A/N: A tremendous thank you to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers. I really appreciate the support. I hope to make you all proud.

Chapter Six

The Enemy of My Enemy

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

- Abraham Lincoln

Carth never made it to the doctor's. Forn had contacted him on his way there, and sent him to the cantina where they'd met the last bounty hunter. When Traviata had checked in with him, he directed her to meet him at the turbolift near the clinic. She must have been in the area, because she was waiting just outside the entrance for him when he arrived.

"Hey, there. Been waiting long?" Carth asked.

"Not really, I stopped by earlier and chatted with Forn a bit since he was so close," Traviata supplied, entering the lift as it opened.

Carth nodded, thumbing the lift control and sending them on their way.

"Did you know the compound where they were holding Bastilla was once the headquarters for Revan and Malak? They ran their operations from there during the Mandalorian wars," she said conversationally, the lift humming as they sped along.

"Yeah, I figured as much; it was too sophisticated for the gang down there to have engineered. I remember hearing rumors about it during the war. No one knew the exact location though. The dead give away was the force cage; those things are rare," Carth answered. "How did you know? Did Forn tell you that?"

She nodded distractedly, an annoying buzzing in the back of her mind.

Traviata punched the stop button, jostling them.

Carth steadied himself on the doorway, putting a protective arm out to catch Traviata.

She met Carth's startled expression, her breathing coming fast.

"What?" Carth asked.

It was crazy, she felt like they were in danger. Of course they were in danger, she told herself, but it was something imminent. Some specific danger they were heading to.

She gave her head a shake, "Sorry, my, um hand slipped. Lost my balance," The soldier couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth, and she jabbed the control restarting the lift.

Carth raised an eyebrow at that. "You're a terrible liar, Traviata."

"Just with you for some reason," she said candidly.

The lift began to slow as they came to their level; Traviata put a hand on Carth's arm. "I can't explain why, I don't understand it myself, but be extra cautious," she warned, unbuckling her holster.

The Commander nodded, thumbing the strap holding his weapon, not sure what to say to that. Given their luck lately, he went ahead and extracted his weapon. Traviata was acting strange, even for the stressful circumstances.

They exited the lift and had only gone about three meters when they were ambushed. It wasn't much of a fight; the petty thugs were out of their league. When the last one fell to the ground, Carth turned to Traviata.

"They look like they belong to the gang that was holding Bastilla," Carth said, bending down examining them.

"They're wearing the same uniform, if you can call it that," he said standing, moving to Traviata. Word of their handy work must be getting around; they had officially worn out their welcome.

"How did you know?" he asked incredulously.

Traviata shook her head, her confusion evident, "I, I don't know, Carth. I just had a feeling there was danger waiting for us. It's not the first time, that's why I ran off both times in the sewers. I felt this compulsion, almost a drive. It's hard to explain.

"I've never felt anything like it. It makes no sense to me and it's driving me crazy," she said adamantly. "I don't know how to make it stop.

"It's like knowing the answer to a question; you didn't even know to ask. But the answer makes no sense, without knowing the question in the first place," she explained.

"Damn Traviata, that almost made sense," Carth replied.

Carth holstered his weapon, his eyes holding hers. "When did this all first start?"

"The sewers. No, the nightmares started on the Spire. Like the flashes I see whenever I'm around Bastilla," she said in a rush, happy to be finally telling him about it. "What I've seen when I'm near Bastilla is terrifying. I simply don't know what to do, Carth. I feel like I'm losing control."

Carth scratched at his chin and nodded, aware they weren't in the best place for this conversation and they really didn't have the time. Traviata was shaken by whatever it was that was happening to her. He knew one thing for certain; it all came back to Bastilla. Carth was going to confront the Jedi with all of it when they got back to the apartment.

"We're going to get to the bottom of it, Traviata. I promise you we will figure it out. In the mean time try to put it out of your mind, at least for now," the Captain encouraged.

Traviata holstered her weapon, feeling better just knowing Carth was aware now of these strange feelings she was having. She knew too that he'd be as good as his word; they would figure it out.

"Of course, yes, our meeting. Thanks," she offered.

"No, thank you. Whatever is going on with you, I know one thing," he paused, wanting to bring a smile to her face.

"You just saved my ass, beautiful," Carth said giving her a real smile and a wink.

Traviata moved in closer to the Commander, bringing her lips to his ear, her hand around the back of his head. This man touched a part of her she hadn't known existed until now.

"You don't have to thank me. Don't you know that?" she whispered, recalling Carth's words in the rancor's den.

Carth took her head in both his hands, something igniting in him, his eyes smoldering, their lips almost touching.

Traviata thought her heart would explode it was beating so fast. Carth's mouth hovered over hers for what felt like minutes. It had seemed like he was going to kiss her, but then changed his mind and leaned his forehead on hers instead for a moment before releasing her. His hand took her elbow, guiding her toward the cantina.

"We need to get off this planet. Let's get this over with," he said, his focus clearly back on track with the mission.

The bar was packed, and they only had Forn's description to go by to find the bounty hunter. The pair stopped at the bar and picked up three drinks and made the rounds looking for him.

"There, sitting in that alcove. That's got to be him," Traviata declared, nudging Carth with her elbow.

Forn said he'd never met anyone else like him and never wanted to either. The doctor said he was obvious, crude, loud, extremely muscular, and itching for a fight. He'd also had the largest blaster rifle he'd ever seen.

Carth froze in place his eyes widening, "Can't be."

"I'm telling you, that's him, look at that rifle, it's immense. I don't know how he carries it, much less hit anything with it," Traviata commented.

"It's a Mandalorian Assault Rifle; its range is as far as three hundred meters, it's most deadly at about 125 to 130 meters though, and it holds roughly 500 shots. It will rip a human to pieces in just a few rounds, it's so loud that it sounds more like a laser canon," Carth paused, his eyes drifting to Traviata's. "They carry them quite easily. And when you have something that powerful holding that many shots, trust me, you don't have to be that accurate to cause devastation."

"I'm sorry, Carth," was all Traviata could think to say. The sight of this man obviously stirred up some bad memories for him.

"You're not that much younger than me, you must have served in the Mandalorian Wars too. There was no mention of it in your records though," Carth noted.

"I was training during the wars; it's all a blur now. The countless hours, weeks, months and years spent training all run into each other. We didn't really have much outside contact either, as you can imagine," Traviata explained.

The Captain considered this and then looked back at the man, huge even for a Mandalorian. "I suppose we should go get this over with."

The pair walked over to the table. Traviata slid a drink across to the man, who caught it deftly in his hand.

"Su'cuy," Traviata greeted the man. "Canderous?"

"You speak Mando'a almost perfectly, just a slight accent," he said, slowly taking in the appearance of Traviata. "I'd be happy to give you lessons," he paused meaningfully. "Private lessons."

Carth stepped in front of Traviata, pushing her aside and partially behind him. Typical Mandalorian behavior, they were all like animals. "The lady isn't interested."

"I didn't hear her say that," the man countered, his eyes still raking the soldier.

"Why would I want to learn an irrelevant language better? It's pretty useless since you lost the war," Traviata said, moving to stand at Carth's side.

The Mandalorian roared with laughter at her response

The Commander's eyes shot a warning to Traviata. Nothing a Mandalorian loved more than a spirited female; if she was trying to shut him down, it wouldn't work that way.

Carth leaned across the table.

"Are you Canderous or not?" Carth ground out.

The man grinned hugely, "Yes, but I want to talk to the woman."

Traviata said nothing, heeding Carth's unspoken warning. The Commander obviously did not want her involved in the discussion; she'd stay out of it. He looked ready to explode as it was.

"You'll deal with me or not at all," Carth shot back. There was a part of him that wanted this to end in violence. The man sitting in front of him reminded him of all the reasons the Republic Military had ended up begging the Jedi for their assistance in the war.

"You're the ones Forn told me about. I'm betting you're the same ones that busted that Jedi out too," he said with appreciation. These guys might actually be interesting; he could probably even see some real action again. At least he might get the chance to go out like a warrior instead of rotting on this planet, playing enforcer to a bunch of children with weapons.

"Yes, Forn sent us. I've got no time for games with you. Can you get us off this planet or not?" Carth demanded, his voice and mood reflecting the end of his patience.

"Yeah. I've got access to a ship, but it'll be tricky. Nuthin' I can't handle, of course. The ship is a Dynamic-class freighter, with lots of very special modifications, including an extremely powerful hyperdrive and reinforced shields. It will take every bit of it I'm guessing, to get you free from the Sith that will be up your ass. It'll do the job though," Canderous explained. "That is if you can do your part."

"My part? What's that? Credits? I can get you all you want when we get out of here," Carth spat with disgust.

"No. Someone, meaning you and your um, associates, will have to break into the Sith base and steal the security codes. Ship's no good without those, they'll blow us out of the sky," Canderous supplied.

Breaking into a Sith base was a suicide mission, but staying here could even be worse if the Sith got their hands on Bastilla. Carth considered his words for a moment. He had no choice but to accept the deal; there were no other options. At least it was the least terrible of the horrible choices they had available.

"Fine. We'll get the codes," Carth answered, standing up, his patience at its end.

"Word of warning though: I'd make it quick. They've increased the bounty on the Jedi's head and there are some very nasty characters hoping to collect," Canderous informed him.

"You being one of them?" Carth interjected.

"No, not this time. I'm content with our arrangement," he said, a smile creeping up his face. "That is unless you want to throw in the female."

Carth grabbed him by the collar, pulling him halfway across the table, holding his face to the table with the Captain's blaster pressed to the man's head.

This is exactly what the enraged Republic Captain had wanted to happen from the moment he walked in the door. He was just waiting for an excuse to pull his blaster on this Mandalorian. All they knew was fighting, aggression, survival of the fittest. The Commander had spent his life protecting innocents from the likes of him.

"Forget about her or you're dead. You double cross us, you're dead," Carth ground out, his grip tightening as the Mandalorian struggled. In fact with the security codes, he didn't need this piece of bantha dung at all. He could get his hands on a ship, with the codes they should make it. His finger curled into the trigger.

The Commander felt a light hand on his back, his gaze shot to the form behind him. Traviata didn't say a word; her eyes held his for a moment and then she removed her hand.

Carth yanked up the Mandalorian, his rage powering him, making him more than a match for Canderous. The Commander's pistol was still at his head. With extreme effort he lowered the weapon and shoved the Mandalorian into his chair.

"I'll let you know when we get the codes," Carth said darkly. Taking Traviata by the arm he guided her quickly out of the pub.

The Republic Captain's anger was palpable as he stormed to the turbolift, not letting go of Traviata's arm until they were inside. He angrily keyed in their destination.

"Do you want to talk about it, Carth?" Traviata asked, leaning against the wall on the other side of the car, crossing her arms. Seeing the Mandalorian had certainly unleashed a fury in the man he'd previously kept in check.

"Talk about what?" he bit out, gazing darkly at nothing in particular.

"How about why you're so pissed off for starters," she shot back, raising an eyebrow. "I mean I get it, the war, he's Mandalorian which-"

"What the hell would you know about it? You've admited you have no practical experience with them. You don't know what they're capable of, I do, I've seen it first hand. They respect nothing but their own code. They kill whoever is in their way of what they want. Civilians, women, even children," Carth ranted.

The Republic soldier recalled skirmishes in which he'd seen the bodies of dead and dying women and children. Their faces were often featured in his nightmares. Images played through his mind of trying to comfort grieving parents and spouses amidst the smoking rubble of their homes , cities, hell, even their lives, he thought with a grunt. The words he'd used so many years ago mocked him; he'd tried to ease the suffering of those who'd lost everything. Now he knew, there was precious little comfort in mere words.

"Carth, did you lose family during the war with the Mandalorians?" she wondered out loud.

"No, not to the Mandalorians," he said distractedly, his thoughts far away.

"You lost family though then? The Sith? You know it's not good to keep it all bottled up. It might help to talk about it," she said putting a tentative hand on his arm.

"I don't want to talk about," Carth's eyes darted angrily to hers and then quickly away.

"I bet you don't talk to anyone about it. That will eat you up inside. What happened?" Traviata persisted.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," his eyes met hers, flashing a warning.

"Well, I think you should. You have all this anger just waiting to explode all over-" she started.

"Damn it if you aren't the most frustrating, stubborn woman I've ever met," Carth cut in, his brow puckering.

"Probably. But you would feel better if you talked about it. I hate to see you like this, I-" she persevered.

"Alright, alright, alright," he said, gesturing with his hands, his voice rising. "Fine, we'll talk about it. Later," he said holding his hand up as she opened her mouth.

"Not a word, Traviata. Later," he demanded, the turbolift coming to a halt.

Traviata nodded her response, stepping out of the car. "Okay fine, but I won't forget."

Carth let go an exasperated breath, "Oh I don't doubt that for a second."