Disclaimer: Lucasfilm, Bioware, Disney, et al. and whoever they sell the rights to next own Star Wars and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I write this for fun and not for any monetary gain.


Chapter 33: Forever Bound

In the master bedroom of the Ebon Hawk was an interesting sight, though none other than the two participants would ever see it. Bastila, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, was without her collar. She had grown so used to it, that when she finally took it off, it simply felt wrong, as if she was missing a part of herself. Fortunately, it would not be for long. Just like they always wanted, she was naked, showing off her body for her Master alone. She was, however, completely free of any restraints, to show that her offer of submission was completely out of her own free will, under no coercion.

Revan stood, holding her opened collar in his hands. With some illusions, he appeared in robes similar to those he had worn as the Dark Lord of the Sith, but without the mask and the hood. He appeared powerful, authoritative, and dominant, the perfect target for Bastila's submission. Of course, he too was naked in truth, but it only gave her something to look forward to.

They stood face to face. Sensing he was ready, Bastila knelt.

The words they wanted to say for years came out, well-practiced despite never having done so. As the dominant partner, Revan started, "Bastila Shan. You are here because you want to submit to me. You want to be mine, to obey my every order, to accept my punishments, to be my slave, for as long as we choose to be together. Is this what you truly want, out of your own free will?"

This was the most important moment, the most important decision of her life. "Yes, Revan," she said, somewhat nervous, yet confident. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life." She used his name, as she was currently a free, uncollared woman, even if she was already his in her heart. She took a deep breath.

"And why do you want to submit to me, Bastila?" he asked. For Bastila, it was important to elaborate on her reasons for submission. She wanted to make it clear to herself, her beloved, and the galaxy as a whole that this was the right decision for her, and it was completely her own choice, and that there should be absolutely no doubt of it.

And she answered, her words pouring out, unrehearsed, yet the truth of them radiated in the Force. "I want to submit to you because this is my true nature. Together, we discovered a part of me, a part that I could never live without. I know for certain that if I denied this part of myself, I will never be truly happy, never be satisfied with my life. For me, submission is fulfilling, and the mere thought of serving the one I love fills me with happiness. And that is why I want to submit. And you, Revan, are the only person to whom I would ever consider submitting.

"Ever since I was taken away from home, you were the constant in my life, the one who cared for me, loved me, and kept me sane. Without you, I would be a mindless drone of the Jedi right now. Without you, I would never have reached my true potential. Without you, my life would have been pathetic and my gifts wasted. But you were my guiding star, leading me through those difficult days. You kept me sane despite the years of brainwashing. You made me the woman I am now. Even worlds apart, you were forever in my thoughts. When I was alone and afraid, I thought of you, of what you would have wanted, and I instantly knew what to do, what would make you proud. I owe everything to you.

"Throughout our days of experimentation, you only ever used your power over me for good. Your bondage and control over my body brought me pleasure beyond imagination. Your punishments and discipline kept all my bad habits away. You took away all the painful, agonizing decisions, and gave me bliss instead. I may be your slave, but I have never felt freer in my life.

"But there is no need to experiment anymore. I know this is what my life should be. I need your guidance, to be under your control, to be your slave, forever. I love you, Revan, and I want you to be my Master, to dominate me, to control me, to enslave me, to make me yours for all eternity."

As she said her piece, she became more and more emotional. Tears flowed from her eyes, yet her presence in the Force radiated only happiness, shining like a beacon in the true Light Side of the Force, pushing away the darkness radiating from Malak's abuse of the Star Forge. For the next little while, the small corner of the beach on which the Ebon Hawk sat would be free from the planet-wide mysterious, oppressive feeling.

She was not the only one, as Revan too was crying, completely moved by her words and filled with emotions by her light in the Force. "I love you too, Bastila," he said when she finished. Raising the collar, he continued, "With this collar, I shall make your dream a reality. With this collar, I vow to be a good Master, to love and cherish you, and with my control over you, guide you, protect you, help you grow, and bring you to your full potential. Do you accept?"

"Yes, Master," she said. She lowered head and pushed her hair away, baring her neck and allowing him easy access. He squatted down and pushed the two halves of her collar together. With a click, the collar was shut, this time forever.

"Thank you so much, Master," the newly collared slave said. Her Master pulled her to her feet and kissed her.

When they finally broke the kiss, he took her into his arms, and sat down in their bed. She rested happily there, her head on his shoulder, as he slowly caressed her hair. Through the Force, she could easily feel his dark, dominating presence. She bathed herself in it, relaxing and enjoying the comfortable and familiar feeling that he offered. She radiated her own happiness at being so completely and utterly his through the Force back at him, a feeling he loved so very much. Together, they existed in harmony. Neither wanted to spoil the moment, and was thus content to simply bask in each other's comforting presence. In some ways, it felt even more intimate than the physical act of sex.


An hour later, the party gathered on the beach. As promised, the Elder tribe of Rakata supplied some of their delicacies—though only the ones that humans found palatable. It did smell rather good. Not all Councillors of the tribe were happy, but Keeper Orsaa had enough clout to make it happen anyway. The beach looked as pristine as ever—clearly, the Elders had done a great job. Above them, a few of Malak's capital ships continuously and futilely bombarded the shields generated by the Temple of the Ancients, creating showers of sparks that looked more like celebratory fireworks.

Revan appeared with the same illusion of robes, while Bastila showed up in a beautiful white wedding dress. Of course, that was also an illusion. This time, they wore form-fitting clothes underneath, the same clothes that Jedi wore beneath their robes. Technically, they would be considered underwear, but since they conformed to the Jedi's idea of modesty, they covered almost the entire torso and the legs above the knee. Since they were on a beach, neither bothered with shoes, opting to go barefoot.

The Sith Master was especially proud of how good his apprentice's illusion looked. The semi-transparent lace sleeves was a difficult feat, yet she managed it, showing the partially obscured skin. Similarly, she wore a veil that partially obscured her hair. She also kept the dress moving gracefully, the hem of the dress touched the sand, yet sliding perfectly over it, as if enchanted by magic. It was a sight to behold.

To be honest though, Bastila didn't really care how she looked, having already done what she felt truly mattered. If her rant earlier on top of the temple hadn't made it obvious, she wasn't one of those girls who fantasized about a grand wedding and planned meticulously for it—instead, she devoted all that attention to the collaring ceremony that had just been performed. What she actually did was searching for dresses on the holonet, found a design that looked decent but would be challenging to replicate with an illusion, and then challenged herself to copy it. She wanted to push herself to greater heights and impress her Master in the process.

Soon, the rather simple ceremony started. Juhani began, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join these two sentients in matrimony." After she went through all the obligatory words as the officiator, it was time for the couple to recite their vows.

"I, Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, take thee, Bastila Shan, daughter of Alfrith and Helena, to be my wedded wife," Revan recited, "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until the heat death of the universe."

"I, Bastila Shan, daughter of Alfrith and Helena, take thee, Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, to be my wedded husband," Bastila recited in response, "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, until the heat death of the universe."

At Bastila's request, they had chosen to use the ancient vows. She found the modern alternatives unsuitable for their particular situation, given that she was the submissive partner in a power exchange relationship. It raised some eyebrows, most notably Juhani and Mission, as the aspect that demanded obedience was deemed sexist. As far as Bastila was concerned though, gender equality meant that male submissives should be free to vow obedience to their doms.

And then Revan summoned an illusion of a plain golden ring, taking it out of his pocket as if it was always there. He wanted a fancier ring, but it made more sense to go through the design carefully and create it on the Star Forge, so he settled for the plain ring to be replaced later. It did not mean much to them anyway, especially after the collaring ceremony—Bastila already had a much larger and much more important "ring" in the form of her slave collar. "I give thee this ring as a token and pledge of fidelity and of eternal love," he declared as he placed the ring on her finger.

His bride, creating an illusion of another plain golden ring, said the same words and placed it on his finger.

Juhani continued the ceremony. "By the virtue of the power vested in me as a Knight of the Jedi Order, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And thus Revan pulled his now-wife to him and kissed her for a full minute. When that was done, they all sat on the beach and started feasting. Once everyone was full, the couple excused themselves. The Dark Lord bowed down, swept his wife off her legs with one arm, and carried her away bridal-style onto the Ebon Hawk, opening doors with the Force. He dumped her on their bed, then slammed the bedroom door shut with a Force push. After all, a marriage must be consummated to be truly legal in the Republic, as per tradition, so they might as well get it over with as soon as possible. Neither of them would admit it was an excuse to have fun.

They looked at each other for a moment, and realized there was no law against the bride being tied up when fulfilling this important requirement. They both grinned.

"You know, Master, this brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'tying the knot,'" Bastila observed.

"I like the way you think," her husband agreed, and dismissed the illusions of clothing with a dramatic wave of his hand. The half-naked couple quickly removed their remaining clothing, and he grabbed some rope. After a few minutes, the bride was completely immobilized, and her legs were wide open. She faced him with a sultry smile, licking her lips. He grinned, and pushed himself in.

They spent the rest of the day consummating the marriage, and repeating the actions in a few other positions "just to be sure."


After sunset, the newlyweds decided to continue enjoying themselves, as their mission could (and had to) wait another day. To that end, they decided to take advantage of the beach on which the Ebon Hawk sat. They took a nice sofa bed—one that Davik stashed onboard for the crime lord's vacations, no doubt—and placed it on the beach. They laid on top of it, their bare skin in contact underneath the covers. They looked at the heavens, with the now-permanently collared slave in the arms of her Master and husband. In the distance, HK-47 guarded the only point of entry to the beach, ready to destroy any meatbag that would attempt to interrupt their alone time. Up above, Malak's fleet had temporarily ceased their orbital bombardment, not seeing any point in wasting tibanna gas. They were undoubtedly monitoring the situation on the ground and would resume it the moment the Ebon Hawk showed any sign of moving.

With a lazy wave of Revan's hand, a portable speaker started playing a beautiful and mysterious piano piece. Ashla and Bogan, she recognized instantly, an ancient impressionist piece of Jedi music, dating back to the days of yore, when the unified Order still lived on Tython and embraced both sides of the Force, before a faction decided to reject the Dark Side. Ashla and Bogan had been the moons of Tython, being the symbol of the Light and Dark Sides, respectively. The piece opened with the soft, gentle light of Ashla, before slowly introducing the darker light of Bogan. Together, light and dark existed in peace, merging into a mysterious melody, symbolizing the Force in its full glory.

Yet, this interpretation of the piece was long forgotten, fading from memory just like Tython, with no one in living memory having seen the light of Ashla or Bogan. Still, the mood of the music was rather appropriate as the couple stared into the unimaginable distances into space, and the starlight was just as beautiful as the moonlight that they had never seen.

Then, all of a sudden, it was as if a cloud had appeared, covering the light of Ashla. The music shifted, becoming darker, more turbulent and thunderous. "It is strange, glancing at these stars," Bastila observed then. "They bear no resemblance to those we were familiar with when we used to gaze upon them together, and yet, they too are stars in our galaxy." She referred to their childhood in the Jedi enclave on Dantooine, when the Jedi Masters demanded comparatively little from them due to their age. When her younger self had been crying over her separation from her beloved father and all she had known, a young boy had taken her to one of the hills near the enclave and showed the heavens to her, introducing her to all the stars he had known back then. Having grown up on Talravin in a sprawling city and never having the wealth to go on vacations to the countryside, it had been the first time she ever saw the majesty of the galaxy. It had taken her breath away, the beauty soothing the pain of her loss. It became something they did regularly with the excuse of spending the night outside—when the weather permitted—to "immerse themselves in nature and the living Force it generated."

At that moment, the music calmed, leaving slowing and diminishing high arpeggios, as if the cloud now covered Bogan, letting Ashla shine through. Then, after a short pause, it picked itself up again, suddenly becoming a lot more intense, as if the light of Ashla and Bogan intertwined.

"It's at times like these when we see how vast the galaxy truly is," that boy—now a grown man—agreed. "Hyperspace travel meant that we could get to most places in the galaxy within the day, hiding the true scale of our galaxy. We tend to forget that light travels at a snail's pace on a galactic scale. It takes 200 000 years for light to travel across the galaxy. Think about it… if we had a telescope powerful enough to see Tatooine, it would still be blue and green! Instead of the Dune Seas, the deserts, you would instead see large oceans and jungles, not unlike Kashyyyk."

"Wait, what happened to Tatooine?" she asked. "What turned it from a lush planet into the desert it is now?"

"Orbital bombardment far worse than that was done to Yavin IV or Taris," Revan sighed, shaking his head as the theme of Ashla and Bogan together repeated itself, but brighter. "The ancestors of the Sand People and the Jawas rebelled against the Rakatan Infinite Empire during its twilight days, and were met with terrible reprisal." The music picked up speed then, as if the light of the moons had become alive. "With the Rakata's control over the galaxy slipping, they sought to truly make an example out of the planet. The endless fleet pumped out by the Star Forge bombarded Tatooine for a full year, boiling away the oceans and turning all the soil into glass." At this moment, the piece entered its climax, with the notes dramatically tumbling downwards just as he described the downfall of Tatooine. "After such devastation, there was no recovery possible. The planet remains to this day a desert wasteland. Such is the awesome power of the Star Forge, and why the Elder tribe of the Rakata fear it and sought its destruction." The darkness of Bogan made itself known then, though elements of Ashla still existed, perhaps symbolizing the survivors hiding deep underground—those who would become the Sand People and Jawas. The couple was silent, letting the music play out.

"That was indeed horrible," she concurred as the music echoed its opening except more melancholically, perhaps hinting at the destruction that marred the stars even though it could not be seen yet. "Still, I think the Elders were wrong to blame the Star Forge. The way you described it… it is but a tool which creates devices that could be used for destructive ends. It's like blaming a durasteel forge for making vibroblades used to commit murder and seeking to destroy it, instead of blaming the murderers." She shook her head. "When did this happen?"

"Around 21 000 years ago," he replied. "Not long enough for the light to have reached here… not nearly enough."

"The galaxy is vast indeed…" she said in awe, still gazing at the stars. She looked at them in silence, breathing in the amazing view. As the music neared its end, its mysterious sounds shifting to slow, longing chords, she asked, "Do you recognize any of these stars? Have any of them been explored?"

Finally, the intertwined theme of Ashla and Bogan repeated itself, but incomplete and slowly fading away into nothingness. With that backdrop, the Dark Lord replied, "Not by civilization as we know it, not by humans or aliens that we are familiar with. The Rakata probably had… but most of the knowledge is long forgotten. Perhaps, deep in their archives, there are records, but we haven't found any yet. We are in the so-called 'Unknown Regions,' though the label only reflects our current ignorance. At some point, once peace returns to the galaxy, we should send out probes to explore this region. There will surely be a ton of interesting places to discover… and potential dangers, lurking in these unknown depths. I'd rather not be caught off guard."

When the music, played on repeat, started anew, he turned the chair with the Force and continued, "While we don't recognize individual stars, there are things we can see and know. The Galactic Core, for example." He pointed at it in the sky, now in their sight in their new orientation. Once again, Bastila was reminded of her childhood stargazing with her best friend. Seeing the countless stars in the galactic disk—each harbouring their own set of unique worlds—had inspired her then, and still inspired her now.

"The Core Worlds are there, even if we can't see them. And that right there is Coruscant, the capital of the Republic," he said, pointing to a spot slightly to the left of the bright centre of the galaxy. It was invisible at this distance, but the direction was remarkably accurate. Thus did he determine the previous night that transmission to the Republic high command was possible. "Or rather, Coruscant as it was, tens of thousands of years ago, long before humanity took our first steps in colonizing the galaxy."

"It is really surprising to see our history in the stars," she observed. "It's humbling to know that the light carrying information about everything our civilization has achieved has not even reached this planet. Despite the power we have attained through technology unimaginable to our ancestors, we are still insignificant compared to the galaxy. Yet, it all has to start somewhere. I can't help but imagine our ancestors, looking at the night sky just like us, wondering what's out there in the vastness of space."

"And now we know, having mapped all the stars they could see with their eyes and built a civilization in the Core Worlds, then watched it decay…" her Master sighed. "Still, there is so much out there that we don't know. One day, our descendants will know, with technologies unimaginable to us. And maybe they too would look towards the other galaxies, wondering what's out there…"

"And the cycle continues… assuming they can still see the stars," the collared girl noted. "I have not seen a single star in large cities—like those on Talravin or Taris—due to the bright city lights and sheer size of the buildings blocking most of the sky. If the trend continues, then we have little opportunity to see the stars."

"Perhaps in the cockpit when we fly our starships…"

"For a few minutes before you enter hyperspace and all of that goes away… Sometimes it's depressing to think that by achieving greater heights than ever before, we lose sight of what drove us in the first place."

"Like the trap that Malak fell into, when he forsook his purpose after acquiring power, except literally," Revan remarked. "Yet, this is not inevitable. We simply have to remind ourselves."

"Indeed," Bastila agreed. "Can we keep a part of this planet free of large cities full of skyscrapers, Master, so that after taking the Star Forge, we may come down here and gaze at the stars sometimes?"

"We can definitely do that. Since we also intended to put our capital here after the war, we can also let the stars serve as inspiration for those in the government," he mused. "It should work with the population we expect to have, since the whole point is to avoid building another Coruscant. There will be no major trade arteries that go through Lehon, so there will be almost no powerful businesses and the inevitable corruption from their money. I like this."

"So then, our new capital will mostly be government employees and people providing services for them," she remarked. "That makes sense. But actually, even with enough low-rise buildings, as long as there are many of them, wouldn't the skies still be polluted by their light?"

"That is a good point," he agreed. "We can definitely encourage more efficient lighting. After all, any light that illuminates the sky is wasted… so we might get away with just blocking light from being radiated upward. I don't think this is an unsolvable problem, and we definitely could get some competent people to work on it… Worst case, we can always build a cottage in the middle of nowhere for your stargazing needs."

"And we can fly in from the Ebon Hawk after a long week… I like that idea. I think we should do it anyway, to have a place to get away from the galaxy for some much needed rest."

"We can certainly do this once the war is over," he promised. "Perhaps even before… if it makes sense to do so."

They stayed in comfortable silence while the music played. For the next while, the couple simply enjoyed the beauty of the stars and the music. Then, Bastila had a thought.

"Was I in your original plan?" she asked. "This whole marriage thing, with me becoming the future Empress?"

"I never really thought that far," her lover confessed. "I mostly focused my attention on exactly how I was going to meet you and convince you to join me…"

"And that's why you came up with that plan to get me onto your flagship," she guessed. "I wonder what life would be like if it had worked out… I suppose you would have defeated the Jedi, and then told me the same thing you told me on Taris. I know I would have believed you, and maybe I won't even have to spend that night alone…"

"Yes, that sounds pleasant…" he concurred, joining her fantasy. "I'd teach you everything you need to know, just like I have once I remembered. It would only be a matter of time before Malak did something, and then we could have gotten rid of him, and then you would be my apprentice. We'd probably elope sometime, and then once we conquered the Republic, you could be my Empress."

"And your slave, of course," she added. "You'd collar me too, and then everything would be well. We'll live happily ever after, ruling over a prosperous galaxy until the end of our days…"

"Such a good fantasy," he agreed, savouring the thought. "It won't make as good of a story as our actual life, since there won't be as many interesting and exciting things… but I honestly think a boring life is the best life."

"It would hardly be boring," she countered, imagining all the fun things they could do. "Still, I would take all the sweet moments of love… of domestic bliss… I want to spend my days as your slave as we tackle whatever challenges we face together…"

"And I think you'll get that, if everything works out," he replied. "We can rule the galaxy together and do our best to make it the best place to be in the whole universe. And you can do a large chunk of your ruling in the privacy of our home, all tied up and helpless against anything wicked I might do…"

"I want to fall asleep thinking such thoughts, Master," she said, perfectly content.

"Good night then, my slave." He kissed her.

"Good night, Master," she replied when they broke the kiss.

And with that, they spent the night underneath the stars.


A/N: I am not sure what possessed me to set the last section of this chapter against Claude Debussy's piece Clair de lune. I hope it works out. Here's a recording that I think is reasonable if you want to hear it: youtu . be /XkgyOZxIw0k (remove the spaces... or just click the link in the AO3 version of this story once it's up).

My beta reader Tracyn suggested making it fit Star Wars more by referencing the ancient moons of Tython, and I thought it was a reasonable idea given the way the piece is constructed. So this is how Clair the lune is interpreted to make this work:

1. In the opening section Andante très expressif, the soft, high melody is treated as the light of Ashla. It is interrupted in every phrase by a much lower and louder chord, getting progressively lower as the section continues, and that chord is treated as Bogan, slowly appearing in the background.

2. Then we come to the Tempo rubato section, which suddenly becomes a lot heavier. This is treated as a cloud covering Ashla and letting Bogan shine through, though it ends with four high and diminishing arpeggios (almost always played with it gradually slowing down), which is treated as Ashla shining through while Bogan is covered.

3. Then, we have the more intense Un poco mosso section. With all the long notes in the melody, the harmony really shines through and the piece sounds very incomplete without it, and this is interpreted as the light of the two moons intertwining.

4. Then we get to the En animant section containing the climax, which shifts to a minor key and is quite intense and difficult to play. This is when Revan describes the rebellion on Tatooine, and the loudest section (the only forte section in the entire piece) symbolizing the destruction of the planet.

5. Then we repeat the main melody with a slight twist, making it more melancholic, and we interpret this to mean that something about the galaxy is marred. Side note: measures 63-65, when Bastila asks Revan about recognizing the stars, benefits a lot from being played a lot slower. It really brings out the sense of longing.

6. Finally, we have the morendo jusqu'à la fin ending, which is based on the Un poco mosso section but with a lot of notes removed, and it slowly fades into nothing as Revan talks about the current ignorance of the Unknown Regions.

I am not a real musician, just an amateur who messes around with the piano, so forgive me if this makes no sense.