Chapter Twenty-Eight
Disclaimer: I do not own KotOR.
Note: Poor Revan. Bastila basically dumped him because he refused to turn evil and everyone thinks he dumped her for T3. :P
"Alright, so we don't know how much time we have but it can't be very much," Carth declared. "The Republic can't destroy the Star Forge until Bastila is stopped but if we take too long stopping her then the Republic fleet will be stopped and won't be able to even should Bastila actively switch sides."
"I wouldn't worry about it, Carth," Revan assured him. "The Force has done some pretty contrived things to get us to this point so I think it's safe to say that it is firmly on our side and thus we'll be fine."
"That's all well and good for you, Revan, but some of us are trying to be responsible adults concerned with the future of our galaxy here," Carth said curtly.
Revan shrugged. "Your loss."
"So how many of us are going with Revan? I think at least one person needs to stay here and guard the ship so that no one steals it but other than that Revan should need all the help he can get because who knows what we'll be called upon to face here in this almost living factory?" Carth asked rhetorically. "I, of course, will be going but-"
"Actually, Republic, I think that you need to stay here," Canderous interrupted.
Carth laughed incredulously. "You've got to be kidding. I can't just leave Revan alone on an evil space station that has already corrupted him once before with at least two high-ranking Sith seeking to lure him back to the dark side!"
"He'll hardly be alone," Mission protested. "We'd all be going with him."
"This may come as a surprise to you, Mission, but Carth doesn't really trust us," Zaalbar reminded her.
"Really? After all this time?" Mission asked, a bit taken aback. "Guy's got some real trust issues."
"Tell me about it," Zaalbar agreed.
"No offense but I highly doubt any of you are really all that concerned with if Revan turns to the Dark Side or not," Carth unknowingly confirmed Zaalbar's theory.
"I thought you didn't believe in the Dark Side," Revan reminded him. "On Dantooine, I think, you said that you thought that that was just an excuse that people gave for not taking responsibility for the fact that they turned evil."
"I did say that, didn't I?" Carth asked rhetorically, rubbing his chin. "Well, all I can say is that even I think that this place feels evil so even though Saul was not Force-sensitive and so it was still all his own damn fault, I am willing to consider that there may be something to this 'Dark Side' claim after all."
"Why does Carth believe in the Dark Side before I do?" Revan wondered.
T3 beeped something.
"You're probably right," Revan agreed. "Man, you're really insightful, you know that? Best two thousand credits I ever spent."
"You didn't spend it, you charged it to Davik's account, remember?" Carth reminded him.
Revan thought about it for a second then shrugged. "Best two thousand credits Davik ever spent then."
"Jealous claim: We really should hurry up before anybody notices we're here and not stand around all day praising people," HK declared.
"Canderous still hasn't told me why he thinks I should stay behind and leave Revan to the mercy of the Sith and their persuasive recruiting techniques," Carth pointed out.
"Listen, Republic, I don't have much faith in your piloting abilities, especially after that spectacular crash," Canderous began.
"Oh, that is so not fair!" Carth protested. "There was a disruptor beam!"
"Oh really? A 'disruptor beam'?" Canderous asked, unimpressed. "How very convenient for you."
Carth's eye twitched. "So you don't have any faith in my piloting but?" he prompted.
"But we're probably going to have to get out of here with very little time to spare," Canderous replied. "From what I've seen of the Force, it has a flair for the dramatic and us being mere feet in front of the explosion really seems like that would suit it. We need to have you sitting at the cockpit and ready to go at a moment's notice and if you come with us, you might not be able to pull that off. I'm not about to watch us all die because you're too damn paranoid."
"I…suppose you're right," Carth said reluctantly. "I'll just have to sit tight and hope for the best. At least Jolee will be going with him and he sort of proved himself when he confronted Bastila with Revan."
Jolee started to laugh then and Carth, Force-Sensitive or not, began to get a very bad feeling about that.
"You really think I'm going with Revan?" Jolee asked between guffaws.
"You're not?" Carth asked, aghast.
"After what happened at the temple with the complete lack of support and being made to do all the work?" Jolee demanded. "As if. I have faith in Revan – sort of – and he'll be fine."
"But…" Carth trailed off. "This is a really bad idea!"
"Oh, I know," Revan agreed. "But we're just going to have to put up with it, huh? And then maybe I can get a break."
In the end, it was decided that everyone except for Carth who needed to pilot the ship and Jolee who simply didn't want to go would be accompanying Revan. Jolee went to go take a nap while Carth sat anxiously in the pilot's seat, ready to leave at a moment's notice.
The minute Revan and the companions that would actually be accompanying him stepped off of the ramp of the Ebon Hawk, they ran into a group of really anonymous-looking Jedi.
"Come on, I see some Dark Jedi!" one of them called out before running towards a group of them.
"Should we try to help them?" Mission asked.
Canderous shook his head. "Nah, I've seen their type before. You never get anything out of saving the cannon fodder as the minute you do that they'll insist on standing in front of an exploding wall or something. Let's just move on."
Revan froze. "By the Force…I completely understand Trask now!"
Darth Malak turned around once he noticed the underling approaching him. "Well?"
The underling fought to control the look of disgust that threatened to cross his face. Malak had apparently decided to adjust his metal jaw replacement right then. "I, uh, Revan has landed on the Star Forge."
Malak ignored his underling's obvious discomfort. "I see. Well, I'm kind of in the middle of something so throw everything we have at him and I'll face him myself when I'm done."
"Desperately-hidden concern: Master, are you alright?" HK cried out.
Revan blinked, coming back to himself. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Malak just decided to kill off everyone in the Star Forge because he doesn't think he's looking his best and won't face me until he's satisfied that he is."
Canderous snorted. "It is truly pathetic that this guy was your second in command."
"Well, it's not like we wear things that cover us completely from head to toe so it doesn't matter what we wear," Revan pointed out.
"You used to," Canderous countered.
"And I haven't been doing that so much lately," Revan remarked. "Either way…here it is!" He made a beeline for the door that had just come into view.
"Here what is?" Zaalbar asked.
"My handy-dandy wardrobe maker!" Revan exclaimed.
"You have a wardrobe-maker on your evil space station factory?" Mission asked skeptically.
"Well, sure," Revan confirmed, unperturbed. He went over to the terminal and began to press a few buttons. "The Sith need armor as well as weapons, you know."
"Hey, I think something happened!" Mission exclaimed.
Revan went over to the receptacle and pulled out a pair of dark robes. "Finally, after Force knows how many months, I finally have the most badass robes in the universe back! You know, I should probably make some more because I don't think I'll get another chance, what, with the Star Forge going to blow up soon and whatnot."
Revan did so and went behind one of the machines in order to change.
"How do I look?" he asked, turning around slowly to model the robes.
"Revan!" Zaalbar cried out in terror.
Canderous automatically dropped to his knees.
"Joyful proclamation: Master!" HK cheered.
Revan took down the hood and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. We kind of established that before we even got to Manaan, the dullest planet in the universe."
"W-well, it's one thing to know it and it's quite another to see it," Mission explained, still slightly shaken.
T3 beeped something.
Revan winced. "Well, yes there is a corresponding Light Side robe to match this Dark Side one but you really don't want to see it."
"That's a Dark Side robe?" Zaalbar asked. "Good thing Carth's not here to complain."
"Yes and we're not going to tell him that little piece of information because I love these robes too much to give them up but that doesn't mean that I want to listen to him complaining," Revan said seriously.
"Neither do we," Mission assured him. "But why don't you want to show us the Light Side robes? Are they really ugly or something?"
Revan shuddered. "You have no idea."
"If you designed them like you did the Dark Side robes then I'm sure they can't be that bad," Mission cajoled.
"That's just it: I didn't design the Light Side robes," Revan revealed. "After I made the Dark Side robes, Malak decided that he wanted to try his hand at robe creating and so he created the Light Side ones. They're identical to mine except he changed the color scheme and it looks dreadful."
"I'm sure it can't be all that bad," Canderous told him. "Make one so we can see it and then let's get back to killing things."
Revan sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"
As it turned out, it really was that bad and it was some time before they had all recovered enough to keep moving.
"Bastila, I have some good news and some bad news," Malak said gravely. "The bad news is that Revan is on his way here and killing everything in his path. The good news is that you're going to get a chance to prove your worth as my apprentice by killing him."
"So…I became your apprentice about a month ago and you want me to try to take on your former mentor who you yourself have failed to kill on multiple occasions?" Bastila asked in disbelief. "By the Force, it's like I never left Korriban!"
"I'm not entirely sure what you mean but that does sound promising," Malak said encouragingly. "And yes, that's exactly the situation."
"This is a horrible idea. Even should I win – which we both know I won't – I can't use my Battle Meditation while fighting. Why was it so important for you to hunt me down and turn me if I'm this expendable to you?" Bastila demanded.
Malak shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me. It's the way of the Sith. When you're in charge, you can make your own rules."
"So apparently Malak is sending Bastila to face us," Revan announced. "Should be fun. In fact, she's already having some doubts, I'd say, even if it's only about Malak's competence and not the morality of what she's doing."
"Baby steps," Mission said, unconcerned.
"Exactly," Revan agreed.
They walked in silence for a few moments before Revan stopped in front of a door. "She's right through here."
T3 beeped something.
Revan flinched. "Aw, come on, T3! Haven't I proven myself already? Do you really have to get suicidal again?"
T3 beeped again.
Revan sighed and stepped through the door. "I suppose you're right…But still-" He stopped as the door slammed shut behind him.
"Anguished cry: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I wanted to shoot the Sith meatbag!" HK wailed.
"Out of curiosity, are you talking about Bastila or Malak?" Revan wondered.
"Prompt response: Both."
"Look, the door won't open, it's probably been sealed," Canderous announced. "We're going to look for another way in and, failing, that we'll meet you back at the ship. You keep going."
"But…but…" Revan protested.
T3 beeped yet again.
Revan jumped. "Right, I'm going!"
Bastila was sitting on the ground meditating when he entered the room. She must not have been very into it, however, as her eyes snapped open right away and she languidly stood up. "So, we meet again."
"You sound remarkably surprised by that fact given that you totally knew we were coming here and Malak told you to wait here to face me," Revan said by way of greeting.
Surprise flashed across Bastila's face. "How did you know-of course. The Force."
"I think it's the vestiges of my Force Bond with Malak, really," Revan theorized. "And for that latter one, maybe my one with you."
"You no longer have a Force bond with me, Revan. I'm evil," Bastila informed him.
"Yeah, that's now how these things work," Revan explained. "You have to try to kill me for it to even break and you've yet to do that."
"Allow me to correct that mistake!" Bastila cried out, lunging at him.
Dark Side or not, Bastila was still hardly in his league although her aim had gotten noticeably better since her turn. After a few minutes of Revan blocking all of her attacks but not bothering to launch any of his own, Bastila pulled back.
"You're stronger than I expected," she confessed.
Revan's brow furrowed in confusion. "So wait…you really thought that I couldn't even last a few minutes in a duel with you and yet you wanted me to side with you and take on Malak who you yourself can't defeat?"
Bastila looked a little embarrassed. "Well, when you put it that way…the Sith don't always make the most logical sense, you know. Malak said that by not calling yourself a Sith you would be exponentially weaker than if you did call yourself that."
"Malak is so full of it," Revan told her. "He's very fond of aggrandizing speeches but never cares if what he says is true or not."
"You know, it's really too bad that you already said no back on that planet and thus cannot possibly change your mind or I would really try to get you to join with me again," Bastila said, sounding almost sad.
"Another Sith idiocy?" Revan asked sympathetically.
Bastila's eyes flashed and she lunged at him again. This time Revan actually put a smidgen of effort into the fight and sent Bastila's blade flying. The minute Revan summoned her fallen weapon to his hand, Bastila practically collapsed as if she had no energy left.
"I should have known I couldn't defeat you," she said tiredly. "I think that Malak knew it, too. As long as you yet lived, there was still a spark of the Light in me and I couldn't strike you down."
"And the fact that I'm simply better at this means nothing, of course," Revan deadpanned.
Bastila ignored that. "Well, let's get this over with, I guess."
"Okay. Come on and we can go find Malak," Revan said with a shrug.
Bastila didn't move. She shut her eyes tightly and clenched his fists so tightly that it began to draw blood. "That…wasn't quite what I meant, Revan."
Revan frowned, unsure of what to make of this. "Then what did you mean?"
"I need you to kill me," Bastila said simply.
The effect was instantaneous. Revan's jaw dropped, his eyebrows shot up past his hairline, and he nearly dropped the two lightsabers he was holding. "I…what? Why would you ask such a thing of me, Bastila? I can't kill you. I kind of love you, you know."
"It has to be done," Bastila said firmly. "I'm evil now."
"So was I, once," Revan reminded her. "It's not the end of the world."
" 'Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will'," Bastila quoted.
Revan snorted and pointed to himself. "Living proof of just how bullshit that statement is."
"That's different," Bastila insisted. "You lost your memory."
"How you can still believe that after all this time is beyond me," Revan said with a small smile. "I'm not going to kill you, Bastila."
"If you don't then I'll probably end up killing you," Bastila warned.
"Do you want to kill me, Bastila?" Revan asked gently.
"Sometimes," Bastila admitted. "Not now, though."
"Then don't," Revan said shortly.
Bastila shook her head helplessly. "Revan…you can't just come back from something like this. People wouldn't accept it."
"Which is why there will probably be a massive cover-up," Revan told her. "No one but the people here who are dead or soon will be, our group who knows better than to say anything, and Dodonna and Vandar know that you're evil so it shouldn't be that hard to keep quiet."
"I…" Bastila trailed off, looking for more arguments even as it became clear that she was weakening. "I don't know, Revan. Do you really love me?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't," Revan said seriously. "But surely you're not going to base your future on whether or not I do."
"No," Bastila agreed. "But it's good to know all the same especially since, Force knows why, I love you, too. Damn the Code, I'm sick of being in denial."
"It was never really in the Code anyway," Revan pointed out. "We talked about this, remember? The code is just 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.' Nothing about not dating people, I don't care how loosely they interpret this."
Bastila smiled. "It should be interesting watching you talk about that with the likes of Vrook and Vandar."
Revan shrugged. "I'll probably just ignore them. Now, are you ready to go face Malak with me?"
Bastila hesitated. "Normally I'd tell you that I fear that merely being in Malak's presence might make me fall again so as to spare your feelings but since I just turned back from the Dark Side not five minutes ago, I think maybe I should be honest."
"So what is the truth?" Revan asked curiously.
"Last time you fought him, you lost because you were worried about protecting me and got hit in the head with a crate. That was kind of embarrassing even to watch and I'd really rather avoid having that happen again, especially since the stakes are so much higher," Bastila said flatly.
Revan threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "ONE TIME!"
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