Dead Letter

He was a fool, the kind heroic drama and high tragedy thrived on. She had no regrets over the lump of former humanity who was, in all probability, still sizzling on the deckplating several levels above. Did he really think he could ‘save’ her? She might have spared him- he would have served her well as a general. But Carth Onasi had thought her as much a fool as himself. He tried to manipulate her, like the Council before him and so many others, with emotional pleas. By saying he loved her- how could he! Try and charm her after he denounced her as a monster, the liar. Though perhaps- no, it didn’t matter. He had tried to use her emotions to hold sway over her, and so she had killed him. In a way, she was flattered that he had cared enough to try.

Revan walked the narrow corridors of the Ebon Hawk, alone. Its emptiness struck her as wrong, whatever her feelings toward its former occupants. The droids were elsewhere, in the power-saving state that was their sleep. The Mandalorian was acting in his new capacity as her general. The girl was dead, so were the Jedi. The Wookie, too, had been terminated- he had proved too unpredictable. And Carth... She was sitting in the pilot’s chair, trying very hard not to think of it as his, examining every gigabyte of the ships computer for signs of tampering. A single file in an odd place- it had been sent from the ship, to the ship, and saved. It was in full holo and dramatically labeled “Goodbye”. She hesitated. Had someone had the foresight to load a trap into the Ebon Hawk's systems? Several of them were paranoid enough to have done it, and any of them could have enlisted the aid of a droid in the technical details. A scan showed nothing but visual data, however. Intrigued, Revan opened it, and the handsome face of Carth Onasi appeared before her.

“I’m recording this as we lay in the course for the Star Forge, just in case. I might die. You- I don’t think you will, somehow. Don’t ask me how I know that. But if I do die... I need to tell you. Heh. You’re just a dozen or so meters behind me right now, but I guess... I guess I’m not brave enough to go back there and tell you myself.

I... I love you, Ashauni. I think I have for a while. Maybe I would have told you, but then on the Leviathan... you were right. Revan is dead. She died when Malak fired on her ship. I shouldn’t blame you for things she did. I worry about you, though, Shaun. Revan is dead, but her ghost is giving you hell. I saw it, on Korriban, on Kashyyyk. I just hope that you make the right decision. She doesn’t need to shape the rest of your life. You’re a good person, Shaun, I’ve seen that too. You can handle this.

Don’t fall, beautiful. Please. For me. Hopefully, I’ll survive this mess, and then maybe I’ll get the guts to tell you this in person. But... if you’re watching this, either you’re very nosy, or this ended badly. Either way, I guess, you’ve made your choices by now. I only hope... Never mind. Look, do me a favor. If I don’t make it, look up Dustil. Tell him what happened.

And remember, Ashauni... I love you. No matter what.”

For just a moment, Ashauni was swamped with despair and regret, but the moment passed, and Revan discarded the emotions, as she did anything that was not of use to her. And she deleted the file.