Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Wars universe or Star Wars KOTOR, George
Lucas and Lucas Arts do. They also own all the Characters and Worlds
contained therein. The characters created by me for this story are all
that I own.
Taris – Upper City
I saw a beautiful woman, fierce and bright, she was fighting a dark Jedi her movements sure and swift as they fought. I could hear the hum and snap of the lightsabers. I gazed at her face; my eyes dwelled on her dark eyes, the tendrils of dark brown hair that escaped the elaborate braids she wore. The dark Jedi fell and the woman looked up a challenge in her eyes. Was she looking at me? At something past me? The dream faded and I woke to unfamiliar surroundings. I was lying on a bed in an apartment. I felt like I had been used for a punching bag, I must have been pretty beat up if I'm still this sore I thought, and I had a pounding headache.
A voice said "Good to see you up instead of thrashing around, I was starting to wonder if you would ever wake up. I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire, I was on the escape pod with you do you remember?" He looked concerned and anxious.
I focused on the speaker and recognized him; "Right" I answered "I'm Catherine or Cait McDonald. How did we get here?" I carefully felt over my head, it was tender in spots. That would account for my dazed feeling. Once again the regeneration implant had probably saved my life. I don't think Onasi expected me up this soon if at all judging from what he's saying and the looks I'm getting from him.
Carth said "Well you've been slipping in and out of consciousness for over a day now. We're safe... at least for the moment. We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when the pod crashed. But luckily I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith had arrived on the scene we were long gone."
I nodded and said "I guess I owe you my life, thanks"
Carth replied curtly "You don't have to thank me. I've never abandoned anyone on a mission and I'm not about to start now. Besides I'm going to need your help." He began to fill me in on the situation we were in. Taris was an occupied planet under martial law and quarantine. He mentioned that for a raw recruit I knew a lot of languages but that would probably prove to be very handy in this situation.
I sighed to myself, those darn records again. Carth finished "There's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves."
I said "Jedi Bastila, the mission commander from the Endar Spire. I never had a chance to meet her."
Carth nodded "Bastila is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort we have to find her."
I asked, "Any idea where we should start looking?" Carth said "While you were out I did some scouting around. There are reports of a couple of escape pods crashing down in the Undercity. That's probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We don't want to go in there unprepared. It won't do Bastila any good if we go in and get ourselves killed."
I chuckled and said "I couldn't agree with you more on that point." I paused and finally asked "about my service records what exactly was in them, I'm starting to suspect there has been a clerical error from what you are saying. For one thing I'm hardly a raw recruit."
He looked at me and said "You aren't right out of officer basic training and the two month advanced officer combat training?." He said it like I was only confirming something he already knew.
I sighed and shook my head, "No I graduated from officer basic school almost two years ago. Didn't they give any dates?" He shook his head "No, your service records were pretty spotty. They included your basic and officer training, a comment about some advanced combat training which we assumed was the usual officer combat training that everyone takes, and your marks, but no dates or anything. We were going to ask for more information but never had time to."
I sighed and thought about how to proceed without giving away too much information. I know my commander had never thought I would find myself in this situation. If I withheld the fact that I was covert ops I would be hobbling Onasi who would be operating under an incorrect idea of my abilities.
I finally said, "Well, this places me in an awkward position. I'm not sure how much to tell you of my training since so much of it is classified, which is why the service records you got were ah... so interesting. I'm under orders to not give out details but I can let you know that I'm two years out of officer training. After officer basic I went into covert ops training and I graduated from that half a year ago. Other than that there really isn't any more I can tell you. Sorry, but orders are orders. I'm bending them to tell you this much."
He stared at me and said "That explains the tattoo on your back it's your unit symbol isn't it? I thought it was pretty odd for a raw recruit to have a tattoo with the motto "Death comes on silent feet." I colored realizing that he must have undressed me while I was unconscious, but then I thought that he had probably been trying to find out how badly wounded I was and administering medical care, exactly as I would have done if our positions had been reversed.
"Yes it's my unit's symbol, how badly hurt was I anyway? I've got a huge lump on my head and a blinding headache. And I'm sore all over."
He looked concerned and said "Honestly I don't know how you're up and moving, I was really worried given the extent of your injuries whether or not you were going to make it. You're pretty tough, I thought maybe you were a weight lifter or something, but Covert Ops, that explains a lot of things that were puzzling me. Like how you already knew how to slice that security terminal." Carth paused and said "I feel a lot more optimistic about pulling this off now, thanks for letting me know. I know that you can't tell me anything about your service experiences but I feel better knowing you probably have some combat experience." He looked at me and I kept my expression carefully neutral. He grinned and shook his head "alright, alright I'll stop. I know the drill you can neither confirm nor deny that you ever may or may not have been in combat."
My lips twitched and I said "I need a shower before we go anywhere. Maybe my head will quit hurting so much too. We can combine what we know of this place after my shower and figure out a plan of action." I examined myself in the shower and winced at the bruising evident; I checked myself over for fractured bones but couldn't find any evidence of any. I checked out my reactions as best as possible and determined that I was probably still suffering from a slight concussion. It would be best if we took it quiet for another day and I let myself heal up.
Once I had finished my shower Onasi and I compared what we knew of Taris. It wasn't a great place to live unless you were in the upper city. The further down the towering spires you lived the worse the conditions got. And the Undercity sounded like a truly terrible place with no true sunlight and some type of mutant life form called rakghouls wandering about it.
As we talked I examined the vibrosword I had picked up on the Endar Spire, Carth had grabbed our packs from the escape pod and had brought them as well as myself to the apartment. I was very pleased that he had, as it meant we were not completely without supplies. The weapon was some type of prototype and it was upgradeable. I had a few upgrades on me and decided to install them while we talked. I swung the sword around a few times after I had finished and was pleased with the results. My headache had passed while we talked and we decided it was a good time to go do a bit of scouting around.
As we exited the apartment we immediately ran into a Sith officer and two patrol droids harassing two Duros, one of the Duros asked why they were being harassed and the Sith shot him for doing so. The Sith officer noticed us and immediately identified us as Republic fugitives. Moving swiftly I took him out before he could call for help and Carth and I dispatched the two droids. Sith always over relied on droids for some reason. The remaining Duros thanked us and said that he would take care of the remains.
Much to Onasi's embarrassment I poked my head into every apartment that looked empty for stuff that might be sellable. We needed credits to buy some decent equipment and I wasn't above salvaging everything that didn't have an obvious owner to get them. A helpful Twi'lik by the name of Larrim had a small shop set up in the apartment building and was more than pleased to buy any decent equipment we found. By the time I we had finished exploring we had promised to help a woman we found hiding in one of the apartments with getting a bounty removed. I wasn't sure how to go about getting it done but I would try if we could get to the lower city.
Carth had a pensive look about him and I paused and asked if he could fill me in some on his Republic service. He told me he had been a star pilot for several years and had fought in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started. He said the Sith were more senseless than the Mandalorians had been. I nodded remembering my training classes, Carth was right the Sith did slaughter like senseless animals. He said that his home world was one of the first planets to fall to Malak's fleet, I apologized for bring up such a painful subject. He mentioned failing someone by following his orders but then he clammed up and said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. I could see his pain and dropped the subject; if he wanted to he would bring it up later.
We wandered around the upper city, at first I was tense with all the Sith troopers about but it became obvious we were not drawing any attention. I started relaxing some and noticed a clinic, if the doctor wasn't the type to ask a lot of questions it would be a good thing to get myself checked out. I wasn't worried about my implants showing up they were all coated with a protective coating that would hide them from the usual scanning devices.
The doctor was a kind man, one of the ones who took his oath to treat everyone that came to him seriously. He mentioned that he could treat everything but the rakghoul disease and I asked him what that was. What he said was horrible, I thought the rakghouls were some mutant, but he told me that they were people who had been infected by other rakghouls and had mutated into them. He mentioned that the Republic had developed a serum to cure an infected person but that the Sith had come and took over before it could be distributed. They were of course keeping it for their own patrols, and refused to let the Taris medical staff have any. I nodded and resolved that if I had a chance to get a sample I would bring it to him so he could synthesize some. I had him check me out and he confirmed that I had a slight concussion which he was able to cure.
I thanked him and he wandered off. For some reason I was drawn to the back of the clinic, there was a door there that was locked and I quickly sliced it open. Onasi noticed what I was doing and started to argue with me but stopped as I motioned that he should come in the room with me. Two Republic soldiers, hung in bacta tanks at the end of the room. Their wounds were severe and it was clear that they would probably not survive them. We stared and the doctor came in behind us agitated asking what we were doing back there it was for employees only. Carth said "I know these soldiers." and the doctor looked at him and said the only way you could recognize them is if you were a friend of the Republic. We nodded, all of us not mentioning that we would obviously have to be fellow crew members. Carth and I thanked him for caring for them and I asked if there was anything we could do. He shook his head and said that he was keeping them pain free and that was the most anyone could do for them.
On our way out the medical assistant told us that if we found the rakghoul serum that Davik Kang would pay us well for it. I asked why he was interested in it and it became clear that Kang saw a profit to be made in selling the serum. I was disgusted and told him so, and that I would give the serum to Zelka if I found any.
We found the local cantina and went inside, Carth went up to the bar and I noticed a pretty young woman glancing at us from one of the tables. I walked over and gave her a friendly smile, she smiled back but said that she wasn't looking for conversation; she was only here to relax before her next duty shift. I was surprised she didn't look like one of the Sith, I said as much and she grinned and said that she didn't wear her uniform when off duty. She said the Sith didn't own her and that being in the fleet was just a job to her. She didn't sound very happy and I said as much, she sighed and said that she had been promised adventure and excitement in exotic locales. Instead she was stationed here on a backwater planet, but she didn't have any other way of earning a living. I nodded and she looked worried and said that she would appreciate it if I didn't repeat anything she had said, it might not go over well. I thought to myself that would probably be very accurate and assured her that I would not. I stored away all that she had said, it was a facet of the Sith fleet that I hadn't been exposed to. I hadn't thought that the Sith would be recruiting using the normal recruiting methods of promising adventure and travel. It meant that some of the people walking around in Sith uniforms were not necessarily evil people, at least not yet. I wondered sadly how long it would be before the young woman messed up and got herself executed or became hardened to what went on around her.
I wandered about the cantina and found my attention drawn to an area where they were showing a duel, one of the men fumbled and dropped his weapon and was quickly down, and the announcer mentioned that he was just unconscious. I wondered what was going on and went over to ask the Hutt about the duel and he told me they used energy suppressor fields to ensure that no one was killed during the match. Medical droids were on the arena floor just in case as well. He asked if I was interested in fighting and said that I would get 10% of the money bet on the match if I won. I went over in my mind the skill levels of the two men I had seen fighting and smiled. He had a deal; even Carth allowed that it was probably a good way to raise some credits. He gave me the name Mysterious Stranger and I chuckled and agreed to use the name.
The first fight was amazingly easy, so I agreed to immediately meet the next duelist on the list. People were gathering to watch and were looking like I would be able to make a decent amount on the next match if I won it. The second fight went almost as easily, I had to duck a blaster bolt as I closed the distance to melee that left a welt on my arm but I was unhurt other than that. I stood on the edge of the ring until the regeneration implant healed it enough to where it didn't hurt and waved off the droids watching them carry Gerlon away.
I left the dueling ring and stood in the back of the room trying to judge the next duelist. It was a woman named Ice and she looked fit and dangerous. Hmm this would be a nice duel I thought to myself, I might even get a good workout. The cantina was crowded and I had gotten 200 credits for the last fight. I went up to the Hutt and agreed to the next duel. It was a close match, she was quick and very good with her vibroblade, I was being careful and got a painful slice for my efforts but I took her down without injuring her too badly. I watched the medical droids anxiously to make sure she was ok and breathed a sight of relief when she got to her feet. That was more than enough for me in one day, besides I didn't want anyone wondering why I was healing so quickly.
As we were making out way toward the other end of the upper city we noticed two men threatening an old man. Carth and I looked at each other and wandered closer wondering what was going on. We got close enough to hear that they were threatening the man because of a loan he owned Davik Kang. It was fairly obvious they intended to seriously hurt or even kill the old man if he didn't produce the money. They noticed us watching and said something about witnesses. I couldn't stand by and allow them to hurt the old man so I said "Leave this man alone or you will have to deal with me." Not being very bright they immediately attacked Carth and I, and died very quickly. The old man thanked us and then worried that there would only be more until they killed him. I asked if here was anything I could do to help and he smiled and said unless you have a spare 100 credits, there wasn't much more that I could do for him. I could tell from his attitude that he was not seriously expecting me to give him money, and I chuckled and riffled through the two thugs wallets and pulled out the money in them and handed it to him. "Here's 100 credits right here, take them." He blinked and began thanking me, but I said laughing "It only seems appropriate that you use that money to pay off Davik."
We finally found the elevator to the Lower city but it was guarded by a Sith trooper who waved us off saying "This elevator is off limits. Only Sith patrols and those with proper authorization are allowed into the Lower city. Its obvious from the way your dressed that your not one of the Sith patrols, so unless you have the authorization papers you must move along!" We moved off but it was now obvious what we needed to acquire in order to get down to the Lower City.
We found another apartment complex and with a grin I said "ohh another tour opportunity." Carth groaned but nodded, "just be careful that they are abandoned."
We went in the first room only to find a man hiding in the corner asking us not to kill him and mentioning a name that was becoming all too common, Davik. I assured him that I was not here to kill him and asked how he was in trouble, he owed Davik 200 credits and if he didn't pay Davik would kill him. I was about to shrug and turn away when I realized what I was doing, I had the credits and I was thinking that 200 credits had more value than this mans life. I pulled out the credits and gave them to him, it's not like I couldn't earn more in my next duel anyway. The sheer gratitude in his eyes and voice was certainly worth more than 200 credits. Carth muttered "That sure was generous of you. I just hope we don't end up needing those credits later on." To which I replied, "We have enough, and we didn't need it nearly as much as he does." I chuckled and finished "Though I hope I stop stumbling on these needy souls soon or we may run out of money."
We continued along the hallway only to see a group of three Sith troopers questioning an alien in the common room. I heard the word uniform and drifted closer. The Sith Commander was asking where the alien had hidden Sith uniforms, the commander was getting angry and the trooper edged out of the rooming muttering something about not wanting to clean blood stains from his uniform this time. I blinked realizing what was about to happen and said "Maybe the alien really doesn't know anything." The trooper spun and said "Just stay out of this if you know what's good for you." I tensed releasing adrenals into my blood knowing the outcome of what I was about to say "I won't let you kill a defenseless prisoner!" The Sith Commander spun away from the alien and focused on me "What was that? let us kill him? Time to teach this civilian the penalty for defying the Sith!" I didn't hesitate and cut down the nearest trooper as he said this and rushed the Commander letting Carth take out the other trooper. The Sith commander was slower than I expected and went down quickly. I really hadn't needed to bother with the adrenals but better safe than dead.
The alien thanked us for saving his life and I asked about the Sith uniforms he admitted that he had been stealing them and giving them to a Lower City gang called the Hidden Bek's. The leader was a man named Gadon Thek and he mentioned that I should take the uniforms off the Sith we had killed and use them to get into the Lower City and talk to Gadon. I wasn't sure this gang leader would know anything but it was worth a try, if he was collecting Sith uniforms to fight then at least he might be sympathetic to us.
Taris – Upper City
I saw a beautiful woman, fierce and bright, she was fighting a dark Jedi her movements sure and swift as they fought. I could hear the hum and snap of the lightsabers. I gazed at her face; my eyes dwelled on her dark eyes, the tendrils of dark brown hair that escaped the elaborate braids she wore. The dark Jedi fell and the woman looked up a challenge in her eyes. Was she looking at me? At something past me? The dream faded and I woke to unfamiliar surroundings. I was lying on a bed in an apartment. I felt like I had been used for a punching bag, I must have been pretty beat up if I'm still this sore I thought, and I had a pounding headache.
A voice said "Good to see you up instead of thrashing around, I was starting to wonder if you would ever wake up. I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire, I was on the escape pod with you do you remember?" He looked concerned and anxious.
I focused on the speaker and recognized him; "Right" I answered "I'm Catherine or Cait McDonald. How did we get here?" I carefully felt over my head, it was tender in spots. That would account for my dazed feeling. Once again the regeneration implant had probably saved my life. I don't think Onasi expected me up this soon if at all judging from what he's saying and the looks I'm getting from him.
Carth said "Well you've been slipping in and out of consciousness for over a day now. We're safe... at least for the moment. We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when the pod crashed. But luckily I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith had arrived on the scene we were long gone."
I nodded and said "I guess I owe you my life, thanks"
Carth replied curtly "You don't have to thank me. I've never abandoned anyone on a mission and I'm not about to start now. Besides I'm going to need your help." He began to fill me in on the situation we were in. Taris was an occupied planet under martial law and quarantine. He mentioned that for a raw recruit I knew a lot of languages but that would probably prove to be very handy in this situation.
I sighed to myself, those darn records again. Carth finished "There's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves."
I said "Jedi Bastila, the mission commander from the Endar Spire. I never had a chance to meet her."
Carth nodded "Bastila is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort we have to find her."
I asked, "Any idea where we should start looking?" Carth said "While you were out I did some scouting around. There are reports of a couple of escape pods crashing down in the Undercity. That's probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We don't want to go in there unprepared. It won't do Bastila any good if we go in and get ourselves killed."
I chuckled and said "I couldn't agree with you more on that point." I paused and finally asked "about my service records what exactly was in them, I'm starting to suspect there has been a clerical error from what you are saying. For one thing I'm hardly a raw recruit."
He looked at me and said "You aren't right out of officer basic training and the two month advanced officer combat training?." He said it like I was only confirming something he already knew.
I sighed and shook my head, "No I graduated from officer basic school almost two years ago. Didn't they give any dates?" He shook his head "No, your service records were pretty spotty. They included your basic and officer training, a comment about some advanced combat training which we assumed was the usual officer combat training that everyone takes, and your marks, but no dates or anything. We were going to ask for more information but never had time to."
I sighed and thought about how to proceed without giving away too much information. I know my commander had never thought I would find myself in this situation. If I withheld the fact that I was covert ops I would be hobbling Onasi who would be operating under an incorrect idea of my abilities.
I finally said, "Well, this places me in an awkward position. I'm not sure how much to tell you of my training since so much of it is classified, which is why the service records you got were ah... so interesting. I'm under orders to not give out details but I can let you know that I'm two years out of officer training. After officer basic I went into covert ops training and I graduated from that half a year ago. Other than that there really isn't any more I can tell you. Sorry, but orders are orders. I'm bending them to tell you this much."
He stared at me and said "That explains the tattoo on your back it's your unit symbol isn't it? I thought it was pretty odd for a raw recruit to have a tattoo with the motto "Death comes on silent feet." I colored realizing that he must have undressed me while I was unconscious, but then I thought that he had probably been trying to find out how badly wounded I was and administering medical care, exactly as I would have done if our positions had been reversed.
"Yes it's my unit's symbol, how badly hurt was I anyway? I've got a huge lump on my head and a blinding headache. And I'm sore all over."
He looked concerned and said "Honestly I don't know how you're up and moving, I was really worried given the extent of your injuries whether or not you were going to make it. You're pretty tough, I thought maybe you were a weight lifter or something, but Covert Ops, that explains a lot of things that were puzzling me. Like how you already knew how to slice that security terminal." Carth paused and said "I feel a lot more optimistic about pulling this off now, thanks for letting me know. I know that you can't tell me anything about your service experiences but I feel better knowing you probably have some combat experience." He looked at me and I kept my expression carefully neutral. He grinned and shook his head "alright, alright I'll stop. I know the drill you can neither confirm nor deny that you ever may or may not have been in combat."
My lips twitched and I said "I need a shower before we go anywhere. Maybe my head will quit hurting so much too. We can combine what we know of this place after my shower and figure out a plan of action." I examined myself in the shower and winced at the bruising evident; I checked myself over for fractured bones but couldn't find any evidence of any. I checked out my reactions as best as possible and determined that I was probably still suffering from a slight concussion. It would be best if we took it quiet for another day and I let myself heal up.
Once I had finished my shower Onasi and I compared what we knew of Taris. It wasn't a great place to live unless you were in the upper city. The further down the towering spires you lived the worse the conditions got. And the Undercity sounded like a truly terrible place with no true sunlight and some type of mutant life form called rakghouls wandering about it.
As we talked I examined the vibrosword I had picked up on the Endar Spire, Carth had grabbed our packs from the escape pod and had brought them as well as myself to the apartment. I was very pleased that he had, as it meant we were not completely without supplies. The weapon was some type of prototype and it was upgradeable. I had a few upgrades on me and decided to install them while we talked. I swung the sword around a few times after I had finished and was pleased with the results. My headache had passed while we talked and we decided it was a good time to go do a bit of scouting around.
As we exited the apartment we immediately ran into a Sith officer and two patrol droids harassing two Duros, one of the Duros asked why they were being harassed and the Sith shot him for doing so. The Sith officer noticed us and immediately identified us as Republic fugitives. Moving swiftly I took him out before he could call for help and Carth and I dispatched the two droids. Sith always over relied on droids for some reason. The remaining Duros thanked us and said that he would take care of the remains.
Much to Onasi's embarrassment I poked my head into every apartment that looked empty for stuff that might be sellable. We needed credits to buy some decent equipment and I wasn't above salvaging everything that didn't have an obvious owner to get them. A helpful Twi'lik by the name of Larrim had a small shop set up in the apartment building and was more than pleased to buy any decent equipment we found. By the time I we had finished exploring we had promised to help a woman we found hiding in one of the apartments with getting a bounty removed. I wasn't sure how to go about getting it done but I would try if we could get to the lower city.
Carth had a pensive look about him and I paused and asked if he could fill me in some on his Republic service. He told me he had been a star pilot for several years and had fought in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started. He said the Sith were more senseless than the Mandalorians had been. I nodded remembering my training classes, Carth was right the Sith did slaughter like senseless animals. He said that his home world was one of the first planets to fall to Malak's fleet, I apologized for bring up such a painful subject. He mentioned failing someone by following his orders but then he clammed up and said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. I could see his pain and dropped the subject; if he wanted to he would bring it up later.
We wandered around the upper city, at first I was tense with all the Sith troopers about but it became obvious we were not drawing any attention. I started relaxing some and noticed a clinic, if the doctor wasn't the type to ask a lot of questions it would be a good thing to get myself checked out. I wasn't worried about my implants showing up they were all coated with a protective coating that would hide them from the usual scanning devices.
The doctor was a kind man, one of the ones who took his oath to treat everyone that came to him seriously. He mentioned that he could treat everything but the rakghoul disease and I asked him what that was. What he said was horrible, I thought the rakghouls were some mutant, but he told me that they were people who had been infected by other rakghouls and had mutated into them. He mentioned that the Republic had developed a serum to cure an infected person but that the Sith had come and took over before it could be distributed. They were of course keeping it for their own patrols, and refused to let the Taris medical staff have any. I nodded and resolved that if I had a chance to get a sample I would bring it to him so he could synthesize some. I had him check me out and he confirmed that I had a slight concussion which he was able to cure.
I thanked him and he wandered off. For some reason I was drawn to the back of the clinic, there was a door there that was locked and I quickly sliced it open. Onasi noticed what I was doing and started to argue with me but stopped as I motioned that he should come in the room with me. Two Republic soldiers, hung in bacta tanks at the end of the room. Their wounds were severe and it was clear that they would probably not survive them. We stared and the doctor came in behind us agitated asking what we were doing back there it was for employees only. Carth said "I know these soldiers." and the doctor looked at him and said the only way you could recognize them is if you were a friend of the Republic. We nodded, all of us not mentioning that we would obviously have to be fellow crew members. Carth and I thanked him for caring for them and I asked if there was anything we could do. He shook his head and said that he was keeping them pain free and that was the most anyone could do for them.
On our way out the medical assistant told us that if we found the rakghoul serum that Davik Kang would pay us well for it. I asked why he was interested in it and it became clear that Kang saw a profit to be made in selling the serum. I was disgusted and told him so, and that I would give the serum to Zelka if I found any.
We found the local cantina and went inside, Carth went up to the bar and I noticed a pretty young woman glancing at us from one of the tables. I walked over and gave her a friendly smile, she smiled back but said that she wasn't looking for conversation; she was only here to relax before her next duty shift. I was surprised she didn't look like one of the Sith, I said as much and she grinned and said that she didn't wear her uniform when off duty. She said the Sith didn't own her and that being in the fleet was just a job to her. She didn't sound very happy and I said as much, she sighed and said that she had been promised adventure and excitement in exotic locales. Instead she was stationed here on a backwater planet, but she didn't have any other way of earning a living. I nodded and she looked worried and said that she would appreciate it if I didn't repeat anything she had said, it might not go over well. I thought to myself that would probably be very accurate and assured her that I would not. I stored away all that she had said, it was a facet of the Sith fleet that I hadn't been exposed to. I hadn't thought that the Sith would be recruiting using the normal recruiting methods of promising adventure and travel. It meant that some of the people walking around in Sith uniforms were not necessarily evil people, at least not yet. I wondered sadly how long it would be before the young woman messed up and got herself executed or became hardened to what went on around her.
I wandered about the cantina and found my attention drawn to an area where they were showing a duel, one of the men fumbled and dropped his weapon and was quickly down, and the announcer mentioned that he was just unconscious. I wondered what was going on and went over to ask the Hutt about the duel and he told me they used energy suppressor fields to ensure that no one was killed during the match. Medical droids were on the arena floor just in case as well. He asked if I was interested in fighting and said that I would get 10% of the money bet on the match if I won. I went over in my mind the skill levels of the two men I had seen fighting and smiled. He had a deal; even Carth allowed that it was probably a good way to raise some credits. He gave me the name Mysterious Stranger and I chuckled and agreed to use the name.
The first fight was amazingly easy, so I agreed to immediately meet the next duelist on the list. People were gathering to watch and were looking like I would be able to make a decent amount on the next match if I won it. The second fight went almost as easily, I had to duck a blaster bolt as I closed the distance to melee that left a welt on my arm but I was unhurt other than that. I stood on the edge of the ring until the regeneration implant healed it enough to where it didn't hurt and waved off the droids watching them carry Gerlon away.
I left the dueling ring and stood in the back of the room trying to judge the next duelist. It was a woman named Ice and she looked fit and dangerous. Hmm this would be a nice duel I thought to myself, I might even get a good workout. The cantina was crowded and I had gotten 200 credits for the last fight. I went up to the Hutt and agreed to the next duel. It was a close match, she was quick and very good with her vibroblade, I was being careful and got a painful slice for my efforts but I took her down without injuring her too badly. I watched the medical droids anxiously to make sure she was ok and breathed a sight of relief when she got to her feet. That was more than enough for me in one day, besides I didn't want anyone wondering why I was healing so quickly.
As we were making out way toward the other end of the upper city we noticed two men threatening an old man. Carth and I looked at each other and wandered closer wondering what was going on. We got close enough to hear that they were threatening the man because of a loan he owned Davik Kang. It was fairly obvious they intended to seriously hurt or even kill the old man if he didn't produce the money. They noticed us watching and said something about witnesses. I couldn't stand by and allow them to hurt the old man so I said "Leave this man alone or you will have to deal with me." Not being very bright they immediately attacked Carth and I, and died very quickly. The old man thanked us and then worried that there would only be more until they killed him. I asked if here was anything I could do to help and he smiled and said unless you have a spare 100 credits, there wasn't much more that I could do for him. I could tell from his attitude that he was not seriously expecting me to give him money, and I chuckled and riffled through the two thugs wallets and pulled out the money in them and handed it to him. "Here's 100 credits right here, take them." He blinked and began thanking me, but I said laughing "It only seems appropriate that you use that money to pay off Davik."
We finally found the elevator to the Lower city but it was guarded by a Sith trooper who waved us off saying "This elevator is off limits. Only Sith patrols and those with proper authorization are allowed into the Lower city. Its obvious from the way your dressed that your not one of the Sith patrols, so unless you have the authorization papers you must move along!" We moved off but it was now obvious what we needed to acquire in order to get down to the Lower City.
We found another apartment complex and with a grin I said "ohh another tour opportunity." Carth groaned but nodded, "just be careful that they are abandoned."
We went in the first room only to find a man hiding in the corner asking us not to kill him and mentioning a name that was becoming all too common, Davik. I assured him that I was not here to kill him and asked how he was in trouble, he owed Davik 200 credits and if he didn't pay Davik would kill him. I was about to shrug and turn away when I realized what I was doing, I had the credits and I was thinking that 200 credits had more value than this mans life. I pulled out the credits and gave them to him, it's not like I couldn't earn more in my next duel anyway. The sheer gratitude in his eyes and voice was certainly worth more than 200 credits. Carth muttered "That sure was generous of you. I just hope we don't end up needing those credits later on." To which I replied, "We have enough, and we didn't need it nearly as much as he does." I chuckled and finished "Though I hope I stop stumbling on these needy souls soon or we may run out of money."
We continued along the hallway only to see a group of three Sith troopers questioning an alien in the common room. I heard the word uniform and drifted closer. The Sith Commander was asking where the alien had hidden Sith uniforms, the commander was getting angry and the trooper edged out of the rooming muttering something about not wanting to clean blood stains from his uniform this time. I blinked realizing what was about to happen and said "Maybe the alien really doesn't know anything." The trooper spun and said "Just stay out of this if you know what's good for you." I tensed releasing adrenals into my blood knowing the outcome of what I was about to say "I won't let you kill a defenseless prisoner!" The Sith Commander spun away from the alien and focused on me "What was that? let us kill him? Time to teach this civilian the penalty for defying the Sith!" I didn't hesitate and cut down the nearest trooper as he said this and rushed the Commander letting Carth take out the other trooper. The Sith commander was slower than I expected and went down quickly. I really hadn't needed to bother with the adrenals but better safe than dead.
The alien thanked us for saving his life and I asked about the Sith uniforms he admitted that he had been stealing them and giving them to a Lower City gang called the Hidden Bek's. The leader was a man named Gadon Thek and he mentioned that I should take the uniforms off the Sith we had killed and use them to get into the Lower City and talk to Gadon. I wasn't sure this gang leader would know anything but it was worth a try, if he was collecting Sith uniforms to fight then at least he might be sympathetic to us.