Chapter One: Escape from the Endar Spire
The Jedi Knights circled around her. She was outnumbered, four to one. This is not the first time I've been outnumbered! It won't be the last, she thought as she slowly turned round facing her adversaries, her dark robes swaying heavily against her legs. The ship's alarms were sounding off, blaring in her ears.
Shrill alarms shook Ashla Marek awake from the recurring nightmare that she had been having the last two nights. Footsteps pounded in the corridors of the ship. The door opened with a loud whoosh. Alarmed, Ashla sat up in the bunk, her heart racing.
"Marek, get up! We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up, we don't have much time!" the man yelled as he ran into the room. He was tall, with a fair complexion, and short blond hair.
"Who are you?" Panic filled Ashla's voice as her eyes darted from him and then back to the door. Grasping the blanket tightly, she clutched it against her chest.
"I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet. I'm your bunk mate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before." He motioned towards the foot locker that sat at the foot of her bunk. "Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she makes it off this ship!" Exasperated, he stared as Ashla sat up.
"Bastila?! Who's Bastila?" Ashla said, sliding off the bunk to stand.
"Bastila's the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer, really. But she's the one in charge of this mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission. Now it's time to make good on that oath! So, hurry up! Grab your gear and suit up! We don't have much time!," Trask yelled as Ashla opened the footlocker that held her gear.
Donning her uniform and armor, Ashla began to feel calmer. Equipping the vibroblade to her belt, she felt more in control. Like she had done this a million times, instead of the few times which she could remember. Recently, she had suffered a terrible head wound when the ship she was last stationed on crashed, landing her in a coma for several weeks. When she awoke from the coma, she had no memory of who she was or how she got there. The medics called it Retrograde Amnesia. Ashla had suffered a loss of all her memories from before the accident. After spending months recovering at a medical facility located on Coruscant, she had been discharged with a full bill of health, and enlisted with the Republic military as a soldier. The medics reassured her that her memories would come back in time. It was only a few days ago that she had been assigned to the Endar Spire. My first assignment after the accident, and the ship is under attack. Frakkin' hell. "Okay," Ashla said with more confidence than she was feeling, "let's go!"
As we ran out into the corridor, we heard a voice come over our personal wrist comlinks.
"This is Carth Onasi. The Sith are threatening to overrun our position! We can't hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge!"
"That was Carth!" Trask said, peering around the corridor. "He's one of the Republic's best pilots! He's seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire's crew put together. If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to help Bastila!"
Ashla peeked around the corner to see three Sith troopers blocking their way to the bridge. She motioned for him to wait, whispering, "let me draw their fire." Trask nodded in agreement. Ashla stepped lightly around the corner. The three Sith troopers saw her and opened fire. Her vibroblade trailing behind her, she rushed at one of the troopers. Whoosh, the blade arced up, then slashed across the troopers torso. He landed with a thud at Ashla's feet, as she pivoted to the next trooper. Trask's blaster shots slammed into the trooper as her blade zipped through the air. With a round kick, Ashla knocked the trooper to the ground, darting past him to the remaining trooper. The vibroblade buzzed with energy as it sliced through the air towards their last opponent. A moment later, the last trooper joined the others lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Ashla's head was pounding, pain pulsing behind her eyes. Push the pain aside, I thought, focus. The door to the bridge opened, revealing a squad of Sith troopers. Focus, breathe, one trooper at a time. Ashla took a calming breath before charging forward, her vibroblade humming with energy. After the last trooper was down, she glanced up at Trask.
"Bastila's not on the bridge – they must have retreated to the escape pods! We better head that way too. The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!" Numbly, Ashla nodded, and motioned Trask to move forward. She followed closely behind him, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
"Wait! I hear someone behind this door!" Trask exclaimed as we rounded the corner. The door hissed opened to reveal a menacing dark figure blocking the way. The man was dressed in black robes, his hood pulled up over his head leaving his face in shadow. Whirling his quarterstaff, he stalked his way toward us. "Damn! Another dark Jedi! I'll hold him off while you get to the escape pods! Go!" Trask yelled as he ran toward the dark Jedi, his blaster rapidly firing off shots.
"No,Trask, wait!" Ashla yelled as the door closed, enclosing him with the dark Jedi. With her heart racing, Ashla dashed toward the starboard side of the ship where the escape pods were located.
The comlink wrapped around her wrist chimed, "this is Carth Onasi. I'm tracking your position through the ship's life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away! I can't wait for you much longer. You have to get to the escape pods!"
The corridor was clear of enemy troopers. Ashla's feet made thundering echoes as she sprinted down the long white passageway.
The comlink chimed again, "Whoa! Be careful, there is a Sith patrol squad right around that corner!" My feet slowed to a stop as I flattened myself against the wall.
"Got it," Ashla responded quietly into the comlink, peering around the corner. Sure enough, there were three Sith troopers in the room, one on either side of the room, and one flanking the rear door. C'mon, Ash, remember. One trooper at a time. The troopers were talking amongst themselves. Wait for them to look away, she thought. The trooper to her left laughed at a joke told by the trooper flanking the rear door. The trooper craned his head around to respond. NOW! Ashla exploded from around the corner, her vibroblade bearing down on the trooper with a swwooosh! Leaping over the table in the middle of the room, Ashla pounced on the trooper to her right. Her vibroblade whistled through the air as she swung it in a semicircle, bringing it in quickly to slash across his thigh. The trooper fell to his knee with a grunt, clutching his thigh as blood seeped through the armor plating. She kicked his blaster out of his reach as it fell to the floor with a clang. Ashla gave a swift kick to his chest, knocking him backwards. Two down, one left… She charged at the remaining trooper. Blaster shots were bearing down on her as she closed in on the trooper. Ping. Ping. Ping. Using the flat side of the blade, she deflected the blaster shots away from her before ripping it across his chest. The trooper fell back against the wall, sliding down to land in a heap on the floor. Breathing heavy, Ashla stood still awaiting orders from Onasi before moving into the next room.
#
Carth Onasi was having a bad day. Not only was he pulled off his normal rotation, but he had been reassigned to a completely different ship, the Endar Spire, which was currently under Sith assault. All the escape pods, save one, was away. There was only one surviving member of the crew left onboard. His record log indicated that she was a new recruit. Just great, he thought, a newbie. He watched the ship's life support system track the recruit's movement through the ship heading toward his location. "C'mon…" he mumbled as he watched her dot move on the terminal. He watched in awe as the three enemy life support dots rapidly blinked out as she made her way across the room. Her blinking dot stopped before the door. There was one room left between her and the escape pods, which held a full squad of sith troopers. With his fingers swiftly moving across the terminal's keyboard, he activated her comlink.
"Hey, Be careful! There's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door! Find some way to thin their numbers. You could reprogram the damaged assault droid to help you, if you have enough repair parts. Or you could use computer spikes to slice into the terminal and use the Endar Spire's security systems against the Sith. You need to hurry!" he replied. He heard a breathless, "got it" from the recruit. The terminal flashed an alert icon signaling a computer terminal being sliced. The enemy troop's life indicator dots quickly vanished from the screen. A moment later, the door behind him opened as she rushed into the room. She stopped in front of him, breathing heavy, with locks of long dark reddish brown hair escaping from her braid. She clutched her upper arm where she had been grazed by a blaster shot. Large dark brown eyes stared up at him.
"You made it just in time! There's only one active escape pod left! C'mon, we can hide out on the planet below!" Carth motioned toward the escape pod.
"Did Trask make it?" Ashla asked as she looked around the room.
"No, we're the only remaining saviors." He said solemnly.
She eyed him warily. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"Listen, I'm a soldier with the Republic, just like you!" Carth said urgently. "We're the last two crew members left! Bastila's escape pod is already away, so there is no reason we should stick around here and get shot by the Sith! C'mon, there will be time for questions later! We need to go! Now!" Carth said as he moved to the escape pod. She nodded, then opened the hatch to the pod and climbed inside. Carth shook his head as he climbed in after her. He slid into the pilot seat. "Strap yourself in! We're in for a bumpy ride!" he said as he jettisoned the pod toward the planet below.
#
Carth Onasi was having a really, really bad day. He had crash landed on Taris, a planet currently under a Sith quarantine. He had very little credits on hand. And, to make matters worse, his sole companion was injured and had passed out during the crash landing. Damn, what a day, he thought as he pulled her from the wreckage. Heaving her over his shoulder, he picked up the bag containing the med packs and emergency supply rations. Under the cloak of darkness, he crept into a nearby building. A male green skinned Twi'lek was standing next to a small shoddy retail stall as Carth slunk inside.
"Hey, uh...what kind of building is this?" Carth asked quietly.
The Twi'lek's lekku twitched nervously as he took in Carth's Republic uniform and the unconscious woman slung over his shoulder. "An apartment building." The Twi'lek replied in Basic.
Carth looked up and down the empty hallway. "Do you know if any of the apartments are empty?" He looked at the Twi'lek with a slight grin. Finally, a little luck coming my way!
The Twi'lek motioned down the hall. "Yes, the apartment two doors down is open. I don't think he'll be coming back...anytime soon," the Twi'lek replied. Carth shrugged his shoulders reshifting the weight of his unconscious companion and nodded his thanks.
He found the apartment unlocked just as Twi'lek said he would. The apartment was small, dusty, and a little smelly from being unoccupied but, otherwise, it was a good space. One room with two beds, table with two chairs, and a refresher in the corner. There was also a footlocker to stow equipment, and a workbench. He moved over to one of the beds and laid her down gently, slipped off her boots, pulled off the light armor she was wearing. Carefully, he disrobed her, leaving her in her undergarments. After covering her with a blanket, he set to tending her wounds. There was a gash on her upper right arm, which he cleaned and covered with a kolto bandage. Then he set to cleaning up the wound on her forehead. After slicing the alarm panel on the door, he reset the passcode and locked the apartment. Quietly, he pulled off his flight jacket and then laid down on the other bed. He glanced over at the other bed and its occupant. Her chest slowly rose and fell with her breath. He watched her breathe for a moment before his eyes closed and slept.