Chapter 1 -- For Force sakes.

BOOM. A loud explosion came from the Endar Spire, waking one of it's passengers from her sleep. The passenger moaned, stuck her face in her pillow, and pulled her covers over her head. Another explosion, louder this time, sounded and rocked the entire ship; this caused the woman to fall out of her bed. Her head hit the floor painfully; she moaned again and slumped onto the floor.

"Frack," The woman mumbled, pulling the blankets from her bed down to the floor to cover herself.

The passenger stayed that way for a while, fighting her headache and trying to ignore the explosions and the rocking of the ship. She just wanted to sleep. Just when she was about to succeed, however, the door opened and a Republic soldier ran inside. The soldier looked about wildly, breathing heavily, as though searching for something. When he saw the woman on the floor, his eyes widened in surprise and he cried out.

"Are you okay?!" he said frantically, running towards her and pulling off the blankets. "I didn't think that the Sith had gotten here yet. What happened?"

The passenger moaned, closed her eyes tighter, then opened them slowly.

"I'm trying to sleep," she said angrily, though her voice was groggy. She got up, her hand on her head, and said, "What the hell are you talking about? There are no Sith on this ship."

"Where have you been? We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack!"

"... Sith? We're under attack?" the woman asked absently. In her mind, she was still asleep. "I guess I should get geared up then..."

She walked over to her footlocker and quickly proceeded to get dressed. Out of respect for her privacy, the soldier turned around, then started to explain what needed to get done.

"We have to find Bastila!" his voice came out slowly at first, then with more determination and resolve as he reminded himself of his oath and his responsibilities. "We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive!"

"Who's Bastila?" the woman asked, her voice muffled by her shirt.

As the soldier explained that Bastila was the commanding officer on the Endar Spire, the woman continued to gear up. She wore a tan, long-sleeved shirt; a black vest had been hastily put over-top. Her pants were brown, rolled up to reveal knee-high, black boots. She followed by quickly pulling her hair into a ponytail, not bothering with pins. Rummaging through her footlocker, she pulled out her blaster pistol and put it into a holster on her hip. To finish, she pulled out a short sword; it hung from her right hand as she swung it back and forth.

"I'm ready."

As the soldier turned around, the woman got a better look at him. His blond hair was cut very short, and he was wearing a red Republic uniform. Though the red armor didn't allow her to see much, she could tell that the man was well-built; he filled his armor out well. The soldier's eyes shone of fear, but behind it was a fierce determination; a patriotic will to do whatever was needed for the Republic. The Republic needs more people like him, the woman thought sadly.

As he turned around, the soldier was surprised at the change within the passenger. She was no longer sleepy or irritable, and her posture seemed to be staighter, more confident. Her eyes shone with a fierceness, an aggressive will to do whatever was needed to be done, for her or her companions. As the soldier decided that she seemed fully ready for the task at hand, he also decided that he never wanted to get on the wrong side of her. Maybe the stories about her are right... he thought with resolve.

The woman walked towards him, sheathing her sword, and extended her hand towards him. "My name is Nacina Cral, but my friends call me Nace."

The soldier shook her hand back. "I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet."

Nace nodded, then pulled out her sword again; as she did, she swung it around her hand, making a circular motion. "Let's go save Bastila."

Trask nodded, and pulled out a blaster. As Nace moved to walk out the door, he said, "I heard what everyone's saying about you: you've explored the farthest reaches of the galaxy, you've visited planets I've never even heard of. Is that true?"

Nace stopped. With her back to his face, she replied, "Yeah, it's true."

"You must have a lot of stories."

Nace turned around and said softly, "I do, but now's not the time." Then, with more resolve, as if remembering where she was and what she had to do, she said, "I'll tell you some stories if we ever get out of this. Now, let's go."

Trask nodded and followed her out the door, ready to confront any Sith in their way.

"Here's the bridge," Trask said, chest heaving from the many battles they had fought to get here. "If Bastila is on the ship, she's here."

Nace nodded, too tired to say anything. Her chest was heaving as well; their battles with the Sith had taken a lot out of her. She hadn't fought this way since... Well, for a long time.

"Cover me," she ordered, then opened the bridge door.

She was instantly swarmed by two Sith soldiers, both wielding blades, like her. She fought desperately with what little strength and energy she had left, blocking and parrying, dealing crippling blows to each soldier. She could hear Trask shooting behind her, trying to get some shots in without shooting her in the process. After what seemed like an eternity of blow after blow, one of the Sith fell to Trask's blaster, allowing her to deal the final strike to the remaining Sith.

"Medpac," Nace panted, chest heaving up and down, up and down. She felt so exhausted, all she wanted to do was rest. Trask grimly handed her a medpac, concern etched onto his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Nace simply nodded, jamming the medicine into her thigh. She leaned against a wall, letting the pack do its business.

Grimly and reluctantly turning back to the matter at hand, Trask said, "Bastila's not here on the bridge -- they must have retreated to the escape pods. We better head that way too. "

Nace simply nodded again, too out of breath to speak.

Seeing that she wouldn't provide any input, Trask continued. "The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's nothing stopping them from blasting The Endar Spire into galactic dust!"

"Let's keep going then," Nace replied; she had retrieved some of her breath.

The two continued their trek through the ship for a while, without meeting anymore Sith. Other than the explosions outside, the ship seemed empty, and very quiet. Too quiet, Nace thought uneasily. Then, without warning, she was overcome with a sense of foreboding, so strong it made her stagger and fall to the ground. Trask was dutifully by her side in a flash, kneeling on the floor and lifting her head up off the ground. He was about to ask her if she was okay when a sound came from the door beyond.

Trask looked up; Nace could see that hardened determination again. "There's something behind here," He said, leaving Nace and running to the door.

Nace tried to get up and follow him, but her head swam with such pain and light-headedness that it forced her back down on the ground. Though she lay on her back, she tried to move to get a better look, but the sharp pain in her temple prevented her from moving too much.

"Damn, a Dark Jedi! I'll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go!" Nace heard Trask yell; she then heard him pulling out a vibroblade. The quiet, yet condemning sound of the ship's door closing and sealing itself told her that he had entered the room.

Overcome with a sense of guilt, Nace forced herself up off the floor, ignoring the pain and nausea that wracked her head and body. She ran to the door and hammered on it. "No -- Trask, no!" She desperately tried using her skill with locks to open the door, but to no avail -- the door was shut tight. She punched the door angrily with her fist, tears welling up in her eyes, mostly from frustration, though partly from a sudden feeling of loneliness. She then leaned against the door, her nausea and pain taking its toll. "For Force sakes, Trask!"

Nace heaved and threw up, then allowed herself one last rest on the door. She mourned his loss briefly; though she had barely known the man, he was still a credit to the Republic, and a good man. She would have liked to stay in the room longer -- if not in mourning, then in consideration to her condition -- but the situation at hand didn't allow it. Trask didn't sacrifice himself so she could stay and get killed by the Sith. Pushing herself up off of the door, she picked up her sword and headed towards the escape pods.

Nace burst into the room, sword at the ready. Her chest was heaving once again, and her entire body sang with pain and exhaustion. Inside the room was a man, whom she assumed was a Republic, though she couldn't be sure; he wasn't wearing a uniform. He had brown hair, combed back, though two strands had escaped and swung loosely in front of his deep, brown eyes. He wore an orange jacket, which, in Nace's opinion, looked hideous; once she got a better look, however, she noticed that it showcased the man's muscles well -- he appeared to be a well-built individual. The longer she looked at the jacket, the more she became attached to it; she supposed that it was one of those things that you had to look at for a while to appreciate.

Realizing that she should be focused on the task at hand, she asked, "Who are you?" without lowering her weapon. She still wasn't sure if he was on her side or not, and she did not intend to let her guard down until she was sure.

"My name's Carth Onasi, and I'm a soldier with the Republic, like you," the man, Carth, said. "We're the last two crew members left on the Endar Spire. Bastila's escape pod is already gone, so there's no reason for us to stick around and get shot by the Sith. Now come on -- there'll be time for questions later!" he explained hurriedly.

Nace lowered her sword slowly, and walked to the last remaining escape pod. She couldn't know for sure, but she sensed that this man meant her no harm, and she could use an ally. Looking down and focusing on the escape pod, she frowned as she saw that it was a single.

Carth saw her grimace and said, "I know it's a single, but it's our only chance at getting off this ship! I'll go in first, you'll have to sit on my lap."

"It'll have to do," Nace said, accepting the inevitable.

Carth got in, and Nace slipped in after him, resting herself on his lap. Quickly, he released the pod into space, leaving it to fall down to the plant below. Nace would have liked to look out of the window at the Endar Spire, but the cramped quarters of the pod didn't allow for that. As they entered the atmosphere, the ride became shakier and more violent; Nace could feel the temperature rise slowly in the small escape pod. Though she would never admit it, she was becoming afraid at this point; she didn't like not knowing her surroudings. Her companion had tightened his grip around her stomach; she guessed that he, too, felt edgy.

Finally, the pod collided with the planet's surface with such surprising force that Carth let go of Nace, which sent her head careening into the pod's wall. Pain shot through the woman's head, and black began clouding the sides of her vision as her consciousness ebbed away. She felt herself being pulled out of the pod, all the while the black stealing away more and more of her vision; she was no longer aware of where the two were, or what they were doing. She felt a hand move her face gently, and she saw the man -- Carth, was it? -- from the Endar Spire looking down at her face with concern. It was the last thing that she saw, as she finally surrendered herself to the blackness.

Disclaimer:

I own nothing, save Nace.