AN: This is the updated version of the chapter. I've added some more scenes and fixed some of the problems.

Chapter 1: Crash and Burn

In space above the planet of Taris a lone Republic ship was being overwhelmed by a Sith fleet. Try as it might, the vessel stood no chance. The crew did the best they could at fighting boarding parties and getting to escape pods, but there was little hope that any of them would make it out alive. Turbolaser fire from the Sith Fleet threatened to destroy the Republic ship at any moment. A blast rocked the ship, knocking Ian Verik from his bunk.

Argh, what the hell was that? Did the pilot forget how to fly this thing?

Ian was groggier than usual. Normally his old smuggler's instincts would kick in and he would be ready for action. But he was caught unaware and was having difficulty figuring out what was happening. Running a hand through his brown hair Ian searched the room for an answer to the disturbance with his hazel eyes, but all he found was a footlocker. As he made his way to the footlocker the door behind him opened suddenly, allowing a Republic soldier to enter.

"Who the hell are you?" Ian demanded of young man who barged into the room.

"Come on, we need to get to the bridge to help Bastila," ordered the soldier.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Ian snapped. "But first tell me who the hell you are."

"Damn it, we don't have time for this," the soldier said irritatingly and running a hand through his blond hair. "I'm Ensign Trask Ulgo, I was sent here by the Jedi to get you to the bridge."

"Hey, isn't Bastila a Jedi? She should be able to take care of herself," Ian commented.

"Nobody is perfect, not even a Jedi."

"I guess your right."

Ian finished getting dressed and headed out for the bridge with Trask. The pair didn't even get a few feet past the door when their communicators went off with a message about the dire situation they were in.

"This is Carth Onasi. The Sith have boarded the Spire, all hands are needed on the bridge." The voice was authoritative, but a hint of anxiousness was detectable.

"If Commander Onasi thinks things are bad then we had better hurry." Said Trask

XxXxX

The bridge crew had a clear view of the Sith fleet that was working on blasting them into space dust. Commander Carth Onasi had been in some tight spots during the Mandalorian War and this ranked up among them. There was no way to salvage the situation; their best bet was to evacuate the ship. But trying to get that insufferable Jedi to listen to reason would be slightly less difficult than fighting off the Sith fleet with only the Endar Spire.

"Alright Bastila, its time to leave," Said Carth.

"Did you warn the crew?" She replied ignoring Carth.

"Yes, now let's go."

"I can't run away there may be something I can do to help."

"The Sith are after you Bastila, that's why you need to get to the escape pods."

"Maybe my battle meditation can help."

"Its too late, they've already boarded."

Still ignoring him, Bastila was getting into a kneeling position to meditate. With a frustrated sigh, Carth grabbed Bastila's arm and yanked her in the direction of the escape pods.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" she demanded

"Getting you to safety."

"Let me go." She tried, unsuccessfully to remove her arm from Carth's grasp. "There must be something I can do?"

"There is; you can get to a pod while there's still time."

Carth continued to pull Bastila through the ship to the escape pods. They were getting close when the door in front of them opened to reveal a squad of eight Sith soldiers. Reacting to the danger, Carth pushed Bastila behind some plasteel containers for cover. He didn't have a chance to follower her before the Sith opened fire; Carth ducked and sprinted to the other side of the room to take cover behind some more containers. Carth called in for backup before the Sith could overwhelm them.

Due to the confined space Bastila only ignited one end of her lightsaber and stood up focusing all the attention on to her. With an unnecessary thrust of her hand, Bastila manipulated the Force to throw all the Sith backwards. With her enemies disoriented she jumped out from behind the container and cut down two of the Sith. The other six recovered before Bastila could deal with them.

With all the blasters firing at her, Bastila had to put all her concentration into deflecting bolts and was unable to go on the offensive. Carth took advantage of being forgotten by springing up and unloading his two blasters at the Sith. Two more fell to Carth's shooting and one was killed by a deflected bolt.

A moment later a couple Republic soldiers appeared in the doorway and opened fire on the Sith. Taken by surprise the remaining three Sith had no chance to find cover. They were quickly defeated by Carth, Bastila and the two Republic soldiers.

"Let's move." Carth ordered.

"You go on Commander, Lady Jedi. We'll cover you," said a soldier.

XxXxX

Ian and Trask made their way through the corridors of the Endar Spire, racing to get to the bridge before it was too late. Nearing their destination the pair found themselves in the middle of a fire fight. Two Republic soldiers had taken cover and were trying to repel Sith forces. The four Sith had their enemies cornered and would have finished them off, but Trask and Ian interfered.

The pair opened fire on the Sith. Trask had decidedly better aim; he shot one Sith in the middle of his face mask before the rest could scramble for cover. For a few precious minutes the two sides fired volleys at each other, neither gaining any ground. Becoming impatient and spurred on by the reinforcements, a Republic soldier decided to attack the Sith head on.

"Fall back." Trask called, but the soldier ignored him.

Once he was out in the open the Republic soldier rapidly fired his blaster rifle hoping to hit a Sith stupid enough to stick his head out. And there was. The Sith moved from his cover to get a better aim and distract the Republic soldier. Immediately the Sith was pelted by blaster bolts with enough force to push him back into bulkhead. As the Sith soldier's lifeless body slid down the wall the other two Sith showed themselves and blasted the Republic soldier.

Ian was fed up; they had wasted enough time with these Sith. "I can't take this anymore." He said irritatingly. "Got a frag grenade?" he asked Trask.

"What do you want one for?"

"To kill the Sith."

"Are you crazy? You don't know what that could damage, we could end up getting killed ourselves."

"Well, we'll die anyway if we just sit here."

Trask didn't reply, but handed Ian a frag grenade. He set the weapon to detonate a couple seconds after it had been released. When there was a break in the blaster fire Ian turned and tossed the explosive at the unsuspecting Sith. Screams could be heard as the grenade went off. Ian, Trask and the last Republic soldier made their way to the Sith with their blasters held at the ready in case the Sith managed to survive. They rounded the corner to see that one Sith was killed, but the other was still squirming on the deck. Trask fired a bolt into him causing the Sith's body to lie still.

"See? It worked," said Ian smugly as he pilfered some medpacks from the bodies.

As the three approached the door they heard a distinct humming sound coming from beyond it.

"That sounds like lightsabers." Said Trask.

The door opened to the next hallway revealing two figures circling each other. Indeed they did hear lightsabers. A Dark Jedi dressed in the traditional uniform of a form fitting body suit and a mask, twirled his crimson lightsaber looking for an opening on his young female opponent. She wore the typical tan robes and leggings that most people associate with the Jedi order, but wielded a rare violet bladed lightsaber. The pair exchanged a few slashes testing the skill of the other. Satisfied, the Dark Jedi lunged at his adversary causing her to make a quick parry and back up a few paces.

"Not so confident now, are we girly?" the Dark Jedi taunted as he unleashed a torrent of blows the Jedi was barely able to keep up with.

Seeing that the Jedi was losing the battle, Ian pulled his vibrosword out of its scabbard. But as he moved in to help the Jedi an arm blocked his path.

"What are you doing?" asked Trask

"I'm going to help her," said Ian.

"That's a Dark Jedi: this battle is too much for us," He explained. "The Dark Jedi will kill you if you go out there!"

"And if he kills that Jedi we'll all be dead anyway."

Trask moved his arm to let Ian pass, but he wouldn't make it in time. The Jedi's movements appeared sluggish compared to the rapid attacks from the Dark Jedi. Acting fast Ian threw his vibrosword at the Dark Jedi. This caused the Dark Jedi to slow down his rate of attack so he could will the vibrosword away. Being cocky the Dark Jedi contorted the Force to fling the sword back at Ian, but he did so at the cost of some his concentration in the duel. Sensing this distraction the Jedi went on the offensive. She came at the Dark Jedi with all her strength, batting his blade to the side with a blow to the left and coming back with a slash to the right she catching the Dark Jedi in the midsection.

As her opponent fell the Jedi disengaged her weapon and focused on getting her breathing under control. Ian was walking over to the Jedi when he noticed something familiar about her position; she was standing in front of a power conduit. For reasons he wasn't entirely sure of, Ian sprinted towards the Jedi. She was about to turn to thank the person who helped her when a solid form knocked her hard to the ground, causing the young Jedi to lose her breath. A second later the power conduit that was behind the Jedi exploded and would have surely killed her if she had been standing there.

"Thanks," the Jedi panted.

"Don't mention it," said Ian as he helped the Jedi to her feet.

"No time for introductions, we have to move," Trask ordered.

Ian and the Jedi retrieved their weapons and followed Trask to the bridge door. The only people occupying the bridge were four Sith soldiers. The Jedi ignited her lightsaber and moved to a position to protect everyone else from blaster fire, but before she could get in front a bolt killed the Republic soldier. She deflected the rest of the blaster bolts and led Ian and Trask onto the bridge. Getting close the Sith exchanged their blasters for vibroswords.

The Jedi fought with two of the soldiers while Ian and Trask took on the other two. Being aggressive a Sith lunged his weapon at the Jedi, but she easily parried the attack and riposted, stabbing the soldier in the chest. The other Sith slashed at the young woman, but her Jedi reflexes allowed her to move faster than one would think possible. She parried a few blows by the soldier and then their weapons came together in a battle a strength. The two pushed back against each other until the Jedi rotated her wrist changing the angle of the blade so it severed the Sith's hand. While the he cried out in pain the young woman spun and kicked the Sith in the gut sending him crashing into a console.

Ian advanced on the Sith he was fighting who, realizing that is opponent was the better swordsman, kept backing up to avoid getting killed. In desperation the Sith made a downward slash with all his strength. Ian was able to block the attack, but he couldn't push the Sith back. After a minute long power struggle, Ian's foot flashed out catching the side of the Sith's knee. The Sith fell over with a cry and a powerful slash from Ian's weapon relieved the soldier of his head.

Trask was holding off the Sith soldier, but with some difficulty. He was proficient in using a blaster, but his skills with a vibrosword were only rudimentary. Attempting another parry the Sith's blade got by and bit into Trask's leg causing him to stumble slightly. Knowing that his opponent had the advantage Trask hoped that Ian or the Jedi would be able to help him. But that didn't look very likely as the Sith stood over Trask, ready to finish him off. As the Sith brought his weapon down the ship shook violently from Turbolaser fire causing the Sith to lose his balance. Regaining his equilibrium the Sith tried to kill Trask again and bringing his arm back for a vicious attack, but before he could even swing he felt a searing pain as a lightsaber removed his arm. Paralyzed with shock, there was nothing the Sith could do as the Jedi sent him flying across the bridge.

"Well, obviously Bastila isn't here," said Ian exasperated.

"Hopefully she made it to the escape pods alright," said Trask.

XxXxX

"Are you certain there is nothing I can do to help, Commander Onasi?" Bastila inquired as she reluctantly made her way into the escape pod.

"Positive," said Carth, firing bolts at the Sith soldiers threatening to overrun them. "Go. It's only me and …." The two Republic soldiers fighting along side Carth were overwhelmed with blaster fire. "… it's only me covering this position and I can't hold it forever."

"Why don't you escape with me, there is plenty of room in the pod."

"Nah, you're the important one. I can risk my neck for a little while longer."

"To serve what purpose Commander?"

"The readout shows that there are still some soldiers alive, and I don't leave anyone behind."

"Do you think this wise? We can't afford to lose you."

"Don't worry, there's one escape pod left. I'll take it before the Spire can blow. Now GO!"

With a slight nod Bastila entered the pod and pressed the ignition switch, a moment later the pod blasted out into space.

The charges on his blasters empty, Carth sealed the door to the pod room. First order of business was to replace the charges in case the Sith managed to get the door open. Next thing he had to do was inform the crew that the Spire was a doomed ship and then wait for any more survivors.

"This is Carth Onasi. Bastila's escape pod is away, all hands to the escape pods." Anyone that's still alive, get here fast. Carth thought solemnly.

XxXxX

"Well, you heard the Commander. Let's move." Trask ordered.

"Yes Sir," said Ian giving a mock salute.

As the trio got close to the escape pods they could feel an ominous presence nearby. There were two doors to take and Trask decided to quench his curiosity.

"Come on, this way," said the Jedi heading towards the other door, but Trask didn't listen.

When he approached the door it opened for them to see what it was they feared: another Dark Jedi. This one looked even more menacing: he had a bald head, glowing yellow eyes and wore dark armor. He strode toward them with a confidant, almost cocky gait, igniting his double bladed lightsaber. The Jedi followed suit, but with a flick of his wrist the Dark Jedi flung the Jedi into the bulkhead. With a sickening crunch she slammed into the wall and collapsed to the deck. The Dark Jedi then turned to Trask and Ian, beckoning them to attack.

"Another Dark Jedi," stated Trask. "I'll handle him; you get to the escape pods."

He pushed Ian aside and entered the room with the Dark Jedi before Ian could protest.

"NO, don't be a moron, he'll kill you!" Ian yelled. But it was too late; an explosion caused the door to close and would not reopen.

He stood there in shock, wondering why this man would risk his life for him. A lightsaber cutting through the door snapped him out of his daze, Ian picked up the unconscious Jedi and he took off hobbling to the escape pods with the unconscious her. When he got close his communicator went off again.

"I'm reading your life signs on my display and you are the last survivor. You have to hurry up, I have one escape pod here but I can't wait. But be careful, there is a group of Sith in the next room." Said the Commander.

To be safe, Ian repaired the security droid to help fight. It proved to be well made droid: it managed to kill three of the Sith while Ian took care of the other two. And for his spoils, he found a nicely made vibrosword among the leaders corpse.

When he opened the next door, he was met by a couple blasters pointed between his eyes. Noticing he wasn't a Sith, as far as he could tell, Carth lowered his blasters and motioned for Ian to go into the escape pod.

Ian took a good look at the man who had just pointed a two blasters at him. Commander Onasi had a youthful look to him that was only marred by the few lines on his face. A career soldier, he was physically fit and his hideous orange jacket only slightly disguised his muscular form. His brown eyes expressed his desire to leave this ship and one would have to be blind not to notice the pain hidden with their depths. With some relief the Commander ran a hand through his brown hair, brushing back a couple unruly locks which just fell back a moment later.

"Come on. There's only one pod left and the ship is about to go!" said Carth.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Ian asked.

"I'm a Republic soldier," the Commander said. "But this is no time for a formal introduction, so if you don't mind we should get to the pod."

"Good idea."

Carth helped Ian get the injured Jedi into the escape pod before he too got in. Rocketing though space towards Taris, the pair could see the damage the Sith cause to the Spire. Concentrated turbolaser fire was aimed at the neck of the ship between the bridge and body of the vessel causing the two segments to blow apart from each other. The bottom left thruster took heavy fire and had exploded. There were many places where the hull plating had been punctured allowing the coldness of space to enter the ship and sucking a few Sith soldiers out into the void.

"Damn Sith, we just gave the Spire a new paint job before this mission." said Carth trying to lighten up the mood. A few seconds later the ship started to break apart and explode into thousands of pieces.

Shortly after, the escape pod hit atmosphere and the passengers were rocked about. Looking out the view port Carth and Ian could see the burn up caused by entering Taris' atmosphere. The pod was heating up, not to a dangerous level, but enough to make the three occupants sweat. All the while everyone was jarred about as the pod descended. It took only a couple more seconds to crash into the planet. The impact roughly tossed the three about. Carth got a few bruises from the restraint digging into him and being forced back into the wall. The Jedi was already out of it and was pushed roughly into the side banging her right shoulder. Ian's head smacked into the plating rendering him unconscious.

Carth was left with the task of carrying his two crewmates away before any one showed up, especially Sith. He was able to lift the petite Jedi over one shoulder, but couldn't haul Ian over the other. Quickly making his way over to the first door he spotted, Carth set the Jedi down and ran back to drag Ian. Muttering an apology Carth dragged both of them into the building which was fortunately an apartment complex. He made his way to an apartment with a vacant sign on the door. After some fiddling, Carth was able to pick the lock. He brought them in and put both of them in one of the two beds in the abandoned apartment. Carth inspected the two prone forms and saw some bruising on the Jedi, so he injected her with kolto. As for Ian, he had a large gash right above his left eye and to his temple. After patching up the visible wounds they all had received, Carth watched the steady breathing of the two in bed and felt some relief.

"Welcome to Taris," he said feebly barely managing to get the words out. "Enjoy your stay--" he barely uttered the last word before the exhaustion kicked in and he collapsed on the floor.