The walk back to the temple seemed to pass by with impossible swiftness. As each step brought them closer to its menacing edifice, Carth's face got tighter and tighter and the strain that the very thought of leaving was causing him was painfully evident to Brinna. A hard lump formed in her throat and she found it difficult to keep control over her emotions. Canderous looked grim and he kept eyeing Carth as if he expected the pilot to fling himself into the field that barred entry to the temple's doors.

When they reached the temple, Brinna turned to the two men. "You have to get that ship up and running. I don't know how long it'll take me to get that field down but the ship has to be ready to go the second I return to that beach."

Carth swallowed convulsively and Brinna quickly looked away. That small gesture told her everything she needed to know: she felt certain that he didn't lack faith in her, but she also knew that he was deathly afraid that she would not be returning.

"Don't worry," Canderous told her gruffly. "See to it that you do your part. We'll do ours."

Brinna was unable to muster the strength to speak any more words as her companions turned to leave her. She gave Canderous a curt nod, which he returned in kind, before he walked swiftly away, leaving her with Carth. Oblivious to the Elders, she stared into his eyes, finding it difficult not to avert her gaze from the pain she saw within them. He seemed as incapable of speech as her for he lifted a gentle hand to her cheek, eyes closing as a muscle along his jaw line spasmed, and then he, too, left. His gait was jerky, telling Brinna that he was doing all that he could to hold himself together. As soon as they were out of sight, Brinna approached the Elder guide.

"I will begin the ritual," he told her. "It will take many hours, but when it is complete you must be ready…the shields will not stay down for long. Prepare yourself."

Brinna nodded in response and then settled down in the grass, trying her best to calm her nerves as the Rakata began their strange and rhythmic chanting.

Waiting was difficult. The dark side was very strong on this strange planet, perhaps even stronger than it had been on Korriban. The temple looming before them was an edifice of dread, and Brinna wondered if the Elder was as aware of this as she was. She tried her best not to imagine herself in the garb of Darth Revan, lusting at the thought of the dark power of the temple, the knowledge held within it. Once again, she felt that strange sense of disconnect. Though she now understood that the memory she'd had when she had met Malak for the first time—the one where Revan removed her mask—was a memory of this planet, of this temple, she felt no sense of familiarity with the place.

The Elder guide's voice jolted her out of her reverie. "Wait…someone is coming!"

As she rose and turned, Brinna sensed the presence of her Jedi brethren and she felt a mixture of relief and frustration. Hadn't Carth and Canderous told them that they could not join her?

"Wait... you can't go in there alone!" Jolee called to her.

"I have to go in there alone," Brinna explained, exasperated. "It's the Rakata tradition."

"We have had a... a premonition," Juhani informed her. "The Force has given us a vision. There is great danger within the Temple. We cannot let you face it alone."

Brinna felt a chill at Juhani's words. She knew, of course, that the temple would be dangerous, but the thought that Juhani and Jolee had received a vision from the Force gave her a very sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You might be walking into a trap... maybe Malak himself is waiting inside," Jolee told her. "Even if he isn't, that temple will be crawling with Dark Jedi. You'll need all the help you can get."

The incensed voice of the Elder guide broke into their argument. "No other can go with you into the Temple. You must enter alone. That is the way of the ancient ritual."

Brinna was less inclined than ever to enter the temple on her own, but time was short and it set her on edge to see that the Rakata had ceased their chanting. She fervently hoped that they wouldn't have to start all over again. It was imperative that she get rid of her companions as quickly as possible. "Jolee - you can't come! The Rakata won't allow it."

Jolee was not to be so easily persuaded, nor was Juhani. They were insistent that they were not going to let her enter alone, that they would not allow her to face the temple on her own. Jolee told her to get the guide to let them in as well.

Admitting defeat, Brinna turned to the Elder guide and told him that she wasn't going into the temple alone. This, of course, was not something he was pleased to hear, but Brinna was able to persuade him that she could not defeat the Star Forge on her own. This was no deception: she knew she would need her friends to help her and, in fact, she was relieved that Jolee and Juhani had been so insistent about accompanying her. She could sense that the Elder guide was very reluctant to believe her, but she could also sense his anxiety at the possibility that she might not be able to destroy the Star Forge. It was very obvious to her now that the Elder Rakata truly wanted to do away with the mistakes of their past. Finally, he agreed to allow Jolee and Juhani to enter with her.

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to take a while?" Jolee asked. "Still, we better stay ready. As soon as those shields go down we have to get inside the temple."

It seemed an eternity passed before the Rakata finally managed to lower the shields. Brinna and her companions instantly sprang into action, running immediately for the temple door. Just as they entered, the shield sprang up behind them, sealing them in. Brinna tried her best to ignore the sense of foreboding this inspired.

The first door they encountered was sealed, and there was no visible means of opening it.

"I imagine this door will lead us to the top of the temple," Juhani said, studying it.

"I'll bet that's where the controls for the disruptor field are," Brinna sighed.

"There's nothing for it but to make our way through this temple and see if there's some way of unsealing that door," Jolee remarked.

But this was easier said than done. The temple was absolutely infested with dark Jedi and their attack droids. Though the battles were bad, the part that was truly creepy for Brinna was the fact that every dark Jedi in the temple recognized her. Every time one of them called her Revan, she was almost as taken aback as she had been when she had discovered the truth about her past. Even though she now knew that she had once been Revan, it was still disorienting for her. In her mind, she was and always had been Brinna Warrim. She wondered if she would ever get used to this duality.

Brinna realized with a great sense of relief just how much the presence of her companions meant to her. She had no doubt that she wouldn't have survived battling so many Sith on her own, but she also knew that the moral support they provided her was invaluable. They could sense her distress as each of the dark Jedi greeted her by name, and each time they reached out to her via the Force, doing their best to help soothe her nerves.

They cleared every room on the main floor of the temple, but were unable to find anything that could help them unseal the door to the top. They did, however, find an entrance to the catacombs, and they descended rapidly.

"I hope we will find something down here," Juhani said. Brinna could tell from her tone of voice that the Cathar was tense.

"I sense it, too," Brinna told her.

"So do I," Jolee said. "There's some sort of presence here, but I can't quite put my finger on it…"

"What exactly did you see in your premonition?" Brinna asked her companions.

Jolee and Juhani exchanged a look. "We did not see anything specific," Juhani told her. "But we believe there is great temptation for you here."

"I remember this place," Brinna admitted, rubbing a weary hand over her face. "When Malak told me about my past, I remembered Revan being here. The vision didn't make much sense to me then, but now that I've seen this planet, talked to its natives… Well, I know this is the place. In my vision, Revan was on top of the temple."

"But you don't remember anything about how she got there?" Jolee asked.

Brinna sighed. "No, and I'm not sorry for it. It was like all of the visions I've had, just bits and pieces, bits and pieces that only make sense to me as I retrace Revan's and Malak's footsteps. I don't remember any of the details as to how they got to the planets, what they did when they got there…"

"We will find a way," Juhani said quietly, laying a reassuring hand on Brinna's shoulder.

Grateful for the contact, Brinna smiled slightly at Juhani. Perhaps things might have been easier for them if Brinna's recollections had been clearer, but she felt no regret that they weren't. As far as she was concerned, the less she remembered about Revan, the better. She fervently hoped that she'd never regain any other memories of the former Sith Lord.

The catacombs yielded some lightsaber crystals and a trapped door that was easy enough to work through, thanks to a Sith datapad that they found. There was nothing in the room behind the door other than an old, dusty computer that looked like every other they had so far seen. However, as soon as Brinna approached it, it greeted her aloud.

"Welcome back, Revan. It has been some time since you last accessed my database. I was beginning to wonder if you had been terminated," the computer voice said.

"I'm not Revan anymore. I'm Brinna Warrim," she responded.

"An odd statement, though it does explain certain conflicting data being read by my sensory input systems. I recognize your appearance from your last visit, which is stored in my databanks. However, I am detecting some significant changes in your composition since your last visit. Your neurological patterns exhibit subtle yet substantive alterations in both thought patterns and information processing. These changes have been noted and recorded in my database."

"Your database?"

The computer explained to her that it was self-maintaining and that little of note had been recorded in recent years. It seemed, though, that its data for the epoch during which the Infinite Empire had ruled had been preserved, and Brinna could feel her pulse speeding as she asked the computer to tell her about the Star Forge.

Confirming every one of their worst fears, the computer informed them that the Star Forge was both a factory and a battleship, and that it could produce an entire fleet with very few resources and in a remarkably short amount of time. This solved the mystery of the sudden strength of the Sith fleet, and helped to underscore the fact that, if they didn't destroy the Star Forge as quickly as possible, the Sith would become nigh unstoppable. Even without Bastila's battle meditation, the Republic would have no chance. The Sith would be able to just continue to churn out ship after ship while the Republic watched its resources dwindle until they disappeared completely.

"In many ways, the Star Forge is like a living entity," the computer continued. "It feeds, it hungers, it draws on the energy flowing through all living things—what you called the Force the last time you were here. The ability to feed and consume the living energy of the Force is the key to the Star Forge's power, but ultimately it was also what led to the destruction of the Infinite Empire."
"What do you mean?"

"The Rakata are by nature a cruel and savage species. The Star Forge fueled itself with the hatred inherent in its own creators, and in doing so it accentuated these traits within the Builders. In your terminology, the Star Forge is a tool of the dark side. It corrupts those who use it so that it can generate greater and greater amounts of negative energy to fuel itself. The Builders thought they were strong enough to control this effect, but they were wrong. They became victims of their own creation, and eventually their hatred turned them against each other. Civil war destroyed the Infinite Empire…a lesson to remember. Only one who is immensely strong in mind and will can harness the power of the Star Forge without suffering a similar fate."

"How can Malak possibly think he can control an artifact of such power?" Brinna asked, her voice hushed with horrified awe.

"Revan thought the same thing, once. Everything that embraces the power of the dark side eventually becomes another of its tools," Jolee told her, his voice grave.

"I can get the genetic data the Rakata requested from this computer, but I'm not sure if I should give it to them," Brinna told her companions. "If they really are cruel and savage by nature, as the computer suggests, is it such a good idea to try to help them breed Force abilities back into their people?"

"Brinna, should we make such judgments about another species?" Juhani asked her. "Do you believe that your own is any less prone to savagery or cruelty?"

"I see what you're saying, Juhani," Brinna faltered. "It's just that…that Revan interfered with so many things and now that I'm here and I have a choice…"

"And that is the key," Jolee told her. "You have a choice. One way or another, you will make this decision and the Rakata will then choose their next action. Revan may have made some bad choices herself, but she is not responsible for the choices made by those who followed her. We all have free will."

"I'll…I'll think about it," Brinna said. She turned back to the computer and asked it about the disruptor field. Just as they suspected, the controls were on the upper level. The computer informed her that she had been unable to access the upper level due to her neurological changes, which had caused a failure in the computer's recognition system. Now that its database had been updated, the computer deactivated the seal on the upper level doors.

As she and the other Jedi hastened their way to the top of the temple, Brinna thought about what they had discussed with regard to the Rakata genetic information. It was a difficult choice. On the one hand, she thought that denying them the data would likely ensure that the Force abilities of the Rakata continued to die out until they disappeared entirely. This meant there would be no risk to the galaxy of their being corrupted once more by the dark side. However, it could also mean that the Elder would eventually be conquered by the more primitive Rakata. By providing the Elder with the data, perhaps they could redeem themselves and neutralize the threat posed by their baser brethren. Wasn't it better for her to do her best to help annihilate a real threat than to worry about a possible threat that might never come to fruition?

I'm so tired of all this meddling, she thought. Once this is over, I want…

What did she want? To rejoin the Council? To leave the Council and attempt to lead a normal life? Was such a thing even possible for her? There were so many who recognized her as Revan and, though they were mostly Sith, there was a strong likelihood that word of her past identity would get out. She hardly expected the galaxy to embrace her, to trust in the claim that she had truly changed, that she now sought redemption. Just as Carth had for a while found it impossible to separate Revan from Brinna, so would the rest of the galaxy, of that she was certain.

But these were more or less idle thoughts at this time. For now, she needed to focus on stopping Malak. If she were able to do so, the cost might very well be her own life. This was a price she was willing to pay, if she must. Still, she wanted to survive, wanted to have a chance to seize this life as Brinna and to make something of it.

So deep in thought was she that she didn't initially notice who awaited them at the top of the temple. When her mind finally registered what her eyes were seeing, she stopped dead in her tracks, as did her companions.

"Revan—I knew you'd come for me. Malak thought you might be afraid to enter the Temple again, but he doesn't know you like I do. Not anymore. Not since you've changed," Bastila said to her.

The other Jedi looked different, felt different. Brinna could sense the uneasiness of her companions who could also, undoubtedly, sense the malevolent changes within Bastila. However, they did not have the same connection with her that Brinna had and, as a result, she was certain that she was even more aware of just how profoundly Bastila had changed in the short time she'd been Malak's prisoner.
"Quickly, Bastila—come with us! We have to escape before Malak arrives!" Juhani told her.

"Escape? You don't understand. I have sworn allegiance to Lord Malak and the Sith; I am no longer a pawn of the Jedi Council," Bastila scoffed.
This fall was worse than any other, mainly because Brinna felt so responsible. She remembered all the times she'd been short with Bastila, all the times she'd been downright rude to the other Jedi. She hadn't understood why Bastila was so aloof with her, but now she did. And, yet, Bastila had found it in her heart to attempt to help Brinna, even though she knew what Brinna had once been. Though they had never really had the chance to become friends, Brinna felt responsible for the younger Jedi. She knew firsthand just how the dark side destroyed lives. She didn't want to see Bastila suffer this fate.

"No, Bastila! Don't go over to the dark side!" Brinna said, reaching out to the other Jedi via their bond, flooding the connection with as much compassion as she could.

Dismissively, Bastila told her that the Jedi Council had brainwashed Brinna into believing that the dark side was some terrible entity. Bastila claimed that the masters used fear of the dark side as a tool to control the younger Jedi, that they sought only to dominate those who were strong in the Force, those like Bastila, Malak, and Revan.

Brinna was horrified by the extent of Bastila's indoctrination, and she could sense that her companions were as well. However, she also couldn't deny that Bastila's words caused some spark deep within her, a sense that she had felt throughout their mission, a sense that she should lay claim to her power and use it to crush her enemies.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Brinna did her best to strengthen her connection with Bastila as she told her fiercely, "It's not too late, Bastila! You can still turn away from the dark side!"

"I resisted at first," Bastila said. "I endured the Sith torments with the passionless serenity of a true Jedi, emptying my mind. But after a week of endless tortures I finally saw the truth. Malak forced me to acknowledge my anger and pain. He showed me the liberating power of these emotions. Then he made me see how the Jedi Council has denied me what is mine by right! They wanted me to bow and call them Master and follow their Code and obey their every order. But all the while they were exploiting my Battle Meditation for their own use!"

As Bastila spoke, their bond surged to life, and Brinna could see just what the week of torture had been like for Bastila. It was agonizing to see what the younger Jedi had suffered, and Brinna could feel the color draining from her face as she wondered if Revan had also subjected others to such torment. But she already knew the answer to that question. Though she might no longer have firsthand memories, Brinna knew that Revan had been just as bad as Malak, if not worse. After all, where had Malak learned everything he knew?

And just like that, Brinna knew she was fighting not only for Bastila's salvation, but also her own. She felt a conviction that to fail Bastila would ultimately lead to her own failure as well. "Don't be lured in by these Sith lies, Bastila!" she begged.

"Lies? You are the one living a lie, Revan. The Jedi Council made you into something you are not; they programmed you to be their slave. You used to be Revan, Master of the Sith, but no longer. You are simply a pawn of the Jedi Council and the Republic they serve…like I was until Malak freed me from their shackles! A pity the power you once had is so diluted in you. You could have been as strong as I am now... stronger, even. But that will never happen, now. With the power of the Star Forge Malak will destroy the Republic and conquer the galaxy. And I will be the apprentice at his side—after I prove my worth by killing you!"

Bastila immediately sprang to the attack, and Brinna was forced to defend herself. As her lightsabers flared to life, Brinna could feel the surge in her own power, could sense that she had returned to the level she had once known, Revan's level. This time, however, it was not the dark side that gave her such immense power; it was the light. Though Bastila had said many things that bore some truth, though the power of the dark side was strong in the temple, though Brinna herself felt angry and betrayed by what the Jedi had done to her, she understood that she had made her ultimate choice. Her life belonged to the light side now. Whatever wrongs she had committed in the past, she would do her best to atone for them, here and at the Star Forge. She would not allow herself to be defeated by Bastila. There was too much at stake, too many lives to save—including Bastila's.

The battle raged for a short time, but it was obvious that Brinna would best Bastila if it continued. To Brinna's relief, Bastila relented, admitting, "You are stronger than I would have thought possible, after what the Jedi Council did to you. Seems that Malak was wrong—the power of the dark side is not lost to you after all, Revan."

"I draw my power from the light now, Bastila," Brinna responded. She felt the truth of those words and they gave her power, confidence.

"You can deny what you are, Revan, but you are only fooling yourself. I know the truth. I have seen the shadows inside your mind. Remember: I was there when you nearly died in the trap set by the Jedi Council. I used the Force to preserve your life, Revan. We are forever linked by my actions on that bridge!"

"That is how I know you will come back to the light," Brinna said, her voice calm. And she did know. She knew as surely as she knew that she was really and truly no longer Revan.

"These are not your true feelings, Revan," Bastila said patronizingly. "You are speaking as a tool of the Jedi Council—as I once did. But now I see how the Jedi used us both! The Council tried to exploit the bond between us. They hoped I would draw out your memories to lead them to the Star Forge. We were slaves to their will—like all who follow the Jedi Code! But in our shared visions of the Star Maps I also felt the so-called taint within you. I resisted it at first, but now I embrace the power of the dark side—your dark side!"

Though Brinna did her best to persuade Bastila, it was all for naught. Bastila wanted Brinna to reclaim the mantle of Sith Lord, to take back from Malak what Bastila claimed was Brinna's. But as Brinna thought about the other Jedi's words, memory after memory washed over her. She saw Mission weeping over the fate of Taris, remembered Carth speaking about how he was forgetting his wife's face, saw Juhani agonizing over her belief that she had slain her master. Though the dark side was there, as it always would be, Brinna found it easier than she would have expected to turn her back on the temptation.

"Turn away from this path, Bastila. The dark side leads only to destruction," Brinna told the younger Jedi.

"Bastila, it is not too late for you to be saved," Juhani said. Brinna could sense that Juhani was feeling many of the same things Brinna was. Though she hadn't committed anything like the atrocities that Revan had, Juhani knew what it meant to succumb and then be reborn in the light. "The teachings of the Jedi can lead you from the dark side back into the light and a true understanding of the Force."

"You are beneath my contempt, Juhani," Bastila spat. "When you felt the power of the dark side you fled to a cave like some cowering animal! You know nothing of the Force or its true potential! But you, Revan—the power of the dark side is yours to command! You can use it to destroy Malak! With my help you could rule over the entire galaxy!"

"The Dark Lord Revan is dead. I am a servant of the light now." If Bastila could see past the temptations of the dark side, if she could remember something of what she had been a short time ago, Brinna knew that the young Jedi would feel the truth of these words. But it was not to be.

"You are a pathetic fool, Revan!" Bastila scoffed. "Together we could have defeated Malak and ruled over an Empire, but now I will be at Lord Malak's side instead!"

Before they could stop her, Bastila ran for a nearby spacecraft and took off. No one spoke for several long minutes, and Brinna sensed that they were doing just as she was. Feeling a lump growing in her throat, Brinna watched as Bastila's craft became no more than a speck and then disappeared entirely.

"What will we do now?" Juhani asked. She spoke calmly, as she usually did, but Brinna could hear the undercurrent in her voice. "Now that Bastila has fallen to the dark side, Malak will use her Battle Meditation and the fight will be hopeless."

"The situation is dire," Jolee agreed, his voice taking on a very sober note.

"We can't give up now," Brinna said, ferociously. "Not on the fight against Malak and not on Bastila. I owe her that much."

"My dear, you've taken a lot upon yourself," Jolee told her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to see this consume you. You did everything you could for Bastila and you can't blame yourself for the way Malak has twisted her."

"Don't you see, Jolee? I failed Bastila. I was angry with her because I thought she was standing in my way. I met her coldness with a coldness of my own because my pride was wounded and this is the end result."

"You cannot simply blame yourself, Brinna," Juhani broke in. "There was tension between you and Bastila. We cannot pretend that we did not feel it, but Bastila did not fall because of you."

"She fell because of her own weakness," Jolee confirmed. "Just as you once did."

Perhaps his words should have given her comfort, but they didn't. Despite what Juhani and Jolee said, Brinna felt that she was greatly to blame for Bastila's fall.

"We're not going to get anything accomplished just standing around here," Jolee said, breaking into Brinna's dark thoughts.

"You're right," Brinna agreed. She moved over to the console controlling the disruptor field, punched a few buttons, and disabled the shield. She felt a slight weight lift off her shoulders once this was done; at least the Republic fleet would not have to deal with the field in addition to Bastila's Battle Meditation.

"We need to get back to the beach and tell the others what's going on," she added, as she hurried back over to her fellow Jedi. "We don't have any time to waste. We've got to get to that Star Forge as quickly as possible. The longer we take, the more time Bastila will have to use her Battle Meditation and the more ships Malak will be able to produce."

Attuning themselves with the Force, the three Jedi moved rapidly out of the temple. They paused for the briefest of moments so that Brinna could supply the Elder outside with the genetic data she had found. As they raced back to the Ebon Hawk, Brinna could sense that her companions were just as anxious as she. Had the others been able to repair the ship? Would they make it to the Star Forge in time? Was there any way of surviving what seemed to be a hopeless fight?