Empty Space

The flash of lightsaber meeting lightsaber was nearly blinding, the blades moved so fast Carth could hardly tell who was hitting who. He struggled vainly against Malak's invisible stasis hold, desperate to join in on the fight. Moriel may have been Revan once, but he wasn't ready to lose her yet. Not like this…

The lightsabers suddenly separated, and to Carth's utmost surprise, Malak turned and ran. Moriel immediately gave chase, hard on the heels of the Dark Lord. Carth tried to call out to her, but the stasis had rendered him mute, and he could do nothing but watch helplessly as her figure grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared around the curve of the corridor.

All at once Carth's body unfroze, and in his disorientated state he fell. But he recovered swiftly, grabbing his blasters and jumping to his feet again. He looked over at Bastila only to see she had her double-sided yellow blade already primed for action. He gave her a nod, and together they took off full speed down the corridor where Malak and Moriel had disappeared.

"Well," Carth called out as they ran, "now she knows too. Was that ever a part of your genius plan?"

Bastila shot him a glare over her shoulder. "Eventually, yes. But this was a bit premature…" She skidded to a halt at the next intersection, and Carth almost impaled himself on her lightsaber. He sidestepped quickly, glaring at the thrumming blade and swearing that if Jedi were to use such weapons they should learn how to wield them safely.

"She went this way," Bastila said, sprinting to her right. Carth shook his head and followed. "We're very close to accomplishing our mission," Bastila continued, speaking over her shoulder again as Carth struggled to keep up with her pace. "She needs your skills now more than ever."

"Revan needs me?" Carth spat, somewhat breathlessly. "Does she? She seemed to be doing just fine on her own when she was Dark Lord of the Sith. How sure are you that she's changed, anyway? How do you know she hasn't been playing you, waiting for you to hand her an opportunity to finish off the Republic?"

Bastila stopped abruptly in front of a door to their left, and Carth scowled as he once more dodged the end of her blade. She turned to face him, meeting his eyes with a hard gaze. "I'm sure," she said evenly. "I know. I sense it. But I suppose you have a pretty good idea of it as well."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Bastila inspected the door; attempted to open it. It was locked. She immediately plunged the blade of her lightsaber through the door, slowly melting a hole in the metal. She glanced over to him as she worked. "You two have been getting rather close lately, haven't you?"

Carth narrowed his eyes, but he felt his chest tighten. "That's none of your business."

"Oh, I think it is. That's why this is bothering you so much, isn't it?"

Carth looked away from her, his fingers tightening around the grips of his blasters. "No… I… that has nothing to do with this."

Bastila withdrew her lightsaber from the door, having traced a fair-sized rectangle in its middle. She stepped back, then kicked the weakened section of the door through to the other side. The cut piece clanged loudly against the floor and Bastila turned to face him again. "It has everything to do with this," she said lowly. "Your feelings for her are dangerous, Carth. They distract you, confuse you. And you can't afford that, not now."

"Don't lecture me," Carth snapped, glaring fiercely at her as she bent to duck through the constructed opening. "This whole mess is your fault. You Jedi… you think you know everything–"

Bastila straightened quickly, her gaze burning. "I know that you two have grown far too attached to each other," she interrupted sharply. "A Jedi should not have such ties –"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be a Jedi," Carth blurted. "Did that thought ever cross that selfish mind of yours?"

Bastila squared her shoulders. "The Force is strong in her. And she has been letting her passions run unchecked." The Jedi gave Carth a pointed look, and though he felt a flush crawling up his neck he managed to hold her gaze. "Such a combination rarely turns out well. If you truly care for her, you will urge her to follow her Jedi disciplines."

She turned and ducked through the mutilated door, once more leading the way.

Carth followed her through, letting out a bark of laughter. "Care for her? She's not even the person I thought she was..." His words died as the sound of clashing lightsabers once again reached his ears, and despite himself he felt his heart skip a beat. She was still alive…

He broke into a swift trot, hugging the wall as they came closer to the noise… they rounded a corner and drew up short. Moriel and Malak still fought ferociously; the red light of their blades and swirling black cloaks made it look more like a dance than combat.

"Make your decision," Bastila whispered to him, and then she threw herself into the whirling mass of sabers and bodies.

Make your decision.

Carth hit the floor with a grunt, and more out of instinct than comprehension of what was happening, he drew his blaster and leapt to his feet. The ship shuddered, nearly knocking him down again, and he grabbed the pilot's seat for support. Klaxons blared; all at once the lights went out, leaving the emergency lighting to bathe the cockpit in flashing red. The navi-computer emitted a high pitched beep and Carth stumbled over to it, running a hand over his face and still trying to shake off the disorientation of his dream and the confusion of his awakening.

"UNAUTHORIZED COURSE CHANGE CONFIRMED. INSTATING SAFETY PROTOCOL GUNDARK 507.2-HI. AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE STAND BY FOR ARREST."

Carth swore, slamming a fist down on the bulkhead. "Vogga! You fat, slimy, double-crossing, prugnuficating gravel maggot! When I get back to Nar Shaddaa…"

The klaxons shut off abruptly, and in the resulting silence Carth heard the engines shut down. The controls in front of him went black as well, leaving only the emergency lights and the navi-computer screen still glowing. Carth stared at the darkened bulkhead. "Oh no. No no no…"

He tried to bring the engines back online, but there was no response. Not even a sputter or a whine. He glanced out the viewport. They had dropped out of hyperspace, but not where they were supposed to. There was no gleaming planet of city lights in front of him. Just space. Empty space with all its empty stars.

He tried entering new coordinates into the navi-computer, but it too had locked up, simply displaying the words: PLEASE STAND BY FOR ARREST. He tried using it to find out where he was, but the screen still didn't change.

"Suns damn it!" he roared, swinging around to punch the back of the copilot's chair. The datapad he had placed on the seat earlier clattered to the floor, and Carth reached down to pick it up, then hurled it at the wall. It struck near the doorway and shattered, pieces of plasteel and wiring flying everywhere. He ignored the mess, pacing around the cockpit, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, think," he muttered aloud. "Think. There has to be some way around this…"

I believe you've found your way out of worse situations…

Just don't say I didn't tell you so when the ship breaks down.

He groaned, knowing he really had no choice. He pulled his blaster and went to get Aayla from the hold.

He had reached the double doors and was about to punch in the security code when he realized the power outage had also taken out the keypad panel. He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the wall. This day just keeps getting better and better. He took a deep breath, resisting the urge to also punch the security panel. He would have to use a method with a bit more finesse if he was going to get these doors open. But then, he had never been good at lock-picking or code-slicing. That had been Moriel's – Revan's – area of expertise.

He straightened his shoulders, leaning close to the doors, and cleared his throat. "Aayla?"

There was a stretch of silence. He frowned, wondering if the sudden drop out of hyperspace might have injured her. That would be just his luck… He tapped lightly on the metal of the doors. "Aayla?" he called again, louder this time.

To his relief he heard shuffling from within.

"Oh, you're back now, are you?" she said smugly, her voice coming muffled through the door. "So I take it the ship has broken down? Unless that lovely tumble I took was your pitiful attempt at landing…"

Carth gritted his teeth. He really hated admitting when he was wrong. He decided to avoid the subject. "You said you could get around those safeguards, right?"

"Maybe I could have before they shut down the whole ship," Aayla replied sourly. "Now I'm not so sure. Did you happen to see which protocol it was? The navi-computer should have listed it."

Carth closed his eyes in thought. "Something about a gundark…"

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what numbers came with it?"

"Er… no."

He heard her irritated sigh even through the doors. "Well then do you remember whether it had 'HI' or 'SL' after it?"

"Um… I think 'HI'."

"You think?"

"I think."

She muttered something in her native language and Carth had an idea it wasn't very flattering. He rolled his eyes, shifting impatiently. "Can you tell me how to fix the ship or not?"

She barked laughter. "Are you kidding? You'd just as soon blow us up as save us. No way, flyboy. You're just going to have to let me out of here."

"Yah…," Carth grimaced, "that's going to be difficult. The power's out; the panel out here doesn't work."

"Lucky for me then that I brought tools," Aayla commented dryly. "In the cargo bay, I brought a bag. Go get it."

Carth narrowed his eyes at the tone of her voice, but went to do as he was told. He was surprised to find her bag also contained several pairs of his clothes and his old combat suit. He pulled out the armor and strapped it on quickly, then rooted through the rest of the bag and removed a small hold-out blaster and vibro-shiv. He hid the weapons in the cargo bay and returned to the secure hold with the rest of Aayla's stash.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Just do exactly as I tell you to."

"Fine. I'm ready."

Using Aayla's rather advanced tools and almost alarming knowledge of wiring, Carth managed to rig a substitute power core to the door panel, allowing him to type in the code and open the hold. The open keypad sparked as the double doors creaked apart and Carth jumped backwards, but recovered in time to point his blaster at Aayla just as she strode from the hold. Her dark eyes narrowed as she spotted him.

"Oh, that's nice. Abandon me to Vogga, lock me in a dark cargo bay for hours with no food, water, or toilet, then point a blaster in my face and expect me to help save your ass. I see how that's logical."

"I told you not to come with me."

"I wish I hadn't." She took a step closer and he lifted the blaster warningly. "I should have left you to the mercy of Vogga's goons I suppose. I'm sure they're on their way by now."

"Guess you'd better get to work repairing the ship then," Carth said evenly.

Aayla crossed her arms. "Not till you put that thing away."

"You're in no position to make demands."

She smiled. "Neither are you."

"I have a gun pointed at your face."

"And without my face I can't fix this ship."

"So I'll shoot you somewhere else."

"Oh, how charming. No wonder you never found a female. Shoot me anywhere and I'll let you rot in space till Vogga's bounty hunters catch up to you."

"Oh, how charming," Carth sneered back. "No wonder all the men you sleep with are gone by morning." He kicked her bag of tools across the floor; it came to rest at her feet. He holstered his blaster, fixing her with a cutting glare, and nodded his head toward the cockpit.

Her eyes flashed dangerously, but she said nothing. She reached down to pick up her bag and swung it over her shoulder as she turned to make her way down the corridor. He followed behind her, his hand resting on his blaster grip, his eyes never leaving her strutting form. He may have been forced into accepting her help, but that didn't mean he trusted her.

"I see you found that armor I so kindly brought for you," she said coldly over her shoulder.

Carth only grunted in reply.

TO BE CONTINUED...
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