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 37: Jolee's Choice
Juhani sat down on the floor, taking some time to rest after fighting her way through the Star Forge. Things were moving so fast… One second, they were battling Malak's troops and Sith, the next second… Bastila was using her battle meditation to help them. Logically, it made sense—she knew that the moment Malak was defeated, his troops would be Revan's and thus on the same side as herself, but it was such a jarring transition given that she'd just killed a bunch of them.
And then she was supposed to protect Bastila as she meditated. Would the Sith come for her? Surely not when she was meditating in their favour… Yet, Juhani would cut them down if any of them were foolish enough to intrude. She knew though, the real enemy would be the Jedi—whom they had fought beside earlier, even if it wasn't that great of a cooperation. They would soon be coming for Bastila, especially with all the power she was radiating out with her battle meditation.
Still, Juhani had never killed a Jedi and wondered if it would be as easy for her as killing the Sith when she used to be a member. Well, they tricked her into believing she'd killed Quatra, which almost broke her. She immersed herself in that memory, steeling herself for what was to come. The Jedi would have no mercy from her, not after what they did, not after brainwashing her into forsaking her humanity, into protecting slavers.
She then turned her attention to the holoprojection of the battlefield. She saw yellow and blue ships floating around like sheets next to the huge figure of the Star Forge. The blue ones were much closer to the Star Forge, so they had to be the Sith ships. So far, they seemed to be holding back the yellow ships, but she didn't understand the battle well enough to know how much longer they could hold. Below the projector was a screen showing yellow and blue numbers, both slowly decreasing, evidently the strength of each side. Below them were red numbers that increased correspondingly, evidently casualties, but she had no idea whether the trend was good or bad.
Feeling a bit out of her depth, the Cathar stood up and looked around. Bastila was sitting in front of the map, her eyes shut in concentration. Canderous was sitting, but looked ready to leap into action at any time. HK-47, the scary droid, was glaring malevolently at the entrance. She still found his gaze disturbing, even after all this time together. The surviving Mandalorians stood around the room, surrounding Bastila and the holoprojector on all sides, facing outwards, monitoring all threats. She continued looking around. Where was Jolee?
Somewhat reluctantly, she approached the Mandalorian and asked, "Where did Jolee go?" Given their history, she was still a bit hesitant to speak to him, though HK-47 seemed even more intimidating.
"The old man said his bladder wasn't as it used to be—his words—and left to relieve himself, or so he claimed," Canderous answered with a frown. "I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go… but something smells fishy."
"What could he be doing?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't know," he replied. "But you have to wonder. The old man fought with the Republic against Exar Kun's Sith, and won. He's retired, and showed up out of nowhere when he's half-dead, joining us for whatever reason known only to himself. From what I gathered, he tricked Revan and Bastila into agreeing to let him come along. Do you not wonder? I reckon they must have realized something's wrong too, since they told me to keep an eye on him."
"Yeah, Bastila told me to keep an eye out too, but he always seemed so nice, at least to me," she noted. "Still, the way he fought for the Republic against his wife makes me wonder… Looking back, his only regret seems to be his inability to save her, not that he fought against her. He has no love for the Jedi though."
"So for all we know, he could be loyal to the Republic, just not the Jedi," the Mandalorian deduced. "While they are on the same side now, we all know how the Jedi Order refused to fight my people during the wars and Revan had to defy them. They definitely aren't always on the same side."
"So you think Jolee is a traitor?" Juhani asked, frowning.
"Maybe, maybe not. But we must always be on our guard, especially at this critical time," Canderous answered wisely.
"The Force tells me that this is the hour that will decide the fate of the galaxy," the Cathar replied. "Together, we shall ensure Revan emerges triumphant." She decided then to let go of her prejudices against Canderous and offered him her hand.
"Together," the Mandalorian replied and shook the offered hand. "For what it's worth, I am sorry about what happened to your people. It was wrong and senseless, a dark chapter in the history of my people. Revan's triumph over us has made that abundantly clear. When our people rise again, I shall make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."
Suddenly, the door opened, and Jolee stood at the threshold, looking determined. He ignited his lightsaber, and walked through.
"What are you doing, Jolee?" she asked.
She received no reply. Behind Jolee, a team of fifteen Jedi walked in, each igniting their lightsabers. He finally spoke, "I am sorry. I can't let Bastila destroy the Republic like this."
"You are going to kill her?" Juhani asked, shocked.
"We don't have to kill her," the old man assured her. "We only want to stop her. She can come with us, back to the Jedi, and no blood needs to be spilled."
Juhani's blood boiled. Bastila would never agree to go back to the Jedi, not unless they wiped her mind. The thought filled her with rage. "She would never!" she shouted. To think, this was a person she thought of as a friend. It only made the betrayal sting more. She hated herself for not anticipating his treachery. Her anger boiled over and unbeknownst to her, her eyes glowed yellow. In the back of her mind, she remembered Bastila's warnings about losing control over her emotions, but she found it difficult to care. She had to protect Bastila at all costs, or there wouldn't be a Bastila to warn her!
The Cathar ignited her red lightsaber. She looked around, and saw Canderous ready with his pair of Baragwin vibroblades, while HK-47 wielded a Baragwin blade in one hand and a lightsaber in another.
Jolee and the Jedi took a step forward.
"Mocking query: Are you threatening the mistress?" the assassin droid stepped forth. "Threat: Bad things happen to meatbags who threaten the mistress."
One of the Jedi off-handedly reached out through the Force to destroy the droid. HK-47's eyes somehow looked more malevolent as a result. By the time the Jedi had realized his attack had somehow failed, the droid's Baragwin flamethrower had already set him ablaze. He rolled on the floor, desperately putting the fire out. When he finally got back on his feet, his robes were singed, and his face darkened from the soot.
"Told you to take the droid seriously," Jolee said gruffly. Without saying anything more, he led the Jedi forward.
Juhani threw herself into the fight as soon as it began. She soon found herself against two Jedi. She wielded her lightsaber to the best of her ability, pushing them back. They gave ground, and she gave chase. Suddenly, the Force gave her a warning. She twisted back, and saw Canderous occupied with Jolee and another Jedi, holding them at bay. The Mandalorians paired up, each taking on a Jedi, as was their standard formation during the wars against such odds. Most impressively, HK-47 took on three Jedi with a weird combination of lightsaber, vibroblade, and flamethrower, also holding them back. It shocked the Cathar greatly, seeing the assassin droid taking on the Jedi like that, even though she'd seen his prowess during their training fights. Between them was Bastila, helpless as she meditated. The last Jedi approached her, but no one was available to block his advance. One of the Mandalorians tried to disengage to defend Bastila, but was cut down by his Jedi opponent for it. His partner managed to stab the Jedi in the back, but there was no way he could reach her in time. Juhani ran with Force enhanced speed, but one of her opponents jumped, landing in front of her, blocking her path.
She could only watch with horror as the Jedi swung his lightsaber at Bastila's neck—
Bastila poured herself into the battle, coordinating her ships and fighters while simultaneously disrupting the Republic armada. Whenever the Republic was about to make a breakthrough, she poured her power into the weakness, and it immediately disappeared. The attacking Republic ships were then either beaten back or destroyed. But like always, before she could even relax for a second, the Force screamed another warning, and she was forced to cover another weak point.
This was the most difficult battle she had ever participated in. She had never fought in a battle anywhere near as large, nowhere near three fleet groups total. It didn't help that her side was badly outnumbered. One fleet group against two was bad enough already, but one fleet group that had already taken 25% casualties against two mostly intact fleet groups was a nightmare.
Suddenly, the Force sent another warning, this time louder and more urgent. She felt around, but did not find any ships. Following the Force, she found herself back to… the Star Forge? The Force screamed at her now, full of urgency. What is happening? Shit! It's me, she realized. She was under threat herself.
Bastila somehow twisted out of harm's way, barely avoiding decapitation by a Jedi's green lightsaber. She opened eyes, revealing her glowing yellow irises, and saw the Jedi taking another swing at her. Enraged, she blasted him with Force Lightning straight at his face. The stunned Jedi flew into a wall. She felt a disturbance in the Force, signalling the destruction of a capital ship. Thousands of Master's soldiers had cried out in pain, and were suddenly silenced, and it hurt.
Lightsabers! she cursed. Enraged, she reached out without much thinking, and crushed the neck of her attacker. With the full might of the Star Forge itself on her side, he stood no chance, his neck shearing apart in a shower of gore. Simultaneously, she felt the destruction of a whole contingent of Sith fighters and the hallowing final cries of the men aboard radiating in the Force. Damned Jedi! Bastila thought, before immediately reengaging into her battle meditation, projecting the full power of the Dark Side through her once again. It would only make her job harder if she took more casualties. From that moment, she knew with certainty that it was by her power alone that the Republic was kept at bay, and was determined to keep up her meditation at all costs.
Juhani let out a breath once she realized Bastila had protected herself. Yet, the red numbers for the Sith side quickly increased, much faster than it had previously, accompanied by Bastila's anger and sadness that she felt through the Force. She immediately realized what it meant—the battle meditation could not be disturbed.
Her musings were quickly interrupted by a blue blade. She raised her own, parrying the attack. She threw herself back into the fight, careful to not stray too far from Bastila again, while also keeping the two Jedi occupied before they could get any ideas.
However, she made little progress in defeating the Jedi. She chanced a look at everyone else. One of the Mandalorians got stabbed by a Jedi, but the other Mandalorian who'd previously slain a Jedi replaced him, keeping up the defence. Everyone else was holding… for now, though none on her side had made a breakthrough. At least, she thought, none of the Jedi made any progress either. She could only hope that Revan defeated Malak and returned as soon as possible. She just had to hold out until then.
Revan looked at Malak's lifeless body. Through the Force, he could feel Malak's last breath before life left his body. It should have made him feel triumphant, given he was now the undisputed Dark Lord of the Sith, yet he was instead filled with worry. He glanced outside. Through the transparisteel window, he saw the Sith Empire's forces—now, his forces—holding against the Republic, but just barely. They were vastly outnumbered by the Republic, and Bastila's battle meditation could only do so much. He needed to return to the command centre as soon as possible. Besides, there was a nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong.
He ran as quickly as he could without tiring himself out, straight into the elevator, and pressed the button to the command centre level. He then ran through the droid room. With a wave of his hand, he opened the door to the command centre. What he saw inside shocked him.
Jolee and ten Jedi fought with Juhani, Canderous, HK-47, and eight remaining Mandalorians. A Jedi had been cooked by Force Lightning, two lay dead, stabbed through by vibroblades, another burnt to death by a plasma grenade, and two more decapitated—one of them by lightsaber, clearly Juhani's work. Unfortunately, around them lay the bodies of eight Mandalorians. Three of them stabbed through with lightsabers, two more had their torsos cleaved in half, two more decapitated, and the last one was entangled with the Jedi burnt by the plasma grenade, having evidently taken down the Jedi in his last moments.
The survivors didn't fare much better. Everyone seemed to have sustained small cuts and continued to fight despite it, perhaps because of the adrenaline. The assassin droid had lost an arm, but was still as ferocious as ever, wielding his Baragwin blade and flamethrower to great effect. The Jedi periodically tried to approach Bastila and swing their lightsabers at her, but were just barely blocked at the last second every time. It was an equilibrium of sorts, but a very unstable one. Any false step, and the love of his life would be dead, and with her, any chance of victory, along with his very life, since she had tied her own life to his on that old flagship.
The undisputed Dark Lord immediately jumped into the fray, landing directly on a Jedi fighting Juhani with his lightsaber lit, impaling her. Taking advantage of the opening, Juhani threw herself into single combat with the other Jedi, and soon overwhelmed him, cutting his torso apart.
Meanwhile, Revan moved on to helping HK-47. With a storm of Force Lightning, he attacked two of the Jedi, who desperately deflected the attack with their lightsabers. The droid immediately shot flames from his Baragwin flamethrower, and the two Jedi were engulfed, costing them their concentration. The Lightning slipped through, and combined with the power of the flamethrower, easily turned the two Jedi to ash. At the same time, HK-47 moved on the third Jedi. Without the constant distraction of protecting Bastila against three opponents, the assassin droid was finally able to demonstrate his prowess with Vaapad. Within only a few seconds, HK-47 had managed to slice his opponent in half in a shower of blood with his vibroblade.
With Revan, Juhani, and HK-47 all free to join the Mandalorians, the Jedi stood little chance. They were soon overwhelmed, and with each dead Jedi came more Mandalorians joining the rest, resulting in a chain reaction that swiftly took down all the remaining Jedi. The final blow was struck when Canderous dealt Jolee a mortal wound.
The old man fell and blood gushed out of him, but he remained conscious. The Dark Lord approached him.
"So this is it then? This is why you left Kashyyyk?" he asked. "I suppose you think my destiny is to be defeated by the Republic, and you wanted to help it along?"
"No, no," the old man denied as he laid in a pool of his own blood. "I didn't know what your destiny was. I am a servant to the will of the Force, and it told me to follow you…"
"Then why did you betray us?" the Dark Lord asked.
"You lured two Republic fleet groups here for a battle they can't win," Jolee stated. "It reminded me too much of the cowardly tactics Exar Kun pulled. Almost 80 million sentients would die today because of your treachery… I can't stand idly watching it happen."
"Do you think it's morally superior of you to kill 40 million of my soldiers instead?" Revan demanded. "This is war. Deception is part of military strategy. Besides, they raped my mind in hopes of using me to bring down my own empire… They are only getting their just deserts."
"That was the Jedi," the old man protested. "The Republic…"
"The Republic pulled their share of dirty tricks in war," Canderous interjected. "Plenty of Republic worlds put weapons in hospitals and schools for propaganda value, knowing we would inevitably attack them…"
"They had no choice after losing so much to Exar Kun," Jolee countered. "That was when… it all went downhill, and I was responsible…"
"Why do you think you are personally responsible?" the Sith Lord wondered with a frown. "It's all because of Nayama, isn't it? I regret to inform you that her role in the war was minor at best and the war would have ended the same way, with or without her." Normally, he wouldn't be this blunt to a dying man and he'd held his tongue when dealing with Malak, but Jolee had put his beloved Bastila at risk, almost killing her, and he didn't feel at all charitable after that stunt. "I suppose, after failing to save Nayama, you transferred all your love to the Republic, hoping it would save you."
"Love… will save…" the old man muttered.
"Love will not inevitably save anything, Jolee… just like it won't condemn anyone by default. It's the nature of the love that matters, and loving something destructive will destroy you, like the attachment you hold to the Republic despite all its problems… You would fight to hold the populace under its yoke because it's inconceivable to you that it could be evil, that you fought for evil in the past… That's the sort of attachment you should have let go."
"The Populares…" the old man interrupted.
"The Populares could never have succeeded while the Republic endured," Revan declared. "During their heyday, they had support from over 80% of the population, yet couldn't even get a majority in the Senate, let alone getting any reforms passed. When they were finally about to achieve a majority, their base of support was conveniently destroyed in a war. That seems to me like a system that had been festering for a while, long before the birth of Exar Kun, yet unfixable as electoral reform would require the current government to give up the system that brought them into power… All the Republic ever did in living memory was dangle the prospects of peaceful reform in front of our eyes, only to snatch it away before it could come to fruition."
"The Republic… I grew up in… was so much better…" Jolee countered despite his failing strength.
"But I've read the history books. It wasn't better, not when generations before you said the same thing, yet nothing of note changed." The Sith Lord shook his head. "No, you look upon the past with fondness, not because it was actually better, but because of nostalgia. It's not the Republic that was better back then, but your own body. Of course those days felt better to you! I have felt the ravages of age in you through the Force throughout our journey, and that ensures the present will never be remembered as fondly as the days gone by. Age brings wisdom, but also memories of a distorted past, and that is your mistake."
"Perhaps… you are right," the old man admitted, though he was rapidly losing lucidity. "Perhaps… I should have listened to that vision of Nayama… I am off… to apologize to her… in person." With that, Jolee Bindo became one with the Force.
A/N: A bit of a short chapter, but I think it makes sense to leave it here. RIP Jolee. The next chapter will be the last for this part of the story, which I'll call episode I, wrapping up the battle and the timeline in the game.
Afterwards, I shall take some time to plan out episode II. I don't know when that will be. On FFN, I think I'll post a new story and a sequel notice on this one. On AO3, I'll create a series.
As usual, special thanks to Tracyn on AO3 and DeathRanger on FFN for beta reading this chapter!
