Unknown planet
Canderous
I went back aboard as Danika led the others up the hill. I went to the cargo bay which I had made my home, and gathered some things. A set of camouflage coveralls with hood. My armor was gone, and I wished I had it now. Mandalorians are more into appearances than others might think. I was going to contact my people, and I looked like a ragamuffin. No help for it.
I came down the ramp, then started up the same hill at a jog. The valley with the temple was up from the beach, and I ignored the path that led to the left. Ahead of me I could hear roaring, and switched on the pattern adapter as I breasted the hill. Half a dozen of the aliens assisted by two Rancor were attacking Danika and her team. I ran toward them, but by the time I reached there, Danika was gone, only the bodies of those that had stood before her remained.
The path opened into a lush valley with a huge pyramid in its center. I heard roaring, and saw a pair Rancor shambling through the remains of pillars and other structures. I went across past the temple, invisible thanks to the camo pattern adapter, and found a path leading down the other side. I trod down it slowly, silent and invisible. Ahead of me I could see a series of mines. I stopped, and examined them. Standard layout. I slipped through the gap that should have been there and moved farther.
I came upon the encampment, and my throat tightened. A dozen was right, if you counted the women, which we do. Only five were men of warrior age and three women. The other 'warriors' were between eight and ten years old. A dozen or more much younger children were busy at their training or doing the menial jobs necessary. I hefted a rock, and flung it down to fall near the fire. All of the men and three of the women leaped for weapons, spinning to face up the
slope. I shut down the field.
"Who leads?" I roared.
One of the men stepped forward. "Makiel Suuchin of Clan Lembat!" He shouted. "Who attacks?"
"I do not attack. I come to talk!"
"Then who comes to talk?" He asked.
"Canderous Ordo of clan Ordo." I replied.
"Canderous Ordo is dead! He died at Malchior V!"
"I stand before you and can prove my name." I retorted. "Where were you when Malchior V was fought!"
"Aboard Dhalgiri!" He replied.
"The command of Soontal Ordo of clan Ordo." I said. "Son of my Daughter Chandra."
"No more. He was badly wounded, and ordered us to jump out on a blind course."
"The fool!" I shook my head at the daring of it. A blind course is just that. You put a pin in a map of the Galaxy, and went whatever direction fate took you in hyperspace. They could have all died our there. Instead... "Soontal is dead?" It wasn't really a question. He would have been trading embraces with me if he lived.
"In the crash." Makiel replied. "Along with almost all of us."
"May I come down?"
"Yes, and welcome, father by marriage of our captain."
I moved down the hill, and they gathered around me. The children were well behaved, only one reached out to finger my clothing, and he dropped his hand without being told. I moved to the fire, standing with my people for the first time.
"We only arrived here a short while ago." I told them.
"More Mando'a?" Someone asked. "Does the war go on?"
"No. The war has been over for many years. But a new war has begun, and we can have a part in it."
"Says who?" One spoke. "I am Konrad Morgo of clan Shoomart. Those we have hunted of the Galaxy told us that Manda'lor is dead."
"But there is a new Manda'lor." I told them. "Revan defeated Manda'lor, and assumed his place."
"So what?" He shrugged. "We have heard some of the war you speak. Revan is dead."
"She is not dead." I snapped. "She is here, and she sent me."
"To do what?"
"That is for her to say. "
Unknown planet
Danika
We reached the temple mount after a sharp battle. I ran toward the building, but felt something pushing me back.
"A force field of some kind." Jolee grunted. I agreed. Suddenly;
I stood before the temple. The secret to escape from this world, to the huge structure in space was here. The Costigain Rift lay out in the sea, brought down by the disruptor field emanating from this very building.
"Perhaps the natives?" Malak asked.
I nodded my agreement. "The one that calls himself the One is mad. While he might help us, do you trust him?"
"Never, Revan."
"Then perhaps we should speak with these Elders he spoke of." I pointed. "That way."
I turned. "That way." The others merely nodded. We crossed the open area, and went down another path. Where it turned, was what looked like a small ship. I scanned it. "Corellian Class A204. It's on Carth's list." I started to walk forward but Jolee stopped me. A small animal hopped from the underbrush. "Gizka. Nasty little buggers."
"It doesn't look dangerous." I said.
"They aren't. But they breed like mad. Something here must feed on them or we'd be hip deep already."
An instant later, the animal was blown apart by a hidden mine. We stared at the gobbets of flesh that were all that remained.
"Well that would fix the problem." Jolee said.
It took us some time to get into the ship. Mines had been placed on every entryway and we had to disarm them as we worked our way into it. The parts we needed were easy to find once we did. Less than twenty minutes all told. We worked our way back out of the ship, then fumbled our way across the clearing to the path leading onward. We finally reached the beach an hour before sunset. A structure stood before us.
Pillars ran across the face of it, and energy flowed between them. A set of pillars stood away from the others, with an obvious path between them. I stepped into the area, and a hologram appeared. One of the aliens that made this world their home looked at me.
"You are not Rakata. What is your business with the Elders, off-worlder?"
A voice asked. I understood it!
"Who are you?"
"I am not a lifeform. I am a monitoring system that protects the Elders from attack. I repeat, you are not Rakata. State your purpose or be destroyed." A bolt of energy ran between the posts behind us.
"I come seeking entry into the Star Forge."
"Hold pattern matching employed. You are Revan."
"Was. No longer."
"Your answer makes no sense. But the Elders wish to speak with you. You may enter." The energy behind us guttered out, and before us the pathway opened.
Elders
Danika
The door opened before us soundlessly. Whatever else they had lost, the aliens, these Rakata, had not lost that! We walked into the courtyard, facing three of the Elders. The center one of the trio spoke.
"We of the Elder's council did not expect to see you again Revan. We had thought that you had betrayed us. Why have you returned to our village after all this time?"
I stopped. "I am not Revan, any more. I am called Danika Wordweaver now."
"This answer makes no sense. Our sensors and our eyes recognize you. You are the one called Revan. You are the very one that came here before with your servant, Malak. You promised to help us. In exchange for our aid, you promised to destroy the ancient evil of our race that orbits our star. Are you saying that this promise has no meaning to you?"
"My mind was destroyed. Almost all memories I have of your world have been lost."
They huddled to talk quietly. "This explains the differences in the way you were and the way you are now. You are not as you once were. Perhaps you speak the truth, and all memory has been lost. Yet that power which you wield, what you call the Force, is still there. You can still help us, if we are willing to trust you yet again."
"It would help if I knew what I had promised when my body stood here last."
"If what you say is true, that you cannot remember your last visit here, than you must have a number of questions. Ask what you will, and we will try to help you understand."
"You can tell me who you are first."
"We are called the Elders. Our ancestors were priests and scientists among our people, serving the Infinite Empire before it collapsed almost 30,000 odd of your years ago. As I said, you arrived here four of your years ago with your servant Malak. Your great ship was dragged from orbit as ships have been destroyed since the fall of the Empire. Both of you survived that crash with a handful of others, though you were then trapped on our world. In your search for a way to escape you found our enclave as you have again.
"You used the Force to draw the language of the Rakata from our minds, and impressed the language you call Basic on ours to allow us to help you in that escape. You convinced us to aid you in entering the temple of the Ancients. Both you and Malak entered after promising to destroy the weapon that floats in space.
"Yet after all this time you have returned. The evil still exists, for we can feel it."
"Have a lot of ships crashed here?"
"The disruptor field was a defense of last resort created by the Ancients to protect our home world from attack. Most die when their ships crash, but some survive, as do the creatures you call Rancor and Gizka. The Rancor have been captured when young, and are used by the warlike tribes of the island to attack others."
"Tell me more of your people."
"There are hundreds of thousands of our people upon this world. But except for this one enclave, they are fierce warlike primitives or the slaves of the warrior class. When our world was bombarded, our people hid in shelters beneath the surface for thousands of years. Finally some began seeking the surface again. But those that come to the surface late find that they are under attack by their own kind.
"Our society was rigidly stratified, and each shelter was for one order only. As I said, we were priests and scientists. Others, such as those that follow the One were warriors in their tribe, and still remain so." He looked sad. "Since the One became their leader, attacks by his followers have increased. We have technology, which he does not, and that is all that has saved us. The fool thinks that what we know is magical and easily used. We control much that is still more advanced than you might imagine. We controlled access to the temple, which is still a storehouse of knowledge if we could enter it again.
"But that is lost to us. When the civil wars began, warlords unleashed horrors unimaginable. Plagues weapons of mass destruction, Droids capable of thinking and fighting on their own. Our race even here on our home world was driven almost to extinction. To stop it from happening again, the knowledge of those weapon were locked within the temple, and sealed so that only we could enter it.
"But something inconceivable happened. It is believed that one of the plagues that were spread during those wars denied our race the use of the Force. Once we had such a control over it that we built machines now gone with the Force as part of their construction. Metals that cannot exist in nature we made as a matter of course.
"But without the Force we could not enter the temple. That is why we helped you when you came before. You could enter the temple, where we cannot. It has been determined by the best of our scientists that when the great evil above is gone, we can again learn the use of the Force."
"Can you help me again?"
"We trusted you once before to our detriment, Revan. You betrayed our trust. It is true that one like you can enter the Temple where we cannot, but how can you expect us to trust you again?"
"I am a servant of the light now." I whispered. "I must make amends for the evil that I have done."
"You claimed the same when you were here before. Claimed that your purpose would require the destruction of the evil above. You claim to not remember, but you follow the same path as before. You have crashed again. You have come to us asking help, again. You promise to remove the evil, again. How can we trust you?"
"I have said I am not the one that came before." I touched my head. "My mind is a blank slate when it comes to your world. Only my actions can prove I speak the truth."
"Words are easy to speak, and hard to prove. It is the actions that judge the person. You must prove to us that you are not what you once were."
"How may I prove this?"
"The One has become a serious problem. He has dismounted guns from some of the ships, and has tried to move them here to destroy us. While our defenses can stop their hand weapons, they cannot stand against that much firepower. A team of scouts had gone out to find where he has hidden these weapons, but they were captured. There is only one of them remaining alive." He chuckled. "We have our own spies among them, and while he cannot help in an escape, he has reported what horrors the One has inflicted on our people.
"We ask that you rescue this one of ours."
"I can negotiate with the One for his release."
"Would that your luck be better than ours. All we have sent to talk before have ended up dead for thirty of your years. If it can be done without bloodshed, we would accept it. If he would be willing to have it so."
"So I must save this one."
"Risking your life for one you do not actually now is supposed to be what your kind strive for." He said gently. "Or so you once told me."
"Then at least I told you the truth once!" I said. "We will get him back."
"Go with this Force."
We went out into the early evening darkness. I led the others back up the path, threading through the mines that still lay there. The temple beckoned, but I ignored it without the aid of the Rakata, I could not enter.
I signaled for a halt, and waited.
"Why..." Jolee stopped. Around us Mandalorian warriors appeared from their camouflage fields. Ten of them. Then Canderous appeared from his field. He walked over, and knelt.
"My Manda'lor, I have brought them as you commanded."
"Well done." I said. "Do any challenge my orders?"
One walked forward. "I am Konrad Morgo of clan Shoomart. I do not challenge your right, merely your purpose."
"Speak on, Konrad." I nodded.
"To what purpose do we fight and die for you here? Have we not fought and died for nothing under other Manda'lor before you?" There was a gasp from the gathered warriors. Unless he was willing to challenge me directly, which he had refused to do, this was tantamount to a mutiny. Under their own laws, I could have killed him where he stood.
"I took your honor from your clans because of those acts." I replied. "In time, it would have been redeemed. But I died and was reborn. I know the honor of the Mando'a." I motioned toward Canderous. "This one took the burden of shame for his clan because of another. No one told him to do so, he did what honor demanded. Will you do the same?"
Konrad lowered his head. "Others have made that claim since you disappeared."
"Were they Manda'lor of Manda'lor?" I asked sharply.
"No." Again petty defiance. By refusing to use the title, he was questioning it.
"I swear to you. Within days the Mando'a will either regain their honor as a people, or lose it forever. As Manda'lor I can do this."
"Yes." His head bowed, and his answer was a whisper. Unless overturned by another, the dictates of the Manda'lor was absolute. In the millennia since they had been formed, only three times had it been overturned.
"Konrad, evil floats over this world. It is in the great space station around the star, in the ships that guard it. Hundreds of ships. We," I motioned toward Canderous, toward the two silent Jedi behind me, "And others in our ship will face them when our ship is ready to fight again. We will fight, and we will win or die."
"Against such a force all you can do is die." He looked at me, and his face glowed. "But with us, you will die well."
"Agreed."
He fell to his knee. "Chu, my Manda'lor!"
The others dropped to their knees.
"My people, there is much we must do..."
The One
Danika
The next morning, we moved down the hill to the ship, delivering the parts we had found. Carth promised to have them installed and ready within the day, and I led Canderous and Jolee toward the other path leading to the One. Canderous carried the small box which we had gotten on Korriban, and I considered what I intended to do. According to the Mando'a, the One had several dozen warriors. This would not be an easy fight we faced.
The path led onto a small beach, and ahead of us were a dozen Rakata and a pair of Rancor. When they saw us, the Rakata formed a skirmish line, the two Rancor at the ends. It spoke of some experience with the large beasts. If we fought, the Rancor would charge in from the sides, breaking any formation a party might try. If enough strength went to the wings of the formation, the Rakata could cut through the middle.
They halted five paces away. "You have been to the Elder encampment! You must die, as the One has ordered!"
"I come with a gift for the One." I motioned, and Canderous set the box down beside me, stepping back. His blaster was aimed at the Rancor to our left.
They paused, and the leader of the Rakata considered what I had said. "You have been here before, creature. Why should the One agree when you have betrayed his trust before?"
"I was injured, and have lost all memory of having met him." I admitted. "Do you punish those that fail without knowing why?"
"Sometimes we punish them merely because we wish to." The officer admitted.
"Then take us to the One and let him decide."
Again the pause. "Bring them." He ordered. We moved toward the building the One's people occupied. Behind us the Rancor snuffled curiously, but followed their trainers when commanded. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.
The doors had to be opened manually. If my plan succeeded, the Rakata would begin their long climb to civilization again. If it failed, I would die. But the Ebon Hawk would be free to fly again.
The One's encampment was larger than the Elders, and one section looked to be an arena. A walkway crossed it with heavy gates installed so that once you were on it, you could not retreat. Tiered seats would allow the Rakata to watch as warriors were forced to battle over a man made lake full of what looked like vicious predatory fish. Both gates stood open today, and we walked across, surrounded by our guards. The Rancor kept trying to pull to the rear, but their handlers prodded them to follow us instead.
Beyond the arena was another huge area with cages. Each cage held a Rancor. No, all but one. In that one stakes had been pounded into the earth, and bodies hung from them. The scouts the Elders had spoken of.
A large Rakata stood there, and I could feel the Force flowing over him. It was a dark presence. An evil steeped from the ground itself that fed it.
"I said they were to die!" He screamed.
"My lord, she claims that she has no memory of your previous meeting." The officer reported.
"Lies, all lies!" He screamed.
"She also bears a gift." He added.
"A gift?" The One looked at me. "What kind of gift?"
I held the box, advancing toward him. "A gift from the past of your race. One that was made before the Infinite Empire fell." I said, setting it down. "And a message from that time."
He looked at me, then at the box. I could feel his lust for it warring with his caution. He waved me away, storming forward to pick it up. A finger touched
the tip of the pintel, then he froze as if stunned.
"Now!" My team went into a triangular formation, facing outward. Our guards moved forward, but paused at a whistle. The Mando'a came out of camo fields, surrounding those that faced us.
"Betrayer!" The officer screamed.
"Wait." I said. "Give this a few minutes before you attack, or he," I motioned toward the still body of the One, "Is who I will kill first."
The threat held them in place. As we stood there, a pair of the Mando'a ran to the gate on this end of the walkway, and closed it. Beyond that other Rakata were gathering.
The standoff continued, and I began to worry. It had taken only a few minutes from the time I was ensnared to my release according to Carth. How many was a few?
Behind me I heard a gasp, and looked at the One. The box was in his hand still, and he gently put it down. "As promised." He said. He looked at the guards standing around us. "Stand down." He ordered.
I could see that the Force around him had changed. It was still dark, but not as much as before. He was looking at his hands in wonder, then at us. "You have freed me as promised. Why?"
"This is your home world, and these are some of your people." I said. "Would you join with them and others to make things right again?"
"I have a chance to fix what I helped cause?" He clapped his hands. "Tell me more."
I told him of the Elders, and of the people that followed the One. He listened intently. "So these have little or no military force of their own, and almost no access to our computers, is that what you say?"
"Yes."
"Then maybe they need someone that can help them in that regard. You." He pointed at the officer. "Take the wounded Elder Scout to the Elders. Ask to be admitted, and tell them that I shall come and make an alliance with them. I will come with this one directly." He motioned toward me, "Go."
Three Rakata ran to the cage holding the living scout, and carried him away.
"Makiel!" I shouted.
"Chu!"
"You will stay here for a time. Assist this one in consolidating his power. They have guns taken from downed ships. Place them in defense."
"Chu!" Half of the Mando'a came up, saluted the Rakata, and took positions around him as bodyguards. The Rakata watched them warily.
"You know how fierce these warriors are. They will be among you until your leader says otherwise." I ordered them. "Treat them as you have others, and you will die. You must learn to join civilized peoples again, and they will teach you." I turned to the person occupying the One's body. "We will escort you to the Elders now."
"My thanks for my rescue and another chance. May I know your name?"
"I am called Danika Wordweaver."
"I was called Brashieel and shall be again." He extended a hand, palm upright toward me. I placed my hand against his. "I promise to be worthy of that chance. And your trust."
Elders
Jolee
We entered the Elder's encampment, and Brashieel bowed to them. They spoke too rapidly for me to follow, and Danika merely stood there. Finally Brashieel stepped aside.
"You have done as we asked, and brought this one from our past to aid us. Our scout has told us of the way you freed him, and this alliance will help us convince other small tribes to join in rebuilding our society. We are in your debt."
"Will you help me enter the temple then?" Danika asked.
"Rescuing us our person proves that you have not changed in your heart, Revan. You have lied to us before. Can we trust you with such power yet again?" He looked to the other Elders. "We must discuss this in private. When we are done, we shall summon you. Please feel free to look over our people and our works."
The Elders walked away. Brashieel walked over to stand with us. "Like all politicians and priests they must talk until they are tired of it. During our conversation, they told me that there is one computer they can still use. Would you see it?"
"Please."
The Rakata led them through a bewildering array of rooms. There weren't many of the Elders to be seen, and I understood how relieved they were that this war was over. In one room, a researcher named Ll'awa was still trying to discover what within them caused the Force to dissipate. He was ecstatic when Danika informed him that Brashieel's body could use the Force.
"We have tried to create methods of bringing out the Force in our people. But our knowledge is still limited. It is said that the main computer within the Temple has more data on our DNA than any we have yet accessed, but that might be a myth. Please." He turned to Brashieel, "Could we have samples to test?
"I have promised to take these ones to the computer room." Brashieel demurred.
"I will have someone lead them for you." Ll'awa said, signaling an assistant. The young Rakata led us into the depths of the encampment, stopping at a door where a single Rakata knelt in meditation.
"This is Keeper Orsaa. He will assist you." Our guide motioned toward the other Rakata, and left again.
Orsaa looked up. "Well met yet again, Revan. I am glad that you have returned. He stood, towering over us. "I could not believe that you had betrayed us, regardless of what the council decided. I am the keeper of our history and the sole computer that remains for our use. When you were here last, you had many questions for me. I have heard of the destruction of your memories, but I hope some of what we spoke of remains?"
Danika shook her head. "I wish I could remember."
Orsaa chuckled. "There is no need to apologize. While it pains me that all I have taught you is gone, I am an old being, and old beings enjoy repeating themselves."
Danika snorted trying to keep from laughing, her eyes moving toward me. "So I have discovered. I do have questions yet again for you."
"Yes, or course. You must forgive me if what I tell you suddenly seems familiar. We discussed the history of my people at great length when you were last here. I will endeavor to enlighten you in any way I can."
"Tell me of the beginnings of the Rakata Empire."
"Long ago, we discovered that we could combine both what you call the Force, and material objects into a single object. We made great weapons and buildings such as the temple that rests beyond. We soon grew bored with seeing the same stars, and the same planet, and created ships of metal and Force combined, with what you would call hyper drives that fed upon the Force itself. We went outward from our world. Everywhere we went we found other more primitive societies. But instead of helping them advance, teaching them what we knew, those early Rakata decided instead to conquer them. Those we did not destroy became our slaves.
"Back then, we commanded the Force as easily as you command metals now. Something we never learned, because the Force was in abundance. Combined with our technology, and our great temple, we were irresistible. Soon we spread across this galaxy, and we called our works the Infinite Empire in our hubris.
"But it was discovered in the fourteenth millennia of our empire that our children had become weaker in the Force, and some were unable to feel it at all. Instead of understanding this warning, we taught ourselves how to make the hyper drives and engines that ran our ships in a more mundane manner. Yet that first weakening in our grasp of the Force became the first sign of our collapse."
"How did the Empire collapse"?
"We were a corrupt people, using our powers and technology to smash those that opposed us. How, some reasoned, were we different if another Rakata had something you needed? Some began treating other Rakata as we had the so-called lesser races. But in corruption you find greed and honor in equal measure. Those that strove to hold the Empire together, and those that feared that the Force would vanish for all time, and would grab for what they could at whatever cost. Natural opponents.
"Our Empire was built on slaughter and slavery. We began using the same means upon ourselves. It began to collapse as our own people fought for what they wanted. Plagues sprouted up, and each plague seemed to weaken our hold on the Force just that much more. As we weakened our slaves began to revolt. Our weapons devastated planets in an attempt to halt this. You told me before of a planet named Tatooine where our ships still lie. This was one such.
"Here on our own hidden home world the fighting between rival factions escalated. Warlords fought to control all, and succeeded only in our own slaughter. Many are the weapon designs were taken and placed in the Temple so only the priests could gain it, but always there were more. Biological weapons were released, nuclear and anti-matter fire devoured cities. Only those that had hidden themselves had even a remote chance of survival. Our empire collapsed into ruins in less than a century. The glory of what we called Infinite lies only in rust, dust, and bones.
"Then came the fleets captured by those we had oppressed, come to repay us in kind, or slaughter those that remained. The greatest of all our priests, L'Wass entered the temple, and a great scream came from it. Then the ships fell like stars from the sky, crashing everywhere. But it cost him to use the Force that last time. He staggered from the temple, and died. But those still here fought until our society collapsed as well.
"Since then ships have crashed here as other peoples beyond our star rediscovered us. Finally you came, and filled us with hope." He looked sad. "Now if you could just free us from this great prison."
"I will do what I can." Danika replied softly. "Now, I was told you still had a computer?"
"Of course, you have forgotten that as well." He turned, and opened the door that he knelt before. Beyond was a small room. "Enter."
The console was dark with age. Danika paced toward it, standing before the system. She hunted for a moment, then touched a control.
"User verification." He turned around. Before us stood a small hologram about a meter tall of a Rakata. "Species is not Rakata. Access to auxiliary archives not permitted for slave races. Restricted only to Rakata and approved servants."
"I come in the name of the Rakata people." Danika said. Then she spoke in their language. The machine replied in kind. "You have been programmed with the Basic language." She said. "Use it for those with me."
"Order accepted. Downloading information on access to the temple as requested. However only Rakata can so access the temple. While you speak the language, the intonation and timbre is incorrect."
"Understood." She handed me a data pad. "Access data files."
"Accessing. State topic of interest."
"I am looking for secrets of the Ancient Rakata."
"Accessing. Retrieval complete. All such information is held within the Temple itself. There are only synopses in this system. Access to the main temple was cut during the siege of the planet over 28,000 years ago."
"How do I enter the temple?"
"As stated, a Rakata must speak the codes necessary. The force field around the temple will stop any attempt to enter it without authorized access. Anyone within the temple can shut the field down, but from without, the codes must be used. This was to assure that renegades would not use the data within the computer inside. The code is a ritualistic chant in an ancient poetical meter. This is detailed in full in the book held by the Keeper of Knowledge."
"Tell me of the Star Forge."
"Error, no such data is within this system."
She shook her head. "Tell me of the Ancient Rakata. Historical overview."
"Accessing. Retrieval complete." A glowing ball similar to one of the Star Maps glowed in mid air. "The Infinite Empire covered the Galaxy, and at it's height consisted of 500 planets, ten billion Rakata, and over a trillion slaves. However corruption set in, and the Empire was weakened by a series of civil wars. Before the first of these Civil Wars, the first mutation of a great plague struck the Rakata."
"Wait, the Rakata say that there were a series of plagues."
"It would be more correct to say mutations of a specific virus. Just as your race speaks of a 'common' cold that strikes even those that suffered it before."
"Where did you get that analogy?"
"From the one called Revan who accessed this system five years before."
"Continue."
"The origins of the plague are unknown. Perhaps it was a naturally occurring virus of one of the planets conquered during the expansion. Possibly it was created by one of the slave races. It has even been suggested that the Rakata themselves made it as a weapon. It killed only Rakata, and those that were infected and did not die discovered that they could no longer access what you call the Force, and this lack of ability was passed on to their progeny. Carried by their own ships, it spread to every corner of the Empire before it was stopped.
"The Empire began to collapse, slowed by creating technology that could mimic what their original ships could do. But as slave revolts tore through the Empire, the Race retreated back here to their home world. However even here they were not safe. Millions died in the civil wars that struck them, more died as the plague mutated to strike the race again and again.
"That history ended over 28,000 years ago. Now my creators have devolved into scattered primitive tribes that still fight each other to gather what they need to survive."
"So sad." She whispered. "If they had tried to do good-"
"They would have still had civil wars." I said. "Look at the Galaxy now. The Sith and the Mandalorians could have been members of the Republic. But instead they fight to conquer. The nature of most species hasn't changed."
She nodded sadly. A Rakata came running up. "The Elders ask for your presence."
Danika
We stood before the Elders again. Their leader motioned for us to approach. "Revan, the Council had decided that your actions merit another chance. For many centuries we have tried to discover a way into the Temple, and by so doing, a means to destroy the Star Forge. But only those that command the Force, such as you are capable of passing through the screen. As you no doubt know, our people no longer have that ability. That is why we were willing to help you the last time.
"But you cannot enter the temple without our assistance. The ancient ritual for entering must be spoken by one of our people, and only with it can your own capabilities allow you to pass the screen. We need you as much as you need us in this, Revan."
"So it appears we must trust one another to do their part."
"For our sake, and the sake of the Galaxy, we hope you really mean to atone for your past evils. When you are ready, you may go to the temple, and our Keeper of knowledge will begin the ritual.
"However, it is our belief that allowing both you and Malak to pass through was a grave error on our part. It was a violation of our traditions, and we will return to them. If you enter the temple, you must go alone."
"You believe that it was letting two in instead of one that caused all of the suffering that followed?"
"We believe that you truly wish to end our suffering this time. But we will not take a chance by defiling the temple and our ancient rite yet again. If you enter, you must go alone."
"I will return to the ship, leaving my friends, and return to the temple at dawn." I replied. I led Canderous and Jolee to the ship in silence. I was terrified of what I might discover in there. Somewhere between this moment and when I stepped off the deck of the Star Forge to return to Korriban and enlist the Sith I had fallen to the darkness. Could I hold myself from doing so again?
Our dinner was tomb like. No one wished to break my mood, and I found I could not break it either. The only interruption was when our sensors reported that a fighter had flown down to land inside the temple. I wondered about that. If the screen was impenetrable, how had that ship flown into it?
My dreams were chaotic. I found myself moving through the temple. I could see the hallway, which led to where Bastila had been tortured, yet, the altar stone she had been bound to was empty now. I feared that she had died, but knew through the bond, that she had not. She still refused me admittance.
I was glad that the sun finally rose. I would finish this as quickly as I could, the better to end the matter once and for all. I tousled Sasha's hair, hugged Mission, and started up the path toward the temple. I was free at last. Free to live or die by my own strengths.
Keeper Orsaa stood at the bottom of the ramp, as close as you could get without impinging on the screen.
"The time has come to atone for your past, Revan." Orsaa intoned. "But the task will be greater than you had before. The temple is now home to a number of what you call dark Jedi and their metal servants."
"Dark Jedi?" I stared at the building. "How did they get in there?"
"The last time you and Malak entered, you must have found a control that causes the screen to be raised and lowered. Those within can lower and raise it at will to allow other force users entry. Did you not feel it last night?"
"The fighter."
"Even so. But that ability will not stop us from opening the screen for you to pass. It will take several hours. The chant is very complex."
"Wait." One of the Rakata with him pointed down the concourse toward where the path to the ship was. "Someone is coming!"
I saw two figures, and as they approached, they resolved themselves into Jolee and Juhani. I looked at Orsaa beseechingly, then walked toward them.
"You can't enter the temple alone!" Jolee shouted.
"Friends, I must!" I motioned for them to move closer to Orsaa so he could follow the conversation.
"We have had a premonition." Juhani said. "There is great danger, and here is where you will fall this time. We cannot let you go on alone!"
"You might be facing a trap." Jolee cut in. "Maybe Malak is waiting for you to come in himself! Even if he is not, we sense a number of Dark Jedi within. Enough that they can bury you in numbers if you are not careful."
"No one may enter with her." Orsaa growled. "She was told this, and you dark one were there when she was told!"
Jolee walked over to face the Rakata. "The fate of the Galaxy, of everyone on this planet depends on her succeeding. Would you be happy if tradition made us stay outside and she died or returned as the dark lord again? Will future generations applaud your blind adherence if it meant their own lives were as brutal as your own?"
"I will not leave this place!" Juhani said. "If you go in alone, all the good you have done will be swept away in a burst of emotion. The vision you had of Mission dying will occur, and we will have already died by your hand."
I stared at her. That vision had haunted me since Dantooine. To know that I would kill a girl I loved shocked me. That two of my friends would already be dead by my hand when that happened worried me even more. "Orsaa!'
"No! We cannot break tradition a second time!"
Jolee stepped forward. "There is a fleet coming that will be attacking the Star Forge in the next day or so. If we are standing here arguing when it arrives that disruptor field will destroy them. Will you murder the only hope of the galaxy for tradition?"
"My friends would not lie to you of this." I told Orsaa. "They say that I will fail if I go alone. I trust their judgment in this. If I must have help to succeed, they must come with me."
Orsaa looked at them for a long moment, then he signaled the other Guardians to join him and the chant began again.
"It looks like this might take a while."
"That is what they told me."
They hadn't been joking. The sun had passed zenith by at least an hour before Orsaa motioned. I trotted forward, and felt as if I pushed through a beaded curtain. On the other side the air was heavy with the Force, the evil flowing from the building darkening every step.
We ran up the ramp, and I touched the main door. It opened smoothly. The instant I saw it, the interior was familiar. Beyond it was a hallway running both directions. To our front and a few meters to our right was the door I knew led to the upper level where the control for the force field and disruptor lay. But it resisted my hand. I cursed, wanting to cut the door, but knew that it was thick enough that no lightsaber would even reach the inner face of it.
"Something is wrong." I explained that the door should have opened at my approach. They looked at the door.
"Perhaps the changes between Revan and Danika are more profound than you imagine." Juhani said. "It no longer recognizes you."
"Then I have to go to the lower level." I said. "The main computer is there."
We ran down the hall. I stopped the others, and looked around the corner. Three heavy combat droids crouched there. I motioned back to a door we had passed, and touched the key plate. The door opened, and the Jedi standing within spun. "Who dares intrude..." He saw my face, and sneered. "The fallen one, Revan."
"I am Revan no longer."
"So my Lord Malak has told all of us within the Force. He spoke of you. How the Jedi council stripped you of your identity and your skills, leaving you a shell of what you once where. You are not worthy of calling yourself a Dark Lord, or even a Jedi! You should thank me for killing you."
He started forward, and I smiled. His light saber lit, and I threw my own. It shot past him as he ducked then circled back, decapitating him from behind. I caught the handle in mid air, twirling it with my fingers.
"I wish they would give me the time to teach all of them that they are wrong before killing them." I ducked my head blushing at Jolee's look. "I will try to behave Jolee."
"See that you do."
I went to a flower-shaped computer console. I touched the controls, then shut down all alarms, droids, and unlocked all the doors. A signal chimed on the console, but I ignored it, leading us rapidly to another door.
It opened, and a Dark Jedi stormed through. He saw me, and his lightsaber lit. "Revan as I live and breathe!" He flourished his weapon. "About time I had a real challenge. Come along, let's dance, Revan, and don't bore me!"
I signaled the others to stand back, and lit the double lightsaber I carried. His first rush brought us breast to breast, and he leaped back as I slit his cheek with a Fybylka cut. He flinched, touching the burn. Then he came in more carefully. He cut at my feet, and I leaped, blocking the strike he made over his head, and landing behind him. My foot shot out, and I felt his knee snap. He went down, rolling, but I clipped his lightsaber at the base, and the blade fizzled and died.
He screamed reaching out, catching a statue, and I felt it shifting. As it began to fall toward us I reached out, catching it, and holding the tons of rock over him.
"I don't want to kill you." I gritted out.
He laughed, and I saw the pistol in his hand. I blocked the bolt with a piece of rock from the floor, but I lost control of the statue, rolling it toward him. He caught it, but it was too much too fast. There wasn't even a scream.
I sighed, and led the others to the path downward. We ran into the lower level, coming to a series of metallic squares set in the floor. I remembered the pattern, running along them one way then another. The door opened, and I ran up to the computer console.
When I touched it, a voice spoke. "Greetings, Revan. It has been some time since you have accessed this terminal. I had considered the possibility that you had died, especially considering our last conversation."
"I am not Revan anymore. I am called Danika now."
"An odd statement because your physical form has not changed. It might explain the neurological abnormalities I detected. The changes have been substantial, the sign of recent damage to your brain."
"Yes."
"These changes have been recorded, and have been added to my memory bank."
"Your memory bank."
"You were surprised when you first discovered that the Rakata once used self-aware computers, if brain damage is the cause of your neurological changes, explanations are in order. I am the primary data bank of the planet. Once, long ago, I was the primary computer of the entire Infinite Empire. To carry out that mission, it was required that I be self aware, so that damage to my systems could be repaired readily. I was ordered to record all noteworthy occurrences within Rakata space. I recorded the birth and death of that Empire.
"My systems are fully self-replicating, so there has been no degradation of my memory core. All data stored within this system is still accessible."
I considered the quest of the Rakata. "Do you have genetic information?"
"I have data on every genetic change the Rakata have undergone in the millennia they were the dominant species, and some of what occurred before the collapse. What were you wishing to know directly?"
"Can you duplicate these files in the auxiliary archives of what is called the Elder's encampment?"
"Not directly. There are no longer links to that system." It hummed. "However, I can control the droids in the temple, and deliver it all to the computer you have specified." It hummed again. "The droid has been dispatched. State the nature of any further requests."
"Tell me of the Star Forge."
"The Star Forge was built in the last century of the Empire. The leader of the Empire wished the ability to literally manufacture equipment from raw stellar material. The structure is the largest ever envisioned by any species. It is a combination fully automated factory and battle dreadnought.
"The construction began because the Priests of the True Temple located on another world began to falter for an unknown reason. Though they did not know it, that was the first sign of the disease that stripped them of the Force. That True Temple used the Force to control the mind and will of their slaves throughout their domain, and without it, their slaves began to rebel. To assure their supremacy, they needed more ships and weapons they could no longer build since the plague had by that time struck here.
"The Star Forge can build anything the mind can envision, drawing the matter necessary from the star itself, and forming it using both technology and the Force. From a sword blade to a warship, all can be literally put together atom by atom. Much of the same technology was used millennia before to build my own system. It was built so that those who operated it did not need the Force themselves; instead it would draw the Force from the planetary system itself."
"The fools did it to themselves." I whispered. "They didn't realize that everything living has some trace of the Force within it. They fed their own people, their own planet into it, and completed their own destruction."
"Correct. You understand what they did not; that like myself, the Star Forge is in a lot of ways a living entity, and it will try to survive as long as that is possible. It was necessary for the system to be able to detect, and feed on the Force in it's operations. That ability is the key to the operation of the Star Forge, but it also led to the Empire's collapse."
"How so?"
"The Rakata built the Star Forge not to save an Empire from a civil war, but to maintain the status quo of that Empire long after it was possible. An Empire founded on conquest and greed. Since the reasons for its creation were fueled by those dark purposes, it feeds better from them. You might say that it doesn't like the taste of what you called the Light side of the Force. It corrupts all that lived here for too long a time because it makes it's own operations more efficient.
"The builders believed that they could control this side affect of their creation, as you did when you first came. But those tendencies in the system caused those in charge to become darker, and crueler. Their own cruelty fueled the civil wars, and led to the collapse of the Empire. Before you left the system for the last time, you had decided it was the same with what you had thought to build.
"Can it be disabled?"
"You asked me that before as well. If the Force could be removed from the equation, the Star Forge, in fact all things built by it as well would fall apart in a brief time. Whereas your race makes metals by the time consuming process of alloying, their systems from the smallest hand weapon to my own is held together by the Force. If the Force were to disappear from the system for a long enough time, those constructs would degrade and fall apart. Also, if it were destroyed, they would be irreparable.
"The degradation would be more rapid in the more complex systems created by the Star Forge. Electronic circuitry would collapse almost immediately, weapons within hours, even hull metal would begin to fall apart after only a few months, unless hit by weapons fire. My circuitry would be irreparably damaged by such an act."
"Is it possible?"
The computer paused. "You asked me to work on a weapon that would neutralize the Force when you were last here several months ago. There is an answer. It can be done."
"Download all data to my data pad."
"You must understand that as a self-aware computer, I can contemplate death and fear it as a living being can. While the question might be merely your stated wish to be able to neutralize the Jedi rather than to kill them, it could be used against my system or the Star Forge. I cannot give such information to you."
"Fine. Extrapolate. Assume that Malak continues using the Star Forge. What happens?"
"The Sith succeed in defeating your Republic in the next year. The death toll will be in the trillions. Approximately one thousand five hundred years from now, the Sith will face extinction as did the Rakata because the Force will deny them as it did before. The Sith Empire spanning not a few hundred but a hundred thousand stars will drag civilization into a dark age lasting millennia. Approximately eleven thousand years from now, a new civilization will discover the Star Forge yet again, and the cycle will begin again."
"Now extrapolate, the Star Forge is destroyed."
"The Sith will continue fighting for approximately six more years. During that time the ships built by the Star Forge will have degraded into uselessness. Their fleet will be reduced within perhaps five months to a tenth of what it is at the present time, and they do not have the building slips necessary to recover their numbers in comparison to the Republic. But they will have overextended and collapse themselves within that time."
"Death toll?"
"Much less than the first extrapolation. Merely several billion more. Also knowing that their ships will degrade rapidly will hamper their operations."
"I submit that we can have you operational yet still destroy the Star Forge." I told it. "If I remember correctly, there are several droids built by our races still on this planet."
"Number one hundred seventy four."
"I postulate that by using those droids made by us, they will be unaffected by the destruction of the Force in this system, and will be able to replace your circuitry using not the Force driven methods of the Rakata, but the material ones we use. I know from my own fragmented memories that most of the droids from the last century of the Infinite Empire were built in that manner." I paused. "It may take time, years even, before you are fully operational again. But by using our methods, you may be around another 20,000 years."
"Probability 70% that you are correct." It replied. "Data being transferred."
"All right. How can the disruptor field be destroyed?"
"It cannot be destroyed except by the removal of the Force. It is self-repairing as this unit is. However it can be shut down and will remain so until reactivated. It was built as the main defense of the Star Forge and the planet. It can only be deactivated from the primary control system at the pinnacle of the temple."
"But I cannot get through the door!"
"That is because my systems determined who was worthy of admittance. The injuries you sustained altered your pattern sufficiently that the door did not recognize you. It has been reset."
"Thank you. Delete all mention, research and links to this weapons project."
"Completed. You do understand that you yourself will never be able to repeat it?"
"I do. You will do the same with any specifications, plans, or designs of the Star Forge itself."
"Complete."
"Now, Program the droids with all of the technical data to immediately begin replacement of your Force modified circuitry, then shut down. Hopefully, damage will be slight if you are not in operation."
"Yes, that is possible. It seems we both will see if we can be redeemed." Was that humor? As you would say, May the Force be with us both. Shutting down." No, it was like a living being, it was bravely facing it's own future. The system slowly shut down. I touched the console. I had in my hand the way to defeat the Sith and Malak in one stroke.
But it would probably kill me too.