A/N 1: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I own Star Wars.

A/N 2: I ask everyone to excuse the incredible coincidence I introduce at the beginning of this chapter.

Spells or Force Powers

------- Perspective change

Chapter 21: No Rest for the Weary

November 8th, 2007

Decimator, High Earth Orbit

Revan and Kalia were reviewing the current fleet status reports. Repairs from the battle were virtually complete but there was still concern about a lack of reinforcements. The fleet was not very large and would not be able to hold off a prolonged siege from the Sith or from Malak. As it stood, their greatest advantage was the natural resources available in the system and the time they had had to establish a defensive perimeter.

Something had been bothering Kalia for a while now. She couldn't understand why Revan was willing to risk his few remaining ships to safeguard this planet while he hunted down a pair of Sith. Through their conversations she had learned of his torture at the hands of the Sith, but that still didn't explain why he was willing to risk everything for an inconsequential planet.

"Revan, there's something that has been bothering me for a while now." She said tentatively, unsure of how he would react to someone questioning his actions. He had always welcomed dissenting views during the planning of an operation but once everything was set he did not take kindly to further questions.

Looking up briefly from the reports spread out before him, Revan said distractedly "What is it?"

"I understand that your family is here, but why are you willing to risk the remnants of your forces to protect this back water planet?"

Revan was silent. He just continued to review the reports as if she hadn't asked a question. Finally when Kalia was about to give up hope of receiving an answer, he turned to look her in the eyes. "You're the first person to ask that. Even Bastila has never come out and asked me, I think she prefers to think that I am here to fight for my family." He finished with a sarcastic smile proving to Kalia that family was not the reason

"So if it isn't for your family, why are we staying here?"

Taking on the tone of a commander describing his army's goals, Revan explained "This planet, despite the fact that it is primitive, is too valuable a resource to let the Sith have it without a fight."

"Yes, the system has abundant natural resources, but there is nothing that couldn't be found elsewhere and the planet itself is really no different. Why is it so critical to keep away from the Sith?"

"There are a few million witches and wizards on the planet. Each one is force sensitive to some degree. If not for them, I would never have stayed, but think of the pool of potential Jedi or Sith that the planet represents. I will glass the planet before I let it fall to the Sith."

Millions of force sensitives, the power such a force offered was tremendous. "How has it gone undiscovered for so long? The Jedi would surely have taken the children for training."

"The only Jedi that knew of this planet was Kreia and she never shared the knowledge with anyone, including me until recently."

"Ok, so I see why you are fighting to keep this planet from falling under the Sith's rule. Their army would be huge, filled with force sensitives. Nothing the Jedi or Republic could field would be a match against something like that."

Revan gave her a measuring stare. She was right about one thing; he didn't have enough forces to protect this planet. Ironically, Malak in his effort to learn more about Revan's state of mind had opened up their bond and allowed Revan into his own mind. It had taken patience on his part, but he had been able to lead Malak around to memories of the Star Forge and Malak's time there after betraying Revan.

Now all he needed to do was to get someone on the inside. Until Kalia's arrival, the only person he could send would be Bastila and he didn't think she would be willing to go. "Is Commander Halcyon up-to-speed on the fleet status and construction efforts?"

Surprise at the question showed in Kalia's eyes. Was Revan unhappy with her performance? Then another thought struck her and she almost laughed out loud. Why was she being so paranoid, she hadn't acted like this since she was a Padawan? She took a calming breath and felt her confidence return. "Yes he is, we have been working closely together since my arrival."

Revan nodded, pleased with the answer though not surprised. Kalia was too experienced to keep the command staff in the dark. Of course it could bite you in the ass too as Malak had used the information to betray Revan. "I have a mission for you."

Kalia smiled and stood up, her back ramrod straight. "What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to take a battleship and a cruiser to the Star Forge. I have recently acquired the access codes. You will take command of the station and begin construction of a new fleet to strengthen our forces."

Kalia was stunned. She couldn't get her voice to work for a moment as processed the order. The Star Forge was powered by the Force and was able to construct ships of all sizes at an incredible rate. It was the reason that Revan and Malak had been able to lay siege to the Republic.

Her mouth moved soundlessly a few times before she finally was able to respond. "But, how did you get the codes? With those you can cripple Malak's forces; do you have agents at his side?"

Revan laughed coldly "Malak gave them to me, when he foolishly opened our link again. He has been trying to bring up past fears and undermine my confidence for days now. I just took advantage of his efforts and directed his own memories to reveal the current access codes."

"Why, why would he do something so foolish? Even if you hadn't been able to get information from him, it would warn you of his intentions." She argued.

Revan just shook his head "Malak was my equal in many things, but subtlety was never his strong suit. He no doubt thought he was being stealthy but I sensed the change in our bond almost immediately."

"Do you want ships immediately or do you want to hold them at the Star Forge?" Kalia asked, given the distance communication would be time consuming. So knowing his plans ahead of time was critical.S

"We are going to need the ships here so you use your best judgment."

"Very well. I will take the Adjudicator and the Exeter. I will send Halcyon to you for any additional orders you may have." She finished before beginning to walk off to gather her things and transfer to the battleship Adjudicator.

"Send regular communications and don't forget to use the current encryption codes." Revan called out to her.

Kalia turned to respond but ended up just rolling her eyes at his order. Did he expect her to transmit sensitive data on an open channel for everyone to hear? She wasn't a rookie.

A few hours later

Revan was working in his office. He would be heading to the med bay soon to visit his father and Bastila but there were plans he needed to set into motion first. Even if either woke up before he got there Lily was no doubt holding vigil and could provide any explanations before he got there.

The door slid open admitting Commander Halcyon. As always, the man's uniform was impeccable and he stood at attention waiting for Revan to acknowledge him. Rather than say anything, Revan waved the man over to a seat.

Halcyon delivered his brief report in a professional tone "Lord Revan, General Kalia has left the ship. She expects to be underway within the hour."

"Excellent Commander, in the General's absence, I expect you to once again take command of the fleet while I am on the planet."

"Do you have any specific orders in that regard Lord Revan?"

"Yes, I want you to begin putting together a plan to occupy the planet with a minimum of destruction."

"Occupation my Lord?" He blurted without thinking.

Revan glared at the man. "Yes Commander, I said occupation. This planet is too valuable to let fall to the Sith once we leave. For now determine the feasibility of occupation with our current forces, if the General's mission is successful we will have access to the Star Forge again and everything that comes with it."

"My apologies Lord Revan but given the nature of the enemies we face, having the Star Forge under our control would be invaluable."

Revan nodded his agreement with the Commander. "Commander I also want to initiate a ground search of Britain. We need to find the Sith's location, hopefully before his reinforcements arrive. Voldemort is a secondary target but the search parties should be fully armed and prepared to shoot on sight."

Again Halcyon just nodded, accepting his orders without question. "I will establish a search grid and send teams down. The risk of exposure will go up if there are any active conflicts."

Revan smiled grimly. "It is a risk we will have to take. We have played this game too long as it is. I will instruct James to have the Unspeakables go on the offensive as well. It will be more difficult for either target to hide with searches being carried out by magical and non-magical forces."

"Anything else my Lord, if not I will issue the orders?"

Revan looked down at the navigation charts in front of him. Without looking up again he said "Malak is on his way, he should be here sometime in the next 5 to 8 days." Guessing that Halcyon was expecting Malak to bring a fleet he explained further "He is coming alone. He plans to face me one on one in order to claim the title of Master."

"What would you like done?"

"Let his ship through, once he lands, jam all communications and activate the gravity well generators. I don't want him leaving the system."

The two men discussed Revan's orders for a few more minutes. Halcyon asking questions to clarify priorities and secondary objectives. When the orders had been explained to his satisfaction, Halcyon prepared to leave the office after being dismissed by Revan.

The door opened before Halcyon could leave and a senior bridge officer entered. He stood at attention and spoke "Lord Revan, Commander Halcyon my apologies for interrupting"

"What is it Captain Batell?" Halcyon asked.

"Sirs, the Black Star has lost power while undergoing repairs and refit and is drifting."

Halcyon sighed tiredly "What are you trying to tell us Captain? How bad is the power loss?"

The Captain was still standing ramrod straight when he delivered the bad news "Engineers estimate that they can have full power back up within the next 4 hours. However, the Black Star had drifted out from behind the dark side of the moon."

"Why not just tow her back?"

"We have already done so, but there is a good chance that she was picked up by the surveillance satellites around the planet."

Revan rubbed his eyes. The last thing he needed was to cause a panic on the planet before he was ready to begin his occupation. "There's nothing to be done about it now. Thank you captain."

After the captain left, Revan leveled a look at Halcyon "Commander step up the priority for plans on occupation. If the Black Star was observed, it is going to light a firestorm in the world governments."

His work done for the moment, Revan brought everything to his quarters before heading off to see how Bastila and James were doing. He needed a distraction from the coming conflicts.

Med bay

Lily was sitting next to James while the doctor explained his condition. Like Lily, James reacted poorly to the news that his leg was unsalvageable. Immediately, images of Mad Eye Moody walking around with a wooden peg leg filled his head. It would be impossible for him to continue as an Unspeakable agent, he simply wouldn't have enough mobility. He found that more upsetting that the loss of the leg itself.

James was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even hear the doctor describe the artificial leg he would be fitted with shortly. In fact, he only returned his attention to the doctor when he received an elbow to his ribs from Lily. Blushing faintly he said "I'm sorry, my mind wandered can you repeat that."

The doctor repeated his description of the leg. James was surprised to hear that they were giving him an artificial leg. It apparently would take time for him to adjust to it because it would not be the same as his real leg. At first he thought this meant that it would be weaker, more easily injured. This was not the case. He was actually excited to learn that the leg would be stronger and would not experience fatigue so James would have to learn to recognize signs of strain or exhaustion that he may ignore otherwise and damage his real leg.

Lily was a little less excited about the whole thing than her husband was. The leg was always going to be a reminder of how dangerous his real job was. Her son had been lost for so long because of the war and now she almost lost her husband. Despite this, she did not want to see James crippled and was thankful that Revan's people could heal him.

Both James and Lily shared a brief look of shock when the med droids brought the completed leg out for attachment. James in particular was looking at the leg with some apprehension. He just knew that it was going to hurt like hell. Sure enough, he almost broke Lily's hand squeezing it so hard while he fought the pain.

After close to a half hour, the procedure was done. James was covered in sweat and Lily was rubbing her hand trying to restore the circulation. Once again the doctor began to explain the types of rehab that James would have to go through in order to master the leg. James nodded in all the appropriate places while never taking his eyes of his new leg. It was sleek dark silver. The internal mechanism could be seen in spots near the knee joint but the remainder looked like corded muscle.

Lily couldn't help herself. She reached and ran her hand along the cool metal in what used to be her husband's thigh. "Will it always feel cool?" She asked curiously.

"It will typically be room temperature."

James was ecstatic. He had felt Lily running her hand over his leg. It was incredible that something mechanical could so perfectly mimic his real leg.

The three looked over towards the main hatch when they heard it slide open. Revan strode in. He was somewhat surprised to see that James already had his leg attached. For a moment, he felt pity for his father. Malak was the only time he had ever witnessed someone undergo the procedure and he knew it was incredibly painful. Unfortunately, Bastila would go through it as well. But at least she could fall back on her Jedi training to move beyond the pain.

Revan spent some time checking up on his father while the doctors continued attaching Bastila's new hand and arm. He and his parents spent a few minutes talking about James' injuries and actually laughing about what he could do with his new leg. It had been so long since he had truly laughed, Revan marveled at the feeling. Liberating, that was really the best description for it. He felt liberated if only for a few moments, the problems and the enemies he had to face didn't seem as important or consuming.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Revan's attention. Turning away from James he noticed that the doctor and droids had finished attaching Bastila's arm and she was flexing the hand and apparently testing out her dexterity by reaching for various mechanical instruments arrayed around her.

Revan made his way over to Bastila, leaving James and Lily alone for the moment. Her back was to him so she didn't notice his approach until he rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze by way of greeting.

"How does it feel?" Revan asked, feeling no need to clarify what he was referring to.

Bastila looked down at her metallic silver hand flexing each of her fingers separately for a moment. Since they had pulled her from the tank, her emotions had been all over the place. Meditation was what she needed to center herself once again.

She watched the play of the metal as the servos underneath contracted and relaxed mimicking muscles and tendons. "How do you think it feels?" She spat bitterly.

Inwardly, Bastila cringed at her accusation. It wasn't fair to blame Revan but she needed someone to lash out at and he was the best target. Even if it was only indirectly, he was partially to blame for her condition. He could have arrived sooner or never brought her to this forsaken planet in the first place.

Revan had his own frustrations that he was dealing with. Things were going to come down to the wire. If the Massassi came in force, there was little chance he would be able to defend the planet. Even if his plan for the Star Forge worked, it would take time for the ships to be built and arrive in this system. His best hope oddly enough lay in his ability to bring Malak back to his side. There was little doubt in his mind that Malak would have a fleet nearby. With luck, the additional forces would be enough to hold out in the short term against any assaults. Listening to Bastila whine about something that was a result of her own failures was not helping his mood either.

Revan replied coldly without any pity "You've heard my experiences over and over again but you never took them to heart."

Bastila bristled at the implied accusation, clenching her fist reflexively. Her new hand crushing the fragile medical instrument she had been holding. "I've been practicing with you for weeks now…"

Cutting her off Revan said sharply "Yes and you've improved greatly. But until you can release your fear of losing control, you will always be weak."

"What would you have me do, fall to the dark side like you and Malak? Maybe you'd be happy if I led a war that killed millions of people. Would that make me strong enough for you?"

James and Lily turned to look at the pair, surprised since they rarely argued.

"I did what was necessary to protect people from the threat of the Sith. Do you really think the Republic or the Jedi have any chance of standing up to the Sith? You couldn't even beat one Sith one on one and you are held up as a model for what the Jedi should be."

"You have a strange way of protecting people. Maybe you can explain it to the survivors of the worlds that you have destroyed. The Mandalorians may have been defeated in the war but you just continued the conflict. At least they weren't traitors to the Order or the Republic."

Revan's eyes blazed "The Mandalorians lost their honor. They killed for the sake of killing and needed to be put down. You and the rest of the Order didn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done. You accuse me of killing people in the name of protection but what about you and the rest of the Jedi Order. My actions were my own, you stood by and let the Mandalorians destroy world after world while you stood by doing nothing."

"Where has your crusade gotten you? Hunted by the Order and the Republic where you are viewed as one of the worst criminals in recent history. I know where it has gotten me." She hissed holding out her metallic hand for his inspection.

"Yes poor Bastila, she went up against a stronger opponent and lost. Should I get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness because you couldn't get over your fears and prejudice to face down one enemy. You lost, get over it and move on. If you ever need a reminder of what we are fighting all you have to do is look down."

Revan just stalked out of the med bay. He could talk to James about the Unspeakables later. Right now, he couldn't take any more of Bastila's misdirected anger. Despite his feelings for her, there were more important things going on than an immature Jedi wallowing in self-pity.

James and Lily were still staring at Bastila and the Revan's back as he stalked out of the med bay. "What were they arguing about? They told us about the civil war but I always assumed that they were on the same side."

James shrugged his shoulders. "They must have known each other before it started. It's obvious that Bastila thinks Revan betrayed her and the Jedi. But it doesn't make sense, I thought he was betrayed so which side is Revan fighting on?"

"I don't know and I'm almost afraid to find out. If Bastila isn't lying, Revan …" She couldn't say it. Her son would never do that; he would never sacrifice all those people.

Warm, comforting arms wrapped around her and held her tight. Similar thoughts were running through his head. Unlike Lily, James had seen many of Revan's memories. He knew there was darkness in his son, a drive to attain his goals whatever the cost. It was his biggest fear that Revan would one day sink into the abyss, now he began to wonder if he hadn't already been there and pulled himself out.

Gunboat Beachhead, Elsewhere in the galaxy

Malak stood up from the pilot's chair after completing a systems check. All systems on the ship were operating at peak efficiency. The stealth field was active and should prevent him from being detected when he dropped out of hyperspace. Satisfied with the condition of the ship, Malak moved back to his quarters to begin his meditation again.

After years of practice, his mind was cleared of outside thoughts and stimuli in a matter of seconds. He could feel the bond connecting him to Revan, like a bridge across the emptiness of space. Once again, he reached out over the chasm to touch his former brother's mind. Contact was made quickly and he found himself submerged in memories of Revan's torture at the hands of the Sith.

Against his will, he felt some sympathy for what Revan was put through. The Sith were a fearsome enemy, not unbeatable but simply merciless. This was why they had attacked the Republic following the end of the Mandalorian wars. The Republic would never survive against an enemy like this, it needed to be strong to face the coming storm.

Lost in the meditation, Malak's thoughts began to drift without realizing they were being subtly guided by Revan. Where had things gone wrong? When had their war become a war of conquest? Would even the power of the Star Forge be enough to stand against the Sith when most of the planets under his control had been leveled during their conquest? It would take years for them to be rebuilt.

His wanderings through Revan's mind had given him a grander purpose than simple conquest. Protection from the Sith, the destruction of their empire was the end goal. How could it be done? A low mechanical sound growl echoed softly off the walls of his quarters signaling Malak's frustration.

It had always been Revan who developed their strategies. Malak's strength lay in tactical planning, executing those strategies, bringing them to reality. It was what made them such a formidable team. It was also why the conquest of the Republic had stalled out since his betrayal of Revan.

His thoughts focused more on Revan and the role he could play. As if guided by his thoughts, Revan's mind began to display memories of planning sessions and late nights spent poring over the latest reports. He watched some of his greatest victories as he brought his tactical experience to the table and executed on Revan's strategies and his greatest defeats when trying to implement his own plans and grand stratagems.

The memories played on, guided by Revan. They were laying the groundwork, reminding Malak of his place and why Revan was still his Master. Not that he expected Malak to surrender himself without a fight, but the seeds of self-doubt had been planted and they were finding fertile ground to grow.

Jedi Vessel Shining Truth, Elsewhere in the galaxy

Kreia smiled as she finished meditating. Events were proceeding as she had planned. Malak was nearing Earth. In another 5 – 7 days he should arrive. Once he was there, he would be too far to get back to the Star Forge in time. After he reached Earth, she would make her way to the Star Forge and use the access codes she had obtained from one of her spies.

In one move, she would break the back of the Republic's greatest enemy. She would be a hero to the Republic, giving her time to build her forces using the limitless resources of the Star Forge.

The galaxy had been terrorized first by the Mandalorians. Then Revan in his zealous need to awaken the Republic to the threat of the Sith made war once again with little thought to the lives he crushed in the process. Lastly there was Malak, striving to prove himself the Master by brutalizing world after world with no goal other than conquest.

All three had been necessary. The attacks had shown the Republic the need for strength against the wolves tearing at the doors. She would be different; she would be the strength the Republic was looking for. She would be the one to bring order to chaos. Under her rule, the Republic would grow strong again. It would stand as a united front against all who would oppose it.

Soon, in less than a week's time, she would begin her journey to Star Forge to put the remaining portion of her plan into motion.

Decimator, High Earth Orbit

Revan returned to the med bay later that day. He had been informed that Bastila was resting in her quarters. When he asked about his father, he was told that James had been given a set of exercises to perform that would help him adapt to his new leg and he was free to leave. Before leaving for the med bay, he had ordered that a shuttle be readied for departure. It was time to return to Earth. Things up here were currently under control and Malak would be arriving soon.

James was lying back on the examination table; the doctor was completing his final checkup. It had been less than a day but he was ready to get out of here. Lily was sitting next to him waiting patiently for the doctor to finish.

"James, Lily I'm told that you are anxious to get out of here." Revan said with forced cheer.

His head turned to look over at his son. A smile bloomed on his face as he said "We were hoping to get that tour you promised."

Groaning to himself Revan replied "Of course and when we are done, I have a shuttle waiting to take us back to Earth." Turning his attention to the doctor "Is he cleared to leave?"

The doctor finished up and the trio left the med bay. Revan led them slowly through the ship, giving James time to adjust to his leg. While they were walking Revan brought up the Unspeakables.

"James, I think you should know that Martin was killed in the battle. I was told that until an official replacement is named, you are the acting head of the Unspeakables."

Lily grabbed James' hand and held it tightly. She knew that the two had been friends for many years. "He was a good man." She said simply.

His eyes were filled with unshed tears. James heard what Lily said but his only response was to nod his head. They continued walking, the silence only broken by the occasional comment from Revan explaining a function of the ship.

After he had composed himself, James asked "Do you know how many people we lost?"

"No, I gave Hatchner a communicator but I haven't heard anything. I told him I would contact him if your condition worsened."

The rest of the tour was spent talking about the ship and the different planets and cultures Revan had visited. The memories were often bittersweet for Revan because he knew many of the planets he had visited had been devastated by either the Mandalorians or his own forces.

A suspicion wormed its way through his mind. No doubt they had overhead him and Bastila arguing. It would have been virtually impossible for them not to. There was a chance that they were trying see how much truth there was to her accusations. So he had to be much more guarded in his responses then he might have been otherwise.

Finally, after close to an hour, Revan took them the hanger bay. James' was a little pale and his forehead was covered in sweat. His new leg was aching but James was able to make it into the shuttle and collapse into a seat with a sigh.

During the trip back to Earth. James and Revan discussed plans for the Unspeakables and the next steps in the war against Voldemort. They discussed the teams of Revan's men that would be dispatched to begin their search for the remaining Sith. The search by necessity would occur in both the wizarding and non-magical worlds.

If it hadn't been for Bastila, he would have suggested that the Unspeakables begin killing any who had been marked. Now, he needed to be more cautious, he couldn't lose the support of James and the wizarding world. There was simply too much at stake. Despite his caution, he did manage to convince James to have the Unspeakables begin following a similar course of action to his soldiers. Together the two groups would hopefully root out the remaining pockets of Death Eaters before Voldemort had a chance to consolidate his position following his latest defeat.

November 9th, 2007

The Pentagon, Washington D.C. USA

General Martin had just received the latest photos taken from their high orbit surveillance satellites. After his initial briefing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he had been order to retask the satellites and focus their cameras on near-Earth objects. Purely by chance, two separate satellites had captured some very disturbing footage.

The photos were spread out on his desk. There could be little doubt about what he was looking at. Several of the photos had been enhanced to show two large space craft emerging from the dark side of the moon. This would change everything. The Joint Chiefs had been skeptical about his initial report. In truth, he couldn't blame them it was hard to believe that there was battles going on somewhere just beyond the asteroid belt.

The question that was plaguing him was what to do now? The space shuttles, even if they could be armed would not stand a chance against those ships. The larger ship was estimated to be between 800 – 1,400 meters in length. The only thing that may be effective would be their nuclear missile ordnance but those were not designed to hit moving targets. Thankfully, he wasn't one of the Joint Chiefs. It would be someone else's job to decide what to do and who to tell. They certainly couldn't go public, it would cause a panic but their allies needed to be told.

Wishing he had taken retirement after all, the General stood and made his way to the briefing room to share this latest bit of information. It was going to be another long day.