Chapter 2: Another Round

Alek casually knocked on his friend's bedroom door, not sure what to expect. Without waiting for her to answer, he entered the room. The mid afternoon sunlight was pouring into the spartan bedroom. She was standing by the window with her arms crossed firmly around her chest. He knew that Revan had just met with the Jedi Council to make a case for entering the Mandalorian Wars. The Council refused. Despite her typically unflappable nature, she was unable to hide her disappointment.

He wordlessly moved to stand by his friend's side. She didn't look at him. Instead, she continued to stare out the window. Her jaw was clenched. "Thousands will die, Alek," she fumed. "The Council has the opportunity to save lives and they refuse to do anything."

"The Jedi aren't meant to be soldiers," he reminded her gently. He focused his gaze on the sprawling plains. The swaying grass and endless blue skies were a source of comfort to many Jedi living on the enclave. To Revan, he knew, it caused a sense of restlessness.

Revan scowled. "Damn the Jedi Code. The Council are all hypocrites. They speak of peace and justice but when the time comes to act they do nothing."

"Perhaps they have more insight into the situation than we do," he suggested. However, the words sounded hollow, even to him.

She scoffed. "Maybe. They would have to take their heads out of their asses first," she snapped. Alek raised an eyebrow at her. "You're right, I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have taken my agitation out on you."

They stood next to each other in silence for a while longer. Neither of them moved; Neither said anything. Alek could practically see the cogs turning in Revan's brain. Suddenly, she turned to him.

"Alek?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"I'm not a child anymore," she began. She uncrossed her arms. "I have the chance to use my training to help others…"

Alek felt his stomach constrict. She was leaving, he realized. Why did this surprise him? It should be more surprising that she'd stayed this long. Revan had dreamed of leaving Dantooine since they were children. Silently, he reminded himself that Jedi weren't supposed to form attachments. But, what would he do without her?

In an unusual display of affection, Revan took his hand in hers. "I don't want to leave without you," she admitted. Revan was proud; she was sure of herself. She did not beg. But at this moment, her eyes were pleading with him. "Come with me," she said firmly.

"Of course," he smiled.

Suddenly, everything began to fade out. Distantly, Malak's consciousness reminded him that this was all a dream. When he opened his eyes, Revan would still be dead. He kept his eyes firmly closed; he was not ready to wake up.


When Nomi awoke, she had forgotten where she was. It took a few moments for her to work past the haze that bogged down her mind. Nomi took a deep breath and attempted to center herself. Where was she? The Endar Spire, the ship she was stationed on as a Republic soldier, was destroyed. Somehow, she was lucky enough to make it to the escape pods. It all came rushing back. Taris—she was on Taris in the Uppercity of the planet. She was rescued by Carth Onasi, and they had been working together to find a Jedi named Bastila Shan.

Nomi looked around. Though, she was slow to move due to the pain in her temples. She mindlessly rubbed them and turned her head to find Carth. The bed adjacent to hers had been flawlessly made up; Carth was up before her again. He was pacing back and forth across the floor of their makeshift base. However, he stopped and turned to her when she shifted in the bed. Nomi sat up.

"Good morning, soldier," Carth greeted. He looked relieved. "You were out for a while. I was worried… I thought that maybe your head injury worsened. I wasn't sure if I should wake you or let you rest."

Nomi's eyes roamed over Carth's features. She wondered what his motivations were. Despite the fact that he was her superior officer, he had nursed her back to health, and he didn't appear to want anything in return. The dedication he had displayed to the cause and his fellow soldiers was commendable. He seemed sincere but it was frustrating to Nomi that she couldn't read him.

"Good morning," Nomi echoed. She was now standing up and stretching. "I'm feeling much better now. Though, I appreciate your concern."

Carth carefully studied her. Apparently, he agreed that she was well enough to be up because he didn't question her further.

"I made some Stimcaf," Carth gestured to the table next to him. A dingy brewing machine and two chipped mugs sat on top of it. "Would you like some?

Even in her work as smuggler, she had never seen such an unappetizing display. Nomi's lip-curled. But, the familiar smell of the brew was tempting. She found that she couldn't resist. Besides, she reasoned, it might help to dispel some of her headache. Nomi nodded, and Carth handed her a mug.

"What's our plan?" he asked.

Nomi breathed in the bitter smell of the Stimcaf. Despite her reservations, the warmth and familiar smell of the Stimcaf was calming. The cup's presentation had been misleading. She felt herself warm up.

"I think we should keep scouring for information," she said diplomatically. After a minute, "I think we should head back to the cantina."

Carth's eyebrows raised. "The cantina again?" he asked skeptically. "Is that the best use of our time?"

Without missing a beat, Nomi responded. "What would you suggest as an alternative?"

Carth thought for a moment, and then he shrugged his shoulders with a grin. "Fair point, sister," he said. "Just want to make sure we're sober enough to complete our mission."

Point made. Considering the amount of alcohol she consumed, along with her head injuries, she slept almost 10 hours the night previously. They didn't have time to waste on recuperation or recreation. She appreciated the fact that he said this casually, not as a reprimand from a superior officer.

"Understood," Nomi replied with a small smile. "All business."


From across the bar, Nomi noticed an off-duty Sith soldier. She scanned him over. He was wearing Sith plainclothes. He was young, handsome, and very intoxicated. He could be just the sort of man she was looking for. She shook her hair out of her tight bun and allowed her hair to flow around her shoulders. Then, she made her way over to the handsome soldier.

"Hey," she said as she smiled up at the man. She set her almost empty drink on the bar next to them. His brown eyes hungrily looked her up and down. Then he grinned, obviously liking what he saw. "What are you drinking?" he asked and pointed at her discarded mug.

"Tarisian Ale," she replied.

He nodded then left to flag down the nearest bartender. He was back in about five minutes with two pints of ale in his hands. The soldier offered one to her. She took the beverage, and she smiled appreciatively. Nomi held the drink in one hand while she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair with the other.

"I'm Dirk," the soldier said, sipping his ale.

"Nomi."

"You're beautiful, you know that?" he asked. "It's not often I meet someone as beautiful as you in this cantina... In fact, I've yet to meet someone as beautiful as you on Taris."

He was laying the compliments on thick, Nomi noted. This man was either incredibly desperate or the alcohol was affecting him more than he was letting on. Regardless, she had him right where she wanted him. She just had to keep this up for a while longer…

"You must not have been here long," she chuckled.

Dirk laughed. "Maybe not. But, most of the locals aren't interested in talking to a Sith soldier like me. I get the feeling that you're an off-worlder yourself."

Nomi took a step closer to him, closing the gap between them. "You're right! How'd you guess?" she smiled. "I'm a pilot. My partner and I fly a small merchant craft. We ferry goods between Taris and nearby planets. We haven't been here long. In fact, we docked the day the quarantine went up. I'm looking to meet some new people while I'm here…"

Nomi left the statement open ended. She hoped that he would jump in. Dirk dutifully rose to the occasion.

"You know, some of my friends and I are having a party tonight in the northern apartment complex on this level of the city. It's in unit D. I'd love it if you were there," he gave her a toothy smile.

She smiled back. "I'd love to." She put her hand on his. "I'll see you there." Then, she turned around to find Carth. They'd need to strategize before this evening.

It didn't take long to find him. Carth seated at a small table in the corner. Instead of ale, he was holding a mug of Stimcaf. He nodded at her in greeting. Quickly, informed him about the conversation she had with the Sith recruit. She suggested that they accept the invitation to the party. Carth, however, was not easily swayed.

"You've got to be kidding," Carth said incredulously, when she first suggested the idea. "We'd be walking into a den of our enemies!"

It took some careful persuading on Nomi's part to convince Carth to accept Dirk's invitation. Carth initially dismissed the plan as unnecessarily reckless. But, Nomi pointed out that none of the new recruits could possibly recognize them. Besides, who would suspect two random party-goers as Republic soldiers?

After convincing Carth, they headed back to their apartment complex. The Sith party was being held in a nearby run-down unit. The unit was situated in a predominantly alien community. Convenient, Nomi thought sourly. No matter how out of hand the party became, none of the non-human residents would dare report the Sith recruits to law enforcement officials.

Finally, they reached the address that Dirk had scrawled on a piece of paper. They stopped in front of the door.

"Should we knock?" Carth asked skeptically.

"I don't know," Nomi responded. "I can't say that I have much experience in crashing Sith parties."

"Neither do I…" Carth scowled.

Luckily, they didn't have to decide. A tall beautiful woman in off-duty Sith clothing walked up beside them. "Are you here for the party?" she asked. When they nodded, she said, "Come on in then! No need to be shy." She opened the door, and she ushered in Carth and Nomi.

Nomi was astounded at the number of people stuffed into the small apartment. There were approximately 30 to 35 people milling about with drinks. Although there were a few Tarisian citizens, the majority of the people in attendance were Sith.

"What now?" she heard Carth ask from beside her.

Just then, they heard a male voice call Nomi's name. "You made it!" Carth and Nomi turned their heads in unison. The Sith soldier made his way through the throng of his off-duty brethren. He stopped in front of them with a large beverage in his hand. There was no doubt that he had continued drinking from the moment they first met. He was stumbling slightly, and his eyes were glassy.

Dirk looked towards Carth. "Is this your….?" He left the question hanging.

"He's my partner. We were both stranded by the quarantine," she distanced herself from Carth and she took a step closer to Dirk. "Why don't we grab a drink?" she said sweetly.

Nomi put her arm on Dirk's forearm and directed him towards the drinks. He followed without question. From behind her, she heard Carth swear. "Damn woman." She'd apologize later for leaving him alone.

She soon realized that she wouldn't get much out of Dirk. He was too far gone to answer questions about Tarisian and Sith relations. After about an hour, Nomi was able to extricate herself from Dirk with the promise that she'd be back after she got another drink. She found Carth leaning against a wall near the corner. He had a drink in his hand, but he barely took a sip. Instead, he was carefully scanning the room. Nomi sidled up next to him, holding out her untouched drink.

"What do you think?" Nomi asked after a while.

"The music is too loud," Carth responded stiffly. "Doesn't really make for good atmosphere to gather intel."

She looked over at him. His brows were furrowed, and his lip was curled. His expression was serious. Despite looking completely out of place, he seemed determined to complete the task at hand—even if it meant partying with the enemy.

"I'm sorry for abandoning you," Nomi began. "I figured I'd be able to get more information out of him if I had him alone."

Carth shrugged and brushed his hair out of his face. "Apology accepted. I figured it was something like that," he looked over at her. "Though I'm curious about what type of interrogation techniques you used on the kid."

"Kid?" Nomi said questioningly. "You sound like an old man!" she laughed.

"Maybe I am!" he shot back. "I'm just saying that we both probably had a few years on the guy. He had to be… 19 or 20. Tops."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm too old for him?" Nomi grinned. She watched as Carth opened his mouth to protest. She contained her amusement. "How old do you think I am?" she asked curiously.

"Damn," Carth said after a few seconds. He met her eyes. "You're infuriating. Do you know that?" He paused for a moment. Then he shook his head. "I can't possibly come out of this unscathed, can I? Forget everything I just said. Just some ramblings from an old man."

Nomi laughed, and she shifted her position on the wall. He was incredibly easy to tease. "How old are you, old man?" she asked.

"36," Carth said. He was already back to examining the crowd around them. "Far too old to be partying with kids like that guy you had back there."

"And myself?" Nomi asked with a smile. "Am I too old to be partying with these kids?"

Carth frowned. Not looking at her. "I'm not going to get out of this, am I? I don't think you look old, if that's what you mean..."

Nomi let it drop. It was obvious that he wanted to get back to the matter at hand. They were silent after that. Then, things started to get weird. In a matter of ten minutes, almost a quarter of the partygoers were flat on the ground. One of the women nearby collapsed right on the ground in front of them.

"Fuck," Carth muttered. "Should we get a medic?" he looked around. "Everyone around us is dropping…"

Nomi wasn't sure. "No, not yet. I think there was a sedative in the drinks. Be sure not drink anything else." Carth immediately poured his drink out onto the floor.

Sure enough, soldiers passed out one by one. Nomi and Carth maintained their position on the wall. No one around them seemed concerned that their co-workers were passing out at their feet. In another half hour, everyone but Nomi and Carth was passed out on the floor. Carth looked over at her as if to say, what now?

Nomi wasted no time; she immediately began looking through some bags left in a heap by the door.

"What are you doing?" Carth hissed, his voice low. There was no need to keep his voice down. The music still blasting even though the partiers were unmoving and lying on the ground.

Nomi looked up. "I don't think anyone will be waking up anytime soon," she gestured to the nearest incapacitated Sith soldier. "The drug they used to spike the drinks was potent. We will be long gone before anyone wakes. Besides, I already found what we're looking for," Nomi triumphantly held up two bags holding Sith armor.

Carth shook his head. "That was almost too easy," then after a moment. "Sith soldier recruits sure know how to party."


AN: Thanks for reading! Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Don't worry, the story will pick up soon!