Knights Reborn

The Courtship Of Bastila Shan

Legal Info: I don't own Star Wars or KOTOR. They belong to George Lucas. I'm simply playing around with the characters.

In all other cases, all rights reserved by me.
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Dramatis Personae

The Republic:
Revan: Jedi Knight (Human Male)
Bastila Shan: Jedi Knight (Human Female)
Carth Onasi: Republic Military General (Human Male)
Canderous Ordo: Mandalorian (Human Male)
T3-M4: T3 Utility Droid (Astromech Droid)
HK-47: Assassin Droid (HK Series Assassin Droid)
Vandar Tokare: Jedi Master (Unknown Species Male)
Vrook Lamar: Jedi Master (Human Male)
Zhar Lestin: Jedi Master (Twi’lek Male)
Nomi Sunrider: Jedi Grand Master (Human Female)
Vima Sunrider: Jedi Knight (Human Female)


The Sith Remnant:
Darth Traya: Dark Lady Of The Sith (Human Female)
Darth Sion: Sith Lord (Human Male)
Darth Nihilus: Sith Lord (Human Male)
Drala Lamar: Sith Apprentice (Human Female)



Prologue:

Star Forge System A.K.A. Rakata Prime
Three Days After The Destruction Of The Star Forge

The first thing she noticed was the complete silence around her. Opening her eyes, Bastila Shan wasn’t surprised to find herself back on the Ebon Hawk. Had it all been a dream? Malak torturing her, Her pledging herself to him…trying to kill Revan? There were so many questions, and yet, there were so little answers popping out at her.
There was still pain in her right arm, proof that her duel with Revan had not been a figment of her imagination. Casting a glance upon it, she noticed that it been bandaged and cared for. To her, there was only one logical guess at who had cared for her wounds. And he was nowhere in sight. And above all, that frightened her.
<Revan?> she said, reaching out through the bond that the two of them shared. At first, she was met with silence, which did nothing to reassure her.
<Bastila?> was his response, the words echoing through her mind at a feverous pace. Noticing the IV stuck into her arm, she realized why her head was throbbing. Her body had always reacted poorly to any sort of drugs, even when she was a little girl. And, it appeared that she hadn’t outgrown it.
<Revan, where…where am I?> The question automatically received with an answer from the opposite end.
<We’re still in the Star Forge System. Don’t get up, I’ll be there in a minute.> He was true to his word, and soon she felt his presence in the room through the Force. There was no longer the Dark Side presence that had tainted their bond in their last meeting, a presence that she had been the cause of. No, a presence that Malak had been the cause of.
From what she could see through her blurred vision, Revan hadn’t been sleeping. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, but the blue color in them shined through like the two suns of Tatooine. His words to her on the Star Forge returned to her mind, and echoed repeatedly. The words that had brought her back from the edge of darkness.
I love you

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Ok Alex. Calm down.

Anyway, i'm sadly not going to be able to update this every day. School starts next week so that's going to throw a bug into my writing schedule. However, i will keep updating. Just going to have to write during class when the teacher isn't looking.

More on the way!

update moar >:O

moar moar

Ok, ladies and gentes. Here's the COMPLETE chapter 1. The next update will be sometime on Monday. Enjoy!
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Chapter 1

Five Days After Destruction of the Star Forge

Whatever treatment Bastila had received during the period that she had been unconscious had obviously worked to a great extent. Her arm had been almost completely healed, to the point that there would most likely be no scar anywhere. For that she was thankful, although the scars in her mind would always still be there. The scars from her torture at the hands of Malak.
Walking down the boarding ramp of the Ebon Hawk, she was greeted by another reminder of the battle. The beach around the ship was littered with wounded soldiers from the battle. Wounded that Bastila knew she had caused. Her ‘gift’ of Battle Meditation was quickly starting to turn into a curse.
“Bastila, you weren’t yourself. None of this is your fault.” Revan said, stopping and laying a hand on her shoulder. She avoided looking him in the eyes, choosing instead to focus on her boots.
“Bastila, look at me.” Raising her head, she met her silver eyes with Revan’s. He truly meant what he had said, she could tell by the softness in his eyes. “None of this is your fault.”
“But without my battle meditation…”
“We would have lost. And Malak would still be alive. It’s not your fault.” Bastila continued staring into Revan’s eyes, the guilt inside her threatening to put her on the brink of an emotional breakdown.
“Revan, i…” She started before Revan took her into his arms. The two of them stood there, silently enveloped into each other’s touch. Around them, the chaos of the battle’s aftermath continued. As she placed her head against his shoulder, she felt all the anxiety rush out of her. Closing her eyes, she sighed. And let serenity wash over her.
“Oh, will you two just get a room?” Mission exclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her as she watched Revan & Bastila clumsily disengage themselves from one another. Feeling warmth in her cheeks, Bastila was sure that they were turning red. Of all the times for Mission to show up…
“We could always use yours Mission.” Revan replied, his voice full of seriousness. Mission, her eyes aglow with fear, backed away slowly.
“Nevermind. Continue what you were doing!” she said, turning away and breaking into a full run back to the Ebon Hawk. Turning back to Bastila, Revan smiled.
“Now, where were we?” he asked, holding his arms open in front of him. Returning to his arms, Bastila closed her eyes once again, and again she let the sensation of peace wash over her.

Revan insisted that she continue to sleep, but yet she continually found sleep to be elusive. Although she had refused to tell Revan, the Dark Side still haunted her mind. It was all she would see at night. He was all she would see at night.

“Rise my apprentice.” He said, his voice sounding evil and artificial behind his metal jaw piece. As Bastila rose from her bended knee, Malak still towered over her. She dared to look into his eyes, those sickly yellow eyes surrounded by a rim of red. A color that her silver eyes were slowly turning into.
“You have only tasted the true power of the Dark Side. You are strong indeed, but you lack focus.” Malak stated, as he looked at his new apprentice. “There is hesitation in you.”
“There is no hesitation, Master.” Bastila replied, crossing her arms behind her back. She knew she couldn’t hide anything from him. Not even the bond, which she had done her best to avoid using. Anything that kept Revan away from here.
“A master of deception you are not, Bastila. You fear confronting him, don’t you? Fear being in his presence. Fear feeling his flesh on yours. Fear loving him.” As he finished his sentence, Bastila felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach. The one emotion that she had worked so hard to hide…
“I…no, Master. I could never…”
“Enough! Spare me your lies! Now get out of my sight.” He spat back at her. She backed away, trying desperately to avoid what she knew must come next.
“Yes, Master.” She said, trying to please him. He stared back at her, the anger in his eyes sending fear down her spine. Raising his hands, Malak laughed cruelly, obviously enjoying what was going to come next. As lightning erupted from his fingertips, Bastila screamed as it slammed into her body at full force.

“Bastila? Bastila, wake up!” Revan said as he gently shook her awake. Someone was screaming, and it took Bastila a few moments to realize that it was her own voice.
“Bastila, it’s alright! It was just a dream!” He said again as Bastila collapsed into his arms, tears falling freely from her cheeks. Revan raised his hand to gently stroke her hair, which was no longer braided back into its usual two pig-tails.
“Revan…he was there…he…” she managed to say in between sops. He silently held her, sending out feelings of security through their bond. He held her for what seemed like hours.
“Sssshhh, it’s alright now. I’m here.” He said in her ear as her sops slowed and finally stopped. The room grew silent for what seemed like hours. As Revan rubbed his sleeve against her tear –stained cheeks, she looked back at him, unable to summon any words to break the silence between them. Looking back into her eyes, Revan slowly drew his face closer to hers until their lips met. She was surprised at first, but she returned it passionately. Perhaps, even more passionately than Revan had. In that moment, nothing in the universe could have pulled them apart.

MOAR!!!! Great story Emp keep it up!

Here we go!
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Chapter 2

Ten Days After Star Forge Destruction

“Revan? Are you alright?” Bastila asked, noticing him standing alone looking out over one of the rocky cliffs that dotted the planet’s landscape. He had been gone when she had awoke that morning, and he had failed to respond through their bond. And now, here he was, silent and alone.
“Yes. I’m fine.” He responded, not bothering to face her as he answered. Something was wrong, Bastila could tell that much. “How’s your arm?”
“Fine. It should be completely healed in a few more days.” She answered, wondering why he had changed topics so quickly. If he thought he could hide something from her, it was a foolish idea. If there was something wrong, she would be the first to sense it. No matter what he thought otherwise.
“Don’t change the topic Revan. Something’s wrong, and I want to know.”
“It’s nothing.” He said, this time turning to look at her. He hadn’t been sleeping again, and it showed clearly in his expression. Seeing the look on her face, Revan sighed.
“I…I think more of my memories are returning.” The statement seemed simple enough, it had been any other person. But coming from Revan, this was serious. She came up to him, stopping a few inches in front of him. If he had remembered something from his time as the Dark Lord, she wanted to be there for him.
“Of what?” she asked, reaching out to take his hand. He smiled faintly at the gesture, and squeezed her hand in return.
“The Mandalorian Wars. Me fighting Mandalore I guess.” A few moments of silence passed between them, like the wind that whipped around both of their bodies. The Council said his memories would never fully return. Bastila thought to herself as she continued looking at the man in front of her.
“Revan. It was a different time. You’re different now.”
“No, I’m not! Don’t you see that?” He threw back at her, letting go of her hand and turning back to the cliff. Bastila could feel the rage circling through him, and she did her best to calm him through their bond. “I’m still Darth Revan! Even if I can’t remember it, I still did it!”
“No, you’re not. Look at all the people you’ve gone out of your way to help! At how many lives you’ve saved, how many lives you’ve given back. I don’t see a Sith Lord standing before me.”
“Then what do you see?” he asked, turning back to look at her again.
“I see the savior of the galaxy. A Jedi Knight that renounced the Dark Side by choice. I see the man I fell in love with.” She replied, coming up to him and embracing him in a kiss. Although taken aback, Revan returned it. As the wind whipped around her, Bastila felt a few shivers course down her body. Although her Jedi robes offered protection from many things, the cold wasn’t one of them.
“You’re shivering.” Revan stated, pulling back from the kiss. Hiding away her surprise, Bastila stared back at him, slightly angry and yet, she understood his concern. He had become almost overprotective of her during the mission to find the Star Maps, and that overprotectiveness had not yet ceased.
“I’m fine.” She echoed back to him, repeating the words that he had told her earlier.
“No you’re not. You’re cold.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a terrible liar?” he asked, a smile rapidly overtaking his face.
"Yes."
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re an amazing person?”
“Yes. You. On a multiple occasions.”
“Alright. You win!” Revan finally said, throwing up his arms in a exaggerated sense of frustration. Smiling at him, Bastila could help but laugh. Months ago, this had been a come occurrence, and during her imprisonment by Malak, she had missed this. And now, she felt happy beyond her wildest belief.
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Returning to the Ebon Hawk, the two of them were quiet, hunkering against each other for protection against the cold. The ship itself lay empty now, except for the droids, the Mandalorian mercenary Canderous Ordo, and the Republican pilot Carth Onasi. Over the previous days, the crew had mostly gone their own ways. Jolee had chosen to retire to Manaan, Juhani had returned with the Republic fleet to Coruscant, and Zaalbar had returned to his tribe on Kashyyyk with Mission in pursuit. In part, all of them had been saddened to leave each other’s company, but all of them knew it was for the best. They had saved the galaxy, and that had been worth it.

Walking quickly up the boarding ramp, Bastila felt relieved to know that someone had started the ship’s heating systems. If they had been on Tatooine, she would have relished the cold, but now, she was happy to be warm. Outside, the faint dings of raindrops were heard landing on the Ebon Hawk’s hull. They had been lucky to get inside when they had. Otherwise, they would have easily been drenched by the pouring rain.
“Well, look who finally decided to show up.” Canderous said, emerging from the shadows of the garage area. Doesn’t he ever sleep? Bastila thought to herself, running her hands up and down her arms in an effort to warm them up faster. The Mandalorian was missing his ever present heavy rifle, and Bastila knew that it would still be within reach if trouble arose.
“How’s the ship Canderous?” Revan asked, stripping off his outer tunic and laying onto one of the lounge chairs that surrounded the main holo-deck.
“Fine as it will ever be. There isn’t enough action on this planet to excite a Jawa.” He replied, leaning his body against the wall. “I take it you and the Jedi Princess were having fun.”
“I am NOT a Princess, Mandalorian. If memory serves me right, we’ve already had this discussion.”
“Have we now? Guess I forgot.” As Bastila prepared a retort, Revan stopped her through the bond.
“Easy. We’re friends here remember?” He said, stepping in-between the two of them. He had seen this argument before, and he knew exactly where it would end. Calming herself down, Bastila forced a slight smile from her lips. Canderous offered nothing but a laugh.
“Yeah. Hey listen, the Republic dog up front wanted to say something to you guys. He looked like he was in a hurry, so I wouldn’t make him wait.”
“Who? Carth?” Revan replied, letting out a groan, “What’s wrong with him now? Did you beat him up too hard?” Canderous laughed at the statement, and slowly walked back towards his corner of the garage. He passed the shut-down shell of HK-47, who had been damaged during the battle on the Star Forge. Revan was still in the process of rebuilding him, although Bastila would have felt better if that monstrosity remained shut-down.
“You go and rest. I’ll go see what’s wrong with our courageous pilot.”

Turning on the heat in her room, Bastila didn’t even feel the urge to sleep. Chalking it up to Revan being over-protective again, she called a small holocron to her hands. It opened silently in her palm as she sat down on her bed. The holocron itself had been with her since Tatooine. It was the same holocron that her mother had insisted that she take with her.
Staring at the small blue figures on it, she saw a small child of around five or six, tugging at her father’s hair while her mother watched. Bastila smiled slightly at the scene, remembering the day that it had been taken, albeit a perhaps a somewhat sketchy memory of it. She had only been a child after all. The world had seemed so large then, and she had always begged her father to take her with him on his trips. And yet, her mother had never allowed it.
A slight pang of guilt erupted insider her. Her mother should have been on Coruscant by now, no doubt in the finest medical care that Bastila’s credits would buy. And yet…she still felt guilty. Had she known earlier, would she still have hated her all these years? Would she have not wanted to meet with her mother?
Closing down the holocron, Bastila slowly set it down on her pillow and closed her eyes. Her life had changed so much in the past months. She had gone from being so sure of herself, that she followed the Jedi Code to the letter, and that she could do no wrong. Now, she knew that wasn’t true. Everyone made mistakes, and everyone could easily go bad. She herself was a perfect example.
Had it really seemed so simple long ago? Everything in black and white? Light and Dark, no in between. Now, she realized, there was such thing as an absolute side. Light and Dark, they co-existed, inter-twined, and could easily twist someone to their will. Twist someone so much out of shape that they could be almost unrecognizable, even to themselves. And then once, they gave into it, there would be almost no going back.
And yet, Bastila had gone back. Come back, thanks to the love of her life. And now, looking back on it, she realized how close she had come to fully giving into the Dark Side. How it had called to her, how it had summoned her to join with it completely. How she had been afraid to call upon it.
And how it had wanted her.

nice no no PERFECT!

Thank you

lol you used the one quote from the story at the begining when you have canderous and bastila great story, keep it up!

Chapter 3

The sun of Rakata Prime still hid away from behind the storm clouds and rain that drenched everything in its path. The Ebon Hawk had been moved further inland, mainly to avoid the flooding that had threatened to overtake the ship. Staring out of the cockpit window, Bastila watched the rain for what seemed like hours. The last remnants of the Republic fleet were hours away from pulling out of the system and returning to their usual posts. And with it, the last remnants of the Ebon Hawk’s crew were also leaving. From a certain point of view, the weather suited the scene perfectly.

Had it been only a few months since they had set out on the journey to find the Star Maps? It had all passed by like mere days. Hearing footsteps behind her, Bastila swiveled her chair around to face the hallway that connected the cockpit to the rest of the ship.
“Hello Bas.” Revan said as he entered the cockpit. She smiled at yet another of Revan’s new pet names for her. She accumulated most of the ones that she had grown to like. Princess, Basty, and, sadly, Kinrath pup. She had hated being called a kinrath pup when he had first come up with the line, and yet, she had grown to love it.
“Another pet name Revan? How many more are you going to come up with?” she asked him, folding her hands in her lap. As Revan sat down, he leaned the chair back as far as it would go. Letting out of a breath of comfort, Revan smiled at her.
“As many as I possibly can. Deep down, I know you love ‘em.” As Bastila was about to retort, another set of footsteps were heard approaching. As the two of them turned to see who it was, they were greeted by the ship’s former pilot, Carth Onasi. Behind him, a duffle bag sat leaning against the wall.
“Thought I’d find you here….” He said, noticing Bastila sitting the co-pilot seat. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No, nothing.” Both Bastila and Revan started at almost the same time. Carth eye them suspiciously, and then chuckled a little under his breath. He had put up with their arguing for the past few months, and for them to not be completely screaming at each other was a welcomed change indeed.
“Whatever.” He said, clearly wanting to speak what was on his mind. “Listen,…I’m heading out with the Fleet. I’m leaving on the next transport. “ The room was silent, as neither party wanted to be the next to speak. Outside, the rain continued to pour down at a feverish pace. Lightning erupted every now and then.
“Anyway, i…I came to thank you. For everything. You helped me get my son back, and…you helped me realize I can’t keep mourning over my wife.” He said, looking both of them in the eyes. As Revan rose from his chair, he held out his hand. Carth took it, and the two of them shook hands in a tight grip.
“Good-bye Revan. Take care of the ship. She’s one of a kind.” Carth said as he let his hands fall back to his sides. Turning to face Bastila, he held out his arms in an offer of a hug. Slowly, Bastila returned the offer with a quick hug.
“So long Bastila. Take care of yourself.” Were the only words he offered as he turned and walked back down the hallway. As he walked out of their lives, possibly forever. And with him, the final remnants of the Ebon Hawk’s crew went their separate ways.

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On top of the temple, the sunset seemed to be one of the crowning jewels of the entire Republic. The rain storm of a few hours earlier had slowly given way to the sun mere hours before the sunset. Its glow radiated over the ocean that lay mere meters away from the temple itself. And yet, to Bastila at least, this place would only continue to bring back bad memories for her. Memories of a place that she had never imagined that she would go.
“It is indeed a glorious sight, isn’t it Padawan Bastila?” Master Vandar said, his voice sending ripples of shock through her body. She had been so enveloped in her own thoughts that she had failed to notice the tiny Jedi Master approaching. As he took a spot standing beside her, he closed his eyes. The silence made Bastila feel slightly uneasy although she quickly hid the emotion.
“There is another storm on the way.” Vandar said at last, opening his eyes and keeping his focus on the sunset.
“What?” Bastila asked, turning her head to address the Jedi Master. Vandar in turn also turned his small stature to face her.
“A storm. Small now, but in its time it will unleash amazing power upon all that stand before it.” He replied, his voice full of age and wisdom. Bastila was silent, quietly deciphering the words in her mind for any hidden meanings.
“Reach out with the Force, young Bastila, and see the changing patterns as the planet revolves through its cycles of day and night. “ Doing as she was told, Bastila closed her eyes and expanded her mind to the living entity that was Rakata Prime. She could feel the animal-life that surrounded the area around the temple. The ancient Rakata Elders that had offered their own healers to the Republic’s force after the battle. The rancors that had been successfully driven back by the occupying Republic forces. And there, on the horizon, was the storm that Master Vandar had described.
“Strong in the Force you are Bastila. You are indeed gifted in many ways.” Master Vandar said as Bastila opened her eyes and returned her focus to what was immediately around her. There was a smile on the Jedi Master’s face as Bastila bowed at the compliment.
“Thank you Master Vandar.”
“Kneel down Bastila. It will save both of our necks from pain later on.” Bastila obeyed, kneeling down to one knee until she was nearly eye to eye with the Jedi Master.
“And also, you have achieved a feat that so few have been able to accomplish. You renounced the Dark Side and returned to the path of the light. For that, you have proven yourself worthy of the title of a Jedi.” He said, reaching into his tunic and withdrawing a small vibro-knife. Gripping Bastila’s Padawan braid gently in his hand, he looked her in her eyes.
“You are a Padawan no longer. With the Force as my witness, I proclaim you a Jedi Knight.” As he finished, he quickly cut off Bastila’s Padawan braid, and let it fall to the ground.
“Th…thank you Master Vandar. I am honored.” Bastila responded, raising from her bended knee and bowing. Vandar, in turn, returned the gesture.
“You are among the greatest Jedi that we have ever trained Bastila. May the Force be with you.” He said, turning and walking back towards the Temple elevator. Turning back to the sunset, Bastila did not yet realize how much of a storm was on the horizon.

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Malachor V, Trayus Sith Academy

“You fail to realize your importance Sion.” Traya scolded, holding the ancient Sith Lord in a death grip with the Force. She had been so patient with him, waiting for him to finally see the truth of the what the galaxy really was. And he had failed. Failed because of his lack of vision, his lack of ability to see beyond himself. And failure would not be tolerated by her.
“You fail to see. And you fail because you are unable to think.” She continued, dropping the Sith Lord from her grip. He stared back at her, anger flowing unrestrained through his body, the only thing that was still fully keeping him together.
“And because you fail to see, you will lose that ability.” As she finished her sentence, Traya reached out through the Force, working her way into his mind at a startling pace. And then, finally she found the link she was looking for, and she severed it. Sion screamed in pain as he felt all vision fade from his right eye. As Traya looked back at her work, she found nothing left in the eye, nothing but the bare fabric of it, completely white.
“And that is your punishment, Sith Lord. Learn from it, for it will only make you stronger.” And with that, she turned away from the pathetic form that was her apprentice. Such ignorance that stemmed from him, and how much he refused to clamp down on. He was such a failure.

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Dantooine, Temporary Jedi Enclave

Even though she had been before the Council many times in her life, Bastila still felt a certain anxiety in the bottom of her stomach. And it steamed from true fear. There had never been as much riding on this meeting before. If the Council chose to send them on two different paths….
“Calm down Basty, it’s alright. They’ll probably want to congratulate us on the success of the mission.” Revan said, using the bond to read her feelings. She looked back at him, hardly able to express herself. There were times that she truly hated this bond. And yet, the reasons all paled in comparison to all the times that she loved it.
“Right. After they tell you that they want you to be the Grand Master instead of Nomi Sunrider?” she asked, her voice full of mock seriousness. Revan smiled at her.
“It seems that I’m beginning to rub off on you.” He said, wrapping his arm around her neck. Slipping out of it, Bastila made her face a holo-drama of mock-horror.
“That’s not good. Maybe I should erase my entire memory and start over.” She replied jokingly. The smile disappeared from Revan’s face, and she regretted saying that almost immediately. The bond between them grew slightly cold.
“Revan, I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” She said, taking Revan’s hand into hers. Almost immediately, the bond became flooded with feelings of love and warmth, from both sides.
“It’s alright Bastila. You were making a joke. A few months ago, I probably would have done the same thing.”

The Jedi Council had been uneasy since the destruction of the original Jedi Enclave. Master Dorak had died in the Sith bombardment, and all the surviving Council Members had been saddened by the death of their friend and comrade. From Coruscant, Nomi Sunrider, famed for severing Ulic Qel-Droma’s connection to Force during the Sith Wars, and her daughter Vima Sunrider had joined the council. As Revan and Bastila entered the council chambers, the final words of the council’s argument still lingered.
“But are you sure that they’ve both truly been saved from the Dark Side?” Vrook was heard to say, his words full of distrust. Although his words had been directed towards Vandar, Nomi was the one who had responded.
“How can you NOT be sure Vrook? They defeated the Dark Lord. They saved the Republic from certain defeat, and you CAN’T sense that they’re servants of the light now?!”
“Enough of this. We should continue this another time, we have visitors.” Vandar said, finally ending the argument. Turning their attention towards the two Jedi Knights standing before them, the Council’s attitude changed slightly. Standing off to the side slightly, Vima Sunrider watched the scene silently.
“Ah, greetings Knight Revan & Knight Bastila. It is an honor to finally meet you both.” Nomi said, her voice showing no signs of distrust between them. Revan wondered if he had ever met her before his capture. Bastila bowed, and quickly Revan followed suite.
“The same to you, Master Nomi.” Bastila said, keeping close to Revan. At this point, she hardly cared what they thought of them. But still, she feared what she would do if the Council decided to separate them. The thought of living without the constant presence of Revan in her life…she didn’t want to find out what it was like.
“Indeed, this is a unique situation that we are all faced with. Although it is not customary for Jedi to work constantly with the same partner on missions, this is a special case.” Master Zhar said, repeating part of what he had said at the start of Revan’s training months ago. He had known.
“Special case? It’s far beyond that. Firstly, I want answers.” Revan responded, taking a step closer to the Council members. A few of them seemed shocked by this display of anger, and it showed clearly in their stature.
“You feel that we owe you answers?” Vandar said, rising from his seat to meet Revan.
“Yes. I want to know why I wasn’t told about who I was. I had a right to know!”
“As Bastila has no doubt explained by now, your mind was extremely damaged when you were captured. We had our best healers examine you, and there was nothing we could do.” Nomi explained, moving a few stray bands of her red hair out of her face. “In the end, the only option we had was to repair your mind with another identity. If we hadn’t, you would have most likely died. And the galaxy would still be in danger.”
“The ends don’t justify the means.” Off to the side, Vima Sunrider stepped forward.
“Revan, may I speak?” she asked, although the request sounded more like a demand. Bastila looked at her with a sign of respect, and stepped back slightly behind Revan. He silently gave Vima an affirmative.
“I was with Bastila’s strike-team. My mother speaks the truth about the condition you were in. There was truly nothing we could have done to fully restore your memory.” The Council Chambers fell silent, as both parties considered their options. Finally Revan sighed, and took a step back to where he had originally been standing.
“Fine. I accept your reasons, and I accept that they led me to where I am today.”
“It is good that you understand. Now, back to the matter on hand. We are going to give you a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Yes. You may stay with Bastila, or we can reassign you to another. It’s your choice.” Vandar said, his words lacking emotion in any form. The room lay silent as the Council waited for Revan’s answer. Even Bastila felt a certain feeling of fear in her heart. Would he really leave her?
“I’m staying with Bastila.” Revan finally replied, stepping a few inches closer to Bastila. Through their bond, everything silently fell back into place once again.
“Very well. Then this mission will concern a planet that both of you may feel a small part of attachment to.”
“Where are we headed?” Revan asked, letting a hand fall down to his belt.
“The ruins of the Taris system.”
********************************

is this the KOTOR storyline?

MasterM wrote:is this the KOTOR storyline?

Kinda. This story takes place AFTER KOTOR 1 and before KOTOR 2.

oh

Chapter 4

Ruins of Taris System

Bastila couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt as the Ebon Hawk left hyperspace above what had once been the planet of Taris. She could sense a small thread of guilt from Revan’s mind, and it gave her a small glimmer of comfort to know that she wasn’t the only one. Malak had destroyed the entire population in an attempt to prevent her escape from his Sith Forces, and although he hadn’t known it at the time, he had nearly killed both her and Revan.
“How could anyone survive?” She asked, looking up from the co-pilot’s chair. When they had been told that a transmission had been sent from Taris itself, there had been the obvious doubts of its authenticity. There had been no transmissions from the planet during the days following the attack, so why were they just now asking for assistance?
“The chances are slim, but someone had to survive. Maybe the Outcasts were the ones who sent the transmission.” Revan responded, turning on the ship’s ground sensors. As the sensors started to do their job, the ship rocked back, as if turbo-laser blasts were digging into the side of the ship. Throwing her own attention to the ship-to-ship sensors, Bastila quickly found the source of the attack.
“What’s going on Bastila?” Revan asked as he quickly switched on the deflector shields.
“Sith Battle Cruiser.” She replied, looking over to Revan. How was it that the Sith were still here? Surely any part of the Sith occupation fleet would have pulled out once Malak had razed the planet. What use would there be to stick around?
“Must be a remnant from Malak’s fleet. Stay here and pilot the ship. If I know better, that ship’s gonna be sending out fighters.” Revan said, flinging himself out of the pilot’s chair and running down the hall towards the gun turrets. Sighing, Bastila quickly slid into the pilot’s chair. If this was only as easy as Onasi had made it seem. Turning on the comlink, she waited for Revan to signal that he ready.
There was no answer except the sound of the turrets firing furiously. Watching some of the fighters zoomed past the cockpit, Bastila took hold of the controls and threw the ship into a barrel roll. A choice that didn’t sit well with her stomach.
“Bastila, what the hell are you doing?!” Revan shouted over the comlink, as Bastila straightened out the Hawk’s path. The turret shots resumed and Bastila quietly reminded herself to never fly the Ebon Hawk again. This cast what Carth had done into a brand new light. I knew there was a reason I never fly the ship!
Oh really? I’ll have to remember to have you fly more often! She heard Revan say through the bond.
“Oh shut up!” she said aloud into the comlink. Looking into the ground scanner, she noticed a tiny blimp of light on the planetary map. A landing beacon? Checking the scanner again, she found it was still there.
“Sorry to spoil your fun Revan.” She said into the comlink “But I’m heading down to the planet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw a landing beacon on the sensors. It’s not much but it’s the only lead we’ve got!” She replied, piloting the Hawk away from the Sith cruiser and the fighters. The turrets had stopped and soon Revan was back in the cockpit, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. In front of the view screen, the clouds in the atmosphere blinded anything from the surface. And then, slowly, the surface came into sight.
“My…gods…” Was the only response her mind could muster. What had once been a beautiful sprawling city was now nothing more than a scrap pile. The only proud buildings now lay either smoldering or collapsed onto each other. What had once been streets now lay crumbled beyond recognition on the surface of the planet. And laying among the wreckage, were thousands upon thousands of bodies.
Insider her, Bastila wanted nothing more than to throw up any food that she had recently digested. How could any human do this….
“Malak’s dead Bastila. They’ve already been avenged.” Revan finally said, he himself turning his attention away from the ghastly sight. No-one could have stood the look of this, not even a Mandalorian. Spotting the landing beacon, Bastila slowly sat the ship down upon a partially destroyed landing structure. Behind her, Revan sighed in relief.
“Am I really that bad a pilot?” Bastila asked, turning and facing Revan with questioning eyes.
“No. No-one could possibly be worse than Mission was at flying the Hawk.”
************************
Covering the ship with parts of ruined buildings, the two Jedi Knights slowly began to work their way through the wreckage of what had once been one of the jewels of the Republic. No matter which way she looked, Bastila was confronted with either bodies or small fires that still burned beneath former apartment buildings, shops, & cantinas. Where once life had existed, there now lay only death.
Feeling danger echo through the Force, Bastila turned, igniting her lightsaber and being met with the face of a Rakghoul. With her blade emerging through the creature’s back, she gave the creature a look over, and quickly regretted it. It stared back at her with its half-human mutated face. Disengaging her Jedi weapon, she pushed the disgusting creature away with her boot.
“Rakghouls. Out of everything that could have survived, why did it need to be Rakghouls?” Revan said as he rushed to her side, his lightsaber hilt in his hands. In her mind, Bastila remembered the stories that Revan had told her of how he and the others had traversed the Undercity and had fought off dozens of these monsters. The cure that they had found had been a waste of effort to a city that had mere hours to live when they had delivered it.
“If these survived, wouldn’t that mean something else survived? I mean, what else could they feed on?”
“Each other.” Revan responded, kicking the animal’s corpse to make sure that it was indeed dead.
“That’s not very encouraging.” Bastila responded, closing her eyes and reaching out with the Force to make sure that no more of these monsters were lurking, waiting for the chance to make a meal of the two Jedi.
“It wasn’t supposed to be.” Revan said, moving ahead through some more wreckage. “Keep your eyes open, there could easily be a million of these things by now.”
“Overeager Question: Master, may you please point me in the direction of these animals, and allow me the pleasure of wiping out their species?” HK-47 asked, his blaster rifle being held lovingly in his hands. Rolling her eyes, Bastila walked a few feet to her right, wanting to put as much distance between her and the assassin droid as she could. Her feelings towards what she called “Revan’s plaything” were a combination of both fear and resentment. No matter what the situation, it always wanted to kill something.
“No HK. Stick close to me and Bastila. If something really gets out of hand, I’ll let you do all of the killing.”
“Disappointed Statement: Very well Master. I will stick close to you and the female meatbag.” HK responded, his photoreceptors dimming a little in a show of complete disappointment. Mumbling something under her breath, Bastila continued through the piles and piles of both wreckage and bodies. This was going to be a long trip, she just knew it.
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Malachor V, Trayus Academy

She was weak, and yet, she was more powerful than Sion could ever possibly hope to be. She had been a failure within the Jedi Order, and now, it was almost as if she sought to weaken the Sith from within themselves. And he was powerless to stop her.
He had been on this planet for close to a year now, waiting. Waiting for a challenge worthy of his power. And yet, Traya had refused to allow them to do anything. And so they waited, on Malachor, a planet rich with the Dark Side, waited for a challenge that he knew was out there. And now, he waited for that challenge to come to him.
He knew that she was watching him. Watching him for any sign of deception, any sign of betrayal. And he knew that she would try to dispose of him, in exactly the way that he had once tried to do with her.
And so he waited.
**********************************

Ruins of Taris System

“You’ve stopped. Is something wrong?” Bastila asked as she watched Revan stop walking. Turning to face her, he dropped his pack onto the ground below him.
“It’s getting dark. We should stop and set up some kind of camp.” He was right, the sky was rapidly turning black, and in every direction, it was starting to become impossible to see within a few feet. In the dark, any half-formed buildings began to look even more haunting than they did in the daylight.
“You’re right. Although I would have preferred to sleep on the ship.” She stated, sitting down on a crumpled piece of metal. Her feet were aching, although she did her best to ignore it. She had walked further than this in the past, and she would survive. Although this place did continue to bring back bad memories of her capture by the Black Vulkars.
“And the second we started up the ship, that Sith warship would have a positive location on us.”
“I understand that. I was simply stating my opinion!” Bastila responded, forcing her voice to retain its normal volume. “I’m…I’m sorry. I’m tired, and this planet seems completely devoid of the Force.”
“What do you mean ‘devoid of the Force?’”
“Reach out. There is nothing here besides us for the Force to inhabit.” It was silent between the two of them for a few moments, as Revan closed his eyes and reached out through his connection to the Force. Bastila was indeed right, he could sense nothing except himself and the woman standing across from him.
“Then you were right. There really is nothing here besides us and HK.” Revan said, walking over and sitting down beside Bastila. The temperature was dropping rapidly, a fact that did not go unnoticed by either of them.
“We really should get a fire started.” Across from them, HK-47 raised his arm.
“Query: Shall I use my flamethrower to start the fire that you desire?” He asked, his frame still visible despite the dim lighting.
“Yes HK. Go find something and then you can use your flamethrower to torch it.” Revan responded, wrapping his arm around Bastila. Her eyes were struggling to stay awake, but he remembered that she hadn’t sleep in the past two days. He himself was now starting to become aware of his own exhaustion. It had been a long day, and it wasn’t easy f or anyone to be surrounded by this much death. Someday this planet would recover, but it wasn’t going to happen within his life-time. Or Bastila’s for that matter.

She had fallen asleep by now, and he quietly removed his arm from around her. As he carefully laid her back onto the piece of metal, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. She smiled at the gesture, although Revan could sense that she was fast asleep. Even asleep, she was completely beautiful. Watching her for just a few seconds more, Revan quickly climbed up to a pile of metal that looked stable. He would take first watch, and then once HK came back, he would let the droid watch over both himself and Bastila.

The droid returned half an hour later, carrying a few pieces of burnable material, which it quickly went to work igniting with his flamethrower. Standing and warming his hands by the fire, Revan, looked up at the stars in the sky. Across the sky, the white objects littered themselves across each other, intersecting and sometimes appearing to have crossed.
“Query: Shall I begin my guard duty Master?” HK asked, his blaster rifle held in his hands. In the dark, the droid’s glowing photoreceptors gave it an aura of evil. To any being that found itself confronted with the droid in the dark, fear would run rampant through their mind.
“Yes, go ahead HK. If anything else even remotely moves out there, blast it first and ask questions later.”
“Satisfied Statement: Yes Master. Oh, this is going to be fun” The droid replied, shuffling off to a spot that most likely had a wide area of fire. Taking a few more moments to stare at the stars, Revan quietly laid down beside Bastila, and tried to get some sleep.

lol, thanks!

alex wrote:

pic says all

And here we go!
*********************
Chapter 5

Blaster rifle fire. That was all that was audible in the growing confusion. Shaking off a cloak from her body, Bastila quickly had her weapon in hand as she jumped to her feet. Revan was quickly following suite, although a tad slower than Bastila had been. The night sky was ablaze with illumination flares, although who was lighting them was unknown to the two of them.
“What’s going on?” Revan asked as HK quickly came into sight. The droid had splatters of blood over his body, no-doubt from someone who had been foolish enough to attack him. If his photoreceptors could have shown emotion, they would have been without a doubt filled with a combination of excitement and joy.
“Answer: It appears that a small Sith Force has landed in a clearing to the East of our current position. Mocking Statement: They were indeed foolish enough to think that they could easily take this unit out in quick time. “The droid replied, raising his blaster to fire a few more shots into the area behind him. A few cries were heard following suite, no doubt from one of the Sith that had been unfortunate enough to have met the droid’s blaster bolts.
“How did they find us?” Bastila questioned, looking up into the sky to see another ground transport gliding across the sky.
“Answer: It was most likely the fire that the Master ordered made.”
“What fire?” Bastila asked Revan, placing her hands on her hips in a display of Why wasn’t I told? that had been so common months ago.
“Nevermind the fire, we have to get somewhere safe. And fast.”
“Where? The whole planet’s a scrap-pile.” A few blaster bolts slammed into a piece of metal above her head as Bastila finished her sentence.
“Anywhere is better than where we are right now!” Revan shouted above the growing chaos of battle. Grabbing a few things out of the pack that he had been carrying earlier, Revan quickly rushed over to Bastila, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from where the fire was located.
“HK, keep them busy! We’ll contact you later!” Behind them, the droid gave a quick statement of agreement and quickly turned and opened fire in the darkness. A few shots quickly responded, although their sound and light diminished as Revan and Bastila quickly ducked underneath a partially destroyed building. The shots continued in the distance, and then, just as sudden as they had begun, stopped completely.
“Revan, I’m not enti-.” Bastila started before Revan pulled her close and placed a hand over her mouth.
“Quiet!”He said in a voice that was barely a whisper. Struggling momentarily against his hand, Bastila quickly gave up and remained motionless. The two of them lay completely silent, jammed in between two set of walls that had remained standing. They could hear the footsteps coming dangerously close to their position, and both of them knew the danger that could easily overtake them.
“There’s nothing out here Lieutenant! How do we know that they didn’t just enter the atmosphere and then enter hyperspace on the other end of the planet?” One of the Sith soldiers said, his voice showing a clear sign of annoyance.
“Then how do you explain the fire? Lord Malak left no-one alive when he razed this place. No, they didn’t leave. They must have set down somewhere and hidden their ship. Keep searching!”
As a search light hit a wall near them, the two Jedi Knights couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of fear. If they ignited their lightsabers and did battle, the rest of the troops would be alerted, and they clearly out-numbered them five-to-one. As the light quickly disappeared from the wall, Bastila silently let out a breath that she didn’t know she had been holding. Both of them waited in the dark until they were absolutely sure that it was safe to exit their hiding space.
“This is not my idea of fun.” Bastila stated as she returned to her feet. In the distance, the search lights of the Sith troops could still be seen faintly.
“Didn’t you already say that before?” Revan asked, taking his lightsaber hilt into his hand in case any other Sith troops in the area came close to them.
“You’re the one who keeps track of everything everyone says, you tell me.” Bastila retorted, a hint of sarcasm running through her voice.
“Whatever. We don’t have time for this, we’ve got to get somewhere safe, and fast.”
“And where exactly would that be.?” Revan stood there, frozen in silent meditation on the task that now lay before the two of them. There was no telling how many soldiers that the ship that lay in orbit above them would throw at them. And knowing how hard the Sith were going to be stretched for resources at the moment, that could mean any amount.
“I think we should split up, hide in different spots.”
“I see. Explain.” Bastila asked, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes.
“If, in the extreme unlikely hood that they find us, they would only capture one of us, and if that happens, the other can quickly get a rescue plan up and running.
“Agreed, and how does that blood-thirsty droid of yours factor into this?”
“I don’t know. HK knows how to handle himself, and if he goes down, again extremely unlikely, he’s going to take at least a hundred of them with him.” Behind them, a small pile of rubble fell over with a moderate clanging sound. Swiveling around to face the origin of the sound, Bastila found herself in the presence of a man dressed in a familiar set of black and silver armor.
“Sto—Stop right there!” He said, his voice uneasy and nervous, the obvious signs of a fresh recruit.
Quickly weighing the options in her mind, Bastila didn’t ignite her weapon and strike the boy down. Revan followed suite without a word.
“I’m warning you!” The soldier continued, raising his blaster rifle in front of him. His face behind the usual armor’s visor was nothing more than a color of black. And yet, Bastila knew that there was a face of fear behind it.
“You don’t want to use that weapon.” She said, waving her hand in front of her. The boy’s mind was nothing more than a scattered place of emotions and thoughts, all leading nowhere. She had convinced beings with stronger-willed minds, and this would go over easily.
“I…I don’t want to use this weapon.” The boy said, echoing Bastila’s words. He lowered the weapon quickly, and held it in a loose one-handed grip.
“You never saw us.”
“I never saw you.”
“You want to go back to your commander and report that you found nothing what so ever.
“I want to go back to the commander, and give him an empty report.”
“Move along.” Bastila said, watching in silence as the soldier quickly walked away from the two of them, his feet shifting uneasily in the rough terrain of the city. He showed no signs of noticing how quickly his mind had been changed, and he continued on his way.
“You make that look so easy. Remind me never to make you angry.” Revan said quietly, moving against the end of the wall to make sure the coast was clear. Behind him, Bastila grinned slightly.
“Trust me, if you ever really made me angry, you wouldn’t remember it.”
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Malachor V, Trayus Academy

The walls of the Trayus Academy seemed menacing due to the dim lighting that was present throughout the entire structure. Bodies lay around in various states of decay, reminders of the failures of both Sion and Nihilus previous failures. Failure’s that been brought to light by their master. Sion himself was surprised that Nihilus hadn’t fed himself on the bodies, considering how the Force was trapped here. Every day he was growing weaker, which he blamed on Traya’s teachings.
He hated her, oh how he hated her. How she treated him like a spoiled child, a child that she was trying to fix through a series of beatings. The damage in his eye had still refused to heal, for whatever meager amount that the Dark Side could heal. Even his Sith minions were growing terrified of him, he could feel it. They knew it was a death sentence to be called to his presence after a failed mission.
Behind him, the unmistakable sound of the True Sith language reached his ears. Traya’s other apprentice, the one she called the “Lord Of Hunger”, had approached him. Without reason.
“I did not summon you.” Sion replied calmly, not even bothering to face his fellow Sith Lord. The other’s response would be unclear to anyone who had not experienced speaking and understanding the language first hand. But Sion had, during the original Sith Wars.
Kresh da si Krosh ai
“Leave. Now.” Sion stated, pulling his lightsaber off of its clip. But he did not ignite it. His fellow Sith obeyed and left the room, his black robes flowing behind him. Around him, the walls of Malachor V closed in a little tighter.

***************************

Ruins Of Taris System

From the spot where she was hidden, Bastila could see the Sith landing parties were slowly pulling out, although she was sure that there would be some kind of permanent team that would stay on the planet, until something, alive or dead, was found.
Revan, they’re pulling out. What should we do? Bastila asked through the bond, still laying as low to the ground as she possibly could. Close to her, the dead body of a dead citizen lay, its eye open and staring at her. Doing her best to ignore it, Bastila closed her eyes and waited Revan’s response.
Stay where you are. Give them so more time. Revan responded, staying out of sight from anything. The mission was far from anything that both of them had expected. And, quietly of course, Bastila wished that something would finally go right for them. The dirt below her was almost completely mud, and she could rapidly feel it soaking into her new Jedi robes. The rain would occasionally fall down into her eyes, and now more than ever, she remembered why she disliked being in the rain.
Alright Was the only response that she offered and she quickly went back to hiding her presence from anything that would come within even meters of her. Her hair was completely undone from its usual form, and it dropped freely over her ears and the back of her neck. Due to the moisture in the air, it was almost completely soaked, and water now freely dripped down it and onto her face. Resisting the urge to move her hair back out of her face, Bastila continued to remain perfectly still.

Within a few more hours, the Sith troops had completely withdrawn from the planet, save for a small force that remained to continue the search. Although their numbers were greatly reduced, Revan knew that the troops who had stayed behind would either be volunteers or hand-picked troops. A worthy force, even for a veteran Republican Army battalion. He and Bastila would have to have some kind of plan for how they approached this one.
Bastila, stay where you are. I’m coming over He said silently through the bond, knowing that she would understand. Although no response was offered, Revan knew that she had received the message. Ducking and quickly moving behind large pieces of ruined buildings, Revan wished that he knew what had happened to HK. Looking down at his feet, he quickly found the answer.
The droid was deactivated, probably by its own choice. Checking over the droid’s body, he discovered that none of the main, essential systems had been damaged beyond repair. Within a few days, the droid would be completely repaired. Pulling the droid back behind the pile of the rubble that he was hiding behind, Revan quickly hid the droid and then continued on his way towards Bastila.

“Took you long enough.” Bastila whispered as Revan ducked into the small overhang of wreckage that she herself was hiding under. Quickly tying her hair back into a single pony-tail, she pulled her lightsaber into her hand. Not the same double-blade that she had used months ago, Revan had destroyed that one during their duel on the Star Forge. Instead, she had gone back to using the same single-bladed weapon that she had used during…when her strike team had captured Revan.
“What can I say, I like to take my time.” Bastila frowned slightly at the joke, and turned her attention to the Sith force that lay ahead of them. The rain was pouring down by now, and it soaked every inch of their skin.
“How are we going to get past them?” She asked, pulling her lightsaber off of its spot on her belt.
“I was thinking we could just take them head-on.”
“Bold.” Bastila said, as she stated up in the distance at the Sith Force. They were clearly gathered around something, although at this distance she couldn’t tell what it was.
“Well, that’s me” Revan replied, his own Jedi weapon in his hand. Parts of his long black hair clung to his face, and he pushed them out of his eyes.
“Fine. Shall you lead or should I?” Bastila asked, slowly pulling herself out of the wreckage that she had hidden under. Revan was already on his feet at her side, his face already prepared to block out the emotions of battle. Ahead of them, the Sith soldiers sat around a hologram emitter, no doubt receiving a message from their commander.
“I’ll do it.” Revan responded, as he and Bastila calmly began a walk towards their enemy. Stopping within a few feet of the soldiers, Revan picked up a small stone that lay at his feet. With a slight grin at Bastila, he tossed it at what would have been the base of the hologram. As the Sith troops raised their heads, they were met with the colors of Revan’s blue blade and Bastila’s yellow.
“Hello there! Thought we’d drop in, hope you don’t mind.” He said as the troops quickly jumped to their feet with their weapons in their hands. The first two raised their weapons to fire at Revan, but were quickly cut down by Bastila, who had jumped from behind Revan with her saber ablaze in her hands. Seeing their comrades cut down, the remaining troops fired at the yellow blade, the blaster bolts emitting bits of steam as the rain landed upon them in mid-flight. Neglecting to focus on the second Jedi, the Sith troops found themselves at the receiving ends of both blue and yellow blades. Within minutes, the battle was over, and upon shutting down their lightsabers, they found the entire area to be completely silent. An eerie, deathly silence that only a planet with no life upon it could produce.

********************
Sith Command Ship, Orbit Above Taris

“What do you mean, you found nothing?!” Captain Mowcan asked, the very last of his patience fading away. He had been stuck in this system for the past four months, obeying Malak’s orders to ‘guard’ the system. And yet, there was nothing more than madness behind this assignment. Every single day, he prayed for a communication from high-command, a notice that he would be re-assigned. And yet, every single day, there was nothing.
“We mean that there is nothing here. By our new estimations, they must have entered hyperspace on the far side of the planet.”
“No lieutenant, we have picked up no sign of any ship entering hyperspace. They are still there on the surface.” A small amount of interference interrupted the communications, and then slowly, the sounds of battle were heard echoing through the bridge.
“What’s going on down there?” Mowcan said, turning towards the head technician on the bridge.
“There’s nothing wrong with the communications, something must be interrupting the video feed.” And then, suddenly as it had begun, the video interference ended and the sight of two humans wielding lightsabers was seen, just as the two of them cut down more of the troops planet-side. He recognized one of the two beings, the young Jedi Bastila Shan. Wanted by Lord Malak for her gift in Battle Meditation. The one that should have been killed in the bombardment of Taris.
“Tech Officer?” Mowcan said, turning from his view of the hologram.
“Yes sir?”
“Tell Colonel Tresy to prepare all of the available troops. If my gut is right, those two Jedi are our way out of here.”

***************************

MOAR! doing great emp!

New chapter will be up in a couple days (Probably Wednesday)

Managed to get the final editing done quicker than i originally thought....
**********************************
Chapter 6

The rain was still pouring down hours later, turning every single inch of dirt between wreckage into mud. Continuing forward, Revan and Bastila found themselves fighting the elements at every turn. All around them, the ruins of Taris sat in silence. The planet was truly dead, Malak had made sure of that.
“Up here.” Revan said, jumping up into a small opening in the side of a remarkably intact building. Joining him, Bastila was thankful to be out of the rain. Every single inch of her skin was dripping wet, and she hoped that her hair would air-dry quickly enough.
“I’m surprised that this building survived the bombardment.” She said, ringing out part of her wet hair. Revan had laid himself against the wall, most likely thankful to finally be off his feet.
“I’m more thankful that surprised.” Revan responded, his eyes half-asleep. Bastila shared the same expression, although she found it easier to stay awake than Revan did. Reaching out through the bond, she found his mind to be hazy, an obvious side-effect of his lack of sleep. Doing her best to assure him that it was alright to sleep, Bastila watched him quickly give in to the demands of sleep.
He was peaceful while he was sleeping, a fact which Bastila hadn’t neglected to notice. Taking a few moments to take in the sight of him, she slowly sat down on the opposite wall and quickly took off her boots. Flipping them upside down, Bastila watched with distaste as a combination of mud and water fell out of them and onto the floor. Laying them on the ground beside her, she laid her own head back against the wall and closed her eyes.
This mission had gone so completely off-track that there were times that even Bastila didn’t remember why they had been sent here. It had been a foolish choice to come back here and search for survivors. Anyone could see that this planet was dead, and would most likely never support life again. At least never on the grand-scale that it had previously been. Even though that grand-scale city had suffered from a dark underbelly the size of Coruscant.
And yet, she had kept searching. Hoping, praying for someone to be alive down here. Inside Revan’s heart, she knew that the desire to find someone had been greater, for just the simple fact that he believed that it was he who had created the creature that had been Darth Malak. In someone ways, Bastila agreed with that line of thinking, but she always kept the thought buried in the dark recesses of her mind, where not even Revan could go.
Feeling the tug at the back of her mind, Bastila knew that she would have to sleep sometime. With the steady patter of the rain outside the building providing a steady rhythm, she fell into a deep sleep, a tune that her mother had once hummed to her when she had been a child came ringing into her ears. Remembering the melody of the tune, Bastila finally gave in, and let her sleep deprived body win.
****************************

Watching them fall asleep, Igear couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. No doubt that Gendar would be pleased to know that their message had indeed gotten through to someone. And yet, he couldn’t resist the urge to see if these sleeping humans had anything worth stealing. Surely he could sell it back to them at a later date. And that would bring him some credits when they got off world.
Slowly sneaking over to where the woman was sleeping, Igear eyed the belt that she was wearing. No doubt there were numerous gadgets and pieces of technology that would come in hand later on. Reaching his hand down to the belt, his mind was full of nothing but concentration.
“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you.” The man said, his own arm grapping Igear’s arm in a quick, swift motion. Fear lighting his eyes, Igear fought frantically to free his limb from the man’s grip. It was useless gesture, and he stopped as the woman’s eyes fluttered awake.
“He-hey let me go! I wasn’t gonna hurt nobody!” He said, staring at the two humans with frightful eyes.
“What’s going on Revan?” The woman said, her hand falling down to a cylinder shaped object that rested on her belt.
“Nothing. I just caught this thief trying to steal something off of you.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed it is.”
“Lo-Look, let me go. I wasn’t gonna hurt no-one! I was just looking for supplies for the rest of my people. They’re starving and….hey wait! I remember you! You passed through the village a couple days before the bombing started!” Igear said, recognizing the male as a Republic soldier that had bought some of his inventory when he still resided in the Outcast village.
“Refresh my memory a little more.” Revan responded, letting go of Igear’s arm but keeping a hand on his lightsaber hilt. He was amazed to find someone alive on the planet, and yet was a little discouraged to find that they had resorted to outright thievery.
“I was part of the Outcasts from the Undercity. You passed through the village with someone in an orange jacket. You defeated the Rakghouls outside the gate to the village, and then we never saw you come back.”
“And what exactly did you do in the village?” Bastila asked, stepping into the conversation after remaining mostly silent.
“I-I ran a small shop, you know, selling some useful items to passers-through.”
“Igear?” Revan said, a steam of recognition running through his mind. He remembered this man, one of the poor souls that had been banished to the Undercity for ‘crimes’ that the rich claimed that they had committed. He felt a small amount of pity for those men and women still.
“Yeah! Now you remember!”
“I also remember that you were plotting to overthrow Gendar.”
“Yeah, well…..Look, that’s the past. You….you came back here right? You’ve got a ship?”
“No, we survived the Upper City collapsing.” Bastila said in a sarcastic tone. By now, she had pulled her boots back onto her feet, finding that they had dried completely. She felt renewed after her short amount of sleep, and at the fact that they had finally found someone alive.
“How could anyone…..oh I see. A joke.” Igear responded, laughing in a nervous manner after he had finished. He was frightful of something….something that Bastila couldn’t sense anywhere in the man’s mind. He was hiding something…
“Enough, we’re wasting time. Igear, can you take us to the village?” Revan asked, finally removing his hand from his lightsaber. Not as a symbol of trust, but as a symbol of meaning no harm. In his mind, he knew there was something wrong with this. Something very wrong…
“Yeah, sure. Just follow me. Gendar’s gonna be happy to finally see someone who can get us off the planet.” Walking down a hidden set of stairs, Igear walked a few paces ahead of Revan and Bastila. He could feel them staring into his back, waiting for any sign of a threat. As none arose, they dropped their alertness slightly, but they still keep their hands within reach of the lightsabers on their belts.
Did you sense it? Bastila asked, speaking through their bond. She was still exhausted, although it wasn’t as bad as it had been a few hours earlier. What the two of them needed was a vacation away from everything, and that thought ran through Revan’s mind at a furious pace.
Yes. Something’s….wrong. Like someone’s behind some-kind of black curtain. Revan responded, looking at her in silent agreement.
Stay on your guard. He heard Bastila say, ending the conversation. Both of them continued walking down the staircase that Igear had insisted that they take. Outside, the rain was still coming down at full force, and neither of them looked forward to going back out into the wet weather. Slipping out of his tunic, Revan wrapped it around Bastila’s shoulders.
Revan, I will be perfectly fine walking in the rain without a tunic. I’ve done it before! Bastila echoed through the bond, pulling the hood of the tunic up anyway. She knew there was no point in arguing with him, his stubbornness would kick in, and it would be impossible to win anything against him.
Yeah, And after that walk on Manaan, you were sick and miserable for weeks on-end.
The conversation ended with that.
******************************

The Outcast village was now in a more depressing state than it had been in its original state. Most of the villagers that had survived the Sith bombardment had found their world to have been in even worse shape than it had been after the Tarisian Civil War.
“Igear, you’ve returned, and in the company of friends.” Gendar said, watching as the merchant emerged back into the village with his two humans, one male and the other female. Across the village, whispers and gasps were heard, an obvious sign of amazement. Were these the people who had received their message?
Gendar recognized the male as one of many who had passed through the old village before the planet’s surface had been destroyed. How they had survived the bombardment was the one question that swirled through his mind.
“Hello Gendar.” Revan said, extending his hand in greetings. The rain had stopped now, and both his and Bastila’s bodies had dried in a some-what crude fashion. The lingering feeling that both of them had sensed earlier hadn’t disappeared, and it still remained stuck in their thoughts.
“Ah, yes. I remember you. The stranger who wanted information on those escape pods.”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Revan responded as Gendar finished shaking his hand. Almost all of the villager’s clothing had obviously seen better days. How anyone could have survived living like this, let alone for years, on this planet, was a complete mystery to both Revan and Bastila. Bastila herself couldn’t even wrap the thought around her mind.
“Oh, thank the gods you’ve come!” Someone behind them screamed, one of the villagers. Revan turned in time to watch one of the women throw herself at Bastila’s feet. Looking down at her, Bastila felt a mixture of pity and horror. The woman’s face was stained by tears, and she was sobbing something unintelligible into Bastila’s boot. Kneeling down, Bastila pulled the woman’s face away from her boot, and looked her in the eyes.
“Are…” The woman started before Bastila interrupted her.
“Yes, we are here to take you away.” Bastila said, letting the woman cry into her shoulder.
“Is it true then?” Gendar asked, turning his attention away from the scene before him.
“As my companion explained, we are here to take you and your people away.”
“Who sent you? Or message couldn’t have gotten very far off-world.”
“The Jedi Council on Dantooine. They told us that a ship passing through the area picked it up.” Revan responded, being somewhat eager to leave this planet.
“Yes, a ship that I made contact with!” Igear said, raising a blaster and aiming it at Revan’s back Letting go of the woman in front of her, Bastila ignited her lightsaber. As Revan turned to face his soon-to-be attacker, he wasn’t surprised that the feeling of mysteriousness had vanished from the Force, and that only a small fragment of it still remained.
“What’s the meaning of this??!!” Gendar said, his very presence inspiring a feeling of power even though he lacked a weapon of any-kind. Igear wheeled around and fired a shot into the man’s chest. As Gendar fell back to the ground, a few in the crowd screamed in horror, and backed away. The situation was rapidly growing worse every second, a fact that was not lost on either Revan or Bastila.
“I’m taking over, that’s what’s happening!” Igear said, rapidly re-aiming his blaster at Revan. Bastila hadn’t moved, but her lightsaber still remained raised in her hand. Seeing an engaged lightsaber, most of the crowd backed away to a safe distance.
“And what makes you think you can possibly take over? Why would these people even want to follow you?” Revan asked, his hands remaining at his sides. He made no motion to grab his lightsaber, and he kept his eyes trained on Igear. The man’s blaster was shaking slightly, an obvious sign of repressed nervousness.
“Simple. I’ve had contact with the Sith vessel that now lays in our atmosphere. They should be here to take us away any minute now.”
“You’ve contacted the Sith? You’re a fool!” Bastila said, twisting her lightsaber in her hands.
“Think what you will, but I’m the hero, not either of you!”
“You’ve lost your mind.” Revan stated, finally taking his lightsaber into his hands. As the blue-blade emerged, the red-color of blaster fire filled the air. Meeting the blasts with her lightsaber, Bastila watched as the bolts were deflected back towards their origin. As Igear hit the ground, he groaned slightly, and then slowly, Revan and Bastila felt all traces of life leave his body.
This mission had just gone from out-of-control to nothing less of a disaster.

And ladies and gentlemen, this is the last chapter of Part 1. Part 2 is being written as i write this here, so look for it probably next week. Enjoy finding out how Revan and Bastila finally leave Taris behind!
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Chapter 7

Ruins Of Taris System

Watching silently from one of the surrounding buildings, Revan silently counted numbers as more and more Sith troops poured out of their landing shuttles. So far he had counted close to fifty, and the shuttles gave no sign of stopping. This just isn’t our day.
That’s what you said on Manaan. Bastila responded, sitting beside him and counting numbers herself. Upon Revan’s instructions, she had hidden almost all of the villagers safely away from the site of the Sith landing site. No matter what Igear’s intentions had been, his choice of bringing the Sith into this had simply complicated matters even more.
Because both of us getting arrested over an explosion that wasn’t our fault , REALLY isn’t our day. Revan responded, turning his attention away from the shuttles to look Bastila in her eyes, those silver eyes that he had come to love so much. Both Bastila and himself were covered in a combination of smoke, mud, and sweat, which had the unforeseen advantage of creating a natural camouflage of some-sorts. Even with that advantage, he would be glad once they were back on the Ebon Hawk, with its warm refresher system.
What is it? Bastila asked, noticing that Revan was staring at her, as she often found him doing. More than a few times, she found herself tempted to glare back at him, just to give him a taste of his own kolto.
There’s always the chance we might never come out of this Revan responded, his thoughts giving off a feeling of actual fear. Momentarily at a loss for words, Bastila didn’t respond, choosing instead to stare back at him. Over the entire course of her life, she had never let in the fact that there was always the chance that each mission could easily lead to an early death. But now…blast it, he was right.
And there’s always the chance that we will get out of it. Which would you rather have? Bastila asked, taking Revan’s hand into her hers.
The one that ends with me and you walking out of here alive Revan responded, pulling her closer to him. Her body was cold, without a doubt a side effect of what both of them had been through over the course of the past few days. And yet, there was no feeling of cold in their bond, the feelings that both of them shared emitting a warm feeling of love.
We will. We’ve been through worse situations before.
Kashyyyk doesn’t count. We were forced into that situation
And yet, you still led us into a pack of kinrath. Bastila retorted, crossing her arms as best she could between the two of them. Outside, the rapidly fading daylight was lit ablaze with illumination flares. Turning their attention back towards the shuttles, Revan and Bastila found themselves standing before a Sith force of at least a hundred troops. With their blasters held close to their chests, they were heading towards the building.
“Check that building! They’re probably hiding in there!” They heard the troop’s commander say, his voice audible over the growing noise of the troops entering the building.
Shall we? Revan asked, taking his lightsaber into his hand.
Let’s Was Bastila’s response, her own Jedi weapon in her hands. Beneath them, the sounds of boots marching up stairs reached their ears. As the door to the room began wobbling on its hinges, the two Jedi activated their weapons and waited.
*******************************

A few echoes of blaster fire, and the sound of bodies falling to the floor was all that was heard coming from the building. And then, there was nothing but silence.
“Corporal, report!” The commander yelled, turning his attention towards the communications expert beside him. Hearing the static from the comlink, he knew something was wrong. His answer came with the sound of a helmet rolling out of the building and coming to a stop at his feet. Raising his head, he never saw the yellow-blade until it was too late to stop it.
As he hit the ground, the world around him turned to black.
*******************************

Ducking underneath rapid blasts of blaster-fire, Bastila brought her saber up just in time to block a soldier’s vibro-blade as it came crashing down towards her head. Around her, she relied on the Force to guide her motions. In her hands, her saber had become nothing more than a blur in her hands. Off to her right, she could sense Revan through their bond, fighting off a small group of troops armed with a combination of vibro-blade and blaster rifles. Knowing that he was in complete control of the situation, Bastila let Revan finish off his opponents.
“You stupid Jedi schutta!” Someone yelled behind her. Spinning around, Bastila found herself face-to-chest with a Sith trooper. Bringing her saber up to block the piece of lead-pipe that the trooper was wielding in absence of a vibro-blade, Bastila watched as the trooper was sent spiraling back a few feet, eventually coming to a stop atop of pile of wreckage. Letting a small grin grace her face, Bastila rapidly turned her attention back to Revan. He had defeated most of the troops that had been near him, and he was now rapidly deflecting a few stray blaster bolts that came flying out from behind the shuttles.
I think we’ve got this under a some-what degree of controlShe said through the bond, standing back-to-back with Revan now, her lightsaber still lit in her hands. Deflecting a few shots that had come flying in, focusing on her, Bastila found herself breathing heavily with exhaustion. The battle had been going on for longer than her mind had registered. She had been so focused on staying alive that everything else around her, save for Revan, had been yielded unimportant.
I would say so. Although if HK was still active, this would have been wrapped up within minutes. Revan responded, sweat start to roll down his face.
You and your blasted plaything Was Bastila’s response at she continued to hold her saber in a defensive stance. The Sith troops had learned quickly that they weren’t going to defeat the both of them in hand-to-hand combat, and with this information in mind, the troops had retreated behind the cover of the shuttles.
Yeah, well that “plaything” has saved us a couple of times.
I’m not denying that. All I’m saying is that there are times you pay more attention to that machine than you do me.
Ah, so it’s nothing more than jealousy? Revan asked, using the Force to fling back a thermal detonator that had sprung into the air in front of him. Watching it explode on-top of one of the shuttle’s wings, Revan grabbed Bastila by the waist and threw them onto the ground, both of their sabers deactivating in the process. As bits and pieces of wreckage and shrapnel rained down on them, Bastila found the need to ask ‘why’ disappear.
“Hands up Jedi!” One of the troops said, standing above them with his blaster rifle aimed at their heads. Shoving a large pieces of shrapnel off of his legs, Revan slowly returned to his feet, helping Bastila in the process. More of the troops were slowly approaching behind the one who now stood before them. Looking at Bastila, he noticed a small amount of fear in her eyes. Grabbing her hand, Revan smiled slightly at her. Bastila didn’t return it.
“You know, after what you’ve unleashed on my men, I don’t think you’re even worth the effort of transporting you to the Captain.” The soldier said, wearing a insignia of rank on his shoulder. Charging up his blaster, he chucked a bit under his breath. “I think I’ll just kill you here and save my men another chore.”
Closing her eyes, Bastila waited for the blast to hit her, shredding any inch of life in her body away from her. She had watched her old master do the same, although his death had been from old age. She had wanted to cry over him, but had kept her emotions in check. Now, she didn’t care who was here to see it. As a small stream of tears fell down her cheek, the soldier aimed his blaster rifle.
He never got the chance to pull the trigger, his own body erupting in a flash of light and sound. Opening her eyes, Bastila found the ground laying in the shadow of something overhead. Raising her head, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief as she looked upon the Ebon Hawk’s hull. As the other troops aimed and fired at the ship, the auto-turrets that lay underneath the cockpit returned fire, with more precision that any training in a boot camp could offer.
“T3!” Revan shouted, smiling as the droid beeped an affirmative response in the comlink that Revan had forgotten he had been carrying. Seeing the loading ramp opening, Revan looked at the woman standing next to him. He knew that he had to get the villagers on-board, and landing the ship now was too much of a risk.
“Bastila, get on the ship.” He said calmly, as if he was saying hello to an old friend that he had just spotted in some local cantina. She looked at him, her eyes tinted with a questioning gaze.
“What?” She asked, ducking as a blaster bolt zoomed over-head. The Hawk responded by hurling a volley of blaster fire back at the source. Hearing a yell, Bastila knew that the bolts had met their target. The ship continued to hover overhead, maintaining a steady distance from the ground.
“Get on the ship, I’m going back for the villagers. I’ll lead them over here, and I’ll lift them up to you.”
“But…” Bastila started before Revan held a finger up to interrupt her.
“If one of us gets killed, I’d rather it be me than you.” He said, a stem of pure emotion circling through his eyes. Looking into those eyes, Bastila sighed, and frowned back at him.
“I hate it when you’re right in doing something so foolish.”
“It’s a dangerous life, but someone’s got to live it.” Revan responded, kissing her on the lips before stepping away from her as she looked at him one last time before she jumped up onto the hovering ship. Looking down at him, she saw him gave her a quick salute before making back to the building where Bastila had told the villagers to hide until the Sith troops were defeated.
The remaining Sith troops continued to fire at the Ebon Hawk, most of their shots ricocheting off the hull. T3 continued to hold the ship at a steady height, occasionally turning it slightly to return fire at the enemy troops. Staying in a crouched position on the loading ramp, Bastila let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Across the wreckage, Revan emerged with one or two villagers in tow. Upon seeing him, the Sith troops began to re-direct their fire at Revan, who in turn activated his saber and deflected the shots back towards their originators.
“T3, get the ship steady!” Bastila yelled into the ship, a slight wind kicking up part of her hair. As the two villagers reached the area underneath the ramp, Bastila lowered her arm down to them in order to help pull them up as Revan continued to deflect shots amongst T3’s response fire. Pulling the last villager on-board, Bastila watched for a moment as they ran into the garage area of the ship before she turned back to Revan.
“How many more?” She yelled down to him, her voice straining to be heard over the sounds of battle.
“Only ten more!” he responded before turning and running back to the building. Sighing, Bastila wished that they had never returned to this planet.
***************************

With the last of the outcasts on-board, Bastila moved back as Revan jumped up onto the loading ramp. Smiling slightly at her, Revan lead the rush to the cockpit as the loading ramp closed behind himself and Bastila. The only thing left to do was get out of the system.
Passing the security room, Bastila noticed the orange-colored shell of HK-47. She let the sight slip out of her mind. Her mind and body were still full of adrenaline from the battle, and she felt out of place as she slid into the co-pilot’s seat.
“Alright, let’s get out here!” Revan said, maneuvering the ship into the atmosphere once again. As the storm clouds began to disappear from sight, another and equally unsettling sight came into view.
“Good to know that our friends didn’t get up and leave us.” Revan said, although the joke lacked any emotion. Already inserting the hyperspace coordinates into the galaxy map, Bastila felt her mind slowly beginning to slow down from the adrenaline rush. Her entire body felt sore and cold, the cold most likely due to the wet, filthy clothes that clung to her body.
“We should be able to enter hyperspace in less than a minute.” She said, quickly returning to her seat as a few ion cannon blasts began zooming past the cockpit. Revan threw the ship into a sharp turn, nearly causing Bastila to fall out of her seat. Quickly picking herself up off the floor, she gave a quick, silent glare at Revan before strapping herself into the seat. The cold that she had started feeling earlier was much stronger now, and she hoped that she wouldn’t come down with anything.
The Sith Battle Cruiser was moving swiftly into an indicator course, and Bastila silently wished that the hyperdrive would finish its calculations. Less than five seconds after the thought had crossed her mind, the small button beneath the galaxy map glowed blue, signaling that it was ready. Revan noticed it, and swung the ship away from the cruiser, and towards open space. Pushing down on the lever, Bastila watched as the stars became lines, and the ship exploded into hyperspace.
She sighed in relief, and leaned back into the seat. Revan did the same, rubbing the sweat off of his face with the back of his palm. Both of them were exhausted, and it showed in their body actions and their expressions. Behind them T3 beeped a question about what to do with the villagers.
“Just put them in the cargo hold.” Bastila replied without even raising her head. Her mind was screaming out for sleep, and a warm trip to the refresher, along with a change of clothes. Bastila herself was longing to return to Dantooine, just for the peace and quiet that the planet offered. Both of them could use that.
“Don’t look at me T3, you heard what she said.” Revan said, turning his head to look at the droid that had remained in the doorway, despite what Bastila had said. The droid still had trouble accepting that Bastila was now one of his owners, and he still completely followed Revan. HK was the same way, although Bastila wasn’t even sure if you wanted that murderous droid to follow her instructions.
The droid beeped an affirmative and quickly rolled out of the cockpit towards where the villagers had gathered. Over-hearing some of their conversations, both Revan and Bastila couldn’t help but let smiles creep onto their faces. Although the mission had gone completely wrong, they still had helped save the lives of a people who were now some of the only survivors of their race. The Tarisian people were now scattered, their planet all but destroyed, and their very way of life changed.
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Bastila asked, un-tying her hair from the pony-tail that it had been hastily arranged into. Looking up at her, Revan could feel nothing but love emanating from her.
“Go to bed. For a week.”
“Sounds good.” Bastila responded, a devilish smile etched on her face.
“I meant going to bed and sleeping.”
“Wanna bet that we will?”