"I'm almost positive that you could have handled that more diplomatically." Talan said to Bastila after several uncomfortable minutes.
Bastila sighed, and to his amazement, agreed with him.
"Yes, you are right. Please, forgive that display. It seems that even with all my training I still find it difficult to remain calm when dealing with my sister."
"You may not like each other, but she risked her neck trying to find you." Mission chimed in. "And if you ask me-"
"I did not." Bastila said coldly.
Silence once again fell over the group, broken only by the sound of distant thunder.
Carth sighed loudly. "Dammit. Now what? The only reason we got this far is because of Ice."
"I am more than capable of finding a solution without the hot headed plans she would surely come up with."
"Well if you have any ideas Princess, now would the time to share."
Bastila pursed her lips at the mention of that infuriating name but she decided to let the matter drop. She would not let this man get under skin, she had had quite enough distractions for one day. Right now what she needed was to meditate and call upon the force to show her the right path.
Ice sat impatiently in the Med-Bay in the Upper City. Roland Wann shook his head as he examined her now swollen hand. He had already confirmed her suspicions that she had indeed broken it, and she was doing her best to avoid his questions.
"You haven't been in the ring in days, how did this happen?"
"Had a few too many in the cantina, things got out of hand. No pun intended."
"Whoever you had the disagreement with must have had a hard head to be able to break the bone like this."
What a shame the head had not been Bastila's.
Ice ignored the statement. "Do you question all of your patients in this manner?"
"Only when I know they are lying."
Ice mumbled under her breath but thankfully Roland let the matter drop. She was already in a foul mood and despite her reputation, she did not feel the desire to take out her anger on this man who meant well despite his interrogation. She stared absently out the Med-Bay door at the steady downpour of rain. A flash of anger coursed through her knowing that even after all this time, Bastila could still get under her skin. She had thought she would be able to brush off her sister's arrogance but it seemed that even after all that she had endured, Bastila would be the one challenge she would never be able to conquer.
"Hell of a break you have there. Especially from a simple squabble with a low life that should prove no challenge for you."
Ice gritted her teeth. Of all the people she did not want to see at the moment, this man would be ranked second on her list.
"What do you want Canderous?"
Canderous Ordo stepped in front of her and lowered the hood that had been covering his head. The Mandalorian was advanced in age, but still one of the deadliest men Ice had ever encountered. "Now is that any way to greet an old friend? Especially one that saved your miserable life?"
"That debt has been paid many times over."
Canderous scoffed. "Considering the circumstances of that debt, I'd say you owe me one last favor. Besides, you will want to hear what I have to say."
"What could you possibly-"
"The launch codes to the Ebon Hawk, and our ticket off this piss hole of a planet."
Ice's instincts were on high alert, but she had to admit, he was right. She hated when he was right.
"Davik guards that ship like the Jedi guard their secrets. Even if you knew how to get the codes there's no way Davik would allow us close enough to even look at it."
Canderous grinned in the way he always did when he had a plan. Especially when the plan involved ripping off someone's head that he didn't particularly care for. Which was everybody.
"That's where you and your new friends come in."
Ice groaned and wondered how many people from her past were going to come back to haunt her.
"Think about it kid." Canderous said after Ice had blatantly shot down his proposal.
"I did. The answer is no."
Canderous laughed in a way that easily could have been mistaken for a bark. "And do you have any better ideas? Face it kid, you and I aren't going anywhere without that ship, and we aren't getting the ship without those codes."
Ice bit her lip. She really hated when he was right.
"So let's say I agree with you, and somehow manage to convince the rag-tag group of misfits that sneaking into the Sith base is not only wise, but in our best interest. How do you propose we get in? Simply walk up to the base and knock? The Sith are not exactly fond of visitors."
Canderous smiled "Ah, that's where I come in. Janice Nall has been working on a rather impressive security droid for Davik. A droid smart enough to hack the security system of the base and get us inside. Once we're in it's all downhill from there."
It was Ice's turn to laugh. "Oh is that all? Simply fight our way through hordes of Sith soldiers in search of codes that could be force knows where?"
"Well there's no need to be so pessimistic. I know you kid, I've seen what you can do. And trust me when I say, with the company you now keep it will be like taking candy from a baby."
Ice was confused. Surely, surely, he was not referring to Bastila.
"What are you talking about?"
Canderous gave a sly grin, sending a shiver up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
Malak you treacherous dog.
Revan had no time to react, a large piece of glass from the shattered window of his flagship collided with his head forcing him to the floor with a grunt of pain. He lay there on the floor of his ship, feeling his world start to fade away. His world was fading to black even as he gave one last evil laugh.
Malak.
He had always known that his apprentice would one day challenge him for the title of Dark Lord, it was the way of the Sith. It was how they ensured that their leaders were the strongest and most capable. But even Revan could not have predicted this from his apprentice. Such a cowardly act of betrayal.
The young female Jedi entered his line of focus and thoughts of Malak vanished from him mind. If he was going to die this day, then this was a pleasant image to take with him. Her grey eyes looked down on him with a mixture of fear and pity, and something else he could not place.
A warm tinging sensation came over him, starting at his fingertips and slowly moving up his arm. Soon his whole body was feeling the effect and his last thought before his world went black was one of recognition. He knew this trick, he had seen it done a handful of times by the masters at the academy, but only when the situation was desperate and called for it.
No...I would rather die...
Talan's eyes snapped open and he quickly glanced around his surroundings. No flagship, no dark Jedi.
No Revan.
Talan shook his head and sighed. Revan again. Why did he keep dreaming about a dead Sith Lord? More alarmingly, why was he dreaming from Revan's point of view? He sat up on the small sofa and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Are you all right?" Talan glanced up to see Bastila staring at him with a slight look of concern.
Talan grinned. "I was just dreaming of you."
Bastila scowled. "I have no desire to hear of your-"
Talan shook his head. "Not like that. It was of you fighting Revan."
A look came over Bastila's face that Talan couldn't quite place and she became noticeably paler. "How do you know that it is Revan?"
"That's the weird thing. Because I am Revan. In the dream I mean, I am seeing everything through his eyes."
Bastila began chewing on her bottom lip nervously and turned and crossed the small living room to the window.
Talan got up to follow her. "Something wrong?"
Bastila shook her head and the concerned expression was almost erased. Almost.
"This is...strange." She said. "Such visions are often a sign of force sensitivity. It could be that my abilities triggered the Force that has been laying dormant within you."
"But why would I see you fighting Revan?"
"I-I'm not sure. It could be that when the force within you was triggered when it fed off of my abilities and allowed you to witness one of my more...personal memories."
"That doesn't explain why I would be seeing your memory through Revan's eyes."
"The force is complicated." Bastila admitted. "Even with all of my training I cannot begin to fully understand it."
Talan was quiet for a moment. He wasn't sure of what to make of Bastila's assumption that he was "force sensitive" or whatever that was supposed to mean. He had met enough Jedi to know that he would get no direct answer. Maybe once they found a way off of Taris he would seek advice from the council on Coruscant. If he could not get answers he hoped he would at least get some guidance on how to make the dreams stop. He certainly didn't find the idea of being Revan, even in his dreams, appealing in anyway.
The doors to the apartment opened and Talan automatically reached for his blaster. But no intruder entered. In fact no person entered at all. A small astromech droid rolled into the apartment humming softly. It stopped in the middle of the room and chirped.
"Who-" Bastila began.
"More like what?" Said Mission dropping the pazaak cards on the table where she had been playing with Zaalbar.
"T3-M4." Came the response from the doorway. Ice entered the apartment and stopped by the small droid, patting the droid's head. "The most advance model of his kind. And our ticket off this rock."
"Unless we all plan to climb atop of it while it flies us through the Sith blockade, I fail to see how this solves our problems." Bastila said eyeing the droid.
"I see cold hearted bitch is genetic in your family." They all turned towards the door as Canderous Ordo entered and stood next to Ice.
"You should meet our mother." Ice said staring at Bastila.
"And who are you?" Carth asked the newest addition.
"Name's Canderous, and I have the answer to your problems. Beyond that you don't need to know more."
"I wasn't aware you kept such company, Ice." Bastila said eyeing Canderous carefully.
"We all have out secrets don't we, sister?" Ice said pointedly.
Something in the way Ice said that made Bastila shift uneasily.
"What does she mean by that?" Carth asked Bastila suspiciously.
"Yes, Bastila. What do I mean by that?"
Bastila hurried forward and grabbed Ice by the arm pulling her out into the hallway.
Carth made to follow them but was stopped by Canderous. "Why don't we let them catch up while the rest of us get acquainted."
He held his hand out to Talan. "Canderous Ordo. And you are?"
"Talan Owens." Talan said taking the older man's hand.
"Pleased to meet you. Talan."
Bastila led Ice down the hallway to a janitorial closet, shoving the younger girl inside before entering behind her and slamming the door shut behind them.
Light filled the room as Bastila switched on a small hand held light she had taken from her belt. Ice's sneering face could just be made out in the dim light.
"A janitor closet? This is where you choose to come clean? Ironic."
"Enough." Bastila snapped. "What do you know?"
"I know enough to know that you are even more full of it than even I could have imagined. You are famous for one thing, killing Revan. But Revan isn't dead is he?"
Bastila bit her lip nervously. "I am famous for defeating Revan. And as far as the galaxy in concerned Revan is dead."
"Then why is he standing in the next room? Have you lost what little remained of your sanity? If he discovers who he truly is then you can forget about Taris, there won't be a safe place left in the galaxy."
"Which is why he can never find out. You know what is at stake here, if even a shred of his former self comes through then everything will have been in vain. I don't expect you to trust me, I don't trust you either. But for the sake of the galaxy I am asking you to remain silent about the matter, even to those we travel with. You cannot breathe a word of this anyone. Please."
The last word she had to force out. She hated asking for help, and the fact she was asking for help from this girl of all people made the word taste even more bitter.
Ice stared at her for a long moment her expression unreadable. She was in somewhat of dilemma; she hated giving Bastila what she wanted, but on the other hand she knew what was at stake. She could not allow to whole galaxy to suffer a fate worse than death simply for her foolish pride. And she had to admit, she liked seeing Bastila so uncomfortable.
"You have my word." She finally choked out.
Bastila nodded and extinguished the light. She opened the closet door and the light of the hallway filled the closet. Bastila glanced back at her sister and for the first time realized just how much time had passed. Ice had been only five years old the last time they spoke, though that was not the name she went by then. She had been a Shan, and besides that she had been her little sister. Now the young woman who stood before her was nothing more than a stranger. She allowed herself a brief moment to grieve for lost time before exiting the small closet.
Without thinking about what she was doing she slammed the door to the closet shut and force held it closed. Ice hit the door repeatedly and her angry shouts and curses followed Bastila down the hallway. She allowed herself a small smile. Some things would never change, no matter how much time had passed.