W/N - I changed a couple of big events for this ending to keep it fresh. I am using some ideas from Force Unleashed, thanks to Padawan Mage. He and Jen have inspired me to write a story from that genre.
Other malarkey - I just got back from Las Vegas where I was treated to the sight of F-22 Raptors and a cool talk from a former SR-71 driver. Evan and I tore up the Strip too and we hit the hip, swanky, and sensual clubs at LAVO and Tao at the Palazzo and Venetian. The erotic vampire show, Bite was pretty steamy as well. Plus, there was the spa and lots of running. The super romantic moment beneath the water arches of the Bellagio's conservatory was where the sound of fountains and two beating hearts came together.
Yonde kudasai (please read).
Paradise Regained – Part III
The Star Forge – Special Droid Facility – Day Three - 0507 Z
Revan reluctantly traversed the metal floor of the Command Center until she and HK-47, the psychotic assassin droid, arrived at the far blast door. She pressed the door control and the massive portal ground open, splitting from the middle to reveal a giant, curving hall.
The young Jedi bit her lip as she stepped through to the other side, followed by her faithful droid, all the while maintaining eye contact with Carth. His face was as stone despite the agony in his dark eyes. She knew the demons that were raging in his mind, but she had to let that go. The only way back to him was through Malak and she knew she had to focus…to put all other things aside. Revan gulped hard as the door began to close and she started to say something, but the metal door slammed shut, cutting her off from Carth.
Revan sighed hard, pondering the future for a moment until she turned forward. "HK, I was thinking a bit about how you have served me through two lives. In a strange, morbid way, I think it's comforting."
"Fulfilled: Master, I too, find this arrangement appealing. My memory core tingles when I replay the battles we have fought together. Query: However, Master, why did you not put the whiny, moralizing Jedi out of her misery?"
Revan smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "Believe me, HK, I was tempted." She was ever so glad to have HK's cutting wit along with her as they grew closer to their objective. She realized that they didn't stand a chance, but words from one of the masters kept coming back to her – To move on small thing in the Force is as easy as moving a city. To achieve that level of letting go, you must understand the term no mind.'
The two continued to walk down the hall, past computer terminals and under large cylindrical emitters. Revan pointed at the giant tubes and HK mused, "Supposition: Those generators are designed to replicate matter."
The young woman studied them closely as they moved inexorably forward toward their destiny. As they rounded the curve of the hall, Revan observed a man, standing before an open blast door and the Force surged into her mind.
"Malak…."
HK readied a rocket while Revan continued forward, hands grasping her lightsabers beneath her robes. He had gotten the better of her when he seized the mantle of Dark Lord and she had fled from him aboard the Leviathan, but this time, victory was the only acceptable outcome. There were no other options. As they drew closer, the feeling of dread grew in Revan's belly and she could see two hapless Jedi squirming in Malak's Force grip.
Standing beside Malak was his powerfully built bodyguard – the final confrontation awaited.
Seeing her, he laughed a chill laugh like a winter gale. "Revan…Revan, you have never disappointed me…punctual as always," he uttered sarcastically.
"Why don't you bow to me now, Revan. It will go so much easier on you," the Dark Lord called, his synthesized voice grating on her ears. She wanted nothing more than to rip his jaw off…again.
"Advice: Why don't you throw yourself into the Star Forge's abyss, meatbag? Then, you would actually be recycled as something useful like a ship." Revan had to stifle a laugh. As bloodthirsty as HK was, he had a mean sense of humor.
Malak furrowed his brows and focused his eyes on the droid. A slow expression of recognition bled into his face. "What? I thought I got rid of that miserable machine. How did you get him back?"
"More advice: Never underestimate the Master and her faithful droid, meatbag."
"Stop calling me that!" the Dark Lord howled and he ignited his lightsaber, the lethal crimson blade hissing forth from the silver and black cylinder. He raised his left hand and dark swirls of the Force gathered around his palm. Revan braced herself. She knew what an awesome Force user he had become.
HK immediately opened fire, but the bolts were drawn to his hand and fizzled on impact. With a synthesized grunt, Malak unleashed his power and Revan staggered as she was hammered by the Force. Her mind bent and twisted under the dark assault. She struggled to bring her own power to bear, but it was coming only slowly.
Forcing herself to remain standing, Revan let her body flow with energy and her every cell quivered with power. Lightning shot from her fingertips, arcing into the Dark Lord and he cried out in pain as smoke billowed from his form. His howls brought joy to Revan's soul. Her power had grown too and she had even incorporated techniques from the Dark Side. Fight fire with fire, she liked to say.
Then, a rocket burst from HK's arm, a smoke trail burning toward Malak. The Lord of the Sith swept his hand upward and the missile flew into the wall overhead, showering them all with debris.
Malak turned abruptly. "Enough of this! I will let the Star Forge itself finish you two miscreants," he blurted and then ran toward the blast door with his Dark Jedi guard. As Malak passed the two screaming Jedi, he lopped their heads off in a sweeping red blur of his lightsaber. The two bodies remained standing for another second before falling in front of the closing blast door.
Revan grunted with frustration as he got away, but the massive overhead generators began to hum, drawing her attention. From the six cylinders, blue beams of energy shot forth to the ground, creating smoke and fumes beneath the beams. When the energy ceased, six Dark Jedi stood there, cloaked in black. Shrieking, they each ignited red bladed lightsabers.
The young Jedi raised her eyebrows. "Oh, this can't be good."
Coruscant – The Office of the Supreme Chancellor – Day Three - 0520 Z
In a different part of the galaxy, far away, twilight fell upon the capitol of the Republic. The grand city burned in many places as mobs looted and pillaged amid the panic that descended upon the populace – a Sith fleet was hours away. The ancient and vast Republic would fall into ruin under the iron fist of Malak.
Atop the spiraling tower that Supreme Chancellor Locarno had recently called home, General Phaleron and Senator Dakar managed the defense of the structure against crazed hordes, spurred on by Sith sympathizers. Pillars of smoke rose from below like ghosts, haunting the living.
The soldiers of the Old Guard stood in strategic positions around the grand hall, ready to defend their charges. Their fellows were also engaged with the mob below, but the weight of numbers was driving them back. It would only be a matter of time before the shattered remnants of government were erased forever.
Outside the tower, military air speeders swooped down on the attackers, unleashing laser bolts into the horde, but on they came.
As negative reports filtered in through the Command Post, the dark-haired Senator Orrin Dakar walked to the balcony, stretching his shoulders to relieve stress. With a pensive expression, he approached his prized possession that he had brought with him – a solid block of carbonite which held the figure of a young woman.
He put his hand lovingly on the woman's frozen face. "Aerin," he choked. "How could I have let this happen to you?" He thought back to the deal he made with the Jedi to sacrifice his only child for their wild scheme to save the Republic. Now, he knew that the plan had failed and that his deal was really with the devil and that he had sold his daughter's soul.
General Phaleron stood behind him for some time, letting the Senator grieve for his only child. Sensing the General, Orrin turned. They mob must be getting near. They would all perish together. Aerin would never see the beauty of Deralia again. This would be his greatest regret.
Pursing his lips and looking side to side, the General spoke, revealing his wild plan, "Senator Dakar, there was something I wished to discuss with you when we were interrupted earlier."
Orrin nodded, listening. He wasn't sure what could be so important when their doom was nearly at hand.
Phaleron took a deep breath, letting the weight of what he was about to say sink in. "The Republic needs a new leader and I am in the unique position to appoint one until the Senate is able to reconvene. The people must have a leader they can depend on…one who understands their needs. It is the only way we can rally the planet and hope to fight the Sith."
The Senator pursed his lips, bobbing his head back and forth. "Yes, I think you would do well, General." Phaleron would make a fine leader.
"No, Senator, I meant you. I am going to invest you with the title and powers of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."
Orrin's eyes widened in confusion and surprise. "What? Are you mad?"
"Yes, mad as hell and serious as a heart attack. Come Supreme Chancellor Dakar, we must address the people and restore order," General Phaleron said confidently as he led the new leader of the Republic to the planetary address system.
The General powered up the system and the holographic image of the Supreme Chancellor was beamed into every working holovid projector on the besieged world.
Orrin Dakar cleared his throat and then looked into the camera. His nerves were a mess and he wished he could take a long, hard drink. He noticed his mouth was dry and he licked his lips. He hoped that this would unite the planet to stand against Malak. He would wake Aerin, and together, they would face whatever future remained. He straightened his long, white jacket and focused his eyes. "People of Coruscant, you have a new leader…."
The Star Forge – Special Replication Facility – Day Three - 0529 Z
As Admiral Dessler's Sith fleet neared the Star Forge System, Revan and HK-47 watched as replicated Dark Jedi appeared around them, hungry for battle. Their shrieks were unnerving and sent a chill down Revan's spine. She drew her two lightsabers and thumbed the controls, letting the long and short blades hiss forth.
Two of the enemy somersaulted at her, spinning like pinwheels, their lightsabers creating a red disk in the air. HK fired, but the Dark Jedis' attack was also their shield, deflecting the bolts off into space. She had to take the initiative and Ataru would serve here. She could hear Master Vrook in her head, telling her about distance, timing, and tempo. Basic stuff, but basics were good. Just as they were about to land, Revan sidestepped and pulled her long blade through the air just ahead of one. Man and energy intersected with a sizzle and arms and legs flew off in all directions. She quickly reversed directions as the second man landed and her left hand shot out, driving the point of her short blade into his throat.
Despite the mortal wound, the man's eyes were still ablaze with hate. They stood there, locked in eye contact for a moment as HK blazed around them. Revan sensed the other Dark Jedi change their breathing and tense their muscles. Another attack would come. The wounded man let out a gurgling hiss as blood seeped from his lips and he drew his weapon back for one last strike. Revan twisted the blade in the man's throat, ending all resistance and watched as his eyes rolled back into his head. Just in time, the other four were upon her.
She turned just in time to deflect an attack with her short blade, but before she could riposte, another red lightsaber sought her head. Off balance, she had to meet force with force and drove her blade right up to meet the enemy's. The two weapons sizzled in contact for a split second before blaster bolts ripped through the man's body. Blood sprayed onto Revan's face and robes as that attacker pitched over. "Watch the shots, HK," she groused as another attack swung down at her flank. Stepping back for distance, Revan inverted her long blade to cover her side and the red lightsaber glanced off and down into the floor. She flipped her wrist around, letting her tip gather rapid momentum and drove it into the crook of the man's neck. In the blink of an eye, the blue lightsaber passed through the body and out the other side. The cut was so clean…so precise, that the man didn't know he was dead and staggered around for a few seconds before collapsing, where his torso toppled over.
One Dark Jedi remained, strongest of the pack. Revan felt a surge of confidence that they could overcome the lone opponent. She allowed herself to smile and advanced on the last man while signaling HK to flank him. Then, the buzz of the cylinders sounded again and six new Dark Jedi stood, ready to fight…and with them, a horde of Sith troopers.
"Observation: These meat heads will eventually wear us down, Master."
An idea came to her, but they would need to act quickly. "Cover me, HK," Revan called and she leapt high over the enemy to land next to one of the computer terminals. With blaster fire sounding behind her, she jammed a computer spike into a port and sliced the system.
A glob of dark power slammed into her back, but was dissipated by her robes. "Owww, I said cover me!"
HK ran diagonally to the mass of Dark Jedi and his bolts tore one to shreds. The man danced the dance of death and collapsed to the floor. "Apology: Even a droid as flawless as I occasionally misses."
"Yah, yah, just do your job," she called as she brought up a menu on the screen. "Oh, stop all production. That's what I want," she said to herself.
One Dark Jedi rushed at her, his blade held back in Shien. Revan turned just in time and lunged at him, but he slipped to the side, letting her blade shoot by. He tried to grab her arm to immobilize it, but she ducked under his arms and then let him see her short blade, aiming up at his chest. His mouth opened wide in horror as she drove the point up into his beating heart.
Still, the fire from the troopers and the attacks of the Dark Jedi were coming from all angles and she was barely able to keep them from overwhelming her. Where were all of these attackers coming from? With the weight of numbers so much against her, there was no way she could get to the next station and shut it down. Through a knot of troopers, she could see HK blasting away as best he could, getting his fill of assassin droid jollies like no other HK droid. She barely dodged another red blade, the heat of it felt passing her forehead, then another sizzling by her thigh. She retreated a step, then another…and another. She was running out of room.
From the recesses of her mind, she remembered the crazy old woman…a mad sorceress by all accounts. With the Force, she said, large and small are the same as are many and few. The mind becomes empty and the blade becomes meaningless. All things become void.
She pictured a black sphere in her dark imaginings and it seemed as though all of her enemies froze around her. Blaster bolts hung in space, unmoving and lightsabers hummed, caught in temporal ice. Then, her awareness mushroomed beyond the confines of her skull and all things became possible. She could feel everyone around her, know their petty strategies and ideas to kill her. She would use that fury against them in a storm that was beyond their imaginings.
Like a shriek of an arctic wind, the Force howled through her body and from her fingertips, bursting into multi-colored hues into the enemy. Screams echoed in slow motion while flesh burned. Blackened bodies stumbled and collapsed before her as she dodged blaster bolts that moved sluggishly past her. Timing, distance, tempo, initiative, pressure, terrain…all meaningless now in the fury of the void that would devour all before it. The many became few and Revan's power was now like a sun. She could sense them wavering…feel their growing fear. It was time to end this. Her lungs were filled with an ocean of the Force and she cried out while raising her hands. The enemy covered their ears and their eyes bled as metal twisted and groaned around them. Panels and emitters bend and swayed until the unseen gale shattered them like glass. Shards of durasteel filled the air, ripping armor and skin, but bouncing off of a shield before Revan.
Revan unpowered her weapons and released them, letting the lightsabers hang by their tethers. Amid the smoke, she was the only one who moved. She felt exhausted and stooped to one knee. A metal hand reached down for her and she looked up to see her faithful droid. "Thank the Force you survived, HK." She was ever so relieved. The tidal wave of the Force came so suddenly, she didn't have time to think about its ramifications for allies.
"Irritation: No thanks to you, master. But fortunately, this droid is made of tougher stuff than those meatbags," he said, pointing to the carnage.
Revan had to laugh. For all of the insanity around her, this insane droid kept her straight. She wiped the perspiration from her brow and nodded to HK. They were so close now. She could feel the darkness so very near. The ripples in the Force were like waves crashing on the rocks. "Come, let us finish this."
"Query: Master, will there be no more battles for us to fight after this?"
"HK, the galaxy is a place of turmoil. I have a funny feeling that you will always find trouble wherever you go."
"Appeased: Master, you always know how to cheer a droid up."
Revan was about to move to the last blast door when her mind became flooded with energy. Her skin tingled with the Force and she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs. The raven-haired Jedi stopped for a moment and a flash of Force fed inspiration filled her.
HK advances, step by step through a narrow valley, filled with poisonous, choking fumes. Behind him walk two Jedi, one male and one female with platinum blonde hair. They crest over a rise to see a broad arena, surrounded by sculptured teeth to look like the open maw of a dragon. The man has a dark past that he wanted to hide, but it was not to be. There is something that they must finish. There is someone that they must confront…must kill. Beyond the poisonous fog is an old crone, blind with one arm.
Revan gasps. She knows these people…the old woman who taught her so many dark secrets; General T'Sing, once, her trusted friend; and…a spy named Jaq. "They are…on the ruins of Malachor Five. How can that be? We destroyed it." For a moment, the guilt and horror of that catastrophe came back to her. How could she have allowed Malak to have unleashed such a weapon? The destruction was so great it was like the Force had been ripped asunder. The screams of a billion wasted lives echoed in her mind.
Revan shook her head fiercely, shrugging off the image that was in her head. Now was not the time, but she knew that she had unleashed something with her last use of the Force. She motioned HK forward and they walked to the blast door, tearing down Malak's banners at the threshold. Revan then bowed in respect to the fallen Jedi and spoke, "HK, your mission is to take down Malak's lap dog. I'll handle the Dark Lord myself."
The droid nodded, his eyes flashing bright orange…and the blast door slid open.
The two crossed the threshold into Malak's inner sanctum, a massive chamber of two levels that looked out into space, where ships and starfighters whizzed by, lasers flashing. The darkness was so overwhelming here that it looked like a maelstrom of black ink to the approaching Jedi. Chills ran down her spine.
As Revan and HK walked up a long ramp to the center of the room, they could see the Dark Lord of the Sith and his guard. Revan was about to speak when her eyes were drawn to eight clear cylinders placed in various points about the giant chamber. She could just make out humanoid forms, floating malevolently within a liquid matrix contained by the cylinders.
Revan stopped and her blood ran cold as the forms grew in clarity – Jedi that she had known and trained with from Dantooine. Revan gazed at each one, but they were motionless and her heart sank. Fighting back tears, she advanced on Malak. The darkness was growing, its hideous tendrils reaching out to engulf her.
With a twinkle in his eye, the Dark Lord tilted his head. "Welcome Revan. I had a feeling that my last trap would not stop you. I could feel your power in the Force like a blazing star. After all, your destiny is powerful and I believe that it is fate that we confront each other at the end of things…at the final reckoning."
"For all of your strategic genius, Revan, you failed to see the full potential of this ancient station. You merely used things as tools for your agenda, never fully embracing that which you discovered…the Order, the Sith, this Star Forge, your friends…me…."
"Do not be discouraged though. I have learned much more about this Rakatan station since your fall, Revan…I have learned that, like Sith philosophies, is a living breathing being. It grows…it hungers…and I have learned how to feed it," he said as he pointed back to the cylinders.
"There, behind me, are your beloved Jedi, captured on Dantooine. I have discovered how to use their power to feed the Star Forge. I have kept them breathing, but they remain in a state of limbo, neither alive nor dead and they will never know that their sacrifice feeds the greater good."
Revan bared her teeth. This was beyond vile. "You monster."
"Look who is talking, you hypocrite," Malak answered. "You, who inflamed the galaxy to a war that cost millions of lives. You, who made me…created the monster."
The Dark Lord powered his lightsaber and a ruby glow filled the area. "Come Revan, let us embrace once more as lovers," he called, summoning her with a flick of his fingers.
The raven-haired Jedi pointed HK at Malak's guard and the droid took careful aim. With a shout, Revan rushed up the ramp, powering her two weapons and they sizzled to life. Blaster fire sounded from HK and Revan slashed down at Malak's head. The Dark Lord, parried laterally, knocking her twin attacks aside and he riposted with a thrust at her shoulder.
Maintaining contact between their lightsabers, Revan eased the hilt of her weapon ever so slightly upward, letting Malak's point glide over her shoulder. She then slashed Malak across the thigh with her second lightsaber, throwing sparks into the air.
Malak growled, limping back a step and he seized a table with his mind, hurling it like a missile at Revan. Infused with the power of the Force, the young woman guided the table away into a wall and it crumpled against the barrier. She then stretched out her arm and a myriad of small objects rose from the ground and pelted the Dark Lord like stones.
Malak swatted several of the items aside, cleaving them with his weapon, but one struck him in the head…another in the side…and another in the back, knocking him to one knee.
Revan's power was now at its zenith, surpassing any might she held as the Dark Lord. However, her exertions were draining her energy at a rapid rate and sweat beaded on her face.
There's no holding back now. I will use all of my power in this final struggle.
Revan flung an exhaust pipe at Malak, followed by several crates. Battered by the whirlwind of pain, Malak retreated to one of the cylinders, where Revan charged.
She flew at him in a human blur of flesh and white robes, lightsabers raised high. She had the advantage now and would press it until the end. Using an attack from Ataru, she delivered two precise oblique cuts, which Malak dodged. Mirroring Revan's style, the Dark Lord switched to Ataru and twirled his blade in front, slicing the air. He then thrust his point forward with a grunt to which Revan dropped under the attack and slashed her blade across Malak's belly.
The Dark Lord gasped and staggered back into the cylinder, which held a helpless Jedi. Malak's breaths came in wheezing bursts and he placed his back against the clear container.
Revan sighed as Malak sagged against the cylinder. "It is finished," she said, almost disappointed in the ease in which she had overcome the Dark Lord. She stepped away and turned her back on him in contempt. She was always the better swordsman. Skill and technique were superior to raw strength.
She turned back to say something, but incredibly, Malak brought his hand up and the liquid in one Jedi's cylinder began to boil and a blue light surrounded the Sith Lord. The Jedi writhed twitched and jerked in the fluid until his body shriveled to a lifeless husk. Then, slowly, deliberately, Malak stood, more powerful than ever and hurled Revan back into a wall with a wave of his hand.
The Jedi slammed into the bulkhead hard, and slid to the floor. She shook her head, stunned and exhausted from her incredible use of the Force. She staggered to her feet as Malak walked confidently toward her. The darkness engulfed her like a spectre and she knew fear.
"Revan, once again you have failed to grasp the situation…as I said, the Star Forge is alive and it must feed. I have learned to partake in the feast and these fools are my meal. When I am done with you, I will put you in one of these tanks and I shall relish consuming you bit by bit until you are nothing more than an empty shell, shorn of any life or energy."