You Might Die Trying
by: Sam Lincoln
Rating: PG
Summary: In a rebuilding galaxy a disparate band of adventurers try to solve the ultimate mystery. Where is Revan?
Spoilers: Both Kotor games will be gleefully spoiled
You Might Die Trying: Chapter Two
"...and I managed to convince the authorities on Kessel that you were operating under the authority of the Republic and the Jedi Council. I don't think they'll try to go after you, but you never know with Hutts," Admiral Carth Onasi said to Bastila.
"Thank-you Carth, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf," Bastila told the hologram.
"Now I would appreciate it if you told me what you were up to. Damnit Bastila, breaking a prisoner out of Kessel?"
"I needed a pilot," Bastila replied.
"You don't need to stage a jailbreak to get a pilot, you're talking to a pretty good one right now in fact."
"I know Carth, but you're needed where you are. You can't go gallivanting across the galaxy anymore. Toman Skyre is a talented pilot who has the advantage of not being vital to the restoration of the Republic."
"What are you doing Bastila? I turned a blind eye when you stole that ship from Republic Intelligence, and now this incident with Kessel. I don't mind going to bat for you, but I need to know why."
Bastila shook her head. "I can't, the success of my mission is predicated on its secrecy. You have to trust me about this Carth."
"You have friends Bastila, don't shut us out."
"You are a good friend Carth, but this is something you cannot help me with."
"You're going after him, aren't you?"
"Carth, I..." Bastila began to say.
Carth then chuckled and held up his hand to stop Bastila from speaking. "We both know you're not going to give me a straight answer one way or the other so don't bother. Still, I wish I could be there with you."
"What you're doing right now is far more important," Bastila said. "To yourself and the Republic. You need to heal and rebuild your home. Not chase ghosts on the fringe of the galaxy."
"And what about you?"
"Ghosts are all I have," Bastila replied.
"Just so long as you know that officially you're on your own out there," Carth said. "Unofficially I can't make any promises, but if you do need help ask and I'll see what I can do."
"Thank-you Carth."
"And bring our boy home."
"I'll try, Bastila out." Bastila killed the connection and the hologram of Carth winked out.
"So you stole the ship?" Mira said from behind Bastila.
Bastila turned around and saw Mira standing in the doorway of the communication room. "Stole is a harsh word."
"And you're not operating under the authority of either the Jedi Council or the Senate."
"I never claimed I was. In fact as I recall I did say that I was not acting on official Council business."
"But the Council has run plenty of unsanctioned missions over the years when it's convenient."
"If you came to that conclusion then I apologize for any unintended confusion on your part."
"What you're saying is that we have no support from either the Jedi or the Republic, and if we run into trouble we're on our own."
"That is essentially correct. If you'd like to leave I can arrange that."
"Since when has a little thing like no backup stopped me?" Mira asked rhetorically. "Finding Revan would cement my reputation as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy."
"I'm glad your motivation is so altruistic," Bastila said dryly.
"But what about our pilot?"
"Mr. Skyre was last piloting a smuggler's freighter, I highly doubt our standing with the Republic will matter one way or the other to him."
"In other words you don't want him to know the truth."
"I'd rather not muddy the waters. The internal politics of the Jedi can be confusing to those on the outside."
"Except when those politics lead to civil war," Mira said.
"I would rather we do not get off track with a discussion of the causes of the Jedi Civil War," Bastila said. "I will tell Mr. Skyre the dimensions of this mission once we assemble a full crew compliment. If you wish to tell him before that I will not stop you. Now, may I consider this matter concluded?"
Mira nodded, "If you insist."
"So what was it you wanted to tell me before you eavesdropped on my private conversation?"
Mira bristled at the rebuke, but bit back a retort. "We're going to be landing on Morishim in a few minutes, just thought you'd like to know."
Bastila nodded her head. "Yes, thank-you." She stood up and brushed past Mira on her way to the cockpit.
"Well, here we are, Morishim," Skyre announced when Bastila and Mira entered the cockpit. "I'd call it the ass end of space, but that would be doing asses all over the galaxy a disservice."
"Contact ground control and get permission to land," Bastila instructed Skyre.
"Already done, we'll be dropping out of orbit in a minute or so."
"Very well," Bastila said as she settled into the navigator's seat.
"Remind me again why we're on this dustbowl?" Mira asked Bastila asked they walked through the streets of Morishim's lone spaceport.
"The ship needs a captain," Bastila replies.
"And there just happens to be a quality ship's captain here?"
Bastila glanced up at a sign overhanging the door to a cantina. "As a matter of fact, yes," she told Mira before entering the bar.
The cantina was, to Mira's eyes, unremarkable for an establishment of its type. The requisite Bith band, a holoprojection in this case, played in one corner of the low lit room. A long bar with an illuminated counter top ran down the opposite wall. In between humans and a smattering of more exotic life forms mingled and spoke in hushed tones.
Bastila briefly scanned the occupants of the cantina before making a beeline for the back of the room. Mira followed Bastila and they came to a stop in front of a man nursing a drink at the end of the bar.
"Are you Lieutenant Colm Abrik?" Bastila asked.
"I'm Colm Abrik," the man replied, "but I ain't no lieutenant, not anymore." He spoke with a drawl that marked him as a resident of an Outer Rim colony. Abrik was a tall man with medium length light brown hair and a perpetually sardonic expression on his face. From the faded uniform pants he wore, to the half-empty bottle sitting in front of him he had the look of a veteran . He turned and looked at Bastila and Mira for the first time. "Nobody's called me Lieutenant in a long time, who're you?"
"My name is Bastila Shan, and this is my associate Mira," Bastila began. "We came here to make you a proposition."
"I don't make deals with Jedi," Colm said. "Folks who do tend to end up in a world of hurt at best, or deadish at worst."
"I have a ship," Bastila said, continuing her sales pitch. "I already have a good pilot, now I need a good captain, you."
"Me? You must have me confused with somebody else." Colm finished off his shot and poured another drink.
"I have seen your record Mr. Abrik and I believe you're the right man for the job."
"And what is the job?" Colm asked.
"I can't tell you, not yet at least. But rest assured it is of vital importance to the continued safety of the Republic."
Colm laughed into his shot glass. "I thought you Jedi were supposed to be all clever-like. If you've seen my file then you know my feelings vis-à-vis the Republic."
"I do, which is why I'm not going to try to appeal to your sense of goodwill. If you do this you will be well compensated."
Colm set down his glass. "How well?"
Bastila held up a miniature holoprojector and an image of the Errant Vow appeared. "I will give you my ship."
"You're going to give me your ship?" Colm asked, the surprise evident in his voice.
"You're giving him the ship?" Mira echoed, equally surprised.
"I have no need for a ship of this sort once this mission is concluded," Bastila explained. "Mr. Abrik on the other is, how long have you been living here Mr. Abrik?"
"Too long," Colm replied. "But what are the chances that I go along with you, but not get that fancy ship? And by that I mean that you, me, and the ship end up as nothing more than our component molecules."
"I won't lie to you, there is a strong chance of that happening," Bastila told Colm.
"See that's the sort of thing a fellow needs to know before he enters into a business arrangement with a Jedi."
A familiar tingle at the base of her neck caused Mira to pull her attention away from the conversation. She noticed that the other customers had all vanished and a glance towards the front of the bar explained why. A familiar trio of matte-gray droids were making their way towards Mira.
"Oh son of a bitch!" Mira muttered to herself. "Bastila, we have a little problem."
Bastila turned her head and saw the HK-50 droids approaching them. "I guess Carth was not as convincing as he might have wanted," She said. "Mr. Abrik, if you would mind waiting a moment while we handle..." Bastila turned back to look at Colm, but saw that he had disappeared. "That is disappointing."
"Statement: Attention organic meatbags. We have been instructed to bring you to our employer. Please come along quietly, failure to comply will result in the initiation of armed negotiations."
"So these are the HK-47 knock-offs?" Bastila asked Mira.
"These would be them," Mira confirmed. She inched her hand towards the droid disruptor she carried.
"They rather pale in comparison to the original," Bastila noted.
"Irritated Repetition: You will accompany us peacefully."
"I think not," Bastila said. She raised her hand and blasted the lead droid with a bolt of Force energy. The droid seized up and toppled to the ground.
Bastila felt a blaster rifle press against her head and heard the distinctive sound of a stealth field deactivate. "Smug taunting: Foolish meatbag, did you really think it would be that easy?"
"I certainly had hoped so," Bastila replied. She glanced over at Mira and saw that another HK unit was holding a blaster to her head as well.
"Statement: Not even your vaunted Jed reflexes can dodge a shot from this close range. Your only course of action now is surrender."
"I reckon there's still a few other options open," Colm said as he aimed his oversized blaster at the HK droid. "Let's see how well you can dodge." Colm fired a shot directly into the droid's head.
As the droid slumped to the floor Bastila seized the opening. She reached out with the Force and tossed Mira away from the droid threatening her. Without pausing to see where Mira fell Bastila launched herself at the two droids standing in front of the bar's door. She twisted through the air, dodging blaster fire and landed in between the droids. Her lightsaber flashed on and she separated the droids' heads from their bodies with a single, twirling stroke.
Mira spun around as she flew across the bar and fired an ion grenade with her wrist launcher. The grenade exploded at the HK's feet and overloaded the droid's circuits. Mira let her momentum carry her into a somersault and she landed gracefully on her feet.
Colm took in the wrecked droids that littered the floor. "Well that was mighty impressive. Tell me, is that sort of thing usual for you folks?"
"No, usually we face a real challenge," Bastila said as she straightened her robes.
"Uh, hey, crazy Jedi lady, are you there?" Toman's voice said over Bastila's com.
"Yes, Mr. Skyre?" Bastila asked.
"A bunch of homicidal droids tried to break into the ship. I turned on the ship's self-defense routines and that took care of them. But I thought you'd like to know."
"Are you still at the landing pad?"
"Are you kidding? Those droids might come back. I'm flying around trying to stay out of sight."
"Very good, meet us outside of town. We're done here." Bastila looked at Colm. "Well Mr. Abrik, now that you've seen the risks are you still interested in our offer?"
"Can't say I'm too fond of being shot at, but I can't say I'm too fond of staying on this rock much longer either. I guess you've got yourself a captain."
"In that case welcome aboard Captain, your ship awaits."
"This is a nice little ship you have here," Colm said as he, Bastila and Mira walked through the corridors of the Errant Vow.
"It should prove more than adequate for whatever endeavors you undertake after I am done with it," Bastila said.
"Yeah, about that, ship seems kinda empty. What is there by way of crew?"
"That would be me," Skyre said as he stepped in front of the others. "Toman Skyre, I fly the ship and don't ask questions."
"Colm Abrik, I guess I'm the ship's captain."
"Well then Captain, I guess you're the one I tell that we've cleared the planet's gravity and are ready for the jump to hyperspace."
"That's an excellent question. Where're we headed boss?" Colm asked Bastila.
"Set a course for Onderon Mr. Skyre," Bastila said.
"Onderon, great, because I for one can't get enough of giant flying lizards and civil strife." Skyre headed back towards the cockpit muttering quietly to himself.
"He's not all there is he?" Colm asked.
"We hauled him out of the space mines of Kessel," Mira said. "If you ignore the crazy, the guy can fly a ship, so it's a wash."
"You certainly have interesting standards for your crew," Colm told Bastila.
"I had to if I decided you were the right man to captain the ship," Bastila replied.
"That cut me right to the quick," Colm said. "So other than the giant lizards, which I am greatly looking forward to seeing, what's so interesting about Onderon that we have to go visit?"
"Another member of your crew Captain," Bastila said. "Your cabin is down the hall. I trust you can get yourself settled."
"That I can. Thank-you kindly." Colm entered his cabin and closed the door.
"Now then, I think it's time for your weapon's training," Bastila told Mira.
"So why him?" Mira asked Bastila as they sparred in the empty cargo hold.
"Captain Abrik you mean?"
"Yeah, what's so special about him?"
"He was a good officer in the war and a steady hand is necessary for where we are going."
Mira ducked Bastila blade but was unable to capitalize on the opening. "That didn't really answer my question," she said.
"That's all the answer you will get," Bastila replied. "And you are not opening yourself up to the Force enough. You have to do better if you want to have any hope of surviving against the Sith."
"I can hold my own against the Sith," Mira said.
"You have never fought a true Sith Lord," Bastila said. "Unless the Force is your ally you will be destroyed, or worse turned." She shut down her lightsaber. "Come, I'll show you a simple meditation routine to help you with your control."
"I told you, I don't want to be a Jedi," Mira snapped.
"Why not? Based on what I've heard from your compatriots you quite willingly allowed General Graff to begin your training."
"You've never met Dacen, have you," Mira said.
"No, I haven't," Bastila admitted.
"He has this way of explaining something to you, and no matter how crazy it sounds you know it's absolutely right."
"I had heard he was very persuasive."
"He made me want to be a Jedi. I thought we were going to heal the galaxy together. And before you say anything there wasn't anything romantic going on between us."
"I wasn't going to say anything. The bonds between master and apprentice are strong enough without romantic entanglement," Bastila said.
"Right, that it exactly, Dacen said we were going to fix the galaxy, all of us. Me, him, Atton, Visas, Bao-Dur..." Mira's voice trailed off.
"But instead he ran off after his old leader and left you behind," Bastila finished for Mira. "Yes, I think I understand how you feel. I also felt betrayed when Revan left. But if you honor General Graff's memory you must complete your training. He obviously intended for you and your companions to take an active role in the Jedi and Republic's rebuilding efforts."
"You just don't get it. I don't know if it was my decision or his. The others didn't care. Becoming a Jedi was either something they always wanted or gave them some measure of redemption for their past." Mira said. "If I do decide to do this, become a Jedi, I want it to be my decision. Not because somebody else decided it for me as part of his master plan. Not because it's the 'Will of the Force.' What I am or am not is my call, and nobody, least of all you, is going to change that." She turned on her heel and stormed out of the cargo bay.
Bastila watched Mira leave the room and sighed, "There's much anger in her," she thought. "If she cannot find some measure off peace I'm not sure what will happen."
On board the bridge of a warship in deep space an officer dressed in a Sith uniform walked up to a figure dressed in black robes. "My lord," the officer said. "We just received word from the Hutts. It seems their initial attempts at eliminating Jedi Shan failed. They are requesting additional funds to continue their efforts."
The dark figure turned around. His face was hidden by the cowl of his robe. "Insolent slugs, they would never have dared defy us in the past. Terminate the contract, and send an assassination squad to make an example of a Hutt or three."
"That will be extremely difficult my Lord," the officer stammered.
"I am aware of the difficulties Captain, but despite our recent reverses we must maintain our standards."
"As you wish my lord. What about the Jedi Shan?"
"She will be dealt with, the threat she poses to our plans is too great. We cannot allow her to learn Revan's fate." The Sith Lord fell silent for a long moment. "I have a plan, but I will have to discuss it with my master first."
The captain nodded, "As you wish my lord."
-to be continued-
Author's notes: That didn't take long. I certainly hope some clever persons have figured out where these "original" characters are coming from, but if anyone hasn't why spoil it:) Chapter Three is coming along, give it a week or two. Until then thanks for reading.
-sam 09/03/2005