Chapter 4: Lost in Space

The Glorious Savior at last came out of lightspeed. The trip through lightspeed had taken just a tad longer than expected, and now the crew was faced with an unfamiliar area of space. They all staggered to their feet, some of the more green crew members slightly nauseous from the trip. Carth looked out into the vast emptiness presented before him. There was no planet in sight.

"We're not in the Outer Rim…." Carth muttered. He turned to his navigator. "You! Can you tell us where we are?"

The Navigator checked his computer screen for a brief moment. He frowned, as though something where out of place, checked again, and then finally, turned back to Carth and said: "Sir, the Nav Computer isn't registering with the area. I think…I think we may be in uncharted space."

"Uncharted Space? How did that happen? In fact, how is that even possible?"

"I don't know sir. I think their might have been a slight malfunction with the hyperdrive when we made the jump to lightspeed. It's sent us to some unmapped section of space. Or at least, that's my best guess. I'm no hyperdrive expert"

"Wait…." Carth said. "How did a malfunction happen? Hyperdrive's aren't poorly made...get an engineer team down there now!"

"That will not be necessary."

Carth turned. It was the Jedi Knight Daemon. He stepped forward and spoke again, in a tone that was both calm and serious:

"I sense deceit here. There is a traitor on board. I suggest we locate him or her and interrogate them about the sabotaged hyperdrive."

"Good idea" Carth responded. He turned to his lieutenant, who immediately stood at attention. "Lieutenant! Get a security team and round up the crew! If we're going to interrogate everyone on board, it's going to take a while, so why don't we get started no—wait, where is the navigator?"

As the admiral asked his question, the traitorous navigator was sprinting through the halls of the ship, knocking over everything and anything in his path: droids, objects of machinery, even fellow crewmembers were all shoved to the ground. The navigator knew that if the security team, or worse, if the Jedi caught him, he'd be doomed. So he kept running, not even stopping to catch his breath, which he was becoming desperately short on (likely due to his "big bones".) He looked over his shoulder. Security Officers where already running after him.

"There he is!" The security team leader shouted. "Set for stun!"

The navigator swerved and sprinted down the halls to the escape pod area. As the security team opened fire, the navigator leaped into one of the escape pods and detached it. As it shot out, he thought on his current situation. He had sabotaged the hyperdrive in an act of betrayal in the hopes that the Sith would spare him when they inevitably triumphed. But now that he was adrift in uncharted space, his situation looked just as bad. He looked out of the observation window and saw a massive planet. It had land, but was surrounded by water. It looked like a world that could support life, but areas of the planet where lit up in what could only be devastating fires. As the navigator was looking, he did not notice a large vessel descending on his area. On board, the ship's helmsman reported to the shipmaster, sitting on his personal gravitational throne on the bridge:

"Commander, there is a small vessel nearby. I believe it contains a human, if the scanners are correct. What are your orders?"

The Supreme Commander turned to the helmsman and growled: "No human must survive to continue their war with the covenant. Destroy it immediately"

"Yes sir." The Helmsman turned to the gunners manning the ship's cannons "Fire on that vessel!" He shouted.

The gunners nodded and opened fire. The escape pod was destroyed just like that and the treacherous navigator along with it. Meanwhile, back on the Glorious Savior, the bridge was bustling with activity. They'd just lost contact with their launched escape pod, and no one seemed to really have any idea on what was going on, or determine where the Glorious Savior was.

"Well?" Carth asked. "What happened?"

"I should think it's obvious."

Carth turned. It was the Jedi again. "The navigator's escape pod has been destroyed. And I'm sensing another vessel is on its way here. I believe it may be the Sith. I recommend we plot a course for that nearby planet and figure out our next move there."

"Good idea. Helmsman, set a course for that nearby planet. And step on it."

The Glorious Savior made its way to the planet, but as they drew closer, they saw a fleet of ships they did not recognize converging on it. These massive ships where unleashing fleets of smaller vessels that looked like something resembling troop transports. They were all headed to around the same area of the planet, which was brightly lit, indicating a lot of activity on the planet's surface. The Jedi Daemon looked at the fleet grimly. He had a feeling they where no friends of that planet. And he could sense the cries of anguish down below. As a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars, he had a good idea of what was likely going on.

Carth turned to him, still composed, with no fear visible on his face. Only in his words. "Listen, our ship is a standard Republic capital ship. That is an entire fleet that could posses' weapons we have never even seen before. To put it plainly, any sort of engagement would amount to suicide."

"I agree. But we are not going to abandon this planet. Not when it looks to be under attack from a very large fleet. Admiral, direct our ship to the other side of the planet, and do so as discreetly as possible. As you said, an engagement at this time would be…unwise."

"All right. But just to clarify: you don't give orders on this ship. I do."

Daemon turned to him, his tone becoming a tad sharper: "Keep in mind Admiral Onasi. I am your ace-in-the-hole here. I am also a Jedi Knight, so don't presume I carry no authority. I've seen just as many horrible things in my day as you have, so don't think that elevates your position either. But as it stands, I'm not here to pick a fight with you. I'm here to help you"

Carth nodded and then stared out at the planet that the Glorious Savior was about to land on…