REVENGE OF THE SITH
Part XI – Coming Home
War is a terrible thing, but it’s in the aftermath of horrible deeds and horrific deaths that stick with people long after the war is over.
It’s in the moments after the war’s conclusion that the consequences are seen – in the nightmares of those who lived it; in the pain of their loved ones who have to contend with their withdrawal.
Coming home doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the battle behind you.
It was nearing dawn when the comm. in Supreme Chancellor Robert Belyn’s bedroom went off, waking up the elder man from his nap. He had been unable to sleep once Revan and the fleet had left for the Unknown Regions and that of the mysterious planet of Ziost.
Belyn wouldn’t discount the déjà vu he felt, letting Revan take the rest of the Republic Fleet into space once again, despite the fact that the Chancellor himself had seen the way the Sith worked their way back into the galaxy.
He had tried getting information on how the Iridonian and the Miraluka were handling everything, but he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes open. And when they ended up sending him back to his quarters, he just lay in bed, unable to keep his eyes closed.
Belyn hadn’t minced words when he told Revan he wasn’t a military man anymore and certainly, this new threat that Revan had brought to him was unlike anything he had seen. He had been a member of the Republic Navy when Exar Kun came into power, being a younger man then. It had been the changes in the galaxy after that made him go for public office.
He had seen the way corruption was making its way into the Senate, even as he was elected as the representative from Coruscant, he saw the rise in those lining their pockets with the galaxy’s credits. It wasn’t so bad that he didn’t have the support to be elected Supreme Chancellor, but with recent events, he was surprised at just how many members he let get away with this type of deceit.
Shaking the sleepiness from his mind, Belyn left his bed and headed over to the communication console. “Yes?” he asked, his voice groggy from slumber.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Chancellor,” began one of his aids. “But I wanted to give you an update.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve just gotten word from one of the admirals of the fleet,” he began. “He says that the battle seems to be over. Revan reported that he and Trayun destroyed the Sith.”
“I knew he would,” Belyn mumbled, a small smile on his face. “Casualties?”
“Heavy, from what they are saying,” the man replied. “Several Republic ships are unaccounted for, as well as their crew. The Sojourn has made its way to Telos in order to get the injured to medical facilities. I’m told those not seriously injured are recovering and have been released or will be within the next few days. Most of the fleet are returning back here to Coruscant.”
The Chancellor nodded, asking, “Have the others checked in?”
“Visas Marr reported that Queen Talia was able to keep control on Onderon,” the aid continued. “They had some fighting, but nothing too serious. Bao-Dur reported in a few minutes ago, saying that the fleet around the Core is waiting for the others to return, just to make sure that they enter the atmosphere alright. They plan on staying out there for a few days to make sure there’re no repercussions.”
Again, Bob nodded. “What about Revan and his people?” he asked. “How’re they? Any casualties?”
“Revan hasn’t said anything to us, other than he will be contacting you,” the aid finished. “Rumor has it that Darth Trayun and one of his apprentices is in the hospital on Telos. I haven’t confirmed it yet.”
“He’ll contact me when he can,” Belyn replied. “For now, I want to make sure those men and women returning are looked after as well. Contact the hospitals here on Coruscant, make sure they’ll be ready in case we have injured.”
“Yes sir.” The aid went about closing the connection when someone entered to his right, telling him something. “Hold on, Chancellor,” he said. “I’ve just gotten word of something else that may need your attention.”
“Well?”
“It’s a communication from a freighter ship that will landing in a few hours,” the aid said. “Apparently, Senator Belyn is on it.”
The journey back into Republic space was rather quiet and somber. On many of the returning ships, there was still some worry of those vessels that they are unable to find. From the four hundred fifty ships that went out, only two hundred were returning; to be fair, about one hundred forty nine were actually returning home first, with fifty ships lagging behind in order to find any survivors, Republic or Sith, while the Sojourn had made its way to Telos.
In her quarters, Lynsel Belyn tried her best to not worry about those that had been killed and those that were injured. While most on the ship were probably bunkered down, she felt wide awake and a little jittery. She had yet to change out of her gear, Carth’s dull orange jacket still around her shoulders, as though taking it off could mean the end of something that had just begun. Lynsel did her best not to jump and comm. Carth as soon as she was safe within her room. She had to shake her head in mirth, unbelieving of her transformation from hard core soldier into love struck woman.
Taking several breaths, she replicated herself some tea and went about trying to get comfortable without her military garb. She did still manage to keep Carth’s jacket around her, even though she was just dressed in her undershirt. Once she felt she was relaxed, she sent a message to the Sojourn, almost afraid that Carth wouldn’t be aboard or even awake at this point. After several unanswered rings, she was about to cut the communication when the bearded admiral made the connection.
“Hey,” he said, a goofy grin on his face. “You made it.”
“So did you,” she replied, returning his smile. “Did I wake you?”
“No,” Carth said, shaking his head. “I just got in. I’ve been at the hospital with Revan.”
“Is he alright? He looked fine when I last saw him.”
“He’s fine,” the admiral insisted. “I can’t say the same about the current dark lord though.”
“He didn’t look alive to the world when I saw him,” she whispered. “What’s happened?”
“The guy’s lost it, literally,” Carth sighed. “He flipped out and attacked several of the nurses and doctors. Revan finally had to sedate him. He’s been quiet since. On the other side, his wife went into premature labor while he went out.”
“Good grief,” Lynsel muttered. “And how is she?”
“Not sure yet,” the admiral answered. “Bastila’s in there with her. Revan’s waiting for any kind of news; that’s where I came from. The waiting room.”
The two were quiet for a moment, Carth letting Lynsel absorbed all that seemed to be happening elsewhere in the galaxy. “In other news,” Carth whispered. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”
That put another smile on her face. “Turns out this jacket was lucky after all.”
“Are you going to stay on Coruscant?”
“I heard word that Bob wants us to be checked over, just to be on the safe side,” she replied. “But other than that…” she shrugged.
“Well,” Carth began. “You know I’m here on Telos and…I’m not sure if you’ve ever been here before…”
“I haven’t.”
“If you like, I could show you around,” he finished. “I really want to show you around, maybe…maybe give you a place to stay for a while.”
“How long’s a while?” asked Lynsel, hoping his answer would be a positive one..
“As long as you’d like,” he whispered. “As long as you want to stay, Lynsey.”
“I should be out there in a few days,” she replied. “Hopefully less than that.”
Carth nodded, smiling deeply. “I can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
The two grinned stupidly at each other, until a beeping noise alerted Lynsel that she had another call coming in. “Carth,” she said. “I’ve got a call from Bob Belyn. It may be important.”
“Go,” he whispered. “I’ll see you when you get here. I love you, Lyn.”
“I love you, too,” Lynsel sighed, happily. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
She closed the connection, calming her heart before she took the call from Bob. When she answered, she already knew something big was going on.
“I was going to greet you, but I can see from your face this is not a social call.”
“I thought you might be interested in this,” he smirked. “Guess who’s coming back to Coruscant?”
Lynsel narrowed her eyes. “Robert,” she muttered.
“I was wondering if you’d like to be here when I have him arrested.”
“Bob?”
“He may be…may have been my son,” the Chancellor replied, bitterly. “But he tried to overthrow this government, not to mention he tried to have me killed. I hardly think taking him across my knee is going to have any kind of effect.”
The officer couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “You’re serious about this then?”
“If he had been anyone else,” Bob began. “I’d still go for the maximum allowed by our laws. The fact that he’s my son pains me, pains me that I have to actually take action against him. But son or no, he’s broken our laws and rules. The Senate is already in chaos thanks to his actions with the Sith. What type of Chancellor would I be if I just let this go?”
“A corrupt one,” she answered. Bob nodded. “I believe we’re only a few hours from landing.”
“So is he,” Belyn said. “And I want you to watch as I have him escorted to prison. It’s the least you deserve. I never wanted to get involve with your marriage, but even I was aware of how he treated you. And I never tolerated it, you must know that.”
“I do, Bob.”
The Chancellor smiled. “In this moment,” he uttered. “In this situation, I wish you had been my daughter. You would’ve made your own father very proud.”
Lynsel blushed at the praise. She and Bob had always had a good father-daughter relationship, despite the fact he was her in-law. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“I’ll expect you at the Senate once you have the docs check you out,” he said. “No buts either. I’ve already sent word that everyone is to be cleared.”
“Yes sir,” she retorted, giving him a mock salute.
“When all this is done, maybe you can tell me what’s going on with you and a certain admiral.”
The waiting room was quiet, a far cry from a few hours ago when various soldiers and personal came tumbling through from the Sojourn. Thankfully, this facility was able to maintain order and get the right people to the right places where they were needed.
After the second battle of Telos, the Telosian government realized what had been happening right under their noses and quickly made several crucial decisions. They first went about discovering what kind of hold the Czerka Corporation had over their planet.
The fuel situation, while somewhat rectified by the Jedi Exile and Vogga the Hut, was one that had the influences of the Exchange, Czerka, and recently to their knowledge, the Sith. While it helped keep the planet afloat, it was not an ideal situation. They began to contact the Ithorians, the creatures that had been helping them renovate the planet with a restoration project, one that had been stalled by Czerka and the Jedi Exile.
The next task had been to rebuild those essential buildings that had been destroyed by Malak’s attack or that had been in the process of being rebuilt. And to their horror, many of the hospitals, schools, and legitimate businesses had never been rebuilt.
This needed to be fixed.
Thankfully, the Ithorians didn’t hold a grudge to the planet for their departure from Telos – they returned to continue the restoration project, as well as helping the citizens rebuild those facilities needed. Luckily, they were just in time, as the Republic ship The Sojourn came in with injuries from a battle in the Outer Rim.
Now, at the Telos Medical Center, several patients from that ship had been discharged or were resting comfortably overnight. However, things were not as calm as they seemed in the waiting room. It was here that Revan, the redeemed dark knight and master, sat waiting for word of any kind from doctors on the two patients he took responsibility for.
He had retreated here after placing Ellis Yoly in a deep slumber with the Force; it was the only way to make the younger man calm down. The dark lord’s outburst had been disturbing for Revan – he wasn’t sure what had pushed Ellis back to the days of the Mandalorian War, but the way he had been so terrified, so frightened, made Revan think back to when they had awoken Ellis from his slumber after the mass shadow generator had gone off over Malachor V.
The Jedi Knight stayed in the waiting room, waiting for anything from his wife, who accompanied doctors and nurses into the delivery area with Brianna Yoly, who went into labor after her husband’s breakdown. He had been pestering her on the condition of the younger woman until Bastila told him to shut it and she would let him know if anything different happened. He had waited until their connection was closed before he chuckled to himself.
She was definitely a feisty pregnant woman.
He was about to stand in order to take another walk around the area when he was surprised by a large, hairy creature approaching him. Revan smiled at the creature, standing to greet his friend. He had yet to properly talk to Zaalbar, now chief of the Wookies, only able to give a smile to him while in their meeting, but now as the large Wookie came towards him and lifted him in a hug, it didn’t stop him from laughing, despite the tight hold.
“Hey Big Z,” he whispered.
“I spoke with Carth and he said you were here,” the Wookie warbled, setting his friend down. “How’re things going?”
“Not sure,” Revan sighed, shaking his head slightly. “Ellis – Lord Trayun – is sedated, though I’m not sure if he’ll be waking soon or not. As for his wife, Bastila’s been in there with her for nearly three hours. I’m unsure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“Sometimes it takes a youngling longer to emerge than we would like,” Zaalbar chuckled. “My father tells me that it took two days for me to come out into the world. He says that at that moment he knew I would be stubborn, but that I was also cautious, meaning that I wouldn’t walk into danger readily. It was only after my birth that my father said I would not abandon my people or my friends.”
Revan patted the large beast on the arm. “I’m glad you were with me, Big Z,” he whispered. “Did your people come through alright?”
“There were casualties, of course,” the chief replied, somberly. “The Sith used everything against us and it cost us, but the galaxy is safe for the moment.”
“You think we’ll be doing this again?”
“I certainly hope not,” Zaalbar growled. “However, know that the life debt I established between us will never be broken. I’ve already made plans to extend that to Bastila and your child.”
“It is a gesture that I cherish,” Revan replied, again patting the Wookie on the arm. “Though it is not the debt that I hold dear, but your friendship. I’m glad this will continue on in the future.”
Zaalbar returned the pat, but on the young man’s head, in a gentle fashion. “I’d like to ask for your counsel, Revan,” he said.
“Of course.” The two walked over to the chairs that Revan had previously left. “What is it?”
“I was talking to Mission,” the Wookie began. “I haven’t talked to her in quite some time, so I was…surprised when she seemed to just go on and on about someone she met on the Ebon Hawk.”
Revan nodded. “Dustil Onasi,” he stated. “He’s Carth’s son. He…you wouldn’t believe the journey he’s taken.”
“What exactly are his intentions?” Zaalbar asked, rather roughly. “You and I both feel the same about Mission; she isn’t just a former crewmember. She is our sister; she is family.”
“I don’t know his intentions in details,” said Revan. “But I do know he does care about her. Besides, I know Carth has talked to him about it.”
“Oh?”
“Carth’s made sure Dustil knows the consequences of hurting her,” Revan chuckled.
“Good.”
“He’ll be arriving soon, I’m sure,” Revan replied, in a conspiratory tone. “If you wanted to talk to him.” Zaalbar smiled.
Their conversation was cut short as Bastila came around the corner and entered the waiting room. There was nothing said for a few moments, only when Bastila felt Revan’s impatience did she came out with the information. “Well,” she began. “She’s alright. Doctor said that she’ll need to rest of course, but she’s resting now.”
“And the child?” asked Zaalbar.
“They’re fine,” Bastila continued. “Despite the fact of being born a month early, the doctor says they’re strong and they’ll be able to gain weight and leave within the coming month.”
“You keep saying they,” Revan stated. “How many children are we talking about?”
“Just the two,” she said. “Ellis and Brianna Yoly are the proud parents of twins.”