Well, here is another one. As always, if you like my story then make sure to leave a comment, click 'favorite' and follow. And I want to say thanks to all who support my work and again these are two guys: Aggiefan15 and JourneyRocks13. Their reviews help me as an author and they comment very often. But also I say thanks to all others who comment my story and these are: davycrockett100, Serdancos, Maul, and god of all. I really appreciate it and it's nice to read these comments when I wake up hahaha. But at the same time, I ask all the rest of you guys, who are reading my story to write a review ;). And now I invite you to read another chapter.
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Chapter 11
"Okay you alien scum, everybody get up against the wall! This is a raid!" the order welcomed Revan, Carth, Rex, Fox, and Wolfie after they have left their apartment. Right now they were standing in the main hall of the skyscraper. Though this command wasn't directed at them.
They were facing a small group of Sith patrol, consisting of two silver battle droids and someone, who looked like a commander. He was dressed from neck to toe in a blue-gray uniform and black, knee-high shoes. He had a black belt around his waist with two pouches of the same color. He had a similar, but thinner, belt around his torso. It was more a suspender meant for backup cartridges. The man was holding a heavy blaster rifle in his right hand.
In front of the Sith patrol, were standing two Duros. From their stance, Revan could easily make out one thing. They were scared.
"There was a patrol here just yesterday, and they found nothing!" one of the Duros spoke. "Why do you Sith keep bothering us?" he asked. But the black skinned commander didn't like that.
Without any hesitation, he shot the Duro few times into his chest. The alien fell to the floor. Dead.
"That's how we Sith deal with smart-mouth aliens!" he lectured the person he just shot. "Now you get up against the wall before I lose my temper again!" he ordered to the second Duro. At this, Revan cleared his throat loud enough for the Sith commander to hear. He and the battle droids turned to the direction where the noise came from. His eyes widened in shock and something resembling fear at what he saw.
Before him, five heavily armed men were standing. He scanned them and, basing on their posture, realized that they were soldiers for sure. He quickly shook himself from a temporary shock.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he started in an arrogant tone. "Humans hiding out with aliens? They're Republic fugitives! Attack!" he shouted an order. Revan quickly understood his intention.
Shouting such a thing out loud would make it more possible for the Sith reinforcements to hear it and arrive. It was a tactical advance and Revan was impressed at that.
But he had to put these thoughts aside because he found himself staring at the barrel of the blaster rifle. In the last second, he dashed to the side and avoided the shot, that has passed the place, where his head had previously been. He quickly regained his footing and replied by drawing a vibroblade that was sheathed and hanging next to his hip. He ran up to the Sith commander and, before he could even react, sliced him in half. Revan watched as the man's upper half slid down to the floor, blood covering the spot, the dead body was laying on. The former Dark Lord was surprised, at seeing this. He didn't suspect that vibroblades had such strength to cut someone so easily.
He saw with the corner of his eye that his companions have quickly dealt with the droids. One precise shot in their heads was enough to shut them down. Their torsos exploded with a flash, sending dozens of metallic parts in every direction. Revan covered his head in order not to be hit by one of the droids' elements.
The whole action didn't last longer than five seconds. The five men straightened themselves up and looked around.
Now the main hall was a mess. Walls were partially burned, due to the explosions – black marks covered them. Same with the floor, but on it was also a blood. Partially from the sliced Sith commander and partially from the shot Duro.
They lifted their eyes from the mess and placed them on the second alien. He was holding tightly his right side of the rib cage, a small trail of blood was visible on his fingers.
"Poor Ixgil. He should never have talked back to that Sith" the Duro muttered, looking down at his dead companion. Then he looked at the strangers, who saved his life. "Thankfully you were here to step in and help us, humans" he added with a small smile. "This isn't the first time the Sith have come in here to cause trouble for us, but hopefully it will be the last."
"Won't someone come searching for this patrol?" Carth asked intrigued, stepping in front of their group and coming up to the alien.
"Don't worry about the bodies" the Duro spoke in a calming tone. "I will move them so it looks like they were killed elsewhere. That should throw Sith off the track. With any luck, they won't be bothering us again for a while" he reasoned. Revan nodded in response. It wasn't probable for the Sith to realize, that a one man and two droids were missing. It was something he had learned when he was in charge of the Empire. No one cared about the major soldiers.
"We're happy we could help you" Carth responded. "If there's anything we can do more, then…" he started but was cut off by Revan.
"Unfortunately, we don't have much time" he spoke, faking an apologetic tone. "We're in hurry."
"Yes, of course," the Duro responded. "Is there anything I can do for you, as a compensation?" he asked, staring at them with red eyes. Revan thought for a moment. There was actually something they needed as much help as they could gather.
"Well, there is one thing" he started, trying to make out how to touch this subject.
"And what is it?" the Duro asked intrigued.
"Do you know anything about the escape pods that crushed against Taris?" Revan asked. "Two days ago plenty of them hit the planet's surface."
"Hmm… I doubt I know anything useful" Duro answered after the moment. "The only thing I know is that one of these pods crushed somewhere here in the Upper City" he added.
"Only one?" Revan asked.
"Yes, only one. I'm sorry I cannot help you more, but…" Duro started to apologize but he also was cut off by the former Dark Lord.
"Nothing happens. Actually, this information is pretty useful for us. Thank you" he said, bowing slightly his head. The alien returned the gesture. After that, the group of five men walked down the main hall towards the exit of the skyscraper.
"And how is that any useful information?" Wolfie asked. The rest of them gave their approval to the question by nodding their heads.
"He said that only one escape pod has crushed here in the Upper City" Revan started. He couldn't believe that he really had to explain that. "And that was our escape pod. So that means, that we have nothing to look for here. We have to go to the Lower City or even to the Undercity. And this actually gives us more time to find Bastila. She isn't in the Upper City. That's all we know. But it's better, than nothing" he reasoned, looking at his companions. One by one, they nodded in understanding.
With that cleared, they've left the skyscraper and found themselves in the Taris' Upper City. Despite the poverty of this planet, it was a nice looking thing. At some point, it resembled Coruscant. Many buildings were climbing up to the sky and speeder bikes were flying over their heads. The sun was barely making its way through the facilities, causing the streets to remain still in shadows.
The buildings were built in a circular fashion. They weren't rectangular or sharp. They had rounded tops and looked very thin. A blue light was coming from windows of thousands of apartments. Near the top of every skyscraper was a small landing pad. It allowed speeder bikes or even small ships, such as fighters, to land on it.
In front of them was standing some odd kind of statue. A rounded platform, over which was floating a stone structure. It was a small fountain, that contained water in it. But no water was coming inside.
On the right side of the fountain was an edge of the street. Beyond that, it was possible to see the Undercity of Taris. Also, an escape pod was hovering right over the abyss. Revan just now realized how close they were to fall to the surface of the planet. He noticed the small droids pacing around the escape pod, as well as few Sith soldiers. But he paid them no attention. There was no possibility for them to be found.
On the left side of the fountain, a street was leading towards the crossroads and from there to other skyscrapers. The Sith patrols were pacing back and forth on the street. There was even more of the soldiers than the citizens.
Revan was thinking about where to go now. There was no point in going forward. He was there yesterday, there were only a store and the cantina. Perhaps going left, on the east, was a good idea.
He turned himself in that direction and started to go that way, his companions following closely behind. Rex, Fox, and Wolfie were talking about something to themselves and Carth was going forward, looking onto his feet and keeping his hands in the pockets. Revan immediately sensed something coming from the Republic officer. He came closer to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. That pulled out Carth from the trance, he didn't realize he was in.
"Yes? What's on your mind?" he asked, looking at Revan. It was obvious in his tone that he was in no mood for talking, but he paid it no mind and decided to speak to the man.
"Is this a good time to ask you some more questions? You know, since we are sentenced for each other's companionship, then I think it would be good to know a little more about the one we have to work with" he said, inviting him for conversation. Unwillingly, Carth complied.
"Well, I see your point. So, if it's an interrogation you wanted, why didn't you say so?" he asked. Revan was surprised by that.
"This isn't an interrogation" he responded, slightly offended."I never said that."
"No, I was just joking, though you do seem to have a lot of questions," Carth told back with a noise that could resemble chuckling. Though it more sounded like a suffocating sound. "It's rather refreshing, to be honest" he added. Revan nodded in response. "Let me ask you something first, though" the Republic officer outran the former Dark Lord. "I've been going through the battle aboard the Endar Spire over and over in my head since we crashed. Some things just don't add up for me. Maybe you could tell me what happened… from your perspective" he finished. Revan was surprised. He didn't see that coming.
"Why ask me? I don't see the point" he replied, trying to avoid answering on Carth's question. The officer looked at him, not noticing slightly aware tone in the younger's man voice.
"I'm just trying to figure it out" he responded. "I saw enough men lose their lives needlessly during the Mandalorian wars. It's… difficult to see that happening all over again."
That intrigued Revan. He didn't recall seeing Carth during the conflict with the Mandalorians. How much actually didn't he know about the Republic officer? He planned to repair that mistake.
"You fought in the Mandalorian wars?" he asked, hoping that the man will answer that. Luckily for him, he did.
"Yes, I did. But I wasn't anyone special in that time. I was a common pilot, serving under one of the best Admirals the Republic has ever seen" he responded with a clearly hearable sadness in his voice.
"And who was that?" Revan asked curiously.
"Admiral Saul Karath" was the response. The former Dark Lord fought an urge to cough violently. He didn't expect that. Instead, he said nothing. "I served under him during the majority of the Mandalorian wars" Carth continued. "He was my mentor. My best friend, actually. I took part in every battle under his command, except for the battle of Malachor V. And I guess that was a good decision, that I was sent from his flagship back to the Republic space. Thanks to it, I'm not part of the Sith Empire right now" he finished. Revan's mind was pacing back and forth. If he served under Saul, then he also served under Malak. And that was the reason why he didn't recall Carth as the soldier in the Mandalorian wars.
"You've said, that you were good friends. How did you meet him? Have you known each other before the war? Or maybe you just made up a friendship while in the military?" Revan asked.
"Well, I've known him before. We were born and lived on the same planet, you know" Carth responded.
"That is?" Revan pressed on.
"Telos IV" was the response. The former Dark Lord nearly stopped in his trucks. His face paled visibly and for a moment he had a problem with breathing. He cleared his throat to regain his voice.
Telos IV. Mentioning of that planet made Revan's stomach to twitch violently. It was mostly his fault. The destruction of the world in the Outer Rim. Of course, he didn't order the bombardment. It was Malak's order, but his oversight. He didn't want that. He found it pointless to annihilate the entire planets. But his former apprentice didn't. He liked destructing for the sake of destruction. And he's shown it on Telos IV.
After the destruction of the planet, Revan was infuriated. He punished Malak for disobeying his order. But what did it mean? Did it repay countless of deaths? Did it sooth the survivors of the genocide? Millions of people have lost their lives, while Malak lost only his lower jaw.
And now he understood Carth's slightly odd behavior.
If he was from Telos, it was a great trauma for the man, even if he didn't lose anyone in the bombardment. And if he did, Revan could only imagine the amount of pain, Carth was feeling. And also awareness, of who was responsible for that. It was known across the galaxy, that Saul Karath was the one, who led the ship that started the annihilation.
"Well, you know something about me, so it's time for me to know something about you," the Republic officer said, changing the topic a bit.
"Yeah, what's on your mind?" Revan encouraged him on, imitating Carth's previous tone.
"Well, returning to what I was saying earlier, we lost a ship and a lot of good people… and for what? On the hope that Jedi powers would save us, somehow. But it did not. Bastila explained it though, that she had no time to use her battle meditation" Carth said with a tone that sounded like suspicion. "We didn't choose that battle, anyway" he continued. "It was forced on us. Hell, I'm just surprised that any of us are alive to talk about it. Come to think of it, it's more than a little surprising that you happen to be here, isn't it?" he asked, directing that suspicious tone towards Revan. "Just what is your position with the Republic fleet, anyway?" he added before the younger man could respond anything. Revan was taken aback. He didn't see that coming.
"I'm just a major soldier. Why? Are you accusing me of something?" he responded.
"Not at all. I just think it's a bit odd that someone who got added to the crew roster at the last minute just happens to be one of the survivors. And a term 'major' does not suit you. I've seen your records in the database. Quite impressive, I must admit. You possess a lot of skills for that young age of yours. Skills, that many could only dream about"
"What's so odd about me being added to the crew at the last minute?" Revan responded, ignoring Carth's mention of his abilities. Thankfully, the man complied.
"You were the only one. Not to mention that Bastila's party was the one who requested your transfer" he answered. Revan, for the hundredth time that day, was stunned. He could easily make out a reason for that. But did she ask for that? Wasn't it the Jedi Council? And just how did Carth know that?
"What are you talking about?" he responded. "Why would Bastila even request my transfer? I don't get it" he finished, lying the Republic officer.
"Well, the Jedi requested numerous things when they came on board… hell, they practically took over the ship, as far as I could tell" Carth answered, turning it into a humorless joke. "Considering your connection to Bastila and the Jedi…" he continued with a serious tone. "Whether you know it or not… your presence here seems a little… convenient. I'm probably wrong" he added before Revan could respond. "And this is probably nothing, I know. I learned a long time ago not to take things at face value, however. And I hate surprises"
"What do you mean by surprises?" he asked intrigued. The personage of Carth Onasi surprised him all the time. And in a good way.
"I mean I have to expect the unexpected. Just to be safe" he answered. Revan's opinion about the man was now almost sky-high. If more men like Carth Onasi were in the Republic, then the war would be a whole lot easier for them.
"Are you always this suspicious?" he asked. He has meant to turn it into a joke, but his companion didn't notice that.
"Look… it has nothing to do with you, personally. I don't trust anyone and I have my reasons. And no, I'm not going to discuss them" Carth added again before Revan could say anything in response. "So can we just keep our mind on more important things?"
"I consider this important" Revan insisted.
"Alright, alright. You're pretty damn tenacious, you know that? We'll talk about it… but later. Right now I just want to get going" he answered, clearly allowing him to know, that the conversation was over.
Revan was now left to his own thoughts. And these thoughts were about Carth Onasi. This man intrigued him. He was a wise soldier, that was sure. He was a little paranoid, but that wasn't anything bad, in his opinion. It was certainly better than to be naïve.
He also could connect facts into some reasonable conclusions. That was rare amongst the soldiers, even those of a high rank. But Carth was different. Revan took a mental note to know that man a little better later on.
But he had to focus on his task at hand. Later he would find a possibility to get to know that man. Right now he had to find a way to recapture Bastila.
Bastila was laying in a prison cell. She didn't know what was happening around her. She couldn't focus her mind. And when she tried to open her eyes, she couldn't see anything. Her vision was hazy.
She felt that she was in trouble. Only a little amount of the Force was coming to her, but she could make out the warning it cared. And something else came to her as well.
A deafened sound. A message. A voice, that said one sentence. She knew, that this voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it with the person it belonged to.
I'm coming for you, Bastila, was the last thing she has heard before she passed out again. Somehow that short message comforted her.
Okay so here is another chapter. I hope you liked and if you did, then let me know about it by commenting, adding this story to your 'favorites' and following. More chapters coming soon ;D see you next time guys!
