Disclaimer:
I don't own Ranma ½ which was made by Rumiko Takahashi or Star Wars
which was made by George Lucas. But I'm not making any money from this
and am doing it purely for my own enjoyment. However this will follow as close
as I can with the Knights of the Old Republic series. I have not decided who
all from the Ranma series will show up. However, Ranma and Nabiki will play
a big part as some of the main cast in this story. I have not decided about the
Jusenkyo curse yet so bare with me on that. The Ranma ½ characters will
appear OOC, but if you think about their new upbringing then they are not OOC.
Jedi Civil War of the Old Republic
Ranma One-Half cross-over with Star Wars KOTOR by Cloud Draconian
Young man with dirty blond hair and blue eyes is walking home from school. He is wearing black jean pants and a red dragon t-shirt. He is holding a small box that is wrapped in brown paper that is the size of a multi-case cd holder or a portable hard drive. After he arrived home, he put the box in his bedroom and walked in the kitchen.
There was a note from his mother saying that she would be out this evening and his dinner was in the fridge. He quick popped some popcorn and returned to the room and opened the box. It was a black box with three plug cables in the back that would plug into his dvd player. He pressed the green button and relaxed in his lazy-boy chair and watched the screen change to a star backdrop. He then pulled the popcorn closer to him. Then blue words appeared.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR
WARS
KNIGHTS of the OLD REPUBLIC
Four thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire,
the Republic verges on collapse. Darth Malak, last surviving
apprentice of the Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible
Sith armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy.
Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the
Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle,
and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master.
In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet
engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the
Sith's galactic domination...
Chapter 1: A Scout, a Scoundrel, and a Jedi... Oh My...
In the starship's crew quarters we see a young woman with short brown hair tossing and turning in her sleep on one of the six narrow bunks in the slate grey spartan room. She is wearing a red and grey form fitting jumpsuit underclothes which leaves very little hidden of her shapely figure as her grey blanket is only covering her waist down. However, the ship is rocked by a large explosions which causes her to wake up.
Her brown eyes opened suddenly and she looked around her, completely disoriented after her dream. Where... It takes her a moment to recognize her surroundings. I'm is still onboard that Republic starship, the Endar Spire... But in her current state of confusion, summoning more than that insignificant piece of information seemed beyond her capacity at the moment, especially without her morning java. She sit up on the bed and rubs her eyes as she remembers her current dream and memories flowed back into her concious mind.
She has always experienced exceptionally vivid dreams, especially since her twelveth birthday. Even though she is now only twenty, she still has them from time to time. However, after her eighteenth birthday they almost stopped completely. She often dreamed of the places or people or events in which she had seen or heard of, relived them in exquisite detail, and some even years after they had taken place. The strange thing about this particular dream, however, was the fact that it corresponded with no battle in which she could remember ever taking part in or hearing about. She has never met the young female in her dream either, a fact of which she is completely certain of due to her exceptional memory for faces. It is almost as though this memory was an intruder, projected into her subconscious mind from an outside source. Yet it was so vivid, as real as her memories of the Republic blockades on the Corellian Run to catch her and even more vivid than her more recent participation in the Jedi Civil War.
She frowned at that sudden thought. It was my father who requested that I join this Jedi task forces as a computer slicer and intelligence specialist. And yet he is right, I do loves a good blaster fight or a fast ship under me to pilot. That is why she has been watching the Mandalorian scout that is on the Jedi task force during her off-time in the targeting range of the ship. His accuracy and speed with his heavy repeater blaster was unreal and yet even on full-auto he still scored perfect shots. I still don't understand why most of the crew accepts him, even though his people was the enemy just four years ago and he was probable one of those warriors fighting during the Mandalorian War. But getting him away from that older redheaded Jedi woman is not going to happen as far as I could see. She smiled slowly at the thought of the challenge of cornering him for a private chat about his past and his future.
Her thoughts were cut off as a fighter screamed past the small window of her cabin, closely pursued by another with guns blazing. Abruptly she realized what had woken her from her slumber, as another explosion rocked the ship.
The Endar Spire was under attack.
She felt her body become suddenly weightless as she floated up off her bunk, only to be deposited roughly onto the deck once the ship's auxiliary generator kicked in, restoring artificial gravity to the wounded vessel.
Shit... The damage, however, has been done. She realized immediately that the explosion must have taken out the ship's engines, as she could no longer feel their familiar hum. Looking quickly out the window, she could see stars start to move slowly past her window in lazy circles, followed immediately by a planet, which appeared at the bottom of the window and slowly made its way toward the top. The ship's stabilizers are knocked out, and the ship is starting to spinning out of control.
Still unable to completely clear the fog from her head, she understood that the crippled vessel would only invite Sith boarding parties and that her currently unclad state would be no help in fighting off the invaders, if such a thing were indeed possible. Quickly she crawled her way to her footlocker next to her bed against the outer wall and scanned the contents.
Her mind started to clear up and she started to think quickly as the adrenalin entered her blood stream. Okay, I need to think... Obviously, for the Endar Spire to be damaged so severely and so quickly, we must be outnumbered and outgunned. She bit her bottom lip in though.
Since there is the possibility of abandoning this ship to be considered, I can't wear my Republic uniforms as its to obvious and easy to spot if I have to blend in with a civilian population on the planet, Taris. She sighed. I guess its a good thing I brought my normal gear too. She put on a pair of dark blue pants with a black belt, a button up gray long sleeve shirt, a black multi-pocket sleeveless vest and black knee high boots. Ok, this will keep my from standing out on the surface. Now as dad always says, think offense first... She grins as she pulls out her blaster belt with its dual hip holster units that also straps the bottom of the holsters to her thighs to keep them from swinging as she moves. Quickly strapping the belt around her hips and latching it and the thigh straps in place. She then grabbed two matching modified Mandalorian style blasters out of the footlocker and checked the power packs in them. It feels great to have these in my hands again, especially after my shift-leader raised hell about me wearing them on my first shift here. She smiled at them remembering that they originally belonged to her mother, Kimiko Ordo, and was a gift from her father for joining this mission. Mom, I know dad hoped I would never uses these on this mission, but I hope I can make you proud as your daughter. She flicked the blasters from the safety to the semi-auto setting which armed the blasters.
Hearing the door slide open behind her, she rolled to the side and crouched near the bunk as she faced the door, twin blasters in her hands aiming at the figure in the doorway. Seeing the uniform of a Republic soldier, she lowered her blasters and peered at the soldier facing her. Stupid fucking morron... He was tall with blonde hair in a flat-top cut, he was wearing the standard issue Republic soldier uniform with Ensign tabs at the collar, but she didn't recognize him as anyone she had met on the ship.
"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet and the Endar Spire is under attack!" the newcomer said hurriedly. "Hurry up, we don't have much time!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Nabiki responded sarcasticly. "By the way, who are you?" She stood up and watched the door close behind him and seeing nothing of a threat in the hall. Ok, I have a few more seconds to get my things ready...
"I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet." He said with cheery demeanor as if his name should mean something to her. "I'm your neighbor here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts, I guess that's why you haven't seen me before." His voice turned sad at the end.
She barely knew the man and suspected that he was not the type with whom she would normally associate, even if they had been a closer acquaintance. He seemed too idealistic and green for her. Great another bufoon in my life... Like Tatewaki Kuno wasn't enough...
"I'm Nabiki Tendo and I almost shot you for running into my room like that." She replied as she returned to the footlocker and putting her blasters in their holsters. Hmm... Dad says after offense is secured, look to defense... She then grabbed a square black box that she clipped over the buckle on the blaster belt, it was her personal stealth field generator unit. She checked its power level and set it to standby mode. Ok, stealth defense check... Oops, I almost this... Then she grabs a short vibrosword, she checks the power cell in it, and slides it in the back of her belt's built-in sheath for it, which runs from right hip to left hip. Ok, now my offense and defense is ready... Now then... Hmm... She continues her father's training list just like each and every other time.
"I know who you are. Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she makes it off this ship alive!" He watched her graceful movements and perfect balance as she loaded her equipment from her footlocker.
"Who's Bastila?" Now for hacking... She put her security spike in the vest holster for it on the inside. Maybe I'll have a chance to play a few games while I'm on Taris... She picks up her pazaak deck putting it in her shirt pocket under her vest and snaps the pocket closed over it. I need this for supplies... She grabs her credit chit pouch and clips it to her belt.
"Jedi Knight Bastila Shan is the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer, really. But she's the one in charge of this mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission. Now its time to make good on that oath! I know all about your reputation, how you used to smuggle spice and blasters along the Corellian Run. I guess the Republic figured since they couldn't catch you at it, they might as well hire you. And I'll admit, the Republic is in desperate need of someone with your kind of skills. Desperate enough to overlook your shady past. But now that you've signed on for this mission you're part of the Republic fleet. And Bastila needs all troops at her side during this attack!"
And now for the extra ammo... While he is talking she checks and loads the fourteen power pack cells for her blasters into the slots for them on the blaster belt. However, his words about her past finally click pass her list and pisses her off.
She turns her head and looks at him with an intense glare and her hand moves to her left blaster hilt. "I don't give a damn what you think you know about me, but I have NEVER shipped SPICE or any drugs like it anywhere for your personal information." She stated coldly. "I also don't give a shit about your honor and morality speech, so just save that for the rookie recruits." She watches as he flinched under her glare.
Jedi Knight Sentinel Bastila Shan... Although I have never met or even seen her, I doubted that there is anyone in the Republic who has not at least heard of the famous Jedi Shan. With her special battle meditation ability, she is almost single-handedly responsible for the meager success the Republic has had in this war with out Sith Lord Revan. Nabiki sighs. Without her, the war would be going much worse for the Republic at best, or already over with the Sith victorious at the worst. And of course, galaxy intelligence corp says, she single-handedly killed the Dark Lord Revan in single combat on a daring Jedi raid on Revan's flagship nearly a year before. The war hasn't gone much better since Revan's death and Malak's ascension as Malak seemed to have unlimited ships at his disposal and a brutal will to use them in brute force strikes, but at least Revan's military genius has been removed from the strategic equation. Although her father, Soun, served under Revan in the Mandalorian Wars, yet he had never met the famous Sith Jedi, but she knew from her father the results of Revan's brilliant grasp of military strategy. Many engagements had been won on the strength of the man's planning alone.
It made his fall an even greater tragedy according to her father. She looked at the locker to see what else she needed. Damn, Kasumi will kill me if I leave this... She grabbed the holo-cube and placed it in her vest pocket. "However, I have been hired to do a job and I always finish a job to the best of my personal ability no matter what." She frowned as she lifted her Republic issued personal comlink, but clipped it to her belt next to her private comlink after she has a gut feeling that she might need it. Unsatisfied customers can always ruin a trader's business and reputation. I just hope dad doesn't hurt my ship!
She sighed as she turned around to face Trask.
"Okay, now let's go help Jedi Shan and get off this ship before its destroyed." she acknowledged. Moving quickly to the door she watched as he tapped the open key to the door on the control panel with his hand.
As the door once again opens in front of them, a thick black smoke billowed into the room from the hallway beyond. The corridor beyond was lit only by emergency lighting, creating an illusion of a long, spooky, underground tunnel. She pulled out her right blaster at the sight of the hallway. As they stepped out into the corridor, she could vaguely make out the silhouette of a maintenance droid busily trying to repair a conduit along the left wall. As they approached, a sudden spike of power from the damaged conduit that the droid is trying to repair sent it crashing into the far wall, to fall to the floor as a twisted heap of metal, sparking wires and plasteel. Ok, note to self electrical systems unstable...
Ignoring the unfortunate droid, she drew her other blasters from its holster as she walked to the door at the end of the corridor nervously. Glancing back at her companion and seeing his nod of assent, she pressed the release for the door with the tip of her left blaster.
As the door opened, she saw on the other side was the flashing of blaster bolts crossing up and down the hallway, cries of pain as people were wounded or killed, as two opposing groups faced off against one another. Peeking around the corner to the right, she caught sight of several shrouded figures wearing the Republic uniform taking cover behind crates. She glanced back at Trask and motioned to the left. Trask nodded his understanding of Nabiki's unspoken communication and gripped his own blaster tightly in his right hand. As one, they reached around the corner and let loose a lethal volley of blaster fire, cutting down the three Sith soldiers in an instant of carnage.
Once the way was clear, she looked back at the Republic soldiers who had emerged from their places of concealment at the end of the hall. In that instant, a grenade exploded directly at their feet, killing all three soldiers. As they fell, shit, she cursed to herself, knowing that one of the Sith soldiers must have thrown the grenade just before being cut down. They could have used the extra help to find Jedi Shan.
"Come on," Trask said, starting toward the fallen soldiers. "They need medical attention."
"Leave them," she commanded. "They are already dead, and we don't have time to become a triage unit." She started down the hallway leading to the front of the ship.
He stopped in his tracks and regarded her with an astonished look on his face. "You don't know that. They may just be injured."
"We can't afford to take the time necessary to see to them," she insisted. "As distasteful as it is, we need to keep our focus on the task at hand. We must get to the bridge and ensure Jedi Shan gets off this ship alive. She is of paramount importance, right?"
He looked helplessly as she turned again and began to walk away, before shaking his head and following her.
As he caught up with her, he looked over at his companion with some dislike. "Heartless bitch!" he muttered under his breath.
Nabiki whirled on him angrily. "Maybe I am a heartless bitch, but war will always makes monsters out of all of us during its time! The only real question is what you will be afterward its all over. Will you be alive or dead. So, perhaps you need to keep your mind on the most important priorities here and focus on the task at hand."
"But you left those men there to die!"
"They were already dead from that grenade!" She glared at him. "And if they weren't, we still can't afford to spend our time applying medpacks to every injured soldier we come across. In case you hadn't noticed, this ship is badly crippled and is swarming with Sith boarding parties. Not only are we in a difficult position here, but if Jedi Shan does get off this ship, the Sith will immediately turn and destroy what is left after they pull out. If we don't make it to the escape pods soon, we won't be around to do her or anyone else any good."
Nabiki turned and walked briskly down the corridor again in her anger. "If you don't like the way I do things," she called over her shoulder, "then I suggest you find your own way to the bridge and off this ship. Otherwise, shut up and let's get moving!"
He stared at her retreating back for a moment before shaking his head and starting after her. Ice hearted bitch... He certainly isn't doing anyone any good standing here and time is wasting. Besides, although he didn't want to admit it, deep down he felt that she had spoken the absolute truth. I'll get off this ship with my beloved Bastila and without you, bitch, in the end. To think I had wanted you with Bastila and me, after I impressed you by rescueing you from your room. Ugh... What a waste of a beautiful body...
Nabiki and Trask paused outside the doors which led to the bridge. It had been a difficult trek through the ship, fighting their way through Sith war parties, avoiding and skirting them when the opportunity presented itself. Throughout the entire journey, they had been unable to add anyone to their party.
At one point, they had come across a Jedi female and a male Sith fighting. The female Jedi quickly sliced off the head of the Dark Jedi, only to be killed herself by an overloaded power conduit only few seconds later.
She glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eye and considered him briefly. Trask had said nothing further about their previous disagreement, but she could sense that inwardly he was still seething. However, she wasn't concerned with the man's petty insecurities or ideaisms.
Shaking her head, she had to forcibly turn herself back to the matter at hand. Looking at Trask, he raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Well, this is the bridge. Any suggestions?"
"Surprise and lots of grenades?" He replied.
She chuckled to herself. "I suppose we have little choice in the matter. How many do you have?"
He held up two fingers on his left hand. "Only two, unfortunately."
"Then they will have to be well placed." Nabiki looked down at her blasters.
Trask swallowed uncomfortably. "Are you certain this is necessary? We could just make our way to the escape hatches and get off the ship."
"We have to ensure that Jedi Shan escapes," she reply.
"But we don't even know if she's still here. She may have already left the ship." argued Trask.
"No, she hasn't," she responded. "Haven't you noticed how energized you feel? How easy it all feels, after all we have had to fight through to get here? The slowness and sometimes downright incompetence of our enemies? No, she has not fled the ship yet and what's more, she is still using her battle meditation to assist us. Surprising really, considering the battle is all but over from what we have seen so far. She is still on the ship and we have to make our way to her. Besides, you saw the state of the forward port side escape hatches, whatever is still there is badly damaged and of no use to us. Since Jedi Shan is still on this ship, she will likely be near the starboard escape hatches and we have no choice but to get there ourselves or we will not get off this ship."
"So what's the plan then?" He sighed.
She shrugged. "Like you said, grenades and surprise, not to mention blazing weapons. Here, let me have one of those grenades. As soon as I opens the door, you take the right side and I'll take the left. Pick an area as dense in enemies as you can find and throw your grenade. I'll do the same, and we'll attempt to cut the rest down with our blasters. It's not the best plan, but the longer we stay out here, the more we risk being discovered."
He sighed again, but handed one of the grenades over without comment, readying the other in his hand. She put her left blaster in its holter and took the grenade in her left hand, the other holding her other blaster, which was charged and ready.
She looked at Trask, who signaled his readiness. There was fear in the man's gaze, but also a grim determination, which eased her worries for the man slightly.
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself and touched the release to the door with the tip of her right blaster muzzle.
As the door flew open, several heads immediately whipped around in their direction. Vaguely, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Trask activating the grenade in his hand and raising his arm to throw.
There were two tightly packed groups of Sith in the room... a group inspecting the consoles near the front of the bridge, the other right near and to the left of the door which she had opened. She quickly gathered her courage and tossed her active grenade at the group of soldiers standing no more than fifteen feet from her present position.
"Down!" she yelled furiously, willing her companion to heed the warning, while she jumped to the side in a prone position.
The Sith soldiers seemed to be moving in slow motion as they brought their blasters to bear on her. Two flashes of bright light, accompanied by two deafening explosions, rocked the already battered bridge, flinging Sith around like rag dolls.
When the smoke had cleared, Nabiki looked up and saw the carnage her grenade had caused at close quarters. Several Sith soldiers lay about, twisted and smoking from the blast. A few still moved feebly, more dead than alive, but there were several who had gaping holes in their armor and one who had had his helmet partly sheered off. Others had body parts blow across the room and blood is spread around the bridge.
She looked away in revulsion, fighting to stop herself from emptying her stomach. A seasoned smuggler like herself is no stranger to death, but she has never gotten used to the carnage which could be wrought in close quarter combat with explosives and hoped she never would. Some things were too horrible to ever become desensitized to.
She quickly rose to her feet and glanced over at Trask, he appeared to be unhurt. Confident that her companion would follow her, she drew her left blaster, now with both blasters at the ready she proceeded on to the bridge, searching for any remaining opponents. The battered bridge appeared completely devoid of any remaining life. I wonder want they were looking for in the computer systems. Well, this isn't the time to find out...
She began walking around the bridge to the exit on the other side of a large island, not bothering this time to see if Trask was following her. She was getting a little tired of the man's tendency to be spooked by everything he saw.
Their plan had either been very good, or very lucky, as all enemy soldiers on the bridge had either been dispatched or knocked out by their attack. She wasn't about to question it, knowing that next time, luck could be against her; she simply made her way to the other door, not relaxing when she saw the next room was not occupied. It was only a small anteroom off of the bridge, but there were two exits leading out, one to a docking bay on the side of the ship, the other to the starboard decks and the escape pods. Ok, just through here and we'll be getting closer to the escape pods, since Jedi Shan isn't here just like I thought.
Motioning for her companion to follow, she started toward the door to the starboard deck. As she opened the door, she glanced back into the anteroom, to see that he has start toward the other door to the hanger bay.
"No Trask, the pods are this way," she called, suddenly nervous.
"But this is the docking bay," he protested. "Maybe we can steal a ship and get off this crate."
"Do you think the Sith would leave their boarding craft unprotected?" She snorted derisively. "There's nothing but trouble that way. We've got to continue on toward the escape pods. Besides, we have to make it to Jedi Shan, remember?"
But he merely ignored her, intent as he was on the docking bay. However, he had gotten no more than ten feet from the door, when it opened, revealing another male Dark Jedi on the other side. Both men stared at each other in complete surprise, before Trask reacted and sprinted toward the enemy rather than away from him.
"A Dark Jedi! I'll hold him off! You get to the escape pods!" Trask yelled.
Swearing to herself, she started back into the room, only to be cut off as the door slammed shut once again. She started for the controls, but another explosion rocked the ship, causing the panel to burst into sparks and sealed the fate of her erstwhile companion. Seething at the man's stupidity, she turned her back on his fate and made her way to the other door, going through without a single backward glance. God damned bufoon...
Another explosion rocked the ship, throwing Commander Carth Onasi to the floor. Picking himself up, he returned to the ship's console and peered at the screen, his brow furrowing in concern. The Sith boarding parties had spread throughout the ship and had now managed to gain control of significant portions of the ship, including the bridge. The fighting still raged out of control, but given the numbers displayed on the console, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Republic resistance was snuffed out completely. Even Jedi Bastila Shan's vaunted battle meditation had not been enough to stem the advance of the Sith in this instance.
Damn it, how the hell can we fix this? He watch the different security camera's show him the battle. Where are Master Guiwino and Master Saotome? His comlink unit beep to get his attention. So he took it from his belt clip and opened the com channel. I hope its good news...
"Yes?"
"Commander Onasi, my unit is holding the aft cargobay, but I don't think anyone else is coming." He could hear blaster fire in the background on the comlink. "We are currently pinned down with six of the Sith Dark Jedi troops. But more of their minor soldiers are trying to entering the room." The female voice reported.
What the Hell... Six Dark Jedi... He switched to the aft cargobay camera to see the fight. He can see that the female on the comlink unit is a young Zabrak. She is appearently a Jedi Padawan because of the robes she is wearing and she has her blue lightsaber out deflecting blaster shot from hitting the escape pods that she is standing next too. The fight in the center of the room is what surprises him. He sees Master Jedi Nodoka Saotome fighting against two of the male Dark Jedi with so much grace that it looks like she is not even trying against her opponents. There she is, now this can help us save the ship. Jedi Knight Rika Yamisato was fighting against one of the female Dark Jedi with her green double-bladed lightsaber and was pushing the other woman closer to the wall. Sweet, now we just need Master Guiwino and... Huh... But closer to the entrance of the bay, fighting the last three Dark Jedi is a black and gray suited Mandalorian weilding a silver doube-bladed lightsaber in one-hand with one side turned off and a Mandalorian heavy repeater blaster rifle in the other hand. What the fuck is a Mandalore doing here? The Mandalorian is firing at the door with the rifle at the new trooper trying to enter the room and using the lightsaber against the three Dark Jedi. Then one of the Sith Jedi failed to see that the force he used against the Mandalorian's saber with his partners to throw the armored soldier away, only allowed the Mandalorian to shoot him with the blaster rifle in the crouch, stomic, chest and head during the twist and killing the Dark Jedi quickly. Well, there goes the saving the ship plan, time for plan b...
"Listen, as soon as you can use the escape pods to get to the planet. I'm sending Jedi Shan down in a minute as there is no way to win the fight here now with your group under heavy assault like that. We will try to regroup on the planet, ok?"
"Yes Commander, I'll inform Master Nodoka of your plan." she replied and turned off her comlink. He watched as the young Zabrak said something to the two humans and the Mandalorian. He saw Master Nodoka nod her head and quickly chopped the heads off the two Dark Jedi facing her. She said something to the others as she walked back to the young Zabrak while switching off her purple lightsaber. Jedi Yamisato has forced her oppontent to the wall that disrupted the flow of the Dark Jedi's lightsaber and allowing her to run her one side of her lightsaber up between the woman's legs moving up through her spliting the woman in two halves. The other two fighting the Mandalorian failed to defend themselves quickly enough as the Mandalorian tossed his rifle behind his back towards the female Zabrak and seperated the double-bladed lightsaber into twin lightsabers, the original silver lightsaber parried the two other blades and he ignited the second lightsaber with a purple blade and cut them in half across their waists with the second one. The Zabrak was firing the heavy blaster at the door under full automatic power. The Mandalorian clipped the two lightsabers to his armor's utility belt and grabbed two round spheres off his utility belt and threw them though the enterance at the new troops in the hallway. Son of a... Carth quickly realised the those were thermite grenades and anyone in the hallway area would be vaporised. Shortly afterwards he felt the vibration through the floor during their explosion. I have to say that is one ruthlessly through bastard... He chuckled as the cameras in that area showed static snow now. Just what I would expect from a Mandalore...
He turned back to the thought of the young female Jedi behind him, knowing the battle was lost and that she needed to escape the ship just like the other were going to do. She knelt on the other side of the room with her head bowed, hands clasped in front of her. She was surrounded by a faint, blue glowing nimbus of the Force, the only visible indication of her battle meditation.
Walking over to her, he leans down and addressed her softly. "Jedi Shan, the battle is lost. You need to escape the ship before it is too late."
Jedi Knight Bastila Shan looked up with her cobalt blue eyes, the glowing nimbus disappearing as her concentration was broken. "Are you sure? There are still many Republic soldiers on this ship."
"I just had a look at the console. We are outnumbered ten to one, with more Sith soldiers arriving every moment. The longer you stay here, the more likely we'll be discovered."
"But I can't leave yet," she responded, a worried frown appearing on her face.
"Jedi Shan, this battle is lost. You can't do anything more here."
"You don't understand," she pleaded intently. "He... I mean... There are still many soldiers on this ship who won't stand a chance of escaping if I don't continue my battle meditation." I need to continue to help Ranma...
"Jedi Shan, we can't afford to lose you," he responded, wondering what she had been about to say. "And for Malak to capture you would be an unmitigated disaster. Besides Master Saotome and Knight Yamisato are taking the Zabrak Padawan and the Mandalorian to the planet to regroup. Please, the time has come for you to leave."
She sighed wearily. She is taking him to the planet... "Much as I would like to disagree, I fear you are right. Master Nodoka would not leave unless she though the battle was lost."
"Then I suggest you get out of here before it's too late. There are two escape pods left. Take one and get off this ship and join up with the others on the planet."
"But what about you, Commander?"
"I'm staying here until I'm certain that everyone who can has left the ship. You go ahead, get down to the surface of the planet and I'll follow you shortly. We will meet up again on the planet, and figure out some way to get out of here."
She frowned. "Commander, you are also essential to the war effort. I think you should come with me."
He shook his head. "I'm not in the habit of leaving anyone behind when there is any other choice. I'll be off this crate long before she goes up, trust me. Besides, I'm not the important one here... you are."
She looked as though she wanted to debate the matter further, but ultimately shook her head in weary acceptance. "Very well then. I will leave now."
He held out his hand and helped her to her feet, stepping aside so she could make her way to the escape pod which he had prepared for her.
As she stepped into the pod, she turned to look back at him. "Please, follow me soon. As much as you may protest, you are just as vital to the Republic as I am."
"Don't worry Jedi Shan, I will be along shortly." He smiled at her. I hope...
She studied his face for a moment before turning and entering the pod. He watched her through the hatch window as it closed and once he could see she had strapped herself in, he pressed the release button for the pod, sending it plummeting toward the planet below. Immediately, however, he felt his weariness fade, his posture straighten and a feeling of confidence return to him in a most peculiar way. She had obviously begun her battle meditation again.
I hope she doesn't forget to pilot the pod, he thought. She may not like where she ends up if she doesn't spend some time piloting that thing.
Nabiki passed through the halls quickly and quietly, knowing that speed was crucial if she was to be successful in getting off the ship. For the most part, the starboard section of the ship was much quieter than port side had been, likely, she suspected, because this part of the ship had been boarded first and resistance quickly eliminated. The few Sith patrols she had come across, she had bypassed, with the exception of a single sentry she had been forced to eliminate and dump in an empty room that was nearby. She knew she was head towards the escape pods, having served in this section of the ship during her time on board.
Her main worry at this point was the possibility that the escape pods were being held against her. If the Sith had held this part of the ship since the beginning, as seemed likely, it was probable that they also controlled the escape pods.
She had also had the brief impression that Jedi Shan had stopped her battle meditation, only to start it up again soon after. That could indicate that she had left the ship and continued once she had escaped, or it could mean that she had been interrupted and resumed after the distraction had been eliminated. Whatever the case, she was rapidly beginning to suspect that Jedi Shan's fate was out of her hands, and that the best she could do would be to escape the ship in one piece.
As she moved quickly along, she passed numerous doors that were entrances to crew quarters and even the ship's galley, along the way. She even thought she heard noises coming from some of the rooms, but she kept going, hoping that the doors would remain closed. However, her luck ran out as she neared the recreation room with its doors wide open to her hallway side.
She stepped near the recreation room door to see what was inside, so that she could see if she would be able to pass with the door open to the hallway. Inside, she can see a young woman or teen Togrutan, if she is understands the striped head-tails correctly, with her hands tied over her head to a ceiling support. The woman is wearing the robes of what looked like Jedi Padawan, but they are ripped open to show her body under them. She was facing in Nabiki's direction with her resting foward on her chest that is raising and lowering with her breath. Well, she is alive... Around the room on this side she can see four other Padawan robed bodies laying on the floor dead. She moves her head out a little more to see the whole room. She finds a second body tied to the ceiling support by its grayish-black arms, yet its is facing away from her. She can see its wearing Padawan robes with its head resting foward also, plus its long white hair is tied in a ponytail that runs down to its waist.
Some sixth sense warned Nabiki of imminent danger and she immediately ducked to the deck just in time to avoid a suddenly active lightsaber, which hummed past the space her head had just occupied. Knowing her blasters are useless in close quarters against a lightsaber, she quickly dropped them and whipped out her short vibrosword with her right hand just in time to parry the backswing of a clearly enraged Dark Jedi.
The enraged man raised his eyesbrow at her defensive stance with the short vibrosword in her right hand. "You think to challenge a Sith Lord?" He spat contemptuously. He suddenly thrust his left hand in her direction, palm open, fingers extended.
Her father's voice flowed into her mind. When a Jedi uses an open plam strike at you that will not hit you, then I want you to focus on the ground. Believe with all you heart that you are a great mountain rooted to your spot, and they are the wind that flows around you. She focused on those word and she felt as though she were being buffeted by a strong gale, but grimly held her ground until the feeling passed.
The Sith stared at her, surprise etched on his features. She, sensing an opening, quickly brought her sword down, forced the lightsaber to cut into the deck, and kicked her opponent in the stomach. As the man doubled over, she brought her short vibrosword up in a wicked backhand stroke and severed the Sith's head clean from his shoulders. She looked around the room for any other enemies, only to meet the eyes of the Togrutan that was looking at her with amber eyes.
"How did you do that?"
"Cortosis weave," She responded curtly. "Lightsabers can't cut through it."
"No, I know all about that," said the Togrutan impatiently. "It just... He used the Force Push on you, but you just ignored it. And then you take him down like he's nothing. Are you a Jedi Knight or something?"
"Of course not," Nabiki responded. She shook her head, determined to concentrate on her task at hand. She returns her short vibrosword to its sheath and picks her blasters back up with a frown. I can't drop these anymore or my dad will have my hide if I loose them by accident. She puts them in their holsters and walks toward the woman, and checking the Padawan bodies as she passes them. She finds that they are all male and all dead. "My father taugh me some Echani martial arts when I was younger. And Dark Jedi are not infallible, they can be killed like any other enemy. In any case, we need to get you down and get moving to the escape pods."
"Ok. but we need to take Phyrra with us. I'll carry her, if I have too." the Togrutan looked at the other person hanging. Up close Nabiki can now see that the Togrutan is a teenaged girl with peachish-orange skin, and white headtails with brown stripes on them.
Nabiki pulls her vibrosword out and cuts the girl bonds between her hands, which drops her to the floor. "I'm Nabiki Tendo. I was hired for the intel department on this ship." She smiles at the teenage girl with a hand out to help her back up. Which is accepted, the girl holds out her hand and two lightsabers fly to her. She places one of them in a forearm holster that is kept up her left sleeve of her robe.
"Guardian Padawan Learner Reika Tano." Reika rubs her right wrist to get some feeling back in it holding the other lightsaber. "You might get your blasters out so we can move." She ignites the second lightsaber with its green blade and cuts the bonds holding the other to the ceiling. She turns the second lightsaber off and places it up her right sleeve. Again she hold out her hand as Nabiki is sliding her vibrosword into its sheath. A third lightsaber smacks Reika's palm as she smiles at it. Nabiki can see that she is holding a fourteen inch double-bladed lightsaber with an onyx twin hilt. "Can you hold this for her?"
"Yeah." Nabiki clips it to her belt and draws both blasters. She moves and checks the exits that heads towards the pods room. Looking back at Reika, she sees that she has the other girl over her shoulders ready to move. Nabiki nods to her and leaves the room.
Carth briefly regretted his decision to stay in the ship after Bastila's escape pod had departed. He returned to the console, only to realize that an enemy party had discovered his presence and was attempting to gain access to the escape pod room. For several moments he occupied himself with securing the door against intrusion, hoping that his skills with the security systems of the ship would hold them off until he was certain all personnel who were able to leave the ship had done so.
Once that task was complete, he returned to the console, his face blanching at what he saw. The battle for the ship had taken a turn for the worse, with only a few pockets of resistance left and those were disappearing fast.
Cursing himself for a fool, he began to turn away from the monitor, when something caught his eye. Moving along the halls of the ship toward his position was two or three soldiers. Although Carth could not tell their allegiance, he watched their signature briefly, noting the quick, yet deliberate, way they moved as well as the route taken, avoiding the Sith positions. Convinced that these are friends and one is wounded or unconscious, he scanned the area and could see that there was not much in the unknown soldiers way, but with the Sith in the next room trying to break in, the soldiers would likely have trouble reaching the escape pods. He knew that whoever they were, that they would definitely require help in making it off the ship.
Thankful now that he had stayed, he reached for the communications panel.
Nabiki and Reika had to stop at the girl's nearby room for their change of clothes and a small pack of clothes that Nabiki now wore since Reika is still carring Phyrra's unconscious body. Yet, Nabiki couldn't complain as they were making good time, even with the delay at the room. It was, while she was looking around a corner into a gloomy hallway that her Republic comlink, all but forgotten on her belt, went off, making her jump. Rapidly scanning the area to be sure no one else had heard it, she snatched it from her belt to see a grinning Reika as she switched the unit on.
"Hello?" Nabiki said quietly.
"This is Commander Carth Onasi on your personal communicator," the male voice at the other end of the line stated. "I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. I can't wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods."
"What about Jedi Shan?" Nabiki asked. The look in Reika's eyes is surprised at the question.
"Jedi Shan's escape pod is away... you three are the last surviving crew members of the Endar Spire. Look, we don't have much time. You have to get to the escape pods, and you're going to have to do it in a hurry. I've managed to hold off the Sith until now, but I'm not certain how much longer I can do it. They are between us, so when you get here we will have to find a way to eliminate them between the four of us."
"Three of us, Padawan Phyrra is currently unconscious, and Padawan Reika is carrying her." She replied.
"Ok, that fine. We'll think of something later, but you have to get here in now."
Nabiki nodded her head. It was only as she had expected and she knew that without him, they would likely stand very little chance of escape. "Understood, Commander. What is the path in front of us like?"
There was a slight pause before the Commander responded. "Keep going straight down the hall you are currently in until you reach the next intersection. From there, turn right, follow the hallway all the way down to another intersection before turning left again. That should take you all the way here without having to dodge any Sith soldiers."
"Right, we'll be there shortly," she responded. Abandoning all caution, they sprinted down the hallway, following his instructions as they went. Reika secretly using the Force to help her carry Phyrra at the pace that Nabiki was running.
At length they reached the door he had indicated and stopped, raising the comlink to her mouth immediately. The position they occupied was completely open and Nabiki knew that if anyone happened down the hall they would be utterly exposed.
"We're here, Commander; what have you got?"
The comlink spouted static for a moment before resolving itself into Carth's voice. "There's a whole squad of Sith Troopers in between us. There are two working on my door, one standing guard near them and the other is on the other side of the room nearest you."
She absorbed the information thoughtfully. The obvious strategy was to catch the Sith in a crossfire between the Commander and them. "If we catch them by surprise between us, we should be able to take them out, Commander."
"Just what I was thinking, soldier," he responded. "Don't even think about using grenades. The room beyond your position is filled with ordinance containers. If you set one of those off, we are all Ewok guts. Have Padawan Reika becareful with her lightsaber also."
"Well, that's an easy choice with the grenades, Commander, we don't have any left. Since they're focused on your end of the room, I suggest we go first."
"Agreed," came the response. "I'll give you a few seconds to get their attention, then I'll come at them from my side of the room."
Taking a deep breath, Nabiki calmed herself and looked over the blasters she held in her hands. She looks up at Reika, who has both her lightsabers in her hands. She watched Reika step to the center of the door and back two steps moving both lightsabers to her sides looking at the center of the door. Nabiki knew they would have to be quick and decisive. Ensuring that the safety is released on her blasters and they have a good charge, she nods toward Reika and brought her left blaster tip up to the access panel and pushed it.
As the door slids open, she vaguely registered the Sith troopers positions in the room, whose heads whipped towards them almost as one. She hears the hiss and hum of the lightsabers behind her as she trained her both her blasters on the trooper nearest the door and squeezed the triggers, catching the man square in the chest from less than five meters. As the man flew back from the force of the impact, Nabiki quickly ducks back around the edge of the door. The other Sith troopers quickly draws and fired their blasters at Reika, who deflects the shots away from herself. Nabiki sees Reika nod her head, and Nabiki aims around the door and hits another one in the head with both shots before ducking back again.
Reika watches the other door opens and a human male moves through the door shooting the last two troopers in the back. She snaps her green lightsabers off after she knocks the last blaster bolt away. Nabiki quickly looks around the door in the silence.
Through the haze of smoke which permeated the room, they can see the Commander standing in the other doorway, a blaster held in his right hand. Nabiki quickly places both her blasters away, and slowly walks into the room. She can see that he is in his mid to late thirties with short brown hair and a scruffy beard. She can hear moving behind her, meaning that Reika is getting Phyrra. She is determined to leave the ship while it is still intact.
"Carth Onasi," the Commander said by way of introduction, extending his hand, which she grasped firmly.
"Nabiki Tendo," she responded. "Thanks for sticking around for us."
"I'm Jedi Padawan Learner Reika Tano," Reika reponded behind them as she walks up with Phyrra's unconscious body. "This is Jedi Padawan Learner Phyrra Ehlonna."
Carth nodded his head and gestured to the one remaining pod. "No problem... I've never left a crew member behind before and I'm not about to start now. I suggest however, that we get out of here."
Nabiki nodded. "We thought you'd never ask."
They quickly moved into the escape pod room, Carth when in first and helped place Phyrra in a chair with Nabiki and Reika getting in last.
Once inside the pod, Carth depressed the launch button, sending the pod soaring out into the void of space. Immediately taking the controls, Carth began steering them away from the wounded ship, toward the waiting planet below. With nothing else to do, Nabiki and Reika gazed out the window at the Endar Spire, which was rapidly dwindling in the distance. Suddenly, a flash of turbolasers flew out from one of the Sith battle cruisers, taking the wounded Republic ship broadside. It exploded in a flash of brilliant oranges and yellows as the oxygen contained within the ship ignited.
Shocked at the brutality she had just witnessed, she spun to face her companions. "But there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of Sith soldiers still on board," Nabiki protested. She looks at Reika, who was finished securing Phyrra and herself in the pods's chairs.
He grimly returned to his piloting of the craft. "Such is the cruelty of our enemy and their total disregard for even the lives of their own soldiers."
"Cruelty and disregard for life is one thing," Nabiki growled, "but a capable commander doesn't waste the lives of his own soldiers. For every one of your own soldiers you kill yourself, you make the enemy's job that much easier."
Inside, Nabiki was raging, to the point where she completely missed the uneasy look Reika leveled her. She had always known the Sith were capable of such acts, but to see it right before her eyes filled her with a burning hatred and a cold, hard resolve. Such evil must be opposed. Silently, she vowed that she would do everything in her power to stop the Sith rampage, no matter the cost. She strapped herself into a chair.
"Hold on," Carth said, voice tight with strain. "We're coming in a little hot here, and there is precious little I can do about it. The pod must have been damaged during the fighting."
Grimly determined to hold to her personal promise, Nabiki grabbed on to one of the bars set into the wall of the pod and held on as they began streaking through the upper Taris atmosphere.
** To Be Continued **
Author's Notes:
First, I'd like to say sorry for the small part that Master Nodoka and her team played in this chapter. I though about doing more, but I lost my muse and two computers had crashed during the writing of this story. So, this chapter is almost totally devoted to Nabiki as the Lead Hero of this series. However, that isn't the case.
As for the extra chatacter, Jedi Padawan Learner Reika Tano is like an older version, or ancester of Anikin Skywalker's young Padawan.
Jedi Padawan Learner Phyrra Luna Ehlonna is a dark elf. I can't find a alien race that is the Star Wars version of Elves, so I'll just use the Elder Scroll's name for them later...
And before anyone asks NO, NO, NO, NO Ranma does NOT have a fear of CATS. However, the curse is still up in the air at the moment.