"Ma'am!" There was chaos in the control room. Troopers were scrambling every which way and Bastila was in the midst of it, shouting orders over the frantic voices that were vying for her attention.

"Get me eyes!" she snapped as she quickly stepped in front of the view screen. "I need to know what happened now!"

"There was an explosion just southwest of here. Revan's ship exploded on atmospheric entry!" shouted one officer, evident excitement in his voice. There was cheering in the back of the room, but the chaos was hardly contained.

"We don't know that, trooper," Bastila said tightly, feeling a great heaviness slowly expanding in her chest. The ship had exploded. That was clear enough as she watched shards of metal and plastic rain down in flaming hunks, but Bastila just couldn't believe that Revan had perished in the blast. She felt sick for hoping that he had, but felt even sicker knowing that he didn't. Just before the explosion, the Jedi had felt a tremendous pull in the Force, as if all the air had been sucked out of an airlock. It left her feeling disoriented and blind even though she could very clearly see. Whatever had happened, Revan was alive.

"You!" she barked at a nearby officer, "deploy Alpha-Team-Charlie to scan the area. If Revan is alive, we want him right now." The officer scrambled to get it done, turning a knob to the appropriate comms channel and gave the order.

There was a distinct choking feeling taking hold of her heart at this very moment that was making it increasingly difficult to concentrate. The woman's stomach was balled up in knots as she tried hard not to think about whom else might have been on that ship with Revan. But no, he would not be so stupid or arrogant to bring her with him, would he? No, no of course not. If there was one thing that Revan cared about more than choking the very life out of the galaxy, it was her. He would not use her to get to Bastila.

She tried valiantly to reason with herself, but knew that there would be no way to tell who else was on the boat aside from that man's word. She had not been in Force contact with her daughter for over three years, and Revan had made sure to deaden the bond between mother and daughter as much as he could. Bastila knew this. Yet, she still felt her heart in her throat even as she forced herself to make arrangements to send out a rescue team to find the man she would rather see dead.

"And get Onasi up here!" she shouted at no one in particular. "I need all pilots in the hangar warming up the evac ships in case the Sith decide to raze Dxun." She turned her eyes to the view screen once more. "All non-personnel are to get on a ship and wait for further orders as soon as we know something!"

The woman frantically began to hit the call button on the comms unit, desperately trying to establish a connection to Revan before the Sith in orbit decided to take things into their own hands. "Revan!" she called, a sharp spike in her voice. "Revan! Do you read?" she demanded. The only thing that feedback she received from the unit was white static. She cursed softly under her breath before dialing the knob to a different frequency. There had to be a ship up there. Revan would not be so stupid to come alone and unarmed to a planet full of angry people he had just conquered.

Swallowing, Bastila held the device to her lips. "Attention, this is Bastila Shan of the Republic enclave base 060590," she said slowly, hoping against all hope that the Sith vessel would heed her hail and answer back. "There was an explosion and we have lost contact with Lord Revan. This was not an attack by this base. I repeat: this was not and attack on his vessel by this base." Bastila let go of the button and reached out with the Force, trying to find any comfort or hint of what might happen. She didn't feel anything to indicate immediate danger; no ripple in the Force.

After several agonizing minutes, and repeated messages by the Jedi, there was a crackle over the comm speakers that made Bastila's heart clench.

"Bastila Shan," came a voice that made Bastila's skin scrawl. "So nice to see you're alive and well." There was an amused pause and then— "You will locate Lord Revan or we shall be forced to open fire on you for the attempted capture of a political figure."

"What?" she gasped. "You can't possibly be serious! We had—"

But her reply was cut short. "Get it done, Jedi."

XxX

In the time it took his ship to disintegrate in the atmosphere of Dxun, Revan had already fallen several thousand meters inside his Force bubble. The strength he needed to keep the bubble around himself was having a heavy toll on his muscles. Already there was a small sheen of sweat on his skin, making his armor unbearably hot and sticky. Beads of sweat were slowly rolling down his forehead and getting caught in his dark eyebrows as he fought with all his concentration to keep himself from catching fire. As he was trained in the ways of the Force, Revan had of course free fallen many times, but never from this height or with bits of flaming plastic and melted blobs of metal falling with him.

Not only did he have to concentrate on not letting his protective bubble evaporate around him, but he also had to make sure none of the debris from his ship penetrated his bubble. It was rather like trying not to touch a single raindrop while it was down pouring. Luckily, at the speed he was falling, the ground of Dxun was fast approaching which left the man more focused on how to land without breaking anything rather be distracted by the flaming remnants of his favorite ship.

Bracing himself for impact, Revan pancaked his Force bubble out in an attempt to slow himself down. There was a forest of trees that he was headed straight for and he'd rather not hit a Dxun forest at terminal velocity. The Sith Lord rather liked being in one piece with all of his limps.

Letting out a roar, the Sith Lord hit the tree line and felt the branches and vines slap the armor around his body. The small ping! his armor made as the top parts of the vegetation made contact with his metal armor made Revan cram his eyes shut as he was hurled into the ground. At long last, there was an eruption of dirt and sand as Revan hit Dxun's surface and slid a clear ten meters before coming to a sudden halt. He had landed face first, his hands out in front of him as though he were flying.

Groaning heavily, the man forced himself over onto his back and laid there for a moment, panting hard as he took a moment to let his screaming muscles relax from the strain. Not everyone – not even someone trained in the ways of the Force – could say that they fell through the atmosphere of a planet and survived. The fabric of his cloak was shredded from the force of his impact and his armor was brown with mud. Coughing hard, Revan pulled his mask off his face and threw it to the ground. There he stood, with his hands on his knees as he panted at the ground. After a moment of trying to calm his nerves, the man heaved and vomited all over the ground on which he'd just hit. Even the Great Lord Revan was not immune to Death, and having miraculously escaped it when it had so clearly held the man in its hands left Revan grateful to be alive.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his armored hand, Revan coughed once more before spitting out the remaining vomit. He felt shaky but all too glad to be alive. Though not afraid of Death, the man was not ready to go. And if the Force had other plans for him, then he would fight them with all he had. His plans to protect everything he loved would not succeed with him dead. Though the Republic would be more than happy to claim his death as a great victory to liberty, they would really be celebrating the death of the entire galaxy by another force.

As he was wiping his brow, Revan felt a sting just above his eye. Hissing quietly, the man brought his hand down and was shocked to see his fingers covered in blood. Gingerly, he dabbed at the cut just through his eyebrow and realized that extended slightly below his eye. He hissed in pain again as he felt a small gush of blood roll out of the cut and drip down his face. Grunting, Revan bent down and retrieved his helmet, looking at it carefully. There was a dent in it that lined up perfectly with his eye. Flipping it over to inspect the inside, Revan saw that there was a small jagged piece of metal jutting out from the very peak of the dent. The Sith Lord sighed, and pressed his finger against it. Knowing he would not be able to force it out with his thumb, the man resigned himself to wearing it until he could fix it back on his flagship.

It was lucky that he placed his helmet back on when he did as he heard the recognizable roar of a starship flying near him. The trees bent in the wake of the fighter as it flew overhead and Revan looked sourly up at it. Well that was fast. Shan must be worried about retaliation on Malak's part if she was actually willing to part with a few ships to search for him.

Sighing heavily, the former Jedi walked over the bulk of his ship, wading through various pieces of debris. Locating the approximate part of where the cockpit should be, Revan dug through the wreckage, hoping to find his comms unit so he could radio for pickup. Frowning as he extracted the unit, Revan flipped it around and determined that it was too far gone to even use as a doorstop. With that, the young man set off in search for an open area. He sure hoped that Shan's fighter units spotted him before Malak razed the entirety of Dxun's surface.

Making sure his lightsaber was clipped securely to his belt, Revan made his way to the shores of the East Sea. Just before he hit the trees, he had spotted the vast body of water not far from here. He would walk there and try to flag down anyone who may have been passing by at the moment. Revan knew he should be concerned about any attacks but he was confident that no trooper would be stupid enough to do so. Even a blaster sucker had to know that if any harm fell upon him, that the entire Sith Armada would wipe out the entire planet before anyone would have time to evacuate, and no one wanted that. And, if worse came to worse, and Revan was forced to defend himself, there was no wondering who would win. Should any trooper actually be stupid enough to try and take Revan on, they would soon find themselves dead and without a ship.

This line of thought lead Revan to wonder why The Battlefront had failed to remain stable upon atmospheric entry. Surely no one had been stupid enough to sabotage it? Rovert was the last person (who he knew of) to be around the ship at all, but that meant very little. Revan knew for a fact that Malak was chomping at the bit, looking for a way to get rid of his master so that he might lead the Sith in a glorious battle against the Republic… But this seemed so unlike him.

Of course the military base that held Shan could also be an option, though he doubted it very much. He read no EMP pulses or magnetic fields as he was entering the planet's atmosphere so all that was left was either an error on his part, which, he scoffed, was impossible or someone on his ship was deliberately trying to kill him while making it look like an accident. That seemed far more likely than any other scenario he could think of.

But who would be stupid enough to actually attempt an assassination of Darth Revan?

XxX

Malak turned slowly in Revan's command chair, his long legs crossed and his hand on his chin. He had read something wrong with Revan's ship long before it had started showing signs of disintegration. The large Sith Apprentice stroked his facial hair slowly, deep in thought as to how he should proceed. It seemed as though the Force was on his side today, for he had made the decision to kill his master just moments before his blast-boat exploded. Though he knew his master not to be dead, it was still difficult not to wonder if somehow he was barely alive, horribly disfigured. If so, then killing him would be much easier than taking him on through lightsaber combat. It was no secret that Revan was the superior swordsman, so a lightsaber duel was out of the question. But if he could somehow weaken his Sith Master, then victory could very well be possible.

Leaning back in his chair, Malak brought a glass full of the same amber liquid Revan had shared with Asil to his lips, and sipped on it lightly. He could get used to this being his personal study. Revan used this place as a retreat, as someplace where he would not have to face the atrocities he committed every day. It was a waste of space and resources to keep his failing master's conscious somewhat clear. Revan was a fool not to embrace the entirety of the Dark Side as Malak had. Revan was weak and needed to be eradicated. Which is exactly why Malak had not told his master of the cut fuel lines.

Malak didn't know who did it or why they were severed, only that whoever was trying to kill Revan was also helping Malak attain his ultimate goal: to be ruler of the galaxy. There were many, many people who wanted Revan dead of course. He was systematically taking over the Republic one planet system at a time while the Senate could do nothing about it but give into his demands. It was strange, and Malak didn't understand it at all, but for every senator of an unconquered planet that was calling for the immediate declaration of war against the New Sith Order, there were two more senators of conquered planets who were more or less willing to let Revan take over the galaxy….

Malak had to wonder if some of these senators knew something he didn't or if Revan had gone even softer than Malak had first suspected. Undoubtedly, there would soon be a civil war if Revan did not gain control of the remaining naysayers of the Senate. Even the Supreme Chancellor was reluctant to throw all his forces behind a campaign against Revan, opting instead to offer troops and supplies to planets who needed help recovering from the devastation Revan had brought.

Chewing on his cheek lightly, Malak spun in his chair and pressed a button. "Rovert!" he commanded.

At once, the tiny man came shuffling in through the doorway of Revan's study.

"Y-yes, Lord?" Rovert asked trembling slightly with trepidation.

Malak let a sick smile slide over his face as he leaned forward. "Tell me, slime. Who is trying to kill Lord Revan?" he asked with a deadly silkiness to his voice.

Rovert trembled even more noticeably.

"I… I do not know, My Lord," whimpered the servant, desperately looking like he'd give anything to just evaporate on the spot.

Malak smirked and narrowed his eyes at the man. "I think you do, Rovert," Malak said softly. "Who else but you would know everything about our master?" he asked as his lips curled back into a sneer. It was a legitimate question and not without its truth. Rovert was always close at hand when Revan was around. He had been privy to more secret meetings between politicians and military leaders than Malak had ever been. Rovert was quiet, small and unimposing; everything Malak wasn't. The little man was able to be places and have ears and eyes that most senior officers would kill to have. And Malak was very willing to kill if it meant he'd have ears and eyes in places where he wanted them.

There was a flash and in the next second Rovert was curled up in a ball and screaming in pain as electricity danced over his frail body. "Tell me!" Malak demanded has his fingers smoked with heat.

Rovert let out a pathetic whimper but all it did was spur Malak on. There was a crackle of as his fingers sparked with lightening. Rovert's shoulders shook as he sobbed in terror. Malak let his smile grow wider.

"You are weak and pathetic!" There was another charge in the air as the deranged Sith Apprentice let loose with another barge of electricity. The little blue arcs wound and jumped their way over Rovert's body as the human writhed and screamed in agony. Every nerve was on fire and he felt his back teeth crack as his muscles spasms tore through his body. He was screaming, begging his lord to stop, and sobbing uncontrollably as Malak just laughed.

At long last it stopped, and Rovert curled up into the fetal position, trembling. Breathing in short deep breaths, Rovert mumbled a name.

"Speak up!" Malak snapped impatiently.

"Lord Asil!" Rovert sobbed, his skin smoking and burned.

A sickly satisfied smile curled Malak's lips. "Very good," he hissed softly to himself. In an instant, Malak was on his feet. He stepped over the sobbing pathetic mess of a man that was Rovert and slapped his hand against the door pad. Just as it opened with a soft whoosh! Malak was gone, leaving Revan's servant curled up in a ball on the floor.

XxX

Bastila sat on edge. She had just gotten a report back that Alpha-Team-Charlie had just picked up Revan and were on their way back to the enclave. The brunette wrung her hands and kept an eye on the chrono. They should be showing up at any moment with that monster in tow. When he got here, he would be escorted by Bastila herself and an armed entourage to the VIP room where he would be staying. Every person on base had explicit instructions not to go anywhere near the VIP room unless otherwise stated or invited by Bastila. She didn't need anyone getting hurt just because Revan was bored.

There was a blip over the intercom and Bastila jumped. "Package has arrived, ma'am," came the carefully controlled voice of Solo.

Swallowing hard, Bastila steeled her nerves and stood up, throwing a nervous glance at Carth's direction. He was red with rage and looked to be holding his breath. Bastila couldn't blame him but had to warn him nonetheless. "You are to stay away from him. You are to stay away from his room. You are to stay away from that entire level while he is here. Do you understand me?" Her words were harsh, but she tried to make her tone sound soft. It was extremely contradictory even to her.

There was no answer from the pilot.

"Carth!" Bastila snapped.

Carth sat with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his scruffy face red as his lips were pressed tightly together. He let out a sharp sigh. "Fine," he spoke through his teeth and Bastila knew it took all his strength to agree to what she was asking. She also knew that if any other person had been in command of this enclave, Carth would have told them to sod off long ago. The Jedi nodded to him in respect and placed a soft hand on the soldier's shoulder and squeezed gently.

As she made her way to the hangar, Bastila took notice every single person's posture. Each trooper seemed more alert with their blasters held tighter and higher in their grip. The scientists shot each other nervous glances and would often tap their personal small carbine blaster carefully as if sure that Revan would pop out and kill them on the spot just for existing.

Bastila couldn't blame them. She was very aware of her lightsaber bouncing on her hip as she walked brusquely forward. This would be the first time she'd have seen him since she spotted him at the Award Ceremony sometime last year. She wondered how different he might look now, but pushed it from her mind. Focus on the present she told herself. The here and now. There was no point in wondering what could have been and instead rechanneled her energy into changing what might be.

All too soon, she was standing in front of the door that lead to the hangar. There was a noticeable change in her heartbeat and she felt herself swallow several times as she screwed up her courage to hit the slap-pad to open the door. She stood there for another minute, collecting herself. Reaching up, the Jedi was just about to hit the slap-pad when the door slid open on its own. She gasped and took a hasty step back and found herself staring into the cold mask of Darth Revan.

There was a very pregnant pause as Bastila and Revan both stared at each other. This was the first time they had stood together since before he left the Academy and it left Bastila with her heart pumping and looking flustered.

Revan looked cold and imposing: as still as a statue in his full Mandalorian armor with that cold T-shaped visor in his helmet. Bastila could just picture his eyes staring out at her through the narrow slit and vaguely found herself wondering if they were the sick yellow color that was normal for all Dark Siders or if they were still the rich and vibrant green she remembered.

"Is this how you treat honored guests?" he asked her slowly, nodding his head to the troopers.

All around her, troopers had their baster rifles leveled at Revan, ready to pull the trigger at the slightest of his movements.

A flash of annoyance flitted across her face as she glared at him. Pursing her lips, Bastila held her hand out to Revan. "Lightsaber. Now."

There was a deep rumble of laughter that came from Revan and it immediately put Bastila on edge. Slowly, he reached to his hip. Every trooper within the vicinity tightened their grip on their blasters and slipped their fingers over the trigger. Bastila watched as slowly he unclipped the lightsaber and placed it into the palm of her hand. There was a collective sigh of relief and each trooper relaxed a slightly.

Carefully, Bastila took Revan's lightsaber and hooked it to her own belt on the other side of her hip. Looking around, she nodded to the troopers to drop their guns. Hesitantly, each one did so, but very reluctantly.

"Ah, see? That wasn't so hard was it?" came the amused voice of Revan.

Bastila scowled. "Follow me," she ordered.

"Of course," he said. Bastila hated how agreeable he was to everything.

XxX

Wow, it's been a loooooonng time guys. Four years? Yeah. Holy cow. I don't think anyone from when I originally put this up is still around, but hey. At least I'm back! Kinda? A lot has happened. Anyway, if it pleases the court (that would be you guys) I'm going to try to update and finish this story. I've got a lot of it mapped out already… I know the twists and turns. The hard part will just be finding some quiet time to sit down and write it out.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!