Since school's back, I don't have that much time to spend writing new stuff. On the bright side, I've already written so much of it that I only have to do minor corrections before I update. There are just several areas that I haven't at least started writing. smiles happily

Anyway… on to the important stuff!

So far, I didn't put in the disclaimer (partly because you guys already know these things by heart from many other fics…), but still: Star Wars, KoTOR and any related characters or elements belong to LucasArts and Bioware. Nope, not me. sulk

datakim – thanks for pointing that out... I was in a hurry when I posted the prologue, so I didn't bother checking those things. Noted and corrected. Thanks.

ChaosMagicianGirl – Thanks for the review (hey, praise is never corny), glad you like it so far.

Dark Lord Daishi – he did search... just not thoroughly... evil smirk Ahem. Carth wouldn't just take away her belongings. He's a guy who values privacy. He just needed to know her name and skills – hence the service records datapad. Glad you like it.

XXXX

Chapter 2 – Awakening

X X X X

Darkness.

Once more, the blinding flash of light and the strike of pain into her skull. She was beginning to despise head injuries. Being knocked unconscious was not her idea of a fair battle. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, gazing at the ceiling of an unfamiliar apartment. But the pain inside her head wouldn't stop.

Revan moaned slightly, clutching her head. It hurt to think. Damnable. Not even her Force powers would probably be able to help with this kind of injury, not yet, anyway. Healing was highly overrated.

"Good to see you up, instead of thrashing around in your sleep." A slightly familiar male voice said. "You must have been having one hell of a nightmare."

The man in question was sitting on the other bed in the apartment, a datapad in his hand. Except for his literally beaming orange pilot jacket, she only made a mental note that if he was her rescuer, she would buy him a comb as a sign of gratitude.

"I´m Carth, I was with you in the escape pod, remember?" he asked her with some concern.

Then she remembered. Of course, she had joined the Republic fleet under a false name, with a fake military record. The one place where the Jedi wouldn't be looking for her. No one would assume she would do such a daring and dangerous move. again, her skills at strategy had proven unparalleled. But the current assignment had made her slightly suspicious. Not only wasn't Taris one of her favorite planets, but escorting a bunch of Jedi was risky. Nevertheless, once more she forced a casual tone into her voice, the warmth almost undetectably faked.

"Yeah… yeah, I remember." She nodded. The most important fact kicked in – her new name. "I´m Alexa Denali, by the way. I guess I owe you my life, seeing as we couldn't have crashed right into this apartment."

A few stories, some hacking into the galactic registries and Alexa Denali was ´born´. The name she used to get into the Republic fleet was quite easy to remember – Denali meant "Great One" in ancient Sith languages, and some of the more primitive races referred to her like that.

Alexa was the translation of a title she received from the locals when her troops drove the Mandalorians from the face of Bakura… the locals viewed as their savior, and therefore gave her the title "Defender of mankind", the word "mankind" being used only because they couldn't find a suitable phrase that would include the various races that inhabited the Galactic Republic. That was more than five years ago… back when she was a Jedi.

So it was the truth… from a certain point of view.

Carth smiled briefly, but slightly bitterly, shrugging off the gratitude. "You don´t have to thank me I never abandoned anyone on a mission before and I´m not about to start now. Besides, I´m going to need your help."

"So where are we? Taris?" Last time she checked, they were falling into the atmosphere.

"We crashed straight into the Upper City, so it wasn't much of a problem to get out." Carth explained. "You took some damage during the fall and smacked your head pretty badly, but luckily I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away in the chaos – by the time the Sith arrived on the scene, we were long gone. I stumbled into this abandoned apartment on the way. Try not to worry too much, we're safe, for now, at least. But we have to find Bastila."

Another flash of pain passed through her head and Revan hissed in response. "Force, I hate headaches." she muttered to herself, but then recovered. "I suppose that´s our duty as dutiful soldiers, right?"

"I guess you can say that." Carth said, though whether he caught the slight sarcasm or not was questionable.

In any case, Revan already found herself disliking her companion slightly. As far as appearances went, she couldn't give a damn about him, save for the perhaps overly bright orange jacket he was wearing – he was likely a decade older than her. They were about the same height, but his built was definitely more soldier-like than hers. He had brown hair and marching eyes, and a slight bitterness in his quite young face. All in all, he wasn't bad-looking, as if that mattered. But the blind devotion to something he barely understood, just followed orders, she found repulsive.

"I doubt anyone's specifically looking for us anymore: we're not that important." Revan´s left hand twitched slightly, but her face showed no change. "But if we're careful we can move about the planet without attracting notice; a luxury Bastila won't have. She's going to have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how vital she is to the war effort."

"Well said. All right, let´s go find her." Revan said, trying to be diplomatic. "The sooner we find her, the sooner we can get off this rock."

"Good idea." Carth nodded. "We can use this abandoned apartment as a base, and we can probably get some equipment and supplies here in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile. I've heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity! But I figure if we don't do anything stupid we should be okay."

"Don't worry, I´m smarter than I look." Revan said coolly.

"If you´re smarter than that datapad says, we should have no problem at all." Carth said, a bit more relaxed than before.

briefly, Revan checked the location of her lightsaber, glad that she hadn't misplaced it, her backpack, containing just her neatly-wrapped robes and grabbed a vibroblade from the nearby workbench, marching out of the apartment without any kind of fatigue.

For someone who had been out a week, it was an impressive feat, Carth noted to himself. Nevertheless, making a slight attempt to conceal the blaster pistols he had, he followed her out of the apartment.

XXX

"Right, you alien scum! Everybody, get up against the wall! This is a raid!"

They walked into an… interrogation. Revan and Carth watched as a Sith patrol along with two droids ambushed the illegal aliens living in the complex.

"There was a patrol here just yesterday and they found nothing! " An alien objected. "Why do you Sith keep bothering us? "

The Sith spared the Duros a hateful glare, but then aimed the blaster riffle he was holding at the alien's torso. One of the shots hit its target, killing the Duros.

"That's how we Sith deal with smart-mouth aliens! Now the rest of you get up against the wall before I loose my temper again!" The Sith probably felt eyes on him, so he turned around to see the newcomers. "What's this? Humans hiding out with aliens?" His eyes fell on their civil clothes. Neither was wearing a Sith uniform, so… "They're Republic fugitives! Attack!"

"Wonderful." Revan muttered.

Before the Sith had a chance to attack them, however, Carth blasted the droids and the human fell dead with a single precise stroke of Revan´s vibroblade. Revan raised an eyebrow.

"Trigger-happy, aren´t we, Onasi?" she asked without sarcasm. He merely shrugged.

"Poor Ixgil. " The remaining Duros remarked after a moment. "He should never have talked back to that Sith. Luckily you were here to step in to the fight, human. This isn't the first time the Sith have bothered us here, but hopefully it will be the last. " He informed Revan. She translated his words to Carth, who gazed at the dead Sith with disgust.

"Won't somebody come in searching for this patrol?" Revan asked, in the same language. That always made more of an impression than using Basic.

The Duros shook his head. "Don´t worry about the bodies. I will move them away from your apartment so that it would seem that they were killed somewhere else. That will throw the Sith off the track. With any luck, they won't be bothering us for a while. Thank you once again, human. "

The alien instantly began dragging the body away from the apartment. Carth gazed at Revan, who shrugged. Then she felt someone bump into her.

"Oh, I´m sorry, I get distracted." The woman apologized. Revan could sense her tension.

"Is something wrong, miss…?"

"Dia. My name's Dia. And yes, but I doubt you could do anything about it."

"I could try." Revan shrugged. "Tell me what the problem is and I might be able to help you." Connections, connections, connections..

Dia observed Revan´s face for a moment, then slightly nodded.

"Well, I suppose you seem like an all right sort. That pig Holdan, one of Davik´s men who can´t keep his hands to himself put a bounty on my head. He got drunk and started making advances, but all he got for his trouble was a nasty scar from my vibroblade. And there you have it – I defend myself and I get punished."

"Maybe I could talk to this Holdan." Revan suggested.

"You could try, I guess." Dia said with a shrug. "He'll probably be somewhere around the Lower City cantina, but I hear you won't get to the lower levels without security papers or a Sith uniform, so I really don´t know whether you'll succeed."

"I'll try. Thanks for the information."

"No problem. Goodbye and good luck. I hope you can talk some sense into Holdan."

The woman walked away, locking the apartment door behind her. Carth and Revan exchanged worried looks – they would somehow have to acquire Sith uniforms or security papers to pass the Upper City guard. Revan figured that since they were short of credits, she might tell that Holdan guy where his girlfriend is, just to get some money out of him, but she hated attracting that kind of attention to them. After all, the time she had spent in solitude was enough to teach her the value of stealth.

XXX

They proceeded to the complex entrance, leaving the apartments and their owners and entering the glamorous world of the skyscrapers in the Upper City.

"So what's your plan, Denali?" Carth asked when he caught up with her brisk footsteps near a shop. Revan looked around – there was no one in sight, so she shrugged.

"You´re asking me? I though you outrank me." She asked, a bit distracted, faking obedience.

"Well, you´re the one who´s transfer was requested by Bastila´s party, I thought there had to be a reason for that." Carth shrugged.

Revan stopped sharply, glaring at him with disbelief. "Bastila requested my transfer?" Those manipulative old coots that were the Jedi Council and Princess Padawan knew where she was!

Carth shrugged. "The Jedi requested numerous things when they came on board. Hell, they practically took over the entire ship as far as I´m concerned! But considering your connection to Bastila and the Jedi, whether you know it or not… your presence here is a little convenient."

"And here I thought you don´t trust me." Revan remarked with a brief smirk.

"I don´t. It has nothing to do with you, personally. I have my reasons. And no, I´m not going to discuss them."

"Fair enough – I´m not trying to poke into your personal life." she shrugged. "We can continue searching."

"Sure, but let me ask you something first." Carth said, nodding. "I've been going through the battle aboard the Endar Spire over and over in my head. Some things just don´t add up for me. Maybe you could tell me about it…from your perspective."

"There's not much to tell." Revan sighed. "I wake up at the sound of alarms and my bunkmate barges into our room telling me that the Sith are after the Jedi. I´m actually quite surprised she didn't bother using her powers – she could have gotten us out of the mess."

"True." Carth nodded again. "Bastila´s as powerful as they say. She´s the one who defeated Darth Revan, after all."

"You would think so." Revan quietly said.

"What?"

"Nothing important. Well, I heard Battle Meditation requires concentration, so I guess the attack caught her by surprise." Revan said with a shrug.

"Probably. I guess no Jedi ability, no matter how powerful, matches up to being completely surprised and outmatched, huh?"

"Yeah… yeah, you could say that." she muttered distantly.

"Something wrong?" He asked in an all-too innocent tone.

She waved the question off. "Nothing that concerns you, I´m sure." And she made a beeline for the cantina.

XXX

"Hello there, youngster." And old man stopped her in the cantina. "My name is Garrouk. I was just wondering whether you would like to buy a Pazaak deck? Just 50 credits and I'll sell you my deck with all the cards. Plus, I'll give you a free Pazaak lesson. It's the best offer you can get."

"Sure, that's a good deal. I'll buy it." Revan replied. She didn't have a deck with her and Pazaak was a fine way of earning credits.

"Glad to see you´re interested in the good old game." Garrouk said, smiling. "Now, would you like a Pazaak lesson?"

"I think I'll be the one teaching someone a thing or two about Pazaak." She smirked darkly, eying the only other Pazaak player, who beat his highly sloppy opponent with a shark's smile. Half an hour later, many credits richer, and falsely accused for cheating, she left the guy to sulk in the corner, while she passed Carth, who was arguing with some rich woman who thought him to be her waiter. Revan rolled her eyes at that, entering the left wing.

"I can´t believe we couldn't get tickets for this match!" A frustrated woman threw her hands into the air. "Now we have to watch it from the view screen!"

"Who cares? It's Gerlon and Duncan fighting – it's not like we're gonna miss anything." The man waved her off. She jumped when the screen nearby flashed to life.

"Shh! They're about to start! So quit complaining and watch the view screen!"

Revan saw the blue screens coming from the wall – the arena monitors. An image of an arena appeared, replacing the blue background of the screen. Two duelists, whom the announcer introduced as Gerlon Two-Fingers and Deadeye Duncan, appeared on both sides of the ring. They both drew a blaster pistol, but Duncan's blaster fell out of his hand (Revan couldn't help but smirk) and when he reached out to pick it up, Gerlon fired a few shots. Duncan fell to the ground, but the announcer assured the viewers that he wasn't dead – the medics would patch him up.

If this is the best they can do, I'll be a legend of the ring.

Revan approached the Hutt who seemed to be in charge there. Huttese was commonly used on planets controlled by the Hutts, like Tatooine or Sleheyron, so it was only natural that he spoke in his native tongue.

"I´m sorry, human – the betting window's closed. No more fights right now People are getting sick of watching the same duelists all the time. It's bad for business. Unless…" the Hutt´s gaze sized Revan up. "My name is Ajuur. I organize the dueling here. I could arrange your career as a duelist, if you´re interested. You seem to have the built of a fighter. It can be a very profitable venture. "

"I´m might be interested. What's in this for me?"

"Like I said, you could be a duelist. Standard dueling with vibroblades and stun batons. Some of the duelists use blasters, but the arena is a small space. Use whatever you prefer. For each winning, you get 10 of the bets. There's only one rule – when you take someone down, don´t finish them off. Nobody dies. Death matches are illegal now. "

"Vibroblades and blasters?" Carth´s voice repeated from behind her – apparently, he had escaped his "mistress". "And nobody ever dies? How come I get the feeling you´re trying to take us for a ride?"

"The arena is equipped with repulsor fields that tone down the damage. Sure, the weapons hurt, but they don´t kill. So, are you in? We need a new face in the ring. "

Judging from the people's enthusiasm, it would be quite fine. More money would be good, but Hutts were mostly immune to Jedi Mind Tricks but using the Force would attract unwanted attention. She agreed.

Ajuur laughed, obviously satisfied. "Good! New blood into the ring! Now, you need a name, like Ice or Marl or Twitch. Good nicknames make people bet more. Hmm… you´re an off-worlder…nobody knows you around here…I know! How about "the Mysterious Stranger"?"

"Mysterious Stranger?" All too fitting. "I like it."

"This is for the best. It wouldn't be wise to use your real name. The Sith could have found out who you are through your service records when you were added to the crew of the Spire." Carth whispered to her.

Ajuur was beside himself with joy. "The Mysterious Stranger suits you perfectly. No one knows you, you have no history. It seems as if you have some big, dark secret. People like that. Makes them bet more. "

Pretty soon, she became the duel champion. Deadeye Duncan really wasn't much of a challenge even for a small child smart enough to knew how to fire a blaster. Gerlon Two-Fingers attempted to blast her, but he could never be quick enough to hit her. Ice tried to use melee weapons on her, but Revan really didn't have much of a challenge in fighting her. Marl was better than all of them put together – his skill with a double-vibroblade was quite remarkable, considering his age. Twitch was fast when it came to blasters, but a rookie when it came to melee combat. There was only one person that would dare to challenge her – Bendak Starkiller, a retired death match duelist. But he was retired.

There was not much else to do at the Cantina – no one really knew much about the battle overhead or of ways of getting off the planet. Ordinary Taris citizens had no idea of such things.

Except maybe if…she noticed some young man, about the same age as her, standing in the corner. Military posture, the "I´m-better-than-you" gleam in his eyes, people giving him a fair amount of space… a Sith officer, if she ever saw one.

"Hello." Revan said, trying to sound friendly. The man quickly looked up to see her. He smiled slightly.

"Hi there. Haven't seen you around before. Of course, they don´t give us Sith officers from the military base much time off."

Jackpot. "You´re from the military base?" she feinted surprise, despite her self-revulsion at having to act a ditz. "You don´t look like one of the Sith." She added as-a-matter-of-fact. He shrugged.

"I´m off duty now, so I´m not in uniform. My name's Yun Genda, junior officer first class with the Sith occupation force." He held out a hand and she took it, still trying her best to seem friendly.

"Nice to meet you Yun. I´m Alexa Denali."

"I´m actually a bit surprised that you´re talking to me at all." And he also seemed glad. His aura flashed obvious interest, which was more than a sign that she could sweet-talk him easily. "Most of the people here can´t stand us Sith. It makes it a pretty lonely job."

"Oh, I´m actually not from Taris." she smiled, but felt she would retch soon. "Just stuck here until quarantine ends."

"You´re an off-worlder? Heh, I figured you'd be even more angry, being stuck on a foreign planet and all."

"It's not all bad. I´m a translator, you know, so there's not much problem with communication. Being stuck on Taris isn't so bad, but the locals aren´t much fun."

"A translator? Ever thought about joining the Sith? Good linguists are hard to find – you'd be an asset to our ranks." He seemed hopeful, but she shook her head.

"Probably not. Don´t get me wrong, I've nothing against the Sith, but I´m probably not the type to obey commands. I´m much more of a free spirit. Traveling around the galaxy is much more appealing to me than remaining stationed on one planet. It must be tough, stationed on a hostile world like this." Revan quickly changed the topic.

"That's true." Yun agreed. "It's like everyone on this backwater planet is in a permanent bad mood. I didn't ask to be assigned here, but I try to make the best of it."

"It's all about attitude. Everyone has ups and downs – it's how you deal with them that counts."

Yun nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! It's all about attitude. It's nice to meet someone who knows what I´m going through. It's good to talk about this stuff – it gets pretty lonely at the military base. Listen, I have to get going soon – I have a shift at the military base. But some of us junior officers are having a party this evening to blow off some steam. I´d really like to see you again. Why don´t you drop by the party? It's in one of the apartments in the northern complex. Bring friends, if you want."

"Sounds good. It's a date, then." Inside, she was laughing. Literally. He actually fell for that cheap trick. What a moron.

"I guess so. Now, don´t be late. We're starting right after our shift ends – most of us won't even go to the base lock our uniforms. I´m looking forward to seeing you there."

"See you there."

Yun leaned over to kiss her, but Revan swiftly turned her head, as if looking at something, so he missed and instead bumped his head slightly. When he pulled back, he was slightly red. Revan gave him a reassuring smile and he left with a final wave of his hand. The smile faded off her face at once. She would be saying goodbye to her breakfast, for sure. Remembering she hadn't had any breakfast, she felt even worse.

"I don´t know much about your training, but I bet you weren't recruited to flirt with locals." Carth´s voice reached her ears when Yun was out of sight. Revan turned to see him sitting at one of the tables.

"What? Jealous?" she asked, without really caring.

"What's there to be jealous of?"

Revan did a mock shot-through-the-heart expression and shook her head.. Seeing Carth slightly embarrassed, she said: "All right, all right, no need to start sweating. I know my allowances, don´t worry. But one thing's for sure – we're going to a party tonight."

"A party? With the Sith?" he skeptically repeated.

"Never underestimate the power of Tarisian ale." Revan answered. Seeing Carth smile briefly was a sign that her operation was a success.

"If you say so. We should get going now – there's nothing else interesting around here."

There actually was one more person that wanted to speak to Revan – a tall man, clad in Mandalorian armor from head to toe was standing near the exit.

"I've been watching you in the dueling ring. Not bad for an amateur. I´m tempted to step out of retirement and show you what it's like to fight against a real champion." The tone of his voice and the proud statements made Revan realize that he was none other than Bendak Starkiller, the infamous death-match duelist.

"But I only fight in death-matches, and not many people are willing to step into the ring, knowing they'll never come out. How ´bout you, Stranger? You think you've got what it takes?"

"You´re on, Bendak! Name the time and place!" she challenged.

"Finally, some fresh meat. It'll take some time to set it up – Ajuur will contact you when everything's ready. No point sticking around here. I'll be back when it's time for you to die!" With that, Bendak left the cantina.

"Um…was that really necessary?" Carth asked her.

"Yes. I hate stuck-up people who judge me by my appearance." Revan briefly answered through gritted teeth. "But he was right about one thing – no point sticking around here. Let´s go, I think I'll stop for some supplies in the medical facility, it should be nearby."

XXX

Except for the fact that both of them knew what lied underneath the glamorous surface of Taris, neither Revan nor Carth could wish for a better investigation. The streets were filled with Sith patrols, but none of them paid the slightest attention to either of them. Revan was a bit unused to being a background person, but she knew very well what danger they would be in if someone recognized her. The medical facility was near, just as she remembered.

Although the galaxy was in motion, the day-to-day life on Taris practically remained the same for the past five years. Once they entered the building, a mid-aged black man raised his head from some papers and smiled once he saw the newcomers.

"Welcome to my medical facility. I can see from your exotic appearance that you´re off-worlders. But no one ever said that Zelka Forn refused to give medical care to anyone just because they weren't from Taris. Do you require healing or medical supplies? I can heal almost every injury or sickness – except for the rakghoul disease, of course."

"We'd like to purchase some medical supplies, could you show us what you have available?"

"Certainly, miss. Medpacks, antidotes, implants – whatever you need."

Using some of the credits Revan won thanks to her dueling carrier and some Pazaak games with the local champion Niklos, they purchased some healing kits and an antidote. Since the lower levels were quite unpredictable, Carth suggested that they purchase the bio-package implant Zelka was offering. Revan got the hint – rakghoul poison wasn't a pleasant thing. It couldn't cure the bites, but it could slow the effect. Slightly.

"Thank you, I think that'll be everything."

"Of course. Do you require anything else?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew something about Republic escape pods crashing into the Undercity."

Zelka frowned, but Revan began to notice his sudden tension and the fact that he paled a bit.

"I am too busy with running the medical facility – I don´t know anything about the escape pods!"

"You can tell us. We won't betray your secret." Revan answered with the slightest Jedi Mind Trick.

"Well, you don´t look like you´re with the Sith. I suppose I could tell you…or better yet, show you. Come with me."

He checked that no one was following them and opened the door to the laboratory. After they entered, he quickly shut it. But Carth and Revan were distracted by the sight in front of them. Two Republic soldiers were within thick glass tubes, surrounded by a strange healing substance. They both wore breath masks and seemed unconscious.

"Since the space battle overhead, people have been bringing in these Republic soldiers. Their injuries are terrible – most won't survive. The only thing I can do is make sure that their last days are comfortable." Zelka explained.

"Well, for that you have my thanks. It's good to know that at least some of these men ended up in compassionate hands." Carth said flatly.

"I´d hate to imagine what the Sith would do to them if they found these soldiers. Fortunately, the Sith haven't returned after their first investigations."

Revan still gazed at the tubes. During the war, she scarcely visited the medical facility if it didn't regard her own injuries (which she mostly healed on her own, not that there were many).

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She heard herself ask. "We're friendly with the Republic, these soldiers served on the same ship we did."

There was compassion in her words, but her eyes glittered the metallic gold they bore not long ago. She felt no empathy for them. It was a cover up because of Onasi – if she was supposed to work with him, he had to believe they were on the same side. And joining the Republic fleet sort of implied you liked the Republic.

"I´m afraid there's nothing anyone can do for these soldiers." Zelka sighed. "But you said you were on the ship that exploded above the planet a few days ago – do you need healing?"

"Actually, you should have a look at Alexa here – she smacked her head pretty badly after we crashed." Carth suggested.

"I´m all right, I don´t need healing." Revan objected.

"Now, now, miss. It's better safe than sorry. It'll just take a few minutes. Could you wait outside, please?" Zelka asked Carth. He nodded and the door closed in behind him.

Zelka gave Revan a reassuring smile and motioned her to sit down. Taking out an instrument, he folded her sleeve and began checking her pulse.

"Regular. Do you feel pain when you walk or make fast motions?"

"No, I´m fine. I was just knocked unconscious, that's all."

"I see. Your memory is intact, no blanks? Do you remember everything?"

"Yes, yes. Everything is fine."

"Very well, miss. I just need to do a few more tests."

After several scannings, Zelka smiled. "You´re free to go, miss. You´re completely alright, both physically and mentally."

"Thank you. How much do I owe you?"

Zelka shook his head, still smiling, "Oh, no, no – healing is for free. No charge."

"That's very generous of you. Well, thank you. I guess I should be going now."

XXX

"Davik says you missed your last payment." A malevolent voice said when they left the medical facility. Carth nudged Revan and she noticed two bounty hunters bullying a merchant.

"Davik doesn't like you missing payments. " The Aqualish bounty hunter added.

"Here, take 50 credits! It's all I have!" the merchant squealed. "That should buy me some time…right?"

"Sorry, you´re outta time. It's all or nothing now."

"But…I have no more credits."

"That's too bad. Davik´s gonna want to make an example of you. You´re coming with us! "

The merchant's eyes widened and he backed up to the wall in fear.

"No…help, anyone, please! They're going to kill me!"

"I know we have to be careful about not attracting attention to ourselves…but are we just going to let them take that guy away?" Carth asked Revan in a whisper.

"Hold on – looks like we've gotten ourselves a witness here." The human bounty hunter noted, spotting the pair.


"Davik doesn't like witnesses." The Aqualish added in a threatening tone.

Revan didn't like being treated like some common trash – it was time for lessons. "I don´t like your attitude. I better teach you a lesson."

"Guess we'll have to teach you to mind your own business! "

The bounty hunters drew their vibroblades, so Revan did the same, whirling around and killing both hunters with one stroke without the intervention of others. The merchant sighed in relief, but still seemed to be distressed.

"Thank you! You've saved my life! Those bounty hunters were going to take me away and kill me! My wife told me not to take a loan from Davik. It's not good to own a crime lord money – he'll just keep sending more bounty hunters after me! Now I can´t pay him back!"

"You'll think of something, I´m sure." Carth commented.

"Perhaps. Well, thank you again. I´m getting out of here before any more of Davik´s goons show up. You should do the same." And he hurried off.

XXX

It wasn't that hard to find the Sith apartment – the entire complex was practically shaking with the loud music. Revan stopped several feet before the door, checking the situation.

"Listen, maybe I should go in alone and call you after those Sith are unconscious, I´d have a hard time thinking up a reason why I didn't came alone and what our relationship is. We could make stupid mistakes and blow our cover."

"So what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit here and wait for you?" Carth demanded.

"Check out the security of the elevator to the Lower City." Revan suggested. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

Carth nodded and disappeared behind the corner. But Revan decided it might be fun to explore the apartments before she went to the party. Only one was really locked tight. She sliced the lock without problems, revealing a desperate looking man. When he saw Revan, his eyes widened.

"Please! You don´t have to kill me! I'll have Davik´s money if he just gives me a little more time! Here, take these 50 credits! Just don´t tell Davik I´m hiding here!" The weakness in his aura was making her sick.

"Give me the credits." Revan coldly hissed, twirling her vibroblade a bit. The man winced and immediately gave her the credits.

"They're yours, take them!"

She swiftly cut his arm off. Then he lost his head. Revan searched his belongings for a datapad that identified him as Largo, a guy who owned Davik, big time. She already knew Davik didn't like people who didn't pay on time, so there had to be a bounty on the guy's head. Now just to collect it in the Lower City… Revan walked to the Sith apartment door. Not surprisingly, Yun opened it for her.

"Hey, you made it! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show!"

"And miss a party like this? You´re kidding, right?" Revan said in all truth. She could already smell the alcohol in the air and made a mental note not to drink anything.

"You have to try this Tarisian ale, it's fantastic!" Yun wrapped an arm around Revan´s shoulders, dragging her inside. "We should have conquered this planet ages ago!"

"Careful, Yun." A female Sith told him. "That wine's got quite the kick. A couple more bottles and we'll all be passed out on the floor!" she said with a laugh.

He waved her off, obviously with trouble keeping balance. "Who cares, Sarna, we're not on duty tomorrow – let´s live a little! C'mon, drink up!"

Sarna handed a drink to Revan, who took it, but then spilled it in a footlocker when they weren't looking. After several boring conversations when the Sith were telling Revan a bit about their day-to-day work at the base or asking her about her travels, Yun´s grip on her shoulder has considerably weakened and, one by one, the Sith collapsed to the ground. Only Revan remained sitting on the couch, smiling smugly.

"Sweet dreams, rancor dung." Revan quietly said as she showed Yun´s arm out of the way and opened the apartment door. Carth was already standing outside, watching a chronometer.

"Fifteen minutes exactly." He said without looking at her. "You´re good."

"Come on, our party goers are sound asleep. It'll take them several hours to recover, maybe even several days, if we're lucky." With that, they carefully walked past the sleeping Sith and reached several backpacks. There was a Sith uniform within each of them.

"So what about the security?" she asked while adjusting the armor.

"A single guard, only authorized Sith patrols are allowed to go there. This armor is a good idea, by the way. What happened to the Sith?"

Revan smiled briefly before putting on the helmet. It was almost like her Sith mask, except for the fact that her specially crafted mask was a lot more comfortable. The armor granted little protection, but the Sith always relied more on their own abilities and flexibility was one of the primary advantages.

"Tarisian ale." Revan´s voice was mechanized now, just like with most Sith troopers.

"Uh huh. Now I see why they say off-worlders can´t handle it." Carth noted.

Once they entered the Upper City, Revan could feel that the people were trying to keep their distance out of fear. It was rather refreshing.

"Hey, look/hic/ it's the Shith!" A drunk man called out at them when they were passing.

"Yeah, I´m like /hic/ sooo scared." Another one said.

"Careful." The third one warned. "We don´t want trouble with the Shith."

"Too late, scum!" Revan hissed, killing one of the taunting men with her vibroblade. Carth´s aura showed shock, but the other Sith on the street paid no attention to that. The other drunk men bolted away, whimpering in fear.

"Was that really necessary?" Carth whispered to her when they moved on.

"It's what a Sith would have done." Revan objected.

No one dared to talk to them until they reached the Lower City elevator.

"Another patrol heading down to the Lower City, eh?" The guard asked before they had a chance to say anything. "Good luck… I've heard it's pretty rough down there. There's a big swoop gang war going on, you know. You better watch yourselves: those gangs dare take a shot at anyone - even us! It's too bad we don´t have the manpower to sweep those slums clean."

When the elevator door opened in front of them and they began their descent, Revan began to think that it was almost too easy.

XXXX

I thought it might be good to put in an interlude right here, but then I figured that with the dream, it was slightly unnecessary. Yet. But expect an interlude with my (my own, my precious!!! Ahem, sorry…) characters – Jedi Master Esper Darai and his Zabrak apprentice, Gavrilla Zene. Why am I writing about two made-up characters in a KoTOR story? What significance do they have? And just what is their connection to Revan? You'll have to wait and see!
This interlude is still "in the works" - I´m just writing my first draft now. It may take a few days… but the weekend's here soon, so I hope to update by then.