CORUSCANT

Bastila Shan was not one to wax nostalgic these days, except when she was in the darkest throes of a pain she dared not name, even to herself. She was a Jedi, the Grand Master of the Order after the deaths of the previous Council members! "A Jedi shall not know anger, nor hatred, nor love..." She softly repeated these words to herself in her private quarters at the Temple, knowing that she no longer believed them. Once, long ago when the world was simple, she had, but then she had met Revan, and then--!

Revan had been a mere pawn to her once. Or, rather, a subject of research and the object of redemption by the Jedi Order itself. Under the guidance of Masters Zhar, Vandar and Vrook, Bastila had been given command of him as he wore the guise of a Republic foot soldier and then a Jedi Padawan. Of course, he had not known of his true identity as the Dark Lord of the Sith when he first tried to rescue her aboard the Endar Spire and on Taris, but in a sudden revelation via his former apprentice, Darth Malak, he quickly came to realize who he was. He had been given a different name, but underneath, he would always remain Revan. There was no denying it.

She remembered their first and last kiss: a threat, a dare, a challenge he'd accepted. It went against every tenet of the Jedi Code--and of her moral one--but in that instant, Bastila had not cared. She had only wanted to see if he would kiss her, if the passion he felt in his heart at the moment matched hers. Since it had, the rest was history, and she had eventually fallen to the Dark Side. Bastila no longer tried to fool herself into thinking that she had only done it to be released from Malak's torture. That was the coward's way out, and she was not a coward. If she fell and gave in, she could have had Revan by her side as he reclaimed his title of Dark Lord. As a Jedi, she could only have known him as a colleague and apprentice. That would not do. Either their love existed, and it would be rewarded, or not.

Bastila shut her eyes tightly. How could she have been so selfish, to almost sacrifice the entire galaxy for the love--or the brazen lust--of a single man? Yet Revan was more than a foot soldier, more than a man, even more than a Sith Lord. He was the most powerful Force user of his time. Staring straight into his eyes and sensing the full breadth of his power was like staring straight into the heart of the Force. Who would not give that up, and risk anything, to love that kind of being?

It was why she wanted Tysyacha Dvyx brought back alive. Bastila was hungry, and for more than paltry credits. If the scheduled payments stopped coming in from that murderer of Jedi spies via holowire, the Exile would be captured. Before she was sentenced, however, Bastila would offer a deal:

You know where he is. You've always known. He may have gone into the Outer Regions, beyond the very edges of the galaxy, but that knowledge lies within your heart! Deliver him to me, and I'll deliver you from hard labor on some cold and distant planet. If not--may you get twenty years!

Vengeance was never the way of the Jedi. Yet this was not vengeance.

It was only love, and love would do absolutely anything to keep itself alive.

A great shortie, Tysy! I loved the irony between the first few paragraphs and the last two sentences; in particular, the fact for Bastila's fall to the dark side in the first place, and then the repetition that resounded in the last two sentences.

I wonder if, as you mentioned earlier, that Bastila more lusts for Revan than loves him (for, if the Exile knew where Revan was, why not his 'love?' [the sentence "Who would not give that up, and risk anything, to love that kind of being? " helps solidify my thoughts on this matter]).

Thanks for a great read!

You're welcome. :) 'Tis a pity you don't RP--you are a fantastic writer with great depth of insight! I hear you play chess...true? :)

You're welcome. :) 'Tis a pity you don't RP--you are a fantastic writer with great depth of insight! I hear you play chess...true? :)

Thanks for the compliment, and don't worry: I'll try my hand at it one day. ;) As for chess, if you get your butt of Skype, you'll be able to experience the full experience of SkypeChess (short answer: yep :p).

After checking out Fugitives quickly, I can see where this comes from. :p

On a side note, I can't get Skype to connect to the Internet. Any tips?

On a side note, I can't get Skype to connect to the Internet. Any tips?
For that, I've no clue. The download is pretty simple from the Skype website (http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/?cm_mmc=google%252Flatsearch-_-NA-USC%257CEN-_-BD-_-kwid%253Daln200000004%257Ccreative%253D1342176506) .

I'm sure that you've tried that, but beyond that, I'm not sure what to try (perhaps starting a thread in another forum?).

Read: Toquote Terry Pratchett I never understood the logic of chess; if all the pawns would get together, the board would be a Republic in six moves.