S/N: The breakout on the Leviathan is amalgam of all the escape routes. So far in the game I only tried as Mission, Juhani, Canderous, and Jolee.
The Ebon Hawk draws closer to the main hangar by the second. The crew gathers in the Main Hold to make plans for an eventual escape. Each will make separate escapes and rendezvous back at the hangar. However Borden notes that Karath is unlikely to be loose on the watch of Carth, Bastila, or himself. Canderous sees Borden's point so only the others aside from the three targets will have opportunity to escape from captivity.
"The Mandalorian made the foolish attempt to defend the others by detonating a whole roll of grenades then furthermore tries to charge a whole battalion…"
"Brave, but stupid, no wonder they lost to the Republic…"
The medics carry the unconscious Canderous to the infirmary. The droids are taken to the maintenance shop to be scanned then wiped or scraped depending on the ship's mechanic. Bastila, Carth, and Borden are lead towards the force cages in the detention block while it takes several neutralizer rounds to bring down Zaalbar as he is trying to take the hits for Mission. Juhani remains in stealth, a Force ability that extends from her feline sneaking quality. Mission is led into the cell awake while a roller is used to move Zaalbar into the cell next to hers.
"Now pipe down you little twerp," growls the trooper.
"Okay I am piping down…" replies Mission.
"I did not say you could talk…"
"If you say so…"
The guards leave not noticing she got her hands on the cell block's equivalent of a skeleton key that all guards carry in this section. It would take some time to figure out how to use it without alerting the guards to her escape especially if they had cameras watching the cell block. She decides to contact T3 for assistance with the cameras, and he chirps in letting her know that he is on the job. HK-47 is watching his back for practical purposes as the utility droid claims he is acting on orders from the Master, which assures the assassin droid's aid in the escape.
"The cameras are in going into loop mode, a replay of the past several patrols, good work T3; I will see you with the others soon, just stay put unless someone discovers you…"
***
"It looks like he will survive despite the intensity of those blasts and his battalion rush," concludes the doctor.
Canderous starts to come around to find restraints being put on his arms and legs. He violently throws the orderlies across the room then kicks the technicians trying to tie down his legs. Afterwards he picks up the doctor and tosses him on the table then sedates him. He proceeds to tie up the others in one big group in the doctor's office then leaves after programming a lockout protocol on the entrances to the medical wing.
The nearby storage room has all the equipment they took off him, the droids, Mission, and Zaalbar. The others must be elsewhere yet he pushes that out of mind knowing he has to find the others before dealing with anything else. Canderous suits up as fast as he can, but troopers patrolling the corridor decide to check the storage room only to meet a quick 'sleep' by him knocking their heads together. As a measure, he shoots both of them point blank, and then heads off to find the Twi'lek and the Wookie as he occasionally calls them.
Jolee slips out from behind the container stack in the corridor leading towards the cell block, and he marvels at the weak mind quality of the guards. His master from a lifetime ago taught him about the effectiveness of mind tricks, but Jolee had never quite felt set to use one without knowing if it would work or not on the person. He telepathically reaches out to Juhani who is nearing his location even now. She arrives and they confer behind the container stack. The Jedi pair encounters Mission and Zaalbar who have been swathing their way through the guard and Jolee moves to speak first.
"Don't worry Bindo; T3 already set the cameras into a long enough repeating loop that nobody will notice too quickly."
"For your sake Miss Vao, I hope he did a good job, because we are not out of this yet…"
"I know that, but we still have to find the others too…"
"Then let us move soon…"
The Jedi, Mission, and Zaalbar head away from the Cell Block after a riot mode activates luring a substantial number of troopers on the level to the block, which leaves a clear path to T3's location. The group enters the droid maintenance room to find Canderous already there with the droids. He looks to them only nodding at first and somewhat surprised by all of them making it here this quickly. They move further inside and lock the door for the moment.
"We will need a plan to get the Princess, the Flyboy, and Borden out of those Detention Cages," begins Canderous.
"Any ideas?" asks Jolee
"If the layout reads right and the actual split screen of feeds show correctly, then there are only a handful of troopers between us and the cages…"
"However, that Saul Karath guy is still down here, probably interrogating them…"
"We will have to wait then, until he is off this deck, otherwise he might kill them to prevent their escape…"
***
"Where are we Onasi?" groans Borden
"The Detention Cages probably explains the headache," answers Carth.
"I suspect we will be seeing your ex-mentor soon then," responds Bastila.
Their clothes, their weapons, and anything else of value from the ship was seized the moment they were brought onboard then taken here. Something felt familiar about this place to Borden as if he had been here or somewhere like it before. The double doors leading into the room slide upon as a unit of Sith troopers escort Admiral Saul Karath into the room. Karath instructs the troopers to leave as he will handle the interrogations personally.
"How bold of you Saul, taking that kind of responsibility, wish you had a few years ago!"
"Come now Carth, you cannot be still holding a grudge over the bombardment of Telos"
"I swore I would get you, now an opportunity is right in my…"
Carth doubles over in pain and then slides down in the cage. Karath resets the controls and looks to Bastila who has her eyes on Borden. The admiral is certain now of what Nord told him weeks ago. The third target of Malak's bounty was someone unexpected like his friends difficult to kill though he thought to himself Carth does not know otherwise this would be a whole other story already.
"Where are the Enclaves that exist outside the Core Worlds?"
"You probably know if Malak already told you, there are enough ex-Jedi around here for that is there not?"
"Perhaps I will ask him for those answers, see if he knows anything, well do you?"
Karath directs the discharge into Bastila's cage and she then doubles over in pain yet tries to hold on without giving into the pain setting her nerves on fire. She struggles to look at Borden. He looks at her, she half looks like she would give anything to the end the pain, but he feels he cannot give in even for her despite his need to end this momentary torment.
"Where are the Enclaves? Where are the Masters?" yells Karath
"They are on Alderaan… Alderaan…" shouts Borden.
"Wrong answer, I was looking for Dantooine…" retorts Karath.
Bastila and Carth double over taking a worse shock then before. Borden growls, his eyes nearly change for a moment, but the others are in too much pain to notice. Karath catches it however, which informs his belief of his prisoner's identity. He moves on with the interrogation.
"The Enclave, the Ruins, and so on is gone, destroyed…"
"Lies, it cannot all be gone…"
"Some did escape, but there is much destruction hanging over the Jedi's 'inability' to defend the people of Dantooine from it…"
"You will pay from your crimes Karath…"
"I am sure I will or not, now how much of the astrogation chart have you found aside from the ones on Dantooine, Tatooine, and Manaan?"
"You are forgetting Kashyyyk…"
"Oh right, then that leaves Korriban, but that would be stupid for you going into Sith territory on a clearly recognizable ship or with easily identifiable passengers…"
"Feel fortunate you are outside Karath because otherwise I would have knocked you out by now…"
"I am shaking in my boots, but in that cell your powers do not work…"
"I take it you contacted Malak about our capture by now…"
"He is on his way here, but I thought I get something of you three before he has the crew executed then broadcasts you three being shot point blank on live holo-feed for all to see, it should be quite amusing to see you die for the losing side, except Malak might have other plans once he gets here… he is like that you know…"
"Telos, Taris, and Dantooine, when will enough be enough?" asks Borden
"I am running the questions here, but you are not answering, so goodbye…"
A triple discharge zaps all of three, and they double except Borden does not drop as easily. Karath zaps him again and again until the stubborn Jedi drops to his kneels then slips into unconsciousness. The Admiral leaves and heads back to the Bridge then reactivates the lockdown on the turbolifts, which can only be shut down from the Bridge.
***
"Easy, easy, take it slow, he zapped you a lot more than us if the look of you says anything," says Carth.
"I am glad you are alive, I felt helpless unable to protect you from him," continues Bastila.
"Bastila, I felt like giving in, not because of the pain…"
"For us, you would have done anything to stop the pain…"
"Yes, but you were stronger than that, he went after us knowing we were your 'weaknesses' for him to exploit…"
"I hope the others are all right… I guess we will find out soon enough."
Canderous easily smashes more troopers' heads together while Jolee tosses others toward Juhani who jabs them. Zaalbar picks up some and holds them high until they pass out from asphyxiation. He drops them then HK-47 shoots them while Mission and T3 forge ahead to the Detention Control Station. She hacks into the console and deactivates the cages while T3 hacks the door controls unsealing the rooms near the control station.
"Good work Mission, I think we are going to deserve long vacations and shiny medals by the time this is over," chuckles Carth.
A half naked trio heads off for the nearby storage lockup to retrieve their gear. The party heads off for the turbolift, but discovers the lockdown is keeping them out of the hangar where the Hawk is being kept now. Borden leads everyone back the Tech Room where T3 and 47 originally were awhile ago. The plan requires a rethinking, and Borden has T3 tumble through the ship schematics for alternate access to the Hangar despite Carth's passing knowledge of the ship's interiors.
"I am going to the Bridge…" says Carth.
"You are not going up there alone… I am going with you…" replies Bastila.
"I will be going too…" continues Borden.
"I am leading the others to Hangar, we will get the turbolift once it returns from the Bridge then ride it after you disengage the lockdown…" responds Canderous.
***
An internal hull breach has cut off the Command Deck from the Bridge, which proves to be something of a detour until they find space suits to travel the bypass platform outside the ship. Carth is nimble in his pacing even in the suit while Borden and Bastila share a look of mutual concern for Carth's eagerness to kill Saul. The deck's personnel put up a decent fight, but after everything else they have been through together, it felt like a mix of calm and frenzy had finally got into symmetrical combat stances.
"Carth, you remember what we talked about, what the others told you at different times about the meaning of us together on this mission?" asks Borden
"Stop pestering me already, I tried, but I am stuck with the things I am. I trust you all, but I cannot let him harm anyone else I care about…" replies Carth.
"I know, but killing him won't bring Morgana or Dustil back to you…"
"Do not bring my family or Telos or anything else into this…"
"Those are things continue as excuses to feed your anger, your frustration, your rage… you have to let them go… you have to… otherwise you will not be the man that pulled me from the wrecked pod, that helped me survive Taris, that followed me into the depths, that flew the Hawk through ship to ship combat, there is so much good you have done… do not let Saul Karath take that away from you when he dies…"
Carth slams his fists into the walls after Borden finishes talking about the good done by him. The solder pilot admits to himself that he has held onto the bad things so long that he cannot remember what it truly means to be good. He whispers for forgiveness, which Borden and Bastila assure he has from them, from the others. The Bridge like another turning point in the road is coming up now. Borden and Bastila lead the charge while Carth pulls his blasters out their holsters.
The Elite Troopers near the entryway fall first as Carth shoots both point blank while the Jedi sweep through the others towards Saul and his Dark Jedi bodyguards. Borden takes the one on the left; Bastila parries a swing from the one on the right while Carth heads towards Saul at full speed. He shoots his ex-mentor hand as reaches for a pistol. The Admiral stumbles backwards then reaches for it with his other hand though Carth shoots that too.
Karath charges him, but Borden force pushes Karath to the ground. Carth returns his blasters to their holsters then pulls out a vibroblade and swings it towards Karath's neck. The Admiral smiles knowing that while his former subordinate kills him, he will suffer more for the kill than the killing. Borden shouts at Carth who halts for a moment giving Karath the opening to attack again.
"Do not give into your anger…"
Karath leaps at Carth, but in mid fall, the Admiral flops the other way having indirectly caught Carth's blade in his chest. Both men fall to the deck where Carth leans over Saul cursing the slip. The Admiral grips the Captain's collar and whispers something into Carth's ear. A sharp exhale follows before he continues his final words.
"They are not really your friends, you have no idea who they really are, especially not the one you call Borden, and Bastila she has kept secrets of that Council for a long time…"
"What do you mean?" asks Carth
"You will see soon enough… Malak is nearly here…"
Admiral Saul Karath, high officer of the Sith Navy, traitor to the Republic, hero of the Mandalorian Wars, villain of the Jedi Civil War, dies in Carth Onasi's arms from an accidental stab to the chest. Carth gets up and grabs Bastila by her Jedi attire then slams her into the bulkhead. Borden moves to intervene on her behalf.
"Have you already forgotten what I said earlier, what could have been said to undermine that?" shouts Borden
"Lies, all of it, why did you not tell me Bastila?" yells Carth
"It was the Council's decision, I had to remain silent, and besides this is not the time to discuss this…"
"You better start taking better responsibility even if it is the Council, and second, now is the time for this, I have been flying all over the Galaxy for the past several months without so much as an inkling about the real story behind what took place before Taris…"
"What is he talking about Bastila?"
"I will tell you after we are out of here, more troopers are coming and Malak is nearly aboard…"
"She is right, I sense him, and it is time to go…"
"You will have your answers before this is over…"
The trio battle their way through the reinforcements after Borden disables the lockdowns throughout the ship while engaging some of his own to cut off access to the hangar except through the turbolift that intersects the Command Deck and the Prison Block. Canderous contacts Borden over the commlink headset.
"We are entering the hangar corridor now, so far no sign of enemies, but the old man and the Cathar think they may be waiting for us or you three…" reports Canderous.
"Understood we are on our way now…" replies Borden.
"The sooner you get here, the sooner we get out of here…" responds Canderous.
"I read you, Borden out," finishes Borden.
"This is it, Zaalbar, HK-47 and I will flank them while Mission, Juhani, and T3 get into ship clear out anyone in there, then we will all rush a preflight prep so the ship is warmed up to go at a moment's notice…"
The flanking goes according to plan, but T3 runs afoul of technicians inside the ship trying to hack the navacomputer. He zaps both men in the butt with a stun charger and Jolee arrives to drag them off then toss both down the ramp. Zaalbar ducks slightly to get up the ramp as usual while 47 covers the boarding ramp. Canderous checks the rest of the hangar for other personnel, but to his annoyance and relief finds none.
"All clear, the ship is ours…" reports Canderous.
"Right, we are entering the hangar corridor now, enemy resistance, hold your ground there, we will be there in no time…" replies Borden.
***
Bastila cuts down the Dark Jedi with ease while Borden finishes a Dark Master and Carth shoots the last of the troopers in the hangar control room. Carth then shuts down the mooring clamps, the tractor beams, and whatever else holding the Ebon Hawk there is shut down. They make for a run to the hangar, but someone is waiting for them there, someone Bastila was hoping to avoid on the way out. A red glow fills the already vacant dark pathway to the hangar.
"Hello Bastila…"
"Malak…."replies Bastila.
"This is Malak?" chuckles Borden
"I take it this is the Council's work… "
"What do you mean Malak?" questions Borden
"This is too good to be true, but there you are my old master…"
"Old Master, but Revan is dead…"
"No he may be 'gone', but he is still alive, he was you…"
A series of flashbacks overcomes Borden in the moment.
***
"The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners. No one deserves execution, no matter what their crimes," says Bastila.
"The Council would not normally accept an adult for training, but this is a special case," replies Zhar.
"They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind: it can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity," remarks Carth.
"Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, Korriban, and Revan visited each of these worlds searching for clues to reveal the hidden location of the Star Forge," continues Bastila.
"The lure of the dark side is difficult to resist, I fear this quest to find the Star Forge could lead you down an all too familiar path," warns Vrook.
"What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause, and to use their knowledge against them?" questions Bastila.
Images of the Star Maps, flickers of Revan's flagship, the almost duel between Bastila and Revan, and then an alien superstructure on the surface of an unknown planet. The cloaked and masked Darth Revan stands triumphant at presumably the rooftop of the temple. The figure's hands reach inside the hood to pry off the mask to reveal the Dark Lord's face. It is pale though not nearly as pale as Malak's yet he does have that Sith like glow in his eyes.
***
Malak's continued monologue pulls him back to the corridor and instinctively Borden activates his lightsaber then looks to Bastila. She cannot immediately meet his gaze and Carth recognizes a familiar look in the former Dark Lord's face. A man who made an identity for himself or so he thought only to learn he was the man that he went to war to save the Republic only to end up tearing it apart. Malak freezes Bastila and Carth then urges his old master to a duel.
"This is too good to be true, at least now I can prove you are dead to the others!"
"I survived your last attempt on my life, so you know I am difficult to kill!"
After attacking, parrying, and defending halfway to the hangar, Malak's stasis attack on Bastila and Carth wears off. They charge to catch up to Borden and Malak struggling against each other. Malak laughs seeing his enemies helping a man who used to be their enemy. Bastila force pulls Malak out of the way then force pushes Borden knocked down frame into the next juncture, which prompts Carth to go after him leaving Malak to Bastila. The double doors shut behind him, and Borden flips to his feet then aims his lightsaber at the door.
"Carth, get Borden out of here now!" yells Bastila
"I am not leaving without you!" shouts Borden
"We have to go now otherwise Bastila's attempt to hold him will be in vain!"
Carth literally drags him away before he just runs the rest of the way trying to escape the pain of feeling the bond vanish between him and Bastila.
"No we can't just leave her here!" growls Borden.
"Canderous help me with him," grumbles Carth.
Canderous shoots the door controls once they are inside the hangar and the Ebon Hawk lifts off leaving the Leviathan behind them. He grabs Borden's other arm while helping Carth pull him aboard. The Mandalorian knows why he is upset, the man is in love with the Jedi 'Princess', but she made her stand in her love for him, something he is having difficulty accepting right now. A flight of Sith fighters is coming after once they clear the hangar bay. Borden and Canderous go to the turrets while Carth takes the helm from Jolee who moves to the copilot chair.
"I think we need to change our destination to resupply before going to Korriban, I know a place in the Yavin System, a space station from the Sith Wars built by the Republic, but now owned by a Rodian named Suvam…" says Jolee.
"You know this guy?" replies Carth
"In a way, I just know of the station…"
"I am changing the jump coordinates for the Yavin System…"
"More Sith fighters heading our way now…"
Borden and Canderous hold them off long enough to execute the altered jump to Yavin Station. The remaining fighters return to the Leviathan, and then jumps away after suspecting the Hawk is heading for Korriban. Malak however instructs the new commanding officer to jump the battleship interdictor elsewhere. He mentally crushes Bastila's double blade lightsaber with the Force then leaves the new commander to the new command crew from the next shift.
***
"We are entering the Yavin System, I am transmitting codes to the Station, and they are letting us dock thankfully… now I have some good news and definite bad news…"
"We know, we got off that hulk, you got Saul obviously, but we lost Bastila."
"Bastila's capture or death is only the tip…"
"I am Darth Revan," murmurs Borden.
"What do you mean," remarks Juhani.
"That's right people, Malak's old master has been with us all this time, though the Council thought it best not to tell us…"
"Now wait just a damn minute, I did not even know this until several hours ago while we were still trying to escape," retorts Borden.
"Like that makes any difference," snaps Carth.
"Give the guy a break Carth," yells Mission.
"Why should I, I have been lied to, shot at, locked up, and more covering for Jedi lies…"
"As if news that Borden was Revan changes anything," responds Canderous.
"He had to find this out on his own, I had my suspicions as early as the Shadowlands, because having someone else tell you, especially a stranger or an enemy makes it easier to throw a black hole then if someone you know tells you that someone else you know is not who or what you think they are…" states Jolee.
"You are all going to let this slide?"
"No we are not, but you are forgetting everything Borden did for you, for us, because to me he is not Revan, he is what he is now," continues Mission.
"An untold amount of time being a good guy does not make for years of being a bad guy."
"Enough with your excuses Onasi, do we have to have this chat again?"
"Fine, you will see what this leads to eventually…"
Carth retires to the starboard dormitory and locks himself with several bottles of ale bought on Tatooine a few weeks earlier. Canderous and Jolee decide to make an assessment inspection of the ship for any bugs, tracking devices, and whatever else before it is time to leave again. Juhani takes Borden aside while Mission and Zaalbar discuss something with the droids.
***
"It must be quite a shock to everyone to learn who I was or am… you think I do not feel strange about this… because I do, I really do, and I feel lost… the connection to Bastila is gone, I fear she is dead… a somewhat better fate than to be a pawn in Malak's game…"
"Yes I fear about Bastila as well though for the moment my worries rest with you. You brought me around in the Grove and I feel compulsion to return the favor somehow."
"Thank you Juhani, you do not owe me for getting you to the Order, you always had it in you to be a great Jedi."
"Thank you Borden."
"Let us meditate for awhile, I need it right now."
"You are not bothered by my past?" asks Borden
Later on he is on his way back to the front of the ship when Mission grips him by the arm.
"I do not see Revan here before me, not Revan in the sense of that villainous conqueror people blab about still, but Revan who became Borden, someone who has been with us through thick and thin… whether it was Taris, Tatooine, or Kashyyyk…"
"Thank you Mission… what about Griff…"
"When this is over, we will help if we both feel it is the thing to do…"
"Mission, you amaze me still, between the sewers, the dunes, and even the trees…"
"Hey, don't you go all mushy on me... ah, never mind you need a hug!"
Zaalbar pulls both of them against him, which Mission calls a furry hug. The Wookiee also professes his continuing loyalty through the life debt he swore to the man that saved him from slavers, reunited his clan, and drove Czerka from his homeland. HK-47 and T3-M4 express their continuing loyalty to him as well. 47 has more to say on the matter as it appears 47 had worked for Revan during the early days of the Jedi Civil War.
"It seems we are truly inexplicably linked together, but understand this, you fight your own battles, and I merely brought the opportunity for your strengths to you, as it would now seem at this stage…"
"We see that now, even if Carth will take longer to recognize, if he ever does, but know this, for all you have done, redemption is possible, you have proven this, maybe not so much redemption, but a return to what you essentially are without the trappings of the Jedi or the mantle of the Sith," says Jolee.
"I have come to rely on your parables and your words for support like I have from any of the others Jolee…"
"Don't go getting sentimental on me otherwise I might jab you for making me go soft in my old age… I prefer the enigma…"
"I hear you…"
Canderous rests his hands on Borden's shoulders and exhales for a moment. He then looks the man directly in the eyes. He begins to speak and Borden gives him the fullest attention possible. Canderous nearly smiles as he recalls the admiration he felt for Revan towards the end of the Mandalorian Wars, now almost five years over.
"You were the single greatest opponent that my people fought in the Wars, you showed us what a truly committed warrior could accomplish, and our final defeat at Malachor showed us again that there is a difference between victory and war, between falling and self-sacrifice, so whatever happens in the end, I am with you all the way."
"I am honored for your continued service Canderous, but what about Jagi?"
"I will face before him before we find the final Star Map if you do not mind a detour to Tatooine…"
"We will make a time for it, but as usual, the final piece becomes more urgent to find with our run in with Malak…"
"I know, it will be quick, decisive, and done, then on to Korriban…"
***
Suvam offers them specialty items for saving him and his business from the Trandoshans who had been bothering him since Kang's death months earlier. Borden constructs two new lightsabers from parts that Bastila left for him in his locker as gifts for that short lived romantic evening in Ahto City. A special crystal called the Heart of the Force is put into one of the two sabers while he places a crystal like Bastila's in the other. The other specialty crystal, the Mantle of the Guardian, is put into Juhani's new double blade lightsaber.
The melee and ranged weapons are also upgraded by Canderous in anticipation of the encounter with Jagi as well as the probable battles on Korriban. Borden bids Suvam good luck in his business before heading back to the Hawk with Canderous, Mission, and Zaalbar. A sobered up Carth greets them at the airlock, the others return to the ship leaving the soldier pilot and the former Sith to confront their sketchy history. Carth moves to speak first by raising his hand to silence Borden.
"I know I have never been the easiest traveling companion, I have been distrustful, frustrating, antagonistic, cruel, and more. I went ballistic on Bastila, I snapped on Canderous, treated Mission like a brat, ignored Zaalbar, kept my distance from Juhani especially after her outburst about Taris, but worst of all I went all out after you from the go…"
"You had every right to be any number of those things to any of us. However you never took responsibility for your behavior until now, you made some short lived measures before, but all along the way you upset and aggravated the whole… I let them handle however they chose to do so... their deal, not mine…"
"A good call, I mean, I doubt you were going to go around playing negotiator with all of us…"
"However, I eventually got tired of it, I even talked to you about it on occasion though you shut me out, especially after the slip with Saul, and after learning my real past from in a way from Saul and Malak, and you were a jerk. It hurt worst than anything I could remember up to that point in conjunction with losing Bastila and learning I was Revan…"
"How you keep going with that I can never know…"
"No, You will never get it, the same way you will never become truly human again without forgiving while not forgetting what has happen to any of us… what would Morgana think of you now?"
"She would be ashamed of me, I know you did terrible things, I did terrible things too, but you really make one heck of a turn around, so like the others had been yelling at me for hours with inklings of truisms…"
The men hug, sharing the loss of loved ones, and remembering what matters to honor the memory of them. Both back away after hearing Mission's giggling when skipping away after seeing their hug. Borden heads up the ramp while Carth looks around one last time before resuming his usual place in the pilot's seat aboard the Ebon Hawk. The departure clearances are given, and the freighter heads out of the system then into the lane that leads in general direction of Tatooine.
***
"I see you are not alone Ordo, a Jedi and some Republic stooge…"
"You also did not come alone, I had a feeling you were aiming to ambush me because you felt incapable of taking me on alone…"
"You are going to pay for abandoning your men at Althir, men like me and others that paid with their lives for Althir …"
"There must be another way to resolve this," interrupts Borden.
"He had us hold an impossible position that would fall so that other units could break through a hole in the Althiri lines…"
"Mandalore was constant about flexibility in combat, if I did take the opening more would died, the sad fact is wars are numbers games, I had to weigh the alternatives quickly because the hole would not been there indefinitely…"
"I am sorry Ordo; I have dishonored myself in this…"
"Jagi, what are you doing?" questions Canderous
"Restoring your honor and mine in the only way I can think of…"
Jagi takes his own life while his thugs attack them except Canderous is unable to move from the spot. Borden and Carth deal with the thugs. Canderous wraps up Jagi's body then carries it to the ship while Borden goes looking for Mission who was taking the requested glands to Griff who later did not return as the deal had apparently fallen through with his buyers who were working for the Exchange. She admits an amount of sadness at losing her brother a second time, but looks with wet eyes to Borden telling him that he has been a better brother than Griff was these times. He is still her brother, but not nearly as much Borden is for her now.
***
Carth turns up with a bittersweet look on his face. Mission and Borden turn to him as he tries to say something. Mission shakes him up before he manages to answer her question about his news. An old friend of his and his late wife has told him that his son is alive, and training at the Sith Academy on Korriban. Borden rubs his hand against his head as the coincidences continue to mount wherever they go in the Galaxy.
Canderous retreats to the starboard dormitory to consider his personal history in retrospect to Jagi's death. Griff's disappearance takes its toll, but Mission looks to gains in the arms and the hearts of this crew, this family. Carth hopes and fears in his eventual reunion with Dustil on Korriban. Jolee and Juhani discuss how to approach the infiltration of the Sith Academy if it becomes necessary to go there upon reaching Dreshdae. Borden informs them that Carth's son is alive and residing in the Academy because of the training. They agree that finding Dustil is important especially to Carth so getting to him while there is necessary.
The jumps to Korriban require alternates paths to avoid Sith patrols in the region as it one of the primary worlds of Malak's remade Sith Empire. The transponder codes are also changed temporarily to trick any deep space tracking networks. After nearly two weeks of jumping around militarized lanes and bypassing unmanned tracking satellites, the Ebon Hawk touches down in Dreshdae. The dock personnel agree to pay no mind to the Hawk's presence, that no one will ever know they were there given the ship's history with the Exchange.
"They still believe it to be in the Exchange's service despite Kang's rumored death though we are the only ones to know he is really dead," whispers Borden.
"Good for us then," whispers Carth.
"What is all the whispering for my hearing is not so good," chuckles Jolee.
"Sorry Jolee just saying something I did not want overheard right now…"
"I know I was only kidding, no sense of humor, again kidding."
"Xor is here…" whispers Carth.
"Why the fierfek did he shows his face again," groans Mission.
"You have been listening to Canderous too much," remarks Juhani.
Her eyes turn feral again as if the darkness that lingers is making itself known. She heads towards Xor and his lackeys with her double blade ready to cut him up. He threatens her, but she does not take it out on him. He makes a ludicrous offer to 'buy' Juhani off Borden. Borden spits at him and tells him to get lost because there is no need for scum like him anywhere in the galaxy. The lackeys try to grab Juhani, but she jabs one and then the other.
Xor cowers into a corner as Juhani aims the tip of her lightsaber at his head. He begs for mercy, which she surprisingly grants then walks away before he starts going off at the mouth about her parents. She whirls around and aims her weapon at him again. Borden reminds her about what they had always spoken about in private except through a telepathic nudge. Her eyes revert to their usual look as she lowers her aim to his chest then hit it slowly to remind him that he will not have a quick death despite his attempt to enrage her thus make her worse than him in his eyes.
"You will know no quick end for your crimes, but this is not an execution, it is a sentence that ends when you die a physical death," says Juhani.
"I still win…" laughs Xor.
"No you lose, your life is not a life, but an existence built on the miseries of others to make your days less empty, you killed my father, you condemned my mother, but you were not able to get me. He saved me before you could win and so I have come out ahead while you have fallen further behind…" whispers Juhani.
Xor finally dies some time later and Juhani looks to Canderous who is standing at the ramp after having seen from the cockpit the way that she made herself a better woman by showing her childhood tormentor the physicality of suffering. He takes her inside and cooks for her, the first meal he had made in some time for a woman. They share stories over the meal while Mission and Zaalbar watch the ship. The droids power down for the duration of the stay.
***
Jolee and Carth dress as civilians to perpetuate the illusion that Borden is traveling with indentured servants. Borden carries the weapons for all of them, which include four lightsabers, four vibroblades, and several ranged weapons. A merchant Mika Dorin sells some rare items like his counterpart at the Yavin Station, which Borden purchases in order to get the lay of the land.
Borden discreetly persuades multiple hopefuls to forget trying to get in as most of them will not because Mekel's schemes are pure sport for him. Borden learns that a Yuthura Ban is the woman to see about the Sith Academy and gaining access to the Valley of Dark Lords. Borden and Yuthura chat for some time before she subscribes to the belief that he is a potential student for the Academy. She hands him a medallion, which are worn only by Academy students.
"I take your servants are accompanying you through this process?" asks Yuthura
"Yes, come along now we are going to the Academy!" orders Borden
"As you command Master," respond Jolee and Carth together.
"Obedience of subordinates is a powerful touch for aspiring Sith yet discipline also has uses too."
"I find fear of punishment to be a stronger motivation than actual punishment on occasion."
"I am grateful for Master's leniency and fairness when I am not failing him."
"Respect goes a long way too if applied properly."
"Perhaps there are things to be learned from you in this process."
Sith Academy Conclave
"Yuthura tells me you have great potential for the Competition, which is a regular practice for separating the chaff from the wheat as Darth Revan once put after establishing Jorak Uln as the Master of the Academy. Uln forgot this principle in my opinion so I took his place and Yuthura became the new assistant mistress here."
"I am eager to learn what I can here for the Jedi are not entirely what they consider themselves to be and the Sith are not quite as the Galaxy believe them to be if they know anything about them."
"You certainly have an open yet imaginative mind, which be of use to you in your training though remember the Competition only results in one victor while the rest are done permanently one way or another."
"You understand my plan then…"
"Yes I am willing to help you…"
Borden informs Master Uthar Wynn of Yuthura's plan, which does not surprise him then he doubles back to Yuthura and feigns that Uthar has given a mission to him to ensure Yuthura's death. She instead takes an altered version of the note to the alchemist, and Borden plants the poison emitter in Uthar's room so he will be ill prepared for the eventual final task. Borden signals Carth to come into Uthar's chambers while Jolee watches their backs.
"Uthar's files reference every student, but some either disappear, become ill, or in reality die though the deaths are usually faulted on competitions within ranks or more blatantly on creatures native to the Valley…"
"Anything about Dustil…"
"A 'friend' of Dustil's, a woman named Selene was 'killed' by something called tuk'ata, I vaguely recall something of the creatures, but most of my memories are not quite as they were or so I am guessing …"
A/N 1: It begins similar to the scene that follows if you choose to have Canderous be the break out character except I brought everyone into except with Bastila and Carth being stuck with my character Borden in the cages. Plus I did a lot scene condensing again, this is still my first KOTOR fic. I intend to rewrite this one maybe. Also considering doing a female Revan fic in the future.
A/N 2: If anything I did seem to rush the escape a little, but then again I usually got through that part the quickest after spending up four hours on Manaan between the story content and the swoop races. However sometimes I do skip the swoops only because well its kind of annoying to get to the last guy and not always beat him so you leave an open quest. Usually all the unfinished quests disappear from the journal along with everything else at least in the PC version, its different with the X-Box.
A/N 3: I played and took a long time to beat the PC version only because well computers aren't allways up to par due to specs. As for the X-Box it was less prone to freezing, it just seized up during the load screens, so I saved from time to time instead of waiting for autosave.
A/N 4: As for the scene where Saul dies that was quick for me in the game, but then I had augmented my force abilities pretty far along at that stage. The similarities the original trilogy were readily apparent by this point in the game right up to the prison break out as well as the escape where Bastila pulls a Kenobi to assist your escape, but the revelation the first time around is like a smack on the head.
A/N 5: The hints and the visions were obviously a sign of something. Perhaps one of the best crafted revelations in Star Wars since "No, Luke, I am your father!" though at least there was no limbs lost or you going "No that's impossible." I was definitely surprised how accepting everyone was except you kind of expect Carth to be distrusting and the revelation is even more hair raising if its Carth having to deal with a female Revan.