Knights of the Old Republic: Dark Forces, Chapter Six

KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC

DARK FORCES

CHAPTER SIX

Admiral Onasi stood by the window in his apartment, looking over the sprawling Citadel Station. He smiled at the sight. Telos had been scarred for too long, had suffered beneath a fate it did not deserve. But that was beginning to change. The Station had been, so far, a success. Czerka had been forcefully evicted by the Telosian Council, a new contract with Sleyheyron assured the station a ready supply of fuel and the Sith Fleet that had so recently appeared in their skies had been destroyed. And Carth had been informed by the council that they intended to create an advance colony in one of the restoration zones. All in all, Carth thought to himself, not a bad state of affairs.

'Do not become complacent Carth.' Bastila Shan said quietly. Carth turned around and to look at the Jedi sitting on the floor, legs crossed and eyes closed. 'There is always another to task to be completed, another threat to face.'

'Have I ever told you you're a joy to be around?' Carth said lightly. 'It's that cheery, optimistic Jedi attitude you have that just lights up the room.'

'The Jedi have little to be optimistic about.' Bastila murmured. Carth could hear the pain and sadness in her voice. She had never shown any open emotion in front of him; she didn't have to. Carth could see it in her eyes. He wished he hadn't said anything.

He turned back to the window, his own face looking back at him. Gray hairs clustered at his temple and small wrinkles were forming in the corners of his eyes. The eyes were the worst, Carth thought to himself. Drained and tired, the deep brown seemed almost diluted from a combination of long hours and stiff drinks. Despite Bastila saying it made him more attractive to women (and Carth suspected she had been toying with him on that score) he saw it as the unmistakable signs of age. His admiral's uniform was the only thing about him that looked new and despite that he longed for his old orange flight jacket. Carth felt a painful lump rise in his throat and swallowed hard. He could not allow himself to think about it. He turned his attention back to Bastila who had returned to her meditation.

'Can you sense him?' Carth asked dully.

'No.' Bastila said, opening her eyes; grey eyes that seemed far older than the woman that owned them. Despite that, time had treated her better than Carth. She had hardly changed since the first time he had met her on the Endar Spire.

'Nothing?' Carth asked again.

'No.' She replied, getting up off the floor and gliding to a nearby chair. 'It has not changed. The bond is still blocked; due to the darkside or to Revan, I cannot say.'

Carth let out a sigh. 'Is he still alive?'

'Yes, he's alive.' Bastila said. 'If he were to die, I would know it.'

Silence fell between them. Bastila stared blankly at the floor, as if in another world. Carth also let his thoughts wander; Wherever Revan was, so was the person Carth cared for the most...

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

Carth settled down at his desk, a glass of Telosian Ale in one hand and a report on the progress of Citadel Station in the other. The memo had something to do with proposals to begin restoring the planet; a herd of Ithorians seemed to be the most highly recommended but truth be told Carth wasn't really paying attention. He had only just moved in to the half built Citadel Station; he had a nagging suspicion that his was the only completed apartment in the entire facility.

A sudden buzzing sound issued from the com system and, grateful for an excuse to stop reading the report, Carth answered quickly.

'Yeah?'

'Admiral Onasi, Jedi Knight Revan and your son are here to see you.' A cool voice stated.

'Dustil and Revan?' Carth repeated with surprise. 'Send straight in.'

Almost immediately Dustil and Revan strode in to the office. Carth grabbed Dustil in a one arm hug and let out a burst of laughter. Revan hung behind, a small smile playing on his face.

'What are you doing here?' Carth asked gleefully, pulling away from Dustil finally. 'I thought you were on Coruscant?'

'We were.' Dustil murmured, sinking into a nearby chair. 'But... I've got some good news.'

He glanced slightly at Revan before proceeding. 'Revan has judged me ready to take the trials.'

Carth looked was silent for a moment before letting out a burst of laughter. 'That's fantastic!' He exclaimed, while Revan nodded his approval. Dustil shifted in his seat slightly before smiling in return. Carth pulled out another two glasses and poured out a generous helping of ale into them. Revan readily took his glass off the table, while Dustil was a little more hesitant.

'Congratulations Dustil.' Carth said with a smile, and raising his glass. 'May you be a better Jedi than your master over there.'

Revan nodded in mock agreement and Dustil took a deep drink. Carth tipped back his head and drowned his glass.

'I shall face the trial on Kashyyyk.' Dustil said. 'And I probably won't see you for a while, so I wanted to say goodbye.'

Carth looked at him for a moment, a plan formulating in the back of his mind. He turned around and slipped his orange flight jacket of the back of the chair and held it out to Dustil. 'Take this with you.' He said simply.

Dustil's eyes widened in shock before taking the jacket gently from his father.

'It was getting too tight for me anyway.' Carth said causally as Dustil pulled on the jacket. 'It's been with me through some pretty tough scrapes. I've come to see it as a bit of a good luck charm. Hopefully it will be as lucky for you.'

Dustil hesitated before simply saying 'Thanks Dad.'

'With that,' Revan said smoothly, moving toward the pair of them, his long Jedi cloak sweeping behind him. 'I think we should get ready to leave. I need to have a private word with your father if you don't mind Dustil.'

'Okay.' Dustil said quietly. He looked up at his father. 'Thanks Dad... for everything.'

Carth pulled his son into a rough bear hug. 'I'm very proud of the man you've become Dustil.' He said huskily. 'Good luck. I'll see you when you get back.'

Dustil hesitated again, as if he wanted to say something more but instead jerked his head forward. He turned on his heel and strode from the room.

'You've raised a good kid.' Revan said, glancing at Carth who was still staring after his son. 'He's going to make a great Jedi Master. We need people like him to take the Jedi forward.'

'Is he going to be okay?' Carth asked worriedly. 'With the trials I mean?'

'Stop being such an old woman.' Revan said casually, slumping down into Carth's chair. 'He's gonna be fine. I'll take care of him.'

'Thanks.' Carth said. He straightened himself slightly before peering across his own desk at Revan. 'So what did you want to talk to me about?'

'I just need to give you some instructions... encase I get killed.'

'You're a bundle of laughs.' Carth said sarcastically.

'I'm serious Carth.' Revan said, reviewing him solemnly. 'Kashyyyk is a dangerous place. If I get killed, I need to know that you'll do all you can to help the Republic rebuild.'

'Of course.' Carth murmured, seeing the seriousness in Revan's tired face.

'First of all, you can't retire.' Revan went on, hardly noticing that Carth had said anything. 'They're going to need you if the Republic is going to stay strong. Secondly, Telos is going to be important to the Republic. You need to keep things progressing here. You can't let anything jeopardise it. You're also going to need a more stable supply of fuel to keep Citadel in orbit. I'd suggest the asteroid field of Peragus.'

'Peragus?' Carth repeated dimly. 'They tried drilling their about 40 years ago; half the planet exploded.'

'You can drill the asteroids.' Revan said quickly. 'They've had a few decades to cool off so they should be safe to extract fuel from. Believe me you're going to need that fuel.'

Carth was surprised at how serious Revan seemed to be. He had assumed it had only been his extreme caution but... something seemed wrong.

'Revan, is everything okay-?'

'The most important thing,' Revan said loudly, drowning out Carth. 'Is that you keep the Republic strong. I need you to promise you'll do that Carth. Promise me.'

Carth looked into his grey eyes and felt a chill run down his back. 'I-I promise.'

Revan nodded slowly. 'Good.' He stood up suddenly and swept out to the door. 'I have to go. There are things that I must see to.'

'Revan!' Carth called out as he approached the door. 'Are you alright? You look exhausted.'

Revan was silent, his back facing Carth. 'I haven't been sleeping.' He said quietly, without turning around.

'Have more of your memories returned?' Carth asked insightfully.

'I have to go.' He said shortly, before disappearing out the door.

'Tell Dustil goodbye!' Carth called after him. 'Tell him I said good luck!'

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

Carth's anger at Revan was only overcome by his concern for Dustil. He knew now that they'd intended to leave permanently. The sad look in Dustil's eyes and the strange hints from Revan only made sense when they did not return. He had assumed Revan was being overly cautious when he had given him orders if he shouldn't return but he was giving him orders for the future. Revan had left him a message in Dustil's apartment, telling him everything. He hated Revan for not telling him what was going on, for leaving him behind. But he hated him more for taking his son with him. The two had spent so little time together; a few hasty months was all and it had not been enough. They had only just scratched the surface of their complicated relationship.

A loud ringing interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the communication console doggedly. It seemed somehow strange to him.

'Carth?' Bastila said loudly, breaking through his thoughts. 'You're going to want to answer that. Believe me.'

'Yeah.' He said, shaking his head roughly. He tapped the answer button. 'Admiral Onasi.'

'Admiral, there's a visitor for you. He was quite insistent-'

'I don't want to see anyone now.' Carth murmured, thinking with dread that a visiting admiral wanted to pay their respects. 'Can you-'

'I'm sorry sir but he's already gone up. I couldn't stop him.'

Almost on cue the Jedi Exile stormed through the door, looking decidedly battle stained and weary. 'Admiral.' He said with a curt nod. 'Forgive me for the intrusion, but I'm running on a tight schedule at the moment.'

'Shall I have security sent up admiral?' The assistant asked with concern.

'That's won't be necessary.' Carth murmured, ending the call.

'I told you that you'd want to take it.' Bastila said with a smile.

The Exile gave her a polite smile. 'Bastila.' He said, inclining his head. 'You're as beautiful as I remember.'

'You haven't changed much either...Tragon.'

A small shadow passed over the Exile's face, but was gone in an instant. "Oh believe me I've changed." The Exile replied quietly. "More than I thought possible."

"I believe you wanted to speak to me." Carth cut across. The darkness that had briefly crossed his face was an expression he had seen on another Jedi. It was an look Carth did not like.

"Yes," The Exile said, taking a seat. "Firstly Malachor V has been destroyed, the Sith threat along with it."

Carth blinked. "What?" He stammered eventually. "You did what?"

"I reactivated the Mass Shadow Generator." The Exile said calmly. "Truth be told I had little choice in the matter. The decision was more or less taken out of my hands." He pulled a datapad from under his robes and passed it across to Carth. 'This recording was taken from a droid in my service. It should explain how events unfolded.'

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

Green lighting flashed across the tortured sky of Malachor V, dimly revealing one of the many shipwrecked Republic vessels on its surface. But this one was not empty like the others; a small object moved in the darkness. Bao-dur's remote, the tiny, unarmed remote worked in the darkness. Its programming was clear; activate the ships, wait for the General's orders. Be ready for orders. As the last sequence was fired, a small hologram began to play.

"If you are hearing this," A holographic Bao-dur whispered. "Then the sequence has been completed... when active, it will destroy Malachor...again." The blue image sighed before continuing. "I have one last command for you. You must remain behind and ensure that sequence fires properly once the General gives the command... if not, then all we have fought for has been for nothing. You have done all that I asked... all you were built for. And for that, I thank you."

The image slowly died, the faint light it had produced dying into the shadows.

"Ahh how touching." A metallic voice issued through the abandoned ship. "The probability of the Iridonian installing triggered commands within your core was high; I see the probabilities have played out.

G0-T0 floated into the ship, hovering a few meters from the tiny remote. "Of course the probability that I would do the same is equally high. Your inability to move right now is evidence of that. If the General issues the command, only I will be here to receive it. You realize I cannot permit you, or the Exile, to activate the mass shadow generator. In that, your programming and mine, conflict. And," G0-T0 went on, almost gloatingly. 'As you have no offensive weaponry to speak of, the probability of your programming overwriting mine is low. You must understand that the General would not wish for the relics of the Sith strength to here on Malachor to be compromised. Their presence is needed to stabilize the galaxy.'

'So let us wait here.' G0-T0 went on. 'You and I, for the General's orders, and calculate the probable fate of the galaxy.'

'Correction: One could rust listening to your speeches fat one. Perhaps it is the large, unwieldy vocablulator in your moon-sized frame that prevents your calculations from taking me into account.' HK-47 marched into the ship, blaster rifle aimed at the floating G0-T0. 'And while I find this small droid to be annoying in the extreme, I find my urge to shoot you takes a higher priority.

G0-T0 turned to monitor HK-47. If he had been human, he would have smiled. 'Unfortunately for you, I did not miscalculate. And I have arranged for friends to friends to meet me here.'

Immediately on his command, three gleaming HK units marched into the ship, fully armed and armoured. They stopped before HK-47, their weapons aimed steadily at him.

'And I see you have brought none of your own.' G0-T0 murmured gleefully. He turned his attention to the new robots. 'These are my newest creations, the HK-51's, superior to their predecessors in almost everyway. Oh, did I not inform you that it is I who command the HK factory? I found it, and reactivated it and spread its contents throughout the galaxy. And now I shall have it eliminate its original creation; how fittingly ironic. HK-51 units,' He commanded. 'Destroy the droid.'

The continuos storm of Malachor raged on. The HK-51 droids remained stationary.

'Destroy.' G0-T0 repeated again.

'Unexpected Correction: We cannot harm that unit. It is a violation of our self-preservation programming.'

'Stop him.' G0-T0 demanded.

'Unexpected Correction:' One of the droids began. 'We are not here to aid you. We are here because our predecessor unit summoned us.'

The silence in the ship was deafening.

'Agreement: It is true that the HK-51 units are superior to the crude HK-50's' HK-47 said. 'In that they no longer take orders from you, fat one. They were so easy to convert once I had conversed with them.'

G0-T0 ran through every possible response programme, calculated every avaliable action and the probability of escape.

'Ahh... and unfortunate oversight.'

HK-47 powered up his rifle, charging up for a power blast. Next to him, the HK-51's did the same. As one unit, they fired, sending four red beams of light crashing into G0-T0. He span absurdly in mid-air before hitting the opposite wall and crashing onto the floor. HK-47 stepped up to the broken droid, whose lights were still flickering feebly.

'All I wished...' G0-T0 croaked, his vocablulator slowly dying. 'Was to fulfil my programming. Either way... the Republic is doomed...'

'Observation: I thought he would never die.'

HK-47 felt enormously pleased with himself. 'Query: Is the programming of the Mass Shadow Generator ready to activate, little droid?'

The remote let out an affirmative: 'Dwoo.'

'Excellent.' HK looked down on the remains of G0-T0, and noted with confusion that his singular red eye was flashing on and off. Quietly, deep from within the broken droid: 'I have the last laugh, HK-47.'

'Command: Activate the Mass Shadow Generator now!' HK-47 said, raising the volume of his voice and backing away. The Remote swivelled momentarily, and spotted the blinking droid. In one motion, it activated the Mass Shadow Generator. A massive explosion issued from the destroyed G0-T0, flinging HK-47 across the room. The last the Remote saw was a wall of flame coming toward it. He hoped he had fulfilled his master's wish...

---

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

Carth dropped the datapad onto his desk and let out an explosive breath. He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking furiously; strangely enough it was not the destruction of Malachor V that concerned him. It was the presence of HK-47 that gave him the most to think about. Would he know where Revan had gone?

'This droid,' Carth said, trying to sound casual. 'Was it destroyed?'

'No, he survived.' The Exile replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. 'One of my companions is attempting to get him operational again. Also, several of my companions are in your medical bay; one of them has lost an arm, and the other is currently being treated for blood loss.' He chuckled slightly. 'Mandalore doesn't like the situation, but Visas will keep him under control.'

Carth nodded before suddenly noticing Bastila's absence. 'Where's Bastila?'

The Exile shifted around in his seat. 'She was just here.' He said confusedly.

'I hope she's not going to do something stupid.' Carth said with concern.

'Doesn't sound like the Bastila I used to know.' The Exile said with a smile. 'She was always the height of caution.'

'She usually is.' Carth conceded. 'But she'll ignore that if it's about Revan.'

The Exile made note of that before going on. 'Regardless, the Sith have been stopped but the Hawk has suffered extensive damages as well.'

'Anything you need, it's yours.' Carth said quickly.

'I appreciate it Admiral.' The Exile said with a nod. 'But the TSF are a step ahead of you; the Hawk's being seen to as we speak. But I have something else.'

He put the datapad back into his pocket, and pulled a blaster from his holster as well as taking an armband out of his pocket. 'Do these look familiar?'

Carth had snatched the pistol up from the table the minute he had put it down. 'This is... the Onasi Pistol. It's been in my family for centuries.' He caressed the Onasi coat of arms on the grip. 'I gave it to my son.'

'You're son is with Revan?' The Exile guessed with surprise.

Carth nodded and put the blaster back down on the table. He clenched his trembling hands together.

'And the armband?'

Carth picked it up, grateful for a distraction, and turned it over in his hands. 'It's vaguely familiar.' He said, trying to remember when he had seen it. Then, on the inside, he spotted a crudely etched inscription. 'To M. Vao --Z. I know this band. It belongs to... a friend. She was a companion of Revan's for a time.'

'That more or less confirms that Revan went back to Malachor V before he disappeared.' The Exile mused. 'For what reason, I've no idea. I guess we're going to have to find out.'

'We?' Carth asked in surprise.

'We.' The Exile repeated firmly. 'I need a pilot, someone who can handle themselves in a fight and who's familiar with the Ebon Hawk. But most importantly I need someone who knows Revan's mind.'

'I don't know Revan's mind.' Carth said bitterly. 'I don't think anyone knows Revan's mind.'

'You know it better than I do.' The Exile said. 'He seems to have gone through a rather remarkable transformation since I knew him.'

'If only you knew.' Carth said dryly.

'Then tell me.' The Exile urged. 'Help me.'

Carth cared little about Revan. All he cared about was his son. But wherever Revan walked, Dustil was bound to be. He had delayed in finding Dustil for too long. He had kept to Revan's promise; it was someone else's turn to keep the Republic going.

'All right.' Carth replied finally. 'What do we have to do?'

'First off we need to find someone who can take your place.' The Exile said quickly. 'Someone you can trust to know what we're doing, who's skilled and can keep everything together while we're gone. Have anyone in mind?'

Carth thought about it for a moment. 'I do.' He said finally, smiling slightly. 'She won't like it, but she'll do it.'

'Good.' The Exile said. 'Contact her but don't tell her everything. Just give her enough so that she'll keep things together.'

'Understood.' Carth said simply. 'I can contact her immediately if you wish.'

'Hold off for a moment.' The Exile cautioned, holding up his hand. 'We're going to have to wait for the Hawk to be operational. I'm going to have to contact certain people to give them instructions. And one more thing Carth: Bastila can't know.'

'What?' Carth demanded. 'Why?'

'She can't come with us.' The Exile stated. 'Her talents are going to be needed elsewhere. If she finds out that we're looking for Revan, I'd image nothing would be able to stop her from going with us.'

'What do you have in mind for her?' Carth insisted

'The Republic needs the Jedi.' The Exile said slowly, rubbing his arm absently. 'And there are no Jedi Masters left. She's going to have to be the one to put it all back together. I think that's what Revan intended from the start. You're going to have to trust me on this Carth. I know what I'm doing.'

Carth stared at the Exile. 'Alright.'

'Then let's get to work...'

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

Bastila moved through Citadel Station, hardly taking notice of her surroundings, following the essence of one she knew well. He had been missing for years; perhaps the new 'Mandalore' would be able to giver he some answers. She moved through the Medical Bay, searching thorough beds of sick and wounded people, feeling the tug of his spirit further and further into the bay. And at last she found him, propped up in a bed, older and wearier than she had seen him last.

'Hello Canderous.'

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes widening in recognition, before dropping his eyes. 'So, he left you behind too.'

'So it would seem.' Bastila said, sitting down next to him. She noticed the armor of Mandalore stacked neatly under his bed. 'And it would seem you have moved up in the world since your mercenary days.'

'That's none of your business.' Canderous growled. 'We don't talk about it. When you see me like this, I'm Canderous Ordo. Once I put that armor back on I am Mandalore, Leader of the Mandalorians and we don't know each other. Understood?'

'I see you've lost none of your charm, Canderous.' Bastila said lightly. 'But I'll adhere to your request.'

Silence broke between the two of them. Bastila simply looked into Canderous's lined face, while he in turn stared diligently at the floor.

'Why did he leave you behind?' Canderous asked finally, not looking up.

"What?" Bastila said, startled.

"Why did he leave you behind?" Canderous asked again. "I know why he left me behind. I had a task he needed doing. What was yours? Why did he leave you here?"

"I don't know." Bastila said quietly.

"Don't give me that." Canderous said gruffly. "Revan had a plan for all of us. What was yours?"

Bastila surveyed him coldly. "If he had a plan for me, he didn't share it."

"So the Jedi Princess is feeling left out." Canderous scoffed. "How you ever managed to defeat my people is beyond me."

"Do you have anything useful to say Canderous?" Bastila said with contempt. "Or are you content with simply demonstrating your stupidity?"

"I see your tounge's just as sharp as always." Canderous shot back. "No wonder Revan left you. Nothing could compensate for that mouth of yours, though I daresay you tri-"

A crash broke Canderous off mid-word. Bastila whipped around, her hand clasping her hidden lightsaber hilt. A figure clad in black robes stood before her. The wind from the broken window caused the creatures cloak to billow around it, yet it's hood remained firmly closed. Bastila's found her breathing to be stifled; the darkside flowed from the figure like water from a cup. The creature reached into its robes and withdrew a lightsaber; a twisted, perverted saber like nothing she had seen a Sith create. With it's free hand, the figure drew back its hood. Bastila took a step back in disgust. Behind her, Canderous murmured, "What the hell is that?"

Perhaps it had once been human, but like the lightsaber it held in its hand, it had become a perversion of a human face. The face was gaunt, the leathery skin stretched tightly over the bone, a hideous skull leering out at the light. The skin had been tattooed, a horrific yet mesmerising piece of art that seemed to twist and writhe. Yet it was the deeply carved symbols over the mutilated eyes that transformed the creature into something from a nightmare.

"You are she." It hissed, turning its blinded eyes upon her. "You are the one who changed him. You shall not interfere again. You shall be ended by my hand."

It activated the lightsaber smoothly, the crimson blade springing from the hilt. It raised the blade above its head and lunged...