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Chapter 29: Arrival on Lehon
A week and a half after they began their journey, they hovered in the anonymous star system that was the sixteenth waypoint. It was one devoid of life, but instead contained a pair of neutron stars, remnants of long dead stars orbiting each other. There, they observed their final destination—the Lehon system, which contained the Star Forge. However, they couldn't see Lehon or the Star Forge from this distance as anything but a point source of light, which was insufficient for the amount of planning that would be required. However, with their gravitational wave detectors, they were able to pinpoint the position of every planet in the Lehon system alongside the main star, Abo.
To continue their observations instead of heading in blind, Revan chose a random point around seven light-hours away from Abo, away from the orbital plane of the planets and the Star Forge, and programmed the Ebon Hawk to jump to that spot. This would put them in the outskirts of the Lehon system, where they could observe Lehon's surface, the Star Forge, and the fleet Malak deployed around it, while remaining safe from the disruptor field. It would have been even better for stealth if they had come out of hyperspace behind one of the outer planets, as that would block the entire hyperspace wake from visibility, but unfortunate all the planets other than Lehon just happened to be on the opposite side of Abo from the Star Forge, blocking the line of sight. Still, with the speed of light, it would take someone from the Star Forge at least six hours to detect their appearance, by which time they should hopefully already have jumped directly to Lehon, leaving no trace for anyone investigating to find. Malak's people would most likely conclude it was some random smuggler who got lost in space rather than suspecting his arrival.
An hour later, the ship arrived at the spot. With the onboard systems, they observed Lehon and the Star Forge. Revan and Bastila, standing alone in the main hold, observed them on the holoprojector. Glancing at the blurry hologram, the Sith Lord pinpointed the location of the Temple of the Ancients, where they could disable the disruptor field in the Lehon system, which would then allow the Ebon Hawk to approach the Star Forge. He then programmed the ship to plot a path so that they would exit hyperspace directly over Lehon, with the planet in between the ship and the Star Forge, to minimize the risks of Malak detecting their arrival. He also programmed the system to prefer paths that would allow the ship to land reasonably close to the temple after they left the influence of the disruptor field, saving valuable time.
While that happened, the Sith couple looked around the Star Forge, examining how Malak was deploying his fleet. It soon became apparent that the deployment had changed significantly. Instead of the single fleet that Revan had stationed back when he was in charge, what they saw was instead a full Sith fleet group. It was obvious what had transpired—Carth was tortured and revealed the plan to seek the Star Forge and destroy it. Evidently, despite whatever defences Malak might have placed on Korriban, he was wise enough to know that he should not count on it. Nor was he relying on the disruptor field, clearly suspecting the Republic may use captured Sith ships to infiltrate the Star Forge and take down the protection. The true Lord of the Sith knew it would be a difficult task to seize back control of the Star Forge without a massive distraction. He shared a look with his apprentice. They would discuss this later.
Once that was done, it was time to brief the crew on the challenges they were about to face, so the Sith Lord summoned the entire crew to the main hold.
"We are currently in the outskirts of the system containing the Star Forge," he announced to the gathered crew. "In a few hours, we'll do one last jump to the only habitable planet."
"What can we expect when we arrive?" Canderous asked the obvious question.
"We saw that there is an entire Sith fleet group guarding the Star Forge. We must carefully avoid them, lest Malak discover us," the Dark Lord explained. "We should be exiting hyperspace somewhere difficult for the fleet to spot, so that's not our main concern. The bigger issue is that the Star Forge has a disruptor field around it, and as long as it is up, any spacecraft not created by the Star Forge itself will be subjected to repeated EMPs, inevitably frying all electronics on the ship unless they are powered off."
"So how are we going to fly then?" Mission asked.
"Fortunately for us, the Ebon Hawk has been designed with redundancy in mind. There is a fallback mechanical control system. I've already asked Matton to modify the ship so that it can function completely without power. We'll need to turn off power as we leave hyperspace, and rely on the remaining momentum of the ship to reenter the atmosphere. The hyperspace path we are calculating should be able to accomplish that," the Sith explained. "The heat shields we installed on Ilum will help us survive the reentry. We can restart the electrical systems once we are near the ground, which should also be out of range for the disruptor field, to prevent a crash landing."
"So this means we can't leave…" the Mandalorian noted. "How are we going to get the Star Forge itself then?"
"We will land near the Temple of the Ancients, which houses a computer that will allow us to disable the disruptor field," the Sith Lord explained. "Unfortunately, the only way to enter the temple without cooperation from those already inside is by convincing one of the native tribes to perform a ritual to lower the energy shield around the temple."
"Sounds complicated," Canderous observed. "How would we achieve that?"
"Bastila and Canderous will follow me as we attempt to convince one of the native tribes to open up the temple," Revan decided. "Canderous's blaster cannon should prove very helpful against the natives in case a fight breaks out. Between the three of us we should have enough power to do whatever is necessary. The rest of the crew will stand guard on the ship." Sensing HK-47's impatience, he elaborated, "This is not the same as being left out of the action. There are various unpleasant people around who might attack the ship, including stranded Mandalorians, not to mention the rancors wandering around. Guarding the Ebon Hawk is just as important."
"What happens after we secure access to the temple?" Juhani asked.
"Only individuals that are Force sensitive can enter the temple. There will be no Sith troopers inside, only Dark Jedi, Sith acolytes, and a lot of them. There might even be high ranking Sith Masters. During my time, it was a training ground for the Sith, and they also served as guards to prevent people from turning off the disruptor field. I don't see Malak changing this, so we should expect stiff resistance. Therefore, we need everyone who can get inside, and that means Bastila, Juhani, Jolee, and I will be entering."
"And then how do we take the Star Forge?" Mission inquired.
"We need to find an opportunity to board the Star Forge. This almost certainly requires a distraction. We'll need to come up with a plan. Any more questions?" the Sith Lord asked.
Seeing none, he dismissed the crew.
As planned, they exited hyperspace in Lehon's shadow with their systems turned off. The Ebon Hawk's momentum caused it to drift into Lehon's atmosphere, at first slowly, but as it lost more speed, it fell quicker and quicker into denser and denser air. The heat shields started glowing red from the heat. Without them, the ship would undoubtedly be irreparably damaged upon landing, even if it managed to do so in one piece. The crew gathered in the cockpit to watch the descent.
"This is really scary, seeing the Ebon Hawk falling and heating up," Mission noted. "We can't even see anything except the hot glow."
"This is nothing," the Mandalorian stated. "I still remember my first battle… I jumped out of my ship with only my armour and Basilisk droid, descending straight into the thick of battle. I can't describe what it feels like to look directly down at a world, falling continuously as you circle it, with barely 15 centimetres of armour plate protecting you. An 80 kilometre plunge through the atmosphere, dodging and weaving through self-guided projectiles and beam weapons, while the outside of my armour glowed like the surface of a star with the heat of reentry…"
"You dropped from orbit riding a droid‽‽‽" Mission summarized incredulously after she recovered from her shock.
"Yes," Canderous confirmed. "The exhilaration and euphoria was unmatched. And with barely 30 meters to spare, I twisted and skimmed the surface, firing at the giant beam generators that were in my path. The explosion from that sent shockwaves that levelled the entire complex around it. It was the moment of my life. At least we still have the gravity generator, or we would all be pressed onto that windshield. Imagine your face pressed so hard against your armour that it would bruise you… That was what it was like, dropping straight from orbit."
After this, the crew stayed silent, watching the ground getting closer and closer with some combination of curiosity and fascination. At around 10 kilometres above ground, Revan deemed it safe enough to restart the electrical systems. The Ebon Hawk again flew under its own power, landing gently near a beach, not far away from the temple. While the ship was undamaged, they were officially trapped on this planet until they could bring down the disruptor field, as it would otherwise crash while trying to leave.
Descending from the loading ramp, they were greeted with a landscape filled with the crashed remains of various spacecraft that fell victim to the disruptor field over the millennia. The largest of which was a Republic Hammerhead-class cruiser, which dominated the view from the beach into the sea.
"Despite the crashed ships and the vague feeling of the Dark Side, this world looks beautiful somehow," Bastila remarked.
"This world is… odd," Canderous stated with a frown, unsure how to describe his feeling with words. "It looks and feels like a battlefield, but the environment is lush and green. Whatever happened must have happened a long time ago."
"Indeed," Revan confirmed. "A major war had taken place as the Rakatan Infinite Empire collapsed, in the millennium before the formation of the Republic. Weapons of mass destruction were used, flattening most of the planet's surface, turning most of the original land into shallow seas, leaving behind a few islands and archipelagos."
"I have seen many strange worlds in my time, even ones that went through cataclysmic events. Somehow, this world is stranger still… I don't like it," the Mandalorian said, feeling uneasy. "Something happened… or is happening here. Is this the Dark Side that you speak of?"
"That is mostly the presence of the Star Forge," the Sith Master explained. "It has this kind of power in the Force. Usually, it's just a mild feeling in the background, but I can feel Malak going too far with it. He had to have pushed the Star Forge beyond its designed capacity to have this kind of presence in the Force. After we seize back control and operate it normally, it should mostly disappear."
"That is a relief," his apprentice interjected. "I like the view here… If the Star Forge were to be our future home, Master, I think this would make a nice spot for a relaxing vacation."
"That can certainly be arranged," he agreed. "I think it would also be a good idea to place the imperial capital here, after we win the war… It is a much simpler world, and should discourage the widespread corruption of officials on Coruscant that plagued the Republic. It's much harder for big corporations to bribe officials when they aren't all operating on the same planet."
"That's a good idea," she agreed. "It would certainly raise eyebrows for, say Czerka, to come here and make a shady deal with some official."
It was then that a group of Rakata appeared, brandishing weapons and charging at the trio. Bastila launched some Force Lightning at the attackers, easily killing them. Yet, despite the casualties they suffered, more Rakata came out, and her Master was forced to join in with his own Force Lightning. Seeing the odds stacked against them, the last few Rakata retreated.
"What are these Rakata doing?" the apprentice asked. "I thought they would be more civilized than this."
"They are probably from the tribe that call themselves the Black Rakata," the Sith Lord deduced. "This tribe hid underground for millennia after their empire fell apart, eventually forgetting basically all aspects of civilization. All they know now is violence and feasting upon the flesh of others."
"How the mighty have fallen," she couldn't help but remark.
"There is another more civilized tribe called the Elders," he continued, "but they are so afraid of the Star Forge now and are desperate to see it destroyed. I am not sure if they would welcome me still, seeing as they helped me last time and the Star Forge endures. Yet, I still think it is more reasonable to deal with them. Let's go to their enclave and see what happens…"
He led them on the path to the temple, near which there was a small branch that led to the enclave of the Elders. But before they could get far, they were confronted by a group of Rakata and rancors.
"Stay your weapons, Interloper," the leader called out, just as the two Sith prepared to throw out Force Lightning. "We are not here for battle or blood. We bring you an invitation from the One, Great Champion of the Rakata."
"What kind of invitation?" the Sith Master asked.
"You have used strange magics and weapons to slaughter our raiding parties, Interloper," the Rakata explained. "You have bathed in the blood of fierce Rakatan warriors. Your power and skill in battle has impressed the One. He wishes an audience with you—a great honour. Come with us now and we will take you to him."
Revan sighed. I don't have the time to deal with this. Waving his hand, he intoned, "I don't have to come with you."
The Rakata nodded. "You don't have to come—" he muttered, before another Rakata tapped his shoulder. He blinked a few times, remembering his original intentions. "You try to use your magic on us, Interloper?" he asked with an edge. "We are Rakata! You cannot bend us to your will like mindless beasts!"
But I literally just did, the Sith thought derisively.
"The will of the One cannot be denied, Interloper. You will come with us now to see our Champion, or our rancor war beasts will destroy you," the Rakata finished with a threat.
"Fine," Revan agreed reluctantly. "Take me to the One." It was truly unfortunate that he could not dominate the minds of the entire Rakata force at once—there were simply too many of them. Perhaps Bastila could, if she'd been prepared to use her battle meditation, but it was too late now.
The Rakata escorted the trio into the base. On the way, a discussion took place between the three humans. Wisely, the Sith Lord had not forcibly "taught" the Rakata Basic like Malak had wanted, opting to instead speak Rakatan with the native inhabitants. It would have been quite traumatic for the Rakata to have the knowledge forcefully added to their minds. He also had a habit of giving himself every advantage possible, and that included the ability to communicate without being understood by others. Naturally, he capitalized on this for a private conversation.
"So they want us to go talk to one something?" his apprentice surmised from the conversation.
"Hold on a second," Canderous interrupted. "Revan must have understood it from having been here before, but how did you understand those goggle-eyed freaks?"
"He's been teaching it to me telepathically," Bastila admitted. Indeed, he'd been teaching her slowly, not wanting to do it the quick and traumatic way. "I still didn't quite get what they were saying though."
"You actually got most of it," the Sith Lord explained. "The confusing part is the name of the leader of these Rakata. He's referred to as 'the One.' Basically, we are 'invited' to meet him, just like how Davik 'invited' us to stay. I believe they recognized me from… last time… and want to know why I didn't destroy the Elders for them."
"So why did you agree to go into their base instead of killing them all here?" Canderous wondered. "It sounds like you double-crossed him."
"Because we might need them to get into the temple," the Sith explained. "I can't make the Elders perform the ritual for me, so we might have to take the book by force and convince the Black Rakata to do it instead. Killing them puts us at a terrible negotiating position with the Elders, so I would like to talk my way out of this."
"How will you convince them to not attack?" Bastila asked.
"Easy," her Master answered. "Just pretend I don't remember. As far as they are concerned, the Jedi Council wiped my memories."
"I find that very hard to believe," she noted. "And yet, I don't see how else you can convince them."
"Revan," the Rakata known as "the One" called out. "Somehow I knew we would meet again. Even when you vanished, I knew you would not forget the vow you swore to me. And when my scouts told me of a great warrior from the sky slaughtering our raiding parties with mysterious powers and magics, I knew you had at last returned!"
"I have no clue what you are talking about," Revan asked with carefully feigned confusion.
"Your words are confusing," the Rakatan leader frowned. "I recognize you: you are the one called Revan. You are the one who came here before; you and Malak, the one who served you. You promised to slay our enemy. In exchange for our aid you swore to destroy the Elders and bring us their secrets. Are you saying this means nothing to you now?"
"My mind was destroyed. My memories were lost," the Sith lied easily.
The One looked thoughtful for a moment. He closed his eyes, as if he was reaching out with the Force. The Rakata was probably unaware of his own abilities with the Force, but there was little doubt it proved crucial in his rise to power. In response, the Sith projected a careful image of confusion in the Force. It was not good enough to fool his apprentice, but it should suffice against the One, or even the average Jedi. "I believe you, Revan," he said at last. "I sense there is something different about you. Something that has changed. You are not the same as you were before. Yet the power of magic—what you call the Force—is within you still. You can still destroy the Elders and fulfill your vow!"
Of course I am different now, Revan mentally told his love. Our strengthened Force bond makes you a part of me… and me a part of you. To the One, he asked, "What was this vow, exactly?" He knew of course, but had to ask, or it would go against the mind-wipe lie he had just told.
"You vowed to kill the Elders and bring us the secret knowledge they protect," the Rakatan leader recalled. "In exchange, we promised to use this lost knowledge to help you enter the Temple of the Ancients. When you vanished, we thought you had forgotten us—or been killed by the Elders. Now that you have returned our alliance still holds: destroy the Elders, and we will help you."
"Very well, I will help you," the Sith agreed. "But first, you must answer some questions."
"I suppose I should, since you can't remember anything. Very well, what would you like to know?"
And so Revan made the One retell the story of his last visit, just to cover up his lie. It was rather pointless overall, since Canderous didn't understand a word of Rakatan and he could have shared the story much quicker with his apprentice telepathically. Instead, he took it as an opportunity to teach Bastila the Rakatan language, letting her try to understand the words and correcting her mistakes. He also filled in some of the details that the Rakata missed, often with a bit of his own spin. Unfortunately for the Mandalorian warrior, he could only stand there, bored out of his mind. Finally, after the One answered all the questions, the three humans left the Black Rakata's base and ventured forth to the enclave of the Elders.
"So what is the true nature of the Star Forge?" Bastila asked on the way to the Elder enclave. "Why would the Elders be desperate to see it destroyed? Did it cause the downfall of the Rakatan Empire?"
"In a way, yes, it did cause their downfall," Revan answered. "The Star Forge has a connection to the Force and an artificial intelligence system. When put together, it was inevitable that it achieved some sort of sentience. It wants a purpose, and therefore longs to be used. The Rakata used it to build massive fleets to conquer and enslave all of the known galaxy over 30 millennia ago. But after the galactic conquest was complete, the Star Forge had little to do. Yes, the Rakata did use it to replenish their fleet, but there was only so much it could do without a war to fight. It didn't help that the ships created by the Star Forge were capable of self-repair, at least for minor damage, reducing the demand for spare parts. Now, to operate the Star Forge, you must have a Force connection to it, and so the neglected Star Forge, in its desperation, used the Force connection to amplify the destructive tendencies of the Rakata, creating the impetus for a civil war, sowing the seeds of destruction that would ultimately see it used again. Only this time, it tore apart the entire Rakatan Empire."
"And Malak is falling into the same trap," she deduced. "The Star Forge hungers to be used, and Malak uses it, and it amplifies Malak's destructive tendencies… That's why Malak was willing to destroy Taris, even with a lot of his own soldiers stationed on the planet. He would no doubt have to replace all the losses with additional output from the Star Forge."
"No," her Master countered. "The Star Forge wants to be used, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't want to be overused, as that would damage it. The AI pushes back if you try to push the Star Forge close to its limits, and forcing it to run beyond the maximum capacity would require constantly using the Force to dominate the AI. No, I think in Malak's case, it's his own personal thirst for power and indifference to life that drives him, not the Star Forge."
"I was worried for a second, because if I was right, it doesn't make sense to take the Star Forge," she confessed. "For a second, I wondered if it too affected your mind."
"I was worried too when I came here the first time, but I didn't have a choice. I couldn't just hide beyond the borders of the Republic forever, so I decided to at least try it to see what happens. My worries were proven unfounded when I realized the true potential of the Star Forge," he explained. "Yes, it longs to be used and caused the Rakatan 'Infinite Empire' to self-destruct… But tell me, Bastila, what would happen if a Jedi healer found it and used it to build medical droids?"
The apprentice thought for a moment. "The 'obvious' answer is that the Star Forge would corrupt the healer, turning her into a warlord… but that just feels wrong, if it simply longs to be used. If I were the Star Forge, and Master uses me to make medical droids, and all I want is to be used, I would want Master to make more medical droids…" she trailed off, imagining herself on her knees begging her Master. She absently ran her hand over the collar that was effectively a part of herself. Gathering her thoughts, she continued, "If the Star Forge wants to be used but not overused, you just have to keep using it, right? Do you have to make the same thing as before? Does it even care if you just threw the products into the trash?"
"No, it doesn't care what I am making. As for throwing the products into the trash… I mean, it would be a huge waste of the Star Forge's potential, but no, it also doesn't care. If it truly cared about the longevity of its products, it wouldn't let you send them into battle," the Sith Master reasoned.
"That makes sense," she agreed. "So the solution would just be to keep it occupied, right? Seems simple enough."
Easier said than done sometimes. Keeping a sub occupied and happy is no mean feat, he told her mentally so Canderous wouldn't hear.
I know, she agreed, knowing fully well how much effort her Master spent on her. It was easy to imagine that a willing slave could make only one's life easier, but it came with a lot of responsibility too, though it was also rewarding. Owning a "slave" like her was no mean feat indeed. I can imagine keeping the Star Forge occupied is not easy either when there is no war.
"Yes, at least in a war," Revan answered the original question out loud for the Mandalorian's benefit. "We'll deal with peacetime when it comes."
"But how do you know it has no other side effects?" Bastila wondered. "Did you test this on yourself?" She was rather concerned by this prospect.
"Well, no," he replied. "I thought I was being clever when I made it a training exercise for Malak and let him actually operate the Star Forge, even though I was handling all the designs. I had him make many things—food, armour, clothes, droids, medical supplies—but only a little bit of them, nowhere near the Star Forge's full capacity. Slowly, Malak started asking me to make more supplies, completely forgetting that he was the strongest proponent for making the fleet. Then, I had him make the same things with the full capacity of the Star Forge. He then started to complain constantly about making useless things with the Star Forge instead of the fleet as originally envisioned. As this was completely in character for him, I concluded that the Star Forge, as long as it was being used fully, did not amplify the user's desire to make more of the things they are already making—or objects of destruction, for that matter. I only took control of the Star Forge after that."
"That does seem like a reasonable precaution to take. Why did you say you thought you were being clever?" his apprentice asked in confusion.
"Because I gave him a taste of power, and I took it away from him," he sighed. "If being in control of the Star Forge was not enough for him, and he had to push it beyond the limits… would he ever be satisfied with having his control taken away?"
"No, I suppose not," she agreed. "I think this explains a lot about his betrayal. Why didn't you make someone else try it?"
"Who else did I trust? It would be even worse to get a random Sith to control the Star Forge…" he observed.
Bastila sighed. "If only I was there…" she muttered sadly.
I don't think I would have risked you, he reasoned through their Force bond. Remember, we suspected the Star Forge could be messing with the minds of its users.
So Malak was disposable? she wondered.
Well, I wouldn't say that, he countered. I care about the health and wellbeing of my soldiers, and I would never send them on pointless suicide missions, but I also wouldn't hesitate sending them into dangerous missions—it's the choice they made when they chose to enlist, after all.
But with me, it's different?
Logically, there shouldn't be a difference. Yet emotionally, I think there very much is, he admitted. If my soldiers died, it would be sad, but I can honour their sacrifice and continue on. If you were to die, I feel like a part of me would die as well. I suppose this is the price you pay for love. You must think me selfish.
I do, but I feel the same way, so I can hardly complain, she confessed. "I suppose you did the best thing you could, given the circumstances," she said out loud.
"And yet, it was not good enough," he noted bitterly. "I should have killed Malak the instant he showed his disloyalty."
"I know…" she sympathized. "Look on the positive side—not all is lost, and once we reclaim the Star Forge, we can do so much good."
"Yes, let's not dwell on what we can't undo and focus on what we can do," he agreed.
They continued on their journey to the enclave of the Elders. Canderous followed the couple, remaining silent throughout the whole conversation, still thinking about Jagi's death and how his people could prevent such a senseless waste of life.
A/N: Why did all the planets happen to be on the opposite side from Lehon and the Star Forge? Well, it's because Carth says this when they hit the disruptor field in the game: "I'm picking up a single planet in this system. I'll try and put us down there." So it's quite possible the planets are on the other side and he couldn't see them. Of course, he could also just be blind…
Special thanks to Tracyn on AO3 for working out the section about observing the Lehon system with me and DeathRanger for beta reading.