Chapter Text
When I came to, my whole body ached, the deep wound in my gut burning as if the lightsaber were still there. But someone had healed me. I could still feel the faint cooling tingle of kolto, though I wasn't in a tank – I was lying down on a very soft infirmary bed. I tried to sit up, but found I couldn't move – my body was restrained, tied down to the bed, and my arm prickled where IV needles broke the skin.
Had someone rescued me from Revan's flagship after all? I thought I was lost...
My eyes fluttered open to see an array of medical gear above me, with bright blinking lights and readouts I had no hope of deciphering. And then I realized there was someone standing above me, hiding in the shadows between the gadgets, and I flinched.
She was a girl still, probably a little younger than me – an untidy mop of pure white curls framed sparkling blue eyes, a cute little snub nose, and ink-black skin. She wore simple robes – black, but not ostentatious like Sith robes. Instead, they were soft and tight-looking, not even leather or heavy wool like most Jedi robes, but something lighter, maybe cotton. They weren't a fighter's robes – they were a healer's, even though two lightsabers hung at her belt.
And if she was a healer, then I had been rescued. I was safe.
"You're awake," she said, a slight smile on her face. "Good to see you up, Bastila. When I brought you in, the doctors said you wouldn't wake up for weeks, maybe ever, but I knew they were wrong. They don't know the power of the Force."
"W-where am I?" I asked. "Dantooine? A Republic ship? And... how long have I been out?"
"You've been out for two days, most of it spent in a kolto tank," she said. Her voice was remarkably calm. She had a very distinct accent – probably a noble one, going by the precise diction, but definitely not Alderaan or Coruscant standard. I kind of liked it, actually. "You're in the medical bay of the Imperial flagship Infinite."
"Then we need to get out of here! I-if Revan finds us... we have to go!"
Her eyes widened with surprise, and she tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Well, you are on Revan's flagship," she said slowly. "She's rarely far away." I flinched, finally realizing that she was a Sith, and she smirked, her eyes sparkling. "What, you thought I was a Jedi? Nope! Sorry, Bastila. So, what do you remember about how you got your injury?"
I only glared at her in response. Why didn't I realize? I mean, she did look like a healer, which Sith usually weren't, but still, it wasn't totally hidden. Her face bore the distinctive signs of corruption, though she'd escaped the worst of it – ashy grey veins were just barely visible against her black skin, and her eyes looked faintly milky, a slight haze over their vibrant blue.
"Go on, talk," she said. "If nothing else, we want to make sure you didn't suffer any brain damage. Revan saw the whole thing, anyway, and a secret isn't really secret when the Dark Lord knows it."
I sighed. She was right – there was no point to staying silent. "I... I was fighting Revan when the whole bridge exploded. I was blown across the room – I landed on Revan's lightsaber!" I started to tremble, even remembering it – that black-and-red masked face the last thing I saw, as the life faded from my body. "What happened? Why am I even alive?"
"The explosion that nearly killed you was Revan's apprentice firing on his master. Malak thought he could stab Revan in the back while she was distracted with you Jedi." She smiled, letting that hang in the air for a few seconds. "Malak is now dead."
"S-so... Revan captured me?" I closed my eyes, letting the pain wash over me for a second. It was bad – but I could tell that I was going to survive. "I should be dead too, then. Even if the explosion didn't kill me... she would."
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Why do Jedi always assume we Sith are all baby-eating maniacs? I mean, you were on the mission to capture Revan – someone must have told you about her, right? Zhar or Vrook would have to know better. No, Revan and I have no love of indiscriminate bloodshed."
"I don't need to understand her to stop her!"
"Or they thought knowing might pose a temptation," she said, her wicked smirk returning to her face. She leaned over me, looking into my eyes. "You're the powerful young Padawan who went to war, the savior of the Republic. Who do you think you remind the Masters of?"
"I... I am not like Revan!" But I had heard the whispers. I felt my face burning. She was right, somehow. The Masters had talked about Revan, but they told me not to show up for the briefing, that I was there for my battle meditation and dueling skill, but knowledge like that was not for any Padawan's ears, and... Ugh. She was right, and that burned.
"How can you be sure you're not like Revan?" she said, clearly amused by my turmoil. "You wouldn't even know her face without the mask on, would you? So whenever you meet her... you won't have a clue."
"Enough of the damn mind games!" I yelled. "Who healed me? Who saved me? Why?"
"Sorry, Bastila, I know I'm getting a bit intense..." She sighed. "I healed you with the Force. You would have died without me. Darth Malak was my husband, so... I had to reconsider some things, after he died. I didn't want any more death, even of a stubborn Jedi like you." She smiled again, a little bit wanly. "Which, apparently, was enough to let me heal again. It's been a while. Don't know if I can hold onto that... but I'll try."
I blinked. So... she actually wants to regain her grasp of the Light Side? Interesting. And if I could redeem her completely — would she let me escape? "I can help with that," I said. "Healing isn't exactly my specialty, but I've done a good bit of it. I know the kind of mindset—"
"Healing is one of my specialties," she said. "I was very surprised when I lost it – with a clearer head, I think that was probably because of the side effects of an artifact I use. I'll meditate on how to avoid that next time."
"The Dark Side will always take that away from you. And after what Revan did... what the Dark Side did... to your husband... is this really who you want to be? You can always turn ba—"
"Absolutely not," she said, her voice icy. "When Malak betrayed Revan, he betrayed me. I will not regret what we had to do." Then she sighed, and I could see her face relax. "Though I'm proud to see that you're already trying to sow discord. I was right – the Dark Side is strong with you."
"What? I'm not—" I gritted my teeth, sucked in a breath. She was just trying to get to me. There is no passion, there is serenity, I reminded myself, trying to calm down. I am not Dark, and she won't change me. "I have no idea what you're taking about."
"Right, like you weren't just struggling for control in front of me." She rolled her eyes. "Well, that is a darn shame, because you've got an opportunity that most of the galaxy would kill for. Now that my husband is dead, Darth Revan is short an apprentice. And with you being the most famous Jedi of the Republic, she thinks you're worth a shot."
I gasped. The Sith really wanted me that badly? Revan really... respected me... that much? It was almost overwhelming. The Dark Lord herself...
Then an oily suspicion spread across my mind, and I mentally kicked myself for my moment of weakness – for listening to the Sith, even for a moment.
"So, where's Revan? Why are you here instead?" I glared at the woman in front of me. "If she really wanted me as her apprentice, surely she'd tell me herself. This is some kind of Sith trick, isn't it?"
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Revan... wants to ease you into things. Her in her full regalia – the mask and the robes and the boots and the cloak are meant to intimidate, and that's not the way to tempt you to the Dark Side. So instead you get me." She motioned to herself. "See, I'm five foot one and I look like a teenager. You'd better not be scared of me. And Revan is perfectly content to just wait til you're ready for her. Besides, you've got a lot of basics to brush up on. No point breaking out the Dark Lord for that."
Then she blinked, long and slow, and stared directly at me, her perfect eye contact practically an engraved invitation for me to look into them and see the truth of her words.
"But make no mistake: you are her apprentice, and she will be watching your progress very closely. Every word we say, she will know."
I frowned. She had told the truth, sure as the Force. But I was certain that she was hiding something... I frowned. I wasn't sure, but there was no harm in guessing. "Basics. Right. So y-you'll be the one to break me for Revan, then?"
She sighed. "You've been listening to too many stories, Bastila. Let me clear a few things up: I'm not going to torture you, I'm not even going to touch you. I won't tell you about how everyone in your life was just using you, or holding you back, or anything like that. You won't have to feel hate, at all. Your Jedi Masters tell you not to feel any emotion because the Dark Side can be rooted in any emotion – mine, for a very long time, came from my unwillingness to accept evil in the galaxy. It's why I fought the Mandalorians. And... lately, it seems that it does once more." I raised a skeptical eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes. "We're going to talk. I'm going to show you a better way, and you're going to accept it." She held up a hand as I started to open my mouth. "Don't tell me you won't. I have experience with these things."
"I... I'm sure you won't corrupt me," I whispered.
"Of course I don't want to corrupt you, Bastila," she said with a slight smile. "I want to heal you. I want you to grow strong and willful, and be all that you can be." She reached down, and laid her palm on my forehead, and I could feel the faint tingle of healing. "But you're a bit weak to start learning now. Once you've recovered, we can begin. I'll put you back to sleep, for now..."
"Wait!" I said. "Who... who are you?"
"Good question," she said with a frown. "I... actually expected you to recognize me, but since you don't... for now, call me Raga."
Then the tingles on my forehead overtook me, and I fell asleep.