Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III - The Last Strand
The story is of my own design, cannon to the knights of the old republic series. Characters for the most part will be my own; however there may be cameos of characters from the released games. Characters that are not my own I make no claim to own, and acknowledge Lucas Arts and any other parties as owners of their own characters. This is the only time that I plan to make this announcement and my views on all aforementioned subjects will remain the same throughout the completion of the story.
With all that out of the way…
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… (Cue "Main Title" theme.)
Upon the collapse of the sith Academy, led by Darth Trey on Yavin 4, the threat of the sith was no more and the republic seemed to be safe; however the last of the Jedi were believed to go with them. Planets ravaged by the sith warfront began reconstruction, aided by an anonymous benefactor. The Telos restoration project was nearly complete and the station orbiting above was thriving. Dantooine's large open fields became an ideal location for swoop racing so several tracks were opened around the planet with several intergalactic casinos along with them; the planet very quickly became a vacation hot spot throughout the galaxy. Korriban the ancient home of the sith long abandoned by them has been taken over and converted to training area for the reemerging Mandalorian race, which decided to lend its warriors to the republic to act as military officers. However not everyone has remained satisfied with the republic, many believed it to be useless in the face of the Sith; they wanted to develop a new government they believed that would be more effective should a new threat arise, the Separatist party was born. Many citizens affected by the recent wars and attacks flocked to the new party; some of them rebelling against strictly republic planets, causing commotion through peaceful and violent means. Dantooine was one of these planets where many of the citizens were ready to defect from the republic, and was in the middle of debates of what to do in this matter…
"General are you sure of this matter?" A woman in her late sixties questioned.
"Yes mamm. I believe it would be for the best. My men are stretched thin trying to keep the citizens in line; some of the radical ones were trying to break into the recently repaired Jedi enclave. I think that it may be time we join the Separatists. As it is the republic doesn't seem to be too bothered with us, this is the third time they have lied to us about sending support in dealing with those damned pirates in orbit." Lt. Grenn spoke gruffly.
"And yet they claim that they've sent several ships out to track the pirates, and never found any ships." The woman responded wisely.
"Then what else keeps shooting down our damned satellites. I'm starting to get sick of your passiveness in this matter."
"And what would have me do?"
"I don't know, my job is to keep the citizens safe through arms, you're the one who handles the political stuff!"
"Well I can't just up and abandon the republic, after all they are the one who gave us the funding to construct the tracks and 'other' businesses establishments here, and without them we would have been in debt long ago."
"Whatever, do what you will, but do it quick; I will not let many of my men come in harm's way because you refuse to act. If there is nothing else you need…"
"No Lt. Grenn, thank you for your counsel." Grenn left the office and went down the hall to his own office. As Grenn left two figures in green robes walked in.
"How may I help you two?"
"We seek access to the enclave." A man in his late thirties said.
"Ah so it is time finally, is it?
"Yes, and would be best that we get going as soon as possible if we are to survive this." A woman in her early thirties said.
"Very well, may the force be with you two."
The woman simply scoffed, the man on the other hand said, "if only we could get rid of it." The two of them walked out of the office,
"I hope that the galaxy can survive this.
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"Hey rookie, get up!" The figure beneath the black sheets and blankets roused up tossed his legs over his bed and into his boots. He had his military uniform and armor on within seconds. His assault rifle was armed and ready soon after and he stood at the foot of his bed awaiting orders. "Very nice, except you forgot a few things: one you didn't make your bed, and two were in the same rank so you don't have to be so proper." The young white man with short red hair chuckled.
"Damn, what are you getting me up for then Alex, it's my day off." The Black man answered, his facial hair neatly trimmed. Upon close enough inspection, scars were visible on both his exposed hand and face.
"Yeah well Grenn just assigned you and me to escort a couple of people to the old enclave. Now come on, I want to be back before the sun set, fortunately I have guard duty off tonight, and I want to enjoy my time off," Alex smirked.
"Bastard!"
"Bite me."
"How about I get a kath hound to do it for me."
"Well at least then I might actually be in a bit of danger.
"Eh whatever, let's go," he walked over to Alex at the door post and playfully brushed past him on his way out.
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"So what are you two here for?" Alex asked the two robed figures.
"To get into the enclave," the robed man responded coldly.
"Well that much is obvious, but what's so important in there now, nearly everything out by the scavengers even before we rebuilt it; after that the few spare lightsabers and other trinkets were taken to the admin's office."
"Our business there has little to do with you; our only business with you is the trip there."
"Well, aren't we a bit touchy, how about your pretty friend does she have anything to say about the matter. You know if you get tiered of grumpy pants there I'm free at the moment, maybe we could…" The man began to growl and make motions beneath his robe as if to draw a blaster. The woman sensed this without turning her head and reached her arm out to stop his hand and giggled.
"Hey Alex would you keep your head on listening for any threats and out of your pants."
"Aww shush rookie, just because you're stuck on guard duty tonight doesn't mean I can't try to enjoy my time off," the woman again giggled, "besides, I think I might be getting lucky." Alex nudged the rookie in his side.
"Aren't we presumptuous, I'm laughing because I'm too much woman for you to handle, I'd wear you out before we even get undresses sweetie. And the fact that if you try anything you'd be full of blaster holes before you get within three feet of me got it?" The playful tone she began with at the beginning became more flat towards the end of her statement. She then regarded the "rookie," "your friend here on the other hand seems like my kind of guy. Handsome, strong, and silent; getting done with business and then moving on with business. We could probably go a few rounds before he'd pass out from exhaustion." Her tone again changed as she spoke becoming deep and husky towards the end.
"Enough Mira, we don't have time for your games." The robed man chimed in with a disgusted tone in his voice.
"What the fuck Atton, you know we aren't supposed to use each other's names!" complained removing her hood.
"Damn it, then why did you just use mine?"
"Hey if you're going to risk my life by saying my name then I'm gonna' level the playing field and make you vulnerable too."
"I was going to wipe their mind afterwards."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot you could do that."
"No you didn't, you were a bounty hunter you don't forget details like that."
"Okay fine, maybe I was just annoyed because you were ruining my fun."
"Well you know the rules about, your fun."
"Well damn it, if I can't turn to you for help I need to get it from somewhere Atton, I'm only human."
"Hey wait a second, Atton and Mira, why do those name sound familiar?" Alex asked no one in particular.
"No you aren't, you're a Jedi, or have you forgotten the promise that came with those powers?" Atton began to raise his voice.
"Jedi? I thought they were all dead." Alex again said to no one in particular.
"Hey I didn't learn to be a Jedi, I learned to use the force, my oath was to the ex… to him. Not that Damned Jedi Code." Mira yelled out.
"Excuse me. But would you all mind keeping your voices down before you attract the kath hounds." The rookie calmly asked everyone.
"The exile? Jedi? Hey wait a minute I know who you two are!" Alex Exclaimed."
"Damn it, now our cover is blown, would you hurry up and do YOUR little Jedi mind trick?" Mira clearly irritated asked Atton.
"Not yet, we might as well wait until we get to the enclave." Atton finally removed his hood.
"Fine, but anything they learn is your fault."
"YOU TWO, you're the ones that came by seven years ago and led those mercenaries to Khounda!"
"Oh no, this isn't going to end well." The exile tensed up on his weapon, expecting where this was going.
"Those mercenaries tore through several villages to get there!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mira asked.
"Alex calm down!"
"No, they are the reason why I had to join the fucking militia in the first place! They deserve a blaster bolt right between their eyes!"
"Okay, now I'm lost." Atton calmly responded.
"I'd like to see you try," Mira challenged with a smirk on her face.
Alex pulled his rifle up and began to point it between the two; at the same time Mira pulled out a blaster and pointed it at him; the rookie noticing them both move pulled both a rifle and a blaster out of their holsters pointing the rifle at Alex and the blaster at Mira. "Both of you put your weapons down, now!" He commanded.
"No, you know what they did, my family died because of them. They deserve to die!"
"Don't push me boy!" Mira Snarled.
"Alex, put your weapon down, the militia were on their way there anyways, and you know that. Now put your weapon down!"
"But it's not fair, I…I could have stopped them if … they didn't interfere. They would've waited longer and…I could've…"
"No, you couldn't; no we couldn't, okay. At least some of your family got away. If anyone should be angry it should be me. Now put your weapon down!"
"That's right, none of your friends or family escaped. They were all killed because those Jedi showed up and pushed the mercenaries into action. Why aren't you mad at them? Did you not care about them, why are you protecting them why aren't…"
"Shut up! You have no idea how much torment I went through without my family. Every day, I thought about what happened, and at one time I was mad at them. I used to swear everyday that if I saw one of those bastards that led to all of my friends and family deaths, I would put a hole through them and watch them slowly bleed out. "
"Then why aren't you?"
"Because, unlike you, I didn't forget that without their interference, I'd be dead too. And so would you, and most likely all of Khounda would be. Now this is the last time I'm going t say it, put your weapon down!" The rookie commanded. By this point Mira had already put her weapon and was staring at the rookie seeming troubled, as was Atton. It took Alex a few seconds, but eventually he put his weapon down.
"Fuck, you two be lucky that rookie is here, otherwise you'd be dead without a second thought." He turned around and continued walking to the enclave. Rookie turned back to Atton and Mira and motioned for them to get moving.
"Don't think for a second that I have forgiven you all, I simply came to terms with the fact. We were also instructed to escort two unarmed civilians to the enclave, so at the moment I'm not exactly trusting of you two; so get moving, I want to get back before it gets dark."
"You little punk!" Mira started to yell, she began to raise her blaster again however Atton this time grabbed her arm. Neither acknowledged that the rookies blaster was already aimed with the laser square between her eyes.
"Don't tempt me."
"Mira! Not now, you know better than to let others get hold of your emotion." Atton scolded.
"Fine." Mira lowered her weapon and huffed off, Atton right behind her. The rookie followed behind them.
The rest of the trip there was silent, however everyone in a while Atton and Mira would either look at each other or back at the rookie who would have his blaster in hand and would be looking at the mesas checking for any threat. Along the way they only ran into a couple of packs of hounds which were quickly dispersed by Alex and the rookie. They arrived a little after noon; Alex and the rookie were prepared to turn back when Atton spoke up.
"We both thank you for your services, and apologize for the outburst earlier."
"No worries. Take care you…" The rookie began
"Actually, I know it may seem imposing, but I have a favor to ask you two."
"What is it?"
"We aren't going to be here very long, but it is starting to get late in the day and the kath hounds become really active as the sun set; would you two mind waiting for a bit and then escort us back. There's an appropriate "tip" if you do."
"Hell no, I don't want to be around you two any longer than I need to be." Alex bluntly said.
"Feelings mutual, what are you thinking Atton?"
"What Alex means, is that we are not personal Body Guards for hire and have other duties to attend to. So if you would excuse us…" Alex and the rookie began to leave again.
"Wait, please; what if I had a letter from the administrator asking you to stay?" Atton asked.
"We answer to Lt. Grenn, not her; now if you don't mind, and even if you do, he has sentry duty and I have a nap to get back to, so goodbye and good riddance."
"Let go of me, let me see that letter; Admin tries to stay out of military affairs, so if she's asking this, there must be a reason."
"Damn it, I'm going back I don't want to wait around anymore. Please just leave them here and come back, them I don't care about, but you have promise rookie, and I don't want the next time I see you is your chewed up corpse. See you at Khounda." Alex left and did not stop.
The rookie waved him off, then opened the letter and read it. After reading it, he looked deeply troubled; he dropped the letter and began to run back before he got far he felt his joints lock up. Mira looked on quizzically while Atton walked in front of the rookie.
"Look Kid, I'm sorry that this is happening, but if you want any chance to fix this you need to come with us. I'm sorry about your friend, but there is nothing we can do now short of breaking his mind…"
"Or tranquilizing him."
"Thank you Mira, but you're not helping."
"Hey just lending my advice as a hunter and tracker."
"Anyways, he has chosen his path, and at this point we can't stop him, however I sense that the force is not finished with him and we will meet him again. But we need you to come with us now otherwise all is lost, I can explain more once we get aboard the ship and are in orbit. Do you understand?"
The rookie could finally move again but instead of running after Alex he simply crumpled onto the ground and wailed. "NOOOOOOOO! Not again." He began to strike the ground with his fist. "It's not fair! Why is this happening again? Why? Why me? Out of everyone on this planet why me why do all of these other people have to suffer?" He felt two hands were on his shoulder, but did not look up. They then fell down to his arms then wrapped around his chest and pulled him back into Mira's embrace.
"I'll go prep the hawk." Neither responded to Atton's departure.
"Shhh, shhh, shhh. I know it hurts. I know. I lost my family too." She gave him slight squeeze, which seemed strong for a woman, but he was still comforted by the gesture and was relaxed by it. "My family was killed when I was just a little girl. I then was raised by a Mandalorian colony until I was about seventeen. That's when the Mandalorian wars began, the people that took me in when I had nowhere else to go were slain before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it because they refused to let me fight with them. Trust me; I know what it's like when you feel hopeless." She gave him another squeeze, pulling him further back into her embrace then began rubbing her arms up and down his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. "But you aren't helpless against; we're trying to get together a fighting group together to combat this threat. And we need your help for this, please just come with us and help fight them 'kay?" She softly kissed his cheek and waited for his reply.
The rookie let out a deep breath and then nodded. "Okay, I suppose this is the only way this can be helped. But only on one condition."
"I can't promise anything, but shoot."
"You sleep nowhere near me, I could handle the rubbing and the kiss, but now you're grinding my ass; if you're molesting me this much now, I can only imagine how hard you'd rape me once we get to know each other." Mira's face burned crimson red once she realized everything she was doing to him, but she didn't let go yet, she decided to play with him a bit. She nibbled his ear a bit and lowered one of her hands down to grip his ass, which he jumped at trying to escape.
She breathed into his ear, "no dice, Atton is the only one who can fly the ship and there's only one dormitory on the ship, so we're going to be roommates at the very least."
"You know I'm pretty sure that that's against the Jedi code."
"Oh yeah well what do you know of the Jedi code?" She let her other hand drift down from his shoulder across his chest down his belly and rested just above a more intimate area.
"A lot more than you think now let go of me."
"Hmn, I like the chase," she then pinched his butt making him jump up again, this time her hand was in an advantageous position to brush against his crotch and play with it a little. "Besides I never took any Jedi oath, I only learned how to use the force" She then kissed his cheek again but then stopped and then got up. "Come on lets go, Atton gets cranky now if he's kept waiting."
"Fine let's go." He got up and both of them entered the enclave. A few minutes later the Ebon Hawk emerged from the top of the enclave and too off to space once more.