Chapter Text
A hand ran over her shoulder and she winced. Right, shot. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and she felt the pain. It was dull for now, and she hoped it would remain so until they found some kolto.
"Who cares what they could have said?" Jakarro barked from behind her. "They were liars!"
"I must agree with my Master. They're much more trustowrthy as corpses," D4 agreed. It made her crack a smile for a moment, but a tingling in the back of her head made her turn around.
Her stomach dropped.
"Crap."
"What? What is it?" Lana called from the holo comm that was now behind her. Kaasha's entire body twisted to face away from them, staring up at the sky. A large Dreadnought had entered the atmosphere, looming above the temple. Two more followed, one clearly Republic and the other Imperial.
"Unless you both called in renforcements we got a new problem." She shot over her shoulder. She felt a weight on her head, a presence. It was unlike any she had felt before- no this one was powerful, and filled with hate, pain. And yet there was a calm serenity about the signature, one she did not yet understand.
Behind her, Theron pulled out a datapad, clicking away while shouting at her through the frequency. "Multiple sensor contact- Capital ships dropping out of hyperspace. They're coming in hot!"
Before he finished a large holo image appeared before them of a figure in a hooded cloak. A mask covered their face. A familiar mask that she remembered seeing in her teaching at the temple. "Revan." The figured nodded, but without being able to see the man's face, it was hard to tell what he felt. All she could feel from him was rage and hatred.
The voice spoke. "Darok and Arkous were valuable allies in my cause. But their deaths will not delay what is coming." The shadow of the ship loomed over them ominously. Immediately, her eyes started searching for a way out that wouldn't take them back through the temple. Running the way they came would be too dangerous. The temple could be attacked and they'd be buried alive. Jumping was out of the question. No water to land into, and the impact from the height would kill Jakarro for certain, and the chances were still high for her.
From the corner of her vision, she caught the sight of something yellow. Switching to look in that direction, she saw a shuttle. Probably the one Arkous and Darok were going to use in their escape. She nudged Jakarro and subtly motioned to the shuttle. The wookiee saw the small ship and gave her a nod. The figure - Revan - turned to face them. "My infinite army could have accomplished so much, but, I still have other weapons in my arsenal."
"You're looking good- for a person thought to be dead for 300 years." She spoke, gathering the force-users attention, allowing Jakarro to slip towards the shuttle, herding Broga with him, though the varacytl paused often to look back to see if his rider was following. She was, but slow enough that it would not cross Revan's mind that she was trying to escape.
Revan chuckled. "When a goal is important enough," he paused for a moment. "One learns to overcome any obstacle." From the corner of her eye she saw her allies had made it to the shutle, opening the hartch to climb in. When Revan finished his little speech, his image disappeared. The Temple began to shake under her feet.
"They're powering up weapons- get out of there!" Theron's voice sounded far away, as it was. As soon as she felt the tremors she booked it to the shuttle, fast enough that she was beginning to trip over herself. The shuttle powered up just as she threw herself through the door, finding the small space cramped with the giant lizard along with the wookiee taking up most of it. It was an uncomfortable position, but she let out a sigh of relief as they left the ground, putting the temple far behind them.
She watched from the back window as the ships gunned it down, bringing the ancient tower to a crumbling heap of dust. Anyone within the vicinity would be killed. They were not among them.
They didn't have time to meet up aboard the ship, more and more of Revan's ship were jumping out of hyper-space. They had to leave as quickly as possible. Rakata wasn't safe, for anyone.
Through the shaky connection from the crappy shuttle, they agreed to meet back on Manaan. It would be a short trip, but given the lack of space or anything to divert their attention, Kaasha could only let her mind wander.
She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she felt a furry hand harshly poke her cheek. A groan escaped her throat, opening her eyes to see Jakarro frowning at her, telling her to move out of the shuttle so everyone could. Glancing out the window she was greeted by the sight of blue. A blue sky colliding with a dark ocean was enough to tell her they were there.
Her joints popped and ached as she slid out, coaxing Broga after her, who seemed unaware of the space he was taking up. If anything, he seemed livelier to be off the shuttle, and from the nap they took. It warmed her heart to see her companion was unharmed, and she ran a hand over his beak, cooing to him. THe varacytl pushed back into her hand, a trill escaping the reptile.
Once Jakarro was out, they headed to the building where they agreed to meet with the others.
The two of them were discussing, and they seemed very grim, up until they spotted the two aliens entering the room. Lana's shoulders slumped ever so slightly with what she assumed was relief- who knows, it could've been disappointment- and she saw Theron show some rare emotion as his face lit up. It put a spring in her step as her speed increased. When she got close enough, a hand reach out- to do what she wasn't sure- but she stopped, letting the limp fall to her side.
Her eyes fell to the side, biting her lip. "I'm glad to see you're- both of you-" she looked at Lana with a small smile "- safe. I know we talked but I still worried."
"Glad to see you're still in one piece." Theron spoke. His eyes were warm as they looked at her, and she suddenly felt nervous. "It's a good look for-"
"What are you talking about? I'm hardly in one piece." D4 interrupted but the comment made her bark out a laugh rather than roll her eyes in annoyance. Though she saw Theron do the latter.
"Turn off your speech processor droid, before one piece is all that's left," Jakarro grumbled, and she hid her snicker behind a hand covering her mouth.
"Well thank you, Theron- I must say one piece is a good look for you too," she chuckled, her eyes closed, leaving her unable to notice the color that spread through her friend's face. She only noticed when D4 commented on it, that indeed, he had a small flush to his face, one that grew deeper after the droid spoke up.
"We're gonna- Jakarro and I... and the droid, we're leaving now so you can- we're leaving." The man walked swiftly past her, Jakarro and D4 following at a slower pace.
"What the heck was that?" She said after they disappeared around the corner.
"I was hoping you could tell me." The sith responded, an almost amused gleam to her yellow eyes.
"Meaning?"
"You know Theron far better than I."
"Sure, but he's never really... caught off guard like that."
Lana raised a brow. "Perhaps he is fond of you."
"Hmmm... - I'm sorry?" She shook her head with a smile. "We're friends. I'd hope he was fond of me, otherwise that wouldn't be much of a friendship."
"I suppose," the sith blinked for a moment then shook her head. "Regardless, we're not here to talk about that. I am truly relieved to see you are unharmed, for the most part," Lana glanced to her shoulder. It still stung but some kolto and a bandage did wonders. Just had to avoid being shot for a few days and she'd be right as rain. "I wish we had more time-"
"What do you mean?" She assumed it had to do with Revan, obviously, but the way the Sith spoke, like it was a goodbye worried her. "Are we leaving?"
"No- Theron and I learned some... disturbing things after we escaped Rakata Prime-" her eyes darted behind her. Kaasha turned and saw Theron approaching them, Jakarro and D4 not in sight.
"Have," her friend met her eyes then looked away, brow furrowed. "Have you told her yet?"
"I figured it would be better for you to, seeing how close you too are." Lana explained, waving a hand between the two of them. Then the Sith met the Jedi's gaze and offered a smile. "We'll see each other again, I'm certain." The click of her boots as she walked away echoed in the room, which soon filled with silence once the Sith had disappeared.
"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" She whispered, looking at the ground. A sigh answered her, coaxing her to look at his face instead of the floor.
"No we- Lana's got a bounty on her head for the murder of Darth Arkous." He explained. Kaasha just tiled her head in confusion.
"Don't sith get promoted when they kill their master?"
"Normally yes. Jakarro also has 12 separate death marks for Jakarro- a new record I'm told."
Her own brow furrowed as her arms crossed against her chest. "And you?"
"Disavowed rogue agent: apprehend on sight." His hands found their way to his hips, a small smirk on his lips. "Pretty tame, compared to the others. Marcus might've stepped up for me."
"Truly, you're a dangerous man to be around," she chuckled, walking to stand next to him, leaning against the table.
His smirk grew, but then his eyes darked. "And that's why I have to go."
"Why aren't I coming with you?"
Theron shook his head, eyes looking conflicted. "I wish you could, but the Revanites haven't been able to touch you yet. They don't know who you are- you had zero connections to Arkous or Darok they could track. So you're clean. No one knows you were involved. And... and I'd like it to stay that way for as long as it can."
Kaasha sighed, placing her hands behind her on the table. "Theron, I'm not a child who needs protection. I know you worry, but I worry too. I know you can take care of yourself but-" Her hand reached out for his, a rare sign of affection they allowed themselves.
"I know." He took hers in his, holding on tight. "Lana, Jakarro and D4, and I are going off grid. We need to stay hidden to continue investigating."
"You can't even tell me where you're going?" She frowned.
"Considering we're not sure where to even start... no." His thumb rubbed over the back of her palm, almost hesitantly. "The best you can do is go back to your life as usual. Make it hard for the Revanites to pin you to anything. If I learn anything, I'll contact you."
She gave his hand a light squeeze. "Okay." For a moment there was silence until she spoke again. "Do you think it was really him?"
"You mean has my ancient ancestor returned from the grave to kill us all? Not sure. But there was something about him." He got a distant look in his eyes for a moment before he shook himself out of it. He pushed himself up, letting go of her hand as he did so, dusting himself off as he seemingly readied himself to go undercover. This time, however, it was from his own people.
"Hey, be careful." She spoke, surprising herself when she threw her arms around his shoulders, tugging him into a tight hug. His arms seemed awkward as they tried to find a place for themselves on her hips, but she ignored it, pulling back as soon as she initiated it. "And don't die. Or I'll bring you mother."
"For the sake of everything the force hold sacred, please, do not get my mom involved." He shook his head, exasperated, but there was a small smile on his lips. "I don't know when I'll see you next but... don't get into too much trouble."
"I think from this we both know that trouble usually finds me." She hummed, clasping her hands beside her, walking next to him as they left the room for what would be the last time.
There was no word or hint for nearly 2 months.
Immediately after she had separated from them, she returned to Tython to continue her studies, while also learning what she could about Revan. Not that there was much to go off of. Just a picture or a paragraph. Little more.
Soon as she stepped foot in the temple, the Grandmaster was on her like glue. Despite her natural awareness, enhanced by her force-sensitivity, the older woman managed to get the jump on her in the library.
"Where have you been the last few days? I began to worry when no one had heard from you."
"Oh..." she looked away, setting down the datapad to her side. "Something came up... I needed to get away."
Satele's eyes softened for a fraction of a second before her Jedi composure resumed itself across her features. "It's Orgus, isn't it?"
The Togruta nodded, accepting the answer the Jedi Master had provided for her, rather than trying to find one for herself. "I just... I miss him. I was on Coruscant, and I... I went to the memorial for the fallen." Clearly she had been friends with Theron too long with how easily the lie slipped off her tongue. "I took Broga and we went to Utapau. To relive some happier times."
"I hope that it was a worth while trip. I know... I know that loosing your Master is hard, but it is good to see you are not letting your emotions loud your judgement." A hand rested on her shoulder briefly, and the younger Jedi felt a surge of affection for the human woman.
Her chest tightened when she spoke, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground. But they were alone, no one to hear them. "I heard about Theron." She whispered, seeing the Grandmaster's stance stiffen ever so slightly. "How... how are you doing?"
"He and I... you know we do not speak often. That we are not close, due to circumstances," massive understatment but she held her tongue, "though it was disheartening to hear what had happened. The Commander is furious." She added, refering to Theron's father. While she had never personally met him, she had learned about it through Theron when he found out. To say he was annoyed was like saying a thunderstorm was a sprinkle.
"I saw him, before... you know." Blue eyes looked to her face, searching, as if she did not believe her for a moment.
"Ah. Yes. I remember you two are close. When... when did you see him?"
"Just after the attack on Tython. We met up for a drink- and he said he had a bad feeling and was going on a new mission- then next thing you know..." She drew it out, unable to think of a solid way to continue on.
"And he said nothing more?" She shook her head. Her stomach twisted; she didn't want to lie to Theron's mother, let her know that her son, Kaasha's best friend, was okay and was searching into something that would affect the galaxy... but she had promised she wouldn't say a word.
"No. He didn't."
She spent a few weeks back at the temple, and on Tython, training more. Due to a request she had made, she had been training more in hand-to-hand combat, opting for something less lethal than her lightsabers. And on the off chance she would need to defend herself and she had no weapons to avail. It wasn't much different than her fighting style, allowing her to pick it up quickly.
Kaasha was not strong, but she made up for it in her smaller size and speed. Orgus had tried to improve her strength, but they found her style was more adept to speed and agility rather than brute force. In the end her training focused on fighting stronger and bigger opponents- they never finished.
2 days ago, she had requested to go to Coruscant. When asked why, she was unsure how to answer at first. But then came up with an excuse of wanting to see how the investigation for Theron was going. Satele must've wanted to learn more about her son's condition, because she approved it without much time for thought.
And now, she was in space. Alone. Well, not alone, she had T7 and Broga. But it was quiet. The unnerving kind, like something was just around the corner or she was flying through an astroid field.
A beep as heard. It was soft and muffled. To a human ear, it would not have been heard, but her montrals were able to hear it from farther away. Pushing herself up from the floor, where she had been meditating, Kaasha moved to find the source of the noise. Her bare feet tapped the floor, the only sound in the ship. T7 was downstairs near the engines while Broga was in the cargo hold.
The beep sounded again, this time louder. Hitting the button, the door to her room slid open, revealing her room. It was messier than most Jedi's, cloths thrown throughout the room, but it was still tidy save for that one detail.
Her datapad was lit up, so she scooped up the device in her hands, unlocking it. A new message.
Unknown sender.
A grin grew on her face and she opened the message, expecting a long explanation of what had been happening the past two months- no. Just one word. Rishi.
The hell was Rishi?
Clearly, it was a name, but she was a bit unsure if it was the name of a person or a planet. Probably a planet, unless it was an alias. He needed to give more than that.
She groaned, a hand pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Dammit Theron. I need more than this." Spinning on her heels the Jedi made her way to the engine room. Upon opening the door around the corner and trotting down the stairs, she saw T7 powered down. Lying the datapad on the table next to the droid, she knelt down and ran a hand fondly over his dome. "Hey, Tee. I need your help, hun." Within a few moments Tee beeped, powering himself up from his 'nap' as she referred to them. "Sorry to disturb you. I need some help."
"What = needs help?"
"Do your databanks have anything on 'Rishi'?" She asked, resting her arms on her knees as she waited patiently for an answer.
"Rishi = Planet + Outer Rim. Why + know this?"
"Theron sent me a message-" T7 let out a noise of joy, making the Togruta smile. The droid was as fond of the human as she. "Yeah, he sent me a message, with just the word Rishi. So... guess we're going to Rishi. Come on, I'll drive, and while you do that, see what you can find about this planet, yeah?" She hummed, giving the droid a pat on his dome when he gave her the affirmative.
Still clad in nothing but a tank top and shorts, she made her way to the cockpit, Tee on her heels.
"Do you think we'll see him there or is he sending us on an errand so Spy Boy doesn't get caught?" She spoke aloud as she powered up the ship, setting coordinates for hyperspace.
"Jedi + T7 = errand boys. Theron = paranoid."
"Yeah, you're not wrong."