Star Wars and all information pertaining to it is the property of Lucasarts Ltd. Knights of the Old Republic is the joint property of BioWare Co. and of Obsidian Entertainment. The short story both preceding and following this disclaimer is an unauthorized piece, spawned from my own imagination. As such, the plot and any original characters are the property of the author. Any money made from this story is against the consent of the author, who is not receiving one thin dime.

Chapter 6

In the matter of moments immediately following Revan's declaration, several things happened. Revan and Bastila shared their first kiss in a little under a decade, in a Sith holding cell. The Sith complement of battleships turned their turbolaser batteries down to the surface of the planet Recopia, completely decimating the inhabitants of it's capital city Scapio. And, in the Council Room of the Jedi temple where the remaining Council members were conferring with the Supreme Chancellor via hologram, Councillor and Jedi Master Katia Mayin cried out in pain and collapsed.

Before Katia had even hit the floor, there was someone by her side to catch her. And it was not who anyone had expected it to be. When the Jedi who had once been called Exile awoke, she found herself looking straight into the comforting black eyes of Norkos. "Good morning." He greeted in his careful voice. There was nothing in his eyes but plain concern, but there were a multitude of emotions bubbling just beneath the surface of his near-expressionless face.

"Good morning." She returned, voice raspy and metallic from disuse. She sat up slowly, faltered, and was steadied by a warm hand on her lower back. She followed the blue-furred arm up to its owner's face, attempting to discern something of what he was feeling beneath his infuriating calm. Needless to saw she failed.

With his other hand, Norkos reached behind him and picked up a ration pack. Katia tore into it hungrily. She felt like some sort of carnivorous animal, and Norkos smiled at the comparison. His teeth were small and white, but sharp. "What happened to you?" he asked slowly.

Her eyes took on a distant quality as she remembered. Even the memory of the feeling threatened to drown her. "I felt something, a great disturbance in the Force. It was as though millions of voices had cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced." Norkos was quiet for a long time. He had felt it too, they all had, but it hadn't affected anyone else as strongly as it had affected her. Then again, he remembered that she had always been good at forming Force bonds. She was very strong in the Force, so it stood to reason that she should be more sensitive to disturbances in it.

He almost didn't tell her. Almost. "We just received word from Recopia. The city of Scapio has been levelled by Sith bombardment." They sat in respectful silence for those lost. Each knew what had to be done, but neither was anxious to do it. "It is time to Council intervened." The Nelvaanian stated simply.

Katia nodded. "Get the Hawk ready, and send for whatever Masters are willing. The Sith must be stopped." She rose from the bed in the Medical wing where she had been relocated, grateful that her robes had not been removed, and left to prepare for war.

---

Revan and Bastila did not utter a sound for a long time. They were content to simply explore each other, physically and mentally, where no others had explored in many years. They could not progress too far, since an amused voice filtered through both their minds. "Forgive the intrusion, but I feel we must speak." The lovers rose quickly, Bastila subconsciously covering her exposed chest although there was no way this new prisoner could see her. They cast out with their feelings, and sensed a Quermian sitting cross-legged a few feet away, watching them. He was strong in the Force, but neither Jedi could sense either the dark or the light within him.

"Very well, what do you want to speak about?" Revan asked cautiously, hoping against hope that his mental voice was enough to cover the rustling caused by Bastila redressing.

Seemingly at precisely the right moment, the cell was bathed in light. The Quermian was wearing traditional robes, and a smile that was bemused even by the standards of his species. "I thought it might be a good idea if we could see one another. Don't worry about the guards, this light doesn't really exist." If he was attempting to be clear, he was failing dismally. "It has come to my attention that you seek to destroy the Sith. Well, I may be able to help you."

Bastila was suspicious, as per her nature. "How?" she asked curiously. Revan couldn't help but confess to his own curiosity. For the prisoner of a totalitarian warlord, he was very self-confident.

The Quermian's smile grew. "Because," he told them simply, "I can get you to the temple, the source of the Sith's power." He looked around, and Revan could have sworn his eyes twinkled slightly. "But first we must escape." Neither Jedi was ever able to ask how they were supposed to do that, because two things happened in quick succession. First their light went out, and second whatever passed for a door above them was blown into tiny pieces. Two of the prisoners (guess which ones) could only blink stupidly up at the light that was suddenly flooding it, the real light mind you. None of that illusionary stuff this time. A very large hand gripped each of them by the scruff of their necks, and lifted them up so that they came face-to-mask with Canderous and Proeliator. HK-47 was powering up a new Mandalorian Assault rifle, and the entire Jedi Council was assembled solemnly.

"Master Bastila, Padawan Revan." Katia greeted formally, inclining her head. "We need to get off this ship, quickly."

Bastila nodded. "There is another prisoner down there, a Quermian. He says he can help us." Katia shrugged, and Canderous reached in and withdrew the biped. He was so tall that he was able to stand comfortably, even with Canderous keeping a firm grip on his neck. "Release him Canderous." The Mandalorian did so grudging. The Quermian brushed himself off and regarded the assembly carefully.

"Well, are we going or not?" he asked. Katia gave Bastila and Revan an odd look, and led them away from the holding cells. Fluorescent strips had been hastily stuck to the walls, providing the path with bright artificial light. Whatever Massassi were in contact with the light were screaming and clawing at their eyes. The rest stood in the shadows of other paths, watching but never coming near the hated light. The honour guard led their escapees through a hole cut in the side of the ship into the hovering Ebon Hawk. The Quermian, who had still not revealed his name, vanished in the direction of the cockpit to give Lanzhou coordinates. Before departing however, he issued an order to the assembled Jedi. "Somebody needs to connect to the hyperdrive if he plan on getting there in time." He advised.

"No." Revan interrupted quietly. Every eye and visual sensor on the ship turned to look at him. "We must go to Coruscant. I can feel the end, and we must be ready." He turned to Canderous. "Honoured Mandalore, ten years ago you swore an oath to fight with me until the bitter end. Are your soldiers ready?" he asked solemnly. The air of power around him was unmistakeable.

Canderous, initially surprised by the formality of Revan's tone, saluted promptly. "I will assemble the clans, they will be waiting on Coruscant." He promised, and moved to contact his troops when Revan motioned that he could go. Proeliator followed closely.

"Admiral Onasi, can you arrange a meeting of the fleet admirals on Coruscant?" he requested of the Officer, who had appeared in the corridor leading to the cockpit. He nodded curtly, explaining that they were already set to meet in order to coordinate against the Sith assault. "HK-47, I need you to deploy a contingent of HK-51 units from Telos to Coruscant."

47's photoreceptors flashed quickly. "Affirmation: You may consider them en-route, master." He announced proudly.

Revan nodded. "Good. Master Mical, see if you can do anything about Bastila's wounds. Everyone else stay sharp. We will coordinate at Coruscant, and then we fight" His sheer charisma made everyone present, even those who did not believe in combat, believe in his cause. Those who had not fought beside him in the Mandalorian wars suddenly understood why he had been hailed as such a great leader. They would fight for him, die for him, and he knew it.

---

Revan, his brown robes trailing in his wake, led the Jedi High Council into the Republic War Room. It was already occupied by a smattering of Mandalorian neo-crusaders and Republic soldiers, who were exchanging distrustful glares, and a group of black assassin droids. The nine Jedi, two Republic admirals, two droids, two Mandalorians, and the Quermian all took places around the room. Revan went immediately to the center. He looked over the motley assembly. "Good afternoon. As you should be aware, Sith forces recently decimated the Recopian city of Scapio. They are now heading for Coruscant." The muttering that broke out among the (slightly) less disciplined Republic soldiers was quelled with one glance of Revan's light blue eyes. He activated the holographic tactical projector, which showed what was apparently the planet Coruscant surrounded by two ranks of ships. One rank was facing the other, which apparently meant that one was the Sith and one was the Republic.

"The Republic will remain here to protect the planet. Admiral Onasi, you're in charge of that." Carth nodded soberly. "I have received intelligence that the Sith lords are no longer in the fleet, and that they have retreated to their homeworld. That is why I will be taking the Jedi, the Mandalorians, and the HK-51's in that direction." The hologram changed to a slightly smaller planet. The tactical display mirrored his words as he spoke. "The Mandalorians and droids will be responsible for the locals. They are not Force-sensitive, but are naturally strong and vicious. Ask for no quarter, and give none."

"The Jedi will be with me, in the Sith temple. I'm sorry to say I don't know what we'll find, but I fully expect the Sith Lords Taral and Maleficus to be present. Our task if to eliminate them." The hologram shut off. "I will not lie to you, this will be the most difficult battle many of you have ever faced. It will be in this battle, that the future of our time will be decided. Death will smile on each and every one of you this day, all you can do is smile back." His eyes were glowing with conviction and intensity. "Now let us go, and teach these Sith the meaning of fear!" the combined armies roared in approval, forgetting their cultural barriers and old rivalries. For one glorious battle they were all equal.

On board the Ebon Hawk, the ship that would carry Revan's team to the nameless world of the Sith, the Quermian had instructed one of the Jedi to channel their energies into the hyperdrive so that they would arrive in time to save the Republic. With scarcely a moment's hesitation, Bao-Dur strode back to the engine room. Everyone else watched from the central hold as he removed the protective casing surrounding the engine and plunged his mechanical hand inside it. His cry of pain was muffled by the door that he closed and locked with the Force.

No one moved to stop him, not because they didn't care, but because they knew that they would be unable to win this battle without someone assisting the hyperdrive. They strapped themselves down and Lanzhou took off, clocking speeds far higher than anyone had thought the ship capable of managing.

Once they had broken free of the atmosphere, and jumped to lightspeed, the remaining crew went their separate ways. Most of them went to the dormitories to sleep and meditate, and HK-47 plugged himself into a recharge port and shut down. Revan made his way to his room, intent to prepare himself for the return to the nameless world. He sat on the bed that he and Bastila had shared, delving into the memories and losing all sense of time.

A presence in the back of his mind drew him towards reality. Bastila was in their room, standing in front of him. He nodded to the spot next to him, and she sat. "Mical let you out?" he hated the uncertain tone of his voice. It was like he didn't know where he was going anymore.

She heard the tone, and responded to it. Her hand found his and squeezed, letting him know that she was with him. "Yea, said the sword must have been enchanted with Sith magic. Which was why the wounds didn't heal, and why…"

"Why I kept hurting you." He finished listlessly. She could only nod; it was true after all. Her grip strengthened, trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault. The emotions crossed through their bond, and she sensed him relax. His arms slid around her body and they held each other. "I want to ask you something, but I don't know how to do it." He told her after a prolonged, yet comfortable silence.

She pulled away from him only enough to look at his face. He was staring resolutely at his boots, refusing to meet her eyes. "Revan," her tongue caressed the name, "if I can do it I will, you know that." It is almost a reprimand, but not quite.

He smiled the softest of smiles. He did indeed know it, but it didn't make it easier. "No, hear it all before you answer." He paused. "What if I asked you not to come with me, to stay on the Hawk until all this is over?" he asked quietly. She had to strain to hear him.

"Why would you want me to do that?" she asked, confused and a little hurt. Did he not think she was strong enough, that she would fall to the dark side again?

His hand making gentle circles on her back, and the heat of his body as he held her closer, assured her otherwise. "I only just found you again. I won't be able to go on if I lost you." She was going to plead; say that she was capable of taking care of herself, or that she was in as much danger of losing him. But he silenced her by meeting her gaze. "Please." He whispered. She found herself nodding, without any conscious consideration.

Thankfulness flowed through their bond like a river, and their lips met passionately. They consumed each other's mouths hungrily, as a condemned man eats his last meal. Their hands roamed, touching and grazing and kneading and stroking. He groaned into her when a delicate five delicate fingers wormed their way into his pants and gripped him, and she moaned into him when his calloused palm slithered down to cup her. Neither heard the footsteps treading down the hall until it was nearly too late. They broke apart quickly, smoothing their robes, and it was with calm plastered over guilty expressions that Katia found them.

She looked between them two of them with a rapidly growing smile. "About time." She commented. Bastila flushed scarlet. Katia turned to Revan. "That Quermian you picked up says it's almost time." She gave them both another knowing glance, and left.

Revan rose to go, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "I need to give you something." She told him, almost shyly. He took a seat, and watched in awe as she brought a large black case out from under the bed. The catches popped, and Revan found himself looking at a familiar set of armour. He gave her a questioning look. "After our imprisonment, I thought it was wrong of you to embrace only the light. All beings are duality, have the ability to do both good and evil. But both are a part of you." It struck so true to what he had believed when he last wore the armour, still believed.

"You just want to watch me changing." He teased her gently. She coloured, but didn't deny it. Revan indulged her, and in a few short moments he was once more wearing the armour that had inspired fear in an entire galaxy. It felt comforting, like slipping into a warm bath after a hard exercise. He flipped the hood up, and met his love for what may very well have been their last kiss as they dropped from hyperspace. And then he was gone again.

---

Revan strode confidently into the main hold of the Hawk, and felt the shocked gazes on him. He stood more or less in the center of the room, where the holoprojector sat, and began his briefing. "Greetings fellow Jedi, Mandalorians, and assassin droids." He addressed the assembled Jedi and the holograms of Canderous and HK-47. "As you well know, this fight will decide the fate of the galaxy for centuries to come. If we lose this fight, then your children will grow old in a world ruled by the very things we have fought against since the beginning of the Republic. If we fail, then the outcome of Coruscant will not matter. This one battle will win or lose the war that has been plaguing our galaxy for over twenty years, and began with the Mandalore Wars." He took a deep breath, casting an appraising gaze over his assembled forces. Though he could not see them, he knew that his image was being projected to the combined forces of the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders and the HK-51 units. "You all know your duties. Let us fight." With that, the Ebon Hawk and the rest of their motley fleet landed on the surface of the Sith's nameless and sunless homeworld, and the combined forces charged out.

They were met with a small, but populous race. Their skin was red, their eyes large, and fought with all manner of tools. They were more or less evenly matched. Each of the fighters on Revan's side could see quite clearly, through either infrared sensors or the Force, and the Sith were exceptionally well adapted to the lack of light. Twelve lightsabers activated, casting even more light over the planet. Revan looked back to see the Quermian almost flying through the crowds, slashing and hacking with two silver-tinted blades. His own, the cyan and bronze that accompanied his armour, fed the dark half of Revan's thirst for blood by cutting a swathe of destruction through the horde. Most of the Jedi followed him. The Quermian and Visas were those who stayed behind, and of course Bao-Dur was still incapacitated from lending his power to the hyperdrive.

The band of Jedi was making its way towards a large black dome. Even more Sith were fighting for their lives to defend the temple, even hanging off the doorways of standing stones hurling rocks. Every one of them perished, and the small army entered the fortress unobstructed.

Maybe I'm pushing the 'T' rating a bit...Alas.

So there it is, everything is coming to a head. If anyone doubts that the Republic forces will be able to hold off the Sith fleet, don't worry. They won't be alone for long. Also the twelve sabers is accurate. Two each for the Quermian, Katia, Revan and Mical, and one each for Visas, Mira, Norkos, and Atton.

Sorry for the long wait between updates, but I work in a rotation and I had some trouble with some other fics. R&R anyway, please?