Author's notes: Three more days… only three days to go… mwahahahaha!!!

Dark Lord Daishi – Well, he knows better than to ignore the danger. I doubt anyone would want to be on a ship with those two… read on.

X X X

Chapter 30 – Shattered

X X X X

In a manner of minutes, the detention cells were open and the three captives, who hadn't talked to each other much during their waiting. Mission Vao, along with T3-M4, entered, fully armed and fully dressed, beaming with pride at her escape. Obviously, she had managed to fulfill their plan.

"Good job, Mission – I knew you wouldn't let us down. Once this is over, I'm going to see the Republic gives you a medal for your part in this!" Carth said to the beaming girl, as the other crewmembers appeared from the other cells, lacking their weaponry.

"Any problems, HK?" Revan asked.

"Answer: Negative, Master. That is, if you don´t count the meatbags I had to eliminate on the way." T3 beeped something. "Objection: How else would we have gotten past them, tin can?"

"If I remember the layout of this ship, our equipment should be in a storage chamber just through the north doors." Carth explained, oblivious to the little mental conversation right in front of him. "After we grab out stuff, we need to get to the bridge main controls. The bridge is the only place we can open the docking gates of the hangar where they've got the Ebon Hawk. We have to open those gates before we can fly out of here!"

"We better get moving." Bastila suggested, "I can feel the darkness of Malak´s presence approaching, and I don't want to be here when he arrives. None of us is a match for the Sith Lord." But she said that only to prevent unnecessary questions from Carth, just as Revan sensed.

'I'm not afraid of him.'

'Then you're a fool! He will destroy you here… even you!'


'Speak for yourself, little Jedi. Now do calm yourself, I´m thinking…'

"Surprise and secrecy will serve us best." Revan shrugged slightly, "A small group might have a better chance of sneaking into the bridge undetected while the others make their way to the Ebon Hawk. The Hawk will be heavily protected, so it could also serve as a diversion. But the Sith will be alerted to our escape and launch the intruder lockdown. None of us can slice through the doors – I doubt even T3 would be able to crack those codes. We'll need to find another way to the bridge… maybe…" She glanced at Carth. "Do you remember where the bridge storage is?"

"I think so, why?" he asked.

"Intruder lockdown. Standard procedure." she explained, "We'll have to break into the armory and get space suits to enter the bridge from the outside – through the airlocks. There won't be many suits here, so I guess no more than two or three of us should go. It would be suicide to go alone."

"Count me in, then." Carth declared, "I've got a score to settle with the Admiral before we get off this ship and I have a feeling I´m gonna find him on the Leviathan bridge!"

"Careful, Carth, there's more at stake here than personal revenge." Bastila warned, "You can come, but don´t let your hatred of Saul Karath jeopardize our true mission: getting the Ebon Hawk safely off the Leviathan. You better come with me and Carth." she said to Revan, "We might encounter trouble on the way."

"I know what you mean. It's better that way – Malak could sense my presence in the hangar and cut off our escape route. Besides, Karath said that he's in another Sector, so if we're going to escape, we might encounter him on our way to the hangar bay. Maybe I should take HK with us? That would perfectly distract Malak."

Bastila´s eyes widened. "NO! We cannot afford to have the entire Sith armada after us!"

"You're right. Then I suppose it's up to me."

"Objection: Master, that is just not fair!" HK whined, eyes flashing at Revan. "Statement: You are very cruel, Master. Query: Have I mentioned that you are my favorite organic sentient?"

"The three of us will get our equipment and make it to the bridge." Revan said, dismissing the droid. "The rest of you head down to the docking hangar where they've got the Ebon Hawk. You'll have to find a way to deal with the guards."

"Don't you worry about that." Canderous said with a half-smirk, "I know how to deal with the guards. They won't know what hit them!"

"Good. Get to the equipment room, grab what you need and get going." Revan ordered.

"We'll meet you there as soon as we get those docking bay doors opened. Just make sure the Hawk is ready to fly when we get there. And May the Force Be With You." Bastila wished them.

"We still have to get our equipment. Let's go."

The trio ran straight into the equipment chamber, parting ways with the rest of the crew. It wasn't guarded, fortunately, and they immediately began searching the lockers for their things. In a minute, Revan had her lightsaber in hand, Bastila had her shield equipped and Carth found several spare medpacks. Now fully armed, the trio led by Revan moved down the corridor to the elevator and set the bridge as their next destination.

"This is Canderous. We're at the Ebon Hawk. Like we figured, it's under heavy guard. But don´t worry… we'll figure out a plan to take care of them." Canderous reported while the elevator was ascending.

"No doubt. Report when you´re done. Have fun."

Alarms violently beeped throughout the command deck. Sith guards immediately attacked the escaped prisoners, throwing several grenades. Carth shoved Bastila out of the way of the blast, but he himself was thrown away. Revan used the confusion to throw her lightsaber at the guards, who didn't see it coming and were sliced in half. Bastila swiftly healed Carth´s injury, which was fortunately minor. She then threw her lightsaber at the Sith patrols, clearing their way to the armory.

They looted the armory, especially the spacesuits, and proceeded to the airlocks. Dark Jedi bolted from around the corridor, but Revan was already in a bad mood, so before they had a chance to react, they were smoking corpses on the ground, thanks to a heavy dose of electricity.

Once inside the airlock, the three of them pulled on the spacesuits and effectively entered the bridge from the outside. Revan repeated the Force Lightning on the Sith guards and they continued to their destination.

X X X

The door leading to the bridge opened, revealing the all too familiar surroundings. Revan now understood how Bastila probably felt when she was standing in front of similar doors almost a year ago. But Bastila knew she would face an opponent way beyond her skill – she knew that her opponent would be quite the opposite, so it was not unexpected that there was a large honor guard surrounding Saul Karath. Two Dark Jedi were standing next to him. There were two Sith troopers guarding the door from both sides and two more were working on the control panels. No one said a word before the door closed behind the newcomers.

"Very resourceful." Saul spared a glance at Carth. "I can assume you had some part in this. You've learnt your lessons well from me."

"The only thing you've taught me is death and betrayal, Saul." Carth spat.

"Don't be a fool." The Admiral said with an expressionless face. "I´m giving you and your companions a chance to surrender. Malak himself is on his way."

"He speaks the truth, Carth." Bastila said, suddenly fearful. "I can sense the Dark Lord's presence approaching."

"Malak will destroy you, but if you throw your weapons down, I'll ask my Master to be merciful."

"I've seen enough of Sith mercy!" Carth growled through gritted teeth.

"You always did like to do things the hard way. Lord Malak would have preferred live prisoners, but corpses will have to do!"

With that, he activated his personal shield and aimed a Sith assassin pistol at Carth, who was quick enough to dodge the blast, throwing himself to the ground and firing a few of his own shots. The Dark Jedi standing near the Admiral drew lightsabers and charged at Bastila and Revan, who managed to stab the guards near the door. A Sith trooper threw a plasma grenade at Bastila, but she saw it coming and pushed it back to the soldier, killing him. Her saber suddenly clashed against the red one, until she leapt into the air and with a flip, delivered a powerful attack that practically sliced the Dark Jedi in half. Carth was obviously trying to get to Saul.

The Admiral fired a shot at Revan - she deflected it right into the face of the Dark Jedi that tried to attack her. Bastila dashed off to kill the Sith grenadiers that barged through the bridge door while Revan programmed a computer console to open the hangar bay doors. Saul surprised Carth with a kick and the soldier fell to the ground. With a victorious sneer, Saul wanted to deliver the final blow with a vibroblade he quickly drew, but the expression changed when he felt searing pain in his back.

"You need a lesson in the art of torture, Karath." A cold voice he recognized at once commented casually. Immediately, the blade that pierced his flesh moments ago was twisted around, cutting deeper through the internal organs and causing him tremendous pain. "To allow your prisoner to faint is amateurism. And how to cause pain better than with bare hands?"

Saul suddenly felt invisible hands gripping his throat. He dropped his sword and held his throat, struggling to break free of the Force Choke. He knew very well that the Force power wasn't intended to kill him, only to cause as much pain as possible. And it was utterly successful. Carth ran the Admiral's own sword through his chest. Saul Karath collapsed to the ground as his former protégé picked himself up and walked away, opening the hangar bay doors with a nearby console.

"Carth…Carth…"

The dying whispers of Saul Karath were clear on the silent bridge. He was tougher than Revan thought – they had struck him twice and still he managed to survive. But he was gasping for air – his lungs must have been damaged very badly. Bastila turned around to locate the source of the words.

"The Admiral – he's still alive!" she called.

Carth also noticed it, glancing at the dying Admiral with utter disgust and anger. "It's time to finish this!"

"No Carth! Not like this! Do not give into hate!" Bastila begged.

"Don't you understand what this man's done to my life?" The soldier gazed at her in disbelief. "Do you know the pain he's brought me?"

"Killing him won't ease the pain, Carth! Do not become what you despise!"

But the Admiral didn't seem to be attempting to save himself or to survive. "Carth…must tell you something…come closer…"

Although he knew that Karath couldn't be trusted, Carth walked to him nonetheless, crouching beside the wounded soldier. As the Admiral lay dying, he managed to gather enough strength to whisper something that neither of the two women could hear.

"…You didn't know, did you?" the laughed victoriously, coughing. "Remember my dying words… remember them whenever you look at those you thought were your friends…"

With a last pained gasp, Saul Karath´s strength left him and his now lifeless corpse lay on the floor. Those last words…it felt like being stabbed by a lightsaber.

The very idea seemed ridiculous. The very thought was insane. But Saul wasn't one to lie.

"He's gone. He said…no, no. No, it can´t be true, it can´t! Damn you, Saul. Damn you!"

"What did he say, Carth?" the voice felt like another blow, one equal in strength and as precise as the last one. The voice of the woman he learned to trust… the woman he began to care about. Perhaps that was why this sudden betrayal hurt him so much. Everything now painfully fit together – the Council, the visions and the mystery that was Alexa Denali. A veiling shadow… the lie protecting the darkness underneath it. Just a dream that was too good to be true, an illusion that never existed and never should have been created.

He no longer saw the shell he thought might be a beacon of light guiding him to salvation. dove. Instead, facing him was a black knight, a symbol of wisdom, power… and darkness. He could no longer look into the blazing fires of her icy eyes. And the eyes saw him back away slightly. Those eyes traveled from back and forth as the two Republicans began yelling at each other.

"Bastila, it is true, isn't it?" It wasn't really a question… especially when he saw that the Jedi lowered her gaze. "And you knew! You and the whole damn Jedi Council. You knew all the time!"

"Carth, it's not what you think! We had no other choice! You don´t understand!" What Bastila would say to explain this was truly a mystery, but she never got the chance.

"So make me understand! Explain how the bloody hell you came up with the idea of recruiting a Sith Lord!" he yelled.

"She's not that person anymore! She is one of us now! A Jedi!" Carth snorted audibly.

The cold eyes observing them narrowed, their glare darting into Carth, with enough venom to make him wince. "Welcome to the wonderful world of those who know everything about this mission." All had pretending ceased. "Feeling better now?" There was no outward response, but she could clearly sense the rage building up in his aura. But she couldn't afford to push him anymore right now. With every minute, Malak was closer.

"Carth, she´s the only one who can defeat Malak! We can´t find the Star Forge without her!" Bastila begged.

Revan sighed. "Look, if you two want to wait for Malak, go ahead. I´m getting off this ship and you can come with me if you want. But he will kill you. I won't."

"Carth, please. I ask you to trust me, for just a little while longer." The Jedi, putting her best pleading expression to use, now seemed to be on the verge of falling to her knees and begging.

It was not to Carth´s liking when he saw that there was no other choice. "I'll trust you, Bastila but as soon as we're off this ship I expect some answers!"

"Of course, Carth." The Jedi managed something like a weak half-smile… but it was too broken to be considered one. "As soon as we get to the Ebon Hawk I'll explain everything."