Revan stood over Kreia's lifeless body, watching to make sure she stayed down. He dealt a killing blow to her chest that impaled her heart and severed her spinal cord, so it was doubtful she'd get up again, especially since he couldn't feel her presence. She was merely an illusion, but she was a very realistic one. She fought like Kreia, spoke like Kreia, and even moved like Kreia. However, that didn't change the fact that she wasn't real; therefore, she could have risen and attacked him again. After a few more minutes passed, Revan was satisfied and deactivated his dual lightsabers. He clipped them to his belt, then looked the Council room over once more.
Everything is as it should be...there are even doors leading to the training rooms and the rest of the Enclave.
Revan remembered what happened when he broke through the Council's first illusion. He gained an awareness-- more like a revelation, actually-- that one of his memories had been revealed to Arias. That awareness did not come when he struck down Kreia. That could only mean that there was more to this test.
His gaze fell upon the single table in the Council chambers. His Mandalorian helmet lay still on the table top. He reached out with the Force, and summoned the helm to himself. Once it was a few feet away from him, it paused, then turned around and levitated towards him backwards. It slowly lowered itself on to Revan's head. It rested comfortably, then there was a slight snap as the helmet was automatically fastened to his skull. He pulled his hood over his head, then depressed an indentation on the side of the helmet, activating the thermal vision setting. He looked at the doors that led to the training room and the rest of the Enclave. Nothing.
Of course not...nothing is truly alive here. It's all an illusion. Wait...this was all caused by the Force, so it would have an energy signature. Perhaps if I...
He switched to energy scan mode, and found what he was looking for. There was a single powerful presence in the training room, and dozens of lesser presences in the rest of the Enclave. Revan deactivated the setting, allowing the vision to return to normal.
Best to take out the greater presence first.
He took out one of his lightsabers, and ignited the blood red blade. He slowly approached the door, allowing his anger and hatred to swell up like a balloon inside of him. When it felt like he couldn't hold the rage in any longer, he unleashed it upon the training room door. Durasteel plating twisted and bent as the door was blown in, destroying the sliding mechanism that allowed it to open. He stepped through the opening, and saw who was awaiting him: Master Zhar Lestin, one of his first Jedi Masters.
"Zhar...I must say I'm surprised that you are my next opponent. I was expecting someone more challenging."
"If you think I'll be a pushover," The pink skinned Twi'lek replied, not bothering with the pleasantries as he ignited a golden bladed lightsaber. "You are sadly mistaken."
Revan merely nodded. "So be it, then. I'll make this quick."
He lunged at his former master, swinging at his right arm. The Jedi Master blocked the attack, but Revan quickly followed up with a spinning swing aimed for his neck; again, his blade met with Zhar's, but slid across. Revan then followed up with a quick, compressed strike aimed to cut Zhar's chest open, but his strike was parried out of the way. Zhar then riposted with a lunge aimed for Revan's shoulder. Revan side stepped the attack, and angled his lightsaber at the floor in a parry prime position, from which he spun around behind Zhar. He gripped the saber with both hands, then knocked his former Master in the back of the head with the butt of the hilt. Zhar was sent stumbling forward off balance. He nearly tripped, but he quickly regained his composure, and went on the offensive.
Revan practiced two forms: Form VI: Niman, and Form VII: Juyo. He incorporated some elements of Form II: Makashi into his style of Niman, to make it precise, but still unconventional. Form VII was one of the more wild lightsaber forms. It required complete surrender to the uncontrollable ebb and flow of battle. It was a very dangerous form, because if not properly mastered, even the greatest Jedi Master could fall to the darkside. The form's greatest strength was the fact that few Force Users practiced it, so they were inexperienced against the form's unpredictable strikes. Revan incorporated some elements of Form IV: Ataru into his Juyo style; this was good because Ataru incorporated allowing the Force to flow through the user in order to achieve inhuman physical feats. Coupling the ebb and flow of battle with the power of the Force itself made for a deadly duel. For all intents and purposes, Revan was an aggressive duelist; he was fluent in Form III: Soresu, but he rarely ever used it, preferring instead to wear down his enemies then finish them off. Since he practiced very aggressive forms of fighting, his own deadly inferno was being fought by another fiery duelist.
Zhar was a Jedi Sentinel; Sentinels were Jedi who balanced combat training and the Force. Zhar was using Form IV: Ataru. After Zhar had recovered from Revan's strike, he automatically went on the offensive. Revan continued to use Form VI, however. This way he could counter Zhar with unconventional blocks and parries, throwing Zhar off and confusing him so Revan could strike at him with counterattacks. As soon as Zhar went on the offensive, he gained an edge. He became extremely fast, which meant that at times Revan only had a split second to dodge, otherwise he would lose his head. However, Zhar had picked an unwise location to fight Revan. The training room was very small; slightly smaller than a one-person apartment room. It had a low ceiling, and benches lined the center of the room. Zhar could have used these benches for his acrobatics, but the low ceiling prevented him from doing so. If the duel spilled over into the Council chambers, Zhar would have gained the advantage. However, Revan kept his back to the door of the Council chambers so Zhar wouldn't be able to change the playing fields.
So far, whenever Zhar had backed Revan closer to the Council chambers, he managed to drive him back with an onslaught of attacks. However, Zhar would be able to quickly go on the offensive again, and put Revan back on defense. He wanted this to happen, however. Ataru required the user to draw heavily upon the Force to perform impossible feats of speed and acrobatics. This meant the user would tire easily, and if they couldn't finish the fight quickly, there was a strong chance they could lose. Form VI, on the other hand, allowed the user to enter a meditative "battle trance" in a duel, allowing the Force to flow through them as they fought. In addition, because they were in a "battle trance," they would almost never run out of Force energy.
From the very moment Revan had gone on the defensive, he had been storing his hate and rage deep inside him as he allowed the Force to flow through his body. The darkness within him was full to bursting, begging to be released. Revan was ready to release it; Zhar was exhausted. Now he was desperate to back Revan into the Council chambers, so he could get one more advantage against Revan to end the fight. Revan allowed it this time.
Once they were two feet over the threshold, Zhar's face seemed to light up with hope. That was all he needed to boost his own Force Powers, if only temporarily. Revan felt Zhar call upon the Force, then unleashed it upon him; it happened so quickly Revan didn't even see it coming. The blast of power knocked Revan back several feet, and only skidded to a stop just as he was about to hit the opposite wall. He was disorientated for a moment, but quickly regained awareness of what was going on. The Council chamber was an extremely large circular room, and it didn't really have a ceiling. This meant Zhar had complete acrobatic freedom. Usually this would be a problem for Revan, but since his opponent was putting his hopes on one final attack, he had the advantage.
He looked up, and saw Zhar in midair, coming right towards Revan. He held his golden blade over his right shoulder in both hands. As he came closer to Revan, he was obviously preparing to make the killing blow. Too bad you won't get a chance.
The energies of the darkside were beginning to leak out of Revan; it was metaphysically manifesting itself in a transparent crimson sphere around Revan's free hand. The red and yellow lightning surged inside and around the sphere, threatening to detonate if not released soon. It was a pure expression of the power of the dark side: Use it, or be destroyed by it. Revan chose to use it.
He held out his hand, and with a scream he released the full fury of the dark side. The sphere detonated in a wide arc, scorching anything that was unfortunate enough to be caught in it's blast radius. The red and yellow lightning struck Zhar's entire body, sending him flying back into the training room as he cried in shocked agony. There was a dull thud, then everything fell silent. He's still alive...I know it. The Light side of the Force is strong with Zhar. It probably protected him just enough so he wouldn't be destroyed. He groaned as he rose to his feet. He took a moment to marvel at what he had wrought. Everything three yards in front of him was either scorched or on fire. He looked behind him, and saw that the two miniature gardens had actually wilted from the fury of the darkside. As for the trees, all the leaves had fallen off, and the trunks had blackened. This is nothing compared to what the True Sith can do. Revan reminded himself grimly. They could destroy entire planets with the Force if they wanted to. I must never forget that.
He nodded to himself, then sighed in relief as he felt the built-in rejuvenation of Niman kick in. He then slowly proceeded to the training room to finish off his opponent; he wanted to finish it quickly, but why strike an opponent when he's down? That's not good sportsmanship, after all. He stepped through the doorway, and saw Zhar struggling to his feet. He was cut and bleeding in several places. And his lekku,-- the tails that extended from the back of his skull, and wrapped around his neck-- the most sensitive part of a Twi'lek's body, were bleeding profusely, and had turned almost completely black from quickly formed bruises. No doubt the Force had kept him from dying. Zhar had probably immersed himself in the light; it clearly saved his life. And now Revan would end it.
As soon as Zhar was back on his feet, Revan took a few large steps towards him. He held his blade in both hands, bringing his arms back in a recoil. He paused five feet away from Zhar for one mere second, then swung at the metal floor, sending sparks flying at Zhar. The sparks struck him in the face, blinding him. He cried out in surprise and pain, the sparks burning his face. He dropped his weapon as he clutched his scarred face in his hands, leaving him defenseless. Revan continued the advance, following the swing of his own weapon into a spin. As he came back around to face Zhar, he brought the blade up in a powerful swing. The humming blade cut through his right arm and made a deadly five centimeter deep cut in his chest. The hand fell off, and the body soon went limp and collapsed as well.
As Revan turned around and sheathed his weapon, he realized two things. The first was the familiar realization that he had unlocked another memory, and that he could soon choose when to make it surface. The second was that he felt an all too familiar presence near Arias. A presence he both adored, and despised. The presence of someone he hated to love, and loved to hate. The presence of the very same person who had saved him. Ever since his reprogramming, this presence was a faint whisper for some reason, but now it came loud and clear.
Bastila.
--------------------
Arias finished his first run with a time of 00:30:26. Chances are he could have gotten a better time, but he used his first run to get a feel for the swoop accelerator. He had briefly served as a scout before receiving official soldier training, so it was his job to take a swoop bike and scout the battlefield before the actual battle began. When he compared a regular swoop bike with the one he was using in this race, he felt like he used to ride a tricycle before this. The prototype accelerator made the swoop go five times as fast when you changed gears, and nearly seven times as fast when you went over the speed boost pads. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, he probably would have run into the debris during the race.
After his run was over, a Kadas'sa'Nikto named Redros beat his time with 00:28:15. The Kadas'sa'Nikto originated in the milder climatic regions of Kintan, such as the forests and the seacoasts. Their scaly faces had small facial horns surrounding the eyes and on the chin. Their main distinguishing feature was the long climbing claws on their hands, which could also be used in combat. Redros was the Black Vulkar's top swoop racer, so Arias wasn't too surprised that he beat his time. However, he was a bit surprised because he thought no one would be able to beat the accelerator. It made sense, though; he used his first run in order to get used to the bike. Other than that, however, he had an ulterior motive.
From what Gadon had told him the day before the race, he was able to speculate how much of a boost the swoop accelerator would give him. When he pulled up for his first run, he realized that he was right. In other words, there were two purposes to his first run. The first purpose was to get adjusted to the speed, so he had a good idea of how to handle it. The second purpose was to set up a time the next racer could beat by a few seconds. Since Redros beat his time by just barely two seconds, Arias knew he could win the race with ease, and blow away the competition.
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"That was the most amazing time I've ever seen!" The track manager cried out over the intercom. "Arias Jantos blew away the competition with a time of twenty three seconds, and thirty-six milliseconds! Arias Jantos, please report to the Judge's platform to collect your prize!"
Arias was extremely proud of himself. It was his first ever swoop race, and he completely dominated the match. Between the adrenaline pumping through his veins and the roar of the crowd, his head was swimming. And, besides that, Bastila would be freed soon. It would appear that the day was going to end well.
He was allowed to quickly change back into his regular clothes before he had to report to the Judge's platform. However, before he put on his regular clothes, he put on a thin impact absorbing and energy resistant vest on, and wore his regular shirt and vest over it. He did this on Carth's recommendation, just in case things went awry. If there was one thing he learned from Carth in the past few days, it's that you should all ways be looking over your shoulder. Normally he would have grabbed his vibroblade as well, but the security guards confiscated his blaster and vibroblade. Though he had a good feeling that the day would end well, he couldn't help but feel like something...unexpected was about to happen. He shook off the feeling, then proceeded to the Judge's platform.
He was met by a hovercraft being piloted by a Rodian. The hovercraft swiftly took him up to the Judge's platform, where a small crowd of people were awaiting him. On his left side, were two Vulkar racers. One was Redros, and the other was another Nikto he had never seen before. By the looks on their faces when Arias arrived, they weren't too happy about their defeat. Besides that, however, they seemed to be hiding something. He couldn't tell what, but he didn't like it. He shook off his feeling, then observed the rest of his surroundings.
On his right side, were two Hidden Bek racers. One was a yellow skinned female Twi'lek named Anglu. She had an athletic build, and still wore her flight suit that clung to her figure. In front of her was an Aqualish that he didn't recognize either. When they noticed him, they both nodded in approval, and Anglu gave him a half smile. He took that as a "congratulations."
A few meters ahead of him was the Judge's terminal, with the Duros race track manager standing behind it. Standing to the left of the terminal was a dark skinned man with black hair. He was clean shaven, expect for the stubble on his jaw and chin. He was of moderate height, about the same size as Arias. He couldn't tell from his distance, but it looked like he had beady black eyes. He guessed this man was Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkars. The uneasiness he felt earlier was not dismissed by the fact that Brejik had a blaster and vibroblade strapped to his belt. Now he was almost certain something wasn't right.
When he looked to the right of the Judge's terminal, he immediately noticed a woman in black and brown slave girl's outfit-- if you could call it an outfit, that is. She had pale skin and brown hair, and she appeared to be well developed. She seemed to be roughly a B-cup; she had an all around good, athletic figure. She seemed to be wearing a collar of some sort. Whatever it was, it seemed to disorientate her quite a bit. She seemed out of focus, and it looked like she was muttering incoherent words to herself.
Bastila.
This was definitely her. The main reason he recognized her right away was because of the dream he had when they first crashed on the planet's surface.
You'll be free soon enough, Bastila. Don't worry...
Of course, he'd have to wait for her to be released. Her cage was guarded by a Nikto Black Vulkar wielding a double bladed vibrosword. A few meters away from the guard was another Black Vulkar with a blaster; he was probably there for backup in case something went wrong.
Arias walked towards the Judge's terminal, and stopped about five feet away from it. He had a feeling the Duros was going to make a speech to introduce him. As he opened his mouth to begin, Brejik interrupted him.
"Before you introduce this so-called Hidden Bek champion," Brejik spat; he had a voice that instantly reminded Arias of a rat. To be more precise, it reminded him of a rat with nasal congestion. It definitely did not suit the persona of a notorious swoop gang leader. "I regret to inform you that this man cheated!"
Arias could hear the gasps from the crowd. He knew Brejik was right, but why did he care? Gangs weren't exactly known for their honesty. Arias could only think of one response. "Your a damn liar, Brejik!" He snapped. His voice was deeper and smoother than Brejik's. He never thought he'd be so relieved to hear his own voice. "You can't prove anything!"
"Oh, is that so?" He mocked. "I have proof that your swoop bike was modified with an illegal prototype accelerator-- clearly an unfair advantage. In light of this information, I'm withdrawing the Vulkar's share of the victory prize!"
No, you can't do that, you double crossing snake! Arias thought furiously. His gaze flickered at Bastila, then he refocused on Bastila when he noticed something different. Wait...she isn't hunched over anymore, and she isn't muttering to herself. What's going on here?
"You can't do that Brejik!" The swoop judge objected. Arias returned his focus to Brejik and the Judge, waiting to see how this would play out. "You can't just withdraw your prize after it has all ready been submitted. It's against our most sacred traditions; I won't allow you to withdraw your share of the victory prize."
Arias wanted to speak out against calling Bastila "it," but he decided to hold his tongue. He could argue against the injustice of slavery another time.
"You old fool," Brejik hissed in reply. "Your traditions mean nothing to me! I am the wave of the future. If I want to withdraw my prize and sell this woman on the slave market nobody will stop me!"
"I might have something to say about that, Brejik." Said a smooth, calm voice that could only be Bastila's.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze for a minute. Images of Bastila and a small team of Jedi flashed before his eyes. It was the same setting as his first dream: Bastila struck down a Dark Jedi in what appeared to be the bridge of a ship. This time, however, when she struck down the Dark Jedi, three Jedi ran up behind her and joined her. At the head of the deck was a man clad in black robes. His face was concealed by a hood and what appeared to be a Mandalorian helmet. Bastila ordered him to surrender; the man flourished a blood red lightsaber, and prepared for battle. He killed three of the Jedi, but then there was an explosion. The man seemed to be dead, but Bastila approached him. Before he could find out what she did, the dream ended and he returned to the real world. He was dazed for a minute, but he quickly regained his focus and composure.
Bastila had opened the cage with the Force. The cage door swung open and struck the Vulkar guard in the back of the neck, killing him instantly. Bastila kneeled down and picked up the double bladed vibrosword, obviously preparing for battle. Arias looked around, and saw Redros drawing a vibrosword, and the other one drawing a blaster. He returned his focus to Brejik, at the same time slowly backing up to get closer to Redros and the other Nikto.
"What? Impossible," Brejik stammered. "You were restrained by a neural disruptor! How could you possibly have summoned the will to free yourself?"
"You underestimate the power of a Jedi's mind, Brejik," Bastila retorted venomously. "A mistake you won't live to regret."
Brejik glared at her angrily, then wildly shouted, "Vulkars, to me! Kill this woman! Kill the swoop rider! Kill them all!"
In battle, one only had an instant to take everything in. Bastila engaged the other Vulkar that had been standing next to her guard, and the Judge and the two Hidden Beks that were present had fled the sight. Brejik was shooting at Bastila, but thanks to her Jedi reflexes she easily avoided them while still fighting the other Black Vulkar. Redros was coming at Arias with his vibrosword raised, whereas the other Nikto stood back and waited. As long as Redros was in the way, he wouldn't open fire. Arias could use this to his advantage.
Redros swung at Arias with an overhead strike, but Arias quickly dodged the attack. He hit Redros' shoulder and arm with a couple quick jabs, hitting key pressure points that would make him lose his grip in his left hand. Now that Redros wasn't blocking the other Nikto's view, however, he wouldn't be afraid to fire. Knowing this, Arias quickly grabbed Redros just as the Nikto was about to fire. Knowing full well that he wouldn't have enough time to change tactics, Arias tackled Redros, sending him tumbling at his ally as he opened fire. He was hit by two shots square in the back, and died quickly. Arias rammed the now dead Redros into the Nikto, causing him to tumble into the swoop bike that they were once both standing in front of. He quickly scooped up Redros' vibroblade, then grabbed a thermal detonator from his belt, and pushed the activation switch. He tossed it inside the swoop bike, then got out of the way before the swoop bike exploded in a fiery orange inferno.
By now, Bastila was all ready fighting Brejik. The explosion distracted Brejik for a moment, and he paused to see what had happened. So far he had been holding his own against the Jedi Knight, but he left himself open to Arias. That split second was all Arias needed to join in the duel. When he joined in the fight, he was surprised to see how well he and Bastila worked together. When he aimed high, she struck low, then brought the twin blade up high, then he'd strike low. Even if he changed course, she somehow knew just how to react and how to time it. She was a Jedi, so it could have been her reflexes. The strange thing was, he was able to do the same thing. He had never fought like that before.
Now, whenever Arias swung high, Brejik would usually duck, then block Bastila's attack. However, this time he blocked Arias' high attack instead of ducking. Bastila was then able to make a two centimeter deep cut into his right thigh, and she managed to then make a dent in his armor. She then hung back, and Arias advanced. He swung for Brejik's neck, and his blade made contact. It didn't decapitate him, but it did sever the critical cord that ran down his spine from his brain. Brejik died instantly.
Arias took in several deep breaths, then knelt on the ground. He couldn't believe what just happened; not the battle, but the vision. What could this possibly mean? It couldn't just be nothing; once could be nothing, but not twice. He looked up, and noticed Bastila pick up something Brejik had on his belt-- a double bladed lightsaber!? How did he manage to get that from her-- wait, how did she even become a prisoner in the first place?
"Well, maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice before keeping a Jedi prisoner. And as for you," She said, turning to Arias and glaring at him. "If you think you're going to collect me as a prize, then you're--" She paused in mid sentence, then her face lit up with surprise. "I-I don't believe this. You're a soldier with the Republic; you were on the Endar Spire, weren't you? Yes, I'm sure of it. How did you end up racing for these swoop gangs?"
He could have given her a long story about how all of this happened, but he figured he might as well give her the short version. "Oh no, don't ask my name," He mumbled sarcastically. He rose to his feet, then gave her a polite bow. He was speaking to a Jedi, after all. "I'm Arias Jantos. This was the only way I could rescue you."
"Save me? Well, as far as rescues go this is a pretty poor example," She said sarcastically. She frowned at him, and put her free hand on her hip. "I managed to free myself, thank you very much. If it weren't for me, those Vulkars would have left you for dead. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that I saved you."
He was a bit shocked by her reply. For a Jedi, she seemed rather-- well, stuck up. Instinct told him to talk back, but his military protocol said otherwise. He chose to take a middle road. "With all due respect, I don't need your help. I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."
"Yes, I suppose," She said, looking him over for a moment. "If you weren't capable, you never would have made it this far. Perhaps your presence helped me break free from the disruptor." Uh...I don't know much about the Force, but even I know enough to know that doesn't make sense. "I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on you," She said apologetically. "You did try to save me, after all; it was a noble effort, even if it didn't go exactly as you had hoped. But I do appreciate the thought.
"Please, forgive me," She said with a bow. "Despite my Jedi training, I do tend to act a bit...rashly sometimes."
"Don't worry about it," He said with a casual shrug. "You've been a prisoner for a while now, so I'd imagine you wouldn't be in the most pleasant mood."
"Right," She said with a curt nod and a slight chuckle. Her face softened for a moment, then it turned serious again. "Now, down to business. If were going to get off Taris, I need to know what resources we can draw upon, and we'll need all the help we can get. First, are we the only surviving members of the Endar Spire?"
"No, we're not the only ones," He replied. "Carth Onasi survived the crash, as well."
"Carth Onasi is alive?" She asked. Her face seemed to light up with redeemed hope. "Finally, some good news. He's a war veteran and has proven himself a thousand times over. We'll need his help if we are to survive. Please, take me to him. Between the three of us I'm sure we'll be able to find a way off this planet."