The Revenant Saga - Chapter 4 - The Edge of Eternal Night

The last of the Sith starfighters exploded in a puff of noxious blue gases and debris. Even as the twin-linked blaster cannons whined out their power-down and their supercoolers kicked in to high gear, Raven was swinging out of the seat and headed for the crew center. Suddenly, the Hawk lurched hard to port beneath his feet, causing him to momentarily lose his balance. As the craft continued to pitch and roll erratically, Raven knew something was horribly wrong indeed.

Damn it, I know I didn't let us get hit hard enough to punch through the shields! Raven swore fluently enough in a dozen languages to blister even Misson's streetwise ears as he stumbled and bumbled towards the cockpit of the Hawk. 'Carth!' Raven roared over the sounds of the equipment and crew banging and jostling against the bulkheads. 'What the hell is going on up there?' He heard Carth's reply even as he finally arrived in the cockpit.

'We've hit some kind of disruptor field, and I've got massive overloads in all systems! There's only one planet in this system, and I'm going to try and set us down on it. You'd better strap in -- this could be a rough landing.' After several moments, when Raven still hadn't moved, Carth whirled around to face his companion with a look of consternation creasing his handsome features. 'Hey Raven -- I know you're nearly immortal and all, but shouldn't you at least have a seat for this?' Raven didn't even look at him before responding in a voice that might have easily belonged to a corpse for all its warmth and expression.

'There's nowhere to strap in up here where I can see what's happening, Carth.'

'What are you talking about? Drop your butt in that navigator's seat, soldier - and pronto!'

'That's Bastila's seat, Carth...' Raven answered tonelessly. 'So if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather stand.' Raven's voice was as flat and cold as glacial ice, and his face might as well have been carved from the same for all the expression it showed in that moment. Carth tried for several moments to think of any way to respond or lighten Raven's mood, but he knew it was hopeless. This disruptor field was a delay between Raven and Bastila, and he knew beyond any doubt Raven would think of nothing else than how to solve the latest challenge until this obstacle was overcome.

Juhani watched Raven askance as they wandered up the long, sloping ramp that led to the temple's roof. He'd been nearly a machine since the crash-landing here. Not the discovery of a lost alien race, the extermination of one tribe of that race at Raven's hands, nor having to convince the priests of that race that despite betraying them five years ago he was trustworthy in this very temple now had so much as slowed him a step. As she hustled along behind him, the fear she had felt upon awakening from the vision she had shared with Jolee resurged slightly. For what was likely the fiftieth time in the past hour, she begged the Force to let it have been a vision of a future that could be, not of a future that was. Seeing the look of consternation on Jolee's wizened face, she was fairly certain he'd been doing the same thing. She'd been watching Raven for dark side taint, but as far as she could tell, despite being a positive whirlwind of destruction mowing though Rakata, Mandalorians, and rancors alike he had not again slipped since the Academy. Not that he'd been pulling strongly from the light, but at the least he seemed to not be in imminent danger of falling again. That was particularly good, she mused, because after watching him slice a pack of 4 rancors into tiny giblets before she or Jolee could even get their sabers ignited, she was absolutely positive that despite her declared intent to the others of standing against him if he should fall again she knew she wouldn't even slow him down. She shivered inwardly, remembering that one Dark Jedi that had so proudly declared that he had intensified his training 'tenfold' in hopes of getting to face Revan. Raven had simply smirked and replied 'How sad for you.' - then blurred into motion and killed the Dark Jedi with a single stroke. No feeling, no emotion, just mechanical efficiency. She sighed and shook her head trying to clear it. Still, just because she had no hope of succeeding at stopping him didn't mean she wasn't required to try. This whole damned mission had no hope of succeeding when we set out anyway. And yet he's found a way despite everything. Could any other of us have done the same? Her thoughts were interrupted by the hissing of the door at the top of the ramp, opening to a sunlit courtyard she knew all too well from last night's vision. She clenched her lightsaber hilts until her knuckles were white, and focusing exclusively on Raven followed him onto the roof.

As Raven stepped out into what looked like it had once been a large gathering area, he could feel the sense of foreboding that had been looming over him since the crash intensifying with every step. Even as he fought down a tide of irrational worries, he couldn't help but continue to place one foot in front of the other - almost like a marionette pulled along by unseen strings, moving mindlessly out into the sunlight on the temple's roof. He'd felt like that since arriving here - like a power outside himself was pulling him headfirst towards an unseen something - and he didn't like the feeling of being out of control one bit. Jolee and Juhani scurried along behind him, both concerned with how detached their erstwhile leader was behaving, but neither willing to intrude on his continuing silence.

Then, he saw her.

Bastila stood under a ruined arch, standing in deep shadow but clearly posed in her exasperated hand-on-hip stance she used when she was annoyed with something. His heart pounded wildly and his brain flashed from thought to thought like a hummingbird on stims as he walked towards his beloved across the roof. He was less than 5 meters away from her when he realized two things... he wasn't elated like he would have expected to be when he saw her again, and his custom double-saber had somehow appeared in his hand as he approached. Then, in one silent but resounding instant, she resolved both quandaries by stepping into the sun and igniting the red blades of her double-saber. As she did so, the light of the harsh sun revealed the black cloth of her new robes. Raven's heart had nearly stopped as the first words he'd heard from his ashke in nearly a week and a half spilled over her beautiful lips, twisted into an evil smirk.

'Revan -- I knew you'd come for me. Malak thought you might be afraid to enter the temple again, but he doesn't know you like I do. Not anymore. Not since you've changed.' The world started to swirl and blur around the edges of Raven's vision as he listened to the words and that name -- his name. The volume of raw power that name still held was surprising. Then more words cut through him, this time starting from the almost-forgotten Juhani that stood behind him.

'Quickly, Bastila -- come with us! We have to escape before Malak arrives!'

If it were possible, Bastila's smirk grew even more beautiful and more venomous at the same time as she responded. 'Escape? You don't understand. I have sworn allegiance to Lord Malak and the Sith; I am no longer a pawn of the Jedi Council.' Shock brought Raven back to reality for a moment, giving him a few seconds' focus during which he managed to find and stutter forth a few feeble words.

'A pawn of the Jedi Council? What are you talking about?' Raven's mind was adrift again already, spinning wildly out of control repeating the same, self-destructive mantra over and over again: What has Malak done to you? How deeply have I failed? Bastila spoke again, her voice dripping resentment and anger as she continued.

'Surely you know what I mean, Revan. Look at what the Council did to you; they turned you into their puppet - the same thing they do to all who are truly strong in the Force. They speak of the dark side as if it is something to be feared; but in reality their only goal is to manipulate those who are strong in the Force. The fear of the dark side is a tool to maintain control. Why do you think the Jedi forbid you and Malak from joining the Mandalorian Wars? They knew you would realize your true potential and break free of their domination. Malak has shown me how the Jedi Council have been using me the same way they once tried to use you. They've been holding me back because they knew one day I would surpass them all.'

Raven's world was contracting again, the edges of his vision spiraling away so that it appeared to him that all the rest of the world was lost in a fog, and that nothing else was real or solid except he and Bastila. For once, his silvered tongue and razor wit were failing him utterly. Feeling like he had to say something, he managed to gasp out: 'It's not too late, Bastila! No matter what they - What He did to you, you can still turn away from the dark side!' Her tone frosted over with ice as she rejoindered.

'Oh, I resisted at first. I endured the Sith torments with the passionless serenity of a true Jedi, emptying my mind. But after a week of endless tortures I finally saw the truth.' Raven flinched at those words as if they'd struck him a physical blow. 'Malak forced me to acknowledge my anger and pain. He showed me the liberating power of these emotions. Then he made me see how the Jedi Council has denied me what is mine by right! The Jedi Council gladly used my battle meditation in their wars, but they still treated me like a child -- like an inferior. They were jealous of my power . . . of what I could become! The wanted me to bow and call them Master and follow their Code and obey their every order. But all the while they were exploiting my Battle Meditation for their own use!'

Raven could barely feel as words tumbled from his numb lips, words he knew deep inside were futile, but he had to say them anyway. 'Don't do this, Bastila! Fight it! I'll help you!'

Her muscles tensed visibly and her face contorted into a mask of roiling anger as she spat her next words at him: 'You are a sad little fool. You speak as if I were the same Bastila that you've known all along. But freed from the control of the Jedi Council I've become much, much more. I almost wish you could see things as I do now. I wish you could join me and taste true power once again. Sadly, I doubt you are even capable any longer. With the power of the Star Forge Malak will destroy the Republic and conquer the galaxy. And I will be the apprentice at his side -- after I prove my worth by killing you!'

The world slammed back into focus as Raven's mind acknowledged the raising of her lightsaber. As it had so many times before, time slowed to a crawl around him as his mind at last found purchase and spun up to its full capacity. Even as his double-saber began to ignite, he registered Jolee and Juhani also igniting their own sabers and sensed that they were primed for combat -- lethal combat. Without thought, he roared a single word, 'NO!' and with that word unleashed a directed Force Wave at his two companions, flinging them both hard against the stone parapets at the edges of the temple, knocking them both senseless as he confronted Bastila alone. Concentrating for all he was worth, he parried each strike of her red saber, never attacking back, only defending himself. As he did so, he started trying to work her attacks around into one of the patterns they had used over and over again during the hours of training and practice they two had shared, trying to bring her into something familiar, some reflex of who she had been before. Seconds seemed like eternities, but his plan worked, as she began to execute the most complicated of the training routines -- one that during the time they'd sparred together he'd never had a counter for. High right, low left, uppercut right, underhand left, each was met with the perfect placement of his blades. He blocked the spinning backhand right, then the reverse stab left, letting her force his blade more and more into a vertical alignment. They continued this deadly dance for many more strokes until she had forced his blade into a fully vertical alignment, limbs angled awkwardly from the constantly reversing parries. He saw her vicious smirk evolve into a teeth-baring snarl as she started into the final blow, a whistling crossing shot that would split his torso and his saber right in two. He allowed himself a quiet smile as he executed the counter he had devised. As her blade whistled in, he whirled impossibly quickly in the direction of her swing, rotating around the flashing blade even as he stepped back out of range and then in again, letting her swing rush through and leaving the impression that he'd simply blurred out of existence around her blade. In the same motion, he used the full force of his whirlwind spin to bring his blade in behind her own, using their combined momentum to disarm her neatly and sending her own blade flying away through the air over that arch to land somewhere in the courtyard beyond. As he disengaged his own blades, a Force Wave from Bastila summarily blasted him from his feet; but even as he recovered his balance he saw that the look on her face was rapidly melting from rage to annoyance, annoyance to admiration, and then admiration became tinged with lust. Seeing the last, Raven almost forgot how to breathe as she began to speak, her words now silken smooth and dripping with butter and honey as much as they had with venom before.

'You are stronger than I would have thought possible, after what the Jedi Council did to you. Seems that Malak was wrong -- the power of the dark side is not lost to you after all, Revan.'

'Don't call me that!' Raven snapped, finding some strength from his frustration. 'I'm not Revan anymore. I'm Raven Skywalker now, and in case you missed it I wasn't using the dark side.'

Her voice dropped a note or two more, soothing and purring more powerfully than it had been grating just moments before. 'You can deny what you are, Revan, but you are only fooling yourself. I know the truth. I have seen the shadows inside your mind. Remember: I was there when you nearly died in the trap set by the Jedi Council. I used the Force to preserve your life, Revan. We are forever linked by my actions on that bridge!'

Raven tried for one of his charismatic smiles, but it was obvious his heart wasn't in it. 'We are linked by more than just a bond, Bastila.'

As suddenly as it had sweetened, her voice again grew jagged and laced with anger and resentment. 'Do not mistake the power of the Force for Love, Revan. It does not exist. Power is what forged our bond, and power is what made us both tools of the Jedi Council! The Council tried to exploit the bond between us. They hoped I would draw out your memories to lead them to the Star Forge. We were slaves to their will -- like all who follow the Jedi Code!' Her voice lowered again, entreating and inviting. 'But in our shared visions of the Star Maps I also felt the so-called taint within you. I resisted it at first, but now I embrace the power of the dark side -- your dark side!'

Cold despair started to creep into Raven's heart as he heard those words. 5 If his Bastila no longer believed in Love, then everything he'd fought for, everything he'd done until then had been wasted. The world faded from his vision again as hope faded from his heart. 'What are you saying, Bastila?'

'You deserve to be the true Master of the Sith, not Malak. I see this now. Together we can destroy your old apprentice. Join with me and reclaim your lost identity!'

Raven's mind reeled, spun entirely off its axis by the words. He could feel almost as a second entity in his own head the consciousness of Revan rising from the darkness where it had been banished to pay closer attention to her words. Never having intended to speak, he heard words coming from his mouth regardless of his will. 'How can I reclaim my identity if I can't even remember it?' The words had a plaintive, wistful tone to them, obviously seeking stability somewhere in the spinning darkness. Bastila's voice was all sugar and silk, full of adoring sympathy when she next spoke.

'Your mind was too badly damaged to ever fully restore your memories, Revan. But your power, your strength of will, the essence of who and what you are: these things still remain! Once long ago you defied the Jedi Council, freeing yourself from their control. You claimed your rightful title of Dark Lord of the Sith. Together we can defeat Malak and take back what is yours!'

Raven's vision narrowed now to a single point -- only Bastila's face still registered in his eyes just as nothing but her voice registered in his mind. His soul felt so lost, so adrift. He'd fought so hard, come so far, only to find that the one reward he wanted from the universe had been taken from him. Desperately, his mind cast about for some reason, any reason, not to throw away the burdens of nobility and honor he carried and give in to this. I could at least be with her... what do I owe the rest of them anyway? Haven't they all lied to me? I was their puppet! The Council knew, they used Bastila to guide me along on a leash and forced her to silence as well. Gods, loving me -- if she did -- must have been killing her knowing who I once was. Is there any reason not to do this? Why would I do anything else? She's all I wanted, all I asked for in this life, and everyone... even the Force itself has abandoned and betrayed me now. He slowly looked Bastila in the eyes, the depths of anguish in his soul plain to see. His voice barely a whisper, he posed a plaintive question in the hopeful tones of a child asking a parent to make the world all better after a trauma: 'How do I know you won't betray me?'

Bastila's face, tone, and posture all showed very clearly everything that she implied with her answer. 'I need deny my passions no longer, Revan. I would stand by your side gladly, as your lover and apprentice! I swore allegiance to Malak only because I thought you had lost the power you once wielded. But this . . . this would be much better. I would be utterly yours, Master! Together we could destroy Malak and you could reclaim the mantle of Dark Lord!'

Raven felt as if he'd been suddenly set adrift in space. It felt as if he and Bastila were alone with nothing solid around them, facing each other across a few feet of Void, with galaxies swirling around them and no anchor to anything but each other as they stood frozen in one eternal second. His brain screamed defiance, desperately flailing around for any reason to not succumb to this temptation as a drowning man would for anything solid to save him. Instead of improving the situation though, his spinning mind conjured images that were not at all helpful.

He was standing with her at the bridge of a massive Interdictor cruiser, leading a fleet that blotted out the stars.

Bastila was on her knees before him in a private suite, wearing an outfit that covered almost nothing -- a V of dark grey fabric that ran over her full breasts, then barely covering her nether regions, narrowing to a thong and straps in the back. A collar of the same material was around her neck, and a decorative but serviceable chain led from the collar to a ring on his belt. She was his toy and plaything now, all her pride and arrogance reserved for the rest of the world. Even though she was still the Ice Queen of the Sith to everyone else, in private He alone was Master of this exquisite creature, and so utterly dominating her fire and pride was a salve to him in his darkness. She was his prize, tamed and broken as retribution for the defiance that had led them here. If he could not have her love as an equal, he would own her flesh as her Master - and own her he had, for every long night since claiming her. Her eyes simmered with unbridled servile lust as she spoke, hearing the thoughts he had never spoken: 'Use me however you want me, Master.'

With one word, he knew all these things could be true. With one simple word, he would have ultimate power in the galaxy, rule an Empire, and have the woman of his limitless fantasies as his personal slave - mind, body, and soul. He could go from being a pawn in this game of galactic conquest to King, with his invincible Dark Queen on a chain at his beck and call. What other choice was there? Could he do or say anything else? His lungs were screaming, his mind was reeling, and he had no idea when he'd last remembered to breathe. He couldn't give himself any motivation to refuse her, and it appeared his mighty will had at last abandoned him to his fate. Slowly, inexorably, he opened his mouth to speak.

And his mind gave him two final visions.

Carth, alone on his knees cradling his beautiful black-haired wife, crying out for medics that would never come. Raven watched as Morgana reached out with the last of her strength to wipe away one tear and give Carth a last radiant smile as she died in his arms.

Back in the private suite, Bastila was reaching for Raven, preparing to serve him. Her left hand was surrounded in radiant white light that drew his eyes. As he looked, the vision narrowed again and again, until only the hand was visible. Raven knew there was something wrong with that hand, but he couldn't quite register it though the haze of anguish in his soul. The white light pulsed around one finger and he finally understood. - There was no ring on the wedding finger -- he'd never even given her the ring. She still didn't believe in Love. The woman before him was not his Bastila-ashke, but a broken and twisted creature utterly ruined by Darth Malak. This was not his vision -- neither his dreams nor how he wanted her. This was the temptation of the dark side.

Time started again for Raven with a lurch as he landed with jarring abruptness back in his body on the temple roof. Air rushed into his lungs as his right hand reflexively clutched over his heart, feeling the pouch with the two rings in it still firmly in place there, their Force energies still pulsing faintly in time with his own heart. Then, slowly, the beats separated into two distinct rhythms, and he knew that her ring was now matching the beat of her heart. Emboldened by this concrete sign that he was on the right path, his expression transformed from despair to defiance, and he held his head high and spoke firmly.

'No, I . . . don't want you like this. I want the woman I knew.'

Bastila's expectant and lustful smile vanished, replaced for a spilt second with uncertainty before settling on petulant anger. 'You are a pathetic fool, Revan! Together we could have defeated Malak and ruled over an Empire, but now I will be at Lord Malak's side instead! You will be crushed with the Republic and all the fools who bow down to the Jedi Council! No one can stand against the power of the Star Forge and the Sith fleet!' She turned and sprinted for her small ship. As she did so, Raven sensed Jolee and Juhani trying to sprint forward from where they were and stop her from escaping. With the last dregs of his will, Raven sealed the archway with a wall of impenetrable Force energy before sinking to his knees in utter exhaustion of mind and spirit. Through his tear-blurred vision, he saw her ship blast off for the Star Forge, and he knew he didn't have long to indulge his mind in recuperating. As he started to stand, he noticed the shimmering spirit of Shaeela standing next to him, surrounded with soft, soothing white radiance as before. She smiled sadly at him, and then spoke into his mind, her tone rich with relief.

:For a moment or two there, I thought you were so far gone you'd never hear me! That was a difficult trial indeed, Raven Skywalker, and one yet remains for you still.: Her voice was still angel-sweet, and its tones washed away his overbearing grief like cool water cleansing a wound, leaving only the simmering fury underneath. :You have turned the most dangerous corner, Raven. Now you must hurry - Your lady awaits you.:

Raven looked her right in the eyes as he responded. :The most dangerous corner? So what precisely, do I do with this towering rage then? How do I keep from falling to the dark side when all I can feel is hate, all I can desire is retribution against Malak for what he's done to her?:

:Retribution is not all you desire, Raven -- you still hope to save her or you would not ask the question. As for your answer - ask the Force, Raven. Surely by now you know that the Masters of the Council are not the only one that can hear its voice.: She smiled gently and calmly at him as she continued. :You have been given the opportunity to learn in life that which I only learned in death -- take advantage of that.:

Taking her literally, Raven opened up a mind-channel with an open end -- so as best he could tell, it was leading straight into the Force. Once he was sure of the connection, he screamed mentally out into the emptiness of the Force. :So what do I do, then? Surely when someone we love is hurt, we are allowed to feel pain? From that pain naturally comes anger. Is there no force of the light that understands this? Is there nothing the light can do with this justified fury when we are so wronged? Is there no vengeance for the light?:

Silence.

Then, without warning his wordless answer flowed into him like a tidal wave of power, filling him with the strength of righteous fury through every molecule of his being. Shaeela simply smiled as Raven nearly cried out as the Force perfected his energy channels and cleansed his mind of all remaining taint. As the infusion finished, she spoke once again quietly into his mind.

:Wrath, Raven. The Wrath of the Guardian -- an aspect of the Force not successfully used in an age. The Force is not heartless and it does not abandon the wronged to their misery, but this power is dangerous. Stray but a little, and darkness may yet consume you. Use it wisely, and only when you must.:

:How is it that no one even on the Council knows about this?: Raven asked her, still marveling at the renewing power that was coursing through him, polishing away his flaws like a jeweler's tool finishing an exquisite diamond. Shaeela smiled like a patient instructor explaining something to an overly-inquisitive student as she responded.

:Maybe because much like myself before you, people are usually not coherent enough to ask at a time when its use would be justified.:

Raven had the decency to blush slightly at her words as he responded. :Thank you, Shaeela -- no matter what else happens, I'll never forget you.:

Leaning in, she embraced him, and her spirit seemed to meld into his body, balancing him and grounding him back in his immediate surroundings again. Ignoring the pointed looks from his companions, he dismissed the Force barrier and followed his own consciously forgotten footsteps from those five long years ago to the console to shut down the disruptor field.

Jolee was the one to break the tense silence at last. 'Swirling Force, indeed. I was right - this is a damn sight better than Andor's destiny.'

'Do you think he'll ever remember to apologize to us for blasting us like that?' Juhani queried, a look of mixed annoyance and wonder on her feline features.

'I wouldn't count on it, dearie.'

Without further word, he helped Juhani to her feet just in time to begin following Raven back in the direction of the Ebon Hawk.