The time has come for KotOR 2 to make its way into this story. Of course, it will be different than the original so I hope that I'll keep you entertained at least partially during the upcoming chapter XD. So, say goodbye to Revan (temporarily of course XD) and say hello to Meetra Surik!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 16
Atris, Q'Anilia, Zez-Kai-Ell, Raana Tey, and Lucien Draay were sitting in a small orbital shuttle above the planet of Katarr. Feln and Xamar – the last two members of the Jedi Council were in the Temple on the planet's surface, greeting the arriving Jedi and assuring that the rest of the Masters would appear soon.
Three months have passed since the Jedi were exiled from Coruscant. During this time, Atris and the rest of the Masters did their best to find Revan – they sent Jedi in every corner of the Known Galaxy, yet it was to no avail. Moreover, this decision proved to be disastrous for the Jedi Order. Not long after sending the Jedi, the members of the Order began to disappear. Yet when the Masters of the High Council tried to focus their attention on that case, they couldn't find anything through the Force. Even on Tython where the Force is strong, they couldn't locate the source of this anomaly.
The only thing that they were able to discover on Tython was that the source of this anomaly were the Sith. They hoped that it would lead them to Revan but those Sith were different than those from the recent war. Those of the Masters who were more sensitized to the Force trembled a little when they felt Malachor V in those new Sith. It was the same feeling that they had during Meetra's trial. But it wasn't enough for Atris. If anything, that discovery got her even more angry as she remembered the Jedi Exile. She tried a few more times – usually with other Masters but sometimes even on herself, but always to no avail.
After a few failed attempts, Master Q'Anilia proposed to change the place in which they tried to focus themselves. She offered her homeworld – Katarr as a place of mind and spiritual purification. That planet was galaxy-renowned for its inhabitants' strong connection to the Force. Atris and the rest of the Masters approved that idea and summoned all of the remaining Jedi from each and every corner of the Galaxy to return to Katarr. The reason for that was the Council's assumption about the Sith appearing seemingly out of nowhere. The Jedi Masters assumed that the mere Jedi presence was capable of luring those Sith out of hiding. Following that reasoning, they've decided to gather all the remaining members of the Order in one place – Katarr.
Their plan was simple – lure the Sith out and destroy them, ending the growing threat before it could get out of hand. And so, the five Jedi Masters were waiting, floating steadily above Katarr, waiting for their enemy to go out of hiding.
"I sense something approaching us" Master Q'Anilia informed her companions. Her Force sensitivity was additionally escalated by the Jedi conclave on the planet below. "I sense… great darkness" she added after a moment of hesitation.
"It's the Sith" Atris concluded. She shifted her position on the chair, observing the never-ending blackness of space. Her patience was now going to be rewarded.
"I have a bad feeling about this" Zez-Kai-Ell said as he also started to sense the incoming threat. "Something about them seems… familiar."
"It's the Dark Side" Lucien countered, not sharing other Master's worries. "It's always the same."
"Not this time" Master Raana replied, agreeing with Zez-Kai-Ell. "It's not only the Dark Side that we feel."
"Whatever it is, we'll find out in a moment" Atris interrupted, silencing them.
As if in confirmation of her words, a ship dropped out of hyperspace. It was only one cruiser – a familiar one for that matter. It was severely destroyed in several places and was approaching the planet of Katarr slowly.
"A Centurion-class?" Q'Anilia queried, visibly surprised. "I haven't seen a ship like that since the Mandalorian Wars" she added.
"It is Revan's ship" Atris commented; a small smile found its way onto her lips.
"This ship… it's from Malachor" Zez-Kai-Ell realized; his voice cracked on the last word. "It carries the echo from that planet with itself."
"Contact us with Masters Feln and Xamar" Atris ordered. "Tell them the Sith are here and that they must be ready to…"
Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted. All of the Jedi Masters let out simultaneously a voiceless scream of agony, as they watched and listened to what was happening in front of them. They've all heard a dreadful voice within their skulls, speaking an alien language – the one they could not recognize.
Atris focused her strength on blocking the alien voice and kept her gaze on the planet below. She froze still at the sight in front of her. She could literally see a Force wave spread across the Katarr's surface. No bombs were dropped, no shots fired – only words spoken. It quickly spread throughout the planet's surface, swallowing it all.
At the same time, another voice reached her. Or better said, thousands upon thousands of voices. She and the rest of the Jedi Masters clearly heard the screams of Jedi gathered on the planet below. Cries of agony, cries of death.
"Lucien, bring us out of here" Q'Anilia pleaded, regaining her senses as the first one of their group.
The Jedi Master did as he was asked to and quickly typed in some random hyperspace coordinates. They left the Katarr System before being noticed by the Sith.
"I can't believe what I've just witnessed" Raana commented as the first one of them who dared to speak about the recent events.
"That ship… it was from Malachor" Zez-Kai-Ell repeated. "That's what I felt familiar about those Sith – that echo that we've all heard in the Exile."
"This echo… it traveled with this ship" Q'Anilia added. "As if it was a part of it. And the same echo resonated on Katarr after… after it spoke" she added fearfully. Only now did it struck her that she's just witnessed an annihilation of her homeworld.
"When it spoke, I felt strange. I felt as… as if the Force could die" Lucien Draay summed up, speaking for the first time. "I've felt and heard thousands upon thousands of lives being torn away from the Force, their screams." The other Masters confirmed with small nods of their heads. "Atris, what are we going to do now?" he asked, turning towards the Grand Master of the Jedi Order who was still sitting silently. "Atris?" he repeated his question when he received no answer.
Atris took in a shaky breath and her lower lip trembled. "I… I don't know" she admitted shamefully.
*Five years later*
"I sense her on that ship" Traya informed. During their travels, she changed her robe from the black one she usually wore to the brown one. She, Atton and T3 were sitting in the cockpit of the Ebon Hawk in the Serenno System in the Outer Rim. They were watching the Republic Hammerhead cruiser – the Harbinger. It was hovering above the planet while dozens of small vessels were traveling in both ways. From the looks of them, they must have been the transporters.
"Finally" Atton sighed. Revan has sent them on that quest five years earlier and both of them began to get annoyed by it, to say the least. "How did you even track her here?"
"It was difficult to find her, but not impossible" she replied. "And that's all you must know. We must act quickly."
"What are you proposing? Should we board that cruiser?" Atton asked with mockery in his voice.
"You will board that cruiser, assassin," Traya said, ignoring his tone.
"You must be kidding me" he laughed humorlessly. "And what am I supposed to do there? Go on some kind of a killing spree and slay everyone on board?" he laughed again.
"I won't tolerate any more disrespect from you, assassin" Traya snapped at him, choking him through the Force. "You will board this ship and use your skills as a Jedi Hunter to get her out of that cruiser and transfer her to the Ebon Hawk. Is that clear?" she asked, receiving only a few grunts from Atton. "I think so." She loosened her grip on his throat.
"And how am I supposed to get there?" he asked, massaging his neck.
"Don't ask me, I'm not a pilot" Traya replied, not wanting to get into a further discussion.
"Fine" he snapped. "T3, try to get us as close to that cruiser as you can," he said, also deciding to not talk with Traya anymore. "We'll attach ourselves from above, right at their top sluice" he ordered; a plan already beginning to form inside his mind. The droid beeped a few times in response. "Stop it – you know I don't understand that noise." T3 beeped sadly. Atton only rolled his eyes.
The droid did as he was told to do – the Ebon Hawk began to approach the Harbinger, remaining in its blind spot. "Steady as she goes," Atton said, keeping his hands above the controls of the ship. "Alright, we've landed" he commented. He only hoped that they remained unnoticed.
Atton stood up from his seat as the pilot and left to his quarters. He grabbed his gear – a personal masking shield and a pair of blasters and headed towards the rear sluice of the Ebon Hawk. He lowered it down with the controls and connected it with the Harbinger's sluice and opened it. Beneath he saw an empty corridor of the cruiser. After attaching the masking shield and turning it on, Atton jumped down and closed the sluice behind him.
The corridor was empty, luckily for him. Trusting his instincts, Atton turned right, feeling that this path would lead him to his destination. It wasn't long before he encountered first soldier patrols. As he expected, no one noticed him. Atton sneered. This is all too easy, he said to himself.
It became even easier when he eavesdropped on the soldiers' conversation. He quickly learned where he was supposed to be heading to. And as he walked, a plan began to form in his mind. Instead of going straight to the Exile's quarters, Atton headed towards the medical room. He used the opportunity when someone walked out of there and entered the room. Luckily, it was empty. Except for a strange body floating in the Kolto tank. After looking about, Atton grabbed a few syringes, filled with a yellow liquid and a doctor's robe and a face mask. He hid the syringes and the mask in a pocket of his jacket and the robe in his breast pocket and left the medical room.
Atton turned towards the direction where the Exile's quarters were bound to be. He bypassed all of the soldiers that were patrolling the corridors. The quarters weren't far from his current position and he reached them rather quickly. He hid behind a pile of crates and deactivated the masking shield. He slipped into the doctor's robe and put on the mask, hiding his face. As soon as he was done, he revealed himself from behind the crates and approached the entrance to the Exile's quarters. Well, here goes nothing, he said to himself and opened the door.
"What is it?" a woman inside asked. She had her blonde hair cut short, barely reaching her lower jaw. Her blue eyes were unfocused as if she even wasn't there. The clothes she wore showed her form pretty well, much to Atton's delight. Nice Exile, he wondered to himself and smiled beneath the mask.
"Oh, nothing, really" he replied with his usual, bored tone. "I was sent here to give you an injection or two. A standard procedure for the new people on board. We wouldn't want an epidemic outbreak here on the ship, would we? Especially while being in the hyperspace and we'll be making a jump in no time."
"Fine" the Exile replied, turning away from him. She was sitting on the bed, her eyes cast at the wall on the right to her, unfocused.
"You'll feel a little sting" Atton warned, approaching her. He took out one of the syringes out of his pocket. "If you could roll up your sleeve, I would be grateful," he said. The woman in front of him didn't reply – only did as she was asked to. "You're not talkative, are you?" he queried, finishing the first injection.
"Do your job and leave" she replied, not even looking at him.
"Fine, won't say a single word," Atton said, giving up on making any contact with her. He emptied four syringes in her veins.
"Was that amount really necessary?" she queried, finally looking at him. He shrugged.
"To do my job, yes. I'm supposed to get you out of here at any cost" Atton replied, taking off the mask and the robe. "And in order to do that I needed to drug you unconscious," he said honestly. The Exile had no time to react as the injections began to work on her. Her eyes regained focus for a split second before rolling back into her head. She fell back on the bed. Good thing she was sitting or she might have hit her head while falling down. "This is all too easy" Atton commented once again. Now the real problem began – transporting the unconscious Jedi without attracting notice. And the masking device could only hide one person.
"Attention on deck!" a voice from the speakers said. "We've had a breakout in the medical room, all soldiers on standby!"
Perfect, he mused. Deciding to go with his recent disguise, Atton slipped back into the doctor's robe and attached the masking shield to the Exile's arm. He picked her up and turned the device on and as a result, her body was hidden from everyone's eyes.
"Damn, you're heavy" he breathed out, cursing silently under his nose. With the Exile unconscious in his arms, Atton left the living quarters.
"All soldiers, report on the bridge!" the same voice said through the speakers. "We need help in… Argh!" the voice was cut off. "I'm coming for you, Jedi," a different voice said, a darker one.
What the hell was that? Atton wondered, glancing at the Exile who was still hidden by the masking shield. The soldiers were bypassing him, not paying him any attention at all, despite his unnatural position. Fortunately for him, the alarm gathered everyone on the bridge and that allowed him to move freely across the ship.
It wasn't long before he reached the spot where he entered the Harbinger. The sluice was closed, just as he left it.
"T3, unlock the rear sluice," he said, contacting the droid via his communicator. T3 replied with a series of beeps and bwoops. "Once again you're talking, and once again, I can't understand you," Atton said. A few seconds later, the sluice was opened. "Traya, I could use a little help here. She's not the lightest Jedi and I won't be able to climb the ladder with her in my arms" he contacted his companion. It wasn't long before Traya appeared above him.
"Quickly, we don't have much time" she rushed him, lifting the unconscious Jedi through the Force. "Our enemy has tracked us here and we must run," she said as soon as Atton made his way back into the Ebon Hawk.
"What enemy?" he queried, panting slightly from all the effort.
"I'll explain it to you once we leave this system" she replied. "Go into the cockpit and take us out of here" she ordered, carrying the Exile to one of the spare rooms in the ship. She used the Force to disable the masking shield.
"Where are we heading?" Atton asked, detaching the Ebon Hawk from the Republic Cruiser.
"Set the course for Telos" Traya ordered, joining Atton in the cockpit.
"Shouldn't we return to Revan with our prey?" Atton queried. "He ordered us to find her."
"He asked me to retrain her" Traya corrected him. "And there are things she must experience before returning to war. Now get us out of here."
Atton knew better than to argue with her. He learned it the hard way during their travels. He obeyed her command without saying a single word of complaining.
"Jumping into hyperspace in three… two… one…" he counted down. But that's when they ran out of luck. Or as Traya would say, the Force wasn't with them in that specific moment.
Just as they were about to disappear in the hyperspace route, the Harbinger fired upon their ship. It was already too late to stop their jump into the hyperspace, but still, the cruiser's guns managed to hit the Ebon Hawk's engine.
"Holy shit!" Atton cursed loudly. The alarms went off in the cockpit. A few diodes glowed red, indicating that the Ebon Hawk took some critical damage. "One of our engines is offline!"
"What does it mean?" Traya queried, for once wanting to hear what Atton had to say.
"I'm pulling us out of hyperspace" Atton informed her, sitting back at the controls.
"Why?"
"Because if I don't, there's a good chance our engine will explode. And if it happens in the hyperspace, the parts of the Ebon Hawk will be able to be found in different sectors of the Galaxy" he explained her. Traya didn't say a word. "I'm pulling us out" he declared, pulling the lever. The blue and white colors of the hyperspace moved over for the blackness of the empty space.
"T3, check what you can do with the engines" Atton ordered. The droid rolled towards the back of the ship, heading towards the exit to the top of the ship.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Traya asked, deciding to let Atton take the charge.
"Check our passenger" Atton replied after a moment of thinking. "I'll try to stabilize the ship and land us somewhere safe."
"Where are we anyway?"
"In the Peragus System" Atton informed after checking their coordinates. "There's only one place where we can land here – the Mining Facility on Peragus II."
"Do your job" Traya said, leaving the cockpit.
"As if I was planning to do the opposite" he murmured to himself.
They were approaching the asteroid field steadily, floating towards the destroyed planet. Atton thought for a split second that they were relatively safe but these thoughts quickly disappeared from his mind.
A sudden explosion shook the entire ship. It was a wonder that Atton didn't hit his head on the consoles, but he heard T3 flying through the ship, letting out a terrified series of beeps.
"What again?" he asked himself, checking the scanners. They didn't show anyone in the system except for them. "Fuck" he cursed again. The engine has exploded and the explosion caused them to change the destination in which they were traveling. Now they were heading in the opposite direction to the Peragus Mining Facility.
"T3, see what you can, do" he ordered, as he ran past the droid. The astromechanical unit managed to stand up again. Atton rushed towards the room where Traya and the Exile were. He cursed again when he saw what happened.
Traya was laying unconscious, right next to the Jedi Exile. Apparently, the explosion caused her to hit something which resulted in her blacking out. Fortunately, she wasn't bleeding. At least Atton didn't see anything.
"Old witch" he commented quietly.
Deciding that he would take care of them later, Atton left the room and headed towards the exit of the ship. Apparently, T3 already used the elevator to get on top of the ship.
"How's it going, little one?" Atton asked via the communicator. The droid replied once again with a series of beeps and bwoops. "Alright, I see you're safe and sound out there," he said.
Atton turned from the elevator and headed towards the back of the ship, wanting to reach the machinery. But the door to the hyperdrive was locked – the effect of the explosion.
"T3, the door to the machinery is locked and I can't get inside" Atton informed the droid. "Stabilize the engine and then try to reach the hyperdrive from above." The droid once again confirmed in the way Atton didn't understand. He rushed back to the cockpit.
There were more diodes glowing red than the previous time he was there. And there was some glowing yellow which indicated some serious, but not critical damage. But there was no good news in that.
From all the systems, only navigation remained untouched. The hull integrity was failing, as well as life support. But the hyperdrive and the engines were offline. If things didn't improve fast, the life support system would also go offline and then, they would suffocate in the vast emptiness of space.
Atton did his best to stabilize the other systems but there was little he could do. After a few minutes, the only thing improved, but it wasn't due to his ministrations. The hyperdrive returned online but the engines were still failing. Soon, T3 returned to the cockpit.
"Good job, little one" Atton praised the droid for his actions. "Guess you're not a useless bucket of bolts after all." T3 bounced, proud of himself. "But we'll die anyway if we don't land soon. The life support system will soon go offline as well and then we're done. And we have two passengers who need the medical help as soon as possible" he said, once again taking control over the Ebon Hawk. It took him some effort, but he managed to put the ship back on the course, heading towards the Peragus Mining Facility. "Well, here goes nothing" he commented as they began to approach the asteroid field.
Okay, alternating the original story so it fits my previous chapters is much more difficult than I anticipated XD So, let me know what you thought of my version of the Hawk arriving at Peragus. And see you soon ;).