And here's the next chapter! But First I would like to make a shout-out to my reviewers:
Nerwen Aldarion: The flashback scenes are going to be very important in order to fully understand the reasons "Why". Thanks for the tips! Let me know what you think about the flashback!
the voice in your head (): Yeah, there is tons of "walkthrough" KOTOR fics. I was going from something a little different. Well, at least in the that "little" became alot.
And also the people who alerted this fic:
Borachio, uberjjk, and amac1688
So, Without further adue:
Alliance of Convenience
The meadow was peaceful. And for the two five-year-olds that equaled boring. They soon spied a cave in the distance. With childish glee the youngsters headed for what would be (in their minds) the adventure of their lives. The brown haired girl stopped at the entrance of the cave and peered into its depths. "I don't think we should go in there." She said with uncertainty. The dirty-blonde haired boy turned to her and exclaimed, "Com'on Kaylee! It'll be fun!"
And with those words the boy led in to the cave. After traveling through the cave for a bit the two children came upon a split in the path. One looked like it led to a lit area and the other just led deeper in the cave.
The boy felt something, a faint tug on the edge of his consciousness, which beckoned him down the boy started to go down the path deeper when the small girls voice hesitantly rang out, "Revan! I don't think we sh-should go down there!" Revan turned to her and questioned her, "Why not?" "Because who knows w-whats down there?" She quietly replied. "It'll be fine. It's completely safe." Revan assured her. " 'Sides, Iff'in there was somethin' down there, I'll protect you!"
Kaylee was not inspired by Revan's speech and continued to shake her head. After a few more pleading statements Revan angrily said, "Fine! Your to afraid go down there? Then stay here! 'Cause I'm goin' down!" And with those parting words Revan turned and marched down the path, ignoring Kaylee's increasingly loud pleadings to come back.
Carth Onasi sighed. This was supposed to be an easy mission. The mission was supposed to be simple. Transport Jedi Bastila Shan to the Dantooine and leave. He supposed that this "Milk Run" was because he had just gotten out of phyc- eval. Still the mission had grated on him when he had first received it. "Who the hell where they to say he wasn't on top of his game?! If they'd gone through what he'd gone through…" Carth shook himself free of his thoughts and turned to watch the tossing figure on the bed. The source of his current problem.
The mission had been "flying smooth" until the halfway point anyways, then; everything hit the fan. A large Sith warship, with escorts, appeared from the "dark side" of the planet and caught them unawares. They had been quickly boarded. He had realized that Bastila would trying to reach the escape pods and so he had made his to the 'pod bay as quickly as he could. Stopping only to kill the Sith Animals that impeded his progress.
He had arrived from the engineering section to the Escape Pods only a few minutes before when Jedi Bastila Shan had been shoved through the door from Living Quarters and then the door was sealed behind her.
Bastila had looked at him and looked at him, almost crying, as she told him "They were all dying because of her". Carth had been at a loss, not sure what to do; He hadn't felt this helpless since that day. As the memories started to pour in with horrifying glee, he had viciously banished them back to the dark box they came from. And then, to distract himself, drew upon his disaster training and turned to help the Jedi.
He had carefully strapped her in to an escape pod and then launched it from the ship. "I wonder if she knows how to steer a 'pod." Carth idly thought. "Probably. She was a Jedi after all." He added with a mental shrug.
Just as Carth was about to strap himself in to a 'pod, the door opened and in strolled the mercenary. Strolled, not ran or walked in, but actually strolled in! Like it was a comfortable walk down the street not a ship that was about to be blown to smithereens! The mercenary had walked in to Carth's Escape, sat down, strapped in, and then turned to Carth and asked, "Are we going to move anytime soon?"
Carth had thrown himself into action and launched the pod. Unfortunately for them, right after they had left the ship, the Sith decided to blow the ship to, well, smithereens. Thus giving them quite a jolt and sending the mercenary face first into a panel; knocking him and the panel out of commission.
Carth then realized that the smashed panel was the navigation panel and so he had to land by sight only. They survived, but happened to land/smash into the street. Carth had recognized that they had to get out of the immediate area and grabbed his unconscious companion. After meeting a Republic sympathizer, which he found out a short time later were on short supply, they were given a room in a dirty apartment complex and left alone. That was six hours ago.
Carth looked over to the bed and could see that the mercenary was showing signs of waking.
She cut down the last Sith standing between her and the objective. The brown-haired woman held her yellow lightsaber in a cautious stance as she slowly walked to forward to the black-robed figure staring out the window at the furious space battle outside, seemingly ignoring the fact that one of his followers had just met his demise.
But when she had gotten within eight meters of him, his voice rang out, "So, this is the best the Jedi can offer? How foolish. They send their best support piece to attack the leader. I wonder, what do they wish to accomplish today?"
The Jedi's voice rang out, with a sense of justice, "Revan! Surrender and your life will be spared!"
"Ah. So that's what the Jedi hope to accomplish. An assassination. Odd, I would have assumed that they would have sent a more experienced assassin rather than their only viable chance of slowing me down." A pause. "Or more than one."
The Dark Lord turned around to face the woman as she tensed in anticipation of an attack. "Bastila." Revan's voice sounded in a slightly disproving tone, "I'm not going to do anything until your friends get here."
Bastila's face scrunched slightly in confusion. "I don't know of what you speak of, but surrender." This time the command was said with far less conviction.
"And so the last players arrive." The doors behind Bastila bursts open and she spins around to see five Jedi storm through, lightsabers blazing. She recognizes them as the premiere weapon masters of the Jedi Order.
"So" The Dark Lord's voice rings out after a moment of silence, "Are you here to bring me in?" He adds mockingly.
"Darth Revan! By order of the Galactic Republic and The Jedi Order, you are hereby sentenced as a traitor to the People of the Republic! Surrender now and you will not be harmed!" The lead Jedi Master shouts. "You cannot win Revan!"
The Dark Lord of the Sith appears to consider the offer. Then, a blood-red lightsaber ignites into existence. The blade is swept up into a flourish. "Then approach Jedi. Capture me. Test your fate. Come meet your destiny. "
The world is suddenly engulfed in red.
Mach sat up with up gasp, heart pounding. "Damn dream." Outwardly, he simply exclaimed "Damn!" He then noticed another presence in the room and instinctively reached for his blades. They were not there.
His eyes flew to the other person and noted several things an instant.
First, Male. Mid-to-late twenties. Second, his jacket was very orange. Third, he was pointing a blaster at Mach.
"Hello there. Why are you pointing a weapon at me?" The orange jacket man seemed surprised and slightly confused at the question.
"Who are you?" The question was barked at Mach.
"Mach Farcon. Who are you?" Orange Jacket Man seemed once again confused.
He then shot another question, "Why where you on the Endar Spire?"
"I was paid to protect Bastila until she reached her destination." This answer seemed to satisfy Orange Jacket a bit. Mach was tempted to ask Jacket Man why he was on the ship but decided that probably wouldn't go over well.
Orange Jacket Man finally lowered the blaster. "Carth Onasi. Republic Soldier."
Mach remembered the file he had read on Carth. He had served as a distinguished pilot during the Mandalorian War and had fought in the Jedi Civil War until the bombing of Telos IV where he apparently lost his wife and son. He had vowed to kill Admiral Saul Karath, the perpetrator of the event, in revenge. The file went on to list that Carth was slightly paranoid and didn't really trust anyone. It also listed the times Carth attacked the enemy head first, instead of waiting for the approval of command.
"You took a pretty hard hit to the head when we crash landed." Carth explained. "I brought you here and patched you up."
"Ok." Mach got up and located his gear. He started moving towards it when Carth stood up. "Where are you going?" Carth asked suspiciously. "To retrieve Bastila." Came the reply. Carth looked slightly shocked at the answer. "But, the Sith have overrun of the entire planet!" Carth protested.
"They can't stop me." Mach replied calmly.
Carth looked at Mach trying to decide if it was confidence or arrogance that prompted Mach's reply. Carth then seemed to come up with a brilliant idea. "I have to find Bastila as well. We should stick together and find her."
Mach thought about Carth's suggestion to stick together, an idea of his own starting to form in his mind. "It could work." Mach motioned over to Carth to sit down. And then he began to speak.
"I lost my memories. I don't remember much." Carth seemed to want to say something but then closed his mouth. "But I can tell you this, my real name isn't Mach Farcon. It is Revan." At those words Carth sprang back from his chair, drew his blaster, and pointed it at Mach's face. "I am going to be retrieving Bastila. You can assist me or not."
Carth fingers tightened on the trigger as he spat, "What do you want with Bastila?" Mach looked at him, seemingly ignoring the blaster waving in his face.
"Originally it was about the credits. But now it seems that she is part of my past. So, I will speak to her. And somehow, she feels…" Mach seemed to search for the proper word, " important."
Carth was about to protest at the obvious lie when Mach spoke again.
"Do you know what drives me?" He asked. "The Question. Why? Why would Revan save the Republic only to turn around and destroy it? It makes no logical sense. And then there's another question: what made him loose his memory? And I will find out the answers to the Question."
Carth looked into the other man's eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. And the will and resolve to complete his mission was stronger than anything Carth had ever seen. Mach then set the hook; "And Malak has much to answer for. I will reach him. Leaving all of his subordinates exposed."Carth tensed briefly.
Hook, Line, And Sinker. Carth lowered his blaster. If this mercenary was truly Darth Revan, the Carth couldn't kill him if he tried. But, Carth could use him to rescue Bastila. After they were off the planet, he could always tell the Republic about amnesic Sith Lord. Plus, Carth realized that Mach/ Revan was going to cut down anything in his quest to find the answers to his questions and as long as Carth wasn't in his way, he could be ironically trusted. And if what he said about Malak's subordinates was true… Carth nodded his assent.
"We should probably head to the cantina. The locals might know something." Carth spoke. Mach nodded and started to collect his gear.
After collecting their gear, the two men headed out of the apartment. Upon leaving the room they entered a circular room that had doors, similar to the one they had just exited, evenly spaced out in a circle, the hallway passing each room. It seemed like a rundown small apartment complex. Perfect for people to hide out in.
Unfortunately for the soldiers, it seemed that the Sith had decided to raid this particular complex today.
Unfortunately for the Sith, they had picked the wrong apartment complex to raid.
A Sith Captain was shouting orders at the various aliens milling about in the hallway. He was flanked by a squad of four Sith troopers. "Alright! Everyone Against The Wall! This Is A Raid!" The Sith Captain screamed.
As the various aliens who were unlucky enough to be in the hallway at the time carefully shuffled towards the walls, the Sith Captain noticed Carth through the rapidly thinning traffic.
"A human hiding with the aliens!? He's A Republic Fugitive! Attack!" The Sith cried, pointing at Carth!
It was in that moment when several things happened very quickly. The two troopers in the back of the squad died quickly as a sword blade was shoved through their backs, exiting through their chests. As they fell forward, the Sith Captain started to turn; catching a glimpse of the one who assassinated his men. Mach stood, with two bloody swords, slightly behind his fallen subordinates. The Captain saw a ghost of a smirk; a reapers smile, touch Mach's face. Then Mach exploded into action.
Meanwhile, Carth looked to his right, saw that Mach was no longer there, cursed and was drawing his blaster pistol when he saw two of the Sith troopers' chests erupt in blood. At this point Carth had drawn his pistol and aimed at the Sith trooper to the left of the Sith Captain. He pulled the trigger as soon as the Sith's head appeared in the sights. The Sith slumped to the ground, dead, a burned hole in his face shield. Carth was already adjusting his aim to the Captain when he saw Mach move.
Mach rammed his left sword through the Sith Trooper's ribs; Cutting the Sith's heart in half. The right slashed the Sith Captain spine, cutting to the bone. At the same time, a blaster blot hit the Captain in the chest. He never had a chance. As he collapsed to the floor, Mach's blade rose and fell; Ending the Sith's life.
If Carth had any doubts about the validity of Mach's story, he didn't now. The mercenary had just butchered three troopers within a few seconds. He watched as Mach jerked the blades free in a small shower of blood. The mercenary then flicked his wrists and sheathed the now clean swords. He then looked at Carth and inclined his head toward the door.
Carth looked at the bodies and then at Mach. Carth let a smirk appear on his face as he thought, "The Sith are about to find out that there's someone else looking for the missing Jedi. And he's a whole lot scarier than they are."