Selena turned to Ava, and said, "Revan is coming to join us shortly. A couple more days on Dantooine at the most before arriving at the rendezvous point."
"You performed adequately, Selena. All records of your failure to follow Command's suicidal orders have been wiped from the record."
"I didn't ask you to do that. Why remove it?"
"I have my reasons. Just remember that when the time comes who was interested in preserving your life. I may call on your services at a later time. For you to do certain things that the public eye can never learn of."
"What are you planning?"
"There are many things I have planned. But first, Revan must arrive at the veteran's center. Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is really quick."
"Tell her that there is someone who can help her find Marthan Ordo."
"Who?"
"The man behind the destruction of her homeworld."
"Will do." Selena said, cutting the communication.
-=0=-
Revan gently nudged Bastila, and said, "Get up."
The Padawan groggily rubbed her eyes, and said, "You could try being a little less blunt."
"Wish I could babe, but I've got to make sure that you look like you spent the night on the plains, not getting a perfect night's sleep. We can't have the Council learning about us."
"What time is it?"
"About three hours before most people would be getting up. Should get you looking sleep deprived enough to make the Council believe that after you tried to talk me out of going to war I sent you off to meditate in the groves and sleep on the plains."
"Are you at least going to keep me company?"
"Wish I could, but you're supposed to be spending this time in solemn meditation, thinking of the proper nature of respecting your teacher." Revan replied, smirking. "Don't worry, I'll keep in touch via the bond. We just have to play it safe. Keep the Council from getting too suspicious."
Bastila sighed, and said, "Alright."
-=0=-
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow." the man said, repeating himself over and over again.
"What is going to happen tomorrow?" the doctor asked.
"She must arrive tomorrow. Or all will be lost."
"Who is she?"
"She has defied her masters. She must arrive here tomorrow."
"You care to tell me who she is?"
"She will be here tomorrow, you must see to it."
"Who is she?"
"Darth Revan." the man said.
The doctor looked at him, and said, "There is no darth living. The last one was Exar Kun."
The man shuddered, and said, "The Jedi Knight Revan. She has not assumed the mantle of the Dark Lord."
"You say that with such certainty, why?"
"Because our master has deigned that it will be so."
"Who is your master?"
"Were we to tell you he would kill us."
-=0=-
Revan turned around to see Selena walking up. The Jedi Hunter said, "Knight Revan, we've got a situation you have to attend to. Immediately."
"What?" Revan asked, her voice guarded.
"A man who claims to have information about the current location of Marthan Ordo is on Coruscant. He's dying. He may not even last until the day after Tomorrow."
"Get the fastest ship you have available ready. Needs to have room for three." Revan said, "Let's see what this guy has on Marthan."
"What do you have against this mandalorian? It seems personal?"
"He sold me as a slave on Nar Shaddaa." Revan replied, turning back the way she'd come.
"Where are you going?" Selena asked.
"Got to pick up my Padawan." Revan replied. "She'd never let me hear the end of it if I left her behind when going to Coruscant to find out something about Marthan."
-=0=-
Ava turned to Selena, and said, "Is Revan here?"
"She's coming soon. Just gotta pick up her Padawan. How'd you get here so quickly?"
"I have my methods. If Revan tries anything, cut her down."
"Roger."
-=0=-
Revan walked up to Bastila, and said, "We're leaving. As soon as possible."
"We?" Bastila asked.
"I never said I wasn't taking you with me to Coruscant. Just not out to fight in the war."
"Aren't you worried that the Council will be suspicious?"
"Nothing suspicious about a teacher taking their student with them to the Temple. I have to keep up your training regimen until I find a suitable substitute in my absence."
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
"I've got a couple candidates who seem like they could be good for you. Just don't go and fall for whoever I choose, ok?"
Bastila laughed, and said, "I won't, Rev."
"I know." Revan replied, giving the younger woman a quick kiss before saying, "Let's go. There isn't a lot of time before we have to get to Coruscant."
"Why are we heading there so quickly?"
"I just got word. Supposedly a man on his deathbed has information on the location of Marthan."
Bastila looked at Revan with concern, and asked, "What are you going to do if he does lead you to him?"
The Jedi Knight looked at Bastila, and said, "I'm going to torture him until the pain kills him."
"Revan, you can't. There isn't anything that could lead to other than your corruption. You would lose the balance between light and dark."
Revan looked at her lover, and said, "Maybe. Doesn't matter."
"How can you say it doesn't matter if you fall?"
Revan laughed, and said, "Because even if I do fall, I doubt you'll let me stay that way for long."
Bastila smiled awkwardly, and asked, "You think that if you fall I'll be able to pull you back to a balance, Rev?"
"I don't think it. I know it. Because, Babe, if you fell to the Dark Side and wanted me to join you, I probably would. If you wouldn't turn your back on trying to destroy the Republic for me, that is."
"What makes you think that I wouldn't turn to the Dark Side for you, Rev? I'm sure that if you were fallen that you would try to lure me to your way of thinking."
"Because you're a lot stronger than I am.. You can fight the temptation more easily than I."
Bastila just laughed, and said, "I would probably take the first chance I saw to run away with you. Regardless of the consequences."
"Well I guess the galaxy would be screwed if either of us fell. I guess that I'll have to hold back when I meet Marthan."
"Probably a good idea, Rev." Bastila replied. "Just be sure to take care of it quickly, ok?"
"As quickly as I can. I don't want you to have to be fighting off suitors now that you've got your confidence. After all, if you could catch my eye you'll probably be needing to fight people off with your lightsaber to be left alone."
Bastila laughed, and asked, "And you want to be the one chasing them away?"
"You say that like I'd let anyone who hits on my girl live." Revan replied, smiling at the younger woman.
"So protective of me, huh?"
"Not so much protective as jealous. A girl like you with options doesn't have the most reason to stick with a nutcase like me. Hell, most people wouldn't even try to make it work."
Bastila laughed, and said, "Did it never come to your mind that part of what makes me love you is that crazy side?"
Revan grinned, as she picked Bastila up, and said, "So I guess you'd say that you'd love it if I teleported to the entrance of the Enclave with you like this?"
The younger woman rested her head on Revan's shoulder, and whispered, "Yes. But I have a feeling that if you do it would be counter-productive to keeping us a secret."
"Well depending on who you ask, I've been shitty about hiding that I love you already."
"I was still terrified you didn't up until you said it, Rev." Bastila replied, "They were just jumping at shadows, but this time they just happened to be hiding something."
"They also say we were both blind to not realize it was mutual."
"They say a lot of things."
Revan grinned, and said, "You know, I thought you'd be a bit more worried about me actually knowing how to teleport."
"You said that you were on the other side a hundred thousand years, Rev. I figure you took some of that time learning a few new tricks."
Revan nodded, then said, "I'm gonna make you look poisoned when we show up at the door. That way if anyone asks any questions, you're in trouble and we have to get you to Coruscant. You'll be fine, just won't look too good. You okay with that?"
Bastila smiled, and said, "Anything to stay right here."
Revan sighed, and said, "Alright." Running a hand over the younger woman's body. "You'll look like you're in bad shape. Don't talk out loud if any Jedi asks questions. Once we're on the ship, we'll be in the clear."
-=0=-
Ava turned to Selena and said, "She's taking a while."
The soldier scratched the back of her head and said, "You may be right about her being more interested in getting some pussy than doing what needs to be done."
Then Revan appeared, a look of anger on her face. "What did you just say, Selena?"
Selena jumped to her feet while turning to face Revan. When she did she saw Bastila, the young woman looking pale, almost on the verge of death. "What happened to Bastila?"
"Don't worry about it." Revan replied. "She's fine."
"She looks like she's about to die."
Ava laughed, and said, "Nicely done, Tremaine. An illusion of that quality where it's next to impossible to even sense the Force threads is very difficult. I guess that time in the Force did you some good after all."
Revan turned to the woman, and said, "Who are you?"
"Ava. Commander of the Republic Dark Jedi Hunter Corps. It's a pleasure to meet you, you horny teenager."
Revan laughed, and said, "I've heard you didn't like me choosing to wait to join the war. However; I've heard that there's someone on Coruscant who needs to speak to me. Someone who might know where a… particular mandalorian is."
"Yeah." Ava said. "We'll debrief you in the ship. Don't have a lot of time to spare. You have to see him tomorrow. Otherwise he says all will be lost. Seems to think that you'll end up serving the Dark."
Revan looked at the woman with curiosity, and asked, "Most people would call it falling to the Dark Side, why do you say serving the Dark?"
"His words, Tremaine, not mine."
"Your deception's so thick I could stab you with it if I wanted to, Ava. What aren't you telling me?"
"How about I tell you about it after youi talk with this guy? Just know that I'm putting my neck out for you, Tremaine. Don't expect me to always do that."
Revan nodded, as they boarded the vessel. Inside, she turned to Selena, and asked, "What do you know of this Ava chick?" while letting Bastila get back to looking normal.
"Not much. She woke up from a coma in some tiny med clinic in the slums of Coruscant."
"Was she Force Sensitive before then?"
"The family was all dead. So we can't sya for sure. All we know is that we know next to nothing about her before joining up. If we didn't need powerful Force users to defeat the mandos right now we probably wouldn't have taken her help.
"The only weird thing is that as soon as she heard your name she was furious. Wanted to stab you with a lightsaber."
Bastila looked at Revan with concern, as a look of recognition passed the Knight's face. She simply said, "So, the Dark wants to put me back in that cage, and this is his chance at redemption for letting me out. But he's still trying to help me."
"Who?"
"Not where this can be overheard."
-=0=-
Meetra looked visibly shaken. A couple of younger Knights asked, "What's wrong, Meetra?" as she stood there, shock clear in her eyes. For a few seconds she had felt Revan's presence. But so much faster than their own ship that it was technologically impossible. And Revan had said a while ago that she wasn't capable of teleporting herself across a distance that great.
So she turned to them, and said, "Something's happened. I've got a feeling we're going to somehow find Revan managed to beat us to Coruscant."
"That's not possible. She didn't leave before us." they said.
"Trust me." Meetra said, "She'll be there."
-=0=-
Revan sat next to Bastila, who rested her head on the Jedi's shoulder. She said, "What's going on, Rev? It feels like we're going faster than we should."
"We are. WE'll be on Coruscant in a few hours."
"That shouldn't be possible."
"Ava knows an ancient Dark Side technique for increasing speed exponentially. The faster we're going when she first uses it, the more potent it will be."
"More dangerous too?"
Revan nodded, and said, "Only one with a full understanding of the very nature of the Dark Side, who had travelled to the other side would use it at this level. We are travelling so much faster than technology would allow that we will beat Meetra there."
"What makes you certain that we'll beat her there?"
"We passed her ship about half an hour ago. Probably freaked her out."
"How do you know we passed her ship?"
"We were about ten feet away from the vessel. Close enough that for twelve seconds I could sense her presence. And I'm sure vice versa."
"You aren't very fazed by this, Rev."
"I know what's going on."
"Ceritas in Tenebris. It's an ancient Pre-Republic dark Force technique."
"How does this person know about Force techniques from before the Republic?"
"Once we're off this ship I'll explain everything to you. I don't need anyone listening in on that conversation."
"Why are you so concerned about people hearing it?"
"If they do, I could lose a serious advantage in things to come. I cannot afford to let that happen."
"What things?"
"I can't tell you, Bas. You won't have a part in them."
"Why not?"
Revan shook, and said, "I can't tell you that, babe. I wish I didn't know it either. Just know that I love you, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Bastila looked at Revan with concern, and asked, "Why do you feel so sad and afraid?"
"I won't say it. Even things seen on the other side are not written in stone. They are merely what could happen."
"Tell me, Rev."
"On the other side… I saw a future that I will not let exist, even if I'm going to have to kill myself or destroy the Republic to stop it."
"What is it?"
Revan shudderred, and said, "I don't know where. I don't know when. But it happened like this.
-=0=-
I walked into a dark chamber. You were sitting there, using Battle Meditation. I could feel the dread of facing you again. Of seeing you corrupted by the Dark Side as you further embraced it in that cold metal chamber. It's corruption weighed down on me as I approached you.
You turned to me, and said, "Revan, my master and I knew you would come. You have become so predicatable since that day you returned."
I looked you in the eye, Bastila. And, it wasn't you. This dark Jedi did not have that fire in your eyes. Even when you were at your lowest before it had been there. Looking into your eyes, they had turned to a dead gray. There was no life in them. Not even a glimmer of it.
All that remained was Dark Power. A faint red glow of the evil flowing through your body. You looked at me, waiting for a response, and I said, "If I'm so predictable, why aren't you feeling anything at seeing me? No joy at being right, no satisfaction in outsmarting your old master.
"You just looked drained. As if everything that made you seem so alive has been forcibly removed. And for what, so that you can become stronger in the Dark Side? Is that power truly worth the sacrifice of everything that makes you who and what you are?"
"You once thought so, Revan."
"You know that isn't the truth, Bas."
"Do not call me that!"
I smirked, and shook my head. I replied, "I see. You aren't truly drained. And the Darkness within you knows it. It's afraid that I'll be able to bring you back to a balance. It doesn't want that. It wants to keep its control over you, rather than you controlling it."
You looked at me furiously, and drew your saber. Twin red blades extended from it, and you charged. You were faster than I've ever seen you. But it still wasn't enough, I deflected your strike with a single saber. You looked at me furiously as I held the single weapon. You asked, "Do you believe that you do not need your second blade to defeat me Revan?"
I sighed, and said, "I am not here to defeat you Bastila. I'm here to open your eyes so that you can see how Malak is using you. You should know that there is nothing in this life that I want to do less than fight you."
You shook with fury and struck again. I carefully deflected it, making sure to not hurt you. I felt sweat beading on my forehead as I did so, and you said, "You may not want to fight me, Revan. But I want to fight you. As soon as I strike you down it will prove to my master that I am ready to learn even more of the Dark Side."
"You're a fool if you think he'll teach you more. If he thinks that you're getting strong enough to overthrow him he'll strike you down without even giving you a chance to defend yourself! He betrayed me to claim the title of Dark Lord, do you think that he won't betray you to keep it?"
"He will not for it is the way of the Sith to teach their students to surpass them, and once they have to be destroyed."
"Even if you do manage to become Dark Lord you will just take on a student who will betray and kill you, Bas. Do you really want that? To live a life of kill or be killed? Where it is those closest to you that you must trust the least?"
"It is the way of the Sith. It is why we are stronger than the Jedi! It is why the Republic will fall!"
I took a deep breath, and said, "Open your eyes, Bastila. The path you seek to take is not one of strength, merely one of death!"
You charged again as those words left my mouth, loosing a bolt of lightning at me. I deflected it with my bare hand, and grabbed your saber by the blade with my other. I looked you in the eye and said, "If it is power you seek, it cannot be found in drawing solely on the Light or the Dark. In balance there is power. In absolutes, there is death."
You looked terrified for a moment, as you struck towards my chest with your left foot. I simply sidestepped it, and threw you towards the hologram. You shouted, "HOW CAN YOU DEFEAT ME SO EASILY HERE ON THE STAR FORGE?! HERE THE DARK SIDE IS AT ITS STRONGEST I SHOULD BE ABLE TO OVERWHELM YOU WHO ARE WEAKENED BY THE LIGHT!"
I shook my head and said, "I am as strong here as anyone else. For though outside my body the Dark Side may be stronger, inside me it is unified with the Light and the Balance. For me there is no light or dark. There is no balance for there is only the one Force. Where that Force is stronger I am too."
You charged at me, drawing on that place's dark power, and an entire river of lightnign was loosed at me. As I deflected it with the back of my hand, I saw you appear with lightsaber glowing heading towards my chest.
Instinct kicked in, and before I could stop myself your arm was gone. A single strand of Force energy severed it, and another pulse sent you flying away from me. I stopped myself as I was about to finish it. You looked at me and asked, "Why do you not end this fight? I am your enemy!"
"You are not my enemy, Bas. You never will be either. Don't you see that I will do whatever it takes to save you from a fate that is nothing more than death?"
You roared at me, an unintelligible sound as that room recreated your arm. It was in agony, and you focused on it. You drew on the power in the Dark Side that pain gave you. But I thought it wasn't enough. When you struck I raised my hand to catch your blade, but felt the heat of the blade.
Without thinking I vanished, and struck my arm through your abdomen. You turned to me, shock in your eyes as you dropped your weapon, and fell to the ground. I could feel your life fading quickly.
Terror clutched me, and I said, "NO! Don't die! Bas!"
You looked at me, and smiled sadly. There was no anger. You said, "I see now, Rev. You were right. Even with all that the… gave me I couldn't beat you. You didn't even need to draw one saber."
"Don't talk like that, Bas. I can't lose you. Without you… there's nothing left to tie me back to my humanity! You're all I've got. I love you too much! I can't let you die!"
You looked me in the eye and said, "I know. And I love you too. I never stopped. But, Rev. My time has come. Goodbye my love. Do not blame yourself for my death." and then you were gone.
I felt something change inside me in that vision as you passed on. There was no reason for me to hold on to my humanity. All that remained was rage and hatred towards whoever had turned you. To the very place I was in. I let out an unholy cry of pain as I felt the bond break. And then I turned towards that station. The one we were on. And I reached out with my power. My voice echoing through everyone's minds. I said, "Flee this system now. All of you. This place no longer has a right to exist. Leave this system now, lest you be destroyed as well as I cleanse it from the galaxy!"
I heard someone call me a fool lass, but his voice faded away quickly as I felt so much power fill me that my body began to crumble away. I felt as if I had consumed an entire star. And then… it was released in a single instant. That entire solar system wiped from existence, all that remained was your body, in a crystaline tomb, and me watching over it, tears flowing down my eyes.
I turned to the galaxy, as my body faded away and I began to say something. But then the vision ended.
-=0=-
"You saw a future where you destroyed an entire solar system?" Bastila asked, shock in her eyes.
"You were gone. That system had something responsible for your death. I couldn't let the place responsible for your end continue to exist. That was what I felt in the vision." Revan replied, looking at Bastila with concern. "I won't let that happen. If I have to I will turn my back on the Republic to keep you safe."
"Revan, no."
"Don't you get it, babe? There's going to come a time when the only thing tying me back to my humanity is you. If that tie gets severed, I won't have any reason to continue living. I wouldn't be able to move on."
"If that's the case then I can't do this."
Revan sighed, and said, "I understand."
Bastila looked shocked, and said, "You aren't going to fight it?"
The Knight shook her head, and said, "No. If you think that's what you have to do, go ahead."
Bastila nodded, and walked away. As she did so, Ava appeared beside Revan. Shook her head, and said, "You gonna let her get away like that? After all that time spent mooning after her?"
Revan shook her head, and said, "I saw that this was coming. A Lone Traveler showed me what it was like to hold on too jealously of some things. Sometimes, at the beginning of something like this it's important for there to be time to think. She'll come back, after we've spoken to your man. Hopefully learn who Marthan is."
Ava shook her head, and said, "You let her walk away, she isn't coming back."
"You don't know Bas like I do, Av. She needs this."
"Why?"
"We both know why."
"What makes you say that? You don't know anything about me?"
"I know Ava isn't your real name. I know that it was actually that of your mother who was killed by a Jedi Knight named Jolee Bindo. I know that you hate me because he saved me from Nar Shaddaa, and left you to rot on that rock for the next six years.
"You're angry because you believe he is one of the three manifestations of the Force, the manifestation of the gray. The balance. You believe that he left you behind to rescue me because he thought I would be the only one to prevent the occurance of the Final Age and that instead I would bring about another Age of Unification.
"I know that you travelled alone for a long time when you finally killed your owner. I know that you found Darth Venerus and he taught you the way of the Sith. I know that you are working against his wishes.
"I know that he seeks to destroy me or convert me to his cause because he does see me as a threat. I know that you will not turn against me because in the end you know that it was Venerus not your father Jolee who made it so that you were left on Nar Shaddaa.
"I know that every night Venerus haunts your nightmares. Drags you back down into the Dark that even now you struggle to control. I know that you do not take sides. That you work towards your own goals that are still in line with the spirit of the Dark.
"And just as much as I know about you Sierra Bindo I know more about Bastila. Her entire life there have only been two people who meant everything to her. Two people other than me she has loved. Her mother and her father. I know that she still wears the bracelet from her father because though she denies it to the Council, she misses him.
"She wishes she could go back and find him. To see how he is. But she is afraid of the Council's retribution. I know that she relies heavily on the approval of those people who outrank her in the Jedi Order to keep her confidence up.
"I know that she fears that she will be alone. I know that it is because of how she and her mother became estranged. She fears that there will be no one who will remember her after she is gone.
"But just as much as she fears that, she fears what will happen if the Republic is gone. She has seen some of the more uncivilized places in the galaxy and fears that if the Republic goes away the entire galaxy will fall to that level.
"And she fears above all that she will be responsible for it. She fears that because of her talent with Battle Meditation she will be used by armies to turn the tide against the Republic. She fears that because she remembers an injury she got on her right light when a gamorrean slave trader grabbed her and tried to take her to be a slave.
"She was on Nar Shaddaa with her father, who quickly cut down the slaver for trying to touch his daughter. She doesn't realize how much that changed someone else's life. And she won't for a while yet."
Ava said, "She's been to Nar Shaddaa, and you saw her father cut down a gamorrean to protect her?"
"You catch on quickly."
"How come she has no memory of it?"
Revan sighed, and said, "Because her father found your father and paid him to destroy those memories."
"And how did you know who I really am?"
"Because I have seen a hundred thousand possible timelines. I have seen what could have been, and in other realities was. Inside the Force I saw so much that it would drive a normal person insane."
Ava nodded, and asked, "You were wrong about a few things."
"I know." Revan replied, "But the full truth is not for me to say to you. It is for you to tell me. Otherwise, I would be invading your privacy on the matter."
Ava nodded, and said, "You weren't right about why I hate you."
Revan shrugged, and said, "Keep telling yourself that, Ava."
The woman glared at Revan as the Jedi Knight left the chamber.
-=0=-
A/N: Thanks for reading the latest chapter. That last segment with 'Ava' and Revan was a lot of fun to write. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did please leave a review.
