Juhani had begun working on Revan, giving the children a reassuring nod, the moment Comet Eighteen had exited Malachor V's grasp. She left Revan in stable condition, satisfied she would live and headed off to begin her search for the ship they needed to dock with.
She had spent far too much fuel trying all the locations the other pilot thought might be where he had drifted to before success was finally allowed. She informed the pilot, the one who sounded unmistakably like Carth, that she doubted she would have enough fuel to reach The Fore-Runner on her own, just as the engines started to sputter.
His instructions had helped lurch the ship forward, bit by bit, until it was finally caught in the larger ships tractor beam. Just as she was ready to breathe a sigh of relief, his arrival estimate transmission had been cut off. No, not cut off, paused, before finally coming alive again as she heard him bark her name, along with instructions to activate her shields.
Her mind swirled, racing with thoughts as she rushed to the children. She felt the ship rock as The Fore-Runner began taking hits. She felt the subtle change as the magnetic pull towards the large star fighter was lost. Fighting the urge to look out into space, wondering if the ship had been destroyed, she instead turned her concentration inward. Reaching out to the force she threw up a defense around Comet Eighteen to aid its small shields while sending calming thoughts to her tiny passengers.
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Carth rushed to the turrets, sliding into the seat and grabbing the controls all in one swift movement. "May the Force be with me" he uttered aloud.
This mission had just increased ten-fold and he wasn't about to let anyone down. Not because of some stupid mistake he had made. "Time to set things right" he thought and bore down on the trigger.
The weapon sprang to life and Carth felt a flood of relief wash over him. "Thank the force."
He was also grateful that regular sparring and firing practice were required of all Republic soldiers, no matter what position they held. It had kept him from becoming rusty during the past few years.
He found he was still quick on the trigger and locked onto his target with ease. He had fired off six rounds before they even managed one.
"Not bad for a sitting gizka" he thought to himself.
Knowing that already one ship had been severely damaged in his initial firing, he readied himself to deliver the final blow. He fired, watching the ship explode, debris drifting in the aftermath of the explosion.
He no time to enjoy his victory though, the second ship had just landed a hard hit to The Fore-Runner. Bad news, with no maneuverability the enemy would be able to just keep pounding him with blast after blast.
"What's our status, how long until we're back on power?" he huffed to the droids. "I need us up yesterday!"
Just then another blast rocked the ship. What little resources were online began to falter. Carth locked onto his target and began firing.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam - then nothing.
He kept clicking but there was no response. Then it dawned on him, the turrets were down, he would have to manually reload and ready them.
A groan rose in his throat as he saw the enemy bank left, slipping slightly in its haste, then roll out of the turn, climbing to a position that leveled it directly at The Fore-Runner.
It hovered for a few moments, allowing Carth time to snap out of his lapse. Momentum growing, it charged forward, not firing but getting closer and closer as Carth furiously readied the turret.
Carth began running all his options through his head. He began to stiffen, his foot pressing hard against the floor as he realized, that even if he could get the turret ready in time, five shots would not be enough.
His thoughts ran wild. This was it, the end. He had failed. The enemy knew it was over too. That's why it wasn't firing, yet. It was waiting until it was close enough, close enough to deliver a blast directly at him. Taking the ship down wasn't going to be enough. This guy, Sith, whatever was behind the controls, before destroying The Fore-Runner, wanted to watch Carth get blasted to pieces first. And he wanted a front row view.
Carth decided to return the favor, figuring he had about three seconds after the first shot fired at him to send his own back at the enemy.
"An eye for an eye" he muttered. Idioms, why was he thinking of stupid idioms moments before his death?
"Idioms for the idiot" he thought with a laugh.
He felt no fear, only regret. And failure. He had always failed the people he cared about and who cared about him. "A heck of a way for a hero to live" he mused as he saw a needlepoint flash of light slicing through the stars. And then a huge explosion so bright the stars became one with it, obliterating any darkness that was present only seconds before. He felt the ship pitch in a downward direction.