Have you missed me? I'm sure you have XD so here comes another one. I hope you still enjoy my story, and if you do, then make sure to leave a comment, add it to your favorites and follow it to be informed about latest updates. Have a nice read :D.
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Chapter 13
Revan sighed heavily, as he leaned against the wall in the Lower City. Normally fighting wasn't anything difficult for him. But the bloody armor he wore, restrained his moves. It made him clumsy and caused him to grow tired even faster. The Sith uniform was heavy. Heavier than the armor that he used to wear as the Dark Lord. And much warmer. He felt sweat running down his forehead under the helmet he had on.
He unclipped the piece of armor from his head and tossed it aside. He didn't care where it landed. Revan used the glove he had on his hand to wipe the sweat out of his face. Even though there was no fresh air here in the Lower City, it was still a big relief to have this bloody helmet off.
Around them laid dozens of corpses. The Black Vulkars didn't respond well to the arrival of two, dressed in Sith uniforms, men. And now they've realized how great was a mistake of attacking the new arrivals.
The dead bodies had red armors on. Their faces were visible, but it was a race Revan did not recognize. On each of the faces was a grimace of pain and fear. Certainly, the local gang didn't expect to be attacked by lightsabers, not to mention the Force lightning.
Revan knew that using his abilities was… risky, at least. But he couldn't hold himself. Until now, he didn't realize how much he enjoyed fighting. Or simply, killing. It was refreshing for him. It helped him to clear his mind and to achieve something close to peace, the Jedi always seek.
Rex also took off his helmet and tossed it away. He, just like Revan, had sweat on his entire face. He was panting heavily, resting palms of his hands on his knees. The air here, in the Lower City, was a heavy one. There was practically no access to the fresh air. There was only some kind of a window, that gave a possibility to look at the swoop bike race tracks. But no air from the Upper City could go through it.
Revan detached the metal pieces from his armor, leaving on himself only a black vest and trousers. At least the uniform was easily modifiable. Rex followed his lead.
"It might be good to hide them somewhere. We can get ourselves into a trouble if anyone finds the dead bodies" Rex suggested, panting all the time. Revan only nodded, still not being able to make out a full word. But for sure, he wasn't going to use his already exhausted body even more. He focused himself and lifted the corpses with the Force. Closing his eyes, he directed them to the 'window' and threw the bodies through it. They probably landed somewhere in the Undercity, but he didn't care.
Revan sighed with relief. Now, without these metal pieces, the suit was much airier. He picked up his lightsabers, which were laying on the floor, and clipped them back to his belt. He had to find some way of hiding them. It wouldn't be good if anyone saw him with the typical Jedi weapon.
He and Rex were about to head further into the slums, but one thing stopped them. A… clapping? They quickly realized, that indeed, someone was applauding. They turned around and saw a man, dressed in a light-colored armor. He was looking in their direction. Revan carefully hid his lightsabers behind his back.
"Well, well, well, that's an unusual sight, I must admit," the stranger said, walking up to them. "First, two Sith soldiers are coming down here, to the Lower City, and next they effortlessly kill the best Vulkar fighters. And finally, they turn out to not be the Sith. What brings you down here, strangers?" the man asked. Revan was taken aback. How long was this man out there, spying on them? And how is this possible that he didn't sense him?
"Who are you?" it was certainly good to know something about the odd-looking man. He had a beige-red-blue uniform on. It was more of a suit than actual armor. It didn't provide any good protection but was perfect for the heavy conditions of the Lower City.
But there was another thing in the man's appearance, that caught Revan's gaze. It was his eyes. They were white. But not like the blind man. They were… prostheses, he realized.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Gadon Thek. I'm the leader of the Hidden Beks" the man introduced himself, showing no signs of mistrust towards the two of them. "I judge, after what you've just done, that you're not the Black Vulkars, nor the Sith. And this gives me enough reason to call you my 'allies'" he finished, pulling out his hand. Rex took a glimpse at Revan. The man in response only shook slightly, almost unnoticeably, his head. The soldier visibly relaxed and took the offered hand, shaking it.
"My name is Rex" he introduced himself in response, letting go the other man's hand.
"And I'm Alen," Revan said, using his fake name. He also shook Gadon's hand, holding both of his lightsabers in his left hand. With that, the white-eyed man retracted his arm.
"I take it, that you have a reason to go down here. It's… unusual for someone to come here from the Upper City."
Revan thought for a moment if this man could be trusted. Gadon certainly showed no signs of mistrust, but the former Dark Lord knew better not to put faith so easily into the first met person. But there again, they needed help. They knew nothing about Taris' surface and they needed all advice about the escape pods from the Endar Spire.
"We're looking for something" Revan answered.
"The crashed escape pods?" Gadon asked with a smile. The former Dark Lord's eyes widened in shock.
"How did you…?"
"Well, this is the only interesting thing down here" Gadon explained. "And many came for it before you. The Sith, bounty hunters, also the Vulkars went to the Undercity, searching for something valuable. The question is now why do you want to get to the pods?" he finished, watching them with his white eyes. Revan thought that there was no point in avoiding the straight answer.
"In one of the pods was our companion" he began, eyeing Gadon carefully, holding his lightsabers behind his back. "A female. A young woman, in her late teens, around my height, brown hair, gray eyes" he described Bastila.
"Hmm… I'm not sure if I know who are you talking about" Gadon replied after a moment. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you much. Nor I or my men had found anyone in the pods. It's possible though, that we were simply too late. The only thing I know is that you should go to the Undercity. That's where most of the escape pods have crushed" he finished. Revan only nodded in response. He wasn't used to getting answers he wanted so easily. Normally, he had to threaten, or even torture someone, to claim the information he craved. He had no idea, why this so-called Gadon trusted them so much to share so many news. Revan never believed in this saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. It had no sense for him, but apparently, not everyone shared his point of view in that case.
"Why are you helping us?" he asked. This one thing intrigued him. He could, of course, enter the man's mind, but something was stopping him from doing that. For the first time in over four years, he respected someone's privacy. I'm growing weak, he realized. It was certainly nothing good. He had to fight that in his mind. He couldn't become a weakling, after all. If he escaped this planet, he would have many things to accomplish. And losing his strength certainly, wouldn't help him in that.
"I have my own motives" He responded, giving a clear signal, that the subject was cut off. Revan had to fight back the urge to rip this man apart, limb by limb, for the tone he used. NO ONE ever before cut him off. "Besides, I'm just returning the favor. You've saved one of my men, who was very valuable to me, so it's natural, that I should help you. Consider it to be acknowledgments" he finished. Now the fallen Jedi understood him a little better. But still, he didn't like the idea of something being hidden from me. Nevertheless, he respected Gadon's privacy.
"Thank you, Gadon," he said, pocketing his pride.
"The pleasure is all mine" the man responded with a slight bow. Revan, unwillingly, returned the gesture. "But I recommend you, to hurry up. Your companion can be in trouble if she was found."
"We set for her immediately" Revan answered. "And once again, thank you."
"As I've said, the pleasure is all mine, Jedi."
Revan turned around when he's heard that. But no one was in the corridor, except for him and Rex.
Carth woke up with a terrible headache. He felt a hard surface underneath him. He tried to move his eyes under his eyelids. It caused his head to explode in even bigger pain. The Republic's officer stopped his eyes. When he felt the pain subsiding, he decided to do one, extremely stupid thing.
He lifted one of his eyelids.
Immediately, his head again exploded. Carth felt dozens of swords impaling his head. It was a huge mistake. But still, a sense of duty has managed to get into his mind.
He knew, that Alen was counting on him. And even if he didn't know much about the mysterious Republic soldier, he didn't want to disappoint him. He was sure of that.
Carefully, he lifted his second eyelid. This time the pain was smaller, but still, it was there. With his now opened eyes, he could make out few things of his surroundings.
First were his two companions. They both were also laying on the floor, unmoving. But they were alive. Their upper bodies were moving slightly with their breaths. But except that, they remained motionless.
The second thing, that came to his consciousness, was the place they were in. He recognized it to be one of the many of the Taris' apartments. One, that has provided them the shelter they needed. And with the realization of what planet they were on, came one more thing.
Launching codes. It was his task. Alen asked him to get them. He actually asked to break into the Sith Military Base. Carth found this idea ridiculous. But nevertheless, he understood how important it actually was. Yet still, he didn't like it.
He tried to move his body. At first, his muscles didn't respond, but after a moment, his arms started to twitch a little. It was already some kind of progress in reclaiming control over his own body.
When he could move his hands freely, he tried to lift himself into a sitting position. It was difficult, but years spent in the Republic military made him as stubborn as many Jedi Masters, who lived on the Coruscant. He greeted his teeth and pushed downward with his hands.
There was a result. He felt himself lifting up from the hard floor. And when his arms were fully stretched, they collapsed. He fell back on the floor, hitting it with his face. He managed to turn his head a little, so the only thing that suffered was his cheekbone.
But he didn't give up. His companion was depending on him. He had his trust, and certainly, Carth wasn't going to let him down. He placed palms of his hands on the floor once again.
He started to crawl. Slowly. Centimeter after centimeter. His target was the wall, that seemed to be miles away. But he kept on crawling.
After what seemed like ages to him, Carth finally has managed to reach the wall. He placed his hands on it and tried to lift himself into a sitting position once again. This time, it wasn't as clumsy as moments before. After almost a minute, he was resting on his legs, his back placed flatly against the wall.
His companions were still fast asleep and most probably they weren't going to wake up anytime soon. He had to stand up. He had to start doing something.
Carth brought palms of his hands to his face and wiped it, trying to get rid of the sleepiness, that still held him. He took a deep breath, and, once again, placed his hands against the wall.
He used his arms to lift himself up fully. He had to regain the full control over his body. And in order to do that, he had to stand up. Slowly, he has managed to keep his balance only on his feet, with the support of the wall, of course. His legs were trembling, but still, he was in a standing position.
Once again, he took a deep breath, trying to calm down his shaking knees. He let go off the wall and took an uneasy step forward. It was risky, to say the least, but he had to try. And actually, he managed to walk on his own.
His steps were small, like those of a small child, who is learning to walk. But he wasn't a small child. He was a fully grown-up man. A soldier of the Republic. One of the finest actually. And he had the task at hand. He couldn't simply allow some alcohol to stop him.
With that in his mind, Carth started to make his way to the refresher. The cold water would certainly help him. He has managed to get there without falling down to the floor. He was proud of himself. If he could defeat a hangover, no Sith could stop him from getting those Launching codes.
He knew he should have been more careful. Using the Force left an echo. The echo, that was felt by all the Force-sensitive beings around. He had to reduce his usage of It.
But it brought him such a relief. To be able to use it again, after over two months. It was like being blind for few weeks and having one's sight returned. He couldn't help but enjoy the possibility of using the Force.
But he had to be careful. If Malak sensed him, the planet would be blown into a dust immediately. He had to restrain himself, even if only for few more hours or days. He was a former Dark Lord after all! He had many attitudes, and patience was one of them.
He cut down the Sith soldier, who was blacking a passage to the elevator, that led to the Undercity. The poor man thought, that he can stop the fallen Jedi and one of the best soldiers the Republic and his Empire has ever seen.
Revan stepped with Rex into the elevator. He only hoped to find any track of Bastila this time. Even her blood. That would be certainly better, than having nothing. He also hoped that Carth was at least trying to fulfill the task, he gave him.
He and his man didn't exchange any word. It wasn't necessary. He knew what had to be done, and Rex knew, that he was supposed to help his master in doing it. And talking when there was no need in that, was pointless. It's a waste of a time. The time, they didn't have that much.
We should have just killed him, the thought entered his mind. It was something that didn't let him be for a few days already.
A few days ago, he felt it. A stir. Or more precisely, an awakening. Like someone, who was in a coma, suddenly woke up. And it sent an echo. The echo, that was felt by most of the Force-sensitive beings in the entire Galaxy. And with that, the realization struck him.
They've made a mistake. He made a mistake. Allowing this man to stay alive. From the very beginning, he felt something wasn't alright. The whole process seemed to be… too easy. Like that wasn't something, he expected from the man. He thought, that he would respond in any way. That he would try to fight, to defend himself. But instead, he allowed them to do this.
And now this man was parsecs away. With his apprentice being responsible for watching over him. It was dangerous, to say the least. But it was also necessary. That man had the information, they needed. And now, he was beyond their reach.
He wasn't sure if his true self has shown up. But it was obvious for him, that the Force has awoken in this man. And that alone was dangerous.
He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He tried to concentrate his thoughts in order to speak with his friend. He needed her advice, and he needed it now. She felt too for sure.
We should have just killed him.
Carth sighed heavily again. But right now it was due to the relief he felt. The water helped him to get the rest of the hangover out of his head. And now he just had to wake up his two unconscious companions.
He decided to wake them up in the most efficient way possible.
He splashed the water against their faces.
In an instant, they woke up, looking around frantically. Their expressions were those of a surprise. They didn't know why they have been laying on the floor, nor why they had such a terrible headache.
"Get up! There's the work that has to be done!" Carth said, walking away from them to get his full equipment. He watched in silence as Fox and Wolfie started to stand up, only to fail miserably. He truly enjoyed this moment, and he was going to do absolutely nothing to help them. After all, everyone needed some fun, right? Especially during the bloody war.
That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, then you know what to do. Stay tuned for the next update. Also, the frequency of updating won't speed up I guess. I've decided to play KotOR again, to refresh my memories of the game XD. But still, the updates will be coming up at least two or three times a week. Personally, I didn't like much Revan's and Rex's encounter with Gadon, so be sure to leave your thoughts about this scene. I won't be offended if you say, that it wasn't written good, cause that's what I actually think XD. Till next time!
