suitably_heroic | Telos, Some Time After Last

They landed on Telos just an hour too late. Kreia had fled, and the underground complex that Atris inhabited... seemed very quiet. Empty, almost. Meetra led Atton and Mira down through the twisting hallways, following the one strong Force signature she could still sense up ahead.

But was it Atris, or the Handmaiden they had found?

Meetra	It was a room full of bodies that met Meetra - a room that had once been one of Atris's central meeting rooms. Now her Handmaidens laid strewn across it, four in number. None of them felt like the Handmaiden she had known.
Atris	"So," Atris said. She stepped down the stairs into the meeting room. "One exile has arrived to save another."
Meetra	Meetra felt the eyes of the others on her, waiting her cue. But she didn't want them to intervene. This was her battle... an effort to cure the hurt she had caused. The malevolence that Atris projected made it clear it would not be an easy task. "You have truly fallen far to kill a helpless opponent," she said quietly.
Atris	There was that word again. "It is no crime to kill the Sith or any that threaten the Republic... as you proved in the Mandalorian Wars," Atris said. "This is now my battle, and you are now my enemy."
Meetra	Meetra let out a sigh. "Surrender, Atris. I don't want to fight you." For the sake of their old friendship, if nothing else.
Atris	"Such a noble offer," Atris spat, and raised her lightsaber.
Meetra	Meetra held up her hand, to caution the others not to step in. This was their fight alone. The stakes were too high to risk someone overzealously injuring Atris. They dueled for a short while, matching blow by blow. Once, they had been perfectly in balance. Now, Meetra found her own motions overpowering Atris's - her years of combat had made a difference at last.
Atris	"She said you would come here, to this place," Atris said. She parried one last blow, then rushed up the bridge behind her. "If you think you can defeat me here, you are wrong." She stumbled into the room full of holocrons. Then she turned, facing the woman who followed. "All this collected knowledge, all these teachings of combat and the Force - they are mine to command."
Meetra	Meetra followed, yes, but with nothing of the hostility that Atris exuded. "You've fallen to the dark side, Atris," she said. "Surely you can see that."
Atris	"Atris..." The name came out like a sigh. "That is not who I am. No longer. She has not existed for some time, I think. There was always something else within me - it just took time for its voice to be heard."
Meetra	Space. Meetra ran a hand up through her hair. "What happened to you?" she asked.
Atris	Atris' eyes went briefly unfocused. "The old woman you traveled with, finally made me... listen to myself, to the galaxy." Her eyes snapped back to Meetra. "She said that you would come here, and that you would face me in battle."
Meetra	Meetra's expression softened. Perhaps they could talk. "There is no reason for us to fight," she pointed out. Not even prophecy made that so.
Atris	But there was. There had been for a long time. "She said you were the last obstacle to my enlightenment," Atris said. She raised the lightsaber... Meetra's old lightsaber, back from when she was genuinely still a Jedi. "If I wished to truly face the Sith, to see their heart, then that meant facing you, this last time."
Meetra	What had Kreia been playing at all this time...? "Where did she go?" Meetra asked.
Atris	"I do not know - yet." It galled her to admit this, but she would not foul this conversation with lies. "I suspect she went in search of you. But just as when she first came here, her path is difficult to see. She has set many things in motion, it is she that ordered the extermination of all Jedi, so long ago. She will answer for her crimes, in time. She is Sith..." Atris' eyes narrowed. "...Just as you are, just as all who followed Revan were."
Meetra	Sith...? Was this something Atris had secretly always believed, or was it something Kreia had put into her head? "We don't have time for this," Meetra pleaded. "We need to unite to stop the Sith."
Atris	"Yes, the Sith are here at last," Atris said, but she seemed unconcerned. "You have brought them to this place, as I had foreseen. It was all part of my plans for you. And when I defeat you and the forces you have brought to Telos, I shall take the battle to the heart of the Sith, and wipe them out - forever."
Meetra	Something about Atris' choice of words made Meetra very... uneasy. "Wait," she said slowly. "Plans for me?"
Atris	"These Sith are cowards, striking from the shadows to kill Jedi," Atris said. Her expression did not bother to hide the disdain she felt. "I needed a target to draw them out, but I could not risk my own life, all that remained of the Jedi." She shrugged. "So I arranged for you to return to the Republic, leaked information of your past, and then waited for the Sith to come. And they did." She glanced down at her lightsaber, the one she had once taken from Meetra. "But you came to Telos, against my predictions. Now they are here, I can finally face this enemy and defeat them."
Meetra	Meetra nearly choked on nothing but the air itself. All of this - all of this started because Atris did not have the courage to face her demons herself? She had set all of this in motion - and for what? When she regained her voice, she asked, "And when the Sith are defeated, what then?"
Atris	"When the Sith are destroyed, then I shall rebuild the Jedi Order again," Atris said. She lit the lightsaber, staring at its silver light with fascination. "They shall have none of the weaknesses of before, they shall be strong, willing to take battle to any who oppose them and weaken the Republic. They shall not train those who are easily corrupted - no more students that will bring war and hate to the galaxy." All would be as it should be.
Meetra	Space-- could she hear herself? "Atris," Meetra said, "You're talking about turning the Jedi into the Sith."
Atris	Atris cast her an irritated look. "The Sith are the Jedi, the Jedi are the Sith," she said, more patiently than she felt she really owed. "What matters is that they be preserved, all the lore, all the teachings, brought to a new generation. I am the last of the Jedi... and I will show them this truth, bring it to the galaxy."
Meetra	The last of the Jedi. It was a title many had tried to pin on Meetra during her journey. She had always demurred. Now, for the first time, looking upon the righteous fire in Atris' face -- she wondered if they might be right. "There was the Jedi Council," she said. "Until recently."
Atris	Atris scoffed. "They were cowards, afraid to battle the Sith. They did not have your strength... our strength." For the first time, she looked upon Meetra with something akin to consideration in her eyes. "Together, we can put an end to such weakness."
Meetra	But Meetra was not so easily flattered. "Weakness?" she said pointedly. "Like when you fled Katarr? And Dantooine?"
Atris	Weakness? That had not been weakness. "I did not flee. I did what was necessary to fight the Sith - and preserve the last of the Jedi."
Meetra	"You left the Jedi to die on Katarr," Meetra snapped. Atris could rationalize all she wanted; she knew the truth.
Atris	"I sensed what would happen on Katarr," Atris said. She deactivated the lightsaber in her hand. "It was I who leaked knowledge of its presence in the hopes of drawing the Sith out." She clipped the lightsaber back onto her belt. "I will not deceive you... I knew what could happen there, but it had to be done to make the Sith reveal themselves. But I did not know the extent of their power - and what that meant for the Jedi." Her eyes narrowed. "I will not underestimate them again."
Meetra	Meetra wasn't sure there would be any breath left in her lungs after this conversation - this pile-up of terrible truths. The enormity of what Atris was confessing to struck her almost as hard as Atris' seeming indifference to it. "...You're responsible for the murder of an entire planet."
Atris	Was that a condemnation? Rich, considering the source. "As are we both," Atris pointed out glibly. "You, who brought the screams of Malachor to the galaxy... do not preach to me. You lead by example. You always have. You knew what was necessary at Malachor V, and the stakes in this war are higher than you know - it is a war of extermination, of total annihilation."
Meetra	Meetra pinched the bridge of her nose. "What were the Jedi doing on Katarr?"
Atris	"They hoped to gather, to use their combined knowledge of the Force to see, to listen to the currents of the galaxy. They hoped to find out what was happening to the Jedi, why they were dying. And they discovered it." There was a short silence. Atris regarded her. "It revolved around you, as it always has. It is you who have tried to end us."
Meetra	Meetra frowned. "Me?"
Atris	"Yes, from the destruction of Katarr, a vision emerged - it is the last act the Jedi were able to perform before the planet was destroyed. So that is why I arranged for you to return to the Republic, so that I might draw the Sith out and end them." Atris pursed her lips. Meetra's confusion was a strange thing indeed. "Is it not obvious? You are one of the Sith, fallen at Revan's side. The path to them lies through you."
Meetra	"I'm not allied with the Sith," Meetra said irritably. This conversation kept bouncing from one side to the other at the whims of Atris' mental state. It was not a good position to be in.
Atris	"The pronouncement on Katarr was clear," Atris said, "and you are the key. And look, you have come to battle me, Sith against Jedi, as was intended." She took a sharp breath. "But if you are curious... It was a vision. It showed you, standing upon the many battlegrounds of the Mandalorian Wars. The Dxun jungles, the destroyed cities of Onderon... Whatever this threat we faced, it came from you - these Sith were something born of you."
Meetra	"You know how these visions work," Meetra pointed out. "If it was a vision of the future, then it showed only one possibility."
Atris	"Yes, it was one such possibility." But Atris did not see how that mattered. "The others were only darkness, a galaxy devoid of the Force... but always there was an echo. The Jedi on Katarr did not realize the significance of this - they had not stood in judgment of you, so long ago. They had not heard the same echo I did when you stood before us... and when we cast you into exile."
Meetra	It all sounded... familiar. Meetra let out another breath. "This echo," she said, "What is it?" It kept coming up. From Kreia. From the Jedi Masters. And now from Atris.
Atris	"It is the sound of life in agony - it is a wound in the Force that has yet to close." Atris gestured at the Exile. She was a similar wound, after all. The same wound. "War... destruction... these events leave wounds in the galaxy, in all life. The death of one can send echoes through hundreds... even thousands, across many planets. If not checked, then it spreads, until nothing is left." She moved her hand to her hip. "Something that you had done in the past has caused this new threat, this death of all Jedi - and you were responsible for it. It was only proper that you be brought back to face your crime. You had killed countless Jedi once - the deaths of more Jedi were not beyond you."
Meetra	"I had nothing to do with the deaths of the Jedi after the Mandalorian Wars," Meetra pointed out. That... had been all on Revan. And probably the Council, to some extent.
Atris	"If you were responsible for the threat, then you would answer for it," Atris said. "If not, then you would draw the Sith from hiding so that they might be defeated. Either way, you deserved your fate." It didn't matter. Meetra had done far too much damage not to be made accountable. "When I defeat you and the forces you have brought to Telos, I shall take the battle to the heart of the Sith and wipe them out - forever."
Meetra	It was clear that to Atris, the time of talking came to a close. They had fought before. Meetra was not eager to do so again. "I won't fight you," she said. "Surrender, and I'll spare you."
Atris	"Surrender?" Atris snarled. "To you? Never." She lashed out in the Force, creating a conduit to Meetra's presence in it, sapping it of its strength.
Meetra	Meetra cast off the power's effects after a few moments. She felt weaker, but not nearly weak enough to give up. She felt Atton start behind her and quickly held up a hand. No. No, this was still her battle. Then she drew her lightsaber. Once again, her blade and Atris's met - but this time, there was no talking, until one of them crashed to the floor, bruised and burned and unable to continue. Meetra deactivated her lightsaber.
Atris	Atris was a crumpled up ball of pain and anger and... and a quickly draining defiance. How? She was the last of the Jedi. How could she fall to this Sith? It was unthinkable. "Kill me," she snarled. "End this." Complete the death of the Jedi.
Meetra	Meetra sighed. "I'm not going to kill a helpless opponent, Atris," she said tiredly.
Atris	And... just like that... the anger faded. Seeped into the ground. Left clarity behind. "I..." Atris glanced at the floor. "...I did not expect mercy from you."
Meetra	"We have greater problems," Meetra said, offering Atris her hand. "And there has been enough killing." She hadn't forgotten what the Jedi Masters had told her about her nature. That she grew stronger with every death... ...she did not want to keep feeding that.
Atris	The Sith holocrons surrounding them hissed suddenly, loudly, angrily, as if they were sentient. Atris shivered. "This knowledge of the Sith... and the Jedi, is what I am," she said. "It is my attempt to hold on to the past... to try and protect the future."
Meetra	"It was never your responsibility," Meetra said quietly. "Sith knowledge is forbidden, and there's a reason why it's kept safe." Because there were always Jedi with too much motivation and too little sense of proportion.
Atris	"Once, I was a historian, the chronicler of the Jedi," Atris said. She was beginning to catch her breath. "And when both wars passed me by, I was determined I would not forsake battle again." She bit down on her lower lip. "In some part of me... I knew I had made choices, compromises, but always for the sake of the Republic, of the galaxy. To do what you had done... at times, did not seem so wrong."
Meetra	This all fell back on her. Her responsibilities. Meetra shut her eyes and steadied herself. "Everything that occurred at Malachor, everything that occurred in the war, was because there was no other choice," she pointed out.
Atris	"To fight such a threat..." Atris looked up at last. "... sometimes, one's choices seem narrower than they are, until it seems there is no solid foundation on which to stand. I feel that now I understand what drove you to battle, to fight the Mandalorians. It was something you could not turn away from."
Meetra	Meetra glanced away. She wasn't sure what else there was to say. "Can you tell me where the Sith are striking from?" she asked instead.
Atris	Atris smiled a wan smile. "You always knew where they were striking from," she said. "You always knew." You just didn't want to know. Much like myself.
Meetra	Malachor V. The scene of all her sins. "Is that where Kreia has gone?" she asked slowly. She knew the answer to that, too.
Atris	"Yes. I had thought she was awaiting me at that place, but I see now that she lied. It was not meant for me... but for you." Why had she not seen the lies for what they had been? Had she been so lost? "She is waiting for you to travel to Malachor V. To finish what you started."
Meetra	"What I started?" Meetra echoed.
Atris	Atris nodded slowly. "Yes, you are an echo in the Force, a hollow space where it has been wounded." She shifted gingerly. "It takes a great act of destruction to create such emptiness, but it can be done. It creates places where the Force is difficult to hear, and difficult to find one's way. And you carry it with you, always."
Meetra	Atris had picked an odd moment to get cryptic on her. "What does this have to do with Kreia?"
Atris	"She seeks to create another echo," Atris said. She pushed herself up onto her feet with difficulty, drawing on the Force as she did so. "A wound in the Force greater than the one before - greater than the one you caused. It will deafen all touched by the Force, until no life is left. You were strong enough to withstand it once - but few have your strength in such matters, especially if they are unprepared." And then there was the other matter. "If you choose not to follow, she will murder herself at the heart of Malachor, and you will die along with her."
Meetra	Meetra tilted her head. "...But if Kreia is Sith, why would she do such a thing?" The Sith drew on the Force as well - for all of their power.
Atris	"She seeks the death of all Jedi, all Sith... and the death of the Force." Atris shook her head. "It is madness, it is impossible - but she believes you are the key. There are places in the galaxy dead to the Force, where nothing lives - where the echoes travel forever and do not reach their destination. And these places may be created, even from the simplest of events, the slightest of motions. One person, at the right place, at the right time, can change the face of the galaxy... or end it."
Meetra	And still, it didn't make any sense. Meetra knew all that. But it still didn't fit together... ... and suddenly she realized that she had been asking the wrong questions. "Atris," she said slowly, "Who is Kreia?"
Atris	"She is one of the Lords of the Sith, one of those who murdered the Jedi, and she holds the death of the galaxy in her hands, because she has gone to Malachor." Something in Atris' face shifted, turned ashen. "But you will not survive Telos. No one will. The greatest of her apprentices comes to Telos, and he will destroy everything, much as he destroyed Katarr and all the Jedi gathered there."
Meetra	Darth Nihilus was a threat that they would have to face, and quickly. But it had not escaped Meetra that her basic question had gone unanswered - or at least had been poorly answered. "No," she said, "If Kreia was Sith... she's strong in the Force. She would not forsake it."
Atris	"Kreia proclaims no longer to follow the ways of the Sith," Atris admitted. "She says she is something else, something that seeks 'balance'... through destruction." She shook her head. "Who is Kreia? She was a teacher, once, and every student that she trained... has been a failure, and brought death to the galaxy." She looked at Meetra. Genuinely looked. "You are important to her, somehow, but I..." And all around them, the holocrons sprang back to life, hissing and spitting. It made Atris hesitate. "... I do not know for certain."
Meetra	Did the holocrons have some hold on Atris now? It didn't matter. Meetra's voice was stronger. "Atris," she said. "If you know. Tell me."
Atris	Atris swallowed thickly. "She is willing to sacrifice herself at the heart of that graveyard world for you... a choice others have made in the past. A choice..." She faltered. But only for a moment. "...a choice I wished to make." She looked up again. "It is because I care for you. And I suspect that you alone hold that place in her heart, where nothing else lives. And that is why you are the only one who can stop the destruction to come." And that was it. The end of her knowledge - the end of her usefulness. "What will you do with me now?" she asked. "Abandon me here on this dead world - or end my life, as I wished to end yours?"
Meetra	Atris was one of her oldest friends. She could not simply execute her. "No," she said. "I just need you to see what you've become, and turn away from it."
Atris	Atris sucked in a shaking breath. That... that was perhaps the most terrible, of all the options. But perhaps there was... There was something to be salvaged. "I tied my life, my decisions to the Jedi," she said quietly. "Perhaps... perhaps only in separating myself from the Jedi can I become myself again, learn who I am. Perhaps exile is all I deserve, even though it is many years too late, and you have already returned." The Sith holocrons surrounding her hissed, but she ignored them, just this once. "Go," she said. "Save yourself."
Meetra	She would fulfill Atris' wish. Meetra felt doing anything else would be... cruel. "Come on," she said quietly, to the others, then turned, following the path downwards out of the holocron vault.
Atton	"So..." Atton wasn't sure what to say here, so he defaulted to something practical. "Should I go fire up the engines and set a course for, uh." Space. "For, uh." He didn't want to say it.
Meetra	"In a moment," Meetra told him. There was someone else she needed to see. She pushed past him and into the next chamber, raising her voice. "Handmaiden?!"