Disclaimer: i obviously don't own the awesome KotOR or it's franchise, Bioware does!
Now, she thought, was the time to strike.
Odis gripped the steering wheel. "Hang on!'
Bastila hurried to her seat and strapped herself in, bracing herself for possibly another bumpy ride. The last time the pilot said those words she nearly emptied her breakfast, and she wasn't keen on having the same incident repeated.
Odis flew the shuttle towards Revan's flagship, weaving in and out enemy fighters. His flying was so coordinated and skillful, Bastila had to wonder whether the man was force sensitive. Once getting a clear view of the flagship, Odis flipped some switches and said to his co-pilot, "Route power the cannons, full charge. Target Revan's hyperdrive" The co-pilot complied, handling the orders efficiently and targeting the flagship's hyperdrive.
"Steady...fire!"
Odis' co-pilot complied, and the figures in the cockpit watched the flying missile with an unwavering tension of hope and suspense. The missile shot through space, directly into the hyperdrive of Revan's flagship. A satisfying explosion could be seen and Odis cheered. "KRIFF, YEAH! Take that, Revan! Odis is gonna bring your kriffing mask right down to the kriffing floor!"
Bastila resisted the urge to cover her ears from the insults, instead forcing herself to focus on more pressing and vital actions. "I'm manning the turrets," stated Bastila. She unstrapped herself from her seat with lightning speed and ran to the cockpit exit. "Some one needs to destroy the ship's primary thrusters. Anyara, inform the others we're about to board the flagship. Odis, take us down there. NOW!" Bastila barked orders to the others. It was almost time to perform the most dangerous part of the mission yet, and she had to keep focused as Anyara pointed out to her. Now was the moment of truth.
Bastila climbed up the ladder to the manual turrets, lunging for the rudders with her hands. Once inside the tight space of the turret room, she slipped into the seat and grasped the controls wildly. She shot randomly at enemy starfighters, at first, getting a feel of the firepower and controls. After that little round of target practise, she shouted over her comlink. "Odis, get in closer to the flagship. I need a clear shot of the thrusters!"
*"On it."*
Bastila felt the ship lurch forward and readied the controls when suddenly, she felt her throat constricting painfully and struggle to inhale air. Panicking, she realised the life support was failing and shouted through the Force. No! Not now, she screamed. Not now! Bastila's lungs were burning for air, and she gagged and wheezed with struggle. She faintly heard Anyara's voice over her comlink, her head beginning to feel dangerously faint.
*"Bastila? Bastila! Forget the thrusters. Get the hell out of there! NOW!"*
She groped for the hatch handle that would lead her back to the main body of the shuttle. Holding in what little breath she had left, Bastila pulled the hatch door open with all her strength and scrambled for the cockpit, shutting the security doors that separated the cargo hold and turret rooms from the rest of the shuttle. Fortunately, there were no vital supplies stored in the hold and the other areas of the shuttle still had oxygen pumping through the vents. She returned to the cockpit where a very anxious Anyara stood, gasping for air.
"Oh, Force, Bastila! Are you alright?"
"The-the rest of the team. Are...are they alright?" Bastila shook with worry and shock. If they had all suffocated to death, the entire mission would be compromised, 41 lives taken in the process.
Please let them be alive. Please...
She was visibly relieved when Anyara nodded and opened her mouth. "Yes, they are. You must inform them our pilot is about to charge through the hangar bay doors. It will be quick; we have to get through the emergency blast doors before they activate. The ride may get bumpy."
A flicker of resentment ignited in the back of her mind at Anyara's commanding words. She was supposed to be in charge of the mission, not Anyara. This was Bastila's time to prove she could succeed in the important task given to her, not Anyara's.
But Anyara is a Jedi Knight who has six more years of experience in skills and knowledge. What are you but a lowly Padawan? A child? The Jedi Council only chose you to lead the mission because of your battle meditation. Take that away and you're nothing to them. Absolutely nothing.
Bastila, massaging her still aching throat, and furrowed her eyebrows at her loathing thoughts. She knew that it was the Dark Side that was influencing them. Or...did she? She could not help but feel that the thoughts ringed with truth.
The Jedi Council did only choose her because of her rare force ability of Battle Meditation. Of course she was the perfect choice for the dangerous mission. With her battle meditation, she could boost the morale of her allies, raising their chances of succession. Of course they would choose her to participate in the darkest battle. They thought that her rare ability could win everything for them, and so they utilized it as a powerful, dangerous tool; a tool with restrictions.
After all, Bastila was still just an ordinary Padawan, at the bottom of the Jedi Ranks, and with no sure signs of ever ascending. The Jedi Council had to watch her and her actions carefully, wary of the possibility she would suddenly lash out at the world with her potential power, should they give her the freedom and authority of a Jedi Master. The various masters she had been assigned to in the past were pleased with her progress, of course, but there was always something holding her back. Her tendency to be impulsive, for one thing.
It was only because of her rare battle meditation that they paid attention to and cared for her at all.
Bastila shrugged off the thoughts, for the time being, at least, and staggered towards the entrance to the main hold, still shell shocked from her ordeal in the turret room. Stopping at the door to the main hold, she hastily smoothed down the creases in her brown and beige bodysuit and brushed back her brown hair, making herself look at least slightly presentable. Bastila cleared her throat for good measure, then pressed the button of the door, sliding it open for her to face the strike team. She waited until all in the room turned their heads to her.
"We are about to board Revan's flagship," she said, surveying their faces, memorising each of their expressions, their eyes. She knew that some, she would never again see. And she knew that only a faction of the Jedi and soldiers in this room would possibly survive the battle ahead, including herself.
Taking a second to steady her voice, Bastila continued. "This will be the most crucial part of our mission. We need every soldier and Jedi at their stations in order for our boarding to succeed.
"Firearms," a majority of heads tilted up at her words, giving them their full attention. "I need you to cover for everyone loading off the ramp. Station yourselves around the ramp base and inside the shuttle. Once everyone is out and fighting, spread to the right and left flanks and keep on the lookout for enemy attacks.
"All Jedi, keep to the front lines and rear and cut down the enemy by your means.
"Grenadiers, launch a new wave at each enemy attack we encounter, but do not engage with launchers in the middle of the battle. Proceed with launchers only at every new attack, otherwise, continue normal fire." Bastila's mind raced, searching for any flaws in her plan. Finding none, she reached for her double-bladed lightsaber, a small but vital action of preparation. "Keep in your seats until I raise the signal. Am I clear?"
There was a chorus of "Yes, Commander"s and a few murmured "Yeah"s. Bastila took this as enough of an affirmative answer and walked back to the cockpit. When she saw Anyara, the feeling of resentment came back to her, but she paid little attention to it, coming to the one, stable conclusion that she knew was true: that Anyara was her friend, and that she would never intentionally harm her in any way. Bastila twitched the corners of her mouth up into a brief smile, despite the circumstances. Anyara didn't notice, but Bastila did not mind; her smile had reached the one person it had been sent to reassure: herself.
"I suppose we have no choice but to forget about the primary thrusters. It is too late for that now," began Bastila. She opened the communications channel of the shuttle. "Everyone, strap yourselves in. We're going in through the hanger bay doors." She rushed to her seat. "Odis, breach the hangar bay shields and get us in there before the blast doors lock us out. It's all up to you right now."
Odis quivered slightly at all the pressure that was being placed upon his shoulders. "Alright, Shan."
Bastila was about to open her mouth to scoff him for his informal attitude, but she instead decided against it. Now was not the time to fuss over formality. The reality of the current situation at last, hit her. They were about to board Revan's flagship. Well, assuming they didn't get blasted into oblivion by enemy fighters in the process. The mission was just beginning.
"Glin, get ready to fire. Target the ship's hanger bay ray shields," Odis said to his co-pilot.
"Yes Sir."
As the cannons were recharging and Odis continued weaving through star fighters, Bastila felt herself uncontrollably shake under the influence of nerves. She found that the silence before the battle was always the most intense, nerve-racking part of war. Bastila had had her fair share of battles, but none of those could compare to what she felt now, minutes before the board. She would have to face the Darth Revan, the Sith lord who left a dark trail of destruction where ever he went. Not even her battle meditation had done much good so far in the war.
"Bastila, remember, we must focus. It's almost time," Anyara said.
Bastila regarded her words. She may be flawed, she thought. But so was Revan. And when those flaws appeared out in the open, she would strike.
When Bastila saw Glin fire the missile and the flagship's hangar bay shields go offline, she reached for the shuttle communications channel and spoke through the microphone. "Strike team, take positions for boarding Revan's flagship. We're going in."
Odis violently swung the shuttle downwards, towards the hangar bay. He narrowly swerved through flying laser bolts, missiles and starships. A foreign sense of adrenaline filled Bastila as she experienced the thrilling sensations of danger and flying; as a Jedi, it was rare for her to feel such exhilaration. The typical life of a Jedi was one lacking of excitement and thrill. Bastila may as well have been thrown into a different, unfamiliar universe.
As they edged closer, she inhaled sharply upon seeing the ship's hangar blast doors activate. But the speed they were going at was incredible. Bastila's head was thrown backwards and her cheeks jiggled with force. She held her breath in anticipation. They were going to make it before the doors closed, she was sure of it.
All of her hopes were dashed when the ship lurched and a small explosion erupted. Bastila gagged on the poisoning smell of smoke. "Odis?" she called.
He didn't straight away respond, his face set on their destination. "Just a few more metres, Commander! We're almost there," he muttered.
Glin shouted to him. "Shields are down at eight percent!"
"Life support?" asked Bastila.
"Still online at fifty-eight percent capacity."
Feeling somewhat slightly relieved, Bastila gripped her seat and struggled to keep her eyes open and alert. Within the next few seconds, they just managed to slip through the blast doors and enter the hangar, and for a moment, just a moment, Bastila's eyes lit up and she felt a pang of victory.
Suddenly, the shuttle skimmed through the hangar bay and she gasped as the ship flipped with a painful screeching of metal meeting metal. She felt her body defy gravity, limbs flailing as they were thrown into the air by force. Her blood rushed to her head and she identified the sharp, shrill noise that rang painfully in her ears as her own scream. Bastila desperately squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to block out the tumbling world from her mind, and after what felt like minutes, the world was at last still, and she had returned from the terrifying journey...or so she thought.
For the boarding had begun.
Anyara was already out of her seat, her indigo lightsaber ignited, and was pulling Bastila up when the barrage of enemy fire punctured the cockpit walls. Odis was hovering over Glin's unresponsive body, and Anyara had dispersed the strike team. Screams and battle cries could be heard echoing around the walls, accompanied with the loud, destructive sounds of explosions and blaster fire.
Bastila's head throbbed painfully as she staggered up and leaned on Anyara's arm. Everything was distorted. Her vision was blurry, and spots danced in front of her eyes. Her hearing was clouded, ears ringing with a dull pain.
Nothing was clear. Not the sounds she heard, the things she saw, nor the objects she touched.
She bent over and retched, though nothing was emptied from her stomach. She gasped, and choked, closing her hand around Anyara's wrist with a weak grip. "An...Anyara...help...me..."
And then she plummeted into darkness.
Author's Note:
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN! (mwahahahahahaahahaha)
anyway, as always, leave a review, my lovely readers! so, now we're up to the boarding of revan's flagship! i admit, i'm not very experienced in this field of writing, that is, action scenes. so, ideas and advice are also appreciated!
