KOTOR 1 - Betrayals: Reorg

"We are now ready for your final test. You have earned the right to see if you shall become one of us," said Sith Academy Headmaster Uthar Wynn.

"Indeed you have," added Yuthura Ban, Uthar's second-in-command.

Yuthura was perhaps even worse. Her potential in the Force was greater than Uthar's. But in her heart, she was more Jedi than Sith. Where Uthar as Headmaster was incompetent, Yuthura in that role would be actively dangerous. Still, Revan would give both she and Uthar one last chance.

"We are in the sacred tomb of Naga Sadow, young one, the one discovered by Darth Malak and Darth Revan years ago," Uthar continued, as if Revan didn't already know all this. "You are to follow in their footsteps and reach the ancient Star Map that lies deep within. There you will find a lightsaber, amongst other things. The lightsaber is for you: your initiation present."

Present? The Sith were giving gifts to each other now? Even the Jedi had required Revan to at least assemble his own lightsaber. Were the Sith also preparing sweet treats for each other and singing lullabies to each other as if to younglings? With difficulty, Revan suppressed an expression of disgust.

"Return to us once you have the lightsaber, for you the test does not end there. Do you understand what I have told you? Are you ready to begin?"

The Star Maps were the path to the Sith's greatest secret, the Star Forge, a remnant of the ancient Infinite Empire, a Dark Side fueled factory constructed by the Rakatan species near their homeworld of Lehon. The Star Forge was capable of generating an entire fleet of starships. It had been essential to Revan's near-conquest of the Republic. And this idiot was using it in a scavenger hunt.

"Find the Star Map," Revan said. "Return with the lightsaber. I understand."

"Good. Yuthura and I will await your return."

Revan jogged up the hallway deeper into the tomb. His time on Korriban had been frustrating. He was here for the Star Map, and the only way to reach it was through the Sith Academy. His resurgent power might have been enough to battle directly through, but he unwilling to reveal himself that fully. Not yet. Not when things with Bastila were at such a delicate point.

Months prior, when Revan still commanded his Sith, his flagship had been boarded by a Jedi Strike team that included Bastila Shan, a young woman with incredible potential in the Force. Revan's apprentice Malak used the battle as cover to betray Revan, firing on Revan's ship from afar. Revan had been mortally wounded, but Bastila, the only surviving Jedi, had rescued him. The Jedi Council, thinking his mind broken, had inserted a new personality, that of a sniveling Jedi sycophant, hoping to use his natural affinity to the Force and any stray remaining memories to locate and destroy the Star Forge, thereby crippling the Sith.

Revan, however, was not so easily banished. Unknown to the Jedi, he had used Sith sorcery to prepare his mind against such attacks. Ironically, Revan's motivation had been to protect himself against Darkness rather than Light. His mind had once been enslaved to the True Sith Emperor Vitiate. After breaking free from Vitiate's control, Revan had vowed he would never be dominated in that fashion again.

Revan's preparations against Vitiate had allowed him to quickly shake off the Jedi's inferior attempt. Unfortunately, his power had not immediately returned, and he still suffered some memory gaps. These circumstances had forced him to ally with Republic lackeys such as Carth Onasi. Now, though, with both his power and memories almost completely restored, the time was growing near to openly resume his identity as Darth Revan and retake control of his Sith.

Only one thing remained: completing his conversion of Bastila Shan to the Dark Side, to serve as his new apprentice. Over the course of their time together, Revan had painstakingly seduced Bastila, both literally and figuratively. He had convinced her of his sincerity in following the Jedi way, gained her trust as they pursued the mission given to them by the Jedi Council, forged an emotional connection by helping her resolve childhood issues with her mother, and earned her respect as he emerged as leader of their group.

Then slowly, one small step at a time, he had turned her, using the Force Bond they shared as leverage, opening her mind to the Dark Side so subtly that she did not even realize it was happening. In giving herself to him, she had taken the final step in switching her loyalty from the Jedi to Revan. Afterward, she had spoken of their romance with regret, and if pushed she would swear she had renounced their relationship. So Revan had not pushed. There was no need, and doing so would be counterproductive. He had already won her, and in time she would acknowledge it. After he had proven himself to her not as her ally, leader, or lover, but as the Dark Lord.

After Malak was done with her.

That was why he had assumed the role of a Sith hopeful, posing as someone strong in the Force but raw and untrained, had earned his place as a student in his own Academy, and had garnered sufficient prestige to be chosen for the test he was now participating in, the last step in his formal induction into the very Sith Order that he had created and would soon again rule.

The time spent had not been entirely fruitless. Despite the danger of her being recognized as a Jedi, Revan had sneaked Bastila into the Sith Academy, posing as his slave. Revan had needed Bastila to see the Sith up close, not as enemies in battle but as a group with its own Code and culture, an impressive organization she would soon help him lead. As flawed as the Academy leadership had turned out to be, they had at least articulated the power and freedom found in the Dark Side. Revan knew this had resonated with Bastila, though she was not yet ready to admit it, not even to herself.

It had also given Revan the opportunity to make Onasi kill his own son. Dustil Onasi had been driven to the Sith by his father Carth's abysmal parenting skills. Upon encountering Dustil in the Academy, it had been a trivial matter for Revan to goad him into attacking Carth, who had also been posing as Revan's slave. Carth's reflexes as a soldier had taken over, and before he knew had happened, his son lay dead at his feet, by his own hand. Telling Carth that it had been his own fault had been one of Revan's most satisfying moments since this interminable mission began.

Revan's smile at recalling Dustil's fate faded quickly. Ahead, at a crossroads in the tunnel, was his first challenge: some wraids, and a poorly-concealed mine. Revan nimbly dodged the mine, caught the wraids with the Force, and dismembered them with his lightsaber as they hung helpless in the mid-air. Surely Uthar could do better than this. Revan quickly disabled and recovered the mine, in case it proved useful later in his travels

Presumably, Revan was now expected to continue forward down the obvious path forward, only to find his way blocked by a pool of acid. The Rakatans enjoyed protecting the Star Maps with various defenses, all of which Revan had easily defeated when he and Malak had originally sought the Star Forge. Instead of continuing forward, Revan turned to the right, where his way was quickly blocked by a large stone door. Sensing danger beyond, Revan stopped and gathered himself in the Force, increasing his physical abilities and speed.

Revan opened the door, revealing a large chamber. At the far end was the door through which he must pass, guarded by two Terentateks, immense, fearsome beasts virtually immune to the Force. Revan couldn't imagine that this was an ordinary part of the test for prospective students. While he was confident in his abilities to defeat the creatures, most learners would have found it impossible. Besides that, Terentateks were exceedingly rare. Uthar could not possibly have a sufficient supply to match the number of students in the Academy. Revan wondered for a moment if Uthar had set him up, chosen to end his life in a test that Uthar would have considered unbeatable. Or perhaps the Terentateks had simply taken up nest in this room and Uthar was hoping against all odds that someone would rid him of them. In Revan's previous visit, the room had contained only a few decayed corpses unworthy of Revan's attention. It could be that the beasts roamed about, foraging, and it was coincidence that they had now returned. They might even have consumed whatever obstacle Uthar had actually placed here.

Regardless, Revan was in no mood to play Uthar's infantile games. And Terentateks were far too useful to waste unnecessarily. Leaving his lightsaber at his belt, Revan jogged calmly towards the Terentateks. Predictably, they charged at him. Just before the Terentateks reached him, Revan called upon the Force to accelerate himself to great speed. The confused Terentateks swiped at Revan as he dodged past, a blur to their eyes, and activated the lever unlocking the door. Before the Terentateks could again reach him, Revan rushed into the smaller room beyond, running around yet another poorly concealed mine. Was Uthar really even trying? What kind of test could you literally just run past?

Inside the room, Revan stopped and watched as the hulking Terentateks beat against the wall, unable to pass through the small door. Satisfied, Revan turned to the interior of the room, where two pillars stood. They were ancient, predating even the tomb itself, of Rakatan construction. One generated a special grenade that pulled the heat from its surroundings with uncanny effectiveness, freezing anything in the area. The other manufactured a grenade that produced a powerful ball of fire. In his previous visit, Revan had taken both and assumed that, after a sufficient amount of time had passed, the pillars would create more grenades. He was satisfied to find his assumption validated, and quickly collected both grenades. Only the ice grenade would be required to reach the Star Map, but he suspected that he would soon find the fire grenade useful as well.

Turning back to the door, Revan saw that the Terentateks were now wandering about the large chamber, looking for another way to reach him. Again using the Force to empower him, Revan raced across the room, passing between the Terentateks before they could react, and sprinted safely through the far door, the Terentateks unable to follow.

Returning to the crossroads, Revan turned back down the main corridor towards the Star Map. His was was quickly blocked by massive stone doors. Revan used the Force to open the doors, revealing the acid pool. Revan tossed the cold grenade into it. The pool quickly froze solid. Revan continued across, jogged up the last hallway, and opened the final door, revealing the chamber containing the Star Map.

Revan took a step into the room, contemplating the Star Map. Korriban had been the homeworld of the True Sith species, hundreds of millenia ago before the Sith became as much an ideology as a people. It had been conquered by the Rakata about thirty thousand years ago as a symbol of Rakatan glory and dominance. Revan wondered how large a role this Star Map had played in the rise of the original Sith Empire about seven thousand years ago. The Star Forge itself was a nexus of Dark Side energy, feeding on and amplifying the aggressive tendencies of those who used it. Used wantonly, the Star Forge was unimaginably dangerous. It had likely been responsible for both the rise and subsequent collapse of the Infinite Empire. Revan himself had used it with caution and restraint, careful not to lose himself in its seductive power. While Revan had created his particular variation of the Sith in his own way, he had patterned it after the ancient Sith Empire, once thought extinct and lost but now rediscovered by Malak and himself. If Revan were succesful, if indeed his Sith did eventually rule the galaxy, he wondered how much of that could be attributed to the Star Map in front of him.

Because this Star Map had been created using the same technology as the Star Forge.

Revan almost didn't need it. Lehon's location floated just out of reach in his memories, like an almost-remembered word. Although most of his memories had returned there were still gaps, pieces of missing knowledge. The exact hyperspace route to Lehon was one of those, as were many details of the Rakatan homeworld itself. So the Star Maps were still a necessity.

Revan took another step into the tomb, and the Star Map, sensing his proximity, activated and displayed its contents. Like the Star Maps on Dantooine, Tatooine, and Manaan, it had once held a complete map of Lehon's location. When the Infinite Empire collapsed, the fleeing Rakatans had sabotaged the Star Maps to prevent their former slaves from locating their homeworld. In the intervening centuries, the self-repairing technology of the various Star Maps had restored much of their original capabilities, but each was still incapable of displaying the complete map.

When Revan combined the data of all the Star Maps, though, the full path would be revealed. Revan knew this, because it had happened before, when he and Malak had first sought the Star Forge. Revan pulled out his datapad, recorded the Star Map's information, and confirmed that the hyperspace route was almost complete, lacking only data from Kashyyyk.

The Kashyyyk Star Map could have already been Revan's as well, but he had purposefully avoided finding it in the Shadowlands. Malak had many failings, but his interrogation skills were not among them. He would soon have Bastila as his captive, and she would tell Malak everything that Revan's group had done since their search for the Star Maps began. Revan needed Malak to believe that Revan was having difficulty locating the final Star Map, that it would be some time before Revan arrived at the Star Forge. Instead, though, Revan would return to Kashyyyk, quickly retrive the final Star Map's data, and arrive before Malak was fully prepared.

As Revan turned to exit the room, he considered his progress with satisfaction. He had not only broken Bastila's loyalty to the Jedi, he had made unexpected significant gains. Czerka was firmly in charge of Kashyyyk, giving him a pipeline of Wookiee slaves ready for purchase. Revan had underestimated the value of the Wookiees before, but now he intended to exploit them to the fullest. He might even take Chuundar as his own personal servant. Also, the kolto supply on Manaan had been destroyed. While this would result in deaths among Revan's Sith soldiers, it would be far more detrimental to the Republic forces, and was therefore a net benefit to Revan. He'd managed to eliminate the Genoharadan, a shadowy organization he'd previously been unable to either control or destroy. Finally, his Academy was about to be reborn. Whether or not it would become what Revan had originally envisioned remained to be seen, but the reorganization he was about to set in motion would at least give it the chance.

Almost absent-mindedly, Revan retrieved the lightsaber that Uthar had instructed him to retrieve as his final test. Revan had little use for it, his own being far superior. But Suvam Tan, the Rodian in the Yavin system, might trade him something for it. He had initially considered killing Tan and taking his stock, but in retrospect Revan was very glad he hadn't. The Rodian had a knack for having better gear every time the Ebon Hawk returned.

As he left the room, Revan considered what he was about to do. He had to admit that he had been neglectful. The self-destructive culture his Sith were descending into under Malak was regrettable but not surprising. But the Sith Academy's leadership problems had started even under Revan's own reign. At least this visit to Korriban afforded him the opportunity to correct it.

Fortunately, he could afford a few minutes to deal with it. Just before entering the tomb, Revan had ordered T3-M4 to transmit two recorded messages, coded to appear as if from Sith informants. T3's skills would make the messages appear to arrive from opposite sides of the Core, thereby avoiding suspicion at two significant pieces of information arriving so closely together. Revan himself would still have been wary, but Malak would not.

The first message was recorded by Canderous, informing Saul Karath of the Ebon Hawk's current whereabouts. Revan had taken Bastila's conversion as far as he was able. Bringing her to this point had required building trust, and administering the final push personally would destroy that. He would gain a Sith, but not a faithful apprentice. Malak, however, was ideally suited to bring Bastila fully to the Dark Side. But delivering Bastila to Malak in a way that neither suspected they were being manipulated was challenging. Karath was the key. Once informed of the Ebon Hawk's location, Karath would be eager to curry favor with Malak by capturing it and delivering its occupants. Revan needed only to arrange the rendezvous.

The second message, recorded by HK-47, was related to the first, but also more personal. It told Malak that a quorum of the Jedi Council was present on Dantooine, not on the much better defended Core world of Coruscant as Malak would have expected. Malak would destroy the Jedi Enclave, and hopefully the Jedi Masters with it. This would remove any thought Bastila might still hold about returning to the Jedi. But it would also punish those who had abducted Revan, attempted to reprogram him, turn him into their fool. Revan had been using Malak as a blunt weapon to cudgel his enemies for years. Malak would serve him well in this way one more time.

It would take some time for Karath to react and move to intercept the Ebon Hawk. By Revan's calculations, he needed to delay the Hawk's departure a bit longer, to ensure they didn't leave before Karath arrived. Which left him just enough time to deal with the Academy. Or more specifically, its leadership.

Revan descended the sloping hallway to the next room where, as expected, Uthar and Yuthura were waiting for him, standing on the still-frozen pool of acid.

"So you return to us with the lightsaber in hand, as I knew you would," said Uthar as Revan entered the room.

"The Force has served you well," Yuthura added.

"You took a great risk in acquiring the artifact," Uthar said. "You used your mind and your power... no peaceful meditation, no pacifism. Sometimes you must fight in order to achieve. This gives you passion, this makes you stronger. This is what makes you superior. That is the lesson we teach with that part of the final test. Do you understand?"

"I do," Revan said, thinking to himself that if Uthar himself had truly learned that lesson, rather than simply reciting it to students, his chances of surviving the next few minutes would have been much higher.

"The last part of your test will now commence," Uthar said. "Here you will learn the lesson of competition. All life must compete in order to flourish. Such is the natural way of the universe. To stand still is to know death... one must always be moving forward. So it is the same amongst the Sith. Compete or die. Mercy is irrelevant. So it behooves you in this final test to strike down one you are familiar with, for no other reason than to prove you are superior and without mercy. Normally this would be against another student. You, however, get a special treat. You will fight Yuthura here... my own apprentice."

"You talk too much, old fool," Yuthura said.

"So... you know, do you?" Uthar said. "Well, it makes no difference. You have become too ambitious, Yuthura. It is time for you to die and someone more... talented... to take your place."

"No, it is time for *you* to die, master. My pupil stands with me."

"Sadly, Yuthura, it is you who are mistaken. Your pupil is more ambitious than you realize". Revan was relieved that Uthar and Yuthura were too focused on each other to notice the eye roll that he hadn't been able to suppress. Was this really what his Academy had come to? This was even worse than he'd thought. But Uthar was finally turning his attention back to Revan.

"Isn't that so, young one?"

For the first time he could recall, Revan was completely speechless. When Uthar and Yuthura had each separately conspired with him to poison the other, he had been disappointed. But this ineffective bickering was beyond anything Revan could have imagined. These were the people training new Sith? Revan's shock began to turn to rage, a white-hot ball of anger building inside him.

"Come now, young one," Uthar said, mistaking Revan's silence for fear. "Now is not the time to become timid."

"Timid?" Revan growled, his fury rising. He felt himself losing control, and decided not to stop it. "TIMID? I'LL SHOW YOU TIMID! AND STOP CALLING ME 'YOUNG ONE'!!!"

Darth Revan launched himself at the surprised Headmaster, drawing his lightsaber mid leap. Uthar raised a hand and released a burst of Dark Side lightning. Revan sliced away the bulk of the lightning with a sweeping stroke of his weapon, allowing the rest to wash over him, the pain fueling his rage. Uthar barely had time to draw his own weapon, a red double-bladed lightsaber, before Revan was upon him, slashing and stabbing. Uthar fell back, struggling to mount a defense. With an overwhelming blow, Revan knocked Uthar's lightsaber out of his hand. Revan barely restrained himself from decapitating his defenseless opponent, instead landing a brutal kick to Uthar's jaw that snapped the man's head back. Uthar collapsed to the ice, unconscious.

"Uthar is finished, and a new order is brought to the Academy," Yuthura said, thinking Uthar dead. "Excellent. While I do like you ... truly ... I'm afraid I'm not the type to share power with anyone. Even you. I told you there was no such thing as friends among the Sith, didn't I? Let's ... get this over with."

Yuthura's betrayal might have been a point in her favor with Revan, if not for the weak, regretful tone in which she delivered it. And as it was, Revan was past the point of logical thought.

"YES! LET'S!" Revan reached out on the Force, squeezing Yuthura's lungs, driving the breath from her. The Twi'lek cried out in pain as she was lifted off her feet by the power of Revan's attack. She tried to scream, and could manage only a whimper as Revan relentlessly crushed her. She writhed for what felt to her like an eternity. Then, drawing on her training as a Jedi Padawan, she emptied her mind, separating herself from her pain. Yuthura's wet eyes recovered their focus and she counterattacked, pushing at Revan with the Force. He dispersed the invisible blow with an outstretched hand, but his grip on Yuthura was broken.

Yuthura drew her lightsaber, the reflection of its single red blade shining in the frozen acid. Revan drew his own weapon, and lunged at Yuthura, who was driven backwards at the ferocity of his attack, fighting to defend herself with no hope or thought of counterattacking. Revan quickly realized that Yuthura was employing Soresu, a defensive lightsaber form based on calm focus and small movements. While the Sith used every technique available to them, including Soresu, it was more commonly associated with the Jedi, as it was less compatible with the Sith's preference for channeling passion and anger.

Revan and Yuthura circled the room, Yuthura continuing to fall back against Revan's vicious assault, Revan unable to penetrate Yuthura's defenses. As Revan's rage faded, he began to fight more tactically. Clearly, Yuthura had mastered Soresu during her time with the Jedi. Her execution of it, while flawless, had a mechanical feel to it. Neither fully Jedi or Sith, Yuthura did not let the Force flow through her to gracefully guide her movements, as a Jedi would. Nor did she fight with the coiled aggression that Revan himself would have exhibited if using Soresu, ever-ready to seamlessly switch to a more offensive style upon spotting weakness in an opponent. Yuthura's understanding of Soresu felt more rules-based. Revan knew what to do about that: break the rules.

Revan extended a hand and the now-stirring Uthar's double-bladed lightsaber hilt flew into his grasp. Igniting both blades, Revan renewed his attack on Yuthura, striking now with three blades. It was a novel style, awkward in many ways, and against an experienced Master it likely would have failed. But Revan's natural abilities helped compensate for its inherent deficiecies, and it had the desired effect. Yuthura had no answer for such an unconventional attack. Her movements grew hurried as Revan pressed her, spinning and twisting to maintain a rapid fire of blows from the trio of blades. Finally, Yuthura overextended herself in blocking one of Revan's swings and Revan exploited the opportunity, severing the end of Yuthura's lightsaber hilt, leaving her holding a useless piece of sparking metal.

"Stop... I yield!" Yuthura said. "You are... too strong for me. I was a fool to think otherwise. I am... at your mercy."

"Mercy?" Revan scoffed, stepping to position himself in front of the exit door, denying Uthar and Yuthura the possibility of a quick escape. He watched as Uthar stood uneasily to his feet. "For an Academy instructor, you understand little of the Sith. Neither of you do. Does either of you understand why this Academy even exists?"

Uthar warily answered, rubbing his bruised chin. "To train new Sith for the war, of course."

"You couldn't be more wrong," Revan said. "It was never about the students. I could have trained ordinary Sith in dozens of different places. And did, although sadly I doubt you are aware of it. No, this Academy was never about everyday cannon fodder. This Academy was about leaders, those truly special, those few who would elevate themselves above the rest, who might even be worthy of someday becoming my apprentice. It was a beacon to attract talented volunteers who my other recruitment channels might have missed, and give them a structure in which they could elevate themselves to a level worthy of my individual attention. What a waste that has been."

Uthar was confused, still addled by the blow to his head, but Revan could feel Yuthura probing his mind. One of the first lessons that Force-sensitive younglings are taught is mental discipline, how to shield their thoughts and feelings. Revan's mental barriers were virtually impenetrable. He had stood in front of the very Jedi Council, lied to them that he was a servant of the Light, dedicated to their quest for the Star Maps, and they hadn't been able to sense his deceit. Now, though, he dropped his defenses just a bit, intentionally letting Yuthura see a sliver of his true self. Her eyes flew open wide, her face a mask of terror.

"YOU trained Sith?" Uthar began. "Did you strike your head during your test, or did-"

"Shut up, you old fool," Yuthura interrupted, then turned her attention to Revan. "But ... you can't be ... you're dead ..."

"Did you think I would allow something as mundane as death to stop me?" Revan said.

"Then you came here to test, us?" Yuthura said. "To ..." her voice cracked, and she forced herself to finish. "To judge us?"

"No," Revan said. "I came here for the Star Map. I posed as a prospective student in hopes of slipping in, getting what I needed, and exiting quietly. I have a former apprentice to kill, after all. But I cannot allow the Academy to continue under such disasterous leadership, so I have no choice but to make ... changes."

Yuthura dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "I am your servant, Master Revan."

"Revan???" Uthar took a step backward reaching futilely to his belt where his lightsaber no longer hung.

"Yes, you useless tub of guts. Tell me, how long have you been Headmaster at my Academy?"

"Quite some time," Uthar said uncertainly, still unsure whether to believe what he had just heard, but attempting to recover some of his bluster. In fact, I am the longest tenured Headmaster in this Academy's history."

"So when you tell me that 'to stand still is to know death' and 'one must always be moving forward', you don't actually mean it? I don't know what lunacy prompted Jorak Uln to pick you as his apprentice, but he couldn't have made a poorer decision. Tell me, old one, when you usurped your own Master's place to assume command of this Academy, did you confront him? Kill him?"

"I ... I drove him away," Uthar said.

"Yes, you did. I wonder how. Did you build an alliance against him? Poison him, as you tried to have me poison Yuthura? I know what you did not do. You did not face him in battle, prove yourself worthy. You speak the ideals of the Sith, but you do not live them."

"I-" Uthar began, but Revan cut him off.

"And when faced with an ambitious underling trying to take your place, you didn't face even a subordinate yourself. You arranged for me to do it. So when you tell me 'compete or die' and that one must 'fight in order to achieve', you don't really mean that either, do you?"

"I will serve you in his stead, Master," Yuthura said, her head still bowed.

"You?" Revan said, his voice dripping with contempt. "You are no Sith. You're at best a failed angry Jedi. But in fact, even the Jedi would not have you. You tried to explain the Sith Code to me, but words mean nothing without action. Do you want to be free? Do you want to break your chains? Then show some strength, some passion, some power! The only thing you've shown any passion about is freeing slaves on Sleheyron. If they have any strength, they'll free themselves, as you did. And if they don't then freeing them would only expose them to more suffering. Think like a Sith! Conquer the planet and become their master! You need not cause them unnecessary misery, but if their nature is to serve, them use them! The Dark Side does not require you to be cruel, a lesson many of your students have failed to learn. They mistake cruelty for strength. And you don't seem to understand the concept at all. Here's some advice: if you want to take your Master's place, you walk up to them, weapon in hand, the Force at your command, and you kill them. Poisoning your Master? And you didn't even do that yourself, you tried to use me. And even thinking him weakened, you still didn't dare face him on your own. You brought me along because you were afraid even when you thought him debilitated."

"He isn't?" Yuthura asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"No," Revan said, "I wanted him to be at his full strength. Such as it is. Now, I give the two of you one last chance. I never wanted prattling academics leading this Academy. I wanted to see someone, anyone, rise through the ranks, earn their place at the top by defeating those who stood in their way, and then, unwilling to remain cloistered here on Korriban, demand their place at my side. This isn't a place of teaching, it is a place of opportunity, yet none took it, especially not the two of you. Prove me wrong."

"Master Revan, I-" Yuthura began, but Revan cut her off.

"You have five seconds to show me why I should not kill you now. I suggest that each of you try to kill the other, but do as you will."

Uthar looked back and forth between Revan and Yuthura, still unable to process exactly what had just happened. Yuthura took a hesitant step toward Uthar then stopped, looking longingly at the remains of her lightsaber.

"So be it," Revan said, unsurprised. He took a step backwards into the exit hall, tossed the fire grenade he'd taken from the Rakatan pillar into the center of the room and, raising his hands, used the Force to close the massive stone doors. As the doors slammed together, a small burst of fire and toxic fumes escaped, leaking harmlessly into the hallway. Even through the doors, he could hear Uthar and Yuthura's screams as they plunged into the melted acid.

Revan turned and jogged up the hallway toward the exit. What a disappointment Korriban had been. At least now, with this false leadership removed, there was the possibility that someone would elevate themselves. Was there anyone in the Academy willing and able to rise to the occasion? Revan was skeptical, but perhaps someone would emerge. He would check back after he had completed his current mission.

As Revan left the tomb, his thoughts turned to the next phase of his plan. It was the most dangerous of all. Much of it would be beyond his control, and he could only hope that he was predicting events and behaviors correctly. But it was necessary, if Bastila were to be fully turned and become his willing apprentice once he resumed the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith.

Malak was coming.