Descent (The Redemption Saga: Part I)

This story is inspired by the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic owned completely by Bioware and Lucasarts, and by the Star Wars universe of George Lucas. This is the official legal disclaimer/ mumbo jumbo!

The Redemption Saga

Part I: Descent

A swirl of darkness. His eyes could not focus. Where was he? He could not remember what had happened. He struggled to move, but he was bound somehow.

As he looked around to scan his surroundings, he saw movement in the darkness. There was no form to make out, just the sense that something had passed. His eyes slowly acclimated to the dark. From the shadows, a swath of black flowing robes appeared. The figure approached, and a hood lifted up to look at him...

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The sun was moving toward the horizon on the small planet. Streaks of clouds dotted the sky as it moved to a pink hue in the dusk. The fields were starting to dry, turning the vegetation a dull yellow. Past the fields and a tree-lined stream were some low-lying hills. Beyond the gap in the hills, a snow-dotted mountain rose above the plain, the green brush contrasted against the white.

As the sun started to set, a new flame showed up in the sky. It became brighter as it plunged toward the plain. Dropping lower, it was a freighter struggling to control its descent, its engines flaming and tracing a new smoke trail across the atmosphere.

Three men in the cockpit shook with the ship as it fell from space. The pilot fought with the controls, but the left engine bank and stabilizers had been damaged. 'Hang on you two! I can't keep the Hawk up, I'm going to try and set her down in that plain.'

The older man swore bitterly. 'Those Sithspawn cowards had to hide in that asteroid field in order to get to us. They don't have the heart for true battle with us. They don't have the honor!'

'Nice words, but they got us nonetheless. Just hang on, and maybe we can give them something to think about on the surface.'

No words were spoken by the third man. He was concentrating as best he could, trying to focus on the the falling frieghter. In his mind he saw the ship begin to straighten out. As the surface approached, the ship stabilized enough that the pilot could have better control.

The freighter shuddered as it lost altitude. The pilot managed an angle toward the ground that didn't shatter the ship, but carved a gash into the field instead. The craft creaked for several minutes as it recovered from the impact. The hatch opened after a while, and the trio scrambled out of the ship. The older Mandalorian and younger man in brown robes helped the pilot along, his orange flight jacket torn from the collision, and his leg dragging behind him, as they made for the cover of the woods.

Just as they reached the edge of the trees, laser fire flashed out at them from the darkness. An ambush! The pilot yelled for his partners to run for cover, and he hobbled forward a couple of steps before the stun bolts found their mark. The impact of the bolts knocked him off of his bum leg, and he dropped to the cold, hard ground, his blaster still firing.

The Mandalorian cursed and charged his assailants. His body also jerked from the force of the stun energy, but his strength and fury carried him into the woods, breaking heads of the mercenaries with his blaster rifle swinging wildly back and forth. However, his rage could not keep the effects of the stun energy at bay, and he fell to his knees, struggling to keep his consciousness. One of the bloodied recipients of a rifle blow gladly knocked the large man over the back of his head, and he slumped down.

The young man crouched and assessed the strength of his attackers in a moment, and then flashed forward with an unnatural speed. His wrist flicked to his belt, and a green blade of energy leapt from the handle. He was better able to dodge the energy blasts, and deflect others with his lightsaber. The young Jedi sent some attackers flying into trees with the power of the Force, broken bodies falling through the branches. He started to advance on the ambush force, when he was confronted by a short, pale man with dark robes and a crooked smile.

'It is good to see you again, Revan, even if you are much different from the last time we met.' Even though there was a smile on his face, his voice seethed.

The Jedi approached the man warily. 'I was once Revan, true, but I am also known as Jairon. And I must confess, you have me at a disadvantage. I don't recall your name.'

The man just chuckled. 'I know, but that will soon be remedied...' At this, the woods exploded in light and sound. Generators and amplifiers were placed all along the edges of the grove, and the sudden clash of screeching sounds and blinding lights confused Jairon for a moment, causing him to cover his eyes to focus with the Force.

His focus came a second too late, for his disorientation allowed stun bolts from all around find their mark. His body spun around with the energy blasts. Even then, his strength of mind kept him from succumbing so easily. But his defense was weakened enough to allow the stranger to draw life essence from him through the Dark Side of the Force. Jairon groaned and his body convulsed, before the combined effect dropped him to the ground. Finally, the mercenaries were able to rush in and place energy dampening restraints on the men. The captives were then dragged upstream.

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Jolee guided Mission's hand, gently training her in the delicate moves required to perfect this craft. HK-47 was standing nearby, and if the droid could have an amused expression on his metal face, he would.

'Patience, young one! The Republic wasn't built in a day. You can't rush these types of things. You have to feel it, let it move through you and guide you. Besides, it's a great way to express yourself.'

Mission fidgeted away from the old Jedi. 'Give me some space, Grandpa. I thought this was supposed to be my painting!'

Jolee's face scrunched up as he regarded this child. 'Now don't get your head tails in a twirl, girl! I just want to show you how art can help you express emotions you don't even know you had. Maybe it can help you continue to deal with your feelings about Taris. Bet you didn't know this old Kath hound had any talent, huh? Noooo, in a rush to save the galaxy, can't even stop into an old man's hut! Well... maybe it wasn't that great. I mean, how many paintings of gigantic trees can one do. Err... what were we talking about?'

The Twi'lek just grinned at the old coot. He meant well, he was just gruff in getting there. It did seem that painting people that she knew on Taris helped her cope. She wished she had the dexterity of the Jedi is all. No one from Taris would probably recognize these pictures.

The droid had had enough of watching this pointless activity. 'Observation: The picture could be greatly improved by adding some realistic touches. There is not nearly enough blood in this scene.'

Mission and Jolee both looked at the droid with raised eyebrows. 'A homicidal art critic,' huffed the old man. 'Revan should have taken HK with him. He should know by now how bored this droid gets. If we make it without another incident, we'll be lucky.'

'Oh yeah, the one at the diplomat reception where HK started...'

Bastila walked by obviously flustered, distracting their concern over the droid. 'Or if we make it without her pacing driving us crazy! She needs to stop with her constant worrying. I thought Jedi weren't supposed to worry and succumb to such mortal emotions,' Mission wondered.

Bastila turned back at that. 'You're right Mission. A Jedi shouldn't worry. But we should have heard from them by now. They were just on a simple scouting mission to check on reports of ship activity in that sector. There wasn't supposed to be any engagement.'

Jolee turned, 'You know Canderous. He probably talked them into some suicide surprise attack. Anyway, the boys may just be releasing a little steam before getting back to the grind.'

She shook her head. 'It's more than that. I feel a tremor in the Force. Our bond seems to be strained. I don't know why it would be doing that. I just have a bad feeling about this.'

Jolee grinned. 'That's what they all say kiddo. However, I'm glad to see you using your feelings a little more than suppressing them. Revan is being awfully patient in letting you deal with the aftermath of the Star Forge. He seems pretty devoted right now, but you can't count on him forever.'

'I know, I know. It's been so hard getting back on track. Finding myself after turning to the Dark Side is hard enough.'

She thought about the turmoil she had gone through. The shame of appearing before the council. The relief over being restored as a Jedi Knight. The passing looks and whispered comments of other Jedi who judged her without knowing what she had gone through. Her thoughts then turned to Jairon, and the joy he brought her by being steadfast by her side. She knew that for everything she had experienced, it had seemed like he had been through it double.

Revan, the hero of the Mandalorian Wars. Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, destroyer of worlds. Jairon Tyndale, translator and scout accompanying a routine mission. Jairon the Padawan, thrown into the heart of the Jedi Civil War with a ragtag collection of soldiers, Jedi, and droids. All of a sudden, back to Revan reborn, back in the light. Tempted by Bastila herself to go back to the Dark Side. The conqueror of Darth Malak and savior of the galaxy.

'You know how conflicted he is over his situation. One day he's Revan, the next day it's Jairon. He's trying to decide whether to reconcile his old life, or press forward with a new one. I almost feel guilty for putting him through all this. I can't imagine how hard it is to find his identity after losing his previous life, and being given a completely new one. His situation has been more unstable than a Tatooine sand dune.'

Mission piped in, 'His devotion to you has been the one constant, Bastila.'

She nodded sadly. 'That's why I feel so bad. He has given himself to me, but I haven't known how to respond. But something is not right here. I won't wait here for bad news. I've just managed to requisition a pilot and a ship, with a fighter escort. Who will come with me?'

Jolee nodded, and Mission jumped up. 'I'll go get Big Z. I know he'll be ready to go. It's not like he has to get dressed or anything.'

The droid seemed to flicker with excitement. 'Projection: This has much more potential for action over my present surroundings. We must deal with whatever meatbag is messing with my master.'

Bastila rolled her eyes at the droid. Whoever he decided to be, the former Sith Lord sure managed to draw together the eclectic crowd. She didn't know why she felt so... driven to find him. But she couldn't deny her feelings any more, and she would find him, as he had found her at the temple and on the Star Forge.

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The underground cavern hummed with energy. Artificial light filtered through the cave, bathing everything in an eerie glow. One small side grotto held two tables with Canderous and Carth on them. Both men had arms outstretched, restrained by energy bands on their wrists and ankles. Neural dampeners were across their foreheads, keeping them out of consciousness. The only signs of life they showed was their slowly raising chests and the twitching of REM under their eyelids.

The deepest part of the cavern had been segmented with energy panels to create a private holding area for the guest of honor. The dark warrior moved around the unconscious Jedi, who was placed in a contraption that looked like a captain's chair with numerous unknown accessories. A tri-pronged device mounted on an adjustable arm was above the former Dark Lord. This instrument drew most of the Sith's attention, until his prisoner finally stirred.

'Welcome, Lord Revan. It is no use fighting your restraints. There is a series of neural dampeners in this cave that we designed for rogue Sith at the academy. We've managed to augment them to the point where you may be able to sense the Force, but you will not be able to break out of here. Don't worry, once we're done, you won't be going anywhere.'

Jairon fought through the haze and tried to identify his persecutor. He just couldn't pull that spiteful sneer out of his long-lost memory. 'You don't scare me, just so you know. The torture you can do here can't compare to what I've been through.'

The man laughed at this. 'That would be funny if you had any idea. I should enjoy this while I can.'

'Who are you, and where are my companions? If you've hurt them, you won't be enjoying anything anymore.'

'Temper, temper Revan. Don't worry about them, you'll be able to deal with them soon enough. In the proper fashion fitting your status. As for me, I was one of the scientists at the Sith Academy. Dr. Zeire at your service. Do you remember yet? No? Well, I know we have the cowards on the Jedi Council to thank for that. Better to subvert your will and use you against us, or they would have had no chance to defeat Lord Malak.'

He tried to filter Zeire through his memory. He only had phantoms of images in his head. Nothing to help him understand this adversary. The Sith had been trying to recover from their defeat at the Sith academy on Korriban and the Star Forge, but they had lost many of their promising students and the leadership of the academy. The remnants of the Sith fleet were keeping the Republic busy trying to track them down. That is how he came to be in this uncharted system, to follow up rumors of Sith activity. They had chased many false leads, but he ruefully thought this one was definitely accurate.

Zeire continued, 'When we found out the Council brought you back as their stooge, Malak wanted to ensure that the same could never happen to him, or at least make it reversible. Since I had already been researching the way the mind changes physically under the influence of the Dark or Light side of the Force, it fell to me to devise the protection he sought.'

Jairon strained to clearly make out this madman in the bright lights shining down on him. His face was round, and the lights brought out the pale skin. He had scarring on his neck, just above the neckline of his black robes. He seemed to fit the picture of a Sith scientist. Those types usually had a harder time taking the warrior track, but their ruthlessness and intelligence made up for any lack of battle strength. He couldn't imagine what Zeire could have found that would pose him any problem. But he was trying to reach out with the Force to free his bonds, move equipment, or find his comrades, and he definitely had the feeling that his connection was blunted. He could sense things dully, but not enough to influence anything. He was stuck for now.

Another Sith approached his captor and handed him a datapad. 'The moisture vaporizers are in place as you ordered sir.'

Zeire checked the readouts to make sure everything was prepared. 'Yes, that will do fine. That will give us the cover we need to proceed undisturbed.' He handed the pad back and the soldier retreated to another part of the cavern.

The scientist muttered to himself as he inputted the parameters into the computerized arm above Jairon. 'You see Revan, neuronal patterns change when under influence of the Force. We've been able to predict the ways the Dark Side influence brain function, and we've seen different changes in Light Side lackeys. Interesting, but not very useful, eh? However, we've had enough Jedi fall to the Dark Side we've been able to detect the residue of Light Side effect in their frontal cortex, even under the Dark Side.'

'I think you'll find me a different case. The neural damage caused by Malak was the best thing he could've done for me, because I don't remember my previous life at all Zeire,' Jairon said defiantly.

'Mm-hmm. We'll just see about that, won't we? You will be a challenge to my design. But I think Malak would be most pleased with the results, if you hadn't interfered. Many just thought Malak becoming Lord was the proof he was superior, but I knew you had the tactical and leadership abilities to crush the Republic and establish a New Order. So this, I believe, has worked out for the best. Destiny has brought you full circle now, my lord.'

Jairon closed his eyes and focused his mind to his meditation. He was wary, but confident that the doctor was just trying to instill fear into him. The arm above him was starting to vibrate with energy building up in it. He didn't know what kind of torture he was in for, but he had peace. He had been through too much for mere pain to sway him. He wished briefly he could share his heart with Bastila one more time, but he knew he needed his focus here right now.

Zeire finished his final calculations and positioned the prongs a few inches above the Jedi's head. 'I'm afraid our test subjects have rated this horribly painful, but the pain is not our end here. Goodbye Jairon. When you are through, I will be here to greet our Dark Lord Revan once again.'

Blue energy began to flicker at the end of each prong. Then enough power built up that miniature lightning arced between the three prongs. Jairon's eyes shot open, then shut tight as spasms shook his body. His back arched forward, and every cell in his body seemed flooded with a dark force, as if his very being was becoming black. His mouth opened with a silent scream, as darkness swirled around him...

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