Concerns about the Dark Side
His boots clanked loudly on the metal floor of the Ebon Hawk as he walked to the kitchen area to make a snack. He heard soft, feminine voices echoing down the hall and when he walked into the room Nina and Mission were sitting on benches across from one another, a game of Pazzak between them. Mission laid down a perfect twenty and Nina threw her cards down in a huff of frustration.
"How can you possibly win this many times?" Nina exclaimed, leaning back against the bench with her arms crossed. Carth watched as subtle pout spread across her lips and his stomach did a small flip. He shook his head to clear his mind of the invading, and inappropriate images that he knew he shouldn't be thinking about.
"I'm very lucky," Mission explained with a smirk; but Nina was having none of it.
"You're not lucky, you cheat." Her tone was playful without a hint of malice.
Mission shrugged nonchalantly and nodded at Carth as he walked past them.
"Carth cheats, not me."
Both women turned to greet him and he gave a roguish smirk before reaching into the cupboard for anything he could find to be quick and edible.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied. Nina rolled her eyes.
"I didn't know I was working with such professional liars."
"What can I say? I'm good at my job," Mission quipped and began shuffling the deck.
"Yes I'm sure Malak is quaking in fear over your mighty Pazzak skills," Nina shot back. Mission's expression turned thoughtful.
"I've been thinking about the Sith and these Star Maps. Do you think you guys will have to face Malak?"
Carth glanced over his shoulder and caught Nina's uncomfortable, but barely visible grimace. She looked over at him and he shrugged. No one wanted to scare the teenager but dealing with Malak was a very likely possibility; especially since the Sith Lord had raised an entire planet to get to Bastila, he was not likely to give up now. Nina tugged at her long strands for a long moment before answering.
"If we find the Star Forge soon then we might be able to stop all of the Sith without having to deal with Malak."
Mission nodded slowly but Carth could not tell if she bought Nina's answer. Nina looked back over at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. There was no need to worry Mission about the future when none of them knew what it held.
"I wonder what they were like," Mission commented as she dealt out the cards. Carth found a package of salted crackers and dumped them onto a plate. An amount large enough for a three year old child scattered across the plate and Carth heard his stomach growl at the sight of the pitiful portion. It would have to do until Bastila, Jolee, and Canderous returned with the supplies. He took his snack over to the table and took a seat next to Nina and tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the heat of her proximity. He watched her as she studied her cards and her smile turned into a barely contained scowl. He chuckled at her expression and she turned her scowl onto him while reaching over to steal a cracker. He pulled the plate away from her and shielded it protectively. Nina rolled her eyes and returned her attention back to Mission.
"Who are you talking about?" She asked the teenager and placed a plus five down on the table.
"Revan and Malak. I wonder what they were like before they turned bad."
"I have no idea," Nina answered and then turned to Carth. "Didn't you say you knew them?"
He shook his head. "Not personally, no. We didn't see much of the Jedi in the fleet and I only met Malak once,but I was impressed by him. I guess that just shows how much the dark side can change someone."
"I can't believe anyone would find Malak impressive," Nina mumbled between chews and Carth looked down at his plate to find his snack a few crackers short. He glared at his companion and laid out an arm between them in defense of his food. The new Jedi just shrugged and turned back to her game.
"I thought Saul Karath was impressive once too. Even the best of people can fall."
"Do you know why Revan and Malak fell?" Mission spoke up while putting down another perfect twenty. Nina threw up her hands in exasperation and Carth laughed at her obvious frustration, earning himself a smack to the arm.
"Nobody does, Mission," he replied. "When they left after the Mandalorean Wars, they were Jedi. When they returned…they were something else."
"What do you know about the dark side?" Nina prodded him. He ran a hand through his hair and thought for a moment.
"I used to think that the dark side was a fancy name for something I see every day. Corruption is everywhere; people are greedy and stupid and do horrible things. But I'm starting to think that it's different for the Jedi."
"You don't think Jedi can be corrupted or greedy?" Nina asked.
"I think it's more than that," he answered. "It's like there is this evil watching them, waiting for its chance."
Nina's brow furrowed in confusion."What do you mean?"
Carth struggled for the words to convey the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind for weeks.
"You have so much courage and strength in you…yet somehow, I have no trouble imagining it differently. Like the flip side of a coin. And it's not just you. It's Bastila as well. She's just so…intense. I don't pretend to know much about the force but I know evil."
Nina raised an eyebrow. "You think Bastila and I are evil?" Her tone was playful but it held an exasperated edge. His constant doubting of her trustworthiness was wearing on her nerves, he knew, and he tried to find the right words so he would not aggravate her further.
"No, of course not. All I'm saying is that when you have so much power, the stakes are higher. I can only imagine the conflict that goes on inside you. Neither you nor Bastila are fully trained on how to handle your power. I'm just concerned about what might come."
Mission let out a gasp. "Aww did you hear that Nina? Carth cares about you." She laughed loudly at the blush that spread wildly across his face.
"Oh Carth, that's so sweet. I didn't know you were concerned for me." Nina batted her eyelashes and leaned in close to him; in order to snatch another cracker from his rapidly diminishing pile.
"Well that's not what I…mean…I," he was flustered as he tried to explain. "I mean I wouldn't want to see you hurt. Any of you."
"Sure Carth," Mission teased. "That's exactly what you meant."
"I am concerned about everyone's safety!" He exclaimed, increasingly embarrassed at his slip of the tongue. He had meant it about his concern for Nina but he had never intended on telling her; at least not in front of Mission.
"Concerned for some more than others, I'm sure," Mission retorted. Carth threw up his hands and shot a nervous glance at Nina. The Jedi hid her smile behind her hand but her eyes danced in amusement. The embarrassment he was enduring was almost worth it just to see her blue depths sparkle. A loud roar echoed throughout the ship and Mission stood up.
"I better go see what Big Z wants. See you later love birds."
Carth sputtered out a response at her retreating form. Beside him, he could feel Nina laughing from their touching shoulders.
"You think this is funny, huh?"
"No. I think it's adorable." She reached over and picked up his one remaining cracker. Carth glared daggers.
"Don't. You. Dare." He warned, completely serious.
"What? Did you want this?" Nina held it in front of his face with a mischievous smile.
"Yes I do, in fact. You ate all the others, the least you can do is give me the last piece."
She seemed to consider it.
"Well, when you put it that way…" She held it out to him and he moved to bite it from her hand but at the last minute she yanked it away and popped it into her mouth. He dropped his jaw in astonishment at her audacity. She licked her lips dramatically and leaned back comfortably on the bench, a satisfied grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Oh, you are going to pay for that," he murmured in a low whisper.
She laughed and crossed her arms to bestow upon him a challenging gaze.
"Is that a promise?" Her voice was a near purr and he could not stop the rush of heat that spread through his body. Neither of them moved for a long moment as their eyes locked in a burning gaze. He lowered his gaze to her luscious lips and the memory of their kiss on Kashyyyk assaulted his mind.
"That's what I thought," she murmured and moved to the edge of the seat in an effort to leave. With a low growl he gripped her waste and his agile fingers attacked her stomach leaving her squealing against him. He pulled her against the bench and with one hand he grasped both of hers and pinned them above her head while his other hand continued his tickling assault. Her peals of laughter and breathless pants sent blood rushing from his head and he pressed her down onto the seat of the bench. After several adrenaline rushing moments he finally relented his attack and watched as she tried to regain her breath. She looked up at him through hooded eyes and he became instantly aware of how close their faces were and the fact that he still had her hands pinned above them. Centimeter by centimeter he lowered his face closer to hers before he even realized he was moving. She raised her head to meet his and he could feel her lips ghosting across his…when a loud shriek startled them. He shot back up on the bench to see Bastila glaring at him with wide eyes and heated cheeks. Beside her Jolee and Canderous smiled knowingly.
"Nina, would you please help me put this stuff away," Bastila demanded through clenched teeth. Nina got up and smoothed out her clothing.
"Sure thing, Kiddo," she replied and Carth knew Bastila was really angry when the young Jedi did not even comment on Nina teasing her about her age. Though Nina was only her senior by four years she always got a raise out of Bastila whenever she brought their ages up. Nina took the bags from Canderous and turned back to smile at him.
"See you later, Flyboy,' she winked and followed the furious Bastila towards the Cargo Hold.
Once they were gone, Jolee and Canderous turned to appraise him.
"Did you have fun while we were gone, Republic?" Canderous asked as he lit a cigara. "Or were you just getting to the good part?"
"Shut up, Mandalorian," Carth retorted and headed back towards the cockpit. "I just wanted my cracker back."
Thanks to everyone for reading!