Bjrn Fallqvist: Thanks for the tip, I didn't know about that.
Alice the Raven: Glad you like it so far. I always liked the idea of the Jedi surviving, where I am going with it ... I'm not sure yet
AN: Here is the first part of Taris, it ended up being longer than I thought. Just made a couple changes, nothing major.
Chapter 2: Welcome to Paradise
In the morning Carth awoke feeling a little refreshed, but stiff and sore from sleeping on the floor. The first thing he did was check on the wounded; the Jedi had some electrical burns and bruises, but was healing. The man, named Ian, Carth discovered by reading her service record, had a nice lump on the back of his head. Overall, neither of them showed any signs of waking up any time soon. With a sigh, Carth cleaned himself up and went out to gather information on their current situation.
Over the next couple of days, Carth found out a few things that would cause some trouble for the mission. The Sith had declared martial law on the planet, and created a quarantine so no one could leave. Also, a couple sources claimed that some escape pods crashed in the Under City, but it is a dangerous place. Carth was told that he would have to first get through the Lower City and its violent swoop gangs, and then the Under City is supposedly plagued by an incurable disease. With the time he spent asking around, this was all Carth could find out. He didn't want to leave Ian or the Jedi alone for very long. He spent some of the few credits they had on medical supplies in order to help the women more.
It wasn't until the third day that things began to look up. Around mid-day Carth returned to the apartment after doing a little more scouting. He was about to lie down for a nap, but noticed Ian stirring. This was a definite improvement to his being completely motionless, but something wasn't right; he was more thrashing about than just stirring. Carth ran over to try and hold Ian to make sure she didn't hurt himself.
"Hey, wake up, what's wrong with you?" Carth said, while slightly shaking him
Where was he, on board a ship? Yes, that's it, a ship. What is going on here? A Jedi with chestnut hair pulled back into twin braids ignited a yellow lightsaber and confronts a Dark Jedi. They both swing the deadly blades of light at each other and they're weapons clash in an eruption of sparks. For about a minute the two adversaries parried each other's attacks, until the Jedi found an opening and struck down her opponent. She stared ahead at something that could not be seen; a look of grim determination on her face.
There is conflict
Ian woke up with a start, knocking Carth onto the floor.
"AHHH" he cried
"Wha … what ..." Ian stammered, breathing heavily after the nightmare
He was covered in a cold sweat, making his clothes stick, also the back of his head throbbed. Pushing some hair out of his eyes, Ian took in his surroundings. He was in a strange apartment with an unconscious woman on a bed and a man picking himself up off the floor. Ian just stared at him quizzically, since he did not know what was going on and his memory was a little fuzzy. After a few moments Carth decided to break the silence.
"It's good to see you awake instead of thrashing about in your sleep" He said, "That must have been one hell of a nightmare" Great introduction Onasi, don't mention your name, or ask if he is ok; Idiot.
"Y … yeah, it was. Who are you?" Ian asked, still unsure of what was going on and a little messed up from the hit to the head
"I'm Carth Onasi, the communicator on the Spire, remember?"
"Right, how's the Jedi" pointing to the young woman on the bed.
"Well, she's still out. She was in worse shape than you"
"About that, how did I end up here?"
"You missed a bit while you were unconscious, I'll fill you in"
Carth proceeded to tell Ian about the events that led them all too where they were. Also, he explained the situation with the Sith and the blockade. But, the first thing they had to worry about was finding Bastila, since she was key to the Republic was effort. Plus, Carth mentioned how useful the linguistic skills that Ian had will be and the Jedi would be a big help if she woke up.
"So we should head out and start looking for Bastila" said Carth
"Bastila?" That name means something to me, but what?
"You know, the Jedi with Battle Meditation and was the commanding officer on the Spire"
"Of … of course, yeah I remember her, the snooty brat." So she was my commanding officer, it just feels like she is more than that, but what?
"Hey, you ok? You seem to be drifting off there."
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
"Alright, we should be heading out soon and we should get you to a doctor just to be in case."
"Sure, but can I clean up first. I feel like shit."
"Fine, but make it quick."
While Ian took a shower, Carth read over Ian's service record more carefully. It was surprisingly vague, which really irritated Carth. The only information given was; name, age, home planet, some skills and previous occupation. Dissatisfied with this, Carth decided to take a look through Ian's bag. Inside he found some medpacks, frag grenades and two lightsabers. Carth ignited the weapons, one was a lavender blade and the other was red.
"Great, a smuggler who for some reason carries lightsabers" Carth said sarcastically
Who is this guy? And what the hell is he doing with lightsabers?
"He better have a good explanation for this, I hate surprised damn it"
At that, Ian came out of the shower and saw Carth with the lightsabers. Bristling with anger, Carth spun around and pushed Ian roughly into the wall.
"So, care to explain the lightsabers?" Carth fumed
"Just a couple souvenirs from the Spire." Ian said with a grin
"This isn't some kind of joke. I want answers, and I want them NOW." For emphasis, Carth shoved Ian into the wall again.
"Hey, back off. You'll get your damn answers." Ian said, becoming annoyed with Carth's attitude, "I wasn't kidding when I said I got them from the Spire. One belongs to the Jedi over there, and the other belonged to the Sith she killed."
This answer seemed to placate Carth for the time being. "Alright, fine, but I'll be watching you."
"You do that" Ian responded as he headed out the door. Suspicious bastard.
After walking a little way down the circular hallway, the pair saw a Sith patrol harassing a group of aliens. Two Duro in particular had drawn the Sith's ire by arguing the raid. Neither Carth, nor Ian could make out what was being said, but both knew that things would go bad. No more than a couple seconds later did the Sith captain fire a couple bolts into the chest of one Duro. He was about to shoot the second Duro, but Carth could not stand idly by.
"Hold it right there Sith" Carth spat, point both of his blasters at the Sith captain
"Oh shit" Ian muttered under his breath. He pulled out a vibrosword anticipating the upcoming fight.
"What's this, don't like the Sith do we?" commented the Sith, "Wait, they must be Republic fugitives, attack." With that, four battle droids turned from the aliens to attack Ian and Carth.
Carth ducked into an open room and Ian dropped to the floor, rolling out of the way. When there was a break in blaster fire, Carth would poke out and get off a few shots before he had to hide again. Ian found a plasteel barrel to hide behind and got his own blaster warmed up. While all the fire was concentrated on Carth, Ian took a well aimed shot at one of the droids hitting it in the head. Unfortunately, the platting was to strong for on shot to destroy the droid, so it just turned to blast at Ian. Carth managed to get a few more shots off amid the constant blaster fire; the Sith captain was killed and the damaged droid was finished off. A couple of the, now forgotten, aliens took up the dropped blasters and helped destroy the remaining three droids.
The surviving Duro went over to the pair, relieved to still be alive. "Thank you humans," said the Duro, "I did not expect anyone to help us, let alone humans." Carth could only make out a little of that, but Ian understood completely.
"We were glad to help" said Ian, "We should move the Sith out of sight"
"Yes, good idea human" the Duro began to move the Sith and took a brief glance towards his friend, "Ah, I wish Ixgal could have kept quiet"
"I'm sorry about your friend, but we should be going"
Ian and Carth helped the Duro hide the remains of the Sith before they headed out. Leaving the apartment building, Ian was presented with the view of Taris Upper City. Called the Coruscant of the Outer Rim, Taris was a planet with giant spire like buildings cover the majority of its surface. There were spires as far as one could see; the light reflected off the sliver durasteel buildings creating a blinding glare. The way some buildings refracted the light to make rainbows was quite impressive. One could hardly tell that this was a planet on the decline, with such a view.
"So where do we begin this search?" Ian asked
"I though the cantina would be a good place" suggested Carth, "Plus, we can get something to eat"
"Good idea"
A short walk from the apartment building was a cantina. It wasn't the nicest of places, like those for the super rich, but this was still Taris' Upper City. Most of the patrons were snobby Tarisians, with a few stranded off worlders and the occasional off duty Sith. Carth and Ian were mistaken for waiters only three times before they found a table. They ordered drinks and deliberated on what to do next.
"I don't see anyone that would have useful info" Carth said, "And we still need to improve our situation with credits"
"How about Pazaak, we could win some credits" Ian suggested
"Too risky, I don't know about you, but I'm horrible at Pazaak"
"Yeah, I suck at it too" said Ian dejectedly, "So, that's out"
"Hey Ian, I got a question for you"
"That's nice"
"Come on, this is serious" Carth said, slightly irritated, "I want to know your thoughts on the attack, what your perspective was"
"What is there to know; the Sith attacked, Trask and I fought through the ship before he was killed, and I carried the girl to the escape pods"
"I guess, but isn't it a little curious that you, someone specifically hired at the last minute by the Jedi, survived the crash?"
Ian raised his eyebrows at this. "How is that curious? Do you wish I hadn't survived?"
"No that's not what I mean, of course I'm glad you lived, you'll probably be a big help. But anything concerning the Jedi is never straightforward, and it's just a little suspicious."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know; it could mean everything, or nothing."
"Here you are, suspicious of Jedi and yet you're as cryptic as one," said Ian, becoming increasingly angry, "Are you trying to blame me for the Spire, because I had nothing to do with it."
"Maybe, maybe not. But like I said, I'm going to keep an eye on you."
"Are you always this suspicious of people you work with?"
"I've just learnt not to take things at face value."
"Well, I'm not going to betray you, but don't let my word for it get in the way of your paranoia."
The two sipped at their drinks in silence, making sure they last, trying to come up with a plan. It was then, that Ian noticed a lone female Sith; it was obvious that she was Sith, the way most people stayed away from her. "Hey, I got an idea. Stay right here." Carth was about to question Ian, but he was already gone.
Ian approached the young Sith, with his Corellian Brandy in hand. Quickly, he opened her up to find out that her name was Sarna and she was a junior officer. A few more minutes of flirting, where Ian repressed a shudder; and it seemed that Sarna would give some useful information. Instead, she announced that she had to leave for her shift, but not before inviting Ian to a Sith party in a couple of days.
"I'd love to see you there" said Sarna sweetly
"I'll try to make it" Ian said, giving one of his best flirtatious smiles
"Its right after our shift, so some of us won't have time to lock up our uniforms." Sarna explained, "Well, I don't want to be late"
"See you then"
Later handsome" she said as she left
When Ian got back to the table, Carth just stared at him suspiciously. This went on for about a minute before Ian couldn't take it any more.
"What?" he snapped
"What were you doing with that Sith woman?" asked Carth, not trying to hold back his suspicion
"I was just trying to get some info, that's all" said Ian defensively
While this was believable, it wasn't enough to quench Carth's suspicious nature. "Alright then, what did you find out?"
"Nothing useful, but I was invited to a Sith party" Ian smirked
"You WHAT?" Carth's voice was rising considerably, drawing some attention
"Whoa, calm down, I though we were supposed to keep a low profile"
"Calm down, calm down. We are trying to avoid the Sith, and here you go flirting with them and get invited to a party" Carth accused
"Hey, I'm trying to help out. If you don't like the way I do things I might as well leave"
"No, no, wait. Let's here this plan you have"
"Fine, but stop getting in my face with the accusing tone, like I have done something wrong. Got it?"
"Fair enough. I just don't know much about you and I don't trust easily"
"Whatever. Okay, about that party. Well, I figure booze will be abundant, and a bunch of drunk Sith are likely to spill something." Ian said with a grin, "And if not; Sarna, the Sith woman, said something about not locking up uniforms. We could always borrow a couple of them, they might come in handy."
"Interesting plan; it might work. So, when is this party?"
"Not for a couple days, so in the meantime we can work on getting credits"
After finishing their drinks, Carth and Ian looked around the cantina for some way to make credits. The first couple of rooms proved to be worthless, but the last room they checked seemed promising. At the back of the room was a Hutt; it was impossible to miss due to its size and smell. The slimy, tan and green creature was surrounded by a group of people inspecting various weapons. Lining the walls on both sides were numerous monitors with a crowd of people watching. Curious to what this was about, Ian and Carth went over to one of the less crowded monitors. The screen showed two men fighting in some sort of arena; and that's when an idea hit them.
"A dueling arena could be a good way to get credits" Ian said, making his way toward the Hutt
Carth grabbed Ian's arm, and pulled him back. "No you don't; you're still injured, you are not fighting."
"We need the credits" stated Ian plainly, as he pulled his arm free, "Plus, I fought just fine earlier"
"Yes, we do need the credits, but you still aren't fighting" said Carth stubbornly, "There is no need for you to take unnecessary risks; I'll do it."
"You'll fight?"
"I may not like it, but yeah, I'll fight"
They made their way to the Hutt, named Ajurr, and worked out a deal to let Carth fight. Ajurr promised them that no one could die in the arena, due to fields that suppress the damage weapons can do. He also promised Carth ten percent of the earnings from each fight he won; try as they might to increase the amount, it would take a miracle to get more credits from a Hutt. All that remained was to make an interesting dueling name.
"You are a stranger to these parts, no?" said Ajurr in his native tongue, "How about the Mysterious Stranger?"
After having it translated for him, Carth did not have a problem with that name, but Ian had other ideas. "Nah, that's too plain, how about Captain Paranoid?" This earned an irritated glare from Carth.
"No good; okay, Blaster Boy, that has a nice ring to it" Ian suggested with a wide grin. Carth was becoming annoyed by these names, but Ajurr decided to go with it.
"It is a strange name, but Blaster Boy will work fine." With this, Ian could not contain his laughter and the look on Carth's face after hearing the news made Ian laugh even harder.
"You'll pay for this" Carth hissed
"Sure I will … Blaster Boy" Ian managed between fits of laughter
Carth, a.k.a. Blaster Boy, was taken through a back door down to the arena. The matches were set up for three today and two tomorrow, with an hour in between each match. For the first duel, Carth had to face an older man with the nickname, Deadeye Duncan. It wasn't a very challenging fight; the man could barely keep a hold on to his blaster. Deadeye got off a few shots that didn't even come close to Carth; Carth just took a well aimed shot at Deadeye's head and he went down, stunned. The second duel was against Gerlon two fingers, who also favored a blaster. He was a much better shot and had the look of being an old pro; without the hand injury he would have been a challenging adversary. As it was, Gerlon had some well placed shots, but Carth dodged them without too much trouble. Carth attempted the same tactic of taking a well aimed shot, but Gerlon was more agile than Duncan and was able to avoid being hit. So, instead, Carth opted for rapid fire from both his blasters; this was too much for Gerlon, not being as young as he used to, and he soon went down. The third match was a challenge for Carth; he went up against a woman called Ice. Just looking at her one could understand the name; her face held absolutely no emotion only determination to win. Ice was much younger than both Duncan and Gerlon, and was a great deal more agile. Charging at Carth with a vibrosword, Ice dodged left and right quickly not letting Carth get a lock on her. He managed a few grazing hits before she got within melee range, and Carth had to drop the blasters for a vibrosword Ian let him use. Here, Carth was at a disadvantage; he could fight with melee weapons, it was in his basic training, but he always felt safer with a blaster in his hand. The two exchanged a few blows, but Ice was getting the upper hand; Carth was getting tired and took a blow to his left arm leaving it numb. Sure about her victory now, Ice became overconfident and went more on the offensive. Nearing the end Ice lifted her blade high planning to make a horizontal cut toward Carth's neck; but Carth saw an opening and took it, he dropped to his knees and the attack went over his head. This move left Ice's midsection undefended and Carth made a strong jab right bellow her ribs, felling his opponent.
Ian watched the three matches intently, gauging Carth's ability the whole time. The first two fights didn't give Ian much to go by, but the third duel impressed him. Even though he didn't know how well Carth could fight with vibroswords; it seemed that he wasn't great with them, but still managed to win the fight against a talented duelist. After the fight was over, Ian wondered how he would do against Carth in a duel.
Thankful that those three matches were over, an exhausted Carth came out of the arena to get his credits. He got six hundred for his efforts today, and would have to come back for two more duels tomorrow. Spotting Ian, Carth motioned for him to follow. The pair headed out of the cantina and went to the medical facility for some much needed healing.
"That was some nice fighting today" said Ian while they walked
"Eh, it was nothing" Carth said, waving a hand to blow off the comment.
They finally made it to the medical facility after walking down a few streets and taking a wrong turn down a dead end street. The doctor was an older man, probably a few years past middle aged, with dark skin. He was very accepting, saying how he, Zelka Forn would not turn anyone away. Carth got his wounds checked out and patched up, and he made Ian get is head looked at while they were there. The tests Zelka ran showed that Ian suffered a mild concussion, but it was easily treated. Zelka bragged that he could heal anything; anything that is besides that damned rakghoul disease. Their curiosity piqued, the pair asked what the rakghoul diseased was. Zelka informed them, that it was a mutating disease that turned people into mindless beasts and there was no cure; but the Republic may have been onto something before the Sith arrived. Sith patrols were rumored to have some, since they went down to the Under City where the rakghouls dwell. Ian and Carth made their way out after mentioning that they would keep a look out for the rakghoul serum. They tried to pay for the treatment, but Zelka would have no of it; so instead they bought some medpacks. Before they could leave they were stopped by a younger dark skinned man.
"Hey, you, I heard you talkin about the rakghoul serum with Zelka." Said the man
"Yeah, what of it?" Ian questioned
"You could make a nice chunk of credits off that serum"
"Really?" Ian looked somewhat interested. They could always use more credits.
"Yep, all you need to do is give it to a Hutt in the Lower City, named Zax" the man explained, "Zax works for Davik Gang, and will pay a lot to control that serum."
Ian was tempted by this offer, wondering how far some more credits would get them to escaping this planet. Carth, on the other hand, wasn't going for it. "Yeah, and then only the rich could afford the cure" he said in a disgusted tone
"So, what" looking back to Ian, "Just tell Zax Gurney sent ya."
With that, the two made their long trek back to the apartment. It was getting late, and they had a long day; Ian still wasn't fully recovered and Carth was exhausted from dueling.
"You weren't seriously thinking about giving the serum to that Hutt?" said Carth, a little upset, "If we find it, that is."
"I don't know. We could use the credits."
"Yeah, but at what cost?"
Back at the apartment, the unconscious form on the bed began to stir. Mya Saer sat up in bed with a groan, amazed that she was still alive. The last thing she could remember was killing a Dark Jedi aboard the Endar Spire and then extreme pain. Mya had barely survived the electrical discharge from the exploding power conduit. For the past few days she was recuperating with a combination of kolto and a Force healing trance that she falls into when in critical condition; so she had been in a self-induced coma while healing. The kolto may have been enough to save her, but it was the Force healing that helped Mya recover quickly. After her eyes adjusted to being used for the first time in days; Mya was able to take in her surroundings. She was in some strange two bed apartment alone. It was a rather plain place; the walls were white and the floor a grey carpet. There was a table in the middle of the room with a few chairs, a workbench against one wall for some reason, and two doors, one leading to the refresher.
"How did I end up here?" Mya muttered, brushing a hand across her eyes
Since she didn't have any plans right now, Mya decided to make use of the refresher to clean up. Before she even got up from the bed the apartment door opened allowing two scruffy looking men to enter; one of whom seemed to be in pain. Both stopped a few feet inside the door and just stared at Mya. Instinctively Mya's hand dropped to her belt for her lightsaber, but found it missing. Not letting this get to her, Mya jumped up from the bed and took a defensive stance to protect herself from her apparent captors.
Pfft, so these are the ones who thought they could take advantage of a Jedi, they don't look very threatening.
Carth and Ian exchanged glances, and then turned back to the petite Jedi before them; at best she was 5'4, maybe 5'5. She just stood there looking ready for a fight, despite the fact she recently woke up from being unconscious for three days. The two men took a minute to look over the young woman, not having paid much attention to her before besides giving her more kolto. She must have been about the same age as Bastila. She had raven hair that was currently a tangled mess, emerald green eyes that were slightly covered by her hair, and pale skin that contrasted with her dark hair. Still donned in her tattered and burnt robes, the Jedi was quite a sight standing their ready to fight.
"What's wrong, you two afraid of little old me now that I am awake?" said Mya, giving the two a mocking smile
Ian and Carth just broke out laughing. Being the first one to regain his breath, Carth spoke up first. "Now just calm down, we aren't here to fight" he said, while slowly moving closer to the young woman with his hands up showing that he didn't want to fight.
"Calm down, you two kidnapped me while I was unconscious and planned to do Force knows what to me" she said in a slightly angry tone
"Hey, now just let us explain" Carth kept walking towards the Jedi, until he was within an arms length
"Yeah, you have a lot of explaining to do" she said right before grabbing Carth's arm and ,with unexpected strength, flipped him over her back by sticking out her hip for leverage. Carth landed on the floor with a loud crash and a grunt of pain.
Ian winced, knowing how much pain Carth was already in. He had to say something to placate the Jedi before she hurt Carth any more. She still held Carth's arm, but now she placed a foot in the area between his shoulder and neck; putting pressure with her foot while pulling on Carth's arm, she could easily dislocate his shoulder.
Being a smugger, Ian lacked tact, but it might be needed. "Umm … Lady Jedi, could you not beat the shit out of Carth anymore?"
Mya halted before dislocating the man's shoulder, but did not release her hold on his arm. "Alright, just who are you two?"
"I'm Ian Verik, and the man you so kindly flipped over is Carth Onasi"
"Ugh … Hi. I'd ask how you are feeling, but apparently you are in beet shape than I am"
"Commander Onasi? Oh Force, I'm so sorry, let me help you" Mya helped Carth up and got him sitting on the bed she previously occupied. "Sorry about attacking you, I'm a little confused, and before I forget, the names Mya Saer."
"I can understand the confusion, but couldn't you let us explain ourselves before you decided to attack me?" Carth said, a little irritated by the Jedi
"Yes, I should have. My master always told me to be more patient and not let emotions get the better of me, I'm sorry"
"It's okay, so I guess we'll have to get you up to speed on what our situation is"
Carth proceeded to tell Mya where they currently stood in the search for Bastila. While he did that, Ian went out to obtain some more supplies. They may have just gotten a bunch of credits, but he didn't want to spend them all already, so he decided to check out a couple of apartments. The first one he went in didn't have much of value, just a few credits and some clothes that Mya might be able to use. The second one was better; it had some more credits and a couple vibroswords. Ian was just about to leave when the owner of the apartment came back; a man about Carth's age in good physical condition.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?" the man snapped angrily
Caught by surprise, Ian struggled to come up with an excuse. "Sorry, I … I got lost"
"Ha, I don't think so pal" said the man, and he promptly went over to Ian and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Ian still a little stunned was sluggish in his response to the attack. Standing up earned him a quick uppercut to the chin, knocking him back to the floor. Getting up for the second time, Ian was more prepared to fight taking up a boxing stance. The two men exchanged blows for a matter of minutes and they both sported a black eye. Ian was gaining the advantage with fast blows that the other man didn't have time to counter, but the man took a cheap shot kick to Ian's knee. On the way down Ian received a right hook to the head for good measure. All the while during the fight, Ian was becoming increasingly angry, at himself for being beaten like this and at the man for attacking him. While Ian was on his knees the man came down with another blow and Ian put up his hands to stave off the attack; instead bolts of lightning shot out from Ian's fingers turning the man into a charred husk.
"Wha … what the hell was that" said Ian, shocked at what happened. He looked at his hands for a moment, then grabbed the stolen items and hurried back to the apartment.
Back at the apartment Carth had finished filling Mya in on the details of their mission, just before he had finished Mya felt a disturbance in the Force. When Ian walked in both of them looked at him wondering why he was bruised.
"Hey, what happened will you were out, I didn't think buying supplies was a dangerous task?" Carth said, chuckling
"Well, I didn't buy supplies exactly"
"You stole supplies" Mya said, astonished, "How could you?"
"Well, we are still short on credits and I didn't want to waste them already"
"Come on, I won 600 earlier, I think we have enough"
"You never know" said Ian, "Plus, Mya, I found some clothes for you"
"I'm still upset you stole them, but they will have to do. Let's see them"
Ian held out a low cut top that would show more cleavage than was necessary and a mini-skirt that would be well above mid-thigh on her.
Mya's eyes widened at the sight. "NO WAY," she said glaring at Ian, "You couldn't do any better than that?"
Ian laughed at the response from the young Jedi. "I thought it was worth a try, here, you might like these better." He pulled out a white, button up shirt, a brown leather vest and brown leather pants.
"Yes, those will do just fine. Thank you." Said Mya, she headed to the refresher. Carth and Ian thought they heard her mutter something about lewd men.
Half an hour later Mya came out cleaned up and dressed in her new outfit that, surprisingly, fit perfect. "Do either of you have my lightsaber?"
"I took it and the Sith's lightsaber from the Spire" Ian answered
"Good, can I have it back?"
Carth spoke up at this. "Carrying around a lightsaber would be a bad idea, you don't want to let everyone know that you're a Jedi."
"Hmm, good point, are there any other weapons I can use?" At this Ian handed Mya the two vibroswords he found. "Thanks. Okay, lets go" she said cheerfully.
"Wow, she's quite happy all of a sudden" Ian whispered to Carth
"Yeah"
At the cantina Carth was going to finish the couple matches he had at the dueling arena. Before he could do that, Ian went over to Ajurr and signed up to fight also.
"You WHAT?" Carth said angrily after Ian told him about the duel. I think I am going to be saying that a lot during this mission. "You do know this means we will have to fight each other?"
"Yeah, so what? It could mean more credits."
"But it's also another match that one of us will have to fight. Grr, let's just get this over with."
Ian and Carth went down to the arena to fight, leaving Mya alone to watch the match. Even though Carth didn't want to fight Ian, he saw a chance to pay him back for the ridiculous dueling name. Carth taped into some of his anger from that and used it for the fight. The fight was going on for many minutes and Mya didn't feel like watching anymore, she wasn't a fan of dueling.
"Men and their egos" she muttered making her way over to the bar.
She had only sat there for a few seconds before some man sat next to her. He wasn't very good looking and had a repulsive aura about him.
"Hey babe, I haven't seen you around here before. Can I buy you a drink?" he said, flashing Mya a smile
"No thanks" she said, noticing the smell of alcohol on the man's breath
"Oh, but I insist." And he proceeded to order an Alderaanian Ale for her.
She just frowned and ignored the drink when it came, hoping that Carth and Ian would be done soon.
"What's wrong babe? Not having a good time, I can fix that" the creep said, putting an arm around Mya's shoulders.
"Get off me" she said, pushing at the man
"Come on, we could have some fun" he said, pulling her tighter.
She was about to use a mind trick to make him leave when Ian and Carth showed up, both covered with new bruises. Noticing the predicament Mya was in, Carth went over to help her.
"Hey, is the guy bothering you honey" Carth slightly winced with the last word, but no one seemed to notice.
Mya narrowed her eyes, but went along with it. "Yes he is" she spat
"Whoa, whoa, she's with you? Sorry, I'll look somewhere else"
"That would be smart" said Carth.
"Thanks" Mya said after the man had left, "Honey, huh? So, should I kiss you for saving me?" she said with a smirk.
Carth chuckled at this. "A kiss? Isn't that against the Jedi code."
"Well, I forgot to bring my Jedi handbook"
Checking the time, Ian noticed it was about time they headed to the Sith party. "Umm … as fun as this is, we should be going."
The three made their way through Taris' Upper City trying to follow the map to the apartments in the northern section in their part of the city. After taking a wrong turn and getting lost a few times, they finally found the apartment building. Inside, all they had to do was follow the sound of the music which was pounding through the whole floor. Ian was only fifteen minutes late, he was about to enter but remembered that Carth and Mya couldn't come with him.
"Ah, you two have to wait out here"
"And why is that?" said Carth, becoming suspicious again
"Because Sarna thinks I am coming alone, plus I doubt you would enjoy yourself" Ian said suppressing a smile
"Are you suggesting I'm too old to party"
"Hey, I'm not the one who said it" said Ian while he went to the door of the apartment.
"Fine, we'll wait out here"
Mya and Carth stepped to the side so they would be out of sight, while Ian went into the apartment with the Sith woman.
"Your late, I wasn't sure if you were going to show" said Sarna, slightly pouting
"Better late than never, right?"
"Right" she said brightly, instantly perking up, "Here want some Tarisian Ale?"
"Sure" Ian said, taking the glass from Sarna
"Hey, be careful Sarna. This ale is quite strong, we don't want to pass out too early" said a Sith man
"Yeah, I guess your right, but it's not like it matters; we're off tomorrow."
For the next few hours, Ian had to talk and dance with Sarna. In between dancing, they would talk and drink; Ian only had a couple, but Sarna downed the ale like it was water. Looking around, Ian noticed that all the other party goers were drinking just about as much as Sarna. After a couple hours people started passing out. Ian tried to get Sarna to say something useful, but he couldn't get anything out of her. All she was interested in was flirting with Ian. About four hours into the party, Sarna started making more advances toward Ian; but when she finally tried to kiss him, she also passed out.
In the hall, Carth and Mya got bored so they decided to get to know each other better.
"So, Carth, care to tell me a bit about yourself" Mya asked
"You want to know about me, huh?" said Carth, "Alright. I've been a pilot for the Republic for years and have seen much war, too much. The Mandalorians were bad, but these Sith slaughter even more senselessly."
"But, where are you from? Don't you have a home to go to after this is over with."
Carth's eyes became distant as he spoke. "I don't have a home, not anymore. I was from Telos, the first planet the Sith bombed into submission. My task force arrived too late, there was nothing I could do to save them."
"I'm sorry Carth," said Mya sincerely, "Them, you mean the people of your home world?" There is much pain and grief in him; anger too, I wonder why.
"Yes … ye, no. It's nothing," said Carth, quickly changing the subject, "Let me ask you a question. What was your take on the attack of the Spire?" Going into his routine to take the attention off him.
"My take? Well, we were caught be surprise and I had to fight through the ship to protect the other soldiers. Last thing I remember was killing a Dark Jedi before some extreme pain, and then darkness. Why do you ask?"
"It's just interesting that an unknown smuggler and a Jedi Padawan were the only two that survived."
"How is that? Are you saying that I shouldn't have survived?" said Mya, arching an eyebrow
"No, not at all. Your abilities will be very useful here. I'm just saying, how do I know that the red lightsaber isn't yours?"
"What? I'm not a Dark Jedi, Carth." Mya said, becoming angry at Carth and his suspicion
"I've just learnt not to take things at face value"
"Listen here flyboy; I'm a Jedi, I'm no traitor."
"Jedi tend to give only half-truths, you can't trust them."
"Do you trust anyone?" said Mya, almost angry enough to start shouting
"Not if it can be helped."
"Well, you … no, never mind." Mya stopped herself before she lost control. Suggest that I am a Dark Jedi, how dare he.
The two didn't talk for the rest of the wait. Carth just sat there, and Mya meditated trying to get rid of her anger. After a few hours Ian came out to tell them that the Sith had passed out. Mya walked in stomped in first, obviously angry about something. "So, Carth get you with his traitor deal too?" "He did the same to you? Great, what is Carth's problem?" The three searched the apartment for anything of value, especially any uniforms. It took a while, but Carth stumbled upon a closet filled with uniforms. They shuffled through them to find one that was close to each of their sizes; the toughest was finding one for Mya, most of the Sith were much taller than her. Once they found three that would be acceptable, they headed back to their apartment to get some sleep; they had an early day ahead of them.
Carth was up first, so he got food and caffa for the group. When everyone was up and had eaten, they worked on altering the uniforms so they fit.
"This helmet is too big, I can't see out it" Mya said
"Well, if you weren't so short, maybe you wouldn't have a problem." Carth teased
"I may be short, but I could kick your butt"
"Probably, but that wouldn't be very Jedi like"
"So don't push me, flyboy"
Carth couldn't help laughing at Mya's predicament. Even though she couldn't see, Mya walked right over to Carth and punched him in the shoulder.
"Ow … how'd you do that?" said Carth, rubbing his shoulder
"It's some little thing called the Force"
After they got all the uniforms fitting as well as possible, they made their way to the elevator to the Lower City. There, a lone Sith guard made sure people couldn't use the elevator, but he was rather lax with his job. He didn't bothering checking the group for identification, he assumed they were Sith and let them pass.
"Another patrol? You may pass, but be careful down there. Those swoop gangs will attack anyone, even us."
"Thanks for the warning" said Ian
With that, the three went into the elevator for the Lower City and were a step closer to finding Bastila.