The ship's engines began to sputter as the resources needed to keep them going were depleted.
"This is the closest I can get. I'm out of fuel. Is it close enough for you to pull me the rest of the way?" she inquired to The Fore-Runner.
"Not quite" Carth replied. "Shut down power to the rear thruster, switch the main control to level seven then prime it 3 or 4 times before turning it back on. Keep trying that, and hopefully it gives us what we need to bring you into range."
"Damn" he muttered to himself. If only he hadn't pushed the ship so close to the planets' field, trying to get the scouts as close as possible in an effort to ensure their safe landing. He had felt the pull on his controls and knew immediately he had gone too far.
Releasing a message to the scouts, "Launch now, I have to get The Fore-Runner out of here, you have 10 seconds! MOVE!" his hands began to fly over the controls. Hoping the droids basic programming would allow them to repair whatever damage had been done, he steered the ship towards the pre-arranged coordinates. He was about halfway to the destination when he was informed the ship would have to be powered down in order to complete the repairs.
It appeared they would have to remain adrift for a little over an hour. Not quite what any pilot wished to hear, let alone someone who had just received the honorable title of Commodore and was on his first mission.
"Guess I've lost some of that luck we all used to rely on so much aboard The Ebon Hawk" he scowled to himself in dismay. Since he had no clue what direction they might drift in once powered down he did some quick calculations. In the meantime the droids were ordered to fix anything else that didn't rely on the power-down.
Once he received confirmation from the droids that the ship could handle what he was contemplating, he continued to travel as close to his original course as possible, before allowing the final repairs. He certainly didn't want to end up with a fixed ship only to find himself neighbors with the original cause once again, not to mention hours from his rendezvous point.
Giving the okay to power down, Carth settled back into the pilot seat and ran over their situation. Shields were unavailable but their magnetic force had limited functions. "Damn, they were like sitting gizka in a field of Kath hounds" he thought to himself.
Communications were still available; he had received confirmation from the scouts that their landing had been successful. No reported injuries and the loss of only one transport ship. At least that part of Carth's plan had worked out. "We are proceeding with operation Twi'lek Dancer" they had informed him. A grin crossed his face as he wondered who thought of these names while picturing a real Twi'lek dancer.
Just as he was about to send an update on the mission to the Admiral, the comm sounded. "Fore-Runner, we have a situation that needs your attention. What is the current status of the Twi'lek Dancer?"
Carth swallowed, feeling his face flush a bit and was glad for the small bit of luck that allowed this to only be a verbal report instead of a live holofeed. Damn, so much for avoiding mention of his careless mistake, the one that had led to the power down of his ship. Gathering composure he relayed his report, trying to keep his voice neutral, and waited for the response.
"I see" slight pause, oh boy, she was definitely unhappy. "This will be a bit more difficult then, but is not impossible. A small ship needs to dock with you for transport back to Coruscant. Unfortunately, its fuel reserves are low. It will have enough to exit Malachor V but without knowing your exact location it will cause precious fuel to be lost. Hopefully they will at least be able to get within your magnetic range and then you can tractor beam them the rest of the way. I'll upload the ships ID to you. The Twi'lek Dancer remains your top priority but this is also just as important I've been informed."
"Do you have any other information on this ship?" Carth inquired.
"It appears only the Jedi know the reasons for this ship being on Malachor V. The only thing I can add is that the Jedi are stressing the importance of transport back to Coruscant for this ship and its passengers."
"Was this the ship I encountered before?" he asked.
"Affirmative Commodore Onasi."
"Hmmm" thought Carth. If the Jedi were involved he would have better luck at winning a swoop championship then finding out anything else. "Closed-mouthed bunch of …" whoa, wait, he couldn't get angry at the Jedi for Revan. She had left on her own. He sighed, cutting the communication after receiving the ID and comm channels for the Jedi ship.
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"Almost there, try shutting down the thrusters one more time and that should do it." Carth now knew the Jedi on that ship was the Cathar, Juhani. Her unmistakable accent gave it away the minute they had made contact. Hope bristled in him, knowing his chances for getting some answers had improved. Not much, since she was a Jedi, but better then could have been imagined since she was also a friend and once fellow crewmate.
"That's it, I got you. You should arrive in…" Sirens began to go off, no sound, but red lights blinking furiously, unaware there was no sound to accompany them. Carth saw two ships entering his radar screen. He couldn't run a check on their identity, too far out of range for his limited power supply he supposed.
"Juhani, if that piece of junk has any shields available you better put them on. We have company coming" he barked into the comm.
He ran to check on the droids, finding out they wouldn't be finished for another 10 minutes. If they stopped now all repairs would be reset back to the beginning. He couldn't risk it. Yelling at them to work faster he ran to the turrets, wondering if they had enough power to run on automatic. Otherwise, he would have to manually reset after every five shots, costing him too much time and surely leaving them to the Kath hounds' mercy. "Damn gizka idioms" he thought.
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"Juhani, if that piece of junk has any shields available you better put them on. We have company coming" She thought it had been Carth, but what was he doing out here? No, it couldn't be, but he had called her by her name, it had to be him.
"Oh force, this is not good." If they survived the enemy ship threat it would be nothing compared to Carth's fury when he discovered her passenger, or um, passengers.
Juhani activated the shields then went to sit with the children, checking on Revan along the way. Once out of Malachor V's surroundings she had been able to use the force to heal Revan and drain the poison from her system. The resulting weakness of the past few days of suffering, along with Revan's repeated attempts to heal herself had taken a huge toll on her. She would need plenty time to recuperate beyond the force heal, poison pacs and medpacs that Juhani had supplied. Not to mention that Revan was also going to need all the strength she had when she faced Carth.
Juhani shuddered at the thought of what was to come, wondering how quickly they would be able to travel to the safety of the Jedi Temple. She knew another mission for The Fore-Runner took precedence; she only hoped it wouldn't cause an extensive delay. HAH, who was she fooling, she hoped it wouldn't cause ANY delay. The longer the delay, the harder it would be to hide her patient and other passengers from Carth and the inevitable situation that would arise once he discovered them.
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Juhani had finally reached the Jajak, expecting the worse. A bit of relief had passed when she realized Revan was still alive, weak, unconscious, but alive.
"You have done well little ones. Now we must carry out evacuation plans. Is the gear ready?" she asked Aaron and Ariana.
The children stared at her, nodding in unison. Ariana, always the bold one, spoke.
"Jedi Juhani, she said this was just a test, a trial, but I think it is more serious then that."
"All tests are serious Ariana. Now quickly, grab your bags while I activate the repulsor lift. We must hurry."
Juhani gave a glance around the room, taking in the difference from the last time she had been here. The children had done well in removing any identifying items. The place looked bare and had already taken on the appearance of not being lived in for quite some time. Perhaps it was just her imagination?
After they had exited Juhani left off a force whirlwind to stir up some dust and give it a final disheveled appearance. It was a small whirlwind and she was amazed at how much force energy it had taken.
"Good riddance to this planet" she thought once they were on board the ship.
The trip back to the ship had gone much quicker since it was a straight path now, not a winding chase for datapads and barrier codes. She read over the departure instructions that had arrived in her absence. A huge frown developed upon learning she didn't have any clear coordinates.
"Stupid idiot pilot, who flies a ship but doesn't know where it is?" she thought.
Feeling extremely dismayed she punched in the comm channel then left her pilot droid to make contact and plan for their departure. She needed to check on the children. Once off this planet she could start to heal Revan, so she needed to prepare for that also. She didn't dare think about the fuel situation. The force works in mysterious ways, surely she would not have made it this far only to be left adrift to die of starvation or capture by an enemy ship. She moved through the short distance of the ship with more confidence, coordinates, bah who needs them, she thought. The galaxy isn't THAT big.