AN: Thanks to my reviewers for being so helpful with suggestions and encouragement!

Tainted-Dreamz: It's so good to see you around again! Thanks so much for the compliments! Looking forward to the end of your X-2 fic!

LV: I'll most definitely take your advice to heart. I'm working on tweaking my own unique flare for the story, and I think I can give mine a bit of individuality. At least, that's what I hope. And Aria is naturally going to have flaws. I, too, am rather annoyed with the KOTOR fics that portray their Revan as this shining, untarnishable paragon of Light. Or a demi-god-like Dark Sider.

Prisoner 24601: As per your suggestion, the song lyrics are no more! Thanks for the review and the constructive criticism. I could always use it!

K-rock: I'm glad you liked my little 'elaborations'!

And now, je te presente Chapitre Deux. (It's been over a year since I was in French, don't hold me to that being grammatically correct.)

Chapter Two
Accusations

The dreams came and went like wraiths in a mist, forms she could only glance at out of the corner of her eye, for the minute she met them head-on, they faded into oblivion. Each was stranger than the last, so veiled in a haze that she could never clearly see who was in them, or where she was. At times she heard voices calling to her that she didn't recognize, saw places through the mist that she knew she had never seen before. The last however, didn't seem to involve her at all. A young Jedi stood on the bridge of a ship, her lightsaber glowing a deep yellow. From behind her others emerged, closing in on a hooded, masked form that met them without flinching, drawing a blood-red saber of its own. It spun the blade in expert patterns as if taunting the young Jedi who stood before it.

The young woman did not seem impressed, though, and took another step forward, "You cannot win, Revan." she stated, her voice low and as calm as a student reciting their lesson.
The dream chose that moment to leave her, however, and she snapped at last back into reality. A clammy sweat had broken out across her skin, the moisture chilling her as it came into contact with the air conditioning of the room she lay in.

"You're awake." a vaguely familiar voice called from nearby.

Her memories returned to her full-force, bringing with them a sting of pain as she remembered Trask's sacrifice. She pushed herself into a sitting position, the sudden movement sending her spiraling back toward the embrace of darkness as spots began to swim in her vision. A hand came to rest on her shoulder, drawing her gaze to the man who stood at her bedside. He seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place him. His short chestnut hair was disheveled, and two strands hung almost stubbornly above his right eye.
There were dark shadows under his deep brown eyes, betraying the fact that he had slept little, if any, in the time she had been out. He seemed to notice the confused look in her eyes and smiled softly.

"I'm Carth, remember? I was in the escape pod with you."

Aria nodded, sliding from the bed and shakily rising to her feet, "Yeah. I'm Aria Kirith, by the way. I guess I owe you my life. Thanks."

"There's no need to thank me. I haven't left anyone behind on a mission yet, and I'm not about to start. For a while there I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up. You kept thrashing around and muttering, must have been one hell of a nightmare."

Aria sighed, pushing a strand of ebony hair that had come loose from its tie behind her ear,

"Yeah, it was...pretty intense. I take it you weren't hurt when we landed?"

He shook his head, "Aside from a headache that lasted the better part of two days, no. It's a good thing, too. If we had both been out, you would have awakened in a Sith torture chamber. But since we're just soldiers, I doubt they'll put much effort into tracking us down now. They're looking for something else, I'm guessing Bastila."

Aria smiled weakly, "We've slipped under the radar, there's one thing going our way. So where is Bastila? Any idea where her pod hit?"

"Not really. I did a little scouting yesterday, but I couldn't find any real information."

Aria frowned in deep thought, "There's too many Sith around for the citizens to talk freely. We might have to seek out some of the...less respectable inhabitants for information."

Carth sighed, "I'd expected as much. We need to keep a low profile anyway, and if we go asking the elite of Taris about downed pods, people will start noticing."

"Well," Aria tilted her head, "I'm sure this place is similar to Coruscant, meaning the best place to go for information would be down to the lower levels. So let's get going. The longer we stand around, the more time the Sith have to find Bastila."

"Right." Carth agreed, turning from her for a moment and reaching for a nearby table. When he turned back, he was holding twin vibroblades out to her, "Your weapons."

Aria nodded her thanks as she ran a critical eye over the blades; assured that they were still in pristine condition should she need them, she led the way out of the apartment. They had gone no more than two steps when trouble greeted them. Two green, humanoid aliens were standing at the blasterpoint of two Sith troopers and their commander.

"What the hell is going on?" Carth murmured to her, eyeing the situation warily.

Aria shook her head, "Doesn't look good."

"This is an inspection! All of you, up against the walls!" The commander's voice had the haughty tone of a man who had been accustomed to getting his way and stepping all over others since birth.

"But there was an inspection just last week!" one of the aliens protested.

Without warning the commander fired his blaster, catching the alien in the chest with a single shot. The remaining alien began to tremble in fear, certain his death would follow fast on the heels of his friend's.

"Hey!" Aria called, unwilling to stand silent, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" She drew her vibroblades, twirling them idly in her hands, a cocky smile forming on her lips, "Like me."

The commander turned, his face a rictus of indignation, "Humans? Hiding here with the aliens? You're the Republic fugitives! Men, attack!"

Aria almost laughed aloud at their predictable response. She ducked and rolled under the first shots fired in their direction, coming to her feet again within striking distance of the first soldier. He jumped back as she took the first swing, reaching for his own vibroblade. Behind her she heard Carth begin firing on the soldiers, but she couldn't spare the time to check on his status. She was locked in a deadly dance with the first soldier still, her twin blades battering furiously on his single blade. With a slight turn of the wrist he knocked one of her blades away, sending it skittering across the floor, following up with a quick slash that penetrated her defenses and left a deep gash across her shoulder. Hissing in pain Aria made a run for her fallen weapon, scooping it up just in time to parry another blow. She heard Carth calling out to her, but she ignored it. Loss of concentration could prove to be deadly. Lashing out with one leg she planted a sound kick to the soldier's gut, doubling him over. She finished him with a quick thrust to the chest and let his body fall at her feet.

Immediately she prepared for the second soldier to jump her, but both he and the commander lay dead behind her, smoking blaster wounds in their chests. Letting a tired sigh escape her lips she wiped her blades on the commander's uniform, then glanced back at Carth, noted that he was unhurt and turned her attention to the alien.

"Are you injured?" she inquired.

The alien shook his head, "No. I must thank you, human. You saved my life."

Aria smiled at him, "Don't mention it. I'm just sorry I couldn't save him," She let her gaze fall to the lifeless body of the other alien, "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault human. These things often happen. He will be missed. But for now, accept my thanks. I will do away with the bodies. Hopefully that will put the Sith off your trail."

Aria nodded her thanks, then turned and made her way back to where Carth stood. His gaze immediately fell on the oozing wound in her shoulder, concern flickering across his features.

"You're wounded."

Aria grinned wryly, "I noticed. It's just a scratch, anyway. We need to get going."

Carth tossed her one of the medpaks he'd taken from the apartment, "Scratch or not, you bleeding will attract attention."

"Yes, father..." Aria muttered, wincing as she injected the healing fluid into her shoulder. Within a few seconds the anesthetics numbed the pain, while the kolto sped the closing of the wound. She rolled her shoulder experimentally, testing the effects of the medicine,

"Alright, I'm all patched up. Let's get moving." As she came to the next door in the hall, she suddenly stopped, glancing back at Carth with a thoughtful look, "You know, I just realized if this group of apartments is mainly inhabited by aliens and some of the lower class, we could start asking questions here."

Carth nodded his agreement, "Sounds logical."

Aria rang the buzzer next to the door, waiting patiently for the inhabitants to answer. The door slid open, revealing a rather scared looking woman. She looked Aria and Carth over warily, her eyes darting around as if she expected to be jumped at any moment. The look on her face immediately dissolved Aria's questions about Bastila, and replaced them with concern for the woman.

"Yes? What do you want?" the woman asked, her voice shaky.

"Is...something wrong?" Aria asked.

The woman's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why do you ask? Even if there is, you can't help."

Aria smiled sympathetically, "Maybe I can. Is it the Sith?"
The woman shook her head, "Worse. Bounty hunters. Look, I really shouldn't be telling you about this."

"Bounty hunters?" Aria glanced back at Carth. He shrugged slightly, giving her an equally confused look.

"Holdan, one of Davik's men. I was in the cantina one night, and he was getting a little fresh. I kept telling him no, but he wouldn't listen, and when he tried to force the issue, I cut him with my vibroknife. The next day, I had a bounty on my head." The woman withdrew a step, her almost paranoid glances down the hall returning.

"All because you defended yourself?" Carth asked incredulously.

Aria snorted, "Doesn't surprise me. Scum like that can't fight their own battles. Don't worry, we'll get that bounty removed, count on it."

The woman bowed slightly, the tension visibly draining from her face, "Thank you...I'd...I'd better get back inside now."

Aria shook her head in disbelief as she continued down the corridor, "I've only been awake for twenty minutes and I'm already beginning to hate this planet. Between the Sith and the bounty hunters, this place is going to get interesting very fast."

A quick sweep of the few remaining apartments revealed no information, only frightened inhabitants cowering under the mere thought of the Sith. As they stepped out into the bright light of Taris's noon, Aria sighed heavily.

"That was an utter waste of time. The Sith have everyone terrified of even thinking in the wrong direction."

"Well, there's a good reason for that. They have this annoying tendency to want everyone dead." Carth quipped. Despite the light tone in his voice, Aria noticed the brief flicker in his eyes, the hint of sadness that had surfaced.

Did the Sith...?

"Carth, is something wrong?"

The barriers around him slammed back into existence with the speed of lightning, and once again he was the all-business soldier. He shook his head, "No, why?"

Aria decided to let it drop, she hadn't known him long enough to justify prying into his past, and she wasn't too keen on alienating perhaps the only person she could rely on while on Taris, "Nevermind. I'd like to know more about you, though."

He gave her a quizzical look, then smiled, deciding to placate her curiosity, "I guess that's understandable. I've been a soldier with the Republic Fleet for years, and I've fought in more wars than I care to remember. My homeworld was Telos...until the Sith destroyed it. Until I failed them..."

Aria tilted her head, "Failed them?"

Carth flinched as if she'd struck him, "Look, it's nothing personal, I just don't like talking about my past with anyone. Can we just get back to looking for Bastila now?"

"Yeah. Of course." She murmured, turning from him to glance around the city. Her mind wandered as she contemplated where to go next, her thoughts occupied with Carth's rather abrupt ending of their conversation.

Failed them? There's more to this, a lot more. How can one soldier possibly hold himself responsible for the destruction of an entire planet? One man couldn't have stopped that alone. Hell, the entire Republic Fleet in that sector hadn't been able to do much.

"Aria."

The sound of her name being called snapped her from her thoughts, and turned her wandering gaze back to Carth, "Yeah?"

A slightly amused smirk was playing across his lips, "You're gawking like a tourist. Are we going to get moving or not?"

Aria nodded, shaking off the remaining threads of worry that were clouding her mind as she smiled back at him before speaking, "I think we should start at the clinic. If Bastila's been injured, maybe someone found her before the Sith and took her there. If not, then perhaps some of the other soldiers have made their way there. Either way, it could be our best chance."

He ran a hand through his hair, somehow managing to smooth out the slightly tousled look he'd had since she'd awakened in the apartment, "Makes sense, but somehow I get the feeling that this isn't going to be as simple as that."

Aria heaved a sigh as she began to make her way toward the clinic, "Yeah, I've got the same feeling."

As soon as they entered the clinic Aria detected a hint of the harsh antiseptic scent of kolto, though there were no kolto tanks in sight. A man stood near the door, but she couldn't tell if he was an assistant, or a patient of some sort. Near a computer terminal a top-of-the-line medical droid stood, watching them as they entered.

"Can I help you?" a masculine voice called from the back.

Aria locked her blue-gray eyes onto the speaker. He was an older man, perhaps in his late fifties with dark skin and graying hair.

"I need to ask if someone has come by your clinic in the past few hours." she replied, closing the distance between them.

Immediately the man's eyes narrowed, suspicion becoming clear on his face, "Who would that be?"

"A woman by the name of Bastila."

"Bastila?" the doctor's voice rose slightly, betraying his surprise, "Those Rep-" He cut himself off suddenly, but by the look in his eyes, he realized it was too late. A guise of fear swept over his features, draining the blood from his face.

"Republic?" Carth's voice interjected.
Aria glanced over her shoulder; he stood just behind her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I…" the doctor stammered, beginning to panic.

"Relax." Aria soothed, flashing him a friendly smile as she lowered her voice, "We're from the Republic."

"Aria!"

She glanced over her shoulder again, meeting Carth's eyes, "It's okay. Trust me."
Aria had turned back to the doctor before she could see the flicker in Carth's eyes, and continued asking questions. She quickly discovered that as she had feared, he hadn't seen Bastila, nor had any of the Republic soldiers that had been brought in by concerned citizens. While the men knew of her and had mentioned her in passing to the doctor, he didn't have a clear idea of who she was, or where she could be.

"If anyone would have any information, they would be in the Lower City. The swoop gangs down there keep tabs on everything that happens on this planet, Upper City or Lower City. Of course if she ended up in the Undercity, you could be in for a rough time. The Sith won't let anyone through save their own patrols, and the rakghouls…"

Aria lifted a brow, "Rakghouls? What are those?"

The doctor shuddered visibly, his face twisting into a mask of disgust, "They were human once. Once a person is bitten by a rakghoul, the poison enters their bloodstream and slowly turns them into a mindless, murdering beast. I've heard the Republic scientists had developed a type of serum, but the Sith took over the lab, and I haven't been able to get my hands on one to synthesize some of my own. There are Sith patrols that go down into the Undercity, they probably carry vials with them. They'd be fools not to. But if I had that serum…so many lives could be saved."

"The Sith, huh?" An idea began to formulate itself, "We'll get that serum for you."

"Don't say that! If the Sith were to hear, they'd arrest me for sure!"

"It'll be fine. But I will be back with that serum." She assured him, "Thanks for your time, but we need to get going."

He nodded, "It's no trouble. I'm just sorry I wasn't of more help. May the Force be with you both."

"Hey, lady." A voice hissed as she neared the door of the clinic.

Aria paused, glancing dubiously at the man who'd been there since they had arrived, "Yes?"

"I heard you talking to the doctor about that serum. Davik's been looking for that stuff for a long time. If you find any, take it to-"

"Just what is this 'Davik' planning to do with the serum?" Aria interrupted, already wary of the man's intentions, and uncomfortable with how much he'd overheard. With our luck, he's some mercenary who'll sell us out to the Sith. Dammit…

"Sell it of course! I'm sure he'd give you a cut of the profits." the man exclaimed, giving her a curious look.

"I see. So the rich will benefit and the poor will keep suffering." Carth interjected, his voice dripping with contempt.

The man spread his hands, "Hey…it's business."

"I think I'll pass." Aria replied curtly as she brushed past him and out the door. She walked over to the far edge of the causeway, staring out over the cityscape as she considered their options. Carth's footsteps came to a halt at her side, drawing her gaze over to him. He'd been strangely quiet for some time, seemingly content to let her take the lead in their mission, though he was the one with the rank. It was almost as if he were watching her, gauging her actions. And for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being tested in some way.

"Is this a good time to ask more questions?" she inquired, keeping her gaze locked on the distant skyline.

Carth shifted uneasily, glancing sidelong at her, "Is it really necessary?"

She heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to him, "Not if you have a problem with it."

"Oh, no. Not at all. Go ahead, interrogate away." he replied sarcastically.

Aria narrowed her eyes in agitation at him before turning back to the skyline, "I never said I was interrogating you. I just wanted to know you better, but screw it. Let's just go."

She started to push past him when he reached out and halted her with a hand on her shoulder, "Wait, Aria. I want to ask you something."

She fixed him with a cold glance, "What?"

"Tell me what happened on the Spire from your perspective. I've been trying to make sense of it and some things still don't fit for me. It was such a sudden attack, almost as if they knew we were coming. If we'd had some time, a warning, Bastila could have used her Battle Meditation, but…I don't know…something's just not right."

"Well, I wasn't in a position to know much of anything. I woke up with klaxons screaming in my ears and turbolasers pounding at my door. Trask explained some of the situation to me, but like you said, I guess it was just that they caught us completely off-guard." Aria's gaze slowly changed to a more quizzical nature, "Why?"

"It just seems strange to me that a last-minute addition to the crew would be one of the survivors." he stated, his voice flat.

Aria felt her mouth drop open in shock as the meaning behind his words sank in. Her eyes flared with anger and indignation, and she planted a hand on her hip, "You think I had something to do with it, don't you, Onasi? Well, you know what? I didn't."

Carth didn't appear intimidated in the least as he replied, "Bastila and her party specifically requested you to be added just before we left. And then you just happen to survive. It's all just a little too convenient."

"Convenient? Convenient!?" she hissed, trying to keep from drawing too much attention to herself and Carth, "Listen, you hairless wookiee, you can just go to hell. I don't know why Bastila and the Jedi would request me, but I do know that I didn't have a damn thing to do with the attack on the Spire. And I really don't give a damn if you believe me or not, but it's the truth. So you can just space your reasons and your paranoia."

"Maybe you're right…" he conceded, "And this may all be nothing. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching you and being wary. I'm just not built that way."

Aria shook her head in disbelief, "Fine. Watch away, flyboy." With that she turned abruptly and continued down the street without bothering to look back to see if he were following.

Carth frowned as he fell in behind her, feeling a faint sting of guilt. And what if she really is telling the truth? It's strange, though, that she doesn't know anything about how the Jedi requested her specifically. Seems something like that would have been mentioned to her at some point, or the Jedi would have at least met with her. He shook his head, The further into this I get, the more it seems like there's something just beneath the surface that I can't see. Something that will explain it all. It's like…like something is just watching us, placing us just so… like pieces in some game. I don't like it. Not at all. But maybe I do owe her an apology. There's something about her…something I can't really describe, but I know it's not evil. She's not like the Sith. I can already see that. She's already promised to help that one woman, and the doctor. Surely someone with that kind of compassion couldn't be with the Sith. But still… He glanced at Aria's back as she walked on ahead. The set of her shoulders betrayed the fact that she was still angry, still on edge after his accusations. She didn't even so much as glance at him as he caught up to her.

He ran a hand tiredly through his hair, This is gonna be a long day…

Fin Chapitre Deux