Chapter Twenty-Six: The Star Forge

"You goin' with them?"

Carth turned around and saw Canderous standing in the doorway of the quarters they used to share. That was until Carth unofficially moved in with Revan. "Yeah," Carth answered. He gestured towards his footlocker. "Just grabbing what I need."

Canderous nodded. "You and Jolee both, huh?"

"Revan didn't choose, if that's what you're worried about," Carth said. "Jolee and I are going because Revan—"

"I know," Canderous said. "I heard Mission telling the Wookiee."

Carth checked his blasters over before placing them in their holsters.

"Is she… all right?" Canderous asked.

Carth looked at the Mandalorian. "Goin' soft?"

"Hey, you ain't the only one entitled to worry about her," Canderous spat. "Mission said she's all crazy in the head cuz the Star Forge is callin' to her. Damn shame if she has a meltdown before facin' Malak. That's not the way of a warrior. She needs to focus on the kill, and go—"

"All right, I'm sorry," Carth said.

"So is she all right?" Canderous asked.

Carth shrugged. "Dunno, really. She's fine for the moment. Hope she stays that way."

Jolee's voice called from the common room. "Carth? You ready? We're running out of time."

"Comin'," Carth called. He looked at Canderous. "Keep the ship runnin'," he said as he exited the room. Carth and Canderous walked down the hall together, heading for the common room. "If the Republic forces get through, they're not going to wait for us before blowing up the Star Forge. We'll need to make a fast getaway."

"The Hawk'll be waitin' for you," Canderous said.

Canderous and Carth entered the common room. The entire crew had assembled, waiting for the men to arrive. Carth walked over to Revan and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her hair had been tied back away from her face in a series of braids. He'd gotten used to seeing her with her hair down, the way her hair framed her face. Revan looked beautiful with her hair down. With her hair braided back, Revan looked more tired than anything, the sparkle in her eyes gone. But she still looked beautiful. "You ready?" Carth softly asked.

Revan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Ready," she said.

Carth frowned. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her tight, tell her everything was going to be okay. He wanted to somehow have the ability to make the voices of the Star Forge go away and leave her alone. But he was powerless. All he could do was fulfill his promise of protecting her from what he could.

"Krath Holy Armor," Revan said. Her voice sounded distant, even though she was standing in front of him.

Carth blinked. "Huh?"

She pointed to his chest. "We bought that on Korriban."

Carth nodded.

"You look good in purple."

"Thank you."

"Better than orange."

Carth smiled. "C'mon, let's go."

Revan stared at Carth for a few seconds. "Let's… go."

"Then let's stop standing here talking about it and move!" Jolee said with a snort. He walked towards the Ebon Hawk's ramp. "Longer we wait…"

Mission tugged at the sleeve of Revan's Jedi robe. Revan turned and looked at the teenager. "Good luck," Mission whispered.

Revan slowly nodded.

"We'll… we'll keep the ship running," Mission said, "and do what we can here."

"Of course you will," Jolee snorted. "Come on. Unless we want to blow up along with the Star Forge when the Republic Fleet takes this place out, then we better move now!"

Revan looked back at Carth. "Let's… let's go."

Revan lost count of how many Dark Jedi she had slain. After leaving the Ebon Hawk she, Carth, and Jolee met up with a Jedi Knight standing at the far end of the landing platform. She and the other Jedi Knights offered to help keep the Dark Jedi at bay, providing an escape area for them. Soon a wave of Sith and Dark Jedi appear. The familiar sound of Canderous's rifle filled the air as Revan turned and saw the rest of her friends aiding the Jedi.

"We should help," Revan had said.

Jolee then grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "They're doing their job. Let's do ours."

The three made their way through the dark, cold station, slicing and shooting at Sith soldiers and Dark Jedi alike. Revan's dark robes hid the blood stains and splatters of those she had killed. She pushed the thoughts of killing those that once followed her aside, focusing on Malak. She had to stop Malak, and nothing could get in her way. Revan allowed her visions to guide them through the Star Forge, and she tried hard not to succumb to the pain and horror. Jolee could sense what she was going through, every so often placing a hand on her shoulder to silently ask if she was okay. Revan would nod without looking at him, and they'd move on.

Level after level of the dimly-lit space station, Sith greeted them with grenades and blaster fire. When Revan, Jolee, and Carth reached the factory level of the Star Forge, where silver Sith ships were continuously being mass-produced, Revan fell to her knees.

"Revan!" Carth cried.

"Isn't this fantastic, Master? Look at the ships! Think of the Sith Navy we could create thanks to the precision and speed of the Star Forge!"

"It's wonderful, Malak," Revan said, her lips forming an evil-looking grin. "No effort at all from our part. The Star Forge gives us all we need, creating whatever we desire. The Dark Side serves us well."

"It does indeed, Master," Malak replied. "Soon the Republic will bow down before you, the Dark Lord of the Sith! All hail Lord Revan!"

A door at the far end of the metal-grated platform opened. Carth and Jolee looked up and saw another wave of Sith troops headed their way. Carth spit a curse, then yelled for Revan to snap back to reality.

"The Republic would be foolish to appose us now, Master!"

"Revan, get up!" Jolee snapped. With Carth's help, they forced the small Jedi to stand on her feet. "We need you now!"

Revan blinked her eyes a few times, then saw the wave of Sith headed their way. She let out a faint gasp, then yelled, "Get down!"

A grenade was headed their way. With the aid of the Force, Revan grabbed hold of the grenade, then sent it flying back to where it came. The explosion rattled the floor and several Sith and Dark Jedi were sent flying over the sides of the platform. With nowhere to hide for cover, Carth began firing at the advancing troops, knowing that Jolee and Revan would block any return fire from the solders. For each Sith Carth blasted down, two more seemed to appear. He yelled overtop of the blaster fire, asking how many more of the troops they'd have to fight.

"They're here to stall us, and they know it," Jolee yelled back. He ran up to a Sith and sliced him down as Carth threw a grenade at an advancing pack of soldiers. "Malak must have sent every available man down here to stop us!"

Revan flew past Jolee, allowing the Force to speed her moves. The purple and blue colors of her duo lightsabers swirled as one bright, white light as she hacked and slashed. She leapt out of the way as Carth threw another grenade into the pack, sending more troops flying.

Revan continued to mow down the squadron of Sith, forcing the troops back to the entrance of the platform. Carth noted that Revan was fighting like she was alone, not spotting him or Jolee. That wasn't like her, but he didn't have time to analyze the situation. He rushed forward to get a better shot at the troops when he stumbled momentarily, almost dropping another grenade he had planned on launching. That brief stumble was enough to break his concentration, and enough of a break for him to miss the Sith aimed at him.

Carth let out a cry as a beam from the blaster came in contact with his left shoulder, another with the center of his chest.

"CARTH!" Revan cried, watching him fall. She watched as he grabbed his shoulder in pain and fell backwards, smoke rising from his wounds.

Revan focused on the Sith that had fired upon him. Her eyes narrowed. With the grace and skill of a dancer, Revan leapt behind the solder and sliced him in half. She drew power and strength from the Force, raised her arm, cried out in anger and pushed the remainder of the troops backwards, then off the platform.

Jolee stopped as the platform was free of Sith, with the exception of the troops already dead. "What in the name of the Force was that?" he whispered. "Revan?"

A chill ran down Revan's spine as she felt the voice of the Star Forge call to her.

Wonderful, Lord Revan! Absolutely wonderful! Your anger serves you well.

Revan pushed the voice aside, then ran to Carth. She knelt and placed a hand on his chest. She couldn't see his wounds, just the bloody patches on his armor. Revan could feel the pain he was in as she watched him wince and cringe. Why hadn't she fought with him instead of throwing herself into the melee? She closed her eyes to call to the Force to heal Carth, then stopped. In her anger, she'd tapped into the Dark Side to kill the remaining Sith. What if she called to the Dark Side to heal Carth?

Before she had time to decide, Jolee intervened, healing Carth instead. Revan felt so helpless, that she couldn't even heal someone without second-guessing her actions. She hated the Star Forge and what it was doing to her. The temptation, the hatred… if she didn't know any better, Revan would swear the Star Forge shot at Carth to test her. In her anger she called to the Dark Side, and in the eyes of the Star Forge she'd passed the test. Damn this station to the depths of the darkest parts of the Force…

Carth moaned. Revan turned her attention back to him, helping him sit up. "You okay?" she whispered.

Carth nodded. "Fine… I'm okay." He looked into her eyes. "You?"

Revan said nothing.

Carth looked around, then back at Revan. "What just happened?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," Jolee said, looking at Revan in slight disgust.

Revan stood up. "This way," she said. "Let's go."

"Revan?" Carth asked, standing up. "What happened? There was a whole army here—"

"She took care of them," Jolee dryly answered.

Carth looked at Jolee. "She what?" He looked back at Revan. "What did you do?"

Revan continued to walk away, towards a door at the far end of the platform. A room… There's a room…

"Revan, answer me!"

Revan reached the end of the platform and opened a massive door. She hesitated for a moment. "This is it," she whispered to herself, then stepped inside the room. Against the far wall of the room was a massive computer and a platform with a metal container. Revan let her visions guide her as she approached the computer and gently fingered the controls. "This is it," she whispered again.

"What's it?" she heard Carth ask.

Revan closed her eyes, feeling Carth and Jolee approach. Memories flooded her mind as she answered Carth's question: "This is where Darth Revan was born."

Thanks so, so much to Ocelott (crazyocelot) for providing rather humorous comments along with her edits to this chapter. It's been a really rough couple of days, and her humor and friendship helped a lot. (Seriously, anyone who can weave in Sharon, Lois, and Bram references and lines about the Star Forge asking Revan who her Daddy is in beta-reading comments deserves praise.)