Chapter Eight

Dueling

"Silence is the ultimate weapon of power."

- Charles de Gaulle

The door slid open with an quiet swish, and the soft beeping sounds of hundreds of busy machines was all that greeted the tiny group breaking into the back side of the Sith base. The Commander gave the interior a quick look before turning to the Twi'lek at the control panel.

"Thanks, kid. Now burn jets outta' here, and one more thing. I left some information for you at the apartment. If we don't make it back and you're able, use the contact info and tell them exactly what I wrote. They'll help you out," Carth promised.

Mission engulfed the Commander with an unexpected hug.

"Thanks, Carth. You're the best," she gushed. Then she leaned up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.

"Going into a Sith base with two people who've recently gotten themselves captured? I'm going to wish you luck, Carth. Please be careful and try not to let Traviata get captured again. They can have the ice queen as far as I'm concerned," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, be nice kid and don't worry about Traviata, I'll take care of her," Carth promised, glancing at Traviata standing next to Bastilla.

Mission quickly skittered away and the trio stepped cautiously into the base. The door abruptly closed behind them, causing Traviata to eye it warily. "That's some door," she murmured.

"Well, we're in at least," Carth mentally ticked off the list of his action plan. By his estimation the security codes would be on whoever the top ranking official was on the base. They would most likely be located somewhere in the interior of the building. Of course they could be anywhere; they could even be off the premises. That was a chance they had to take.

"He's this way," Bastilla instructed, heading down the bright white corridor.

They passed by several doorways before they encountered their first resistance. Bastilla slammed the group of three into a wall, their blasters flying out of their hands scattering noisily on the floor. The troopers hit the wall so hard it knocked all of them unconscious. Traviata stood, her mouth agape for a moment. She looked at Carth to see him watching the Jedi with disdain.

"You might want to save some of that juice sister, for when we really need it," Carth snapped at the Jedi.

"Don't worry, you'll find I have plenty of, what did you call it, oh yes, juice, Commander," Bastilla shot back with her customary, eloquent tone.

Carth rolled his eyes and treaded past the Jedi to the next junction in the corridor. He took a fast look to make sure it was clear and started to move forward and stopped. "Come on, you're with me," he reminded Traviata mildly.

"I think it's better if the two of you follow me. If we run into resistance, I can shield us for a brief moment anyway. It would be long enough to give us the advantage," Bastilla countered.

Carth's brow furrowed momentarily before making up his mind. "Fine, after you then Bastilla," he said gesturing with his blaster in hand.

They tiptoed up to a large room with an open doorway; the sound of voices, the humming of machinery, and the sound of heavy boots on steel greeted them.

It was too late to run as five Sith soldiers rounded the corner.

Bastilla used the force to send them falling backward, their blasters firing aimlessly as they landed.

Carth and Traviata sent a rain of blaster bolts down on the group; their returning fire didn't reach them. Realizing the Jedi had thrown up a shield around them, Carth advanced on the group.

Traviata followed suit, the two making headway. There were only three left returning fire when three more troopers came running out of the room just ahead firing their repeating blasters.

Then the shield protecting them collapsed.

Carth swore under his breath and pulled something from his pocket while the two began backing up.

"Oh crap," Traviata said, glancing over at Carth, before shooting another couple of rounds at a quickly approaching trooper. "Is there enough room in here to use one of those?"

"Close your eyes and cover your ears," the Commander warned, tossing the flash grenade at the group.

While the soldiers were disabled, Traviata and Carth resumed their assault.

A sharp hiss from behind Traviata caused her to turn in time to see Bastilla jump forward, her light saber twirling madly as she landed. Her weapon repelled the ammo aimed at her.

Carth and Traviata were able to take out three more troopers while Bastilla finished off the others.

It suddenly went quiet except for the humming of the light saber and the sound of sizzling electronics damaged in the fire fight.

The trio quickly ducked into the room ahead. It was filled with banks of monitors with thousands of tiny lights flashing on their panels.

"Can you pull up a map?" Bastilla asked.

"Quickly, we're about to have a lot of company," Carth said with a grimace, keeping watch at the doorway.

"Got it," Traviata answered, her fingers flying on the panel. A large map popped up on the display.

Pointing to a turbolift, "There, that will take us to him," Bastilla declared.

"Who's this him you keep referring to?" Carth shot back, throwing her a sideways glance. He calculated they had less than ten minutes before an entire squad came rushing down the hall. Even Bastilla's skills couldn't protect them from that. They needed to move out. "Never mind, tell me on the way. We need to go. Now."

Traviata rushed to the door, checking her weapon to see if it had finished re-charging. It was almost there, but not ready yet.

Carth walked over to her, giving her weapon a quick glance. "Poor blaster; the abuse you inflict on it should be criminal. You hold the damn trigger too long, Viata, that's why it keeps overheating and losing its charge. Remember, small controlled bursts," he informed her with a grimace.

She shrugged staring at her weapon with dismay. "Yeah, I think it's the blaster."

"It's not the blaster, it's the operator," Carth corrected her with a sigh.

"Sure it is, that's why this blaster keeps crapping out on me," Traviata shot back.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it is," Carth said.

Bastilla ran past the pair and they bolted after her. "Just stay close, I'll give you my extra side arm," he said over his shoulder in an all out run after the Jedi.

"Good, this one has never worked right," Traviata replied from behind him.

Carth decided to let it go, that was a battle for another time and he put on some more speed trying to catch up with the Jedi.

They'd gotten about 30 meters when Traviata stopped; there was something in the room ahead behind the closed door. Something she needed was in there. The feeling was overwhelming, tugging at her. Carth was just ahead, and he'd be furious, but her feelings had been right so far. This urge was telling her not to go on before retrieving the object in the room. If she was fast he'd never even know she'd broken away momentarily, that is if she was lucky.

Before she new it her feet had carried her to the doorway which slid quickly open. Four soldiers occupied the room; Traviata raised her pistol, squeezing the trigger. Nothing happened.

"Damn it," she used the blaster to hit the trooper lunging for her.

He fell back across the table in the center of the room, her blaster hummed finally charged.

Then there it was, in the hands of a Sith soldier, the reason she was here. It gleamed in the light, as the man twirled the double edged sword, a smug smile on his face.

The Republic soldier sent a spray of blaster bolts, and rolled to the cover of a nearby storage locker. The group in the back of the room had flipped over the table and was using it to hide behind.

A lot of good a sword would do the bolt head in a blaster fight, she thought. The ricocheting of weapons fire danced and bounced all around her, causing her to scrunch further behind her cover. She was out gunned and out numbered, her mind scrambled for a plan.

A shower of blaster fire went over Traviata's head, and the sound of Carth's swearing was behind her.

Frak, she thought, so much for luck.

Then the table went flying back against the wall. Carth sent another volley of fire across the room and then everything went silent. It was all over in seconds.

Traviata felt herself being jerked up by her arm from the ground so quickly it made her lose her breath.

"Carth, she just has to learn to control these feelings. This is all new to her, she simply needs-"" Bastilla started saying from the doorway, a withering glare from the Commander silenced her.

"What she needs is my concern not yours, Bastilla. Wait for us at the turbolift, we'll be right behind you," Carth said returning his attention to Traviata. He'd been right before, she definitely needed a good dose of humility and fear, as well as a reminder of who was in charge.

His eyes burned with anger. "You act like a child, without a thought about the consequences of your actions, to yourself or others. You don't obey direct orders, again like a willful child," he paused, his eyes narrowing. "If we weren't about to be joined by a squad of angry Sith, I swear I'd teach you the lesson you so desperately need."

"I'd like to see you try," Traviata shot back.

"Believe me; I'll do more than try. You're just lucky I don't have the time right now. Believe me though, it's coming and soon," his grip tightening against her struggling.

He'd been terrified when he'd looked back to see her not there, and then to hear the sounds of battle, images of arriving too late to save his wife had flashed before him.

He let go a long breath. Quickly checking his chrono, he then tugged her toward the door; they had to get out of there now.

Traviata used all her strength and broke free, rushing toward the back of the room where the sword laid. Carth would never listen to her; she'd have to grab it quickly. Traviata picked up the sword, a shiver running through her as she held it.

"What the frak is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish?" Carth yelled following her.

"I don't know why, but I had to come get this. You're such a frakin' bully sometimes, you won't even give me the chance to explain," Traviata said, holding out the blade for him to see while holstering her blaster. It surprised her how comfortable it felt in her grasp. Its rather long length didn't really bother her like she assumed it would.

Carth's brow furrowed, but he wasn't sure what pissed him off the most about this whole thing. He didn't have the luxury of thinking about it at the moment. "The force led you to a kinrath double sword? That's what you risked your life for? "

She nodded her response as he took her arm leading her to the door. "Frakin Force. Well you got what you came for and now we've got no time."

Carth didn't let go of Traviata until they were in the turbolift, noting the apprehension in Bastilla's eyes when she caught sight of the sword. "The force led her to it. Apparently like it's leading you to whom exactly?"

"A dark Jedi; he has the security codes. Don't be alarmed though. He's only an apprentice, and he's no match for me. He doesn't even have a light saber. It'll be like putting down a kinrath hound," Bastilla answered.

"The force apparently gives you a lot more details than it does Traviata," Carth returned.

"That's because I'm trained in the ways of the Force and have control that she lacks," Bastilla shot back, casting a hesitant eye at Traviata. "If the council approves, we will teach you how to use the Force and most importantly control."

Control would be good, not so worried about how to use the Force though, Traviata thought. She'd love to put an end to all of these irrational urges and banish her frequent nightmares.

"Enough Bastilla. Stop putting all this crap in her head, she's a Republic soldier not a member of your little cult. Besides, learning control didn't seem to help Revan and Malak, it only made them better killers," Carth shot back.

The Captain's angry eyes held Bastilla's before she looked away.

Carth felt an unease come over him; something wasn't right. "Great, it's catching," he mumbled under his breath. He rolled his shoulders, his muscles tired and tense.

Traviata felt a cold shiver run up her spine as the lift came to a stop, the door opening instantaneously.

Carth's eyes scanned the area, it looked clear and he stepped out of the car, both of his side arms in his hands. Bastilla walked ahead of the pair toward a singular doorway, there were no other hallways or junctions.

"This is all that's up here? Seem strange to anyone else?" Carth asked.

"It's where he meditates and practices. I can feel the evil reaching out, he's aware we're coming for him," Bastilla supplied, almost at the door now.

"Well, there's a comforting thought," Carth replied, glancing sideways at Traviata. She held his gaze, her eyes filled with alarm.

"Just stay close to me, it'll be okay," he assured her.

Traviata felt cold all over as they stood at the door, which opened with a speed she'd never seen before.

There it stood before her, the reason for the double bladed sword.

"You," he spat with venom, his black eyes taking in the group and holding a double sword of his own.

"My master will reward me well for this," he added, freezing Carth and Bastilla in place.

Traviata stood facing the menacing man in front of her, noting the helpless condition of her companions. Her blade rose instinctively to block the attempted blow by him, her hands twirling the weapon as she moved further into the room.

The Sith attacked furiously, with anger and energy, raining blow after blow on Traviata.

Traviata was able to block him, but that was draining, the sword was heavy and his strength enormous.

Another strike came, this time it was so hard it made the blade vibrate in her hand, sending her to the floor.

The apprentice quickly jumped to her side, readying his weapon for his final strike.

Traviata used her legs and kicked him with all her might, sending him falling backward but not landing on the ground.

The pair circled the room, twirling their blades, each looking for the advantage.

The Sith struck first, beginning a fierce exchange of blows between the two, sparks flying when their blades connected.

The apprentice made contact with her side, causing Traviata to swear.

The Sith looked to the frozen pair, the very beginnings of slight movement evident in them. He moved closer, spinning his sword, his intent obvious.

Traviata's mind screamed NO! They were still helpless, defenseless.

She ran full out, using the wall to jump against to add to her power as she brought her blade down across the neck of their attacker. The shock in his gaze was still there as his severed head rolled along the floor.

Traviata's breath was coming fast as adrenaline flowed through her veins. When she felt a hand on her shoulder she jumped back, her sword ready to strike.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's me. It's over, you killed him," Carth assured her, holding both hands up taking a tentative step closer.

"I did?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, he's dead. Take my word for it," Carth promised, casting a furtive glance at the dismembered head lying in the corner of the room. He'd been able to see and hear everything while in stasis, frustrating him more as he struggled to get free. Traviata had fought with a skill he'd never seen, handling the sword like it was a part of her.

His eyes scanned Traviata's appearance noting the blood trickling from where he'd watched the Sith's blade strike her. He moved over to her, putting his hands over her wound, grimacing when she cried out. "You're injured; I've got to slow down the bleeding."

"Bastilla, a little help," Carth said tensely over his shoulder, his eyes holding Traviata's pain filled ones. "It'll be okay."

Bastilla appeared at his side instantly.

"Put him down like a kinrath, huh? He's no match for you. Yeah, right," he huffed. "She's seriously injured because of your arrogance," Carth ground out.

"I'm sorry. I underestimated his skill," Bastilla apologized, placing her hands on Traviata. Carth's confused gaze met hers. "I can heal her, she'll be fine, Carth," she explained.

In mere seconds Traviata's eyes cleared, "I feel much better now. I had no idea that Jedi could do that, thank you."

"Thank you. You saved our lives," Bastilla informed her with a slight nod, holding her gaze for a moment before moving to the body of the apprentice, searching his attire.

"You're really okay?" Carth asked moving his blood covered hand from her side, so he could see her injury.

"I'm a little shaky, but I feel fine, I-"

The rest of her words were cut off. Carth's mouth covered hers in an emotion filled kiss; his hands laced through her hair, pulling her head to his. His lips hard against hers, his tongue hungrily searched her mouth demanding her response. Traviata wrapped an arm around his head, wanting him closer, her kiss equally as intense, making her own desires known. His kiss softened, becoming tender, his hand cradling her cheek when he broke the kiss.

They held each other's eyes for a moment, their kiss leaving no doubt that both of them had intense feelings for the other. Bastilla clearing her throat from the doorway caused both of them to look at her, remembering where they were.

"I have the codes Commander, I suggest we leave now and get off this planet. The sooner, the better," Bastilla said her eyes as blank as her face.

"Finally Bastilla, something we can agree on," Carth shot back, reluctantly releasing Traviata.