A/N: Thank you a thousand times for your kind words and generous spirit. I deeply appreciate any that read my story.

Chapter Seven

Reluctant Revelations

"Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution."

- Vladimir Nabokov

It was late and the spacious apartment was dimly lit when Traviata and Carth entered the quiet flat. After a quick inspection of the place, they found it to be empty; well, at least that's what they thought.

"Hey, there," Mission's soft voice called. Traviata went to the living area where she found Mission nestled into one of the deep chairs in the living area.

"Hey, Mission," Traviata said, flopping into a matching chair beside her.

"Where are the others?" Carth asked frowning, looking around the room.

"Zalbaar, went up onto the roof for some fresh air. He hates being cooped up inside. He figured not too many people would notice him up there," she replied.

"I can understand that," Carth agreed, remembering his first encounter with the wookie chained up to the wall, barely able to move.

"Bastilla?" Carth said soberly. The Jedi was taking a very big risk leaving the safety of their hideout.

"You mean the Ice Queen?" Mission snorted contemptuously. "That doctor came by wanting to talk to you Carth, about some test results or something. He wanted you to come see him. I didn't really hear that much of the conversation; Bastilla said she could go handle it. She hasn't been back since."

"How long has she been gone?" Traviata asked, her gaze drifting to Carth's.

"I don't know exactly, a while," Mission replied, her lack of interest obvious.

"Thanks, Kid," Carth said. "Traviata, a minute of your time" Carth said over his shoulder, walking briskly to the kitchen.

Traviata watched Mission sitting in the big chair; she seemed so small and helpless.

Traviata felt bad for the young twi'lek. The private was going to talk to Carth about taking her with them when they left Taris. Mission had no one but the wookie, and Carth had already said he was getting Zalbaar off the planet. He said it would only be a matter of time before he was picked up again and sold into slavery if he stayed. Traviata feared a similar fate for the beautiful blue skinned twi'lek. Mission had already shared with her that she'd been working as a dancer in the cantinas for years. Traviata wanted to help get her into a situation where she would have the opportunity to use her computer skills, maybe even the military. Intelligence would be happy to get someone with her talents.

"Traviata?" Carth's voice brought Traviata quickly to her feet.

"Duty calls," Traviata said mildly, touching Mission's shoulder.

"I"m sure he's got something in mind. Probably searching for the not to get yourself captured this time," Mission teased lightly.

Traviata shot her a glare that held no menace. "Yeah, yeah. I told you it was a bad day."

The Commander watched Traviata approach already knowing what he was going to do. Hopefully the reckless Jedi hadn't gotten herself into trouble.

"I'm going to go look for Bastilla. I want you to stay here -" Carth said.

Just then Bastilla walked through the door.

Carth's gaze narrowed with suspicion as he watched the petite brunette.

"I'm going to see what info I can find on the Sith base," Traviata muttered, already moving in the direction of the bedrooms.

Carth caught her by the arm, halting her retreat. "No, no more running," he said firmly.

So he'd noticed her hasty retreat every time she saw the Jedi, Traviata thought. She looked over to find him watching her. There was determination in his eyes that she knew better than to argue with. He was right though anyway, she needed some answers.

With a sigh of acceptance, Traviata gave him a slight nod. Something softened in his eyes. Giving her arm a light squeeze he walked over to the Jedi, Traviata trailing slightly behind him.

"Where have you been? I was getting ready to go out looking for you," Carth demanded gruffly.

"The doctor wanted to see me. He just wanted to make sure we had adequate supplies and such," Bastilla replied.

"See you? I thought he wanted to see me, and I thought it was about test results?" Carth corrected. More Jedi lies and misdirection; the Commander couldn't wait to get off Taris and rid himself of the Jedi.

Bastilla's gaze flitted to Mission and back to Carth. "Yes, Commander that is true. However you weren't here and the test results didn't concern you; they were something I was well aware of and it's been treated already."

Carth considered her words for a moment. He didn't buy it. Whether she was lying in full or in part was all he wasn't sure of. He'd talk to Forn after they got the codes and see if his story matched the Jedi's.

"Well then, didn't that work out nicely," Carth retorted with barely disguised sarcasm.

"That is what happens, Commander, when you let the will of the Force guide you," Bastilla shot back, arching one eyebrow. "So how did your meeting go?"

"Fine. We're going to have to break into a Sith base and get the security codes to get past the blockade. I hope your Force can help us out with that one," Carth countered. The more he was around the woman, the more he disliked and distrusted her. In fact he was getting close to loathing the Jedi.

"As do I, Commander," Bastilla agreed, starting to step away. "Let me know when I can be of assistance. Until then I'm going to meditate."

"Not so fast, Bastilla. I want to know if there is something you can clear up for us," Carth said, his tone and expression stiff. He noticed that the Jedi had not looked once at Traviata.

"Of course. What is it, Commander?" Bastilla asked.

"When I first met you, I saw flashes, images of you fighting some masked, caped figure. They're similar to recent nightmares I've had as well," Traviata spoke up, taking a step forward. "It happened again, when you came in the door just now too."

Carth's eyes were watching both women carefully, noting Bastilla's surprised look before she concealed it.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, as the Jedi considered her words.

"That masked figure you saw was Darth Revan," Bastilla responded, hesitant in her tone and manner.

"It was when you killed Revan? Wasn't it?" Traviata noted uneasily.

Bastilla nodded.

"Also, I've been having these strange feelings, urges, compulsions almost. It happened when we were trying to get to you in the sewers… twice. Once, warning me of danger and the other guided me to Mission," Traviata explained.

"It also happened tonight, a very strong feeling of danger before we were ambushed. I've never experienced anything like this. It all seemed to start-" Traviata started.

"From the moment we came into close proximity of each other," the Jedi supplied.

"Darth Revan's death is a very strong memory for me, as far as the visions go…" Bastilla's tone and manner uneasy. "I think you might be Force sensitive Traviata."

"What?" Carth and Traviata said at the same time, their shock evident.

"If you are sensitive to the Force, then you could be reading all types of things. My very strong memory of Revan's death, danger, a young girl in distress, it's quite normal for a Jedi who's in tune with the Force. The Force connects all living things, Traviata, and I think that you may have the ability to feel that," Bastilla said, carefully watching Traviata's face. "I've been observing you and your feelings."

Traviata looked to Carth's angry expression and back to the Jedi. "You're saying I could use the Force? Be a Jedi?" she asked incredulously. Well at least she wasn't going crazy, but a Jedi?

"Perhaps in time, with training. I need to talk to the Jedi Council on Dantooine before I say any more," Bastilla's voice sounded distracted.

"Yeah, I think you've said quite enough," Carth muttered with disdain. He was willing to bet that was the reason she wanted Traviata on the mission to begin with. Somehow she knew or suspected that Traviata had some gift with the Force, before the mission had even began. Bastilla had said she needed Traviata's skills, with no mention of what those particular skills were. No way was he standing by and letting her suck Traviata into that cult.

"I think you answered her questions and now everyone would do well with some rest beforewe break intoa Sith base," Carth continued. He had a feeling it would be easier getting in the base, than out of it.

"Yes, I agree. Enough has been said about it for now, Commander," Bastilla said, her gaze lingering on Traviata before hastily retreating to her room.

Carth turned to Traviata, her eyes had a far away look and he wondered what she could be thinking.

"Traviata?"

"Yes," she responded distractedly, not looking at him.

"Hey, put all the stuff she said out of your head; at least for the time being, okay?" Carth suggested.

When she didn't respond he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her head to face him.

"Traviata, what is it?" Carth asked.

"All this- all these feelings, visions. Carth, she said I was having visions, for frak's sake. I'm just a soldier. It's just so overwhelming to think about," she said, an involuntary shiver running through her.

"Hey, it's okay," he folded her into his arms, embracing her lightly. He was surprised when she returned his embrace with a tight one of her own. "Try not to think of any of it. It'll be okay." Carth promised, rubbing her back. The Commander couldn't wait to get some distance between them and the Jedi.

He could feel Traviata shaking her head against his chest. She pulled away slightly from Carth, her eyes frantic, darting all over. "No, it's not okay, Carth. I can feel it. I don't know how to explain it, other than to say I've got this feeling. To say it's the Force guiding me, that's just too much," she trailed off.

"I get it," Carth acknowledged. He didn't like the idea of her giving herself over to something so powerful. He'd seen what destruction that power could cause. "Try to block it out of your mind."

"No. Carth, what I mean is, those feelings, I can't control them, it just happens," Traviata paused, her eyes going vacant for a moment before she continued. "Carth, I'm afraid. I know we are all in very real danger; we have to get off this planet. As soon as we can, Carth," her voice held the panic evident in her eyes, still looking about the room, as if searching for something she couldn't find.

Carth frowned and then nodded. She was terrified; it was evident in her eyes and voice. He hated the idea of her feeling afraid of anything, and he realized in that moment he would do almost anything to make her safe. Putting a hand on either side of her head, "Traviata, I want you to look at me."

When she had met his gaze he continued. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I will get us safely off this planet, that's a promise," Carth assured her. I'm also going to do everything in my power to keep you out of the Jedi's clutches too, was the promise he made silently to himself.

Traviata stared at the man in front of her and knew he meant it. She put a hand over one of his, nodding. "I know you will, Carth. I'm sorry, it's just so-"

"Weird," Mission said from behind the pair. "You two make a cute couple by the way. You know, for old people at least."

Carth and Traviata both turned simultaneously, breaking their embrace, but still standing close enough to be touching.

Traviata had forgotten Mission was still sitting in the other room, she must have heard all that was said.

"All that Jedi stuff is strange," Mission said, rising from her perch.

"I can't argue with that," Traviata said, ignoring her other comments.

"I can help you with getting into the Sith base you know," Mission offered.

"No way, kid. Too dangerous," Carth said firmly.

"I'll just get you in; the rest is up to guys. I'm not stupid, Carth. Besides, it's the only way you will get in. None of you can re-code as fast as me," Mission replied.

Carth considered her offer; there shouldn't be any real danger if that's all she did. The kid had been through enough, he didn't want to be counted in the many that'd used her with no regard for her well being. He'd seen it happen on many planets, the strong taking advantage of the weak. This planet was especially guilty of that.

"Okay, kid. You get us in, you don't enter the base and then you'll wait for us here. I'll get Zalbaar to stay here with you, just in case," Carth agreed. If things went south, they'd both stand a better chance if they were together.

"Thanks, by the way. You don't have to you know," Carth added.

"I know, but I want to help you guys get off world. You helped me and Zalbaar when we needed it. I want to do this for you, help you escape-"

Mission thought he would leave her here to fend for herself, along with the wookie. He couldn't blame her, she probably hadn't seen much in the way of kindness in her life.

"Kid, you can't stay here. I mean you don't want to do you?" Carth asked. "Zalbaar isn't staying you know," he added. He didn't want to force her if she wanted to stay, though he couldn't imagine why she'd want to. Without the wookie as her bodyguard, she'd be an easy target for the crime gangs on Taris.

The commander's gaze drifted to Traviata, finding her watching him with admiration in her eyes. It was obvious she must have been having the same thoughts about not leaving Mission. He knew Traviata had spent more time talking to Mission than he had. She'd shared with him the little she'd gleaned about the twi'lek's past. Basically it boiled down to her being abandoned on Taris by her brother when she was very young; forcing her to do a myriad of things just to survive. It had been her brother who'd first taught her how to hack into computers. The girl had a lot of tough breaks, and it was time someone did something to help her out.

Traviata didn't know why she'd expected less of the Captain. Though his natural instincts were to mistrust people, it didn't stop him from acting with compassion, especially with those who needed it so desperately. She'd never had the chance to speak with him about taking Mission with them when they fled Taris. Traviata could tell though that Carth seemed to have a soft spot for the girl. It was how she'd imagined a father would be.

"You'd take me with you? Where would I go? I mean-" Mission asked, her normally dead eyes had a bit of light to them.

"There are a lot of opportunities out there Mission, especially with your skills. You know I think the Republic forces would be a great place for you, specifically in the Intelligence division where I used to work," Traviata put in, turning her attention to the twi'lek. "Of course it's just a suggestion, like I said there are a lot of choices out there for someone with your talent."

"I'll take care of getting you a safe place to stay until you make up your mind. Don't worry, about that. We'll talk more about the details later," Carth quickly assured her. "You do want to leave with us then?"

"Yes, thank you, Carth," Mission said with the first real smile Traviata had seen on her face since meeting her.

"Hey, don't worry about it, kid," Carth said. "Better save the thanks until after we get off the planet. Not to mention the fact that the last ship I piloted was attacked and destroyed. Leaving with us is not without its own risks," Carth pointed out.

Mission nodded, "I understand. It's worth the chance to me." The twi'lek's head-tails twitched. "You know maybe I would like to go into the Republic military. I think they could use my help. Between you cracking up ships, and Traviata capturing and disarming herself for me when we met," she paused, looking from Traviata to Carth. "Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. Maybe then we can actually start winning this war."

Traviata grimaced, "Thanks a lot Mission."

"Really?" Carth asked a hint of laughter in his voice. "How exactly did she capture herself?"

"When she saw me she slipped into a big greasy mess of chemicals. I guess she was trying to catch herself and pulled a work station onto her. That's when she lost her weapon, too. That's when she became my prisoner," Mission supplied, her voice filled with excitement.

"Your prisoner?" Carth's slightly startled voice replied.

"I had a blaster on her and I thought she was one of them, at first anyway," Mission explained.

Traviata's gaze drifted to Carth who was watching her. "Forgot to mention all that, did you?" Well that explained the state she'd returned in that day, he thought.

"It wasn't exactly like that," Traviata's said ambivalently. She glanced to Mission and then back to Carth. "Okay, maybe it was."

"Just slipped your mind to fully debrief me?" Carth quizzed, his tone mild.

"We've been a little busy and it didn't seem important, everything worked out" Traviata defended.

"Ahh, I see," Carth replied. It was partly amusing but very concerning, also. She could have gotten herself killed if the wrong person had been on the other end of the pistol. What she needed was a good healthy dose of fear and humility, then she'd think twice before acting on emotion instead of relying on her military training. She was a good soldier, but reckless.

"Which by the way, shouldn't we get to planning our incursion of the base?" Traviata reminded him. She was completely over this conversation.

Carth considered her words and gave her a quick nod, his feet carrying him to the kitchen table. "You better get some rest kid. We'll let you know when we're ready," Carth said over his shoulder.

Traviata shot Mission a glare that held no malice, before joining the Commander.

"Can't wait to hear the details of that story," Carth said, not taking his eyes from the datapad in his hand when Traviata sat in the chair beside him.

"I bet," Traviata shot back. "Really, there's nothing more to tell. It all turned out okay anyway."

Carth continued to scroll through diagrams of Sith bases; they were all similar actually and he'd long since committed all that information to memory. Under the circumstances though, he decided reviewing the schematics wouldn't be a bad idea. There would be turrets at strategic locations. Other than that the main threat would be any troops they encountered along the way.

"I don't have to tell you that you got very lucky. There's a reason we go in teams, which you know very well, too. Anyway, we've addressed all this. I'm going to assume it won't be an issue we have to revisit," Carth said with reproof. If she pulled a stunt like that on the Sith base, well he didn't want to think of how badly that would go.

Carth rubbed the back of his neck, continuing to scan the display.

Traviata considered the Commander's words. What if she had one of those feelings on the base? So far they'd warned her of impending danger and led her to save a girl who in turn had been invaluable in her assistance with freeing Bastilla. Although the feelings were frightening because she had a hard time controlling them and it was just so new and overwhelming, she couldn't deny that so far they'd only helped their situation.

Carth would never accept that type of reasoning though. Traviata felt conflicted, like she had to choose between being a good soldier and saving lives of the people she'd come to care for. Hopefully it would just be a quick in and out mission and it wouldn't come to that.

"Am I wrong?" Carth asked with strained patience.

Traviata turned to meet his gaze, discovering he was watching her, his brow puckered.

"No," she said without much conviction.

Carth's gaze narrowed. "Like I said before you're a lousy liar," he let go a frustrated breath.

"I'm not lying, it's just," she paused, searching for the words that would help him understand without causing him to burst a vessel. "It's these feelings I've been having, you know I was thinking and so far only good has come from listening to them. Maybe they're not such a terrible thing. Maybe there's a reason for them."

"Traviata, we've been through this. You're a soldier, you follow orders not feelings," he said waving a hand in dismissal. "I can't believe we're still having this same frakin' conversation," he countered getting to his feet, tossing the datapad onto the table.

"Will you just calm down and listen to me for a minute?" Traviata fired back, finding her feet as well. "I'm not saying I won't follow orders. All I'm saying is that these feelings I'm having may be helpful. If I hadn't followed them before, we'd never have met Mission," she continued.

"She just as easily could have been a combatant," Carth countered, his voice rising. "That's not the point anyway."

"What is the point then? I thought we were trying to accomplish a mission. Why can't I be a soldier and use this Force guidance stuff to benefit us? Why are the two things mutually exclusive?" Traviata asked curtly.

"Why?" Carth fumed his voice as cold as his eyes. "Malak and Revan, that's why."

"You're being unreasonable. I'm not some powerful Sith lord, Carth. I'm talking about using this for good, not evil," Traviata snapped.

"That's how it starts. Not to mention, this is about you following orders. A mission plan, that's how the military works. You're not in a frakin' holovid. Good soldiers don't go off acting like some rogue agent," Carth corrected, his hand on his hip, the two now standing toe to toe.

"BSF! I'm calling, bantha shit flag, Commander! This isn't about my putting the mission at risk by not following your directives. It's not about protocol or chain of command," Traviata fired back, placing both hands on her hips. "This is simply about your hatred of the Jedi."

"Enough!" he shouted, pounding a hand onto a nearby wall. "I'm your damn C.O. it's about whatever I say it is."

Traviata glared at him, her chest heaving breaths. "Every frakin time we fight about this you bring our rank into it. You're not being fair."

"It's not about being fair. It's about my being in charge, and you following my orders. That, by the way, is not optional," Carth said, steel in his voice.

"Since it is apparently necessary, you will not leave my side when we're at the Sith base and I will be watching your every move," Carth warned. "You are still a Republic soldier and you will follow my orders."

"You are being so impractical and you're wrong. This isn't about my following orders, at first maybe, but not anymore. Now it's something else. This is about you hating the Jedi and not wanting me to have anything to do with the Force, because you think it hasto lead to evil," Traviata replied.

He couldn't actually argue with that; he knew she was at least partly right, only partly though.

"Damn it, if you aren't the most stubborn, frustrating, infuriating woman," he retorted, raking a hand through his hair.

"Well, you're-"Traviata started, to angry to think of a good insult. "You're a monkey lizard."

Carth raised an eyebrow, snorting mockingly. "Seriously? That's the best you can do? Go ahead, take your best shot."

"You're the most obstinate, exasperating, Murglak I've ever met!" she fired back.

There was a short silence. "Feel better now?" Carth asked a slight smile on his face.

"No, I don't," Traviata responded, her eyes shifting to the contents of the room. She noted that at some time during their exchange Mission had vacated the area. She let go a long breath.

"What would make me feel better is to understand why you're so intractable in your opinion of the Jedi. With everything Bastilla told me," she paused, her eyes searching his face. "This is important to me and I care about what you think, whether you believe it or not. I don't understand why you have such hate for the Jedi."

She shrugged, when he didn't say anything. "Let me know when you're ready to go. I'll be in the back," Traviata informed him; she turned on her heel and began the trek to her room.

"You asked about my family once," Traviata froze; Carth's voice so quiet she wasn't sure at first that he had spoken.

"I did have a family, they were everything to me. They were on Telos IV when it was obliterated", Carth's voice was a pain racked whisper. Traviata padded silently to his side.

"I'd tried to make it back as fast as I could when I heard of the attack. When I arrived, the planet was nothing but a smoking heap of rubble," Carth continued, staring blankly, reliving his dark memories. Traviata pictured him rushing to his home, his family, only to find everything destroyed. The image brought a lump to her throat; she put a hand on his chest, wanting to comfort him but not wanting to interrupt him now that he'd finally opened up.

"There were wounded and dying everywhere. My home was a pile of charred debris," Carth remembered.

"My-" Carth paused, taking a deep breath, clearing his throat. "My wife was still alive when I arrived, though just barely. I called for the medics, no one came. I was able to hold her at least, as she took her last breath," Carth revealed.

The only sound was that of sniffing from Traviata. Carth looked down at her, noting a single tear running down the side of her face. His eyes narrowed and he used his thumb to wipe away the tear, his hand covering the one she had on his chest.

"Revan caused unbelievable devastation; mine is only one story out of the billions on Telos IV alone. One Jedi caused it. The thing is Traviata; Revan didn't start out as an evil maniacal killer. Revan had helped us in the Mandalorian wars, we'd been happy about it. I'd actually respected and admired Revan during that time," he continued, grasping her hand tightly in his.

"Don't you see, Traviata? Revan and Malak weren't always evil; they started out like you. They wanted to do good things with their power, and that power corrupted them," Carth finished. "I don't want to see that happen to you," he added.

Traviata nodded, covering his hand with her own. "I'm so sorry, Carth. I don't even know the words to say. Thank you for sharing that with me. I understand where all that hate you have comes from now.

"Listen, I don't know what's going to happen with all this Jedi-stuff, and I'm certainly not powerful. I know at this moment though, whatever happens, Carth I won't use this gift for evil. That's a promise I'm making to you," she declared.

Carth nodded slightly. It would have to do for now. It would all be irrelevant if they didn't get off Taris anyway.

"I believe you mean that at this moment," he said, letting go a long breath. "Let's just focus on the task at hand, that's more than enough to deal with at the moment. We'll worry about the other later, when we're far away from here," Carth replied. "Okay?" he added.

"Okay, you're right," she agreed, nodding.