Yay, Chapter 2! READ IT!!!!
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this (apart from the new characters created by ME, their actions by ME, and dialogue by ME) I would be charging people to read it. Fortunately for you, it's free! Enjoy.
Chapter 2: A Matter of Trust
Alora led Galnar, Jarek, and Bastila out of the swoop track and through the Lower City until they reached an elevator. At the top was a Sith guard at the elevator. When he saw them, he held out his hand to halt them.
"Who are you?" he said, eyeing them suspiciously--well, he probably would be if Jarek could see through his helmet.
"Hey, I've got the proper security papers," Alora said. She took out some papers and handed them to the guard, who quickly read through it.
"Okay," he said. "Get out of here." So they left, Jarek seeing the Upper City for the first time. They continued down the hovering streets and into an apartment complex. Inside, Jarek saw a half dozen aliens roaming the apartment ring.
"This is where all the illegal aliens--literally--live," Alora explained. "Everyone's real prejudiced against aliens, so they go here to seek refuge." They entered the apartment on the other side of the ring where Carth, a young, blue Twi'lek, and a large Wookiee stood waiting inside.
"Bastila!" Carth said. "You're alive! And you two…."
"We made it," said Jarek. "Glad to see you did, too."
"So, what happened down there?" Carth asked.
"I won the swoop race," Alora said, "But Brejik wasn't too anxious to let the prisoners go, so I rescued them."
"Again with the rescuing?" Bastila said haughtily. "Don't you remember we were the ones who freed ourselves?"
"Actually, Bastila," Galnar interrupted. "Jarek freed himself. He unlocked our cells and let us out, remember?"
"Yes, well, I think--"
"I know this is new for you, Bastila, but a leader isn't supposed to berate her troops like that," Carth said quickly.
"Carth!" Alora said. "Don't speak to your commanding officer like that!" It was obvious only Jarek realized this was a joke.
"You two need to stop it," Galnar said. "We can't get too wound up on who's in charge here. We'll have to work together to get off of this rock."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Bastila said. "Nobody needs to be in charge anyway. Alora, what have you found out about this planet?"
"Well, there's this guy," Alora said. "His name is Davik Kang. He's kind of the local crime lord here. They say he's got the fastest ship in the Outer Rim; he calls it the Ebon Hawk."
"That may just be our ticket out of here," Jarek said, hopeful.
"But there's a problem, see. The Sith have automated laser cannons orbiting the planet. No one is allowed to leave or land on this planet. If anyone tries to, they'll be instantly disintegrated by the cannons."
"I'd definitely call that a problem," he said.
"I suppose we could ask around the cantinas and see if anyone there knows anything."
"All right, then," Galnar said. "Let's go."
"Wait," Jarek said at once. "What about Bastila?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, aren't the Sith looking for her? If she comes too, they'll take her in."
"You're right," Galnar said. "You'll have to stay here. Carth, come with us."
"If you say so." So Jarek, Alora, Galnar, and Carth left, leaving Bastila behind in safety. After the apartment door closed behind them, a green Twi'lek approached them.
"Excuse me," he said. "Could I have a few minutes of your time?"
"Er, sure," Galnar said.
"Are you the rider who won the swoop race in the Lower City?" he said, looking at Alora.
"I--I am," she said, obviously confused.
"Canderous Ordo wants to meet you in the cantina."
Jarek gave Alora a quizzical look, as he had no idea who this Canderous was.
"Canderous?" she said. "The Mandalorian mercenary working for Davik?"
"That would be him."
"What does he want?"
"He just told me he wants to see you in the cantina."
The four of them exchanged glances.
"Okay," said Alora. "Fine."
"A wise choice. He's waiting in the Upper City cantina." The messenger turned around and hurried out.
Jarek, Alora, Galnar, and Carth all went around the apartment ring and into the elevator. As they were descending, Jarek looked out the glass and saw the beautiful Upper City leveling with them.
The setting sun glazed the Upper City streets with a sleepy and romantic look about them, and when they got out, Jarek could see the orange sky around the sun.
The four of them walked north, and passed a store that was practically empty, apart from the owner of the store. The owner, a dark-skinned woman dressed in shabby orange robes, waved at Alora, who waved back.
"You know her?" Galnar whispered.
"That's Kebla Yurt, owner of the Equipment Emporium. She knows me because of the duels from the cantina."
"Duels?" Jarek said curiously.
"Oh, I competed in the duels here. We made a lot of credits. That reminds me, when we get back to the apartment you two can get your cut."
"No, that's all right," Galnar said. "We don't really need it. It's everyone's money."
"If you insist," Alora said. Jarek avoided her eyes. He never imagined her this...nice.
"Here we are," she said. They entered the cantina, staying a safe distance away from the Sith guard at the entrance, and were all greeted by the smell of food and the chatter of customers. The atmosphere was friendly enough, but Jarek sensed something odd about it.
There was a card match going on at the table in the center of the entrance hall, where several spectators stood watching eagerly.
"Pazaak," Jarek said. "Fun game. I used to play it a few years ago."
"You don't anymore?" Alora asked.
"Too much going on now. Is that him?" Jarek pointed to a man in a dusty brown jacket and a tattoo on his arm who was sitting down on a stool at the bar.
"That's him." As they approached, Canderous turned around and stood up.
"So, you're the hotshot who won the Lower City swoop race, correct?"
"I am. You're Canderous?"
"The one and only. Look, I need to talk to you. It's important, so listen good. You know Davik, right?"
"Of course," Alora said.
"And his ship, the Ebon Hawk? Well, I have a proposition for you. What would you say if I told you that you could find a way to get off this rock, and get the fastest starship in the Outer Rim while you're at it?"
"What?"
"I have a plan. If you help me, we can both get of this sorry excuse for a planet and steal the Ebon Hawk."
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because, I saw you going at that swoop race. You were real good, kid. Daring, too. And that's why I think you'd do this job for me. I mean, if anyone is willing to risk their lives racing on a prototype swoop accelerator--"
"How do you know about that?" Alora said. Canderous only smiled slyly, but didn't answer her.
"--would break into the Sith military base and steal the launch codes for the laser cannons orbiting the planet."
"The Sith keep the launch codes in there?" Carth said.
"What, you think they keep them in their sandwiches?" Jarek tried to stifle a snort, but Canderous didn't seem to be paying attention. "Look, if you do this for me, we can both get off this rock and find somewhere...private...to hide out." Canderous let out a short wolf whistle to Alora.
"Hey," Carth said angrily, "You show her some respect or we'll end this conversation minus a few teeth!" He waved a fist at Canderous.
"Oh, I see," Canderous said. "You're already taken. Look, do you want to get out of here or what?"
"And, uh, why haven't I heard one good reason for us to trust you since we first arrived?" Carth said.
"I agree," Jarek said, eyeing Canderous distrustfully. "We've got no way to trust this...Mandalorian."
"Look, I want to get out of here as much as you do. My patience is running short for eliminating Davik's weak enemies. Mandalorians don't do small-time mercenary jobs! But now that I've finally got enough information, we can do it. I just need you."
"You can't do it yourself?"
"I would," Canderous said, "but if I did it, the Sith would send a dozen armed guards to break into Davik's estate and steal them back. They know who I work for; everybody does. But nobody knows you. Not the Sith, at least. So if you can do this, we could get away. I don't think a few Jedi like yourselves would want to stay here forever." Jarek, taken aback by the comment, tried to conceal the lightsaber beneath his jacket even further. How did Canderous know he was a Jedi? He had been given normal clothes after he escaped from Brejik.
"But, how would we even get in to the military base?" Alora asked.
"I've got that sorted out. Janice Nall, the owner of the droid shop here, has a custom job made specially for Davik. It's a T3 unit, a top-of-the-line astromech droid. It's made to be able to open locks like the one on the front door. Just tell her Davik sent you, and she should give it to you."
"And, we're just supposed to trust you?" Carth said.
"We've got no other choice," Alora said. "We'll have to trust him."
"No," Jarek said. "He's a Mandalorian! He'll betray us the moment we've got our backs turned! His kind can't be trusted!"
"How do you know?" Alora said.
"I...don't." Jarek sensed no deception from this Canderous, but he wasn't willing to risk his life for a Mandalorian. He'd had enough trouble in his life with Mandalorians already, and he wasn't planning on making the same mistake twice.
"I think we can trust him," Alora said. He knew it was the only way to get off Taris, but he was still reluctant to agree.
"Good. Here, you can borrow a few extra credits from me incase you don't have enough for the droid." Canderous dug in his pockets and handed Alora 500 credits.
"Thanks."
"Hurry, then, if you want to leave. I'll be waiting right here."
Canderous sat back down at the bar, and they left. As they were headed to the droid shop, everyone remained silent. Jarek figured they were all thinking about Canderous' offer in their heads--he was.
The four of them reached the droid shop at the other end of the North Upper City without any problems from the Sith; it appeared they didn't know who any of them were.
Jarek was surprised to see that the droid shop was empty. The only person inside was a young female Twi'lek behind the desk at the other end. When she saw them, she gasped.
"A customer!" she cried in her native language. "Come in, come in! I--" the Twi'lek cleared her throat. "I'm Janice Nall, and welcome to my shop! Is--is there something I can help you with?"
"Actually, yes. Davik sent us to, er, get a--"
"Oh, yes! The T3-M4 unit he asked for! Of course! He's over there." Janice pointed to a silver droid in the corner, who sat beeping merrily and spinning his 'head' in all directions.
"That must be it."
"Great! So, that'll be two thousand credits." Alora stopped digging in her pockets at these words.
"I'm sorry?" she said.
"Two thousand credits. You can pay for that, right? You work for Davik!"
Jarek looked at Alora. By the look on her face, he could tell she remembered the money Canderous gave her at that point. "Oh! Of course." She took out the money from her pocket, and handed them to Janice. She stood looking at the many credits for a few moments, then stuffed them under the desk and smiled.
"So, you just go over there and take him. He'll follow you, don't worry." Alora gestured for the droid to come over, and it instantly rolled over to them.
"Thank you for coming today!" Janice cried. "Have a great day." Everyone left the shop, but paused as they started toward the military base.
"Um, don't you think this looks a little…odd?" Alora said. "It might look unusual for so many of us going up there."
"I'll go back," Carth said. "The Sith in there might recognize me. I am the Republic's best star-pilot, after all." Jarek detected the slightest hint of pride in Carth as he said this.
"All right," Galnar said. Carth turned and walked back in the direction of the apartment complex and disappeared out of sight.
Everyone else walked (as inconspicuously as they could) to the military base entrance.
"Okay, little guy," Alora whispered. "Do your stuff."
The droid rolled up to the door, whipped out some tools, and got to work. Sparks flew and smoke spilled as the droid picked the lock. When it was done, the door whooshed open, and behind it was an empty elevator.
"Let's go," Galnar said, and they all entered the elevator, even T3.
"No, little guy," Alora said. "You need to go back to the apartment. Don't want you getting too badly scratched up on the first day. Just follow Carth's path, okay?" The droid beeped gloomily, and turned around to go back.
Galnar pressed a button, the doors closed, and they ascended. Jarek took his lightsaber off his belt, clutched it tightly in his hand, and waited. When the door opened, they saw a young Twi'lek behind a desk near the front. She gasped.
"You three! Who are you?"
"Er, nobody," Alora replied. "We just got lost."
"Lost? Ha! If you got lost, how could you have opened the door? Look, just tell me who you are! I've got an alarm just under this desk, and--and I'm not afraid to use it."
"Okay, fine," Galnar said. We're looking for...something, and we don't intend to let anyone get in our way." A small smile sparked on the Twi'lek's face.
"You--you're Rebuplic?"
The three of them exchanged nervous glances.
"Yes."
"Really? Great! Please, kill me a few Sith while you're in here."
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm not really Sith. I was taken in by them and got hired at this low-level, low-paying desk job here. They treat me like dirt. I've been waiting so long for someone to come and just...teach them a lesson! Just, please, hold your blaster fire until I leave."
"All right," Jarek said, and they moved out of the way.
The Twi'lek hurried into the elevator and whispered, "Thank you!" before the doors closed.
Jarek drew his lightsaber. Alora went up to the desk and looked at the monitors.
"Okay, there doesn't seem to be anything heavily guarded around here. Maybe the launch codes aren't--wait! There's an elevator on the other side. But…."
"More bad news?" Jarek said.
"Unfortunately, yes. There's a heavy assault droid there, guarding it. I can also see a couple turrets. We'll never get past them unless.... Just a second." Alora took off her backpack, set it on the desk, and pulled out a few computer spikes. She took one and inserted it into a slot in the desk, and went to work.
"Okay," she said. "Hacked into the system. Now, to just find the right one…. There it is! Okay…now, I disable…you! Ha-ha! Now, to unlock…got it! Okay, guys, I disabled those turrets and opened the elevator, but can't do anything about that assault droid."
"Well, what are we waiting for? It's been too long since I've had a good fight."
"Okay. There's one path we can take without attracting too much Sith attention. Most of them are in the barracks. Follow me." Alora picked up the second vibroblade she had set down, and led the others straight down the corridor as quietly as she could. They reached a door at the end, where Alora paused and held up a hand.
"There's two sentry droids in here. I can take them. You two just stay here." Jarek and Galnar remained where they were. Alora took a deep breath and opened the door. Two sentry droids stood waiting ahead, but Alora was prepared. She ran at them, held out both her vibroblades, and cut off both droids' heads before they had time to identify her.
She put a finger to her lips, gestured for them to follow her, and turned right. She opened the next door, which revealed another sentry droid in the corridor. Jarek killed it by throwing his lightsaber at it, cutting off its leg.
"Come on," Alora whispered. The three of them ran past the smoking droid, and down the corridor until they reached another door. The keypad next to it glowed green, signaling that the door was unlocked.
"What?" Jarek asked when Alora stopped at it.
"That assault droid is in there. It's got a shield activated, too, which we should be able to take out with a few swipes."
"All right," Jarek said. "Improvise, guys. We can take it down quickly if we can surprise it." Alora nodded, opened the door, and they all charged into the room. Jarek flipped over the droid, swinging his lightsaber above its head and getting a few good hits at the shield. Alora and Galnar ran from either side of the droid, and with their attack, the shield disappeared into thin air, and the droid turned to face them.
"Move!" Jarek yelled, doing a backflip to avoid the blaster fire. He caught the smallest glimpse of Alora and Galnar diving out of the way of the blaster bolts before he landed. There was a slight pause, in which the droid was most likely deciding who to attack first. It raised its blasters at Jarek once more, and he turned and ran. He jumped up, put his feet on the
wall, and ran across it, the blaster fire hitting around him, but him. Then, gravity kicked back in, and Jarek fell back down to the ground, landing perfectly on his feet. The droid didn't stop shooting though, and one of the bolts hit Jarek in the arm. The impact was so strong it pushed him to the ground. In too much pain to get up, Jarek lay there, defenseless, on the ground.
The droid raised its blasters again, about to fire, when Galnar distracted it by charging at it. The droid turned and shot at him instead, both repeaters firing constantly. He tried to block the fire, and was partially successful, until one bolt hit the hilt of his lightsaber, shattering a fraction of it. Galnar stopped in his tracks
"NO!" Alora yelled as Galnar was instantly filled with blaster bolts. Jarek's jaw and Galnar's body fell down at the same moment. Galnar's eyese were empty and helpless. Alora jumped at the droid, cutting its arm off with one of her vibroblades, and impaling it with the other. Her vibroblade stuck inside the droid, which began malfunctioning; it was twitching and jerking everywhere. Electricity started surging from the injury, and soon it exploded, sending Alora hard into the wall.
Neither Jarek nor Alora recovered from their shock anytime soon, but when they did, she helped Jarek to his feet. Jarek hurried over to Galnar, who was sprawled across the floor. Jarek didn't even remember the original color of his robes anymore, as every inch of them were stained red. Galnar's eyes and mouth still open, Jarek picked up his head and cradled it in his arms. A tear dropped from Jarek's cheek and mixed with the mass of red, becoming unnoticeable.
Alora seemed too shocked to speak. All she did was stand over Galnar, her mouth open as well. Jarek tried to stifle his sobs, but felt that it was useless, and sat there cradling
Galnar's head, tears dripping every second.
"What's with all the ruckus?" A Sith officer had just emerged from the barracks, and, upon seeing Alora and Jarek, drew his sword.
Jarek looked up, anger written on every inch of his face, and saw the Sith. He stood.
Without a word, he charged at the soldier, yelling, and skewered him on his lightsaber, though it went right through his body. More Sith seemed to have heard the noise and came out. Jarek slaughtered them all.
Alora was still silent when Jarek came back. As much as he wanted to use the Jedi Code to calm himself down, he didn't. The sleeves of his robes were drenched in red, from both the blood of Galnar and the Sith soldiers.
Jarek picked up Galnar's lightsaber. A fragment of the hilt was missing, revealing the green crystal in the center. Jarek threw threw it, hard as he could, at the wall, though it did not break. Jarek kneeled on the gorund, put his hands on his head, and let out a long, angry yell.
"I'm sorry," Alora said weakly. She didn't know what else to say.
He had known Galnar for years; ever since he had first become a Jedi. Now he was gone. Jarek tried to calm himself by remembering that Galnar had become one with the
Force, and that now he was more powerful than he ever could have been being human. Even that could not help. Finally, he wiped the tears off his face and said, "Let's go," without looking at Alora. They both entered the elevator, and Jarek let Alora close the door. He didn't look at Galnar's body.
As they were ascending, Alora put a hand on Jarek's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I-I really am." Jarek nodded, and pulled himself away from her hand, which she quickly removed.
The door opened, and a man in black robes stood with his back against them. He turned when he heard the noise. His eyes widened when he saw them, and visibly tightened his grip on the double-bladed sword he held.
"Who--who are you? Wait--you," he said, looking at Alora. "The Force is strong with you, child." He looked down at her vibroblade. "Why have the Jedi let you out of their
grasp so easily? Or--do they not know yet?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll kill you anyway!"
"Anger," he said, closing his eyes and inhaling. "Yes, feed your inner darkness. But even the dark side cannot save you now. By killing you, my master will surely reward me with my lightsaber." He raised his blade at Alora. She parried his attack, and Jarek attacked from the side. With one end of his blade, the dark Jedi blocked Jarek's lightsaber, and with the other end, he jabbed at Alora, who quickly jumped out of the way. The dark Jedi pushed Jarek back, and spun around, his blade spinning with him above his head, and took another swing at Alora. She dove to the side, narrowly missing the razor-sharp blade, and landed painfully on the solid ground.
Jarek, who had forgotten about the pain in his left arm, tackled the dark Jedi, and stabbed him before he had time to react.
Weakly, the dark Jedi raised his blade at Jarek, who rolled to the side just in time. The man groaned, then fell silent. Alora stood up and searched his remains.
"Find anything?" Jarek said, his anger easing a bit.
"Yeah. The launch codes."
"So, Canderous wasn't lying." Jarek looked around the room. There were a couple of footlockers on either side of the room, and in front of him he saw dozens of extremely large monitors attached to the wall. There were so many the ceiling had no doubt been raised. They all showed different parts of the base--obviously surveillance photos. On one screen Jarek saw the severed remains of the two sentry droids near the entrance, and in another he saw one of the barracks. There were still some Sith and a couple of droids active in here--this must have been one of the rooms they skipped, as nobody seemed alerted to any kind of danger. Jarek looked in the footlockers. There were a few hundred credits, some computer spikes, and armor inside. Amazed, Jarek took everything out and handed it all to Alora, who stuffed it into her backpack. After collecting everything they needed, they returned to the elevator. As they were descending, Alora asked Jarek something. "What did he mean…about me being strong in the Force?"
"Oh. That," Jarek said nervously. "I never told you, did I? When I first met you, after we had been freed and I took off the neural disruptor, I could feel and see the Force exuding from you. No doubt Bastila felt it too, but she didn't say anything."
"Something happened when I met you, too."
"Oh, really?" Jarek said, intrigued.
"Yeah. I had this weird dream…I think it was a vision. Bastila was fighting someone. A dark Jedi. You were with her."
"A…dark Jedi?"
"Yeah. I think it was Darth Revan."
"Revan?" Jarek repeated. "How do you know about…him?"
"Oh. Carth told me, when we first arrived." Jarek rubbed his chin. This was odd. Why was Alora having visions of Darth Revan?
"Have you had any others?"
"One other. When I first landed on Taris."
"I see," Jarek said, pondering this. Before they could say anything else, the door opened and they saw the scattered bodies on the floor. Jarek tried his best to ignore Galnar's corpse as they headed back to the entrance.
"There's only two of you," Carth said when Jarek and Alora returned to the apartment. He opened his mouth to say more, but noticed Jarek's red sleeves. "What happened down there?"
Jarek didn't say anything. Instead, he went into the bathroom and washed off his sleeves.
"Galnar, the other Jedi…. He...."
"He didn't make it," Carth finished. He swore again. "If only I came! Maybe it wouldn't have happened." Carth's soldier instincts had kicked back in. The "leave no man behind" kind. Jarek didn't care. He only wanted to.... Well, he didn't really know what he wanted. All he knew was that he didn't want to be here. Not now.
"Nevermind, Carth," Alora said. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do." Carth shook his head and sat down on a chair.
As Jarek stood washing off the blood stains on his sleeves, the images of Galnar's death replayed in his head. He knew there was nothing anyone could have done. It was meant to be this way. It was all the Force, he decided. His anger lifted a bit, he recited the Jedi Code to himself, and continued washing.
Meanwhile, Bastila was talking to Alora about what that dark Jedi had said in the military base.
"I noticed it as well," Bastila said. "Though, I didn't know what it could be. I can feel the Force flowing from you every time you're near. Everything you've done--escaping the Endar Spire, for one. Then, you found out about me, found out how to get to me, and then--"
"Rescued you," Alora said, but hastily continued before Bastila could protest. "So, what are you saying exactly? That I can use the Force?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe once we get off Taris we can seek counsel. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here."
Jarek had finished washing his robes, and came out of the bathroom. He went over to the table in the corner of the room and opened up the medpac. He took out the syringe and injected himself with the kolto inside of it. Kolto was a healing substance, used by both Republic and Sith soldiers in this war. There was a certain planet it was found on, though Jarek didn't know which one it was. "Mmm," he said as his wound was instantly healed.
"We're going to Canderous to give him the codes," he said flatly. "Who's coming?" Alora stood up immediately, and a moment later, Carth stood as well. "Fine, then. Let's go."
Bastila had to stay behind as usual, as not to attract any more attention from the Sith. Carth, Alora, and Jarek headed for the cantina.
They left the apartment without another word, and when they reached the Upper City streets, Alora ran ahead and approached the cantina entrance.
"I'm sorry," Carth said. "I fought in the Mandalorian Wars, and I saw my own friends dying right and left. It hurts me now to see anyone else I have seen, even just once, die. And with…nevermind."
"What?"
"It's nothing."
"No, really. I want to know more about you, Carth. If we're going to do this together, we have to be able to get along."
"It's just…I don't talk about it very much, okay?"
"You must have told someone at least once, right?"
"Well, yeah. Alora knows. But, still…."
"Carth, you can tell me."
"All right." He heaved a deep sigh. "My mentor. Saul Karath. He taught me everything I know now. He was the best one we had fighting in the war--apart from Revan. He's half the reason we even won. After the war, he approached me and started talking to me about how the Republic was on the losing side of this war, and asked me if I really wanted to be on the losing side. I didn't think for one second that he could be trying to recruit me into the Sith. I thought so highly of him, I guess...I guess that admiration sort of blinded me from...the truth. Saul...he--" But they had reached the cantina entrance by now, and Carth didn't seem to want to talk about it in front of the Sith guard standing there.
"Later," Jarek said to him, which Carth greatly appreciated, judging from the expression on his face.
They met Canderous again in the cantina, who was sipping some Tarisian Ale.
"Ooh," he said when he saw them. "Strong stuff. Did you get them?" Alora handed Canderous the launch codes. "Good. You did it."
"Now, you do your part," Carth said.
"Don't worry, I will. I'll talk to Davik and get you that job."
"You sure he'll just…accept me?" Alora asked.
"With a recommendation from me, sure. When he goes to do a background check on you, we can get to work."
"Okay. When do we go?"
"Now," Canderous replied.
As always, please R&R, because I'm always looking for improvements for my writing. Hopefully I'll be updating soon, but don't think of that as a promise!