Backwater Planet
Revan comes to and all hell breaks loose.
Rated PG13
Disclaimer: I do not have a beard, therefore I am not George Lucas.
Backwater Planet
Carth jumped back down and headed over to Canderous, who stared up at him coldly while Jolee stuck his fingers inside the gaping wound on the Mandalorian's leg. The younger of the two winced and snarled with pain, but Carth ignored them both.
"What supplies do we have?" he asked, wiping his dirty, bloody, wet hands on his pants.
"Absolutely none," Canderous replied. "We have enough food for a week, a couple thousand credits, a medpack or two, and one adrenal stimulant. Beyond that, I guess we have the clothes on our backs and our weapons."
Zaalbar roared quietly, carrying HK-47's limp body structure. "We need to take him to a professional repairsentient," the Wookiee told Carth. "His power core has been completely broken. He cannot be repaired by my hands."
T3-M4 blatted miserably. HK-47 had been something short of a friend. Carth sympathetically patted the droid on the head, and with an annoyed squeal, T3 drove off.
"We will need to set up camp," Bastila told Carth then. Apparently he had become something of a leader while Revan was out. "We will not be able to get off of this planet unless we are well-rested and able to make the trip to the settlement here."
Carth nodded. "Alright. Get Revan bundled up and I need someone to stay with her tonight. Juhani."
"Yes?"
"Get some firewood."
"Of course."
"Jolee."
Jolee looked up, flicking a bloody hand in Carth's direction. "What?"
Carth blanched. "Never mind. Just… continue with what you were doing…"
Jolee rolled his eyes and turned back to Canderous, who was snarling with discontent.
Carth turned to Mission.
"What can I do for you?" she said immediately, seeming eager to help. She had grown much over the past couple of years. She was leaner, taller, and fuller, and more beautiful than he could have imagined. She had actually become more mature and stood there with her face set. She was a woman now, and not a child.
"Can you scope out the area? Let us know if you find anything of interest?"
Mission nodded and started into the forest without hesitation.
Carth looked to Zaalbar. "You… you help me get some shelter going."
"Can we not sleep in the Ebon Hawk?" Zaalbar asked.
"I'm not sure how stable the Ebon Hawk is," Carth told Zaalbar. "I don't want to risk something falling on us or having us drown or worse. It will be better if we sleep out of the ship."
"As you wish."
In no time, they had built a fair shelter for the night. Juhani and Mission took turns feeding the fire and Jolee had almost completely knitted Canderous's leg by the time the sun set.
"In the morning we'll find the settlement," Carth said. "Until then… we wait."
"Wait for what?" Mission asked.
"Revan."
There was nothing more to say. Quietly, Mission ripped a chunk from her Durabar.
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"You know what? I hate these things," Mission said, studying the Durabar in her hand. "They taste like gizka fodder, only wetter and older." She stuck out her tongue. Durabars were made to last for long periods of time and still be edible. They were only thick slabs of proteins and artificial taste and weren't worth much at all. And they did indeed taste like gizka fodder.
"Then don't eat it," Zaalbar said. "Why waste food when we only have a limited supply?"
Mission gave Zaalbar a defiant look, deliberately ripping off a bite of her Durabar. Durabars were tough and stuck together, so it felt like eating a very large, moist piece of jerky… only it didn't taste as good.
Carth sighed, prodding the fire, which had long burnt out. It was late into the next day now, and their supplies were running alarmingly thin. If Revan didn't wake up soon, they'd have to leave her with someone, or take her with them to the settlement. Neither option seemed tasteful at the moment.
Bastila slept soundly against a tree by Revan. Her dark hair fell in her eyes and her round lips were parted as she breathed. She was actually quite beautiful, but Carth wasn't interested. He had known her too long to be interested in her. The way she acted was enough to make him keep his distance. Canderous agreed. The two of them often laughed at how ironic it was – an attitude that could even spoil a woman's looks.
Then, out of the blue, Revan uttered the quietest, weakest moan.
Immediately all eyes snapped to her face. Her mouth was open and her brows were drawn together with the pain it took to breathe. Carth was on his feet and kneeling at her side, looking her over. "Revan? Are you awake?" he asked softly.
Revan moaned again, and her hand flittered limply over her stomach. "Oh…"
Mission hurried over, followed by Juhani. Juhani brushed Revan's sweat-soaked bangs from her eyes.
"Speak," the Cathar whispered, feeling Revan's breast for her heartbeat.
Revan shuddered, spitting up some blood and spit before she caught her breath. "Where are we?"
Carth lurched in her direction but calmed himself. Bastila had told him not to squash her. He kept his hands at his sides but stood nearby, looking her over as she coughed some more.
"We landed on a planet that hasn't been settled too well," Mission said. "We gotta get to the only settlement here or we'll die out here."
Revan only had the breath to smile and swear. This was her area of expertise. In the past she had been a scout, but now it was doubtful that she could stand. In fact, Bastila wouldn't allow it. Carth sighed.
"We can't stick around any longer," he said. "Who wants to stick around and guard the Ebon Hawk?"
Silence.
"Don't make me pick," Carth growled.
Canderous snarled. "Fine. I'll stay. Not like I can walk anyway." This was true. He was fixed on the ground, bound from waist to ankle with bandages. Jolee flashed him a cheeky grin. Canderous screwed up his face in reply and settled against the tree trunk.
"T3," Carth said, "you and HK-47 stick with Canderous, and you too, Juhani."
"What?"
"You heard me."
Juhani looked like she had been poisoned. Her face was scrunched up and her lips were puckered at the thought of being left with a Mandalorian and two dysfunctional droids. "Can you reconsider?" she asked desperately.
Carth's face twisted in a wry smile. "No. Canderous can't fight and one of the droids is out of commission. If something tries to invade our area who's going to fend it off?"
"Me," Juhani moaned unhappily.
"Yes."
Juhani flopped on the grass and curled up in a fetal position. Everyone left her alone.
"We'll leave in five," Carth said. "The sun is in the middle of the sky so we should have at least five hours before dark comes. Load up on medpacks and Durabars. We're getting out of here."
"We ain't go no medpacks," Mission grumbled, and jammed a fistful of Durabars in her pocket.
------
Five minutes later they had set out. Carth and Bastila were in the lead, followed by Zaalbar and Mission; Zaalbar carried Revan, despite her protests, and Mission clung to his arm. Jolee walked near Mission's heels, his eyes wandering freely over the trees and overhangings.
"I don't like this forest," Jolee said at last. "Too quiet. Nothing's moving."
"Maybe a storm's heading," Zaalbar said.
"I don't think so," Jolee murmured. "I can't feel it… And I know plenty about forests, believe me. Remember where I came from."
Zaalbar's nose flushed. "Do not speak so," he whined. "I came from there as well and it is flustering to be unfamiliar to a forest."
"You didn't live in the shadow lands," Jolee corrected him. "You had distanced yourself from the jungle slightly. I don't blame you for being unfamiliar with things of this matter."
"I blame myself."
"Oh, Zaalbar," Mission mumbled, burying her face in his fur.
Zaalbar sighed and fell silent.
They trudged on, tripping over roots and clumps of mud. Suddenly Zaalbar halted.
"What?" Revan asked, turning her milky blue eyes to his face.
"I hear something in the shadows," Zaalbar murmured. "Somebody take her. I am going to investigate."
"I'll come with you," Jolee offered as the Wookiee handed Revan off to Carth. The two ventured into the forest and disappeared.
A few minutes later there was an almighty roar. Jolee ran back to the others, his eyes wide. "We got something! Come on! Come on!" He turned and ran back, leaping over logs and ducking under hanging brush. They came to a clearing where Zaalbar was wrestling with something that resembled an oversized tuk'ata. They roared together, biting on the neck and face.
"BIG Z!" Mission shouted. "HEADS UP!" She drew a vibroblade and tossed it to him.
Zaalbar roared his thanks and impaled the creature in the gut. It let out a pathetic moan and lay there dying and twitching.
"What is it?" Mission asked, kneeling down to poke it. Its jaws snapped at her and she jumped back with a squeal.
"A demon," Zaalbar muttered, wiping blood from his face.
"Are you hurt, Zaalbar?" Jolee asked, reaching up to pat the Wookiee on the shoulder.
Zaalbar shrugged. "I am not sure," he said. "I do not feel hurt."
"Then we should get moving," Carth said. "If we wait much longer to get to the settlement, we'll run out of food."
"I get the feeling there are more of these things out there," Mission whispered.
"No point in sticking around wondering," Carth replied. "Come on." With a decisive jerk, he headed back down the path. The ground was bumpy, without incline, but blocked by trees and thick brush. By the end of the day, Carth doubted they had managed to go ten kilometers. He groaned, sitting on the ground and pressing his back against a tree as Zaalbar forcefully made a clearing. At this rate, they were never going to get to the settlement in time.
Carth watched silently as Bastila pressed her hands forward, easily bending a tree before it was uprooted and tossed into the distance. Revan smiled and cleared away some of the brush with a flick of her wrist. She had been left by Carth, and he was stuck babysitting while the rest built a place to camp.
"That's good," Carth said at last once they had gotten a fifty-yard ring. "Settle up, let's eat."
Zaalbar had stripped the monster he had fought earlier. Now they had its hide as cover and its meat to eat. Zaalbar wouldn't have any of it, stating that he would rather starve than taste the flesh of such a hideous, diseased creature.
"It's a savage demon," he reasoned, and wouldn't look twice at it.
Mission gave up on it for Zaalbar's sake and chewed on a root she had dug up. She spluttered once at its bitterness, but she quickly got used to it.
Bastila passed up, looking queasy. The rest of them, however, had no problem ripping it up and splitting it evenly. In fact, Revan tried to eat it so fast she began spluttering on the blood, and Carth had to whack her firmly on the back. Zaalbar bowed his head and said nothing.
"Mission, where'd you get those roots?" Bastila asked weakly. The Twi'lek lolled her head and shrugged.
The sky had turned black. Carth gathered Revan up in his arms and pressed against a tree, holding her close to his chest while Bastila curled up not far off.
Just as he was dozing off, Revan hissed in his ear. "Hey."
He groaned. "What?"
"Thank you."
He pulled away and studied her. He could hardly see her in the nighttime light. She shook her head. "Thank me for what?" he asked.
"For saving us," she whispered. "The others may not have said anything about it, but we all appreciate it so much. You were a real hero."
It wasn't like her to say this. Absently, he pressed a hand to her forehead. Fever. She wasn't thinking right. Of course. He decided to try and reason with her all the same. "But Jolee and Juhani and Bastila were the ones that fixed you up. You would have died."
Her breathing slowed. She was passing out. "But you saved them so that they could save me," she muttered.
He watched silently as she slumped over into the grass and lay still. "Whatever you say," he murmured, and the only reply he got was a faint gurgle as she snored.
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Author's Notes: You thought I wasn't going to finish this, didn't you? I know this update stinks but… Eeet gets beeturr.
SilverSentinal21 - You pick. Post-Star Forge, I'd imagine. And who said the Jedi and the Mandalorian didn't feel it? They most certainly did. And about Canderous's leg... I didn't mean crying crying. I meant like shouting... eh. I should clarify. I'll do it later... if I feel like it.
Revan's Lost Soul - I don't take your demands, sorry. I'll update on my own time.
Vila Sky - Statement: It has been done. Please remove your blaster.
L0ngshotOR - Yep. Here you are, darlin'. c'',)