Zephkiel, a young Republic recruit, awoke to the explosions, completely oblivious to what was taking place. He rose from his bed, the fatigue still leaving him clueless to the attack. He could not so much as reach for his gear before another soldier entered the cabin.
"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet!" the man exclaimed. "The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up - we don't have much time!"
The man's words did not sink in fully, and Zephkiel asked the first words that came to mind, "who are you?"
"I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet." the man explained. "I'm your bunk mate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before."
Zephkiel shrugged, a small gesture to show that he really did not plan to hear the man's life story over such a simple question; a name was all he was after.
"Now hurry up," Trask interrupted, "we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive!"
Zephkiel had now realised what was going on, but the explosions had died down a little, and so, he felt a false sense of security, seeing no need to rush off just yet. "Who's Bastila?" he asked casually, slightly amused at Trask's urgency and anxious stance.
"Bastila's the commanding officer on the Endar Spire." Also lulled into a false sense of security, Trask relaxed a little. "Well, not an officer, really. But she's the one in charge of this mission."
"And?" Zephkiel asked, slightly annoyed at having to risk his own life for a mere title.
"One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission." Zephkiel had completely forgotten about the oath he had sworn, though, this did not really surprise him due to his problems with memory recollection. "Now it's time to make good on that oath!" Trask again interrupted.
Zephkiel's mind had been elsewhere the day of the oath, and he smiled to himself as he realised he had dug himself into another hole with his thoughtless agreeing and playing along.
Still not interested in wasting his time looking for this commanding officer, he pointed out, "she has her escorts, does she not? Let them handle it. We can't really offer much more than them."
Trask shook his head. "I've heard all about your reputation: elite combat training, tops in your class. It's no wonder you were hand picked for this mission." Zephkiel cursed under his breath, but Trask did not skip a beat. "Word is the officers haven't seen a recruit with your kind of potential in twenty years." Zephkiel knew Trask was still not content with his verbal onslaught, and so, Zephkiel casually waited for the man to continue. "But all that potential doesn't mean a thing if you can't deliver when it counts!"
Zephkiel snapped to attention at the obvious attack on his character. He was not so keen on defending his ego, but he now saw this mission for what it truly was; a challenge. A sly grin crossed his face and he replied enthusiastically "okay, let's go help Bastila!"
"So hurry up and grab your gear." Trask was not impressed with Zephkiel's cryptic nature. "You need to suit up so we can get out of here."
"Okay." Zephkiel wasted no time pulling out his equipment from his footlocker. He threw on his clothes, hardly fitting to be called armour, but equally heavy due to the backpack. Zephkiel slipped a few medpacs into the bag, as well as some stimulants. Sliding his short sword onto his belt, Zephkiel grabbed his blaster rifle and turned to Trask.
"Okay, let's move out." Zephkiel headed for the door, rolling his eyes as Trask saw fit to add even more dialogue to the mix. "We should stick together; you'll have more success with a party than on your own."
Zephkiel, irritated by the constant disruptions, threw a glance at the man, choosing not to verbalise his distaste. He walked over to the door and tried to open it, but it would not budge. Hanging his head, he already knew Trask was just waiting to open his mouth again.
"Because of the attack this room is in lockdown, but don't worry - I've got the override codes." Feeling somewhat proud of his importance, Trask added "you'll have to use me to unlock the door."
Zephkiel sighed, unwilling to accept the man's necessity. 'Okay," he replied, stepping away from the door.
Trask walked over to the dorr hastily and input the codes. "Now that the door's open you better take the lead again."
Zephkiel shook his head. "Just great," he muttered to himself. "I have a rookie soldier afraid of combat clinging off me."
Running forward, Zephkiel was again interrupted, only this time it was not Trask. "This is Carth Onasi - the Sith are threatening to overrun our position! We can't hold out against their firepower! All hands to the bridge."
Zephkiel turned to run, but Trask stopped him, feeling a need to dribble out another set of useless and irrelevant facts. "That was Carth contacting us on our portable communicators. He's one of the Republic's best pilots! He's seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire's crew put together."
Zephkiel threw a glance at Trask to say that the difference lay only in what was down on paper, but Trask did not take the hint. "If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to held defend Bastila!"
"He didn't even mention Bas-" Zephkiel protested but Trask cut him off.
"There's a map of the Endar Spire and a copy of Carth's message in your electronic journal, just in case we get separated."
Zephkiel sighed, knowing he would not be able to put up with Trask much longer. "Let's move out," he said bluntly, an indication for Trask to shut his mouth.
Zephkiel headed to the next door, only to find it was again locked. He threw an unimpressed glance at Trask, who wasted no time. "That door's locked. I don't have the codes to open it, but I can use my security skills to slice into the access panel and open the door."
"So stop talking about it and do it," Zephkiel growled, low enough for Trask to not hear him. Trask ran over to the door and spent a few minutes fiddling with it before the door finally opened. On the other side was a Republic soldier, shot down by the two enemy soldiers before the others could assist.
"These Sith must be the advanced boarding party," Trask pointed out. Throwing his arm into the air, he yelled "for the Republic!" before running into battle.
"Lay off the video games..." Zephkiel muttered, shaking his head as Trask foolishly confronted the Sith.
Knowing Trask would not stand much of a chance against trained Sith soldiers, Zephkiel rolled sideways through the door, blaster rifle at the ready. Zephkiel fired a few shots at the Sith, effectively drawing their fire. The range was far enough that Zephkiel was more than safe, but Trask ran forward and drew his sword, choosing to take on one of the soldiers via melee.
"At least he stands half a chance this way," Zephkiel muttered; moments later Trask overpowered his opponent, with only seconds before Zephkiel's target succumbed to the blaster fire.
Running forward, Zephkiel was thrown to the floor as an explosion destroyed the door beside him. Shaking his head, he rose to his feet and headed over to the droid caught in the explosion, if only to salvage some parts that he could later use. Finding nothing, he turned and resumed his pace through the hall.
The second he opened the door, Zephkiel felt himself twisting to the side, watching a blaster bolt as it flew past his face. Levelling his gun, Zephkiel fired at one of the two soldiers before him, whilst Trask closed in to lower the distance to a range he could contribute. Dropping the enemies, Zephkiel searched the room, finding himself a combat suit and a long sword. Smiling to himself, Zephkiel dropped the backpack and donned the armour. He threw his rifle to Trask and took to his dual blades, deciding he would have a little fun. He had a little experience in dual wielding, but he was hardly an efficient fighter just yet.
Twirling his blades, Zephkiel put them to the floor and went through the backpack, taking out the supplies and fitting them into the pockets on his suit. Picking up his swords again, he twirled them impressively before continuing on through the ship.
In the next hallway, he came across several Republic soldiers fighting the Sith, but they were cut and shot down with little resistance. Two soldiers managed to hold their own, even as a Sith closed the gap between them and attacked with a sword. Zephkiel almost thought they stood a chance, until a Sith threw a grenade into the fray, taking out all three combatants.
Zephkiel shook his head at the nature of the Sith and raised his blades, charging into the battle. Five Sith stood before him, but he cut the majority of them down with sickening ease as Trask picked off the others from a distance.
"Impressive," Trask noted.
"The Sith are trained for long-range combat. They're hopeless up close," Zephkiel pointed out as he searched the bodies for weapons, supplies and credits. Seeing a droid further along, he headed over to it, only to have it blow up before he reached it. Rummaging through the pile, he found a few parts he could use, before he headed back to the only working door in the room.
He could hear lightsabers clashing, and as he opened the door to the fight he saw two Jedi fighting. "It's a Dark Jedi!" Trask exclaimed. Zephkiel ran in to help, but Trask held him back. "This fight is too much for us - we better stay back. All we'd do is get in the way."
Zephkiel pushed the man off him and ran in anyway, waiting for an opportunity to join the battle. He watched as the fight raged on, neither side showing an opening. Eventually, though, the Dark Jedi overpowered the other Jedi and prepared to finish the job, only to find Zephkiel had slashed him across the back when he had lowered his defences. The Jedi stood to thank Zephkiel, only to be thrown to the ground by a grenade. Zephkiel managed to hold his ground, and turned to find another two Sith soldiers.
Zephkiel cut the two soldiers down before they could even line up their shots, before turning to the Jedi. Checking for a pulse, Zephkiel shook his head. "She's dead," he explained to Trask.
"That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila," Trask pointed out. "Damn, we could have used her help!"
Zephkiel rummaged the bodies again, tilting his head at a vibration cell on the Jedi's body. Pocketing it, he turned and continued onwards, finally reaching the bridge. Zephkiel wasted no time joining the battle, but an explosion rendered the majority of the soldiers, both Republic and Sith, dead. Cutting down the two remaining soldiers, Zephkiel turned to Trask.
"Bastila's not here on the bridge - they must have retreated to the escape pods! We better head that way too."
"Flee?" Zephkiel questioned, somewhat unfamiliar with the notion.
"The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!"
Zephkiel shook his head and turned, reluctantly heading towards the escape pods. As the pair continued on their way, Trask ran ahead. He ran over to one of the doors before them and said "there's something behind here." Trask opened the door and, to his surprise, there stood another enemy. "Damn - another Dark Jedi!" Trask exclaimed. No longer overcome with anxiety, his fear replaced with adrenaline and notions of grandeur, Trask ran forward, sword drawn. "I'll try and hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go!"
"Don't be stupid, Trask! Get back here!" Zephkiel moved forward to assist, but there was an explosion and the door malfunctioned, slamming shut. "You stupid idiot," Zephkiel muttered. "We could've taken him together."
Zephkiel shook his head and walked away, continuing to the escape pods. "This is Carth Onasi on your personal communicator," he heard. "I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems."
"And?" Zephkiel asked casually, not particularly interested in what Carth had to say.
"Bastila's escape pod is away - you're the last surviving crew member on the Endar Spire!"
Zephkiel shook his head at how little Trask had managed to hold off his opponent, but he was interrupted by Carth. "I can't wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods!"
"Whatever," Zephkiel dismissed, breaking into a slight jog.
Coming around a corner in the hall, Zephkiel caught sight of another Sith Trooper. He ran up to the soldier, swords drawn, and proceeded to dodge all the incoming strikes before cutting down his opponent.
Running into the next room, Zephkiel dropped another two troopers before Carth contacted him again. "Be careful!" he warned. "There's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door! You need to find some way to thin their numbers."
"Suggestions?" Zephkiel asked.
"You could reprogram the damaged assault droid to help you, if you have enough repair parts."
"Anything else?" Zephkiel asked, not too keen on taking on an entire squad.
"Or, you could use computer spikes to slice into the terminal and use the Endar Spire's security systems against the Sith."
"Sounds like a plan," Zephkiel nodded, running over to the terminal. Logging onto the computer, he accessed the camera in the starboard transport module. A large number of Sith Troopers stood there, armed and waiting to take out any Republic Soldiers that were unfortunate enough to stumble upon them. Slicing into the computer, Zephkiel overloaded the power conduit, effectively frying the entire squad within seconds. Waiting for the electricity to fizzle out, Zephkiel then entered the room to collect the spoils.
Catching sight of a prototype vibroblade, Zephkiel discarded his short sword, equipped the new weapon and continued on, before finally reaching the escape capsules.
"You made it just in time!" Carth greeted Zephkiel, the urgency in his voice evident. "There's only one escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!"
Zephkiel, still ignoring the threat of the Sith bombardment, intercepted Carth before he reached the escape pod. "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked casually.
"I'm a soldier with the Republic, like you. We're the last two crew members left on the Endar Spire," Carth explained, letting his guard down. Zephkiel shook his head at how easily the man was distracted, but Carth quickly regained his senses. "Bastila's escape pod's already gone, so there's no reason for us to stick around here and get shot by the Sith. Now come on – there'll be time for questions later!" Carth then ran for the escape pod and jumped in, beckoning for Zephkiel to follow.
Zephkiel paused before he entered the escape pod. He half considered staying behind and fighting the Sith himself, but realising the fragile state of the Endar Spire, he figured he would not even get to see another Sith before the ship was destroyed.
Sheathing his swords, Zephkiel hopped into the escape pod and sat across from Carth, looking out the small window.
The escape pod jettisoned out of the escape pod and headed planetward; Zephkiel watched as the Endar Spire blew up seconds later. The escape pod headed directly for Taris and barely missed several buildings as it crashed into the ground; Zephkiel was knocked out by the impact.