Hey guys, welcome back to those who have read my first chapter of this story. It's a bit longer now that I've got a few things straight so enjoy and reviews are appreciated!
Carth's vision was a blur when he opened his eyes just a slit. His head pounded rapidly and his arms felt heavy as he stirred around. He let out a groan and felt weight holding his lap down. Taking a peak to what it is, he flashed his eyes opened to full and like a velocity of an explosive rocket, he remembered the recent events. Endar Spire, the Sith invasion, two soldiers; one woman and one man, and barely escaping inside a jammed pod alive when the ship exploded, they somehow landed in one piece. The weight on his lap was the woman's head, still breathing but in need of medical attention fast. He craned his neck to the left and found the man...What was his name? Ah...Trask Ulgo...Carth thought and reached out to shake him from his cold case.
Trask let a grunt bypass his throat as he eyes fluttered opened, leveling his head from his arms," Commander? Are you alright?" He grumbled, trying to bring back his perceptions at the moment of feeling around his surroundings, trying to find an exit door.
" Fine...fine, still can move." Carth replied, trying his best to heave the unconscious Kat onto his lap. He had to admit, she was a bit heavy for a built woman, even without the layer of armor she wore. Trask, tracing his fingers, finally found the somehow compressed door and started to kick it the best he could. After trying a few more kicks, he reached into his holster and pulled out his republic blaster. Carth watched from the corner of his eyes as Trask carefully took a careful aim and fired two times, then kicked the door open, sending it flying.
Trask extracted his legs out and stepped out into the dark night, and quickly turned to face Carth," Here, hand over Kat to me." He said, and offered his arms as Carth and him together brought Kat out along with Carth trailing behind her. The two men each slung Kat's arm over their shoulders, while Carth took hold of her duffel bag on his back. Carth took the chance to have a look around them.
He knew the planet they're on is Taris. The glittering spires of tall towers and the bustling city filled with hubbubs and noises is similar to Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa. Night took over the sun's shift, casting out it's armada of gemstone specks across the sky and two moons appeared together, the "rogue moon" also glowing there. No one was in sight. Carth shook himself out of his stupor state and gave a look at Trask," We better find a place to crash in, it isn't safe standing here too long. Someone might come in and see what the commotion is about."
Trask nodded," Problem is, Commander, where can we go? Not to mention that nasty cut on Kat needs to be treated as soon as possible."
Carth looked around for a bit," Let's just keep moving and keep an eye out for a medical facility or anything abandoned." And thus, they started to quickly move away from the crashed escape pod, both of them fratically moving their heads to find any refuge for the sake of their protection and exhaustion coming faster to them like a fever. After a few minutes, Trask nudged Carth and cocked his head in front of them," I see light coming from there, and from the looks of it, the building looks like a medical facility."
They both stare at the building and watched a blue twi'lek emerge from the facility...along with a wookie.
" Thanks Zelka! See you tomorrow." She said, turning around waving and motioned to an icredibly large shadow," Come on Big Z, lets go bunk with the Beks for tonight."
A wookie emerged out of the building and let out a few growls while pointing at his stomach.
" Zaalbar, you've had more than five meals today! Can't you think of something else besides food?" the twi'lek exclaimed, shaking her head as she started walking though it didn't take her long enough to spot Carth and Trask.
" Hey, you two! You guys lost or something?" She quickly advanced forward but stopped shortly after seeing their condition," Geez, had a rough night or something?"
" Something like that..." Carth muttered," we're in need of help. This woman..." he motioned his head toward Kat," is in need of medical attention right now."
" Say no more!" The twi'lek said, and looked up from behind her," Big Z, think you could lift a hand and help carry their friend back to Zelka?" The wookie looked a bit hesistant and after letting out a low growl, he held out his large furry hands and cradled Kat's body into his arms.
Trask and Carth then started to quickly follow the twi'lek and the wookie back to where the two odd pair had come from and entered into a rather dim building, a single lamp hovering above a medbed. Rows of kolto tank lined up each side of the walls and a door from the opposite of where they stood held closed. An old, bald, dark tone skinned man looked up from his instruments," I thought you already left, Mission. You also brought visitors with you I see."
" Yeah, well I brought them here because their friend is in serious trouble and needs healing." She jabbed her thumb toward the wookie's arms. Zelka immediately got to work," Here Zaalbar, place her on the bed right here." The wookie complied and gently set her down on the bed and carefully positioned her head to a more comfortable angle. The doctor took out a body scanner device and started to slowly move it around Kat's body. Trask seeing a couch squeezed between two kolto tanks collasped onto it and rubbed his temples.
" You alright there soldier?" Carth asked, also taking a seat next to Trask, letting out a tired sigh.
" I'll manage." Trask answered," I just hope we can find Bastilia and get out of here so we can continue where we left off."
Carth nodded in agreement and leaned his head on the back of the couch, now feeling his energy wiped out.
Zelka nodded his head occassionally during his examination," Hmmm...yes...I see now." he then placed his scanner on the metal cart table next to him," Just a small concussion and it looks like her torso is a bit torned from that injury she sustained from the shoulder. This shouldn't be much of a problem." He explained and started to strip her combat suit to reveal just enough skin for him to treat Kat's injury. Mission walked over to the two worn out men, carrying two steamy mugs of caffa and handed it to them, each taking it with gratitude," Thanks." They said and started to take long sips.
" Mission? I'm going to need your help to clean off my patient's forehead, I must retrieve something at the moment." Mission nodded and took the swab of towel the doctor held out for her before briskly walking over to the door, opening it for a split second before it slammed shut right behind him. The blue twi'lek carefully dabbed on the dried blood on her temple," What happened? It looked like she slammed her head on something pretty hard, not to mention the wound on her shoulder looked like she was in a fight."
Zaalbar stood besides Mission busying himself with looking at Zelka's tools. Trask gave a quick glance at Carth who also looked a bit uncomfortable," Just a brawl really...nothing more." Trask managed to say, drowning down the rest of his caffa. The twi'lek looked like she didn't believe it but didn't bother to push it further, much to Carth and Trask's relief. Zelka then came back, carrying what looks like a satchel in his hand and gave it to Carth," Here, I've managed to give you and your companions spare clothes with some food rations, medicines, and a few credits I could spare. Right after I treat your friend, Mission here will lead you to an abandon apartment not far from here. I'm sure you can stay in there." Carth took the satchel from him and gave him his thanks.
Zelka took out a fresh roll of gauze and after spreading some sort of cream on Kat's forehead, he started to wrap it around her forehead, underneath her bangs and secured it tightly on the side. He then took out a small needle filled with thick, red kolto and injected the substance onto Kat's shoulder and started to do the same process of the gauze wrapping again. It only took Zelka a few minutes and he was done with his work," There, all done. She'll be fine if she gets enough rest, three to five days max."
" We really can't thank you enough, Doc." Trask said, genuinely giving off a rather faint smile towards Zelka.
The doctor merely waved his hand," I never leave a patient in need and I don't plan on stopping." He then looked at the chronometer nailed to the rusted wall," Now if you'll excuse me...it's quite late." He said.
The blue twi'lek yawned and stretched lazily," Alright, let's get you guys to the apartment." She said and together, they all walked out of the building after saying a goodnight to the doctor.
" So kid, you and your friend got a name?" Trask asked casually, not noticing the twi'lek's lekkus twitching in annoyance," I'm not really a kid, the name's Mission Vao and my friend here is Zaalbar." She turned her head a bit to peer at the two men each carrying bags, one Kat's and the one Zelka gave.
" Carth Onasi." Carth said," This here is Trask Ulgo and our other companion is Kathara Sheng. Guess you can call us off-worlders."
" Then that means Big Z and me are your official welcoming committee." Mission said, smiling a bit. They reached to a tall building, skyscraping high it seems fifty meters above their heads," Here we are. The janitor didn't bother cleaning this place but if you give it a nice sprucing up, it'll be good enough to call home." She said as they all entered a room, dark diminishing their views. Mission placed her hands on the wall, searching for the lightswitch until she found it and flipped it upward, the lights giving off flickers until it flashed on completely, showing off the environment around them.
The room smelled strongly of dust and old ale. The walls were patched and peeled, showing off a nasty pale yellow color. The linoleum once pearl white now had a faint gray color bits of it cracked, the furnitures were still in good shape but in need of much cleaning. The kitchen appliances on the far left side were stained who knows what and some of the metal was coated in copper rust," Uh...well...it'll do for now." Carth shrugged much to his displeasure," does the refresher work though?"
Mission nodded," Yeah, the old coot told me the fixtures here still work. It's a two bedroom apartment just so you know." She yawned again as Zaalbar walked over to a door on the right side and came out a moment later, letting out a few growls," I have placed the female human on a resting bed. Shall we go now?"
" Yeah, yeah we'll go." She turned her attention back to Carth and Trask," Well it was nice meeting you two and your unconscious friend, we'll probably cross each other again and if you need me, you can find me in the Lower City or at Zelka's facility. Come on Big Z lets go." Together, the two exited out the door.
" Alright, well I guess I should take the couch." Carth said, unzipping his orange coat, a thin white shirt revealed, showing his mascular abs and chiseled chest.
Trask on the other hand disagreed," I bet you've had a rougher night then I did, Commander, it's best if you take the bed instead of me."
" How about this, if you call me by my name 'Carth' instead of 'Commander' I'll let you take the bed. Commander makes me sound alot older." Carth let out a foolish grin and Trask laughed, slapping Carth lightly on the back.
" Fine by me Carth, I'll take the bed if it'll make you feel better."
" Much better." Carth said and sank down onto the lumpy couch, finally claiming his sleep without a moment to lose.
/\Kat's Dream State/\
Kat blinked, taking in from her surroundings. She's inside a ship on a bridge thats for certain. Kat shivered and rubbed her arms up and down for warmth, breathing out smokey vapors. The metal, the computers, the hyperdrive humming, an alarming blaring off, the presence of it feeling so real she was sure whatever she can touch, she can actually feel. Looking forward, she noticed three figures, cloaked in dark oil black robes, one of them standing majestic, back turned, staring out into the vast space. The two other robed ones seem to stare straight through Kat, deadly ghost pale colored their complexion, their faces masking below the eyes that are sickening yellow. She saw they each weilded lightsabers...red as the eyes of a dewback.
For some reason, Kat can feel their dark aura, taste the hate inside their blood emitting from them; the Dark Jedi. A sound came from behind her and she suddenly turned, facing four Jedi, lightsabers ignited, and ready for any neccessary combat. A young woman, tawny haired and eyes showing calm but strong silvers, stepped toward one of the Dark Jedi, her flashing, bold yellow lightsaber immediately taking into action as together, the Dark Jedi and the woman Kat now realized is Bastlia do a fierce dance. Kat didn't know what to do; should she stop it or become entrance to the movements the two Jedi possess? Before Kat could do anything however, she felt being tugged, tugged away from this...vision...dream.
She tried her best to keep focus, to stay as long as she can to see what happens next. The resistance though brought to failure as the image faded away...eaten by the blackness that cosumed her vision whole. Is it safe to open my eyes? She thought, her body feeling limp, weak, and sore. Slowly, in case light would blind her back into darkness, she opened her eyes, only to find herself staring up at a patched ceiling, strips of light pouring through whatever it can reach from the high windows. Kat looked around, darting her eyes this way and that all while trying to position herself up.
Her head felt woozy and her stomach lurched as she moved. Gasping for breath and sweat protruded underneath her bandage, she breathed upward as she at last sat up, using the wall for support. Where am I? Where's Trask and Commander? What happened after we escaped Endar Spire? Kat's thoughts spilled with questions she wanted answered. She can feel bile slowly making it's way up to her throat. Kat cupped her throat, hoping it would ease back down.
A door slide open, light streaking straight into Kat's eyes as she looked that way," By the original light! Arugh..." She exclaimed and shielded her eyes from the blinding light using her hands. Footsteps approached her and she partially parted her fingers to look straight into Trask's face.
" You're awake. Thank the stars." He said and held up a mug to her," Here, you might want to drink this." Kat took one whiff of it and fluttered her eyes at the strong smell.
" Whoa...what the heck did you put in there?" She took the cup and gave a questioning look at Trask.
" Chandrilian herb tea. I've added some mint and nerf milk to make it dense enough for you drink it." Trask took a seat beside her on the bed," Why the look? It's not that bad."
" Easy for you to say." Kat muttered and cautiously took a small sip of the tea. Suprisingly enough as the liquid went down to her throat, she felt slightly better and the taste was a bit strange but good to the tongue. She smiled appreciately at Trask before taking in a nice long gulp at the tea, hot but not scalding. Trask waited patiently as she continued drinking before she handed her cup back to her, empty handed," Thanks. Very good." She commented, licking her lips.
Trask smiled," How are you feeling?"
" A bit better though I feel gross. Where are we? Where's the Commander?"
" We're in an abandon apartment at the upper city south of Taris. Carth Onasi went out to get infomation."
" Ohhh...so that's the guy's name...got it!" She said, and lightly bonked herself on the head," So how about telling me what happened? ...After I smashed my head on the escape pod that is." She said, lightly touching her bandage wrapped around her head.
" After we barely made it out of the Endar Spire alive," Trask began, setting the mug he carried on the floor," We got out of the pod and managed to get you out also before anyone came out to inspect what was going on. Both of us carried you, looking around for shelter until we stumbled along a young twi'lek by the name of Mission and her wookie friend Zaalbar."
" A twi'lek and a wookie? Together! COOL!" Kat squealed, and snapped her fingers," Damn, wish I could've met them!" Who would ever thought a twi'lek and a wookie would be sticking together in a city like Taris?
" Anyway!" Trask cleared his throat, Kat immediately shutting up and motioned Trask to continued," They were on their way home I assume until they saw us and took us immediately to a doctor named Zelka to help treat your injuries. They were also kind enough to take us here to this deserted apartment. It's been four days since that crash." He then looked concern," And during those days, you've been thrashing around, even punched Carth when we tried to restrain you. What kind of nightmares were you having?"
Kat laced her fingers around the sheets covering her in embarrassment; she had actually punched Carth..not like it was on purpose...and those other dreams before her recent one...she definitely didn't want to talk about it," I...I can't really remember." She let out a low whistle as she scratched her head," I've never really done that before...not that I would really know but still...thats pretty weird."
Trask sighed and gave Kat a reassuring pat on the back," Well don't get too worked up about it, all that matters is that you're awake and we gotta find a way out of here...with Bastila." Kat's head shot forward at the name of the young Jedi.
" You mean...she's still alive? Where is she!" Kat jumped right out of bed when Trask started to head out the door. He turned back and shook his head," We don't know for certain about her wheareabouts or even if she's still alive. We're hoping that once you woke up we could get right to work."
" Of course, of course..." Kat scratched her head again," I'll just go take a quick shower and we can wait until the Commander gets back." She then sniffed herself and winced at the pungent odor," Is there a 'fresher I can use?"
Trask nodded and pointed across the room," Right there, I also left your duffel bag there and some bathing neccessities are already in there." Kat beamed at him,
" I'd hug you if I wasn't so smelly." She said and skipped toward the refresher leaving Trask to shake his head at the once again childish behavior and walked out of the room.
Kat had never felt so good in a long while, stepping inside the sonic shower and feeling the comforting damp vapors washing you clean was an amazing feeling...well in Kat's opinion. After having a good twenty minutes shower, she stepped out and wrapped her body around with a rather small towel. She faced herself toward a very dirty mirror and let out an irritated sigh," Yeesh, since when did they last clean the place?" She then snatched her ruined combat suit and started to use it to wipe off if possible the gunk pratically glued itself on the mirror.
Enough to see her face, she stared back at the now really dirty suit and threw it into the mini trash compactor next to her in disgust. Seeing her duffel bag in sight, she dug inside it and threw on whatever clothes she could find. Loose fitted navy blue pants with bits of tears here and there with a tight white tank, a black leather jacket with sleeves to the elbow, silver metal brackets to add in for accessories and her trusty black combat boots, Kat looked at herself in satisfaction before walking out of the refresher, taking her bag with her. She didn't need to fix her hair, it always stuck out from places to places.
As Kat walked into the main room, Trask wasn't the only one standing there. He seem to be having a conversation with the one and only: Commander Onasi in his orange suit glory. She didn't get to hear what they were saying as they heard her boots clanking and looked at her," Glad to see you up instead of thrashing about in your sleep, Kat." Carth said," You must've had one hell of a nightmare."
Awww, he cared too! Kat smiled," Thanks, Commander...or uhh Carth...Commander Carth...aw shavit what do you want me to call you?"
" Carth would do just fine." He said.
" Right. Carth! Trask explained to me what happened after our pod crashed and he told me you were out seeking information. What's up?"
Carth made a grim expression towards her," Taris is under Sith Control. They have fleets orbiting above the planet, declared martial law and set up a planet-wide quarantine." He then shook his head," And you can bet your credits they're doing this because of Bastila. I've been scouting around and I still can't find anything that'll help us off this planet or find any traces of Bastila etiher!"
Poor guy...looks like he's going to shove himself into the incinerator. Kat turned to look at Trask and noticed something different...he wasn't wearing his Republic uniform. Replacing it, he wore a simple dueling combat suit, his blaster snugged on his holster located on his upper thigh.
" Hey Trask...where is your uniform?"
" Carth informed me it would be wise to get rid of it before the Sith come shooting at me with their blasters." Trask shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't like the idea of burning his suit at all.
" Oh, I see. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's head over to the cantina and get something to eat. I'm starving!" She started to head for the door," While we're there, I'm pretty sure we can find someone who knows the dirt."
" Wait! Kat! Don't go out there! The Si-" Carth began but too late, Kat already walked out of the apartment whistling.
" Aw Sithspit!" The two men back in the apartment heard her curse a moment later and saw streaks of red laser blasts skyracking past the door.
" REPUBLIC FUGITIVE! ATTACK HER!" Trask and Carth burst out the door, blasters in hand and got right into shooting two droids assisting the sith patrol who was being pummeled by Kat's furious fists. A Duro behind the commotion took out his sword and stabbed one of the droids into his chassis and leaped away from the droid exploding into bits. As Trask shot the last droid and clattered itself on the floor, the only thing left was Kat sitting on top of the Sith's stomach, smacking his face back and forth with her blaster.
" Kat, settle down he's unconscious!" Carth said, trying to pry her off.
" That...moronic...schutta called me...FAT! Let go of me Trask!" She yelled, kicking her legs as Trask grabbed her by the waist and heaved her up on his shoulder.
Carth stared at Kat in disbelief. Women and their figures...she clearly wasn't fat but just a tad overweight. He made a mental note to himself not to attempt a joke about her weight unless he wanted a slap on the face with a blaster too. Trask didn't look like he was struggling at all through Kat's tantrum.
The Duro, turning his direction to Carth said in his alien tongue," Thank you for your assistance. It's too bad my friend had to pay the price for speaking up to the damn Sith. I'll take care of the bodies and make sure they looked as if they were attacked elsewhere."
" You're welcome. Glad we could help out." He said and gave a curt nod before the trio soldiers started to walk away," Get a hold of yourself! Remember we're trying to keep a low profile." Carth hissed as aliens walking by gave looks to them from Kat's motives.
" You never said anything like that!" Kat stopped her thrashing, feeling her temper cooling down," Scum deserves...OFF THE ASS TRASK!"
Trask quickly placed his hand above her lower back," Sorry, I can't help it when there's a woman's butt right next to my face." He joked.
" You pervert put me down now!" A smirk grew on Kat's lips as she playfully smacked him right when Trask reluctantly placed her back on her feet all while Carth quietly chuckled. The three of them reached the elevator taking them to the Upper City and waited as they quickly rose up. Right when the doors opened, Kat sprung out of the elevator and twirled a bit, laughing as she leaned her head to look at the bleeding sun melting it's way into the clouds," It's so nice to be up and about!" She said, and inhaled deeply to the smell of Taris.
Carth elbowed her lightly," The cantina's this way." He said and gently pulled her towards the the city of neon flashing signs and speeder cruising through the city with Trask following along. Kat noticed Siths here and there, walking casually through, their metal armour polished and shined so luminously, it made Kat almost retch with disgust, but the worst was how people had stared at them, held their noses high in their gross superiority and "hmphed" at them. Kat was close to pounce on them if not for Carth and his coaxing," Relax, easy now..." he whispered.
They finally reached the cantina, above the door, a neon flashing with a flashing twi'lek dancing around indicated it's place. The sith patrol standing at the door gave them a quick glance before grunting his approval and waving his gun for them to enter. The door opened for them and the wave of heavy cigar smoke filtered their noses as they entered. The room was darkly dimmed, colorful lamps hung here and there. Most of the patrons in the cantina are nobles, dressed in their finely rich colored robes. The walls and floors were elaborately decored of neon colors and twi'leks danced at the center of the room, swaying their hips tiredly to the slow beat of the music playing in the background. The environment was hazy and added a luxrious high off the spice type of sleaze to it.
" Wow...very...colorful." was what Kat could describe as she squeezed her way toward a booth and scooted in along with Carth and Trask.
" Can you blame them? It is a bar after all." Trask said looking down at the menus at a waitress who carried drinks on the tray placed them in front of them and walked off. Kat skimmed her eyes at the choices of food selects while she drummed the table with her fingernails. Carth didn't bother to look at the menus. He couldn't keep his mind off of how important this mission is and if they don't find Bastila before the Sith, they might as well shoot themselves to Nal Hutta. He couldn't stand it! The pressing matters was weighing him down and a nice shot of Tarisian Ale didn't sound that bad to him. He needed something to calm him down.
Frustrated, he stood up from the booth," I'm going to get myself something to drink at the bar." He grumbled and headed toward to his destination five feet away from their current booth. Trask and Kat exchanged glances," What crawled up his ass and died?" Kat asked, inclining her head toward the pilot.
Trask shook his head," He's been like this for a couple of days now. It didn't make it any better when the Sith announced the quarantine right after the next day we crashed."
The waitress who had the drinks before came back, carrying a datapad in her hand," What can I get you?" She said in a soft Tarisian accent.
" I'll have three glasses of juma juice, two nerfburgers, three kommerken steaks, three runyip stew, two chili dumplings, and one big loop pastry please!" She chimed, handing over their menus as the waitress punched down the last food selects and briskly walked off.
" Trying to add some junk in the trunk?" Trask asked, raising a bemused eyebrow," I hope you realize you're going to be the one paying for all food you just ordered."
Kat smirked and stuck out her tongue," Well aren't you a cheap..."
" Don't stick that out unless you plan on using it." Trask said, waggling his eyesbrows suggestively. Kat felt heat rushing up to her cheeks and slapped Trask on the arm.
" Geez Trask! Quit making me blush! You're too dirty for me to get close to!" She scooted out of her booth and smiled," I'm going to check our flyboy here and see if he needs company. You on the other hand can go harass other women with that mouth of yours!" She turned and walked off, heading to the bar and grinned, hearing Trask cracking up from behind.