Cold. A deep, dark cold. The yellow beam from Bastila's lightsaber lit the area surrounding us. We'd ended up in some type of storage area. Tanks upon tanks of unrefined kolto were shoved against the walls. I unleashed my own lightsaber then put the comm up to my mouth.
"Canderous?"
Nothing. Static. I switched channels.
"Juhani?"
Silence. Not good. Not good at all. And the comm signal couldn't reach Carth and the others due to the thousands of tons of water between us. We were truly stuck down here.
As I was attempting to contact the others, Bastila had gone towards what looked like the door to an elevator shaft. More than likely it wasn't going to work without power and the backup generators were only keeping the air and pressure reduction modules online. Before I could ask what she was doing, she stabbed her lightsaber into the door and carved a person-sized slab out of the metal.
"Bastila?"
She kicked the slab and it tumbled down the long elevator shaft. She turned back to me.
"Come on. It's a long way down. We probably…don't have much time before the Selkath find us again."
I shook my head. "You're still thinking about getting the Star Map? We're trapped down here. Even if we do get it—"
"We've been trapped before. We always find a way out. Carth will—"
"It'll take days before the others try to rescue us. By then, it'll be too late."
Her face twisted in the yellow shadows of her lightsaber.
"Why are you being so pessimistic all of a sudden?"
"I'm not being pessimistic," I said. "Just…realistic."
"Well, I'm not going to just stand here. We'll find a way…" She paused. "No, you'll find a way. You always find a way."
I opened my mouth to deny that, but she interrupted me by sheathing her lightsaber and dropping herself below the lip of the shaft. With a sigh, I copied her, extinguishing my lightsaber and placing one of my feet in the iron rungs of the ladder.
Darkness. More darkness. The clanks of our boots on the rungs echoed off the metal walls around us. The Force allowed me to sense where to place my hands and feet on the ladder, so I wasn't too worried about falling. This rhythm was starting to drive me insane though.
"What if we don't find a way?" I asked.
A sigh echoed below me.
"We'll worry about it later."
More clanking.
"Well, I'm worrying about it now. If we don't find a way out, we're dead. Honestly, I don't care if I die. I've made my peace with that already. But if you die…I—"
"No." The clanking below me stopped. I stopped with her before I smashed my boot on her fingers. "That isn't going to happen."
More silence. Then, the clanks resumed—their annoying rhythm was my answer.
It took us about ten minutes of climbing before we reached the pool of water. Flooded. Not surprised. Bastila huffed as she climbed around and over to the closed elevator door. Once again, she lit her lightsaber and carefully cut into the metal. The incision fell outward into the next room.
Some lights flickered about in the hall we'd ended up in. A generator was still functioning somewhere but it didn't look like there was much juice in it left. Bastila led the way down this hall until we ended up in a large, clustered room. Science equipment laid exposed on the numerous tables—beakers, kolto samples, droids…
I sensed the blaster shot before it rang out. Unleashing my lightsaber, I deflected the shot back at the mining droid. Its shields absorbed the shot and it continued firing at me. With a single twirl, I deflected all of the shots and scrunched my hand. The droid's chassis collapsed within itself with the strength of the Force. In that span of time, Bastila had just unleashed the other half of her lightsaber and attacked another droid aiming a flamethrower at us. Before the flames were unleashed, she managed to take it out with a quick slash.
Once we checked the room to make sure there were no other threats, I approached the workstation and grabbed one of the datapads left behind. Other than the incomprehensible research recorded on the device, there was a holorecording made around a month back when the Republic scientists and soldiers were first attacked. Maybe it'll give us some more info?
I flicked the screen and the small cracked holoimage of a Republic scientist hovered over the datapad screen.
"…found a strange ancient device near the dig site. After we started mining the vents near the device, there was this loud…scream. Selkath…insane. And a monster appeared from the bottom of the Rift. The elevator shaft was blocked by debris. We are trapped here now…no way out unless we use the envirosuits to cross over to the northern tower."
A flicker, then…a woman appeared. "Herst is dead…we crossed over to this station, but we ran out of charges in the sonic emitter. The firaxan…they devoured him before my eyes. He was…was able to distract them enough so that I could escape. But…the Selkath. They're everywhere. I managed to lock myself in here. I am the only survivor—I think. The only hope I have now is rescue, yet…no one would be able to do that unless I scare away the Progenitor. It destroys any submersible it detects. I've created a…toxic solution that I could place in the kolto reservoir. It should eliminate the monster…but I am unsure what it could do to the kolto. It will likely contaminate it for generations. The project is dead anyway. The Selkath will discover what we have done here. What do I have to lose?"
The playback flickered away and I scanned the area again. There were no bodies which meant this woman must have tried her plan. And failed, obviously, since the creature was still alive.
Bastila looked through the science equipment and turned on another datapad. She read through it as I walked over.
"I think…it's this solution here," she said, nodding to the beakers filled with a clear material. "All we need now are envirosuits—"
"But what about the kolto?"
Bastila looked up from the datapad. Concern and guilt wavered over our connection.
"I—"
"After all of this…after defending a murderer to save innocent lives, we're just going to let the kolto be destroyed to…what, save our own skin?"
"It's either that or everything else would have been for nothing," she said. "The Republic won't be able to send subs to rescue us if the Progenitor is alive."
I shook my head—knowing that what she said was true. It was true. Yet.
"But…there has to be another way. What about the refugees?"
"During the battle of Uyter, you helped me make a hard decision." Her hair hung low across her eyes. We remembered the fire. The death. They were the sacrifice so that the Republic fleet could survive. "What happened…you were right. None of it was our fault. We did what we had to do to help the navy survive to protect another planet in the future. If we don't get these Star Maps, the war will be lost. If…innocent lives are needed as a sacrifice…then it should be worth it if it saves more lives in the end. Right?"
I stared at her, feeling numb. Then nodded.
"Right."
What Bastila said is what I've been telling myself, convincing myself that what I was doing was right.
But then Jolee's words rang within my mind.
How long? How long will it take before these excuses wear me down and turn me into the very thing I despise? There had to be another way without betraying what I had been standing for this entire time. Had to. Yet, there was no other way. Once again, I had to do something terrible, almost evil even, for the greater good. Sure, we were going to poison the kolto to save the galaxy—we weren't doing it as a selfish attempt to live like that scientist—and yet…still…bitterness cloyed in my mouth at the thought.
Bastila collected the substance in a protected plastic container and placed it in her bag.
Before we made our journey to the kolto vents, we reviewed all of the datapads. The mysterious device was situated near the power station and the kolto harvester. Which meant we could kill two tachs with one stone. Take care of the Progenitor and get the Star Map. The datapads also made note that the kolto had to be pumped up from even further below. The Republic couldn't build the station any further down. The Rift narrowed and the source was unreachable without these pumps. Wann lied to us again. There is no way an explosion could take out the actual source of kolto. He probably wanted us to switch off the generators to save his precious project.
The scientists were also interested in how kolto was created. They mentioned that it did not appear like it was a natural process. It baffled all of the Selkath scientists. Nothing made sense about the origin.
Then there was the firaxan infestation. Yup. A firaxan infestation. This place was indeed a hellhole. As the Republic was excavating and building the station, the local wildlife swarmed the staging areas. Miners were forced to use high-frequency signal deterrents in order to work. Sonic emitters. We made sure to grab some of these just in case we ran into the sharks. The scientists were surprised the firaxan could live down here for long. Most lived near the surface, not deep underwater. For other sharks, the water pressure should have been enough to crush them. Which meant these sharks were tougher than the others.
Great.
The plan was simple. Get the Star Map. Poison the vents. Kill the Progenitor. Go to the other station and try to find a way back up to meet with the others. Then…wait for rescue. Carth, Jolee, and Mission would surely notice if we were gone for days.
We opened the storage room and found the yellow envirosuits in a few of the miners' lockers. The hulking mass of a suit would take forever to put on alone with all of the instruments included. First, we needed to put on a red jumpsuit that would keep our bodies intact, warm, and pressurized. I unbuttoned the vest I still wore from the trial and took off my tunic…then boots…then trousers…then...
"What are you doing?"
I looked over at Bastila before I completely stripped. In the dim light, I noticed she was trying to appear unaffected by my state of undress. Yet, she couldn't suppress the rising heat in her chest. I cocked a brow.
"Um…what does it look like? I'm putting on the suit."
She hesitated.
"D-Do you really need to take off everything to put it on though?"
"For the jumpsuit to be effective? I think so. Yes." I smirked when I sensed…heat coming from Bastila. "You can look away if you're afraid you'll be turned on by it, sunshine."
"W-Why would I be turned on?!" Her voice cracked. "This is your enormous male ego talking."
"Male ego? What do you mean? Everyone gets turned on. And there's nothing wrong with that. Go ahead and ogle if you want," I said. "I don't mind."
"Why do you even think I'd want to ogle you? Jedi don't ogle. That and I don't care…I-I'm not that curious enough to care. I know what male anatomy looks like."
"Oh…" I shrugged. "Okay."
I dropped my pants and threw them on a random bench. Without a layer of protection, the cold seeped into my naked extremities. So, I quickly shoved on the jumpsuit before my balls froze off. After I zipped up, feeling warmer than before, I stood up straight and noticed Bastila had been watching me. She was trying to control her angry breathing, but it wasn't working. I crossed my arms, raising a brow, waiting for her to snap out of it.
"Bondy?"
"Oh, um, yes." She cleared her throat and took off her robe…only to freeze before she removed her tunic. She noticed I was still looking at her. Her eyes narrowed. "Can you look away? Please?"
My smirk widened.
"Why?"
"Why? You know why!"
"But I'm a Jedi too, remember?"
Her nose scrunched. "Wes."
"Don't worry. I know what female anatomy looks like, after all. And what's wrong with wanting to look anyway? I mean—you looked. It was a lingering look too. Liked what you saw?"
Heat rose to her cheeks and her entire face scrunched.
"I—! You—! How would you—! I didn't! That wasn't a—! I was…just…"
"Are you scared to bare yourself? Yes, that's understandable. But it is rather rude to catch a look and then say I can't look back. At least, not without some credits to compensate—"
She interrupted me with an angry growl. Without warning, she pulled off her tunic like a kolto bandage then threw it at my face. It fell to the ground and, stunned, I got a brief glance at her breasts before I twisted around to keep her decent.
"Wait! I-I didn't mean for you to actually..."
I rubbed my neck to stave off the rush of aching heat filling my…Force she probably sensed that. Guilt and embarrassment seeped into the bond. I shouldn't have pushed her to do something like that.
Silence. Then, a moment later, I heard the rustling of clothes as she undressed. My body, fortunately, cooled down. Finally, a finger tapped my shoulder and Bastila looked up at me with a shy expression. We stared at each other for a moment then she let out a long sigh.
"It's fine, I…" Her lips pursed. "You're right. I shouldn't feel ashamed. As a Jedi, I shouldn't care…if you see—"
"No." I shook my head. "No. You don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. Jedi or no. That's what I meant to say. But instead I…I was a massive asshole. Sorry."
Her shoulders fell as her discomfort drifted away.
"Well, I suppose." She smiled. "And I forgive you."
With her forgiveness, I picked up the helmet with a grin.
"Alright, let's get this over with then, shall we?"
We helped each other into the unwieldy envirosuits then entered the airlock. The helmet hissed as it locked shut and the vitals flickered on at the bottom of the glass. We had about an hour's worth of air left from the people who used it previously. There was an inbuilt comm system connected to each of the suits as well, so I could hear Bastila if needed.
Based on the map, this airlock led down to the edge of the Rift. Stairs and a metal walkway went down to the kolto harvester and the Star Map. Bastila pulled down the switch. Flickering red lights washed over us. As the water filled the room…
The water was heavy. A large figure in a dark envirosuit walked slowly across the undisturbed vegetation. Behind, a small sub rumbled. Waiting.
Breathing hard. Pulse-pounding. Drowning. Couldn't breathe. It all went away when a voice, dark, agitated, erupted from a comm. The figure pointed.
"I see it. Over there, Master—"
"Wes?"
Bastila's voice broke with static. A vision. It meant we were close. I blinked then noticed the heavy sensation surrounding me. The water weighed tons even with the suit to protect me from the pressure. With a floating step, I shifted forward, making sure to keep my arms out for balance. Bastila's unrecognizable form followed me—bag with the toxin in hand—as I led the way across the slipping metal bridge.
Some lights were on down here. The power station sat at the base of the structure next to the excavation site. All of those lights were focused on the Rift on the ocean floor. A dark statue had been sectioned off on the other side of the Rift. The Star Map. We had no choice but to slowly walk down towards it at a Hutt's pace. The suit didn't let us go fast at all. The silence, once again, was stifling.
"So…" I twisted a bit to address Bastila. "This will take forever. Ever been to an ocean? Before Manaan, of course."
A sigh. Only, instead of annoyed, it sounded more nostalgic.
"Talravin has many oceans. Father took us to one once. It was more of a tourist destination though. We didn't go again. It was…expensive." Another sigh—this one annoyed. "Mother ran off to a bar…"
"Ah." My breath staggered as I looked out to the darkness. "There were some oceans on Deralia, but we lived so far away I never saw them. There were plenty of lakes and rivers though. The lakes could practically be oceans during the rainy season. One time when I was…five? Six? I was learning to swim with Mother and something…pulled me under. I don't remember what exactly it was. What I do remember though is feeling…trapped. The light kept getting further and further away…until there was only darkness." I shivered even though the jumpsuit kept me warm. "Next thing I know, I'm on the ground coughing up muddy water with Mother sitting over me. Almost drowned." I snorted. "I wanted to stop swimming after that, but Mother told me I needed to face my fears so that the fear could go away. And I did."
"But you're still afraid."
I paused.
"Ha, no—it was just a…childhood fear. I overcame it. Easy. Learned how to swim that summer. Beat the other farmer kids at racing too. Perhaps with some help with the Force now that I think about it."
"You're rambling."
"Yes? What about it? I ramble."
"You only ramble when you're afraid."
Oh. Yeah, that's right. She could sense my fear even if I tried suppressing it from myself. I stopped and looked down into the watery depths.
"Yeah…I… Yes. I supposed I am." I sighed. "Well, I was good at pretending not to be, at least. Better than nothing."
"It's okay, you know. To be afraid, I mean." She stopped at my side. "Yes, fear leads to the dark side…but we are all afraid sometimes. Suppressing your fear is the same as insisting that you can't fall. Accepting it means you're not letting it control you."
"Well, I'm accomplishing the same thing anyway." I started walking again. Boots pounded quickly on the metal. "If I suppress it then it stops controlling me. Simple."
She didn't say anything else about that after we continued walking. Maybe I'd convinced her. For once.
We continued in silence down the metal walkway. Shadows swam in the midst of light and I shivered when I spotted the swarm. Gray hammerheads of the firaxan sharks melded together into a school in the dim blue near the edge of the Rift. All of them were right next to the Star Map and some crowded around the humming machinery that was the kolto collection system.
Perfect.
Finally, we arrived at the end of the walkway. My boot hit the sand and my pace became even slower. I kept my hand near my belt as we traveled closer and closer to the swarm.
"Over there." Bastila pointed at a collection station with a computer module up on the platform. "Those tubes should lead directly down to the kolto vents. At least, based on what those scientists wrote."
"Are you…sure we should be doing this?" I asked. "What if the kolto can't recover?"
"We already talked about this, Wes. Without the Star Map, the galaxy is doomed. I'm more certain now than before. The firaxan are swarming it. This is the only way."
She was right. The firaxan had to leave the area before we could even approach. The only way was to deploy this toxin.
We climbed up a ladder to the staging area platform. Cranes and other water-bound construction machinery were abandoned along the edges. A bridge led across the Rift for at least a click then curved to the Star Map and the other station. A clear pipe snaked down into the darkness below. White unrefined kolto churned in the pipe and into the many storage units.
A minute of slow thudding later, I lifted my gloved hand and activated the computer. The generators were still going strong down here. Ironically, all of the power had actually been redirected to these excavators. The machines had been harvesting kolto long after the Republic abandoned ship. When I swiped through the logs, there were at least five million sangen units of kolto contained within.
Fortunately, it had an automatic shutoff to prevent it from overflowing into the fuel tanks. If anything leaked out…it would not end well.
Bastila walked to my side and approached the tube. There was an insertion port to take samples of kolto. If we put the toxin in there…
A loud screech shook the ground. I held onto the computer and grabbed Bastila's arm before she fell over into a heap. My ears rang as the screeching took over my senses—even the bond had become difficult to sense. The screeching ceased and below the bridge, the mass of the Progenitor floated up.
Pain. Indescribable pain. Within my mind, there was a pained whimper. My hand gripped Bastila's iron arm tight as I tried to suppress it, yet even with her help, nothing tamed this pain. It felt like I was burning from the inside out.
Help.
"Help…"
I stared into the shadow of Bastila's helmet. Yet, she seemed…confused.
"Help?"
A hiss. Many hisses. The firaxan had awakened.
Cursing, I grabbed the sonic emitter before the sharks swarmed us with their sharp teeth. Flicking a switch, a silent signal caused some of the sharks to flail in pain while others swam away in terror. Bastila yanked the toxin from the bag and pressed some buttons on the console to open the sample port. The sonic emitter only had a few charges left. We didn't have much time.
Leave.
The feminine voice entered my mind again. I looked up after releasing another signal, killing more firaxan. The Progenitor looked down at us. Her dark eyes were filled with immense pain. It was…sentient.
Leave?
My children suffer.
"Wait!"
Bastila stopped before she pulled the handle to release the toxin. I sensed frustration from her.
"We can't! The firaxan will kill us if we don't—"
"Something's wrong!"
I stepped towards the Progenitor.
Why do your children suffer?
The life-waters. They need the life-waters. You are taking the life-waters.
Life-waters?
I glanced at the pipes then up at the overfilled harvester. Then, I noticed…the firaxan that left us had started pounding their heads into the collection containers. The pain…they needed the kolto to stop their pain. Without the kolto, they would live in torment. That's why they were attacking. That's why the Selkath didn't let anyone near the Rift. Life down here…it needed the kolto. They were being crushed from the water pressure without it. We were taking air from their gills.
I grit my teeth.
Their suffering had to stop.
Focusing and using the Force, I yanked the toxin out of the tube. Bastila gasped and reached out, yet it broke. Without a thick substance to travel through, it dissipated into the saltwater.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bastila shouted over the comm. "You just—!"
I ignored Bastila as I typed on the computer module. I forced the machines to turn on which caused an overflow. To combat the overflow, five million units of kolto were dumped into the fuel injector pods. Eventually, the fuel injector pods began to leak…
The computer flickered red. The words fuel leak and evacuate flashed on the screen.
"We need to go! Now!" I shouted back at Bastila.
She was stunned. So much so, I grabbed her arm and pulled her forward to get her started. As if sensing the explosion, the firaxan sharks scattered down below the Rift in streams. The Progenitor watched us from above the bridge as we crossed. A deep rumble created deep currents, pushing us both to the edge. We held onto the railing tight as we sensed the impending explosion…
Boom!
The kolto harvester collapsed in on itself as the fuel deposits ignited. The pipes burst, releasing the white kolto bubbles into the waters once again. The collection towers toppled to the side, releasing more kolto. Only…it toppled right into the bottom of the station we'd come from. More explosions burst and hit a vital area.
The power station.
Well…at least we did what Wann asked. We shut off the power. Only now, well, that station was going to go down.
As the explosions continued, I looked up. The Progenitor didn't say anything else as she slowly followed her children back down into the depths of the Hrakert Rift. The pain was gone.
I took a deep breath and pulled myself across the bridge. Bastila had become cold over the bond.
"They were suffering without the kolto. Weren't they?"
She asked. But she knew the answer.
The Star Map, sensing our presence, opened up revealing the familiar pattern of stars. Bastila took her datapad out from her bag and shuffled to the port. We only had to wait a minute for the coordinates to download.
Only one more. One more Star Map and we'd finally get to the Star Forge.
We couldn't celebrate though. Not when we were still in danger.
The station with the sub port was still intact, of course, but the one closest to the power station was collapsing. I wasn't comfortable with sticking around. Bastila led us to the stairs and we desperately rushed towards the airlock in the souther station.
Move. Move damn it. Why didn't these hulking things move faster?
Even though it probably took five minutes for us to get to the airlock, it felt like an hour. Bastila and I used the Force to help us open the port manually. Our heavy breaths filled the comms as we waited for the water to drain. As soon as we could move our upper bodies, we stripped off the suit until we were wearing the jumpsuits.
Bastila threw my lightsaber over to me from her bag and I ignited it to carve into the door. Then, the entire station rumbled.
"Kriff."
Water spurt from the side of the airlock. Something must have hit the station. I kicked the panel after I finished carving and rushed into the cold room beyond, lightsaber extended. Part of the power station had lodged itself into the wall. Large streams of water collided against the floor, pooling. There was at least a foot of water. Our breaths condensed in the air, creating puffs.
"No…"
Bastila's voice was soft. Terror clogged the bond.
Right. The elevator shaft. It was caved in—it looked like it had been caused by some explosive. We were well and truly stuck down here. Bastila sank to her knees into the water. Exhaustion plagued us both, so I stumbled to the ground with her.
We'd come so far…so far and yet…it was all for nothing. I'd made another mistake, hadn't I?
Boom.
Another explosion rocked the station. I glanced to the side. Bastila wiped away wet hair from her brow.
"I'm sorry." When I said that, she looked up at me with her tired gray eyes. I avoided looking back. "We're going to die down here because I couldn't…put my emotions aside and sacrifice the stupid kolto." I snorted, shaking my head. "Typical. Worst Jedi in the galaxy."
Silence. Water spurted from the cracks of the walls. Then, a cold, wet hand covered mine.
"You're not the worst Jedi in the galaxy."
"You don't have to lie to me."
"You noticed that the firaxan were suffering. Getting rid of the machines got rid of the Progenitor. Peacefully. Well, relatively. You found another way."
"Another way to die. Sure."
"Wes." She shook my shoulder, forcing me to look back at her. "There is no death. There is the Force. A Jedi would have tried a peaceful solution no matter what. A Jedi…would protect the weak."
She was right. A Jedi would have made that choice. I'd almost forgotten what it meant—what it truly meant—to be a Jedi. Protect the innocent. Protect those that cannot protect themselves. I was a Jedi Guardian. That was what Master Dorak assigned me all those weeks ago. I'd been doing my job this entire time. So…maybe I wasn't the worst Jedi in the galaxy after all.
Ha. Yeah, right.
A laugh left my lips. Then, I was overcome with hysterics. Bastila flinched yet didn't let go of my shoulder as I let out a rain of laughter. I stopped when a vent burst and water puddled on the ground. Our legs were completely submerged in the water.
"Without the power station to power the shields, we probably don't have much time left." I looked up. "Any minute this place will collapse under the water pressure. Fitting. Maybe I was supposed to drown in that lake all those years ago. I was meant to die then. What a waste."
Bastila was stone cold. "Well, I'm glad you didn't die back then. Otherwise…I would have never gotten to know you."
I snorted. "That's a given."
"No. Really. I…" She blinked away water, her eyes appeared cloudy. "Life would have been…empty without you."
Warmth filled my chest after I heard those affectionate words. Yes, even though we were going to die, I don't think I'd ever felt so at peace. My face hurt as I smiled at her, taking her hand in mine.
"So…" I scooched closer, my knee bumped hers under the water. "Does that mean we're back together?"
She huffed. "Really? How is that still on your mind?"
"I mean, only couples say stuff like that to each other."
"That was just—! We aren't a couple."
I moved closer. Her face was a mere inch away.
"If I never met you, life would have been meaningless."
Her face relaxed…her heartbeat skipped. Warmth spread in her chest. I lifted a hand and tenderly cupped her cheek. Without waiting for more air to be lost, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to hers. Water ran down our faces and the gentle kiss only lasted a moment. Too short of a moment. I sighed after her lips left mine, then rubbed her cheekbone with a thumb.
"There." I smirked. "Now are we a couple?"
She watched me for a second then rolled her eyes back. "Fine." She threw a hand at another water stream. "Not that it matters—"
Splash!
I flinched away from her at that sharp sound. Metal collided and splashed in the water beside us. We both looked up.
Juhani grinned down at us from high above. Her lightsaber hummed after she'd finished cutting that hole in the ceiling.
"See! I told you they would be down here!"
"Peh." Canderous' booming voice echoed off the walls. "Whatever. Good guess, feline."
"Feline!" Juhani hissed. "Did you call me feline? Again? How dare you, Mandalorian cur!"
A loud sigh.
"Can you two stop arguing for five seconds?" Verena muttered. "They're going to drown down there in the meantime."
Bastila and I looked at each other with raised looks.
I smirked. "Well, it looks like we'll live a little while longer yet."
Verena, Canderous, and Juhani pulled us up through the hole into an air shaft. The room we'd left was now half-filled with water. We didn't have time to explain what happened and had to make a run for it up through the confined space. Our boots pounded loud on the metal and water sprayed into our faces as we climbed up a ladder in the shaft.
There was a safe spot near the top of the station. The server room. There, the three of them, Echani, Mandalorian, and Cathar, were able to find a comm. However, from what Verena described, the signals were busted. They had no choice but to take a risk and broadcast wide. The Republic or the Selkath could show up.
Or the Sith.
Canderous grunted and pushed the trapdoor open. We climbed into a comm room. And the room was spacious—had to be in order to fit all of the computers and servers. All of which had gone silent. Dead. Two ladders trailed up to the second floor, and multiple servers sat above us like cold corpses. On the first floor was a pile of Selkath. Some dead…some twitched.
Bastila approached one and felt the poor Selkath's neck.
"They're still alive."
Juhani walked up to her side. "They all collapsed when the power went out. I sensed through the Force that their pain was eased."
So, some of the Selkath could be saved. Yet, what even happened to them? The Progenitor must have been the cause of their insanity.
Verena sighed with impatience.
"We should wait near the sub port. That way, we can leave as soon as possible. I don't think this place will—"
The station rumbled, and with it, water burst from the ceiling. Yeah, we didn't have much time left before this entire place went down from the water pressure.
Multiple hisses echoed to our left. We flinched at the sound and turned.
Darth Bandon. How had I not sensed…? But, no, everything around me was cold. I wouldn't have sensed the dark side even if it was next to me. Bastila, Juhani, and I unleashed our lightsabers.
At first, I thought Darth Malak's apprentice had been alone, yet three other dark Jedi unleashed their red lightsabers beside the Sith. The station rumbled.
"Jedi." He twirled his duel blades, the red reflecting off the metal. "We're here to rescue you."
The other three Sith chuckled at the terrible joke. Juhani growled.
"You!" We didn't get a chance to blink before she rushed up to the dark apprentice using the Force. Her blue blade collided with Bandon's. "You tortured Belaya! It's your fault she—!"
Using his mechanical leg, he kicked the Cathar and sent her flying. Before she collided with the wall hard, I used the Force to slow her down. Juhani staggered to her feet, yet she went on the attack again. I pushed her shoulder to stop her from killing herself.
Bastila turned.
"Get to the submersible, quickly!"
Canderous and Verena heeded the order and ran towards the Sith. Canderous opened fire and the dark Jedi deflected the shots away. Darth Bandon hissed and was about to attack Canderous, but Verena blocked his lightsaber before it managed to cause permanent damage. Yusanis' blade burned orange as the cortosis resisted the lightsaber. This gave Canderous a chance to run past down the hall behind them towards the submersible.
The dark Jedi dashed towards us, water flying behind them. We blocked their attacks—the hums from my attacker pounded and thrummed in an irregular rhythm. Two had went after Bastila. The water dripping from the ceiling hissed on our blades, creating condensation within the air. Juhani, free, growled at Darth Bandon again. I almost didn't dodge the dark Jedi's next blow as I was distracted by the Cathar's rage.
I had no choice but to let her go.
The red blurred around me in a current, yet the dark Jedi only seemed to be tiring himself. Now that he was close, I could sense the darkness. The cold. Some of it touched my mind. I batted it away like his lightsaber and used the Force on a fallen kolto container. He cursed and dodged the object yet he hadn't expected me to attack again. Seconds later my blue blade pierced the dark Jedi's armor. His yellow eyes dimmed and the Sith's body collided in the water beside the downed Selkath.
The water…it was up to our knees. Bastila had taken the fight with the other two Sith into one of the long hallways where some of the water was blocked by the debris near the door. Verena joined Bastila in defending Canderous against the dark Jedi. They were all in the hallway.
Juhani…was struggling. A waver, a taint, rippled from her direction.
"You will die for what you did!"
Darth Bandon let out a maniacal laugh as he batted her away like a fly. She was able to block one of his duel blades, yet he punched her in the face with his hilt. While she was able to stay upright, I rushed over and stopped the other blade before it sliced Juhani in half.
She hissed. "No! This fight is mine. I don't need—"
"Belaya wouldn't want you to die!" I interrupted. "You're her only hope!"
Juhani hesitated. The taint from her dissipated.
Bandon sheathed his blades and we both tumbled forward at the unexpected move. Juhani, due to her increased momentum, collapsed into the water. The air stirred and my hair stood on end. In a blink, I extended my lightsaber to protect Juhani as lightning coursed from Darth Bandon's fingers.
Over the Sith's maniacal laughter, I struggled to push the sparks into the ceiling.
"Go!"
Juhani staggered to her feet.
"But Gale…I—"
The sparks ceased when the station rumbled.
"I'll be behind you." I twirled my lightsaber, holding it underhand, and smirked. "After I've taken care of this coward."
Bandon's pale face wrinkled at my words. He unleashed both of his blades again. Now I sensed the cold of the dark side. It chilled me to my bones. When Juhani didn't move, I groaned and focused on her. With the Force, I threw the Cathar into the hall towards the others.
I didn't get a reprieve after that. Bandon slammed one of his blades down in an arc. His brutish strength made me pause. I pushed him to my right, slowly. The water had gone over my knees, which meant mobility had become a problem. I weighed my options. If I made a run for it, I would beat Bandon to the submersible due to the Sith's mechanical leg. He would drown down here—deservedly. Running was the best option.
The station rumbled again. This caused Bandon to loosen his grip enough that I could risk extending my left hand. The kolto container from before flew at the Sith and he sliced it in half. I half-swam, half-ran towards the hall. Bastila, with the help of Juhani, finished off the other dark Jedi and faced me.
Something…cracked.
One moment, I saw Bastila's worried face, the next, darkness pooled around with the water as the metal debris collapsed in on itself.
Wes!
I sensed Bastila trying to use the Force on the debris. It was working, but more water sprayed out from the walls. If she continued…then she would drown with us. Some of the debris was cleared…
Stop!
No! More metal replaced the debris Bastila blasted away. We can't leave you behind. You—
Yes, you can!
I cursed as the water reached my hips and I was forced to run for the ladder.
"Who's the coward now, Jedi?"
Darth Bandon hadn't stopped. Though he followed at a slower pace due to the mechanical leg, it wouldn't take him long to catch up. Insane. This man was insane. I grabbed onto the rungs as the water reached my shoulders.
Shivering, I pulled myself up—using a burst of the Force to go as quickly as humanly possible. The ladder shook as if a rancor followed. I unleashed my lightsaber and cut off the rungs below me. Unfortunately, Bandon wasn't stupid. With the Force, he jumped to the other ladder before the rungs fell into the water.
In response, Bandon sent a burst of lightning across the room. I blocked, barely, with one hand while holding onto the ladder with my left. Beads of sweat coarse down my forehead as I tried desperately to force the attack back. My fingers went numb as some of the sparks traveled through to my hilt and to the metal ladder.
With a shout, the stream of lightning deflected down into the water. The static spread around with the waves. Bandon cursed and released his attack and started climbing again. It took me a moment to return to climbing as I waited for feeling to return to my fingers. I pulled myself onto the second floor. The metal rumbled with our steps. Through the hall of servers, past small streams of water, I faced my opponent.
Darth Bandon didn't attack.
"I noticed that my old Master hasn't come to save you, Jedi. I would have rather faced him."
I held my lightsaber in a defensive stance. More condensation hissed off the blade.
"Sul Koth is dead. Belaya killed him. No thanks to you."
A rumbling laugh came from the dark Jedi. "Fitting. Belaya was his favorite. I think my Master feared me—even back before the war. So that is…so good to hear."
My teeth clenched and I rushed towards him. My lightsaber was deflected by his and it skidded across the servers, marking them red.
"Sul Koth didn't fear you." We locked blades again. "He said he failed you."
"Ah, yes. All of the Jedi say that. That they 'failed' us. And they call us arrogant." He twisted his other blade and I bashed it aside before it took off my arm. "Let me ask—have you ever had a taste of the dark side?"
I hesitated at Bandon's words. I decided not to give in to his taunt.
"No."
"Lies." His blows attacked quick, short. I was forced to block and parry each one. Forced into a defense. Over the sound of the humming blades, Bandon ranted. "You're right. Sul Koth failed me. I would have never been able to accomplish anything under his tutelage. But under Darth Malak? I have become unstoppable! The Jedi believe the dark side to be a poison. A taint. It is more than that." He stopped his attacks and backflipped to the other end of the server hallway. "It is power!"
Lightning once more erupted from his fingers. His yellow eyes almost seemed to glow. I intercepted the attack and my fingers once again became numb as some of the sparks shot down my blade. The sounds of Bandon's laughs, the static, the splashing water beneath my feet…all of it disappeared as I focused on blocking the lightning.
Our feet were consumed by the water. I…couldn't hold onto the attack for long. Up…up in the ramparts…in this collapsing station.
"Now...I remember..." I called out in pain then laughed. "You killed Trask Ulgo."
Bandon's humored face dipped.
"Who?"
Pushing down, the lightning was deflected into the water. I only saw Bandon's terror cross his face for a second. I'd timed it so I could Force jump up and grab onto the rampart above me with my free hand. The dark apprentice screamed in pain as the lightning crawled up his mechanical leg into his body. Instead of receiving a minor shock, Darth Bandon suffered in neverending pain. His leg stored the lightning he'd thrown at me and fried his body…his pale skin became ribbed with dark streaks. A perfect conduit. Eventually, he couldn't hold himself up and he collapsed, dead, into the water.
Sparks zapped the air. His own power had turned against him. Perhaps this is what Jolee meant when he said the Sith always turned on themselves.
With a sigh, I sheathed my lightsaber, then pulled myself up onto the beam on the ceiling. The water overtook Darth Bandon's body. And it was rising.
Bastila. I sensed her fear. She was still waiting for me.
There's a rebreather in the submersible. Her voice was frantic. We can get you soon, just…
You have the Star Map coordinates. I shivered as the water approached. This place is going to collapse. You need to go before the sub is destroyed.
No. Never. I can't—
I took a deep breath as the water touched my legs. I crossed them and went into meditation. Fear. The fear of the water…went away.
There is no death. There is the Force.
Wes!
Darkness. The water rushed over me and my body became…light. All around me. I closed my eyes as bubbles of air left my nose.
Memories.
"Wesley!"
Mother's voice. It was deep. I thought I'd forgotten it.
The sun beat down on my skin. I rushed into the lake and didn't listen to Mother's calls to stop as I swam deep into the water. I heard the splashing of my mother behind me.
"No! I can do it!"
Salty water filled my mouth. I'd been impatient. For weeks, I struggled to learn how to stay afloat. I wanted to prove to her that I could do it. Nothing pulled me under. I'd been reckless.
"You're going to fall!"
Anger. I felt emboldened by Mother's words. She didn't need to protect me! I paddled further away.
"See! I'm fine—!"
Then, I lost my strength. A fish or…a current distracted me from keeping myself above water. The lake consumed me and the light…I reached up as I drifted down.
The light…where was the light?
Something smooth grabbed my arm. I opened my eyes. Dark, beady eyes stared into mine. Shocked, I took in a breath of saltwater and a cold sensation captured my chest. The Selkath who grabbed my shoulder pulled me off the beam into the darkness below. Another cool sensation brushed my mind.
Thank you.
Mother?
No.
The Progenitor. White bubbles floated in the water. The Selkath pressed the kolto into my mouth.
Then calm.
Then nothing.
One more chapter to wrap up Manaan! I have a love-hate relationship with this arc. One - I got to write Bastila and Wes' blossoming relationship. Two - politics. My one weakness! Hisss!
One thing I want to mention - I made a slight edit to chapter 12 concerning the dream Wes had. I had to change it due to character/plot changes concerning my Exile. When I first wrote that scene it was 2013 when I hadn't finished KOTOR 2...so, yeah, it needed to be changed. Sorry! That one was bugging me.
I hope you've been enjoying this so far! And as always, I'd love to hear what you think!