Disclaimer: I own nothing of Knights of the Old Repiblic, the storyline could even be arguably not mine. :P These first two chapters will not be all of the story, but its all I've got so far, so please enjoy.
Looking out on the galaxy with unseeing eyes, Arren once again listens to the ripples flowing through the force. The cramped cockpit of the A-wing class starfighter, the woman sits in, allows for not much else aside from meditation and sleep. The autopilot continues to take the small ship closer to the edge of known space, drawing ever closer to the source of ripple the woman is searching for. Assured she's still on the right path Arren breaks her concentration and moves around a bit in an attempt to get more comfortable and straighten her Jedi robes. After searching for possible sources of the disturbance she felt in the Force, Arren had finally narrowed down her options to a lone scouting cruiser of the Republic. It was the only thing that made sense in this remote portion of the galaxy, what with the center of the ripple feeling as though it were slowly moving.
It was a month after she had first sensed it that she thought of the possibility of what she was looking for was on a starship. After that it was only a matter of consulting with the Republic's Navy that she learned of a Hammerhead-class cruiser, named the Casurum, on a long-term reconnaissance mission along the border. It was sent out to patrol the further reaches of Republic space mostly to keep an eye on possible Mandalorian threats. News of battles in the Outer Rim occasionally trickled into the Republic from time to time, but no one was willing-or interested enough to look into it. Using the excuse of wanting to inspect the boundaries for possible need of Jedi intervention, granted Arren the necessary clearance to land on the Casurum. The Navy was even generous enough to lend her the small A-wing fighter, though now she questioned if it was such a wise idea to agree to use the small craft.
Arren was certain the Hammerhead was only a few hours away and restlessness gripped her. She had no idea what could have possibly created such a ripple in the Force for her to have seen it all the way on Coruscant. She had just three years prior gained her status of Master Jedi and this was her first time away from the wisdom of the Council since her promotion. It was also the first time that she was acting entirely independently of the Council. She had told no one of what she had sensed in the Force, and if others had felt it none of them were speaking up. There was a feeling of needed secrecy about this that unnerved the Jedi, yet she had not let that deter her from seeking out this mystery.
A small beeping noise drew Arren's attention to the radar. Looking down at it she recognized it was signaling that another ship was in the area. Looking out the windshield she caught sight of the Republic cruiser she was searching for. Opening a channel to it, "This is the Jedi Master Arren Kae requesting permission to board."
"This is the Casurum. Permission granted, Jedi Master. We received a report saying you'd be arriving today," a male voice answered.
A tractor beam locked onto her small A-wing pulling it underneath the core of the cruiser where the hanger bay was. After fully docking, Arren opened the canopy a jumped out of the fighter. Once firmly on the cold metal of the hanger, the woman shook out her shoulder length, snow-white hair and stretched languidly. Sensing around her she noticed two men coming to greet her. As the closer of the two reached out to shake her hand, Arren opened her sightless eyes to the officer causing him to jump a little at how piercing they felt, even with their milky color.
Letting go of the brief handshake, "Master Jedi, welcome aboard. I'm Captain Tyron Antur, and this is Commander Rommel Turmen," the officer's voice was deep and rumbly. The man beside the captain bowed his head in greeting. "In the message from the Council it said you are here to see if there is any potential threat from the Out Rim, correct?"
"That is correct, Captain Antur. I've read your reports and felt it was prudent to see if I could discover anything through the Force by being closer to the Rim," her voice sound soft yet full of command. "Since I'll be here for a time, would you mind escorting me around the ship?"
"It'd be my pleasure, Master Jedi," the captain rumbled out. Pointing his hand towards the exit of the hander a female voice over the intercom sounded out. "Captain, please return to the bridge. We have something you might want to look at."
The blur that was the captain dropped his arm back to his side and once again fully faced Arren. "My apologies, Master Jedi, but I must get to the bridge. Commander Tulman, however can give you that tour you asked for."
The Commander was slightly shorter than the Captain, but then again such minute differences were difficult to see with the Force. As the Captain strode off Tulman stepped in front of Arren and began leading her in the direction Antur had pointed in a moment ago. As Tulman lead the Jedi about the ship he gave a commentary about it as they went along, Arren nodded when appropriate and did what was needed to keep up the appearance she was listening to what the Commander had to say about the ship when the whole while she was trying to pinpoint the center of the ripple. She quickly found out though that being so close to the epicenter made it nearly impossible to see things with the Force. About all she was able to notice was the center seemed to be echoing from the living quarters. "Commander Tulman, could you lead me to somewhere I could rest. The trip here has tired me out it would seem," Arren quietly requested.
Tulman lead Arren closer to source, yet she still had yet to come across it. After a ways into the living quarter the officer stopped at a door and opened it for her. "These are the quarters we prepared for you, Master Jedi. While they may not be spacious, they are at least comfortable," his rich tenor voice commented.
"Do not worry about the size, Commander," a slight smile playing in Arren's voice, "I'm sure whatever you have here will be far better than what I had been in with that A-wing."
A chuckle came from Tulman as he nodded. "That I can believe. Rest well, Master Jedi."
Arren entered the cabin and found it to be… cozy. While not all that large it did at least have a full sized bed. The Jedi went over and sat down on it, rubbing the sides of her temple. Sighing she brought her legs up and crossed them under her. "I'm this close after so long, I might as well find my answers now rather than later," she muttered to herself. Calming her body and mind she let herself drift into the Force. Once again the feeling of waves brushing over her signaled that she was close to the origin. She pushed against the waves, forcing her way through them and the ship. Interestingly she stayed on the same deck she was currently on, only further into the living quarters. As the waves became more frequent she passed through another door, at last coming to the source of the fluctuations. It was like looking at a star with how brightly the being in front of her shined.
Drawing her attention back to her body, Arren quickly stood up, causing a small head rush. Taking a moment to steady herself she took off down out of her room and down the hall towards the light she had seen. Finally reaching the door she had passed through in her meditation she reached out and opened it. Inside was much as her own cabin in size and fixtures, yet in the middle of the room was the bright concentration of the Force. Focusing on it, Arren slowly was able to pick out a young girl sitting on the floor. Arren was dumbfounded; the source of the ripples she had been feeling were emanating from this small child. The Jedi's voice whispered, "So much raw strength in a child." Another wave washed over Arren causing her to shiver and chuckle, "But also so very untrained." Stepping into the room the Jedi knelt down next to the girl. "Hello, my name's Arren Kae. What's yours?" she asked softly.
The young girl looked up from her toys and looked directly into the woman's blind eyes. "I'm Revan," Arren could hear the mirth in the child's voice. "I've never seen you here before. Are you new?"
"That's right. I'm just visiting for a short while. You're very smart to catch that," Arren praised the girl. "Why are you here, Revan?"
"My mommy and daddy work here. They're very important to the ship," the small girl answered.
"Oh? What do they do?"
"Mommy's a nurse and daddy works with Captain Antur."
Sensing a presence behind her, Arren turned to look at the doorway. "I see you've met my daughter, Master Jedi," the woman said with a smile playing in her voice.
"Yes, you have a very beautiful daughter," Arren said in her same soft voice, "Miss…"
"Tulman, Medical Officer Miranna Tulman. If I may ask, but how can you tell she's beautiful?"
"The Force lets me see things in a wondrous way," Arren said with a smile.
"Well I need to get back to my duty," Miranna nodded her head to the Jedi. "Just came to check up on Revan, see you later sweety," and with a wave she was gone.
"So that was your moth-" Arren trailed off as a new sensation from the Force hit her. This time it definitely did not come from Revan, but instead the Force itself. Images began flashing through her mind too fast for her to see until she began focusing on them. Slowly a scene started to form in her mind's eye. The cruiser, Casurum, was being attacked by a large number of Mandalorian Davaab starfighters. Things started picking up speed again as the Mandalorians swarmed over the Casurum destroying its fighters before moving to destroy the cruiser itself. Within moments of the fight starting the Casurum was gone. Arren righted herself after finding that she had slumped against the wall. "We have to leave, now," Arren said sternly.
"But mommy and daddy always tell me to stay in the cabin," Revan said.
"Don't worry, your parents will understand and they know I'm a Jedi," Arren told Revan to quiet her fears. Reaching out she took the girls hand and started leading her towards the hanger. Entering the hanger Arren and her young charge went straight to the docked A-wing. Opening the canopy Arren got in and turned back to motion for Revan to follow.
"No. I don't think I can leave the ship," Revan said hesitantly.
"We don't have time for this," Arren muttered under her breath. "Don't worry; it's only for a little while. You want to come with me," Arren said with a touch of the Force to help persuade the child.
"I-I want to come with you," Revan stuttered out as her body made its way up the ladder and into the cockpit of the small A-wing on Arren's lap.
"This might be a tight fit but we have no other choice," Arren said as she started up and starfighter and shut the canopy. As soon as everything was green the Jedi sent the A-wing out of the Casurum's hanger and started heading in the direction of Coruscant. Locking in the coordinates of the capitol planet her radar started picking up numerous ships converging on the Casurum. Looking over her shoulder she saw the cruiser come to life and begin warming its weapons. Davaab starfighters flew around the larger starship peppering it even as its own fighters came out to meet them. But there were too many of the Mandalorian fighters and with the element of surprise on their side continued to pummel the Republic forces.
As Arren locked the last coordinates into her hyperdrive Revan finally cleared her mind. "What? Where? Mommy!" The frightened child looked around anxiously for her mother. Looking over Arren's shoulder she saw the Casurum fighting against the many Davaabs. After taking too many hits from the Mandalorians segments of the cruiser began to explode, causing a chain reaction throughout the ship. The resulting explosion rocked the small fighter the two were in even as Revan screamed out "Mommy, daddy!" And the A-wing slipped into hyperspace, leaving the fight behind them.