Chapter14

Shadows of the Past

"I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realizes an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past."

- Virginia Woolf

Traviata rolled onto the ground coming up to her feet to block the fierce lightsaber attack. She countered the yellow-eyed Cathar's moves. Traviata didn't want to kill the woman; she did however want to tire her out, which was taking considerable time and effort. She glanced quickly in the direction of Carth and Bastilla; they were still in stasis, unable to move. Traviata continued dueling athletically with the woman, until finally she had her on her knees and at her mercy.

The Cathar had introduced herself as Juhani, and claimed that the area around the ruins was full of dark side power and that it was hers. Juhani had related that she'd sought it out when she'd killed her Master in anger during a training exercise. She thought herself all powerful with the aid of the dark side, something Traviata was determined to disprove. Traviata felt good in this woman and deep remorse; if filled her with the desire to help her back onto the right path if she could. Juhani had given up on herself, Traviata refused to do that without attempting to help her back to the light.

"Go ahead, kill me. You have won and I thought no one could beat me with the dark side as my aid," Juhani said. "There is nothing left for me now."

"Why did you turn to the dark side, Juhani?" Traviata asked, closing her saber with a snap hiss.

"After I slew my Master in anger it seemed the only thing to do. I always thought her jealous of my power. I see now that it was my foolish pride. It is too late," Juhani explained. "There is no hope for me."

"Juhani, it is never too late, there is always hope where there is life. You should go turn yourself in to the Council. Let them be the judge of your fate. You don't have to turn to the dark side. I feel the good in you, and your regret. No one is beyond redemption Juhani, no matter what they've done," Traviata offered, now standing at the woman's side. "You don't have to stay on this path, Juhani," she added softly.

Juhani held her eyes for a moment. "Spoken like a true Jedi. You are right of course. You actually remind me of the Jedi I met many years ago. They were the reason I pursued joining the order," Juhani let go a breath a long breath, a determined look coming to her face and eyes. "I will do as you suggest."

Carth and Bastilla were released from their stasis, both coming over to Traviata.

Traviata put her hand on her arm. "I would go with you, but I have a task I must perform for the Council. I will look for you when I return to the enclave, Juhani," she finished.

"Thank you, I do not know what fate awaits me, but thank you for seeing the good in me," Juhani nodded and sped off in the direction of the Enclave.

"I'm not just letting her run off. She's an admitted murderer and she tried to kill you," Carth argued, his weapon raised, his eyes meeting hers with an accusing glare. "She's dangerous, she needs to be restrained."

"This planet's justice is handled by the Jedi Council Commander, and not only that, you know that we police our own-" Bastilla interjected.

"We all know how well that's worked out," he countered, a muscle twitched in his jaw. He watched Juhani until she was out of sight.

"No one is beyond redemption? Seriously? I can think of a few who are," Carth said, meeting Traviata's gaze.

"Frak, she was trying to kill you just moments ago, didn't look a lot like remorse to me," he took a breath, running a hand through his hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Traviata paused. "Carth, you really believe that? She was truly sorry, she was just confused and in pain. All she needed was a little compassion and guidance back," she continued. She could read his feelings more easily now, his intense anger was rolling off him in waves.

"How long before she slips again and kills someone else and needs a little help back? Don't you see the vicious cycle you're setting up?" Carth shot back, his hands on his hips. "It's that kind of thinking that has us in this trouble to begin with. It's why we have to retrace the steps of Revan and Malak now. Hell, it's the reason for the war with the Sith now."

"Maybe, if someone had intervened, stepped in and tried to guide them back, they wouldn't have fallen so far," Traviata replied.

"Traviata, they chose to disobey the Council when they aided the Republic in the Mandalorian War, disregarding that guidance," Bastilla put in. "They were both full of pride and arrogance thinking they knew more than the Council. They allowed their emotions to rule them." she continued in a superior tone, arching her eyebrow.

Carth's eyes cut into Bastilla, his temper flaring at her response to Traviata. "You are preaching about pride and arrogance? That's rich," Carth's eyes narrowing.

"Maybe the Jedi need to feel a little more and talk a little less. I was grateful for their help; it changed the course of the entire conflict. They saved millions of lives with their disobedience. Perhaps if the Council had supported them, they would have never turned into the monsters they became. Of course, if the Jedi stopped messing with powers that should be left alone, it would solve the problem altogether," he added.

He didn't agree with Traviata's views, but there was no way he was standing by and letting Bastilla be so condescending to her, as if she was so vastly superior. She was young, egotistical, inexperienced and it made Carth livid, especially in light of the powers she displayed. It was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Another one, he thought, further deepening his dislike and distrust of the Jedi in general. Why would they allow someone like her to mentor someone like Traviata? It made no sense, even if there was some bond between them. He feared the continued influence of Bastilla and the Order on Traviata. One more reason to get this mission done and over with, he thought with a grimace.

"It may have been the Council, in their wisdom, saw what would come of their interference, Commander. Just imagine what the galaxy would be like if the entire order had come under the influence of the dark side," Bastilla countered.

There was a lingering silence.

"That's an awfully big supposition, and it shows me that the Council and you don't know how to own up to it when you're wrong. I'm done with this conversation, it's pointless," Carth finished, turning to Traviata.

"You're sure your okay?" his eyes surveying her.

That Cathar had been like an angry tornado with her light saber. Traviata had not only held her own though, but had easily defeated her. Carth realized that Traviata could have finished off Juhani at anytime. Her sword skills were impressive before, but now they were something so far above anything he'd ever seen that it concerned him. Traviata had learned to wield an amazing amount of power through the Force in an unbelievably short time. He'd never heard of anything like that before and that bothered him too.

"Yes, I'm fine," Traviata nodded, taking a deep breath, drawing on the Force.

The discussion about Juhani and redemption had troubled her. Bastilla's opinions were, as usual, on the arrogant side. She'd come to expect that from the young woman. Carth's violent unforgiving anger though that she'd felt during the conversation had shaken her. She had to find a way to help him let go of some of it or it would destroy him.

"That's the Temple over there?" Carth asked, pointing to the building just over the next hill.

"That's it all right," Traviata answered, her tone and expression troubled.

"You sure you want to do this?" Carth asked, watching her.

"Oh, believe me, I don't want to, but I need to know what's in there," Traviata replied, her feet already moving in the direction of the crumbling building.

"All right then, lets go find out," Carth said, walking beside her.

Traviata felt the cold seep into her as soon as they reached the entrance of the Temple.

"They were right, the dark side is strong here," Traviata noted, marveling at the same intricately designed doors she'd seen in her vision.

"It won't budge," Bastilla said.

With a wave of Traviata's hand the doors opened.

"Handy skill you picked up," Carth said entering the room, his blaster in hand.

Traviata followed quickly, catching up to him at a huge square shaped droid with spider type legs, stationed in the room before a second entry door.

"Did the Council place this here?" Traviata asked, turning to Bastilla. "This wasn't in the vision."

"No, the Council did not. This must be something Revan and Malak placed here," Bastilla commented.

"Wonder what other surprises they left behind?" Carth said, his eyes scanning every inch of the room.

The droid began making unintelligible sounds, like it was trying to communicate with them.

"Is it broken?" Traviata asked Carth, now at the side of the droid, looking at the control panel.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like this Traviata, anywhere," Carth replied, inspecting it further.

The droid continued to babble on, skipping and then lagging before going on with its apparent attempts to communicate with them.

"It may not be programmed with a language we understand," Bastilla offered.

"It sounds damaged. Wait I can understand it now, it's cycled to another language, that one's Selkath," Traviata said, coming to stand by Carth.

"I understood that as well," Bastilla suggested.

"What would a droid be doing here on Dantooine that's programmed to speak the language of the Selkath on Manaan?" Carth asked, his eyes drifting to Traviata's. She answered with a shrug.

"I can reproduce any language spoken by the slaves of the builders," the droid said.

"But you are not the species of the slaves. You are like the one who came before," the droid continued.

"Clearly, the vision had some holes," Traviata commented, shooting Carth a concerned look.

He nodded slightly, "I recommend extreme caution." There was no telling what else was in this bleak building. The droid gave him the creeps, its spidery legs made it look too much like a kinrath for his taste.

"It must mean Revan," Bastilla commented. "This unit seems mobile; they likely encountered it somewhere here, while exploring the Temple."

"What are you? Why are you here?" Traviata asked.

"It says it's an overseer, left here to discipline the slaves building this monument to the monolithic Star Forge," Traviata relayed to Carth.

"It also says the slaves were executed at the project completion and it was reprogrammed to provide information should a builder come looking for it," Traviata continued.

"Nice. Ask it what the Star Forge is," Carth was most interested to know that. It sounded an awful lot like a weapon to him.

"It says it's a machine of invincible might, and unstoppable conquest..." Traviata trailed off, her tone as bleak as her face.

"Yes, but what is its capability. Is it a weapon or does it produce weapons?" Carth asked the droid.

"It only says that the builders are invincible and glorious, the Star Forge a testament to their immense strength," Traviata replied.

"Who are the builders? What happened to them?" Bastilla asked.

"It goes on some more about how powerful and unbeatable the builders are. It seems there are limits to its knowledge," Traviata said.

"More likely limits to what info it will give out," Carth retorted.

"There is no record of these builders in the Jedi archives. How long have you been here?" Bastilla asked.

Traviata froze her eyes widening in shock. "You must be mistaken, your memory corrupted."

"What?" Carth asked.

"It says its circuitry is built with the same technology as the Star Forge, that it is incorruptible," Traviata said. "If its calculations are correct, this droid is 5,000 years older than the Republic."

"That has to be a mistake," Bastilla put in.

"Tell us about the ones who came before us. Revan and Malak," Traviata asked the droid.

Bastilla and Traviata exchanged uneasy glances when the droid had finished.

"Revan and Malak proved themselves worthy, when the droid opened the doors for them and so they gained the knowledge they sought about the Star Forge," Traviata explained to Carth.

"The droid says that one came who was not worthy and he paid the price. The Temple unleashing it's fury on him," Traviata continued. "The droid says it cannot give us any more information."

"That had to be the Jedi the Council sent, Nemo, to investigate the ruins. He never returned," Bastilla added quietly.

Carth listened quietly, considered their words for a moment and checking his weapons he headed for the inner doorway. He had to know whatever it was that Malak and Revan found, and behind this door was the answer. No way he was walking away from that.

There was a dual snap hiss behind the Commander. "Open the door," Traviata said to the droid.

The fire fight started immediately as they entered the chamber, there were several droids equipped with heavy armory.

Carth ran toward the closest one, finding cover he opened up his weapons on it.

Traviata jumped to the one further in the room, using her light saber to deflect it fire back on it. The droid responded with intense electric shock. The two went back and forth like that for several minutes.

The droid increased the amperage and then stabbed her with a retractable blade.

"Son of a Sith," Traviata exclaimed.

"I have a few tricks of my own," Traviata sent the machine crashing back into a stone wall with a wave of the Force.

She pulled her tunic tight against her to cover the wound before the others saw. Undoubtedly they'd want her to return to the enclave if they knew. She turned to see Bastilla finishing off the droid she'd battled and then to Carth who was quickly closing the distance between them. The droid he'd been fighting a smoking heap on the sandy floor.

"It's through there," Traviata said, making her way to the back doorway, closing her light saber.

A wave of the hand and the doors opened, Traviata stepping through.

She looked to her side, feeling a presence there with her. Then she saw Malak, causing her to freeze in her tracks, her light saber ignited instantly in her hand.

"What is it?" Carth asked, coming over to her. She looked frightened and confused.

Traviata's eyes searched the room, he wasn't there, it was her imagination. She blinked slowly, it had felt so real.

"Nothing, just jittery," she replied, snapping off her light saber. One look at his face and she knew he didn't buy it. "The vision, I thought I saw Malak, it was just-" she let go a breath.

"I should get you out of here. Its bad enough you have to dream of those two, but then to have to visit the place of your nightmares. It's a little much for anyone to deal with," Carth said, his eyes surveying her. "You're wounded too, why didn't you say something? We're going, we can come back," Carth reprimanded, using his Captain's tone, taking her by the elbow.

"No, I'm okay. Let's just finish this," Traviata asserted, yanking her arm from his, her tone harsher than she'd intended.

"I'm sorry; I just want to get this over with. I'll be fine, it's not deep. Bastilla can take care of it after," Traviata explained. "We're here; I need to see this through, Carth."

He agreed with wanting to get it over with, but he hated doing it with her wounded and her mind so clouded that she was jumping at ghosts. The tactician in him hated going into this situation with so many negatives stacked against them.

Carth held her gaze for a long moment, his eyes like flint. "Fine, okay," he reluctantly conceded, taking in a breath. "Let's go see what was worth everything to Malak and Revan," he added, taking her by the elbow again, intent on keeping her close. When they entered further into the room a map activated, buzzing, humming, and causing the air to crackle with electricity.

"This is what they found? What you described in your vision?" Carth asked, shooting her a questioning look.

"Yes," Traviata answered meeting his eyes. "This is what they were after," she confirmed, walking around the perimeter of the map.

"This is where Revan and Malak began their journey down the path to the dark side," Bastilla said, her eyes wide.

"I think they were already on that road when they got here, Bastilla. This is what pushed them over the edge though," Traviata commented.

"This is just a Star Map," Carth said frowning, coming to stand by Traviata. "I don't get it. How did this turn them?"

"It's where it led them to that I believe sent them into the abyss of darkness they fell into, not the actual map. Though this artifact, this room, in fact this entire building reeks of evil. It permeates everything," she replied, an involuntary shiver running down her spine.

Carth nodded, watching her intently. He needed to get her out of there. Running a finger across her cheek he walked closer to the map.

"We can use the map to follow Revan and Malak's path. They must have been looking for the Star Forge, whatever it is," Bastilla said.

Carth was absorbed in the map now, walking slowly around it, studying it from every angle.

"It's missing critical data, key hyperspace coordinates and the location of the Star Forge," Carth rebutted. He knew maps and this one was incomplete.

"You see this here," Carth said pointing to the map. "This is Korriban, a Sith world. Which makes this Kashyyk, this one is Tatooine and this is Manaan. Those are the only hyperspace coordinates given."

"I know that Revan and Malak went to Korriban at least once, perhaps they found something there. There could be clues on all those planets, pieces to the map. They must have found them in order to find the Star Forge. If we have more visions to help guide us, we can surely find it too, and then we can destroy the Star Forge," Bastilla put in.

"That's a whole lot of speculation, Bastilla, even for you," Carth argued. "Why would you assume there are other maps at these locations? This map could just be corrupted," he persisted.

"You can't deny that they somehow found something that made them unstoppable and completely corrupted them. There's no other logical explanation," Bastilla countered.

"We must inform the Council of what we've discovered, they will decide our next course of action," Bastilla continued.

"They may decide your next course of action, but we're not under their authority," Carth shot back.

"Very well, Commander. I'll have it made an official Republic mission and have Traviata assigned to it, if that's what you want," Bastilla replied icily. "You won't have to be bothered with it, if you don't want to be assigned to it."

Traviata could feel Carth's anger ready to explode; she didn't need the Force to feel it either.

"You don't want to play this game with me, Bastilla," Carth warned darkly.

"It's not a game, this is what we've been waiting and hoping for and I won't let this opportunity slip through our fingers because of you Carth," Bastilla put in.

"Commander, Traviata and I have a bond, which allowed us to see the vision that brought us here. We have nothing better to go on, Traviata is vital to this mission-"

"Vital to this mission- those words sound awfully familiar," he said acidly. "Hold it, did you know this would happen? Was this your plan all along, and why she had to be assigned to the Endar Spire?" Carth interrupted with an accusing glare. He asked the question, but in his mind he knew, this is what the Jedi had planned all along.

"No, Commander. We knew she'd be important to accomplishing our goal, that's all. This is the best chance we've actually had of tracking down the way Malak has unending weapons and ships. It has to have something to do with this Star Forge. I don't believe that you'd actually stand in the way of ending this war," Bastilla replied, trying her best to placate the Captain.

"Commander, what greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them? We have that opportunity," Bastilla continued.

"Go talk to your Council, Bastilla. We're finished here," Carth said, barely containing his tremendous anger. This new admission confirmed his darkest suspicions he'd had about the strange assignment from the beginning.

Bastilla must have felt his anger too; she didn't push the issue and made a quick exit from the sinister temple.

Traviata and Carth watched the Jedi disappear. Carth let go a stream of obscenities at her departure, walking away from Traviata to the other side of the room.

"I know you're pissed, but she has a point you know. It is our best chance of stopping Malak," Traviata noted, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder when he'd finally run out of four letter words.

"Did you know anything about this at all? When you were transferred, did you know why?" Carth asked, glancing at her over his shoulder, his back still to her.

"No. How could I? I told you before I didn't know why they requested me. You think I knew this was going to happen? Are we back to that again?" Traviata asked her hand dropping to her side. Carth was a mass of anger, hatred, and suspicion, it bubbled off him.

Carth turned, his face as hard as his eyes at first. "No," he let go a breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just too convenient. I hate that they're doing this to you, dragging you into this, using you this way. I hate the way they cost my crew their lives, and for what?" he paused. "I've seen what that vision did to you before and Bastilla hopes you have more? You've been through enough, they ask too much of you."

Traviata replaced her hand on his shoulder. "Its okay, Carth, I'm a Republic soldier, like you, it's what we do. Besides that, I'm committed to doing everything I can do to stop Malak and the Sith. We may have a real chance here- you know that, that's partly why you're so mad," Traviata replied.

Carth swore under his breath, walking over to the map reader he snatched the orb, putting it into his pack.

"We didn't get Bastilla to heal you're leg," Carth commented coming to stand by Traviata, pulling a medpak from his bag. "It's just an anesthetic, but it will ease the pain until we get back to the enclave. It's a bit of a hike back; you want me to get a speeder?" He squatted down injecting the hypo into her, rubbing her leg, not giving her a chance to argue.

"Thanks. It's not that bad, I just want to get out of here now. This place makes my skin crawl," Traviata admitted. "Don't think I didn't notice you're avoiding the subject."

"Okay. Let's get you to the medic," Carth agreed, rising quickly.

"Well it seems you'll do just about anything to get a romantic stroll with me," Carth teased, flashing her a full smile, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; you think you're so smooth. I'm on to you Commander," Traviata's eyes met his, loving the way they crinkled up on the sides when he really smiled.

"Well I am. I've got my arm around you beautiful, I must be doing something right," he said lightly, ignoring the rest of her comment.

"As charming as you are and as much as I love to see you smile, will you please quit deflecting?" she said her expression troubled. "It's the only way, Carth. You know it's our best hope of stopping Malak," Traviata

"We have no idea what we'll be walking into. The probability of success and survival is very low," Carth figured the odds in his head; he gave them less than a three percent chance, and that was being generous. He'd never agree to send any personnel on a mission with such a low survival probability under normal circumstances, nothing about any of this was normal though.

"I know, I think it's worth the risk," Traviata replied, the pair making their way to the exit.

"I don't want you to do this; it's too dangerous. You're taking a great risk playing with the Force like this. You thought you saw Malak in there a few minutes ago," Carth explained.

"It will be okay, it was just my imagination. I haven't gotten much sleep lately-"

"You'd pulled out your frakin' light saber ready to battle, Traviata. Why? Because of nightmares about Malak and Revan. That's my point. It affects you, and it may only get worse if you pursue this,"Carth argued.

"There's no other choice, I can't just walk away from this, Carth," Traviata persisted.

"You'll go no matter what I say," Carth said, his voice and expression troubled. "Don't bother denying it."

"I wasn't going to," Traviata shot back. "If you were in my place, you would too. Don't bother denying that."

"Damn, stubborn, obstinate, woman," he let go a deep breath, his eyes squinting in the light outside. She wasn't going to budge on her decision.

"You know it is very dangerous, you don't have to do this too. I know you want to get back to the Fleet," Traviata offered.

"You think I'd leave you to do this alone?" Carth asked sharply.

"No, I didn't. I just don't want anything to happen to you any more than you want me to get hurt. It works both ways, you know," Traviata answered. The idea of a universe without him was too much for her to bear the thought of.

"Oh it does, does it? Learning to appreciate monkey lizards are you?" he asked smiling, tucking some hair behind her ear. There was no doubt she was going, that meant he was going.

"It's settled then," he said, not giving her a chance to respond. "We have a mission to get ready for. We better get you patched up, for starters," Carth added, his mind already mentally going over a checklist of what he'd need to do to have them mission ready.

The small ship glided through the dark space of the Unknown Regions, the stars slipping by silently. Malak stood alone at a rear viewport, reaching out through the Force, trying to feel the presence of those he sought. Nothing; cold desolate blackness was all he sensed. He pulled out the medallion he was never without and tried once again to feel Bastilla and her companions, drawing on all his dark power as he meditated.

Murky shadows, battlefields strewn with the dead, galaxies and planets flew by his mind's eye. Jedi, the Council, vast grassy plains he recognized from Dantooine appeared, the group he searched for was there, but not the one he looked for. He strained with all his might, and then he saw her with members of the party in the Ancient Temple, in the ruins on Dantooine. He felt it then, the connection, it hit him with a force that made him stagger and then it was gone. Like the shadows of the past, a mere flicker of a memory now.

With a furious roar that caused the entire ship to vibrate, the sound of straining steel mixed with warning klaxons erupted. With extreme effort he gained control, using the Force he silenced the alarms. His small crew would see to the necessary repairs, that didn't concern him. What concerned him was what he saw. He called the nearby datapad to his hand, it flew to him instantly. He pulled up the picture of the group on Taris.

He'd foreseen things would proceed just as they had, except for one thing: the small group that was now on the verge of going down the path to the Star Forge. He hadn't seen the others in his visions of the future. It was impossible to tell what affect that would have on the ultimate outcome. There was only one course of action he could see, he had to thin them out, eliminate the ones who could destroy his carefully wrought plans.

They would soon be on the path that Malak had once traveled himself at Revan's side. He would make sure that there were Sith acolytes on every planet they would no doubt travel to. The dark lord would leave the Sith Masters on the Star Forge, for now at least. Darth Malak continued his vigil at the viewport, the small necklace gripped tightly in his hand. He reached out with the Force trying to determine the affect the others would have on his journey.