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Revered and Reviled	By : sinnerman Category: +G through L > Knights of the Old Republic Views: 5942 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Wars universe, and I am not making any money from this story.

Chapter List
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Patience watched in fascination as Master Wynn used the Force to deactivate the seals holding the tomb closed. "Such power," she murmured to herself. "Who would make such a seal?"

Master Wynn smiled. "The ancient Sith knew that their secrets would draw seekers. Across space, across time – even across the bridges of memory. Come."

Patience looked curiously at him, but didn't ask. The door closed behind them, but the tomb was well-lit and the air was fresh and sweet. Patience looked around. Unlike the other tombs, this one was neat and clean, and yet – "There's no one buried here," she said in surprise. "I don't sense anyone. Not a Sith Lord, anyway."

"No," smiled Master Wynn. "The tomb was built by the great Naga Sadow, but he was not destined to rest here. His spirit rests far away, on one of the moons of Yavin. His tomb still serves a purpose, however." Master Wynn knelt down on the floor, in a meditative position. "Somewhere in this tomb lies a Sith lightsaber. Find it and bring it to me."

"Is that all?" asked Patience curiously.

"You may find other things of interest to you here. You may do with them what you will. When you have brought me the Sith lightsaber, we can talk more about your future with the Sith."

Patience bowed politely, and left the chamber to go search the tombs.

"And your past, jen'ari," Master Wynn whispered as she walked away.

Patience wandered around the tomb, finding random things here and there on long dead skeletons. She killed the tomb guardians without thinking very much about it, defeated the puzzle protecting the interior of the tomb without considering how odd it was that she could so easily resolve a quandary that was meant to protect the inner sanctum of a Sith Lord, and finally walked into a small cave-like room adorned with a single giant statue and another Star Map, identical to the ones on Dantooine and Tatooine. Patience quickly downloaded the data from the map, then turned to examine the statue. The Star Map was older – had Naga Sadow's tomb been built to protect the map? She looked curiously up at the statue.

It was of a tall, mostly Human man. She could see some signs of alien heritage in his face, and noted that the Sith lightsaber that Master Wynn had mentioned was lying at the base. She picked up the lightsaber. The statue's hand was outstretched, holding the distinctively red-gold Sun, Horuset, in one hand, and the rings of Korr – the two asteroid fields that surrounded Korriban – in the other.

"Where are the planets?" she asked herself. "What an odd statue." She picked up the lightsaber, and turned it over in her hands. It was an old one, very damaged. The power crystals were gone, the casing was cracked. But there was still enough of it left for her to realize that this lightsaber had been heavily customized. Her chest tightened as she looked at the lightsaber again. The power couplings. The crystal insets. The wiring. It all seemed… familiar. And yet, she had never seen this lightsaber before, not that she remembered. She tested the weight of it in her hand. It was balanced for a pair. This was the main hand weapon.

She looked at the lightsaber again, then back up at the statue.

"There is only one planet in the Horuset system," said Master Wynn calmly. He walked slowly into the room behind her, and Patience turned slowly to meet his eyes. "Korriban, and its seven moons."

"Yes, of course," Patience agreed lamely.

"And yet," Master Wynn mused, as if to himself, "there is no trace of any pre-industrial development here. Did the original Sith species come here from another system, before being exposed to Fallen Jedi and merging with baseline Humanity?" He looked at her curiously. "A true mystery, is it not? I remember my predecessor once made a similar comment. Wondering if perhaps there had been another world in this system, and that its untimely destruction led to the creation of the rings of Korr." He looked at the statue, then at her again. "Or perhaps, like so many ancient secrets, it is simply hidden from those who are not worthy."

"I found the lightsaber," said Patience slowly. "But I thought that I was supposed to bring it to you."

Master Wynn laughed. "I was curious to see how you would react." He held out his hand for the lightsaber, but Patience looked down at the damaged and battered weapon again instead of handing it to him.

"Whose lightsaber was this?"

Master Wynn's thin lips curved in a smile. "It belonged to the greatest Sith of our time, and perhaps any other. The Dark Lord Revan himself."

Patience stiffened. "Revan."

"Indeed. I recovered it from the ruins of his flagship, after he was killed. Have you heard the story?"

Patience tried to remember. "I – Jedi were attacking the ship, and Malak fired on the bridge, killing them all." She froze. "That's not true! That's a lie! Some of the Jedi survived." The words escaped her before she realized that this was something that the Sith Master did not need to know.

"No doubt." Master Wynn smiled. "And it is possible that some part of Revan survived as well."

Patience wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Possible? No, it is almost certain," he said, looking her over. "Some part of Revan's greatness is hidden within you. It has drawn you here, to this place, seeking release."

She had a sudden flash of the whip in Revan's hand, of a helpless and broken form screaming in agony. "Greatness?" she snarled. "Revan was a monster!"

"And there speaks the Jedi," smiled Master Wynn, and Patience flushed brightly. "I cannot imagine what it must be like, bearing Revan's memories, trying to hold his mighty will in check, and still acting as a true Jedi. I would think that it would drive you mad."

Patience glared at him.

"I mean you no harm," said Master Wynn gently. "I wish only to help." He held out his hands, carefully. "Permit me to bear this burden instead. Give up Revan's memories. Let go of whatever you still hold of him, and I will allow you to leave Korriban unharmed."

"Allow me?" she said sharply. "How would you stop me?" The words didn't seem to come from her, but from something outside the control of her mind. Patience stepped away from him, and put her hands to her head. "Leave me alone, fool," she hissed, trying to fight back the wave of darkness in her mind, the bitter taste of Revan's mind in hers. "Get away from me!"

Master Wynn spoke, in the strangely familiar and soothing language of the Ancient Sith.

Patience frowned at him, and heard herself answer him, but her mind wouldn't process the words. Rage, wild and uncontrollable, flared up inside her. How dare they use her this way? I am not a puppet, she tried to say, but the words wouldn't come out, and instead, she saw a memory of the Great Library on Coruscant, stacks and stacks of books, and the sudden realization that she had finally read them all.

She came to herself with a shock, and dodged to one side as Master Wynn's lightsaber flashed where she had been standing seconds ago. She drew her lightsabers in surprise. "What? What happened? What did I say?" Master Wynn didn't answer, instead continuing to attack, and she defended herself from his blows. "I can't believe I'm getting in trouble for something when I don't even know what I said! And you know I don't know!"

Master Wynn laughed grimly, but didn't answer, or stop attacking.

"Look, can't we talk about this?" she pleaded, and then cringed in horror as the sibilant words of the Sith language spilled from her lips. "Look, can you be quiet for a second? I'm trying not to kill anyone here!"

"Unfortunately," laughed Master Wynn, "one of us must fall here. There is no other choice."

"Oh, that's just ridiculous," Patience protested. "Why are you scared of what some stupid ghost has to say?"

"It is not fear that drives me," said Master Wynn calmly. "It is a command, and I must obey."

"What?" Jen'ari – Dark Lord, her mind finally translated. Revan's title in the language of the Sith. Revan wasn't just a Sith Lord – he was the Master of all Sith in the galaxy, and had personally made most of them. "But he's dead!"

"Is he?" Master Wynn smiled strangely. "He is no more dead than I am."

Patience swore under her breath. "Well, this just sucks."

Master Wynn laughed in genuine amusement, surprised by her reaction. "I suspect that if you submit, this would be easier to deal with. But," he smiled, "if you were the kind of woman who would submit so tamely, you would not be a fit vessel for the spirit of Lord Revan."

"I am not a vessel!" Patience raged. "I am a person!" She broke down his guard, and drove him back across the room. "I have my own will, my own dreams! I am not just some pawn for Revan's mad schemes to take over the galaxy!" She swung her off-hand lightsaber in a swift arc, ripping through the shields protecting Master Wynn, and then with a lightning-fast thrust of her main lightsaber, drove the blade through his chest.

Master Wynn cried out once, then fell silently to the ground.

"Dammit!" Patience stamped her tiny feet in frustration, and gave a quick scream of rage. "Now what?" Patience looked around in despair and confusion. "How am I supposed to get out of here now?" She searched Master Wynn's body. There was a credit chit, and a small pouch. Patience checked the amount on the chit, and smiled. "If I make it out of here alive, I can go shopping!" She opened the bag, and poured out the scintillating crystals.

One was violet - the same shade that she had made for her own lightsaber. Patience stared at it in shock, not sure what to think. She looked at the other crystals, and picked up a crystal, glittering with gold flecks suspended within the formation. As she touched it, the crystal began to glow from within, shining brightly and purely.

Patience looked around, and walked over to the empty sarcophagus behind the statue. It was clean, and stable enough for an impromptu workbench. She quickly rebuilt her main lightsaber, using some of the components from Revan's damaged lightsaber and the glowing crystal, and then upgraded her off-hand lightsaber with the crystal she had been using in her main lightsaber.

She activated them, and listened to the soft hum with a thrill of pleasure. This was how they were supposed to sound, she knew it. She knew this tone, deep in her soul. She made a few passes with her lightsabers, testing the weight and power. "Almost perfect," she grinned. "And good timing, too, since I'm going to have to fight my way back to my ship because someone can't keep his damn mouth shut!" There was no answer, just a general sense of irritation. Patience ran back to the entrance of the tomb, unsettled and annoyed beyond words.

The door was sealed again. Master Wynn must have closed the door, and now she had to get it open again. She touched the door, trying to sense how the lock was supposed to work, and drew back in horror.

There was someone - something - in there. A person, a spirit, a soul, trapped for eternity, waiting for the touch of a Force-sensitive mind so that they could fulfill their purpose, and open the door.

"How horrible!" she choked out. "How unfair!" And she couldn't set them free - they were bound so strongly that they could no longer exist in any other form. Removing them from the door would be murder. The door responded to her, and she felt a soft touch of amusement at her grief. The door was a door, except when it was ajar, the door laughed dryly, whispering darkly in her mind. She stared at the door, and watched as it opened obediently for her. She stepped out of the tomb, into the cold night air of the Valley of the Dark Lords. Patience could feel herself tottering on the brink of madness. "Who am I?" she asked desperately. "What am I doing here?"

In a wild panic, her mind reached out to the one thing that she knew she could hold onto. She could sense Carth, his love and adoration of her, his worries, his fears - he was in combat - he was being attacked by the Sith students. He needed her. She ran across the desert, faster than she had ever moved before, barely touching the ground. The door from the valley was closed, and she didn't even test to see if the door was locked. The door buckled under the force of her mental command, and flew from twisted hinges into the room beyond.

Not all of the students were fighting - some were running away, some had turned on their classmates - but the majority of the Sith students were attacking Carth and Mission, who had taken over the small armory, and were defending themselves.

The Sith saw her at the door, and turned to face her, but she moved, blindingly fast, faster than thought, and closed the distance between them. Suddenly, she was in the center of the group, turning their numbers against them again. Her lightsabers whirled, her speed incredible, her strikes unerring. They fell before her like sheaves of wheat in a harvest of blood and pain. No longer was she sparing them - Patience struck to kill, and swiftly, a dark mercy in every fearful blow. It soon became evident that to stand against her was a death sentence, and the Sith students drew back in terror, leaving her standing over a pile of bodies.

"We're leaving now," she said grimly, and watched the students fall back even farther. "Come on, let's go!" She led Carth and Mission to the main entrance. Not all the students here were so completely cowed, and every step of the way had to be conquered. Patience cut down guards, students, fallen Jedi, anyone who tried to stop her. "This is all your fault," she muttered bitterly to herself. "We could have walked out of here peacefully if it wasn't for you!"

"Hurry, Patience! That double-crossing scumbag sent the Sith after our ship!" shouted Carth over the noise of the battle.

Patience blinked in surprise. "What?" She killed the guard in front of her. "Stupid Sith! We could have been friends."

Carth laughed. "I'm not really sure how you thought that was ever going to work."

"Yeah, Sith don't have friends," Mission chimed in. "Just people they haven't backstabbed yet."

Patience sighed, and they ran through the short stretch of desert that separated the Academy from the port. "Well, I'm glad that's over with."

An explosion shattered the door they were approaching, and then a pair of bodies came flying out of Dreshdae.

"Oh, there you are," said Canderous. They could hear the pleasure in his voice, but his face was hidden beneath his mask and the smoke from the fires. "Let's get out of here before the Sith reinforcements show up."

Patience pushed past Canderous, and started back to the ship.

"So… low profile, eh?"

"Please be quiet," Patience winced, and Canderous chuckled.

"What happened to Master Wynn?" asked Carth. "Please tell me you didn't kill him."

"Fine. He tripped and fell on my lightsaber. Twice."

Carth groaned. "No wonder all the students went crazy. You know that students can sense when their Master passes, right?"

"Look, I got the stupid Star Map," Patience snapped, "I did everything I was supposed to do! Leave me alone!"

Carth started in surprise, and ran up to her. "I'm sorry, Patience. Are you all right?" He laid his hand, gently, on her arm, and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing wildly.

"I don't know! I don't know anything anymore! I just want to leave this place. I got the Star Map, can we go now? Please?"

Carth lifted her easily, and held her close. "I should never have let you go anywhere alone with him," he murmured softly.

"You seriously have a thing for waterworks, don't you?" grumbled Canderous.

Carth glared at the Mandalorian. "Get moving. We're leaving this miserable rock as soon as we're all on board."

Patience clutched gratefully at Carth, and tried to stop sniffling pathetically, and he gently kissed her before moving on.
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Revered and Reviled