Hello again. Comment on the reviews: thank you so much guys. You have no idea how much your observations help! You were right, I should go into more detail, and thier mood swings were pretty sudden. So, two things I will work on! Sometimes, when you get in the middle of writing a chapter, you know what you're talking about and how you want it to play out, but it's hard to convey to your readers. With those three things in mind, here's the second chapter.
Oh, one more thing. I've played both light and dark side, but only with a male character. I don't have a lot of free time, so getting through the gamea couple of timeswith one character is pretty good for my schedule. Once again, if I screw up on something, let me know!
Vincent lay in his bunk listening to the sounds of Carth and Canderous sleeping soundly. They had spent a few more days on Dantooine, but now it was time to leave. When he and Bastila had told the Jedi Council that they found an ancient Star Map in those ruins, the Council had asked that Vincent and all of his companions continue the search for the rest of the Star Maps. Apparently, the Council felt that if they could find the maps, then they could find a way to stop Malak and his seemingly invincible armada of Sith. Not that he didn't want to stop Malak, but Vincent wasn't too keen on doing a cross-galaxy search for a bunch of maps that may lead to nothing. But if that's what the Council wanted, who was he to argue?
Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to fall back asleep, Vincent figured he would take a walk. After all, they left for Kashyyyk in the morning, and he had heard that Dantoine looked particularly beautiful at night. Slipping a loose shirt on, Vincent grabbed his lightsaber, and began the short trek to the Ebon Hawk's exit. Once open, he walked down the ramp, through the Jedi Enclave, and outside to the courtyard. Sitting down on a small stone bench that was near the door, Vincent took in his surroundings. The night sky was a velvety deep purple, and countless stars burned brightly against their dark background. Dantooine's rolling greenplains stretched on for miles, and massive trees dotted the landscape. From here, Vincent could just make out the lights of some buildings from the Sandral's estate, and he smiled. Whoever said that love made people do crazy things had more wisdom than he knew. Somehow, Vincent had managed to end a long-standing feud between two of the richest families on Dantooine: the Sandrals and the Matales.
Both of the respective family's fathers hated each other with a passion, and the feud was ready to break into an all out war. Apparently, the son of Nurik Sandral, Cassus, had gone missing, andNurik blamed it on Ahlan Matale. To make matters worse, Ahlan's son Shen had also recently gone missing, and it was no surprise that Ahlan blamed the Sandrals. Vincent had found Cassus' body in a field, badly mauled by kath hounds. When he had reported this to Nurik, Nurik refused to speak, and retreated to his estate to mourn his son's death. That was when things got interesting. Vincent had then spoken to Nurik Sandral's daughter, Rahasia. She said that her father had kidnapped Shen Matale in retaliation to the belief that Ahlan Matale had kidnapped her brother Cassus. Rahasia was afraid that her father might harm Shen in some way, and begged Vincent to rescue him before something happened. Vincent agreed, but upon finding Shen, he ran into another problem. Shen refused to leave without Rahasia. The two were in love, and were determined to stay together, despite the bad blood between their familes. He told Rahasia of Shen's decision, and she agreed to meet them outside the estate. Just when Vincent thought that Shen and Rahasia might get away without having to deal with their fathers, both Nurik Sandral and Ahlan Matale showed up, armed with battle droids and ready to hurt something. Vincent persuaded both fathers to accept that their children were in love, and to end the fight that had been going on for years. Shen and Rahasia ran off to get married, and Nurik and Ahlan presumably discontinued their skirmishes. Only time would tell if their promise lasted, but at least thier children were happy.
For having so many Jedi on Dantooine, the planet had its fair share of problems. Vincent sighed and laid down on the bench, looking up into the breathtaking night sky. So many stars were shining brightly, but they could be snuffed out in an instant. Just like people, he mused. Once again the thought of Shen and Rahasia entered his mind. He wondered how many people went through their life without experiencing love. Besides us Jedi, he thought. If there was one thing he didn't agree with, it was the rule that Jedi were not allowed to have emotional attatchments. "Emotional attatchments lead to inner conflict", they said. "It may lead to jealousy, anger and hate, all emotions that lead to the Dark side." Do they see any Dark Jedi in love? Sure the Sith have wives, but they just follow an ideal. The truly evil Jedi don't care for love, they just want to cause suffering and pain. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. He knew that the Order would not have made a rule if there was no clear reason behind it. He trusted the Order, but that didn't mean he had to agree with them. He just didn't understand it. He had seen so much good come from being in love. He had witnessed happy families, devoted couples, and countless acts of personal sacrifice, all because of love. Shaking his head, he sat up. The sun was just beginning to appear above the horizon, and it cast a faint orange light on the planet's surface.
"Beautiful," he breathed, in awe of the sight that was before him. Standing, Vincent had a feeling that he had just witnessed his last peaceful sunrise for a long time. Walking slowly back to the Ebon Hawk, he was mildly surprised to find Bastila sitting in the main hold with a worried look on her face.
"Where have you been?" She asked, standing.
"I couldn't sleep," he answered truthfully. "I went out into the courtyard and just sat for a while, trying to clear my head. It's beautful out there at night." Then, noticing she was the only other person awake, "Why are you up?"
"I couldn't sleep either. I could feel your confusion through our bond," she answered.
He winced. "I woke you? I'm sorry. I didn't know..."
Bastila held up a hand at his misunderstanding. "No, you didn't wake me. I was already up. You really must stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault."
"Sorry." She looked at him. "Oops," he said grinning sheepishly. "I'm gonna grab a cup of caffa. You want some?"
She nodded, retreating back to the seat in which she had just been occupying. Vincent returned a few minutes later with two steaming hot mugs of caffa and a blanket, which he handed to her. When she asked what it was for, he shrugged.
"I dunno. I was always under the impression that you women like to curl up with a blanket and a good book, so I figured a blanket and a warm drink might be kind of the same," he said, sinking into a chair.
Sipping from her mug of caffa, she glanced at Vincent. His eyes were closed, and he was occasionally sipping from his own drink. At just over six feet, he was tall and powerfully built. Bastila took a moment to study his face. He was handsome, more so than any other man she could remember. His dark hair was shaved close to his head, and the goatee that adorned his chin was neatly trimmed. Though his eyes were closed, she had no difficulty in remembering their color. A captivating and intense green, they were nonetheless warm and inviting. A thin, inch-long scar ran down from the outside corner of his right eye, which, surprisingly, did not take away from his overall attractiveness. Bastila noticed that a smile had formed on his face.
"Is there something comical that you wish to share?"
His grin widened, and when he opened his eyes, they were filled with mischief. "No, just thinking."
"And you haven't dropped dead from the effort? I'm impressed."
"Ha. Very funny. I didn't know you had the capacity for joking."
Shaking her head, Bastila took another sip of caffa. They were both silent for a while, then Vincent spoke. "What do you know about Force bonds?" He was sitting forward in his chair staring at her intently.
"Not very much," she admitted, setting her drink down. "They are known to occur between Padawans and their Masters, but even then I believe it isn't an overly common thing. Sometimes, it may happen between two people strong in the Force."
He stroked his goatee absently. "So that's what happened to us?"
She hesitated slightly. "I believe so, yes."
"And this means...what?"
"Our fates are linked. Whatever one of us does affects the other."
Now it was Vincent's turn to shake his head. "Wow, this is like a bad holovid. I think that idea's been used before, you know, the whole "intertwined destiny" thing."
"Nevertheless, it's true."
"Hmm...I wonder...?" he murmured to no one in particular. "I want to try something. Calm your mind, ok?"
"What are you going to do?"
"I've been studying about Force bonds over the last couple of days with Master Dorak, and I've found out some pretty interesting facts. I want to try this, but you have to trust me. I promise it's not bad," he added at her disbelieving look.
Closing her eyes, Bastila complied with his request. Through the Force, she could feel him doing the same. Vincent was doubtful that he would accomplish what he wanted, but he had to try. Concentrating on their bond, he reached out to her.
"Bastila?"
Her eyes snapped open. "Did you do that?"
"I didn't think this would actually work."
"How did you - "
"Shut up and try talking through the bond. I feel stupid just staring at you like this..."
"You'll feel even more stupid if we're both sitting here just staring at each other, not saying a word."
"Only if someone walks in. And technically we are speaking. Besides, your eyes are closed."
"How did you figure this out?"
"Well, Dorak said it's kind of like listening, really. If you concentrate on it, you can do it. Or, you can block it out. Which I've tried already, by the way."
"I didn't feel anything from you."
" That's the point. But I didn't shut myself off from you completely, Bastila. I just hid some of my emotions, and what was going through my head. Try it."
Bastila did as he said, and she found it was easier than she expected. Deciding to test her new found abiltiy, she thought of a particularly amusing comment that she knew Vincent would take mock offense at.
"You didn't hear that did you?" she asked him, her eyes now open.
"Hear what?" His eyes narrowed. "Bastila...what did you just call me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't call you anything."
"Oh yes you did. That's what you didn't want me to hear, isn't it?"
"Hmm...maybe."
"You know what? I don't - hey, somebody's up."
"I think it's Carth."
"Ignore him. See what happens."
"No," she said while standing. "Besides, I need to speak with the Council. It's morning now."
"Time flies when you're having fun, huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh yes." At that moment, Carth walked in yawning.
"Do you Jedi ever sleep?"
"Apparently not," Vincent said, standing and stretching.
"Hey, where's Bastila going?"
"She said something about having to speak to the Council before we left. I'm gonna do a quick systems check on the Ebon Hawk, ok?"
Carth nodded, and walked into the ship's cockpit. Checking the navicomputer, he set the hyperdrive coordinates for Kashyyyk. Carth Onasi had been a Republic soldier for many years, and in all of his travels, never had he heard of these "Star Maps" that the Jedi Council wanted Vincent to find. He didn't doubt that the Council knew what they were doing, but he still had a bad feeling about all of this. If Revan and Malak had been searching for the Star Maps, then they were most likely artifacts of dark power, and Carth had always tried to avoid run-ins with anything connected to the Dark side. Glancing behind him, he noticed that Vincent had entered the cockpit as well. He had a perplexed look on his face.
"What's on your mind?"
"Hmm?" He glanced up. "Well, it seems we have another passenger. You remember Juhani?" Carth nodded. "She's requested that she accompany us on our 'quest'."
"Is that...bad?"
"No, we just seem to be turning into a passenger liner. Though I'm sure her combat skills will come in handy."
"Yeah, and I have the feeling we'll need all the help we can get."
Vincent nodded slowly. "Me too, Carth."
"Are we ready to leave?" Bastila's voice called out from the hallway.
Vincent glanced at Carth, who gave a thumbs up. "Yep," he answered as she slid into the co-pilot's seat. Yawning, Vincent stretched again. "My late night walk has finally caught up with me. I'm gonna go back to sleep. Wake me if anything interesting happens," he added, winking at Bastila.
"That man is insufferable," she muttered when he had left the room.
"He's just trying to keep everyone's spirits up. Go easy on him."
"Carth, such disregard for the severity of this situation is dangerous! Now I have no doubt that he can pull off the impossible, but he's being borderline stupid," she said tiredly, rubbing her temples.
Carth explained the situation slowly, carefully choosing his words. "How would you feel if all of a sudden, you wake up on a ship, and find out that you have to save someone's life?" He paused. "Then, you find out that you can become a Jedi? Not to mention the fact that you seem to have a mysterious bond with someone you hardly know?" He paused here as well. "Oh, and you also have to save the galaxy. Don't you think he feels a little pressured?"
Bastila sat pondering his answer for a while. "I'm going to see if I can sleep as well," was all she said as she exited the cockpit. Carth sighed. Bastila meant well, but she was too caught up in her little Jedi Code. He had tried to remain as calm and objective as he could while trying to defend Vincent, and he only hoped he had gotten through to her. She was young and headstrong, and sometimes her temper got the better of her. He could tell that the image of an ideal Jedi had been pounded into her head from day one, and whenever Vincent didn't fit that image, she began to panic, thinking he was about to go Dark side on them all. Carth wondered if being a Jedi was worth it. Sure, you got Force powers and an awesome weapon, but the whole galaxy scrutinized your every move.You had to learn to supress your emotions, and go through life without ever truly caring for someone. To Carth, that wasn't human. Rubbing his own temples, he stood and made his way back to the crew quarters. Hyperspace travel was long an boring, and for some reason, he was still tired. Sliding under the sheets, Carth lay awake for a long time before finally slipping into a restless slumber.
The wail of sirens woke him, and he sat up groggily. Carth heard a thud, a muffled curse, then Vincent's voice yelling "What the hell is going on?" Snapping out of it, Carth realized that the Ebon Hawk was under attack.
"Somebody needs to man those turrets!" he said while stumbling into the ship's cockpit. Their shields were already at 80 percent, and steadily declining. He only hoped Vincent was a good shot.
His mouth drawn into a thin line, Vincent swung the turret around, firing as he did so. The laser bolts slammed into a Sith fighter, causing its wing to explode and the ship to go spinning off wildly into space beforemeeting its demisein a bright ball of fire.
"Incoming fighters, three o'clock!" he heard Carth's voice yelling through to comm system in his turret.
"Got it!" he said, turning just in time to see the Sith fighter line up for another attack. "Come on," he breathed, waiting for the smaller ship to get into just the right position. Pumping the trigger once, Vincent let fly with a round of fire toward the fighter. Too late, the enemy realized that he could not pull out of his attack dive, and was now caught in the path of two burning plasma bolts. The sound of his shallow breathing and rapidly beating heart was the last thing the Sith heard before his ship was blown into oblivion.
"How many?" Vincent grunted, blinking to clear his still sleep fogged vision.
"Two more, coming in on your left."
Swinging to face them, Vincent cursed his luck. A sun, or maybe a ridiculously bright star, he couldn't tell which, was impairing his sight. Having to operate with only his radar to guide him, he fired a few shots off into where the fighters were supposed to be. Missing by a large amount, Vincent knew there was no way he could hit them while they had the sun as cover. He would just have to sit tight, and wait for them to make a pass. This didn't take too long, as Vincent's wild shots had given the Sith a foolish boost of confidence. Both of the fighters went into a dive, peppering Vincent with plasma fire. A grin had formed on the Jedi's face.
"Idiots."
Aiming his guns to where the Sith would be after their pass, Vincent waited a split second before firing. He watched with a detached amusement as both of the fighters ran straight into the trap he had prepared. One fighter was slow on the uptake, and was destroyed by the laser fire. The second Sith managed to avoid Vincent's first round of fire, but didn't live long enough to celebrate as his back end was quickly engulfed in flames. The explosion from the first fighter had ignited the second one's engines, and he became one with the Force in an impressive display of orange, and interestingly enough, purple.
"Well that wasn't so bad," Vincent said while dropping down from the turret's ladder.
"That was an impressive trap you drew them into," Canderous complimented.
"Great shooting. They had no idea what hit them," Carth said with a grin.
"Thanks guys. That really wasn't that impressive..."
"Not that impressive? Hell, you took them out in record time! I've never seen somebody fire that fast."
"Carth, quit it! I feel like you're my mother," he teased, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Yes, as impressive as that was, I can't help but be a bit disappointed in you Vincent."
He turned at the sound of Bastila's voice. She had an irritated look on her face, and her arms were folded across her chest. He simply stood there, waiting for the lecture he knew was soon to follow.
"Though you did despatch those fighters with relative ease, I couldn't help but notice you took a great deal of...pleasure...in doing so. I also find it distressing that you found their demise humorous, to say the least."
"And?" he said, his voice calm and even.
"Such emotions, such lust for battle...these are things of the Dark side, Vincent."
"I don't think that enjoying ridding the galaxy of a few Sith scum is going to damn me to the path of the Dark side, Bastila."
She sighed. "The lure of the Dark side is subtle and inviting. It draws you in, further and further until you cannot resist its power any longer. It twists you into everything you hate, everything you fought against. You take pleasure in the killing of innocents, you revel in their pain."
"And you're saying the Light side is innocent of such killing?"
"No one is innocent of killing in war, but the Light side works for the greater good. I am simply saying that your lack of emotional control is dangerous."
"I really don't think that mastering my emotions is that big of an issue."
"Then you are a fool," she stated simply before turning and walking away.
"She's fiery, that's for sure," Canderous said to Vincent. "You should just bed her now and get it over with."
Vincent had to grab the turret ladder to keep himself standing. "What!"
"You heard me," the Mandalorian said with a sly grin. "She'd bear strong children. And it's obvious you're infatuated with her."
"I have - I should punch you right now for even suggesting that," Vincent growled. "Appealing as it may be," he added, his own grin forming.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Canderous said, patting Vincent roughly on the shoulder. Both Carth and Canderous said good night, retreating back to the crew quarters and leaving Vincent to his thoughts. Canderous had a point, she was fiery. And she was beautiful, not to mention that fact that she had a great figure...he mentally slapped himself. He didn't - no, he couldn't feel that way about her. They were Jedi, and it wasn't allowed. Sinking dejectedly into a chair, he buried his face in his hands. Why was everything always so difficult for him? He had never been good at opening up and telling people how he felt, so this should be a piece of cake. Hell, he wasn't even allowed to feel anything! So why was it so hard? Deep in thought, Vincent didn't realize that he had dozed off until a strange vision manifested itself. He could see what looked like another Star Map, but it was sitting on a forest floor, surrounded by massive trees. The whole picture was encircled by a grey fog, and it only lasted for a brief period. He was gently awakened by a surprisingly light nudge by Zaalbar who looked apprehensive and was shifting nervously.
(We've landed,) was all that he said.
Ok, I'm hoping that was more detailed for y'all. I tried to get Bastila into one of her "mentor" modes, cause she's like that a lot during the game. Oh, and whenever Zaalbar or a Wookie speaks, their dialogue will be offset with these "(...)". It's the only stupid symbol that this thing recognized, so that's what they get. Please R&R!
