S/N: There are many parallels in side stories within KOTOR such as the swoop gang war and the tales of the Outcasts likewise there are many obstacles to finding Bastila. I don't detract from significance of side quests, they are still important, I just try to write them to seamless with main story. As often to complete the main quests the sidequests usually find completion during an attempt to finish the current stage of the overall story arc.
A long ago uprising had brought the Outcasts' progenitors to this place, but time has long since come for them to move pass this realm according to Rukil. Gendar, the village leader, sees the merit in Rukil's words, but cannot see how to accomplish this nor does he entirely share the belief of a Promised Land. Carth and Borden bid the woman farewell and head in the general direction of Rukil's tent house. The elderly man is tending a dimming fire so Borden offers up some rags left over from his old clothes to keep the fire burning awhile longer.
"Thank you for your offerings upworlder…" responds Rukil.
"I understand you talk of a Promised Land, that your people have places to go beyond here, but I would ask you how would you or your people get there?" replies Borden.
"The journals, there are three, one belongs to my missing apprentice, the other two are family chronicles lost with my grandfather and my father during their years as the village elder or as some would whisper now, the village heretic or nutcase… take your pick or not…"
"I am not here to slide one way or the other, but I think we can help each other out, I know the Rakghoul disease has been afflicting the residents of the villages down here in particular, I know there is a treatment or a cure to be had…"
"You know who has it? Who has the medicine?" asks Rukil.
"A healer in the upworld, in the Upper City, told me the Sith, armored faceless upworlders have it, carry it on them, to protect themselves alone…"
"I have seen upworlders pass through here wearing such looks, but you would have to gain Gendar's permission to venture outside the walls, and we do have a sealed section with those infected by the Rakghouls, if you find anything to help them return immediately…"
"You have my word, not as an upworlder, but as a man, as one being to another…"
"Truly humble, but as you already know my response… I leave you to your journey…"
Gendar directs them towards the perimeter where they have a brief turn with the village's merchant, another of the greed variety, which Borden politely dismisses in order to bypass him to the village gate. A handful of villagers are gathering there as the presumed keeper is arguing with two others about someone stuck outside running from the Rakghouls. Borden charges ahead and demands the keeper open the way for the man stuck outside.
"You fool! If I open the gate, we will be overrun, infected, wiped out by ourselves in a diseased state…" retorts the Keeper.
"I will fend them off, just let him back inside before they get him…"
"You are truly brave and foolish upworlder, but I will get him if you fight them back…"
Borden leads the way as Carth takes aim from the entryway after Borden pushes the younger man towards him. The villagers get the younger man, Hendar, the rest of the way inside. Borden cuts down the last of the nearby Rakghouls, but hides a wound one gave him a split second ago by wrapping an evenly cut cloth around his forearm. The woman, Hendar's companion, thanks them immensely before rejoining Hendar and the others.
"You really know how to work a crowd, but we have to be more careful out there because there are bound to be more of these things slinking around… I see someone else… I think it is Mission…" remarks Carth.
"I think you are right… she seems upset… something must have happened in the Sewers…"
"You have got to help me, it will take too long to get any Beks down here, besides Sith security only lets people down here with passes now… Gadon must have given you one from the last patrol we overwhelmed when they got snoopy at our doorstep…"
"What's wrong?" asks Borden.
"They got him, they got Zaalbar, they were going to get me, but Z threw himself in their path, he's probably their prisoner and eventual slave to sell to the Czerka slavers, the corporate arm of the Sith though nobody admits that directly, its still suspect…"
"We'll help you find him, Gadon sent us to get you to take us in through the back door…"
"We get Z back, I'll take you there myself, our deal, my promise…" replies Mission.
Several Rakghoul encounters later, the trio finally finds a soldier's corpse with vials of Rakghoul serum, the antidote to their mutagenic disease. Borden sends Carth with Mission towards another corpse nearby to retrieve one of the Rukil's requested journals. In an alone moment injects his infected forearm with the serum to see if truly works, the discoloration fades, the perspiration decreases, and the strain to hold focus lessens, so it works, fortunately neither Carth or Mission caught on to his condition as anything more than fatigue of a sort.
"We'll need to double back to village to inform Rukil of our progress and get some of these vials to the infected Outcasts," says Borden.
"A brief detour to the village then back to search for Zaalbar, I am game, you strike me as the thick and thin type when we were first met at the Cantina" remarks Mission.
"I keep my promises, help where I can, not to be preachy or anything, but there are things that I must do along the way to my intended purpose…" replies Borden.
The Outcasts exit the quarantine zone to rejoin their people and families with the clearance of the Healer. The Healer alongside Rukil profusely thanks them for their efforts, and Borden informs Rukil about his apprentice though insists he will continue the search for the other journals. Rukil nods and returns to his fire tending while they back to search for a way to the Sewers. Two wrecked Republic escape pods are found during the search for access points, and one surviving infected soldier. Borden injects the man with one of the remaining vials.
He tells what he knows about a team of thugs taking Bastila away from the other pod that they probably saw down here. The spooked man runs off, but it is cut down by nearby Rakghouls. The trio cuts them down as they advance towards the escape pod wreckage. Borden takes point with Mission between him and Carth as they trek towards another probable access point. A squad of mercenaries comes jogging out towards them and two of them raise their weapons at Borden.
"No time for this, we have to keep moving now!" shouts a scarred man.
"Who are you…" asks Borden.
"Someone you do not want mess with…" answers one of his men.
"Turn around and leave like we are if you want live, damn Rakghouls are killing everything that moves out here even themselves…" retorts the scarred man.
Another pack of Rakghouls charges towards the group of them. Everyone engages, but the few remaining mercenaries fall by the way side leaving the scarred man to take the survivors away. He shouts his prior warnings to Borden before leaving, and Borden turns around as if appearing to follow the advice until the mercenaries are no longer in sight. The trio reverses direction again back towards the access point and descends into the Sewers.
The switchback between snuffing out Rakghouls and sticking Gamorreans is time consuming though necessary since Mission cannot account for all their numbers aside from the ones that ambushed her and Zaalbar earlier. A malfunctioning sentinel walker proves useful in breaking through the group guarding Zaalbar. Mission uses her available tools breaks through the old locking mechanism on the doors of Zaalbar's cell. The Wookiee lumbers out half starved, half mad from the captivity.
He looks first at Mission with a sad happy expression to see her alive, safe thanks to these humans, but specifically the one called Borden. Zaalbar stands slightly upright before starting to speak to him. Mission's eyes widen as her friend continues his tirade to Borden. Carth looks on in confusion before Borden turns to him and says what Zaalbar told him.
"A life-debt?" reply Carth and Mission in unison.
"You sure about this Z…" continues Mission.
"Life debt is a tremendous honor among Wookiees, but I have rarely heard or known anyone that has been given one…" remarks Carth.
"It is because they have rarely come to trust outsiders, our friendship is a big thing, but this is bigger than anything I'd expect Zaalbar to do for anyone…"
"I also return your weapon to you, your bowcaster…"
Zaalbar makes the traditional gestures and responses then reclaims his weapon. The search for the other journals resumes in due time after taking some food from their backpacks. The remaining 'natives' from the Sewers are troublesome at best, trying at worst. The journals are put in a secured backpack for the trip back to the village. After several hours of wading through the sewers and fending off new numbers of Rakghouls, the group arrives back at the village. The ill-meaning merchant attempts to broach the topic again, but Zaalbar's glare spooks the man into silence.
"Rukil, I have the chronicles, see here..." says Borden after taking a seat by the fire.
Carth and Zaalbar take up guard outside Rukil's tent. Mission warms herself by the fire inside while Borden and Rukil talk about the entries for awhile. The group accompanies Rukil to Gendar's hut across the way. The village leader takes stock in the literal proof of the journals and spreads the word to the villages to gather here for the journey to the Promised Land. The gathering thanks their prodigal 'upworlders' for the journals as the guide posts to their new homeland.
The caravan is set to head out at first light with enough supplies for several weeks travel including a cache of Rakghoul serum from Zelka Forn and paid for by Borden who with Mission takes the vials for mass production at Zelka's Clinic. The few amenities allow the group to clean up at the apartment before heading back to the Sewers to get into the backdoor of the Vulkar base. The run in with the rancor is short after using a combination of mass dosage sedatives and a couple of grenades. The back door guards are taken out by a reflecting series of shots from Zaalbar's bowcaster.
Mission takes point as Borden and Zaalbar sneak into the droid maintenance room to tinker with the shut down battle droids. The reprogrammed sentries engage their active counterparts effectively silencing nearby resistance. The Duros bartenders prove to be tricky, but Borden gets the indentured waitress out of the line of fire. A recon by Mission reveals that the entrance to Swoop Garage is under watch by cameras and turrets. Borden hacks the security terminal with the help of Gadon's infiltrator and bypasses the lockouts without the keys.
The power conduit overload trick works to take out the most of the remaining base's personnel. The infiltrator heads out after signaling that he is a mission for Brejik to check on the other leaders who intend to back Brejik after the swoop race victory. The guards at the main entrance allow the infiltrator pass while the others head back towards the lift to the Swoop Garage. Borden trades the blades for a pair of blasters and leads the charge again into the Garage to find it vacant except for a pair of swoop bikes.
Mission goes to work on the defunct droids nearby as Borden and Zaalbar keep an eye out for Vulkars. The droids assault the loading bay alongside Borden and he takes what he can from the strong boxes. Zaalbar and Mission ready themselves as Borden comes around from the right out of the loading bay. The duo moves down from the left as a squad of Vulkars charge out heading in Borden's direction. Borden however appears to vanish after activating a stealth field belt found in one of the strong boxes.
The mines go offline one by one until the way is clear. Mission and Zaalbar scurry after Borden's stealth ripple. The Garage Office is to the right if the informant's information about the layout is correct. The mechanics put up a slight fight, but duck for cover when Zaalbar enters the area. Borden leaps over the desk and hacks the terminal while Mission bonks one of mechanics with the paperweight after he knocks the blaster from her grip. She giggles before Zaalbar tosses a handful of spare parts at the others, which knocks them.
"Great shooting back there Big Z!" she shouts with a grin on her face.
Zaalbar growls happily in reply just as Borden nods to acknowledge that the security protocols are offline. The path to the Engine Lab is clear, but cameras reveal a handful of Vulkars including one of Brejik's lieutenants is there guarding the accelerator. Borden and Mission head out after hearing the spare swoop bikes explode in the garage, which diverts a few Vulkars to that location after the ones guarding those swoops were killed by the blast.
The stragglers swing around only to meet a spray of blasts and bolts in their general return route. The trio continues towards the Lab, and enters to face a numbers situation. The lieutenant raises his arms to hold back the shooting with a proposition. Borden again twitches in irritation for the appeal to self-interest motives. He takes aim as the lieutenant, Kandon Ark, moves to him. Borden's shot lands square between Kandon's eyes. Zaalbar tosses some of the others while Mission bonks the rest or shoots them.
"I got the accelerator, time to go," says Borden.
The trio falls back by degrees to the elevator and ride back to the main level of the base. The long way would require going back through the Sewers and the Undercity back to the Lower City. The short way presents the probability of encountering any Vulkars between them and the Beks base. They take the shorter way, and naturally run afoul of the Vulkars patrolling the strip outside their headquarters. Mission is hit, Zaalbar throws her over his shoulder, and Carth emerges as planned to grenade the remaining Vulkars if necessary.
Mission is taken to the medbay in the Beks base, and Zaerdra is expectedly ready to kill Borden for allowing her to be hurt. Gadon takes Zaerdra back with their medics after they have taken care of her blaster burns. Borden sits with Mission for the rest of the evening with a somewhat anguished look on his face for allowing this to happen after the almost clean escape. The other route felt just as dangerous, so a decision had to be made, and from this he recalls Trask's death only days earlier aboard the Spire.
Zaalbar brings Borden some food, which certainly catches Zaerdra's attention. She looks to Gadon then back to Borden who is also being met by Carth returning with fresh clothes given to him by Zelka who also had also sent a runner by earlier to deliver medical supplies for the Beks. Gadon had that look of a man who understood without physical sight. Zaerdra turns around and sits on the table as if she were caught between crying and smiling in the same moment.
"I want hate that guy for endangering Mission, but the way people react to him makes that impossible Gadon!" groans Zaerdra.
"He did not shoot her, they did, he got her back here as fast as he could afterwards, and with a bit from us and somewhat more from him, she is still kicking, still with us…"
"As usual you never fail to reassure me that just because someone is not a Bek, does not mean it is unlikely to count on them, the fact that he got backing from Mission, positive sounds out of Zaalbar and Zelka of all people…"
"Zelka was always a good judge of character plus he told me that they kept their lips zipped about him treating Republic survivors from that ship, which happen to be the same ship they were on… the race is tomorrow and we are all going to need sleep…"
"Especially our rider if he is going to pull this stunt off… what about our infiltrator?"
"He reports that the Vulkars are fuming about the loss of soldiers, broken swoops, and a 'stolen' accelerator though the incident was put the other way to Brejik's supporters in the other gangs…"
"Naturally if he wants to keep them on his side he has to keep making us villains and a martyr spread for his dead followers…"
"Enough shop talk for now, Borden and Carth are coming over to talk…"
"Hello Zaerdra," says Borden.
"I am sorry for the way I spoke earlier…" replies Zaerdra.
"You were right in some ways, I kept her out of the line, and I had calls to make as we made our way out after a clean swipe, however, I am grateful for the fact that she is still alive, that we are all here to see this through…"
"You really have a winning support line from those around you, even from the likes of Gadon, and maybe I was wrong to be so stuck given the gang wars that been on us for a long time now…"
"We were both right, both wrong, but at least now, we can agree on some things, so I will see you all in the morning, been a long day."
Borden settles into spare quarters set up for him and Carth. Carth settles into sleep quickly enough though shifts around much. The sleeping arrangements had not been this good for him after six nights of constantly watching his back or the doors in the Upper City. The Beks' support made things quieter and less frantic. Borden however could not find sleep after having been out of it for days. He heads towards the medbay to check on Mission, sound asleep, as if he had been expecting this. Zaalbar is sleeping a roll-up next to her bed on the floor.
He wanders on to the base's dining hall where more than a few Beks are being night owls or early birds, depending on personal conceptions of time. Some raise their glasses to him and others pay no mind. He asks for a Deralian Sunrise, but the bartender has not a clue how to make one though for some reason Borden knows it exactly so asks for access to the drinks. He mixes a few up for sampling as others grow curious about his concoctions. The samplers ask for more and soon everyone is slightly drunk from a Sunrise.
Gadon looks to pay Borden a visit before the race only to find his bed already vacant as morning rolls around. Carth expresses a similar confusion until they find snoozing in a chair in the medbay with Mission and Zaalbar looking down at the worn out fellow. Carth calls out his name and the still slightly intoxicated Borden is held up by Mission who is still sporting a wrap bandage on her forehead where her headband usually can be seen. Gadon has a waiter service Borden a light meal in order to get some of the alcohol of his system before the race.
The swoop under heavy guard is taken to the Beks' secured berth at the track. A trio of Beks takes Borden to the track while Gadon shows the others to his private observation deck. Mission sits between Zaalbar and Carth while Zaerdra arrives with a tray of drinks. Gadon takes his usual spot in a chair set to give the best angle of the swoop launcher while Zaerdra brings his usual drink to him after passing out the rest. The track announcer comes over the speakers with the opener's lineup.
The time is now, the drive is me, the swoop is nothing, and the will is everything!
The swoop jumps from the starting position towards the scattered array of booster pads. Gear shifts, air currents, sweat drops, sharp turns, moment twists, and in a blur the run is over. Borden leaps off the swoop as it is sent back to the gate while the Vulkar rider completes his run beating out Borden's run by mere fractions of seconds. Borden glares at the floor knowing it is not over by a long shot, not the race, not rescuing Bastila. He saddles up again and revs towards the pads a second time.
The swoop becomes more than a blur as a strange sensation flows through Borden as he lets go of the physical surroundings of the Lower City swoop tracks. The lanes vanish, the crowd falls silent, and the ride and the rider merge together. Infinite blinks later, the second run is done, and Borden steps off with a familiar calm across his face as he sees the on-lookers and the rest just before the sound erupt like an explosion. The track announcer again awards top scoring to Borden who has broken not only his own record, but all records ever set by anyone on these tracks. The Hidden Beks have won the season opener and Bastila is free from the Vulkars by victory terms of the swoop race.
"Hear me people, the Beks have cheated, the bike has a prototype accelerator, an unfair advantage, which is why I am withdrawing the slave portion of the prize…"
"You are violating the swoop races oldest traditions!"
"I am the future, and my word is the new tradition!"
The gate of Bastila's cage breaks open and she leaps outward seizing the downed Vulkar's double blade. Brejik looks towards her with disbelief and orders the remaining Vulkars to kill her, to kill the rider. Borden and Bastila move in tandem to take down the Vulkars while the crowd flees the area. In the viewing platform, Gadon's sadness is obvious to the others, Mission and Zaerdra with Zaalbar head back to the Hidden Beks base. Carth heads for the nearest path down to the tracks, but finds his route full of fleeing spectators.
"I am leaving now, so you best get out of my way, I know they are not your allies, I know you are the so-called swoop champion, but I have more important things to do then to be your prize girl!" remarks Bastila.
"My involvement in the race was never about the actual win, it was about taking this on in order to get you back, to rescue you, and to do that I had to align myself with the Beks among other things to find you" replies Borden.
"I am also not a concubine to any man!" retorts Bastila.
"You really do misunderstand me, I am a survivor of the Endar Spire, and comrade to Carth Onasi!" shouts Borden.
"Carth is alive?" asks Bastila.
"Yes he is waiting for me, for us, so if you put that laser sword away, we can get back to him, and deal with the next part of the problem of getting off world and so on…"
Bastila switches off her lightsaber and clips it to the belt of her tattered clothes before recovering her civilian garbs. The pair returns to the Beks base to find Carth waiting for them alongside Mission and Zaalbar. Gadon has gone reclusive following Brejik's post-race behavior and mourns his passing. The potential war between the gangs is no longer a possibility given Brejik's violation of swoop traditions.
"Bastila!" says Carth.
"Carth, I mean Captain Onasi, it is good to see you alive, but why send an ordinary soldier to deal with the ground work of getting me out, where were you during what took place at the track?" inquires Bastila.
"They only allow the riders and the swoop crews down at the track plus the spectators were in a panic when the Vulkars began openly attacking the crews, the riders, and you."
"I believe I understand, so what is our next move?" continues Bastila.
"We really spent the last two days working through how to get to you, before that it was working our way to get down to the Lower City among other things, the Sith occupational forces are substantial, and the only way off the planet is a fast ship with the codes to bypass the auto-turret guns on the Leviathan."
A messenger enters with a holographic beacon from a runner. It is setup to the table's holo-transmitter. The scarred man's image frazzles into view. Their attention is on him as he begins to speak his proposition. Borden pays particular attention as something about him seems more familiar than their previous encounter in the Undercity.
"Quite a show down at the track, the race and the fight afterwards, you have more since struck me as a man who gets results between the duels, the bounties, and now the race, I ask a meeting at the Cantina across the way from the Beks' base, you and two others at most, no more…"
"An opportunity to say the least, he is a mercenary leader for Davik Kang, owner of the Ebon Hawk, fastest ship in the Outer Rim," says Zaerdra.
"How is Gadon?" asks Borden.
"It will take some time, but I believe he will come around, Brejik had been like a son to him and something of a potential leadership figure if he had paid more mind to the ways of courtesy, kindness, and other things Gadon had tried to impress upon him…"
"Yes, the student has got to want to listen otherwise it will bring only misery in the end."
"It is more than that Bastila, but there will be another time for that…" remarks Borden.
Carth and Bastila stay behind to 'catch up' or rather argue some more. Borden however berates both of them before going to see the mercenary leader. Bastila as being a leader is more than seizing the reins, bickering with your comrades and for Carth's insensitivity for Bastila's captivity after the crash despite her being Jedi. Both move to countermand him, but he is already out the door before they can retort his statements. However in small ways realize Borden is right to dismiss their behavior out of hand.
The Cantina music is loud enough to cover the plans being made between Borden and the mercenary leader, Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian soldier turn merc after the Wars. The plan is buy Davik's astromech, break into the Sith base, steal the codes, get out and back to an agreed meeting place before going to Davik's Estate to get hijack the Ebon Hawk. Borden and Bastila head for the Upper City alone together to retrieve the astromech necessary to bypass the security locks/systems at the Sith Base.
The droid merchant sells them the astromech at the mention of Canderous and then head for the base. The droid, T3-M4 bypasses the locking mechanisms after a few minutes of scrambling through combination codes. The ride up into the base is short and Borden bribes the secretary then gets to work on hacking the nearest console. Bastila fights off near by Sith uniformed agents. The trio work their way towards the interior sections that will lead to the office where the codes are being kept.
The usual tricks still work, which almost surprises Borden though he heads off blades drawn with Bastila dashing off after alongside the roving T3-M4. The spotless corridor leads to a medical store room full of supplies, which they take some of for later. The trio bypasses the nearby barracks since Borden's handy has left the troopers stuck or dead behind most of the doors on this level. A Duros in a force cage calls out to Borden when they cross into the adjoining holding area. At the Duros' suggestion, Borden enters the deactivation sequence by tapping the middle switch, then the far left one, and lastly the far right one.
The Duros, the one from the Upper City South apartments, thanks him for returning the favor paid earlier by disposing of the remains of the Sith they had fought together a few days ago. Borden likewise reminds the man that so long as they help each other it would always would be better somewhat. The path to the lift to the Sith governor's office is clear aside from the sentinel droid guarding the lift's vestibule. Borden grinds away at it with his blades while Bastila comes at with her yellow double blade swinging. Time slows down as Borden watches her finish off the droid and she looks towards him almost heaving with sweat on her face.
She recognizes the look on his face almost as if he remembers something from somewhere else. She shuts off her lightsaber and heads for the elevator lift. He joins her while reinserting his swords into their sheaths. Borden instructs T3 to wait up here for them, which seems almost curious to Bastila, someone considering a droid's safety ahead of his own.
"I thought we were in this together," asks Bastila.
"We are, but I prefer to keep him out of being chopped by any lightsaber carriers for now, not that you would harm him, though the Sith or Dark Jedi are less likely to be as caring or defending as you…" replies Borden.
Two Years Earlier…
Revan rolls over after the ship to ship firing had nearly blown a hole in the ship's bridge. It is a struggle even to stay awake and just then Bastila appears hovering over him. She removes his mask to reveal his cut up face behind a smile for her safety. A thin stream of tears runs down her face. His mind begins to slip, the eyes strain to stay open, and so she commits the unthinkable, a bond between them to save what is left of his spark of life.
After the space battle ends, another team of Jedi arrives to search for survivors of Bastila's team only to find the bodies of the dead strewn about until they reach the bridge. A fatigued Bastila is meditating near an unconscious Revan; they take his lightsabers from her. They move to take him away as he awakens with his usual hazel eyes that are brighter than the old Sith eyes. Bastila follows after the other Jedi carrying the unconscious Revan to a secured location aboard his flagship, which is jumping with the rest of the remaining Republic warships that are eventually jumping to Dantooine.
"Why save me?" she questions the unconscious form of Revan.
"For the children that we were, for the feelings we still hold for each other…"
"You risk much by thinking that among other things you have told me…"
"A life without taking risks is an empty one…"
"Somehow you always manage conviction of voice even in this state…"
The Present…
"You dare to intrude on my sanctuary," roars the Sith governor.
"I dare, and you are going to get out of my way."
Bastila's lightsaber comes between them, but Borden brings the down the last Sith in the base with a swipe of his blades. He retrieves the codes and swipes what he can from the governor's quarters. They hurry back to T3 and make their way back to the concourse outside the base to elevator. Bastila in her haste forgets to conceal her lightsaber drawing the attention of the trooper guarding the lift. Borden slams him head on before he can alert the other nearby troopers.
"You took quite a risk there with that one…"
"Someone had to shut him up before he exposed us to the unit patrolling the street…"
Carth and Bastila accompany Borden to his second meeting with Canderous who is again there ahead of them. However the negotiations from the last time are still incomplete and unlike before he has come alone. An odd play for a Mandalorian though likely has his reasons for it. Carth takes a seat opposite Canderous while Bastila remains standing with her lightsaber up her sleeve ready for drop down for activation. Borden orders a tray of mixers while Canderous drinks his usual bourbon.
"Care for a Deralian Sunrise?" asks Borden.
"I will take one, so I gather you are even more adept than I initially thought?"
"One Sunrise and yes it seems I have talents I never thought I had or had not been tapping into…"
"The only way is to smuggle at least two of you into Davik's Estate is for you and the other to pose as potential recruits for the Exchange brought in by me…"
"How will we get the others once its time to ride off into the sunset?"
"We will loop around for a rolling pickup…"
"I better have your word on this Canderous…"
"Believe me I am a man of word, if not anything else, I have not forgotten what it means to be honorable even if these Sith seem lacking in that way, they have their devices as does the Jedi like your lady friend there trying to hide her training…"
"I would take care what you say to me Mandalorian… I have no reason to trust you aside from you having access to the place that may facilitate our escape…"
"I have no great trust for you either, the only Jedi we Mandalorians felt respect for fought us in the Wars, and you know who I mean when I say that… so do we have a deal?"
"It's a deal, Carth, you are coming with me and Canderous," continues Borden.
Bastila leaves the Cantina to rejoin Mission and Zaalbar to await news about the trio that is going to Davik's Estate. She can only hope and worry watching the men take another real risk out of her hands for the moment. Mission looks up to see Bastila returning alone. Mission runs up to her to ask about the others and Bastila tells her the news.
"You let him go with just Carth and that Mandalorian…"
"It would be harder to sneak either of you given Davik's connections to Czerka, maybe not so much you, but there is a point to allowing them to do it…"
"I hope you are right because I have a bad feeling about this…"
"I hope so too though this will not end well, things like this rarely do…"
"Davik, I am sure you recognize the man to my left, this year's swoop race season opener champion, and victor in the fight afterwards…" remarks Canderous.
"I do Canderous, so why are you and this other fellow here tonight?" asks Davik.
"Canderous here made us an offer, more of a promotional visit here, since we had an interest in moving up, using our talents for an organization, not contractual one shots."
"I see, I can respect that, and your performance on and off the swoop was eye catching, so I will show you around then we will see about jobs for you and your friend."
The tour lasts a short while though one particular stop is worth noting for the escape, the hangar bay where the Ebon Hawk is kept behind security measures. Davik and his bodyguards drop them off at a secured suite. Calo Nord keeps a close eye on them during and after the tour before rejoining the other bounty hunters at the lounge just off the hangar bay. After a few hours of sorting through possible plans, the trio leaves for the hangar while activating the foothold protocol in the process, which gases rooms held by Davik's security people. Nord already had been with Kang in the hangar, which has its own separate system.
One of Davik's newest prisoners is a former Hawk pilot who provides them with security bypass codes to the ship. They head for the bay as the ground starts shaking, not an earthquake is the thought, which means the Leviathan is bombarding the planet from orbit. Kang and Nord look up to see them enter as ceiling fixtures collapse or shake around the gathering. Three to two odds is not in Kang's favor as fire from Carth and Canderous take him out with ease though Nord attempts to bury them with a thermal detonator, but it fails as the ceiling appears to collapse on the bounty hunter.
The Ebon Hawk is put through an accelerated warm-up so they can get it out of the bay before the building collapses on them too. Borden contacts Bastila who is leading Zaalbar carrying Mission out of the elevator into the Upper City. The Beks did try to follow them, but without Gadon, they felt it necessary to stay behind, perhaps if they were lucky pick up the Outcasts' trail. However the city is already crumbling around her, the fires are everywhere, people screaming, and worse by the minute. The ramp opens up in the midflight as Bastila leaps up with Mission over her shoulder. Zaalbar is still down there.
The Hawk descends slightly and so he jumps over the platform onto the hull. Borden heads back into the aft section to open up the utility lift to allow Zaalbar access from the roof. The Wookiee descends back down quickly and hatch is shut up again as Carth flies the Hawk towards an orbit escape vector while Canderous inputs the departure codes. The auto-turrets follow their track and Sith fighters launch after them once Karath realizes what is going on, why the turrets did not shoot them down.
"We are not out of this yet, somebody needs to get on the turrets hold off the fighters until we can make the jump," shouts Carth.
Borden and Canderous get on the turrets by climbing the opposite directions to the turret operator chairs. They rapidly put on the headsets and each does a jump start of the weapons system. The first pair of fighters comes around with four others hot in their wake. The operators follow their targets with the other fighters start taking pot shots at the Hawk.
"Come on you lousy shot!" yells Canderous at his first target.
"Easy Ordo, we need to get out here alive!" shouts Borden.
The first pair is blown shreds and they move to secondary targets while the remaining two are still pecking away at the shields. The second flight is blown to bits and Canderous already takes aim to quickly destroy his third. Borden takes his time on the last one who is already frantic about being shot to pieces after losing all his wingmen. Canderous keeps looking for the last one not knowing its sticking to Borden's side of the targeting scopes.
"One shot, one kill," whispers Borden.
The last fighter is gone and the Ebon Hawk jumps away leaving Karath to stare at the distant fire of fighter wrecks. Fortunately for the moment Darth Malak will not kill him since up to this point he had been fairly good at satisfying his leader's orders. Malak looks to Karath once again with the look of finish this already so he orders total bombardment of Taris hoping Bastila is still down there though already worrying she was on that ship that got away a split second ago. A strike team sent to assess the damage below reports that the base had in fact been broken into a few hours earlier by Bastila and her allies.
A survivor is also brought in from Davik Kang's estate as it was his ship also got through the blockade. However Kang is among the dead so someone else is flying the dead gangster's freighter. Malak lifts up a nearby trooper and slams the grunt into a console with a display of his Force abilities again to the less than veteran command crew. Malak summons his Sith overseers to dispatch Dark Jedi to the search for the Ebon Hawk, but specifically Bastila Shan and Carth Onasi.
"You will find them, capture them, and if not capture then kill them!" orders Malak.
The hyperspace jump to Dantooine will take some time so Bastila takes up quarters in the port dormitory, but returns to the cockpit after taking a brief time to meditate alone. Mission heads for the starboard dormitory with Zaalbar, but he is already exhausted from all the lifting or jumping during their escape. She is almost restraining herself from tears in the ship's tiny medbay. Borden comes in and shuts the door behind him.
"I do not know what to do, everyone I know except you and Biz Z are either dead, gone, or something else" whimpers Mission.
"It is alright, let it all out, come here," whispers Borden.
"I know I said I am not a kid anymore, but all this… it hurts, its devastating…"
"I understand, but that's why I am here right now because you need me…"
Mission eventually manages to sleep and so Borden lifts her up to the medbay bed before covering her up with some spare sheets. He stays on a little longer before Bastila can be heard calling him over the com link about their ETA to Dantooine. He answers through the medbay unit to acknowledge and asks Canderous to take over the helm for a bit while Carth comes to the medbay.
"Carth I need you watch her for a bit okay," says Borden.
"I have got it," replies Carth.
The blackness of space becomes the blue skies over Dantooine. The flowing landscape spans the land masses visible from low orbit. Bastila transmits her identification codes to the Enclave's private landing pad control station. A response is sent back during the descent. Borden emerges from the corridor leading to the cockpit, Bastila looks back towards him searching for his face, and the look is one of vague familiarity, nothing more. Canderous engages autopilot before switching out for Borden.
"A beautiful world, skies as blue as the seas, I can see why an Enclave would be built here, there is calmness here, and I imagine the fragrances are strongest at sunrise or sunset…" remarks Borden.
"Yes, very much the marvel, eye catching landscape, very much like something Master Zhar would say about the grasslands that surround the Enclave, I have a feeling you two would get along well…" replies Bastila.
The Ebon Hawk passes through the sliding roof sections of the Enclave's outer edge. Enclave security drones patrol the landing pad regularly, which is told to the others by Bastila. She exits the freighter after telling Carth that she must report to the Council about the fate of the Endar Spire, and so on. He lets her go alone because it should be safe, they are out of danger for the moment, and so the others exit the ship to visit the Enclave's Market Courtyard.
"Masters, my return here was by that freighter that rests on the landing pad outside these walls, as you probably have heard by now the Endar Spire was attacked, destroyed, but as your eyes show you I am among the survivors…"
"Carth Onasi was also seen on the drone cameras as well as several others…"
"We had almost hoped that one of them in particular would not be returning…"
"Master Vrook, you cannot be serious!"
"Calm yourself Padawan Shan!"
"This is not the time for this, if not for his help she might not have had made it this far, so you will kindly and politely be silent!"
"Master Zhar, Master Vrook, please," implores Master Vandar.
"I owe him my livelihood as do the others with us, so you will show some respect even if you dislike the fact that the Council went against your decision regarding Revan."
"I am warning you all that accepting the possibility of training this man will have consequences that you cannot be ready for especially now" retorts Vrook.
"We will meet with him, with you, because the situation grows dire if we are to learn how Malak is amassing his fleets, his armies, but more importantly how to stop him."
Bastila turns to leave feeling Vrook's glare at her. Master Dorak departs to meditate while Zhar follows Bastila to the training room where they spar for a time. Vandar and Vrook can be heard arguing for a time before parting realizing that a schism within the Council is not something affordable at this stage. Zhar readies his lightsaber and follows Bastila's movements while detecting a familiar confusion within her except this time it is the man that brought her here, that got her away from the dangers on Taris. She strikes and parries as easily as she always had, but something is different, sleeker, colder though she is no less set on being a Jedi however the ease of the new man is challenging her conceptions.
Zhar had long ago learnt to read the body language of those around him. It had proven most effective in training of his students and beginning to know their minds. She stops abruptly and he follows suit shut off his weapon. Bastila collapses on a nearby bench and Zhar joins her.
"Something is troubling you again Bastila…" whispers Zhar.
"You always could read me well, but being around this man is making me uneasily, especially as he had visions alike to memories, moments from my past, when I fought Darth Revan…" continues Bastila.
"It is clear Force sensitivity has a role to play in this, but you left yourself open to having others experience something from you and you from them when you did what you did in the last duel with Revan…" replies Zhar.
"Should we train this man to be a Jedi?" asks Bastila.
"The Council is weighing and likely to grant the likelihood despite Vrook's contrary insistences…" answers Zhar.
Borden leads Mission and Zaalbar to the Enclave's visiting quarters where she showers for the longest time that even she can recall doing in her life though again her tears mix with the shower water. Canderous and Carth are still having their fill at the restaurant where they manage a hearty meal. Borden lays out fresh clothes for Mission and tells Zaalbar to keep a closer eye on her for the next while. As he is exiting the room being shared by Mission and Zaalbar, Borden collides with Bastila, and his arms become wrapped around her slim waist while her hands flung up to catch Borden's shoulders.
"This is a little sudden, is not?" chuckles Borden.
"Behave yourself man, there are Jedi in training that live in quarters nearby and some of them have fairly strong telepathic abilities…" replies Bastila.
"I was only teasing relax Princess…" continues Borden.
A slight smile forms on Bastila's face though it fades after seeing Carth and Canderous coming up behind Borden. She slips her hands down after Borden releases her and straightens up a bit. She leads Borden and Carth to the Council chambers while Canderous heads back to the Hawk to inventory and upgrade supplies knowing they will eventually be going somewhere. However even the natural beauty of the world is not lost on him.
Four Years Earlier…
A dark cloaked figure paces back and forth considering a decision long in the making since the defeat of the Mandalorians over Malachor V weeks earlier. The holocrons found there during the Wars reveal knowledge of something called a Star Forge. A technology that predates the current incarnations of the Jedi and the Sith. Another figure is about to speak, and the dark cloaked figure turns to face the second figure.
"Once we cross yet another threshold there will be no going back!"
The dark cloaked figure proceeds inward passing the tests put forth by the chambers' technological keeper. The two advance further into the larger chamber where a holographic platform unfolds projecting a holographic display of hyperspace coordinates that are blurred by swirling dust. The figure signals the other to copy the coordinates using the datapad recorder they brought with them. The dark cloaked figure continues to stare at the projection long after the recording process is complete.
The pair then fades away until even the chambers themselves too fade like someone else's half remembered vision of a dream. The flickering images of ancient technology, dark side energies, and a war in making loom on the horizons.
Now...
Sharp exhales follow as two witnesses awake to the present morning's coming dawn. Each clambers out of bed with a start and make their way to the Council chambers.
"You look like you have both seen a ghost," whispers Carth.
Carth had no idea how right and wrong he was in the same instance.
"It is becoming readily apparent that the training is in his future, we shared a vision of Revan and Malak in the Ancient Ruins here on Dantooine…" says Bastila.
"It is true that I saw what she was describing to you, but this is not the first time, we had others before on Taris except those were more recent if I follow what Captain Onasi told me about the events surrounding Revan's demise two years ago…" continues Borden.
A/N 1: Resumes from entry into Undercity and continues straight up to meeting after the first Star Forge flashback/vision. It seems like a lot to cover for one chapter, but I was kind of fast playing this part. Primary focus was on the Outcast journals, breaking into the Vulkar base, the Swoop opener, the Sith base break in, Davik's Estate, and the getaway. It happens over several pages so its not like I rushed, I just imagine it all very paced is all.
A/N 2: Daring to help the Outcasts he is (sorry had a Yoda moment). I figured I would have a way for Borden to win over the Beks other than just getting the swoop accelerator back. As for Zaalbar's lifedebt is part saving him from slavery and for trying his hardest to save Mission after she's been injured helping him in the recovery of the accelerator.
A/N 3: Borden again manifests visual cues of Force sensitivity especially when riding the swoop, how else could anyone fly that well.
A/N 4: Enter Canderous Ordo and Calo Nord as rivals working for the short lived Davik Kang. Likewise getting the Ebon Hawk happens. Based on the tirade between Ordo and Borden on the guns off Han and Luke fighting off TIE fighters after fleeing the Death Star with Leia.
A/N 5: Meeting and learning more about the Mandalorians of the KOTOR era basically sealed my fascination with their culture likewise their culture impacts the clones thousands of years later if you have read the the Republic Commando novels or played the RepCom game.