A/N: Sorry it took me a little longer than I thought to end up writing this chapter. I wanted to have a duel scene, but I could find no real explanations of any of the combat forms other than those of the lightsaber forms. So, please forgive me but both Landyr and Dacob use unarmed lightsaber forms. Next chapter will begin with the actual plot of the game.

I would like to thank my lovely reviewers:

To Anonymous: you saved me! Sincerely, you did. I cannot believe I missed that. Thank you for catching that.

To MK: I hope you will be more pleased with this chapter as I tried to lighten Bastila. I hope it is not too much so that it contrasts with the character I portrayed in the first chapter. I figured that she would be stressed in the first chapter events because she was nervous about getting under way. I assumed she would be less stressed in this one because she would have been underway and the talking she does get is with Carth, someone she knew already, so she would be more likely to be lighter-hearted with him. I hope this chapter does what I'm saying here. If not, by all means, call me out on it and I will fix it. Thank you so much for your imput. It was accepted readily and I liked being able to use such good feedback.

To DreamALittleBitBiggerDarling : Although I've already given you my thanks over a pm, I'd like to do it publicly. THANK YOU!

To rebelbridgeburner10: Same as above. I also commented on two of your stories but one disappeared. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I hope you put it back up! I really enjoyed reading your stories because I like your stlye! Although, I was not familiar with the topic, you were able to convey it well with your writing! Keep up the good work!

To you that have read the first chapter and not reviewed: THANK YOU FOR READING! I appreciate you for at least giving some attention to my piece whether you read the entire chapter or left after the first sentence.

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!

~PlaguedPorcelain

Chapter 2

It wasn't that she forgot. She couldn't forget. There was a sort of high when she took them; something familiar. There was almost a desire for the day to be over and start again so she would be able to take them. Her body and mind needed these to survive; at least that's what she told herself. She had not reached the point in which she was scarfing them down three, four, five at a time, but she was pretty damn close. Now she debated in taking just one more.

She thought that she probably looked insane. Her curly red hair was stringy about her face, which was pale and covered in a cold sweat. She shivered in pleasure with the thought of taking another one. Unfortunately her rational, sane side was preventing her from reaching into the container and just pouring them down her throat. She had no supervisor to be watching over her in the room. She had a roommate, but they worked separate shifts. He was gone by the time she went to sleep and never returned before she left. He was not there to make sure she did not overdose. And the temptation was strong to do so.

She did it. Her second one. The guilty pleasure slithered down her neck and she smiled with glee. These pills were like battle, she equated. They had the sickly sweet feeling and a rush of adrenaline. That was what felt familiar, the battle feel. Immediately, she regretted swallowing another one. She shoved the container off the desk where she sat, spilling them across the floor. "Damn!" She fell to the floor and started to pick them up, forcing her mouth closed and her hands as far away as they could be.

The door slid open to her horror. "Kasra, are you alright?" Her shift mate stood in the doorway.

"Chaar… It's not… I'm fine," she panicked. Would he tell her superiors about this incident? Surely he saw her in this state of disarray. She did not want his help and was filled with dread as he bent down and began to collect the pills. He could see her face. Surely he could see her desire to drown herself in her addiction that was scattered across the floor.

"Get up," he motioned for her to stand. "Go take a cold shower and come back. I'm going to pick this up and after you cool your desire down, we'll talk." Like a scolded child, she retreated to where she was sent.

Dacob Chaar, she thought as she sat underneath the freezing water. The amount of concern this man had for her was unnerving and unwarranted. He had shown her entire ship, pointed out blind spots in each room and had even offered to train with her. It was not that he loved her; he had a wife and four children. And this was not his first tour away from them. When she asked him why he was doing it, he replied nonchalantly with "I owed an old friend of yours. This is atonement, I think." Atonement, indeed, if you stop me.

She left the shower and dressed, heading back into her room. "Are you okay now?"

"I think so. I'm sorry; I've just had a rough morning." She slid back onto her bed, pulling her legs closer to her body.

"If that's what you call it. How long have you had this problem?" He was perched in the chair near her desk.

"What problem?" Immediately she thought that playing dumb with him would solve nothing. Before he could reply she answered, "A month. I only began taking them two or three months ago."

"So, I get it. Now you realize you have a problem. You have two choices: ignore it or solve it. Let me ask you: what rationale stops you from wanting to continue on this downward spiral?"

"Duty. I was saved by the Jedi; I owe them my life. I should not throw it away unless I am commanded to do so." She put her head against her knees. Why had the Jedi saved her? Who was she to be saved and not someone else in the galaxy? The fact that these questions may never be answered perturbed her. The Jedi were more mysterious to her than the Sith. What were their motives? The motives of the Sith were easy to comprehend: conquer the galaxy, destroy the Jedi, and to spread their teachings. But what were the Jedi's goals? What was their purpose? And in turn, what did she have to do with their purpose?

"We need to get to work. What you need to think positively about is the fact that you've identified your problem and what your motivation is to stop. Come on," he held out a hand, one she accepted. Strapping her blasters to her hip and thigh, she nodded her consent to leave.

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Bastila watched her, intrigued. This girl just kept being beat down and was being pushed around. Something was bothering her. Bastila could tell. Her unarmed combat form was weak and sloppy. Two days before she had watched as she had taken on four of their best warriors on the ship and had held her ground and won. But now it was making her nauseous to watch as they kept tossing her to the floor mercilessly because she kept egging them on. Bastila looked over to Carth who stood by her, watching the slaughter happen before them. "Onasi, watch her stances. There! That knee was bent too much and her arm wasn't far enough forward."

He watched as she was pinned to the ground by Eztel Yusan, one of the heavier soldiers. She struggled and kicked with her legs. Carth could hear the man's taunts, "Had enough, princess? Did you realize this is where you belong? Beneath a man?" Carth looked to Bastila who had rolled her eyes and he thought himself, justifying the man, He's going to be months out in space with mostly men. He can't help but be crude.

They were relieved when Yusan finally relented and let her go. Before she challenged them again, Bastila called down to them from her placing on the platform. "Kasra, why don't you challenge just one of them? I'm sure the crew would love to watch a skilled user of the art of the Echani." She smiled down to Landyr, who grinned at the idea. The men whooped and cheered at the idea. "Just pick the soldier who has the most combative endurance. If they don't prove to be able to withstand the duel, I will indulge you in battle." Bastila leaned up against the railing, preparing for an excellent fight. Landyr's eyes glowed with a passion that had shaken her from her stupor.

"Are you sure she should continue? That gash on her head looks worrying and her mouth is bleeding." Carth was concerned about trauma to her head. Could additional trauma cause more damage? He had thought so.

Bastila did not ease him of his worry with her comment, and he was dubious of her conviction. "She is safer than they are about to be. Surely you've seen the Echani style before."

"Actually I have never seen it practiced, but I've heard stories. Her condition is not suitable for such an aggressive style."

"I wouldn't worry too much. Her style is more fluid than the more aggressive, concrete forms you've heard about. She is a master of the Echani style and has begun mastering a variant form of the Jedi style of Juyo. Instead of a lightsaber, she uses a vibroblade and she is able to use it much more effectively than I because of her passion for battle. She delights in it and so using an applied form of Juyo, she becomes deadly. It was her preferred form during the Mandalorian War." Bastila watched as Kasra's shift mate, Chaar, stepped forward to meet her in battle. Pointing to the young man, she mentioned to Carth, "He is proficient in the hand to hand combat form of Soresu. You can tell. His stance is already in a defensive position. This is going to be good."

"Kasra, where did you learn Echani?" Chaar waited for her to make a quick strike. He paid no attention to the obscene cheering and comments from the other men.

"I'm not sure. Bastila just told me that is the style I used when we sparred together." She attempted to break his balance by pulling his shoulder forward, but received a blow to her elbow, collapsing her extended arm. She spun away from him. She gave him a gleeful smile and backed away.

"Where are you going, Kasra?" He kicked towards her stomach, his attack doing no damage as she turned away from it. There were groans as he missed his target.

"It's a dance, Chaar. Follow the movements, the rhythm." She jumped over his head to catch him off-guard. Unfortunately, he swept a leg backward, aiming for her feet. She hopped over it and began to assault him using her fists again. Each block had circular motion, each attack mirrored a block. It was a dance.

Soon they were engrossed in their combat. Chaar was picking up on her movements and had started to copy them. Just as he began to do so, she switched to Juyo, taking a concrete stance and furiously pounded away at his chest with her hands. Every block of his was swept away with an arm. She employed more kicks as he started to retreat from her. Feeling slightly dizzy after her onslaught as they caught their breath in a decided truce, she reset her form to Echani, feeling as though it would be less damaging to her and to her opponent.

She was surprised Chaar had managed so long. His combat prowess was excellent as he was a quick learner, copying her movements, and had good endurance, which was what she was lacking at the given moment. Wiping some blood away that had trickled down her face, she concluded this would be her last round. If she started to grow faint, she would yield whether she was close to winning or not. It would not hurt her pride any. Had she not been tossed around earlier? Speaking of which, I have been so involved with the duel that I have not heard them cheer. They must have been cheering the entire time.

She started to study his posture, realizing his form was open for attacks. His left foot was turned towards his right too much. A swiping kick to the back of his left knee would bring him to his knees and from there she could pin him. Smiling, she launched her attack, tackling him to the ground, grinding her knee harshly into his crotch. He yelped in pain, trying to push her off. "Surrender?"

"Yes," he exclaimed. Sighing as she released the pressure against his crotch, he just laid on the floor. "That was a good one, Kasra."

"Thanks," she replied, helping him to his feet. The roaring of the men was not as prominent in her mind as the smiles Bastila and Carth gave her. She felt a sense of accomplishment and with that feeling she forgot about the pills.

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

"Kasra, you should get some sleep," Carth put a hand on her shoulder, carefully brushing the messy, tangled red locks aside. Her eyes were already half closed. Her night had not been restful, he could tell.

"I can't. If I do, I'll forget today. Today was fun." He had read this in her profile. To him, losing the memories of the day during sleep was ridiculous. But he knew that he did not understand the workings of the mind and did understand that there would be a possibility that she was telling the truth. But he knew what trust had earned him: a broken planet, a lost wife and a hardened heart.

"Write it down. My mother-in-law had trouble remembering things as she aged. She used to write everything down. Write down today. Or record your thoughts on a Datapad so you can view them later." Feeling as if he had eased her slightly, he went to walk away.

She grabbed his left hand, brushing her fingers over his naked ring finger. Making the obvious observation, she commented, "You're not married. But you talk about your mother-in-law as if she's dead and in a way to make it seem that you are still with your wife. Do you just not wear it?"

"They're dead." His reply was blunt and soft. Her hands were warm and comforting about his. Just like Morgana's, he thought stupidly, kicking himself mentally.

"How?" Instinctively she had drawn closer to him, caressing his hand absent-mindedly. Her hair brushed against his hand as she brought it to her cheek. The moment was gentle and he felt slight comfort, despite the awkwardness of the touch. She closed her eyes and whispered something softly, something he couldn't make out.

"When Malak blew up Telos."

With her eyes still closed, she told him, "They're not gone. I promise you. Not forever and not now. They live in everyone and everything. They are part of the Force and in being with it, they are part of everything. You can see bits of them in every person you meet. And more importantly, they live in your memories. Such precious memories. Be lucky you have those for it is what fuels their lives. Keep their memories alive and they will never abandon you. Never betray you." She let his hand drop. Turning from him, she could only whisper. "I'm sorry; I've made this about me. This is your problem that I am supposed to be comforting you on yet I just thrust my problems into it, begging for sympathy." Her hands gripped at her elbows in either anger or disappointment, he couldn't tell.

Putting a hand on her back, he turned her back to him. "No. Don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong. You were relating to me, making a connection between us. You weren't changing the subject to be about you." With an affirming nod, he paused before saying, "Now, please do me a favor and get some rest before you fall over."

Standing at attention she saluted him and replied, "Yes, sir." She waited for him to take his leave before taking hers. As she settled into her room, she took his advice and found it more therapeutic to write than just record herself on a Datapad. She wrote down the events of the day and as she neared the end she contemplated writing about her conversation with Carth. She decided against it as she thought it was too personal to be shared with anyone who would read her journal. She just wrote: Had meaningful conversation with Carth. End. She closed the book, opening up the drawer of her desk to make a place for it.

Her misery caught the glare from the dim light of her lamp. They were seductively lit and subconsciously she had an aching in her mind. It was not time, but her brain screamed for one, making up false pain to get what it wanted. Shoving the journal into the drawer, she quickly closed it and went to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face before undressing for bed. Crawling in, she became fearful, just like every night. What would she forget? What would be gone forever? One thing she knew that would be gone was the feeling of fear each night before bed.

And then she was awoken by alarms and her bunkmate, Trask Ulgo.

Yay cliff-hanger! Sidenote: that term seems incredibly dangerous. Cliff-hanger... Anyways. As always read and review. In order to help you, here are some recommended questions to answer: (I feel like a teacher...) 1: How was the fight scene? Easy to follow? Stupidly written and I should consider writing it over again, many times? Or was it just okay? 2: Did I do a good job with talking about her addiction? If you think I need to work on it, leave a comment about how you would have written it. 3: Did you like first person or third person better? Or do you think I should do a mixture?

I'd really like being able to apply the ideas that were given to me to make this story better. If you think you can help me, review and I'll see if you're right - because let's face it, I'm human and I make mistakes (like saying the heart is in the right side of the chest) - or if I like your suggestion.

~PlaguedPorcelain