The fighting grew more and more intense as they advanced. Even after Moira managed to reroute as many as she could via security console, there was still stiff resistance. The Imperials were sending as many security personnel and hardware as possible to intercept and stop them. Yet, it was all futile for the Imperials. Whether by blaster bolts or lightsabers, they fell or were forced to fall back to another position. Even so, they had been fighting for nearly twenty hours straight and, even after hiding out in a weapons blister for another break for meditation and easing the exhaustion of the force blind soldier and smuggler, it was becoming clear that they were losing steam quickly. The two Jedi spoke little expect to make suggestions or confirm them. Their eyes were bloodshot and, when asked about it, Des sighed and said that it sometimes happened when the force was used in access at long length. "It's one of the reasons some of the Dark Lords look like walking corpses that had been physically beaten to death."
Four hours after they gotten up from their second long break, they were coming up to one final barrier between them and what would prove to be the massive prison chamber. "You did great, Moira;" said Alias. "The resistance would have been a great deal worse if you hadn't kept them out of the way."
Moira nodded and took a deep breath and said, "I did what I could. Let's get this over with."
The blast doors slid open and none of them were surprised to see a Sith Lord wielding a double bladed lightsaber standing in an antechamber, three Acolytes with him. Several engagements before, the Jedi had stopped trying to convince their friends to stay out of such fights. Dren and Moira rarely listened as it was and it usually simply made them targets anyway. The Sith Lord didn't speak. He simply attacked. The Acolytes moved to engage the soldier and the smuggler.
Moira had discovered a few things about the Sith in her career as a smuggler. One was that she hated them, especially after meeting a very nasty female specimen of the religion on Tatooine named Vaverone Zare. That Sith Lord had captured and brutally tortured and raped Corso while Moira had scrambled around running an unwilling errand for the Sith Lord. The second was that each and every one of them were arrogant egotists who tended to vastly over estimate their own power and abilities.
During this mission itself, Moira had managed to end two Acolytes when they came in quickly and furiously by simply avoiding death on the blades of their lightsabers. They would sweep at her, usually without even bothering to use the force to enhance their abilities and she would manage to evade them and blast them after they fully extended their weapons. At several points, she had nearly been killed, saved only by one of her Jedi friends. This time, however, they were focusing on the Sith Lord. She was alone against her opponent.
When the Sith Acolyte leaped into the air, hoping to simply slash her down, Moira yanked out her scatter gun in one smooth motion and fired. The Sith managed to avoid some of the blast and deflect more of it but it was not easy to avoid or defend against a scatter gun when it wasn't expected, even for someone strong in the force. Some of the blast caught the Sith's arms and legs and Moira managed to roll out of the way before turning and sending three successive blasts at her opponent. With his extremities already injured, he only managed to avoid some of the first and second blast. A part of the second managed to catch his lightsaber, tearing it apart and shutting it down. That allowed the third blast to slam into the Acolyte's chest.
Dren had a much easier time. Dropping his blaster cannon, he pulled his blaster pistol and a vibroblade instead, taking a deep breath. The Sith was sneering at him and said something or another that Dren didn't really pay attention to. When the Sith slashed, Dren powered up his personal energy shield. It deflected the attack, surprising and Sith as his lightsaber was repulsed by it and caused the Sith to overextend. He didn't have the chance to call on the force before his shoulder was blasted, rendering his arm useless and stabbed him right through the lungs, slashing upward through the heart as well.
Both Dren a Moira brought their fire power to bare on the final Acolyte, blazing away at her with everything they had and running to make it more difficult to become a target for reflected blaster bolts. The sheer volume coming from two different sides overwhelmed the Acolyte and she caught almost a dozen before they stopped firing.
Des and Alias were trying to overwhelm the Sith Lord but it was like trying to pin down a greased cannok. Even though they were perfectly in sink with each other, this Sith Lord was able to stay just enough ahead of them. Getting tired of it, the two Jedi ripped through his force defenses and pinned him before blasting him into the the wall panels. The Sith Lord barely had time to stagger to his feet before Alias cut him down. Des looked around and asked, "All good?"
They all nodded. Moira sighed and said, "None of my blaster packs are fully charged - except for my holdout."
"Here;" said Dren, handing over his side arm and the spare blaster packs for them. "Now you're still fully armed. Let's go."
Moira smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Sweetie. What would I do without you?"
"You'd be fine;" chuckled Dren as he collected his blaster cannon. "Let's go."
The blast doors opened and before them stretched a large, open area with numerous catwalks and causeways stretching over a chasm. There were massive power regulators and converters humming and crackling around them. Within their line of sight, the Republic operatives didn't see anything or anyone - except, quite a distance away, what appeared to be a pair of pylons, one from the ceiling and one from the bottom of the chasm, pointing at each other. I tiny figure could be seen in some kind of energy field between the two pylons. "Is that him?" asked Moira quietly.
Alias and Des nodded, the latter murmuring, "I assume so. Let's go."
They cautiously, yet quickly, advanced. Suddenly, Des felt a tingle in the force. He looked around and saw it, a red dot square in the center of Moira's forehead. Without thinking, he ignited his weapon and pressed it in between whoever was shooting and Moira. A blaster bolt ricocheted off the blade. "Cover!" he snapped.
They all dove behind consoles and pylons as more blaster bolts came in. "They have snipers along the catwalks above and at least three not far from the stasis field the prisoner is in;" said Dren.
Suddenly, over an intercom system somewhere came a loud and familiar voice. "So much trouble for four Republic operatives; it almost strains credulity."
"Kilran;" sighed Dren.
"I promised Lord Malgus I would rid the Empire of you. This embarrassing farce ends here;" came the Grand Moff's voice from the intercom speakers.
They all turned to Dren. "What now, Soldier?" asked Alias.
Dren pondered and said, "Des, you'll take the catwalks that are above and parallel to the right of us. Alias, you'll be our forward defense while we move from cover to cover. Moira and I will keep steady fire on the catwalks to our right."
"Sounds good;" murmured Des and disappeared.
The others took a couple preparatory breaths and stood. Alias fell into the force and reflected the incoming blaster bolts, trying to send them along their original trajectory and hoping to take out some of the snipers. Dren and Moira were sending heavy streams of fire along the catwalks as they bolted from cover to cover.
Des cut down an Imperial every ten meters. One thing about snipers is that they were always tunnel visioned, focusing down their scopes. None of them seemed to be paying attention to them. In fact, he was over half way down the catwalk, heading towards the prison apparatus, when they finally began to take notice of him. It didn't matter though. Des was too fast. He managed to clear the entire catwalk and leaped down onto the main crosswalk. The Imperials had no idea what hit them as he slashed and hacked through them. Then he sensed it, the intense hate and loathing and danger. Whipping his weapon around, he caught a blast from the Grand Moff's sniper rifle. Retracting one of his blades, and using just the one since it made it easier to deflect blaster bolts.
Moira noticed that Des had cleared the catwalk and focused back on the other only to see that Alias had mimicked his friend's maneuver, rushing forward to clear the catwalk. Moira and Dren moved forward at a much quicker pace, covering one another as they did.
It seemed like they were only creeping forward but it wasn't an extremely long time before they caught up with their two Jedi friends. A last line of defense stood between them and the Jedi prisoner. "Alright;" growled Des, "time to end this."
Lifting his hand, he projected an energy barrier that caught and absorbed the blaster bolts. "Alias, blast away their cover. I want them to realize that they have lost."
Alias wordlessly complied. The crates and energy barriers were ripped from their positions and plummeted over the edge of the chasm beneath. The Imperials staggered back and, using the force to project his voice, Des commanded, "Drop your weapons. I will give you all a chance to flee into the facility."
Most of them complied but there were still eight who opened fire on the Republic operatives. The last fight was very, very short. Kilran fired again and again, his face covered in a fierce scowl. He fired on the two who weren't Jedi - the soldier and the smuggler, forcing them to either stay pinned or lose their friends. Everyone knew that Jedi, for all their preaching and sermonizing against attachment, these two protected the other two fiercely, giving the Moff room to breath and develop a plan. Of course, that ended when the catwalk behind him was suddenly shredded by a massive invisible force. A blast bolt slammed into his right shoulder. He was dead. Grand Moff Kilran knew that he was going to die.
Cautiously, they approached, keeping him covered. "I don't deserve this;" hissed the Moff through his teeth. "There was so much left to conquer."
Before the Jedi could stop either of them, Dren and Moira blasted him. The Butcher of Coruscant died in his own fortress with his last thoughts containing his own shame and failure.
Quickly, Des ran over to the prison control console and examined it. Hitting a few switches, he was pleased to see the stasis field disappear. From where he had been suspended, a tall man with black hair, in armored robes and with a very scarred face, fell to the ground. He crumpled first to his knees and then onto his chest, his breathing labored. Carefully, Des leaped up and lifted the Jedi Master before dropping back down and setting him on the durasteel beneath them. At first, it seemed the the Jedi prisoner had fallen into unconsciousness but almost immediately, as the others gathered around, he began to stir. "Where..." he gasped as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. "What's happened?"
As he rose unsteadily to his feet, Alias and Moira lent him support. Suddenly, he stiffened, "I can feel... no... NO!"
Looking at his rescuers with anxiety in his brown eyes, he demanded, "What have you done? There's nothing to restrain him now."
Frowning, Des soothingly lifted his hands. "You were the one being restrained, Master."
Seeming to calm slightly, the former prisoner said, "My struggle held the Emperor in check. How did you find me?"
Suddenly, there was a sense in the force and a shimmering vision of a beautiful woman of short stature appeared. She was smiling and said, "Your strength fails. You must be free, or all is lost."
The man smiled sadly and said, "You should be one with the force, finally at peace."
"No peace while you suffer. The Emperor drowns you in black waters."
The Jedi prisoner was slow in responding. He wants me to be Darth Revan again, to serve him as I did years ago."
Des began to shiver and he bowed. "Master Revan, it is the greatest honor."
Alias followed in suit but Moira and Dren were trying to figure out who this one-time Darth Revan was talking to and what he was talking about. Alias murmured to them, "The holo records tell that Darth Revan brought the Republic to his knees as a Sith Lord and saved it as a Jedi."
"They also report that you're dead, Master;" said Des.
Revan shivered and said in a low voice, "I am dead... and reborn... Jedi and Sith. Many life times. I lead my allies to the galaxies edge to destroy the Emperor. We didn't understand his true power. I lost everything, betrayed from within. The Emperor imprisoned me, kept me alive with Sith alchemy and used me."
Moira carefully crept over to Nedeser. "Is he alright?" she asked in concern.
"Probably just a little disoriented;" replied the Jedi Shadow before turning to the ancient master. "Your friend denies the forces will to stay with you, to help you."
The apparition, unseen by Moira and Dren, smiled wider and nodded her head. Revan returned the smile. "It was she who gave me strength to resist all this time. I didn't realize that until now."
His mood seemed to darken again and he began to pace. "The Emperor used me as a link to the light side of the force and the Jedi Order. Through me, he saw visions. But that same link also gave me influence. I convinced the Emperor that peace was in his best interest. I tempered his hate."
The apparition shook her head. "The peace is lost. The Emperor makes his final war. Stop him! Flee this place while you can. Use the enemy's vessels."
With that and one last smile, she closed her eyes and faded into the force. Revan smiled and, to the surprise of those around him, had tears in his eyes. "Thank you, old friend. I will finish what we started."
They were all silent before turned and said, "I am still quite weak from my long rest. I will follow you, my rescuers."
Moira jumped into action. Quickly, she hustled to one of the consoles and began tapping rapidly away at the keys. "Alright, there is a private hanger not at all fall from here with the Grand Moff's shuttle in it. That's out way out - and I am flying this time."
Des was still struck silent. It dawned on him who the Jedi ghost had been and he was still shocked by who's presence he was standing in. Seeing his friend in such a state, Alias elected to speak. "Excuse my large nerf of a friend, Master Revan. Follow us please. Do you have any weapons?"
Looking around, Revan saw in a case two items, a lightsaber and a Mandalorian war mask. With a flick of his wrist, the case shattered and out came the two items. The first he clipped to his belt and the second, he considered for just a moment before putting it on and pulling his hood over his head. Nedeser gave what would have usually been a very embarrassing exclamation and Alias elbowed him. "Seriously, Vod, you're starting to embarrass me."
"The rest of us too;"growled Dren. "Stop fan-girling and get your head in the game! We're not out of this yet."
Moira took it a step further and gave him a good slap. "Do I have your attention yet?"
Des shook his head and nodded, blushing fiercely. "Right! Let's get out of here."