A Failure's Tale - Chapter 5
A pretty new face
I managed to get on the first ship to Coruscant. It was an uneventful journey except for a funny host who kept me company all the way there. It was dark when I arrived, I looked around. Coruscant was a beautiful city full of tall and spiralling buildings. It reminded me of Taris. I sighed and began my walk, I had Canderous' address. My mind had ideas of wandering over there and talking to him but my body didn't feel like a fight.
No. My body felt like a drink. I entered the local boozer and sat down inside, I ordered a glass of whisky and thumbed my credit chit over to the green Twi'lek barman. I started to sip on my drink and I looked around the place. It was dark, seedy. Definitely seedy. Then my eyes caught a glimpse of a woman who looked unnatural to say the least.
She had long hair and it was straight. I'd never seen hair so long and so well conditioned in all my fourty one years of wandering. Her hair was as black as the space in the galaxy, it was unnatural to say the least. Her head turned and I caught a glimpse of her eyes. If her hair was the space in the galaxy her eyes were definitely the stars. Her eyes were an aquamarine colour and they twinkled even in the dim light of the Cantina.
It was.. Most unnatural.
What was even more unnatural was the fact that she was arm wrestling in a bid to win some credits. My eyes wandered further down her body. She was a petite lady, she was definitely not of a build to arm wrestle some of the brutes I had noticed in here. I examined her technique, it looked simple enough. Grab the guys hand in a lock and beat him.
Surely it was some trick. She wasn't exactly a muscular woman or even muscular toned she just had a normal body.
I finished my drink and walked over to the table where she was sitting. I decided I would be her next challenger. "May I?" I asked her. She grinned at me and nodded softly. I sat down at the other side of the rounded table and placed my elbow on it firmly. She repeated the action with her right arm. "What's your name?" I asked her. She stayed silent and smiled.
"Maria Mortis." Came her husky tone. Her voice was deep but sexy. "And you?" Maria asked me.
"Jaro. Jaro Kep." I replied as her tiny hand wrapped around my manly one.
"Well Jaro.. Prepare to be pleasently surprised." Maria warned me. I grinned at her, this had to be some kind of joke, surely.
The arm wrestle begun and I realised that I didn't have to put all my strength into my arm to best Maria. She wasn't a strong lady at all so how was she winning these arm wrestles? I decided that it would probably be for the best if I didn't find that out but sure enough my own destiny grabbed me by the sacred parts and pulled me in.
I felt a hand on my thigh and a foot travelling up my leg, it was enough to shock me and break my concentration. The next thing I felt was my hand being slammed onto the table. Maria Mortis was the victor of the arm wrestle.
It was incredibly embarassing to say the least.
I decided that I wasn't going to stick around. I was better saving up the rest of my manly pride I had left rather than throwing it away needlessly on an arm wrestling match against Maria Mortis. I left from the table and she taunted me. "You've had enough already?" She snorted. I turned to face her.
"Maybe later gorgeous." I answered her before turning to leave. She chuckled.
"You'll lose." She told me. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"We'll just have to see about that." I replied as I carried on walking out of the Cantina.
***
"Who is it?" I heard Canderous's rough voice answer me from beyond his apartment. I decided to play rough with him. If I was to be weak and answer with a simple "Carth" he'd probably laugh at me and leave me standing out in the cold.
"You're worst nightmare." I answered him. He laughed. Obviously a male voice wasn't his idea of a nightmare, maybe it was a females? Revan's perhaps?
"Go away kid." Canderous answered me with a chuckle, it was suddenly silent. It seems I was going to be left out in the cold anyway.
"Right Canderous.. You want me to break into your apartment? Then I'm going to have to." I muttered inaudibly under my breath as I started to fumble with the panel on the door. After a good five minutes I managed to get in..
Only to be greeted with the cold end of a blaster rifle pressed hard against the side of my temple.
"Bloody Mandalorians." I said as I raised my hands in the air in surrender.
"Wait a minute. You're no kid.." Canderous said as realization suddenly dawned upon him.
"Still the brainless brute aren't we old man?" I quipped to him. Canderous glared at me and pushed his rifle against my temple even harder. I stayed as stone cold and icy as I could, looking infront of me and leaving my hands in the air in surrender.
"Gaaaaaaaah." He groaned as he threw his rifle on the ground. He grabbed me by the top of my shirt and literally threw me into the adjoining room of the apartment.
"Was it something I said?" I asked Canderous.
"Shut up, Carth. Why in Mandalore's name are you here? And make this quick or next time I'll shove the blaster rifle through you're entire head." Canderous said through his teeth in anger.
"Information." I replied. It was enough to crack Canderous up into a fit of laughter.
"Wait. You expect *me* to help you? I-" I didn't give him a chance to finish.
"You forget that I beat you in combat." I answered him. A tiny grin formed at the corner of his mouth.
"You may have done but at least I have honour." Canderous said to me as he sat down in a chair and regarded me carefully.
"Really Canderous? Is that why you kicked me while I was on the ground? Is that why you pulled a blade out on me and still lost?" I enquired of him.
"Don't talk rubbish Carth. I'm a Mandalorian. We only ache for the glory of the battle, for victory!" He exclaimed as he chuckled at me.
"Yes, but you lost." I replied to him. Canderous went to interrupt me and I waved my finger at him. "And you can't blame two jedi's, more supplies, yadda yadda absolute bantha fodder on it this time." Canderous went to interrupt again and I started to seriously lose my patience. "It was just you and me. You had a blade and I didn't. I was the better man. *I* was the victor. Now you better give me that information Canderous-" I said to him.
"Or what?" He asked. I shrugged and started to laugh heartily.
"Look at you, old man. Heh.. Pathetic. How old are you now? Pushing sixty?" I sighed to myself and laughed again, his fists clenched. If Canderous wanted my blood a year ago, he wanted it even more at that moment in time. "Give me the information and I'll be out of your way Canderous." I told him. He shook his head at me.
"I'll give you your information.. But I know that I won't be seeing the last of you. You're an offworlder and some people don't take kindly to offworlders.. Especially those who are seeking information." Canderous said to me. I rolled my eyes and smirked in disgust.
"Is that a threat?" I asked him. Canderous shook his head.
"It's a friendly warning. Warrior to warrior." He told me. I sighed under my breath, so it was back to the warrior stuff again was it? "What is it you want to know?" He asked me, looking down on the ground.
"About Revan." I replied to him. It was his turn to laugh heartily.
"Still playing the lovesick fool Carth?" Canderous asked me. The question caught me off guard and I wasn't prepared with an answer. "Thought so." He finally added after a long pause. "I was injured protecting Revan from the Sith that came to Bastila's aid.. Revan was rattled, I've never seen her that way.. Well.. Since ever now that I look back." He said to me. I nodded in his direction and sat down on a chair at the opposite side of the room.
He sighed and shifted around uncomfortably. "It disturbed her that you commited suicide. For the few minutes that their was between your so called untimely death and the battle between Revan and Bastila you could almost say she was zombified." Canderous told me. I quirked my eyebrow. I wanted to quip that she looked like a zombie anyway but that wasn't a good idea. Not when the Mandalorian had me in his good books.
"Well, I'm guessing you want to know whether she is alive or dead." He sighed. "She's dead blaster boy. Give up on her. I saw her die before my very eyes.. When I found out about you and Bastila.. I realised that I was betraying the wrong person." Canderous said to me. I didn't care about his reasons. I cared about her death. I sighed and tears welled up in my eyes. Had I really come all this way for nothing?
"I was told the opposite. I was told that she lived and went into hiding." I said to Canderous. He smiled softly.
"No.." He answered. Canderous Ordo sighed again before continuing "They both struck each other down at the same time." He told me. I pondered it. "If you don't believe me.. Go to the museum. Check out her robes." He said to me.
"I think I will." I replied. I stood up and walked out the apartment without even telling him thanks or goodbye.
He was a Mandalorian. One of my enemies. It would always remain that way.
--------------
Athenaprime: :) Yay .. I got your e-mail.. cool! Love your story as you already know.
Shadow39: You got "more"!
VividScripts: Hi. I got your e-mail and I haven't had time to read your fic.. yet. Last night I was busy reading KOTOR fics but I will get around to your fic tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the support by the way and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
A pretty new face
I managed to get on the first ship to Coruscant. It was an uneventful journey except for a funny host who kept me company all the way there. It was dark when I arrived, I looked around. Coruscant was a beautiful city full of tall and spiralling buildings. It reminded me of Taris. I sighed and began my walk, I had Canderous' address. My mind had ideas of wandering over there and talking to him but my body didn't feel like a fight.
No. My body felt like a drink. I entered the local boozer and sat down inside, I ordered a glass of whisky and thumbed my credit chit over to the green Twi'lek barman. I started to sip on my drink and I looked around the place. It was dark, seedy. Definitely seedy. Then my eyes caught a glimpse of a woman who looked unnatural to say the least.
She had long hair and it was straight. I'd never seen hair so long and so well conditioned in all my fourty one years of wandering. Her hair was as black as the space in the galaxy, it was unnatural to say the least. Her head turned and I caught a glimpse of her eyes. If her hair was the space in the galaxy her eyes were definitely the stars. Her eyes were an aquamarine colour and they twinkled even in the dim light of the Cantina.
It was.. Most unnatural.
What was even more unnatural was the fact that she was arm wrestling in a bid to win some credits. My eyes wandered further down her body. She was a petite lady, she was definitely not of a build to arm wrestle some of the brutes I had noticed in here. I examined her technique, it looked simple enough. Grab the guys hand in a lock and beat him.
Surely it was some trick. She wasn't exactly a muscular woman or even muscular toned she just had a normal body.
I finished my drink and walked over to the table where she was sitting. I decided I would be her next challenger. "May I?" I asked her. She grinned at me and nodded softly. I sat down at the other side of the rounded table and placed my elbow on it firmly. She repeated the action with her right arm. "What's your name?" I asked her. She stayed silent and smiled.
"Maria Mortis." Came her husky tone. Her voice was deep but sexy. "And you?" Maria asked me.
"Jaro. Jaro Kep." I replied as her tiny hand wrapped around my manly one.
"Well Jaro.. Prepare to be pleasently surprised." Maria warned me. I grinned at her, this had to be some kind of joke, surely.
The arm wrestle begun and I realised that I didn't have to put all my strength into my arm to best Maria. She wasn't a strong lady at all so how was she winning these arm wrestles? I decided that it would probably be for the best if I didn't find that out but sure enough my own destiny grabbed me by the sacred parts and pulled me in.
I felt a hand on my thigh and a foot travelling up my leg, it was enough to shock me and break my concentration. The next thing I felt was my hand being slammed onto the table. Maria Mortis was the victor of the arm wrestle.
It was incredibly embarassing to say the least.
I decided that I wasn't going to stick around. I was better saving up the rest of my manly pride I had left rather than throwing it away needlessly on an arm wrestling match against Maria Mortis. I left from the table and she taunted me. "You've had enough already?" She snorted. I turned to face her.
"Maybe later gorgeous." I answered her before turning to leave. She chuckled.
"You'll lose." She told me. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"We'll just have to see about that." I replied as I carried on walking out of the Cantina.
***
"Who is it?" I heard Canderous's rough voice answer me from beyond his apartment. I decided to play rough with him. If I was to be weak and answer with a simple "Carth" he'd probably laugh at me and leave me standing out in the cold.
"You're worst nightmare." I answered him. He laughed. Obviously a male voice wasn't his idea of a nightmare, maybe it was a females? Revan's perhaps?
"Go away kid." Canderous answered me with a chuckle, it was suddenly silent. It seems I was going to be left out in the cold anyway.
"Right Canderous.. You want me to break into your apartment? Then I'm going to have to." I muttered inaudibly under my breath as I started to fumble with the panel on the door. After a good five minutes I managed to get in..
Only to be greeted with the cold end of a blaster rifle pressed hard against the side of my temple.
"Bloody Mandalorians." I said as I raised my hands in the air in surrender.
"Wait a minute. You're no kid.." Canderous said as realization suddenly dawned upon him.
"Still the brainless brute aren't we old man?" I quipped to him. Canderous glared at me and pushed his rifle against my temple even harder. I stayed as stone cold and icy as I could, looking infront of me and leaving my hands in the air in surrender.
"Gaaaaaaaah." He groaned as he threw his rifle on the ground. He grabbed me by the top of my shirt and literally threw me into the adjoining room of the apartment.
"Was it something I said?" I asked Canderous.
"Shut up, Carth. Why in Mandalore's name are you here? And make this quick or next time I'll shove the blaster rifle through you're entire head." Canderous said through his teeth in anger.
"Information." I replied. It was enough to crack Canderous up into a fit of laughter.
"Wait. You expect *me* to help you? I-" I didn't give him a chance to finish.
"You forget that I beat you in combat." I answered him. A tiny grin formed at the corner of his mouth.
"You may have done but at least I have honour." Canderous said to me as he sat down in a chair and regarded me carefully.
"Really Canderous? Is that why you kicked me while I was on the ground? Is that why you pulled a blade out on me and still lost?" I enquired of him.
"Don't talk rubbish Carth. I'm a Mandalorian. We only ache for the glory of the battle, for victory!" He exclaimed as he chuckled at me.
"Yes, but you lost." I replied to him. Canderous went to interrupt me and I waved my finger at him. "And you can't blame two jedi's, more supplies, yadda yadda absolute bantha fodder on it this time." Canderous went to interrupt again and I started to seriously lose my patience. "It was just you and me. You had a blade and I didn't. I was the better man. *I* was the victor. Now you better give me that information Canderous-" I said to him.
"Or what?" He asked. I shrugged and started to laugh heartily.
"Look at you, old man. Heh.. Pathetic. How old are you now? Pushing sixty?" I sighed to myself and laughed again, his fists clenched. If Canderous wanted my blood a year ago, he wanted it even more at that moment in time. "Give me the information and I'll be out of your way Canderous." I told him. He shook his head at me.
"I'll give you your information.. But I know that I won't be seeing the last of you. You're an offworlder and some people don't take kindly to offworlders.. Especially those who are seeking information." Canderous said to me. I rolled my eyes and smirked in disgust.
"Is that a threat?" I asked him. Canderous shook his head.
"It's a friendly warning. Warrior to warrior." He told me. I sighed under my breath, so it was back to the warrior stuff again was it? "What is it you want to know?" He asked me, looking down on the ground.
"About Revan." I replied to him. It was his turn to laugh heartily.
"Still playing the lovesick fool Carth?" Canderous asked me. The question caught me off guard and I wasn't prepared with an answer. "Thought so." He finally added after a long pause. "I was injured protecting Revan from the Sith that came to Bastila's aid.. Revan was rattled, I've never seen her that way.. Well.. Since ever now that I look back." He said to me. I nodded in his direction and sat down on a chair at the opposite side of the room.
He sighed and shifted around uncomfortably. "It disturbed her that you commited suicide. For the few minutes that their was between your so called untimely death and the battle between Revan and Bastila you could almost say she was zombified." Canderous told me. I quirked my eyebrow. I wanted to quip that she looked like a zombie anyway but that wasn't a good idea. Not when the Mandalorian had me in his good books.
"Well, I'm guessing you want to know whether she is alive or dead." He sighed. "She's dead blaster boy. Give up on her. I saw her die before my very eyes.. When I found out about you and Bastila.. I realised that I was betraying the wrong person." Canderous said to me. I didn't care about his reasons. I cared about her death. I sighed and tears welled up in my eyes. Had I really come all this way for nothing?
"I was told the opposite. I was told that she lived and went into hiding." I said to Canderous. He smiled softly.
"No.." He answered. Canderous Ordo sighed again before continuing "They both struck each other down at the same time." He told me. I pondered it. "If you don't believe me.. Go to the museum. Check out her robes." He said to me.
"I think I will." I replied. I stood up and walked out the apartment without even telling him thanks or goodbye.
He was a Mandalorian. One of my enemies. It would always remain that way.
--------------
Athenaprime: :) Yay .. I got your e-mail.. cool! Love your story as you already know.
Shadow39: You got "more"!
VividScripts: Hi. I got your e-mail and I haven't had time to read your fic.. yet. Last night I was busy reading KOTOR fics but I will get around to your fic tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the support by the way and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!