+TR+
(Leviathan Class Battleship Revenge)
Bastila headed for Carth's room before suddenly pausing as she felt a sudden urge from the force to go her own, pulling her pack from underneath the bed she opened it and removed from the bottom Revan's mask wrapped in cloth which she had kept since been urged by the force to take it from the bridge of Revan's former commands ship when she originally captured him. Opening the cloth she ran her hand over the mask somehow sensing through the force that now was the time to give Revan the mask back, he would need it from this point on as it was more than just a mask but a symbol to him and to his all of his followers a symbol of what bound them. Rewrapping the mask she turned and exited the room and entered Carth's room, she found the pilot sitting in a chair staring off into nothing.
"Carth are you okay?" she inquired somewhat concerned.
"I'm fine Bastila just been doing some serious thinking and to be honest I don't much like what I realised but I think I'm in a better place now than I have been now I realise those things" Carth responded vaguely. "Is there something you need?" he inquired having no interest in sharing his realisations with the Jedi Princess as she had been known back on the Endar Spire.
"Revan wants you in the hangar, something has happened back on Corusant and we are going to put it right" Bastila answered. "Perhaps he wants you to pilot the ship in" she mused as Carth got up.
"What's happened?" Carth asked with interest.
"I'll explain as we go, from the sound of Revan's voice we will be leaving quickly once he's unloaded Ana Sunrider and her team" Bastila assured him.
"So he managed to rescue them then" Carth stated as he followed Bastila out of his room whilst strapping his belt with his blaster on.
"Of course he did Carth, now come on we need to get to the hangar" Bastila responded before beginning to explain just what had happened back on Corusant.
In the hangar deck Revan walked down as fast as he could go eager to get things underway with the rest of the team following, he shouted for a medical team to be summoned to see to Ana and her team who would be staying here. Meetra quickly entered the hangar at a steady pace but Bastila he noted was absence but sensed she was retrieving Carth as he had requested, Canderous soon joined him with Mira behind him just as the assault and infiltration team ran into hangar already fully kitted out.
"Okay Canderous this is Major Baxter and Commander Rex the leaders of my best assault and infiltration teams, you will head to Corusant first ahead of us with them and make as much chaos as you can around the temple and hopefully draw out the temple guard and as many Jedi as you can" Revan informed the Mandalorian who nodded as he looked the two men over easily spotting the bearing of competent military training in both. "As I said the aim is to distract so only wound them if you have to, kill only if your life is endangered" he reminded them all. "Canderous is in overall charge of this mission, you will listen to his commands so put aside any lingering hostility from the past and focus on the mission at hand" he stated to his teams who snapped to attention and saluted. "Hire any other mercenaries you want, we have the credits for it thus giving you better advantage to draw them away from the temple" he finished turning back to Canderous.
"Got it, this is going to be fun" Canderous stated with a smirk knowing that once again he was been delayed from getting Mandalore's mask but he was a patient man and knew once this was over he would get what he had been promised. "Which ship are we taking?" he inquired already knowing they would not be using the Ebon Hawk.
"I already had the Firestorm ready Revan, it is unknown or recognised by any Republic records so they should get in without raising any red flags and our teams are in blank uniforms with no recognised insignia" Meetra answered directing their attention to the far end of the hangar where a sleek black shuttle lay been seen to by a deck crew.
"Nice" Canderous muttered liking the look of the design clearly made for war in fact it almost made him think of a Basilisk war droid.
"Get going we'll be right behind you once we have the ships ready, when we're ready to strike we'll send you a signal to begin your part of the mission" Revan ordered as he turned to watch the medical team arrive to help Ana and her team and he noted Rand continued to stick with them to his satisfaction. "Major Shepard you will report to Rikka on the bridge for debriefing, once that is done you can relax until I return" he said turning to the waiting figures of Kelly and her team.
"Understood sir, good luck General" Kelly responded with her own salute before she and her team departed even as Canderous and his group boarded their shuttle and prepared to leave.
Bastila entered with Carth just behind her as he watched the shuttle leave passing through the shield that kept the hangar pressurised, he knew what he was about to share with Carth was not going to go down easy for the pilot. In fact he expected a lot of shouting and argument before he accepted the truth, but it had to be done now before he found out another way from another source then learned he had known and not told him. Bastila he noted looked slightly nervous but through the bond she felt confident and calm, he pulled the data pad the major had given him and waited for Bastila and Carth to reach them.
"Ok I'm here and Bastila has explained what's going on but I don't see what help I can be unless you want me to pilot the Ebon Hawk down" Carth said as he came to a stop.
"As you know we went to Nar Shaddaa to rescue a team of Jedi been held in a bunker, what you don't know was the bunker was also one of our main communication hubs monitoring not only Republic channels but Malak's Sith as well" Revan explained seeing no reason to beat around the bush. "I had them download the archive into T3, Major Shepard commander of the bunker and loyal to me as was her team gave me the most recent updates, Carth I have to tell you that your belief that your son was killed when Malak attacked Telos was incorrect" he informed the other man who instantly looked shocked. "He survived the bombardment and was found by Saul Karath who then took him to Korriban to be trained as a Sith as he displayed a small talent to use the force, it was a way for Karath to gain revenge on you" he finished.
Carth stared at Revan as if he did not quite hear what he had just said, he felt the blood cursing through his body as a darkness seemed to fall over his eyesight and all he could focus on was Revan. What he said couldn't be true could it? He asked himself as Dustin had died with his wife when Telos was bombed, he had been told by the few survivors of the city they lived in they were both dead. But whereas he had found his wife's body he had never been able to find his son's he recalled, but he had been certain if Dustin had been alive he would have found him as he had searched the planet high and low after the bombing.
"It can't be true, Dustin was killed I was told he was dead by the survivors" he managed to argue.
"More than likely threatened into telling you that by Karath and whatever soldiers he took with him" Revan countered. "I know it is hard to hear Carth but they clearly lied to you, here see for yourself" he added as he handed over the tablet.
Carth took the tablet with trembling hands before he steadied his nerves and looked at the tablet, slowly he scanned down the information it held before coming to rest on the part which detailed everything Revan had just told him. He read each word carefully feeling as if his body was frozen as he realised Revan had not been lying or making things up, Dustin was alive and on Korriban taken there by Karath as a final revenge on him for daring not to join him. His entire body shook with rage but with the greatest effort he managed to force it, but he swore when he finally came face to face with Saul Karath he would make that man suffer before he killed him.
"Before you think of running off to Korriban Carth don't we need you alive" Revan stated calmly as he noted the inner struggle Carth was going through. "I swear when I get back from dealing with Atris and Vrook's coup I will personally take you to Korriban to retrieve your son, but you need to be calm and focused if you are to survive our trip so I need you to stay here and regain control of yourself" he told him as Carth focused his gaze on him.
Carth just barely stopped himself from lashing out at Revan as he talked instead he focused on his offer and vow. "I have your word on that right, when you get back we leave for Korriban?" he demanded.
"Almost after I get back, allow me to retrieve Mandalore's Mask from the planet below as I promised him and then we go" Revan countered. "I've already had to postpone getting it twice, a third delay might prove costly and it will take time once he has the mask to call together his people time that as you know is against us" he explained. "Once we hit Corusant we will be announcing the survival of not just myself Carth but my people as well, Malak will not hesitate to start burning things down to destroy us" he added.
"Fine I agree but if you cross me on this I will put a hole through you no matter what" Carth agreed heatedly before he spun and headed back to his room missing the raised hand of Revan that stopped any of his people getting in his way.
"Let him go, he is angry and not in full control of himself" Revan ordered as his people looked at him questionable. "Time to leave" he said to Bastila and Meetra and they boarded the Ebon Hawk to find Jolee, HK-47, T3 and Zayne already inside waiting for them. "Ok Niks take us to the Fireclaw so can get this mission underway once the rest of the ships have assembled" he ordered over the comm.
The ramp closed behind him blocking their view of Juhani who rushed into the hangar only to see the Ebon Hawk take flight, letting out a curse she could only watch and pray to the force that Revan would not cause too much damage on Corusant.
+TR+
(Star Forge)
Dorak looked around the dark dull room he and his fellow captives had been led too, the huge space station had an ugly feel to it and it was so bathed in the dark side of the force it made him shiver. Where had Malak and Revan found the information that led them here, was this where the corruption had started for them or had been earlier. Then the taunts and story Malak had told him came back to him and he felt his mind cloud as he tried to figure out if there was any truth to what he had been told, he had sensed no deceit in Malak as he talked and thus as much as he wished to deny it there had to be some truth to his words. He could barely feel anything now as his and his fellow captive's connection to the force had been cut off by the dampening collars they now wore, but even with his connection cut down he could feel the tendrils of the dark side everywhere he looked. Suddenly the guards stood to attention and Malak himself entered looking quite pleased with himself, unable to help himself he wished he had listened to the others and left Dantoonie when the others had.
"Welcome to the heart of the Star Forge my friends this is the centre of the station and a room not even Revan found when he was still with us" he told them with a large smile. "Only I have cracked its secrets and soon you will aide me in destroying Revan when he finally comes to reclaim this station" he boasted.
"We'll never aide you Sith spawn" Knight Jalgar spat as he glared at Malak, instead of getting angry Malak just laughed all the harder.
"You have no choice in the matter Jedi, you see these pods in the centre of the room they are you final resting place for once I put you in them you will never leave them alive" Malak countered and Dorak suddenly felt a sense of dread fill him. "When it is time for me to face Revan I will lure him to this room and here I will have the advantage, you see once you are in those pods I will be able to syphon your life force and force powers to renew myself during any duel thus no matter Revan's strength I will outlast him and finally kill him" he explained and watched and each Jedi suddenly paled as they began to realise what was in store for them.
"You are a coward Alek, once again you seek to take Revan out by having an advantage over him, you are so scared of facing him normally because you know you can't win so you cheat" Dorak growled deciding to try and anger Malak beyond reason and hope he lost control as that seemed the only well out of this nightmare. "Some Sith Lord you are when you cannot even kill your enemy without cheating, without cowardly shooting him in the back or poisoning him or using this machine to aide you" he continued but Malak he noted was not raising to the bait this time.
"Sith Lord's do not believe in fair fights Dorak all that matters to us is power and that is my best advantage over Revan" Malak stated coldly as he felt his rage ignite at the Jedi Master's taunts but did not allow that rage to make him act as it would rob him of kill Dorak in a far more painful and useful way when Revan came for him. "Revan still clings to the idea of morality and been fair, he will learn the error of his ways and die right here and you and your fellow Jedi will be the instrument of my victory not only over him but over your beloved Jedi Order and Republic" he shouted as he imagined the future to come.
"You will fail Malak either your pride or your arrogance will get the better of you and you will fall" Dorak cried out as he witnessed the complete madness that had infected Malak show itself. "Revan if he is truly still loyal will cut you in half for what you have done" he vowed knowing no matter what he said or believed now his fate was sealed so he shot out one last barb he knew would anger Malak.
"Put them in the pods" Malak ordered his eyes growing colder at Dorak's parting shot.
He then watched as the Jedi tried to struggle or run from their well-deserved fate but he knew there was no escape for them now, even if they had made it out of the room there were a dozen more guards just waiting outside. Smirking he watched as finally Dorak the last Jedi to be pushed forward was shoved into the last pod and the broken look in his eyes as it sealed itself was truly something to see.
"Enjoy your last sleep Jedi for soon I will suck out your life force and force powers and you will die agonising deaths, and there will be no comforting end for you in the force as your very spirits will be destroyed by the process" he taunted as his last words to them before he set the system and watched as the pods began to hum and a kind of shield snapped over them as each Jedi was put into a sort of coma until the time came for him to make use of them.
Dorak had only a few seconds to prey to the force for some sort of miracle to deliver him and his fellow captives from the fate Malak intended for them, he had to prey Revan would destroy the pods as soon as he finally arrived here as it was only way to save their souls from been devoured he thought before he faded out and blackness claimed him. Malak walked over to the pod holding Dorak and smirked in at the caged and now unconscious Jedi Master, he would ensure to save him for last in his final duel with Revan he decided. Exiting the room he turned and sealed the door once all the guards had left, no one but him had access to this particular room and he would ensure no one even tried to get in setting a few security devices in place he turned and headed for this room within the great space station. He needed to make a call to Bandon who had been quiet since arriving on Korriban, he had allowed matters to escape him such as his apprentices lack of action as he had been busy conquering Illum but no longer.
+TR+
(Korriban, Sith Academy)
Darth Bandon strolled through the academy in a bad mood as still Revan had not come; he had begun to suspect that clearly their former leader was leaving Korriban for last. He supposed he could see the wisdom in that, preparing his party for the dangers of the Sith world. But the waiting was driving him mad as he had to put up with the snivelling cowards who tried to curry favour with him, and then there was also the Uthar Wynn Master of the academy who he was certain was planning to try and assassinate him so as to take his place as Malak's apprentice. Finally he was certain Wynn's second was also planning something but he was uncertain what her goal was, but he was on guard for any signs of treason from either of them.
"My Lord there is a communication coming in for you" one of Wynn's underlings reported as he ran over to him stopping quickly as he noted Bandon's hand drop to his lightsaber.
"From who?" Bandon inquired with narrowed eyes.
"It is Lord Malak my Lord he requests you respond immediately" the man reported clearly trembling in fear at the malice reflected in Bandon's eyes which made him smile.
Bandon snorted and indicated for the man to lead him to the communication room, he had already suspected what his Master wanted with him considering their last conversation days ago. Enter the room he glared at the radio operator and ordered him from the room and the shut and locked the door, sitting down he took a deep breath before answering the call.
"I am here Master, what is your order?" he inquired beginning to feel annoyed at having to obey Malak who for so long was Revan's loyal friend and in a sense had a part to play in the deaths of his friends.
"I want an update, has Revan and Shan arrived yet?" Malak's harsh voice demanded.
"No Master I believe he is saving coming to Korriban last which makes sense, the time delay is at least ensuring I will have some surprises in store for him when he finally arrives" Bandon answered confidently.
"You sound confident whatever plans you are putting forward will work" Malak mused.
"They will, Revan will come here believing his identity is secure due to many not knowing what he looked like without that damn mask he always wore" Bandon retorted. "But I have seen him and I brought a picture of him here to ensure he could not hide who he was, once he lands his ship will be locked down and the defence cannons locked on it so should it try and take off it will be destroyed" he boasted.
"Fool I don't want Shan dead I want her alive" Malak spat over the comm and Bandon paused as he heard the anger in his Master's voice.
"She will be captured by that point my Lord and Revan dead" Bandon assured him knowing even as he said it if he failed in either task he would suffer for it.
"See to it that she is, as long as you have the woman I can forgive you allowing Revan and his allies to escape but if she escapes your grasp alongside them then you will suffer for weeks before I kill you for you failure" Malak warned him before he cut the transmission.
Bandon stared at the radio for a few seconds angrily wishing he could remove his Master from leadership but he was not yet ready to confront his Master, not yet powerful enough in the dark side to ensure he would win a duel against Malak. He also had to start looking for those willing to follow him, even Malak had needed support when he had overthrown Revan and he would need the same before deposing Malak. Getting he stalked out of the room using the force to send both men outside flying into the fall, this simple act of cruelty settled him as he headed back for his quarters.
Yuthura meditated in her quarters the only place she could do this without raising suspicion as Sith did not meditate as Jedi do, she focused herself knowing that soon she would tested as never before once Revan and his party arrived. Already Bandon and Uthar were making plans and readying the academy to ensure he and his team became trapped, she had managed to find some students and two teachers who like her were not fully emerged in the dark side and either still had some loyalty to Revan or believed Malak was unfit to lead due to his cowardly attack on Malak and wanted to see him and his apprentice and anyone who supported them removed from the Empire. She knew those who only wanted to see Malak and his ilk removed could only be trusted so far, if Revan would not take control of the Empire once more then cleary they would try and kill them. The others who like her were still loyal to Revan would be ready for that moment, opening her eyes she wondered just what she would say to him when he did arrive. How to explain why she had remained on Korriban when the coup had happened, hopefully he would be in a listening mood when he did arrive or she would die before she could explain or redeem herself in his eyes.
Dustin Onasi stared off into space within his own quarters trying to process that once again that he was actually on Korriban the home world of the Sith, the very Sith who had a hand in his Mother's death. He had been brought here by a man he knew had been a friend of his Father's for some time, that man had told him how his Father had abandoned him and his Mother to their fates so he could play hero once more like he had in the Mandalorian War. This had stoked the anger and resentment he had been beginning to feel towards his Father why he had agreed to come here, he knew it would drive his Father made to know he had joined the people he fought so hard. But he also had to admit to himself he did not feel good here, this whole planet was filled with anger and hatred he cool feel somehow more than likely due to the very faint trace of the force he had. Sadly he would never be a Jedi or true Sith warrior but he could sense and feel things most could not, which was how he knew most of his fellow trainees hated him and wanted to kill him for been the Son of a Republic hero. Sith didn't care how many people they lost as they fought to advance up the command list, only the power they earned by doing so and it was beginning to make him regret coming here.
Uthar Wynn was currently watching the assassins Darth Bandon had brought with him, studying their routines so as to find the best time to ambush and kill them so he could replace them with his own men. Thanks to the masks they wore Bandon would not even know his supposed backup were actually going to kill him, they would kill Revan as well and then he would draw Malak to Korriban with the news as well as the capture of Bastila Shan and then kill him and assume his rightful role as Dark Lord of the Sith. Smiling at the very thought he locked his hands behind his and back and continued to watch his targets knowing he had to put his plans into motion soon before Revan and his party arrived on Korriban.
+TR+
(Corusant)
Canderous smirked as he hired his tenth mercenary for the mission ahead which gave quite a force now when combined with the infiltration and assault team Revan had assigned him, three of the mercenaries were known to him and one other was a contact of Mira's who stood beside him. Two others were fellow Mandalorians and had agreed to help when he mentioned that when this mission was over he would gain Mandalore's Mask, they had been sceptical at first but he had sworn a blood oath it was true and they had fallen into line. He supposed he should be somewhat annoyed at the delay in getting hold of the Mask due to unforeseen problems creeping up but he wasn't, he knew Revan was a man of his word and would keep his promise and hand over the Mask.
"Okay people time to plan how to do this, Commander Rex I want you and your team positioned to the side of the temple complex with two of our new allies to help whilst Major Baxter takes the back side with another three of our allies leaving me, MIra and the remaining men to take the front side" he stated after calling the group together. "At the signal from Revan we will start our diversion and cause all hell to break out, our goal is to draw out the temple guard and what Jedi we can and lead them away from the temple" he stated noting two of the mercenaries didn't look too happy and guessed because the mission seemed so simple. "Make no mistake this will not be as easy it as sounds, Jedi have a habit of been annoying and their powers make them harder to fight and we have orders not to kill them unless our lives are threatened thus we are at an handicap" he warned.
"Can we at least wound them?" one of his fellow Mandalorians inquired.
"Yes Jango you can wound them, in fact probably that should be the goal wound as many as you can but do not kill them unless you have no other choice" Canderous answered with a nod of his head.
"The fleet should be close to arriving Commander" Rex reported finding that so far the Mandalorian was cool headed and sharp but that did not mean he trusted him just yet.
"Good, take your places and prepare to act once we receive Revan's signal" Canderous ordered. "Keep moving away from the temple once we have their attention, we have to be ready once this is over to just vanish" he added just before they broke up.
"Where do we meet up?" another of the mercenaries asked.
"Our rendezvous point is the small hangar here on the far side of the main complex where our ship is hidden with our pilot ready to leave once we are on board" Canderous informed them. "You'll get the rest of your pay once we are in space" he told them as he had already paid them half so as to hire them.
Everyone nodded and then broke up and began to head towards the temple which loomed in the background, Canderous smirked once more before he took his helmet from Mira and placed it over his head and headed there with his own team.
+TR+
(Ebon Hawk)
Bastila found Revan meditating alongside Zayne and Meetra clearly preparing for the mission ahead, she couldn't feel their movement in space as currently the ship was in the hangar of the Fireclaw one of the Sister ships of the Revenge. His eyes instantly opened to lock onto her form making her pause as he took her in, she noted Zayne and Meetra also came out of the meditative trance as they felt her presence in the force.
"Something wrong Bastila?" Revan inquired as he stood up.
"I have something to return to you Revan and I know now is the time to give it to you" Bastila responded slowly before removing the hand that held the mask behind her back forward and showing Revan what she held. Instant Meetra was on her feet as she realised just what it was Bastila had in her hands, she had believed the Mask was lost when Revan was almost killed by Malak and considering the look on Revan's face he had seemed to think the same.
"You kept it" Revan stated in surprise having had no clue she had his Mask in her procession.
"The force ensured I took it with me when I took you prisoner, since then I have kept it in my pack waiting until I felt it was time to return it to you" Bastila explained.
"Why didn't you hand it over to the Council?" Meetra inquired.
"I knew they would destroy it fearing it was somehow tainted by the darkside and that was not what the force wanted, I could feel that Revan would need the Mask again somewhere in the future but at the time I assumed that meant his supposed new identity would use it now Revan's true self" Bastila answered as she offered the mask to its owner.
Revan slowly reached out and took the Mask from Bastila's hands allowing his fingers to graze her own as he did so making her shiver, he recalled when he first found the Mask back on Cathar and it gave everyone on the planet a vision of what Cassus Fett and his followers had done to the majority of the Cathar species. How he had sworn on his life and to the previous wearer of the Mask a female Mandalorian who had protested the massacre and been murdered for it that he would not remove until he had defeated the Mandalorians. The Mask had become a part of him since then and he had worn even after he had won the war, when he had woken on the way to Dantoonie he had immediately missed his Mask and feared it had been destroyed along with his former command ship. He felt the force swirl around him as he stared at the Mask before finally he turned it around and placed it on his head, instantly he felt as if he was finally fully himself once more felt almost as if a jolt of power had been sent through his body when put the Mask back on.
Bastila shivered as she stared at Revan once he had put the Mask on instantly flashing back to the moment she had first seen him on the bridge of his former command ship when she and her party ambushed him, instantly the sense of danger she had felt back then returned but she knew Revan was no threat to her.
"General we are about to jump into Corusant space, all weapons are primed and ready" Admiral Stark reported over the comm.
"Excellent Admiral, remember do not destroy the ships you engage just distract them" Revan responded after moving over to the comm. "Open the hangar doors once we exit hyper space and prepare to launch all fighters to cover our journey down, everyone to your seats this is going to be rough" he ordered as he turned to the others. "Niks send the signal to Canderous as soon as the Fireclaw exits hyperspace" he added as he moved into the cockpit and sat down beside his pilot.
"Ready and waiting General" Niks shot back with a smirk as he waited.
"Exiting hyperspace now" Admiral Stark reported before they all felt the sudden shift of the ship as it came to a dead stop over Corusant and the sudden shakes as a battle broke out.
"Launching now, signal sent" Niks stated as he warmed up the Ebon Hawk just as the hangar doors opened before launching into the darkness of space once more with a dozen fighters covering their decent.
+TR+
(Corusant)
The Ebon Hawk streaked down towards the planet that looked like one giant city as Revan's fleet took the defence fleet by surprise instantly crippling three ships before the Republic ships recovered and opened fire on their attackers. Down below on the planet itself Canderous and his teams launched their own attack once they received the signal from the Ebon Hawk, chaos quickly rained as the leaders of the Republic and the Jedi tried to recover from the surprise of been attacked at the heart of the Republic itself.