OK sorry for taking so long but I had to go to hospital for a while... i was sick :(
anywhoooo Chapter 9!! Yay! I'm surprised I bothered to go this far, usually I give up on these kinda things straight away. :P
PLease R&R, and again, sorry for the wait!!!!!
The landing on Dxun went smoothly, much to Carth's disappointment since he was hoping to nag on Atton's piloting skills.
Carth, Atton, Mission and HK gathered in the main hold.
"Well, that landing seemed… familiar…" Atton said as he came in from the cockpit.
"It should, I heard that the Exi- Izzy, landed here during her search of the Jedi Masters." Explained Mission.
Carth stared round at her, "How would you know something like that?"
"I… may have… done some studying of Jedi history during my stay with Jolee. What of it?" she asked defensively.
"Nothing. It's just… never mind."
Atton perked up, "Alright so. Dxun: heart of the Mandalorian wars… what are we looking for exactly?"
Mission rolled her eyes, "Are you really this stupid, or do you just like to get on people's nerves?"
"I aim to please baby." He smiled.
"You arrogant pig!" she spat.
"Alright!" Carth shouted, "That's enough. Atton, we're looking for Mandalore. Mission… relax."
Mission took a deep breath and sat down, "So… we have to go get Canderous… then what?"
Carth sighed, "I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
Mission nodded and stood up, "OK, well let's go!"
"Not so fast," Atton paused, "Other than the Cannoks, there are Bomas, Drexls, Orbalisks AND Zakkegs! You had better have some kinda weapon other then that spatula with you out there."
"I have a perfectly good blaster!" Mission pointed out.
"Rand, I have a republic blaster and a vibroblade on me. I think we're gonna be fine." Continued Carth.
"Hey wait! Do you have any upgrades?" Asked Mission.
"Sorry kid, no."
"What kinda force forsaken smuggler are you? Never mind, I'll go get some."
Carth followed Mission with his eyes; "You have upgrades?"
"I think so. It depends on whether or not the council found my old stash, but I hid it pretty good so…" Missions voice trailed off as she disappeared out of the main hold. Carth and Atton followed.
Mission walked up to the door to the engine room, "Sithspit!" she cursed.
"Mission! I don't like you using that language!" scolded Carth.
"Sorry…" she grumbled as she messed around with the lock, "It's jammed."
Atton stepped forward, "Maybe, you're just not good enough." He walked over and, in no time at all unlocked the door, "Pure Pazaak."
"Gee, thanks." Mission said sarcastically, pushing Atton out of the way and opening the door.
"Oh my force…" she gasped when she saw what was inside, "T3!"
She ran over to the astromech droid, "His memory's been tampered." She breathed.
Atton suddenly remembered the memory chip he had been given. "Here," he said pulling it out of his pocket, "Try this."
Carth took the chip from Atton and walked over to T3. "There." He said when he had the chip put in. he turned on T3.
It took a few moments, but T3 buzzed to life. Once he saw Carth and Mission he began beeping hysterically.
Mission laughed, "He sure is happy to see you, Carth."
Carth smiled and patted the little guy on the… head?
Atton just stood there for a moment, "Ah… Mandalore guy… remember? Kinda have to go find him."
Mission jumped up and skipped to the back of the room, "Aha!" he exclaimed, "They didn't find it!"
"I'm impressed," came Carth's complement once he saw the many upgrades Mission had managed to hide.
"Thank you!"
"Alright," Atton cut in, "We really need to get going... so can we get this over with."
Mission and Carth nodded and they all returned to the main hold.
After about an hour, everybody had finished upgrading their weapons and had gathered back around the security-console.
"OK, everybody ready?" Carth asked.
"Ready!" came HK's reply.
"HK, I'm sorry, but I don't think we could use your… unique abilities here." Carth explained, trying to fight back a smirk.
"Yeah, but I think the navi-computer's planning an attack, so we need you to keep a watchful eye on it!" Mission said, the last part filled with fake importance.
"Statement: I will do as you wish blue meatbag! HK is ready to serve." HK turned on heel and marched off to the communications room.
"Hook, line and sinker," Mission jeered once he had left.
Carth laughed, Atton just stood there puzzled, "Why isn't HK coming?" he eventually asked.
" 'cause Mission is." Replied Carth, "T3, I need you to stick here and work on security, nothing too fancy, what we used to do should be fine…"
"Wait!" Atton butted in, "Mission?!"
"Yeah… Mission." Repeated Carth, gesturing to the Twi'lek beside him.
"Isn't she a little… you know…"
"Young?" Mission hissed.
"I wan going to say 'inexperienced'…" Atton grinned.
Carth sighed, 'I'm really getting tired of this.' "Look, Mission fought on the Star Forge when she was fourteen! I think she can handle a few Cannoks…"
Both Atton and Mission looked shocked at Carth's comment.
Atton threw his hands up, as if to surrender, "OK, but when she gets eaten alive," he leaned over and smirked, "and she probably will… don't come crying to me."
After the 'pleasant' briefing Atton, Carth and Mission left the Ebon Hawk.
"Well this is pleasant," Atton said very sarcastically as he pulled his foot from more Cannok fodder. Mission was behind him giggling.
"Come on, we need to pick up the pace." Carth called back, pushing branches out of the way as they made their way up another hill.
"Listen, Onasi, I don't see why we have to rush through this fiend infested jungle…"
"Because, you said that there is a threat against the Republic!" Carth stated.
"So?"
"So, we have to find a way to stop it!"
Atton stopped, " 'We'? What do ya mean 'We'?"
Carth turned to look at him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'This guy calls himself a Jedi?!' "I mean you, me, Mission and anybody else willing to help us!"
"Why do you care so much?" Atton blurted out.
"Because… because…" Carth trailed off. He knew why, but that didn't mean he wanted to tell this smuggler.
"Because what?" Atton scoffed, "See, you don't have a reason!"
Carth had it, "Because I made a promise to the woman I love!" he shouted venomously. Atton took a step back. Carth sighed, "I know you don't really care, smugglers code and everything…
'Always look out for number one!'
" But I promised her I'd help, and I will."
Carth looked down at the chain around Atton's neck, "Whoever gave that to you must care about you in some way, don't you want to find her?"
Atton shot a glance up at Carth, "Of course I do!"
"Well then… I'm willing to bet anything that Izzy is with Revan. I don't need you to come along, I can pilot… and I can get my own ship," Carth knew that last bit was a lie, but he continued anyway, "you can travel to the end of the galaxy on your own, but I think you have a better chance of finding her if you come with us."
Atton looked into Carth's eyes, trying to find some shred of doubt but nothing.
"Alright, Onasi," he grinned, "Lead the way."
"Ugh! Another hill…" Mission's grumbling went unheeded as Carth noticed a large group of Maalraas, "Heh… nice kitty…" she trailed off, fingering her blaster.
The group jumped into action, Carth pulled his vibroblade from the pack attached to the back of his jacket. He ran at the group, Mission on his back with a constant stream of blaster shots.
Carth slashed across two of the Maalraas, Slitting one's throat and slicing the other's leg. Atton was at his side holding what looked like a long sword, he leapt up into the air and came crashing down on one maalraa's head, killing it instantly. Carth was paying too much attention to Atton however, and didn't notice the previously wounded maalraa regroup and pounce at Carth.
It happened too fast. One moment Carth was standing watching Atton slay, what appeared to be the last of the maalraas. The next moment a maalraa was using Carth as a crew toy. Carth was thrown to the ground; the maalraa biting at any part of his body it could get to. Mission was screaming. She couldn't shoot, it was too risky, she could hit Carth. Atton reacted as best he could; he held his arm out and focused. The maalraa stopped moving.
"Stasis…" Mission whispered. They both ran over to Carth, who was lying motionless on the ground.
"He's bleeding bad!" Mission stammered.
Atton pulled out a few medpacks and began injecting them. They sat there waiting for the kolto to start working. Slowly, his wounds began to heal.
Atton sighed with relief, "He'll be OK, but his injuries are pretty bad. We should get him back to the Ebon Hawk."
"No!" Mission was kneeling over him, watching for signs of consciousness, "We can't. He wouldn't be strong enough…"
"We can help there." Came a voice from behind them.
Atton and Mission turned and jumped when they saw the huge group of Mandalorians that were behind them.
"Stay back," Atton warned them, as if speaking to a wild animal.
"Mandalore wishes for us to take you all back to our base."
"Yeah? Well we're not-"
Mission cut Atton off, "Yes, we'll come with you."
"Good," replied one of the Mandalorians. Then he gestured to two of the men behind him and they marched over to assist Carth.
"Be careful…" Mission whispered, as they picked up the unconscious man. Then the whole group began their journey to the base.
The base left much to be desired, in Mission's opinion. It looked like it had definitely seen better days.
"This way," gestured one of the Mandalorian's pointing in the direction of the nearest building. The other two men holding Carth set off in the opposite direction.
"Where are they taking him?!" Mission demanded.
"Don't worry." He replied, "They're taking him to the medical facility. You can go there once you've shown yourselves to Mandalore."
Mission nodded uncertainly and Atton just glared at the warrior as they made their way over to the lab station.
"Mandalore!" greeted the warrior, when they had entered; "We have found the owners of the vessel, the Ebon Hawk."
"Good job Xarga, you can go now."
The warrior nodded curtly before retreating back out of the station.
"So…" said Mandalore, turning to finally face his guests, "It is as I had predicted…"
"What are you talking about Canderous?" Mission snapped.
"Mission Vao?" he seemed taken aback, "I must say, you've grown." He turned to look at Atton, "But you haven't changed at all since we last spoke…"
Atton looked at him curiously, "I'm sor-"
"Ignore him. He's just pissed 'cause you gave him a whoopin' last time you saw him." piped Mission.
Atton stared at her, shocked, "You pick now to tell me this…?" he whispered.
"Well," Mandalore cut in, "Nothing I couldn't handle I assure you, heh, I'm Mandalore."
Mission rolled her eyes, "Canderous, cut the crap!"
Mandalore shook his head, "Fine, kid." He removed his helmet.
Atton was surprised to see such an old man underneath the armour. Mission was smiling, "Now see, that didn't hurt, did it?"
Canderous snorted, "Why did you come here, kid?"
Mission looked taken aback, "I dunno, why do you remember me?"
The older man let out a single laugh before answering, "I suppose we have a lot to talk about." He sat down on one of the hard metal chairs and gestured for the other two to so the same.
"Now," he began, "first off, I wanna know why you're here."
Mission sighed, "Rand here had a vision," she began.
Canderous' smile grew wide, "Well Rand, I must say I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be able to remember how to use those force power thingies for a while.
"What are you talking about?" Atton asked, suddenly aware of just how awkward he felt.
"I mean can't Jedi take that kinda ability from you?" Canderous continued, not paying any attention to what Atton was saying.
"Well they obviously didn't do that to Atton…" Mission remarked.
Canderous stood up, looking at the blank expression on Atton's face in both amusement and… sympathy, "He doesn't remember, does he?" he asked quietly, turning to Mission.
She shook her head, "No… we were kinda hoping… you could fill him in…" she looked down at her shoes, "And maybe help us find… Her."
Canderous looked around awkwardly, as if suddenly realising just how dangerous this was, "You're lucky you made it out here," he turned so his back was now facing the two, "The Republic is having a lot of trouble…"
"Yeah, we know…" Mission replied, "Master Egan, one of the masters at Citadel Station remember? Apparently he's behind this new sith threat."
"Yeah… I didn't like the look of him back on Telos. Too power-hungry for a Jedi." Canderous turned back to face them.
"You remember… everything? How?" Mission looked shocked, but then again not too surprised.
"I had a feeling about this whole Jedi thing, I didn't trust them," Canderous sat back down, "I decided on loading my system up on stims before I got to Telos…"
"Incase they were going to interrogate you…" Atton finished.
Canderous grinned, "Yeah… anyway with me as high as a shirack, they weren't going to get any information out of me. When they called me in I was on too many stims to know what I was even thinking. I guess it made it more difficult for those force huggers to mess up my mind."
Mission nodded; there was sense in what he was saying… somewhere.
There was silence again until Canderous spoke, "How do you remember anything, kid?"
Mission was annoyed by the 'kid' comment, but decided to let it slide, "Let's just say I'm not exactly way down on the list of felons in the council's opinion…"
"You ran?" Asked Canderous, shocked.
Mission nodded, "I never met the Jedi. I stowed away on the Ebon Hawk and met this guy," she gestured towards Atton, " a few days later."
Canderous nodded and turned his attention to Atton, "You remember Izzy?"
Atton shook his head, "But this blonde guy told me about her on a holovid I found. Why? Is she important?"
Canderous snorted, "To you anyway- last time I checked."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean; you and the Exile were like…" Canderous sighed and looked over at Mission, "Like Revan and Republic."
Mission stared at Atton; shock dawning on every feature of her face, causing Atton to feel very uncomfortable, "You loved her?" she breathed.
Atton thought desperately for a moment, then he gave up and shrugged, "I dunno."
Mission let out a girlie squeal that caused Canderous to roll his eyes before turning serious again.
"You two should go." He said suddenly.
Mission looked over at him, taken aback by his abruptness, "Why?"
Canderous sighed, "Because if you're here, on the run and all… and looking for Revan, odds are the republic's gonna have a whole fleet after you, "He ran a hand through his hair, "And I'm willing to bet I know which admiral they'd put in charge, and he's the bast one they've got…"
Before Canderous could continue there was a noise from behind them.
"Aww, Canderous… I'm flattered."
Carth stood there, leaning on the doorframe, clutching his newly bandaged side.
Canderous looked shocked, then relieved, "Ha!" he turned back to Mission, "How many more are there with you?"
Mission beamed, "HK and T3 are back on the ship. HK says he misses you."
Canderous chuckled. He then turned to Carth, "Remember me, Republic?"
Carth scowled, "Sure do scumbag…"
They stared at each other for a moment before Canderous erupted into laughter and Carth, betraying himself, felt a smile form on his face.
"So… Republic's on the run from the law… When's Malak gonna show up?"
Mission looked appalled for a moment, then smiled sweetly, "We need you're help Canderous."
"Who doesn't." he pointed out, as he stood up to let Carth sit down. He felt bad for him with his injuries.
"You know why we're here…" she continued.
"Yeah, yeah… but how are you planning on finding them?"
"We need a new crew." She replied.
"What?" Carth stood up, only for the pain of his wounds to force him back down.
"I say… me, you, Carth… Atton, and two more."
Canderous looked at her sceptically, "And where do you propose we find these other two members?"
Mission grinned, "From the more recent crew of the Ebon Hawk."
Atton looked over at her, "You mean that blonde guy?"
Mission shook her head, "No… they can't be a trained Jedi… otherwise they'd be at the academy," she looked up at Canderous, "Any ideas?"
Canderous sat quietly for a moment, thinking. Then he stood up and smirked, "Yeah… I got an idea, but you'll have to wait here over night for me to round them up. They're all the way on Nar Shaddaa."
Mission looked delighted, Carth sceptical and Atton: confused, but they all agreed to wait at the base for the night.
