A/N: As Mira would say: "Finally some action!" Big Thankees to JediMaster12 from kfm for the Beta, who keeps my punctuation fetish from getting out of hand, among various other duties.
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They armed for rancor; or in this case gangster, as Atton gave them a very brief history of his last encounter with Goto, which was before Mical had joined up with the Exile. Atton also informed them about Goto's army of droids that were most likely residing on his shiny new yacht. Carth had dug out his old gray armor that had originally been bought from the slightly shady rodian Suvam, who resided in the old abandoned Republic station above Yavin IV. Flipping the switches to activate the fluorescent blue power cells Carth had both his blasters holstered; a vibroblade strapped to his back and was ready to go. Mical had donned his fighting robes that were less bulky than his normal ones and allowed for faster movement. Atton had grabbed his own illegally modified blaster and had shoved grenades, detonators, and spikes anywhere he could find a space on his everyday gear. He also had a strange device that looked a lot like a datapad. The strange instrument had actually gone down the front of Atton's pants which caused both Carth and Mical to look at the other man rather strangely with raised eyebrows as they watched Atton arm himself.
"Don't ask," Atton muttered distractedly while shoving it into his trousers.
"I guess we should just be thankful it wasn't a grenade." Carth said with a smirk. Mical snickered at the comment and then looked faintly embarrassed for doing so.
They heard the docking clamps engage outside the ship. Carth and Atton grabbed their blasters and Mical's lightsaber flew into the palm of his left hand. Atton and Carth were hiding to one side of the loading ramp while Mical's back was to the wall on the other side. There were a few moments of tense waiting as the men listened to the sounds of someone or something trying to force the ramp down. Finally they heard the ramp begin to lower and Carth looked over at Mical both of their faces hard with anticipation. The ramp finished its decent and a set of hollow footsteps echoed on the metal. Carth nodded at Mical and the Padawan ignited his green lightsaber, spinning toward the entrance with weapon swinging. Carth and Atton came out behind Mical and fired a rapid succession of blaster shots. Four enormous droids stumbled back in surprise at the sudden onslaught. The machines recovered quickly however and started retuning fire at the trio. Mical's lightsaber blocked the majority of the shots while Atton and Carth dodged the few that escaped him. The green beam of energy cut through three of the droids and blaster fire took down the fourth.
There was no time to relax as there were five more of the heavy guard droids in the room beyond as well as three large back and gray floating orbs. With Mical in the lead they moved into room with weapons blazing. Realizing the number of opponents they were facing, the three formed a circle facing outward at their enemy. The Disciple's green blade hacked and slashed while Carth's duel blasters fired at blinding speed. Atton alternated between blaster fire from his right hand and tossing grenades at the enemy with his left. These droids however weren't going down as easily as the first ones due to the two maintenance droids circling in the background of the battle. As soon as any one of the men managed to inflict any serious damage, the smaller droids would come in and repair the attack droids.
"Atton!" Carth yelled to his right. "We need to take out those maintenance droids. Think you can get around these guys?"
"No problem!" Atton yelled back. Atton squatted down and executed a quick roll between two of the heavily armored droids before they could react. Coming out on the other side he took aim and with two shots took both the small white ball droids out. The guard droids recovered and turned around to now face their attention on Atton, who was standing alone and exposed. Mical moved in and sliced through the torsos of the two moving in on Atton's position while Carth split his attention between the other three and the black orbs, which were a lot tougher than they looked. Carth ducked down and to his right as one of the large spheres shot an arc of flame at him. Popping his head back up Carth could smell singed hair.
"Little help here guys!" he yelled back at them. No sooner than Carth had spoken the other two joined him on each side. Mical kicked out his leg and dropped into a crouch. His weapon swung out swung out in a graceful sideways arc, taking out a droid's legs in a blur of jade energy and white sparks while Carth fired over the Padawan's head and dropped the droid behind it. Atton had thrown a frag grenade and somehow managed to aim it directly into an open access panel of one of the floating balls; causing it to explode violently and in the process destroy the one next to it. The mechanical device let out a horrific screech as it fell to the floor.
The ragtag crew of the Ebon Hawk was down to one armored droid and one floating one. Mical hacked and slashed at the last standing droid while Carth and Atton pummeled the last ball droid with a hail of blaster shots. The large armor droid fell to the ground in pieces and the last orb exploded in a shower of sparks shortly after. All three men crouched in the room momentarily alert for new threats in the abrupt silence. Slowly Atton and Carth lowered their pistols and Mical's lightsaber deactivated with a hiss and a snap.
"Well that was entirely too easy," Atton commented in a worried tone. Carth looked over at Atton in confusion. Atton opened his mouth to elaborate when he was interrupted by a voice coming out of the communication system.
"Most impressive," said the disembodied voice, "but none the less futile." A soft hissing noise came out of several air vents accompanied by a green gas. The three fighters choked and fell to the floor unconscious.
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"Well, this is an auspicious beginning Carth."
Carth was lying in a golden field on the Dantooine plains. He looked up at the source of the voice and saw Bastila standing over him in black robes with an eyebrow cocked in amusement. Carth picked himself up off the ground and frowned at her in annoyance. He swore Bastila wore those things just to irk him.
"Yeah well you're the one who sent me to Nar Shaddaa Princess. You could have just said 'go to Deralia'." Carth proceeded to brush clumps of dirt and grass off of his black armor.
Bastila rolled her lovely eyes skyward. "I really hate Canderous for that nickname, and you know why I sent you to Nar Shaddaa."
"You know what I really hate Bastila? I really hate all the Jedi ambiguity and mystery crap. None of you could outright answer a question if your lives depended on it. And if you weren't already dead I'd be sore tempted to clock both you and Jolee for all the crap you've put me through!" Carth was not in the mood to be lectured about getting caught with his metaphorical pants down. "So what do you want anyways? I take it you didn't just pay me a visit to tell me I screwed up?" he frowned at her expectantly.
Bastila sighed and frowned back at him. "And do you know what I hate Carth? You're absolute lack of appreciation for all that I've done for you these past two years. A little gratitude wouldn't hurt." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. She looked like Morii when she did that. He momentarily wondered who had picked up the gesture from whom.
"Done for me?" Carth laughed in surprise. "What exactly have you done for me Bastila? Haunted me? Given me no answers and vague advice?" Carth waved his arms around wildly. "Do you see a light anywhere Bastila? Maybe you should move toward it!" Carth then crossed his arms and glared right back at her.
Bastila sighed and threw her arms up in the air. She stared at him for a moment with her mouth twisted into a grimace. Finally she blew a stray strand of hair out of her eye sin resignation and said, "Believe it or not I did not come here to argue with you Carth I came here to warn you. This Goto is dangerous."
"Um, I noticed that. You're a little late for warnings in that department." Carth smirked.
"You are an extraordinarily frustrating man, do you know that? I honestly don't know what Revan sees in you."
"And I don't like it when you call her that." It wasn't the name Carth hated; he had comes to terms with that, it was the tone Bastila said it in. It was a tone that implied Sith Lord, not Redeemed Jedi Knight.
"It's one of her names," Bastila said haughtily as she stuck a hip out. "Regardless," she waved a hand as if dismissing the argument, "Goto could be a problem. He has his own agenda and it is…difficult to read. He is a danger to you, your companions, and most certainly to Revan and the Exile."
"So Ara Firestorm did go after Revan?" Carth asked.
Bastila smiled slyly. "Yes, I thought that would have been fairly obvious, even to you." Carth glared at the insult but Bastila ignored the look. "Your search for Revan and the Jedi's search for the Exile are tied together."
"What about Atton?" Carth asked when she only mentioned Mical.
Bastila merely smiled at him smugly. Her face then became more serious. "Be careful of this Goto Carth. Tell him nothing. I see many complications arising from his interference. He is a powerful enemy."
"Okay, got it. Anything else oh vague one?"
"It's time to wake up Carth," Bastila smiled and waved a hand in front of her in a gesture Carth had often see Jedi use when using the Force on the minds of others.
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Carth's eyes popped open instantaneously. He found himself lying on his left side on a deck floor staring at Mical's unconscious form. Somewhere from the other side of Mical came the sound of a low groan. Carth slowly sat up and found that the gas had caused his headache from this morning to return. Looking over Mical's body he saw Atton in the process of sitting up as well. "You okay?" he asked the other man.
Atton frowned at him. "Oh just dandy," he answered sarcastically while pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead. Evidently Carth's headache wasn't the only one's that had returned with a vengeance. Atton then glanced over Carth's shoulder and said some not very polite phrases as what he saw. Carth turned around and saw a force shield blocking the entrance to the small room. They were obviously in some sort of prison cell.
Mical chose this point to wake up as well. He also groaned as he sat up and looked back and forth at his cellmates. "Are you both alright?" he asked worriedly.
"Fine," Carth said shaking his head, and the pain caused him to instantly regret it.
"Oh yeah just great, considering we're in a cell with a force field. Hey Mical can I ask you something?"
Mical turned his head toward Atton, "Of course, what is it you need of me?"
"Now I want you to be honest," Atton said earnestly. "I can take it." Atton pushed the dark brown hair off of his forehead and held it pressed against the top of his skull. "Do I have 'Lock Me Up' laser burned on my forehead?" Mical rolled his eyes and Carth let out a single bark of laughter. "No seriously Mical, I can take it! Just tell me. I do, don't I? C'mon be a pal and just tell me the truth. Because everywhere I go people are locking me up! And I'd like to know if I'm sending out some sort of signal here!" Atton swung his free arm out from his side in entreaty.
Carth wasn't sure he understood the whole joke but chuckled anyway at the sarcasm and offense dripping from Atton. Traveling with these two never looked to be boring, that was for sure.
"This is not the time for jests Atton we have a serious problem to deal with." Mical frowned at Atton and picked himself up off the floor. Despite the scolding he held out a hand and helped Atton to his feet. Mical then turned to assist the Admiral but Carth had already picked himself up.
"So, now what?" Carth asked the other two men.
"Hmm, not the quarry I expected, but interesting," the voice echoed from behind Carth. He turned around and saw one of the black orb droids floating outside the cell, its one red optic locked menacingly on the prisoners. "A Jedi, you again," it said as it focused on Atton, "and a Republic Admiral." The droid seemed surprised at Carth's presence. "Tell me," the device asked, "where is the Exile?"
"Suck space dust Goto," Atton spit with arms crossed defiantly over his chest.
"This is Goto?" Carth asked incredulously. He'd never heard of a gangster droid before.
"As amusing as you are assassin," Atton's head jerked back in shock at Goto's label, "I'm not in the mood for entertainment. I am seeking the Exile, and I will retrieve the information by any… means… necessary." The last three words were said with slow enunciation. "However I am most curious as to your presence in this Admiral Onasi."
"How do you know who I am?" Carth asked with eyes narrowed at the droid.
"You are hardly inconspicuous Admiral. In fact you are quite well known throughout Republic Space, and I make it a point to stay abreast of current events. In my line of business it is prudent to do so. So, the three of you are quite an odd troupe indeed. Given two of your party's previous associations… I wonder if this has something to do with Revan?"
How the hell did he know about Morii? Carth wondered. Bastila's warning echoed through his head. "I'm on vacation," he smirked at the blood red droid eye.
"Indeed…very well. I shall gain the information soon enough. In the meantime please enjoy my… hospitality." With that last sardonic comment the droid turned and floated off down the hall.
Carth turned and looked at Atton. "That's Goto?" the Admiral asked in disbelief.
Atton shrugged, "Sort of. No one's ever actually seen Goto, at least not in the flesh. He uses droids and holo projections for all of his dealings. Bet he's not even actually on the ship. Goto's not stupid, that's for sure. There are too many people gunning for him, which means he's cautious as well as being extremely dangerous." Atton stopped talking and started gazing around their cell in deep concentration, occasionally running his hands over a wall absently. He then looked up over his head and smiled an evil grin.
"Can you get us out of here?" Mical asked him.
"I think so, just a sec," Atton then began digging around in the front of his pants. "Luckily Goto missed this like I was counting on." Carth watched the bizarre dance with amusement as Atton shifted and shimmied with his hands down the front of his trousers while Mical's features were wearing an expression of mild horror. Atton's expression was one of intense concentration which made the scene all the more hilarious. It then transformed to a look of triumph as Atton found what he was looking for and began working it out of his tight fitting drawers. Atton pulled out the strange datapad-looking thing he had shoved down there earlier and looked up at the other two beaming as he held it up in his hand.
"Mical I need a boost." Atton gestured his head up at a panel in the ceiling.
"Um," the Disciple still seemed a bit unsettled by Atton's unconventional storage methods, "all right. Up there I take it?" he asked as he pointed at the panel in the ceiling.
"Yep," Atton was now digging around in his left boot and pulled out a small pocketknife.
"Got anything else useful hidden?" Carth couldn't help himself; in spite of everything he was impressed with Atton's ingenuity. He's like a cranky, nastier, male version of Mission, he thought.
"I'm a man of many skills," Atton responded proudly. Atton then stuck the datapad in his mouth as Mical got down on one knee. Atton carefully crawled onto the Jedi's shoulders while holding the closed folding knife in his left hand and Mical proceeded to stand slowly, lifting Atton up to the ceiling while keeping a grip on the other man's knees to keep him steadied. Atton took the knife and started prying at the ceiling panel, attempting to work it loose.
"What is that thing Atton?" Carth asked, curious.
"Mhss sa nuff."
"What?" Carth laughed.
Atton let out a muffled sound of triumph and Carth hurried over to Mical's side to help lower the panel quietly to the floor. Mical weaved under the weight shift and this time Atton's garbled noise was one of protest. As Mical regained his balance Atton tossed the knife down to Carth which he caught and pocketed.
"Would you hold still Mical? It's hard enough to do this without you stumbling around like a drunken cannock." Atton complained after he took the datapad out of his mouth.
Mical's face was red with exertion. "Well…you are rather heavy…" his voice was irritated.
"Well use the Force or something…damn no port. Onasi, take this and hand me back that knife." Atton held the datapad down to Carth.
"I am saving my reserves for later when we will no doubt have to fight our way off of this ship!" Mical protested.
"Well then hold still!" Atton instructed as he took the knife from Carth's outstretched hand.
"So Atton, what is that thing and what are you going to do with it?" Carth asked again as he watched the other man slice and strip some wires in the ceiling.
"This…" he started distractedly as he worked, "is the best haul I ever got off a pazaak table. You ever heard of ICE Breakers?"
"Sure," Carth answered as Atton again sent the knife down and held out his hand toward Carth for the pad. "They can hack into any computer system," Carth started. "One time use from what I understand, and don't you need a terminal to use them?"
"Normally," Atton beamed fondly at the device in his hand, and then opened a small port in the side and extended a small probe with a retractable wire attached. "This little beauty though is different…alright Mical," he tapped the Padawan on the top of the head which caused Mical to roll his eyes, "Set me down."
"Thank the Force," Mical grunted and gingerly lowered himself onto one knee and Atton climbed off. The port infiltrator from Atton's toy was connected to a couple of wires in the ceiling panel. One long wire trailed down into the datapad and Atton began punching information up on its screen.
"This baby," he explained as he worked, "is a lot like an ICE breaker in that it can hack into any system, but the beauty part is it has infinite uses as well…" he frowned at something on the screen, "as well as having the ability to infiltrate networks without needing a terminal." Atton smacked the pad absently as he frowned. "Although a terminal would make this a lot easier. Ah, ha!" he said triumphantly.
Carth and Mical had crowded on either side of Atton to watch as he worked, but neither of them could interpret the codes scrolling across the screen.
"What can you access?" Carth asked.
"You name it, I got it," Atton smiled at the device fondly like a new father. "Security, ship functions, and hmmm," Atton's eyebrows raised and then his face sharpened into a devious smile, "and personal files…"
"Let's just concentrate on getting out of here first." Mical said worriedly.
"Ah, won't take but a minute Mical…and downloaded." Atton shrugged at Mical. "If nothing else it should make some interesting reading once I break the encryption." He beamed. Mical closed his eyes and had the distinct appearance of someone reciting the Jedi code silently to himself.
"What about the Hawk?" Carth asked impatiently.
"Uh, that's the bad news, but on the bright side all our gear is right outside the door." Atton gave a cheery smile
Carth rolled his eyes. "The ship?"
"Other side of the yacht, with lots of droids in-between."
"Can't you shut them down?" Carth asked impatiently.
Atton gave Carth a condescending look. "Yeah if you want Goto to know right away we've escaped. Me, I'm going for something a bit less 'hey lookee here!' Shutting that big of a system down will definitely get his attention."
"We don't need sarcasm Rand, we need solutions." Carth glared.
"How about sarcasm with solutions?"
"Atton would you please just tell us what you have in mind," even Mical appeared to be losing his considerable patience.
"Look, I can't shut down too many systems without Goto noticing. I can however reroute some of the monitoring systems so he won't know what's going on in parts of the ship, parts of the ship we need to get through. Of course that still means we have to fight our way through the droids, and take them out before they can broadcast some sort of warning."
"So fast and dirty," Carth proposed.
"Yep, that's the idea." Atton smirked and Carth felt an eager smile of his own growing. He'd definitely been sitting in a command chair too long.
"I believe that is the best idea," Mical nodded. "Goto won't notice that you are shutting down some of his systems?"
"No, not if I don't do them all at once. I'll just loop the feed so as long as he's not paying close attention he won't even know he's getting repeat info over and over, as long as we move fast. The problem," Atton looked back and forth at the other two, "is Goto learned his lesson from my last visit and there aren't any other terminals to access from here to the ship. So I'm going to have to program the systems right now and have them shut off on a timer. But as long as we don't go too fast through the rooms," Atton shrugged, "it shouldn't be a problem."
"Well," Carth said, "shut down that field and let's get to it."
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Lady Sara: Whew! wipes brow :D I loved writing the drunk sequence, I was chuckling the whole time, although it had a few dark undertones, Carth needing to get drunk to deal with being back on the ship and all. Oh and HK yeah he's in the next chapter, so he still has a part to play. I don't know if Goto hates the Hawk, he's just got a beef with the exile, after all she did "kill" him on Malachor, and with his nifty listening network he would have known the Hawk was back on NarShadda, at least that's the way I saw it when I wrote this.
Lunatic: Darth Carth... I love that phrase as well, it makes me giggle everytime to say it out loud. Atton is Force sensitive, but in this alti-verse he turned down the Exile's offer to train him. Part of it is that my Atton just wasn't ready to take on something like that, and part of it is because the first time I played through TSL the only one I could make a Jedi was Di as I was still trying to figure out the influence system, so that's what I went with. Carth Force Sensitive... well I definitely think you can make a case for it from events in the game. Let me just say that here he's... unique.
Rhyska: Thanks, I actually had to figure out some way to get them over the hangover fast since Goto was coming, hence the stims. Leave it to Candalore to have the ultimate hangover remedy. As for the Sith assassins... yes and no (Mwhahahaha!) DS points gained.
Child: Yeah and it only gets worse from here on out, but it's not very entertaing if they Gary-Stu their way out of everything lol, I'm trying very hard to avoid the Mary/Gary trap. I think my Rev frankly would have laughed her booty off, my Exile on the other hand... I'm not sure yet... some of her personality traits are still being flushed out in my head. So far she's even more screwed up mentally than Revan. Loads and loads of angst with these people!