Chapter Twenty-Four: Darkness Calls

"C'mon, Carth," Jolee whispered. He looked down at the instruments on the panel in front of him. Jolee was piloting the Ebon Hawk to the Star Forge, Juhani as his co-pilot. There was so much that needed to be done in preparation for the Star Forge, and Jolee would rather be gathering his weapons and any necessary medical supplies, perhaps even meditating. Anything but this.

"'Can you take the helm for just a second, Jolee?'" he muttered to himself. "Just a second, the man says. That 'just a second' was ten minutes ago. Damn pilot." He looked at the communication panel. "What in the name of the Force could he be talking about to that Admiral that's taking this long?"

"Do you feel it, Jolee?" Juhani asked. She tilted her head backwards and closed her eyes. "The dark power of the Star Forge… it calls."

Jolee nodded. "We're almost there—"

"All the darkness," Juhani whispered. "All the power… It's there… I can taste it. I can feel it… It calls me by name, welcoming me—"

"Juhani!" Jolee snapped.

Juhani sat straight up. "I, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's tempting, I know," Jolee said. He closed his eyes. "I can feel it, too."

"But you—"

"We didn't come this far to have all of us fall prey to the Star Forge's power like Bastila did," Jolee said. "Resist it, Juhani. You're not going to help if you can't focus."

Juhani nodded. "I apologize, Jolee. I fell to the dark side… before." Juhani thought back to her grove on Dantooine, her place of darkness. It was there a Jedi apprentice named Liana found her and convinced her to turn back to the light side, to be redeemed by the Jedi Council, and Liana's countless reminders since then to ensure Juhani stayed on the path of the light. "The darkness… It's hard to ignore it, to tell myself to stay on this path when the temptation is so strong." She looked out of the main view screen. The Star Forge was beautiful. A beautiful giant, silver, top-like space station. "It is hard to believe that something so beautiful could be so dangerous, that a race of people would want to build something so cruel and horrible, something so difficult for Jedi to ignore…"

"We don't know the history of the Rakata," Jolee said. "This may have been their way."

Juhani closed her eyes again. An image briefly flashed before her eyes, an image of herself in black robes striking down a Jedi. She opened her eyes and softly gasped. "Feeling the power of the Star Forge like I do… now I understand why Revan fell," Juhani said. "Even the strongest Jedi would find the temptation difficult to withstand."

Jolee looked at Juhani, sensing the conflict and trouble within her. "Why don't you go see what's keeping our pilot?"

Juhani pushed the temptation aside and looked at Jolee. "Perhaps that… that is a good idea." She stood up, then hesitated. "Are you going to be all right?"

Jolee opened his mouth to snap back a reply about the numerous times he'd been tempted before, even spit out a memory from the Exar Kun wars, but instead simply said, "Yes."

"So this is the Star Forge," Malak said, looking at the massive space station through the view screen of Revan's ship. "This is what we've been looking for all this time. Finally it's ours for the taking. No one can stop us, not even the Rakata."

"Do you feel the darkness, Malak?" Revan asked. "It calls… The power… The darkness…"

"This station is a mass of dark power, Master," Malak said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "This is a sign from the Force. We were meant to find this station. You were meant to be in control of this station, Master."

"Too much dark power," Revan whispered.

Malak opened his eyes and looked at Revan. "You've defied the Jedi Council on the highest level," he said. "You entered the Mandalorian War. You killed Mandalore himself! And now you have the Star Forge in the palm on your hand, ready for you to rule over the Dark Jedi that follow you. This is your destiny, Master. You were meant to find the station. You were meant to rule over the Sith." Malak smiled. "All this time, searching for the Star Maps… Remember the times when you felt the search pointless, when you felt like giving up? Aren't you glad I didn't let you, Master?"

Revan sat there and listened to her apprentice as she stared at the silver Rakatan space station. "I didn't expect this much… dark power. The Star Forge… it's twisted the dark side of the Force somehow… I can feel it, but I can't explain—"

"Does it matter, my Master?" Malak asked. "Think about the power that is at your fingertips. Think about everything we could accomplish with the Star Forge on our side. Remember back to all the times you wondered if this was the right thing to do. Now you know I was right. Embrace the darkness, Revan. Drink it in! The Sith will rule the galaxy again, with you as our leader."

Revan still listened.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion," Malak said. "Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force—"

"The Force," Revan said, "shall free me." She smiled back at Malak.

"It's your time," Malak said. "The time of the Sith. Let the Jedi Council see what we—what you can do."

Revan turned back to the view screen. "You're right. Let the Jedi challenge us. Let them come!"

"Why not go to them instead?" Malak suggested. "Why not seek them out and punish them for the error in their ways?"

"One step at a time," Revan said. "First we build our army. The Jedi will see us as a threat soon enough."

Malak smiled. "I do like the way you think, Master."

Revan turned to her apprentice. "And I have you to thank for it."

Revan opened her eyes and sat straight up, gasping for air. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She swung her feet over the side of her bed, then buried her head in her hands. What the hell had she just seen? A dream? A memory? A vision? Revan felt on the brink of tears again, but told herself to calm down. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is…

There is…

Darkness…

A chill ran down Revan's spine. The Star Forge… they were nearing the Star Forge… The familiar feeling of the darkness the Star Forge broadcasted was returning. It called to her…

Greetings, Lord Revan… It's been a while…

"No," Revan whispered.

"Hey, you okay?"

Revan jumped. She looked at Bastila's bed and saw Mission sitting there cross-legged. "Sorry I scared you," Mission said. "Carth asked me to watch over you while you slept—are you sure you're okay?"

Peace is a lie…

"We're near the Star Forge, aren't we?" Revan asked.

Mission nodded. "We're landing soon. Carth's talking to Admiral Dodonna—"

"I turned on the Star Forge," Revan said. "The darkness… it called…"

There is only passion…

"You're not Darth Revan," Mission said.

Revan's eyes met Mission's. "But I could be her."

Through passion I gain strength…

"What are you talking about?" Mission asked. "You're not her anymore. The Jedi gave you another chance, and whether you realized it, you took it."

Through strength I gain power…

"Ever since we ran into Malak, I've been having more visions, more memories surface," Revan said. She stood and started to pace. "I could fall at any time. One wrong memory, one wrong vision…"

"But you're different—"

Through power I gain victory…

"The darkness is still there, Mission," Revan said. "I can feel it. It calls to me every time I have to make a decision, but I've suppressed it." Revan stopped. "I suppressed it all this week and didn't realize it. I was so focused on the memories… trying to deal with them…" Her voice trailed off. Revan clenched her fist. "But now the darkness… It corrupted Bastila… It corrupted me…" Slowly she turned to Mission and looked at her. "Why?"

Mission shifted uncomfortably. "Why what?"

"Why did you speak up and defend me when I told the crew the truth?"

"Because it is the truth," Mission said. "You're not Darth Revan. You haven't done anything evil the entire time we've been looking for the Star Maps. You're not the Dark Lord of the Sith. You're still Liana, even if you decided to call yourself Revan as a reminder—"

Through victory my chains are broken…

"I'm not Liana," she said. "Liana doesn't exist. It was just a cover… a hoax… It was just a cruel, cruel hoax…" Revan slowly began to laugh and cry at the same time. "You should never have defended me. Carth was right when he said those things. You all should have rallied against me, tied me up, shoved me in the cargo hold, demanded revenge and retribution for everything I'd done to you, to worlds, to innocent people. Maybe even have Canderous throw Jolee around for keeping his mouth shut and not speaking up to warn everyone ahead of time."

"Don't talk like that," Mission whispered. "Don't say that at all."

"Carth should have killed me like he killed Saul," Revan continued. She slowly fell to her knees and leaned against the side of the cool metal wall. "After all, I destroyed Telos. I killed his planet, his people, his wife. Because of me, his only child was content on becoming a Sith. Because of the war, he was kept away from his family. Carth loved his wife and son so much… so much, and I took them away from him. I don't deserve his forgiveness. I don't deserve his love."

"You didn't destroy Telos," Mission said. "Malak did. And as for Carth—"

"I don't know why he doesn't hate me," Revan said. "He should. Instead of promising to protect me, he should have been plotting my demise. Unless this romance is all part of a master plan… Earn my love, my trust… then stab me in the back…"

"Revan, stop talking like this," Mission ordered. "Just… just stop it! What's gotten into you?"

"He should have killed me," Revan whispered. "I don't deserve his love… I've done nothing to earn it… He should have killed me…"

Mission hopped off of Bastila's bed.

"A blaster to my brain," Revan cried. "I destroyed his life… I destroyed everyone's life… I don't deserve to live. I did such horrible things… horrible… The ways of the Sith… Sith Master… Sith Lord… Horrible things… The Darkness… Horrible…"

The Force shall free me…

"Revan, please stop!" Mission cried. "You're scaring me!"

"Now," Revan whimpered in between tears. "Now and forever… Lord Revan will rule…"

"Stop and think, Mission," she whispered to herself. "Carth… Get Carth… and Jolee."

"It calls," Revan whispered. "Calls so strong… so loud…"

"Carth!" Mission cried from the doorway of Revan's room. "Carth! Jolee! I need you guys, right now!"

Welcome home, Lord Revan. We've missed you…

"It welcomes me home," Revan whispered. "Welcome home… Welcome home…"

Wow, it's been so long since I updated. Sorry for the delay. I've been sick, my beta-reader's been sick... Thanks for everyone's PMs inquiring about the status of the fic and my health. I really appreciate it.