It was such a rare occasion that Dawn would wake up unaware of her surroundings; it had always been important, nay crucial, that she keep aware of her location. Such awareness had been bred into her as a survival instinct, carved into her flesh and mind over long months of training and repetition. A good solider never let down their guard; a good soldier never lost themselves in unconsciousness. And yet, despite the rigors of her training, here she was, wading through a thick pool of mindless sleep. Her senses came back to her slowly, like tiny beams of warmth breaking through the thick cloud of dark senselessness that surrounded her. Her current surroundings awned on her slowly; a slight sensation of warmth here, a touch of scent there.
Fighting through the waves of exhaustion that threatened to overcome her senses, Dawn came into awareness of her body. She ached tremendously; every bone and muscle throbbed in screaming protest as she attempted to wiggle her toes. She felt a cold breeze caressing her feet, chilling her toes. Her legs raced with goosebumps as they were exposed to the chilled, damp air. One of her arms screamed in agony, her back and shoulders stiff with disuse. Her neck was bent to the side at an awkward angle, suggesting she had been unconscious for quite some time.
Without opening her eyes, Dawn knew she was in some confined area; the smell was indicator enough of that. The rank smell of mildew assaulted her senses, piercing her nostrils with its tanginess. The air smelled stale and moldy, as if no fresh air had been permitted to enter the room in centuries. A slight humming made itself known to her ears, the occasional crack and pop indicating a loose wire within some system.
Suddenly, and perhaps without regard to her health, Dawn hissed and sat up as a rush of pain laced through her skull. Letting out a string of curses that would have made any Sith Lord blush, Dawn tentatively prodded her skull with her fingertips; dried blood met her fingertips, caking the hair around her scalp into a thick matte. Hearing something akin to a chair scraping across a metal floor, she attempted to crack open her an eye as she cradled her head in her hands.
"Glad to see you up," a raspy, masculine voice spoke softly to her. The sudden sound was enough to jolt her out of her stupor. Eyes shooting open and pain temporarily forgotten, Dawn scrambled backwards-across what appeared to be a dirty cot-until her back hit a wall. Reaching a hand towards her hip for her vibroblade, her stomach lurched when nothing but cold, moldy air met her fingers. "instead of thrashing about in your sleep…" he finished awkwardly, clearing his throat. As Dawn quickly scrutinized the room-looking for what, she didn't know-her eyes fell on the man. He was handsome enough; tall, muscular, dark haired and eyed. He had a kind, familiar face, though his eyes were filled with exhaustion and his lips were turned down into a frown. His brown eyes peaked out from beneath thick brows and dark lashes. The starting of a beard covered the lower portion of his face, most likely only a few days old.
"You must have been having one hell of a nightmare," he offered, taking a tentative step forward and inclining his face so she might be able to better see it in the dim light. "I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up."
His face registered deep within her consciousness somehow. Dawn wasn't sure how she knew him, but, at the moment, she felt comfortable enough in his presence to let her guard down. Unfortunately, Dawn had always struggled with memory loss. After waking up in a bustling medical facility after some horrific accident, she hadn't been able to recount any long-term memories. Despite being language-fluid and possessing many intricate skills, she couldn't recount any memories from before adulthood. Even the simplest of memories had eluded her; when she had awoken in that hospital only a short year ago, her mind had been a clean slate. She had been told everything about herself: her name, her age, the name of her home planet, even the names of a few childhood pets. However, nothing of what she was told had stuck with her more than if she had read a stranger's resume. There was no family to greet her when she had awoken; she was, apparently, an only child and had lost her parents to a speeder accident at an early age. She frowned, pulling her mind away from the depressing thoughts. They did nothing to serve her now. A few short months after awakening, she had grown bored with her lifestyle; it had utterly lacked purpose and adventure. To compensate, she enlisted with the Republic. So while she may not know the identities of her family members or the validity of the story she was given, she did know one thing: she was a soldier. That was her only identity now.
Relaxing her stiffened spine, she slowly swung her legs over the side of her cot and lowered her feet to the cold metal floor. Scanning her environment, she concluded she and the man were holed up in some sort of apartment, despite it being so old and trashed. Closing her eyes as a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over her, she sucked in a deep lungful of air. Not daring to stand, she placed a small amount of weight on her feet, testing the pressure. The cold floor was a welcomed balm on her burning, aching soles.
Sitting forward to rest her elbows on her exposed knees, Dawn locked eyes with the strange man. Fractionally narrowing her gaze in a curious manner, she marginally cocked her head to the side. Nodding her head slightly in response to what he had been saying, she offered no other form of communication; her throat felt raw and ragged, and though she didn't necessarily believe him to be hostile, she wasn't prepared to trust him. Her instincts warned her to be wary.
Seemingly noticing her tentativeness, the man cleared his throat, averting his eyes. "I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod," he said calmly, taking a seat and regarding her carefully. His voice was deep, and he spoke in a soft manner, seeming to be considerate of the headache that pounded through her temples. "Do you remember?"
"Carth," she managed to croak. Her tongue was thick and rough in her dry mouth; her voice sounded pitifully raspy, even to her own ears. Glancing at the man, who she now assumed was named Carth, she remembered the events from the Endar Spire. Though it seemed as if she had been floating in and out of the darkness of unconsciousness for years, she realized she must have been stationed on the Endar Spire only a short while ago. She felt her muscles marginally relax. "the one from the communicator. I remember."
"You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now, so I imagine you are pretty confused about things. Try not to worry, we're safe…" he said kindly, walking across the small apartment room to retrieve some water from the attached kitchenette. "at least for the moment," he finished quietly, sighing underneath his breath.
"We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily I wasn't seriously hurt," he continued, handing her a glass of cool, clear water. Greedily raising the water to her lips, she decided she liked Carth; anyone who would fetch her water while she was parched had to be a decent fellow. Gulping down the cold liquid faster than she thought humanly possible, she heaved a lungful of air when a few drops went down the wrong pipe. Sitting down beside her on the cot, Carth firmly patted her back while she coughed.
"Slow down, sister. There's always more where that came from," he said with the hint of a smile. As Carth reached to take her empty glass, Dawn sighed in contentment. She knew she should probably be listening to what he was trying to tell her, but she was exhausted; her mind ached, her body ached, and all she desired was to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene, we were long gone," Carth said, helping to ease her back down onto the cot. His words struck her; he had dragged her away from the scene?
"Then I owe you my life. Thank you," she said gratefully, closing her eyes. The gentle humming that permeated the air was starting to turn into a loud thrum, beating at her temples. She felt darkness encroaching around her vision and knew they would have to save the rest of their conversation for another time. Even while he told her that he would never leave a fellow soldier behind and that he was just doing his duty, she fell into a deep, mindless slumber.
A/N: After revisiting this game recently, I decided that my love of femRevan and Carth was too great to go unwritten...Please enjoy and remember that any constructive criticism is always welcomed!
P.S., future chapters will typically be substantially longer; however, I always like doing short introductory chapters so readers can decide on whether or not they enjoy my writing style.
~xoxo, PuppyLove