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Taris 1148 local time
The nightmare hit with out warning, one moment she was swimming in the familiar blackness that seemed to be her world, the next she was catapulted through that darkness straight into the midst of battle.
Jedi dark and light battling on the bridge of some unknown bridge. A masked figure, chuckled evilly as it cut down it's attackers, until it was faced by a woman. He could see the fierceness etched into the features as the woman battled her amber lightsaber spinning wildly in counter attack to the deep red of the masked figure.
Suddenly there was a pause in the battle, and she was once again yanked from the nightmare. She opened her eyes to a blinding ache and the dimness of glow lights. From a distance she heard someone calling her name, but it took her a moment before she could bring that voice into focus.
"…instead of thrashing around."
"Huh?"
"I said it's good to see you up instead of thrashing around. That must have been one hell of a nightmare, you've been out for three days."
"Sorry Captain, I guess a head injury isn't the best thing to get on top of a head injury." She managed to form a smile as she gingerly levered herself into a seated position on the bed. It was only then that she took a look around. Her eye returned to Carth, questioningly.
"We're in an abandoned apartment on Taris, you were hurt but luckily I wasn't. I managed to pull you out of the escape pod before the authorities arrived and stash you in here. I've patched the gash on your leg up but we should really get you to a doctor just to be certain that there's no permanent damage." Slowly she spun until her feet where over the edge of the bed and she allowed them to rest on the floor.
"I've managed to do some scouting around, and it seems that some escape pods crashed down into the Undercity, we need to find a way down there and search for Bastila."
"Wouldn't she be able to take care of her self? Being a Jedi and all."
"That's not the point Lieutenant, she's the Commander of this mission. Not to mention invaluable to the republic war effort. We're soldiers and as such we do our jobs, this is our job."
"Yes sir, sorry sir. I just… I'm not particularly fond of Jedi."
"Your entitled to your personal feelings Lieutenant but they can't be allowed to interfere with the mission."
"Yes sir, we should start looking. The sooner we start the sooner we can get off this rock."
"That's not going to be easy, the Sith have placed Taris under interdiction no ship leaves or enters the system until they find what they're looking for. My guess is they're after Bastila, that should make it easier on us - they wont be looking for a couple of grunts. We can stay under the radar and maybe track her down."
"Yes sir." Carefully she levered herself into a stand position testing her sense of balance. When she didn't fall flat on her face she smiled and her eyes caught the Captain's.
"We best get moving, and Lieutenant we should probably stick to our first names, we don't want to reveal our presence in any way."
"Yes si…I mean yes Carth."
"Why don't you go get cleaned up and we'll head out." Nodding gingerly she headed for the 'fresher unit. In less then ten minutes she'd managed to clean most of the grime off but she didn't even dare remove the bandage that covered her left temple. When she was finished she head back out into the apartment, catching Carth's eye she strapped on her sword before they turned and headed towards the door.
It had no sooner opened the they where confronted by a group of Sith.
"This is a Sith raid, I want all of you alien scum up against the wall… NOW!"
"What now? The Sith searched our homes only yesterday." The Duros spoke out in his alien language. He didn't get the chance to speak again as he was cut down in a hail of blaster fire. As the guard turned he spotted them leaving the apartment.
"That's what Sith do to Alien scum…What do we have here? Humans living with aliens. There Republic fugitives…Kill them!" He ordered the two battle droids at his side.
Flicking a brief glance at Carth she withdrew her melee weapon and ducked sideways even as blaster fire flashed through where she had just been. Turning with the dodge she brought the double blade down in a swing that took the firs droid out. Pivoting on her left leg she caught sight of Carth as he fired at the Sith, catching the man in the throat before he could use his comm to alert others to their presence. Again she brought the sword forward in a downwards arc that cleaved the second droid in two.
When she straightened she watched as Carth approached, she took notice of the admiration in his eyes as she turned to the one remaining Duros.
"Ixgil, should have learned when to keep his mouth shut. Thank you for your help humans."
"Wont you get in trouble for this? What about the bodies if the Sith are searching this much then they're bound to find them."
"Do not worry human, I will make sure that the bodies are moved to make it look like they where killed somewhere else." With that she watched as the Duros called over to some of the other aliens lingering in the hall. Even as she watched them get organized and begin to gather the dismembered droids together, she was already on her knees rifling through the Sith's pockets.
"Just what the hell are you doing soldier?" Carth asked his voice disbelieving. She looked at him for a moment before she realised he honestly didn't understand.
"We're stranded on a hostile world, with few - if any - supplies. I figured that we're going to need all the help that we can get. If that means stealing from the scum of the galaxy then I'm more then happy to do so." She watched as the struggle fought out in his mind, his eyes giving away the inner battle. She realised in that moment that this man had true honour. Something that she had never come across before and it gave her an unpleasant feeling to do something so distasteful in his presence. She waited for his hesitant nod before she continued stripping the supplies from the Sith officer.
When she was finished, she stuffed the spoils into the backpack and stood. The added weight set her off balance and her head seemed to spin for a moment before she felt an arm on her shoulder steadying her.
"First things first we're getting you to a medic, I want to make sure that, the knock you took to the head hasn't done too much damage."
"Yes sir." together they moved towards the elevator, they where just about to step in side when, Raven noticed the frightened human woman scurrying back inside the apartment next to their own. Along with the credit slip that fell to the floor, as the woman slid back inside.
"I'll be back in a moment sir." With out giving Carth a chance to answer she slipped back out of the elevator and ran lightly down the corridor until she reached the fallen slip. Scooping it up she knocked on the flimsy door and waited. I head appeared in the crack that opened.
"What do you want?" the voice was frightened and full of suspicion.
"You dropped this out in the hall ma'am and I didn't want someone else to take it." the eyes that looked back at her where filled with disbelief but a tiny hand slid out and she place the slip carefully into the palm. There was a murmured thank you before the woman began to close the door. With out thinking Raven stuck her foot out to stop the door closing. The angry hostile look that met her eyes burned.
"What do you think your doing?" a Whisper in her ear told her hat Carth was stood behind her, for once she ignored his presence.
"Look I don't want to frighten you or anything but I just wanted to check that your alright. We're staying next door and well you just looked like you where scared of something. If there's anything that we can do, you know where to find us." the woman met and held her eyes before nodding.
"There isn't anything you can do, not unless you know how to get a bounty off someone's head."
"What happened?"
"I work in a cantina in the lower city, this slime ball tried to take things too far, ended up with a Vibroblade across he chest. The scum but a bounty out on my head, I don't have the money to take it off."
"What is this slim balls name?"
"Holdan, he works for Davik Kang, the local exchange boss - you can see why it's a problem."
"I'll see what I can do." The scepticism grated but then it always had, she'd find a way to help.
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The office of Zelka Forn was as uninspiring as every other medical facility that spanned the galaxy, and she hated them. Fidgeting was not something she was prone to do, but she couldn't help it she hated medical facilities.
"Will you sit still? It's like trying to examine a child." The Doctor didn't have the best bed side manner either. She growled low in her throat in an effort to contain her need to ram the sensor somewhere no sensor was meant to go.
"Relax Lieutenant, we're nearly finished." Her movements stopped as she snapped her focus onto the doctor. "What you didn't think I'd notice the fact that the only way you could have gotten this kind of injury is from a high velocity impact - such as an escape pod. You don't need to worry, either of you" His eyes flickered over to Carth who despite the reassurance looked worried. "My son served under you on the Intrepid, Captain. Jerin Forn, you where like his hero, there isn't a chance I'd turn you into the Sith."
"Thank you, and thank you for taking care of the other survivors, I'm guessing that it is you. What we really need is some information on the under city - can you help us?" Even as Carth spoke Zelka finished with the last stitch and patted her shoulder, she was up and out of the seat as fast as she could move. The man no longer looked like such an ogre now she wasn't under his tender care.
Forn motioned for them to head to the back room and the followed, inside she spotted the kolto tanks and the Republic soldiers inside. She walked up to the nearest tank and placed a hand over the glass.
"I take it you knew him?" Carth asked as they waited.
"Chief Petty Officer Lain Crude. He ran the Pazaak games on ship, this was his last tour. His wife is expecting their first child - he was a good friend." The overwhelming sadness surged over her a hopeless feeling that she couldn't prevent. To her surprise Carth pulled her back against his chest and squeezed her shoulders. She allowed her body to relax against his as the tears slipped from her eyes.
"We all loose someone in war Lieutenant, its not the way we'd want it but the price for freedom is always high" She managed to nod before she heard the footsteps moving back into the room. She pulled away, standing up straight and brushed the tears from her lashes as she listened to Carth and Zelka talked she memorized the images before her, she wouldn't forget. This was the reason they where fighting, to stop this from happening to other families. In the distance she heard Carth thank the doctor before taking her arm and leading her away.
"We need some kind of disguise if we even want to make it down in the Lower city, Zelka suggested that we head over to the cantina and see what we can find." At the mention of a cantina she perked up and shot him a grin.
"I know the perfect way to get us more credits." His gaze was wary as she rummaged inside her pack and extracted the Pazaak deck. "Relax Captain I can't even remember the last time I lost a game."
"That doesn't fill me with confidence, considering your tendency towards head injuries."
"Why Captain. Was that a joke? Way I figure it we're going to need some equipment, not to mention food, the best and most none lethal way I could think of is with Pazaak. There are other ways of course Taris is well known for it Duel rings, I wouldn't mind knocking the snot out of some of these 'noble' Upper citizens…" He was already shaking his head, at that idea so they had to settle with Pazaak - for now anyway.
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