It was a worn-out, tired, hungry and irritated trio that returned to the Ebon Hawk a day later. Carth peppered the party with questions as soon as he heard them coming up the ramp.
"What the hell took you people so long this time? Do you know how worried we've been? Have you any idea how many times Mission and Canderous tried to contact you? Don't you even answer your comsets?"
Jolee treated the Republic officer to the sort of look all persons of mature years reserve only for the foolishness of youth, ignored his questions and sat down to unlace his boots. Carth ranted on.
"Oi...! Talking to you, buddy! So what happened? Man! I was ready to send Juhani out after you lot! Where've you been!"
Seeing that no response was forthcoming from his former colleague, Carth turned his attention to Bastila and repeated all his earlier queries. The weary girl abandoned her attempt to coax out the knots in her hair, threw her hands up in a gesture of exasperation, stuck her fingers in her ears and ran for the pantry.
What the hell? thought the Jedi, as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep what promised to be an epic headache at bay. You stay out half a day longer than anticipated, and Carth goes into Daddy Mode. He felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the late Dustil. Cracking open an eye, the Jedi noticed the Republic officer still hovering nearby, and considered it in the best interest of his sanity to just get the interview over and done with.
"We ran into some Dark Jedi," he replied casually. "And Malak's Apprentice. Ex-apprentice, now."
"Dark Jedi! Apprentice! I knew it! I knew something had happened to you people...!" exclaimed Carth triumphantly. Jolee rolled his eyes and started massaging his feet.
"And we're still alive, thanks for asking," said the Jedi ascerbically.
Carth's retort was the classic parental response to excuses for curfew-busting galaxy-wide. "Yeah - but you lot could at least have called back to say you'd be delayed or something! And saved me the worry! What do you people carry comsets for? We're talking about basic responsibility here...!"
The Jedi could not believe his ears. Responsibility! He snapped at Carth. "Well, considering the authorities here don't allow arrestees access to their comsets, pardon me if I failed to update you!"
"Arrested? Not again!" Carth brought his free hand up to his forehead and rubbed avidly. "What did you break this time? Don't tell me - you had another Court appearance... but you got out of it okay, right?"
Jolee stood and abruptly smacked the back of Carth's head with a very dirty rag that might have been a polishing cloth at some point in its development. "Get smarter every year, these young'uns. Real genius. 'Course we did. Hmpf!" He stalked off in the direction of the 'fresher, undoing his tunic as he went. Carth kicked the filthy rag aside and nodded at his former subordinate.
"So?"
The Jedi suddenly found himself very appreciative of his difficulties in recalling the details of his family life. If his parents had been anything like Carth, his teen years would probably hurt too much to think about. "Fuel tanks. Hrakert Rift Station. Very deep underwater. Found Star Map. Fought Dark Jedi. Went to Court, got out. That's all. I don't want to talk about it right now." He backed away from Carth and scurried to the comparative silence of the men's cabin.
Leaving Manaan proved to be as troublesome as entering it. Faithful to their reputation for an obsession with red tape, the starport authorities insisted on performing a full inspection of the Ebon Hawk's cargo hold, more form-filling, as well as extracting statutory declarations from each sentient on board the ship as to their non-involvement in kolto smuggling. This pleased nobody, least of all Juhani, who had been looking forward to finally getting off the watery planet. Mission grumbled long and loud about having to "do more homework", which did not assist in lifting the general mood.
Loud whoops of joy filled the Ebon Hawk when the authorities announced that the ship had been cleared for departure. Nobody seemed to care, or mind, that there was an inordinately long queue of craft in the jump line to hyperspace - the point was that they were getting out of Manaan!
"Where to next?" queried Carth. "Back to Dantooine? Or straight on to Korriban?"
"Korriban. If Malak is worried enough to send his apprentice after us, we must be doing something right. Which means we're getting too close for comfort - and that means we don't have much time." Bastila made a small 'hmm' of assent, which the Jedi interpreted as disappointment. Taking her hand, he apologised.
"I'm sorry, Princess. Dantooine would have been a welcome break - but now we've got Malak's full attention, and Force knows what he'll try next. Promise I'll make it up to you when all this is over."
Bastila nodded dumbly, Revan's words barely registering in her mind. She could sense nothing but a great darkness ahead, and she did not know what it concealed. Truly, the Dark Side had beclouded everything. How she ached to lay the truth bare to Revan! How she longed to give him fair warning, to prepare him for the things he must encounter from his previous life! But she could not. She had given an oath to the Masters not to betray their secret - a vow she bitterly regretted. "Truth will out," her Master had told her once before, when she was very young. One day, perhaps very soon, Revan would learn his true identity, how it had been stripped from him, and how she had been complicit in this. He would have every right to be furious, to turn on her, to abandon the mission, to harbour resentment against the Masters. Would that resentment expand to include the Order, and every member thereof?
The thought sent shivers down Bastila's spine. She had gazed upon the prostrate form of Darth Revan as he hovered betwixt life and death, and when she preserved his life, she had seen him through the Force for one fleeting moment. It had astounded her, even then. The man was... power. Looking at him was akin to looking into the heart of the Force. He had brought the galaxy, and the Order, to its knees once before.
He could do it again - and this time, he would make no mistake. And she would be responsible.
The possibility was too terrible to contemplate.
Admiral Saul Karath knelt before the red-cloaked figure. "My Lord?"
Darth Malak said nothing. The Admiral twitched nervously and continued.
"My Lord, our spies on Manaan inform me that the Ebon Hawk has departed the system."
Still no response from the figure that towered above him. Admiral Karath began to sweat profusely.
"Dantooine has been destroyed, my Lord. They have no safe harbour now. I... I shall dispatch troops, Dark Jedi - right away! - and hunt them down. I will not fail you, my Lord!"
Darth Malak laughed, his voice an unnaturally deep and guttural timbre. It was not a nice laugh.
"And where do you propose to start hunting, Admiral?" The Dark Lord of the Sith swept an arm expansively across the bridge viewport, indicating the infinite array of stars scattered across the galaxy.
Unconsciously fingering the collar of his jacket, which suddenly felt very hot and tight, the Admiral equivocated as he tried desperately to think of an intelligent answer.
"Lehon, my Lord...?"
"Idiot. Go back to the Leviathan, and plot an intercept course for Korriban."
Admiral Karath started. "K-Korriban, my Lord?"
The Sith Lord turned and pointed a hand at the man kneeling before him. Admiral Karath felt himself in the grip of an unseen power, rising slowly off the ground. He panicked and struggled to break free, to no avail.
"Your predecessor once made the mistake of questioning me, Admiral. Surely you are not so foolish?"
"N-no, m-my Lord...!" choked Admiral Karath. Darth Malak dropped his hand carelessly, and resumed staring out of the bridge viewport. Behind him, the struggling Sith officer fell to the ground in an undignified heap.
Crawling to his feet, Admiral Karath backed obediently out of his Lord's audience, noting the identification numbers of the Sith troopers present. These men had witnessed his disgrace, and were therefore unfit to live.
He would execute them later.
"Boy! Why have we come out of hyperspace?" asked Jolee, staring out of the viewport as the last of the white lines disappeared from view.
Carth busied himself with checking the navicomp feed as he answered. "Because Korriban is not a tourist hotspot."
"So?"
"So there aren't any direct hyperspace lanes to it, and the only way to get there is to make several jumps. Now, if I can just find..." the Republic officer started talking to himself as he cross-referenced a list of figures. Jolee plucked at his beard.
"Get the droid to do it, boy!"
"Can't. Already tried. Droid doesn't know where Korriban is. Gotta do it by hand -" A sudden, urgent beeping from the security console accompanied by flashing orange lights overhead put an end to the conversation. Abandoning the navicomp feed and his list of figures, Carth bolted to the security console. Bastila, Juhani, Zaalbar and Canderous were already there, staring at the console screen.
"Incoming!" shouted Canderous as Carth entered the room. "Kriffin' huge incoming, at that. Gonna be a big fight."
"What is it?" called the Jedi, as he tried to edge past Zaalbar's hulking form into the console room. "Sorry, Zaalbar. Watch your toes..."
"It's a Sith Destroyer." Bastila's polished voice had gone unusually quiet. She turned away from the console and looked the Jedi in the eye. "They've come for you - I mean, us."
"So what do we do?" The Ebon Hawk shuddered, and the urgent beeping moved up a notch. "Kark - a tractor beam!" Carth elbowed his way out of the room and ran back to the cockpit. "People, better make it quick - ten minutes is my best estimate..."
"I say we stand and fight! For Mandalore!" shouted Canderous.
"Who died and made you leader?" snapped Juhani, glaring poisonously at the Mandalorian. "I will hear what plan our leader has." She looked significantly at the former Republic soldier.
The Jedi's mind raced. Ten minutes wasn't a lot of time. Likelier than not the Sith would be interested in Bastila more than anyone else on board. And if they were interested in Bastila, it stood to reason that they knew who had assisted in her escape from Taris. That meant they would also be interested in the surviving crew of the Endar Spire. Which put Carth and himself there on the list with Bastila - and the Sith would tear the Ebon Hawk apart to find the three of them.
Any attempt to conceal themselves on the Ebon Hawk would therefore be counterproductive.
And then there were Canderous, Juhani, Zaalbar, Mission and Jolee. The Jedi wasn't worried about the droids, whom he had adjudged to have sufficient tricks in their programming to look after themselves.
Canderous would be viewed as merely another mercenary for hire: he would not be mistreated. Mission - a rutian Twi'lek girl... valuable on the slave market - Zaalbar... Czerka had been kicked out of Kashyyyk... supply and demand for Wookiee slaves... Slaves would not sell for much if they were obviously unwell or 'spoiled goods'. Yes, Mission and Zaalbar would be well-treated by the Sith. Compared to whatever the Sith had in mind for Bastila, Carth and himself, that is. As Jedi, Juhani and Jolee would interest the Sith as potential Dark Jedi candidates...
...but would they even know about Jolee at all? The man had gone to ground for over twenty years. It was very likely that the Sith had forgotten his existence.
Mission pushed her way into the console room and stood before the Jedi. "I found a hidey-hole on the ship. But it can only take one person," she blurted. The Jedi nodded and made a quick decision.
"That's excellent. Jolee, you go into hiding. They'll certainly find you, but I'm sure you can convince them you're not worth killing. Mission, I want you to take Jolee to the hiding place, and show him how it works. Then come back here. All right?"
The Twi'lek girl nodded and scurried off, the old Jedi following briskly. Upon her return, the Jedi gave instructions to the remainder of the crew.
"Everyone listen up. Bastila, Carth and myself are the real targets here. I've decided that it is in the best interest of all of you - please, Juhani, let me finish - that we surrender. That way, they're less likely to tear up the Ebon Hawk, which means we still have a decent chance to escape. Jolee is hiding. He will think of a way to free Carth, Bastila and myself. Canderous - I'm putting you in charge of freeing the others. Just... be discreet. This is neither the time nor the place for a pitched battle. Got that?"
Canderous nodded. The boy was showing leadership, real leadership - and being decisive. He rather liked that. "Roger that, sir!"
HK-47 buzzed and called out. "Query: Master, what about the astromech unit and I?"
"HK, you're a very intelligent droid. Your job is to keep the Sith from taking this ship apart, and to assist Canderous and the others once they're within range of the Ebon Hawk."
"Yes, Master. I shall mine th-"
"No disintegrations, HK!"
Carth shouted again from the cockpit. "Four minutes!"
"Zaalbar, Mission, Juhani, Canderous - you will have to co-operate with each other. Forget all your squabbles. The only way Bastila, Carth, Jolee and I are going to have any chance at getting off that destroyer is if you can pull through for us. We're very much in your hands. May the Force be with you."
In response, Zaalbar reaffirmed his life-debt. With a struggle, Juhani swallowed her pride and held out a clawed hand to Canderous. "For our leader," she told him. Canderous raised an eyebrow in surprise but shook hands with her anyway. "For... our leader," he repeated. Mission tried to look brave.
Carth shouted again. "Wrap it up, guys - two minutes left...!"
As the others filed out of the console room, the Jedi went to sit beside Bastila. Her face was pale and her brows creased, her lips moving as she repeated the words of the Code in an effort to steel herself for the coming crisis. Affectionately taking her hands in his, the Jedi realised that Bastila - dear, dependable, stoic Bastila! - was afraid, and deeply so.
"Sixty seconds!"
There was no more time for words. As the tractor beam drew the Ebon Hawk closer, closer, closer into the maw of the Leviathan, the former Dark Lord of the Sith took Bastila in his arms, rested her head on his shoulder and held her tightly, willing courage and hope into her heart even as he breathed deeply of her scent.
The Sith troopers who found Bastila and her Jedi companion later thought that they'd walked into a very clichéd holovid scene.