Chapter XII- The Triumvirate and the Turncoat

In the royal throne room of the Naboo Capital, Theed, sat Queen Areina. Her young eyes scanning the documents before her, mostly details of the planet and it's profits.

Even though she could have had another oversee these documents, she herself felt that, as Queen, it was her responsibility. A monarch never won a kingdom by forcing the work on the people while the nobles were perched in their nest.

A loud bang from the corridor outside the throne room made the young Queen jump, soft brown eyes focused on the doors. Areina watched as her royal guards went to investigate the sound only for the door to be thrown back sending them flying back.

The Queen leapt from her throne, eyes stared in shock as a figure in dark approached. What was left of her Royal Guard immediately went in to subdue the intruder, they were sent back at the flick of the figure's hand. Areina stared in shock as the figure approached, finally able to see her face. Her jaw went slack.

" Bastila?" The Queen asked incredulously, remembering her face from a holomessage with Lady Revan a week before. The woman before her then had showed a polite and respectful grace, now she held angry immediacy in her stance.

"How did they get here?" The angry woman demanded, the young Queen was understandably intimidated.

"Who are you-?" Areina started, only for Bastial to cut her off.

"Don't play me for a fool your Majesty! You know how many ships come into your planet's atmosphere and you know their destination!" The woman growled, her fierce grey eyes meeting the Queen's brown. "I want to know which ship came to Revan's Villa. And I don't want any excuses." Bastila threatened, the Queen furrowed her brow.

"I don't know...Where is Revan?" The Queen asked, not seeing the woman who acted as a Patron to her planet.

Pain flashed in Bastila's eyes as she responded. "She was taken..." She said, her voice cracking from guilt. At this moment, the Queen's guard got to their feet, weapons fixed on the woman before the Throne. Areina held up hand to stop them firing, they reluctantly consented.

Areina stared at Bastila in muted shock. "By whom?" The Queen asked tentatively.

"A trio of Dark Jedi who call themselves the Sith Triumvirate." Bastila replied, anger once more seeping into her tone.

Areina couldn't recall hearing the name before, but right now that was irrelevant. "Did they kill her?"

Bastila looked at the Queen with grey eyes brimmed with the onset of tears.

"I'm not sure." The former Jedi said, internally struggling to get a hold of her emotions and get back to the task at hand. "Please your Grace, I need to know if any ships have come to the planet that may be carrying Revan." Bastila pleaded, grey eyes filled with hope and determination.

Areina nodded, before hastily calling her planetary traffic officer. A plain man of average height came to her call, casting a suspicious look at Bastila. In turn, the former Jedi felt like something was off about the man, he seemed...Too shaded, at least in which Bastila read them.

"What may I do for you your grace?" The man asked, eyes poised on his Queen.

The young Queen cleared her throat. "How many ships have entered the atmosphere in the last standard day?" The traffic officer raised an eyebrow, Bastila again felt like something was off about this man.

"About thirty-seven, ma'am, may I inquire why?" The traffic officer asked, the Queen shot him a sharp glare.

"You may not." Areina stated sharply. "How many ships went to the far side of the planet?" The Queen asked, the officer hesitated, glancing at Bastila before answering.

"None, milady." The officer said, his voice betraying something behind it.

Bastila took a menacing step towards the officer. "Lies won't do you good, I can sense your deceit." The officer glared at her, contempt in his gaze.

"Majesty, can we please discuss this without the Jedi guard-dog?" The officer drawled, putting as much spite as he could into the word Jedi.

"No." Areina stated adamantly stated, glaring at the officer before her with suspicion. "Bastila Shan was here on leave with Lady Revan, they were attacked by a group of Dark Jedi unaligned with the Empress. As a guest to our planet, she has all rights to hear any information you have." Ariena paused before speaking again. "And as our guest, you will address her as Lady Bastila, not 'Jedi' nor 'guard-dog'. Is that understood?" The Queen of Naboo asked, the officer before her relented.

"Yes milady." The officer said, now ignoring Bastila.

"Now let me ask again." The Queen began, leaning forward on her throne. "How many ships were recorded going to the far side of the planet?" Bastila glared coldly at the officer, she could tell he already lied the main question now was why he was lying.

"None milady," the officer repeated, Bastila's gaze narrowed, she could feel he was lying, not just through the force but by his response, he said it as if covering up something. "We have detected no ships traveling to the far side of the planet your Grace." The Queen nodded at this, seemingly convinced, that is until the officer added on his report.

"We have no record on the whereabouts of Revan or her captors, it may be possible that Lady Bastila has lied to you and is trying to betray her Master." The officer said, glancing at Bastila with a smug smile, he was surprised to see a victorious smirk on the woman's lips.

Ariena spoke up at this point. "Officer Varro, how did you know Revan was missing? Or that she was captured? You were not privy to this information, how did you come by it?" The Queen asked, the officer's face flashed with shock, he had let something slip.

"I really wish you hadn't noticed that your Grace." The Officer said darkly, his hand sprang to his side. He pulled out a blaster pistol and fired a red bolt of energy at the Queen. Twin pillars of golden energy emitting from a metal hilt blocked the blaster bolt in mid air, deflecting the blast away from the Queen.

The turncoat growled, turning towards where Bastila had been standing. He raised his blaster pistol, only for a fist to smash into his face, and his weapon wrenched out of his grip.

Bastila held out her hand, lifting the man off the ground with the force and pressing him against the far wall, his feet barley touched the floor as he grasped at the invisible force clamped around his throat. The former Jedi spared a glance at Queen Areina, she was breathing shallowly, obviously and understandably shocked. Bastila turned her gaze towards the turncoat officer, his eyes bulging and his face turning a shade of purple from lack of air. Knowing she needed answers, the former Jedi relinquished her force grip on the man's throat.

The traitor slid down the wall to the floor, coughing and clutching his throat while his dark eyes glared murderously at the woman before him. The grey eyed woman crouched down in front of his crumpled form, a restrained fury in her eyes.

"Where is the ship that took Revan?" The former Jedi asked, her voice low and dark. The Naboo turncoat coughed, eyes half-open.

"Go. To. Hell." He spit, Bastila's eyes narrowed as she grabbed the turncoat's right hand. She grasped his ring finger and twisted.

A sickening crack and scream filled the hallway. "Wrong answer." Bastila said coldly, the traitor grimaced in pain, his dark eyes staring hatefully at his tormentor.

"Fuck you Jedi!" The traitor bit out, the woman before him didn't even blink as she summoned her golden-bladed lightsaber.

"I suppose with your finger broken, you'll have no need for a hand, or an arm for that matter." Bastila calmly stated, raising her blade. The traitor's eyes bugged out from their sockets.

"WAIT! Please I-I'll tell you everything! Just don't maim or kill me!" The turncoat pleaded, Bastila glared intently for several moments before deactivating her blade. The man visibly relaxed, his face still in a grimace of pain.

Attaching her lightsaber to her belt, Bastila crossed her arms in a neutral position. "Give your answers and be quick about it, otherwise you'll be one with the force sooner than you'd want."

"The ship sent here was an advance stealth ship. It contained the three lords of the Triumvirate; Traya, Scion, and Nihlus. They wanted to kill you and Revan so as to take the Empire without any destruction." The traitor ranted, not even stuttering. Bastila snarled at the man.

"And now that they have failed to kill me? What happens to Revan?" Bastila demanded, the man looked weary to answer. "Tell me what I want to know or I will flay the skin off of your body with the Goddamn Force!" The former Jedi threatened.

The turncoat officer flinched back at his tormentor's intensity. "She's alive, I have no idea what they want with either of you. I can only assume they want to lure you in and kill you. Please, that's all I know, I swear!"

Bastila nodded, expecting the answer. "Well they should be more careful for what they ask for. Where is Revan now?" She asked, man hesitated for a brief second before responding.

"The only place they could be heading is Malacor Five, you should-!" The turncoat began, but stopped, something over coming him. Bastila felt the intensity of darkness cover the man before her, he began to scream in agony. "ARRGH! NO! PLEASE MASTER, SHE WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVEN IF SHE KILLED ME! PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!..." The Sith Agent clutched the side of his head as if it were being crushed, blood streamed from his nose and ears. He fell to the floor, dead.

The Throne room was silent as the corpse of the Sith Agent convulsed one last time on the floor. Bastila Shan turned towards a stunned-looking Queen, her brown eyes filled with unrestrained fear. A Royal Guard then bolted into the room, ignorant of the Woman with a lightsaber or the dead body.

"Majesty, a fleet has just come out of Hyperspace!" The Queen turned startled before regaining her composure.

"What faction?" Areina asked with surprising composure.

The Guard wiped sweat from his brow. "A fleet belonging to the Revanchist." Bastila's ears perked up to this news, but remained silent.

"Have they sent transmissions?" The Queen asked, nervous even under her royal prestige.

"Yes your Majesty, they wish to know the whereabouts of Lady Revan and Lady Bastila." Bastila stepped away from the Sith Agent's corpse at this moment.

"Put them through and I will speak with them." Bastila said, the flushed Royal Guard noticing her and the body for the first time.

"And just who the Hell are you?" The Guard asked, the former Jedi turned towards him with restrained threat in her voice.

"I am Bastila Shan, I just saved your Queen from a spy and assassin, and now I am the only chance you have of your planet escaping obliteration. So please, step aside." The Apprentice of Revan requested, the Guard looked from the Queen to Bastila, getting a nod from the former before backing down.

Bastila walked towards the Queen, activating the communication console, a blue holographic image of Admiral Talia Terrae, her eyes widening upon seeing Bastila in her torn robes.

"Admiral Terrae, what brings you here?" Bastila asked, curious to know how the fleet arrived so quickly.

"Lady Bastila," Talia saluted and bowed with practiced grace. "The transponder on the Ebon Hawk alarmed the fleet of it's detonation, we were on hand to investigate immediately." The Admiral glanced around Bastila, looking for their Empress. "Where is Empress Revan?" Bastila sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Revan and I were attacked by a group of Sith Lords who called themselves the Sith Triumvirate." Bastila began, noticing the Admiral's breath hitching. "They captured her and escaped." The Apprentice said, her voice betraying guilt.

"Is she alive?" Talia asked quietly, Bastila nodded dully. Silence followed for a few tense moments before the Admiral straightened her posture. "Ma'am, I'll send a shuttle to pick you up and salvage teams to recover what's left of the Hawk. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Yes, leave a squad of guards for Queen Areina, she now has the Triumvirate targeting her. In exchange she'll give us her planetary sensory data." Bastila said, receiving a nod from the Queen.

"Very well, the shuttle will be there in approximately eight standard minutes."

"Good, be ready, as soon as we have the salvage crews aboard we're going to hunt down those Bastards and rescue Revan." Bastila said, the Admiral looked startled for a second before smiling and nodding, determination in her eyes.

"Yes ma'am!" The Admiral said, the hologram cutting out.

Bastila bowed before the Queen and immediately left through the throne room doors, weaving through the palace and towards the main landing pad, her thoughts dark.

The Admiral had known about the Triumvirate, so obviously these figures had been known to Revan's Empire. What bothered Bastila was their Agent's death, screaming in agony as they killed him across several star systems. This told the Apprentice that the Triumvirate was not to be trifled with, the three of them together were able to over power Revan, and none were known to be able to do that except for the True Sith Emperor.

Bastila watched as the shuttle descended, stepping up onto the docking ramp as a squad of Sith Commandos marched down, saluting as they headed towards the Throne Room. The Apprentice stepped aboard, the shuttle taking off towards the fleet. One thing Bastila immediately noticed was the newly-rebuilt Sovereign and it's new gleaming armor and weaponry. Sitting back into her seat, the former Jedi let meditation over take her to calm her turbulent thoughts.

As she meditated she felt a flicker in the force, something she hadn't experienced this before. She felt a powerful flicker in the holding cells of the Sovereign, a powerful strain in the force that seemed contained in another body.

Bastila let her mind open to the force elaborating on this presence as the shuttle approached the fleet. Suddenly, she felt a brief flicker of pain across the force bond she shared with Revan.

Her Master was in pain.

Darkness. Maddening darkness.

A flash of searing white lightning.

Darkness, the crackle of electricity in the air as the bound woman stared at her tormentors with icy determination.

"You call that lightning? I've been hit by stun rounds with more kick than that." Revan taunted, her raven black hair a rat's nest, clothes torn, blood trickling out of the edge of her mouth. The figure across from her snorted.

"Don't speak to me about pain." Said the figure, stepping forward, his skin chalky white, cracked showing his under skin and muscle under the dead flesh. One pale yellow eye stared at the bound woman before him. "Pain effects me every moment of my life, my hate is the only thing that keeps me alive. You know nothing of agony until you've lived my hell."

Revan scoffed. "You chose this Hell." The Empress spat. "Life is a sum of choices, the force doesn't control you. You chose to use it to further your own gains, and it led to your current predicament. You have none to blame except yourself."

Darth Scion struck out with his fist, striking the bound woman before him in the face. Revan recovered, spitting blood onto the dark floor, smiling with bloodstained teeth.

"C'mon scarface, impress me!" Revan taunted, Scion growled, grabbing the woman by the back of her hair, readying his fist, until another voice spoke from the darkness.

"Cease you fool! She wants you to lose control." The wavy and dark voice of Darth Traya commanded, the blind woman stepping from the shadows. Revan looked up at the new arrival and glared. Scion shrugged and let go of the captive, stepping back and choosing to stay silent.

"Master Kreia." Revan all but spat, glaring daggers at her former Jedi Instructor. "I would never have guessed you as one for the Sith, but then again you did have that dismal view on the force. Even claiming I am the true embodiment of the force." The bound Empress said, trying to get any trace of emotion from Sith before her.

"You are the embodiment of the Force Revan," Traya responded, her voice unsettlingly dark and low. "Even now, you represent the peak of your power, using the power of light and dark in unison. None have achieved this as you have. Perhaps never will again." The woman formerly known as Kreia mused.

Revan chuckled. "While I'm flattered, -Master-, I'm pretty sure you were going senile when I started training under you." The daring woman taunted, her former master showed no emotion.

"Joke all you want Revan, it'll be your only reprieve." Traya said darkly, her former padawan's eyes snapped up.

"What do you mean?"

Traya chuckled, the sound was haunting. "The third member of the Triumvirate, Darth Nihlus, has a rather unfortunate condition that needs to be cured."

Revan smirked. "You should call a Doctor."

Traya was not amused. "Unfortunately, it is not so simple. During the Battle of Malacor five, Nihlus's ship crashed on the planet surface after you destroyed the planet. He was barely alive, but was able to keep his life sustained by using an Ancient Sith Ritual." Traya explained, her monotone voice giving Revan a dark and disturbing mental image.

"Nihlus keeps himself alive by feeding off the force energies of other Sith and Jedi. Absorbing their life essence a short time after their death. It has kept him alive, but he needs regular sustenance." Traya continued, Revan's emerald gaze fixed on her intently.

"And I suppose you and Scion are going to break my spirit so I can feed Nihlus permanently?" Revan asked, Darth Traya seemed to look in her direction, the force compensating her lack of sight.

"Precisely." Traya said, gesturing towards the darkened form of Scion. "Darth Scion, if you'd be so kind." The corpse of a Sith stepped forward and unleashed a torrent of force lightning at Revan's bound form.

The raven-haired woman gritted her teeth as pain once more overtook her body. Revan donated what little force abilities she could to block out the pain across the force bond with Bastila. If she broke, at least her apprentice could carry on and defeat the Triumvirate.

Revan suppressed a scream as pain once more wracked her body.

Author's Note-

Yeah, sorry for the delay once more. I had a serious case of writers block, and life is a bitch that can bring you to your knees, though I am fortunate enough to not go through anything too drastic.

Anyways, enough about my personal life, I'm sure there's atleast a few people curious as to why Revan was captured and not Bastila...Well, I like to try new ideas I haven't seen. On , and in canon, Bastila is the once captured and I think sticking to that formula is boring and plain unrewarding. So, I decided to have Revan get captured, just to show that she isn't invulnerable and can be bested, granted it takes Three Sith Lords to take her down, but it's something that I haven't seen before and I don't think anyone on has tried out, so I'm glad to be the first. Plus, Bastila is still undetermined in Revan's empire, they know she helped in the battle of the Sovereign, but that's all they know and it could have just been dumb luck on their part for all they know. Having Bastila now head of Revan's Empire is way to help her earn her stripes if you will and prove she can get the job done and save Revan without further continuing the Galactic War.

As for the Future in the next few chapters, Bastila is putting together a strike team to rescue Revan, and will include some familiar faces and some unexpected ones at that ;)

As always, leave a review as you check out,

Keep the Force Strong with me :)