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 Five

"Tom, what just happened?" Colm asked as they were tossed about cockpit.

"There was an explosion in the engine room. Somebody must have planted a bomb on the hull," Skyre replied as he fought with the ship's controls. "It knocked us out of hyperspace, and we've got a hull breach. I'm sealing off the engine room to minimize the breach."

Colm slid into the copilot's seat. "What do we have to work with?"

"Well, we're not in danger of falling out of the sky. That's the good news."

"What's the bad news?" Mira asked.

"The hyperdrive is...gone. We've got partial power to the sublights, but we're not getting far."

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Cheyn demanded as he entered the cockpit. A small trickle of blood flowed down his face from a cut over his right eye.

"Somebody planted a bomb on the hull," Colm said. "We're dealing with it."

"Who's going to take care of me? I'm bleeding here!"

"Mira, could you attend to Mr. Zevne?" Bastila asked..

"Fine," Mira huffed. "Come on you big baby." She grabbed Cheyn by the arm and dragged him out of the cockpit.

"Is he really a Mandalorian?" Skyre asked.

"Can we focus on the problem at hand?" Bastila asked. "Is there any sign of the Sith?"

Colm looked at the sensor scope. "I don't see anything, but that doesn't mean they aren't there."

"Where exactly are we?" Colm asked.

Skyre skimmed through the navicomputer. "Looks like the ass-end of nowhere to me."

"Any place we could set down and make some repairs?" Colm asked.

Skyre checked the computer again. "How about this, it's an abandoned farming colony on the edge of the system. According to the computer there still are some settlers living there. We should be able to make it there and patch the ship up enough to get to a real shipyard."

Colm nodded, "Get us there Tom, as quick as you can. I'm going to get a suit on and take a look at the damage to my boat."

---------

Bastila found Colm in the ship's kitchen. "How bad is it captain?"

"It's plenty bad," Colm said as he poured himself a mug of caff. "The bomb punched a hole in floor of the engine room big enough for me to fit through. We should be able to patch the hull breach but that's not the real problem."

"The hyperdrive?"

Colm nodded. "I'm fair handy with a hydro-spanner, but the whole unit is shot. We might be able to patch something together, but I wouldn't make a bet on it."

"Did you see any sign of a tracking device?" Bastila asked.

Colm shook his head. "Nothing with a blinking red light and sign that said 'Czerka Brand Tracker' no. Doesn't mean one ain't there though."

"It also doesn't mean there is one," Bastila pointed out. "If we must I have contacts we can call on, but I would rather not make any long distance transmissions that could be intercepted."

"I'll see what Tom and I can rig together," Colm said.

"I know you'll do your best Captain," Bastila said.

--------

Skyre brought the wounded Errant Vow down on the abandoned colony's lone landing pad. The entire crew disembarked from the ship and milled around the boarding ramp.

"Well, at least it's quiet," Skyre said as he scanned the horizon. There were a few small houses surrounding the landing site, but no one came out to greet the new arrivals.

"I'd go nutso if I had to live in a place like this," Cheyn said. "Too quiet."

"Oh I don't know," Colm said. "Quiet has its place."

"Quiet means I'm not getting paid."

Bastila cleared her throat to get the other's attention. "I think it would be best if Mira and I head to the largest settlement and see if anyone has the parts necessary to repair the hyperdrive," She said to Colm.

Colm nodded. "We can get started on the other repairs while you're away."

"We won't be gone long," Bastila promised. She and Mira climbed onboard the Errant Vow's utility speeder and flew off into the horizon.

Colm turned and faced Cheyn and Skyre. "Ok, Tom I want you to search the entire ship for that tracking device. I know it's here, no matter what the boss lady says."

"You got it captain," Skyre said.

"Cheyn, I want you to get in the turret and keep a lookout. We're sitting ducks down here and that don't sit right with me."

"Why don't we just take off now?" Cheyn asked. "It ain't us the Sith are after."

"If you hadn't noticed there's a big gaping hole in our ship," Skyre said. "Makes it a might hard to get places."

"Plus the Sith know the Jedi've been aboard the Vow so they're going to be looking for us, Jedi onboard or no," Colm explained. "Now get up in that turret before I decide to leave you on this rock."

"Alright, I was just making a suggestion," Cheyn said.

"In the future I suggest you keep those suggestions to yourself," Colm snapped. "The Jedi hired us to do a job and I intend to see that job through. Now let's get to work."

-------

Bastila and Mira drove in silence across the flat and unremarkable terrain of the former colony. In the distance they could see the signs of a settlement.

"This place very much reminds me of Dantooine," Bastila said. "Before Malak of course."

"Have you been back?" Mira asked.

"To Dantooine? No, I have not. I would like to, but circumstance has always gotten in the way."

"You should, just to see the results of the Jedi's hubris."

Bastila glanced over at Mira. "Is something wrong?"

"Back on Ord Mandell, I killed that Sith."

"I'm sure you had no choice in the matter," Bastila said. "The Sith was going to kill you."

"I know that. It's just, I forgot how easy it was." Mira stared off into the distance. "Did you know that I've killed more people since I became a 'Jedi' than I ever did as a bounty hunter?"

"You also weren't involved in a Galactic-wide struggle with an implacable foe when you were a bounty hunter," Bastila pointed out. "There is more at stake here than you getting paid."

"That doesn't make it right!" Mira snapped. "There's always killing when I'm around Jedi, those fighters at Dxun, that Sith on Ord Mandell, and I don't even know how many when I was with Dacen. I thought Jedi were supposed to respect the sanctity of life, not engage in wanton slaughter."

"They do, but that's not a suicide pact. And before you say anything, no I'm not saying you should kill any Sith you see on sight. You gave that Sith a chance to walk away, right?"

"Yes," Mira said.

"Then you did all that you could. In the end it was his choice that doomed him."

"A Sith attacked you too, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you give him a chance to walk away?"

"No."

"And do you feel even the least bit of remorse for that?"

"I...I can't let myself think about that right now. Later, but at the moment I do not have the luxury to wallow in pity and self-recrimination."

"You think that's what I'm doing?"

"I think what you're doing is the mark of a true Jedi, whether you care to admit it or not," Bastila replied.

-------

Colm lay in the Errant Vow's engine room trying to repair the ship's engines. He was working inside a conduit with only his feet sticking out.

"Hey there," a perky, female voice said. "What'cha doin'?"

Colm jerked up at the sound of the voice and banged his head on the engine compartment. "Fraking hell," he muttered as he pulled himself up. Colm looked over at the source of the voice and saw a young woman, barely in her twenties, peering into the engine compartment through the hole in the hull. "I'm trying to fix my boat. Now who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Gwyn Dam. Sorry about startling you." Gwyn pushed a lock of blonde hair out of her face and stared at the interior of the ship in obvious wonder.

"No worries, I was too focused on what I was doing anyway. The name's Colm Abrik."

"Is this really you're ship?" Gwyn asked.

"That it is," Colm said. "Cute, but just a kid," He thought to himself as he appraised her. A slight woman with blonde hair and a wide-eyed, innocent gaze; Gwyn was dressed in a stained set of coveralls that looked to be a few sizes too big for her.

"We don't get many starships round these parts," Gwyn said. "Especially not ones as shiny as this one." She ran her hands along the sides of the hull appreciatively.

"Not so shiny right now," Colm replied. He walked over to an open panel and began to splice the wires that hung out of it.

"What's wrong with your ship?" Gwyn asked.

"We had a little explosion problem. I'm just patching things up."

"You're doing it wrong."

"Don't you think I know my own ship?"

"Apparently not because you're doing it wrong."

"Look little girl, I've been crewin' ships since you were in diapers. I know how to repair an engine!" Colm jammed the cable back into the panel. Alarm klaxons began to blare and Colm hastily pulled the cable back out.

Gwyn sighed and hauled herself into the ship. She elbowed Colm aside and reached into the panel. The engine hummed to life. "Now that's better," she said.

"How did you know how to do that?" Colm asked in amazement.

Gwyn shrugged. "That's the way that made the most sense. I've always been good with machines. I've been fixing my daddy's farm droids ever since I actually was a little girl."

Colm stared at Gwyn. "What do you know about hyperdrives?"

-------

The speeder came to a stop in the middle of a small cluster of buildings that comprised the planet's largest settlement. Bastila and Mira got out off the speeder and looked around the town square. All of the houses and shops were closed up and there was no sign of life on the streets.

"Hello?" Mira called out as she walked around the square. "Is anybody here?" She walked up to one of the houses and pounded on the door. "Anyone home?" She shouted. The door slid open and the barrel of a blaster rifle greeted her. "Guess so," Mira said. She held up her hands, "I'm not here to hurt you," she told the owner of the blaster, a middle-aged man dressed in worn work clothes.

The colonist motioned for Mira to back into the middle of the square. Mira turned and saw that other settlers had exited from their homes and were ringing her and Bastila. "Well this is a good start," Mira muttered to Bastila.

"Who are you, and how did you get here?" The colonist demanded.

"My name is Bastila Shan, Jedi Knight, and this is my associate Mira."

A small murmur raced through the crowd when Bastila said Jedi. "A Jedi huh," the colonist, who obviously was the settlement's leader, said. "What's a Jedi doing way out here?"

"Our ship had to make an emergency landing on your planet and we came here looking for materials to make repairs," Bastila said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but we don't have anything that could help you. We're simple farmers, not spaceship mechanics. Now you'd best get back in that speeder and return to your ship. A trader comes by every couple of months, he can help you out."

Bastila could sense that the colonist wasn't being truthful with her. "Are you sure there's nothing you have that could help? It is of vital importance that we get our ship repaired in a timely fashion."

Mira scanned the crowd. She could feel a sense of tension running through the colonists. "What aren't you telling us?" She asked the village leader.

A woman at the leader's elbow nudged the man in the side, "Tell them Donel, they're Jedi."

Donel shuffled his feet. "We're simple folk here. Not ones who get involved in the galaxy at large."

Mira sighed, "Let me guess, some mercs have setup shop and are extorting you for protection money."

"Well yes," Donel said. "How did you know that? Did you use some sort of Jedi Power?"

"Let's just say this isn't the first time I've seen this happen," Mira replied.

"If you tell us where we can find these raiders we can take care of the problem for you," Bastila told Donel.

"I wasn't lying when I said we couldn't help you," Donel replied. "No one here has the parts or expertise to fix a spaceship."

"That's not necessary," Bastila said with a shake of her head. "We are Jedi, this is what we do."

"They've set up camp a few kilometers from here to the west, but I'm warning you, they are not nice customers."

"Don't worry," Mira said. "Neither are we."

-------

Bastila and Mira lay just behind the crest of a ridge overlooking a small cul de sac. Spread out below them was the mercenaries' encampment.

"How many do you count?" Mira asked.

"Twenty or so, you?" Bastila replied.

"About the same. And did you see what they have?"

"Yes, a transport. They probably use this planet to stage raids on shipping lines."

"You knew they'd have a ship."

"I hoped that would be the case, but that is not why I am here. Protecting the village is the right thing to do regardless of the fact that there's a good chance these pirates have a working hyperdrive. "

"So what's the plan? Call in Colm and the boys?"

"I don't think that will be necessary," Bastila said. "We should be able to take care of them ourselves."

"That's what I thought you'd say," Mira said. "Look, can we do this thing without bloodshed?"

Bastila stared at Mira balefully. "That goes without saying. Do you have a plan of action in mind?"

"Actually, I do..."

-------

"Well, I did what I could, but that motivator's blown. You're going to have to replace it," Gwyn said to Colm.

"You wouldn't happen to have any spare motivators lying around now would you?" Colm asked.

"If I did don't you think I'd be anywhere but this rock?" Gwyn replied.

"Why is that, you're handy around an engine room, I'd imagine any captain in the sector'd be glad to have you onboard."

"Not the Hutt of a trader that comes here. He doesn't think a girl can work on his engines, though he's plenty willing to have me work on him," Gwyn said bitterly.

"Sounds to me like he don't know his ass from a hole in the ground," Colm said. "Tell you what, if we can get this boat back in the air why don't you come along. Fancy ship like this needs a good mechanic on board."

"You mean it?" Gwyn asked. Delight shone on her face.

"Course I do. Though I do have to warn you we're not liable to be doing anything remotely safe for the foreseeable future."

"Hey I'm not some shrinking violet," Gwyn said.

"Don't reckon you are," Colm said. "But you see that there hole? That was the work of the Sith. Now I don't rightly know where we're going. Could be the fate of the Republic rests on our shoulders, could be it don't, but when Jedi and Sith are involved there's a better than fair chance of winding up in a world of dead." Colm took a breath before continuing. "Now I'm not trying to talk you out of signing on because I want you on this boat, but I want to make sure you're straight on what you'll be getting into."

"I've wanted to get off this rock since before I could even walk," Gwyn said. "You're not going to scare me out of my chance out of here."

"Well alright then, welcome aboard."

-------

Mara walked into the raiders' base camp. A pair of guards met her immediately. "Hey guys, I was wondering if you could take me to your boss? Trust me, he's going to want to speak with me." She reached out with the Force as she spoke and bent the guards' minds to her point of view.

The guards nodded and motioned for Mira to follow them. They lead her further into the camp. Mira took note of the blaster turrets and other defenses the mercenaries had set up to discourage visitors. She also noticed that all of the mercenaries' gear was second-hand Republic issue. That indicated that they were definitely not Mandalorians, a fact that would make Mira's job easier.

The mercenary leader was in the center of the camp standing next to a temporary command post. "Who's this?" The mercenary, a scarred Corellian, asked

"She said you'd want to speak with her boss," one of the guards said.

"I will huh? We'll see about that, now get back to your post," he snapped. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?" He asked Mira.

"You're hassling the locals, and doing a good number on any shipping that passes by. I want you to stop and surrender yourself to Republic authorities."

The mercenary leader started to laugh. "And why should I do that?" He sneered.

Mira drew her lightsaber. "Because I said so," she told the mercenary.

"A Jedi, how predictable. You have to know I have five snipers with blasters aimed at your head. You can't block all of them."

"I counted six," Mira replied.

There was the distinctive snap-hiss of a lightsaber and Bastila appeared from behind the mercenary. "Mercenaries, how predictable," Bastila said. "You didn't think she'd walk into your camp without a little backup did you?"

--------

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Mira asked. "Just leaving them there?"

"We took their ship's hyperdrive, all of their small arms and destroyed anything we couldn't carry," Bastila said. "I don't know what more we can do. Once we're a safe distance away we can notify the Republic authorities and they can pick them up. To do anymore would draw unwarranted attention to ourselves."

"Maybe, but it doesn't see right leaving those thugs behind without any supervision."

"I know, but Donel and the rest of the villagers can fend for themselves now that we've evened the playing surface. In any event that was good work on your part. You subdued the threat with only a modicum of violence, and nobody died."

"There is that," Mira agreed.

"The Force certainly has smiled on us," Bastila said. "This hyperdrive unit is just the thing to get the Errant Vow back in space."

"Doesn't it bother you to leave so much up to a mystical energy Force that may or may not have a will of it's own?" Mira asked.

"The Force merely presents us opportunities," Bastila replied. "It is up to us to take advantage of them."

"If you say so," Mira replied dubiously.

"It is your continued doubt that holds you back from being a true Jedi," Bastila chided.

"And you continue to labor under the delusion that I want to be a Jedi," Mira shot back.

"You keep saying that, but your actions suggest otherwise," Bastila replied.

-------

The speeder pulled up next to the Errant Vow in time to see Colm, Cheyn, and Gwyn finishing patching the ship's hull. "Nice work Captain," Bastila said as she exited the speeder. "Who is your friend?"

Colm wiped the grease from his hands. "Bastila Shan meet Gwyn Dam, she's our new mechanic."

Gwyn rushed over to Bastila. "It's an honor, I've never met a real Jedi before."

"Our mechanic?" Bastila asked.

"Gwyn fixed up most of the ship's systems while you were gone. I figured this boat could use a person who knows how engines work so I hired her."

"Captain, a word please," Bastila said before dragging Colm off.

"Did I do something to offend?" Gwyn asked Mira.

"No, Bastila's just a little...well, Bastila," Mira told the younger woman. "Hi, my name's Mira." Mira found herself taking an instant liking to the younger woman, mostly because her presence irritated Bastila.

"Have you lost your mind?" Bastila shouted at Colm when they were inside the ship and safely out of hearing distance of the others. "She's just a girl!"

"Now just throttle back there. Gwyn's got a real talent around machines. We wouldn't have the ship in as shiny a shape as it is without her help. I told her this was going to be a dangerous assignment but she don't much care. A girl like that, she's got to get up into space, that's just how she is, and there's not a power in the galaxy that's going to keep her feet on the ground."

"So you just invited her along? Do you have any idea how dangerous our life is going to become?"

"No, because you won't tell me," Colm replied. "I know there are Sith involved, stands to reason cause most everything your Jedi are into involve the Sith, and I know that when Sith are involved folks tend to wind up dead, or worse. She don't know what she's about to get into, but nobody her age does, I know I didn't."

"You say she's a good mechanic?"

"Best I've ever seen. The girl has a gift. She managed to find this in the sublight engines." Colm tossed Bastila a small tracking device. "It's that Sith tracking beacon you insisted wasn't onboard. They hid it real good, but she found it."

Bastila sighed. "Very well, but she is your responsibility."

"She's a member of my crew, that goes without saying."

"You certainly are putting your own imprint on the crew of this ship," Bastila said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Colm asked.

"Not at all, it is your ship after all," Bastila said. "Mira and I were able to procure a hyperdrive, our new mechanic can begin installing it immediately." Bastila turned and walked out of the ship.

"You say it's my ship, but I wonder how true that is?" Colm asked rhetorically before following Bastila.

-------

After Gwyn installed the new hyperdrive Skyre powered up the ship's engines and they broke free of the colony's atmosphere. "Ok, once again I ask, where to?" Skyre said to Bastila and Colm.

"Set a course for Kashyyyk," Bastila ordered.

"Kashyyyk?" Colm asked. "Why would we want to go there?"

"Kashyyyk is a useful refuge for us, we can lose our pursuers there."

"I heard the Wookies won't let anyone land there," Skyre said.

"Don't worry, they will make an exception for me," Bastila assured Skyre.

"Ok, Kashyyyk it is." Skyre entered the coordinates into the navicomputer and activated the hyperdrive. The ship shuddered briefly then shot into hyperspace.

-to be continued-

Author's Notes: And so we continue on. I see that one clever person has devined my inspiration for the crew of the Errant Vow. What can I say, they are great characters. Chapter Six is in the works. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
-sam 11/01/2005