Taris - Part 12. Carth.
"Honestly, it's a miracle your neck isn't broken." Dr. Reyes' voice carried into the hall. "You'll want to stick to soft foods, but mostly you'll just need to take it easy for a few days avoid doing some fool thing like being strangled."
The O-MOM clinic was likely the only free clinic on the sunny side of Taris, but with the Sith cutting off traffic between Upper and Lower Taris, it was nearly empty. The lobby had been devoid of anyone save a very bored looking receptionist. Dr. Reyes had been available almost immediately, so Carth was spared worrying about whether or not Sphene was seriously injured, in between examining posters about the symptoms of exrulitis (an STD that had something to do with cannoks and Carth really didn't want to know) and the rakghoul infection.
Dr. Reyes hadn't let Carth into the examination room, but he'd been allowed to loiter outside to keep an eye on his 'cousin' while Dr. Reyes poked at Sphene.
"Trust me Doc, I've no intention of repeating the experience."
"See that you don't. I stress: no strenuous activity Ms. Starsmith. You're free to go."
Sphene emerged from the examination room, tugging her collar back into place with short, agitated movements. She lifted her nose at him and snorted. "I told you so."
"Someone has to make sure you take care of yourself." Sure, smugglers lead dangerous lives. Soldiers did too. But there wasn't any need for wandering around injured. It wasn't as if they were on Dxun with Mandalorians shooting at them, making getting to the nearest field hospital (if it hadn't been blown up) a practice in taking ones life into ones own hands.
Sphene raised an eyebrow. "Who says I don't? C'mon, we both need to eat something."
"And get back to pazaak I suppose." Carth said wryly, and waved Sphene down the hall.
"Two for the price of one. Figured you'd like that." She said cheerfully. Something about her tone rang false, but Carth couldn't determine what.
"Excuse me, Mr. Starsmith? If I could have a word with you?" Dr. Reyes exited the examination room. Carth blanked for a moment before he remembered that was the surname Sphene had given as 'theirs.'
"Yes Doctor?"
Dr. Reyes clasped her hands for a moment, before gesturing to the examination room. "In private, please."
Down the hall, Sphene stopped, looked back, and raised an eyebrow.
Ok, now this was suspicious. "Anything you have to say to me, can be said in front of her."
Dr. Reyes paused for a long moment. "Very well, Lieutenant." The warning klaxons went off full blast. She shouldn't have known that. "If… if there is any way, I hope you can send a message to my brother. He's…" Dr. Reyes paused and looked down the hall at Sphene briefly before looking at Carth again. "He's in the Third Fleet, Corporal Miguel Reyes. He spoke very highly of you."
Was this a setup? If he said no, he'd tip off that he knew something was wrong. "I'll see what I can do Doctor. Any particular message?"
"Just… Ororo's doing fine. And it's a girl. That's all."
That could've been code for all sorts of things, names, genders, Ororo being fine or not being fine or-
But Carth could hear Morgana's voice, a little faded in memory, from static interference, and a whispery from screaming and a good deal of drugs. It's a boy Carth and I'm naming him Dustil it's a good name. No I don't care that you think it sounds like 'Dust Bowl' it's a good name.
Carth didn't remember a Miguel Reyes, but once they were off planet… he'd look into it. "I'll let him know."
Carth hadn't realized how tense Dr. Reyes was until she relaxed. "Thank you." She lifted her chin then strode down the hallway – opposite of Sphene – at a fast walk and vanished around the corner.
It could be a trap. Someone – the Sith – knew they were on planet and were trying to trip them up. See if Carth would get sentimental enough over a sob story and try to do something stupid like send a message off planet through the Sith blockade and give away his exact location.
Or try to get a confirmation on who he was. Which he'd just given away by not denying it when she'd called him lieutenant and then agreeing to send that message. Damn. This was not his kind of environment. He'd much rather be behind the controls of a fighter.
"Hey, Carth. We getting a move on? Those rich nobles ain't gonna fleece themselves." Sphene had crossed her arms and tapped one foot in an exaggerated 'impatient' pose.
"Fine. Lets go."
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If anyone were following them, Carth couldn't tell, and Sphene gave no indication that she noticed anything was wrong. But two hours later, Carth again found himself in a cantina while Sphene 'fleeced' nobles out of their money. She'd set herself up at the pazaak tables in the entrance, with her feet on the table, chair balanced on two legs as she occasionally laughed and flung one of her cards onto the table. But she was a big girl and if she really wanted to break her neck then who was Carth to hover and make sure she didn't when she fell down?
And there was really only so much pazaak he could watch anyway. Carth picked a spot at the bar where he could (discreetly) keep Sphene in his sights in case of trouble, and still 'watch' the holovid. Or at least pretend he was. (Something called Beachwatch was on. It involved half naked twi'leks and questionable water-rescue practices.)
It was too soon to decide that maybe that talk with Dr. Reyes was exactly as it had appeared to be – a sister trying to get a message to her brother that his wife and child were doing fine, but couldn't get the message out through the Sith blockade. He'd have to see if Mission knew anything when they met up with her, and be watchful the rest of the time. (It was such an amateurish mistake that Carth could've kicked himself.)
Not to mention they'd need a 'Plan B.' Carth hoped Mission would find some evidence of Bastila, but he doubted it would be that easy. Their best bet would be during the swoop races. The… he didn't want to call Bastila 'loot,' but as far as the gangsters were concerned, that's what she was and she'd be bundled up with the rest of the things that were the swoop race's winnings. Given what Mission had said – the swoop races were tradition, which from her inflection seemed to double as 'inviolable' – then either said loot would be loosely guarded or... no, even if it used to be done like that, with the Sith on Taris security would be tightened considerably. The Sith weren't known for playing by anyone's rules. His own smoking homeworld was testament to that.
The handover might be the best time. Carth doubted – especially if Mission couldn't find Bastila – that he and Sphene would be able to intercept Bastila as she was given to the Swoop Race authorities (whoever they were and however that worked). But they might be able to liberate Bastila before she became someone's toy. Zaalbar would be particularly useful in that regard, if Bastila were unconscious or otherwise incapacitated-
Bastila as someone's property. Carth didn't know her well, but the idea was disquieting. Slavery was a pervasive reality in the Outer Rim but Carth couldn't quite grasp it. To him Bastila's situation felt more like rescuing a POW than a piece of furniture (that was how Sphene put it, having ones value measured as a thing and she was right Carth couldn't imagine it). But that was how the gangsters would likely view Bastila and thus they may treat her differently.
How did people treat slaves? Especially a 'trophy' one like Bastila? Carth had no idea. But Sphene might, and that was not a conversation Carth wanted to have. Sphene was prickly most of the time, though she seemed to have wound down. She was laughing and apparently having an awfully good time for someone who'd been strangled and was – he hopped – racking in some credits so they could re-supply.
"Honey, she's not going to notice you way over here. But I'm better company than blackie there anyway." The brunette that apparently decided Carth needed 'company' settled herself on the barstool to his right, ruining Carth's line of sight of Sphene. The brunette had a Tarisian noble accent (how sounding bored managed to turn itself into a regional accent Carth wasn't sure) and was, if the smell was anything to go by, a few cups into the local ale. "Now, how 'bout you get me a glass and we'll talk about you a bit hmm?"
"I'm too broke to pay for you." Carth said flatly, and hoped that would be the end of it. If she were hoping to flirt free drinks out of him she was out of luck.
"Tut." She twirled some of her hair. Carth began to doubt she was really interested in the alcohol. "Blackie cleaned you out? That it?"
If Carth were a Jedi, he'd say he felt a 'tremor in the force.' Or however Jedi said it. He leaned back slightly and eyed the brunette. "Maybe." If she weren't interested in getting drinks out of him, or attempting to bed him (Carth recalled those exrulitis posters) then what was her game? She wanted something from him, clearly.
"Now now handsome," 'handsome.' He'd never thought he'd be annoyed to have a pretty woman call him handsome, but she seemed to think flattery would get her somewhere, "no need to be shy about it. She's been cleaning people out for a while now. Some of us around here don't like that. It's not a friendly game if you walk away broke."
And there was the aim. Some rich punks, probably nobles if the way the brunette was dressed was any indication, were sore losers in a game of chance. (Though that Sphene won often enough for this to be an issue could warrant looking into. It was probable she was cheating, who was that good at pazaak that they felt they could finance a rescue operation on it?) Or it could be a ploy of some sort, though it seemed straightforward. Simply telling the brunette that he wasn't interested wasn't going to make this go away.
It was hard to say how smart the brunette – and any of her probable friends if 'some of us' was any indication – but she/they were smart enough to try and get an offworlder who could be blamed to do their dirty work. Though maybe not observant enough to have noticed he'd entered the cantina with Sphene. Another potential ploy?
Carth wasn't sure how much trouble petulant, spoiled brats could make with daddy's money, but he didn't care to find out.
"Look, if you want to picking fights with the Sith-" Sphene wasn't a Sith but the brunette didn't know that. The yellow eyes lent that claim some semblance of credibility though, "you go ahead. But leave me out of it."
The brunette's eyes darted – just briefly – to the side, and Carth knew he'd hit home. "I should've known you didn't have any balls."
"Better than not having any brains, beautiful."
That artificially pretty face – the result of genetic engineering if Carth was any judge – scrunched up in a way that it wasn't really meant to do. Maybe she was trying to sneer, or look intimidating, but the planes of her face didn't work with it. She just looked like she had a bad case of gas. Or maybe exrulitis. "You think your clever foreigner?" Funny, how her voice conveyed her disdain better. But maybe that was just the local accent. "You don't know who you're dealing with-"
"Apparently it's a little girl who's not being used to hearing 'no.' I'm not taking the fall for whatever suicidal scheme you've got going on just because you lost a few games of pazaak." It didn't look like he'd be scaring her off doing something to Sphene, but at least they were warned now.
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It was a stupid question, really. But ever since the brunette from the cantina had talked with him, it'd been on his mind. But Sphene was humming happily to herself as they left the cantina. She counted her 'bounty' as they walked – the amount had shocked Carth, no wonder the nobles had been mad – and it seemed reasonable to ask when she was in a good mood.
"Does it really bother you when I call you beautiful?" He finally asked. Sphene's behavior and moods were a bit mercurial. She had a problem with it at first but later said she liked it. Carth wasn't sure if she changed her mind or…
Sphene raised her eyebrows and was quiet for a moment. "I like it when you mean it."
After the encounter with the brunette and how she'd tried to work him with insincere flattery, Carth knew what she meant.
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Author's Notes
The amount of time spent in the cantina and the clinic was unexpected, but with how many people liked the previous chapter, decided to try something similar to flesh out Carth and Taris a bit. Bit nervous about how much time Carth spent internal monologue-ing, but was trying to show his thought processes a bit more.
Reviews let me know how it worked!