Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Bioware and Lucas Arts own it all! I don't want to be sued. Don't tell them, though: I'm taking credit for Landyr and Dacob. Shhhhhh.
A/N: Bet you didn't think I would upload another chapter this soon! Ha I fooled you! Well. I confess this was a form of procrastination. Ah, the school life.
This chapter, to some of y'all dismay, does not feature my Revan. Yes, she's still healing. So, we follow around Dacob Chaar and Carth Onasi doing some manly things. Well not really. This was just a filler chapter to prepare for the bulk of Taris. It's so daunting... ugh.
Response to Reviews:
MK: If you are worried about being overly critical, I say be. Actually if you are overly critical, it's better. You can help me. Basically you can become my sidekick with your reviews, which are fantastic the way they are. I agree with you about combat scenes. I loathe them, but I do understand the need to have a good one once and awhile, and well, my was boring and not exactly up to par. But putting that aside, I will try to make them better. In response to your addiction question, you hit it spot on! We'll hear from a certain doctor next chapter who'll explain that a little better. I quite liked being able to use the first-person as introductory to my characters, but I prefer 3rd person and I feel that does come out in my writing. In regards to journalism, my mother was also a journalist and had taught be to do that wonderful rule. Except, I tend not to use it as I am a bit of a rambler. I like details, but unfortunately I focus on some of the less important ones. But hopefully by writing and having critiques, I shall become better at reeling in my mind and the details that spew from it.
Your review on ch 3: Oh, yes. I love Trask. Too bad he died. I like that you liked my OC being in the pod with them and all. But unfortunately, he doesn't last very long. I'm sorry if you particularly liked him. I feel terrible now. I should have done to him what you're about to read. And in regards to Taris: OH MY GOODNESS. It just has to take up a good chunk of the plot. And it is not too interesting. I will be straying from some plot aspects because exploring them all would take a good ten chapters of about 3,000 words. And I am sooo glad you enjoy the story. Keep at being awesome!
~PlaguedPorcelain
Chapter 4
Dacob, the stronger of the two men, cradled Landyr's head gently as they scrambled away from the wreckage. They had not prepared for the landing as well as they could. She had been leaning too far forward, yelling to him. He was still trying to secure his gun in its holster as they impacted the city. As they came to a screeching halt, her head had snapped back and connected with the corner of her headrest. The shrieking of the metal against the street had left him and Carth somewhat deaf, just as if a bomb had gone off near them. And he had lost his blaster. What a perfect day it was turning out to be.
Luckily for them, they had crashed down just after dawn, the grey cloud covering gave them anonymous identities, moving through the crowds of people going to work in the early hours of the morn. Hiding amidst the running bodies they were able to sneak into an apartment complex. Was it fate again that allowed them to stumble into a complex that had a vacant apartment? Whether it was or not was up to the Gods, because they only cared about being able to stay there. After paying the small price of 500 credits for the apartment for the next two month, they hurriedly went to their hideout.
They only had so much time. They needed to stop the blood seeping from her head and get her to a doctor. It would be more beneficial for them though to be able to just treat it themselves, but the cut seemed too deep. Carth did not want to take any risks, given her history with head injuries. After bandaging her head and mostly stopping the bleeding, Carth let Dacob venture to the local Doctor's after reviewing a map of the city.
After travelling the city block to the medical facility, passing the crowds and Sith troopers as they surveyed the crashed escape pod, Dacob was relieved to find the good doctor in shop. Rushing over to the medical table, not bothering to listen to the assistance, he demanded attention. "My wife is hurt! Please, she needs medicine!"
The doctor, an elderly man, turned from his experiments on what appeared to be kolto. "Son, there's no need to shout." He removed his old gloves, opting for new ones. As soon as he had them, he began to check her status. "What is the problem?"
"She hit her head on something. I don't know what. But, when I came home…" he stammered as the man lifted her head slowly to look at the wound.
"She must have had a ship fall on her… Oh." He turned back to Dacob. "What's your name, young man?"
"Dac Chaar. And my wife is Lanni. We were staying with her family here on Taris for a holiday and then the Sith took over." He offered the best lie he could. He didn't travel often with his wife to stay with her family, but knew relatively what such travels consisted of. He knew how to make it believable.
Yet, this doctor's eyes sparkled with understanding, not of his pathetic story, but he was sympathizing with him. "She was hurt when the Republic pod crashed, no?"
"Yes, she was." He admitted shyly.
"I will treat her free of charge then. Well, under one condition." He sighed as he injected a heavy dose of kolto into her arm. "I need you to deliver a highly prized medicine to the Lavin estate. Mrs. Lavin has pneumonia and needs this respiratory relief medicine." He handed the shot to Dacob before continuing. "I shall put your wife in a kolto tank and when you come back, she should be ready to be cared for at her family's place. Good travels, Dac Chaar."
Not really wanting to run an errand for the man, it was a small price to pay for a treatment they did not have the money for. Having spent most of it on supplies and the rent, they had a little over 230 credits left in their pockets. The Republic couldn't really pay their soldiers while they thought them dead or while they were stranded on a planet occupied by the Sith.
Which was something he had a huge problem with. None of the citizens really minded that they were being quarantined and watched like hawks. He was ready to lose his mind after seeing all of the troopers walk around. Maybe it was just his trigger finger, but he would rather they be lying dead in the streets.
He spent the next hour at the Lavin estate, waiting for clearance or being interrogated. Luckily for him he had had time to perfect his husband story and was much more believable. He had explained it to at least twelve different men who were responsible for Lavin's security. How much money did they have in order to pay the hiring price of some of the mercenaries they had?
After being body searched too many times for his comfort and his brain aching from the same questions he had been asked over and over again, he began the long walk back to the medical center. Groaning at the idea of having to carry Landyr back to their new apartment, he elected to take the long path, going through the heart of the streets instead of the back ones he had taken beforehand to get to the Lavin estate.
"Officer, there!" Turning as he heard the words, he spied a woman and a Sith trooper off a little ways away with the woman pointing at him. Shit, he had seen her this morning.
Bolting, he ran from the scene with the Sith chasing after him and calling out orders. He was thankful that Landyr had exercised him while they were on the Endar Spire. If she hadn't, he would be short of breath. As soon as he thought he may be safe, he had turned down an alley with a dead end. Great! Any of the other weapons they had in their inventory that would be helpful in this situation were tucked away in a footlocker only Carth could access. Of course the war veteran had thought that carrying blasters would make them look suspicious. But they might have been bloody helpful as four Sith soldiers cautiously walked towards him with their rifles raised and pointing at him.
"Okay boys, I give," Dacob raised his hands in the air, surrendering. "Go ahead. Shoot me, just like you shot my ship out of the sky."
"Shut up!" Came a feminine voice. "Hands over your head!"
"Yes, milady. Sorry about calling you a boy and whatnot." He stayed put as they advanced on him, roughly grabbing his arms and handcuffing him.
"You're under arrest for treason."
"Fantastic."
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
After Dacob had been gone with Landyr for over three hours, Carth had begun to worry. Either there had been a medical complication or even worse they had been found out. But if that was the case, why was he not dead or behind a prison cell's forcefield? Going to the weapons' footlocker, he took out the smallest blaster, the one he would be able to hide in his coat pocket. Making sure the room looked clean and un-Republic, he left, hurrying to doctor's.
As he arrived, he slowed his pace and tried to think of something he could say. Who knew what Dacob had told the man? As the doctor spotted him, he nodded his greeting and said, "There was a red-headed woman brought her recently. I'm her husband."
Judging by the doctor's raised eyebrows, Dacob had used the husband card. Shit. "Can I see her," still trying to play it up.
"Are you a Sith sympathizer?" was the blatant question that was whispered from the man's mouth.
"No," he confirmed as he moved closer to murmur. "My name is Carth Onasi. I'm a Lieutenant for the Republic. That woman in there is one of my troops." He had made a risky move, telling this man. In fact, he did not know why he had. He was the distruster. That was his M.O. Yet he basically just told him everything.
"Come with me." He looked over his shoulder, passed Carth to his assistance who was busily working on a droid. Deducing that it was safe to enter his back room, he pressed in the code and ushered Carth quickly inside.
In addition to Landyr's tank, several of the other kolto tanks were filled with Republic officers. "My men… are they? Are they dead?"
"Yes, or nearly so," was the faint verdict.
"And her?"
"No." He was relieved to hear the doctor say so, yet he felt guilty about the other troops. Why were they not able to live when he had been through such a terrible landing?
"Is she better?"
"Well. That's relative. She is better than she was after your crash. Her wound is healed, yet there was already some brain damage…"
"Yeah, she has a hard time remembering events from prior days. She had been taking medicine for delusions and pain from a previous injury and the memory loss was just a side effect. At least, that is what her file said." Carth ran a hand through his hair. What was really going on here? "Where is the man that brought her?"
"I sent him on an errand to make up for her treatment. Was he an officer?"
"Yes."
"Ah, well…" The doctor looked terrified of Carth, who narrowed his eyes. "I've been told that he has been arrested, for treason."
"Damnit," he slammed his hands onto the table startling the man. "Since you were so keen to make a bargain with one of my men, how about I make one with you? You treat both of us, me and the woman, for a reduced charge whenever we need it. You threw the life of a very good soldier away. I find this request to be a small atonement for that." Taking some credits from his pocket, he put them on the table in front of the doctor. "This is for caring for my other soldiers."
Going over to the kolto tank that held Landyr, he drained it and picked her up, dressing her in a robe. "What is your name?"
"Zelka Forn."
As he left the back room, Carth called over his shoulder, "It'll be helpful when I tell her of the death of our friend." Walking past the assistant, he made his way idly down the street to their apartment complex. As soon as they were in the room, Carth set her down on the only available bed. He boiled some water for tea and sat down, preparing himself for a lot of thinking.
He was disturbed once as he heard her start talking in her restless sleep. "No. No! Please…ugh. Trask… don't." He found it slightly comforting that her subconscious had remembered the Battle on the Endar Spire. And then they changed. "Master…Kreia, please. Don't make him touch me!" she shrieked. "No, please. It's not… not … the Jedi way."
As her dream got more violent, she started thrashing about. Carth came to her side, steadying her and saving her from her own dreams. He did not feel as if her head should be whipping around in nightmarish reaction given her recent wound. "It's okay," he calmed. "It's alright. I'm here, Landyr."
"My name!" she whispered. "My name… Revan! No. Don't! Revan! Please. Manda. Manda. Save me." Though perturbed and confused by her dreams, he stayed by her side until she settled down again. Returning to the chair meant he had to return to thinking about the lives of his soldiers. Instead, he lay down next to her in attempt to feel comfort from her. She was his last surviving crew member and he would make sure she stayed that way. Who knew if Bastila was still alive? He prayed she was. But he knew that Landyr was and when it came down to it, he needed motivation. And she gave him that. Her survival was his goal, though second to finding Bastila. It was still important to him though. She had become important to him the minute she was signed onto the crew.
It had to be fate. Why else would she still be alive? There was something he didn't quite understand and distrusted, yet he felt comfortable knowing this fact. Maybe it was the soft lulling of her eased breathing beckoning him asleep after a very long, very stressing day. Or maybe he was just starting to go mad. Yes, that's it. It was madness.
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
Awaking, he found her unmoved. Rising, he yawned and made sure to check her head wound before making a breakfast of toast and tea. Today was a day of scouting and inventory. He had acquired a new jacket, a bright orange one. It was better he stay away from the Republic uniform he had worn escaping the crash. And the plain clothes he had found in the garbage next to their complex did not really fit him. This outfit, though, given to him by the landlord who was sympathetic to their cause, also had a pair of black pants. His wife had even given Landyr a nice pair of black shorts, a white tee and a black leather jacket. The couple had said it would be getting cold soon and they would need the warmth from the jackets.
Finishing slipping on his boots, he straightened the disgustingly colored jacket, preparing to go scout. He felt as if she was safe enough to leave. Making sure the windows and the footlocker were locked before he exited, he finished by securing the door. Might as well find out what happened to Chaar, he thought to himself and set about his tasks.
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
After a long day, he returned to her sleeping form. It has been two days. How long is she going to be out? Well, we can't look for Bastila until she's able-bodied. Damn, if only Chaar hadn't been shouting at her.
If only I had not allowed them to go alone to the medical center.
Ending Notes: Those who were beginning to love Dacob, do you feel crushed now that I have taken him from you? On other notes, do you like having questions to answer? Does it help write reviews?
Oh! I'll start this again. If you review first for this chapter, I'll either review one of your stories OR I will consider doing a co-write on one chapter. What say you?
REVIEW my lovelies! - I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West.
~PlaguedPorcelain
