Prisoner

Danika

The Czerka employee at the landing bay looked surprised when I came through carrying Juhani. He talked on his com, and I saw his face pale. I looked at him speculatively, then walked aboard the Ebon Hawk. I took Juhani to the medical bay, and left her with Jolee. I told Carth what had happened, and he said he'd get ready. At his suggestion, he added T3 to our party. If T3 was already done, then I wasn't worried.

Only then did I go to the cargo bay. The small pintel sat there, enigmatic, and drawing me closer. I remembered the admonition from the smuggler even as I reached out and touched the tip. There was a flash as it opened, and someone screamed my name as I fell into light.

I found myself standing on an open plain, all of it a stark white. Ahead of me rose a pintel such as I had touched but three meters tall. Beneath the arms of it stood a figure. I walked toward it.

When I was closer I recognized one of the aliens whose artifacts I had been chasing. He looked at me.

"Another visitor. No one for such a long time, then three one after another! Now let me see... I don't know the species. Of course, I didn't know the other ones either. Female, bilateral symmetry, eyes in the head instead of properly spaced. I would prefer my own species and sex But you will do."

"Do for what?" I asked.

"As a body, of course. I don't want to remain in this prison forever, oh no. I am a prisoner as are you, now, though I expect this was an accident for you. This is where my people put our criminals. Our minds are forced into these little cages, there to remain for the duration of our sentences. For really monstrous criminals, we put them here forever."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Time has little meaning, and I was never good with numbers even when I was alive. Let us just say that if my people still exist, they have forgotten me."

"What did you do to deserve this?"

"I fought a war. Lead a rebellion actually. Millions of my people died because I thought myself powerful enough to rule. As you can see, I was wrong."

I shook my head. "You said three in a row. What did you mean?"

"Two others of entirely different species came before you. One was a giant hermaphroditic slug. The other was like you except it had a pair of tentacles on its head. Most strange. However I could not speak to them as I can with you.

"Eventually they grew angry, and ran away into the light." He waved toward the expanse beyond the pillars. "You could find them out there if you wanted. However I would suggest against it. The whiteness brings out everything you might have done wrong in your life, and gives it flesh. Only here are we safe from that. They are either mad or being torn apart by their own evil by now."

People who die, but don't die. Their minds gone, their bodies still alive, if you call that life. The Rodian had said. I looked at the white expanse beyond, thinking of all I had done that was evil. I didn't want to face Lord Revan furious that I had taken over. I shuddered.

"Is there no way out?"

"Now that is an interesting question, oh yes indeed. If you were of my race, it would be simpler, we would just exchange places. You would be here alone, and I would have to figure out female plumbing, and what your species might eat. They used to have rooms filled with thousands of these prisons separated by the species of the criminal so this would not happen, because only one of us can stay here, and you cannot force your way out. I have been in here for so long that I had nothing better to than to ponder that very question. Thousands of years. How many I don't know. The point is that I have found a way to escape. Interesting that, wouldn't you say?"

"But. Your people have been extinct for over 20,000 years. I doubt your body is still alive out there."

"How clever of you to have figured that out so quickly. My body is, of course, long dead, and dust by now. But your body is not." I suddenly saw where this was going. He shook his head. "Before you get all excited and defensive, let me tell you what I have also discovered, because a few millennia ago, I tried. I cannot merely leap into your body and abscond with it without your permission. As long as you resist, I am trapped here. Conversely, you cannot merely leap back into your body without my permission. This leaves us at an impasse, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes. I assume you have a suggestion to settle this."

"Of course. I have had all these millennia to think of one. I propose a contest to settle this like civilized beings. If you wanted we could debate for a thousand years why I should not be released, but I don't think your body has a thousand years left. Frankly even after a thousand years, I don't think either of us will carry the debate in our favor.

"So why waste the time? One contest between us. The winner gets to leave."

"What sort of contest?"

"I have little clues as to what manner of contests are normal beyond my prison. I cannot guarantee knowing the rules, let alone the scoring of any game you might have played. We could fight, but neither of us can die in here, or even stay injured for long. All that would do is cause us both unnecessary pain. Therefore could we settle on a game of the mind? A riddle game perhaps? The first to fail in answering will be the loser?"

I considered. At the moment, my body was a drooling vegetable aboard the ship. I had to get to the Cantina quickly, or fail to enter the Academy. "Would it be a different case if the visitor was of your own species?"

He considered. "Of course. But since you have said that my race is extinct, there were none to trade with. However these boxes were made to keep only one of my kind. I could have walked out there a long time ago." He waved at the whiteness. "That would have emptied the box when I died."

"But the quest I am on is linked to something called the Star Forge."

That got his attention. "It still exists?"

"Apparently."

"Then the planet it serviced must also live." He was getting excited. "There is a chance that some of my people still live. If you can find my people..." He considered. "I agree to that proposal, but only because your body is not really attractive as a vessel. Do you promise to aid me?"

"I swear it."

"Are you ready to return to your body?"

"I am ready to go."

"One other species, a person whose race ritually scars themselves quite horribly found the way out I will describe. Just concentrate on breathing, then stop, and allow yourself to grow faint. Your body will draw you back."

I took a deep breath. "One thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell the next one how bad you are with numbers."

"Thank you."

I stopped breathing. My head began to spin, then suddenly I sat up, sucking air into my lungs.

"Danika!" Someone caught me by the shoulder. I was in my quarters.

"Carth." I answered. "So close."

"What?"

"That poor creature trapped in that prison everyone seems to think is just a box. I came so close to staying there in his place." I looked at him. "Picture a prison you can only escape if they let you out or you are replaced. Then picture your entire society dying, and you're still in prison, now with no way to escape except by dying. I wanted to take his place, to give him a chance to live a full life. Regardless of what he might have done, no one deserves what happened to him."

I stood, and walked back to the cargo hold. I laid my hand on the box, and whispered. "If there is a way, you will be freed." I turned. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Only a few minutes."

Academy

Danika

We hurried. Yuthura noticed my companions, but made no mention of them. She led me across the plain to a huge door, and opened it. The Academy was an ancient structure converted to the use of the Sith. In a large central room, a small number of hopefuls were gathered. A man stood before them. I could feel the Force burning in him, but it was tinged almost to black.

"I am Uthar Wynn, the Master of this Academy. It appears that we have a late entry." He looked at me, as did the other hopefuls. "What have your found for me, Yuthura? A young human bristling with the force?"

"A young woman that has had some training among the Jedi, Master Uthar. A very promising prospect."

"Promising?" I looked at the speaker. Lashowe sneered. "I met her in the colony. Not much there that I can see."

"Do you doubt my senses, student?" Yuthura purred angrily.

"I will make my own judgments, thank you." Uthar said blandly. Both women flushed. He was watching me during the exchange, and smiled. "Tell me, young Jedi. What do you know of the Sith? What propaganda have you been fed about us?"

"I know that the Sith are a force to be reckoned with." I replied softly. "That they are powerful."

"A diplomatic answer. Wise for a student. As for power, our power is obvious even to the untrained. However my question goes deeper than that. Since you have had training that these others have not, I will explain for their benefit.

"The Jedi equate light with goodness, strength, and justice, and the darkness with subterfuge, evil, and weakness. That is their tradition, and it is no surprise that they cling to that outmoded view of the world for their comfort. They treat the Force as if it were a rare and precious burden, something to be carried about but used only sparingly. As if it were water in a desert.

"We however treat the Force as a gift given to the strong. Something that can never be used up, so why not use it? We celebrate our power. We glory in it. We use it to subjugate the weak because the strong always control the weak. There are those that say we should not, but they are the ones that trained her." He pointed at me. "Beings that can only see the world through glasses of their own prejudice.

"We are what the Force is meant to be. The Jedi will tell you otherwise. They say that the dark side is too quick too easy wrong because of the emotions it draws on. But they say this over and over to hide from their own natures. They cringe from glorying in their ability, and expect you to do the same.

"Joining us means realizing your true potential. It means not having your skills stultified by a group of hidebound shamans unwilling to step from their hide tents to see the glory of the sun! Accepting our ways means realizing what you were meant to be in this Galaxy. Hunters, killers, conquerors. Are you ready for that?" He looked at each of us in turn. "Are you ready to accept that power Lashowe? Do you dare?"

"I dare, Master Uthar!" She screamed. "I am ready!"

Uthar smiled. "Brash and fiery as reported. Turn all of that passion to your studies, and you will succeed. What of you Mekel? Are you ready?"

The young man bowed. "More than ready."

"I sense much anger in you. That is good. It will feed your power as you grow into it. What say you Shaardan?"

Shaardan had been glaring at me, and flinched. "I am always ready!"

"I see. Best gather your wits, boy, or you won't survive the trials ahead." He looked at me. "And you, young Jedi. Are you ready?"

"I am always ready to learn more."

"Are you?" His head cocked. "I can see into your heart girl. I see the dark kernel that is there. Whether it will sprout is yet to be seen." He turned back to the group. "You all stand here today, but I will tell you this. Only one of you four will go on to attain the glory of the Sith. There is a series of tests that you must pass, and only one shall succeed. That one will be accepted into the Academy, and the others will be cast out to wait for a year. As you have already, Shaardan, and you, Lashowe. Failure to pass may also mean your deaths, as those two can attest. My apprentice Yuthura shall be your teacher and master during these next days. Heed her words as mine. Take over."

Yuthura slipped her thumbs in her belt. "You have heard the master, and testing begins this minute. None of you are true Sith yet. For that to occur, one of you must impress both Master Uthar and me with their skill audacity and strength. If you feel worthy, there is a last test, which will decide. The tombs beyond-" she waved behind us. "House the relics of our forebears. Of them all, only one had been penetrated successfully. Since then we have used the tombs to cull out the fools who hurry without thought. You need not step foot in any of them until the final test, but if you penetrate a tomb, and bring out proof that you have done so, you will easily win this contest.

"For it is a contest. You are not a team. You are competitors. One will stand alone at the end, and the others shall be cast out, or dead. If having to fight just to survive is a problem for you, leave now. The choice is yours."

"Whomsoever wins must also be able to explain and quote the Sith Code and explain as well." Uthar said. "Being the first in that will gain you honor. The rest of your tests are for you to discover my children. Welcome to the dark side. Your one chance at glory, power, and true greatness begins here."

Suborning

Danika

We were led to our cubicles, then once the Sith hopefuls had unpacked their gear, we were taken for testing. This was easy for me, since it was on the level of the testing we had done aboard the Ebon Hawk with Sasha in the first days. What I learned in my first week on Dantooine. Moving items from place to place, lifting them and holding them suspended. I was first in this due to my training, but Mekel had some skill with it, as did Shaardan. Lashowe was the worst; unable to maintain her concentration, though when she hurled a chair into a wall hard enough to shatter it she was praised.

It didn't take long, and we were sent back to our cubicles to rest for the next day. Carth was impatient, and I understood why. All he wanted was Dustil, the Star Map, and to leave Korriban behind, the first two in whatever order they could be attained. T3 had been running diagnostics, and bleeped at me when I returned. I looked at my com.

Five attempts to slice my systems through the internal network have been recorded. None successful

"By?" I asked.

Lashowe, Shaardan, Yuthura, Uthar and Mekel in that order He bleeped. However two of them penetrated sufficiently that I was forced to 'pretend' to have been suborned. Those were by Shaardan and Uthar

"What did they seek?"

Shaardan has attempted to program me so that on command, I will assassinate you. Uthar was trying to discover your identity beyond what he had been told. He seems to feel that he would know you, and wants to discover why. Yuthura's probes were in the same vein. Note. Uthar has been in charge of the Academy for two years, but has been here for ten meaning he would have seen you as Revan. Yuthura was also here but only for six years, long enough to have met Revan

"Then I will have to dance between the raindrops." I said. I looked at Carth. "I will try to locate Dustil. T3, can you access the mainframe?"

Already done. Mission used the ICE program she gained on the Leviathan to create a super slicer program for my use. Location of Dustil Onasi is known. Also, there is a file attached to his concerning a woman named Selene. She arrived at the same time as Dustil Onasi but died two weeks ago. The file is... incomplete

"What do you mean?" Carth asked.

The file has all the earmarks of a sanitized copy

"I see what you mean." I said. "Like my service records aboard Endar Spire."

Exactly

"Would there be copies of the files somewhere else?"

Possible. Both Yuthura and Uthar have separate systems not linked to the mainframe

"Then let's see if I can get you to one of those systems." I stood. The door slid open, and I paused as Yuthura entered.

"Ah, my favorite prospect." She said. I stayed silent. "By my estimation you are head and shoulders above the others in ability. It is more than likely that you will attain the summit ahead of them without any help from me. As a matter of fact, I am so sure of this that I am going to offer you a once in a lifetime chance. Are you willing to hear it?"

"Yes."

"Ah, someone who decides quickly and is willing to take chances. I like that in my students. As I intimated, I am going to help you succeed over the others. Uthar will choose you, and I will of course, agree with his estimation.

"Once that is done, he will take you into the valley of the Dark Lords to the tomb of Naga Sadow for the final test. There you and I will be alone with him."

"Such a splendid time to rearrange a change of command?" I asked.

"Quick to decide, and quick to apprehend as well. Excellent."

"Why is this tomb so important?" I asked.

"Almost four years ago, Darth Revan and Darth Malak came. Of course they were still Jedi, but that would change soon enough. They brushed aside what defense we had, and entered the tomb of Naga Sadow together. Then they came out and departed returning five months later with an offer of alliance between them and the Sith. During that year, brave students penetrated the tomb and discovered a Star Map. The Master at that time resealed the tomb, and we have used it since. Reaching the map, against the same risks they faced, is now our final test for applicants.

"However that test is not as important to you as is the fact that Uthar, you, and myself will be completely alone. No guards, no other students, just us."

"And what is your part?"

"My part as you would say is to assure that you are the one that stands there with me. That means I must deter the others as long as possible. With that done, you go on to the final test. Once it has been completed, you and I face Uthar. Once he is dealt with, I become the Master of the Academy, and you are at my side as my apprentice. A simple, elegant, and most important, foolproof plan."

I considered. Whether she held the others back or not was unimportant. In fact I assumed she had made the offer to them as well. It was after all, the Sith way to eliminate your superior at the first opportunity. "Very well, I agree."

"I am so glad you see it my way. I must begin the preparations for the final test. Your only worry is getting there. Don't disappoint me."

"I would like something to assure you are really helping me." I said.

"You doubt my word?" She hissed.

"You are Sith. Lying to someone else for gain is pretty much a foregone conclusion."

She stared at me, then laughed. "Oh very good! What would you have of me?"

"The Code of the Sith."

"Ah. You were listening when Uthar spoke. I can explain it better than the library can. Would you hear it?"

"Please."

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." She looked at me, her eyes glowing. "Simple words yet easily misunderstood because of that very simplicity. Would you care for me to explain further?"

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion?"

"The Jedi Masters would have you believe that peace is the most desirable goal. That peace of your own spirit is the way that the Force is best mastered. That the lack of conflict betters mankind. We of the Sith know different. It is our passion, our hate and our desire that fuels the Force within us. Conflict is nature's way to assure that the species, even down to the lowest virus improve themselves. Conflict between species assures that only the best survive. Conflict between societies forces them to grow and mature. Whether you call it evolution, or war, the only way to improve and adapt is to struggle. Or die. Without it all you have is stagnation."

"Through passion I gain strength?"

"What else fuels your power with the Force but your own passions? Anger, hatred, fear. All of these passions draw the force to them, and empowers us."

"What about love?'

She made a dismissing gesture. "Oh love would be good if it could be mastered, as can the others. Love can fuel anger and hatred, even fear when you believe it is not returned, or you have jealousy to add to the mixture. But love also leads to mercy and concentrating on one goal alone, feeding that love. That is, however, a lesson for another time."

"The Jedi say the opposite, though they also try to stop direct personal love. How can both be wrong?"

"The Force gives all beings power if they can learn to use it. Our passions give us the strength the Jedi lack."

"Through negative emotions?"

"Negative compared to what? What keeps even the smallest animal alive? The fear that makes it run and hide. If they cannot run, the anger needed to make it fight as hard as it can. The lust that makes them reproduce. That is what keeps animals alive. How can survival be negative?" I nodded slowly. "Our goal is to be stronger; to achieve our potential, then extend our potential as far as it may go. We are the predators of the universe, not the sheep or their shepherds.

"Through strength I gain power?"

"The stronger you become in the Force, the more temporal power you achieve. The Masters and Apprentices of the Sith order are above your strength because they have achieved it. Just as the Masters of the Jedi have attained more power. But where they gain it in a haphazard manner, by pure chance or a willing teacher, we fight for every step of the way, and seek those other powers. Without strife, your victories have no meaning. Without strife, you will not advance. Without strife, there is only stagnation."

"Through power I gain victory?"

"How many forms of victory would they have you believe there are? Peaceful victories where you convince your enemy not to attack. Victory by example, where you inspire a later generation. Truce, where you merely convince an enemy to stop fighting. Achievement, such as advancing from Apprentice to Padawan.

"But unless demonstrating your power and defeating all obstacles attains that victory, it is illusory. It is temporary because one day your enemy will see a new weakness, and begin the conflict again. If there is anything we learned from Darth Revan's defeat of the Manda'lor, it is that mercy has no part in victory. We seek to end all conflict between societies by showing ourselves superior to all around us, nothing less. As for personal conflicts," She made the same dismissing gesture. "We expect and glory in that."

"Through victory my chains are broken?"

"This has been argued over for a long time. Since the Code was developed by Ajunta Pall. The Chains represent the restrictions placed upon us, by those around us, by the physical restrictions of our species, and especially those we place upon ourselves. The ultimate goal of all Sith is to transcend any restrictions so we may do and be what we wish, though there is much more than that. One who has escaped from all restriction has achieved perfection. Their potential in all things fulfilled. Perfect strength, perfect power, perfect destiny. Imagine it if you can!

"That is our ideal at any rate. It is said in the legends of the Original Sith race that the Sith-ari, what they named the 'perfect being', will one day reveal itself and lead us from that day forward. But that is only legend."

"You don't believe the Sith-ari can exist?"

"I wondered as a young Sith what such a being might be like. The legends also say that the Sith-ari will first destroy us, then make us stronger than ever. I have come to believe that the Sith-ari are more an unattainable goal to lead us toward that perfection. The Jedi would argue with me on that, I think."

"The Force shall free me?"

"The Force is both our servant and our master, our teacher and our companion, our weapon and our tool. Know it, and you know the universe. Master it, and you master the universe. Strive for perfection, and the Force will reward you with perfection."

I understood. Actually, the problem was that the Sith Code was as rational as that of the Jedi. Both aimed at perfection of the being, but at cross purposes with each other. "I understand."

"I knew you would. The Force is strong in you, youngster. Master it and it will serve you well."

I nodded. "May I ask more?"

"There is not a lot of time for you to waste on idle questions." She admonished.

"I wonder about the ruins. Why have the Sith returned to them?"

"We seek knowledge of our progenitors on Korriban. Why they came here of all places, why they left. Perhaps we could learn more of the Force itself. With knowledge, you also gain power. However only one of the tombs has been breached and explored successfully up until now. The tomb of Naga Sadow. After Revan and Malak, only the Master of the Academy has been able to open the doors again. I am looking forward to your test. The way to enter the tomb is key to being the Master here."

I looked at that face. While she was enthusiastic about becoming the Master of the Academy, I felt that there was something beneath that desire. Something personal. "Tell me about yourself."

"What?" She looked surprised. "I am originally from Sleheryon, if you must know. I was a slave to Omeesh the Hutt. A vile and cruel representative of a cruel and vile race. More than that you have no need to know. Now go and gain your prestige." She shooed me off.

Carth

"Why did you ask that?" I hissed when we left the room.

"Because I can see that there is still good in her, Carth." She replied. "If I could be redeemed, so could she."

"I don't waste my time thinking about why an enemy is my enemy."

"Then you will always have enemies." She said. "Saul had a reason at least in his own mind for his betrayal. If that had been dealt with honestly, he would have been a loyal officer of the Republic still." She looked at me. "Or do you think that fools who feel patronage is more important than results should command men's lives?"

"That isn't what I meant!" I snapped. Then sighed. "Sometimes, you're just right, okay?"

"By discovering why an enemy is your enemy, you can bring them down to the level where if they would make an effort, you can end a conflict." She pressed. "And if you cannot end it, at least you gain no pleasure in killing them. Best to end their lives with at least some regret."

"Wait." Danika looked down at T3. "T3, we need that file on Selene now."

The little droid bleeped. Then rolled away. Danika leaned against the wall. "As time passes, more of what Revan was surfaces. Not in total recall, but in snippets. Full of doubts about her place in life, in her society. Finding the Force for her was like thinking yourself blind, then opening your eyes for the very first time. A lot of the doubts disappeared for her that day in her sixth year."

"What about Danika?" I asked.

"Danika has always been true what they made of her in my mind. A soldier willing to die for the Republic. Finding the Force within me has merely honed that intent." She looked at me levelly. "I worry more about other things."

"Such as?"

"The problem with the Sith Code is that it is as rational as that of the Jedi. Both aimed at perfection of the being. However they use it not to perfect just that being. They ignore the fact that without those we protect, the weak, a strong man is merely a starving naked bully. Even the Mandalorians understand that concept. The Sith believe that they must force the Galaxy into that same mold; make everyone everywhere conform to their view of perfection.

"You know as well as I that one thing people hate is being forced to make decisions. Especially if it means drastic changes in themselves. The Jedi believe in leading by example, not standing behind with a whip to drive them to it as the Sith would." She shook her head sadly. "But the Jedi also try to suppress all that makes us what we are in their goal. I can understand why so many have run to the Sith rather than remain. But understand that a lot of the Sith would go the other way if they had the chance."

I was about to rebut her comment when T3 rolled up to us. He extended a data pad, which Danika looked at. She held it out to me silently.

Selene and Dustil had come together. Both were from Telos, and were strong in the Force, but she began having doubts about their training, doubts she had passed on to Dustil. They decided that removing her was the best way to end the problem. Unfortunately my son was one of the best students they had ever trained, and they didn't want to lose him too.

So they had arranged her death. She had supposedly died in a training accident.

Danika took it back wordlessly. "Now we are ready. Stand here for a moment, Carth." She opened the door, leaving it open.

"Did you make a wrong turn somewhere?" A voice asked. My heart raced. I walked forward, and saw him.

Dustil was almost my height now, still a gangly young man after his last growth spurt. He looked at me, about to say something, but the words died.

"Dustil." I whispered.

"Oh lovely. It's my father. It figures that you'd show up to ruin this too. How did you manage to get into the Academy?"

"Through the front door of course." Danika said deadpan.

He glared at her. "Cute. I wonder, does Master Uthar know what he has caught in his web? Unless you have changed sides, Father." He glared at me. "No, I can see that hasn't happened. Just why are you here, Father? Not for me, I hope. Couldn't you have just gotten yourself blown up on a ship and spared me this?"

The venom in his tone shocked me. "What are you talking about? I thought you were dead all these years!"

"Until someone told you otherwise?" He laughed. "Why didn't you pretend I was dead and leave me in peace? Did you really think I would be happy to see you?" He waved to an invisible audience. "Look everyone! My father has come to rescue me!" His face filled with loathing. "The fact that he abandoned my mother and me to death doesn't really matter, now does it?"

"I didn't abandon you! We arrived too late!" I ran my hand through my hair. "Telos was in ruins when we got there. I found your mother, held her in my arms as she died." I could suddenly picture it again. Holding her, screaming my pain and rage at the sky. Then I was back in the room. "But I looked for you. I swear I looked everywhere!"

"Save it for your memoirs, Father." Dustil snarled. "You abandoned us long before Telos was destroyed. You went off to fight the wars instead, remember? We spent every night you weren't there hoping that the enemy would never come. When you did come home it was only to make sure things hadn't changed before going off again. Other children had their fathers during that. But not me. My father had to be the hero of the Republic!"

"I was needed-"

"You were needed at home!" Dustil almost screamed. "You were needed to keep mother alive! To stop them from bombing us into oblivion! If I had been home instead of at school, I might have protected her since you wouldn't! Where were you when the Sith raiders took all of the students at my school captive? When they dumped us on a Sith world like trash?" He hissed, then waved as if to shoo me away. "Well my family is dead, but I have a new family now. A family that cares about me. One that won't forget to protect me. I don't need you anymore!"

"The Sith? The same people who killed your mother and destroyed Telos is your family?"

"Not them. In fact I have a list of those that helped murder Telos. Once I am done here at the Academy, I will deal with all of them. Besides Father, you were a soldier for all those years. How many fathers and mother's sons and daughters have you slaughtered?"

"No." I shook my head numbly. "My son-"

"I am not your son anymore, Father! Get that through your thick head. You were never there to know what I was like as a child, don't presume to know what I should be like now!"

"I came to get you out of here-" I reached out.

"Touch me and I'll kill you." Dustil said flatly. "Leave me alone or I'll promise that Master Uthar knows who you and your friend are." He gave me a feral grin. "Unless you would finish the job. Murder me to keep your secret?"

"Calm down, both of you." Danika said. We both turned on her. "Carth, remember what I said about understanding? He is a child you never paid enough attention to, and resents that." She rounded on Dustil. "And he is a father that put the lives of a lot of people ahead of his family life. He regrets that, but he's here now trying to save what remains of his family."

"Too bad, and too late. I've outgrown my 'daddy'." Dustil snapped. "The Sith will give me everything I need. Including the love I would have hoped to get from him!"

"You can't mean that!" I was close to shouting as well. "Who do you think I was protecting you and your mother from? They are the ones that killed her. They are the ones that stole you from me!"

"I am not your favorite pet or toy, Father. They are not evil, they are strong. Besides, you were fighting wars long before the Sith came."

"The Sith war to conquer and rule. To force the helpless to obey their twisted view of life. The Mandalorians are the same, just different views of the same world. I went to war to protect those I love. To protect you, Dustil."

"Yeah. Right." Dustil looked at his father almost with pity. "You just liked the uniform and the rewards."

I could feel my heart breaking. "If I failed you, don't let my failure drive you to become an evil man."

"I am not evil, and the Sith are not. Strength has always been equated with evil by the weak. Show me a single point where strength is evil, Father. Do that for your long lost son." His tone dripped vitriol.

"Do you know someone named Selene?" Danika asked. Dustil turned, but instead of growling, he looked confused.

"Yes. She was my girlfriend. We came to the Academy together. She's the reason I am here."

Danika held up the data pad. "Do you recognize this data pad?"

"Yes. It's one of Master Uthar's."

Danika handed it to him. Dustil activated it. I could tell when he got to the end of the file. His face paled, and he suddenly collapsed backwards onto his bunk.

"They said she had tried to open one of the tombs. That she had died in that attempt. But this says..."

"That they killed her." I said. "Because she was holding you back. If there had been a Republic officer here, they would have blamed him instead." I hissed. "Superiority at all costs, Dustil. That's what you are trained here to want. Your teachers decided to remove one of your obstacles, and they did, like swatting a fly. Can you live with the cost?"

Dustil looked up at me, at Danika. "They lied to me. They took..." He held the pad as if it would feel as warm as the dead girl's hand. "They took her from me." He looked up, and I could see the fury in his eyes. "They'll pay for that!"

"That is the son I remember." I stood away from him. "Let's get out of here-"

"No, Father." Dustil stood, facing off with me. "You go do whatever you have to. But I have friends here, people that will listen to me. I have to warn them. Get as many of those still salvageable out as I can. Maybe I can find out more inside here before we leave. Something that will help bring them all down."

I looked at the man my son had become, and knew that I had lost him forever. But I was proud of that decision. "I don't suppose there's anyway I can talk you out of this? I mean, it doesn't sound like you're going to do anything halfway." I smiled sadly. "Sounds familiar."

"Yes, it does. Like Father, like son." Dustil replied.

"You've admitted that the lie is a lie, Dustil. That's more than most can do. But don't ride the moment down in flames. Get out of here as fast as you can."

"I'll try, father. Maybe when this is over we can get some time to talk? I can't say I'm willing to accept your view in everything, but I promise I will at least listen to you."

"I'll try to explain everything I did. I don't care about acceptance as long as I have my son back."

"Then we'll meet on Telos afterward. Goodbye, Father."

"Goodbye and good luck, son."

We walked toward the front door of the Academy. "We need to talk." She said. "About me being Revan."

"If you're ready to talk, so am I."

"And?"

I sighed. "As much as I want to, I can't hate you. I wanted to blame everything that has gone wrong in the last four years on you, and I can't." I stopped, and faced her. "My wife, Dustil, Telos, Saul. All of it I would like to blame on you."

"Why can't you? I do." She asked softly. "I sent Malak to Telos. He suborned

Saul. Between them they killed millions including your wife. They stole away your son. How is that not my fault? As his commander, military law blames me equally."

"Because you were right aboard Leviathan. When Saul died, I should have felt something change. I had put all of the efforts of the past years of my life into that hunt. And when it was done, I was still empty. Killing him didn't even plant a single grass seed on Telos. It was a waste of my efforts.

"Remember what you said just today? 'Best to end their lives with at least some regret'. When I heard why Saul had gone over; the waste by everyone was obvious though it took time for me to admit it! Fools who can't find their butts with both hands driving him toward retirement. It doesn't excuse what he did, but you don't excuse anyone, do you? Especially yourself.

"Regardless of what part of you inside is still Revan, in all the time I have known you, you are and have always been your own worse critic. You have been beating yourself over the head about things you did in another life, and I have been right there beating too, from the very start. When I found out part of me wanted to scream 'I knew it!'." I sighed again, and my hand rested on her shoulder, making her look up at me. "Whatever darkness remains, that isn't who you are anymore. Whatever else the Jedi might have done with your life, they have given you a second chance.

"But there will come a time when you have a choice to make. When that happens there will be no turning back."

"What if I make the wrong choice?" She whispered.

"I'll kill you. I promise."

She laughed gently, patting my hand as if I had made a joke, not threatened her life. "My conscience I named you, and my executioner if I fall." She looked down, then at me again. There was no fear there. Only resolve. "I Thank you for that."

When we reached the front door, she hugged me fiercely. "Remember your promise, Carth. I don't want to become that again. Be ready to kill me when I return." She whispered, then was gone.