge of the Leviathan, the world of Taris spinning slowly beneath him. They had been searching for nearly a week, with no trace of Bastila, and now they were trapped in a running ground war with the lower city gangs. Gangs. And now there was word of an attack against their forward operations center, the Sith governor slain, launch codes stolen... if Bastila had not been behind their theft it would not be long before she found them. Or they found their way to her. If she was able to break through their blockade...

No.

It would not come to that.

"Kareth." He turned to his right, a Sith admiral approaching him and saluting.

"Yes, my lord?"

"The search for Bastila is taking too long. Destroy this planet."

The admiral was quiet for a moment, staring at the Sith Lord.

"Destroy... the entire planet." Saul Kareth repeated. "But... there are billions of people on Taris, not to mention our own men still on the surface, if we-"

"Your predecessor once questioned by orders, admiral. There was not an opening for your promotion without reason."

"I... yes, Lord Malak. I will begin the procedures at once." Saul Kareth turned and walked down the bridge, boots clanging against an otherwise silent deck. Malak folded his hands behind his back, otherwise unmoving as the Sith fleet began to reposition for bombardment.

---

"Bastila, look..." Carth was holding his head in his hands, elbows resting on the table. "You've talked a whole lot about duty and necessity and the greater good but you haven't actually said who you need to protect or why they're so important. I don't mean to rush you, your highness, but if we could-"

"Hey!" Mission shouted from across the room. She pointed out towards the sky, staring at the others. "They're leaving!"

The room became a flurry of activity as three fully grown adults and a wookie scrambled to the one, tiny window to see where the twi'lek was pointing. The carpet of steel warships began had begun to ascend upwards, the Sith fleet disappearing above the clouds. Mission smiled.

"Well, that was lucky!"

Trask nodded, surprised but relieved at the Sith's apparent withdrawl. Cath backed slowly away from the window.

"Oh no..." His voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper.

"...oh no..."

---

"Ah, yes, now I recognize your friend." Davik Kang stood in the middle of his lounge, surrounded by guards and slaves. Canderous had introduced the Stranger, as well as a fairly accurate account of his exploits at the military base. "Most impressive, to say the least. The Exchange could use someone with your talents. You could have a bright future with our organization. Many would kill for such a chance."

"High praise indeed, given the value of human life."

Davik frowned, studying the Stranger and trying to decide if he had just been insulted, or if it was a light hearted jest. He was also trying to decide if it mattered.

"Probably not the best example to use on a natural born killer, Davik."

"Perhaps not, but their value is far greater than their lack of social graces. Tell me, where did you acquire the skills you used against the Sith? One would assume it some type of military training."

"I fought in the Mandalorian wars under the Republic. Two tours. Canderous and I may have even been shooting at each other at one point."

"No kidding." Canderous raised a wary but eager eyebrow.

"Were you at Mal..." The Stranger trailed off, glancing around him.

"Everything alright?" Davik asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"No..." The Stranger replied. "...something's..."

A flash of red light the size of a building blew past the window, a sudden roar following almost immediately after. The estate shook, dust and debris flying up from the impact sight some blocks away. Davik stumbled backwards, a barrage of orbital lasers visible in the sky between the buildings.

"Damn Sith!" Davik shouted. "They're bombing the plan-"

He did not finish his sentence before he was pulled forward, and invisible force ripping him across the room and how the massive bay window of the lounge. A bounty hunter in a blue jacket and a white hat raised his pistols towards the Stranger before he slammed downward into the ground. He was lifted, immediately after, into the air, and tossed out the window Davik Kang had flown through. Two seconds after their crime lord had been sent sailing out the window, most of the guards had recovered from the dual shock of the Sith attack and the assassination to raise their rifles. As they did, the Stranger pulled a large cylinder from his pocket, and as they fired, his cylinder flashed yellow at both ends. The barrage of blaster fire was bet with a whirl of yellow, and a repeated volley as the blaster shots were directed back towards the gunmen. Four seconds after Davik Kang had been sent through his lounge window, the last his guards were dead.

The yellow beams slipped back into their hilt as the building shook with another explosion, the Sith bombardment increasing in volume. The Stranger began to run to Davik's hanger, yelling to Canderous as he moved. Seven seconds after Davik Kang had been sent through a window, the door to the lounge slid shut, and Canderous and the Stranger disappeared from view. Eight seconds afterward, the shock wore off, and the slaves began to scream.

The Ebon Hawk sat alone in its private hanger, as pristine as any sport racer Canderous had ever seen. The Stranger was already disappearing up the loading ramp, and Canderous followed soon after, another explosion nearly ripping the building apart.

"Anyone you want to save on Taris? Now's the last chance." Canderous said as the loading ramp closed behind him, the two running like mad to the ship's cockpit.

"No, we're leaving now." The Stranger replied, jumping into the pilot's seat. The engines whined as the ship lifted away from the hanger and slid carefully away from the building, landing gear retracting into its belly. An orbital laser blasted just above the hanger, the explosion ripping through the building and forcing the Ebon Hawk into a momentary nosedive as Davik's Estate came apart at the seams behind them. The ship twisted upwards, engines accelerating as the fastest ship in the galaxy blasted away from the crumbling city through a torrent of laser fire and into a waiting Sith fleet.

---

"Come on, move! Move!" Carth pushed the others forward through the hallway, screaming aliens rushing in all directions as the city came apart around them. They had to move. They had to get to lower ground. The Undercity, that might be safe. If the building would stay stable long enough for them to survive the elevator ride. Maybe there was still time to steal a ship... no, they still didn't have any launch coats, the auto lasers would eviscerate them. The building trembled, debris dropping from the ceiling as Carth jumped over a fallen Ithorian, still pushing the rest of the group forward. There had to be a way out of this, there still had to be a way. It wasn't going to end like-

An orbital laser struck just below their floor, fire and debris flying towards them from the wall and up at them through the floor. The group tripped, stumbled. Almost all of them fell to the rapidly disappearing ground. Bastila, however, did not. Bastila flew sideways, a small section of the building's steel frame ripping through her abdomen and impaling her spine against the inner wall.

Thirty seven miles away, very near to clearing the Sith orbital guns, the Ebon Hawk jerked suddenly downward and spiraled out of control towards the planet.