Knights of the Old Republic 3: The Final Chapters

Chapter 12: Ambush

Hey guys, back with chapter 12. Don't have anything for this author's note, other than enjoy.


Hyperspace travel never got any easier, especially on long journeys. Passing time was the only alternative option other than boredom. Since rejoining the crew, Mission already got settled and was more than happy to spend time on the ship.

Within the garage, Mission was practicing her melee with Meetra. Her sparring partner was more than happy to help teach her some combat. To prevent any physical or weapon damage, they two were training with wooden vibroswords.

"Keep your guard up on the left side," Meetra advised, tapping her weapon into said side.

"Roger, roger," Mission replied with a hint of mockery. "Thanks for the help, I did ask Canderous for help, but he said and I quote, "I don't have time to train brats".

From the hallway, they heard the familiar mandalorian call out, taking offense for her mocking his voice. "I heard that!"

Meetra couldn't avoid a small chuckle as she ignored Canderous. "It's no problem. You've got skill. Not your first time using one?"

"I've owned my own blade since I was a kid," Mission explained, ducking to avoid an attack. "I was never really the best with it, but I carried it around for sentimental value. Revan taught me a few tricks once, saved my life on one occasion."


"Lord Malak was most displeased when-"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard that one before," Revan blew off their threats, igniting his lightsaber. "Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to fight?"

The three dark Jedi attacked. While Bastila was annoyed by her partners lack of discipline, she would scold him later. Now, she ignited her own lightsaber and jumped into battle against them. As weapons collided, the third Sith had attacked Mission who was unfortunate enough to be with them at the time.

The Sith attacked her. Without a thought, she raised her vibrosword and successfully blocked against his lightsaber. However, due to his high training, it was not long until the dark Jedi overpowered her, kicking her against a wall.

Caught between life and death, Mission had to act fast. This dark Jedi may allow his pride to get the better of him. Slowly, he raised his lightsaber for the killing blow as Mission put on her defenseless face. With perfect timing, Mission thrust her vibrosword forward, impaling the surprised dark Jedi through the abdomen.


"Revan always did have a kind heart," Meetra agreed. "No matter what happened, he would never allow anything to happen for the ones he loved."

Mission raised a smile in agreement. "It'll be good to see him again."

Their training concluded a couple of moments later. Mission thanked the former exile for her help before leaving elsewhere. She took a break from training as she fixed her hair up via the mirror attached to the wall.

Her only company was Bao-Dur, who had been silent while he tinkered with some equipment. "The kid sure is enthusiastic."

Meetra smiled in agreement. "No need to tell me twice. She reminds me of myself when I was a padawan: young, excited, ready to take on the world and never letting nothing get me down."

Bao-Dur wished he shared her opinion, but he could only think of the negatives outweighing the negatives. "That's what worries me. If everything is true about this Sith world, then it's dangerous for an army of Jedi, let alone someone of her age. I'm not doubting your invitation to Mission, but I can't avoid my concern."

Needless to say, Meetra was not surprised at this, something she had thought of beforehand. "It is dangerous, and I couldn't agree with you more, but she has a desire to help Revan for all of his help and I don't want to stand in the way of that. Besides, I don't intend to take her into battle, only as back up."

Though a small part of him said otherwise Bao-Dur nodded. "I don't doubt your word, general."

Before their conversation continued, the sudden turbulence that shook the entire ship snapped everyone out from their thoughts, the sound of the hyperdrive came to a halt. The ship continued to shake as Meetra struggled to keep herself balanced.

"Carth!" she called over her comlink. "What's going on over there?"

"We've been pulled out of hyperspace!" Carth responded as he struggled to maintain control, even with the help of Atton. "Everyone brace yourselves!"

The ship continued to bolt as it's control was no longer in their hands. Through the glass, Carth watched in awe as a corona-class armed frigate hovered above them, trapping the Hawk in a tractor beam.

"Pirates," Atton noted. "Only their type fly those ships."

"There's nothing we can do to escape," Carth admitted, grasping his chair for balance. "We're going in."

Slowly but surely, the Ebon Hawk drifted through space as the open hanger came into flew. Now that the turbulence ceased, everyone gathered in the center of the ship, their weapons at the ready.

"We're ready to fight," Carth said confidently, drifting his attention towards the former exile. "What's the plan?"

Meetra's response was not one they were expecting. "We're not going to fight them."

This sparked a mixture of emotions through the crew, some in confusion while others begun to think she was crazy. There was at least a dozen of them, half of which were force wielders.

"Did you got knocked in the head?" Canderous questioned. "In case it hadn't dawned on you, we have weapons and I don't intend to tell my troops I surrendered to a bunch of pirates."

"And you won't," Meetra reassured. "Listen to me, there could be hundreds of them out there, a thousand even. We're just one crew, not an army. They may not be the sharpest in the galaxy, but they're not stupid either. I don't intend to risk my crew's safety."

There was a brief silence as their ship continued to ascended, now reaching the entrance of the hanger. Whatever her plan was, she didn't have long to explain.

"What is your plan, exile?" Handmaiden inquired. "I suggest you make it quick."

Meetra nodded. "This is the plan…"


Zhun Skass grinned in satisfaction as their prize came into view. Nothing pleased her more than witnessing victims fall into their trap. Her troops gathered around her as they prepared to fight, all of which were of the weequay species, herself included.

"It's my favorite part of the day," Zhun chuckled, rubbing her hands together in delight. "A fine ship. I might keep this one instead of scrapping it for parts. Prepare yourself, boys. Only the rich type afford a ship like this, that includes protection."

Her men understood their orders and readied their blasters. As they prepared to force the entrance open, they were surprised to see the ramp had lowered down for them. The pirates raised their weapons as a woman, a man and a astromech droid emerged from inside the ship.

"We surrender!" Meetra announced, her voice clearly putting on a charade.

Carth couldn't avoid rolling his eyes. "(They're never gonna fall for this.)"

Zhun holstered her own blaster as she approached the taller woman. "You look a little young to be a smuggler. Where is the rest of your crew?"

"There is no other crew," Meetra replied as sincerely as possible. "It's just us."

Zhun grinned. "I doubt that. You, bind them. You three, search the ship."

"Yes captain!"

The pirates marched in formation as they entered the Ebon Hawk. Meetra could only hope this plan worked. Her worries continued as one of the pirates cuffed her hands behind her back, the same treatment occurred for Carth.

As a couple of tense moments passed, the pirates returned in the same numbers as before, one of them speaking for the rest of the team. "There's no one else aboard, captain. The ship's clear."

Needless to say, Zhun was surprised that her prisoner might have actually been telling the truth. "Interesting. And cargo?"

"Just a few blasters, a speeder and some food," the same pirate debrief. "Nothing of too much value."

Something was not right here, and Zhun intended to find out. "Have your men search the ship thoroughly, I don't want a single spot unchecked. As for these two, take them to the holding cells, I will interrogate them later."

"And the droid?"

"Take it to the mechanic room and see if there is everything stored in it's memory core," Zhun ordered. "Now get to work!"

The pirates obeyed their leader. While most scattered elsewhere, a small team prepared to research the ship while others escorted Meetra and Carth to the holding cells. So far, their plan was coming together nicely.

As they were escorted down a hallway, Carth leaned over to whisper. "I hope this works."

"No talking!" one of the guards shoved his blaster into Carth, forcing him to be silent.

With their leader and pilot imprisoned and weaponless, it was now up to the rest of the team to do their part.


"My legs are killing me," Mission complained between groans.

"How do you think I feel?" Atton retorted nearby. "I'm twice your height."

"Be silent!" Juhani ordered. "I sense that we are not alone. There are two men patrolling the interior of the ship. We must be patient for a little while longer."

With Meetra, Carth and T3 acting as the decoys, the rest of the team remained hidden within the vents under the ship, keeping out of sight from the pirates. The two patrolmen continued their search for the ship for now, until something caught one of their interests.

"Hey Zuk, come look at this!"

His partner rushed over towards the storage compartment where a lone droid remained idle. "It looks like one of those HK units. Those things are rare! The captain will be pleased."

As they shared a high-five, their moment of triumph was ruined when HK's eyes lit up. Before they could react, the droid clasped one hand against their neck while the other seized the second pirate by his arm.

"He's active!" one of them panicked.

Without hesitation, HK threw one of them into a wall and rendered him unconscious before slamming the other one into the ground. Had it not been for his master's orders, he would have gladly disposed of them right now.

From the beneath the ship, the floorboards were removed as the rest of the crew emerged from their hiding positions.

Sticking to the plan, HK-47 picked up one of the pirates comlinks as he programmed his voice modulator to mimic said pirate. "Hey, this is Zuk. We can take the rest from here, you guys go on ahead."

A brief response echoed from the other end. "Copy that. We'll be in the barracks if you need us."

"Nice work, HK," Mission praised, surprised that such a killer could be strategic.

"Statement: if it were up to me, I would have gladly burned these pathetic excuse of pirates to a crisp," HK-47 admitted as he retrieved his blaster. "Now we will save the master?"

With a grunt, Atton slumped over one of the pirates over his shoulder to dispose of him elsewhere. "Not yet. We stick to the plan."

As soon as their ship was pirate free, Mical stepped up to address to the team. "Based off Master Surik's instructions, we are to divide into three times: Atton and Visas will attend on saving our friends while Canderous, Mission and Zaalbar will disable the tractor beam. The rest of us will guard the ship and prepare to make a swift exit."

Though most agreed with the plan, Handmaiden had her own thoughts to speak. "This plan is risky. We lack the knowledge of the ship's layout and amount of guards."

"Tough luck, sister, 'cause there's no going back now," Atton responded uncaring as he grabbed his weapons. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to make sure our fearless leader makes it out in one piece. Visas, let's go."

"As you wish." Visas agreed.

The two force wielders left the ship, activating their stealth field generators to remain out of the side. Unfortunately for the rest of them, that was the only cloaking devices they had to spare. With no time to waste, Canderous grabbed his blaster as they prepared to leave.

"Keep up, kid," Canderous ordered, marching away before he even waited for an answer.

Before Mission followed, Bao-Dur picked up something from his workstation and tossed it to her. "Take this. It's a decryption software I've been working on, should bypass their systems with ease."

Mission was more than capable of splicing through their systems, but she appreciated the assistance all the same. "Thanks Bao-Dur. Come on, Big Z."

Team two proceeded to leave the ship, leaving the rest of the team to guard the ship alone. "Be on your guard," Juhani cautioned.


"How many times do I have to tell you?" Meetra grew tired of repeating the same answer. "There is nothing of value on my ship, we were just escorting some food supplies, that's all."

Her interrogator did not take her word. She was forced to endure his questions as she remained seated in a chair in the middle of a cell, both hands still cuffed behind her. Even bound, she was more than capable of defeating him.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" the pirate responded with a growl, taking a knife from his holster. "If it wasn't for Zhun, I wouldn't hesitate to cut your tongue from your throat!"

The deactivation of the cell door behind him broke his thoughts. He turned, expecting to see one of his colleagues. Instead, he was met with emptiness, leaving him puzzled. That confusion was suddenly replaced with shock as an energy engulfed him, rendering him unconscious.

"You took your time," Meetra said as her allies deactivated their disguise.

"We stopped for coffee," Atton remarked, freeing the restraints from her wrists as he helped her stand. "You okay?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle, thanks," Meetra assured, narrowing her attention towards their captain and the astromech droid. "You rescued Carth and T3. The rest of the team?"

"The others have set on their own mission," Visas informed. "Mandalore has taken his team to free our ship from imprisonment."

"And the others are guarding the ship," Atton added. "Piece of cake."

"No reason to hang around here," Meetra agreed, kneeling down to T3's height in order to retrieve her lightsaber and comlink the astromech droid held onto for her. "Thanks buddy. Now let's get going."

The team proceeded to make their way back to the ship. As they turned a corner, they did not expect to run directly into Zhun, accompanied with two of her guards. Everyone's faces met with surprise as they bumped into the other. It was obvious what was going to occur next.

Carth sighed. "Oh blast it."


While team one attended to the rescue, team two made haste to get to the control room and disable the tractor beam. Getting through undetected was difficult, but under the guidance of Canderous, they made their way through with little easy.

"Any day now," Canderous requested impatient.

Mission was busy trying to splice through a security door that would lead them directly into the control room. "You nagging me isn't going to speed this up. Just give a minute...A-A-And...Got it!"

The door opened swiftly, bringing a single pirate into view. He remained stumped as the team of three stood only a foot away from him.

Canderous grinned as he raised his fist. "Hi," and proceeded to knock out their enemy with one punch.

Now inside, Mission made haste to get onto the computer and put her magic to good use. With the help of Bao-Dur's software, getting into the systems was fairly easy than she thought. "I'll need a minute to get through their systems."

Canderous equipped his repeater blaster, standing guard by the door. "We'll watch your back, just make it quick."

Ignoring his demanding attitude, Mission worked as fast as she could. Fortunately, their security systems were not the best, allowing her to breach the computer with ease. "It's done. Tractor beam is disabled and with the virus I installed, they won't be getting it back up for some time."

"Good work, kid," Canderous actually praised, surprising Mission. "Now let's get out-"

His words were drained out by the blazing sounds of alarms echoing through the entire ship. If the pirates didn't know they were here before, they definitely had now.

Whatever respect Canderous had for Mission had now drained away. "What did you do?!"

"It wasn't me!" Mission protested defensively.

Zaalbar roared in panic. From the other side of the room, pirates emerged, forcing him to open fire with his crossbow. Canderous joined suite as they retreated elsewhere.

"We gotta get back to the ship," Canderous ordered, taking position to cover them from behind. "GO!"


Meanwhile, team one made haste to retreat back to their ship, blaster fire narrowly missing them from behind. They were fast on their heels as Zhun and her men chased them from behind.

Carth returned fire as he struggled to keep up, his old age limiting his movements. "It was going so well!"

"The odds of running into her on a ship this big is just pure pazaak!" Atton responded. As they passed a group of crates, he raised his hand and used the force to push them down, slowing down the pirates.

The Ebon Hawk came into sight, only to have their hope rip from them as the blast door closed in front of them. Without hesitation, Meetra thrust her lightsaber to the door, cutting through it. Visas assisted her shortly after as Atton and Carth protected them.

Meetra's comlink beeped as she kept her focused on cutting down the door. "I'm a little busy!"

"We're back at the Hawk, but we're getting flanked at every corner!" Canderous shouted, blaster fire echoing in the background. "Where are you?"

"We're just outside the hanger!" Meetra called out. "Get ready to take us off!"

Their combined effort finally cut down the door as they entered the hanger, only to come face to face with dozens of pirates. Meetra did not hesitate to cut some of them down as they fought their way to the ship.

She joined Juhani near the ramp, deflecting blaster fire as they spoke. "Is everyone here?"

"Mission and Zaalbar are pinned down over there!" Juhani responded. "They cannot leave without risk of injury!"

"I'll go and help them!" Meetra assured. "T3, get the engines started. Atton, Mical, with me!"

"On it!"

"We're with you!"

While the others guarded the ship, the three force wielders covered each other as they made their way over towards Mission and Zaalbar, both friends remained ducked under boxes of crates. Blaster fire continued spreading across the hanger, rapidly covering the sky.

"Get to the ship!" Meetra ordered. "We'll keep you-ARGH!"

A stray blaster shot struck her in the thigh, forcing Meetra to drop her guard as he stumbled. Fortunately, her armor had blocked the actually damage. She limped with one hand pressed against her injury while the other wielded her lightsaber.

Atton took her free arm, helping her walk back to the ship. "I got ya! Come on, move it or lose it!"

Now that the attention was focused elsewhere, Mission followed suite while Zaalbar remained in cover for now, intending to keep her covered until she was safe. Their enemies were backed with reinforcements as Zhun emerged from one of the doors with more men.

"Kill them!" Zhun screamed. "KILL THEM!"

Her orders boosted the pirates motivation as they rained down more blaster fire. The rest of the crew slowly entered the ship, Canderous even entering the turret for better fire. Juhani, HK-47 and Mical remained as the main cover while Atton supported Meetra.

Filled with rage and embarrassment, Zhun retrieved a plasma grenade from her belt. "Die SCUM!"

With a strong toss, the plasma grenade came directly towards them, aimed directly towards Meetra. Through the rapid fire of red lasers shooting through the air, the team were fortunate enough that Attons potted the danger.

His eyes widened as he forced both himself and Meetra to the ground. "Everyone, down!"

The others complied and ducked. The grenade overshot them as he landed when Mission was previously hiding for cover. Fortunately, she had moved since then, but the same could not be said for her best friend.

Everyone watched in horror as the plasma grenade landed directly beneath Zaalbar's feet. With no time to move, Mission was forced to watch as her best friend became engulfed in the explosion, releasing a cry of agony before his limp body dropped to the ground.

"NOOOOO!" Mission screamed. "ZAALBAR!"

Ignoring the previous danger, she attempted to help him, only to be restrained by Juhani.

"Mission, no!" Juhani pleaded.

"Let me go!" Mission demanded, struggling to free herself from the cathar's grip. "Let me go! Let me help him!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Juhani told, pulling the squirming Mission towards the Ebon Hawk. As she placed one foot against the ramp, a sharp, piercing pain forced her to release a cry of pain, dropping to her knees as she clutched her injured arm.

In the process, she was forced to release Mission. Mical took her place and dragged Mission onto the ship, leaving the three of them alone to fight the rest of the pirates.

"Get Juhani!" Meetra requested as she took her arm from around Atton. "I'll be fine!"

Though hesitant, Atton acknowledged she could take care of herself even with her injury. He helped Juhani stand as they entered the Ebon Hawk. Before long, Meetra soon joined the crew, taking one sympathetic look towards Zaalbar before leaving.

She slammed her hand against the button, shutting the door. "Carth, get us out of here!"

The Ebon Hawk slowly ascended, deflecting the blaster fire with ease. With a small turn, the ship boosted out of the hanger and made their escape. Unfortunately, they were not out of danger yet as heavy fire from the cruiser's cannons opened fire on them.

"Everyone hang onto something!" Carth ordered through the intercom. "Atton, I need you up here!"

The scoundrel had just finished getting Juhani to the medical bay, gently setting her down on the bed. He proceeded to run towards the cockpit, taking a seat as the co-pilot. "I'm entering the hyperspace coordinates, get ready!"

Heavy fire continued to bombard them. Despite their combined skills, they were unable to dodge every shot. Their shields couldn't hold out for ever. As they continued, one accurate shot had finally broke through their shields, leaving a dent in the back of the ship. Fortunately, they were still intact.

Finally, Atton finished entering the coordinates. "Punch it!"

Without hesitation, Carth pulled down the level and the Ebon Hawk shot into hyperspace, freeing them from the pirates. The crew had successfully escaped from their captors, but not without the loss of one of their own. No doubt this was going to hit the crew hard for a long time, none more than Mission.


Rest in peace, Zaalbar. Now I know alot of you are probably going to hate me for this, but this it the reality of Star Wars. The good guys don't always win, there will always be deaths on both sides. The group have successfully escaped the pirates and now continue their journey. Stay tuned for chapter 13 this Friday.