Authors note: This story adds another character into the mix of KOTOR II: The Sith Lords, what if there had been another survivor on Peragus and how does her story intertwine with the Exile's? Read on to find out. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.
**OO**
"Miss? Hey there, are you ok?"
Maya's head pounded, the words were like a pike to her skull. She groaned and rolled over, immediately regretting it. She opened her eyes and blinked, taking a couple of seconds to try and focus on the person above her.
"What happened? Where am I?"
Her voice was thick and her throat felt on fire at every word.
"Hush now," the voice soothed, "Don't try to speak, there has been… an accident."
"An…accident?"
The room seemed to come into focus and an overwhelming sickness took her as she remembered what happened.
People choking, gasping for air…
The acrid smell of the poison the vents released into the room…
Her vision blurring as those around her dropped to the floor…
The deadness in their eyes, haunting her thoughts…
She had not realised she had been hyperventilating, a hand offered her water and she took it, drinking greedily, trying to remove the foul taste from her mouth.
"Slow down, you'll make yourself sick."
She took a proper look at the stranger for the first time. It was a man, fey green eyes in a kind face that at that very moment was creased in concern. Scruffy brown hair fell to his shoulders, a spatter of stubble around a strong chin and jaw, accenting a small pert mouth. He was not young, but he wasn't old either, mid thirties if she had to guess.
There was something about him that felt so familiar…so comforting…so that even after everything that had happened recently she found herself immediately trusting him.
"Atton, I've discovered a survivor and I've cleared out the dorms."
"You're joking, from the gas levels that were in that room no one should have survived."
"Well I have the proof right in front of me."
He turned to her and smiled reassuringly,
"How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you."
She had taken a moment to look around her whilst he was talking; she found that she felt nothing. She had only been at the facility for a month before the droids had malfunctioned and her stay had not been a pleasant one.
"Do you think you will be ok to walk?"
She stood, her legs felt a little weak but other than that she seemed to be recovering quickly. She nodded and took a few steps, testing her bearings before turning to face him.
"My name is Gideon."
"Maya."
His face crinkled into a warm smile,
"I'm pleased to meet you Maya."
"Ah, could you hurry up please?" the comm crackled, "The crone is looking at me funny and I really don't want to be stuck on this druk of a planet any longer."
Gideon smiled and shook his head, "Let's go then."
Without another word Maya followed him through the deserted facility, destroyed mining droids sparked around her and she realised he must have come through and cleared the area before returning to the dormitories. They came to the last room before the turbolift that would take them up to the Communications Blister. Three bodies awaited them and she recognised them all.
Coorta and his thugs.
So the bastard was dead, she only regretted that it had not been herself to carry out the act.
Gideon played back the holovid containing their last moments, there was definitely no denying they had deserved their fate.
She knew she revelled in seeing him die slowly and painfully and it disturbed her, she thought she had left behind such feelings long ago.
She didn't want to think about it.
"It's you isn't it?" she asked as her companion unlocked the elevator doors, "You're the Jedi aren't you? The one that came in on the smuggler's ship…"
As she said the words she realised why he had seemed so familiar, so reassuring.
Maya's thoughts raced.
The General!
Exile!
The only Jedi to return to the Council and receive punishment for going off to war!
He must never know who she was, who she had been. Just when she finally thought she had left her past behind…
"I have felt a disturbance, our enemy is here."
The raspy voice of an old woman caused her to look up, she bit the inside of her cheek to stop the grunt as the flow of the force sang through her. She tried to block it out, to push it away, to ignore the whispers in her mind. She would have to be on her guard, the woman looked old but Maya could feel her power.
"Who is this?" A scruffy, dark haired man with deep black eyes joined them as they entered the Comm Room.
"Maya, Atton – Atton, Maya, now we really need to-"
Blaster fire scorched the wall beside them, a droid tutted at them.
"Not this guy again," Gideon sighed as the HK approached.
"Threat: Master, perhaps I did not enunciate clearly the last time we spoke. I suggested that you should shut down, stay put and wait for rescue."
The voice was the one from the holovids in the admin area, she wasn't surprised. This one droid had caused the shutdown of the whole facility.
It fired again, startling her, a mild electrical force erupted from her fingers short circuiting the droid.
The others stared at her.
"Frak, so much for laying low."
Zz'what in space is going on?" Atton scowled, "Another Jedi? What, did you guys start breeding when I wasn't looking?"
"It makes sense," Gideon mused, "A normal person would never have survived the gassing of the dorms as is evident, but someone with training in the force could shut down and preserve their bodies for a time-"
"Can we talk about this later?" Maya interrupted,
"I believe the girl is correct, standing idle only brings our enemy closer."
The old woman, Kreia gave Maya the creeps, but as long as they weren't focused on her she was happy.
There had been stealthed stowaways aboard the Rebulic ship, attacking them at every corner. She had no weapon so stood behind whilst the Jedi and Atton fought off their attackers. A coldness constantly prickled her back and she felt they were being watched.
A chill ran through her bones and she shivered though her body was hot. The doors behind them opened and a vile creature descended upon them. His skin was black and cracked, as though he had been through fire and lived, one milky white eye stood out of his face, threatening to fall out. The remaining eye glowed as red as the lightsaber he held.
"Sith!"
Kreia yelled at them to get to the ship before closing the blast doors in their faces.
"Crazy old bat," muttered Atton as they ran.
Maya was terrified, the day could not get any worse.
"Are you insane?" Maya gasped as Gideon opened the maintenance tunnel to the fuel lines,
"You want us to cross back through the fuel lines filled with a highly flammable substance that could blow up at the slightest spark?"
"I guess we'd better not surprise you then," He smiled, she was not amused.
"Fine, but if I survive being gassed and shot at by droids only to die escaping I shall not be happy."
Suddenly Gideon doubled over seemingly in pain.
"Are you alright? What's happening?" Atton asked concerned.
"My hand…it felt like it had been dipped into molten carbon, I think something has happened to Kreia."
"That can't be good."
"Suddenly those fuel lines aren't looking so bad after all, are they?"
They crossed quickly, the fumes a constant reminder of the ever present danger.
"Beep boo beep!"
"Not another droid," the girl moaned.
"It's ok, he helped us get out of this mess, we owe him a lot."
They managed to make it to the Ebon Hawk but stealthed Sith had followed them.
"Someone get on the turrets while I punch in the Telos coordinates,"
Atton took to the pilot seat straight away and seemed to know what he was doing. Maya volunteered for the job and took great pleasure in blasting the Sith warriors to smithereens. She jerked on the controls as they took off, spraying fire onto a small asteroid and causing a change reaction that blew the mining planet apart.
She felt nothing as she watched Peragus burn.
As they jumped into hyperspace she returned to the others, not liking the conversation she stepped in on.
"The Sith believe you to be the last of the Jedi," Kreia said the Gideon, "Though we now know this not to be true."
They all looked at her and she scowled.
"So how is it that a Jedi came to be working on a dwang of a planet like Peragus?" asked Atton.
"How did you come to be in a cage on that dwang of a planet?" she fired back, he stayed silent.
"The day you reveal your secret, I'll reveal mine, until then I have nothing to say."
She turned to Gideon,
"I thank you for saving me but I think it best if we part ways on Telos."
She lowered her voice and her eyes.
"I am not a Jedi, as you are not."
Realisation dawned in his eyes,
"If that is what you wish…"
She nodded and left without another word.
