Well... it has truly been a while. I used to have an old account here, but I'm not using it again because, quite frankly, I don't remember the password. On my old account, if I could classify myself as a fanfic writer, I would be the Ed Wood of this site, right freakin' horrendous. Now because I've found this site again, and now that I've gotten a new idea again, I've decided that I'm going to plague you again. This is actually a reimagining of one of my old fics from my old account, "Master Jimmy", a reimagining of my more appreciated ones. For the longest time, I didn't remember what it was, until I found it... on the first page (quite surprisingly). So the original fic was "The Second Sith War". This version, however, will undergo a lot of changes. If you were one of the few who read that crap pile, first... thank you. Now...
The changes from the original are:
The Exile is now female.
Vrook and Vandar are dead for good (barely got past Peragus II when I started writing the original).
I gave Revan a new name as opposed to Revan Skywalker.
Bastila gives birth to a child.
I am NOT brining back the old villain. Gonna make a new one.
Other than the minor tweaks I begin with, I am going to do my best to not butcher the timeline too much. If I do, it would be out of sheer ignorance and would do my best to fix it.
Assumptions:
Revan was male and confessed his love for Bastila upon her redemption
The Exile was a Light Side female
You have the Restored Content Mod
Revan and the Exile are still alive
(Minor) Tweaks:
Bastila gave birth somewhere in between KotOR 1 and 2
Carth is now a Grand Admiral
Without further adieu, here is chapter one:
Chapter One
The Light in the Darkness
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Nearly four thousand years before the epic battle of Yavin IV, there was a time of great strife... a time of war, suffering, and death. Through a series of three wars, the Republic nearly crippled itself to the point of utter collapse. In three wars, the Jedi had nearly gone extinct, their fire nearly snuffed out of the universe forever. And in three wars the Sith had struck fear into the hearts of every denizen in the galaxy, whether they lived in Republic space, or in the Outer Rim. The Sith had hunted the Jedi to near extinction, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was empty – deteriorating. Its many fountains flowed for no one, for no one was there to appreciate their ambiance. The Jedi Enclave on Dantooine was ruined, a victim of Sith mercy. Its archives could barely hold enough power for their holobooks to stay a lit. And the Jedi Temple on Ossus could not even be rationally described as a building anymore. The galaxy had been going through some dark times... but hope still remains, for those who still cling upon the light.
In the vastness of the Unknown Regions at the edge of the galaxy, one entity lights up the darkness like a shooting star in the skies of Corellia. One ship, a ship that has seen the end of many battles, leaving a twinkle of a star in its wake. This ship was the Ebon Hawk, and its current mission was now a safe flight to the galaxy's capital – Coruscant. Aboard the Hawk, was a band of lost Jedi and a handful of droids. Kotone Silvr, an exiled Jedi, now a self proclaimed Master searched the farthest reaches of the galaxy to find them, to save them, and to train them against the Sith. In the cockpit of the Ebon Hawk, Atton Rand, a scoundrel, and a powerful Jedi Watchman served as the ship's pilot, while Kotone helped him where she could as the copilot.
“So where do you think we are?” Kotone asked, curiously. Kotone was of average height and average build, but this was no consequence, because she drew her strength from the Force. To add to her appearance, she had blonde hair, brown eyes and fair skin.
“I've reset the course so we don't make a fireball out of ourselves by travelling this fast in the Deep Core, but we should be entering the Core Worlds right now. We'll be passing Corellia... right... about... now. At this point, I'll give us ten minutes.”
Atton bore a little more tan to his hue, wearing messy brown hair and dark brown eyes, and he was taller than Kotone by a few inches. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the durasteel ceiling, fantasizing about finally returning to Republic space without having a red lightsaber being thrown in his face. At first thought, he could see himself at a cantina in the lower city enjoying a stiff glass of juma juice. But as a Jedi, that kind of luxury would be one of the last things on his list now. Suddenly, Atton remembered of their newest passenger. The original owner and current captain of the Ebon Hawk.
“Maybe you should should go check on Him...” Atton suggested.
“Who?” asked Kotone, confusedly, “Bao-Dur? Mic-”
“No, Him,” told Atton, bobbing his head in the direction of the port dormitories, “He hasn't told a word to us after he downloaded that holovid from the utility droid.”
“Oh...” Kotone had finally caught on, “I'll go check on him, then.”
“I'll let you know when we reach the Coruscant system.”
“Alright.”
Sitting on a bed in the port-side dormitories, was a tall, tan skinned, muscular man in a black, unorthodox Jedi Robe. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a shadow of hair lying subtly on his face. This was Marketh “Revan” Noraqathan. A powerful Jedi Master with a complete mastery and control over both sides of the Force, a flawless military strategist, a strong leader, and a loyal and loving friend. Marketh found himself staring into a holovid on his personal projector, a looping image which he extracted from his utility droid, T3-M4, when he had learned that they had finally received a message when they reentered known space, before making the jump to lightspeed. The message had come from Marketh's lover, Bastila Shan, a woman who saved him from the corruption of the Dark Side and in turn, who he had saved from the Dark Side. The holovid showed a youthful, beautiful woman sitting on a patch of grass. Though the holovid only allowed shades of blue to be shown as colour, Marketh could visualize Bastila's brown, double-ponytail hair, her grey eyes and light skin.
“Marketh...” said Bastila in the holovid, “I just want you to know that... that whatever you are doing out in the unknown, you have my love and support. You've had it then, you have it now, and you always will. You have given me life... in more ways than one... and for that, I thank you. And I am sorry that you are not here to share it with me,” she began to whimper. Bastila then calmed down after wiping her tears from her eyes, “Marketh, this is your daughter,” In Bastila's arms, on her lap, sat a darling, energetic little girl, no older than seven years. “I've told her everything there is to know about you... well almost. She's not old enough to know about the rockier faces of your life. Marketh, if you are getting this, please... return. Please return at least to spend one day with your daughter. Please give her the chance to meet her father. Good luck, my love. And may the Force be with you.”
When the message finished, it looped back to the beginning and played again, and Bastila began repeating her message, again, to Marketh.
“So what's her name?” someone interrupted.
“Huh? Excuse me?” Marketh shook frantically, a little embarrassed that he had been caught off guard in a sentimental moment. Quickly, he shut down his holoprojector.
“Your little girl, Rev. What's her name?”
“Oh... she did not say.”
“That's the pits.”
Comfortable with Kotone's presence, Marketh put away his holoprojector and brought out another one in its place, Turning it on, this one was of him and Bastila, right after the destruction of the Star Forge, the winning battle of the Jedi Civil War. It was of them on the beach of Lehon, enjoying the planet's rich sunset.
While watching, Kotone noticed the two of them share a kiss in the holovid, “Funny. I thought a 'true Jedi' like you would be above something like love.”
“Love... it is impossible to deny its feelings, even Jedi like Vrook and Zhar would have known that. I do not know about the old Jedi, but it ultimately saved the both of us. A grumpy old Jedi told me so.” Marketh sighed, “And it is what is bringing me back to her.”
“Well I'm guessing you'd only have to wait five minutes longer. We're making a pass around the deep core on our way to Coruscant. You will see her again... if she's even there.”
Marketh switched off his holovid and shut his eyes, ass if he could sense something. He could, and he was able to isolate it quickly. He sensed the Force, it was becoming stronger... stronger, “Either it is the Force Bond I share with her, or the remaining Jedi have decided to gather on Coruscant.”
“Hey, Kotone?” Atton called, “Can you make your way to the cockpit, please? We're in the Coruscant system, now.”
“Don't give up hope, Rev,” told Kotone as she acknowledged Atton's call with a run to the cockpit.
Marketh turned the Lehon sunset holovid back on, “With all the atrocities that have befallen the Jedi nowadays... hope is all I have left.”
Kotone strode back into the cockpit to see Atton had taken the ship out of hyperspace, Coruscant was in their sights, now.
“The microsecond I took this sucker out lightspeed, we received a transmission from the Republic fleet. I think they want to talk to us, badly.”
“What ship to be exact?” Kotone asked.
“The Sojourn. It's their flagship.”
“Admiral Onasi.” Kotone shot out of her seat and made her way out of the cockpit, “I'm gonna put it up on the main holoprojector!” She shouted, “See what he wants.”
But Kotone entered the main hold to see Marketh already there, getting the holoprojector properly attuned, “I seem to have beaten you to it.”
Marketh pressed one last button and Carth Onasi's image suddenly appeared in front of them, “This is Grand Admiral Carth Onasi of the Sojourn to the Ebon Hawk, please respond.”
Marketh saw his old friend in the holoprojector. Deep down, he was excited to see a familiar face for the first time in seven years, but his calm personality only allowed him to smile. “Well... I was told that you had become an Admiral... but Grand Admiral is some promotion.”
Carth's mouth dropped, it had been the first time in seven years that Carth had seen his friend and fellow serviceman, “Well I'll be thrown into the most excruciatingly hot fires of Sleheyron! Revan... I thought I would never see you again!”
Marketh chuckled and shook his head, “I hate to be the one to greet with formalities, but it is Marketh, now. Revan has been dead for seven years.”
“Well excuse me... Mark. We've been going through some rough times, but I think the Republic will still be able to hold together. We-”
“I could care less about the status of the Republic right now, Carth... I just want to know if she is safe.” told Marketh, “Just tell me right now... where is Bastila?”
“She's here on Coruscant. She lives in her own apartment with her- I mean your daughter.”
Marketh nodded, even as he tried to control his emotions, he was still not able to keep some tears from escaping him, “That is wonderful news.”
“Here, make your landing in the military base. I'll clear it. Then I'll have a shuttle arranged to take you to her apartment,” told Carth, “You can surprise her.”
Marketh wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded again, “Thank you...” he whispered.
“Oh, Revan- err... Mark, welcome back.”
“I will see you later.” Marketh turned off the holoprojector and took a seat in one of the chairs in the main hold. Bastila was still alive, she was on Coruscant right now. It was more than enough for him to celebrate, but he didn't want to cause a scene in front of his crew, he just waited patiently for Atton to land the ship. Upon landing in the military base, Marketh shot right out of his seat and lowered the exit ramp. Though he was relieved to step out of a ship without being met with hostilities, he was much more committed on finding Bastila again.
Upon walking out of the Ebon Hawk, Marketh was greeted by an Aqualish pilot who began grunting in his native dialect.
“Greetings, and welcome to Coruscant. Excuse me, but are you Marketh Noraqathan? Owner and captain of the Ebon Hawk?”
To the untrained ear, it would be impossible to understand an Aqualish's grunting language, fortunately for Marketh, he was fluent in a wide variety of alien languages, and Aqualish also understood Galactic Basic. “I am,” he answered, “Did Grand Admiral Onasi send for you?”
“Well when you put it that way, you make it sound like I'm important. Anyway, he did. I've been instructed to fly you to northern apartment module 12-642," recited the pilot, "Shan family residence... friends of yours?”
“...You could say that... We should get going,” told Marketh.
“Right this way, please.”
The Aqualish pilot led Marketh on to his shuttle and without any delay, they took off. Marketh sat back in the passenger section, under the decision of being alone for the time being. He pulled out of his pocket, the holovid of Bastila and their daughter. His daughter's name was still a mystery to him, but he was still looking forward to building a relationship with her nonetheless. In the holovid, Bastila came close to crying... this only made Marketh feel worse about leaving her for so long, but he controlled his guilt and continued to admire the two girls in the holovid. Soon, very soon, they would be together. While watching the holovid, Marketh began to focus more on his daughter. He could see that she was an energetic little girl, always smiling throughout the course of the holovid, and her laughter seemed to cheer Bastila up when needed.
“Alright, we're arrived at spire twelve!” announced the pilot.
Marketh put his holovid back in his pocket while he slowly rose up from his seat, walking down the exit ramp as it lowered down on to the durasteel landing pad.
“Hey, buddy!” called the pilot.
“Yes?” Marketh answered as he turned around, “What is it?”
“Just so you know, I'm under explicit orders to wait until you're done what you need to do, then give you a ride back to the military base. So I won't be going anywhere until you give the O.K.”
“Very good... thank you.”
Marketh sighed as he strode over to the turbolift. He had to prepare himself for anything, with the exception of holovids, they had not seen each other in seven years time. “Six-four-two...” Marketh said nervously. The pull of a turbolift on his gut felt heavier than usual, he thought it was either due to the fact that he had not been in a turbolift for the longest time, or if his edginess was actually taking its toll on him, or both. As Marketh rose to the higher levels, he could that the commercial and residential ship traffic was as heavy as he remembered during his last visit to Coruscant... before the Mandalorian wars. Marketh's gut sank even lower, his heart started beating at an alarming rate, and his skin began to sweat as the turbolift slowed itself down, he knew he was getting close... he tried to relax himself, he took a deep breath, turned around to face the glass door and hoped for the best. The turbolift kept going slower... and slower... until it slowed down to a point where Marketh thought it could go no slower, and then it stopped.
“Module 12-642... Shan family residence,” announced the turbolift's automatic PA system. Marketh took a deep breath and stepped into the apartment, prepared for any type of greeting. But no one was there to greet him right away. Marketh decided to take a look around and examine Bastila's apartment. Right away, it looked pretty normal, walls were painted blue, there were portraits and holovids of Bastila, her mother, Helena, and even some of Marketh's and her daughter. Looking around some more, he could notice a shelf only containing holovids and portraits of he and her together. One holovid however was not a memory, but rather a statement: “In loving memory of Marketh “Revan” Noraqathan... may the Force watch over him so that he may return one day.” It spoke as if Marketh were dead, he could only nod upon reading the message. Suddenly, he could hear running footsteps, he knew someone was coming, and fast. Marketh straightened his posture, fixed his robe and tried to calm himself to the best of his ability. Coming out of the hallway, was a little girl... Marketh looked at one of the portraits and gave his attention back to her... it was his daughter. He could only smile as some of his breath escaped him. The little girl had her mother's light skin, but had her father's blue eyes. Her brown hair was fairly short, but Marketh knew it would still grow.
Marketh leaned forward, to greet his daughter, “And what's your name?” he asked contently.
The girl only stepped back, either she was scared, or surprised of him. “Mom!” she called as she ran away.
Marketh knew what was coming next, he was going to see Bastila for the first time in seven years, standing back up straight again, he blew into his hand and checked his breath, he brushed at his hair to move it away from his eyes, then he took one final deep breath.
“...Really? Who is it?” said a more mature voice, coming around the corner. She began to look up, but locked her head in place as she saw Marketh's boots. Her jaw dropped quickly, she had an idea on who had entered her home, slowly rising her head until their eyes met. Bastila's skin turned as pale as a wampa's fur and she jumped back as if she saw a ghost.
“Bastila...” Marketh began, “For whatever it is worth to you...” Bastila began coming towards him as she got a hold of herself, “I am so, so sorry.”
Bastila didn't answer, she only stood right firmly in front of him, like a frontline Republic soldier. After a moment of silence, Bastila slapped Marketh! Slapped him across the face! Marketh grunted as he tried to regain his footing, for the strike had thrown him off balance. “Don't you ever... ever... have me wait seven years for your return again!” Bastila exclaimed as tears started to escape her eyelids.
Marketh stood back up straight and replied, “Words cannot express how sorry I am... I did not want to risk your safety, or her-”
Bastila stopped Marketh by placing her fingers over his mouth. After a few seconds of silence, Bastila threw her arms around Marketh, shut her eyes and kissed him, crushing her face against his. Bastila tried to let her tongue into Marketh's mouth, but he wouldn't allow it. Though he was wearing heavy robes, Marketh could still feel Bastila's nails scratching at his back. Suddenly, Bastila began to nip on Marketh's lip, this caused him to let out a startled hiss, and Bastila used this opportunity to let her tongue into his mouth.
Marketh escaped from Bastila's lips and squeezed her tight, resting his head over her shoulders. Against his will, he began to cry. But he soon realized that when he was with Bastila, he was at every liberty to vent his emotions, “I'm so sorry!” he whimpered, “No words can express the voice of my heart!”
Bastila nodded against the side of his head, “I missed you, Marketh... I missed you so much.”
I am not confident with this second chapter AT ALL. I got bombarded with ideas and I actually hit a writer's block early on because I couldn't write with them all in my head. Seriously, at times it would take me three effing days to write two lines. With all of my shameful excuses aside, here is my pathetic attempt at a second chapter.
Chapter Two
The Bigger Picture
“Exclamation: Careful, meatbag! If a single limb goes out of function, I will test my plasma thrower on you!”
Working on Marketh's droid, HK-47, was a Zabrak Jedi and specialist technician, Bao-Dur, a technician who had served with Kotone in the Mandalorian Wars under the command of Marketh, who went by 'Revan', at the time. “Whoa... HK, you were the one who asked for the upgrade. And I thought you trusted me with this kind of stuff,” Bao-Dur joked.
“Statement: I am a little confident in your abilities, but I still trust no one, Iridonian, I thought you would've learned that during my time with you and the current crew.” HK-47 growled in his hissing metallic voice, “And I'm a little wary of your arm.”
Bao-Dur had lost his left arm during the Mandalorian Wars and replaced it with one that of pure energy. Though didn't let his prosthetic arm get to him and often he joked about it when people asked.
“Alright, alright, I'll try not to bust you up too bad.”
“Threatening Query: Excuse me, meatbag?!”
“Kidding,” Bao-Dur quickly replied as he lowered his goggles, protecting his eyes from astray sparks.
When Bao-Dur wasn't brushing up on his saber combat skills, he was usually making repairs around the Ebon Hawk. Every little thing he found, he fixed. Mechanics were like a second reality to him. Sometimes, T3-M4 and HK-47 asked Bao-Dur to apply an upgrade. Ironically, HK was the only one who would put up a fight after asking. Bao-Dur had taken apart the chassis on HK's left arm and had his hydrospanner always in use, welding down numerous components and an extra upgrade that looked like a concealed weapon.
“Query: Humour me, Iridonian... what is it exactly you are installing?”
“Keeping you in suspense makes it more fun for me to do my work... my lips are sealed.”
“Tedious Observation: Ugh... you meatbags are highly illogical.”
Bao-Dur took a new chassis from the workbench, a chassis that he made specifically for the upgrade he applied. After setting the chassis in place, Bao-Dur took his hydrospanner and welded HK's arm back together. Bao-Dur reached up and stuck his finger behind the chassis for HK's head and deep into his chin, pushing a switch, he resumed all of HK's functions that had been turned off for the upgrade. Raising his goggles, he just said, “Done.”
“Annoyed Query: ...Well... what did you give me?”
“Well, in addition to an extra perception package I added to your assassination protocols-”
“Antagonized Interruption: You tampered with my assassination protocols?! I ought to turn you into a smouldering pile of bones right now!”
“Whoa, HK.” said Bao-Dur as he tried to calm the angry droid down, “When I tell you about the additional weapon I applied to you, you'll understand why I modified your core systems.”
“Demand: Then make me calm myself!”
Bao-Dur smiled, “I'm sure that you would rather find out yourself by testing it, than having me tell you,” Bao-Dur pointed towards an empty portion of the garage, “Go on test it, I've loaded in a blank, take a shot.”
HK raised his left arm. His interface told him that he was trying to work a system unknown to him. But the 'fire' command was still available for use. HK took a shot from his new weapon to the wall of the Ebon Hawk. A small projectile launched from HK's wrist, in less than a microsecond, the projectile hit the wall hard, putting a dent in it. HK examined the object he shot to find out that it was a diffused rocket. “Surprised Query: You gave me a wrist-rocket launcher?”
“Sure did.”
“Continuation: Why the tampering with my assassination protocols, then?”
“Because I made the launcher based off of the one that Mira uses. Her's is a short range model. I applied a perception package to your protocols so you would be able to use it to hit something as small as an insect from a hundred metres way. You'll be able to kill something human sized before they even see you coming.” Bao-Dur explained.
“Retraction: Oh... I see... Well, if I offended you, I (against my nature) do apologize.”
“As one who is not used to that kind of response from you, I'm going to forget you just said that,” Bao-Dur said in a dismissive tone.
“Statement: I would appreciate it.”
Kotone and Atton sat waiting in the cockpit of the Ebon Hawk, waiting for Marketh. Kotone had T3 remain in the engine room to keep the ion engines and hyperdrive primed, so in the rare case where a quick getaway was necessary, it could be done.
“Knowing Revan, I'm probably gonna be denied my hit of juma juice. Because when he returns to the ship, we're probably going back to the Unknown Regions,” Atton muttered.
“Apparently, it's Marketh, now.”
Atton sat back up straight in his chair, “Screw it! I joined him as 'Revan', I knew him as 'Revan', I'm calling him 'Revan'! I'm not forcing you to call me 'Jaq' now, am I?”
Kotone laughed as she shook her head, “I guess not,” she then sighed, “Personally, I'm tired of moving... I was moving around all the time in my exile, I was hounded by the Sith for far too long, and now that we've found Marketh, I want to stay in one place for more than a month.”
“Then why don't we?” Atton asked, “What do we owe to him?”
Kotone paused, Atton brought up a good question. The wars were old news now, and Marketh was only embarking on personal crusades, “Part of me doesn't want to answer that question, Atton... Either because I want a reason not to keep moving, or because I just don't know...” Kotone then got to thinking. Back on Telos, after the defeat of Darth Nihilus, she was told by Carth on how adamant Marketh was to leave known space, leave his friends behind, so he could defend the Republic. How he just had to stop these “true Sith”. But then Kotone got a hunch, “I have a feeling that we're going to leave Coruscant... but we'll finally settle down for a while someplace else.”
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Back in Bastila's apartment, Marketh had already made himself at home. Their daughter curiously began spying on them from behind the wall, Marketh noticed it. When the two made eye contact, the little girl quickly fled his sight. Bastila had already begun fixing themselves some drinks.
“What is her name?” Marketh asked, curiously.
“Who's?”
“Our daughter, Bastila... what is her name?”
“Oh... I named her after my grandmother, Caeda.. our daughter's name is Caeda,” Bastila answered.
Marketh smiled, he thought the name was lovely, “What did she have to hide when I asked her?” he asked, “I think she has a beautiful name... great choice, Bastila.”
“Thank you, Mark.” Bastila put a cork back inside the neck of an open bottle, she then made her way over to the table where Mark was sitting, holding two glasses in hand, presenting one to him.
“What is this?” he asked curiously.
“Two years ago, a Republic explorer discovered a planet in the Mid Rim, which they now call 'Naboo'. About a year ago, the first colonists who didn't leave made this: Blossom wine,” Bastila explained.
“I see... so what do we drink to?” Mark asked.
“How about... to your return. To your return, and for the opportunity for you... me... and our daughter to settle down and finally be a family.” Bastila and Mark tapped their glasses together and sipped their wine. Mark squinted his eyes, he had never ingested anything like it. Bastila laughed at Mark's misfortune, “The taste grows on you, you'll get used to it.” Bastila put down her glass, she was now interested in listening to what Mark now had to say about his journeys in the unknown. “So, tell me. What did you find out there?” she asked.
Mark sighed, his search in the Unknown Regions had been grim, for he only found very little, he was unsure about how Bastila would react to it, “For all intents and purposes, Bastila... I found nothing.”
Bastila was unconvinced, she knew Mark had found something, “For all intents and purposes...” she repeated, “You found something, Marketh... I know you did.”
Mark sighed, he couldn't hide anything from her anymore, “I told you I believed that this new threat was somehow connected to Naga Sadow... or at least his lineage... correct?”
“I remember.”
“I remember that I became the-” Mark then remembered that Caeda could indeed be present and eavesdropping on them, so he changed his choice of words, “...that I did what I did after the Mandalorian Wars because of what I had encountered at the Trayus Academy. And... I... sent him... because I saw a greater threat looming over us in the unknown.”
“Mark, where are you going with this? I am aware of everything that was done after the Mandalorian Wars and I vowed to put it all behind me.”
“I searched every part of the Unknown Regions... I recorded every path I took, the details of every planet I visited... details that the Republic is not ready to see. I still found nothing. Save one datapad. It read that after the minor setbacks off the Mandalorian's loss from the war, after my course of action... they have decided to go into hiding.”
“Go into hiding where? Did it say?” asked Bastila.
“It did not... I cannot determine if they are just hiding very well or if they are hiding beyond the stretches of the galaxy, but one option is all that remains...”
Bastila's face turned pale as a tear fell from her eye and she dropped her glass of wine, “You returned for a single day just to say that you're leaving me... your daughter... the entire galaxy behind?”
“I never said that, Bastila,” told Mark, trying to calm her down, “And I am not going to say that at all. What I am saying is that we have to be ready. We have to prepare the galaxy for the imminent threat that is coming, build it as strong as it used to be, before the fall of Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma... and offer our protection to those who need it.”
It finally occurred to Bastila about Mark's intentions, about what he planned to do, “You're planning on resurrecting the Jedi Order... aren't you.”
Mark nodded, “That is my intention.”
“Mark, nearly all the Jedi were killed in the Purge. You, me and our Force-sensitive daughter are not enough to bring a dead order back up from the ground,” Bastila argued, “Such a feat is impossible.”
“You, myself, Caeda... and the new crew to the Ebon Hawk. Six lost Jedi are aboard that ship. That is nine already. Nine is enough to lead the order back in the right direction. What about the other Jedi who's death was unconfirmed during the Purge? Nomi and Vima Sunrider, Juhani, Jolee, Yuthura Ban, and other Force-sensitives that the Sith Assassins missed? We cannot give up hope, we must never give up hope. Such a thing is all we have right now.”
Marketh brought up a good point. There could be enough Jedi to breathe the order back to life, but where would they do it? “What if we do have enough Jedi?” Bastila asked, “Where will we house them? Where will we stay? We don't have sufficient funds to stay here on Coruscant, Ossus still remains a smouldering ruin of a dead planet, and Darth Malak bombarded the enclave on Dantooine into oblivion.”
This is where Bastila's argument loses its validity. Mark folded his arms and smiled.
Bastila then knew that she had just removed herself from the argument, “No... that's impossible.”
“I am told by Kotone Silvr, the Exile, that before they died, Masters Vrook, Kavar and Zez-Kai Ell reconstructed part of the enclave. It is not much, but we and the all other Jedi will have a home, should we decide to resurrect the Order.”
All Bastila wanted was to throw the past behind and settle down with her love, Marketh. With him, she wanted to raise their daughter, live in peace and make their family blossom. To hell with Darth Revan's memories, to hell with the Sith, to hell with anything that could destroy their time together.
“Bastila... I am not going to rebuild the order without you in the ranks... I need you.”
And Bastila needed Marketh as much as he needed her. Perhaps rebuilding the order would make them a target, perhaps it would intimidate the opposition. Bastila felt reluctant about resurrecting the Jedi, but if Marketh was telling the truth, perhaps it was for the best. “...Because you're asking me... I'll do it. Someone has to make sure you don't fall down an all to familiar path. But there is one thing that might put some strain on this whole thing... One thing we must deal with right now.”
“What is it?” Marketh asked, letting a smile creep on to his face despite Bastila's worried tone.
“How are we going to tell Caeda?”
Marketh stopped and broke into a sudden frown, “You bring up a good point...” he muttered softly, “How will we tell her?”
“Since you've been gone, we've been on the run from the Sith... it was really hard on her... moving around from planet to planet. I promised that you would return and we would live on Coruscant for the rest of our days... I have to tell her... to promise her... that we're not going to be moving again once we leave... can you promise me that we will stay on Dantooine?”
Marketh nodded, he placed his hand on Bastila's shoulder and rubbed her with his thumb, “Dantooine is the only logical place for us to have a Jedi academy. Like you said, Coruscant would be too redundant and Ossus would be suicide. Besides, I think that we need to be secluded for a while and Dantooine is perfect for the criteria we must meet. And I think it would be best if you broke the news to little Caeda. She has only known me for less than an hour.”
“I will talk with her... you can wait in the living room,” told Bastila.
Marketh stood up, he turned the corner into the living room to see Caeda looking at the holovids of her parents. She turned to face her father when she heard him coming, she wore a look of curiosity whenever he was present, “How come Darth Revan stole your war codename?” she asked.
It was clear to Marketh that Bastila told Caeda that Darth Revan was a completely different person altogether and not that he and Marketh were the same person, “I do not know why... Darth Revan was an evil, evil man. Though right now, I don't think we have the time for me to indulge you on such matters... but I promise to tell you later.”
“When you unpack your things... then you can tell me! You can tell me everything you and mom did together before you left!” told Caeda, her face was lit up in excitement.
Marketh was silent. She wanted so badly to get to know him, but he did not have the heart to tell her that they were leaving Coruscant. “I think your mother wants to speak to you...”
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“Geez! I can't even win against just one of you trash compactors! I swear, both of you droids cheat!” Back on the Ebon Hawk, Atton was passing the time playing his favourite card game, Pazaak. He usually played against Kotone or T3-M4. Kotone was more of his match, but he always lost against T3. This time, he was playing against HK-47, “Ugh... one more game,” he muttered.
“Refusal: I have humoured you long enough, meatbag,” said an exasperated HK, “you are wasting my time with the skill you lack. Now I have more pressing matters to attend to.” and HK went back to what he was doing before... polishing his shotgun.
“Bao-Dur? What about you? You up for some pazaak?”
“Atton, I'm working.” dismissed Bao-Dur, who was fixing the dent that HK had made earlier.
“Suggestion: Why don't you go lose your credits to the utility droid!” told HK. Annoyed, Atton stormed out of the garage, leaving Bao-Dur to his work, and HK to his guns. HK took pride in keeping his tools of slaughter clean. Every waking moment in the Ebon Hawk, he would polish his weapons so there would be less grime on them than silverware at a grade-A restaurant. HK-47 was an assassination built by Marketh by the end of the Mandalorian wars. But he was lost and after falling out of the hands of many masters, he found himself under the service of Marketh again. An incredibly resourceful droid he was, he even destroyed a military base single handed on Telos. In the main hold, a former bounty hunter (now Jedi Knight), Mira found herself sitting down in a near dazed state. She brushed her short red hair, contemplating on how life could have been had she not met Kotone in the first place, had she not let her show her the Force. But she was interrupted by T3, a small but useful utility droid who got the Ebon Hawk crew out of trouble on numerous occasions.
“Do you ever stop roaming around this ship?” Mira asked.
“*Bee-dreet ve de dreee* (There's always work to be done.)”
“Don't short circuit yourself over it. Gotta give yourself a break.”
“*Woo* (Huh?)”
“Never mind.”
“*Dwoooo* (Right.)”
In the medical bay sat Mical, a scientist and explorer who used to work for the Republic, and the only Jedi Knight formally trained by Kotone. Always he was studying the tactics of old battle-masters trying to find the patterns in their tactics. Before, he had learned that Darth Revan conquered worlds in ways where they could be used later, while Malak bombarded worlds for intent of intimidation. Mical was one of the youngest of the Ebon Hawk crew, just a little older than Mira. Meditating in the starboard dormitories was Visas Marr. She was one of the few of the Ebon Hawk crew to have touched the Dark Side of the Force and be redeemed. She used to serve a Sith Lord after she survived the massacre of her home planet, Katarr. Visas, like her entire species, had no eyes but she could see perfectly well through the Force. Visas always tried to keep on top of her unique ability and prevent it from going rusty, on occasion she would use it to scout the outside of the Ebon Hawk. This time, she could feel a presence coming up the loading ramp, “Someone is coming...” she whispered.
HK, with his acute hearing, could hear what Visas said, “Statement: I too can hear someone coming up the loading ramp...” hoping that it were intruders, he grabbed his favourite Mandalorian flechette shotgun and went to... greet them. Much to his dismay, it was Marketh, Bastila, and their daughter, Caeda. “Rhetoric: ...Oh geez.” HK growled as he stomped away, “They had to bring their offspring.”
Bastila followed the bitter droid into the garage, “Glad to see you too, HK-47. I'm unpleasantly surprised that Mark hasn't turned you into scrap yet.”
“Retort: Should another 'Lehon' happen again, I promise to try harder next time. Whether you are his woman or not, I can be a little trigger happy sometimes, you whiny bratty meatbag!” threatened HK, referring to the time Bastila briefly fell to the Dark Side back in the Jedi Civil War.
“Why you!” Bastila pulled out her double-bladed lightsaber, she ignited the yellow blades and began advancing on the droid, ready to scrap him to pieces, HK raised his shotgun and pointed it at Bastila's head, ready to blow it off.
Fortunately, Bao-Dur intervened by hitting down HK's shotgun, he then ignited his own blue saber and clashed his blade against Bastila's, “Easy now, you two. No need to get violent... by the way, I'm Bao-Dur.” he said as he put away his saber, “Jedi Knight and the Ebon Hawk's technician,” he continued as he held out his hand for a handshake.
“Bastila Shan. Jedi Master and a mother.” she replied, shaking the Iridonian's hand, “And I am going to be the better woman and say that this discussion is over.” Bastila left the garage to rejoin Marketh.
As she began to leave, HK rolled his middle finger up his neck and off his chin, and then suddenly held it out to Bastila. “Mockery: I believe I picked this up from you... or the paranoid one during the Jedi Civil War. Is this how it goes?”
Bastila was tempted to try and attack the droid again, but she only replied with, “There is no emotion; there is peace.”
“Chiding Statement: Anytime, meatbag... anytime.”
Done with HK and his insults, Bastila promptly rejoined Marketh and Caeda. Caeda was not the least bit pleased that they were leaving a planet again, “Mom and I have been living on Coruscant for two years. We were having a well enough time here already. Then you show up and now suddenly, we have to go halfway across the galaxy. To Dantooine. Why is that?”
“Because based on what I found in the Unknown Regions, your mother and I agreed that it would be best for all of us to live on Dantooine.”
“...Says you,” grunted Caeda, “Mom wanted to live on Coruscant forever until you showed up!”
“Caeda... there will be no arguing,” Bastila intervened.
“I can see where this is going to put a bit of strain on our relationship,” Marketh continued, “But Caeda, I know you barely even know who I am, but you must trust me.”
“Yeah...” Caeda muttered, “Blow it out your-”
“CAEDA!” Bastila snapped
Caeda shrugged her shoulders, “Now suddenly I'm the bad guy?” Caeda left the main hold to go and explore the ship.
“Did you tell her why we were going to Dantooine?” Marketh asked.
“I did not, to tell the truth,” Bastila answered.
Marketh chuckled, “Well that would explain the hostilities. But I think we should just keep it as a surprise. Though I am a little sad that she and I got off on the wrong foot.”
“She'll grow on to you.”
Suddenly, Marketh could hear fast footsteps getting louder and louder, “Kotone?” Marketh asked.
“Rev, you've returned!” Kotone exclaimed “How did it- Bastila! Welcome aboard!”
“Bastila, this is Kotone Silvr,” told Marketh, introducing his co-captain, “Jedi Master and my new co-captain aboard the Ebon Hawk. It is thanks to her that we have sufficient Jedi to restart the Order.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Bastila.
“Whoa... whoa... did I hear you right?” asked Kotone, startled and confused.
“If you heard 'restart the Order', then you heard me correct.”
“I don't mean to cast a shadow on this, but will a small handful of Jedi be enough to bring the Order back up on to its feet? And where is our facility going to be?”
Marketh smiled, “Bastila and I already discussed this. We will reconstruct the rest of the Enclave on Dantooine and we will make our headquarters there. The nine of us will be enough to get things started... as for the rest, leave that to me. Besides, we all call ourselves 'Jedi' do we not?”
“Alright. I don't know the half of it right now, but alright. Will there be any crew reassignments now that Bastila is with us?” Kotone asked.
“Unless Bastila wants to assume her old role of co-pilot, then we have nothing to discuss.” told Marketh.
“Anything is fine with me. I'll go tell Atton of our next move,” Kotone dashed to the cockpit of the Ebon Hawk.
Atton shot back up straight in his chair when he heard Kotone's running footsteps, “Where to?” he asked knowing that Kotone had come to him to tell him of a destination, “Shall I delve into the navicomputer and pick out a random destination? Or how about I fly us to Malachor's remains, would that be fun?” asked the pilot sarcastically.
“Could be, Atton. But our next destination is going to be a much easier flight,” told Kotone, “Mark's plan of action actually takes us to Dantooine. To the Enclave.”
“And what does he want to find there? Three rotting corpses?”
“...A little reconstruction...”
Atton glared at Kotone and raised his eyebrow as he caught on to Marketh's intentions, “You mean to say that we're going to rebuild the Jedi Order? You gotta be kidding me!”
“Being that this is Revan we're dealing with, knowing how up front to cryptic that guy can be, we might as well just go with it,” Kotone suggested, “So plot a course to Dantooine.”
Marketh sought out solitude on the Hawk so he would be able to call the other Jedi without interruption. The only way to contact Jedi on a grand scale was through a technique called Force Call. Though he had not perfected the ability, he still needed to try. Marketh began to focus, centre himself. He shut out the Ebon Hawk around him and achieved a meditative state. Through his closed eyelids, Marketh could see the entire Galaxy. The soothing beaches of Lehon, the endless desert of Tatooine, the eternal forest of Kashyyyk, the lush grasslands of Dantooine, and the limitless skyscrapers of Coruscant.
“If you can hear my voice...” through the Force, Marketh sounded like a mere ghost, even to himself, “Then you must realize that you are not the only Jedi alive. I am Marketh Noraqathan, veteran of the Mandalorian Wars and survivor of the Jedi Purge. I know Bastila, my daughter and the rest of the Ebon Hawk crew are not the last of the Jedi, which is why I now speak of restoration. We do not have the numbers to remake ourselves on a grand scale, but we can still start again. We do not have the numbers to make use of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but we have the numbers to make use of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Which is where me and my crew are headed. If you hear this, then you know where I will be. I do not expect anyone to arrive, but you must realize that it is the right thing. I am Revan... and you are the true Jedi.”
(Sorry for the long delay, I was sidetracked playing Dragon Age)
Chapter Three
Flight to Dantooine
The Ebon Hawk was now in its own lonesome tunnel of hyperspace, from the Republic capital of Coruscant to the outer-rim world of Dantooine, on the way to drop off her crew to reconstruct the Jedi Order. All the passengers got used to the momentum of the speed and returned to their previous activities. Caeda, however, still wanted to get to know the ship around her. Her curiosity led her to every reach of the Ebon Hawk, though she tried her best to avoid Marketh, her father, for she was still very angry with him. She eventually found herself in the ship's garage, where right away she saw the assassin droid HK-47 where she instantly developed a fascination towards the robot.
HK could see Caeda advancing towards him, “Rhetoric: Ugh, the crap I have to endure through these days,” he groaned. He was not the least bit pleased to humour the seven year old girl.
Caeda stopped right in front of HK so from where she was standing, HK was basically towering over her, “What are you?” she asked.
“Answer: I'm an assassination droid,” HK replied in an annoyed tone.
“What do you do?” she asked.
“Dismissal: I am in no mood, nor have any wish to humour you, you little vermin meatbag!” HK growled, “Now why don't you hit the durasteel before I drive you into it!”
Caeda jumped back in fear from the assassin droid's threat and she then rushed out of the garage. Bao-Dur, who was heard what was going on, stopped his work and confronted HK about his actions. “Watch that attitude of yours, HK!” Bao-Dur snapped.
“Query: What's the problem, Zabrak?”
“She's just a little girl!” Bao-Dur protested, “She didn't deserve that.”
“Retort: It's because she's a little girl that I gave her the time she needed to leave so she could avoid me bashing her face in with my flechette shotgun! I am not without mercy.”
Bao-Dur rolled his eyes and returned to his work, “You're without empathy though,” he sighed.
Caeda quickly walked away from the garage and never looked back, she hoped that she would never see HK again for the duration of the flight. Her walk became slower as she began to calm down and she decided to begin exploring again. Caeda's curiosity led her in the direction of the cockpit, after a small, but brisk walk, Caeda found herself looking out the window of the Ebon Hawk, out into what was hyperspace. When she and her mother Bastila were on the run from Sith assassins, she was usually asleep while they travelled and she never saw what hyperspace looked like from the inside of a ship. To her, it was amazing. “Wow...” she whispered.
“It looks beautiful, doesn't it.” told Atton, who heard her little voice. Caeda didn't answer, she was afraid that he might treat her as mean as HK-47 did. Atton looked back at her with a raised eyebrow, “You feeling shy or something?” he asked. Still, no answer. Atton only nodded at her reply of silence. Atton gestured at the empty seat beside him, “Don't be a stranger girl, take a seat.” The shy conscience in Caeda tried to defy Atton, but her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly began to creep towards the empty seat. Atton, gestured again at the copilot's seat, “Come on,” he said, “Help me fly this thing to Dantooine.”
The idea that this man wanted to make her feel welcome popped into Caeda's head. Caeda's creep sped into a regular walk and she jumped into the copilot's seat beside Atton. It felt strange to her at first because she had never sat in such a chair before, but soon she began to feel comfortable about it. “Thanks for the first warm welcome I've received on this ship,” Caeda told to Atton.
“It's no problem,” Atton held out his hand for a handshake, “My name's Atton... Atton Rand.”
No longer feeling hindered by the threat of being unwelcome, Caeda took Atton's hand and shook it, “I'm Caeda... Caeda Shan. Bastila's my mom.”
“And I am proud of your mom for bearing such a pretty little girl like yourself,” Atton said as he rustled his hand in Caeda's hair. Caeda giggled as she tried to wrestle Atton's hand away from her head. Atton quickly checked the pilot controls to make sure nothing was wrong, then he diverted his attention to the curious little girl again. “So what?” he asked, “Were you being shy because someone was giving you a hard time?” Caeda promptly nodded 'yes' to Atton's question, he had a good idea on who her welcoming party was, “The fighting droid, HK-47, was being mean to you, wasn't he.”
“He called me a 'meatbag'!” Caeda replied.
“Aw, don't worry about it,” told Atton trying to cheer the little girl up, “He calls everyone a 'meatbag'. He's just a mean, grumpy, sick droid. I'm sorry that he was the one to be your welcoming committee.”
“That... Zabrak didn't help either.”
“Oh, Bao-Dur? Bao-Dur's a nice guy, it's just that he can sometimes get too caught up in his work, he just ignores what's going on around him sometimes.”
“What does he work on?”
“Anything,” Atton replied, “It's like the guy's a perfectionist.”
“And what about you?”
“Cracking wise and pretending to know how to fight with my hands.”
Caeda giggled lightly at Atton's joke, but promptly stopped when she let reality and their direction of travel sink in once again. “I don't want to go to Dantooine,” she muttered.
“Have you ever been to Dantooine?” Atton asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Have you?”
“Answer me first, then I'll tell you.”
Caeda rolled her eyes, thinking that Atton himself was too old for the game he was playing with her, “Okay. No, I haven't. Now have you been to Dantooine?”
“The planet has seen better days, but it still looks beautiful when the sun shines. There's a Jedi Enclave there that underwent pest extermination from yours truly and the rest of the crew, minus your mom and dad, and for the most part, it's been rebuilt,” Atton explained.
Jedi Enclave? No one mentioned a Jedi Enclave to her. “Funny... neither mom or Marketh mentioned a Jedi Enclave.” Caeda speculated.
“You honestly didn't think we were going halfway across the galaxy for nothing, did you?”
“...I suppose not...”
“Trust me, Caeda. Your dad always know what he's doing. Always knew what to do before, always knows what to do now.”
“You know my... father?”
“Of course I do, girl. I'm his pilot,” Atton joked.
“Don't give me that, you must have known him before the Purge.”
Atton chuckled, “Okay, you've got me. I knew him from when he decided to lead in the Mandalorian Wars. And I also heard lots of stories about him in the Jedi Civil War.”
Caeda leaned forward, “Please tell me those stories.”
“You got it, kid. It was in the middle of the Mandalorian Wars, nearly the entire Outer Rim fell victim to Mandalorian attack. The Republic needed help, but the Jedi of that day refused to fight. Now... as a Jedi Master, I sometimes wonder if your dad made the right decision but I always end up on the same conclusion... we still would've lost. Something about the war turned on a switch in your dad's head. Whether his home planet was attacked, or whether he was disgusted with the council's inaction... your dad led every Jedi he could convince into the heat of war. It was only after his entry where the tide began to turn, where the Republic regained its hope. It was after the battle of Serroco where your dad intervened, where I began to serve with him. Everything about your dad was flawless, his military strategies, his way of battle and his ability to inspire. Your dad wanted to save the galaxy, and save the galaxy he would.”
“Did my mom join him? She didn't say anything about her effort in the war.”
“I think that they had feelings for each other before the war began, but she decided not to go after your dad personally tried to recruit her. Anyway. It was at the battle of Malachor V where the war would be decided. We knew it, your dad knew it and the Mandalorians knew it. Malachor V was one of the fiercest battles the galaxy has ever seen your dad led me, Kotone, and Bao-Dur against the Mandalorians to a standstill. They invited your dad to board their ship and Mandalore himself challenged your dad to single combat. I wasn't on that ship, but-”
“Well who won?” Caeda excitedly interrupted.
“Is your dad on this ship?” Atton asked.
“I guess so... then some jealous Jedi struck my dad down then stole his codename and perverted it into Darth Revan. That, I know.”
Atton was unsure and afraid about how he was going to break Marketh's fall to the Dark Side to Caeda, but much to his relief, Caeda was already under a certain impression. “Yeah... that's what happened. Then the Jedi Civil War began. Darth Revan led most of us back against the Republic we set out to protect and they began killing many people, mostly Jedi. It was at this point where I defected from the new Sith fleet.”
“Then what happened?”
“Your mom wanted to get back at Darth Revan for what he did to your dad so she eventually led a Jedi strike team aboard his flagship and they killed him. Darth Revan was gone for good, but there was still the matter of Darth Malak, his Sith apprentice. Malak became the Master of the Sith, and he needed an able apprentice. Impressed with your mother defeating his master, Malak wanted her to be his apprentice. Of course, your mother would have none of it and she fled. Malak chased her as far as Taris. Malak couldn't find her on the planet so he tried to do away with her by bombarding it to dust.”
Caeda gasped, “How did my mom escape?”
“This is where your dad comes back into the story. By some stroke of luck, your dad happened to be on Taris. And with some help, they commandeered this ship and your parents escaped the planet when Malak began his bombardment. After a brief visit to Dantooine, they were immediately sent out to stop Malak at the source. They began searching for a space station called the Star Forge. Along the way, your parents reconciled about your dad going to war. They worked together as one on many skirmishes on Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan and Korriban. They then reached a level of communication beyond all language. And together, after finding the Star Forge, they led a fleet against Malak and emerged victorious. Killing the Dark Lord and destroying the space station. I might be missing some parts but that's the basic gist of it all.”
“Is there anything after that?”
“Other than your dad leaving for seven years to keep the Sith at bay? No. Listen, Caeda. We're going to Dantooine to resurrect the Jedi Order. If anything, your dad wants this so he can keep you, your mother and the entire galaxy safe.”
It was after what Atton said where Caeda felt bad for snapping at her parents about leaving for Dantooine, “If they told me why we were going to Dantooine, I wouldn't have snapped at my dad.”
Atton chuckled, “Just by looking at you right now Caeda, I can tell that you are going to be one hell of a Jedi. Your parents are two of the most powerful Jedi of this day and age, you've got 'great Jedi' written all over you.”
Before Caeda could respond to Atton, she was interrupted by a beeping sound and a flashing red light, “What are those?” she asked.
Atton reached forward and pushed forward on the hyperdrive controls, bringing the Ebon Hawk out of lightspeed. Caeda instantly saw the green planet of Dantooine and she was amazed at the site. She had never seen a planet like it before. “Welcome to Dantooine, it's still recovering from the Jedi Civil War. But from up above, it's a nice planet, isn't it?” Atton asked the amazed little girl.
“Wow... look at that... it's beautiful.”
Atton took hold of the controls of the Ebon Hawk and began to make the approach on the former Jedi world “Alright everyone, I've begun our approach to Dantooine,” he told, speaking into the PA system, “I'm gonna make our way into the Khoonda Spaceport, seeing as if we're in their good graces.” Atton quickly took a glance at Caeda who was still amazed at seeing Dantooine from space. He spoke into the PA again, saying, “Just a friendly reminder that this first bit is going to be a little rough.” Atton let go of the controls on his side and gestured for Caeda to take over, “How would you like to fly this old bird into the atmosphere?” he asked.
“Seriously?!” asked Caeda excitedly.
“Yeah, sure. There's a first time for everything. Go ahead and pilot this thing.” Caeda quickly grabbed the controls on her side of the cockpit. It was very hard for her to pilot the Hawk with no previous experience and only being seven years old. Obviously she knew this, but she was still determined. Atton hovered his hands over his side of the controls should Caeda make a mistake, but all he needed to do at that moment was direct her. “Alright, we have to do this at a certain trajectory, so we don't end up overshooting our target,” told Atton, “I'll guide you through this.”
“Alright!” said Caeda, “Just tell me where to fly this girl.”
Atton leaned forward a little bit and focused on the planet, “Okay... to your right.” Caeda jerked hard on the control stick to the left and threw everyone and everything off balance, Atton and Caeda could hear a big crash coming from the back. It wasn't an explosion, something fell. “Easy Caeda, not so hard. Look at how far we are away from the planet, we got lots of time to fix our path.”
“Threat: Fix up your flying skills or I will tear you a third eyelid! You idiotic meatbag!” HK shouted. Caeda laughed hysterically, knowing she finally got back at the droid who was mean to her.
“Well you sure showed him, eh?” Atton joked. But getting serious again, Atton then observed where they were at the moment, “Alright Caeda... a little bit to your right to fix that muck up from before. And gently, this time.”
“Alright, alright,” Caeda answered as she gently fixed the trajectory.
Observing Caeda's work, Atton was impressed, “That's perfect,” he said as Caeda straightened the ship back out. “You're a real natural at this,” he commented.
Caeda giggled, “Thank you.” She let her attention slip from the task at hand until she noticed a bright flame coming off the window of the cockpit. This startled her and she gasped in fear, but Atton grabbed her shoulder trying to calm her down.
“Don't worry, relax Caeda, this is normal! Grab the controls and keep her steady!” told Atton. Caeda did as she was told and did her best to keep the Ebon Hawk steady through reentry. Atton cautiously hovered his hands over the controls on his side of the cockpit but still held confidence in Bastila's daughter. He looked out the cockpit window, patiently waiting for them to enter below the clouds. “Wait for it...” he said, “Wait for it...” suddenly the Ebon Hawk was plummeting towards the planet below, Caeda had brought them out of the atmosphere, now she had to keep them from making a crash landing, “Now!” Atton shouted, “Pull up, Caeda!” Caeda made a squeal that could pierce a weak eardrum. She pulled up as hard as she could. Atton threw his hand on the girl's shoulder as if he were giving her an extra bit of confidence. After barely missing a tall tree, Caeda promptly got the Ebon Hawk steady again and she could hear another crash in the back of the ship. “Bravo! Bravo Caeda!” Atton congratulated, “You can relax, Caeda. I'll take it from here. You did a great job!”
Suddenly, both Atton and Caeda could hear loud, heavy stomping closer and closer. As the sounds of the footsteps reached their loudest, Atton and Caeda turned around to acknowledge their visitor, “Exclamation: Damn it, meatbag!”
As HK-47 stormed away, Atton and Caeda laughed at his distaste for them. Atton piloted the Ebon Hawk smoothly into the vacant Khoonda spaceport, where he set it down with no trouble at all. Back in the cockpit, Caeda jumped out of her seat, and rewarded Atton with a hug, “Thanks for being friendly to me. Thanks for letting me be a pilot for a few minutes.”
“It was my pleasure.” Atton said as he dismissed Caeda from the cockpit. He watched as she excitedly hopped out of the cockpit.
Replacing Caeda's presence was Kotone, taking the copilot's seat, “I guess it wasn't because of you we were having such a bad reentry.” Atton merely shrugged his shoulders in response. “Alright forget I said anything.”
Atton laughed, “You gotta give the kid credit. She got this ship in the atmosphere without hurting anyone... maybe except for HK, but who cares about him?”
“Since when were you that good with kids, Atton?”
“In truth, Ko... I'm not... or maybe I just don't want to admit it... I guess you could say it's a little more.”
Kotone sat down in the copilot's seat. “I've travelled with all of you for so long and I still don't know all of you as well as I think.”
“I won't spill my guts to you just because the Force tells me to.”
“Aw... I thought you and I were over evasiveness.”
“Well I think you're cute when you're prying at me,” Atton joked.
“You flatter me, as always, Atton. So spill it – why are you still a child at heart?”
Atton leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, “Hmm... well, because I like you, I'm gonna tell you. I sympathize – I feel sorry for the poor kid. I think she and I are alike in a few ways.”
Kotone leaned forward attentively, “Such as?”
“For one, she might turn out to be a good pilot, but anyway... I feel sorry for her because she's seven years old, and the only life she's experienced was a life on the run. No one deserves that. The Sith hunted Bastila just as much as any other Jedi and Bastila was doing everything she could to keep Caeda safe. Basically, for nearly half of her childhood, she's had no life at all. Now here we are, dragging her to Dantooine, and first welcome she gets is a 'screw you' from HK-47. So I figured I'd at least try to make the second impression a little more welcoming.”
“The fact that I still haven't explored every circle of your personality only makes me more... more...”
Atton turned his head to Kotone who had begun tripping over her own words, “More what?”
“It's nothing. The fact of the matter is that you're more compassionate than you pretend to be... you... you're a good person.”
Atton leaned forward, “Well... maybe you could tell me something... traumatizing about yourself and I can show you just how compassionate I can be.”
“Well maybe later, okay? It can give us something to look forward to when we return to the Enclave.”
“We're not going there right away?”
“Not us, no. You and I are going to Khoonda Administration. If we're still in their good books, they won't have any problem with us telling them to keep any new salvagers away from us,” Kotone shot out of her seat and like a lightning bolt, her hand shot out and stopped right in front of Atton's face, “So come on, we've got some diplomacy to do.”
Atton took Kotone's hand and pulled himself on to his feet, “And here's where I would say something suitably witty.”