Revered and Reviled

Carth walked back into the Academy, Patience still nestled in his arms.
"What happened to her?" asked Mistress Ban with a curious touch of concern on her face. She gently stroked Patience's hair and face. "She looks quite bad."
"She went into the tomb of Tulak Hord, and there was some old guy," Carth explained, uncertain. "I'm not really sure what exactly happened."
"Oh, the crazy old hermit," said Mistress Ban. She looked curiously at Carth. "How did you get her away from him? He doesn't usually give up his victims so easily."
Carth stared at her in confusion. "I didn't – she killed him. He's dead," he said slowly. "Victims? What – what did he do?"
"Dead?" repeated Mistress Ban in shock. "Are you – quite certain?" She looked down at Patience again, unbelieving. "He was trying to teach people to be true Sith, at least, his version of a true Sith." She carefully brushed away a lock of hair from Patience's face, noting the bruises and the unnatural pallor of her skin. "And she killed him. Impressive. Very impressive, indeed."
Carth held her closer, as if to protect her. In his mind, he could hear Bastila's soft voice explaining how and why the Sith torture their prisoners.
Mistress Ban saw the movement, and laughed sadly. "So protective, so loyal." She stroked Patience's face once more, then stepped away. "You should take her to rest. Her Twi'lek servant is in the room, so she can help care for her."
"Mission is here?" said Carth in surprise. Mistress Ban nodded, and he felt a weight fall from his shoulders. "Excuse me." Carth continued on his way to the room.
"Hey, flyboy, where have you two – oh, gosh, what happened?" Mission jumped off the bed, and helped Carth set her down on the bed. She bent over Patience, and quickly started administering restoratives and kolto.
"What are you doing here?" Carth asked her, as T3 entered the room and set the locks on the door.
"Preachy told me to get over here and take care of Patience. She said something happened," Mission sighed in relief as Patience started breathing normally, but still in a deep sleep. "Gosh, she is so pretty," said Mission admiringly.
"Focus!" said Carth dryly. He looked down at Patience, trying to think. "Will you be all right here by yourself for an hour or two? I want to check something on the ship."
Mission looked at him. She knew perfectly well that he wanted to talk to Bastila, but they had all agreed it would be safest not to even speak her name within the confines of the Academy. "Yeah, you can go."
"Thanks," said Carth gratefully. "Stay out of Master Wynn's way."
"Why? Is he hot?"
"I'm serious," Carth commanded. "And no, he's not. He's old. He's a very powerful Sith, who likes beautiful women."
Mission grinned. "Thanks for the roundabout compliment, flyboy."
"What?" Carth blushed. "I didn't – forget it, just try not to set anything on fire, that's all I ask." He took Patience's hand, and kissed it reverently, then left the room without saying anything more. He headed back to the ship, and walked into the main cabin, to find Bastila weeping heartbrokenly at the table. He touched her shoulder, confused, and she looked up at him, her grey eyes wide and soft with tears.
"How is she?" Bastila sobbed. "Is she all right?" She flung herself at him, sobbing helplessly.
For a moment, Carth couldn't answer.
"I felt it, at first, then she cut me off, she wouldn't let me help her with the pain! He was torturing her, Carth, but she was trying to protect someone else! He was torturing her and he wouldn't stop!" Bastila collapsed into incoherent sobs again, "She wouldn't let me help her! I couldn't do anything!"
Carth put his arms around her, and let her cry on his shoulder.
"What is all this power for? I can shape the course of battles, but I couldn't help my friend! What good is it? What good am I?"
"Bastila," he said softly. "Don't think like that."
"She cut me off! She shut me out of her mind, and I - I just wanted to die!"
"She was protecting you, too, Bas." Carth held her close, and felt a surge of sympathy for her. To be cut off from Patience would be like tasting Hell. "She'll be all right. She survived - more than that, she killed him and turned another Sith back to the Light."
Bastila looked up at him in surprise. "She did what?"
Carth laughed gently. "Yeah, she's not really good at pretending to be bad. You know, there was a moment - " Carth looked down at Bastila's dark hair and tear-filled eyes. "I think," he said carefully, "that someone else was speaking in her head."
"What do you mean?" asked Bastila. She was still sniffling, and Carth was acutely aware of her softness.
"She was very confused, at the end there, and thought she was in prison. But she didn't seem to recognize her hands."
Bastila gasped in shock. "What?"
"It's okay," Carth said, giving her a reassuring hug. "Whoever - or whatever - it was, they left."
"Oh, my goodness!" Bastila cried in horror. "Oh, Carth, I need to see her," Bastila started crying again. "I need to make sure she's all right!"
"Bastila, from what I've seen of Korriban, there is no way I'm letting you set foot on this planet," said Carth firmly. "I'll make that damn droid keep you on the ship if I have to."
"But - but - Carth - "
"Statement: Operating parameters updated. Order: The inferior Jedi is confined to the ship while we are on Planet One in the Horuset system."
Carth glared at HK, but didn't correct the order. "She's asleep now, and Mission is with her. As soon as we can, we'll come back and hopefully get the hell off this planet, and never return."
Bastila wept silently on his shoulder for a minute. Finally, she raised her head again. "Are you sure she's all right? You promise me?"
Carth nodded.
"Hey, what the hell? You're taking both Jedi now? How is that fair?" demanded Canderous.
"You're so ridiculous," Bastila laughed shakily. "I'm crying, I look awful. No one is taking me anywhere."
"Then why is Flyboy looking at you like that?"
Bastila looked at Canderous with a frown, then back up at Carth again. "Don't be ridiculous, he isn't - oh, Carth," she said softly. "You are!"
"I - I am not." He thought about letting go, but didn't.
"What, you have a thing for waterworks or something? Get your own," snapped Canderous, and lifted Bastila into his arms.
"Hey," Bastila protested weakly, but rested her head comfortably on the Mandalorian's shoulder, watching Carth all the while.
"It's not bad enough that I get banished from roaming the Sith planet, you steal Patience, you send Mission away, and now Carth is trying to hog all the Jedi." Grumbling, he carried Bastila down to the galley.
Carth blushed, and decided not to answer any of Canderous' growls before retreating to his room.

Patience woke slowly. She was cuddling with something very soft, and she looked down curiously. Mission was resting on her, half-asleep.
"Are you awake?" Mission murmured softly, "or are you just moving around in your sleep again?"
"I'm awake," Patience smiled. "What are you doing here?" She stretched. She was sore all over, and the smell of kolto pervaded the room. "Did I get hurt or something? It feels like I did."
Mission grinned. "Yeah, you got all beat up. I got to play doctor."
Patience raised an eyebrow. "You're too young to be thinking such thoughts." They both burst out laughing, and Patience slowly sat up. "My brain feels all fuzzy, and I don't remember anything. Did I at least get a new book?"
"You were holding one of those musty old scrolls," Mission pointed to the table, "and you had a gazillion broken bones. I'm not surprised you don't remember anything."
"Brain hurty," grinned Patience, and she picked up the scroll. "Oh! History!" She settled back on the bed, and started reading.
With a grin, Mission snuggled up to her and watched her read.
"Would you like a book to read? Or are you just enjoying yourself?"
"I'm fine," Mission smiled. "I'm pretty sure you don't have anything with pictures anyway."
Patience looked at her curiously. "You don't know how to read?"
"A little. Not stuff like that."
"Oh, I can teach you," Patience offered, then sat up as she sensed someone approaching the door. There was a polite knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened, and Mistress Ban entered. She smiled at the sight of the two young women comfortably wrapped around each other. "You have such interesting relationships with your slaves."
"Well, they're not really slaves," Patience confessed. "I just saved them all from horrible deaths, so I keep them."
Mistress Ban laughed sweetly, and sat down on the bed with Patience. "So, are you ready to present yourself to Master Wynn? I'm sure that you've earned more than enough prestige by now." She ran her hands gently through Patience's hair. "Are you feeling better after your ordeal? Master Wynn was quite amused to hear that you had killed his old Master."
Patience settled herself more comfortably, with her head in Mistress Ban's lap. "I'll be fine," she assured her, "a little more kolto and I'll be all set. I suppose I should go talk to Master Wynn. That's the only way to get into the last tomb, isn't it?"
"Yes, Master Wynn will be in the tomb of the great Naga Sadow." Mistress Ban looked down at Patience. "And what will you do when you get there, I wonder?"
Patience sighed. "Why are you here?"
"Me?" asked Mistress Ban in surprise. "I am a Sith."
Patience shook her head. "You know full well he's going to try and kill you. You don't want to kill him - you want to make things right."
Mistress Ban stared at her. "What - how do you know that?"
"I can sense it. I even agree with you. So why are you here, herding unruly students and jockeying for a cushy seat instead of out there, taking down slavers and putting a dent in the slave trade?"
Mistress Ban frowned. "It's not - it's not that easy."
"Yes, it is." Patience looked up at her. "You don't have to be a Sith to use the Force. You can be a Jedi without the Order. But if you aren't doing what the Force wants you to do, you'll never be happy."
Mistress Ban continued to look down at her. "You know, some people would think of this as your way of getting rid of me so that you have a clear field to be Master Wynn's second-in-command."
"And what do you think?"
"I don't think you would be anyone's second-in-command," said Mistress Ban dryly.
"Do you need help hotwiring a ship?" said Mission excitedly. "I'm really good at that."
"She is," Patience smiled. "But you have to listen to her go on about how much fun I am."
Mistress Ban smiled. "May I borrow your - friend - for a little while?"
"Of course," Patience grinned. "But you can't take her with you. Trust me, I also have a Wookie and you don't want to mess with him."
Mistress Ban laughed, and rose slowly. "You are a very interesting woman. I hope to be half as interesting as you someday." She reached out and shook hands with Patience in farewell.
"What? No kiss?" said Mission in disgust. "You people are so boring!"
"Mission!" Patience stared at her. "What is wrong with you?"
"Wrong with me? You've got two hot Twi'leks in the same room as you, you're shaking hands, and you want to know what's wrong with me?" Mission shook her head sadly, and Mistress Ban burst into genuine laughter.
"Okay, just go, help Yuthura, come back here, and don't set anything on fire."
Mistress Ban giggled, unable to stop herself. "Well, you could start a little fire," she suggested. Her smile dropped years from her age, and already her eyes were starting to lose the yellow tinge of the Dark Side.
"I'm not listening," said Patience, and went back to reading. "I know nothing about this." She had just finished reading the history of Korriban and the True Sith, as written by one Jorak Uln, when the door opened. Patience looked up. "Carth!" Completely forgetting her injuries, she bounced out of bed into his arms.
"Patience!" He picked her up and laid her on the bed again. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Ow," she winced, but held tightly to him. "It was worth it." She kissed his cheek.
Carth smiled at her. "Where did Mission go?"
"Oh," Patience waved vaguely at the door, "she's helping Yuthura steal a ship."
"Yuthura? Mistress Ban?"
Patience nodded, and snuggled closer to Carth. "You're warm and fuzzy."
Carth sighed. "Why is - wait, I don't care." He lay down with her, moved so that he could cover her with his body, and kissed her. "You're soft and warm," he whispered between kisses. "Oh, hey, your ribbon fell off."
Patience laughed, and Carth kissed her hair, before returning to her luscious lips for more kisses.
"Ack! You're going to get her all sticky!" Mission complained. "Get your hand out of there."
"Don't you ever knock?" Carth demanded, panting slightly as he pulled away from Patience.
Patience looked up at Mission with amusement. "Wait, you yell at me for not making out with Yuthura, and then you yell at me for making out with Carth? That's a little one-sided."
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
Mission grinned at Carth. "Two chicks making out is super hot. There are normal couples everywhere, where's the fun in that?" She pulled Carth away from Patience. "Now get off her, so I can finish patching her up. You can watch if you like," she offered slyly.
"What?" Carth stared at her. "You're underage! Besides, Patience doesn't like women. Do you?"
"Not as much as she likes men, no," Mission agreed, and Patience burst into laughter at the look on Carth's face.
"She's joking, Carth. Stop staring like that."
"Well, no, I mean, I just.... I'll wait outside." Carth stood outside the room, trying not to think perverted thoughts about Patience, Mission, and Bastila. He heard a stifled giggle from the room, and groaned. "Now I'm never going to get this out of my head."
One of the guards walked up, and stopped when he saw Carth leaning against the door. "What are you doing?"
There was a burst of giggling from the two women inside.
"I'd rather not answer that," groaned Carth. "Did you need something?"
"Master Wynn would like all the students to gather. They're going to do the prestige count now."
Carth sighed. "She'll be there in a few minutes."
There was more giggling, a loud thump, and a surprised squeak, followed by even more giggling. Carth and the guard looked at each other, and Carth just shook his head.
"Right." The guard turned and walked away.
The door opened, and Patience peeked out. Her hair was neatly pulled back, and she was wearing a different set of red and purple armor.
Carth stared at her. "Where is T3?"
"Mission sent him back to the ship." Patience smiled at him. "Who were you talking to?"
"A guard. Master Wynn wants you to go turn in your prestige or something."
"Oh!" Patience checked her datapad. "It's time for that already? I guess Mission has to come with us."
Mission bounced out of the room. "I'm ready!" she said cheerfully. "Let's go!"
Carth glared at the little Twi'lek. "No way."
"What?" Mission protested innocently.
"Put your clothes on. Now."
Mission burst into impish laughter, and ran back into the room to finish getting dressed.
Patience smiled. "She changed her shirt because I got blood all over it," she explained. "We're just doing it to annoy you."
Carth tried to keep frowning, but couldn't. "It's working," he smiled back at her. "I'm very disturbed."
They both broke into giggles, trying to hold back the laughter and failing. Mission bounced out again, properly dressed this time, in a new skintight blood-red outfit.
"Okay, let's go to the presentation, before we're too late." Patience smiled at her friends, and led them to the central auditorium, where Master Wynn was overseeing the presentations of the students aspiring to become full Sith.
"Looks like we're a little late," Carth muttered as the body of a student fell from the dais.
Master Wynn tossed the false sword after the body, and guards scurried up to clear the mess away. "Ah, you decided to join us after all," he smiled as Patience entered the hall. "Do come, and let me hear what you have to offer."
Patience knelt gracefully, and signed to Carth to hand over the first scroll from the pile that he was holding. Master Wynn took the scroll, and glanced at it.
"And what have we here?"
"An artifact recovered from the tomb of the Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. A scroll, written in his own hand, containing instructions to one of his apprentices. There are some other scrolls as well," she said calmly, and Carth laid the other ancient texts on the table next to Master Wynn.
Master Wynn's eyes opened very wide. "Was not the tomb guarded by an insane droid that killed anyone who approached the tombs?"
Patience smiled. "I dealt with it, Master Wynn."
Master Wynn smiled back at her. "Impressive. Most impressive. What else do you have there?"
Carth handed over the next scroll.
"A datapad containing research into the history of Korriban and the True Sith, as written by the late Jorak Uln, former Master of the Sith Academy." Patience didn't bother holding back a smile of satisfied triumph, and Master Wynn laughed cruelly.
"Did you find anything in the tomb of Ajunta Pall?" asked Master Wynn.
"I did," said Patience calmly. "A most wondrous blade." She smiled at Master Wynn. "And I'm keeping it."
Master Wynn threw back his head and laughed uproariously. "You are magnificent, simply magnificent. The blade is yours." He looked over her again. "Tell me, have you seen Mistress Ban lately?"
Patience blinked innocently. "I haven't seen her for a few hours. Is she missing?"
Master Wynn smiled, and shook his head. "No matter. Come, let us go to the tomb of Naga Sadow, and there you can learn everything that you desire of the Sith." He looked at Carth and Mission. "Unfortunately, you must go alone. While you will be safe in the tomb, your servants will not."
Patience nodded calmly. "I am ready, Master Wynn."
"Then let us be on our way," he held out his hand to her and led her away.
Carth watched them walk away with a sick feeling in his heart.